Flight cancellations for Monday for all airlines stood at more than 601 as of early Sunday, but FlightAware said that is sure to rise.

After cancelling nearly 7,000 weekend flights, airlines have started to cut Monday service as the ripple effects of driving snow and ice that brought many East Coast airports to a standstill drifted into the next work week.

Flight cancellations for Monday for all airlines stood at more than 601 as of early Sunday, but FlightAware said that is sure to rise. Among those affected are West Coast flights to or from the East.

Passengers looking to cancel trips should wait until the airline officially calls off the flight. Airlines have been much more proactive in recent years about canceling flights, often doing so up to a day in advance. More travelers are affected, but they aren't stuck waiting in airports. It also lets airlines restart the system quicker because they have planes and crews in place.

The bulk of Saturday's 4,459 cancellations were at airports in the New York City and Washington, D.C., metro areas, according to flight tracking service FlightAware. Another 2,467 flights were canceled for Sunday, and the count keeps rising.

As the storm intensified, United Airlines announced it would not operate out of airports in the Washington area on Sunday. Service should gradually resume Monday, the airline said. "Very limited" service would restart Sunday afternoon at airports in the New York City area.

Since Friday, the number of cancelled flights has topped 10,000. Cancellations have centered on Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, Philadelphia, Washington and New York, with airlines essentially shutting down all flights into those cities.

One bit of good news was that Saturday is usually the slowest travel day of the week. There were a little more than 22,000 flights scheduled to, from or within the U.S., according to FlightAware. That's about 5,000 fewer flights -- and 400,000 fewer passengers -- than Thursday or Friday.

Amtrak also canceled or cut back on service. Several trains scheduled to depart Washington for New York City were canceled, as was service from Washington to stations in Virginia and the Southeast, according to Amtrak's website.

All major airlines issued waivers for travel over the weekend, allowing passengers to rebook onto earlier or later flights to avoid the storms. The airports included vary by airline, but they include cities in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia all the way up the coast to New Hampshire and Massachusetts. As of late Friday night, American Airlines alone had issued waivers for 42 airports.

Winter Storm Jonas: 19 dead as 'historic' blizzard buries East Coast, and it's not over

MANCHESTER, CT— A combined effort by Manchester Police and the East Central Narcotics Task Force resulted in a raid on a Manchester address, where authorities seized more than a pound of a new drug called "shatter," as well as 11 pounds of marijuana. All told the dollar amount of Friday's haul is estimated at nearly $75,000. The Hartford Courant...

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

The Hartford Courant reported that 23-year-old Michelle Caye and 25-year-old Jose Ruiz, both residents of the Downey Drive home police raided, were arrested. Both are being charged with operating a drug factory, possession of marijuana and risk of injury to a minor. The couple's young child was living in the home the same time the parents were allegedly producing the drugs.

Also arrested was Adrian Papandrea, 22, of Redwood Road in Manchester, who was charged with possession of marijuana and operating a drug factory.

Police said shatter is a relatively new form of drug on the market. It extracts the THC in marijuana, the compound that creates the high, in the form of a liquid. That liquid is them heated until to forms a honey-like consistency. After it cools it can be broken up like peanut brittle and smoked.

Police confiscated just over a pound of shatter as well as 11 pounds of marijuana.

Smith & Wesson told investors this week it wants to branch out into other lines of sporting goods and avoid the boom-bust cycle of the firearms market.

SPRINGFIELD - Economic-development officials from Greenfield, Northampton, Amherst and Holyoke got together with Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno this week to talk about bringing more rail service to the Pioneer Valley.

The site was Union Station, Springfield's once-grand railway depot which will be rehabilitated and reopened in December of this year.

That was just one of the business stories you might have missed this week.

1) As Springfield's Union Station renovation progresses, Pioneer Valley cities, towns call for more train service

Christopher J. Moskal, executive director of the Springfield Redevelopment Authority which owns Union Station, said planners expect it to draw 5 million rail and bus passengers a year in its first year of operation, a number that could swell to 8 million or more with more service.

