Obituaries from The Republican.

William J. Killian

William J. "Bill" Killian, Jr., 74, of Springfield, died Wednesday. Killian was born and raised in Holyoke. He graduated from Mater Dolorosa Elementary School and St. Jerome High School. He was employed by Monsanto Chemical Company as a hazmat supervisor for 35 years, and retired in 1990. After his retirement, he worked for 10 years with the United States government in the Hazmat Division of the Department of Transportation. Killian resided in Springfield for the past 50 years and was an active communicant of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, where he served as a Eucharistic minister and as an acolyte for funeral masses. He served during peacetime with the U.S. Navy.

Obituaries from The Republican:

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  Barbarisi, Stella (Liquori)




• 
  Bisnette, Raymond R.
  



• 
  Boutin, Janet L. "Jan" (Fortune)
  




• Davilli, A. Myrtle (Nokes)
  




• 
  Griffin, Jeanne (Graveline)
  



• 
  Keane, Helen G. (Carney)




• 
  Killian Jr., William J. "Bill"
  



• 
  Monzillo, Michael J.
  




• Powell, Helen D. (Zoell)
  




• 
  Proulx, Maureen A. (Hyde)
  



• 
  Riley, Debra P.




• 
  Superman, Simon
  

Although there were no homicides in April, Springfield police were busy with several stabbings and shootings.

File photo|Don TreegerView full sizeSpringfield police detective James McCoy photographs the scene of a shooting at 1107 State St. on April 19.

SPRINGFIELD - At 12:01 a.m., Springfield police are scheduled to assume responsibility of homicide investigations in the city, ending a one-month trial run where homicides were to be investigated by state police assigned to the Hampden District Attorney’s office, instead of Springfield police detectives.

Poet T.S. Eliot famously described April as the cruelest month, but you couldn’t necessarily prove it in Springfield. Although Springfield had six slayings since Jan. 1, April came and went without a single new homicide.

Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni, who in March directed troopers with the Crime Prevention and Control Unit to take over any new homicide cases during April, said Friday that the experiment was a success, if only in theory if not practice.

“I’m certainly grateful there wasn’t one (homicide),” Mastroianni said.

He said if similar circumstances arise in the future, and he feels Springfield police are swamped, he will not hesitate to do it again.

He said where the change proved successful was with the degree of cooperation shown by Springfield police, state police and Mastroianni’s office, he said.

Springfield police and state police have worked together over the years in many aspect of police work, but Mastroianni said he had some concerns there could be hard feelings among some Springfield officers, especially if they perceived the move as a punishment.

File photo | The RepublicanMark Mastroianni

“There was some questions, but right from the outset in the police station there was remarkable cooperation by everyone to make it work,” he said.

Mastroianni said there are no plans to revisit the change in the future, but he said he will not hesitate to do so again “if there is a time when the Springfield detectives are overburdened.”

At the time he announced the change, the Springfield homicide unit was dealing with six separate homicides in a six-week span between Jan. 26 and March 13.

Mastroianni pointed out that one of the reasons for the move was to free Springfield police to play catch-up on outstanding cases.

And in the investigation of the death of Craig Fish, the city’s sixth homicide, that is exactly what happened, he said.

Police are banking on beefed-up patrols in crime hot spots to curb recent street violence, including shootings and stabbings.

file photo/The RepublicanSpringfield police are increasing patrols in an effort to reduce the rising tide of violence, including stabbings and shootings, none of which were fatal in April. The city has six homicides so far this year.

SPRINGFIELD – With the weather getting warmer, some Springfield residents are worried about the city’s crime rate heating up as a spate of shootings and stabbings kept police busy in April.

With eight shooting victims in 10 days, concerns are rising about a palpable uptick in violent crime -- including three double shootings since April 19.

"The weather is getting warmer and we're going to see a lot more of it if [police] don't put an end to it,” Springfield resident Maria Rodriguez told CBS3 news.

Springfield police are saturating problem areas with extra patrols, while Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni is again offering assistance from the state police if city police find themselves plagued with new homicide cases.

In March, Mastroianni announced that troopers assigned to his office would take over any new homicide investigations during the month of April to allow Springfield detectives to focus on a full plate of crime – including a half-dozen homicides from Jan. 26 to March 13, or roughly a murder a week for six weeks straight.

Republican file photo/Mark M. MurrayHampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni has pledged further support for Springfield homicide detectives. For the month of April, state police investigators assigned to Mastroianni's office were poised to handle any new murder investigation, but the month ended with no homicides.

Despite the recent gunplay -- including a brazen daytime shooting that injured two teenagers outside a State Street convenience store April 19 -- the month appears to be poised to end without any new murders. That said, Saturday night is typically busy for city police, and a new shooting was reported early Saturday morning, though no one appears to have been injured in the incident.

Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said the lack of homicides in April didn’t mean police weren’t busy.

“We still responded to other crimes being committed,” he told The Republican, referring to this month's noticeable spike in shootings and other violent crimes.

Police said trends clearly point to rising crime when the weather is warmer and the days are longer. With more people outside, the chance of street violence increases.

“Summer is really different from other seasons. There are more people out on the streets [and] crime seems to go up,” Delaney said.

Republican file photoSpringfield Police Sgt. John M. Delaney said warmer weather tends to cause a spike in crime.

In the coming days, the Springfield Police Department will maintain a more visible presence through the deployment of bicycle and walking patrols in an effort to prevent crime and assuage residents’ fears, particularly in high-crime neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, the two men who sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries in a State Street shooting around 10 p.m. Thursday continue to stymie investigators. The shooting occurred along the 500 block of State Street, police said.

“They’re not cooperating; nothing has changed,” Lt. John Slepchuk said early Saturday.

Police also continue to investigate an assault on a 30-year-old man found unconscious inside a car on Hancock Street in the Six Corners neighborhood around 10:45 a.m. Friday. Police said the man, who sustained multiple stab wounds to the abdomen and arms, was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition late Friday afternoon.

Other violent incidents in April include:

• April 5, a 22-year-old man is shot in the buttocks and elbow at St. James Avenue and Harvard St. in the McKnight neighborhood. The victim wasn’t seriously hurt, police said.

• April 6, police investigate a shooting at 2612 Main St. in the North End. The male victim suffered serious injuries to his midsection, police said.

• April 10, one person is shot and four are stabbed at a Liberty Street birthday bash.

• April 12, a 35-year-old man is shot and seriously injured during a robbery at his Judith Street home in East Forest Park.

