Reserve Police Officer Christopher Lampiasi is introduced to the board by Chief Richard Tarsa, right, on Wednesday.
ADAMS, Mass. — The Selectmen have approved the ratification of a new reserve officer and a special police officer.
The Selectmen were happy to appoint new reserve Officer Christopher Lampiasi and special Police Officer Robert Mallet to the department Wednesday.
New appointments have been a regular event in the past year after the town dissolved the cumbersome Civil Service that limited who the town could hire.
Police Chief Richard Tarsa said Lampiasi is an Adams resident. He listed some of his credentials and said he has been through the reserve academy. He currently works for Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' campus security and is a part time officer in Peru.
He said he has also worked as an emergency medical technician and brings this first responder experience.
"He brings a lot of enthusiasm .. .he is a big advocate for community policing," Tarsa said. "I firmly believe he will be an asset to the department and the town."
Tarsa said Mallet has worked as a provisional officer for Adams in the past and will work as a special officer which means he will only be able to work the desk, security, and traffic detail.
Tarsa said Mallet retired at the rank of captain after 39 years with the Berkshire County sheriff's department.
He said he is up to date on all his credentials and qualifications and will be an asset to the town.
"He has always given back to the community: 39 years with the sheriff's department and he has given back as a teacher and coach among other things," Tarsa said. "He is the epitome of community service and he wants to continue that as long as possible and we are excited to have him."
The Selectmen also appointed Natasha Bordeaux to the Conservation Commission to fill the seat vacated by Corey Bishop earlier this summer.
"We are happy to have someone interested because we currently have a vacancy," Hoyt said.
Bordeaux said she has always been interested in agriculture and, in high school, used to work on a dairy farm. She said she currently helps run Burnett farm with her fiance.
"I am always interested in that stuff I am very passionate about agriculture," she said.
The board was happy Bordeaux stepped forward and were excited to see a younger person interested in town government.
Selectman Joseph Nowak requested that Bordeaux attend some of the trainings to get up to speed because of the importance of the commission and possible liabilities that can fall back on the town.
He did say, as a former commissioner, he would be happy to help get her up to speed.
Nowak also asked that the town look into developing a bylaw for mini homes.
"I think we have to take a quick look at that especially with premiere maker of them right in town," he said.
Special Police Officer Robert Mallet was confirmed by the board.
This year, B&B Micro Manufacturing relocated to Adams at the former Brown Packaging building. The company builds high-quality mini houses.
Chairwoman Chirstine Hoyt said she thought it was on Community Development’s radar but Town Administrator Jay Green said he would follow up.
In liaison reports, Nowak said he attended a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting and said an application for a proposed organic coffee shop on Commercial Street has been withdrawn.
He said the owners indicated that they were not prepared to begin renovations — specifically in the bathrooms.
The zoning board tabled the application without prejudice just in case the applicants want to pick up the project again.
Nowak did add that the ZBA is in need of members and is short at least one full member.
Hoyt added that the Board of Health is also in need of a new member because Bruce Shepley has resigned.
"He has served since 2015 and has done so very well," she said. "His service on the board will be missed"
Hoyt said his term would have run out in 2021 and the town needs to figure out how to appoint another member.
She noted Shepley still plans to serve in other capacities on other town boar ds and commissions he is involved with.
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A Rare Bird: Koperniak Stands Out in Triple-A
By Frank MurtaughThe Memphis (Tenn.) Flyer
With Major League Baseball’s September roster expansion just around the corner, Berkshire County baseball fans will be watching to see whether 2016 Hoosac Valley High School graduate Matt Koperniak gets the call from the St. Louis Cardinals. Heading into Tuesday night’s action, Koperniak had 125 hits this summer for the Cards’ Triple A affiliate, the Memphis (Tenn.) Redbirds. He is hitting .309 this season with 17 home runs. In his minor league career, he has a .297 batting average with 56 homers after being signed as a free agent by St. Louis out of Trinity College in 2020. This week, sportswriter Frank Murtaugh of the Memphis Flyer profiled Koperniak for that publication. Murtaugh’s story appears here with the Flyer’s permission.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- I’ve interviewed professional baseball players for more than two decades. There are talented players who, honestly, aren’t that interesting away from the diamond. They’re good ballplayers, and baseball is what they know. There are also very interesting baseball players who aren’t all that talented. Now and then, though, you find yourself in the home team’s dugout at AutoZone Park with a very good baseball player who has a very interesting story to share. Like the Memphis Redbirds’ top hitter this season, outfielder Matt Koperniak.
That story? It began on Feb. 8, 1998, when Koperniak was born in London. (Koperniak played for Great Britain in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.) “My dad was in the military,” explains Koperniak. “He was in Italy for a bit, then England. But I have no memories of that time.” Matt and his family moved back to the States — to Adams, Mass. — before his third birthday.
Koperniak played collegiately at Division III Trinity College in Connecticut, part of the New England Small College Athletic Conference. He hit .394 as a junior in 2019, but beating up on the likes of Tufts and Wesleyan doesn’t typically catch the eye of major-league scouts. When the coronavirus pandemic wiped out his senior season, Koperniak received an extra year of eligibility but, having graduated with a degree in biology, he chose to sign as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals.
“I’ve always loved baseball,” says Koperniak, “and it’s helped me get places, including a good school. My advisor — agent now — was able to get me into pro ball, so here we are.” He played in a few showcases as well as for the North Adams SteepleCats in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, enough to convince a Cardinal scout he was worth that free agent offer.
The Redbirds hosted Memphis Red Sox Night on Aug. 10, the home team taking the field in commemorative uniforms honoring the Bluff City’s Negro Leagues team of the 1930s and ’40s. Luken Baker (the franchise’s all-time home run leader) and Jordan Walker (the team’s top-ranked prospect) each slammed home runs in a Memphis win over Gwinnett, but by the final out it had become Matt Koperniak Night at AutoZone Park. He drilled a home run, a triple, and a single, falling merely a double shy of hitting for the cycle. It was perfectly Koperniak: Outstanding baseball blended into others’ eye-catching heroics.
“It’s trying to do the little things right,” he emphasizes, “and being a competitor. The Cardinals do a great job of getting us to play well-rounded baseball. Everybody has the same mindset: How can I help win the next game? You gotta stay in attack mode to be productive.”
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