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Massachusetts tornado relief to benefit from pipe and drum bands concert hosted by Shriners

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Participating in the event will be some 11 pipe and drum bands from New England, including one that recently earned fifth place in an international competition in Scotland.

053011 holyoke caledonians.JPGMembers of the Caledonian Pipe Band play the bagpipes during this year's Memorial Day ceremony in Holyoke. The band is among 11 that will participate in the Shriners' Melha Highlanders Pipe and Drum Band concert to benefit Massachusetts tornado relief.

WEST SPRINGFIELD - They’ll be piping and drumming and raising money for cities and towns still reeling from the devastation of the June 1 tornadoes.

The Shriners’ Melha Highlanders Pipe and Drum Band will host a tornado relief concert at the Eastern States Exposition Coliseum on Oct. 16.

“We’re trying to present a concert that will bring a lot of happiness and joy to the people there and ultimately to the people who are benefiting from what we’re doing,” said Allen G. Zippin, a concert committee member who is an active member of the Shriners.

All proceeds from the concert will be deposited in an account at Chicopee Savings Bank and distributed equitably to communities in need.

Zippin said concert organizers will work with officials from municipalities in the path of the tornadoes to plan the distribution of the funds. “We really want the money to be dedicated and designated to be used for something specific that is needed,” Zippin said, like trees or helping rebuild homes.

Participating in the event will be some 11 pipe and drum bands from New England, including one that recently earned fifth place in an international competition in Scotland. The event also will include choral music.

“We want this to be a fun event but also one that is very dignified and respectful of the Celtic culture,” Zippin said.

Scheduled to perform are: the Melha Highlanders and Melha Drum Corp, the Holyoke Caledonians, the Springfield Kiltie Band, the Quaboag Highlanders, Celtic Thunder, Manchester Regional Police and Fire Pipe Band, the Stuart Highlanders, the Worcester Kiltie Pipes and Drums, the Pyramid Pipe Band, the Cabeys and the Around Town Singers.

Richard J. MacGregor, drum major for the Melha Highlanders, said members of the pipe and drum bands are “a unique group who always are ready to support anybody who needs it.”

The bands and singing groups are donating their time, and the Big E is donating materials and time to support the effort.

MacGregor said at some point during the show, there will be 200 to 300 pipers and drummers on stage at once.

During the opening ceremony, 11-year-old Bella Hastings, of East Longmeadow, will sing the National Anthem.

“When she was nine, she sang it at the Shriners Circus in West Springfield, and oh, what a voice!” MacGregor said. “She has a fantastic voice.”


West Springfield seeking emergency responders for natural disasters

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Anyone who wants to learn how they can help when a tornado or other natural disaster hits the region is invited to attend an Oct. 25 information forum on West Springfield's Medical Reserve Corps.

060811 west springfield tornado aerial.JPGWest Springfield's tornado-damaged Union Street is shown from above one week after a June 1 tornado ripped through the region, carving a path of destruction through West Side, Springfield and numerous other local communities. West Springfield is hosting an Oct. 25 public information forum about how to help out when such natural disasters strike.

WEST SPRINGFIELD -- The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) of West Springfield is looking for new volunteers with medical and non-medical backgrounds to join the town's emergency response team.

Mary Allen, the town's public health nurse and MRC coordinator, has extended an invitation to anyone interested in joining or learning more about the West Side response team to attend an upcoming Oct. 25 information forum at the West Springfield Municipal Office Building, 26 Central St.

The forum will be conducted by Elms College nursing students from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Justin Morgan Auditorium inside the municipal building.

Established in 2002, the national MRC program was spawned by the need for trained supplemental medical and public health personnel to assist with emergency operations in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In 2007, the West Springfield Health Department partnered with public safety, law enforcement and other community organizations to create the local MRC chapter, whose mission is to "improve the health and safety of the community by organizing and utilizing public health, medical, and other non-medical volunteers."

The MRC trains people to work in emergency-preparedness teams to tackle such events as the June 1 tornado and other recent weather events in western Massachusetts.

Allen has more information at (413) 263-3206 or mallen@west-springfield.ma.us. More information on the region's MRC is available at www.wmmrc.org.

'Pink Mass' honoring breast cancer awareness to be held at St. Michael's Cathedral

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A special Roman Catholic Mass for cancer patients and survivors and their friends and family will be held in Springfield today, Saturday, Oct. 8, at 4 p.m. at St. Michael's Cathedral, 260 State St.

SPRINGFIELD -- A first-ever "Pink Mass" for cancer patients and survivors and their family and friends will be celebrated today, Saturday, Oct. 8, at 4 p.m. at St. Michael's Cathedral, 260 State St., according to Mark Dupont, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.

The Mass immediately will be followed by a “Survivor’s Celebration of Hope” benefit dinner at 6 p.m. the Springfield Elks Club, 440 Tiffany St. The cost of the dinner is $20, or $5 for children, with proceeds benefiting various local cancer treatment facilities and support services.

Dupont said the Mass will be taped and broadcast Sunday morning on the Chalice of Salvation program on WWLP.

The idea for the Mass came from a local group, the Celebration of Hope of Western Mass Committee, which is made up of more than a dozen people affected by cancer in some way.

Casinos could pilfer Massachusetts Lottery revenues, and legislators seek to protect lottery aid to communities

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The casino bill includes provisions to protect local aid if the aid falls after casinos are built.

lottery tickets.jpgMassachusetts Lottery scratch tickets. Despite numerous studies on the issue, no one knows for sure how much in lottery sales will be siphoned by casinos and slot machines, Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said.

BOSTON – Most cities and towns are unlikely to see any gains in state aid from casinos because the planned gambling resorts are expected to take sales from the state Lottery, according to a leading analyst.

The 40-year-old state Lottery is a major cash source for cities and towns. It is expected to return about $900 million in unrestricted aid this fiscal year to communities, about all the profits from around $4.5 billion in annual lottery sales.

A casino bill would authorize three resort casinos in different regions including one for Western Massachusetts and a separate slot operation that could be anywhere. The state House of Representatives approved a casino bill last month and the state Senate is set to resume debate on its bill on Tuesday.

