Wilbraham residents interested in serving on the school board are required to send an email by Aug. 12 to Kate Belsky, who can be reached at kbelsky@hwrsd.org.

Peter Salerno 

The appointee's term will run until the next town election, which is scheduled for May 20, 2017.

Wilbraham residents interested in serving on the school board are required to send an email by Aug. 12 to Kate Belsky, who can be reached at kbelsky@hwrsd.org.

Letters of interest may also be mailed to HWRSD School Committee, c/o Kate Belsky, 621 Main St., Wilbraham, MA 01095.

The Board of Selectmen and Wilbraham members of the School Committee are expected to interview candidates during the week of Aug. 15.

Salerno announced in June that he was retiring from the School Committee after serving on the panel for 17 years, but then rescinded his resignation to take part in contract negotiations for new superintendent Albert G. Ganem Jr. Once the negotiations were completed, Salerno officially resigned from the board July 19.

The Massachusetts governor criticized state lawmakers for making the proposal with only days left before the end of the legislative session.

BOSTON -- Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday that he opposes a Senate amendment that would require Massachusetts to apply for federal money to test out a new tax on drivers.

Baker, a Republican, also criticized the Democratic-controlled Legislature for making the proposal with only days left before the end of the legislative session.

"Governor Baker does not support raising taxes on the people of Massachusetts and does not support this amendment," said Baker spokesman Billy Pitman.  "The administration also believes the waning hours of the legislative session is not the time to move forward with any new proposal to require the state to participate in such a federal program."

As The Republican / MassLive.com reported Thursday, an amendment that senators introduced to a bridge and road funding bill would direct the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation for grant funding to create a vehicle miles traveled pilot program.

A vehicle miles traveled tax is a way to tax drivers based on how many miles they drive -- rather than the current gas tax system, where drivers pay based on how much gas their cars consume.

State Sen. Thomas McGee, D-Lynn, Senate chairman of the Transportation Committee, who supports the pilot program, said as cars get more efficient, revenue from the gas tax will decline, and the state needs to find new ways to collect the money needed to maintain its transportation infrastructure.

"It's really an opportunity to look at it as an option for getting revenue separate from the gas tax," McGee said.

McGee stressed that this would be a revenue-neutral test program, conducted exclusively with volunteers. "It's an opportunity for us to create a volunteer pilot program and see if it would work, see if people would take a look at that as an option," McGee said.

The initial pilot program would include no more than 500 volunteer participants. The Department of Transportation would design the program in a way that would ensure that the volunteers are not paying both taxes. For example, they might be reimbursed for any gas taxes they pay.

Supporters of testing the new tax say it could eventually replace the gas tax. But opponents worry that the gas tax would never be repealed.

Chip Faulkner, a spokesman for the anti-tax advocacy group Citizens for Limited Taxation, pointed out that voters in 2014 just rejected automatic indexing of the state's gas tax to inflation. He said his group would actively oppose this effort as well. "We're one of the most heavily taxed states in the country," Faulkner said. "On top of that, we rejected the gas tax. This is just insulting."

Baker generally opposes raising taxes.

With the legislative session ending Sunday, the amendment involved some last-minute maneuvering by lawmakers. The Senate first introduced the amendment on the pilot program to an otherwise uncontroversial road and bridge bond bill last Saturday. The House and Senate agreed to a slightly modified version of it on Thursday.

Lawmakers must approve the final version of the bill this Saturday or Sunday.

State Sen. Don Humason, R-Westfield, a member of the Transportation Committee, said he anticipates that Republicans will oppose the amendment. But Democrats are likely to have enough votes to pass it over GOP objections.

Baker's opposition makes it less certain that the provision will become law. Because the bill is a spending bill, Baker has line item veto power. Lawmakers will not be able to override a veto, which requires a roll call vote of two-thirds of the Legislature, after the session ends.

Whether Baker can return the provision with an amendment will depend on whether the provision is considered a spending appropriation or an outside policy section. If Baker does propose an amendment, lawmakers can approve it in an informal session after Sunday, but only if no legislator objects.

The pilot program has the support of environmental groups and transportation advocates.

"As cars become more efficient, we lose revenue generated from the gas tax, and so this is looking ahead to see if there may be some other mechanism we can use to raise revenue for transportation, which we desperately need," said Nancy Goodman, vice president for policy at the Environmental League of Massachusetts.

California and Oregon are testing similar programs.

The Republican reporter Shannon Young contributed reporting.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, whose jurisdiction includes Walt Disney World and other Orlando-area theme parks, said tourists shouldn't think twice about coming to the Sunshine State.

