The young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps replanted forests, built roads and trails, worked in quarries, fought floods and fires, sent money back to their parents and helped bring a depleted land back to life through hard work.

Lin Pickle contemplates the stone ruin at Judd Park in South Hadley.

SOUTH HADLEY – Lin Pickle has been hiking since he was 12. At 80, he is out clearing trails every week. He is so devoted to the environment that South Hadley Conservation Administrator Janice Stone has honored him with a one-of-a-kind cap embroidered with the words “South Hadley Conservation Volunteer.”

Now Lin and his wife, Nancy, are trying to solve the mystery of a stone ruin in one of the town’s conservation areas, which they believe may have been built by young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

The CCC was created in 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to give employment to young men between 17 and 28.

The youths replanted forests, built roads and trails, worked in quarries, fought floods and fires, sent money back to their parents and helped bring a depleted land back to life through hard work.

Judd Park, site of the stone ruins being investigated by Lin and Nancy, is on land donated by Charles Judd in 1931. It has been used by the Boy Scouts for many years.

The ruins are remnants of a dam and a building made of large stones. “They’re very impressive up close,” said Lin.

He and Nancy have done research on the CCC, visiting the Northeast States Civilian Conservation Corps Museum in Stafford Springs, Conn.

They also went to a CCC museum at Greylock Mountain in Massachusetts, where they found a stone building similar to the ruin in South Hadley. It showed them what the absent roof on their ruin might have looked like – wooden and sharply slanted.

They hoped to find someone with memories of the CCC in South Hadley, but old-timers they spoke to only went back as far as Boy Scout outings.

There were CCC encampments in Holyoke, Belchertown and the Quabbin area, said Lin, but no records of a South Hadley encampment.

A weathered bronze plaque found in the basement of South Hadley Town Hall bears the words “Works Projects Administration,” referring to FDR’s umbrella program that put many Depression victims back to work, but nobody knows where it came from.

Lin, a retired engineer, is careful to say that the CCC connection to the stone ruin is only conjecture.

But it’s near a quarry and near a stream, two details that suggest a CCC encampment, said Nancy.

If that’s what it is, it’s a monument to Americans who endured the Great Depression, a time when Americans were starving and desperate for work.

To apply to the CCC, young men had to weigh at least 110 pounds and have three teeth (“not necessarily connected,” said Nancy) in their mouths. Some of the applicants were so malnourished they would put rocks in their pockets to meet the weight requirement.

Bridgewater State is stepping up security at a school play that opens Thursday and features two gay characters.

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (AP) — Hundreds of students, faculty and community members have rallied at Bridgewater State University for free speech and a student who says she was attacked after writing a campus newspaper opinion piece in support of same-sex marriage.

The Enterprise of Brockton reports that university President Dana Mohler-Faria called on the ralliers to make the campus "a beacon of brotherhood and justice."

A school spokesman said a man and a woman approached 20-year-old Destinie Mogg-Barkalow last Thursday, and the man questioned her about the article titled "Prop 8 generates more hate" before the woman accompanying him punched her. Mogg-Barkalow had a bruised eye. Sketches of the suspects have been released, but no one has been arrested.

Bridgewater State is stepping up security at a school play that opens Thursday and features two gay characters.

___

Information from: The Enterprise, http://www.enterprisenews.com

Funding to the Meals on Wheels program would mean the loss of more than 200,000 meals per year.

Photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanLunch time at the Pleasant View Senior Center in East Longmeadow. The state is considering cutting funding to meal programs in 2013.

Marge Sheehan, of East Longmeadow, has lunch at the Pleasant View Senior Center on North Main Street every day at noon. For Sheehan, and many seniors, lunch is a chance to get out of the house, meet with friends and eat an inexpensive and healthy meal.

“It’s a lifeline,” said Sheehan, who has also volunteered to prepare the meals for the Meals on Wheels program. “It gives me a chance to socialize, eat a healthy meal and have a good time with friends.”

Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 includes a 24 percent cut to funds that pay for Meals on Wheels and congregate meal programs like the one at Pleasant View. Elder care service providers said the cuts would be devastating to the program.

“This is an important nutrition program, but also an important socialization program for seniors,” said Albert Norman, the executive director of Mass Home Care. “Whether they go to a congregate meal site or they get a meal delivered at home it is an opportunity to interact with other people.”

Norman said Patrick’s budget slashes the elder nutrition program by $1.5 million, from the fiscal year 2012 level of $6.3 million, to $4.8 million in fiscal year 2013.

“The loss of funding will cut nearly a quarter a million meals in 2013. Total meals served to seniors will plummet from 996,000 meals in 2012, to 754,000 meals in 2013, a loss of 242,000 meals,” he said.

Mass Home Care works with WestMass ElderCare, Greater Springfield Senior Services, Highland Valley Elder Services, Franklin County Home Care Corporation and Elder Services of Berkshire County, which in turn provide funds for meals at individual towns in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties.

WestMass ElderCare Executive Director Priscilla L. Chalmers said her organization is responsible for meals in Belchertown, Chicopee, Granby, Holyoke, Ludlow, South Hadley and Ware. They also provide funds for Lorraine’s Kitchen in Chicopee and Kate’s Kitchen and the Salvation Army in Holyoke. In fiscal year 2011 they served 380,320 meals.

“We do get federal funding and some local donations, but we rely heavily on funds from the state,” Chalmers said. “This would be a devastating loss for us.”

Photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanLunch time at the Pleasant View Senior Center in East Longmeadow.

Chalmers said the program helps seniors stay in their homes for longer.

“By providing them a daily meal we help keep them out of nursing homes,” she said.

