Auction items can be inspected Oct. 29 at the DPW garage on College Highway.

SOUTHWICK - The town will auction several pieces of surplus equipment, including four vehicles, Nov. 5.

The equipment is available for viewing at the Department of Public Works Garage at 661 College Highway on Oct. 29 at 9 a.m..

Chief Administrative Officer Karl J. Stinehart said that while the vehicles are operational they are being auctioned as 'for parts only' and makes no guarantee on any of the available items.

"We have already used some of the equipment and vehicles for parts and the purpose of the auction is to clear out our DPW yard. While this equipment is no longer used by the town they may be of some use to someone else," Stinehart said.

Persons wishing to bid on items should place bids in a plainly marked envelope to the Office of the Selectmen, 454 College Highway, Southwick, Ma. 01077. The envelope should be labeled "Bid for Surplus Property."

Bids must be received by Nov. 5 and will be opened at 10 a.m. that day in the Selectmen's Conference Room at Town Hall.

Items for auction are: a 2009, 2007, 2005 Ford Crown Victorias, a 1992 GMC Top Kick; red pump by Hale Pumps, yellow utility body with hoist, curb marker machine, Frank roll-off plow, Tenco roll-off plow, Marlow Mud Hog, 21-foot dual axle trailer, Dayton Air compressor, Wisconsin generator and a 44-inch by 44-inch wet well hatch door.

Successful bidders will have 10 days from the award date to remove items from the DPW yard.

After 20 days, the state has to report back to the courts on whether Schaeur is competent to stand trial.

GREENFIELD – The 19-year-old Sunderland man accused of threatening to re-create the Columbine school shooting at Frontier Regional High School has been ordered to undergo a competency exam at the state’s psychiatric facility in Bridgewater, according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s office.

At his arraignment Thursday in Greenfield District Court, Nicholas R. Schauer, 19, of Deerfield, was ordered to undergo a Section 15B psychological evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial.

His right to bail was revoked and he was ordered held at Bridgewater State Hospital in Bridgewater, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections facility reserved for inmates who have mental health issues. According the Massachusetts laws, Schauer can be held at the facility for no more than 20 days before reporting back to the courts on his competency.

Schauer is due back in court Nov. 12 for a dangerousness hearing, which will determine if he should be granted the right to bail or if he presents a sufficient risk to himself or the public that would require he remain in custody until the outcome of his trial.

Schauer was arrested Thursday morning and charged with threatening to commit a mass shooting, six counts of threatening to commit murder and disturbing a school assembly.

The threat, which he apparently posted on a Facebook page, is said to have identified a number of students by name and pledged to re-create the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine School in Littleton, Colorado.

Deerfield Police Chief John P. Paciorek, Jr., said that in interviews with police Schauer told officers he was drawn to stories about Columbine and other mass shootings.

“Schauer has admitted that he had been researching past shooting incidents, feels a connection to them, and started planning an incident at Frontier Regional,” he said.

Discovery of the threat prompted police to issue a “shelter in place” order for the high school, the adjacent Deerfield Elementary School and for the Sunderland Elementary School, which is located a short distance from Schauer’s home.

The order was in place for just a short time Thursday, according to Frontier Regional School Superintendent Martha Barrett.

Barrett said no students were in danger and Schauer was never at the school.

She said Schauer was not ever a student at Frontier Regional and as far as school officials knew he had no connection to the campus.

A glance at his Facebook page lists him as being in a relationship with a student at the school.

Schauer’s page also features a mixture of skateboarding photos and lyrics to Eminem songs.

One of the posts features a verse from the song “When I’m Gone:”

"And when I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn, Rejoice every time you hear the sound of my voice, Just know that I'm looking down on you smiling, And I didn't feel a thing, So baby don't feel no pain, Just smile back."

Biden will have an event at the Banshee, a Dorchester restaurant. He is the latest in a long line of national politicians to campaign for Coakley, a Democrat who is in a tight race for governor with Republican Charlie Baker.

BOSTON - Vice President Joe Biden will hold a fundraiser for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Martha Coakley in Boston next Wednesday.

Coakley spokeswoman Bonnie McGilpin confirmed that Biden will have an event at the Banshee, a Dorchester restaurant and bar popular with political insiders.

Biden was in Boston a few weeks ago for a speech on foreign policy at Harvard University, but he did not hold any campaign events during that visit.

Biden will be the latest in a long string of high-profile national politicians stumping for Coakley. Hillary Clinton is holding a rally and fundraiser for Coakley in downtown Boston on Friday. First Lady Michelle Obama and former president Bill Clinton also recently campaigned with Coakley.

Coakley, the Massachusetts attorney general, is in a tight contest for the governor's seat with Republican Charlie Baker, a former health care executive and former Massachusetts secretary of health and human services. A Boston Globe poll released Thursday night found Baker with a 9-point lead over Coakley, and several polls show them essentially tied.

Baker also has a large fundraising advantage over Coakley, with $1.2 million left in the bank as of Oct. 15, compared to just $300,000 for Coakley. Coakley campaign officials say she raised around $500,000 at the fundraiser with Clinton at the Park Plaza on Friday.

The reorganization was mandated by the new city charter, which was approved by voters in 2012.

