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Hub police arrest anti-foreclosure protesters outside Bank of America's Boston offices

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Boston police arrested around two-dozen people who took part in Friday's anti-foreclosure rally outside Bank of America Corp.'s downtown offices.

bankam.jpgA Bank of America customer is shown here using an ATM machine in Mountain View, Calif., last month. When Bank of America next year starts charging customers a $5 monthly fee to swipe their debit cards, the 38.7 million people who carry them will have to decide if the convenience is worth the money.

Around two-dozen people were arrested during an anti-foreclosure rally outside Bank of America Corp.'s Boston headquarters Friday afternoon, according to published reports.

Hub police claimed the arrests were made after protesters trespassed on the the bank's Federal Street offices, the Boston Herald reports.

The group that led the protest -- Right to the City Alliance -- said in a statement that it stands for economic justice, noting that the banking giant will next year begin charging debit cardholders a monthly $5 user fee.

Organizers claimed several thousand protesters took part in the rally to voice opposition to the bank's lending practices and support for homeowners fighting foreclosure. The rally morphed into a sit-in protest, with activists facing arrest if they refused to budge from bank property.

“The numbers that came out today were awe-inspiring,’’ Jason Stephany, a spokesman for the activist group MassUniting, told the Boston Globe. “It is a testament to the gravity of the situation. People are hurting. This is only the first step in a long journey.’’

Bank of America spokesman T.J. Crawford said demonstrators unfairly targeted the bank -- the nation's largest -- saying the lender has undertaken major efforts to help homeowners modify loans and stay in their homes.

“These individuals choose to ignore the facts and instead focus on aggressive PR stunts,’’ Crawford told the Globe.

Standing near Dewey Square as the protest began to bloom Friday afternoon, Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis characterized the large group of activists as a peaceful bunch, even "a great group."

“They wanted to be arrested, and we obliged,” he told the Boston Herald.

None of the protesters resisted being arrested, Davis said.

Organizers said their actions were intended as an act of civil disobedience against the Charlotte, N.C.-based banking giant, which plans to begin implementing the $5 debit-card-use fees in 2012.

Bank of America's strategy follows tests by Wells Fargo and Chase for $3 monthly debit-card fees in some markets. Other banks have begun charging for basic checking, with many sharply restricting their rewards programs for debit cards.

Bank of America says the fees will not apply if cards only are used to access ATMs, or if the cardholder is a premium customer who maintains a high balance. Rather, the fee only will be incurred when customers use debit cards for purchases in a certain month, according to bank officials.

The addition of user fees for debit cards is particularly tough on consumers, especially since many banks have spent the past decade encouraging customers to embrace the cards, which can deduct purchases immediately from a checking or savings account, essentially eliminating the need to carry cash.


Material from the Associated Press, Boston Globe and Boston Herald was used in this aggregation post.

William and Cynthia Lyons of Wilbraham honored for donation to tornado victims relief fund

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The fund has grown to $85,000.

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WILBRAHAM – Selectmen on Monday honored William and Cynthia Lyons for their $25,000 contribution to the town’s tornado relief fund.

“With their $25,000 contribution, the fund has grown to $85,000,” former Selectman David W. Barry, who is chairing the town’s Tornado Victim Relief Fund Committee, said.

“We now have 58 applications for assistance,” Barry said.

He said the number of applications has grown from 11 to 20 and now to 58.

Lyons said he agreed to have the donation from himself and his wife made public to encourage other people to come forward with a donation.

The deadline to submit applications to the fund for assistance has now passed, Barry said.

Barry added, “We can’t meet the need of all those who applied, but we will do our best.”

Lyons said some people will need community assistance in recovering from the tornado.

Monson Savings Bank partnered with both Wilbraham and Monson to receive donations for each town’s relief fund. The fund for Wilbraham was authorized within days of the tornado, Selectmen Chairman Patrick J. Brady said.

Gifts to the fund have ranged from the very small to the very large, Brady said.

He said community groups, businesses and individuals have sold T-shirts, held music events and offered profit sharing from meals, spa treatments and art works to increase the gift fund.

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

Residents who were known to have sustained a loss in the June 1 tornado, based on the Building Department field inspection list, received letters and application forms from the fund.

Lyons said the town has a history of being generous to its neighbors.

Massachusetts Sen. Stanley Rosenberg to celebrate 25 years on Beacon Hill

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Former Gov. Michael Dukakis will be the master of ceremonies at a celebration for Rosenberg in Northampton later this month.

Stanley Rosenberg 2008.jpgState Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg gestures during a meeting with the editorial board of The Republican in 2008.

AMHERST – Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg was in the middle of creating videos of his 25 years in the Legislature and planning a celebration when he learned that he has a form of highly treatable cancer.

But he said that’s not changing his plans. The Amherst senator begins chemotherapy Monday. He said he doesn’t know how he will be affected. He said he’s hoping that the worse case is that “I have to go slow. I’m hoping I won’t have to stop.”

But the celebration is on. On Oct. 20, he will celebrate at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Northampton beginning at 5:30 p.m. with former Gov. Michael S. Dukakis - and one time presidential candidate - will serve as the master of ceremonies.

The event features music, a fund-raising auction with all proceeds to be donated to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts in Hatfield and just a few speeches. He said he wants it to be festive “rather than a roast and toast. “We wanted to celebrate some of the highlights of 25 years...My supporters have made it possible for me to be in office.”

Rosenberg won his first election in 1986, succeeding the then Rep. James G. Collins, who did not seek re-election. He ran for the Senate in September of 1991, a seat held by his former boss John W. Olver who won his seat in Congress.

“It’s a challenging job that provides variety everyday so you can never get bored,” Rosenberg said during a recent interview. “You’re constantly engaging in thinking outside the box.”

But his time these days is focused less on legislation, and more trying to help constituents one by one or the communities in his Hampshire-Franklin district, he said. He enjoys being able “to help people get things done.” Calls for help range from requests to get a loved one into the Holyoke Solders Home to helping a business navigate state environmental regulations. He said he gets more than 125 calls or emails a day, which he answers himself.

But he said, being in leadership and “staying in touch with your district is a huge challenge.” He was first assistant majority leader and is currently president pro tempore and co-chairman of the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting and he is considered the point person when it comes to whether to allow casinos in this state.

He said his highlights in the Legislature include leading a push to amend the requirements for a Proposition 2 1/2 property tax override from a two-third’s vote to a simple majority. He said he got a call from Pelham officials, who pointed out that a budget only requires a majority at Town Meeting. That has been the only change to the tax limiting law since it was enacted in 1982, he said.

Another highlight was spearheading an effort in 1989 to ensure that funding remained for the Springfield recycling plant when it appeared that funding would be eliminated.

He also talked about leading the campaign to defeat a proposal to place a state-wide ballot question that would have defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman, several years after the state Supreme Judicial Court voted 4-3 to legalize same-sex marriage.

That issues he said was “was very personal.” Rosenberg is gay, but had not been publicly out at the time. “I was doing my job” representing a district with a large gay population.

Rosenberg, 61, said “I’m good at building coalitions.” He also said there is much more unity among the Republicans and Democrats on Beacon Hill than on Capitol Hill. “We try to find common ground.”

He continues to be frustrated by the dwindling state support for higher education. Students are having to pay for capital expenditures that the state did not fund on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. The state has continued to reduce funding. “It compromises fundamental access to provide (education to those) of limited means.”

He’s also frustrated that the state mandates that communities conduct a census every year when the same information can be gleaned in other ways. It costs $6 million, he said. The Legislature has approved the measure to abolish it twice, but opponents “find a way to go in the back door to kill it.”

Technology has changed the work and extended his days. Instead of having to return to Boston from the district or vice versa, work can be accomplished in conference calls. And he said, with a car equipped with hands free Bluetooth, he uses his two-hour commute to return or make calls. But that cuts into his once quiet time or for the chance to listen to the radio or a book on tape.

During Legislative sessions, he’s in Boston Monday through Thursday. When he’s in the district he tries to attend many events and gatherings and meet with constituents.

And Rosenberg said, he’s looking “forward to another decade of public service.”

Photos: From farms, fields and zoos, The Big E offers plenty of livestock

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The Big E offers everything from your backyard chicken to a Scimitar-Horned Oryx.

