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Fund-raiser for Tracy Rice, who lost her Wilbraham home to fire, on tap at McCarthy's Pub in Belchertown

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Ten percent of the pub's food sales on Saturday will be given to Rice

Wilbraham fire department file.jpg

WILBRAHAM – A fund-raiser for Tracy Rice, whose Tinkham Road home was destroyed in an electrical fire earlier this month, will be held this Saturday at McCarthy’s Pub in Belchertown.

Organizers say the event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. and that the pub, located at 5 East Walnut St., will donate 10 percent of it’s food sales to the 66-year-old Rice. Raffles will also be held.

Rice managed to toss her dog, an 8-pound Shi Tzu mix named Sassy, to safety before escaping the blaze at her 1329 Tinkham Road home. The dog vanished, however, as firefighters fought the blaze and family members spent much of the day searching for her.

Rice was treated at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for minor injuries.

Sassy materialized, seemingly out of nowhere, about dinner time when family members returned to the property and started up Rice’s car.

Rice, who is currently staying with her daughter Kim , said the dog is doing fine. She said, however, that Sassy reacted strongly, however, to a minor mishap involving burnt toast.

“I put it on dark,” Rice said of the toaster setting. “Apparently dark equals burnt, it set off the smoke alarm and she went completely berserk.”

Rice said her goal is to rebuild on the property that she has lived on for decades.

“Right now I am waiting to find out if they can get a trailer in there for me to live in (while the home is rebuilt),” Rice said.

Rice said she is anxious to get back onto her property and that it is evident that somebody has been rummaging around inside her ruined home. Somebody, she said, stole her bedroom door.

“And it wasn’t even that great a door,” she said.

Rice and her late husband, Wayne Rice, who passed away in 2007, were well-known within the town for the two businesses that they used to operate, Rice Fruit Farm and Rice Lawnmower.

Fire Capt. David Bourcier said investigators determined that the fire was sparked by a short-circuit in an electrical wire in the basement stairwell.

The home was fully involved when fighters arrived on scene.


Chicopee women's jail sued by ex-inmates over videotaped strip searches

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A lawyer for the women says many inmates are victims of sexual abuse and the practice "violates ... basic human dignity."

Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center ChicopeeThe Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center in Chicopee.

SPRINGFIELD — Two former inmates at a western Massachusetts women's jail have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the videotaping of female detainees by male guards during strip searches is degrading and unconstitutional.

The suit filed Thursday by lawyers for two former inmates names as defendants Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe Jr. and Assistant Superintendent Patricia Murphy. The sheriff's office runs the Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center in Chicopee.

The lawsuit says hundreds of women have been subjected to videotaping and seeks class action status.

A lawyer for the women says many inmates have mental health issues or are victims of sexual abuse and the practice "violates ... basic human dignity."

A sheriff's office lawyer did not return a message Thursday. He told The Boston Globe the policy protects both guards and inmates.

Springfield police charge Orlando Vergara, 42, and Jasmine Gray, 20, with trafficking cocaine

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Police said the couple were making deliveries of cocaine to street dealers throughout the city.

orlyjasmine.jpgOrlando Vergara and Jasmine Gray in photos provided by the Springfield Police Department

SPRINGFIELD – Narcotics detectives arrested a Six Corners couple Wednesday night and seized over 100 grams of cocaine, nearly $4,000 in cash, a rifle and a handgun.

Orlando Vergara, 42, and Jasmine Gray, 20, both of 31 James St., were charged with distribution of cocaine, trafficking cocaine, violation of a drug-free school zone (Head Start school on possession of a firearm in commission of a felony, possession of ammunition and illegal possession of a firearm, Sgt. John M. Delaney said.

Detectives, receiving information that the two suspects were making deliveries of cocaine to street dealers throughout the city, began surveilling the property, Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said.

The officers saw Vergara leave his home in a blue mini-van and make cocaine deliveries in various areas of the city.

During one of the deliveries, on Lebanon Street, detectives interrupted a transaction and arrested the suspect, who is known on the street as Oly.

Delaney said that while police were placing Vergara into the cruiser, he yelled out “Call Jasmine and tell her they got me!”

Police then rushed over to 31 James St. and arrested Gray as she was leaving the home. They confiscated 11 grams of cocaine, $3,730 in cash, a 22. caliber rifle. .357 caliber handgun, .38 caliber ammunition and drug packaging and material.

Delaney said convictions for trafficking cocaine carries a 10-year mandatory state prison sentence.

Holyoke financial disclosures show Mayor Elaine Pluta and candidate Alex Morse outspending candidates Daniel Burns and Daniel Boyle

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The four candidates for mayor spent a combined $46,000 from Jan. 1 to Sept. 2.

09/08/11-Holyoke-Staff Photo by Dave Roback- Daniel C. Burns responds to a question during the Holyoke mayorial debate at Open Square on Thursday evening. Candidates from mayor from left are Alex B. Morse, Daniel C. Boyle, Daniel C. Burns and Holyoke Mayor Elaine A. Pluta.

HOLYOKE – In a possible preview of the Election Day match-up, Mayor Elaine A. Pluta and challenger Alex B. Morse out-raised and out-spent the other two candidates for mayor, Daniel C. Boyle and Daniel C. Burns, according to finance reports.

Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 2, Pluta raised $23,202 and spent $18,638.

Pluta also had $18,301 from a previous filing period and as of Monday, the filing deadline for the current report, had a balance of $22,865.

Morse raised $17,362 and spent $21,537, having had $6,399 from a previous filing period. His balance was $2,223.

Burns raised $4,690 and spent $3,865 and his balance was $824.