NORTHAMPTON - Northampton residents will have one more chance to weigh in on Mayor David J. Narkewicz' reorganization of city government Tuesday when the City Council holds the second of two public hearings at the John F. Kennedy Middle School.

The council is seeking public input at the 7 p.m. hearing on the administrative order the mayor submitted at the last council hearing. The reorganization was mandated by the new city charter, which was approved by voters in 2012. He emailed it to Council President William Dwight on Sept. 30, the last possible day prescribed by the charter. The council has 60 days from then to accept or reject it.

The order pertains to 22 city departments and 26 appointed bodies. Most will remain the same under the mayor's plan, but he has renamed six departments and redistributed authority. Most notably, he has renamed the Board of Public Works the Public Works Commission and made it an advisory body to the Department of Public Works, instead of a voting body.

Some councilors took exception to the mayor's unilateral reorganization, saying they would have liked some input. The council has no power to amend the order, however. It can only accept or reject it. Narkewicz said his office has had only a few inquiries from the public, and those were all centered on his reorganization of the Tree Committee, which will now include a tree expert.

Council Vice President Jesse Adams said about 20 people turned out for the first hearing on Oct. 15. Many of them were also concerned about the Tree Committee, he said.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced on Friday that they will return to Boston in January for their third ever event at the TD Garden.

BOSTON -- The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced on Friday that they will return to Boston in January for their third ever event at the TD Garden.

Fan favorite Conor McGregor (16-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is scheduled to fight Dennis Siver (22-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) in a bout that could make the up and coming Irish fighter a contender for the featherweight title.

McGregor won his last fight in Boston against Max Holloway by unanimous decision. This will be his second fight in Boston and fifth overall UFC fight.

Siver is coming off a fight successful bout with Charles Rosa where he won by unanimous decision.

Tickets for the fight go on sale on November 20 at 10 a.m.

The rest of the card has not been announced but the event is being tentatively billed as UFC Fight Night 59.

All calls to the Mullins Center during the Skrillex concert were for alcohol, not drugs.

AMHERST – The calls from the Mullins Center where Skrillex and others were performing began at about 9 p.m. and Amherst Fire ambulances transported the last person to the hospital at about 12:30 a.m. Friday.

In total, Fire Chief Tim Nelson said they treated 15 and transported nine to area hospitals. 

Thousands attended the show that also included Nadastrom, Big Gigantic, and Vindata on the bill.

Two of the transfers were taken from the University of Massachusetts police, who had taken three in for protective custody, he said.

Nelson said all calls were alcohol-related not for drugs.  Last year, the university cancelled electronic dance concerts the first semester because of concerns about the club drug Molly.

All those transported were college-aged, he said. The show was for those 16 and older.

He said they had one young woman who while being treated on a cot reached into her bra for a flask to continue drinking but emergency workers confiscated it.

"This was pretty much what we expected, it was very steady." He had staffed the night as if was a Friday or Saturday with 13 firefighters on duty plus two outside ambulances dedicated to the show.

He said for about two and half to three hours all seven ambulances used during the night were on the road either going to or retuning from the hospital.  

South Hadley Fire District 1 and Easthampton Fire Department, which were there to help, each transported two, he said. 

Police arrested the suspect, 27-year-old Holyoke resident Brett Garcia on Wednesday night at about 6:37 p.m.

THE REPUBLICAN FILE 

An informant told police of the pending deal in the parking lot ofJenrose Package store and members of the Hampden County Narcotics Task Force set up a surveillance there, according to a report filed by Chicopee Police Lt. Patrick Major

The informant told police that the suspect would be arriving there in a blue Mercedes SUV with 20-inch chrome rims.

The vehicle pulled into the parking lot of the store at 945 Chicopee St. at about 6:37 p.m. and the suspect briefly went inside and back out again.

Police found 15 bags of heroin, packaged for mid-level distribution, on the floor behind the suspect's passenger seat. Each package contained 10 bundles and each bundle contained 10 individual bags.

All the bags were stamped “T-Mobile,” Major wrote in his report.

Capt. Lonny Dakin said the liquor store just happened to serve as the arrest location and nothing more. "The business was not involved," he said.

The suspect, Brett J. Garcia, 401 Maple St., Holyoke, was charged with trafficking heroin. He denied the charges during is arraignment in District Court and was ordered held in lieu of $3,000 cash bail or $30,000 personal surety.

Garcia was held on high bail due to the nature and circumstances of the offense, the potential penalty that he faces and his failure to appear at a court proceeding prior to this charge, court documents state.

The case was continued to Nov. 20.

More than a dozen representatives, from different faiths, gathered to ask voters to repeal the state's expanded gaming law.

"Really gratifying" is how organizer Steve Abdow described the turnout for Thursday's interfaith, anti-casino gathering at the Greek Cultural Center.

More than a dozen representatives from Christian, as well as Jewish and Muslim, faiths, attended the area's first such gathering, with many calling the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act, that allows casino gambling in the state, "bad policy," Abdow said.

"The government of Massachusetts is promoting an industry, that has addiction at its core for its main product as a means of revenue generation. The government is actually promoting a policy that it should be protecting citizens from. Its policy is creating gambling addicts."

