Beacon 081111

August 11, 2011Volume II, Issue 12

www.berkshirebeacon.comLenox, MA 01240

FREE

1 Local News2 Food6 Editorial6 From the Tower7 Op-Ed10 Sports12 Fun & Games15 Calendar15 Girl-2-Girl

Train- Page 9

The Berkshire Beacon

Index

This week a new feature debuts in

THE BERKSHIRE BEACON

You’re Making Me Hungry!

Exploring Real Food, Good Cooking,and Fine Dining in the Berkshires

This Week’s feature:

PIZZA in PittsfieldRead it on page 2!

Belvedere ControversySelect Board looking at options

Susan WickerBeacon Staff Writer

Increased membership, an aquari-um in the Children’s Section, and more community involvement are some of the ambitious goals of the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum.

The Pittsfield based group is hop-ing new Chairman Florian Ptak can help make those goals a reality.

The Friends of the Berkshire Ath-enaeum, is a “volunteer membership organization that supports the goals of the Berkshire Athenaeum.”

They provide assistance, financial and otherwise, so the public may make more complete use of the Ath-enaeum’s services and facilities.

A former treasurer of the Friends, Mr. Ptak took the reins as chairper-son in May and is spearheading many improvements and projects.

Mr. Ptak is retired from General Dynamics where he worked as an electrical engineer. Born in Vermont and raised in Connecticut,

Mr. Ptak has always loved books. He even wrote a newspaper column on books and magazines for 15 years.

Annual Book Sales

The three annual book sales, run by the Friends in the spring, summer, and fall, raise between $7,000 and $8,000 per sale, Mr. Ptak said. About 500 people attend each popular sale.

see BOOKS page 10

Group looks to assist

Athenaeum

Bera DunauBeacon Staff Writer

Hot and sunny, the weather seemed only to encourage festival goers, who sampled food and culture from Pitts-field and The Berkshire’s many ethnic groups.

It was all apart of the Pittsfield Eth-nic Fair, a celebration of community and diversity.

Diversity Celebratedin Pittsfield

see ETHNIC page 10

Photo Credit / Bera dunau

Graffiti has been discovered on the Kennedy Park Belvedere. The graffiti appears to have been done in charcoal, and the words “Embrace the change,” are clearly visible.


The Pittsfield restaurant Flavors of Malaysia booth at the Fair.


One week after a fiery Select Board meeting, many in the Town of Lenox are working hard to find a solution to the Kennedy Park Belvedere contro-versy.

The announcement that everyone with a stake in the issue is waiting on is the date that the scheduled public hearing on the Kennedy Park Belve-dere will be held.

The hearing was arranged at last week’s Select Board meeting and will involve both the Kennedy Park Com-mittee and the Lenox Board of Se-lectmen.

“I hope that it can be done by the end of August and if not then, cer-tainly early September,” said Kenne-dy Park Committee chairman Robert Coakley.

The meeting will address two ob-jectives outlined at the last Select Board meeting.

The first objective will involve de-termining what can be done with the

see SELECT page 11

2 The Berkshire Beacon August 11, 2011

“You’re Making Me Hungry!”Exploring Real Food, Good Cooking, and Fine Dining in the Berkshires

The Bilis family welcomes you

Teddy’s Pizza & Family Restaurant Family owned and operated for more than 35 years!

Visit us online at teddyspittsfieldhouseofpizza.com

$5.00 OFF any $30.00 purchase

with this ad

All Major Credit Cards Accepted

Monday thru Saturday11:00 am until 10:00 pm plusClosed Sunday

508 East St. Pittsfi eld

(413) 443-9030

A Trip to ONOTA LAKE Means Lunch At

The Cove • 370 Pecks Road • (413) 395-9550 Monday-Saturday 7am - 8pm • Sunday 7am-12:30pm

Or try our Hardy Hot Meals: Roast Beef, Roast Pork or Ham with Real Mashed Potatoes and Veggies

Homemade Pizza & BIG SLICES

What great fun it was to visit some of Pittsfield’s outstanding pizzerias and Italian restaurants. You can get some sense of the wide variety of pies available in this city from the restaurants listed in the sidebar. I called on seven of these restaurants, talked with the owners, and sampled the food. Yes, nice work if you can get it. If it had been possible, I would have stopped at all fifteen of them and gladly done more “field research,” but schedul-ing is difficult with the hardwork-ing people who serve up “America’s favorite food.” All of the restau-rants profiled below are busy, busy places. Read about what makes them special, and you’ll want to do a little “field research” of your own.

A Legacy of Great Food ~ Papa Joe’s Ristorante and Pizzeria

Paul Colombari, owner of Papa Joe’s, will tell you that many of the recipes used at his restaurant were passed down to him by his grandfather, a baker in Italy. Oth-er recipes he learned from his grandmother, and more still from his mother. This inheritance of authentic Italian cooking has benefited the patrons of Papa Joe’s on Newell St. for the past twenty-five years.

Finding the restaurant can be a challenge. Watch for the red, white and green awning. For most of its length, Newell St. is lined with residences and you’re going to think you’ve lost your way. You haven’t. That awning, like a flag, marks a place that is a little bit of Italy in the Berkshires.

With four styles of pizza to choose from, you might want to do some sampling at the Family

Buffet that Paul serves up on Sunday evenings. That way you won’t be torn between the tradi-tional hand-tossed pie, the Sicil-ian with thick crust, the Chicago deep dish, or the all new multi-grained (ten different grains) whole-wheat. It goes without say-ing that the dough for these piz-zas, like the sauce, is homemade. Speaking of homemade sauce, check out the white pizzas with Blanca Sauce – this is one of Paul’s grandmother’s recipes. The Chicago style pizza is all Paul’s own. The deep-dish specialty first made its appearance in 1943 in the city of Al Capone. Paul has named his different topping com-binations with a tongue-in-cheek nod to this pizza’s place of origin. Brace yourself before you dig into a potent “Santino” with its roasted red peppers, garlic, and onions. Watch yourself with the “Fredo,” sure to betray you into eating too much. Or maybe have a sit-down with “The Godfather,” with old-school toppings like hot sausage, sweet sausage, mushrooms, and pepperoni.

While you’re enjoying your piz-za, try to sample the homemade bread or Parmesan rolls, or maybe get some homemade dough to take home. Make a mental note to try a sub on a homemade sub-roll the next time you’re in town. One more thing: “Don’t forget the Cannolis.” They’re homemade too.

So Fresh, the Herbs Grow By the Door ~ Zucchini’s Restaurant

Talk with Mike (Mickey) Sol-dato for a few minutes and you know you’re in the company of a perfectionist who has a consum-

ing interest in good food and its preparation. Fresh food appears to be his pas-sion. He belongs to both Berk-shire Grown and Columbia County Bounty, two organiza-tions dedicated to the use and in-crease of local agriculture. He makes the rounds of farms and orchards, searching out the pro-duce that has reached “the height of the season, the peak of its fla-vor.” What he finds on these ex-cursions will likely determine the dinner and lunch specials for the coming week. When he tells of finding a source of local free-range chicken, his voice betrays the kind of excitement most of us reserve for hitting the lottery. The herbs that flavor the salads and sauces couldn’t be fresher; they grow on the premises. You can see the garden from the rear en-trance. Given this dedication to freshness, it comes as no surprise that everything is homemade, from the ciabatta bread to the ti-ramisu that tops off your meal.

Of course, this approach to food carries over to the pizza. The dough and the sauce are home-made, the toppings incredibly fresh and chosen for quality. The style is Neapolitan, the pizza of Naples. Naples is the place where pizza was born, and to this day the Neapolitans take their pizza very seriously. To be a verace pizza neapoletana, a true Neapolitan pizza, a very strict set of condi-tions must be met. The dough must be made from a limited

This week:

Pizza in Pittsfield

INTRODUCING a Healthier Choice from Papa Joe’s

Papa Joe’sRistorante & Pizzeria

107 Newell St. • Pittsfi eld, MA 413-499-2151/442-PAPA

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RestaurantWood Fired Pizzas • Appetizers • Salads

Pastas • Baked Oven Dishes Burgers • Chicken • Sandwiches

Veal • Steaks • Seafood

Open for Lunch & DinnerHours Mon: Closed • Tues-Thurs: 11:30-9:00

Fri-Sat: 11:00-10:00 • Sun 12:00-9:00

Phone: 413.442.27771331 North Street • Pittsfi eld, MA

www.zucchinisrestaurant.com

August 11, 2011 The Berkshire Beacon 3

number of ingredients – no olive oil, for instance. It must be cooked in a wood-fired oven; it must be cooked at a precise tem-perature (700 degrees) and for a stated length of time. The list goes on. This is the way pizza it is prepared at Zucchini’s, in accor-dance with the exacting standards of Naples and, it might be added, the exacting standards of Mickey Soldato.

