Village Ultra back in New Salem
NEW SALEM — The Village Ultra, a noncompetitive 12-hour and 24-hour run and walk, is returning for its 10th year on Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11.
Proceeds go toward the 1794 Meetinghouse, a historical landmark on the town common that houses musicians and choir groups. The venue receives no direct federal or state appropriations for the building’s operation or maintenance.
Registration, which closes at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9, is available at tinyurl.com/VillageUltra. The sign-up cost is $50 to participate for 12 hours and $90 to join in the 24-hour version.
Quabbin Days photo contest submissions due Oct. 31
NEW SALEM — Entries to the Quabbin Days photo contest must be submitted by Oct. 31.
The contest is being conducted through a partnership between the New Salem Public, Athol Public, Woods Memorial and Clapp Memorial libraries, and is open to residents of those communities. Photographs entered in the contest can be taken in any of the 12 towns that make up the Quabbin region.
Contest rules and submission information vary by participating library. Additional information about the photo contest is available at quabbindays.org/events-and-activities/quabbin-days-photo-contest-2.
New Salem Public Library program postponed
NEW SALEM — “A Funny Program About Funny Programs: The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time,” which was originally slated for Sept. 24, has been rescheduled to 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, due to an unforeseen emergency for the presenter.
Award-winning author and pop culture historian Marty Gitlin will host a presentation based on his book, “The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time.” Gitlin will show snippets from the funniest shows in sitcom history, challenge participants with sitcom trivia (including theme songs), discuss his ranking criteria for 70 years of sitcoms, and talk about how they have evolved over the decades in humor, presentation and content.
St. Mary’s Women’s Club starts season with mystery ride dinner, preps for Oct. 10 fair
ORANGE — The St. Mary’s Women’s Club started the 2026-2027 club season with a mystery ride and dinner, followed by a slideshow presentation by Maureen O’Brien and Fay O’Brien Ott about their trip to Jamaica with the Missionaries to the Poor. They followed in the footsteps of their parents and the late Rev. John Roach in volunteering their time.
Twenty-four members and spiritual advisor Rev. Mark Glover met at the Parish Center, split into two groups and traveled by separate routes to the South Athol United Methodist Church, where the women’s group served them a pork dinner with roasted vegetables and brownie sundaes for dessert.
Women’s Club members were also reminded of things that were still needed for the Oct. 10 fair, slated for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Mary’s Parish Hall on West Myrtle Street. A highlight will be the tin can raffle center table, with at least 50 prizes available. The lottery ticket and cash raffle tickets were passed out to members. Baked goods, including whole pies, peanut brittle, cookies, cupcakes and breads, will be offered, along with a table of jellies, pickles and other garden preserves. Frozen apple pies can be ordered ahead of time by contacting Maureen Riendeau at riendeaumaureen@gmail.com.
Hundreds of puzzles and books will be available. Cemetery and holiday boxes will be offered at the plant table, and popcorn will be sold at the door. There will also be a truck filled with apples if the crop is good.
There will be a small outdoor tag sale, weather permitting, and a children’s area will have activities for kids. Proceeds from the fair will be used to fund Women’s Club activities for the coming year, including scholarships, community activities like Starry Starry Night and holiday lighting, and projects for the church and Parish Center.
Orange Bylaw Review Committee meets with stakeholders
ORANGE — The Bylaw Review Committee held a meeting last week to review steps to implement the new town charter with all stakeholders, including the town manager, Selectboard, moderator, town clerk and Finance Committee.
Under the town charter, the town manager’s responsibilities will include appointing the fire chief and appointing three members of the Capital Improvement Planning Committee to three-year terms.
The town clerk’s duties will include establishing procedures requiring every appointing authority to file notices of appointments and appointment rescissions to the town clerk; updating candidate, nomination and office-taking procedures as needed to reflect charter requirements; and establishing administrative procedures for recall provisions.