Gallery preview

With just one weekend left to visit The Big E, we've shown you all the food, the attractions, and taken you behind the scenes.

Now, we take a look at the animals.

In the Mallary Complex, goats and alpacas are put on parade. Agricultural educator Andy Rice puts on sheep-shearing demos and you can see a cow get milked, too.

Meanwhile over at Farm-A-Rama, the miracle of life unfolds as spectators watch baby chicks hatch from eggs and then saunter adorably, pooping all over the place.

Commerford's petting zoo let's you get up close and personal with goats and donkeys and a Scimitar-Horned Oryx named Spanky.

And for a buck, you can see some of the weirder animals, like Hercules the Unicorn Cow, who only has one horn.

So get started here, and check out the rest of our Big E coverage.

Historic house complete in Springfield's McKnight neighborhood

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Demetrios N. Panteleakis has renovated a historic house at 52 Westminster St. with the help of a $100,000 interest free loan from the federally funded Community Development Block Grant.

Home constructionConstruction worker Randy Shreves begins building a new residential home in Springfield, Ill.

SPRINGFIELD - With the help of a $100,000 forgivable, interest free loan from the federally funded Community Development Block Grant program Demetrios N. Panteleakis has completely renovated a historic house at 52 Westminster St. in the McKnight neighborhood.

“The city was debating whether to tear down or save this house for 20 years,” Panteleakis said. He said the restoration will be complete by Monday and he expects to close with a buyer of the house by the end of October.

The Community Development Block Grant funds were applied to renovating the exterior of the building and went to rebuilding the porches of the old Victorian and rebuilding the driveway and half the foundation, Panteleakis said.

He said he put an additional $170,000 into the house from his own funds and a loan from Nuvo Bank and Trust Co. in Springfield.

Under CDBG guidelines, 50 percent of the $100,000 CDBG loan will be forgiven when the buyer obtains a certificate of occupancy for the house, and the rest will be forgiven at a rate of 20 percent per year as long as the house remains owner occupied.

Panteleakis said he expects to sell the house for $170,000.

“You don’t do this for a profit,” he said.

He said Springfield is known as the “City of Homes,” and the city is trying to preserve its historic housing stock.

Walter Kroll, head of the McKnight Neighborhood Council, said, "Just as a falling down house depreciates the housing stock of a neighborhood, a renovated house helps bring back housing values in a neighborhood."

He called the work Pateleakis has done on the house at 52 Westminster St. “exciting work.”

“There are people who want to participate in history, to bring back the historic housing stock,” he said. “This is about the heritage of the city.”

“Some people say you’re crazy to want to buy an old, draughty house, and others are attracted to the history,” Kroll said.

Jeffrey S. Sattler, president of Nuvo Bank & Trust Co., said the renovation of the 4,500-square-foot Victorian with its eight bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms is the result of a public/private partnership.

The federal loan “kick starts” the private investment, he said.

Pateleakis said he has renovated other houses in the neighborhood.

“I’ve owned five houses in the neighborhood,” he said.

One renovated home gives another person the incentive to purchase a house and maintain it, Kroll said.

Storrowton Village Museum sees biggest crowds of year during Big E

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The gift shops at Storrowton Village Museum do 70 percent of their annual business during the Big E.

black smith.JPGTen-year-old Hannah Labrie and her dad, Bob, of Goshen watch blacksmith Jeff Czech of Belchertown while he works in the Blacksmith Shop in Storrowton Village at the Big E.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Now that it’s Big E time, Storrowton Village Museum is enjoying its busiest time of the year.

“During the fair we might have five people in one house,” museum director Dennis D. Picard said of the staffing of costumed volunteers during the Big E in the attraction’s six different houses. The museum is located on the exposition grounds.

Picard has more than 100 volunteers, all in period costumes, at the museum during the fair to handle the onslaught of visitors drawn to the regional agricultural exposition. The museum features buildings constructed as early as 1716 and as late as 1850 with the upshot being its volunteers are dressed in early 19th century garb. The volunteers give tours and answer questions.

Costumes are fashioned by a sewing group of volunteers using patterns purchased from the Wisconsin Historical Society. Hand-woven straw hats are made by a Mennonite woman in Fonda, N.Y., who has a brother handle sales for her as she is unmarried in keeping with Mennonite customs, Picard said.

In recent years, there have also been some costumes that are ready made, according to Picard.

As well as looking the part of 19th century people, the volunteers also perform demonstrations of such artisanal crafts as broom-making, chair-making and blacksmithing. There are demonstrations of blacksmithing in the village’s blacksmith shop every day during the Big E.

Picard said planning for the fair starts years in advance as it is sometimes necessary to engage craftsman several years beforehand.

During the fair, the museum hosts activities every day at noon on the green, including sack and hoop races. There are also Sunday services at the Union Meeting House on the museum grounds. Catholic services are at 8 a.m., while Protestant are at 9 a.m.

“It is something the fair has been doing many decades. There are vendors on the gounds who want to go to church,” Picard said.

The Big also marks the rollout of the Storrowton Christmas Shop, which is open only then and around Christmas. The Storrowton Village Gift Shop as well as Storrowton Presents the Yankee Candle Shop are also open during the fair.

Gift shops manager Elizabeth B. Goyette said the shops do 70 percent of their business during the Big E.

“It is very exciting. So many of my staff return each year it is like old home week,” Goyette said. Several come up every fall from Florida just to work in the gift shops.

Holyoke nearing decision on new fire chief from field of 5 captains and a deputy chief

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The city has had acting fire chiefs since the January 2010 retirement of former chief David LaFond.

Holyoke Fire Department.jpgHolyoke Fire Department personnel head up the Mount Tom access road in July to help with the rescue of stranded hikers.

HOLYOKE – A key part of the evaluation is done and the Fire Commission could appoint a new fire chief by mid-October, an official said.

“I think it’s safe to say that we will have a permanent chief in three weeks,” City Solicitor Lisa A. Ball said recently.

Five captains and a deputy chief are competing for the job, which will have a yearly salary of $95,000 to $104,500, she said.

The Fire Department has had acting chiefs since the January 2010 retirement of former chief David A. LaFond.

Deputy Fire Chief Robert Shaw, who isn’t among the applicants for the permanent job, is acting fire chief.

The fire chief candidates are provisional Deputy Chief Joseph Snyder and captains John McGillicuddy, Paul Gubala, John Pond, David O’Connor and Joseph Beaulieu, Ball said.

The city Fire Commission hired MMA Consulting Group Inc., of Brookline, to evaluate the candidates in a process known as an assessment center. The process was held Sept. 13 and 14 at City Hall Annex and consisted of role-playing exercises with fire-chief-management themes and other tests.

The commission used the assessment center, which is permitted under the state Civil Service system, because commissioners believe it will reveal more about candidates’ qualifications than only the traditional Civil Service written test, commission Chairwoman Priscilla F. Chesky has said.

The assessment center can gauge a candidate’s management ability and how he or she would handle labor and other issues, she said.

Assessment center results will go to the Human Resources Division of the state Executive Office for Administration and Finance. Civil Service ranking will be determined and candidates get points for length of service and if they are military veterans, she said.

The city should get those rankings from the state by late September and then the Fire Commission will schedule interviews with the top three candidates, Ball said.

The Fire Commission doesn’t have to pick the top-ranked candidate as the new fire chief but the appointee must come from among the top three, she said.

Chesky said she expects that the three interviews will be done in the same meeting and that the interviews will be public.

William F. Kane was acting chief after LaFond retired until Kane retired in September 2010.

Deputy Chief William P. Moran, as the longest-tenured deputy, was appointed acting chief after Kane’s departure. Moran held that post until the Fire Commission put him on paid administrative leave in mid-June.

Moran is awaiting the result of an Aug. 29 show-cause hearing in Springfield District Court. That’s on a criminal complaint that Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni has sought against Moran for sending a fire truck on a fake call to the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside June 15.

Moran and David P. Hoose, the lawyer representing him on the criminal complaint, have declined to comment.

Moran since July 26 has been on leave using accrued vacation and sick time.

Chicopee Country Club Officials told to limit free golf

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The course has not broken even in two of the past three years, and is not expected to do so this year.

golf.jpgChicopee Comprehensive High and Holyoke High schools' golf teams prepare for a match at Chicopee Country Club last year.

