Obituaries from The Republican.

The Holyoke, Massachusetts City Council Ordinance Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017 asked legal and building staff to compile a list of existing laws regarding alarm systems and inspections in a review prompted by a deadly New Year's Day fire.

HOLYOKE -- A City Council committee Tuesday at City Hall postponed action on five orders to add building code requirements proposed after a Jan. 1 fire killed three people in an apartment building in the Flats Neighborhood.

The Ordinance Committee will ask Fire Chief John A. Pond to join the discussion. The committee requested that the Law and Building departments provide a list of existing city and state laws regarding alarm and inspection requirements for buildings like the one that burned at 106 North East St., councilors said.

Chairwoman Linda L. Vacon said major attention will be focused on the proposals, given the impact of the blaze on the community.

"It was not my intention to get deeply into this tonight," Vacon said.

Maria Cartagena, 48, and Jorge Munoz, 55, both of Holyoke, and Trevor R. Wadleigh, 34, of Easthampton, perished in the fire, which also displaced 49 people.

The cause of the fire was an electrical problem in a wall outlet in the living room of a third-floor apartment, state officials said.

Faulty alarm system, lack of sprinkler added to deadly Holyoke fire caused by electrical problem: officials

These were the orders the Ordinance Committee considered, which are preceded by the names of the councilors who filed them:

• Ward 2 Councilor Nelson R. Roman: that the Ordinances of the City of Holyoke be changed to require all landlords with three or more fire alarms have them in good working condition.

• Ward 1 Councilor Gladys Lebron-Martinez: that buildings sold within the city for residential occupancy be inspected for health and other safety codes before permitted to be in operation in addition to the fire alarms ordinance that already exists, that an additional ordinance require landlords to install systems to alert the Fire Dept. of any fires within the premises.

• Councilor at Large James M. Leahy: that the Council adopt an ordinance which requires when a communication failure is detected by a third party monitoring company in any residential building with 4 or more units, the Fire Department be notified immediately. At the discretion of the Fire Chief a fire watch detail may be assigned until the system is working again. The cost of the detail will be paid for by the property owner.

• Leahy: that the City Council adopt a special act requiring the installation of monitored fire alarm systems in residential buildings with four or more units.

• Leahy: that the city use any legislative mechanism necessary to require the installation of monitored fire alarm systems in residential buildings with four or more units.

The Ordinance Committee discussed the five orders only briefly, with councilors agreeing to consider them as one package. The committee recessed so that a special meeting of the full City Council scheduled for 7:30 p.m. could be held.

Firefighters were called to the fire at 106 North East St. just before 9 a.m. The property at 106 North East St. that included the five-story building, now demolished, is owned by Irshad Sideeka of Naviah Investments of Brookline, Massachusetts.

With her employment contract signed, Denise Menard is now East Longmeadow's first-ever town manager.

EAST LONGMEADOW -- Following final approval of her contract Tuesday night, Denise Menard is East Longmeadow's first town manager.

The Town Council vote came midway through their meeting, after councilors discussed the forthcoming vote in executive session for about 10 minutes. The five members in attendance then unanimously approved the contact after moving the meeting back into open session.

"We're moving on in a positive direction," Menard said in an interview after the meeting. "I just see a wealth of good things coming for this community."

Menard, who has served as interim town manager since August, was hired for the permanent position Dec. 1. Since then, her interim town manager contract has been extended twice as she negotiated her employment contract, said Town Council President Kevin Manley.

Under her current contract as interim town manager, Menard earns $120,000 per year. The town manager's new contract includes a $127,000 annual salary and four weeks paid vacation, Manley said in an interview.

The hiring completes East Longmeadow's transition from a board of selectmen-town meeting form of government to its new town manager-town council form. In April nearly 60 percent of voters in East Longmeadow approved adoption of the home rule town charter.

That vote coincided with an alleged bribery scandal stemming from the search for a new police chief, which led to the firing of former East Longmeadow Town Administrator Gregory Neffinger.

Town councilors began searching for a town manager during their first meeting last July, and hired Menard as the town's interim chief executive on July 26. She previously had been first selectman in East Windsor, Connecticut.

Harwich Town Administrator Christopher Clark and Bourne Town Administrator Thomas Guerino were also interviewed for the permanent town manager position.

