The college will save at $15,000 in annual electricity costs and receive $39,000 in annual energy credits.

WESTFIELD - Westfield State University's venture into solar power is producing savings on electricity and enhancing its science curriculum.

Operational since March, solar panels installed atop Bates and Wilson halls have generated some 17,043 kilowatts of electricity for the two buildings.

The $520,000 project was unveiled by college and state officials Monday. Funding for the project came from WSU and the state through the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds and federal funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

State Energy Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. called the project "significant" in reducing fossil fuel emissions while producing electrical power for the college campus.

The solar panel system is designed to save the college between $15,000 and $20,000 in electricity costs annually but Sullivan said the college will also realize an additional $39,000 in annual solar credits, thereby reducing its overall electricity costs.

"It is easy to be green and save money," said Sullivan, noting that of "$22 billion in annual energy costs in Massachusetts, $18 billion leaves the state. All monies spent or saved on green energy stays in our economy."

WSU President Evan S. Dobelle said the solar project is "just another sustainable effort at the college" noting efforts at better energy management like the purchase of energy-efficient appliances and the college's comprehensive recycling program.

Results of solar generated electrical power can be monitored daily at both Wilson and Bates halls by students from computer monitors installed in each building.

Also, Curt D. Robie, assistant vice president for college operations, said use of the Solar Photo-Voltaic System has been incorporated into both science and environmental science classes at the university.

The system includes 534 solar panels that generate 149 megawatts of electricity per year, Robie said. He said the college began researching alternative energy sources two years ago and found that use of wind was not appropriate on campus.

"Solar allow us to conservation and energy efficient," said Robie.

The system was installed by Ostrow Electric Co. of Worcester.

Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management project engineer Al Weisz said Wilson and Bates were "easily adaptable to installation of the system with 182 panels installed on Bates and 352 on Wilson Hall."

Since the system became operational in March, Weisz said electricity generated is equivalent to saving 306 trees, 1,380 gallons of gasoline and 12 tons of CO2 gas emission into the atmosphere.

The now-15-year-old boy shot in stray gunfire still has bullet in leg.

The Republican/Mark MurrayDesmond Patton at September 2009 arraignment

SPRINGFIELD – A prosecutor said Monday a 15-year-old boy still has a bullet in his left leg, almost two years after he was shot by stray gunfire during a daytime fatal shooting outside a Mason Square fast food restaurant.

Assistant District Attorney Eduardo Velazquez made the comment Monday as 21-year-old Desmond D. Patton of Springfield pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Jerry A. Hughes III, in what was called a gang dispute by the prosecution.

Following the Aug. 22, 2009, shooting in a crowded parking lot at Mid Town Plaza, Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet assigned extra patrols “to quell the violence and to assure the public that peace will be restored.”

Patton pleaded guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for the shot that hit the then-13-year-old’s leg. “Certainly he was caught up in the cross-fire,” Velazquez said about the boy, who was coming out of McDonalds restaurant. At least 17 shots were fired, he said.

Hampden Superior Court Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty II accepted the agreed upon recommendation and sentenced Patton to a 10-12-year state prison term followed by three years probation.

The last-minute plea came as Patton’s murder trial was about to start. Justin Garcia, 20, who was charged with Patton for Hughes’ killing, is awaiting a separate trial.

Defense lawyer Jean A. Liddy said Patton was taking responsibility for his actions and wanted to be part of his young daughter’s life when he gets free.

Liddy said Patton, at a very young age, became involved with a crowd he should have avoided.

Velazquez said Hughes was found on the ground near the McDonald’s drive up window, shot multiple times.

Another man was nearby trying to take Hughes from the area after the shooting, according to a security guard. Velazquez said the guard said he saw a man take a large gun from Hughes’ pocket as he lay on the ground.

Narkewicz’ first official appearance as acting mayor came on Sunday when he officiated at a Sept. 11, 2001, tenth anniversary commemoration at the Fire Station.

David MolnarDavid J. Narkewicz presents Mayor Mary Clare Higgins a plaque at her last City Council meeting.

NORTHAMPTON – He isn’t bringing his dog to work, so the transition from Mary Clare Higgins to David J. Narkewicz in the mayor’s office is not quite complete, but the acting mayor is bringing his work ethic.

By virtue of being city council president, Narkewicz officially took over from Higgins last Friday, when she left office before the end of her term to take over the reins of CommunityAction! of Franklin County, a non-profit human services agency left just a few months shy of completing her sixth term, a record she shares with David B. Musante, Jr., whose tenure ran from the 1980s into the 1990s. Narkewicz and Michael R. Bardsley, another former council president who occasionally stood in for Higgins, are vying for the post in November.

Narkewicz has said he would play it by ear in terms of using the City Hall office in Higgins’ absence. As acting mayor, he is charged with running City Council meetings, representing the city at official functions and signing various orders. His first such act Monday was signing an order authorizing the Department of Public Works to fill a position that was recently made vacant due to a death. Narkewicz said he also met with the staff in the mayor’s office to discuss scheduling, computer use and other basic functions of the office.

Narkewicz’ first official appearance as acting mayor came on Sunday when he officiated at a Sept. 11, 2001, tenth anniversary commemoration at the Fire Station. On Monday, he took part in the dedication of three new barns at the Three County Fairgrounds, a ceremony that Higgins also attended.

The fact that there were four former mayors at the ceremony was not lost on U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, a Democrat who held the mayoral office in Springfield before he was elected to Congress. Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray was mayor of Worcester, and state Environmental and Energy Secretary Richard Sullivan is a former Westfield mayor.

“You will never be more popular,” Neal told Narkewicz. To Higgins, he said, “You’re about to become popular again.”

Higgins, whom Narkewicz credited with helping to advance the fairgrounds project, acknowledged her civilian status by saying, “It feels kind of funny to be a former mayor, but I’ve got to tell you, I think it’s good.”

Unlike Higgins, who brought her dog to work every day, Narkewicz kept the family pet at home.

A West Springfield business has started a fund to help with educating the daughters of the late Angelica Guerrero.

Juan Guerrero

WEST SPRINGFIELD – For the family of Angelica Guerrero, who died June 1 shielding her 15-year-old daughter from the tornado that swept the area, the wounds are still fresh in the wake of a recent accolade from the state Legislature.

Angelica’s husband, Juan Guerrero, said Monday that he still has nightmares about the collapse of the Union Street three-decker in which they lived on the first floor.

Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray bestowed the ninth annual Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery on the late mother during a ceremony at the State House Sunday. Murray presented the award to Guerrero’s husband, Juan, her two daughters and other family members.

The award is named after a flight attendant from Acton who was aboard the hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 that was flown into the World Trade Center in New York City Sept. 11, 2001. Sweeney gave information about the plane’s hijackers to ground services.