Zucchini’s Restaurant is a big place with seating for 130 in the main dining room. A banqueting room seats a further 120 while The Loft, a smaller banquet space, accommodates 50 diners. They need all of this space, which tells you something.

Legendary Pizza in a Neigh-borhood Café ~ East Side Café

Drive past the Courthouse, the Athenaeum, and the High School on East St. in Pittsfield. When the scenery turns industrial, watch for Newell St. About one hun-dred yards after taking the turn, you see a square brick building on the left with East Side Café on the front door. You’ve arrived at an unusual dining destination, a place that serves a pizza that is de-servedly called “legendary” by those who’ve tasted it. This is the East Side Café, opened in 1934 by Gabriel Virgilio and currently operated by his great-nephew, Paul Capitanio. The café began serving pizza in 1948, long before pizza conquered America. The recipe used then and now came from Paul’s grandmother, Evelyn DiMassimo. Paul’s mother, Do-lores Capitanio, started making pizza here when she was twelve, and sixty-three years later she’s still making pizza. If you’re look-ing for pizza with ties to the old country, you’ve found it.

The pizza oven itself makes up part of the tradition of this sto-ried café, being the same oven that was turning out pizza in 1948. It’s coal-fired and requires three hours to reach an operating temperature of 1,000 to 1,200 degrees. A wood fire just can’t get that hot. Paul loads the coal and kindling at one in the afternoon and by 4 p.m. the oven is hot enough to cook the thin-crust pizza in about two minutes. It’s a time-consuming business to use this vintage equipment, so the oven is fired up only on Thursday, Fri-day, Saturday, and Sunday.

There was a fire in the café in the early fifties that called for some remodeling of the dining area. Not much seems to have

changed since then, but it’s un-likely patrons would be happy if it did. This is a place with a his-tory, a history involving three generations of an Italian-Ameri-can family, recipes from the old country, and a time when pizza was an unfamiliar word in the American vocabulary. Who would want to change that?

Forty Years of Word-of-Mouth ~ Tyler St. Pizza House

This is another of the great neighborhood pizzerias in Pitts-field. One Pittsfield native relates that as soon as she walks in the door, the aroma of cooking pizza takes her back to her childhood. That’s twenty-five years ago, and she’s still getting her pizza at this homey neighborhood landmark. When the talk turns to pizza, Pittsfield pizzavores have nothing but praise for Tyler St. Pizza house. Not surprisingly, Karl Douhan, the owner, says they do almost no advertising. “It’s pretty much word-of-mouth.”

That word-of-mouth is power-ful stuff. A long-time Pittsfield resident has this to say about a re-cent Saturday night: “Every table in the place was filled. People were coming in every minute for take out orders – not one pizza, but two, three, five pizzas. My husband and I couldn’t believe it. But the pizza is really good.” The owner of another fine pizzeria in town confided, “There are maybe five pizza places in Pittsfield that are institutions.” Top of his list: “Tyler St. Pizza House.”

For forty years John and Angel Arlos, followed by their son-in-law and daughter, have been serv-ing up Greek style pizza with tra-ditional toppings. In that time, Tyler St. Pizza House has become a neighborhood institution with a citywide reputation. Half of the employees have worked here for decades, and the customers will tell you they’ve been “coming here forever.” And spreading the word.

Family Pride and Award Winning Pizza ~ Teddy’s Pizza

and Restaurant

Is it Greek pizza or is it Italian? That’s a hard question to answer when the subject is Teddy’s Pizza on East St. Teddy’s was founded by Theodoros Bilis thirty-seven years ago. OK, so it’s Greek pizza. But his wife Sue is Italian, and, as their son Wil says, “It’s Dad’s sauce, and Mom’s dough.” Think

Large 1 Topping Pizza

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Subs, Salads, Calzones& Chicken Tenders!

Call for our Dollar-Saving DAILY SPECIALS!or visit us atholdtheanchovies.com

457 Dalton Ave. • Pittsfi eld

(413) 443-2400Free Delivery

to PittsFielD AnD DAlton

Name: Baba Louie’sLocation: 34 Depot St.Phone: (413) 499-2400Hours: Lunch: 11:30am to 3pm• Dinner: 5pm to 9pm (10pm on Fri & Sat) • Closed SundayWebsite: babalouiessourdough-pizzacompany.comDelivery: Lunchtime delivery to businesses only. Slices: No.

Name: The Cove Location: 370 Pecks Rd.Phone: (413) 395-9550Hours: Mon- Sat: 7am to 8pm • Sun: 7am to 12:30Website: No.Delivery: NoSlices: Yes

Name: East Side CafeLocation: 378 Newell St.Phone: (413) 447-9405Hours: Pizza available Thurs through Sun only: 4pm to 11PM (til midnight on Fri)Website: NoDelivery: NoSlices: No

Name: Empire PizzaLocation: 413-415 North St.Phone: (413) 443-0043 ~ (413) 443-5521 ~ (413) 443-5522Hours: Mon-Thurs: 11am to 10:30pm • Fri & Sat: 11am to 11pm • Sun: 12pm to 10pmWebsite: empirepizzapittsfield.comDelivery: YesSlices: Yes

Name: Fresco’s Wood Fired Pizza & PastaLocation: 483 West Housatonic St.Phone: (413) 499-6100Hours: Sun–Wed: 11:30am to 10pm • Thurs–Sat: 11:30am to 11pmWebsite: frescospizza.comDelivery: NoSlices: No

Name: Hold the AnchoviesLocation: 457 Dalton Ave. Phone: (413) 443- 2400Hours: Mon–Fri: 10am to 9pm • Sat: 10am to 11pm • Sun: 11am to 11pmWebsite: holdtheanchovies.comDelivery: Yes Slices: Yes

Name: Hot TomatoesNeapolitan PizzaLocation: 542 Tyler St.Phone: (413) 443-6500Hours: Mon – Sat: 9am to 10pm • Sun: 9am – 9pmWebsite: hottomatoespizza.comDelivery: Yes Slices: Yes

Name: Liberty PizzaLocation: 308 North St.Phone: (413) 499-7779(413) 236-5945Hours: Mon–Thurs: 11am to 10pm • Fri & Sat: 11am to 11pm • Sun: 12pm to 10omWebsite: NoDelivery: Yes Slices: Yes

Name: Papa Joe’s Ristorante & PizzeriaLocation: 107 Newell St. Phone: (413) 499-2151Hours: Mon – Thurs: 110m to 10pm • Fri & Sat: 11am to 11pm • Sun 12pm to 10pmWebsite: papajoesristorante.comDelivery: YesSlices: Yes

Name: Paul’s Restaurant Location: 157 Seymour St.Phone: (413) 445- 4965Hours: Mon – Sat: 11 to 10pm • Sun 12pm to 10pmWebsite: paulsrestaurantma.comDelivery: Yes, after 4:00 Slices: No

Name: Pizza HouseLocation: 692 Tyler St.Phone: (413) 499-1842Hours: Sun - Thurs: 10am to 10pm • Fri and Sat: 10am to midnightWebsite: NoDelivery: Business and Institutional onlySlices: No

Name: Teddy’s PizzaLocation: 508 East St.Phone: (413) 443-9030Hours: Mon – Sat: 11am to 10pm plus • Closed SundayWebsite: teddyspittsfieldhouseof-pizza.comDelivery: No.Slices: No

Name: Vivaldi’s PizzeriaLocation: 398 Crane Ave.Phone: (413) 236-5633Hours: Mon - Thurs: 11am to 10pm • Fri and Sat: 11am to 11pm • Sun 12pm - 10pmWebsite: NoDelivery: YesSlices: Yes

Name: Zucchinis RestaurantLocation: 1331 North St.Phone: (413) 442-2777Hours: Tues – Thurs: 11:30am to 9pm • Fri & Sat: 11:30am to 10pm • Sun: 12pm to 8pm • Closed MondayWebsite: zucchinisrestaurant.comDelivery: Catering service onlySlices: Yes

Name: Zucco’s Family RestaurantLocation: 451 Dalton Ave.Phone: (413) 443-8112Hours: Tues – Sat: 11am to 9pm • Sunday: 12pm to 8pm • Closed MondayWebsite: zuccosfamilyrestaurant.comDelivery: Lunchtime deliverySlices: No

Pizzerias of Pittsfieldat a Glance

The East Side Café 378 Newell Street, Pittsfi eld

(413) 447-9405

Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday 4:00 PM until 11:00 PM (Friday till Midnight)

Eat In or Take Out

Coal FiredHomemade

PIZZASince 1948

see PIZZA page 4


of it as a marriage of cuisines that has made possible yet another unique opportunity for pizza lov-ers in Pittsfield. The pizza that re-sulted from this union of cultures recently won the title of “Best Pizza in the Berkshires” at the Slice for Life fundraiser for Mo-ments House, with close to twen-ty pizzerias participating.

