Pittsfield Adds Juneteenth To Municipal Holidays

Print Story | Email Story
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City of Pittsfield has added a holiday, Juneteenth, to its roster of municipal holidays. As Juneteenth, which is celebrated on June 19, falls on a Saturday this year, city offices will be closed on Friday, June 18.
 
Juneteenth commemorates the ending of legalized slavery in the United States. It reflects the day, June 19, 1865, when Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and shared the news of freedom with enslaved African-Americans – nearly two and half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
 
In a communication to city personnel shared on Friday, May 14, Mayor Linda Tyer noted the past and present significance of the holiday.
 
"The announcement delivered on June 19, marked a time of liberation, hope, and promise for the future. Juneteenth serves as a poignant reminder for all Americans that the journey to freedom and liberty has looked, and felt, very different for some of us in this country," the mayor said. "I'm proud to know that our organization is committed to growing and taking active steps toward ensuring a wide and welcoming pathway for diversity, equity, and inclusion, also known as DEI, in local government."
 

Tags: holiday,   

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.

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories