A private tree service has cleared away the bulk of damage to Robinson State Park from the June 1 tornado.

The Republican | Don TreegerA sign posted at the entrance to Robinson State Park in Agawam following the June 1 tornado.

AGAWAM – Robinson State Park, which has been closed since the June 1 tornado, will reopen Sunday, according to state officials.

“We’re excited to have Robinson State Park reopen for the public,” state Department of Conservation and Recreation Commission Ed Lambert stated in a press release issued late Friday. “There is plenty of summer left to be had and we’re looking forward to the spectacular fall foliage in Agawam.”

The park can be reopened because Mayer Tree Service, which started work July 19, finished clearing away trees and branches downed by the tornado on Friday. The park has been closed since the tornado because of damage that affected about 25 acres of the 800-acre attraction.

There was damage to day use areas, roads, trails and the power lines that run through the park. Seventy-five percent of the $300,000 cost of Mayer’s work is expected to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

Visitors to Robinson should take note that despite repairs, storm damage remains throughout portions of the forest at Robinson State Park, the press release advises. Visitors will be required to stay on trails, roads and day use picnic areas. Work related to the tornado will continue in the coming months.

Robinson State Park sustained the loss of more than 250 downed trees and had about 400 feet of downed power lines along with several downed utility poles. No buildings were damaged.

Meanwhile, frequent users of the park, disappointed it has been closed, have been growing impatient.

“It is long overdue,” Lucy Gionfriddo, a member of the leadership committee of the Friends of Robinson State Park, said regarding its imminent reopening.

“Summers are a time when people like to use their state parks,” Gionfriddo said, explaining that people like to take advantage of the park’s pond to cool off in the hot weather.

However, Gionfriddo added that the park being closed so long is understandable in light of the other tornado damage in the region with which the state and federal governments have had to deal.

“I’d like it open as soon as possible,” Kathie Hurley, another member of the Friends leadership group, said. “The way the economy is a lot of people have to vacation close to home....I guess everything takes time.”

Hurley said she understands that FEMA and the state have to set priorities.

The redesign is intended to improve safety and traffic flow with the use of two roundabouts.

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Photo by Diane Lederman/The Republican Baltazar crews work on a culvert on the south end of the $6 million Atkins Road project on Route 116 while flagger Paul Dias holds back traffic.

AMHERST – The Atkins corner road project took more than a decade of preparation, but now that work has actually begun, it’s moving ahead of schedule.

There were some paperwork issues in the beginning, said Paul Baltazar, owner of Ludlow-based Baltazar Contractors Inc., which was awarded the contract for the $6 million project in January. But he said now “We got ahead of the game.”

The redesign is intended to improve safety and traffic flow with the use of roundabouts at West Street and West Bay Road, and at West Street and Bay Road. The road will be slightly wider. The design also includes a multi-use bicycle lane.

Work began in March and by the time they shut down for the winter around Thanksgiving, they expect to be about 70 percent complete, said project supervisor Ian Premo.

Premo said they expect the bulk of the work will be finished in August of 2012, with a punch list and details to be finished after that. Baltazar said once they get in, they like to move quickly. The targeted completion date is June 2013, according, Michael Verseckes, spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Most of the work has been done on the first roundabout and the second is expected to be laid in September, Premo said. Motorists are still using the existing Route 116 and so far, there have been intermittent traffic delays, Balatazar said. But beginning Aug. 1, motorists should expect delays and take alternative routes if they can. They will begin the excavation of Route 116 near Country Corners Road and only one lane of the road will be open to traffic.

Baltazar said they’ve been able to move quickly because of “the cooperation of Atkins” along with the state highway department Hampshire College and the community. He said crews don’t mind the heat. “The hotter the better,” he said.

The town in 2010 laid new sewer and water lines beneath what will be the new Route 116, removed a storage shed and three other buildings as well as apple trees in preparation for the work.

The project is funded with $2.4 million in stimulus money and approximately $5 million from other federal and state sources.

Pauline A. Lannon, president of Atkins Farms, said recently that the effect of the project on their business as been minimal. Atkins is building a new storage facility to replace the one razed for the project.

Residents, town and Hampshire College officials had been working on creating a village center here since 1998, which included the road improvements. The project required hundreds and hundreds of hours of meetings, design, town meeting votes as well as landtakings from Hampshire College, Atkins among others.

The Cecil Group, meanwhile, hired to look at creating a North Amherst Village Center along with an updated South Amherst Village Center project will be presenting the latest concept on the Atkins Corner piece Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Bangs Community Center.

The Norwegian man suspected in a bombing and shooting spree that killed at least 92 people bought six tons of fertilizer before the massacre.

By BJOERN H. AMLAND & LOUISE NORDSTROM, Associated Press Writers

SUNDVOLLEN, Norway (AP) — The Norwegian man suspected in a bombing and shooting spree that killed at least 92 people bought six tons of fertilizer before the massacre, the supplier said Saturday as police investigated witness accounts of a second shooter.

Norway's royal family and prime minister led the nation in mourning, visiting grieving relatives of the scores of youth gunned down at an island retreat, as the shell-shocked Nordic nation was gripped by reports that the gunman may not have acted alone.

The shooting spree began just hours after a massive explosion that ripped through an Oslo high-rise building housing the prime minister's office. At least 92 people have been killed, but police say more are missing.

The queen and the prime minister hugged when they arrived at the hotel where families are waiting to identify the bodies. Both king and queen shook hands with mourners, while the prime minister, his voice trembling, told reporters of the harrowing stories survivors had recounted to him.

A man who said he was carrying a knife was detained by police officers outside the hotel. He told reporters as he was led away that he was carrying the weapon because he didn't feel safe.

