Family widens the helping circle

Daily Hampshire Gazette - Fri Nov 27

Last week, just a few days before she hosted an 18-person Thanksgiving dinner in her Orchard Street home, Zetta Mc Cormick sat down and wrote out a check to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund.

Salvation Army Service Center reports interest high in Greenfield in Toy for Joy fund

MassLive.com - Fri Nov 27

Call after call is coming into the Salvation Army Service Center here from parents and guardians seeking information on this season's Toy for Joy campaign.

A generous farewell as church group disbands

Daily Hampshire Gazette - Thu Nov 26

When the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield announced plans to close several area churches this summer, members of the St.

Hampshire police chief moving on

Amherst Bulletin - Wed Nov 25

Paul L. Ominsky, director of public safety at Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith colleges, will leave the Valley in January to head up the public safety department at Princeton University.

Custody struggle escalates, kidnapping charged in dispute

Amherst Bulletin - Wed Nov 25

A two-year-old international custody battle resulted in criminal charges Tuesday when a judge issued an arrest warrant for a former Belchertown woman accused of abducting her 2-year-old daughter.

Toy Fund season sees greater need

Daily Hampshire Gazette - Wed Nov 25

First the good news: from pennies to big checks, residents across the Valley pitched in some $70,000 for the Sydney F. Smith Toy Fund in 2008.

Unemployment rate inches downward in Greater Springfield area

MassLive.com - Tue Nov 24

The city's unemployment rate fell last month to 12.2 percent from 12.6 percent in September.

Former Western Mass. priest Aaron Cote found guilty of sexually abusing altar boy in Maryland

MassLive.com - Tue Nov 24

A former Western Massachusetts priest with ties to Westfield and South Hadley was sentenced to 10 years of probation after he was found guilty Monday in a Maryland court of sexually abusing an altar boy seven years ago.

Chimney fire damages Loudville Road home in Easthampton

Daily Hampshire Gazette - Tue Nov 24

Firefighters from three communities responded this morning to a house fire on Loudville Road that started in the chimney.

Special to The Recorder

The Recorder - Greenfield, Massachusetts - Mon Nov 23

David and Patricia Ames of Orange were at the Franklin/Hampshire Juvenile Court in Hadley Friday to adopt their third child, 2-year-old Charlotte.