Police have charged three West Springfield residents with theft after they allegedly walked into the Home Depot on Daggett Drive, loaded up a shopping cart with merchandise, and tried to convince a cashier they were returning it.

These were the most read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now.

1) Springfield police identify couple involved in domestic murder-suicide [Patrick Johnson] Photo gallery above.

2) Motorist not sober enough to face drunk driving charge, Springfield judge says [Jack Flynn]

3) West Springfield police say suspects loaded up shopping cart at Home Depot, tried to 'return' it for cash [Brian Steele]

4) Worcester police make arrest in 'gang retaliation' shooting [Lindsay Corcoran]

5) Monique Sheffield, 23, identified by Springfield police as woman fatally injured by 2 vehicles on State Street [George Graham]

Councilor Anthony Soto said he was trying to help the federal government.

HOLYOKE -- If the U.S. Postal Service ever stops Saturday mail delivery, it won't be the fault of the Holyoke City Council.

The majority of councilors by voice vote Tuesday (Oct. 7) opted to withdraw an order that Ward 2 Councilor Anthony Soto filed about Saturday mail. The intent of the order was to put a nonbinding question on the 2015 election ballot asking voters whether they want the city to refuse Saturday mail delivery by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

Soto said the objective was to help the federal government and the financially strapped USPS by having Holyoke go on record as supporting an end to Saturday mail, and possibly in return, have the amount the city gets in funding for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) increased.

Councilors -- including Councilor at Large Peter R. Tallman, a USPS letter carrier -- balked.

They said not only was it a typically "left field" order from Soto but the City Council had plenty of local issues to consider without entering federal territory.

"I saw this order and I was a little bit surprised by it," Tallman said. "I respect my colleague and he brings up some issues that are sometimes out of the box....I encourage my colleagues to give it leave to withdraw. This shouldn't go to committee."

Councilor at Large James M. Leahy made the motion to withdraw the order, a step that means the council has decided against considering it in any form, such as a referral to comimittee.. That's what Soto had sought.

"I would like it to go to committee for a discussion," Soto said.

Ward 6 Councilor Todd A. McGee said he generally supports referring colleagues' orders to committee for consideration, but "This is a federal issue."

Soto appeared to be the only one who said "No when councilors took the voice vote to withraw the motion.

"Thank you, everyone," Soto said, with what appeared to be a grin, after his order was removed.

The USPS has said eliminating Saturday mail delivery would bring necessary savings. Since mail volume peaked in 2006, it has dropped 30 percent with USPS accumulated losses at $46 billion as technology and the Internet have changed how businesses and consumers use the mail, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the shift to five-day service would save $2.5 billion a year at first and then $2 billion annually over a 10-year period, according to washingtonpost.com.

Court records show Springfield police arrested Glidden for heroin possession twice in the past month – once on Saratoga Street on September 12, and again on Sept. 19 on Worthington Street.

SPRINGFIELD – After being arrested on heroin charges twice in eight days, Christopher N. Glidden stood in Springfield District Court Tuesday with a message written on his t-shirt.

“It’s isn’t easy being easy,” the t-shirt stated.

After reviewing the defendant’s record, an exasperated Judge William Rota delivered a message of his own while sentencing the 25-year old East Longmeadow resident to four months of jail time.

Rejecting the defendant's request for three weeks in jail and one year of probation, Rota imposed a 127-day jail term with no probation and then explained why.

“He’s going to come up dirty (on the drug test) again and we’ll be going round and round again,” Rota said.

After leaving jail, the defendant will be responsible for getting his own life back on track, Rota added.

Court records show Springfield police arrested Glidden for heroin possession twice in the past month – once on Saratoga Street on Sept. 12, and again on Sept. 19 on Worthington Street.

During the first arrest, police found two envelopes of heroin stamped with the image of 1800s-vintage rifles. A week later, police stopped him again in the city’s entertainment district and found a needle and a packet of heroin, records show.

Defense lawyer Maurice Powe acknowledged that his client has a history of drug arrests and probation violations, but said he now realizes the consequences of his addiction.

“He’s just asking for the opportunity to prove himself,” said Power, adding that Glidden’s family is supporting him in his battle against drug abuse.

The judge ordered Glidden to serve his sentence at Western Massachusetts Correctional Alcohol Center on Howard Street in Springfield.

Veterans and their spouses covered under Medicare Part B can obtain vaccinations for free

HOLYOKE - The Soldiers' Home is holding a flu vaccine clinic for veterans Oct. 8 and 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the facility's outpatient clinic at 110 Cherry St.

Spouses accompanying veterans will also be able to obtain vaccinations under the same payment criteria. People covered under Medicare Part B can obtain vaccinations for free. Some health insurance companies also pay for such vaccinations.

Anyone who does not have such coverage will be charged $30 for flu shots.

Interested veterans are advised to check with insurance carriers for eligibility; some carriers do not pay for the vaccines. Insurance cards must be presented at the clinic.

It takes about 10 days for a person who has been vaccinated to develop effective resistance against the flu.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are several flu vaccine options for the 2014-2015 flu season. Traditional flu vaccines made to protect against three different flu viruses (called “trivalent” vaccines) are available. In addition, flu vaccines made to protect against four different flu viruses (called “quadrivalent” vaccines) also are available.Trivalent flu vaccine protects against two influenza A viruses (an H1N1 and an H3N2) and an influenza B virus.

