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Reminder Monday, May 26 is Memorial Day. Town offices, libraries, schools and banks will be closed. We remember those who sacrificed for us.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A $1 million National Endowment for the Humanities grant awarded to the Jones Library two years ago is being canceled by the Trump administration.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Falling ceiling tiles, locked bathrooms with broken stalls and a class schedule that regularly drops a guided academic study and advisory period are among concerns Amherst Regional Middle School student leaders are bringing to the Regional School Committee.

By EMILEE KLEIN

“Reset!”

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — In separate trips to the plaza outside Hampden Commons on the University of Massachusetts campus last Wednesday morning, sophomore Grace Altman hand-delivered an upholstered headboard with outlets, and a rug and ottoman, furnishings she had in her Southwest Residential Area dorm room.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

AMHERST — Change is a theme common enough at college commencements — a beginning and an end. But for the UMass Amherst class of 2025, change seemed more pressing and obvious when they received their diplomas Friday night.

By DOMENIC POLI

It’s long been said that to sing is to pray twice. And a group of Catholic clergymen in western Massachusetts that truly takes that sentiment to heart is slated to spread some cheer in Franklin County later this month.

By BILL DANIELSON

Last Saturday was a bit of a milestone for me. It might easily have come and gone without me realizing it, but thanks to my obsessive record keeping I happened to see a notation in the pages of my 2025 field diary and avoided an embarrassing oversight. Last Saturday marked the 28th anniversary of Speaking of Nature, an event that I don’t think I could have ever imagined back in 1997 when I sent in my first column.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — CRESS Connections, a new program of the Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service, is bringing together the unarmed public safety professionals with local youths to build more meaningful relationships.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

Mariel Hohmann spent a day late last month welcoming a group of 40 people to a new hiking trail in Goshen where she had spent thousands of hours coordinating volunteer trail construction over the last year and a half.

By DONALD JORALEMON

Among the most unscrupulous lies repeated by the right wing is that universities and colleges are “factories of leftist ideology.” The distortions began decades ago and gained force during the 1960s as American students joined in protests against the Vietnam War and participated in the civil rights movements. In recent years conservatives have focused their attacks on diversity programs, affirmative action and “WOKE” culture to support their assault on institutions of higher education. They have pretended to be outraged by protests against the war in Gaza, claiming that universities have allowed antisemitism to run rampant. The Trump administration’s threats to cut federal research funding in an attempt to extort compliance to its demands for a governmental takeover of universities’ curricula, hiring and admissions policies is the most egregious assault on the independence of universities.

By DR. DAVID GOTTSEGEN

I was awakened this morning at 5:30 by thoughts of this administration’s destruction of our health care system, our economy, our democracy, our environment, and our friendships with allies around the world. (Many of those whom I know share these night time/early morning preoccupations.)

The UMass Baseball Minutemen continue to up their game when it comes to community outreach. Not only did they send George Washington to the bus with a 16-3 demolition, they again welcomed Amherst Youth Baseball and Hadley-Amherst Youth Softball to their game at Lorden Field on Sunday, giving more than 60 youngsters the opportunity to join the pregame huddle and be on the field for the national anthem as well as allowing young Edward Robinson to man the PA mic for the 4th inning.

We are writing to celebrate and express our heartfelt gratitude for our incredible Amherst community! On a drizzly Sunday, April 6, nearly 200 residents joined forces all over town for the annual Amherst Rubbish Roundup! Volunteers from all Amherst districts came in support of this community cleanup to beautify our beloved town. These amazing volunteers braved busy roadsides, bustling sidewalks, downtown parking areas, quiet conservation trails, and public school lands to collect an impressive 184 bags of garbage and recycling.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — It wouldn’t be unreasonable to believe that some coaches in the midst of a difficult losing season begin counting the days until it’s over around this time of year. And players on that team may feel the exact same way.

By RYAN AMES

The Belchertown girls tennis team has been a model of consistency since Alanna Grady assumed the head coaching position in 2021. Grady has guided the Orioles to winning records in each of the previous five seasons and this spring’s squad is arguably the best of the bunch.

By RYAN AMES

The UMass hockey team unveiled its 2025-26 schedule on Wednesday and a unique slate awaits the Minutemen next season.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Bradley James Driscoll, 26, of Amherst, will spend the next five years in prison for distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — Police Chief Kristin Burgess is taking a leave of absence from her position overseeing the department, according to an email sent by the Select Board to residents last Thursday night.

AMHERST — A smoke detector covered in plastic in a University of Massachusetts dormitory room, delaying firefighter response and evacuation of the building during a fire that started in a trash can and spread to a bed on May 14, is prompting a criminal complaint for tampering with a fire alarm against the student tenant, according to the Amherst Fire Department.

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — Following months of hearings, the Planning Board has approved the site plan for the proposed new location of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Dog Shelter.