Incumbent Sarah Etelman was reelected with 914 votes in the 3-way Selectboard race for two seats; joining her on the board is Andrea G. Miles, who finished second with 813 votes

SOUTH HADLEY -- Michael A. Rosner came up eight votes short in his bid for reelection to the Board of Health, Barry Waite was ousted from the school board, and voters overwhelmingly said yes to banning plastic bag use by retail outlets during Tuesday's municipal election, according to unofficial results provided by the town clerk.

Diane L. Dietzen was the winner, with 683 votes to 675 for Rosner for the Board of Health seat.

Four ran for two school committee seats.

Carly K. Lapinski received the most votes, 802.

Incumbent Eric M. Sarrazin retained his seat, finishing second with 759 votes.

Waite garnered 598 votes in his losing bid for reelection.

Kyle R. Belanger received 478 votes for School Committee.

Three ran for two Selectboard seats.

Incumbent Sarah Etelman was reelected with 914 votes.

Joining her on the board is Andrea G. Miles, who finished second with 813 votes. Scott R. Moore polled 773 votes. Frank DeToma did not seek reelection.

Incumbent South Hadley Public Library Trustees David C. Morrell, Susan E. Obremski-Crowther and Gillian M. Woldorf were reelected. They were challenged by Donald J. D'Amato and Amy Diehl for the three seats.

Diane V. Supczak-Mulvaney won a seat on the Planning Board, defeating Larry E. Butler 836 to 550.

The two non-binding ballot questions were approved by large margins.

They read as follows:

1. Would you support a resolution on behalf of the Town of South Hadley limiting or eliminating the involvement of political action groups, lobbyists and/or special interests from elections, and further endorse consideration of additional anti-corruption laws at all levels of government?

2. Would you be in favor of banning plastic die-cut bags, commonly used by retailers, in favor of allowing only reusable, compostable or biodegradable bags?

Question 1 was approved by 921 to 552; Question 2 was approved by 1,123 to 268.

Town Clerk Carlene Hamlin said 1,552 of the town's 11,042 registered voters cast ballots.

"It was an active ballot," she said.

The cause of the fire is unknown, and firefighters are still at the scene putting out hot spots.

SOUTHWICK - Two pets were killed in a house fire Tuesday night at 80 Fred Jackson Road, according to Southwick police.

Officer Thomas Krutka said the occupants escaped unhurt, while a 10-year-old puppy and a kitten died.

The one-story home is a total loss.

The cause of the fire is unknown, and firefighters are still at the scene putting out hot spots.

This is a developing story. Stay with The Republucan/MassLive for more information as it becomes available.

EASTHAMPTON -- Educators should have known about growing racial tensions at Easthampton High School months before a fight broke out on school grounds, leading to a mass walkout and the arrests of three students of color, demonstrators said at a community speakout. Parents, students, and others gathered outside the municipal building Tuesday evening an hour before the School Committee...

EASTHAMPTON -- Educators should have known about growing racial tensions at Easthampton High School months before a fight broke out on school grounds, leading to a mass walkout and the arrests of three students of color, demonstrators said at a community speakout.

Parents, students, and others gathered outside the municipal building Tuesday evening an hour before the School Committee convened its meeting, where issues of equity and inclusion were on the agenda.

Speaking in the parking lot were high school students, parents, religious leaders, and civil rights advocates.

"Within the past year, the environment at the high school has become dangerous," said Samantha Garcia, 17, a member of the senior class. "We need to stop this now."

Isabelle Poirier, 17, said there had been troubling incidents leading up to the March 29 schoolyard assault, where a white student who posted a racial slur to social media was allegedly surrounded and punched by three students of color, one of whom now faces charges in Northampton District Court.

Many who spoke said there is no excuse for violence, but that the school's culture needs remediation.

Poirier read a statement claiming that minority students have been taunted and bullied, that diversity posters and a Gay Student Alliance bulletin board were vandalized, that a swastika appeared in a classroom, and that female students of color have endured inappropriate sexual comments from boys.

"The problem isn't lack of punishment, it's more so the lack of attention to the deeply rooted issues we face in our school," Poirier stated. "Had we discussed racism and fully brought to light the issue at our school, these incidents could have been avoided."

She said the statement was "written by a friend who is afraid to speak out for fear of backlash."

Others who spoke included students Tess McCallum and Samantha Garcia; civil rights lawyer Tahirah Amathul-Wadad of Chicopee; Easthampton Congregational Church minister Sherry Tucker; Nancy Sykes, a professor at Western New England University; Gus Morales, a former Holyoke school teacher; and several parents.

The crowd moved indoors for the School Committee meeting, where Principal Kevin Burke, flanked by Vice Principal Sue Welson, outlined the administration's plan to improve the school's climate.