An intradermal trivalent shot, which is injected into the skin instead of the muscle and uses a much smaller needle than the regular flu shot, is approved for people 18 through 64 years of age. A high-dose trivalent shot is approved for people 65 and older, and sometimes causes a welt, or swollen reaction.

More than 6.6 million illnesses were prevented in the 2013 flu season due to the flu vaccine.

Typically, flu season in New England begins in November, increases in January, and peaks in February or early March.

Despite the benefits of vaccination and the potential severity of the flu, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that fewer than half of all Americans receive the vaccination in a typical flu season.

A yearly flu immunization is recommended for everyone over age six months.
Massachusetts has the fourth highest flu vaccination rate in the country, but it's still very low: 53 percent of residents had a flu shot during last year's season compared to a national average of 46 percent. That's a drop from 58 percent of state residents who got the shot during the 2012 to 2013 season.

The flu resulted in 381,000 hospitalizations across the nation last year, according to a December report from the CDC.

For more information about the flu, visit www.mass.gov/flu

Olivier Blanchard to speak Oct. 17.

NORTHAMPTON - International Monetary Fund's Christine Lagarde ended up not speaking at Smith College last spring, but a lecture about the fund is scheduled this month for interested students and members of the public.

Lagarde, IMF managing director, withdrew as Smith's 2014 commencement speaker, after protests from faculty and students.

Lagarde, the first woman to head the IMF, had accepted the invitation of Smith's board of trustees to speak, but an online protest garnered more than 400 signatures, and read, in part: "Although we do not wish to disregard all of Ms. Lagarde’s accomplishments as a strong female leader in the world, we also do not want to be represented by someone whose work directly contributes to many of the systems that we are taught to fight against."

A lecture, “What the IMF Really Does,” by Olivier Blanchard, director of research and chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, and Robert M. Solow, professor emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will be given Oct. 17, from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m. in Weinstein Auditorium of Wright Hall. A question-and-answer period, and reception, will follow about the fund whose role in helping countries recover from debt has been criticized.

In announcing Lagarde’s withdrawal last spring, Smith President Kathleen McCartney acknowledged that protesters "will be satisfied that their activism has had a desired effect.”

“I want to underscore this fact,” she added. “An invitation to speak at a commencement is not an endorsement of all views or policies of an individual or the institution she or he leads. Such a test would preclude virtually anyone in public office or position of influence. Moreover, such a test would seem anathema to our core values of free thought and diversity of opinion.”

Court, with six Catholics, fails to rule on same sex marriage, same day Vatican begins synod focused on better advancing its teachings on family.

It is one of those interesting convergences that happen in life.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to consider lower federal court rulings in five states that allow for same-sex marriage to stand. Meanwhile, the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is underway, at the Vatican, with a small delegation from the U.S. among those in attendance to discuss the "pastoral challenges for the family in the context of evangelization."

The convergence highlights not only the makeup of the court, whose members are either Jewish or Catholic, but also the influences -- legal, religious, cultural, that shape society.

There are six Catholics among the nine Supreme Court judges. These include Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Sonia Sotomayor.

The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops had been outspoken in its support for the Defense of Marriage Act, which classified marriage as the union between a man and a woman until it was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2013. They have issued recommendations, to be implemented on the parish level, to encourage Catholics to oppose same-sex marriage, abortion and aspects of the Affordable Care Act that mandate employers to provide coverage for preventative contraception.

Their legal argument hinges on the infringement of religious liberties. Marriage, between a man and woman, is a bedrock of Catholic teaching. The issues being addressed at the synod involve a review of answers to a confidential online survey available to Catholics earlier this year.

The survey sought answers to questions about everything, from co-habitation to domestic abuse to teen marriage. The Church has already said the purpose of the survey is not to change Catholic doctrine, but to better implement it. Pope Francis wants a more pastoral approach to implementing Catholic teaching, both in terms of its appeal to converts, as well as to estranged Catholics. The synod is charged with making recommendations to a 2015 synod which will forward its proposals to the Pope.

Presumably, the Catholic bishops' 2006 "Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care" was intended to be a more pastoral approach. But, there is no defense for how the Church, in the guise of being pastoral, defends its opposition against the lifestyle of gay Catholics.

The document is hard to digest, even in terms of how the Church seeks to empower itself, at the expense of gays, in general.

The guidelines read in part:

"Persons who experience same-sex attraction and yet are living in accord with Church teaching should be encouraged to take an active role in the life of the faith community. However, the Church has a right to deny roles of service to those whose behavior violates her teaching. Such service may seem to condone an immoral lifestyle and may even be an occasion of scandal."

This brings us back to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Roberts surprised everyone when he voted to uphold a mandate within the Affordable Care Act, that essentially allowed the act to remain valid. He was joined by Sotomayor, and the three Jewish members of the court, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan.

Interestingly, these four justices dissented from Roberts' majority opinion in the contentious Holly Lobby case. Roberts, joined by all of the other Catholics on the court, except for Sotomayor, ruled that requiring corporations, owned by families, to pay for contraception under the Affordable Care Act violated a federal law protecting religious freedom. In a different case, Sotomayor, who attended Catholic schools as a child, granted the Little Sisters of the Poor an emergency injunction from the same mandate.

