SALISBURY — Impassioned residents of the Northwest Corner and adjacent regions in Massachusetts and New York took to the Memorial Green Saturday morning, Jan. 10, to protest the recent killing of Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good at the hands of a federal immigration agent.
Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot at close range by an officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, on Wednesday, Jan. 7. She and her wife were participating in a protest opposing the agency’s presence in a Minneapolis neighborhood at the time of the shooting. The incident sparked protests and vigils nationwide, both in remembrance of Good and in opposition to what demonstrators described as a broader pattern of government overreach.
In Hartford on Thursday evening, Jan. 8, two vehicles that authorities believe were operated by ICE officers drove through a crowd that had gathered in memory of Good. Connecticut Public Radio reported that at least one person had been struck by the vehicles and that police are investigating potential charges.
Demonstrators line Route 44 along the Memorial Green in Salisbury on the morning of Jan. 10 to protest the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.By Alec Linden
In Salisbury, the protest unfolded calmly but with a palpable sense of urgency. Just before noon, roughly 160 demonstrators lined Route 44, holding signs and cheering as passing motorists honked their horns. Organizer Sophia deBoer stood alongside fellow activists Kathy Voldstad, Amy Lake and her husband, Lee deBoer, greeting demonstrators as they arrived. Along with Al Ginouves, the group has organized weekly protests against the Trump administration since April 2025’s nationwide “Hand’s Off” movement.
“It’s time that people stood up to this lawless administration,” Sophia deBoer said as the crowd waved their signs.Local immigrants’ rights advocate John Carter echoed that sentiment. “I need to put my body where my soul is,” he said.
Attendees cited a range of emotions for turning out, from anger and fear to cautious optimism Joan Gardiner said it was “outrage and fear” that brought her to the protest, while Christine Clare said, “Being out here today, this makes me hopeful.”
Calls for justice dominated many of the messages displayed on protesters’ signs. Asked what motivated him to attend, Salisbury resident Louis Tomaino pointed to the words on his sign: “We all saw Renee Good murdered. And we all saw murder excused.”
The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon kicks off its Summer Book Signing event with author signings and meet and greets.
A new feature this year was a series of author readings, with seven writers sharing excerpts from their books and discussing their work with audiences inside the 133-year-old library.
First to be introduced was Scott Siegler, who serves on the nonprofit board of LJMN Media, which publishes The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News. Siegler, an American television executive, media investor and Emmy Award winner, discussed his short story collection, “Mobsters in the Mansion,” describing it as a mystery with comedic overtones.
He focused on the main character named Bobby Weigel, who is one of three sons with the same name. “It’s loosely based on a guy I met,” Siegler said, adding the man was delusional and went to jail. “The story is about murder which wouldn’t have happened if [Gerald] Ford had not been president and Bobby Weigel wasn’t so stupid,” he said.
During the follow-up conversation, Siegler said, “I like stories with lots of pivots. You think you’re going in one direction, and it goes to another. The plot is, to some degree, less important than the characters. If a book doesn’t service characters, it’s pretty thin.”
Asked why he gave the three sons the name Bobby, Siegler said he knew boxer George Foreman, who named all his sons George, and he liked that idea.
He said he enjoys the short story form for its emphasis on condensation. “In some ways, they’re closer to a poem than a novel.”
Scott Siegler reads an excerpt from his book ‘Mobsters in the Mansion’ during the event’s new author readings. Photo by Ruth Epstein
Another speaker was Alex Wright, whose narrative history, “Empire of Ink: The Printers, Rogues, and Radicals Who Invented the American Newspaper,” traces the evolution of American journalism from the Revolutionary War through 1900.The book explores the legacy of smaller, forgotten newspapers, which he referred to as “untold history.”
Wright, a former journalist, said, “In some ways, the world we live in now is the way it was then. Now it’s easy for everyone to write, publish and create videos. The definition of what is community journalism is up for grabs.”
Another featured author was Anne Mackay-Smith, known locally as Anne Vance, who discussed her debut novel, “Death at Bittersweet Clearing: A Civil War Mystery.”
The setting is in Virginia, near where she was raised, and tells the story of a woman who has to keep the farm going while her husband is fighting in the war.
“She finds two bodies in the woods and then a mystery man appears,” Smith said. “Some people think it’s a war death, but she doesn’t think so.”
Smith, who wrote about finance and education for the Wall Street Journal, said, “I always wanted to write fiction, so I’m getting back to where I want to be.”
Asked if there is another book on the horizon, she gave a big smile, a clear impression that there will be another one coming.
Anne Mackay-Smith of Sharon signs a copy of her book ‘Death at Bitterwood Clearing: A Civil War Mystery’ on Friday.Photo by Ruth Epstein
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