District Attorney’s Office Renews Call For Information About Homicide

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire District Attorney's Office is renewing a call for information about the 2014 murder of Joshua S. Bressette.
 
"This weekend, on June 6, his loving family should be celebrating Joshua's 33rd birthday but instead mourn their loss. They deserve closure and justice," District Attorney Andrea Harrington said.
 
Bressette was last seen at the former Price Chopper on Route 2 in North Adams on May 5, 2014. He was reported missing on May 7, 2014 and on May 8, 2014, New York Police discovered his body on a rooftop in Bronx, N.Y. He died from multiple gunshot wounds.
 
The Berkshire State Police Detective Unit and the North Adams Police are assisting New York authorities in the investigation with connections and potential crimes occurring in Massachusetts.
 
"The State Police and North Adams Police continue to work this case diligently to hold the perpetrator accountable and we ask the public to help us. We hope people who may now remember additional information or those who were unwilling to be forthcoming will break their silence, do the right thing, and help give this family closure," Harrington said. 
 
The Berkshire State Police Detective Unit is asking for anyone with information to call troopers at 413-499-1112 or the North Adams Police Department at 413-664-4944.
 
Bressette was born in North Adams in 1988. He is the son of Kevin Bressette and Kenna Waterman. He attended North Adams Schools and worked last as a bicycle mechanic at The Spoke Shop in Williamstown. He enjoyed drawing, motorcycles, art, tattoo art, music, animals and the outdoors.
 
Bressette's family is carrying his memory on through the Josh Bressette Commit to Save a Life Foundation. The foundation provides financial support to people who seek recovery from substance use disorder.
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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