John Lutz, executive director of Highland Valley Elder Services, which serves twenty-four communities in Hampshire and Hampden county including Northampton, Hadley, Amherst, Southwick, Westfield and Easthampton, said they serve about 950 meals a day with 826 of those being home delivered and 124 at congregate meal sites. He said this is the first time in years that the state has considered cutting funding to the program.

“Seniors are very aware that there could be a cut and we are encouraging people to advocate for the program by calling their local legislatures and telling them how important the meals are,” he said.

Ruth Pessolano, Connie Garcia, Marilyn Cramblit and Kay Murphy meet for lunch every day at Pleasant View. They are aware of the possible funding cut and said they will write letters to their legislatures and promote the program any way they can.

“If it wasn’t for this program I don’t know where I would be,” Murphy said.

Garcia said the program gets her out of the house and into the senior center where she can then participate in a variety of activities throughout the day.

Local senior center directors like Carolyn Brennan, who runs Pleasant View, said the funds are essential to for operating the program.

Brennan said she budgets about $100,000 a year for the meals program. The money comes from federal and state grants as well as donations. They do not receive money from the town’s general fund, she said.

Brennan said she receives about $20,000 from the state to run the program.

“If we lost that it would be a huge blow to us. I don’t think we could supplement such a large amount,” she said.

Senior center’s like Pleasant View receive the grants from Greater Springfield Senior Services, one of the organizations Mass Home Care supports.

“We provide grants for East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Monson, West Springfield and Agawam,” said Elaine Massery, the executive director of Greater Springfield Senior Services.

Massery coordinates 20,000 meals per day through the congregate sites, but mostly through the Meals on Wheels program. The organization directly serves communities including Springfield, Wilbraham, Palmer, Wales, Holland, Brimfield and Hampden.

Massery said the program receives about $315,000 in state funds. With Patrick’s cut they would lose about $75,000 dollars.

“If we lose that money some things will have to change. We will have to look more closely at who is getting meals, we might require our drivers to take on more meal deliveries,” she said. “This has never been an issue before, so we will have to come up with some other options.”

Chalmers hopes an event put on by WestMass ElderCare in March will bring awareness to the importance of the program.

“On March 23 we will be organizing an event called March for Meals where we will invite elected officials to assist us in delivering meals to people. It will give them a chance to speak with seniors about the value of this program,” she said.

Brennan said she is working with the Meals on Wheels Association of America to raise awareness about the importance of the program.

“This is more than just a meal, it serves as a method of socialization and a well-being check,” Brennan said. “Often times our drivers will stop by to deliver a meal and find an elderly person on the floor or in need of medical help. For some seniors this is the only person they will talk to in day.”

Norman said he will be going to Beacon Hill to defend the program before the Senate and the House of Representatives make a decision on whether to cut funding.

“We are ready to fight for this program,” he said.

Massachusetts residents who host “bring-your-own-booze” parties are free of liability if underage guests subsequently drive drunk and cause injuries, deaths or damage, the state’s high court ruled today.

Massachusetts residents who host “bring-your-own-booze” parties are free of liability if underage guests subsequently drive drunk and cause injuries, deaths or damage, the state’s high court ruled today. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)

By Kyle Cheney, STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON - Massachusetts residents who host “bring-your-own-booze” parties are free of liability if underage guests subsequently drink and drive, causing injuries, deaths or damage, the state’s high court ruled today.

Contending that “social hosts” cannot be expected to police their guests’ drinking, the court ruled that only hosts who supply alcohol to their visitors can be held legally responsible for off-premises damage caused by intoxicated guests.

“A social host could be held liable for injury to third parties caused by the drunk driving of a guest only in cases where the host had actually served alcohol or made it available,” wrote Justice Fernande Duffly in a majority opinion in which she drew from prior court rulings to offer a rationale. “Liability attaches only where a social host either serves alcohol or exercises effective control over the supply of alcohol.”

In her opinion – joined by Justices Robert Cordy, Barbara Lenk, and Francis Spina – Duffly rejected an attempt by parents of an injured 16-year-old partygoer, Rachel Juliano, to sue the party’s 18-year-old host, Jessica Simpson. Juliano “suffered serious injuries” when a car driven by her boyfriend, Christopher Dunbar, struck a utility pole after the pair left the premises, according to facts relied upon by the court.

At issue, according to the majority opinion, is the fact that Dunbar, not Simpson, had supplied all the alcohol available at Simpson’s party – a 30-pack of beer and a bottle of rum – and insisted on driving home with Juliano after consuming a pair of mixed drinks and “six or seven beers.”

Although the Julianos’ suit contends that Simpson, the party host, should be found negligent for allowing Dunbar to drink on her property, the court concluded that earlier rulings made clear that hosts can’t be responsible for their guests’ drinking when they don’t control the supply of alcohol.

“We expressed doubt that a social host can effectively prevent a guest from drinking the guest's own supply of alcohol, in contrast to the host who furnishes liquor to guests. The latter host, we said, is like a bartender in a licensed establishment who is well situated to ‘shut off’ guests who should not be drinking because of age or intoxication, and we noted that ‘society may fairly expect’ a host in the latter situation to take such action,” according to Duffly’s ruling.

“We acknowledged also that there were ‘a number of practical difficulties’ inherent in imposing on social hosts a duty ‘to police the conduct of guests who drink their own liquor.’ Among those difficulties we noted the unpleasant--and potentially counterproductive-- enforcement methods available to hosts, such as physically ejecting an intoxicated guest from the property, thereby increasing the likelihood of that person driving while intoxicated,” Duffly continued.

Although the ruling was unanimous, two justices – the court’s chief Roderick Ireland and Judge Ralph Gants –offered a separate opinion calling the ruling too broad because it would apply to both underage hosts and those who are over 21 years old.

