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Taps was played by veteran Joseph DeFilippo and the Christmas tree was lit by veteran Robert 'Doc' Miller. The rifle volley was conducted by the American Legion Post 155 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 448.

Pittsfield Veterans Mark 81st Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Attack

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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Around 50 people gathered at the Veterans Memorial Park to mark the 81st anniversary of the attack on the naval base and airfield at Pearl Harbor.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Around 50 people gathered at Veterans Memorial Park to mark the 81st anniversary of the attack on the naval base and airfield at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii that sparked the nation's entrance into World War II.

"On National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day we pay tribute to the souls lost over 80 years ago," Director of Veterans Services Jim Clark said.

"We salute those who responded with strength and courage in service that our nation and renew our dedication to the ideals for which they stood for."

The attack claimed the lives of more than 2,400 Americans including two Pittsfield residents: Petty Officer 3rd Class Roman Sadlowski and Army Air Forces 1st Sgt. Edward Burns.

The 18-year-old Sadlowski from Pittsfield was an electrician's mate when he died on the USS Oklahoma, which was struck by multiple Japanese torpedoes and sunk.  

For decades, his remains could not be located in the wreckage of the Oklahoma, and he was honored only with this stone and plaque at the South Street Park. His remains were identified three years ago thanks to recent DNA comparisons with extended family members and, in September, he went to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Burns, also a Pittsfield native, was 24 years old when he was severely wounded in the attack and died several days later. He was attached to a squadron that had arrived in Hawaii only two days prior to the attack and was the first soldier killed from his station at Wheeler Field on Oahu.


"It has been said that a veteran dies twice: The first one he takes his last earthly breath and the second when we as a people forget who they are," Clark said.

"Therefore, as in all previous ceremonies, we honor our two former residents who were killed in action that day."

About 80 servicemen from Berkshire County were stationed at or near Pearl Harbor when it was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, including more than 40 from Dalton and Pittsfield.

Veteran George Moran read the speech that President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8, 1941, just one day after the attack, and veteran Ron Rousseau read the names of Dalton and Pittsfield residents who were killed or present at the naval base in Honolulu or the nearby airfield.

Taps was played by veteran Joseph DeFilippo and the Christmas tree was lit by veteran Robert "Doc" Miller.  The rifle volley was conducted by the American Legion Post 155 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 448.

Below are the names of county residents who were present or killed:

Michael Baranuk

Louis D.Barnes

Joseph Baroli

Harold Bence

Gladys Beniel

Charles Berry

John J. Bilodeau

Joseph Bulwinkle

Edward Burns

Robert C. Burt

Woodfordr Chapman

John Curley

Charles Curone

Francis Deambrogio

James W Drain

George F Drosehn

Charles Filkins

Williams Fitch

Phillip Gallant

Roger Hall

Benjamin Handerek

James Houldsworth

Ronald Hunter

George Kiligas

Joseph Kozak

John W Kross

Richard D.Lassor

Robert Mickle

Francis Moore

Paul L.Moran

Thomas O'neil

Joseph Phillips

George Pike

Raymond Przpelski

Hugh Quirk

Leo O.Rondeau

Roman Sadlowski

Lauriele I. St. Jacoues

Louis J. Scully Jr.

Edward F.Shea

Edward Siwik

Chester Stocklosa

John Temple

Raymond Trczinka

Frank Winne

Willis Worth

 

Tags: ceremony,   veterans,   

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Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Architect Carl Franceschi and Superintendent Joseph Curtis address the City Council on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.

"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and, hopefully, when we get into that process and be able to do it cheaper then we can do a decade from now."

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated campuses, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2028.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state. There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the MSBA, who will decide on the project by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, city officials took a tour of both schools — some were shocked at the conditions students are learning in.

Silvio O. Conte Community School, built in 1974, is a 69,500 square foot open-concept facility that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s but the quad classroom layout poses educational and security risks.  John C. Crosby Elementary School, built in 1962, is about 69,800 square feet and was built as a junior high school so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the walkthrough was "striking" at points, particularly at Conte, and had her thinking there was no way she would want her child educated there. She recognized that not everyone has the ability to choose where their child goes to school and "we need to do better."

"The two facilities that we are looking at I think are a great place to start," she said.

"As the Ward 6 councilor, this is where my residents and my students are going to school so selfishly yes, I want to see this project happen but looking at how we are educating Pittsfield students, this is going to give us a big bang for our buck and it's going to help improve the educational experience of a vast group of students in our city."

During the tour, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, saw where it could be difficult to pay attention in an open classroom with so much going on and imagined the struggle for students.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said, "we cannot afford not to do this" because the city needs schools that people want their children to attend.

"I know that every financial decision we make is tough but we have to figure this out. If the roof on your house were crumbling in, you'd have to figure it out and that's where we're at and we can't afford to wait any longer," she said.

"We can't afford for the sake of the children going to our schools, for the sake of our city that we want to see grow so we have to build a city where people want to go."

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso, who served on the School Building Needs Commission for about 18 years, pointed out that the panel identified a need to address Conte in 2008.

Curtis addressed questions about the fate of Conte if the build were to happen, explaining that it could be kept as an active space for community use, house the Eagle Academy or the Adult Learning Center, or house the central offices.

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

"At one time I think we had 36 school buildings and now we have essentially 12 and then it would go down again but in a thoughtful way," Curtis said.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

"I think that going from eight schools to three would be easier to maintain and I think it would make more sense but in order to get there we will have to build these buildings and we will have to spend money," Kavey said, hoping that the city would receive the 80 percent reimbursement it is vying for.

This plan for West Street, which is subject to change, has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations. 

The districtwide vision for middle school students is to divide all students into a grade five and six school and a grade seven and eight school to ensure equity.

"The vagueness of what that looks like is worrisome to some folks that I have talked to," Lampiasi said.

Curtis emphasized that these changes would have to be voted on by the School Committee and include public input.

"We've talked about it conceptually just to illustrate a possible grade span allocation," he said. "No decisions have been made at all by the School Committee, even the grade-span proposals."

School Committee Chair William Cameron said it is civic duty of the committee and council to move forward with the SOI.
 
He explained that when seven of the city's schools were renovated in the late 1990s, the community schools were only 25 years old and Crosby was 35 years old.  The commonwealth did not deem them to be sorely in need of renovation or replacement.
 
"Now 25 years later, Crosby is physically decrepit and an eyesore. It houses students ages three to 11 in a facility meant for use by teenagers,"
 
"Conte and Morningside opened in the mid-1970s. They were built as then state-of-the-art schools featuring large elongated rectangles of open instructional space. Over almost half a century, these physical arrangements have proven to be inadequate for teaching core academic skills effectively to students, many of whom need extra services and a distraction-free environment if they are to realize their full academic potential."
 
He said  the proposal addresses a serious problem in the "economically poorest, most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse area" of the city.
 
Cameron added that these facilities have been deemed unsatisfactory and need to be replaced as part of the project to reimagine how the city can best meet the educational needs of its students.  He said it is the local government's job to move this project forward to ensure that children learn in an environment that is conducive to their thriving academically.
 
"The process of meeting this responsibility needs to begin here tonight," he said.
 
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