Pittsfield Native Identified as Beating Victim

Staff Reports iBerkshires
11:16AM / Friday, August 29, 2025Print Story | Email Story

Scott W. Kastner

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A former Berkshire County man died Aug. 16, five days after being viciously beaten by juveniles in a park in Burlington, Vt.

Scott W. Kastner, 42, was not identified as the victim of the assault until Tuesday this week by Burlington Police, after his obituary was posted by Dwyer Funeral Home. Kastner was born in Pittsfield and lived for a time in Adams; he moved to Burlington in 2007.

The police log states officers were on foot patrol around Church Street in Burlington on the afternoon of Aug. 11 when they came across the assault in progress. The juveniles fled on foot and bicycle and one of the suspects had a gun they had displayed during the assault.

Vermont News First reported that additional arrests were expected and and the juveniles, ages 14 to 16, are now facing charges in Family Court.

The critically injured Kastner was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center. The Office of the Medical Examiner has not yet released the cause of death.

He was born in Pittsfield on Feb. 4, 1983, and leaves four children Tatyalonna, Scott Jr., Xayleigha and Alayah Kastner. His parents are Teresa Watford of Pittsfield and Raymond Keele and his wife, Traci, of Adams, and brother to Shaun Kastner, Shellene Kastner McGirt (Shyemel), Jordan Keele Williamson, and Sharaya, Michael and Coda Keele.

His family said he enjoyed, the outdoors, camping, dancing, drawing, and singing. The family has launched a GoFundMe to help defray funeral costs. Services will be held Sept. 6 at 11:30 a.m. at Dwyer-Wellington Funeral Home on East Street. The obituary can be found here.

Kastner's assault in City Hall Park at 1:30 on a Monday afternoon sparked outrage in Burlington, where residents and business owners have complained for months about safety issues on Church Street because of open drug use and criminal behaviors. The south end of the four-block pedestrian street and marketplace ends at City Hall; the block-long City Hall Park lies to the west of City Hall.

"That whole area is drug-infested," Kastner's brother Shaun Kastner told WTEN News. "That's where the violence comes from. ... It's a senseless act that happened but there's a lot of stuff going on out there that's senseless."

The Burlington City Council on Monday passed a resolution calling for more enforcement of existing rules downtown and an ordinance to create a "rapid response process" to move civil and criminal ordinance violations through a restorative justice system. Some residents have called on Gov. Phil Scott to provide more resources. Compass Vermont said the governor is considering how the state can assist if city leaders request it.

Tags: assaults, fatal,

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Crane Park's Mini-Pitch is Open for Fun

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:18AM / Wednesday, October 21, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — City officials celebrated the opening of the new Crane Parks mini-pitch on Tuesday.

Players from several local soccer programs, community leaders, and project partners gathered to kick the ceremonial first pitch into the goal on the new facility.

Back in May, the Parks Commission endorsed a project to place a mini-pitch over the aging, cracked concrete surface of Crane Park's former rink. A mini-pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates.

"The mini-pitch system will create a space that encourages physical activity and welcomes play through teamwork. The space will serve as a location for the community to gather for outdoor fun and recreation for many years ahead. They'll be able to put their cell phones down for a few minutes and actually engage in some great outdoor entertainment," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

The project was funded entirely by grants. In June, the City Council accepted the gift of the mini-pitch facility, valued at over $100,000, and $10,000 from the Mill Town Foundation to ready the site.

The facility has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together. Cleats are not allowed on the surface, but sneakers and other sports shoes are.

The mini-pitch system came with a light tower and two LED lamps, but Crane Park does not have power, so it won't be illuminated. That could change in the future, officials said.

The pitch is open for the community every day, but Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath reminded users to be mindful as they play as well as to respect the pitch and the neighborhood it resides in.

McGrath said the idea grew out of conversations with Andy Wrba, program director for the Mill Town Foundation.

"There's been a deep, deep soccer community in Pittsfield and throughout the Berkshires for a long time. I've seen it as a multi-generational way for communities to connect and pass down lessons and connect families and everyone. And a big part of that has been the West State Soccer League," Wrba said.

He said the goal is to keep the space active and encourage outdoor recreation and youth engagement.

McGrath said that with the partnership from Mill Town and the city's park commission they were able to bring the pitch to the finish line.

"It's a testament to our ability to bring new and unique facilities into our city that accommodate youth sports. And it really, at the end of the day, is about promotion of soccer. And we are just so pleased that our partners all came together and that we were able to get this mini-pitch completed," McGrath said.

Other contributors as well were the U.S. Soccer Foundation, who provided the mini-pitch system, surface materials, and installation assistance at no cost to the city, as well as Massachusetts Youth Soccer who partnered with Pittsfield to bring the system to the city.

"All these contributions made this project possible, and highlights how our community continues through public and private partnerships to provide new facilities and amenities for all to enjoy," Marchetti said.

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