The process of hiring a town manager has been deliberately slow to ensure the right candidate was chosen, Manley said in an interview about the process last year. The pace has paid off and the process has remained uncontroversial, he said.

"I think the process actually went very smoothly," Manley said on Tuesday. "It was open, transparent, we got a great candidate, so were really happy with the search and the results."

With Menard officially in place as East Longmeadow's permanent town manager, Manley said, town councilors felt relief that the tumult that marked East Longmeadow's town government a year ago seems to be in the past.

"We're really all in agreement We're really happy ... that we can now move forward," Manley said after the meeting. "I think everyone feels that the town is in a really good position."

It has been almost two years since the ceremonial groundbreaking for the MGM Springfield casino project and the 14-acre site has been transformed into a sea of steel. Watch video

It has been almost two years since the ceremonial groundbreaking for the MGM Springfield casino project and the 14-acre site has been transformed into a sea of steel.

Watch the video above to view the progress as seen from the upper floors of 101 State St.

The full $950 million development project will be approximately 850,000 square feet of residential, dining, retail and entertainment (including hotel and gaming) facilities and will spread over three city blocks in downtown Springfield.

The MGM project has been promised to create a minimum of 2,000 construction jobs and, once open, at least 3,000 casino, hotel and other jobs, of which at least 2,200 will be employed on a full-time equivalent basis with benefits.

The casino is scheduled for a late 2018 grand opening, while the MGM National Harbor casino on the Potomac River in Maryland near Washington is now open for business. 

 

Emily Bliss of Longmeadow is working as lead costume designer for Worcester State University's production of Almost Maine.

EAST LONGMEADOW — An East Longmeadow High School graduate will make sure actors at Worcester State University are dressed for success next month.

Emily Bliss, who graduated from East Longmeadow High School in 2011, is working as lead costume designer for Worcester State's visual and performing arts department's production of "Almost Maine" by John Cariani, a statement from the college says. The play that explores love and loss in a secluded, mythological town in northern Maine.

It will be presented four times: March 2, 3 and 4 at 8 p.m. and March 5 at 2 p.m. Performances will be put on at Worcester State's Fuller Theater, 486 Chandler St.

Tickets may be purchased at the Fuller Theater Box Office in the Shaughnessy Administration Building on the Worcester State campus, or call 508-929-8843, email VPABoxOffice@worcester.edu. Tickets are $14 general public, $10 senior citizens and $7 students.

In Worcester State's last play, William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Bliss played Puck, the statement says.

Holyoke Community College announced that the school received a $75,000 grant to strengthen the career pathway program at William J. Dean Technical High School.

HOLYOKE -- Holyoke Community College has received a $75,000 grant to strengthen the career pathway program at William J. Dean Technical High School.

HCC was one of seven school districts and community colleges to receive a Career Technical Education Partnership Implementation Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The grant program aids local and regional partnerships geared toward boosting or creating CTE programs and initiatives that provided career pathway opportunities to students.

Collaborating with Holyoke Public Schools, Springfield Technical Community College and local businesses, HCC has worked to further develop the manufacturing and engineering, health care, and hospitality and culinary arts pathway tracks at Dean Tech.

With the help of the grant, the two-year institution plans to boost enrollment in each career track program and has already put the funds into program development, a part-time program coordinator, student transportation, course instructors and supplies.

According to Stephen Zrike, receiver in charge of Holyoke Public Schools, the partnership is working enhance the experiences students are offered within the career pathway programs.

"It's very much connected to a larger vision of the secondary education being more purposeful in preparing students for whatever is next in their academic career," he said. "Those are career paths that are in demand by the workforce, so those are pathways we hope to be viable options for students that want to go that route."

A main target group will be students within the Holyoke school district's new Freshmen Academy.

Holyoke redesign group proposes opening 9th grade academy, STEM program at Dean Tech

As part of this school year's redesign plan implemented by the Holyoke school district, the Freshmen Academy provides students with opportunities to explore career and academic options through courses and pathway programs offered at Dean Tech, allowing them to take ownership of their course load and overall experience for the remainder of high school.

"We are also going to be doing some work with the younger students that has been done in the past but is not always consistent," said Heidi Rademacher, HCC Perkins Grant manager. "In the upcoming summer the school will also do some career focus instruction within the summer programs that Holyoke Public Schools offer for their students."

