ADAMS, Mass. — Voters will decide two races on Monday, including for treasurer/collector.

Melissa McGovern-Wandrei and Kelly Rice are vying to complete the two years left on the term being vacated by retiring Holly Denault.

Originally from Clarksburg, McGovern-Wandrei has been the Clarksburg tax collector, and more recently treasurer/tax collector, for a total of 15 years. She is currently the president of the Berkshire County Treasurer and Collectors Association.

She is a Massachusetts certified treasurer/collector.

"I am experienced," McGovern-Wandrei said. "I know all of the laws, and I have a 95-97 percent collection rate in Clarksburg, which is very good."

McGovern-Wandrei now lives in Adams with her husband, Lenny Wandrei; some of their children have been in the Adams school system.

"Adams is a good place to raise your children, and it is very community orientated," she said. "The people in Adams have been very supportive of me."

McGovern-Wandrei said she is the most qualified person for the job.

"There is a lot to this job, and I think a lot of people think it is just an accounting job," McGovern-Wandrei said. "It takes a certain kind of person to do this job well, and I think that person is me."

Rice is originally from Savoy but has lived in Adams for nearly 30 years.

"I love Adams," she said. "Adams is a small little tight-knit town, and I like it."

Rice said she worked as the cafeteria manager for Hoosac Valley High School for 14 years, taking care of bookkeeping and all deposits and reconciliations.

Rice said she has also worked for the town as the building inspector's administrative assistant. She moved from there to the financial assistant for grants in the Community Development Department.

"I take care of millions of dollars through all of the grants we have had for the past eight years," she said.

Although not certified, Rice said she has learned the proper skills for treasurer/collector position through her involvement in the town government and also has gained a strong work ethic.

Rice said she wants to help Adams.

"I live in the town of Adams, and I need to take care of the town of Adams," she said. "We need to get some revenues back in for all of the leans and takings, and I would be proud to be part of that."

Also on the ballot is a race for a three-year selectmen's seat; candidates for other offices attended a forum last month.

The town election is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, May 5, at the town garage.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Unless someone launches a write-in campaign, the pool of elected officials is going to stay mostly the same.

By Tuesday's deadline to submit nomination papers for the next election, only incumbents returned papers and there is no competition for any of the seats. And, there are a number of seats with no candidates.

For selectmen, only Henry "Hank" Sayers returned nomination papers. Sayers was elected last year during a special election to replace Robert Barton, who resigned after winning a seat on the School Committee. Longtime School Committee member Regina DiLego is also looking to return to that board.

Two Finance Committee seats are on the ballot, but only one candidate -— incumbent Christine Galib — submitted paperwork. William Steven's seat is also up for election but he did not take out nomination papers.

Planning Board is the same, with two seats and only one candidate. Ronald Tinkham returned papers for the five-year term while Robert Rubin did not submit papers for a re-election campaign.

Three Sewer Commission seats and a tree warden position also saw no candidates. However, the Board of Selectmen are proposing to move both of those posts to appointed positions because of a perpetual lack of interest in serving.

Robert Reilly submitted his paperwork to return as moderator. Jane Stevens and Prudence Barton are both running for re-election as library trustees. And Amy Szczepaniak is looking to return as a cemetery trustee.

The election is on June 17.

To the Editor:

Recently the select board in Cheshire gave up their hands and stated there was nothing they could do to stop Dollar General from locating in the heart of our community.

The citizens of Cheshire have told me, "They don’t understand why the select board didn't act sooner to prevent this type of a business from locating in the historical center of our town."

Dollar General or any business that generates new taxes and employment opportunities should be welcome in our community, provided they are compatible with the historic and community values that make Cheshire such a special place to live. A place that has that small New England look and feel to it, a place where most of grew up and a place where we want our children to live.

It has been said by many that if you drive into a small town as see a Dollar General type store in the historic middle of the town, it shows is some way a lack of leadership and forethought of its elected official.

In this case, the proposed business clearly does not meet these criteria nor the wishes of the citizens of Cheshire. Is there anything we can do to stop this? I say YES!

If elected on Monday, May 5, the first thing I would do would be to meet with the Dollar General developers and try to convince them to look at other better suited sites in Cheshire for their store. A site that I feel would be more appropriate and should be considered by them would be the site of the Old Country Charm restaurant. The site is not being used, and the traffic patterns are better and safer. I would also meet with the current owner of the property to see if there is some alternative(s) to selling to a developer. This may include, but not limited a purchase by the town.

Seeking grants to purchase the historical site(s) contacting organizations like the Berkshire Natural Resource Council or the Historic Preservation commissions to help arrange a purchase of the property.

It should be noted that when the town of Greenfield was faced with the prospects of a Walmart locating in their community. They realized the impact that it would have on their community and banded together to stop the development. We can do this together!

It should also be noted that when a mall was proposed on Route 7 outside of Pittsfield, then Governor Dukakis used his authority to block the development, by refusing to permit a "curb cut" on to the State-owned road. We should be working with Governor Patrick, who has been very supportive of the small-town life in the Berkshires, to request that a "Curb Cut" be denied, based upon traffic-related problems.

 Other items that should or could be done are:

1. A moratorium on this type of development. This is common practice as we can see in the battle over the building of gambling casinos or fracking

2. Request a study of the impact on the impact of the developing on such items as A. The available of Water. B, Title 5 and how the developer plans on meeting those requirements.

C. Asbestos and PCBs removal (A study should be done to see if the site/building has any of these.) D. a neighborhood impact study

These are only of the few ways to insure that any development meets the needs and historic nature of our community. What I see is lacking is the wiliness to take on these challenges. These or any other steps must be taken before any building permits are issued.

Once issued, as we can see in the case of the town of Sheffield, there would be little we could then do. It is clear that action must be taken soon!

It is important to let your elected officials know how you feel about this matter, but it is more important that you exercise your rights and vote this Monday

Respectfully submitted,

James. M. Boyle
Cheshire, Mass.

James Boyle is running for the Board of Selectmen in Cheshire.