CHICOPEE – Long-standing practices of allowing course volunteers or businesses who make donations to golf for free should be halted at Chicopee Country Club, lawyers said.

The City Council’s recreation committee met Thursday with course director Thomas DiRico and Golf Commission members to discuss complaints about excessive amounts of free golf being awarded at the course.

It did not address grievances filed by at least two employees, saying it was a personnel matter that should not be handled in a public meeting.

“We are not here to take any personal attacks,” said Dino A. Brunetti, chairman of the City Council’s recreation committee. “We are talking about the issues at the golf course, and we did rectify the problems.”

One of the reasons the course is a high-volume one is because it provides more cart personnel and rangers who ensure play is going smoothly. In the past, most rangers and cart personnel were volunteers and would get a free day of golf for every day of work, DiRico said.

Last year, one of the city auditors said there were too many people working on that system. While they were told it was legal, the golf commissioners were also told to reduce that number, DiRico said.

“This year people are being paid for their services and they are paying for their golf,” he said, adding $21,000 was added to the budget to fund the change.

During the meeting, commissioners were told that the past practices of having work done including getting fencing replaced, having a new carpet installed, having a roof replaced, in return for free golf is a bad idea.

City Solicitor Karen T. Betournay said the course can take donations, but should not be allowing donors to golf at no charge.

“A donation is a donation. It is not a quid pro quo,” she said.

She explained because the course is a municipal one it must follow different rules than private ones. Only golf commissioners should be allowed golf without paying and any guests or even spouses should not be included.

The practice of allowing Chicopee High and Comprehensive High school students on the golf team to play for free is acceptable as well because they are both considered municipal entities, she said.

“Everyone who plays for free, that is taxpayer’s money,” City Councilor James K. Tillotson said.

That is especially true since the course has not broken even at least two of the past three fiscal years and is not expected to this year. The city also typically purchases its equipment and other improvements.

When talking about the donations, Commissioner James Lowe said none of the improvements made could have been done on the course’s annual budget.

“The buildings are getting older and older and it is harder to maintain them on a cut budget,” he said.


Deadline approaching to appeal claim that Parsons Village special permit was granted by default

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The deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 4.

Parsons Village Plane.JPGView full sizeAn aerial view of the New City neighborhood, including the lot where the proposed affordable housing development Parsons Village could be built (circled in red).

EASTHAMPTON – Tuesday is the deadline to appeal a notice filed by Valley Community Development Corp. that claims a special permit for the Parsons Village affordable housing project was approved because the Planning Board took too long to reject it.

The board rejected the permit Sept. 13. Valley CDC contends the board was required to act by Sept. 5.

The Northampton-based developer filed a “notice of constructive approval” with City Clerk Barbara L. LaBombard, arguing the board wasn’t fast enough. If no one appeals in Land Court or Hampshire Superior Court, she is required to give Valley CDC the permit.

The dispute began when the board closed the public hearing on May 10, starting a 90-day countdown to the deadline for making a decision. Under state law, if that deadline is not met, the permit is granted by default.

On June 7, the board voted to reopen the hearing beginning on July 19 and Valley CDC agreed to extend the deadline. The developer and Parsons Village opponents disagree on what that deal meant.

The notice says the 90 days began June 7, putting the deadline at Sept. 5. Others, including board member Chester A. Ogulewicz, Jr., say it began July 19, which would put the deadline in mid-October.

Ogulewicz, who is running for city councilor at-large in the Nov. 8 election, voted against the permit.

“The CDC’s claim is pure poppycock. Their timeline is erroneous,” said Amy Heflin, a member of the New City Neighborhood Association, which has been fighting the project for almost a year.

Neighbors have claimed the planned density on the 4.3-acre lot at 69 Parsons St. was too high and the stormwater management system was doomed to fail, among other complaints. Despite design changes and attempts at compromise, including several drops in the number of units, settling at 37, the issue has remained highly charged.

Attorney Edward Etheredge, who represents Valley CDC, said the notice of constructive approval is accurate, but he doesn’t expect it to work. “The success of the project,” he said, will come through a court appeal of the permit’s rejection, which he plans to file soon, or an application for a comprehensive permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals under Chapter 40B.

Chapter 40B is a state law that allows certain projects to bypass zoning in cities where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is defined as affordable. Easthampton’s percentage is 6.3.

“We’ll address (the deadline) in the appeal, not in the press,” he said.

Filing the notice was a way to exercise the developer’s rights and exhaust all legal options to get the project up and running, he said.

Notice of Constructive Approval - Parsons Village

Effects of Massachusetts' civilian flagging legislation still in question

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In 2008, Massachusetts became the last state in the nation to approve the use of civilian flaggers on its roads.

flagger 6.jpgA police officer directs traffic at a construction site.

By BEVERLY FORD
New England Center for Investigative Reporting

When Massachusetts became the last state in the nation to approve the use of civilian flaggers on its roads in 2008, Joshua Elgart saw an opportunity to start a business providing the very flagmen the state would need. Today, nearly three years later, his company, MA Traffic Control in Framingham, has yet to sign its first flagging contract.

American Flagging and Traffic Control in Salem, N.H. placed only two flaggers on Bay State roads this year and New England Flagger Services in Willimantic, CT has given up trying.

“We assumed by being one of the only businesses in Massachusetts on the forefront of an industry with zero competition, it was the ideal business but it didn’t pan out,” said a disappointed Elgart.

The reason it hasn’t panned out for Elgart and other flagging companies like his, critics say, is because the state regulation allowing the use of flagmen on road jobs is stacked in favor of police.

Currently only a handful of Bay State communities, some of them with small police departments that don’t have enough officers to do details, use civilian flaggers on local street projects, according to a survey by The New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR).

Four loopholes in the state regulation have undercut the effort to replace police details with flagmen, the NECIR investigation has found.

One is the provision that requires police details on all roads where the speed limit is 45 mph which ends up being most major roads in the state.

A second loophole—each city and town police department can insist that police details be used on road jobs for “public safety” reasons. Critics say, when that happens, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) representative on the job often gives police the final say.

A third loophole allows cities and towns to bypass the requirement to use flagmen on local road projects including work done by utility companies. .

A fourth loophole pertains to police union contracts. If the contract requires police details on all road jobs —which most of the state’s big city police union contracts do—flagmen are not allowed if the city or town is paying for the project.

“The problem is it (the regulation) doesn’t go very far. There’s a huge opportunity for more savings that are going unrealized,” Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said of the savings that can be accrued from using flagmen, rather than officers, on town and city roads. “The hype surrounding this reform has always been much greater than the reform itself,” notes Widmer.

Police unions contend that one major reason why more flagmen aren’t being used on state road jobs is that they cost more. The state’s prevailing wage law, which sets salaries for various categories of jobs on public works projects, requires that flagmen be paid between $32 and $40 an hour, depending on the region of the state.

“It (the regulation) hasn’t worked. It won’t work,” argues Hugh Cameron, president of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police.

But MassDOT figures provided to NECIR show that the average hourly rate for flaggers in low bid contracts submitted between 2009 and 2011 is about $32 an hour for flaggers—far less than the $37 average hourly rate for a detail officer. Most utility companies NECIR spoke with did not cite the prevailing wage as a reason for not using flagmen. Contractors, however, said the prevailing wage law requirement often means it’s cheaper for them to use a police detail.

While most cities and towns surveyed by NECIR say they use only detail officers on state and local road projects, MassDOT claims the use of civilian flaggers is on the rise.

According to MassDOT data, the number of state transportation projects using civilian flaggers has increased in the last three years to 48.5 percent, up from 12.7 percent in 2009, one year after Gov. Deval Patrick announced that civilians would replace police detail officers on certain state roads. Of the 625 road projects in Massachusetts this year, 303 used flaggers, MassDOT said. The state has saved $23 million in the past three years as a result, the agency claims.

“The savings are there,” noted Thomas Broderick, chief engineer of MassDOT’s Highway Department, explaining that the 2008 flagger regulation has saved the state money by allowing it to pay only for the amount of time a flagman or detail officer is on the job. Before the 2008 regulation, the state was required to pay police detail officers for a minimum number of hours.

