Come Play Mini-Golf on May 16!

Community and area residents are invited to attend a mini-golf fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at Stony Falls Miniature Golf and Country Creamery at McCray’s Farm (55 Alvord St., South Hadley; www.facebook.com/McCraysFarm).

Tickets are available at the door for $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under, and include unlimited play during the event and a one-scoop cone or cup of McCray’s homemade ice cream (or $3.25 toward another food purchase). In case of a rainout, tickets may be redeemed for one round of mini-golf and a 1-scoop cone or dish of ice cream (or $3.25 toward other food purchase) through June 30, 2026.

Proceeds will help fund various events and causes sponsored by the South Hadley Democratic Town Committee, including a twice-annual food drive and support for Democratic candidates for state and national political office.

Support from hole sponsors also helps to fund free tickets for deserving families from the greater South Hadley area to enjoy a fun day of mini-golf and some of McCray’s famous home-made ice cream. 

For more information or to order tickets in advance, email us at southhadleydemocrats@gmail.org, or follow us on Facebook (facebook/SouthHadleyDTC) or Instagram (instagram.com/southhadleydems).

Save Mass Save

Our latest Updates newsletter contributed by SHDTC member Mary Jane Else, draws on information supplied by the Massachusetts Climate Action Network. The newsletter notes that the energy affordability recently passed by the MA House (H.5175) reduces funding for the Mass Save program, an energy efficiency program that provides millions of dollars in gas and electric incentives annually to our Senate district. 

Now that the legislation has moved on the the MA Senate, Mary Jane asks residents to contact Sen. Jake Oliveira's office in support of restoring the funding and addressing the issue of unneeded gas infrastructure. Contact information for the senator's office can be found in the newsletter. 

• SHDTC Updates Newsletter: Issue 87-Save Mass Save

Upcoming Events

Our next business meeting is Thursday, April 16, 2026 at 6:30pm in the South Hadley Library Trustee's Conference Room. SHDTC meetings are normally held on third Thursdays and are hybrid-online; participants may attend in-person in the Trustees Room at the Library or online via Zoom. To obtain a Zoom meeting link, to join our mailing list, or for other information about SHDTC, please email: southhadleydemocrats@gmail.com.

First Friday Breakfast Gatherings
The next two Friday morning get-togethers will be held at 8:30am on Friday, May 1 and Friday, June 5, 2026 at the Gaylord Library, 47 Newton Street, South Hadley. Conversation is casual, there is no set agenda, just a chance to talk about local, national, and international affairs and join in community with others, Democrat or not. Coffee and light snacks will be available, and all are welcome. Plan to join us at at the Gaylord!

SHDTC Mini-Golf Classic
Plan to join us on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at McCray's Farm from 10am-2pm for our biennial mini-golf fundraiser. Anyone can sponsor a hole sign, and it's a great way for candidates to show support. Individual sponsors can choose signs in support of a candidate or create their own meaningful messages for colorful, 2-sided 18x24 signs with stands that are designed to be used and displayed right through election day and beyond. Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy play with family and friends during tournament hours, and each ticket includes a dish or cone of McCray's homemade ice cream. Sponsors have the option of donating their tickets to provide a fund outing for deserving families in the South Hadley area. For details, see: secure/actblue.com/donate/minigolfclassic, or email us at: southhadleydemocrats@gmail.com.

Override: Effect on Libraries

South Hadley values its libraries, as evidenced by our investment in a beautiful new facility just over a decade ago. This newsletter authored by SHDTC friend and South Hadley Public Library Trustee Lanette Sweeney, outlines the potential impacts on our libraries without additional revenue from an override. 

As the Town budget for the coming year doesn't fund our libraries at the level required by the state, library decertification could impact residents' access to the resources of other libraries, either through direct borrowing or interlibrary loans. Last year, our patrons borrowed over 23,000 items, which would have cost over $345,000 to purchase. We also would lose access to state funding through library grants, which over the past decade has provided almost $250,000 to our libraries. The Minimum Required Appropriation from the Town's budget for our libraries to remain certified this coming year is $856,802, but the most our current proposed budget can provide is $773,154.

Based on the experiences of other decertified libraries, the climb back to state certification, and to "catching up" with new systems and technologies in the interim, can take years.

