Pelosi lived under an alias in Palmer, court records state, but kept the same circle of friends apprised of his whereabouts and plans on Facebook.

SPRINGFIELD - A former Palmer resident is set to plead guilty in federal court for failing to register as a sex offender.

Joshua Pelosi, 36, moved around frequently after his release from a New York jail in 2009; he had been convicted of rape in connection with a relationship with a 15-year-old girl, according to prosecutors.

Pelosi lived under an alias in Palmer, court records state, but kept the same circle of friends apprised of his whereabouts and plans on Facebook. In April, he posted pictures of himself at a shooting range and told his Facebook friends about a planned move to South Carolina.

Pelosi detailed that his bags were packed, he had a 12:25 p.m. departure time, and his ticket cost $130. The postings also described Pelosi's travel on the bus, including a picture of the George Washington Bridge in New York City, N.Y., discussion about a layover in Richmond, Va., and his arrival time in Myrtle Beach.

He was arrested in South Carolina.

As the officers approached, the man jumped into the frigid waters.

STONEHAM - A Massachusetts State Police trooper and city officer saved a 52-year-old suicidal man from freezing waters Saturday night.

A spokesman for the state police issued a statement that said the officers went searching for the man, a Dorchester resident, after receiving a report that he was walking toward Spot Pond.

"Trooper Nicholas Pak and Officer John Curtis of the Stoneham Police Department ... began searching the wooded area around Spot Pond. A short time later, they located a man standing on a ledge next to the water. As the officers approached, the man jumped into the frigid waters. Pak and Curtis pursued the man as he attempted to move further out into deeper water. The officers struggled with the man while he continued to try to submerge himself," the statement reads.

They eventually got the man out of the water; he was transported to the hospital for treatment.

Changes are coming in standardized testing for many Massachusetts school districts.

A student test is reviewed. (AP file photo) 

According to data from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 54 percent of school districts have opted to administer the English and mathematics PARCC exams to students in grades 3-8 next year, instead of the MCAS exams.

PARCC, short for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, was developed as part of the national Common Core standards.

This was the first time school systems were given the choice of which test to administer in grades 3-8.

But MCAS isn't going away immediately. Passing the 10th-grade MCAS exams in English, math, and science and technology remain a graduation requirement. All school districts must also continue to administer the MCAS science and technology to fifth- and eighth-graders.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Florence Kwarcinski 

Florence D. (Laframboise) Kwarcinski, 96, passed away on Thursday. She was a lifelong Chicopee resident. A graduate of Chicopee High School, she earned a degree in X-ray technology. She worked as a licensed X-ray technologist at Taunton State Hospital, and later as a secretary in the Chicopee School District. She was a communicant of the Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr, a member of its Rosary Society and Beautiful Years Club and a longtime volunteer at St. Stanislaus School. She was a member of the Registry of Radiology Technologists, Mass. Society of X-ray Technologists, Over 60 Club of Chicopee and Women's Club of Chicopee Falls.

Detectives confirm a cafeteria worker attempted to intervene in the shooting, but Snohomish County Sheriff's spokeswoman Shari Ireton provided no other details about the worker's actions.

MARYSVILLE, Wash. (AP) -- A high school worker tried to stop a gunman who opened fire on a crowded lunchroom north of Seattle, killing one girl and badly wounding four others, authorities said Saturday.

The shooter was Jaylen Fryberg, a popular Marysville-Pilchuck High School freshman, a government official with direct knowledge of the shooting told The Associated Press.

Fryberg was well-liked and athletic, a football player named to his high school's homecoming court just one week ago.

He was also anguished, writing of some unspecified troubles on his Twitter feed: "It breaks me... It actually does...."

Two of the gunman's cousins were among the wounded. Fryberg fatally shot himself, according to witnesses, police and relatives.

 

Snohomish County Sheriff's spokeswoman Shari Ireton said in a statement Saturday morning that the on-scene investigation at Marysville-Pilchuck High School was finished. A .40-caliber handgun was recovered, which authorities believe was the weapon used in the Friday morning shooting, Ireton said.

