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Michael Brown shooting: Feds order autopsy in Ferguson teen's death

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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Sunday ordered a federal medical examiner to perform another autopsy on the body of a black Missouri teenager whose fatal shooting by a white police officer has spurred a week of rancorous and sometimes violent protests in suburban St. Louis.

FERGUSON, Mo. -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Sunday ordered a federal medical examiner to perform another autopsy on the body of a black Missouri teenager whose fatal shooting by a white police officer has spurred a week of rancorous and sometimes violent protests in suburban St. Louis.

Department of Justice spokesman Brian Fallon cited a request by family members and the "extraordinary circumstances" surrounding the case of 18-year-old Michael Brown in explaining decision.

"This independent examination will take place as soon as possible," Fallon said in a statement. "Even after it is complete, Justice Department officials still plan to take the state-performed autopsy into account in the course of their investigation."

The Justice Department already had deepened its civil rights investigation of the shooting. Officials said a day earlier that 40 FBI agents were going door-to-door gathering information in the Ferguson, Missouri, neighborhood where an unarmed Brown was shot to death in the middle of the street on Aug. 9.

David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor who supervised the criminal civil rights section of Miami's U.S. Attorney's office, said a federally conducted autopsy "more closely focused on entry point of projectiles, defensive wounds and bruises" might help that investigation, and that the move is "not that unusual."

He also said federal authorities want to calm any public fears that no action will be taken on the case.

Holder's latest announcement followed the first night of a state-imposed curfew in Ferguson, which ended with tear gas and seven arrests after police dressed in riot gear used armored vehicles to disperse defiant protesters.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson said protesters weren't the reason for the escalated police reaction early Sunday morning after the midnight curfew took effect, but a report of people who had broken into a barbecue restaurant and taken to the roof, and a man who flashed a handgun in the street as armored vehicles approached the crowd of protesters.

Also overnight, a man was shot and critically wounded in the same area, but not by police; authorities were searching for the shooter. Someone also shot at a police car, officials said.

The protests have been going on since Brown's death heightened racial tensions between the predominantly black community and mostly white Ferguson Police Department, leading to several run-ins between police and protesters and prompting Missouri's governor to put the Highway Patrol in charge of security.

Ferguson Police waited six days to publicly reveal the name of the officer and documents alleging Brown robbed a convenience store before he was killed, though Chief Thomas Jackson said the officer did not know Brown was a suspect when he encountered him walking in the street with a friend.

Gov. Jay Nixon, who imposed the curfew after declaring a state of emergency as protests turned violent to start the weekend, said Sunday morning on ABC's "This Week" that he was not aware the police were going to release surveillance video from the store where Brown is alleged to have stolen a $49 box of cigars.

"It's appeared to cast aspersions on a young man that was gunned down in the street. It made emotions raw," Nixon said.

In announcing the curfew, Nixon said many protesters were making themselves heard peacefully but the state would not allow looters to endanger the community. Johnson, the Highway Patrol captain, had said police would not enforce the curfew with armored trucks and tear gas and would communicate with protesters and give them ample opportunity to leave. Local officers faced strong criticism earlier in the week for their use of tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters.

As the curfew deadline arrived early Sunday, most protesters left the streets, but those who remained protesters refused to leave the area as officers spoke through a loudspeaker: "You are in violation of a state-imposed curfew. You must disperse immediately."

As officers put on gas masks, a chant from the distant crowd emerged: "We have the right to assemble peacefully."

A moment later, police began firing canisters into the crowd. Highway Patrol Spokesman Lt. John Hotz initially said police only used smoke, but later told The Associated Press they also used tear gas canisters.

Jackson, the Ferguson police chief, has identified the officer who shot Brown as Darren Wilson, a six-year police veteran who had no previous complaints against him. Wilson has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting and the department has refused to say anything about his whereabouts. Associated Press reporters have been unable to contact him at any addresses or phone numbers listed under that name in the St. Louis area.


Holyoke police continue to investigate second killing of the summer

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The name of the victim has not been released yet.

This updates a story posted at 6:20 p.m. Aug. 16.

HOLYOKE – Police are continuing to investigate the city’s second killing of the year and have made no arrests yet.

Officers have not released the name of the 31-year-old city man who was shot to death at about 2:18 a.m. Saturday outside the Los Jibaritos Social Club on South Summer Street.

Lt. James Albert said the victim’s identity will likely released late Sunday or Monday morning.

“Right now we are working leads and talking to people,” he said.

Police received a 911 call around the time of the shooting, but found no victim at the scene because a friend had brought him to Holyoke Medical Center rather than wait for emergency responders. The man was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Holyoke police Capt. Denise Duguay, head of the criminal investigations bureau, said earlier witnesses to the shooting reported the victim and another man had an altercation at the scene, and the assailant shot the victim as they stood in the street. She said a preliminary investigation indicated that the dispute may have started somewhere other than where it ended, at the social club.

Investigators from the Holyoke Police Criminal Investigations Bureau, along with Mass. State Police detectives assigned to the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office are conducting the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call Holyoke police at 413-322-6940. Those who wish to remain anonymous may text a tip via a cell phone by addressing a text message to “CRIMES,” or “274637,” and then begin the body of the message with the word “SOLVE.”

The homicide is the second one for the Paper City this summer. On July 13, Angel Morales was stabbed to death on Appleton Street following an argument with a neighbor. Jorge Rodriguez-Nieves, 40, has been charged with murder in his death.

Proposal to name South Boston library after William Bulger draws mixed reactions

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The proposal to rename a library in South Boston after former State Senate President William Bulger has attracted mixed reactions from residents and city officials.

