The 6th annual Golf Ball Drop Fundraiser went off Sunday at Bowe field. Congratulations to all of the winners who will be contacted directly! This annual event is helping the Alerts fundraise for our upcoming 150th anniversary celebration in 2026. Thank you to all you help support this worthwhile event.

By Brian Rhodes
iBerkshires Staff
11:28AM / Friday, September 09, 2022

ADAMS, Mass. — Following July's second annual Adams Street Fair, the Adams Street Fair Committee has donated a total of $6,800 to the town's four first-responder organizations. 

The committee presented checks, each worth $1,700, to the Adams Police Department, Alert Hose Company, Adams Forest Wardens and Adams Ambulance at Wednesday's Board of Selectmen meeting. An additional $500 donation went to Williamstown-based charity PopCares, which supports cancer patients in Northern Berkshire County and Southern Vermont.

"It was quite hot this year, but for the amount of people that came out, we were very pleased," said Joseph Martin, chair of the Adams Street Fair Committee. "Everyone had a great time. All the vendors had a great time and we had no big issues." 

Police Chief K. Scott Kelley thanked the committee for the work it put into the fair. He also thanked the community for supporting the event. 

"Your committee's generosity is well noted and this is unbelievable," he said. "And as we did last year, we're going to earmark this for something that will not only better our community, but our police department." 

Board Vice Chair Christine Hoyt thanked the first responders present at the fair, who she said were able to provide free water to attendees to help with the heat. 

"A wonderful job, Joe, by you and your entire committee," she said. "It was nice to see you, in the end, come back this year and talk about being a bigger event. And wow, it really was a much bigger event."

In other business, Town Administrator Jay Green updated the board on the Howland Avenue resurfacing project, noting preliminary work had begun. He said the state Department of Transportation still anticipates work to be mostly, if not entirely, complete in the Fall. 

"We're hoping that, at a minimum, we'll have a base coat for the Fall to get us through the Winter, with a final coat in the spring," he said. "But as of today, they do anticipate doing the entire project sometime this Fall, so we're still on track for that. We'll keep everybody informed." 

Green also provided updates on ongoing work on Commercial Street, which he said should be mostly complete by October. A smaller road project on Cook Street, which Green said will be done primarily in-house by the Department of Public Works, should also begin sometime in October. 

Green mentioned the controlled intersection at the center of Commercial Street will now have an infrared-based detecting system above ground. He said this system should work better than the original plan for the intersection, a pressure-based system installed under the road. 

"We're using approximately $30,000 worth of chapter 90 money to have that reengineered and redesigned and rebuilt that will be a better way to control that intersection numbers and not risk opening up the roadway," he said. 

The board approved facility use and one-day liquor and entertainment licenses for Ramblefest, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9. 

The board approved the appointment of Natasha Bordeaux to the Agricultural Commission. Bordeaux is also a member of the Conservation Commission. 

After having multiple vendors in to demo the latest offerings in battery-powered hydraulic rescue tools, the Adams Fire Department has decided to go with Holmatro and it's loacal dealer IPS out of Salem, New Hampshire.

The new Holmatro Pentheon Series tools are a major shift for the department and marks the first set of battery-powered tools to be used here in Adams. Prior to this new set, the department has used Hurst products including its original "Jaws of Life" tool purchased over 45 years ago.
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While a few items are on backorder, we are beginning to train with the new tools and hope to have the complete setup mounted and ready for action soon. Check out the tools in the video posted below.

While we are not done yet, the committee working on the rooms led by Forman Mallett, Andy Gigliotti, Dave Lennon, Josh Sworzen and Dana Labee would like to take a moment to give everyone an update. As we finish up refreshing on our meeting room after being inturpted by the pandemic of 2020, it is interesting to note the one item in the room that didn't get removed during construction...the memorial placque, became a fixture of the room back in 1964. Many members can find a grandparent, parent, uncle, brother or other relative amoungst the names of deceased firefighters going all the way back to the charter members. As shown in this Transcript photo, 115 names were on the placque when it went up. Today, the original placque has additional placques on either side as room for names quickly ran out. So while we enjoy the new lighting, flooring, decor and colors that have changed, take a moment to reflect on our tradition and those who added their touches so many years ago. Luckily in the firehouse, some things remain the same. Pictures of the work done by the committee on the room are shown below in the included slideshow.

The website now has added pages for both official Facebook streams, the Adams Fire Department and the Alert Hose Company. You can find the latest posts in the drop-down menu under News. Go check them out!