• April 22, A 35-year-old city man was in serious but stable condition after being shot in the groin, hip and knee outside The Chessmen Lounge, a downtown bar at 459 Dwight St.

• April 23, A 27-year-old man who was shot in the leg told police he sustained the injury during a drive-by shooting incident near the William N. DeBerry Elementary School on Union Street in the Old Hill neighborhood.

• April 25 - Two women are shot, one critically, at 14 Ringold St. in the North End.

WATCH VIDEO reaction to Springfield's April crime wave:

Police responded to a report of three shots fired around 4:28 a.m. Saturday in the vicinity of Girard Avenue and Bay and Princeton streets, where a spent shell casing was recovered. Police responded to a nearly identical incident less than 24 hours earlier.

Republican file photo

file photo/The RepublicanPolice responded to a report of three gunshots fired in the McKnight neighborhood around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, but it wasn't immediately known if anyone was injured

SPRINGFIELD -- Authorities responded to a report of three gunshots fired in the McKnight section of the city shortly before 4:30 a.m. Sunday, but it wasn't immediately known if anyone was injured in the incident, which drew multiple police cruisers to the neighborhood.

An officer reported recovering at least one spent .38-caliber shell casing in the vicinity of Girard Avenue and Bay and Princeton streets, but specifically who or what was targeted remains under investigation.

As of 6 a.m. Saturday, city police said they had not received any reports from area hospitals regarding a possible gunshot victim.

Less than 24 hours before Saturday's shooting, police responded to an early Friday report of shots fired in the vicinity of 15 Girard Avenue, or roughly the same location as Saturday morning's shooting.

Investigators don't know if the incidents are linked, Springfield Police Lt. James Rosso said.

As Saturday's police response developed, various officers could be heard on their police radios. One officer confirmed that at least three shots were detected by ShotSpotter, the state-of-the-art acoustic technology used by the Springfield Police Department to detect gunfire since 2008.

THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of a 4:28 a.m. Saturday shooting incident in Springfield.

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The royal couple has a whole lot of Facebook fans, Boston police search for assailants who brutally stabbed a teenager, and more of this morning's headlines.

AP PhotoBritain's Prince William, left, and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, pose for a photograph in the throne room at Buckingham Palace, following their wedding at Westminster Abbey, in London on Friday.

• Police search for assailants who stabbed a teenager repeatedly near Boston Common” [Boston.com]


• Bay State Catholics rejoice over Pope John Paull II's beatification, the penultimate step to sainthood [Boston.com]


• UMass-Amherst's annual 'Hobart Hoedown,' a bachanalia typically involving booze and brawling, has authorities on alert [WGGB.go.com]


• NYPD conducting 'Starbucks stings' to crackdown on laptop thefts [NYTimes.com]


• FBI focusing on proliferation of gangs in the Berkshires [BerkshireEagle.com]


• U.S. Census: America's land mass has shrunk (due to more accurate satellite imaging, not natural disasters) [NYTimes.com]


• UConn chemistry professor arrested after making robbery remark in a jewelry store [Courant.com]


• Facebook is a hub for 3 million Brits, Yanks who just can't get enough of the 'royal wedding' [LATimes.com]


• Twitter posts tagged #westernma in Western Mass. [MassLive.com]


• Read more News Links »


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Criticism of the Japanese government's handling of the crisis at a radiation-spewing nuclear power plant increased Saturday, with a new poll indicating three-quarters of the people disapprove and a key adviser quitting in protest.

A man in protective suit takes part in an anti-nuclear power plant protest rally in Tokyo Saturday, April 30, 2011. Anti-nuclear plant demonstrations have become more frequent, including during the Golden Week holidays, which continue through the weekend and next week. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)

By YURI KAGEYAMA, Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Criticism of the Japanese government's handling of the crisis at a radiation-spewing nuclear power plant increased Saturday, with a new poll indicating three-quarters of the people disapprove and a key adviser quitting in protest.

A Kyodo News service poll released Saturday showed that Prime Minister Naoto Kan's support ratings were plunging.

The poll reported that 76 percent of the respondents think Kan is not exercising sufficient leadership in handling the country's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear triple crisis, up from 63.7 percent in the previous survey in late March.

It also showed 23.6 percent of respondents think Kan should resign immediately, up from 13.8 percent in the previous survey.

The nationwide telephone survey of 1,010 people eligible to vote was conducted Friday and Saturday. No margin of error was provided.

Toshiso Kosako, a professor at the University of Tokyo's graduate school and an expert on radiation exposure, announced late Friday that he was stepping down as a government adviser over what he lambasted as unsafe, slipshod measures.

A child protester shouts slogans together with others at an anti-nuclear plant protest rally in Tokyo Saturday, April 30, 2011. Anti-nuclear plant demonstrations have become more frequent, including during the Golden Week holidays, which continue through the weekend and next week. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)

Kan appointed Kosako after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan on March 11. The disaster left 26,000 people dead or missing and damaged several reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, setting off the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.

In a tearful news conference, Kosako said he could not stay and allow the government to set what he called improper radiation limits of 20 millisieverts a year for elementary schools in areas near the plant.

"I cannot allow this as a scholar," he said. "I feel the government response has been merely to bide time."

Kosako also criticized the government as lacking in transparency in disclosing radiation levels around the plant, and as improperly raising the limit for radiation exposure for workers at Fukushima Dai-ichi, Kyodo reported.

Japanese government adviser Toshiso Kosako is overcame with emotion during a news conference Friday, April 29, 2011 in Tokyo announcing his resignation from the position. The expert on radiation exposure said he could not stay and allow the government to set what he called improper radiation limits of 20 millisieverts an hour for elementary schools in areas near the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

The prime minister defended the government's response as proper.

"We welcome different views among our advisers," Kan told parliament Saturday in response to an opposition legislator's questions.

A government advisory position is highly respected in Japan, and it is extremely rare for an academic to resign to protest government policy.

The science and education ministry has repeatedly defended the 20-millisievert limit for radiation exposure as safe, saying that efforts are under way to bring the limit down to 1 millisievert. Some people have expressed concerns, noting that children are more vulnerable to radiation than adults.

Workers in the U.S. nuclear industry are allowed an upper limit of 50 millisieverts per year. A typical individual might absorb 6 millisieverts a year from natural and man-made sources such as X-rays.