Boyle raised $2,070 and spent $2,111, having had $445 from a previous filing period. His balance was $404.

The top two vote-getters among the four candidates for mayor in Tuesday’s preliminary election will complete on Nov. 8.

The campaigns’ spending went for basics such as advertising, signs, buttons and other campaign items, headquarters and event-hall rentals, postage, donations to other candidates and campaign staff.

Among those contributing to Pluta were city employees such as City Solicitor Lisa A. Ball, $100, acting Personnel Director Jeanette Berrios, $25, MUNIS system coordinator Donna Dowdall, $25, Holyoke police Officer Denise Duguay, $200, City Clerk Susan M. Egan, $50, Holyoke police Capt. Alan G. Fletcher, $25, City Treasurer Jon D. Lumbra, $50, Holyoke police Officer Daniel McCavick, $100, Suzanne Mead, assistant city clerk and registrar of voters, $25, and Nilka M. Ortiz, aide to the mayor, $25.

Pluta also received $500 from Anthony L. Cignoli, of A.L. Cignoli Co. public relations, of Springfield, an official with a group that wants to buy Wyckoff Country Club and build a casino resort, Paper City Development. She also got $300 from lawyer John J. Ferriter, who represents Paper City Development.

Pluta got contributions from labor unions including Bridge and Structural Iron Workers Union Local 7, of South Boston, $100, Carpenters Local 108 Political Action Committee, of Springfield, $400, Holyoke Police Department Supervisors Union Local 409, $100, Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO, of Springfield, $100, and United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1459, $325.

Among those contributing to Morse were the Committee to Elect City Councilor Timothy W. Purington, $100, Purington on his own, $450, Mitchell Draizin, of New York, N.Y., who is in real estate and finance, $500, the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, of Washington, D.C., $500, School Committee member Gladys Lebron-Martinez, $25, and United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1459, $150.

Burns’ forms showed he loaned his campaign $3,015, received nine $100 contributions from individuals and $500 from Robert A. Day, of Holyoke, a long-time Burns acquaintance.

Boyle’s receipts included $500 from Joseph V. Gosselin Jr., of South Hadley, owner of Commonwealth Packaging Co., of Chicopee, $200 from city custodian Maurice Powers, of Holyoke, and $100 each from C. Frederick Glidden and Joseph T. O’Neill, both of Holyoke and both members of the Holyoke Geriatric Authority board of directors. Boyle’s form also showed he reimbursed himself about $2,000 for expenses related to attending political events, postage and meals.

Netflix subscriber losses expected to total 1 million following price hike

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The company separated its streaming and DVD-by-mail services two months ago.

Netflix.jpgEarlier this year, Netflix provoked the ire of some of its 23 million subscribers by announcing it was raising its prices by as much as 60% for those who want to rent DVDs by mail and watch video on the Internet.

NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix is lowering its U.S. subscriber expectations for the third quarter because of customer losses relating to a split of its DVD and streaming options.

The company, which separated its streaming and DVD-by-mail services two months ago, said Thursday it now expects 21.8 million subscribers for its streaming-only service and 14.2 million subscribers to get DVD plans. That's down from a late July estimate of 22 million streaming customers and 15 million DVD subscribers. It sees the most subscriber decline in DVD-only plans. That forecast went to 2.2 million from 3 million.

It backed its forecast for international subscribers and overall third-quarter earnings.

The Los Gatos, Calif., company said that despite the revision, it thinks the split was the right move.

Shares of Netflix slipped 16 percent in premarket trading.

Gov. Deval Patrick: After term, 'I'd like to maybe run a company'

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Patrick brushed off suggestions that he'd run for president.

gov.jpgGov. Deval Patrick speaks to reporters in Springfield in this file photo.

By Kyle Cheney

BOSTON — Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, visiting Boston with Denver business leaders, told Gov. Deval L. Patrick on Thursday that people all over the country talk about him as "a likely presidential candidate."

At an event at the Intercontinental Hotel on the Boston waterfront, Hickenlooper, a Democrat, put Patrick on the spot about his future, which Patrick insists will be in the private sector and out of elective office.

"Assuming you don't go into the White House … what do you think about in terms of what direction you want to go?" Hickenlooper asked.

Laughing off the suggestion of a presidential bid, Patrick expounded in greater detail than he has before about what he's contemplating at the end of his second term as Massachusetts's chief executive.

"I'd like to maybe run a company," he said. Gesturing to Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce members who held a meeting here, he cracked, "I'm looking for a job in three years, so please keep me in mind."

"I like fixing things," Patrick continued, adding however, that "I wouldn't call myself a turnaround person."

Patrick, a former legal counsel to Coca Cola and Texaco and former Department of Justice civil rights lawyer in the Clinton administration, said he's worked for companies "whose focus had become how to protect their brand, rather than a focus on the calculated risk-taking that built the brand in the first place."

He enjoys, he said, getting companies to "strike that balance between prudence and wise stewardship and having that edge so you're still growing, you're still reaching." Hickenlooper jumped in and jokingly asked Patrick to consider locating his prospective business "in the Rocky Mountains."

"Don't limit yourself to one sandbox," he said as attendees chuckled.

After the event, Hickenlooper told the News Service Patrick has never "publicly or privately" suggested to him that he "has any interest or any inclination to seek higher office after he's finished as governor."

"I take him at his word, but I think that's a loss. And who knows - enough people keep bugging him about it, talking to his wife," he said, before trailing off.

Hickenlooper was referring to an earlier comment Patrick made when he described his second term as governor as his last, despite the lack of term limits in Massachusetts.

