Miguel Roman and Angel Gonzalez, both of Holyoke, still face charges in the Chicopee man's killing.

File photo by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicanMiguel A. Roman, Angel L. Gonzalez, Luis Alberto Soto, and Felipe Gonzalez at their February 2010 arraignment in Holyoke District Court in the death of Shaun Taigo .

SPRINGFIELD – Murder charges were dropped Wednesday against two of four men accused in the January 2010 fatal shooting of Shaun M. Tiago in Holyoke.

The prosecutor said evidence in the drug-related killing doesn’t prove the two can be “successfully prosecuted for murder.”

Another reason, Assistant District Attorney Eduardo Velazquez wrote in a court document, is the two men will testify against one of the remaining defendants – Miguel Roman.

Murder charges were dropped for Felipe Gonzalez, 25, of Chicopee, and Luis A. Soto, 25, of Springfield.

Each are still facing a charge of accessory after the fact of Tiago’s killing.

Hampden Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey reduced the bail amount for the two men to $5,000 cash. Soto had been held without right to bail and bail for Gonzalez had been $100,000.

The body of Tiago, 28, of Chicopee, was found dumped on Newton Street in the early morning hours of Jan. 29.

Velazquez said Gonzalez and Soto promised “to testify truthfully” in the case against co-defendant Roman, 44, of Holyoke, “or any other person (known or unknown) charged in the assault and beating and killing” of Tiago.

The murder charge against a fourth man, Angel Gonzalez – Felipe Gonzalez’ brother, 29, of Holyoke, is still pending.

Lawyers for the Gonzalez brothers and Soto have said the three identified Roman, albeit not right away, to police as the shooter.

They said their clients, with Tiago and Roman, were in a car when Roman shot Tiago in the head.

They said their clients had no idea Roman was going to shoot Tiago and should not be held responsible.
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Greg T. Schubert, Roman’s lawyer, has denied Roman shot Tiago.

Winchell, an Army veteran who returned from Iraq six months ago, has been receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, according to his family.

Photo supplied by familyA recent photo of Dan Winchell, a 21-year-old Easthampton man who is the subject of a missing-person search

EASTHAMPTON - An Easthampton family is appealing to the public for help in finding 21-year-old Dan Winchell, who left home Monday morning and has not been seen since.

Winchell, an Army veteran who returned from Iraq six months ago, has been receiving treatment at the Veterans Affairs facility in Northampton for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, said his sister, Amy Henderson.

“The family is concerned about his well-being,” she said. “We’re just concerned that he could harm himself or get himself into trouble.”

Winchell has been living with his mother since returning to Easthampton. At about 10:30 a.m. Monday, he got into his truck and drove off. He has not been seen since, Henderson said.

The family filed a missing-person report at about 9:30 p.m. Monday night.

Henderson said police were able to track his cell phone use to East Windsor, Conn., but the trail goes cold from there.

Two friends from Easthampton went down to East Windsor to show his picture around, and found his truck on the lot of a small used-car dealer, she said. The dealer told them Winchell had come onto the lot and sold him the truck on Monday afternoon.

Henderson said the dealer said he did not notice anything unusual about Winchell during the transaction. Her brother did not say much and did not indicate where he was going.

When he left home on Monday, he did not bring a change of clothing or any other belongings.

She said it is uncharacteristic for him to “up and leave and not tell anyone where he is going, and not take any of his stuff with him.

The family has started a page on Facebook called “Bring Dan Winchell Home” in order to provide the latest information and to get the word out about the search.

Anyone with information about where he may be is asked to call the Easthampton police at (413) 527-1212.

View Police search for missing Easthampton resident Dan Winchell in a larger map

A break in the case came after Cernauskas' sister, Helen Hart, called North Brookfield police on Sept. 13 to report that her grandson, Jonathan, had been missing since Sept. 8 or 9, and had her white Dodge Stratus.

This is an update of a story posted at 4:44 p.m.

The Republican/Lori StabileWorcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. speaks at a press conference on Wednesday inside the Worcester Superior Court House about the murder of Joseph Cernauskas, 84, of the Wheelwright section of Hardwick. To his right are Barre Police Chief Erik J. Demetropoulos and Hardwick Police Chief James Ayotte.

WORCESTER - Officials have determined that 84-year-old Hardwick resident Joseph Cernauskas, missing for several weeks after a suspicious fire at his home, has been murdered, and authorities have arrested his 21-year-old great-nephew and a 19-year-old man in Florida, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. announced Wednesday.

Early, at a press conference at the Worcester Superior Court House, revealed that investigators have charged Cernauskas' great-nephew Jonathan Hart, of Barre, and Hart's best friend, 19-year-old Jason F. Lopez, of Ware, with murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person over age 60, home invasion and arson.

The Worcester District Attorney's Office is seeking to have the two brought back to Massachusetts to stand trial.

Early did not disclose a possible motive for the crime, or when Cernauskas was killed. Cernauskas was stabbed multiple times, Early said.

A break in the case came after Cernauskas' sister, Helen Hart, called North Brookfield police on Sept. 13 to report that her grandson, Jonathan, had been missing since Sept. 8 or 9, and had her white Dodge Stratus.

Early said warrants were obtained in East Brookfield District Court for Jonathan Hart, and Lopez, of Highland Village, in connection with felony larceny of a motor vehicle, and the vehicle was traced to Florida, in Tarpon Springs, approximately 1,300 miles away. There, Early's detectives caught up with the men, and interviewed them about the fire and disappearance of Cernauskas.

"They both gave statements implicating themselves in the murder," Early said.
They also implicated themselves in the fire, he added.

Joseph Cernauskas

When the men will return to Massachusetts to be arraigned is not yet known.

Early said a body, believed to be Cernauskas, was found Tuesday night off Blair Road in Barre, exactly two weeks after he was reported missing following the fire at his home on Sept. 6.

Because of its condition, Early said they will check dental records to determine if it is Cernauskas. He said it had been there for some time.

Authorities described the area as remote, with no houses around. The body was found approximately 50 feet from the road, in an area halfway between Spring Hill and Sheldon roads, according to Barre Police Chief Erik J. Demetropoulos.

Cernauskas lived alone at 151 Off Maple St. in the Wheelwright section of Hardwick, in a home with no running water and only an outhouse. He grew up in the home.

The fire was reported at 7:47 a.m. on Sept. 6, and emergency officials found the home engulfed in flames upon their arrival.

