Dalton Library Getting a New Website

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — The Dalton Free Public Library is getting a new website in the near future. 
 
The Library Director Janet Forest has been redesigning the website since April using Squarespace and hopes to launch it sometime in July. 
 
The new website will have a page that showcases the library's events and programming. Forest would also like to have a separate page on the site for the Friends of the Library so patrons can make donations.
 
The website also runs through the Central and Western Massachusetts Automated Resource Sharing (CW-MARS) library consortium, so patrons can easily see the books available. 
 
The current website is run through WordPress, which is antiquated and hard to update and customize, Forest said. 
 
The library wanted to make its website user-friendly for both patrons and staff. Using Squarespace will make it easier for the library to update and customize the website, she said.

Tags: public library,   website,   

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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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