2) Gunmaker Smith & Wesson looks to diversify from boom-bust gun market

One takeover target may be the outdoors and ammunition conglomerate that also owns Savage Arms of Westfield.

3)Westfield knife maker Lamson & Goodnow sold to Longmeadow private equity investors

Lamson is billed as America's oldest maker of cutlery.

4)American Airlines to offer nonstop daily service from Bradley International Airport to Los Angeles

The airport had already announced nonstop service to Ireland, also to begin later this year.

5)New England Patriots fan owns bar in shadow of Denver Broncos home stadium

But she's going to root on her Patriots.

Rep. Aaron Vega has called for community involvement in the leadership change at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home.

HOLYOKE -- State Rep. Aaron M. Vega, D-Holyoke, will formally announce his reelection campaign Feb. 17 at 10 a.m. at Holyoke Heritage State Park, 221 Appleton St.

"Nothing brings me greater joy than having the honor to represent the great citizens of Holyoke at the State House," Vega said in a press release Wednesday.

"I would like to continue being a part of the work we are doing on Beacon Hill, from working on ways to stop the opioid crisis in its tracks to making sure our veterans have the support they need. In addition, I have been able to bring Beacon Hill's focus to Holyoke and secure vital funds for public safety and workforce training," he said.

A primary election will be held if necessary to narrow the field of candidates Sept. 8 and Election Day is Nov. 8.

Vega is running for his third, two-year term representing the 5th Hampden District in the state House of Representatives. He was a two-term city councilor at large before that.

Vega won the seat in the 2012 election after Michael F. Kane surrendered the legislative post for a private-sector job after more than 11 years.

Among issues on which Vega has been vocal has been the leadership transition taking place at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home. He has called for the state to involve the community in choosing a new executive director of the facility that treats residential and out-patient veterans on Cherry Street overlooking Interstate 91.

Vega also filed legislation that lets veterans use state parks free of admission.

Besides veterans' issues, the press release said Vega's accomplishments have been addressing the needs of local business owners and property developers.

Vega has a district office at 295 High St. Patricia Duffy is his legislative aide.

Vega's team includes campaign manager Elvin Bruno Jr. deputy campaign manager Kristen Beam and treasurer Rosa Pantoja, said the press release which was provided by Beam.

Jerome T. Hobert, who mounted a late write-in bid to unseat Vega two years ago, has said he will be a candidate for state representative again this year.

SPRINGFIELD— Two families were able to evacuate their home at 66-68 Horace Street early Sunday morning when fire broke out in a third-floor room just after 5 a.m. Firefighters were able to knock the flames down quickly and contain the damage to that one room, fire officials said. However, as they searched the house for occupants or fire extension, firefighters...

SPRINGFIELD— Two families were able to evacuate their home at 66-68 Horace Street early Sunday morning when fire broke out in a third-floor room just after 5 a.m.

Firefighters were able to knock the flames down quickly and contain the damage to that one room, fire officials said.

However, as they searched the house for occupants or fire extension, firefighters stumbled upon an apparent marijuana grow operation. The operation was described as a few plants that had apparently dried out. Nevertheless, uniformed police officers and detectives took custody of the marijuana and are investigating.

Fire officials said the grow operation was unrelated to the fire, but the exact cause of the blaze remains under investigation. There were no injuries.

This is a breaking story and more information will be posted as it becomes available.

The City Council will ask MGM Springfield to respond to dozens of concerns raised by adjacent property owners regarding its $950 million casino project including traffic flow and traffic safety, congestion and parking.

SPRINGFIELD - The City Council, set to resume its review of the MGM Springfield casino site plan on Monday, is planning to focus on concerns raised by adjacent property owners and to hear MGM's responses to those issues.

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m., at the council chambers at City Hall.

The meeting will begin with a 30-minute hearing to allow additional comments from the public regarding the site plan and design changes, Council President Michael Fenton said. From 6 to 7 p.m., the council will focus on the abutters' concerns raised at last Wednesday's council hearing, he said.

