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Springfield hosts 51st remembrance ceremony for John F. Kennedy at Eternal Flame at Forest Park

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The Eternal Flame in Springfield is only one of two in the United States, with the other at Kennedy's Arlington National Cemetery burial site.

SPRINGFIELD - The Springfield Board of Park Commissioners and the JFK Remembrance Committee held its 51st annual remembrance ceremony Saturday afternoon at the Eternal Flame in Forest Park.

The "parking fee" to Forest Park was waived from noon to 2 p.m. for residents who wished to visit the Eternal Flame monument, erected in 1964.

Kennedy served eight years as a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts before he was elected as the youngest president in the nation's history. He was fatally shot while riding in a motorcade in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

The Eternal Flame in Springfield is only one of two in the United States, with the other at Kennedy's Arlington National Cemetery burial site.


View photos of the 49th annual remembrance ceremony at the top of this post.

Worcester's North High School evacuated after second bomb threat in 2 weeks

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The city’s North High School was evacuated Friday morning after school officials received a phone call warning of a bomb on the school campus.

WORCESTER – The city’s North High School was evacuated Friday morning after school officials received a phone call warning of a bomb on the school campus.

According to the Worcester Police Department, the school was evacuated as a precautionary measure while police, using bomb-detection dogs, searched the school and its grounds.

The phone call, police said, had warned that the bomb was set to detonate at a specific time.

During the search, which was assisted by the Massachusetts State Police, students were put in buses parked nearby on Harrington Way.

“After a thorough search of the school and its grounds, it was determined that no device was present,” police said in a press release.

After the building was cleared to the satisfaction of school officials, students were allowed to return to the building and resume their academic day.

The school was also evacuated after a bomb threat Nov. 12, a threat which also proved to be a false alarm, police said.

Police said they do not yet know if the two incidents are related.

If anyone has information about this incident they can send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD + your message or send an anonymous web based message at worcesterma.gov/police. Calls can also be made to the Worcester Police Detective Bureau at (508) 799-8651.

Ferguson grand jury deliberates: No decision expected before Monday, even as barricades rise

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Downtown STL Inc., a St. Louis civic group that promotes downtown businesses, told members in an email Saturday that the grand jury will reconvene Monday

FERGUSON, Mo. -- Crews erected barricades Saturday around the building where a grand jury has been considering whether to indict the Ferguson police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown, even as a grand jury decision seemed unlikely this weekend.

Tension has been mounting in Ferguson and elsewhere in the St. Louis area in recent days, with many speculating that the grand jury's decision would be announced on Sunday. That seemed increasingly unlikely by Saturday afternoon, although there was a noticeable uptick in the preparations being made.

Downtown STL Inc., a St. Louis civic group that promotes downtown businesses, told members in an email Saturday that the grand jury will reconvene Monday to continue deliberating whether charges are warranted against Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of Brown.

The email did not explain how the group knew the information, and a spokeswoman declined comment. Ed Magee, a spokesman for St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch, didn't respond to several messages Saturday.

The Brown family's attorney, Ben Crump, said Saturday that he hadn't heard a decision had been reached and that prosecutors had promised to tell him when that happened.

Wilson is white and Brown, who was unarmed, was black. There have been many demonstrations in the months since Brown's death, including some that were violent. Police arrested three protesters on Friday night -- the third straight night of unrest in Ferguson.


On Saturday, authorities set up barricades around the Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton, which is where the grand jury has been meeting.

Barricades also went up in the shopping center parking lot on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, which was where police set up a makeshift command center in the immediate aftermath of Brown's death.

Several businesses in both Ferguson and Clayton have put boards on their windows.

Residents were on edge, too.

Jamie Freeman of Ferguson, 38, a registered nurse and mother of four, said she was especially concerned since her 20-year-old son lives in the neighborhood where Brown was shot.

"I just hope it stays peaceful," Freeman said of protests that will follow the grand jury decision. "We all have human emotions, but there's a way to do things, and violence, you can't get peace from violence."

Crump, the Brown family attorney, said the grand jury process is weighted against those shot by police officers.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time the police officer is not held accountable for killing a young black boy," Crump said. "The police officer gets all the consideration."

The FBI has sent nearly 100 additional agents to Ferguson to help law enforcement agencies, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the FBI plans.

But things were calm during the day on Saturday. Brown's father, Michael Brown Sr., joined a church group in passing out free turkeys to needy residents in the area where his son was shot. A day earlier, a video of Brown Sr. was released urging peace, regardless of how the announcement goes.

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling questioned by TSA after son accidentally brings fake grenade to Logan International Airport

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Schilling's 12-year-old son caused a temporary panic at Logan International Airport on Saturday after he remembered that he had packed a fake grenade in his luggage.