Along with working with ninth graders, HCC also has plans to host open houses and campus tours for seventh- and eighth-graders, to start impacting students at younger ages.

Obituaries from The Republican.

It appears that after an impasse occurred on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, the Holyoke, Massachusetts City Council will be dealing for weeks or months more with a proposal to regulate facilities that provide methadone and suboxone, treatments for opiate addicts.

HOLYOKE -- An impasse that occurred Tuesday means that the City Council's months-long debate about regulating methadone and suboxone facilities will last weeks more and perhaps longer.

The council met in special session at City Hall and essentially tabled consideration of a proposed ordinance. The proposal would require that a special permit be obtained from the City Council for a petitioner to open such a facility and would restrict such facilities to certain areas in industrial zones.

Methadone is used to reduce withdrawal symptoms for those addicted to opioids such as heroin and suboxone is used for opiate addiction.

Supporters said the regulations are necessary so the city can establish local control over such facilities, especially requiring the scrutiny of a City Council public hearing as part of the special permit process.

Supporters included Councilor at Large Diosdado Lopez, who proposed the methadone-suboxone regulations, and a majority of the council's Ordinance Committee.

Opponents said the plan should be rejected. Such regulations would be obstructive at a time when the opioid crisis has increased the need for the treatment such facilities provide and unnecessary given the existing government regulations.

Foes also said the proposed rules would be too restrictive in limiting where in the city such facilities could be located, though a new draft of the proposal the city Law Department submitted appeared to address such concerns by reducing buffer-zones requirements and with other language (see below).

Foes included the Planning Board, the Holyoke Health Center and Providence Behavioral Health Hospital.

A 90-day period in which the City Council is authorized to act on the proposal expires Feb. 20, the day before the next scheduled council meeting, hence the scheduling of the special session.

The 90-day period began after the Ordinance Committee's public hearing on the proposed ordinance ended. In the absence of a City Council vote within the 90-day period, which appears all but certain, the public hearing process must begin again.

The Ordinance Committee meeting beforehand voted 3-0 to recommend that the full City Council adopt the proposed ordinance.

Members of the Holyoke, Massachusetts City Council, from left, Rebecca Lisi, Kevin A. Jourdain, Diosdado Lopez and Jossie M. Valentin.FILE PHOTOS 

Council President Kevin A. Jourdain reminded councilors that at least 10 votes from the 15-member council were needed to approve the measure because it was a change in zoning.

Jourdain himself abstained because he is employed as director of managed care at Sisters of Providence Health System, Trinity Health - New England. Providence Behavioral Health Hospital here operates a methadone clinic.

With only 10 councilors, including the abstaining Jourdain, initially in attendance in City Council Chambers, adopting the methadone-suboxone measure wasn't even possible.

When Ward 4 Councilor Jossie M. Valentin showed up moments later, a chance for adoption was in play.

"We've gained one councilor, so there's at least a mathematical possibility," Jourdain said.

But a City Council up-or-down vote on the measure never happened. First, a motion to return the proposal to committee failed by getting only five yes votes from the 11 councilors.

Then Lopez made a motion to adjourn, or recess, the meeting.

Prompted by Councilor at Large Rebecca Lisi, Jourdain checked the council's parliamentary rules. Jourdain determined Lisi was correct, that a motion to adjourn is one of the few measures that cannot be debated and must be voted on.

Valentin questioned how the council could adjourn without coming to a decision on the next step for the measure, such as a committee referral.

"Why is there not an option to vote," Valentin said.

At a show of hands, Jourdain said six of the 11 councilors had voted in favor of adjourning the meeting.

"I would say that passes, majority," Jourdain said.

But Lisi asked whether the majority that was needed in such a vote was the majority of the council as a whole, the 15 members and thus eight votes, and not merely a majority of those councilors who were present.

Assistant City Solicitor Sara J. Carroll said the majority in a vote on adjournment had to refer to those councilors present, because if too many councilors were absent, a meeting might never end if the eight-vote majority was unattainable.

That left open the question of where in the City Council process was the proposed methadone-suboxone regulations. Carroll said the result essentially was a tabling of the measure.

Expiration of the 90-day authorization-to-act period on Feb. 20 will trigger the need for another public hearing process on the proposed regulations.