• SHDTC Updates Newsletter: Issue 86-Override-Libraries 
  

No Kings South Hadley on March 28

Be a part of history on March 28 and join your fellow citizens to say, “In America, we don’t have kings, but we do have the power of the people." This is expected to be one of the largest single-day demonstrations in our country. The South Hadley No Kings Day mobilization is 2:30-4:00pm on the Town Commons (and up and down Rt. 116). Event details and Registration.

Need a different time? Our friends in Belchertown will gather from 10am-12pm and the Granby No Kings Day event is 12-2pm.

Override: Senior Center and Older Adults

In our latest newsletter in the override series, SHDTC member Jim Bosman discusses the current fiscal crisis in South Hadley and its potential impacts on the Senior Center and older adults in our community. He advocates for an override vote in the April 14th town election. Information about the Prop 2.5 override is available on the Town website at southhadley.org/1533/Proposition-25-Override-Information, with details about the financial concerns at www.southhadley.org/1504/Budget-Task-Force, where the citizen group's report can be found. You can also go to SaveSouthHadley.org for additional useful information.

• SHDTC Updates Newsletter: Issue 84-Override-Senior Center
  

Facing the Override Choice

Our latest newsletter by SHDTC member Susan Newton is about her reasons for supporting a Prop 2 1/2 override vote in South Hadley's Town Election on April 14th. It's the first in what we hope will be a series of newsletters on the override by different authors. We note that this opinion piece represents the views of the author, not those of all members of the South Hadley Democratic Town Committee.

If you haven't been following the fiscal crisis facing our town, a report by the ad hoc Budget Task Force is available at the Town website HERE, and a slide show by Town Administrator Lisa Wong is available HERE. A calculator for estimating tax impacts of an override implemented over 4 or 5 years is now available on the Town's Proposition 2.5 information page (link below).

A coalition has recently formed in town to support the override--you can see their website at savesouthhadley.org.

Your vote at the April 14th election might be the most consequential municipal action you'll take this year, so PLEASE VOTE!

• SHDTC Updates newsletter: Override-031326
  
• Proposition 2.5 Information and Resources
  https://www.southhadley.org/1528/Proposition-25-Override-Information
• Budget Task Force Information and Materials
  https://www.southhadley.org/1504/Budget-Task-Force
• Boston Globe, 3/13/26: Something is Structurally Wrong
  www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/11/metro/massachusetts-municipalities-dire-budget-constraints-state-aid

Join Town Administrator Lisa Wong and School Superintendent Jenn Voyik for an information session on Saturday, March 28 at 9:30 a.m. about the municipal budget and service impacts to the schools at the South Hadley Senior Center and on Zoom. The public is encouraged to attend! To join via Zoom, click here.

Upcoming Events

Business meetings will be held at 6:30pm on Tuesday, March 10, and Thursday, April 16, 2026 in the South Hadley Library Trustee's Conference Room. An special meeting on March will focus on our bi-annual MiniGolf fundraiser. Our regular meeting is being moved to March 10 to avoid conflict with the March 19 Candidates Night at 6pm hosted at the Library by Know Your Town. SHDTC meetings are normally held on third Thursdays and are hybrid-online; participants may attend in-person in the Trustees Room at the Library or online via Zoom. To obtain a Zoom meeting link, to join our mailing list, or for other information about SHDTC, please email: southhadleydemocrats@gmail.com.

First Friday Breakfast Gatherings
The next two breakfast get-togethers will be held at 8:30am on Friday, March 6 and Friday, April 3, 2026 at the Gaylord Library, 47 Newton Street, South Hadley. Conversation is casual, there is no set agenda, just a chance to talk about local, national, and international affairs and join in community with others, Democrat or not. Coffee and light snacks will be available, and all are welcome. Plan to join us at at the Gaylord! 

South Hadley Democratic Caucus
Registered and pre-registered Democrats in South Hadley are invited to come together at 10am on Saturday, March 7, 2026 (registration opens at 9:30am) at the South Hadley Public Library to elect delegates and alternates to represent the town at the 2026 Massachusetts Democratic Nominating Convention in May. Click here for more details.

SHDTC Updates Newsletter--Something Nice

Our most recent newsletter is penned by Jim Bosman, who reflects on the advice of his mom (and the moms of many others) that, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

• SHDTC Updates Newsletter-Something Nice-022326