BOSTON — Anyone with children knows they can often provide those unanticipated moments of life which, for better or worse, can come to define a day.

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling was going through the TSA security line at Logan International Airport on Saturday morning when his 12-year-old son made an announcement that freaked out the nearby federal agents- "I think I left (a) fake grenade in my bag!"

According to tweets by Schilling, the bomb squad arrived and organized panic, in accordance with standard government response procedures, quickly ensued. But luckily, it wasn't too long before Schilling and his family were given the green light to fly the friendly skies and proceed on their way.

"TSA could not have been cooler once they realized what was happening," Schilling tweeted.

The TSA has advised people in the past to be careful about what they pack in their luggage as it may prompt a serious response in the interest of public safety.

"We continue to find inert grenades and other weaponry on a weekly basis," TSA spokesman Bob Burns said in early November. "Please keep in mind that if an item looks like a real bomb, grenade, mine... it is prohibited."


Gobble gobble: Joey Chestnut wins turkey eating competition held at Foxwoods casino in Connecticut; $10,000 in prizes awarded

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10 contestants competed to see who could eat the most of 20-pound turkeys on Saturday, in a competitive eating competitive held at Foxwoods.

Mashantucket, Conn. — 200 pounds of turkeys entered the competition, but only 147.55 of bones and meat left after 10 minutes of competitive eating.

10 contestants competed to see who could eat the most of 20-pound turkeys on Saturday, in a competitive eating competitive held at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Joey Chestnut set a new world record, eating 9.35 pounds of turkey in 10 minutes. The California native is ranked the top competitive eater in the world.

Chestnut was awarded a big check for $5,000 for testing the limits of his stomach on stage. The remainder of the $10,000 purse was divided among other contestants.

Matthew Stonie took second, eating 8.45 pounds in 10 minutes. Stonie recently made headlines, eating 120 Twinkies in six minutes at the second annual World Twinkie Eating Championship, beating Chestnut who ate 85 Twinkies.

New England natives were also represented on the stage.

Jason "Crazy Legs" Conti, a native of Belmont, walked on the stage wearing a customized Bruins jersey. He took tenth place, having eaten 2.3 pounds of turkey.

A newcomer to competitive eating, Hartford resident Graham Kist surprised many by taking ninth place. He ate 2.85 pounds of turkey.


Massachusetts man jailed in Connecticut after allegedly running down 2 cops with stolen Chevy Impala

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A Massachusetts man was taken into custody on Saturday morning after he allegedly ran over two Connecticut police officers with a stolen car.

BRANFORD, Conn. — A Massachusetts man was taken into custody on Saturday morning after he allegedly ran over two Connecticut police officers with a stolen car.

Michael LearMichael Lear

The Branford Police Department reports that around 8 a.m. Saturday, two of its police officers approached a vehicle on East Main Street which was being driven by 48-year-old Michael Lear of Hull, Mass. They ran the Chevy Impala's license plates and found out it was stolen from a Wethersfield resident earlier this week.

Police say that while taking Lear into custody, a struggle ensued and he was able to make it back behind the wheel of the Chevy. It was then he allegedly ran over both men with the car, causing one cop to end up with a broken wrist while both sustained shoulder and leg injuries which hospitalized them.

Lear reportedly made it about a mile away to a local Stop & Shop where he allegedly ditched the car, but was spotted by other police officers standing in front of the store. After yet another physical confrontation which involved the use of several stun guns, Lear was eventually subdued, and taken into custody.

According to the New Haven-based ABC affiliate WTNH-TV, cops are investigating because after several officers had the electrodes of their stun guns in Lear, he was unfazed.

"We're trying to determine whether or not it was because he was wearing a number of layers of clothing, or if he was involved in some sort of drug activity beforehand, many of which will give resistance to stunning," Branford police Capt. Geoffrey Morgan told the station.

Lear is facing a slew of charges including assault on a police officer and is being held in lieu of $250,000 bond, awaiting arraignment in New Haven Superior Court on Monday. Both of the injured police officers have been released from the hospital and in time, are expected to fully recover.


Former DC Mayor Marion Barry dies at 78

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Former Washington D.C. mayor Marion Barry died Sunday.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Divisive and flamboyant, maddening and beloved, Marion Barry outshone every politician in the 40-year history of District of Columbia self-rule. But for many, his legacy was not defined by the accomplishments and failures of his four terms as mayor and long service on the D.C. Council.

Instead, Barry will be remembered for a single night in a downtown Washington hotel room and the grainy video that showed him lighting a crack pipe in the company of a much-younger woman. When FBI agents burst in, he referred to her with an expletive. She "set me up," Barry said.

Barry died Sunday at 78. His family said in statement that Barry died shortly after midnight at the United Medical Center, after having been released from Howard University Hospital on Saturday.

