Ninth Annual 'Moby-Dick' Read-A-Thon

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. —The Berkshire County Historical Society's annual "Moby-Dick" Read-a-Thon will begin July 31 at 10 am, continuing daily until the book is finished. 
 
Participants will read aloud for 15 minutes with the next participant picking up where the prior reader left off.
 
The event is held at Melville's historic home Arrowhead where the novel was written. Advanced sign up is required by using the BOOK NOW button at berkshirehistory.org. Participation is free, but a $5 donation is suggested. The annual event commemorates Melville's birthday Aug. 1, 1819.
 
On Aug. 3 beginning at 9 a.m., hikers are invited to celebrate the day (Aug. 5,1850) Melville met Nathaniel Hawthorne on a literary hike up Monument Mountain to read local poet William Cullen Bryant's "Monument Mountain," by joining BCHS for a similar hike and literary talk. The guided hike takes approximately 2 1/2 hours and is appropriate for families.
 
Hikers should meet at the Monument Mountain Reservation Parking lot on Route 7 and should be prepared with their own water, proper footwear, hiking gear and bug repellent. Parking is free for members of the Trustees of Reservations only.

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Springfield Man Arraigned for 'Senseless' Murder in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said Friday's fatal stabbing was a senseless act of violence. 

On Monday, Springfield man Zyrus Jaynes, 24, was arraigned for murder in Central Berkshire District Court for allegedly stabbing 36-year-old Pittsfield man Jesse Gray to death after a disagreement on Hall Place. 

Families of the victim and defendant were present at the arraignment.  Jaynes is being held without the right to bail because he is being presented to a grand jury, and will be back in court on July 1. 

"This was seconds. That fast, that quick. Just over someone pulling into a driveway with a car," Shugrue said. 

"…This is an incredible tragedy, over this? For what? It's just very, very sad." 

According to the Pittsfield Police Department's reports, just before 10 p.m. on May 29, officers were dispatched to the area of 10 Hall Place for a reported stabbing.  Upon arrival, they found Gray with a stab wound to the left side near his armpit and began rendering aid until fire and EMS arrived. 

Gray was transported to Berkshire Medical Center and passed away less than an hour after. 

"I think he was shocked that he was stabbed," Shugrue said. 

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