'Haunted Streets' To Air On PCTV

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Community Television has teamed up with the city's Recreation Program for a television event to air in place of the canceled 2020 Pittsfield Halloween Parade. 
 
"Once it became clear that the Halloween Parade could not happen in its usual form, we realized we needed to do something to keep this annual tradition alive in some fashion as it brings much joy to the community," Becky Manship, recreation and special events coordinator for the city of Pittsfield said.  "Since PCTV has been covering the parade for twenty-five years, the decision to do a retrospective of past parades was simple.  We hope the community will enjoy a look back in time as we have." 
 
PCTV will present "Haunted Streets: A Celebration of 25 Years of Halloween Parades" in place of when live coverage of the parade as it stepped off on Tyler St would have begun.  The program will look back at some of the best floats and moments of the past 25 years of PCTV's parade coverage.  
 
The television event is hosted by Manship and PCTV's parade commentator Jody Spielmann and will debut on Friday, Oct. 30 at 7:00 p.m. airing on PCTV Access Pittsfield Channel 1301, and also on the PCTV Select App available on Roku, Apple TV, and on the web at PittsfieldTV.org.
 
"In working with the Halloween Parade Committee on this retrospective program, and seeing all the amazing ways our community has celebrated this spooky and child-like season, I can see all of the tangible ways that we have brought each other fun and joy," Matthew Tucker, public access coordinator for PCTV said.  "While it can be hard to see, with the tragedy caused by the coronavirus all around us, programs like this remind us of the community we have always been - and what we're going to do to show that community when we come out on the other side of this."
 
The virtual Halloween Celebration will continue on Halloween when PCTV will air past year parades in their entirety, starting at 7:30 am with the 1995 Halloween parade.  The following years' parade will air immediately afterward, finishing with the parade special airing again at 8 pm.
 
The parades will air on PCTV Access Pittsfield Channel 1301, and on PCTV Select.
 

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BCC Sees $1M in Federal Funds for Trades Academy

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal secured $995,000 to begin design and construction of the academy. The congressman had earlier attended the Norman Rockwell Museum business breakfast, which celebrated Laurie Norton Moffatt's 49 years leading the institution.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College was awarded nearly $1 million in federal funds to support a Trades Academy. 

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal visited the college to highlight the $995,000 he secured through congressionally directed spending. Executive Director of Workforce and Community Education Linda Clairmont said BCC can be a destination for adults who want to learn a skilled trade. 

"I want to join up with the amazing work that Taconic and McCann (vocational high schools) are doing to prepare people for these really specific skills, helping people become confident professionals with a direct path to high-wage, high-demand jobs," she explained. 

"And we're also addressing the labor shortage that exists in this county, around the state, and around the country, in the skilled trades." 

The federal funding will support a feasibility study of an existing vacant building on campus, as well as the evaluation and abatement of any hazardous materials at the location, because it was once a power plant. 

BCC will dip its toe into the skilled trades with its first HVAC training program, for which it received $1.2 million from the state in support. The $995,000 in federal funds will go toward creating the academy in a building located on the main campus, and the HVAC heat pump training program will be funded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. 

The $1 million in federal monies will get the college to construction documents, maybe fund some construction, and help identify the necessary equipment and other learning space needs for a skilled trade, Clairmont reported. 

The funding is part of more than $14 million in congressionally directed spending secured by the congressman to support economic development, workforce training, and community infrastructure across the Berkshires.

Neal said there are about 6.5 million jobs in the United States that go unanswered every day.

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