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By PAUL FRANZ

NORTHFIELD — A stubborn house fire at 129 Warwick Road kept firefighters busy Saturday afternoon, but did not cause any injuries.

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

Christian LaPlante wants to help.

By JUDY WAGNER

If you have ever strolled through the Boston Public Garden among its beautiful trees, flowers and iconic swan boats, you have likely come across the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture featuring Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings.  If you were with children, no doubt they immediately ran over to touch or sit astride the ducks, smiling widely.  This sculpture is the best known work of Newton artist Nancy Schön, a warm and vibrant person I first met long before she was famous, when I was just starting college and she generously invited me to visit her home anytime I need a break from the dorm.  She and her husband Don, a noted professor at the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning, welcomed me many times. It was early in her artistic career and I often observed her hard at work in the drawing space set up in the upstairs hallway, painstakingly making drawings of famous paintings, following the advice of a mentor who said “copy the masters.” 

By CHRIS LARABEE

NORTHFIELD — Northfield EMS paramedics and EMTs settled into their new, temporary digs on Wednesday, as the ambulance service officially moved into living quarters next to its current base of operations at 41 Main St.

By EVELINE MACDOUGALL

Anyone seeing a bluebird up close can understand why this feathered friend symbolizes happiness. Our eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) captures the hearts of many with their vibrant plumage, and Susan Brock of Northfield is a devotee who helps spread the joy to others.

There is a key piece of information missing from the Recorder’s July 23 story regarding the administrative assistant hired to become the finance director of the Pioneer Valley Regional School District. How much is the district paying the inexperienced “only finalist interviewed,” who has no experience in a similar position, and for whom a mentor will be needed? Since the taxpayers of the district are paying the salary and associated costs, that information belongs in the story.

By CHRIS LARABEE

NORTHFIELD — From infrastructure supporting the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Station to nuclear material filters and machinery pieces for a variety of high-tech industries, Tri-State Precision has done a little bit of everything as it marks its 60th anniversary.

As a biology major … though I grant you, many years ago … I know some things remain irrefutable. When the numbers of any animal population exceeds the resources available to sustain a viable existence, or when the population is threatened by a new predator invading their habitat, behavior changes. Radically. Americans are suffering both afflictions.Worldwide, humans have overwhelmed the carrying capacity of the earth. Capitalism’s ethos of greed and individualism has resulted in irreversible global warming, mindless destruction of the forests, soil, and water sources, as well as producing more and more floods, fires and droughts. We seem hell-bent to prove what some scientists have long predicted; we are a short-lived species. And proving it at an increased rate thanks to the insanely regressive policies of a predator, i.e. this administration.Animals under such intense stress inevitably turn on one another. Survival becomes a matter of tooth and claw and no one is exempt from the battle. Mercy ceases to have a name. When I read about the conditions and cruelty in the American-style concentration camps, I thought, Lord, we can never say we didn’t know! The Germans falsely claimed that once but, alas, they watched. And we are watching.Many experience rising fears now that we live in a country unimaginable just six months ago. Compromised justice. A compromised Congress. A complicit Supreme Court. Peaceful protesters tear-gassed and jailed. Growing hunger, and unattended sicknesses. Blatant misogyny. Education at all levels perverted. Knowledgable federal workers fired from countless essential jobs. Brutal ICE raids.I wish I had a hopeful Disney-style conclusion to my words of near despair. As a reverent materialist, however, I must rely on our innate capacity to empathize with one another and our instinct to fight for a return to democracy.

By CHRIS LARABEE

NORTHFIELD — The Pioneer Valley Regional School District School Committee didn’t have to look too far to find its new director of finance and operations.

By CHRIS LARABEE

While the Six Town Regionalization Planning Board awaits feedback from the state on its proposed regional agreement, it is also preparing assessment models for the potential Great River Regional School District.

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

GREENFIELD — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s public comment sessions at Greenfield Community College on Wednesday drew opposition from attendees who cited a lack of transparency in the comment process pertaining to FirstLight Hydro Generating Co.

By JUDY WAGNER

Walking in our back gardens I caught a subtle but sublime scent. I looked around and spotted the milkweed patches we let grow off to the side. The heavy, waxy blooms were blooming, inviting the monarch butterflies to feed and thrive. These frail, delicate creatures fly as far as 3,000 miles for winter migration. It takes more than one generation for monarchs to complete their travel and reproduction, an astonishing and complex process. Amazing to think our bit of land can be part of such a wonder. No matter what we think of global trade or immigration, we are connected around the planet.

By DEBORAH POTEE

For close to 40 years, I have spent almost my entire adult life working with teenagers. My work for the past 20 years has been in public, private and residential schools focusing on students’ mental health as a clinical social worker. As a resident of Northfield, I have worked to support our local public school district and have had a daughter, two nieces and a nephew graduate from Pioneer. For years, I have fundraised, written letters, protested, spoken at town and school committee meetings and engaged with administration and teachers, all in support of the success of this district.

BERNARDSTON — The Family & Community Event Planning Committee will host a Movie Night in Cushman Park, 19 Church St., on Wednesday, July 23.

By LUKE MACANNUCO

NORTHFIELD — Seven decades of service will come to a close this summer with the dissolution of the Northfield Kiwanis Club.

By LUKE MACANNUCO

NORTHFIELD — Outside Northfield Elementary School, Parent-Teacher Organization volunteer Cheryl George watched as a Graves Concrete truck poured the concrete foundation for the school’s new outdoor pavilion.

By CHRIS LARABEE

NORTHFIELD — The search is underway for a new director of finance and operations at the Pioneer Valley Regional School District.

NORTHFIELD – Seniors who are more than 60 years old and own their own home in Northfield are eligible to submit an application to take part in the Senior Tax Work-Off Program starting July 1.

Highest Honor: Aaron Archer, Layla Coffin, Amber Drossart, Emma Goulding, Samuel Lawler, Evangeline Lewis, Avery McKinley, Deveney Pillsbury, Gianna Shattuck, Magnolia Sheridan, Hannah Skorupa, Aza Thompson, Amy VanDoren, Gabrielle Warriner Cardin and Brooke Welcome.

By CHRIS LARABEE

NORTHFIELD — A revitalized greenhouse and garden, rehabilitation of the school’s cross-country trail and work with the Franklin Land Trust are all highlights of Pioneer Valley Regional School’s nascent Innovation Career Pathways environmental science program.