It wasn't immediately clear how quickly Hatfield town officials might fill the soon-to-be-empty position.

Hatfield Town Hall

HATFIELD – Town Administrator Jeffrey Ritter is leaving to become municipal chief of the northern Worcester County town of Templeton.

Ritter, who held the Hatfield job for two years, will step down on Jan. 17, according to a published report in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Hatfield Selectman Marcus Boyle told the Northampton newspaper that Ritter did "a terrific job" for the short time he managed the Hampshire County town.

The departure of Ritter, which coincides with Hatfield's annual budget-making process, marks a "significant loss" for the town, Boyle said.

The Gazette said Ritter cited an easier commute among the reasons for taking the Templeton job, which is much closer to his Harvard home than Hatfield.

During Ritter's tenure, Hatfield kept up with the times by creating a town website, which the outgoing official championed as a more efficient way to reach the town's 3,000-plus residents.

The Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee will hold a joint meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Memorial Town Hall, though it was unclear if the administrator position is among the topics to be discussed at the session. A meeting agenda was not immediately available online.

Hired by the Board of Selectmen, the town administrator is responsible for handling Hatfield's day-to-day affairs, including implementation of policies set by the board. The administrator also "serves as the friendly face of government," according to the town's website.

Gibson, 56, remained unaffiliated with any political party during his 11-year tenure as the city's chief executive officer.

Photo by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicanEdward Gibson is seen in his office last week, before stepping down as West Springfield's first mayor.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Edward J. Gibson, who stepped down last week after 11 years as mayor here, almost didn’t run for that position.

During a recent interview in his municipal building office, Gibson spoke about that and reflected on his years at the helm of city government.

Gibson, 56, described himself as someone who always said he would never seek elective office.

However, that changed after voters decided to move from town meeting form of government to the mayoral system and set the city’s first mayoral election in August of 2000. Gibson asked for the advice of his wife, Sandra, as to whether he should run for Town Council or mayor. She told him he was just as qualified for office as people seeking the mayoralty and that he should run for that.

He went on to win at the polls five times. Gibson announced this fall that he would not seek re-election because of the “24-7” nature of the work. Gibson was succeeded by Gregory C. Neffinger, who was sworn in Tuesday morning.

As to the secret of his success with the voters, Gibson said he tries to give good value and thinks that resident realize he has always put forth his best efforts.

“The majority of people have liked what they have seen. Even in constrained fiscal times we have invested in the community and improved the quality of life,” Gibson said.

Among his accomplishments have been moving from half-day to full-day kindergarten and from trash collection once every two weeks to once a week. Gibson has also put an emphasis on repaving roads and sidewalks as well as getting signalization or improving signalization of troublesome intersections.

In recent years, he has had the city invest about $1.1 million in energy efficient measures in the municipal building, including the installation of new windows. Those measures have resulted in significant savings on electric and heating bills for the structure, according to Gibson.

Perhaps Gibson’s most significant achievement has been shepherding along the new $107.1 million high school now being constructed adjacent to the structure on Piper Road now housing West Springfield High School. About $68.8 million of the project will be paid for with a grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

“I was delighted I could take part in the groundbreaking before I left office,” Gibson said. “This is going to be one of the crowning jewels in West Springfield for decades to come.”

Another project of which Gibson has been a strong proponent has been replacing the aging West Springfield Public Library with a new building on what would be the site of Mittineague School.

Gibson said he does not believe that technology, particularly e-readers, will make libraries obsolete. He argued that some people still won’t be able to afford paying for accessing material over e-readers and that there will always be some books not available through that venue.

One of the few controversies that erupted during Gibson’s tenure was allegations by former School Superintendent Suzanne T. Marotta that he got the School Committee to decline to renew her contract because she rejected his sexual advances. Marotta in March of 2010 filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and later withdrew it to pursue the matter in a Hampden Superior Court lawsuit.

Gibson said the lawsuit has been resolved without using any city funds, but would not comment on whether there was a financial settlement. Patricia M. Rapinchuk, the city’s attorney in the matter, declined to talk about specifics, saying both sides are bound by a confidentiality agreement not to comment.

Gibson, who grew up in Agawam, moved to West Springfield in 1989.

“I found it to be a marvelous community, very compassionate and caring people,” Gibson said. “I found it a great place to call home. I had a lot of friends over here, too.”

Gibson, who has an undergraduate degree from Western New England College as well as a master’s in business administration, got acquainted with West Springfield from his job managing the former West Side Hardware. He did that for 19 years before moving on to working for three years as an acquisitions analyst for Aetna Inc. in Hartford.

From there, he moved on to becoming mayor all while not being enrolled in any political party. Gibson said he believes in backing the candidate, not the party.

As for the future, Gibson said he plans to spend his first few weeks relaxing, but hopes to have a new job by the end of January or beginning of February.

While declining to be specific, Gibson said, “I have a few irons in the fire. I can be a little bit picky at this time of life.”

Riding a win in the Iowa caucuses, an endorsement from John McCain and a landslide lead in a new poll, Romney is the runaway front-runner in New Hampshire despite repeated attacks from his opponents questioning his conservative credentials.

View full sizeThe Republican | Brian CanovaMitt Romney and New Hampshire State Sen. Jeb Bradley speak during a spaghetti dinner hosted by the former Massachusetts Governor on Friday in Tilton, N.H.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Riding a week of momentum that included winning the Iowa caucuses by eight votes, an official endorsement from 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain and a landslide lead in a new Suffolk University poll, former Massachusetts Gov. W. Mitt Romney is the runaway frontrunner in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary despite repeated attacks from his opponents questioning his conservative credentials.

Romney, riding the positive wave, suddenly took to South Carolina on Thursday, where he appeared alongside Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in an effort to solidify the top position in that state. With the conservative vote split between the other remaining Republican candidates, Romney supporters are hoping that the benefit he saw in Iowa will carry over to New Hampshire as well as South Carolina, where he launched a new ad attacking President Barack Obama.

In the TV ad, Romney goes after the Obama Administration for appointing three new members to the National Labor Relations Board while the Senate is in recess, a move that sidesteps the possibility of Republicans blocking the appointments.

In the 30-second ad, Romney accused the president of taking actions that "affect our economy based not upon what's right for the American worker but, instead, what's right for their politics."

After holding a rally at a South Carolina peanut plant Friday morning, Romney returned to New Hampshire to host a spaghetti dinner at the Tilton School in Tilton. The event boasted an estimated 500 supporters and dozens of media outlets from around the world.

"We need a businessman in there that knows what the hell they're doing. We don't need a community organizer from Chicago," said Bob King, a 70-year-old retired maintenance man living in Tilton, N.H. "My personal opinion is that Barack Obama couldn't run a one-car funeral. We need someone who has the common sense and knowledge to do this."

Matthew Henderson, a 27-year-old public relations professional from Ohio, flew all the way to New Hampshire on his own time and dime to volunteer with Romney's primary efforts.

The Republican | Brian CanovaMitt Romney speaks during a spaghetti dinner at the Tilton School in Tilton, N.H. on Friday.

"Mitt Romney has the business sense, the mindset that's focused on repairing America and he's dedicated," Henderson said, adding that if he didn't believe in the former Bay State governor he would have flown somewhere else.

During Romney's appearances across New Hampshire and South Carolina, his supporters volunteered their time at his Manchester headquarters calling registered voters to make sure everyone was planning on hitting the polls on Tuesday with a nod of support for the former Massachusetts governor.

The Suffolk University poll released on Friday showed Romney carrying 40 percent of the 500 people polled. Texas Rep. Ron Paul ranked second with 17 percent.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Iowa runner-up Rick Santorum worked at each appearance to chip away at Romney's credibility as a Republican candidate, charging that he is a "Massachusetts moderate."

On Saturday, they had an assist from the Democratic Party with national and New Hampshire officials scheduling a press conference attacking Romney's governing of the Bay State just hours before the ABC News debate at Saint Anselm College in Concord.

As the Tuesday vote nears, Romney is increasingly finding himself on the defensive end of discussions.

Matt Barron, a political consultant with Massachusetts-based MLB Research Associates, said Romney's title as a frontrunner may be what hurts him in the long run.

