The proposal to establish a Polish Heritage Historic District has featured a battle about Mater Dolorosa Church.

HOLYOKE -- Debate begins Tuesday (Oct. 14) among city councilors about a plan to establish a Polish Heritage Historic District on Lyman Street.

The council's Ordinance Committee will discuss the plan at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Here's a question-and-answer primer on the proposal:

What is the proposal?

The proposal is to attach the official government designation of historic to 21 residential and commercial properties on the southern part of Lyman Street that supporters said mark an area of Polish heritage.

Why that area?

Largely because of Mater Dolorosa Church. The 113-year-old house of worship at Lyman and Maple streets was built and paid for by Polish immigrants, who came here in heavy numbers between the 1890s and the outbreak of World War I in 1914 to work in the paper and other mills.

District supporters said Mater Dolorosa Church became the immigrants' community focal point.

Why do supporters want such a district established?

Several reasons. As with all pursuits of the historic designation, there's a desire to honor folks from bygone eras by preserving the buildings that they not only built, but lived, worked and worshipped in. Once that stuff is gone, it's not coming back, because neither are the people who created it.

But this case has a unique feature: the battle over Mater Dolorosa Church.

What's going on with Mater Dolorosa Church?

Supporters want the church zipped up in the protective yoke of a historic designation in order to block the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield from demolishing it.

Creation of a Polish Heritage Historic District featuring Mater Dolorosa Church would erect that wall of protection, supporters said, because historic structures cannot be altered -- let alone razed -- without government approval.

Why does the diocese want to demolish Mater Dolorosa Church?

That's just it -- the diocese -- most notably through spokesman Mark E. Dupont -- has said repeatedly it has no plans to demolish the church.

But, because the diocese in 2011 merged Mater Dolorosa Church with the former Holy Cross Church, which formed the new Our Lady of the Cross parish based at 23 Sycamore St., Mater Dolorosa Church has been closed and unused. That has left former Mater Dolorosa parishioners bitter and wary about the diocese's plans.

Is there bad blood here?

Yes indeed. Former Mater Dolorosa parishioners don't trust the diocese, based on having their church closed.

Victor M. Anop, of Chicopee, a lawyer and key organizer of Friends of Mater Dolorosa Church, has exchanged nasty comments over the past several years with Dupont.

Anop was part of a group that kept a round-the-clock vigil in Mater Dolorosa Church for a full year after the diocese closed it for fear the bishop otherwise would send in the wrecking ball.

At a public hearing held about the proposed historic district in March, the Senior Center on Pine Street was filled with people. Nearly 40 supporters and foes of the proposal spoke and more than one speaker was booed.

Have there been lawsuits?

You bet: The diocese filed a civil suit in October 2011 after Anop and other vigilers refused to leave Mater Dolorosa Church.

Anop's group countersued later that month. The group charged the diocese "with mismanagement of parishioner-donated funds, civil rights violations through the intimidation of elderly parishioners holding vigil at the closed church and inflating the estimated repair costs to the disputed steeple, among other accusations."

Dupont responded to the countersuit in 2011 by saying, "It is clear through these actions that the individuals involved in this unauthorized occupation of Mater Dolorosa Church have reached a point where they are now willing to cast unfounded accusations, a further waste of time and resources. It is important to note this group does not represent anything close to a majority of the former parishioners."

These legal fights led to the matter going to the Vatican. The Vatican's highest court in Rome is considering the fate of Mater Dolorosa Church.

Why did the diocese close Mater Dolorosa Church to begin with?

Two main reasons:

Because Holyoke no longer had enough Catholics to support so many parishes.

And because an engineer hired by the diocese determined the steeple atop the church was structurally unsound and should be removed.

"It is only a matter of time before there is either a partial or compete failure of the wood framed steeple structure," said the May 2, 2011 report done for the Diocese by Engineering Design Associates Inc. of West Springfield.

So the steeple is a public safety hazard?

Not necessarily. The diocese's engineer's findings were disputed by Neal B. Mitchell, president of Neal Mitchell Associates of Northbridge, which did a report for free for Friends of Mater Dolorosa.

Because of the steeple's "tension cage" structure of timber, bricks and steel rods, Mitchell said in a July 25, 2011 report, "There is no way that this tower will ever fail with this structural combination."

So, back to the proposal: What would the benefits be of establishing a Polish Heritage Historic District?

Historical Commission Chairwoman Olivia Mausel said the benefits would include protecting distinctive buildings significant to Holyoke's history; encouraging new building designs compatible with the existing architectures; and making the city and owners of properties in such a district eligible for historic-upkeep grants.

The city might even benefit from tourism by establishing a Polish historic district, Mausel said.

Really?

Some people disagree with that. Jean Dietrich, chairwoman of the Finance Committee of Our Lady of the Cross parish, questioned how the city would gain by establishing such a district other than posting a sign identifying the area as historic.

"Big deal," Dietrich said.

What are the arguments of those opposed to the historic district?

They are concerned with the cost and renovation constraints that a historic designation would impose on owners of such properties.

Generally, a property owner can get a new roof, windows, doors and other exterior elements installed without onerous government hurdles.

But properties in a historic district can be renovated only after the Historical Commission reviews to ensure the materials and design of the planned work aligns with the building's historic nature.

Foes say such materials and process can be too costly and time-consuming.

But officials have said such concerns are unfounded "misinformation." The guidelines allow that for each particular renovation, the proposed work will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, officials said.

In Bishop Mitchell Thomas Rozanski the diocese has its first Polish bishop. Will that help the cause of those who support the Polish historic district?

Hard to say. The Republican and MassLive.com has tried to get an interview with the bishop to get his thoughts on the district proposal, so far without success.

So the Historical Commission compiled the report that forms the basis of the proposed ordinance that the City Council is considering?

No. That report was done by the Fairfield Avenue Local Historic District Commission.

Why that commission?

Despite referencing an entirely different area of the city, the Fairfield Avenue commission explored the Polish historic district details because the panel had experience in such tasks. That came when the street that bears the commission's name in the Highlands Neighborhood to the north was designated historic in 2010.

So what happens now?

The Ordinance Committee will begin debating the plan for the Polish historic district Tuesday.

Will people who attend the meeting be allowed to address the committee?

Probably. The public hearing part of the process is closed. But councilors can vote to suspend the rules and take public comments. It would be hard to imagine councilors facing a packed gallery of constituents -- and voters -- and not letting them speak.

Eventually, the proposal will go before the full City Council for a vote. If the council approves, the measure goes to Mayor Alex B. Morse, whose signature would be required to establish the historic district in the form of an ordinance. Morse has said he would sign it.