"My term limit is named Diane Patrick," Patrick joked.

Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray says she won't 'stifle' casino opponents

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Murray said she is not sure how long it will take the bill to make its way through the Senate, where expanded gambling opponents were more vocal than House members last session and took advantage of parliamentary procedures to slow the bill’s progress.

TMurray.jpgTherese Murray

By MICHAEL NORTON

BOSTON - Noting Senate rules permit delays in consideration of legislation, Senate President Therese Murray on Thursday pledged not to “stifle” opponents of expanded gambling and to let her colleagues exercise their options when they consider the Senate version of a bill cleared the House 123-32 Wednesday night.

During a brief interview on Boston areat radio station WATD-FM, Murray said she was not sure how long it will take for the bill to make its way through the Senate, where expanded gambling opponents were more vocal than House members last session and took advantage of parliamentary procedures to slow the bill’s progress.

Former Sen. Susan Tucker, an Andover Democrat, led the opposition to the bill last session before opting against seeking reelection. But outspoken expanded gambling bill opponents like Sens. Sonia Chang-Diazm D-Boston, Patricia Jehlen, D-Somerville, Susan Fargo, D-Lincoln, and James Eldridge, D-Acton, remain in the 40-seat Upper Chamber and ten Senate seats have changed hands since last session.

Last session, the Senate approved a three-casino, two-racino bill on a vote of 25-15. The bill approved by the House Wednesday calls for bidders to compete for three regional casino licenses and one license to run a slot machine venue, a proposal supporters say will launch a new industry with thousands of jobs.

Under a timetable laid out by a Murray aide, the bill is expected to clear the Senate Ways and Means Committee in the next few days, upon which time the Senate must wait ten days to take the legislation up, under a special order adopted earlier this year. Murray spokesman David Falcone said he expected the full Senate to take the bill up near the end of September.

Once the bill hits the Senate floor, senators may slow its progress by requesting that amendments be printed in the calendar or motioning to “lay the bill on the table,” a Senate-only rule that any member can exercise to delay consideration of any bill until the next session.

Murray and Senate presidents that preceded her have traditionally permitted three lay-on-the-table motions before ruling such maneuvers dilatory and forcing consideration of bills.

“We expect them to use whatever rights they have in front of them and certainly aren’t going to stifle any of them,” Murray said Thursday morning.

While delays in the bill’s consideration last session might have played a role in its defeat, formal sessions under the new two-year session are scheduled to run until Thanksgiving this year and January through July next year, giving lawmakers and Patrick more time to agree on expanded gambling bill details and potentially diminishing the effectiveness of slowing down the bill.

Last session, lawmakers sent an expanded gambling bill to Gov. Deval L. Patrick in late July 2010 and had finished formal sessions when he returned it with an amendment. This year, proponents of the bill are hoping Patrick, who supports expanded gambling, will instead sign the bill and appear to have met his demands by calling for competitive bidding on the single slot machine business permitted under the bill.

Once a gambling bill clears the Senate, as is expected by most analysts, a House-Senate conference committee will likely be named and may take as much time as it needs to agree upon a single bill and put it before the branches for up-or-down votes.

While most analysts believe the bill’s odds of passage are high, casino opponents this week predicted political problems for elected officials who back casinos and acknowledged they’re mulling legal options, a potential casino law repeal effort, and resistance at the local level to prevent the siting of casinos.

The House bill allows one casino in each of three specific regions. While industry interests are already seeking to win favor at potential casino sites around the state, fights among residents living near potential casino sites are likely should a gambling law pass.

Asked about the bill’s chances in the Senate, Sen. Eldridge said, “I would acknowledge that it’s an uphill battle on the debate but remember that last session everyone was saying that casinos was going to pass and be signed into law and we were successful.”

Eldridge said a number of senators are concerned about the inclusion of the slot parlor license in the pending bill as well as the number of casinos permitted under the legislation. He said some of his constituents who support expanded gambling think the state should start by allowing one casino.

Eldridge said he expected opponents of expanded gambling to take advantage of Senate rules. “The debate last session in the Senate was long, it was vigorous and it was substantive,” he said. “I think it was a great debate last session and I would expect the same kind of debate and possible procedural efforts in trying to move the bill forward or stopping the bill and making sure there is time for robust discussion.”

Mass. board votes to suspend Salvatore DiMasi's $60,000 pension

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The board will consider at a later hearing whether to permanently end it.

Salvatore DiMasi Corruption TrialFormer Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi arrives at the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston, May 27, 2011.

BOSTON — Former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi is at least temporarily losing his nearly $5,000 per month state pension as he faces an eight-year prison sentence.

The state Retirement Board voted on Thursday to suspend DiMasi's pension starting with the September payment. The board will consider at a later hearing whether to permanently end it.

The board had moved to suspend DiMasi's pension in June after his conviction on corruption charges, but a judge ruled that the former speaker could continue to receive payments until his formal sentencing. That occurred last week.

Judge Mark Wolf has ordered DiMasi and co-defendant Richard McDonough to report for prison on Nov. 16. He also scheduled a hearing later this month on a defense motion to let them stay free while they appeal their convictions.


Massachusetts' unemployment rates falls 0.2%

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At 7.4 percent, the jobless rate is well below the 9.1 percent national unemployment rate and represents the lowest unemployment rate in Massachusetts in over two years.

BOSTON - The Massachusetts' unemployment rate resumed its slow descent Thursday, falling to 7.4 percent despite a reported drop in jobs of 8,900.

