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Official voter turnout pegged at 17 percent in Sept. 9 primary election

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Large numbers of voters cast blank ballots in the Democratic races for lieutenant governor and treasurer.

 BOSTON - Official voter turnout statewide was 17.04 percent in the Sept. 9 primary election, Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin said Thursday.

According to Galvin's office, 566,092 people voted in the Democratic primary and 159,936 people voted in the Republican primary. There are 4.26 million registered voters in Massachusetts.

The numbers were low, but were similar to what Galvin had predicted going into the election.

A majority of the Massachusetts electorate – 53 percent – is unenrolled and can vote in either party's primary.

There were no strongly contested races on the top of the Republican ballot, where 2010 gubernatorial nominee Charlie Baker easily defeated tea party challenger Mark Fisher. The Democratic primary featured contested races for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and treasurer. But the contests appeared to generate little enthusiasm.

The results from Galvin's office also show how little attention voters paid to the Democratic races for lieutenant governor and treasurer. Galvin reported that more than 117,000 people cast blank ballots for lieutenant governor, in a three-way race won by Steve Kerrigan, a former aide to Sen. Edward Kennedy. There were 80,000 people who cast blank ballots in the treasurer's race, a three-way contest won by Deb Goldberg, a former Brookline selectwoman whose family founded Stop and Shop.

At the top of the ballot, only 15,000 voters cast blank ballots in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Attorney General Martha Coakley won with 229,156 votes, defeating Treasurer Steve Grossman and former Medicare administrator Don Berwick.

Around 37,000 people cast blank ballots in the Democratic race for attorney general, which Maura Healey, a former bureau chief in Coakley's office, won in a landslide over former state Sen. Warren Tolman, in a race that polls had predicted would be much closer.


Springfield police schedules citizens academy for city residents

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The academy is open to city residents, age 18 and older.

SPRINGFIELD – The city Police Department on Oct. 1 will offer its Citizens Police Academy, a 10-week course for city residents interested in learning how the department functions.

The course, which meets one night per week, is designed to introduce Springfield residents to how the police officers do their jobs, including neighborhood patrol procedures, traffic details, narcotics investigations, gang suppression, criminal investigations and the overall use of authority.

There will be sessions on how different units within the department, including the traffic, narcotics, detective and youth aid bureaus, function.

The academy is open to Springfield residents age 18 and older.

It meets Wednesdays from 6 – 9 p.m. at the East Springfield Neighborhood Building at 1437 Carew St., behind the Pottenger School.

For more information, or to register, call Kathleen Brown at the Springfield Police Department at (413) 787-6359 or by email at kbrown@springfieldpolice.net. People registering should include their name, address and contact information in the email.

This will be the 38th session of the Citizens Police Academy.

PM News Links: Marathon bombing victim calls suspect 'coward,' no 'Christmas break' in this community, and more

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n advance of a global summit in Rome next month, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said the Church should rethink its ban on offering Communion to Catholics who are “divorced and civilly remarried.”

A digest of news stories from around New England and beyond.



  • Boston Marathon bombing victim Marc Fucarile calls suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev 'a coward' [Boston Herald] Photo above

  • Marshfield schools change name of Christmas break to 'holiday break' [Marshfield Mariner] Video above


  • Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin says church needs to rethink ban on offering communion to Catholics who are divorced and remarried civilly [Providence Journal]

  • Ashland daycare worker accused of assaulting child who refused to take nap [WCVB-TV, NewsCenter5, Needham] Video below


  • 1990 Whitman-Hanson Regional High School graduate Maj. Michael Donahue kiled in Afghanistan [Boston Globe] Video below

  • 70-year-old nursery shop worker beaten by teens, Stoughton police say [Brockton Enterprise]

  • Air Force does quick about face as sergeant refuses to say, 'So help me God,' during reenlistment [Christian Science Monitor]

  • Pennsylvania couple sentenced to life in murder of man wife met through Craigslist online [PennLive.com]

  • More human remains found in Connecticut town [Hartford Courant]



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



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    Granby woman says she lost $7,300 to Ryder Funeral Home, preplanned services with shuttered business

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    A hearing in the Attorney General's case is set for Friday, Sept. 19 in Northampton.

    SOUTH HADLEY - Rolande Emond thought that by giving Ryder Funeral Home $7,300 to prepay for her own funeral she was sparing her family a lot of trouble.

    But Thursday, Emond, 77,  was annoyed. She is contacting every Massachusetts state agency she can think of fearing her money is lost as the courts begin the task of unraveling the financial mess left behind by disgraced funeral director William W. Ryder. Soon she'll file a  complaint form with the Massachusetts attorney general's office.

    "He said not to worry, that everything would be in order," Emond said Thursday of Ryder. "He had a good business there. Ryder's had been a staple of South Hadley for many years."

    The state shut down Ryder Funeral Home abruptly in May after an inspector acting on a tip found  seven sets of human remains improperly embalmed and stored. Ryder subsequently lost his license.

    More recently, the family of a deceased Navy veteran also from Granby has sued Ryder claiming their father's cremated remains were switched with another person's and now impossible to identify.

    What's more the attorney general's office is also suing William Ryder and Ryder Funeral Home seeking to recover at least $500,000 in assets to compensate a minimum of 63 families that lost all or part of their funeral prepayments.

