Town elections
Current Selectwoman Ginger Smith, who is completing her first term on the board and served as chair the last year, is running for re-election. Smith has lived in Hancock for 23 years, and is a retired FedEx driver. She said after her retirement she was looking for a way to be more involved with the town and was convinced to run for the board. She jokingly noted that she was promised that it was only one meeting a week and “mostly common sense.”
Dan Harper ran unopposed for the position as Hancock’s representative to the ConVal School Board and is continuing his tenure within that role.
Select Board member Jeff Brown submitted his resignation from the Select Board in November. The Select Board elected Laurie Bryan to take over the position until 2026.
Exploring regionalization, new police chief
Because of staffing issues, the town of Greenfield began surveying the feasibility of regionalizing its police force with Hancock. The survey was conducted by the Greenfield Police Regionalization Study Committee. Hancock residents voted in a similar warrant article to explore police regionalization with Greenfield. “Both towns are looking at this possibility as a way to cover all the shifts,” said committee member Sheila Nichols.
Hancock also saw a change in its police chief after the retirement of Tom Horne. Interim Police Chief Terry Choate hosted a meet-and-greet with town residents at the library in October. He followed up with another meeting on Nov. 1 covering burglaries.
“We caught one guy at two o’clock in the morning, and he had crowbars and lock-picking kits, and he was a professional, and he had warrants on him for burglary, and he was out of Winchester,” he was quoted as saying.
Choate has not been confirmed as permanent chief.
Harris Center
In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $600,000 grant for the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock. Eric Masterson, land program manager for the nonprofit organization, said the money was meant to buy nearly 600 acres of land, known as Sargent Camp. “The Harris Center is working on an agreement to purchase the land from its present owner, Boston University, which has owned it since the 1930s and once used it as a camp and a leadership retreat,” he said.
The tract is surrounded by a conservation area that is already part of the Harris Center’s 36,000-acre Super Sanctuary. The sanctuary extends to Antrim, Dublin, Greenfield, Harrisville, Nelson and Stoddard.
By October an agreement had yet to be reached. According to Harris Center Director Jeremy Wilson of Dublin:
“. . . despite the USDA’s award announcement, there remains no agreement or contract between the parties for the purchase of the property, and the current owner, Boston University, has withdrawn from negotiations with us to investigate their options. We are disappointed but respect their decision. We remain steadfast in our commitment to conserving the property as a refuge for people and wildlife, and we are hopeful that we can resume negotiations on a solution that works for all.”
It remains to be seen if the Harris Center will receive the grant or not.
Read the original articles:
Greenfield and Hancock regionalization: https://ledgertranscript.com/2025/09/02/greenfield-stakeholders-police-services/
Hancock town office elections: https://ledgertranscript.com/2025/03/04/hancock-candidates-weigh-in-59646011/
Chief Choate burglary session: https://ledgertranscript.com/2025/11/01/choate-hancock-crime-prevention/
Harris Center grant: https://ledgertranscript.com/2025/08/28/harris-center-conservation-grant/
Jeremy Wilson Letter: https://ledgertranscript.com/2025/10/07/sargent-center-future-uncertain/