Guest columnist Allen Young: Celebrating Pride Month: Honoring the fight for LGBTQ+ rights

Stolen Emily Dickinson silhouette found in Amherst woods after theft earlier this month

AMHERST — A metal silhouette of Emily Dickinson, stolen from its perch at the corner of Main and Lessey streets earlier this month, was recovered over the weekend. The silhouette, installed in 1996, is part of “Poetic Dialogue,” depicting an imagined conversation between Dickinson and Robert Frost. According to Amherst police logs, residents of a Seelye […]

Area Briefs: GCC event offers quick look at ballot questions

GCC event offers quick look at ballot questions GREENFIELD — Voters can get a rapid-fire rundown of all nine statewide ballot questions at a “speed dating” event Thursday at Greenfield Community College. “Speed Dating With the MA Ballot Questions,” co-hosted by GCC and the League of Women Voters Franklin County, runs from 6:30 to 8 […]

$375K grant to fund Amherst health improvement plan centered on immigrant, marginalized groups

AMHERST — Food security and mental health, especially among immigrant families and other marginalized groups, will be a focus of a new community-wide health plan. The three-year initiative, known as the Amherst Wellbeing Alliance, will bring together community members, organizations and town leaders to complete the Community Health Improvement Plan. The effort is supported by […]

Hopkins Academy heating, cooling fix to wait until spring Town Meeting

HADLEY — Three options for improving the heating and cooling system at Hopkins Academy, each of which would cost the town at least $6 million, will not be considered by voters until annual Town Meeting next spring. At a joint meeting with the Finance Committee, the Capital Planning Committee voted in late September not to […]

Speaking of Nature: The common raven: the great scrounger

It was a gorgeous Sunday morning, and I was sitting at the edge of my meadow, slightly questioning my own sanity. The sun had not yet made an appearance, the temperature was only 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and my feet were damp after walking through the dew-covered grass. Up the hill the house was warm, but […]