■The new Payson site sanitary landfill dump in Westhampton opened July 1, originally the deadline for open burning in the area. Emile Derouin is the caretaker of the new dump, which is on Hathaway Road.
■The Anna Gertrude Brewster Children’s Department of Forbes Library is a busy place as the Summer Reading Club gets off to a good start. The reading club is for readers in grades 3 through 6, and no book reports are required. Mrs. Parsisson, children’s librarian, reminds young readers that it is not too late to become a member of this summer’s Reading Club.
■A tentative date of September 1996 has been set for opening a full-day Jewish kindergarten or, if things go well, a kindergarten to second grade Jewish school. The idea would be for the school to start small and add grades as time goes on and interest grows, according to Fail Glickman White of Northampton, one of the organizers.
■Ruth Simmons, the new Smith College president, spent her first day on the job in Northampton yesterday at a staff meeting. Simmons will be formally inaugurated Sept. 30. She replaces Mary Maples Dunn, who held a 10-year tenure.
■The Tuesday Farmers Market behind Thornes Marketplace is now accepting food stamps in a move that city officials and organizers are calling in innovation aimed at bringing healthy, local food to the area’s neediest residents.
■Though foreclosures linked to predatory lending are easing, experts say 2010 may see an increase in home losses for the long-term unemployed. Molly Goren-Watts, regional information and policy center manager for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, said the outlook is mixed. The Pioneer Valley region is doing better than the nation overall, but a fair amount worse than the state.