Radiation specialists say cumulative doses of 500 millisieverts raise cancer risks. Evidence is less clear on smaller amounts, but in theory, any increased radiation exposure raises the risk of cancer.

Japan, which has 54 nuclear reactors, has long been a major proponent of atomic power, constantly billing its technology as top-rate and super-safe. Japan's government has also been trying to make deals to build nuclear power plants in other countries, although such attempts are likely to fall flat after the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident.

A villager speaks by portraits of Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, left, and Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Masataka Shimizu, right, during a rally to demand the government and Tokyo public utility company for compensation and reconstruction at the village of Iitate, in northeastern Japan, on Tuesday April 26, 2011. The village is located outside a 20-kilometer (12 mile) evacuation zone of the radiation-spewing Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, but villagers were asked to move out by the end of May because of relatively high levels of radiation (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

As the only country in the world to suffer atomic bombings, as it did at Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, Japan has long had a powerful anti-nuclear movement, and such protests have become louder recently.

About 1,000 protesters gathered Saturday in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, beating drums, shouting "No more nukes" and holding banners that read "Electricity in Tokyo, sacrifice in Fukushima."

"We knew all along nuclear power was dangerous. I just didn't know how to express myself," said one of the protesters, 50-year-old Yoshiko Nakamura, who was taking part in her second demonstration in two weeks. "This is a great opportunity to send a message and voice my fears."

Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility that runs Fukushima Dai-ichi, said Saturday that the radiation exposures for two workers, upon more careful recalculation, was found to have reached near the crisis-time limit of 250 millisieverts.

Usually, TEPCO plant workers are limited to 100 millisieverts of radiation exposure over five years, with no year exceeding 50 millisieverts. That was raised to 250 millisieverts, with government approval, because of the crisis.

One worker was measured at 240.8 millisieverts, while another at 226.6 millisieverts. Both workers were temporarily hospitalized last month after being exposed to highly radioactive water that had leaked into the reactor turbine room.

Last week, TEPCO said one female worker at Fukushima Dai-ichi was exposed to radiation three times the legal limit, at 17.55 millisieverts. Exposure for women is limited to 5 millisieverts over 3 months because of pregnancy concerns.

TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said the company had been preoccupied with monitoring radiation for male workers, and forgot that women's limits were far lower.

"We are extremely sorry," he told reporters last week.

Also on Saturday, parliament's lower house approved a special 4 trillion yen ($50 billion) budget to help finance post-tsunami rebuilding efforts, in what officials say will likely be the first installment of reconstruction funding.

The budget now goes to the less powerful upper house, where opposition is unlikely, and the budget is expected to win passage early next week.

The Republican presidential contest executed a soft launch this weekend, with eager but unofficial contenders focusing all their criticisms on President Barack Obama at a New Hampshire dinner.

Possible 2012 presidential hopeful, former Republican Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts speaks during a dinner sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, Friday, April 29, 2011 in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The Republican presidential contest executed a soft launch this weekend, with eager but unofficial contenders focusing all their criticisms on President Barack Obama at a New Hampshire dinner — and none on each other.

Eventually, of course, they will have to say whether they're really candidates. And they'll have to critique one another if they hope to pull away from the pack. But that can wait.

On Friday night in Manchester, five likely GOP contenders hacked away almost in unison at liberals, Democrats and Obama. They denounced taxes, vilified government regulations and promised to repeal the president's 2010 health care law.

Their differences were subtle and stylistic, not harsh and policy-driven.

Possible 2012 presidential hopeful, former Republican U.S. Sen., Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania speaks during a dinner sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, Friday, April 29, 2011 in Manchester , N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney painted himself as a free-market champion and philosophical heir to the nation's founders. He went tieless, unlike the great majority of men in the ballroom, in his effort to exchange his corporate image for that of a weekend suburban dad.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty portrayed himself as a can-do achiever who reined in government in a Democratic-leaning state.

The fast-talking Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann said Congress should not raise the debt ceiling despite economists' warnings of dire consequences.

Two other hopefuls, former Sen. Rick Santorum and pizza magnate Herman Cain, called for deeply lower taxes and an embrace of the nation's religious heritage. Cain, a longshot, got the evening's biggest laugh with a story about his grandfather driving on rutted roads and urging him to be "a big potato," not a small potato.

The forum was a packed dinner hosted by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity in Manchester, the largest city in the first-primary state. Each candidate spoke for eight minutes and then fielded two questions. They did not address each other.

Those who skipped the event included former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, real estate mogul Donald Trump and 2008 Iowa caucus winner Mike Huckabee.

Possible 2012 presidential hopeful, former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota speaks during a dinner sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, Friday, April 29, 2011 in Manchester , N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

The audience responded about equally to all five speakers. No candidate landed a knockout punch or made a serious gaffe.

Romney spoke in broad terms, portraying himself as a lover of freedom and capitalism, while saying Obama looks to Europe for inspiration and guidance. He said the nation's greatness "is being challenged by those who would make the country more like Europe."

"We got it right, they got it wrong," he said.

Romney said the health care law he signed in Massachusetts, which required all residents to obtain insurance, reduced unfair public subsidies of people who could afford their own care. He again said he never would impose the plan nationwide. And he called for repealing the Democrats' 2010 health law. That plan resembles his state plan in some ways.

Pawlenty praised congressional Republicans' efforts to revamp Medicare but stopped short of endorsing every detail of the House-passed plan. He said that the eligibility age for Medicare should be raised and that Medicaid should be handed to states as a block grant program. As for Social Security, he said wealthier people should not receive the same inflation adjustments that others receive.

Pawlenty apologized again for his past support of a "cap-and-trade" system to limit greenhouse gas emissions and allow businesses to trade the right to produce them.

"It was a mistake, it was stupid, and I'm sorry," he said.

Possible 2012 presidential hopeful, U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn. speaks during a dinner sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, Friday, April 29, 2011 in Manchester , N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

But he boasted of cutting taxes, tying teachers' pay to performance and curbing personal injury lawsuits in his Democratic-leaning state. "If we can do it there, we can do it anywhere," Pawlenty said.

Bachmann, a tea party favorite, called for a litany of tax cuts and an end to government bailouts of ailing industries and subsidies of mortgages. She said she would auction Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae "to the highest bidder," starting at 50 cents.

In rapid-fire fashion, Bachmann said she would "zero out" the capital gains tax and alternative minimum tax. She would scrap the U.S. tax code, she said, "and adopt a national consumption tax."