The school plans to work with the Social Justice and Equity Initiative at the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton, Burke said. The collaborative proposes an in-depth evaluation, a series of facilitated forums, and the creation of a multi-year plan to help the school become more equitable and inclusive.

"We insist that this opportunity to grow will make us stronger, and not divide us," Burke said. The crowd applauded the principal after he spoke.

Acting School Committee chair Peter Gunn opened the floor to the public. He asked for civility and respect, and noted that students and administrators at the center of the controversy have due process rights.

Some criticized Burke and said he had failed to see the warning signs. Others expressed empathy for all involved and said it is time to move forward. One young man defended the victim in the alleged crime, saying he has suffered from "reverse racism."

High school English teacher Michael DeMento delivered a letter of support for Burke signed by 29 teachers.

The letter acknowledges that "significant issues must be addressed to remedy the climate in our community" and describes Burke as a "dedicated, caring administrator" who is "up to the challenge for the job we have before us."

Chris Abild, president of the Easthampton Education Association, presented a letter from the teachers' union pledging a unified effort to support and affirm diversity.

"As a group, we condemn hate speech. We condemn violence," Abild read. The "rift in our school climate can be reconciled" with "hard work, open minds, open ears, and compassion," the letter stated. 

City Councilor Salem Derby spoke passionately. He said that as a parent of three children in the Easthampton schools, he has experienced frustration in his attempts to communicate with Burke and Superintendent Nancy Follansbee about "pervasive issues," including one incident that was "beyond the pale."

Derby said that as a youth basketball coach, he has broken up many fights, that "not once was one of those kids pulled out of school in handcuffs."

Derby urged school and city officials to embrace honesty and transparency.

"We need to shine a light on this," he said. "This is not a time to cover things up.  This is not a time to circle the wagons."

Gunn said the School Committee would take all input into consideration, deliberate, and decide upon a course of action.

A group of Easthampton parents on April 5 called for the ouster of Burke and School Resource Officer Allan Schadel, an Easthampton Police Department employee. 

Schadel remains on leave from his job, confirmed Police Chief Robert Alberti, who was present at Tuesday's meeting. Alberti declined to comment further, saying details of Schadel's employment status are a private personnel matter.

Michael Rodriguez was found guilty in the fatal shooting of Julian Cartie on Feb. 22, 2009, in Springfield. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD -- Michael Rodriguez on Wednesday was found guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Julian Cartie in 2009 in Springfield.

Hampden Superior Court Judge John A. Agostini set sentencing for April 19, when Cartie's family members and friends -- many of whom have attended the whole trial -- will give victim impact statements to the judge.

Assistant District Attorney Melissa Doran told the jury in her closing arguments Wednesday that Rodriguez should be convicted of first-degree murder under the theories of premeditation and extreme atrocity and cruelty.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this was not self-defense," she told the jury. "This was murder."

Defense lawyer David Rountree told jurors in his closing argument that Rodriguez acted in self-defense, saying Cartie and the two men with him "were going to beat the crap" out of him.

"There's no cruelty here, there's self-defense," Rountree said.

Jurors were instructed to consider verdicts of not guilty, guilty of first-degree murder, guilty of second-degree murder or guilty of involuntary manslaughter. First-degree murder carries a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, whereas under a second-degree murder conviction the person can apply for parole.

Cartie, 25, of New Britain, Connecticut, was fatally shot in the early morning of Feb. 22, 2009, after the clubs closed in downtown Springfield. Cartie was scheduled for deployment with the Connecticut National Guard to Iraq later that year.

Rodriguez, 32, of Holyoke, was charged with murder in Cartie's death, which happened at State and Main streets. He was arrested by police and federal agents in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in December 2014.

The break in the cold case came with information through a message to Text-A-Tip that led police to Jacinda Matias, then girlfriend of Rodriguez and the person who was driving the car in which Rodriguez was riding when the shooting happened.

Former Massachusetts medical examiner Dr. Joann Richmond testified the gunshot wound to the right side of the victim's heart and right lung would have caused death quickly. There were three gunshot wounds to his torso, one to his elbow and one to his hand.

Richmond said the gunshots to the elbow and hand could be the same as two of the gunshots that entered Cartie's torso. She said the wounds mean there could have been three shots or there could have been more than three shots.

She said the appearance of the wound on Cartie's hand meant he was shot at close range.

Doran said Rodriguez killed Cartie because Rodriguez, who did not know Cartie, felt disrespected because Cartie's friend yelled to the women in Rodriguez's car.

Both Doran and Rountree played parts of a surveillance video in order to support their arguments. The video doesn't show the shooting but shows the time leading up to it and the time after, when Cartie comes back into the frame and collapses.