The year was 1990, and crack cocaine had exploded in the district, turning it into the nation's murder capital. In his third term, the man known as the "Mayor for Life" became a symbol of a foundering city.

Federal authorities had been investigating him for years for his alleged ties to drug suspects, and while he denied using drugs, his late-night partying was taking a toll on his job performance.

The arrest and subsequent conviction -- a jury deadlocked on most counts, convicting him of a single count of drug possession -- was a turning point for Barry. He had been elected to his first term as mayor in 1978 with broad support from across the city. With his good looks, charisma and background in the civil rights movement, he was embraced the dynamic leader the city's young government needed. The Washington Post endorsed him in each of his first three mayoral runs, although the 1986 endorsement was unenthusiastic.

Barry's six-month term in federal prison was hardly the end of his political career. But it forever changed how it was perceived. To some, he was a pariah and an embarrassment. But to many district residents, particularly lower-income blacks, he was still a hero, someone unfairly persecuted for personal failures.

Barry returned to the D.C. Council in 1992, representing the poorest of the city's eight wards. Two years later, he won his fourth and final term as mayor. The electorate was starkly divided along racial lines, and Barry advised those who had not supported his candidacy to "get over it."

"Marion Barry changed America with his unmitigated gall to stand up in the ashes of where he had fallen and come back to win," poet Maya Angelou said in 1999.

Barry's triumph, though, was short-lived. In 1995, with the city flirting with bankruptcy from years of bloated, unaccountable government, much of it under Barry, Congress stripped him of much of his power and installed a financial control board. Barry held authority over little more than the city's parks, libraries and community access cable TV station. He decided against seeking a fifth term.

Barry spent a few years working as a municipal bond consultant, but he couldn't stay away from politics. In 2004, he returned to the council, again representing Ward 8, where he remained beloved. Many constituents still referred to him as "Mayor Barry," and he was re-elected in 2008 and 2012.

Barry was born March 6, 1936, to Marion and Mattie Barry, in the small Mississippi delta town of Itta Bena, and was raised in Memphis, Tenn., after the death of his father, a sharecropper.

While an undergraduate at LeMoyne College (now LeMoyne-Owen College), Barry picked up the nickname "Shep" in reference to Soviet propagandist Dmitri Shepilov for his ardent support of the civil rights movement. Barry began using Shepilov as his middle name.

Barry did graduate work in chemistry at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., earning a master's degree. He left school short of a doctorate to work in the civil rights movement.

His political rise began in 1960, when he became the first national chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, which sent young people into the South to register black voters and became known as one of the most militant civil rights groups of that era.

Barry's work with the committee brought him to Washington, where he became immersed in local issues, joining boycotts of the bus system and leading rallies in support of the city's fledgling home rule efforts.

In 1970, The Post wrote: "Four years ago widely considered a young Black Power Militant with almost no constituency, (Barry) has become a man who is listened to -- if not fully accepted -- on all sides."

Barry's activism propelled him into local politics, first as a member of the Board of Education and then in 1974 as a member of the first elected city council organized under home rule legislation.

In 1977, he was wounded by a shotgun blast in the Hanafi Muslim takeover of D.C.'s city hall. A young reporter was killed. The shooting was credited with strengthening him politically.

In 1978, he defeated incumbent Mayor Walter Washington -- the city's first home rule mayor -- in the Democratic primary and went on to easily win the general election.

Barry's early years in office were marked by improvement in many city services and a dramatic expansion of the government payroll, creating a thriving black middle class in the nation's capital. Barry established a summer jobs program that gave many young people their first work experience and earned him political capital.

In his second term, the district's finances were rockier, and some of his appointees were caught up in corruption scandals.

The city's drug-fueled decline mirrored Barry's battles with his personal demons, leading to the infamous hotel room arrest on Jan. 19, 1990. The video of Barry was widely distributed to the media and made him infamous worldwide.

A few months after his arrest, long-time civil rights advocate and educator Roger Wilkins, a past supporter, wrote in The Post: "Marion Barry used the elders and lied to the young. He has manipulated thousands of others with his cynical use of charges of racism to defend his malodorous personal failures."

Even after his comeback, controversy continued to dog Barry. Several times after his 1990 arrest, Barry sought treatment or counseling for problems with prescription medications or other substances. In 2002, he made an attempt to seek an at-large seat on the D.C. Council but abandoned his bid amid allegations of renewed illegal drug use.

In 2006, Barry was given three years of probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges for failing to file tax returns from 1999 to 2004. As part of a plea bargain, he agreed to file future federal and local tax returns annually, a promise prosecutors later said he had failed to keep.

In 2010, he was censured by the council and stripped of his committee assignments for steering a government contract to a former girlfriend. The council censured him again in 2013 for accepting cash gifts from city contractors.

