The changes come in the wake of an opinion written by city solicitor John H. Fitz-Gibbon, who found parts of the design that did not conform to the ordinance.

View full sizeOne page of the new design for the proposed Parsons Village affordable housing development in Easthampton.

EASTHAMPTON – Abutters of the proposed affordable housing project Parsons Village are still not appeased after the developer presented a new design that squares better with the city’s zoning ordinance.

The original 38 units were reduced by one, the buildings were shuffled around to meet setback requirements, the parking lots have been broken up with buffers and plantings are planned to better screen the neighbors from the development. The number of bedrooms is the same.

“The overall concept has not changed much at all,” said Peter Wells of Berkshire Design Group, which designed the project spearheaded by Northampton-based Valley Community Development Corp. He spoke during a public hearing Tuesday held by the Planning Board.

Board members, deciding they needed more information, did not vote on whether to issue a special permit for the project. Another public hearing has been set for Aug. 23 at 6:05 p.m. on the second floor of the Municipal Building at 50 Payson Ave.

The design changes came in the wake of an opinion written by city solicitor John H. Fitz-Gibbon, who found parts of the design that did not conform to the ordinance.

In May, the board asked for Fitz-Gibbon’s help after Springfield attorney Mark Beglane voiced opposition to the plans on behalf of about a dozen abutters who are challenging Valley CDC’s special permit application.

Although Valley CDC and its design team say the new plans meet or exceed the provisions of the ordinance, abutters and other neighbors still showed up in droves to Tuesday’s public hearing and challenged the development they say is far too dense.

“They’ve tweaked their plans a little bit to make sure they can squeak by the zoning issues, but they haven’t really addressed the issue that we’ve talked about all along, (which is) this is just too dense,” said David Strong of Pepin Avenue.

In 2006, the board approved a special permit for an elderly housing project at the same location, 69 Parsons St., that had a similar density, but it was never built. Valley CDC officials have pointed to this many times as proof that Parsons Village can be approved with its planned density.

Emily Baillargeon of Parsons Street sees a potential for density problems in the future. If the permit is granted, she said, “Not only are you approving this project, but you are creating a precedent.”

The plans call for apartment units ranging from studios to three-bedrooms.

Valley CDC executive director Joanne Campbell said her team is not willing to reduce the number of units any further because the development would no longer be “financially feasible.” The $10 million project has been in the permitting phase since December, when the designs showed 45 units.

“I’m not satisfied. I’m still not happy with the density,” said Amy Heflin, a member of the New City Neighborhood Association, which opposes the development. “Cut the density in half. ... Figure it out.”

Beglane said the project will encroach on the neighbor’s properties. Valley CDC’s attorney Edward Etheredge said that is a non-issue until someone wins a judgment against the encroachment in court.

View full sizeAn aerial view of the lot at 69 Parsons St. taken from Valley CDC's special permit application.

The abutters still object to the devegetation of the 4.3-acre lot and what they are calling inadequate plans to replace the trees and screen the development from view. The ordinance states that the developer must guarantee a “dense (vegetation) screen year-round. At least fifty (50) percent of the plants shall consist of evergreens.”

The new plans show 89 shade trees and 92 evergreens. Beglane said that won’t make the vegetation dense enough to meet the requirements, which say the screen must protect against noise, as well.

Heflin said abutters are still reviewing their options if the permit is granted, but Beglane has threatened to appeal in land court. Heflin said she’d fight for years if she had to.

“I think this is going to be a long journey,” said Heflin. “We’re going to leave no stone unturned.”

The Amherst Emergency shelter had 84 people stay, anywhere between one and 150 nights.

AMHERST – Amherst officials will again seek a new agency to oversee its emergency shelter after Milestone Ministries informed the town it will no longer provide those services.

Jack Desroches, executive director of the Springfield-based Milestone Ministries, informed the town Monday of its decision. Desroches was in town to talk about the shelter it ran from last November through April of this year at the First Baptist Church.

This was the town’s first shelter. The year before, the Springfield-based Center for Human Development operated a warming place at the church. The church subsequently put in sprinklers and made other improvements that allowed the town to apply and receive the necessary permits to open a homeless shelter which meant that the homeless would have a place to sleep.

Desroches explained Tuesday that they decided not run the shelter again mostly because staff had to spend hours “essentially answering questions, that were sometimes allegations” from members of the town’s Committee on Homelessness.

That time “spent (answering) the micromanaging was a bigger piece than the money” in the board’s decision not to continue the shelter operation. While the town contributed $75,000, the actual cost including the additional staff time was actually $115,000. He said the ministry knew they would have to subsidize the work and they raise money to help the homeless.

“We had tried to the to right job. We found ourselves on the defensive.”

He said the agency was supervised by M. David Ziomek, director of Conservation and Development, and that’s who staff met with and answered to and not the committee.

He suggested that the Committee on Homelessness, which helped push for and set up a shelter, not be involved in the shelter’s operation next winter.

He said “they did a wonderful job (pushing and creating policy.) Amherst has a successful shelter.” Committee chairwoman Hwei-Ling Greeney said “it’s not micromanaging. We had questions.” She said Milestone did not provide answers. She said there was no communication that the committee’s questions had to go through the town. “We do not believe that’s a productive way of communicating.”

And she said “it’s their decision (not to return.) The committee is made the scapegoat. We are disappointed (they will not continue.) They have done a tremendous job running the shelter. I appreciate their work.” She hopes that whatever agency comes in recognizes what they do is a collaboration with the committee and town.

According to Milestone’s report, 84 people were sheltered there with stays from one to 150 days. About 30 percent of the guests are chronically homeless and about half had mental or physical disabilities. About 60 percent had problems with drugs or alcohol. The shelter admitted people based on behavior not on whether they had been drinking or using drugs.

The town, meanwhile, will issue a request for proposals for a new provider. “I remain very committed to this effort,” said Town Manager John P. Musante.

Desroches said that he felt his agency “accomplished what were asked to do” - set up and operate an emergency shelter. He said they provided a warm safe place and no homeless people died being left out in the cold.

He told officials, “I suggest you don’t reinvent the wheel....We’ve come up with what is successful.” A new agency can improve up what is in place, he said.