State Rep. Michael J. Finn, D-West Springfield, and state Sen. James R. Welch, D-West Springfield, nominated Angelica for the honor.

“The whole (Statehouse) chamber was filled. It was very inspiring,” Finn said of the ceremony, which featured speaking by Sweeney’s family. “She was there for her family. It was an incredible act of heroism.”

Angelica Guerrero covered her daughter Ibone with her body as they sought safety in a bathtub in their home in the Merrick section of West Springfield.

“I feel my wife is a hero. She was my hero, is my hero and is always going to be my hero,” Guerrero said Monday.

Recalling his wife still causes Guerrero to become emotional.

“We never fought. We never yelled. Some people find it hard to believe,” Guerrero said. “That is the reason it is so painful.”

Guerrero and his wife were in the living room of their home when the tornado struck. Guerrero said he was on the verge of crossing into the bathroom to throw himself on top of his wife when the building came crashing down on them.

The local man, who, like his wife, is originally from Mexico, has been disabled since an accident on one of his construction jobs several years ago. He has been set back again by the two bulging discs and a broken bone in his pelvis. He now has to use a cane.

The family has been resettled in a two-bedroom apartment on Park Street. Ibone is back in the classroom at West Springfield High School and her sister, 19-year-old Fabiola, has returned to Holyoke Community College where she is a second-year student studying photography.

Guerrero said the girls continue to have needs he cannot meet. Ibone would like to return to her karate lessons, but still has some problems with her legs. Fabiola needs art supplies and a camera.

Guerrero said he is grateful that West Springfield businessman Victor E. Thomas Jr. has started a scholarship drive to help fund his daughters’ educations and he extends thanks to people who have worked in that effort. Donations to the Angelica Guerrero Memorial Scholarship Fund may be sent to the Holyoke Community College Foundation at 303 Homestead Ave., Holyoke, MA 01040.

Musante's wife Marlene is hoping he will return to work in several weeks.

File photo / The RepublicanJohn P. Musante

AMHERST – Town Manager John P. Musante was released from Baystate Medical Center Sunday and is now recuperating at home following injuries from a fall on Sept. 6.

In a press release, Musante’s wife Marlene said that his recuperation requires considerable rest. She said they are hoping he’ll be able to return to work in several weeks.

Visits and phone calls will be limited, and people need to make arrangements before visiting.

In the meantime M. David Ziomek, director of Conservation and Development, is acting town manager. In a release, he said, “it is wonderful that John is now home and that his recovery continues to progress so well.

“All members of the Town staff are sending him good thoughts and best wishes, and we look forward to when he is well enough to be back here with us. In the meantime, we have the Town’s business well in hand, so that he can focus all his energy on feeling better.”

Select Board Chair Stephanie O’Keeffe stated that “there is an incredible team here, and the community is very fortunate to have the service of such a tremendous staff. And, we are also all fortunate to serve in such a caring community. The outpouring of concern and thoughtfulness for John has been amazing.”

Musante fell while walking the family dog.

The state Fire Marshal's office is continuing to investigate the cause of the explosion.

Republican staff photo by Michael BeswickThis is one of the manholes that exploded Sunday morning on Broadway and East Main Street.

CHICOPEE – Roads and the Deady Bridge were reopened and electricity was restored by Monday afternoon but city officials are still unsure what caused an underground explosion that blew out five manhole covers Sunday morning on Broadway and East Main Street.

No one was injured in the explosion in Chicopee Falls, which happened at about 9 a.m., but at least four roads and the bridge were closed Sunday and several buildings were left without power.

A window at the Chicopee Falls Apartment complex was broken when a transformer cover was blown off and hit it. The explosion also damaged roads and sidewalks.

Chicopee Electric Light General Manager Jeffrey R. Cady said investigators believe a fault in the underground electrical system touched off the explosion. It’s not yet clear, however, as to what actually exploded.

“There had to be some type of fuel or gas in the system that caused the explosion,” Cady said. “It was fairly good-sized,” he said.

There is no indication of foul play or suspicious activity connected to the explosion that happened on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Chicopee Deputy Fire Chief Dean F. Desmarais said.

The state Fire Marshal’s office is continuing to probe the explosion, he said.

The Deady Bridge and all roads with the exception of East Main and Main streets were re-opened Sunday night. The remaining roads were reopened by 3 p.m. Monday, said Kenneth Ritchott, emergency management director for the city.

Electrical power was also restored to the Chicopee Falls Apartment complex and several other homes and businesses by about 3 p.m., allowing residents who stayed overnight in motels or with friends or family, to return home.

Operations for the traffic signals at the Deady Bridge and on Broadway were restored at about 3 p.m. Earlier police directed traffic at the busy intersection, Ritchott said.

Staff writer George Graham contributed to this report.

Jourdain likes being known as outspoken on issues like property taxes.

submitted photoHolyoke City Councilor at Large Kevin A. Jourdain

HOLYOKE – City Councilor at Large Kevin A. Jourdain is running for a 10th term in the Nov. 8 election because he said he enjoys using his booming voice to speak up for people.

“That’s what is my drive to do this, that I think I can make a difference for my neighbors, that they feel they have someone to turn to,” Jourdain, 39, said Monday.

Jourdain has been a councilor since January 1994.

He is one of 11 candidates, including all current incumbents, vying for the eight at large seats. The 15-member council includes seven ward councilors.

When the council sets the property tax rate each December, it’s a staple that Jourdain will argue that while business owners also are struggling, they are better equipped than homeowners to absorb an increase. Homeowners, and especially senior citizens, can’t pay more, he said.

“These folks have nowhere to turn. That’s medication that doesn’t get purchased, that’s food that’s not on the table, and I’m extremely sensitive to that,” Jourdain said.

Jourdain is chairman of the council Redevelopment Committee, which supervised the redistricting of the seven voting wards without wholesale changes. He called for delinquent sewer bills to be collected before rate-payers’ bills are increased and he is on the mayor’s property tax reduction task force.

Jourdain is senior financial analyst at the Sisters of Providence Health System and is a lawyer with an office at 472 Appleton St. He and his wife Shari, a bridal consultant at Macy’s here, have three children.

His reelection announcement is Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Wherehouse? restaurant on Lyman Street. The suggested donation is $20.

Judge P. Kevin Castel said the Geas brothers were in this position not because of a single bad day but "a way of life."

Republican file photosFotios Geas, left, and his brother, Ty Geas were sentenced to life in prison for the slayings of former mob boss Adolfo 'Big Al' Bruno and ex-convict Gary D. Westerman.

This is an update of a story first posted Monday at 2:56 p.m.

NEW YORK - The judge who sentenced the Geas brothers to life in prison in a Mafia murder case Monday said the sentences seem to have been a long time coming.