“I differ with the court in that I would limit our holding to an underage host, and would wait until we are presented with a case where a social host who has reached legal drinking age knowingly allows underage guests to use his or her home to drink alcohol before we decide whether to extend our holding to all social hosts,” Gants wrote. “I believe that such restraint is the more prudent course … it is not difficult to imagine egregious circumstances where an adult of legal drinking age encourages underage guests to ‘bring your own beer or booze’ to get drunk at his or her house, one of whom later kills or cripples someone while driving home.”

“Under the court's decision today,” he continued, “if similar tragic facts again arose, a social host who has reached the legal drinking age would not be liable in tort if he or she did not provide the alcohol for the party, even if the underage guest had killed a pedestrian, passenger, or another motorist while driving home.”

Judge Margot Botsford wrote a separate concurring opinion, contending that the Legislature – which frequently regulates the alcohol industry and makes laws regarding alcohol consumption – should address the issue.

“As the court notes, a number of bills have been filed over recent years seeking to add a civil liability provision to state law. These bills have been rejected to date, but they reflect legislative interest in regulating the very issue we consider here,” she wrote.

Botsford also rejected the majority’s opinion that there are no “clear existing values and customs” in play in its decision.

“I believe that there clearly exists today a widespread social consensus that (1) underage drinking, especially when combined with driving, is a social problem of enormous significance; and (2) we as a society are committed to preventing or limiting its occurrence in whatever ways we can,” she wrote.

The court’s ruling dealt a defeat to the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, which had called on the court to rule against Simpson and declare her liable for the injuries and damage caused by her party guests.

“This case is governed by general negligence principles under which every person must exercise
reasonable care to prevent foreseeable harm to others,” the group wrote in a brief to the court, citing statistics about the growing prevalence of underage drinking and arguing that societal values compelled the court to rule in its favor.

But Duffly rejected those arguments as a rationale for changing liability laws, citing legislative action to address underage drinking and driving as the preferred remedies.

“The Legislature's decision to deter and punish those who facilitate such conduct by the imposition of jail sentences and financial penalties, along with the stigma of a permanent criminal record, lends support to that argument,” she wrote. “However, the public policy concerns raised in past social host cases remain relevant to our determination of the appropriate scope of common-law tort liability. We have not been given sufficient reason to significantly amend our tort law in the face of sound reasons for maintaining its current status.”

Police said 47-year-old Peter Cassidy of Brattleboro was taken to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – Police say a Vermont man suffered head injuries after the hang glider he was riding crashed just over the state line in Massachusetts.

The Brattleboro Reformer reported the crash happened Sunday afternoon on the Mohawk Trail in North Adams, Mass. Police said 47-year-old Peter Cassidy of Brattleboro was taken to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. His condition was not immediately available.

Police Officer Al Zoito said there were no motor vehicles in the area at the time of the crash, but the hang glider did go into power lines. It crashed on the road just below the western summit on the North Adams side of the trail.

He said the accident is being investigated.

The council referred back to committee Mayor Alex Morse's other requested appointment, that of Adam Pudelko to be personnel director.

Adam Pudelko, left, and Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross

The Republican | Greg Saulmon02.21.2012 | HOLYOKE - Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross, right, and Ward 1 councilor Gladys Lebron Martinez embrace after the city council confirmed Ross as city solicitor Tuesday evening.

This updates a story originally posted at 9:15 p.m.

HOLYOKE – The City Council Tuesday voted 10-4 to confirm lawyer Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross to be Mayor Alex B. Morse’s city solicitor.

In the night’s other controversial vote, the council referred back to committee Morse’s appointment of city attorney Adam Pudelko to be personnel director.

Morse appointed Pudelko and Rodriguez-Ross on Jan. 3 subject to City Council confirmation.

Pudelko’s yearly salary would be $60,600 and Rodriguez-Ross’ would be $70,000, Morse said.

An audience of supporters at City Hall cheered at the council’s approval of Rodriguez-Ross, whom Morse hugged after the vote.

“I’m glad. I have every intention of working hard for the city,” Rodriguez-Ross said.

The votes were controversial because councilors said they had reservations about Rodriguez-Ross and Pudelko. Questions about them were detailed in a 3 1/2 hour meeting of the council Public Service Committee on Feb. 9.

Concerns about Rodriguez-Ross included her plan to reserve Thursdays to work on cases from her private practice from which judges refused to release her and her hiring of a college friend for a city lawyer job.

Morse said Rodriguez-Ross was qualified to lead the Law Department. She was someone he trusted, he said, a key trait for an official a mayor confers with daily.

Morse was agreeable to her Thursday work arrangement, he said.

“I’m her supervisor and I know she’s working 50-55 hours a week, nights, weekends,” Morse said.

“I would say the qualifications are there ...,” Councilor at Large Joseph M. McGiverin said.

But other councilors said they were unable to support Rodriguez-Ross unless she were to shed her private-practice work and commit 100 percent to the city.

“It’s something that I don’t think the taxpayers can handle,” Councilor at Large James M. Leahy said.

A motion to return the Rodriguez-Ross appointment to committee failed, with eight councilors voting no and six voting yes. Ward 6 Councilor Todd A. McGee was absent.

Voting to confirm Rodriguez-Ross were councilors Gordon P. Alexander, David K. Bartley, Daniel B. Bresnahan, Jason P. Ferreira, Gladys Lebron-Martinez, Rebecca Lisi, Anthony Soto, Peter R. Tallman, Aaron M. Vega and McGiverin.

Voting against confirming Rodriguez-Ross were council President Kevin A. Jourdain and councilors Brenna E. Murphy, Linda L. Vacon. and Leahy.

Councilors sent Pudelko’s appointment back to the Public Service Committee. They questioned whether he had the necessary face-to-face personnel experience, as the staff of nearly 300 he supervised in a previous job was an online company with employees in cities around the world.