On the island of Utoya, panicked teens attending a Labour Party youth wing summer camp plunged into the water or played dead to avoid the assailant in the assault that may have lasted 30 minutes before a SWAT team arrived, police said. A picture sent out on Twitter showed a blurry figure in dark clothing pointing a gun into the water, with bodies all around him.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said the twin attacks made Friday peacetime Norway's deadliest day.

Buildings around the capital lowered their flags to half-staff on Saturday. People streamed to Oslo Cathedral to light candles and lay flowers; outside, mourners began building a makeshift altar from dug-up cobblestones. The Army patrolled the streets of the capital, a highly unusual sight for this normally placid country.

"This is beyond comprehension. It's a nightmare. It's a nightmare for those who have been killed, for their mothers and fathers, family and friends," Stoltenberg told reporters earlier Saturday.

The suspect in police custody — a blonde blue-eyed Norwegian with reported Christian fundamentalist, anti-Muslim views — has been preliminarily charged with acts of terrorism.

Information about the man began to trickle out Saturday, including that he owned a farm and had amassed six tons of fertilizer in the weeks before the twin attacks. Fertilizer is highly explosive and can be used in homemade bombs.

Oddny Estenstad, a spokeswoman for agricultural material supplier Felleskjopet, said Saturday that the company alerted police to the purchase after the man emerged as a suspect.

That quantity of fertilizer — akin to 200 50-pound bags of grain — wouldn't have fit in one car, according to Bob Ayers, former U.S. intelligence official. Two burned-out cars could be see at the scene Friday, but police have not confirmed whether they were used in the attack.

Though police did not release his name, Norwegian national broadcaster NRK identified him as 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik and said police searched his Oslo apartment overnight.

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told reporters that the attacks, believed to be the work of a man who has posted on Christian fundamentalist websites, showed you can't jump to conclusions about terror acts. He said most of the political violence that Norway has seen has come from the extreme right.

"This is a phenomenon that we have to address very seriously," Stoere said.

The Army patrols were an indication of the stepped up vigilance, although police lifted their recommendation, issued after the bombing, that people stay away from the city center.

Gun violence is rare in Norway, where the average policeman patrolling in the streets doesn't carry a firearm. Reports that the assailant was motivated by political ideology was shocking to many Norwegians, who pride themselves on the openness of their society. Indeed, Norway is almost synonymous with the kind of free expression being exercised by the youth at the political retreat.

Stoltenberg vowed that the attack would not change those fundamental values.

"It's a society where young people can ... have controversial opinions without being afraid," he told reporters.

Andresen, the acting police chief, said the suspect was talking to police.

"He is clear on the point that he wants to explain himself," he told reporters at a news conference.

The toll in the shooting hit 85 on Saturday, but police warned that it could rise further as they sent divers into the lake around the island retreat to look for bodies. Acting Police Chief Roger Andresen said he did not how many people were still missing.

The Oslo University hospital said it has so far received 11 wounded from the bombing and 16 people from the camp shooting.

The carnage began Friday afternoon in Oslo, when a bomb rocked the heart of Norway. About two hours later, the shootings began at a retreat for ruling Labour Party's youth-wing, according to a police official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because that information had not been officially released by Norway's police. The gunman used both automatic weapons and handguns, he said. It was not clear Saturday whether experts had succeeded in disarming a bomb that the official said had been left unexploded.

The blast in Oslo, Norway's capital and the city where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, left a square covered in twisted metal, shattered glass and documents expelled from surrounding buildings.

The dust-clogged scene after the blast reminded one visitor from New York of Sept. 11. People were "just covered in rubble," walking through "a fog of debris," said Ian Dutton, who was in a nearby hotel.

While survivors evacuated the buildings, including ones that house other government offices and Norway's leading newspaper, word came that someone had opened fire on an island about 20 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of Oslo.

Stoltenberg told reporters that he had spent every summer since 1974 on Utoya — "my childhood paradise that yesterday was transformed into hell." The island hosts retreats for the youth wing of his party.

A SWAT team that had been put on alert after the bombing was dispatched to the island once the shooting began. Police official Johan Fredriksen said that means they may have taken 30 minutes to reach the island.

Survivors described a scene there of terror. Several people fled into the water to escape the rampage, and police said they were still searching the lake for bodies.

Asked whether all victims at Utoya died from gunshot wounds or if some had drowned, Stoere, the foreign minister, said "you will likely see a combination."

A 15-year-old camper named Elise who was on Utoya said she heard gunshots, but then saw a police officer and thought she was safe. Then he started shooting people right before her eyes.

"I saw many dead people," said Elise, whose father, Vidar Myhre, didn't want her to disclose her last name. "He first shot people on the island. Afterward he started shooting people in the water."

Elise said she hid behind the same rock that the killer was standing on. "I could hear his breathing from the top of the rock," she said.

She said it was impossible to say how many minutes passed while she was waiting for him to stop.

At a hotel in the village of Sundvollen, where survivors of the shooting were taken, 21-year-old Dana Berzingi wore pants stained with blood. He said the fake police officer ordered people to come closer, then pulled weapons and ammunition from a bag and started shooting.

Several victims "had pretended they were dead to survive," Berzingi said. But after shooting the victims with one gun, the gunman shot them again in the head with a shotgun, he said.

"I lost several friends," said Berzingi, who used the cell phone of one of those friends to call police.

An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attack "is probably more Norway's Oklahoma City than it is Norway's World Trade Center." Domestic terrorists carried out the 1995 attack on a federal building in Oklahoma City, while foreign terrorists were responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Though the prime minister cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the gunman's motives, both attacks were in areas connected to the left-leaning Labour Party, which leads a coalition government. The youth camp, about 20 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of Oslo, is organized by the party's youth wing, and the prime minister had been scheduled to speak there Saturday.

Sponheim said a man was arrested in the shooting, and the suspect had been observed in Oslo before the explosion there. But he refused to confirm the suspect's identity as reported by Norwegian media.