Brian Bennett, spokesman for the Seattle Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said his agency conducted a trace of the firearm and determined "the most recent purchaser of the gun." He said he could not identify that person, adding it would be up to the local police to release that information.

Detectives confirmed a school worker attempted to intervene in the attack, but Ireton provided no other details about the worker's actions.

Student Erick Cervantes told KIRO-TV that the worker, a woman, briefly "intercepted" the gunman, who was trying to reload. Cervantes said the woman tried to move the gunman's hand away, before he shot himself.

The gunman's motives remained unclear. Some students described Fryberg as happy and social, even though he had recently fought with another boy over a girl.

Shaylee Bass, a 15-year-old sophomore, said she was stunned by the shooting.

"He was not a violent person," she said. "His family is known all around town. He was very well known. That's what makes it so bizarre."

Students said the gunman stared at his victims as he fired. The shootings set off chaos as students ran outside in a frantic dash to safety, while others huddled inside classrooms.

Marysville police declined to release the shooter's identity, with Chief Rick Smith insisting he did not want to "dramatize someone who perpetuated a violent crime in a place where children should feel safe."

But many students identified Fryberg as the gunman, and the identity was confirmed to the AP by a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Students and parents said Fryberg was a member of a prominent family from the nearby Tulalip Indian tribes. A week ago, he was introduced as a homecoming prince during a high school football game, according to a video recorded by parent Jim McGauhey.

Three of the victims had head wounds and were in critical condition Saturday. Two 14-year-old girls were at Providence Everett Medical Center, and were identified by the facility as Shaylee Chucklenaskit and Gia Soriano. Andrew Fryberg, 15, was at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a hospital official said.

Another victim, 14-year-old Nate Hatch, was listed in serious condition at Harborview, the hospital said. Family members told KIRO-TV that Andrew Fryberg, Hatch and Jaylen Fryberg are cousins. Two other students were treated at the high school for minor wounds, authorities said.

Witnesses described the shooter as methodical inside the cafeteria.

"I heard six shots go off, and I turned and saw people diving under the tables," Isabella MacKeige, 18, said.

"I thought, 'Run!' So I left my backpack, my phone and my purse and got out the door as fast as I could," she said.

Brian Patrick said his daughter, a freshman, was 10 feet from the gunman before he started shooting.

Patrick said his daughter ran to safety and later said, "The guy walked into the cafeteria, pulled out a gun and started shooting. No arguing, no yelling."

Fryberg's Twitter feed suggested he was struggling with an unidentified problem.

On Wednesday, a posting read: "It won't last ... It'll never last." On Monday, another said: "I should have listened. ... You were right ... The whole time you were right."

Marysville-Pilchuck High School has a number of students from the Tulalip Indian tribes.

State Sen. John McCoy, a tribal member, said the tribal community was devastated. "We're all related in one shape or form. We live and work and play together."

Hundreds of people prayed and sang songs at a church vigil Friday night for victims and family members.

Pastor Nik Baumgart told the overflow crowd there was no script for reacting to Friday's events.

"One moment we're thinking, we can do this," Baumgart said. "Another moment, we're thinking, how can we do this?"

This story has been updated with new information from The Associated Press.

The ballot measure, if approved, would add 5-cent deposits to most non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverage containers.

BOSTON (AP) — Both sides in the debate over Question 2 on the Nov. 4 ballot say much has changed in the more than three decades since Massachusetts first passed a bottled deposit law.

Proponents of the measure that would expand the scope of the law say a variety of beverages that were largely unheard-of on store shelves at the time have become consumer staples — all the while adding to the state's litter woes.

"There was virtually no such thing, when you walked into a supermarket, as bottled water, sports drinks, vitamin water or Diet Snapple peach-flavored teas," said Janet Domenitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group. "There is this entire market of containers that have become litter or trash because they were not defined in the current law."

But what has also changed, opponents of the ballot question argue, is the way Americans handle the trash they produce. Slow but steady gains in recycling, including municipal programs that pick up recyclable materials in front of people's homes, are making returnable containers unnecessary, they say.

"It's really undermining a system that has evolved and works better than loading up your containers and driving them back to the grocery store," said Nicole Giambusso, spokeswoman for No on Question 2: Stop Forced Deposits. "We should be looking at modern technology and not at something that was created for 1982."

The ballot measure, if approved, would add 5-cent deposits to most non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverage containers.

It would also allow the nickel deposit — unchanged since the original law was approved — to increase with inflation in future years and require that unclaimed deposits be earmarked for a special state environmental fund.

After trying without success to convince the Massachusetts Legislature to make the changes, activists opted to take their case directly to voters. But the ballot campaign has met with stiff opposition from industry groups that through Oct. 20 had spent more than $8.2 million, much of it on an advertising blitz, according to state campaign finance records.

By contrast, a coalition of environmental groups supporting Question 2 had collectively spent about $900,000.

The opposition has been largely funded by supermarket chains, which would have to deal with the added volume of extra containers being returned, and the Washington-based American Beverage Association, which lobbies for soft drink companies.

A TV ad run by opponents that claimed 90 percent of Massachusetts residents have access to curbside recycling was fiercely challenged by backers of the ballot question, who cite state figures showing that only 47.5 percent of cities and towns, covering about 63 percent of the state's population, offer curbside recycling.

"They went on the air and lied," said Domenitz.

Opponents denied misleading voters, though later ads against Question 2 used revised language, saying 90 percent of residents had access to curbside or other "community recycling."

Expanding the bottle deposit law would hike prices for beverages and add millions in handling costs for bottle returns, in part because of the need to purchase new equipment to handle different-sized containers, Giambusso said.

Environmental groups embrace curbside recycling but also point to its limitations. It doesn't account for beverages consumed in parks, on beaches or any number of other places outside the home, Domenitz said.

Citing estimates from the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Coalition for an Updated Bottle Bill says 80 percent of carbonated beverage containers have been either redeemed or recycled over the past five years, while the recycling rate for containers not subject to the current deposit law is only 23 percent.

The report faults the Finance Committee and recommends empowering the town administrator.

SOUTHAMPTON — Southampton has been advised to make fundamental changes in town governance and its budget process if it wants to regain the trust of its citizens and establish financial stability.

An Oct. 6 report (see below) by the Mass. Dept. of Revenue declares that the town is in a "vulnerable financial condition," and makes 18 recommendations for turning things around.

The study recommends "substantial reforms" to the town's budget process, including empowering the town manager to be a leader, formalizing and expanding the town's finance team, establishing a formal budget timeline, increasing accountability and transparency, and taking steps to win back the confidence of town residents.

The report, prepared by the DOR's Division of Local Services at the request of the Selectboard, chastises town officials for using reserves to pay for operating expenses, points out that the town provides no incentives for people to pay their water bills, and slams the fiscal 2014 and 2015 budget process.

The authors single out the town's four-member elected finance committee:

"In at least the last two years, the finance committee has been unable to prepare a balanced budget or submit a report of its recommendations to town meeting. For the FY2015 budget, the committee voted to allow the new town administrator to present the budget at town meeting since she was more familiar with the budget details."

This spring, those missteps culminated in a last-minute budget scramble, a failed Proposition 2½ override vote, depleted reserves, and a divided community.

The study expresses confidence in "the new town administrator" — without mentioning Heather Budrewicz by name — saying she has worked effectively with her finance team, including treasurer/collector Donna Whiteley and accountant Vicki Moro, since starting her job in March 2014. It recommends that the "financial team" approach be expanded to include the assistant assessor and perhaps even the school business manager.

If the report's recommendations are adopted, the town administrator would take responsibility for preparing the first draft of the town's budget. That responsibility currently sits with the finance committee.

The DOR report advises selectmen to "vest the town administrator with the formal authority to lead the budget process" and give her the authority to appoint and supervise all department heads. As it is, some departments, which the report does not name, have "resisted" attempts by Budrewicz to institute basic administrative reforms in the areas of payroll and purchasing, the report notes.

"We recommend that selectmen advocate for a fully empowered town administrator's position with appointment authority and supervisory responsibility," the analysts advise.

