Adams Picks Select Board Candidates; Cheshire Nixes Appointed Assessor

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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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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Berkshire County Reflects on a Rainy Memorial Day

Staff WritersiBerkshires

Pittsfield holds its services at Pittsfield Cemetery on Monday. See more photos here.

ADAMS, Mass. — Memorial Day was initially to remember the lives lost in the Civil War, eventually coming to honor all those servicemen and women who sacrificed for their country over more than 250 years.

Sgt. First Class Brian Bergeron, keynote speaker at Adams' observances in the Visitors Center, invoked the county's 21st century losses on Monday: Army Sgt. 1st Class Daniel H. Petithory of Cheshire; Army Sgt. Glenn R. Allison of Pittsfield; Army Chief Warrant Officer Stephen M. Wells of North Egremont; Army Spc. Michael R. DeMarsico II of North Adams; Army Spc. Mitchell K. Daehling of Dalton, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher of Pittsfield.
 
"We carry the memory of the Berkshire County residents who gave their lives in Vietnam. Young men like Specialist Kevin Hallam and Lance Corporal David Bory Fitzfield, and so many others from Dalton, Adams, Great Berrington, Lee, and towns across our hills, their names are etched on our local memorials, on our memorial skating rink, and on our hearts," he said. 
 
Bergeron is an 18-year veteran of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, and was deployed multiple times for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He is currently assigned as the regional team leader of the Western Massachusetts Recruiting and Retention Battalion, and serves as the Westover Recruit Sustainment Program drill sergeant.
 
"Those warriors gave everything for the country they loved, for the Constitution they swore to uphold, and for the people of the United States, who bask in the freedom provided them by these brave soldiers. Think of the young soldiers who left a small town much like ours, never to return," he said.
 
"So let us leave here today with more than words. Let us commit to live lives worthy of their sacrifice, to cherish the freedoms they defend, to teach our children a true cost of living, and to ensure that their stories are told, their names are spoken, their legacy endurance."
 
Adams had joined Dalton, North Adams and Williamstown in canceling its parade because of the cold, rainy weather. Instead, dozens of residents and veterans gathered at the Visitors Center to hear Hoosac Valley High students Sophie Wilson and Genevieve Lagess read "In Flanders Fields" and the Gettysburg Address, respectively. The Hoosac Valley band played "The Star-Spangled Banner" and Fred Lora, School Committee chair and retired Army lieutenant colonel, was master of ceremonies. 
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