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By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Residents, town officials and the legislative delegation are raising concerns about a proposed forest management plan for land at the edge of the Quabbin Reservoir that could involve removing many tall white pines using large equipment...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Already facing a possible $1.26 million deficit in next year’s $37.54 million operating budget for the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, officials from the four member towns are divided on the best approach for both closing that gap and...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Optimizing staffing and reviewing programming at the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools are among strategies for confronting a likely deficit in next year’s budget, which Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman is anticipating even under the most...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Kestrel Land Trust is permanently protecting a forest featuring more than 200 acres of white pine and mixed hardwoods on Montague Road, where a centuries-old dam was removed over the summer.A $327,000 grant from the Executive Office of...

A Dec. 9 letter writer (“From UFC to NFL, everybody’s happy again”) bizarrely proposes that “people seem to be happy again” simply because she has seen some professional athletes dancing like Trump. No doubt some millionaires are dancing at the...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Residents who pushed to get a new wetlands protection bylaw into place in Shutesbury are asking the Conservation Commission to adopt an updated associated set of regulations to ensure the bylaw can be enforced.“No regulations means we are...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — A general town bylaw creating a licensing process for large-scale battery storage in Shutesbury has been struck down by the state attorney general’s office, for both unreasonably regulating renewable energy and improperly regulating...

On behalf of the Back from the Brink campaign (www.preventnuclearwar.org), I want to thank U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern for his steadfast leadership in confronting the existential threat to humanity posed by nuclear weapons. All of his constituents, and...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Douglas Slaughter, who served as temporary superintendent for the Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional schools for the 2023-2024 academic year, is joining the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District as its assistant...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Appealing to the state Legislature to allow noncitizens who live in Shutesbury the right vote in local elections, making the town pollinator friendly, and providing some money for the rebuilding of the Amherst Regional High School track,...

By TERRY MOLLNER

Listening to the talking heads in the news media is painful because of how shallow it is, from Nancy Pelosi to Bill Maher on down.For me the issue is that the lower middle class and working class revolted against the establishment, as, by the way,...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Members of the Amherst Regional, Pelham and Amherst school committees are calling an anonymous, typewritten letter critical of Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman and her administration, accompanied with confidential and personal information...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Amherst Regional Middle School’s swimming pool is regularly used for aquatics programming by Amherst Recreation, a town department that also has its administrative offices in the building.Yet for many aspects of the relationship between the...

The Second Annual 5K Roadtown Turkey Trot takes place on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Shutesbury. The family-friendly event starts at Shutesbury Elementary School (23 West Pelham Road). The timed 5K run/walk, which winds through the scenic roads of rural...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SUNDERLAND — With a contract executed by the Selectboard, Sunderland’s next town administrator will step into the role on Nov. 12.Rebecca Torres, Shutesbury’s longtime town administrator, will serve in Sunderland’s position following a search process...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Anti-bias training throughout the Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional schools, under the Welcoming Schools Seal of Excellence Track, will soon be getting underway, continuing an effort to create a safe, positive and more inclusive...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — The idea of moving seventh and eighth graders to Amherst Regional High School, potentially turning the Amherst Regional Middle School building into an innovation center, is being greeted with cautious optimism by members of the Regional...

By CHRIS LARABEE

SUNDERLAND — After four consecutive interviews with finalists for the vacant town administrator position, the Select Board has settled on Shutesbury Town Administrator Rebecca Torres.In a unanimous vote, the Sunderland Select Board voted to put...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A referendum question on the state’s November election ballot seeking to eliminate the requirement that public high school students pass the MCAS test to graduate is being endorsed by the Amherst Regional School Committee.The committee on...

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — The Massachussetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has named South Hadley High School one of the 2024 Schools of Recognition for their improvements in attendance and academic performance over the past three years....