Former Pittsfield Mayor Honored With Housing Public Service Award

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Linda Tyer Clairmont
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Linda Clairmont, former mayor of Pittsfield, has received the Canon Brian S. Kelley Public Service Award from the Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance.
 
Clairmont accepted the award at MHSA's annual Home for Good fundraiser and award ceremony on May 16 in Boston.
 
She joined fellow award winners Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch and Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan. The three were recognized for being "steadfast in their commitment to ending homelessness."
 
During her eight-year tenure as mayor, Clairmont sought to find effective ways to support those experiencing chronic homelessness, often partnering with social services agencies in the Berkshires. She targeted some $8.6 million dollars in American Rescue Plan Act to address housing insecurity and homelessness, including $750,000 toward rehabilitation of a historic building on North Street into affordable units. In a November 2022 editorial board meeting with The Berkshire Eagle, Clairmont said combating homelessness means being flexible and working at it constantly. 
 
Clairmont is currently executive director of workforce development and community education at Berkshire Community College, which she joined in February. 
 
She served as a public official for nearly 20 years. Before being elected mayor of Pittsfield in 2016 (as Linda Tyer), she was city clerk from 2009-2016 and city councilor for Ward 3 from 2004-2009. She is a graduate of Bay Path Junior College in Longmeadow.

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Pittsfield Police Arrest Maine Murder Suspect

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police arrested a man on a warrant for murder in Maine after a pursuit Friday that prompted Pittsfield schools to enact a brief lockdown.

Keith Thorpe, 42, of Bangor is wanted in the homicide of 39-year-old Virginia Cookson, who was found dead in her home Wednesday. 

Police posted on social media that officers were actively tracking a stolen vehicle from in a neighboring state earlier in the morning. Thorpe was caught near Euclid Avenue after making contact with a cruiser.

Thorpe is also being charged with numerous motor vehicle offenses and is expected to be arraigned at Pittsfield District Court and to extradited to Maine.

"As a precaution during the motor vehicle pursuit, all local schools were asked to shelter in place and based on the location of Taconic High School, that school was locked down," the Pittsfield Police Department wrote in a press release.
 
"The school safety actions lasted approximately five minutes."
 
A post-mortem examination was conducted Thursday on Cookson at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta, Maine, and her death was determined to be a homicide and an arrest warrant was issued for Thorpe for murder.
 
Just before 4 a.m. on Friday, the Pittsfield Police responded to a single motor vehicle crash near the intersection of West and Onota Streets. The car was unoccupied and items within led officers to believe that the operator may have been Thorpe, sparking an unsuccessful area search.
 
A few hours later, police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle on West Housatonic Street, and a "be on the lookout" was broadcast.  Around 8:30 a.m., the stolen vehicle was located and officers were led on a motor vehicle pursuit that included the areas of West Street and intersecting streets.
 
"The suspect vehicle crossed the center divider, passed cars in a no-passing zone, and failed to stop for police," according to police.
 
"It should be noted that school bus operations were active at this time. The vehicle was eventually stopped in the area of Euclid Avenue after making contact with a police vehicle. No significant injuries were reported."
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