Barry played the role of elder statesman in his later years on the council, but he sometimes exasperated his colleagues with his wavering attention at meetings and frequent, rambling references to his tenure as mayor.

He suffered numerous health problems over the years. In addition to kidney failure, he survived prostate cancer, undergoing surgery in 1995 and a follow-up procedure in 2000. In late 2011, he underwent minor surgery on his urinary tract. In early 2014, he spent several weeks in hospitals and a rehabilitation center battling infections and related complications.

In a statement Sunday, current Mayor Vincent C. Gray expressed deep sadness after learning about Barry's death. Gray spoke with Barry's wife, Cora Masters Barry, late Saturday and shared his condolences and sympathies with her. The couple was long estranged but never divorced.

"Marion was not just a colleague but also was a friend with whom I shared many fond moments about governing the city," Gray said. "He loved the District of Columbia and so many Washingtonians loved him."

Mayor Gray said that he would work with Barry's family and the Council to plan official ceremonies "worthy of a true statesman of the District of Columbia."

Barry was married four times and is survived by his wife, Cora, and one son, Marion Christopher Barry.

Icy roadways make travel hazardous

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Freezing rain is making travel on secondary roads hazardous.

SPRINGIELD— Slick highways from freezing rain is making travel on Western Mass secondary roads dangerous, police say.

While most primary roads, such as I-91, and the Mass Turnpike, well maintained by the state are by and large clear. There is some icing on the Pike in the Blandford area State Police troopers report. The main trouble come on the state's secondary roads.

Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Daniel Gale, attached to the Shelburne Falls barracks, said secondary roads, especially in the northwestern section of the state are very icy. Gale said troopers are dealing with numerous cars off the road on Routes 9 and 116 in the Windsor area, and across Route 2.


Mass Mutual VP found stabbed to death in Simsbury

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A 54-year-old Simsbury woman was found stabbed alongside Iron Horse Boulevard in Simsbury Thursday.

SIMSBURY, CT— A 54-year-old woman was found stabbed to death alongside a Simsbury roadway Thursday.

Melissa Millan, of Simsbury, a senior president at Springfield's Mass Mutual Insurance Company, was found by police with a wound to the chest after motorists reported seeing her lying by the side of the road at about 8 p.m.

The Hartford Courant reported that on Saturday the state Medical Examiner's Office issued its official finding that the stab wound was the cause of death.. .

Simsbury police said they have no suspects in the incident, but will increase patrols along Iron Horse Boulevard, where Millan was found.

The street is not far from a busy commercial area, and features a popular walking and bike path running parallel to it.

According to the Courant, a company spokesman said Millan had been with Mass Mutual since 2001, and most recently headed up the company's work site insurance business.

Police are asking anyone who was in the area of Iron Horse Boulevard, between Phelps Lane and Rotary Park, at any time between 7 and 8 p.m. on Thursday evening, and who may have seen something to call Simsbury Police at 860-658-3145.

Holyoke city Law Department cites 'investigatory' exemption in denying records to The Republican and MassLive related to firing of police officer

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Some records in the case of the fired police officer were withheld because they are personnel or medical files, a city lawyer said.

HOLYOKE -- The city Law Department cited investigatory and privacy exemptions in denying a request from The Republican and MassLive.com for records related to an investigation that led to the firing of a Holyoke police officer.

The news organizations filed the records request on Nov. 10. Four days later, Mayor Alex B. Morse said he had accepted the recommendation of Police Chief James M. Neiswanger to fire Officer John Wieland II for pointing his gun at another officer as they argued at Denny's restaurant here Aug. 18.

Under the Massachusetts Public Records Law (M. G. L. Chapter 66, Section 10), the news organizations sought memos or letters or other documents that reflect any decisions made about officers involved in the incident, such as whether any officer or officers had been disciplined or terminated.

The request -- filed before Wieland was identified as the officer who pointed a gun -- also sought the names of the four officers involved in the incident.

In his guide to the Massachusetts public records law, Secretary of State William F. Galvin said, "The founding fathers of our nation strove to develop an open government formed on the principles of democracy and public participation. An informed citizen is better equipped to participate in that process."

Assistant City Solicitor Sara J. Carroll replied to the records request of The Republican and MassLive.com on Friday (Nov. 21) and said the city had "located a number of documents and video responsive to your request." But the city will withhold the records because they fall under state-allowed exemptions to the public records law, she said.

Carroll said some records pertain to an ongoing investigation. That exemption says such records are "necessarily compiled out of the public view by law enforcement or other investigatory officials the disclosure of which materials would probably so prejudice the possibility of effective law enforcement that such disclosure would not be in the public interest."

The exemption was triggered by the likelihood Wieland would appeal his firing to the state Civil Service Commission, Carroll said.

Officer Edward J. Moskal, president of Local 388, International Brotherhood of Police Officers, said the firing would be appealed to the Civil Service Commission.

