A Look Back: March 6

50 Years Ago

■A former Northampton High School student is on his way to Northern Ireland where he hopes to interview leaders of all factions of the religious warfare there and get their reaction to the British government’s white paper on Northern Ireland, to be released at the end of March. Michael Chinoy, whose parents live on Crescent Street, will conduct research and freelance writing for three weeks as part of a research tutorial he is taking as a senior at Yale University.

■The Red Mountain Crafts store at 10 Green St., is under new ownership. Marion Savage bought the business and became the new owner-manager on Feb. 4. She plans to continue the store’s line of American Indian jewelry, basketry, pottery, rugs and sand paintings.

25 Years Ago

■The Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School may get a campus technology coordinator next year. The new technology coordinator would teach only half time. He or she would teach three classes, with one period of preparation time and the rest of the time devoted to technology work.

■A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts and Smith College has been given $2.7 million to study language patterns of young black children. The work will help shape standardized tests for those who don’t speak standard English.

10 Years Ago

■To balance the budget for the coming fiscal year, Northampton’s school leaders say they may have to cut as many as 23 full-time teaching positions districtwide and pursue other strategies, such as eliminating bus service to Northampton High School and raising school lunch prices and athletic fees.

■Frontier Regional High School Principal Martha Barrett has been hired as the next superintendent of the district. Barrett will take on the job, overseeing the education of about 1,700 students, after 20 years in the district. She succeeds Superintendent Regina Nash, who will retire on June 30 after 12 years.

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