King Elmer, an American elm at the corner of Route 7 and Summer Street, became a statewide celebrity in July.
The owners of the defunct Berkshire Mall have given up on the idea of cannabis facility and are now looking at senior housing. The town just wants them to pay their taxes.
The city of Pittsfield pulled two logs out of a culvert and repaired the Gulf Road, reopening the shortcut between Lanesborough and Dalton.
An ad hoc committee is working on plans for an 'age-friendly' park on Bridge Street and has secured $30,000 in town funds, donations and grants to start the process.
A student group led by Ava Charbonneau and Kiera Kristensen hosted this year's tree lighting.
Select Board member John Goerlach, left, and Michael Murphy at a board meeting. Goerlach did not stand for election this year after serving 18 years on the board.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The town became home to royalty in 2024.
The king is believed to be more than 250 years old and is 107 feet tall with an average canopy spread of 95.5 feet. It scored 331.88 points with the state based on a 201-inch circumference, which is a 64-inch diameter (5-foot-4 through the middle of the tree.)
King Elmer took the place of the former champion elm in Old Deerfield Village that was cut down.
In terms of government, the town saw a new Select Board member this year and continued to work on a public safety proposal that is palatable to residents.
Deborah Maynard was voted into a three-year term during the town's June election. She outpolled Joseph Trybus 181-87 to fill the seat vacated by longtime board member John Goerlach.
"You've been an influence and a mentor to me as I joined the board and I'll never forget that," Chair Michael Murphy told him. "I value the friendship we've developed as well as the professional relationship."
Voters at town meeting approved a home-rule petition to expand the Select Board from three members to five; this charter change must be approved by the Legislature.
After voters shot down a proposed $5.9 million public safety complex at the 2023 annual town meeting, the Public Safety Building Committee continued to work on a proposal hoping for a better chance of gaining a "yes" vote from residents.
A survey was distributed and residents voiced support for three public safety building options: just a police station, a combined police and emergency medical services complex, and a facility with police, EMS, and the Fire Department.
Architect Brian Humes then worked with the Fire Department on a needs assessment and it was determined that the department would require a building of more than 19,000 square feet, costing around $20 million alone.
By August, the panel had agreed on three alternating designs: one for just a police station that is a redesign of a nearly decade-old proposal, one for a combined police and emergency medical services station, and a standalone EMS facility with room for expansion.
In November, the Lanesborough Fire and Water District filed a suit for more than $105,000 in back taxes and interest. JMJ Holdings, which purchased the mall last year, owes about $211,000 to the town.
The owners say they are plagued by the costs of stabilizing a rundown property that should not have gotten to its current state and cite "inhibitive" taxation from the Baker Hill Road District.
Principal Jay Jones envisions the town taxes paid by February 2025, though he told the Select Board that it could be sooner.
Murphy observed that the owners, who want the Baker Hill Road District dissolved, were "holding $211,00 over our heads to get what you want."
In July, the inaugural Lanesborough Day celebrated the small town and offered a chance for residents to get together under the new pavilion. Bill Laston Memorial Park was filled with food, music, activities, and more.
The Community Development Committee (formerly the Economic Development Committee) led the effort after the Select Board approved its rebrand earlier this year. Town Administrator Gina Dario took inspiration from gatherings in nearby communities and those of Lanesborough's past.
The pavilion was funded through a $54,500 state grant from the state's Destination Development Capital Program and a total of $100,000 from free cash approved at two town meetings.
Galliher, 24, was killed on Nov. 29, 2023, when the CV-22 Osprey he was on crashed off the coast of Japan during a joint military exercise.
He and his wife, Ivy, met in 2019 while he was attending survival training in Spokane, Wash., Galliher frequented a local coffee shop Ivy worked at.
They fell in love "one cup at a time" and married. In 2021, they began a family, and the following year, Galliher accepted an assignment to the Yokota Air Force Base in Tokyo.
The couple discussed moving back to the Berkshires once Galliher's commitment to the Air Force had ended to open a family-run coffee shop. Then tragedy struck, but Galliher's mother, Kim Krautter, kept the dream alive.
The seasonal dirt road closed because of flooding caused by what was initially thought to be from a beaver dam that was located on the Pittsfield stretch. However, is seemed to be logs blocking a culvert.
The road often serves as a shortcut between Lanesborough and Dalton and avoids the retail-related traffic at Allendale Plaza and Berkshire Crossing in Pittsfield. It runs about 1.7 miles from Route 8 near the Connector Road in Lanesborough, through Pittsfield, and around the Boulders Reserve, and comes out in Dalton, where it turns into High Street.
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