Selectboard members are reluctant to OK a permanent pull site because it is not considered a mission of Dufresne Park.

Republican file photoThe Charter Days Committee is seeking approval to build a permanent track to host truck pulls, such as this 2008 file photo from the Three County Fair.

GRANBY – The Charter Days Committee, which sponsors Granby’s anniversary festivities at Dufresne Park every summer, has asked the Selectboard for permission to build a permanent track for its “truck pull.”

At a recent meeting, the Selectboard expressed doubts about such a project, but a willingness to hear arguments in favor of it.

The truck pull, overseen by the Massachusetts Truck Pullers Association, involves hitching a truck to a heavy sled and then proceeding with the weight until the vehicle can go no further.

The driver who can pull the sled the furthest wins.

Last year, the truck pull track consisted of clay that was put down temporarily and then removed, according to Richard Gaj, chairman of the Dufresne Park Ad Hoc Committee.

The Selectboard was not sure about making the track a permanent addition. “I don’t see that as the mission of the park,” said Mark Bail, chairman of the Selectboard.

“I’m not inclined to agree with this,” said Selectboard member Mary McDowell, “but I want to discuss other options.”

“If somebody wants to come out and pitch for it, that’s fine,” said Bail.

“I’m not 100 percent against it,” said Selectboard member Lou Barry, “but I wouldn’t want it near the horse ring or the playground.”

Town Administrator Christopher Martin worried that the track would be too close to wetlands and only 15 feet away from the horses. “I have a problem with kids going onto a 200-foot strip,” he said.

Martin said he was also concerned that if a particular group improved a section of the park, that group would assume it is theirs to use at any time they want, regardless of what else is scheduled.

Barry said the Conservation Commission should also be consulted on the wetlands issue.

This year

Goh is in custody after he surrendered about an hour after the shooting at Oikos University that left at least 7 dead and 3 wounded.

Associated PressAn Oakland police officer walks outside of Oikos University in Oakland, Calif., Monday, April 2, 2012. A suspect was detained Monday in a shooting attack at a California Christian university that sources said has left at least five people dead. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

By TERRY COLLINS

OAKLAND, Calif. — A 43-year-old former student of a small Christian university in California opened fire at the school, killing at least seven people and setting off an intense, chaotic manhunt that ended with his capture at a nearby shopping center, authorities said.

Police Chief Howard Jordan said One L. Goh is in custody after he surrendered about an hour after the shooting at Oikos University, which also wounded three. Jordan said police have recovered the weapon they believe he used during the rampage.

"It's going to take us a few days to put the pieces together," Jordan said. "We do not have a motive."

Soon after the shooting, heavily armed officers swarmed the school in a large industrial park near the Oakland airport and, for at least an hour, believed the gunman could still be inside.

Art Richards said he was driving by the university on his way to pick up a friend when he spotted a woman hiding in the bushes and pulled over. When he approached her, she said, "I'm shot" and showed him her arm.

"She had a piece of her arm hanging out," Richards said, noting that she was wounded near the elbow.

As police arrived, Richards said he heard 10 gunshots coming from inside the building. The female victim told him that she saw the gunman shoot one person point-blank in the chest and one in the head.

Tashi Wangchuk, whose wife attended the school and witnessed the shooting, said he was told by police that the gunman first shot a woman at the front desk, then continued shooting randomly in classrooms.

Wangchuk said his wife, Dechen Wangzom, was in her vocational nursing class when she heard gunshots. She locked the door and turned off the lights, Wangchuk said he was told by his wife, who was still being questioned by police Monday afternoon.

The gunman "banged on the door several times and started shooting outside and left," he said. Wangchuk said no one was hurt inside his wife's classroom, but that the gunman shot out the glass in the door. He said she did not know the man.

"She's a hero," he said.

Television footage showed bloodied victims on stretchers being loaded into ambulances. Several bodies covered in sheets were laid out on a patch of grass at the school. One body could be seen being loaded into a van.

Police spokeswoman Cynthia Perkins said seven people were dead. She did not release any other details about the victims.

Myung Soon Ma, the school's secretary, said she could not provide any details about what happened at the private school, which serves the Korean community with courses from theology to Asian medicine.

"I feel really sad, so I cannot talk right now," she said, speaking from her home.

Those connected to the school, including the founder and several students, described the gunman as a former nursing student.

Officer Johnna Watson said the suspect is an Asian male in his 40s and was taken into custody at a shopping center.

Watson said most of the wounded or dead were shot inside the building. The industrial park in which the school is located also includes the county food bank and a local Girl Scouts headquarters.

