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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Cheshire Gets Grants for Bridge and Culvert Repairs

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The town has been awarded two grants to address the decaying condition of a bridge and a culvert on Lanesborough Road. 
 
The funding comes through the Municipal Small Bridge Program and the Community Culvert Program, both of which the town applied to last year. 
 
The state Department of Transportation will be reconstructing Good Life Bridge, as part of its Municipal Small Bridge Program, and repairing a deficient culvert on the same street over an unnamed stream as part of its Community Culvert Program.
 
The projects are being advanced by an engineering firm selected by MassDOT, which will develop a needs assessment and scope of the project, which will be reviewed and approved by the town and state before work begins. The firms selected for the project will invoice the state directly for all work conducted. 
 
According to the state website, Good Life Bridge was last inspected in January 2025, and rated as structurally deficient. Its deck and superstructure are in poor condition and the substructure is in fair condition. 
 
The steel stringer/girder bridge carries traffic along an east–west roadway and was built in 1916, then subsequently widened to the north shortly thereafter, a state Structures Inspection Field Report from January 2023, said. 
 
The report said that records indicated repairs were performed in the 1990’s when several beams were installed. 
 
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