Kitten That Survived Hanging Needs Caring Home

ADAMS, Mass. — A kitten found hanging from a tree at Specialty Minerals late last year is now well enough to go to good home.

The kitten was found by an employee sometime before 8 a.m. on Dec. 20, emaciated and hanging from a shoestring noose, said Animal Control Officer Carrie Loholdt on Monday.

The cat, Cleo, estimated at 6 to 9 months old now, had been there for about a day and survived because it appears that one of the thin branches had broken enough to allow her feet to just barely touch the ground.

"We had to cut the branches off ... her feet were barely touching the ground," Loholdt said, later adding, "She was severely underweight when we got her."

Loholdt still doesn't know who tied the kitten and the incident is under investigation. The fenced area can be reached by crossing the river and railroad tracks; employees can access the area through a locked gate and over a footbridge.

While workers typically don't go there, a worker who happened to cross through the area heard Cleo's meows and called animal control to free her.

In an email forwarded to iBerkshires, Conservation Commission Chairman Jason Krzanowski said he and Specialty Minerals employee Tim Brown discovered the cat during a site inspection. Krzanowski said there was evidence of other activity on the nearby RR bridge.

He wrote that it "appeared that the animal had been twisting on the ground for a while, judging by dented dirt."

Since then, Cleo's been spayed, vaccinated and nursed back to health. Now she needs someone to adopt her.

"She's up to date with her shots and she just needs her own home," Loholdt said.

Updated: write-through on Feb. 5, 2013 at 12:11 p.m. to clarify who found the cat and that there is no evidence an SMI employee was involved.

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.