Heating Oil Leaks Into Dalton Brook

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — A residential oil tank at Wahconah Falls Mobile Home Park leaked heating oil, which entered Wahconah Falls Brook on March 10. 
 
Approximately 200 to 250 gallons of heating oil leaked from the tank, Fire Chief Chris Cachat said. 
 
The department responded to the report of gasoline in the brook on Cleveland Road at 6:43 p.m. Wahconah Falls Brook flows underneath the roadway.
 
Cachat, squad one, engine three, and utility 11 arrived on the scene where they detected "a strong odor of fuel and upon inspection of the brook a sheen was visible." 
 
The crews were directed to start working their way upstream to search for residential and commercial sites along the brook. The state Department of Environmental Protection was also requested, Cachat said. 
 
The leak was found and the area contained and firefighters remained onsite until the DEP representative arrived on scene
 
Upon the arrival of the DEP, the incident was turned over to them, and the department cleared the scene at 9:30 p.m. The DEP is currently managing the situation.
 
The DEP has been contacted for comment.

Tags: contamination,   DEP,   

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Pittsfield Considers Repairing East Part Cemetery

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Historical Commission will consider grant opportunities for repairs to East Part Cemetery.

A resident reached out to the city with concerns about degradation in the half-acre burial ground at the top of Williams Street. East Part Cemetery was established in the early 1800s and has about 300 interments. 

“It's a nice old cemetery, and basically, (the resident) had had concerns that the stone wall had taken some damage, the gravestones have taken some damage, and was wondering if there's anything that could be done to repair the gravestones and the wall," City Planner Kevin Rayner told the commission on Monday.

In cooperation with cemetery leadership and residents, the Historical Commission will consider applying for Community Preservation Act funds to support repairs. West Part Cemetery, on the other side of Pittsfield, has previously used CPA funds for revitalization work. 

The 1080 Williams St. property is owned by the city and managed by the Pittsfield Cemetery Commission. Rayner presented photos of broken and overgrown gravestones, parts of the stone wall collapsing, and knocked-over obelisks. 

Some aspects could use general maintenance and restoration, he observed. 

According to the Pittsfield Cemetery and Crematory's website, East Part Cemetery was established around 1808 on land owned by Nathan Webb, who permitted and authorized its use as a public burying ground.  

In 1842, Nathan Webb's son, also named Nathan Webb, deeded the property to the Methodist Episcopal Society of Pittsfield as a public burying ground, and in 1893 the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Society transferred their control of the cemetery to the Proprietors of the Pittsfield Cemetery. Their action was confirmed by the Berkshire Probate Court.

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