View full sizeThe Republican | Brian CanovaMitt Romney supporters at a spaghetti dinner at the Tilton School in Tilton, N.H., on Friday.

"In New Hampshire, Romney's problem is the expectations game," Baron said. "Unless he wins by a commanding blowout, the media will paint it as a tarnished win, especially if Santorum or whoever finishes in second is nipping behind by single digits."

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who spent time in New Hampshire while his counterparts were busy in Iowa with caucus campaigning, was endorsed by the Boston Globe on Thursday. Despite the endorsement and a growing base in the Granite State, Huntsman is still struggling to achieve the level of notoriety some of his opponents have.

Following the Saturday debate in Concord and another one scheduled Sunday morning in Manchester, all four candidates will continue traveling around the state through Tuesday while Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who didn't bother with New Hampshire due to low poll numbers, is scheduled to fly to South Carolina on Sunday to resume his campaign.

Reporter Brian Canova contributed to this article. Check MassLive.com and The Republican for a full report on Tuesday's Republican Primary in New Hampshire.

The children featured in the exhibit may be safe, but are theoretically the most vulnerable to traffickers that have captured roughly 27 million slaves globally, according to statistics from human rights organizations.

Staff photo by David RobackSpringfield-Staff Photo by Dave Roback-Artist Robert Markey of Ashfield, yoga instructor Karoun Charkoudian of Springfield and gallery director Matthew Derderian of The Hill - City Church are seen in the gallery in downtown Springfield on Friday evening.

SPRINGFIELD - One small girl came with the rest, working on mosaics fervently with the visiting American artists in the streets of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, for a solid week.

Then, disappeared.

Another girl, 10, came to Ashfield artist Robert Markey’s street workshop for children in Cambodia, dirty and wordless most days. Until she slipped a tiny hand in Markey’s about five days in.

The children are subjects of Markey’s upcoming art exhibit at The Hill at 111 Chestnut St. entitled “SAFE?” The project will feature eight portraits of poor children Markey worked with in Cambodia and Brazil, designed to raise awareness of human trafficking.

The children featured may be safe, but are theoretically the most vulnerable to traffickers that have captured roughly 27 million slaves globally, according to statistics from human rights organizations. Between 600,000 and 800,000 are being trafficked across international borders each year, the numbers state, with 80 percent being women and children.

The most common nine countries as human trafficking destinations include Thailand, Israel, the Netherlands and the United States.

Markey has traditionally taken on causes large and small through his art. In 2010, he unwittingly created a stir championing the equal rights of local exotic dancers after featuring a pole dancer on one of several painted sneakers in the “Art and Soles” citywide exhibit sponsored by the Business Improvement District.

The agency objected to the image on the bottom of a dance-themed sneaker and ordered it painted black, prompting a censorship controversy that ended in a roundabout apology from the district.

In his upcoming show, however, Markey is tackling a much graver issue he said he felt compelled to look at after becoming more cognizant of the growing numbers of children and young adults trapped in the global commercial sex trade.

“I became sort of obsessed by it. And I thought, what can I really do as an artist except raise awareness,” Markey said, during an interview while hanging his work at The Hill, a hybrid Christian church entertainment venue in the heart of the city.

Markey noted that Massachusetts just passed an anti-trafficking law this year - the 48th state to do so.

“That sort of blew me away,” he said.

The exhibit also will be featured at local colleges including Springfield College in the coming year.

As for The Hill, the venue will host a combination art/music/Yoga fund-raiser on Jan. 21 starting at 4 p.m.

“My studio serves a very diverse community, for all shapes and sizes. So it’s gentle and perfect for beginners,” said Karoun Charkoudian, director of Karoun Yoga studio, located in the same block as The Hill and the only one downtown.

Markey will play the sitar in the classes, and The Hill will feature cellist Scott Halligan, a Franklin County musician.

Suggested donations for the event are $10 to $20 but organizers say all are welcome.

The “SAFE?” exhibit will be available for viewing through Jan. 24 and be accessible on weekends, according to gallery director Matthew Derderian.

Town Clerk Michelle Hill said the election will take place only if voters approve funding for the project during a special Town Meeting next week.

03.09.11 | Photo by Julian Feller-Cohen – Powder Mill Middle School in Southwick.

SOUTHWICK – Town officials have tentatively scheduled a Jan. 31 special election on a ballot question seeking a Proposition 2 ½ override for a $72 million school building and repair project that now includes Granville as part of the Southwick-Tolland Regional School District.

The election, Town Clerk Michelle L. Hill said, will only take place if voters approve funding for the project during a Jan. 10 special Town Meeting. Town meetings in Granville and Tolland will be held Jan. 9 and 11, respectively.

“This is part of a two-step legal process,” Hill said. “If the project is approved at the special Town Meeting, the next stage is to have an override to have a way to pay for it.”

Although voters must approve funding for the entire $72 million project, the state School Building Authority will finance about $40 million of the cost, or more than 60 percent. Officials estimated the cost to property owners in terms of additional taxes will amount to another $400 each year.

The project will address long-time space and maintenance issues at the high school, Powder Mill Middle School and Woodland Elementary School. It will also change class makeup at the high school to include grades seven and eight. The middle school will convert to a grade three to six facility.

According to the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Proposition 2½ limits the amount of revenue a city or town may raise from local property taxes each year to fund municipal operations. Communities must seek voter approval to raise additional funds beyond Proposition 2½ limits.

Tolland and Granville must also hold special elections, Hill said, but those communities have not yet scheduled them.

Hill stressed that the Jan. 31 date is tentative because legally, a notification for a special election cannot be made until the outcome of the Jan. 10 special Town Meeting question regarding the project funding.

“Southwick has not yet put out a legal warrant,” she said. “We don’t do that until the day after the meeting otherwise we would still have to hold an election.”

Hill estimated that about 1/6, or 1,000 of Southwick’s 6,255 registered voters will attend the Jan. 10 meeting to decide on the project, a number she hopes will increase given the significant price tag attached to the project.

“It could change, but I don’t expect that many,” she said. “Given the topic, I would hope everyone would come out and exercise their right. I encourage everyone to vote.”

If the Jan. 31 election is held, polls at Town Hall will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. The last day to register to vote for that special election is Jan. 11. at the Town Clerk’s office from 8:30 a.m. until 8 p.m.

The much-anticipated project will address long-time space and maintenance concerns at the high school, Powder Mill Middle School and Woodland Elementary School. It will also change class makeup at the high school to include grades seven and eight. The middle school will convert to a grade three to six facility.

The Jan. 10 special Town Meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional High School gymnasium.

Occupiers took to Manchester's Veteran's Square Friday to protest campaign financing ahead of the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire 2012 GOP Primary.

01.07.2012. MANCHESTER, N.H. - Hours before Republican Presidential candidates took the stage for an ABC News debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, Occupy the Primary protesters made their presence felt at Veterans' Park. (Staff Photo by Robert Rizzuto)

MANCHESTER, N.H. - On Elm Street, Manchester's main street, occupiers set up camp in Veteran's Park to raise awareness on the limitations campaign financing imposes on the field of potential presidential candidates.

Pedestrians and drivers attracted by the spectacle of crude signs and in some cases costumes, stopped to pass through the park and inquire at tents the message of the movement.

Jeffrey Allen, 47, of Manchester, handed out ballots of his own. Donning a bright yellow t-shirt, reading "Vote on America's Future: Democracy or Empire," of which he said 700 were printed, he petitioned a political system that he claims corners voters into choosing best-fit candidates narrowed from a field dictated by financial constraints.

At events hosted by Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Jon Huntsman across New Hampshire on Friday, battalions of press corps professionals chased candidates between high-profile catered speaking and photo opportunity events.

Jim Webber, an 80-year-old Exeter, N.H. resident came to the Manchester encampment with the support of the Exeter Unitarian Church. His responsibility: to sell buttons emblazoned with the 99% and raise money for the porter-potties lining the northwest edge of the operation.

