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Becket, MA

Police & Fire
Police ID Woman Killed In Freak Accident At Western Mass Theater; No Charges Expected Police ID Woman Killed In Freak Accident At Western Mass Theater; No Charges Expected
Police ID Woman Killed In Freak Accident At Western Mass Theater; No Charges Expected A tragic accident at the historic Jacob’s Pillow dance center has left one employee dead, local authorities say. Kathryn “Kat” Sirico, a seasonal employee at the Becket, Massachusetts, theater, was helping a summer intern move stage platforms on a dolly across the property on Friday, Aug. 1. As they navigated a sloped area, the dolly began to roll out of control. Sirico attempted to stop it, but fell and was struck by the dolly, causing the platforms to fall on them, authorities said.  Bystanders rushed to help and tried to save their life. View this post on Instag…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
26-Year-Old Man's Body Recovered At Mass Quarry After Lengthy Search 26-Year-Old Man's Body Recovered At Mass Quarry After Lengthy Search
26-Year-Old Man's Body Recovered At Mass Quarry After Lengthy Search A search for a missing swimmer at the Becket Quarry ended in tragedy after a 26-year-old man’s body was found underwater Saturday morning, July 19. Local and regional emergency crews worked together for hours using divers and advanced drone technology to locate the man. The man's name has not been released.  Becket police and firefighters were called to the quarry Friday evening after reports of a drowning. The Berkshire County Dive Team led the underwater search while the Southwick Police Department assisted by providing a submersible drone.  That drone gave divers a cleare…

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by Josh Lanier
Obituaries
Western Mass. Woman ID'd As Victim In Fatal Collision With Cement Truck Western Mass. Woman ID'd As Victim In Fatal Collision With Cement Truck
Western Mass. Woman ID'd As Victim In Fatal Collision With Cement Truck Authorities have identified a 74-year-old Massachusetts woman killed in a head-on collision earlier this week in Hampshire County, authorities said.  Cynthia Jensen, of Becket in Berkshire County, was killed just after 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18, in the town of Huntington, the Northwestern District Attorney's Office said.  Jensen, who was in a compact car, collided with a cement truck driven by a 59-year-old Huntington Man on Pond Brook Road near Old Town Road.  Paramedics rushed Jensen to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton and later to Baystate Medi…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Ex-Olympian To Plead Guilty To Molesting Boys At Western Mass Summer Camp: DA Ex-Olympian To Plead Guilty To Molesting Boys At Western Mass Summer Camp: DA
Ex-Olympian To Plead Guilty To Molesting Boys At Western Mass Summer Camp: DA A 72-year-old former Olympic hurdler will plead guilty to molesting multiple boys while serving as a Massachusetts summer camp counselor and coach in the 1970s.  Conrad Avondale Mainwaring is expected to enter a guilty plea on Feb. 8 to charges of indecent assault and battery on boys 14 or younger, the Berkshire County District Attorney said. He was facing 12 counts, but it is unclear how many he will admit to.  Related: Former Olympian Facing New Charges For Assault On Child In Western Mass Mainwaring worked as a camp counselor at Camp Greylock for Boys, which taught sports…

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by Josh Lanier
Lifestyle
Berkshire Father Plans On Paying For Son's Wedding After Raking In The 'Cash' Berkshire Father Plans On Paying For Son's Wedding After Raking In The 'Cash'
Berkshire Father Plans On Paying For Son's Wedding After Raking In The 'Cash' A family man from The Berkshires was the inaugural winner of a new game in the Massachusetts State Lottery this month. Keith Mackie, of Becket, is the first $1 million prize winner in the lottery's new “50X Cash” instant ticket game, the lottery reports.  Mackie was inclined to buy a scratch ticket after his son saw the "New" sticker displayed on the "50X Cash" game while stopping at a gas station.  Mackie bought two tickets, one of which was the big winner. He decided to receive a one-time payment of $650,000 (before taxes).  Mackie plans to use his winnings to p…