Desroches suggested that the First Baptist Church take over the running of shelter and said he and his staff would help. Milestone continues to work with homeless people from town, he said. “We’re not going away.”

Today's poll: Is it hot enough for you?

The Republican | Mark M. Murray07.20.2011 | WILBRAHAM - Bruce Durocher, manager of the Manny's store on Boston Road, organizes the air conditioner stock Wednesday.

The Forecast

Thursday's early morning hours were a stew -- or maybe more of a chowder -- of haze and clouds.

The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Watch and Heat Advisory for today and Friday, as temperatures will hit 95-100 degrees both days. The worst of it all will come between noon and 8 p.m.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security offers this "Extreme Heat" fact sheet, but it mostly boils down to this: take it easy, drink water, check on the people in your neighborhood who might be particularly vulnerable.

Find the full forecast here.

Today's Poll

Side effects from the heat are even impacting some seemingly unlikely institutions. The STCC library tweets this morning: "It looks like STCC may close early today because of excessive power demand caused by the heat wave. We'll keep you posted."

Relief is still available at a number of area cooling centers (click here for a map), so find yourself a comfortable spot to ponder today's burning question: Is it hot enough for you?

Vote in our poll, and check back tomorrow for the results.

Wednesday's Top 5:

The top 5 headlines on MassLive.com on July 20 were:

1) Police accountability activists and their supporters celebrate court victory

2) 354 jobs being eliminated at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Baystate Mary Lane hospital in Ware, and Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield

3) Peter Pan Futurliner for sale on eBay [photo gallery]

4) 32-year-old West Springfield resident Shaun Dearing, fleeing police following alleged domestic assaults in South Hadley, jumps into Connecticut River

5) Developing: Layoffs reported at Baystate Health; officials say information will be released Wednesday afternoon

Quote of the Day

"This problem could get a lot worse."

~Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, explaining how hospitals across the state are dealing with Medicaid reimbursements that don't pay for the full cost of care. Read Dan Ring's story here.

A record crowd of 2,000 gathered near the landing strip, thousands more packed Kennedy Space Center and countless others watched from afar as NASA's longest-running spaceflight program came to a close.

Associated Press/NASAIn this image provided by NASA, Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Cape Canaveral, Fla., completing its 13-day mission to the International Space Station and the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program, early Thursday morning, July 21, 2011. Atlantis, the fourth orbiter built, launched on its first mission on Oct. 3, 1985.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Atlantis and four astronauts returned from the International Space Station in triumph Thursday, bringing an end to NASA's 30-year shuttle journey with one last, rousing touchdown that drew cheers and tears.

A record crowd of 2,000 gathered near the landing strip, thousands more packed Kennedy Space Center and countless others watched from afar as NASA's longest-running spaceflight program came to a close.

"After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle's earned its place in history. And it's come to a final stop," commander Christopher Ferguson radioed after Atlantis glided through the ghostly twilight and landed on the runway.

"Job well done, America," replied Mission Control.

With the shuttle's end, it will be another three to five years at best before Americans are launched again from U.S. soil, with private companies gearing up to seize the Earth-to-orbit-and-back baton from NASA.

The long-term future for American space exploration is just as hazy, a huge concern for many at NASA and all those losing their jobs because of the shuttle's end. Asteroids and Mars are the destinations of choice, yet NASA has yet to settle on a rocket design to get astronauts there.

Thursday, though, belonged to Atlantis and its crew: Ferguson, co-pilot Douglas Hurley, Rex Walheim and Sandra Magnus, who completed a successful space station resupply mission.

Atlantis' main landing gears touched down at 5:57 a.m. sharp, with "wheels stop" less than a minute later.

"The space shuttle has changed the way we view the world and it's changed the way we view our universe," Ferguson radioed from Atlantis. "There's a lot of emotion today, but one thing's indisputable. America's not going to stop exploring.

"Thank you Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour and our ship Atlantis. Thank you for protecting us and bringing this program to such a fitting end."

The astronauts' families and friends, as well as shuttle managers and NASA brass, were near the runway to welcome Atlantis home. Difficult to see in the darkness, Atlantis was greeted with cheers, whistles and shouts. Soon, the sun was up and provided, finally, a splendid view. Within an hour, Ferguson and his crew were out on the runway and swarmed by well-wishers.

"The things that we've done have set us up for exploration of the future," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr., a former shuttle commander. "But I don't want to talk about that right now. I just want to salute this crew, welcome them home."

Nine-hundred miles away, flight director Tony Ceccacci, who presided over Atlantis' safe return, choked up while signing off from shuttle Mission Control in Houston.

"The work done in this room, in this building, will never again be duplicated," he told his team of flight controllers.

At those words, dozens of past and present flight controllers quickly streamed into the room, embracing one another, wiping their eyes and snapping pictures.

NASA's five space shuttles launched, saved and revitalized the Hubble Space Telescope; built the space station, the world's largest orbiting structure; and opened the final frontier to women, minorities, schoolteachers, even a prince. The first American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn, became the oldest person ever in space, thanks to the shuttle. He was 77 at the time; he turned 90 this week.

Born with Columbia in 1981, it was NASA's longest-running space exploration program.

"I haven't cried yet, but it is extremely emotional," said Karl Ronstrom, a photographer who helps with an astronaut scholarship fund. He witnessed the first shuttle launch as a teenager and watched the last shuttle landing as a middle-aged man.

It was truly a homecoming for Atlantis, which first soared in 1985. The next-to-youngest in NASA's fleet will remain at Kennedy Space Center as a museum display.

This grand finale came 50 years to the day that Gus Grissom became the second American in space, just a half-year ahead of Glenn.

Atlantis — the last of NASA's three surviving shuttles to retire — performed as admirably during descent as it did throughout the 13-day flight. A full year's worth of food and other supplies were dropped off at the space station, just in case the upcoming commercial deliveries get delayed. The international partners — Russia, Europe, Japan — will carry the load in the meantime.

It was the 135th mission for the space shuttle fleet, which altogether flew 542 million miles and circled Earth more than 21,150 times over the past three decades. The five shuttles carried 355 people from 16 countries and, altogether, spent 1,333 days in space — almost four years.

