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By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — Town Meeting members on Wednesday overwhelmingly supported the formal creation of the town’s first historic district, declared the town a “welcoming community,” and established an affordable housing trust.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — Mount Holyoke College’s proposed site for a new Energy Center on Woodbridge Street — a key piece of a long-range plan to install a new geothermal heating and cooling system to serve campus — is drawing criticism from residents who worry that noise and potential gasoline fumes from the power plant will impact their health and quality of life.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — A new jury trial has begun for a former physical therapist from South Hadley previously convicted for indecent assault and battery on a patient, who is now facing two counts of rape after another alleged victim came forward.

By GARRETT COTE

SOUTH HADLEY — The South Hadley softball team’s job seems pretty simple: Score three runs, and you’re probably going to win the game.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — A sprinkler system, renovated bathrooms and a freshly painted exterior at the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Florence, a rebuilt outdoor performing arts venue at Buttery Brook Park in South Hadley and theatrical lighting and sound equipment for the Northampton Community Arts Trust’s Hawley Street building are projects being supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — On Wednesday, Town Meeting members will contemplate approval of the town’s first historic district, reduction of speed limits on thickly settled roads and a citizen petitioned ordinance declaring South Hadley a welcoming community.

At the annual Town Meeting on May 14, Town Meeting members will vote on a citizen’s petition for a Welcoming Community ordinance. This ordinance asks town officials and employees to welcome all people in our community, so that they can live positive and productive lives in South Hadley, without fear of investigation and deportation by local officials. The majority of the proposed ordinance is already aligned with Massachusetts laws and current town and police department policies.

While elements of the Roman Catholic Church may go in different directions, there is a long history of close association between that communion and the state. Of some note, the conservative members of the current U.S. Supreme Court all have had some Catholic formation. This would school them to protect the office of the presidency regardless of who is president, as that is how Catholics are taught to navigate their church hierarchy. This approach can help parishioners to get through it if, for example, their parish priest should have an alcohol addiction.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — South Haldey Police are investigating a vandalism incident that occurred at South Hadley High School over the weekend.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — With Superintendent Mark McLaughlin poised to leave the district at the end of the school year, the School Committee has identified a front-runner to take his place in Jennifer Voyik, current assistant superintendent of finance and business operations.

Before our family moves to a new town, and sometimes when we visit, a first stop is the public library. As the heart of the community, the state of the library says much about its priorities: how it values preserving and sharing knowledge, its welcoming of a variety of people and perspectives, how much it fosters conversation and education. Our family lives libraries. They are a source of entertainment (movies, TV series, crafts), education (books, programs, online and in person language courses), computer literacy, to name a few. They have provided social connections and part-time employment for our grandchildren, guidance through consumer reports, ancestry and grant writing programs.

Mount Holyoke College (MHC) is attempting to pressure South Hadley into allowing a 6,000 square foot electrical power plant to be constructed on Woodbridge Street, next to All Saints Episcopal Church and across from The Ruby apartment building. MHC calls the proposed building an “Energy Center” to “showcase” their commitment to carbon neutrality. Yet MHC’s own architect said at a public hearing on April 14: “Basically it’s an electrical power plant.” This is a residential zone. The South Hadley Planning Board must prohibit this industrial use. It will destroy the neighborhood’s charming village character, and abutters and nearby residents will be subjected to constant noise from the electrical power plant heat pumps. After encountering significant opposition from residents at that public hearing, MHC now claims the Planning Board has no jurisdiction and zoning regulations do not apply. They claim that the college is exempt under a state law called the Dover Amendment. The Dover Amendment gives institutions latitude in using land and structures for educationally significant purposes. But the Dover Amendment also stipulates the educationally significant goal must be the primary or dominant purpose. If an electrical power plant is educational, so too is a garbage dump. After all, it could teach students about the importance of recycling. The South Hadley Planning Board needs the courage to stop this industrial facility in a residential neighborhood. I urge town residents to come to the next public hearing. It’s June 23 at the South Hadley Senior Center, 45 Dayton Street; 6:30 p.m.

By TINKY WEISBLAT

I wrote only one poem during my stint as an Alzheimer’s caregiver. Most of my writings were either straightforward recountings of my days with my mother as she unlearned things (finding her way home, tying her shoelaces) or analyses of lessons I learned from our time together.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — A restructuring of the progressive New College of Florida by that state’s Republican leadership in 2023 prompted Hampshire College to offer students there a respite and opportunity to continue their studies in Amherst.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — After five years of little to no progress redeveloping the former Bardwell Library property into condominiums, the Select Board decided to investigate legal options against the developer for breach of contract.

I am writing to alert the citizens of South Hadley to the continuation of the public hearing on the proposed Energy Center of Mount Holyoke College, at the corner of Dunlap Place and Woodbridge Street. This hearing will be before the Planning Board on Monday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Senior Center and virtually.

At last Wednesday’s town hall with U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern at UMass Amherst, university community members asked specific, thoughtful questions; meanwhile, all McGovern’s answers were platitudes about the power we the people have and jokes about Russian influence. Enough. We know Donald Trump is a disaster and we are asking what Ywill do; all our elected representatives can offer is “Trump bad” and “we are holding a lot of town halls.” We need our elected leaders putting themselves on the line with real action, like Sen. Van Hollen traveling to El Salvador. Anything less is cowardice. At least McGovern admitted in response to what Congress is doing to protect due process: “not a goddamn thing.” And that’s what McGovern offered us in his town hall, too.

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — April showers bring May flowers, but foliage isn’t the only thing blooming in South Hadley after a windy winter and early spring rain.

The Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail will have its annual studio tour on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

By RYAN AMES

NORTHAMPTON – Teagan McDonald tabbed her 100th career goal in the Northampton girls lacrosse team’s 14-5 win over South Hadley on Tuesday at Northampton.

By EMILEE KLEIN

For the last two years, the Hitchcock Center for the Environment has aimed to help more than 1,000 third graders in Springfield Public Schools envision themselves as scientists and engineers.