McCandless Sets Record Straight on Rumored Incident at Herberg

Staff Reports02:13PM / Friday, November 03, 2017Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A personnel manner took on a life of its own on social media Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday, school administrators at Herberg Middle School dealt with a "personnel" matter with an employee. The district took steps to shield the children from seeing or hearing what was happening. Those tidbits of information then grew as the conversation about the matter spread on Facebook, dovetailing into accusations of teacher misconduct and arrests.

"It had absolutely nothing to do with children and no arrests were made," Superintendent Jason McCandless said on Friday. "There was not a single student involved and there were no allegations regarding misconduct."

McCandless said the administration took "every effort to keep students from seeing what was transpiring among grown-ups."

"If there was anything that really concerned kids or put kids in danger at any level, this district has a reputation of letting parents know," he said.

On Friday, school administrators began hearing the widespread rumors of teacher misconduct and "outlandish claims" and put together a robocall to alert parents to what happened. One call went out Friday morning and another was scheduled for later Friday.

McCandless said he could not provide further information regarding the personnel matter.

Tags: Pittsfield Public Schools,

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Lanesborough Seeks State Support for Berkshire Mall Redevelopment

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires.com
05:58PM / Monday, October 12, 2026

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The town plans to petition the state to take ownership of the Route 7/Route 8 Connector Road, which officials believe is a "critical component" of the Berkshire Mall’s redevelopment strategy.

On Tuesday, the Select Board approved a letter to state Sen. Paul Mark and state Rep. John Barrett III to request their support for the vacant mall's redevelopment by helping advance transfer of the Route 7/Route 8 connector and considering funding for essential infrastructure.

"We have held discussions with the Baker Hill Road District … which will take the necessary steps to formally petition the commonwealth to take over ownership of the Route 7, Route 8 connector…Your continued support in facilitating this transfer is greatly appreciated," the letter says.

Berkshire Mall owner JMJ RE Holdings has said the potential sale and redevelopment of the mall hinges on dissolving the Baker Hill Road District, a condition of the agreement that, if unmet, would render the contract null and void.

As a result, the mall will continue to deteriorate and the litigation will proceed forward, said Tim Grogan, of JMJ.

Vera Farrell, the liaison to the Baker Hill Road District, said the district board had discussed at one of its most recent meetings that the connector road could be transferred directly to the state, rather than returned to the town; Barrett and Mark were also a part of the discussion.

"The representatives recommended that as an option, that it could transfer the connector road directly to the state, as opposed to deeding it back to the town to dispense it. If we get to that point, that would be a better option to do it that way," Farrell said.

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