Editor’s note: Many media outlets write about the year’s top national and international news stories and newsmakers. As a community newspaper, the Greenfield Recorder chose to focus on local news. The editorial team started with 10 stories but that number grew to 13 — a baker’s dozen. This is the first installment of the Top News Stories of 2020, which are presented in no particular order.
In June, upwards of 2,000 people from Greenfield and beyond took to the streets chanting “Black Lives Matter,” “no racist police” and “no justice, no peace.”
The demonstration was one of the thousands to take place across the country this summer following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man killed at the hands of police on May 25.
Though the demonstration was one of the largest to take place in Franklin County, it was certainly not the last. Across the county, residents held demonstrations in Shelburne Falls, Deerfield, Orange and Ashfield, standing in solidarity with victims of police violence.
In Greenfield, weekly vigils took place on the common; in Shelburne Falls, nightly vigils took place on the Buckland side of the Iron Bridge.
“We are not immune to (racism) here … just because we’re in the Northeast,” Marie Gauthier said at one of the weekly vigils in Shelburne Falls. “Our lack of diversity, especially in the smaller hilltowns, can make us unaware.”
The impact of Floyd’s death extended beyond the streets — it was also felt in schools.
In particular, the Frontier and Union 38 regional school districts organized an Anti-Racism and Equity Committee. Since its first meeting in July, the committee has organized film screenings and held a variety of anti-racism workshops for teachers.
The Academy at Charlemont is also actively pursuing a virtual, anti-racism training day in January. Academy students are holding a coffee fundraiser to offset the cost of bringing educators in from around the region.
“Like so many things, this is definitely an issue our students care very deeply about,” said Nora Bates Zale, associate head of school.
— Mary Byrne
SOUTH DEERFIELD — The ongoing debate over the proposed development of a Dollar General store on Routes 5 and 10 waged on yet another year, with plans to continue into the new one.
After several long meetings allowing public comment, the hearing portion of the Zoning Board of Appeals’ meetings came to a close in November. Board members are expected to continue with their deliberations on Jan. 14, at 6 p.m. to decide whether to grant the applicant a special permit.
Residents, however, have continued to raise concerns about the proposed development of a 9,319-square-foot building — concerns related to traffic safety, and the potential of the development to “worsen flooding problems” in the nearby neighborhood.
Earlier this month, a handful of residents opposed to the size of the project stood on North Main Street with signs, drawing attention to their concern for possible flooding.
“If a 9,000-square-foot building is placed on a wetland up there, where is the water going to go?” asked Julie Cavacco, a librarian at Tilton Library who attended the stand-out. “It’s going to run off and come down into this part of the town. It’s just going to cross the street.”
While some members of the board appear ready to vote, arguing the applicants have met the necessary criteria for a special permit, others say there is still more information to be considered.
During a December meeting, ZBA member John Stobierski motioned to reopen the public hearing to bring forward new information — particularly that the state Department of Environmental Protection determined the site slated for the project and the land next to it contain bordering vegetated wetlands — but the motion was not seconded.
— Mary Byrne
The pandemic hit the county hard in mid-March and saw a resurgence this fall. It has impacted residents, businesses, nonprofits and more, but it hit Franklin County and North Quabbin nursing homes and their residents and staff particularly hard both times.
Additionally, some Franklin County families were impacted by an outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, which led to the deaths of at least 76 veterans.
From mid-March into the spring, Poet’s Seat Health Care Center and Buckley HealthCare Center, both in Greenfield, reported more than 30 COVID-19 cases, with Poet’s Seat reporting 19 deaths and Buckley reporting 26 deaths during that time. But the summer and fall were quiet, and since then, both nursing homes have reported no positive cases or deaths.
Charlene Manor Extended Care, also in Greenfield, reported 13 deaths in the spring with more than 30 positives cases at that time, but most recently the nursing home reported that 43 residents and 13 staff members have tested positive for the virus, though it has not reported any deaths so far this fall.
