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Population in Massachusetts keeps growing, outpaces rest of northeast region

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Massachusetts is the fastest growing state in the New England region for the sixth year in a row, according to Secretary of State Bill Galvin's office.

Massachusetts is the fastest growing state in the New England region for the sixth year in a row, according to a top state official.

Secretary of State Bill Galvin, whose office works with the US Census Bureau, said almost all Massachusetts counties gained population between July 1, 2015 and July 1, 2016.

Increases in Suffolk County and Middlesex County contributed to Massachusetts outpacing other northeast states.

"Getting the best count of our population in the census is critical, not only for ensuring a proper distribution of federal funds, but in determining the number of our representatives on Congress," Galvin said in a statement.

The next US Census happens in 2020.

Massachusetts lost a Congressional seat after the 2010 Census because the Bay State saw population growth but it did not grow as fast as the rest of the country. The state now has nine members in Congress.

As of July 2016, Massachusetts has an estimated 6.8 million residents. The state saw an increase of 27,539 people between July 2015 and July 2016.

Three Massachusetts counties haven't seen a population increase since 2010: Barnstable, Berkshire and Franklin.

The population in Suffolk County, anchored by Boston, rose 8.6 percent.

Middlesex County's population rose 5.8 percent. Cities and towns in the county include Cambridge, Newton, Framingham, Belmont, Somerville and Waltham.

Nantucket, the smallest county in Massachusetts, added 836 people, resulting in an 8.2 percent increase.

Secretary William Galvin: U.S. immigration policies could make census count harder

"It is important to note that in Suffolk and Middlesex counties the past year's population increase was boosted by immigration, and overall this state's international migration rate is almost double that of the country as a whole," Galvin added.

"In the actual count three years from now it is vital that our foreign-born population is tallied," he said.

The Census Bureau released population estimates earlier this week showing Maricopa County in Arizona with the highest annual population growth in the country.

Phoenix is located within the county, which picked up 81,360 people, or 222 people per day, between July 2015 and July 2016, according to the Census Bureau.

"Eight of the 10 counties with the most natural decrease (more deaths than births) were in Florida. Four of the top 10 counties with the most natural increase were in California, and 3 of the 10 were in Texas," the Census Bureau said in a release.

U.S. Census: Mass. population grows to almost 6.8M, North Dakota fastest growing state in U.S.


Vibra Hospital in Springfield reaches labor contract with nurses union

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The approximately 80 nurses at Vibra are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

SPRINGFIELD -- Vibra Hospital of Western Massachusetts, the 220-bed long-term acute care center on State Street, has reached a new labor pact with approximately 80 members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, according to a news release from the union.

The contract includes a 1.5 percent across-the-board wage increase for all Massachusetts Nurses Association members over three years. That is accompanied by the addition of four new steps to the top of the union's salary scale.

According to the union, the salary for a new registered nurse at step 1 will see a boost from $29.35 per hour before the agreement to $29.79 per hour. The hourly rate for nurses in Step 10 will go from $36.28 to $36.83. The hourly rate for Step 20 will go from $44.87 to $45.55.

The new, three-year agreement took two bargaining sessions to negotiate and replaces the Massachusetts Nurses Association contract that expired Feb. 28. 

The contract also addresses:

  • Workplace safety: New contract language includes a section protecting staff by removing last names from badges.
  • Discrimination: The new language adds gender identity or gender expression to the protected categories in the contract. The contract also expands the definition of pronouns beyond "he/she" to include people identified with non-binary genders.

Vibra was the Springfield Municipal Hospital until the city sold it in 1996 to Olympus Healthcare Group. It was also once known as Kindred Hospital Park View.

Funeral arrangements set for Massachusetts State Trooper Matthew F. Daigle

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The funeral for Massachusetts State Trooper Matthew F. Daigle, who died suddenly while off-duty Wednesday, has been scheduled for Monday.

The funeral for Massachusetts State Trooper Matthew F. Daigle, who died suddenly while off-duty Wednesday, has been scheduled for Monday.

The 31-year-old trooper suffered a medical emergency during physical training while off-duty.

A US Air Force veteran, Daigle grew up in Natick and worked at the Framingham Barracks. He joined the State Police in 2012.

The funeral mass is set for 10 a.m. at St. Patrick Church in Natick.

Visiting hours at the John Everett and Sons Funeral Home, at Natick Common, are scheduled for Sunday, March 26, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to a posting on Legacy.com.

Massachusetts state trooper who died unexpectedly identified

4th vote Tuesday in Amherst for 'twin' elementary school project

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In addition to choosing School Committee and Select Board members and library trustees, voters in Tuesday's annual town election will decide -- again -- whether to build a "twin" elementary school.

AMHERST -- In addition to choosing School Committee and Select Board members and library trustees, voters in Tuesday's annual town election will decide -- again -- whether to build a "twin" elementary school.

This will be the fourth vote on the proposal to spend $32.8 million to build the approximately $67 million facility for grades two through six on the Wildwood Elementary School site, replacing Wildwood and Fort River Elementary School.

Supporters of the plan collected more than 1,500 signatures to launch the special election, which could overturn an earlier Town Meeting vote.

They continue to knock on doors to drum up support for the project, while opponents continue to stress the reasons they think the proposal is a bad choice. Lawn signs for both sides are scattered throughout town. Editorials for and against continue to be published in local media.

But it is not easy to overturn town meeting. 

Amherst voters in the general election Nov. 8 approved spending on the project by 126 votes, 6,825 in favor and 6,699 opposed. Because the project involved borrowing, however, it also needed Town Meeting approval.

Town Meeting's vote later that month was 108-106, far short of the required two-thirds majority.

Petitioners brought the matter back before Town Meeting on Jan. 30. The vote, 123-92, while favored by the majority also fell short of a two-thirds majority. 

Town voters on Tuesday are being asked again to approve the same spending request. To overturn the Town Meeting vote, at least 18 percent of registered voters must cast ballots in favor of the building project. Those in favor must also make up a two-thirds majority.

The number of active, registered voters when Town Meeting dissolved was 16,569. Eighteen percent of that is 2,983.

Johanna Neumann, who is leading the Yes for Amherst campaign, said in an email that volunteers have been canvassing for three weekends and have knocked on more than 2,237 doors. She said more canvassing is planned for this weekend as well.

Earlier she reported that the campaign reached the $10,000 mark in fundraising, with the money being spent on public education and grassroots outreach.

The opposition group, Save Amherst's Small Schools, continues to advocate for renovating the existing schools on its website and on Facebook.

"We need serious study of renovation prospects and other alternatives to this major construction, consolidation and reconfiguration plan," Marla Jamate, an organizer for Save Amherst's Small Schools, said in a statement Friday.

"We believe this problematic plan would impose needless burdens on Amherst families and pupils for the next 50 years. There are better ways to address our building needs, without dismantling small K-6 schools and overspending taxpayers' money," Jamate wrote.

But those in favor of the project and interim School Superintendent Michael Morris believe it would be more costly to wait.

In a column, Morris wrote, "any future plan that fully addresses the infrastructure needs of both Wildwood and Fort River schools, as the current plan does, will be more expensive to taxpayers and will occur years from now."

"If this vote fails, children currently enrolling for kindergarten at Fort River and Wildwood will be guaranteed that their entire elementary school experience will be in physical learning environments that our teachers rate as among the worst in the commonwealth," Morris wrote.