Sponheim said the camp shooter "wore a sweater with a police sign on it. I can confirm that he wasn't a police employee and never has been."

Aerial images broadcast by Norway's TV2 showed members of a SWAT team dressed in black arriving at the island in boats and running up the dock. People who had stripped down to their underwear moved in the opposite direction, swimming away from the island toward the mainland, some using flotation devices.

The United States, European Union, NATO and the U.K., all quickly condemned the bombing, which Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague called "horrific" and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen deemed a "heinous act."

"It's a reminder that the entire international community has a stake in preventing this kind of terror from occurring," President Barack Obama said.

Obama extended his condolences to Norway's people and offered U.S. assistance with the investigation. He said he remembered how warmly Norwegians treated him in Oslo when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II wrote to Norway's King Harald to offer her condolences and express her shock and sadness at the shooting attacks in his country.

A U.S. counterterrorism official said the United States knew of no links to terrorist groups and early indications were the attack was domestic. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was being handled by Norway.

___

Nordstrom reported from Stockholm. Associated Press reporters Nils Myklebost Oslo, Karl Ritter in Stockholm, Rita Foley in Washington, Paisley Dodds in London, and Paul Schemm in Tripoli, Libya, contributed to this report.

Firefighters determined that fumes from a glue the construction crew used was being pulled into the building through the air conditioning system, causing a noxious smell.

(AP file Photo)

SPRINGFIELD - Employees at the Bank of America branch on Island Pond Road in Springfield were overcome by fumes from roof construction on Saturday, prompting the temporary closure of the bank.

Around 11 a.m., a city police officer inside the bank called for an ambulance after one employee was having trouble breathing which she believed was related to her asthma. A few minutes later, other employees had similar symptoms and the bank was evacuated.

Springfield firefighters were requested in a non-emergency response to assist at the bank.

When they arrived, roof work that was being done on the building was halted. Firefighters determined that fumes from a glue the construction crew used was being pulled into the building through the air conditioning system, causing a noxious smell.

Firefighters shut off the air conditioning while they ventilated the building and the bank was expected to reopen shortly.

Ware Town Manager Mary Tzambazakis said the town's capital improvements plan will include building construction and repair work and possibly vehicle replacement.

WARE – The town charter calls for having a capital improvements plan and
Town Manager Mary T. Tzambazakis said she will be working with other town officials putting together one that makes sense.

Tzambazakis said the town is filling vacancies on the capital plan committee with people who bring expertise in construction and finance, and she envisions important roles in the process being played by the town planner, public works director and the Finance Committee.

Like many communities throughout the state Ware has faced decreased state appropriations and lean budget years in recent history, but Tzambazakis said there are projects that need to be undertaken and with some longterm loans being paid down, this is a time to put together a realistic program for a bond to cover current needs.

She listed the proposed new fire station, improvements at Town Hall and some solution for the intersection of Doan Road and Route 9 as obvious items to be looking at in a comprehensive way.

Federal stimulus funds will cover $5 million worth of the cost of building a new $7 million fire station at 200 West St. and the state will put in another $1 million, leaving the town to cover the $1 million balance.

In November 2010 borrowing money for the town’s share of the fire station and proceeding with design and construction were approved by a vote at a special Town Meeting.

Tzambazakis said the town has not done much in the way of capital improvements in recent years except for some projects done with Community Development Block Grant money and some road work with the annual state funding through Chapter 90.

In addition to the fire station, Town Hall and Doan Road, Tzambazakis said she would expect the Capital Plan Committee to consider extending municipal water and sewer lines, catch basins, improving accessibility in town buildings and traffic signals downtown.

“We have done a signalization study, and we want to do something with traffic signals,’’ she said.

Another consideration will be looking at replacement vehicles and other capital equipment through a long-term plan rather than buying them outright or leasing when needs arise.

“When you spend money like that in one shot, it impacts the operating budget,’’ Tzambazakis said.

New York State Police say they found 2 guns, three handgun magazines and drugs in Keenan's vehicle following a traffic stop.

(Post-Journal file photo/ Robert Rizzuto)New York State Trooper Jason Cresanti and his K-9 partner Garro are pictured after a 2010 traffic stop which led to the discovery of three pounds of marijuana.

NORTH HARMONY, N.Y. - Albert Keenan, 47, of Enfield, Connecticut was arrested this week following a traffic stop on Interstate 86 in Western New York.

According to a police brief published by The Post-Journal in Jamestown, N.Y., the New York State Police, around 5:40 p.m. Sunday, a Chautauqua County sheriff's deputy pulled over Keenan's vehicle for speeding.

The deputy said that Keenan was acting nervous and gave a story that was inconsistent with those given by other passengers in the vehicle.

A K-9 patrol from the state police was requested and trooper Jason Cresanti and his four-legged partner Garro arrived. A search of the vehicle allegedly yielded a bag of .45 caliber ammunition, three handgun magazines, prescription pills, a white powdery substance found in the backseat and two handguns which were in the trunk of the car.

Keenan reportedly told police that the guns and the drugs were his and he was taken into custody by troopers.

He is facing misdemeanor drug charges and felony weapons charges and well as a speeding ticket in connection with the incident. He was arraigned and held at the Chautauqua County Jail in Mayville, N.Y. awaiting his next court date.

Trips to hear the Springfield Symphony Orchestra are among the extras a business-education partnership funds for West Springfield students.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – The West Springfield Partnership for Education this past academic year donated thousands of dollars to fund innovative programs in the city’s public, private and parochial schools, according to an announcement issued by the organization.

A nonprofit organization formed in 1991, the partnership consists of educators and members of the business community who work to enhance educational opportunities for students.

“Their support is integral to the work we do and helps us support innovation,” School Superintendent Russell D. Johnston said Thursday. “It helps us make the essential curriculum even more interesting and innovative.”

