■The Northampton Lodge of Elks sponsored a Public Safety Open House on Sunday for the Northampton Police and Fire departments. Personnel offered instruction on how to steer the back of a hook and ladder truck and how to aim a gun, among other activities.
■The Amherst Regional High School students were warned by school officials on Tuesday when they reportedly scheduled a strike similar to area college students. School authorities informed the students to cease and desist distributing literature about striking, and that was done immediately.
■The telephone company has introduced a new three-number exchange for area telephone users: 587. The new exchange has been introduced because the numbers for the old exchanges are close to reaching maximum capacity.
■Thomas L. Dupre was sown in as bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Springfield today. Dupre, who grew up in a poor French Canadian household in Holyoke after his family moved there from South Hadley, already is intimately acquainted with the needs of the people and parishes he will be serving, he said in an interview recently.
■Cooley Dickinson Hospital officials announced dozens of job losses Tuesday, cuts they say are necessary to close a budget gap of up to $5 million caused primarily by a drop in the numbers of patients seeking treatment. Hospital officials say the latest layoffs are directly related to the weakened economy and hikes in co-payments that have caused consumers to delay their care.
■The Northampton City Council is about to give the public a clearer picture of what it talks about behind closed doors. A new policy under consideration calls for executive session minutes to contain more detailed notes and include all related documents and exhibits presented at such meetings.