    The money is not put in insurance polices or deposited in trust accounts as required by state law, the attorney general's office alleged in court papers filed recently.

    A hearing on the attorney general's suit is set for 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, in Hampshire Superior Court in Northampton.

    Emond said she is hopeful of reaching a resolution.

    "But I don't like to think of myself as someone who was bamboozled," she said.

    She never received paperwork from an insurance company or from a bank. PeoplesBank, the institution Ryder used, didn't have Emond 's prepayments on file, she said.

    According to the state office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation Funeral Directors Consumer Fact Sheet, prepayment customers should get regular statements showing how much is in the accounts.

    Consumers who make funeral prepayments also need the following:

    • Standardized Pre-need Funeral Contract
    • Itemized Statement of Funeral Goods and Services that is Federal Trade Commission  compliant
    • Trust document with a Bank or Insurance Policy

    The state office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation also provides some general tips on purchasing a funeral:

    • Shop around. Check with more than one establishment.
    • Don't sign any documents or contracts until you have read them carefully and understand clearly what they say.
    • Before you decide on particular services or merchandise, make sure you receive an itemized price list from the funeral director.
    • Other than a required basic services fee, you have the right to select only the items you want to buy. Under federal law, this fee must either be listed as a separate charge with a description of what it includes, or included in the casket prices and identified as part of the casket price. If legal requirements mean that you must buy something for which you did not ask, the funeral director must explain the reasons why you are required to buy that additional item in writing.
    • Except in certain circumstances, embalming is not required by law.
    • Recent changes in Massachusetts law allow you to rent rather than buy a casket if you so choose.
    • Make sure that you receive an itemized statement of the prices for the goods and services you actually agree to buy. This statement should identify the actual or estimated price for each separate item of merchandise or service to be provided, to the extent that that price is known at the time, and must be signed by the funeral director. This statement must be provided to you at the time you finish making the arrangements, or prior to the funeral service itself.

     The national median cost of a funeral in 2012 was $7,045, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. If a vault is included, the median cost is $8,343.

    The Massachusetts Attorney General's Public Inquiry and Assistance Center can be reached online at mass.gov or by phone at (617) 727-8400.

    Top judge on deteriorated Hampden County courthouse: 'What people have said is true'

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    A litany of long-standing problems, from balky elevators and cramped courtrooms and offices to mold and poor air circulation, prompted Greater Springfield legislators to urge the state Trial Court to consider building a new courthouse.

    SPRINGFIELD – The state’s top judge toured the Hampden County Hall of Justice Thursday and concluded that complaints about the building’s deteriorating condition are justified.

    “What people have said is true,” said Ralph D. Gants, chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, speaking during a meeting with the editorial board of The Republican and MassLive.

    “The (problem) is not overblown; everything I saw confirmed what I had heard,” said Gants, who was sworn in as chief justice by Gov. Patrick in July.

    The new chief justice met with courthouse staff, state legislators and other officials while touring the Hall of Justice, which opened in 1976 and is one of the busiest in the state.

    A litany of long-standing problems, from balky elevators and cramped courtrooms and offices to mold and poor air circulation, prompted Greater Springfield legislators to urge the state Trial Court to consider building a new courthouse.

    They have also expressed concern about the upcoming $200 million reconstruction project for Interstate 91, which runs behind the courthouse, and traffic jams from the proposed MGM International Resorts casino nearby in the South End.

    Still, Gants offered no prediction on when if and when a new courthouse could be built. Instead, he noted that courthouses statewide were in various stages of neglect.

    “Courthouses have been like bridges – they have been under invested statewide for a generation,” he said.

    Asked about a possible timetable for replacing the courthouse, Gants said, “The answer to that is – I don’t know.”

    Gants, 59, replaced Justice Roderick Ireland, who retired in July. A Lexington resident, Gants is a former federal prosecutor who was appointed as associate justice to the state Superior Court by former Gov. William Weld in 1997.

    He holds degrees from Harvard College, Cambridge University and Harvard Law School.

    Obituaries today: Bruce Randall, 53, of Longmeadow; mechanical engineer who was passionate about the environment

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    Obituaries from The Republican.

    Bruce Randall obit 91814.jpgBruce W. Randall 

    LONGMEADOW - Bruce W. Randall, 53, passed away Sunday at his home. He was born to the late Jean (Harrison) Randall and Murray Randall of Berkley and lived in Longmeadow for the past 18 years. He was a graduate of the University of Massachusetts College of Engineering and received his pilot's license while in college. He started his career at Pratt & Whitney where he worked for six years as a mechanical engineer. He was most recently employed at Mercy Hospital in Springfield and also self-employed as a jack-of-all-trades. He loved cycling, canoeing and working around his house, which he had completely rebuilt, making countless unique and creative home improvements. He was passionate about the environment. He attended the First Church of Christ in Longmeadow and the Unitarian Universalist Society of Greater Springfield where he volunteered often.

    To view all obituaries from The Republican:

    » Click here

    Suspended Chicopee Police Det. Michael Gendron, accused of a sexual relationship with 17-year-old, in closed-door disciplinary hearing at City Hall

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    Attending the hearing were Kos, Gendron, his attorney, the girl's father, Police Chief William Jebb and city attorney Thomas Rooke.

    SPRINGFIELD - Chicopee Police Det. Michael Gendron on Thursday was subject to a closed door disciplinary in Mayor Richard Kos' office, in connection with his alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old.