One of its programs that Johnston singled out for praise was the creative days for teachers. They allow teachers to take a day off to work together to come up with new programs and ways to enhance the curriculum, according to Johnston. The program provided 24 $300 grants for teachers.

Among the other programs the partnership supports are the following:

• Grants of $150 each to three students to use creatively on such things as a club or extracurricular activities.

• Admission for third and sixth graders to a performance of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. This project is also funded by the West Springfield Arts Council.

• A total of $560 for a program with high school students and local banks on managing money.

• A grant for a classroom projector for use with a laptop and a SmartBoard at St. Thomas School.

The partnership held fund-raising activities that included the follow, a spelling bee, Mother’s Day craft fair, a coupon book and a bus trip to the Mohegan Sun.

A city resident yet to be identified by authorities was seriously injured on Saturday after a kitchen fire broke out in his Old Hill home.

SPRINGFIELD - A 27-year-old city resident was seriously injured on Saturday after a kitchen fire broke out in his Old Hill home.

According to Dennis Leger, public information officer for the Springfield fire Department, firefighters were called to 48 Alden St. at 12:19 a.m.

"It was a reported kitchen fire and it was out when we arrived," Leger said. "The man put the fire out himself but in the process he was burned pretty badly."

Leger said Dennis Smith was cooking chicken when the pan caught fire. He said Smith was attempting to bring the pan outside when he either dropped it or spilled it on himself, causing severe burns to both of his arms and his chest.

“When you get a grease fire like that, the best thing to do is to cover the pan with a lid or a dish towel, if you don’t have an extinguisher handy. The worst thing you can do is to put water on it or try and carry it outside,” Leger said.

Leger said the man is being treated for the burns; the damage to the apartment was minor.

Staff writer Lori Stabile contributed to this report.

A gasoline tanker truck crashed and exploded in a fireball just north of Boston early Saturday, triggering smaller explosions, sending fire streaming down a nearby brook and killing the truck driver.

This updates a story posted at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press

SAUGUS, Mass. (AP) — A gasoline tanker truck crashed and exploded in a fireball just north of Boston early Saturday, triggering smaller explosions, sending fire streaming down a nearby brook and killing the truck driver, state police said.

Gasoline from the tanker spilled onto Route 1 in Saugus, flowed into a drainage ditch and ignited, carrying flames down a brook that runs near the highway. The floating fire ignited a home and two greenhouse buildings, which were still smoking several hours after the 2:30 a.m. crash on the north side of the highway.

"The whole brook was in flames," said Karen Staskawicz, whose home burned in the fire.

Staskawicz heard a loud crash and several minutes later was warned to get out of her house as the flaming gas ran behind her house and set her porch on fire. About two hours later, her entire house went up in flames. Staskawicz suspects that gas seeped into the basement and fueled the larger fire.

Later Saturday morning, she walked through her charred living room, trying to salvage sentimental photos and figure out what was next for herself, a roommate and her 19-year-old son.

"I don't know where we're staying, to be honest," said Staskawicz, 44. She added, "We have a lot of friends."

State police didn't immediately release the driver's name, but spokesman David Procopio said he was a New Hampshire man. The truck belongs to PJ Murphy Transportation Inc. of Methuen. A call for comment to the company wasn't immediately returned.

Four other motorists were hurt trying to avoid the crash and gushing fuel, including one who went into surgery for serious burns Saturday morning, Procopio said. The other three suffered less severe injuries.

Police were investigating what caused the tanker to slam into a median and roll over.

About 120 people were evacuated from a neighborhood, but they were allowed to return to their homes several hours after the crash, Procopio said. The fires were out three hours after the accident.

Sandra Dion, who lives right off the highway, was awakened by the crash and soon after saw "a huge mushroom cloud of fire and smoke" in the sky over the road. Smaller, sporadic blasts followed as flames began riding down the brook, and there was another massive explosion in a nearby culvert that set off car alarms.

"The gas came down the gully, and everything just blew up," said Dion, 42.

Embers began falling, prompting a neighbor with a baby to leave the house, Dion said. Dion turned on the lawn sprinkler, knowing it might not do much good.

"It's one of those things, you just can't believe it," she said.

Police were checking a bridge over the highway for possible structural damage, Procopio said. Officials were also checking gas lines after an underground line to a nearby fast-food restaurant apparently ruptured from the explosion, he said.

One lane on northbound side of the highway in Saugus, about 10 miles north of downtown Boston, reopened at midday. The southbound side was expected to take longer to reopen because of damage to the pavement. The Department of Environmental Protection was examining the fuel spill.

Paul Bagge, 45, died July 13, one day after trying to intervene in a dispute over a lost beagle, according to police.

SPRINGFIELD – Paul Bagge's life was marked by excellent air guitar rifts, frequent "I love you's" and a tragic end, according to a crowd of East Springfield mourners who attended his funeral service Saturday.

Paul Brendan Bagge

Bagge, 45, died July 13, one day after trying to intervene in a dispute over a lost beagle, according to police. Guy Wilson, 52, punched Bagge in the head as Bagge tried to stop him from harassing a woman who came to 168 East St. to retrieve the dog, said investigators, who arrested Wilson. Bagge fell and hit his head; he later died at Baystate Medical Center, according to family members.

"I was outside the emergency room joking around with my brother-in-law, expecting Paul to come walking out. Then my other brother came out crying. I couldn't believe it," Paul Bagge's older brother, Joseph Bagge, of Springfield, said after the funeral at Mary Mother of Hope Church on Saturday morning.

Joseph Bagge, 47, gave an emotional eulogy at the funeral Mass, including singing a verse from one of his brother's favorite Rush songs.

"He loved music, so I was bound and determined to include a few verses for my brother," he said, taking a break from an after-funeral gathering at the Marconi Club on Parallel Street in East Springfield.

