The Berkshire Eagle Updates: Arrest Made!
DALTON —The Dalton Police Department has arrested and charged Lonnie Durfee, 49, of Dalton, with burning personal property.
Durfee is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at Central Berkshire District Court. The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call the Dalton Police Department at 413-684-0300.
Dicken Crane, owner of Holiday Brook Farm, said he was relieved when he heard that an arrest had been made. Crane said the message on the bales reached farther than he expected it would.
Dr Arcadia also posted an update from masslive below.
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Original story:
The bales used were huge, weighing about 1000 pounds each. It was a beautiful, patriotic, and courageous, display by Holiday Brook Farm of Dalton, MA. And after being up for just one day, it was torched in an act of domestic terrorism.
Reported by Michelle Williams of @masslive:
With buckets of paint and bales of hay, Holiday Brook Farm in Dalton set out to share a message ahead of the election.
Hay bales were stacked along Route 9 and members of the farm spent several hours painting on Thursday, showcasing support for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Kate Pike, a manager at the Berkshire County farm, told MassLive she expected it to be vandalized and had set aside extra supplies for any necessary repaints.
Their full report is at this link. The Berkshire Eagle report is here.
Arson has long been a weapon of choice for domestic terrorism.
From Public Radio Station WAMC:
Kate Pike of Holiday Brook Farm in Dalton says the display was constructed on Thursday.
“You know, we expected it to be vandalized leading up to the election, you know, and we had plenty of paint to paint over it to fix it. And I was driving home last night and saw that it looked like there was coffee spilled on it or something, so I pulled back around and kinda figured, ‘OK, I’ll be fixing that in the morning.’ Like, it didn’t even last 24 hours. And then, basically, before I made the ten minute drive home it was up in flames,” said Pike.
Pike says the farm is discussing what to do next, but she believes the vandalism amplifies their original message: vote on Election Day.
Vote.