Mastroianni said he considers the group a valuable source of first-hand information about problems and pressures students face daily in high school.

Staff photo by Patrick Johnson Dennis Dudkin, a student at West Springfield High School speaks to Hampden DA Mark Mastroianni following Wednesdays meeting of the Youth Advisory Board in the Hampden County Courthouse.

SPRINGFIELD – District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni and members of his staff on Wednesday received a lesson on daily life in area high schools directly from students.

Members of the Youth Advisory Board presented Mastroianni with a progress report.

In a 90-minute session, students from high schools across the county discussed bullying, both the physical and online varieties, drug and alcohol abuse, and problems with teachers and administrators who look the other way.

Following the meeting in the Hampden County Courthouse, members of the group walked across Court Square to Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno’s Youth Leadership Forum.

Members of the advisory committee include high school seniors and juniors from Hampden County high schools. They were arranged in groups according to three geographic areas, the eastern, central and western parts of Hampden County, and charged with discussing violence, substance abuse and the overall school culture.

Each of the groups expanded the definition of violence beyond physical confrontations to types of bullying over the Internet, such as through social media. One student used the term “Twitter fighting” to describe online verbal spats.

Although most schools have bullying policies forbidding online abuse, students who are determined enough to do it often skirt the rules by not naming the targeted students while everyone at school can figure out who it is, students said.

“Cyberbullying is a form of personal humiliation. When you have 500 friends and all of them are seeing something about you, that can be so damaging,” a student said.

Students said alcohol and marijuana are popular among their peers, but other substances are gaining popularity including cocaine, ecstasy, and hallucinogens. Students are also abusing prescription drugs from the family medicine chest.

Staff photo by Patrick Johnson District Attorney Mark Mastroianni listens to a presentation from area high school students in his Youth Advisory Board in the Hampden County Courthouse.

Mastroianni said he considers the group a valuable source of information.

For example, he learned from the group that students in some schools were experimenting with K2, a synthetic marijuana, before the matter crossed his desk in a law-enforcement capacity.

While students from each of the three groups indicated they witness violence in the hallways and at lunch time, Springfield said they were concerned about fighting escalating to the use of weapons.

When Mastroianni asked if the schools had metal detectors, a student from Putnam High School said the detectors are either broken or not in use. “They never use them,” he said. Students are also concerned with the number of entrances to the building that allow anyone to come and go at will.

Mastroianni said he would speak with Sarno and Springfield School Superintendent Alan J. Ingram about their concerns.

“One of the things I think we can accomplish is to lock the doors and allow access only with permission,” he said.

The advisory committee members will continue their work and make a report in the spring. Mastroianni said he wants to present the report in a way that it will have the greatest impact among school administrators, city officials and school resource officers.

He said he intends the committee to continue each year with new members. 

The Somali-born, Canadian-based rapper says he would happily grant President Barack Obama's campaign the use of the song.

AP photosK'Naan, left, is upset that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney used one of his songs.

NEW YORK (AP) — Rapper K'Naan is upset that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney used his song "Wavin' Flag" during his Florida primary victory speech.

In a statement Wednesday, K'naan says Romney's campaign didn't seek approval to use the song and that he would not have granted permission if it had.

The Somali-born, Canadian-based rapper says he would happily grant President Barack Obama's campaign the use of the song.

K'Naan says he wants to make sure Romney does not use his song again and is seeking legal action.

Romney spokesman Rick Gorka says the song was used through the campaign's regular blanket license but, out of respect for K'Naan's statement, won't be used again.

"Wavin' Flag" was an international hit for K'Naan in 2010, co-written and co-produced by Bruno Mars' production team, The Smeezingtons.

The annual town election is scheduled for April 3.

AMHERST – With less than two weeks remaining before nomination papers are due Feb. 14, there may be few candidates, but five people will seeking to be elected to the School Committee for two months during a special meeting Monday night.

The Select Board and the School Committee in a joint meeting Monday night are scheduled to elect one of the five to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Steve Rivkin in December. That seat will be filled only until the town election April 3.

Only Lawrence E. O’Brien has taken out papers to run for the seat for the full three-year term. He and incumbent Irvin E. Rhodes are the only two who have taken out papers for the two seats on the committee.

Anyone seeking elected office in the town election has until 5 p.m. Feb. 14 to submit papers. Those seeking townwide office need the signatures of at least 50 registered voters.

Others seeking the seat in Monday’s joint election are Larry J. Kelley, Michael Aronson, Amy Brodigan and Joan Temkin. In her letter of interest, Temkin indicated she would not seek the permanent seat. The discussion will begin at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.

In other races, Laura L. Quinn and Joan Ross Logan have taken out papers for one seat on the Amherst Redevelopment Authority. Logan is the incumbent
Three have taken out papers for the Jones Library Board of Trustees.

