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By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — An ongoing effort to modify town zoning, possibly along a section of Route 9, to encourage more affordable housing and possible mixed-use developments, will be the subject of a community forum Thursday.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools’ $37.08 million budget for fiscal year 2026, recommended by the Amherst Regional School Committee, won final approval Monday, with the Amherst Town Council unanimously agreeing to the town’s $19.74 million assessment.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — With markers in their hands, students and staff from both Fort River and Wildwood schools throughout the day on Monday inscribed their names on a beam that will become part of the entrance canopy at the town’s first new elementary school building in more than 50 years.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — An inexpensive way to turn disposable forks, knives and spoons used in the school cafeteria and other recycled plastics into filament for the school’s three-dimensional printer is the purpose of a prototype machine being built by Amherst Regional High School students.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Year-long delays on demolition are being imposed by the Historical Commission on two Amherst College-owned residential properties, though college officials have permission to raze a dilapidated estate on South Pleasant Street, as soon as its history is professionally documented.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Enhancing the commercial tax base on Route 9 and protecting farmland throughout Hadley are goals shared by both candidates running for a one-year term on the Planning Board at town election Tuesday.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A three-way race for two, three-year seats on the Select Board pits political newcomer Philip Shumway against incumbents Molly Keegan and Randy Izer at town election Tuesday.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A $1 million National Endowment for the Humanities grant awarded to the Jones Library two years ago is being canceled by the Trump administration.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — In separate trips to the plaza outside Hampden Commons on the University of Massachusetts campus Wednesday morning, sophomore Grace Altman hand-delivered an upholstered headboard with outlets, and a rug and ottoman, furnishings she had in her Southwest Residential Area dorm room.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Police Chief Kristin Burgess is taking a leave of absence from her position overseeing the department, according to an email sent by the Select Board to residents Thursday night.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HATFIELD — Voters at town election Tuesday will decide a three-year seat on the Select Board in a race between incumbent Diana Szynal, president and CEO of the Springfield Regional Chamber, and Luke Longstreeth, co-owner of a Hadley landscaping business and a Hatfield Fire Department captain.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Falling ceiling tiles, locked bathrooms with broken stalls and a class schedule that regularly drops a guided academic study and advisory period are among concerns Amherst Regional Middle School student leaders are bringing to the Regional School Committee.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Bradley James Driscoll, 26, of Amherst, will spend the next five years in prison for distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A barn preservation program aimed at protecting iconic and historically valuable barns across Amherst is being introduced by the Historical Commission.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — During his military service, Charles Thompson, a Black soldier from Amherst serving in the 54th regiment during the Civil War, recounted his thoughts and feelings of his experience in a handwritten letter to his sister, Mary Thompson.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HATFIELD — Hatfield Fire Department will remain mostly a 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. operation, with call members handling overnight emergency fire and medical service, after voters rejected the nearly $500,000 needed to support around-the-clock, full-time coverage at annual Town Meeting Tuesday.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A consolidation from three elementary school buildings to two is expected to mean some savings for the school budget beginning in July 2026, but Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman is cautioning the spending reductions may be limited.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Heavy traffic, possible delays and road closures will be taking place around the University of Massachusetts campus, both in Amherst and Hadley, starting Wednesday, as students move out and then the undergraduate commencement is held late Friday afternoon. 

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HATFIELD — A condemned home at 320 West St., subject to a demolition order from the town, is heading to a foreclosure auction later this month.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A Sunday afternoon fire at a four-story, nine-unit apartment building in downtown has displaced at least 24 residents, mostly college students, and closed a few businesses.