    The relationship was discovered by the girl's mother; she arrived home early one day to find Gendron, 43, and her daughter naked on the floor one day over the summer. The allegations became public when the girl's parents sought a restraining order in Chicopee District Court. A judge extended that order for one year on Sept. 12. The mandate prohibits Gendron from possessing a firearm.

    Gendron was suspended without pay after the allegations surfaced, and Kos has the sole authority to decide to rescind or extend the suspension - or fire him.

    Attending the hearing were Kos, Gendron, his attorney, the girl's father, Police Chief William Jebb and city attorney Thomas Rooke.

    It is unclear what the outcome of the hearing will bring for Gendron; Kos has seven days to render a decision.


    More details coming on MassLive.com and in The Republican.

    Agawam MCAS 2014 scores released: Agawam High scores decline, citywide results remain stable with Level 2 rating

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    Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment exam results released Friday showed a dip in scores at Agawam High School and notable gains at James Clark Elementary School. Otherwise, the district’s results were relatively unchanged from last year's scores. All Agawam schools remain at a Level 2, an overall designation the district has received for at least the past four years, said Assistant Superintendent...

    Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment exam results released Friday showed a dip in scores at Agawam High School and notable gains at James Clark Elementary School.

    Otherwise, the district’s results were relatively unchanged from last year's scores.

    All Agawam schools remain at a Level 2, an overall designation the district has received for at least the past four years, said Assistant Superintendent Allison LeClair.

    Massachusetts ranks schools on a one-to-five scale, with Level 1 being the highest performing and Level 5 the lowest. Sixty-one percent of Massachusetts schools fall into the Level 2 range, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

    Agawam High School's scores decreased across the board with science and technology/engineering dipping by 10 percentage points, mathematics by seven and English Language Arts by three.

    LeClair pointed out that 92 percent of the high school students tested advanced or proficient on the English Language Arts portion of the exam, and that "the declines that we’ve had are minor."

    Likewise, 83 percent of Agawam High students tested advanced or proficient in mathematics; 64 percent met that standard in science and technology/engineering.

    "They took a lot of testing in the spring with both the MCAS and PARCC, and I think there might have been some testing fatigue on the part of the students," LeClair said of the declines.

    James Clark Elementary School improved in all testing categories, with 63 percent advanced or proficient in English Language Arts and 69 percent meeting the same standard in science and technology/engineering assessment.

    In 2013, James Clark students tested 13 and 11 percent lower, respectively, in English and mathematics.

    "James Clark had some challenges four or five years ago, and the teachers really dedicated themselves to improving literacy scores," LeClair said.

    Among all Agawam schools, 69 percent of students tested advanced or proficient in English, 63 percent in mathematics and 51 percent in science and technology/engineering.

    Score changes

    Below is how each grade scored compared to the percentage of students who achieved advanced or proficient scores last year.

    3rd grade: Up two percent in English and down one percent in mathematics. Science and technology/engineering is not tested in this grade.

    4th grade: Up one percent in English and down seven percent in mathematics. Science and technology/engineering is not tested in this grade.

    5th grade: Down nine percent in English, down six percent in mathematics and up eight percent in science and technology/engineering.

    6th grade: Up six percent in English and up two percent in mathematics. Science and technology/engineering is not tested in this grade.

    7th grade: Down five percent in English and down four percent in mathematics. Science and technology/engineering is not tested in this grade.

    8th grade: Up three percent in English and up one percent in science and technology/engineering. Scores remained the same as last year's in mathematics.

    10th grade: Down three percent in English, down five percent in mathematics and down eight percent in science and technology/engineering.

    Take a look at Agawam's complete list of scores here.




    Ludlow selectmen congratulate Kathy Picard, winner of this year's Pynchon Award

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    Picard was one of 24 nominees for the award.

    LUDLOW – Selectmen extended their congratulations to Kathy Picard of Ludlow, an advocate, educator and mentor to survivors of child sexual abuse who is this year’s Pynchon Award winner.

    One of 24 nominees, Picard’s work to educate first to sixth graders and her work to extend the statute of limitations in both criminal and civil courts won her the distinction.

    “It is very fitting that she win this award,” said Selectman William Rooney. “I want to thank Kathy Picard for the work she does.”

    Alta Stark, Pynchon trustee, said Kathy Picard’s story is both “heart wrenching and uplifting and is a shining example of how one person’s courage and strength can be a driving force of change for many.”

    Springfield native Picard grew up in the Sixteen Acres section of Springfield and experienced abuse from the ages of 7 to 17. Her abuser was her stepfather, whom she is suing in U.S. District Court in Springfield.

    A graduate of Cathedral High School, Picard works as a full-time receptionist at Valley Communications in Chicopee.

    Picard said she first disclosed her abuse to a trusted aunt, who warned her not to talk about it.

    “My way of counseling, speaking up for myself, is the best counseling that I can tell you I have received,” she said.

    Picard, 52, now speaks to children at the Dunbar Community Center and the YMCA of Greater Springfield. She teaches Childhelp’s SpeakUp Be Safe Curriculum, which evolved from the same group’s Good Touch Bad Touch program.

    In addition to her work as an advocate, educator, mentor and support to other victims of child sexual abuse, Picard hopes to open a safe house in the Greater Springfield area she envisions calling Kathy’s House for victims of sexual abuse and is looking for financial support for that vision.