Others raised ethical concerns about Pudelko having been present at a Dec. 27 meeting in which Morse, who at the time was mayor-elect, told previous personnel director Jeanette Berrios she would be replaced.

Still others noted it was troublesome that Pudelko already was named in lawsuits filed by Berrios and other city employees Morse fired his first day in office on Jan. 3.

“More questions have been raised than answers gained,” Vacon said.

Still, Lisi said anyone who knows Pudelko has seen how sharp he is and his plans to improve the personnel department are important for the city.

“He’s done an outstanding job,” Lisi said.

Pudelko, who is now acting personnel director, has said he believes he is qualified to carry out the duties of personnel director.

Pudelko told councilors at the Feb. 9 committee meeting that he attended the Dec. 27 meeting at the request of Morse, to whom he had applied for the personnel director job shortly after Morse’s Nov. 8 election victory. But he said he was unable to say what was discussed at the meeting because he is named in Berrios’ Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination complaint.

Pudelko graduated from Harvard University in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and Western New England University School of Law in 2009. Morse said he fired Berrios because she lacked a bachelor’s degree as the job requires.

As for having his personnel director choice sent back to committee, Morse said, “I think we’ll go from there. I think Adam’s prepared to answer any additional questions councilors may have.”

Bresnahan said Pudelko was valuable in his current job for the city and should stay there.

“We need to keep him in the Law Department as an attorney,” Bresnahan said.

The fire appears to have started in the breezeway connecting the garage to the house.

The Republican | Dave RobackSpringfield Fire Department personnel work at the scene of a house fire at 147 Whittum Ave. in Springfield on Tuesday evening.

An update to this story was posted at 9:59 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD – Firefighters put out a blaze that caused extensive damage to a single-family home at 147 Whittum Ave. on Tuesday night.

The fire broke out at about 8 p.m. in the single-story ranch house. The fire appears to have started in the breezeway connecting the garage to the house. There also was smoke coming out of windows in the main house.

The owner of the house, Dominic Arillota, said he doesn't live in the home and had rented it to a family in December. He said he hadn’t been inside after the fire, but he thinks the house is badly damaged.

"It's wait and see at this point," he said.

This is a developing story; updates will be posted when they become available.

The Republican | Dave Roback02/21/12-Springfield-Staff photo by Dave Roback- Springfield Fire Department at the scene of a house fire at 147 Whittum Ave in Springfield on Tuesday evening.

Funding is available for such projects as insulation, high-efficiency heating and hot water systems, Energy Star windows and doors, and solar-electric and solar hot water systems.

01/18/12 Springfield - Republican Photo by Mark M.Murray - Galen Nelson from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center,left talks with home owner Ronald Alpine in front of his 34 Kipling Street home which he is repairing following extensive damage from the June 1st tornado. The center explains loans and grants available to tornado victims for energy efficient renovations.

SPRINGFIELD - Property owners who were affected by the June 1 tornado are invited to attend an information session Thursday to learn about grants and zero-interest loans available to for energy-efficient repairs and renovations.

The session, scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m., at the St. Anthony’s Social Hall, 375 Island Pond Road, is being presented by representatives of Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

Funding is available for such projects as insulation, high-efficiency heating and hot water systems, Energy Star windows and doors, and solar-electric and solar hot water systems.

Mayor Gregory Neffinger said the city could save $1 million if allowed to take employees' health insurance co-payments out of collective bargaining.

Republican file photo

WEST SPRINGFIELD – The Town Council Tuesday postponed to its next meeting voting on adopting a section of state law that would allow the city to change employees’ health insurance co-payments without going through collective bargaining.

The council did that by a 4-1 vote as four of the nine-member body recused themselves because they get city health insurance.

At issue is whether the city should adopt sections 21 through 23 of Chapter 32-B of Massachusetts General Laws. Currently, the city must get all 14 of its employee unions to agree on a co-payment. Last year, the city’s health insurance costs went up by 12 percent, or about $800,000 with it costing about $9.5 million of the city’s approximately $80 million annual budget.

Leaders of the city’s labor unions asked the council to take more time to study the proposal as did Town Councilor Brian J. Griffin.

Griffin said councilors had just received information on city health plans from the mayor’s office only four hours earlier and need time to digest the material.

Griffin also questioned the propriety of Mayor Gregory C. Neffinger speaking before the council on the issue as the mayor subscribes to city health insurance. Neffinger said he would file a disclosure form with the town clerk following the meeting and still address the council during its public hearing on the issue.

Neffinger said the city could save as much as $1 million if the council adopts sections of Chapter 32-B.

“This is really crushing us,” Neffinger said of the city’s health insurance costs.

Several leaders of municipal collective bargaining units asked that they be given a chance to work with management on the issue.

Todd M. LaFond, president of the Department of Public Works laborer’s union, asked that the city work with the Insurance Advisory Committee, which has representation from each municipal collective bargaining unit.

“I want good insurance for the employees, but I want to be fair to the taxpayers,” Linda D. Parent of 11 Belmont Ave., said

The most expensive plan offered by the city is a master medical plan that charges $4,774 a month for a family, with the city covering 60 percent or $2,865, and the employee picking up 40 percent, or $1,910. The lowest priced offering, a Network Blue plan with a deductible, costs $1,486 a month for a family with the city picking up $1,114 a month and the employee paying $371 and $568 a month for an individual with the city paying $426 and the employee paying $142.

The fire damaged the breezeway and garage and the remainder of the house was filled with heavy smoke, a fire official said.

The Republican | Dave RobackSpringfield Fire Department personnel work at the scene of a house fire at 147 Whittum Ave. in Springfield on Tuesday evening.

This is an updated version of a story originally posted at 9:34 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD – A Whittum Avenue residence sustained heavy damage in a Tuesday night fire, but the residents escaped unharmed when the smell of smoke woke them up, fire official said.