The bill imposes a 25 percent tax on gaming revenues at casinos and 40 percent tax on sales at the slot parlor.

michael widmerMichael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation

The taxes could generate $100 million in annual local aid, but that would possibly be only enough to prevent a decrease in state aid that would result from declining sales at the Lottery, said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Despite numerous studies on the issue, no one knows for sure how much in lottery sales will be siphoned by casinos and slot machines, Widmer said.

Cities and towns will see “no bonanza” from the casinos and maybe “roughly a wash,” Widmer said, referring to a study on casino revenues by his organization.

“I don't think in reality there will be much in additional revenues for cities and towns,” Widmer said. “It’s not a significant infusion of new dollars.”

The taxpayers foundation is neither for nor against casinos.

The casino bill goes to great lengths to mitigate any possible losses to local aid, said Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat who is a co-chairman of a legislative committee that approved the legislation.

The bill itself says it is “imperative” to enhance the lottery and continue the state’s dedication to local aid.

“There is going to be a net gain in communities to local aid,” Wagner said.

Joseph Wagner 2010.jpgRep. Joseph F. Wagner

Casino backers said the biggest benefit from expanded gambling would be jobs – some 15,000 new construction and permanent jobs estimated by the House speaker.

“I would like more local aid, but the jobs are much needed right now,” said Chicopee Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette.

Communities that host casinos would also receive millions of new dollars from property taxes, as well as hotel and restaurant taxes, Bissonnette said.

Geoffrey C. Beckwith , executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, said officials are “reasonably confident” that casino and slot tax revenues would be adequate to offset any decline in state aid from the Lottery. The bill provides a framework, but no detailed predictions on local aid, he said.

“There have been no definitive estimates of what revenues to communities will be,” Beckwith said.

Some critics question the logic of casinos if state aid to communities would remain virtually the same. West Springfield Mayor Edward J. Gibson said local aid from the lottery is critical to cities and towns because it comes with no restrictions and can be used to finance services such as police, fire and public works. “It shouldn't be just a wash,” Gibson said. “What’s the sense?”

The impact on the lottery is only one significant way that casinos would affect municipal governments. As they debate on the bill, legislators are also considering how much to tap from casino revenues to provide for host and surrounding communities to deal with traffic, crime and other possible effects of expanded gambling.

The bill also calls for referendums in communities where casinos would locate, but just the host ward would vote in cities with a population more than 125,000, those being Boston, Springfield and Worcester. A local senator, backed by the Springfield mayor, has submitted an amendment that would push the population threshold higher and require a city-wide vote in Springfield and only ward votes in Boston and Worcester.

101310 steve grossmanTreasurer Steven Grossman

Treasurer Steven Grossman said it’s speculative, but he believes three casino resorts and a slot parlor would generate a net increase in state aid to cities and towns.

“I'm a little more optimistic,” said Grossman, who oversees the lottery. “I think there will be some positive impact.”

Supporters of casinos have pointed to the Lottery’s recent slow growth in sales. Sales for the fiscal year that ended June 30 were $4.427 billion, up slightly from $4.423 billion the prior year.

Grossman said lottery sales jumped by 3.5 to 4 percent for the first quarter of the current fiscal year, based on the strength of instant scratch games.

According to Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, a Barre Democrat and chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, three casinos and a slot parlor would generate about enough gross sales to provide in the vicinity of $400 million in new tax revenues each year for the state. The casino bill would send 25 percent to local aid, or about $100 million.

Wagner pointed out that the bill includes language that would use a certain amount of gaming tax revenues for local aid if local aid drops from a prior year, but doesn't guarantee to completely fill any gap. The bill also earmarks about $14 million for local aid from $280 million in licensing fees from the casinos and slot parlor, according to an analysis from Sen. Michael R. Knapik, a Westfield Republican.

A 2007 report by the taxpayers foundation examined lottery sales and profits and concluded that $144 million in gaming tax revenues would be needed to mitigate losses from the lottery. That report was based on Gov. Deval L. Patrick’s failed 2007 bill to approve three casino resorts.

The foundation’s report noted that different studies provide different estimates for sales losses from the Lottery once casinos are up and running. The Patrick administration estimated that casinos could cause lottery revenues to decline up to 4 percent during each of the first three to five years of operation. A 2006 study by a panel of the state House of Representatives estimated a potential lottery decline of 15 percent through the casinos’ first two years.

A study for the Massachusetts Senate last year, completed by the Innovation Group of Littleton, Colo., said that sales at lotteries in other states declined in the first full year of operation of new casinos but rebounded one to two years later.

The casino bill includes a labyrinth of ways to spend casino revenues, a maze of earmarks called “a shadow budget,” by Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr of Gloucester. After 25 percent of casino tax dollars is carved out for local aid, the rest of the money goes to about 10 different programs including tourism, transportation projects, debt reduction, mitigation for communities, local capital projects and a fund to treat problem gamblers.

All the money raised from the 40 percent tax on the slot parlor would go to local aid.

The license for the slot parlor would not cut sales to the lottery, and would produce “a net positive” for cities and towns, according to Grossman.

Rep. Angelo J. Puppolo, a Springfield Democrat and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said legislators needed to balance competing interests in spreading around casino tax dollars. Because of fierce demands from various organizations and groups, legislators could not direct all the casino tax money to local aid, he said. “Everybody was nipping at us,” Puppolo said.

Rep. Todd M. Smola, a Palmer Republican, said “the $64,000 question” is how casinos would affect local aid. Legislators want casinos to increase local aid, but that is only “pie in the sky speculation” at this point, Smola said.

Belchertown library book sale, open to the public, offers 50,000 items

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For this sale there is a really large selection of Stephen King novels, volunteer Jane Crutchfield said.

2010 clapp library_belchertown.JPGClapp Memorial Library in Belchertown.

BELCHERTOWN – The Friends of Clapp Memorial Library book sale will be open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, and organizers say this is a time to find books and bargains while helping the library run its programs.

Jane Crutchfield, who has been a volunteer on these book sales going back 20 years, said there will be 50,000 items for sale, arranged in a wide variety of categories.

The sales are held twice a year, and volunteers work on them the entire year.

“For this sale, we have a lot of books on writing that are shelved in the how-to section. We also have a lot of books on pirates and a lot of text books, not brand new, but not real old either,” she said.

The volunteers do not know what titles will be coming in heavier than others until they arrive. For this sale, Crutchfield said, there is a really large selection of Stephen King novels.

Donations come from a 50-mile radius, and the customers come from throughout New England and New York.