    A frequent speaker to police recruits, Picard was nominated for the award by Louis M. Barry, retired Granby police chief.

    Named for William Pynchon, the founder of Springfield, Pynchon Awards are given annually by the Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts. They are given to individuals from the region who have demonstrated exceptional community and civic service.


    Gubernatorial candidates Martha Coakley, Charlie Baker weigh in on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's response to Ray Rice domestic violence incident

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    Coakley called on Goodell to resign. Baker, after saying Thursday he needed more information, said Friday that Goodell should be fired if he knew about the assault.

    LEXINGTON - Democratic gubernatorial nominee Martha Coakley said Friday that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should resign or be removed, after questions were raised about the NFL's response to domestic violence.

    "To me, it's not just about Commissioner Goodell. It's about what that institution says for victims," Coakley said, speaking to reporters in Lexington.

    Goodell is scheduled to speak Friday about new initiatives the league is taking to prevent domestic violence after it was reported that the NFL received a copy of a video showing NFL player Ray Rice assaulting his then fiancé months before he was initially suspended for just two games. Rice has since been suspended indefinitely from the Baltimore Ravens.

    "If the message from the NFL or any other institution is if you are victimized, we won't hear you, we wont respond do it, and we won't hold perpetrators accountable, that's the wrong message. It's not ok to do that," Coakley said.

    Coakley added, "I hope we will see some changes at the top and not just with people but policies that will support victims and make sure they're heard."

    Republican gubernatorial nominee Charlie Baker was asked about Goodell by reporters on Thursday at a fundraiser for women and did not call for his resignation.

    Charlie Baker Martha CoakleyDemocrat Martha Coakley and Republican Charlie Baker will face off in the 2014 November general election for governor. 

    "If we fired everybody every time we got into one of these situations, I don't know, I would like to see more data and more information, and I think the commissioner has a lot to answer for," Baker said, according to news reports.

    Coakley released a campaign video attacking Baker for not calling for Goodell's resignation.

    On Friday, Baker clarified that if Goodell knew about the assault, he should be fired.

    "I feel the commissioner and the NFL acted irresponsibly, owe the public a much more detailed explanation than they have provided thus far and if it turns out the commissioner knew about what really took place, he should be fired," Baker said in a statement.

    Baker said he worked with survivors and advocates to develop a plan to stop domestic violence and protect women because the existing legal framework did not go far enough.

    "As the father of a 17-year-old daughter, these terrible crimes really bother me. The actions of Ray Rice and others are despicable and I look forward to seeing those individuals face the toughest criminal prosecution possible," Baker said.

    Coakley was involved this year in passing stronger domestic violence laws in the state legislature. But the Republican Party also criticized her for defending the actions of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan against calls for Ryan's resignation relating to the case of Jared Remy, the son of a Red Sox broadcaster accused of murdering his girlfriend.

    Remy had a history of domestic violence and Ryan acknowledged deficiencies in the way her office handled the case.

    Ryder Funeral Home sale pending, proceeds to go to escrow for victims

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    NORTHAMPTON - The sale of Ryder Funeral Home's building at 33 Lamb St. to another funeral home is pending, but at least some of the proceeds from that sale will be held in escrow to compensate families who allege money they prepaid for future funeral expenses is missing. Details concerning the short-term future of Ryder Funeral Home came out during...

    NORTHAMPTON - The sale of Ryder Funeral Home's building at 33 Lamb St. to another funeral home is pending, but at least some of the proceeds from that sale will be held in escrow to compensate families who allege money they prepaid for future funeral expenses is missing.

    Details concerning the short-term future of Ryder Funeral Home came out during a short hearing Friday before Judge Daniel A. Ford in Hampshire Superior Court in Northampton.

    The state shut down Ryder Funeral Home in May after inspectors found seven bodies stored in unrefrigerated areas and not properly embalmed. William Ryder, who did not attend Friday's hearing, didn't contest the state's successful efforts to take away his funeral director's and embalmer's licenses.

    Subsequently, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office has identified more than 63 families who say money they paid in advance for future funeral expenses was not invested either in insurance polices or in trust accounts in banks as required by state law. A civil suit filed last week by the Attorney General's Office sought to preserve the assets of William W. Ryder, his family and of the Ryder Funeral Home, on behalf of those families and any others who might come forward.

    The Attorney General's Office estimates the total loss among the more than 63 families at $342,000.

    Anyone who thinks they have been victimized is asked to call either the Attorney General's office at (617) 727-8400 or the state Department of Professional Licensure at (413) 735-6296.

    Friday, Ford granted a preliminary injunction in the case. The injunction also prohibits Ryder from destroying records or from performing funeral services.

    The attorney representing Ryder, Brian J. O'Toole of the South Hadley firm of Ryan, Boudreau, Randall, Kirkpatrick & Baker, offered no details of the pending sale other than to say there is a purchase and sale agreement and that they buyer is another funeral home that he wouldn't identify.

    There is no sale on record with the Hampshire County Registry of Deeds. A popular real-estate appraisal website estimates the value of 33 Lamb St. and its 3.5-acre-lot at $792,000.

    The attorney representing the commonwealth, Ann Lynch, also asked that the court free up the trust accounts for Ryder customers who do exist and where funds are on deposit at PeoplesBank. Freeing up those accounts allows those families to access the money and make arrangements with another funeral home in event of need while the case is in court.

