■From the moment the gates open on Sunday until the fireworks display on closing night Sept. 9, the Three County Fair in Northampton “promises to offer the most interesting, entertaining, and exciting program of its 155-year existence,” its planners report. “The continuous appeal and success of this fair may be attributed to its fine combination of old and new,” a release states.
■District Attorney John Callahan confirmed today that John Finn, a Greenfield native, will be appointed to replace Assistant District Attorney Jack Curtis. Curtis is leaving to join the Greenfield law firm of Hayer, Callahan, and Shea.
■With a loud and rowdy parade through downtown and an even louder and rowdier demolition derby, the Three County Fair officially got under way last night. The fair opened for business yesterday, but a parade announcing that fact to the city in the noisiest possible way moved down Main and Bridge streets at 6:30 p.m.
■The Parsons family, of Parsons’ Farm in Hadley, have been named 1997 Farmers of the Year by the Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden Agricultural Society. “Parsons’ Farm is representative of the qualities that the society is trying to promote, as far as quality and reputation,” said Bruce Shallcross, president of the fair association.
■Students at the Regional Middle School in Amherst whose first language is not English may feel a little more welcome when they enter the building Thursday. That’s because a group of students researched how to say “Welcome!” in 24 languages and stenciled the phrases on the pillars at the front of the school.
■The city has settled a lawsuit with the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group, bringing to a close a six-year saga involving a failed hotel development in the Round House lot behind Pulaski Park. According to the terms of the deal, the hotel group dismisses all damage claims against the city in exchange for $12,500.