If the council rejects the measure, the proposal for a Polish Heritage Historic District dies.

What then?

Then we all wait for the Vatican decision about Mater Dolorosa Church.

Last question: What does "Mater Dolorosa" mean?

Mater Dolorosa is Latin for "sorrowful mother," a reference to the mother of Christ.

The Saturday night crash during the Gauntlet Haunted Night Ride "threw everyone off the trailer and into each other and into trees."

PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press

MECHANIC FALLS, Maine (AP) — A mechanical problem caused a Jeep towing a wagon full of passengers to careen down a steep hill and slam into a tree during a Halloween-themed hayride in the woods, killing a teenager and injuring more than 20 other people, authorities said.

Investigators were inspecting the Jeep to try to determine exactly what kept it from stopping on the hill, and state police were calculating the passengers' weight to determine if the hay wagon was overloaded and whether that contributed to the mechanical problem, Sgt. Joel Davis of the state fire marshal's office told reporters.

The Saturday night crash during the Gauntlet Haunted Night Ride "threw everyone off the trailer and into each other and into trees," Davis said.

Seventeen-year-old Cassidy Charette of Oakland died from head injuries, state police spokesman Steve McCausland said. She was among a group of friends from Messalonskee High School who visit Harvest Hills Farm every fall, authorities said.

Among them was 16-year-old Connor Garland of Belgrade, who suffered multiple fractures and was being treated at Boston Children's Hospital, McCausland said. A hospital spokeswoman said he was in fair condition Sunday night. About a half-dozen other injured people remained hospitalized Sunday afternoon but their injuries did not appear life-threatening, Davis said.

Kathy Mathieu of Oakland, whose son Zachary is a close friend of Garland's, said Charette and Garland attended the school's homecoming celebration together last week. She said the community is planning a fundraiser for Charette's family.

"Everybody is doing everything they can to help this family," Mathieu said. "There are no words to express the sorrow for the parents."

Charette was a member of the school's girls' soccer team. Garland is a member of the Central Maine Owls, a 15-and-under baseball team that won the state championship this year.

Messalonskee Principal Jon Moody sent a statement to the school community saying grief counselors would be available at the school this week.

The hay wagon was being pulled by a 1979 Jeep when it crashed, according to the fire marshal's office. The driver, identified by police as David Brown, 54, of South Paris, was among those injured. Authorities said he underwent surgery late Saturday and was released from the hospital Sunday. Brown is an experienced trucker who has a commercial driver's license, according to a spokesman for the farm.

Several actors participating in the ride's scenes assisted the injured riders and likely helped prevent the accident from being even worse, Davis said.

The sprawling farm is set on a forested hill about 25 miles southwest of Augusta, set back from a two-lane road. The owners have been hosting the haunted ride for about five years, farm spokesman Scott Lansley said. The tour's narrator was among the other 19 people authorities said were injured, he said.

Saturday night was a busy night for the ride, with more than 500 patrons, Lansley said. The entire park was evacuated after the crash.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the family," Lansley said. "We're a tight community. This is really a tragedy for us."

A sentence for culpable homicide can range from a suspended sentence and a fine to as many as 15 years in prison.

CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press
GERALD IMRAY, Associated Press

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius is a "broken man" after killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp because he lost her, his reputation, friends, income and sense of self-worth, a psychologist called by the Olympic runner's lawyers testified Monday.

Dr. Lore Hartzenberg gave the testimony ahead of Pistorius' sentencing for culpable homicide, and it was almost immediately characterized by the chief prosecutor as unbalanced.

A sentence for culpable homicide can range from a suspended sentence and a fine to as many as 15 years in prison. Judge Thokozile Masipa last month found Pistorius not guilty of both premeditated murder and murder in his killing of Steenkamp in the predawn hours of Valentine's Day at his home last year.

Several police officers stood guard on the dais where the judge sat amid concerns about her security. Masipa drew criticism from some South Africans who thought Pistorius could at least have been convicted of a lesser murder charge on the grounds that he knew a person could die when he fired four bullets through a toilet door and into a small cubicle, killing Steenkamp.

Prosecutors said Pistorius had opened fire in anger after the couple argued. The runner testified that he mistook Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and budding reality TV star, for an intruder who was about to come out of the toilet and attack him.

Hartzenberg said the double-amputee runner had sometimes cried, retched, perspired and paced up and down during sessions in which she tried to assist him.

"Some of the sessions were just him weeping and crying and me holding him," Hartzenberg said. She testified she had been counselling a grief-stricken Pistorius since soon after the Feb. 14, 2013 killing of Steenkamp.

The testimony was part of an effort by the runner's legal team to persuade Masipa that Pistorius has suffered emotionally and materially and that he is remorseful. The team hopes the judge will be lenient when she sentences Pistorius, once a celebrated athlete who ran in the 2012 Olympics, after what is expected to be a week of legal argument and testimony.

"We are left with a broken man who has lost everything," Hartzenberg said during her testimony.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel criticized her findings, saying Pistorius would likely still have the chance to rebuild his life and possibly continue his career.

"We are now dealing with a broken man, but he is still alive," the prosecutor said. He later questioned the psychologist about what she knew about Steenkamp, noting her life was over.

"Do you know anything about her dreams, what she wanted to do in life?" Nel said.

Joel Maringa, a social worker in South Africa's correctional services, suggested that Pistorius be placed under correctional supervision, which would include periods of house arrest, for three years and that he perform 16 hours of community service a month during that time. Such correctional supervision would allow Pistorius to train and attend athletics meetings again, Maringa said.

Nel said such a sentence would be "shockingly inappropriate" and described it as "no sentence."

Maringa, who was also called to testify by the defense, listed Pistorius' involvement in international sporting bodies as well as charity projects and predicted that the athlete's behavior could be "successfully modified within the community context."

Earlier, Hartzenberg, who described herself as an expert in trauma counseling, said she first met with Pistorius on Feb. 25 last year, 11 days after the shooting death of Steenkamp, and had been counselling him since then.

She said the shooting and Pistorius' lengthy and high-profile murder trial meant the athlete had also suffered severe loss. He had lost Steenkamp, his "moral and professional reputation," many of his friends, his career and his financial independence, she said.

Nel asked the psychologist about Steenkamp's family.

"Would you not expect a broken family?" Nel asked, saying Steenkamp's father Barry had suffered a stroke as a result of the killing of his daughter, and Steenkamp's mother had collapsed when she learned of her daughter's death.