Rountree said Rodriguez was backed into his own car door and thought if he drew a pistol and racked it, it would stop Cartie and the other two men from coming closer to him.

"We reserve the right to defend ourselves when and if we are attacked," Rountree said.

Doran said the story told by the defendant on the stand didn't ring true.

"He (Rodriguez) had plenty of time to get back into the car if he wasn't looking for trouble as he told you," she said.

She said the video showed Cartie did not charge toward Rodriguez, as the defense arged, but Cartie walked.

A Hadley man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly making a bomb threat at UMass Amherst on Tuesday night.

HADLEY -- A Hadley man has been arrested after allegedly making a bomb threat while visiting the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus earlier this week.

Abdul F. Ismail, 27, is accused of making a number of threats while visiting a student at the school's Coolidge residence hall on Tuesday evening, said Mary Carey, spokeswoman for the Northwestern District Attorney's Office, in a statement Wednesday.  

Upon hearing Ismail make the threatening remarks, the student forced him to leave the residence hall and quickly reported the incident to authorities. 

After an investigation, Ismail was taken into custody by UMass police and Hadley authorities on Wednesday morning at his residence in Hadley, Carey said. 

He now faces the charges of making a bomb threat and threatening to commit a crime, and was arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown on Wednesday.

Ismail was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for April 18.  He is being held at the Hampshire County House of Correction until that court appearance.

Additionally, he has been banned from the UMass Amherst campus for two years by UMass police. 

"There is no indication that anyone in or near the building was in any actual danger of being harmed," Carey said.   

The closing of the Massachusetts Turnpike Interchange 4 on-ramp from Interstate 91 northbound and southbound in West Springfield will proceed as scheduled from 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 to 5 a.m. Thursday, said an official from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

HOLYOKE -- Drainage improvements are going as planned on the Massachusetts Turnpike in this area.

That means the closing of the Pike (Interstate 90) Interchange 4 on-ramp from Interstate 91 northbound and southbound in West Springfield will proceed as scheduled from 8 p.m. today to 5 a.m. Thursday, with the interchange set to reopen at that time, an official said.

Traffic will be detoured onto Route 5 north at Providence Hospital, Brightside Drive, here to reverse direction and access the I-90 on-ramp via Route 5 south.

"This is standard drainage work," Patrick Marvin, spokesman with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) said today.

The work began Tuesday and lasted from 8 that night until 5 a.m. this morning when the area was reopened to traffic. The maintenance is part of the $16.26 million in renovations being done in this area as part of the state's toll demolition and road reconstruction. The Middlesex Corp. of Littleton is doing the work, according to a link to information Marvin provided.

"Drivers who are traveling through the affected areas should expect delays, reduce speed and use caution. All scheduled work is weather dependent and subject to change without notice," a MassDOT press release said Tuesday.

MassDOT also provided these tips:

Two Ware men were arrested for heroin possession on Sunday.

WARE -- Two men were arrested in Ware on Sunday and are now facing charges for heroin possession. 

Officers with the Ware Police Department were out on a routine patrol in the area of Pleasant Street when they observed suspicious behavior from the occupants of a car in the parking lot of Mount Carmel municipal cemetery, police said.

After an investigation, the occupants, later identified as Michael Couture, 41, and Alexander Labier, 25, both of Ware, were subsequently taken into custody and are now facing respective charges of heroin possession. 

No further details regarding the incident have been released. 

Investigators learned that 36-year-old Patrick Spencer Miles, a Connecticut man accused of killing his wife, 33-year-old Yasheeka Miles, may have been hiding at an apartment complex at 1450 Memorial Ave. in West Springfield. He was found at that address shortly after midnight Wednesday, April 12, 2017, and arrested without incident, according to officials at Massachusetts State Police headquarters in Framingham.

WEST SPRINGFIELD -- The hunt for a Connecticut man accused of killing his wife ended at an apartment complex in West Springfield, where he was arrested Wednesday by a team of local, state and federal law enforcement officials.

Investigators learned that 36-year-old Patrick Spencer Miles may have been hiding at an apartment complex at 1450 Memorial Ave. The fugitive was found there shortly after midnight and taken into custody without incident, according to officials with the Massachusetts State Police, which was among the agencies that took part in the apprehension effort.

The New Britain man was wanted in connection with the shooting death of his wife, 33-year-old Yasheeka Miles, who was found dead at her condo in New Britain on Friday, police said.

That sparked a manhunt for Patrick Miles, who had a history of domestic violence against his wife and fled with the couple's 2-year-old toddler. The child, who was the subject of a weekend Amber Alert, was found unharmed in Brooklyn, New York, where Miles had taken her to stay with relatives as he continued to flee from authorities, police said.

Miles was expected to be arraigned in Springfield District Court as a fugitive from justice before being returned to Connecticut to face a murder charge. 

