Stormy weather prompts me to run around and gather cut flowers that might be pummeled in a heavy rainstorm. Peony and poppy flowers often shatter in heavy rain.
In the spirit of reflection and self-examination, herein lies The Edge's second annual Great Barrington year in review. It includes some select stories from other South County towns as well, along with embedded links to Edge stories for more information.
Thinking about all of the good that would have been done and the lives saved if Stumo had been given a chance to continue her work ultimately fueled the discussion about how to build her legacy.
The cause and precise timing of the deaths of Karpinski, Wilbur and the children remain unclear, pending autopsy results from the state medical examiner's office in Boston and a final report from State Police, Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington has said.
Authorities believe Luke Karpinski, 41, murdered his wife, Justine Wilbur, also 41, and their three children before setting their house on fire and taking his own life.
At a news conference yesterday in Chicago, where Boeing is headquartered, lawyers for Stumo's parents, Michael Stumo and Nadia Milleron of Sheffield, said the Ethiopian crash "should never have happened" and that "the shortcuts and greed of Boeing and others will be proven in the ensuing lawsuits as well as the utter disregard of the passengers they were to protect that could have avoided this tragic crash."
"We gather because this week has been too much to bear. Regardless of the circumstances of these events both near and far, these horrors have left families, friends, and neighbors in our world stunned and in shock."
-- Rev. Erik Karas, of Christ Trinity Church
Stumo, who grew up on a farm in Sheffield, was a 2015 graduate of UMass Amherst and had received a master’s degree in global health from the University of Copenhagen.