Incumbent Austin Sarat and Tamson Ely have taken out papers for two three -year terms, and Carl Erikson for the one-year term. Sarat has filed his papers.

Sarat was elected last year by the trustees and Select Board to fill the seat held by Kathleen Wang who resigned. That appointment lasts until this election and the term will expire in 2013.

Incumbent Sarah McKee in an e-mail said she is not seeking re-election. “From the start, I planned to be a one-term trustee.”

Incumbent Carol J. Gray said she hasn’t decided yet whether she will run for a second term.

The board received much attention in 2010 during the lengthy evaluation of long-time Library Director Bonnie J. Isman who retired in December of 2010.

In addition to townwide offices, all 240 town meeting seats are also up for election because of the recent redistricting that has affected precinct boundaries. Candidates need only one signature of someone in their precincts. Their own signature is also enough.

The total burden on the town from the tornado is expected to be $200,000, the town administrator said.

File photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanDowntown Monson is seen in an aerial tour about a week after the June 1 tornado hit. Here, the downtown area at State and Washington streets is seen.

MONSON - With the anniversary of the June 1 tornado four months away, selectmen recently appointed a committee that will plan a ceremony to remember the town-altering event.

The idea for the committee was hatched by Karen King, who, as the leader of the "street angels" volunteer team, has been at the forefront of recovery efforts.

She, along with Police Chief Stephen Kozloski, Fire Chief George L. Robichaud, Highway Surveyor John R. Morrell, Council on Aging Director Lori Stacy and Rev. Robert Marrone, of First Church of Monson, were appointed to the tornado anniversary committee.

Kozloski said that it is his understanding that they will organize something "low-key" to memorialize the anniversary of the tornado.

Meanwhile, town officials are continuing to grapple with costs from the twister, and the pre-Halloween snowstorm.

Town Administrator Gretchen E. Neggers said they are awaiting an expected $500,000 from the Federal Highway Administration in aid, and once that arrives, the total burden from the tornado on the town will be $200,000 - a figure she called "remarkable" considering the extent of the damage.

Total tornado damage was $6.8 million, but a combination of federal and state funding paid for the vast majority of the costs. She credited the governor's office and Legislature with chipping in money not covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"If not for that, I think we would have been looking at a couple million," Neggers said.

The snowstorm costs are approximately $2.9 million. With an expected 75 percent reimbursement from FEMA, the town will be left with $725,000 in costs. It remains to be seen if additional funding will come through from the state, she said. The snowstorm dumped a foot or more of snow in some communities, causing widespread power outages that lasted a week or more.

Neggers said the selectmen will have to approve borrowing to cover the $200,000 and $725,000 in costs from the tornado and snowstorm.

The status of the Town Office Building on Main Street remains up in the air, she said.

The building, built in 1925, lost part of its roof in the tornado and has been condemned. Neggers said meetings will be held this month to discuss the building's future. There has been talk about either restoring it or razing it and building a new structure.

"We need to bring a resolution to it," Neggers said.

Board members said the board last met Dec. 6 and Chairman Joseph O'Neill has been unresponsive.

HOLYOKE – The board of directors of the Holyoke Geriatric Authority hasn’t met for nearly two months, and three members have asked Chairman Joseph T. O’Neill to schedule a meeting.

Among the business that has languished since the board’s last meeting on Dec. 6 is election of a seventh member, reorganization to elect officers and welcoming of new member Donald R. Welch, said the letter signed by members Raymond P. Murphy Jr., Charles F. Glidden and Jacqueline M. Watson.

O’Neill couldn’t be reached for comment about the Jan. 24 letter and hasn’t returned calls or responded to emails from The Republican and MassLive.com.

The board has seven members, and each is eligible for a yearly stipend of $4,000, though not all members take the payment.

The City Council’s Jan. 17 appointment of Welch, a former city councilor, to the board and questions about the board’s status highlight ongoing tensions among officials about a facility that continues to struggle with financial problems.

Welch said Wednesday he has yet to hear from O’Neill since becoming a member of the board.

At least four board meetings were scheduled and cancelled in January, Murphy said.

Welch was a councilor until losing a Nov. 8 re-election bid. He was among councilors who said changes were needed because the city couldn’t afford to keep bailing out the authority, such as a December City Council vote to cover $465,000 in employee-retirement costs unpaid by the authority going back to 2008.

Ward 5 City Councilor Linda L. Vacon, Welch and others have said if changes in management practices fail to occur, it might be necessary to close the facility instead of continually placing such large bills on taxpayers.

The authority is a nursing home at 45 Lower Westfield Road with more than 120 employees, 80 beds and 80 daycare slots for senior citizens.