Capt. Thomas Steck, commander of the New Britain Police Department's Investigative Division, said Yasheeka Miles was found in her condo on North Mountain Road with a gunshot wound to the head. She was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

New Britain police and the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section developed information that Patrick Miles was staying at the address in West Springfield.

Secret Service agents and members of the U.S. Marshals Service, the West Springfield Police Department, and the State Police Special Tactical Operations Team took part in the apprehension. Authorities did not indicate why the Secret Service was involved in the investigation.

The commission set rates and voted on changes to the waiver and free play policies for Springfield's Veterans and Franconia golf courses.

SPRINGFIELD -- Players teeing off when the city's municipal golf courses open on Thursday will see no change in the cost to play a round.

Newly hired golf pro Ryan Hall met with the Park Commission on Wednesday to review rates, policies and procedures. The commission voted unanimously to keep the 2017 greens fees and cart rates for Veterans Memorial and Franconia golf courses the same rates as last year, ranging from $20 to $40, with discounts for juniors, seniors and veterans.

The commission, meeting at the Forest Park conference room, also voted on changes to the courses' waiver and free play policies.

Veterans and Franconia underwent a management change after the city ended its contract with former golf pro Kevin Kennedy Jr. in November. An audit ordered by Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and released in March accuses Kennedy of improperly keeping proceeds from greens tickets, cart rentals, gift certificates and tournaments and pocketing certain cash deposits before they reached the courses' cash registers, among other findings.

Wednesday's meeting included a discussion of who would receive waivers to use the courses and how to track who has access to the course and the cash registers.

Patrick Sullivan, Springfield's director of Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management, said Western New England University requested a waiver for the fee to train 10-12 players twice a week for a six- to eight-week season.

"They are saying it would be a hardship for them to pay a fee," Sullivan said. "It's park land and we charge a fee, everyone else pays, but it's up to the commission."

"Where's the hardship?" asked commission chairman Brain Santaniello.

Commission member Terry Rodriguez asked if it had been allowed in the past.

"Evidently it was, but it was never brought to my knowledge," Sullivan said. "I appreciate Ryan doing the right thing and bringing it before the commission so you can decide what you want it to be going forward."

The commission voted unanimously to allow only Springfield Central High School, Sabis International Charter School and Pope Francis High School to have complimentary access to the city golf courses.

"We don't want to open the door for other colleges to request it, and we wanted to be fair," Santinello said. "We had no idea that was happening previously."

"If we do it for one (college), we would have to do it for everybody," Rodriguez said.

The commission also approved an addition to the golf course policy manual under the "Complimentary Golf Policy" section that requires detailed documents be kept of who has access to the courses for free.

"Only certain people will be allowed to play the course to test the green. Full-time employees would be allowed to play, and that will be documented with a key and a log," Sullivan said.

He said the policy was already in place, but not properly documented.

"It wasn't written as a formal policy before, and we wanted to formalize that," Sullivan said. "We want to keep better documents for our cash register system."

Reservations for tee times can be made by calling Veterans at 413-7877-6449 and Franconia at 413-787-6467.

A car accident on I-91 north in the area of Main Street is causing traffic delays.

SPRINGFIELD - A motor vehicle accident in Springfield on I-91 North in the area of Exit 5 is causing major traffic delays. 

Sgt. Weiner with the Massachusetts State Police said that two or three cars had been involved in an accident but that he couldn't give further details because investigators were still out at the scene of the crash.

"There is a significant traffic backup as a result of the crash," Weiner said.

Weiner said he didn't believe any significant injuries had occurred as a result of the crash.  

Weiner additionally said a tow truck was at the scene of the crash and was helping to clear the vehicles out of the roadway. 

Traffic is backed up in the northbound lane of I-91 from the area of the crash all the way into Longmeadow in the area of Emerson Road. 

Travelers should expect delays.

Parkpoom Seesangrit was found guilty of digitally raping a patient at an East Longmeadow nursing facility in May 2014.

SPRINGFIELD -- A Hampden Superior Court judge on Wednesday found 27-year-old Parkpoom Seesangrit guilty of rape for a May 2014 crime at the East Longmeadow Skilled Nursing Center.

Seesangrit, who lived in Great Barrington at the time of his arrest in 2014, waived his right to a trial by jury, leaving Judge Constance M. Sweeney to decide the case.

Sweeney set sentencing for Tuesday at 2 p.m. and ordered bail revoked for Seesangrit, who was handcuffed and led from the courtroom.

Assistant District Attorney Lee Baker said Seesangrit digitally penetrated the 69-year-old victim's vagina. She was on the dementia unit at the facility and Seesangrit was a certified nursing assistant.