Paul Bagge was unmarried and had no children, but evidently had hundreds of devoted neighborhood friends who packed the church along with his several siblings and other family members.

"We're an eclectic herd," friend Douglas Converse, 55, said of the tight-knit nature of the East Springfield crowd. "Paul wasn't a flashy guy. He was an unassuming guy, a nice guy."

Another friend, Anthony Scavotto, said after the funeral that Bagge would frequently appear at local bars wearing concert shirts and playing air guitar on a mop.

"He had a mullet. He was stuck in a time warp," Scavotto said affectionately, before suggesting to the crowd they should share a blackberry brandy shot in Bagge's memory.

Others chimed in that Paul Bagge would always dole out hugs and tell other patrons he loved them before leaving for the evening.

He lived at 2411 Roosevelt St. with two of his brothers, Joseph Bagge said. Oddly, it was the house where his late parents raised their large family and was sold after they died, only to be repurchased a few years ago by brother Martin Bagge.

"I've been having a hard time coming to terms with his death. But people tell me: 'He died doing the right thing.' So what's wrong with that? It's not a bad legacy to have," Joseph Bagge said.

The fire was reported around 4 p.m. Saturday, as temperatures hovered close to 100 degrees.

An updated version of this story is now available at MassLive.

CHICOPEE – Chicopee firefighters are at the scene of a house fire at 841 Prospect St.

The fire was reported at approximately 4 p.m. Saturday, as temperatures hovered close to 100 degrees.

More details will be published as they become available.

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The school was vacated when students moved to a more-modern building, formerly St. Patrick's School, in October.

File photo | The Republican10.23.2000 | FILE | CHICOPEE – Students at the former Belcher School in Chicopee, which was constructed in 1900.

CHICOPEE – The city is putting the former Belcher School on Southwick Street up for sale for the second time in three months.

After hearing there was some interest in buying the more than 110-year-old former school, the City Council authorized Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette to start the process to sell the building in May.

“We had one bid from someone who was interested in using the site for a retail development,” Bissonnette said.

Because there were errors in the bid, the city decided to formally ask for proposals again, he said.

“If it was a solid bid we may have accepted it,” Bissonnette said. “As a matter of law we had to get it right.”

In the one proposal, a developer was interested in demolishing the building at 10 Southwick St. and using the property to put up a retail building. Bissonnette did not reveal details on what type of retail was proposed.

Republican file photoThe St. Patrick's School which was sold to the city and renamed Belcher School.

Belcher School, which housed about 260 students in kindergarten through grade 2, was closed in October and students moved into a more-modern school that was formerly the St. Patrick’s School on 125 Montgomery St.

The building was purchased by the city when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield decided to close the St. Patrick’s School. After children moved in, the newer school adopted the Belcher School name.

The city had originally proposed to use the school on Southwick Street to house students from Chicopee Academy during renovations to the former Chicopee High School building that they currently occupy.

But Bissonnette said he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to sell a building the city no longer needed, after learning someone was interested in purchasing it. The city has been trying to sell the former Chapin School and the old city library for at least three years with little success.

Alternative plans have been proposed to move Chicopee Academy if it is necessary.

Frances Volkmann, who has been on the Community Preservation Committee since its inception, said steps were also taken to reduce the burden of the surcharge on those who could least afford it.

NORTHAMPTON – Six years after the city adopted it by popular vote, the Community Preservation Act might be back on the ballot.

A group of citizens is circulating a petition to place the state law on the ballot in the upcoming November election. A thousand signatures must be gathered by Sept. 27 to achieve that goal. The option of revisiting the Community Preservation Act is written into the legislation the city adopted in 2005. The act offered the promise of matching state funds for local revenues gathered by way of a surcharge on local property taxes. At the time, Northampton voters chose the highest levy, 3 percent, from a menu of options.

Since then, Community Preservation money has been used on a wide range of projects. The Academy of Music, Forbes Library and Look Park have all benefited from those funds, as have numerous affordable housing endeavors, including local homeless shelters. By law, the money may only be used for projects involving conservation, affordable housing, historical preservation and recreation.

Ward 7 City Councilor Eugene A. Tacy said he investigated the process for getting the question on the ballot after hearing complaints about the Community Preservation handouts from residents.

“We’re looking to get some input from the entire city,” he said, “and the way to do that is to put it on the ballot.”

Although Tacy has not yet signed the petition himself, he admitted that some Community Preservation awards have irked him. Specifically, he takes issue with a grant to Grow Food Northampton to help create a community gardens and $250,000 in Community Preservation money used to upgrade a boarding house on North Maple Street. Tacy believes residents were “hoodwinked” about those projects.

“It’s premeditated deceit, some of it,” he said.

William Breitbart, a member of the Community Preservation Committee, which considers applications and awards money, believes it would be “extremely unfortunate” if the act were brought up again for a vote.

“CPA money is critical to qualified projects,” he said. “It would be tragic for this money to be lost to the city of Northampton.”

Breitbart noted that the committee has established an extensive process to solicit public input on applications. Frances Volkmann, who has been on the committee since its inception, said steps were also taken to reduce the burden of the surcharge on those who could least afford it. To that end, the first $100,000 of assessed property value is exempt when calculating the surcharge. Income eligible households can also opt out of the surcharge altogether.

On the other hand, Volkmann acknowledged that the state’s contribution has shrunk steadily since the city adopted the act, dropping from a 100 percent match to about a 30 percent match. One reason for this is that the state money comes out of a fee on property transfers recorded in the registries of deeds. Housing sales have been slow due to the economic downtourn, however, and that pool of money has shrunk.

Although Northampton was among the first communities to adopt the act, many more have come on board since then, stretching the state funding thin.

Nonetheless, Volkmann said the state’s match has averaged 64 percent since 2005.