Two of the shuttles — Challenger and Columbia — were destroyed, one at launch, the other during the ride home. Fourteen lives were lost. Yet each time, the shuttle program persevered and came back to fly again.

The decision to cease shuttle flight was made seven years ago, barely a year after the Columbia tragedy. President Barack Obama nixed President George W. Bush's lunar goals, however, opting instead for astronaut expeditions to an asteroid and Mars.

Last-ditch appeals to keep shuttles flying by such NASA legends as Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong and Mission Control founder Christopher Kraft landed flat.

It comes down to money.

NASA is sacrificing the shuttles, according to the program manager, so it can get out of low-Earth orbit and get to points beyond. The first stop under Obama's plan is an asteroid by 2025; next comes Mars in the mid-2030s.

Private companies have been tapped to take over cargo hauls and astronaut rides to the space station, which is expected to carry on for at least another decade. The first commercial supply run is expected late this year, with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. launching its own rocket and spacecraft from Cape Canaveral.

None of these private spacecraft, however, will have the hauling capability of NASA's shuttles; their payload bays stretch 60 feet long and 15 feet across, and hoisted megaton observatories like Hubble. Much of the nearly 1 million pounds of space station was carried to orbit by space shuttles.

Astronaut trips by the commercial competitors will take years to achieve.

SpaceX maintains it can get people to the space station within three years of getting the all-clear from NASA. Station managers expect it to be more like five years. Some skeptics say it could be 10 years before Americans are launched again from U.S. soil.

An American flag that flew on the first shuttle flight and returned to orbit aboard Atlantis on July 8, is now at the space station. The first company to get astronauts there will claim the flag as a prize.

Until then, NASA astronauts will continue to hitch rides to the space station on Russian Soyuz spacecraft — for tens of millions of dollars per seat.

After months of decommissioning, Atlantis will be placed on public display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex. Discovery, the first to retire in March, will head to a Smithsonian hangar in Virginia. Endeavour, which returned from the space station on June 1, will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Ferguson said the space shuttles will long continue to inspire.

"I want that picture of a young 6-year-old boy looking up at a space shuttle in a museum and saying, 'Daddy, I want to do something like that when I grow up.' "

Police say the angry buyer deliberately crashed into six other vehicles at the dealership.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Police say a man angry that a New Hampshire car dealer wouldn't take back the van he bought returned to the dealership and deliberately crashed into six other vehicles.

David Cross of Salisbury, Mass. is facing six counts of criminal mischief. He's been released on personal recognizance.

Police say Cross bought the van from the Portsmouth Used Car Superstore on Monday. After a mechanic found it had a host of problems, he tried to return it on Tuesday, but was spurned by the dealer. The 42-year-old allegedly drove back to the dealership just before midnight Tuesday and rammed the van into the other vehicles, causing about $20,000 in damages.

Cross tells The Portsmouth Herald the van was a "lemon" and he was driven by anger.

Cause of the fire is still under investigation, however, it's not considered suspicious

GREENFIELD – Investigators continue to probe the cause of a fire that broke out Wednesday night in the living room of an apartment, part of a complex at Glenbrook Drive.

No injuries were reported in the blaze, which broke out shortly after 6:30 p.m. inside Apt. 2F at 34 Glenbrook Drive. It temporarily displaced “seven or eight” residents, Fire Chief Michael Winn said.

The fire chief praised firefighters for their fast work in knocking down the blaze before it could spread to other apartments. The complex has a dozen units, he said.

“I am really pleased with the outcome, due to the location and it’s distance from the fire station, Winn said, adding that the building is on the outskirts of the city, a short distance away from the Leyden town line. “They did a great job.”

The cause of the fire is not considered suspicious, Winn said.

Firefighters from Turners Falls, South Deerfield, Deerfield and Bernardston provided mutual aid. Firefighters from Northampton, meanwhile provided coverage at the Greenfield fire station with a ladder truck, Winn said.

Mayor Pluta has four announced challengers while others vie for City Council and School Committee.

HOLYOKE – The deadline for incumbents and challengers to become eligible to run for city offices in this year's city election is Tuesday.

By 4:30 p.m. on that day, candidates must submit nomination papers bearing signatures of registered voters to the Registrar of Voters at City Hall in order to get their names on the election ballot.

A preliminary election would be Sept. 20 to narrow the fields of some races if necessary.

Election day is Nov. 8.

Races for mayor, all 15 City Council seats and eight seats on the School Committee will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The yearly salaries are mayor, $85,000, city council, $10,000, and School Committee, $5,000.

All seats have two-year terms.

Also, a ballot question will ask voters if they want to establish a new city charter to modernize the existing one, which took effect 115 years ago.

Mayoral candidates must file papers bearing signatures of at least 250 registered voters.

The papers of City Council and school board candidates must have 50 signatures each.

Mayor Elaine A. Pluta has said she will run for a second-term.

Pluta has four announced challengers: Alex B. Morse, who works as a youth counselor and job developer at CareerPoint here, business consultant Daniel C. Boyle, whom Pluta defeated in 2009, and former city councilors Daniel C. Burns and John P. Brunelle.

Regarding the charter question, despite its multiple parts, voters are unable to vote menu-style for those parts they like or against those they dislike, and instead must vote yes or no on the whole question.

Among the proposed charter changes: The mayor’s term would increase to four years; the City Council would be reduced from eight at large members and seven ward members to an 11-member format, consisting of 7 ward and four at large; and a finance department would be established encompassing the Board of Assessors, city auditor, treasurer, tax collector and purchasing, headed by a new position of chief financial officer.

The cleanup of town tree belts has been completed.

File photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanDamage to homes and trees in Wilbraham is seen in this aerial photo shot the day after three tornadoes hit Western and Central Massachusetts June 1.

WILBRAHAM – Now that the town has completed the cleanup of trees downed in the tornado from the treebelts, it will remove trees from five areas of town which contain waterways and are susceptible to flooding, Department of Public Works Director Edmond W. Miga told the Board of Selectmen.

The areas where tree removal will be done include the Wildwood Lane area where water comes off the mountain, Beebe Road, Brookside Drive, an area near Minnechaug Regional High School and the western side of Stony Hill Road near Tinkham Road, Miga said.

Miga said a company will be contracted to remove a total of 1,130 trees damaged in the tornado.