Parkpoom Seesangrit 

Seesangrit testified Wednesday through a Thai interpreter he was changing a diaper for the victim and cleaning her, but did not digitally penetrate her.

Seesangrit, who said he has since graduated from the University of Massachusetts in electrical engineering, said he never touched the woman sexually.

He acknowledged he told an East Longmeadow police sergeant he used two fingers to penetrate the woman. He said he is testifying now he did not do anything to the woman other than clean her.

He said he was aware of the nursing facility's policy that men could not render care to female patients but he chose to change the woman anyway.

Under questioning from his lawyer Nancy Flahive, Seesangrit said he did not have any sexual feelings for the woman patient.

Flahive said in her closing argument the charges resulted from a "perfect storm" of misunderstandings.

She said at the time Seesangrit was working three different certified nurse assistant jobs and going to school.

Flahive said for Seesangrit, taking care of a woman patient was no different than taking care of a male.

Baker said in his closing argument that Seesangrit admitted his guilt when questioned by an East Longmeadow police sergeant. He said case law supports the argument that a person who is mentally incapacitated, as the woman was, is incapable of consent.

In October, Judge Edward J. McDonough said Seesangrit could not seek employment as a home health aide, personal care assistant or any similar occupation while he was awaiting trial.

View obituaries from The Republican newspaper in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Taiwan has banned the sale and consumption of cat and dog meat, a departure from a controversial practice that is common among its Asian neighbors.

Taiwan has banned the sale and consumption of cat and dog meat, a departure from a controversial practice that is common among its Asian neighbors.

The island's legislature on Tuesday amended the Animal Protection Act, imposing steeper fines and lengthier punishments for acts related to animal cruelty. These include a fine of 50,000 to 250,000 new Taiwan dollars (about $1,600 to $8,000) for anyone caught selling or consuming cat and dog meat, or any other products that contain parts of the animals, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. The government will publicize the names and pictures of offenders.

Animal-cruelty acts are now punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of 200,000 to 2 million new Taiwan dollars (about $6,500 to $65,400), according to the Central News Agency. Previously, the maximum punishment was one year in prison and up to 1 million new Taiwan dollars (about $32,700) in fines.

The amendments to the Animal Protection Act, enacted in 1998, come at a time of heightened awareness about animal cruelty in the country. Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, adopted three retired guide dogs in October, the Central News Agency reported. She also has two cats.

Canine meat, however, is still widely consumed in many Asian countries, specifically China, South Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines and northern India, according to Humane Society International. The practice also exists in parts of Africa and remote areas of Switzerland.

Perhaps the most controversial is China's dog-eating festival in the town of Yulin, where thousands of canines are slaughtered annually. The event has been bombarded with petitions and online campaigns in recent years.

In 2016, Chinese and international animal rights activists presented a petition with 11 million signatures to protest the dog-meat festival, The Washington Post's Simon Denyer reported. They say many of the dogs were either stolen or found astray, crammed in small cages and beaten to death in slaughterhouses.

China is thought to have killed more than 10 million of the roughly 30 million dogs slaughtered every year worldwide, according to Humane Society International. Four million cats are killed every year in the country.

In South Korea, where dogs are farmed for human consumption, about 2 million are kept in about 17,000 facilities, and many are killed by electrocution, according to the organization. The country's law on the legality of the dog-meat trade remains ambiguous, according to the Animal Welfare Institute, and government efforts to put an end to it have been halfhearted.

Consuming dogs, however, has become increasingly controversial and frowned upon in Asia.

A growing number of Chinese, particularly in middle-class and urban areas, lean more toward owning the animals as pets.

More than 800 dogs also have been rescued from animal farms in South Korea, according to Humane Society International. The animals have been flown to shelters in the United States. Seven dog-meat farms have been shut down.

Humane Society International said it has provided money and counseling to farmers who have gotten out of the dog-meat industry, The Post's Patricia Sullivan reported.

In 2013, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos struck a deal to stop the trafficking of dogs for their meat, according to Time magazine.

In the Philippines, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has called for the eradication of the country's thriving dog-meat industry. Alcala signed a directive in January 2016 outlining a campaign to end dog-meat trade by 2020. Part of the plan is to increase public awareness about the health hazards of eating canine meat and focus the government crackdown on areas where the practice remains rampant.

Killing and selling dogs for meat has been banned in the capital, Manila, for more than 30 years. A nationwide ban was enacted in 1998. The Anti-Rabies Act, passed in 2007, imposes more penalties and punishments for trading dogs for meat. But Alcala acknowledged that officials have fallen short in enforcing those laws.

"While the public may be aware of the prohibition on the trade of dogs for their meat and the underlying and accompanying atrocity involved in the treatment and handling of dogs, the magnitude of effects on the menace of eating of dog meat considering its health hazards has been downplayed, if not ignored," according to the directive.