The 7.4 percent jobless rate in August was down from 7.6 percent in July and the job losses, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, were largely attributable to 6,100 information sector workers who were on strike at the time of the survey.

At 7.4 percent, the jobless rate is well below the 9.1 percent national unemployment rate and represents the lowest unemployment rate in Massachusetts since February 2009.

Only three of 10 private sector groups tracked by state officials added jobs in August.

Year to date, Massachusetts employers have added 41,800 jobs, with 48,000 jobs added over the past 12 months. Aside from the job losses in the information sector, the leisure and hospitality sector shed 2,100 jobs in August, education and health services lost 1,100 jobs, the manufacturing sector shrunk by 800 jobs and professional, scientific and business services lost 700 jobs. Government jobs were down 700 last month.

Obituaries today: George Bissonnette, 95, of Chicopee; worked for railroad companies, father of Mayor Michael Bissonnette

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Obituaries from The Republican today.

George Bissonnette 91511.jpgGeorge J. Bissonnette

CHICOPEE - George J. Bissonnette, 95, died Wednesday. He was born on May 14, 1916 in Springfield, a son of the late Charles H. and Cecile (Blair) Bissonnette. He worked for New York Central and Penn Central railroads for 27 years retiring in 1978. He served in the U.S. Marines during World War II and was a member of the Special Forces. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus Elder Council 69, the American Legion Post 337, and the Teamsters Local Chapter 404. He was also a Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 55. He was the father of Chicopee Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette.

Obituaries from The Republican:

Casey Anthony must pay almost $100K in law enforcement costs

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Prosecutors asked that Anthony be forced to pay investigation costs since she lied repeatedly to investigators who were searching for her missing toddler.

casey anthony, ap, horizCasey Anthony stands in the courtroom with her defense attorney Jose Baez, left, as the jury enters during her trial at the Orange County Courthouse on Monday, June 13, 2011, in Orlando, Fla.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Casey Anthony must pay almost $100,000 in law enforcement costs for investigating the death of her 2-year-old daughter, a Florida judge ruled Thursday.

Circuit Judge Belvin Perry's ruling fell well short of the more than $500,000 that prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in Orlando asked for during a hearing earlier this month.

Prosecutors had asked that Anthony be forced to pay those costs since she lied repeatedly to investigators who were searching for her missing toddler, Caylee, in summer 2008. The judge said the costs should only cover the period when detectives were investigating a missing person and not the homicide investigation — a sum of $97,676.

Anthony was acquitted in July of murdering Caylee. But the 25-year-old was convicted of four misdemeanor counts of lying to authorities. She told officers a baby sitter had kidnapped the child. Authorities later learned the baby sitter never existed.

Anthony has appealed her misdemeanor convictions. Her attorneys didn't respond immediately to emails seeking comment Thursday.

Perry denied requests to pay for prosecutors' costs of pressing the murder charges and said they were only entitled to $50.

He ordered that $61,500 be paid to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, that $25,837 be paid to the Orange County Sheriff's Office and that $10,283 be paid to the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation in central Florida. He left open the possibility that the Orange County Sheriff's Office could recover more money if the agency re-files expenses with greater details.

Anthony is serving probation at an undisclosed location in Florida for unrelated check fraud charges. She is being hidden for her safety, since she received death threats after her acquittal.

Aides to Connecticut governor say blogger urging readers to 'take up arms' was seen as real threat

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Hal Turner was arrested two years ago after urging readers to "take up arms" against state lawmakers following withdrawal of legislation to give Catholic lay members more control over parish finances.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Aides to Connecticut's governor say they perceived the words of a New Jersey blogger as a real threat.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's general counsel, Andrew McDonald, was a state senator at the time Harold Turner posted an entry that authorities say incited violence against legislators. Testifying at Turner's trial, McDonald said Thursday that he considered it "an extraordinary document" and a "very real threat."

Turner, representing himself, asked McDonald on cross-examination whether the language wasn't just "political hardball."

Turner says his comments were free speech. He's charged with felony inciting injury to persons and misdemeanor threatening.

Turner was arrested two years ago after urging readers to "take up arms" against state lawmakers following withdrawal of legislation to give Catholic lay members more control over parish finances.

Malloy's deputy press secretary also testified Thursday.

Residents to be asked if Granville should join Southwick-Tolland Regional School District

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District expansion will allow school officials to address building needs at its three schools.

Granville Town Seal.jpg

SOUTHWICK - Residents in Southwick, Tolland and Granville will decide within the next three weeks if the Southwick-Tolland Regional School District should expand to include Granville students and, with state approval, launch an estimated $69 million expansion and realignment of the district's existing three schools.

Granville, which decided not to join the district when it was created some 30 years ago, will host a Town Meeting vote on joining the district and approving its participation in school upgrades Sept. 20. The Town Meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Granville Village School on Main Road.

Town Meetings will be scheduled in Tolland and Southwick on Oct. 4.

"This is a an effort to not only accommodate Granville students but to address serious needs at each of our three schools," Superintendent of Schools John D. Barry said this week.

School officials will outline both proposals at a hearing for local residents scheduled Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Southwick-Tolland Regional High School.

If approved Granville's current enrollment of about 150 students grades kindergarten to grade 8 will remain at the Village School anbd the town's estimated 50 high school students would be eligible to attend Southwick-Tolland Regional High School. Currently Granville high school students attend a variety of high schools throughout the region on a tuition basis.

The request to join the school district, Barry said, was inityiatyed by Granville's Board of Selectmen earlier this year.

Current enrollment in the three-school Southwick-Tolland Regional District is about 1,800.