Nel said Pistorius also had the opportunity to return to his life and his track career. Nel, who sometimes questioned Hartzenberg sternly, also raised an incident during the trial when Pistorius was involved in an altercation at a Johannesburg nightclub, questioning whether it matched her description of a grieving man who had withdrawn from society.

Defense lawyer Barry Roux said he would likely call four witnesses during the sentencing hearing. Nel said the state would call at least two, with the hearing expected to last a week.

There is no minimum sentence in South Africa for culpable homicide or negligent killing, although some experts say a five-year jail sentence is a guideline when a firearm is used.

___

Imray reported from Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Drawing on insights based on Tirole's work, "governments can better encourage powerful firms to become more productive and, at the same time, prevent them from harming competitors and customers," the academy said.

KARL RITTER, Associated Press
NATHALIE ROTHSCHILD, Associated Press

STOCKHOLM (AP) — French economist Jean Tirole won the Nobel prize for economics Monday for research on market power and regulation that has helped policy-makers understand how to deal with industries dominated by a few companies.

Calling Tirole "one of the most influential economists of our time," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said he's made contributions in a range of research areas. But it highlighted his role in clarifying "how to understand and regulate industries with a few powerful firms."

Tirole, 61, works at the Toulouse School of Economics in France and has a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Left unregulated, industries that are dominated by a few single firms can produce undesirable results, such as unnecessarily high prices or unproductive companies blocking new firms from entering the market. From the mid-1980s, Tirole "breathed new life into research on such market failures," the academy said, adding his work has strong bearing on how governments deal with mergers or cartels and how they should regulate monopolies.

"In a series of articles and books, Jean Tirole has presented a general framework for designing such policies and applied it to a number of industries, ranging from telecommunications to banking," the academy said.

His work is credited with helping drive the deregulation of industries in developed economies in the 1980s and 1990s, when many sectors were dominated by state-owned companies or monopolies. More recently, however, Tirole has argued for stronger regulation in the wake of the global financial crisis.

In a 2012 interview, Tirole told the financial journal Les Echos that the 2008 financial crisis stemmed primarily from regulatory failure. "The vision according to which economists have unlimited trust in the efficiency of markets is 30 years behind the times," he said, adding his research "does not advocate necessarily more or less of the state, but rather better state intervention."

Harvard University professor and economist Philippe Aghion said on France's BFM television Monday that Tirole's work is particularly useful to governments as they try to determine the best level of regulation, notably of banks after the global financial crisis. "Tirole is at the frontier of this domain," Aghion said.

It was the first economics prize without an American winner since 1999.

"I'm so moved," Tirole said, speaking to a news conference in Stockholm on a telephone link from Toulouse.

In an interview with France-Info radio on Monday, Tirole said his work applied theories derived from game theory to industry.

"The idea is to give companies the analytical means to deal with new contexts and also to give regulators the analytical tools they need," he said. "For example, how to deregulate electricity or railroads without creating infrastructure problems. How to allow entrants who are perhaps more dynamic without expropriating from the companies already in place."

Before Tirole, the academy said, policy-makers advocated simple rules including capping prices for companies with a monopoly and banning cooperation between competitors. Tirole showed that in some circumstances, such rules can do more harm than good.

"His contribution is that he has given us a whole toolbox," said prize committee secretary Torsten Persson. "More than that, he has given us an instruction manual for what tool to use in what market."

Drawing on insights based on Tirole's work, "governments can better encourage powerful firms to become more productive and, at the same time, prevent them from harming competitors and customers," the academy said.

The economics prize completed the 2014 Nobel Prize announcements.

In Nobel Prizes awarded last week, Taliban attack survivor Malala Yousafzai, 17, became the youngest Nobel winner ever as she and Kailash Satyarthi of India won the peace prize for fighting for children's rights. French writer Patrick Modiano won the literature prize for his lifelong study of the Nazi occupation and its effect on his country.

U.S. researchers Eric Betzig and William Moerner and Stefan Hell of Germany shared the chemistry prize for finding ways to make microscopes more powerful than previously thought possible; while Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano of Japan and Japanese-born U.S. scientist Shuji Nakamura won the physics prize for the invention of blue light-emitting diodes used in mobile phones, computers and TVs.

The awards will be presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.

Even though the economics award is not an original Nobel Prize — it was added in 1968 by Sweden's central bank — it is presented with the others and carries the same prize money.

Last year the economics prize went to three Americans who shed light on the forces that move stock, bond and home prices.

Ebola could outpace HIV/AIDS spread, in a shorter amount of time, if not contained.

"In the 30 years I've been working in public health, the only thing like this has been AIDS," said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control, of the outbreak of the Ebola virus, in West Africa, during the annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 6. "And we have to work now so that this is not the world's next AIDS."

Frieden's words are more than a cautionary call for coordinated resources. There are some 22 million people in the three countries of West Africa, where the Ebola outbreak has rapidly spread, primarily because of the lack of health care resources to treat and contain it. This is why there has been so much infection from Ebola, and why it needs to be contained sooner than later in Africa. It kills more quickly than HIV/AIDS, a different type of infection whose impact has been greatly curtailed through anti-viral medications, understanding of how it infects the body, and education.

The first death from Ebola in the United States, a man who had entered the country from Liberia, and had shown no symptoms at the time, occurred in Texas on Oct. 8. A health care worker who helped to take care of him has tested positive for the virus, Centers for Disease Control officials said Oct. 12, making this the first transmitted case on U.S. soil. A man was taken to a Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, on Oct. 12, after complaining of a headache at a Braintree medical facility. He had reportedly traveled in West Africa. Experimental drug treatments have helped in the recovery of three Americans flown back from West Africa with the virus.

In April, there were 67 confirmed cases of Ebola in Guinea, where the outbreak started, in December, and where there are now 598 confirmed deaths. The outbreak spread into Sierre Leone, by May, and the next month into Liberia. To date, there are 2,423 confirmed deaths in these three countries, with the actual number estimated to be dramatically higher. In contrast, in 1982, the first year for which the CDC had defined HIV/AIDS, there were 771 cases of AIDS, and 618 deaths.

Ebola's spread from a forested area of Guinea, to more urban area areas is something Doctors Without Borders called "unprecedented" early in the oubreak. A current article in the New England Journal of Medicine, predicts, based on a review of statistics, that more than 20,000 people could be infected by early November in West Africa, if more measures to stop its spread are not enacted.

The statistical analysis shows that while about 70 percent of cases confirmed in those three countries resulted in death, the rate was lower "when only hospitalized patients were considered, supporting evidence that getting patients to good, supportive health care quickly makes a difference." However, there is such a shortage of beds for the sick, in West Africa, that items like generic pain medication and plastic gloves are being distributed to homes for family to take care of the ill. Current treatment for Ebola is generally administering fluids, oxygen and treating secondary infections.