In a statement praising the Taiwanese legislature's recent action, Humane Society International said the changes to the law should send a message to mainland China and other countries where consuming dog meat remains legal.

"Taiwan's legislature has taken a monumental step in ending the dog-meat trade," the organization said. "Most people in Asian countries do not eat dog and cat, and most find the cruel and often crime-fueled trade appalling."

The practice is limited but does exist in the United States, according to Humane Society International. But legislation introduced last month, the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act, would ban the killing and selling of cats and dogs for human consumption in the country.

(c) 2017, The Washington Post. Kristine Phillips wrote this story.

A clinic designed to provide free assistance to Hampden County permanent residents with filling out naturalization forms has been cancelled, according to an organizer for the event.

Completion deadlines for the multi-million-dollar renovation of the Victory Theatre at 81-89 Suffolk St. in Holyoke, Massachusetts have come and gone for the vaudeville house that opened in 1919 and closed in 1979.

HOLYOKE -- The City Council Public Service Committee chairman said Wednesday he wants to know from the group that is renovating the long-closed Victory Theatre how much money it has raised, the current project cost and a reopening date.

"Is the project going to happen?" committee Chairman James M. Leahy said at City Hall.

Previous estimates have put the Victory Theatre renovation cost at at least $28 million.

Various reopening deadlines have come and gone since the city sold the theater at 81-89 Suffolk St. to the nonprofit Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA) in 2009 for $1,500.

The old vaudeville house opened in 1919 and closed in 1979.

MIFA representatives were unable to attend the Public Service Committee meeting at City Hall.

"Where are they?" Ward 3 Councilor David K. Bartley said.

MIFA Managing Director Kathy McKean said before the meeting that Donald T. Sanders, MIFA executive artistic director, was away and unable to attend the Public Service Committee meeting.

She was unsure about the amount of funding MIFA has secured for the Victory Theatre renovation so far, the projected total cost and a timeline for a reopening, she said in a phone interview.

Committee member Gladys Lebron-Martinez said she filed the order seeking information from MIFA last year.

According to its website, "MIFA's mission is to present the finest examples of contemporary practice in the performing, visual and literary arts for the purposes of educating, entertaining and enriching lives. MIFA serves the economic revitalization of Holyoke through the preservation and reopening of the historical landmark Victory Theatre."

Leahy said he wants to know how much money MIFA has in hand for the Victory Theatre renovation, the funding sources and the current project cost. Completion date for the project also is needed, committee member Howard B. Greaney Jr. said.

Sanders previously said MIFA has commitments for about $20 million. That consists of $10 million in state and federal historical tax credits, $8 million in new market tax credits and the rest in cash donations, he said.

Tax credits generate funding like this: In return for providing money for projects in distressed, low-income areas, investors get tax credits based on a percentage of their investment over a period of years.

The Marx Brothers and Bing Crosby are among entertainers who performed at the Victory Theatre, Sanders has said.

In an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" aired Wednesday, United parent company CEO Oscar Munoz said he felt "ashamed" watching video of the man being forced off the jet.

CHICAGO -- United Airlines sought to quell the uproar over a man being dragged off a plane by announcing on Tuesday that it would no longer ask police to remove passengers from full flights and would compensate customers who were on the flight when the man was removed.

In an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" aired Wednesday, United parent company CEO Oscar Munoz said he felt "ashamed" watching video of the man being forced off the jet. He has promised to review the airline's passenger-removal policy.

Munoz, who leads United's parent company, apologized again to Kentucky physician David Dao, his family and the other passengers who witnessed him being taken off the flight.

"That is not who our family at United is," he said. "This will never happen again on a United flight. That's my promise."

In the future, law enforcement will not be involved in removing a "booked, paid, seated passenger," Munoz said. "We can't do that."

In an effort to calm the backlash, United also announced that passengers on United Express Flight 3411 would be compensated equal to the cost of their tickets. United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said Wednesday that the passengers can take the compensation in cash, travel credits or miles.

The flight was loaded and preparing to leave Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Sunday when the man was dragged off. Video shot by passengers showing the man's bloodied face went viral on social media, prompting a storm of protest.

Also Wednesday, a Chicago alderman said representatives from United and the city's Aviation Department have been summoned before a city council committee to answer questions about the confrontation at O'Hare Airport.

Alderman Mike Zalewski said he did not know who will represent the airline before the Aviation Committee, but Munoz has been notified of the hearing scheduled for Thursday.

Chicago Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans will also speak.

Munoz called the incident a "system failure" and said United would reassess its procedures for seeking volunteers to give up their seats when a flight is full. United was trying to find seats for four employees, meaning four passengers had to deplane.

It was at least Munoz's fourth statement about the confrontation.

