Hatfield News

After looking further into ways to continue its Tuesday food distribution program, the Salvation Army won't end the program as it originally stated earlier this week.

The Salvation Army has been forced to end a food distribution program 10 years in the making after The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts stopped making food deliveries.

As he watched the floats and bands go by at Sunday's 350th anniversary parade, Daniel Dudkiewicz thought about his grandparents, who came to Hadley a century ago.

The Hopkins Academy Band led the start of the parade. 2 The Hadley Public School float.

By DAVID A. VALLETTE dvallette@repub.com NORTHAMPTON - Earning their way into the Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School graduation program, a trio of students spent time Wednesday night giving advice to their mates.

Cases of Swine Flu have now been identified in students of schools in Springfield, Chicopee, Amherst and Hatfield.

Disaster was averted in Hatfield on Tuesday night thanks to the quick response of the Hatfield Fire Department.

By CHRIS HAMEL chamel@repub.com Senior Andrea L. Klepacki, of Hopkins Academy in Hadley, struck a bittersweet chord that likely represented the feelings of her classmates, as well as the Class of 2009 at nearby Smith Academy in Hatfield.

In one of its more baffling acts of the 2009 session, the Missouri legislature passed a bill repealing the statea s helmet law for motorcycle riders.

Members of The Deadly Nightshade, from left, Helen Hooke, Anne Bowen and Pamela Brandt, perform in Goshen last year.

Predictably, requests for help to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts have increased sharply during the recession.

Before the ceremony, from left, Stewart Marshall, of Orange, Neil Marshall, of Chicopee and Doris Aitkinson, of South Hadley, check notes about forebear John Webster.

When complaints started pouring in about new Superintendent Alberto Rodriguez's salary being high at $158,000, it was deja vu for Amherst school officials.

Ellen Dickinson of West Hatfield paints a sign for one of the trails in the Mount Holyoke Range State Park.

By NANCY H. GONTER ngonter@repub.com MONSON - The School Committee has selected Patrice L. Dardenne, who has been Superintendent of Schools in Hatfield since 2005, to be this town's next superintendent.

By PATRICK JOHNSON pjohnson@repub.com SPRINGFIELD - A grant for $186,574 from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation will allow the Food Bank for Western Massachusetts and Springfield area religious groups to launch a program stressing proper nutrition and fresh produce for low-income families here.

'It helps keep food in my stomach,' said 53-year-old Alice Ferrari, as she waited to pick up her monthly allotment of food from the Orange Food Pantry.

By JIM KINNEY Business writer jkinney@repub.com SPRINGFIELD - The state lost 4,900 jobs in January, according to statistics released by the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development on Thursday.

Wachusett Regional High School in Holden will be one of 14 locations where high drama will unfold Saturday.

A mix of snow and rain in the region on Sunday created slippery road conditions for some northern communities, but police throughout Western Massachusetts reported no major accidents on Sunday night.