Lanesborough Opts Out of Early Voting By Mail

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Voters will not be able to cast ballots early by mail but can they can still request an absentee ballot for the town election.

Last week, Clerk Ruth Knysh asked the Select Board to opt out of early voting by mail for municipal elections. Her request came after the state expanded access last year.

"An act passed to allow early voting by mail for local elections. It used to be just state and federal," she said. "So my thought on that is it's not in my budget, it's a lot of extra work added on me. I'm only one person in there."

Knysh explained that all of the mail-in ballots would have to be opened and processed by herself before being checked against signatures in the state computer.

"It's a process and the local elections are not well participated in," she said. "I'm just worried that if that is an option to vote by mail, we're going to get hundreds of people that don't typically vote wanting to vote by mail because they can."

The Select Board accepted the request, understanding the nature of Knysh's concern. The board also approved her request to have a police officer at the polling location for every election to "preserve order and protect the election officers." This also is now required by the state.

So far, incumbent Michael Murphy is being challenged by Barbara Davis-Hassan and Deborah Maynard for a three-year seat on the Select Board. 

Fines, Appeals, Lawsuit Collide in Berkshire Concrete Dispute

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:35AM / Thursday, April 30, 2026

Resident Ron Griffin speaking at Tuesday's Board of Health meeting, thinks the fight with Berkshire Concrete has resulted in some public officials leaving. He is one of the first abutters to speak against Berkshire Concrete. 

DALTON, Mass. — The building inspector's ticket book is running thin as the town starts to issue daily fines to Berkshire Concrete for its failure to submit a revised remediation plan for the unauthorized dig site. 

 

Petricca Industries, the parent company of Berkshire Concrete, was issued a $50 fine on Saturday, April 25; $100 on Sunday, and $300 daily fines continuing thereafter until a detailed restoration plan is received, Building Inspector Brian Duval said. 

 

As of Wednesday afternoon, no resubmission of the plan has happened, he said. 

 

Almost a year ago, both the Select Board and Planning Board expressed that they wanted parcel No. 105-16 fully mitigated to abide by the town's bylaws. 

 

This vote was supported by the Zoning Board of Appeals, which ruled that Berkshire Concrete had violated zoning bylaw 350-61 Section E. Restoration. 

 

Petricca Industries appealed this decision, however, ZBA upheld its initial vote and ordered the company to fully remediate or cover the dig site to abide by town bylaws.

 

During Monday's Select Board meeting, Town Manager Eric Anderson said Berkshire Concrete claimed it did not believe that the board's directive to remediate the unauthorized dig site included parcel 105-16.