The Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission awarded the city an additional liquor license following the census that put the city over the 16,000 mark.

The Republican | Diane LedermanAnup Sangar of Lee is one of four vying for a liquor license in Easthampton. He stands in front of the former Treydon's Bar & Grill where he plans to open Indian Restaurant.

EASTHAMPTON – The License Board will hold four public hearings Wednesday night as business owners vie for a single liquor license that is now available.

The Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission awarded the city an additional liquor license following the census that put the city over the 16,000 mark.

Last month, the board scheduled two public hearings, but two others interested in the license attended the meeting making a bid for the license as well. Raymond Redfern, chairman of the licensing board, said as far as he knows, no other business has requested the license.

The board has visited the Union Street location where Anup K. Sangar plans to open an Indian restaurant; Popcorn Noir, which currently has a seasonal license for its movie theater bar and restaurant on Cottage Street, but owners would like the full license; and Riff's Joint, which recently reopened after a move from Union Street to the Eastworks building. At Riff's, people can bring their own beer and wine, but that restaurant does not have a liquor license.

Casey Douglas, the owner of the Apollo Grill, also in Eastworks, wants to open a new restaurant-bar at 60-62 Main St. He said the restaurant would be called World's Fare and follow a 1964 World's Fair motif. The menu would be smaller to what's offered at Apollo Grill and would mimic the Ashmont Grill in Dorchester that his brother owns.

He said he would like to buy the building, but said it doesn't make sense to pursue the new restaurant without the liquor license.

Redfern said he's unsure if the board will make a decision Wednesday. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.

Also popular: Quick Springfield cops safely grab man with rope around his neck, reactions to the Jeffrey Asher police brutality guilty verdict, and more.

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

1) Longtime abc40 sports director Scott Coen leaving local television for local radio, by Patrick Johnson. Scott Coen, the longtime local television personality, will cheerfully cross that threshold that many people in television dread, the one where someone who is on TV becomes known as someone who used to be on TV.

2) Immigration sweep by federal ICE agents nets 45 illegal aliens in Western Massachusetts, Connecticut, by Patrick Johnson. Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Wednesday that a four-day sweep through Connecticut and Massachusetts resulted in the arrests of 45 illegal aliens with prior criminal convictions, officials said. In all, 40 were arrested in Connecticut, and five in the Western Massachusetts communities of Springfield, Pittsfield, Holyoke and Longmeadow.

3) Fast-moving Springfield police officers safely grab man perched atop downtown parking garage with a rope around his neck, by George Graham. Fast-moving police officers grabbed a man who had been threatening to hang himself from the top of the Baystate Medical Center parking garage at Dwight and Congress streets early Thursday afternoon.

4) Reactions to ex-Springfield cop Jeffrey Asher's assault conviction sharply divided, by Stephanie Barry. A representative of the Springfield patrolmen’s union said Wednesday police were largely dejected by the conviction of former coworker Jeffrey M. Asher on assault charges in connection with an arrest of a drug suspect in 2009.

5) Springfield schools delay opening, Holyoke cancels classes; snow and sleet complicate morning commute, by Conor Berry. If you opened your door Thursday morning and heard the sound of sizzling bacon, there was no need to panic — the world wasn't on fire. That was just the sound of freezing rain pelting the earth as winter made its last stand (or possibly first) with spring only three weeks away.

The most-viewed photo gallery

Yesterday's most-viewed photo gallery, seen above, is a new feature on MassLive.com, a weekly look back, through our photographers' lenses, at what was happening in our area 10 years earlier. Also popular was the gallery of memories of the life of Davy Jones, the singer for The Monkees who died on Wednesday.

In case you missed it:

This story wasn't among the most-viewed, but may interest readers:

Rasmussen and Mass Insight polls show Scott Brown leading over Elizabeth Warren, by Robert Rizzuto. Two political polls released in the past two days show Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown leading over his chief Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts.

Tom Brady – destined for failure?:

Tom Brady may be the worst QB in the history of the NFL, according to NFL Combine numbers, by Ben Larsen. Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, as predicted, tore up the NFL Combine in Indianapolis this week. In fact, they simply blew away the competition. But what does it all mean? The question can be asked yearly, but it seems timely this year because of the supposed can't-miss qualities of Luck and Griffin III. Does combine success equal NFL success? Not necessarily: According to the combine charts, two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady is arguably the worst quarterback in the history of the NFL or Earth when solely taking combine numbers into consideration.

No injuries were reported in the Friday morning accident.

Republican file photo

CHICOPEE – An icy onramp is to blame for an accident that sent a pickup truck careening into a state Department of Transportation message board Friday morning.

No injuries were reported in the accident, It occurred shortly before 7 a.m. as the driver took the onramp from Interstate 391 to Interstate 91 north.

State trooper Eric D. Fairchild, speaking shortly after 7:30 a.m., said a tow truck is on scene and the pickup should be removed within a few minutes.The message board was damaged and needs to be replaced, he said,

To hear some weary rank-and-file Republicans tell it, the increasingly bitter fight for the party's presidential nomination can't end quickly enough.

The Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets overflow supporters in a second gymnasium after speaking at a campaign rally at Skyline High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Thursday, March 1, 2012.

SPOKANE, Wash. — To hear some weary rank-and-file Republicans tell it, the increasingly bitter fight for the party's presidential nomination can't end quickly enough.

"It's going to get pretty nasty, the longer it goes, with the mudslinging," says Marilyn Duley of Hamilton, Ohio. "I'll just be glad when it's over."

Other GOP loyalists argue that patience is virtue as they seek the strongest Republican to challenge President Barack Obama.

"It's going to go on long enough until we get the right candidate," insists Elizabeth Hunter of Tacoma, Wash. — adding that "the race isn't over until it's over."

As Obama prepares for the general election without a primary challenger, there's no end in sight to the volatile Republican primary battle being waged by Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and, to a lesser degree, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul.

