• 300 girls gather for sports day
SPRINGFIELD - Some 300 girls between the ages of 7 and 12 participated in Girls and Women in Sports Day, held yesterday at the Alumni Healthful Living Center of Western New England College.

• Board targets urban renewal
HOLYOKE - Demolishing abandoned buildings and creating plans for urban renewal are some of the tasks that Mayor Michael J. Sullivan hopes the city's newly created Redevelopment Authority will tackle.

• Casino benefits facing scrutiny
BOSTON - When Gov. Deval L. Patrick was studying casinos, top aides warned him against depending on the disputed findings of University of Massachusetts researcher Clyde W. Barrow.

• Choice students set at 107
LUDLOW - The School Committee will maintain the number of School Choice students for next year at 107.

• Court Square plans abound
SPRINGFIELD - A partner in the $14 million Rivers Landing project on West Columbus Avenue and the president of Peter Pan Bus Lines are among groups vying for a major Court Square redevelopment project.

• Funds backed for river project
HOLYOKE - A proposal to spend $1.3 million to renovate and expand the Jones Ferry River Access Center is being backed by the City Council Finance Subcommittee.

• Golf clubhouse 'coming along'
SOUTH HADLEY - Work on the clubhouse at the Ledges Municipal Golf Club is progressing in a timely enough manner for a spring opening, as planned.

• Newspaper names general manager
In addition to his new duties, Frederick F. Fedesco will continue to oversee the circulation department and MassPublishing. Frederick F. Fedesco has been named vice president and general manager at The Republican.

• Police mentors to aid students
SPRINGFIELD - Ten Springfield police officers have agreed to mentor students at the High School of Commerce this winter, the biggest group of city police ever to make such a commitment at one time, a School Department official said.

• Private wells contaminated by road salt
SOUTHAMPTON - Tests of private home wells along Route 10 have shown that three in Westfield and six in Southampton are contaminated by road salt, officials said yesterday.

• Pupils'cookies aid world poor
NORTHAMPTON - Mary Cowhey's second-grade class at the Jackson Street Elementary School was selling chocolate chip cookies for only 25 cents recently.

• Schools pushing civil behavior
WEST SPRINGFIELD - Student behavior is improving in the West Side schools.

• State ice rink hours
The state Department of Conservation and Recreation will extend the hours at its ice rinks during public school vacation this week.

• Student orator did homework
PALMER - For Kevin W. Fogarty, memorizing his speech was the most difficult thing in participating in the American Legion's 71st Annual High School Oratorical Contest.

• Teens, tots teach each other
WESTFIELD - The Children's Corner Laboratory Preschool at Westfield High School may introduce young children to academics, but it also provides a valuable learning experience for high school students who participate in the program.

• Thieves turning copper into cash
Geologists will argue that copper is not a precious metal, but they will never convince the copper thieves.

• Vote set on waste request
WARE - Truck traffic and a landmark park will be at the core of a Board of Health vote this week on an application by an East Street recycling facility to process municipal solid waste.