PITTSFIELD, Mass. —— Town Manager Paul Sieloff couldn't be happier with the performance of the police chief in his first year.
The Board of Selectmen authorized a 2.5 percent raise for Chief Timothy Sorrell on Monday after Sieloff's exceptional review. As part of his contract, Sorrell will be reviewed annually and pay raises will be based on performance.
"I have him excellent in every case," Sieloff said.
Sorrell took over the department from Mark Bashara, who retired, on July 1 of last year. Sorrell had actually taken over operations a month or so earlier on an interim basis but the new contract wasn't in place until the first of the fiscal year.
During this past year, Sorrell hit an immediate challenge with staffing levels. The department faced a number of hour reductions in part-timers and full-timers being out. Sorrell picked up those extra shifts.
"You couldn't have asked more of the chief because of the shortage and taking extra shifts," Sieloff said.
Beyond that, Sorrell is credited with saving the town money through converting the animal control operations into a police position, adding the responsibilities to a current officer rather than having the town pay for a separate department. Further, he helped develop bylaws including one to allow towing vehicles during the winter, requiring door-to-door solicitors be registered with the town, and levied fines for false alarms that incentives businesses and individuals with faulty alarms to fix them.
"I think he's fulfilled that position at an exceptionally high level," Sieloff said.
Sieloff had already budgeted for the 2.5 percent raise and the Board of Selectmen were unanimous in approving it.
"I know Tim has really been putting himself on the line for the job," Selectman Henry Sayers said.
Sorrell is one of just three contracted workers in the town. The rest are either represented as a union or are Town Hall staff, restricting the Selectmen's ability to offer performance-based ray raises.
The chief was selected for the position after being a runner-up for it in 2003. He's served on the department for 29 years, becoming a full-time patrolman in 1987. He was promoted to sergeant for 12 years and then became an investigator.
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Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation Scholarships
LUDLOW, Mass. — For the third year, Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) will award scholarships to students from Lanesborough and Hancock.
The scholarship is open to seniors at Mount Greylock Regional High School and Charles H. McCann Technical School. BWPCC will select two students from the class of 2024 to receive $1,000 scholarships.
The scholarships will be awarded to qualifying seniors who are planning to attend either a two- or four-year college or trade school program. Seniors must be from either Hancock or Lanesborough to be considered for the scholarship. Special consideration will be given to students with financial need, but all students are encouraged to apply.
The BWPCC owns and operates the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 12 turbine, 19.6-megawatt wind farm located on Brodie Mountain in Hancock and Lanesborough. The non-profit BWPCC consists of 16 municipal utilities located in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, and West Boylston, and their joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC).
To be considered, students must submit all required documents including a letter of recommendation from their school counselor and a letter detailing their educational and professional goals. Application and submission details will be shared with students via their school counselors. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.
MMWEC is a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts created by an Act of the General Court in 1975 and authorized to issue tax-exempt debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities. MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state's consumer-owned, municipal utilities.
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