A Look Back: March 18

50 Years Ago

■Backers of the Baker Hill housing project told the state Housing Appeals Committee yesterday that there is a demonstrable need for more housing in Northampton for low- and moderate-income families. An official of Pioneer Home Sponsors Inc., which would build the 170-unit complex atop Baker Hill in Bay State, said Northampton was chosen for the project because of the tremendous growth of the county and the lack of available housing.

■Easthampton voters Monday elected Walter B. Mitchell to the board of selectmen, Paul Caouette to the school committee, and Harlan Dodge and Glenn Swanson to the planning board. Approximately 47 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots.

25 Years Ago

■Four students summarily expelled from school in 1997 under Easthampton’s zero-tolerance drug policy have received cash settlements for punishments later ruled improper by the courts. School officials have declined to reveal the cost of the settlements, and parents of the students are forbidden to discuss the payments under terms of the settlement.

■Northampton teachers are joining colleagues statewide in a campaign to improve student achievement and teacher quality, saying they are tired of shouldering blame for problems in public schools. Called “Ask a Teacher,” the campaign is sponsoring legislation to improve public schools by reducing class sizes, modernizing school buildings and funding preschool education, among other things.

10 Years Ago

■Two local residents are among three finalists named Monday for the job of Northampton school superintendent. They are John A. Provost of Easthampton, superintendent of the North Brookfield public schools, and Jordana Harper-Ewert of Amherst, chief schools officer for the Springfield schools.

■Northampton is moving ahead with an erosion control project at a brook near Musante Beach in an effort to prevent damage to nearby private property, including several houses. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded a grant to the city for the slope stabilization project on Roberts Meadow Brook, just downstream from the popular swimming hole.