The cost will be about $1 million, Miga said.

He said the work will be 75 percent refundable by the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service. He said the town will be responsible for the balance of the cost.

“We’re going to clean up the natural drainage areas affected by the tornado,” Miga said.

All of the work will be done in a 10-day period, Miga said. He said the town will have to seek some entry onto private property to complete the work.

Miga said some stumps will be left in the affected areas to prevent erosion.

Miga said he will be seeking permission from the State Department of Environmental Protection to do the work in August.

“I want to do the work while the weather is dry,” Miga said. “Heavy storms will make the work more difficult.”

"Everyone is a stakeholder in this as we continue to deal with the urban scourge of youth violence that's affecting America," said Sarno. Watch video

In the latest installment of Ask the Mayor from The Republican, with reporter Peter Goonan and videographer Mark M. Murray:

Opening statements

0:00 - Mayor Domenic J. Sarno acknowledges 'good news' of recent cultural events in Springfield including the Hoop City Jazz Festival, which drew over 25,000 music-lovers, and new restaurants opening in Springfield including Mama Iguana's in former the Basketball Hall of Fame building.

0:55 - Sarno says he will meet with the FBI and others to reevaluate the city's action plan to 'do more' to prevent violence in the city of Springfield. "I'm not going to rest until we continue to quell the spikes in hot spot areas," said Sarno.

"Everyone is a stakeholder in this as we continue to deal with the urban scourge of youth violence that's affecting America," said Sarno.

Question and Answer - The following quotes are excerpts from Mayor Sarno's full answers, which can be heard by watching the video.

2:00 - What is the future of the South End Community Center following extensive tornado damage?

"We are looking to rebuild," said Sarno. "We'll look at that site, but also this could play a pivotal role in our Hollywood section of the South End as we go after Choice Neighborhoods-type grants with HUD, and that could help in that rejuvenation of that neighborhood area. So, we are looking to rebuild and bring back the South End Community Center, whether on-site or other viable sites such as the Hollywood section."

3:15 - Why should the city accept a $1 bid in the sale of the old School Department Headquarters?

"This has been a win-win proposal as we move towards market-rate housing in downtown Springfield," said Sarno. "This comes with the developer sinking a ton of money into this building. As you know, the commercial realtors and other realtors in the area had indicated that this building was going to be obsolete, in a way. So, private development, with their own money; Market-rate housing; this was not on the tax rolls -- it will be on the tax rolls and I believe it will be generating anywhere from $40 to 60 thousand dollars a year in taxes."

"This is in a way, us giving back as far as giving incentive to developers to come in and do market-rate housing," said Sarno.

"That's how you start to stimulate more of an eclectic mix in our downtown area."

Watch more Ask Mayor Sarno videos »

Police say 36-year-old Andrew Sikora crashed the snowmobile that had been modified for street use into a telephone pole.

NORTHBOROUGH — Temperatures in Massachusetts are nearing triple digits, but that didn't stop a Northborough man from taking a snowmobile on a joy ride that landed him in the hospital and has him facing drunken driving charges.

Police say 36-year-old Andrew Sikora crashed the snowmobile that had been modified for street use into a telephone pole on Tuesday night.

Witnesses at first reported seeing a screaming man on an all-terrain vehicle speeding through the neighborhood. Then someone called police to report a motorcycle crash.

Police found Sikora on the ground and the snowmobile close by.

He was arraigned in the hospital on several offenses including drunken driving on Wednesday. Bail was set at $5,000.

Police did not disclose the nature of his injuries, but the hospital says he's in stable condition.

Organizers say they are requesting a meeting to discuss the details of the closing of the church

SPRINGFIELD – Friends of Mater Dolorosa in Holyoke will conduct a vigil at the Elliot Street resident of the Most Rev. Timothy A. McDonnell, bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Organizers have been requesting a meeting to discuss the details of the closing of the church and its alternatives.

The Friends of Mater Dolorosa have been holding a continuous vigil in the church since June 30 in protest its closing. McDonnell said the structural problems with the steeple is one reason the church was chosen to be closed.

The bishop has refused to meet with the group, saying he will not meet with the group since they are occupying private property without permission.

Victor Anop, of Chicopee, one of the vigil organizers, said members of the Friends of Mater Dolorosa have offered to leave the church if McDonnell compromises and agrees to keep the church open for two masses a week, one of which would be in polish.

This is the second vigil the protesters have held at the Bishop’s residence. The first was in late June before the church closed.

Engineers for Engineering Design Associates Inc., which was hired by the diocese to examine the church, said the steeple could be dangerous in high winds.“It is only a matter of time before there is either a partial or complete failure of the wooded framed steeple structure. Even a partial collapse would not only jeopardize the occupants and their immediate surrounds but could possibly cause a ‘domino’ effect threatening a much larger area,” the report said.

An engineer hired by Friends of Mater Dolorosa on Wednesday contradicted the diocesan report about serious structural concerns in the church steeple and said it could be fixed for less than $1,000.

“The steeple is not going to fall down,” said Neal B. Mitchell, president of Neal Mitchell Associates of Northbridge and a registered structural engineer.

Other work, including the repointing of brickwork, would bring overall repairs to about $25,000, Mitchell said, The Engineering Design Associates report put the cost at about $119,000.

Mater Dolorosa merged with Holy Cross to create a new parish, Our Lady of the Cross. It is located in the former Holy Cross church.

There's more talk than progress as official Washington wrangles over finding a way out of a debt dilemma that has the government sliding inexorably toward a first-ever default on its financial obligations.

Associated PressSen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., one of the so-called Gang of 6, walks with Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., outside of the Senate Chamber, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, July 20, 2011.

WASHINGTON — The Senate has taken up tea party-backed House legislation tying an increase in the government's borrowing authority to a series of conservative demands including a constitutional balanced budget amendment.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called up the measure to placate Republicans demanding a vote. But he said it "doesn't have one chance in a million of passing the Senate."

Democrats argue that the so-called "cut, cap and balance" measure would impose untenable spending restraints and set spending levels, as a percentage of the overall economy, on par with the mid-1960s — before the advent of Medicare and automatic Social Security cost-of-living adjustments.

