Northampton resident Sidney Moss celebrated his 99th birthday this week, though that hasn’t seemed to slow him down much.

Moss was born on April 1, 1925 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City before moving to Chicago when he was 2 years old. At the age of 18, he was drafted into the military to serve in World War II in the European theater, partaking in the Allied invasion of France during D-Day in 1944.

“I spent those years as a fighting soldier in a small unit of people who usually were fighting in the front, rather than the back,” he recalled of his wartime experience. “I fought in various places, and was luckily not shot, although I was shot at.”

After the war, Moss went back to his birth city of New York and enrolled at Columbia University through the GI Bill, and in 1954 he married his wife Miriam, who he still lives with. After 50 years of living in Philadelphia, the couple moved to Northampton 10 years ago to be closer to their daughter, and Moss says he’s very much enjoyed his new home.

“It’s a very friendly city. I got to know a lot of people here who I had never expected to be in touch with just by walking down the street,” Moss said of Northampton. “It’s a wonderful city and we’re so happy to be here.”

Moss continues to live an active lifestyle, keeping daily track of political and social justice issues, attends a local men’s group and spends time with family and friends. He also frequently writes letters to the editor to the Gazette.

City gets new IT leader

Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra has selected Luigi Ottaviani as the city’s new chief information officer to lead the Information Technology Services Department.

A resident of Easthampton and originally from the Italian city of Ravenna, Ottaviani holds a master of business administration and a bachelor of science in information technology management from American Public University, in addition to training in computer engineering at Alma Mater Studiorum at the Università di Bologna in his home country of Italy.

“Luigi brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective that will be instrumental in advancing our city’s and schools’ IT capabilities,” said Sciarra in a statement.

The mayor also thanked the department’s acting director Raphael Deh-Atheba for serving in that role since September.

In his personal time, Ottaviani practices the Japanese defensive-only martial art Aikido, in which he has attained a black belt. He also enjoys growing trees from seeds, especially European and American chestnuts.

T-Mobile donates $50K for LED lighting at underpass

The city has received a $50,000 grant from mobile communications company T-Mobile to install an artistic LED lighting system on a railway underpass in the city’s downtown.

The installation is part of a city initiative to help improve visibility at night and encourage visitors to walk further down Main Street to explore an area of downtown that features restaurants, antique shops and more. The first set of lighting was installed last November under the city’s rail trail bridge.

The city will hold a special check presentation on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at 6 Strong Ave.

Northampton is the first city in Massachusetts to receive a T-Mobile Hometown Grant, which the company intends to give to over 500 rural towns over five years.

“This project not only enhances the physical connection between Main Street and the area known as Paradise East, it also fosters a stronger sense of unity and community pride,” Sciarra said.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.