■St. Mary’s Guild will sponsor a farewell reception in honor of the Rev. Lawrence J. Bernier, former assistant pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Church, on Oct. 25. Father Bernier, a curate of St. Mary’s for the past 7½ years, has been named assistant pastor at Holy Cross Church in Holyoke.
■The first Christmas lighting ceremony in the history of Northampton will be held on the Hampshire County Courthouse lawn this year. At that time a total of 8,000 colored lights will flash on the huge trees in front of the courthouse, the Chamber of Commerce Executive Director H.W. Goulet has announced.
■Northampton has won a $330,000 grant to improve the water infrastructure at Look Memorial Park, a project that will provide the plumbing for a new water activities play area. “We are very pleased,” said Edward Etheridge, chairman of the board of trustees of Look Park.
■Mayor Mary L. Ford has picked as her assistant secretary a decorated veteran and a former intern in U.S. Rep. John Olver’s office. Jason C. Harder, 27, of Northampton, will begin working 35 hours a week Oct. 19. His position is the first link between Ford and the public who visit or call her office.
■Smith College is temporarily relocating employees in the school’s Information Technology Services department after higher-than-expected levels of mercury vapor were detected in the building, which once housed an organic chemistry laboratory. The mercury levels in Stoddard Hall are within federal safety standards and are not considered a health risk, school officials say.
■Dana Goodfield, the well-known face of the Dana Automotive dealership in Northampton, has sold his business and is retiring. “It’s time,” he said. “I will be 70 years old in March. I have spent my entire career in this industry, and now it is time to enjoy some of the things that I’ve not had time to do.”