Latest News




‘A real joy to work with’: Orange letter carrier retires after 31 years
ORANGE — Neither snow nor rain nor heat kept letter carrier David L’Heureux from the swift completion of his appointed rounds. Only retirement could do that.

Athol board approves agreements with cannabis companies
ATHOL – Host community agreements (HCA) for three cannabis businesses in Athol were renewed by the Selectboard at its meeting on May 6.
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Sports

Greenfield’s MacKenzie Paulin records 1,000th career strikeout in win over Mount Greylock
Greenfield’s MacKenzie Paulin joined an exclusive list on Tuesday.


Opinion

My Turn: Good self-care a strong antidote to forces of injustice
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.)





Your Daily Puzzles

An approachable redesign to a classic. Explore our "hints."

A quick daily flip. Finally, someone cracked the code on digital jigsaw puzzles.

Chess but with chaos: Every day is a unique, wacky board.

Word search but as a strategy game. Clearing the board feels really good.

Align the letters in just the right way to spell a word. And then more words.
Police Logs

Athol Police Logs, April 16 – April 26, 2025
10:45 a.m. - Report of a party going through a company’s mail. Made contact with the male party who stated he was checking for his own mail. Male party was located in his Mercedes in the back of the building. Party left the property shortly after.




Arts & Life

Speaking of Nature: Learning bird songs: Ninety percent of bird-finding is done with one’s ears
The great spring migration is in full swing and millions upon millions of birds are flying northward across our entire continent every night. The weather will always play a big role in the exact timing of the movements of the birds, but every morning offers up the opportunity to detect the presence of yet another new arrival. Birds often “surf” on waves of air associated with storms, so the first clear morning after a couple days of rain can be particularly exciting.

Obituaries

Janet R. (Day) Bartlett ORANGE, MA - Janet R. (Day) Bartlett, 92, died Monday evening, May 5, 2025, at Athol Hospital, just three days before her 93rd birthday. Born in Athol on May 8, 1932, she was the daughter of Herbert W. and Eva M.... remainder of obit for Janet R. Bartlett

ORANGE, MA - Kenton Franklin Tharp, age 76, died May 6 at his home in Orange, MA. He was born in Grant, Nebraska to Charles and Gladys (Kent) Tharp. He worked with his father to custom bale hay and with his mother and sisters in the fam... remainder of obit for Kenton F. Tharp

West Springfield, MA - Leslie J. Osborne, fondly known as "Lee" to her friends and family, passed away on April 27, 2025. Born in Gardner, MA, USA on July 14, 1942 She was a woman of faith, belonging to St. Johns Church in Athol. Le... remainder of obit for Leslie J. Osborne

Richard D. Ray, Jr. New Salem, MA - Richard Daniel Ray, Jr., 61 of New Salem passed away on May 2nd, 2025 at U Mass following a massive stroke after years of declining health and most recently lung cancer, with his daughter spending his ... remainder of obit for Richard D. Ray Jr.