Interviews with voters across the country find that the segment of the GOP electorate that hasn't yet weighed in on the race is torn over wanting the race to end and wanting to have a say in choosing the eventual nominee. There's also debate over whether the rigorous fight is doing more harm than good to a party going through an identity crisis — one splintered between the GOP's establishment and its more conservative factions.

Come Saturday, voting will have been under way for two months in a primary season that could well stretch into June. Romney, the front-runner, hasn't been able to seal the nomination as easily as many party elders had thought he would when the year began. He's failed to allay the concerns of conservatives who make up the base of the party, and both Santorum and Gingrich have capitalized on that discontent to fuel rises in the campaign at various points throughout it.

The four remaining candidates have pummeled one another in debates, commercials and campaign appearances this year, exposing everyone's vulnerabilities. None is close to amassing the 1,144 delegates to the national convention required to secure the GOP nomination.

And none is budging from the race — at least for now. That has some GOP leaders voicing concern their eventual nominee will head into the fall campaign broke and battered.

Walker Williams, who cast an early ballot for Gingrich in Georgia, shares the worries that the tone of the race could hurt the ultimate Republican victor.

"The Republicans are killing each other and they should be turning on the president and his policies," Williams said. "They're trying to find fault with each other and they should stop that. They should continue to talk about what the president is doing or not doing."

But Bill Cathey, a lifelong Republican in Oklahoma City, said he thinks the right's hostility toward Obama will heal any wounds inflicted in his party's nomination contest.

"It's like wrestling matches. You have to wrestle a few to win the championship," he said. "If our guys are so weak that they can't get through this little patty-cake fight here, well Obama's machine will come at them hammer and tong."

There are several reasons why this race could continue well into midyear.

Republicans invited a drawn-out battle this year after switching party rules for winning convention delegates. Most state now are awarding delegates proportionally, meaning all four candidates can make the argument that they're winning even if they're not.

At the same time, the emergence of "super" political action committees that are running ads on behalf of candidates they support has meant that even if a campaign's money dries up, a candidate can continue to compete.

The Associated PressRick Santorum, flanked by secret service security and his daughter Elizabeth, left, shakes hands with supporters Thursday March 1, 2012 after about 700 people came to the Pasco Red Lion on to hear the presidential candidate speak.

Saturday's Washington caucuses and the 10 contests Tuesday might provide more clarity to the contest. Poor showings could doom one or more of the candidates, particularly Gingrich. The former House speaker raised his stakes by essentially sitting out February's contests to focus on Super Tuesday states. Still, Gingrich — along with Santorum and Paul — have suggested they'll compete all the way to the convention, a notion that doesn't concern some.

"The party is so concerned that we beat Barack Obama, the process doesn't matter," said North Dakota state Rep. Wes Belter, a farmer who attended Romney's town hall in Fargo on Thursday. He also dismissed the fissures in the party, saying, "Once the candidate is nominated we will stand behind him."

Indeed, voters in this week's primaries in Arizona and Michigan were largely on board to support the eventual GOP nominee. But there are signs that the broader Republican Party and the public in general have grown weary of the contest.

The latest AP-GfK poll showed that just 40 percent of Republicans had a "great deal" of interest in following the campaigns, down 8 points from December and about on par with the level last summer when the campaign was in a far sleepier phase, while satisfaction with the field of candidates is static.

AT&T Inc. backed away from an unpopular service policy after smartphone subscribers complained that the company placed unreasonable limits on its "unlimited data" plans.

The Associated PressThis undated screen grab provided by Mike Trang shows a warning message on the screen of his iPhone that he received from AT&T advising he was in danger of having his data speeds throttled. A judge in Southern California on Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 awarded $850 to iPhone user Matt Spaccarelli because AT&T Inc. reduced his download speeds in an attempt to manage usage on its network. Spaccarelli filed a small claims case against AT&T in January, arguing the communications giant unfairly slows speeds on his iPhone 4's unlimited data plan.

NEW YORK — AT&T Inc. backed away from an unpopular service policy after smartphone subscribers complained that the company placed unreasonable limits on its "unlimited data" plans.

The cellphone company said Thursday that it will slow down service for "unlimited data" subscribers after they reach 3 gigabytes of usage within a billing cycle.

The change relaxes a previous policy under which AT&T had been throttling service when subscribers entered the heaviest 5 percent of data users for that month and that area.

Under the now scuttled program, there was no way for subscribers to find out what the limit was ahead of time. AT&T would send a text message warning to people who approached the limit. The data throttling would then kick in a few days later. Thousands of subscribers complained about the policy online.

"Our unlimited plan customers have told us they want more clarity around how the program works and what they can expect," AT&T said in a statement Thursday.

According to a 2011 Nielsen study, the average smartphone user consumes about 435 megabytes of data each month. A person would have to use roughly seven times that amount to hit AT&T's 3 gigabyte throttling milestone.

An Associated Press story two weeks ago cited subscribers whose data service had been throttled at just over 2 gigabytes of data use. The story included others who had received warnings that throttling was imminent. The 2 gigabyte barrier was lower than AT&T's current "limited" plan provides. One person said his phone was practically useless for two weeks out the month because the data service was slowed so drastically.

AT&T stopped selling "unlimited data" plans nearly a year ago, but existing subscribers were allowed to keep it. The company charges $30 per month for the plan, the same amount it charges for 3 gigabytes of data on a new "tiered" or limited plan.

AT&T has about 17 million "unlimited" smartphone subscribers, most of whom use iPhones.

AT&T's reversal comes less than a week after iPhone user Matt Spaccarelli won a small claims lawsuit against the company for slowing down his service. A Simi Valley, Calif. judge awarded Spaccarelli $850, agreeing that "unlimited" service shouldn't be subject to slowdowns. AT&T argued that it never guaranteed the speed of the service, just that it would provide unlimited downloads. The company said it will appeal the decision. It bars subscribers from bringing class action suits.