Webber, and fellow Exeter Unitarian Church member Ed Wall, 86 of Freemont, N.H., expressed concern for the central role campaign financing has played in this election cycle. In Iowa, a negative ad campaign launched by Mitt Romney and super PAC supporters against Newt Ginrich has been blamed for Gingrich's dwindling funds ahead of Tuesday's first-in-the-nation primary election.

Michael Grosse, a 27-year-old graduate of the University of New Hampshire school of journalism, is the public relations liaison for the Manchester encampment. Inside a roomy tent housing a folding table and two laptops, Grosse manages the viral video and internet campaign that has been at the heart of the movement since October.

In an interview where Gross retracted what he considered an endorsement of Best Buy, when he mentioned where he got his equipment, he highlighted a central tension between critics of the movement and occupy supporters. While technology has been vital to spreading the message heralded by occupiers worldwide, the need to support corporate entities with the purchase of their products has been raised as an issue.

Critics quip that the plethora of MacBook computers readily apparent at many encampments seem to defy the very message of the movement which lambasts corporations while promoting what it considers ventures of the people.

At the entrance to the encampment Frank Olivios, 21, who traveled from Bronx, N.Y., manned the "People's Tobacco" table, where ample hand-rolled cigarettes were laid out for all to have.

Olivios explained that many people at encampments do smoke cigarettes, and barring health and environmental concerns, the act creates a social atmosphere conducive to a central Occupy motif, mirroring that of the anti-war movements that capped the 1960's.

"Getting to know people, and especially ones that don't know anything about Occupy Wall Street, is the best part," said Olivios who traveled to Manchester on a last minute whim with friends.

"It's a great feeling getting people and bringing them into Occupy. If I get someone from the 1 percent to come and support, to change somebody's mind who was against us and a part of a big corporation but now supports Occupy Wall Street, that is the best feeling," said Olivios.

Looking forward to a long winter for campers despite balmy temperatures across the Northeast today, Ian Williams said the public face of the movement may be changing.

View full sizeMANCHESTER, N.H. - 27-year-old Michael Grosse of Newmarket, N.H., said the tools he learned studying journalism and video at the University of New Hampshire have been fundamental in his work with Occupy (Photo by Brian Canova)

Williams, an Americorps Vista alumni from Burlington, V.T. who received a degree in East Asian Studies from McGill College, said while widespread encampments throughout October, November, and December brought the voice of Occupy Wall Street and the message of the 99 percent to headlines nationwide for the first time, the notion of general assembly and direct participation in the democratic process looks to be its defining contribution.

While encampment occupations have fueled the movement thus far, looking forward Williams sees an increase in temporary occupational assemblies that draw together supporters from different local occupations.

In general assemblies, a concept that drove Arab Spring in early 2011 and was later adopted by Occupy Wall Street following the Adbusters graphic that sparked the movement, a group of people dialogically pick an issue apart with no voice ideally overpowering any other.

While moderators provide order to the discussion, final say is left to the group should a resolution be reached. Group members express support or opposition with a simple code of hand signals held above their heads.

Stay with MassLive.com for the latest on the campaign trail in New Hampshire.

Just hours before Republican Presidential candidates took the stage at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, leaders of the Democratic Party held a press conference across campus slamming former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his record as a politician and in the private sector.

01.07.2012. MANCHESTER, N.H. - Raymond Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, held a press conference attacking Mitt Romney before the Saturday evening debate in Manchester, N.H. (Staff photo by Robert Rizzuto)

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Just hours before Republican Presidential candidates took the stage at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, leaders of the Democratic Party held a press conference across campus slamming former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his record as a politician and in the private sector.

Romney, considered the front-runner in the New Hampshire Primary, was characterized by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee as someone who stands for whatever he has to in order to become elected.

She said that no one knows what Romney actually stands for, a charge which his critics have leveled over the course of the campaign.

Additionally, the Democratic chairwoman said Romney's time at the private equity firm Bain Capital was spent as a "layoff specialist."

"He refuses to take responsibility for the jobs lost while he was at Bain Capital," Schultz said, additionally charging the company's co-founder with "outsourcing American jobs" at the firm.

Romney remained on the campaign trail Saturday, with an early morning appearance in Derry, N.H. where he was joined by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

At the rally in Derry, he cautioned supporters about to reading too much into the polls.

“Don’t get too confident with those poll numbers,” Romney said at the event. “I’ve watched polls come and go. Things change very quickly. It’s very fluid.”

At 9 p.m., Romney will again be under fire as the other Republican candidates work to chip away at his lead ahead of Tuesday's election.

For full ongoing coverage of the Republican Presidential debate in New Hampshire, check MassLive.com's live blog on the homepage.

Saturday's temperature reached a high of 60 degrees, breaking the record of 55 degrees set in 1946.

The Republican/Michael BeswickSPRINGFIELD - The last remaining milk weed pod hangs tight to a branch Saturday evening overlooking the Connecticut River, Memorial Bridge and the West Springfield Generating Station as temperatures hovered around 60 in the early evening.

SPRINGFIELD – Balmy temperatures on Saturday made it feel more like spring than winter in the Pioneer Valley, and set a new record, according to abc40 meteorologist Rick Sluben.

Sluben said the high hit 60. That breaks the record of 55 degrees set back in 1946 at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee.

Usually, temperatures hover in the mid-30s, and it can drop to 10 below at night, Sluben said.

“It’s very unusual, but it’s just been a continuation of what we’ve had all autumn. The weather patterns haven’t changed,” Sluben said.

The lack of a blocking pattern in the north Atlantic is preventing the cold, arctic air from reaching the region, he said.

Sunday will feel more like winter, with the mercury expected to drop 20 or more degrees, he said.

Sluben said the coldest temperatures of the year usually happen over the next few weeks.

“If this pattern continues for a few more weeks, we could potentially get (over) the coldest part of winter without very cold air,” Sluben said.

Sluben noted that it’s a sharp contrast to last winter, which was marked by snowstorm after snowstorm.

Still, he said the first “blockbuster storm” didn’t hit the region until Jan. 12 last year. But there is no forecast for snow immediately on the horizon and rain is on the way for Wednesday night, he said.

And while residents in the region enjoyed the springlike temperatures, Sluben cautioned that winter is “far from over.”

Sluben said this is a “La Nina winter” which usually means colder and potentially stormier weather, he said.

Barely a flake has fallen since the devastating late October snowstorm that dropped a foot or more of snow in Western Massachusetts, leaving some communities without electricity for nearly a week.

Temperatures are running above normal - in November, they ran 2.5 degrees above normal, and in December, ran 5.1 degrees above the norm.

Historically, Greater Springfield receives about 51 inches of snow from early October through early April, with 13 inches coming before Jan. 1. On average, 2 inches fall in November and 11 inches in December.

Stan Freeman contributed to this report.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Diane O'Connor

Diane M. (Wasgatt) O'Connor, 52, of Agawam passed away on Tuesday. She was born and raised in Worcester. Diane attended Anna Maria College for two years and graduated from Springfield College in 1981. She moved to Agawam in 1989 and worked in several area dental offices as a dental assistant until becoming a full-time mother. She was a communicant of St. John the Evangelist Church and active with its giving tree program.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Atwell, Michael L.
  



• 
  Belanger-Gilbert, Fernande
  




• 
  Clark, Joann (Begley)
  



• 
  Coughlin, Francis Joseph
  



• 
  Dzidek, Regina (Popielarczyk)




• 
  Esteves, Jose F.
  



• 
  Gauger, Stanley D.
  




• Haendiges, Lila Lee (Wyss)
  




• 
  Hall, Jean
  



• 
  Herrera, Pascual




• 
  Hiers, Herbert Holcomb
  



• 
  Hooben, William M.
  




• Kerr, Theresa M. (Nicewicz)
  




• 
  Knowles, Richard "Rick"
  



• 
  Kozloski, Louis M.




• 
  Leonard, Winifred S. (Therrien)
  



• 
  Lieber, Helen M.
  




• McNamara Jr., John F.
  




• 
  Mendes, Todd M.
  



• 
  Moran, Dorothy B. "Dottie" (Gunnison)




• 
  O'Connor, Diane M.
  



• 
  Roberts, Selma "Sally"
  




• Ryan, John F. "Grampie"
  




• 
  Sielis, Paul J.
  