Peter Gariepy of New York said he was impressed enough with the sale that when he visits his sister in Belchertown he often schedules the trip to coincide with the sale.

“I know exactly where to go to find art and design books I use to teach my courses,“ Gariepy said. “The Friends post special books on their website and I’ve had my sister pick some of these books up for me when I’m unable to make it out for a visit.”

This fund-raising event started two decades ago with just a few hundred items, but it has grown to the point where the entire basement of Clapp Memorial Library is full of shelved books in sections and categories.

“We are like a bookstore, a complete bookstore,” Crutchfield said. “We have been called the Filene’s Basement of book sales.”

There will be a members-only opening night, Monday, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and memberships are available at the door.

The sale is open to the public Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There is a 25 percent discount for senior citizens on Friday, and on Saturday most items are half-price.

The proceeds are used for programs, such as the children’s summer reading program, and for equipment and furniture that the library needs that are not funded in the town budget.

AM News Links: The high cost of clean air in Massachusetts, crack pipes for sale at Boston bodegas, and more

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A West Hartford office manager winds up in the slammer after stealing a half-million bucks, the FBI searches a Kansas landfill for a missing baby, and more of today's headlines.

sky plane.jpgJan Collmer flies his FINA Extra 300L during the CAF Airsho's Special Show for Special People and Jr. Aces on Friday at the Midland International Airport. About 1,000 people were in attendance for the show in Midland, TX.

NOTE: Users of modern browsers can open each link in a new tab by holding 'control' ('command' on a Mac) and clicking each link.

Greenfield resident Peter Miller works to keep town free of litter

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Greenfield resident Peter Miller began picking up trash along town streets, particularly Federal Street, about five years ago.

By ANITA PHILLIPS, The Recorder

GREENFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Greenfield resident Peter Miller began picking up trash along town streets, particularly Federal Street, about five years ago.

"It was a way to get some exercise," said the 73-year-old local historian and ephemera collector.

"I actually started picking up trash at the Middle School when the renovations were first finished," said Miller.

"It was a mess there."

Miller said after that, he began walking to Friendly's ice cream shop on Federal Street for breakfast each morning.

"I'd bring a bag with me and pick up trash along the street," he said. "Then I noticed that Shattuck Park needed some work, so I'd go in there.

"Friendly's would let me dump the bags in its trash barrels outside, and I'd take the recyclables home with me."

Miller said he switched to Brad's Place on Main Street for breakfast about two years ago, so he started cleaning up the southern end of Federal Street.

"I also go up to Poet's Seat Tower on a regular basis," he said.

Miller said over time he has picked up a wide variety of items, including a warm, uneaten hamburger, full cans of beer, an unopened pint of vodka, clothes, tools and even money.

"I haven't gotten rich or anything," he laughed.

Miller said he has collected hundreds of bags of trash over the years, but said he won't pick up trash on Main Street.

"That's crazy there's just too much there," he said.

"Once in a while, I pick up trash on the Town Common or in Veterans Mall or on Fiske Avenue. You see a rubbish basket and trash on the ground just two feet away. It's awful."

Miller thinks the town should contact the Honor Court and work out a way for participants to pick up trash along Main Street two to three times a week.

He said he's not alone in his desire to see the town a little cleaner. He's seen other people in town picking up trash as they walk along town streets.

In early August, Mayor William Martin took the first steps toward a crackdown on people who throw their trash on Greenfield streets. "The town has begun a review of the town ordinances that deal with litter, graffiti, posting notices on town property and skateboarding on town sidewalks," he said then.

"Our lawyer is looking at whether the ones we have right now are enforceable. The ones that aren't will be rewritten and the ones that are will begin being enforced."

Martin said the town will start looking at what the penalties will be for those who do not abide by town rules. "We have to do something, because this is getting out of control," he said.

Sandra Shields, the town's director of public works, said littering, especially on Main Street, is at an all-time high. She said it is the worst she's seen in more than a decade, with the last two years being especially bad.

Shields said it costs the town between $800 and $1,200 every four weeks to sweep Main Street.

She said the DPW used to sweep the entire town once a year and sweep the downtown after special events, but now has to sweep Main Street about once a month.

Shields and the mayor speculate that littering has gotten so bad because of unemployment and people "hanging out" on Greenfield streets.

Over the past two years, the unemployment rate in Greenfield and the surrounding area has stayed at about 8.6 percent, according to statistics provided by the Hampshire Franklin Career Center.

Shields said the town budgets $60,000 a year for street sweeping and spends about $45,000 for the once-a-year town sweep. The rest is spent on monthly maintenance.

Shields said Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan sends jail inmates on a regular basis to pick up litter on the streets of Greenfield and another community service group does the same with its participants.

Nonetheless, "We just can't seem to keep up," she said.

Shields said fast food wrappers, coffee cups, cigarette butts and packages and losing scratch tickets seem to be the "litter of the day."

She said the town's parks are also littered, but not as bad as its streets.

She said there are 20 to 30 trash receptacles in the downtown area, including along Main Street, in municipal parking lots and along Bank Row and Federal Street.

Shields said the receptacles are emptied daily during the week and on weekends when there is a public event in the downtown.

"The Town Hall custodian goes out every morning and cleans around Town Hall and Veterans Mall," she said.

"Shop owners are responsible for the front of their stores, so the sidewalks downtown are pretty clean, though some shop owners are better than others."

Miller said he has talked with shop owners in the past.

"Some do a great job," he said. "I think they should all be out taking care of the front of their stores. We all have to think about the image of the town.

"A clean town will draw people."

Richard Vitale, friend of former Massachusetts Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, admits breaking state lobbying law

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A close associate of former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi pleaded guilty Friday to state lobbying and campaign finance violations but maintained that he did not intentionally break the law.

Richard Vitale.jpgRichard Vitale, a friend and associate of convicted Massachusetts politician Salvitore DiMassi, pleaded guilty this week to state lobbying and campaign finance violations. (AP File Photo)

By BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — A close associate of former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi pleaded guilty Friday to state lobbying and campaign finance violations but maintained that he did not intentionally break the law.

Richard Vitale, who in June was acquitted in an unrelated federal corruption case involving DiMasi, is accused of failing to register as a lobbyist for ticket brokers trying to change the state's anti-scalping laws, and of making campaign contributions to legislators that exceeded the $200 limit for lobbyists. Prosecutors also said Vitale negotiated an illegal "contingency" fee to be paid by the brokers if the legislation they were seeking was passed.