"Such records will be instrumental to defending the city's position in this matter; therefore these documents are being withheld as a matter of public interest until the case is resolved," Carroll said.

She also cited the privacy exemption in withholding records related to the Wieland case. That exemption allows for the holding back from public view records such as "personnel and medical files or information; also any other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual, the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."

Carroll said, "The records responsive to your request contain sensitive personnel and medical information, as well as details impacting the reputation of employees, which may be withheld absent a paramount public interest in disclosure."

Wieland, a U.S. Air Force veteran, and three other officers were eating breakfast at Denny's restaurant, at Northampton Street and Whiting Farms Road, at about 5 a.m. on Aug. 18. Wieland was on duty and in uniform. They began arguing about which branch of the military was better, talk got heated and Wieland took out his gun, according to details from Moskal, Morse and others.

Moskal in criticizing Morse and Neiswanger for firing Wieland, a six-year veteran, said a problem was that during the Police Department's internal investigation of Wieland, the point was raised whether the year that Wieland spent deployed in Afghanistan had affected his fitness to be a police officer. Neiswanger declined to discuss that point in responding Tuesday (Nov. 18) to questions from The Republican and MassLive.com.

Buffalo residents urged to prepare for flooding

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Buffalo residents warned of possible flooding with temperatures into the 60s expected.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Buffalo is making significant progress clearing streets still clogged from an epic storm left more than 7 feet of snow even as a flooding threat looms, the city's mayor said Sunday.

A ban on driving will continue in hard-hit South Buffalo as hundreds of dump trucks, loaders and other snow removal equipment continue to work around the clock, Mayor Byron Brown said.

Temperatures in the Buffalo area climbed into the 40s Sunday, raising fears of flooding in the region. A flood warning from the National Weather Service is in effect until Monday afternoon.

"We are preparing for the worst but hoping for the best," Brown said.

Hundreds of volunteers turned out in a "shovel brigade" Saturday to help beleaguered Buffalo residents dig out after they were pummeled by a lake effect snow from Lake Erie.

"They're like angels," said Kevin Masterson, 61, after a handful of volunteers swarmed in to free his and his brother-in-law's cars from the drifts. "I was out shoveling and ... all of the sudden I had all these people."

One of the volunteers, Greg Schreiber, said he'd keep going "until the back gives out."

City officials said residents should prepare for the possibility of flooded basements in the coming days. Rain was expected Sunday and temperatures were forecast to approach 60 degrees on Monday, accompanied by more rain.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jon Hitchcock said there might be trouble with drainage as snow and uncollected autumn leaves block catch basins. The threat of rain also heightened fears of roof collapses on already strained structures. Thirty major collapses have been reported.

The state already is moving stockpiles of pumps, sand bags and other flood provisions into the region.

The snow, which began late Monday and finally cleared out of all areas by daybreak Friday, has been blamed for at least a dozen deaths.

Crowds line up for 'flash tattoos' at Off the Map's annual charity fundraiser in Easthampton

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Off the Map hopes to raise $5,000 for Flywheel Arts Collective this year

EASTHAMPTON -- A line of tattoo aficionados stretched down the sidewalk here Sunday morning, waiting for Off the Map Tattoo at 112 Cottage St. to open its doors.

The occasion: the tattoo shop's fifth annual fundraiser for charity, featuring $50 "flash tattoos" from well-known artists.

This year, the shop is raising money for Easthampton's Flywheel Arts Collective, said shop manager Mary Bowen. Flywheel, located at the city's Old Town Hall at 43 Main Street, is a non-profit, volunteer-run community arts organization offering live music, art exhibits, theater, and more.

In years past, proceeds have gone to the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Easthampton, to the city's Emily Williston Memorial Library, the Northampton Survival Center, and five years ago, in the wake of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, to the Coalition to Restore the Louisiana Coastline.

A flash tattoo is a small piece of body art chosen from a sheet of pre-set designs, said Off the Map owner Gabriel Ripley. "Usually we do custom work, with a lot of back and forth between the client and the artist," he said. "With the flash tattoo, it takes less time."

Mary Ann Loux said she had been in line since 6:45 a.m., waiting for the shop's doors to open at 11. She said she had chosen a "gingerbread man cookie-cutter-rose" design for her arm.

"It's a win-win situation," she said. "People can get a really nice tattoo at a great price, and support a worthy cause."

Rachel Taylor-Doward echoed Loux's sentiments, saying she was there for "cheap, good tattoos to benefit the arts." Taylor-Doward said top tattoo artists in the area usually charge anywhere from $100 to $150 an hour.

Sami Nguyen made the drive from Worcester for the event, saying Off the Map has a reputation that extends beyond the Pioneer Valley. "They bring in guest artists from all over the country," she said.