The authority became a quasi-official city agency in 1971. The City Council appoints three board members, the mayor appoints three and those six vote a seventh.

Currently the seventh member is Steven J. Kravetz, but his term is expiring, officials said.

Officials have said the reason for the financial problems is federal reimbursements cover only 75 percent of costs, leaving the authority to try to cover the remaining 25 percent.

Authority officials have said the facility is current on pension payments made from employee payroll deductions, but behind on authority retirement contributions.

The East Longmeadow High School athletic field lights will be paid for through the town's free cash.

The Republican file photo | Mark M. MurrayThe new turf is set for the East Longmeadow High School. A light stand at left is one of the set from the existing lights.

EAST LONGMEADOW- After months of heated debate between School Committee members, voters approved the purchase of lights for the East Longmeadow High School athletic field.

About 400 voters packed the high school auditorium Wednesday for a special Town Meeting where they approved $115,000 to be taken from the town's free cash to pay for the lights.

The School Committee initially discussed leasing the project or making the project part of the Capital Planning Committee request during the annual Town Meeting. However, School Committee member Joseph Cabrera said the best option was to pay for the lights through the town's free cash in order to finish the project quickly.

Earlier this month the article was unanimously supported by the School Committee. The Appropriations Committee and the Capital Planning Committee supported the article as well as Selectmen Paul L. Federici and Enrico J. Villamaino.

The auditorium applauded after the article was overwhelmingly supported.

"I feel confidant that this is a good start and that next we can move on to get bleachers and lockers and everything else our students need," said Cabrera who initiated the petition for the warrant article.

"500 residents signed this petition and I believe the town has spoken," he said.

Cabrera said of the $21,000 revenue the night games produce throughout the year, more than $9,000 were lost due to the canceled night games.

The games were canceled after Superintendent of Schools Gordon C. Smith expressed concerns about insufficient lighting on the field which could cause player injuries.

Of all the options for getting the lights up quickly and efficiently this was the most viable solution, Cabrera said.

The town's free cash and operation stabilization funds have a combined $3.1 million. Money for the lights will come from the town's free cash.

Cabrera said he hopes the lights will be installed before the spring sports season begins.

The salary cap was proposed after news that Chelsea’s former housing authority director was being paid $360,000 a year.

The Republican file photo | Mark M. MurraySpringfield Housing Authority Executive Director William H. Abrashkin, appointed four years ago, has no objection to a proposal by Gov. Deval Patrick to place a salary cap on housing authority executive directors in Massachusetts.

A proposal by Gov. Deval L. Patrick to impose a $160,000 cap on salaries for housing authority executive directors triggered barely a peep in the region this week as local directors are well below the limit.

Unlike some of their counterparts in Eastern Massachusetts, no director in the western part of the state makes more than $130,000, and the salary is less than $50,000 in a number of communities.

Patrick proposed the cap and other housing authority reforms after the revelation that former Chelsea Housing Director Michael McLaughlin was being paid $360,000 a year. McLaughlin, who is under investigation by state and federal agencies including the FBI, resigned in November as sought by Patrick.

Salaries in eastern Massachusetts include $166,529 paid in Brockton and $164,800 in Somerville, according to submitted budgets on file with the state. The salary in Boston is listed at $135,906.

The governor’s recent proposal would not affect already negotiated contracts, a state spokeswoman with the Department of Housing and Community Development said.

Springfield Housing Authority Executive Director William H. Abrashkin, appointed four years ago, had no objection to the salary cap this week.

“No issue at all,” Abrashkin said. “I find my salary of $129,000 for this responsibility entirely satisfactory and am privileged to be in a position to do the best possible for our residents and to partner with the city and support its many exciting initiatives.”

“I do think it’s reasonable,” Chicopee Housing Director Monica Pacello Blazic said regarding the $160,000 cap. The Chicopee authority oversees approximately 1,200 public housing units.

She called the Chelsea director “an embarrassment to housing directors.”

The Springfield authority is the third largest authority in the state, overseeing approximately 5,000 units and a $40 million annual budget. Springfield and other public authorities receive state and federal funds and serve poor, elderly and disabled people.

Abrashkin’s salary was negotiated with the Housing Authority’s board of commissioners and submitted to the state for approval, said Abrashkin, who is a retired Hampden Housing Court judge.

Raymond B. Asselin, who was executive director of the Springfield Housing Authority for 33 years, resigned in 2003 at a salary of $120,000 after a corruption scandal. In 2007, Asselin began serving a 10-year prison sentence after he and 10 others pleaded guilty to swindling about $6.4 million from the taxpayer-funded authority.