Southampton should stop using reserves such as free cash or the stabilization fund for operating expenses, the DOR recommends. The town did not adopt a structurally-balanced FY2014 budget, and relied upon newly-certified free cash to balance the budget in December. That set up a "fiscal cliff" for FY2015 when, with minimal cash reserves on hand, department budgets had to be cut deeply when the override question failed.

Town meeting should avoid adopting unbalanced budgets with the expectation that the gap can be filled in December with certified free cash, the authors advise.

Southampton currently has only about $93,000 in its general stabilization fund with "limited prospects for a healthy upcoming free cash certification," said the DOR analysts.

Free cash is the amount of money a municipality has left in various departmental budgets at the end of a fiscal year. That money can't be spent before it's certified by the Department of Revenue, generally toward the end of the calendar year. As a general policy, the DOR recommends that certified free cash be used to replenish reserves or fund one-time expenditures — and not to prop up operating budgets.

Certain line items are non-discretionary, note the authors, including education expenses associated with Hampshire Regional High School and Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School.

Increases in assessments to the two regional schools have "contributed significantly" to the town's problems over the past three fiscal years, the report says. Between FY2012 and FY2015, the combined assessments increased by $1.275 million, consuming all the town's revenue growth.

To address the Hampshire Regional issue, the DOR advises Southampton to challenge the governance of the regional school district.

The report's authors declare that the school committee for the Hampshire Regional School District "does not conform to the legal requirements for a regional school committee," and claim that Southampton is underrepresented.

According to state law and the constitution, elected bodies such as regional school committees must be proportionate to the citizens they represent, write the authors. Southampton has six of the board's total 17 members, or 35 percent, whereas the town's 2012 population constitutes more than 48 percent of the total district population.

"We recommend that Southampton pursue amendment to the Hampshire Regional School agreement to bring school committee membership in line with the 'one person-one vote' principal," state the DOR analysts.

As for water bill collections, the report notes that late payers are only hit with a single $25 fee: "Delinquent ratepayers have no incentive to pay, and it appears that some prefer to let this charge stand until it is eventually submitted to the assessors as a water lien."

In recent decades, Southampton has grown from a small town to one with nearly 6,000 people and a $17 million budget. The report notes that between 1990 and 2010, the town saw a 47% increase in housing units and that population nearly doubled between 1970 and 2012.

Southampton's per capita income of $34,054 is the fifth-highest among the 43 communities in the Pioneer Valley, yet voters have repeatedly rejected Proposition 2½ overrides. A total of 39 override questions have been put before voters since 1991, all of which have failed, including the July 1, 2014 $1 million override rejected by a nearly two-to-one margin.

"Perhaps the lack of accountability in town government has contributed to a basic distrust of the ability of town officials to properly manage additional spending," the report suggests.

DOR staff interviewed selectmen, members of the finance committee and board of assessors, the town accountant, treasurer/collector, assistant assessor, town clerk, and town administrator. The group reviewed town meeting minutes, bylaws, town budgets, expenditure reports, audited financial statements, and the town administrator's job description. Analysts examined a series of failed Proposition 2½ votes, as well as town ballots and election results.

The review of Southampton's budget process was signed by Robert G. Nunes, Deputy Commissioner & Director of Municipal Affairs, distributed to members of the Selectboard, and copied to Sen. Donald F. Humason and Rep. Peter V. Kocot. It was prepared with the assistance of Joe Boudreau, DOR field representative.

The DOR's Division of Local Services provides municipal consulting services at no charge through its technical assistance section.

Southampton DOR Budget Review 2014

It brings the total number of states with federal recognition of gay marriage to 32, plus the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal government is recognizing gay marriage in six more states and extending federal benefits to those couples, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Saturday.

Gay marriage recently became legal in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, North Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The government's announcement follows the U.S. Supreme Court's decision earlier this month to decline to hear appeals from five states that sought to keep their marriage bans in place. It brings the total number of states with federal recognition of gay marriage to 32, plus the District of Columbia.

Couples married in these states will qualify for a range of federal benefits, including Social Security and veterans' benefits.

"With each new state where same-sex marriages are legally recognized, our nation moves closer to achieving full equality for all Americans," Holder said.

The attorney general said the government is working "as quickly as possible" to make sure same-sex married couples in these states receive the "fullest array of benefits" that federal law allows.