As part of the new policy, the Dallas-based phone company said subscribers with "unlimited" plans and smartphones capable of using the new "LTE" data network would see the slowdown at 5 gigabytes rather than three. The LTE network is faster and doesn't have many users yet.

T-Mobile USA is already up front about the usage levels where throttling kicks in for its data plans. Verizon Wireless has a "5 percent" formula similar to AT&T's, but doesn't throttle unless the particular cell tower a heavy user is communicating with is congested at that moment. By contrast, AT&T and T-Mobile throttle speeds for the rest of the billing cycle, regardless of local conditions. Verizon's policy has drawn few complaints.

Alone among the Big Four national wireless carriers, Sprint has an unlimited data plan that isn't subject to throttling. However, it reserves the right to cancel service for those who use excessive amounts of data.

In a similar incident last fall, Verizon abandoned a planned fee for settling phone bills through last-minute credit-card payments after customers complained.

School officials plan to hold a formal farewell to Ashley Street School.

File photoAshley Street School

WESTFIELD – The School Committee will meet in regular session Monday at City Hall, making the relocation of the School Department from Ashley Street School to other city locations complete.

The committee is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.

School Department offices relocated during the annual winter school vacation from Ashley Street to Hampton Ponds Plaza off North Road. Some offices like payroll, maintenance and Volunteers in Public Schools moved into offices at City Hall. Food Services moved to Westfield Vocational Technical High School on Smith Avenue.

“It is just remarkable how quickly the move took place once it started,” Superintendent of School Suzanne Scallion said. “The enterire staff deserves credit for both the physical move and the adjustment (to new quarters) that followed.”

The city Technology Center ensured that school staff has telephone and Internet service on the same day as the move in its new offices, the superintendent said.

Ashley Street School, a three-story brick building, has served as School Department headquarters since 1984. It first opened as an elementary school in 1898.

The relocation was necessary to make way for construction of a new $36 million elementary school at Ashley and Cross streets.

“It was sad to leave (Ashley Street) because of all the history in that building but we must make way for the future,” Scallion said.

But, school officials are planning a formal “good-bye” to Ashley Street School before the wrecking ball levels the structure.

Scallion said the formal event will include a public invitation.

“We do not have a date set yet and we still have no date for demolition to begin,” she said.

Construction of the new elementary school is expected later this year. The opening of the new school, which will consolidate classes from Abner Gibbs and Franklin Avenue schools, is expected within one year of the construction start.

The new department will be located in the city's Technology and Emergency Management Center.

WESTFIELD - The City Council has given preliminary approval creating a new Public Safety Dispatch Department designed to enhance emergency medical response by police and fire and save the city an estimated $1.3 million over the next three years.

Final approval of the department, the city’s effort to comply with new statewide emergency 911 communications responsibilities, is scheduled at the council’s March 15 regular meeting.

Creation of the department will cost the city about $657,000 annually while the savings will be realized in manpower reassignment and training, officials said.

The new department will be staffed by civilian personnel rather than the current separate system in both the police and fire departments. The city will hire a supervisor and nine dispatchers.

The police department will gain at least two officers for street or other types of duty and the fire department stands to gain the assignment of three firefighters for regular duties. Currently the police department uses both civilians and police officers for dispatch duty. Firefighters currently handle that responsibility in the fire department.

“The big item here is the cost of creating the new department in comparison to the savings that will be realized,” Ward 2 City Council James E. Brown Jr. said.

Police Chief John A. Camerota and Fire Chief Mary R. Regan, who along with other department officials worked on the merger over the past several months, support the new department. They are in agreement that the new department will address manpower concerns in both departments while improving emergency communications citywide.

The department also has the potential for expansion to include emergency communication services for surrounding communities, officials said.

Brown said discussions are currently underway with two communities. He did not identify them but reportedly Southampton and Southwick have expressed interest.

The new 911 emergency communications standards require higher level professional certification, structured call procedures, ongoing training and quality assurance, Camerota has said.

The city will also receive state and federal grant funding to assist in the training and operation of the department, officials said.

City Councilor David A. Flaherty disputed the savings report but supported creation of the new department.

“I believe the city will actually lose money but we would never approve $3 million for training,” he said of the estimated training bill.

The new department will be housed at the city’s new $1.2 million Technology and Emergency Management Center on Apremont Way. That facility opened in October, 2007.

Santos was caught up in a sweep along with dozens with old felony records in Connecticut and western Massachusetts.

Longtime bookmaker Louis "Lou the Shoe" Santos had dodged a $10,000 mob contract hit and any significant prison time despite a number of criminal convictions.

But, the Longmeadow resident and native of the Dominican Republic couldn’t evade the reach of federal immigration officials as he was arrested recently in a widespread sweep of non-citizens with felony convictions in their pasts who are slated for deportation.

“Everyone knows what a great guy Louie is and feels just terribly about it. (Immigration) is doing this all over the country – just scooping up people from their homes and jobs because they have convictions that are 10 or 20 years old. It’s scary,” said Santos’ lawyer, Vincent A. Bongiorni.

The 47-year-old husband and father of three American-born children was born in the Dominican Republic but has lived in Greater Springfield virtually his whole life, according to a family member.

Santos' sister, Maria Diaz, 37, of Springfield, said her brother is the eldest of four siblings and came to the United States with his mother when he was just nine months old.

"He was the son of a single mother with four children, and he helped raise the rest of us. I don't even consider him my brother; he's like my father. He bought me my first pair of sneakers. He was there when my first child was born," Diaz said. "He really doesn't deserve to be thrown out of the country. He's not a murderer or a rapist. Immigration has other things to worry about."