He called the representation of different faiths a show of "remarkable unity," in the call for a yes vote, on the Nov. 4 ballot, to Question 3, that would repeal the act, and said, that other talking points at the gathering, stated that there is no proof that casinos contribute to a city's long-term economic development.

"It was inspiring to fire up the base," said Abdow, a lay canon who works for the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts. Diocesan Bishop Douglas J. Fisher has been a vocal opponent of legalized casino gambling in the state.

Steve AbdowREPUBLICAN FILE 

Abdow said Martin Pion, professor of religious studies at the Elms College, in Chicopee, read the Sept. 15 statement of the state's Catholic bishops urging a yes vote to repeal the gaming act.

In their statement, led by Cardinal Sean O'Malley, of the Boston Archdiocese, which oversees all four dioceses, cited an improving economy, the closure of casinos elsewhere and the exploitation of those addicted to gambling, as reasons to support the ballot initiative.

Other participants at the interfaith gathering, part of the statewide Faith for Repeal , were
Rev. Christopher H. Stamas, presiding priest of St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral; Rabbi Mark Shapiro, Temple Sinai; Imam Wissam Abdul Baki, Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts, West Springfield; Pastor Amanda Sunny, Bethany Assemblies of God, Agawam; and Pastor Darwin Rivera, Centro Cristiano de Jesus.

In April 2013, Mayor Domenic Sarno chose MGM Resorts International over competing Penn National Gaming, and signed a host agreement, with Blue Tarp reDevelopment, that is, MGM Springfield. The agreement for an $800 million casino, in Springfield's South End, promises some 2,200 full-time jobs, and an annual payment of $25 million to the city in property tax payments, community impact payments, community development grants, Riverfront Park improvements and "surrounding community payment savings."

Springfield voters approved the agreement, by 58 to 42 percent in July 2013. The project was forwarded to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which awarded MGM the sole Western Massachusetts casino, this summer.

Penn National Gaming has a license to build a slots parlor in Plainville, Wynn Resorts won a license to build a casino in Everett.

A Supreme Judicial Court ruling, in June, allowed for a Nov. 4 ballot initiative, asking voters to repeal the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act.

The Coalition to Protect Massachusetts Jobs, the ballot committee aimed at defeating the repeal effort, has raised $7.5 million, while the committees supporting the repeal have raised $600,000.

Yee said the new Fort has about 60 employees both full- and part-time. About half of the people who worked at the Fort before the shutdown chose to come back.

SPRINGFIELD - Veteran  restaurateur Any Yee jokes that he is learning how to say aloha in German.

Yee, whose family has run the Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee for 50 years, is one of the partners along with Peter Picknelly and others who bought the Student Prince Cafe and The Fort Dining Room  this summer from longtime owners the Scherff family in order to save the downtown stalwart from closing.

Yee  said Friday that the Fort will reopen Nov. 26, the night prior to Thanksgiving at the  start of the The Fort's traditional busy holiday season.

"We are all jumping into the deep end together," Yee said. "It is spectacular. Most of the old and much-in-need-of-repair parts of the restaurant are gone and all the refreshing new updates are coming in."

Improvements include a new kitchen, new carpet, new paint, new woodwork and a new bar.

But don't  fret, Yee said, that the old-world charm might be lost. "We are polishing the old character and charm," Yee said.

The menu is getting an update as well, although the new Fort management is still having meetings and hashing out details for the bill of fare.

"We took out some of the items that were not moving, not selling and replaced them with up-to-date contemporary menu items that are more healthy and more light fare," Yee said.

But they are retaining the Fort favorites, like fried Camembert appetizers, the Roquefort dressing and, Yee's favorite, schnitzel.

The Fort looked doomed in June when the Scherff family announced that the 79-year-old restaurant would close at least temporarily while a new buyer was found and that the shutdown would be permanent if no one stepped up to purchase The Fort.

At the time, managing partner Rudi Scherff said business started to dip in 2001 as tastes changed and fewer downtown office workers were going out to lunch. He was worried that with upcoming construction to Interstate 91 would make it even harder to get around Springfield's downtown.

But Yee sees the promise and possibility in The Student Prince.

"I grew up coming here, my kids come here," he said.

Yee and his family also own and operate American Johnny's Bar and Grill in South Hadley.

His partners are: Picknelly, chairman and CEO of Peter Pan Bus Lines, and business consultants and brothers Michael K. Vann and Kevin B. Vann.

Rudi Scherff will stay on as a the face of the restaurant handling front-of-the-house duties.

View full sizeThe Fort's new ownership in this photo from the restaurant's Facebook page.photo provided 

The Vanns, with offices in Indian Orchard are business consultants whose clients include the Eastside Grill in Northampton.

Yee said the new Fort has about 60 employees both full- and part-time. About half of the people who worked at the Fort before the shutdown  chose to come back.

The Fort was for generations the power lunch and dealmaking spot for Springfield's business, legal and political movers and shakers.

Paul Schoeder opened the Student Prince Cafe — named for the Sigmund Romberg operetta about Heidelberg student life — on Sept. 24, 1935. He was eventually joined in the venture by his partner, Erna Sievers. The Fort dining room opened a decade later on Feb. 18, 1946.