During a hearing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Judge P. Kevin Castel spent several minutes summarizing the troubled childhoods and criminal histories of Fotios “Freddy” Geas and Ty Geas, onetime mob enforcers from West Springfield whose sentences to life in prison were a foregone conclusion in a literal sense, and perhaps in a figurative sense also.

The Geas brothers were sentenced in connection with the 2003 contract hit on Springfield Genovese crime family boss Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno and the murder of low-level associate Gary D. Westerman the same year, as well as the attempted murder of New York union boss Frank Dadabo months earlier and other thwarted murder conspiracies and extortion schemes in Greater Springfield.

Three weeks of testimony in March portrayed a violent rampage by the Geases and their then-close ally Anthony J. Arillotta, a made man in the Genovese clan who turned government informant after his arrest and proved to be the most devastating witness against the brothers.

Also convicted at trial and sentenced to life on Monday was Arthur “Artie”Nigro, 67, of the Bronx in New York City. Nigro was convicted of being the acting family boss at the time of the crimes who sanctioned the hit on Bruno and ordered the attempt on Dadabo’s life over a union beef.

Bruno was fatally shot a half-dozen times outside the Mount Carmel Society in Springfield’s South End on Nov. 23, 2003, by Fotios Geas’ “crash dummy” prison buddy, Frankie Roche.

Roche, who joins Arillotta in the federal Witness Protection Program, testified under a plea deal that he didn’t even break a sweat when she shot Bruno that night.

Arillotta also told jurors that he and the Geases shot and bludgeoned Westerman with a shovel before burying him in a residential lot in Agawam because they correctly suspected Westerman was a police informant.

He also testified that he and Ty Geas shot Dadabo nine times at close range when they ambushed him on his way to work in the Bronx with guns fitted with silencers supplied by Nigro.

Dadabo, 69, survived, and also testified at trial. However, he told jurors he never saw who shot him.

During the proceeding, Judge Castel rattled off a laundry list of prior criminal convictions for the Geases including serious assaults, drug possession, and larceny - leading up to the murders in 2003.

“I mean, you don’t get to the spot (where these defendants are) by having a bad day¦...¦or a bad period of life. This was a way of life,” Castel said during the sentencing.

Lawyers for the defendants made obligatory arguments on behalf of their clients, despite the fact that under federal law, the murder convictions made life in prison penalties a certainty.

According to the lawyers, Nigro was a hard-working mason and devoted father; Ty Geas reformed after he had two children, now 6 and 2; and Fotios Geas merely asked to be housed in a prison with his brother, and keep the 50 cents an hour federal prisoners are paid in order to be able to maintain a commissary account.

Dressed in navy blue prison garb, all three defendants stood and maintained their innocence when given the opportunity by Castel.

Arillotta was leading a successful campaign to wrest control of Springfield’s underworld from Bruno and tried, with the Geases, to take out every obstacle, including rival gangsters and building a bank account through extorting businesses from Springfield to New York.

Nigro considered Bruno a thorn in his side and was told via intermediaries that Bruno had confirmed to an FBI agent that a fourth defendant, Emilio Fusco, of Longmeadow, was a made man.

The conversation was memorialized in a presentence report by federal officials when Fusco was poised for prison after a loan-sharking conviction in 2003.

Fusco allegedly fled to his native Italy when he feared being arrested last year; he has since been extradited, and is set to be tried alone in April. He will appear for a pretrial conference before Castel today.

Tellingly, of all the living victims and family members in the case, not one appeared in court for the sentencing, which is customary in murder cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Honig told Castel that not only were the life sentences required by law, but were morally justified as well.

“All the murders were careful, deliberate and well thought out¦...¦these were mob murders,” said Honig, a veteran organized crime prosecutor in the southern district of New York.

Castel told the defendants all were entitled to appeal their convictions.

Defense lawyer Bobbi C. Sternheim, for Ty Geas, conceded after the proceeding that mandatory life sentencing hearings are futile and discouraging for attorneys.

“I lose a little piece of myself every time this happens to one of my clients,” she said.

The town is making a renewed effort to turn its municipal golf course into a money-making proposition.

SOUTH HADLEY – With the town facing a barrage of municipal building issues, a volunteer group devoted to boosting community awareness is giving residents a chance to find out what’s going on.

Know Your Town will present a program called “How Do We Pay for All the Proposed Town Projects?” on Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall Auditorium. Those attending can ask questions of the people who are most familiar with these projects.

Admission is free, and refreshments will be served from 7 to 7:30 p.m. Among the subjects the panel will address:

— The new library. Joseph Rodio, director of the South Hadley Public Library and Susan Obremski-Crowther, chair of its building committee, will talk about raising the remaining funds needed for a new building at North Main and Canal Streets. The project has received a $4.8 million grant from the Massachusetts Public Library Construction program and a $200,000 donation from PeoplesBank.

— A new elementary school. Gus Sayer, superintendent of the South Hadley Schools, and the School Building Committee will answer questions about Plains Elementary School. So far the town has given Plains $750,000 to hire a project manager and an architect, of which the Massachusetts School Building Authority has reimbursed 60 percent, but there’s a long way to go.

— The Senior Center. Joanne Trybus, director of the Senior Center, was getting desperate about the leaky roof and what it was doing to the infrastructure of the building. Fortunately, a grant worth $652,000 was patched together and will solve most of the problem. Trybus will talk about what’s next.

— The Ledges Golf Course. Built just before the Great Recession set in, this municipal golf course was intended as a source of revenue to the town, but has become a serious burden. Selling it is not an option, due to the terms of state grants that helped build it. The town is making a renewed effort to turn it into a money-making proposition.

Questions about the Ledges and the next two topics will be fielded by Town Administrator Paul Beecher or Selectboard chairman Robert Judge, or both. Also on the Know Your Town panel will be Thomas Terry, chairman of the town’s Appropriations Committee, and Ted Boulais, chairman of the Capital Planning Committee.

— The old FiberMark building. This structure was part of the package when the town paid $723,000 for the old Northeast Utilities site on which to build the new library. It may be refurbished as part of the effort to revitalize South Hadley Falls.

— Siemens Industry. This company, which figures out how to save money on energy costs, completed an energy audit of municipal buildings for South Hadley, but Town Meeting voted down a contract for them to put their recommendations into effect.

In spite of strong support from the Selectboard, Town Meeting also rejected Siemens’ “holistic” approach to replacing the broken boilers in Town Hall, and opted for the job to go out to bid. So far, based on estimates from other companies, it looks like Siemens is offering the best deal.

Officials said they would finalize the application if the neighborhood agreed.

View full sizeRepublican file photoNorthampton City Hall

NORTHAMPTON – The city is one step closer to applying for recognition of the Pomeroy Terrace area on the National Register of Historic Places and officials say the paperwork could be filed by the end of the month.