'Let's get rid of what we've got and start over," Bachmann said.

"And I won't rest until Obamacare is finally repealed, and it will happen," she added. Until then, she said, "we shouldn't give one dime to put this Frankenstein into place."

Romney got a jump on his rivals, criticizing Obama's energy policies during an afternoon photo-op at a Manchester gas station.

FILE - In this April 4, 2011 file photo, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks to reporters at Saint Anslem College in Manchester, N.H. Ready or not, the 2012 presidential campaign is under way in earnest a full 18 months before Election Day. The GOP field _ still muddy and made up of no less than a dozen people _ will become clearer in coming days as more Republicans declare they'll run or sit out _ and President Barack Obama's schedule already is packed with fundraisers and visits to states important to his re-election chances. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

"There's almost no silver bullet to do anything of significance in the country," Romney said after greeting a few people filling their cars at a Manchester gas station. But gas prices depend on current and future supplies and demands, he said.

"And the president's policies have made people very uncertain about the future of the supply of gasoline in this country, because we're not developing our own resources of oil, gas and coal in the way we should," he said.

Industry experts say there's almost nothing a president can do to hold down fuel prices over short periods. Obama says his policy of a balanced emphasis on petroleum production and newer, alternative fuels is the wisest course.

Friday's dinner honored Ovide Lamontagne, a tea party favorite in New Hampshire who unsuccessfully sought the GOP Senate nomination last year.

Eight hundred Poles boarded a special train Friday night for a 26-hour trip across Europe, bound for Rome and the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II.

Polish pilgrims pray on a special train leaves for Rome, in Warsaw, Poland, late evening Friday, April 29, 2011. About 800 pilgrims took a special train to join tens of thousands of Poles attending the upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

By VANESSA GERA, Associated Press

ABOARD THE POPIELUSZKO TRAIN (AP) — They slept in the aisles and celebrated Mass in the restaurant car.

Eight hundred Poles boarded a special train Friday night for a 26-hour trip across Europe, bound for Rome and the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II. They were joining tens of thousands of Poles who are massing in Rome for Sunday's beatification, a major celebration for a nation overjoyed at seeing the Polish-born pontiff moved closer to sainthood.

By Saturday afternoon, the pilgrim train was whizzing past Italian vineyards and church belltowers, after having crossed through Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria.

The day began with morning Mass celebrated by priests and monks in the train's dining car. They gathered around a makeshift altar on a dining table bedecked with a white cloth and a four-inch (10-centimeter) crucifix. The faithful followed along in the aisles, some kneeling or hands clasped in prayer, and priests pushed their way down packed, narrow aisles to give them Communion.

Mieczyslawa Rzepecka, 55, who was making the pilgrimage with her husband and son, said she planned to eat only dry crackers and water during the journey, a partial fast meant as a gesture of piety. The long train ride didn't bother her — she said she knows that most Poles were making the trip by bus, which is longer and much more cramped.

"If you love John Paul, this is not hard," she said.

Polish pilgrims travel on a special train leaves for Rome, in Katowice, southern Poland, late evening Friday, April 29, 2011. About 800 pilgrims took a special train to join tens of thousands of Poles attending the upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

Most, however, dug in Saturday to a lunch of pork balls in dill sauce, boiled potatoes and beets. In one compartment, passengers who before the trip were strangers were sharing cake and reminiscing about their memories of John Paul.

Beata Klodkiewicz, a 47-year-old religion teacher, spoke passionately in support of John Paul's teachings on the sanctity of marriage and his opposition to in vitro fertilization.

"I have had six miscarriages, but I would never consider in vitro," she said, sitting next to her husband. "During in vitro a lot of babies can be destroyed."

The "Popieluszko" train the pilgrims were traveling in is named for Jerzy Popieluszko, a Polish priest recently beatified for having been murdered by the communist regime in 1984 — the system that John Paul is credited with helping to topple.

The train is due to pull into Rome a few hours before Sunday's beatification.

For those who arrived earlier, an all-night prayer vigil begins Saturday night in Rome's Circus Maximus, featuring testimony from the French nun whose inexplicable cure from Parkinson's disease was the miracle needed to beatify John Paul.

The journey for the Poles aboard the Popieluszko began with a Mass at Popieluszko's former church in Warsaw on Friday evening. The pilgrims then made their way together to a nearby train station, pulling suitcases or carrying backpacks and bottles of water.

Polish pilgrims travel on a special train leaves for Rome, in Warsaw, Poland, late evening Friday, April 29, 2011. About 800 pilgrims took a special train to join tens of thousands of Poles attending the upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

Some on board said they were going to Rome to give thanks to John Paul for prayers he had answered already, or to Pope Benedict XVI for the speedy beatification of their beloved countryman. Others said they were seeking cures for health problems, while some said they wanted to recapture the powerful sense of community they experienced during John Paul's lifetime at youth gatherings he led.

Sylwia Kurowska, 31, said she is expecting a spiritual experience similar to John Paul's funeral at a packed St. Peter's Square in 2005, when the wind turned the pages of a book of Gospels on his coffin.

"That felt like a scene from the Bible, with God giving a sign that is there," Kurowska said. "I think something will happen during the beatification that will create that same kind of atmosphere."

Malgorzata Drutkowska, 60, began to cry as she gave her reason for the trip: praying to John Paul for the health of loved ones. In particular, she will pray for a 33-year-old daughter recently diagnosed with diabetes, a husband who has suffered two heart attacks, an elderly friend with Parkinson's disease, and spinal problems of her own.

"I am praying for all this," she said, holding her hand to her heart as wiped away tears.

A Polish woman passes by a giant poster of the late Pope John Paul II in downtown Krakow, Poland, Thursday, April 28, 2011. An open-air photo exhibition in Krakow remembers Poland's most beloved and revered son, Pope John Paul II before his beatification ceremony in Rome on Sunday. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

Before boarding, some young people joined in religious songs with a long-bearded monk. Loved ones kissed each other goodbye. A man on the platform lifted Polish-Italian phrase books to the train windows, hoping for buyers.

"I don't have room in my bags for that," one woman told him.

Several priests walked about in yellow baseball caps emblazoned with an image of John Paul, prompting Rzepecka to ask several people around her: "Are they giving out caps?"

Soon enough, organizers did indeed hand out the yellow caps and buttons of Christ and John Paul. Prayers were said over the train's intercom system. Organizers also passed out maps of Rome and a printout with some common Polish expressions translated into Italian.

