School Notes: At Williston, year begins with new laptops

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - In an ongoing effort to make use of the latest technology in classrooms, seventh and eighth-graders at Williston Northampton School have received laptop computers to use.

According to Williston spokesman Andrew Shelffo, the response among students and teachers has been very positive.

"The kids are tremendously excited about it, the parents are really excited about it and the faculty is enjoying having laptops available to students because it allows to teach in ways that they couldn't have before," he said.

The computers, which have enough battery life to last the entire school day, will stay inside the Middle School when school is not in session. But students will be able to access any files they have created from home. Students can also use the computers to access their Williston email and WillyNet, the school's internal communication system.

"This means our kids can start working on something during the school day and be able to save it to the network and work on the same file after school," Shelffo said.

New math books

In an attempt to make the academic transition from middle school to junior high as smooth as possible for students, school officials in the Easthampton Public Schools introduced two new math programs this semester.

According to Melissa Earls, the district's director of curriculum, fifth- and sixth-graders at White Brook Middle School have started working with new programs that use interactive computer software to teach middle school math.

Earls said all fifth-graders at White Brook Middle School began the new school year working with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Math Expressions program.

Math Expressions is a mathematics curriculum for students from kindergarten to fifth grade that features online programs that the student can use at school or at home to learn basic math.

Meanwhile, one of the middle school's sixth-grade classes has begun working with McGraw Hill's Math Connects, the same math program used by students in the school's seventh and eighth grades.

"We want to make the transition from grade to grade as smooth as possible," Superintendent of Schools Nancy Follansbee said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Fall festival showcases historic homes, library

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

October will feature a weekend of fun and festivities thanks to the Friends of the Westhampton Public Library, who are inviting all area residents to attend Westhampton's annual Fall Festival and the grand opening of the town's new library.

This year's celebration begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16, when the group offers its first-ever Harvest Home Tour - an opportunity for Valley residents to check out six of the oldest and most historic homes in Westhampton.

"We had a new member join the Friends of the Library and she had participated in something like this at an event in another town," said the organization's president, Eutheicia Hancewicz, speaking about the home tour. "The rest of us all thought it was a great idea and we told her to go ahead and plan it."

With the purchase of a ticket, Hancewicz said each participant will be given a map marked with the addresses of the six homes they can visit until 3 p.m.

"Once they buy their ticket, the tour is completely self-guided," Hancewicz said.

Tickets for the tour are available at the Westhampton Public Library, Outlook Farm, Intervale Farm, Strawbale Cafe and North Country Gardens. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 on the day of the tour.

Starting at noon on Sunday, the town's Fall Festival will begin, which will also mark the grand opening of the town's new library.

Among the events offered at the all-day celebration, Hancewicz said, will be a 5K road race, squash tossing with a trebuchet, a large catapult used in medieval times, a petting zoo, cider pressing, an antique tractor demonstration, Indian corn shucking, steeple tours, an oxen demonstration, a woodsmen's demonstration, a giant pumpkin contest and live music.

Throughout the festival, which will be held in the center of town behind the new library, Hancewicz said tours of the new building will be offered and a community meal will be served for a suggested donation of $5.

Hancewicz said the building's newly renovated, tiered backyard will offer residents a place to sit and relax while they wait for this year's bonfire and sing-along, which marks the end of the celebration.

"We sent an invitation out to anyone who has ever made a donation to the library, which is about 400 people," Hancewicz said. "So we expect a pretty good crowd."

###

Garlic Fest

Grown in Westhampton, a local gardening club, invites area residents to participate in "Garlic Fest," slated to take place Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Easthampton Road home of former professional chef Tom Martin.

"Tom has a big enough kitchen where the whole town is invited," said group member Kurt Heidinger. "He is going to be preparing outrageously yummy garlic treats for everyone, while the folks who grow garlic in town will be showing off their bulbs and describing the different kinds of garlic."

Martin, who cooked in restaurants in Northampton and Boston, said he plans on showing people at least three different ways to make garlic bread.

"Then I am going to show them some of my favorite ingredients to pair with garlic," he said. "I'll probably cook a protein side, a meat and a vegetable and then show people how to pair garlic with some of my favorite foods."

As part of Grown in Westhampton's goal of bringing together local farmers, gardeners and amateur cooks, Heidinger said the event, which is free, will also feature a presentation on how best to cultivate garlic locally.

"Everyone will have a chance to taste the raw garlic, and we will get into how to feed it, harvest it and dry it at home," Heidinger said.

For information, call Heidinger at 527-9092.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Area fire teams get a lifeline

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

Small-town fire departments in nine Hampshire County communities were given a financial boost Tuesday when Gov. Deval Patrick announced the recipients of this year's Volunteer Fire Assistance Grants.

Volunteer fire departments in Cummington, Deerfield, Goshen, Hatfield, Leverett, South Hadley, Sunderland, Westhampton and Worthington were among the 54 communities statewide in line to receive the $83,150 distributed by the commonwealth's Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Firefighters in Sunderland were awarded $1,990 to purchase equipment needed to fight wildfires, and Fire Chief Robert Ahearn said the annual grant funding helped fill holes in the department's reduced budget.

"Equipment and supplies are harder and harder to buy when your budget gets cut," Ahearn said. "These kinds of grants are always a big help."

Fire officials in South Hadley were also planning to use the $735 they were awarded to get wildfire-related equipment.

"What we end up doing is buying equipment used to fight brush fires on state property," Fire Chief David Keefe said. "We have a lot of state forestry land in our district and every year we spend a lot of money fighting brush fires. This is the state's way of helping us pay to fight their fires and we are very, very grateful to get it."