Abrashkin did raise a concern about the governor’s proposal to eliminate compensation for Housing Authority commissioners. The commissioners “are hard working and dedicated, giving countless hours to oversight and policy-setting,” he said.

Their stipend – $6,285 for board members and $7,856 for the chairman – “is entirely fair and appropriate in my view” and is based exclusively on a formula for the number of state units owned and managed by the authority, Abrashkin said.

Holyoke Housing Authority Executive Director Rosalie M. Dean said Patrick’s plan to cap executive pay at $160,000 a year was unsurprising, given that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued similar rules.

“HUD has recently implemented this same cap for authority directors as part of the 2012 federal budget submission requirements,” Dean said.

She has been director for nearly four years, and said the authority is audited annually by an independent accountant as well as sporadic audits by the state auditor’s office.

“Any other requirements for additional oversight, audits or training will be adhered to,” Dean said.

The Holyoke board members are paid $2,800 a year each based on a state formula. The Holyoke Housing Authority manages about 1,100 units.

Agawam Housing Authority Executive Director Maureen. M. Cayer, who has been on the job for two years, said she considers her salary fair.

“I would like to make more money, but at this stage in my career I am all right with it (her salary),” Cayer said.

Pay for housing authority executive directors is tied to the number of units they supervise, which in Agawam comes to 242, according to Cayer. She said she has no problem with the state setting a salary cap.

In West Springfield, Housing Authority Executive Director Willie J. Thomas said he does not have a problem with a cap being set, as salaries of government officials like presidents, governors and mayors are also set. He has been in the post one year after 11 years running the housing authority in South Hadley, and now oversees about 400 housing units.

Westfield Housing Authority Executive Director Daniel J. Kelly, who has served in the post for 12 years, oversees 815 housing units.

“What happened in Chelsea should not affect other housing authorities in the state,” Kelly said. “I can understand the governor’s call but every authority is different.”

In Amherst, Executive Director Denise LeDuc, who began duties in January, said her salary was “heavily scrutinized,” with her contract settled at approximately the same time as the Chelsea controversy. The authority oversees 204 units.

Palmer Housing Authority Executive Director Jean A. Leonard said she does not have an opinion on the proposal yet because it is so new, and she’s not sure who exactly it will involve. She is part-time, earning about $24,000, overseeing 48 units. Easthampton’s director, Deborah Barthelette, also offered no opinion on the governor’s proposal.

Staff writers Mike Plaisance, Jeanette Deforge, Ted LaBorde, Sandy Constantine, Diane Lederman, and Lori Stabile contributed to this report.

“I would say the vast majority of our students already meet those standards,” McNiff told the committee.

Sean McNiff

SOUTH HADLEY – Principal Sean McNiff has increased graduation requirements for freshmen entering South Hadley High School next year.

The School Committee last week approved McNiff’s proposal to increase the math requirement from three years to four years.

Students will also have to study a foreign language for two years and will have to complete one year of study in the arts, including art, music, graphics or woodworking. Currently there are no requirements in the arts or foreign languages.

“I would say the vast majority of our students already meet those standards,” McNiff told the committee.

There was some discussion about the foreign language requirement. One member of the committee worried that it might increase the dropout rate among students who don’t have a facility for languages.

“Some students might struggle,” McNiff responded, “but we have the responsibility to meet their individual needs.”

He said he values foreign language study because it requires using “the whole brain” and also introduces students to other cultures. “It’s an attainable goal,” said McNiff.

Ashley Willis, student representative to the committee, addressed doubters by saying that just because a student does not excel in a subject, that’s no reason he should be excused. She said math is not necessarily her best subject, but that would not be a reason to exempt her.

Committee chair Dale Carey noted that many colleges require at least two years of foreign language study for admission.

“It would put us in compliance with MassCore recommendations,” added outgoing Superintendent Gus Sayer, referring to a program of the Department of Education.

The committee also approved McNiff’s request to change its marking periods from a quarter-based system to a semester-based system.

Although parents will still be getting quarterly grades and mid-quarterly progress reports throughout the school year, McNiff said a longer marking period will allow students more time to raise their level of performance, and will give parents and teachers more time to intervene if they are not doing well.

McNiff also announced that the High School plans to report grades using numbers rather than letters.

At the same meeting, the committee voted unanimously to appoint Christine Sweklo as Interim Superintendent of Schools when Sayer leaves at the end of January.

Sweklo, who received a round of applause from committee and spectators at the meeting, will serve from February 1 to July 1. The new superintendent, Nicholas Young, is expected to take office by July 1.

Site work for the project has cost more than expected.

M. Martin. O'Shea

WILBRAHAM - Construction of the new Minnechaug Regional High School proceeds on schedule and is being completed within the allocated budget, School Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea said.

Of the $67.45 million estimated cost, a state grant will pay for $34.8 million of the project, O’Shea told the School Committee.

