■Vincent J. LoBello was sworn in as city councilor from Ward 4 at 9:30 this morning, after defeating Sidney Bailey by 176 votes in the special election yesterday. The oath of office was administered by City Clerk James E. Faulkner with Mayor Sean M. Dunphy in attendance.
■Maryann Duggan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Duggan of Williams Street, was winner of the local, area and state Pepsi-Cola “You’ve Got a Lot to Live” essay contest. She was presented a $25 bond for winning the school contest; $100 for the area contest; and $1,000 for the state contest.
■Kerry W. Buckley, 48, has been appointed director of Historic Northampton. He succeeds Pamela Toma, who left the group last year for a job with the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford.
■An estimated 21 students, six of them high school age, may be doing their schooling at home this year. Home-schooling plans for students were approved by the School Committee recently, although some sticky questions came up, such as: Can those high school students participate in interscholastic sports? If so, do they have to meet the same eligibility standards as their peers who are enrolled full time at the school?