The grants, which can be as high as $2,000, are matched two-to-one by each community. To qualify, a fire department must serve a community with a population of 10,000 or less and be made up of at least 80 percent call or volunteer firefighters.

In Cummington, firefighters were awarded $2,000 for flame-retardant foam; Deerfield received $1,806 for hard hats, goggles, "shrouds" to protect from radiant heat, gloves and coveralls; firefighters in Goshen were awarded $1,050 for flame-retardant foam; Hatfield's fire department received a $2,000 grant toward the purchase of flame-retardant foam and assorted hardware; Leverett received $300 for foam; Westhampton was awarded $2,000 for pumps and new hoses; and Worthington received $611 for foam.

For more information about the VFA program or to see a complete list of towns and funding amounts, please visit the Department of Conservation and Recreation's website: www.mass.gov/dcr.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Two hurt in head-on collision

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - A two-car accident on Route 5 Wednesday afternoon tied up rush hour traffic and resulted in two area residents being hospitalized with neck and head injuries, police said.

At 4:50 p.m., members of the local fire and police departments responded to the Exit 18 on-ramp to Interstate 91 south for a reported head-on car accident.

According to Sgt. Alan Borowski, a 2006 Chevy Cobalt driven by James Poirier, 20, of West Springfield, cut in front of a Nissan Pathfinder driven by Barry Wenzel, 56, of Easthampton.

"The operator of the Chevy Cobalt attempted to turn left onto 91 south and struck the Pathfinder as it traveled southbound on Mount Tom Road," Borowski said. "Poirier has since been cited for failure to use care while turning."

Poirier, whose vehicle was considered a complete loss and ended up pinned against a fence across from the on-ramp, was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for neck and facial injuries, where he was listed in good condition Wednesday night, a hospital spokesman said.

Also injured in the accident, Borowski said, was Wenzel's wife, Victoria Wenzel, 43, of Easthampton, who was taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital with neck and back pain and was also treated and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Barry Wenzel, Borowski said, declined treatment at the scene.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Homeless up, volunteers down: Shelter Sunday still looking for volunteers

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

Once a year the women of the Bennett family set out to "divide and conquer" a section of Northampton.

The three women - Bonnie Bennett, of South Deerfield, and her daughters, Gretchen, 34, of Holyoke and Remy, 30, of Easthampton - are Shelter Sunday volunteers, and go door-to-door asking for donations to benefit six area agencies that aid the local homeless population.

Since 1990 volunteers have used Shelter Sunday to ask people in Northampton, Florence and Leeds for donations. This Sunday will mark the 20th Shelter Sunday in Northampton. Volunteers - many more of whom are still needed - will be asking for donations 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

• Related story: Shelter Sunday beneficiaries

Over the course of a single year, almost 5,000 people in the Pioneer Valley experience some period of homelessness, close to half of whom are families with children, said Sonja Larson, United Way of Hampshire County's Director of Campaign and Community Investment.

"Our response from the people we meet is usually very positive," said Gretchen Bennett. "And we've found that there's enough community awareness about the fundraiser that a lot of people will leave envelopes for us to pick up if they won't be home.

"It is just a nice way to spend the day together and it has become a yearly ritual for us," said Bennett, who, on Sunday, will have volunteered for Shelter Sunday four years in a row. Bennett said she used to regularly volunteer to aid homeless people, but after she enrolled in college she had less time for charities. Being only one day a year, Shelter Sunday was a good fit with Bennett's time and eagerness to help her community, she said.

Still, volunteers are down for this year's drive at a time when services to help the homeless are being stretched.

Event organizers estimate that they need 100 volunteers to meet their fundraising goal of $50,000. They currently have commitments from about 35.

Last year, 70 volunteers raised more than $50,000.

While hard statistics are not available as to how many homeless people live in the region, data from the Hampshire County Interfaith Cot Shelter, an emergency shelter on Center Street in Northampton, indicates that the need is growing.

For example, homeless people slept at the cot shelter 2,724 times in 2001. In 2009, the number of occupied beds increased by more than 50 percent to 4,114 spending the night that year. These statistics count how many times the beds were occupied, not the number of people who slept overnight at the shelter.

MANNA Soup Kitchen is seeing a similar trend.

Elaine Ulman, who serves on MANNA Soup Kitchen's board of directors, said volunteers are seeing a steady rise in the number of people attending the organization's free meals. In 2009 from January to July we served 5,000 meals at our dinners and in 2010, in that same time period, we served more than 8,000, said Ulman who noted more young people have been attending the meals.

"Previously one or two youths would show up for a typical meal and now we are seeing 20 show up regularly which reflects the number of people out of work and youth out on the street," she said.

At an event planning meeting hosted at ServiceNet headquarters on King Street in Northampton last week, officials from the charity drive's beneficiaries - the Grove Street Inn, the Interfaith Emergency Shelter, MANNA Soup Kitchen, Northampton Salvation Army Service Center, the Single Room Occupancy Project's Outreach Program and Safe Passage - came together to brainstorm.

"Right now, finding more volunteers to help out is our key issue," said Yvonne Freccero, director of Northampton's Friends of the Homeless.

Organizers are also contending with smaller donations from area businesses.

"Some of our old faithfuls are still faithful, but at a much smaller level than years past," said Wendy Payson, ServiceNet's director of communications and development. "They are still helping us out; they're just really hurting right now because of the economy."

Unfortunately for the agencies looking to benefit from the fundraiser, Shelter Sunday donations are becoming more and more crucial as patronage increases and supplies from area food banks are depleted.

