Valley Bounty: Growing spiritual nourishment: Inside Northampton's pesticide-free and community-driven Abundance Farm

Hadley FD scales back medical, mental health and crash responses as staffing rebounds

HADLEY — As the Hadley Fire Department nears full staffing, various changes are being made to how it responds to some calls that should reduce the call volume, cut costs and streamline operations. Interim Fire Chief Robert Flaherty told the Select Board at its Oct. 7 meeting that firefighters will no longer be responding to […]

Pelham mail-in ballots missing page two; town clerk offers replacements before Nov. 3 election

PELHAM — After requesting a mail-in ballot for voting in the Nov. 3 state election, Bob Andres received a package from the town clerk’s office giving him the opportunity to vote for candidates and decide referendum questions. Yet what he found inside the mailing was two identical cards, both featuring the first page of the ballot. The second page — including the last two referendum questions — was missing. Andres soon discovered he was not alone with the problematic mail-in ballot, as the packages both his wife and a few neighbors received had the same issue. “So the ballots are not […]

Area Briefs: HCC annual ‘Trunk or Treat’ set for Friday

HCC annual ‘Trunk or Treat’ set for Friday HOLYOKE — Visitors to Holyoke Community College on Friday, Oct. 23, can expect to see witches, ghouls, ghosts and an assortment of characters from popular children’s movies, games, books, and TV shows as the college celebrates Halloween with its ninth annual Trunk or Treat event.  Every year, […]

Book Review: In 'Original City, Original Sin,' Marty Dobrow amplifies long-unheard voices of civil rights leaders

“1963 is not an end, but a beginning,” — Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have a Dream” A shoebox-sized tape recorder often accompanied Marty Dobrow to English class in the 1980s. At Wesleyan University in Connecticut, he carried it by the handle like a briefcase, setting it down on his desk to capture a favorite […]

Shirley Slahetka

<html><head></head><body>SHIRLEY SLAHETKA<br /><br />Montague, MA - Shirley M. Slahetka, 85, will be remembered for more than 40 years of friendship, hospitality, and dedication to Pine Grove Golf Course, where she and her longtime partner, Gil Verril ...