Dean Given Gavel Send Off

ADAMS, Mass. — Selectman Joseph R. Dean Jr. was lauded for his long service to the town at his next-to-last meeting on the board.

The Wednesday night session was the last televised one he was to be at, so his colleagues, including several former board members spent a few minutes at the end of the meeting to thank the longtime selectman for his efforts.

Dean, 72, joined town government in 1964 through appointment to the Planning Board, after losing his first campaign for office to that very board just months earlier. Through the years, he's rarely been out of service, toting up some three decades on the Board of Selectmen; this term concludes his fourth straight.

He's also served on the Northern Berkshire Solid Waste District, as a firefighter with the Alert Hose Company, on the board of the Adams Ambulance Service and other civic boards and committees. A mechanic, he still operates the business started by his father on West Road; one of his sons is a police officer, the other a teacher.

That service has had a direct affect on others, said his current and former board colleagues. "He was the inspiration for me getting on the board," said Edward Driscoll, a former selectman who followed in Dean's footsteps to the NBSWD board.

"It was such a pleasure working with you," said former Selectwoman Myra Wilk, who called Dean "a great leader."

Selectman Jason Hnatonko thanked Dean for encouraging him to run for office and setting an example not only for him but for his 2-year-old son.

George Haddad said their first meeting wasn't too friendly, but that changed when they met again in 1984 when Haddad was elected to the Selectmen.
 
"I have to say Mr. Dean's worked extremely hard for this community," said Haddad. "He has always shown extreme love and devotion in helping this town. ... and everything [he's] ever done was done because he felt it was in the best interests of the community." 

"I hope the younger people in this community will be inspired to step up and run for these offices."

But Dean's not really stepping down, he's just moving to a new, less demanding position. He's running unopposed on May 3 for town moderator, to replace the retiring Anthony McBride. Chairman Donald Sommer presented Dean with a gift on behalf of the board to help in his new position: A gavel with the inscription "To Joe Dean for your years of service to the town of Adams 2010."

"We're glad you're not leaving office," said Sommmer. "We're glad you're going to be the town moderator."

Dean rapped the gavel a couple times to get the feel. "I couldn't have done it without your help," he told his fellow board members. "It's nice to have friends in high places."

Evacuation Day Supporter

Our friend Joyce Harsch of Williamstown sent us this photo of Walt Klinger, who spent three hours at Field Park in Williamstown on Wednesday, March 17, to remind people it was Evacuation Day.

We don't celebrate the day out here — it's a Boston holiday that shuts down government in Suffolk County, one that a lot of other Bays Staters would like to see disappear. But Klinger, of Pownal, Vt., thought it was great way to remind people of history.

Of course, the Berkshires did play a small role in the real evacuation day 234 years ago. Henry Knox dragged his cannon into South County, most likely along what's now Route 23 through Great Barrington, on his way from Fort Ticonderago to Boston. The arrival of the cannons forced the British to evacuate the city.

So even though Klinger would have been more appropriate waving in Great Barrington, he made a pretty picture by the 1753 House.

Radio Host Baldwin to Discuss Past Troubles

We've been invited with other media guests to join TalkBerkshires radio host Sherman Baldwin on his afternoon show on WBRK on Friday to talk about his troubled past.

The press conference, as he describes it, is a pre-emptive strike ahead of a Sunday story he said is being written by Berkshire Eagle freelancer and former managing editor Clarence Fanto.

Baldwin said his biggest concern is the Berkshire Job Summit that TalkBerkshires and Berkshire Money Management is hosting on Feb. 19. (An arm of iBerkshires, Berkshirejobs.com, is participating in the summit.)

According to Chris Churchill of the Albany Times-Union, who talked with him last year, Baldwin spent time in federal prison for committing fraud to get 1994's "The Crow" produced. The movie's best known for star Brandon Lee's accidental death during filming.

The paper also noted Baldwin's peripheral involvement in the Michael Skakel trial, offering this link to a section of a lengthy record of the murder case.

Neither incident had been concealed.

Baldwin said he wants to clear the air. In his press release, he stated:

Prof's Fraud Past Cancels Caucus

Williams College abruptly canceled a return visit by the Congressional Black Caucus on Friday, just days after discovering its organizer was in hot water in Washington.

Visiting political science professor Bernard Moore turns out to be Ernest B. Moore, whose trail of fraud goes back nearly a quarter century.  He admitted Tuesday in federal court of taking more than $800,000 over the past five years in credit card and student aid fraud. Moore had 90 (!) fake credit cards.

The Williams Record did a terrific job of digging into Moore's past here. Moore, who came across as a personable sort when  we talked to him last year, apparently has real academic degrees - just under fake names.

Moore's been teaching in the political science and African Studies programs for two years and was instrumental in bringing the Congressional Black Caucus to Williams last year. The roundtable discussion packed Chapin Hall; Gov. Deval Patrick was there as well.

In an e-mail sent early Friday afternoon, the college's public affairs office said:

"The symposium with members of the Congressional Black Caucus scheduled for Monday, Nov. 16, has had to be postponed.  The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the College will reschedule a similar event on campus in the near future."

Moore's been suspended indefinitely (his bio is still posted here) and faces up to 41 months in prison when he's sentenced in February.

Update 11/14/2009: A reader sends us this link from the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Education, which seems to indicate Moore never actually earned a bachelor's degree.

Update 11/16/2009: The Ephblog has also been digging into Moore's past and the current situation at Williams, where posters say his names been removed from his office door but that the rules in the faculty handbook say he may still be getting paid under the current suspension.

One poster on the Ephblog also says pictures of Moore are scarce as hen's teeth. We've posted a portrait shot and here's one of him with Jim Brown taken recently by our eagle-eyed photographer Paul Guillotte:

Update 11/17/2009: Professor Moore was fired effective Monday, Nov. 16, according to a letter to the Williams community. Interim President William Wagner said their was no evidence Moore had serioulsy misused college resources.

Update Nov. 26, 2009: The Williams Record talks with some of Moore's students, who describe a disengaged instructor with a tendency to name drop but who also was a helpful mentor to some.