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The Dalton Rifle Team shot off a saltute.

Lanesborough Honors Memorial Day With Parade, Ceremony

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Curtis Asch delivers the keynote address.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — When Curtis Asch was preparing to give the keynote address at Sunday's Memorial Day parade and ceremony, he Googled quotes on sacrifice.

There were 730 results.

"The majority of these results were talking about sacrifice to get better at your chosen art form or to improve your business or sacrificing today so your children can have a better tomorrow. Or how a balanced healthy marriage requires sacrifice on a daily basis.
 
Seven hundred and thirty quotes and the more I read, the more I was struck by how few quotes there were about the sacrifice made by our soldiers and service men and women," Asch said. 
 
"As a math teacher, I counted. There were five out of 730. The math on that is seven-tenths of one percent of all quotes in a Google search. We as a nation have forgotten about sacrifice."
 
Asch said he doesn't have "the right to stand here and tell you anything about sacrifice" because he didn't serve in armed forces. But he asked his friends who did why they chose to and Asch was told they wanted to protect their family and to serve the United States of America.
 
He told the crowd numbering about 100 that barbecues and spending time with family this weekend are "a part" of honoring those who died while in the military. But honoring those who veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice is more.
 
"More than that, I believe they would want to look down and see that which they gave their lives for, the United States of America. We are not united. More than any time in my life, since the war in Vietnam, I have never seen our nation, our people this divided," Asch said. 
 
"We are divided by gender lines, and color lines, by poverty lines, and party lines. We are a nation, a community divided."
 
Asch said it is OK if neighbors and community members disagree. The nation was founded on freedom of speech, choice, and the right to disagree. But what isn't OK is hate, and that's what he seeing more and more often.
 
"Every day I hear or see or read about people I know and respect, loved ones, members of my community, who when presented with other's vastly different views and values descend so quickly into insult and rage and vile and hate. That, my friends, is not OK. It is certainly not what these brave men and women died for," Asch said.
 
He called on residents to spend time with family on Monday to honor the fallen soldiers. But, beyond that, he called on residents to be united even if they disagree.
 
"On Tuesday, we need to get back to work. On Tuesday and every day thereafter seek out those who disagree with you. Seek out those who differ from you. Seek out the other Americans from whom you have been too easily divided and sit with them, maybe at the Forge, drink with them and talk to them and listen to them," Asch said. 
 

About 100 residents attended the annual parade and ceremony.
That's what Asch believes is owed to the fallen heroes. He believes the way to honor the dead is to embrace the principles the country was founded on.
 
"Five out of 730 quotes is not enough. One day out of 365 is not enough. The tough conversations are nothing compared to the sacrifices that brave men and women made and will continue to make day in and day out," Asch said. 
 
Asch's remarks were delivered at the Center Cemetery. The Rev. Noreen Suriner provided the opening prayer and benediction. Selectman Henry "Hank" Sayers provided a welcome from the town.
 
"We're proud to gather here paying respect to all of those who fought and died," Sayers said, adding that the community should also recognize and honor the families of those the fallen for the sacrifices they made as well.
 
Town Moderator Robert Reilly served as the master of ceremony. The Mount Greylock High School band played the National Anthem, Charlie Myers and Jennah and Kiersten Simpson laid a wreath, the Dalton Rifle team shot off a salute, and Lyndon Moors played taps. 
 
The ceremony was directly after the parade, which started at the Old Forge and went down Main Street. 

Tags: Memorial Day,   

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Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation Scholarships

LUDLOW, Mass. — For the third year, Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) will award scholarships to students from Lanesborough and Hancock. 
 
The scholarship is open to seniors at Mount Greylock Regional High School and Charles H. McCann Technical School. BWPCC will select two students from the class of 2024 to receive $1,000 scholarships.
 
The scholarships will be awarded to qualifying seniors who are planning to attend either a two- or four-year college or trade school program. Seniors must be from either Hancock or Lanesborough to be considered for the scholarship. Special consideration will be given to students with financial need, but all students are encouraged to apply.
 
The BWPCC owns and operates the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 12 turbine, 19.6-megawatt wind farm located on Brodie Mountain in Hancock and Lanesborough. The non-profit BWPCC consists of 16 municipal utilities located in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, and West Boylston, and their joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC). 
 
To be considered, students must submit all required documents including a letter of recommendation from their school counselor and a letter detailing their educational and professional goals. Application and submission details will be shared with students via their school counselors. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.
 
 MMWEC is a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts created by an Act of the General Court in 1975 and authorized to issue tax-exempt debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities.  MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state's consumer-owned, municipal utilities. 
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