The Greek influence shows up unmistakably in some of the house specialty pizzas. There is the Spanakopita Pizza, a white pizza with spinach, feta cheese, and tomatoes. There is the Souv-laki pizza - probably available no-where else - made up of chicken souvlaki served on a bed of let-tuce and cooked on a pizza crust. Talk about fusion! Ever had gyro meat, tzatziki sauce, onions, let-tuce, and tomato on a pie? Order Teddy’s Eptahorian special and you’ll be able to answer that in the affirmative. But don’t get the idea that Teddy’s is all about Greek toppings. You can get your Hawaiian style toppings, your all-veggie toppings, and of course, your traditional toppings here. There’s even a steak and cheese pizza –

Philly toppings, you could say.But when asked what makes

Teddy’s stand out from the crowd, Wil Bilis mentions none of these things. “I would have to say it’s how we feel about our restaurant and our customers. It’s family pride. Most of our customers have been coming here since high school, and they bring their fami-lies in now. If they’re not happy with a meal, we are going to find out why. We’re going to fix it, and make it up to them.” And that’s how you stay in business for thir-ty-seven years.

Pizza Re-imagined ~ Baba Louie’s

The Food Revolution is alive and well and living at Baba Lou-ie’s Woodfired All Natural Sour-dough Pizza. Think of the chang-es that have occurred in our national attitude toward food – a willingness to experiment with new flavors, a preference for fresh and locally grown ingredients, and a dawning realization that good food should be good for you. For eleven years Paul and Ei-leen Masiero have been success-fully demonstrating how these at-

titudes can be applied to pizza.Their crusts are yeast-free sour-

dough, but you can also choose a whole-wheat crust, a gluten-free crust, or a spelt crust. Spelt? If you have a wheat allergy, this Southern European grain won’t mess with your digestion; if you don’t have a wheat allergy, you might like its nutty, mellow flavor and high protein content. Not your typical crusts, but nothing about Baba Louie’s is typical.

The pizza oven itself is uncon-ventional, a mixture of traditional and high-tech. The design is from Italy (traditional). The oven is wood-fired (again, traditional). But the large circular pizza stone rotates to achieve even cooking and rises toward the heat source for optimal cooking temperature. The high-tech physics of these ovens resulted from fifteen years of experimentation, and to date there are fewer than five ovens of this design in North America.

The choice of toppings, as you might expect, is unexpected: figs, smoked gouda, shrimp, roasted potatoes (both red and sweet), parmesan infused with rosemary oil, kalamata olives, gorgonzola, roasted parsnips, roasted garlic,

sun-dried tomatoes. More Ro-man banquet than Italian deli, but don’t worry, you can still get pepperoni if you want it.

The Bite of Asiago ~ Hot Tomatoes Neapolitan Pizza

The cheese on the pizza at Hot Tomatoes Neapolitan Pizza has an extra zing. It has the taste of mozzarella, but there is some-thing more. Matt England, who runs the place with his father, mother, and two brothers, ex-plains that they use a mixture of mozzarella and Asiago. Asiago has a sharp, nutty quality that startles your taste buds in a good way.

The England family has a way of mixing pungent flavors that has been bringing customers to their Williamstown pizzeria for seventeen years and their Pitts-field location since 2008. They describe their homemade crust as a “New York City thin-style crust,” and it recently won the “Best Crust” award in the “Slice of Life’s pizza competition. Their signature red sauce, also home-made, is a chunky tomato, though a smooth red is also available. But it’s the intriguing combinations

of flavorful toppings on their spe-cialty pizzas that arrest your at-tention. They use seafood in tempting and exciting ways, as demonstrated by their “Clams Casino” pizza with clams, bacon, roasted red peppers, and fresh garlic or on their “Shrimp and Goat Cheese” pizza with shrimp, goat cheese, and fresh tomatoes.

On the other hand, their “Tex-Mex” pizza and “Barbecued Chick-en” pizza borrow the flavors of some of North America’s spiciest dishes to bring new life to the Italian favorite. The “Tex-Mex” is covered with seasoned beef, on-ions, jalapeno peppers, diced to-matoes, and special seasoning. It has rapidly become a best seller. The “Barbecue Chicken” has car-amelized onions and tangy BBQ sauce in addition to the grilled chicken breast that gives it its name.

Make an effort to try their “To-mato Basil” in the near future. The tomato and basil come from local farms, so this particular piz-za is available in July and August only. Of course, if you’re too late, there are fifteen other specialty pies to tempt you.

PIZZA from page 3

Money the Friends raise is used for extensive children’s programs at the Athenaeum as well as adult programming such as a wide

range of guest speakers, enter-tainment, a holiday concert, and

so forth. Mr. Ptak also noted that the

children’s programs have some co-sponsors in the community

All expenditures must be ap-proved by the Friends Executive Committee, Mr. Ptak explained.

There are nine members on the Friends’ Executive Committee. Some members are retired and

some are still working. They rep-resent a wide range of back-grounds and ages.

The Friends are planning to in-stall an aquarium in the Chil-dren’s Library. They paid for benches in front as well as the ref-erence desk, mothers’ chairs, and a painting in the Athenaeum.

Increasing Membership

The new chairperson is intent on increasing the membership of the Friends which now numbers about 283 and 183 of those mem-bers are from Pittsfield which has a population in the “high 30 thousands,” Mr. Ptak said. There will be posters out plus possibly a recruitment booth in the Athe-naeum and attendance at area events.

“There are a lot of things we want to do,” Mr. Ptak said.

Wave of the Future

There’s a lot of talk these days about books eventually becoming obsolete. Some people have even questioned the future of libraries.

Mr. Ptak said, to date, he has not seen any decline in atten-dance at the book sales.

People still seem to want hard copies of books. He’s quick to point out, however, that e-books are definitely the wave of the future.

With that thought in mind, the Friends have purchased two e-readers, one Nook and one Kin-dle, for the Athenaeum.

“We want to get people inter-ested in reading on them,” he said. “We are on the edge of what the library needs.”

The Athenaeum will adjust to the future needs of patrons and e-books. The details of the changes have just not been worked out yet, Mr. Ptak explained.

Floral Arrangements Wanted

Mr. Ptak would like to see flo-ral arrangements added to the front of the library, either at the front desk or near the entrance.

Local florists who provide ar-rangements would be paid and also get free advertisement for their business.

To date, no local florist has made a commitment to get in-volved but Mr. Ptak will continue to work on the idea.

“We are trying to become more active,” in the community, he said.

BOOKS from page 1

Photo Credit / Friends oF Berkshire athenaeum

Giving away some free books, and having sales, are just two activities provided by the Friends.


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Call 413-637-2250 to advertisein The Berkshire Beacon

Kameron SpauldingBeacon Staff Writer

One of the biggest issues in the upcoming Congressional calen-dar is the 2012 Farm Bill and this September local Berkshire farm-ers will be represented.

The discussions have been on-going ever since the last bill was passed in 2008 and will continue until a new bill is passed.

Thanks to Berkshire Co-op Market in Great Barrington and The New England Farmers Union, Sheffield farmer Bruce Howden will be traveling to Capitol Hill this September to talk to con-gressmen face to face.