At a Planning and Development meeting Monday night, about a dozen residents of the six streets slated for consideration voiced their support for the plan, only asking a few questions and giving approval when officials asked if the application should be sent to the state Historical Commission.

Officials said they would finalize the application if the neighborhood agreed.

The area includes Pomeroy Terrace, parts of Bridge, Hawley and Hancock streets, Phillips Place and Butler Place, all located in Ward 3.

“Our board was very positive about pursuing this designation,” said Gerald S. Budgar, president of the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association. “I just think it would be a wonderful, wonderful shot in the arm for this area.”

Ward 3 Councilor Owen Freeman-Daniels agreed, saying people are only worried their property rights might be infringed. But the designation does not restrict a property owner’s rights or activities. It is merely a recognition of an area’s historic significance and can even make businesses and non-profits eligible for certain grants.

“It doesn’t establish design guidelines or require oversight of architectural changes,” said Sarah I. LaValley, the city’s Conservation, Preservation and Land Use Planner. “You could knock (your property) down” as long as the demolition went through the proper city channels.

Restrictions are only in place for local historic districts. She said the designation protects against state and federal eminent domain takings, but not those from the city.

But excluding one’s property from the national district is not be possible once it’s in place.

Residents can prevent the designation, though. If a majority of affected property owners submit notarized opposition letters, the state Historical Commission will not consider the application.

Once the application is submitted, it goes through a review process that ends with a decision by the National Park Service. The whole process can take more than six months, said LaValley.

Before submission, properties can be added, but that process can be costly and time-consuming.

The Pioneer Valley Planning Authority was awarded $63,000 in Community Preservation Act money to update the historical inventory forms on about 1,200 city buildings. David Drake, chairman of the city’s Historical Commission, said each form takes several hours worth of research and writing, but he wasn’t specific on the cost.

“It was not meant to omit anyone,” he said. “We tried to get as much coverage as we could with the town’s money.”

Budgar said people in other parts of the city are interested in seeing if their neighborhoods can be added, too.

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Veiovis, then known as Roy Gutfinski, was charged in 1999 with assaulting a teenage girl as part of a ritualistic blood-drinking ceremony.

AP photo | The Berkshire EagleCaius Veiovis, second from left, stands during his arraignment in Berkshire District Court in Pittsfield, Mass., Monday, Sept. 12, 2011, on charges including murder and kidnapping of three men whose remains were found on Saturday.

Long before associating with the Hell’s Angels, Caius Veiovis was already said to be a worshiper of Satan.

Veiovis, 31, along with Adam Hall, 34, both of Pittsfield, and David Chalue, 44, of Springfield, were arrested over the weekend and charged with the kidnapping and murder of three Pittsfield men, David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell.

The three men had been missing for more than a week, and their bodies were discovered in a trench at an undisclosed location Saturday, according to Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless.

Hall, Chalue and Veiovis were charged with three counts each of murder, kidnapping and intimidating a witness.

Police believe Hall, Chalue and Veiovis killed the three men to prevent Glasser from testifying in an upcoming trial against Hall, who is reputed to hold the rank of sergeant at arms with the Pittsfield area Hell’s Angels.

Veiovis, Hall and Chalue denied the charges at their arraignments Monday in Pittsfield. Each was denied the right to bail and is being held pending their trial.

The degree of intrigue surrounding the disappearance of Glasser, Frampton and Chadwell, and the possible involvement of the Hell’s Angels made interest in this story high

But it was the news of the arrests and release of the booking photos, particularly the one of Veiovis with his facial tattoos, multiple piercings and “Star Trek” forehead, that sent the interest level into orbit.

According to Capeless, Veiovis is also known as Roy C. Gutfinski Jr.

And it was as Gutfinski that he gained notoriety in Augusta, Maine, in 1999 when he and his girlfriend were put on trial for assaulting a teenage girl in a motel room as part of a ritualistic blood-drinking ceremony.

According to accounts of the trial, a 16-year-old girl testified that Gutfinski and his girlfriend at the time, 17-year-old Deanne Jones, brought her to a hotel room, and Jones used a razor to slice a 7-inch gash in her back.

She testified that Jones and Gutfinski then drank her blood while they kissed each other.

Photo submitted by the Berkshire County District AttorneyDavid Chalue, left, Adam Hall, center, and Caius Veiovis, right. The three were arrested and charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of three men in a case against a Hell's Angels member. The victims' bodies were found Saturday, and the three suspects will be arraigned Monday in Central Berkshire District Court in Pittsfield, Mass.

Police were notified when the girl later went to the emergency room. The gash required more than 30 stitches to close.

During his trial, the prosecution described the then-19-year-old Gutfinski as a practitioner of the Goth lifestyle who practiced self-mutilation.

Prosecutors told the jury that Gutfinski considered himself a worshiper of Satan, and told police that he was a vampire who drank blood - both his own blood and that of others.

Gutfinski and Jones were both convicted of elevated aggravated assault, aggravated assault and reckless conduct.

Gutfinski was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2000, with all but three years of the sentence suspended. He was also given four years probation.

Gutfinski was charged with violating probation in 2006 when he and another man were arrested in New Bedford, Mass., and charged with kidnapping and drug possession after they held two strippers from a local nightclub against their will in a hotel room.

The kidnapping charges were eventually dropped, but Gutfinski was re-incarcerated in Maine on the probation violation charge.

It is not clear when he was released, or started calling himself Caius Veiovis.

In Roman mythology, Veiovis is the lesser-known god of the underworld.

Caius is the name of a character in the “Twilight” series who is a vampire.

It is also not clear when Gutfinski acquired the subdermal implants or the tattoos on his face, including ‘666,’ the sign of the devil, on his forehead.

Even The Smoking Gun website, which routinely publishes unusual mug shots from police departments nationwide, was shocked by Gutfinski’s picture.

The website on Monday featured his photo with the headline “Easily The Scariest Mug Shot Of An Accused Murderer You Will See Today.”

Chalue also has been on trial previously. In March, he was a co-defendant in Hampden Superior Court for an alleged extortion attempt in Chicopee.

Chalue and co-defendent Ronald Kogut were charged with trying to extort money from a man whose dog had bitten Kogut in the face.

In that case, they were charged with armed assault with intent to rob, assault with a dangerous weapon, extortion by threat of injury and threating to comit a crime.

Both were acquitted of all charges on March 9. A jury spent four hours deliberating before returning with the not guilty verdict.

Opponents in the House said it didn't matter the date of the referendum — they said it was an awful idea that would send the state backward and likened the question to instituting Jim Crow restrictions that prevented interracial marriage.

Herbert Rosser, from left, his wife of 54 years Carol Rosser, of Wake County, and John Markham and his wife of 33 years Elizabeth Markham, of Raleigh, pray before a rally in support of a state constitutional amendment recognizing marriage between a man and a woman as the only domestic legal union, on Halifax Mall behind the Legislative Building in Raleigh, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Ted Richardson)

By GARY D. ROBERTSON, Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — State lawmakers moved ahead Monday on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, something social conservatives have wanted to bring to a vote for years but gay rights activists have tried to derail.

