Governor Makes Appointments to the POST Commission

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BOSTON — Governor Maura T. Healey and Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell appointed Reverend Clyde Talley and Deborah Hall to serve on the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission. 
 
Reverend Talley is a joint appointee by the Governor and Attorney General. Hall is a joint appointee who was nominated by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. The POST Commission was established in 2020 to help improve policing and enhance public confidence in law enforcement. 
 
"The members of the POST Commission have a critical role to play in building public trust in law enforcement," said Governor Healey. "Over the last three years, the commission has taken important steps to improve public safety, transparency and accountable, and Attorney General Campbell and I are confident that the appointments of Reverend Clyde Talley and Deborah Hall will help build on that progress. They bring unique expertise and a commitment to justice to the commission that will be influential in their efforts to make Massachusetts a safer and more equitable place for us all." 
 
The POST Commission is responsible for the certification process for Massachusetts police officers, including decertification, suspension of certification, or reprimand in the event of certain police misconduct. They are also responsible for investigating police misconduct complaints, including those that concern improper use of force and biased policing, and training for all peace officers in the Commonwealth.  
 
"I am grateful to Governor Healey and Attorney General Campbell for giving me the opportunity to join the POST Commission. It's clear that over the past three years the commission has laid the foundations for strengthening accountability and trust in law enforcement, and I'm eager to continue building on that work," said Reverend Talley.   
 
Reverend Talley is currently Senior Pastor of Belmont A.M.E. Zion Church. He is also serves as President & CEO of Yes We Care, Inc., Governor for Board of Governors for National Association of Nonprofit Organizations and Executives (NANOE),?Governor's Black Empowerment Council, Attorney General's Advisory Council on Racial Justice and Equity,?and has served as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Board of Directors of Early Childhood Centers (ECC) in Springfield where under his leadership, ECC built a new 4.5 million-dollar facility.?Rev. Talley is an award-winning speaker and has dedicated his career to working directly with his community. 
 
"I am honored to have the opportunity to better our system and help make it a safer experience for our victims, survivors and our law enforcement community," said Hall. "With the leadership of Governor Healey and Attorney General Campbell, I am excited to work on the POST commission to deliver accountability to our Commonwealth." 
 
Hall is CEO of YWCA Central MA. She has over 35 years of experience working with survivors of domestic violence and addressing the intersection of race, gender, and community violence. She is a frequent speaker on gendered violence and violence in the lives of Black women. She has served in leadership positions for several programs throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Missouri addressing issues of homelessness, violence, and substance abuse. Prior to moving to Massachusetts, Deborah worked for the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office and Jackson County District Attorney's Office in Kansas City, MO where she oversaw client services for Drug Court. She has served on the boards of Worcester Business Improvement District, Jane Doe, Inc., and Worcester Education Collaborative. She currently serves on the board of Mass Humanities, American Antiquarian Society, and is a member of Central MA Housing CoC Advisory Board. She is the founder of the Worcester Black History Project. 
 
Deborah holds a BS in Political Science and African American Studies from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a MS in Nonprofit Management from Worcester State University. 

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Toys for Tots Bringing Presents to Thousands of Kids This Year

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Volunteers organize toys by age and gender in the House of Corrections storage facility. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Plenty of toys are on their way to children this holiday season thanks to Toys for Tots.

Christopher Keegan has coordinated the local toy drive for the Berkshire Chapter of the Marine Corps Reserve since 2015 and said he has seen the need rise every year, last year helping more than 6,000 kids.

"This is 11 years I've been doing it, and the need has gone up every year. It's gone up every year, and I anticipate it going up even more this year," Keegan said.

On Thursday, the Berkshire County House of Corrections storage facility was overflowing with toys making it the county's very own Santa's workshop. 

Keegan said Berkshire County always shows up with toys or donations. 

"This county is outstanding when it comes to charity. They rally around stuff. They're very giving, they're very generous, and they've been tremendous in this effort, the toys for pride effort, since I've been doing it, our goal is to honor every request, and we've always reached that goal," he said.

Keegan's team is about 20 to 25 volunteers who sort out toys based on age and gender. This week, the crew started collecting from the 230 or so boxes set out around the county on Oct. 1.

"The two age groups that are probably more difficult — there's a newborn to 2s, boys and girls, and 11 to 14, boys and girls. Those are the two challenging ages where we need to focus our attention on a little bit more," he said.

Toys For Tots has about 30 participating schools and agencies that sign up families and individuals who need help putting gifts under the tree. Keegan takes requests right up until the last minute on Christmas.

"We can go out shopping for Christmas. I had sent my daughter out Christmas Eve morning. Hey, we need X amount of toys and stuff, but the requests are still rolling in from individuals, and I don't say no, we'll make it work however we can," he said.

Community members help to raise money or bring in unopened and unused toys. Capeless Elementary student Thomas St. John recently raised $1,000 selling hot chocolate and used the money to buy toys for the drive.

"It's amazing how much it's grown and how broad it is, how many people who were involved," Keegan said.

On Saturday, Live 95.9 personalities Bryan Slater and Marjo Catalano of "Slater and Marjo in the Morning" will host a Toys for Tots challenge at The Hot Dog Ranch and Proprietor's Lodge. Keegan said they have been very supportive of the drive and that they were able to collect more than 3,000 toys for the drive last year.

Volunteer Debbie Melle has been volunteering with Toys for Tots in the county for about five years and said people really showed up to give this year.

"I absolutely love it. It's what we always say. It's organized chaos, but it's rewarding. And what I actually this year, I'm so surprised, because the amount that the community has given us, and you can see that when you see these pictures, that you've taken, this is probably the most toys we've ever gotten," she said. "So I don't know if people just feel like this is a time to give and they're just going above and beyond, but I'm blown away. This year we can barely walk down the aisles for how much, how many toys are here. It's wonderful."

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