Mayor Jennifer Macksey with Sebastyn Donovan, who let her ride his scooter.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — On a bright, hazy Saturday afternoon, three North Adams institutions joined forces to bring a little safety to the community.
Representatives of the North Adams Police Department, the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition (NBCC), and North Adams School Public Schools set up shop at the Noel Field playground to give away bike helmets to citizens of all ages, and to raffle off bicycles and scooters to a few lucky children in the neighborhood.
The initiative was sparked by the Police Department's acquisition of bike helmets as part of a Municipal Road Safety Grant, according to Police Chief Mark Bailey.
Bailey, who was stationed behind a smoking barbecue grill, spent the day serving up hot dogs and his own homemade chili.
The grant, funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, provides federal funds to localities to address a variety of traffic-related safety issues.
While the helmet giveaway began Saturday, free helmets will continue to be available at the police station to anyone who wants one. "We have so many helmets to give away throughout the summer," Chief Bailey said. "All ages … adults, too."
Officer Khalil Paul said the department was raffling off three scooters and five bikes. "We got a great day for it, and a good turnout," he noted, referencing the dozens of kids donning new helmets at the playground and at the adjacent UNITY Skateboard and BMX Park.
Nearby, at the park's pavilion, a bright pink and blue two-wheeler was perched in a bike repair stand. Josh Fredette, a volunteer with NBCC, was busy tuning up the bike, soon to be raffled away to a lucky North Adams resident.
Fredette, towering above the little pink bike and adorned with a series of bike tattoos on his forearm, spent the afternoon providing free tune-ups, fixing bikes, diagnosing issues, and helping residents with bike maintenance.
He was assisted by his son Noah, and retired biology teacher Reed Goossen who was helping with "minor adjustments."
Under the pavilion, at a table covered in tools, cleaners, and WD-40, sat NBCC Health and Wellness Coordinator Jessi Byrne, who oversees the NBCC Bike Collective
The collective holds open hours for repairs and classes at the Ashland Street Armory on Wednesdays from 4 to 6 p.m.
"What we do at the collective is help people tune up their bikes, and fix them, and learn how to work on them, so if they get stranded they're not in a jam," Byrne said.
"We have a full bike shop in there," Fredette explained. "All ages are welcome, any kind of bike."
Mayor Jennifer Macksey was actively involved, assisting police with the raffle. "It's been a wonderful event," she said. "Good to see all the kids — important for safety, and we just want to make sure everybody's safe when they're doing a little bit of recreation."
Macksey was pleased to see the collaboration between all the different city institutions. "I always consider it all under one city of North Adams," she said.
As families gathered around the display tables, police officers began to announce the first raffle winners.
Daniel Roy was the first lucky winner of a brand-new scooter, in addition to his free helmet.
He already has a bike at home and was excited to have won a scooter, especially considering his family almost missed the event. "We actually forgot which day it was," his mother explained, "so it was exciting that we came and it was going on today."
Another raffle winner was Nova Jacobs, which surprised her mother, Yolanda.
"I didn't think we were coming for a scooter," Jacobs chuckled. "We just came for the event, for the helmet and to get her out a little bit." The family had left the event to get lunch, "and got a phone call saying she won, so that was awesome!"
Emily Bryant and her family showed up expecting nothing more than to get free helmets, and enjoy a hot dog and snacks on a beautiful day. Bryant's daughter Ava Townsend entered the raffle and ended up winning a brand-new bicycle.
"My daughter didn't have a bike or a scooter and she wanted one of the two, so it kind of just worked out for us," Bryant said.
The day was not without drama as 11-year-old Sebastyn Donovan found his own scooter nearly stolen — by the mayor.
"I was so excited I jumped on it thinking it was one of our displays," Macksey laughed. "I honestly thought it was one of ours but the young boy was very hospitable and let me ride it."
There was only one last bike raffle off, and the pink and blue two-wheeler went to a very lucky Alice McInerney, wearing a perfectly matching pink and blue-striped dress.
"I thought I was gonna win it because I already won two raffles," she boasted. Her family had seen the event posted on Facebook and came out to try their luck. The bike arrived as an early birthday present and capped off an enjoyable day for the community.
Back at the grill a heated debate broke out between Bailey and crossing guard Leon King about the optimal way to prepare a chili dog.
King advocated a traditionalist method. "We gotta put the cheese on the bottom, put the hot dog, then the chili on top so they can put their condiments on."
Bailey preferred a more functional approach to the operation.
"The cheese, then the chili, then the hot dog," he said. "The chili melts the cheese, and the hot dog holds the chili down so it doesn't fall on your chest."
It was hard to argue with the chief's logic and in the end the dogs were served chili first.
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