A Look Back, May 12

50 Years Ago

The second fire of suspicious origin in two days struck Easthampton High School today, delaying the opening of school for almost two hours and filling the ground floor with smoke. Deputy Fire Chief William McCaulley said the fire, less than 15 feet from the room that went up in flames yesterday morning, was “set, as far as I’m concerned.”
Sanford Bloomberg, M.D., of Northampton, will be installed as the next president of the Western Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, and Donald Nielsen, M.D. of Amherst, will be the new president-elect. The society represents the psychiatrists of Western Massachusetts.

Boston politicians may be heaping abuse on Edward O’Brien for questioning Jane Swift’s governing from her hospital bed after giving birth to twins, but the lunch crowd at the Easthampton Senior center had mostly kind words for the governor’s councilor. O’Brien and other councilors’ actions have been labeled everything from anti-family to anti-woman.
Retiring Northampton School Superintendent Bruce Willard was honored at his last official School Committee meeting Thursday night. During the course of his tenure, he led the city through several school building projects, compliance with the multi-faceted Education Reform, and a number of other initiatives.

H. Oldham Brooks, who advocated as an Amherst Select Board member and longtime Town Meeting representative for affordable housing and money to support human service needs, died Saturday at the age of 82. Known to everyone as Harry, Brooks served a term on the Amherst Select Board from 1990 to 1993, was a Town Meeting member for more than 20 years, and was chair of the Housing Review Board and Human Services Funding Committee.
Apologizing for a lack of public engagement in developing plans to establish a rattlesnake habitat on a Quabbin Reservoir island, state environmental officials pledged Tuesday to restart the dialogue on the controversial measure to assist an endangered species. “While the plan was a rational one, built on a foundation of sound science, what the plan lacked was the engagement and support of you: both the Legislature and the public,” said Matthew Beaton, secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.