■Dr. Thomas F. Corriden, chairman of the building committee, turned over the first shovel of ground for the new Hampshire County Hospital at ground-breaking ceremonies yesterday in Leeds. Rain cut the ceremonies short.
■Northampton City Council last night endorsed pay raises of 8 percent for city clerical employees and 10 percent increases for Department of Public Works employees. The council unanimously approved the wage increase after Mayor Sean M. Dunphy told them that the DPW felt they had been left out and had not kept up financially with other city departments.
■Retiring City Councilor Leonard Budgar delivered a few choice words to students at the Bridge Street School yesterday, while accepting its first Friend of Bridge Street School Award. Mayor Mary L. Ford called Budgar a “model of people who serve the public.”
■Northampton teachers have announced that starting this afternoon, they will not take part in any voluntary school activities — ranging from curriculum writing to summer institutes. The so-called “work-to-rule” action will continue until a contract settlement is reached, according to Jacques Laus, president of the 275-member Northampton Teachers Association.
■Greg Morceau has been named Northampton VA Medical Center’s Employee of the Year for 2009. Morceau, who works in Facilities Management Service, received the surprise award at a banquet held on May 14.
■On Saturday the Amherst Regional High School boys’ baseball team beat Xaverian 3-2 to win the state Division 1 championship at LeLacheur Park in Lowell. It is the school’s first state baseball title.