Golf Tournament Benefits Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires' Children First Golf Tournament will be held Monday, Aug. 29 at the Country Club of Pittsfield.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. and the shotgun start is scheduled for 11 a.m. This year, and in following years, the event will be known as the Gerard Miller Children First Golf Tournament, to honor Gerard Miller, a founding member of the Alumni Golf Committee and an original Alumni Board member at the Club.

"The Children First Golf Tournament, which has been going on for 15 years, now takes on added significance as we rename it the Gerard Miller Children First Golf Tournament," Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires Executive Director Chris Jacoby said. "Gerard was a terrific friend of the Club, raising thousands of dollars and volunteering countless hours. We hope for a big turnout to honor him and help the Club raise funds for all our important programs."

Fees to play in the tournament are $1,500 for a foursome or $375 for an individual, and include lunch and a steak and lobster bake dinner. The tournament package also gives participants the choice of one gift from a selection of nine premium gifts. Tournament activities include an auction, raffles, pin prizes and long drive prizes.

A range of sponsorships are available at levels from $300 to $2,500. Proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires. More information is available online.

 


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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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