Lyon Street will be partially closed for pavement improvements.

LUDLOW – Lyon Street between Munsing Street and Carver Street will be closed intermittently to through traffic from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through June 30.

Residents who live on the street will be allowed through. Traffic delays are possible while pavement improvements are taking place.

The Department of Public Works advised that during the initial reclamation process there could be considerable vibration which may cause items to fall off walls and shelves.

Private lawn irrigation systems that are within the public way are the responsibility of the owner if they are damaged.

The case was cold until Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni hired police to work overtime to revisit the investigation.

This is an update to a story first posted at 11:40 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD - Jury selection in the Faustino Diaz murder trial concluded without a full panel on Tuesday, as the pool of available jurors dwindled down.

Jury selection will resume on Wednesday morning, followed by opening arguments and testimony in the case in Hampden Superior Court.

Diaz is a former employee at the apartment complex of 90-year-old Myrtle Marrett, whom investigators said was brutally beaten and raped in her home in 1991.

The case was cold until Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni hired police to work overtime to revisit the investigation. Prosecutors have said Diaz's DNA was found at the scene; he was charged with Marrett's murder in 2013.

The piece started with an art class last fall and grew to involve the whole Care Center school in Holyoke.

HOLYOKE — The Care Center, an alternative education program for pregnant and parenting teens who have dropped out of high school, held a dress rehearsal of its hand-made, illuminated, butterfly this morning at its Cabot Street facility.

The butterfly – 20 feet long and 12 feet wide – will be the centerpiece of the upcoming Lantern parade, scheduled June 21 at Heritage State Park.

The piece started with an art class last fall and grew to involve the whole school. The butterfly was originally scheduled to be unveiled during the Winter carnival night parade, which had to be cancelled due to high winds.

A friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev acknowledged Tuesday he suspected his friend was involved in the Boston Marathon bombings when he removed items from Tsarnaev's dorm room several days after the deadly attack.

DENISE LAVOIE, AP Legal Affairs Writer

BOSTON (AP) — A friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev acknowledged Tuesday he suspected his friend was involved in the Boston Marathon bombings when he removed items from Tsarnaev's dorm room several days after the deadly attack.

Dias Kadyrbayev's testimony came during a federal court hearing on his request to suppress statements he made to authorities while being questioned about Tsarnaev.

Kadrybayev conceded during cross-examination that he told agents he suspected Tsarnaev was being sought in the bombings when he and another of Tsarnaev's friends, Azamat Tazhayakov, went to Tsarnaev's room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. The two men are accused of trying to obstruct the investigation into the bombings by throwing away Tsarnaev's backpack containing fireworks.

"You said you didn't know for sure that he was the bomber, that you suspected he was the bomber, correct?" asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Siegmann.

"Yes, that's correct," Kadyrbayev replied.

Kadyrbayev testified Monday that he felt intimidated and pressured by agents who questioned him the day after the FBI released photos of Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerlan, as suspects in the bombings. Two pressure cooker bombs placed near the finish line of the April 15, 2013, marathon killed three people and injured more than 260.

Kadyrbayev's lawyer argues that Kadyrbayev — a native of Kazakhstan — was not proficient enough in English to fully understand the forms he signed giving authorities permission to question him without a lawyer.

Siegmann attempted to demonstrate that Kadyrbayev fully understood the forms he signed. She showed him transcripts of two recorded jailhouse phone conversations he had with his girlfriend. In one, when he is talking about a form he signed giving consent for agents to search his apartment, Kadrybayev said, "Everything that we did — everything that I did, everything that I signed, I signed it on my own," according to the transcript.

U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock did not rule on the motion to suppress, saying he would allow prosecutors and Kadyrbayev's lawyer to submit written briefs and make oral arguments during a hearing in August.

Woodlock denied a request from Kadyrbayev's lawyer to elicit testimony from a state trooper and an attorney who claimed to represent Kadyrbayev while he was being questioned. The lawyer said he had been contacted by the state's public defender agency and told to call the barracks. Woodlock said the issue was not relevant to Kadyrbayev's motion to suppress.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during a shootout with police on April 19. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting a trial in November. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

In a court filing Monday, prosecutors said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told his mother in an email days after the explosions that he expected to die. Prosecutors say Tsarnaev wrote the email before the slaying of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer and the subsequent shootout.

