Deadline extended for Quabbin Days Photo Contest
BELCHERTOWN — The deadline for the inaugural Quabbin Days Photo Contest has been extended to midnight on Nov. 30, and organizers have announced new prizes for the top entries in each of the four participating communities.
The top three entries from each community will be printed and featured in photography exhibits at their respective public libraries and at the Les and Terry Campbell Quabbin Visitor Center in Belchertown. Winners will also receive gift cards to local businesses.
The contest, organized in partnership with the Athol Public Library, Clapp Memorial Library in Belchertown, New Salem Public Library and Pelham Library, is open to residents of those four communities. Photographs must be taken during October or November 2026 and may feature subjects from any of the 12 towns that make up the Quabbin region.
The photo contest is designed to encourage residents to explore the Quabbin region and capture the landscapes, wildlife, communities, history, people and everyday details that help tell the area’s story. The contest is open to photographers of all experience levels, from those using smartphones to experienced photographers with professional equipment.
Each participating library is administering the contest for its own community, with individual rules and submission procedures. Residents interested in entering should visit the Quabbin Days Photo Contest webpage at QuabbinDays.org/photocontest for links to the Athol, Belchertown, New Salem and Pelham contests, including complete rules and submission information.
National Geographic photographer presents ‘Finding the Shot’
BELCHERTOWN — The Quabbin Photo Group will feature Massachusetts-based National Geographic photographer Russ Laman’s program “Finding the Shot: The Art and Science of Nature Photography” at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. at the Belchertown Recreation Department, 66 State St.
Laman will share some of his favorite photographic projects and take viewers inside the thinking behind each one: the research that set up the shot, the idea and passion that led him to pursue it, and the elements of the natural world he focused on to create a compelling image. Featured stories will include flying drones alongside wild orangutans in Indonesia, photographing the International Space Station over the Grand Canyon and documenting shark conservation in Indonesia.
State Police and State Fire Marshal’s Office welcome new accelerant detection K-9
STOW — At just 18 months old, the newest member of the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s Office is younger than the average trooper — but she’s already got a nose for solving crimes.
That new addition is River, a yellow labrador retriever trained as an accelerant-detection canine through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). With her handler, Trooper James Colella, she’s part of the team that works with local, state and federal partners to investigate fires when the cause is unknown or suspicious. River is one of more than a dozen dogs on the “fire side,” with an equal number working as explosive-detection K-9s with the State Police Statewide Bomb Squad.
“Fire investigation has been a core mission of the State Fire Marshal’s Office for more than 130 years,” State Fire Marshal Jon Davine said in a statement. “But for all the advances in technology we’ve seen in that time, nothing beats a dedicated trooper and a well-trained K-9.”
Following an imprinting period in which River was familiarized with gasoline, kerosene and other ignitable liquids, Colella and River trained together for 45 days at the ATF’s National Canine Training Center in Front Royal, Virginia. That training enabled River to use her nose to ignore distraction scents, focus on detecting accelerants even in trace amounts and alert Colella to what she’s found.
When their dogs alert them to the presence of ignitable liquids, Colella and other fire investigators will identify specific sections of flooring, clothing, debris and other items for documentation and collection. The troopers then carefully take samples and transport them to the State Police Crime Laboratory for testing and analysis, which can confirm or exclude the presence of accelerants or explosives for use in court.
River comes on the job as Colella’s K-9 partner, Fulton, prepares to retire. At nearly 9 years old, Fulton can look forward to a simpler life as a family pet.
Grant program delivers personal radiation detectors to Hazmat technicians
STOW — Two hundred state Hazmat technicians are being outfitted with personal radiation detectors (PRDs) through a federal grant program, providing advance warning for personnel who might be entering a hazardous environment and alerting them to radioactive threats.
“Metering for radiation is one of the first steps that our Hazmat techs take at any scene, even when radiation isn’t the primary known hazard,” State Fire Marshal Jon Davine said in a statement. “Radioactive substances may not be detected by the first responding fire personnel. They could be present in medical equipment, laboratory environments or the workshop of someone attempting to make a weapon. Knowing the nature and severity of the threat is vital to making informed decisions on personal protection and public safety.”
The delivery of 200 personal radiation detectors and 14 larger, more sensitive meters was funded through a federal Securing the Cities grant, which is issued by the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office.
The grant is administered at the state level by the Boston Police Department, which serves as the regional coordinator and fiduciary agent for the grant program. Local officials are then provided with the tools and training to detect nuclear or radiological materials to prevent terrorist attacks and related incidents. Deploying personal radiation detectors to 200 Massachusetts Hazmat techs will help to identify unregulated radiological materials, including those intended for use in a weapon or “orphan source” radioactive materials that had been lost, stolen, abandoned or misplaced.
“Our Hazmat techs train regularly on PRDs and they’re already familiar with the devices’ operation,” Davine said. “Because these personnel are drawn from local fire departments across Massachusetts, this deployment will ensure that radiation detection capabilities are available anywhere in the state, any time of the day or night. This is a massive upgrade for the commonwealth’s threat detection infrastructure.”
Applications open for MDAR grants
CSAP Round II Environmental Resiliency Grants of up to $50,000 are available through the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to help farmers purchase equipment and make capital improvements that protect natural resources, improve farm efficiency and strengthen resilience to changing weather conditions.
Eligible projects include improvements related to:
- Water management and irrigation efficiency.
- Soil health and erosion control.
- Manure and nutrient management.
- Grazing management.
- Agricultural energy efficiency.
- Other targeted environmental and climate-resilience improvements.
The deadline to apply is Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 4 p.m. A 20% cash match is required and funded projects must be completed by June 30, 2027. Farms that received a fiscal year 2027 CSAP Round I award are not eligible for this funding opportunity.
Review the eligible project list, program guidelines and application instructions at mass.gov/how-to/climate-smart-agriculture-grant-programs-csap. With questions, contact Laura.Maul@mass.gov or 857-507-5972.