Early said Hardwick Fire Chief Raymond Walker, who was checking to see if anyone was in the home, discovered bloody items inside the outhouse and a "puddle of blood" on the outhouse floor. Walker called Police Chief James Ayotte, who secured the area as a crime scene and called for state police assistance, Early said.

Cernauskas and his 1999 Town & Country van were nowhere to be found.

Three days later, on the afternoon of Sept. 9, the van was found at an elderly housing complex on Church Street - the former Church Street School. It is about nine miles from Cernauskas' home at 151 Off Maple St.

The Republican/Dave RobackVarious police agencies check out a van in the side parking lot of the Church Street School Senior Housing on Friday afternoon in Ware. The van belongs to Joseph Cernauskas.

At approximately 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 6, the same day as the fire that destroyed Cernauskas' home, the van had been seen operating in Ware, on West Main Street, near the library, according to Ware police. But police had no reason to stop the van at that time, as they were doing routine license plate checks.

Early said the investigation is continuing, and more work still needs to be done. He said Hart had no criminal record; Lopez had been arrested for breaking and entering, he said.

"It was great police work from start to finish," Early said. "It was done in a professional manner . . . It really is textbook."

He praised the cooperation between the Hardwick and Barre police departments, and state police, on the case.

Cernauskas, a former selectman, would have been 85 on Sept. 9.

His sister-in-law, Norma G. Cernauskas, of North Brookfield, had described Joseph Cernauskas as on the frail side, and an avid reader who amassed a collection of thousands of books. He also was an Army veteran of the Korean War.

She said he called his 15-acre property in Wheelwright, which was set back about 1,000 feet from the road, his "oasis."

The current bill says that in cities with a population of at least 125,000 - Boston, Springfield and Worcester - a ballot question would be held just in the ward that would host a potential casino.

File photo / Associated PressPatrons crowd poker tables at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., in 2006.

BOSTON - A state senator is seeking to revise a gambling bill to require the entire city of Springfield to vote if a casino is proposed for the city.

The amendment by Sen. Gale D. Candaras, a Wilbraham Democrat, was among more than 100 amendments filed by state senators on Wednesday. The amendments were submitted to prepare for a debate set for Monday on a bill to allow up to three casinos around the state including one for Western Massachusetts.

The bill currently calls for referendums in towns where casinos want to locate. However, in cities with a population of at least 125,000 -- Boston, Springfield and Worcester -- a ballot question would be held just in the ward that would host a potential casino. If a casino is proposed in Springfield, which has 153,060 residents, only the ward would vote, according to the bill.

Candaras and Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said a city-wide vote should be held on a casino in Springfield since any possible casino would affect the entire city. Candaras's amendment would change the bill to call for ward votes in cities of at least 200,000, which would be only Boston.

"We can't have a one size fits all for referendums," said Candaras, who submitted the amendment at the request of the Springfield mayor.

Springfield voters narrowly rejected casino ballot questions in 1994 and 1995. Candaras said her amendment is even more important considering the results of those two ballot questions.

Gale Candaras

The amendment also comes as Penn National Gaming, a Pennsylvania-based gaming company, said it is looking at Springfield and surrounding communities for a possible casino.

The bill allows a five-member gaming commission to site casinos in three geographic zones including one anywhere in the four counties of Western Massachusetts, one in the southeast part of the state and one in a zone that includes Boston, Worcester and Middlesex counties. The bill, approved by 123-32 last week in the state House of Representatives, also permits a slot parlor with up to 1,250 slot machines.

Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which released the Senate casino bill on Friday, said no one will attempt to stifle debate next week on casinos.

Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, an Amherst Democrat and the Senate point man on casinos, will carry the Senate debate on the bill as much as possible, Brewer said. Rosenberg did not file any amendments since he will lead the debate on the bill.

Brewer, a Barre Democrat, said he personally does not go to casinos but he said he has never been morally opposed and he expects he will vote in favor of casinos. Brewer voted against casinos last year, but he said this year's bill contains more protections and help for communities that could host a casino and for abutting communities.

Brewer said taxes from casinos could also help finance state services, local aid and community colleges. He said there were too many painful cuts to human services in this fiscal year's state budget.

Brewer's district includes Palmer, where the Mohegan Sun is planning a casino. Paper City Development is proposing a casino for Holyoke.

Other senators from Western Massachusetts also filed amendments on Wednesday.

Sen. James T. Welch, a West Springfield Democrat, submitted an amendment that would give the gaming commission the leeway to charge anywhere from $50 million to $85 million as a license fee for a casino. The bill currently calls for a fee not less than $85 million.

Welch said the amendment is aimed at persuading more companies to bid for a license.

"Competition is good especially in a bidding process," Welch said.

Sen. Michael R. Knapik, a Westfield Republican, submitted an amendment that would change the minimum investment required for a casino to $400 million to $600 million per casino. The bill currently requires an investment of at least $500 million in a casino, plus a hotel.

Knapik said the economic markets are different in Western Massachusetts than in the eastern part of the state. He said the amendment, if approved, would encourage more competition for casino licenses.

Knapik said he is also concerned that smoking would be banned in casinos, limiting sales."We've already affirmatively reduced the value to developers," he said.

Candaras also filed an amendment that would set the initial period of a casino license at 20 years, up from 15 in the current Senate bill.

Candaras said a casino requires an enormous capital investment, so it's appropriate to extend the period of the license.

The state House of Representatives last week approved an amendment to extend the initial license period to 20 years, while a renewal would be for 15 years.

The Senate is expected to approve casinos next week. If that happens, the House and the Senate would negotiate a compromise bill to send to Gov. Deval L. Patrick, who also supports casinos.

A second driver, Maureen Healy, 31, Holyoke, pleaded innocent to charges related to the same fatal accident.

Family photoThe late Thomas P. Monahan

SPRINGFIELD – A Hampden County Grand Jury on Thursday indicted a 21-year-old Holyoke woman for motor vehicle homicide for her role in a fatal accident on that claimed the life of 53-year-old Thomas P. Monahan of Holyoke.

The misdemeanor indictment against Tiffany Renardson of 57 Pleasant St., was handed down on the same day that another driver, Maureen Healy, 31, Holyoke, pleaded innocent to charges related to the same fatal accident.

Healy of 91 Lincoln St., a clerk with the Holyoke Police, is facing two felony charges: manslaughter by motor vehicle and motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving.

Monahan of 144 Lincoln Ave., was fatally injured June 4 as he came to the aid of Healy who crashed her car into a parked vehicle in front of his house at shortly before midnight. Her car came to rest lying on its passenger side in the road.

