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As town moderator of Cummington, the following is a statement I read to open annual Town Meeting on May 2: Tonight we convene to maintain and renew a tradition of self-governance practiced for 400 years. But we meet tonight at a time when many are gravely concerned about the future of democracy in America. Many may be inclined to ask, so to be reminded, “What does democracy look like?” “Can you tell me what democracy looks like?” I would like to affirm that tonight, what we convene to do here, this tradition of town meeting — “this is what democracy looks like.” Local participatory democracy. One person, one vote.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

CUMMINGTON — The town has called a special Town Meeting for Thursday to consider an article that seeks, for the second time, to update a revised agreement between the seven-member communities of the Central Berkshire Regional School District.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

Three multi-generational traditions in Hampshire County are being maintained with the help of tens of thousands in funds from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR).

By SAMUEL GELINAS

CUMMINGTON — When annual Town Meeting is called to order on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Community House at 33 Main St., voters will be asked to approve a budget for next fiscal year that’s $500,000, or 17%, higher than the current year.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services provides necessary funding and administrative funding to museum and library programs. They promote American English literacy by reports and funding research on literacy development. They help with the digitization of local historical records, career training, and projects studying American industry, Founding Fathers, and more. IMLS supports each of the 50 states, D.C., and American territories with technology access and instructions aimed at American information services. With the National Park Service, they fund the preservation of artifacts. Without their funding libraries will take away our learning through books, programs, classes, and the internet, which is free! Libraries can help with job searching, skill building, resume writing regardless of your age. Rural and underserved areas has vital resource in libraries and museums.We must not take away IMLS.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

CUMMINGTON — Last week Nancy Cole found herself in “crisis mode.” But she entered this week “crying and laughing,” in awe of what she called the “magic” of her community that rallied to buy the Cummington resident a boiler — raising $21,555 in less than 24 hours.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

CHESTERFIELD — Kate Reid, formerly the assistant director of the town’s Council on Aging (COA), will be stepping in as interim leader and says she will use the time to “hold place.”

By ALEXA LEWIS

Small, rural towns like many of those in the Pioneer Valley are often lauded for their sense of community. What makes that community feel so welcoming and vibrant is often a small group of hardworking volunteers — people who keep town governments running, plan local events, and make sure food pantries stay stocked with nutritious foods.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

CUMMINGTON — Power lines are down, at least 85% of residents and businesses are without power, and a one-mile stretch of Route 9 is closed between Packard and West Cummington roads after wind gusts of over 60 mph swept through the town on Monday.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

CUMMINGTON — The Rev. Stephen Philbrick’s congregation knows him as a man of stories. But the story they came to hear at a recent Sunday service was that of Philbrick himself.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

CUMMINGTON — J.S. Bryant School will welcome its first student body next September in the former Cummington Inn — offering a private school setting specifically aimed at welcoming LGBTQIA+ high schoolers struggling in their current academic environment.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Pedestrian safety and utility infrastructure improvements totaling $4.4 million for an affordable housing development in Easthampton, $1.94 million to build a new roundabout in Amherst at the edge of the University of Massachusetts...

By SAMUEL GELINAS

CUMMINGTON — There aren’t any hardware stores for Hilltown residents for about a 20-mile radius — except for Cummington Supply, which offers construction resources “from the concrete foundation up till right before the cabinets go in,” according to a...

By SAMUEL GELINAS

CUMMINGTON — An over 200-year-old barn at one of the town’s oldest former farms will be entering a new phase of its history, as its owners uplift and outfit the structure into a “functional” space.Built between 1812 and 1818 and originally designed...

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

The Hilltown History Trail was started out of a desire to enable community members to access the rich and thoughtful local history museums often open only a few hours per week. It is returning for its third year the first Saturday in August, despite...

By JAMES PENTLAND

CUMMINGTON — Plans for the reuse of the town’s old elementary school are at a pivotal stage, with a $1 million state grant hanging in the balance and another $1 million federal grant set to fund the first phase of redevelopment.Select Board members...

CUMMINGTON — Voters at Town Meeting approved a $2.7 million budget and a new police cruiser, but deferred action on the revised Central Berkshire School District agreement until a special Town Meeting next month.The $75,000 cruiser and the change to a...

By LARRY HOTT

In 1945, the U.S. Office of War information came to Cummington to shoot “The Cummington Story,” a propaganda film about tolerance and acceptance of immigrants.The people of the small western Massachusetts hilltown had several European refugees living...

I have learned that a new regulation is being worked on by the Massachusetts Department of Environment Protection called the “clean heat standard.” As a homeowner, I am asking that all Massachusetts homeowners oppose this regulation because it will...

By KATY EISEMAN

 The Massachusetts Legislature is considering a bill that would once again increase subsidies for burning wood, taking the state in the wrong direction in the name of “clean” energy.Biomass energy has been a controversial topic in Massachusetts for...