Ebola, which does not live long outside the body, spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids, like blood, vomit and feces. Properly equipped in-country treatments centers, with trained and protected health care workers, are seen as key to containing and stopping the virus that rapidly invades body cells and breaks down tissues and organs. Resources to handle infected dead bodies, without further contamination, are seen as needed, as well as anti-viral medications to give the body a better chance against the disease. The strain in circulation in the current outbreak in West Africa has had fatality rates as high as 90 percent. There are two potential vaccines being study, as well as potential anti-viral drugs, one of which combines three different types of antibodies to bind with the proteins of the virus.

During a period of 30 years, the AIDS virus brought countries together to investigate the syndrome, develop treatments and enact education programs. During that time, money was allocated, in the U.S., for treatment and research, with then U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell declaring it a national security threat. Today, people are living longer with the virus. It is possible to be infected without realizing it. The virus attaches itself to the cells of the body's immune system, disabling it and making the body vulnerable to a range of infections, over time. Ebola is a much quicker killer once it infects the body.

Some 50,000 people continue to be diagnosed each year with the virus, in the United States, and, worldwide, an estimated 1.6 million people died of AIDS-related causes, in 2012. This is a number that has been in decline since the peak year of 2005, when some 2.3 million people died.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome is believed to have originated, like Ebola, in the rain forests of Africa.

The first drug to fight the AIDS virus was approved by the FDA, in 1987, not long after a virus associated with the syndrome was identified. At the time, the CDC reported some 50,378 individuals living with the virus, with some 40,849 AIDS deaths since 1981.

HIV began to make headlines in the 1980s, with the New York Times publishing the first news article, "Rare Cases Seen in 41 Homosexuals," in 1981. The first anti-HIV drug, zidovudine (AZT) was introduced in 1987. Ten years later, the CDC reported some one million Americans were infected with HIV, and, by 1995, the Times reported it as the leading cause of death, for Americans, between 24 and 44 years of age. By 1984, AIDS was diagnosed in 51 countries, and on every continent, except Antarctica. By 2007, the CDC was reporting that some 585,000 people had died of AIDS, since 1981, in the United States.

The AIDS virus is spread through unprotected sex with an infected person, using a contaminated syringe, and being born to an infected mother. It is does not spread through air or water, or through saliva.

The number of people dead, in both confirmed and suspected cases, from the current Ebola outbreak, in West Africa, has risen above 4,000, the World Health Organization has said. The latest figures show there have been 8,376 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of the virus, with some 4,024 deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, "without drastic improvements in control measures, the numbers of cases of and deaths from EVD are expected to continue increasing from hundreds to thousands per week in the coming months."

At the moment, as the CDC noted on its website, " . . . the most effective way to stop the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is meticulous work in finding Ebola cases, isolating and caring for those patients, and tracing contacts to stop the chains of transmission. It means educating people about safe burial practices and having health care workers strictly follow infection control in hospitals. This is how all previous Ebola outbreaks have been stopped."

Recommendations could have global consequences.

According to the Catholic News Agency, the 200 delegates, from around the world, at the Vatican's Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will be preparing a document Oct. 13 for presentation to Pope Francis at week's end, that will be part of discussions at a 2015 world synod. The pope urged attendees to debate freely, and the close-door meetings seem, in media reports, to be divided between traditionalists and reformers.

Besides internal Church matters, having to do with whether Catholics, remarried without having had the Church nullify their first marriage, may receive Holy Communion, and making changes to the annulment process itself, the synod's recommendations, on other issues, have the potential for monumental consequences for non Catholics around the world.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, former St. Louis Archbishop, now at the Vatican, responded to a Catholic couple's example of another couple inviting a gay son and his partner to a dinner, which included grandchildren. In an interview with Life Site, Burke said children should not be exposed to a "family member who not only suffers from same-sex attraction, but who has chosen to live out that attraction, to act upon it, committing acts which are always and everywhere wrong, evil.”

In a report from Catholic News Agency, Jesuit priest and Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi is quoted as saying that African bishops, at the synod, have stressed that “more than the issue of divorce and remarriage, their societies must face the problem of polygamy, and even the influence of multinational companies, or international organizations, pressuring for the introduction in their countries of reproductive health rights, same-sex marriage, and birth control."

Gay rights and birth control are monumental issues on the continent of Africa, where some 37 African nations currently criminalize same-sex relationships. It is a continent where gay rights activists have ended up dead, or imprisonment can be for life.

It is a also a continent where food scarcity coincides with high fertility rates. Lack of contraction means women face multiples births, as well as death from HIV/AIDS.

Overpopulation as a reason for birth control was an issue Pope John XXIII raised during Vatican II, in 1962.

The World Health Organization's report, "Addressing the Challenge of Women's Health in Africa," notes that women makeup more than 50 percent of the continent's population, but lack adequate health care when it comes to reproductive and child birth issues.

The 2014 report's summary says, in part, "Women in Africa account for more than half of deaths of women worldwide due to communicable diseases, maternal and perinatal conditions and nutritional deficiencies. They bear an even heavier burden of HIV/
AIDS, with the related morbidity and mortality, accounting for 89 percent of disability-adjusted life years among women worldwide. The burden of disease and death in the African Region is worst in regard to maternal mortality."

The synod, which opened Oct. 5, concludes Oct. 19. The bishop delegation from the United States has includesd Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, president of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, of New York, and a member of the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, of Washington, and a member of the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops, and Archbishop William C. Skurla , Byzantine Metropolitan of Pittsburgh, and president of the Council of the Ruthenian Catholic Church. There is also a couple from Wisconsin, Alice and Jeff Heinzen, among the 14 married couples invited to attend.

Sonny Forriest Jr., who is known for singing for fans outside Phillies and Eagles games, told police that he had taken off his prosthetic leg during his performance.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say a prosthetic leg reported stolen from a veteran in a wheelchair outside the Eagles-Giants football game in south Philadelphia was later recovered on a subway train.

Sonny Forriest Jr., who is known for singing for fans outside Phillies and Eagles games, told police that he had taken off his prosthetic leg during his performance.

He said he was packing up to leave when a woman in her 20s wearing Eagles gear who appeared intoxicated approached and took the leg.

Police said a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority conductor found the leg at about 1 a.m. Monday at the Olney station in north Philadelphia.

Investigators said they planned to examine transit station surveillance video to try to identify a suspect. They said it appeared that three women took part in the theft.