The towns of Hampden and Wilbraham approved a total $32.2 million for the project, O’Shea said.

“We’re tracking under budget,” O’Shea said.

He said the cost of site work for the project was larger than anticipated.

“We saved money by using a model school that had been previously built,” O’Shea said. He said the downside is that a model school has to fit on an existing site. There were higher costs for removal of unsuitable soils, additional fill to meet the required elevation, relocation of the access drive and an enlarged student parking lot, O’Shea said.

“The site preparation costs were higher with the model school,” O’Shea said.

The cost of construction of the main building is $61 million, O’Shea said. The cost of the pool and district offices which is not partly reimbursed by the state is $5.5 million, he said.

Costs for removal of unsuitable soils were higher than originally projected, O’Shea said.

The new school is nearing completion, but still to be built are access roads, playing fields and an outdoor toilet facility for the playing fields.

The next decisions the School Committee will have to make is for the purchase of furniture, fixtures and technology, O’Shea said.

The new school will be ready for students on Aug. 29, the first day of the 2012-2013 school year, O’Shea said.

"That would be a very dangerous idea," said Newt Gingrich, Romney's chief rival for the Republican presidential nomination.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney talks to reporters on his campaign plane en route from Tampa, Fla. to Minnesota and Nevada, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

By DAVID ESPO and KASIE HUNT

EAGAN, Minn. – Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney renewed his support Wednesday for automatic increases in the federal minimum wage to keep pace with inflation, a position sharply at odds with traditional GOP business allies, conservatives and the party's senior lawmakers.

"I haven't changed my thoughts on that," the former Massachusetts governor told reporters aboard his chartered campaign plane, referring to a stand he has held for a decade.

He did not say if he would ask Congress to approve the change if he wins the White House this fall.

Congress first enacted federal minimum wage legislation in 1938 and has raised it sporadically in the years since. The last increase, approved in 2007, took effect in three installments and reached $7.25 an hour for covered workers effective July 24, 2009.

It has never been allowed to rise automatically, as Romney envisions.

Romney's chief rival for the nomination, Newt Gingrich, criticized Romney for the stance, pointing to previous periods of hyperinflation and saying it would end up costing way too much money. "That would be a very dangerous idea," Gingrich said.

Romney also drew criticism from the anti-tax Club for Growth. "Indexing the minimum wage would be an absolute job killer," the group's president, Chris Chocola, said in a statement. He called the proposal "anti-growth."

Organized labor generally supports increases in the minimum wage, and Romney's position could give him cross-over appeal among blue-collar Democrats in a general election campaign.

Republicans have generally opposed attempts to raise it, although in 1996, the GOP-controlled Congress passed an election-year increase that included a package of tax cuts for business and a subminimum wage to apply to new, younger employees.

At the time lawmakers were considering the 2007 legislation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce registered its disapproval.

"Any minimum wage increase will significantly affect the bottom line of the nation's small business owners," said Bruce Josten, the executive vice president for government affairs at the organization, which says it represents more than 3 million businesses and organizations across the country.

A spokesman for the organization declined to comment on Romney's statement.

The National Federation of Independent Business says on its website that it opposes any increase in the current federal minimum wage.

"Mandatory wage increases not only hurt small businesses, but their employees as well," the group says. "It has not been proven to reduce poverty or narrow the income gap and puts a stranglehold on America's top job creators: small businesses."

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, Michael Steel, said Congress' top Republican "is following the presidential campaign but has not been commenting on the individual candidates' specific proposals." Boehner opposed the most recent increase that passed Congress.

An aide to Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Romney's statement.

As a candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, Romney said he supported minimum wage increases in line with inflation.

Five years ago, he said he liked the "idea of getting the political debate out and I like the idea of not having the huge jumps as we do now."

Espo reported from Washington.

After her arraignment, Evelyn Marie Fuller told a reporter, "I'm very sorry for what I did, and I know God is going to punish me for it."

Associated PressIn this photo made on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, Evelyn Marie Fuller, left, is led from her arraignment on bank robbery charges by Waynesburg police patrolman Tom Ankrom in Waynesburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Washington Observer Reporter, Bob Niedbala)

WAYNESBURG, Pa. – A woman who appeared to not have any teeth in surveillance photos from a bank robbery last month has confessed, apologized and told police she planned the heist because she needed the money for dentures.

Evelyn Marie Fuller, 49, remained in a jail Wednesday unable to post bond on bank robbery and other charges filed a day earlier by police in Waynesburg, in western Pennsylvania, where she's accused of robbing the First National Bank on Jan. 20.

Arresting Officer Tom Ankrom said Fuller, of Carmichaels, about 10 miles east, explained her motives when she confessed to the crime.