“If you can invest your money and do better,” she said, “tell me where.”

Library Trustees chairman Mitchell Resnick announced a town-wide festival to celebrate the proposed new library.

An artist's rendering of the proposed new South Hadley Library.

SOUTH HADLEY – No sooner had the Public Library here been awarded a provisional grant of $4,841,312 from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners than its supporters got to work planning how to raise the rest of the money to meet the conditions and build a new library.

At a joint meeting of South Hadley’s Library Trustees and Library Building Committee on Monday, the group burst into applause when Trustees chairman Mitchell Resnick recognized library director Joseph Rodio, his staff and “all the townspeople who were so supportive” in the quest for the multi-million-dollar grant.

“It’s nice to sit back and relax – for six hours,” quipped Resnick.

Library supporters have a busy schedule ahead. They must raise about $3.5 million by Jan. 31, said Resnick, to keep the grant. Members of the Library Commission were expected to visit South Hadley in the next two weeks to discuss expectations and strategies. On Aug. 24, grant recipients have a mandatory grant workshop in Foxborough.

Resnick announced a town-wide festival to celebrate the proposed library on Aug. 12 from 5 to 8 p.m., at Main and Canal Streets, where the library eventually would be built.

The festival will feature live music, vendors, food and family-friendly fun; there will be no alcohol. People can bring picnics and lawn chairs. There will be no admission fee for the festival. The Public Library will have an informational table, and people may donate there if they wish.

“I want it to be an inclusive event,” said Resnick. “I want everyone to be there.” He is looking for a volunteer to coordinate the festival by recruiting entertainment, advertising the event, ensuring the area is safe and clean and serving as a liaison with the Youth Commission. Those interested can call Joseph Rodio at the library, (413) 538-5045.

In the coming weeks, library supporters plan to make presentations to the Selectboard, hold a public hearing and get on the warrant of a fall Town Meeting to ask for a debt exclusion that would pay for part of the library’s cost.

Supporters will also be raising as much money as possible in other ways, giving presentations around town and applying for more grants. Resnick said the intention is to have the new library LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which would make it eligible for “green” grants.

South Hadley is one of four libraries in Western Massachusetts to receive provisional grants from the state Board of Library Commissioners. The others are in Granby, Shutesbury and West Springfield.

The inmates were arraigned Friday on charges of malicious destruction of property worth more than $250 and conspiracy to commit malicious destruction of property worth more than $250. T

GREENFIELD – Twelve Vermont inmates have been arraigned on felony charges stemming from a riot the Franklin County jail.

The inmates were arraigned Friday on charges of malicious destruction of property worth more than $250 and conspiracy to commit malicious destruction of property worth more than $250. The Greenfield, Mass., Recorder reports they all also are charged misdemeanors of disturbance of a correctional facility and defacing a county building. They are due back in court Sept. 15.

Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan said the July 7 riot caused $250,000 in damage to windows, ceiling tiles, furniture, cameras, computers and water damage from a broken sprinkler head.

The jail accepts out-of-state inmates for a fee.

The scorching heat will give way to more seasonable temperatures starting Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 4:25 this afternoon.

A vehicle from the Chicopee Fire Department

The Republican/Michael BeswickMadeleine Fordham (in yellow) goes to dunk the birthday girl, Amalia Butler, at her birthday party held at Puffer's Pond in Amherst on Saturday.

CHICOPEE - As the mercury approached 100 on Saturday afternoon, Chicopee firefighters battled an attic fire at 841 Prospect St., spotted by a passerby who saw smoke and flames shooting out of the single-family home’s back window.

“It was brutal . . . It was a hot one today,” Acting Deputy Fire Chief William J. Lemay said.

No one was injured, but an ambulance was called to the scene in case any of the 14 firefighters overheated.

Lemay said the fire, reported just before 4 p.m., was contained to the attic, and extinguished within 15 minutes. The cause is still under investigation. The fire at the two-story home caused approximately $10,000 in damage and displaced the three residents.

“We’re going to keep a truck there until 8 or 9 (Saturday night) for a fire watch,” Lemay said.

Lemay said the passerby knocked on the door to alert the three residents to the fire. Shortly after, someone else came running over and started knocking on the doors too. The home is owned by Brian Kolodeji of West Springfield.

The oppressive heat of the past week is expected to break on Sunday, as temperatures should only reach the mid-80s, a 10-degree difference from Saturday, according to William T. Babcock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“People will notice the difference. Also, the air will be a little less humid and will add to the increase in comfort,” Babcock said.

Saturday’s high at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks was 98, just one degree shy of the record 99 set in 1978, Babcock said. The past week has been a scorcher - the high Friday was 103; Thursday’s was 98; Wednesday’s was 92; Tuesday’s, 91; Monday’s, 89; and July 17’s, 93.

More temperate weather should roll in this coming week, with seasonable temperatures in the 80s each day, Babcock said. Monday may only reach in the upper 70s, he added.

Cooling centers were open around the region on Saturday to give people a respite from the heat.

In Palmer, Emergency Management Director Donald C. Elliott asked Senior Center Director Erin Pincince to open the Senior Center on Central Street for residents. Pincince said only six people showed up, and they spent the time playing card games such as pitch and cribbage. Pincince said someone came in because they wanted to turn off their own air conditioner for a while to save on electricity costs.

Mary G.S. Hubert, 89, said she was happy the Senior Center opened, as she doesn’t have air conditioning at home.

“This is so much better,” Hubert said.

The Mason Square Senior Center in Springfield also had just a half-dozen visitors by 4 p.m. That center also is usually closed on Saturdays.

Alexandria Martin was manning the Mason Square Senior Center, reporting that the few people who came in watched television. Olander Worthy, 62, of Indian Orchard, dropped in because he was in the neighborhood to get a haircut.

