'No Child' left behind: Feds allow state to set rules for school progress

Area school leaders welcomed the announcement Thursday that Massachusetts is among 10 states the U.S. Department of Education freed from some of the stricter requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law. The change gives them needed leeway and sets more meaningful targets for student progress, they said.

• Waiver details

Three candidates in race to run registry of deeds

NORTHAMPTON - Three candidates are now in the race to become Hampshire County's next register of deeds. The contest will mark the first open race in more than two decades for the $90,000-a-year job of overseeing the county's land transactions.

Waiver details

Here are some key facts from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education about the No Child Left Behind waiver the U.S. Department of Education granted Massachusetts on Thursday.

Photo: Iceless fishing

Area police news

Amherst

 · Allysha M. Perrier, 23, of 67 New Ludlow Road, Unit 10, Granby, was arrested Monday at 3:11 a.m. on Main Street on a charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

Belchertown intersection to get $1 million reconstruction

BELCHERTOWN - Two of the most troublesome intersections in town are making news, one for a pending $1 million reconstruction and the other for safety recommendations made by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

The intersections are in the town's center and on Route 9 where it meets Bay Road.

Man denies Belchertown housebreak allegations

northampton - A Belchertown man was ordered held on $5,000 bail after pleading not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to charges that he attempted to steal three watches from a home on Warren Wright Road.