50 Years Ago
- It’s ugly. Plenty of other words have been used so far to describe a new 15,000 pound, 18-foot-high red steel sculpture now sitting outside the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts campus. But most student, faculty and directors of the arts center concur that ugly has been the most common adjective for the piece of art.
- Five local churches have launched plans for a five-week sex education program for young people of junior high school age. The public schools have generally shied away from sex education. Supt. John Buteau said there is “no organized sex education project in the Northampton schools on a vote of the school committee.”
25 Years Ago
- Large-scale retail developments in Northampton could face stiffer permitting requirements after the Planning Board agreed Thursday to recommend a change in city zoning regulations. The change would require certain retail operations over 10,000 square feet to obtain special permits, while streamlining the development process for smaller businesses.
- In preparation for the upcoming Jewish High Holidays, the Congregation B’nai Israel is offering a crash course in Hebrew. Dubbed the annual “Hebrew Marathon,” because the class runs for seven hours over two days, the event is meant to ready participants for celebrating the holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
10 Years Ago
- Teamwork and careful reflection are at the center of a professional development strategy that recently won Easthampton High School a spotlight on the state department of education’s website. The school’s teacher trainings became one of four professional development programs featured as case studies on the website for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
- Northampton public schools have been using Google Apps for over two years. The technology is now introduced to students in the district as early as second grade and is used through high school. Teachers say the software has become a central part of their classes.