The expanded dining room featured stained-glass windows crafted by German artisans from New Jersey. Steeped in Springfield tradition, The Fort — which drew its name from a fort built at the site by John Pynchon, son of Springfield founder William Pynchon, in 1660 — even used place mats featuring a drawing of City Hall, the Campanile and Symphony Hall.

Rudi Scherff and Barbara B. Meunier's father, the late Rupprecht Scherff, came to the United States from Germany in 1934. He began working at the Student Prince in 1949 after working at the old Highland Hotel and serving in the U.S. Army in World War II. The elder Scherff took over the establishment with Margarethe Silinski upon the death of Sievers in 1961. Scherff assumed sole ownership of the restaurant when Silinski retired a decade later.

Rupprecht Scherff, died in 1996. Family members said he worked a staggering 114 hours each week at the restaurant until 1994, when he reduced his hours — to an average of 40 to 45.

The club was founded by factory owners and now offers pistol safety courses and a firing range.

HOLYOKE -- The Holyoke Revolver Club will celebrate its 100th year with a dinner at the Castle of Knights in Chicopee Saturday (Oct. 25) from 5:30 to 9 p.m.

"It was opened up by a group of businessmen, the factory owners," club President Norm Desilets said Friday.

Eventually, working people were allowed into the club. It began in a factory cellar on Dwight Street, moved to a cellar at 127 Main St. and since 1989 has been at 431 West Cherry St., he said.

Among speakers at the dinner at the Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Drive, are scheduled to be state Sen. Donald R. Humason, R-Westfield, former state senator Michael R. Knapik, Debra D. Boronski, Republican candidate for the 1st Hampden-Hampshire District state Senate seat, and Chairman Jim Wallace of the Gun Owners Action League of Massachusetts, a press release said.

The dinner will feature prizes from by local firearms dealers, firearms manufacturers and business supporters, the press release said.

The City Council Tuesday issued a proclamation celebrating the club, with Desilets saying from the president's podium in City Council Chambers at City Hall that the club's priority is safety.

"We have never had one accident," Desilets said.

Club activities include firing range and National Rifle Association (NRA) pistol safety courses, successful completion of which results in an NRA pistol course certificate and a state certificate, the club has said.

“This is a hands-on shooting experience teaching the knowledge, skills and attitude necessary for owning and using a pistol safely,” previous club press releases have said about the pistol course.

The club has had thousands of members over the years and membership now is nearly 600, Desilets said.

Sunday many business owners are gathering at the site of a fire that destroyed their businesses one year ago.

HADLEY - A year after a fire destroyed the 12 Norwottuck Shops and two apartments on Russell Street, the lot is overgrown with grasses and just a scattering of debris.

On Sunday, many of those business owners who lost everything in the Oct. 27, 2013 fire will gather on the site for a reunion, and to hold a vigil as well as raise money, said Steve Marcil, owner of College Pro Computers. People are welcome at the 4 p.m. event, he said.

But for now a Jones Group for sale sign sits on the edge of the property, which is listing for $685,000 and is described as "prime commercial location between Amherst and Northampton, in the center of new development, just 5 minutes to I-91. Further it reports that "conceptual plans have been drawn for a 6,900 sf retail building, but many uses are possible."

Some of those businesses that had been located there for years have reopened, but others have and continue to struggle. The fire caused more than $1 million damages and the cause is unknown

"The fire started directly behind a bank of dryers in the Laundromat, but there is not enough evidence to determine specifically which dryer was involved or the exact ignition source," according to a statement issued by the state Fire Marshall's office in May.

The fact that they don't know the cause still upsets Gregg Thornton owner of Greggory's Pastry Shop. He like others lost everything in the blaze.

Gregg Thornton owner of Greggory's Pastry Shop decorates a cake in his new Hadley shop. He lost his business in the Norwottuck shop fires last year. Diane Lederman/The Republican 

He was able to reopen in April just across from the fire at 195 Russell St. in the former Registry of Motor Vehicles plaza. "A lot of people didn't have insurance," he said. He did and also invested his own money in the new space.

He said he likes the location.

"We have decent, easy parking," he said. It has taken some time to reestablish the business. He lost customers who needed specialty cakes baked because they and he didn't know when he'd reopen.

 But word is spreading. And on this Friday, he is busy putting the finishing touches on an anniversary cake.  

The Chinese Kung Fu Wushu Academy also opened in that plaza but moved to Amherst in September. Across the parking lot Hak Jang reopened Hadley Cleaners six months ago.

He too likes the location. His customers like the parking; they can get in an out more easily than in the old space.  "Everybody tried to help me," he said after the fire and he appreciated that.

The year for Marcil, however, has been hard. He does some computer repair from his Chicopee home but has not reopened a shop. On Route 9, he said customers would drop their computers off on their way to work at the University of Massachusetts and then pick them up on their way home.

 "We didn't have insurance," he said and hasn't been able to obtain any of the low interest loans that he said were promised.

 "We tried a bunch of different things." He said it would cost between $70,000 and $100,000 to reopen. He said he's living on credit cards, "This is the hardest year of my life."  

Banh Mi Saigon restaurant recently reopened in Northampton and Jorge Sosa will soon be reopening Mi Tierra in Hadley where Shiki Asian Fusion was located on Route 9.

