Ahead of next presidency, Whately Selectboard reaffirms commitment to residents

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — With the incoming presidential administration campaigning on transformational changes to the way government functions, the Whately Selectboard issued a statement this week reaffirming its commitment to serving residents.Brought forward by...

Insufficient staffing prompts sale of Leyden United Methodist Church’s fair booth

By AMALIA WOMPA

LEYDEN — Due to a lack of participation, the Leyden United Methodist Church has decided to sell its booth at the Franklin County Fairgrounds.The Leyden United Methodist Church booth has been a fixture at the Franklin County Fair, held each September,...

New committee launches feasibility study to consider future of Rowe Town Library

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

ROWE — If you could build your dream library, what would it look like?That’s the question being considered by Rowe’s new Library Feasibility Committee, which has been tasked with determining what the future of the library looks like.The committee has...

PHOTOS: Time to deck the halls

Beacon Hill Roll Call: Nov. 18 to Nov. 22, 2024

By BOB KATZEN

Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ votes on roll calls from budget vetoes by Gov. Maura Healey. There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week.$2.4 million for planning expanded school days or school years (H 4800) The...

Ed board chair: Lawsuit anticipated in wake of MCAS vote

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The head of the state’s K-12 education board expects the state will be sued for failing to assure there’s adequate and equitable learning taking place in schools, after voters overwhelmingly supported a new law this November that got rid of...

2 water tower articles top Orange Special Town Meeting warrant

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — A Special Town Meeting is asking voters to address two warrant articles pertaining to land acquisition for a crucial water tower, which officials believe will take up the bulk of public discussion on Monday.Town Administrator Matthew Fortier...

Long-vacant Charlemont property to see new life as mix of motel rooms, apartments

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

CHARLEMONT — A Florida real estate agent turned hotelier is looking to help address the region’s housing needs by redeveloping a vacant motel on Route 2 into affordable apartments.Travis DeCere of Cape Coral, Florida, is renovating the former Oxbow...

PHOTOS: Breaking bread together

Sen. Markey bill would expand access to methadone to treat opioid addiction

By MARA MELLITS

Expanding access to methadone, a medication used to fight opioid addiction, is imperative in the effort to curb the nation’s substance use disorder epidemic, regional officials say.Their comments come in response to a recent study published by the...

Greenfield residents launch GoFundMe to fight cell tower proposal

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — With the telecommunications company Viridi Wireless scheduled to present its application to build a 170-foot monopole cell tower on Newton Street before the Zoning Board of Appeals next month, a group of residents neighboring the site are...

Conway, Williamsburg sugarmakers honored at North American Maple Syrup Council contest

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

Two Pioneer Valley maple syrup producers were recently recognized among the best of the best at the annual North American Maple Syrup Council competition, held this year in Portland, Maine.Howard and Jeanne Boyden of Boyden Brothers Maple in Conway...

Shutesbury Town Meeting to weigh in on noncitizen voting rights, money for high school track

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Appealing to the state Legislature to allow noncitizens who live in Shutesbury the right vote in local elections, becoming a pollinator-friendly town and providing some money to rebuild the Amherst-Pelham Regional High School track will...

PHOTOS: Envisioning what’s next

Amid falling sales, Mycoterra Farm in Deerfield ends food distribution service

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — With folks confined to their homes in the early days of the pandemic, but still looking for local produce, Julia Coffey and her team at Mycoterra Farm branched out to bring products to their doors in the form of Mass Food Delivery.While...

South County Notebook: Nov. 29, 2024

Friends of the Field Memorial Library Giving Tree up through Dec. 18 CONWAY — The Friends of the Field Memorial Library’s Giving Tree is now up for residents, as the group seeks to support the Hilltown Churches Food Pantry and families for the fourth...

With $96K grant, GCC to plan clean energy, weatherization training programs

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — Greenfield Community College will use $96,323 in grant funding to plan training programs in the fields of clean energy and weatherization technology.Out of a roughly $2 million pool of Equity Workforce Planning and Capacity Grants awarded...

Real Estate Transactions: Nov. 29, 2024

ATHOL 270 Cottage St. $320,000. B: Eric J. Supple. S: Hermogenes L. Almonte Sr. 44 Wilder St. $310,000. B: Alexandra M. Post. S: Christopher J. Gauvin and Donna M. Gauvin.COLRAIN 98 Nelson Road. $115,000. B: John Peters Jr. and Loretta Peters. S:...

Business Briefs: Nov. 29, 2024

Bank participating in two holiday toy drives GREENFIELD — Greenfield Cooperative Bank is participating in two holiday toy drives to benefit local children in need.Bank branches in Franklin County are once again partnering with the Salvation Army’s...

UMass marching to the top: Minutemen band getting star turn in Macy’s parade

By NAOMI SCULLY-BRISTOL

On most weekday nights, the ticking of a metronome rings out across the University of Massachusetts Amherst athletic fields, followed by the music of the “Power and Class of New England,” the UMass Amherst Minutemen Marching Band.The students in the...