Williamstown Shooting Still Under Investigation

iBerkshires.com StaffPrint Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- State Police detectives continue to investigate a Sunday morning shooting on Cole Avenue, and the Williamstown Police plans a community meeting to discuss procedures when the investigation ends.
 
On Tuesday morning, WPD Chief Michael Ziemba sent a news release to update the community that while police believe there is no threat to the general public, the probe continues into a shooting at 330 Cole Ave. that sent one individual to the hospital.
 
Ziemba's news release did not indicate that any arrests have been made in the case.
 
He did provide a little more detail about the aftermath of the shooting.
 
A 10:15 a.m. call to the Williamstown Police dispatcher reported that someone had been shot at the housing complex and that, "he was en route to the hospital via personal vehicle," the release reads.
 
Later, the gunshot victim was brought from a separate location to Berkshire Medical Center by ambulance, Ziemba wrote.
 
Ziemba said he brought in the State Police Detective unit to assist the local police. Investigators determined there was no threat to the general public from the shooter and relayed that message via the town's Code Red reverse 911 system and social media.
 
"We recognize that many of you may feel unsettled," Ziemba wrote. "We also recognize that there are many remaining questions and a desire for more information in order to feel safe."
 
Ziemba said that the WPD and Berkshire District Attorney's Office will held a community meeting in partnership with the housing managers of 330 Cole Ave. after the case is concluded.
 
"This will be an opportunity to discuss how emergency situations are handled by law enforcement, how law enforcement communicates potential threats to the public and how we can all be more aware of how to report suspected crimes," Ziemba wrote.
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Lanesborough Officials Review Schools' Budgets

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

Mount Greylock Superintendent Joseph Bergeron, left, addresses the Lanesborough Select Board and Finance Committee as School Committee member Curtis Elfenbein looks at the projection of a slide in the district's budget presentation.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Town officials Monday appeared generally receptive to the fiscal year 2027 spending plans for the two public school districts that serve the town.
 
Superintendents from the Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional School District (McCann Technical School) and Mount Greylock Regional School District presented their respective FY27 budgets to a joint meeting of the town's Finance Committee and Select Board.
 
Both districts are sending significantly higher assessments for approval at Lanesborough's annual town meeting in June.
 
McCann Tech, which constituted a $317,109 expenditure for the town in the current fiscal year, is seeking $463,978 for the fiscal year that begins on July 1 even though the school's operating budget is up just 3.2 percent year to year.
 
The 46 percent increase in Lanesborough's share of McCann Tech's budget is is due to two factors: a rise in enrollment of town residents at the vocational school from 20 in 2025 to 29 in this school year and a capital assessment for the first round of payments — for interest only — for a roof and window replacement project on the North Adams campus.
 
The Mount Greylock assessment, a much larger component of Lanesborough's property tax bill, is up 10.99 percent from FY26 to FY27, from $6.8 million to $7.6 million.
 
Mount Greylock Superintendent Joseph Bergeron gave a budget presentation similar to one he has delivered twice to the district's School Committee and again last month to the Williamstown Finance Committee, explaining that while the FY27 budget maintains level services to students with a net reduction of three positions, a series of factors are driving much larger assessments to Mount Greylock's two member towns.
 
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