The brothers say they plan to continue to chop wood in Monson for as long as there is a need.

The Republican/Lori StabileFrom right to left, Shane A. Chase, 13, and McKinley A. Chase, 16, of Ludlow, stand with their chainsaws in front of a wood chipper at 34 Ely Road in Monson on Saturday. The boys have been helping clear properties in town since the tornado struck on June 1.

MONSON - After the tornado struck Monson, 13-year-old Shane A. Chase told his dad, Alan, that they had to help.

Since then, Shane and his older brother McKinley A. Chase, 16, have spent most weekends somewhere in Monson, armed with their seven chainsaws, and ready to help wherever they can.

Saturday was no exception, as volunteers took advantage of springlike temperatures to continue to clear trees downed by the June 1 twister.

Amid a small cadre of volunteers, the Chase brothers used the chainsaws they got for Christmas to help clean two properties, one at 20 King St., the other at 34 Ely Road.

With their father, Alan, watching, the boys from Ludlow explained why they like coming to the small town that still bears tornado scars.

“As a boy scout, you try to help whoever you can. Honestly I like helping people, and I like cutting wood so it’s a win both ways . . . I like helping the people that went through the tornado,” Shane, an eighth-grader at Baird Middle School in Ludlow, said.

Shane said they started coming to Monson a day or two after the tornado hit.

McKinley, a junior at Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School in Palmer, recalled that it was Shane who suggested they bring their wood-cutting skills to Monson. McKinley said they learned how to use chainsaws by cutting trees in their backyard.

“We get to do what we like and we get to help people at the same time, so it helps everybody. And I’ve had a great time doing it. It’s an awesome experience, and just to say that you’ve done it . . . How many 16 year olds and 13 year olds do you know that can say, ‘What do you do on the weekends? I go cut trees down in Monson that are storm damaged,’” McKinley said.

While their father is disabled and cannot do the type of work his sons are performing, he is there watching them, making sure they don’t get hurt. Alan Chase said if it weren’t for Shane’s insistence to go to Monson, he wouldn’t be there.

“It’s for them. It’s not for me. I had days where I didn’t want to be up here this summer, but Shane wanted to go,” Alan Chase said.

At 34 Ely Road, homeowner Mary E. Kostorizos said she was grateful for the help.

“It would take me years to do this and a lot of money,” Kostorizos said. “The kids have been great. Everybody has been working hard.”

“They’re awesome. It’s refreshing to see the younger generation out here and helping out,” Timothy White, a member of the street angels and Monson tornado volunteers groups, said about the boys.

Alan Chase said they accept donations to keep their equipment running and pay for fuel and oil; they have their own Facebook page, Chase and Sons Chainsaw Volunteers; checks also can be sent to Chase and Sons Chainsaw Volunteers, c/o Alan Chase, 174 Poole St., Ludlow, MA, 01056, and made payable to Alan Chase. They temporarily halted their work in Monson after the October snowstorm to help other communities.

“After the snowstorm we were all over the place, helping people for that,” Alan Chase said.

Shane said he has logged 300 community service hours since he first started in Monson. The boys are part of Boy Scout Troop 164 in Palmer.

Alan Chase said the tornado had a big effect on his younger son, and shook him up. But he said coming to Monson is like therapy for Shane. Alan Chase said some of the homeowners want to keep the wood, while others don’t. They plan to donate some wood to the boy scout troop.

Baird teacher Rita N. Laferriere, in a letter to the editor in the Ludlow Register, referred to Shane as a “hero” for helping those with tornado damage. One of the people Shane and his family helped was her son Michael and his wife Geri, who live on Ely Road.

“While other students his age are devoutly enjoying video games and sports, Shane is out there making a huge difference in many lives,” Laferriere said.

Geri Laferriere said the boys have been coming to her house since the end of August, up to 20 different times. She said they couldn’t find anyone with a chainsaw big enough to cut up a tree on their property. That’s when the Chase brothers entered the picture.

“It amazes me that all the weekends they have spent helping, and not just us. For them to take their time and do all this has just been great. They come after school . . . We consider them like family,” Geri Laferriere said.

As for Shane and McKinley, they say they will continue to go to Monson and cut wood for as long as there is a need.

Profound inequities have grown up in the juvenile justice system in the wake of a 1996 law aimed at cracking down on juvenile "super predators."

By SARAH FAVOT, KIRSTEN BERG and JENNA EBERSOLE
New England Center for Investigative Reporting

File photo | The Republican05.20.2004 | Edgardo Rodriguez, 16, is arraigned in Springfield District Court in the death of a 27-year-old Springfield man. His lawyer, Alan J. Black, is at right.

One 16-year-old went looking for marijuana at a Brookline High School graduation party, then shot the guest of honor in the chest when he got a racial slur instead.

The other 16-year-old stabbed a man 23 times inside his Springfield apartment, returning the next day to steal things from the victim’s home while his body lay nearby.

Both crimes were horrific, but the punishments were strikingly different.

The killer in Springfield, Edgardo Rodriguez, accepted a plea deal for the 2004 slaying of Joel Rivera Delgado, allowing him to potentially walk free within the next decade.

The other teen, Antonio Fernandez, took his 2002 case to trial and received the harshest juvenile sentence which Massachusetts law permits – the harshest in the country, in fact – for shooting Perry Hughes: life in prison without the possibility of parole. Until then, Fernandez had been charged with nothing worse than stealing video games. Now, he’s sentenced to die in prison.

The two cases illustrate the profound inequities that have grown up in the juvenile justice system in the wake of a 1996 law aimed at cracking down on juvenile “super predators,” by requiring them to be tried in adult court where they face the maximum adult penalty for first-degree murder, an investigation by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting has found.

Before the change in the law, juvenile killers could be sentenced to serve only until age 21 unless their case was transferred to adult court.

Seven Massachusetts youths have received life terms to prison without parole for crimes they committed before they turned 17. But, in only two cases - a fatal beating with hammers and the stabbing of a stranger in a school rest room - did their crimes approach the cruelty of the Somerville teen who inspired the law, Eddie O’Brien. O’Brien stabbed his best friend’s mother 97 times in 1995, continuing to slash her long after she had suffered mortal wounds.

Four of the teenage lifers acted impulsively, settling petty disputes with lethal attacks, a review of the murder cases shows. Fernandez, for instance, had ridden his bicycle to the graduation party and later snapped when guests turned hostile, witnesses said.

Only two of the seven lifers had prior records of violent crime, the investigation found, and two had no criminal histories at all.

Meanwhile, more than 60 other teens charged with murder since 1996 have escaped the maximum sentence, court records show, often pleading guilty to a lesser crimes such as second-degree murder, making them eligible for parole.

Yet, many of these youths committed shocking, grisly crimes; one was convicted of beating a 2-year-old to death.

A review of these cases found no obvious pattern to explain why some killers got life without parole and others won lesser sentences. What is clear, however, is that the law has not been applied consistently to the most grievous of juvenile murder cases.

Juveniles whose crimes approach the cruelty of O’Brien’s have escaped the harsh sentence, while spontaneous acts of violence by teenagers with little prior records are punished with life behind bars.

“We’d like to reserve the maximum penalty for the worst cases, for the most dangerous individuals,” said Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox, a critic of the current system. The seven teens who got life without parole “do not appear to be the worst cases.”

The first Hampden County youth to be tried as an adult under the law was 16-year-old Daniel Mendoza, of Springfield, who was charged in the August 1996 slaying of 18-year-old Jason Foster, of Chicopee.

1996 file photoDaniel Mendoza

Foster was shot once in the back outside a public housing project at 19 Elmer St. in Chicopee. In May 1997, Mendoza pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to the mandatory life term in prison with parole eligibility after 15 years.

At the time of sentencing, Hampden first assistant district attorney James Orenstein described the crime, which also involved guilty pleas by two others, as “senseless.” The two others, from Springfield, had been involved in a dispute earlier in the evening with a group from Chicopee. When they returned after midnight for revenge, Mendoza went along for no good reason, Orenstein said.

“There’s a 16-year-old arming himself with a handgun,” Orenstein said. “Here, public safety concerns outweigh concerns for rehabilitation.”