The development Thursday reflected the reality that there's more talk than progress as official Washington wrangles daily over finding a way out of a debt dilemma that has the government sliding inexorably toward a first-ever default on its financial obligations.

President Barack Obama met with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, at the White House for 90 minutes on Wednesday, but neither side would comment afterward.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday the legislation now before his chamber would be an opportunity for lawmakers to "go on record in support of balancing our books or against it." He urged Democrats to join GOP senators in backing it.

In brief remarks on the Senate floor, the Kentucky Republican assailed Obama for his "reckless spending habits" and wondered about the Democrat's recent attempts to "come across as a fiscal conservative."

Democrats are expected to kill the measure — which they say would demand debilitating cuts to Medicare — in a vote on Saturday if not before.

Meanwhile, momentum on a separate bipartisan budget plan by the Senate's "Gang of Six" seemed to ebb as critics warned the measure contains larger tax increases than advertised and it became plain that the measure comes too late and is too controversial to advance quickly — particularly as a part of a debt limit package that already would be teetering on a knife's edge.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., a member of the Gang of Six, said Thursday that some 40 senators of both parties back the plan his group has brought forward. It generally takes 60 votes to pass legislation in the 100-member Senate because the rules permit unlimited debate unless a supermajority votes to limit it.

But Conrad also said he feels there's too little time between now and Aug. 2 to complete a comprehensive package of spending cuts, benefit program changes and an overhaul of the tax code.

Conrad said doing nothing is not an option, saying that "we're all going to have to do things we'd prefer in a perfect world not to have to do."

Absent a breakthrough between Obama and Republicans, there is a hotly contested backup plan by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that would give Obama broad new powers to obtain increases in the government's borrowing unless blocked by veto-proof two-thirds margins in both the House and Senate.

Many conservative Republicans are in an uproar over the McConnell plan, and more than 70 House members signed a letter circulated by members of the conservative Republican Study Committee calling on Boehner to come out in public opposition to the McConnell-Reid plan..

In a shift, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that Obama would back a short-term deal to prevent a disastrous financial default on Aug. 2 but only if a larger and still elusive deficit-cutting agreement was essentially in place.

Officially, the president continued to push for a big compromise that would cut the nation's budget deficit and extend the government's tapped-out borrowing power above the current $14.3 trillion cap. Obama had threatened to veto any stopgap expansion of the nation's debt limit, at one point last week even challenging House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., not to call his bluff about it.

Carney said if a divided Congress and the White House can agree on a significant deal, Obama would accept a "very short-term extension" of the debt limit to let bigger legislation work its way through Congress.

Obama also is open to the McConnell plan, but it seems barely aloft due to fervent tea party opposition in the House. The hope appears to be that such an option will look a lot better to the House in a week or so, given the lack of other ideas.

The Gang of Six plan has come under assault from critics like House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who say the plan would increase taxes by $2 trillion over the next 10 years instead of the $1 trillion-plus claimed by proponents like Conrad — a development likely to stunt momentum among Republicans.

The revenue increase is larger than advertised because the $1.2 trillion in new taxes comes on top of an underlying assumption used by Obama's deficit commission — and incorporated by the Senate group in its plan — that the Bush-era income tax brackets for family income exceeding $250,000 would revert to the higher, Clinton administration levels. The deficit panel's assumption was made before Obama buckled in December and signed a full extension of the Bush tax cuts.

The Gang of Six plan also earned poor reviews from liberals like Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who said it would "balance the budget on the backs of the vulnerable."

And Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., who is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, blasted the plan in a missive to his panel members, saying it would cut the Pentagon much too deeply and would unfairly curb military health and retirement benefits.

The Gang of Six plan promises almost $4 trillion in deficit cuts, including an immediate 10-year, $500 billion down payment that would come as Congress sets caps on the agency budgets it passes each year. It also requires an additional $500 billion in cost curbs on federal health care programs, cuts to federal employee pensions, curbs in the growth of military health care and retirement costs, and modest cuts to farm subsidies.

Conrad made his remarks in an interview Thursday on MSNBC.

The Council on Aging, 328 North Main St., will be open for use as a cooling shelter from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. today and Friday.

East Longmeadow Council on Aging. Photo by Christopher Evans.

EAST LONGMEADOW - The Council on Aging, 328 North Main St., will be open for use as a cooling shelter from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. today and Friday.

Persons who may be more susceptible to difficulties caused by the extreme heat expected during this time, particularly those who have respiratory conditions, are disabled, and the elderly, are especially encouraged to go to the facility to cool off.

Residents are advised to bring any medication they will need, and that no meals will be available.

For more information call the Council on Aging at (413) 525-5436.

Locations of Pioneer Valley cooling centers

View Pioneer Valley cooling centers, July 21-23 in a larger map

Mission Control will revert to a training center for future controllers for the International Space Station.

Associated Press/NASAThis Jan. 16, 2003 picture made available by NASA shows an overall view of the shuttle flight control room in Houston's Mission Control Center (MCC).

HOUSTON — There was no crying in Mission Control.

And it took awhile before there were any signs of emotion from the steely engineers of that famous room that takes care of the astronauts from start to wheels-stop.

As the last space shuttle landed Thursday morning, the two dozen men and one woman in Mission Control stayed focused. Behind and above them in the VIP room, their families applauded when Atlantis touched down, but not the controllers themselves. They had to make sure the shuttle and its crew of four were safe.

Their work only ends when the crew is out and Florida ground operations takes charge.

Now, this historic room — which has overseen more than 60 shuttle flights — will revert to a training center for future controllers for the International Space Station. Thursday was a milestone that many had been dreading.

Before giving the final command to order Atlantis to fire its engines to come home, flight director Tony Ceccacci turned to his colleagues and told them: "Time to make our Mommas proud."

An hour after landing, the inevitable could no longer be avoided. It was time to let go.

"Hopefully, I can get through this," Ceccacci said, launching into a speech to his colleagues and others over NASA airwaves.

He couldn't. He choked up once, but then pushed through. Still no tears.

"The work done in this room, in this building, will never again be duplicated," he said.

"Savor the moment," Ceccacci said. "Soak it in. And know that you are the best. The best in the world. Your work here has made America and the world a better place. It's been an unbelievable and amazing journey."