“I was pleasantly surprised to see the door unlocked,” said Worthy, who sometimes leads an exercise class for the seniors there using hula hoops that he makes and ribbons.

Worthy said he doesn’t have air conditioning at home, and his wife told them they must be the only people in New England without it. He said she was spending the afternoon studying in the air-conditioned library at Western New England College.

“It’s quite oppressive out there,” Worthy said. “I actually enjoy the heat. I guess I remember January and February, so I’m not complaining. I’m trying to enjoy it.”

Selectmen voted to authorize Weitz to prepare the building for sale with the stipulation that the exterior of the building be preserved along with the historic features.

The Republican file photo | Michael S. Gordon10.02.2003 | FILE – The Wilbraham Grange Hall on Main Street is seen.

WILBRAHAM – The Board of Selectmen has voted to authorize Town Administrator Robert A. Weitz to prepare to advertise the vacant Grange Hall at 485 Main Street.

Selectmen have been seeking a reuse for the building since the town took it over from the Wilbraham Grange in 2004 after the Wilbraham Grange announced it was merging with the Palmer Grange.

Voters at the annual Town Meeting in June gave selectmen authorization to dispose of Grange Hall, provided they return to Town Meeting if they want to demolish the building.

Selectmen voted to authorize Weitz to prepare the building for sale with the stipulation that the exterior of the building be preserved along with the historic features.

Selectmen did not vote to require that the building be used for residential use.

Gerda Trzeciha, a town resident, told selectmen she does not want to see the building become commercial. Trzeciha said she wants to see the center of Wilbraham preserved as a residential center.

A reuse for Grange Hall has been difficult to find because the building does not have enough land for parking.

Selectmen authorized the town administrator to seek proposals from a private owner to take over the building, Pamela Beall, secretary to the Board of Selectmen, said. No sale price will be posted with the advertisement, Beall said.

Any change in use would be referred to town regulatory boards such as the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals, Beall said.

Jerry Rademacher’s livelihood and lifelong passion was cut short in December after a 19-year-old driver ran into him while he was walking home to Berard Circle from work at the bike shop.

The Republican / Michael S. GordonJerry A. Rademacher, center in wheelchair, is surrounded by friends helping to promote a fund-raising day of fun and bike rides to benefit Rademacher, owner of Pro Bicycle Shop in Springfield, who was injured in December when hit by a car while walking. From left behind him: Eric A. Cohen, of East Longmeadow, Christopher W. Fonda, of East Longmeadow, Andrew S. Hayes, of Springfield, Douglas W. Gray, of East Longmeadow, and George E. Willard, of Easthampton. The event is Aug. 28 at the Hatfield Lions Club.

SPRINGFIELD – Most Americans master a bicycle by adolescence, but few ride like Jerry Rademacher has.

The middle son of an Olympic skier and a research chemist of German descent whose surname loosely translates to “wheel maker,” Rademacher embraced cycling as soon as he was old enough to pedal.

He, his father and his two brothers were riding English three-speeds the 135 miles to his grandmother’s in Hanover, N.H., by the time he was 12. The family began a bike parts-and-sales business in the basement of their Springfield home, and later moved it to a squat, brick building on Allen Street in the early 1970s.

As a noted “sprinter,” Rademacher had the quick muscle response that allowed him short, critical bursts of speed in competitive cycling.

The Rademachers used their powerful legs to make a name for themselves in regional racing and bicycle touring circles.

But, Jerry Rademacher’s livelihood and lifelong passion was cut short in December after a 19-year-old driver ran into him while he was walking home to Berard Circle from work at the bike shop. His spinal cord was severed.

The husband and father of two now watches from a wheelchair as his family’s home is gradually being converted to accommodate a paraplegic instead of an avid cyclist.

“When I woke up in the intensive care unit, I saw all these tubes and gauges around me,” he recalls. “My legs were in full braces, and I could tell pretty quickly that I couldn’t move my legs.”

“I didn’t cry about it though,” Rademacher said. “Not on that day, anyway.”

Rademacher remained hospitalized at Baystate Medical Center for all of December, then moved to a specialty rehabilitation center in eastern Massachusetts for three months before returning home.

Rademacher’s younger brother, Kris, struggled to keep Pro Bike at 1344 Allen St. open for three months after his brother’s accident. But, with his own shop in downtown Palmer, it became impossible, especially when the cycling season began to ramp up in early spring.

“The more time I spent at (his) shop, the more I realized Jerry did a lot for people who didn’t have much money in his neighborhood,” Kris Rademacher said. “People would come in and tell me Jerry put air in their tires, and tightened their chains and made other little tweaks for free.”

Some customers were resistant to letting him touch their bikes at all, not trusting anyone but his brother with the work, Kris Rademacher added.

“Some people who have these exotic bikes, it would take me a little bit of talking before they’d let me work on the bike instead of Jerry. It’s not exactly rocket science, but working on a bike and making it run quiet and smooth, it’s something that takes decades of experience,” he said.

Many of those customers have become longtime friends of Rademacher, and are organizing a fund-raiser for him in late August. They hope to finance a wheelchair accessible van and off-road chair.

Jerry Rademacher began walking the mile back and forth between the shop and his home two or three years earlier, believing that riding his bike along the busy route was too dangerous, according to his brother.

The driver involved in the accident, a woman who lives on a neighboring street, was not cited by police.

Jerry Rademacher is quick to tell people he is neither vengeful nor angry, and is not looking for sympathy over his plight.

When asked how he is coming to terms with the accident and its results, he quickly averts his eyes while admitting he has “down days.”

His brother, however, notes that even the smallest tasks are now time-consuming for his brother: getting out of bed; getting dressed and getting in and out of his wheelchair, for example.

Before the accident, Jerry Rademacher spent many of his hours outside the shop, logging miles with the Cyclonauts racing team. His father helped revive the local group in the 1960s, and it produced touring and triathlon offshoots over the years, groups which now maintain their own memberships.