Vitale pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanor charges in Suffolk Superior Court. His consulting firm, WN Advisors, also pleaded guilty to three lobbying violations.

Vitale, 66, will not serve any jail time but was fined the maximum $32,000 and given two years' probation by Judge Carol Ball. The sentence also prohibits him from lobbying for the next three years. A separate agreement with prosecutors requires him to give up the $60,000 he received from the Massachusetts Association of Ticket Brokers in 2007 and 2008.

Under the so-called Alford doctrine, Vitale did not contest the charges against him, but insisted that he did not deliberately break the law. He has argued that he was hired as a consultant by the brokers group, not as a lobbyist, and defense attorney Martin Weinberg said his client believed that he was exempt from the registration requirement under state law at the time.

"He wishes the law was clearer. He wishes he got better advice," said Weinberg. "He wishes he had registered."

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Rainer asked Ball not to accept the Alford plea because Vitale had not acknowledged intent.

Salvatore DiMasi, Debbie Dimasi, Ashley, Thomas Kiley Former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, second from right, flanked by his wife, Debbie, second from left, and his stepdaughter Ashley, right, listens as his attorney Thomas Kiley speaks outside the federal courthouse in Boston, Friday, Sept. 9, 2011. DiMasi has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for using his clout to steer two state contracts to a software firm in exchange for kickbacks. (AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye)

Ball said she rarely accepts such pleas, but was willing to do so in this case because she believed a trial would produce the same outcome.

A trial, Ball said, would be "a waste of precious, precious court resources, for no good reason."

The three lobbying violations did not carry any potential prison time, though the law has since been toughened. The four campaign finance violations each carried a maximum of 6 months, but prison time would have been unlikely as Vitale was a first-time offender.

Vitale was DiMasi's accountant and longtime friend. Prosecutors alleged he was paid by the brokers to use his connections with DiMasi to help shepherd through the Legislature a bill to allow brokers to add higher surcharges to tickets for sporting events and other entertainment. The bill passed the House but died in the Senate.

Prosecutors said Vitale's actions undermined the integrity of the legislative process. They cited e-mails between Vitale and the head of the brokers group in which Vitale would refer to DiMasi only as "him." The e-mails also cited meetings and other contact with state Rep. Thomas Petrolati, D-Ludlow, then a top DiMasi lieutenant.

No charges were brought against any lawmakers.

Vitale wrote checks for campaign contributions exceeding the $200 limit for lobbyists to several lawmakers including Petrolati and Robert DeLeo, who later succeeded DiMasi as speaker, according to Rainer. Those amounts would have been legal had Vitale not been a lobbyist.

In the federal corruption case, Vitale was accused along with DiMasi and McDonough of scheming to steer two state contracts worth a combined $17.5 million to the software firm Cognos in exchange for kickbacks.

After a six-week trial, a jury convicted DiMasi and lobbyist Richard McDonough of conspiracy and other charges, but acquitted Vitale on all counts.

DiMasi and McDonough, who are appealing their convictions, are scheduled to begin prison sentences next month of 8 years and 7 years, respectively.

Weinberg said Vitale was relieved to put his legal travails behind him.

"He is happy to have finality. He is happy to have resolved both federal and state charges. He is anxious to get on with the rest of his life," Weinberg said after the hearing.

At the outset of the hearing, Ball explained her decision not to recuse herself from the case despite having had a friendship with DiMasi and contributing to his political campaigns before she became a judge in 1996. Ball said that DiMasi was not a party to the case and that she had never before met Vitale.

Ball also pointed out that she has had a warm relationship over the years with Attorney General Martha Coakley, whose office brought the case.


Amherst police Lt. Ronald Young receives 'Saved by the Belt' award following crash while responding to September bank robbery

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While responding to a recent bank robbery in Amherst, Lt. Ronald Young was involved in a serious car accident but avoided injuries by wearing his seatbelt. He was honored by the police department for promoting officer safety by example.

Amherst robbery 92011.jpgPolice respond to a robbery at the Northampton Cooperative Bank branch on College Street in Amherst on Sept. 20, 2011.

AMHERST - When the call came in that someone had just robbed the Northampton Cooperative Bank on College Street in Amherst on Sept. 20, Lt. Ronald Young was among the officers that quickly responded to the call.

After receiving information that the suspects had fled east on Route 9, Young attempted to intercept them but was forced off of Belchertown Road when another motorist merged into his travel lane, almost striking his unmarked police cruiser head-on.

Young swerved off the road to avoid the collision and drove straight into a utility pole, downing wired and seriously damaging the front end of the vehicle.

According to Amherst Police Chief Scott P. Livingstone, Young was able to avoid serious injuries because he took a second to fasten his seatbelt before jumping in the car and going after the suspects.

"Because he had his seatbelt on, Lt. Young was able to walk away from the crash with only minor abrasions from the air bag," Livingstone said in a press release. "Vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death for police officers for the past 13 years, according to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Lt. Young was definitely saved by the belt.

Young, an officer on the force since 1987, is the officer in charge of the detective bureau. For his role in promoting safety by example, he was honored with the department's "Saved by the Belt" award.

The bank robbery suspects were apprehended a short time later and taken into custody.

In weekly address, President Obama calls for passage of $450 billion jobs bill

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President Barack Obama is pushing in his weekly radio and Internet address for Senate passage of his nearly $450 billion jobs bill as senators prepare to vote Tuesday on moving to debate on the measure.

Barack Oba,aPresident Barack Obama is seen walking back to the Oval Office after honoring the 1985 Super Bowl XX Champions Chicago Bears football team in ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 7, 2011.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)


By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is pushing in his weekly radio and Internet address for Senate passage of his nearly $450 billion jobs bill as senators prepare to vote Tuesday on moving to debate on the measure.

Obama also asked listeners to Saturday's address to tell their senators to support the bill, which he's been lobbying for aggressively against Republican opposition since unveiling it a month ago.

With the economy listless and unemployment stuck above 9 percent moving into the 2012 presidential campaign, Obama said the bill "can help guard against another downturn here in America."

"But if we don't act, the opposite will be true," the president said. "There will be fewer jobs and weaker growth. So any senator out there who's thinking about voting against this jobs bill needs to explain why they would oppose something that we know would improve our economic situation."

