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The park will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Biz Briefs: Bousquet Hosts Customer Appreciation Day

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Thank you: Bousquet will be holding a customer appreciation event on Monday, Sept. 4, as a way of thanking the community for its support. Whether it's riding down the slides in the summer or hitting the trails in the winter, Bousquet welcomes everyone to take part in the fun-filled day.

The event will feature live music by License to Groove, $2 hot dogs, $4 burgers and $10 waterslides. The park will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 

In honor of: The Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce will be honoring Mary White of Barnbrook Realty as its Business Person of the Year on Wednesday, Sept. 6, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Norman Rockwell Museum. The cost is $50 per person; reservations required by Aug. 30 to 413-528-4284.

White purchased Barnbrook Realty in 1984 and has served on many community boards and organizations, including the New Marlborough Board of Appeals, the Berkshire County Board of Realtors, the Community Development Corp. of Southern Berkshires, the Fairview Hospital Gala Committee and many others.


Getting personal: Berkshire Bank has added a new "personalized image" feature for its customers. All Berkshire Bank consumer and business debit card customers now have the option to visit the Berkshire Bank web site and upload their own photo images - family, friends, pets, or a favorite picture or choose from a gallery of images to be printed on their card. Business clients have the option of customizing their debit card with their company logo.


 
"We found that consumers like the ability to customize their own card with an image they select as we recognize no two customers are alike. Putting a personalized image on their debit card is a unique way to express individual excitement and creativity," said Tami Gunsch, EVP, Retail Banking for Berkshire Bank. New and existing Berkshire Bank customers can go online and upload their own photo or choose an image from the gallery for their card. Once the image is approved, a new PixcardSM will be mailed to the customer.


Learning the ropes: Greylock Federal Credit Union will offer a free class for first-time homebuyers Wednesday, Sept. 13, and Thursday, Sept. 14, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Greylock Insurance Agency, Allendale Shopping Center, 5 Cheshire Road in Pittsfield. Those interested in attending can complete the course in just two nights.

The free two-night course covers creating a budget, understanding your credit and financing options, and reviewing the home-buying process with an experienced realtor, home inspector, appraiser, and team members from Greylock Insurance Agency. Space is limited. Registration is required at 413-347-6114 or by email.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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