Haskins Wins School, Select Board Seats

Staff Reports 02:14PM / Wednesday, May 13, 2026Print Story | Email Story

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Voters put Daniel Haskins back on the Select Board and also on the School Committee on Tuesday.

Some 60 voters turned out for the low-key election at the Community Center that had no races on the ballot.

Haskins was on the ballot for a second full term on the Select Board. He'd indicated he'd serve on the School Committee if elected, and polled 19 write-in votes to do so.

Laura Wood, School Committee chair, declined to put her name on the ballot for a third term but did poll eight write-in votes.

This isn't the first time someone has done double duty on arguably the town's two most important boards. Jeffrey Levanos first ran for School Committee in 2008 and then for Select Board in 2012. At one point, he was chair of both boards.

Also winning on a write-in was Richard Lefebvre, who earned two votes — beating four other candidates who got one each — for Board of Health. It's not clear if Lefebvre wants or will accept the seat.

Daniel Tanner was elected to Planning Board and incumbents Sarah Hurlbut and Joseph Bushika won re-election to the library trustees and War Memorial Committee, respectively.

Tags: election 2026, town elections,

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Veteran Spotlight: Coast Guard Capt. Thurman 'Tom' Maine

By Wayne SoaresSpecial to iBerkshires
04:42PM / Sunday, September 13, 2026

MASHPEE, Mass. — If I were to describe the best attributes of this week's veteran, they would be an infectious personality, role model, leader, wonderful family man and a person that leads by example in the very best way.

The aforementioned, are the primary reasons why Thurman "Tom" Maine enjoyed a successful and distinguished military career in the Coast Guard from 1983 to 2014.

Born in North Stonington, Conn., Maine entered the Coast Guard at the age of 21 and was sent to boot camp in Cape May, N.J. His first assignment was at Coast Guard Station in Provincetown, R.I. From 1994 to 1997, he was a helicopter pilot for Coast Guard Air Station at Otis Air National Guard Base and was elevated to operations officer, chief pilot at the base from 2004 to 2007.

During his 31-year career, Maine flew some of the Coast Guard's most elite helicopters; the Sikorsky H-3 (the Coast Guard's last amphibious aircraft), the Sikorsky H-60 (the most widely flown military helicopter in the world) and the H-65 (a smaller, faster helicopter that deploys on ships).

Maine continued to rapidly climb the ranks and in 2009 was promoted as the Coast Guard's liason to the Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, a position he held until 2011. Following that assignment, he was promoted to captain and rose to be the commanding officer at the Coast Guard's prestigious Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala.

During his tenure as commanding officer, he suffered a devastating blow when four Guardsman were killed during a night training exercise. He conveyed that his greatest achievement in his entire military career, was the leadership he provided

to his 600-member unit and the families of the fallen Guardsmen, by always being accessible, communicating constantly and holding vitally important family nights.

He said this tragedy, "gave him the ultimate opportunity to live out his faith." He also lobbied intensely for the student pilot who was killed to be awarded his designation posthumously, which he did.

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