Editor’s note: As part of the Greenfield Recorder’s end-of-the-year features, we are publishing in three parts our choices for the top dozen news stories of 2024. They are listed in no particular order.

Plane crash near Greenfield-Leyden line kills three

On Jan. 14, three people were killed when a Beechcraft Baron 95-B55 plane crashed in a small clearing in the woods within the Leyden Wildlife Management Area.

State Police identified the victims as Frederika Ballard, 53, of Southwick; William Hampton, 68, of Indian Orchard; and Chad Davidson, 29, of Woodstock, Connecticut. Ballard was the owner of the Fly Lugu Flight School in Westfield, Hampton was a flight instructor for Fly Lugu and Davidson was a student pilot.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the crash said the plane made a 180-degree left turn, climbed to about 3,000 to 3,330 feet mean sea level and made four alternating 360-degree turns flying northbound. After the fourth 360-degree turn, the airplane began to climb, reaching an altitude of about 4,000 feet mean sea level before entering a rapid descent. Ice was found on the leading edge of both wings and horizontal stabilizers, both engine nacelles, the leading edge of the rudder, the front face of one of the left engine’s propeller blades and on the antenna located on the vertical stabilizer.

A spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board previously said a full report, which will include a probable cause as well as any other contributing factors, is expected within 12 to 24 months, meaning it could come as soon as January 2025 or as late as January 2026.

— Chris Larabee

Greenfield man arrested for murder after body found on Chapman Street

Taaniel Herberger-Brown, 42, of Greenfield, was arrested for murder on April 23 after reports of a foul smell resulted in the discovery of a decomposing body, later identified as 35-year-old Christopher Hairston, of Pittsfield, in a Chapman Street apartment.

Herberger-Brown was arrested at Albany International Airport in New York and was transported back to Greenfield in July for arraignment in Greenfield District Court. On Nov. 13, he pleaded not guilty to murder and eight other criminal charges in Franklin County Superior Court, where his case had been transferred due to its severity.

In police custody, Herberger-Brown initially said he had been in and out of hospitals and hadn’t been back at his Chapman Street apartment in months, but he later told investigators he got into a physical fight with someone who had broken into his residence, the police report states. Herberger-Brown reportedly told police he believed the person was using drugs and that the victim’s “heart stopped” after the altercation.

The results of Herberger-Brown’s grand jury indictment in July, which First Assistant Clerk Magistrate Benjamin Simanski read aloud before Judge Bertha Josephson in November, suggest Hairston died in February.

The defendant’s bail status will be appealed at a hearing currently scheduled for Jan. 7 at the request of defense attorney Nicholas Horgan.

— Anthony Cammalleri

Project Skydrop treasure discovered in Wendell State Forest

Taking the internet by storm in September was Project Skydrop, a treasure hunt that evolved into a dramatic saga of twists and turns, and prompted nearly 9,000 treasure hunters across the country to search for a 24-karat gold statue valued at $26,725 that had been hidden in the Wendell State Forest.

Project Skydrop, created by New Hampshire video game designer Jason Rohrer and creative partner Tom Bailey, quickly gained popularity in September and early October, as thousands of registered treasure hunters paid a $20 registration fee that signed them up to receive exclusive hints in the form of daily aerial photos of the gold statue’s location. A map was also posted at projectskydrop.com, with an initial 500-mile diameter circle revealing the treasure’s location growing smaller and smaller every day.

Eleven days into the hunt, an initially anonymous figure — later revealed as Boston meteorologist Dan Leonard — swooped in and claimed victory, locating the statue.

However, before Leonard could solve the mysterious code etched into the statue that would unlock a Bitcoin wallet worth $87,600, the code was leaked, leaving it open to anyone to steal the prize money. This led game designers to change tactics and develop a new puzzle for Leonard to solve, and this time he had help. Unfortunately for Leonard, the code breaker he enlisted, Chris Passmore, solved the code and took the treasure — this time coming in the form of gold coins — for himself.

Passmore eventually returned the gold to Leonard in late October, saying the guilt became too much to bear.

— Madison Schofield

Sweeping climate/clean energy bill approved, while local solar bylaws denied

In November, Gov. Maura Healey signed into law “An act promoting a clean energy grid, advancing equity and protecting ratepayers,” which advocates say will accelerate the development of clean energy projects, streamline siting for energy infrastructure and improve energy affordability, among other initiatives.

One of the most important changes for Franklin County municipalities lies in the solar siting process. Under the new law, the process to build solar and battery storage facilities will put small-scale projects under a single permit to be overseen by cities and towns, while large-scale projects will have to go through an application to the Energy Facilities Siting Board for approval.

Opponents of the bill, though, say the streamlining of the permitting process, which establishes a 12-month deadline for municipal permits and requires municipalities to issue a single permit at the end of the process, takes away control from small communities, particularly those who cannot afford lengthy and expensive legal challenges to permits.

In a similar vein, several communities in the Pioneer Valley had bylaws regarding the siting and permitting process for solar and battery energy storage projects denied, despite their overwhelming approval at their respective Town Meetings. In Northfield, for example, the Attorney General’s Office stated two bylaws that voters had approved failed to cite an “articulated public health, safety or welfare justification sufficient to justify the prohibitions.”

Several other bylaws throughout the valley and the state faced a similar fate, as the AG’s office rejected them on the basis of Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 40A, Section 3, which states “no zoning ordinance or bylaw shall prohibit or unreasonably regulate the installation of solar energy systems or the building of structures that facilitate the collection of solar energy, except where necessary to protect the public health, safety or welfare.”

— Chris Larabee