ADAMS, Mass. — The town will see a three-way race for the Board of Selectmen in the annual town election.
It is the only race on the May 5 election ballot.
Incumbent Joseph J. Nowak will face off against Jay T. Meczywor and Jerome S. Socolof for the two seats up for election on the board. Both seats are for three-year terms.
Selectman Richard Blanchard is not running for re-election after serving four terms. He and Nowak were first elected in 2013.
Nowak is a retired from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and was a co-founder of the former Adams Agriculture Fair.
Meczywor is a physical therapist at Berkshire Sport & Physical Therapy and chair of the town's Finance Committee.
Socolof unsuccessfully ran for the board in last year's election. He is an associate professor in arts management in the Fine and Performing Arts Department at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Newcomers on the ballot are David Rhinemiller, chair of the Planning Board, for a three-year term on the Board of Health; Christian Ricahrd Rowe for a five-year termon the Planning Board; and Stephanie Melito for representative to the Northern Berkshire Regional [McCann] School Committee.
Running for re-election unopposed are Moderator Myra Wilk, Treasurer-Collector Kelly Rice, Assessor Lorraine Kalisz, Library Trustees Virginia Phelps Duval and Karen Kettles, Cemetery Commissioner James Taylor, Housing Authority member Ann Bartlett, and Hoosac Valley School Committee member John F. Duval and Erin Milne, both representing Adams.
No one has submitted papers for the a three-year term representing Cheshire on Hoosac Valley School Committee or for a one-year term for Cemetery Commission and five-year term for Redevelopment Authority.
Running for town meeting member are:
Precinct 1: Deborah Nowicki and Gregory Nowicki for two two-year terms, and one open seat for three years.
Precinct 2: Catherine Foster, Charles Foster, Andrew Harmon, Howard Rosenberg and William Schrade Jr. will vie with incumbents Donald Bury, Scott Cernik, Edward Janik, Sandra Moderski, Andrew Przystanski, Norman Schutz, Tanya Wilson-Malloy and Mitchell Wisniowski for 10 three-year terms; and Paula Grover is running unopposed for a one-year term.
Precinct 3: Russell Duval, Kathryn Anne Gigliotti, Jerome Socolof and Kelly Szkasz are running for one of 10 three-year terms against incumbents Patricia Conroy-Shepley, Richard Frost, Raymond Gargan Jr., Kelly Craddock-Kelley, Amy Oberlin, Robert Patterson Jr., Melissa Schaffrick and Barbara Ziemba; Christina Satko is unopposed for a one-year term.
Precinct 4: Kathryn E. Perras and Edmund St. John III for two two-year terms; one two-year term, two one-year terms and five three-year terms are vacant.
Precinct 5: 15 candidates are vying for 10 three-year terms. Newcomers are Kathryn Foley, Denise Fortier, Jacqueline Kelly, Stephanie Melito, David Rhinemiller, Christian Rowe and Caroline Scully; incumbents are Kathy Hynes, David Lennon, Sarah Lesure, Erin Milne, Michael Ouellette, Linda Rhoadds, Ashley Satko and Barbara Tarsa.
Partial terms are to complete vacated offices; each precinct has 30 representatives.
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Cheshire Hires Adams Officer as New Police Chief
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
Matthew Wright shakes hands with board members and Town Administrator Jennifer Morse on Friday after being offered the post.
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Adams Police Sgt. Matthew Wright has been tapped as Cheshire's next police chief.
The four present board members unanimously voted to hire him after an interview on Friday afternoon held during a special Selectmen's meeting.
Wright was the only finalist for a police chief search that lasted several months. The only public who attended, other than iBerkshires, was interim Police Chief Timothy Garner and Wright's wife.
The board will meet in executive session with Wright for contract negotiations then set an open session to establish a start date.
Board member Scott McWhirt recused himself from the interview as he had worked with Wright in the Adams Police Department prior to his retirement in 2016.
Wright highlighted his deep roots in Cheshire, where he was born and raised, being a Hoosac Valley High School graduate and earning an associate degree in criminal justice from Berkshire Community College and later a bachelor's from Westfield State University.
Now, he is raising his own family in town, following in his father's footsteps by giving back to the community by being a volunteer coach and participates in local festivities.
Wilk-Chaffee joined two of her fellow Beautification Group members in an appearance before the Selectmen to update the elected officials on the non-profit's activities around town and explain its role in town.
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The overhaul of 21 Park St, is complete, with all 10 two-bedroom apartments nearly rented. There are also three units on the second floor available for rent that will be move-in ready in September. click for more
On Wednesday, the select board approved a framework for a candidate screening committee and heard a potential timeline for making a decision to appoint the next leader of the 18-officer department. click for more
As America celebrated its 250th anniversary, Adams looked toward the future by creating a time capsule to preserve pieces of the community for future generations.
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