"The intent is for the council to continue its in depth review of the plans, particularly in light of testimony from the public and abutters," Fenton said Friday.

MGM Springfield is proposing a $950 million casino project in the South End on a three-block, `14.5 acre site.

Owners of abutting properties and their lawyers said they are concerned that the project will create traffic hazards, congestion, and traffic conflicts between the casino traffic and their own tenants and customers.\

The abutters include Red Rose Pizzeria, the Colvest-Berkshire Bank property, a Pride store and station, and the Michelman and Burstein law office property.

Michelman and Burstein, for example, said that MGM was initially proposing to widen a section a East Columbus Avenue to allow a right-hand turning lane into the casino project, but then eliminating the lane plan.

Christopher Cignoli, the city's director of public works, said a designed widened turn, instead of a lane, is better for traffic flow. He also denied the owner's claim that a sidewalk there was being narrowed.

A lawyer representing several abutters said they have any concerns including, for example, that many people will use Red Rose's parking lot to gain access to the neaby MGM entertainment and retail zones.

Robert Bolduc, president of Pride Stores, said that Pride's biggest concern is traffic at Union Street and East Columbus Avenue where its Pride store is located in tight, heavily traveled conditions. The current traffic plans under MGM's site plan changes would create a "traffic nightmare" at that intersection, Pride stated in written comments to the council.

The council is also scheduled to meet Tuesday, beginning at 5:30 p.m., at City Hall, to consider allowing the closure of a portion of both Howard Street and Bliss Street for the MGM Springfield project.

Fenton said that additional meetings will be needed by the council and scheduled soon to continue the review of the casino site plan, design changes, and changes to the Host Community Agreement.

Rob Gronkowski caught a 40-yard pass to set up his own 4-yard touchdown reception at the end of the AFC Championship game, but the Patriots missed a 2-point conversion and lost to the Denver Broncos 20-18.

It was almost a miracle for the New England Patriots, and Rob Gronkowski played a part in both big plays.

First Gronkowski hauled in a 40-yard reception over the middle on 4th down to put the Patriots in striking distance while New England trailed 20-12 in the final two minutes.

4th down. Season on the line. Tom Brady goes DEEP to Gronk and WHAT. A. CATCH. #NEvsDEN https://t.co/FGaQe4TKn8

— NFL (@NFL) January 24, 2016

Then, on 4th-and-goal, Gronkowski did it again, hauling in this 4-yard reception to put New England within two points.

Gronk Gonna Gronk pic.twitter.com/dcIjIynxep

— BuzzFeed Sports (@BuzzFeedSports) January 24, 2016

However, thanks to a missed Steven Gostkowski extra point earlier in the game, the Patriots had to go for two points on the PAT in order to tie it. That attempt got tipped and intercepted, and the Patriots lost 20-18.

The Broncos defense needed one stop on a 2-point conversion attempt. They got it. #NEvsDEN #BroncosCountryPlayoffs https://t.co/DJ2NDlT5Et

— NFL (@NFL) January 24, 2016

 

The Woodworking Show was held Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016 at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

WEST SPRINGFIELD - The Woodworking Show was held Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016 at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield.

The weekend event was held at the Young Building and featured innovative tools, demonstrations and master woodworkers.

WESTFIELD - Westfield Technical Academy will show off its new Aviation Maintenance Technology Program Monday during a public open house from 4:30 to 6 p.m.. The School Committee is also scheduled to meet with the school's General Advisory Committee following the open house in Tiger's Pride to review and inspect all programs offered at the technical high school. The open...

WESTFIELD - Westfield Technical Academy will show off its new Aviation Maintenance Technology Program Monday during a public open house from 4:30 to 6 p.m..

The School Committee is also scheduled to meet with the school's General Advisory Committee following the open house in Tiger's Pride to review and inspect all programs offered at the technical high school.

The open house will feature an overview of the aviation program in the school auditorium from 4 to 4:40 p.m. following a the public's inspection of equipment, instruction tools and classrooms.

