■A decision on repairs to the so-called Starbuck Dam, which is now the property of Chartpak-Rotex, will be made sometime this spring, a spokesman for the Leeds plant said today. The Chartpak company had maintained that the deteriorating Starbuck dam was not included in its bill of sale. Apparently, it has now been decided that the dam came with the property.
■Intense activity in preparation for the Hospital Follies of 1971 began this morning in Northampton. The Follies will feature soloists, duets, comedy skits, group dance numbers, and entertainment surprises, all performed by local talent.
■At long last, over several days this week and amid fitting pomp and circumstance, the Silvio O. Conte National Center for Polymer Research at the University of Massachusetts will be dedicated — and celebrated. For two of those days, polymer scientists from near and far will be talking plastics.
■As the city’s Emergency Cot Program enters its last month for this cold season, efforts are under way to develop a permanent site, in which homeless people are housed in different downtown churches. The effort also includes a bid to recruit members from other houses of worship to provide supplies, volunteers and leadership in running the two-year-old program.
■Mary K. Crane of Willow Street in Florence passed away yesterday at the age of 80. She retired in 1990 after teaching Latin at Northampton High School for almost 30 years. After her retirement she worked for 10 years at the American Red Cross office in Northampton.
■A black bear carcass found off Village Hill Road in Williamsburg was a legally salvaged roadkill and not a case of poaching, State Environmental Police determined this week. Meantime, a local resident who discovered the animal’s dismembered body said it was left within 30 feet of his property line as a form of harassment and intimidation, a claim his neighbor strongly denies.