Lisi said it would be incorrect to say that the entire process of considering the proposed methadone-suboxone regulations must start over. The council can still use information obtained in the consideration process. What needs to be redone is advertising for another public hearing and taking such testimony, she said.

"We just have to re-notice and have the public speak again," Lisi said.

True, said Carroll, but along with the public hearing being held again, the process must include another referral of the proposal to the Planning Board for a recommendation.

Other parliamentary rules prompted discussion. With several residents in the audience, Valentin made a motion to suspend rules and let them address the City Council.

Jourdain said he had to reject that. The City Council when meeting in a special session can take action only on the items posted on the notice for that meeting. Otherwise, the council would be violating the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, and public comment wasn't an item on the special meeting agenda, he said.

Valentin said she wanted to go on record as objecting to Jourdain's ruling.

"We make suspension of the rules for 10,000 other things," Valentin said.

"The law guides us on what we can and cannot do," said Jourdain, a lawyer.

Plus, Jourdain and Ordinance Committee Chairwoman Linda L. Vacon noted, the consideration process of the proposed methadone-suboxone regulations included ample public scrutiny in the form of the public hearings and open meetings of the Ordinance Committee.

Often, the public hearing process is held before a joint meeting of the City Council Ordinance Committee and the Planning Board, the latter of which is authorized to make only a recommendation to the City Council on zoning matters.

Lisi said an issue to consider is that when the Ordinance Committee and Planning Board hold separate public hearings on a proposal, that can result in "different constituencies" attending and providing information.

"We should keep that in mind, that different constituencies are going to come to different public hearings and that's going to alter the perception of public opinion on this matter in a way that doesn't really serve the City Council," Lisi said.

When the measure finally comes to a vote, Councilor at Large Joseph M. McGiverin said he will vote no. He said he didn't think the City Council was authorized to regulate such medical facilities in terms of zoning.

But McGiverin, who works for the state probation department, said the sprawl of the opioid crisis has made treatment for such addictions vital.

"And we're just at the tip of this," McGiverin said.

Valentin said she also would vote no on the measure as proposed. The City Council should listen to the Planning Board, Holyoke Health Center and Providence Behavioral Health Hospital, she said.

"These are the experts," Valentin said.

Lopez said the problem at the moment is the city lacks a way to impose local control over such facilities.

"I think we're going in the wrong direction," by failing to impose such regulations, Lopez said.

Ward 2 Councilor Nelson R. Roman said he agreed that the scrutiny of local control must accompany plans to put such facilities in the city.

Draft Language_Methodone Clinic Ordinance_2.13.2017 by Mike Plaisance on Scribd

More than half of drivers among all age groups reported have recently texted behind the wheel, sped or run a red light, according to a new AAA study.

More than half of drivers among all age groups reported having recently texted behind the wheel, sped or run a red light, according to a new AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study, released amid an ongoing surge in highway deaths. 

Eighty-eight percent of the worst offending category, drivers aged 19 to 24, admitted to engaging in at least one of those behaviors in the 30 days prior to taking the survey.

But they hardly held a monopoly in dubious distinctions. A significant number of older drivers, even, reported to using technology on the fly.

Ten percent of drivers aged 60 to 74 said they had sent text messages or emails behind the wheel in the past 30 days. 

"It was a surprise that there were relatively high rates of these behaviors among the drivers we think of as safer," Lindsay Arnold, a research associate with the AAA Foundation, told the Associated Press.

The youngest category of drivers -- aged 16 to 18 -- meanwhile, recorded safer driving habits than drivers aged 20 to 59, according to the study, which compiled the results of surveys of 2,511 licensed drivers aged 16 and over.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, almost everybody on the road considers themselves a safer driver than their average fellow motorist. Eighty-three percent of all people surveyed considered themselves safer drivers than others on the road. 

More than half of all survey-takers reported feeling seriously threatened by people using their cell phones behind the wheel -- but 68 percent said they'd done it in the past 30 days. 

Elsewhere, drivers reported standard safety beliefs and practices. Eighty-seven percent said they had never driven while legally drunk and 95 percent said they had not driven within an hour of using marijuana. Eighty-eight percent supported mandatory seatbelt laws and 82 percent said motorcycle riders should have to wear helmets. 