As Monahan tended to Healy, a second car, driven by Renardson, came up Lincoln Avenue and crashed into Healy’s overturned vehicle. The impact sent Healy’s car into Monahan, fatally injuring him. He died two days later.

Investigators found no evidence that Renardson’s 2004 Mitsubishi attempted to avoid any of the wreckage in the road from the first accident.

Renardson is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 30 in Hampden Superior Court.

At Healy’s arraignment, she denied the charges against her.

Judge Richard Carey allowed her to be released from custody on her own recognizance pending a pre-trial conference on Feb. 2. He rejected a request from Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth that Healy be barred from driving while free.

Forsyth asked Carey to let Healy stay free on her own recognizance with a condition that she not drink. She will be subject to random alcohol testing by the Probation Department.

Defense lawyer Eileen Leahy said if the state Registry of Motor Vehicles moves to suspend Healy’s license she would comply with that, but Healy has been driving since June 4 without incident.

A group of eight family members of Monahan sat in the front of the courtroom at the arraignment.

Republican reporter Patrick Johnson contributed to this report

The turnout in Springfield ranged from a low of 5.6 percent in one South End precinct to a high of 32 percent in at one polling site in East Forest Park.

Photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanCampaign workers for the three Springfield mayoral candidates wave to passing cars in the rain Tuesday morning on primary election day. From left are William Cruz, William J. Baker, chairman of the Ward 2 Democratic City Committee and Robert B. Lynch, all of Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – The trend of low voter turnout in preliminary elections in Springfield remained intact on Tuesday as 14.7 percent of the voters cast ballots including some very low precinct numbers.

Election Commissioner Gladys Oyola said that while the numbers were low, she was pleased to see they exceeded her prediction of 10 percent turnout.

“I was actually pleasantly surprised,” Oyola said.

She is hopeful that the turnout in the Nov. 8 general election will be higher than recent elections as a result of lively races anticipated for mayor and City Council.

Low turnout is “par for the course for a non-partisan preliminary election in Springfield,” said L. Timothy Vercellotti, associate professor of political science at Western New England University.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno was the top vote getter on Tuesday, with 60.2 percent of the vote, and faces second place finisher Council President Jose F. Tosado on the Nov. 8 ballot. Tosado who had 23.1 percent of the vote. The third-place finisher, Antonette Pepe, with 16.6 percent of the vote, was eliminated. There was also an at-large council race on the ballot that reduced the field from 13 to 10 candidates for five seats.

In the prior two local preliminary elections in 2007 and 2009, the turnout was in the single digits, but lacked a mayor’s race.

With a non-partisan local election, “you don’t have the party apparatus to turn out the vote” such as in presidential election years and congressional races, Vercellotti said.

“It’s really up to the candidates’ campaigns to mobilize their supporters,” Vercellotti said. “That’s costly, not in just dollars, but in man hours.”

In addition, the “hard core” voters will come out for a preliminary election, while the “marginal voters” often wait for the November final contest, feeling that is when their vote will most count, he said.

All three mayoral candidates and campaign volunteers said they worked hard to get out the vote, including mass phone calls, targeted mailings, face-to-face contact and rides to the polls. Sarno and Tosado said they had hoped for a higher turnout but realize there is a track record of low turnout in the September preliminaries.

Both Vercellotti and Oyola said that socio-economic factors can also affect turnout, with some areas seeing much greater activity at the polls than others.

“The higher your education and income, the more likely you are to vote,” Vercellotti said. “It’s more likely you’re following the news, more likely you own property and feel like you have a direct stake in an election.”

Continuing a trend of many years, the greatest turnout Tuesday was in Ward 7, generally East Forest Park and part of Sixteen Acres, where the turnout was 24.3 percent. The precinct with the highest turnout in the city was Ward 7B at Frederick Harris School, where 32 percent of the registered voters participated.

“Seven 'b' is always the highest,” Oyola said. “You have people stand there all day long, hard core campaigning.”

Many of the voters “have lived there forever, always vote, and know the polling location,” Oyola said.

In contrast, Ward 3 had the lowest turnout in the city, at 7.8 percent, including the lowest turnout in the city at Ward 3C, where just 5.6 percent voted at the Gentile Apartments in the South End. The ward consists of the South End and Six Corners.

In Ward 4, involving neighborhoods in the Mason Square area, turnout was just 10.8 percent and turnout in Ward 1 was 11 percent, involving the North End area and downtown.

Tosado said he campaigned in all areas, but his only victory on Tuesday was in Ward 1, with a higher Latino population, while Sarno was victorious in the remaining seven wards.

The last preliminary election in Springfield with a mayoral contest was in 2001, when Mayor Michael J. Albano faced then-state Rep. Paul E. Caron and first-time candidate Ni Cole N. Jones.

Morse and Pluta emerged winners in Tuesday's preliminary election, which eliminated two candidate, and will face off Nov. 8.

Holyoke mayoral candidate Alex B. Morse

Holyoke Mayor Elaine A. Pluta

HOLYOKE – Mayor Elaine A. Pluta touted her job-producing ability at a youth forum Wednesday by noting stewardship of projects like a planned 250-job Big Y plaza and challenger Alex B. Morse said he helped people find jobs for nearly five years at CareerPoint.

The candidates also traded positions on dealing with teen-pregnancy.

Both said they would support having a student representative on the City Council, as is the case with the School Committee.

The forum at Holyoke High School on Beech Street was sponsored by the Holyoke Youth Commission and the Holyoke Food and Fitness Policy Council.

City Council and School Committee candidates also participated in the forum.

The forum was the first since Morse finished first and Pluta second in Tuesday’s preliminary election for mayor. Election Day is Nov. 8.

Voters eliminated two other mayoral candidates, Daniel C. Boyle and Daniel C. Burns, in the preliminary election.

Morse, a former career counselor, has never held elected office. Pluta is in her first term after 14 years on the City Council.

The candidates responded to questions from students. On producing jobs, Pluta said 74 new businesses opened with 129 jobs in her term.

A Big Y plaza is being built at Lower Westfield Road and Homestead Avenue with a projected 250 jobs, she said, and there are plans for a wholesale bakery to open here.

“There’s a lot of exciting things happening in the city of Holyoke as far as jobs, as far as business, and we will be continuing to support that,” Pluta said.

Morse, a former CareerPoint counselor, told the high-schoolers in the audience he had probably helped some of them with resumes. Gauging someone’s suitability for a job is a skill he would bring to the mayor’s office, said Morse, who said he also would work with state officials to get money invested in job-creation for young people.

