[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 18, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11651-S11652]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REPRESENTATIVE PIGNATELLI TAKES ON KATRINA

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I welcome this opportunity to commend my 
friend and colleague in Massachusetts, State representative William 
Pignatelli, who represents the fourth Berkshire district. In addition 
to his tireless dedication to the people of western Massachusetts, 
Smitty, as we all call him, has also shown his extraordinary commitment 
to public service by going far above and beyond the call of duty to 
help people in New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
  During a trip to New Orleans last December, Smitty met Stanley 
Stewart and his family of 12, who had just moved into a FEMA trailer 
after 16 horrific months of suffering. The family had been rescued from 
the second-floor balcony of their home in the city after spending 2 
days without food, water, and plumbing.
  Distressed by the plight of Stanley and his family, Smitty decided to 
help them rebuild their home and has already made a number of trips to 
New Orleans to do what he can. Now he has decided to spend his fall 
vacation in New Orleans to finish the job. On September 30, he will be 
taking a group of volunteer builders from the Berkshires to New Orleans 
to do so. With these generous acts of kindness, Smitty has shown us 
extraordinary dedication to those less fortunate.
  As my brother Robert F. Kennedy said, ``Each time a man stands up for 
an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against 
injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each 
other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those 
ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest of 
oppression and resistance.''
  I commend Smitty for the remarkable ripple of hope he is sending 
forth. A recent article in the Berkshire Eagle describes this amazing 
chapter in Smitty's life. I believe the article will be of interest to 
all my colleagues in the Senate, and I ask unanimous consent to have 
the article printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Berkshire Eagle, Sept. 3, 2007]

                 Pignatelli Will Take on Katrina Again

                           (By Derek Gentile)

       Lenox.--State Rep. William ``Smitty'' Pignatelli admitted 
     yesterday that he understands that he cannot repair all the 
     problems that beset many of the folks in New Orleans affected 
     by Hurricane Katrina.
       But he and a group of contractor friends and constituents 
     are going to try to fix a very small corner of that world.
       Pignatelli and a small army of local builders will be 
     heading down to New Orleans on Sept. 30 to repair and rebuild 
     the home of New Orleans native Stanley Stewart, whose house 
     was one of the tens of thousands of homes devastated by the 
     2005 hurricane.
       ``This is going to be the Berkshire County version of (the 
     television show) `Extreme Home Makeover,' '' Pignatelli said.
       This will be Pignatelli's fourth trip to New Orleans. He 
     said he has been appalled by the damage he has seen.
       ``When you go down there, and see the damage that is still 
     in evidence, you feel ashamed of the government responsible 
     for this,'' he said.
       But he is also heartened constantly by the way people from 
     other parts of the country have come to try to help the 
     survivors.
       Pignatelli met Stewart, who lives in the lower ninth ward 
     of New Orleans, last December, while on one of his first 
     trips to the beleaguered city. Eventually, he learned that 
     Stewart and his family lost their home in the hurricane and 
     were living in a FEMA trailer ``maybe a little bit bigger 
     than my SUV,'' Pignatelli said.
       Resolving to help the family, he has made several trips to 
     New Orleans since with other

[[Page S11652]]

     builders, basically gutting the two-story home and preparing 
     it for renovation. A few months ago, they put a roof on the 
     house.
       Now, he said, the volunteer force he assembled is ready to 
     rebuild the rest of the structure.
       ``We're going to try to do it in seven days,'' he said.
       The companies that are sending workers are Pignatelli 
     Electric (run by brother Scott) and Don Fitzgerald Carpentry 
     of Lenox; Comalli Electric, Cardillo Plumbing electrician Jim 
     Sorrentino and Fabino Drywall of Pittsfield; Doug Trombley 
     Windows and Moran Mechanical of Lee; and carpenter Dan 
     Sartori of West Stockbridge.
       In addition, Granite City Electric of Pittsfield donated 
     much of the electrical equipment, Scott's Carpet One of 
     Pittsfield donated the kitchen cabinets and bathroom 
     vanities, and Pam Sandler Architects of Stockbridge donated 
     the blueprint.
       All are volunteers, Pignatelli said.
       Pignatelli himself sent a letter to many of his supporters 
     asking that, instead of giving to his annual Aug. 31 
     fundraiser, they donate to the project. To date, he has 
     raised $25,000 for materials, lodging and transportation for 
     the volunteer crew, he said.
       ``It's not often a politician puts aside political ambition 
     like this,'' said one of his supporters, Rachel Fletcher of 
     Great Barrington. ``It's commendable.''
       Don Fitzgerald was one of the carpenters who went down the 
     last time to help with the roof.
       ``I was on top of the roof, looking around at all the other 
     houses in the neighborhood, and I thought, `Man, these guys 
     got whacked,' '' he said.
       He said he met Stewart, ``and I want to help the guy. He's 
     a good son of a gun.''
       As to whether or not the crew can finish the house in one 
     week, Fitzgerald was confident.
       ``In a week? We're gonna kick the hell out of it,'' he 
     said.

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