| News and events in Pittsfield, Mass.
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Pittsfield's Pecks Road Bridge OpensBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
12:18PM / Wednesday, May 21, 2025 | |
The old bridge was demolished last year and the new one completed within six months. The span had been limited to one lane for five years. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After nearly a year of full closure, the Peck's Road bridge is back online.
On Tuesday, the city announced on social media that the $1,689,000 project was complete. The bridge was reduced to one lane of traffic for five years and completely closed last summer after an inspection from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation found six areas of deterioration.
This means that drivers will no longer need to detour from Peck's Road to Onota Street, Vin Herbert Boulevard, and to Valentine Road. There
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Fire Officials Warn Against Dangerous Laptop Fire Social Media 'Challenge'| 11:23AM / Wednesday, May 21, 2025 | |
STOW, Mass. — State Fire Marshal Jon Davine and Massachusetts fire chiefs are cautioning against a social media "challenge" that encourages inserting conductive objects into laptop computer ports. This action can lead to short circuits, increased temperatures, smoke, sparks, or fire, potentially causing injury. According to State Fire Marshal Davine, over a dozen incidents or attempted incidents related to this trend have been reported by Massachusetts fire departments within the past week. He indicated that the trend appears to have originated on TikTok and involves inserting items such as paper clips or pencil lead into a laptop's charging or other 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Mulling Ways to Rein In Offensive Public CommentBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:34AM / Wednesday, May 21, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — While the fate of public comment seems secure, city officials are considering how to avoid "concerning language" in residents' allotted three minutes.
At last week's City Council meeting, President Peter White read an email into the record to avoid an Open Meeting Law violation. He had replied "all" to a message from Berkshire Pride President Michael Taylor explaining, "I understand and empathize with the concerns you write to me about."
The conversation seemed to be around language used during public comment. The prior day, a resident called one of the councilors a derogatory name directed at people who are lesbian.
White
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Dalton Chief: Budget Cuts Would Affect Staffing, Response TimesBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:14AM / Wednesday, May 21, 2025 | |
 DALTON, Mass. — Police Chief Deanna Strout warned Monday night that significant cuts to her budget would mean losing officers, K-9s and community policing programs. The chief defended her department at Monday's Select Board meeting after town meeting rejected the Police Department budget two weeks ago. Voters will reconvene on June 9 for a special town meeting at Wahconah Regional High School to decide on four articles, including the Police Department budget. During the annual town meeting, which garnered 277 registered voters, it was decided to separate the police budget from the rest of the operating budget with an eye to making more 0 Comments
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Letter: Berkshire Health Systems Celebrates Employee MonthLetter to the Editor,
06:00PM / Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | |
 To the Editor:
Every May, Berkshire Health Systems (BHS) celebrates Employee Appreciation Month, recognizing the dedication of our talented team of 4,000-plus employees. United by a shared mission, vision, and set of values, our integrated system provides coordinated care for patients across Berkshire County. This month, I invite you all to join me in thanking the BHS team for their work to advance health and wellness for everyone in our community.
Each facility, department, and individual member of the BHS team plays a unique and valuable role in serving the health and well-being of our region. The team at BMC, our system's community teaching hospital, drives our mission forward by
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Letter: Hope, Integrity, and the Challenge of Speaking Up in Dalton| 06:00PM / Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | |
 To the Editor:
Over the last three months, I've had the privilege of working closely with Robert Collins as he made a sincere and determined effort to address several of Dalton's long standing needs. One of the greatest gifts he offered our town was hope — hope nurtured by his refreshing, genuine willingness to listen, help and serve with integrity. His weekly office hours — a simple, transparent act of public service not seen in years — became a quiet but powerful symbol of accessibility and good governance.
Robert believes in taking the high road. He consistently avoided misinformation, personal attacks, or political theatrics, and encouraged others to do the
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Dalton Election Results Are Accurate By Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:06PM / Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The results of the annual election are not in question, Town Clerk Heather Hunt told iBerkshires, following rumors of nonresidents voting on May 12. "There's so many checks and balances that that would just never happen. I don't think that that happened. I'm not questioning the results of this election, not at all," Hunt said. The well-attended election resulted in Antonio "Tony" Pagliarulo winning one of the two seats in the four-way race with 577 votes for the board, outpolling the other three candidates by 107 votes, and incumbent Marc Strout retaining his seat with 486. Hunt did confirm that a 0 Comments
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Pittsfield Sees Rise in Potential School Committee CandidatesBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
12:37PM / Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Interest for a seat on the School Committee has boomed as the community continues to ask for more answers on the Pittsfield High School investigation.
Ciara Batory, who filed a public records request that resulted in the secretary of state's office ordering the release of non-exempt parts of Bulkley Richardson & Gelinas' investigation into alleged staff wrongdoing, has taken out papers to represent the Pittsfield Public Schools.
Earlier this month, she filed a second appeal after the School Committee sent the report to the Supervisor of Records, Manza Arthur, for an in-camera review.
"The Pittsfield Public Schools have claimed exemption under
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Pittsfield Announces Community Bike Ride for Berkshire Bike Month| 07:07AM / Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The City of Pittsfield's Department of Community Development Recreation Program, in collaboration with the Berkshire Pike Path Council and Berkshire Bike & Board, will host a Community Bike Ride on Sunday, May 25, at the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. The bike ride will commence at 10 a.m. from the Crane Ave trailhead, located at 886 Crane Ave. Participants are invited to arrive at 9:30 a.m. for bike decorating and safety checks. Riders can choose between a shorter route to the Berkshire Mall trailhead and back, or a longer route to Farnham's Crossing in Cheshire and return. This event is free and open to individuals aged 5 and older. Participants are
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Dalton Safety Facility Committee 'Taps Brakes' on Property DiscussionsBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:08AM / Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | |
DALTON, Mass. — With the failure of Article 13 at the annual town meeting, the First Street site for a proposed police facility is no longer being considered. "At this moment, I would say, unless we hear differently, what we need to do next is start looking at alternate sites," Craig Wilbur, co-chair, at the first meeting of the Public Safety Facility Committee since the vote. "But I think in order to do that, as you mentioned, public engagement is paramount at this point in time." The article on the town warrant would have released the former Dalton High School property from a prior town meeting vote requiring it to be developed for 0 Comments
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BEAT's Kids in Kayaks Program Returns| 06:02PM / Monday, May 19, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) will host its annual "Kids in Kayaks" program at the Westside Legends' Summer Block Party on Saturday, May 24, at Riverway Park in Pittsfield. Youth will have the opportunity to experience the Housatonic River hands-on, learn how to navigate it safely in a kayak, and discover the local flora and fauna found in and along the River. They will also gain insights into important environmental topics such as stormwater runoff and the water cycle. BEAT will be at Riverway Park offering this free program from 1:30 to 3:30 PM. In addition to BEAT's programming, the summer Block Party offers games, 0 Comments
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Devanny-Condron Funeral Home Ending Over 100-Year LegacyBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:31PM / Monday, May 19, 2025 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Devanny-Condron Funeral Home will close next week after more than 100 years of serving mourning local families.
On Friday, the announcement that the Maplewood Avenue funeral home will close on May 26 was made on the funeral home's website and in a press statement. A call to the funeral home was directed to a spokesperson, who said the business was closing for economic reasons. The closure is said to mark "the end of an era deeply rooted in the community's history."
"Devanny-Condron has been a pillar of compassionate care and professionalism, helping generations of families commemorate their loved ones with dignity and grace. The decision
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