Operator error, alarm malfunction lead to sewer overflow

GREENFIELD — Due to an operator error and alarm malfunction at the city’s Water Pollution Control Facility, a sanitary sewer overflow occurred starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16. The overflow continued through 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17, ultimately discharging 660,000 gallons of untreated sewage and waste.

A portion of flow was discharged before reaching the final settling tank, according to a notice from the city. Specifically, one half of the flow after traveling through all of the treatment process except the last tank for final clarification was released.

The sanitary sewer overflow impacted the Green River and Deerfield River in Greenfield, as well as the Connecticut River in Deerfield, Montague and Sunderland.

For more information, visit bit.ly/3ORfkOS.

Author Jason Mott to speak on Feb. 20

GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Public Library, in partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium, invites residents to a free virtual talk with author Jason Mott, who recently released “Hell of a Book,” on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 2 p.m.

In “Hell of a Book,” a Black author sets out on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his best-selling novel. While this book is about family, love of parents and children, art and money, it’s also about the nation’s reckoning with a tragic police shooting playing over and over again on the news, and with what it can mean to be Black in America.

For more information and to register, visit libraryc.org/greenfieldpubliclibrary/39038.

‘Cathedral 1976’ by local filmmaker comes to library

GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Public Library invites residents to celebrate Black History Month with a screening of the documentary “Cathedral 1976” by Greenfield filmmaker Don Wright on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 5:30 p.m.

In 1976, Boston Public Schools were under court order to desegregate through a system of busing students. “Cathedral 1976” looks at how the life of a 10-year-old in Boston’s South End was changed by busing and the lasting effects felt nearly 50 years later.

Doors open at the library at 5 p.m. and the film will start promptly at 5:30 p.m. The screening will be followed by time for questions.

African American art program set for Feb. 21

GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Public Library, in collaboration with the Sargent Memorial Library in Boxborough, invites residents to a virtual program, “Bending Toward Justice: African Americans as Subject and Creators in American Art,” with Jane Oneail on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This program examines that arc as it relates to African American history enshrined in American art. From colonial era portraits, to 19th-century and Jim Crow-era prints, to 1960s civil rights photography, this program will provide a visual overview of African American oppression, struggle and progress toward equality.

Oneail is founder of Culturally Curious, an arts education consulting firm specializing in art appreciation programs.

This program is free, but registration is required at bit.ly/42zFYRT. The program will also be recorded and all registrants will receive the recording via email within a week of the program.

Artspace starting Fourth Friday Felting Club

GREENFIELD — Beginning Feb. 23, Althea Keaton will lead a Fourth Friday Felting Club at Artspace Community Arts Center, 15 Mill St., from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The club will offer seasonally inspired felting projects, as well as an open studio-style space. Keaton welcomes attending club members to work on projects of their own design with their assistance as needed during club time.

The program is $15 per session and is recommended for ages 8 and up. For more information, visit bit.ly/3IkOwTz