Sunderland News

Sunderland Elementary School will have a new principal July 1. Timothy Merritt was named interim principal, taking over the post from Penny Spearance, who is retiring after seven years on the job.

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.

A group of youngsters, most of whom are sporting "Grown In Hadley" inscribed T-shirts watch the Hadley 350th Anniversary Parade along Route 9 in Hadley, Sunday afternoon.

By NANCY H. GONTER ngonter@repub.com PALMER - The Town Council supports the concept of creating a rail stop in downtown, a parking lot for rail passengers and recreational park next to the Quaboag River.

Local public school officials have many concerns about brewing legislation that would allow state bureaucrats to restructure school districts.

Almost 100 Massachusetts communities from Sunderland to Somerset are exceeding state guidelines that aim to limit residential water use to 65 gallons a day per person, drawing down water in dozens of Massachusetts rivers and streams and imperiling the region's bounty of freshwater fish.

The Rev. Richard Jones, standing, acting pastor of North Hadley Congregational Church, delivers a sermon during the service on Lake Warner, located behind the church.

It's official ... The Bingville reunion will be Saturday, June 27, at the Greenfield Elks Club.

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Before we chat about the forecast, there is an update on Saturday night's severe weather in Sunderland.

A weak tornado, or 'gustnado,' lifted a barn and dumped it on Route 47 in Sunderland on Saturday evening.

Tornado talk continued in Franklin County the day after a late spring storm ripped through the Western Mass.

According to the National Weather Service a weak tornado or gustnado likely caused damage in Sunderland Saturday evening.

Weather forecasters say strong downburst winds from a severe thunderstorm are what likely blew a tobacco barn onto a road in the Western Massachusetts town of Sunderland, but they're not ruling out a possible tornado.

A destroyed tobacco barn sits on Route 47 after it was lifted 40 to 50 feet by the wind around 7:30 Saturday night.

After month of studying options for regionalizing Frontier and Union 38 school districts, it's still not clear that combining the South County schools into a K-12 district, while maintaining level or near-level services to students, will produce any savings, administrators say.

The salmon limping back today are evolved in tanks, their genetics guided by computers.

Barry T. Wysocki, 52, of 1733 Mission Bay Circle, formerly of Sunderland, Mass., died Tuesday in Wuesthoff Hospital.

Plans to expand the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society operation into Springfield will result in closing the French King Highway animal shelter.

Lobster lovers, take note -- the Munich Haus in Chicopee is holding a special Lobster Fest get-together on Tuesday, May 12.