Obama's jobs plan would reduce payroll taxes on workers and employers, extend benefits to long-term unemployed people, spend money on public works projects and help states and local governments keep teachers, police officers and firefighters on the job.

He proposed paying for the plan mainly by closing tax loopholes for oil and gas companies and raising taxes on individuals making more than $200,000 a year and couples making more than $250,000. Those proposals were rejected by Senate Democrats who substituted a tax on millionaires, with Obama's agreement.

But with Republicans opposed to much of the new spending in the bill and to tax hikes even on millionaires, the legislation stands no chance of getting through the Republican-controlled House in its current form, even if Senate Democrats were able to muster the necessary Republican support for Senate passage.

Despite the opposition Obama intends to keep pushing for the plan in an effort to show the public that Republicans are standing in the way.

"The proposals in this bill are steps we have to take if we want to build an economy that lasts; if we want to be able to compete with other countries for jobs that restore a sense of security for the middle-class," Obama said.

"There are too many people hurting in this country for us to simply do nothing," he said. "The economy is too fragile for us to let politics get in the way of action." Despite opposition to the overall bill, individual elements of it may well get through Congress, particularly an extension and expansion of a payroll tax cut that took effect Jan. 1.

Republicans used their weekly address to criticize the plan.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., called it "nothing but a rehash of the same failed ideas he's already tried, combined with a huge tax increase."

"This is a cynical political ploy that's designed not to create jobs for struggling Americans, but to save the president's own job," Thune said.

He also accused Obama of promulgating excessive regulations and too much red tape, to the detriment of business.

"We're calling for a regulatory time-out, an affordable energy plan, broad-based tax reform including lower rates, and policies that provide the certainty and stability our economy desperately needs," Thune said.

Lowell man drowns in Merrimack River while fleeing from police after traffic stop

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Lowell police say a man has died after he fled police and jumped into the Merrimack River.

LOWELL, Mass. (AP) — Lowell police say a man has died after he fled police and jumped into the Merrimack River.

Police said Saturday morning that 23-year-old Luke Hammond of Lowell had been arrested during a traffic stop at about 7 p.m. Friday night on charges of driving without a license and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Police said Hammond escaped the officers and jumped into the nearby river.

Lowell police, fire department divers and a state police helicopter searched for him. Divers found him at 7:45 p.m. about 15 feet from shore.

He was taken to Lowell General Hospital, and later pronounced dead.

Lowell police, state police and the Middlesex district attorney's office are investigating.

Catholic Diocese of Springfield sues parishioners occupying Mater Dolorosa church in Holyoke

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After 100 days of vigil inside the closed Mater Dolorosa church in Holyoke, the parishioners were sued by the Catholic Diocese of Springfield this week in an attempt to make them leave the building.

Gallery preview

HOLYOKE - After more than 100 days of vigil inside the closed Mater Dolorosa church in Holyoke, the parishioners who have been occupying it were sued by the Catholic Diocese of Springfield this week in an attempt to get them to vacate the building.

"We had hoped that through their prayerful vigil, the very rapid rejection of their Vatican appeal, and two separate and independent findings on the deterioration of the steeple, they would have come to accept these most difficult but equally necessary decisions," said Mark E. Dupont, the diocesan spokesman. "Not only is their presence without permission or authorization, it also prevents the very necessary work of addressing the safety of the steeple."

Among other disagreements, one of the primary points of impasse centers on the structural stability of the building.

A structural analysis conducted by a firm hired by the diocese showed the steeple was in danger of collapsing. A structural analysis conducted by a company hired by the protesters showed that damage was only minor.

Both groups have completely rejected reports from the other side.

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The Most Rev. Timothy A. McDonnell, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, ruled Mater Dolorosa and Holy Cross churches in Holyoke should both close and create a new parish. Our Lady of The Cross opened in the former Holy Cross building on Sycamore Street in Holyoke in July.

One reason the diocese cited for the closing is concern about the condition of the steeple. Another was the diminishing number of Catholics in Holyoke.

On Sept. 19, the Vatican upheld the decision to close Mater Dolorosa Church, but the parishioners filed an appear on Sept. 29, questioning the whole situation.

"The decision at the Vatican is made in secret but since the diocese has decided to take us to court, there are things that will come out into the open through the process," said attorney Victor Anop, a spokesman for the Friends of Mater Dolorosa. "Everybody here is saddened and shocked that the bishop would interrupt a prayer vigil like this. It's unheard of. We can't believe our own people in Christ would treat us this way."

Dupont said the diocese has tried other avenues with the group, but they have failed to reach an agreement.

"This action was undertaken with heavy heart, but it should be noted after repeated efforts by the diocese to convince these individuals to end their trespass," Dupont said. "Sadly after meetings and conversations over the past two weeks, it became clear they would not relent."

The lawsuit, filed this week in Hampden Superior Court, names Anop and eight other parishioners by name and includes all other unnamed people inside the church. It is seeking a court order forcing them to vacate the premises, a move Anop said is unheard of in the Catholic Church.

"There are at least six vigils going on in Massachusetts and several of them in Boston have been ongoing since 2004," Anop said. "It is unprecedented that a bishop would use the courts to interrupt a prayer vigil. We will remain here until we have to make a decision to do otherwise. Our ancestors dug the foundation for this church and paid for this building again and again over the years. It's more than just a building to us."

A preliminary injunction hearing on the issue is scheduled to take place this coming Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Springfield.

Massachusetts man charged in shooting death of Wesleyan University student to decide on trial by jury or judges

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Mass. native Stephen Morgan is expected to mount an insanity defense. Defendants in such cases often choose to have judges decide their guilt or innocence because of the complex legal issues involved.

Wesleyan ShootingIn this May 8, 2009 file photo, Stephen P. Morgan attends his arraignment in Middletown Superior Court in Middletown, Conn. The Marblehead, Mass., native is accused of killing Wesleyan University student Johanna Justin-Jinich of Timnath, Colo., in 2009. A state prosecutor declined Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011, to release the results of a Morgan's psychiatric examination. The next court date is set for Oct. 13. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham, Pool, File)

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) — A man charged with shooting a Wesleyan University student to death in 2009 is deciding whether he wants his trial to be heard by a jury or a three-judge panel.

