50 Years Ago
- John P. Sweklo, senior vice president of the Pioneer Valley Banks – Hampshire in Northampton, recently was elected president of the bank. A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Sweklo received a master’s degree in business administration from American International College. He is also a 1972 graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Rutgers University.
- Superior Court Judge Samuel T. Tisdale yesterday ruled against a challenge to the Hampshire County jury system which claimed that women and young people are systematically excluded from serving as jurors. The judge said that the county’s jury selection system conforms to state law and that there is no “consistent discrimination against or exclusion of women as a group or of persons under the ages of 34 and/or 39.”
25 Years Ago
- Construction has begun on the last major component of the city’s plans to bring its buildings into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Work began Feb. 20 on the Memorial Hall elevator and is slated to be complete by early May, said Bret Jacobus, director of central services.
- U.S. Rep. John Olver, D-Amherst, has been promoted to deputy whip of the U.S. House of Representatives. As deputy whip, Olver will be charged with helping the House Democratic leadership to align votes on key issues.
10 Years Ago
- Westfield State University has selected Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper and 10 fellow alumni for its inaugural Criminal Justice Alumni Hall of Fame. Kasper, who was sworn in as the city’s first female police chief last June, is the only woman among Westfield State’s honorees.
- Thursday evening, around 50 people gathered in front of the First Churches in Northampton to commemorate the 57th Tibetan National Uprising Day, a March 1959 revolt in Lhasa spurred by fears of a Chinese plot to kidnap the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who escaped to India.