MIAMI -- Tourists may have reason to think twice about visiting Florida now that mosquitoes there have apparently begun spreading the Zika virus. It's the first time on the U.S. mainland for an epidemic that's sweeping Latin America and the Caribbean, health officials said Friday.

Four recently infected people in the Miami area -- one woman and three men -- are believed to have contracted the virus locally through mosquito bites, Gov. Rick Scott said.

Florida agricultural officials immediately announced more aggressive mosquito-control efforts, and Florida politicians rushed to assure tourists it's still safe to visit the state.

Some medical experts said pregnant women should not travel to the Miami area, especially if the visit involves spending time outdoors. The CDC is not issuing such advice, however.

In May, at least one expert urged some families to avoid traveling to Florida and other parts of the South this summer because of the potential threat from Zika.

However, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, whose jurisdiction includes Walt Disney World and other Orlando-area theme parks, said tourists shouldn't think twice about coming to the Sunshine State. Florida had more than 106 million visitors last year, and tourism is the state's biggest industry.

Florida's theme parks "have mosquito control down like no place else I don't think on the planet," Jacobs said.

Zika-fighting efforts include pesticide spraying, setting of traps and eliminating standing water around homes.

No mosquitoes in Florida have actually been found to be carrying Zika, despite the testing of 19,000 by the state lab. But other methods of Zika transmission, such as travel to a stricken country or sex with an infected person, have been ruled out.

"Zika is now here," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, U.S. health officials said they do not expect widespread outbreaks in this country like those seen in Brazil, in part because of better sanitation, better mosquito control and wider use of window screens and air conditioners.

More than 1,650 people in the mainland U.S. have been infected with Zika in recent months, nearly all while traveling abroad. The four people in Florida are believed to be first to contract the virus from mosquitoes within the 50 states.

"This is not just a Florida issue. It's a national issue -- we just happen to be at the forefront," Scott said.

Health officials said the U.S. might see small clusters of infections. But "we don't expect widespread transmission in the continental United States," the CDC's Frieden said.

The four Florida infections are thought to have occurred in a small area just north of downtown Miami, in the Wynwood arts district, the governor said.

The area, known for bold murals spray-painted across warehouses, art galleries, restaurants and boutiques, is rapidly gentrifying and has a number of construction sites where standing water can collect and serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

People in Florida's Miami-Dade and Broward counties are being tested to learn whether there are more cases, the governor said.

"If I were a pregnant woman right now, I would go on the assumption that there's mosquito transmission all over the Miami area," warned Dr. Peter Hotez, a tropical medicine expert at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

He said that there are probably more cases that have not been diagnosed, and that people should not be surprised if mosquitoes are soon found to be spreading Zika in Louisiana and Texas as well.

Another travel-related case of Zika reported in Louisiana

Earlier this week, federal authorities told blood centers in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale areas to stop collecting blood until they screen it for the virus.

Zika's symptoms can include low-grade fever, rash, joint pain, headaches and inflamed eyes and typically last seven to 10 days. None of the four people infected in Florida are showing symptoms anymore, officials said.

Frieden said the evidence suggests that the mosquito-borne transmission occurred several weeks ago over several city blocks.

It's not unusual that no mosquitoes have tested positive for Zika, said C. Roxanne Connelly, a medical entomology specialist at the University of Florida and a past president of the American Mosquito Control Association.

It can take a couple of weeks before an infected person shows symptoms, and by then the mosquitoes that transmitted the virus are dead, she said.

"Believe it or not, it's difficult to find positive mosquitoes even when you're in the middle of an epidemic," Connelly said. "Sometimes you don't know where these people were infected. At home? At work? Where they were playing baseball?"

Zika primarily spreads through bites from a specific species of mosquito that is found in urban parts of the South and peaks in number in August and September. There have been more than 4,700 cases of mosquito-borne Zika in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.

The cycle of infection inside a country can start when a blood-sucking mosquito bites a traveler who has returned from abroad with the virus in his or her bloodstream. The mosquito then bites someone else, spreading the virus.

Health officials have been long predicting this would happen in the continental U.S. sometime this summer, probably in Florida and Texas, because of the types of mosquitoes that thrive there and the large numbers of people who travel back and forth to Latin America.

Pregnant? Here are some tips for staying safe from Zika this summer

Florida's governor has allocated over $25 million for dealing with Zika, and the White House and the CDC have provided over $10 million. However, Congress left on a seven-week vacation without giving the Obama administration any of the $1.9 billion it sought to battle the virus.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz called that "regrettable" and said: "Today's news should be a wake-up call to Congress to get back to work."

Jenny Gray, who is 27 and works in Wynwood for an art designer, said she will follow the experts' advice to wear insect repellent.