Sosa has spent the year trying to finance a new restaurant and has been aided with funding from Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program in conjunction with the Holyoke-based Common Capital, which helped him purchase a $54,000 tortilla machine.

Hak Jang reopened Hadley Cleaners six months ago after he lost his shop when the Norwottuck shops burned last year. Diane Lederman/The Republican 

The sale of his tortillas all over the state is helping to finance the restaurant.

Richard Czarniecki, who owned Hadley Coin-op Laundromat, has not reopened in town but has a laundry facility in Sunderland.

Hai Cheng, proprietor of the International Food Market, has not been able to reopen but hopes to within the next yeas. He said finding an affordable space that is accessible to his patrons is difficult. And he said he can't locate near any chains. "It's really difficult," he said.

In the meantime, he has been working with Banh Mi owner and chef Chuong Son.

Jang said he has talked to the owners of Wing Wong and they will not reopen.

Marcil said he tried to find the tenants in the two apartments but they moved from the area.

 Hassan Oubleid, who co-owned Casablanca's, could not be reached for comment at his taxi business in Easthampton to find out what his plans are.

A prosecutor, noting Albino had served a nine month jail term in 2010, said he appeared to have a substance abuse problem.

SPRINGFIELD - Jimmy Albino picked the wrong PriceRite to rip off.

That became clear when security at the West Springfield supermarket spotted him stuffing merchandise from the health and hygiene section into his backpack on Sept. 11.

As Albino, 34, of Marsden Street, Springfield, was leaving the Union Street market, West Springfield police were arriving to arrest him. In his backpack, they found $150.46 in hygiene products, according to the arrest report.

In Springfield District Court Thursday, Albino pleaded guilty before Judge Robert A. Gordon and was sentenced to one year of probation.

The number and type of products found in the backpack was not disclosed, but a prosecutor, noting Albino had served a nine month jail term in 2010, said he appeared to have a substance abuse problem.

The judge ordered Albino to continued substance abuse counseling and barred him from the West Springfield PriceRite for a year.

Finn represents the 6th Hampden District, which includes all of West Springfield, parts of Chicopee and Ward 2E in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said he was "proud" to endorse state Rep. Michael J. Finn for re-election, citing Finn's record of advocacy on behalf of the city and its residents.

On Friday, Sarno announced his endorsement from the steps of City Hall, along with City Council President Mike Fenton and City Councilor Tom Ashe. They chose Finn, a Democrat, over his Republican opponent Nathan Bech.

"The city works hand and hand with Rep. Finn on the issues of tourism and transportation amongst other vital needs and Mike delivers each and every time," said Sarno, according to a press release. "He works hard to provide Chapter 90 monies for our roads and bridges and also on promoting Springfield and the region as a place to visit, live, work and play."

Finn represents the 6th Hampden District, which includes all of West Springfield, parts of Chicopee and Ward 2E in Springfield. He was first elected in 2010.

Fenton represents Springfield's Hungry Hill neighborhood, and said Finn "aptly" represents the people who live there.

"He has delivered more money to local aid to fund our cities and towns and is always there when we need him," said Fenton. "I know he cares just as much about the small section of Springfield that he represents as he does his entire district."

Ashe praised Finn as a "wonderful partner" who takes seriously the needs of the whole city, not just the part he represents, and said he considers Finn "one of Springfield's elected leaders." Finn promised to continue those efforts if voters reelect him on Nov. 4.

He sits on the Joint Committee on Transportation, and he is vice chair of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development. Sarno said those committees are "vital" and he wants to keep working alongside Finn to help the city.

The conference -- one of 100 being held in schools across the nation -- comes as the city of Springfield is grappling with how to turn around eight underperforming middle schools.

SPRINGFIELD — An upcoming conference is taking aim at public school graduation rates in the city where nearly half the students don't earn a diploma.

City native Michael D. Smith, a special assistant to President Obama and the president's Brother's Keeper initiative, will be the keynote speaker at a GradNation Community Summit focusing on "middle school success" set for on Thursday, Nov. 6 at Springfield College.

The conference, sponsored by the United Way of Pioneer Valley and its Stay in School initiative, will be held from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Judd Gymnasia at the college on 263 Alden St.

The event – one of 100 being held in schools across the nation – comes as the city of Springfield is grappling with how to turn around eight underperforming middle schools.

The underforming schools are: 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.

To help affect a turnaround at the schools, the School Department, the Springfield Education Association and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education are considering a partnership with Boston-based Empower Schools, Inc., to band the eight schools together in a so-called Springfield Empowerment Zone.

Earlier this month, the Springfield School Committee signed a letter of intent to review the proposal by Empower Schools, Inc., which has had success with turnaround efforts in Salem and Lawrence. The committee is expected to take a vote on whether or not to adopt the plan next month.

Educational researchers say better school attendance and engagement in middle school leaders to higher high school graduation rates.

According to research conducted by Robert Balfanz and Joanna Fox of the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, 75 percent of eventual dropouts in high poverty rate school districts, such as Springfield, can be identified between the 6th and 9th grades.

Summit leaders will share what they have learned from youth, parents, educators and the community, with a call to action to become part of the solution to increase the middle school success and the graduation rate in Springfield. Youth and community panels are scheduled to take part in the conference.