If the twin school plan is approved and Fort River and Wildwood are combined, Crocker Farm Elementary, currently a kindergarten through sixth-grade school, would become an early childhood center for pre-kindergarten through first grade.

Massachusetts Democrats, health care leaders tout canceled vote on Obamacare replacement plan

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Several members of Massachusetts' congressional delegation claimed victory Friday after House Republicans abruptly canceled a high-profile vote on legislation that sought to dismantle much of the Affordable Care Act.

Several members of Massachusetts' congressional delegation claimed victory Friday after House Republicans abruptly canceled a high-profile vote on legislation that sought to dismantle much of the Affordable Care Act.

Massachusetts Democrats, who were vocal critics of the so-called "American Health Care Act," touted the bill's withdrawal and thanked voters for speaking out against the GOP-led plan to repeal and replace the law known as Obamacare. 

Report: Republican leaders pull plan to replace Obamacare ahead of floor vote

State-based health care leaders and providers also joined congressional lawmakers in lauding the essential defeat of the AHCA, which they argued would have negatively impacted Massachusetts.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, who spoke out against the House GOP plan in Friday afternoon floor remarks, reiterated his criticism of the bill following its removal from the chamber's voting schedule.

"Let's call TrumpCare what it always was: a $1 trillion tax cut for the richest amongst us," he tweeted.

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, meanwhile, contended that constituents' voices "helped stop TrumpCare and stop House (Republicans) from taking health care away from millions."

"This victory belongs to you!" he tweeted.

Congressman Joe Kennedy III, D-Brookline, also thanked voters for helping to block passage of the legislation, but cautioned that more fights on health care lie ahead.

"This was more than an act of resistance. It was our proud first round in the defining battle of the Trump Era: a fight between those of us who champion our shared humanity, and those who scorn it," he said in a statement. "Those who know we are only as strong as the care we give the weak, and those who believe the character of this country is defined by a privileged few."

"Today we earned victory. Tomorrow we prepare for the fight to come," he added.

U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, joined her colleagues in lauding Americans who "voiced their outrage about the Republicans' devastating cuts to health care coverage."

"Whenever this Republican Congress and this administration try to attack our rights and roll back the progress we've made, we will resist," she said in a statement. "We will fight back."

Congressman Bill Keating, D-Bourne, called Republicans' move to pull the AHCA from consideration "a win for everyone who believes in affordable, comprehensive health coverage for opioid addiction treatment, maternal healthcare, older Americans and women, among others."

"Don't let up the pressure and don't stop paying attention," he urged American voters in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Lowell, meanwhile, chastised Republicans for the process through which they sought to advance the AHCA, a bill which she called "indefensible from the outset."

"In their irresponsible rush to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, the GOP concocted an inadequate and destructive health care plan that would have a detrimental impact on American families, the American health care system and public health in general," she said in a statement.

Tsongas, however, stressed that she is committed to working on "ways to make health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans."

Congressman Stephen Lynch, D-South Boston, joined Tsongas in calling for a bipartisan effort to address health care issues.

"Since Republican leadership pulled the bill from floor consideration, I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will now take into account how the American people have reacted to their so-called plan," he said in a statement. "I call for a sincere, bipartisan effort to make needed improvements to the Affordable Care Act."

Like congressional Democrats, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey cast the GOP plan's withdrawal as "a victory for our residents and economy in Massachusetts."

She further urged Republicans to "abandon their misguided efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and instead work with us to lower health care costs and further expand access to care."

In addition to state lawmakers, several Massachusetts health care leaders also celebrated House Republicans' decision to pull their Obamacare replacement plan from consideration.

Lynn Nicholas, the president & CEO of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, said while her organization was relieved by the bill's withdrawal, it remains concerned about the continuation of Republican-led efforts to dismantle the ACA.

"MHA is committed to working with state and federal policymakers to protect the well-being of our state's healthcare system and the patients it serves," she said in a statement. "But the current attack on the ACA would turn back the clock and fails to responsibly and adequately protect our healthcare providers or the patients they serve."

Jeffrey Hulburt, the president and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization, called the essential defeat of the House GOP plan "great news for Massachusetts," contending that the state stood to lose more than just health insurance coverage under a repeal of the ACA.

Tyrek D. Lee Sr., the executive vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, however, offered that while Republicans' decision to pull the controversial bill "is a positive step...we must remain vigilant to ensure that the Commonwealth can protect the major health and economic gains resulting from its pioneering efforts on universal healthcare."

The Republican seeks records on investigation of Holyoke Police Sgt. Charles Monfett

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The Republican newspaper is seeking records from the city of Holyoke, Massachusetts related to an investigation of Police Sgt. Charles P. Monfett, who returned to work on March 5, 2017 after a two-week unpaid suspension, a recommendation from the chief that he be fired and a 2015 injury suffered on duty.

HOLYOKE -- The Republican has filed a public records request with the city to get reports and communications related to an investigation of Police Sgt. Charles P. Monfett.

Specifically, the newspaper is seeking all memos, emails and cell phone text messages between Mayor Alex B. Morse and Holyoke Police Chief James M. Neiswanger regarding Neiswanger's recommendation that Monfett's employment be terminated.

Morse rejected Neiswanger's recommendation that Monfett be fired for failing to return to work after scheduled time off as ordered and failing to cooperate with a subsequent investigation.

An eight-year veteran, Monfett was suspended two weeks without pay and returned to work on March 5, officials said.

Monfett was injured on duty on March 25, 2015, placed on paid administrative leave Sept. 22 and began a two-week unpaid suspension began Feb. 19, Morse and Neiswanger have said.

Among points that officials have failed to address are the nature of Monfett's injury, details that clarify the statements regarding Monfett not returning to work after scheduled time off and failing to cooperate with an investigation and why Neiswanger determined that Monfett's actions were so grievous as to warrant being fired.

Morse told The Republican last month, "Sgt. Monfett was suspended due to a time and attendance matter. Specifically he failed to timely return after scheduled time off as ordered (last year) and then failed to fully cooperate with an investigation. After a review of the findings with the (city) Law Department, I became concerned about losing an appeal to civil service and a possible lawsuit for wrongful termination, which would have opened the city to having to pay tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars in legal expenses. It is for this reason I decided the appropriate disciplinary action was a lengthy suspension."

Neiswanger emailed this statement Feb. 23:

"In the city of Holyoke, the mayor is the appointing authority, and is responsible for hiring and for the dismissal of personnel. As chief of police, I can only administer lower level discipline. This includes warnings, reprimands, unpaid suspensions up to five days, and I can make recommendations for greater discipline to the mayor. An internal affairs investigation was conducted in which substantial misconduct was upheld against an employee. After reviewing the investigation, I forwarded my recommendation for discipline to the mayor. Subsequently, the mayor issued that employee a two week unpaid suspension. The employee in question was injured on duty on March 25, 2015."

Mayor responsible for hiring, firing, says Holyoke Police Chief James Neiswanger on rejection of his recommendation to terminate sergeant

The chief didn't identify Monfett by name in the statement, but the questions posed to him were about Monfett.

Neiswanger announced the suspension of Monfett on Feb. 17 in an internal email to police that said, "Sergeant Monfett has been suspended from duty without pay for the next two weeks. He is scheduled to return to work on Sunday, March 5, 2017. James M. Neiswanger, Chief of Police."

The Republican also is seeking:

  • all Holyoke Police Department reports about the Monfett investigation, including reports done by the department's Professional Standards Division;
  • all memos, emails and cell phone text messages between Holyoke police personnel about the Monfett investigation;
  • all memos, emails and cell phone text messages between Morse, Holyoke police personnel and the Holyoke Law Department about the Monfett investigation.

