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Susan Geller's photograph of this summer’s Tanglewood in the City at the Pittsfield Common won the Downtown Pittsfield photo challenge.

Lenox Woman Wins Pittsfield Photo Challenge

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Lenox woman's photograph of this summer’s Tanglewood in the City at the Pittsfield Common won the Downtown Pittsfield photo challenge.

The challenge, held this past fall, asked photographers to capture why downtown Pittsfield is the "Heart of the Berkshires". Entrants were encouraged to capture photos that showcased the beauty and personality of downtown Pittsfield.

The first-place winner, as determined by a panel of local judges, was Susan Geller of Lenox. Geller won a prize package donated by local downtown businesses, and her photo will be featured in Pittsfield’s 2020 Downtown Guide and a Downtown Pittsfield, Inc., social marketing campaign.


The second-place winner, Terry Holland, will also take home a prize package donated by local downtown businesses. The winning photo is an aerial view of North Street.

Honorable Mentions are by Shaun Muldowney, Gary Pratt, Maz Ghani, Elena V. Nuciforo, Meredyth Banahan, Lewis Reed and Christy Butler. The winners and honorable mentions can all be viewed online. downtownpittsfield.com

The winners of the Pittsfield Photo Challenge were decided by a panel of Pittsfield judges: Alex Reczkowski, director of the Berkshire Athenaeum; Cheryl Mirer, executive director of Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.; Gary R. Levante, SVP of Corporate Responsibility & Culture for Berkshire Bank and first vice president of Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.; Jesse Cook-Dubin, partner at Cohen Kinne Valicenti & Cook and president of Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.; Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer; Lindsey Schmid, 1Berkshire's vice president of Tourism & Marketing and DPI board member; Kimberly Gritman, Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.,'s marketing coordinator; Michael J. Wynn, chief of the Pittsfield Police Department; state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier; and Ty Allan Jackson, founder of Big Head Books and Read or Else.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

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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