Adams Liquor Store Fails Third Compliance Check

ADAMS, Mass. — The License Commission is looking to force a local liquor store to card anyone purchasing booze after failing its third compliance check in four years.

Val's Variety on Columbia Street allegedly sold alcohol to two 18-year-old girls on Nov. 9 during a compliance check by the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition's NB21 program, according to police.

The checks are done for "educational value," according to police but as the license granting authority, the town routinely punishes the license holders for violations. The Board of Selectmen operate as the License Commission.

Two commissioners and Town Administrator Jonathan Butler met with police on Wednesday. They are recommending a three-day suspension of alcohol sales, that every employee be retrained and require Val's ask for identification from everyone purchasing alcohol there.

However, those requirements need to be reviewed first by attorneys to see if the town legally has the ability to impose punishments in excess of state law.

"I don't know if you have the authority to require action inside the establishment that is above state law," Butler said.

Based on guidelines the Selectmen adopted last year, the penalty for a third offense is suggested to be a five-day suspension. However, Val's had failed the checks in 2009 and 2010, prior to the new and stricter guidelines.

Cheshire Town Meeting Oks Budgets, Debates Potential Prop 2 1/2 Override

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
10:12PM / Monday, June 08, 2026

Moderator Carol Francesconi, left, and Anne Marie Furey were presented flowers in memory of the Rev. William Furey, their brother and husband, respectively. The town report was dedicated to him. 

CHESHIRE, Mass. — Town meeting on Monday approved all 35 articles on the annual meeting warrant, including a total spending for fiscal 2027 of more than $8.5 million. 

 

Some 77 of the town's more than 2,500 registered voters filled the Cheshire Community House meeting room, debating on a number of articles during the meeting that lasted nearly three hours

 

The town dedicated its annual report to the Rev. William David Furey, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church and more recently Berkshire Union Chapel in Lanesborough. Furey died last year at age 77.

 

His wife, Anne Marie Furey, and his sister, Town Moderator Carol Francesconi, were presented with a bouquet of flowers in tribute to him. 

 

He was an exemplary member of the community who left a lasting impression in each and every life that he touched, said Town Clerk Whitney Flynn. 

 

Voters approved several warrant articles that make up an operating budget of $3,840,314 for fiscal 2027. Of this amount, $1,642,481 is allocated for the general government budget, which was approved after clarification of a few questions.

 

One item was the administrative assistant's salary. Prior to the annual meeting, the town eliminated the executive assistant salary of $54,309 in favor of a part-time administrative assistant salary of $27,155, to reduce costs considering the financial constraint the town is in.