The request for the records was filed under the Massachusetts Public Records Law (M. G. L. Chapter 66, Section 10) on March 15. The law requires that the city respond within 10 business days.

The records request was sent to Sara J. Carroll, Holyoke assistant city solicitor, Brenna Murphy McGee, Holyoke city clerk and records access officer, Morse and Neiswanger.

Murphy McGee said Neiswanger told her Friday he was working on The Republican's records request and would have a response by the 10-business-day deadline, which is March 28.

Decades before crash that killed DPW worker, Longmeadow officials sought to improve safety at railroad crossing

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In 1990, when the death toll at the crossing stood at four, an Amtrak spokesman said the count was "an awfully high number" -- and that the service would consider installing a better warning system "if asked."

LONGMEADOW -- More than two decades before the collision that killed Department of Public Works foreman Warren P. Cowles, state officials examined the railroad crossing at Tina Lane and Birnie Road -- and determined no safety improvements were necessary.

The review came as local officials, spurred by a November 1990 crash that seriously injured a town resident, sought approval for upgrades to safety measures at the crossing, where signs warn of the tracks but no lights or gates warn of oncoming trains.

Cowles, 59, was behind the wheel of a plow truck during a blinding winter storm on March 14 when he backed the vehicle into the path of an Amtrak train clearing snow on the Hartford Line. There were no passengers aboard, and no injuries reported among the crew.

According to federal records, Cowles was the fifth person to die at the crossing since 1975, and the collision was the seventh at the location during that time period. From 1975 through the end of 2016, a total of 36 people died in collisions at highway-rail grade crossings in Massachusetts. The state is home to roughly 3,000 such crossings, where roadways cross tracks instead of passing over or under them.

cowles-obit-photo.jpgWarren P. Cowles, in an undated photo from his obituary.
 

An online tool maintained by the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Safety Analysis allows users to produce a table showing crossings where the most fatal incidents have been reported. It ranks the crossing where Cowles died as the state's deadliest.

In 1990, when the crossing's death toll stood at four, an Amtrak spokesman said the count was "an awfully high number" -- and that the railroad would consider installing a better warning system "if asked."  

The investigation into the collision that killed Cowles is ongoing, so many questions remain unanswered. For example, officials have not yet disclosed the speed of the train, or whether the train's horn sounded as it approached the crossing.

But what is clear is that questions about the crossing's safety have been batted around by town, state and railroad officials for decades. In the wake of the most recent collision, The Republican reviewed hundreds of pages of town documents, court records and federal guidelines and forms, and sent inquiries to a number of state and federal agencies. Those efforts found:

  • Members of the Select Board began discussing safety issues at the crossing as early as May 1981. The Republican identified over a dozen meetings between 1981 and February 1994 that included discussions of the crossing and the town's attempts to have new signs and signals installed. Early on, uncertainty about whether the crossing involved public or private ways jeopardized the town's ability to secure federal funding for upgrades and stalled the town's efforts.
  • A state review in the early 1990s determined the crossing was not "in need of railroad signalization." The determination followed months of discussion at Select Board meetings as town officials sought approval for improved warning signals.
  • At least two lawsuits have been filed in connection with collisions at the crossing, and Amtrak settled with the plaintiffs in both cases. In one, court records also show the town paid $5,000 to a man who survived a crash.
  • The crossing was listed in federal records as "closed" for nearly four decades, even though it remained open to traffic. The form -- which hadn't been updated since 1980, when Conrail was listed as the primary railroad operator -- was suddenly revised on March 22, 2017 and again on March 24, days after The Republican began making inquiries to Amtrak and to state and federal agencies about the accuracy of the information, and about requirements for providing updates. (See additional story.)

As of 2015 there were nearly 130,000 public highway-rail grade crossings in the country, in addition to another 80,000 private crossings. Some, like the one at Tina Lane and Birnie Road in Longmeadow, are "passive" -- meaning drivers are warned of the tracks through some combination of static signs, such as stop signs, pavement markings, yellow "RR" signs and the familiar black-and-white, x-shaped "crossbucks." Unlike an "active" crossing, though, there are no lights or bells to alert drivers to oncoming trains, and no gate arms to block vehicles from attempting to pass through the intersection.

But active signals are no guarantee. According to one federal report, nearly 60 percent of the collisions recorded at public crossings in 2009 happened where active signals were present and working properly. At Longmeadow's Emerson Road crossing a short distance north of Birnie Road and Tina lane, there are lights and gates. Three train collisions involving vehicles were reported between 1978 and 2002, records show. One of those collisions resulted in a non-fatal injury.

Process for improvements

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, the owner of a road -- such as a state, county, or municipality -- bears the responsibility for upgrading signals.

But according to Longmeadow Town Manager Stephen Crane and to the long history of Select Board discussions about the Birnie Road crossing, that can be easier said than done.

"Town officials are talking with both Federal Railroad Administration officials and Amtrak officials to get our heads around what is the process to getting crossing signals installed there, and it's still not clear to me what that process is," the town manager said during an interview in his office Thursday. "That is moving forward, and we have received some feedback from federal officials that they do want to expedite this as much as possible."

Longmeadow railroad crossingsThe railroad crossing at Emerson Road in Longmeadow has what are known as "active" signals, including lights and gates. 

In a statement emailed to The Republican, Peter Lorenz, communications director for the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said the determination to install active signals at a public crossing is made between a city or town and the railroad company. Decisions about the type of signal protection, the statement read, are made by the railroad and city or town, sometimes with input from the Federal Railroad Administration.

The agency "ensures the safety of 3,000 highway rail grade crossings," according to its website, and intervenes when railroad and local officials disagree on what crossing modifications or upgrades are necessary. The first step toward installing upgrades, according to the agency's statement, is for a city or town to "conduct an assessment of an existing railroad grade crossing structure."

The assessments involve a "diagnostic team" -- made up of representatives from the city or town, local officials, MassDOT,  the Federal Railroad Administration and the railroad owner -- that uses a "risk index" tool to determine what, if any, upgrades are needed.

The team sends its findings to the railroad, which is then responsible for implementing any recommended changes, according to the statement.

In an email, Amtrak spokesman Mike Tolbert expanded on the process, adding: "If a warning device is installed, it is the responsibility of the railroad owner to maintain such a device." Asked about this specific crossing's history, and the assessment by an earlier spokesman that the numbers were unusually high, he responded: "Fatal collisions at any railroad crossing are tragic for everyone involved and Amtrak continually works with local, state and federal authorities along with advocacy groups like Operation Lifesaver to prevent such incidents."  

Officials said there have been no recent reviews of the Longmeadow crossing, despite extensive work since 2010 to improve Amtrak's service along the so-called "Knowledge Corridor." In addition to the track work that restored train service through Holyoke and Northampton, a MassDOT spokesman said seven crossings between Springfield and Northfield -- two public, and five private -- were upgraded from passive to active controls.

"Apparently this crossing never was inspected by a diagnostic team to upgrade from passive to active warning," James Sottile, a Southbridge-based consultant for the state's Department of Public Utilities, said in a phone call to The Republican a day after the crash.

Sottile previously worked for over two decades with the Federal Railway Administration, where he investigated major rail accidents in New England, New York and New Jersey, and served on an eight-member team that produced the federal highway-rail grade crossing regulations. Those rules govern crossings like the one on Birnie Road.