Twice a year, National Farmers Union conducts what they call “Legislative Fly-Ins” where their

members from around the coun-try get the opportunity to visit Congress, talk to government of-ficials, and hopefully, to get their voices heard.

To select the farmers, the union appeals to its regional affiliates. As a result of this process, New England Farmers Union (NEFU) approached Berkshire Co-op Market who recommended that they send Mr. Howden as part of the New England contingent.

“Lawmakers hear from paid lobbyists every day.” says NEFU President Annie Cheatham, “But personal accounts of why it is im-portant to preserve New Eng-land's farms and fisheries are not so common, and so members of Congress listen when they hear from the people that agriculture

policy affects.”Howden Farm in Sheffield is

best known for its corn and its pumpkins. Mr. Howden is a long time active member of the Berk-shire farming community.

“It’s pretty exciting” said How-den. “I know Representative John Olver. He’s visited my farm. And now I get to visit him where he works.”

“We were thrilled to be able to facilitate Bruce’s trip” said Art Ames, General Manager at Berk-shire Co-op Market. “We have been working with NEFU for a while now and this one of the most exciting projects so far. Bruce will be a great resource in D.C. and, by the way, I think he grows some of the sweetest corn in the state.”

Mr. Howden Goes To Washington

Local farmer to speak on Farm Bill

Photo Credit / kameron sPaulding

The Howden farm in Sheffield is best known for its corn and pumpkins. This September Mr. Howden will head to Washington DC to discuss the Farm Bill.


View From the

Tower

Editorial:We need open government

George C. Jordan IIIEDITOR & PUBLISHER

Kameron SpauldingEDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Janel Harrison, Bera B. Dunau, Susan WickerCONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Susan RobinsonGRAPHIC DESIGNER

Janel Harrison, Thomas LaBelleADVERTISING SALES

The Berkshire Beacon is published weekly. The Beacon is distributed throughout Berkshire County, MA. The Berkshire Beacon assumes no financial responsibility for failure to publish an advertisement, incorrect placement or typo-graphical errors published. Advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their adver-tising and claims and offers contained within their advertising. The Berkshire Beacon reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason. All contents copyright ©2011 The Berkshire Beacon. No portion may be reproduced with-out written permission of the publisher.

THE GUIDING LIGHT OF THE BERKSHIRES

T H E B E R K S H I R E

BEACON

Many people are saddened by the loss and friendship of the late Dr. Jordan Fieldman, whose connection to Berkshire County was brief, but poignant.

When it comes to the Com-monwealth’s Open Meeting Law, authorities must forgo the community’s loss and review ele-ments that have come to life after his death.

The Berkshire Beacon’s light is being shined on The Lenox Select Board for its failure to advertise a meeting for discus-sion on the proposed Belvedere project at Kennedy Park back in October, 2010 and its sub com-mittee, The Kennedy Park Com-mittee, who initiated the instal-lation of a granite conclave on public land resulting in a public outcry.

To date the select members have not off ered any apologies for agreeing to put a series of markers at the overlook near the old Aspinwall Hotel. They did not even ask the Conserva-tion Commission to weigh in since the Scenic Mountain Act adopted back in 1975 would have legal jurisdiction under their control.

Robert Coakley, chairman of the Kennedy Park Improvement

Committee, claimed he and his committee were just “advisory” and thus they did not have to have minutes recorded of their meeting or advertise the meet-ing as outlined under the State’s Open Meeting Regulations.

Then there is the alleged con-fl ict of interest by Kennedy Park member, Rob Akroyd, who was paid $5,000 by the Michael Fieldman, father of the de-ceased to help design the proj-ect. Dr. Jordan Fieldman was a doctor at Berkshire Medical Center prior to his death.

Lenox offi cials are in the midst of making a number of changes within the community, from downtown landscape improve-ment design in the historic dis-trict, to investigating wind/solar electricity, to off ering low-in-come housing through the con-temptuous State 40B, to pro-moting Lenoxology as a classic drum-beater for new business.

The days of doing the town’s business out of camera and only getting one’s hands slapped by the local Berkshire District Attorney’s offi ce is over.

Today, the Open Meeting rules and regulations are en-forced by the Attorney Gener-al’s offi ce.

Lenox is abuzz with shoppers from downtown Historic Lenox to The Center where the new Price Chopper opened last month.

Town offi cials have been pushing economic growth with a catch phase of “Lenoxology.“

It seems tourists are begin-ning to fi nd Lenox once again. During the Gilded Age, there were the summer people of wealth who escaped the sum-mer heat of New York City.

There seems to be a new feel to the community. New vitality. People walking around the streets some with bags from shopping others with ice cream cones in their hands.

A new dawn? Possible.What is the characteristic

message here? The parking spaces are fi lled, People are on the street conducting business, visiting local stores, gathering with friends and looking over the town as a possible retreat; oth-ers considering second home ownership or just as a place to escape.

Ralph Petillo, director of the Lenox Chamber of Commerce, said there is defi nitely more foot traffi c in Lenox this summer.

“Not only do we have more people walking around visiting the shops, but having lunch at one of several restaurants.” Lenox is on the road of creating a place of vitality meaning a state of being strong and active,

Petillo noted. The weather this summer has

cooperative thus giving our visi-tors a chance to walk around town, which has resulted in more spending in Lenox. Many of the visitors come from Bos-ton, New York and Philadelphia, he noted.

Our Lenox Library location for the Lenox Chamber Visitor’s Center and Half Tixs sold 1,800 tickets in July, which is 60% over last year, Petillo said.

“Our staff tries to each out to the visitors on places to go, ac-tivities to attend and give them an overview of the area. “They seem to like the interaction that we provide for places to shop and restaurants to eat in,” Petillo said.

Jason Macioge owner of four restaurants in Lenox-Bistro Zinc, Fin, and Betty’s Pizza Shack along with part owner of Frankie’s Ristorante Italiano-said he agreed foot traffi c was up, but there is a noticeable dif-ference in business in the res-taurants. This is a good sign, Ma-cioge noted.

Retired restaurant owner Clayton Hambrick, who ran the Church Street Café for many years, agreed that business is up.

There is an element of the rich and the middle class, who have found Lenox as a destination. It serves many purposes from parents, who have kids in sum-mer camp, to visitors to Tangle-

wood, Shakespeare & Co, The Mount, all in Lenox to Jacob’s Pillow, Becket.

There are those who go to Canyon Ranch, Lenox and/or to Wheatleigh, Kripalu and the Normal Rockwell Museum, all of Stockbridge. Others visit The Shaker Village, Hancock.

Whatever the draw, people need an outlet during the day. And they need to fi nd a place to eat their meals.

Downtown property owners are going through a transition where there are some empty places, yet other landlords have increased their rents. Some landlords have marginal in-comes and are barely holding on.

Yet with this new “vitality’ there is hope on the horizon that Lenox, once the county seat, will emerge as the place for all seasons.

With today’s cost of operating a retail store, no longer can the proprietor rely on summer traf-fi c. The retailer must look for year-round business to sustain themselves.

It all comes down to market-ing and making one’s commer-cial property attractive for the lessee, who perhaps can see the gain of opening up a business.

The good news: There are spenders a foot. In this econo-my, the news does not get any better.

George C. Jordan III

The Berkshire Beacon is looking for our own readers to help us identify people in the commu-nity who may be the subject of Beacon profi les.

The reason for the profi les is for the readers of The Beacon to get to know better the people in their own community.

They may be the average person, they may be leaders in a small community, they may work for a utility company, a bank, a grocery store, an insur-ance company and/or in the courthouse.

The editorial staff asks that you recommend

such a person for consideration. He or she may be in the political limelight and have done something extra ordinary for you and your family. Also, the in-dividual may have been instrumental in bringing a grant or monies for the improvement within he community.

Please take a moment to e-mail [email protected] with your selection, and off er within one hundred words reasons you selected this person. Described him/her as your would your friend, spouse or child. Let’s see what happens.