The house, a single-story ranch at 147 Whittum Ave., off Allen Street in the city's East Forest Park neighborhood, sustained an estimated $80,000 damage in the fire, said Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger.

The fire damage was concentrated the breezeway and garage but the remainder of the house was filled with a heavy smoke, he said.

The house is not habitable without repairs, he said.

Leger said the two residents told him they had just gone to bed but were woken up by the smell of smoke. When they went to investigate in the area of the enclosed breezeway which was being used as an office, they could see parts of the room glowing from fire. A moment later, the house's smoke detectors went off, Leger said.

The fire was reported at about 8:30 p.m. Firefighters arrived within 4 minutes to find flames visible in the area of the breezeway and garage and the whole house filled with smoke, Leger said.

Firefighters had to cut a hole in the roof to help ventilate the building as they tackled the fire.

Investigators determined the cause to be an electrical malfunction, Leger said.

The two residents said they would stay with relatives.

The owner of the property, Dominic Arillotta of Springfield, said the house used to belong to his parents. He had just rented it out in December.

He said he had not yet been allowed inside but was afraid the damage would be extensive.

"I just had it remodeled," he said.

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The Republican | Dave Roback02/21/12-Springfield-Staff photo by Dave Roback- Springfield Fire Department at the scene of a house fire at 147 Whittum Ave in Springfield on Tuesday evening.

Northwestern DA David Sullivan is not describing the death as a homicide or a murder. Instead, officials are saying only that she "apparently died from a violent assault."

EASTHAMPTON - Officials on Tuesday night identified the woman found dead early Monday in a Ward Street apartment as 39-year-old Jessica Ann Pripstein, but the district attorney's office was still not elaborating on how she died.

A release issued late Tuesday by Northwestern DA David Sullivan does not describe the death as a homicide or a murder. Instead, it says only that she "apparently died from a violent assault."

Sullivan said the official determination of the cause of death will have to come from the office of the State Medical Examiner. More information will be released as it become available, Sullivan said.

The case remains under investigation by the Easthampton police, and State Police detectives assigned to Sullivan's office.

He reiterated that investigators have reason to believe the assault was not random in nature, and there is no threat to public safety at this time.

Easthampton police were called to 27 Ward Street shortly after midnight on Monday by a 911 call. Police officers discovered Pripstein inside the apartment and noted she was apparently the victim of a violent struggle.

On Tuesday afternoon, the yellow tape that marked the crime scene had been removed and the door to apartment C that had been broken down by police had been replaced. There are four apartments in the building.

James Finn, who lives across from the apartment, said he was home late Sunday night watching drag racing on TV when he thought he heard a knock on the door. When he opened it, he saw two police officers across the way breaking down the door to Apt. C.

They told him to stand back, he said.

When they emerged from the apartment a little later, one of them said " ‘We’ve had a tragedy,’” he said. They declined to elaborate, he said.

The Finns have lived in the building for more than three decades, most of them in the apartment where the body was found.

They moved out when the landlord was renovating.

Finn said the bedrooms of the two apartments are adjacent, and he never heard any noise from the other unit. “Just a quiet building,” he said.

Republican reporter Diane Lederman contributed to this report.

Santorum has been surging in public opinion polls in the past two weeks, and has come under attack from Romney as a Washington insider ill-equipped to make the changes needed in government.

Photo by Eric Gay / Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum pumps his fist during a campaign stop at the Maricopa County Lincoln Day Luncheon, Tuesday in Phoenix, Arizona. An image of Abraham Lincoln is to the left.

By DAVID ESPO

PHOENIX – Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum belittled President Barack Obama on Tuesday as a rock star who won the White House four years ago, and dismissed fellow GOP rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich as unable to provide solid conservative change for the nation.

“I’m someone who has a track record of standing up for the basic foundational pillars of our society, faith and family. I’m not a manager. I’m not a visionary,” the former Pennsylvania senator said, using labels clearly meant to refer to Romney and Gingrich.

Santorum has been surging in public opinion polls in the past two weeks, and has come under attack from Romney as a Washington insider ill-equipped to make the changes needed in government.

In rebuttal, Santorum noted that Romney had run for Congress, but lost. He referred to himself as “an outsider when he was inside” Congress. “We exposed scandal after scandal,” he said of the years immediately after he was elected to the House in 1990. Those events, he added, helped pave the way for the 1994 election sweep that gave the party power in both houses.

As for Obama, he said, “Back in 2008, the American people in a time of crisis went for a rock star that they believed could solve their problems.”

Santorum continued to mock Obama and Romney at an evening rally in Phoenix that drew 300 people. He said Obama has handled foreign policy so badly that he has alienated the United States’ friends “to the point they don’t trust us,” and emboldened its enemies “so they don’t respect or fear us.”

He said Romney has run for office “as a liberal, a moderate and a conservative.”

Arizona shares a primary date of Feb. 28 with Michigan, but in terms of the race for the nomination, the similarities have long seemed to end there.

The state awards all 29 of its delegates to the winner of the popular vote, and polls have long made Romney an overwhelming favorite. As a result, apart from events surrounding a long-planned debate on Wednesday night, candidate appearances have been scarce and television commercials virtually non-existent.

A far more spirited race is unfolding in Michigan, where Romney’s early leads in the polls have been erased by Santorum and candidates and their allies are advertising heavily on television, including with attack ads.

In addition the state’s 30 delegates are awarded proportionally, giving candidates an incentive to compete even if they don’t win the overall popular vote.

Even so, Santorum flew to Arizona to news that one poll showed the statewide race with Romney tightening, and his speech was well-received by an audience of several hundred Republicans at a Maricopa County Lincoln Day event.

“You can speak loudly on Tuesday that you want someone who’s going to stand up and fight the insiders, fight the establishment, someone who has a track record of doing it,” he said.