Sottile said he was part of a diagnostic team that reviewed crossings further north along the line to determine whether they were eligible for equipment upgrades and the installation of "active" warning systems. During those inspections, he said, the teams "have to determine whether the passive protection is adequate."

Of Tina Lane and Birnie Road, Sottile said: "They have never approached us to upgrade that crossing" -- explaining that, in his experience, sometimes MassDOT has been the "initiating party" and sometimes a city or town will initiate a request through MassDOT.

MassDOT officials, meanwhile, said the agency does not have any responsibility to initiate a review by a diagnostic team -- but, the agency responds to requests, and "the response includes MassDOT convening a multidisciplinary team of stakeholders to review the request."

"MassDOT has no record or recollection of being asked to review the Birnie Road Crossing in Longmeadow," an agency spokesman said.

Prior to Cowles' death, the most recent collision at Tina Lane and Birnie Road was in 2005, according to federal records. There were no injuries, and Select Board minutes show no discussion of the crossing in the wake of the incident.

But two collisions 18 months apart in the early 1980s that left three dead generated significant debate and efforts by the town to have a new warning system installed.

Gallery preview 

Town reviews begin

On a Wednesday afternoon in May 1981, Debra S. Frank told a coworker at Balise Chevrolet she was going to give a friend, Peggy B. Eyer, driving lessons. According to a police report, Frank left in a light blue Chevrolet Chevette that served as one of the dealership's "demonstrator vehicles."

Eyer was behind the wheel as the vehicle approached the crossing just after 5 p.m. John H. Anderson, the engineer on the Amtrak train that was heading north at 60 miles per hour, wrote in a statement that he saw the car "approaching the crossing in what I believe was faster than reasonable speed." He was already sounding the train's whistle and bell, he said -- standard procedure for the approach to any highway-grade crossing.

The car appeared to slow, and then appeared to come to a stop just before the train reached the crossing, Anderson maintained.

The women, both 25, were killed.

A week after the collision, former Longmeadow Police Chief Donald H. Abraham appeared before the Select Board to offer a history of the crossing.

The road, he told the board, dated to the 1800s -- it appears, unnamed, on a United States Geological Survey map from 1889 -- but the crossing was built after the tracks were laid, according to minutes from the May 26, 1981 meeting.

Abraham noted that in 1975 the town voted to provide funding to the Penn Central Transportation Company for repairs to the tracks and the roadway between them. In the meantime, the state had installed signs and the town altered the road on either side of the tracks -- raising the grade, and paving the section known as Tina Lane on the eastern side.

"All work done at the crossing has to be done by the RR and paid for by the Town," the minutes state. "This is by law."

Select Board Chairman Gerd Schneider asked Department of Public Works Superintendent Joseph C. Cote whether the town would have to pay to install warning lights. "Mr. Cote feels that it would -- the tracks were in existence prior to the road," the minutes state.

The board resolved to have the town's attorney send a letter to the railroad requesting that it finish the repair work that began six years earlier; a lawsuit later alleged the road was in disrepair, and that the conditions contributed to the collisions.

Discussions about the crossing resumed in the wake of a Dec. 10, 1982 collision that killed 54-year-old West Springfield landscaper Francis C. DesJarlais. According to police reports, his wife told police he was in town to collect payments from some of his clients, finish up a few small jobs and swing by the dump on the snowy December afternoon.

On Dec. 13, Select Board members asked the police chief to compile a list of collisions at the crossing. "The Board will write a letter to the railroad asking them to consider some type of action to help at this crossing," the minutes state.

The minutes also reference upcoming work on the tracks that would require the railroad to temporarily close the nearby Emerson Road crossing, and Select Board members noted that was one of the reasons Birnie Road and Tina Lane had to remain open -- after Town Meeting votes closed crossings at Bark Haul and Meadow roads to vehicles, there was no other way for residents who lived near the river to reach their homes.

crash-dec10-1982.jpgThe scene of the Dec. 10, 1982 crash at the Birnie Road and Tina Lane crossing that killed West Springfield resident Francis C. DesJarlais. 

At the Dec. 20 meeting, Cote, the DPW superintendent, offered an update on the track work, as well as his opinion on the crossing's signs. "In discussion of the crossing which was the scene of a recent fatality, Mr. Cote stated that he felt that the signs warning of the crossing are adequate," the minutes state. "They are the type that are required by law. The cost of the signs is $150 each."

Meanwhile, an article published in the Springfield Morning Union -- predecessor to The Republican -- reported an estimate of $75,000 to install signal lights. Amtrak officials told the newspaper the railroad couldn't afford to install lights at every rural crossing in the country.

When the board convened for its first meeting of the year on Jan. 3, 1983, Police Chief John Donaldson briefed the members on the history of accidents at the crossing, which also included a 1975 collision that killed a man who was allegedly fleeing after stealing a resident's vehicle at knifepoint.

The board returned to the topic on March 14, when Town Counsel David J. Martel reported on additional findings from Cote, who'd sought information about federal funding to upgrade warning signals at the crossing. According to Cote's research, Martel told the board, the crossing was ineligible for federal support because Tina Lane -- the stretch of road between the tracks and Pondside Road -- was a private way.

"If it were made a public way you could then seek funds to put up a signal, but there would be no assurance that these funds would be awarded and in the meantime the Town would be required to maintain the crossing as it would be a public way," the minutes state. "Town Counsel will communicate this information to Amtrak officials."

At the board's March 21 meeting, the members resolved to try to work out a plan with the railroad: "Since this is not a public way, no funds are available to the Town for improvements. We now look to Amtrack (sic) for the necessary funds."

Three months later, on June 20, a car carrying five Springfield men who'd been working in the nearby farm fields stalled on the tracks at Tina Lane around 5:30 p.m. The board met just over an hour later later, and Cote briefed the members about the latest crash. A week later, Chief Donaldson suggested moving a warning sign on the eastern side of the tracks closer to Pondside Road.

Minutes from 1983 do not reflect further updates about the town's efforts to involve Amtrak in paying for an upgrade to the crossing.

Crash leads to new lawsuit

Longmeadow resident Robert B. Green was driving toward the town's leaf dump on Nov. 18, 1990 when his station wagon was struck at the crossing by an Amtrak train traveling nearly 80 miles per hour.

Green was seriously injured, and he and his wife, Nancy, filed a lawsuit in Hampden Superior Court against the railroad on Nov. 29.

A revised complaint, which added the town as a defendant, claimed: "There were no warning lights, flashing lights, gates or other signal devices which would warn of or protect one from an oncoming locomotive. Visibility up and down the tracks is obscured by bushes, trees, other vegetation, thereby impairing the line of sight of vehicle operators who are about to cross the tracks."    

The collision touched off a renewed effort to improve safety at the crossing.

The Select Board met the night after the crash. Fire Chief Stephen Foley offered a brief update, telling the board the town's police and fire departments were working with Amtrak police on the investigation and would later provide a "full report for the Board."

Select Board member Arlene C. Miller told Foley the report should include information about "any action the Board needs to take."

"Certainly we are going to look at why nothing has been done and see what has happened," Miller told The Union-News, predecessor to The Republican, in a story published the day of the meeting. "I think a lot of questions need to be asked."

Some of those questions included the lingering issue of whether the road was public or private.

Amtrak's Jan. 15, 1991 answer to Green's lawsuit, which was moved to federal court, argued the crossing was private -- "and, therefore, not a crossing for which the defendant was responsible."