Roberts and the justices, who had previously allowed bans on same-sex marriages to remain in two of the states involved in the Oct. 6 ruling, kicked the can down the road, waiting to see further rulings in federal courts. No decision on the constitutional right to same-sex marriage emerged on the same day the two-week, closed-door synod, with some 200 participants, mostly celibate males, opened at the Vatican to discuss issues of family.

The Supreme Court in a 2013 ruling in the United States v. Windsor case relating to the Defense of Marriage Act, granted federal benefits for same-sex couples married in states that allow such unions. In that case, the dissenters were Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Alito, who this month is receiving the 2014 St. Thomas More Society of Maryland's Man for All Seasons Award, in the Baltimore Archdiocese.

Interestingly, Kennedy, joined by Sotomayor, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kagan, -- perhaps the lineup in any future decision - wrote the majority opinion in the Windsor case, as reported in the New York Times:

“The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and injure those whom the state, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity,” Justice Kennedy wrote. “By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment.”

He said the law was motivated by a desire to harm gay and lesbian couples and their families, demeaning the “moral and sexual choices” of such couples and humiliating “tens of thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples.”

The hearing initially began around noon, but Judge Patricia Koehler expressed doubts about the defendant’s sobriety and asked him to take a blood alcohol test.

SPRINGFIELD – Ten hours before being declared not sober enough to face drunken driving charges in Springfield District Court Monday, Alfredo Contreras was struggling to place one foot in front of the other during a field sobriety test in Longmeadow, police records show.

The 23-year old farm worker admitted drinking only six beers, but his eyes were glazed and bloodshot and he failed three balance tests before refusing to take a fourth, Longmeadow patrolman Carl Mazzaferro wrote in his arrest report.

Without using his arms “in a seesaw fashion” for balance, the motorist could not walk a straight line, the officer concluded.

Contreras, whose address is listed as 96 Kibbe Grove, Somers, Conn., pleaded innocent to driving under the influence of liquor; operating with a suspended license and failure to stay within marked lanes during a late afternoon arraignment Monday.

It was the defendant’s second encounter with Longmeadow police in a year. In November, he was arrested on motor vehicle charges after crashing into a car stopped at a red light on Longmeadow Street.

The arraignment on Monday initially began around noon, but Judge Patricia Poehler expressed doubts about the defendant’s sobriety and asked him to take a blood alcohol test. When the results showed a .07 alcohol level, or .01 below the legal limit for driving, the judge adjourned the hearing until 4 p.m.

The defendant was released on personal recognizance, and ordered to report back for a pre-trial hearing on Nov. 7.

Contreras was stopped at about 2:20 Monday morning when Longmeadow police spotted a vehicle with Tennessee plates trying to pass a tractor trailer in a no-passing zone on Converse and Dickinson streets, according to the arrest report.

The car – which was heading south towards Somers - tried to pass the 18-wheeler on the left, then “dramatically jerked back” into its lane and swerved to the other side of the road in an attempt to pass on the right side, the report said.

When the motorist was stopped, he told police he had drunk six beers earlier in the night; after failing his field sobriety test, he was arrested and booked at Longmeadow police headquarters where he refused to take a blood alcohol test, the report said.

Contreras, a native of Mexico, was first arrested by Longmeadow police on Nov. 1, 2013 following a two-car collision at Longmeadow Street and Forest Glenn Road, according to Springfield District Court records.

The accident occurred just before noon when the vehicle driven by Contreras crashed into a motorist stopped at a red light, according to the police report, which said neither driver was injured.

When police arrived, Contreras said “he spoke little English and did not have a driver’s license,” the report said.

He was charged operating without a license; operating an uninsured motor vehicle and following too close, records show.

After the case was decriminalized, the defendant pleaded responsible and was fined $150, court records show.

Here is how City Councilors and School Committee members voted.

HOLYOKE -- At a Holyoke City Council special meeting Tuesday night, city councilors and school committee members voted to fill the vacant Ward 4 seat.

In the first round of voting, 13 city officials chose Irene Feliciano-Sims. With 13 votes, she was named the newest school committee member.

Ward 7 School Committee Member Erin Brunelle, who recently purchased a home at 243 Oak St. and hoped to represent Ward 4, received five votes.

Ward 4 resident L. Dorthea MacNeil received two votes and Scott Burns received one vote.

Jourdain disclosed at the beginning of the meeting that Burns is his cousin and said he disclosed it to state ethics officials.

Five of eight school committee members voted for Feliciano-Sims. Holyoke School Committee Vice Chairman Devin M. Sheehan voted for Brunelle and Ward 2 member Rosalee Tensley Williams voted for MacNeil.

Brunelle, on the advice of the state ethics officials, obtained from voting.