More importantly, Barry said, Granville's joining the district allows school and town officials to seek project approval from the state's School Building Authority for a $69 million expansion and relignment of the high school, Powder Mill Middle School and Woodland Elementary School.

An addition at the high school, built in 1971, will change the grade structure from a 9 - 12 to a 7 - 12 facility.

The middle school will convert to a grade three to grade six facility and Woodland will serve pupils in kindergarten through grade two, Barry said.

If approved MSBA will finance about $40 million of the total price tag. Southwick taxpayers will be responsible for 84 percent of the cost or about $24.5 million. Tolland taxpayers, with the lowest number of students attending the district, will finance about four percent or $1.2 million leaving Granville responsible for 12 percent or about $3.5 million.

Building needs at each of the three schools have been the subject of review over the past 10 years.

"Approval by the respective Town Meetings and the state will allow the district to address needs at each building and maximize the benefits of state reimbursement for such projects," said Barry.

Sarah Palin camp denounces racy biography of former governor

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Todd Palin wrote that the book's author, Joe McGinniss, has a "creepy obsession with my wife."

Sarah Palin, APIn a Nov. 30, 2010 file photo, Sarah Palin signs copies of her book, "America By Heart," in Little Rock, Ark.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sarah Palin's husband on Thursday called a book critical of his family "disgusting lies, innuendo and smears" as the former Alaska governor's camp sought to discredit a racy biography that includes allegations of infidelity and drug use.

As Sarah Palin weighs a White House bid, her husband released a statement seeking to blunt the fallout from Joe McGinniss' "The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin." Palin allies also released another denial from the man alleged to have carried on an affair with Sarah Palin.

"This is a man who has been relentlessly stalking my family to the point of moving in right next door to us to harass us and spy on us to satisfy his creepy obsession with my wife," Todd Palin wrote of McGinniss. "His book is full of disgusting lies, innuendo and smears. Even The New York Times called this book 'dated, petty,' and that it 'chases caustic, unsubstantiated gossip.'"

The Republicans' 2008 vice presidential nominee and former governor of Alaska made no new reference on her Facebook account to McGinniss' book, although Sarah Palin previously mocked McGinniss for moving into a rented house next door to the Palin home.

"We're sure to have a doozey to look forward to with this treasure he's penning," Sarah Palin wrote last year. "Wonder what kind of material he'll gather while overlooking Piper's bedroom, my little garden and the family's swimming hole?"

McGinniss' book also repeats allegations first published in The National Enquirer that Sarah Palin carried on an affair with Brad Hanson, Todd Palin's former business partner.

In a statement released through Palin allies, Hanson again denied the allegation.

"This is the same old story that went around in 2008. It is a complete and outright lie," Hanson said. "Todd and Sarah Palin have been good friends for many years, and in fact we still own property together. We sold a former joint business venture for business reasons, nothing more. These attacks are shameful and those making them seem to be out only to destroy good people and make money doing so."

Appearing on NBC's "Today Show," McGinniss defended his reporting.

"I think I was as fair as I could possibly have been given the fact that she told all the people who were closest to her not to talk to me," he said.

Divorcing a person with Alzheimer's disease justifiable, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson says

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The former presidential candidate said such divorce is OK because the disease is 'kind of a death.'

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Pat Robertson Alzheimers 91511.jpgPat Robertson

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson told his "700 Club" viewers that divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer's is justifiable because the disease is "a kind of death."

During the portion of the show where the one-time Republican presidential candidate takes questions from viewers, Robertson was asked what advice a man should give to a friend who began seeing another woman after his wife started suffering from the incurable neurological disorder.

"I know it sounds cruel, but if he's going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her," Robertson said.

The chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network, which airs the "700 Club," said he wouldn't "put a guilt trip" on anyone who divorces a spouse who suffers from the illness, but added, "Get some ethicist besides me to give you the answer."

Most Christian denominations at least discourage divorce, citing Jesus' words in the Gospel of Mark that equate divorce and remarriage with adultery.

Terry Meeuwsen, Robertson's co-host, asked him about couples' marriage vows to take care of each other "for better or for worse" and "in sickness and in health."

"If you respect that vow, you say 'til death do us part,'" Robertson said during the Tuesday broadcast. "This is a kind of death."

A network spokesman said Wednesday that Robertson had no further statement.

Divorce is uncommon among couples where one partner is suffering from Alzheimer's, said Beth Kallmyer, director of constituent services for the Alzheimer's Association, which provides resources to sufferers and their families.

"We don't hear a lot of people saying 'I'm going to get divorced,'" she told The Associated Press. "Families typically respond the way they do to any other fatal disease."

The stress can be significant in marriages though, Kallmyer said, because it results in the gradual loss of a person's mental faculties.

"The caregiving can be really stressful on a couple of levels," she said. "There's the physical level. There's also the emotional level of feeling like you're losing that person you love."

As a result, she said, it's important for couples to make decisions about care together in the early stages of the illness, when its effects aren't as prominent.


Amherst eliminates 2 housing-related committees

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More than a dozen people attended the select Board Meting to offer support for the committee.

amherst seal amherst town seal.jpg

AMHERST - Only one agency responded to a request to run a homeless shelter here this winter and town staff will review it to ensure the application is complete.

The committee, meanwhile, which helped push for a shelter was dissolved Monday night with a new committee to be created to address homelessness and other housing issues. The Select Board dissolved the Committee on Homelessness and the Housing Partnership/Fair Housing Committee and will create a new way of addressing housing needs.