In Athol, Quabbin Valley Healthcare, which had no cases or deaths in the spring and throughout the summer and early fall, reported that it has had eight deaths in the past few weeks, with 23 residents and 19 staff members testing positive.
— Anita Fritz
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of schools across Massachusetts in the spring, students and teachers pivoted to remote learning.
With summer came an intensive period of planning for the foreseeable future of teaching amidst a pandemic. School committee members spent long hours reviewing plans from administrators, debating whether their districts should continue with a remote learning program or transition into a hybrid model, allowing students to return into the buildings with certain safety precautions in place.
Ultimately, several districts opted for a hybrid model of learning, and that included Frontier, Pioneer Valley and Ralph C. Mahar regional schools. Gill-Montague started the school year remotely before transitioning in November to a hybrid model.
The Greenfield School Department is remote, although the students who are designated as high-risk learners were brought back briefly before the School Committee voted on Dec. 17 to have all students start fully remote learning until at least Jan. 11. At that point the committee will assess COVID-19 metrics to decide whether to bring high-risk students back to in-person learning.
The Mohawk Trail Regional School District also started the year remotely, with the intention of reassessing the situation and progressing toward a hybrid model.
“For me, as superintendent, (the decision was based on) a lot of listening to the concerns of the community, the concerns of the staff, regarding the uncertainty of the time — and the (unknown) of what COVID was doing in the area and how to respond to it,” said Mohawk Trail Regional School District Superintendent Sheryl Stanton. “The decision to go remote was based on listening to those concerns.”
Stanton believes students have demonstrated resiliency as they navigate school in the midst of a pandemic.
“I think they are gaining a sense of independence and how to learn independently, which can be difficult when you’re in a classroom and someone’s always there to answer your question,” she said.
Still, she also recognizes the isolation felt by students.
“We know some of our students do feel the isolation of being home and not engaging with their peers and their teacher, but I also think that our students now have learned how to leverage remote learning to build those relationships,” Stanton said.
Earlier this month, the Mohawk Trail School Committee approved a hybrid education model, with plans for a phased approach starting Jan. 11.
— Mary Byrne
There’s no getting away from it: the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on local events and fundraising has been significant. Organizers were faced with canceling events altogether or tackling the brave new world of virtual events. The reduced income means reduced wherewithal to carry out missions and services that will be felt in 2021.
Northfield Kiwanis Club member Joan Stoia recounted how the club pondered whether it was possible to hold its annual holiday fair.
“We finally said, ‘You know what? We’ve got to bite the bullet and do this. We have to do something,’” she said. The club ultimately organized an online auction.
People with tech skills are the latest angels of nonprofits, community groups and churches. For the Northfield Kiwanis Club, that “tech angel” was Lisa McLoughlin.
“She came to us and said, ‘Listen, I can help you put on the Kiwanis auction,’” Stoia said. “Just a simple Zoom meeting for two hours gave us what we were looking for — that personal touch.
“At any given time, there were about 26 or 27 people,” Stoia said of participation. “Someone told us she was doing it and having fun, and then called her sister in Virginia and said, ‘You should get on this!’ It was kind of zany, but we had a great time.”
In the North Quabbin area, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Melissa Eaton has a bird’s eye view of the impact the pandemic has had on the regional economy. In particular, she cited various River Rat Race events that couldn’t happen, resulting in thousands of dollars lost from the local economy.
“Long-term, this is going to impact a lot of our nonprofits because 2020 is basically a year they were unable to fundraise at all, unless it was virtually or on social media, and that just doesn’t bring in the amount of attention that being out in the public and having events would,” Eaton said. “I can only speak for ourselves, because I know how much we raised virtually for our dinner, and it’s less than 20 percent of what we would have made at our annual dinner.”
Eaton’s message to readers: “Shop local. Support the local businesses. We need them to be here when this is over.”
— Chris Harris