ADAMS, Mass. — Elizabeth Bushey, Christine Hoyt, and Cassie Witek will jockey for a select board seat being left open by current Chairman Jeffrey Snoonian, who has chosen not to run for re-election.
The three candidates to run in the Monday, May 1, town election are mostly political newcomers. The last time the board saw a new member was in 2014, when Snoonian ousted Michael Ouellette.
That five-member board also will be operating with four members until May 2018 unless a special election is called.
Selectman Arthur "Skip" Harrington resigned earlier this month and his seat could not be added to the May ballot because the vacancy occurred less than 100 days prior to the annual election, a requirement for town boards with three or more members still seated.
A fourth candidate for the board, Michael Mach, who currently sits on the Zoning Board of Appeals, announced on Facebook on Sunday that he was withdrawing his nomination for "personal reasons."
"I really wanted to serve. Perhaps in the future when the town figures out what to do with Skip's seat," he wrote.
Candidates have until March 29 to withdraw nomination papers.
The winner of May's election will join Selectmen John Duval, Joseph Nowak and Richard Blanchard.
There will also be a battle for an open seat on the Adams-Cheshire Regional School Committee to represent Adams. Michael Mucci Jr. will challenge incumbent Regina Hill, who represents Adams on the committee. Newcome Adam Emerson is running for Cheshire's representative seat on the School Committee, which is being vacated by Edmund St. John IV. Both seats are for three years and are voted on both towns.
The Parks Commission, too, will see a contest for two seats. Current members Scott Cernik and Jacob Schutz are being challenged by newcomer Cynthia Bird.
Also, former Selectwoman Myra Wilk will run unopposed for moderator, a position currently held by Edward Driscoll, and Brian Bishop will run for a library trustee seat being vacated by David M. Strzepek. Incumbent Anita L. Jamros is running for the second library trustee seat.
Other positions up for election are unopposed or vacant. The Board of Health has an open seat and the Redevelopment Authority three open seats.
The posts and incumbents are assessor, three years (George J. Haddad); Board of Health, three years (Allen Mendal); Planning Board member, five years (Sandra Moderski); Cemetery Commission, three years (Frederick S. Hobart); Redevelopment Authority, five years (Joseph W. Allard); Redevelopment Authority, three years (vacant); Redevelopment Authority, two years (vacant); and Northern Berkshire Regional School District (McCann), three years (Daniel J. Maloney Jr.).
Also up for election are town meeting members for terms of one to three years: 13 in Precinct 1, 12 in Precinct 2, 14 in Precinct 3, 15 in Precinct 4, and 10 in Precinct 5.
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Adams Free Library Pastel Painting Workshops
ADAMS, Mass. — Award-winning pastel artist Gregory Maichack will present three separate pastel painting workshops for adults and teens 16+, to be hosted by the Adams Free Library.
Wednesday, April 24 The Sunflower; Wednesday, May 8 Jimson Weed; and Thursday, May 23 Calla Turned Away from 10:00 a.m. to noon.
Registration is required for each event. Library events are free and open to the public.
These programs are funded by a Festivals and Projects grant of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
This workshop is designed for participants of all skill levels, from beginner to advanced. Attendees will create a personalized, original pastel painting based on Georgia O’Keefe’s beautiful pastel renditions of The Sunflower, Jimson Weed and Calla Turned Away. All materials will be supplied. Seating may fill quickly, so please call 413-743-8345 to register for these free classes.
Maichack is an award-winning portraitist and painter working primarily in pastels living in the Berkshires. He has taught as a member of the faculty of the Museum School in Springfield, as well as at Greenfield and Holyoke Community College, Westfield State, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
The Adams Beautification group, which has been quietly sprucing up the town since 2022, hopes to bring in more members of the community during a community cleanup day scheduled for Saturday, April 27. click for more
Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School history teacher Alla Chelukhova has been selected as the April Teacher of the Month. click for more
Desroches graduated from the Police Academy on March 22 in the top tier in his class. He's currently in the field training program and assigned to Sgt. Curtis Crane.
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Michael Wynn, who was selected in January to run the center, submitted a level operating budget of $57,500 but said he could pull funding from different lines to ensure there was money for advertising this fall.
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