In 2004, two Chicopee brothers, Kyle and Andrew Iwanicki, were among four people charged with murder in the beating death of Kevin E. Baugh, 42, in a fracas on Chicopee Street.

File photo | The Republican08.23.2004 | Andrew Iwanicki, left, and Kyle Iwanicki

Kyle Iwanicki, who was 17 at the time, later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 12 to 14 years in state prison.

Andrew Iwanicki, who at 16 was subject to the Youthful Offender Law, spent a few months at a Department of Youth Services facility in Plymouth and about 16 months in home confinement under electronic monitoring. In June 2006, his charges were reduced to manslaughter, to be dismissed after completion of six months’ probation.

Massachusetts is the only state in New England or New York to impose life sentences without parole for crimes committed by juveniles in the past 15 years. Nationally, at least six states have abolished similar laws, making Massachusetts a target of criticism even from law-and-order Texas where legislators recently repealed life without parole for juveniles.

"Meting out unequal justice"

The Bay State is “meting out unequal justice” to teenagers, declared Texas state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, who led the fight to make juvenile killers eligible for parole after serving 40 years of their life sentence.

No prosecutors from the Massachusetts counties where teens have been sentenced to life without parole – Middlesex, Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk – would comment on their cases for the record.

But the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association released a statement supporting the law, arguing that teens who commit especially heinous crimes should not get “leniency and mercy that they never showed their victims.”

Prosecutors credit the law with forcing the most brutal juvenile killers into adult court, unlike the old system where teens facing murder charges could be tried in juvenile court where punishments tend to be much lighter. Now, because of the 1996 law, first-degree murder defendants as young as 14 must be tried as adults.

Former attorney general Tom Reilly, who prosecuted O’Brien when he was Middlesex district attorney and led the charge for the super predator law, still strongly supports it, saying it has improved public safety.

An adult trial for murder defendants over age 14 “is a perfectly appropriate way of dealing with truly heinous situations,” said Reilly, who is now in private legal practice.

Some victims’ families argue that, if anything, the super predator law doesn’t go far enough.

“If it was my decision, we’d have the death penalty,” said Olivia Singletary, the adoptive mother of Perry Hughes, Fernandez’s victim.

Critics of the law say that recent scientific studies demonstrate that it’s wrong to treat adolescents like adults in murder cases. Brain imaging research indicate that adolescent brains are underdeveloped in areas associated with risk assessment and moral reasoning, making them more prone to impulsive responses than adults, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, which opposes life without parole for juveniles.

The research findings have led some lawmakers to rethink their stance on the issue.

State Sen. Harriett Chandler, D-Worcester, who voted for the 1996 law, introduced legislation in September to allow juveniles sentenced to life without parole to apply for parole after 15 years.

“I’ve had second thoughts,” Chandler said. “Given what we know about how children’s brains develop, they are indeed capable of growth.”

Similarly, some judges who have presided over juvenile murder cases have expressed discomfort with the use of the maximum sentence.

“I don’t know what the answer is. But I don’t think we do justice by sentencing someone 16 and under to life without parole, no matter what the circumstances,” said retired Superior Court Judge Isaac S. Borenstein, who presided over the Fernandez trial.

Likewise, some jurors in teen murder trials say they are haunted by the cases. Carletta White, foreperson of the jury that voted to convict 16-year-old Kentel Weaver of first-degree murder in the 2003 shooting of 15-year-old Germaine Rucker, said she had no idea Weaver could wind up with such a harsh sentence.

“I didn’t think he was going to get life,” she said.

“I’m going to die here”

Sitting in an austere prison conference room, sporting tightly-woven dreadlocks and a drab jumpsuit, Fernandez, now 26, recalled his icy shock, his knees nearly buckling under the courtroom table, as the jury announced its verdict against him. But not until he actually spent time in an adult prison, he said, after turning 17, did he really understand the price he was going to pay for shooting Perry Hughes.

“That’s when it hit me,” he said. “The rest of my life means I’m going to die here.”

Though his lawyer prevented him from answering questions about the murder in an interview, Fernandez expressed remorse in a 2008 letter he filed in Norfolk Superior Court in an attempt to reduce his sentence.

“Back then, I was a child lost in his own world and confused. But now I’ve matured into manhood and know what’s wrong and what’s right,” Fernandez wrote. “I know I have taken a life.”

That’s a big change from the days after Fernandez killed Perry: first, he fled to New York City, then he tried to blame one of his friends for firing the fatal shot. Even so, prosecutors offered to let him plead guilty to second-degree murder, which would have given him a chance at freedom in 15 years and maybe less. But Fernandez was still claiming his innocence and wanted to see if he could persuade a jury.

Like other teens who have received life without parole, Fernandez grew up in difficult circumstances. Born to a 15-year-old mother, Fernandez was a week old when she decided she couldn’t care for him. She gave the boy to her mother, who was abusive and had been hospitalized in an inpatient psychiatric unit, according to an affidavit Fernandez’s mother filed in his case.

Fernandez eventually returned to live with his biological mother, until she had a nervous breakdown, and the teen was left without supervision, money or food, according to his mother’s affidavit.

Now, Fernandez hopes the change in state law proposed by Chandler, which applies to both current and potential future lifers, might give him a chance to go home and rebuild the life he shattered at 16, perhaps embarking on a music career and rebuilding his relationships with his younger siblings.

Like Fernandez, Kevin Keo rejected a deal from prosecutors that would have made him eligible for parole in 15 to 16 years for the shooting death of Christian Vargas-Martinez, a gang rival he blamed for slicing off part of his ear a few weeks earlier. Then 16 and with no criminal record, Keo insisted he was innocent right up to the moment he was sentenced to life without parole.

“He was just a baby a few years ago, and now his life is done,” said Keo’s father, Vong Oung, who now regrets that he didn’t press his son to accept the plea deal.

Parents of some of these teen lifers said they made foolish decisions because they had no understanding of the judicial system. Kentel Weaver, for instance, said he confessed to the murder of Germaine Rucker mainly because his mother mistakenly insisted that was the only way he could get a lawyer.

Another lifer was left to make life-determining legal decisions almost entirely on his own.

Noeun Sok, a 15-year-old Cambodian immigrant, was accompanied only by his sister when turning himself into police in 1999. He immediately waived his right to remain silent and confessed to fatally stabbing a gang rival earlier that day. At his friend’s urging, Sok admitted that he chased Keoudone “Tiny” Onexavieng, 18, down the street and put the 30-inch Samurai sword in his back.

“I never meant to hurt Tiny. I only wanted to scare him,” Sok told the police in 1999.

Sok’s parents didn’t attend his trial, so when he began sobbing uncontrollably, the judge ordered an additional lawyer to act as his guardian.

Other teens who had lengthier, more violent criminal records than Sok, Keo and Fernandez have escaped the sentence of life without parole.

Michael “Shawn” Warner’s juvenile record included multiple counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon when the 15-year-old twice shot John Rodrigues from behind during a drug dispute. He fled the scene on his scooter and evaded arrest for nearly three years.

But the jury in Suffolk Superior Court couldn’t reach a verdict at his 2003 and 2007 trial and prosecutors instead offered him a deal to plead guilty to manslaughter. Sentenced to 12 to 14 years in prison, Warner is eligible for release between 2020 and 2024.

Likewise, Billeoum Phan, a 14-year-old Lowell boy, had already faced charges in numerous violent attacks before he shot Samnath Oth, a feared gang member during a 2006 birthday party in Lowell. Yet, he was convicted of manslaughter - not first degree murder - and the judge pronounced him “salvageable,” sentencing him to the Department of Youth Services until he turns 21. After that, he’ll have to serve five years’ probation and an additional 12-year suspended sentence.

Among murder defendants suffering mental illness the variation in sentencing is just as enormous, with one getting life without parole while another served fewer than 10 years for crimes that would seem to have much in common.

Valerie Hall, a Shrewsbury teen with a history of suicide and depression, pushed her mother, Kathleen A. Thomsen Hall, down a flight of stairs in 2000, then struck her head twice with a hammer, leaving her to die while she went for a ride with her boyfriend. Prosecutors say Hall was angry at her mother for grounding her after the daughter stayed out late.