"During her confession, she stated she wanted to use the money to pay for dentures she was unable to get through welfare until next year," Ankrom said.

Police distributed a surveillance photo of the robber, who appeared to be toothless, and an unnamed witness went to police and told them he had loaned Fuller the coat the robber was seen wearing in the picture. The man told police Fuller returned the coat because the zipper didn't work, and police said it matched one the robber is wearing in the picture.

Fuller, at her arraignment Tuesday, told a district judge she has mental health problems and lives on disability benefits, the Observer-Reporter newspaper, of Washington, said Wednesday.

After her arraignment, she told a reporter, "I'm very sorry for what I did, and I know God is going to punish me for it," before explaining that her pastor told her to tell the truth about what she did.

Between water and smoke damage, the Pepin Avenue home was destroyed.

Photo by Patrick BroughFirefighters work to extinguish a blaze at 37 Pepin Ave. in Easthampton

EASTHAMPTON – City officials are hoping people will help a Pepin Avenue family who lost their home in a Jan. 22 fire.

Cindy Perry, police department administrative assistant, said between water and smoke damage the 37 Pepin Ave. home “was completely destroyed.”

The home is owned by Corrine Murray, the ex-wife of city police officer Edward Murray. “This is Ed’s family. We’re friends with his (ex) wife,” Perry said. They couple has two teenage children, Valerie and Alan, she said.

The family lost virtually everything in the blaze that was reported at about 9:15 a.m. that Sunday, she said. The family cat died as well.

It took about 30 minutes for firefighters to contain the fire but firefighters remained at the home until about 3 p.m. that day searching for and extinguishing small fires that had spread behind the walls.

"Firefighters from Holyoke, Westhampton, Northampton and Southampton assisted.

Clothing stacked too close to a gas water heater ignited the fire, Fire Capt. Dennis Peck said that day.

With the help of the Red Cross, the family has been staying in a hotel and is looking to rent a place while their house is rebuilt, Perry said.

They need clothing and other personal belongings they lost in the fire. “It’s pretty sad,” she said.

Any amount would help and people can mail checks directly to the Easthampton Savings Bank, attention Murray Family Fire Relief Fund, PO Box 351, Easthampton, Mass., 01027.

People can drop contributions to the police department as well, she said.

Perry said she opened the account Jan. 25 and since then they are trying to spread the word to as many people as they can.

The Selectboard will begin by commenting on two reports that the town commissioned to get advice on what it could be doing better.

SOUTH HADLEY – Faced with finding a new Town Administrator, residents of this town have a chance to speak up about this and all aspects of local government, when a forum called “What Now?” is presented on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in the South Hadley High School Library.

Admission is free, and refreshments will be served.

The Selectboard will begin by commenting on two reports that the town commissioned to get advice on what it could be doing better.

The reports were produced in 2011 by Municipal Resources Inc. and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

Linda Young of “Know Your Town,” the civic group that is sponsoring the forum, said she hopes the public will use the recommendations from those reports as a launching pad to ask “very honest” and searching questions of their leaders.

“We need to move forward,” said Young, the Know Your Town member in charge of the forum, who also served on the Master Plan Committee.

“I’ve been at this for so long that it seems to me we’ve been taking ‘half’ baby steps – not even baby steps!” she said.

Among other things, the DOR recommended that the role of Town Administrator be strengthened.

Paul G. Beecher left that position suddenly on Jan. 20 after two years on the job.

Young said that, rather than a Town Administrator, maybe the town needs a Town Manager, a position with the authority to hire, fire, oversee departments, write grants and take charge of day-to-day decision-making, leaving the Selectboard to make policy.

She hopes people will ask if a town election is needed to change the position to Town Manager – or if the responsibilities of the Town Administrator can just be re-written without changing the title.

Like members of the Selectboard, Young believes strongly that a consultant should be hired for the Town Administrator search this time around.

Young would also like to hear people talk about how, with all the attention to revitalizing the Falls area of South Hadley, the two commercial plazas on Newton and Willimansett Streets “are going downhill. We need to work with the community and the lessees,” she said.

The single big parking lot in front of the Big Y on Newton St., for example, is not only unsightly but unsafe, she said. “There are so many empty stores. We could renovate the whole plaza area and do something about the landscaping.

“This town has so many wonderful people who have so much to give,” said Young, “but I think right now they are in a holding pattern.

“Someone has to move us forward.”

Officials had thought the former school's prime location near Interstate 91 and Route 5 would attract developers.

Staff photo by Michael S. GordonThe former Lynch School at Northampton and Dwight streets.

HOLYOKE – The pursuit of proposals to redevelop the former Lynch School has yielded zero bids from developers.

