Write on: Local literary organizations offer seasoned scribes and undercover word-lovers opportunities to keep busy

On the Run with John Stifler: From the village green…

Dear lovely bowers of innocence and ease, Seats of my youth, when every sport could please, How often have I loitered o’er thy green, Where humble happiness endeared each scene! Readers of 18th century English poetry may recognize those lines from Oliver Goldsmith’s poem “The Deserted Village.” If words like “o’er” and “bowers” don’t suit […]

Around and About with Richard McCarthy: Six words that choked me up

A while back, I was at the dedication of an elementary school in the city where I was raised. The school was being named in honor of a deceased local political figure whom my father thought the world of. I was there as part of my work and as part of my father.  During the […]

Relief in sight for Amherst’s aging DPW ‘Barn’

AMHERST — Inside the main vehicle bay at the Department of Public Works building, often simply referred to as the “Barn,” a puddle on the concrete floor that developed from a recent rainstorm has nearly dried up, even as the underside of the roof in a nearby storage area remains soggy — with tiles were […]

A fresh start: Amherst ready to open first new elementary school since 1970s

AMHERST — Letters spelling “welcome” on the door and the phrase “change your words, change your mindset” on the bulletin board are displayed in the classroom where Catherine Moss will teach second graders at Amethyst Brook Elementary School. As she finished setting up the space last week inside the first new elementary school opened in […]

UMass football: Minutemen preparing for season-opener against Rutgers

When the UMass football team travels to Rutgers for its season opener on Thursday, Sept. 3, coach Joe Harasymiak will have intimate knowledge of the opponent at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. The gameplan should be simple for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers went 5-7 last season and 2-7 in the Big Ten. The team […]