"It's a very fluid situation," Watson said, declining to discuss details of the arrest or a possible motive.

At Highland Hospital, Dawinder Kaur's family told the Oakland Tribune that she was being treated for a gunshot to her elbow.

The U.S. Army Reservist told her family that that the gunman was a student in her nursing class who had been absent for months before returning Monday. The gunman entered the classroom and ordered students to line up against the wall.

When he showed his gun, students began running and he opened fire, her family said.

"She told me that a guy went crazy and she got shot," brother Paul Singh told the newspaper. "She was running. She was crying; she was bleeding, it was wrong."

Pastor Jong Kim, who founded the school about 10 years ago, told the newspaper that he did not know if the shooter was expelled or dropped out. Kim said he heard about 30 rapid-fire gunshots in the building.

"I stayed in my office," he said.

Deborah Lee, who was in an English language class, said she heard five to six gunshots at first. "The teacher said, 'Run,' and we run," she said. "I was OK, because I know God protects me. I'm not afraid of him."

The suspect was detained at a Safeway supermarket about three miles from the university, about an hour after the shooting.

A security guard at the supermarket approached the man because he was acting suspiciously, KGO-TV reported. The man told the guard that he needed to talk to police because he shot people, and the guard called authorities.

"He didn't look like he had a sign of relief on him. He didn't look like he had much of any emotion on his face," said Lisa Resler, who was buying fruit at Safeway with her 4-year-old daughter when she saw the man.

According to its website, Oikos University also offers studies in music and nursing. A telephone message left on the university's main voicemail was not immediately returned.

Jerry Sung, the university's accountant, said the school offers courses in both Korean and English to less than 100 students. He said the campus consisted of one building. Sung said many of its students went on to work in nursing and ministry.

"The founder felt there was a need for theology and nursing courses for Korean-Americans who were newer to the community," Sung said. "He felt they would feed more comfortable if they had Korean-American professors."

Associated Press writers Louise Chu, Garance Burke and Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco as well as Paul Elias in Oakland contributed to this report.

The site registered more than 22 million hits in just 4 hours from almost 2 million users.

File photo | Associated PressThis photo provided by the University of Texas at Arlington Library shows an image of a poster used for promotional efforts during the 1940 Census. Interest in the newly released 1940 U.S. census is so great that the government website with the information was nearly paralyzed shortly after the records became available to the public for the first time on Monday, April 2, 2012. (AP Photo/UTA Library via The Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

By RANDY HERSCHAFT

NEW YORK — Interest in the newly released 1940 U.S. census is so great that the government website with the information was nearly paralyzed shortly after the records became available to the public for the first time.

Miriam Kleiman, spokeswoman for the U.S. National Archives, told The Associated Press that the site registered more than 22 million hits in just four hours on Monday, from almost 2 million users. In a tweet posted after 5 p.m. on its official Twitter account, the archives said the website had received 37 million hits since the information was released at 9 a.m.

The government released the records for the first time after 72 years of confidentiality expired.

It's the largest collection of digital information ever released by the National Archives. The records allow individuals and families to learn details about their past.

Susan Cooper, a second spokeswoman, said the problems began as soon as the information was released on the website. She termed the problems a "virtual traffic jam."

"We anticipate that this jam will ease up by this evening," Cooper said. "The problem is, we just weren't expecting the huge volume that we got."

Computer experts were working on the site to bring it up to speed as soon as possible. Cooper did not give an exact time when the site would be fully operational.

"We're adding a lot more servers, a lot more muscle to the website," she said.

More than 21 million people still alive in the U.S. and Puerto Rico were counted in the 1940 census. The census followed a decade when tens of millions of people in the U.S. experienced mass unemployment and social upheaval as the nation clawed its way out of the Great Depression and rumblings of global war were heard from abroad.

Monday's release includes digitized records for details on 132 million people. Access to the records is free and open to anyone online, but they are not yet searchable by name.

For now, researchers will need an address to determine a census enumeration district — a way to carve up the map for surveying — to identify where someone lived and then browse the records.

Every decade since 1942, the National Archives has made available records from past censuses. The records, which include names, addresses and income and employment information, are rich with long-veiled personal details.

Town Clerk Nancy Morrell called the turnout "poor" as only 409 of 5,625 registered voters turned out.

MONSON — Voters returned former selectman Edward S. Harrison to office at Monday's election, where 7 percent of 5,625 registered voters cast ballots.