But drivers, taxpayer advocates and even legislators who deal with transportation issues are scratching their heads over how MassDOT could have achieved such a huge savings when so few civilian flaggers are seen on Bay State roads.

“Personally, I don’t think I’ve seen a flagman anywhere on the job,” said Senator Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth), a member of the Joint Committee on Transportation, calling MassDOT’s $23 million savings figure “sketchy.” Hedlund said he’s been skeptical of data supplied by MassDOT in the past and concerned over the way the agency’s leadership responds to questions during the state legislature’s transportation committee hearings.

A state auditor’s report, completed in 2009, raised similar concerns. According to that report, auditors found that the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works, (EOTPW) MassDOT’s name until 2009, “overstated” annual cost savings projections of $5.7 million to $7.2 million.

A cost savings analysis produced by MassDOT for NECIR, however, shows savings far above those projections questioned by the auditor. In 2009, the first full year the flagger program was in effect, the state claims savings of more than $9 million, the analysis showed. The following year in 2010, cost savings topped $8.4 million. From Jan. 1, 2011 through August 18, 2011, MassDOT claims savings of more than $5.6 million.

The 2009 state audit of the flagger program also found errors in the way the department calculated cost savings.

There’s an ugly side to this as well. Because the state regulation doesn’t specifically require cities and towns to use flagmen, the loopholes in the regulation have spawned an entitlement mindset among officers who look to detail work as a way to increase their salaries, officials with some flagging companies said.

“There are some real horror stories out there,” said James Toomey, with Palmer Paving Corp. in Palmer, MA. Like other construction firms, Toomey said he’s had police officers stop trucks for inspection and run checks on loads and employees while working on jobs where flaggers, rather than detail officers, are used.

“They know how to get their point across,” he said. He now uses detail officers on almost all construction jobs.

Officials at American Traffic Control in Salem, NH, who didn’t want to be identified out of fear of reprisals, said the concept of police details is so engrained in cop culture, one Massachusetts police chief even torpedoed a state contract because flaggers would be used in place of police details.

“I had one police official tell me we would never flag in his town and he was right, we didn’t,” said one company official. This year alone, the Salem, NH firm bid on about 100 flagging jobs in Massachusetts, another company executive said, but didn’t win a single bid until mid-September, after the New England Center for Investigative Reporting questioned MassDOT officials.

The New England Center for Investigative Reporting (www.necir-bu.org) is a nonprofit investigative reporting newsroom based at Boston University. John Wayne Ferguson, a graduate student at the university’s College of Communication, contributed to this report.

Rebuilding Together Springfield launches tornado restoration project

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Hundreds of volunteers helped with the "25 homes in five days" initiative that kicked off this week.

SPRINGFIELD - In some ways, Dolores Culp considers the devastation this summer's tornado rained down on her home a blessing.

Culp, 59, a retired U.S. Army veteran, sat in the drizzle in a folding chair on her front lawn on Saturday, listen to a cacophony of sledge hammers and saws from insider her home at 30 Amanda St., at the heart of one of the city's most weather-devastated neighborhoods. Four months after the tornado touched down, the area is still marked by a ragged landscape of hacked-off trees and ruined homes.

But, scores of volunteers with Rebuilding Together Springfield pitched in to try and revive some of those houses in a "25 homes in five days" tornado restoration initiative that kicked off this week.

Culp's ranch-style home had been impaled through its center by a large oak and sustained other damage to the roof, garage and interior during the storm. On Saturday, volunteers from the nonprofit agency that restores homes for low-income owners, plus a busload of helpers from the Greater Springfield YMCA and Springfield College helped gut Culp's kitchen and bathroom while some clambered onto the roof of her garage to repair that.

"It is something to see these young people come out; these volunteers really, really work," Culp said. "I consider the help a blessing and I will never, ever forget these people."

Culp has undergone five back surgeries and was unable to tackle most of the repairs needed on her own. The charity, founded in 1992, provides free home repairs to veterans, the elderly and disabled, and families in need. This week's project is targeted specifically at homes damaged during the tornado and brought together hundreds of volunteers from TD Bank, Home Depot, Dunkin Donuts and local agencies including the YMCA and area colleges.

"This isn't just a corporate, service-oriented project. We live and work in these communities, so it's really important to help," said Christopher Sompi, of Westfield, a store manager for Home Depot who was heading up an improvement blitz at the Burger home at 55 Loretta St.

The siding, roof and windows had been battered by the tornado. About 75 volunteers from the home improvement giant attacked the repairs, sometimes in a downpour and muddy conditions.

"This is just remarkable," said homeowner Richard L. Burger, who added that the house was originally his grandparents' and the home he was raised in. "The help these people are providing is just God's gift for my wife and I."

Volunteers also repaired homes in other neighborhoods across the city including one at 412 Eastern Avenue that was condemned. The bulk of the work will be complete within a week, but certain repairs that require donated work from contractors overwhelmed with weather-related jobs will be completed later, volunteers said.


State evaluating Agawam High School with eye toward whether it would help community build a new high school

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The original building housing the high school was constructed in 1955.

william sapelli.JPGWilliam P. Sapelli

AGAWAM – The Massachusetts School Building Authority is assessing the condition of Agawam High School in response to a request by city officials that it consider funding construction of a new building.

Representatives of the authority did a site visit at the high school for about two hours Sept. 21 and local officials expect to hear the results of their study within the next week or two, according to interim School Superintendent William P. Sapelli. The request for an assessment was sent on to the state under former School Superintendent Mary A. Czajkowski, who left the district’s employ this summer to take a job on Cape Cod.

ãThe application does not commit you to anything other than applying for funding,” Sapelli said Wednesday.

The city could be eligible for state reimbursement for as much of 57.74 percent of the cost of a building project. Officials do not have any estimates of how much a new building might cost, but West Springfield, which is close population to the city, is building a new high school now estimated at $107 million.

“This is not something we are going to do next year,” Sapelli said. “This would be six years, eight years, 10 years from now. It is not going to be in the immediate future.”

“It is something we will look at, while also watching the economy and being cognizant as to what the town can afford and not afford to do,” Mayor Richard C. Cohen said of the prospect of building a new high school.

Sapelli said the original building currently housing Agawam High School was constructed in 1955 and is older than some of the other high schools in the area that are being replaced with newer buildings.

Wilbraham, East Longmeadow and Longmeadow as well as West Springfield are all building new high schools with financial assistance from the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

The current building is the largest single-story high school in the state, according to school business manager Patricia A. Cavanaugh.

She said having a one-story building presents safety issues because it can take considerable time to get from one end of the structure to the other in the event of an emergency. Also of concern, is the fact that the current building has 48 exterior doors making it hard to monitor who comes into the building, according to Cavanaugh.

A building of two or three stories would allow for putting assistant principals on different floors so they could be closer to the classes they are charged with monitoring, she said. The school’s assistant principals are currently work from the school’s central office. A multi-story structure would also make it easier to keep the various classes closer to students in their own year, Cavanaugh said.

In addition, Cavanaugh said the current building does not meet contemporary needs in areas like special education, especially for the autistic; computer laboratories and early childhood education. Educators would like to move the city’s early childhood center from its quarters in a former Parks and Recreation department building to a new high school building, where students in childhood education could work with them.

Sapelli and Cavanaugh said not having a new facility could leave Agawam at a competitive disadvantage in attracting out-of-district students. They might opt to enroll in a high school in a neighboring community with a newer building with amenities like new science laboratories, they said.

Easthampton City Councilor At-Large Andrea Burns drops bid for re-election

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With her departure, four candidates are running for four at-large seats, making the mayor’s race the only contest in the Nov. 8 election.

andreaburns.JPGView full sizeAndrea H. Burns

EASTHAMPTON – City Councilor At-Large Andrea H. Burns announced this week she will drop her bid for re-election and move to Boston to be closer to her sick mother.

Burns, 42, of Pleasant Street, was vying for a second term. With her departure, four candidates are running for four at-large seats, making the mayor’s race the only contest in the Nov. 8 election.

“Whether I’m right or not, who knows? But I think I am. It’s a total leap of faith,” she said. “My family needs me. ... It’s not dire right now, but it’s a concern.”

City Council President Joseph P. McCoy and Donald L. Cykowski are set to keep their seats. Planning Board member Chester A. Ogulewicz, Jr., and Nathaniel P. Ziegler are positioned to take the spots vacated by Burns and Ronald D. Chateauneuf, who is not seeking re-election.