The Worcester County district attorney agreed to let her plead guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault with a dangerous weapon instead of first-degree murder, acknowledging that the girl was being treated for depression and had attempted suicide a few weeks before the murder. Hall was paroled to a halfway house in 2009.

By contrast, John Odgren, now 21, is serving life without parole at Bridgewater State Hospital for the 2007 murder of 15-year-old James Alenson, a boy he did not even know. Odgren, a special needs student who attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High, hid in the school boy’s room and surprised Alenson, stabbing him multiple times.

At his trial, Odgren’s lawyers claimed the boy had lost touch with reality following a lifetime of bullying and harassment from other kids, but a Middlesex County jury rejected his not guilty by reason of insanity defense.

Superior Court Judge S. Jane Haggerty declined to reduce Odgren’s sentence, but she did express sympathy, writing, “There is tragedy in a sentence of imprisonment for life without the possibility of a parole for a 16-year-old offender in the circumstances of the defendant.”

Juvenile crime rates have dropped in recent years, but criminologists attribute it more to a decline in youth gang activity than get-tough laws. In fact, the once-feared generation of “super predators” never materialized.

Paul Odgren, whose son is serving life, said it’s time to realize that murder cases are not always clear-cut, and that teenagers convicted of first-degree murder should at least have a chance at parole. He realizes that his child can never again be without constant supervision, but his son has no hope that he’ll ever get out of prison.

“The only thing that is worse than what happened to us is what happened to them,” said Odgren, referring to the victims of his son’s crime.

“Still kids are not adults. It’s reflected in all our other laws. They can’t drive. They can’t vote. They can’t get married. They can’t join the military. Why should they never, ever have a chance to rehabilitate themselves?” Odgren asked.

The New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University is a nonprofit investigative reporting newsroom. Maggie Mulvihill, the center’s co-director, supervised this project. Other contributors were Rochelle Sharp and interns Jill Carlson, Susan Zalkind, Carol Cole, and Alexandria Burris.

File photo | The Republican05.20.2004 | Edgardo Rodriguez, 16, is arraigned in Springfield District Court in the death of a 27-year-old Springfield man. His lawyer, Alan J. Black, is at right.

"The police officer stood beside me and said, 'You have to come with me right now,' " said Edan Dhanraj, a University of Massachusetts alumnus and United Auto Workers organizer.

View full sizeBrian CanovaTILTON, N.H. – Thirty-year-old Edan Dhanraj

TILTON, N.H. – A 30-year-old Northampton, Mass., resident said he was “racially profiled” at a Mitt Romney campaign event in Tilton, N.H. Friday night.

“The police officer stood beside me and said, ‘You have to come with me right now,’ ” said Edan Dhanraj, a 30-year-old University of Massachusetts alumnus and United Auto Workers organizer living in Northampton.

Tilton Police Lt. Richard Paulhus said one person was taken outside during a spaghetti dinner at Tilton School at the request of Romney’s security team who though the man might be suspicious. A spokesman for Romney could not be reached for comment.

Police found a bulge in the man’s pocket worrisome, said Paulhus, who denied racial profiling was involved.

View full sizeBrian CanovaTILTON, N.H. - Edan Dhanraj

Dhanraj said police told him they were concerned about his deep pockets.

“They said, ‘What’s in your pockets, something sharp?’ I go, ‘That’s my wallet,’ ” Dhanraj said Friday night at Tilton School, a private college preparatory school.

Tilton police Lt. Ryan Martin said, “We checked one guy because he had something in his coat, which turned out to be a bulge from his mittens.”

Dhanraj, who described himself as of Indian and Puerto Rican heritage, said he was at the event to hear about Romney’s proposed tax policies. Dhanraj was allowed to return to the event.

Paulhus estimated 500 people in attendance.

Get live updates from the ABC News New Hampshire Republican Presidential Debate.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Follow what's going on inside and outside the Republican Presidential debate tonight with live blog updates from our reporters covering the New Hampshire primary.

Robert Rizzuto and Brian Canova are at the Dana Center at St. Anselm College to provide live coverage of the debate. They'll follow up with stories, photos and video. The ABC News New Hampshire Republican Presidential Debate begins at 9 p.m. EST and is scheduled for two hours.

Follow live coverage of the Republican debate tonight in Manchester here:

In the New Hampshire primary, front-runner Mitt Romney, the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts, has a wide lead in polls heading into tonight's debate. Romney, the winner of the Iowa caucuses by a scant eight votes over former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, is being challenged by Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

The candidates will have little time to sleep or even relax after the Manchester debate – at 9 a.m. on Sunday, they meet again in Concord, the state capital, for the NBC News/Facebook Debate, co-sponsored by the New Hampshire Union-Leader, the state's largest newspaper. The 90-minute debate will take place at Chubb Theatre at the Capitol Center for the Arts.

Rallying Republicans lacking fervor ahead of ABC News Debate at St. Anselm's College in Goffstown, N.H.

View full sizeGOFFSTOWN, N.H. - Rallyers gather on the perimeter of St. Anselm's College, the site of tonight's ABC News Debate between the six remaining GOP candidates (Photo by Brian Canova)

GOFFSTOWN, N.H - While Goffstown police captain Rob Browne estimated that 300-400 rallyers had gathered in the enclosed demonstrator's area on the perimeter of St. Anselm's College, the site of tonight's ABC News Debate with the six remaining GOP presidential candidates, he said the scene was decidedly milder than that of years past.

"I've never seen a primary so pre-ordained, where you knew the outcome so far in advance, or knew so period," said Katz, a freelance radio news reporter of 34 years.

"The debates were always a day or two out and there was a question. Would number three be number one after the debate? Or would there be a tie and we wouldn't know who's going to win? The 23 point lead is unprecedented. What that translates into is a lack of fervor, a lack of supporters coming out with their signs and saying pick this candidate," Katz said.

Appearing on 7 radio stations and 20 radio broadcasts Tuesday, in his seventh primary cycle, Katz says he's never seen race so tame

"There's two things, the supporters are not that hot about their candidates, and they all figure well Romney's going to win, I support Santorum, but why should I go out? [Romney's] going to win, but I don't care," said Katz.

For some the demonstrator's rally ahead of the debate was not a chance to support a GOP candidate, but rather an opportunity to voice other concerns. Occupiers presented in approximately equal number to any one candidate's support base, and groups with other interests like a Mosney, N.Y. group of Neturei Karta, an anti-zionist international jewish organization.

Rabbi Dovid Feldmin, 40, of Mosney, N.Y., said the primary was an opportunity to have candidates and press recognize the suppression of religious freedom in Palestine and Israel. 24-year-old Abraham Cheshin of Palestine traveled to be with Feldmin at the event for just that reason.

Others were more familiar.

Sara Chaisson-Warner and Sara Jane Kony, both of New Hampshire, took the opportunity to rally in support of a commonly shared disapproval of concern that certain GOP candidates planned to privatize social security.

"Women in New Hampshire on average receive $12,000 from Social Security. I've worked all my life since I was 15 and I want to retire. I can't believe anyone would turn Social Security over to the same people who ruined our economy," said Chaisson-Warner, a Democrat, who represented the New Hampshire Citizen Alliance.

Kony, an Independent, represented Granite State Organizers Project.

Dan Peters, 51, of Hamden, Conn., who came with his 6-year-old daughter Abigail, came out to protest the Republican party altogether. Peters, who considered himself a Republican following 9/11, said around 2005 he began to disapprove of the direction the Republican was heading. Now he supports President Obama.

With what momentum exists so heavily favoring Romney, Katz said he expects Gingrich and Santorum to mount attacks against Romney and claw at his lead any way they can.

"Watch for the piling on of desperation," said Katz. "That said, if Romney screws up, this could get interesting."

he finalists, picked from a group of 22 during the event at the John Boyle O’Reilly Club, are: Eileen Barrett, 21; Meghan Sullivan, 18; Mariah M. McNamara, 18; Nora M. Garrity, 18; and Martha M. Crowley, 17. All are from Springfield except Barrett, who is from Ludlow.