Here is how City Councilors and School Committee members voted:

Holyoke School Committee
- Chairperson Mayor Alex B. Morse: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- Vice Chairman Devin M. Sheehan: Erin Brunelle
- At Large Committee Member John G. Whelihan: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- Ward 1 Representative Mildred Lefebvre: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- Ward 2 Representative Rosalee Tensley Williams: L. Dorthea MacNeil
- Ward 3 Representative Dennis Birks: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- Ward 5 Representative John Brunelle: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- Ward 6 Representative William R. Collamore: Irene Feliciano-Sims

Holyoke City Council
- President Kevin Jourdain: Scott Burns
- Ward 1 Councilor Gladys Lebron-Martinez: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- Ward 2 Councilor Anthony Soto: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- Ward 3 Councilor David K. Bartley: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- Ward 4 Councilor Jossie Valentin: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- Ward 5 Councilor Linda Vacon: L. Dorothea MacNeil
- Ward 6 Councilor Todd McGee: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- Ward 7 Councilor Gordon Paul Alexander: Erin Brunelle
- At Large Councilor Jennifer Chateaueuf: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- At Large Councilor James M. Leahy: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- At Large Councilor Rebecca Lisi: Irene Feliciano-Sims
- At Large Councilor Joseph M. McGivern: Erin Brunelle
- At Large Councilor Peter R. Tallman: Erin Brunelle

"The reason I decided to apply was to start having a voice for the families within our Ward," Irene Feliciano-Sims told officials.

HOLYOKE -- City officials voted to have Irene Feliciano-Sims fill the the vacant Ward 4 School Committee seat Tuesday night.

Feliciano-Sims received 13 votes - five from school committee members, eight votes cast by city councilors - over current Ward 7 School Committee member Erin Brunelle.

The Ward 4 seat became vacant in early September when former member Cesar A. Lopez resigned just prior to moving to Chicopee.

A city position is considered vacant if the person elected ceases to be a Holyoke resident, according to an opinion by city staff attorney Sara J. Carroll.

"The reason I decided to apply was to start having a voice for the families within our Ward," Feliciano-Sims told officials.

The Oak Street resident said she is product of the Holyoke school system, having attended Morgan Full Service Community School when she first moved to the city, then Holyoke High School and Holyoke Community College.

"It is important to me to be part of an education system that is moving forward after going through challenging times," she wrote in her letter of interest to the school committee. "I think my experience working in the community will help forge a bond with the committee and the people we represent. My experience working with individuals with disabilities can be a valuable asset to the school committee, as well as staff and students in the public school system."

Feliciano-Sims said she has two children, both of whom are enrolled in the Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School. Both teenagers were in the audience during the meeting and cheered when their mother was chosen for the Ward 4 seat.

Brunelle, who recently purchased a home at 243 Oak St., hoped to be chosen to represent the city in her new ward.

Ward 4 Councilor Jossie Valentin asked Brunelle how she would represent the ward - which is 70 percent Latino, a different racial makeup than in Ward 7.

"As a school committee member, you are representing the entire city of Holyoke. I would handle any concerns the same way" Brunelle said. She added that she is "very aware of the ethnic background of the city."

As she was not chosen for the seat, Brunelle said she will not resign from representing Ward 7, though she and her family hope to move into their new home in coming months. "It is my intention to absolutely keep my seat," she said. "We represent all children and all parents in the city."

Ward 5 Representative John Brunelle expressed concern over Ward 7 representation, saying "it's either a big E or a little e, ethically."

The Ward 5 representative, whose children also went to charter school, had a few questions for Feliciano-Sims. He questioned what she would do to help bring students back into the Holyoke school district.

"At the end of the day, it's all about education. They're all going to be residents of Holyoke." Feliciano-Sims said.

She said she hopes to address several issues in Holyoke Public Schools including classroom size, early literacy, and programs for advanced students. "We have some really great students who get lost among everybody else. How are we promoting them?"

Ward 3 Councilor David K. Bartley, a Holyoke Community Charter School parent, asked why Feliciano-Sims enrolled her children at Paulo Freire.

Feliciano-Sims said she was drawn to the school because it offers "higher standards" academically and for their mission surrounding social justice. The mother of two said she considers herself a community activist and hopes her children become engaged in it as well in Holyoke.

Following the vote, Feliciano-Sims formally became the Ward 4 School Committee member. She was sworn in by City Clerk Brenna Murphy McGee in city council chambers Tuesday night.

She will fill the seat for the remainder of Lopez's term, which ends on Dec. 31, 2015.

City Council President Kevin Jourdain asked Feliciano-Sims if she will run for the elected position at the end of her term. "Yes, of course," she said, adding, "I think you guys are harder than my voters." She said her neighbors encouraged her to apply for the vacant position and she believe she would have their support in an election.

Seven Holyoke residents submitted letters of interest for the Ward 4 seat. Those interested included:

- Ward 7 School Committee member Erin Brunelle.
- Scott Burns, a dispatcher for the Holyoke Police Department.
- Irene Feliciano-Sims, a Ward 4 parent of two.
- Kathy Lynch, a Ward 1 resident whose recently moved from South Hadley.
- L. Dorothea MacNeil, an attorney who ran against Jossie Valentin for the Ward 4 councilor seat in 2013.
- Jonathan Rosa, an anthropology professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
- Elizabeth Roman, a mother of three students in Holyoke.

Two candidates were not considered. Rosa withdrew his letter of interest prior to the meeting and Roman was not in attendance on Tuesday.

MacNeil received two votes - one from Ward 2 Representative Rosalee Tensley Williams and the other from Ward 5 City Councilor Linda Vacon. Scott Burns received one vote from Jourdain, who disclosed at the beginning of the meeting that Burns is his cousin.

The five candidates - Democrat Martha Coakley, Republican Charlie Baker, and independents Jeff McCormick, Evan Falchuk and Scott Lively - attacked each other on a range of topics, seeking an advantage in what may be the final debate between all five.

