Pelham work sessions address racism
PELHAM — In-person, 90-minute workshops that will allow Pelham employees and volunteers to better identify and respond to racial and other divisive issues began on Tuesday and continue Wednesday.
The first session of “Interrupting Bias and Building Belonging in a Municipality” workshop was held Tuesday, with a second session scheduled Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Ramsdell Room at the Pelham Library. The workshops are sponsored, in part, by the town’s Anti-Racism Advisory Committee.
Led by Jennifer Moyston, formerly Amherst’s assistant director of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion department, the purpose of the training sessions is to help attendees become better able to identify, and respond appropriately to, racial and other divisive issues.
Each session will include discussions of how discrimination can occur when municipal employees interact with other people, why people engage in discriminatory conduct and what can be done to address it.
The aim is to ensure people are treated fairly and with welcoming attitudes, showing how DEI works.
Moyston, who is board president of the Amherst Survival Center, also has experience in community engagement, workforce equity and creating cultures of belonging. She serves on the boards of Community Action Pioneer Valley and Hilltown Community Health Center.
The other sponsors are the Select Board and the Pelham Library.
David Ruggles Center to hold cemetery tour
The David Ruggles Center will hold its annual tour of Park Street Cemetery in Florence on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Tour guide Steve Strimer will lead the walk among the gravesites and then by the homes of several of the progressive heroes of Florence history. Utopian community founders, African American freedom seekers turned stalwart citizens, reformers, radical free thinkers, buried here in the shadow of Cosmian Hall, the Temple of Free Speech.
Meet at the Park Street Cemetery. For more information, email info@davidrugglescenter.org.
Suspect charged in Holyoke dumpster fire
HOLYOKE — The man who allegedly set fire to a dumpster in a Holyoke alley in September was taken into custody Monday amid a joint investigation by the Holyoke Fire Department, Holyoke Police Department, and State Police fire investigators assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office.
In a statement from the State Fire Marshal’s Office, State Police arrested Ed Jones, 68, who has no fixed address, on a warrant charging one count of burning property for the Sept. 22 fire in an alley behind 73 Sergeant St. No injuries were reported in connection with the early morning fire, but it occurred in close proximity to an occupied apartment building.
Jones was booked at the Northampton Barracks and his bail was set at $10,000. He will be arraigned at Holyoke District Court.
Two more recent outdoor fires in the area are considered suspicious and remain under investigation by local and state officials.
Florence Community Band to hold free concert
FLORENCE — The Florence Community Band will hold its November Notes Concert on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m., at the Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz St. The afternoon of music will include favorites ranging from Cole Porter, “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Hamilton.”
The Florence Community Band was founded on April 18, 2001, with 10 members in attendance at the first rehearsal. It has grown to a membership roster with over 100 musicians, with an average of 70 band members at rehearsals and performances. The band will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its founding in the spring of 2026.