Nguyen's friend Jamie Yau said she grew up in New York, and that Off the Map rivals any shop found in the city. "It's amazing," she said. "It's a hidden gem. Such a great shop, and it's right here in Easthampton."

Nick Martin said cultural ideas about tattoos have changed over the years. "It's a more accepted thing than it used to be," he said. "The style and technology have changed, too. It's a form of expression; it's body art; it's not such a big deal any more."

Bowen said the shop hopes to raise $5,000 this year, with all proceeds going to Flywheel.

Obituaries today: Robert Shanley was professor emeritus at UMass

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Obituaries from The Republican.

 
112314-robert-shanley.jpgRobert Shanley 

Robert A. Shanley, 92, of Longmeadow passed away recently. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He served during World War II with the U.S. Army in occupation duty at Okinawa, 1945-1946. He was a professor emeritus in the Political Science Department at the University of Massachusetts, and retired in 1994 after 32 years of teaching and research. He received a BA at Columbia College, an MA at Columbia University, and a PhD at Georgetown University. He taught political science at the University of Detroit and Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Georgia. He returned north to work as research director, Joint Civic Agencies, in Springfield.

To view all obituaries from The Republican:
» Click here

Simsbury police investigate Mass Mutual VP homicide, vigil planned

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Vigil planned for Mass Mutaul VP found dead alongside a Simsbury running trail.

Melissa Millan.jpgMelissa Millan 
SIMSBURYSimsbury Police and the Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad are investigating the death of 54-year-old Melissa Millan, found stabbed in the chest on Iron Horse Boulevard in Simsbury Thursday. At the same time, friends of the Mass Mutual executive will be holding a vigil Sunday afternoon near the spot where her body was found.

Simsbury Police Capt. Nicholas Boulter confirmed that the death has been determined to be a homicide. In a press release, Boulter said Millan was found dead alongside Iron Horse Boulevard Thursday. WFSB-TV reported that the state Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Saturday that Millan died from the stab wound. The channel 3 story is attached below.

Millan had been a senior vice president at Mass Mutual in Springfield since 2001, the company confirmed. In a statement on its Facebook page, the insurance company lamented her passing:

"Mass Mutual is deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague, Melissa Millan...Our thoughts and prayers are with Melissa's family during this difficult time. Melissa's tremendous leadership qualities, her business acumen and deeply caring nature will be missed by those who had the opportunity to work with her."

According to the Hartford Courant police responded to a call from a passing motorist at approximately 8 p.m. Thursday and found Millan lying beside the street with an apparent stab wound to the chest. She was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Millan's body was found next to a walking and bike trial which ran parallel to Iron Horse Boulevard, a popular place for runners. Millan was an active triathlete, her friends said.

A vigil is planned for Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. on Iron Horse Boulevard.



Minutemen by the numbers: Donte Clark and Jabarie Hinds combine to score 22 of final 28 points

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Clark scored 13 of 15 UMass points during one stretch, including nine straight.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Here's a look behind some interesting and important numbers from the University of Massachusetts basketball team's 75-69 win over Florida State Sunday.

22: Combined points from Donte Clark and Jabarie Hinds down the str

With the game still in the balance, Clark and Hinds combined to score 22 of the Minutemen's 28 points. Clark kicked off the sequence, scoring 13 of 15 UMass points during one stretch, including nine in a row. After he cooled off, Hinds stepped up, making a pair of pretty layups before hitting on 4 of 5 attempts from the line to ice the game late. The duo have been the energy guys coach Derek Kellogg has been looking for and Sunday they left no doubt when it mattered most.

11: Consecutive Florida State misses from the field as UMass made its first-half run

Early in the game, it looked like the Minutemen were still reeling from Saturday's loss to Notre Dame. It felt like things might start to slip away quickly as Florida State built up a quick 10-1 lead. But the Seminoles went ice cold. By they'd finishing missing their 11 straight shots – there was a lone made free throw mixed in – UMass had battled back to tie things up at 19-19. UMass kept it close from there before getting some separation in the second half.

0: Florida State 3-point makes on seven attempts

And you thought UMass' 3-point struggles were bad. The Seminoles were ice cold from pretty much anywhere other than in the paint (42 points) or at the free-throw line (19). That's a tough thing to overcome when trying to make a comeback and it hurt Florida State Sunday. Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who put up 20 shots in all, missed all five of his 3-point looks.

17: Minutes for Maxie Esho

Esho played 39 minutes Saturday, a total Kellogg said he realizes is too much to sustain night in and night out over the course of the season.

"He needs to be around 28 to 32," Kellogg said.

The senior forward didn't get close to that Sunday, playing just the 17 minutes. But that was just as much foul-related as it was rest-related. Even so, for a player whose game is predicated and leaping and hustle and energy, it'll be a smart move by UMass to monitor his usage.