"I don't plan on having kids now, but I do sometime in the future. Better to stay protected," she said. "That really does concern me."

But Phillip Lopez, a 34-year-old Wynwood resident who works at an outdoor bar and exercises outside, said: "It's a concern, but you got to do what you got to do. You can't not go outside."

The National Desk contributed to this report.

A car crashed into a house in Springfield's Forest Park neighborhood on Friday night.

SPRINGFIELD — A car crashed into a house in Springfield's Forest Park neighborhood on Friday night, sending two people to the hospital and causing damages to the house.

Firefighters were called to 763 White St at 9:41 p.m., according to Dennis Leger, spokesman for the Springfield Fire Department.

According to Leger, a white Chrysler 300 somehow ran off of the road, crashed through a fence, and struck a Chevy pickup truck that was parked in the house's driveway before it "took out the porch."

Leger said that the Chrysler "spun" the Chevy around when it hit it, causing the Chevy to be thrown partially into the house, as well.

Firefighters used the jaws of life to extricate a woman driver and her teenage son from the Chrysler, and they were transported to an area hospital for treatment, according to Leger.

Police were called to the scene at approximately 9:30 p.m., according to Capt. Robert Strempek of the Springfield Police Department.

Strempek confirmed that the two occupants of the Chrysler had been sent to the hospital but that their injuries were non-life-threatening, and that they were expected to "be okay."

Police still don't yet know how the crash occurred.

This story will be updated when more information becomes available.

NORTH ADAMS — A man from North Adams was arrested on Thursday afternoon for allegedly attacking his uncle with a hammer, according to The Berkshire Eagle. A police report alleges that Edward Burdick was taken into custody at approximately 4 p.m. on Thursday after he allegedly assaulted a person. When police arrived at the scene, officers discovered the victim...

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

A police report alleges that Edward Burdick was taken into custody at approximately 4 p.m. on Thursday after he allegedly assaulted a person.

When police arrived at the scene, officers discovered the victim without a shirt on, as well as with scuff marks on both his collarbone and chest, according to the report.

The man told police that after waking up from a nap he saw his nephew stealing his cigarettes.

Burdick allegedly left his uncle's house at that point, and the man made the decision to go to his nephew's house – which was located down the street – and "confront" him, according to the report.

Once inside his nephew's apartment, Burdick allegedly shouted "I am going to kill you" before picking up a hammer and attacking the victim with it.

The report alleges that Burdick then chased his uncle down the street.

The report alleges that two police officers spoke with witnesses, who said they saw Burdick attempting to attack his uncle in the street.

Burdick pleaded not guilty in court on Friday to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and disorderly conduct.

A Springfield man was arraigned in Hampshire Superior Court Friday on charges he kidnapped and raped a South Hadley woman in 2014. Jason Coons, 37, was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

Jason Coons, 37, is accused of kidnapping the alleged victim in South Hadley and taking her to a secluded area and raping her. A grand jury indicted Coons on Tuesday, he was arrested Wednesday and was arraigned in Hampshire Superior Court Thursday on two counts of aggravated rape and one count each of kidnapping and intimidating a witness.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette reported that prosecutors told the court that Coons is a Level 2 sex offender, who has several convictions for sex crimes and has served five years in state prison.

Coons is restricted from contacting the alleged victim or going to her workplace if he were to post bail.One of the charges alleges that Coons intimidated the alleged victim and threatened her if she went to police.

Coons is due back in court August 11.

Two men were attacked from behind by someone with a knife outside of a Bay Street barbershop Friday morning, and investigators are continuing to search for a suspect, police said.

Below are Friday's most-read local stories at MassLive.com. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now.

1) TV anchor and Hampden native Cherise Leclerc leaving WesternMassNews [Robert Rizzuto] (Photo gallery above)

2) Peter Picknelly lobbied against proposed Springfield to Boston rail study, sending email two days before Gov. Baker's veto [Dan Glaun]

3) Springfield police: No arrests in Bay Street attack; 2 men stabbed outside of barbershop [Patrick Johnson]

4) Six Northampton establishments sanctioned for serving alcohol to minors [Dan Glaun]

5) 'What's that?' Springfield man with 37 rounds in backpack replies when asked for FID card, police say [Jack Flynn]

During the assault, Richey claimed "he had HIV and the needle was loaded with it," the clerk told police.

SPRINGFIELD -- A man who allegedly stabbed a West Springfield convenience store clerk and announced he had just given her HIV was ordered held on $150,000 bail Friday.

Joseph J. Richey -- who is also accused of robbing three banks, among other crimes -- pleaded not guilty Friday in Springfield District Court to charges from the robbery of a Cumberland Farms store on July 9.