BOSTON – The five candidates for governor met Tuesday night in a fiery debate, in which the candidates attacked one another on topics ranging from health care to homeland security.

Democrat Martha Coakley, Republican Charlie Baker, and independents Jeff McCormick, Evan Falchuk and Scott Lively met for an hour-long debate at WBZ-TV studios in Boston, moderated by WBZ political analyst Jon Keller.

This could be the last debate featuring all five candidates. The independents recently had their invitations withdrawn from a debate in Worcester, sponsored by Worcester area media organizations and the Chamber of Commerce. The Boston Globe and WGBH organized a debate for later this month, which will only include Coakley and Baker.

Polling shows Coakley and Baker in a dead heat, with each of the independents polling around 2 percent.

Some of the most testy changes came on issues surrounding health care. Baker, as CEO, helped turn around Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. Coakley, the Massachusetts attorney general, gave him credit for his work, but said Baker "tripled premium costs and tripled your salary." She pointed out that Baker's salary at Harvard Pilgrim increased from $600,000 in 1999 to $1.7 million in 2008.

Baker said his salary was set by the board, consistent with market salaries, and it's "not something I spent a lot of time negotiating with the board on."

"The fact is we saved Harvard Pilgrim," Baker said, adding that if the insurance company had dissolved, thousands of people in Massachusetts would have lost their jobs.

Falchuk, a former executive at Best Doctors, criticized Coakley for a settlement her office negotiated allowing Partners Healthcare to acquire three new hospitals. Falchuk said the deal would increase health care costs by allowing the hospital to build a monopoly.

Coakley said the deal puts price caps on what hospitals can charge and holds them accountable for better quality, creating a better result for consumers and costs.

But Falchuk said the deal is "closing the barn door after the horse is already out," because the market has already been distorted.

On the topic of the Affordable Care Act, which Massachusetts has struggled to implement due to technical problems with its new health exchange website, all the candidates said the state should seek waivers from the federal government from parts of the national health reform. Baker said Coakley, as attorney general, is the only one who could have done something about it, through her representatives on the state's Health Connector board. Baker pointed to the problems as a symptom of one-party government in Massachusetts.

"We're the only state in the country that had a horrible experience rolling out the Affordable Care Act where no one lost their job," Baker said.

Coakley responded, "We're the only state in the country that tried to provide a model for what happened on a national level." But she added that the federal government should have given states more latitude.

McCormick, a venture capitalist, said the state should have used technology more efficiently and pointed to the Health Connector debacle as a symptom of politics as usual. "There's so much we can do if we break from the status quo," McCormick said.

The debate started on a contentious note with a continuing dispute over Baker and Coakley's records on child protection.

Baker criticized Coakley for fighting, rather than settling, a lawsuit with Children's Rights, a non-profit, over problems with the Department of Children and Families.

Baker said the state should have fixed the agency's problems "instead of litigating it for four years."

Coakley responded that the case had no merit. "What we said was rather than spend millions of dollars on outside lawyers, let's work on a solution, not one-size-fits-all, to make that happen," Coakley said.

Coakley criticized Baker for returning $2 million slated for child protection to the state's general fund when he was secretary of Health and Human Services in the 1990s.

Baker said when he was in charge, "We hired hundreds of additional social workers and got caseloads down."

Falchuk criticized Coakley and Baker for the way they were arguing, saying abused children should not be used as political fodder. "It's disrespectful to the voters and the lives that have been lost to talk about these things in this way," Falchuk said.

One topic that has not come up frequently on the campaign trail is homeland security. The candidates were asked about cases involving terrorism suspects from Massachusetts. Keller asked whether Massachusetts is "a magnet for terrorists."

Lively, a Christian pastor, responded, "Massachusetts is a target because it's a liberal state." He said radical Islamists are going to liberal countries and "states that have the highest Democratic populations" because they will face less scrutiny and people have fewer guns.

McCormick and Baker both said Boston can be a target because it is a cosmopolitan city. "People from abroad who want to inflict terror want to get an impact, they're going to go to the kinds of cities they think they can be seen," McCormick said. McCormick said there needs to be more coordination between state and federal agencies and better use of technology.

Falchuk said with a focus on combating terrorism, he is worried that "our civil liberties are being increasingly encroached on." Falchuk criticized the order for residents to stay at home during the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect and the "militarization" of the police in that case.

Coakley said she worked with the police during the manhunt to get search warrants so the case would hold up in court.

Lively also used the question to say the country must close the border to illegal immigrants, to stop bringing radical Islamists into the country.

McCormick responded, "This country was built largely by immigrants," and said 60 percent of companies in the state were founded by immigrants.

The hearing is at 7:15 p.m. in Ludlow Town Hall.

LUDLOW – The Planning Board will hold a public hearing to discuss adoption of the town of Ludlow Master Plan Thursday night at 7:15 at the Ludlow Town Hall.

The complete text of the master plan is available for inspection during regular business hours in the Planning Board office and the town clerk’s office. The master plan also is available on the master plan website at Ludlow.ma.us/masterplan/default.htm.

The student was assaulted in the Main Street parking lot between Subway and the Bank of America ATM machine, according to Westfield police, who are asking anyone with information about the crime to call Detective Daniel Gustafson at (413) 642-9386.