"If I don't see you in this life I will see you in the akhira," prosecutors said he wrote. In Arabic, akhirah refers to the afterlife.

Prosecutors described the email in arguing against a motion by Tsarnaev's lawyers to suppress evidence seized from his dorm room and a Cambridge apartment where he once lived. They say the email indicates Tsarnaev "abandoned his expectation of privacy" because he did not expect to return alive.

A juror who helped spring a serial rapist now accused of breaking into an Arlington woman’s home and sexually assaulting her at knife point lamented that he “failed” to keep the predator behind bars, even as he lashed out at state prison officials for not making a stronger case to keep the Boston man locked up.

Do you have news or a news tip to submit to MassLive.com for consideration? Send an email to online@repub.com.

Organizers hope the rekindled jaz festival can get more people to see Downtown Springfield in a positive light.

SPRINGFIELD - Downtown's Court Square will fill with rhythm, melody and, boosters hope, people Saturday Aug. 9, when the Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival brings the music back in the footsteps of the  Hoop City Jazz & Arts Festival.

Saxophonist  Charles Neville, of the famous New Orleans Neville Brothers musical family, guitarist Eric Bascom and Peter Newland, lead singer of the band FAT gave a little foretaste Tuesday during a Tuesday afternoon news conference.

Downtown property manager Evan Plotkin, an organizer of the festival listed as "ambassador" in the media kit, and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno recalled the large mellow crowd drawn by the most recent Hoop City  Jazz & Arts Festival in 2010.

"There was a conga line," Sarno said. "And at 11 p.m. no one wanted to leave. We held everyone over for an hour. Everyone stayed."

But by the next year the 2011 tornado had damaged court square and the event lost  its momentum. There hasn't been one since 2010.

"I didn't want that feeling to go away," Plotkin said. "I knew we had to bring it back."

The short news conference and  concert drew a crowd to the plaza at 1350 Main Street near where the main stage will be Aug. 9.

"It's the music that draws, not me," said Neville, who  lives in Huntington.

 Neville will play Aug. 9 along with members of his family. The free show will feature  and Springfield native Phil Woods with the Greg Caputo  big band. Woods has played with  Dizzy Gillespie,  Quincy Jones, Thelonius Monk,  Paul Simon and others.

"He's one of the last of the bebop greats still playing," Newland said.

Neville pointed out that Woods is best known for his saxophone solo on Billy Joel's "Just the Way you Are".

"My brother Aaron sings that song in concerts, so I had to learn how to play that solo," Neville said. "Phil Woods is someone I've been listening to forever."

 

There a re more acts on the bill., and changes are expected so backers ask jazz fans to keep checking www.springfieldjazzfest.com

Plotkin said has long advocated that the arts, in this case music, can help reinvigorate downtown.

"This is going to shine a light on downtown Springfield," Plotkin said. "It is going to show the entire downtown in a new, positive light."

Charles Neville agreed that music can bring people together.

His wife, Kristin Nevile, is producing the festival through her nonprofit Blues to Green. Blues to Green's purpose is to use music an d art to to celebrate community and culture, build shared purpose and catalyze social and environmental change.

Plotkin said the Springfield Jazz & roots Festival has a budget of about $120,000 raised from sponsors. Sponsors and supporters include  MasssMutual Financial Group, MGM Springfield, Masslive and The Republican, Springfield College, Health New England, Bay Path College and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Ten people, including eight students and two staff members, were taken to a local hospital Tuesday afternoon after a mysterious odor seeped into a wing at the Worcester Technical High School.

WORCESTER — Ten people, including eight students and two staff members, were taken to a local hospital Tuesday afternoon after a mysterious odor seeped into a wing of the Worcester Technical High School.

The conditions of the students and staff were unknown on Tuesday evening, but after an investigation by city fire personnel the school was determined to be safe and reopened at 3 p.m., according to Worcester Public School Safety Liaison Rob Pezzella.

The staff members and students who were taken to the UMass Memorial Medical Center complained of feeling a burning sensation in their throats as a result of the odor, Pezzella said.

The wing affected by the fumes is on the right side of the building where the preschool is located. Pezzella said the school was evacuated at around 12:30 p.m. and the preschool students were dismissed.