Burns said Ziegler’s entry made her more comfortable leaving the Council. She said he is a “good, qualified, intelligent person.”

Burns serves on the rules and government relations and ordinance subcommittees, the Easthampton Housing Authority and the Highway District Review Commission.

She is a photographer, writer and farming activist. She moved to Western Massachusetts from Boston at the age of 18 to attend UMass Amherst and has lived in Easthampton for 13 years.

“This has been as much my home as anywhere else,” she said. She still feels torn, but said she would ask to be removed from the ballot immediately.

She wanted to avoid a possible mid-term resignation, which she said would be “messy” and unfair to another candidate who could serve the full term.

But she’s not done with politics. “If possible, I’ll work for the city of Boston or someone I really admire in the Statehouse,” she said.

Some of her proudest moments on the Council, she said, have been promoting local farming and industry, including support of a farm-to-school food program and education about the benefits of buying local goods.

“With my remaining time, I will continue to sing that song,” she said. “I’m excited for the future and the potential Easthampton has.”

Burns has taken some flak from Cykowski, who has said she spent too much time working on non-binding resolutions. In April, she championed a resolution to support a state income tax hike that Cykowski said was a waste of time. But he said his criticism wasn’t personal and he was “surprised” to hear she had left.

“I always liked Andrea,” said Cykowski. “She’s not afraid to ask a question or voice an opinion.”

He said he was disappointed she wasn’t running because Easthampton “never has a good race.”

“My whole goal was to move the city forward,” said Burns. “Government really should be a force for good. ... I poured my heart and soul into it.”

Belchertown and Monson residents honored for work with the Community Preservation Act

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Belchertown Selectman Kenneth Elstein was his town's first chairman of its Community Preservation Committee.

Community Preservation Act 2007.jpgKenneth E. Elstein, who was chairman of the Belchertown Community Preservation Committee when this picture was taken in 2007, points out areas of interest on a map at the town's Scarborough Brook Recreation Area. He was one of a number of people honored at the Statehouse this week for his commitment to the Community Preservation Act.

Leslie Duthie of Monson and Kenneth E. Elstein of Belchertown have been honored for their efforts in their own communities in bringing the state's Community Preservation Act into real projects.

They were among 10 recipients of the 2011 Robert Kuehn Commuity Preservation Awards, which were presented at the Statehouse earlier this week.

Senator Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, said Duthie deserves the award, which comes from the Community Preservation Coalition, a statewide organization that helps cities and towns with their grant programs and advocates for strong state funding of the programs.

Leslie’s Brewer said Duthie's commitment and enthusiasm for the Community Preservation process made her a perfect candidate for the award, which was developed to honor the memory and work of Robert Kuehn, a former Community Preservation Coalition Steering Committee member.

Kuehn was actively involved in the process of drafting and passing the Community Preservation Act

.“Leslie is a friend of mine and a great asset to the community of Monson,” Brewer said. “After the June 1 tornado, I was in Monson, and of course Leslie was there. She was helping out friends and neighbors and was dedicated to rebuilding her home town. Leslie’s spirit and passion are unmatched and she is a deserving recipient of this award.”

State Rep. Brian Ashe, D-Longmeadow, said Duthie's involvement in the town's Community Preservatioin process is typical of her volunteer efforts.

“I can't think of a better recipient for this award. Leslie epitomizes the term community preservation and is always striving to make her community, Monson, a better place to live. I know that Leslie doesn't do any of her volunteer work looking for praise, but it is certainly nice for us to appreciate and recognize her for all that she has done. Leslie is in great company with the other nine recipients state wide and we are in great company with her,” Ashe said.

As an incentive to the communities, the law provides for matching funds from the state to augment each communitiy's fund.

Elstein was the first chairman of the Belchertown Community Preservation Committee, which evaluates all legitimate applications for Community Preservation grants in town, makes recommendations on funding projects to the Town Meeting and oversees the accounts for funding them.

Elstein resigned from his seat on the Community Preservation Committee two years ago when he was elected to the Board of Selectmen. He is now chairman of the Board of Selectmen.

In his position on the Board of Selectmen and in his past role on the Community Preservation Committee, Elstein was an advocate of strengthening this state program and he has fought against reductions in the state funding for the communities' projects.

Other recipients of this year's Kuehn awards are Jack Brown, Harwich, Rick Burnet, Plympton, Marilee Hunt, Bridgewater, Robert Morse, Chelmsford, Sandra Dahl Ronan, Gloucester, Barbara Schneider, Falmouth, Robert Wagner, Hatfield, and Betty Slade, Westport.

National Guard members from Westfield's 104th Fighter Wing return from Iraq and Afghanistan

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Another about 250 National Guard members are expected to be deployed overseas this spring.

104th fighter wingCol. Robert T. Brooks, 104th Fighter Wing Commander, presents Josiah Mattos, 4, with the "We Serve Too Medal." The medals were given to all the children who's parent served with the 104th Fighter Wing in Afghanistan or Iraq. Josiah's father, Senior Airman Saul Mattos, of Chicopee, served with the 104th Security Forces in Baghdad.

WESTFIELD – For the six months that he was in Afghanistan, Col. Sean Collins worked in a hospital helping the injured and overseeing clinical research to find the best way to treat the wounded.

At the same time Master Sgt. James Parnell, of Holyoke, was in Baghdad, Iraq, providing security and helping train Iraqi soldiers.

During the past year, 28 members of the Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing, stationed at Barnes Regional Airport, have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Saturday they and their families were honored.

At the same time, the wing held a change of command ceremony to welcome three new leaders. Lt. Col. Robert T. Henry took over as Maintenance Group commander, Lt. Col. Charles Wilson took over as head of Logistics Readiness Squadron and Lt. Col. Denise Boyer accepted command of Civil Engineer Squadron.

Col. Robert T. Brooks, commander of the 104th Fighter Wing, welcomed the new leaders, but his focus was on the members who spent time in Afghanistan and Iraq.

After congratulating those who served, he thanked families for their sacrifices, hung “We Serve Too” medals around the necks of the children of the Air National Guard members and posed for photographs with each family.

During his speech he told members to prepare for the next deployment in the spring when an estimated 250 of the 1,000 wing members will be deployed for about three months. For security reasons, Brooks could not reveal the location or mission details.

After the ceremony Collins, of Southwick, said he was called up for the sixth-month deployment because of his work in research. An assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Collins holds a doctorate in clinical research and is a nurse practitioner.

His job was to evaluate care being given and to make sure research protocols were followed.

“They are doing a lot of research on the use of tourniquets,” he said.

He said he was particularly interested in the so-called walking blood bank. Because there is not enough refrigeration to store blood, employees and visitors would give blood that was administered to patients within 20 minutes of it being donated.

Some of the National Guard members deployed alone or in small groups and were assigned to a variety of jobs. The Security Forces took a group of about 20 people to Baghdad for six months, said Parnell, who is a Holyoke police officer in addition to being a master sergeant in the unit.

His deployment returned in August after 181 days in Iraq providing security at Sather Air Base. Members worked with other military units and helped train Iraqi forces.

“They have a great willingness to learn. They want to take over control of their country,” he said.

The deployment went very smoothly. Only one of the 175 of those working with the group was wounded, and he was able to continue with the deployment after treatment.

This was the third deployment for Parnell, but for Senior Airman Saul Mattos, of Chicopee, the Iraq deployment was his first.

“It was a good experience,” he said. “If I did it again, I would know better how to prepare.”

His wife, Jenice Mattos, said it was difficult having her husband gone for six months, especially since the couple has a 4-year-old son.

“I got help from family members and attending church,” she said.


Church occupied by protesters sold in Framingham

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The Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke continues to be occupied.

The Mater Dolorosa Catholic Church closes after 115 yearsHolyoke - Parish members gather for the final Sunday Mass in June at the Mater Dolorosa Church.

BOSTON – The Boston Archdiocese has sold a church building and other properties of a Framingham parish that’s been occupied by protesters since it was closed six years ago.

The archdiocese said Saturday it had sold the properties of St. Jeremiah’s for $2 million to the Syro Malabar diocese, a part of the Eastern Catholic Church.