Members of the Committee on Homelessness had been accused of micromanaging the shelter run by the Springfield-based Milestone Ministries Inc. this past winter at the First Baptist Church. That micromanaging was one of the reasons the agency opted not to reapply to provide the same services this year, said Jack Desroches, executive director of Milestone Ministries

The Select Board began discussing possibly merging the Committee on Homelessness and the fair housing committee earlier this summer but ended up dissolving both, despite please from members of the homelessness committee against dissolution.

More than a dozen people attended the Select Board Meting Monday to offer support for the committee. There was grumbling throughout the discussion as the board talked about how to proceed. Some in the audience wanted additional time to speak.

“The Committee is needed more than ever,” said member Eleanor Manire-Gatti.

“We should be grateful we have such a zealous committee,” said resident Carol J. Gray.

But Select Board members repeated that the change had nothing to do with the town’s commitment to helping people who are homeless. A new committee represents “an evolution in how we better meet the needs,” said Select Board Chairwoman Stephanie J. O’Keeffe.

The board talked about creating two housing related groups including one that would be just a resource available to help address specific issues that could arise during the shelter season. “I don’t think it needs to meet on a regular basis,” she said.

“I like the idea of a resource group,” said M. David Ziomek, director of Conservation and Development, who oversees the shelter.

O’Keeffe also talked about the creation a committee that could look at sheltering and housing issues, including looking at securing a future permanent shelter as well as permanent housing.

Ziomek said meanwhile he with town staff will review the proposal offered by Craig’s Doors, a town-based, newly created private non-profit organization established to assist people who are homeless or who have very little income, according to the website. “Our goal is to develop a permanent seasonal shelter and to develop transitional housing, with integrated on-site social and related services.” The program was named in honor of Craig D. Lorraine who died in February at the age of 45.

Board member Alisa V. Brewer pointed out that the agency is new so that Ziomek would not be able to check references, but she pointed out that those affiliated with the agency have worked at other agencies.

Those involved according to a filing with the Secretary of State’s office are Gerald Gates, a member of the First Baptist Church and developer who helped oversee the renovations there; Jan Dizard, an Amherst College professor; Kevin Noonan, who was executive director of Open Pantry Community Services Inc. in Springfield for 20 years; and Laura Quinn, former member of the Committee on Homelessness.

He hopes to report back to the Select Board soon. The shelter is slated to open Nov. 1.

Eric Zulch of Cummington gets 4 years after allegedly pulling knife on woman during ATM robbery in Northampton

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Zulch approached a woman at a Florence Savings Bank ATM in Thornes Marketplace last year, while she was withdrawing money and told her to get him $300 in cash, according to an assistant district attorney.

NORTHAMPTON – A man who police said pulled a knife on a woman during a robbery at a downtown automated teller machine pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Thursday and was sentenced to four years in state prison.

Eric A. Zulch, 30, of 62 Main St., Cummington, pleaded guilty to larceny from a person, a district attorney’s complaint brought against him in lieu of armed assault with intent to rob, the original charge. According to Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Michael J. Russo III, Zulch approached a woman at a Florence Savings Bank ATM in Thornes Marketplace on Nov. 13, 2010, while she was withdrawing money and told her to get him $300 in cash. The woman said she did not have that much money in her account and walked away, leaving the ten dollars she was withdrawing at the scene, Russo said. She turned around and went back to the machine, but found the money gone.

The police report at the time of Zulch’s arrest said the woman told officers Zulch brandished a serrated pocket knife while demanding the money, but Russo made no mention of a weapon in reciting the evidence to Hampshire Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ford.

Police aired a surveillance video of the incident and arrested Zulch a few days later at his parents’ house in Monson. Zulch was on parole at the time for possession of heroin. He told Ford Thursday that he had a heroin addiction but has been clean for more than a year. In asking for state prison time, Russo noted that Zulch’s criminal record also includes a previous armed robbery.

“We view this as the desperate act of someone in the grip of a severe heroin addiction,” Russo said.

At the request of defense lawyer Daniel R. Bergin, Ford agreed to recommend that Zulch serve the latter part of his sentence at the Hampshire County House of Correction. The judge also sentenced Zulch to two years probation following his incarceration for violation the conditions of his previous probation.

Deadline looming for Wilbraham residents to apply for tornado relief

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There is approximately $80,000 in the Tornado Victim Relief Fund.

Wilbraham tornado 6211.jpgDamage is seen to a house at 11 Echo Hill Road in Wilbraham the day after the June 1 tornado struck.

WILBRAHAM - The deadline for residents to seek financial assistance to help with losses sustained in the June 1 tornado is Monday (Sept. 19).

There is approximately $80,000 in the Tornado Victim Relief Fund, former Selectman David W. Barry told the Board of Selectmen Monday night.

The fund was set up with the assistance of Monson Savings Bank.

“We have received 15 applications so far. We could receive 20 or 30 more,” Barry said.

Gifts to the fund have ranged from the very small to the very large, Selectmen Chairman Patrick J. Brady said. He said one donation of $25,000 has been received.

There were 237 homes damaged in the tornado, and of those about a dozen were found to be unsafe for habitation, Brady said.

The committee expects to disperse the funds in October, Barry said.

He said the names and addresses of those applying for assistance will be blocked off so the committee can make decisions which are as unbiased as possible.

Those seeking assistance should submit applications either to the selectmen’s office at 240 Springfield Street or the Senior Center at Post Office Park.

Employees at the senior center are available to help residents fill out applications, Brady said.

Barry said the committee has not decided yet whether it will cap the amount of funds distributed or whether it will distribute the money based on need.

So far individuals have sought assistance ranging from $500 to $20,000, Barry said.

