West Springfield

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Walter DeFilippi, the retired West Springfield legislator famous for his cowboy hats, died Jan. 15 at the age of 97.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Parents and neighbors of Mittineague School are still collecting signatures, hoping to stop or even slow down the recent decision to close the town’s oldest and smallest current elementary school.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Students at West Springfield High School will soon have to join their counterparts at the regional vocational school in locking away their cellphones during the day.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Forty years ago, Ellen Buoniconti began giving piano lessons to children in the basement of her home. She took on five students at first, starting the business with modest expectations.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — State funds earmarked for improvements to the Piper Road and Monastery Avenue intersection have been cut in half from $200,000 to $100,000, as part of Gov. Maura Healey’s Chapter 9C budget cuts announced Jan. 8.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Middle schoolers are rounding out the fourth year of an innovative pilot program designed to teach students about professional skills for success.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Mittineague School’s final year is more than halfway done. The School Committee voted 4-2 to close the school and reassign its students to Coburn and Tatham schools.