The Republican / David MolnarThe five finalists for Springfield colleen chosen Saturday at the John Boyle O'Reilly Club in Springfield are, from left, Meghan Sullivan, of Springfield; Eileen Barrett, of Ludlow; Martha Crowley, of Springfield; Nora Garrity, of Springfield, and Mariah McNamara, of Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – Five young women were chosen on Saturday night to serve in the colleen’s court during the March 18 Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade, and one of them next month will earn the distinction of being named the Springfield colleen.

The finalists, picked from a group of 22 during the event at the John Boyle O’Reilly Club, are: Eileen Barrett, 21; Meghan Sullivan, 18; Mariah M. McNamara, 18; Nora M. Garrity, 18; and Martha M. Crowley, 17. All are from Springfield except Barrett, who is from Ludlow.

They said they were happy to have been selected, and are looking forward to representing the city.

Barrett, a senior at Lasell College in Newton, said she had wanted to compete last year, but was sidelined by ankle surgery.

“I’m in shock of it, a little bit,” Barrett said, shortly after her name was announced.

Sullivan, an Elms College freshman, said she was elated to be able to represent her heritage, her family and her community. She said she met the Springfield colleen when she was in first grade and the experience left a lasting impression on her.

“I’ve always wanted to do this,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan also was the recipient of the scholarship award.

McNamara, a senior at Central High School, said her parents, William and Kathleen, are very proud of their Irish heritage, and this is a way to make them proud. Her father, who was nearby during her interview, piped up, “We are proud.”

Garrity and Crowley, both seniors at Cathedral High School, said they are excited about being named finalists. Crowley said the competition has been a tradition in her family, and she donned the same dress that her cousin wore for the occasion.

Mollie M. Bresnahan, who is part of the Springfield St. Patrick’s Parade Committee and a former member of the colleen’s court herself, said all the young women have to go through an application process to compete, and are interviewed by a panel of judges.

The finalists chosen based on their academic performance, extracurricular activities, involvement in the community, and knowledge of their Irish heritage, she said.

The contest is open to young women of Irish descent who are 17 to 22 years of age and at least a high school senior. The Springfield colleen will be chosen on Feb. 11 at Cedars Banquet Hall, and the remaining finalists will comprise her court.

There was one arrest, but he was not directly related to the fight.

Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD – Police said a fight broke out on Saturday night at Eastfield Mall involving two males, although one media outlet reported that it was a brawl involving 30 to 40 young teenagers.

Police said the fight broke out at 8 p.m. Channel 22 reported that the brawl involved 30 to 40 youths, who then ran from police through the Macy’s store, knocking over merchandise. The television station interviewed a woman who said she initially thought it was a flash mob as the youths stampeded through the aisles.

Police said the brother of one of the males fighting was arrested, but was not directly involved in the fight. No other details were available.

Sgt. John Delaney told the television station that police officers will be there “in force“ to discourage any other groups from gathering.

Mitt Romney brushed aside rivals' criticism Saturday night in the opening round of a weekend debate doubleheader that left his Republican presidential campaign challengers squabbling among themselves far more than trying to knock the front-runner off stride.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (L-R) participate in a Republican presidential candidate debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

By STEVE PEOPLES, Associated Press

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Mitt Romney brushed aside rivals' criticism Saturday night in the opening round of a weekend debate doubleheader that left his Republican presidential campaign challengers squabbling among themselves far more than trying to knock the front-runner off stride.

Three days before the first in-the-nation New Hampshire primary, Romney largely ignored his fellow Republicans and turned instead on President Barack Obama. "His policies have made the recession deeper and his policies have made the recovery more tepid," he said, despite a declining unemployment rate and the creation of 200,000 jobs last month.

Over the course of the lively two-hour debate, there were attacks aplenty as Romney's five rivals vied to emerge as his principal rival in the primaries ahead. The former Massachusetts governor won an eight-vote victory in the Iowa caucuses last Tuesday, and is far ahead in the pre-primary polls in New Hampshire.

That leaves his pursuers little time to stop his rise and focusing their efforts on the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21

Texas Rep. Ron Paul assailed Rick Santorum as a "big government person," an allegation the former Pennsylvania senator disputed. Santorum finished a close second to Romney in Iowa this week, with Paul coming in third.

Paul, who has called former House Speaker Newt Gingrich a "chicken hawk" who has not served in the military, drew withering criticism in return. "I personally resent the kinds of comments and aspersions he routinely makes," Gingrich said.

Paul got the last word, saying emphatically, "When I was drafted I was married and had two kids, and I went." He was an Air Force surgeon in the Vietnam War era.

Romney, who often touts his business background, was attacked in the opening moments of the debate.

Santorum went first, dismissing him as a mere manager. "Being a president is not a CEO. You've got to lead and inspire," he said.

Gingrich followed a few moments later, referring to published accounts that described how some workers were laid off after Bain Capital, the firm Romney once led, invested in their companies and sought to turn them around.

He said Romney should be judged on the basis of whether "on balance, were people better off or worse off by this style of management."

Unruffled, the former Massachusetts governor retorted that Bain had created 100,000 jobs on balance, and that a businessman's experience was far better to fix the economy that a lifetime spent in Washington, D.C. "I'm very proud of the fact that the two enterprises I led were successful," he said, referring to Bain and another firm.

More than an hour later, Romney turned one question about his vision for the country into an attack on Obama that is part of his standard campaign speech. While his rivals stood by silently, he accused the president of trying to turn the United States into Europe, 'adding, "He's making us into something we wouldn't recognize."

Brianna M. Fitz, 20, Kelli A. Laramee, 21, Allison B. Lapointe, 18, Juliette R. Chenier, 17, and Kelly W. Donahoe, 22, all of Holyoke, were culled from a group of 16 contestants during the 58th Annual Colleen Pageant at Holyoke High School and will compete for the grand colleen title next month during the Coronation Ball on Feb. 18 at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke.

Manon Mirabelli photoFrom left, Brianna M. Fitz, 20, Kelli A. Laramee, 21, Allison B. Lapointe, 18, Juliette R. Chenier, 17, and Kelly W. Donahoe, 22, all of Holyoke, are the five Colleen finalists selected Saturday from among 16 contestants during the 58th Annual St. Patrick's Committee of Holyoke Colleen Pageant held at Holyoke High School.

HOLYOKE – “Stunned,” “honored” and “excited” were some of the words the five young women used to describe their emotions after they were selected Saturday night from a group of 16 contestants vying for the 2012 St. Patrick’s Parade grand colleen.

Brianna M. Fitz, 20, Kelli A. Laramee, 21, Allison B. Lapointe, 18, Juliette R. Chenier, 17, and Kelly W. Donahoe, 22, all of Holyoke, were culled from a group of 16 contestants during the 58th Annual Colleen Pageant at Holyoke High School and will compete for the grand colleen title next month during the Coronation Ball on Feb. 18 at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke.

“I’m overwhelmed,” said Chenier, a South Hadley High School student who plans on one day attending medical school and working for Doctors Without Borders.

Donahoe, a Westfield State University student studying psychology and sociology, said being selected “is a really great opportunity” and a validation of who she is becoming as a woman.

“I’ve really come into my own with my self-confidence, and this makes me feel good about myself.”

For Lapointe, a senior at Hampshire Regional High School where she is a member of the student council with plans to enter into the physician assistant program at Springfield College, making the top five was “unexpected” but an honor that allows her to carry on a family tradition.

“My grandmother was a colleen,” she said. “I can’t wait for all the events.”

Fitz, a student at Boston College, who, like Chenier is planning on pursuing a career as a physician and work for Doctors Without Borders and is currently an emergency medical technician and an intern with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said being selected as a finalist “is a dream come true.”

“This is wonderful. I’m so excited,” she said.

Laramee, a senior in the accelerated five-year Occupational Therapy Master’s program at Bay Path College, said she is looking forward to a year that will create memories that will last for a lifetime.

“I’m really excited about sharing the experiences with the other girls.”

In addition to the selection of the colleen finalists, contestant Maggie E. Kuntz was honored with the Bonnie Baker Miss Congeniality Award.

The 2011 grand colleen, Meaghan A. Leahy, welcomed all five finalists, as well as Kuntz with flowers.

