A Look Back: Dec. 6

50 Years Ago

■Tuition for out-of-town students at Smith’s Vocational and Agricultural High School will almost double as of Jan. 1. Trustees of the school last night approved an increase from the current $1,100 per student each school year to $2,000, effective Jan. 1.

■The resignation of High School Principal Paul E. Caouette was accepted with regret by the Easthampton School Committee Tuesday night. Superintendent of Schools Neil Pepin, in recommending acceptance of the resignation, stated only that “personal reasons” were given as the reason for the resignation.

25 Years Ago

■Mary Ann P. Cofrin of Northampton has been named “Philanthropist of Distinction” for Hampshire County by the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives. Cofrin has contributed resources and talents to many non-profit organizations in western Massachusetts.

■New mothers will have at-home help through a new program offered by Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s Childbirth Center. The service, which officials say is the first such program offered in a New England hospital, extends care into patients’ homes with visits from home-care nurses and trained “doulas.”

10 Years Ago

■Both of the two “Guitar Icons” sculptural bike racks on Cottage Street in Easthampton are now damaged after something happened to the rack near the municipal parking lot exit last week. Burns Maxey, coordinator of Easthampton City Arts+, which funded the installation, said it is unclear how it was damaged, but that the sculpture was bent on Thanksgiving night or Friday.

■Saying a proposed casino in Springfield will do more harm than good to Northampton’s bustling economy, the City Council Thursday agreed to allow the mayor to hire a consultant to complete a report that proves their position is right. The council approved Mayor Narkewicz’s request to spend $22,000 to hire a firm to study the potential negative economic impacts of the proposed MGM Resorts International casino.