"Quantities available at food banks have steadily shrunk over the last few years, meaning MANNA has to purchase supplies from the supermarket which substantially increases the cost of dinner," said Jim Godfrey, MANNA's treasurer. "Shelter Sunday is extremely important to us, it is one of our main funding mechanisms."

Freccero says Shelter Sunday organizers are reaching out to area churches, colleges and nonprofits. Signs seeking volunteers will be handed out until the day of the fundraiser.

Monetary donations may be sent to Shelter Sunday, care of ServiceNet, Inc., 129 King St., Northampton. Those interested in volunteering can call Payson at 582-9508 or visit the organization's website, http://northamptonsheltersunday.org.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Low-flying stunt planes a concern in Westhampton

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

WESTHAMPTON - When Daniel Duffy moved to the center of Westhampton 27 years ago he did so because he wanted to live in a small town that was peaceful and quiet.

Over the last three months, Duffy and some of his neighbors are reporting that the serenity they have enjoyed has been broken by the sound of low-flying stunt planes doing aerobatic maneuvers over the center of town.

Duffy, who served in the Navy and has military flying experience, said the planes fly over his North Road home several times a day and described the maneuvers he is seeing pilots perform as "not your run-of-the-mill flying."

"They're doing aerobatic stunts and pursuit activities," Duffy said. "What I think is happening is the pilots are using the gravel pits down by Norris Farm (on South Road) as a navigational site, and they are flying right along it."

A recent investigation into similar complaints from residents in Leverett, where the town's Select Board is petitioning area legislators to put a stop to stunt plane flyovers, showed that the planes causing a stir were likely coming from a number of local airports.

Northampton Airport Manager Rich MacIsaac told the Gazette that his airport has two stunt planes, but that only one flew during the summer months. In Turners Falls, Mickey Longo, the airport's manager, said his facility had one plane capable of aerobatic maneuvers. And pilots leaving from Barnes Municipal Airport in Westfield told Richard Brazeau, chairman of the Leverett Select Board, that they travel to the area because it was one of the places where they can practice their tricks in accordance with FAA regulations.

According to FAA regulations, aerobatic maneuvers are not permitted over any congested area of a city, town or settlement or below an altitude of 1,500 feet - rules that Duffy thinks are being broken by pilots buzzing over Westhampton.

"I've been trying to get the tail numbers on the planes to find out where they are coming from, but because they fly so low and so fast, I haven't been able to do it," Duffy said. "If I can't see them but I can hear the noise they make as they fly by, they must be going under 1,500 feet because otherwise (my view of them) wouldn't be blocked by the trees."

Duffy said his family has heard the planes buzzing overhead as early as 6:30 a.m. in the morning and as late as 8 p.m. at night.

"This is a nuisance, and there are laws dealing with things like this, and I guess I'm just confused as to how in these tough economic times someone can spend six to eight hours a day out there burning aviation fuel."

Also disturbed by the low-flying aircraft is longtime South Road resident Danny Krug, 86, who also thought that the planes were far too loud to be flying at 1,500 feet,

"We hear them regularly and they are really loud," Krug said. "At first we thought maybe they were looking for someone because in the old days they would have planes buzz the woods looking for somebody. But after hearing them a few weeks in a row we knew that wasn't it."

Owen Boss can be reached @ gazettenet.com.

School Notes

By Owen Boss Staff Writer

At Easthampton High School, more students choose AP courses

At an open house earlier this week, parents of Easthampton High School students were presented with statistics showing an increase in the number of students signing up for advanced placement classes - a trend administrators have attributed to the school's participation in the Mass Math and Science Initiative.

At a School Committee meeting last week, Superintendent of Schools Nancy Follansbee was pleased to report that thanks to the initiative, Easthampton High School posted the highest one-year increase in passing AP scores statewide; with six students passing in 2009 compared to 41 in 2010.

Also, Follansbee said that prior to becoming an MMSI school two years ago, Easthampton High School had only 12 students enrolled in AP classes. The school now has 99 students signed up for college-preparatory classes.

"That initiative has been great for us," Follansbee said. "We are proud to report that we have seen a larger increase in students signing up for AP classes than any other school in the state."

MMSI is the state's largest high school math and science program and is aimed at underserved students. Through MMSI, 46 state high schools have expanded access to AP courses for their students and since 2008 it has led to more than 4,500 new enrollments in AP courses.

For more information about MMSI, residents are encouraged to visit the program's website: www.massingsight.org/mmsi.

Writer's Workshop Series

Williston Northampton School's 13th Writers' Workship Series kicks off Wednesday night as the school welcomes local author Suzanne Strempek Shea, winner of the 2000 New England Book Award, to speak with aspiring writers from across the Valley.

The presentation, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Dodge Room in the Reed Campus Center, will allow Shea, of Bondsville, to speak about her transition into writing fiction and how she began her career as an author while writing for the Providence Journal.

Shea is the author of five novels: "Selling the Lite of Heaven," "Hoopi Shoopi Donna," "Lily of the Valley," "Around Again," and "Becoming Finola." She has also written three memoirs, "Songs From a Lead-lined Room: Notes - High and Low - From My Journey Through Breast Cancer and Radiation"; "Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama and Other Page-Turning Adventures From a Year in a Bookstore," and "Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith." In Wednesday's event, she'll discuss "Sundays in America," for which she traveled to 52 different Christian churches to gain a better perspective on religion in the area.