Then came the applause, the hugs and handshakes. People took pictures, laughed and some had long wistful faces. Controllers kept giving the thumbs-up and tissues mostly stayed in the pocket.

They were under orders to keep dry eyes.

"You guys must know that we do have a motto in the Mission Control Center that flight controllers don't cry," Ceccacci had told reporters Wednesday. "So we're going to make sure we keep that."

Once control was given to Florida, the doors to Mission Control opened up and the sparsely populated room filled with scores of back room flight controllers, former NASA engineers and top managers. More hugs followed. One woman was seen wiping her eyes. A chocolate iced cake with a large Atlantis on top of it was wheeled out. One flight controller's tie was even cut in a NASA tradition.

Cigars were tossed about the room. None were smoked because it's a no smoking room.

Mark Shelton of the Dallas area who has sent roses to Mission Control since 1988 came down with a large bouquet of white roses.

Norm Knight, who heads all the shuttle flight directors, kept giving the thumbs-up to his family in the viewing area. Up in that room, children played and a toddler watched from his mother's lap. On the giant television screen in the front of the room, patches from previous missions of Atlantis were displayed.

Ceccacci, who smiled and laughed and kept rolling a pen between his hands, soon separated himself from the throng that was now well beyond standing room only. He found his cloth bag and put his flight director headset away. While the hugging continued, he put away his briefing books and logged off his computer.

Each flight control office has its own toys as symbols. The team that plans crew activities keeps a large hourglass next to a shuttle model. On Thursday, the time in the hourglass had run out.

In Florida, it was different. The tears flowed. Shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach describing the scene at the landing strip said, "I saw grown men and women crying today." He said they were tears of joy and "you couldn't suppress them."

At Johnson Space Center, Tammy Gafka, a NASA structural engineer, could have been at the Mission Control building, but chose to watch the landing with her husband and four small children at a viewing center set up by NASA on a grassy field on the space center's campus. A jumbo TV screen stood on top of a truck, memorabilia was given away and astronauts signed autographs. Lines formed where workers and their families could touch a moon rock and pose in a spacesuit.

Gafka and family had driven to Florida to watch Atlantis launch and decided to watch the landing together in the pre-dawn darkness, spread out on a blanket decorated with moon emblems.

"We just didn't want to regret not being here," she said. "It's kind of weird. It's like grief. It goes in waves."

Treasury provided a total of $12.5 billion to Chrysler and its financing arm after the recession hampered auto sales and sent Chrysler and General Motors to the brink of collapse.

PRNewsFoto/ Chrysler Group LLCAn image from Chrysler's 2011 Super Bowl commercial, 'Born of Fire.'

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said Thursday it has exited its investment in Chrysler LLC after Italian automaker Fiat SpA purchased the U.S. government's remaining holdings in the auto company.

Fiat paid $560 million to the Treasury Department for the government's 98,000 shares. Fiat has run the company since it emerged from bankruptcy protection in June 2009.

Treasury provided a total of $12.5 billion to Chrysler and its financing arm after the recession hampered auto sales and sent Chrysler and General Motors to the brink of collapse. The funds came from the government's $700 billion bank bailout fund.

Since then, $11.2 billion of the assistance has been repaid, Treasury says. Chrysler repaid $5.1 billion in loans from the government in May. Treasury said it likely won't recover the remaining $1.3 billion.

Chrysler has made a remarkable turnaround from two years ago, when it was rescued by the government.

The company earned net income of $116 million in the first quarter and is forecasting 2011 earnings of $200 million to $500 million. Under the leadership of Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, the company has cut costs and revived its sales by refurbishing most of its lineup of Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge and Ram vehicles.

Its sales rose 30 percent in June compared to the previous year.

The purchase of the government's stake gives Fiat 52 percent ownership of Chrysler. That's likely to rise to 57 percent before the end of the year when Chrysler begins producing a 40 mpg small car in the U.S.

Fiat received a 20 percent stake in Chrysler after the bankruptcy in exchange for management expertise and technology. The Italian automaker has gradually raised its stake by meeting benchmarks set by the government.

Major, who graduated from St. Mary High School last year, played on the school’s hockey team for four years.

File photo by Manon MirabelliKevin J. Major, formerly of Westfield, is seen at his graduation last year from St. Mary High School.

WESTFIELD – An athletic scholarship fund established to honor the memory of drowning victim Kevin J. Major is gaining momentum at the health club where the 19-year-old was considered family within its tightly knit community of members.

Expert Fitness owners Barbara A. Vinciguerra and Jill A. Monaco are donating fees from the club’s private classes to help bolster the fund established by Major’s family. In the first five days, Expert Fitness members raised nearly $1,000, a number that Vinciguerra expects to increase.

“We are donating all proceeds from all boot camp and private spin classes for the remainder of the month,” she said. “The response from members has been great. This is a community within itself, and we do what we can for all our family here.”

Major, who died last week in a drowning accident on the Connecticut side of Congamond Lakes, had been swimming from a pontoon boat with a group of friends on July 11 when he disappeared in the water at about 4:30 p.m. His body was recovered from Middle Pond the next day shortly after 10 a.m.

His mother, Susan Canning, also a longtime Expert Fitness member and a personal friend to Vinciguerra and Monaco, expressed her appreciation to all those who have come forward with donations.

“She’s not ready to talk yet,” Vinciguerra said, “but she’s grateful to everyone for their support.”

An avid athlete and a member of the club from the time he was about 13 years old, Major was involved with several different sports teams throughout his life. His first love was hockey, which he started at the age of 3 with the Westfield Youth Hockey Association and continued with the Western Mass Blades, Massconn and the Springfield Indians.

He was a starting defenseman for St. Mary’s High School hockey team all four years.

In 2009 he was named to the Coaches all Division team.

He most recently played hockey for the Springfield Jr. Pics organization.

Major also played rugby and was a member of The Springfield Rifles Rugby Football club. In 2010 he was chosen to play on the Massachusetts Select Side where he competed in the New England All-Star Tournament. He graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 2010 and while in high school lettered in hockey, baseball, golf, soccer and lacrosse.

Throughout the rest of the month, Vinciguerra will continue to remind club members during classes to do what they can to contribute to the fund that is intended to help youngsters with financial needs participate in Westfield sports programs by providing a scholarship that will pay for fees and equipment.