Michael Brown shooting: Anxieties mount as Ferguson, Missouri, waits on grand jury

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Despite preparations for a weekend decision in the Ferguson shooting case, the grand jurors apparently need more time to deliberate, and the uncertainty just seemed to feed the anxiety and speculation Sunday in a city already on edge.

FERGUSON, Mo. -- Despite preparations for a weekend decision in the Ferguson shooting case, the grand jurors apparently need more time to deliberate, and the uncertainty just seemed to feed the anxiety and speculation Sunday in a city already on edge.

More than 31/2 months have passed since police Officer Darren Wilson, who is white, killed unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown after a confrontation in the middle of a street in the St. Louis suburb. The shooting triggered riots and looting, and police responded with armored vehicles and tear gas.

Many in the area thought a grand jury decision on whether to charge Wilson with a crime would be announced Sunday, based partly on a stepped-up police presence in the preceding days, including the setting up of barricades around the building where the panel was meeting.

The grand jurors met Friday but apparently didn't reach a decision, and they were widely expected to reconvene on Monday, though there was no official confirmation of that.

During church services Sunday, some pastors encouraged their flocks not to fret.

A choir sang, "We need you Lord right now" at the predominantly black Greater Grace Church in Ferguson. The pastor, Bishop L.O. Jones, referred to the pending grand jury decision briefly.

"Everybody stand to your feet and tell somebody, 'Don't be afraid. God is still in control,'" Jones said as church members repeated after him.

The Rev. Freddy Clark of Shalom Church in nearby Florissant told the mostly black interdenominational congregation that "justice will be served" whichever way the decision goes, because God will take care of it.

"None of us are pleased about what happened," said parishioner James Tatum. "Whatever the verdict is, we have to understand that's the verdict."

As they wait, some people have continued daily protests, while speculation has grown that the delays are intentional.

"People feel like it's been engineered, so that the results wouldn't come out until after the election and until the weather got cold, and it would be more difficult to protest," said Susan McGraugh, supervisor of the Criminal Defense Clinic at the Saint Louis University School of Law. "It's really adding fuel to the fire."

Wilson has remained out of public view since the shooting, though CNN reported Sunday that he has met with network anchors to discuss possible interviews. Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper, both of CNN, each said on Twitter that they had met with Wilson.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch had said he expected a grand jury decision by mid-to-late November. But that's not ultimately in his control.

The 12-person grand jury deliberates in secret, without McCulloch, and sets its own schedule depending upon when the members are available.

It's not uncommon for deliberations to take a while in complex cases when, such as in the Brown shooting, self-defense is alleged or there are two widely conflicting versions of events, said Cole County Prosecutor Mark Richardson, who is not involved in the Ferguson case.

Downtown STL Inc., a St. Louis civic group that promotes downtown businesses, told members in an email Saturday that the grand jury will reconvene Monday to continue deliberating. The email did not explain how the group knew that, and McCulloch's office has not commented on the grand jury's schedule.

If jurors meet Monday, there is no guarantee they will reach a decision that day, or even this week.

"In the course of their deliberations, if one grand juror convinces the others that 'Look, we need to hear from an additional witness,' and they all agree, the prosecutor's got a duty to bring that witness in," Richardson said.

When the panel reaches a decision, it will be up to McCulloch to publicize it.

Sunday would have been an opportune time to minimize disruptions from protests, since schools and governments are planning on only a partial work week because of Thanksgiving, said Peter Joy, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He said Monday or Tuesday would still make sense.

But "my belief is that with the holiday, releasing it on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday would produce a negative reaction," Joy said.

President Barack Obama defends executive actions on immigration in ABC interview

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President Barack Obama is shrugging off Republican criticism of his actions to lift the threat of deportation from millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States.

HENDERSON, Nev. -- President Barack Obama is shrugging off Republican criticism of his actions to lift the threat of deportation from millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on ABC's "This Week," Obama said it was important that he act unilaterally to prioritize the deportation of criminals and recent arrivals and spare those who have lived here illegally for at least five years and have roots, including children who are American citizens.

"Why we would prefer a system in which they're in the shadows, potentially taking advantage of living here but not contributing?" Obama said in the interview, which was taped Friday in Las Vegas after Obama delivered an immigration speech there.

The president pointed to executive orders issued by Democratic and Republican predecessors and said presidents exercise "prosecutorial discretion all the time."

Obama's executive actions, which he announced Thursday, have drawn a withering response from Republicans, but also has laid bare divisions within the GOP over how to deal with immigration.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, rejected Obama's claim of prosecutorial discretion. "Essentially he's gotten in the job of counterfeiting immigration papers, because there's no legal authority to do what he's doing," Cruz said on "Fox News Sunday."

A second Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said his party shares the blame for failing to get an immigration bill through the House of Representatives.