Keynoter Smith, former director of the Social Innovation Fund for the Corporation for National & Community Service, and recently appointed special assistant to President Obama and senior director of cabinet affairs for the My Brother’s Keeper initiative, will return to his native Springfield for the event.

The Stay in School campaign was launched in 2013 in partnership with the Springfield Public Schools to increase school attendance. Increased attendance is a key ingredient to academic success and graduation from high school.

Those interested in attending the summit should RSVP to Shyreshia Perry at sperry@uwpv.org or (413) 737-2691, extension 200. Space is limited, and pre-registration is required to attend the conference. A light meal and refreshments will be served.

Recently, Springfield Public Schools announced the four-year high school graduation rate had improved to 56.6 percent. The goal of the Stay in School initiative is to increase the local graduation rate to 77.4 percent by the year 2015.

The GradNation campaign was launched in 2010 by America’s Promise Alliance. The campaign consists of 100 dropout prevention community summits convened across the country to raise awareness and inspire action. America’s Promise Alliance has adopted a goal of raising the national average to 90 percent by 2020.

With the hopes of increasing support for maintaining the Massachusetts law which paves the way for up to three casinos and a slots parlor in the commonwealth, activists are planning to knock on doors across Western Mass. on Saturday.

SPRINGFIELD — With the hopes of increasing support for maintaining the Massachusetts law which paves the way for up to three casinos and a slots parlor in the commonwealth, activists are planning to knock on doors across Western Mass. on Saturday.

Beginning bright and early at 9 a.m. at the IBEW Local 7 office at 185 Industry Ave. in the city, activists, construction workers and other union employees who stand to directly benefit from the massive casino projects across the commonwealth will gather and split up to canvass neighborhoods across Springfield, Agawam, Chicopee, Ludlow, Palmer and Westfield.

MGM Resorts International's plan to develop a resort casino in the South End of the city was approved by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission this past summer and the voters in the city a year before that. It is one of two already approved resort casinos slated for development in the commonwealth, along with Wynn Resorts planned $1.6 billion Everett plan. Penn National Gaming previously won approval to operate the state's only slots parlor at the Plainridge Race Track in Plainville, and that $225 million facility is currently under construction. Voters in both of those communities previously approved the respective projects.

In a press release, the pro-casino ballot committee called the Coalition to Protect Mass. Jobs cited Springfield's unemployment rate, which was 10.2 percent in September. The city holds the unflattering distinction of having the fifth-highest unemployment rate in Massachusetts with Holyoke coming in sixth with 10 percent.

The MGM project has been promised to create a minimum of 2,000 construction jobs and abide by an affirmative action program to meet hiring goals of 15.3 percent minorities, 6.9 percent women and 8 percent veterans. Once the casino opens its doors, MGM has pledged to hire at least 3,000 workers, of which at least 2,200 will be employed on a full-time equivalent basis with benefits.

Part of the long-term employment pledge calls for MGM to "use its best efforts" to ensure at least 35 percent of employees are Springfield residents, with no more than 10 percent of the workforce coming from outside the city limits to achieve labor participation goals regarding women, minorities and veterans. The city of Holyoke is the only surrounding community that worked a jobs guarantee for its citizens into an agreement with MGM, thanks to the efforts of Mayor Alex Morse.

While supporters of the project have cited potential benefits to the region, such as the influx of jobs and subsequent money flowing into the area, opponents have said the promises have been oversold, and that the jobs will pay much lower than is being stated by supporters.

Repeal the Casino Deal on Friday announced it had produced a 30-second TV ad, but considering the ballot committee's growing debt, they are asking supporters of the repeal effort to contribute money to get the ad on the air.

A WBUR poll released this week concluded that voters across Massachusetts overwhelmingly support maintaining the current casino law 53 percent to 38 percent.

Ballot Question 3 will go before the voters on Nov. 4 with a "yes" vote meaning the casino law will be thrown out, potentially stopping the aforementioned casino projects. A "no" vote maintains the 2011 law, as written by the state legislature.

The following are some of the Springfield District Court cases this week that made headlines:

The following are some of the Springfield District Court cases this week that made headlines:

Prosecutor: Driver in fatal crash asked police to shoot him, saying he just killed his 'brother'

Designated driver charged with drug possession, driving without a license was being good Samaritan, defense lawyer says

Springfield man named in 6 restraining orders facing new domestic violence charges

Bogus Luke Bryan tickets: Holyoke High School senior dodges felony convictions in Craigslist concert ticket scam

Springfield man forfeits $435 - and a year of freedom - for guilty plea to heroin charge>

A round-up of last week's stories from U.S. District Court in Springfield and Boston.

Here are some of the stories that made headlines in U.S. District Court last week:

'Retired' La Familia elder Victor Santini held without bail in federal court on drug charges.

Federal magistrate judge: Apologies too late for drug defendant David Faust, bail revoked and family forfeits $10,000

Jared Sprague of Dalton gets nearly 4½ years in prison for sharing child pornography online

Manager of Springfield tobacco sales warehouse admits role in $43 million scheme to deprive government of excise taxes

Feds: Edward MacKenzie, self-professed 'enforcer' for mobster Whitey Bulger, stole millions from venerable Beacon Hill church

Mixed allegiance: Former Boston cop accused of lying to FBI to help gangbanger buddy

He celebrates 25 years of ministry, and his 40th birthday this weekend.

