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Tony Pastore has been named the grand marshal for 2016 July 4th parade in Pittsfield.

VFW Life Member Named Grand Marshal of Pittsfield July 4th Parade

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Tony Pastore has been named the grand marshal for 2016 July 4th parade.

Pastore is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). He is also a member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and American Legion Post 68 and has been a frequent Fourth of July Parade participant as a U.S. Army Air Corps veteran along with his fellow veterans. He served as the commander of the DAV from 1992-94 and DAV Chaplain for the last 40 years.

“In addition to his military service, Tony is well-known in the community for his heartfelt renditions of the National Anthem at many patriotic events and programs in Pittsfield. He a regular choir member at St. Mark’s Church and has been singing all his life,” Pittsfield Parade Committee President Peter Marchetti said.
 
Born in 1924 and a 1942 graduate of Pittsfield High School, Pastore was drafted into the U.S. Army in March 1943 and saw action at Monte Cassino and Anzio in Italy. His unit entered Rome on June 4, 1944, and then invaded Southern France. When in Rome, which Pope Pius XII had declared an Open City, he was included in a private audience with the Pope, the first of two audiences he attended. He was transferred to the 524th Fighter Squadron of the 27th Fighter Group, his duties included repairing planes and supporting the infantry. Pastore was stationed in Germany at the conclusion of the war.



He was honored with The French Fourragere, an award from the French government, and his unit received a Presidential Unit Citation. After coming home in December, 1945, he reenlisted and went to radio school and atomic school before receiving a medical discharge. Pastore took part in an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., in September, 2015.

The Pittsfield 4th of July Parade has an historic reputation dating back to 1824, when the procession consisted of Revolutionary War survivors, patriots, politicians, and horse-drawn carriages. The parade was held off and on by various citizen groups until 1947 when it was taken over by the Pittsfield Permanent Firemen's Association. Under the firemen, the parade grew in size and popularity but was discontinued in 1976.

After 1977 with no parade, a small group of volunteer citizens obtained $2,000 seed money from the City of Pittsfield and held their first parade in 1978. Over the years, this independent, non-profit organization -- the Pittsfield 4th of July Parade Committee, Inc. -- has grown in size, spirit, and determination, and with it, the parade has grown in size, quality, and popularity. Visit the website at www.pittsfieldparade.com for more information or call at 413-447-7763.

 


Tags: 4th of July,   parade,   

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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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