Dalton ADA Committee Explores Expanding

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — The Americans with Disabilities Act will soon be a full committee. 
 
The five-seat committee currently has four active members but received comments of interest from two residents. 
 
The committee voted to appoint John Curro to the committee. The appointment will be added to a future Select Board agenda, ADA coordinator Alyssa Maschino said. 
 
Curro had already completed the committee interest form, while the resident who expressed interest had yet to do so by the time of the meeting. 
 
Curro has dealt with accessible buildings and walkways while working for Pittsfield housing for 36 years. During his time he has searched walkways for trip hazards and other bad conditions. He aims to make things safe for everyone, he said in his interest form. 
 
Once the board approves the appointment, the committee will select a chair and vice chair. 
 
Although the members voted in favor of recommending Curro, they noted that the other resident who expressed an interest is welcome to attend meetings to provide insight during discussions. He just won’t be a voting member. He also successfully completed the two-day Massachusetts Office of Disability Training. 
 
Committee member Patrick Pettit recommended that they consider expanding number of seats to seven rather than five so there are still enough members in case a couple decide to leave or are absent. 
 
To do that, Maschino has to research how the ADA Committee was formed. It is unclear how long the committee has been around but it is "old," she said. 
 
"I need to actually physically go through all of the town reports that I have to see what year it started. Then I can go to the town clerk's office, and she should have something from a town meeting saying how it was formed," she said. 
 
Depending on how it was formed, increasing the number of members will have to be approved at a town meeting or by the Select Board, Maschino said. 
 
The committee started to meet regularly again last year with its current members but had existed before that. 
 
Committee member Rachel Branch offered to aid Maschino in her research. 

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Berkshires to Vote for President, State Ballot Questions

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Voters will hit the polls on Tuesday to elect a new president and state and federal officials and decide ballot questions.

Polls for the general election are open in Massachusetts from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.  For Pittsfield, more than 27 percent have chosen to vote early.

City Clerk Michele Benjamin reported Monday that 2,087 people came into City Hall to vote early in person and the city processed 6,539 mail-in ballots for a grand total of 8,338 ballots.

This represents 27.37 percent of the 32,821 registered voters.

Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris is facing Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump for the presidential seat. Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice president, and Trump selected U.S. Senator J.D. Vance.

Also appearing on the presidential ballot are Jill Stein for the Green Party, Chase Oliver for the Libertarian Party, Claudia De La Cruz for the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Randall Terry for the Constitution Party, and Cornel West as an independent.

Berkshire County voters will also choose a U.S. senator, a representative in Congress, a state senator, and representative in the Third Berkshire, and vote "yesC or "no” on five questions.

U.S. Senator

Democrat: Elizabeth Warren (Cambridge)

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