Volume 2 3 7, Number 209 Tue sday, ay 7, 2024 CITIES TOWNS, A3 Funding severely limits scope of ARHS makeover OPINION, A6 OP-ED: School Committee standing up for children NHS girls, Amherst boys prevail in track of the B1 WEATHER TODAY Mostly sunny and very warm, high 79. Page A2 INDE Puzzles B4 B7 Classified B6 Opinion A6 A5, A7, B6 Obituaries A4 Public Notices B5 Sports B1-B4 $1. 25 South Hadley man killed in Interstate 91 crash ATFIELD Staff report HATFIELD A South Hadley man was killed in a crash on I-91 Sunday, state police re- ported. Daniel Ducharme, 31, was southbound on the interstate in Hatfield and lost control of his 2016 Honda Civic, for reasons that are still under investigation, police said. The car struck the guardrail multiple times and went off the roadway to the right, traveling down an embankment and striking several trees.
Police were still trying to determine the time of the crash. A passing motorist spotted the partially obscured vehicle in the woods just after 11 Sunday morning and called police. State Police Northampton, State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, the State Police Crime Scene Ser- vices Section, and the State Po- lice Detective Unit for Hamp- counties are con- tinuing the investigation. Daniel Ducharme, 31, appeared to lose control of car for unknown reason Council: No auto dealerships near downtown NORTHAMP TON By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL Staff Writer NORTHAMPTON Auto dealer- ships close to downtown are now banned after the City re- cent decision to adopt new zoning that say better aligns with the ideals of sustainabil- i y. Though the zone change ap- proved at the May 2 meet- ing would not prevent the creation of a proposed Volvo dealership to be built on an expansive, long-vacant lot on King Street near its intersection with Finn Street, councilors agreed that passing the change was in the best interest in committing to the city values of sustainability and re- generating its downtown.
think our job on council to codify our stated Ward 7 Councilor Rachel Maiore said. auto dealerships in any part of the Gateway district really in keeping with our regeneration The change comes on the recom- mendation of a resident petition in response to the proposed creation of the Volvo dealership by TommyCar Auto Group, which bought the 5.35- acre site at 171-187 King St. next to the Foster Farrar hardware store. The site was last home to Don Honda dealership. Contaminated soil at the lot hindered its reuse for many years after it was vacated by the dealership in 2005, until a cleanup was performed on the site in 2015.
Despite a neutral recommenda- tion from the Committee on Legislative Matters and a negative recommendation from the Planning Board, the council unanimously voted to approve the zoning change. my understanding that the owner of that property has filed a plan that will freeze the current zon- ing in place for their property for three years and has the option to file Proposed Volvo operation at long-vacant King Street lot would not be affected by zone change By SCOTT MERZBACH Staff Writer HATFIELD A large indoor tennis and pickle- ball building, proposed to take up a portion of a nearly nine-acre business-zoned site just north of 253 West is raising concerns for neighbors about the potential neighborhood impacts. But the Planning Board on Thursday take any action on the building pro- posal because it yet notified abutters within 65 days of the filing, a requirement of town zoning due to the lo- cation in a historic district. The building, which will in- clude locker rooms, a pro shop and a snack bar, is being pro- against posed by Ashley Schaffer and Patrick Roche of Northampton, this project, who first floated the idea to the Select Board in early 2023. Their submission, from Jeff Squire, a principal at Berkshire Design Group in Northampton, asks for site plan approval from the Plan- ning Board under the recreation and amusem*nt ser- vice.
The proposal includes a parking lot for 65 vehicles, and a second phase might include out- door courts. The site on Routes 5 and 10 is between Interstate 91 to the west and the state high- way to the east and is just north of the Prospect Meadow Farm store and a closed service station at 253 West on land that has mostly been used for agricultural purposes. the project will develop an underutilized commercial parcel along West Street and provide a valuable asset to the Hatfield Squire wrote in the application on behalf of AD Carroll LLC. would provide a place for people to come together building for racket sports on Routes 5, 10 alarms neighbors ickleball ro sa raises some eyeb rows ATFIELD By EMILEE KLEIN Staff Writer BELCHERTOWN Among UMass Cold Springs 35 acres of apple trees eral pest monitoring and identification hang little orange tents at the top of the methods developed at the orchard in trees that, despite the blazing color, are dis- Belchertown as part of research on cretely managing pesky moths. These prism-shaped moth traps release mentally conscious way of controlling pests.
pheromones to attract male moths inside, By understanding the pests attracted to where they are trapped in a very sticky coat- crops during each development stage and ing. Farmers then take note of the species the point at which pests impact economic vi- and number of moths in the trap and decide ability of crops, farmers can take measured whether the species pose a threat to their crops, and whether the number of moths is large enough to warrant pest-removal. The bright orange tents are one of sev- integrated pest management, an environ- steps to deter insects from ruining crops without hurting pollinators or using environ- mentally-toxic chemicals. growers face 100 battles every day to bring us the food that we rely on to strengthen our said Liz Garofalo, an educator with UMass Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFE). pest management is the tool- box that our growers have to wage those bat- During tour with Senate leaders, Oliveira shows research at UMass Cold Springs Orchard for farmers statewide Building ag ricultural re i i ce aw McIntire, farm manager at the UMass Cold Spring Orc hard Research and Educ ation enter, i ays ro traps that help set the need to spray.
STAFF LOLLIS Shawn McIntire, the farm manager at University of Massachusetts Cold Spring Orchard Research and Education Center, sprays a row of apple trees to prevent fire blight and apple scab. SEE RE SILIENCE A5 an a tte eca I know it will i re a ra i HALINA WILKES West Street resident SEE DE ALERSHIPS A7 SEE ATFIELD A7.
