■Registration for the newly formed winter Arts and Crafts program, sponsored by the Northampton Recreation Department, will be held Friday and Saturday. This new program will be under the direction of Mrs. Josephine Natale. The purpose of the program is to offer more varied recreational programs for girls during the winter months.
■It appears that Hampshire County has gone to the dogs and the horses, but the voters apparently like the latter much better than the former. Those casting their ballots in Tuesday’s election voted to allow parimutuel betting on horse races by a wide margin and to let money pass the windows on dog races as well, if there are any run here.
■For nearly a year, the West Cummington Congregational Church has been led by one of its own members serving as a lay minister. In a strong show of support, the congregation this week unanimously called Stephen Philbrick to be their permanent minister. They say that Philbrick has brought new energy and growth to their small church.
■A love of the Russian language, literature and culture prompted Suzanne Petersson of Northampton to teach English to Russian students. Petersson in September joined a team of six North Americans who volunteered for three weeks in Ryazan, Russia, on the Oka river about 200 miles south of Moscow.
■Hampshire County Sheriff Robert J. Garvey cruised to another six-year term Tuesday, defeating his challenger by more than a three-to-one margin. Garvey, a Democrat who has served for 26 years as sheriff, collected nearly 77 percent of the vote.
■Grow Food Northampton has raised $304,500 of its $670,000 goal to buy 117 acres of prime farmland in Florence for a mix of farm-related purposes. In addition to the land eyed for use as farmland, the city is angling to buy one parcel for recreation land and another piece to be conserved as open space. The property is known as the Bean and Allard farms and is located off Spring and Meadow streets.