Worcester Tech is scheduled to be open as usual on Wednesday.

Matteo Trotto was sentenced to life Monday morning for the murder of Kevin Harkins while the victim's family said a conviction will never bring their loved one back.

WORCESTER — Matteo Trotto was defiant as he was sentenced to life Monday morning for the murder of Kevin Harkins while the victim's family said a conviction will never bring their loved one back.

"My little boy will never experience the funny and loving man his grampy was ... I would give up everything to have just one more day with my father," said Jessica Simone in an impact statement before Trotto's sentencing. "They thought my father could be disposed of like he was nothing."

Matteo Trotto, 48, was found guilty on Friday of first-degree murder in the death of Kevin Harkins 20 years after Harkins was reported missing. Harkins, then 36, was last seen at Suney's Pub on Chandler Street on Feb. 15, 1994, according to prosecutors. Harkins was declared dead in 2008 by the Worcester Family and Probate Court.

Members of the family were visibly emotional as they spoke prior to Trotto's sentencing. Throughout the years, the family has had to deal with the pain of loss, struggle with not knowing the truth and work through fear, said Harkins' wife Mary Jane Simone.

"I lived for fear for many years that someone was going to hurt me or worse my children. I have lived with guilt that if I had done things differently or insisted Kevin meet me on that night that the outcome would not have lead to his death," said she said. "Kevin will never walk his daughter down the aisle in this September. He will never see the great mother his little girl grew to be."

Trotto received a life sentence that will begin in eight years when his current jail sentence on a 1998 drug conviction runs out. Trotto was defiant as he entered the courtroom, holding up his handcuffed hands to the audience. Before sentencing, he professed his innocence.

"I know this is a good family. I know who they are. And they had to go through this as well as mine. I didn't do this. I'm innocent, sir," said Trotto, as he addressed the judge.

The conviction came as a result of good police work, said Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early. The case was entirely circumstantial and complex with over 10,000 pages of evidence. There was no gun or bullet, but city and state police were able to put the pieces together, he said.

"I've never seen a case more difficult, more complex in my life. This just needed a ton of work. You had to get your boots on the ground," said Early. "You had to convince witnesses that ... they should speak up for the victim and not stay fearful."

Along with Trotto, two other men, John Fredette and Elis Samia are accused of killing Harkins after he reneged on a deal to lie in a drug case against Fredette. Jury selection for Fredette and Samia begins on June 17, the men will be tried together, according to the DA's office.

Ultimately, said Early, while a conviction may bring some satisfaction to the family, it does not bring back Harkins, which is the only thing that could make family members truly happy.

"I'd like to stand here today and say and be able that this conviction has brought closure to our family, but unfortunately I cannot," said Jessica Simone. "This is just the beginning of our journey to closure. That journey will not be complete until my father's remains are recovered."

Weather permitting paving work will resume Friday at 7 a.m.

AMHERST - With a 90 percent chance of rain, the Department of Public Works has cancelled the paving for North Pleasant Street and Sunderland Road for Thursday.

Weather permitting work will resume Friday at 7 a.m., according to a press release.
Residential access will be permitted during construction and paving, however motorists should expect delays, according to the release.

Crews will be paving North Pleasant Street from Governors Drive to 974 N. Pleasant and Sunderland Road from the North Amherst Public Library to Cowls Lumber.

For questions or additional information concerning this project, contact the DPW office at 259-3050.

Community organizers are joining forces with public school teachers and paraprofessionals in Holyoke in an effort to garner support from families and protest the looming state takeover of the Morgan Elementary School.

HOLYOKE — Community organizers are joining forces with public school teachers and paraprofessionals here in an effort to garner support from families and protest the looming state takeover of the Morgan Elementary School.

On Saturday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., a group of organizations will host a "Holyoke Reclaim Our Schools Community Event" at Salsarengue Restaurant with music, food, dominoes, face painting and "conversations about a shared vision for the Holyoke Public Schools." 

The event is sponsored by Western Mass Jobs With Justice, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, Holyoke Teachers Association, the Holyoke Paraprofessionals Association, and a group called "Taking it Back."

Western Mass Jobs With Justice spokeswoman Rose Bookbinder said the coalition has been formed to "address a growing crisis in the Holyoke Public Schools."