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The Op-Ed PageMany thanks to Bera Dunau for his article, "Sparks Fly at

Select Board Meeting"

There was no transparency in the process that led to the installation of this imposing structure on the park's over-look. This is nothing new. I am one of the close abutters to the overlook, yet never re-ceived notice, nor did I re-ceive any notice of changes to the Kennedy Park water tower, as a handful of resi-dents did. People on the town's mailing list receive the agendas of the BOS meetings, yet they mysteri-ously did not hear of the one that resulted in approving the memorial. I also find it curious, in a town of only 6000 people, that people on either the conservation board, or the historical society nev-er caught wind of the proj-ect. People who serve on town boards all know each other, so why the secrecy?

Some other issues: Mr. Ackroyd has a serious con-flict of interest in collecting money from the project while in public office, never mind that he brought the project to the BOS.

As well, the local papers report that part of the "im-provement" was to shore up the crumbling foundation of the overlook. Yet this was never done. Those involved have repeatedly refused to say how much money was for all the granite slabs as opposed to improving the stability of the retaining wall. This should be public infor-mation, and, as it turns out, the entire sum of 140,000 dollars was used on the many granite slabs.

At the meeting, described by Bera Dunau as "conten-tious", some strange things happened. Mr. Fieldman, the New York Architect who or-chestrated the memorial, was allowed to speak at great length. After this, town residents were then told to keep their comments down to a duration of two minutes. After 11 people spoke, no one else was allowed to speak. In-

cluding me. What was also very strange was Mr. Field-man saying that the "belve-dere," his invented word for the overlook, was "not a me-morial to his son." He said he was creating a "destina-tion," and a place of repose. Well, the over was a destina-tion and place of repose. That is, until the memorial was installed.

I'd like to close this letter by comparing this memorial to the memorial for John Lennon in Central Park, NYC. It is a modest circle of tiles on the ground with the word "Imagine" in the mid-dle. Unlike the "belvedere" memorial, no mention of Lennon's untimely and hor-rific death. Nor is there a huge, coffin shaped struc-ture that seems to have no purpose other than to take up space and block the view and walkway with expensive granite. Finally, the Lennon memorial is a short walk to where Lennon lived at the Dakota in NYC. Meanwhile, no member of the Fieldman family has ever lived in Lenox. The tenuous connec-tion Dr. Fieldman has with the park is that, like many of us, loved to hike the trails. Money talks, apparently. Very loudly. I feel for Mr. Fieldman's loss - how could anyone not? But he has sto-len a precious piece of land from us.

Again, many thanks to Bera Dunau for covering this story. Yes, it's a "tempest in a tea pot." There are, obvi-ously, far worse things going on in the world right now. But this is a beloved spot for many people, and not just the residents of Lenox. It's worth fighting to have this mauso-leum removed, as it has turned a beautiful vista into a private place of mourning.

Diane GordonCitizens of Lenox First241 Main St.Lenox, MA 01240413-637-2802

WEEKLY ROUNDUP - LAZY, HAZY, CRAZY(Recap and analysis of the week in state government)

By Matt MurphyState House News Service

BOSTON-With the nation’s freefall toward default halted, Congressional leaders re-turned home with bellies full of partisan fire this week while questions at home about leadership of MassDOT were answered, at least partially.

House and Senate law-makers were scarce around the capitol during the first week of the August recess, scattered across the state in their home districts. Some took the time for a trip west to take part in what was de-scribed as an apolitical sum-mer barbecue at Gov. Deval Patrick’s Berkshire retreat in Richmond.

According to one attend-ee, about 100 lawmakers and spouses, including House Speaker Robert DeLeo, were lured to Sweet P. Farm cour-tesy of governor’s political donors for a bipartisan feast of burgers and hot dogs.

The summer socializing event—much like the Boehner-Obama golf outing—didn’t stop the two leaders from sparring a few days later over a court management reform bill signed by Patrick, but criticized by the state’s CEO for being too weak to ad-dress the serious manage-ment concerns at the Proba-tion Department.

DeLeo and Senate Presi-dent Therese Murray returned fire, creating a worth-watch-ing dynamic as Patrick head-ed for vacation in Bermuda and Maine. The Big Three appear unlikely to sit down together for several weeks with a gambling debate awaiting after Labor Day.

There was a fair bit of irony in the fact that the deadline to submit the first round of signatures for potential bal-lot drives in 2012 came while the Legislature took a break. The petitions offered a glimpse of what the people’s agenda might look like, and it didn’t look much like the

ones set by Patrick, Murray and DeLeo.

It’s a lesson children learn early on in life: If one parent says no, ask the other.

And so advocates for 21 unique policy initiatives, some representing newer ideas and others long denied ac-tion through the legislative process, put down a place-holder should they decide that their chances are better with the 4.2 million regis-tered voters of Massachu-setts than with their 200 duly elected representatives.

Legalization of medical marijuana and assisted sui-cide, enforcement of teacher evaluations, an expansion of the bottle bill, and so-called Right to Repair legislation pit-ting some independent auto repairers against car manu-facturers could all be put to a public vote. And the question of whether to allow wine and beer sales in more grocery stores and supermarkets could be making a come-back after a 2006 defeat.

Even casino gambling could be headed for a vote if the Legislature fails to act over the next several months.

Early indications from Mur-ray and DeLeo are that the fall will be dominated by de-bate over expanded gaming, redistricting and pension and parole reforms.

If those issues can be dis-pensed with, the turning of the calendar will likely bring a renewed focus on health care cost containment legis-lation filed by Gov. Patrick, though none of the ideas on the table touch the petition proposed by Citizens for Life President Anne Fox to repeal the individual mandate for health coverage imposed under Gov. Mitt Romney and the 2006 reform law.

“I don’t think it puts pres-sure on the Legislature at all. If there are some things that don’t move and they feel strongly about them, that’s what the ballot process is for,” Senate President Mur-ray told the Roundup this

week.While taking a respite from

their own work, lawmakers started the week watching the dysfunction in Congress and wondering whether the federal government would ruin their vacations by forc-ing them to deal with the possibility that the state’s cash flow could dry up be-fore Columbus Day.

A last-minute deal struck between Congress and the White House averted that threat of default, though sev-en of the Bay State’s 12 Con-gressional members voted against the two-step com-promise that will slash bil-lions in spending over the next 10 years in exchange for an increase in the debt ceiling.

U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, who voted no, warned of a slide back into recession, while U.S. Sen. John Kerry compared right-wing Re-publicans to hostage-takers willing to “shoot the hos-tage,” though both he and Sen. Scott Brown ultimately supported the deficit reduc-tion plan.

With a deal in place, the Patrick administration still appeared to have little com-prehension of where $917 billion in federal spending cuts over ten years would hit in Massachusetts. Any re-duction in defense contracts or scientific research dollars, however, could jam the cogs that help make the Bay State economy hum, they said.

Federal highway funding also appears in jeopardy, but that won’t be Jeff Mullan’s problem after Patrick’s third transportation secretary made good on his intentions to leave the administration be-fore the end of the year, an-nouncing he was headed back to Foley Hoag on Sept. 1 to practice law.

Got something you want to say? Send your letter to the editor: email [email protected]. No guarantee can be made that a letter will be published.



Fidel Moreno and his wife Su-san Jameson have been organiz-ing the Rock Rattle and Drum Pow Wow for years.

Mr. Moreno is originally from Santa Fe New Mexico, and is an ethnographic Native American documentary filmmaker and event producer. After moving to the Berkshires, he was struck by the rich Native American History of the area.

“I move up here and I see all these names: Pontoosuc, Wahco-nah, Onota and I’m going, they don’t sound Irish, Italian or Polish.”

Utilizing his own talents and that of his wife Susan Jameson, a concert promoter who used to be the concert promoter at the Berk-

shire Performing Arts Center and National Music Foundation, they helped to organize the first Native American Pow Wow in the Berk-shires and The Rock Rattle and Drum American Indian Pow Wow and Spirit on the Mountain Music Festival was born.

“We wanted to create some-thing that would bring more awareness, more appreciation for Native American history,” said Mr. Moreno.

On Saturday August 13 and Sunday August 14, members of over 40 different Native Ameri-can Tribes will gather at Wirtes Farm at the base of Mt. Greylock in Lanesboro for the sixth annual Rock Rattle and Drum Pow Wow.

The Pow Wow has been held in a number of locations since it be-gan in 2006. It spent its first two years in Pittsfield, before moving to Lenox for a year and was held for the last two years in Stephen-

town NY, before moving to its current home in Lanesboro. The theme of this year's Pow Wow is “Walk in Beauty Celebrate Com-munity.”