Senior Pastor Calvin McFadden, of St. John's Congregational Church, is celebrating 25 years of ministry, as well as his 40th birthday, this weekend. There was a dinner concert Friday at Chez Josef, with proceeds to benefit Shriners Hospital for Children, in Springfield, and Baystate Children's Hospital, and the Sunday morning 9:30 worship service will feature Senior Pastor Maurice Watson, of Beulahland Bible Church in Macon, Georgia.

The Florida native, who has said he views gay marriage as opposed to the Word of God, was asked about his initial call to ministry at age 15, what has shaped his ministry and what led him to St. John's, one of the oldest Black churches, in New England, and one with a history of activism, starting with the abolition slavery.

How did you come to be called as a pastor at age 15?

I did not start answering the call until I was 18, but I first experienced it during a revival service at my home church in Tampa. As (the evangelist) John Wesley has stated, I felt my heart strangely warmed, so to speak, hearing God's voice speak to me about what he wanted me to do. I sought to be respectful and respectable when I was young.

What shaped you as a young man?

I certainly was not the perfect teenager - I had my moments, my parents can attest to them, - but I sought to do well academically, and to prepare my life to represent God and my family in wonderful way.

I initially grew up with dad and my grandma, although my birth mother was in my life. My grandma was a devout Christian woman. She raised us in the fear of the Lord. When the church doors opened, we were there. Later on in life, I lived with my father and step mother. They, too, were involved in church and church activities. I have two sisters, and a step sister and brother, and I am the oldest of them all.

I initially thought I could be a minister, active in the local church , but not pastor. It was when I was in undergraduate school (Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach), hoping to major in pre-law, with law school as my ultimate goal, because I knew that was a profession where I could make money, that the college chaplain asked if I would be interested in pastoring a little church (St. Joseph United Methodist Church in Deland), not far from Daytona Beach. It had about 40 to 50 people, and I thought maybe this was my life's calling.

I was born and raised in the United Methodist Church. At St. Joseph, I had to follow a gentleman, as pastor, who was the reverse of my age at 81. I enjoyed preaching, but I had to learn how to pastor, how to visit the sick, how to serve communion and counsel people. I learned it all at that early church, and it prepared me for pastoral ministry.

I knew once I graduated, that I was going on to seminary (Gammon Seminary, in Atlanta).

I had discovered that I enjoyed helping people, seeing them move from point A to B, as a result of spiritual formation, in fellowship with one another. I love the worship experience of church, making the Bible come alive to people listening in the audience. Being in that role, and helping people with day-to-day living, brings me joy.

I was a very avid reader of the Bible, particularly in Sunday school, and in my home. We read the Bible, and we read commentaries of the Bible. This is why initially I was able to give sermons to the congregation. I didn't have expertise in the Bible, but I did have an early foundation to craft and draft a sermon.

You served as pastor at Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Palatka, Florida, and then, in 1998, you started Ray of Hope, United Methodist Church, the first African American United Methodist church in Tallahassee. What was the significance of that?

There seemed to be an unwritten rule that there was not a large number of African American persons in the northern Florida area, and that there was not a need for a United Methodist body in Tallahassee. I never found documentation of this between the A.M.E. and the United Methodists, but I did find an interest (in having a Methodist church).

Tallahassee is the capital city of Florida, and our Ray of Hope was about bringing hope to the hill, through a ministry that offered hope for a better life, and that there is always hope in Jesus Christ, even in bad situations.

How did you transition into establishing the non-denominational Community of Faith Church, in Tallahassee, after six years at Ray of Hope, after which you moved to Georgia, where you served as executive director of Fellowship Bible Baptist Church in Warner Robins.

I came to have disagreements with the United Methodist, in the area of baptismal rules and the itinerant system for pastors, and felt led to start something fresh, and then a colleague needed some help and I moved to be executive director. The United Methodists baptize infants. I believe they can be dedicated to the Lord, but baptism is at 10 or 11, when someone can speak for themselves and is ready to be received into adulthood.

What made St. John's attractive to you?

I was attracted to its worship life, its community outreach and their plan to expand the facility. Those plans were already made, and I was fortunate to take them across the finish line. We had a capital campaign, with the congregation making payments over three years. We are taking one bite at a time out of the elephant, and hope to have the ($5 million) facility paid off in five to seven years.

The African American church, historically, has been a seat of not just worship, but a place where African Americans had a sense of power. Someone could be a janitor at a local school and that may be viewed as not a successful professional career, but in church, that person could be a deacon or the chair of the trustees. The church has given a sense of belonging and refuge. I do see a shift now in demographics. St. John's is becoming more diverse, and that is something I longed to see. We are all worshiping the same God. There is a great increase in white participants, as well as Latinos, at what has been an historically African American congregation. Some of those congregants have moved away, but this shows that we are reaching out to surrounding communities, as well as those members who live right up the street.

We had two worship services, with some 200 people at the 8 a.m., which was a little more traditional and attended by many professionals, and a 11 a.m., attended by 400 to 500 younger people, which was more of a family worship. We decided to have one (9:30 a.m.) service and bring everyone together, and that has turned out to be such an awesome blessing.