Distributing the funds “will not be the easiest thing to do,” Barry said.

He added, “It is the right thing to do.”

Selectman James E. Thompson thanked Barry for chairing the committee which he said is important to the town’s recovery from the June 1 tornado.

How Massachusetts state representatives voted on casino bill

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The vote was 123-32 in favor of the bill.

BOSTON – Here is how members of the Massachusetts House voted Wednesday on a bill to allow the construction of three resort casinos and a slots parlor. The vote was 123-32 in favor of the bill.

A “yes” vote was in favor of the bill; a “no” vote was in opposition to the bill.

Paul Adams, R-Andover - N
Kevin Aguiar, D-Fall River - Y
Denise Andrews, D-Orange - N
James Arciero, D-Westford - Y
Brian Michael Ashe, D-Longmeadow - N
Cory Atkins, D-Concord - Y
Demetrius J. Atsalis, D-Hyannis - Y
Bruce J. Ayers, D-Quincy - Y
Ruth B. Balser, D-Newton - N
Fred Barrows, R-Mansfield - Y
Carlo J. Basile, D-Boston - Y
Richard Bastien, R-Gardner - Y
Matthew Beaton, R-Shrewsbury - N
Jennifer E. Benson, D-Lunenburg - Y
John J. Binienda, D-Worcester - Y
Nicholas A. Boldyga, R-Southwick - Y
Garrett J. Bradley, D-Hingham - Y
Michael D. Brady, D-Brockton - Y
Paul A. Brodeur, D-Melrose - Y
William N. Brownsberger, D-Belmont - N
Antonio F. D. Cabral, D-New Bedford - Y
Thomas Calter, D-Kingston - Y
Linda Dean Campbell, D-Methuen - Y
Christine E. Canavan, D-Brockton - Y
James M. Cantwell, D-Marshfield - Y
Gailanne M. Cariddi, D-North Adams - Y
Tackey Chan, D-Quincy - Y
Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera, D-Springfield - Y
Nick Collins, D-Boston - Y
Thomas F. Conroy, D-Wayland - N
Edward F. Coppinger, D-Boston - Y
Michael A. Costello, D-Newburyport - Y
Geraldine Creedon, D-Brockton - Y
Sean Curran, D-Springfield - Y
Mark J. Cusack, D-Braintree - Y
Robert A. DeLeo, D-Winthrop - Y
Viriato Manuel deMacedo, R-Plymouth - N
Angelo L. D’Emilia, R-Bridgewater - Y
Brian S. Dempsey, D-Haverhill - Y
Marcos A. Devers, D-Lawrence - Y
Geoffrey G. Diehl, R-Whitman - Y
Stephen DiNatale, D-Fitchburg - Y
Paul J. Donato, D-Medford - Y
Peter Durant, R-Spencer, - Y
James J. Dwyer, D-Woburn - Y
Carolyn C. Dykema, D-Holliston - N
Lori A. Ehrlich, D-Marblehead - Y
Christopher G. Fallon, D-Malden - Y
Ryan C. Fattman, R-Sutton - Y
Robert F. Fennell, D-Lynn - Y
Kimberly N. Ferguson, R-Holden - N
John V. Fernandes, D-Milford - Y
Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester - Y
Michael J. Finn, D-West Springfield - Y
Linda Dorcena Forry, D-Boston - Y
Gloria L. Fox, D-Boston - N
John P. Fresolo, D-Worcester - Y
Paul K. Frost, R-Auburn - Y
William C. Galvin, D-Canton - Y
Sean Garballey, D-Arlington - N
Denise C. Garlick, D-Needham - N
Colleen M. Garry, D-Dracut - Y
Susan W. Gifford, R-Wareham - Y
Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer - Y
Thomas A. Golden Jr., D-Lowell - Y
Patricia A. Haddad, D-Somerset - Y
Shelia C. Harrington, R-Groton - Y
Jonathan Hecht, D-Watertown - N
Carlos Henriquez, D-Boston - Y
Bradford Hill, R-Ipswich - Y
Kate Hogan, D-Stow - Y
Russell E. Holmes, D-Boston - Y
Kevin G. Honan, D-Boston - Y
Steven S. Howitt, R-Seekonk - Y
Donald F. Humason Jr., R-Westfield - Y
Randy Hunt, R-East Sandwich - N
Bradley H. Jones Jr., R-North Reading - Y
Louis L. Kafka, D-Stoughton - Y
Michael F. Kane, D-Holyoke - Y
Jay R. Kaufman, D-Lexington - N
John D. Keenan, D-Salem - Y
Kay Khan, D-Newton - Y
Peter V. Kocot, D-Northampton - Y
Robert M. Koczera, D-New Bedford - Y
Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington - Y
Kevin J. Kuros, R-Uxbridge - Y
John J. Lawn, D-Watertown - Y
Steven L. Levy, R-Marlborough - N
Jason M. Lewis, D-Winchester - Y
David P. Linsky, D-Natick - Y
Marc T. Lombardo, R-Billerica - Y
James J. Lyons, Jr, R-Andover - N
Timothy R. Madden, D-Nantucket - N
John J. Mahoney, D-Worcester - Y
Elizabeth A. Malia, D-Boston - N
Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy - Y
Paul W. Mark, D-Hancock - Y
Christopher M. Markey, D-Dartmouth - Y
Paul McMurtry, D-Dedham - Y
James R. Miceli, D-Wilmington - Y
Aaron Michlewitz, D-Boston - Y
Michael Moran, D-Boston - Y
Charles A. Murphy, D-Burlington - Y
James M. Murphy, D-Weymouth - Y
Kevin J. Murphy, D-Lowell - Y
David M. Nangle, D-Lowell - Y
Harold P. Naughton Jr., D-Clinton - X
Robert J. Nyman, D-Hanover - Y
Shaunna O’Connell, R-Taunton - Y
James O’Day, D-West Boylston - Y
Eugene L. O’Flaherty, D-Chelsea - Y
Jerald A. Parisella, D-Beverly - X
Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown - N
Vincent A. Pedone, D-Worcester - Y
Alice H. Peisch, D-Wellesley - Y
George N. Peterson Jr., R-Grafton - Y
Thomas M. Petrolati, D-Ludlow - Y
William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox - N
Elizabeth A. Poirier, R-North Attleboro - Y
Denise Provost, D-Somerville - N
Angelo Puppolo, D-Wilbraham - Y
Kathi-Anne Reinstein, D-Revere - Y
John H. Rogers, D-Norwood - N
Dennis A. Rosa, D-Leominster - Y
Richard J. Ross, R-Wrentham - Y
Byron Rushing, D-Boston - N
Jeffrey Sanchez, D-Boston - N
Tom Sannicandro, D-Ashland - Y
Angelo M. Scaccia, D-Boston - N
Paul A. Schmid, D-Westport - Y
John W. Scibak, D-South Hadley - Y
Carl M. Sciortino Jr., D-Somerville - N
Stephen Smith, D-Everett - Y
Frank I. Smizik, D-Brookline - N
Todd M. Smola, R-Palmer - N
Theodore C. Speliotis, D-Danvers - Y
Joyce A. Spiliotis, D-Peabody - Y
Harriett L. Stanley, D-West Newbury - Y
Thomas M. Stanley, D-Waltham - Y
Ellen Story, D-Amherst - Y
William M. Straus, D-Mattapoisett - Y
David B. Sullivan, D-Fall River - Y
Benjamin Swan, D-Springfield - Y
Walter F. Timilty, D-Milton - Y
Timothy J. Toomey Jr., D-Cambridge - Y
David M. Torrisi, D-North Andover - Y
Cleon H. Turner, D-Dennis - Y
James E. Vallee, D-Franklin - N
David T. Vieira, R-East Falmouth - Y
Joseph F. Wagner, D-Chicopee - Y
Chris Walsh, D-Framingham - Y
Martin J. Walsh, D-Boston - Y
Steven M. Walsh, D-Lynn - Y
Martha M. Walz, D-Boston - N
Daniel K. Webster, R-Hanson - Y
Daniel B. Winslow, R-Norfolk - Y
Alice K. Wolf, D-Cambridge - N
Donald H. Wong, R-Saugus - Y