“It’s up to us to make sure young people have access to jobs,” Morse said.

For five years running, Holyoke has led the state in births to teen-age mothers. Morse said young people must be advised they have options to having children at that age, such as school and a career.

Adults can help by stopping the stigmatization of groups like Hispanics and the poor in discussing teen-pregnancy, he said.

“I think education is the number one anti-poverty program,” Morse said.

Pluta said she pushed for establishment last year of a curriculum that instructs ninth-graders about the consequences of being a parent.

“That was something that was sorely lacking in our schools,” Pluta said.

She also appointed a task force that focuses on counseling, educating young people about parental duties and sexual health, she said.

The falling satellite is not expected to be over North America when it enters the atmosphere on Friday, NASA officials predict.

Associated PressThis screen grab image provided by NASA shows UARS attached to the robotic arm of the space shuttle Discovery during mission STS-48 in 1991, when UARS was deployed. NASA scientists are confident the 6-ton satellite will miss North America when it is expected to enter the atmosphere on Friday

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A dead 6-ton satellite is getting closer and closer, and is expected to smack down on Earth on Friday.

NASA's old research satellite is expected to come crashing down through the atmosphere Friday afternoon, Eastern Time. The spacecraft will not be passing over North America then, the space agency said in a statement Wednesday evening.

The predictions should become more precise by Thursday afternoon and certainly by Friday.

"It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty," NASA said.

An estimated 26 pieces — representing 1,200 pounds — are expected to survive.

NASA is anticipating a splashdown rather than a landing. Nearly three-quarters of the world is covered with water. The Aerospace Corporation in California, in fact, predicts that re-entry will occur over the Pacific late Friday afternoon, Eastern Time. But that's give or take 14 hours.

The 20-year-old Upper Research Atmosphere Satellite will be the biggest NASA spacecraft to fall uncontrolled from the sky in 32 years.

It is expected to break into more than 100 pieces as it enters the atmosphere, most of it burning up. The heaviest metal parts are expected to reach Earth, the biggest chunk weighing about 300 pounds. The debris could be scattered over an area about 500 miles long.

Byrd, 49, was chained to the back of a pickup truck and pulled whip-like to his death along a bumpy asphalt road in one of the most grisly hate crime murders in recent Texas history.

File photo / Associated PressLawrence Russell Brewer is led from the Jasper County courthouse in 1999 following a change of venue hearing in his capital murder trial for the 1998 dragging death of James Byrd Jr. , in Jasper, Texas. Brewer, 44, one of two purported white supremacists condemned for Byrdâs death, was executed Wednesday for participating in chaining Byrd to the back of a pickup truck, dragging the black man along the road and dumping what was left of his shredded body outside a black church and cemetery.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – White supremacist gang member Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed Wednesday evening for the infamous dragging death slaying of James Byrd Jr., a black man from East Texas.

Byrd, 49, was chained to the back of a pickup truck and pulled whip-like to his death along a bumpy asphalt road in one of the most grisly hate crime murders in recent Texas history.

Brewer, 44, was asked if he had any final words, to which he replied: “No. I have no final statement.”

A single tear hung on the edge of his right eye.

He was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m., 10 minutes after the lethal drugs began flowing into his arms, both covered with intricate black tattoos.

Appeals to the courts for Brewer were exhausted and no last-day attempts to save his life were filed.

Besides Brewer, John William King, now 36, also was convicted of capital murder and sent to death row for Byrd’s death, which shocked the nation for its brutality. King’s conviction and death sentence remain under appeal. A third man, Shawn Berry, 36, received a life prison term.

“One down and one to go,” Billy Rowles, the retired Jasper County sheriff who first investigated the horrific scene, said. “That’s kind of cruel but that’s reality.”

Byrd’s sister, Clara Taylor, said someone from her brother’s family needed to be present to watch Brewer die so she was among witnesses in the death chamber.

“He had choices,” she said Tuesday, referring to Brewer. “He made the wrong choices.”

While the lethal injection wouldn’t compare to the horrible death her brother endured, “Knowing you’re going to be executed, that has to be a sobering thought,” she said.

It was about 2:30 a.m. on a Sunday, June 7, 1998, when witnesses saw Byrd walking on a road not far from his home in Jasper, a town of more than 7,000 about 125 miles northeast of Houston. Many folks knew he lived off disability checks, couldn’t afford his own car and walked where he needed to go. Another witness then saw him riding in the bed of a dark pickup.

Six hours later and some 10 miles away on Huff Creek Road, the bloody mess found after daybreak was thought at first to be animal road kill. Rowles, a former Texas state trooper who had taken office as sheriff the previous year, believed it was a hit-and-run fatality but evidence didn’t match up with someone caught beneath a vehicle. Body parts were scattered and the blood trail began with footprints at what appeared to be the scene of a scuffle.

“I didn’t go down that road too far before I knew this was going to be a bad deal,” he said at Brewer’s trial.

Fingerprints taken from the headless torso identified the victim as Byrd.

Testimony showed the three men and Byrd drove out into the county about 10 miles and stopped along an isolated logging road. A fight broke out and the outnumbered Byrd was tied to the truck bumper with a 24½-foot logging chain. Three miles later, what was left of his shredded remains was dumped between a black church and cemetery where the pavement ended on the remote road.

Brewer, King and Berry were in custody by the end of the next day.

The crime put Jasper under a national spotlight and lured the likes of the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Panthers, among others, to try to exploit the notoriety of the case which continues – many say unfairly – to brand Jasper more than a decade later.

King was tried first, in Jasper. Brewer’s trial was moved 150 miles away to Bryan. Berry was tried back in Jasper.

The petition with more than 2,000 names was submitted by the Aug. 26 deadline.

Republican file photo

CHICOPEE – A question that would have asked voters if they wanted to extend the mayoral term to four years will not appear on the ballot after the Board of Registrars rejected 55 additional signatures from a petition Wednesday.

At least eight residents whose name appeared on the petition testified they never signed it and one name was removed because the voter had died in July and the signature was submitted in August.

“I am not in favor of the question at all,” said Richard Murray. He testified that a signature on the petition bearing his name was not his.

A group of supporters of Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette collected signatures to place the question on the ballot after failed attempts to do so with votes from the City Council and legislators.

The question was to ask voters if they wanted to extend the mayoral term from two years to four. It was binding.