Conor Berry | cberry@repub.com 

WESTFIELD — Police are investigating the weekend assault of a female college student in downtown Westfield.

Police say the woman was assaulted some time late Saturday or early Sunday in the parking lot near the Bank of America ATM and Subway restaurant at 24 Main St. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Westfield Police Detective Daniel Gustafson at (413) 642-9386.

The detective couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday evening, but a post on the Police Department's Facebook page says "the victim suffered minor injuries."

Authorities didn't identify the college the woman attends or indicate if she knows the suspect, described as a 5-foot-10 white man with a beard and short brown hair. He's in his late teens or early 20s and has "broad shoulders and an athletic build," police said.

Steven Wise argues that animals with human qualities, such as chimps, deserve basic rights, including freedom from imprisonment.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A state appeals court will decide in coming weeks whether chimpanzees are entitled to "legal personhood" in a case that could lead to expanded rights for animals such as gorillas, elephants and dolphins, according to the lawyer advocating for a 26-year-old chimp named Tommy.

Attorney Steven Wise argued before a five-member mid-level appeals court Wednesday on behalf of Tommy, who lives alone in a cage in upstate Fulton County. A trial-level judge has refused a request by Wise and his Nonhuman Rights Project to have Tommy released to join other chimps at a Florida sanctuary that mimics their natural habitat.

Wise argues that animals with human qualities, such as chimps, deserve basic rights, including freedom from imprisonment. He's also seeking the release of three other chimps in New York and said he plans similar cases in other states. If he succeeds, he said he will seek personhood for other species with human qualities, which he defines as self-determination and autonomy.

One of the judges said the state has laws to protect animals from mistreatment and suggested they might be a more appropriate avenue to ensure Tommy's welfare.

But Wise said the case is not about well-being, but unlawful imprisonment.

"What about the detention makes it unlawful?" asked Presiding Justice Karen Peters.

"Keeping a legal person in solitary confinement in a cage is unlawful," Wise replied.

The key question is whether a chimp is a person.

Richard Cupp, a professor at Pepperdine Law School who writes and speaks extensively about the legal and moral status of animals, said by phone Wednesday that granting legal personhood and rights to animals could unintentionally dilute the concept of human rights.

"We could see over time some of our most vulnerable humans losing out in a rights struggle if they're in direct competition with some particularly intelligent non-human animals," Cupp said. "We could have the personhood paradigm weakened by extending it to animals."

Cupp, and several of the judges, noted that rights come with responsibilities. "Human beings are the only species where most of us are capable of the responsibilities that go with rights," Cupp said.

Tommy's owner, Patrick Lavery of Gloversville, didn't appear in court or submit documents. Reached later by phone, he said Tommy, a former entertainment chimp who was placed with him several years ago, is cared for under strict state and federal license rules. "I think it's totally ridiculous to give an animal human rights."

Lavery said Tommy lives in a seven-room enclosure with lots of toys and other "enrichment."

"We've dedicated our lives to taking care of these chimps who have no place to go," Lavery said. "We would place him in the right sanctuary if we had the opportunity to. But he has special needs, he can't go just anywhere. He's never been associated with other chimps. He could get hurt if he went in the wrong atmosphere."

Southwick adopted Community Preservation Act in 2002.

SOUTHWICK - During the past 12 years, this town has completed 24 Community Preservation projects at a total cost of $8.8 million.

Those projects, which cost Southwick just $2 million overall because of CPA funding, will be highlighted Thursday night with the Community Preservation Committee and Board of Selectmen invite a public review of the program.

The public forum is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Town Hall Auditorium.

Voters adopted Community Preservation Act in 2002, approving a three percent property tax surcharge on property valuations. The first $100,000 of property valuation is exempt.

Starting in 2003 with an appropriation from CPA to preserve the Brozoka Farm, the town has preserved 648 acres of farmland from eight different farms; 43 acres of open space for hiking; preserved Southwick historical documents; rehabilitated Town Hall Auditorium; relocated the historic Gillett Tobacco Barn to the Southwick Museum and improved heating systems at housing on Summer Drive and Housing Authority housing and window replacements for dwelling on Babb and Birchwood Roads.

The Suffolk County district attorney announced a 278-count indictment against Joseph O'Donnell, 56

BOSTON -- A former Boston funeral director improperly stored a dozen bodies, stole almost $150,000 in funeral pre-payments and worked without a license on more than 200 funerals and cremations, prosecutors alleged Wednesday.

Joseph O'Donnell.AP 

The new charges include improper disposal of human remains, embezzlement, larceny, forgery, falsifying official documents and acting as a funeral director without a license. O'Donnell's attorney didn't return a message seeking comment Wednesday.

Prosecutors said O'Donnell's license expired in 2009 and he continued doing business until the foreclosure of his funeral home in 2013.

Investigators found the 12 decomposed bodies, along with 32 sets of cremated remains, in July in a self-storage facility O'Donnell rented in Weymouth. Prosecutors said in August that 11 of the bodies were identified and their investigation was continuing.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that the 11 bodies were those of people who died when O'Donnell was operating illegally, and the families of eight of them had been given the cremated remains of other people. Prosecutors said six sets of those ashes were recovered but two sets already were scattered. Prosecutors said they are still trying to identify the remains of the 12th body, an adult woman.

At another storage facility O'Donnell rented in Somerville, investigators found 45 sets of cremated remains, which they said were believed to be unclaimed remains from his funeral home.