In any case, the pilgrims from the Popieluszko train — like so many other Poles on limited budgets — will have little time to use any Italian in Rome. They are to arrive at around midnight Saturday, and will then spend several hours praying and waiting at St. Peter's Square for the morning beatification. After that, there will only be a few hours left before they have to board the train for the return trip home.

Some, like Klodkiewicz and her husband, plan a meal at a Roman pizzeria before heading home. Others plan to linger as long as possible at the Vatican, where St. Peter's Basilica will remain open for as long as it takes to let the faithful come pray before the late pope's sealed casket.

Friends of Hampshire County Homeless Individuals bought the Maple Street building for $320,000 with the help of state and private funds and a $150,000 Community Preservation Act grant from the city of Northampton.

File photo | The RepublicanNorthampton first graders donate baked goods for the homeless.

NORTHAMPTON – Six people used to living on the street and friends’ couches will soon have a place to call home as The Friends of Hampshire County Homeless Individuals prepares to open its second house for the chronically homeless.

The duplex at 15-17 Maple St. has three bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom on each side, enough for a total of six tenants, according to Yvonne Freccero, the president of the organization. Freccero was the driving force behind the creation of “Yvonne’s House,” a similar project on Straw Avenue that opened two years ago. The hope, Freccero said, is that by giving people a secure base, they can break the cycle of homelessness and unemployment that put them on the street in the first place.

“It’s virtually impossible to make a permanent, successful life when you’re in a shelter,” Freccero said. “People need a chance to get on their feet and live a normal life.”

Friends of Hampshire County Homeless Individuals bought the building for $320,000 with the help of state and private funds and a $150,000 Community Preservation Act grant from the city of Northampton. Freccero said her organization will foot the bill for a new roof and furnishings, but has deeded the property to Gandara Centers, Inc., the organization that runs Hairston House, a Northampton program for people with drug and alcohol addictions. Freccero said it’s likely that that residents of Hairston House will move into the Maple Street house as they progress with their substance abuse problems.

“For people who are chronically homeless and have made the effort to be sober, they need to have people around them who are not drinking,” she said.

As on Straw Avenue, tenants will pay 30 percent of their income towards rent. Hairston House will absorb the remainder of the cost and provide support services to residents. Freccero deems “Yvonne’s House” a huge success, noting that several of the tenants there have settled into stable and productive lives. While men and women share space at “Yvonne’s House,” Freccero said need will determine the mix of genders on Maple Street.

Despite the cost of the project, Freccero said such homes are cost effective in the long run.

“Eventually, it’s a lot cheaper than paying for people to be in shelters,” she said.

Freccero expects tenants to be able to move into Maple Street by July 1.

Town meeting approval allows the town to proceed to the permitting phase of the project.

Amherst Town Hall.

AMHERST – Sometime during Town Meeting which begins Monday night, members will be asked to consider allowing the town to enter into a long-term lease with BlueWave to develop a solar project at the closed landfill.

The meeting, with sessions scheduled throughout May, needs to allow that for the town to proceed with the project to the next phase - seeking permits.

Town Meeting approval will “allow the process to play out,” said Town Manager John P. Musante. The vote doesn’t mean that the project would automatically happen

The town is working with Boston-based BlueWave Capital LLC to build the solar generating system. The project could produce 4.75 megawatts of electricity, enough to provide energy to all town buildings and schools, street lights and more. Depending on the cost of energy over time, the project could save the town about $25 million during the next 25 to 30 years.

But those living near the landfill, which closed in 1988, are saying the landfill is not the place for such a project.

Neighbors at a meeting earlier this month and again at a recent Select Board meeting spoke against the project.

The cap is deteriorating, the landfill leaking and “it’s reckless to rush into anything,” said Katherine Dorfman of Wildflower Drive. She said the cap was deemed too fragile for snow to be dumped there and would not support tons of equipment.

The state has asked the town to regrade the site, something that it has to do regardless of what happens with the landfill.

The town would need local and state permits and the department of environmental projection would have to approve the project, Musante said.

The lease approval “allows us to see what’s possible ... what are all the opportunities,” he said.

The Select Board unanimously supported the article for that purpose. The Finance Committee also supported it unanimously. In its report to Town meeting, the committee “strongly recommends this article due to the significant positive financial impacts the solar array would have for the town.”

The landfill site is regulated by the state; last year the state ordered the regrading. As part of that order, the town needs to continue to monitor the site and report to the state.

The city is seeking a developer for a partnership to do the $3 million renovation of the old train station.

Photo submitted by Holyoke Office of Planning and Development.This is the H.H. Richardson train station in Holyoke, built in 1883 and closed for decades, the city hopes to redevelop as a passenger rail station with commercial features.

HOLYOKE – If the train “keeps a rolling,” officials said Friday they want to make sure Holyoke is a destination and not just a bypass.

Mayor Elaine A. Pluta said the boarded-up H.H. Richardson train station at Bowers and Lyman streets would be the stop here for riders to catch and disembark from trains if the long-discussed plan to extend passenger rail from Connecticut to Vermont actually happens.

“We’re very excited about this project,” Pluta said.

Pluta provided remarks in a voice-mail message after an event at Holyoke Heritage State Park that was part of a University of Massachusetts lecture series on historic preservation.

The Holyoke Gas and Electric Department owns the building, which is vacant and has gone unused for years.

The building became an auto parts warehouse after passenger rail service ceased here in the mid-1960’s, said Kathleen G. Anderson, director of the city Office of Planning and Development.

A design consultant has found that renovating the building to include commercial uses and areas for train passengers would cost $3 million, she said.

The building was built in 1883 and designed by famous architect H.H. Richardson.

Among numerous works statewide and across the country, Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886) also designed the Juvenile Court on State Street, in Springfield, the old Union Station train depot, in Palmer, and the former Grace Baptist Church at 18 Salem St. in Springfield.

The city is seeking a developer to form a partnership and renovate the site. Anderson said her office has received solid inquiries from developers on the project but she declined to identify them because talks at this point are confidential.

The building fronts on Bowers Street with train tracks running behind it. At Rosary Towers apartments across the street, resident Jose Andino, 63, said he would welcome restoration of the train station.

“That’s a nice, beautiful idea,” Andino said.