A total of 1,701 signatures from registered voters was needed to place the question on the ballot. A petition with 2,021 was submitted at the Aug. 26 deadline and 1,751 were certified. Many of those thrown out in the initial process were duplicates, said Janina Surdyka, registrar of voters.

But City Councilors John L. View and Dino A. Brunetti filed a complaint about the petition. Wednesday the Board of Registrars met for about six hours to hear their objection. During that time, 55 more names were rejected, bringing the total of certified signatures to 1,696.

The councilor’s lawyer, William A. McDermott Jr., of Boston, painstakingly identified names where signatures looked similar. On several sheets he pointed out the list was in alphabetical order and looked like it had been copied from the city’s street listing of residents.

“These particular petitions are rife with fraud,” he said.

The board refused to throw out names where signatures were similar or where they were in alphabetical order.

“We aren’t handwriting experts. How do we know for sure?,” asked Edward Rybak, a member of the board.

The board did reject signatures of people who testified they did not sign.

“It appears someone signed my name. I didn’t sign that,” David Deziel, a registered voter, said. His mother also testified she did not sign.

The board also accepted the testimony from Brunetti, Vieau and City Councilor Frank N. Laflamme, who called people whose signatures were in question and learned the residents denied signing the petition.

Bissonnette was away at a conference and did not attend the hearing. He said he had not looked at the signatures before they were submitted.

“To me that sounds suspect. I would be suspect if it was in exact alphabetical order,” he said. He said he will ask the Police Department to investigate if fraud is suspected.

“I clearly fully support putting the question on the ballot,” he said. However, problem signatures should not be certified, he said.

Francis C. Lapointe, a past state representative and assistant to Bissonnette, said he coordinated the petition drive but did not examine the signatures.

More than 400 people were mailed petition forms. Some, when they collected signatures, simply turned them into the city instead of him. Others mailed them or dropped them off so he is uncertain who collected which signatures.

“It is disappointing. There was quite a lot of work done,” he said. “If the petitions were not of sufficient quality it shouldn’t be on the ballot. “

Maher remained in contact with Brenna Bean after the accident and helped build a wheelchair ramp at her home.

GREENFIELD – Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Matthew D. Thomas said a man who admitted his role in the drag-racing wreck that left a former athlete in a wheelchair understands the consequences of his actions better than any other defendant he has prosecuted.

Thomas spoke to Judge Tina S. Page Friday during the sentencing of Peter Maher, 24, of Whately. Maher pleaded guilty in Franklin Superior Court to operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol resulting in serious bodily injury and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

According to prosecutors, Maher was drag-racing with Kevin May on River Road in August 2010 when his car went off the road and struck a utility pole and a barn. Brenna Bean, 19, a passenger in Maher’s car, was ejected during the crash and suffered injuries that have left her paralyzed from the waist down.

May, 23, also of Whately, pleaded guilty to similar charges earlier this month and was sentenced to 2½ to 4 years in state prison.

Page sentenced Maher to one year in jail followed by five years of probation and said she would recommend that he serve some of the jail time at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program on Howard Street in Springfield.

In seeking a lesser sentence for Maher, Thomas told Page that Maher remained in contact with Bean after the accident and helped build a wheelchair ramp at her home.

At his sentencing, Maher turned and apologized to Bean, who was present in court but did not give a victim’s statement. Maher, Bean and Bean’s mother all wept during the proceedings, according to the District Attorney’s Office, and Maher’s parents hugged Bean’s mother.

Although May had a prior record of traffic violations, Maher’s was clean, Thomas said.

Bean, who also lives in Whately, was a star athlete on the Frontier Regional High School track and field team. She continued to coach for the team following her accident.

Lefebvre said he will not support building a casino in Chicopee.

Republican staff photo by Dave RobackGary R. Lefebvre talks to a supporter during the kick-off of his campaign for Chicopee mayor.

CHICOPEE – Gary R. Lefebvre kicked off his campaign for mayor Wednesday, touting his experience of working as a manager for large businesses and owning his own small restaurant.

Lefebvre, 53, of Liberty Street, the owner of Gary and Nancy’s Place on Chicopee Street, gathered at a neighboring restaurant with family, friends and other supporters to make his announcement. The Democrat is challenging Michael D. Bissonnette, who has been mayor for six years.

“I’m running to put people first, to put people before politics,” he said.

After giving supporters details about his background – he attended Holyoke Community College, has played hockey for years worked at several large companies – Lefebvre outline some of the issues he will focus on during his campaign.

He said he opposes plans to extend the mayor’s term to four years.

Bissonnette has been trying to place a question on the ballot asking voters if they want to extend the term. On the day of Lefebvre’s announcement, the Board of Registrars determined a petition submitted to place that question on the ballot did not have enough valid signatures.

“I believe a four-year term makes the mayor less accountable to the voters,” Lefebvre said. “A performance review by the voters every two years is a reasonable thing.”

Lefebvre said he supports legalizing casinos but is against locating one in Chicopee, saying they will bring crime and hurt businesses like his own.

“While I oppose a casino in Chicopee, I believe voters should decide,” he said. If a referendum passed allowing a casino in the city, Lefebvre said he would follow residents’ opinions.

In 2007 Bissonnette talked briefly about the possibility of placing a casino off Burnett Road. After that casino bill died he started working with Westover Metropolitan Development Corp. to create a new industrial park there instead.

Pledging “fiscal responsibility” Lefebvre said he better understands how to run a business in a difficult economy and criticized some of the mayor’s spending.

After the event, Shane D. Brooks, a mayoral candidate two years ago, left carrying one of Lefebvre’s signs.

“I think he is reasonable, a business owner and gives a fresh perspective for the city,” Brooks said.

Lefebvre’s wife, Nancy, said she is behind her husband’s effort. The couple has four children who range in age from 31 to 18.

“I think it is very exciting. I’m up for the challenge,” she said.

The rejection of his appeal by the U.S. Supreme Court gives Davis no more legal grounds to challenge his planned execution.

AP Photo/Stephen MortonProtesters chant Anti-death penalty slogans for Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis In Jackson, Ga., Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011. Davis is scheduled to die Wednesday for killing off-duty Savannah officer Mark MacPhail. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

JACKSON, Ga. (AP) — The Supreme Court late Wednesday rejected an 11th-hour request to block the execution of Troy Davis, who convinced hundreds of thousands of people but not the justice system of his innocence in the murder of an off-duty police officer.

The court did not comment on its order late Wednesday, four hours after receiving the request. Davis' execution had been set to begin at 7 p.m., but the high court's decision was not issued until after 10 p.m.