O'Donnell is due in court Thursday for an administrative hearing on his original case. His arraignment on the new charges hasn't been scheduled.

A new campaign called 'Just one piece," is being launched this week in an attempt to find the teenager's killer.

The waterlogged document was found Sept. 29, when authorities discovered a campsite at which they also found explosives, ammunition, food, water and clothing.

Investigators found a journal left by ambush suspect Eric Frein that describes how he opened fire on two Pennsylvania state troopers outside a rural police barracks -- watching one of his victims fall "still and quiet" -- and then made his escape, authorities said Wednesday.

Frein wrote how he "got a shot around 11 p.m. and took it. He dropped. I was surprised at how quick," according to Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens, who read from the multipage journal that authorities said they found last week at a campsite used by Frein.

The journal describes how Frein fled in a Jeep, ran it into a swamp and took off on foot -- a botched getaway Frein termed a "disaster," said Bivens.

The waterlogged document was found Sept. 29, when authorities discovered a campsite at which they also found explosives, ammunition, food, water and clothing. Authorities are analyzing it, but Bivens said he is convinced it was written by Frein, who is charged in the deadly attack that killed one trooper and seriously injured a second.

"I will tell you, after reading this cold-blooded and absolutely chilling account, I can only describe Eric Frein's actions as pure evil," he said.

Hundreds of law enforcement officials have been looking for Frein -- described by authorities as a 31-year-old survivalist and expert marksman with a grudge against law enforcement -- in the woods around his parents' home in Canadensis, in the Pocono Mountains.

Officers believe they have spotted Frein in the forest, but the distance and rugged terrain allowed him to slip away.

The most recent sighting came Tuesday afternoon, when an officer thought he had a brief glimpse of Frein from about 200 yards away, Bivens said. That was the fourth sighting by police or the community since Friday, he said.

Tactical teams have also found evidence that Frein hid and made small fires in the crevices of a 40-foot rock face, Bivens said.

"We will get Frein. Whether that is today, whether that is tomorrow or whether that is next week remains to be seen," said Bivens, giving an update on the manhunt 26 days after the late-night ambush that killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson and seriously wounded Trooper Alex Douglass.

Bivens said the journal contains details that only the shooter would know. Notably, police said, the author does not identify the troopers by name, suggesting they were targeted at random.

After describing how the first victim -- Dickson -- dropped to the ground after being shot, the author wrote: "I took a follow-up shot on his head and neck area. He was still and quiet after that. Another cop approached the one I just shot. As he went to kneel, I took a shot at him and (he) jumped in the door. His legs were visible and still," according to Bivens.

The shooter then ran to his Jeep and sped off, but hit a roadblock about a half-mile away, according to the document. He turned onto an access road, dimmed his headlights after hearing choppers overhead, missed a turn and "drove straight into" the swamp, the journal said.

"Disaster," Frein allegedly wrote.

In addition to confirming the journal's existence, authorities also elaborated Wednesday on the two pipe bombs they found at the campsite. They were packed with metal shrapnel, along with explosive powder consistent with the kind of powder found in Frein's bedroom, said Sam Rabadi, special agent in charge of the Pennsylvania field office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"The design is simple, but very dangerous and could have caused significant injury to anyone in the vicinity," he said.

Authorities searching Frein's bedroom also found galvanized steel pipe, end caps, fuses and other bomb-making materials, Rabadi said. They believe that Frein might have built additional, "and perhaps more lethal, explosive bombs capable of causing severe injury or worse," Rabadi said.

Based on the discovery of the pipe bombs, police filed additional charges against Frein on Wednesday -- two counts of possession of weapons of mass destruction.

The suspects are facing drug conspiracy and distribution charges.

BOSTON — Three North Shore men have been indicted for conspiring to distribute heroin and fentanyl in Massachusetts, according to federal prosecutors.

Jorge Delgado, 27, of Peabody, and Juanel Pena, 26, of Salem, were arrested last week, while Thomas Martinez-Ortiz, 21, of Lynn, was arrested Wednesday.

They were indicted on charges of heroin distribution; heroin and cocaine possession with intent to distribute; and conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl in Salem, Peabody and elsewhere in Massachusetts, according to U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, whose office is handling the federal case.

The charges stem from alleged criminal activity that lasted from March 2013 until last month, prosecutors said.

The indictment was the result of a joint investigation by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Salem Police Department in response to a sharp increase in opioid overdose deaths, particularly deaths involving fentanyl and heroin – powerful, addictive opioids that are sometimes used together.

The painkiller fentanyl is far more potent than heroin, particularly when it's smoked, snorted or injected. Fentanyl also comes in the form of gel-based pain patches, which recreational users and addicts frequently cut open to suck out the gel.

"The recent surge in overdose deaths resulting from fentanyl-laced heroin is of critical concern to law enforcement and health officials," Ortiz said.

Salem Police Chief Paul F. Tucker said the investigation and indictments would have "a much-needed impact on the opioid overdose problem in and around Salem."

Maximum penalties for conspiring to distribute heroin and fentanyl include a $1 million fine and 20-year prison sentence, although actual federal sentences are typically lighter.

The $3 million will be put in a special stabilization account to pay for capital improvements.