“We wanted to create an event, very much like a movable feast and bring the public to really ex-perience authentic American In-dian music, dance, art, crafts food and really enjoy the beautiful en-vironment that we call The Berk-shires,” explained Mr. Moreno.

A Celebration of Life

Events at this year’s Pow Wow include Native American dance, storytelling and music from around the North East and Across the United States. During some of the intertribal dances, natives and non-natives alike will be in-vited to participate. Additionally, there will be 30-40 vendors sell-ing high quality crafts. Conces-sions will include Indian fry bread, strawberry drinks and buf-falo burgers. The event is drug and alcohol free.

“I want people to know…that it’s for Native Americans as well as non Natives,” said Susan Jame-son, “It’s a wonderful experience at the base of Mount Greylock, it’s a majestic, beautiful farm. Come with the whole family.

It’s for everyone from little chil-dren to elders and there’ll be tiny tots to elders dancing. What I might say that’s a little different is the connection you feel with one another, with the first nations peoples, with the earth, with the sky, all of that is very beautiful.”

Saturday will feature a special ceremony honoring a veteran. At 3:00 PM on Sunday there will be a special blessing given by Native American medicine people and local clergy for grandchildren and grandparents.

The Pow Wow will also feature Grammy award winning artist Jo-seph FireCrow A local favorite, Mr. FireCrow will be performing at 12:15 and 6:30 P.M. on Satur-day and at 3:30 P.M. on Sunday. Mr. FireCrow is an accomplished flutists, singer and storyteller.

The Pow Wow also works with a number of local non-profit or-ganizations and allows non-prof-

its to fundraise at the events. At-tendees are encouraged to bring used clothing to donate to the In-stitute for International Coopera-tion and Developoment, a Peace Corp like organization, as well non perishable goods to donate to the local veterans food pantry.

“We try to be good community partners,” said Mr. Moreno.

Mrs. Jameson and Mr. Moreno are also the founders of Healing Winds, a non-profit producing and hosting organization that produces Pow Wows and cultural events to bring awareness and ap-preciation for the Mohican and Algonquin speaking tribes of the tri state area of Vermont, Massa-chusetts and New York.

“There’s so much beauty in this environment in the Berkshires, but the community is part of that beauty, so come celebrate yourself and one another with the first na-tions people(s),” said Mrs. Jameson.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

10:00am: Gates Open11:00am: Storyteller

11:30am: Aztec Dancers 12:15pm: Joseph FireCrow

1:00pm: Grand Entry Pow Wow – Intertribal

Dancing3:00pm: Honoring and

Giveaway3:20pm: Wolf Cry Singers

4:00pm: Pow Wow – Intertribal

6:00pm: Aztec Dancers6:30pm: Joseph FireCrow

7:00pm: Retire Flags – Pow Wow Concludes for the Day

Sunday, August 13, 2011

10:00am: Gates Open 11:00am: Storyteller

11:30am: Aztec Dancers12:15pm: Wolf Cry Singers

1:00pm: Grand EntryPow Wow – Intertribal

Dancing3:00pm: Elder’s Blessing

for Grandmothers, Grandfathers and

Grandchildren3:30pm: Joseph FireCrow

4:00pm: Pow Wow – Intertribal

6:00pm: Retire Flags – Pow Wow Concludes

Schedule

Its time to Rock, Rattle and Pow Wow

Photo Credit / susan Jameson

Danny-Boy, above, will be just one of several performers at the Pow Wow this coming weekend.

“I want people to know that it’s for Native Americans as well as non Natives”

—Susan Jameson


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Train’s lead vocalist Patrick Monahan swoons girls on stage at the Tanglewood concert.

Janel HarrisonBeacon Staff Writer

It was all aboard as Train left San Francisco and pulled into Lenox for a rocking show at Tan-glewood.

The lines started forming early in Lenox Monday night as cars are headed to one destination, Choo-Choo! To see Train, an American rock band hailing from San Francisco, California formed in 1995. Their Debut album “Train” was released in 1998 leading them to becoming one of the most popular rock bands in America.

Under striped cloudy skies, the sun cast a warm glow upon the grounds. Trees sway in the New England breeze over dotted pic-nics on the grass as people are lounging about enjoying each others company, and munching from delicious spreads to light snacks, and sipping wine from crystal glassware to plastic cups. Everyone is buzzing about min-gling with friends and family, just happy to be present, and all are anxiously awaiting the show to start.

Two big fans once living in the California Bay area, Ms. Jacque-line Wendling of Lenox said, “The show hasn’t even started

and we’re already having a great time!” and Ms. Desiree Lagrotte-ria of Delaware said, “I can’t wait for Save Me San Francisco!”

Soon the bells ring and the sound of a thunderous train drums in the air. The crowd ap-plauds as the band’s lead vocalist Mr. Patrick Monahan comes out on stage and says over the mic, “You guys live in the most beau-tiful place on the Planet, this is amazing!” leading into the first song introducing on guitar Mr. Jimmy Stafford “Meet Virginia” as an audience of all ages go wild dancing, hip-hopping, and cra-zily waving arms and bodies. Out on the lawn Ms. Cara Gaviorno of South Hadley yells, “I love Train!”

The next tune Mr. Scott Un-derwood on Drums is intro-duced playing “She’s on Fire”. During the song Mr. Patrick Mo-nahan brings up a whole parade of young girls to dance and sing with him on stage, some appear delirious with joy and some in utter shock, while others put on their dancing shoes to perform with one of rocks newest sensa-tions! The audience then sways methodically to “Calling all An-gels.”

Another song performed is a great rendition of Rhianna’s pop-

ular song Umbrella, but none needed on this warm summer night. “Save Me San Francisco” was next, and “Marry Me” beau-tifully performed with the Bos-ton cellists brings tears.

“Soul Sister” where women of all ages celebrate friendship and sisterhood, and finally ending with “Drops Of Jupiter” and “This Ain’t Goodbye” as the crowds in the shed are crunched in the isles like sardines, dancing and singing with cameras, hands and smiling children up in the air, hooting and hollering, just trying to get closer, hoping for a perfect glimpse of the band.

The concert ended as the members of Train along with the cellists took a bow and the words, “We’ll be back,” were the last heard.

Mr. Rob Thomas AKA R.T. from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania or Pensyltucky as he joked, travels on tour with the band doing sound and audio, “We’re riding on a huge success with “Save Me San Fransisco.”

When asked what it was like to work for Train he added, They’re one of the hardest working bands I’ve ever toured with, but that’s what it’s all about.”

The concert at Tanglewood was an incredible experience to be had by all.

A Rock and Roll Train rolls into The Berkshires

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Italians, Irish, Native Ameri-cans, Malaysians, Indians and Poles were just some of the eth-nicities represented.

Foods ranging from southern barbecue to curry and from po-lenta and sausage to chicken and rice were all sold, both by restau-rants and by churches and com-munity groups.

Although some crafts were sold as well, most offerings at the fair were culinary.

The fair also featured two stag-es of live music, and even at the day’s hottest, many attending got up and danced to music ranging from the Polka of the Eddie For-man Orchestra to the Salsa in-fused rock of Bronte Roman and El Grupo Caliente.

Local politicians also made ap-pearances, including 3rd Berk-shire District house candidate

and current Ward 2 Pittsfield City councilor Pete White, whose campaign stickers were sported by many in attendance.

“It’s been a great day here on the streets,” said Rob Dwyer, of the Irish Sister City Committee, which was selling Irish Bangers, Irish Whiskey Cake and ice-cold water at the festival.

The Irish Sister City Commit-tee has been a part of the Pitts-field Ethnic Fair ever since its re-vival.

“It’s a great event,” said Mr. Dwyer.

The Pittsfield Ethnic Fair was originally held from 1971 to the mid 1980’s before petering out.

Due to popular demand, the annual block party was revived in 2006 and has been going strong ever since. Normally held on North Street, the fair was held on South Street this year due to con-struction.

ETHNIC from page 1


The Pittsfield Ethnic Fair drew a sizeable crowd throughout the day, including many couples who took to dancing in the streets to celebrate.

Dick QuinnGuest Writer

It's difficult to make Mike Rus-so talk about himself even if you ask him direct questions.