Though Davis' attorneys say seven of nine key witnesses against him have disputed all or parts of their testimony, state and federal judges have repeatedly ruled against granting him a new trial. As the court losses piled up Wednesday, his offer to take a polygraph test was rejected and the pardons board refused to give him one more hearing.

Davis' supporters staged vigils in the U.S. and Europe, declaring "I am Troy Davis" on signs, T-shirts and the Internet. Some tried increasingly frenzied measures, urging prison workers to stay home and even posting a judge's phone number online, hoping people will press him to put a stop to the lethal injection. President Barack Obama deflected calls for him to get involved.

"They say death row; we say hell no!" protesters shouted outside the Jackson prison where Davis was to be executed. In Washington, a crowd outside the Supreme Court yelled the same chant.

The crowd outside the prison swelled to more than 500 as night fell and a few dozen riot police stood watch. About 10 counterdemonstrators also were there, showing support for the death penalty and the family of Mark MacPhail, the man Davis was convicted of killing in 1989.

"He had all the chances in the world," his mother, Anneliese MacPhail, said of Davis in a telephone interview. "It has got to come to an end."

At a Paris rally, many of the roughly 150 demonstrators carried signs emblazoned with Davis' face. "Everyone who looks a little bit at the case knows that there is too much doubt to execute him," Nicolas Krameyer of Amnesty International said at the protest.

Davis' execution has been stopped three times since 2007, but on Wednesday the 42-year-old appeared to be out of legal options.

As his last hours ticked away, an upbeat and prayerful Davis turned down an offer for a special last meal as he met with friends, family and supporters.

"Troy Davis has impacted the world," his sister Martina Correia said at a news conference. "They say, 'I am Troy Davis,' in languages he can't speak."

Correia, who is battling breast cancer and using a wheelchair as she helps coordinate rallies and other events, called on people to push for change in the justice system. Then she said, "I'm going to stand here for my brother," and got up with help from people around her.

His attorney Stephen Marsh said Davis would have spent part of Wednesday taking a polygraph test if pardons officials had taken his offer seriously.

"He doesn't want to spend three hours away from his family on what could be the last day of his life if it won't make any difference," Marsh said.

Troy Davis

Amnesty International says nearly 1 million people have signed a petition on Davis' behalf. His supporters include former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, a former FBI director, the NAACP, several conservative figures and many celebrities, including hip-hop star Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.

"I'm trying to bring the word to the young people: There is too much doubt," rapper Big Boi, of the Atlanta-based group Outkast, said at a church near the prison.

The U.S. Supreme Court gave Davis an unusual opportunity to prove his innocence in a lower court last year, though the high court itself did not hear the merits of the case.

He was convicted in 1991 of killing MacPhail, who was working as a security guard at the time. MacPhail rushed to the aid of a homeless man who prosecutors said Davis was bashing with a handgun after asking him for a beer. Prosecutors said Davis had a smirk on his face as he shot the officer to death in a Burger King parking lot in Savannah.

No gun was ever found, but prosecutors say shell casings were linked to an earlier shooting for which Davis was convicted.

Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter, but several of them have recanted their accounts and some jurors have said they've changed their minds about his guilt. Others have claimed a man who was with Davis that night has told people he actually shot the officer.

"Such incredibly flawed eyewitness testimony should never be the basis for an execution," Marsh said. "To execute someone under these circumstances would be unconscionable."

State and federal courts, however, have repeatedly upheld Davis' conviction. One federal judge dismissed the evidence advanced by Davis' lawyers as "largely smoke and mirrors."

"He has had ample time to prove his innocence," said MacPhail's widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris. "And he is not innocent."

The latest motion filed by Davis' attorneys in Butts County Court disputed testimony from the expert who linked the shell casings to the earlier shooting involving Davis, and challenged testimony from two witnesses. Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson and the Georgia Supreme Court rejected the appeal, and prosecutors said the filing was just a delay tactic.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which has helped lead the charge to stop the execution, said it was considering asking President Barack Obama to intervene.

Obama cannot grant Davis clemency for a state conviction. Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said he could halt the execution by asking for an investigation into a federal issue if one exists.

Press secretary Jay Carney issued a statement saying that although Obama "has worked to ensure accuracy and fairness in the criminal justice system," it was not appropriate for him "to weigh in on specific cases like this one, which is a state prosecution."

Dozens of protesters outside the White House called on the president to step in, and about 12 were arrested for disobeying police orders.

"The fact that the White House hasn't addressed this issue is completely disrespectful," college student Talibah Arnett said.

Davis was not the only U.S. inmate scheduled to die Wednesday evening. In Texas, white supremacist gang member Lawrence Russell Brewer was put to death for the 1998 dragging death of a black man, James Byrd Jr., one of the most notorious hate crime murders in recent U.S. history.

Davis' best chance may have come last year, in a hearing ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court. It was the first time in 50 years that justices had considered a request to grant a new trial for a death row inmate.

The high court set a tough standard for Davis to exonerate himself, ruling that his attorneys must "clearly establish" Davis' innocence — a higher bar to meet than prosecutors having to prove guilt. After the hearing judge ruled in prosecutors' favor, the justices didn't take up the case.

The planned execution has drawn widespread criticism in Europe, where politicians and activists made last-minute pleas for a stay.

Spencer Lawton, the district attorney who secured Davis' conviction in 1991, said he was embarrassed for the judicial system — not because of the execution, but because it has taken so long to carry out.

"What we have had is a manufactured appearance of doubt which has taken on the quality of legitimate doubt itself. And all of it is exquisitely unfair," said Lawton, who retired as Chatham County's head prosecutor in 2008. "The good news is we live in a civilized society where questions like this are decided based on fact in open and transparent courts of law, and not on street corners."

Education Secretary Arne Duncan aid the emphasis will be more on growth than actual test scores, but revealed few specifics on how the plan would work.

Associated PressPresident Barack Obama is seen during a bilateral meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in New York, Wednesday, Sept., 21, 2011.

WASHINGTON (AP) — States are about to get some guidance from President Barack Obama about how they can get around provisions in the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law — a step the administration has undertaken to effectively gut the law since Congress had been slow to rewrite it.

In advance of Obama's speech Friday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said states would be able to seek waivers around requirements in the law if they can meet certain requirements the White House favors. He has said the emphasis will be more on growth than actual test scores, but revealed few specifics on how the plan would work.

The No Child Left Behind passed in 2001 with widespread bipartisan support and much fanfare. It sought to hold schools more accountable for student performance and get better qualified teachers in classrooms. When schools were deemed as failing after set periods of time, extra tutoring and school choice have been offered to students, under the law.

