ADAMS, Mass. — Two new full-time police officers have been added to the Adams Police Department. The officers were officially appointed by the Board of Selectmen on Wednesday night. 

 

Police Chief Troy Bacon said the department recently lost five of its most senior members to retirement, including former Chief Richard Tarsa, and is in the process of hiring one more officer currently.

 

Samantha Morin and Nicholas Kaiser are the newest members of the force. Morin is an Army veteran who served in Military Police Corps while on active duty and who currently resides in Lanesborough. Kaiser served with the North Adams Police Department since 2010. 

 

New officers usually are introduced to the board at the time of their hiring but because of current gathering restrictions with the pandemic, a formal ceremony will be held at a later date.

 

Bacon said Adams was fortunate to receive a deep pool of candidates for the open positions and feels confident they hired the right people.

 

"I feel confident that the two we have picked will serve the town of Adams vigorously, they're very excited to be here," he said. "Both of them really expressed a desire to be here in Adams. They weren't just looking for a job, they want to move here and they want to work in Adams."

 

The officers will be starting in early September pending physicals.

 

Water, or a lack of it, is still an issue for Adams. In early July, Water District Superintendent John Barrett addressed the board regarding low water levels in the town's water supply. Wednesday night, he told them not much has changed.

 

"When I spoke to you recently we were in a state-mandated drought, Stage 2. I didn't think we would ever reach the conditions locally to trigger that but unfortunately we have. The conditions that I monitor are through the Hoosic River ... they are tracking closer toward us having to implement Stage 3," he told the board.

 

"At Stage 2, everybody can water their plants on Mondays before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m., so 16 hours in a week. If Stage 3 is implemented, it will be one hour a week — period," Barrett said. "If Stage 4 is implemented, there's nothing the board can do. There's no watering, there's no anything."

 

Barrett did have one slightly positive note to report as a couple of selectmen asked if he felt news of the restrictions was getting out to residents efficiently.

 

"It was hotter in July than June but we went down in water [usage] so I think the message is getting out there but I would agree that it's not getting out there to everybody," he said.

 

Some of the restrictions under Stage 2 drought conditions:

For a full list of restrictions visit Adamsfiredistrict.comor the town website.

 

In other business, Town Clerk Haley Meczywor said her office is ready for early in-person voting. Turnout for both the Sept. 1 primary and Nov. 3 general election are expected to be robust. Meczywor said she has already sent out over 1,200 mail-in and absentee ballots and, starting Saturday, will be accepting in-person voting at Town Hall. It comes with caveats however.

 

"You will be required to wear a mask and you will be required to sign in when you come to Town Hall. And while you are at Town Hall, the only thing that you will be able to do is early vote in person. You will not be able to access any other department in Town Hall," she said.

 

Persons wanting to vote early and in person should simply knock on any regular entry door as they will be staffed with employees ready to assist. Citizens can also register to vote Saturday for the primary at Town Hall or online. 

 

"We will keep our social distancing, we will keep everybody safe. We will clean after somebody uses a booth and we will clean the marker after. We are going to keep it as safe as possible," Meczywor said.

 

She also noted that mail-in ballots can be requested up until Aug. 26 and absentee ballots until Aug. 31 at noon.

 

Early voting hours are Saturday from noon to 4, Sunday from 9 to 1, and Monday through Thursday, 9 to 4.