Edward Harrison

Harrison, 72, received 193 votes, to Steven J. O'Neill's 164, and Charles P. Cournoyer's 49.

Town Clerk Nancy C. Morrell called the turnout "poor." Only 409 registered voters turned out.

"I don't know if it's because people don't care, or if people thought the election would be tomorrow, Tuesday," Morrell said after the polls closed.

She said the lack of campaigning by the candidates may have contributed to the dismal turnout.

Harrison, contacted Monday night, said he has already been sworn-in by Morrell and is anxious to get back to work. He was pleased to be voted back on the board, where he has served 12 out of the last 15 years. He stepped down last year due to health problems, which he said have been resolved.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us," Harrison said about the selectmen. "That's fine by me."

Harrison said he was happy there was competition for the three-year term.

"I'd certainly like to see more of that in elections going forward ... There needs to be a contest. I hope the folks who didn't get elected this time will contribute in some other volunteer way for the town going forward," Harrison said.

O'Neill, who lost by 29 votes, could not be reached for comment.

Cournoyer said he has not ruled out a run for elective office in the future, but has not made up his mind. Cournoyer said he wishes Harrison the best of luck.

There was a vacancy on the Board of Selectmen because John F. Goodrich II decided not to seek re-election.

The selectmen's race was the only contest on the ballot.

The old cemetery is the final resting place of more than 50 Civil War veterans, said Camp, and has tombstones dating as far back as 1727.

SOUTH HADLEY – The board of historic Village Cemetery wants to digitize all its records and maps of the grounds, and three of its members recently appeared before the Selectboard to ask for help.

Member Jon Camp told the Selectboard he was not asking the town for money, but hoped for information on how to get on the National Register of Historic Places, which might help attract grants.

Village Cemetery, on Spring Street in the southern end of town, is also known as South Hadley Falls Cemetery.

The old cemetery is the final resting place of more than 50 Civil War veterans, said
Camp, and has tombstones dating as far back as 1727.

It also has the remains of some of the most prominent people in South Hadley history, whose names are familiar from street signs.

“Lathrop, Smith, Bardwell, Lamb – every name of old South Hadley is in there,” said Pauline Casey.

The cemetery, which is not full, gets requests from people all over searching for their roots. “Peter has been getting those calls for years,” said Camp, referring to longtime cemetery board member Peter Sudyka.

Robert Judge, chairman of the Selectboard, was enthusiastic about the cemetery board’s efforts, saying that another distinguished historic landmark could add to the revitalization of the Falls area.

Judge, a previous chairman of the South Hadley Historical Commission, said he regretted that the town has not gotten further in its pursuit of Historic District recognition for the Falls. That designation requires a much more complex, exhaustive process than the Register, he said, but it holds the key to getting grants.

After the meeting, Judge provided Camp with names and telephone numbers he had gleaned in earlier efforts to win Historic District status for the Falls.

Even though the arch over the entrance of Village Cemetery bears the date 1727, the cemetery opened in 1839 on land that was donated by the great-grandchildren of Daniel Lamb, according to John Zwissler of the South Hadley Historical Society.

The reason it contains older gravestones, said Zwissler, is that remains were moved from older cemeteries in the Falls. For example, nearby High Street used to have a private burial ground for the Cooley-Chapin family, until later generations built a house on the spot. Camp remembers hearing about it as a child.

The oldest burial ground in the Falls area used to be at what was called North Chicopee Street and Theroux Drive, said Zwissler. Today North Chicopee is called Syrek Street, and it’s part of Chicopee.

Village Cemetery is private and independent, with upkeep provided by its cemetery association and superintendent, who mow the grass, fell trees and replace them. When a call went out to help clean up Village Cemetery in 2000, said Casey, the list of volunteers ran to four pages

In all, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested more than 3,100 immigrants.

Associated PressIn this March 30, 2012 photo, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents take a suspect into custody as part of a nationwide immigration sweep in Chula Vista, Calif. Federal officials say they arrested more than 3,100 immigrants convicted of serious crimes and fugitives in a six-day nationwide sweep. Officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement say the sweep included every state and involved more than 1,900 of the agency's officers and agents. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

BOSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say 145 of the more than 3,100 arrests of illegal immigrants in a nationwide sweep were made in New England.

The six-day sweep, announced Monday, targeted immigrants who were illegally in the country and who were convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered fugitives or threats to national security. In New England, 55 of those arrested had multiple criminal convictions.

Officials say Massachusetts had 70 arrests, followed by 32 in Connecticut, 24 in New Hampshire and 13 in Rhode Island. There were three apiece in Maine and Vermont.