“We are committed to doing everything we can to keep Kevin’s memory alive,” Vinciguerra told a group of indoor cyclists at the conclusion of a Tuesday afternoon spin class.

Donations may be dropped off at Expert Fitness, located in the Little River Shopping Plaza in Westfield at 609 East Main St., or mailed to The Kevin J. Major Memorial Scholarship Fund for Youth Sports, c/o Easthampton Savings Bank, P.O. Box 351, Easthampton, Mass. 01027

The crackdown will include increased traffic stops, warrant sweeps and gang disruption.

Hampden County District Attorney Mark Mastroianni, left, said "We are in crisis mode," and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, right, said "... it is essential we hit back and we hit back hard," when discussing a crackdown on the spate of violence in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, joined by local, state and federal law enforcement officials, pledged an immediate “zero tolerance” crackdown on violent crime Thursday, including increased traffic stops, targeted warrant sweeps and disruption of gang activity in response to a summer-long spate of violence.

The announcement of the crackdown occurred Thursday afternoon following numerous recent meetings of law enforcement officials and a closed-door, noontime summit at City Hall that included invited youth and neighborhood organizations, community activists and clergy.

“Right now, we have to bring relief to the good people (of Springfield),” Sarno said. “Right now it is essential we hit back and we hit back hard.”

Since July 3, the city has had five homicides. There have been 13 homicides this year.

There also have been numerous shootings and stabbings, often involving young people, and often being gang- or drug-related, officials said.

The crackdown will especially target some of the most troublesome areas including the Mason Square area and Lower Forest Park, officials said.

Others who spoke of the expanded enforcement included Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni, Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, and representatives of the state police, FBI, the U.S. Marshal’s office, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Probation Office and Sheriff Michael Ashe.

"We are in crisis mode," Mastroianni said.

Mastroianni said he “authorizes and encourages” law enforcement to increase their efforts to break up gang activity, increase traffic stops, talk to people on the streets, and to become more aware of parties that might get out of hand.

City Council President Jose F. Tosado, a candidate for mayor, conducted his own press conference Thursday on the steps of City Hall, offering his own anti-crime ideas.

Tosado said the talk of “zero tolerance” in reaction to crime during an election year is a matter of “same old, same old.”

Tosado said his proposed initiatives include: proactive policing; getting guns off the street through measures including creation of a special unit or “gun squad” and establishing a gun court in Springfield; rebuilding trust including resurrection of a full Police Commission and Youth Commission; reducing recidivism with stronger inter-agency and community partnerships; and addressing root causes of crime including a fight against unemployment, failing schools and health disparities.

Mayoral candidate Antonette Pepe, a member of the School Committee, has previously called for a "zero tolerance" policy on violence and increased police visibility.

Ingram, who has yet to buy a house, says he's spent the money on other living expenses and does not intend to repay the city.

File photo | The RepublicanAlan Ingram, Springfield Superintendent of Schools

SPRINGFIELD – A little-known, $30,000 signing bonus in 2008 for school superintendent Alan J. Ingram to make a down payment on a mortgage is now sending ripples of discontent into city government.

Ingram, who has yet to buy a house, says he’s spent the money on other living expenses and does not intend to repay the city. He lives in an apartment in the city’s South End neighborhood.

The agreement and the one-time payment, designed to account for the real estate “market differential” between Oklahoma City, Ingram’s former home, and Springfield, is not necessarily unusual in hiring negotiations, according to a lawyer for the School Department.

The deal was sealed in a 2008 “side letter” between former Finance Control Board Executive Director Stephen P. Lisauskas and Ingram. School Committee member, mayoral hopeful and frequent dissident Antonette E. Pepe is raising questions and suggesting the superintendent should repay the money since it was not used for the original purpose in the agreement.

The letter states that the $30,000 is “to compensate for the higher cost of real estate in Springfield” and “understanding that this payment may be required to assist you in making a down payment while potentially maintaining your current residence in Oklahoma City.” There is nothing in the letter that specifically refers to penalties or repaying the money should Ingram elect to spend the money on something other than a "down payment."

In a written statement funneled through Mayor Domenic J. Sarno’s press aide this week, Ingram simply said he has used the money to cover living expenses.

“I reside in Springfield, and, although I have not purchased a home yet, I do have residential living expenses and have elected to use this particular resource for that purpose which is not inconsistent with the language of the agreement nor the intent of the payment,” Ingram said. The superintendent initially declined to answer questions about the agreement.

Ingram said he believed the payment also could be used for general living expenses. He said he attempted to buy a house or condominium in Springfield when he first arrived, but provided no additional details about his search.

Ingram was hired in the spring of 2008 with a base salary of $190,000. His five-year contract included eight months of rental expenses (up to $2,000 per month), relocation costs, payment for work prior to July 1, 2008 and a monthly car stipend of $650, plus an $80-per-month parking spot near his Main Street office.

His salary rose to $202,000 in May when the School Committee voted 5-1 to boost his annual pay $12,000 through a hybrid of cost-of-living and performance-based raises. His costs for parking are still paid by the city, and he still receives a monthly car stipend.

Pepe voted against performance-based raises, arguing that the schools have not seen gains under

Alan Ingram Contract of Employment

Ingram. She also criticized Sarno for hanging the increases on contractual obligations.

“They laid off 78 paraprofessionals and some teachers, we haven’t hired any more counselors and classroom sizes are getting larger,” Pepe said. “There’s nothing in his contract that entitles him to performance raises, but the mayor keeps getting away with this bull crap.”

She will face Sarno and City Councilor Jose F. Tosado in the primary run-off for mayor on Sept. 20.

Sarno, who has been a strong supporter of Ingram, was mayor in 2008 and a de facto member of the Finance Control Board, the state-appointed panel brought in to drag the city out of financial dire straits in 2004.

The mayor, also in a written statement, said he recalled the control board taking a vote authorizing Lisauskas to negotiate relocation costs with Ingram. He said, however, that he had not seen the “side letter” promising the $30,000 payment until this week.

Sarno said he remains confident that Ingram has committed to Springfield, despite not having purchased a house nor moved his family to the city over the past three years.