During the same court appearance, Richey, 35, of Ludlow, pleaded not guilty to breaking into a Shell Food Mart in West Springfield and the Spirit Shoppe liquor store on St. James Avenue in Springfield during the last week of June.

In both cases, Richey hurled cinder blocks through the store windows and fled with a combined total of $10,994 in cash and several cartons of cigarettes, according to court records.

On the recommendation of prosecution and defense lawyers, Judge Jacklyn Connly set bail at $150,000 in the two West Springfield cases and $50,000 for the alleged liquor store robbery.

In the Cumberland Farms case, Richey walked into the Park Avenue store at 1:30 a.m. on July 9 and told the two clerks "I have nothing to lose," according to the arrest report.

Stepping behind the counter, he swung what appeared to be a needle at one clerk, who responded by opening one cash drawer. After scooping up $121, Richey confronted the second clerk and stabbed her when she refused to open her register, the report said.

During the assault, Richey claimed "he had HIV and the needle was loaded with it," the first clerk told police.

Ritchey fled and was later identified by police as a suspect in the attack. The clerk was treated at the hospital for a knife wound, police said.

On July 13, Richey was arrested on a fugitive warrant in Enfield, Connecticut, and returned to Hampden County to face charges in five communities. He is expected to be arraigned soon for bank robberies in Holyoke, Chicopee and Agawam, plus an array of other charges. Two weeks ago, he pleaded not guilty in Palmer District Court to forging $2,800 in checks on his grandmother's account in Ludlow.

Richey is due back in Springfield District Court for a pretrial hearing for Aug. 26.

In fiscal year 2016, Massachusetts raised $766 million from the state gas tax.

BOSTON -- The state Legislature is poised to vote on a bill requiring the state to apply for federal funding to test a new tax on drivers, based on the number of miles traveled.

Gov. Charlie Baker has said he opposes the pilot program.

Supporters of the proposal say the state must come up with a new way to fund transportation infrastructure, since the growth of fuel efficient cars means the state will get less money from the state gas tax. The vehicle miles traveled tax could eventually replace the gas tax.

So how much money does Massachusetts get from the state gas tax?

Data obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue shows that state revenue from the gas tax dropped on the heels of the 2008 recession, from $672.7 million in 2008 to $654 million in 2009. The revenue began to rebound around 2011.

In 2013, Massachusetts increased the state gas tax from 21 cents per gallon to 24 cents per gallon. With that shift, the state's revenue grew significantly, to $766 million in the year that ended on June 30.

Here's a look at how much Massachusetts got from the state gas tax each year from fiscal year 2007 to fiscal year 2016.

There were 2,531 rifles sold in Massachusetts the day Healey announced that she was expanding the state's assault weapons ban.

The day Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey banned the sale of "copycat" assault rifles, Guns Inc. in West Springfield saw a steady flow of customers, and the store stayed open late.

"We just sold out," said owner Kendall Knapik.

Knapik has not replaced the guns, due to the ban. "We have an empty wall, and it will probably just stay empty for now," Knapik said.

Knapik was not alone in seeing a run on assault-style rifles the day of Healey's announcement last Wednesday.

According to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety, there were 2,531 rifles sold in Massachusetts on July 20, the day Healey announced that she was interpreting the state's assault weapons ban to include a class of guns that are similar to assault weapons but not exact copies.

In the week before Healey's announcement, there were never more than 140 rifles sold on any single day. A year earlier, on July 20, 2015, only 16 rifles were sold in Massachusetts.

Walter Lamon, the owner of Culverine Firearms in Agawam, said he has never seen anything like what happened in his store July 20. "People were pouring in, saying where can I get one? I want one now before tomorrow comes," Lamon said.

Mario Torchia, owner Nick's Sport Shop in Palmer, said last Wednesday was "pretty nutty" for him, too. "As soon as we heard and rumor spread, then people were just flocking into the stores," Torchia said.

Torchia sold out of the assault-style weapons that day. "We could have sold more. We had to turn people away," Torchia said.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney signed the state's assault weapons ban into law in 2004, after a federal assault weapons ban that had been in place since 1994 expired. The Massachusetts law also bans copies and duplicates of assault weapons. But, according to Healey, some gun manufacturers were making guns that were similar to assault weapons but with small changes and marketing them as "state-compliant." Last week, Healey, a Democrat, announced that she was interpreting the law to prohibit the sale or possession of guns that were substantially similar to assault weapons.

Although some law enforcement representatives and gun control advocates cheered the move, Healey's announcement has drawn criticism from gun owners and dealers. Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, and several key Democrats in the Legislature have expressed concerns with the shift and asked Healey to provide more clarification about what exactly is banned.