Santos past criminal convictions include gaming offenses, malicious destruction of property and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; most date back to the 1990s and earlier, records show. His most recent conviction in 2009 for gaming conspiracy yielded a four-month federal prison sentence – his only – despite decades as one of the region’s most prolific bookies.

Santos is being held at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Bristol County, along with about 200 other immigration detainees, officials there confirmed. His immediate fate is unclear, but Bongiorni said his client is fighting deportation.

Santos was among slain Genovese mob boss Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno’s entourage until Bruno was murdered in Springfield in 2003. That killing was carried out in a power play that has sent several local gangsters to prison and one Santos narrowly escaped, according to trial testimony last year in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Mob capo-turned-informant Anthony J. Arillotta, 44, told jurors in the trial of Fotios and Ty Geas, his onetime enforcers from West Springfield, that they intended to ambush Santos outside a medical clinic he visited regularly on Main Street in Springfield in 2003.

Frankie A. Roche, Bruno’s convicted killer, said he agreed to shoot Santos, a suspected police informant, for $10,000 at the Arillotta faction’s request and staked out the clinic to prepare. Roche was distracted only by orders to turn his attention to other, more pressing threats, he told jurors.

According to a spokesman for federal immigration officials, Santos was caught up in a sweep along with dozens with old felony records in Connecticut and western Massachusetts. The crackdown was a four-day effort dubbed “Operation Threats Against the Community.”

Other targets included unregistered sex offenders, drunken drivers and those with past disorderly conduct convictions.

Immigration spokesman Ross Feinstein said the U.S. deports 400,000 illegal aliens each year and estimates there are 11.2 million living in the country illegally.

He added that it could take weeks to months before those arrested and slated for deportation are booted out of the country. Diaz said her family is going to fight the effort.

Louis Albert Marin and Kevin Sanchez of Bower Street were charged on firearms, ammunition and drug counts.

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE – Two men were arrested on weapons charges and three guns and 10 packets of heroin were seized in a raid at 113 Bower St. Friday, police said.

Police received a tip that Louis Albert Marin, 26, of 113 Bower St., was known to carry a .45 caliber handgun and that other weapons for which there were no permits were in the apartment, Capt. Arthur R. Monfette said.

Marin was charged with possession of a firearm without a permit, the .45 caliber handgun, possession of ammunition without a permit and using a firearm in commission of a felony. The latter charge arises from Marin having an unlicensed weapon while also possessing heroin, Monfette said.

Marin also was charged with possession of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, conspiracy to violate drug laws and drug violation by being within 1,000 feet of a school, Monfette said.

The heroin consisted of 10 packets each valued at $10, he said.

Kevin Sanchez, 20, of 113 Bower St., was charged with possession of a firearm without a permit, a semi-automatic .32 caliber handgun, possession of ammunition without a permit and conspiracy to violate the drug laws, Monfette said.

Police also seized a .357 Magnum handgun and rounds of ammunition, he said.

Marin and Sanchez are scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Holyoke District Court, he said.

City police joined by the FBI Gang Task Force, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshalls Service raided the apartment at 6:15 a.m., intending to avoid gunfire by making arrests while residents were sleeping, he said.

"That's exactly what happened. We hit the place while they were sleeping," Monfette said.

The American Medical Response ambulance was taken reported stolen shortly before 4:30 p.m. Moments after it was reported to police, the rig was found abandoned on Stafford Street.

The Republican | Patrick JohnsonSpringfield police dust the interior of an American Medical Response for fingerprints Friday afternoon on Stafford Street. The ambulance was stolen from Mercy Medical Center up the road and ditched in a snowbank.

The Republican | Patrick JohnsonSpringfield police, AMR officials and Mercy Medical Center security consult with each other Friday afternoon on Stafford Street about a stolen ambulance that was ditched in a snowbank near Sacred Heart Church.

An update to this story was posted at 8:17 p.m. Friday

SPRINGFIELD - An ambulance that was stolen from Mercy Medical Center Friday afternoon was found abandoned in a snowbank a few hundred yards away on Stafford Street behind Sacred Heart Church.

Police have a suspect in custody in connection with the theft, but he was in the process of being booked Friday evening and his name and the charges were not available.

Sgt. Sean Arpin said the man was spotted walking a few blocks away and was stopped and questioned by police.

He will likely be charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle, but police are reviewing security footage from the hospital. If any of the footage shows the man driving away, police can charge him with larceny of a motor vehicle.

The American Medical Response ambulance was taken reported stolen shortly before 4:30 p.m. Moments after it was reported to police, the rig was found abandoned on Stafford Street.

Springfield police were seen dusting the interior for finger prints.

An AMR supervisor said the ambulance appeared to have sustained no damage, other than a piece of plastic under the bumper that was torn off when the vehicle was removed from the snowbank.

They were able to drive it away once it was freed from the snowbank.

Nothing appeared to have been taken from the ambulance. There were no drugs on board that could be used as narcotics, he said

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Authorities reported the 3 deaths in southern Indiana, where Clark County Sheriff's Department Maj. Chuck Adams said the 1,900-person town of Marysville is "completely gone."

Associated PressJoe Jenkins helps salvage medical records from a destroyed senior center Friday, March 2, 2012, in Harrisburg, Ill. A pre-dawn twister flattened entire blocks of homes Wednesday as violent storms ravaged the Midwest and South. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

By JAY REEVES

ATHENS, Ala. — Powerful storms stretching from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes wrecked two small Indiana towns, killed at least three people and bred anxiety across a wide swath of the country in the second deadly tornado outbreak this week.

Authorities reported the three deaths in southern Indiana, where Clark County Sheriff's Department Maj. Chuck Adams said the 1,900-person town of Marysville is "completely gone." Extreme damage was also reported in the nearby town of Henryville, home to about 2,000 people.

Aerial footage from a TV news helicopter flying over Henryville showed numerous wrecked houses, some with their roofs torn off and many surrounded by debris. The video shot by WLKY in Louisville, Ky., also shows a high school with much of its roof torn off and tractor-trailers tossed on their side at a truck stop.

