McCann Tech Deems Social Media Threat 'Not Credible' After Police Investigation

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — McCann Technical School officials confirmed Thursday that a threatening social media post directed at the school was found to be a illagitaemt following an investigation by the North Adams Police Department (NAPD).

School administrators notified families that the NAPD determined the social media account responsible for the post was not legitimate and there is no credible threat to the campus.

"The post did contain threatening content to McCann Tech, but after investigation by NAPD it was found that the threat was NOT credible and that the social media account was NOT legitimate," the school stated in a message to the community.

Principal Justin Kratz noted in another communication that the fake social media threat started with an Artificial Intelligence hoax featuring a created picture of a post. 
 
"There is no evidence to suggest the hoax-post was ever actually posted on any social media or linked to a real social media account but instead it was an AI-generated image of a post that never really existed on social media," Kratz wrote.
 
He said NAPD identified the person responsible for creating the post.

While authorities have concluded that students and staff are not in any danger, McCann officials requested an increased police presence at the school on Thursday morning. The school emphasized that this measure is being taken out of an "extreme abundance of caution" to help students and families feel comfortable starting the day.

Following the internal notification from McCann, North Adams Public Schools (NAPS) issued an "all-call" to its own district families Thursday morning.

"North Adams Public Schools will continue to operate using its standard safety procedures," the NAPS statement read, echoing the police department's conclusion that there is no active threat to local students.

McCann is part of the Northern Berkshire Regional Vocational Technical School District, not NAPS.

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North Adams Housing Trust Building Foundation for Future

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The newly established Affordable Housing Trust has spent its first meetings determining its mission, objectives and resources. 
 
What it has to decide is the chicken or the egg — set goals with the purpose of finding funds or getting the funds first and determining the best way to use them. 
 
"I think that funding actually would dictate the projects that we do, rather than come up with we what we want to do, and then find a way to fund it," said Trustee Ross Jacobs last Thursday. "There may be sources we explore that will be successful. Some may not. ...
 
"If we start exploring funding options and get some of these wheels rolling, then we'll have a better idea within six months where some of these are going, and then what we can do."
 
Trustee Nancy Bullett said it may be more of doing both at the same time. 
 
"It's almost simultaneous looking at the projects that are incorporating funding, because your funding is specific to whatever it is that you're doing," she said. "So how do you identify the projects that you want to work on, which then dictates the funding."
 
This will tie into the trust's objectives which could include home rehabilitation, property tax relief, emergency rent or mortgage, or support of projects undertaken by private or public developers like Habitat for Humanity. 
 
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