A component of the law that said all students must be proficient in math and reading — meaning all students must by 2014 meet grade level standards in those subject areas — has been hugely unpopular. Critics say the law created too much of an emphasis in classrooms on standardized tests with stakes so high that it may have even created an environment where school officials in some districts opted to cheat.

Duncan has warned that 82 percent of schools next year could fail to reach proficiency requirements, and thus be labeled as a "failure." Duncan has said it's "dishonest" for schools to receive the label if they are showing real improvements, and the law is creating a "slow-motion educational train wreck." He's also said that many states under the law have lowered standards instead of making them more rigorous and that the law fails to differentiate between a high-performing school with one or two subgroups underperforming and a low-performing school where everyone is struggling.

The law has been due for a re-write since 2007, and Obama and Duncan had asked that it be overhauled by the beginning of this school year. But a growing ideological divide in Congress in recent years has only complicated efforts to do so.

The GOP-led House education committee has forwarded three bills that would overhaul aspects of it, but has yet to fully tackle some of the more contentious issues such as teacher effectiveness and accountability. Key Democrats on education issues on Capitol Hill, such as Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., have said they understand why the administration is moving forward with its plan.

But Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., who chairs the House education committee, has questioned if Duncan even has the authority to offer waivers to states in exchange for such changes. He's said the president has allowed "an arbitrary timeline" to dictate when Congress should get the law rewritten, and that the committee needs more time to develop its proposals, which it is doing. And, Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the ranking Republican on the Senate committee with oversight over education, said the plan represents a shift in power from states to the federal government.

Duncan has said his plan would not undermine what Congress is doing because the waivers could serve as a bridge until Congress acts.

Police executed their warrant at about 2 a.m. on Wednesday.

Scott Gutstein

AGAWAM – A Main Street man is being held in lieu of $5,000 cash bail following his arraignment Thursday on cocaine trafficking and other charges.

Scott A. Gutstein, 44, of 1025A Main St. denied the charges in Westfield District Court.

The charges resulted from a raid of his home early Wednesday.

Lt. Richard Light said the raid, conducted about 2 a.m., followed an investigation by the department’s detectives.

Police seized approximately 35 grams of cocaine, marijuana and over $2,200 in cash.

Gutstein faces charges of trafficking cocaine, distribution of cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of cocaine.

“It was a significant amount of cocaine,” Light said, adding that narcotics detectives had been investigating Gutstein for some time. “We finally had enough probably cause to obtain a warrant and go into the home.”

A pre-trial conference is set for Oct. 20.

Authorities say Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes broke into the house in Cheshire in 2007, beat Dr. William Petit with a bat and tied him and his wife and two daughters up as they looked for money.

AP photoThis July 2007 police photo released by the Connecticut Judicial Branch as evidence presented Wednesday, Sept. 21, 201l in the Joshua Komisarjevsky trial in New Haven, Conn., Superior Court, shows a fire-damaged portion of the Petit home in Cheshire, Conn., where three family members were killed during a home invasion July 23, 2007. (AP Photo/Connecticut Judicial Branch)

JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN, Associated Press

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — In a confession played for jurors Thursday, a Connecticut man on trial for a brutal home invasion can't explain why he didn't untie two girls before they died in a fire.

In the recording, Joshua Komisarjevsky says he closed the bedroom doors where the girls were and couldn't believe his co-defendant was considering burning the girls alive. But he says "it just didn't cross my mind" to untie them before the house was doused with gas and set on fire.

Komisarjevsky's ongoing trial is the second in the case. In the first one last year, his co-defendant, Steven Hayes, was convicted of strangling Jennifer Hawke-Petit and killing her two daughters. Hayes was sentenced to death, and Komisarjevsky could join him on death row if he's convicted.

Authorities say Komisarjevsky and Hayes broke into the house in Cheshire in 2007, beat Dr. William Petit with a bat and tied him and his wife and two daughters up as they looked for money. Hayes later drove Hawke-Petit to a bank so she could make a withdrawal, police said.

When he returned to the house, he raped and strangled Hawke-Petit, authorities said. The girls, 11-year-old Michaela and her 17-year-old Hayley, died of smoke inhalation after the house was doused with gasoline and set on fire.

AP photoJoshua Komisarjevsky

The two men have blamed each other for escalating the violence, but prosecutors say both men are equally responsible.

Jurors began listening to the confession Wednesday. New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue at one point stopped the recording Wednesday, saying a juror was having a tough time. That prompted a motion for a mistrial by Komisarjevsky's attorney, who said Blue shouldn't have made the comment in front of other jurors.

Blue denied the motion, saying he chose his words carefully.

The confession was disrupted again Thursday when the court was evacuated for what turned out to be a false fire alarm.

Komisarjevsky told police he undressed 11-year-old Michaela and took explicit pictures. But he blamed Hayes for the gasoline-fueled fire that killed the girls.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 516 points in late day trading.

Associated Press photoA man sits on steps across the street from the Bank of England in the City of London, Thursday. Mounting evidence that the world economy is slowing down sharply sent global stock markets spiraling down Thursday as investors brushed off the U.S. Federal Reserve's efforts to spur growth and focused instead on the central bank's gloomy outlook.

UPDATE: As of 3:30 this afternoon, the Dow was down 516 points.

NEW YORK – Stocks plunged Thursday, extending a rout around the world. Indicators across the financial markets had investors concerned that there’s no clear way the U.S. will avoid another recession.

At noon Eastern time, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 425 points, or 3.8 percent, to 10,699.

It fell 283 points on Wednesday after a tacit acknowledgment from the Federal Reserve that the U.S. economy won’t improve anytime soon.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 41, or 3.5 percent, to 1,128. The Nasdaq composite fell 82, or 3.2 percent, to 2,456.

The price of commodities like oil and metals dropped steeply because investors worried that demand for them would fall if the world economy keeps slowing or falls into recession again.

Looking for a safe place to put their money, traders bought American government debt, which they see as much less risky than stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note hit a record low of 1.77 percent, down from 1.86 late Wednesday. Yields fall as investors buy bonds and send their prices higher.

The Fed, adopting a new strategy to try to get the U.S. economy going, announced Wednesday that it would shuffle $400 billion of its own holdings in hopes of reducing interest rates on long-term loans.

The central bank hopes that allowing people and businesses to borrow money more cheaply will encourage them to spend it throughout the economy, providing a lift that could turn it around.