A Black Hawk helicopter is scheduled to land on the school's football field as part of the ribbon cutting ceremony for the aviation program.

The survey can also be found at the School Department's website.

WESTFIELD - The School Committee has scheduled a public forum Thursday on its survey of residents concerning the characteristics the city's new superintendent of schools should have.

Committe chairman Ramon Diaz said the hearing will be held at South Middle School on West Silver St. at 6:30 p.m..

Residents are asked to visit the School Department's website at www.scholsofwestfield.org to review the four-page survey before Thursday's meeting.

Information gathered at the forum and through the website survey participation will be used by the School Committee to determine the best qualities the city's new superintendent should possess to be considered for appointment.

Superintendent Suzanne Scallion has already announced her intention to retire at the end of the current school year.

Diaz and the committee plan to appointment a 10-member committee to assist in the screening of candidates. The School Committee will conduct interviews with superintendent finalists and make the final appointment.

The intent is to name a new superintendent by early spring, officials have said.

The earthquake was widely felt by Anchorage residents. But the Anchorage and Valdez police departments said they hadn't received any reports of injury or significant damage.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A magnitude-7.1 earthquake knocked items off shelves and walls in Alaska early Sunday morning, jolting the nerves of residents in this earthquake-prone region and leaving at least one road heavily damaged.

Associated Press 

There were no reports of injuries, but four homes were lost to explosions or fire following the quake.

Alaska's state seismologist, Michael West, called it the strongest earthquake in the state's south-central region in decades. Alaska often has larger or more powerful earthquakes, such as a 7.9 last year in the remote Aleutian Islands.

"However, last night's earthquake is significant because it was close enough to Alaska's population centers," West said, adding that aftershocks could continue for weeks.

The earthquake was widely felt by Anchorage residents. But the Anchorage and Valdez police departments said they hadn't received any reports of injury or significant damage.

The earthquake struck at about 1:30 a.m. Alaska time and was centered 53 miles west of Anchor Point in the Kenai Peninsula, which is about 160 miles southwest of Anchorage, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Vincent Nusunginya, 34, of Kenai said he was at his girlfriend's house when the quake hit.

"It started out as a shaking and it seemed very much like a normal earthquake. But then it started to feel like a normal swaying, like a very smooth side-to-side swaying," said Nusunginya, director of audience at the Peninsula Clarion newspaper. "It was unsettling. Some things got knocked over, but there was no damage."

Two homes in Kenai were destroyed in gas leak explosions and the other two were fully engulfed before firefighters determined it was safe enough from gas for them to enter the homes, Kenai battalion chief Tony Prior said. He said firefighters focused on keeping the flames from those homes from spreading to nearby houses.

"No injuries. Thank God," he said. "The second one was a major explosion. We're fortunate that no one was hurt."

About 30 homes were evacuated, and some people took shelter at the Kenai National Guard Armory.

Workers with the gas utility were examining the remaining homes Sunday afternoon with the goal of getting displaced residents back in their homes later in the day.

UPDATE: Kenai fire crews battling structure fires caused by gas leak following #akquake https://t.co/BTjpVeCuQE pic.twitter.com/PUtolpXWRf

-- Alaska Dispatch News (@adndotcom) January 24, 2016

The USGS initially reported the quake as a magnitude-7.1, but downgraded shortly afterward to magnitude-6.8 before raising it back to 7.1.

"Some earthquakes have challenges associated with them, they are unusual or hard to monitor," West said. "This is neither of them. Southern Alaska is well instrumented, and this earthquake is of the style and type that we would expect in this area."

The biggest aftershock Sunday was 4.7, and West said a magnitude-5 or magnitude-6 aftershock is possible.

There were reports of scattered power outages from the Matanuska Electric Association and Chugach Electric in the Anchorage area. The Homer Electric Association reported on its website that about 4,800 customers were without power early Sunday in the Kenai Peninsula.

