Western Gateway Heritage State Park Celebrates 20 Years

By Susan BushPrint Story | Email Story
A park Visitor's Center offers information to guests.
North Adams - The engineering pioneers of the 19th century would likely be proud: a city-based state park dedicated to historic Hoosac Tunnel is approaching its 20th birthday. Western Gateway Heritage State Park Supervisor Dale Waterman has been at the park's helm throughout the past two decades. "I still have the special supplement about the park from the Transcript [daily newspaper]," Waterman said during an interview on April 4. Waterman hinted at the plans for a special Oct. 14-16 park celebration. "We'll culminate everything during that weekend," Waterman said. "It will be a celebration that covers Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but I don't want to reveal too much. We're still in the planning stages." The park opened on Oct. 11, 1985 as a comprehensive venue devoted to the tunnel, its construction, and the railroad industry. The 4.75 mile tunnel was built by digging and blasting through the rock and earth of the Hoosac Mountain, and was considered one of the most exciting and dangerous engineering projects of its' time. The massive undertaking drew hundreds of workers to the region and about 195 tunnel workers died during the construction. The project commenced during the mid-1850s and ended during the mid-1870s. The first train passed through the tunnel in 1875. Special park events are scheduled to begin next week with the kick-off of photographer Gillian Jones' "Images of Mexico" photography exhibit. The exhibit begins on April 10 with a 2 p.m.- 4 p.m. reception, and is scheduled to conclude on May 27. "It's a wonderful exhibit," said Waterman. "When you see the pictures all together, they really have an impact." Jones took the photographs during a January Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts student trip to Mexico. She is an MCLA adjunct professor and a photographer for the North Adams Transcript. From July through October, the park will feature the work of artists and crafters who exhibited there over the past 20 years. "It's a multi-media show, so there will be sculpture, weaving, photographs, all the things we've done," Waterman said. "I'm asking the people who've exhibited to submit one or two of their works." Beginning on Memorial Day, the Friendship Knot Quilters Guild will host its' 19th yearly exhibit. This year's show will end on July 3, and is expected to feature a traditional "guild challenge," Waterman said. "Every year there is a guild challenge and it's always pretty interesting," she said. "Sometimes it's a challenge using a specific fabric or a pattern. Last year the challenge was a heart and it was very, very good. Everyone did something different." Quilts and wall-hangings of various size and theme are plentiful during the exhibit but there are additional items displayed as well. "Usually, there is wearable art," Waterman said. "There are usually some jackets and vests." This year's quilt show is included as part of the American Traditions in the Berkshires festival.Sponsored by the Berkshire Visitor's Bureau, the festival is offering an ambitious schedule of special events steeped in Berkshires history and tradition. Events, performances, hands-on presentations and more will occur at over 20 venues county-wide, including the Berkshire Museum, the Barrington Stage Company, and the Crane Museum of Papermaking. A full listing of events is available at www.berkshirearts.org. The popular weekly park concert series is scheduled to launch its' musical run on July 14, Waterman said. The seasonal concerts have become a summertime Thursday evening staple, and Waterman said that this year the concerts will meld with the American Traditions theme. "I want to do genre concerts, like Dixieland jazz and bluegrass," she said. "I want to do this as American traditions in music concerts." From July through October, the park will again host a junior duck stamp art exhibit. The exhibit features the artwork of youngsters who compete in a duck-stamp design contest offered by the state Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife. Duck hunters must obtain a special state-approved stamp on their fishing or hunting license before hunting duck; the junior stamp contest encourages youngsters to "quack" about their skills. "The artwork is just awesome," Waterman said. "There is stuff even from first-graders that is really incredible." Traditional park programs will be in full swing, including the weekly summer Junior Ranger program, and weekend family events. The park's "tot train" is slated to appear in the 2005 Fall Foliage Festival Parade on Oct. 2. "We've got a lot going on over here," Waterman said. "It's going to be a great time for everybody." Information about the Western Gateway Heritage State Park is available at www.mass.gov/dcr/ , or by calling 413-663-6312.
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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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