The new principal at Memorial Elementary School has 16 years of teaching experience.

The Republican | Sandra ConstantineMelissa A. Cote, the new principal at Memorial Elementary School in West Springfield.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Melissa A. Cote, the new principal at Memorial Elementary School, says she looks forward to raising academic achievement there.

Cote, 37, took over July 1. She replaces Jeffrey Udall, who left to take another position.

Cote spoke about her goals and expectations during an interview at the school on Friday. She said that Memorial is the lowest-performing school in the district and that she hopes to turn that situation around.

“It is not scoring at the level of the rest of the district, and our goal is to make it come up to the level of the rest of the district,” Cote said.

The new principal said it is too early for her to quantify the situation as she has just gotten access to the state’s computerized records.

Meanwhile, Cote has started meeting with teachers at the school.

“There is a lot of positive energy among the teachers I have spoken with. We are going to see some great things happening,” Cote said.

The new principal is being paid about $86,000 a year in her job. She comes to West Springfield from a post in Springfield as an instructional leadership specialist at Mary Walsh School, where she was paid about $65,000 a year. Cote was responsible for overseeing staffers as well as about 300 students.

The new principal grew up in West Brookfield and is a 1991 graduate of Quaboag Regional High School in Warren. She has a bachelor’s degree in child study from St. Joseph’s College in West Hartford, Conn., and a master’s degree in education with a concentration in literacy and communication from Framingham State College.

Her first job in education coming out of college was as a teacher’s assistant in the Southborough public schools. She did that for a year and then moved on to become a full-time kindergarten teacher at Sabis International Charter School in Springfield in 1996. Cote went on to become a literacy coach and K-12 reading teacher in Springfield’s public school system, where she has worked until taking the job as principal in West Springfield.

Cote is holding office hours of from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school and welcomes parents, staffers and community members to visit her. To set up an appointment, call (413) 263-3334.

The crash occurred Saturday afternoon near 1929 East Mountain Road.

Republican file photo

WESTFIELD – A head-on crash Saturday afternoon on East Mountain Road has claimed the life of a 70-year-old city man.

William Brown, no street address immediately available, died at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, a spokesman said.

According to a police report on the crash, which occurred shortly after 4 p.m. near 1929 East Mountain Road, Brown was taken to Baystate with injuries that were described as non-life-threatening.

Two boys, ages 8 and 11, passengers in the second vehicle, were also taken to Baystate, said Traffic Officer Michael Gamache, who was not involved in the investigation. Their names and conditions were not immediately available.

The crash the marked the region’s second fatal head-on crash within a span of several days. Kathleen and Martin Tessier, of 15 Lawson Drive, Easthampton, were pronounced dead at Baystate Thursday afternoon after a head-on crash on Route 202 in Holyoke, police said.

The driver of the second vehicle in the Holyoke crash, Andrea Waldo, 23, of 25 Russell Road, Huntington, remained in fair condition Tuesday at Baystate, a spokesman said.

Gamache said the Westfield crash occurred as Brown, the driver and sole occupant of his 2000 Ford, drove north on East Mountain Road.

A second vehicle, driven by 37-year-old Longmeadow resident Dean Carbone, was driving south on East Mountain Road when it crossed into the northbound lane and struck Brown’s vehicle, Gamache said.

All of those involved in the crash were wearing seat belts or age-appropriate safety restraints, Gamache said.

Officer Seth Florek continues to probe the crash.

Holyoke said the Route 202 crash occurred as Waldo drove west on Route 202. A witness told investigators that Waldo’s vehicle swerved to the right and then to the left where it crossed the double line and crashed head on into the Tessiers’ vehicle.

The Holyoke accident is being investigated by local and state police and the district attorney’s office.

Witnesses said Major did not surface after jumping from a pontoon boat.

Manon Mirabelli07.11.2011 | SOUTHWICK - A member of the Southwick Police Dive Team emerges from Congamond Lakes Middle Pond late Monday afternoon during a search of a 19-year-old Westfield man who disappeared after jumping from a pontoon boat.

SOUTHWICK - State and local police dive teams recovered the body of 19-year-old Kevin J. Major, of Westfield, shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday from Congamond Lakes Middle Pond one hour after resuming a search that began Monday.

Southwick Police Lt. David A. Ricardi said that at about 10:10 a.m. local police dive team members, assisted by divers from state and environmental police, recovered Major’s body from Middle Pond on the Connecticut side of the lakes.

Ricardi said Major had been swimming from a pontoon boat with a group of friends when he disappeared in the water at about 4:30 p.m. Monday.

“One of the individuals on the boat said they saw him go down, come back up, go down again, and he stayed down,” he said.

A full investigation into the death is being conducted by Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit attached to the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office and the Southwick Police Department, Ricardi added.

Congamond Lakes, which had been closed during the search, reopened to the public at noon.

This is the second drowning death at Middle Pond in less than a month. On June 19, 22-year-old Larry Cauley also disappeared in the water after jumping or falling from a pontoon boat at about 12:30 a.m. His body was discovered 36 hours later.

Cauley’s body was discovered 200 feet from shore in about 35 feet of water. Some pockets of water on the lakes are as deep as 50 to 55 feet.

Cauley was a member of the 13-person Hill family, who had a new house built for them by the ABC-TV show "Extreme Home Makeover" in June 2009. The episode featuring the family aired in October of that year.

Prior to these two incidents, the last reported drowning at Congamond Lakes was in August 2000, when an 18-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y., died in South Pond, the second largest Congamond pond. Before that, a 33-year-old West Suffield, Conn., man died after drowning in Middle Pond in October 1994.

Ricardi described two drownings within a month as a freak thing, especially given that this latest incident occurred on a quiet Monday afternoon when there were not many boaters on the lakes.

“It’s so unusual – we’ve never had two in one month, and I’ve been here for 25 years,” he said.

West Suffield resident Deborah J. Mattern, who had been on the lakes fishing just before the man disappeared and was on the scene during the search, said the lake is safe and a strong swimmer can easily swim from one side to the other.

This is a developing story. Details will be added as they become available.

MassLive.com readers are reacting strongly to the news about the death of 16-year-old Tyrel Wheeler. Wheeler died Sunday at Baystate Medical Center.

View full sizeRepublican staff photo by Patrick JohnsonMayor Domenic J. Sarno hands out cards with Text-a-Tip information to some teens at the scene of a shooting on Washington Street. Sarno, who lives a few blocks away, was heading home to his family when he saw all the police cars.

MassLive.com readers are reacting strongly to the news about the death of 16-year-old Tyrel Wheeler. Wheeler was shot three times Thursday afternoon and found in a Forest Park neighborhood intersection shortly after he got out of a moving car that he had been driving. He died Sunday at Baystate Medical Center.

