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Dalton Holds Community Sessions on Public Safety Building

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — Since last August, public officials said the basement of the Town Hall is inadequate to house its police station, and now the town will demonstrate why through several community outreach initiatives. 
 

QR Code to Public Safety Facility Survey. More information at the bottom of the article. 
From tours of the deteriorating precinct, information sessions with the Public Safety Facility Committee, the development of a Facebook page, to a survey, the town is engaging the community to keep them informed of the situation and develop a solution. 
 
During numerous meetings, Police Chief Deanna Strout demonstrated the decaying condition of the current location of the department including mold, mice, water damage, plumbing issues, damage to cells, and more. 
 
For the last year, the committee has been coordinating the department, communication center, and town to determine the future of the department and communication center.  
 
Listed on the town website is a timeline and links to several documents including the indoor air quality report, air quality assessment, sewage backup, and the draft space needs assessment by the town’s consultant Jacunski Humes Architects LLC. 
 
Throughout August, the Public Safety Facility Committee will hold information sessions to provide community members with an update on its progress thus far. The first was held last Wednesday and the next on Monday at 1 p.m.
 
These sessions will include presentations on the current state of the department, a question-and-answer session, and a review of prior assessments of the station and possibilities for the future. 
 
Dates for the information sessions are as follows: 
  • Aug. 18 at 1 p.m. at the Dalton Senior Center
  • Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. at the Dalton Library
  • Aug. 30 at 11 a.m. at the Dalton Senior Center

Community members can see first hand the state of the police station during tours of the precinct which will take place on: Tuesday, Aug. 19, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 23, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m

Additionally, citizens are asked to complete a survey, which will help the town understand residents’ priorities surrounding the proposed facility. 

The brief survey includes questions that rate the department and communication center’s level of service and explores residents' understanding of the station's needs. 
 
It also requests what information they require to make an informed decision about the proposed facility, their level of support for the facility, and the reasons behind their opinions.


Tags: community forum,   Dalton Police,   police station,   

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Parole Granted to Pittsfield Man Sentenced for Killing Toddler Son

Staff Reports
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A city man serving a life sentence for killing his 2-year-old son 43 years ago has been granted parole. 
 
According to the Boston Globe, the Parole Board on Monday voted to release Richard N. Mayes Jr., 78, to a halfway house.
 
Mayes was charged with beating his son to death in 1983 when he wouldn't eat. The child, Lawrence Richon, had received blows to his head, body, arms and legs. Mayes also told police he'd hit his son four times with a plastic baseball bat. 
 
According to media reports at the time, Mayes tried to resuscitate Lawrence when he later collapsed and cried to police that he did it when arrested. 
 
The boy was taken by life flight to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he died from blood clots in his head. 
 
Mayes was found guilty of second-degree murder by a Superior Court jury and sentenced to life in state prison.
 
According to the Globe, Mayes had been denied parole five times previously but told the board he had been sober for three decades and had not had a disciplinary report in a dozen years. 
 
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