The Alaska Department of Transportation reported on its Facebook page that there was road damage near the community of Kasilof, on the Kenai Peninsula.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said in a statement Sunday that he was relieved there wasn't more damage. He urged all Alaskans to have a response plan for when a major natural disaster takes place.

The hashtag #akquake trended early Sunday on Twitter as people shared their experiences and posted photos of items that had fallen off walls and shelves.

Andrea Conter, 50, of Anchorage, said she was surprised by the quake's strength.

"This was a wild one," the former Southern California resident said. "I looked at the closed-circuit cameras at work and it lasted over 50 seconds and that is considerable for an earthquake."

"When I bought my house in Anchorage I had a geological map that shows what are the sturdiest parts of town and there were a few where I said, 'If there's an earthquake, that house is toast,'" Conter said. "That's how I chose my house. Literally. Drove my real estate agent nuts. But, I didn't have one thing fall in my house. It was kind of clutch."

Andrew Sayers, 26, of Kasilof was watching television when the quake struck.

"The house started to shake violently. The TV we were watching fell over, stuff fell off the walls," he said. "Dishes were crashing, and we sprinted toward the doorway."

Later, he was driving to his mother's home when he came across a stretch of road that was damaged in the quake.

"We launched over this crack in the road. It's a miracle we didn't bust our tires on it," he said.

After reaching his mother's house, Sayers checked on his grandparents, who live about a mile away.

"No damage, except their Christmas tree fell over," he said.

The road drew large groups of people Sunday who parked their cars and got out to marvel at massive cracks in the pavement, the Alaska Dispatch News reported.

PITTSFIELD— A traffic stop for a defective brake light ended with three people arrested and the Massachusetts State Police seizing more than 500 hits of heroin Thursday. According to a written statement issued by State Police headquarters in Framingham, State Police troopers assigned to the Pittsfield CAT Team stopped a vehicle on South Street in Pittsfield Thursday afternoon The...

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

According to a written statement issued by State Police headquarters in Framingham, State Police troopers assigned to the Pittsfield CAT Team stopped a vehicle on South Street in Pittsfield Thursday afternoon The driver of the car was 42-year-old Joseph Walker. Passengers in the car were 33-year-old Derrick LaForest and a juvenile female.

After Walker was found to be carrying 10 packets of heroin on his person, police searched the vehicle and found an additional 500 packets, with a street value of about $20,000. Walker was also carrying $1,640 in cash at the time of the stop.

Walker was charged with possession of a Class A substance with the intent to distribute a subsequent offense, trafficking in heroin, trafficking in heroin, conspiracy to violate drug laws and a brake light violation. He was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

LaForest repeatedly threatened the booking trooper at the Cheshire State Police barracks and was was charged with possession of a Class A substance with the intent to distribute, trafficking in heroin, conspiracy to violate drug laws, and intimidation of a witness. He was ordered held at the Berkshire County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

The juvenile female was charged with trafficking in heroin and conspiracy to violate drug laws and was held in lieu of $5,000 bail.

 

At least 30 people have died as a result of the mammoth snowstorm that pounded the eastern U.S. The deaths occurred in car accidents, from carbon monoxide poisoning, and from heart attacks while shoveling snow: WASHINGTON, D.C. —An 82-year-old man who died after going into cardiac arrest while shoveling snow in front of his home in Washington is the first...

At least 30 people have died as a result of the mammoth snowstorm that pounded the eastern U.S. The deaths occurred in car accidents, from carbon monoxide poisoning, and from heart attacks while shoveling snow:

WASHINGTON, D.C.

--An 82-year-old man who died after going into cardiac arrest while shoveling snow in front of his home in Washington is the first person whose death is related to the snowstorm in the city. The District of Columbia's Chief Medical Examiner, Roger A. Mitchell Jr., announced the man's death Sunday. Mitchell did not release the man's name or say when he died or where in the city he lived. He encouraged people shoveling to take breaks and make sure that they keep hydrated.

