image description — The Williamstown Mayhem won the Berkshire County Youth Soccer League Massachusetts Tournament of Champions division.

Williamstown Fifth-, Sixth-Grade Boys Compete at State Championship

Community submission06:55PM / Monday, June 29, 2026Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The Williamstown Soccer Club’s boys grade 5/6 team, known as the Mayhem, capped its season at the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions in Lancaster, finishing pool play with a 1-1-1 record and coming within a single point of advancing to the championship round.

As winners of the Berkshire County MTOC League, the Mayhem earned the right to represent Berkshire County against the top youth teams from across the state at the SBLI Fields at Progin Park.

Williamstown opened pool play with a decisive 6-2 win over Wilmington before falling, 4-1, to Norwell. The weekend came down to the final - a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Leicester that ultimately sent Leicester through to the championship round, where Brookline went on to claim the state title.

“Representing Berkshire County at states was something this group earned, and they played like it,” Williamstown head coach Jeff Stripp said. “We came a single point from the championship round against very good competition, and I told the boys afterward that I couldn’t be prouder of the way they competed for one another and for Berkshire County.

"These are good kids who work hard, take ownership, and don’t back down from a challenge - and that’s exactly what they showed all weekend.”

The Mayhem roster includes: Mason Stripp, Brady Dickinson, Jackson Draper, Sam Stratton, Solomon Israel, Boden Palmer, Gregory Phelan, Will Bayliss, Derek Weber, Sam King, Dylan Fitzgibbons, Jack Sosne, Logan Williams, Chase Ziemba, Colton Ziemba, Landon Maroney and Devon Washburn. Coaches: Jeff Stripp, Ryan Dickinson and Mark Draper.

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Williamstown Select Board Plans Off-Camera Evaluation of Town Manager

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:24AM / Friday, October 09, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board plans to take extraordinary measures to avoid having its discussion of the town manager's performance recorded by the town's Public, Educational and Government cameras.

At its Sept. 28 meeting, the board decided to hold a special meeting in a room not covered by WilliNet cameras to complete its annual evaluation process of Town Manager Robert Menicocci.

Chair Peter Beck said that while the evaluation is "absolutely" to be conducted in an open meeting, the board could follow a process similar to the off site, unrecorded meetings that past Select Boards have characterized as "retreats," a term not contemplated by or included in the commonwealth's Open Meeting Law.

The current board met on June 29 for what it characterized as a "planning session" where no formal votes were taken. That meeting was held outside of Town Hall, at the new fire station on Main Street, in a room equipped with audio and video recording equipment that the Select Board chose not to use.

At the Sept. 28 meeting, one board member indicated that an unrecorded meeting was preferable to discuss the annual evaluation of the one town employee supervised by the board.

"I'd like to do it without all the Willinet stuff," Stephanie Boyd said in a discussion toward the end of a two-hour meeting. "I think it's more conducive to conversation."

With the board expected to meet just once in October — its "regular" meeting date coincides with Indigenous Peoples Day on Oct. 12 — Beck suggested that the panel could find a date for a special meeting, suggesting the third Monday of the month, Oct. 19.

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