BOSTON — The proposal to rename a library in South Boston after former State Senate President William Bulger has attracted mixed reactions from residents and city officials.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh delivered a neutral opinion to the Boston Herald on Boston City Council President Bill Linehan's July pitch to the Boston Public Facilities Commission to rename the South Boston branch of the Boston Public Library after Bulger.

"I'm not opposed to it. I'm not in favor of it. I'm just neutral. I think we are looking at it. The way the library has been told to me, that you don't name a library unless someone is deceased. I am not big into naming everything," Walsh said to the Herald.

Walsh noted that Bulger directed millions to the city's library system during his time as senate president but that residents should allowed to voice their opinions on the naming of the library.

Some residents have banned together to oppose any renaming of the South Boston branch after Bulger because they believe Bulger coddled his imprisoned gangster brother, James "Whitey" Bulger. The group, led by Michael Burggren, has printed up and passed around flyers that declare "Bulger used his office to protect a mass murderer."

Linehan defended his proposal during an interview with the Herald.

"The Bulger name doesn't bring shame to South Boston if you're talking about William Bulger, it brings acclaim," said Linehan to the Herald.

Bulger, for his part, said that he was flattered by the proposal to name a library after him but hopes officials will abandon the idea if it causes a stir.

Photos: Scenes from the 87th Westfield Fair

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WESTFIELD - The 87th annual Westfield Fair concluded its three-day run on Sunday, Aug. 17. Truck pulls, mud bog races, agricultural exhibits, live entertainment and a midway were some of the features of the 2014 Westfield Fair.

WESTFIELD - The 87th annual Westfield Fair concluded its three-day run on Sunday, Aug. 17.

Truck pulls, mud bog races, agricultural exhibits, live entertainment and a midway were some of the features of the 2014 Westfield Fair.

Deerfield to hold special meeting Wednesday on Tennessee Gas Pipeline plan

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Pipelines foes push for a non-binding resolution to oppose the project.

DEERFIELD — Deerfield will hold a special Select Board meeting Wednesday to discuss the proposed Kinder Morgan-Tennessee Gas pipeline, and consider a petition that would put an opposition measure before local voters.

Pipeline foes would like the town to formally register its opposition to the project, and are calling for a non-binding resolution to be considered at a special town meeting.

The resolution would direct the Select Board to oppose the pipeline, rescind any permission given to Kinder Morgan to survey town property, and send a copy of the resolution to state lawmakers and the governor’s office, reports the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

The owners of Clarkdale Fruit Farms on Upper Road — Lisa Turowski and Tom Clark — told the Select Board last month they had gathered over 300 petition signatures to convene a special town meeting, well over the 200 needed.

The pipeline would cut through the scenic orchard as well as other farmland in town.

Clark says the measure may not hold up in court, but will put the town on record as against the pipeline when Kinder-Morgan files for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval in September.

Town officials have invited Kinder-Morgan representatives to Wednesday's Select Board meeting, but it's not clear if they will attend. Kinder Morgan has said it's willing to meet with residents some time in September.

The pipeline is largely under federal jurisdiction, but state government has some leverage where the pipeline will cross protected conservation land. In addition, the opposition group MassPlan is advising land owners to deny Tennessee Gas permission to survey their property.

Last December, six New England governors, including Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick, signed a pact, agreeing to cooperate in bringing expanded natural gas pipeline capacity to the region. The governors have proposed a ratepayer tariff to fund the $2-3 billion project. Patrick has since said he's "skeptical" of the proposed route.

The proposed Tennessee Gas Pipeline would transport natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale fields in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to power plants and other customers in New England. It would traverse the northern tier of Massachusetts, crossing towns in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Worcester counties. Locally, the pipeline route would cut through Plainfield, Deerfield, Ashfield, Conway, Erving, Montague, Northfield, Orange, Shelburne and Warwick.

Wednesday's meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Deerfield town offices.

Ferguson teen Michael Brown reportedly shot by cop six times; police clash again with protesters

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Michael Brown was also shot four times in the right arm, and all the bullets were fired into his front, a former New York City medical examiner told The New York Times.

FERGUSON, Mo. -- A preliminary private autopsy found that a black Missouri teenager, whose fatal shooting by a white police officer has spurred a week of protests, was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, according to a report Sunday.

Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City chief medical examiner, told The New York Times that one of the bullets entered the top of Brown's skull, suggesting that his head was bent forward when he suffered a fatal injury.

Brown was also shot four times in the right arm, and all the bullets were fired into his front, Baden said.

As night fell Sunday in Ferguson, another peaceful protest quickly deteriorated after marchers pushed toward one end of a street. Police attempted to push them back by firing tear gas and shouting over a bullhorn that the protest was no longer peaceful.

Also Sunday, Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a federal medical examiner to perform another autopsy on Brown. The "extraordinary circumstances" surrounding the death of the 18-year-old Brown and a request by Brown's family members prompted the order, Department of Justice spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement.

The examination was to take as soon as possible, Fallon said, adding that the Justice Department still planned to take the state-performed autopsy into account in the course of its investigation.

The Justice Department already had deepened its civil rights investigation into the shooting. A day earlier, officials said 40 FBI agents were going door-to-door gathering information in the Ferguson neighborhood where Brown, who was unarmed, was shot to death Aug. 9.

A federally conducted autopsy "more closely focused on entry point of projectiles, defensive wounds and bruises" might help that investigation, said David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor who supervised the criminal civil rights section of Miami's U.S. attorney's office. The move is "not that unusual," he added.

Federal authorities also want to calm any public fears that no action will be taken on the case, Weinstein said.

Back in Ferguson, the latest clashes erupted three hours before the midnight curfew imposed by Gov. Jay Nixon. It was not clear why officers acted ahead of the deadline for people to be off the street.

Police in riot gear ordered all the protesters to disperse. Many of the marchers retreated, but a group of about 100 stood defiantly about two blocks away until getting hit by another volley of tear gas.