I welcome comments and suggestions and questions.

Today I plan to cover the Pulaski Day festivities, starting at 11 a.m. I will also do a brief piece on the closing of Holyoke Street in Northampton this week and write my column.

I welcome comments and suggestions and questions.

Amherst police had a relatively quiet weekend with just 126 calls.

 AMHERST – On a holiday weekend with a day of rain, police responded to just 126 calls and arrested just one - a 21-year-old Southborough man on drunk driving charges after he crashed into a fire hydrant on Stanley Street.

Benjamin M. Willis, who is listed as a University of Massachusetts student, was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, operating a motor vehicle to endanger, negligent, and with a town bylaw violation failure to use care in backing up in connection with the 2:16 a.m. accident Saturday.

He is slated to be arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown Tuesday.

Police responded to just three noise complaints and issued three liquor law violation warnings.

A single car crash on Route 5 in West Springfield narrowly missed killing the driver.

WEST SPRINGFIELD— The West Springfield Police Accident Reconstruction Team is investigating a single car crash early Monday that missed killing the driver by mere inches, when the entire car was impaled on a guardrail.

Sgt Brian Pomeroy said preliminary information indicates that the driver of the Honda Accord entered the northbound lane of the divided Route 5 at about 1:15 a.m., but was traveling southbound at a high rate of speed when his car slammed into the end of a guardrail. The tip of the rail penetrated the entire car, passing through the engine compartment, over the right shoulder of the driver, and out the back window of the car. The momentum of the heavy vehicle bent the guard rail at a 90 degree angle, and lifted the car from the pavement into the air then dropped it on top of a concrete jersey barrier divider.

Pomeroy said the driver suffered obvious facial injuries, but was conscious when police and fire personnel arrived on scene. Firefighters used extraction tools to remove the injured man from the wreckage.

He was transported from the scene by ambulance to the Baystate Medical Center. Police described the driver as a male in his mid-40s,but would not identify him.

The southbound lane of the highway was closed to traffic until approximately 5 a.m. to allow investigators access to the car and the roadway. The investigation is ongoing, police said.

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On Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m., Repeal the Casino Deal is holding an informational meeting in Holyoke with Mayor Alex Morse, former Connecticut Congressman Bob Steele and comedian Jimmy Tingle.

HOLYOKE — Anyone in Western Massachusetts looking for more information about the casino repeal effort in the commonwealth will have an opportunity next week to hear from the group's heavy hitters as well as a comedian and Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse.

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse

On Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m., Repeal the Casino Deal is holding an informational meeting in Holyoke with former Connecticut Congressman Bob Steele and comedian Jimmy Tingle. The event, which is slated to be held at the Holyoke Senior Center on Pine Street, is set to kick off with Tingle, who activists say "brings a unique wit to the political twists and turns of the 2014 campaign and casino question."

Tingle is a Cambridge native who has won awards for his comedy and creativity across the country and has a few acting roles under his belt, including playing the priest in the Boston-based vigilante film The Boondock Saints.

Steele, a former Republican lawmaker who represented Connecticut's 2nd Congressional District from 1970 to 1975, has been an outspoken critic of the casino gaming industry. In 2012, he wrote a book called "The Curse" to lay out his criticisms of casinos and at the event, he will be sharing his thoughts on the topic.

Morse, who became the Paper City's youngest mayor ever in 2011 after campaigning on a strong anti-casino platform, has been an outspoken critic of the gaming industry. In late 2012, he announced he would consider proposals from casino developers looking to develop in Holyoke, but that journey lasted only for a few weeks until he restated his opposition to casino gaming.

Repeal the Casino Deal organizers say he will present at the event as well.

Repeal the Casino Deal activists are hoping to convince voters to support ballot question 3, which would strike down the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act, which allowed for the licensing of up to three resort-style casinos and a slots parlor in Massachusetts. The state has already approved an $800 million MGM casino in Springfield, a $1.6 billion Wynn resorts casino in Everett and Penn National Gaming's $225 million slots parlor at the Plainridge harness race track in Plainville, which is currently under construction.

Polling has shown there are more likely voters in support of the current law than against it, but the numbers have also revealed that the support varies in different parts of the state. Question 3 appears on the Nov. 4 ballot in Massachusetts.

Says EMTs and paramedics well trained to cope.

Dave Pelletier is American Medical Response's general manager for Massachusetts. He says his 600 employees, and fleet of 90 ambulances, are ready to respond to any emergency, including a suspected case of Ebola. There have been individuals treated for Ebola-like symptoms, in the state, that turned out not to be the virus, but no actual cases to date of the virus.

"We're prepared," said Pelletier, who started at AMR three decades ago as an emergency medical technician. "We're knowledgeable We have the equipment to protect ourselves, and the rest of community. We are here all the time. We never close."

He said the possibility of transporting someone with Ebola, a deadly virus that is at epidemic proportions, in West Africa, where more than 4,000 have died in the last few months, has added "a couple of difference procedures" to protocol treatment from the Centers for Disease Control.

"Our staff has been made aware of additional things to look out for. The information is posted in stations," Pelletier said. "There is a heightened responsibility to wash hands and, when in doubt, to wear personal protective equipment, as well as to ask the right questions. They are aware of what the responsibility is and how to protect themselves."

Pelletier's confidence, that his staff is capable, against a virus that only needs a droplet to infect, is because" as part of their training, paramedics and EMTs are taught about infectious diseases."

'We have to be careful with all the viruses and diseases," Pelletier said. "Ebola happens to be the hot topic and the big one, but the flu is just as dangerous, as is TB, and hepatitis. We have to be in a heightened state of awareness to protect ourselves, limiting our exposure, as much as possible, and that of our providers."

Pelletier added that all the ambulances are equipped with various levels of protective gear, including gowns, boots, face masks and goggles. There also bags for the disposal of hazardous material. He said Ebola protocols include questions, in the electronic patient reports, to be asked prior to transport, about where the patient has traveled.

"On the 911 side, we notify the hospital that they have a suspected case, based on symptoms and history, and they more than likely will make the determination of what to do," Pelletier. "This is the risks of being an emergency provider. You have to be a detective in evaluating if something exists, and take precautions at the scene because you don't find out until you arrive at the hospital."

Pelletier said Ebola-like symptoms include fever, chills, headache and muscle aches as well diarrhea and abdominal bleeding.

"If you are checking yes, yes, on the flow chart, and yes about the patient's travel and contact with the disease, then you would get into taking blood and body precautions, and let the receiving facility know," Pelletier said.