A lawyer for 31-year-old Stephen Morgan is expected to reveal his client's decision to a state judge next Thursday in Middletown Superior Court.

Morgan is expected to mount an insanity defense. Defendants in such cases often choose to have judges decide their guilt or innocence because of the complex legal issues involved.

The Marblehead, Mass., native is charged with murdering 21-year-old Johanna Justin-Jinich of Timnath, Colo., in a bookstore café near the Middletown campus in May 2009.

Police say Justin-Jinich had accused Morgan of harassment when the two attended New York University in 2007.

In wake of Vermont police laboratory misconduct scandal, prosecutor says fingerprint evidence not important

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A prosecutor said Friday it doesn't matter whether fingerprints in a manslaughter case were examined by a state lab staff member under investigation for possible misconduct.


By DAVE GRAM, Associated Press

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A prosecutor said Friday it doesn't matter whether fingerprints in a manslaughter case were examined by a state lab staff member under investigation for possible misconduct.

Bennington County State's Attorney Erica Marthage said plenty of other evidence proves that 24-year-old Nicholas Bell unintentionally shot and killed his friend Jeffrey Charbonneau last Thanksgiving in Manchester.

Her best evidence is a recording of the 911 call that Bell placed to Manchester police, Marthage said. A sworn police statement quotes him as telling the dispatcher he thought the weapon was an air rifle, not a .22 caliber rifle, and that he was trying to wake his friend up in a joking manner.

"And the next thing I knew, it fired," the affidavit quotes him as saying. "I squeezed it and it fired. I didn't think it was loaded. I had no idea."

Bell is awaiting trial.

Marthage said: "The gun (and any fingerprints on it) is not the most important piece of evidence in this case. Clearly, the 911 call is."

But other lawyers interviewed Friday who weren't involved in the case said they found news of the investigation into Vermont Forensics Laboratory fingerprint examiner Ann P. Horsman troubling.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that state officials had "conducted a confidential employment investigation into allegations that Ms. Horsman may have committed misconduct when examining the homicide weapon" in the Bell case, and that the investigation had "focused on the accuracy of documents and of Ms. Horsman's statements," according to court documents.

It wasn't clear from the documents whether the investigation was continuing. Horsman and Bell's lawyer, Matt Harnett, didn't return calls seeking comment. Both the director of the state's Criminal Division and the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety said they couldn't comment on the Horsman investigation because it was a personnel matter.

Horsman remained on the job as of this week, the documents said. As recently as Aug. 26, she signed releases for two doctors' offices to turn over her medical records to the state Department of Human Resources in response to its probe, the documents said.

Two prominent criminal defense lawyers interviewed Friday said they strongly opposed the idea of the state not providing information about people who handle evidence in criminal matters and can potentially be called as witnesses.

David Sleigh of St. Johnsbury said he hasn't handled a high-profile murder case in the last decade that involved fingerprints as evidence. He sharply criticized state officials' stance of not discussing the Horsman investigation because it's a personnel matter.

If a forensic analyst mishandles evidence and the stakes for a criminal defendant include a possible long prison term, "it's more than a personnel matter: It's obstruction of justice. It's tampering with evidence," Sleigh said.

Sleigh said problems with the handling of forensic evidence were rife nationwide, as highlighted in a 2009 report by the National Academy of Sciences. Among the challenges it said the field faced were "the frequent absence of solid scientific research demonstrating the validity of forensic methods" and "the lack of effective oversight."

Jon Valsangiacomo, a criminal defense lawyer based in Barre, said if he saw any indication that a forensic analyst who had handled evidence in one of his cases was under a misconduct investigation, "I would be subpoenaing those records and files. If they don't turn them over, that would be an argument to have in court."

Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn, a former prosecutor in Orleans County, agreed that it was up to courts to sort out the competing interests of a state worker's privacy and a criminal defendant's right to examine evidence and cross-examine witnesses.

"Absent a court order it's a personnel matter and we can't disclose those" Horsman records, he said.

Former Longmeadow man gets probation for historic records theft

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William J. Scott must serve 300 hours of community service under the sentence imposed Friday in a New Jersey court.

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a former Drew University student who stole valuable historic documents from the United Methodist Archives Center at the New Jersey school has been sentenced to probation.

William J. Scott of Longmeadow, Mass., also must serve 300 hours of community service under the sentence imposed Friday in U.S. District Court in Camden.

He faced a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

The 20-year-old Scott pleaded guilty in January to stealing a number of items while working as a paid student assistant at the archives center between October 2009 and March 2010. Its collection includes letters from denomination's founders, John and Charles Wesley, and United States presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon, Robert F. Kennedy and others.

Prosecutors say Scott removed more than 30 letters and sent some to a United Kingdom-based dealer in historical documents. He alerted the archives center, and nearly all the items have been recovered.

Additional reporting by The Republican


Amherst police officer Carlos M. Gutierrez returns from tour of duty in Afghanistan

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Officer Carlos M. Gutierrez, a member of the Amherst Police Department since 2008, has returned from his military deployment in Afghanistan.

Amherst Officer Carlos GutierrezAmherst police officer Carlos Gutierrez recently returned from his fourth deployment to Afghanistan.

AMHERST - A local police officer who has served the nation through several military deployments over the past 13 years has returned to serve and protect his community.

Carlos M. Gutierrez, an officer with the Amherst Police Department, recently returned from his fourth tour of duty; this time serving in Afghanistan.

A member of the Amherst Police Department since 2008, Guitierrez was deployed in Aug. 2010 with his Massachusetts Army National Guard Unit, the Alpha Co. 1-181 Infantry based out of Agawam.

He currently holds the rank of sergeant and served as a team leader during his deployment.

His most recent military venture overseas was his fourth deployment, which includes two deployments while serving in the United States Marine Corps between 1998 and 2002.

"The entire Amherst Police Department family is very thankful that Carlos has made it home safely from Afghanistan," said Amherst Police Chief Scott P. Livingstone. "Carlos is a dedicated Amherst police officer and I am confident that he was an important asset to his military unit in Afghanistan. The Amherst community is fortunate to have a police officer of his caliber."

Gutierrez is a 1998 graduate of Charles H. McCann Technical High School in North Adams. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1998 and concluded his active duty status with that branch of the military in 2002.

He is a 2006 graduate of Southern Vermont College, Bennington, Vt., where he earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice. Gutierrez joined the Massachusetts Army National Guard in May of 2006 and currently lives in Granby with his wife Jessica.

