Whately News

A lightning bolt struck a Whately home during Wednesday morning's turbulent thunderstorm, scorching the roof and leaving its three residents without a home.

While Eastern MA didn't get into any sun today, the Western half of the State did and that lead to some more dangerous thunderstorms with one that crossed the Pioneer Valley getting Tornado Warned.

After an 11-month wait, selectmen in Deerfield, Whately and Sunderland have a draft budget and agreement for a future South County ambulance service.

Monday, townspeople will be asked to approve a $4,757,924 budget for next year, which covers projects for Frontier school improvements, engineering plans for a new highway garage and senior housing review slated for the Rose property.

The trouble is, two of the Frontier Regional School District's other three towns have only approved some of Frontier's capital requests.

A one-year-old police cruiser will need repairs after it crashed into a utility pole as it chased a speeding vehicle this past weekend.

With few, if any, April showers or May rains, newly planted and transplanted crops on area farms are begging for water, and firefighters have been busy responding to brush fires around the region and the state.

For a while, perennials were the fashionable family and annuals were almost forgotten.

David E. Lanoue and his contracting company are dedicated to restoring and preserving traditional architecture, such as barns and houses that date back to the 17th century.

The Frontier Regional School Committee jumped its biggest hurdle in passing its operational budget on Monday - the fiscally conservative town of Deerfield.

The first house Realtor Robbie Cohn ever sold went for $19,900, and he made a commission of $600 on it.

On Tuesday, incumbent Selectman David Pierce will vie for re-election against challenger Peter Murphy for a second three-year term.