■Opening of the 155th annual Three County Fair in Northampton on Sunday rekindled memories for some people and created new experiences for others. Despite gray clouds above, officials said 98,012 people enjoyed midway activities, including a variety of booths, games, exhibits and rides, compared to 93,086 on last year’s opening day.
■A sauna bath which had been built by Chairman Richard Carnes of the Northampton Conservation Commission at his Leeds home burst into flames early Monday. Carnes was awakened by a red glow in the sky at about 4 a.m. yesterday. The sauna, which had been built some distance from his house, had overheated causing the fire.
■Candidates for the Ward 3 City Council seat met for the first time in a forum Wednesday night, during which the performance of one-term incumbent Maria F. Tymoczko was attacked by challenger Patrick Gregory, who charged Tymoczko’s attendance record at City Council meetings was “lamentable” and alleged she has neglected her constituents.
■The City Council filled last night a post on the Board of Assessors that it had left vacant since spring, when it decided not to reappoint Robert Buscher. Joseph Cross will replace Buscher as the assistant city assessor and work with Assessor Joan Sarafin in adjusting the property values of houses in the city.
■The latest outreach effort by supporters of a later start time at Northampton High School is a musical plea for changing the school bell. Set to the tune of the folk classic, “Mary, Don’t You Weep,” the “Start-Time Song” was produced by Steve Herrell, owner of Herrell’s Ice Cream. The song is available on YouTube.
■A Fox News report Sunday on the flap in Amherst over whether commemorative flags should be flown downtown on Sept. 11 prompted a slew of angry emails to town officials. Amherst blogger Larry Kelley appeared on the Fox News segment via satellite and described how the town had turned down his request to display 25 American flags on downtown utility poles on Sept. 11. The policy is to display them on Sept 11 once every five years.