Wheeler is the third Springfield male, and the second teenager, to lose is life to gunfire over the last week.

Here's what some of our readers are saying:

luxuryone writes:

This is so sad, I can't even begin to imagine how these parents are coping with losing yet another child to the streets. As for capital punishment it wont/doesn't work as a deterrent, so why keep advocating for it? What we need is the National Guard to take over the crime ridden streets in Springfield until all this crap is dealt with by the mayor and Springfield PD.

angie.c912 writes:

I strongly agree that parents needs to step more but so does the community. You know the African proverb "It takes a village to raise a child"? What's lost are the days when the youth had something to do. How amazing would it be if every person that complained about the plight of the children of Springfield actually stood up and did something about it? When was the last time you took time out of you day to mentor a child, to show them there's more to life than hanging on the corner, banging, and waiting to die or go to jail?

atlantwoine writes:

I guess it must make it easier for people to go back to sleep when the emphasis is on the debate of whether or not this victim was a gang member instead of who shot him and why..... oh well... right?

Get one thing straight people...... today it was Fee's/tigers son..... who is it gonna be tommorow?

Share your opinion with the MassLive.com community. Your comments will be considered for publication in The Republican.

Rev. John Lessard, Archambault's long-time friend, said the late priest was"a victim of terrible bullying all his life."

The Republican | Michael S. GordonJuly 12, 2011 - Northampton - Republican staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - The casket bearing the Rev. Paul Archambault is escorted out of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish Church by Hampden Police officers Tuesday, as priests of the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese, Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell and Knights of Columbus look on following funeral services.

NORTHAMPTON – His fellow clergymen remembered the Rev. Paul Archambault Tuesday as a “wounded healer” who ardently performed his work as a priest despite a long-time clinical depression brought on by bullying.

Archambault, 42, was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head on July 3, shortly after comforting a family in the emergency department of Baystate Medical Center, where he served as chaplain. Friends and family of the Northampton native packed his funeral at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church on King Street, along with some 50 priests and deacons and a color guard from the Knights of Columbus. Members of the Hampden Police Department, where Archambault also served as chaplain, carried his casket out of the church and into the hearse.

In his eulogy, the Rev. John Lessard, a former pastor of Our Lady of Guadeloupe Parish in Holyoke and Archambault’s long-time friend, said the late priest was “a victim of terrible bullying all his life.”

“He never fit in,” said Lessard, who heard Archambault’s confessions as well as having long personal talks with him. “Paul had come to believe the lie that he was not accepted because he was unacceptable.”

Nonetheless, Lessard said, Archambault was “wounded healer” who gave comfort to others despite his depression.

“What you saw of Father Paul was absolutely real,” Lessard said. “It was as real as it gets.”

Obituaries from The Republican.

Angela Rivera

Angela Rivera, 79, of Westfield, died Sunday. She was born in Samana, Dominican Republic, and moved in 1947 to New York, where she worked as a dress maker in the garment district. She had been a resident of Westfield since 1954. In 1963 she married Alberto Rivera, who died in 1995. She was a caretaker for many local children and a parishioner of St. Mary's Church.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• Bator, Adele (Dyl)
  




• 
  Edelding, Helen M. (Dudek)
  



• 
  Hall, Faye Etta (Prouty)




• 
  Joyal, Jeanne M.
  



• 
  Katawicz, Ellen A. (Furey)
  




• Korvek, Mary-Ellen
  




• 
  Marek, Joseph E.
  



• 
  Parsons, Nancy H. (Fitzgerald)




• 
  Rivera, Angela
  



• 
  Russo, Patrick F. "Pat"
  




• Sandberg, Richard P.
  




• 
  Shumway, Richard W.
  



• 
  Smith Sr., Lyman "Paul"




• 
  Sondej, Ernest
  



• 
  Tessier Jr., Martin L. and Kathleen A. (O'Brien)
  




• Wiencek, Elizabeth B. "Betty" (Bean)
  

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said a deal with Obama is "probably unattainable."

Associated PressPresident Barack Obama talks about the ongoing budget negotiations, Monday, July 11, 2011, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington.

WASHINGTON — The top two Republicans in Congress sought Tuesday to put the onus on President Barack Obama for failure to resolve a fight over how to increase the government's borrowing authority. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said a deal with Obama is "probably unattainable" and House Speaker John Boehner said the specter of default is "his problem."

The unusually blunt and combative language came just hours ahead of another White House meeting aimed at finding an accommodation on a package of spending cuts to accompany an increase the debt limit. It further complicated an already convulsive bargaining environment, with the Aug. 2 debt limit extension deadline fast approaching.

McConnell maintained that White House offers to cut long-term spending amount to "smoke and mirrors" and directly challenged Obama's leadership. After years of discussions and months of negotiations," the Kentucky Republican said, "I have little question that as long as this president is in the Oval Office, a real solution is probably unattainable."

Said Boehner: "This debt limit increase is his problem and I think it's time for him to lead by putting his plan on the table — something that Congress can pass. Where is the president's plan? When's he going to lay his cards on the table?"

McConnell charged in a Senate floor speech that Democrats and the Obama administration were relying on budget gimmicks to give the "appearance of serious belt-tightening."

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the Republican reaction Tuesday "was unfortunate."

"Sometimes there's rhetoric put out there in public that doesn't match what has often been very constructive and respectful conversations in meetings," Carney told reporters. He added: "By fits and starts, the process continues to move forward."

Responding to Boehner's comment, Carney pointed out that it is Congress' responsibility to vote for an increase in the debt ceiling.

"The president doesn't have a vote in this," he said. "It's Congress that has to act." He said Obama will be in office for at least another 18 months, and "the American people expect Congress to work with him."

Obama has been pushing for $4 trillion in a 10-year deficit reduction proposal in hopes of freeing votes to increase the government's borrowing authority. But Boehner, after seeking to forge a deal of that magnitude, told the president that a smaller, $2 trillion to $2.4 trillion deal was more realistic. A deal is essential to win Republican votes to increase the nation's debt ceiling by Aug. 2, or risk a government default.

McConnell said Republicans will "do the responsible thing and ensure the government doesn't default on its obligations."

But he dismissed the cuts the administration and Democrats have proposed. Republicans say Democrats want most of the spending cuts to be concentrated in the later years of a deal. They say that despite promising cuts of $1.1 trillion from Cabinet agency operating budgets, the White House is insisting on a two-year freeze in such spending at the current level of $1.05 trillion.