On Friday, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, filed Legislation aimed at stripping Healey of her authority to regulate firearms, the State House News Service reported. Sen. Don Humason, R-Westfield, is a sponsor.

Gun dealers in Western Massachusetts told The Republican/MassLive.com that they are no longer selling the guns. Few had trouble getting rid of their existing stock the day Healey announced the ban.

David Bourdeau, owner of Tombstone Trading Co., a Brookfield gun shop, said as word spread last Wednesday, the store sold out of most of its stock before the end of the day. Anything left will be sold online to customers out of state.

"There was definitely a big spike that day," Bourdeau said.

Since then, Bourdeau said the store has been working with wholesalers to buy different types of guns to take the place of those guns that are now illegal. "We'll no longer sell those category of guns, and we'll do our best to provide our customers with alternatives that are legal under her interpretation," Bourdeau said. "We may not agree with it, we may not like it, we may not think it's correct, but that's not the point. We have to abide by that decision and law until such time as it's changed."

Bourdeau said he has seen a slight uptick in customers in the last week, with Healey's prohibition making people nervous that their rights to own other types of guns are at risk. "The guns that she's announced to be illegal in Massachusetts have been legal for the last 22 years based on the 1994 law," Bourdeau said. "With her interpretation, that category becomes illegal, and I guess it begs the question of people are afraid of what's next."

In the days immediately following Healey's announcement, between July 21 and 26, there were an average of 122 rifle sales a day in Massachusetts, according to state statistics. During the same period last year, an average of 62 rifles were sold each day.

Gun dealers said they are still trying to understand Healey's guidelines.

Torchia has not yet figured out which guns he will buy to replace the approximately 20 percent of his stock that is now banned. "We're still trying to figure out is this gun legal, is that gun legal?" Torchia said. "It's still not that clear. There's still a lot of questions on the mechanism of the guns, what falls into that class."

Similarly, Lamon said, "We've been operating under a set of rules for the last 18 years. Now we have to understand what the new rules are, and it's very difficult."

Lamon expressed frustration that Healey chose to interpret the law to ban guns that have never been used in a mass shooting in Massachusetts, but are commonly used for competition shooting and coyote hunting.

The now-banned guns used to be around 10 percent to 15 percent of his stock. He questioned the sudden timing of the announcement, and suggested that Healey is making a political statement and trying to get around the law written by the Legislature.

Lamon said he only got official notification of the ban in a letter July 21, the day after Healey said her ban would be effective. "I heard about it (on July 20) from people running into the store saying what have you got, I want it ... and today's the last day you can buy them," Lamon said. He too sold out his stock that day.

A 4-year-old Pittsfield boy was bitten by a fox Monday, and on Thursday his parents were notified that the fox was rabid. The child now has to undergo a three-week course of shots.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

iBerkshires.com reported that Bradlee O'Keefe followed his mom out the back door of their Robbins Street home Monday. Almost instantly, Britney O'Keefe became aware that a fox was lunging at her son. She pushed the boy back into the house but the fox continued to attack. O'Keefe said she slammed the door on the animal but it didn't run away but continued to attack.

O'Keefe told the website that her husband and a friend were able to kill the animal with a hammer. But, in the fracas, Bradlee was bitten on his foot He was taken to the Berkshire Medical Center where he received three stitches to his foot.

Police took the body of the dead fox for testing, and Thursday the O'Keefes were notified that the fox was likely rabid. Bradlee will now have to go back to the medical center for a course of rabies treatment called rabies immune globulin or RIG.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health a series of shots are given around the wound to fight the virus at the entry to the body, then four to five shots are given over the course of several weeks.

Pittsfield Health Director Gina Armstrong said that his was the first likely rabies exposure of the year in Pittsfield. Last year, she said a rabid skunk was found, and this year, in North Adams a cat was found to have the disease.

But several other attacks by rabid foxes have been reported across the state.

In March of this year, officials assume a fox that attacked and bit two people in Leicester was rabid,, and in Palmer a man was bitten by a fox in June. Western Mass News, our broadcast partner, reported that police were able to kill the animal and it tested positive for rabies.

Wildlife officials say any wild animal that does not shy away from humans, seems disoriented or aggressive should be considered dangerous. Anyone seeing animals they suspect are rabid should contact local police immediately. Rabid animals should be taken as soon as possible to protect people and other animals.

Anyone who suspects that have been bitten or injured by a rabid animal should contact medical help immediately. The rabies immune globulin treatment is effective, but left untreated rabies can be fatal to humans.

The call volume in Hadley has risen from 214 in 2005 to 1,009 in 2015, according to Fire Cheif Michael Spanknebel's report to the Select Board presented last month.

