Dalton Fire Chief Swearing in Ceremony Monday

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — The Fire District is inviting community members to a swearing-in ceremony for the new fire chief on Monday, Jan. 29, at 6 p.m. in the Stationary Factory. 
 
During its meeting on Tuesday, the district announced it has hired Berkshire County native
Christian Tobin as Fire Department's 10th permanent fire chief.
 
The district combed through 15 applications for the position and selected Tobin, who they felt was a good fit. 
 
"We feel he has a lot of common sense and knowledge in the Fire Department and in the running of the fire department and hopefully everything will work out from this point forward," Driscoll said during a conversation with iBerkshires. 
 
Tobin has 24 years of experience in the field and just recently retired as a deputy chief of operations for the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District in the state of Florida. He is also a veteran of the Marine Corps.
 
He holds a bachelor of science in public safety administration and a master's degree in public administration. In addition, he is a candidate for a juris masters in legal studies at Hodges University in Fort Myers, Fla.
 
"Chief Tobin is committed to community engagement and proactive fire prevention. He hopes to spearhead new outreach initiatives collaborating with local schools, community organizations, and businesses to raise awareness about fire safety with fire prevention programs," a press release from the district states. 
 
"It is his belief that fostering strong relationships with community stakeholders helps build trust and enhances overall community resilience.”
 
The district has been searching for a new fire chief since May after the previous chief, James Peltier, was placed on administrative leave and subsequently fired.  
 
"The district has gone through an exhaustive search looking for a new chief to replace Jim Peltier that was released in mid-summer. We feel that the new chief will bring the department together," Fire District Chair James Driscoll said in an interview with iBerkshires. 
 
Retired Pittsfield Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski, who agreed to act as interim chief, will remain with the department until the new chief takes over.
 
Since Peltier's exit, the district has gone through three interim chiefs. 
 
Chris Cachat was initially selected as the interim chief but then retired; Corey Wilcox took his place but could only do it for a limited time period because he had already accepted a position with the Pittsfield Fire Department. 

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Trump Elected 47th US President

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

On Wednesday morning, some woke up with a sense of victory and others with a sense of fear.

Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Tuesday after a tight race with Democrat Kamala Harris. According to the Associated Press, Trump has secured 51 percent of the vote to Harris' 47.5 percent.

Trump has 292 of the required 270 electoral votes, with Harris garnering 224.

The former president delivered his victory speech in West Palm Beach Wednesday morning while the crowd chanted "USA, USA, USA." He called this the "greatest political movement of all time" and promised to deliver the "golden age of America."

"We're going to help our country heal. Help our country heal. We have a country that needs help and it needs help very badly. We're going to fix our borders. We're going to fix everything about our country," Trump said.

"We've made history for a reason tonight and the reason is going to be just that we overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible and it is now clear that we've achieved the most incredible political thing."

Harris was to deliver a concession speech at 4 p.m. at Howard University in Washington.

AP called this an "extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts."

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