N = no
Y = yes
X = not voting
P = present


Weekly tag sale at St. Paul's Church in Palmer boasts unusual items: tepees

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The church also a variety of goods typically found at tag sales, from glassware, compact discs, antiques and books to Christmas-themed decorations, sporting goods, videos and plates.

gordon c.JPGGordon H. Christiansen, a member of St.Paul's Unitarian Universalist Parish in Palmer, poses with a tepee for sale; the church holds a tag sale every Saturday through mid-November.


PALMER
- Gordon H. Christiansen showed off some of the Native American memorabilia for sale at St. Paul's Unitarian Universalist Church on Park Street on a recent weekday, and the memories came flooding back - of the bicentennial parade, and Indian Heritage Day in 1991.

The items, which include a half-dozen tepees, came to the church courtesy of the family of the late Frank J. Zabawa Sr., the former director of Palmer Food Share, who collected them.

They are being sold as part of the church's weekly Saturday tag sale, the proceeds of which are used to defray church expenses, explained Christiansen, a third-generation parishioner who helps run the tag sale from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. He also is a "greeter" at the church on Sunday mornings.

Outside the Park Street church, a tepee was for sale for $100, erected with branches from Christiansen's backyard.

Stored away for years, the items first made their debut at the town's bicentennial parade in 1977, and then again at Indian Heritage Day in 1991. Christiansen explained that both he and Zabawa appreciated Native American culture, and participated in those events together. Christiansen is of Danish descent; Zabawa was Polish.

"(Frank) danced with that," Christiansen said, pointing to what looks like a feather-covered drum that one can wear around their waist. He said Zabawa made it himself, and now it's being sold for $65.

At Indian Appreciation Day, he said "hundreds of people" went to Laviolette Field in the Three Rivers section, where a Nipmuc village was recreated. Christiansen, a former selectman, said they had people come down the Quaboag River in canoes dressed as Native Americans. He donned a headdress for that occasion, and he brought it out at one point during the interview. It is not for sale, however.

In addition to the Native American items, the church boasts a variety of goods typically found at tag sales, from glassware, compact discs, antiques and books to Christmas-themed decorations, sporting goods, videos and plates. Many of the goods come from estate sales, thanks to Christiansen's daughter, local Realtor Karen King.

The congregation is small - there are only about 40 members.

Barbara Stone, a St. Paul's board member, said the tag sales grew out of a need for money to pay the bills at the 1879 granite church. The cost to re-point the granite blocks on one side of the church alone was $50,000. And two weeks ago, someone vandalized the church by shooting BBs at the windows, Christiansen said.

He said he was grateful to Zabawa's family for giving the church the items that have played a part in Palmer's celebrations.

The church always has a sign outside with a message.

The latest one reads: "You don't have anything if you don't have the stories."

Anyone interested in donating items to the tag sale, which runs through October, can call (413) 283-8185.

Toys, computers, televisions, mattresses, encyclopedias and clothing are not accepted.

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