Associated Press writer Charles Babington contributed to this report.

The Memorial Bridge is one of the few in the state that is exempt from access rules because it was granted a variance more than 20 years ago.

View full sizeSubmitted photoA man in a wheelchair makes his way across the Memorial Bridge along the side of the road as cars go by him. The West Springfield side of the bridge has no handicapped accessible sidewalk, meaning those in wheelchairs have to ride in the road if they want to get across the bridge.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – The Memorial Bridge spans the Connecticut River from Springfield to West Springfield, but unless you are in a car, the state Highway Department recommends you don’t use it.

Pedestrians, bicyclists or anyone in a wheelchair who gets on the bridge sidewalk in Springfield will soon find there is no easy way to get off the bridge when they reach West Springfield.

The Springfield side of the bridge is pedestrian friendly. There are crosswalks, traffic lights and curb cuts, and slight ramps for wheelchairs where a sidewalk meets an intersection.

On the West Springfield side, it is the opposite: no lights, no crosswalks and a 18-inch curb at the end of the sidewalk. There is also the traffic itself as a near continual line of cars from Route 5, Memorial Avenue and the bridge zip around the rotary.

The issue was raised recently by a caller to The Republican who was upset because he saw a man in a wheelchair wheeling across the bridge in traffic. The caller said he parked his car to ask the man why he was in the road instead of on the sidewalk. The man using the wheelchair informed him the sidewalk was not handicapped accessible and there was no other way to cross.

Michael Verseckes, spokesman for the Massachusetts Highway Department, which is in charge of the rotary, said there are no plans to make it more pedestrian friendly.

“It’s a safety issue,” he said.

He cited the problem of pedestrians setting foot into a rotary with heavy, fast-moving traffic.

MassHighway in recent years has encouraged making roadways “able to accommodate multi-modal uses,” or safely mixing cars, bicycles and pedestrians, he said.

“But there are some places where multiple modes are not compatible,” he said. And the rotary by the Memorial Bridge is one of them.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, public spaces and buildings are supposed to be accessible and safe for use by people with disabilities.

The state Architectural Access Board, part of the Executive Office of Public Safety, is responsible for enforcing regulations for accessibility issues.

Director Thomas P. Hopkins said in general, bridges should to be fully accessible.

“If you’re going to have (access) on one side of the bridge, then you’ve got to have it on the other side,” he said. “You’re going to go to the effort of pushing your chair or riding your scooter to get to the other side, and then you can’t get off?”

The Memorial Bridge is one of the few in the state that is exempt from access rules because it was granted a variance more than 20 years ago.

The state Highway Department successfully petitioned the board for a variance on Dec. 18, 1990, saying at the time that then, as now, the rotary traffic was just too dangerous for pedestrians.

The board’s decision notes “an extreme danger for anyone in the roadway due to the high speed of traffic, limited sight distance and lack of traffic signals on the end of the bridge.”

The board concluded “neither an ambulatory person nor a person in a wheelchair would ever want to make that crossover, given the dangerous traffic conditions and the lack of controls.”

The variance was granted five days after MassHighway awarded a contract for $10 million for a complete rebuilding of the bridge. The project began in March 1991 and lasted 4½ years, costing ultimately $30 million.

Helen Caulton-Harris, the Springfield Health and Human Services, which handles disability access issues for Springfield, said she has heard no complaints about access issues on the bridge.

David I. Katz, chairman of the West Springfield Commission on Disabilities, said he has felt for a long time that the rotary should be made accessible for people with wheelchairs.

He said he was appointed to the commission shortly after the variance was granted. He said he would have opposed the variance had he been on the commission at the time.

He said the commission has not heard any complaints about the bridge for some time. While he favors installing a curb cut, the commission will not take any action on it until there is a formal complaint filed by a member of the public.

At the very least he favors a sign on the Springfield side warning there is no access off the bridge on the West Springfield side.

“You can’t have a ramp on one side and no ramp on the other side,” he said. “If someone gets on the sidewalk on the Springfield side, they can’t cross in West Springfield. They have to go all the way back and then come back over again in the road,” he said.

View Sidewalk trouble on the Memorial Bridge in a larger map

A 23-year-old Upton man denied charges including drunken driving and motor vehicle homicide following an early Friday morning rollover that took the life of 18-year-old Middlefield resident Emily Savery.

Here are the most-read stories that appeared on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them click on the links below to read them now.

1) Springfield's Heriberto 'Herbie' Flores, with a $299,000 salary, is doing good -- and doing well [Jack Flynn]

2) Berkshire probation chief Clifford Nilan's daughter, charged with Pittsfield hit-and-run incident, has past arrest [Conor Berry]

3) Jay Franklin, 23, denies charges of drunken driving, vehicle homicide, in Westfield crash that took life of Emily Savery, 18 [George Graham]

4) Report: Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, did drugs right after mother's funeral [The Republican Entertainment Desk]

5) 'Foul play' suspected in Easthampton woman's death, which remains under investigation [Conor Berry]

Also, about 5,000 of people came to Yesterday's top stories yesterday to check out the previous days entries.

Yesterday's top stories: Police investigate Easthampton death, East Longmeadow teenager charged with assaulting girlfriend and more

Marshall will appear on "From the Top" on WFCR 88.5 FM on Sunday at 3 p.m.

View full size02/20/12-Belchertown-Staff Photo by Dave Roback- Carson Marshall, age 18 of Belchertown will be featured on a national radio show playing the violin.

BELCHERTOWN – The talent that won 18-year-old violinist Carson M. Marshall a coveted music scholarship will be on display to the whole nation Feb. 26 when New England Public Radio broadcasts his performance at the New England Conservatory.