DELAWARE

-- A U.S. Capitol Police officer died of a heart attack after shoveling snow at his home in Delaware. Nicole Alston says her husband, 44-year-old Officer Vernon Alston, collapsed Saturday afternoon outside their home in Magnolia after he'd been shoveling snow for about an hour. She says he died within seconds. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Alston's death on Sunday, calling him "a fixture on the Capitol grounds." Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine says in a statement that Alston was a 20-year veteran of the force.

KENTUCKY

-- A Kentucky transportation worker died Saturday while plowing snow-covered highways, officials said. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet identified him in a statement as Christopher Adams. The statement says Adams called a supervisor about 5:50 a.m., saying his plow slid into a ditch. When the supervisor arrived, Adams was slumped over, unresponsive in his seat. A cause of death has not been released.

-- A man died in southeastern Kentucky when his car collided with a salt truck Thursday, state police said. Billy R. Stevens, 59, of Williamsburg was pronounced dead at the scene on state Route 92 in Whitley County.

MARYLAND

-- Two people have died from heart attacks while shoveling snow in Maryland. A 49-year-old man suffered cardiac arrest while shoveling in Abingdon on Saturday, County Executive Barry Glassman said Sunday. Officials in Prince George's County said a man collapsed and died Saturday while shoveling snow in Fort Washington. Bob Maloney, director of Baltimore's office of emergency management, said not one life was lost due to the storm in the city.

NEW JERSEY

-- A 23-year-old New Jersey mom and her year-old son died of carbon monoxide poisoning while sitting in a running car that had its tailpipe covered in snow, The Record reported, citing Passaic police. The woman's 3-year-old daughter was also hurt and was hospitalized in "very critical condition," police said. Authorities believe they were watching other family members shovel snow and didn't realize what was happening.

NEW YORK

-- Police say a 66-year-old man was struck and killed by a snow plow while he was standing in front of his home on Long Island. Nassau County Police say the private plow was clearing snow from the man's property in Oyster Bay Cove when it happened just after 2 p.m. Sunday. The victim was identified as Al Mansoor.

-- Three people died while shoveling snow in New York City, police said. The New York Police Department's Chief of Department Jim O'Neill told reporters Saturday one person on Staten Island and two people in Queens died. He released no further details on the deaths. A police spokesman said the medical examiner's office will determine exactly how they died.

NORTH CAROLINA

-- Six people have died in car accidents during the storm, authorities have said, including a 4-year-old boy who died Friday afternoon after the pickup truck carrying his family on Interstate 77 near Troutman spun out of control and crashed.

OHIO

-- A teenager sledding behind an all-terrain vehicle was hit by a truck and killed Friday, the State Highway Patrol said. The truck failed to yield at a traffic light and hit the sled, which the ATV was pulling in Wheelersburg, the highway patrol said.

PENNSYLVANIA

-- Authorities in eastern Pennsylvania say a man died of carbon monoxide poisoning, apparently after his car was buried in snow by a passing plow. David Perrotto, 56, was pronounced dead less than an hour after he was found Saturday night in Muhlenberg Township, according to John Hollenbach of the Berks County coroner's office. Hollenbach says Perrotto was apparently trying to dig out his car. Investigators believe he either was in the car with the motor running to take a break or to try to get out of the space when a snow plow went by and buried the car, blocking the exhaust and preventing him from exiting. Another person trying to dig out their vehicle found the running car. Perrotto was pronounced dead at a hospital emergency room.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Three people have died in South Carolina:

-- Authorities say an elderly couple in Greenville died of probable carbon monoxide poisoning. Ruby Bell, 86, and her husband, 87-year-old Robert Bell, were found dead at home by their son over the weekend, Greenville County Coroner Parks Evans said in an email. He said the time of death was believed to be Friday night. Russell Watson, the Duncan Chapel Fire District chief, told The Greenville News that the couple had lost power during the storm and a relative had set up a generator in their garage. Watson said the relative left the garage door propped open with a ladder, but it somehow closed and the generator filled the house with carbon monoxide.