In 2015, U.S. traffic deaths rose 7 percent to 35,092, the largest single-year increase in five decades, and according to The New York Times, highway deaths in the first six months of 2016 jumped 10.4 percent, to 17,775, from the comparable period of 2015. The 2016 data has not yet been finalized.

The bicycle was taken on Feb. 6 from the Chicopee Public Library.

CHICOPEE - Police are asking for help to identify a male who is a person of interest in a theft of a bicycle.

The bicycle was stolen between 4 and 4:15 p.m., Feb. 6 from the Chicopee Public Library on Front Street.

A person who may know something about the theft was caught on camera at the library. Chicopee Police detectives would now like to talk to him about the crime, Michael Wilk, public information officer for Chicopee Police said.

Anyone who can recognize the person or knows anything about the theft is asked to call detectives at 413-549-3461 or send a private message to the Police Department's Facebook page, Wilk said.

The School Committee governing a high school in tiny Turners Falls hashed out a national issue in public session last night, ultimately deciding to remove its Native American mascot.

The School Committee governing a high school in Turners Falls hashed out a national issue in public session Tuesday, ultimately deciding to remove its Native American mascot. 

"How would you feel if the mascot was you?" asked a woman attendant of Nipmuc heritage, Jasmine Rochelle Godspeed, setting the tone of the meeting to follow, which roughly 70 people attended, according to The Greenfield Recorder. 

Concluding a five-month debate, the Gill-Montague Regional School Committee voted 6-3 to drop the Indians as the nickname for Turners Falls High School. 

Prior to Tuesday's meeting, the vote seemed far from a sure bet. 

A School Committee review of the mascot recently terminated because it proved contentious, The Recorder reported. 

Two of the three committee members who voted against the change wished to delay action in wait of opportunities for district towns to speak on the issue. 

Last week, the Montague Select Board voted to place such a public referendum on the issue on its may Town Meeting ballot. 

But, undercutting the delay, Gill-Montague Regional School District Superintendent Michael Sullivan stood and spoke powerfully against the mascot, prompting raucous applause from the crowd.

"Indians are not like cowboys or Vikings," Sullivan said in a statement. "They are cultures of real people, our neighbors, and it is inappropriate to treat them or any racial, ethnic, religious or gender group in ways that perpetuate and legitimize stereotypes."

He continued, "Our review process has shown that there is widespread interest in having students learn more about local history and Native American cultures. This is commendable and will be acted upon. But this will not be enough."

In 2014, the Center for American Progress published a report linking Native mascots to "lower self-esteem and mental health" in indigenous adolescents.

Despite the controversies that have surrounded President Donald Trump's first weeks in office, the Republican would win reelection in 2020 if he were to face the right Democratic opponent, a new survey suggests.

Despite the controversies that have surrounded President Donald Trump's first weeks in office, the Republican would win reelection in 2020 if he were to face the right Democratic opponent, a new survey suggests.

A Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday found that although more voters said they would cast their ballots for some nameless Democrat in the next presidential election, the commander in chief would hold on to his seat if challenged by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts.

Just over a third, or 35 percent, of voters said they would likely support a Trump reelection bid, compared to 43 percent who said they would probably back an unnamed Democratic challenger, according to poll results.

A similar margin, 42 to 36 percent, however, said they would vote for the sitting president over the Massachusetts Democrat in a hypothetical 2020 presidential matchup.

The findings come despite just 30 percent of respondents expressing "somewhat" or "very" unfavorable views of Warren -- lower than Trump's 46 percent unfavorability rating.

About a third of respondents said they had either no opinion or never heard of Warren, and 37 percent said they had either "very" or "somewhat" favorable views of the outspoken Democrat, according to the poll.

About half, or 49 percent of voters, meanwhile, said they had favorable views of the president, with an identical margin approving of his job performance in the Oval Office.

The poll, which surveyed nearly 1,800 registered voters from Feb. 9 to 10, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Warren, who served as a surrogate for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, emerged as a chief critic of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign -- a role she has continued in the months following the November contest.

Although the Massachusetts Democrat has not indicated whether she is eyeing a 2020 White House run, she has continued to gain national attention -- most recently after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell used an arcane rule to silence her floor speech against confirming Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

US Sen. Elizabeth Warren defends reading from Coretta Scott King letter, says it's vital to debate on Jeff Sessions' confirmation

Despite such attention, Warren could face challenges to her own 2018 Senate reelection bid.