HADLEY -- Michael Spanknebel became the town's first full-time fire chief just three years ago, and ever since then he's been trying to figure out how to see the department grow.

He is one of just two full-timers on the department, and he is hoping that will change. Adding to staff has been a need in town for years with the town relying on an on-call force to battle fires or respond to accident scenes, he said.

Michael Spanknebel 

The call volume has risen from 214 in 2005 to 1,009 in 2015, according to Spanknebel's report to the Select Board presented last month. He stated that the hike in calls "is due to the increased business base and traffic volume associated with this business."

While the town's population in 2010 was 5,044, the town "transforms daily into a suburban community type with a daytime business and Five College Student population which can conservatively range from 20,000-40,000," his report states.

Spanknebel, like his Amherst counterpart, Fire Chief Tim Nelson, has applied for a Federal Emergency Management Agency Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant to help efforts to hire staff firefighters.

The $555,000 SAFER grant would pay the salaries and benefits for four firefighters for two years. The town would have to figure out how to continue paying the salaries beyond those years.

Amherst hopes to hire eight new firefighters.

"We do need a full-time department," Spanknebel said. "We reached that tipping point a while ago."

He said he will continue to talk to town officials about the need and the possibility of hiring part-timers if the town doesn't receive the grant.

The department also considering having the town offer its own ambulance service to help cover some of the costs. Amherst provides ambulance service to Hadley through a contract that expires June 30, 2018.

Hadley pays Amherst $135,000 a year for the service, but Amherst receives insurance reimbursements, Spanknebel said in his report to the Select Board.

"The concept of paying $405,000 over three years for a service that is clearly an additional revenue to the insurance receipts rather than using the funding to build our own department is concerning to me," he said.

In the meantime, he is hoping to augment the on-call force. He's put out the call for people age 18 and over who are willing to make a commitment to the town to go through the hundreds of hours of training to become an on-call firefighter.

Even if the town hires four full-time firefighters, it would still need a call force, Spanknebel said.

He said the town has 23 on-call firefighters now, but is in danger of seeing that force dwindle. Most people don't work in town and it's hard to get back for coverage, so he needs a strong pool.

The town pays its on-call force, but needs a commitment of four years because of the financial investment in the training.

Anyone interested can view the requirements online at hadleyma.org or by contacting the department at 413-584-0874.

Hadley Fire Dept. Presentation to Select Board by MassLive2 on Scribd

The bill would create a commission tasked with protecting the archaeological, geological and fossil resources of the Connecticut River valley.

More than a decade ago, an environmental police officer in Western Massachusetts caught people jackhammering and chiseling raptor footprints off of state property, then selling the fossils on eBay.

As state Rep. Peter Kocot, D-Northampton, started talking to people about the issue, he found others areas in the Connecticut River valley where people were finding Native American artifacts, like arrowheads, on state property and selling them for a profit.

Peter V. Kocot File 

Kocot said the fine for removing artifacts from state property is only $50. "You have people making thousands of dollars off of eBay, and it's state property," Kocot said. "It belongs to all the people of Massachusetts."

A bill Kocot sponsored, H.698, which the House is likely to vote on this weekend, would create a commission tasked with protecting the archaeological, geological, and fossil resources of the Connecticut River valley.

The commission would consult with experts, educators, town officials and Native American tribes to review regulations related to the archaeological property and develop ways to preserve the property and educate the public about it.

The bill has been proposed for multiple sessions but has never passed.

Construction began in May on the PVTA's new $6 million Westfield Transit Pavilion.

WESTFIELD -- The steel frame is up for the $6 million Westfield Transit Pavilion at Elm and Arnold streets, a project called the first new building constructed in Westfield's downtown in decades.

Forish Construction in Westfield is the general contractor, according to its website. Reinhardt Associates of Agawam are the architects. According to the firm's website, it also designed the Holyoke Multimodal Transportation Facility, which opened in 2010.

A grand opening of the Westfield Transit Pavilion is expected in March 2017.

The glass and steel building will have a shelter for passengers, a means for PVTA to provide customer service via Skype and a ticket machine allowing passengers to purchase smart cards for use throughout the PVTA transit system.

The building also will have room for a coffee shop and administrative offices. It will be surrounded by brick walkways for a pedestrian-friendly environment.

The $6 million price tag includes the PVTA's purchase and demolition of the Flahive Building on Arnold Street.

The city also plans to start work on an adjacent $6 million parking garage later this year. 

The site is adjacent to a long-vacant lot where the J.J. Newberry's five-and-dime stood until it burned in the 1980s.

The child "yelled into the shop that police were coming ... and Gomez yelled at her to lock the door. (She) immediately darted into the business and locked the door," the arrest report said.