McConnell's and Boehner's heightened criticisms come as Obama has increasingly used public appearances, including a news conference Monday and a network television interview Tuesday, to take his case to the public. Obama has argued that both Democrats and Republicans need to make politically painful decisions and has portrayed Republicans as intransigent.

As the debate intensified, both sides looked for signs, subtle or otherwise, that negotiations were souring.

In an interview with CBS Tuesday, Obama seemed to back off his unequivocal assurances that the debt ceiling would be raised, thus avoiding a first-ever default.

CBS anchor Scott Pelley asked Obama if he could guarantee that Social Security checks would go out on Aug. 3, the day after the administration says the government would go into default.

"I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd, if we haven't resolved this issue.," Obama replied in an excerpt of the interview released by CBS. "Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it."

Earlier, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner stressed that no one in government would let a government default occur.

"Let me be clear: the debt limit will be raised," Geithner told a Women in Finance Symposium Tuesday. "Failure is not an option. Both sides understand what is at stake and will come to an agreement."

He said Obama is willing to make spending cuts across the government "as long as they are done responsibly, over time."

Until today, Republicans had so far focused their criticism on Obama's demand for new tax revenues in the final deficit reduction package. But McConnell's tone indicated a new line of attack based on competing versions of how much progress had been made in talks led by Vice President Joe Biden in May and June.

McConnell accused the administration of leaking its proposals for spending cuts to the media without details.

"The lack of detail concealed the fact that the savings they were supposedly willing to support were at best smoke and mirrors," the Kentucky Republican said.

On Monday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., a participant who left the Biden talks last month because of Democratic demands on taxes, spelled out potential spending cuts that had been identified. But Democratic lawmakers made clear that such a cutting-only approach without tax increases on wealthier Americans would never pass the Democratic-led Senate or the House, where Democratic votes would be needed, too.

Cantor, aides said, outlined up to $2.3 trillion in spending cuts over the upcoming decade, with $1.3 trillion coming from squeezing the day-to-day budgets of Cabinet agencies, including the Pentagon.

Cantor erred on the high end of the savings range in virtually every instance. The White House countered that the cuts really approached $1.7 trillion or so, which would leave negotiators $700 billion short of the $2.4 trillion being sought.

Democratic officials familiar with Obama's private talks with leaders of the House and Senate insist that Congress will not let the government go into default for the first time in American history — and that Republicans, ultimately, would vote to raise the debt limit even if a deficit-cutting package does not come together over the next two weeks.

Republicans say they won't allow a default, but that a major reduction in spending must come as part of the package — and therefore both sides remain in a stalemate on the debt limit.

After Monday's White House meeting, neither side showed any give that might generate hopes for a speedy agreement. Instead, Republicans again took a firm stand against revenue increases while Obama and his Democratic allies insisted that they be part of any equation that cuts programs like Medicare.

"I do not see a path to a deal if they don't budge, period," Obama said on Monday.

At the same time, the president turned up the pressure by announcing he won't sign any short-term debt limit increases.

"We are going to get this done," Obama insisted during a news conference.

Obama's declaration seemed aimed at pressuring lawmakers to continue to strive for the largest deficit reduction plan possible, even though hopes for a "grand bargain" mixing a complete overhaul of the tax code with cuts to benefits programs like Medicare and Social Security fizzled over the weekend.

The Treasury Department says lawmakers have until Aug. 2 to extend the nation's debt limit to prevent a catastrophic government default on its bills. With that deadline fast approaching, the public is growing more concerned about what happens if Congress and the White House can't reach a deal.

Forty-two percent of Americans say they see a greater risk to the economy from not raising the debt limit, according to a Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll conducted last week. That's up 7 points from late May. However, there are still 47 percent of Americans who say they are more concerned about the consequences of raising the debt ceiling.

The business community is also upping the pressure on lawmakers, warning that a failure to increase the nation's borrowing limit could have an immediate impact on the economy recovery.

"An unprecedented default on the nation's bills would have dire consequences for our economy, our markets, and Main Street Americans," said Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Despite lingering hopes for a larger deal, the goal of the White House talks is to produce spending cuts of at least $2.4 trillion or so over the coming decade. Such cuts wouldn't do enough to address deficits that threaten the economy, but they would represent a down payment on further reductions that would be imposed after next year's elections.

The $2.4 trillion figure would meet the House Republicans' own standard of a debt-cutting package: one that would exceed the size of the increase in the debt limit, and provide enough borrowing room to get the country through 2012.

Obama spent most of his time encouraging lawmakers to reconsider a bigger deal, on the order of some $4 trillion in spending cuts and tax hikes over 10 years. Democrats familiar with the talks said it was clear after the meeting that negotiators are going to have come up with some new ideas in hopes of finding a compromise.

As a measure of the political peril Obama is courting, the president is willing to discuss raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 years, provided Republicans would allow Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy to expire at the end of 2012 and agree to other unspecified demands, according to a Democratic congressional aide.

All the officials familiar with the talks spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose details of the private discussions.

The cocaine in had hidden in two small fish tanks that had been sealed with wax.

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE – Investigators seized 1,500 grams of cocaine Monday afternoon that had been hidden in two fish tanks and mailed to an address on Dwight Street from Puerto Rico.

Police arrested the alleged recipient of that package, Lissette T. Velez, of 1037 Dwight St., and charged her with trafficking cocaine (200-plus grams) and violation of a drug-free school zone (St. Paul School).

Lt. Michael J. Higgins said that police documents indicate that the seized cocaine was worth nearly $28,000.

The investigation began when postal inspectors told Holyoke police they had intercepted a package that they believed contained illegal narcotics.

After receiving a search warrant, the postal inspectors opened the package and discovered two small fish tanks contained cocaine and had been sealed with wax.

When investigators delivered the package to 1037 Dwight St., Velez signed for the package and took control of it, Higgins said.

Participating in the arrest were: Holyoke narcotics officers, members of the FBI’s gang task force, state police and federal investigators.

Arraignment information for Velez was not immediately available.

Investigators made a similar arrest last year when they seized $100,000 worth of cocaine that had been hidden inside a hollowed-out hunk of bologna and mailed to an Essex Street address from Puerto Rico.

Yhe Browns, who have 16 children, have been featured on the TLC reality show since last fall.

AP Photo/TLCIn this undated file photo provided by TLC, Kody Brown, center, poses with his wives, from left, Janelle, Christine, Meri, and Robyn in a promotional photo for TLC's reality TV show, "Sister Wives." The Browns' attorney, Jonathan Turley, says he will file a lawsuit in Salt Lake City's U.S. District Court on Wednesday, July 12, 2011, challenging the Utah bigamy law that makes their lifestyle illegal.