So in an attempt to get a closer look at a true soccer coaching leg-end it is necessary to get others to talk about Mike Russo.

Mike Russo did not invent be-ing humble — he just lives it.

Entering his 33rd year at Wil-liams in 2011, Russo has posted 28 consecutive winning seasons. In 27 of his 32 campaigns, Rus-so's booters have won at least 10 games in a regular season that contains but 14 contests.

Longtime assistant coach Tom Demeo is quick to point out that "there is no better gentleman in the game of college soccer than Mike Russo.

He competes as hard as he can, but he respects every opponent, his kids, and the game itself.

"Every time we go to a youth soccer tournament to look at po-tential Williams players, a father or mother of someone Mike has recruited in the past will stop him and say hi, even if their son did not go to Williams."

Even more impressive to De-meo, who will be coaching along-side Russo for the 19th year this fall, is what Russo does each year after the Williams Admission Of-fice makes its decisions.

"Up until about five years ago, Mike sent a handwritten note to each of the kids that he recruited that did not get into Williams, telling them that there are a lot of good schools out there and to make the best of their chances wherever they go," he said. "Now there are so many he sends an email."

Demeo shakes his head, turns to the side and then back. Blink-ing away a tear he says, "Who wouldn't want to play for a coach that knows the game, loves the game, loves his kids, and works at it just as hard as he expects his kids to work?"

Russo might nod his head

when you ask him if he was the first college soccer coach in the nation in any division to win na-tional coach of the year honors back-to-back (1987 and 1988), but he will quickly add, "I had some very, very good players." Angela Russo, Mike's wife of 42 years, remembers how excited he was for the beginning of his fourth season (1982).

She recalls how he told her, "If we can just win this first game against RPI I think the guys will begin to believe they can be suc-cessful and we can have a good season."

After the tough 1-0 loss to RPI she asked Russo, "What does this

mean?" He responded softly, "It means I don't think we're going to be here much longer." Noth-ing could have been further from the truth.

"I think his next option was to go sell grass seed with my father if it didn't work out at Williams," said Angie Russo.

Russo was jolted by the loss to RPI, but there was no way he would cash in his season after one game. He would figure out a way to continue to get the boys to em-brace his system, his style of play, and coach the heck out of them.

His teams went from winning just eight games total (2.67/year) in his first three years to making four trips to the NCAA Final Four, winning the 1995 title, fin-ishing second in 1993 and third

in both 1998 and 2009.The 1982 Ephs came together

after that first loss and fashioned a four-game win streak that was punctuated by a 1-0 win at Divi-sion I Dartmouth.

Russo is a creature of routine. He leaves his house in The Knolls around 7 a.m. and goes on a run of at least three miles.

Oftentimes his route takes him past the men's soccer field on Cole Field as the morning fog is lifting off the Frog Pond and the playing field — a sight not to be missed.

Wednesdays are hill days, so Russo sprints from Denison Gatehouse at the bottom of Spring Street to the Susan Hop-kins House. He does eight hill sprints every Wednesday.

Fourth-year Williams head men's basketball coach Mike Maker has become a close associ-ate of Russo's through a mutual connection with current Notre Dame head soccer coach Bobby Clarke who was at Dartmouth with Maker.

"Bobby raved about Mike as a person and as a coach," said Mak-er. "I have come to see Mike as a mentor and a role model for me and a lot of people both on cam-pus and in town.

In 1995 over Christmas break, Russo called Williams Sports Info Director Dick Quinn to give a heads up that he'd be joining the New England Revolution as an assistant to Frank Stapleton.

About three hours later, he called to say he'd changed his mind after the college adminis-tration urged him to take a sab-batical, in case he did like the professional game.

"The more I thought about it the more I realized that I already had the best job in the world," he told Quinn. "So I called the Rev-olution and thanked them for the offer and declined."

He would never say so and he would surely contest the idea, but Mike Russo is men's soccer at Williams and he will be for a long, long time.

Local soccer legend prepares for his

33rd season

“I have come to see Mike as a mentor and a role model for me and a lot of people both on campus and in town”

—Mike Maker


belvedere site to alleviate some of the concerns raised by members of the public. The second objec-tive will involve coming up with a process to deal with future re-quests like the one that led to the creation of the Kennedy Park Belvedere.

Chairman Coakley has stressed that the Kennedy Park Commit-tee is an advisory body, and that its offi cial duty is to administer the fund set up by Mr. Kennedy

for the maintenance of the park. Although the Kennedy Park

Committee is coming up with recommendations on what to do about the belvedere, all decisions on the issue will ultimately rest with the Select Board.

“We’ll get together as a com-mittee and we’ll come up with some ideas and we’ll present them to the Select Board (at the meet-ing),” said Mr. Coakley.

In the meantime, a group of citizens that takes issue with the Kennedy Park Belvedere and the process by which it was created, gathered at the Whistler Inn this Wednesday at 7:00 P.M. to dis-cuss what their plans will be go-ing forward. One of the people involved with these efforts is So-nya Bykofsky, a Lenox massage therapist.

“If I had to say there was any good thing that’s come out of all this, it’s that at least some citizens and neighbors that I have never

known in Lenox, that I have had no contact with, have at least come together, met, shared infor-mation, are working together,” said Mrs. Bykofsky.

Mrs. Bykofsky’s personal focus is on Lenox’s Scenic Mountain Act, and whether the construc-tion of the Kennedy Park Belve-dere violated its provisions.

The Scenic Mountain Act re-quires special approval for certain types of construction above 1,400 feet or in areas below 1,400 feet with steep slopes.

Mrs. Bykofsky has consulted with an attorney on the issue, al-though she has yet to hire one.

She is waiting to hear back from the town on the subject, and will be requesting informa-tion on the details of the Belve-dere’s construction under the Freedom of Information Act.

“My personal investment in all this is about preserving nature,” said Mrs. Bykofsky, “Once you open the door to things like this (the Kennedy Park Belevedere) it’s a slippery slope.”

Another issue that has come up in discussions of the Kennedy Park Belvedere controversy is the possible confl ict of interest in-volving Kennedy Park Commit-tee member Rob Akroyd.

These concerns stem from Mr. Akroyd, owner of Greylock De-sign Associates, charging Mr. Fieldman $5,000 for his services in helping to supervise the con-struction of the Kennedy Park

Belvedere. This arrangement was entered

into months after the Kennedy Park Committee had recommend-ed to the Lenox Select Board that the project be approved.

Mr. Fieldman addressed this is-sue at last Wednesday’s Lenox Se-lect Board meeting. At that meet-ing, Mr. Fieldman said that Mr. Akroyd had only gotten involved with the project after construc-tion of the belvedere was under-way, and Mr. Fieldman found that he was unable to supervise it by himself.

An effort was made to reach Mr. Akroyd for comment, but he was on vacation, and is not sched-uled to return until after this is-sue goes to press.

Clarifying the Issues

Many elements of the Kennedy Park Belvedere controversy are unclear to the general public. One person who is in an ideal po-sition to clarify some of these points is Lenox Town Manager Gregory Federspiel.

“The elements of the belvedere project do not trigger review un-der the Scenic Mountain Act,” said Mr. Federspiel, maintaining the position he took at the last Select Board Meeting.

Since that time, the Conserva-tion Committee, which is charged with enforcing the act, has been approached about the issue.

Although an offi cial position has yet to be announced, Mr. Federspiel said that it appears that the committee will deter-mine that the Scenic Mountain Act does not apply to the Kenne-dy Park Belvedere.

“Our responsibility is to make sure that all committee members are aware of the state confl ict of interest laws and we make that information available to all com-mittee members,” said Mr. Feder-spiel, when asked about the con-fl ict of interest concerns surrounding Rob Akroyd.

What is a Belvedere?The word belvedere means “beautiful view,” in Italian. According the Encyclopedia Britannica

Online a belvedere is an “architectural structure built to provide lighting and ventilation and to command a fi ne view.”

The article goes on to say that a belvedere often assumes the form of an open gallery. A well-known type of belvedere is the gazebo.