    In another civil suit filed this week, a Granby family alleges that Ryder so badly botched their father's funeral that another set of cremated remains were buried in his grave and may, or may not, have been mixed with cremated remains belonging to their mother.

    Easthampton-based artist Anika Nailah hopes to spark conversations about race at Amherst College performance

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    National Liberation Poetry Tour coming to Amherst College seeks to engange the community about race.

     AMHERST – Anika Nailah had been a consultant working on multicultural trainings with schools and enjoyed the work.

    But as a writer and artist she wanted her work to be even more encompassing. "While I felt I enjoyed that work.... a piece of me was missing. I'm an artist, I'm author." She wanted to bring all of her passion about looking at race and social justice to the stage.

    So in 2012, she created the National Liberation Poetry Tour, which allows her to engage the audience in a more active way. She is bringing the tour to the Kirby Theater at Amherst College Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. It is free an open to the public.

    It's not a passive experience for the audience, she said of the program, rather it gets them involved in the performance and conversation in a deeper way.

    Nailah is an Easthampton-based Pocasset Wampanoag African American author, speaker and poet and was the founder and former director of Books Of Hope, a Boston-based, youth literacy program.

    She sees an urgency to her work. She was creating it at the time George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin in Florida. And the urgency has not lessened. She is dedicating it to Michael Brown, the 18 year-old black teen killed by a white police officer in Fergusson, Missouri and "all the fallen children." 

    She knows it's an issue here in town. She lived here and witnessed it. The town is addressing diversity in a newly created Amherst Together.

    Her work allows her the "opportunity to bring issues of race to the forefront." She said three's a "national platform (for addressing race.) It feels more urgent."

    She said the work is also a way to surprise the audience. "There's another way you could look at the issues. It goes right to the subconscious."

    She believes the stage is a place "where emotions are welcome to build something, to create something."

    And she has her audience do just that. ""They think it's going to be a passive experience. By the end, they're up on stage, writing a couple of words. We create a shared experience."

    She said there are three segments where she performs, the audience engages with her where they talk to her about the performance and then she elicits them to be part of it as well.

    She has them connect with someone in the audience they don't know 

    And she said, the performance is different every time. Nailah has lived in Amherst for a time and has performed pieces of this show at places like Rao's. She's excited about bringing it to the college where she hopes to draw a multi-generational audience.

     On Monday at 11 a.m., she'll be signing her book "National Liberation Poetry Tour Experience" at Amherst Books and giving a performance preview.

    In a statement describing the work she wrote that it's about "moving people to act across America---white people to examine and challenge their socialization about race, and people of color to look at how we can reclaim our power to define ourselves."

    Angela Thorpe removed as chairman of East Longmeadow Board of Selectmen

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    Selectman Paul Federici was chosen as the new chairman by a 2-1 vote, with Thorpe against.

    Angela Thorpe mug 2012.jpgAngela Thorpe

    EAST LONGMEADOW — Selectman Angela Thorpe was removed as chairman of the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Sept. 16, after a fellow board member accused her of procrastination and seeking undue influence.

    Thorpe said she had done nothing wrong.

    As he suggested reinstating Selectman Paul Federici as chairman, Selectman William Gorman outlined some of his complaints.

    These included Thorpe unnecessarily involving herself in an in-house promotion in the town clerk's office, delaying the signing of time-sensitive grant paperwork for the Senior Center, holding a laptop assigned to the town health agent and urging the animal control officer to get her a discount for the medical treatment of a cat. The grant paperwork was eventually signed.

    Thorpe rejected his criticism. "I'm confident that all of these things will be proven untrue," she said. "There are several things that you (Selectman Gorman) have said that are incorrect, but I certainly will take the time to draft a notice and get back to you."

    In reference to the cat, Thorpe said, "I asked for the discount for the cat because it was an abandoned cat." She said some veterinarians offer that type of discount.

    Said Gorman, "This board has been running up and down, up and down. We can't get nothing done here, because of what's going on.

    "Everything is procrastinated with Ms. Thorpe... she's delaying the Select Board from getting things done in a timely manner. We keep putting things off, we keep putting things to the next meeting. It's got to come to an end."

    Federici said, "For the lack of a better word, it seems like there's a crisis of confidence with our board, between department heads, between employees, between townspeople. Something has to be done, be it temporary or whatever, to regain the trust of the townspeople."

    William Gorman Angela Thorpe hugIn happier times, Angela Thorpe congratulated William Gorman on his April 8 election to the Board of Selectmen. Gorman on Tuesday led a move on the selectmen to have Thorpe removed as the board's chair.  

    At one point in the discussion Gorman accused Thorpe about lying in her responses and she in turn said he was lying.

    The vote proceeded and Federici and Gorman voted for Federici as chairman and Thorpe voted against the motion. It passed 2-1.

    The vote only removes Thorpe as chairman. She is still a selectman. Later in Tuesday's meeting, she was appointed as the new board clerk by a 2-0 vote, which she abstained from.

    "Hopefully, we'll just move forward. Obviously, the whole idea is to work on behalf of the townspeople, so we'll be doing the best we can on that," said Federici, when asked later about the near-future of the board. "We're coming up to a busy time, we're going to have budget hearings departments have to get budgets together, so we're going to work in the most effective and efficient way we can to get everything done that has to be done."

