image description — Winner Anita Curtin with the mayor.

Pittsfield Students Honored In Berkshire Jazz Art Contest

Staff Reports12:30PM / Wednesday, May 06, 2015Print Story | Email Story

Honorable mention Leanne Hamilton with Mayor Daniel Bianchi, and Berkshire Jazz President Edward Bride.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Three high school students were honored by the mayor on Tuesday for winning the annual Berkshire Jazz art contest.

Taylor Turner, a senior at Pittsfield High School, Max Whalen, a PHS freshman, and Anita Curtin, a junior at St. Joseph's High School, were chosen as the winners. The work of one of those three winners will be the symbol of the annual Pittsfield City Jazz Festival in October.

The winners were chosen by judges Diane Firtell, Scott Taylor, and Julio Granda, who chose a winner for each of three genres — representational art, abstract art, and graphic design. They also awarded three "judges choice" awards and five honorable mentions.

The judge's choice awards were given to Shane McMahon, a PHS sophomore, Alicia Williamson, a PHS junior, and Andrew LaPatin, also a PHS junior.

The honorable mentions were given to two PHS juniors, Tegan Lyon and Kaylin Barcus, and Ethan Kittles, a PHS senior, Leslie Tayi, a Taconic High School junior, and Leanne Hamilton, a St. Joe junior.

More than 100 students from Pittsfield HIgh, Taconic, St. Joe and Miss Hall's entered the seventh annual contest. The contest is intended to be a cross-genre creative activity coupling painting with music.

PHS art teachers Colleen Quinn, Lisa Ostellino, and Barbara Patton; Taconic teachers Marybeth Eldridge and Mike Boroniec; St. Joseph's teacher Dale Zola; and Miss Halls teachers Ellie Kreischer and Sophia Lee were all participated in the contest.

Project coordinator is Art Niedeck, a jazz musician and music educator, and co-chairman of the Education Committee of Berkshires Jazz, Inc., which is responsible for planning the Pittsfield CityJazz Festival and other events throughout the year.

Berkshire Jazz Inc. is chartered to promote jazz education throughout Berkshire County. The non-profit is supported by ticket sales from the festival, as well as donations from sponsors, which this year include Greylock Federal Credit Union the Feigenbaum Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, North Coast Brewing Company, Cultural Pittsfield, and jazz education pioneer Jamey Aebersold.

Tags: artists, awards, jazz,

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Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:50AM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Residents demanded the right to speak but the agenda did not include public comment. Amy Musante holds a sign saying the town now as '$20,000 less for a police station.'

DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board signed the sale on the last of what had been known as the Bardin property Monday even as a handful of residents demanded the right to speak against the action.

The quitclaim deed transfers the nine acres to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels in Dalton. They were the third-highest bidders at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded them the land in an effort to keep the property intact.

"It's going to be an ongoing battle but one I think that has to be fought [because of] the disregard for the taxpayers," said Dicken Crane, the high bidder at $51,510.

"If it was personal I would let it go, but this affects everyone and backing down is not in my nature."

Crane had appealed to the board to accept his bid during two previous meetings. He and others opposed to accepting the lower bid say it cost the town $20,000. After the meeting, Crane said he will be filing a lawsuit and has a citizen's petition for the next town meeting with over 100 signatures.

Three members of the board — Chair Robert Bishop Jr., John Boyle, and Marc Strout — attended the 10-minute meeting. Members Anthony Pagliarulo and Daniel Esko previously expressed their disapproval of the sale to the Balardinis.

Pagliarulo voted against the sale but did sign the purchase-and-sale agreement earlier this month. His reasoning was the explanation by the town attorney during an executive session that, unlike procurement, where the board is required to accept the lowest bid for services, it does have some discretion when it comes to accepting bids in this instance.

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