He said that, in the case of transporting someone with an infectious disease, between medical facilities, under non-emergency circumstance, there is more time to plan. He said the inside of the ambulance might be wrapped in plastic, to reduce contamination, or the patient put side a full-length body container.

He said the ambulance would be decontaminated after transport.

"We have smart paramedics and EMTs. We are doing the right thing, following the CDC guidelines and are prepared for what comes along," Pelletier said.

"Ebola is a new, in that we do not know it well from a treatment standpoint. You do want to know more about it, and take the higher precautions. We have flu shots, but you still can get the flu, and, if you have had the flu, it is pretty bad. Ebola is another dangerous disease. You don't want to spread it around. You don't want anyone infected. You take those precautions."

Pelletier said all first responders, including fire and police, would take similar precautions.

He add that such precautions have evolved, since 1981, when he began his career as an EMT, and "we didn't even have gloves.

"Back in the 1980s, we had gloves as part of an isolation kit, but we didn't have goggles or face masks. It is much better nowadays," said Pelletier, adding that the emergence of the HIV/AIDS virus, in 1982, meant that "things started to change" in terms of infectious disease control.

Here's a look at the back story behind two ads released recently relating to Question 2, the proposed Massachusetts bottle bill expansion.

A group supporting the expansion of the bottle bill started airing its first television ad on Monday, accusing opponents of the expansion of dishonesty.

The ad comes days after a group of bottle bill opponents launched a new ad, which features Bob Moylan, a former public works commissioner from Worcester, and focuses on the cost of the proposed expansion to municipalities.

Question 2 on the November ballot would expand the existing law to impose a 5-cent deposit on bottled water, sports drinks, iced tea and most non-alcoholic, non-carbonated drinks other than milk. The ballot question would allow for an automatic increase to the fee every five years, indexed to inflation.

Here's a look at the back story behind both ads:

The ad by the supporters, The Coalition to Update the Bottle Bill, features a woman standing in front of a playground. "As a mom, I don't appreciate being lied to," she says. "And that's just what the big beverage companies did when they came here and spent $8 million on dishonest ads on Question 2."

The woman goes on to say that the ballot initiative expanding the bottle bill will save money on trash disposal costs and help clean up litter.

The ad will run on cable and broadcast television. A coalition spokesman said the buy is in the "mid-six figures." The ad is being paid for by a coalition whose major donors include the Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund and the Sierra Club, both environmental groups, as well as Karen Price, a research associate at Frontier Science and Technology Research Foundation, and Russell Cohen, a rivers advocate at the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game.

Overall, the Coalition for an Updated Bottle Bill has raised less than $900,000 so far, mostly from environmental groups like the Environmental League of Massachusetts and the Sierra Club.

The ad refers to a controversy over an earlier ad by the group opposing the expansion, No on Question 2: Stop Forced Deposits, which stated that 90 percent of Massachusetts residents have access to curbside recycling in their communities.

The Coalition to Update the Bottle Bill had called on No on Question 2 to take the ad down due to misleading numbers. The State House News Service reported that according to the Department of Environmental Protection, 64 percent of residents have access to curbside recycling.

No on Question 2 ultimately changed the citation in the ad and clarified that it also included community drop-off recycling programs.

The supporters of the expansion also took issue with other parts of the opponents' ad – for example, it showed a picture of a milk jug when dairy products would be excluded from the expansion.

Moylan, speaking for the No on Question 2 Coalition, said, "It is indeed unfortunate that the opponents' ad focuses on false attacks rather than the issue at hand. Question 2 is a poorly written initiative that will cost municipalities and consumers millions of dollars, while undermining modern recycling programs that work today."

The ad by No on Question 2: Stop Forced Deposits features Moylan talking about the cost of the expansion to municipalities.

"Question 2 doesn't make sense in today's environment," Moylan says. "It will divert materials that are currently being recycled from the waste stream from which communities enjoy revenues. Question 2 may have had a time and place in the early '80s but it doesn't have a time and place now."

Moylan has clashed with environmentalists before, over the high cost of a proposed river cleanup in Worcester.

The ad refers to a study done by Northbridge Environmental Management Consultants and commissioned by the No on Question 2 group, which found that the question would increase costs to municipalities by $3 million to $4.7 million by removing the more valuable materials – PET and aluminum – from the recycling stream that is processed by cities and towns and moving it into a separate recycling stream.

The No on Question 2 coalition says the Northbridge study was peer reviewed by Tufts University professor Jeffrey Zabel. Zabel was paid $7,000 by the ballot committee for his work.

Overall, No on Question 2 has raised close to $8 million from the American Beverage Association and several grocery store chains. It has spent more than $7 million on media buys since the summer, though it is not clear how much money is behind this particular ad. The major donors behind the ad are the American Beverage Association, Stop and Shop, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Roche Brothers and Big Y Foods.

Janet Domenitz, executive director of MASSPIRG, speaking for The Coalition to Update the Bottle Bill, said the bottle bill update "goes hand in hand with curbside and single stream recycling." In a statement, Domenitz pointed to the often-quoted statistic by supporters of the expansion, which is that 80 percent of containers with a deposit are recycled, compared to 23 percent of containers without a deposit.

"Curbside works for beverages consumed at home - but most people leave their house. And when they do...what they see is bottled water litter," Domenitz said. "Voting yes on Question 2 will increase recycling and clean up our parks and streets. It's simple common sense, but it's been a bit obscured by the millions of dollars being spent on misleading TV ads by out of state big beverage companies."

The expanded bottle bill is on the November ballot.

SPRINGFIELD - Expanding the state's bottle bill to include water and juice containers could help keep discarded bottles out of the commonwealth's streets, sidewalks, parks, playgrounds and forests, according to backers

But opponents, including retailers like Springfield's Big Y Foods Inc., say the proposed expansion could cost the state's economy nearly $100 million a year. Of that, $68 million would be in increased operating costs at supermarkets and $27 million would be in unclaimed deposits paid by people who never bother to take the bottles back to get their nickle back.

Its all up to the voters in November when the expanded bottle bill will be question 2 on the regular Election Day ballot. A Yes vote would expand the bill to include beverages not including dairy products, wine or liquor. A No vote would leave the bottle bill where it is: applying only to fizzy drinks like soda and to beer.

“Like the water bottles, sports drinks like Gatorade, the juice containers,” said Kathleen Page of Northampton, a backer of the bill and a volunteer with the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, or MASSPIRG which is organizing support for the referendum.

Those bottles, for juice or water, is what she sees laying around as litter. Page said she doesn't see beer or soda bottle scattered about because there is an economic incentive to take them back to the store. She said 80 percent of the bottles with a 5 cent deposit get recycled. Only 23 percent of the bottles without the deposit get recycled.

