Good morning, Springfield.

A new 234-bed veterans home with a specialized adult care program will open today (10 a.m.) in Holyoke, replacing the Cherry Street soldiers’ home and inviting families of the 76 veterans who died in the COVID outbreak to the ribbon-cutting.

The free Pumpkin Stroll will run Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. along Forest Park’s aquatic gardens with 400 pumpkins carved by Central High and Conservatory art students and inmates from the Western Massachusetts Women’s Correctional Center; cider, donuts + golf-cart shuttles will be provided.

Heating oil prices hit an average $6.23 a gallon this week, so demand for firewood in Western Mass is surging and suppliers say deliveries and wait times are growing as they sell about 100 cords a week; residents should plan ahead and get chimneys inspected before using wood heat.

Springfield Water and Sewer will submit a PCB cleanup plan by the end of Nov. to MassDEP and the EPA for contamination found in 2025 at the West Parish plant on Granville Road, a discovery that paused work and increased the $363.8M project's cost by $8.5M to $31.5M.

Fire officials say a brush fire that crossed from New York into Massachusetts was fully contained on Oct.

28, with crews holding the blaze to a small area near the state line (no injuries reported).

MassLive released Part 2 of its Best of Mass.

Burgers, naming Nos. 20 to 11 — including West Springfield’s Classic Burgers at No. 14 — and will publish the final top 10 today.

The inaugural HoopHall Classic Girls’ Showcase will take place Jan.

15 and 16 at Western New England University, featuring 15 games and 44 nationally ranked prospects, including Class of 2027 No. 1 Kaleena Smith.

MassLive released Western Massachusetts field hockey rankings on Oct.

28 with Frontier leading (15-1-1), followed by East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, West Springfield, and Belchertown as the top teams heading into the Western Mass Tournament next week.

MassLive released Week 8 Western Mass. football rankings on Oct.

28, keeping Springfield Central No. 1 and Lee No. 2 while Wahconah rose to No. 5 and South Hadley fell to No. 7 after its first loss; ranked matchups this week include Lee at Ware and Easthampton at South Hadley.