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George Rinaldi with his smokers. Rinaldi, of Hinsdale, is a regular on the BBQ competition circuit. He will be competing at the Harpoon BBQ Festival in Windsor, Vt., next week.

Hinsdale Man To Compete In Professional BBQ Competition

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Rinaldi with Myron Mixon, celebrity chef and four-time barbecue World Champion.
HINSDALE, Mass. — Professional barbecue teams from all over New England will compete at the Harpoon BBQ Festival in Windsor, Vt., on July 27-28, with hopes of being crowned the grand champion and earning a ticket to the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue. 
 
And Berkshire County's own George Rinaldi will be among them.
 
Rinaldi, 54, of Hinsdale, has been competing on the professional Kansas City Barbecue Society-sanctioned circuit for eight years. He and his family travel to six or seven competitions annually. They've been all over New England, as well as in New Jersey, Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas. At a typical event, competitors must deliver their entries in four categories (chicken, ribs, pork and brisket) to the master judges by pre-specified times — and not a second later.
 
Rinaldi's skills have earned many trophies, including a first-place prize for his Ribs Division win at a recent competition in New Jersey. 
 
"There are usually anywhere from 35 to 60 teams at each competition," Rinaldi said. "I try to stay in the top 10."
 
As his reputation has grown locally, he's begun taking on small weekend catering jobs to supplement his full-time work in the Facilities Department at Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America's Pittsfield office. 
 
For Rinaldi, it all started several years ago when he was walking to a friend's house and smelled what he what he said was a heavenly scent. 
 
"My friend said, 'I'm smoking sausage,' and then he showed me the smoker he was using," Rinaldi remembered. "Since that day, I've known what I wanted to do. I've been fortunate to have been trained by Myron Mixon, to have a strong mentor in Daryl Strickland and several good friends, including Kenny Nadeau, who are committed to my success."
 
Before embarking on the professional barbecue circuit, Rinaldi took two professional classes — one in Maryland and one in Alabama. He now owns two smokers — a Lang 84-inch Reverse Flow Smoker and a Myron Mixon G33 Gravity-Feed Smoker — and must choose between them when traveling to a competition based on what he'll be preparing.
 
"I have excellent support this year, with sponsorships from Market 32, North Elm Butcher Block and Uncle Kenny's BBQ Sauce," he said.
 
More information on BBQ tournaments can be found at www.smokerisingbbq.com.

 


Tags: BBQ,   food contest,   good news,   

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Dalton Man Accused of Kidnapping, Shooting Pittsfield Man

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Dalton man was arrested on Thursday evening after allegedly kidnapping and shooting another man.

Nicholas Lighten, 35, was arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court on Friday on multiple charges including kidnapping with a firearm and armed assault with intent to murder. He was booked in Dalton around 11:45 p.m. the previous night.

There was heavy police presence Thursday night in the area of Lighten's East Housatonic Street home before his arrest.

Shortly before 7 p.m., Dalton dispatch received a call from the Pittsfield Police Department requesting that an officer respond to Berkshire Medical Center. Adrian Mclaughlin of Pittsfield claimed that he was shot in the leg by Lighten after an altercation at the defendants home. Mclaughlin drove himself to the hospital and was treated and released with non-life-threatening injuries. 

"We were told that Lighten told Adrian to go down to his basement, where he told Adrian to get down on his knees and pulled out a chain," the police report reads.

"We were told that throughout the struggle with Lighten, Adrian recalls three gunshots."

Dalton PD was advised that Pittsfield had swabbed Mclaughlin for DNA because he reported biting Lighten. A bite mark was later found on Lighten's shoulder. 

Later that night, the victim reportedly was "certain, very certain" that Lighten was his assailant when shown a photo array at the hospital.

According to Dalton Police, an officer was stationed near Lighten's house in an unmarked vehicle and instructed to call over the radio if he left the residence. The Berkshire County Special Response Team was also contacted.

Lighten was under surveillance at his home from about 7:50 p.m. to about 8:40 p.m. when he left the property in a vehicle with Massachusetts plates. Another officer initiated a high-risk motor vehicle stop with the sergeant and response team just past Mill Street on West Housatonic Street, police said, and traffic was stopped on both sides of the road.

Lighten and a passenger were removed from the vehicle and detained. Police reported finding items including a brass knuckle knife, three shell casings wrapped in a rubber glove, and a pair of rubber gloves on him.

The response team entered Lighten's home at 43 East Housatonic before 9:30 p.m. for a protective sweep and cleared the residence before 9:50 p.m., police said. The residence was secured for crime scene investigators.

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