A U.S. flag waving in the breeze is portrayed on this year’s program cover for the Three County Fair. The 153rd annual fair, presented by the Hampshire-Franklin-Hampden Agricultural Society, will be Sept. 6-12 and will include a wide variety of activities designed to appeal to those of all ages.
■Hatfield’s town dump, located on the edge of the town’s only pond, is in violation of the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act and must be relocated in order “to prevent legal action,” a state official warned today. An investigation revealed that the dump empties into a swamp bordering Great Pond, a 20-acre body of water which is fed by springs and brooks.
■The mayor’s annual salary in Northampton has remained at $45,000 since the 1980s. And despite this being an election year, officials say they soon will consider giving the mayor a raise. “It’s long overdue,” said City Council President Patrick Goggins.
■The City Council tonight will consider appointing an interim tax collector to take over for Richard Newman, who is retiring Sept. 4 after 17 years. City council President Patrick M. Goggins yesterday said Joanne Lobdell, the assistant collector, would be asked to take the position.
■Police are urging pet owners to keep cats and small dogs indoors after a suspected coyote attack Monday. Police took a report that two large dogs were attacking a cat in a backyard on South Park Terrace. They believe the attacking animals were coyotes based on their description.
■Fast-moving thunderstorms unleased a torrent of rain and lightning across an isolated area of Hampshire County Monday afternoon, killing power to Cooley Dickinson Hospital and flooding city homes and streets. A bolt of lightning struck the hospital’s power plant off Locust