The Writers' Workshop Series began in 1998 as an advanced class for aspiring student writers. This event is free and open to the public. For more information about the series, visit the school's website: www.williston.com/writersworkshop.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Northampton, Easthampton schools revel in advanced placement success stories

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

Phenomenal, off-the-charts and unbelievable were among the adjectives used to describe the dramatic increase in high school students taking college-level courses in Easthampton and Northampton.

By participating in the Mass Math and Science Initiative, the state's largest high school program aimed at underserved students, both schools are seeing an impressive rise in participation and performance among students taking math, science and English Advanced Placement classes.

Since its introduction in 2008, the initiative has resulted in more than 4,500 new enrollments in AP classes statewide and Massachusetts students registering more than 1,000 additional passing scores on math, science and English AP exams.

At an assembly at Northampton High School Tuesday afternoon, John A. Smolenski, the initiative's director of enrollment services, applauded the more than 200 students on hand who are taking part in the college preparatory classes. He said results from last year's AP tests "easily outpaced our wildest expectations."

"Northampton has raised AP enrollment from 236 to 430 in just three years and has more than doubled the number of math, science and English AP passing scores in two years, from 177 in 2008 to 366 in 2010," Smolenski said. "Those numbers are just astounding."

Earlier this year, Northampton High School was ranked 609 out of the 1,734 schools that made Newsweek Magazine's list of "America's Best High Schools," an honor Smolenski attributed to the school's sudden expansion in AP offerings.

"Last year's results were incredible and were probably what generated the attention of Newsweek," Smolenski said. "I don't work for Newsweek magazine, but after looking at the increase from 2009 to 2010 I would be surprised if at this time next year Northampton wasn't ranked in the top 200."

In AP physics alone, passing scores at NHS have risen from 27 in 2008 to 101 this year. Also, of the school's 400 juniors and seniors, 224 took an AP exam in English, resulting in a 45 percent increase in passing scores in just two years.

Also on hand for Tuesday's assembly was Mayor Clare Higgins, who said she was excited to hear of the initiative's success and encouraged younger students to accept the challenge of signing up for AP courses.

"I'm thrilled to see the scores on these tests are off the charts," Higgins said.

"It will mean that wherever you go from here, many of you will do so with the tools needed to succeed. You're making us all so proud."

Easthampton

Before a crowd of students, parents and faculty members Monday night, a similar celebration took place in the auditorium at Easthampton High School during the school's annual open house.

Among the most impressive statistics, Smolenski said, was that of the 46 schools participating in the initiative statewide, Easthampton posted the highest one-year increase in passing scores, from six in 2009 to 41 in 2010.

Also, prior to becoming a participating school in 2009, Easthampton had only 12 students enrolled in AP classes - that number has now increased to 99.

"That initiative has been great for us," School Superintendent Nancy Follansbee said at last week's School Committee meeting. "We are proud to report that we have seen a larger increase in students signing up for AP classes than any other school in the state."

At the same meeting, Peter Gunn, who chairs Easthampton's School Committee, said he expected to see similar gains in this year's AP results.

"I could talk about these results all day," Gunn said. "It goes to show what great work our teachers have been doing here in Easthampton."

In addition to helping encourage student participation, the initiative helped EHS add a new AP course in Environmental Science.

Several other area schools were selected to participate in the initiative this school year, including Athol High School, Narragansett Regional High School in Baldwinville, Turners Falls High School in Montague, and Greenfield High School.

For more information about the initiative, visit the program's website, http://www.massinsight.org/mmsi. For complete results statewide visit http://www.massinsight.org/news/27.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Northampton names 11 to superintendent search panel

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - School Committee Vice Chairwoman Stephanie Pick said Thursday that the host of qualified applicants made it tough to choose just 11 for a superintendent search committee.

"I had the very difficult task of having to say no to some fabulous candidates," Pick said. "It was very hard to do, and I kept finding myself saying 'Why just 11? Why can't we have 20?"

Pick said she and Mayor Clare Higgins, who chairs the school board, set out to form a search committee that was diverse and representative of all members of the school district - "meaning all grades, kindergarten through 12, parents, faculty members, administrators and community members."

The members of the panel are Susan Biggs, a chemistry teacher and coach at Northampton High School; Sharon Carlson, a physical education teacher at John F. Kennedy Middle School; Julie Hooks-Davis, cochairwoman of the Northampton Education Foundation's Small Grants Committee; Karen Jarvis-Vance, the school system's director of health and safety education; Martha Jenkins, a parent of two Northampton High School students; Greg Kerstetter, a fifth-grade teacher at Ryan Road Elementary School; Jason Mark, a parent of a Leeds Elementary School student; Police Capt. Scott Savino, a parent of a Northampton High student; Gail E. Scordilis, director of educational outreach at Smith College; and School Committee members James Young and Pick.

"The most important responsibility of any school committee is selecting a new superintendent, and thankfully we have some wonderful people here to help make a decision," Pick said.

School Committee members in August unanimously agreed to hire a consultant to assist with the search, Pick said money to pay the consultant will likely come from the city's school choice funding.

Potential consultants have until Sept. 24 to submit bids, Pick said. She expects a final decision on the consultant at the committee's October meeting.

The search committee will name several finalists, and the School Committee will choose one to succeed Superintendent Isabelina Rodriguez, who has held the post since 2004. Rodriguez announced in August that she would not renew her contract with the district because she wants to pursue other educational opportunities.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Driver injured in crash at Easthampton rotary

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - An SUV struck a utility pole at the Route 10 rotary in downtown Easthampton late this morning, injuring the driver and slowing traffic.