Gutierrez graduated from the 44th Municipal Police Officers Training Academy in Springfield and is assigned to the patrol division and bicycle patrol in Amherst.

Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton still popular despite economy

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The economy may be in a slump, but that didn’t stop the crowds at the Paradise City Arts Festival on Saturday.

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NORTHAMPTON – Beverly A. Longo, of Simsbury, Conn., came to the Paradise City Arts Festival on Saturday ready to buy, but mostly for others.

Longo, who has been going to the show for at least seven years, said that in the past, she would buy more for herself.

But with the unsteady economy, she now focuses more on Christmas gifts for those on her list. She did treat herself to a “functional” spoon made of cherry wood for $20.

Some of the gifts she picked up were a turquoise-colored flower pin made of velvet for $20, and an $85 gold and silver bracelet from artist Erica Zap.

“Each time it’s different and always to my expectations,” Longo said about the show.

And while the economy is in a slump, it didn’t seem to affect the crowds early Saturday afternoon, the first day of the three-day show. The arts festival also continues on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $8 for students, and free for children under 12.

Helene M. and Whiting S. Houston, of Springfield, also are Paradise City regulars. They like the quality of the work available - Whiting Houston called it “jaw-dropping.”

“I always feel in a way like it’s going to a museum,” Helene Houston said about attending the show. “It’s very inspiring. I just appreciate it.”

She bought a book for $12.95 for a friend in California about weather proverbs, which she called “very affordable.” She said it seemed to her that prices were more affordable than at previous shows.

Nancy and Thomas Kimberley, of Hardwick, also are Paradise City regulars. Thomas Kimberley said buying the unique works is almost like an investment, as the pieces are one-of-a-kind.

Some artists said they didn’t purposely bring less expensive items to sell, while others said the economy was a factor in deciding what to bring.

“I don’t really worry about the prices. If you love what you’re doing people will respond to it,” said Erin Moran of New Hampshire, who makes pottery and jewelry out of clay.

Elissa Ehlin, of Kiln Design Studio in Brooklyn, N.Y., said she did bring some less expensive items, namely small copper and enamel bowls that they made smaller specifically for the show. Ehlin said it was their first time at the Northampton festival and she wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The bowls range in price from $80 to $1,400, depending on size.

Deb Kracht, of Palmer, reuses old materials to make them into something new and whimsical. For example, old cans of Colgate tooth powder, Sucrets and Kincaid medicated Pom-Aid were refashioned into robot-like characters. Vintage Kodak film canisters were transformed into “baby bots.”

“I give them a second life out in the world,” Kracht said.

Kracht said as an artist, she definitely feels the effects of a down economy.

“Nobody needs what we do, but it’s nice to have,” she said.

Kracht said she was happy to see so many shoppers, and said she brought a range of items. Selling well were old dominoes for $10 with new designs on them. The baby bots are $25, the larger robots, $100 and up.

Marilyn Chattin, co-owner of Touchstone Pottery in West Halifax, Vt., said she noticed that customers are spending the same amount of money, but what has changed is what they’re buying. Instead of buying one large, expensive item, they are buying more pieces at lower prices. So far, she said business has been going well.

Peiliang Jin, of Flushing, N.Y., said he did bring some less expensive paintings to the show, to encourage younger collectors to buy his works. Those were in the $450 range, while his larger pieces cost thousands. He said he always brings his expensive pieces because that’s what some people are looking to buy. His paintings show landscapes with bright colors - there are fuchsia trees that look like hot air balloons under rainbow skies surrounded by yellow rivers.

“It’s important to establish your collectors,” Jin said.

Christina Koldys, of Housantonic, sells wearable textile art. Koldys, who was sporting one of her feathered headbands, said she doesn’t sell really expensive things to begin with, and said people like having things to buy that they can afford. Her peacock feather barrettes were selling for $25; her “stained glass” scarves, $45 - the pattern resembles stained glass.

Linda and Kenneth Houseman, of Oakham, were shopping for Linda’s birthday. They attend the show every year, and Kenneth bought his wife a $450 silk sweater emblazoned with herons on it.

“It’s a great place to shop for a birthday gift,” Linda Houseman said. “We come at least once a year. To see all the different kinds of art is wonderful.”

Daniel J. Riccio, of East Hampton, Conn., makes tiny bronze figures and animals, including tooth fairy boxes, bells and thimbles. He said business was strong. Some of the miniature figurines are only $11; a cat face bell necklace was $25. Everything he makes is small, so he didn’t have to shrink his inventory to accommodate the sagging economy.

Police shoot man wielding knife at New York newspaper office

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The man talked his way into the locked building by asking a security guard for a drink of water.

newspaper knife.jpgSchenectady patrol cars and a Schenectady fire truck enter the Daily Gazette Newspaper building's parking lot after a shooting in the newspaper lobby Saturday afternoon. (AP Photo/The Daily Gazette, Peter R. Barber)

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) — A man who showed up at the offices of a newspaper in a dazed state was shot and wounded by two police officers Saturday after he charged at them with a knife.

The shooting happened just past 4 p.m. at the offices of the Daily Gazette after a quiet news day in Schenectady, a city of more than 60,000 just outside the state capital of Albany.

The newspaper said in a story posted on its website that the man appeared weak and possibly medicated when he arrived. He talked his way into the locked building by asking a security guard for a drink of water. Then, he refused to leave and began wandering the halls.

The man, who wasn't immediately identified by either the newspaper or police, eventually said he needed help. The newspaper's general manager called 911 when he saw that the intruder was carrying a knife and bleeding from his hand.

The Gazette said the two officers who responded tried repeatedly to get the man to drop the weapon.

"For five minutes they asked him to put the knife down," said Linda Eldeen, a friend of general manager Daniel Beck's who was at the office at the time. "He did start going at them. He looked like he was going to charge them."

Witnesses said the officers fired about five times when the man lurched at them from just a few feet away, still carrying the weapon.

He was still breathing when emergency responders carried him away on a stretcher, the Gazette reported.

Schenectady police Sgt. Matthew Dearing said police were still gathering information on what happened.

National Air and Space Museum closes after anti-war, Occupy D.C. protesters try to muscle inside

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At least one person was pepper-sprayed.