The Justice Department also has determined that it can legally recognize gay marriages performed this summer in Indiana and Wisconsin after federal courts declared marriage bans in the states unconstitutional. Subsequent developments created confusion about the status of those unions, but Holder said the U.S. government will recognize the marriages.

Northbound traffic is being diverted off of Interstate 91 in Holyoke as crews try to clean up after a dump truck full of asphalt rolled over, leaving a serious mess on the highway.

HOLYOKE — Northbound traffic is being diverted off of Interstate 91 in Holyoke as crews try to clean up after a dump truck full of asphalt rolled over, leaving a serious mess on the highway.

According to Massachusetts State Police, traffic is being diverted off of I-91 North at Exit 16 and on to Route 5. From there, drivers can re-enter the highway at Exit 17B, but the detour currently has traffic backed up for several miles as of 3:30 p.m.

Southbound traffic was unaffected, according to police.

No one was injured in the accident, according to troopers, who said they have called for construction equipment to help clean up the asphalt. The cleanup, however, is expected to take several hours.

Drivers are asked to try to find alternate routes if they must pass through the area or be prepared for significant delays.

Three of the young people wounded in a deadly school shooting north of Seattle remained in critical condition Saturday, and a fourth was in serious condition.

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) -- Three of the young people wounded in a deadly school shooting north of Seattle remained in critical condition Saturday, and a fourth was in serious condition.

The three critically injured people had head wounds. Two 14-year-old girls were at Providence Everett Medical Center, and were identified by the facility as Shaylee Chucklenaskit and Gia Soriano. Fifteen-year-old Andrew Fryberg was at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a hospital official said.

Another victim, 14-year-old Nate Hatch, was listed in serious condition at Harborview with a jaw injury.

Authorities and witnesses say a popular freshman at Marysville-Pilchuck High School opened fire in the school cafeteria Friday morning. One girl was killed. Authorities say the gunman shot himself.

The following are some of the school stories making headlines.

The following are some of the school stories making headlines last week:

Education reform activist Chris Gabrieli sees great potential for Springfield's struggling middle schools

Springfield's Putnam Academy sets up 'Zone' to aid scholar-athletes

$10 million drive for Cathedral High School tuition fund reaches half-way point

Westfield State University art exhibit celebrates short, colorful life of graduate Emilee Dawn Gagnon

Belchertown students beat state average on MCAS tests, despite lower per-pupil funding

When state trooper Brendan Shugrue approached the car and asked the 6- foot 2-inch, 250 pound driver to identify himself, he gave his name of Rose A. Livingston, according to the trooper’s arrest report.

SPRINGFIELD – When state police pulled over his Cadillac on Oakland Street on March 14, Robert A. Livingston was driving without a license, in a car without an inspection sticker.

Again.

A tow truck driver, the 39-year-old Livingston has been convicted five times for operating with a suspended license, and has more than a dozen suspensions or revocations listed on his 11-page driving record, state Registry of Motor Vehicle Records show.

The record dates back to 1993 when the teenager picked up three speeding tickets in three months and includes charges of driving to endanger, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, attaching the wrong plates and being a habitual traffic offender. In the past five years alone, his record has 25 entries, including speeding, a surchargeable accident and multiple license suspensions.

The latest charges came from the March 14 traffic stop when the Springfield resident was cited for operating with a suspended license and no inspection sticker, as well as refusing to identify himself to a police officer.

Arraigned on August 12 in Springfield District Court, Livingston pleaded innocent to the charges and was released on personal recognizance.

During a pre-trial hearing before Judge William Boyle this month, he acknowledged having an extensive driving record, but said many offenses dated back to his younger years.

The defendant also said he had been working as a tow truck driver, and hoped to get his license back in next few months.

Livingston, of 73 Kenyon St., did not mention the name of the company he had been driving for, and could not be reached for comment Friday.

In addition to the usual motor vehicle charges, the March 14 traffic marked the first time that Livingston was charged with giving a false name to a police officer.