SALT LAKE CITY — A polygamous family made famous by the reality TV show "Sister Wives" plans to challenge the Utah bigamy law that makes their lifestyle illegal, a Washington-based attorney said Tuesday.

In an email to The Associated Press, attorney Jonathan Turley said he will file the lawsuit challenging Utah's bigamy law in Salt Lake City's U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

Turley represents Kody Brown and his four wives, Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn. Brown is only legally married to Meri Brown.

Originally from Lehi, the Browns, who have 16 children, have been featured on the TLC reality show since last fall. They moved out of Utah to Nevada in January after police and Utah County prosecutors launched a bigamy investigation. No charges were ever filed.

The Browns practice polygamy as part of their religious beliefs.

Bigamy is a third-degree felony in Utah. A person can be found guilty of bigamy through cohabitation, not just legal marriage contracts.

In a statement posted on his blog, Turley said the lawsuit will challenge Utah's right to prosecute people for their private relationships.

"We are not demanding the recognition of polygamous marriage. We are only challenging the right of the state to prosecute people for their private relations and demanding equal treatment with other citizens in living their lives according to their own beliefs," the statement reads.

According to the statement, the lawsuit seeks to protect a person's right to be left alone.

"In that sense, it is a challenge designed to benefit not just polygamists but all citizens who wish to live their lives according to their own values - even if those values run counter to those of the majority in the state," Turley wrote.

Turley said he believes the case represents the "strongest factual and legal basis for a challenge to the criminalization of polygamy" ever filed in the federal courts.

Utah has not prosecuted a polygamist for bigamy since 2001. Tom Green, who was married to five women and drew the attention of Utah authorities after promoting his lifestyle on national TV talk shows, was convicted on bigamy, criminal nonsupport and child rape charges. He spent six years in prison and was released in 2007.

Polygamy in Utah and across the Intermountain West is a legacy of the early teachings of Joseph Smith, founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons abandoned the practice of plural marriage in the 1890s as a condition of Utah's statehood.

An estimated 38,000 self-described Mormon fundamentalists continue the practice, believing it brings exaltation in heaven. Most keep their way of life a secret out of fear of prosecution, although over the past 10 years an advocacy group made up mostly polygamous women has worked to educate the public and state agencies in Utah and Arizona about the culture.

The Browns have long said they believed making their life public on cable television was a risk worth taking if it helped advance the broader understanding of plural families. The lawsuit appears to be an extension of that belief.

"There are tens of thousands of plural families in Utah and other states. We are one of those families. We only wish to live our private lives according our beliefs," Kody Brown said in a statement released through Turley. "While we understand that this may be a long struggle in court, it has already been a long struggle for my family and other plural families to end the stereotypes and unfair treatment given consensual polygamy."

Police said Mistarka fell through the roof at Matuszko Trailer Repair.

SUNDERLAND - A 54-year-old Hatfield man died Monday after falling through the roof of an Amherst Road business that he and a crew had been repairing.

Ronald Mistarka, of 122 West St., fell through the roof at Matuszko Trailer Repair, of 712 Amherst Road, at about 10 a.m. Monday, Police Chief Jeffrey Gilbert said.

“He fell through the roof and down into the shop, onto the cement floor,” Gilbert said. Mistarka was pronounced dead at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.

Gilbert said the roof at the trailer repair shop had been damaged by fire last February.

Mistarka was the owner of Mistarka Home Improvement. Police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues to probe the accident.

The victim, an elderly female who was a long-time Springfield resident, is yet to be identified by fire and police officials.

07/12/11-Springfield-Staff Photo by Dave Roback- Springfield Fire Commissioner Gary Cassanelli enters 100 Phillips Ave. in Springfield where a woman was found dead following a fire inside the home.

Update, 6:20 p.m.: The house at 100 Phillips Ave. is now a crime scene.
» Read the story

SPRINGFIELD - A city resident and her cat were found deceased following a fire in their Boston Road neighborhood home Monday afternoon.

Firefighters responded to 100 Phillips Ave. just after 3 p.m. as city DPW workers collecting garbage first reported the fire after spotting smoke coming from the home.

Crews were able to knock down the fire quickly, but firefighters found the woman's body during a search of the home.

The victim, an elderly female who was a long-time Springfield resident, has not been identified by fire and police officials.

Evelyn Pedraza, who lives across the street from the victim, was crying and praying as firefighters broke the news that her friend had died.

"I saw the smoke and ran across the street and touched the door," Pedraza said. "It was very hot and I called 911. Then I tried calling her but she didn't answer."

Pedraza said that she lived across the street from the victim for the past 19 years, and regarded her as a "best friend."

"She was such a sweet little lady. I can't believe she is gone," Pedraza said, while choking back tears. "We would have tea together and talk about the flowers we planted. She loved flowers. I know she is in a better place now, but every time I look across the street and don't see her, I will be sad."

The Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad is working to determine the cause of the blaze and detectives with the city police department are working to contact the victim's family and positively identify her.

This is a developing story. Details will be added as they become available.

Diland, 14, had just finished his freshman year at Chicopee High School; he was described as fun, respectful and energetic.

Republican photo by David RobackChicopee police and fire officials stand over a bridge on the Chicopee River, searching for a 14-year-old who drown in the river.

CHICOPEE – The body of a 14-year-old boy was found in the Chicopee River on Tuesday after the police dive team spent more than seven hours searching the depths of the water.

Police found the teenager around 11 a.m. in an area just below the dam, Police Chief John R. Ferraro Jr. said.

The spot is north of Ames Avenue, or about 400 feet north of the Chicopee Public Library, 449 Front St.

Ferraro identified the teenager as Michael Diland, 14, a Chicopee resident.

Diland was the second teenager to drown Monday. Kevin Major, a 19-year-old from Westfield, drowned after jumping off a pontoon boat in the Congamond Lakes in Southwick at about 4:30 p.m. Monday. His body was found Tuesday morning.

Diland was swimming with two friends, who were jumping off the dam in the river. He was the last one in and slipped off the waterfall at about 6:45 p.m. Monday, said Elvin Diaz, one of the three friends.

“I was the first one to jump and I saw him,” Diaz said.

There is drop of about 15 feet from the top of the dam and there are rocks below. Swimmers usually jump out a little to avoid those rocks.

It is not known if the boy drowned or was injured before he fell into the water. His body was taken to the Hampden Medical Examiner for an autopsy. The accident is being investigated by police, Ferraro said.

The search, which was led by the Chicopee police dive team, headed by Capt. Steven G. Muise, and assisted by the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing and Chicopee Fire Department, started just before 7 p.m. Monday and lasted several hours until darkness made it difficult. It resumed early Tuesday morning, Ferraro said.