Protesters laid a line of cinder blocks across the pavement near the QuikTrip convenience store that was burned down last week. It was an apparent attempt to block police vehicles, but the vehicles easily plowed through. Someone set a nearby trash bin on fire, and gunshots rang out several blocks away.

Within two hours, most people had been cleared off West Florissant Avenue, one of the community's main thoroughfares.

Earlier in the day, Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who agency in now in charge of security in Ferguson, said he had met members of Brown's family and the experience "brought tears to my eyes and shame to my heart."

"When this is over," he told the crowd, "I'm going to go in my son's room. My black son, who wears his pants sagging, who wears his hat cocked to the side, got tattoos on his arms, but that's my baby."

Johnson added: "We all need to thank the Browns for Michael. Because Michael's going to make it better for our sons to be better black men."

The Rev. Al Sharpton told the rally Brown's death was a "defining moment for this country."

Sharpton said he wants Congress to stop programs that provide military-style weaponry to police departments. He said he expects police to "smear" the slain teenager, his family and his attorneys. He also condemned the recent violence and looting in Ferguson.

The protests have been going on since Brown's death heightened racial tensions between the predominantly black community and the mostly white Ferguson Police Department, leading to several run-ins between police and protesters and prompting Missouri's governor to put the state highway patrol in charge of security.

Ferguson police waited six days to publicly reveal the name of the officer and documents alleging Brown robbed a convenience store shortly before he was killed. Police Chief Thomas Jackson said the officer did not know Brown was a robbery suspect when he encountered him walking in the street with a friend.

Nixon said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that he was not aware the police were going to release surveillance video from the store where Brown is alleged to have stolen a $49 box of cigars.

"It's appeared to cast aspersions on a young man that was gunned down in the street. It made emotions raw," Nixon said.

Police have said little about the encounter between Brown and the officer, except to say that it involved a scuffle in which the officer was injured and Brown was shot. Witnesses say the teenager had his hands in the air as the officer fired multiple rounds.

"When you're exhausted, when you're out of resources, when you're out of ammunition, you surrender," Brown's uncle, pastor Charles Ewing, told worshippers during a Sunday sermon at Jennings Mason Temple in Ferguson. "He surrendered and yet he died."

The officer who shot Brown has been identified as Darren Wilson, a six-year police veteran who had no previous complaints against him. Wilson has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting, and the department has refused to say anything about his whereabouts. Associated Press reporters have been unable to contact him at any addresses or phone numbers listed under that name in the St. Louis area.

Also Sunday, about 150 people gathered in St. Louis to show support for Wilson. The crowd protested outside a TV station because it had broadcast from in front of the officer's home.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said the station, KSDK, later apologized. Other in the group, composed mostly of police and relatives of officers, carried signs urging people to wait for all the facts.

This is a live video feed from OccupiedAir, which calls itself is "an independent news team dedicated to protecting peace."



Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

Water use restriction lifted for Springfield, Ludlow, Agawam, East Longmeadow, Longmeadow

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The repair to the 60-inch transmission pipe has been completed.

SPRINGFIELD – The mandatory water use restriction for Springfield, Ludlow, Agawam, East Longmeadow and Longmeadow was lifted at 5 p.m. Sunday, allowing residents to resume normal water use and outdoor watering activities.

The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission imposed the water restriction Thursday after it had to shut down a main transmission main so an emergency repair could be made.

The emergency repair has been made and the 60-inch transmission main was brought back in service at 9 a.m. The system is now operating normally so the restriction could be lifted, Commission officials said in a written announcement.

The transmission main delivers water from Provin Mountain Reservoir to Springfield and surrounding communities.

As a part of the mandatory water restriction, customers were asked to refrain from all outdoor watering activities, and be conscientious of non-essential water use, the release said.

When announcing the end of the restriction, the Commission thanked residents in the affected communities for their cooperation and support. Compliance to the water use restriction allowed the Commission to provide reliable water service to the communities while repairs were completed, officials said in a written release.

Ukraine alleges pro-Russia separatists killed dozens of civilians in attack on refugees

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Ukraine accused pro-Russia separatists of killing dozens of civilians in an attack early Monday on a convoy fleeing a besieged rebel-held city. The rebels denied any attack took place, while the U.S. confirmed the shelling of the convoy but said it did not know who was responsible.


By NATALIYA VASILYEVA

KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine accused pro-Russia separatists of killing dozens of civilians in an attack early Monday on a convoy fleeing a besieged rebel-held city. The rebels denied any attack took place, while the U.S. confirmed the shelling of the convoy but said it did not know who was responsible.

The refugees were attacked with Grad rockets and other weapons imported from Russia as their convoy traveled on the main road leading from Russia to the rebel-held city of Luhansk, Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's National Security Council, told reporters.

"Many people were killed, among them women and children," Lysenko said of the attack, which occurred between the towns of Khryashchuvate and Novosvitlivka. "We are not able to count the death toll at this point."

When asked about a rough estimate of deaths, he said "dozens."

Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky, a spokesman for the Ukrainian government's military operation in the east, later told The Associated Press that 15 bodies had been recovered from the smoldering vehicles and servicemen were collecting the body parts of at least 10 more people.

Donetsk rebel chief Alexander Zakharchenko insisted that no such attack had taken place. His deputy, Andrei Purgin, said he had no information about an attack and insisted it was not by his forces.

"If someone was killed, it wasn't us but the Ukrainian military," Purgin told the AP.

The road where Ukraine said Monday's attack took place has been the scene of heavy fighting in recent days as Ukrainian forces try to seal off supply routes into Luhansk from Russia. It's also the same road that would likely be the route taken by a controversial Russian aid convoy if Ukraine allows it into the country.