When state trooper Brendhan Shugrue approached the car and asked the 6- foot 2-inch, 250 pound driver to identify himself, he gave his name of Rose A. Livingston, according to the trooper’s arrest report.

“I asked him if he was sure that was his name. He said, “Yes,” the trooper wrote.

After running a records check, the trooper discovered Livingston’s actual identity and learned that his license had been suspended on May 9, 2013. Livingston was also on probation for a Superior Court case, the trooper wrote.

“Livingston asked me if this would violate his probation. I answered “probably,” Shugrue wrote.

After citing the driver for three violations, the trooper had the defendant's white Cadillac towed from the scene.

Livingston’s next court date is Dec. 10.

Registry of Motor Vehicle records

The city has 16 of the electronic voting machines, with one for each of the 14 precincts and two back-ups.

HOLYOKE -- The city's 16 voting machines will be tested Monday (Oct. 27) at 9 a.m. at City Hall in anticipation of Election Day Nov. 4.

"Any member of the public is welcome to attend," City Clerk Brenna Murphy McGee said Friday.

This is the first time in memory that the public was invited to watch the testing, she said.

"I've decided to do the testing because I feel the voters have the right to see that the machines are accurately tested and prepared for the election," she said.

There are 14 of the electronic Diebold AccuVote machines, one for each of the precincts, and two back-ups, she said. The machines tabulate votes by reading ovals filled in by voters with black markers on paper ballots fed into the machines, which Murphy McGee said are 15 to 20 years old.

"We will be testing them, putting them into election mode, and printing out 'zero' reports," Murphy McGee said.

The Special Town Meeting will be held this Monday, October 27, at 7 in the auditorium of the town high school.

EAST LONGMEADOW — The warrant for the upcoming Special Town Meeting has been made available through the town website, and is embedded below.

It will serve as a guide for town residents as they come together to discuss and pass judgment on several municipal issues early next week, including new zoning by-laws regarding the placement of signage in town, the appropriation and re-appropriation of funds designated for capital projects, and the designation of funds for the contracts of a new town accountant, Benefits Administration Manager, and the stipend of the town animal control officer.

The warrant also includes descriptions of the boundaries of two town streets - Betterley and Wisteria Lane - that the town aims to "take in fee simple for highway purposes."

The Special Town Meeting will be held this Monday, October 27, at 7 in the auditorium of the town high school.

Special Town Meeting Warrant

Lewis is from Southbridge, Massachusetts, and was last seen around Sept. 25.

Gregory Lewis, 26, of Southbridge, Mass., is wanted for several outstanding felony arrest warrants.Courtesy of the Southbridge Police Department 

Denver police are asking for the public's help in finding 26-year-old Gregory Lewis, who's wanted on sexual assault, kidnapping and robbery charges.

Authorities say they believe Lewis is in the Denver area, and he should be considered armed and dangerous. He's described as a white man about 6 feet tall and 235 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Police say he has tattoos of a hand holding a knife on his chest and a demonic woman on his left arm.

Lewis is from Southbridge, Massachusetts, and was last seen around Sept. 25. Police say he cut off a monitoring device connected to a child rape case.

Gregory Lewis Most Wanted

Obituaries from The Republican.

Thomas Kelliher 

Thomas M. "TK" Kelliher, 62, passed away on Oct. 19. He was born in Springfield, attended grammar and high schools there and lived in the Springfield area for most of his life. He was a graduate of the then-Westfield State College. Tommy was a very good friend of Bill Wilson. In much of his career and in his personal life, he counseled people with drug and alcohol addictions. He brought compassion and a non-judgmental spirit to those he helped and served as an inspiration in their recovery. He often used humor to defuse difficult situations or just to create a fun atmosphere.

Billings Farm and Museum is an operating dairy farm and a museum of Vermont's rural past. It features various aspects of farm work, including care of the Jersey cows and other livestock, milking of the herd, crop rotation and feed production.

WOODSTOCK, Vt. – Believe it or not, some children think the milk they drink or put on their cereal comes from the grocery store or the refrigerator.

Susan E. Plump, public relations and special events coordinator at Billings Farm and Museum has a great way to teach them that milk comes from cows: a visit to the dairy farm in Woodstock, considered by many to be one of Vermont’s prettiest towns.

