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The apartment buildings at White Terrace were the scene of two fires in the past week. A city man has been arrested in relation to the latest one on Thursday.

Pittsfield Man Charged in Second Fire at White Terrace Building

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Pittsfield man is being charged with arson after firefighters responded Thursday to a second blaze at the large apartment building on White Terrace and North Street.
 
Police say Joseph Stone, 43 was taken into custody on Thursday and will be arraigned on Friday in District Court on a single charge of arson.
 
The fire was called in at about 2:17 p.m. on Thursday at 8 White Terrace. Firefighters were quickly able to extinguish the fire, though the building did suffer damage. No injuries were reported and the investigation led to Stone, said police.
 
The vacant building was the site of a major structure fire on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at 6 White Terrace, the neighboring building. The multi-apartment structures have been vacant since another major fire in 2017 that was deemed accidental.
 
The investigation into both fires this September is being conducted by members of the Police Department, Fire Department, and fire marshals assigned to the Massachusetts State Police. Anyone who witnessed these incidents or wishes to provide additional information is asked to contact the lead investigator, Detective James Losaw, at 413-448-9700, Ext. 572.

Tags: arson,   structure fire,   

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Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Residents demanded the right to speak but the agenda did not include public comment. Amy Musante holds a sign saying the town now as '$20,000 less for a police station.'
DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board signed the sale on the last of what had been known as the Bardin property Monday even as a handful of residents demanded the right to speak against the action. 
 
The quitclaim deed transfers the nine acres to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels in Dalton. They were the third-highest bidders at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded them the land in an effort to keep the property intact.
 
"It's going to be an ongoing battle but one I think that has to be fought [because of] the disregard for the taxpayers," said Dicken Crane, the high bidder at $51,510.
 
"If it was personal I would let it go, but this affects everyone and backing down is not in my nature." 
 
Crane had appealed to the board to accept his bid during two previous meetings. He and others opposed to accepting the lower bid say it cost the town $20,000. After the meeting, Crane said he will be filing a lawsuit and has a citizen's petition for the next town meeting with over 100 signatures. 
 
Three members of the board — Chair Robert Bishop Jr., John Boyle, and Marc Strout — attended the 10-minute meeting. Members Anthony Pagliarulo and Daniel Esko previously expressed their disapproval of the sale to the Balardinis. 
 
Pagliarulo voted against the sale but did sign the purchase-and-sale agreement earlier this month. His reasoning was the explanation by the town attorney during an executive session that, unlike procurement, where the board is required to accept the lowest bid for services, it does have some discretion when it comes to accepting bids in this instance.
 
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