The Holyoke High School Madrigal Choir, under the direction of Mark Todd, performed both the United States and Irish national anthems, and Irish step dancers from McDermott Academy, as well as the Holyoke Caledonian Piper Band, entertained the crowd.

Mayor Alex B. Morse and his executive assistant, Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, the 2007 colleen, also attended the event.

A Las Vegas billionaire with ties to Newt Gingrich has given $5 million to an independent group backing the former House Speaker's presidential bid.

FILE - In this Dec. 5, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks in New York. Gingrich's rapid rise has left veteran Republicans perplexed, given that the party's newfound presidential front-runner is backed by voters who think he's not particularly honest and doesn't shares their values. Are Gingrich's conservative, anti-Washington orations so convincing? Or, now that other conservative contenders have flamed out, are voters just desperate for a candidate who's not named Romney? (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A Las Vegas billionaire with ties to Newt Gingrich has given $5 million to an independent group backing the former House Speaker's presidential bid.

A person familiar with the situation said casino mogul Sheldon Adelson made the contribution Friday to Winning Our Future, a pro-Gingrich super PAC. The person said Adelson would spend heavily to assist whichever candidate wins the Republican nomination.

Adelson is a longtime supporter of GOP candidates and has been a friend and backer of Gingrich for many years.

Gingrich's campaign has struggled since a super PAC supporting Mitt Romney spent $3 million on ads attacking him in Iowa.

The Washington Post first reported the $5 million contribution. Politico reported last month that Adelson was prepared to spend $20 million to help Gingrich.

After months of getting a pass on the subject from his rivals, Mitt Romney was challenged in the Republican presidential debate Saturday night on his frequent claims that he created great numbers of jobs in the private sector.

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, listens as he is introduced by Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., as he campaigns at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H., Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

By CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press

EDITOR'S NOTE _ An occasional look at how well politicians' statements adhere to the facts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of getting a pass on the subject from his rivals, Mitt Romney was challenged in the Republican presidential debate Saturday night on his frequent claims that he created great numbers of jobs in the private sector. Newt Gingrich, for one, said Romney's record as a venture capitalist was one of flipping companies, taking out all the money and "leaving behind the workers."

Who's right?

The bottom line remains unknown about how many jobs were gained or lost from Romney's work at the Bain Capital private equity company. But this much is clear: His accounting behind the assertion that he created more than 100,000 jobs at companies he helped start up or turn around has been flawed.

A look at some of the claims in the latest GOP debate and how they compare with the facts:

ROMNEY: "But in the business I had, we invested in over 100 different businesses and net ... net, taking out the ones where we lost jobs and those that we added, those businesses have now added over 100,000 jobs."

GINGRICH: "I'm not nearly as enamored of a Wall Street model where you can flip companies, you can go in and have leveraged buyouts, you can basically take out all the money, leaving behind the workers."

THE FACTS: Romney has never substantiated his frequent claim that he was a creator of more than 100,000 jobs while leading the Bain Capital private equity company. His campaign merely cites success stories without laying out the other side of the ledger — jobs lost at Bain-acquired or Bain-supported firms that closed, trimmed their workforce or shifted employment overseas.

Moreover, his campaign bases its claims on recent employment figures at three companies — Staples, Domino's and Sports Authority — even though Romney's involvement with them ceased years ago.

By that sort of charitable math, President Barack Obama could be credited with creating over 1 million jobs even though employment overall is down about 2 million since he came to office. But Romney accuses Obama of destroying jobs while using a different standard to judge his own performance — cherry-picked examples that leave everything else out.

By its nature, venture capitalism often results in lost jobs because profitability and efficiency are key to investors, not how many people are on the payroll. Bain Capital profited in cases where employment went both up and down.

Staples, now with close to 90,000 employees, and Sports Authority, with about 15,000, were startups supported by Romney. The direct work force at Domino's has grown by nearly 8,000 since Romney's intervention. But Romney got out of the game in 1999, which has not stopped his campaign from crediting him with jobs created at those companies since then.

Romney toned down the braggadocio in the latest debate, saying that of the Bain-supported companies that grew, "we're only a small part of that, by the way." But he insisted his claim of more than 100,000 jobs was a "net net" figure that takes into account job losses elsewhere, even though his campaign has defended the assertion only by reporting on the performance of Sports Authority, Domino's and Staples.

No one has been able to produce a full accounting of job gains and losses from the scores of companies Romney dealt with at Bain. But a Los Angeles Times review of Bain's 10 largest investments under Romney found that four of the big companies declared bankruptcy within a few years, costing thousands of jobs and often pension and severance benefits.

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RON PAUL about RICK SANTORUM: "So he's a big government person, along with him being very associated with the lobbyists and taking a lot of funds. And also where did he get — make his living afterwards? I mean, he became a high-powered lobbyist in Washington, D.C. And he has done quite well. We checked out Newt, on his income. I think we ought to find out how much money he (Santorum) has made from the lobbyists as well."

SANTORUM: "When I left the United States Senate, I got involved in causes that I believe in.... I was asked by a health care company to be on their board of directors. Now, I don't know whether you think boards of directors are lobbyists. They're not."

THE FACTS: Santorum was not, as Paul suggested, a registered lobbyist after he left the Senate. But Santorum did trade his Washington experience for lucrative work afterward, not unlike Gingrich, who has faced plenty of tough questions about money he earned from the corridors of power despite never being registered as a lobbyist.

Financial disclosure records show that from January 2010 to August 2011, Santorum earned at least $1.3 million working as a corporate consultant, political pundit and board member. Santorum reported that the American Continental Group, a Washington lobbying group, paid him $65,000 in consulting fees. The firm's lengthy client list includes Microsoft Corp., Comcast Corp. and the American Gaming Association.

"The senator did general consulting and provided his advice and opinion on which way the Senate may go, based on his record in the Senate and his history in leadership," said David Urban, president of American Continental Group.

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ROMNEY: "I was in a state where the Supreme Court stepped in and said, marriage is a relationship required under the Constitution for — for people of the same sex to be able to marry. And John Adams, who wrote the Constitution, would be surprised."

THE FACTS: John Adams would be surprised to hear he wrote the Constitution. He was a minister to Britain at the time, after having been minister to France. He was not a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He was, though, an architect of the Declaration of Independence. And he constructed the Massachusetts Constitution.

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SANTORUM, on Obama's approach to large street protests of the elections in Iran in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected over a perceived moderate: "We had a president of the United States who stood silently by as thousands were killed on the streets, and did nothing. Did nothing. In fact, he tacitly supported the results of the election."

THE FACTS: Santorum appears to have substantially exaggerated the death toll, for which there is no authoritative estimate. Opposition supporters in Iran claimed hundreds may have died; the Iranian government claimed several dozen.

Obama indeed reacted cautiously — tepidly in the opinion of critics. Wisely or not, he had reasons for doing so. Iran analysts had warned against overt U.S. support for Ahmadinejad's foes, saying such backing might taint them as well as give the Iranian government evidence that the unrest was caused by outsiders. Iranian opposition figures wanted distance from the United States over fears that U.S. support would impugn their credibility.

Once the severity of the crackdown became known, Obama condemned the violence and said the Iranian government should respect the rights of free speech and assembly. When it became clear that opposition protesters were relying heavily on social media to get their message out and organize, the State Department intervened with Twitter to delay a planned upgrade that would have shut down the service in Iran.

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ROMNEY, on Obama: "He wants us to turn into a European-style welfare state."

GINGRICH: "His desperate efforts to create a .... European model."

THE FACTS: Republicans seldom make clear what they are talking about when they accuse Obama of trying to turn the U.S. into a "European-style welfare state."

They no doubt are referring at least in part to Obama's health-care overhaul, but that falls far short of many European plans of government-sponsored, universal health-care coverage. There's little evidence that any of Obama's proposals are modeled on European laws, policies and practices. And in finance, European nations appear to be moving in the direction of an American model, with tighter restrictions on banking practices and deficit-reduction programs.

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Associated Press writers Nancy Benac, Charles Babington, Joan Lowy, Matthew Lee and Tom Raum contributed to this report.