Attendees at the Salsarengue event will be invited to sign a petition that takes issue with the Morgan School receivership plan (the plan is embedded in the document at end of this article) that goes into effect July 1.

The petition to the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education objects to "removing the Morgan Full Service Community School from local control and giving control to Project GRAD USA. ..."

The petition also calls upon state officials to support an appeal by the teachers' union (see document embedded following receivership plan document) that challenges portions of the Morgan School turnaround plan. The teachers' appeal will be heard before the state education board in Boston on June 9.

In January, Project Grad USA was named by state education commissioner Mitchell D. Chester as receiver of the Morgan School after it was determined students there were chronically failing to learn. The Texas nonprofit has the power to hire and fire staff and bypass certain union agreements. Project Grad USA will take the reins July 1.

Saturday's event is meant to be a welcoming experience that brings the community together, according to Peck Elementary School teacher Kiely Rigali.

"It is my hope to help make parents feel welcomed by the public schools and create a relaxed, fun, and inviting setting for parents to speak and ask questions about their children's education," Rigali wrote.

Morgan Final Level 5 Turnaround Plan by Mary Serreze

Morgan Appeal Fact Sheet by Mary Serreze

Zimmerman retired in April after 10 years as treasurer. He had indicated that he will run for the post of Town Administrator in Deerfield.

NORTHAMPTON — Mayor David J. Narkewicz his appointed Kristine A. Bissell as the new City Treasurer, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of George Zimmerman.

A Northampton native and graduate of Northampton High School, Bissell worked for Florence Savings Bank for 18 years and was the elected treasurer in Goshen for 13 years. She served as Northampton's assistant treasurer from 2009-2013. She is currently the collector for the town of Palmer.

“I’m absolutely thrilled,” Bissell said of her appointment. “I’m really looking forward to returning to the Treasurer’s office and getting to work with so many amazing colleagues.”

Zimmerman retired in April after 10 years as treasurer. He had indicated that he will run for the post of Town Administrator in Deerield.

Bissell's appointment is subject to confirmation by the City Council.

As a tense-looking Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. forces, one of his Taliban captors warned him: "Don't come back to Afghanistan. You won't make it out alive next time."

RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press
KEN DILANIAN, Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — As a tense-looking Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. forces, one of his Taliban captors warned him: "Don't come back to Afghanistan. You won't make it out alive next time."

Then, the American soldier, wearing traditional loose-fitting Afghan trousers and a long tunic, was led away to a U.S. military helicopter, where he was patted down for explosives or other weapons before he was allowed to climb aboard.

The weekend handover was documented in a 17-minute video emailed to news organizations Wednesday by the Taliban, which touted the exchange of Bergdahl for five Guantanamo detainees as a victory, while debate rages in the U.S. over the deal and whether the 28-year-old from Hailey, Idaho, should be punished as a deserter.

U.S. lawmakers and others have complained that Congress should have been consulted, that the prisoner swap will embolden the Taliban to snatch more American soldiers, and that the released Afghans will filter back to the battlefield.

In Washington, Rob Williams, the U.S. national intelligence officer for South Asia, told the Senate intelligence committee Tuesday that four of the men are expected to resume activities with the Taliban, according to two senior congressional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the session was classified.

Under the terms of the swap, the five Taliban detainees will have to stay for a year in Qatar, where officials gave assurances that the men will be monitored.

The five were some of the most senior Afghans held at Guantanamo.

They include the former Taliban interior minister, who was described in a U.S. case file leaked by WikiLeaks as having had close ties to Osama bin Laden; a commander whose file says he was present at a 2001 prison riot that led to the death of CIA operative Johnny Michael Spann; the Taliban's former deputy chief of intelligence; and a former member of a joint Taliban-al-Qaida cell described in U.S. documents as "one of the most significant former Taliban leaders" held at Guantanamo.

In Qatar, the men will be in a position to communicate with comrades in Afghanistan, one of the senior congressional aides said.

"They are going to be able to see whoever they want, so they will be able to communicate by courier," the official said.

The video of Bergdahl after five years in captivity shows a well-choreographed release, with the American sitting in a silver pickup truck while more than a dozen Taliban fighters with machine guns and faces largely covered by scarves stand guard nearby and on a rocky desert hill overlooking the site.