The war zone in eastern Ukraine is effectively off limits for journalists and lacks power in many places, limiting citizens from easily providing their own reports. All this makes independent verification impossible.

The United States condemned the attack, but said it was unable to confirm who was responsible.

"We strongly condemn the shelling and rocketing of a convoy that was bearing internally displaced persons in Luhansk and express our condolences to the families of the victims," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters in Washington. "All sides must take every precaution to protect innocent lives. We are unable to confirm reports of who was responsible for the shelling and rocketing."

Fighting between government troops and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine has forced nearly 344,000 people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations, a number that has only grown as the humanitarian situation in rebel-held cities deteriorates. Running water and electricity have either been cut off completely in cities like Luhansk or are getting more limited by the day.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said more than 22,000 people fled the main rebel-held city of Donetsk last week compared to 6,200 the week before. And city officials have released even higher numbers: Donetsk has seen at least 300,000 of its pre-war population of 1 million leave their homes, while Luhansk has only 250,000 of its 420,000 people fled, local authorities say.

Residents of Luhansk have had no running water, electrical power or phone connections for 16 days, and basic food is in short supply, leading to long lines outside shops as fighting continues in and around the city.

In Donetsk, the largest city in rebel hands, several houses were hit by artillery fire over the weekend in the Budyonovsky district, which stands next to a rebel encampment.

One house was still smoldering when an AP reporter visited Monday. The rocket hit the yard and set fire to a tree, which in turn set several nearby buildings ablaze. The fire destroyed the cramped, one-story home of Nina Saltanova, 79, and her paralyzed 56-year-old daughter.

Asked if she wanted to leave the city, she despaired.

"I have nowhere to go. My daughter is disabled," Saltanova said as she tried to salvage scraps of clothing from the charred debris. "She can't walk. Because of her I can't go anywhere."

Tensions have been high over the past week as Russia said it plans to send a massive aid convoy to help those in rebel-held eastern Ukraine.

The more than 200 trucks, now parked in a Russian field by the border, have been viewed with suspicion by Ukraine and the West, especially since Ukrainian forces have been winning back significant territory from the rebels in the last few weeks. Ukraine suggests the aid convoy could be used by Russia to send help to the separatists — or to delay the government's advances with a timely cease-fire.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is expected to take responsibility for the Russian convoy when it enters Ukraine, said Monday that it was still waiting for security guarantees from all sides.

Russia's foreign minister, meanwhile, said in Berlin that he expects the Russian aid mission to enter Ukraine in the near future.


Editorial: Holyoke City Councilor Jossie M. Valentin owes the public an explanation about her vote

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Disclosure and transparency go a long way toward guaranteeing a “government of the people by the people and for the people.”

Elected officials are under no specific obligation to explain their votes to the public or their constituents. There are no binding contracts forcing them to engage with reporters. There are no required explanations. As elected officials, they can let their actions speak for themselves. It’s their prerogative.

However, when they don’t explain their votes on hot topics, they invite speculation.

Such was the case last week with Holyoke Ward 4 City Councilor Jossie M. Valentin, who repeatedly dodged questions from The Republican reporter Mike Plaisance about a vote she took in City Council.

Abraham Lincoln first called to an ideal democracy in his Gettysburg Address. In concluding that pithy and beautiful testament to democracy, he wrote, “government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

Disclosure and transparency go a long way toward guaranteeing a “government of the people by the people and for the people.”

When public officials fail to explain their actions, they take a small step toward tyranny and against democracy.

Come on Ms. Valentin, take a page from Abraham Lincoln: Explain your vote to the public.

Holyoke to begin resurfacing Whitney Ave., Whiting Farms Rd., 17 other streets

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Road resurfacing will cost nearly $1 million and take about a month to complete.

HOLYOKE -- The Department of Public Works will begin preparing 19 streets around the city for resurfacing Thursday (Aug. 21).

The actual resurfacing, the removal of asphalt and installation of new street surfaces, will begin Aug. 27 and last about a month, a press release from the Department of Public Works (DPW) said Monday.

The work will cost $880,000 and the money comes from the state Chapter 90 highway aid to cities and towns. Palmer Paving Corporation of Palmer is doing the resurfacing, the press release said.

"Residents are reminded to heed the parking restrictions posted on these streets as work progresses and use care while traveling through these construction zones. The use of alternate routes where possible is strongly suggested," the press release said.

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming Inc. of Bloomfield, Conn. will begin removing the old asphalt surface on:

  • Whitney Avenue from Interstate 91 to Lower Westfield Road.
  • Gordon Drive from Whiting Farms Road to the end.
  • Whiting Farms Road from Northampton Street (Route 5) to Sullivan Road.
  • Longwood Avenue from Northampton Street to Martin Street.
  • Hillcrest Avenue from Martin Street to East Promenade.
  • Michigan Avenue from Westfield Road to Downing Avenue.
  • Pleasant Street from Appleton Street to Highland Avenue.
  • Magnolia Avenue from West Franklin Street to the end.
  • Beech Street, from West Franklin Street to Hampshire Street.
  • Chestnut Street from Appleton Street to Dwight Street.
  • Sargeant Street from High Street to Commercial Street.
  • Mosher Street from Bowers Street. to Canal Street.
  • Vadnais Street from Northampton Street to George Street.
  • Central Park Drive from Mountain View Drive to the end.
  • Lindor Heights from Easthampton Road to the end.
  • Discol Lane from Lindor Heights to the end.
  • Woods Avenue from Francis Avenue to Hillside Avenuje.
  • Main Street from Prew Avenue to Anderson Hill.
  • Apremont Highway from Westfield Road to Dupuis Road.

Chicopee schools to go paperless with student handbook

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Parents may request a written copy and may ask for it in another language.

CHICOPEE – When students return to school this year, they will be handed less paper.