After the video first emerged, he said the airline was reaching out to the man to "resolve this situation."

Hours later on Monday, his tone turned defensive. He described the man as "disruptive and belligerent."

By Tuesday afternoon, almost two days after the Sunday evening events, Munoz issued another apology.

"No one should ever be mistreated this way," Munoz said.

The passenger was identified as Dao, a 69-year-old physician from Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Attorneys for Dao filed court papers Wednesday asking the airline and the city of Chicago to preserve evidence in the case. Those documents are often the first steps toward a lawsuit. His legal team planned to hold a news conference Thursday to discuss the matter with reporters.

Airport officials have said little about Sunday's events and nothing about Dao's behavior before he was pulled from the jet that was bound for Louisville, Kentucky.

Likewise, the Chicago Aviation Department has said only that one of its employees who removed Dao did not follow proper procedures and has been placed on leave. The department announced Wednesday that two more officers have been placed on leave.

No passengers on the plane have mentioned that Dao did anything but refuse to leave the plane when he was ordered to do so.

The event stemmed from a common air travel issue -- a full flight.

At first, the airline asked for volunteers, offering $400 and then when that did not work, $800 per passenger to relinquish a seat. When no one voluntarily came forward, United selected four passengers at random.

Three people got off the flight, but the fourth said he was a doctor and needed to get home to treat patients on Monday. He refused to leave.

That's when three Aviation Department police officers boarded the plane. When Dao refused to leave his seat, one of the officers could be seen grabbing the screaming man from his window seat and dragging him down the aisle by his arms.

Other passengers on Flight 3411 are heard saying, "Please, my God," ''What are you doing?" ''This is wrong," ''Look at what you did to him" and "Busted his lip."

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it was reviewing Sunday's events to see if United violated rules on overselling flights. The four top-ranking members of the Senate Commerce Committee asked the airline and Chicago airport officials for more information about what happened.

A plan to transform one of Springfield's most congested intersections was discussed at a meeting of the East Forest Park Civic Association on Wednesday.

SPRINGFIELD - A new project set to transform one of Springfield's most congested intersections was discussed at a meeting of the East Forest Park Civic Association on Wednesday night. 

The project, funded by MassDOT and designed by the city's Department of Public Works, will convert Roosevelt Avenue and Island Pond Road into a single, three-way intersection with a traffic signal. 

The current intersection is located on a large commuter route and connects largely residential areas of the city to commercial districts. 

Wednesday's meeting, held at the Holy Cross Catholic Church on Plumtree Road, featured DPW Director Chris Cignoli, who outlined the status of the project, and discussed traffic concerns with group members and local residents.

"The intersection with Island Pond Road and Roosevelt will be realigned," Cignoli said, showing Association members the schematics of what the new intersection should look like. 

Cignoli said the point of the project was to "relieve the volume of traffic" in the area as well as to reduce speed. The project is in going with a more citywide initiative by policymakers to reduce drivers' speed without hindering traffic or maintenance, Cignoli said.   

The plan also will includes signal timing adjustments and new signal equipment at the Alden Street/Roosevelt Avenue intersection, and will add a southbound left turn lane on the Roosevelt Avenue approach, according to the DPW website.

A new construction project will transform the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue and Island Pond Road into a single intersection with a traffic signal. Springfield Department of Public Works photo 

The Island Pond Road project was put up for bid in September, with Ludlow company C&A Construction ultimately being awarded the contract. Cignoli said that the city had worked well with C&A in the past and that he had personally been satisfied with the results of previous collaborations.  

Cignoli said that while C&A hadn't formally submitted a schedule to DPW, construction is likely to begin sometime between April 15 and May 1st and continue throughout the construction season--with the heaviest periods occurring during the summer months after schools have closed and local traffic has lessened.   

The pipeline will cut through a Massachusetts state forest to serve Connecticut utilities.

SANDISFIELD -- Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. has gained federal authorization to cut trees and construct its Connecticut Expansion Project, including 14 miles of infrastructure in Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.

The Kinder Morgan subsidiary gained a final "notice to proceed" from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on April 12, capping a lengthy legal and regulatory battle with project opponents. 

"We are pleased that the FERC approved notice to proceed requests by Tennessee Gas Pipeline for tree clearing and full construction for its Connecticut Expansion Project," said Kinder Morgan spokesman Richard Wheatley. "The project received a thorough and thoughtful review by state and federal agencies during the last two years."

The project will send four miles of pipeline through the Otis State Forest in Berkshire County. That fact inspired vigorous opposition from groups including Berkshire Environmental Action Team, Pipeline Awareness Network for the Northeast, and Sandisfield Taxpayers Opposing the Pipeline.