A divided House committee approved a new proposed amendment that would imprint a ban on same-sex marriage in the state constitution and sent it to the floor for debate. The proposed ballot question, if approved by the Legislature meeting this week, would be on the statewide ballot for next May's primary, rather than in November 2012 as sought in other versions.

Three-fifths of the House members — or 72 representatives — must vote yes twice before it can move on to the Senate.

North Carolina is the only state in the Southeast without such a marriage limit in its constitution. State law already defines marriage between a man and a woman, but amendment supporters argue traditional marriage would be better protected against potential legal challenges by same-sex couples married in six other states and the District of Columbia.

"The question is are we going to let the people decide, or judicial decisions based on the Supreme Court decisions of a half-dozen other states?" House Majority Leader Paul Stam, R-Wake, as the floor debate began.

Republicans pushing the question said they move up the proposed referendum by six months as a way to try to bring on board more undecided legislators. It's also designed to put aside criticisms that having it on the ballot next November was designed to boost turnout among conservative Christians and others opposed to gay marriage, House Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg.

North Carolina is expected to be a battleground state next year, since Barack Obama won the state's electoral votes in 2008 by only 13,000 votes and North Carolina is hosting the Democratic National Convention. Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue also faces a tough re-election fight next year.

North Carolina House Republican Leader Paul Stam introduces a Senate bill to amend the state constitution to provide that marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union recognized by the state, during a committee meeting in Raleigh, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Ted Richardson)

"I think what we're trying to do is respect some who thought this (amendment) was solely a political consideration," Tillis said at a news conference, adding that the bill is "about putting a question to the people."

"I consider something that will put this issue to bed," Tillis told reporters.

Opponents in the House said it didn't matter the date of the referendum — they said it was an awful idea that would send the state backward and likened the question to instituting Jim Crow restrictions that prevented interracial marriage. Rep. Deborah Ross, D-Wake, said approving this proposal would run counter to changing attitudes about same-sex relationships.

"We've put discrimination in our constitution before and if you vote for this amendment ... you will be doing it against the tide of history and against future generations," Ross said.

Several hundred amendment supporters rallied Monday behind the Legislative Building and urged lawmakers to let the people vote on the gay marriage question after several years in which Democrats in charge of the Legislature blocked votes. Things have changed now that Republicans took control of the House and Senate simultaneously for the first time in 140 years.

"This piece of legislation has been held up and we haven't had the chance to vote on it," the Rev. Patrick Wooden of the Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh told the crowd, which State Capitol Police estimated at 700. "This state has to protect God's holy institution as it is currently defined in state law."

Micah Turner, 16, a student at Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C., holds a sign during a rally in support of a state constitutional amendment recognizing marriage between a man and a woman as the only domestic legal union, on Halifax Mall behind the Legislative Building in Raleigh, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Ted Richardson)

Opponents, meanwhile, brought to the Legislature nearly 50,000 postcards urging lawmakers to stop the amendment, They say lawmakers shouldn't put into the constitution an amendment they say would mandate the inequality of gays and lesbians.

If approved, the measure also could discourage businesses from coming to North Carolina or expanding in the state.

"It is wrong to single out a particular group of people for discrimination," said Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham.

Supporters of the bill disagree, but they've added language in the proposed amendment designed to allow companies to keep offering health and life insurance and other benefits to employees in domestic partnerships. Some law professors say the proposal could invalidate domestic violence laws, cause uncertainty with child custody decisions and wills and cancel out domestic partner benefits already instituted by a handful of local governments in the state.

"We are going to be enacting language into the constitution that no one knows what it means and could hurt citizens of this state and that will take years of needless litigation to resolve the meaning," said Maxine Eichner, a law professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill.

The Republican chairman of the committee didn't allow any public comment from the audience about the bill. House Democratic leader Joe Hackney said the question was being rushed through and its contents could have long-term unintended consequences.

The referendum would be held on next May's primary date.

The council cut $2.7 million from the mayor’s proposal in June, leaving the current budget unbalanced.

Lee C. Erdmann

SPRINGFIELD – The City Council voted to delay action on $8.9 million in budget transfers presented by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno to balance the city budget.

Citing a need for more information, the council agreed to send the proposed transfer back to its finance subcommittee for additional review.

The package provided funds for police overtime, a tiered-furlough system, mowing of terraces, the city’s animal control center and other items cut by councilors before they approved the $542.2 million budget in June.

Several councilors, including Michael A. Fenton and Timothy C. Allen, said they wanted to consider items separately, rather than as one lump sum transfer.

Councilor Timothy J. Rooke said councilors had asked for separate items, but “the mayor ignored the request.”

The council cut $2.7 million from the mayor’s proposal in June, leaving the current budget unbalanced.

Lee C. Erdmann, the city’s director of administration and finance, urged councilors to approve the transfers Monday night, noting the budget must be balanced before the municipal tax rate is set in December.

Erdmann said the city’s failure to have a balanced budget will not be viewed favorably by the Department of Revenue or bond rating agencies.

Included in the transfer was funding to implement a tiered-furlough system for non-unionized employees, with the number of furlough days based on employee’s income, rather than the uniform 12-day furlough plan currently in effect.

Rooke said the vote to delay action on the transfer reflected dissatisfaction with the process, rather than the items under consideration.

He said the issue could be revisited in the next month if councilors get more information, and are not forced to vote on a single, $8.9 million proposal.

“I think the bond rating agencies would applaud the council,” for exercising fiscal responsibility, Rooke said.

It was the second formal debate, occurring just eight days before the election.

File photos | The RepublicanLeft to right, Springfield School Committee member Antonette Pepe, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Springfield City Council President Jose Tosado.

SPRINGFIELD – While the mayor defended his record during a debate Monday night in the Six Corners neighborhood saying there has been much progress in harsh economic times, his two challengers said they offer the city a brighter future with new ideas and strategies.

More than 100 people attended the 90-minute debate at the Spring of Hope Church at 35 Alden St. The event was sponsored by the Springfield Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

It was the second formal debate involving the three mayoral candidates – two-term Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, City Council President Jose F. Tosado and School Committee member Antonette E. Pepe – occurring just eight days before next Tuesday’s preliminary election. The top two vote-getters on Tuesday move on to the Nov. 8 ballot.

A prior debate last week was taped and televised by WGBY-57.

The debate questions on Monday, provided by a six-person panel of community activists and the audience, ranged from issues on how to improve public safety to how to help the business sector and the poor.

Sarno said his public safety strategy includes a task force of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies that have conducted targeted sweeps on guns, gangs and narcotics. In addition, he said he has focused on youth development and education, including a return of sports to middle schools.

