Update at 12:47 p.m., Nov. 3: Carolyn Greene will finish the last two years of a four-year term on Mount Greylock Regional School Committee. Results from Lanesborough gave Greene 759 votes to Elizabeth Beck's 536. The total vote from both towns gave Greene 2,831 votes to Beck's 1,527, a 1,304 vote difference.
“Lizzy Beck had an impressive showing with an important platform,” Greene said Tuesday night. “I was glad to see her center the issues of race, equity and inclusion.
“I am looking forward to continuing the work of the School Committee, and I am honored to have the trust of the majority of voters.”
Jose Constantine and Julia Bowen will take the two open four-year seats representing Williamstown. Bowen was the top vote-getter in both towns, garnering 949 votes in Lanesborough for a total of 3,430. Constantine polled 557 in Lanesborough for a total vote of 2,168. Jude Higdon-Topaz got 327 votes in Lanesborough despite dropping out of the race.
Lanesborough resident Michelle Johnson, facing no opposition for a vacant four-year seat, earned 1,329 votes in Lanesborough.
Lanesborough's turnout was 79 percent, or 1,887 of the 2,386 registered voters casting ballots.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — With the larger of the regional school district's two towns reporting, incumbent Carolyn Greene was on track Tuesday to retain her seat on the Mount Greylock Regional School District.
The unofficial vote tally in Williamstown when the polls closed gave the town to Greene by a margin of 2,072-991 over challenger Elisabeth Beck.
Lanesborough, which in 2018 had about half as many votes as Williamstown, had not reported its votes as of midnight.
Greene, who was looking to finish the last two years of a four-year seat she was appointed to fill after a resignation, was involved in the only contested race in the district.
While it appeared likely she would retain her post, three newcomers were elected to the seven-member regional school committee in unopposed races.
Lanesborough resident Michelle Johnson faced no opposition in her quest to fill a vacant four-year seat.
The ballot also had two four-year seats for Williamstown residents. Three candidates were on the ballot for those two seats, but one, Jude Higdon-Topaz, announced his withdrawal from the race and asked his supporters to back Jose Constantine.
In Williamstown, Constantine received 1,611 votes, and Julia Bowen was the top vote-getter with 2,481 votes. Higdon-Topaz, despite pulling out of the race, received 570 votes in his hometown.
In addition to the three newcomers elected on Tuesday, the School Committee will have another new face when it meets later this month. Last week, Lanesborough resident Curtis Elfenbein was appointed to serve the last two years on an unexpired term following a resignation.
Williamstown saw a turnout of about 76 percent, with 3,656 ballots returned from the town's 4,826 registered voters.
Three-quarters of Williamstown's 3,656 ballots came in before election day.
Town Clerk Nicole Pedercini reported that the town received 74 absentee ballots and a combination of mail-in and early in-person votes that totaled 2,715.
Pedercini said she and her poll workers processed the 2,789 early votes by about 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
The presidential ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took Williamstown by a margin of 3,088-487, about 86 percent of the vote going Democratic in the reliably "blue" town.
Williamstown voted yes on public question No. 1, the Right to Repair question, by a vote of 2,614-807. The town voters also supported ranked-choice voting, voting yes on question No. 2 by a margin of 2,228-1,226.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Companion Corner: Max at Second Chance
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
Max still loves to play fetch even though his eyesight is reduced.
ARLINGTON, Vt. — There is a dog at Second Chance Animal Shelter whose blindness doesn't stop him from wanting to play fetch with his new family.
iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.
Max is a 3-year-old border collie has been patiently waiting at the shelter since January 2023.
Lead canine care technician Alaura Lasher introduced us to him.
"He is a mostly blind dog, so we're looking for someone who is willing to work with him and his blindness, he actually does really well, even though he can't see for the most part," she said.
Max was given to the shelter after his previous owner was not able to care for his special needs. His new owner will have to be able to care for him and make sure his eyes are checked every six months.
"He has degenerative retinal atrophy. He had a surgery for this a year ago. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to gain much eyesight back from that, and we're just monitoring him for glaucoma. He would need someone who is ready to take him to the ophthalmologist every six months," said Lasher. "He gets checkups every six months just to make sure he hasn't developed glaucoma yet and nothing is worsening with his eyes."
It is suggested he goes to a home with older children who can understand his condition as well as no other pets, and a safe place for him to run free without worry of getting lost. Especially to play his favorite game of fetch.
"We do suggest a home with no other animals, just because with his blindness, it's a little hard for him to know how to interact with them. We also suggest a home with a fenced in yard again, because he loves to play fetch. He will play fetch for as long as you will let him, and he does amazing at it, even though he doesn't have the best eyes," Lasher said.
Max is on an eye-drop schedule that will need to be followed.
"He does require multiple eye drops a day, so someone would have to be ready and willing to kind of stick to his eye med schedule and be able to administer those daily," she said.
Max has shown signs of reactivity to strangers and animals and would do great if his next family could work with him in socializing.
"He's a very smart dog. He's very intelligent. I think he would do really well with some basic training. Since he's very toy driven, that would definitely kind of help him in his learning and training process."
If you think Max might be the boy for you, reach out to Second Chance Animal Shelter and learn more about him on the website.
Second Chance Animal Shelter is open Tuesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. It is located at 1779 VT Route 7A. Contact the shelter at 802-375-2898 or info@2ndchanceanimalcenter.org.
The Community Preservation Committee last Wednesday heard from the final four applicants for fiscal year 2027 grants and clarified how much funding will be available in the fiscal year that begins on July 1. click for more
The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee is grappling with the question of how artificial intelligence can and cannot be used by the district's faculty and students. click for more
News this week that the Williamstown Theatre Festival will go dark again this summer has not yet engendered widespread concern in the town's business community. click for more
The Community Preservation Committee on Tuesday heard from six applicants seeking CPA funds from May's annual town meeting, including one grant seeker that was not included in the applications posted on the town's website prior to the meeting.
click for more