Instead of the 93-page students' Rights and Responsibilities handbook that is traditionally sent home every year for parents and youths to read, they will be just getting a one-page form.

“The handbook will be online and kids will get a letter asking parents is they want to access the handbook copy online or if they want a written copy,” Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. said.

On the form, parents can also request a written copy in another of the 22 different languages local families speak. The handbook is also available online in Spanish, the most commonly-spoken second language, he said.

The handbook has been online for several years, but the School Department always printed out about 8,000 copies of the handbook, one for every student in elementary, middle and high school.

Rege said he is hoping to only have to print about 1,000 copies, which will be less expensive and more environmentally-friendly.

He said he still wants to make copies available for parents who have limited access to computers.

School Committee members said they were in favor of the change, especially since the entire 12-member committee went paperless about two years ago and now receives all documents on a tablet.

The Committee also approved a new suspension and expulsion policy in a 9-0 vote. To get the new wording into the handbook, it suspended the rules to have both readings on the same night.

The new policy gives parents a better chance at due process if a child is facing suspension. It also calls for students who are suspended to be able to make up work while they are serving their punishment.

About a year ago the city created an off-site suspension room. The room is run by a certified teacher and students receive and complete assignments during the time they are banned from school. It is operated out of Chicopee Academy.

Evan Dobelle's lawyer: Credit card bill sent to Westfield State University due to mistake by car rental service, not sent by ex-president of WSU

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Garber has repeatedly stated that his client’s spending was proper and benefited the university. Any personal expenses charged to the university were later reimbursed, Garber said.

Updates a story posted Monday, Aug. 18, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. »


WESTFIELD – Evan Dobelle’s rental car company mistakenly sent his bill to Westfield State University last month instead of his current address, a lawyer for the former university president said.

Enterprise Rent-a-Car apparently “made an error and sent an invoice to an old address for Dr. Dobelle,” Hartford lawyer Ross Garber wrote in an email.

In late July, nine months after Dobelle resigned as president amid two state investigations into his spending, Westfield State received a $273.48 bill recently for a three-day car rental by Dobelle in San Francisco.

The school reversed the charges and forwarded the bill to the state Attorney General’s office, which is suing Dobelle to recover nearly $100,000 in personal expenses allegedly charged to the university and the Westfield State Foundation.

Garber criticized MassLive for reporting the initial story without waiting for his response which came several hours after a comment was requested.

Dobelle resigned Nov. 10 as investigators from the state attorney general and inspector general’s offices were probing his spending on airfare, hotels, restaurants, limousines and other items.

In a report in late July, Inspector General Glenn A. Cunha concluded that Dobelle repeatedly abused his authority by charging nearly $500,000 to five university-related credit cards.

In particular, 10 of Dobelle's San Francisco trips coincided with festivities at the Bohemian Club, a private, all-male social club to which Dobelle belonged, according to Cunha.

The trips – which frequently occurred during the Bohemian Club’s “Spring Jinks” gatherings in late May and its two-week “Encampment” in late July – cost the school and the Westfield State Foundation about $63,000, the report stated, adding “most of which appears to be personal” expenses for Dobelle.

Two weeks ago, Attorney General Martha Coakley filed a lawsuit against Dobelle to recover any personal expenses that Dobelle charged to the university.

Garber has repeatedly stated that his client’s spending was proper and benefited the university. Any personal expenses charged to the university were later reimbursed, Garber said.

For his part, Dobelle has filed two lawsuits – one in federal court alleging a conspiracy by state education officials to force him from his job, the other in state court to force Westfield State to pay his legal fees and damages for violating his contract.

Westfield State has accumulated more than $1.2 million in legal fees responding to the two state investigations into Dobelle’s spending


Eyes on 2016? Hillary Rodham Clinton goes to Iowa next month

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Hillary Rodham Clinton will headline a high-profile fundraiser next month in the nation's first presidential caucus state of Iowa, creating a big campaign splash as Democrats scramble to hold a key Senate seat in November and the former secretary of state considers a campaign of her own in 2016.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Hillary Rodham Clinton will headline a high-profile fundraiser next month in the nation's first presidential caucus state of Iowa, creating a big campaign splash as Democrats scramble to hold a key Senate seat in November and the former secretary of state considers a campaign of her own in 2016.

Former President Bill Clinton and Mrs. Clinton will attend retiring Sen. Tom Harkin's annual steak fry in Indianola on Sept. 14, Iowa Democrats said Monday. It will be the former first lady's first appearance in Iowa since 2008 when she finished a disappointing third in the state's presidential caucuses.

Clinton has urged Democrats to mobilize for November's midterm elections and party officials said she would likely appear at other events around the country to help the party's major fundraising committees.

And Harkin's steak fry, an event that draws thousands of grassroots activists each year, and future presidential campaign staff and volunteers, could be among the biggest, potentially serving as the unofficial start of Clinton's second presidential bid. Early polls show her as the leading candidate to succeed President Barack Obama, her onetime rival.

Clinton is "looking forward to campaigning for her Democratic friends and colleagues and to helping the effort to move America forward," her spokesman Nick Merrill said, adding that she'd "help raise money for important races in Iowa."

Republicans need to win a net of six seats to take control of the Senate for the remainder of Obama's term. The GOP is expected to maintain control of the House. Iowa's Senate race pits Democrat Bruce Braley against Republican Joni Ernst in a campaign to succeed Harkin, who has held the seat for three decades.

Clinton has spent much of the summer promoting her book, "Hard Choices," and stumbled when asked about her family's post-presidential wealth earned through six-figure speaking fees and other ventures. Her return to the campaign trail on behalf of Democratic candidates has been widely anticipated as Obama's approval ratings have sagged and some Democrats have sought to distance themselves from him in Republican-leaning states.

