- 25th anniversary of 911
2026 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the al-Qaida attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The TwiTowers were destroyed and 2,799 people lost their lives. There will be several commemorative events to make the quarter century.
- Pittsfield, Veterans Memorial Park, 10 a.m., with keynote speech from retired Brig. Gen. John J. Driscoll.
- Great Barrington, Fire Department, 6 p.m. The department will unveil a permanent memorial that includes a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.
- North Adams, Fire Department, bell-ringing ceremony at 8:46 a.m., the time American Airlines Flight 11 hit the first tower.
The memorial in Great Barrington is about 4 feet of stone topped with a small piece of steel from the towers, acquired by John Morris, a former New York City firefighter who was at ground zero on that day 25 years ago. The tribute honors the 343 New York City firefighters who died on Sept. 11, 2001. A former New York Daily News photographer and Becket resident is donating author proceeds from his recently published book, “To Hell and Back: A Photojournalist’s Journey from the 9/11 World Trade Center Attack.”
- We remember Keith Rafferty with fondness for the ready smile and hello to all and for his decades contributing to Stockbridge.
- In the New York Times, May 10, 2025, “Satisfaction with public education is at a quarter-century low, and enrollment in public schools has declined.”
Locally, columnist Vicky Shufton wrote in The Edge, ” McMahon’s mission [The United States Secretary of Education Linda McMahon] has been to dismantle the federal Department of Education…”
Berkshire Preservation Inc is moving to fill part of the gap.
