■Books are the theme at Vernon Street School this week. The PTA is sponsoring its annual book sale, ending today, and there’s lots of enthusiasm, activity and reading. Penny banks are being emptied, and earnings and gifts are coming in handy.
■Fred B. Grinnell Jr. became the first Republican candidate for election to the Hampshire County Commission and the first of the three announced candidates to take a stand on the courthouse issue today as he announced he was entering the race. Grinnell said he did not favor the Pleasant Street courthouse site.
■John F. Heaps Jr. has been named head of Florence Savings Bank. Heaps, whose appointment is effective May 1, is a Springfield native and a graduate of Cathedral High School. His banking career began in 1971 with Bay Bank Valley in Springfield.
■Backyard Birds opened its doors at 17 Strong Ave. Saturday, offering wares to the serious birder — those who know a lark sparrow from a horned lark Ð and to those who just want to feed them, not study their Latin names. “We’re going to try to cater to everyone,” said Tim Maginnis, 47, of Westhampton, co-owner of the new establishment.
■Emergency responders staged a daring nighttime rescue Sunday, hacking through the woods and rappelling several hundred feet down a cliff to reach six people who were flung over a precipice at Skinner State Park after their all-terrain vehicle flipped and plunged down the cliff.
■Bub’s Bar-B-Q, the restaurant on Route 116 famous for its succulent sauce, sumptuous sides and meat, has earned the notice of Esquire magazine. In Esquire’s April issue, Bub’s is among an elite group of some 25 restaurants from around the country collected in the “Where Men Eat” list, a companion piece to its “Eat Like a Man” feature in the same issue.