The archdiocese had previously said it was working on the deal. A Syro Malabar priest has been leading a Sunday Mass at the Framingham church since 2008, after receiving permission from Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley.

St. Jeremiah’s was among several churches parishioners occupied round-the-clock in protest after the archdiocese announced a broad round of parish closings, beginning in 2004. St. Jeremiah’s closed in 2005 and its parishioners lost their final appeal at the Vatican last year.

At the same time protesters continue to occupy the Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke, despite the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese Officials urging them to leave because of concerns about the condition of the steeple.

Protesters say they do not plan to leave at least until their last appeals are heard. They dispute the claims about structural problems with the steeple, saying an engineer they hired saw no major problems.

Last week the Council of the Churches at the Vatican upheld Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell’s decision to close the church. The protesters plan to ask for a reconsideration and, if denied, will appeal to the Apostolic Signatura.

Big E's Wayne McCary lives out his dream as president of the Eastern States Exposition

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This marks McCary's 35th year of service to the exposition, the past 20 as president and chief executive officer.

WAYNEMCCARY.JPGG. Wayne McCary is marking his 20th year as president and chief executive officer of the Eastern States Exposition.


The intricately-carved carousel horse in his office is a major give-away.

So, too, are the vintage Cole Bros. Circus poster framed on one wall, the elephant lamp, the shelves of books about the history of the circus and the plastic bag filled with Bello Nock clown dolls that sits near his desk.

G. Wayne McCary loves the circus. Really loves the circus.

“At some time in your life, I think everyone feels like running away to join the circus,” McCary says. “Not everybody gets to fulfill that dream. I really have.”

He caught the circus bug in childhood. As a real-life kid of the 1950s, McCary would help tear down the merry-go-round for New England’s popular Coleman Brothers traveling carnival as it made its way through Connecticut.

Fresh out of college, he was booking circus and entertainment acts up and down the East Coast for a Boston talent agency.

Today, McCary is living out a dream-come-true job as he marks 35 years of service to the Eastern States Exposition, the last 20 of which have been as president and chief executive officer. It’s a job which has taken him from the White House to the royal palace of Monaco; he’s a hall-of-famer for state, regional and international associations in the fair industry; and he’s producing shows that now feature a second generation of circus stars he’s booked over the years.

McCary is just the sixth CEO of the exposition, an enterprise which has annual revenues approaching $20 million and pumps nearly $225 million into the region’s economy each year, according to an independent survey of the fair’s economic impact.

Gallery preview

The exposition is a non-profit organization established in 1916; its federal stax records show it “provides year-round opportunities for the development and promotion of agriculture, education, industry and family entertainment.” The exposition gives 1 percent of its revenues annually – last year the amount was about $184,000 – to a trust fund established under McCary’s guidance in 1994 to aid local charities.

In 2010, the exposition’s gross revenues were $18,460,049; McCary, who earns a base salary of about $400,000, oversees a staff of 1,000 (along with another 1,000 who volunteer and 2,500 who work for vendors and concessionaires).

Save for a short stint as director of the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine, in the mid-1980s, McCary has been helping the nearly century old exposition transform and shape itself into 21st century organization, holding firm to its agricultural and educational roots at the same time it stays relevant to new generations.

“The Big E’s never been just a job; it’s a passion,” McCary shared recently in the midst of his – and the exposition’s – busiest month of the year. “The greatest thing in life is to do something you have a passion for; if you have that, everything else will follow.”

Follow McCary on any given day during the 17-day run of “New England’s Great State Fair,” and you find a man who walks the walk and talks the talk of the Big E with every pace and every breath.

Ask many of those who work at the fair, and you learn McCary’s management style is all about teamwork. “Never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself,” he says as he bends down to scoop up a wayward plastic fork from a fairgoer’s lunch.

Big E cream puffsRay Billie shows off a Big E Cream Puff and Big E-clair.
“I think he’s absolutely the best. He is pro people,” says Ray Billie, a bit of a legend in the fair business himself and co-creator with his wife, Dolores, and McCary of the Big E Cream Puff, the exposition’s signature food item that has sold like hot cakes since its 2002 debut. “(Wayne McCary) is why we’re here for almost 40 years. It doesn’t get any better.”

For his part, McCary shares credit for every Big E success with those who back him up. “No one person could ever achieve this experience on their own,” he said, a sentiment he repeats numerous times over the course of more than six hours spent tracking his day. “It may sound corny, but I can’t tell you how much the people here mean to me.”

His appreciation extends into his personal life as McCary refers to his wife of 33 years, Annette, as “the rock.” “She’s accomplished much in her own pursuits, but I’m so fortunate to have her in my life. She’s always made it possible for me to fulfill my dreams.”

For the duration of the fair, McCary generally hits the hay at 1 each morning, averages five hours’ sleep and is back on the fairgrounds no later than 8 a.m.

From the time he entered the Connecticut Building as “Connecticut Day” dawned during the fair’s first week, he was saying hello to old friends and making new ones.

MCCARYMALLOY.JPG Big E president and CEO Wayne McCary greets Gov. Dannel Malloy on Connecticut Day.

Allyn Brown III, of Preston, Conn., whose family farm operates “A Currant Affair,” a play on the black currant products it produces, is a second-generation fair trustee. “My father sends his best,” Brown tells McCary, shaking hands and exchanging encouraging words about the positive runoff the Big E has had on agricultural endeavors south of the Massachusetts border.


Robert Pellegrino, of Enfield, has been coming to the Big E on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Agriculture for more than 30 years. He calls McCary an “outstanding gentleman,” joking that he “came with the woodwork, just like me.” On a serious note, Pellegrino says, McCary has earned the respect of many like him because of the way he does business.

“It’s just the way he handles things and people,” Pellegrino said. “You talk to him, and you can relate to him, and him to you.”

McCary cautions the operator of more than one booth he passes – including J. Foster's Ice Cream where he stops to taste maple-and-bacon ice cream (“It’s good, as long as you can get your mind around it.”) – that by the time the noon hour arrives, “you won’t be able to move in here.”

Indeed, Connecticut Day regularly records the largest numbers of visitors for any weekday at the fair, and the state accounts for 45 percent of the Big E’s more than 1 million visitors.

McCary’s fan club from Connecticut includes Eleanor Gosse, of Fairfield, one of the 19 members of the exposition’s board of directors and, technically, one of his bosses. “What he’s done with this organization in 35 years is remarkable” said Gosse. “He is good in so many facets. He’s good in entertainment; it crosses over so many parts of the organization.”

As he nears 70, McCary can’t imagine any other path for his life to have taken; mention the concept of retirement, and the stream of conversation does an immediate about-face – it halts. After a pause, he says, “There’s a season for everything in life, and when it’s time, I’ll be ready to turn it over.”

The chairman of the exposition board, Donald R. Chase, acknowledges there is a succession plan that’s been reviewed in the event a retirement does come, but no decisions have yet been made for the future at the fair. In the meantime, the business of the day is all about McCary, whose role in the Big E of past, present and future, “is immeasurable,” Chase said.

“Wayne McCary is probably the finest and best fair man in North America. He’s a brilliant, all-around manager. He lives and breathes the fair business,” said Chase, a past president of Westbank who’s now a “gentleman farmer,” chairs the board of Nuvo Bank & Trust and is at the fair each and every day to represent its board of overseers.

Chase said McCary has worked tirelessly to ensure the exposition’s agricultural and educational heritage isn't lost as the fair transitions into a new century. The living-history museum at Storrowton Village, the showing of sheep, oxen pulls and horse shows remain just as much of a draw as the entertainment venues and the midway, Chase said.

“I don’t think there’s any part of the fair he hasn’t touched,” Chase said of McCary. “The physical plant is second to none.”

MCCARY_ORGAN.JPGG. Wayne McCary, president of the Eastern States Exposition is shown here in 2002 with Donald Stinson, who built the circus organ to McCary's design for the exposition.

The McCary touches are obvious everywhere on the 175 acres that make up the fairgrounds. From the circus organ he helped design that was crafted especially for the Big E to the brand-new $2 million equestrian center which opened just in time for this year’s fair, the innovations and additions come in all shapes and sizes.


