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By ANTHONY FYDEN

What will Hadley look like in five years, or 10? What kind of town will we leave our families and the next generation? I believe that Hadley is at a crossroads, and I’m running for Planning Board to help chart a path forward. Like other western Massachusetts towns, Hadley is facing immense pressure — much of it generated from Boston — to reshape our communities, to conform to a vision driven largely by state politicians. We’re being forced to bear the brunt of economic, housing, and energy crises that we did not create and that we’re not in a position to fix. I believe that the residents of Hadley should drive decisions about our future, not state politicians who rarely, if ever, set foot in town. 

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Banners recognizing the town’s past and present military veterans, as well as those continuing to actively serve in the armed forces, lined Hadley streets for the first time in 2024.

HADLEY — J.A. Skinner State Park’s upper parking lot and the Summit House wraparound porch are being closed to accommodate deck repair work that was scheduled to start on Monday.

One thing I enjoy most about being an estate planning attorney at Old Colony Law is that feeling in the room when our work with a client is complete. Clients have the confidence that their loved ones are protected and that their estate plan now gives the full force of law behind their personal wishes. If you do not have an estate plan, however, then you leave it to the commonwealth to decide how your assets are distributed upon your death; your family could have to pay more taxes; and a court could appoint someone to manage your finances and health care.

Phone call from my frothingly irate, 84-year-old brother. “Trump is cutting off funding to Harvard. You can’t do that to one of the best universities in the world!” says this graduate of Stanford. “I’m sending a donation. What address shall I use?”

By JACK CZAJKOWSKI

Five years ago, then Hadley Selectboard member Christian Stanley got approval for and began the Hadley Climate Change Committee (HCCC) in our town. The first few meetings took place just as the COVID pandemic began and with a handful of fellow citizens we joined together and began brainstorming what we could do to make our town buildings be more energy efficient.

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 SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Revising the senior overlay district to encourage more 55-and-over housing developments on Route 9, protecting in perpetuity almost 43 acres of farmland and increasing the local-option meals and hotel taxes, pending legislative approval, will be items considered by voters at annual Town Meeting on Thursday.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Residents will not be asked to consider a new Department of Public Works headquarters at annual Town Meeting Thursday, with the warrant article associated with the $18.7 million project to be delayed.

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.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Recent demolition of a former bank at 5 South Maple St. will make way for a new building housing a fast-food restaurant specializing in Nashville hot chicken.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Opioid harm reduction services aimed at stopping fatal overdoses and getting individuals the care they need, already offered across the region by Tapestry Health Systems, will soon be provided in Hadley.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Before 2,000 cases of V-One Vodka produced in a Kamień, Poland, factory can be unloaded from a cargo ship, set to arrive in Port Elizabeth, N.J., next week, company founder Paul Kozub will have to pay the U.S. government an $8,000 fee.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A $23.07 million budget for fiscal year 2026 that uses more than $300,000 from the town’s stabilization account, but will likely result in the loss of several municipal positions unless voters approve a Proposition 2½ override, will be brought to annual Town Meeting on May 1.

If I had one wish for government officials (not that I have only one), it would be that they understand exponential equations.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Potentially hazardous chemicals missing or moved from a 108 Hockanum Road home, following a raid at the residence by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on April 8, has prompted the temporary detention of resident Jacob D. Miller.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Concerns about the possible impact to property taxes for homeowners of even a smaller Department of Public Works headquarters is giving town officials pause about bringing the full project to voters at annual Town Meeting on May 1.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — Even as some members of the Hadley Fire Department are training to become paramedics and others are preparing for a transition to a fully town-run Advanced Life Support ambulance service, those serving on the Select Board and Finance Committee are cautioning that this effort may not be realistic.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Visitors from Lexington and Marblehead were among those who came to see “Generic Male,” the off-Broadway physical theater performed at Northampton’s Academy of Music in early March.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A $2.5 million loan being sought by the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School should provide the funding to create 14 classrooms inside a second campus building at 300 Venture Way, allowing an expansion of enrollment and possibly new initiatives as student applications to the school surge.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

HADLEY — A proposed $23.31 million fiscal year 2026 operating budget will maintain existing staffing and services at the public schools and in municipal departments, while supporting the continued transition to a town-operated Advanced Life Support ambulance.