Pittsfield Woman Arrested for 'Machete' Armed Robbery at Big Y

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PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A city woman is being charged after allegedly threatening a grocery store clerk with a machete before stealing groceries. 

Shortly before 9 p.m. on Tuesday, the Pittsfield Police responded to Big Y Supermarket at 200 West St. for a report of a woman who pulled out a bladed object described as a "machete," pointed it at the employees in a threatening manner, and left the store with a cart full of items. 

Police Capt. Matthew Hill reported that the person, later identified as Collette Davis of Pittsfield, has been asked to leave the store by employees due to previous incidents. 

Additional charges were added the next day during her booking due to an alleged attack on officers. 

"Officers located Ms. Davis the following day (6/11) and [she] was subsequently placed under arrest on a warrant for the 6/10 incident. The "machete" that may have been used in the incident at Big Y was recovered & seized as evidence," he wrote. 


"Following her arrest, she assaulted two officers in the booking room of the PPD. 2 counts of Assault & Battery on a Police Officer were added against her. She was scheduled to be arraigned at Central Berkshire District Court." 

An eyewitness provided iBerkshires with an account of the incident, explaining that they saw a woman trying to steal a cart full of groceries pull out the large blade when asked to pay.  The person expressed a fear of Big Y becoming unsafe over the years and reported seeing a decrease in security. 


 


Tags: robbery,   

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Wahconah Students Join Statewide 'SOS' Call for Rural School Funding

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

DALTON, Mass. — Students at Wahconah Regional High School are urging the state to fully fund Rural School Aid that supports essential services that shape their future.
 
Rural districts across the state participated in Rural and Declining Enrollment Schools Week of Action to insist Beacon Hill fully fund rural aid at $60 million. 
 
Schools across Massachusetts sent their pleas for aid to lawmakers through letter-writing campaigns, sign-making, and coordinated gatherings where students and educators formed the letters "SOS."

Wahconah students did something different — they created an educational video detailing the need for increased funding for rural schools with the school's music teacher Brian Rabuse, who edited the video, Assistant Superintendent Aaron Robb said. 

The advocacy efforts move the issue from spreadsheets to show the human cost of a funding formula previously described as "remarkably wrong." 
 
During an interview with iBerkshires, students expressed how districts without rural aid would have to make reductions in world language programing, mental health support, extracurricular opportunities, and other areas they find essential. 
 
"Our students deserve the same quality of education as any child in Massachusetts, regardless of their ZIP code," Superintendent Mike Henault said in a press release.
 
"The week of action is an opportunity for our communities to come together and make it clear to Beacon Hill that the status quo is no longer acceptable." 
 
Rural schools attempt to create the same quality education as urban and suburban areas while balancing high fixed costs of transportation and operations of geographically large, low-population districts.
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