It’s no accident, by the way, that the Big E is the only fair in the nation to have its own circus. Yes, it’s by McCary design, too, and comes thanks in large part to a relationship he’s groomed over several decades with the Hanneford circus family who still provide the equipment and personnel for the Big E’s big top.

McCary remains “the orchestra leader, if you will,” producing the show with acts that he hand-picks from around the globe each year.

MCCARYNOCK.JPGBig E president and CEO Wayne McCary talks with circus performer Bello Nock about possible changes to his routine at the Big E Super Circus.

Bello Nock, the 42-year-old daredevil clown who’s headlining this year’s circus, has known McCary for much of his life. “I’ve known him forever; if there was ever a man with a reputation for treating performers the best they can be, it’s Wayne McCary,” Nock said. “Wayne is a man of few words, but a lot of actions.”


As he makes his daily rounds of the fairgrounds, McCary takes mental notes from each conversation he has; when the team at the “Lost People” booth suggest some arrangements would help for the disposal of insulin needles by visitors who have diabetes, he assured them he’d take it to his staff.

McCary, Chase and other leaders are keenly aware there are critics out there at every turn, though. No business like theirs is immune, but they take it all in stride.

Too much country music in the entertainment lineup? “We’ve found it fits our demographic,” McCary explained; this year’s Blake Shelton concert was a sellout and the closing act on the final day, Reba, was headed to a full house.

Did you get caught in traffic on the way in and arrived only to face coping with a cranky, crying child? “Someone’s at the gate telling them they can still make the circus. We’ve made the culture here people-friendly,” McCary said. “Every individual who comes here deserves our full attention.”

Do you think the exposition doesn’t do enough for the community? West Springfield Mayor Edward Gibson is perhaps best situated to be a fair judge of that one, and he says the exposition, without exception, lives up to being a good – and important – neighbor within the West Springfield community.

Gibson.jpgEdward J. Gibson
“I think Wayne McCary is absolutely a fantastic person. In my dealings with him over the past 11 years, he’s always been fair. He definitely wants to advance the fair and make it better while at the same time he also understands role (which) the fair plays in West Springfield and what it means to the region’s economy,” Gibson said. “Any time I’ve had concerns on behalf of our town, he’s willing to listen, look into in and it’s always address.”


“There are critics who say the exposition should pay more taxes; even though they have agricultural exemptions, they remain in our top 10 taxpayers. If you look at the spin-off from the fair, (the economic impact) is enormous in the region,” Gibson said.

West Springfield annually adds $650,000 to $700,000 to its municipal coffers from hotel and motel taxes, and according to the mayor, “We wouldn’t get nearly that amount if we didn’t have the Big E here.”


At the end of the day, for McCary, it’s all about customer service and ensuring every single one of the more than 1 million people who come through his door go home satisfied.

“I’m a big believer that if everything isn’t 100 percent, we correct it. I’m not waiting until next year,” he said. That means right down to ensuring the chrysanthemum that got trampled at 5 o’clock in the afternoon is replaced by the next morning. “I want to make sure everything is the same on the 17th day (of the fair) as it is on Day 1.”

And, he adds, “Our responsibility is to make sure we provide quality memories.”

Civil War: October 1861 finds a nation and Springfield divided over slavery

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The Republican had to decide between the tentative course Lincoln had taken on slavery, to appease the border states and let them keep their slaves if they remained loyal to the Union, or follow the growing chorus of radical Republicans calling for emancipation.

civil war slave-stampede.jpg1861 illustration from Harper's Weekly of a slave stampede to Fortress Monroe Va. to seek protection from Union troops.

The Republican Party eventually became known as the party of Lincoln, but in Springfield, in October of 1861, The Republican was certainly the newspaper of Abraham Lincoln.

Samuel Bowles, editor of the newspaper, helped found the party in 1855, backed its first candidate for president in 1856, Gen. John Charles Fremont, and was instrumental in support of Lincoln in the election of 1860. Bowles’ close friend, Springfield Congressman George Ashmun, was chairman of the convention that nominated Lincoln and he and Bowles were part of the group that delivered the news to the future president at his Illinois home.

Springfield & The Civil War

We at The Republican are launching a four-year project to tell the story of how our community coped with 48 months of war, from April of 1861 to April of 1865.

On the first Sunday of each month we will run a report of what was happening here 150 years ago during that month.

by Wayne Phaneuf, Executive Editor

Part 1 -- The Civil War is upon us: The events of April 1861 changed Springfield and the nation forever

Part 2 -- A call to arms: President Lincoln upgraded call for troops in second month of Civil War

Part 3 -- Boom Town: Springfield becomes vital to the Civil War effort

Part 4 -- The Springfield Republican recounts 'Saddest day this country ever saw'

Part 5 -- John Brown's spirit marches with Union soldiers

Part 6 -- Springfield Armory fuels the remaking of a city

Introducing the project

The newspaper supported the president through the months leading up to the war, the fall of Fort Sumter in April and the terrible defeat at Bull Run in July. In October, The Republican had to decide between the tentative course Lincoln had taken on slavery, which was to appease the border states and let them keep their slaves if they remained loyal to the Union, or follow the growing chorus of radical Republicans calling for emancipation.

Two Union generals had already tested Lincoln’s patience on the issue, Benjamin Butler of Massachusetts in the Virginia area and John C. Fremont commanding the federal troops in Missouri. The same Fremont who was the Republican candidate in 1856.

In May of 1861 Butler refused to send three fugitives back into the bonds of slavery and classified them as “contraband of war.” This term meant that once the fleeing slaves crossed Union Army lines, they were classified as property. All enemy property that fell into Union hands constituted contraband and would not be returned. A federal policy was instituted on August 6, 1861 – fugitive slaves were declared to be “contraband of war” if their labor had been used to aid the Confederacy in anyway. If found to be contraband, they were declared free.

In late August of 1861, Harper’s Weekly ran an illustration entitled “Slave Stampede” which showed hundreds of blacks fleeing slavery in Hampton, Va., and heading for Fort Monroe and Butler’s protection.

On August, 30, 1861, Fremont proclaimed that all slaves owned by Confederates in Missouri were free. A furious Lincoln feared that Fremont’s proclamation would force slave-owners in border states to join the Confederate forces. He asked Fremont to modify his order and free only slaves owned by Missourians who sided with the rebels. Fremont said, “it would imply that I myself thought it wrong and that I had acted without reflection which the gravity of the point demanded.” He refused Lincoln’s request.

Civil War Fremont.jpgGeneral John C. Fremont

The debate landed on the pages of The Republican which had a history of anti-slavery the reached back to its beginnings in 1824. On Oct. 2, 1861, The Republican ran a lengthy commentary under the headline: “Shall It be a War of Emancipation.”

The newspaper cautioned against “rashly” accepting the abolition of slavery as the main reason for the war.

“If we adopt it the war is no longer a war for the constitution and the Union...It throws Missouri, Maryland and Kentucky into the hands of the rebels. Are we ready to complicate our national difficulty by this radical and revolutionary measure?”

The words and reasoning could have been formulated by Lincoln himself.

Inauguration Historical Accounts Lincoln.jpgAbraham Lincoln after his first inauguration.

Despite the newspaper’s backing of the president’s policy, it ran a lengthy article and a copy of the speech given by Sen. Charles Sumner at the Massachusetts Republican Convention in Worcester. It was an impassioned plea for turning the war into a fight against slavery and backed the efforts of Generals Fremont and Butler.

Sumner asked for a vote of the convention to support his contention. The newspaper was quick to point out that the delegates voted with the president’s line of thinking.

The great debate over slavery would continue as the war progressed but it was not going to be solved in these early months that were still being spent building up arms and armies. The 10th Massachusetts Regiment composed of Springfield area troops was already at the front outside Washington and the 27th Massachusetts had established “Camp Reed” on the road to Wilbraham about a mile from the Armory (across the road from the present site of American International College). Nearly 1,000 men had pitched their tents and were awaiting word to march off to war.

Hardly a day went by when there wasn’t a story in The Republican of well-wishers holding ceremonies in which individual soldiers were presented swords from the Ames Company, or pistols from Smith & Wesson, or even horses.

The Springfield Armory was hiring and churning out thousands of rifled muskets. An item in the newspaper said the government had paid the monthly wages at the arsenal which amounted to $50,000 in gold.