A student at Amherst Regional High School and a concertmaster of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, Marshall won a $10,000 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award this year from the non-profit organization From the Top, which hosts programs on NPR and PBS. The money can be spent on instrument purchases and summer music camp travel expenses, tuition and fees.

On the show, taped Feb. 4 before a live audience, Marshall performs the second movement from Violin Sonata No. 3 by Frederick Delius, accompanied by host Christopher O’Riley on the piano. The opportunity to perform was part of the Cooke award.

Marshall will appear on “From the Top” on WFCR 88.5 FM on Sunday at 3 p.m.

“It’s actually a big deal that he won our award,” said From the Top spokeswoman Erin MacCurtain. “Not many from Massachusetts have won it.”

Marshall, whose parents are both musicians, said playing the violin since he was 3 years old has shaped him more than artistically.

“My mom wanted me to know what it felt like to work hard to accomplish something,” he said. “It wasn’t about the violin, but more about patience, persistence, confidence, focus, goal setting. Everything I am has come from the violin.”

Playing to a sold-out audience for From the Top, he said, was “an amazing experience” and working with O’Riley was “a great honor.” Two busloads of his classmates went to the performance.

Another Massachusetts musician, 17-year-old violist Alexia DelGiudice of South Easton, will also be featured on the show.

MacCurtain said the scholarship is highly competitive and only 20 students are chosen. The award is based on level of musical skill (MacCurtain said the standard is “quite high”), demonstrated financial need and a long written application including essays about past music instruction.

Winners will also be mentored and required to perform community service. The scholarship cannot be applied to college tuition, but MacCurtain said it can pay for things that will prepare young musicians for high-level performance and education.

Store owners Ralph and Sandra Fiore said they have been donating mats to teachers who over the years had approached them about using them for story time with their students.

Photo by Judith KelliherRalph and Sandra Fiore, owners of Boston Carpet Flooring America in Springfield, stand in front of the mats they are donating to area schools, churches and daycare centers for children to sit on while reading.

By JUDITH KELLIHER

SPRINGFIELD – As a kindergarten teacher at the Holyoke Community Charter School, Hannah Roy knows the financial challenges of providing adequate supplies for her students.

So when she learned that Boston Carpet Flooring America, where she had just purchased tile for her home bathroom, was giving away individual carpeted mats as a way of encouraging young children to read more, she was not shy about taking advantage of the offer. She departed the store with 26 mats.

“Being a first-year teacher and starting with little supplies, I never say no to things that will better our classroom,” Roy said. “I could picture my students on their small, cozy mats reading and enjoying their books. Kids get so excited about the small things and they will be thrilled to have their own mats, which will get them excited to read on them, too.”

Ralph and Sandra Fiore, owners for 16 years of the floor-covering business at 481 Belmont Ave., said they have been donating mats to teachers who over the years had approached them about using them for story time with their students. The couple decided this year to continue that tradition, but now in a more formal way.

Between now and Feb. 29, while supplies last, the couple will donate mats to teachers in Western Massachusetts schools (kindergarten through fourth-grade), churches and daycare facilities who contact them. For more information, teachers may call the store, (413) 734-5544.

“We really want to encourage the younger kids to read. This was designed to promote literacy,” Ralph Fiore said.

The couple said they are pleasantly surprised about the positive response they have received to their offer so far, which has come from word of mouth and through the company’s Facebook page.

As of Feb. 20, more than 200 mats are in the hands of area teachers for their students. The mats come in an array of colors and different texture carpeting, and are roughly 27-by-18 inches.

All participating teachers are also entered into a drawing for a free full-size area rug for their classroom.

“We decided to help the community as much as we could. We thought it was a good way to encourage reading with children,” Sandra Fiore said. “We’re trying to put the fun in it.”

A revised Open Space Plan will allow Longmeadow to apply for federal, state and local grants.

LONGMEADOW– A revised Open Space Plan will allow the town to apply for federal, state and local grants to preserve parks and conservation land.

Parks and Recreation Director Bari Jarvis said the plan has not been revised since 2008 and it is an essential requirement when applying for grants.

“One of the biggest incentives for updating the plan is the ability to draw grant money from state, federal and local grants,” she said. “ For years we have not been eligible for many grants because we did not have an updated plan.”

The plan was revised with the help of officials from the parks and recreation, school and public works departments as well as the Historic Commission and the Planning Board. Jarvis worked closely with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to update the 98 page document.

Some of the highlights of the report include a complete overview of every piece of open space in the town and to whom it belongs.

This has clarified what is school owned property, what is town property and even what is private property, Jarvis said.

The report also identifies land that can be used for passive recreation. Jarvis said the report reveals what most people in town already know, there is a need for more athletic fields.

“Unfortunately the report also shows how landlocked we are. There just aren’t many opportunities for active use in the open space we do have,” she said.

The report also establishes a plan for preserving trees in town.

“Even before the October snowstorm, we knew that a lot of our trees were aging. The storm brought down a lot of trees and the report addresses the need for tree conservation,” she said.

The report highlights the diverse wildlife near the Connecticut River.

“Bordering the Connecticut River has a huge ecological value,” Jarvis said.

There is also a plan to take advantage of some Conservation Commission land along the river which can be developed for boating and canoeing use, she said.

There was also a public forum conducted last summer and a survey launched to get public input, which is included in the report. Jarvis said one thing they became aware of is that not all the parks are being used properly.

“We have a lot of homeowners with dogs and they are letting them lose in the park which is not allowed because of leash laws,” she said. Jarvis said the town has discussed the creation of a dog park, but currently there isn’t one.

Jarvis said public input also pointed out that there are many people in town who are willing to volunteer to help maintain the parks.

“We want to create an action plan that will define volunteer roles and what we can have them do,” she said.

