Chief Parker could head to hornet’s nest

By Linda CarmanPrint Story | Email Story
Chief Arthur Parker
WILLIAMSTOWN — Sgt. Kyle Johnson will be appointed acting chief of the Police Department effective July 6, when Police Chief Arthur A. Parker Jr. leaves to take the top post in the department in Carver, according to Town Manager Peter Fohlin. Stories obtained from the Carver Reporter, that town’s newspaper, depict a department riven by conflict, in which several officers have been disciplined or fired in the past few years. Fohlin said he plans to appoint Johnson, who was promoted to sergeant in April 2002, when Parker leaves and that Parker concurs with the appointment. “It’s a complicated transition to assure that all matters of business are communicated and properly passed over from Chief Parker to Acting Chief Johnson. At this point in time that is our one and only focus,” Fohlin said yesterday. Parker said he will leave with only one of his goals for the Williamstown department unfulfilled – a new police station, which has been stalled by the town’s fiscal woes. Unlike two previous job offers since he came to Williamstown from Wellfleet in January 2000, Carver’s offer came at the right time, he said. “One of them was the ability to mentor somebody to take my place when I left,” he said. “The department’s in great shape. We transformed a department with a traditional style of policing into a community-based problem-solving agency. We’re recognized as partners by our residents, businesses, Williams College and various support agencies and other law enforcement agencies. And we have modern technology, and we’re preparing to bring technology to even newer levels in thenear future.” He added, “To use the phrasing of Sgt. Scott McGowan, ‘We’ve gone from the Flintstones to Star Wars.’” Parker’s appointment in Carver is for a three-year contract with automatic extension options and an annual base salary of $98,500. His salary in Williamstown is $74,342. Carver, 40 miles southeast of Boston, has a 15-officer department and a population of 11,368. Parker has 27 years in policing. Before coming to Williamstown he spent 20 months with the Wellfleet department, where he was sergeant. Parker declined to comment on the police-department controversy in Carver. “Carver presents a challenge I’m very excited about,” he said. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to rebuild and organize a police department.” According to news stories in the Carver Reporter, there will be challenges aplenty. Two of the three selectmen who voted for Parker’s appointment are facing a recall effort spearheaded by a supporter of the former acting chief, Mike O’Donnell, who was not on the short list recommended by the town’s search committee. The two selectmen who voted against Parker’s appointment supported O’Donnell. The other two finalists were Stow Police Chief Joseph Rebello and Oxford Police Chief Charles Noyes, who received the top two scores by the recommending seven-member police chief search committee. Parker received the third-highest score. According to the Carver Reporter story recounting Parker’s appointment, the chief’s position has been a matter of contention for some six years since then Police Chief Diane Skoog drew the ire of gun owners who objected to her policy on gun permits. Skoog, since retired, was succeeded by Sgt. Rob Malonson, who retired the next year during a contract dispute and after police disciplinary hearings revealed a split between two police-union factions. That conflict was cited for the hiring, at a $16,000 fee, of a consultant to help the search committee. Over the past few years, several officers have been disciplined and fired by the Selectmen, the Reporter wrote.
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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