"People should support it because it is a common sense way to get litter off the streets and promote recycling," she said.

But opponents citing a study by economist Jeffrey Zavbel, of Tufts University, saying imposing the expanded bottle bill is 10 times more costly then establishing expanded curbside recycling programs.

The bottle bill, even the one that currently exists, is a headache for groceries because it introduces trash into a supermarket they are trying to keep clean, said Rick Bossie, Big Y director of store operations.

Big Y has segregated areas for the smelly, sticky, returned bottles. Then they have to hold the materials until a truck can come back and get them.

"Even though the machines are designed to be self service, we still need people there to service them," Messer said. "And even though we try to keep them running smoothly, they  back up because everyone comes at certain times. Saturday mornings are crazy."

And the current machines won't work with gallon water jugs or 64-ounce juice bottles. That means that Big Y will have to staff a redemption window at least until a better solution can be found. Redemption costs in Big Y's Connecticut stores tripled and quadrupled when that state expanded its bottle bill just to include water.

The chain has more than 60 locations and is part of NoonQuestion2.com.

Gabrieli, who ran against Deval Patrick for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006, was appointed by Gov. Patrick in 2007 to lead the state-appointed Springfield Finance Control Board, which was created by then-Gov. Mitt Romney to help save the city of Springfield from potential bankruptcy.

SPRINGFIELD — Education reform philanthropist, pioneer and venture capitalist Chris Gabrieli whose Boston-based Empower Schools Inc. may help Springfield turn around eight of its struggling middle schools, is no stranger to the City of Homes and the state.

Some highlights of Gabrieli's career include:

• Named one of top 100 tech investors by Forbes in 2011;

• Co-authored "Time to Learn: How a New School Schedule is Making Smarter Kids, Happier Parents, and Safer Neighborhoods" in 2008;

• Appointed to lead the Springfield Finance Control Board in 2007, and

• Lost the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006.

Gabrieli, who ran against Deval L. Patrick for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006, was appointed by Patrick in 2007 to lead the state-appointed Springfield Finance Control Board, which was established in 2004 by then-Gov. Mitt Romney to help prevent the city from falling into bankruptcy.

A $52 million loan from the commonwealth enabled the city to avoid a more dire alternative – state receivership. The oversight of the control board ended in 2009.

At last week's School Committee meeting the board agreed to sign a "letter of intent" with Gabrieli's Empower Schools Inc. that set in motion a process that would band eight of the city's struggling middle schools together in "The Springfield Empowerment Zone" for the 2015-2016 school year.

The committee has 30 days from last Thursday to review the plan. If the plan is ultimately adopted, the Springfield School Department, the state Department of Education and the Springfield Education Association would collaborate to institute reforms that would help turn around the middle schools – and Gabrieli would return to a somewhat similar role he held in Springfield during the control board era – this time as the chairman of a new governance board that aims to improve the city's middle schools.

The governance of the new Springfield Empowerment zone would operate similarly to the finance control. It would consist of a seven-member board – including three school district officials and three representatives of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education – with Gabrieli as its chairman.

Superintendent of Schools, Daniel J. Warick, said last week that under the arrangement with Empower Schools, the city would have greater latitude to develop innovate operating procedures that lie outside of traditional boundaries of public school systems.

In addition to his role at Empower Schools, Inc. Gabrieli is the co-founder and executive chairman of Massachusetts 2020 and the National Center on Time & Learning, a national think tank, which conducts research, supports public policy, and provides direct support to schools across the nation.

Gabrieli was the founder of a successful healthcare software company and is a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, a leading global venture capital firm, where he was named to Forbes Magazine’s top 100 tech investors.

According to its website, Empower Schools partners with communities to help them get the schools they want with the results they need. We focus on powerful schools that have the flexibilities they need to effectively prepare students, and the educators with the skills to use those freedoms well."

The organization, which will work with the city of Springfield at no cost, works "to capture and share the most promising practices to inform and shape the national conversation on education reform," according to the web site.

Gabrieli co-authored a book with Warren Goldstein entitled "Time to Learn: How a New School Schedule is Making Smarter Kids, Happier Parents, and Safer Neighborhoods," which was published by Jossey-Bass in 2008 and serves as a blueprint for policymakers and district leaders as they think about redesigning the school day.

Gabreli is also a part-time lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He and his wife, Hilary, live in Boston, where they are the parents of five children.

The Springfield Empowerment Zone would include Chestnut (which the district divided into Chestnut South, Chestnut North and Chestnut Talented and Gifted this school year), Kiley, Kennedy, Forest Park, Duggan and Van Sickle middle schools.

Under the arrangement, the district would work with Empower Schools as an independent adviser to launch the Springfield Empowerment Zone and manage the initial implementation.

The organization has previously had success as a catalyst in turnaround efforts at schools in Lawrence and Salem.

In a May 20, 2009, Viewpoint in the Sunday Republican by Gabrieli and Patrick, titled, "The Next Chapter for Springfield," the writers said "nothing is more important to Springfield's long-term health and success than its schools," adding "we have both benefited from great educational opportunity and we recognize that our personal success stories, from minority and immigrant roots respectively, are thanks to the chance to go to good schools and reach our potential.

"The Finance Control Board must work with the superintendent, the School Committee, teachers and the community to tear down barriers to students' success. ... the success of Springfield itself – will depend on forging consensus and developing working alliances across all kinds of competing interests and differences."

Western Mass Women Magazine's event Oct. 16.

AGAWAM - Maura McCaffrey, president and chief executive officer of Health New England, will be honored as Professional Woman of the Year during Western Mass Women Magazine's annual "Top 25 Women to Watch" Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. at Chez Josef.

According to a press release, the magazine honors the women, selected by public vote, for career and community achievements.

Other top honorees include Sarah Williams, vice president of Global Capital Risk Management at Mass Mutual Financial Group, and director of volunteers and board president of the YMCA, as Volunteer of the Year, and Noelle Myers, vice-president of the Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, as Young Careerist of the Year.

Other women voted include Patricia Canavan, president of United Personnel, Cherise Leclerc, anchor at CBS 3 Springfield, and writer Crystal Senter Brown.

Atty. Gina Barry will receive the first annual Visionary Achievement Award for founding the non-profit, Joy of Jasper Horse Sanctuary, an Easthampton sanctuary for abused, neglected and abandoned horses in New England.

Tickets are $55 and may be ordered on the magazine's website.

