St. Joe, Drury Forming Football Co-op

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Sports
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The St. Joe Crusaders are looking to join with the Drury Blue Devils.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Drury and St. Joseph Central High School football programs are moving toward a cooperative team for the 2014 season.
 
The move was approved on Thursday in a vote of the county's athletic directors and principals, St. Joseph Principal Amy Gelinas said Friday evening.
 
"At this point, we have 10 returning players, and we don't know about freshmen," Gelinas said, explaining the motivation for the alliance. "We had such a small team this year that it caused a lot of injuries.
 
"If we can co-op even for one year, to grow a little bit ... we may be able to field our own team again after that."
 
On Friday afternoon, Drury Athletic Director Molly Meczywor and football coach Bill Bryce each declined to comment on the report.
 
"Until the paperwork is submitted and it is approved by [the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association], I'd prefer not to comment just yet," Meczywor wrote in response to an e-mail seeking comment.
 
The co-op deal was announced on Thursday evening at a meeting of the St. Joseph Booster Club, a member of the club, James Trane, told iBerkshires.com on Friday.
 
Trane, whose oldest son attended St. Joseph in late 1990s, said the boosters at Thursday's meeting expected something to be done about the issue of small numbers in the St. Joe football program, and there was "some relief" that there will continue to be opportunities for those students who want to play.
 
"I think it's necessary," he said.
 
Gelinas said St. Joseph began talking to Drury about the possibility of forming a cooperative right after the 2013 season ended. The arrangement has to be approved by the Berkshire County principals and A.D.'s in order to safeguard against schools joining forces to create a "powerhouse," and it needs to be OK'd by the MIAA six months prior to the start of the season.
 
Gelinas said she knows the co-op may be disappointing to alumni used to seeing St. Joe compete under its own colors, but school officials hope the move is temporary.
 
And anyway, she noted, co-ops are becoming more and more common. St. Joe participates in several already, including those it hosts in swimming, lacrosse and softball.
 
According to the MIAA website, there are 23 cooperative football teams in the commonwealth, a number that includes the Lee-Lenox team (hosted by Lee), the Monument Mountain-Mount Everett team (hosted by Monument Mountain) and a co-op already hosted by St. Joe with the Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter School.
 
Assuming BART continues to participate in a Drury-hosted co-operative, it would be the sixth football co-op with more than two schools in Massachusetts and the first in Berkshire County. The co-op with the most schools is hosted by Excel High School in South Boston, which has three "guest" schools and plays in Division 6, the smallest school division in the state.

Tags: co-op,   Drury High,   football,   St. Joe,   

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Dalton Man Accused of Kidnapping, Shooting Pittsfield Man

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Dalton man was arrested on Thursday evening after allegedly kidnapping and shooting another man.

Nicholas Lighten, 35, was arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court on Friday on multiple charges including kidnapping with a firearm and armed assault with intent to murder. He was booked in Dalton around 11:45 p.m. the previous night.

There was heavy police presence Thursday night in the area of Lighten's East Housatonic Street home before his arrest.

Shortly before 7 p.m., Dalton dispatch received a call from the Pittsfield Police Department requesting that an officer respond to Berkshire Medical Center. Adrian Mclaughlin of Pittsfield claimed that he was shot in the leg by Lighten after an altercation at the defendants home. Mclaughlin drove himself to the hospital and was treated and released with non-life-threatening injuries. 

"We were told that Lighten told Adrian to go down to his basement, where he told Adrian to get down on his knees and pulled out a chain," the police report reads.

"We were told that throughout the struggle with Lighten, Adrian recalls three gunshots."

Dalton PD was advised that Pittsfield had swabbed Mclaughlin for DNA because he reported biting Lighten. A bite mark was later found on Lighten's shoulder. 

Later that night, the victim reportedly was "certain, very certain" that Lighten was his assailant when shown a photo array at the hospital.

According to Dalton Police, an officer was stationed near Lighten's house in an unmarked vehicle and instructed to call over the radio if he left the residence. The Berkshire County Special Response Team was also contacted.

Lighten was under surveillance at his home from about 7:50 p.m. to about 8:40 p.m. when he left the property in a vehicle with Massachusetts plates. Another officer initiated a high-risk motor vehicle stop with the sergeant and response team just past Mill Street on West Housatonic Street, police said, and traffic was stopped on both sides of the road.

Lighten and a passenger were removed from the vehicle and detained. Police reported finding items including a brass knuckle knife, three shell casings wrapped in a rubber glove, and a pair of rubber gloves on him.

The response team entered Lighten's home at 43 East Housatonic before 9:30 p.m. for a protective sweep and cleared the residence before 9:50 p.m., police said. The residence was secured for crime scene investigators.

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