The rural town about 45 miles north of Louisville is known as the home of Indiana's oldest state forest and as the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken Founder Colonel Harlan Sanders.

To the northeast, Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport was closed briefly because of debris on the runways. By late afternoon, one of three runways had reopened.

Forecasters at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma said tornado threats as serious as Friday's only happen several times a year.

"Maybe five times a year we issue what is kind of the highest risk level for us at the Storm Prediction Center," forecaster Corey Mead said. "This is one of those days."

The powerful storm system was also causing problems in states far to the south, including Alabama and Tennessee where dozens of houses were also damaged. The threat of tornadoes was expected to last until late Friday. The outbreak comes two days after an earlier round of storms killed 13 people in the Midwest and South.

At least 20 homes were badly damaged and six people were hospitalized in the Chattanooga, Tenn., area after strong winds and hail lashed the area. To the east in Cleveland, Blaine Lawson and his wife Billie were watching the weather when the power went out. Just as they began to seek shelter, strong winds ripped the roof off their home. Neither were hurt.

"It just hit all at once," said Blaine Lawson, 76. "Didn't have no warning really. The roof, insulation and everything started coming down on us. It just happened so fast that I didn't know what to do. I was going to head to the closet but there was just no way. It just got us."

Thousands of schoolchildren in several states were sent home as a precaution, and several Kentucky universities were closed. The Huntsville, Ala., mayor said students in area schools sheltered in hallways as severe weather passed in the morning.

"Most of the children were in schools so they were in the hallways so it worked out very well," said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle.

Five people were taken to area hospitals, and several houses were leveled.

An apparent tornado also damaged a state maximum security prison about 10 miles from Huntsville, but none of the facility's approximately 2,100 inmates escaped. Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett said there were no reports of injuries, but the roof was damaged on two large prison dormitories that each hold about 250 men. Part of the perimeter fence was knocked down, but the prison was secure.

"It was reported you could see the sky through the roof of one of them," Corbett said.

For residents and emergency officials across the state, tornado precautions and cleanup are part of a sadly familiar routine. A tornado outbreak last April killed about 250 people around the state, with the worst damage in Tuscaloosa to the south.

Forecasters warned of severe thunderstorms with the threat of tornadoes crossing a region from southern Ohio through much of Kentucky and Tennessee. By early Friday afternoon, tornado watches covered parts of those states along with Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

The Storm Prediction Center's Mead said a powerful storm system was interacting with humid, unstable air that was streaming north from the Gulf of Mexico.

"The environment just becomes more unstable and provides the fuel for the thunderstorms," Mead said.

Schools sent students home early or cancelled classes entirely in states including Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky and Indiana. In Alabama alone, more than 20 school systems dismissed classes early Friday. The University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville and several other colleges in the state also canceled classes.

At least 10 homes were damaged in one subdivision in Athens, Ala. Homeowner Bill Adams watched as two men ripped shingles off the roof of a house he rents out, and he fretted about predictions that more storms would pass through.

"Hopefully they can at least get a tarp on it before it starts again," he said.

Not far away, the damage was much worse for retired high school band director Stanley Nelson. Winds peeled off his garage door and about a third of his roof, making rafters and boxes in his attic visible from the street.

"It's like it just exploded," he said.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Jim Suhr in Harrisburg, Ill., and Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Associated Press videojournalist Robert Ray in Cleveland, Tenn., and AP Radio's Shelly Adler in Washington.

The lawsuit claimed school officials failed to investigate a teacher's sexual assault on a student, then forced the student to withdraw from classes after her sophomore year.

Republican file photoWilliston Northampton School

EASTHAMPTON – Williston Northampton School has settled a federal lawsuit claiming that school officials failed to investigate a teacher’s sexual assault on a student, then forced the student to withdraw from classes after her sophomore year.

The suit, filed in May 2010, was settled in January; the terms were not disclosed in court documents, and neither side would offer details Friday.

In a statement, Williston spokeswoman Traci Wolfe said the school believes it has addressed the plaintiff’s concerns and plans to clarify its policies and procedures.

Jeffrey E. Poindexter, a lawyer for the plaintiff, also confirmed the settlement, but refused further comment.

The plaintiff’s parents, West Virginia residents identified only as John and Jane Doe to protect their daughter’s identity, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Springfield. Named as defendants were the Easthampton private school, three administrators and former biology teacher Dennis P. Ryan.

The suit claims that Williston officials failed to properly investigate a sexual assault by Ryan on the 16-year old student in May 2009; accused the student of fabricating her complaint, and forced her to withdraw from the school.

A subsequent investigation by the state Department of Children and Families of the student’s allegations found reasonable cause that a sexual assault did occur, the suit states.

As the 10th-grade biology teacher, Ryan, 48, befriended the student in his class, taking her on trips to bookstores, restaurants and a secluded mountain top before touching her inappropriately during a private tutoring session, according to the suit.

The school, its administrators and Ryan all denied the allegations, and filed countersuits.

DevelopSpringfield is raising funds to help implement a Rebuild Springfield master plan in tornado-hit areas and the entire city.

File photo | The RepublicanThe Solutia Technical Center in Indian Orchard.

SPRINGFIELD – Solutia Inc., a chemical company with a plant in Indian Orchard for more than 100 years, donated $30,000 on Friday to the post-tornado, “Rebuild Springfield” effort.

Solutia presented the check to J. Jeffrey Sullivan, a member of the Board of Directors of DevelopSpringfield. DevelopSpringfield is a private, nonprofit group that is overseeing the effort to revitalize Springfield in aftermath of the June 1 tornado. The organization has raised more than $2.5 million in private and public funds for Rebuild Springfield.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, joined Sullivan in thanking Solutia for the donation during a press conference conducted at the federal courthouse on State Street. Solutia Plant Manager David Lahr presented the check, and was joined by union leaders from the plant.

