Market 32, Price Chopper, Freihofer's Campaign for Melodies Center

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Market 32 and Price Chopper are partnering with Freihofer's Baking Co. to raise funds for the Melodies Center at Albany Medical Center, which provides care to children and teens with cancer and blood disorders.
 
The Melodies Center is part of the Bernard & Millie Duker Children's Hospital, the referral center for all seriously ill and injured children in 25 upstate New York counties and western New England.
 
From now through Feb. 28, 2026, a $.10 donation will be made to the Melodies Center each time select Freihofer's products are purchased. The items are specially marked with shelf tags in most stores.
 
"Facing a childhood cancer or blood disorder diagnosis is overwhelming," said Pam Cerrone, Market 32 and Price Chopper director of community relations. "Through our partnership with Freihofer's and the kindness of our customers, we're able to help patients and their families access exceptional care and much-needed support during an extraordinarily difficult time."
 
The Melodies Center is a member of the Children's Oncology Group (COG), the world's largest organization dedicated to childhood cancer research trials. With state-of-the-art facilities and a highly skilled clinical staff of pediatric oncologists and hematologists, chemotherapy nurses, social workers, child life specialists, and more, the Center treats more than 1,500 children each year.
 
"We are incredibly grateful for our longstanding partnership with Market 32 and Price Chopper and Freihofer's Baking Co. and their continued support of the Melodies Center, which is one of a kind in our region," said Kate Halligan, MD, PhD, director of the Melodies Center and division chief of pediatric hematology and oncology at the Bernard & Millie Duker Children's Hospital at Albany Medical Center. "Thanks to their fundraising efforts and the generosity of our community, we're able to advance our mission and continue providing high-quality care, close to home."
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EPA, GE Conducting Vernal Pool Study on Housatonic River

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A pilot study will determine the best way to remediate PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, from vernal pools in the Housatonic River. 

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric held an open house for the Vernal Pool Pilot Study on Reach 5A, a five-mile stretch between the river's confluence and Lenox border.  Despite the rain, several people attended the event at the Berkshire Athenaeum. 

EPA project manager Josh Fontaine explained that it is an evaluation of which remediation method to use for the remaining vernal pools in Reach 5A. 

"We're going to be testing two different methods. One is an excavation method, which we already know has been very successful with another vernal pool cleaned up much earlier in the project," he said. 

"And then the other is the application of two different carbon amendments. It would be the application of powdered activated carbon and the application of granulated activated carbon." 

Ten vernal pools will be cleaned using these methods: five with excavation and five with active carbon; seven additional vernal pools will be monitored as controls. Construction will be complete around October, but the pools will be left to their natural processes and monitored with surveys and sampling for three years. 

Fontaine said there is no frontrunner for methodology. 

"We know the excavation method is effective, but we would like to see if the less invasive method of using the amendment will be as effective for potential use," he said. 

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