In Memoriam: Richard “Rick” P. Iemolini (Excerpt from Birches-Roy Funeral Home)
Richard, “Rick” P. Iemolini, 74, of Stockbridge, died after a long, hard-fought battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at his home, surrounded by his loving family. Rick was born on March 10, 1951, in Pittsfield. He worked for his father’s painting business and took it over in 1981. Rick was one of the premier golfers in Berkshire County and a member of the Stockbridge Golf Club for 58 years and won numerous tournaments. He is survived by his wife Teresa. To his family he was known as a devoted husband, father and friend always willing to lend a hand. Funeral Services were held on Friday, February 20, 2026. Our condolences to Teresa Iemolini, Rick’s widow and our trusted and respected Town Clerk.
Journalism Corner: Reliance
We rely on our newspapers – we read and believe. We are relying on journalists trained to seek truth and report it. We are relying on newspapers that carefully identify and differentiate news from opinion. Good reasons to believe. Ethical journalism seeks to be accurate and transparent but not everything in a newspaper does.
We all know there is more than news in a newspaper. There are the ubiquitous and usually easily recognized advertisements. In the last edition, SU reported on obituaries, the cost of paper, and the reasons obituaries cost money to publish. In an earlier issue, SU reported on solicitations masquerading as news. There’s more – read on…
Most news in most newspapers is written by staff but not all. Some are submitted by outside sources. When they are, a newspaper is expected to name the source. It might say: “Courtesy of…” or “From…” That identifies text written by a person outside of the newspaper staff and printed as is. It is identified because it can easily represent the viewpoint of the source. The one submitting may have a POV or an ax to grind. They may have a bow to take or a back to slap. The submitter may correctly describe an event and misidentify the person responsible. A fine newspaper takes responsibility for the accuracy of everything published. It verifies information before releasing it and uses original sources whenever possible. Well then, wouldn’t it be okay to use material about a political party, for example, written by a political party? Not if you also wish to verify facts and take responsibility for accuracy. A political party, politician, or elected official may be more interested in selling than informing. That’s okay. There is a place for that in a newspaper as long as the paper identifies it in print the same size and just as dark as all the other print.
Public Hearing for Vanderbilt Berkshire Estate (Elm Court) Permit continued until March 12, 2026, 6:30pm. As reported in the last issue, the February Public Hearing was called to order and continued within minutes. In explanation, the Town Administrator wrote to Carole Owens: “Since the Select Board did not receive the supplemental materials from the applicant in a timely manner, the Board members did not have adequate time to review the submission and therefore they held the hearing and the only action taken was a vote to continue. Date set for next hearing is March 12 at 6:30.”
SU received an email from Harold French “I’m still alive.” Glad to hear it, Harold. Our best wishes to you, to Mary Balle, Olga Weiss, and Erik Rasmussen for a speedy recovery. Please get well soon – we miss you. Reach out and find out how our neighbors are doing.