A thin-looking Bergdahl, his head shaved, blinks frequently and looks tense as he peers out of the truck. At one point, he wipes his eye as if to get rid of some dust.

A Black Hawk helicopter then lands, and two Taliban fighters, one carrying a white cloth tied to a stick, lead Bergdahl, now wearing a gray shawl and carrying a plastic bag, halfway toward the chopper.

Three apparent members of U.S. special operations forces approach the group, shake hands with the two Taliban fighters and lead Bergdahl toward the helicopter.

One of the three men then pats down Bergdahl, while another takes the plastic bag from him and drops it on the ground. Then they all climb into the helicopter.

According to a voiceover on the video, the handover took place around 4 p.m. Saturday in Khost province, near the Pakistani border.

As the helicopter approaches, one of the Taliban men is heard warning Bergdahl not to come back. "You won't make it out alive next time," the man says in Pashto as some of the other fighters are heard laughing.

As if to underscore the point, similar words appear on the video in broken English: "Don come back to afghanistan."

Back in the U.S., Sue Martin, a friend of the Bergdahl family and owner of Zaney's Coffee Shop in Hailey, said Bergdahl's appearance in the video shocked her. She said he looked frail, tired and damaged.

"That's not the Bowe who left here and lived here," Martin said.

Bergdahl was reported to be in stable condition at a military hospital in Germany.

A Taliban statement, also distributed to the media, quoted leader Mullah Mohammad Omar as saying the release of the five Taliban was a significant achievement for the movement.

President Barack Obama has defended the swap, citing a "sacred" obligation to not leave men and women in uniform behind.

On Capitol Hill, Obama's goal of closing the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba faced re-energized opposition from Republicans and increased questioning from fellow Democrats in reaction to the trade.

Obama appeared to be making headway last month when a Senate panel approved greater authority for him to transfer suspected terrorists to the U.S.

But the Bergdahl trade has driven a new wedge between the president and lawmakers of both parties who accuse the Obama administration of breaking the law by engineering the swap without 30 days' notice to Congress.

Hoping to ease mounting criticism, officials from the State Department, Pentagon and intelligence agencies planned a private briefing with senators Wednesday evening.

Some of Bergdahl's former comrades have complained that U.S. soldiers died during the search for him after he walked away from his base, unarmed, in 2009. The military has not confirmed such a link.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday that the Army will review the case, and he cautioned against drawing conclusions until that is done.

"It's not in the interests of anyone, and certainly I think a bit unfair to Sgt. Bergdahl's family ... to presume anything. We don't do that in the United States. We rely on facts," he said at a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels.

Lee Ann Ferris, who lives next door to the Bergdahls in Hailey and watched Bowe Bergdahl grow up, said the town is trying not to pay attention to the criticism of the soldier and the discussion about how he fell into Taliban hands.

"It's like a modern-day lynching. He hasn't even been able to give his side of the story yet. This community will welcome him back no matter what," she said.

___

Dilanian reported in Washington. Associated Press writers Lolita Baldor in Brussels, Donna Cassata and Bradley Klapper in Washington, Brian Skoloff in Hailey, Idaho, and Kim Gamel in Cairo contributed to this report.

The city, which has been leasing the School Department’s Parent Information Center building at 91 School St., is preparing to take ownership of the property by eminent domain for a negotiated price of $800,000.

SPRINGFIELD — The city, which has been leasing the School Department’s Parent Information Center building at 91 School St., is preparing to take ownership of the property by eminent domain for a negotiated price of $800,000.

City officials said this week that it made sense to take ownership, expected to occur by late June, rather than continue to pay an annual lease of about $234,900.

The city will pay for the property by using $760,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds, and $40,000 in city funds. The city received $21.9 million in block grant disaster funds to help recover from the tornado of June 1, 2011.

The property is owned by Hampden Bank.

The city moved the Parent Information Center from the basement of Milton Bradley School to the School Street building last July that allowed both sites to have greater room for programs, officials said.

The School Street site formerly housed the Robert M. Hughes Charter School.

With the move, the Parent Information Center and related programs gained more pleasant conditions, expanded parking, additional operational space and more natural lighting, Superintendent of Schools Daniel Warwick said at the time.

