Adams Picks Select Board Candidates; Cheshire Nixes Appointed Assessor

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
12:36AM / Tuesday, May 07, 2024Print Story | Email Story

ADAMS, Mass. — Voters chose incumbent John Duval and newcomer Ann Bartlett for the two open seats on the Selectmen.

Bartlett, a co-owner of the former Red Carpet Diner, garnered the most votes at 791, more than 300 above the other three challengers, and Duval was returned for another three-year term with 685.

Incumbent Howard Rosenberg's decision sparked a five-way race for the two seats. Coming in third was Jerome Socolof with 465, Mitchell Wisniowski with 446 and former board member Donald Sommer with 367.

All results are unofficial.

Wisniowski did win a seat on the Parks Commission and Michael Mach outpolled challenger Timothy Kitchell Jr. 887-407 to stay on the Planning Board.

Frederick Lora appears to have bested Jennifer Solak as Adams representative to the Hoosac Valley Regional School District by 10 votes. The unofficial tally is 814-804, with Lora gaining 674 votes to Solak's 620 in Adams; the voted flipped in Cheshire with Solak winning 184-140 but not enough to overcome the gap. Robert Tetlow Jr., running unopposed, was returned as the Cheshire representative.

Write-ins for Board of Health and Redevelopment Authority, which had no candidates, were still being tallied.

Town Clerk Haley Meczywor, running unopposed for another three-year term, earned the highest number of votes at 1,335, just seven more than Eugene Michalenko, who was running with James Loughman for re-election to the library trustees. Also returned to office were Moderator Myra Wilk, Assessor Paula Wheeler, Mary Ciuk and James J. Fassell for Parks Commission; and Bruce Dale Shepley for Cemetery Commission and McCan School Committee.

Turnout was about 22 percent with 1,465 of the town's 6,574 registered voters going to the polls.

In Cheshire, a ballot vote on making the town assessor an appointed rather than elected position was roundly defeated 152-219. The question would also have been on the town warrant.

Shawn McGrath and Raymond Killeen were re-elected to three-year terms on the Select Board with 257 and 234 votes, respectively; coming in third was Mark Biagini with 204.

Assessor Kellie Lahey, Board of Health member Brian Trudeau, Cemetery Commissioner Timothy Garner, Water Commissioner Ricky Gurney and Planning Board member Peter Traub were re-elected unopposed.

Whitney Flynn received 55 votes for town clerk on an empty ballot to replace Christine Emerson, who retired.

Tags: election 2024, town elections,

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Notre Dame Church Closed Indefinitely as Diocese Assesses Structural Damage

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:43AM / Wednesday, September 30, 2026

ADAMS, Mass. — What began as concerns over peeling paint inside Notre Dame Church turned out to be a much larger issue, as the church is now closed indefinitely after inspections revealed structural damage, particularly in the steeple.

Notre Dame des Sept Douleurs Catholic Church, located at 21 Maple St., has been taped off and closed since last week as the Diocese of Springfield assesses water damage affecting several areas of the building.

"There are multiple issues ... but the long and short of it is that there's been a water breach in a number of locations at the church, [compromising] some of the structures. The steeple clearly has been negatively impacted by this water breach, and so they're looking at the steeple as one potential major issue," said Mark Dupont, Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield's director of communications.

"A lot of the other ones are not to that level, but taken as a whole, they might be problematic in the long run. This church is well over 100 years old and has served that community with great distinction over the years, but unfortunately, sometimes our past history with these churches is that they quickly become very costly when they start having issues."

The church was built around 1882 to serve the area's French-speaking residents and is one of the two churches part of the St. John Paul II Parish and St. Stanislaus in Adams, Dupont said. The Catholic Parishes of Adams and Cheshire includes St. Mary of the Assumption in Cheshire

Parish staff were concerned about possible water intrusion and hired a structural mason to inspect the steeple and possibly do some repairs. The hired mason found broken beams.

However, the inspection revealed more extensive damage to the steeple than initially anticipated, prompting parish staff to immediately contact the Diocese of Springfield and close the church, Dupont said.

A more comprehensive inspection is now underway to determine the full extent of the damage and what it could mean for the future of the church, he said.

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