“Last year was a difficult year for the entire community,” Lahr said. “We just feel that it is part of our corporate responsibility to be here in those times of need.”

Sullivan said the funds will help DevelopSpringfield, aided by the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, in implementing a master plan for Springfield to revitalize tornado-damaged neighborhoods and the entire city. A summary of the master plan was recently unveiled, and a detailed plan will be presented soon, officials said.

“This is a long term effort,” Sullivan said. “This is a great reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we have to go. We are getting a lot of support.”

Solutia, which is the former Monsanto plant, has approximately 400 employees in Springfield. Solutia is based in St. Louis, Mo.

In January, it was announced that Eastman Chemical is buying Solutia for about $3.4 billion.

The company is a chemical provider for products ranging from iPads to tires, and also provided the treated glass for the windows of the federal courthouse.

Neal said Solutia has been “a great corporate citizen,” a great employer, and an anchor in the Indian Orchard neighborhood.

Sarno said the revitalization effort is not only to rebuild the infrastructure of Springfield but to help rebuild lives. There is no donation “too large or too small” for the revitalization effort, he said.

Those wishing to donate to Rebuild Springfield can make checks payable to “DevelopSpringfield Tornado Redevelopment Fund” sent to DevelopSpringfield, 1182 Main St., Springfield MA 01103.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced a $1.6 donation to the Rebuild Springfield effort in September. Private donations also included $150,000 from Hampden Bank Charitable Foundation in December.

Sullivan estimated that federal, state and local funds have totaled approximately $530,000 for Rebuild Springfield.

DevelopSpringfield also has a “Celebrate Springfield Gala” on March 10 at the MassMutual Center, serving as a major fundraiser for the Rebuild Springfield effort. The gala is from 5 to 10 p.m., and details are on the DevelopSpringfield website at http://developspringfield.com/.

A Springfield patrolman testified Santiago was slumped over toward the passenger seat of the car he was driving when he arrived to help emergency personnel get Santiago out of the car.

Anthony Eugene Jessup, left, and Jason Jamal Stoval at time of their arrest in June 2010

SPRINGFIELD – A city patrolman testified Friday Jonathan Santiago was slumped over toward the passenger seat of the car he was driving when he arrived to help emergency personnel get Santiago out of the car.

Officer Daniel McKay said when he got to the scene of Santiago’s shooting, a sergeant was trying to get people away from the driver’s side of Santiago’s car so he could be removed.

McKay was testifying at the murder trial of Jason Jamal Stovall and Anthony Eugene Jessup in front of Hampden Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey.

Stovall and Jessup, both 22-year-old city men, are also charged with armed assault with intent to rob and three illegal firearms charges.

Santiago, 21, of 88 Lawton St., was killed around 12:30 a.m. May 30, 2010, as he sat in his car at State and Austin Streets.

Jessup was arrested June 2 by Virginia State Police in Emporia, Va., a community roughly 50 miles south of Richmond and 950 miles from Springfield.

Cherily Nixon, 22, of Springfield, has pleaded not guilty to accessory after the fact to the murder, with the charge that she drove Jessup out of Springfield after the shooting. Her case is pending.

McKay said when he got to the intersection after the shooting the scene was “very chaotic” with people milling about and around Santiago’s car.

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Thomas Murphy testified one shell casing was found in the area, but said it can’t be determined whether it had anything to do with the shooting.

He said it was determined the bullet went through Santiago, with entrance and exit wounds, but no spent casings from ammunition were found in Santiago’s car.

The 104th Fighter Wing is scheduled for deployment to Southwest Asia this spring. Watch video

Republican staff photo/ Don Treeger3-2-12 - Westfield - Republican staff photo by Don Treeger- Missouri Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Jon Kelk stands on the ladder of the F-15 that he flew in the Iraq war when he was credited with the first aerial victory of that conflict, an Iraqi Mig 29, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He's in a hangar at the 104th Fighter Wing at the Barnes Air National Guard Base.

“There is nothing else like it,” said Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Jon K. Kelk, credited with the first Iraqi MiG-29 aerial “kill” of Desert Storm in January 1991.

“There is every emotion, every element of excitement, intrigue. In combat, multiply that ten times,” he explained Friday as he prepared to motivate members of the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing currently scheduled to deploy to Southwest Asia later this spring.

It was a reunion of sorts with Kelk getting reacquainted with the same F-15 he flew during Desert Storm on more than 50 combat mission over more than 2,000 there.

That fighter now bears the name of Col. Robert T. Brooks, commander of the 104th and a fellow Desert Storm teammate of Kelk’s during the United States' first involvement in Iraq.

Kelk, now chief of staff for the Missouri Air National Guard, came to Barnes on Friday at Brooks’ invitation.

“I believe in mentorship and bringing a senior officer here to talk to those who will now walk in the same moccasins shortly is invaluable,” said Brooks.

During Desert Storm, Kelk was a captain and Brooks a lieutenant in the regular Air Force. They were pilots with the Air Force’s 58th Tactical Fighter Squadron flying F-15C jet fighters.

Kelk welcomed the opportunity to address members of the 104th Fighter Wing. “I am here to share my experience, what I learned and beyond that,” he said.

His message was training. “If you train well you are prepared,” he said. “Everything intensifies in combat, but training replicates what you can expect,” he explained.

Kelk’s kill of the Soviet-made MiG-29 during the initial hours of Desert Storm on Jan. 17, 1991 was one of six the unit downed during the Iraq campaign.

“I and seven others were part of the first night, initial offensive movement on orders to sweep the skies over Iraq for enemy aircraft.

“He found me and I found him at the same time. I was higher, a little faster and with better technology than a MiG-29. I found myself on the winning end of that engagement,” Kelk said.