Other documents included in the U.S. District Court file -- which The Republican reviewed at the National Archives in Waltham, Massachusetts -- appear to settle the matter.

A May 19, 1992 letter from Palmer attorney David J. Uguccioni detailed the results of a title search, and his finding that Tina Lane "was most likely a private road." And a Jan. 28, 1993 document summarizing the case's "uncontested facts" states: "Tina Lane is a private way on the easterly side of the crossing."

The town was ultimately dropped as a defendant, and court records show the case never went to trial. In a phone call last week, Springfield attorney Alan R. Goodman, who represented the Greens, said it was resolved through a settlement with the railroad that was "satisfactorily in favor of the plaintiffs." Citing a confidentiality agreement, Goodman said he could not disclose the amount.

june-20-1983-DIAGRAM.jpgA diagram included in the police report for a June 20, 1983 collision between a train and a car at the Birnie Road and Tina Lane crossing in Longmeadow. Five men escaped from the car before impact, and were uninjured. 

In a Jan. 22, 1993 motion filed shortly before the trial was set to begin, Goodman lobbied for a ban on Amtrak's attorneys "referring to, mentioning or asking about any settlement made to Green with Town of Longmeadow."

"Instead, plaintiffs would stipulate that the court may in its discretion subtract from any jury verdict the $5,000.00 already received by the Plaintiff, Robert Green."

Asked about the latest crash at the crossing, Goodman said he's an advocate for safety measures, particularly collision avoidance systems, which can be installed on trains.

"It would cost money but it saves lives," Goodman said. "It's only going to get busier on that corridor. We hope they employ available technology to prevent these kinds of tragedies."

'The Board is dismayed'

After the November 1990 meeting, the Select Board didn't return to the topic of the crossing again until Sept. 21, 1992, when board members voted to install a crossbuck sign on Tina Lane.

Discussion continued at a June 7, 1993 meeting with an update from Gerard A. Nolet, who was then the board's chairman. "He stated that Amtrak had requested that another letter be sent to Mr. John Cunningham of Amtrak regarding the town's request as well as documenting that the town owns the land and thus the way abutting the crossing," according to the minutes. The railroad also asked for a list of fatalities at the crossing, as well as a "cost/benefit analysis of signalization." Board members planned to send a letter in response later that week.

The letter was in draft form and ready for approval when the board met again on July 12. At that meeting, Nolet told the board Amtrak officials had put the potential cost of installing active signals at $200,000 -- but that he was still waiting for a formal proposal.  

There were more updates on July 26: over the previous week, Amtrak had installed the crossbucks and cleared brush at the crossing, and railroad officials had agreed to supervise paving work at the crossing -- at the town's "labor and expense." The board approved the spending. Martel, the town's attorney, had sent the letter to Amtrak; the document included notes about the town's ownership of abutting parcels, "in order to establish public rights of way."  

"Efforts still continue on many fronts to have signals installed at the crossing," the minutes state.

Longmeadow Select Board minutesBinders containing Longmeadow Select Board minutes from the 1980s, 1990s and 2005 in a conference room at the town's 20 Williams St. offices. 

In September, those efforts appeared to be on track. Martel told the board that MassHighway would investigate the crossing, and that the review could take six months. "Mr. Martel believes there is ample funding available to carry on the project," the minutes state. "The town must re-accept the portion of Tina Lane as a public way for the project to move forward. This will be done at the next Town Meeting."

On Oct. 4, state representatives Mary S. Rogeness and Linda J. Melconian visited the board, and the members sought the legislators' support.

The result of the state review came a few months later, and the decision is captured in a brief note on the second page of the minutes for the Jan. 24, 1994 meeting: "The Board was dismayed to learn that the State Office of Transportation Planning had not favorably judged the Tina Lane crossing to be in need of railroad signalization. The town will be appealing this decision."

A month later, the minutes show, Miller reported back to the board on a meeting with MassHighway District 2 engineer Joseph J. Superneau, who asked the town to re-submit the application.

But no further references to the crossing, or any appeals to the state, appear in minutes from 1994 or 1995.

Reached by phone Thursday afternoon, Miller -- now a former member of the board -- said she doesn't recall whether officials took steps to appeal the state's decision. A major renovation of the main artery through town -- Longmeadow Street, also known as Route 5 -- was on the horizon and dominated meetings in the months that followed. The issue of the crossing, she said, may have been lost among other priorities.

But Cowles' death could be a new catalyst.

"I think it clearly points to the fact that there's a problem that's been recognized by leaders in the community for nearly 40 years," Miller said. "It's probably time to bring it to the forefront again, and hopefully this time it will be successful."

She also cautioned, though, that even renewed efforts could hit similar roadblocks. "You need the data to support the upgrade of a signal," she said.

Her point echoed one made by Crane earlier that morning.

"As a public administrator I've been in the situation where there are certain thresholds that are data-driven and objectives that have to be met, whether it's for rail crossings or traffic lights on roads or water quality testing or -- whatever the regulation is -- there's usually a threshold or benchmark that has to be hit based on objective data," the town manager said in response to The Republican's findings regarding the 1994 minutes. "So it wouldn't be surprising if that crossing didn't meet some kind of objective threshold of traffic or sight line or something that would mandate it."

He continued: "But also as a public administrator, I recognize that when -- even if accidents are infrequent, if the result is severe, sometimes you just need to move beyond the data and take action to prevent further loss."

A road to nowhere

On a blue-sky afternoon two days after the crash, the first sign of the southbound train is its headlight, a bright spot way off in the distance. Then there's the horn as the train approaches the Emerson Road crossing, almost exactly a mile north from Tina Lane and Birnie Road. After the horn sounds it's less than a minute before Amtrak's 405 Shuttle is hurtling through the crossing, sounding another warning seconds before.

Sawhorse barriers block the road on both sides of the tracks, even though the western approach is unplowed and otherwise inaccessible. A pair of signs on the eastern approach read: "Road Closed To Thru Traffic." According to Crane, the town put up the temporary blockade after an uptick in traffic in the aftermath of the accident, which likely drew those curious about the crash to the scene.

On this afternoon John Secondo, 58, is one of those stopping by, parking his car down by Pondside Road shortly after the train passes. "I'm not even sure why I stopped," he says as he begins walking toward the tracks, sharing memories of his acquaintance with the town employee along the way.

"I'd bump into Warren all the time," says the former landscaper, who grew up in Longmeadow and operated his business here for 30 years. "He'd be working with the town digging a hole somewhere, putting in a pipe or whatever."

Secondo says he often stopped to chat with the town's DPW employees -- blue-collar guys, just like him, out working in the open air. Cowles, in particular, was a face he'd see throughout the week, a happy guy who often wore a smile and was ready with a joke. They didn't spend time together outside of those chance encounters -- they were both always working -- but, Secondo says, "I probably talked to him more than some people I hung out with."

Warren Cowles DPW worker funeralDPW workers from around the region paid tribute to Warren P. Cowles when his funeral services were held Friday, March 24, 2017. Here, they gather on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. 

"He was a nice-natured guy, easy to talk to," Secondo says. Moments later, as he surveys the tracks running out of sight in either direction -- and on either side, the ice-covered ponds that fill with wood ducks in the warmer months, the swamp trees stripped of bark -- he adds, unprompted: "I can't believe -- I just can't believe it, you know? I cannot believe he got hit by a train."