    Police Station Building Committee meeting Monday in Wilbraham

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    The meeting is at 3 p.m. at the police station.

    WILBRAHAM – The Police Station Building Feasibility Committee will be meeting with Architect Jeff McElravy Monday afternoon to review preliminary space need documents and concept drawings for a new police station.

    The committee also will be reviewing site evaluations of sites proposed for a new police station.

    The meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Police Department on Main Street.

    Police Chief Roger Tucker said a new police station to replace the existing 100-year-old police station on Main Street would provide increased safety for the police staff and members of the public.

    The estimated cost of a new police station is between $6 million and $7 million.

    A site needs to be purchased on Boston road, Roger Fontaine, chairman of the committee, said. The architectural firm is scheduled to review three proposed parcels, he said.

    The committee’s goal is to have schematic design plans prepared by next May’s annual town meeting.

    The project would need approval by the voters at the town meeting and by voters of a debt exclusion override question at the ballot box.

    A Senior Center Building Committee also is preparing to hire an architect to prepare plans for a new 15,000-square-foot senior center.

    Proposed merger of Dunbar, South End community centers in Springfield gets firm "no" from Mayor Domenic Sarno

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    City Councilor Timothy Rooke said his proposal to move the South End Community Center programs to Dunbar Community Center merits discussion and consideration.

    SPRINGFIELD – A proposal by City Councilor Timothy J. Rooke to combine the South End and Dunbar community centers at the Dunbar site in Old Hill drew a firm “no” on Friday from Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.

    Under his proposal, Rooke said that the city, rather than build a new South End Community Center at Emerson Wight Park, as planned, could instead move those programs to the financially troubled Dunbar Community Center on Oak Street.

    The city could pay off Dunbar’s $1.6 million mortgage or some negotiated amount, providing financial relief for that agency faced with possible foreclosure, Rooke said. In addition, the city would save millions of dollars in not constructing a new South End center, he said.

    Sarno, whose approval is needed on any spending proposal, said he would not support combining the centers at one site.

    “These are two distinctive sites with both neighborhoods strongly deserving to continue the legacy and tradition of their own community centers,” Sarno said. “They are separate and distinct entities that are sorely needed for positive youth development, education and community interaction.”

    The former South End Community Center on Howard Street was destroyed in the tornado of June 1, 2011.

    The city plans to build the new center at the nearby neighborhood park by using a portion of federal disaster funds for the estimated $7 million to $8 million project. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved the use of the disaster funds for the new center..

    “It was a long and arduous process,” Sarno said. “I am not about to throw a monkey wrench into the process.”

    010512 timothy rooke mug.JPGTimothy Rooke 

    Sarno said the city and various officials are working with Dunbar to seek ways to help the organization.

    Rooke said his idea deserves consideration.

    “To me, it seems like a very practical and logical solution that at the very least should be considered,” Rooke said.

    The Dunbar building already exists, and is reasonably close to the South End, with some transportation options such as vans and buses, Rooke said.

    Kirk Smith, president and chief executive officer of the YMCA of Greater Springfield, which runs the Dunbar programs, said Rooke did speak to him about the merger idea.

    It would not be a decision by the YMCA, Smith said, but added that he is open to any conversation about sustaining Dunbar.

    There would be issues to discuss such as space needs and transportation needs, Smith said. In addition to the foreclosure issue, Dunbar also faces an operational deficit that must be addressed, he said.

    In addition, while the South End Center was a city-owned site, the Dunbar property is privately owned, Smith said.

    In addition to youth programs, Dunbar has a very strong focus on family that would need to be maintained if there was any partnership between the Dunbar and South End centers, he said. The mission of each center, however, is aligned, he said.

    Dunbar was in danger of closing in 2011, when the YMCA stepped up and took over operations.

    “It, at the very least, deserves serious discussion,” Rooke said, regarding his proposal. “We would be able to provide services to both entities at a minimum cost to the taxpayers.”


    Defense lawyer: No evidence connects Caius Veiovis to murder of 3 Berkshire men; Prosecutor: Defendant enjoyed torture and murder

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    In August 2011, weeks before he was to testify against Hall, David Glasser and his roommate, Edward Frampton, and their friend Robert Chadwell, all of Pittsfield, disappeared.

    Read Buffy Spencer's live coverage of the trial.

    SPRINGFIELD - Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless told Hampden Superior Court jurors in his closing argument Friday all of the evidence together as a whole declares Caius Veiovis' guilt loudly and clearly.

    "The evidence may not be overwhelming but it is compelling," he said in the Berkshire triple murder trial of Veiovis.

    Defense lawyer James G. Reardon Jr. said, "In this case there simply are no facts."

    "Of course we all have sympathy for the families of the victims. Your verdict must not be based on fear, sympathy, anger or emotion," he said.

    Jurors deliberated for about 2½ hours Friday and will resume deliberations Monday.

    Veiovis' co-defendants, Adam Lee Hall and David Chalue, were convicted earlier this year in separate trials of three counts of murder, three of kidnapping, and three of intimidation of a witness.

    They are now serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.

    In August 2011, weeks before he was to testify against Hall, David Glasser and his roommate, Edward Frampton, and their friend Robert Chadwell, all of Pittsfield, disappeared. Their dismembered bodies were found in Becket 10 days later.