Billings Farm and Museum is an operating dairy farm and a museum of Vermont's rural past. It features various aspects of farm work, including care of the Jersey cows and other livestock, milking of the herd, crop rotation and feed production.

“Our mission is education, to teach people what farm life is like today and what it was like in the late 19th century in Vermont,” Plump said.

There are interactive programs and activities, and visitors can see the barns and calf nursery; they can experience actual farm work, animals and agricultural processes.

The site offers special events. For example, during the summer there were Time Travel Tuesdays to see what life was like in 1890 by playing period games and helping prepare a meal and helping with laundry, for example; Wagon Ride Wednesdays and Foodways Fridays.

The authentically restored 1890 farm house, the center of the farm and forestry operation a century ago, features the farm manager's office, family living quarters and creamery, where butter was produced for market. Interactive programs interpret 19th century agricultural improvement, butter production and domestic life.

Exhibits in 19th century barns depict the annual cycle of rural life and work as well as the cultural values of Vermont farm families a century ago.

“The farm has a lot to offer,” Plump said, noting that programs get visitors up close to the herd of about 65 Jersey cows, draft horses, sheep, chickens and oxen.

Frederick Billings, a Vermonter who worked as a lawyer, conservationist, pioneer in reforestation and scientific farm management and railroad builder, established the Billings Farm in 1871 and imported cattle from the Isle of Jersey, kept careful records of milk production and bred selectively to improve the herd.

Billings, Montana, a railroad town established in 1882, was named after him. He provided the money to build the First Congregational Church and the first library there.

The Woodstock farm and museum have been merged, sharing the mission of preserving the historic farm and educating thousands of visitors each year.

The farm has a dairy bar, but the restaurants and shops of Woodstock are but a half mile away.

Republican Charlie Baker is raising more money that Democrat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts governor's race, but other statewide GOP candidates aren't doing nearly as well.

BOSTON (AP) — Republican Charlie Baker is raising more money that Democrat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts governor's race, but other statewide GOP candidates aren't doing nearly as well.

In the attorney general's race, Democrat Maura Healey reported a balance of $122,000 in her campaign account as of mid-October — about a 10-to-one advantage over Republican John Miller, who had just under $12,000.

In the treasurer's election, Democrat Deb Goldberg had about $314,000 in her account as of mid-October — almost a three-to-one dollar advantage over Republican challenger Mike Heffernan.

The two statewide Democratic incumbents — Secretary William Galvin and Auditor Suzanne Bump — have even wider fundraising leads.

Bump had about $133,000 compared with Republican Patricia Saint Aubin's $31,000, while Galvin had $2.5 million compared with Republican David D'Arcangelo's $6,000 balance.

A status conference is scheduled in court this week for a man charged with kidnapping, robbing and killing 24-year-old Amy Lord and assaulting three other women.

BOSTON (AP) -- A status conference is scheduled in court this week for a man charged with kidnapping, robbing and killing a Boston woman and assaulting three others.

Edwin Alemany is accused of kidnapping 24-year-old Amy Lord from outside her South Boston apartment, then robbing and stabbing her. He also is accused of attacking three other women.

Alemany has pleaded not guilty and is being held at a state psychiatric facility. Alemany's lawyer says Alemany has mental health issues and plans to use an insanity defense.

Prosecutors say Lord, a Wilbraham native, was beaten, then forced to use her own SUV to drive to several ATMs and withdraw money. She was then forced to drive to Stony Brook Reservation, where she was fatally stabbed.

A hearing is scheduled Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court.

There are no proven drugs or vaccines for Ebola, in large part because the disease is so rare that up until now it's been hard to attract research funding.

Drugmakers are racing to develop vaccines and drugs to address the worst outbreak of Ebola in history. It's unclear who will pay for their products, but companies are betting that governments and aid groups will foot the bill.

There are no proven drugs or vaccines for Ebola, in large part because the disease is so rare that up until now it's been hard to attract research funding. And the West African nations hardest hit by the outbreak are unlikely to be able to afford new Ebola vaccines and drugs.

