■Old Buffalo, a 1935 custom-made fire engine, a staple of the Northampton fire department for 36 years, was sold yesterday for $777.77 to Heman Stevens, of Florence. A small crowd of well-wishers gathered at the fire station Saturday noon as Stevens picked up his purchase.
■Shortly after 8 p.m. yesterday a man reportedly walked into Charlene’s Soda Shop in Williamsburg, pointed a pistol at co-owner Carol Mailloux, and told her she had “two seconds to hand over the money and lie down on the floor.” Mrs. Mailloux gave him $200 from the cash register and from a box beneath the counter.
■After nearly two years spent searching, the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce has found a new home on Pleasant Street, a site that positions the organization on a main tourist route into the city. The 99 Pleasant St. building, at the corner of Hampton Avenue and Pleasant Street, gives the chamber twice the amount of space it now rents on State Street.
■The new owners of the Stanhome building say they offered to lease space to Kellogg Brush in the former factory on Pleasant Street in hopes of keeping the company in Easthampton. But the parent company of Kellogg Brush, which plans to move operations to Mexico, rejected the offer, the Stanhome owners and Mayor Michael Tautznik said.
■The Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society is planning to expand its Leverett adoption center in a bid to improve its services and enhance its presence in Franklin and Hampshire counties. The decision means that the organization will continue to make Leverett the base of operations for the northern Pioneer Valley following 10 years of contemplating its future, said Leslie Harris, executive director.
■An experienced runner who is currently training for a marathon next month at Disney World in Florida, Northampton Superintendent Brian Salzer was among the more than 5,500 people who took part in the Hot Chocolate 5K Run Dec. 4 race to benefit Safe Passage. “It was a lot harder than I expected, running up those hills,” Salzer said.