Occupy DC Musuem 2.jpgView full sizeA demonstrator falls to the ground as other demonstrators move away from the entrance to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington after police pepper-sprayed a group of protestors trying to get into the museum Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011, as part of Occupy DC activities in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

By JESSICA GRESKO

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Air and Space Museum in Washington was closed Saturday after anti-war demonstrators tried to enter the building to protest a drone exhibit, and at least one person was pepper-sprayed.

Smithsonian spokesman John Gibbons said a large group of demonstrators, estimated at 100 to 200 people, arrived at about 3 p.m. and tried to enter the National Mall museum.

When a security guard stopped the group from entering, saying they could not bring in signs, he was apparently held by demonstrators, Gibbons said. A second guard who arrived used pepper spray on at least one person and the crowd dispersed.

A number of groups have been demonstrating in the city in the past week. The group that arrived at the museum Saturday included individuals affiliated with the October 2011 Stop the Machine demonstration, which has been going on in the city's Freedom Plaza and has an anti-war and anti-corporate greed message.

The group also included protesters affiliated with Occupy D.C., a group modeled on the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City. Occupy D.C. has been holding marches and meetings in Washington's McPherson Square.

Occupy DC Musuem 3.jpgView full sizeOne demonstrator helps another flush her eyes with water after police pepper-sprayed a group of protestors who were trying to get into the National Air and Space Museum on Oct. 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Legba Carrefour, who is working with Occupy D.C., said a number of individuals joined the march to the museum following an afternoon meeting of the group.

Ann Wilcox, a lawyer working with Stop the Machine, said a 19-year-old woman from Madison, Wis., was arrested by police. She paid a fine and was released later Saturday. Wilcox said the protesters went to the Air and Space museum to demonstrate against a drone exhibit.

The museum has an exhibit, "Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles," that covers the history of unmanned aircraft and their current use as offensive weapons.

Drones are often called the weapon of choice of the Obama administration, which quadrupled drone strikes against al-Qaida targets in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, up from less than 50 under the Bush administration to more than 220 in the past three years.

The museum is expected to re-open Sunday.

Historic 18th century Massachusetts church gets an overhaul

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Since the 18th century, Christ Church Cambridge has survived more than just the rattling, pounding and drenching of New England weather.

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By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Since the 18th century, Christ Church Cambridge has survived more than just the rattling, pounding and drenching of New England weather.

It took a bullet, then worse, during the Revolutionary War because of the Tory loyalties of its founders. For several years after the war, the ransacked building's windows were open to the elements.

But the building endured and the church with it, eventually hosting a Sunday school teacher named Teddy Roosevelt, a press conference with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and, soon, a celebration of its 250th year.

In preparation, this Episcopalian church in Harvard Square has undergone a painstaking exterior renovation aimed at preserving a building that offers a rare link to early America.

"It's about as important as they get," said Charles Sullivan, executive director of the Cambridge Historical Commission, referring to the buildings in his city. "It's been touched by so many events in American history."

The restoration was led by contractor and church member Charlie Allen. His affection for the building is clear as he explains his work, from repairing the wide siding boards to refurbishing the gold-leaf orb and cross atop its bell tower.

He marvels at the durability of wood, taken from an old growth white pine that was given time to grow slowly in the cold, leaving narrow growth rings and making it exceptionally strong. He shares a few tricks about keeping the building looking authentic. For instance, he'll add a few coats of paint to a newly replaced decorative triglyph so the surface doesn't look quite so crisp. His workers used a handsaw to leave marks on new siding boards that look similar to the marks on the old boards, which were cut by a vertically moving water saw.

At the back corner of the bell tower, he allows the lean of the building to show, so its front-facing section can appear square.

Allen says he always tries to put the building "at the table" during restorations, giving it a voice of sorts when choosing materials and techniques. Besides a desire to be safe from the weather, Christ Church has made one thing clear to him, Allen said.

"Don't we all want to look like we always used to?" he said with a smile.

Christ Church won't look exactly like it used to. The building, designed by famed Colonial architect Peter Harrison, opened Oct. 15, 1761, two years after Anglicans in Cambridge founded the congregation so they could attend a church closer than King's Chapel in Boston. The original members wanted to it look like a typical limestone church found in southern England. But, lacking the stone, it was painted tan and the boards were molded to look like masonry to resemble it as best it could.

Members decided the same look would be "quite of a leap of faith" today, Allen said. The new coat of platinum gray paint matches the traditional New England Colonial style, though few colonists welcomed the church when it first opened.

And as the Revolution approached, suspicions deepened about the wealthy Tory congregation and its loyalty to the British crown. The congregants were eventually forced to flee, and the building became a barracks across from Cambridge Common, where the Minutemen assembled before the Battle of Bunker Hull and during the Siege of Boston.

The church did hold a few notable services during the war years. In 1775, Martha Washington, an Anglican, arranged for a New Year's Eve service, which was also attended by her husband, George Washington, who would become president 14 years later. Then, in 1778, it opened for a funeral for a British prisoner of war who'd been accidentally killed. But this became an occasion for the church to be trashed by townspeople in a wave of anti-British sentiment.

The pulpit, pews and a communion table were destroyed, the windows were shattered and shots were fired — a bullet hole that remains inside is thought to have been left by the outburst.

The church sat empty and exposed to the elements until it reopened in 1790, then limped along for the next several years, partly as a home to Anglican and Episcopal Harvard University students who needed a place to fulfill the school's church attendance requirement.

Christ Church was reinvigorated by strong leadership in the mid-19th century, only to nearly be abandoned again. Around 1850, a group of parishioners pushed to tear down the building and move to a new location, Sullivan said. But another group prevailed after arguing for its preservation, based in part on its rich history, and more history was made there.

During Teddy Roosevelt's years at Harvard in the late 1800s, he was asked not to continue as a Sunday School teacher because he refused to become an Episcopalian. In 1967, the Rev. Martin Luther King was denied access to a Harvard building for a press conference to denounce the Vietnam War, so he held it at Christ Church instead.

The church won't disclose how much the exterior restoration cost, except to say it's six figures and wasn't the largest expense in a $2.5 million capital campaign.

Jonathan Austin, chairman of the church's property committee, said members feel a deep obligation to the generations that preserved the building. The 250th anniversary was an excuse to do as much as they could, as well as they could.

"We just want the building to look as good as it was designed to be," he said.

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