Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan’s medical team will lead the charge starting Thursday to get county teachers, school administrators, all school staff members and bus drivers vaccinated against COVID-19 before they return to in-person.
Sheriff’s Dept. partners with LifePath to vaccinate seniors
Annette Roback of Elm Terrace in Greenfield gets her COVID-19 vaccine from registered nurse Brianna Cooley at the Elm Terrace Community Room on Monday. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ
Many residents of Elm Terrace in Greenfield received COVID-19 vaccines on Monday. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ
Joe LaChance of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office TRIAD unit monitors residents of Elm Terrace after they received their COVID-19 vaccines on Monday. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ
Published: 3/8/2021 5:06:46 PM
GREENFIELD Seventy-one-year-old Annette Roback was thrilled to receive the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine early Monday morning.
Opioid Task Force garners grant to promote racial equity in treatment
MERRIGAN
Published: 2/11/2021 6:44:24 PM
GREENFIELD A two-year, $99,974 grant that the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region has received from the State Attorney General’s Office will support recovery programs and behavioral health services for people who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
The Opioid Task Force will use the grant to implement its “Cultural Humility in Post-Opioid Overdose Follow-Up Services Project” in Franklin County and the North Quabbin area. The program is part of the Community Opportunity, Network, Navigation, Exploration and Connection Team (CONNECT) Initiative, which received a $1 million grant in October of 2020 to launch. In November, the Opioid Task Force received an additional three-year grant for $600,000 to support its new 24/7 overdose rapid response team.
COVID plays havoc on Massachusetts county sheriff budgets; overtime costs rise exponentially amid pandemic
Updated Feb 07, 2021;
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“But then, here came the virus,” he said.
Cocchi is the first to admit that, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, overtime spending for the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department went through the roof. By year’s end, the department’s anticipated $200,000 surplus became a $7.4 million deficit. Overtime spending went from $1.3 million in 2019 to $8.6 million in 2020.
That works out to a 571% year-over-year increase.
“That’s a lot of money. Don’t get me wrong,” he said. “That is above and beyond what we normally spend.”
Justice delayed: As cases mount in pandemic, many worry how they will be resolved
First Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne is shown in an empty superior courtroom in the Hampshire County Courthouse in Northampton. With jury trials on hold because of the pandemic, Gagne says he’s not sure how the court system will deal with its backlog of cases when trials are finally allowed to resume. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
The Superior, Housing and District court clerks work at the Franklin County Justice Center in Greenfield. Staff File Photo/PAUL FRANZ
Published: 2/3/2021 5:03:06 PM About a year ago, one of attorney Alan Rubin’s clients was facing larceny charges in Franklin County and was nearing a jury trial. Then came the pandemic.