On a personal note, the Clintons' daughter Chelsea is expecting her first child this fall and the former New York senator has said she does not want to make any political decisions before she welcomes her grandchild.

"If I decide to run, I will have a very specific agenda about what I think we should be doing," Clinton said in an interview in July. She said the focus first should be on the midterm elections, however.

Democrats said Clinton's fall campaign itinerary was still being formulated. She'll appear alongside House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi at a fundraiser in San Francisco in October to benefit female candidates.

Clinton, said Rep. Steve Israel, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, "is an extraordinary force for our values and will relentlessly fight to jumpstart the middle class."

Iowa has had few visits from Democrats considering a 2016 presidential run. Vice President Joe Biden headlined the Harkin steak fry last year and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has made two trips to the state this summer, campaigning for local Democrats. Though Clinton has not returned to Iowa, the Ready for Hillary organization has been working on her behalf to sign up volunteers.

She last appeared at the steak fry in 2007 along with Obama and four other Democratic presidential candidates, an event that drew 15,000 Iowa activists. The Sunday afternoon cookout is considered a plum assignment for any Democrat considering a presidential campaign. Clinton's husband has appeared at the event three other times.

Organizers said the event at the balloon field would serve as a tribute to Harkin, who was first elected to Congress in 1974 and won his Senate seat a decade later.

Harkin, a liberal stalwart, has maintained close ties to the Clintons. He was among the field of candidates who competed for the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination eventually won by Mr. Clinton.

He said he was thrilled to welcome the Clintons to his final steak fry, noting that they were coming "as old friends and leaders of our party."

Harkin said Clinton had not confided in him about her 2016 plans. "I'll support Hillary for anything she wants to do. She's that good a friend and that great a leader," he said. "That's a personal decision that she's going have to make."

In her recent book, Mrs. Clinton called the night of the 2008 Iowa caucuses "excruciating." She finished behind Obama and 2004 vice presidential candidate John Edwards.

Bonnie Campbell, an Iowa chair of that Clinton campaign, said attending the steak fry in the battleground state would be a "win-win" for Clinton.

"I never heard her articulate anything negative about Iowa, quite the opposite," Campbell said. Referencing a potential presidential campaign, she said Clinton will "be here because the process starts here. She's a pragmatic person."

SJC rules former Amherst teacher eligible for state pension despite 2007 conviction for child porn

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The court ruled Ronald Garney's interest in child pornography did not have a direct connection to his job as a teacher in the Amherst schools.

AMHERST - The state’s highest court ruled on Monday that a 2007 conviction for possession of child pornography does not automatically disqualify a former Amherst Pelham Regional High School teacher from receiving a state pension.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling allows Ronald T. Garney, 67, of Amherst to continue receiving a monthly pension of $2,393.78, despite efforts by the Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement System to have it revoked.

“Obviously we were disappointed with the court’s decision,” said Erika M. Glaster, deputy executive director for the Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement System.

The court upheld a previous Superior Court ruling that Garney should not have to forfeit his pension because there was no direct connection between his crimes and his job as a teacher.

“Garney committed his crimes outside of school, without using school resources or otherwise using his position to facilitate his crimes, and without involving students in his illicit activities,” the ruling reads.

“In this respect, a teacher’s conduct that fails to reach inside the school house doors does not satisfy the standard for forfeiture,” it read.

State law allows for revoking a public employee’s pension after a criminal conviction, but only in cases where the illegal activity is directly connected to the employee’s job. Prime examples would be a police officer convicted of assault or a financial officer charged with embezzlement.

The legislature “did not intend pension forfeiture to follow as an automatic consequence of any and all criminal convictions. Only those violations related to the member’s official capacity were targeted,” the ruling reads.

Teachers' Retirement System officials argued that Glaster used his e-mail address provided by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to procure pornography and that constituted the direct link that would allow forfeiture. The court ruled otherwise.

Garney in February 2008 was sentenced to 2 ½ to 3 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in December 2007.

He was arrested in Nov. 28, 2006 following an investigation that led to police finding nearly 600 photos and 85 movies on the computer at his Amherst apartment.

He admitted to viewing child pornography since as early as 1994, to purchasing and possessing it, and to joining several online websites as early as 2000.

In addition to the prison sentence, he was sentenced to 10 years probation, and required to register with the state as a sex offender.

After his arrest, Garney resigned his position with the schools. When he reached retirement age in August 2007, he applied to receive his retirement pension. He received monthly payments until 2009 when the governing board for the Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement System voted to revoke his pension based on his conviction.

Glaster said she did not know if the retirement system was required to make retroactive payments to Garney or when his payments would resume.

“We’re still digesting all the details. If the finding is he is not subject to forfeiture, we have to pay all of benefits to which he is entitled,” she said.

Mass SJC Ruling on Ronald Garney v. Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement System. uploaded by Patrick Johnson

Springfield City Council approves purchase of Early Childhood Centers property in Mason Square area for classroom needs

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City counci9lors said the price was right for buying the closed Early Childhood Centers property for classroom needs.

SPRINGFIELD – The City Council voted Monday to approve the purchase of the vacant Early Childhood Centers of Greater Springfield property at 15 Catharine St. for $2.8 million for school programs and classrooms.

Councilors including Timothy Rooke and Bud Williams said the price was right and the purchase fulfills needs within the School Department for classroom space.

“It takes a vacant building out of the heart of the Mason Square,” Williams said.

The site will be used for pre-school and other classroom needs, initially for the School Department, to help replace portable classrooms at the Mary Lynch and Brunton schools in need of expensive repairs, said Timothy J. Plante, the city’s chief administrative and financial officer.

Ultimately, the city would anticipate also leasing any unneeded space at the Catharine Street site to private educational organizations for pre-school students.

The vote was unanimous to purchase the building.