-- The South Carolina Highway Patrol says a 44-year-old man was killed after being struck by a vehicle that slid out of control after hitting a patch of ice. The crash happened Saturday afternoon in Greenville County, the highway patrol said in a news release.

TENNESSEE

-- A car slid off the roadway due to speed and slick conditions, killing the driver and injuring a passenger, the Knox County sheriff's department said.

-- A couple in a vehicle slid off an icy road and plummeted down a 300-foot embankment Wednesday night, killing the woman who was driving, said Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford. Stacy Sherrill's husband, a passenger in the car, survived the crash. It took him several hours to climb the embankment and report the accident.

VIRGINIA

-- The number of storm-related deaths in Virginia has risen to five. A man was killed on Saturday in a single-vehicle crash in Virginia Beach that police blamed on speed and icy road conditions, and Virginia Tech filmmaker Jerry Scheeler died Friday while shoveling snow outside his new house in Daleville, local news media reported Sunday. On Saturday, the state medical examiner's office confirmed three other storm deaths. They included a single-vehicle crash in Chesapeake and deaths in Hampton and southwest Virginia from hypothermia.

A Pittsfield woman faces charges she stole money from patient accounts at the nursing and rehabilitation facility she worked in, eventually stealing approximately $150,000.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

The Berkshire Eagle reported that prosecutors contend Debora Goyette was tapping patient accounts at the Hillcrest Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Valentine Road in Pittsfield for over four years between January 2009 and October 2012. Ultimately, she was able to steal approximately $150,000, prosecutors said. She faces three counts of larceny over $250 by a single scheme and one count of falsifying corporate books.

But, her defense attorney said the defendant tried to make patient accounts more secure, including asking management to tighten computer access, install security cameras and install a safe for patient monies. The defense contends Goyette was "set up."

The trial continues next week.

POWNAL, VT— Vermont State troopers arrested two people and handed their 2-year-old son over to child welfare authorities after the boy was found living in an unheated mobile home, with no running water, no food and littered with garbage and dog feces. In a release from Vermont State Police, troopers said Timothy J. Susee, Jr., 24, and Karen M....

Vermont State Police 

In a release from Vermont State Police, troopers said Timothy J. Susee, Jr., 24, and Karen M. Mattison, also 24, were arrested Sunday on child cruelty charges after police received an anonymous tip that the boy was neglected and living in squalid conditions.

Vermont State Police 

Mattison and Susee will be arraigned in Bennington District Court Monday.

The Massachusetts firefighter test has two parts, written and physical, and each has equal weight.

HOLYOKE -- Men and women who want to be firefighters in a Massachusetts city or town have until March 1 to apply for consideration.

"This examination is being held to establish an eligible list from which to fill firefighter vacancies in Civil Service cities and towns. This eligible list may also be used to fill firefighter vacancies in non-civil service jurisdictions," said a notice on the website of the Executive Office for Administration Finance.

The Civil Service test has two parts, written and physical abilities, and each has equal weight, the website said.

Once an application with the $200 fee has been filed, or a fee waiver has been verified, candidates will get an email listing the date, time and place of a physical abilities test, the website said. Also, the written test will take place April 16 at various, to-be-announced sites across the state.

Failure of the physical or written test will exclude candidates from the firefighter eligibility list, the website said.

Candidates who miss the March 1 deadline can still file applications but with a $50 late fee. Applications won't be accepted after March 21, the website said.

Firefighter candidates must be at least 19 on or before March 21. An exception may apply to current military personnel serving on active duty on the date of examination and requesting a military makeup, the website said.

The deadline to file an application to take the Massachusetts Civil Service test to be a firefighter is March 1.Mike Plaisance | mplaisance@repub.com 

Also, fire departments sometimes have their own age requirements and learning that information is the responsibility of the candidate, the website said.

To see the application form, click on this link: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/massachusetts/jobs/1256461/2016-firefighter

Visit this web page -- http://www.mass.gov/anf/employment-equal-access-disability/civil-serv-info/exam-info/exam-sched/2016-municipal-firefighter-exam-info.html -- for answers to frequently asked questions, such as what happens if a candidate fails either the physical or the written test.