Mayor Alex B. Morse said Monday the city will revise the conditions attached to the property at Northampton and Dwight streets, and that could mean the inclusion of the adjacent Anniversary Field to increase the site’s attractiveness as a commercial site.

“It’s something that I’m going to explore,” Morse said.

Officials have played up the location-lure of the 1575 Northampton St. site’s proximity to Interstate 91 and its fronting on busy Northampton Street (Route 5) as bait to developers. But not one bid was submitted by the Dec. 7 deadline, Chief Procurement Officer David A. Martins said.

Bids had been sought from developers interested in turning Lynch into offices, a restaurant or mixed uses under a set of conditions, known as a request for proposals, or RFP. That RFP was written by the administration of Morse’s predecessor, former Mayor Elaine A. Pluta.

“I think we have to make sure we make it as attractive as possible,” Morse said.

Officials have been reluctant to include Anniversary Field in the Lynch sale because they said the city needs the space for baseball and youth football and soccer games.

City Councilor Todd A. McGee, who represents Ward 6, where Lynch is located, said his understanding was the city might need state approval to sell Anniversary Field. Such a sale would entail decommissioning property that is considered a public park, he said.

The city could gauge interest by issuing a request for proposals that includes Anniversary Field with Lynch, he said.

“I’d say, put out the RFP, see what comes back,” McGee said.

The school was built in 1952 and was last used by the School Department, as a middle school, in 2008. It has an assessed value of more than $3.5 million.

After Lynch ceased being a school, city councilors and others pushed the School Committee to surrender control of the property to the city so that its prime I-91 location could become redevelopment revenue. But Lynch has sat mostly unused since the School Committee took that 5-3 vote on Aug. 16, 2010.

Morse said Lynch occupies too important a location for the city not to benefit from its use.

“It’s a gateway to the city,” Morse said.

The Select Board is looking at a ways to clearly define the purpose of the Capital Planning Committee.

LONGMEADOW - The Select Board is looking at a ways to clearly define the purpose of the Capital Planning Committee.

Select Board Chairman Mark P. Gold said there has been some confusion between what are capital projects and what are regular maintenance requests that should be paid for through the general operations budget.

Gold said the Capital Planning Committee was created more than 10 years ago before Longmeadow changed to a town manager system of government. He said it is time to update the manual which specifies the duties of the committee.

Select Board member Paul P. Santaniello said the board needs to differentiate between what is maintenance and what is a long-term project. He said maintenance issues that were not taken care of over the years are now being submitted as capital project requests, and that is not the purpose of the funds.

"We need to separate and segregate what items should be on this budget," he said. "We need to get on more regular schedule of maintenance that will be operational and not capital based."

Gold, who served on the Capital Planning Committee for more than seven years, said he is concerned that the committee has taken on more than what it was originally established to do.

"I'm concerned about how the committee interacts with this new form of town government, which is different than when the committee was formed and there were multiple department heads submitting requests. Now the town manager does the consolidation of the capital budget," he said. "I think the best thing the committee can bring is the citizen's view of what the priorities are."

Capital Planning Committee member Richard Foster said he believes the committee should include a Select Board member as well as town officials who are familiar with the day-to-day needs of each town department.

Capital Planning Committee member Steven Metz said the committee needs a clearer direction.

"There has been very little distinction made between the long-term capital needs of the town and things that need to be replaced on a yearly basis," he said. "Roads, sewers and infrastructure are things you know you have to replace and maintain."

Foster said there is about $170 million in backlogged deficiencies including projects at the two middle schools.

"We need to have a plan in place so that we can make financial decisions instead of waiting for something to fail. That's the main frustration we have felt," he said.

Money for the capital projects fund comes from 2 percent of the general fund. The board is considering funding it from just the tax revenue.

Yesterday's high of 61 fell four degrees shy of the record set in 1990.

The Republican | Greg Saulmon02.01.2012 | HOLYOKE - A pair of kayakers took advantage of Wednesday's warm weather by taking an early season trek on the Connecticut River below the Holyoke dam.

SPRINGFIELD – Wednesday’s warmth, though a bit unusual, was not record-breaking, abc40 / Fox 6 meteorologist Dan Brown said.

The record high of 65 degrees for Feb. 1 was set at Westover Air Reserve Base in 1989. Yesterday’s high at Westover came in at 61.

Cooler weather is on tap for Thursday with reading reaching into the lower 40s, Brown said. Temperatures Friday and into the weekend will linger in the 30s.

There is the potential for stormy weather on Sunday -- but most computer models have that storm passing out to sea. After that, however, there are no snowstorms or Arctic outbreaks in sight.

Might Western Massachusetts escape the worst that winter has to offer this time around and just slowly ease into spring?

