News
Area property deed transfers, April 25
AMHERSTTheodore A. Hallstrom and Elizabeth L. Hallstrom to Richard B. Pierce and Elaine R. Pierce, 63 Cherry Lane, $625,000 Bodin D Joseph Est and Kristi A. Bodin to Julius J. Rosenthal, 35 Maplewood Circle, $470,000 JELB...
Report tallies pros of energy retrofit at Hopkins Academy
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — A deep energy retrofit planned for Hopkins Academy, using ground-source heat pumps, would cut more than three-quarters of the building’s greenhouse gas emissions and would significantly reduce estimated expenses associated with the health and...
Belchertown mobile home village getting new water system
By EMILEE KLEIN
BELCHERTOWN — The state has approved funding for a new $6 million water system at Pine Valley Plantation Mobile Home Park to replace the park’s 45-year-old water pipes.Pine Valley Plantation, in the southern part of town across from Cold Springs...
Primo Restaurant & Pizzeria in South Deerfield under new ownership
By CHRIS LARABEE
SOUTH DEERFIELD — After more than a decade in the previous owner’s hands, the Rodas family is taking the reins at Primo Restaurant & Pizzeria with plans to continue the eatery’s legacy.The new owners officially took over the pizza, sub and pasta shop...
A Look Back, April 24
50 Years Ago ■Earth Day 1974 came and went without much fanfare. “I hate to admit I didn’t even know it was Earth Day,” said Bradlee Gage, a former member of the Amherst Conservation Commission. “Every day, especially in Amherst, conservation seems to...
Amherst poised to hire police department veteran as new chief
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Temporary Police Chief Gabriel Ting, who has led the department since last May and been a member of the force for almost 27 years, will become Amherst’s permanent chief, pending approval by the Town Council.Ting’s appointment to serve a...
Contentious dispute ends as Hampshire Regional schools, union settle on contract
By EMILEE KLEIN
WESTHAMPTON — After over a year of contentious negotiations and 224 days without a contract, Hampshire Regional Education Association and the School Committee have agreed to a contract.The tentative contract between the school district and the...
Donating hope: Survivors share stories at Northampton event as part of Organ Donation Month
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL
NORTHAMPTON — The day before Thanksgiving in 2016, Northampton resident Bob Wood got a life-changing call — literally. A 42-year-old woman in Pennsylvania had recently died, and her liver would be a perfect fit for Wood, now 68 years old, who...
Treehouse, Big Brothers Big Sisters turn race schedule snafu into positive
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL
NORTHAMPTON — The second annual Runway 5K to support the Easthampton nonprofit organization Treehouse will occur Sunday, after the group turned a scheduling mishap into a positive partnership opportunity.Treehouse officials originally scheduled the...
Shutesbury TM on Saturday will rule on battery storage, lighting bylaws, citizen petitions and hold elections
By SCOTT MERZBACH
SHUTESBURY — Bylaws to regulate large-scale battery storage, limit outdoor light pollution, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in new housing construction and control door-to-door solicitors will be considered by residents at annual Town Meeting...
Amherst regional district towns seek middle ground on school increase
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Scaled-back increases in the assessments for the Amherst Regional Schools are expected to be considered by residents when Shutesbury and Leverett hold their annual Town Meetings on Saturday.But the compromise 6% increases over the current...
Prescription drug take back day set for Saturday in 15 communities in Hampshire, Franklin counties
STAFF REPORT
NORTHAMPTON – Communities in Hampshire and Franklin counties have signed on to the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day planned for Saturday, April 27, to offer residents a chance to safely dispose of unwanted and unneeded drugs.People are...
Area briefs: Suicide prevention forum; ‘American Symphony’ screening; Zonta grant awards
Haydenville church to host suicide prevention forumFLORENCE — Suicide prevention is the topic for a community forum Sunday from 12-1:30 p.m. at the Bombyx Center in Florence.“Talk Saves Lives: A Brief Introduction to Suicide Prevention” is sponsored...
Neighbors lifting neighbors: Demand at South Hadley’s food bank spiking as more families seek help
By Emilee Klein
SOUTH HADLEY — Never go hungry.It’s the one rule that must not be broken at Neighbors Helping Neighbors, the organization that over the last 14 years has helped thousands of people from South Hadley and surrounding towns keep food on the table during...
Senate may reform trio of consumer laws: competitive electricity, used car sales, heating oil leaks
By CHRIS LISINSKI
BOSTON — Senate Democrats plan this week to make a big push for reforms to the state’s motor vehicle “Lemon Law,” insurance coverage for home heating oil leaks and the controversial competitive electric supply industry.The Senate on Monday formally...
Granby man admits guilt, gets 2½ years in vehicular homicide
By James Pentland
BELCHERTOWN — A Granby man pleaded guilty Monday in Eastern Hampshire District Court to motor vehicle homicide and reckless assault charges stemming from a motor vehicle crash that killed his longtime partner and the mother of his child last July, the...
LightHouse Holyoke to buy Gateway City Arts, expand offerings and enrollment at alternative school
By JAMES PENTLAND
HOLYOKE — After months of work on securing a new home elsewhere, LightHouse school plans to buy Gateway City Arts in a move that will allow the burgeoning alternative secondary school to meet its growing demand and expand its offerings.LightHouse...
Photos: Hangers for history
South Hadley residents will pay more for trash, wastewater rates next fiscal year
By EMILEE KLEIN
SOUTH HADLEY — Property owners can expect to pay more starting July 1 for trash removal and wastewater service following the Select Board’s recent decision to increase rates for both services.At its April 16 meeting, the board adopted a new automated...
Area briefs: Transhealth to celebrate 3 year; Holyoke to plant tree at museum; Documentary film about reparations focus of Unitarian talk
Documentary film about reparations focus of Unitarian Society talkNORTHAMPTON — A public showing of the new documentary film “The Cost of Inheritance,” about the issue of reparations owed to African Americans for historic and current racialized harms...
