Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.
crime

Former Miss Hall’s teacher from Norfolk pleads not guilty to sexual assault charges

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A former Miss Hall’s School science teacher from Norfolk pleaded not guilty Thursday, Sept. 10, to three charges stemming from the alleged sexual assault of a student more than three decades ago, according to authorities.

Matthew Johnson, 70, was arraigned in Berkshire Superior Court on one count of assault with intent to rape and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over age 14, according to the Berkshire District Attorney’s office. A grand jury indicted him Aug. 20.

Johnson was released on personal recognizance. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 28 in Berkshire Superior Court.

Johnson taught science at Miss Hall’s School, a private boarding school in Pittsfield, from 1993 to 1994.

The alleged victim was a Miss Hall’s student at the time, prosecutors said.

Johnson is the third former Miss Hall’s staff member to be indicted in connection with investigations into alleged abuse at the school.

Former history teacher Matthew Rutledge, who worked at the school from 1991 until his resignation in 2024, was indicted in April and has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape involving two former students.

Meanwhile, Jeannie Norris, former head of school from 1996 to 2012, was arraigned on one count of reckless endangerment of a child in August. She has also pleaded not guilty.

Christian Murray
Executive Editor

Christian Murray is executive editor of The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News. A graduate of the Columbia Journalism School, he is a veteran journalist, founding the Queens Post and its network of neighborhood news sites—including the Sunnyside Post, Astoria Post, LIC Post and Jackson Heights Post—and helping pioneer hyperlocal digital journalism in New York City. Before joining LJMN in 2025, he served as managing editor at Schneps Media, overseeing amNewYork, the Queens Courier, the Bronx Times and other local publications. Earlier in his career, Murray was a political reporter for Newsday and a business reporter for Reuters. A native of New Zealand, he says northwest Connecticut reminds him of the landscapes where he grew up—a connection that made the region feel like home from the start.

crime

Latest News

Work begins on relocation of Lakeville’s historic train station

Work begins on relocation of Lakeville’s historic train station

SALISBURY — Preparations to relocate Lakeville’s historic railroad station are underway, with trees removed behind the Ethan Allen Street building and asbestos remediation in progress.

First Selectman Curtis Rand told the Board of Selectmen Monday, Nov. 2, that a crew removed trees behind the station the previous week.

Keep ReadingShow less
municipality

Program to offer new mothers free visits by registered nurses

Program to offer new mothers free visits by registered nurses

Michelle Jose will run a program providing new mothers with three visits by a registered nurse in partnership with regional hospitals.

John Coston

Mothers with newborns in the Northwest Corner will be eligible for a new program that will offer three home visits by a registered nurse in a program offered by the Community Health and Wellness Center, a federally qualified healthcare center with facilities in Torrington, Winsted and North Canaan.

The program will be free to new mothers living in the 25-town region, regardless of income.

Keep ReadingShow less
health

Route 44 in Norfolk expected to reopen to two-way traffic by year’s end

Route 44 in Norfolk expected to reopen to two-way traffic by year’s end

Construction continues along Route 44, where two-way traffic is expected to resume by the end of the year.

Jennifer Almquist

NORFOLK ­— The replacement of three retaining walls with two new walls on US Route 44 (Greenwoods Road West) in Norfolk is nearing a return to two-way traffic, with the road expected to reopen in both directions by the end of the year, according to First Selectman Henry Tirrell.

Remaining work is expected to be completed by summer 2027, CTDOT spokesperson Eva Zymaris said.

Keep ReadingShow less
infrastructure
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Grandparents get a taste of school life

Grandparents get a taste of school life
Ruth Epstein

Kent Center School Principal Michelle Mott welcomes grandparents to the school’s PTA-sponsored Grandparents Day Friday, Oct. 23. Grandparents joined their grandchildren in select classes.

community

Kent’s median home sale price climbs to a record high

Kent’s median home sale price climbs to a record high

A contemporary house built in 1975 at 25 Bald Hill Road on 1.5 acres sold in September for $500,000 - well below the median 12-month Kent price of $846,500.

Christine Bates

KENT — The median sale price for a single-family home in Kent rose to $846,500 for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, surpassing the previous record of $760,750.

The median was 60% higher than the $529,000 recorded for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2025, and 21% above the $700,000 recorded for the same period in 2024. The figures exclude condominiums.

Keep ReadingShow less
real estate

Black Rabbit to close after 15 years

Black Rabbit to close after 15 years

The Black Rabbit Bar & Grille in Lakeville will close Sunday, Nov. 8, after 15 years in business.

Madi Long

LAKEVILLE — The Black Rabbit Bar & Grille will close Sunday, Nov. 8, after 15 years in business, prompting an outpouring of sadness from patrons who described it as a gathering place for the community.

Owner Kendra Chapman announced the closing on Facebook Saturday, Oct. 31, and posted a sign on the restaurant’s front door.

Keep ReadingShow less
restaurants
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.