He makes another attempt to describe what brought him here, out on a street that's been described as a road to nowhere, on a windy, cold March afternoon. "I just -- heading up to the Big Y," he says, turning suddenly away from the tracks and swallowing whatever he was going to say next. He starts walking back toward his car, and he's halfway there before he continues.

"I just thought I'd see. Take a look. I've probably seen him on this road a dozen times," he says of Cowles, adding that the two used to run into each other at the old "stump dump" off Tina Lane, a spot that's still cordoned off by a chain-link fence.

Their conversations weren't deep. They'd touch on town affairs, vacations. "It's all small talk," Secondo recalls. "But, I just liked hanging around, talking to him. He was a nice person just to talk to."

Four-tenths of a mile south, Longmeadow resident Emanuel S. Wenig is out for a walk on Bark Haul Road. There's another crossing here, accessible to most only by foot, with no stop signs or crossbucks on either side of the tracks. Signs on both sides of the track -- and on both sides of the road -- say:

WARNING
PRIVATE PROPERTY
NO TRESPASSING
MBTA And Amtrak Police Will Detain And/Or Prosecute
Any Trespassers Found On This Property

Wenig says Cowles is the third person he knew -- if only in passing -- to die at the Birnie Road crossing. Debra Frank's mother worked for him when he was a controller for a chain of auto body shops in the early 1980s. Another man, an acquaintance of his wife whose name escapes him, was another.

And in terms of the most recent crash, he says, it's important not to overlook the operator of the train.

"Both families are going to be just devastated," he says.

The number of cars that pass over the tracks at Tina Lane and Birnie Road are few, he says, but the crossing is still different from the spot where he's just made his way across the tracks, on a road where a gate shuts off access to all but authorized vehicles. The road where the crashes happen is a public way, he explains -- a way in and out for the residents who live near the river, and an access point for the leaf dump on West Road.

"It's the kind of thing, I guess, that leads people to think that government is ineffective," Wenig says of the crossing's long, tragic history. "Because government overlooks or escapes small issues that seem inconsequential in the big picture -- but affect local communities and local families forever."


Longmeadow railroad crossing listed as 'closed' for nearly 40 years as federal form went without updates

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Under a federal rule implemented 2016, railroads that fail to update the form face civil penalties.

LONGMEADOW -- A federal form that collects information about railroad crossings and is used in safety analyses went years without updates about the crossing where a town Department of Public Works employee was killed last week, and for nearly four decades the document listed the crossing as closed to traffic.

But the U.S. Department of Transportation's Crossing Inventory Form for the Birnie Road crossing was finally revised this week, days after The Republican began making inquiries to Amtrak and to state and federal agencies about the accuracy of the information and about requirements for providing updates.

Under a federal rule implemented in 2016, railroads that fail to update the form face civil penalties.

The form is a two-page record offering a range of data, indicating whether trains pass over a road, under a road or "at grade;" information about any signs and signals and other safety measures present; a description of the crossing surface; the number of trains per day and their maximum speed at the crossing; and other information.

Patrice Legrand, a spokeswoman for the Federal Railroad Administration, explained in an email that information from the form -- provided by railroads and state agencies -- is used in a federal database to create a "composite record" for each crossing. That record, Legrand wrote, can be used to predict a specific crossing's probability for collisions.

"With this information, states, law enforcement organizations, the federal government, and others can focus their efforts on crossings that have a high risk of collisions," she wrote.

On the day of the collision that killed Warren P. Cowles -- a 29-year veteran of the department who was plowing snow on the public road when he backed into the path of a northbound train -- no updates had been made to the Birnie Road form since May 14, 1980. The primary operating railroad was listed as Conrail, and the reason for the update was listed as "Closed" -- essentially meaning the crossing no longer existed.

Reporting regulations define a closed crossing as "a location where a previous crossing no longer exists because either the railroad tracks have been physically removed, or each pathway or roadway approach to the crossing has been physically removed, leaving behind no intersection of railroad tracks with either a pathway or roadway."

Prior to 2016, states and railroads submitted updates to the Crossing Inventory on a voluntary basis. But a new federal rule that went into effect on June 10, 2016 requires updates every three years. The rule set a deadline of Aug. 9, 2016 for updates to any forms that hadn't been revised since Aug. 9, 2013, Legrand explained.

Primary operating railroads face civil penalties, including fines, for failing to supply updated information.

The rule, though, does not apply to crossings that have been closed -- so, Legrand said, it's likely the Birnie Road crossing would not have been flagged for the required update.

Federal records, meanwhile, indicate the form for the Emerson Road crossing, about a mile north on the tracks, was updated in November 2016, with four additional updates between 2001 and 2011.

Spokesmen for both Amtrak and MassDOT referred all questions about the form -- including whether the information listed in the 1980 revision was still accurate, and whether any fines or violation reports had been issued in connection with the record for the Birnie Road crossing -- back to the Federal Railroad Administration.

In an initial response to questions from The Republican on March 20, Legrand noted that no fines or violation reports had been issued. But, she noted, "the primary operating railroad should have updated the Crossing Inventory record when the crossing was re-opened -- or at the very least, by August 9, 2016, if the crossing was re-opened before that date."

"Inaccurate crossing data on the open/closed status of highway-rail grade crossings could have a negative impact on the accuracy of safety analyses that rely on this data," Legrand explained.

In response to the newspaper's initial inquiry, Legrand said the agency had no record of fines or violation reports issued in connection with the form for the Birnie Road crossing. The Republican then asked on Monday, March 20 if that meant the agency had been aware of the lack of updates and decided against enforcement action -- or if the agency had not reviewed the form's history of updates because it was listed as closed.  

On Friday, Legrand reiterated that if any civil penalties had been assessed against a railroad for failing to submit or update data, the agency would have a record. But, she added, the agency "cannot speak" to any potential enforcement action regarding the information for the Birnie Road Crossing.

Meanwhile, a revised form appeared in the federal database on March 22, with the reason for the update given as "Change in Primary Operating RR." The primary operating railroad had been changed from Conrail to Amtrak.

An additional update followed on Friday, with the reason for the revision given as: "Re-Open."


Below, copies of the form downloaded on March 15, 2017, and on March 24, 2017.

Crossing Inventory Form for Birnie Road, Longmeadow


Read minutes from Longmeadow Select Board meetings on railroad crossing (timeline)

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In the wake of the train collision that killed DPW worker Warren P. Cowles, The Republican reviewed hundreds of pages of town documents and identified over a dozen Select Board meetings that touched on safety issues at the crossing.

Living Wage Western Mass plans fundraiser at Easthampton brewery

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Supporters of Living Wage Western Mass will convene at Fort Hill Brewery on April 12.

EASTHAMPTON -- Workers should be able to afford a place to live, food, clothing, transportation, and medical care, according to a group that pushes employers to pay decent wages.

Living Wage Western Mass certifies employers who pay a living wage, as well as those who aspire to pay a living wage.

The group announced that it plans its first-ever fundraiser at an Easthampton craft brewery.

Fort Hill Brewery will host a benefit on the evening of April 12. On that date, every pint of beer or ale sold will help the campaign.

Fort Hill Brewery itself is a certified living wage business.

The group started as the Northampton Living Wage Coalition in 2008. Now they certify businesses across Western Massachusetts. 

Currently, 47 Northampton employers pay at least $13.18 to every worker, and three aspire to do so. Regionally, 19 workplaces have certified that they pay at least $12.17 to every employee.