SPRINGFIELD -- Moments before Springfield narcotics detectives raided David Gomez's auto body shop last week, he was alerted by an unlikely source: his eight-year-old daughter.

David Gomez, 35, of Springfield.(Springfield Police Department) 

The child "yelled into the shop that police were coming ... and Gomez yelled at her to lock the door," according to the arrest report. The child "immediately darted into the business and locked the door," the report said.

Despite the warning, Gomez was caught flushing 88 bags of "El Chapo" heroin down the toilet after police forced their way into the Oakland Street business, Assistant District Attorney Cary Szafranski said in Springfield District Court.

Gomez, 35, of Springfield, pleaded not guilty to heroin trafficking and related charges Monday, three days after he and three other men were arrested in what police called a major drug bust.

Narcotics officers found 15,268 bags of heroin, two pounds of marijuana and more than $10,000 in cash during a search at 117 Oakland St., Szafranski said.

At her request, Judge William Boyle set bail at $100,000 for Gomez and $1,000 for Eddie Carrasquillo, 45, of Springfield, who was charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

"HUGE drug seizure," Springfield police spokesman Sgt. John Delaney wrote in a press release following the raid. He said the raid, conducted under the direction of Lt. Steven Kent, was the result of an extensive investigation.

Detectives found about 15,000 bags of heroin in a plastic trash bag in the back of Gomez's SUV and $10,000 on the vehicle's floor, according to the report. Additional bags of heroin were found in the bathroom and two pounds of marijuana was seized from the office and garage, along with a digital scale and packaging material, the report said.

The total amount of heroin seized was estimated at 300 grams, the report said.

In addition to his daughter, Gomez's son was present during the raid. Both children were placed with their mother, and the state Department of Children and Families was notified, the report said.

Reporter Jim Kinney contributed to this report.

The man was caught on the store video camera. He is thin, has brown hair and is about 5 feet, 6 inches tall.

SOUTHAMPTON - A man threatened the clerk of a liquor store with a hypodermic needle and robbed the business Friday night.

Police are asking the public for help to identify the suspect, who was caught on the store video camera. He is white, between 30 and 40-years-old, about 5 foot 6 or 5 foot 7 inches tall, thin and unshaven with dark hair, Southampton Police said.

He was barefoot and wearing white sunglasses, a dark colored shirt and tan or brown cargo style shorts. He has tattoos on both arms, police said.

The man entered County Liquors, 272 County Road, at about 7:30 p.m., and demanded all the money in the cash register, police said.

"(He) pulled out a hypodermic needle and held it in a threatening manner towards the store clerk," police said.

No one was injured in the robbery. The suspect left the store on foot with an undetermined amount of cash, police said.

The crime is under investigation. Anyone who can identify the man caught on camera is asked to call the Southampton Police Department at 413-527-1120.

Violanta Andrade, 43, is charged with failing to grant the right of way and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident.

BRIDGEWATER - A Brockton woman is facing charges in connection to a motorcycle crash that caused serious injuries to two people.

Violanta Andrade, 43, is charged with failing to grant the right of way and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident.

Police released surveillance video of the crash on Sunday, July 24. The video shows a motorcycle go through a solid yellow light, then swerve to avoid a car that pulls in front of it. The motorcycle goes off the road and crashes into a tree.

The motorcycle driver, a 49-year-old man from Middleborough, was taken by ambulance to Brockton Hospital, then by helicopter to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The passenger, a 53-year-old woman from Wareham, was taken to Boston Medical Center by ambulance.

Chief Christopher Delmonte thanked the public and the media for sharing photos and video from the scene.

Critics say FERC hired consultants working for Spectra to review a Spectra pipeline.

U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey are demanding answers about an alleged conflict of interest in the federal review of a natural gas pipeline proposal.

The Houston-based Spectra Energy proposes three related projects that would impact eastern Massachusetts: Access Northeast, Atlantic Bridge, and the Algonquin Incremental Market project, or AIM.

The required Environmental Assessment (EA) for Atlantic Bridge was conducted on behalf of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by contractor Natural Resource Group, which at the time was working directly for Spectra on a related pipeline, PennEast, the climate watchdog DeSmogBlog reported in May.

"Such an alleged conflict of interest suggests that the contractor had a financial stake in approving the project it was hired to review," the article stated.

Warren and Markey subsequently wrote to Norman Bay, chairman of the commission known as FERC, saying the environmental review should be scrapped, and that a new, more stringent Environmental Impact Statement should be conducted by consultants with no financial connection to Spectra.

Bay wrote back to say proper procedures were followed in the selection of Natural Resources Group, and "no disqualifying conflict of interest was identified." He said in the past 15 months, FERC had disqualified eight contractors for apparent conflicts.