The swift current made the search difficult. Eventually officials were able to have the water diverted from the dam to a side canal to make the search easier, Ferraro said.

“It is a very sad day for the family and the friends and the city. It is sad for the divers,” he said.

He said the swimmers were not doing anything wrong, they were just trying to cool off from the 90-degree heat.

Adults and children from the nearby Chicopee neighborhood gathered Monday night hoping the 14-year-old would be found alive.

Mariangelly Vazquez, 14, said her friend was always fun to be around. He was always awake and excited.

“He liked to try out new things. He loves skateboarding and he likes riding bikes,” she said.

Diland had just finished his freshman year at Chicopee High School.

“He was soft-spoken, he was quick with a smile and he was always respectful with me,” said Charles W. Coscore, a vice principal at the school.

School officials are discussing if they will offer counseling services to students who need them, he said.

Senate Republicans unexpectedly offered Tuesday to hand President Barack Obama new powers to avert the first-ever government default.

Associated PressSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, accompanied by Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Ariz., gestures during a news confernence on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 12, 2011.

WASHINGTON — With compromise talks at a vituperative standstill, Senate Republicans unexpectedly offered Tuesday to hand President Barack Obama new powers to avert the first-ever government default threatened for Aug. 2.

Under a proposal outlined by Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Obama could request increases of up to $2.4 trillion in the government's borrowing authority in three separate installments over the next year, as long as he simultaneously proposed spending cuts of greater size.

The debt limit increases would take effect unless blocked by Congress under special rules that would require speedy action — and even then Obama could exercise his authority to veto such legislation. Significantly, the president's spending cuts would be debated under normal procedures, with no guarantee they ever come to a final vote.

In essence, McConnell's proposal would greatly enhance Obama's authority to avoid a default, while also virtually absolving Republicans of responsibility if one occurred.

At the same time, it would allow Republican lawmakers to avoid having to support an increase in the debt limit, something many of them find odious.

"Republicans will choose a path that actually reflects the will of the people, which is to do the responsible thing and ensure the government doesn't default on its obligations," McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor. He also excoriated the administration for seeking tax increases along with spending cuts as part of an agreement to raise the debt limit.

There was no immediate response to the GOP proposal from the White House, where Obama hosted his third meeting in as many days with congressional leaders struggling to avert a financial crisis.

The talks have revolved around attempts to meet Republican demands for deficit cuts at least as large as any increase in the debt limit. Negotiators have grown testy in recent days as Obama and Democrats pushed for higher tax revenue as part of the deal, a line Republicans say they will not cross.

It was unclear whether McConnell's proposal could show the White House and congressional leaders of both parties a way out of a deadlock that Obama and others said threatened calamitous results for an economy still struggling to recover from the worst recession in decades.

It would obligate Obama to outline deep spending cuts, something Republicans have been trying to force him to do for months without much success.

Reductions as large as $2.5 trillion would almost certainly affect domestic programs seen as important by Democratic constituencies and by rank-and-file lawmakers, possibly including Medicare and Medicaid. Even if the cuts never took effect, Republicans would be able to call for votes, while identifying them as sponsored by the White House.

Any such proposals could also be used by Republicans in the 2012 campaigns, if only to blunt attacks made by Democrats.

The White House talks have been aimed at producing a compromise to cut projected deficits by trillions of dollars over the next decade while renewing the Treasury's authority to resume borrowing.

The government reached its current $14.3 trillion borrowing limit several weeks ago, and Treasury officials have been relying on accounting maneuvers to continue to pay the nation's bills without additional borrowing.

While Obama and Republicans maneuvered for political position, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said during the day that the two parties' debate over deficit reduction "should not be tied to the debt ceiling."

"America's good name and credit are just too important to be held hostage to Washington gridlock," he said in a speech a few miles away from the nation's financial center of Wall Street.

Bloomberg's concern echoed similar expressions by Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and neither McConnell nor House Speaker John Boehner has disputed the assertion that a default could bring disaster to the economy that is growing so slowly that unemployment stands at 9.2 percent nationally.

Still, in remarks made before McConnell unveiled his proposal, Boehner said bluntly of the president, "This debt limit increase is his problem and I think it's time for him to lead by putting his plan on the table — something that the Congress can pass."

Boehner noted he had been telling the White House for months there are "no tax increases on the table" as part of the debt reduction talks.

In back-channel talks with the White House last week, officials say Boehner and Obama discussed the possibility of a huge $4 trillion deal in which Democrats accepted cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and perhaps Social Security and the GOP supported an end to certain tax breaks in anticipation of sweeping tax reform legislation before the elections.

But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and other conservatives objected to White House demands for $1 trillion in new revenue. Boehner issued a statement Saturday backing away from the larger deal.

McConnell's Senate speech was particularly pointed when he spoke of Obama, whose defeat in 2012 he has called his top political priority.

"Rather than find a way to bring government back to the people, the administration has committed itself to protecting the size and scope of government at the cost of job creation, economy growth and America's status in the global economy," he said.

Under his proposal, the debt limit would rise by $100 billion as soon as Obama requested the first of the three increases envisioned.

Officials have said that the government normally borrows about $125 billion a month to finance operations, meaning Obama could avoid a default for a brief period of time simply by asking for it.

The rear two-thirds of the building at 1592 Main St. is being demolished to provide space for a parking area and public market.

View full sizeThe Republican | Mark M. MurrayThe former Asylum building at 1592 Main St. between Fort and Worthington streets in Springfield is in the process of being demolished.

SPRINGFIELD – Work crews recently began a partial demolition and downtown redevelopment project at the former Asylum nightclub building on Main Street that includes reuse of the front portion of the building and creation of a parking lot.

The rear two-thirds of the building at 1592 Main St. is being demolished to provide space for the parking area and public market. The project cost, approximately $1,066,000, includes the demolition work, construction of a new back wall and foundations, parking lot construction and landscaping, said Thomas T. Walsh, communications director for Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.

The project is being funded by city and state funds, including a $400,000 state growth district grant, and brownfields funding from the Environmental Protection Agency and Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

5/19/03 Springfield-- The exterior of the Asylum night club at the corner of Main and Worthington streets in downtown Springfield as seen in May 2003, the same month it was ordered to be closed because of safety violations. (Republican Photo/ Mark M. Murray)

“The former Asylum building has long been a problem spot in the heart of our downtown and we look forward to this being another positive turnaround for our Main Street,” Sarno said in a prepared release on Monday.

An announcement on the future reuse of the building is expected in coming weeks, Sarno said. The project will reduce the building square footage from 37,475 to 13,573 square feet, with a new first floor footprint of approximately 5,944 square feet, he said.

