■A bus trip scheduled to take 37 draftees from Northampton to Springfield for their physical examinations this morning was canceled when 125 anti-war demonstrators surrounded the bus and refused to move. When draft board officials canceled the bus trip, the young men left the bus, and 26 of them got their own transportation to Springfield to take the physicals.
■Local persons will be hired to 40 to 60 summer jobs usually filled by Puerto Rican migrant workers. Due to unemployment locally, many persons in the Hatfield-Whately area have applied for work in tobacco fields this summer. Rather than employ the usual camp of Puerto Rican workers, “local people” will be hired, according to Joseph Porada of Meyer Mendelsohn Inc.
■Gary Rossio, who has been director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leeds for the last two years, will resign Friday and return to San Diego. Rossio, known for skating around the sprawling campus as he worked to instill a sense of teamwork, has been named director of a VA medical center in San Diego.
■About 200 children and their parents took over Pulaski Park on Saturday to celebrate youth and to draw attention to the needs of young people. The festivities were held “to celebrate children and life and fun,” said Su Eaton, the event’s organizer.
■With the ink finally dry on their 99-year lease with Northampton and the arrival of warmer weather, Crimson & Clover farm owners Nate Frigard and Jen Smith are already busy getting seeds in the ground. The 35-acre farm is one of several community-supported agriculture operations that will be located on some 120 acres on the former Bean and Allard farms at the corner of Meadow and Spring streets.
■Smith College and University of Massachusetts students squared off for an athletic event Friday, and it wasn’t soccer, lacrosse, or Ultimate. Harry Potter enthusiasts all, these teams met for a friendly matchup between Quidditch teams.