■The fire which razed a barn full of tobacco on the Meyer-Mendelsohn farm in North Hatfield yesterday also resulted in damage to 12 to 15 acres of tobacco still in the fields. Hatfield Fire Chief Myron Sikorski said that the cause of the blaze was a leak in a gas line in the barn, which ignited when workers were lighting humidifiers used to cure tobacco.
■“Show me a kid who prefers a group of singers to a girl and I’ll show you a kid who can’t pass the physical,” said cartoonist Al Capp at the Hotel Northampton last night, discussing the attraction the young of today feel for rock festivals. Capp appeared in conjunction with the opening of the western Mass. campaign of John J. McCarthy, Republican candidate for the nomination of U.S. senator.
■A West Brookfield businessman and political newcomer has launched a Democratic challenge to incumbent U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, in the 1st Congressional District. Robert L. Potvin, 53, a self-employed auctioneer, said he is running in response to public calls for law and order, more patriotism and good citizenship.
■Maria Tymoczko this week announced that she will resign from the School Committee on Dec. 11, anticipating a move to the City Council in January. Tymoczko, who is in her 14th year on the school board, has no opponent in her bid to succeed the retiring Leonard Budgar as the Ward 3 member of the City Council.
■A half-mile stretch of Route 143 north of Worthington’s town center is losing its roadside maples, which are dying due to root damage, road salt and other causes. Jeffrey Mason, the town’s tree warden, predicts that over the next five or 10 years all the trees could be dead and one of the town’s most scenic byways gone.
■Special Olympics athletes will compete in a variety of sporting events around the region during Special Olympics Massachusetts’ 25th annual August tournament. Special Olympics spokeswoman Kirsten Goulet said more than 900 athletes from across the state are expected to travel to the Pioneer Valley to join the more than 100 local competitors this weekend.