A recent WBUR/MassINC Polling Group survey found that 46 percent of state voters think someone else should get a shot at the Democrat's Senate seat, compared to just 44 percent who think she deserves reelection.

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, a Trump supporter, has expressed interest in knocking Warren out of the Senate seat, but has yet to commit to jumping into the race.

Rick Green, a businessman who founded the conservative Mass. Fiscal Alliance, meanwhile, is "quietly exploring his options for a Senate race," the Boston Globe reported.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is up for re-election in 2018 and 46 percent in new WBUR poll say give someone else a chance

Jacob Burnham booked a room at a hotel in Canada in order to have sex with a 13-year-old girl, police said.

A Valentine' Day getaway into Canada turned costly for a 25-year-old Vermont man when U.S. Customs agents discovered he was trying to enter Canada for the purpose of having sex with a 13-year-old girl. 

jacob BurnhamVermont State Police photo 

Instead of booking into a hotel in Canada, Jacob Burnham of Milton, Vermont, was booked on sexual assault charges and held overnight on $100,000 bail at the Northwest State Correctional Center. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Chittenden District Court on Wednesday.

According to Vermont State Police, Burnham and the unnamed girl had been involved in a relationship "for some time."

The two planned a Valentine's Day getaway at a hotel in an undisclosed location in Canada, police said. 

Burnham was denied entry into Canada at the border because he was found to have an existing criminal record, police said. Details of his record were not disclosed.

Customs officials became alarmed why Burnham was trying to enter the county with a young girl who was not related to him. Vermont State Police and Homeland Security officials were called to the scene, and in interviews with Burnham and the girl learned the two had been in a relationship for some time, and previously engaged in sexual activity at Burnham's house in Milton.

The girl, whose name was not disclosed, was turned over to a family member who drove to the border to get her, police said.

Police said the incident remains under investigation and additional charges against Burnham are possible.

Milton, Vermont, just north of Burlington, is roughly 25 miles south of the border  along Interstate 89, and about 90 minutes from Montreal.

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A Russian intelligence gathering ship that has reportedly been traveling north along the East Coast of the United States has neared a U.S. Navy submarine base in New London, Connecticut, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

A Russian intelligence gathering ship that has reportedly been traveling north along the East Coast of the United States has neared a U.S. Navy submarine base in New London, Connecticut, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

The Viktor Leonov ship, which was 70 miles off the coast of Delaware on Monday, was "loitering" just 30 miles south of the Connecticut naval base Wednesday morning, officials told ABC News.

The ship is expected to head to a location in international waters where it could be close to the base, officials said. The United States' territorial waters extend just 12 miles from shore, ABC News reported.

News of the ship come just days after Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's national security adviser, resigned amidst reports that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials about whether he discussed sanctions during his calls with Russia's ambassador to the U.S.

Michael Flynn resigns as national security adviser

Russia, meanwhile, has secretly deployed a new cruise missile, which U.S. officials argue violates a 1987 treaty, the New York Times reported this week.

Responding to reports of the spy ship, U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, raised concerns about the its location given the recent tensions with Russia.

Courtney, whose district includes the submarine base, contended that the vessel's closeness to the submarine base "underscores that the threats posed by a resurgent Russia are real" during a morning speech from the U.S. House floor.

"I can attest to this, anyone that would loiter off the coast of Connecticut is not going it because of the great climate and weather; it's freezing weather out there and they are doing it obviously, with aggressive intent to say the least," he said. "This is part of a pattern that is going on right now, not just off the East Coast of the U.S., but also overseas."

The congressman pointed to a U.S. Navy missile ship that was "buzzed by military aircraft from Russia" earlier this month, as well as reports that the Russian military is deploying "intermediate medium range nuclear warheads" in different locations.

Courtney called for the Trump administration to "move on to a bipartisan effort to respond to this threat" and disclose all background regarding Flynn's interaction with the Russian government.

DeLauro, meanwhile, contended that "Russia is flexing its muscle" and urged Trump to "focus on the issues at hand rather than tweeting."

Correction: it's a ship, not a submarine. However, President Trump needs to focus on the issues at hand rather than tweeting.