The were two appraisals of the School Street property, listing the value at $800,000 and $760,000, said Kathleen T. Breck, deputy city solicitor.

“The parties negotiated the value of $800,000 to avoid future litigation over the fair market value of the property,” Breck said.

In addition, the lease itself gave the city the option to purchase the property for $975,000, Breck said.

The forum,"One Springfield: Young People Stand Up!" is from 6 to 7:30 pm on June 5 at Chestnut Middle School, 355 Plainfield St.

SPRINGFIELD — Just days after Armando W. Oliveras finished organizing a forum to discuss street violence in the city, Darrell Jenkins, 23, became the fourth homicide victim of the year in Springfield after being shot on Kensington Avenue Wednesday morning.

"This continues to happen and it needs to stop," said Oliveras. The 20-year-old life-long resident of the city works for the Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce and organized the forum, "One Springfield:Young People Stand Up!" to be held at Chestnut Middle School from 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

"I want to encourage youth to engage in solutions to the problem of violence in Springfield, not participate in it," he said.

Oliveras will be joined at the forum by Carlos Gonzalez, president of the Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce, who is running for Cheryl Coakley-Rivera's vacated state representative seat; Nector Garcia, an officer with the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department; Lysette Navarro, a former state prison inmate, poet, public speaker and facilitator with “Voices From Inside” a local non-profit that gives jailed or formerly incarcerated women the opportunity to write about their experiences; and Adam Gomez, a newly elected member of the New North Citizens Council.

• Project Coach, a non-profit youth development program that teaches Springfield teens to coach and mentor elementary school students in the North End, is co-sponsoring the event.

“Too often, young people are seen as the problem and this is partly right. We are often a part of the problem,” said Oliveras, who is active in a number of community action organizations, including Project Coach, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and Ramon Baez Dance Company. “Young people have to be at the center of the solution. We have to work together with community leaders to stop the violence and change our city. Otherwise, we’re just victims.”

On May 26 Lenezzia Clarke, 18, was gunned down outside a Union Street duplex in the Old Hill neighborhood, becoming Springfield’s third homicide victim of 2014. Several days later the city recorded four shooting victims, none critical. Most of the victims were teens.

Although, gun violence is down for the year, Oliveras said any level of violence is unacceptable and that the time has come for young people to stop being victims.

"I want people to come out to the forum so that we can have an honest and open discussion about the issues facing our city and our youth and what we can do to help each other strive for better," he said.

The event will be held at the Ludlow High School gymnasium from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

LUDLOW – Tickets will be sold at the door for a fundraiser to benefit Kyle Houle, 18, a junior at Ludlow High School, who is battling Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare, aggressive form of bone cancer.

A Zumba-thon is being planned at the Ludlow High School gymnasium June 12 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets will be limited because the hall only holds 359 people.

Also, silicone wristbands are for sale for $5. They say “Team Kyle.” The wristbands are purple and yellow.

The son of Mary Houle and David Houle, both of Ludlow, Kyle is receiving chemotherapy treatment at Yale New Haven Hospital.

Another benefit is being planned June 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Polish American Citizens Club, 355 East Street.

The benefit will include a pasta dinner with salad, rolls with butter and dessert. There also will be a band, “Changin’ Lanes” of Ludlow. Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and under.

Jamie Dionne, one of the organizers, said tickets are selling fact and more than likely will not be sold at the door.

To purchase tickets in advance or to make a raffle prize donation contact Jamie Dionne at 413-364-6043, Joanne Ross at 413-427-0912 or Sue D. at 413-348-5371.

Christopher Plaskon, 17, pleaded not-guilty to murder in the April 25 knife attack on Jonathan Law High School classmate Maren Sanchez.

Do you have news or a news tip to submit to MassLive.com for consideration? Send an email to online@repub.com.

The Springfield City Council has asked if it can require the state to fund 50 percent of the cost of the Quinn Bill for police education bonuses.

Melvin Edwards 

SPRINGFIELD – The City Council has asked the Law Department if the city has any legal recourse to force the state to resume funding part of the cost of police education pay.

During a meeting Monday, the council voted to ask for the legal opinion after raising concerns about the state’s decision to reduce, and then stop funding its 50 percent share of the Quinn Bill education benefits for police.

