Letter: Bond Will Be a Reliable Community Leader

Letter to the Editor06:45PM / Tuesday, October 26, 2021Print Story | Email Story

To the Editor:

When looking toward the future of this great city, it is important not to neglect the voices of the younger generations. It is also important not to underscore the value community service has in shaping a candidate. Coming from an MCLA student and soon to be officeholder, I believe the person to best connect with our youth and represent the value of community service is Lynette Bond.

The most important memories I've made as a college student were through active volunteerism. As a person who dedicates my time in such a way, I can see how volunteer work has influenced Lynette Bond as a person, and how it will shape her tenure as the next mayor of North Adams. Through her dedication as a foster parent, her time in the Peace Corps, and her intense dedication toward the Colegrove Park Elementary School project, she has proven to me that she will be a reliable community leader.

I have been able to call North Adams my home for 22 years. MCLA was my school of choice because of this beautiful city I have been able to call my home. I think the school is especially emblematic of our community's younger demographics, and it makes me pleased to see who younger people want as their leader. The feedback we have received from the overwhelming majority of them? The future is with Lynette.

With students who want to make North Adams their home after they graduate, and have taken on our community as one that represents them, Lynette is an especially symbolic person to take office as our next mayor. Lynette may not have been born in North Adams, but she chose our city as her home like so many others here do. I am confident in Lynette's experience, transparency, and communicative nature to lead our city for the next two years. I hope with all this information in mind, you will vote for her assuredly on Nov. 2.

Joshua Vallieres
North Adams, Mass.

Joshua Vallieres is a candidate for North Adams School Committee.

Tags: city election, election 2021, letters to the editor,

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North Adams Man Found Guilty of Rape, Sentenced to State Prison

Staff Reports09:22AM / Wednesday, November 11, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — On Monday, Nov. 9, Joseph Pini, 49 years old, formerly of North Adams, was sentenced to 9 to 12 years in State Prison after being found guilty of 2 counts of Rape and one count of Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor.

On Friday, Nov. 6, a jury found Pini guilty of all three charges after deliberating for four hours.

Honorable Judge Callan sentenced Pini to 9 to 12 years in State Prison for the two counts of Rape and 6 months in the House of Corrections for Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor, to be served concurrently. The Commonwealth requested a sentence of 12 to 15 years in prison for the combined rape charges with 1 year in the House of Corrections, a maximum sentence, for furnishing alcohol to a minor to be served concurrently. Defense requested a 'very lengthy' probationary period.

According to a report, in November 2022, Joseph Pini brought a then-16-year-old to his home on Fairgrounds Avenue, North Adams. He proceeded to provide the teen with alcohol and then raped her twice.

District Attorney Shugrue thanked the jury for their services.

"I commend the North Adams Police Department and the Child Abuse Unit in my office for their thorough and dedicated work in bringing this case to a successful conclusion," he said. "My thoughts remain with the survivor, whose life has been forever impacted by this horrific assault. While no verdict can undo the harm she endured, I hope that the guilty verdict and sentencing bring a measure of closure and allow her the opportunity to move forward.”

Chief of the Child Abuse Unit Andrew Giorilo represented the Commonwealth. Ian Benoit and Shairai Richards served as victim witness advocates on behalf of the Berkshire District Attorney's Office. The North Adams Police Department served as the lead law enforcement agency on the case.

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