Most charges against Athol kidnapping suspect dismissed; four other defendants retain charges

By DOMENIC POLI

GREENFIELD — One of the five North Quabbin residents facing charges of kidnapping and other crimes stemming from an alleged incident last February has had nine of her charges dismissed while other charges, and all those of her co-defendants, remain in...

Deerfield officials make case for road repair borrowing request ahead of second election

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — Clearing the air ahead of a second special election on Jan. 16 that seeks borrowing authorization to pay off road repairs from the summer’s rainstorms, town officials Tuesday evening laid out a presentation explaining why the borrowing is...

Point-in-Time count to tally region’s homeless population

By MARY BYRNE

Social service agencies across the region will team up this month to get a headcount of people sleeping in shelters and, in some cases, outside. The annual Point-in-Time count is a national initiative set up by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban...

House fire in Orange displaces family

By DOMENIC POLI and PAUL FRANZ

ORANGE — Four people were displaced Wednesday morning when a fire damaged a single-family house at 86 Mechanic St.The Salvation Army Athol Corps is reportedly assisting Donna and Kevin Sweeney and their sons, Sean and Nicholas, following the blaze...

Buckland-Shelburne Elementary, Mahar students among victors in ‘Name a Snowplow’ contest

By BELLA LEVAVI

A sixth grader at Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School and a seventh grade physical education class at Ralph C. Mahar Regional School in Orange have emerged as victors in the state Department of Transportation’s second annual “Name a Snowplow”...

PHOTO: Clean slate

Yankee Candle takes over old C&S warehouse in Hatfield

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HATFIELD — Yankee Candle is occupying a nearly 360,000-square-foot building at 142 Elm St., formerly used by C&S Wholesale Grocers as its Hatfield South site, according to the property owner.FoxRock Properties, a commercial real estate company based...

Drivers, dog injured in head-on collision in Colrain

By BELLA LEVAVI

COLRAIN — A head-on collision on Greenfield Road Wednesday morning injured two people as well as a dog.A pickup truck coming down the slope toward the center of Colrain at around 9 a.m. slid across the center line and struck a small hybrid vehicle...

Frontier students raising money to head to national quiz bowl competition

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — With Frontier Regional School’s “As Schools Match Wits” team earning a national tournament nod, it is looking to the community for a little help in getting to Illinois.After a strong performance at the Mayflower Cup tournament at...

Overhaul urged for Massachusetts disaster response

By SAM DORAN

As towns and cities see a rise in natural disasters that require greater emergency response than their local resources can support alone, two western Massachusetts lawmakers renewed their call Tuesday to divert a portion of excess capital gains tax...

North County Notebook: Jan. 11, 2024

Jan. 20: ‘Souper supper’ and Butterfly Swing Band performance WARWICK — As part of the annual Wooden Fender concert series, the Warwick Arts Council will present a “souper supper” and a concert by the Butterfly Swing Band at Warwick Town Hall, 12...

Yankee Candle’s South Deerfield distribution facility to close by end of 2024

By CHRIS LARABEE

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Newell Brands, the parent company of Yankee Candle, is planning to close its distribution facility in South Deerfield by the end of 2024.In a statement, a spokesperson for Newell Brands said the company is focusing on consolidating...

PHOTO: Raising cane

Montague and Gill Notebook: Jan. 10, 2024

Deadlines set for Town Meeting article submissions MONTAGUE — The article submission deadline for the March 14 Special Town Meeting is 4 p.m. on Feb. 7.The article submission deadline for the May 4 Annual Town Meeting has been set for 4 p.m. on March...

Educators float MCAS alternatives should voters opt to ditch test as a graduation requirement

By EDEN MOR

Opponents of using the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test as a high school graduation requirement suggest there are better ways to measure student achievement, should voters get an opportunity to remove the requirement in...

Human Rights Commission finds no harassment at Greenfield shelter

By MARY BYRNE

GREENFIELD — The Human Rights Commission discovered no evidence of harassment or intimidation at the Wells Street homeless shelter following an investigation into two brothers’ allegations of bullying and discrimination by Clinical & Support Options,...

How community resistance saved Wendell’s Bear Mountain

By CARLA CHARTER

When the Wendell Historical Society’s museum opens to the public, among the items on display will be a bear costume. The outfit signifies one small part of a much larger story of how community resistance saved Bear Mountain in Wendell.The story began...

PHOTOS: Getting crafty with colors in Bernardston

Montague Selectboard talks $1.1M in projects

By DOMENIC POLI

MONTAGUE — Town officials have a slate of 11 capital and two non-capital requests to address as they plan the fiscal year 2025 budget and finish out the rest of this fiscal year.The projects, nearly all of which are included in the capital plan, would...

Regional Notebook: Jan. 10, 2024

Scholarships available for medical students The Franklin District Medical Society, the local chapter of the Massachusetts Medical Society, is accepting applications for the Percy W. Wadman M.D. Scholarship for medical students. The deadline to apply...