Tosado and Pepe said the spate of crime and violence in Springfield tells a different story.

Tosado said his strategy would focus on prevention of crime, and would include ideas such as having a “gun court,” a court devoted to gun cases. Tosado said the mayor’s talk of getting community cooperation needs to include building trust.

Sarno’s strategy has been “not enough,” and there is “not a real clear plan,” Tosado said

Both Pepe and Tosado said Sarno gave poor grades to former Mayor Charles V. Ryan on public safety during their 2007 campaign for mayor. Sarno should receive poor grades for public safety now when looking at the violence in Springfield including 15 homicides thus far this year, they said.

Pepe said Sarno “would not have graduated this year” if graded on public safety.

Sarno said he has a record of working closely with law enforcement agencies, and called for more parental responsibility and community cooperation. Youth violence is the “scourge of urban America,” he said. “We will win this war,” Sarno said.

Pepe said she would hold the police commissioner accountable, which she said is not being done now. She praised former Holyoke Police Chief Anthony Scott, saying his leadership made the city safer.

She also said officers should be more visible in the neighborhoods, saying she wants an inventory of how officers are stationed in the city.

Both Pepe and Tosado said they favor a return of a full Police Commission in Springfield, to oversee hiring, firing and discipline. Sarno said he favors the existing system of a single police commissioner and a mayoral appointed community review board with recommendation powers.

Regarding economic development and unemployment, Tosado said he favors a policy that focuses on helping the smaller businesses grow.

Pepe said she would work with large companies in the nation to open satellite offices in Springfield and said the city must be made more attractive for business, again including strategies to reduce crime.

Sarno said his economic development team is providing grants to businesses, and work-force development is being added to the education system.

“If your hub thrives, your region thrives,” Sarno said.

In their closing comments, Tosado said the city has “so much potential” and that risks need to be taken and new action needs to be taken. Tosado said if people are satisfied with the past four years under Sarno, they should vote for him.

Sarno said he has never lost the passion for the job. Citing the June 1 tornado, Sarno said, “A mayor has to be able to serve in a time a crisis.”

Pepe said she is honest, does not owe anyone favors and gives everyone a fair chance.

Across a fractious two-hour debate before a boisterous tea party crowd, the front-runner in opinion polls gave little ground and frequently jabbed back, particularly at his chief rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

AP photoRepublican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry gestures during a Republican presidential debate Monday, Sept. 12, 2011, in Tampa, Fla.

Across a fractious two-hour debate before a boisterous tea party crowd, the front-runner in opinion polls gave little ground and frequently jabbed back, particularly at his chief rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

But the criticism of Perry kept coming — from Romney on Social Security, from Texas Rep. Ron Paul saying the governor had raised taxes, from Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Sen. Rick Santorum assailing his executive order to require Texas schoolgirls to get a STD vaccine and more.

Perry bristled only once, when Bachmann seemed to suggest a connection between his executive order on the vaccinations and campaign contributions he received in Texas. "I'm offended," he said, if she had questioned his integrity.

Monday night's faceoff marked the first time in a season of debates that internal Republican differences dominated rather than a common eagerness to unseat Democratic President Barack Obama.

Social Security was a key issue.

"A program that's been there 70 or 80 years, obviously we're not going to take that away," Perry said in the debate's opening moments as Romney pressed him on his earlier statements questioning the constitutionality of Social Security and calling it a Ponzi scheme.

The Texas governor counter-attacked quickly, accusing Romney of "trying to scare seniors" with his own comments on a program that tens of millions of Americans — including millions in the debate state of Florida alone — rely on for part or all of their retirement income.

The eight rivals shared a debate stage for the second time in less than a week, a pace that marked a quickening in the campaign to choose a challenger to President Barack Obama in 2012. The encounter was sponsored by tea party groups — the conservative voters who propelled the GOP to victory in the 2010 congressional elections, and by CNN.

In the debate's opening moments, Perry and Bachmann courted the support of tea party activists. Bachmann said she had "brought the voice of the tea party to the United States Congress as a founder of the tea party caucus."

Perry said he was glad to be at the debate with the Tea Party Express.

But it soon became clear that the presidential hopefuls were not only eager to court support from the most conservative voters but were anxious not to offend seniors and others who depend on Social Security and Medicare.

None of the three who have gotten the most support so far this year — Perry, Romney and Bachmann — said they favored repealing the prescription drug benefit in Medicare, which has a large unfunded liability. Paul, asked the same question, turned his answer to a call for ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as ways to save money.

There was little time for niceties.

Within minutes of the debate's beginning,, Romney moved aggressively to press Perry on Social Security, saying the front-runner had previously called it a Ponzi Scheme, an absolute failure and unconstitutional.

Perry did not dispute the characterization. In his recent book he called the retirement income program an example of a federal initiative that is "violently tossing aside any respect for our founding principles of federalism and limited government."

Monday night, he said retirees and near-retirees are assured of receiving the benefits they've been promised — and should be — but changes are needed to make sure younger workers have any sort of benefit when they near retirement.

Romney wasn't satisfied with that, quoting others as saying the Texas governor's position on Social Security could spell defeat for the party as it tries to win the White House from Obama next year. Repeatedly, he pressed Perry to say whether he believes the program is unconstitutional. Just as insistently, Perry ducked.

Then he countered, quoting Romney as having said in his own book that if people did with their financing what had been done with Social Security receipts it would be a criminal offense.

"You've got to quote me correctly," Romney responded. "What I said was taking money out of the Social Security trust fund is criminal and it's wrong."

Social Security benefits are financed through a payroll tax that workers and their employers pay. According to the most recent independent forecasts, unless Congress enacts changes, benefits will have to be cut beginning in 2037.

Bachmann and Santorum were the aggressors when the topic turned to an executive order Perry signed in 2007 requiring the vaccination of Texas schoolgirls against STD.

Bachmann, whose candidacy surged and then fell back in the polls in less than a month, said that "to have innocent little 12-year-old girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order is just flat out wrong. That should never be done. It's a violation of a liberty interest."

Perry said, as he has before, that it was a mistake to issue an executive order on the issue, but he defended wanting to have the vaccinations take effect.

Bachman didn't stop there. She said that "a big drug company that made millions of dollars because of this mandate" also had made a campaign contribution to Perry in Texas.

"The company was Merck, and it was a $5,000 contribution that I had received from them. I raise about $30 million. And if you're saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I'm offended," Perry retorted.

Immigration brought more criticism for Perry, who supports giving the children of illegal immigrants the same tuition breaks at state colleges and universities that other students receive.

"I'm proud we are having those individuals be contributing members of society," Perry said, adding that the policy was a state's rights issue.

The audience briefly booed the answer, while his opponents again pounced.