Drivers and pedestrians should expect some limited road closures on lower Worthington and Fort Street during the next few weeks, but all area businesses will remain open and street closures are expected to be done at hours to minimize inconvenience, according to the release.

Downtown business officials including Rudi R. Scherff, owner of the adjacent Student Prince and Fort Restaurant, praised the redevelopment project.

In 2009, the former Springfield Finance Control Board authorized the plan to transfer the property to the Springfield Parking Authority for $1, with the authority overseeing the building and lot.

The Asylum nightclub closed in 2004 after being cited as a public safety and fire hazard.

Previously, the building was used as a state unemployment office for 30 years, and as an Enterprise department store.

A provocative commentary in a distinguished medical journal argues that the government should be allowed to intervene in extreme cases.

Associated PressStormy Bradley, left, and her daughter Maya, 14, are seen, in Atlanta. Maya is part of an anti-obesity ad campaign in Georgia. A provocative article in a prominent medical journal argues that parents of extremely obese children should lose custody because they can't control their kids' weight in the most extreme cases. Bradley's daughter isn't at risk, but Bradley sympathizes with parents struggling to control their kids' weight.

CHICAGO — Should parents of extremely obese children lose custody for not controlling their kids' weight? A provocative commentary in one of the nation's most distinguished medical journals argues yes, and its authors are joining a quiet chorus of advocates who say the government should be allowed to intervene in extreme cases.

It has happened a few times in the U.S., and the opinion piece in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association says putting children temporarily in foster care is in some cases more ethical than obesity surgery.

Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at Harvard-affiliated Children's Hospital Boston, said the point isn't to blame parents, but rather to act in children's best interest and get them help that for whatever reason their parents can't provide.

State intervention "ideally will support not just the child but the whole family, with the goal of reuniting child and family as soon as possible. That may require instruction on parenting," said Ludwig, who wrote the article with Lindsey Murtagh, a lawyer and a researcher at Harvard's School of Public Health.

"Despite the discomfort posed by state intervention, it may sometimes be necessary to protect a child," Murtagh said.

But University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan said he worries that the debate risks putting too much blame on parents. Obese children are victims of advertising, marketing, peer pressure and bullying — things a parent can't control, he said.

"If you're going to change a child's weight, you're going to have to change all of them," Caplan said.

Roughly 2 million U.S. children are extremely obese. Most are not in imminent danger, Ludwig said. But some have obesity-related conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties and liver problems that could kill them by age 30. It is these kids for whom state intervention, including education, parent training, and temporary protective custody in the most extreme cases, should be considered, Ludwig said.

While some doctors promote weight-loss surgery for severely obese teens, Ludwig said it hasn't been used for very long in adolescents and can have serious, sometimes life-threatening complications.

"We don't know the long-term safety and effectiveness of these procedures done at an early age," he said.

Ludwig said he starting thinking about the issue after a 90-pound 3-year-old girl came to his obesity clinic several years ago. Her parents had physical disabilities, little money and difficulty controlling her weight. Last year, at age 12, she weighed 400 pounds and had developed diabetes, cholesterol problems, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

"Out of medical concern, the state placed this girl in foster care, where she simply received three balanced meals a day and a snack or two and moderate physical activity," he said. After a year, she lost 130 pounds. Though she is still obese, her diabetes and apnea disappeared; she remains in foster care, he said.

In a commentary in the medical journal BMJ last year, London pediatrician Dr. Russell Viner and colleagues said obesity was a factor in several child protection cases in Britain. They argued that child protection services should be considered if parents are neglectful or actively reject efforts to control an extremely obese child's weight.

A 2009 opinion article in Pediatrics made similar arguments. Its authors said temporary removal from the home would be warranted "when all reasonable alternative options have been exhausted."

That piece discussed a 440-pound 16-year-old girl who developed breathing problems from excess weight and nearly died at a University of Wisconsin hospital. Doctors discussed whether to report her family for neglect. But they didn't need to, because her medical crisis "was a wake-up call" for her family, and the girl ended up losing about 100 pounds, said co-author Dr. Norman Fost, a medical ethicist at the university's Madison campus.

State intervention in obesity "doesn't necessarily involve new legal requirements," Ludwig said. Health care providers are required to report children who are at immediate risk, and that can be for a variety of reasons, including neglect, abuse and what doctors call "failure to thrive." That's when children are severely underweight.

Jerri Gray, a Greenville, S.C., single mother who lost custody of her 555-pound 14-year-old son two years ago, said authorities don't understand the challenges families may face in trying to control their kids' weight.

"I was always working two jobs so we wouldn't end up living in ghettos," Gray said. She said she often didn't have time to cook, so she would buy her son fast food. She said she asked doctors for help for her son's big appetite but was accused of neglect.

Her sister has custody of the boy, now 16. The sister has the money to help him with a special diet and exercise, and the boy has lost more than 200 pounds, Gray said.

"Even though good has come out of this as far as him losing weight, he told me just last week, 'Mommy, I want to be back with you so bad.' They've done damage by pulling us apart," Gray said.

Stormy Bradley, an Atlanta mother whose overweight 14-year-old daughter is participating in a Georgia advocacy group's "Stop Childhood Obesity" campaign, said she sympathizes with families facing legal action because of their kids' weight.

Healthier food often costs more, and trying to monitor kids' weight can be difficult, especially when they reach their teens and shun parental control, Bradley said. But taking youngsters away from their parents "definitely seems too extreme," she said.

Dr. Lainie Ross, a medical ethicist at the University of Chicago, said: "There's a stigma with state intervention. We just have to do it with caution and humility and make sure we really can say that our interventions are going to do more good than harm."

Having to buy a squiggly fluorescent light bulb is an affront to personal freedom, some lawmakers are saying.

Associated Press a compact fluorescent light bulb is seen in Philadelphia. Having to buy a squiggly fluorescent light bulb is an affront to personal freedom, some lawmakers are saying as the House decides whether to overturn a law setting new energy-efficiency standards for the bulbs.

WASHINGTON — How many government bureaucrats does it take to screw in a light bulb? A lot of House Republicans think the answer should be "none." They say the government should just stay out of it.

To them, those newfangled curly fluorescent light bulbs are the last straw, another example of an overreaching government that's forcing people to buy health insurance, prodding them to get more fuel-efficient cars and sticking its nose into too many places it doesn't belong.

For most Democrats, it's an exasperating debate that, just like the old incandescent bulbs being crowded out of the market, produces more heat than light.