A 20-year lease for the riverfront club at North Riverfront Park will need approvals by way of a special act approved by local and state officials

SPRINGFIELD – The Park Commission recently gave its unanimous support for the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club to have a long-term home on the banks of the Connecticut River at North Riverfront Park.

At a meeting last week, the Park Commission voted unanimously to give first-step approval for a 20-year lease with the rowing club for its use of the city-owned park site, Parks Director Patrick Sullivan said.

The nonprofit riverfront club was granted a three-year lease on the park site two years ago after the city reclaimed the site from a long-term tenant, Bassett Boat Co. The park is along the river off West Street, adjacent to the North End Bridge.

The Park Commission with the early success and popularity of the riverfront club, leading to its decision to support the long-term lease, said Sullivan and commission Chairman Brian Santaniello. Many youth and adults have been participating in programs that include rowing, kayaking, canoeing, and dragon-boat paddling, and biking along the river, they said.

‘The project today has exceeded everyone’s expectations,” Sullivan said. “We need to support them so they can build on that early success.”

The terms of the lease are not yet finalized, and will need to be approved under a special act of the Legislature because it involves public land, and a lease beyond three years, officials said. The special act was supported by the commission and will also need approval from the Conservation Commission, City Council, mayor, state Legislature and Governor, Sullivan said.

Santaniello joined in saying the commission is impressed with the many programs and participants.

“A 20-year lease sends a message there is stability here for expansion and fundraising,” Santaniello said.

Having a long-term lease will help the club as it pursues funding for future improvements, he said.

Similarly, the city finalized a 25-year lease with the Forest Park Zoological Society in 2010, for the Forest Park Zoo, charging $1 a year to the organization. The nominal fee was based on the benefits offered to the city and region, officials said.

The stated mission of the riverfront club is to “promote river-based sporting activities, to develop river access, and encouraged recreation in the Greater Springfield metropolitan area.”

In May, Gov. Deval Patrick announced a $1.3 million state grant for major improvements at North Riverfront Park coupled with $300,000 from the city. The improvements including a fitness trail with exercise stations.

Hernandez is jailed without bail after pleading not guilty to killing three people in two unconnected shootings.

BOSTON (AP) — Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez has been a model inmate since being moved to a Boston jail and will be allowed to watch his former teammates on television if his behavior continues.

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins tells the Boston Herald there have been "no problems, no complaints," and Hernandez is mingling with the general population at the Nashua Street Jail.

Hernandez is jailed without bail after pleading not guilty to killing three people in two unconnected shootings.

He was moved to Boston from a Bristol County jail to be closer to his lawyers.

While in the Bristol jail, he had been confined to his cell 21 hours a day, was not allowed to watch football, and reportedly had a run-in with another inmate and threatened a guard.

More than 2,700 people have called poison control this year to report an exposure to liquid nicotine, over half of those cases in children younger than 6.

LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Poison control workers say that as the e-cigarette industry has boomed, the number of children exposed to the liquid nicotine that gives hand-held vaporizing gadgets their kick also has spiked.

More than 2,700 people have called poison control this year to report an exposure to liquid nicotine, over half of those cases in children younger than 6, according to national statistics. The number shows a sharp rise from only a few hundred total cases just three years ago.

The battery-powered electronic vaporizers often resemble traditional cigarettes and work by heating liquid nicotine into an inhalable mist. The drug comes in brightly colored refill packages and an array of candy flavors that can make it attractive to young children, heightening the exposure risk and highlighting the need for users to keep it away from youngsters.

"With kids, the exposure we're seeing is usually parents or family members leave out refill bottles that they try and open," said Ashley Webb, director of the Kentucky Regional Poison Control Center.

Poison control workers often see a spike in calls with new and growing products, Webb said. The number of e-cigarette users has climbed to several million worldwide, and the devices have become the center of an industry that has grown in the last four years from about $82 million to $2.5 billion in annual sales, at least $500 million of which comes from liquid nicotine.

Despite the recent increase, liquid nicotine exposures are still less than half of traditional cigarettes, but e-juice is potentially more toxic, said Robert Bassett, a medical toxicologist in Philadelphia.

"It would be really hard for a child to eat a whole pack of cigarettes, but now we're dealing with these very, very concentrated forms you get more than a pack of cigarettes in a small, ingestible amount," Bassett said.

Bassett consulted on the case of a 10-month-old boy who drank from a refill bottle while his mother's back was turned. The toddler recovered within hours, but he had vomited, and his heart was pounding when he was brought to the emergency room.

"Unfortunately with little kids it's hard," Bassett said. "They simply can't tell you what they're feeling."

Liquid nicotine also stands out because it doesn't have to be swallowed to be harmful. Skin exposure can be toxic. Officials are calling for child-resistant caps, which many manufacturers have already begun using, but there is no uniform protocol.

The e-cigarette industry doesn't face the strict government regulations on traditional smokes that aim to keep them away from children, including prohibitions on candy or fruit flavors. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed issuing regulations, but no rules have been drafted.

Gregory Conley, president of the industry group American Vaping Association, says parents should take similar precautions they use for hair products, bleach or other toxic substances.

"You might consider doing the same thing you do with your liquor or your household chemicals, and keep them locked up or up high so no one can get them," he said.

Mike Sorenson, a cable company contractor, recently purchased grape- and Smarties candy-flavored liquid nicotine in Salt Lake City. He says e-cigarettes helped him and his wife quit tobacco when nothing else worked and that he's talked to his children, ages 8 and 13, to make sure they stay away from his refills.

"I've explained to them that's it full of nicotine. They don't want anything to do with it," he said. And besides, "they taste nasty."

The number of people exposed to liquid nicotine is still a fraction of the number exposed to other substances. Over-the-counter pain medications trigger the most calls, with the American Association of Poison Control Centers reporting about 311,000 in 2012.

For skin exposure to vape juice, Webb recommends washing it off with soap and water, then calling poison control. If it's swallowed, call poison control center, and don't try to induce vomiting, she said.

"Use caution," Webb said. "We just want you to be careful. Use caution like any dangerous chemical or medication in the home."

Although the plane sustained significant damage, the pilot, the only person on board, was not hurt.

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — A pilot distracted by a bee in the cockpit forgot to lower his landing gear and did a "belly slide" down the runway at the New Bedford Regional Airport.

Airport Commission Chair Paul Barton tells The Standard-Times that the single-engine plane slid 1,000 to 1,500 feet when it landed at about 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Although the plane sustained significant damage, the pilot, the only person on board, was not hurt. Barton said it does not appear as though the runway was damaged.

Fire Department District Chief David Cooper says the pilot was swatting at a bee in the cabin and somehow forgot to lower the landing gear.