■An effort to raise a half-million dollars through loans and gifts from residents or communities throughout Hampshire County will be one of the fist aims of the newly formed Hampshire Housing Development Corp. Arthur Zinkin, executive director of the housing corporation, moved last week into temporary offices at 227 Main Street.
■The problem of drug use among high school students in Northampton was discussed by the board of trustees and directors of Smith’s Vocational-Agricultural High School during their meeting. The use of drugs by young people seems to be declining, the trustees agreed last week, but actual evidence of abuses is difficult to gather.
■An 84-year-old veteran in the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leeds will receive a phone call from Bill Clinton on Saturday. Ellen Grace Forgey, a World War II veteran and resident of the VA’s Nursing Home Care unit, is one of four veterans across the country expecting a Veterans Day call from the president.
■A Huntington man is to be the recipient Saturday of the annual “Veteran of the Year” award from the Northampton Veterans’ Council. The award will be given to retired U.S. Army Capt. Franz Weimann, who has served as treasurer of the Northampton Veterans’ Council and as a member of all three city veterans’ groups — the VFW, American Legion, and WWII Veterans.
■New England Environmental Inc. announced that Sean F. Werle has joined its staff as an aquatic biologist. He currently also serves as the curator of non-insect invertebrates for the natural History Collections at UMass and as a conservation commissioner for the town of Montague.
■The Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity is looking to build two homes in Easthampton — a first for the city. The local chapter hopes to build a “zero lot line” home, containing two dwellings, on a 1-acre East Street parcel, Pioneer Valley Habitat Executive Director M.J. Adams said in a recent interview.