-- Rosa DeLauro (@rosadelauro) February 15, 2017

Murphy said the spy ship suggests "Russia is acting like it has a permission slip to expand influence, (and) test limits of reach."

Russia is acting like it has a permission slip to expand influence, test limits of reach. Questions are obvious: does it, and if so, why? https://t.co/6Hsm7T2GO2

-- Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 15, 2017

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Getting ready for prom, graduation and job interviews is often an exciting part of the end of high school but for children in the foster care system finding formal wear can be difficult and expensive.

Getting ready for prom, graduation and job interviews is often an exciting part of a young adult's life, but for children in the foster care system, finding formal wear can be difficult and expensive. 

One of Help our Kids Inc.'s program, known as Fitting for the Future, aims to address this issue. 

"Fitting for the Future provides a unique opportunity for teens in foster care to shop for special event clothing, perhaps for the first time in their lives," said Noryn A. Resnick, Executive Director of Help our Kids Inc.

Many services for children in foster care, Resnick said, are in Boston, making it hard for those in Western Massachusetts. She said there was also no program like this for boys until she started it three years ago.

"I wanted to bring this kind of help within range," Resnick said. "I also wanted to include guys in this. They also need clothing for prom, sports banquets, graduation and job interviews, just like the girls do."

See why these inspirational sisters asked friends to bring duffle bags, not presents, to their birthday party

The program provides free clothing, accessories, jewelry, on-site alterations and more to the children that attend the yearly event.

But it's not just about looking good. 

"Perhaps the most important aspect of Fitting for the Future is that it allows teens in foster care to feel on par with their non-foster friends and classmates," Resnick said.

It also reunites siblings that have been placed in separate foster homes.

"We make sure to schedule siblings with the same appointment times so they can not only visit with one another but share the experience and have a sibling portrait taken," Resnick said. 

The photos are taken because siblings in foster care often grow up without many photos, especially photos with their family. 

Eventually, the children will outgrow the clothes but the memories and photos will last much longer. 

"There are two brothers attending the event again this year," Resnick said. "When the social worker signed the boys up this year he said 'this is one of their favorite events to do together.'" 

The 2017 Fitting for the Future will be held on Saturday, April 8. 

Here is a list of needed items for the event:

• Suits, slacks, shirts and ties for men over six feet tall
• Bowties, ties, men's belts and cufflinks
• Men's dress shoes sizes: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
• Women's dress shoes sizes: 5, 5 1/2, 9 1/2, 10 1/2, 11, 11 1/2
• Women's formal and work clothing sizes: 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 
• Costume jewelry
• New men's dress socks
• New women's stockings and hosiery 
• Financial donations

George I. Chapman pleaded guilty single counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

PITTSFIELD -  A 31-year-old Springfield man who was arrested in a 2015 North Adams drug raid that yielded 400 packets of heroin and $1,300 in cash, was sentenced on Tuesday to 2 1/2 years in the Berkshire County House of Correction.

George I. ChapmanNorth Adams Police 

George I. Chapman pleaded guilty single counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

Judge John Agostini ordered him to serve concurrant terms of 2 1/2 years on each charge. 

Chapman was arrested on Aug. 6, 2015 during a raid conducted by the North Adams police, Berkshire Law Enforcement Task Force and state police.

Police learned of drug activity at that residence and obtained a search warrant for the property.

A woman arrested in the same raid, Algelique Alcombright, 28 of North Adams, pleaded guilty to the same charges in July and was sentenced to two years and a day at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Framingham.

The Supreme Judicial Court reversed breaking and entering and larceny convictions against a Springfield man, ruling fingerprint evidence against him was not sufficient to convict.

BOSTON - An accused burglar from Springfield had his 2013 convictions reversed by the Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday.

Eric S. French was convicted of breaking and entering in the daytime and larceny after a jury-waived trial in Springfield District Court, according to the high court's decision.

He was arrested and charged with breaking into a neighborhood market in August of 2013 and stealing about $500 worth of cigarettes, the decision states. A district court judge found him guilty, based almost solely on fingerprint evidence.

A shopkeeper was called with news of a break-in and found someone had removed a window panel and climbed in, the decision states. Springfield police detectives were called to the scene and found an approximately six-foot tall pane had been propped up against the door and a milk crate nearby which investigators presumed was used by the perpetrator to climb in.