Around 11 a.m., members of the local police and fire departments responded to the highly trafficked rotary after it was reported that a gray Jeep Laredo had jumped the curb and slammed into a utility pole.

Emergency responders fitted the driver with a neck brace before loading the individual into an ambulance for a trip to an area hospital. The driver's name and condition was not yet available.

Although the pole remained upright, it was noticeably splintered and firefighters on the scene said it will have to be replaced today.

The vehicle hit the pole with such force that police were seen collecting pieces of headlights that had been thrown several yards into Pulaski Park.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, police said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Westhampton takes steps toward close-knit school

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

WESTHAMPTON - In the hopes of maintaining the kind of community atmosphere that is the pride of administrators at Westhampton Elementary School, students and staff came together last week to meet the school's newest members.

As part of the school's ongoing effort to educate its students using the Responsive Classroom format, a curriculum developed by the Northeast Foundation for Children that encourages the development of both academic and social skills through regular meetings, Principal Dean Bates organized the school's first all-school meeting of the year.

"We meet a couple of times a month as a way of sharing the learning that is going on here," Principal Dean Bates said. "We do it so the kids can let other students know what they are learning and to form strong relationships between classes."

The 2010 school year's first all-school meeting provided the opportunity to introduce the school's 150 students to the latest staff additions: first-grade teacher Shelby Marowitz, fifth-grade teacher Sarah Moylan, and John Allen, the school's new custodian.

They also took the opportunity to introduce the school's new crop of kindergarteners, which Bates said is a great way to help get them connected to other students.

"We go beyond introducing the students. If they have family members in the building we point out how they are connected to their brothers, sisters and cousins," Bates said. "It's a great way to make them feel welcome."

Following the welcome, Bates said students reviwed basic pedestrian and bicycle safety rules and administrators explained how students can help make sure paper and plastic recyclables are properly disposed of while they're on school grounds.

EHS Open House

At this year's open house at Easthampton High School, parents will get a glimpse of the school's academic goals for the future.

Parents are invited to gather in the high school's auditorium at 6 p.m. on Monday for two presentations showcasing accomplishments over the last few years and some new tools that will help administrators reach their goals for the future.

Assistant Principal Anne Beauregard said the open house will begin with a half-hour presentation outlining last year's Mass Math and Science Initiative results, which local students scored exceptionally well on.

"We are going to show them how our scores in math and science have been steadily improving," Beauregard said.

Parents will be introduced to the new "parent portal," an optional online resource that will allow them to track their student's attendance and performance through the course of the school year.

"Parents will now be able to access their children's grades right online and we expect that to be very helpful and beneficial for our students," Beauregard said.

The next hour will be devoted to letting parents walk through a typical school day, meeting teachers and getting an overview of each class.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Women's Fund awards 19 grants to area programs

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - Four Hampshire county organizations, including Treehouse and Safe Passage, were among 19 selected Monday to receive the more than $200,000 in grants from the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts for programs aimed at improving the lives of women and girls.

The grants announced Monday by the Women's Fund are part of the group's social change funding, which is divided into three basic areas: educational access and success, economic justice and safety, and freedom from violence. The money is raised solely by private donations from area residents and businesses.

"It's important to help women and girls through direct service but we also have to change the underlying issues that contribute to their situations in the first place, such as economic disparities or access to opportunities," said Julie Kumble, the foundation's director of grants and programs. "We give our grantee partners funding to run their programs along with tools to help them measure how an impact on these deeper social issues."

Among the programs awarded educational access funding is the Treehouse Foundation, on Treehouse Circle in Easthampton, which helps local foster children find permanent homes and families. The foundation received $7,000 toward its "Hear Our Voice Initiative," a program that offers skill building and training to women and girls in the hopes making them advocates of child welfare and improving the lives of children involved in foster care.

In the field of economic justice, MotherWoman Inc., an Amherst-based nonprofit on Pleasant Street received a $16,000, two-year grant for "MomsRising of the Pioneer Valley," the organization's political arm that organizes a coalition of area mothers and their allies to take political action through education, training and outreach. MotherWoman is aimed at empowering mothers and protecting the rights of women.

Safe Passage, on Center Street in Northampton, netted a two year $17,000 grant in the category of women's safety and freedom from violence to serve local women and children who have experienced physical or emotional abuse.

And the program Hilltown Safety at Home, based in Russell, received $5,000 to continue its "Advocacy Services to Domestic Violence Victims" campaign, which offers advocacy services to victims of domestic violence by checking state police logs and calling all victims who have contacted police to offer safety planning, advocacy, transportation and court accompaniment.

Kumble said 46 organizations applied for grants. She noted a substantial drop in the number of Valley organizations looking for funding.

"I think that its because many organizations don't have grant writers or development directors anymore and have turned their focus to simply trying to get their day-to-day missions done," Kumble said. "Also, their grant writers may be going after larger federal grants to support their programs."

For a full list of grant recipients residents are encouraged to visit the fund's website: http://womensfund.net/grants/cGrantees.htm.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Firefighters make quick work of kitchen fire in Nort hampton

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Firefighters from four area communities quickly doused a blaze Thursday afternoon that a fire official said broke out in the kitchen of a Platinum Circle home.

According to Deputy Fire Chief David Gagne, at 12:26 p.m. firefighters responded to 42 Platinum Circle for a report that smoke was coming from the two-story home's upstairs windows.

Christina and Belinda Pocsik, who live next door at 46 Platinum Circle, first noticed the fire on their way home for a lunch break, when they heard smoke detectors going off inside the house and saw black smoke rising from the windows.

