■Although it was a little late, people were still on hand yesterday to welcome the Montreal-to-Springfield AMTRAK train as it passed through Northampton. On hand to greet the arrival at the old terminal off Strong Avenue were members of the Chamber of Commerce, including its president, Richard Pickett, Mayor Sean Dunphy and other city officials, as well as over 100 citizens.
■Dr. Richard H. Overholt doesn’t think cigarettes are particularly healthy. In fact, he is convinced they are a menace. Dr. Overholt delivered the keynote speech yesterday at a two-day workshop called the New England Smoking and Health Conference at the Colonial Hilton Inn in Northampton. For cigarette smokers, it was rather unsettling.
■The new house that vocational students will build on a lot on Vernon Street starting next fall has been designed for their learning. The endeavor is the fruit of a collaboration between Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, various city agencies and city architect Peter Frothingham, who donated the original design and a complete set of blueprints.
■With TV smashing and a plywood policeman on display, the “Uncommon Carnival” lived up to its name. The carnival, staged Saturday on the Amherst common, attracted close to 100 people of all ages. It was sponsored by Revolutionary Anarchist Youth, or RAY, a Northampton group of about 40 area young people.
■The mood was bittersweet Friday night as film lovers from across the Pioneer Valley gathered at the Pleasant Street Theater to celebrate its history and mourn its closing. The theater drew a sold-out house of about 130 for speeches by former owners, reflections by longtime patrons and a no-charge screening of the 1971 coming-of-age drama “The Last Picture Show.”
■The excitement has been building in Easthampton this week, leading up to Saturday, when the stars of Bear Fest 2012 will be unveiled. All around the downtown, the large logs that will hold the 40 decorated bears have been placed on sidewalks and lawns, and bear paw prints have been painted on sidewalks to point bear hunters in the right direction.