Tennessee submitted its federal application in 2014. FERC issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity more than a year ago. Massachusetts regulators issued a Clean Water Act certificate in June of 2016, and hard-fought challenges to that permit were only resolved in recent weeks.

Kinder Morgan to pay $640K for pipeline easement

The fight over the Connecticut Expansion featured legal arguments over the relationship between the Massachusetts Constitution and the U.S. Natural Gas Act. A Berkshire Superior Court judge ruled that the federal law preempts a provision of the constitution requiring legislative approval for the transfer of conservation land.

The April 12 notice to begin construction was issued despite an April 9 motion by the Narragansett Indian Tribal Historic Preservation Office asking for a one-day extension to intervene in the matter.

A lawyer for the tribe wrote that FERC approved the Connecticut Expansion without completing surveys for ceremonial stone landscapes, and that tribal consultation "took place too late in the process" for it to be meaningful.

Pipeline construction would destroy 21 ceremonial stone landscapes, the administrative motion states. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires that federal agencies incorporate tribal concerns prior to the issuance of any project license.

The tribe further asserts that FERC should not have acted without a quorum. The five-member panel has been operating with two members since February, and still awaits new appointments from President Donald J. Trump. The authorization to construct and cut trees was issued by regional gas division chief Danny Laffoon, a staffer with the agency's Office of Energy Projects.

A leading pipeline foe said Wednesday that conditions imposed by the state's Department of Environmental Protection and the Sandisfield Conservation Commission must be met before any trees come down.

"Meanwhile, the filings from the Narragansett Indian Tribe, and FERC's disregard for their request even for a one day extension, speak for themselves," said Kathryn Eiseman. 

Wheatley said the project will help meet demand for "clean, environmentally friendly natural gas produced domestically," benefiting its distribution customers.

The project is designed to serve three natural gas distribution companies in Connecticut.

Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com

Nicholas Deveno was sentenced to three years in state prison after pleading guilty to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, fifth offense, for an arrest in Wilbraham.

The exterior of the Hampden County Hall of Justice is seen Saturday evening, April 25. (Dwight B. Shepard / The Republican)Dwight B. Shepard / The Republican 

SPRINGFIELD -- Assistant District Attorney Janine M. Simonian told a judge Thursday that 37-year-old Nicholas Deveno is a "public safety issue."

Deveno, of Springfield, pleaded guilty in Hampden Superior Court to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, fifth or subsequent offense. Simonian, in asking for a three-year state prison sentence, called Deveno a danger to others on the roads.

Judge Tina S. Page imposed the prosecutor's recommended sentence. The longest Deveno had served on his previous drunken driving convictions was six months in jail.

According to Simonian, on March 31, 2016, at 1:30 a.m. Wilbraham police officer Sean Casella saw a car running but stopped on Bridge Street near the four-way intersection.

Casella pulled up to the car and Deveno drove five feet and stopped. Deveno was slurring his words, there was a strong odor of alcohol, and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, according to the officer.

Deveno was on the phone and tried to give Casella the phone, saying the person on the line knew Casella. Casella would not take the phone, Simonian said. Deveno told Casella he wasn't driving anywhere and hadn't been driving, she said.

After failing a field sobriety test, Deveno was taken to the police station, where he was tested as having a blood alcohol content of 0.14 percent. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.

His four previous drunken driving convictions were in 2014 in Palmer District Court, 2014 in Eastern Hampshire District Court, and 2008 and 1998 in Springfield District Court.

Simonian said Deveno was on probation for the Palmer District Court conviction when he was stopped in Wilbraham.

Defense lawyer Daniel D. Kelly said Deveno had a recent cancer scare, and that coupled with the state prison sentence will hopefully give him the inner strength to stop drinking. Deveno has been grappling with alcohol abuse since he was a teen, Kelly said.

"Quite frankly he is obviously losing the battle," Kelly said.

Chicopee Police arrested a 23-year-old man Wednesday after finding him with drugs during a traffic stop.

CHICOPEE - Chicopee Police arrested a 23-year-old man Wednesday after finding him with drugs during a traffic stop.

Alexander GonzalezChicopee Police 

Alexander Gonzalez, of Chicopee, was charged with possession of a heroin and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute after police stopped the car he was riding in for speeding.

While checking the driver's information, officers noticed that Gonzalez was moving in the back-seat area, police said.

After checking, the arresting officers found that the Gonzalez was trying to conceal a bag in the back seat, police said.

According to police, Gonzalez admitted that the bag belonged to him.

Police say that officers discovered a scale, five baggies of marijuana, another baggie with a "tennis-ball sized" amount of marijuana, and three bundles of heroin marked "Blue Magic."

Gonzalez was released on $140 bail pending his arraignment in Chicopee district court.

The driver was not arrested but was cited for operating an unregistered and uninsured vehicle with no inspection sticker.