After trying to get in through the front door, which they said was locked, the two women said they went around to the backyard. They called 911 after seeing flames coming out of the rear windows.

"We saw the grandmother's car in the driveway, and she baby-sits the kids, so our primary concern was making sure there wasn't anyone still inside," Belinda Pocsik said.

Gagne said firefighters received initial reports that a grandmother and toddler were in the house, but discovered that the house was empty shortly after they arrived.

A woman who neighbors said was the grandmother could be seen crying as she walked down the street toward the fire. Her name was not available.

Soon after, Gagne said engines from the Northampton, Easthampton, Williamsburg and Westhampton fire departments converged on the home, and firefighters quickly got inside to put out a fire in the kitchen.

"Our Florence crew did an excellent job," Gagne said. "They went right in there and knocked that fire down in about 20 minutes. They did outstanding work."

After entering the home through the front door, Gagne said firefighters smashed out several of the front windows to allow heat to escape. Easthampton's aerial ladder was extended over the roof in case the fire spread to the upper floor.

"I don't want to estimate the damage to the house, but I think it is salvageable and can be fixed," Gagne said. "The family should be back in there soon."

According to the Hampshire County Registry of Deeds, the deed on the property was signed in 2002 and the house belongs to Thomas J. Estes and Kristin Edmonds.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Gagne said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

New Williston head says area rich in resources

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - Williston Northampton School's new leader, Robert W. Hill III, no doubt feels right at home as he settles in for his first year at the helm. After all, his new post is just a stone's throw from his childhood stomping grounds.

Hill, Williston's new head of school, a self-proclaimed "New England guy," was born in Boston and spent the majority of his childhood in Amherst before moving to Vermont, where his father worked as a college professor.

Indeed, his familiarity with the area will help him reach the goals he's set for himself this year. In an interview at his new office at Williston last month, Hill said he intends to increase school initiatives that take advantage of the resources that abound in this higher education-rich region.

Sitting in the reception area of his office, which was clean, organized and situated in a building overlooking one of the school's grassy quads, Hill was eager to discuss the coming semester and the myriad opportunities it holds for Williston students.

The school's home in the Pioneer Valley, close to the five colleges, "means that we can provide a college preparatory experience that few, if any, independent schools can match," Hill said in his welcoming message to students.

Although he will be a new face to many students, Hill already knows one incoming eighth-grader very well - his 12-year-old daughter, Cameron, who is also starting her first year at the school this September. Hill's son, Robby, 8, will attend Smith College's Campus School.

"At least I'll know one of our eighth-graders," Hill said with a smile.

Along with wife Cathryn, also a teacher, who will likely teach math at the school starting next year, the Hill family has moved into its new home at what is known as the Head's House on Park Street. The Hills appear to be making efforts to keep their door open to Williston's students and faculty.

"It has been a great transition. He is happy to be here and the community is happy to have him here," said school spokesman Andrew Shelffo. "He has really opened up the Head's House to the community and the community has responded very favorably."

In July, Hill became the 19th person to take the reins at the Easthampton boarding/college preparatory school. In announcing their unanimous choice of Hill to replace retiring former head Brian Wright, school trustees said his experience working in a variety of different learning environments played a major role in their decision.

Long administrative career

Hill began his teaching career at Westminster School, in Simsbury, Conn., where he taught for 15 years. After Westminster, Hill spent nine years at St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H., assuming a variety of roles, including academic dean, director of college advising, and associate dean of faculty. Most recently, Hill was associate head of school and principal of the Upper School at Carolina Day School in Asheville, N.C.

Hill said what most attracted him to Williston was what he calls the "atmosphere of excellence" on campus.

"The people here represent the very best in what you look for in a boarding school," Hill said. "And the kids here are just great."

In his welcome message to incoming students, Hill said the school's Williston Plus Program, which targets resources at area colleges, was the biggest difference between the education Williston can provide and that offered at similar institutions.

"But to me, what really sets Williston apart are the wonderful, dedicated people who work so hard to enrich the lives of our students," he noted.

In addition to ensuring that the school's 550 students take advantage of the Pioneer Valley's "abundant intellectual capital" by signing up for internship and preparatory classes, Hill said he hopes Williston teachers will hone their teaching skills through collaborations with college professors.

"We expect this to go both ways, where we can offer these area colleges an alternative location for events or studies as well as helping with the professional development of our teaching staff," Hill said. "The program is limited only by the imagination of our students and teachers."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Driver injured in a head-on crash

HOLYOKE - A motorist was taken to the hospital with serious injuries Wednesday evening after being struck head-on by a pickup truck on Route 5, police said.

According to Holyoke police Sgt. Philip J. McKay, at 4:30 p.m., police responded to a section of Route 5, just over the Holyoke Easthampton line, for a reported two-car accident involving a pickup truck and a sedan.

Although he declined to identify either of the two motorists involved, McKay said the driver of the truck told emergency responders that he accidentally swerved into the southbound lane when trying to roll down his window.

"One of the operators, who was traveling north on Route 5, said he was trying to roll down the window when the handle suddenly snapped off, causing him to swerve in to the southbound lane," McKay said.

The pickup driver was also taken to the hospital, McKay said, where he was treated for minor injuries.

A Holyoke accident reconstruction team was called to the scene, and McKay said investigators were still working to determine the cause of the crash late Wednesday night.

- OWEN BOSS

City Survival Center capital campaign increases to $1.15M

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Complications in the Northampton Survival Center's expansion and a successful first six months of fundraising have spurred the organization to increase its capital campaign goal from $850,000 to $1.15 million.