That mission earned Kelk the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1992 Kelk joined the Missouri Air National Guard and flew four no-fly-zone missions in Iraq during Operations Provide Comfort, Northern Watch and Southern Watch. He has logged more than 4,100 flying hours and 296 combat hours in the F-15.

The upcoming deployment for the 104th Fighter Wing comes while the Defense Department tries to identify as much as $500 billion in funding cuts over the next 10 years.

Kelk shied away from commenting on potential reductions in the military, saying only “We will take the budget that is handed to us. We will utilize our resources and do the job. What ever they give us, we will make it work.”

There is no indication yet that the 104th Fighter Wing, nor the Massachusetts Army National Guard’s Aviation Flight Facility also stationed at Barnes Regional Airport, will suffer in the budget reduction plan.

But, the Air Force is targeting the Air Force Reserve’s 439th Airlift Wing at nearby Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee. Specifically, the Air Force plans to cut by half the current fleet of 16 C-5B jet transport aircraft by 2016. Eight of the jumbo jet transports used both for humanitarian and combat support missions will be reassigned to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Westover and state officials are awaiting information on potential staff reassignments or reductions to coincide with the aircraft transfer.

The Congressional delegation of Sens. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., and Scott Brown, R-Mass., along with U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, are already lobbying defense officials in support of Massachusetts military units and installations.

Also, Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray has launched a statewide initiative to protect military facilities, the 120,000 jobs they create and $14 billion in defense contracts held by Massachusetts companies.

Both the Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq composite index fell below highs hit earlier this week.

By MATTHEW CRAFT | AP Business Writer

Associated PressJeremy Stoppelman, second from right, Yelp co-founder and CEO, gets a high-five during opening bell ceremonies of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, March 2, 2012. Yelp's stock is soaring in its stock market debut Friday. The shares are up 61 percent to $24.15 in the first minutes of trading, after pricing at $15 on Thursday night. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK — The stock market reached a couple of milestones this week — Dow 13,000 and Nasdaq 3,000 — but not much else.

Stocks crept lower Friday, and the Dow Jones industrial average turned in its third losing week of the year. One of the few bright spots was Yelp, the online restaurant review site, which surged 64 percent in its debut. Yelp ended its first trading day at $24.58, far above its initial public offering price of $15.

The Dow slipped 2.73 points to close at 12,977.57, and lost 5 points for the week. American Express Co. dropped 1 percent, the biggest fall among the 30 companies in the Dow.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 12.78 points to 2,976.19, a loss of 0.4 percent.

Both the Dow and Nasdaq fell below highs hit earlier this week. The Dow ended the trading day above 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since May 2008. The Nasdaq composite index broke the 3,000 level on Wednesday for the first time since 2000.

These round numbers mean little to professional investors, said Brad Sorensen, director of market and sector analysis at Charles Schwab. But the media attention they generate may lure Americans back into the stock market, he said, and their savings could push indexes even higher.

"We're a little more surprised there isn't more enthusiasm given the run we've had over the last couple of months," Sorensen said. "The individual retail investor has been reluctant to participate, but we're looking to them to fuel the next leg of this rally."

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 8.6 percent in the first two months of this year, its best start since 1987. But Americans still pulled a total of $3.9 billion from U.S. stock funds over those two months, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. Most of their savings are going into taxable bond funds.

Douglas Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management, has been telling his clients to shift more money into stocks and corporate bonds as the U.S. economy improves and the greatest threats are fading away. The European Central Bank loaned $712 billion to the region's struggling banks at cheap rates this week, a move Cote believes will keep the European debt crisis from boiling over.

"It takes the European debt crisis off the table," he said. "We've been counseling investors that it's time to get back in the market."

In other trading Friday, the broader S&P 500 index fell 4.46 points to 1,369.63.

Sara Lee Corp. had the biggest gain in the index, up 7 percent, following news that its shareholders will get up to $4.5 billion in stock when the company spins off its international coffee and tea business later this year.

Oil fell $2.14 to $106.70 a barrel after Iranian media reported an explosion at a Saudi Arabia pipeline. Saudi Arabia denied the report. The drop clobbered oil and gas stocks. Peabody Energy fell 6.5 percent, the most in the S&P 500. Alpha Natural Resources was close behind, losing 5.7 percent.

Among other stocks making big moves:

• Trading in Wynn Resorts Ltd. was briefly halted after a regulatory filing was mistakenly made. The erroneous report said Wynn had made progress on a new resort in Macau, a gambling hub. Wynn Resorts still gained 4.3 percent.

• Big Lots Inc. fell 4 percent after the discount retail company lowered its earnings guidance below analysts' forecasts.

• Genesco Inc. gained 4.3 percent. The clothing company raised its 2013 earnings outlook above analysts' estimates. Genesco also reported quarterly earnings that topped expectations.

• CVR Energy Inc. lost 2 percent after the Texas oil refiner rejected a $2.6 billion hostile takeover bid from the billionaire investor Carl Icahn.

Residents of the district will receive a mailing soon about the water rate increase.

PALMER – Palmer Water District No. 1 Water Commissioners unanimously voted on Thursday to raise water rates 20 percent, a change the district's approximately 1,400 residents will notice in their April bill.

Water Commission Chairman Charles "Mike" Callahan III said the increase was needed to make up for increased costs involving fuel, chemicals and electricity, which he said have "escalated tremendously over the course of the year."

It means the $18.80 monthly minimum usage charge will increase to $22.56. A user would be charged that amount if they used approximately 3,255 gallons of water a month, according to the district.

Callahan said this is the first rate increase since 2008. He said a notice will be going out to all district users about the increase.

Narkewicz has consistently declined to cite the reasons for former Parking Division Commissioner William Letendre being put on leave.

Former Parking Commissioner William A. Letendre discusses parallel parking on Main Street.

