A Look Back, April 9

50 Years Ago

■“Only One Cummington,” the new town history book which has been three years in the works, arrived Tuesday. Copies are available from members of the historical commission and at Harlow’s Luggage Store in Northampton.

■The Northeast Utilities proposal to build a nuclear power plant in Montague is prompting area legislators to take a long hard look at the pros and cons of nuclear energy. The closer to Montague, the more forceful constituent reactions to the nuclear plant are.

25 Years Ago

■A small dam in Leeds has a shot to reach the 22nd century. The city’s Office of Planning and Development has been awarded an $8,000 matching grant from the state Department of Environmental Management to make repairs to the dam, which forms Howard’s Ice Pond, a roughly half-acre body of water in the Roberts Hill Conservation Area.

■Filmmaker and author Michael Moore, who’s carved out a successful career tweaking corporate America and confronting hapless bureaucrats on camera, will deliver this year’s commencement address at Hampshire College on May 22.

10 Years Ago

■More than half of the Jackson Street School fifth graders selected to try out a new test being eyed to replace the statewide MCAS will sit out the exam this week. School Principal Gwen Agna said parents of 22 of the 35 students set to participate in the tryout of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) exam in English requested their children opt out of the test.

■The new principal of the William E. Norris School is Aliza Pluta, principal of Holyoke’s Morgan Full Service Community School. Hampshire Regional School Superintendent Craig Jurgensen said he chose Pluta from three finalists based on her experience as a teacher and principal, her positive recommendations, and her performance in an interview.