The Republican reported April 19 Connecticut is seeking $227 million in additional federal transportation funding for the long planned high-speed passenger rail line linking New Haven with Springfield, with $20 million to be spent on Springfield’s Union Station. The plan is to improve rail service through Vermont.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Barbara A. Urban

Barbara A. (Feeney) Urban, 76, of Ware, passed away on Wednesday. Born in Ware, she was a graduate of Ware High School, Class of 1952, and the former Northampton Commercial College, Class of 1954. Urban began her career at the former J.T. Woods Co., employed as a secretary to her future husband, the late Edward J. Urban. In 1959, Urban joined her husband at the company he founded, the American Athletic Shoe Co., Inc. She held a number of positions in the company, and was an officer and director for more than 50 years. Urban was a longtime benefactor and communicant of St. Mary's Church.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Andrews, Jean E. (Lewis)




• 
  Basile, Sylvia (Amabile)
  



• 
  Eaton, Grace I. (Lewis)
  




• Henneman, E. Louise (Tyner)
  




• 
  Jeffers, Bernice Elizabeth
  



• 
  McKenna, Mildred T. (McEnaney)




• 
  Meeker, Helen M. (Bakshys)
  



• 
  Monzillo, Michael J.
  




• Moore, Shirley A.
  




• 
  Patingre, George
  



• 
  Urban, Barbara A. (Feeney)




• 
  Zina, Maria Luisa
  

The committee is debating whether students taking AP courses should be required to take the exam that determines if they receive college credit for the class.

Republican file photo

CHICOPEE – The School Committee is debating if students who take Advanced Placement courses should be required to take the exam that determines if they receive college credit for the class.

Currently Chicopee High School educators require all students to take the exam while those at Comprehensive High do not.

Advanced Placement classes, offered by The College Board, are college level courses high school students take over the period of a year. Students who score between a three and a five on a year-end exam are typically granted three college credits.

School committee member John F. Mruk said he is concerned that the expense of taking the test may discourage students from taking Advanced Placement courses. Students pay $87 per test and some can take as many as three or four classes.

“I think $87 is substantial for a high school student, especially if they take more than once class,” School Committee Adam D. Lamontagne said.

Students who are poor enough to be eligible for free or reduced lunch pay $10 for the exam. The school does help others who are unable to pay the fee, Chicopee High School Principal Roland R. Joyal Jr. said.

“I don’t think it is stopping anyone. If people have a problem we will help them,” he said.

The school has spent a lot of money making sure teachers are well trained in teaching the classes and have expanded the offerings to eight from the one that existed when he began as a principal, he said.

Joyal said last year 63 percent of the 108 students passed with a three or better. While there is a cost to the test, it is a bargain compared to a three-credit course at a college, which is $501 at Holyoke Community College or $1,399 at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, for example.

But Mruk said he is concerned students who do poorly in class and know they are not likely to earn a three must still take the exam.

“I just feel they are throwing their money away if they are not capable of scoring a three or better,” he said.

Most students do take the exam at Comprehensive High School, even though they are not required to do so, Principal Derek J. Morrison said.

One of the problems now is some colleges will give students’ credit but list their grade as a C if they get anything lower than a five on the exam, Morrison said.

A survey of 10 area schools show Northampton High School, Central High School in Springfield, West Springfield High School and Agawam High School require students to take the exam. Central pays the fee and Agawam and West Springfield have a grant that pays half.

Chicopee school officials considered applying for a similar grant but it had too many strings attached that would require high schools to change the program, Assistant Superintendent Deborah A. Drugan said.

The curriculum subcommittee of the School Committee will continue to discuss the issue and eventually send recommendations on whether students should be required to take the exam to the full committee to discuss, Lamontage said.

The gunplay followed a double shooting at Bill Brown's House of Beauty on State Street.

(Republican Photo by Don Treeger)Police are looking for a suspect who fled this scene at Cambridge and Burr streets and was reportedly driving a silver or gray Lexus SUV. It was last seen traveling east on State Street and the suspect was thought to be in possession of an AK-47.

UPDATE:1:30 p.m.- Police are looking for a suspect in relation to the shooting who was last seen driving a silver or gray Lexus SUV east on State Street. He is believed to be in possession of an AK-47.

SPRINGFIELD – A state trooper and Springfield police officer were wounded during a shootout in broad daylight on Burr and Cambridge streets on Saturday, according to a city police spokesman.

Both officers were wearing bullet-proof vests and are expected to recover, said Springfield Police Sgt. John M. Delaney. He would not release their identities.

The gunplay followed a double shooting immediately before at Bill Brown's House of Beauty at 946 State St. just after noontime.

Two bullet holes pierced the front window and emergency personnel could be seen inside the storefront shop performing CPR on two men.

Details about their conditions were not immediately available.

This is a developing story; more details will be published as they become available.

In an earlier, related shooting in Springfield, a man was killed on State Street.

SPRINGFIELD - A convict who escaped from Shirley state prison earlier this week wounded a Springfield police officer and a state trooper as he came out blasting from the trunk of a car he was using to try to escape after an earlier double shooting at a State Street barber shop, according to law enforcement officials.

The two officers, both wearing Kevlar vests, are expected to recover from their injuries, a police spokesman said.

Tamik Kirkland, 25, a Springfield resident who had been serving time for firearm and drug charges at Shirley medium prison, was shot several times by police in response to the attack at Burr and Cambridge streets. By mid-afternoon, law enforcement officials said he was still alive, however, at least one victim shot at Bill Brown’s House of Beauty on State Street reportedly had died.

Kirkland was being sought by a violent fugitive apprehension task force and had been deemed armed and dangerous after escaping earlier this week. Prison officials provided few details about his flight, but police confirmed his mother was one of two women shot in the North End on April 23. She escaped serious injury. Police said Kirkland, a member of the so-called Maynard Street posse, as been on the run since the shooting of this mother.

Springfield Police spokesman John M. Delaney said a city police officer and a state trooper were shot in an exchange of gunfire with Kirkland after two men were shot earlier at Bill Brown's House of Beauty at 946 State St. shortly after noontime.

Don Treeger / The Republican4-30-11 - Springfield - Shooting scene at Cambridge and Burr St. where two police officers were shot. Here, Springfield police officer Raul Gonzalez (plainclothes) is assisted by a fellow officer after he was shot. His vest stopped the bullet.

"They were both wearing vests, which likely saved their lives," Delaney said of the officers. He would not disclose the officers' identities and said they are expected to recover from their injuries.

William Brown, owner of the shop, said he was not present when the shooting occurred. Shortly after the shooting there, two bleeding men were seen splayed out inside the storefront shop receiving care from emergency personnel.

