City Council President Peter Marchetti welcomes the crowd.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The holiday season is officially on in Pittsfield with the annual tree lighting Ceremony at Park Square.
Hundreds gathered at Park Square on Friday night to bring in the holiday season with song and cheer as they lit up the Park Square Christmas tree.
"On behalf of Mayor Tyer and the entire City Council, I want to welcome you to the tree lighting ceremony and wish you a Merry Christmas and happy holidays on behalf of the city," Council President Peter Marchetti said. "Tonight is a very special moment in the city."
Recreation Activities Coordinator Becky Manship thanked all who made the event possible especially the parks maintenance crew.
"They are very crucial in getting this tree installed and decorated and making it more beautiful," she said. "Mother Nature challenged them this week but they worked hard to make tonight happen. I am grateful for all of them and the work they do each and every day."
The Taconic High School chorus sang carols and Santa and Mrs. Claus were on scene after the lighting.
Hot chocolate was also available courtesy of Patrick’s Pub.
The city also asked that all those who attended come with a non-perishable food item to be donated to the Christian Center’s food pantry.
The tree lighting was followed by activities downtown for the Festive Frolic, hosted by Downtown Pittsfield Inc. that continues through Saturday.
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Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said.
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax.
The students have also been able to build friendships and experience new things, such as dancing for community events, taking a trip to Ireland and participating in competitions.
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Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.
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Independent Connections officially unveiled its Massachusetts branch on Thursdsay with a ribbon cutting. The IT solutions company's specializations include consulting, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
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Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more