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by David Cifarelli
News
Former Olympian Facing New Charges For Assault On Child In Western Mass, DA Says Former Olympian Facing New Charges For Assault On Child In Western Mass, DA Says
Former Olympian Facing New Charges For Assault On Child In Western Mass, DA Says A former Olympian in track and field being held in Western Massachusetts on 12 counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, has been indicted with four additional charges. The Berkshire District Attorney’s Office has secured four additional indictments against 69-year-old Conrad Mainwaring after investigators identified two additional victims in connection with complaints that the abuse took place at a camp for boys in Western Massachusetts. The court is currently detaining Mainwaring at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $200,000 bail on 12 counts associated with the ab…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Strong Gusty Winds Down Tree Limbs, Cause Scattered Power Outages In Western Mass Strong Gusty Winds Down Tree Limbs, Cause Scattered Power Outages In Western Mass
Strong Gusty Winds Down Tree Limbs, Cause Scattered Power Outages In Western Mass Hundreds of Massachusetts residents are now without power as wind gusts topping 50 mph whip through the region. A High Wind Warning is in effect until 4 p.m. Monday, March 29. As of around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, utility crews from Eversource were still working to repair dozens of outages that were impacting 2,766 of the company’s 220,386 customers in Western Massachusetts. An additional 71 customers were impacted in Central and Eastern Massachusetts, according to the company. The hardest-hit area was Becket, which reported 1,473 outages, impacting more than 75 percent of the company’…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Cause Of Fire ID'd At Internationally Famous Western Mass Dance Co. Jacob's Pillow Cause Of Fire ID'd At Internationally Famous Western Mass Dance Co. Jacob's Pillow
Cause Of Fire ID'd At Internationally Famous Western Mass Dance Co. Jacob's Pillow Fire-fighting officials have closed the case on the cause of a fire that ripped through a local, internationally-recognized dance performance space in November. On Wednesday, Feb. 17, the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey along with Becket’s fire and police chiefs, said that the cause of the fire at Jacob’s Pillow is “officially undetermined.” Still, firefighters explained their strong suspicions about how the fire began as well as how better fire-safety measures at Jacob’s Pillow could have reduced the damage. The 6:50 a.m. fire that broke out on Nov. 17, 2020, started i…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends, Hampden County - Dec. 18 COVID-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends, Hampden County - Dec. 18
Covid-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends, Hampden County - Dec. 18 Two communities in Hampden County lowered their COVID-19 incident rate and nearly a dozen are below the highest risk category - red, according to the most recent state data. On Thursday, Dec. 17, Massachusetts Public Health Department released weekly town-by-town datasets that include how many COVID-19 incidents there are per 100,000 residents - the incident rate. The communities where the rate went down are Southwick and Belchertown. HIGHEST Meanwhile, Springfield, Ludlow, Holyoke, Wilbraham, Chicopee, and West Springfield had the highest COVID-19 rates per 100,000 residents. The rates…

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by Kristin Palpini
Police & Fire
Fire: Internationally Famous Western Mass Performance Space Burns Fire: Internationally Famous Western Mass Performance Space Burns
Fire: Internationally Famous Western Mass Performance Space Burns A fire has broken out at a nationally significant performance space in Western Massachusetts. The fire began sometime Tuesday, Nov. 17. at Jacob's Pillow on George Cotter Road in the southern Berkshires community of Becket. It was blazing as of 10 a.m. The fire consumed the Doris Duke Theater, the Berkshire Eagle reported. Jacob's Pillow is the oldest, internationally-acclaimed summer dance festival in the U.S., according to the dance company's and performing arts space's website.  Among firefighters beating back the flames in Becket is the Monterey Fire Department. It is unkno…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
Small, Busted Bridges In 4 Western/Central Mass Towns Awarded Improvement Grants Small, Busted Bridges In 4 Western/Central Mass Towns Awarded Improvement Grants
Small, Busted Bridges In 4 Western/Central Mass Towns Awarded Improvement Grants Western and Central Massachusetts communities are about to get tens of thousands of dollars to repair small deteriorating bridges and culverts. Nearly half of Massachusetts’ 25,000 small bridges and culverts act as barriers to fish and wildlife because they are undersized or poorly positioned, according to Gov. Baker’s office. As climate change brings more intense weather patterns, severe downpours could upend vulnerable culverts, Baker noted in a statement. On Monday, Sept. 14, MassDOT announced the award of $800,000 worth of Culvert Replacement Municipal Assistance Grants. The grants ar…

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by Kristin Palpini