Citing recently discovered structural issues and new state regulations that will increase the costs of expanding the Prospect Street building, Survival Center Executive Director Heidi Nortonsmith said the project will be more costly than previously expected.

"We're extraordinarily grateful to the people and businesses of Hampshire County who have pledged $920,000 to the campaign so far," Nortonsmith said. "We are confident that community members will provide the additional funds we need to ensure that we are able to serve everyone who needs our help, now and in the future."

In addition to new state fire safety regulations requiring that certain sprinkler systems be installed in all new buildings, Nortonsmith said interior structural problems and an outside walkway recently requested by the city has increased the project's overall price tag.

"We're gutting portions of the building and found that we need to shore up some walls that we didn't originally think would need to be," Nortonsmith said. "As we move forward with the project, the cost for completion has become clearer."

Capital campaign

The capital campaign was launched in March. The project will expand the Survival Center's building at 265 Prospect St. by about 2,000 square feet, nearly doubling the current space.

Plans include reconfiguring the center's administrative offices, such as adding a seminar and workshop space, to provide education for people on topics such as economical food shopping and healthy meal preparation, according to Nortonsmith. The renovation also will include more private meeting spaces for clients seeking the center's services.

The center began operating out of the basement of the former Vernon Street School before moving to its current location in 1985. During the past two years, it has seen a 23 percent increase in the number of people seeking a monthly food allotment, which provides four days worth of food per person.

The Survival Center is an emergency food provider and referral service serving 18 communities in Hampshire County. Its staff of three full-time and three part-time employees and 400 active volunteers distribute a daily average of 2,000 pounds of food to more than 4,100 community members.

The center also runs a Kids' Summer Food Program, providing groceries for tens of thousands of meals, bridging the summer nutrition gap for children who rely on subsidized meals during the school year.

Individuals and businesses interested in supporting the campaign may call Nortonsmith at 586-6564 for a tour of the center and a review of the updated architectural plans.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Recovery fragile, economist warns

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - The recession may be over, but until the federal government gets the nationwide unemployment rate under control, it's possible that the gradual economic recovery could stall out or even reverse itself.

This was the cautiously optimistic message delivered to more than 200 area businessmen and women Thursday morning at Hotel Northampton in a presentation titled "The Economy in 2010: Continued Recovery or a Backward Slide." The hourlong seminar was sponsored by Florence Savings Bank and led by economist and college professor Edmund J. Seifried.

For the third year in a row, Seifried, who teaches economics at Lafayette College and serves as dean at both the Virginia and West Virginia Banking Schools, revisited the factors that led to a nationwide economic collapse from 2007 to 2009 and compared figures from that period to today in an effort to give local businesses insight into the state of the economy.

"We are officially in a recovery - the recession is over. But there is the threat that we could lose steam, and the biggest threat to that is unemployment," Seifried said. "We have 14.5 million people unemployed and half of those people have been unemployed for 27 months or longer. When you combine that with the number of people cutting back on spending, it could end up being several years before we see unemployment drop to where it was before the recession."

Although the figures included in Seifried's report reflected the recovery on a national level, he mentioned that in many respects Massachusetts' economy is ahead of the curve - a fact he attributed to the state's abundance of colleges and hospitals.

"Massachusetts has built itself on these secure industries that are constantly growing and are always in demand, and that has put the state in a good position to rebound quickly," Seifried said.

"The result of having these industries is that the unemployment rate in Massachusetts is always below the national average," he said. "However, people's ability to pay for those services is dependent on the state of the nationwide economy."

As the recovery continues, Seifried argued, the federal government should consider encouraging employers to reduce their workers' hours rather than laying them off - an approach taken by several European countries to rejuvenate their economies after the collapse.

"These European nations realized that it is better to keep people working, even at reduced hours, rather than cut them loose," he said. "When you cut people loose it affects them psychologically and has the same kind of negative impact on their friends, relatives and neighbors."

Owen Boss can be a reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

John Feeney dies after career dedicated to city's schools

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Former Superintendent of Schools John J. Feeney, who devoted more than 30 years of his life to providing Northampton students with a quality education, died Wednesday at the age of 83.

Those who were fortunate enough to have learned and worked in city schools during Feeney's long tenure say they will remember him for his devotion to his students and his no-nonsense approach to management.

Donald Palmisano, of Northampton, taught at Northampton High School for 37 years and recalled the day that Feeney took a chance and hired him to begin teaching psychology in 1967.

"It wasn't until I worked for several principals after John that I realized how disciplined he was and how he really knew what it took to run a school," Palmisano said. "He was always easy to talk to and was very knowledgeable when it came to education."

"I was never a person who thought they were going to go into education. My background was in psychology, and I was substituting when I became more interested in teaching. He allowed me to draw up all the paperwork for a new course called psychology," Palmisano said, adding, "When I started working for other principals I really noticed how efficient he was and would often think, 'Where's John Feeney when you need him?"

• Related story: John Feeney, former superintendent of schools

Feeney was born in Northampton on Dec. 28, 1926, attended a local parochial school and graduated from the former St. Michael's High School. After graduating from St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vt., Feeney later earned a master's degree in education from Boston College.

From 1957 to 1964 he worked at the former Hawley Junior High School, first as an English and Latin teacher and then as principal. From 1964 to 1981, Feeney served as principal at Northampton High School. He became superintendent of schools in 1981, holding the job until he retired in 1988.

Joe Misterka, who had Feeney as a principal at both Hawley Junior and NHS, remembered the day Feeney hired him to serve as his assistant superintendent.

