Veteran Selectmen Re-elected in Adams, Cheshire

ADAMS, Mass. — Incumbents Joseph Nowak and Richard Blanchard were re-elected on Monday to the Board of Selectmen as the town held its first election back in the former Memorial School Building.

All candidates on the ballot, whether incumbents or newcomers, were running unopposed in this year's election. Nowak received 335 votes, while Blanchard received 287.

The highest vote-getter on the ballot was Library Trustee Virginia Duval, who received 341 votes.

After the election of Amy Oberlin to the Board of Health, the board will still have one empty seat. Former members Peter Hoyt and Joyce Brewer decided not to run for re-election.

Elected were Myra Wilk as moderator; Kelly Rice as treasurer/tax collector; Lorraine Kalisz as assessor; Sandra Moderski as planner; Aimee Sinopoli as parks commissioner for one year and Mary Ciuk and Sarah Marie Panesecchi as parks commissioners for two years; Karen Kettles to a second seat on the library trustees; James Taylor as cemetery commissioner; Joseph Allard as a member of the Redevelopment Authority and as a member of the McCann School Committee; and John F. Duval and Erin Milne as Adams representatives and Michael Henault as the Cheshire representative to the Hoosac Valley Regional School Committee. 

The election had been held at the town garage on Summer Street for more than a decade after the school closed. Renovations in the Memorial Building have been ongoing for several months, as the site will soon be the home of the Adams Council on Aging. COA Director Sarah Fontaine said she spent much of the day giving voters tours of the new facility.

"We had a great morning, and I gave a lot of tours. My throat was actually sore from talking so much," she said during Monday's COA meeting. "And people were excited to see the space and see how we're going to use it."

North County Marks Memorial Day With Mount Greylock Trek, Ceremonies

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
01:07PM / Sunday, May 24, 2026

Laurie Boudreau sings the national anthem during Memorial Day ceremonies at Clarksburg Town Hall on Sunday. 

ADAMS, Mass. — As they do every Sunday before Memorial Day, local veterans braved the elements to pay respects on Mount Greylock to fallen comrades.

 

"Past commanders have been coming up here for 93 years. I have been coming up for 64," said Adams American Legion member Donald Sommer. "We have had all kinds of weather, but this is some of the worst. It shows the dedication that we have for those who have gone before us and made the ultimate sacrifice."

 

Heavy winds and sleet met the motorcade at the summit. The Veterans War Memorial Tower — first built to honor World War I veterans — was barely visible and the 30 or so veterans and their families made their way to the memorial arm and arm, fighting the wind. 

 

The ceremony was held inside of the monument with only a rifle squad and taps player briefly stepping outside to conduct their part of the truncated ceremony. 

 

"It is important that we continue these ceremonies, not only for us, but for everyone else," Sommer continued. "So they remember what happened."

 

Veterans met early at the Adams American Legion Post 160 and promptly formed a motorcade to scale the mountain. The oppressive weather forced the Legion Riders off their motorcycles.

 

The group met at the Jones Nose Parking lot about halfway up the mountain to enjoy a traditional cocktail and toast fellow veterans.