Copies of the plan are available online at www.longmeadow.org or at Storrs Library and the Adult Center. You can also view a copy here:

Longmeadow Open Space Plan

Fundraising efforts in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts are spilling beyond the Bay State's borders with Republican Sen. Scott Brown and his likely Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren rallying for cash in Florida and California respectively.

Associated PressU.S. Sen. Scott Brown, left, and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren have signed a pledge to curb political attack ads by outside groups. Political strategists predicted the move would lead the duo to seek cash from outside the state, as they are currently doing.

Fundraising efforts in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts are spilling beyond the Bay State's borders with Republican Sen. Scott Brown and his likely Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren rallying for cash in Florida and California respectively.

Brown, who won his position in a 2010 special election following the death of longtime Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, is wrapping up a two-day fundraising extravaganza in Florida alongside that state's Republican Sen. Mark Rubio.

Rubio, along with Brown, have backed a Republican bill that would allow any employer to deny medical coverage for any prescription or procedure they find to be in conflict with their religious or moral beliefs, an amendment to the president's revised contraception and preventative care mandate.

Although controversial in Massachusetts, Brown's decision to side with conservatives on the issue was said to be a strategic choice by political strategist Anthony Cignoli. Cignoli, who isn't affiliated with either campaign but takes clients from both political parties, told MassLive.com that Brown's position would allow him to collect campaign cash from conservatives out of state, as he seems to be doing in Florida.

The Boston Globe obtained Brown's schedule, which wasn't released to the press, and reported that it included three fundraisers in the Sunshine State. He is scheduled to return to Massachusetts on Thursday for an afternoon appearance at the Greater Haverhill Boys and Girls Club.

Conversely, Brown will be joined by Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at a March 5 fundraiser in Boston. Christie made headlines last week after vetoing a gay marriage bill passed by both chambers of the New Jersey legislature.

General tickets for Brown's Boston fundraiser event with Christie can be had for a donation between $100 -$500 while VIP admittance is reserved for those giving at least $2,500.

Warren, a consumer advocate whose fundraising prowess has turned heads across the country, is heading back to California on March 1 for a big-ticker fundraiser in Santa Monica.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that the Harvard Law School professor was scheduled to attend a March 1 event at the home of Skip Brittenham, an entertainment lawyer and his wife, actress and author Heather Thomas. Tickets to the three receptions scheduled that evening reportedly cost $5,000, $2,500 and $500.

Warren, who rubbed elbows with the likes of Danny DeVito and Barbra Streisand at a November fundraiser at the Hollywood home of producer Normal Lear, raised $5.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2011, bringing her year-end cash total to more than $6 million.

Brown, who brought in $3.2 million in that same quarter, ended the year with $12.8 million cash-on-hand.

In January, both candidates signed an agreement self-imposing financial penalties if a third-party group, such as a political action committee, advertised to a candidate's detriment. At the time, political strategists said the "People's Pledge," as it's known, would cause Warren and Brown to step-up fundraising efforts across the country as they will be without the aid of the big money those outside groups boast.

Hampden County residents unsure whether they ought to claim a property loss deduction, or who want more information, can attend a free information session.

The Republican | Mark M. MurrayA fireplace, the floor and the front bushes are all that remain of a home on Island Pond Road in Springfield in November, six months after devastating tornadoes tore through the region. Springfield Partners for Community Action is offering free tax help to residents who are considering declaring property losses stemming from the tornadoes.

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield Partners for Community Action is offering free tornado tax return filing services to Hampden County tornado victims declaring property losses.

Experienced tax preparers are offering this free service to homeowners and renters affected by the tornado.

Residents unsure whether they ought to claim a property loss deduction, or who want more information, are invited to attend a free information session. These sessions will be held every Saturday through April 7, from 11 to 11:30 a.m., at Springfield Partners, 721 State St., second floor.

Declaring property casualty losses is a complicated process. It typically takes an experienced professional tax preparer about three hours to complete the paperwork, said Springfield Partners’ executive director Paul F. Bailey.

“Filing these losses may bring substantial tax relief to some, particularly homeowners with destroyed homes or major property damage,” he said.

To make an appointment for tornado tax services, call (413) 263-6500. Be sure to mention that you suffered property damages in the June 1 tornado and need help filing casualty losses.

This service is being provided through Springfield Partners for Community Action’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. Funding was provided through a grant from the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

Taxpayers will need to bring many documents to their appointment; necessary documentation is listed in IRS Publication 2194, available online at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p2194.pdf

The Springfield School Committee is also seeking people interested in serving on the search committee.

The Republican file photo | Dave RobackMichael Gilbert, left, of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, and Springfield School Committee member Norn Roldan, right, listen to input from Gumersindo Gomez, of Springfield, during a meeting about the new Springfield school superintendent on Feb. 7. Two more meetings have been scheduled - one for business people on Feb. 22, the other for residents on Feb. 23.

SPRINGFIELD - The School Committee has already held four community meetings to seek input from parents, students, school faculty and staff and community members as it prepares to select a new superintendent by June.

Now, it has scheduled two additional meetings, one for city residents and the other for members of the business community.

The School Committee will also use online and telephone surveys to solicit feedback. The online survey is available at the Springfield Public Schools website in both Spanish and English, www.sps.springfield.ma.us

In addition, the committee will accept applications from those interested in serving on the Search Committee. Application forms will be available on the Springfield Public Schools website in the coming weeks.

School Committee vice chairman Christopher Collins said the 13-member search committee will be comprised of parent, community, business, teacher, administrative and student representatives.

The following meetings have been scheduled:

• Feb. 22, 5:30 to 7 p.m., Putnam Pride Restaurant, Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical High School, 1300 State St., for members of the business community; and

• Feb. 23, 5:30 to 7 p.m., Frederick Harris Elementary School, 58 Hartford Terrace, for residents of Wards 6 and 7 and all city residents.