Study: Most Northampton restaurant workers don't earn a living wage

The certification work has been done by volunteers. Any contributions will be used to hire a part-time staffer, said Northampton lawyer Kitty Callaghan, a member of the group's steering committee.

The Northampton City Council in 2009 proclaimed that a living wage is a human right, and declared the week that includes April 10 as Living Wage Week.

Those who cannot attend the fundraiser, but wish to support the effort, may do so online at www.livingwagewesternmass.net.

If you go:

What: Living Wage Western Mass Fundraiser
Where: Fort Hill Brewery, 30 Fort Hill Rd., Easthampton
When: Wednesday, April 12, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Jury deadlocks in trial of Springfield man charged with killing 5-month-old son; deliberations resume Monday

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In a note sent to Judge Mary-Lou Rup at 3 p.m., jurors said they were debating the same issues "again and again with zero resolution."

SPRINGFIELD -- For the second time in two days, jurors in the trial of a Springfield man charged with killing his 5-month-old son told a judge they could not reach a verdict.

In a note sent to Judge Mary-Lou Rup at 3 p.m., jurors said they were debating the same issues "again and again with zero resolution."

At the judge's urging, the 14-member panel resumed deliberations until 4 p.m. before being sent home for the weekend. Deliberations will resume Monday morning.

The defendant, Raymond Collazo, 29, is standing trial in Hampden Superior Court for allegedly killing his son, Davian Collazo, in Springfield on Dec. 10, 2010.

During 12 days of testimony, prosecutors sought to prove the child died of a traumatic brain injury after being shaken by his father. The defense argued the boy died of undiagnosed medical conditions, including pneumonia.

The baby's mother, Dayana Pagan, 31, is charged with murder but will be tried separately. She has testified for the prosecution in Collazo's case.

Jurors first reported being at an impasse Thursday in a note to the judge, who ordered them to continue deliberations. After receiving the second message on Friday, Rup called the jurors back to the courtroom and said there was no reason to believe that any other jury could do a better job at arriving at a verdict.

Berkshire County law enforcement officials dole out high-fives to youth for statewide 'High Five Friday'

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Berkshire County law enforcement officials doled out high-fives at local elementary schools on Friday. Watch video

PITTSFIELD - Berkshire County police, health, and fire officers joined other public safety officials across the state on Friday in traveling to local elementary schools on a special mission: the distribution of high-fives.

"High Five Friday," is a widely practiced community policing program designed to build positive relationships between public safety officials and children. Numerous communities across the state participated in the program on Friday. 

In Berkshire County, members of the Pittsfield Police and Fire Departments, the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office, Massachusetts State Police, and a number of other public safety and law enforcement organizations joined in the event. 

Officials traveled to area public elementary schools starting at 8 a.m. Some officials went into the schools for the event, while others stood outside the buildings to high-five children as they were arriving for class. 

Though the program has been viewed mostly as a positive thing by the communities that have adopted it, it hasn't been without its detractors. In February, the Northampton Police Department was forced to suspend its "High Five Friday" after multiple complaints were called in from parents in the community who were concerned about their children's experiences with the program.

Northampton parents that complained reasoned that children that had had negative experiences with law enforcement officials in the past shouldn't be forced to participate in the event.   

Other organizations in Berkshire County invited to participate in the event included the County Ambulance Service, the Berkshire County Chapter of the NAACP, ManUp, Action Ambulance, and St. John's Lodge.

Obituaries from The Republican, March 24, 2017

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Obituaries from The Republican.

Holyoke teen arrested for allegedly selling heroin after drug bust at local hotel nets 300 bags of heroin

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Two people were arrested in Holyoke on Thursday after an investigation by police into drug activity at a local hotel.

HOLYOKE - Two people were arrested in Holyoke on Thursday after a police investigation into drug activity at a local hotel, according to Lt. Jim Albert of the Holyoke Police Department.

One of the arrested is a local teenager who is now being charged with selling heroin.

19-year-old Nicolas Flores, of Holyoke, was arrested on Thursday night after police detectives raided the Day's Inn on Northampton Street, where they found 300 bags of heroin and a large amount of cash, Albert said. 

Detectives had earlier received information that Flores was living at the hotel and possibly selling drugs out of his room.

Also arrested was Kelsey Roach, a 24-year-old woman from Ware who is now being charged with heroin possession and conspiracy to violate the drug laws.

Both Flores and Roach were arraigned in Holyoke District Court on Friday morning. 

Massachusetts Medical Society: Keep Obamacare in place

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Praises Massachusetts legislators for their opposition to American Health Care Act that was pulled from vote by Republicans in U.S. House of Representatives Friday.

The Massachusetts Medical Society is asking the U.S. Congress "to allow the Affordable Care Act to continue to provide health coverage to more than 20 million Americans, including record numbers of covered patients in Massachusetts."

Dr. James S. Gessner, society president, issued the request in a statement late Friday that thanked Massachusetts legislators for their opposition to the American Health Care Act, which Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives pulled from a vote on Friday.

"Without question, this bill would have been harmful to our patients - including the most vulnerable - and to our members' ability to provide them quality care," said Gessner of the proposed replacement legislation to the federal healthcare bill.

"In Massachusetts and elsewhere, this legislation would have deprived members of our community of the subsidies that make health insurance affordable; would have ended the Medicaid expansion that has helped so many; would have overturned mandatory coverage of essential health benefits; and would have resulted in children, seniors, pregnant women and other under-served patients losing access to essential health care services."

His statement added, "On behalf our patients and physician members, we thank our Congressional delegation for their support."

Both U.S. House Representatives Richard Neal, D-Springfield, and James McGovern, D-Amherst, were outspoken in their opposition to the repeal of the ACA, also known as Obamacare.

In a New York Times story Friday afternoon about the failure of the Republicans to gain enough votes for the proposed legislation, which would have eliminated federal standards for what basic services must be covered by insurances, McGovern is quoted as calling the proposed elimination "so cartoonishly malicious that I can picture someone twirling their mustache as they drafted it in their secret capitol lair last night."

"This back-room deal will kill the requirement for insurance companies to offer essential health benefits such as emergency services, maternity care, mental health care, substance addiction treatment, pediatric services, prescription drugs and many other basic essential services," McGovern is quoted as saying.


Former white supremacist Christian Picciolini to speak in Easthampton

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Immersed in neo-Nazi culture as a teen and young adult, Picciolini eventually walked away and rebuilt his life. He now urges others to leave the dark world behind.

EASTHAMPTON -- A man who walked away from Nazi skinhead culture will speak in Easthampton.

Christian Picciolini led a white supremacist organization in Chicago at the age of 16. He and his friends launched brutal attacks against innocent people. He fronted a band which spread a dark and violent message and ran a record shop that catered to the subculture.

Eventually he started questioning the ideology and began the process of rebuilding his life. His work is now motivated by a "profound need to atone for a grisly past." 

Picciolini is an award-winning television producer, public speaker, and author of the 2015 book Romantic Violence: Memoirs of an American Skinhead.

As a producer, he won an Emmy Award for a public service ad that speaks directly to people immersed in white power culture.

"Hate is like a cancer that will eat you alive," he says.

Picciolini was a skinhead from 1987 to around 1995. He told CBS Evening News that at one point, he could have been a kindred spirit with Dylann Roof, the open white supremacist who gunned down nine African-American churchgoers in South Carolina two years ago.

In 2009, he co-founded Life After Hate, an organization that provides a non-judgmental avenue for people to leave the fringe world of extremism.