SELECT from page 1

“If I had to say there was any good thing that’s come out of all this, it’s that at least some citizens and neighbors that I have never known in Lenox, that I have had no contact with, have at least come together, met, shared information, are working together,”

— Sonya Bykofsky



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Janel HarrisonBeacon Staff Writer

Just in case you’re wondering what a WoM is, it’s my shortened version of Working Mom! And let me just start by voicing the ad-miration and respect I have for all of you.

I say this because now I know what it’s like to climb up on the work horse again with two small children and a husband to care for, a Peter Pan dog to walk, feed and play with, pick up poop, a house to be cleaned, cooking and laundry to be done, vacuuming, dusting, gardening, windows, cheerleading, gymnastics, Girl Scouts, Catechism, saving the world for goodness sake! You name it.

Now throw into the mix a working mom attending school to better herself and to better the life of her children and family and you have nothing short of a miracle… in every sense of the word.

And sometimes when you don’t feel like you’re making miracles, there’s the big issue of guilt. Do any of you feel that? That gnaw-ing twinge in your heart where you don’t want to be where you are, or you don’t think you should be where you are, because if you were the perfect mother you would be with them, nurturing and loving and being present for each and every one of their new experiences in life.

It’s a tough thing to realize we can’t be everything, every minute, of every day…

So right now I’d like to say you’re off the hook girls! Say to yourself I’m the best Mom I can be to my child/children and just know in your heart that you are doing everything possible to make their life special.

Being a WoM is great because did you ever think that by show-ing our children the loyalty we have to our careers, we are setting an example and shaping their opinions in the future? “Oh wow, Mom really cares about her job, and it makes her happy. Some day I’ll do the same.”

When feeling alone, don’t! There are a lot of us out there and there is a lot of support as well:

Just visit Workingmomsonly.com: They say this, “Working moms have more infl uence on what our world will look like in the future than any other single group of people. Their responsi-bilities are endless. Working moms deserved to be respected, honored, and praised for our contribution to society.” Creator Mary Ellen has been featured in CBS, NBC, FOX, Lifetime, USA Today, The New York Times and U.S. News.

Meet the WMAG’s Working-MomsAgainstGuilt.com is a group of Mom bloggers who share their truths of Motherhood each day.

Go hang out with Working Mom’s Refuge.com. Life too hec-tic? Come in and fi nd refuge! They have great ideas on keeping your house clean and the art of juggling.

New research from Baylor Uni-versity, found that women who return to work after giving birth are more likely to stay on the job if they have greater control over their work schedules. So fl exibili-ty is defi nitely an issue for work-ing Moms.

In essence, the study found that when employers make a great effort to put a working mom at ease, whether it's by al-lowing her to have fl exible time to help her family or reassuring her that they're not going to fi re her because of her family obliga-tions, the more likely they are to keep the mom on the job. Hear that boss!?

The great balancing act, it’s what we WoMs do every day. We perform our jobs to the best of our ability, hopefully with pas-sion and loyalty and a sense of ethics.

We multi-task, we fi nd the time for the little details that mean so much, we juggle all these balls in the air, but when we are with our kids, the very reason we feel alive every day, nothing can take that away, we cherish every given moment as our gift, and our biggest and best contribution to society and the future of our world.

Girl -2- GirlWhere the WoMs at?FRIDAY, AUGUST 12TH

OUTDOOR MOVIES AT CLAPP PARKPittsfi eldThe movies will be shown at Clapp Park on West Housatonic Street this year, beginning shortly after dusk (about 8:30.) This year’s line up again features family-friendly movies. For the complete line up visit the Recreation Activities page under the De-partment of Community Development at www.pittsfi eld.com or call 413-499-9370.

NORTHEAST ORGANIC FARMING ASSOCIATION 2011 SUMMER CONFERENCESpringfi eld, 10 a.m.Keynote Speakers: Eric Toensmeier, Perennial Edi-bles Expert, and Dr. Ignacio Chapela of UC Berke-ley, GMO Activist. Over 200 Workshops on Or-ganic Gardening, Farming, Food Politics, Permaculture, Homesteading, Landscaping, Draft-Animal Power, Alternative Energy, Livestock, Cook-ing, and more! Hundreds of Vendors and Exhibi-tors. Live Entertainment. Children’s and Teen Conference. Country Fair and Farmer’s Market. Si-lent Auction.

BERKSHIRE CRAFTS FAIRGreat Barrington, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Now in its 38th year, the Berkshire Crafts Fair will return to Monument Mountain Regional High School, each day. The fair will showcase the work of 89 artisans (36 of whom are new to the fair), care-fully selected by jury for the quality and variety of their offerings. Visitors can see these artists at work on August 13th, or Demonstration Day, with thirty minute crafts demonstrations scheduled throughout the afternoon.

4TH ANNUAL FRIDAY ON WHEELSPittsfi eld, 4 p.m. until 8 p.m.Berkshire Bank Foundation and the Piston Poppers Club of Pittsfi eld are sponsoring “Friday on Wheels: Classic Car & Blues Show,” on Friday, in downtown Pittsfi eld. on North Street from Columbus Avenue to Linden Street, and will showcase over two hun-dred antique and classic cars from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and southern Vermont.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 13TH

6TH ANNUAL ROCK, RATTLE & DRUM POW WOWLanesboroughMount Greylock (at the base of the mountain) Wirtes Farm, 45 Greylock Road, (Access road from Route 7 next to Vacation Village), For more infor-mation please go to healingwinds.net, call 413-443-2481 or email [email protected].

THE COLONIAL THEATRE PRESENTS BAKIN' WITH THE BOSSPittsfi eld, 2 & 7 p.m.The Colonial Theatre Presents Bakin’ with the Boss Tour starring Buddy Valastro: The Cake Boss on Saturday, at The Colonial Theatre. Tickets are $25-$65 and may be purchased in person at the Colonial Ticket Offi ce at 111 South Street or by calling (413) 997-4444 or online at www.TheColonialTheatre.org.

DANCIN' AT THE MANSIONLenox, 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.The Kathryn Anderson Classic Jazz and Swing Combo. Ballroom dancing to American Songbook standards in the style of the big band era. 104 Walk-er St, 413-637-3206. gildedage.org

159TH ANNUAL LAUREL HILL DAYStockbridge, 2 p.m.The Laurel Hill Association will hold its 159th an-nual Laurel Hill Day on Saturday, at the rostrum on Laurel Hill (behind the Stockbridge Town Offi ces building on Main Street). The public is invited to attend. In the event of rain, the program will be held in the Stockbridge Library on Main Street.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14TH

THE LADIES AUXILIARY UKULELE ORCHESTRANorth Adams, 7 p.m.Minerva Arts Center, 1288 Massachusetts Avenue, followed by a “Uke In” at 8 PM. Everyone is en-couraged to bring ukuleles to the show. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students, seniors, and chil-dren. For more information minervastage.com or 413-346-4502.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16TH

FREE FAMILY PROGRAMPittsfi eld, 1 p.m.Free Family Program at the Berkshire Athenaeum with Berkshire Music School’s Otha Day building a community drum circle.

TYKE HIKE & STORY TIMENorth Adams, 3 p.m.For children ages 8 and under with their parents/ guardians. Go for a short hike to experience the na-ture around us then listen to a fun children’s story. A great opportunity to introduce children to the out-doors. Wear sneakers/shoes, bug spray and bring water. Meet at Natural Bridge Visitor Center. Tues-day, August 9th & 16th at 3 p.m. Join state park interpreter for fun, family friendly explorations of Natural Bridge State Park this summer.

Community Calendar

If you have an event you would like listed in our calendar please email us at [email protected]!


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Read This. It’s Important.

For the four thousand people of Berkshire County who can’t read, the most important messages of modern life appear as mean-ingless symbols. Job applications, bank statements, ballots, warning labels, a note from a child’s teacher. Altogether, fi fteen thousand people lack the basic language skills to succeed in the workplace. That’s almost 12% of our county’s population.

Don’t be shocked by these fi gures. Be motivated.

The Literacy Network of South Berkshire can help you. You don’t need a degree. You don’t need experience. The Literacy Network will train you in their methods of one-on-one tutoring. Join the one hundred and twenty concerned citizens who give a little of their time each week to inspire and encourage, to open minds and extinguish ignorance. They are doing noble work. You can too. When is the last time you did something noble?

Call The Literacy Network of South Berkshire County today.

(413) 243-0471or email [email protected]

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