Doug Gray, a sales executive from East Longmeadow, first met the Rademachers in 1974 when he would bike with his colicky infant son around the track at Forest Park.

“I’ve been riding with them ever since,” said Gray, a member of the Cyclonauts and organizer of the upcoming fund-raiser. Gray said the event is open to noncyclists and beginner cyclists.

“We’re a close-knit group,” said Gray, adding that the club is coed, although heavily male, with biking enthusiasts of all ages. The group includes a retired component that the others affectionately called “The Recyclonauts.”

Among the riders, they raised $7,000 through an impromptu call to the members on Jerry’s behalf. They need to raise a little over $20,000 more to purchase the rig, according to Gray.

“It would be very easy to sit in that wheelchair and wait in the house for friends to drop by with a case of beer,” Gray said. “But, he’s an avid photographer and has full use of his upper body. This van will make his quality of life so much better.”

And, while Rademacher was injured while on foot, serious cycling accidents and collisions with motorists are part of the lore of the sport. There, but for the grace of God, go any of them, Gray reasons.

At Pro Bike on Allen Street, children’s bikes and racing bikes still stand in the store waiting to be sold. A half-empty gum ball machine stands near the wall, and a snow shovel and winter decorations are propped near the front window, making it seem like a scene frozen in time.

A hand-written time is taped on the front door that reads: “Store will re-open ASAP. Jerry is still recuperating.”

Jerry Rademacher says it is his goal to re-open the store, hopefully with some help to assist him in lifting bikes and other tasks the accident left him unable to do.

The Merlin racing bike he built for himself in 1991 still hangs in his basement, untouched.

He has admired some three-wheel, arm-powered bicycles since his accident, but is not sure whether he will ever invest in one.

“I used to put more miles on my bike every year than I did on my car. I think I logged enough miles though,” Rademacher said. 

FUND-RAISER FACTS

Event: “Jerry’s Ride”

When: Aug. 28; registration, 7-9 a.m.; social, 1-6 p.m.

Cost: $25; kids under 12, free

Details: Includes 25-, 60- and 100-mile routes; food, music, raffle and social event will fol´low

Proceeds: Help Cyclonauts bi´cycling club raise funds to buy van and wheelchair for mem´ber Jerry Rademacher

Where: Hatfield Lions Club, Billings Way, Hatfield

For info: Call Bob Majowicz, (413) 665-7505, email bmajo´wicz@comcast.net; George Willard, (413) 527-0330; email, gwill@verizon.net

State police said Justin Goglas crashed into seven or eight cars.

Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD – State police charged a 24-year-old New Haven, Conn. resident with several counts of leaving the scene of an accident as well as reckless endangerment of a child, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and operating under the influence of drugs, after he struck several cars as he was traveling north on Interstate 91 on Saturday afternoon.

Trooper Brian L. Clapprood said Justin Goglas crashed into five or six cars in Massachusetts. He also drove erratically in Connecticut, where he hit several cars.

State police caught up to Goglas after he slammed into a jersey barrier, near the Forest Park curve, and got out of the car. Goglas is being held at the Hampshire County House of Correction and is due to be arraigned Monday in Springfield District Court.

Clapprood said the mother of the 1 1/2-year-old child also was in the 1993 Toyota station wagon. He said the state Department of Children and Families has been notified. The incident happened at about 2:30 p.m.

The nonprofit corporation provides free civil legal assistance to low-income and elderly residents of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties.

Jonathan L. Mannina, left, is executive director of the newly-created Community Legal Aid, and Hisham Leil is managing attorney for the Springfield office located in Monarch Place

SPRINGFIELD – The nonprofit agency that has provided legal services for low-income and elderly residents of Western Massachusetts has joined forces with a similar agency in Worcester.

All the services provided by Western Massachusetts Legal Services will continue as before, but the new entity will be known as Community Legal Aid.

Western Massachusetts Legal Services and Legal Assistance Corp. of Central Massachusetts have come together to create the new entity, according to the new agency’s executive director, Jonathan Mannina.

The nonprofit corporation provides free civil legal assistance to low-income and elderly residents of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties.

The merger is not going to affect services in Western Massachusetts in any way, although there is a hope there will be expansion of services, Mannina said.

The existing staff of Western Massachusetts Legal Services was brought into the new agency.

“We put together a new management team, but the front line staff representing clients is the same,” he said.

Each office will have a managing attorney who will report to a deputy director and to Mannina, he said.

Hisham Leil, who was working on immigration issues for Western Massachusetts Legal Services, is now managing attorney in the Springfield office, which is located in Monarch Place.

“We’re really hoping over time this enhances services to the folks in Hampden County. We are in the process of putting together an expanded board which will have representation from all the counties served,” Mannina said.

The two legal-aid agencies have had challenging financial times, and consolidating management and other functions makes sense, he said.

Since the new agency now covers half the state, there may be some larger public and private funding sources that can be approached to help provide support for its programs, Mannina added.

“(Community Legal Aid’s) staff looks forward to working together on issues affecting our client communities,” Mannina said. “We are proud of the legacy of past providers of legal aid in central and Western Massachusetts, and we are committed to providing the finest legal advocacy for our clients.”

With a staff of 50 people and offices in multiple locations, services are offered in elder law, government benefits and unemployment compensation, landlord-tenant law, humanitarian-based immigration law, housing and employment discrimination, and family law matters affecting domestic violence victims.

In addition to assisting clients with their cases, the agency provides trainings for social service providers and other members of the community on legal issues affecting low-income and elderly families and individuals.

The main offices are in Northampton, Pittsfield, Springfield and Worcester. Staff meet with clients on designated days at satellite offices located in Fitchburg, Greenfield, Milford, North Adams and Southbridge. 