William Eason, a Hampden Superior Court clerk who lives yards from the Cambridge Street, said he had just returned home from a professional conference and heard about 20-25 shots in rapid succession.

"I heard the gunfire, looked out my window and a crowd of police were here within seconds," Eason said. "I saw one suspect near a truck with his hands in the air."

Law enforcement sources said the gunplay may have been sparked by a robbery. Hordes of Mason Square residents lined the streets around the shooting scenes, bemoaning the increasingly violent tone in the neighborhood.

A state police helicopter hovered overhead for a time, and police later put out an all points bulletin for 30-year-old Trevin Smith, of Springfield, in a silver or gray Lexus.

A press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday.

More details will be published as they become available.

The incident, which happened early Saturday morning, is not considered suspicious.

AMHERST- A 20-year-old male University of Massachusetts student fell from the roof top at 778 North Pleasant St. and was seriously injured, according to Mary Carey, spokeswoman for the Northwestern District Attorney’s office.

She said the incident, which is not considered suspicious, happened early Saturday morning, and is being investigated by local and state police. No further information was released.

While many University of Massachusetts students in Amherst were ready to let lose this weekend to celebrate the end of another semester, local police forces worked together to prevent one annual party from happening.

Republican Photo by Robert RizzutoThis group of U-Mass students living on in Amherst said they were going to be "celebrating respectfully."

AMHERST - While many University of Massachusetts students in Amherst were ready to let lose this weekend to celebrate the end of another semester, local police forces worked together to prevent one annual party from happening.

In contrast to past years where law enforcement has found themselves outnumbered at the Hobart Hoedown once things already passed the tipping point, this year, agencies worked collectively to nip things in the bud days before the party even started.

“We’ve had a collaborative effort with the UMass and state police and they are ready and available to assist us at a moment’s notice,” said Amherst police Lt. William Menard. “We’ve had officers in the area all day and we will be around into the night.”

Despite the persistence of the Amherst Police Department and the police proclamation that the Hobart Hoedown was canceled, as of mid-day, things were kicking off, albeit very quietly.

Republican Photo by Robert RizzutoAmherst police officers and U-Mass students living on Hobart Lane exchanged friendly conversations Saturday afternoon as police patrolled the neighborhood to preempt the annual Hobart Hoedown.

On Hobart Lane, a dead-end street lined with predominately-student housing, students were seen on porches and in their front yards listening to music and drinking beer. There were also uniformed town police officers parked on the street and seen walking around the neighborhood.

All the college students on Hobart Lane who spoke with MassLive.com said they felt the police were overreacting.

“As long as people are of age, respectful and not destructive, I don’t see why they won’t just let us be,” said Corey Marcus, a senior at the University of Massachusetts. “They’ve stopped the bus service in Amherst and placed the whole town on lockdown. It’s overkill and it just seems to be making people more determined to come out and drink.”

Other students shared their thoughts about the “cancellation” on the social networking website Twitter on Friday and Saturday.

“There's probably more cops at the Hobart Hoedown than the royal wedding,” tweeted one young lady.

Another person expressed gratitude that the annual event might be canceled.

“Hobart Hoedown canceled,” he wrote. “This brings me great joy.”

Republican Photo by Robert RizzutoDespite police presence in the neighborhood, U-Mass students said they planned on partying "respectfully" in honor of the annual Hobart Hoedown.

Still, in that American spirit of college defiance, some took issue with a police agency claiming to cancel something they don’t officially conduct.

“The whole reason they are punishing us is based on what other students have done in the past,” said one UMass student who asked not to be identified. “The last time things got really bad was nine years ago, and it’s not fair to shut us down now because of what people did back then.”

On Twitter, other students protested against the police and vowed to party on.

“Amherst police are trying to stop the Hobart Hoedown!” one student wrote. “Blocking cars from entering, (explicative) that we'll walk.”

Another wrote “Who does the Amherst PD think they are shutting down the Hobart Hoedown?”

But police at the scene were mellow and friendly, taking time to speak with students while keeping a watchful eye.

“I think a small group of people throwing bottles and being disrespectful last year is what set this in motion,” Marcus said. “We’ve worked really hard all year and all we want to do is have a good time with our friends- peacefully and respectfully.”

In 2003, police and students clashed in a riot that resulted in 15 officers being injured and dozens arrested.

The California elementary school principal held the same post in Northampton for several years.

Manon MirabelliSuzanne Scallion

WESTFIELD – A successful schools superintendent should advocate for students; energize them; inform parents and the community; communicate goals, initiatives and progress; and operate in transparency, said the last candidate to be interviewed for the job Saturday.

Suzanne Scallion, an elementary school principal in Napa, Calif., with roots in Massachusetts, appeared before members of the School Committee Saturday morning for her second interview and their final one after meeting with three other candidates.

Also being considered for the post being left vacant by retiring Superintendent Shirley Alvira are former North Middle School principal Ronald R. Rix; Maureen Bingham, assistant superintendent of schools in Swampscott; and Melodie Goodwin, current director of curriculum for North Adams schools.

In her interview, Scallion pledged her support to educators at all grade levels and lauded their commitment to student growth, which she said she hopes to foster.

“I know how powerful a teacher can be in the life of a student, and I want to help teachers work that magic that allows students to be the best they can be,” she said.

While the basis for all education is established in the elementary years, Scallion said she also recognizes that the high school is often the flagship of a city’s public school system and must offer a broad range of programs for all students to thrive.

“I want every child to feel cemented and be involved in activities that are vital to the health of a high school,” she said.

Prior to her position as principal at Alta Heights Elementary School in Napa, Scallion served as principal at Leeds Elementary School in Northampton from 2002 to 2008.

Scallion earned undergraduate, graduate, fellowship and doctoral degrees from Worcester State College, Bridgewater State College, Harvard Graduate School of Education Fellowship, C.A.S. Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, respectively.

Major qualifications for the job, search committee members have said, include budget experience, the ability to build staff and community support, and being flexible in advancing Westfield’s public school system. The city is currently negotiating a schools spending plan of $53 million.

Search Committee member Sheila Conroy said the team comprised to identify candidates looked for someone who can address budget issues, academic achievement, and state and federal education requirements. She also said the best candidate needs to be able to help the district move forward while working well with the staff and administration to make positive changes in Westfield.

“We want someone who is truly child- and student-centered and keeps them foremost in mind,” Conroy added.

