Pittsfield School Committee to See Flag Ordinance

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee will decide a policy to keep flag displays consistent with the district's sentiments. 

On the agenda for Wednesday's meeting is a first reading of a "Flag Protocols on School Property" policy similar to an ordinance adopted by the City Council the prior week. 

It allows Pittsfield's flag, the United States flag, flags of other nations recognized by the U.S. government, and flags commemorating significant events or causes consistent with the school district's official sentiments. 

Last week, the Policy Subcommittee forwarded it to the School Committee with an amendment to have flag decisions made by the committee and the superintendent, rather than just the superintendent. 

"Nobody could come to us and say, 'We want our white supremacist flag to fly, just because you have to give equal consideration to all points of view,' because we would say 'No, it has to be the official sentiments of the School Committee,'" member Sara Hathaway said as an example of situations it could prevent. 

School Committee member William Garrity, who proposed the policy, explained that it is recommended for districts to have a resolution or policy on flag protocols. This policy is based on a model from the Framingham Public Schools with language from the flag ordinance approved by the council. 

The amendment was made to align with the council's ordinance, which gives the council specific governance over flags. 

The Middle School Restructuring Committee is set to meet at Reid Middle School on Tuesday to discuss continued work. 

WWII Veteran Reflects on D-Day at VFW Post Induction

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:25PM / Saturday, June 06, 2026

The members in the picture are Bret Miller, Coast Guard, Desert Storm; Hank Morris, Army, Vietnam; Brad Havill, Navy, Global War on Terror; VFW Post 448 Vice Cmdr. Mark Pompi, Army, Global War on Terrorism, Afghanistan; Post Cmdr. Arnold Perras, Korea; Joe Difillipo, Army, Vietnam; Teri Billington, Navy, Desert Storm; and Carmen Ostrander, Air Force, Afghanistan.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Anthony Salatino Jr. says his memory is getting a little foggy about his time in the Army. 

But he remembers how terrible D-Day was, and feeling lucky he wasn't among those in the initial invasion force 82 years ago. 

 

"One of the most horrible things was in Normandy. We went shortly after D-Day. I got lucky, very lucky on D-Day. We went to a staging area the night before … and at the very end, somebody called, I was in headquarters, they called all the headquarters personnel at the center," the 103-year-old said. "We did not go. There's about 30 of us. The rest of the battalion was gone, and the reason for that was because there was another battalion coming from the States, and they had no headquarters. 

 

"We stayed back, but we did go to Normandy shortly after that, and when we went to Normandy, it was all over."

 

Salatino was attending an induction ceremony on Thursday at the Lt. John N. Truden VFW Post 448. Joseph Texidor, who served in the Army for 17 years with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was sworn in as the post's newest member. 

 

Salatino served in the Medical Corps and wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, a World War I veteran wounded at Verdun. Salatino was in the Army for about three years.

 

"The whole memory is what I just told you, very, very alive to me," he said. "That is, I can never forget, never forget that."

 

D-Day on June 6, 1944, was the start of Operation Overlord, and the largest invading force to cross the English Channel since 1066. Their goal: to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany.