Statewide MassDEP Air Quality Advisory

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BOSTON — Due to smoke from Canadian wildfires that continue to influence our area, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is issuing a statewide air quality alert effective from midnight, June 6, 2023, until midnight, June 7, 2023. 
 
Currently, air quality conditions in North Berkshire are "Moderate" while in Central Berkshire it is "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups."
 
Smoke is expected to enter western sections of the state later tonight and spread eastward through much of the state during the overnight and early morning hours on Tuesday. Elevated levels are forecast to remain in the state for much of the day on Tuesday. Air quality is expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups. Sensitive groups include people with heart or lung disease, such as asthma, older adults, children, teenagers, and people who are active outdoors. People with either lung disease or heart disease are at greater risk from exposure to ozone.
 
MassDEP is advising that people in sensitive groups should reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion, take more breaks, do less intense activities, follow asthma action plans, and keep quick relief medicine handy. Watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath.
 
More details are available, including forecasts and real-time data, at MassDEP's MassAir Online site here.
 

Tags: air quality,   MassDEP,   

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Berkshire Veterans Mark 50 Years Since Vietnam War End

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — County veterans gathered over the weekend to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War's conclusion, recognizing the horrors that soldiers endured long after returning home.

Master of ceremonies Lenwood "Woody" Vaspra said when most Vietnam veterans returned, there were no tributes, recognition, speeches, parades, or even handshakes.

"For many of them, it was a horrible return home from Vietnam in a very chaotic time," he said to a crowd in Park Square on Saturday, National Vietnam Veterans Day.

The Vietnam War officially ended 50 years ago in May 1975. Fifty-two years ago, the last American troops departed Vietnam. The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 designated March 29 of each year as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.

"We're here to join together as a people, to honor the brave men and women who have stood in defense of our country and for all the countless men and women who are still serving in harm's way all around the world," Vaspra said.

He explained that this day provides the opportunity to pay special tribute to the many Americans who served in the war, the 58,281 names memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and to those who never received the recognition they deserve.

"It is time to say thank you and honor all Vietnam veterans," he said.

During his remarks, Vaspra explained that many veterans have been able to re-enter society, go to school, find a job, and raise a family, but their war experience never went away.

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