Rooke and Williams said that if the city was to construct a building of that size for school uses it would be far more expensive. In addition, Plante said it has a large kitchen that will aid the school system's breakfast-lunch program.

The city offered to pay $2,844,200 for the property, the assessed value, which was accepted by the owner, the Early Childhood Centers of Greater Springfield, which had shut down the center in December.

The price will be reduced by $100,000 because of some environmental issues found that will be cleaned up, Plante said.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno proposed the purchase to the council.


Body of Marine's pregnant wife found in mine shaft; alleged lover arrested

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The search finally ended Saturday when a body was spotted with a video camera 140 feet down a mine shaft on federal land near Twentynine Palms, where she had been living.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- For nearly two months, Southern California sheriff's deputies and a legion of volunteers scoured the vast, rough terrain peppered with abandoned mine pits and deep bodies of water where the 19-year-old pregnant wife of a U.S. Marine disappeared.

The search finally ended Saturday when a body was spotted with a video camera 140 feet down a mine shaft on federal land near Twentynine Palms, where she had been living.

In a little more than 24 hours, authorities had recovered and identified the remains of Erin Corwin and arrested her former neighbor and alleged lover, 24-year-old former Marine Christopher Brandon Lee, in Anchorage, Alaska, on suspicion of homicide.

"The manner of death has been determined to be homicide," San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said Monday, adding that deputies searched many of the 100 mine shafts in a 300 square mile area before zeroing in on the one that contained Corwin.

Corwin, whose husband was stationed in Southern California, was in the early stages of pregnancy when she disappeared on June 28, according to court papers. Her husband, Marine Cpl. Jonathan Corwin, reported her missing the next day.

The investigation grew to focus on Lee, who was the Corwins' neighbor, according to court papers.

Erin Corwin's friend told investigators that Corwin and Lee were having an affair and that the unborn child might be Lee's, the papers show. Corwin told the friend, who lives in Tennessee, that Lee was worried his wife might divorce him and prevent him from spending time with his child if she knew Corwin was pregnant, the affidavit says.

Corwin told her husband when she left that day that she was going to scout out hiking trails in Joshua Tree National Park that she and her mother could explore when her mother visited a few days later. But the friend showed authorities text messages that said Corwin was planning to go on a special hunting trip with Lee the day she disappeared.

"It is highly likely that Erin could have been harmed by an unknown firearm," investigators wrote in the documents. "Sometime after Erin left with Lee, her phone was deactivated (turned off). Detectives believe if Erin was injured and left at an undisclosed location, she would not (be) able to call for help."

Two days after Corwin disappeared, investigators found her car abandoned off a road near her home. A single set of footprints led from the driver's side door and disappeared next to a set of vehicle tracks that matched the tires on Lee's Jeep. They found 10 spent casings from a .40-caliber gun in the Jeep, the court papers say.

Other evidence was found in the shaft -- one of more than 100 in the area -- but sheriff's officials declined to give details.

Authorities also declined to release the exact manner of death and said they could not confirm Corwin's pregnancy until an autopsy was completed.

Corwin would have been 20 if alive, but authorities say she likely died before her birthday.

Lee told investigators he was not with Corwin that day and had been hunting in Joshua National Park. He told police that although the two had kissed, they had never had intercourse.

The investigation found that Lee and Corwin did have an "intimate relationship" dating back to at least February, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Sgt. Trevis Newport said.

It wasn't immediately clear if Lee, who has yet to make a court appearance or arrive in California, had retained an attorney.

"Let's just wait until the facts come out before jumping to conclusions," Bob Lee, Christopher's father, told an Associated Press reporter during a brief interview outside the family's home in a working class neighborhood in Anchorage. He said the arrest came as his son and daughter-in-law, Nichole Lee, were returning home.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos said he expected to charge Lee with murder, but charges have not yet been filed.

Lee was arrested in July on suspicion of possessing a destructive device after a search warrant on a Yucca Valley home where he was temporarily living. He was taken into custody after the July 4 search and released on bail two days later.

He was honorably discharged after seven years in the Marine Corps and subsequently moved his family to Alaska.

Corwin and her husband are from Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Law enforcement agencies including the FBI helped search for Corwin, whose body wasn't recovered until Sunday due to poor air quality conditions in the shaft. One firefighter was injured in the recovery effort, San Bernardino County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig said.

Corwin was found in a remote area some 130 miles east of Los Angeles, Newport said.

"It is very rough terrain out there. One would have a difficult time, even in a four-wheel drive vehicle," he said.

Springfield City Council grants tax incentive for Freedom Credit Union expansion

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Freedom Credit Union will be relocating some of its workforce and expanding employment as part of its expansion plans.

SPRINGFIELD – The City Council approved a five-year tax incentive for Freedom Credit Union on Monday that assists its expansion plans in Springfield.

Freedom announced a $2.2 million expansion last week, saying it will continue to operate its headquarters at 1976 Main St. while expanding to a building behind that property at 77 Boyleston St.

The taxes will continue to be paid on the existing value of the property, with the tax exemption “granted and shall apply only to the new assessed value” of the property for the five year period, under the approved tax-increment financing (TIF) agreement. The exemption on the new value is 100 percent the first year, and is reduced by 20 percent each year thereafter, under the agreement.

It was recently estimated that Freedom will save roughly $90,000 over the course of five years on new taxes, with the city gaining the taxes annually thereafter.

Freedom, as part of its agreement, will relocate approximately 16 jobs to Springfield from an Agawam site, and will hire 13 new employees under the expansion. Freedom is also relocating employees from a site at the Northgate Plaza in Springfield.

Freedom has nine branches and two operations centers. Councilors praised Freedom for its investment in Springfield and for also plans to open a new branch this fall at Putnam Vocational Technical Academy that includes training provided to students.

