■The Three County Fairgrounds in Northampton was the scene this weekend of one of the most rollicking, fun-loving and liveliest festivals this side of Bavaria. For two days and nights, members of an eight-piece Bavarian band kept more than 3,000 people dancing and laughing during a genuine beer fest sponsored by the Northampton Rotary Club.
■A City Council move to assume a greater role in the administration of the Northampton Police Department has met with a cool reaction from Mayor Sean M. Dunphy and a silence from Police Chief James Whalen. The move by the City Council Police and Traffic Committee is being led by Ward 5 Councilor Robert Patenaude, who thinks that existing city ordinances do not give the committee enough control of the police department.
■With $5.3 million already in hand from employees, doctors and a single benefactor who donated $2 million, The Cooley Dickinson Hospital today officially opened its building campaign to the public. With a $2 million bequest from the estate of the late Barbara Allen Richmond, daughter of an Easthampton industrialist, the campaign appears to be off to a quick but quiet start.
■Northampton’s treasurer, Shirley A. LaRose, will retire in January, after 43 years in city government. She says that although she did not intend to stay in city government that long, the appeal of serving a community that she has called home all of her life proved too great to resist.
■Budget woes and a decision to hire more teachers have led to the loss of three longtime administrative assistants at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School. School Director Scott Goldman said Anna Rossi, who worked at PVPA since its inception 16 years ago and whose daughter graduated from the school, has been laid off along with Joanne Stuart Rose and Matt Chenier.
■Groundbreaking is expected to begin on the refurbishing of Trinity Park in Florence by the end of next week. Ward 7 City Councilor Eugene Tacy said the project will remove and replace the fountain, install of new flagpole, and give benches and memorials in the park a face-lift.