■Hospital Hill, on the grounds of the Northampton State Hospital, is sliding grounds for scores of Northampton youngsters. They use everything from double-rimmed sleds to cardboard slabs to glide down the snow- and ice-covered hill. Saturday afternoons bring especially heavy sledding traffic to the area.
■Approximately 150 women attended the two-day meeting of the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus (MWPC) in Northampton this weekend. The MWPC is attempting to organize women in the state as a political force.
■Smith College has received nine large bequests totaling $17 million in recent months. “This is really remarkable,” said Ruth Constantine, chief financial officer and college treasurer. “Nine bequests account for a lot of money that’s coming in the door.”
■Craig N. Melin, president and chief executive officer of Cooley Dickinson Hospital, has turned down a 14% pay increase — worth $25,000 — voted on by the hospital’s board of trustees. This is the fourth year in a row that Melin has declined to accept a hike in his salary.
■Priscilla M. Ross, R.N., has joined the VNA & Hospice of Cooley Dickinson as director of business development. In addition to her work in home and community health, Ross is founder of the Florence Community Band and the chair of the Northampton Family Fourth Committee, both nonprofit, community-based volunteer organizations.
■A woman responsible for managing several downtown commercial properties will become the youngest president of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce when she assumes the leadership role Wednesday. Kathryn Grandonico, 31, was elected to the position at a Dec. 14 board meeting, taking the reins from Molly Keegan of Hadley, who has been chamber president for the past two years.