CHICOPEE - After hearing Mayor Richard J. Kos talk about vital improvements that have to be made citywide, the City Council agreed to raise taxes by an additional $3 million so roofs can be replaced and equipment purchased.

The City Council voted to raise a total of $77.4 million from taxes for the fiscal year that started in July. It will raise residential rates from the existing $16.51 per $1,000 valued to $17.54 per $1,000 valued. Businesses will pay $31.67 for $1,000 value; last year owners paid $29.60.

The tax rate, which was adopted in a 10-1 vote, will increase the average homeowner's bill by $181 this year. Businesses will see an average increase of $1,249.

The average home in Chicopee is assessed at $169,606. The average commercial property is assessed at $597,430, but business values vary greatly.

At a minimum the city had to raise $74.4 million to meet operating costs in this year's budget. If the Council decided to stay at that rate, it would have increased the average homeowner's bill by $64.

City Councilor Gerry Roy, the Ward 9 representative, was the only one to vote against the tax rate, saying he would have liked to give businesses a slight break and shift a small amount more of the rate to homeowners.

"Commercial people are having a lot of issues. I know there are a lot of vacant commercial properties in my area," Roy said.

But the biggest debate was about Kos' proposal to increase taxes by $3 million to pay for capital improvements, which passed 11-0.

"This is really important stuff, roofs, public safety, our computer and our kids' recreation," Kos said while trying to sell the idea to the City Council.

When meeting with department heads, Kos said they identified between $8 and $9 million in equipment needs and building repairs.

"How do we approach this and also respect the taxpayers' ability to pay," he said.

Kos said he identified priorities totaling $3 million. Some of the items on the list include replacing the Szetela Early Childhood School roof for $300,000, replacing the roof on the Chicopee Country Club maintenance building and patching leaking roofs at Fairview Veterans Middle and Belcher schools.

Also on the list is replacing a 1995 fire truck that is so unreliable the fire department has to occasionally borrow a fire truck from Springfield, purchasing six new police cars and upgrading the city's computer system which is so outdated some data gets lost after it is entered.

Also on the list is repairing the four city pools, which are all leaking. The Ray Ash Park pool was so badly damaged over the winter it had to be closed this summer.

The $3 million will be placed in a separate stabilization account. As with the regular stabilization account, the City Council and mayor must agree on how to use the money so every item on Kos' list is not guaranteed to be approved.

Kos said the capital improvements should have been addressed years ago.

Two years ago Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette tried a similar move, proposing taxes be raised $1.3 million above what was needed to balance the budget. He wanted to deposit the money in the stabilization account and use it to purchase needed equipment, but after four contentious meetings and one veto, the proposal to increase the rate by the $1.3 million was rejected.

Wednesday night all 11 councilors agreed they need to buy equipment and make improvements but some questioned the method of raising taxes when the city has $12.4 million in its stabilization account and is expecting $6 million in free cash returned this fall.

"I don't agree with the funding mechanism. I thing the list is warranted," Councilor Shane D. Brooks said.

He argued some of the $6 million in free cash could be used to accomplish the same projects, but in the end he voted in favor of the proposal.

"We won't get another bite at the apple to put the money back in the taxpayers' pockets," he said.
But Kos said much of the $6 million is already encumbered. It will be used for winter storm cleanup and union contracts expired last year and need to be negotiated. He said the stabilization account is designed for emergencies and is at the recommended amount for a city with an about $74 million budget.

Maj. Jan Arash won't immediately be released, according to his attorney, who called the amount "extraordinarily high" for a non-criminal immigration case.

By CAROLYN THOMPSON

BATAVIA, N.Y. — An immigration judge set bond at $25,000 Wednesday for one of three Afghan military officers who face deportation after taking off from a Massachusetts training exercise last month to seek asylum.

But Maj. Jan Arash won't immediately be released, according to his attorney, who called the amount "extraordinarily high" for a non-criminal immigration case.

"His family lives month to month. He said he's worried about how his family is going to pay for bread and shelter this coming month because now his salary has been cut by the Afghan government," attorney Matthew Borowski said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement prosecutor Marvin Muller had opposed any bond, telling Judge Steven Connelly that while there is no evidence that Arash or the others pose a threat to national security, his absence of ties to the United States makes him likely to flee.

"I don't see anything to indicate this defendant is anything but a flight risk," Muller said.

Arash, Capt. Noorullah Aminyar and Capt. Mohammed Nasir Askarzada took a cab from Massachusetts to New York Sept. 20 after skipping out on a military training exercise they had been invited to attend at Joint Base Cape Cod. They were detained by Canadian border agents in Niagara Falls and turned over to U.S. authorities after walking into Canada and asking for refugee status.

The three officers appeared separately for proceedings inside the federal detention facility near Buffalo where they have been held since Sept. 23. They are challenging the government's contention they should be returned to Afghanistan because their visas are no longer valid.

The judge considered only Arash's bond application Wednesday. Borowski sought additional time to prepare before moving ahead on the cases of Aminyar and Askarzada. They are due back in court Oct. 22.

A trial date of Dec. 9 was set for Arash.

In interviews last week, the officers said they decided to seek asylum in the U.S. or Canada to escape Taliban violence at home, but now fear reprisals from their own government as well.

"The Afghan government says there will be repercussions for abandoning their post," said Borowski, who declined to speculate what they might be.

The lawyer has begun raising money online for their legal and living expenses.