"He was always a great boss and certainly cared a great deal about the education we offered at Northampton's public schools," Misterka said. "He was dedicated to Northampton. He worked during an era when educators would typically stay in the same school system their entire lives. Very few people today have the kind of dedication to a system that John did."

Feeney's son, Brian Feeney, who had his father as a principal in both middle school and high school, said the combination of time spent together at school and their time at home created a special relationship between the two.

"He always knew where I was, whether it was day or night," he said. "When I moved from middle school to the high school, he moved up the same year. He was my principal during the day and my father at night."

In 1988, Feeney and his wife of 57 years, Patricia, moved to Harwich, where they spent time golfing and sailing on the "Annah Kim," according to his obituary.

Also remembering Feeney for his dedication Wednesday was longtime School Committee member and Florence resident Chuck L. Johnson, who worked with Feeney for 16 years.

"I always appreciated his attitude because he was always trying to protect the schools and the School Committee from any kind of public criticism," Johnson said. "I remember having many discussions with him about it because it was always my feeling that the School Committee should run interference for the superintendent, not the other way around."

Throughout his career, Johnson said, Feeney would often absorb public scrutiny to protect local teachers and school administrators.

"He was so dedicated to Northampton, the children and the school system, and he felt so strongly about it that he wanted to protect it from outside interference," Johnson said.

A funeral Mass for Feeney will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at the Corpus Christi Church, 324 Quaker Meetinghouse Road in Sandwich. Prior to the Mass, a Visitation will be held at 9:30 a.m. at the Morris & O'Connor & Blute Funeral Home, 58 Long Pond Drive, South Yarmouth. Burial will follow the service in the family plot at the Sandwich Town Cemetery.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

City forming school chief search panel

NORTHAMPTON - Anyone interested in joining a search committee to nominate candidates to succeed School Superintendent Isabelina Rodriguez are asked to submit letters of interest to the School Committee by Friday.

Stephanie Pick, vice chair of the school board, is encouraging all interested parents, faculty members and city residents to submit letters summarizing their background before the end of the day Friday.

Rodriguez, who has held the post since 2004, announced earlier this month that she is not interested in renewing her contract with the district because she wants to pursue other educational opportunities.

Members of the search committee will be charged with conducting the preliminary screening of candidates before nominating several semifinalists for the School Committee's consideration.

- OWEN BOSS

In new school year, educators gather to grapple with age-old problem: bullying

According to Northampton and Easthampton school policies, bullying is defined as a situation where "one or more students tease, threaten, spread rumors about, hit, shove or hurt another student over and over again." It is not bullying when two students of about the same strength or power argue or fight or tease each other in a friendly way, according to the policy.

By OWEN BOSS

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - What is the difference between hazing and teasing? What constitutes cyberbullying? And when is it plain old-fashioned conflict?

Those were just some of the questions educators grappled with Tuesday at seminars designed to prepare staff from two area school districts for the added responsibility of complying with the state's new anti-bullying law crafted in the wake of the January suicide of Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old South Hadley High School student.

In a scene played out in similar sessions around the state, faculty and staff from Easthampton and Northampton schools met separately for workshops that included frank discussions about what constitutes bullying and how to react if confronted with an incident at school.

Teachers talked about how to identify which students are likely to be targets, how best to reprimand aggressors and how best to encourage students to stand up and report incidents they witness.

Northampton's professional day, held in the auditorium at Northampton High School, included two three-hour sessions that allowed more than 400 teachers, paraprofessionals and clerical staff members to brainstorm thorny topics such as: What should a teacher do if a student tells her she saw derogatory things written about a fellow student on the social networking site Facebook? What if someone notices a racist or homophobic message scribbled on a bathroom wall? If two boys of equal size and strength are seen roughhousing at recess, is that considered bullying or is it all in good fun?

The presentation was led by Karen Jarvis-Vance, the director of health services, health education and safety for the Northampton public schools, and Randy Ross of Northampton from the New England Equity Assistance Center, an organization that assists with the professional development of teachers across the region.

Both Jarvis-Vance and Ross spent months crafting the local policy, which the School Committee approved in July.

"Today, we had all of our teachers, paraprofessionals and assorted office staff members come in for training and I will be following up within the next week or two with the rest of our clerical staff, custodians, bus drivers and food service workers," Jarvis-Vance said. "Because anyone who comes into contact with our students can report a bullying incident."

Ross said the goal of the session was to help teachers handle situations that can confound even experts in child behavior.

"In 10 years of doing this, I've come to find that teachers and administrators really care about the problem, but before now they weren't equipped with the tools and a step-by-step procedure to make sure that kids don't end up falling between the cracks," Ross said.

Meanwhile, Easthampton Superintendent Nancy Follansbee said more than 300 school employees - including bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers - attended a similar seminar at White Brook Middle School led by Meghan McCoy, program director for the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State University.

They reviewed the district's policy on bullying and discussed how to react if they witness any of the tell-tale warning signs.

"Ms. McCoy gave a very comprehensive presentation on bullying prevention," Follansbee said. "We believe it is important for everyone in the district to hear the same message about how to recognize the difference between bullying and conflict, how to intervene when bullying is suspected, and how to provide a school climate that keeps all of our students safe."

According to policies at both schools, bullying is defined as a situation where "one or more students tease, threaten, spread rumors about, hit, shove or hurt another student over and over again." It is not bullying when two students of about the same strength or power argue or fight or tease each other in a friendly way, according to the policy.

For more information about Northampton's bullying policy or to print incident complaint report forms, residents are encouraged to visit a recently created website, http://npssafeschools.northampton-k12.us.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com