Perry and Romney also reprised an exchange they had last week in a debate in which each claimed the superior record of job creation as governor.

"I think Gov. Perry would agree that if you're dealt four aces, that doesn't make you a terrific poker player," Romney said.

"Well, I was going to say Mitt you were doing pretty good until you got to talking poker," Perry said, provoking laughter.

There was a brief letup in the crossfire when the subject of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke — no favorite of Republicans — came up.

Perry stood behind his recent comments that it would be treasonous if the Fed were printing money for political reasons.

Romney let it pass, as did the others on stage.

Later, though, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman took aim at Perry's opposition to construction of a fence across the length of the border with Mexico.

"For Rick Perry to say that you can't secure the border is pretty much a treasonous comment," he said.
___

Associated Press writers Bruce Smith in South Carolina and Kasie Hunt in Washington contributed to this report.

Flanked at the White House by workers he said the legislation would help, Obama declared, "This is the bill that Congress needs to pass. No games. No politics. No delays."

AP photoPresident Barack Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, and others, holds up a copy of his American Jobs Act during a statement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 12, 2011.

Flanked at the White House by workers he said the legislation would help, Obama declared, "This is the bill that Congress needs to pass. No games. No politics. No delays." He sent it to Capitol Hill saying, "The only thing that's stopping it is politics."

The president's proposal drew criticism from House Speaker John Boehner, who'd previously responded in cautious but somewhat receptive tones to the $447 billion jobs plan made up of tax cuts and new spending that Obama first proposed in an address to Congress last Thursday.

"It would be fair to say this tax increase on job creators is the kind of proposal both parties have opposed in the past. We remain eager to work together on ways to support job growth, but this proposal doesn't appear to have been offered in that bipartisan spirit," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said.

The biggest piece of the payment plan would raise about $400 billion by eliminating certain deductions, including on charitable contributions, that can be claimed by wealthy taxpayers. Obama has proposed that in the past — to help pay for his health care overhaul, for example — and it's been shot down by Republican lawmakers along with some Democrats.

Yet by daring Republicans anew to reject tax hikes on the rich Obama could gain a talking point as the 2012 presidential campaign moves forward, if not a legislative victory.

At a Rose Garden event Monday, Obama brandished his jobs bill and surrounded himself with police officers, firefighters, teachers, construction workers and others he said would be helped by it. Adopting a newly combative tone that's been welcomed by dispirited Democrats, Obama demanded immediate action on the legislation, which the White House sent to Capitol Hill Monday afternoon.

"Instead of just talking about America's job creators, let's actually do something for America's job creators," he said.

Late in the day, he told a group of Spanish-language reporters that if Congress agreed to just a portion of the bill he would accept it while still fighting for more.

"I am going to put forward the entire bill and I have asked them to pass the entire bill. Obviously, if they pass parts of it, I am not going to veto those parts," Obama said. "I will sign it, but I will then say, give me the rest, and I will keep on making that argument."

In the Rose Garden, he told of reading a quotation in a newspaper article from a Republican congressional aide who questioned why Republicans should work with Obama since the result might just be to help the president politically. "That was very explicit," Obama said.

Buck, the Boehner spokesman, said the anonymous quote cited by the president didn't reflect the view of Republican leadership.

And even as Obama was accusing Republicans of playing politics, he and his Democratic allies were marshaling an aggressive political response of their own.

Obama was traveling to Boehner's home state of Ohio Tuesday to promote his jobs plan, and following that with a trip Wednesday to North Carolina, a traditionally Republican state he won in 2008.

He was getting backup from the Democratic National Committee, which announced a television ad campaign starting Monday to promote Obama's jobs plans in key swing and early-voting states and to call on voters to pressure their lawmakers for support. The ads urge viewers to "Read it. Fight for it. ... Pass the President's Jobs Plan."

The back-and-forth was taking on elements of a political campaign, with high stakes for both sides as Obama heads into his re-election fight with the economy stalled, unemployment stuck at 9.1 percent and polls showing deep public unhappiness with his leadership on the economy.

In an appearance later Monday for a group of African-American news Web sites, Obama suggested that even a legislative loss for his plan could translate into a political win for him.

"I need people to be out there promoting this and pushing this and making sure that everybody understands the details of what this would mean, so that one of two things happen: Either Congress gets it done, or if Congress doesn't get it done people know exactly what's holding it up," the president said.

The jobs package would combine tax cuts for workers and employers by reducing the Social Security payroll tax, with spending elements including more money to hire teachers, rebuild schools and pay unemployment benefits. There are also tax credits to encourage businesses to hire veterans and the long-term unemployed.

The White House, which has gotten burned in the past by making overly optimistic job-creation predictions, has avoided estimating how many jobs the package would create. But in an interview Monday on NBC News, Obama embraced an estimate from an outside economist, Mark Zandi of Moody's Analytics, and said the bill "could mean an additional 2 million jobs."

The payment method the White House announced Monday would consist of:

—$405 billion from limiting the itemized deductions for charitable contributions and other deductions that can be taken by individuals making over $200,000 a year and families making over $250,000;

—$41 billion from closing loopholes for oil and gas companies;

—$18 billion from requiring fund managers to pay higher taxes on certain income;

—$3 billion from changing the tax treatment of corporate jets.

White House Budget Director Jacob Lew said that Obama will also include those tax proposals in a broader debt-cutting package he plans to submit next week to a congressional "supercommittee" charged with finding $1.2 trillion in savings later this year. He said that the supercommittee would have the option of accepting the payment mechanisms for the jobs bill proposed by Obama, or proposing new ones.

Republicans have indicated they're receptive to supporting Obama's proposed payroll tax cut and finding a way to extend unemployment benefits, though many have rejected Obama's planned new spending. Obama's new proposal Monday to pay for it all by raising taxes without any proposals to cut spending is unlikely to win him any new GOP support for any element of his plan.

"I sure hope that the president is not suggesting that we pay for his proposals with a massive tax increase at the end of 2012 on job creators that we're actually counting on to reduce unemployment," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.

The new DNC ads are airing in: Denver; Tampa and Orlando, Fla.; Des Moines, Iowa; Las Vegas; Manchester, N.H.; Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio and Norfolk, Richmond and Roanoke, Va.; as well as Washington, D.C.
__________________________________________________

Associated Press writers Luis Alonso Lugo, Julie Pace and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

The hit ABC show, which is watched by millions of Americans, is expected to help shed light on local efforts to combat bullying.

SPRINGFIELD -- Regional anti-bullying efforts are getting a big boost by the arrival of a high-profile national television show to the Pioneer Valley.

The cast and crew from "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" rolled into town on Sunday, Sept. 11, to announce they would be rebuilding anti-bullying activist Sirdeaner L. Walker's Springfield home, with assistance from Chicopee-based contractor N. Riley Construction and local volunteers.