Alvira announced last year her plans to retire in July after four years as superintendent here. She earns $135,450 per year.

The School Committee listed a salary range of $130,000 to $165,000 when it posted the position earlier this year, comparable to salary postings for new superintendents throughout the state. The salary range posted last year as part of West Springfield’s superintendent search was $125,000 to $145,000 annually, and salaries reported by 16 communities across the commonwealth currently seeking applicants range from $120,000 to $190,000.

Screening committee members are Westfield High School principal Raymond K. Broderick; Fort Meadow School principal Erin Fahey-Carrier; Westfield Education Association President Lori A. Hovey, WEA unit representatives Conroy, Janet Snow and Geana Delisle; parents Police Capt. Michael A. McCabe and Southampton Road School Parent-Teacher Organization president Ramon Diaz Jr.; and community representative Bette Babinski.

After a fugitive and murder suspect shot police from the truck of a car and officers returned fire, a 6-month-old baby in the back seat was unharmed.

UPDATE 9 P.M. - A Department of Correction spokeswoman said Tamik Kirkland escaped the minimum security prison in Shirley by placing "a dummy" in his bed to evade a head count. He then walked away from the facility.

SPRINGFIELD - An escaped convict police believe fled a minimum security state prison a week ago to avenge his mother’s shooting killed a man with a handgun in a barbershop in broad daylight on Saturday, minutes before wounding two police officers in a shoot-out on Cambridge Street.

Tamik Kirkland, 25, a city resident serving time for firearm and drug charges at Shirley State prison, allegedly opened fire on the officers from the trunk of a car as he tried to flee from 49 Cambridge St. shortly before 12:30 p.m.

Police said they believe Kirkland fatally shot a customer and wounded a barber at Bill Brown’s House of Beauty at 945 State St. just minutes before.

A Massachusetts State Police trooper and a city police officer were each shot once in the chest but were spared serious injuries by their Kevlar vests, according to Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet. The Springfield officer, Raul Gonzalez, is a 15-year-veteran. The state’s trooper’s name was not released.


The back-to-back gunfire drew a swift and massive police response – both due to the officers down and because Kirkland was already being sought by a fugitive task force. He was suspected to have ties to the yellow duplex on Cambridge Street, Hampden County District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said at a press conference outside police headquarters Saturday afternoon.

“It was no accident that police were outside that house when the car was pulling away,” Mastroianni said.

Kirkland’s mother was shot in the leg at a Ringgold Street home on April 23, police said. She survived while another woman was seriously wounded. No motive has been released and no arrests have been made.

Kirkland fled prison overnight on April 24, according to a state official. City officials said he had been “wreaking havoc” across the city since his escape and is believed to be a suspect in other recent shootings and attempted shootings – apparently in response to the incident involving his mother.

Police believe he killed the unidentified patron in the barbershop on Saturday as an act of vengeance.

Officials have not released the identities of the dead man or the barber. Both could be seen splayed out and bleeding on the floor of the salon being tended to by emergency personnel a shortly after noon. Two bullet holes marred the wide window of the storefront shop.

Mastroianni said Kirkland likely was in the shop when he fired on the men.


Fitchet said Kirkland then fled up Montrose Street on foot, and police in the area sped to the duplex where they believed a family member or ally lived. They spotted a silver sedan back into the driveway and Kirkland hop into the trunk. As the car tried to pull away, police surrounded the vehicle and pulled the a female driver from the car.

“The trunk had been popped and the suspect started shooting. Police returned fire and the suspect was shot several times,” Fitchet said, adding that he is in serious condition but expected to live.

A 6-month-old baby was in a car seat in the back of the vehicle but was unharmed.

“The trunk had already been popped (and the suspect quickly began firing). It happened over a matter of seconds. They didn’t notice the baby until afterward,” Fitchet said, adding that the infant escaping unscathed was one of a few strokes of luck against a tragic backdrop.

Police refused to release the driver’s name or her relationship to Kirkland, if any.

William Eason, a Hampden Superior Court Clerk who lives just yards from the site of the police shoot-out, said he had just arrived home from a conference and heard 20 to 25 shots in rapid succession.

“I heard the gunfire, looked out my window and a crowd of police were here within seconds,” Eason said. “I saw one suspect with his hands in the air.”

A state police helicopter hovered overhead for several hours, but Fitchet and other law enforcement officials said they believed Kirkland was the only shooter. However, they said the investigation is ongoing and said the list of charges he will face is not yet complete.

Mastroianni said, while he is not questioning the level of security at the Shirley prison, he wondered how the escape occurred after the news of his mother’s shooting provided such an obvious motive to bolt.

“I’m troubled over how a person was able to escape from jail when he had such a clear reason to want to escape from jail and head to the streets of Springfield,” Mastroianni said.

He added that the governor’s office, department of corrections and district attorneys across the state are scrutinizing the incident.

A state Department of Correction spokeswoman said that a preliminary review indicated that Kirkland fashioned a dummy in his bed to evade a head count, then walked away from the minimum security facility. She said that one staff member so far has been placed on paid leave pending further investigation.

“When the investigation is complete, the DOC will take whatever steps may be necessary to insure that an incident like this does not happen again,” Department of Correction spokeswoman Diane Wiffin, wrote in an email.

The last time a Springfield officer was shot on the job was March 13, 2007. David M. Askins was hit in the leg while he and other officers were trying arrest a fugitive hiding at 126 Malden St.

Officers Alain Beauregard and Michael J. Schiavina were shot and killed after a traffic stop on Stebbins Street in 1985.

In 1984, officers Angel Gonzalez and Richard Jarvis were wounded while responding to a report of an assault on Sanderson Street. Both men were forced to retire because of their injuries and have since died.

The man was dropped off at the hospital at 5:15 p.m. with gunshot wounds. His condition was not available.

SPRINGFIELD – A man was dropped off at Baystate Medical Center with gunshot wounds on Saturday evening, and police are investigating. No other information was released.

Police did say that at this point, it does not appear to be related to an earlier shooting spree by 24-year-old Tamik Kirkland, who is at Baystate Medical Center where he is being treated for multiple gunshot wounds after he was shot by police. He is being heavily guarded at the hospital, police said.

Police said Kirkland opened fire at a customer and barber inside “Bill Brown’s House of Beauty” at 943 State St., killing the customer, whose name was not released.

Kirkland later shot at a Springfield police officer and state trooper, who were spared serious injuries because they were wearing bullet-proof Kevlar vests.