NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A nearly 20-year veteran of the Police Department has been named as interim police chief effective Monday, April 10.
Mayor Jennifer Macksey said on Friday that she has appointed Sgt. Mark Bailey to temporarily replace departed Chief Jason Wood. Lt. Anthony Beverly had stepped into the leadership role last month when Wood was put on administrative leave.
"I have the outmost confidence in Bailey's ability to lead this department to be the best and most professional department it can be," the mayor said in a statement.
"I extend my gratitude to Lt. Anthony Beverly for helping us through this transition. He is a true team player, a person that serves with respect and dedication to the North Adams community."
Bailey started with the force as a reserve patrol officer in December 2004 and was hired as a full-time permanent police officer a year later. In 2013, he was assigned to the Detective Bureau and took on the role of narcotics investigator for the Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force.
He was appointed acting detective sergeant of the Detective Bureau in 2015 and appointed permanent detective sergeant in 2017. In 2020, he returned to patrol as sergeant supervising third shift.
Macksey said Bailey has extensive training and certifications in interviewing and interrogations, sexual assault investigations, fire investigations, tactical deployment of officers and emergency medical services during critical incidents, and advanced cell phone investigations, as well as death scene investigator training.
Bailey is also an investigator for Internet Crimes Against Children, which is an assignment he will continue as interim chief.
The 2000 Drury High graduate obtained his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Westfield State University in 2004. Bailey also graduated from Aspen University with a master of science in criminal justice with a specialization in law enforcement management.
"He comes highly recommended by his peers," said the mayor. "He carries a high ethical standard and he has the utmost respect and care for not only his colleagues but the community he serves.
"Bailey's focus will be to get the new Police Department headquarters operational, work to get policies and procedure updated, improve community engagement with citizens but most importantly making North Adams the safest it can be."
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North Adams Schools Talk Final Budget Numbers for Public Hearing
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
The elementary schools will be phasing in a new math curriculum over the next two years.
The subcommittee is recommending the budget of $20,357,096, up $302,744 or 1.51 percent over this year. This was expected to be funded by $16,418,826 in state Chapter 70 education funds, local funding of $3,938,270 (up $100,000 over this year) and a drawdown of school funds of $575,237. This will also include the closure of Greylock School at the end of this year and the reduction of 26 full-time positions.
A hybrid public hearing on the budget will be held on Thursday, May 23, at 5:30 at Brayton School, with a vote by the School Committee to immediately follow.
The extra $100,000 from the city will likely not be part of this funding package, warned Mayor Jennifer Macksey, chair of the School Committee.
"Going through all my process on the city side, so to say, with the rest of my departments, it's going to be really hard for me to squeak out the additional $100,000," said the mayor, alluding to a budget gap of $600,000 to $800,000 for fiscal 2025 she's trying to close.
"I just want to be fully transparent with everyone sitting here, and as your School Committee chair, I don't know if the city budget is going to be able to squeak out that $100,000. That number will most likely change."
Director of School Finance and Operations Nancy Rauscher said the $100,000 had been a placeholder with administration understanding that it could change.
The closure was announced on the store's Facebook page late Sunday night, where it immediately drew comments of remembrance and well-wishing.
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Spring arriving in all its raucous and deliberate awakening is heralded by a symphony of vanguard spring peepers, hyla crucifer, that transform the cold and drear into a circus of vivacious trilling. click for more
The fate of the facility attached to Brayton School has been in limbo since the closure of the pool last year because of structural issues and the departure of the Berkshire Family YMCA in March.
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The School Committee will be presented next week with a $20 million spending plan for fiscal 2025 that includes closing Greylock School and a reduction of 26 full-time positions.
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