Tom’s Top 3 for 1/12: Flu Cases On The Rise In Pittsfield

There has been a 44 percent increase in flu symptoms in Pittsfield in the last few weeks. IBerkshires.com reports that according to public health nurse Kayla Donnelly-Winters, there have been 32 total cases of influenza confirmed in the city since October 1st. That is compared to just 15 in the same period of time last year. But the numbers had jumped in the last few weeks. Nationwide there have been 13 pediatric deaths in just the last week whereas the entire year before there were 85. Donnelly-Winters said that it’s not just the elderly that are susceptible. She's read multiple cases of young, healthy people who have died from complications of the flu. She said there is still time to get vaccinated.

Programming Note: Donnelly-Winters will be in the 1420 WBEC Studio next week for Friday’s edition of “City Talk” We’ll talk about this uptick in flu cases, symptoms to look out for, and why you should still get vaccinated if you haven’t already. Tune in Friday morning, January 19th at 11:30.

Funeral Services For Lt. Michael Winston Held Today

The funeral services for Lt. Michael Winston were taking place Monday morning from Dwyer Funeral Home in Pittsfield. Winston, who has served on the Pittsfield Police Department for nearly 24 years, died last Friday while on vacation in Fort Myers, Florida at the age of 55. A large contingent of law enforcement officers, fire personnel, and EMS personnel from throughout Berkshire County and beyond were in attendance to pay their respects. A marching and vehicle procession transported and accompanied Lt. Winston from the funeral home to St. Charles Church.

Lawyer Questions Police Use Of Force

The attorney for an anti-pipeline activist says state police troopers might have used an “excessive amount of force” on the man during a protest in which he was subdued with a stun gun. The Berkshire Eagle reports that in a pretrial hearing in Southern Berkshire District Court yesterday, attorney Joseph Zlatnik told Judge Paul Vrabel that he had filed a “substantial discovery motion” in which he asked the state for information that includes state police trooper radio and other communications, and the state’s policy on the use of stun guns. According to police, during a November 1st protest near Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. headquarters in Sandisfield, 25 year old Jacob Renner lead troopers on a foot chase that ended with a trooper using a stun gun on Renner.