6th Annual Conor Dillon Memorial Golf Tourney Slated for September

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Professional baseball standout Matt Torra will host his sixth annual Conor Dillon Memorial Golf Tournament on Saturday, September 18, 2010. Presented by Pittsfield Co-operative Bank, this year's scramble tournament will take place at Waubeeka Golf Links.  Proceeds from the event benefit the Pittsfield Little Leagues and related scholarship programs, as well as the Pittsfield Girls Softball League.

"It is a real honor to be able to host this tournament," said Torra, who graduated from Pittsfield High School and went on to a record-setting career at the University of Massachusetts. "I have been very fortunate in being able to pursue a professional baseball career. And it all really started with the Pittsfield Little Leagues, so it's great to be able to give back to them. The tournament is also a way for so many of my friends and local businesses to have a fun day out while honoring the memory of my friend Conor Dillon."

Charles Troccia, vice president of retail banking at Pittsfield Co-operative Bank, said "It's a privilege for us to be connected to Matt Torra, and the Pittsfield Little Leagues and Girls Softball League. Matt embodies all that we expect in a role model for our young people and the youth baseball/softball experience is fundamental to the values of teamwork, sportsmanship, and self-esteem. We're looking forward to this relationship."

Within four months of being drafted in the 2005 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft as a 1st round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Torra made a commitment to launch an annual charity golf tournament in honor of his childhood friend, Conor Dillon, who died of cancer.

Proceeds from the tournament have been used to fund the needs of the Pittsfield Little Leagues (where Torra's career began), plus college scholarships for students pursuing careers in Culinary Arts (which was Conor Dillon's dream), and for students who played in the Pittsfield Little Leagues and are now pursuing a college education.

Tournament foursomes are $460 if paid in full by July 1 or $500 thereafter. To register your team, or for information about available sponsorships and advertising opportunities, call Steve McKelvey at 413-237-3446.
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School Budget, Environment, Recreation Highlight Williamstown Town Meeting

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — This month's annual town meeting returns to a familiar venue.
 
What goes on in that building the rest of the year could be a major topic of discussion at the Tuesday, May 19, gathering.
 
After two years (2020 and '21) on Williams College's football field and four years ('22 through '25) at Mount Greylock Regional School, the town's legislative body will be back at Williamstown Elementary School for a 7 p.m. meeting to decide on municipal spending and other town business.
 
The largest segment of the municipal budget goes to the public schools, and the spending plan for PreK-12 education likely will see a floor amendment intended to add an additional $120,000 to fund a math interventionist at Williamstown Elementary School.
 
The elected seven-member School Committee that governs the Mount Greylock Regional School District has proposed a $30.9 million operating budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The local share of that budget is meted out in assessments to the member towns of Lanesborough and Williamstown, which each vote whether to approve its assessment at town meeting.
 
Williamstown's share of the operating and capital expenditures for the regional school district is $16.8 million under the budget approved by the School Committee, an increase of a little more than $2 million, or 13.65 percent, from the budget for the current fiscal/school year.
 
A group of WES parents concerned about the mathematics instruction at the Grade prekindergarten-6 school plans to bring an amendment to town meeting to add the additional $120,000 — about 0.7 percent of the proposed assessment — to fund the interventionist position.
 
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