We seek to meet the needs of the total family. We have Sunday worship, but also activities throughout the week, like Girls Scouts, a mentoring program, as well as a youth program, to keep children involved. We also have courses for single adults, and married couples.You can not only come to church on Sunday, but you can come back during the week.

You have done the funerals for a number of murdered young people. How do you conduct the service?

I talk not just about the deceased person and the memories for the family, but to those yet alive and say: "What are you going to do next? You have seen what has happened. What decision will you make to not end up the same, or to change your life or your community. Use this as a a lesson to learn from. We can do better and be better."

The community has the responsibility to provide alternatives for young people, and parents have to accept a level of responsibility and know where there children are.

Why did you seek a seat on the Springfield School Committee?

The reasons are really multi-faceted. I want to ensure the quality of education in Springfield is top notch, and that we are on the road to improvement. I also want black males to see that there is someone who looks like them serving in a leadership role.

Why is this weekend important to your ministry and in terms of turning 40?

I have a number of friends, some clergy and some not, who didn't make it to 40, but died of stroke. I want to celebrate making it to 40, the first half of my life, and to look back and see what I can do and be even better. I am learning not to sweat the small stuff, addressing every rumor and issue. Things work out, and I don't need any additional stress. I also celebrate being a pastor 25 years, particularly when I see pastors leave ministry every day, because of burn out. I am still holding on, and doing what God called me to do.

Falchuk's lawsuit and the dis-invitation of the other independent gubernatorial candidates Jeff McCormick and Scott Lively has ignited a conversation in Massachusetts as to whether citizens prefer the media outlets which exist to serve them to choose which candidates who legally qualified for the ballot they should hear from, and which to exclude from coverage.

Evan Falchuk, the independent gubernatorial candidate fighting back against media organizations in Massachusetts he sees as protecting the two-party stronghold on state politics, has a Monday court hearing regarding his dis-invitation from a debate in Worcester.

At 2 p.m. Monday in courtroom 306 of Suffolk County Superior Court, Falchuk will make his case to Judge Linda Giles that when debate sponsors New England Cable News, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and the Worcester Chamber of Commerce rescinded his invitation to participate in Monday evening's gubernatorial debate at the Hanover Theater, they violated a verbal and written agreement, entered upon on Sept. 2.

"The Falchuk for Governor campaign has always been about the fact that the political establishment doesn’t take people seriously, and this needs to change," Falchuk told MassLive upon publicly announcing he had filed a lawsuit against the debate sponsors. "We see this growing trend happening all across the country, where candidates want to debate as little as possible, and debate as few candidates as possible."

Falchuk, who is running under the banner of his newly minted United Independent Party to give Massachusetts voters a choice outside of the traditional two-party construct, has perpetuated a socially progressive and fiscally moderate approach to politics he hopes will appeal to the 53 percent of registered voters in the state who are not enrolled in either the Democratic or Republican parties. If he lands three percent of the state vote at the polls, which state-wide polling suggests is more than likely, his party will become an official third option for voters in the commonwealth.

Falchuk's lawsuit alleges that when organizers sent out a letter on Aug. 28 inviting the candidate to participate in the Oct. 27 debate with no listed stipulations, his campaign accepted on Sept. 2 via phone call and an email. Then on Oct. 6, Falchuk says the campaign was contacted by Mary Plansky, NECN's managing editor, dis-inviting him from the debate, allegedly saying only "you’re not really high enough in the polls to be included," despite there being no previously mentioned threshold listed in the invitation.

Falchuk's lawsuit and the dis-invitation of the other independent gubernatorial candidates Jeff McCormick and Scott Lively has ignited a conversation in Massachusetts as to whether citizens prefer the media outlets which exist to serve them to choose which candidates who legally qualified for the ballot they should hear from, and which to exclude from coverage.

MassLive.com has worked with Falchuk, McCormick and Lively to establish a political live chat which will be held concurrently with the debate from 8-9 p.m. Monday to allow the website's readers to hear from all the candidates, should the judge rule against Falchuk's push for inclusion or an injunction against the event from taking place. Republican Charlie Baker and Democrat Martha Coakley are slated to appear on stage at the debate as their latest one-on-one showdown.

Evan Falchuk Worcester debate lawsuit

The prosecutor said Gendron meticulously organized the computer files in separate digital folders by categorizing the victims, and collected tens of thousands of additional images of the sexual torture of children.

SPRINGFIELD - A 35-year-old Pittsfield man is scheduled to be sentenced in U.S. District Court Monday to up to 50 years in prison for multiple acts of child rape and amassing a "staggering" collection of child porn, according to a prosecutor.

Jason Gendron pleaded guilty in federal court in May to 16 counts of sexual exploitation of a child plus possessing child pornography, admitting he repeatedly raped four girls ages 2 to 12 and made videos of the abuse.

"The defendant thus targeted the most vulnerable of victims – some too young to articulate their sufferings," Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow wrote in a presentence memo.

The prosecutor said Gendron meticulously organized the computer files in separate digital folders by categorizing the victims, and collected tens of thousands of additional images of the sexual torture of children.

Gendron also was prosecuted in Berkshire Superior Court for the sexual abuse of the girls.

He consented through a plea agreement to serve a prison sentence between 40 and 50 years.