October started out unseasonably warm. It wasn’t until the 20th of the month that “Jack Frost” made his first appearance, which was the latest in 80 years of keeping records. The year before, the first frost had been on Sept. 20th.

Civil War Butler.jpgCivil War General Benjamin Butler

The fair season was winding down as the city hosted the Hampden County Agricultural Fair, the biggest of the season, at Hampden Park, which had been the site of the rendezvous for the 10th Massachusetts boys. The presence of the fair at Hampden Park was probably the reason a new encampment had been set up on the outskirts of the city.

The finishing touches were being put on the magnificent Catholic church on State Street. The Republican reported, “two new frescoes have been completed this past week on the ceiling. The easterly one represents St. Michael driving Satan from Heaven and the one on the west is Christ blessing little children...”

Not all of the war effort consisted of soldiering or gunsmith work, there were bills to be paid and the citizens of Springfield were being asked to help out by buying United States Treasury Notes. Local banks were advertising over $200,000 of the notes paying “7 3-10ths” interest were available.

On October 15, Pearson & Co’s Grand Mirror on the War, began a five-day engagement at City Hall. Thousands would attend the performances that included huge murals of the Battles of Bull Run, and Great Bethel. A late entry was the storming and fall of Fort Hateras, complete with light flashes and sound effects. The battle was led by Gen. Benjamin Butler, a frequent visitor to Springfield.

On October 22, news arrived in The Republican from Virginia of the horrific battle of Ball’s Bluff in which hundreds of soldiers, many from Massachusetts, were either killed or taken prisoner. General Edward D. Baker, the Union commander and a sitting U.S. senator from Oregon, was killed in the battle. He was the only senator killed in the Civil War. He was also a close personal friend of President Lincoln.

civil war baker.jpgDeath of Col. Baker at Ball's Bluff

Rumors had been swirling for weeks about a massive naval expedition, but it wasn’t until Oct. 31 that it was confirmed that a huge fleet of 50 ships had sailed from Fortress Monroe in Virginia the day before. Speculation was rampant, but the fleet’s destination was not known.

And in Springfield, after weeks of delays and false starts, the 27th Massachusetts under the command of former city clerk Horace C. Lee would be leaving the city in two days to began an odyssey of war to such places as Roanoke Island, Newbern, Andersonville, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. Of the nearly 1,500 men who would serve from 1861-1865 in this regiment, 401 never returned home.

How Holyoke voted: Results by precinct from the preliminary election for mayor

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Incumbent Elaine Pluta grabbed the highest vote total in 8 of the city's 14 precincts; Alex Morse fared well in precincts with high voter turnout.

how-holyoke-voted-layers.jpgView full size

The number most people will remember from Holyoke's September 20 preliminary election is: 1.

That was the slim margin by which upstart mayoral candidate Alex B. Morse edged incumbent mayor Elaine A. Pluta to become the contest's top vote-getter. Morse posted a tally of 2,023 votes to Pluta's 2,022, and the two will face off in the general election on November 8.

Candidates Daniel C. Boyle and Daniel C. Burns did not earn enough votes to advance to the general election.

But while the number 1 may be the most memorable digit from the preliminary, a slew of additional numbers -- the returns from each of the city's 14 precincts -- offer a closer look at how Holyoke voted.


Number of votes, by precinct

On a very visual level, the map at right displays where Morse and Pluta each made their strongest showings. The shades on the map (blue for Pluta, green for Morse) show a candidate's "margin of victory" in each precinct -- from under 10% (lightest shade) to 10-20% (medium shade) to over 20% (darkest shade).

Pluta was the top vote-getter in 8 of the city's 14 precincts, earning more votes than Morse in the city's southeastern voting districts. She posted the highest vote counts of all four candidates in both precincts of wards 1-3, as well as in precincts 4A and 5B.

Pluta's most solid support came from precinct 2A, where she won 66.03% of the vote, taking 138 of 209 votes cast. Precinct 2A also represents Morse's weakest showing -- he tallied just 36 votes for 17.22%.

The city's northern and western precincts belonged to Morse on Sept. 20. Morse took the highest vote total in both precincts of wards 6 and 7, as well as precincts 4B and 5A.

His strongest showing came in precinct 7B, where he grabbed 328 of 657 votes cast, or 50.23%. Pluta took 196 votes here for 30.02% of the vote -- her lowest percentage of all the precincts.

The graphic below shows the exact vote totals for all four candidates for each of the 14 precincts. Click the "click to interact" icon, and then mouse over a bar to reveal the data.


Margins and voter turnout

While Pluta took the majority of the votes in 8 of 14 precincts, Morse did particularly well in precincts where voter turnout was high.

Morse's biggest margin of victory over Pluta (20.21%) came in precinct 7B. Voter turnout there was 37.54% -- the highest in the city, and well above the city-wide turnout of 22.06%. In the precinct with the second-highest turnout -- 7A, at 37.34% -- Morse took 46.8% of the vote and beat Pluta by a margin of 14.94%. In the city's fourth-highest-voting precinct 5A (28.92%), Morse edged Pluta by 6 votes, for a margin of .96%.

Pluta's best showing in a high-voting precinct came in 3B, where turnout was 31.72% -- the city's third-highest turnout. There, she earned 39.14% of the vote to Morse's 32.32%.

Pluta's highest vote percentage -- precinct 2A -- came in a precinct where voter turnout was only 13.5%. In all, 5 of the 8 precincts where Pluta took the most votes saw turnout under 15% -- and two of those precincts failed to climb out of the single digits.

Of the precincts where Morse prevailed, only one -- 4B, at 16.00% -- saw a voter turnout total below 20%.

The graphic below shows the percent of the vote won by Pluta and Morse in each precinct, alongside each precinct's turnout. Click the "click to interact" icon, and then mouse over a bar to reveal the data.


What happened in 2009?

Two years ago, Pluta beat challenger Daniel C. Boyle in the general election to become the city's new mayor. In the city-wide results, Pluta won 59.27% of the vote to Boyle's 40.08%.

As in the most recent vote, Pluta did well in Ward 2 in 2009: she won 67.58% of the vote in precinct 2A and 80.31% of the vote in precinct 2B.

While she won over 50% of the vote in every precinct in 2009, her lowest three vote percentages also came in precincts where Morse earned the highest vote totals in Sept. 2011. In 2009, Pluta won 55.38% of the vote in 7B, 50.38% in 7A, and 51.89% in 5A.



To see the full data set used in the reporting for this post, click here.

Springfield Citizens' Police Academy gives the public a glimpse of what it's like to be a cop

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Ever wonder what it's like to respond to a call involving an armed gunman? Find out from the pros at the free Citizens Police Academy, which begins this Wednesday at Springfield police headquarters.

academy.JPGSpringfield Police Officer Richard Rodriguez, pictured in this 2001 Republican file photo, holds a rifle while talking to citizen police academy participants. The annual Springfield Police Department program, which is free to anyone 18 or older, is designed to help residents better understand the role of law enforcement in their community, and to enhance relations between city residents and the police officers who protect and serve them.

SPRINGFIELD -- Ever wonder what it's like to work the overnight shift in a busy city police department, responding to shooting calls and barroom brawls?

The Springfield Police Department hopes to take the wonder out of police work by satisfying people's curiosity with the 31st installation of the department's free public police academy for citizens.

Beginning this Wednesday and lasting for 10 weeks, the citizens' academy will provide participants with a firsthand glimpse of what it's like to be a cop in the City of Homes. Classes, open to anyone age 18 or older, are held each Wednesday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. at the police station, 130 Pearl St.

Sessions will range from the Police Department's nine separate patrol sectors to its K-9 Unit, Strategic Impact Unit (narcotics and vice crimes), Gang Task Force, Detective Bureau and Internal Investigation Unit. Classes also will include instruction on the use of force, evidence-gathering techniques, crime analysis and crime prevention, among other topics.

Police Sgt. John Delaney said the academy has a proven record of enhancing relations between Springfield citizens and the police officers who protect and serve them.

Kathleen Brown, the department's citizen liaison, said the academy is an opportunity for city residents "to learn the role of the Springfield Police Department in their community."

Anyone interested in attending can apply online or contact Brown at kbrown@springfieldpolice.net. She may also be reached by phone at (413) 787-6359.

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