The local event is part of a speaker series called "Transforming this Moment: Bridging Our Divides." It is sponsored by the Karuna Center and the group Critical Connections.

The talk is free and open to the public.

If you go:

What: A conversation with Christian Picciolini
Where: Flywheel Arts Center, 43 Main St, Easthampton
When: Tuesday, April 4, 7-9 p.m.
 

Chicopee to study sharing sewage treatment with Springfield

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The wastewater treatment plant in Chicopee is 46 years old and needs upgrades and repairs.

CHICOPEE - The city will study a proposal to have its sewage piped to Springfield's Bondi's Island Water Treatment Facility and pay its neighbor to treat the wastewater.

"This is for a feasibility study to explore other options to treat sewage," Councilor Gary Labrie said. "It is only a study. We are not shutting down the treatment plant and cutting jobs."

The City Council this week voted 13-0 to approve spending up to $75,000 on the study, as recommended by Mayor Richard J. Kos.

The entire cost of the feasibility study is about $267,460 and Springfield has committed to fund more than half, or $145,460, of the cost. Later in the study, the Chicopee Board of Sewer Commissioners will return to request more funding to meet its $122,000 share, James Raschilla, chairman of the Board of Sewer Commissioners, said in a letter to the City Council.

Kos explained not all that money may even be used. The study will be conducted step-by-step so if it shows a plan to join with Springfield is not feasible in the first few steps it will be discontinued and the remaining money will be returned to the general fund.

"Springfield has the economy of a much larger facility and may be able to treat Chicopee wastewater at a lower cost per gallon. Springfield is presently in the process of designing a new sewage pumping facility at the York Street location and this may be the prime location for a river crossing for the Chicopee sewage," Raschilla wrote.

During a recent meeting with state Auditor Suzanne Bump, one of the discussions on how to save cities and towns money was to find ways to regionalize systems, Kos said.

But he warned councilors it would not be an easy process and may not be possible. It will involve installing a minimum of five miles of piping that would be required to cross a river and highways.

City Councilors said they felt it is worth the money to investigate a new way of handling the city's waste.

Already the city has spent more than $153 million to separate sewer mains from storm pipes to meet federal Environmental Protection Agency mandates that it stop dumping untreated sewage into the Chicopee and Connecticut rivers. Because all pipes in the city once carried both sewage and storm water, during heavy rains they get overwhelmed and back up into residents' homes as well as dumping into the rivers.

The proposal would be separate from that ongoing project.

City Councilor James K. Tillotson said the city's wastewater treatment plant is 46 years old and will soon need extensive and expensive repairs and upgrades.

"We haven't spent a lot of money in maintenance of the wastewater treatment plant," he said.

Having Springfield treat the sewage may be a less expensive and better option than upgrading Chicopee's treatment plant, he said.

Springfield high school teacher and wife charged with cruelty to animals following deaths of 2 dogs

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Three other dogs owned by the couple were "presented dead" at area animal hosptials between 2014 and 2016, according to documents filed in the case.

SPRINGFIELD -- A Springfield high school teacher recognized by the White House for his work with at-risk students is facing criminal charges for allegedly failing to care for two dogs that were euthanized last month.

Stefan DavisStefan Davis 

Stefan Davis, 48, pleaded not guilty March 9 in Springfield District Court to two counts of cruelty to animals. A teacher at the High School of Science and Technology, Davis also founded Fresh Start, a program that helps struggling students bring up their grades.  

His wife, Mirna Gomez-Davis, 42, a social worker for the state Department of Children and Families, also was charged with two counts of cruelty to animals.

A complaint filed by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals accused the couple of failing to provide medical care for Athena and Sorra, both young Neapolitan Mastiffs.

The dogs were emaciated and suffering from multiple medical problems before being euthanized in February, according to the complaint, which claims the couple's neglect resulted in "unnecessary suffering" for both dogs.

Three other dogs, all Neapolitan Mastiffs, were "presented dead on arrival" by the couple at the VCA Boston Road Animal Hospital between 2014 and 2016, according to documents filed in the case.

In a statement to investigators, Gomez-Davis denied mistreating the dogs and said both had been healthy until early January. Athena, a 1-year-old female, stopped eating around Jan. 8 and continued to decline before being taken to the Memorial Avenue Animal Clinic in Chicoppe on Jan. 24, she told investigators.

By Feb. 2, the dog's condition had worsened, despite being prescribed antibiotics. "Every bone in her body was visible and she could barely raise her head" when carried by stretcher into the Boston Road hospital, the complaint states.

Rather than seek further treatment, Gomez-Davis decided to have Athena euthanized to end her suffering and because the dog "was going to die anyway," the complaint said.

The next day, the couple surrendered Sorra to the Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center. The dog, a 2-year-old female, was emaciated, bloated, had a severe eye infection, a swollen vulva and gave off a foul odor, the complaint notes.

She was carried into the center on two "rabies" poles after attempting to bite an employee outside, the complaint said. Citing the dog's poor health and aggressive behavior, the center told the couple she would be euthanized unless they wanted her back.

With the couple's approval, the dog was euthanized that night, the complaint said.

In her statement to investigators, Gomez-Davis maintained that Sorra was healthy, but was surrendered because of behavioral problems. A death in the family caused a delay in seeking treatment after Athena became sick in January, Gomez-Davis said.

The couple had as many as 10 dogs at their home on Page Boulevard, but Athena and Sorra were the last two. They have no plans to get more dogs, Gomez-Davis said.

A veterinarian who treated Athena described her condition as "shocking" and "decrepit," and called it "extremely abnormal" for a family to have five dogs die suddenly or need to be euthanized in a three-year period, according to court documents. 

Criminal complaints were issued against the couple on Feb. 14, and they were  summoned for arraignment on March 9. Both were released on personal recognizance and told to return for a pretrial hearing on May 9.

Davis, who teaches English and history, earned $71,472 last year, according to city payroll records; Gomez-Davis collected $63,054 as a state social worker, records show.

Ware fire forces 4 from home

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An apartment fire at 15 Canal Street in Ware overnight forced four people out of thier homes. Fire destroyed one apartment unit but firefighters evacuate two other units on either side of the fire site.

WARE— Firefighters battled a blaze in a vacant apartment overnight but were forced to evacuate two other occupied units as a precaution.

Western Mass News, our broadcast partner, reported that the 15 Canal St. fire destroyed a vacant unit in the multi-unit building.

Ware police said the fire was first reported just before 9 p.m. Fire crews cleared the scene at about 1 a.m.

The state Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

Hartford police make arrest in shooting of 15-year-old

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Hartford police say they arrested a juvenile in the shooting death of 15-year-old Keon Huff, Jr., last week. Huff was found dead in the hallway of a Garden Street apartment building.

HARTFORD, Conn.— Hartford police said they have arrested a juvenile in the shooting death of 15-year-old Keon Huff, Jr.

Huff was found shot to death last weekend in the hallway of a Garden Street apartment building, the Hartford Courant reported.

Police said they followed up on numerous tips from the public, including eyewitness statements and photographs submitted to them.

Police officers were called to the Garden Street address just before 10 p.m. Friday, March 17 for a report of shots fired. They found Huff lying in a rear shared hallway shot once in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives secured an arrest warrant Friday night, and the juvenile was taken into custody. His name is not being released due to his age. He has been charged with murder, tampering with evidence and carrying a handgun without a permit, and is currently being held in a juvenile detention facility pending arraignment in Hartford Superior Court Monday.

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