The Fed statement troubled investors. It offered a bleak assessment of the future of the U.S. economy, saying it sees “significant downside risks to the economic outlook,” including volatility in overseas markets.

“What we’re seeing is the ebbs and flows around a big risk that everyone’s having difficulty dealing with,” said Barry Knapp, head of U.S. equity strategy for Barclays Capital. “We’re just going to be dealing with these waves for some time to come.”

Investors also fear that the Fed has maxed out its options for aiding economic growth.

“Counting on the Fed to get us out of this is a mistake,” said Uri Landesman, president of New-York-based hedge fund Platinum Partners. The only thing that will fuel a recovery now, said Landesman, is if consumers and businesses spend more.

Asian stocks were hammered to start the world’s trading Thursday. The Nikkei index in Japan fell 2.1 percent. The main stock averages fell 2.9 percent in South Korea, 2.6 percent in Australia and almost 5 percent in Hong Kong.

Europe fared even worse. The stock market fell 5.4 percent in France, 4.6 percent in Germany and almost 5 percent in Britain. Besides the economic headache, Europe is wrestling with how to tame a big debt problem.

In New York, stocks fell sharply even though the New York Stock Exchange executed a rule designed to smooth trading.

The exchange invoked Rule 48, which limits how much information is released about stock trades. It is only used on days when extreme volatility is expected in the stock market.

Stock volatility jumped. The VIX, an index that measures investor fear, rose 7.2 percent to an index level of 40, well above the index’s average level. It’s common for stocks to move dramatically after the Fed makes a big announcement. But the number of trades that can be made instantly has also gone up in recent years, causing big swings to happen more quickly.

“These major moves are much more compressed, time-wise, than in the past,” said Landesman. “A 5 percent move can now happen in a couple of minutes as opposed to a week or two.”

The price of oil fell 6 percent, more than $5 a barrel, to $80.76, its lowest since Aug. 19. The selling reflected concerns that world demand for oil would fall if the economy slows.

And the price of gold fell more than 4 percent. Earlier this summer, gold set one record high after another. Investors wanted it both as a safe place for their money and to cash in on what seemed an unstoppable run.

The government reported Thursday that fewer Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week. But the decline wasn’t nearly enough to raise any real hope that the job market is getting better.

FedEx stock fell 9 percent after it said that it would earn less in 2012 than it had expected. The company is seen as an indicator because demand for shipping rises and falls with the economy.

The next big round of corporate earnings reports doesn’t start for several weeks, but many analysts expect big companies can’t sustain the strong profits they have posted for the last few quarters.

The dispute was precipitated by physical assault of female student on Wednesday.

Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD – A disturbance at the the High School of Commerce late Thursday morning yielded the arrest of seven students, police said.

Sgt. John M. Delaney said that the confrontation, between two different groups of students in a hallway, was precipitated by the physical assault of a female student at the school Wednesday.

Police officers assigned to the schools, also known as student support officers, were able to intervene in Thursday’s dispute before any punches were thrown. The students were charged with disturbing school in session, Delaney, spokesman for Commissioner William J. Fitchet said.

The dispute was not gang-related, he said.

Principal Charles Grandson said the decision to call police at the first threat of violence illustrates the commitment of Commerce staff to do all they can to ensure a safe environment for all students. It also sends the clear message that violence will not be tolerated at the high school, he said.

“I’m very upset about what occurred in our school today because it’s simply not fair to the majority of our students, who come to school every day and do the right thing. Those students should have never been subjected to police presence in our building for a reason such as what happened today,” said Grandson. “We’re not standing for any of this kind of nonsense whatsoever.”

Grandson said students who were involved in the incident will have appropriate disciplinary action taken against them. According to the Student Code of Conduct such disciplinary action ranges from parent conferences to internal or external suspension.

Coakley had been scheduled to attend the Westfield State University senior convocation but decided to cancel her appearance.

Martha M. Coakley

BOSTON – Massachusetts Attorney General Martha M. Coakley is recuperating after tripping and falling outside her Medford home.

A spokeswoman for Coakley said she was injured when she fell Wednesday evening after catching her heel while walking up the front steps of her house after coming home from work sometime between 6:30 and 7 p.m..

Coakley spokeswoman Melissa Karpinsky said the attorney general sustained some minor injuries, was treated at an area hospital and received stitches to her forehead.

Karpinsky said Coakley is doing fine, but her doctor advised her to rest for at least 24 hours.

Coakley had been scheduled to attend the Westfield State University senior convocation on Thursday evening but decided to cancel her appearance.

Coakley expects to be back at work on Friday.

The money for communities to stay open three extra hours for state and national elections is dispersed by the state every two years, a spokesman in the Ludlow town clerk’s office said.

WILBRAHAM - The state will give cities and towns more than $2.48 million to cover the cost of extra mandated polling hours for the 2012 March Presidential primary, the September state primary and the November elections, State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump said.

She said the state will pay cities and towns a total of $2.48 million more to stay open three extra hours on those dates.

Wilbraham Town Clerk Beverly J. Litchfield said that for town elections polls are usually open from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

A 1983 law requires municipalities to keep voting places open three extra hours for state and national elections.

For state and national elections, polls in Wilbraham will be from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. to give residents a greater opportunity to get to the polls before or after work, Litchfield said.

In 1983 the Auditor’s Division of Local Mandates determined that the state law was an unfunded mandate and that the state is required to pay for the increase in election-day staffing costs.

“The state has been covering these costs,” Litchfield said.

For Wilbraham, the additional costs are $3,834, for Ludlow, the additional costs are $8,562 and for Springfield the additional costs are $73,790.

For Boston, the additional cost is $244,684.

The money for communities to stay open three extra hours for state and national elections is dispersed by the state every two years, a spokesman in the Ludlow town clerk’s office said.

“The intent of the mandate was to make it easier for citizens to get to the polls before and after work and to increase participation in national and state elections,” Bump said.

She added that the extra hours increased the financial burden on cities and towns which the Auditor’s office determined should be the responsibility of the state.

Christopher J. Thompson, spokesman for the Auditor’s office, said that this year for the first time an electronic certification form was developed which all cities and towns were required to submit by the end of July.

Forms which had been submitted by mail this year were submitted electronically which is “quicker, simpler and cheaper,” Thompson said.

Bump forwarded a report detailing the additional costs to the Secretary of State on Sept. 15, Thompson said.

He said it will be up to the Secretary of State to distribute the money to each community prior to the scheduled elections.

Massachusetts Polling Hour Community Disbursments for cities and towns