Republicans in control of the House moved toward a vote late Tuesday on legislation that would seek to overturn light bulb energy-efficiency standards and keep the marketplace clear for the cheap, energy-wasting bulbs that have changed little since Thomas Edison invented them in 1879.

The standards in question do not specifically ban the old bulbs but require a higher level of efficiency than the classics can produce, essentially nudging them off store shelves over the next few years. Four of Edison's descendants said the great inventor would be mortified to see politicians trying to get the nation to hang on to an outdated technology when better bulbs are available.

The standards have not been particularly contentious before now. They were crafted in 2007 with Republican participation and signed into law by President George W. Bush. People seem to like the new choices and the energy savings they bring, polling finds.

But now they have become a symbol of a much larger divide in Washington over the size and reach of government itself. The new bulbs suggest to some conservatives that big government is running amok.

"Now the government wants to tell consumers what type of light bulb they use to read, cook, watch television or light their garage," said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas.

"I'm not opposed to the squiggly tailed CFLs," said Rep. Joe Barton, R Texas, a driving force behind the effort to save the old incandescents and sponsor of the bill to overturn the standards. But making the old bulbs go away "seems to me to be overkill by the federal government."

Republicans said people who now buy a bulb for 30 or 40 cents shouldn't be forced to pay $6 for a fluorescent bulb or more for LED (light-emitting diode) lighting.

"If you are Al Gore and want to spend $10 for a light bulb, more power to you," Barton said. He exaggerated the cost of most energy-efficient bulbs and neglected to mention that they last years longer than old incandescent bulbs, which give off about 90 percent of the energy they consume as heat.

Republican presidential contender Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota complained earlier this year that, under President Barack Obama, "we bought a bureaucracy that now tells us which light bulbs to buy."

The Obama administration, which opposes Barton's bill, says the lighting standards that are being phased in will save nearly $6 billion in 2015 alone. The Energy Department says upgrading 15 inefficient incandescent bulbs in a home could save a homeowner $50 a year. Lighting accounts for about 10 percent of home electricity use.

The White House says the standards drive U.S. innovation, create manufacturing jobs and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Incandescent bulbs are not disappearing. Today's energy-savings choices include incandescent lighting that is more efficient, and more expensive to purchase, than the old standbys.

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., held up a new Sylvania incandescent that meets the efficiency standards and costs $1.69. "You don't have to buy one of those funny-looking new light bulbs," he said.

Under existing rules, new bulbs will have to be 25 to 30 percent more efficient than traditional incandescent models. As of Jan. 1, 2012, inefficient 100-watt bulbs will no longer be available at most stores. Also on the way out are traditional 75-watt bulbs in 2013 and 40-watt and 60-watt versions in 2014.

The National Resources Defense Council said that when the law is fully implemented in 2020, energy costs will be reduced by 7 percent or about $85 a household every year. It said the more efficient bulbs will eliminate the need for 33 large power plants.

The advocacy group presented statements from Edison's kin in support of the new standards. "Edison would certainly have recognized that the wave of the future — profits — is to make it better, cheaper and, yes, cleaner and more efficient," said Barry Edison Sloane, a great-grandson.

Said Robert Wheeler, a great-nephew: "The technology changes. Embrace it."

Rhakishon M. Pedroza, 23, of Springfield was arrested and a loaded .45 caliber handgun was recovered after an incident at the Benjamin Schoolfield Basketball Classic tournament on Monday.

Rhakishon M. Pedroza

SPRINGFIELD - Rhakishon M. Pedroza, 23, of Springfield was arrested and a loaded .45 caliber handgun was recovered after an incident at the Benjamin Schoolfield Basketball Classic tournament on Monday.

According to Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, officers Victor Allder and Herminio Rivas were on patrol at the tournament in an effort to prevent any gang-related violence from breaking out.

The tournament, held at Deberry Park on Union Street, is named after Benjamin Schoolfield, who was shot in 1994 by Springfield police after a traffic stop in a van that was falsely reported stolen. His friends have held the tournament annually since 1996 to unite the community peacefully.

The tournament's website says the point of the event is to positively affect the local youth.

"Our friend died tragically so you don’t have to," the organizers wrote. "Be aware of every choice you make and make decisions that improve your situation. Without hard work comes no reward. Be accountable and think."

Delaney said that when officers spotted "gang members" gathering, one of them ran.

"Officer Allder, fresh from the (police) academy, gave chase on foot," Delaney said. "The officer never lost sight of him and he observed the gang member throw down a gun he was carrying."

Delaney said Allder caught Pedroza, whose address is listed as 51 Monroe St., Springfield, and recovered the loaded semi-automatic handgun. Police said a full clip of ammunition was also found in Pedroza's pocket.

Pedroza was charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without a license, possession of a class-E substance, resisting arrest and he was found to have an active warrant out of Palmer District Court.

Pedroza was held awaiting arraignment in Springfield District Court.

The presiding judge of Westfield District Court said employees would be relocated to either Chicopee or Holyoke district courts.

The Republican photo by Dave RobackWestfield District Court Judge Philip A. Contant listens to speaches during law day ceremonies at the Hampden County Superior Court in Springfield in May.

BOSTON – Leaders of the Massachusetts court system said they are planning to close Westfield District Court and move operations to Chicopee or Holyoke and Great Barrington, in the wake of a state budget that is "devastating."

Westfield District Court Judge Philip A. Contant said he understood that the courthouse would be closed in about 90 days and that operations and its 22 employees will be moved to either Chicopee or Holyoke district courts.

Westfield District Court is among 11 courthouses slated for closure and relocation of employees and cases, court leaders said Tuesday in a press release.

Westfield District Court would be the only courthouse in Hampden, Hampshire or Franklin counties to close.

Contant said he believed that Westfield District was chosen for a planned closure because it is a leased courthouse and officials can save money by ending the lease. The current annual lease cost for Westfield is $710,500, according to Joan Kenney, a spokeswoman for the state Supreme Judicial Court.

"There was no advance warning that this decision was going to be made," Contant said in a phone interview.

"I'm surprised that all of a sudden, we are on a list and there was no discussion about it."

The court's jurisdiction includes nine communities. Agawam, Southwick, Tolland, Westfield, Blandford, Chester, Granville, Montgomery and Russell. All are served by the Westfield court.

Contant said local police and citizens will be hurt by the planned closure.

He said some of the more rural communities -- Chester, Blandford and Granville, for example -- could be served by Southern Berkshire District Court in Great Barrington.

"It's another huge hit," Contant said. "It's going to be a major inconvenience for the community and the cities and towns that we serve."

Police will be tied up for a longer time with cases since they will need to travel farther to another courthouse, Contant said. With a lack of public transportation, it could be difficult for people to travel to Chicopee or Holyoke, he said.