Warren and Markey responded last week with a series of focused questions, asking if Spectra or NRG had disclosed any potential conflicts to FERC, and if FERC had conducted an independent review to determine whether any such claims were valid.

A FERC spokeswoman said Bay would respond to the Democratic Massachusetts senators in writing.

As for Spectra, the company downplayed its involvement with NRG in the PennEast Pipeline, saying it is a minority owner. "Spectra Energy is not responsible for managing the PennEast project, which would include coordination with NRG regarding public affairs work for the PennEast project," the company wrote in a filing with FERC.

Under the law, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is responsible for reviewing and permitting interstate natural gas pipeline proposals.

PennEast is essential to the AIM, Atlantic Bridge and Access Northeast projects because it would connect the Marcellus region with the Algonquin Gas Transmission Pipeline owned by Spectra.

The trio of Spectra projects are meeting with organized resistance, especially regarding a 7,700-horsepower compressor station planned for the South Shore town of Weymouth. The projects collectively would expand pipeline capacity up the east coast from New Jersey into Canada while powering electricity generators and feeding local gas utilities.

DeSmog also alleges a conflict regarding Spectra's AIM project, saying NRG performed an Environmental Impact Statement for AIM, thereby working for Spectra at the time it was hired by FERC to review Spectra. Spectra then hired NRG directly for five other projects, "potentially incentivizing the contractor to provide a beneficial assessment for AIM."

The Legislature overrode Gov. Charlie Baker's veto and gave $300,000 back to the task force.

The Legislature on Sunday restored funding for a Franklin County task force that helps residents address opioid addiction.

"Funding for the Franklin Country Opioid Task Force, which is a national model of a collaborative effort to fight opioid addiction, is critical to tackling substance abuse and opioid addiction issues in our region," Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said in a statement. "Restoring these funds ensures that the Task Force can continue their important work in prevention, education, and lifesaving treatment for those affected by addiction."

The Franklin County task force was started in 2014 by Franklin County Register of Probate John Merrigan, Franklin County Sheriff Chris Donelan and Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan.

As The Republican/MassLive.com previously reported, the task force runs public service announcements and talks to guidance counselors and school nurses about how to identify and address addiction in young people. It gives money to a range of programs, providing peer mentoring for pregnant women, developing school curricula, buying the anti-overdose drug Narcan for first responders, and funding community policing. Its website provides information about the resources available in Franklin County to treat drug addiction.

The Legislature voted to give the task force $300,000 in the fiscal year 2017 state budget. But Gov. Charlie Baker cut the money, part of his $256 million in line item vetoes out of the $38.92 billion budget.

Asked about the veto, Garrett Quinn, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, said earlier this month, "Gov. Baker was pleased to offer a fiscally responsible budget that, despite lower-than-anticipated revenues and without raising taxes, increases the commonwealth's investment in opioid epidemic prevention efforts by over 8 percent to a total of $171 million, including 150 new recovery beds and the full funding of the Substance Abuse Services Fund for recovery support centers located in Greenfield and around the state."

During the final legislative sessions this weekend, House and Senate lawmakers overrode Baker's veto and reinstated the money.

The New Jersey State Police said they found the man's wife dead in the trunk after they found him with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. -- A man who shot himself on the New Jersey Turnpike Saturday night had his dead wife in the trunk, police said.

Franklin Osgood, 61, of Providence, R.I., was found at 9:36 p.m. in his car with a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he led police on a brief chase on the Turnpike in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey State Police said in a Facebook post.

After State Police troopers searched Osgood's 2007 black Dodge Charger, they found the dead body of his wife, Mary Jo, in the trunk, police said. Also found in the car was a semi-automatic handgun in the middle console.

Franklin Osgood was a former officer with the Providence Police Department who retired in 2007, the city's police chief, Hugh Clements, said at a news conference, according to WPRI-TV.

Troopers were on alert for Osgood after Providence police contacted them shortly after 9 p.m. to report that Osgood was a murder suspect and considered "armed and dangerous," police said. Providence police believed he may be on the Turnpike.

About 40 minutes later, a trooper spotted Osgood's Charger on the northbound side of the Turnpike near exit 18W, State Police said. Osgood refused to pull over when troopers attempted to stop him.

He eventually lost control of his car near milepost 117.1, struck a metal guardrail and then crashed into a State Police trooper patrol car, police said. The trooper involved in the crash suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.

Osgood was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound when troopers approached his vehicle. He was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was pronounce dead at 11:32 p.m.

Mary Jo Osgood was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:25 a.m., police said.

The investigation of her death is being handled by the Providence Police Department.