“I believe that Dr. Ingram has firmly established roots here in the city. He is actively involved in the community and has demonstrated a commitment to the city’s school children,” Sarno’s statement read.

When he was hired, Ingram told The Republican in a March 2008 interview, “My family and I are very thrilled to have the opportunity to serve in Springfield.” He said at the time that his wife, Lisa, an elementary school teacher would seek work in Western Massachusetts. In February 2009, the superintendent told The Republican they were still working to sell their home in Oklahoma.

Tosado echoed Pepe’s call for Ingram to repay the $30,000, recalling that former superintendent Joseph Burke endured frequent public criticism for renting a home here and traveling back and forth to his home in Florida, where his wife remained and where he ultimately returned.

“Dr. Burke never got a free ride on this issue. (Ingram) should give the money back, and he should give it back now,” Tosado said.

Melinda Phelps, a lawyer for the School Department, said the department paid $1,000 to transport Ingram’s car from Oklahoma to the Pioneer Valley in 2008. The Finance Control Board, she added, paid an additional sum to a private moving company to ship a limited amount of personal belongings that year.

The relocation reimbursement clause expired in 2009, at which time it was extended to June 30, 2011, in another “side letter,” also signed by Ingram and Lisauskas. Phelps said she believes the city has fulfilled its obligation to Ingram, and the clause will not be extended again.

Phelps said there does not appear to be any language in the side-letter requiring Ingram to repay the money to the city because he did not buy a home.

Lisauskas could not be reached for comment. He left the city after the control board disbanded in 2009. He was later ordered by the state Ethics Commission to pay a $3,000 fine when it found he had violated conflict-of-interest laws by steering millions of dollars in city investments to a broker at Merrill Lynch with whom he had an undisclosed friendship. The city lost $13 million in 2007 before the firm agreed to reimburse the city under pressure from local and state officials.

June 30, 2008 Side Letter From Springfield Finance Control Board to Alan Ingram

June 25, 2009 Side Letter From Springfield Finance Control Board to Alan Ingram

Although Cook's job status was not discussed by the court, it appears he will remain a police officer.

The Republican | Michael S. GordonSpringfield Police Patrolman Derek V. Cook pleaded guilty in Hampden District Court on Thursday to assaulting two police supervisors in a station house fight.

SPRINGFIELD – City Police Officer Derek V. Cook on Thursday pleaded guilty in District Court to assaulting two police supervisors in a station house fight.

Cook was fined a total of $675 for the two crimes of assault and battery on a police officer, admitting he assaulted Lt. Robert Moynihan and Sgt. Dennis M. O’Connor, who is now retired..

There was an agreement between the parties that the one felony charge, wiretapping, would be continued without a finding for six months, so there was no guilty plea or finding on that charge.

Although Cook's continued job status was not discussed by the court, it appears from Cook's statement as well as the victim impact statement by O'Connor that Cook will remain a police officer.

Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet had previously said once the court case was resolved the department will decide what internal action to take.

The charge against Cook of threat to commit a crime was dropped.

Robert Moynihan

Dennis O'Connor

The station house fight happened in February 2008, but the case dragged on unresolved during the administration of former Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett.

When Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni discovered earlier this year the case was still active, he vowed to get it back on track and done with.

Cook in May filed requests in District Court seeking assault and battery charges against Moynihan and O’Connor, saying it was he who was the victim in the station house incident.

That request has been dropped, Charles Groce, Cook's lawyer, said.

Mastroianni brought the felony wire tapping charge against Cook in April of this year, more than three years after the incident.

The added charge accused the 18-year patrolman of illegally recording the altercation and the events which followed on a cell phone. Investigators had been aware of the recording, but no charge was brought until Mastroianni initiated a review of the case.

Cook has been assigned to the records division since the incident. He also served a five-day suspension in the immediate aftermath.

Assistant District Attorney Donna S. Donato recited what happened, and also read victim impact statements from Moynihan and O'Connor, who were in the courtroom.

She said Cook, on Feb. 2, 2008, reported for roll call and was asked by Moynihan to see him afterwards. A conversation between the two escalated to the point of Cook striking Moynihan, knocking him down. While Moynihan was unconscious on the floor O'Connor restrained Cook.

Cook broke O'Connor's grip and flung him onto a desk, causing a broken tailbone.

Moynihan, a police officer for more than 35 years, encountered his own troubles in October 2009 when he was charged in District Court in an unrelated domestic assault case; the lieutenant denied that charge. That case is pending.

He has also remained on duty.

Derek Cook Statement

During the ordeal, Fontaine repeatedly pointed the gun at officers and ignored orders to drop his weapon, according to a police statement.

File photo

PALMER – Police Chief Robert P. Frydryk said Thursday that the officer who shot a teenager twice on July 4 during a standoff returned to work this week.

Frydryk, who declined to name the officer, said he is still waiting for a report from District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni on the matter. Frydryk said the officer, an eight-year veteran, was on paid leave. Frydryk said it was his decision to place him back on duty.

"Our portion of the investigation is complete. Everything has been turned over for the district attorney to review. It's been a couple of weeks and I felt the timing was right to bring the officer back," Frydryk said.

Frydryk has said that he is confident that when the district attorney finishes his review of the case, he will find that the officer was justified in his actions.

Police responded to 22 Pinney St. on July 4, after a female resident reported that Shawn Fontaine, 17, was banging on her front door, demanding to be let inside, and was armed with a gun.

A statement submitted in the court file by Detective Sgt. Scott E. Haley said that
Fontaine shouted "Shoot me! Shoot me! You better shoot me because I'm going to shoot you and I won't miss," before being shot in the chest and ankle.

According to Haley's statement, after Fontaine was shot, officers discovered he was armed with an air gun. During the ordeal, Fontaine repeatedly pointed the gun at officers and ignored orders to drop his weapon.

Fontaine was arraigned in his hospital room at the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, where he denied six counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and a single count of carrying a dangerous weapon, and was ordered held in lieu of $20,000 cash bail. He is due in Palmer District Court for a pretrial conference on July 29.

Frydryk described the weapon as a carbon dioxide powered pellet gun, which he said resembles the Smith & Wesson guns his officers use.

Calls this week to the district attorney went unreturned. Fontaine's condition also was unavailable.