Adams Council on Aging Looking for More Volunteers

ADAMS, Mass. — The Adams Council on Aging is still looking to fill several volunteer opportunities for its programming. 

COA Coordinator Sarah Fontaine said the council has been able to fill several volunteer positions, including gardening and helping with the newsletter. There are still several other volunteer opportunities available, she noted, such as the lunch program, rouge transport driving, the rickshaw bike and the brown bag program.

Fontaine said she has been working to fill the other openings and is advertising the opportunities in the COA's monthly newsletter. 

"I moved it to the front of the July issue, and now it's even bigger on the front of the August issue," she said. 

In other business, the bathroom facilities continue to keep the COA from moving operations into the Memorial Building. Fontaine said a grant meeting, which would fund $100,000 of the estimated $150,000 project cost, was postponed. 

"I got a call in the afternoon that several of the meeting attendees were ill and would not be able to attend," she said. "So we're waiting on a rescheduled date for that." 

The bathroom facilities have been in the works for several months, as many of the building's other facilities are at or nearing completion. While the building already has functional bathroom facilities, this project would add two more to the space. 

The COA, Fontaine said, should be ready to move once the bathrooms are complete. If they get the grant, she said the town would then work on supplemental funding for the rest of the project. 

Fontaine said she does not want to move programming or offices to the new building until they are. 

"I don't feel comfortable moving over there without adequate bathroom facilities" she said. "And I don't want to move our administrative offices over there and have programing here. It's already hard enough with us being on the second floor when programming is on the first floor. It would be too difficult to manage from a separate building. 

Friday Afternoon Fire Destroys Cheshire Barn

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
04:40PM / Friday, April 03, 2026

 

CHESHIRE, Mass. — A fire on Friday afternoon destroyed a barn at 920 Sand Mill Road.

 

The building is a total loss but firefighters were able to prevent the flames from reaching another nearby barn and the house at Stoney Brook Farm. 

 

Fire Chief Thomas Francesconi said the fire was called in 12:39 p.m. by the homeowners "but it already had a foothold before they noticed it."

 

Responding firefighters found the L-shaped structure fully involved. Adams, Lanesborough, Savoy and Windsor fire companies responded and Williamstown Fire covered the station.

 

The tankers were used to transport water from a nearby brook until a pool could be set up near the scene and water pumped into it. 

 

Northern Berkshire EMS responded and one firefighter was treated at the scene and then taken to Berkshire Medical Center. 

 

Francesconi said there were no other injuries but the owners told him there were 18 chickens in the barn. The structure also had equipment and other materials in it, including a Jeep.