"Shame on us as Republicans for having a body that cannot generate a solution to an issue that is national security, it's cultural and it's economic. The Senate has done this three times," Graham said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Indeed, Obama cast his decision as the result of the Republican-led House's failure to act on a comprehensive immigration bill the Senate passed with bipartisan support in June 2013, or advance legislation of its own.

He said Republicans still could pass an immigration bill.

Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, said he had pressed the Republican leadership to start passing legislation two weeks ago on the immigration issue.

"We are going to pass legislation, but it is not going to be the legislation the president is asking for," Labrador said. "We as Republicans don't believe you should give amnesty first and talk about security later, which is what the Senate bill did." Labrador spoke on "Face the Nation" on CBS.

Obama spent the weekend in Nevada, mostly playing golf, after the speech and returned to the White House on Sunday evening.

Wilbraham police seek public help identifying larceny suspects

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Wilbraham police are seeking the identity of two people suspected of taking personal care items from the CVS on Boston Road.

WILBRAHAM— Two people walked into the CVS at 1990 Boston Road just before closing Saturday night, and police suspect they walked out with a large amount of personal care items secreted on their persons. Now, officers are looking for help in identifying the couple seen in surveillance images.

Wilbraham Police Capt. Timothy Kane said said the pair entered the store three minutes before closing last night. While the male distracted a clerk, the female allegedly filled her purse and a coat with personal care items such as clippers, shampoos and toiletries. Then the two made for the door.

Kane said the store manager was able to confront the female party and retrieve more than $100 in items before the pair bolted to their car and drove off. The couple left the store parking lot in a green Subaru Legacy, traveling northbound on Stony Hill Road.

Police are asking anyone who may recognize the couple shown to contact officers at 413-596-3837.

Chicopee Planning Board allows former store to be converted to 2-family home

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The store on the first floor had been closed for years.

CHICOPEE - The Planning Board recently approved a zone change that will allow a city resident to convert a building that once held a store into a two-family home.

The board recommended the change from business to residential at 18-20 Sheridan St. in a 4-0 vote. The owner will still need a zone change approval and a special permit from the City Council for the conversion.

Owner Paul Page said the building was designed so there was a neighborhood store on the first floor and an apartment on the second floor. The store has been closed for years.
He said he would like to convert the first floor into a second apartment.

The only concern the Planning Board had was about parking, but assistant planner James Dawson said there is enough room for four spaces on the lot.

"I always worry about losing business zoning but in this case it makes sense," City Planner Catherine L. Brown said.

Live reporting: Holyoke Councilors ask if city has military equipment in one meeting, in next: investigate Heather Egan separation agreement?

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The Holyoke discussion about military equipment plays out as a grand jury makes a decision in Missouri that the nation awaits.

HOLYOKE -- Military grade equipment.

And should the city seek an investigation of the $45,000 separation agreement Mayor Alex B. Morse gave ex-city solicitor Heather G. Egan.

Hitch a ride Monday (Nov. 24) as live coverage of these issues at City Hall is posted in the comments section under this story.

At 6 p.m., Police James M. Neiswanger said he will be at the City Council Public Safety Committee meeting. He will field councilors' questions about whether the Holyoke Police Department is among those that have received the $4.3 billion in vehicles and other equipment from the Pentagon's Excess Property Program.

Councilor Rebecca Lisi filed the order seeking the information after reports that the U.S. Defense Department has sent military equipment to police departments across the country, including Ferguson, Missouri where a white police officer shot and killed a black man Aug. 9.

Lisi said the public has a right to know if Holyoke police have such equipment.

Lawyers for the family of Michael Brown, 18, said he was trying to surrender when Officer Darren Wilson shot him, but Wilson's supporters said he shot Brown in self-defense, Reuters reported.

Protests, including riots, erupted in the aftermath as some questioned whether society values black lives less than whites' and debate continues about the appropriate use of police force in dealing with such crowds.

An announcement is expected Monday as a grand jury in Ferguson decides whether to indict Wilson.

At 7 p.m., the council Public Service Committee will discuss an order Ward 2 Councilor Anthony Soto filed in August requesting that the Hampden County district attorney investigate the $45,000 exit agreement for Egan. Soto said the intent is to learn whether anything illegal or unethical occurred with the agreement.

Egan had been head of the Law Department for slightly more than a year when she resigned April 29 for what Morse said were personal reasons.

It was later learned Egan was paid $45,000 in an exit agreement that featured Egan and Morse agreeing to maintain confidentiality.

Councilors and others in the community have objected, saying it was wrong to deprive taxpayers of an answer about how their money was spent in this case.

Morse has said he made a decision in the Egan case he felt was in the city's best interest.

Egan has declined to discuss why the separation agreement included a $45,000 payment, but she has defended her tenure as solicitor as exemplary.

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