Letter: Cities Not Looking for 'Holiday' Trees

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To the Editor:

The cities of N Adams and Pittsfield are NOT looking for holiday trees. They ARE looking for Christmas trees. Why? Well, Jews don't celebrate Hanukkah with a tree, they light a menorah (Hanukkah isn't even a holiday that is remotely like Christmas, but is equated with it because of it's proximity on the calendar), and as far as I know there is no Muslim holiday that uses a tree to represent the holiday.

I'm Jewish, and am fine with the Christmas tree in Park Square. it's not my holiday — but it is the holiday celebrated by most of the 98 percent of Berkshire County that is not Jewish. I wish my Christian brethren a peaceful and joyful Christmas and hope the tree that is selected for Christmas this year is as beautiful as ever.

Dave Pill
Pittsfield, Mass. 

 


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Adams Man Convicted in Murder of Stephanie Olivieri

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An Adams man was found guilty in the 2019 murder of 32-year-old Stephanie Olivieri, a Pittsfield native and mother of two.
 
A jury found Tyler Sumner, 30, guilty on Friday of murder in the first degree and possession of ammunition without a Firearm Identification Card.
 
The trial was held in Berkshire Superior Court. Judge Francis Flannery will schedule sentencing.
 
"Today justice was served in the tragic death of an innocent bystander, Stephanie Olivieri; however, this guilty verdict will do nothing to bring her back," said Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue. "Tyler Sumner murdered Ms. Olivieri while she sat in a car filled with gifts and decorations for her child's birthday. She was preparing to celebrate a wonderful event when her life was ruthlessly cut short."
 
Olivieri, who had been living in Yonkers, N.Y., was found sitting in her running car on Columbus Avenue when police responded to reports of masked men near South John Street and heard gunshots on the way.
 
The officers found Olivieri gasping for breath and blood running down the right side of her head. She was treated by emergency medical services and then transported to Berkshire Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead. The Chief Medical Examiner found the cause of her death to be a homicide caused by wounds sustained from a bullet to her head.
 
Multiple individuals testified that they believed Sumner was targeting an individual living in the area of the shooting and that Olivieri was not the intended target.
 
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