Memorial Day parade schedule
Berkshire County – Parades are scheduled throughout the county on Monday, May 30, in honor of Memorial Day. Below is a partial list of upcoming parade events.
Housatonic, 9 a.m.: The parade will begin in front of the fire station and continue down Depot Street onto Main Street before turning onto Pleasant Street and VanDeusenville Road and ending at St. Bridget’s Cemetery.
Great Barrington, 11 a.m.: The parade will begin at the intersection of Cottage Street and Main Street and continue down Main Street to Town Hall at 334 Main St.
Lee, 10 a.m.: The parade will form at Center Street and move down Main Street to Fairmont Cemetery.
Lenox, noon: The parade will begin at Church on the Hill and proceed to the Patterson Monument. From there it will continue to Walker Street, Church Street, and Housatonic Street before ending at the St. Ann’s Church cemetery.
Lenox Dale, 8 a.m.: The parade will begin at Veterans Memorial Park on Walker Street and proceed to St. Vincent DePaul Church, 29 Crystal St., for a mass.
Stockbridge, 12:15: The parade will start at the town offices at 50 Main St. and progress to Old Town Hall on West Main Street.
Pittsfield, 10 a.m.: Beginning at City Hall at 70 Allen St., the parade will proceed north to Pittsfield Cemetery,203 Wahconah St.
–E.E.
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OLLI to offer range of summer classes
Pittsfield – Classes in theatre, history, art, politics, science and more will be offered this June by OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College.
Classes offered in Pittsfield will include “The Legacy of American Slavery,” “Science Conversations,” “Shakespeare’s Comedies on Film,” “Quilts as Voices of Community and Conscience,” and “Introduction to Medical Cannabis.” Course offerings in Great Barrington will be “Voices from the Grave: Spoon River, Poetry and Performance,” “From Page to Stage,” and “Japan and Constitutional Change.” Two classes will be offered at Kimball Farms in Lenox: “Violence in America” and “Challenge and Opportunity in Today’s Latin America: A Briefing for the Next U.S. President.” OLLI’s annual “Creative Visions” course will meet at four different artist studios throughout the greater Berkshires for an in-depth look at the artists’ work and creative processes.
OLLI courses are non-credit, there are no grades or tests, and no prior experience is required. Class registration fees are $45 for one course, $90 for two or three courses, and $100 for four or more courses within a semester. OLLI membership is a prerequisite to registering for classes. Reduced fee scholarships are also available.
OLLI at BCC also provides free recordings of selected courses on Pittsfield Community Television, Willinet, Northern Berkshire Community Television, and Community Television of the Southern Berkshires. For more information or a free catalog, contact (413) 236-2190 or olli@berkshirecc.edu.
–E.E.
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Senate advances 2017 budget
Boston – State Senator Benjamin B. Downing (D – Pittsfield) has announced that the Senate put forward a balanced budget on Thursday for fiscal year 2017 that supports major investments in education and local aid and providing necessary services for the most vulnerable populations.
Throughout the three days of debate, the Senate adopted a number of amendments filed by Senator Downing, including:
- $18 million for the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program;
- $150,000 to support the efforts of the Berkshire County Education Task Force in envisioning a sustainable, long-term education system for the county;
- $75,000 to fund the operations of Gallery 51 at MCLA;
- $175,000 for the Berkshire Youth Development Project for youth intervention services;
- $150,000 for the Berkshire County Regional Housing Authority for countywide shelter and safety net services coordination;
- $100,000 for the Franklin/Hampshire County CASA Program;
- $100,000 for the Franklin County Opioid Task Force, and;
- A one-year waiver for the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office for payments on energy efficiency upgrades.
In addition, Senator Downing supported a number of successful amendments filed by his colleagues, which reflected his budget priorities:
- $61 million for regional school transportation reimbursements;
- $15 million for the Massachusetts Cultural Council;
- $8 million for Shannon Grants for anti-gang violence initiatives;
- Continued funding for programs funded by last year’s Mass in Motion grants;
- Continued funding for the Substance Abuse Trust Fund;
- $100,000 for the Massachusetts Food Trust;
- $300,000 for Buy Local initiatives, and;
- Language directing the Legislature and Administration to create an implementation schedule for the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission.
The full text of the budget recommendations is available online. A conference committee will now work out the differences between the Senate budget and the version passed by the House of Representatives in April. Fiscal Year 2017 will begin on Friday, July 1.
–E.E.
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Stockbridge Library to hold annual meeting
Stockbridge — On Tuesday, May 31, at 6:30 p.m., the Stockbridge Library Association will hold its annual meeting. The meeting will take place at the Stockbridge Library and will feature a program with representatives from the Stockbridge-Munsee Community of the Mohican Nation.
The Town of Stockbridge was first founded as “Indian Town” in the 1730s, created for resettled Mohicans who became known as the Stockbridge Indians. Over the next century, the Stockbridge Indians endured several more relocations and continue today in Wisconsin as the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation. The annual meeting will feature remarks by a delegation of the Nation’s representatives – Council Vice President Doug Huck, Council members Joe Miller and JoAnn Schedler, and Historic Preservation Officer Bonney Hartley – who will share their perspectives on the Stockbridge Indian Town history and discuss the legacy of Mohican veterans. They also will introduce the state of the tribe today and highlight its continuing involvement in Stockbridge and other traditional homelands in the region.
This program is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, call the Library at (413) 298-5501.
–E.E.
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Alison Lee wins Pratt scholarship
New York City – Pratt Institute has named Edge contributor Alison Lee (B.F.A. Communications Design ’17) as the recipient of its 2016 Charles Pratt Memorial Scholarship, an annual $35,000 award conferred to a third-year undergraduate student in a given department. Lee, who is concentrating on graphic design, is also pursuing a double minor in English and art history. Her designs included Shopsins Menu, a “self-destructive” restaurant menu app; Over Attached, a tech reliance game referencing the renowned communication theorist Marshall McLuhan; and news story pages created in her role as an art director for the Institute’s student magazine, the Prattler.
–E.E.