But governments and corporations now are shifting millions of dollars to fight Ebola in the wake of the outbreak that has infected nearly 10,000 people and killed over 4,800. Experts say drugmakers are wagering that international groups and wealthier governments like the U.S. will buy Ebola vaccines and drugs in mass quantities to stockpile them for future use once they're deemed safe.

"The political bet is that the U.S. and World Health Organization have been so embarrassed and burned by this event that they will be willing to change the way they do business," said Professor Lawrence Gostin of the Georgetown University Law School, who studies global health issues.

Drugmakers have benefited from stockpiling before. During the bird flu pandemic of 2009, Western governments spent billions to stock up on drugs and vaccines that mostly went unused. Shelf-life varies by product, but can be as little as a year.

Still, it's unclear who will pay for the Ebola vaccines that are in development, even after a WHO meeting on Thursday that included government officials, drugmakers and philanthropic groups.

"Something concrete needs to be developed soon," said Dr. Manica Balasegaram of Doctors Without Borders, who attended the meeting. "This needs to done in tandem for us to prepare for when these vaccines are deployed in the larger scale beyond clinical trials."

Even with the uncertainty, drug companies are rushing to begin testing in patients.

Johnson & Johnson said last week it will begin safety testing in early January of a vaccine combination that could protect against an Ebola strain that is "highly similar" to the virus that triggered the current outbreak.

The New Brunswick, New Jersey, company is spending up to $200 million to speed up production of the vaccine, which it licensed in part from a Danish company last month. If safety tests are successful, the company hopes to begin large clinical trials in May 2015.

The two leading Ebola vaccines in the pipeline have largely been funded by government efforts, but their testing is being completed by a combination of corporate and public financing.

Human trials of a vaccine co-developed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and GlaxoSmithKline are being funded by the company, its charitable trust and funds from the U.S. and U.K. governments. It is being tested for safety in the U.S., U.K. and Mali. GSK said it might be able to make about 1 million doses of its vaccine per month by the end of 2015, assuming that some logistical and regulatory hurdles can be overcome.

A small U.S. drugmaker, NewLink Genetics, holds the license on the second front-runner vaccine, which was initially developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada and has been sent to the U.S. Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland for testing on healthy volunteers, with preliminary safety results expected by December.

Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny from the U.N. health agency told reporters last week that millions of doses could be available in 2015 in West Africa if early tests proved that the two leading experimental vaccines are safe and provoke enough of an immune response to protect people from being infected with Ebola. Kieny also said five other possible Ebola vaccines should start being tested in March, but she gave no details about who is making them, or where those five vaccines would be tested.

Virologist Ben Neuman said the unprecedented focus on Ebola also will benefit smaller companies that are developing drugs that can slow the diseases, such as MAPP Pharmaceuticals of San Diego and Tekmira Pharmaceuticals of Canada.

"There are lots of very promising options out there," said Neuman, a professor at the University of Reading in Britain. "One of the treatments or vaccines that they are trying now is going to work. But we don't know which one."

While there are no reliable estimates of the potential market size for an Ebola drug or vaccine, some drugmakers have already seen their stocks rise on the potential of the therapies in their pipelines.

Neuman noted that while Ebola was only confirmed at the end of March, there were reports of suspected Ebola in January. Tekmira's stock price tripled between January and April of this year.

"For small pharma, the fate of the company can turn on one drug like these," he said.

In 2009, Roche saw sales of its Tamiflu antiviral medication jump by $1.74 billion as governments around the world snapped up drugs in anticipation of a bird flu outbreak that never materialized. The U.S. has provided billions of dollars of incentives to reinvigorate flu vaccine production by companies like Glaxo and Novartis. Because of complex testing and manufacturing procedures, vaccines are expensive to produce and only a handful of companies compete in the space.

The U.S. government's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority also awards federal contracts to keep drugmakers producing other emergency countermeasures, including antibiotics, anthrax vaccines and treatments for botulism. But since September, the agency has allocated more than $32 million toward companies working on vaccines and drugs for Ebola.

"To me, Ebola is a game changer," Gostin said. "All the things we thought about in terms of research priorities and development of drugs and vaccines need to be rethought."