Chicopee DPW repairs break in Mongomery Street water main

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The repairs were completed by 4 p.m. and Montgomery Street reopened to traffic.

This is an update of a story that was posted at 1:46 p.m. Monday.

CHICOPEE - The city Water Department has repaired a broken water main on Montgomery Street that had left as many as 300 homes and businesses in the area without water for much of the day.

The main was repaired at about 4 p.m. and the road reopened to traffic, said Joel McAuliffe, spokesman for Mayor Richard Kos.

The section of the road, which had been recently repaved, had to be torn up to get to the main, he said. It will have to be repaved at a later date, he said.

The break happened shortly after 6 a.m. to a 16-inch main transmission line on Montgomery that feeds customers in the Willimansett Heights and side streets off Montgomery Street, Alan Starczyk, superintendent of the Water Department, said earlier in the day.

The cast iron pipe is at least 80-years old. This is the second time in three years that there was a breech in the same pipe, he said.

The break caused the release of an estimated 635,000 gallons of water.

Voters at Wilbraham town meeting approve funding for repairs to two schools, contingent upon override vote

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A debt exclusion override vote will take place on the Nov. 4 state election ballot.

WILBRAHAM – By a majority show of hands, voters at a special town meeting Monday night approved a total of $3.8 million in bonding for a new roof at Wilbraham Middle School and new energy efficient windows and doors at Soule Road School, contingent upon approval of a debt exclusion override vote on the Nov. 4 state election ballot.

The project would be 54 percent reimbursable by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

George Gordon of Glenn Drive proposed that the town meeting be adjourned until Sept. 16, when he said more town residents would be back from vacation to vote on the proposed projects.

After much discussion the motion failed.

School Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea said that delaying action on the proposal could delay approval of the state reimbursement for this year.

Town officials said the expenditures for the new roof and energy efficient windows will cost the owner of the average $291,000 house in town an additional $39.14 per year on his property tax bill.

O’Shea said the roof on the Wilbraham Middle School which dates back to 1990 has been repaired several times and is coming to the end of its life.

The windows and doors at Soule Road School are the original 1970 windows and they have air leaks and are resulting in significant heat loss, O’Shea said.

Michael Dane, a town resident, said his tax bill has gone up 20 percent since the new Minnechaug Regional High School was constructed.

Other residents said the town is in the middle of developing plans for a new senior center and police station as well as asking for repairs for the schools.

The town needs new sidewalks as well, one resident said.

O’Shea said that repairing the school buildings will help preserve valuable town assets.

Selectmen said the roof and windows are on the town’s capital improvements plan, and the state reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority is an opportunity to get the projects partially reimbursed by the state.


The Amish Project closes out Chester Theater Company's 25th season

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Theater goers that enjoy complexity will want an encounter with The Amish Project, now playing at Chester Theater Company, through Sunday, Aug. 24

CHESTER – Theater goers that enjoy complexity will want an encounter with The Amish Project, now playing at Chester Theater Company, through Sunday, Aug. 24, that is directed by Daniel Elihu Kramer and performed adroitly by Allison McLemore.

The Amish Project broadly explores “what is justice?” and the correspondence between the inherent unfairness and finality of death versus survivors coping with that, searching for meaning.

More specifically, it looks at responses to an unforgivable event, or at least what seems as such, within the forgiveness paradigm at the chore of Christian belief.

The iconic play was framed by the 2006 massacre of young girls attending West Nickel Mines Amish School, perpetrated by a local milkman who lived nearby who was not Amish.

The school was located a dozen miles from Lancaster, in the heartland of Pennsylvania Dutch Country and has since been re-converted to meadow by the community.

Police said five girls died after being shot in the head execution-style; and another five who were targeted survived the horrific act when the gunman, Charles Roberts, who killed himself while still inside the schoolhouse, lined them up against the blackboard before firing.

Written by Jessica Dickey, for a single actress – with the yeoman job of portraying seven character, including two of the deceased girls -- The Amish Project premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2008, performed off-Broadway the following year and was published by Samuel French in 2010.

“In an effort to balance the conflicting desires to remain sensitive to the real people who were affected by the shooting, while giving myself creative license to write an unflinching play, I purposefully did not research the gunman or his widow, nor did I conduct any interviews of any kind. The characters in The Amish Project are fictional, and should not be misconstrued as the real people,” Dickey wrote on her website.

McLemore skillfully plays the characters of two sisters who were killed that includes a scene with their father and mother, who do not speak.

The father is alternately portrayed extending grace to the gunman’s wife in her home, and grieving profusely, alone in his.

In addition to the gunman and his wife, McLemore also plays an Amish scholar, a resident of Nickel who watched the news of the shootings on television and later confronts the gunman’s wife, and a Hispanic teen-age store clerk named America.

Wearing a basic Amish farm dress complete with bonnet, throughout the performance, McLemore uses, to maximum effect, the few props on stage – a transparent blackboard and marker, a chair, and her budding talent, to skillfully modulate between the septet of characters.

Part of the Chester Theater experience is the “TalkBack” with artistic director Byam Stevens following selected performances.

Stevens told those who stayed after the Aug. 16 show that the company strives to produce works that transcend a didactic that focuses on grading a performance.

Comparing The Amish Project to Impressionism, he said its meaning is not always readily apparent and that the many skeins of thematic material woven into Dickey’s writing requires reflection, discussion and soul-searching.

“It is my private prayer that this play, should they [the Amish community] ever know about it, would not hurt them further, but somehow honor the goodness they forged in the face of such tragedy. In my mind, that is the legacy of the Nickel Mines shooting,” Dickey wrote.

Chester Theater is located inside the town hall, off of Rt. 20 on Middlefield Rd., in Chester, Mass. This is the company's 25th season.

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