By Kathy Baugh
The Becket Washington Elementary School (BWS) auditorium was bursting with town pride and joy at the Two-Town Forum held on May 4th from 6 to 8 pm. With over 140 participants, what portended to be a humdrum event turned out to be a celebration of democracy, civic engagement, and, believe it or not, the town census!
As people meandered in, they were greeted by an array of inviting savory and sweet treats, compliments of The Route 8 Pub, The Neon Newt, The Becket Country Store, the Sherwood Shoppe, Papa Bob’s (soon to be Jacob’s Ladder Tavern), and local chef extraordinaire Yvonne Matteson. In the background was live music by Dave Bacon and Simon Guthrie.
The official program kicked off with an improvisational skit presented by the Becket Arts Players on the importance of filling out your town census and participating in direct democracy. What, again, one would expect to be a bit on the dry side resulted in boisterous laughter, singing, and cheers. It turns out that the census is truly important—the numbers reported through the census inform what grants towns can apply for and the level of funding allocated by the state and federal government. The skit stressed that one cannot in good conscience simultaneously complain about the state of our roads and ignore the census.
Next up was Principal of BWS Mary Kay McCloskey. As reported in last month’s edition of the Beat, McCloskey is retiring after 26 years in the school system, including nine years as principal. She welcomed everyone to the school, announced that April West will be the new principal, and extolled the virtues of BWS, which, because it is student-centric, has earned “a school of excellence” rating from the state.
Kathy Vsetecka and Linda Shaw, both associate pastors at the Yoked Parish, spoke about the Becket-Washington Food Pantry and the Community Emergency Outreach Program (CEOP). Founded in 2000, the two organizations have assisted countless residents with home food supplies, toiletries, hot meals at the church, and assistance with emergency needs such as electric/fuel bills, medical bills, and a variety of other emergency situations.
Capping off the evening, the group heard from State Senator Paul Mark and State House Representative Leigh Davis. Senator Mark, of Becket, represents 57 towns in Western Massachusetts. Representative Davis, of Great Barrington, represents all of the 18 South County towns, including Becket and Washington.
Both Mark and Davis expressed their connection to the communities they represent and their passion for helping to elevate them. Recently, they both actively and successfully responded to the crises brought on by the exceedingly cold winter and the fuel shortages that resulted. Senator Mark has also earmarked $250,000 toward sustainability of BWS. Mark and Davis urged audience members to reach out to them if they saw a need in the community that had fallen short in the local budget. They both talked about their journeys into politics, relating that they are just ordinary people who cared about their own community and wanted to make a difference. They talked about the importance of local politics—filling out the census, attending town meetings, and participating in town elections. All of it is democracy in action, they emphasized, and should be celebrated, not ignored.
Surrounding the room were tables with representatives from the towns of Becket and Washington from: BWS, the Becket Athenaeum (Becket and Washington’s community library), the Becket Arts Center of the Hilltowns, the Becket-Washington Food Pantry and CEOP, and the Becket Washington Friends and Neighbors group (BWFAN)—each there to share their services and programs that attendees might not have been aware of. Since its inception in the spring of 2025, BWFAN, a pro-democracy group, has been actively seeking ways to support their neighbors, including leading many food drives and organizing this Two-Town Forum. To learn more about BWFAN, go to bwfan.org. The group meets monthly and welcomes anyone interested to attend.
