Literacy Network Elects New Board Members

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LEE, Mass. — The Literacy Network of South Berkshire has elected Leigh Doherty and Rebecca Riordan to the organization’s board of directors. 

“Our board is an unusually close-knit, generous, and hardworking group. Leigh and Rebecca are perfect fits, with deep and long-standing commitments to education, diversity, and community. We are thrilled to have them join our team,” said LitNet President Lucy Prashker.

Riordan is the vice president of human resources at Greylock Federal Credit Union, a position she assumed in July 2017. Riordan has more than 30 years of experience as an accomplished leader in the field of human resources, including 20 years at Country Curtains in Lee, Mass., where she most recently served as the vice president of human resources. Before her tenure with Country Curtains, Riordan held various leadership roles, including human resources manager at the Steinbach Department Stores in Albany and White Plains, N.Y. 

She graduated from the State University of New York, College at New Paltz, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Riordan currently volunteers on the personnel committee for the town of Lee.

Doherty has served as the associate head of school at Berkshire Country Day School in Stockbridge, Mass., since 2016. Prior to her employment at BCD, Doherty has held roles as a classroom teacher, curriculum coordinator and consultant for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program in Namibia and Belgium, and head of the lower schools at the International School of Boston in Cambridge, Mass., and the Community Day Charter Public School in Lawrence, Mass. Most recently, Doherty was the co-founder, as well as a leadership and career coach, at Designed Alliance. 

She holds a masters of arts in leadership in international schools from Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, England.

LitNet has been offering free, one-on-one tutoring sessions for adults since 1991. LitNet’s flexible, personalized approach to tutoring enables adult learners to succeed in their jobs, support their families, and engage with their local communities.


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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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