In a letter to the governor, Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland and the six other judges on the high court asked the governor to place a moratorium on appointments of judges and clerk magistrates for the rest of this fiscal year in order to save money. They said three support personnel would need to be laid off for every appointment of a judge or clerk magistrate.

Gov. Deval Patrick signed a state budget on Monday that includes $519.9 million, a reduction of $24.2 million from the previous year, for the Trial Court. The judges said the budget is probably actually about $509 million since they said the budget contains unrealistic assumptions about collecting fees from people who use the courts.

The letter by the justices said the budget will have "a devastating impact" on the Trial Courts. They said the Trial Court has cut 1,115 jobs over the past three years. More than 60 percent of the state's courts lack the necessary staff to ensure safe, effective and efficient delivery of justice, they said.

In a statement, Mark Reilly, chief legal counsel for Patrick, said the justices' letter is confusing at best.

"As of last week when the budget numbers were known, more than one trial court chief judge continued their active lobbying of our office to fill judicial vacancies," Reilly said. "In light of that plea to appoint more judges, we are surprised by today’s claim that the courts cannot manage their fiscal affairs without this attempt to constrain the Governor's constitutional authority. We look forward to their explanation. In the meantime, the Governor will continue to exercise the powers granted to him by the Constitution of this Commonwealth."

Police said the fire and the woman's death are considered suspicious and are under investigation by detectives with the Springfield Police Department.

07/12/11-Springfield-Staff Photo by Dave Roback- Springfield police and firefighters enter the home at 100 Phillips Ave. in Springfield where a woman was found dead on Wednesday afternoon.

This updates a story posted at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday.

SPRINGFIELD - A Phillips Avenue home where an 81-year-old city woman was found dead following a fire Tuesday afternoon has become a crime scene, according to Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet.

Delaney said that the fire and the woman's death are considered suspicious and are under investigation by detectives with the Springfield Police Department.

Around 3 p.m., city DPW workers and a neighbor called 911 after spotting smoke coming from 100 Phillips Ave. in the city's Boston Road neighborhood. Firefighters arrived and entered the front door and quickly extinguished the fire before finding the elderly woman and her cat deceased inside the home, according to Dennis Leger, public information officer for the Springfield Fire Department.

The woman's body was found inside the living room near the front of the cape-style house, according to Leger.

The victim, whose name is expected to be released later this evening, had lived at the house for more than 40 years, according to Evelyn Pedraza, who lives across the street.

"We've been neighbors for the past 19 years," Pedraza said. "She lived there with her husband for years and after he passed away, she stayed at the house. She didn't leave her house much but she always took care of the yard."

Pedraza said the woman was like a "best friend" to her, and that she will be missed by the whole neighborhood.

"She was such a sweet little lady. I can't believe she is gone," Pedraza said, while choking back tears. "We would have tea together and talk about the flowers we planted. She loved flowers. I know she is in a better place now, but every time I look across the street and don't see her, I will be sad."

The victim received her last rites by Springfield Fire Department Chaplin Gary M. Daley in accordance with her religious beliefs.

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

Demings wouldn't say who was accused of witness tampering.

Associated PressOrange County Sheriff Jerry Demings makes comments during a news conference with investigators from the Casey Anthony trial in Orlando, Fla., Tuesday, July 12, 2011.

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida sheriff announced Tuesday that authorities were looking into witness tampering allegations during Casey Anthony's murder trial, even as he held a wide-ranging news conference with his top investigators in what he said was an effort to bring closure to a case that polarized the country.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings also revealed that prosecutors were considering perjury charges against Anthony's mother, but a spokeswoman for the state attorney's office later said they would not be pursued.

Casey Anthony was acquitted a week ago on charges of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee in 2008. Anthony was found guilty on four charges of lying to law enforcement officers. She is to be released from jail Sunday.

The sheriff held the news conference to defend his investigation and because his office had been besieged with interview requests since the verdict.

"The ultimate goal ... is that our personnel can get back to work doing the business of the taxpayers and residents of Orange County," Demings said. "This is the only way that we can move forward."

Demings wouldn't say who was accused of witness tampering, but it didn't involve Casey Anthony's mother, Cindy. She stunned prosecutors during the trial when she testified that she had done searches for chloroform on the family's computer. Prosecutors believed, along with sheriff's investigators, that Anthony had performed the search.

Witnesses were later called to challenge Cindy Anthony's claim, and in the days after the verdict, prosecutors hinted at possibly charging her.

The government presented evidence at trial that chloroform was found in Anthony's car trunk and insinuated that she could have used it to render Caylee unconscious.

As for the alleged witness tampering, detective John Allen would only say the sheriff's office has interviewed some witnesses.

"In regards to where we will go, it really depends on what information we get and what people come forward to provide additional information," Allen said.

The investigators at the news conference sat at a table alongside a blown-up picture of Caylee. The sheriff said it was a reminder of what his investigators were pursuing during the three-year case that dominated his resources.

"This is what this was all about," Demings said. "It was about a missing child. That's what motivated our staff and our community."

Demings said his office followed up on more than 600 tips and worked with more than 100 FBI agents. He said he is still in the process of working with his accounting department to total up substantial investigative costs. Prosecutors want Anthony to incur those costs because they said the lies she was convicted of telling investigators directly led to the expenditures.

"Obviously those were resources that could have been put toward finding other missing children," Allen said.

Texas Equusearch, the private group that conducted several searches for Caylee in 2008, filed a lawsuit against Anthony on Tuesday, seeking $15,000 for what it spent on searches. The lawsuit claimed Anthony made misrepresentations to the group's founder, causing extensive, costly and time-consuming searches for Caylee.

Anthony's defense said Caylee accidentally drowned in the family pool. Anthony's partying and shopping during the month before he daughter was reported missing was caused in part by her father's sexual abuse, her attorneys said.

George Anthony has denied the claims, and investigators said Tuesday they were rebuffed by Anthony's defense team when they tried to interview her about the molestation allegations.

Allen and the case's lead detective, Yuri Melich, said they wouldn't do anything differently in the case, despite not winning a conviction.

"Ultimately, it's up to the jury to decide," Melich said. "We respect that and honor that."

The sheriff did acknowledge that finding Caylee's remains earlier could have built a stronger case. The remains were found by a meter reader in December 2008, six months after Caylee was reported missing. The meter reader initially called authorities as early as August about seeing what might have been a skull in the woods.

Demings said the investigator called out after the meter reader's report no longer works at the sheriff's office, and he believed authorities correctly focused on Anthony.

"I certainly don't have any doubt," Allen said. "... I think our work was solid."