NORTHAMPTON – In the wake of an audit that found fault with the financial management of the Parking Division, Mayor David J. Narkewicz is reassessing the structure of the department and keeping a critical eye on overtime expenditures.

The audit by Scanlon & Associates of South Deerfield looked at all the city’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011. Although it found short-comings in the internal controls of several departments, the audit singled out the Parking Division formerly led by William Letendre for deficiencies. Letendre was put on administrative leave last month by Narkewicz for reasons the mayor declined to make public. He has since retired.

One of the major money-generating departments in the city, the Parking Division collects some $1.3 million in parking revenues and $630,000 in fines each year. It oversees 700 meters, 24 kiosks and the E. John Gare Municipal Parking Garage, where Letendre had his office. According to Scanlon, there was a lack of documentation within the department reconciling revenues collected with amounts deposited in the city treasury. Likewise, the documentation failed to reconcile daily kiosk receipts with bank deposits.

The audit recommended that the city review the internal controls in the department and keep stricter oversight over its book-keeping.

Although the audit did not mention overtime expenditures in the Parking Division, Narkewicz said that is another area he has been watching, as he has in other departments.

“The issue has come up once in a while,” he said.

In fact, overtime in the Parking Division has increased dramatically since 2006, prompting Ward 7 City Councilor Eugene A. Tacy to question Letendre about it during the budget process last year.

“He couldn’t answer my questions,” Tacy said Friday, noting that there were only four employees in Letendre’s office. “It’s not like there were 50 people.”

Narkewicz has consistently declined to cite the reasons for Letendre being put on leave and would not say Friday if they had anything to do with the financial management problems in the Parking Division.

“I have to respect the confidentiality of city employees,” he said.

Letendre could not be reached for comment.

Narkewicz did note that one variable in the overtime account is snow and ice removal, which places a heavier strain on overtime in some winters than in others. Still, he believes there are changes that can be implemented.

“I’m sort of trying to assess the situation right now and make changes going forward,” he said.

Tacy applauded Narkewicz for taking a fresh look at the situation.

“He’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to be doing,” he said.

For his part, Tacy would like to see the Parking Division come under Central Services. Tacy would also eliminate both Letendre’s position the that of the Parking Division secretary.

Kochev, who lives at 310 Stafford St., was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a property damage accident, said Lt. John Bobianski

The Republican | Patrick JohnsonSpringfield police dust the interior of an American Medical Response for fingerprints Friday afternoon on Stafford Street. The ambulance was stolen from Mercy Medical Center up the road and ditched in a snowbank.

The Republican | Patrick JohnsonSpringfield police, AMR officials and Mercy Medical Center security consult with each other Friday afternoon on Stafford Street about a stolen ambulance that was ditched in a snowbank near Sacred Heart Church.

This is an update of a story that was originally posted at 5:08 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD – Police arrested 25-year-old Dmitry Kochev on Friday afternoon and charged him with stealing an ambulance from Mercy Medical Center and then crashing it into a snowbank a few hundred yards away on Stafford Street.

Kochev, who lives at 310 Stafford St., was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a property damage accident, said Lt. John Bobianski

No one was injured in the accident, which happened around 4:30 p.m. Kochev got out of the ambulance and fled on foot but he was stopped by police a few blocks away.

Police were notified by the hospital of the ambulance theft but moments later the vehicle was found near the Sacred Heart Church, down the road from the rear entrance to Mercy.

Bobianski said security footage from the hospital shows Kochev driving away.

An AMR supervisor who was on scene said the ambulance appeared to have sustained no damage, other than a piece of plastic under the front bumper that was torn off when the vehicle was backed out of the snowbank.

Nothing appeared to have been taken from the ambulance. There were no drugs on board that could be used as narcotics, he said

Kochev is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Springfield District Court.

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Karen King felt she had to do something to help, so she reached out to fellow Remax Realtors in Harrisburg, Ill.

Associated PressAn American flag flies from what is left of the tree in front of a destroyed senior center Friday, March 2, 2012, in Harrisburg, Ill. A pre-dawn twister flattened entire blocks of homes Wednesday as violent storms ravaged the Midwest and South. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

MONSON – Karen King was watching the news footage about the tornadoes in the Midwest that killed at least 13 people and it brought back memories of June 1, when a devastating twister struck her town along its 39-mile path from Westfield to Charlton.

"It brought back all the feelings it did before," King said.

She felt she had to do something to help, so she reached out to fellow Remax Realtors in Harrisburg, Ill. and Branson, Mo. She got in touch with Realtor Cheryl Winters of Marion, Ill. and told her about how the Monson residents used the Internet to coordinate recovery efforts.

King, the leader of the street angels volunteer team, created a Facebook page for them – Harrisburg Tornado Help, modeled after the successful Facebook pages that sprang up after the June tornado in Monson, some of which are still operating.

King said she is "just a facilitator."

"I created it to help them in their time of need," King said. "I'm trying to pay it forward."

King said she posted the link on a few places, including a television station website, and sent an email to the Harrisburg mayor, to help spread the word. The idea is for the residents there to take it over and manage it, she said.

"This is a place where people can post about volunteer help available, help that is needed and what resources are available to those in need," the site states.

Said Winters, "I was overwhelmed that she put together that Facebook page. I thanked her. I hope everyone joins this page and starts posting there."

She said she lives approximately 20 miles away from Harrisburg, where six people died. A friend's mother was killed by the tornado, she said.

"It was a sad day yesterday and today, too," Winters said.

Harrisburg experienced the greatest loss of life from the line of "super-cell" storms, which twisted across the Midwest and produced 35 tornado reports from late Tuesday through Wednesday, according to media reports. Winters said Harrisburg is the type of community that will come together during a crisis and help its residents.

On Friday night, the Harrisburg Tornado Help page already had 57 likes, and many of the posters were Monson residents sending their thoughts and prayers to the residents of Harrisburg.