Dalton Select Board to Hold Q&A Session on DCTV

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — Time and again residents have asked for more transparency from town government and now, thanks to a new series on Dalton Community Television, they will have just that. 
 
At a recent Select Board meeting, Chair Robert Bishop pitched that the town hold question-and-answer sessions to be filmed by the public broadcasting channel. 
 
The item, at the time not on the agenda so could not be discussed, was approved last Monday. 
 
"A lot of times on social media or wherever, even by word of mouth, things don't always come out the way they should do, and people get confused," Bishop said. 
 
"I would welcome any kind of questions pertaining to Select Board matters that we can answer." 
 
To comply with open meeting law, each episode will include no more than two members, and discussions will be limited to answering questions — no deliberation will occur. 
 
The show will begin airing once the town has received enough questions to fill a 30-minute segment. After that, it will continue bi-weekly on a schedule to be announced.
 
Email questions to Executive Assistant Lori Venezia or Bishop with the subject line "Select Board Q&A. 
 
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Berkshire County Firefighters Graduate from Mass Firefighting Academy

STOW, Mass. — The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy this week graduated 45 firefighters from the 50-day Career Recruit Firefighting Training Program, including six Berkshire County firefighters.
 
Graduating from Career Recruit Class S44 were Shamus Gaherty of Monterey; Broc Healey, Carolina Jones and Scott Matteson Jr. from Pittsfield; and Paul Hernandez and Michael Meagher of Stockbridge. 
 
"Massachusetts firefighters are on the frontlines protecting their communities every day, and today’s graduates are needed now more than ever," said State Fire Marshal Jon Davine. "The hundreds of hours of foundational training they've received will provide them with the physical, mental, and technical skills to perform their jobs effectively and safely."
 
Career Recruit Class S44 trained in Springfield. Its 21 members represent the fire departments of Agawam, Holden, Marlborough, Monterey, Northampton, Palmer, Pittsfield, Springfield, Stockbridge, and Turners Falls.
 
The 24 members of Career Recruit Class BW38 trained in Bridgewater and were expected to graduate last week — but the ceremony was postponed after the Blizzard of 2026 dropped more than 30 inches of snow on the campus. They represent the fire departments of Bourne, Braintree, Cohasset, Duxbury, Fall River, Hanover, Harwich, Kingston, Milton, North Attleboro, Provincetown, Rockland, and Scituate.
 
Maurice Jarmman Jr. of the Marlborough Fire Department, graduating with S44, and Jacob Warmington of the Duxbury, class BW38, were presented the Richard N. Bangs Outstanding Student Award.
 
The award is named for a longtime chair of the Massachusetts Fire Training Council and reflects the recruit's academic and practical skills, testing, and evaluations over the course of the 10-week program. It is given to one recruit in each graduating career recruit training class.  
 
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