That web page also has links to:

Police in Plymouth say they have arrested a 60-year-old Whitman man who allegedly fired a gun at a passing plow on Saturday night.

PLYMOUTH - Police in Plymouth say they have arrested a 60-year-old Whitman man who allegedly fired a gun at a snow plow during Saturday's storm.

The Manoment Current is reporting that Bruce O'Brien, 60, was arrested after firing a gun three times while driving behind the plow. Police told the Current that they were unaware if the man was firing at the plow; the driver reported the shots.

WCVB is reporting that it does not appear that the bullets hit any cars or homes in the area.

The matter is still under investigation, according to WCVB, which lists the charges as assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a firearm while under the influence, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling and disorderly conduct.

The Stop & Go store at 915 Main St. was robbed at gunpoint by two men Sunday night.

HOLYOKE -- A Main Street convenience store was robbed at gunpoint Sunday night.

Holyoke Police Sgt. Stephen Loftus said two men entered the Stop & Go store at 915 Main St. at 6:13 p.m. 

One brandished a small handgun while the other jumped over the counter and stole an undisclosed amount of cash, Loftus said.

The men fled, but police do not know if they had a car or were on foot. A police cruiser was in the area when the robbery was reported and made it to the shop in under a minute, but the men were nowhere to be found, Loftus said.

Detectives will continue to investigate the armed robbery. Loftus said he did not know whether there were surveillance cameras at the store.

Stop & Go is located at the former site of Rudd's Convenience and Ice Cream.

The owner of the former Kittredge building at Liberty Street and East Columbus Avenue is seeking a zone change that relate to an ongoing proposal to raze the building and replace it with a hotel-apartment tower.

SPRINGFIELD - The owner of the former Kittredge block at Liberty Street and East Columbus Avenue, who has proposed razing the site for a hotel and apartment tower, will ask the City Council on Monday for a zone change to help advance the plans.

The council's public hearings begin at 7 p.m., at the council chambers at City Hall.

The Planning Board had its own hearing on Dec. 2, and voted unanimously to recommend council approval of the zone change Business B to Business C, a needed step before a hotel could be built. The Kittredge site is in the North End adjacent to the overhead junction of Interstates 91 and 291.

Timothy Ryan, a lawyer representing the property owner, said the owner is working with an architect to evaluate the project and reviewing potential financing sources and development partners. The zone change is key to continuing that review, he said.

Ryan said last month that there is a feasibility study and preliminary rendering, but that definitive plans are pending the zone change and future special permit process.

The hotel and apartment tower could be 15 stories high, and the project would also include a four-story parking garage, according to principal owner Hansraj Gada of West Springfield.

Three men who were ice fishing in Harold Parker State Forest fell through thin ice and two had to be rescued by Andover firefighters Saturday. Watch video

ANDOVER -- Three men who were ice fishing in Harold Parker State Forest fell through thin ice and had to be rescued by Andover firefighters Saturday.

One man got himself out of the icy water, but two were pulled to safety by firefighters using sleds and other cold water rescue gear, according to a Facebook post by the Andover firefighters union.

Deputy Fire Chief Albert Deldotto told the Boston Globe that the men were taken to Lawrence General Hospital and Holy Family Hospital in Methuen and were treated for hypothermia.

He estimated that the water temperature was in the 30s. The Globe reported that the men were about 150 yards from shore when they fell in around 1:15 p.m.

Andover Police and Lawrence General Hospital paramedics assisted, according to the firefighters union. Andover Police in a Facebook post warned the public that thin ice is still likely, even after a few weeks of freezing temperatures.

"It really hasn't been that cold for that long," Andover Police said. "Don't put yourself or your rescuers at risk."

Deldotto did not release the names of the fishermen, but said they were 26, 29, and 32. 

Related video: Springfield firefighters practice ice rescue