That effort was expected to get under way Monday with the demolition of Walker's Northampton Avenue home in the city's Upper Hill neighborhood. Walker, whose 11-year-old son Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover committed suicide in April 2009 after being relentlessly bullied by school peers, will get a new house compliments of the hit ABC TV show, which is now in its ninth season.

Meanwhile, students at Springfield's Sabis International Charter School will get their 15 minutes of fame when their anti-bullying messages are featured at the beginning of the Emmy Award-winning show. Officials have not cited a specific air date for the Springfield episode, but work on Walker's new home is expected to be completed by the end of this week.

"Bullying is real -- and it's much more real these days because of the Internet," Jeffrey C. Londraville, director of student life at SABIS, told abc40, a media partner of The Republican and MassLive.com.

Londraville is also an author, speaker and consultant on anti-bullying issues.

Dozens of Sabis students flocked to Walker's neighborhood on Monday, carrying signs with simple, one-word epithets that can become weapons in the hands of bullies. The students gathered outside Walker's homes with placards emblazoned with words such as "queer," "loser" and "reject," among many others.

Jeffrey C. Londraville

"What used to be five or ten people picking on someone, is now seen by hundreds or thousands of people on the Internet. Something like 'Extreme Makeover' is making people more aware of this worldwide situation," Londraville said, adding that the visual display put on by students Monday represents how harsh words can be just as dangerous as physical bullying.

In terms of exposure, the plight of Walker-Hoover and others who've suffered from bullying is likely to reach a large national audience considering the high viewership of "Extreme Makeover." Although the show peaked in 2004, with nearly 16 million viewers per episode, recent Nielsen Ratings indicate just over half that amount still watch the weekly program.

More local anti-bullying efforts are afoot, including an upcoming event in Forest Park. On Saturday, Sept. 17, the 2nd Annual Anti-Bullying Back-to-School 5K Road Race/2K Walk in honor of the late Walker-Hoover hill be held in the park. The theme of the event is "Be a Buddy, Not a Bully," according to event organizers.

Additional information is available online at www.carljoseph11.org, where people may register for the race. Inquiries may also be sent via email to carljoseph11@gmail.com.

Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover

The Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover Foundation was established last year to raise awareness about the "extreme measures" some children resort to because of bullying. Sirdeaner Walker testified in support of anti-bullying legislation before the state Legislature and shared her son's story with President Barack Obama during a March anti-bullying conference at the White House.

The death of Walker-Hoover and the suicide of 15-year-old South Hadley High School student Phoebe Prince contributed to the passage of Massachusetts' new anti-bullying legislation.

Coincidence or divine intervention? Nobody will ever know, but the first three winning horses at Belmont Park on Sunday, the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, sported the numbers 9, 1 and 1, creating a palpable buzz at the Long Island, N.Y., racetrack.

AP photoA photo by the New York Racing Association shows horse racing action at New York's Belmont Park on Sept. 10, oned day before three horses with the numbers 9, 1 and 1 won the first three races at the Long Island race track on Sunday, Sept. 11, which marked the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

NEW YORK — It was perhaps one of the few light-hearted moments on Sunday, the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. And it happened when the first three winning horses at Long Island's Belmont Park were wearing the numbers 9, 1 and 1.

What are the odds?

Well, the oddsmakers didn't officially say. But the unusual outcome took on added significance considering the shorthand name for the epochal moment is simply 9/11 -- a series of numbers that require no further explanation for most Americans.

Add in the fact that Belmont, located just over the New York City line in Elmont, Long Island, served as a staging area for emergency personnel in the days after the World Trade Center was toppled by terrorists hell-bent on mass casualties, and Sunday's chance occurrence becomes even more astonishing.

The horses bearing those numbers won the first three races at Belmont, according to the New York Post, whose headline for the story was "‘9/11’ horse sense."

David Jacobson is not an oddsmaker. But Jacobson is the trainer at the stable that owns the first two winners, and he told the Post that the odds of getting winning horses with those numbers on the anniversary of 9/11 "were probably about a million to one."

The first two winners were Say Toba Sandy, a 6-year-old mare, and Wishful Tomcat, described by Jacobson as "a speed horse" who maintained a healthy lead for most of the second race.

The third horse, a thoroughbred named Haya's Boy, lagged for much of the race before sprinting at the end for an unexpected come-from-behind victory.

“It’s unimaginable,” Jacobson told the Post. “We were amazed.”

Jacobson said Belmont was abuzz after it became clear that the horses' numbers turned out to be the same numbers as the iconic date.

“It was an unreal possibility,” he said.

Prior to Sunday's race, the New York Racing Association held a 9/11 remembrance ceremony that included a bugler playing "Taps," a moment of silence for victims killed in the attacks, and the raising of New York State’s new tenth anniversary 9/11 memorial flag, which will be flown at Belmont for the remainder of the racing season.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Casino critics are taking to the steps of the Statehouse as the meeting begins.

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts House Democrats are heading behind closed doors to discuss legislation that would license three resort style casinos and a slot machine parlor.

The Democratic caucus is scheduled for Tuesday morning in room A-1 of the Statehouse. The public and press are typically barred from attending the private caucuses.

House leaders including Speaker Robert DeLeo are hoping to convince fellow representatives to support the bill, which they say will create jobs and boost revenues.

Casino critics are taking to the steps of the Statehouse as the meeting begins to protest what they say is the state's rush to embrace a dramatic expansion of gambling without fully exploring the social costs of casino gaming.

House debate on the bill is expected to begin on Wednesday. There are more than 150 proposed amendments.

File photo

The battle over the bullying of gay students goes public in Minnesota, the GOP presidential debate turns into a festival of mud, and more of today's headlines.

AP Photo/Wichai TaprieuPictured here on Tuesday is Pa Hae Po, a wounded 22-year-old male elephant using its trunk to support its balance while being treated at the Elephant Hospital in Lampang province, northern Thailand. The large animal injured a front left foot when it stepped on a landmine Sunday while working in the forest near the Thai-Myanmar border.

• Rick Perry emerges bloodied, but unbowed, after GOP presidential debate [Guardian.com]


• Berkshire County law enforcement officials secure courtroom for arraignment of Hells Angel murder suspect [BerkshireEagle.com]


• Downtown Pittsfield launches a new Website [BusinessWest.com]


• Journal of Connecticut babysitter reveals her 'love' for 14-year-old boy [Courant.com]


• Stock futures tumble after doubts over Italy bond deal [Reuters.com]


• Film chronicles Guatemala's genocide [WSJ.com]


• Battle goes public over bullying of gay students in Minnesota [NYTimes.com]


• New Hampshire responds to its rising suicide rate [Boston.com]



A VIDEO from Britain's Channel 4 News explores the extent of modern-day slavery:

• Twitter posts tagged #westernma in Western Mass. [MassLive.com]


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