    Prosecutors said Hall, 36, of Peru; Chalue, 46, of North Adams, and Veiovis, 32, of Pittsfield, kidnapped the three victims from Frampton's Pittsfield home sometime in the early hours of Aug. 28, 2011, and fatally shot them.

    Reardon told jurors they are not allowed to speculate as the prosecution wants them to.

    He said the case as presented by the prosecution is a "maybe, might be, could be" case.

    "Isn't part of the reason he's here is because of the way he looks," Reardon said pointing at his client and saying Veiovis gets profiled. Veiovis has 666 tattooed on his forehead, other tattoos on his face and neck, and six nob-like implants on his forehead.

    "He's with Adam Hall and he looks this way. He has this stuff in his apartment," Reardon said "He shouldn't be judged by how he looks, how he lives his life."

    Saying Veiovis unusual appearance gets him noticed, Reardon asked "is this the face you use for your conspiracy."

    Capeless said, "Let us not forget that this case is about three men - David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell."

    There was the gruesome torture of David Glasser, Capeless said. "Being made to watch his dear friends being tortured and killed," he said.

    "I suggest the defendant really enjoyed torturing them and cutting them up," Capeless said.

    He said the kidnappings occurred in Berkshire County. "There is no reason to believe the killings did not happen there," Capeless said.

    Reardon said to jurors: "First as you've now heard they have never found the scene of the murders. It is the state's obligation to find it."

    The absence of evidence can't be the basis for a conviction, Reardon said. The state feels every time they couldn't find evidence it increases Veiovis' guilt, he said.

    Capeless said the fact there is no DNA or other forensic evidence linking the victims to the defendants is is neither a surprise or an impediment. The killers took pains to avoid being connected to the crimes, he said.

    The lack of forensic evidence is also not uncommon, he said. There is no requirement a murder scene be identified. There is no legal requirement a murder weapon be identified, Capeless said.

    The case should not be about what Veiovis alone did. It is about what the three did together, what two did together, what one did even if it is not Veiovis, Capeless said.

    Reardon said Veiovis asked Kayla Sewell to spend the night Aug. 27, the night before the men disappeared in the early morning hours.

    "There was no evidence Veiovis was with Hall and Chalue when the killings happened. The state wants you to speculate Veiovis was with them," Reardon said.

    No murder weapon has been found, he said.

    "The state wants you to believe Veiovis hid or got rid of a weapon. They can't find a weapon, that's the fact," Reardon said.

    "Don't allow the state to turn a lack of evidence into proof beyond a reasonable doubt," Reardon said.

    Reardon said no witness said there were three men doing the killings.

    "Dave Casey didn't say there were three men," he said.

    The prosecution keeps saying "three men, three men," Reardon said.

    Casey didn't say anything about Veiovis, he said.

    "Nothing. Hall never mentioned 'Veiovis,' 'Trash,' or 'hornhead' to Casey," Reardon said.


    Jurors to determine whether Springfield police officer had role in death of teen, Delano Walker Jr., struck by car

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    The question central to the panel's deliberations will be whether Springfield Police Officer Sean Sullivan was responsible for Walker's death - or whether he wasn't.

    SPRINGFIELD — Lawyers in the wrongful death case of Delano Walker Jr., a 15-year-old struck and killed by a car in 2009 during a confrontation with police, offered jurors in U.S. District Court their final pitches Friday after three days of testimony.

    The question central to the panel's deliberations will be whether Springfield police officer Sean Sullivan was responsible for Walker's death. The lawsuit was filed in federal court by Walker's mother, Kissa Owens.

    Jurors began their first hours of deliberations in the case on Friday afternoon, but concluded for the day without returning a verdict.

    Walker and two friends were stopped by police on July 16, emerging on bicycles from a car lot on East Columbus Avenue just after 10 p.m. Sullivan and his partner for the evening, Sgt. Peter Albano, working a special detail to combat car break-ins, spotted the boys in the depths of the lot and held them up for questioning.

    Walker's friends, Dominick May and Mark Scalese, explained to police that they paused in the lot to change shirts made wet and dirty by a summer storm. Walker, according to testimony, stopped but remained on his cell phone, dismissing the questions as "bull****."

    Witnesses have differed on what happened next. May told jurors Sullivan became incensed at Walker and repeatedly tried to choke him, causing Walker to back up into the nearby highway and into the path of a Toyota Camry. Sullivan testified that Walker immediately took a challenging stance, reached for his pocket and moved in reverse into the road.

    His lawyer on Friday told jurors that not only did Sullivan not use excessive force - as alleged in the lawsuit - he didn't use any force.

    "He had pepper spray; he had a baton; he had a gun ... He didn't use any of those things, he simply reached for him," argued defense lawyer Kevin Coyle. "More importantly he never really made contact with him. In reality, he didn't apply any force to Mr. Walker."

    Walker's mother is suing for $500,000, according to court records. She gave emotional testimony in the case on Wednesday, telling jurors the last time she heard her son's voice was when he called that night to tell her he'd be home soon. Walker and his friends had been out on their bikes, flirting with girls, grabbing dinner at McDonald's and a drink at a local gas station.

    "These were just good kids doing what good kids do on an ordinary day," plaintiff's lawyer David Hoose argued during closing statements. "These are not hoodlums; they're not thugs; they're not gang members ... They're just kids."