“It’s possible,” Brown said. “The back half of winter doesn’t have to get snowy because the front half wasn’t. It’s just one of those winters.”

The news from Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Penn. this morning, however, indicates otherwise. Punxsutawney Phil, Groundhog Day’s official prognosticator, saw his shadow which means six more weeks of winter.

Brown said that January, while warmer than normal, did not make into the top ten warmest Januarys as logged by the National Weather Service at Bradley and Logan international airports. Those records stretch back to the late 1800s, Brown said

The proposed changes would only affect restaurants that serve alcohol, allowing them to essentially morph into all-night food joints.

NORTHAMPTON – The Pioneer Valley is poised to have its very own version of the "city that never sleeps," as the Northampton License Commission mulls whether to extend food service hours for 'Hamp restaurants with liquor licenses.

The commission is not expected to set a limit on how late businesses can remain open to serve food, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reports. The new policy, expected to be tweaked and finalized by next month, would allow businesses with extended food-service hours to keep their doors open to patrons even after they stop serving alcohol for the night.

The proposed change would not apply to dining establishments that don't serve alcohol, and it would not extend drinking hours. But it would allow extra time to serve food to patrons, which might help some late-night revelers sober up before heading home.

"It gives that extra time ... for alcohol to be processed in an individual," Alex Washut, owner of Jakes No Frills Dining, told the Gazette. Washut, who supports the proposed policy change, said he hopes to start serving late-night diners at his well-known King Street eatery.

Current guidelines allow businesses to serve alcohol until 1 or 2 a.m., depending on the type of license they hold. But businesses with 2 a.m. closing times are barred from letting any new customers in after 1 a.m. That would change under the new rules, officials said.

The woman told police she was robbed and stabbed, but witnesses claim the incident may be related to a problem she had with the suspect, whose description was unavailable.

File photo | The Republican

HOLYOKE – Police are investigating a stabbing that occurred in the Flats section of the city Wednesday evening.

Officers responded to a 7:25 p.m. report of a woman who arrived at Holyoke Medical Center for treatment of a stab wound to the leg.

"It happened somewhere down in the Flats," Holyoke Police Sgt. David O'Connell said, adding that the woman was unsure of the precise location.

Her version of events clash with information provided by witnesses.

"She's saying she was robbed, but her friends are saying it may have been related to a beef she was having," O'Connell said.

Police have not released any information about the suspect. The case is being investigated by Det. John Sevigne.

Under the plan, the maximum daily charge at the terminal-area lots would jump from $24 to $27.

Associated PressIn this July 19, 2011 file photo, an American Airlines jet taxies on a runway as it takes off at Logan International Airport in Boston.

BOSTON — A trip to Logan International Airport is about to become more expensive.

The Massachusetts Port Authority announced Wednesday it wants to raise parking rates at the airport while at the same time lowering rates at satellite lots. The goal is to ease traffic at the airport while also raising revenues.

Under the plan, the maximum daily charge at the terminal-area lots would jump from $24 to $27. Hourly rates at the central garage will remain the same for the first two hours, but will increase by $3 for subsequent time blocks.

Massport plans to cut daily rates at its Logan Express lots from $11 to $7. The satellite lots in Woburn, Framingham, Braintree and Peabody require passengers to take a $22 shuttle. The price changes are expected to generate $10 million a year.

The accident occurred about 9 a.m. at 526 Parker St.

Photo courtesy of East Longmeadow Police DepartmentEast Longmeadow - 2-2-12 - Firefighters required the Jaws of Life to extricate 36-year-old Michael Rivet from his car which crashed into a home at 526 Parker St. Tuesday morning. Rivet, who faces drunk driving and other charges, was listed in good condition Thursday at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

EAST LONGMEADOW - A 36-year-old Parker Street man. who lost control of his car on that street Tuesday and launched into a house, has been cited by police with drunken driving.

Michael Rivet, of 35 Parker St., was listed in good condition Thursday morning at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Rivet was also cited for reckless operation of a motor vehicle and speeding, Sgt. Patrick Manley said. He will answer to the charges in Palmer District Court.

The crash occurred about 9 a.m. as Rivet drove his 2001 Ford Taurus north on Parker Street. “He came around the bend and was he was driving too fast in the wrong lane and nearly struck a DPW vehicle,” Manley said.

Rivet swerved back into the correct lane but then lost control, crossed two lawns, hit a slight rise went airborne and hit the house at 526 Parker.

“He didn’t drive into the house, he flew into the house,” Manley said.

Rivet showed signs of intoxication as firefighters used the Jaws of Life to extricate him from his Ford Taurus which penetrated halfway into the home, Manley said.

“It appears the accident was caused by a high rate of speed in a thickly-settled area and alcohol was also a contributing factor,” Manley said.