St. John’s Episcopal Church opens 12-bed emergency shelter for Northampton’s coldest nights

Amherst seniors gather at local venues to foster community connection

AMHERST — Monthly gatherings of senior citizens, organized in part by the Council on Aging and Friends of the Amherst Senior Center, are taking place at locations around town. On Wednesday from 10 to 11 a.m., the next Meet & Greet will be held on the patio at Atkins Farms Country Market, 1150 West St., while on July 30, from 4 to 6 p.m., the Inn on Boltwood Tavern, 30 Boltwood Ave., will be the site of the next Senior Sips. “The purpose of both of these things is to foster a sense of community among seniors,” says Dennis Vandal, president […]

Area Briefs: New pastor joins United Methodist Church in Northampton

New pastor joins United Methodist Church in Northampton NORTHAMPTON — A new pastor has been appointed to lead Christ United Methodist Church in Northampton. Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton appointed Rob Powell as pastor of the 271 Rocky Hill Road church in June. Prior to this appointment, Powell served as the director of family ministries and connections at Trinity United Methodist Church in Springfield. While at Trinity, Powell worked closely with children and youth ministries, developed a silent retreat ministry for adults and supported worship by providing weekly children’s messages and occasional preaching. Raised in Columbus, Georgia, Powell began a career in […]

Legion baseball: Andrew Gagne's no-hitter extends Northampton Post 28's win streak to eight

Andrew Gagne powered the Northampton Legion Post 28 baseball team with a five-inning no-hitter in its 10-0 win over Sheffield Post 340 on Saturday at Arcanum Field.  Gagne walked one and fanned 11 batters over five innings before the run-rule was enacted when Northampton scored in the bottom of the fifth. The victory counted as Post 28’s eighth straight. Gagne retired the first 13 batters he faced before walking a batter with one out in the fifth.  It was the only Sheffield base runner to reach base. J.J. Scanlon-Dean deposited two hits and two RBIs for Post 28, while James Lavalle […]

Speaking of Nature: Hiding in plain sight: How an ilia underwing moth uses bright colors to escape predators

And now for something completely different. It was a beautiful Friday morning and my beautiful wife Susan was cleaning off our deck chairs in preparation for a morning of reading and coffee under our beloved cottonwood tree. Susan came into the house and said, “You’ve got to see this! Bring your camera.” This rarely happens, […]

Guest columnist Claudia Lefko: Time to reimagine Northampton's city budget

“Planners, architects of city design, and those they have led along with them in their beliefs are not consciously disdainful of the importance of knowing how things work. On the contrary, they have gone to great pains to learn what saints and sages of modern orthodox planning have said about how cities ought to work […]