    Hoose told the nearly all-white jury of nine to "check stereotypes and biases" before it began its deliberations - which started just after 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

    Coyle, on the other hand, scoffed at the notion that the case had anything to do with race. Walker is black while Sullivan is white.

    "Don't allow other matters that are going on in other parts of the country to creep in to your deliberations in this case," Coyle told jurors, presumably a subtle reference to Ferguson, Missouri, where a black youth was shot to death by police, prompting street riots.

    "They have nothing to do with what happened on July 16, 2009."

    However, Hoose cautioned the panel to suspend lifelong "Officer Friendly" beliefs.
    "Sean Sullivan is not a bad person ... He might not even be a bad cop, I don't know," Hoose argued. "But I'll tell you something: He's a man. He had a bad day. He did a bad thing."

    Walker's family and supporters filled half the courtroom throughout the trial. Sullivan sat with his parents in court today as well as Police Commissioner John Barbieri. Sullivan was cleared of wrongdoing by former Police Commissioner William Fitchet after an internal investigation in 2010.

    Mass DEP fines Wing Hospital$6K for improper disposal of pharmaceutical waste, faulty record keeping

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    The hospital cooperated with the state agency during the investigation and agreed to take corrective actions to address problems, officials said.

    PALMER – Baystate Wing Hospital has been fined $6,000 by the state Department of Environmental Protection after an inspection and review of hospital records found violations in how the hospital disposed of pharmaceuticals and hazardous waste, the DEP announced.

    The DEP originally fined the hospital $10,000 but waived $4,000 after the hospital reached an agreement with the agency on proper disposal and record-keeping procedures.

    An inspection of the hospital and records review revealed the hospital was disposing of phamaceudical waste through an unlicenced hazardous waste transporter, and the hospital was improperly keeping hazardous waste on site longer than what was allowed.

    The inspection also found faulty record keeping for air quality and for the labeling and storage of hazardous waste.

    The hospital cooperated with the state agency during the investigation and agreed to take corrective actions to address problems, according to the DEP.

    “Certain medications destined for disposal are considered hazardous waste and must be managed in accordance with the Massachusetts hazardous waste regulations,” said Michael Gorski, director of MassDEP's Western Regional Office in Springfield.

    The violations were uncovered prior to the hospital's acquisition by Baystate Health in December when it was known as Wing Memorial Hospital.

    Officials with the hospital could not be reached for comment.

    Westfield man who punched police officer in the face headed to jail

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    A Westfield man pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from two different assaults — one of which was on a Westfield police officer.

    WESTFIELD – A Westfield man pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from two different assaults — one of which was on a Westfield police officer.

    Daniel St. Jean, 52, who court documents list as homeless, pleaded guilty in Westfield District Court to assault and battery and assault and battery on a police officer. Judge Philip Contant sentenced St. Jean to one year in jail with three months direct and nine months suspended, with credit for time served. The sentences are to be served concurrently, and he was fined $1,000 for the assault on an officer.

    Ofc. Steven Nacewicz wrote in his report that around 7:30 p.m. Aug. 20, he saw St. Jean walking west on Orange Street. Nacewicz said he was familiar with St. Jean and he believed he could have warrants out for his arrest.

    Nacewicz approached St. Jean at the corner of Orange and Kellogg streets and asked to speak with him, to which St. Jean agreed, the report said.

    St. Jean then gave his name as "Ron Bevan," to which Nacewicz said he believed St. Jean was lying and asked for his real name, the report said.

    Nacewicz wrote that St. Jean suddenly pushed him in the chest, then punched him twice on the left side of his face before running north on Kellogg.

    Checking later, Nacewicz said St. Jean had four warrants out for his arrest.

    Capt. Michael McCabe said Nacewicz chased St. Jean after the incident. Other officers were able to catch up to St. Jean and took him into custody without another incident.

    McCabe said Nacewicz had a swollen eye socket, but did not need medical attention.

    On July 7, 2012, police said St. Jean was arguing with a family member when the fight turned physical. St. Jean threw the victim to the ground and hit her, causing an injury to her lip, according to the police report.

    Easthampton MCAS scores: Huge jumps in 3rd grade math scores, high school rises to Level 1

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    The city's three elementary schools showed huge gains in math among third graders.

    EASTHAMPTON – The big news from the results of this year's MCAS test is that the high school is now a Level 1, rather than a Level 3, meaning it's meeting its goals to narrow student proficiency gaps.

    "I believe it is what we have been putting in place in professional development at the high school that has made a difference, as well as the new high school, a 21st century facility, and all it has to offer our students and staff," said Superintendent Nancy Follansbee.

    The newly-released 2014 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System results show a 7 percentage point increase on the science portion among 10th graders. The results in math and English were stagnant.

    Eighty percent scored advanced or proficient in science, 18 percent scored needs improvement and 2 percent failed. The numbers in English were 92, 7 and 1, while the math results were 79, 15 and 6.

    The city's three elementary schools showed huge gains in math among third graders. At Center School, math was up 27 percentage points and English rose 15; Maple Street School saw a 5-point rise in English, but a 24-point jump in math; and Pepin Elementary saw 27-point gains in both.

    "I believe what made the difference at Pepin School is that the principal and staff did some very thorough data analysis of the previous year's MCAS and the current year's student needs and then used highly qualified tutors to provide targeted interventions where needed," said Follansbee, adding that she credits that strategy for the gains at all three schools.

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