The city spends approximately $3.8 million annually in incentive pay to eligible officers who have college degrees.

In addition, the council voted unanimously to follow the lead of the Holyoke City Council and urge state legislators who represent Springfield “to file a bill to ensure the state resumes funding its share of police educational incentives.”

The Springfield council, in a non-binding resolution, says the state “should be required to pay their 50 percent of the costs.”

“The City of Springfield has upheld its’ end of the law but the state reneged and as a result Springfield bears the burden of this unfunded state mandate,” the council resolution states.

The Holyoke council has also asked for the bill to be filed by its legislators, urging the state to fund its share. Ward 3 Councilor Melvin Edwards, the lead sponsor, suggested that Springfield join the "chorus" in calling for the state to renew funding.

Under the Quinn Bill, officers receive a 10 percent salary increase for an associate’s degree, a 20 percent increase for a bachelor’s degree and a 25 percent increase for a master’s degree, on their base salaries.

Both councils have argued that the state, in passing the Quinn Bill program in 1970, agreed to fund half the cost of the incentive.

The state, citing financial constraints then reduced its share of funds several years ago before cutting off assistance two years ago, city officials said.

In February, the Massachusetts Joint Labor Management Committee issued an arbitration ruling that required Springfield to fully fund the Quinn Bill benefits.

Councilor Kenneth Shea suggested that the Law Department look into the city's legal options, as a result of the state cutting off its share of funds.

The Northampton Market on Old South Street will receive a $10,000 bonus on the sale.

Gregory Kilbride of Easthampton has won $1 million with a scratch ticket. 

EASTHAMPTON — A construction worker from Easthampton is quite a bit richer after winning $1 million with a scratch ticket.

Gregory Kilbride is the third $1 million prize winner in the Massachusetts State Lottery’s new $30 “World Class Millions” instant game.

The ticket was purchased at the Northampton Market at 48 Old South Street in Northampton. The store will receive a $10,000 bonus on the sale.

Kilbride was joined at the Massachusetts Lottery headquarters in Braintree by his boss Philip Andrikidis and his co-worker Dan West, who hoisted a jubilant and fist-pumping Kilbride into the air as he received his prize.

Kilbride, who works at Florence Roofing in Northampton, opted for a one-time cash payment of $650,000 minus taxes. He says he plans to invest his winnings.

Four $15 million prizes and 33 $1 million prizes still remain in the “World Class Millions” instant game, which went on sale April 22.

Some councilors voted against the funds, saying the council should have learned of the shortfall months earlieir.

SPRINGFIELD – The City Council, in a final vote on Wednesday, agreed to allocate an additional $5.8 million in city funds for the new Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy, two years after its construction.

The vote was 11-2 in favor of the funds, the same vote that took place Monday when the council gave first-step approval. Councilor Timothy Allen and council President Michael Fenton voted against the funds, saying the council should have learned of the shortfall in funds months ago when state reimbursements did not cover the defict.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority agreed to cover 90 percent of the eligible costs of the $114.3 million Putnam project. However, the city’s initial $12.5 million share of the cost rose by $5.8 million when numerous costs were verified as ineligible for state reimbursement, or remain under appeal, officials said.

Costs such as a dental lab, soil contamination, and various change orders to the project were not eligible for state funds, officials said.

This is the latest in a string of violence throughout the city over the past two weeks that has seen 2 killed and several injured.

SPRINGFIELD - Police on the the scene of a shooting on Avon Place, off Maple Street, where a man was shot and left crawling on the tree belt.

Police have the front lawn in front of 31 Avon Place cordoned off and are searching for evidence.

A watch and a pair of sunglasses lay in the sidewalk inside the police tape.

No information was available at the scene about the injured man. He was rushed from the scene by ambulance.

One neighbor said he heard an argument out in the street and when he went to look he heard gunshots

"Next thing I know, it was boom, boom, boom," said the man who did not wish to be identified.

"I ran into the house because I didn't want to get shot," he said.
When he came back outside after calling the police, he saw the injured man crawling from the road onto the tree belt.

The shooting is the latest in a series of violence in the city over the last week, resulting in two homicides and several injuries.

This is a developing story. More information will be posted as it is known.