One detective testified at trial that he took photographs from inside the store but did not dust for further fingerprints, according to the decision.

A latent print from the window pane matched a known print from French, the ruling continued. The justices noted that a fingerprint expert for the police department conceded on the witness stand that prints cannot be dated and may remain on a surface for a long time.

"Even if the fingerprint was at the top of the window, it was, in (a detective's) estimation, no more than six feet from the ground. This is not so high that it could not have resulted from an innocent touching," the ruling reads.

"Coupled with the fact that, as (another detective) testified, fingerprints can remain on a surface for a long time, this reasonably suggests that the fingerprint could have been left at some previous time, unrelated to the break-in," it continues.

Based on this argument and others, the high court reversed French's convictions even after they had been affirmed by a split decision by the state's appellate court, the ruling reads.

The Select Board agreed to schedule a one-question referendum on building a new twin school at the Wildwood Elementary School site on the same day as the annual Town Election scheduled March 28 after voters submitted a petition to do so.

AMHERST - The Select Board agreed to schedule a one-question referendum on building a new twin school at the Wildwood Elementary School site on the same day as the annual Town Election scheduled March 28 after voters submitted a petition to do so.

The Select Board had been waiting to learn whether enough signatures were submitted to require the special election to overturn a Town Meeting vote which rejected the proposal.

But town attorney Joel Bard has been asked to weigh in on how many votes would be needed to overturn the town meeting vote after a question about the interpretation of the the requirements described by the Town Government Act was raised.

Town Meeting on Jan. 30 voted 123-92 to support building a new twin-school building, but the vote failed the required two-thirds margin needed because the spending requires borrowing.

The proposal called for the Town Meeting to approve spending $32.8 million to build the approximately $67 million second through sixth grade twin elementary school.

It was the second Town Meeting on the funding, called after residents petitioned for the meeting. On Nov. 14, Town Meeting rejected the proposal 108-106.

In November, voters in the town election approved spending on the project by 126 votes, 6,825 in favor and 6,699 opposed.

The request will ask voters at large the same question.

Town Clerk Sandra Burgess reported to Select Board that her office received petition papers with 1,501 signatures. So far, 904 were certified and she said they would continue certifying an additional 91 - 20 percent above the 829 required to call for the election.

The Town Government Act requires that papers be signed by five percent of the town's registered voters on the date of the Town Meeting held. That number was 16,569 putting the signatory requirement at 829.

She also said that to overturn a town meeting vote, at least 18 percent or 2,983 voters must vote in the special election and that the vote to approve spending be approved by a two-thirds majority, the same as the town meeting vote.

But the question about what the 18 percent means was raised to the Select Board. Some believe that at least 18 percent of all the active registered voters have to simply cast ballots while others believe that at least 18 percent would have to vote in favor of overturning Town Meeting action a higher threshold.

Acting Town Manager David Ziomek said officials expect to know more in a few days. He said they will look at the law and past referendums taken and will have clarification well before the election.    

A short list of colleges that were once representative by Native American tribes or imagery that has since been retired.

The weeklong schedule has fun, competition and charitable benefit.

The annual commemoration of Pride Week at Chicopee High School involves friendly competitions between the four different classes, but the biggest winners are needy people who will benefit from the school's canned food drive.

The drive was underway as Pride Week from Feb. 13-17 marked the 29th annual such celebration. Chicopee Comprehensive High School holds similar activities during a week in the spring.

The freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes had the week to compete for the honor of collecting the highest number of canned food items. Those will be donated to Lorraine's Soup Kitchen and Pantry.

Pride Week coordinator Frederick A. Pelczar, Jr., said the school has once again issued a challenge to all other Chicopee schools to exceed the high school's contribution.

The canned food drive is the headline event and most charitable Pride Week activity, but the week schedule was also filled with events including a trivia contest, an "on-time" attendance contest, a "loose change" collection drive to help the less fortunate, and other activities.

Some are zany - a lip-sync contest, pickle ball competition and daily dressing themes. Others lean to the more academic, artistic or athletic side with a spelling bee, oratorical contest, mathematical mania, creative poster contest, crazy swim relay and talent competition included.

The week was scheduled to end with an Olympic-style "Ultimate Challenge" of field events set for Friday, Feb. 17.