Dorothy Herrera-Niles, field office director of enforcement and removal operations, says 50 of those arrested in New England were previously ordered out of the country, and 12 others had illegally re-entered the U.S.

Police say 30-year-old Jason Eisenzopf, originally from Fitchburg, died after being injured during a jump.

SEBASTIAN, Fla. — Authorities say a New England skydiving instructor died following a hard landing in central Florida.

Sebastian police say 30-year-old Jason Eisenzopf, originally from Fitchburg, Mass., died after being injured during a jump Friday evening. Police say initial reports indicated that he came in too fast, clipped his foot on a ditch and sustained head trauma during his landing.

Indian River County Fire Rescue reports that Eisenzopf was airlifted to a Melbourne hospital, where he died later that evening.

The death remains under investigation. An autopsy is scheduled for later this week, and an expert will inspect Eisenzopf's equipment.

Eisenzopf's mother, Barbara Eisenzopf, told Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers that her son was spending his second winter at Skydive Sebastian and was planning to return to his job at Skydive New England in Lebanon, Maine.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate will take public office for the first time and lead the NLD in parliament, where it will hold just about 6 percent of the seats.

By AYE AYE WIN and TODD PITMAN

Associated PressMyanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, center, arrives at the headquarters of her National League for Democracy party Monday, April 2, 2012, in Yangon, Myanmar. Suu Kyi said she hopes her victory in a landmark election will mark the beginning of a new era for Myanmar. Suu Kyi spoke to thousands of supporters Monday outside her opposition party headquarters, a day after her party claimed she had won a parliamentary seat in closely watched by-elections.(AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar election officials confirmed Monday that Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party won a landslide victory in historic by-elections. The democracy icon said she hopes the vote will mark the start of a new era for the long-repressed country.

Suu Kyi spoke to thousands of cheering supporters who gathered outside her party's headquarters a day after the closely watched balloting.

"The success we are having is the success of the people," Suu Kyi said, as the sea of supporters chanted her name and thrust their hands in the air to flash "V'' for victory signs.

The state Election Commission confirmed that her National League for Democracy had swept to a victory that will put it at the head of a small opposition bloc in the military-dominated parliament.

State radio and television broadcast the commission's announcement that the NLD had won 40 of the 45 seats at stake. Results from five constituencies in remote areas were not yet reported.

The NLD's own count gave it 43 seats, while it awaited results from one constituency in distant Shan state. It failed to contest one constituency after its candidate was disqualified.

"It is not so much our triumph as a triumph of the people who have decided that they have to be involved in the political process in this country," Suu Kyi said. "We hope this will be the beginning of a new era."

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate will take public office for the first time and lead the NLD in parliament, where it will hold just about 6 percent of the seats.

The victory, however, marks a major milestone in the Southeast Asian nation, which is emerging from a ruthless era of military rule, and is an astonishing reversal of fortune for a woman who became one of the world's most prominent prisoners of conscience.

Nay Zin Latt, an adviser to President Thein Sein, told The Associated Press that he was "not really surprised that the NLD had won a majority of seats" in the by-election. Asked if Suu Kyi might be given a Cabinet post, he said: "Everything is possible. She could be given any position of responsibility because of her capacity."

The victories for Suu Kyi's party included all four seats up for grabs in the capital, Naypyitaw, which is populated by civil servants, in an embarrassing sign of defeat for the government.

An official from the Election Commission said full results from remote areas were expected by midweek. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The former military junta had kept Suu Kyi imprisoned in her lakeside home for the better part of two decades. When she was finally released in late 2010, just after a general election which many deemed neither free nor fair, few could have imagined she would so quickly make the leap from democracy advocate to elected official — a victory her supporters hope will open the way for a potential presidential run in 2015.

But Myanmar, formerly called Burma, has changed dramatically over that time. The junta finally ceded power last year, and although many of its leaders merely swapped their military uniforms for civilian suits, they stunned even their staunchest critics by releasing political prisoners, signing cease-fires with rebels, relaxing press censorship and opening a direct dialogue with Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1991 while under house arrest.

Hoping to convince the international community of its progress, Myanmar invited dozens of election observers to monitor the vote and granted visas to hundreds of foreign journalists.

Suu Kyi said Friday that campaigning had been marred by irregularities and could not be considered fair — allegations her party reiterated Sunday.

Malgorzata Wasilewska, head of the European Union's observer team, called the voting process "convincing enough" but stopped short of declaring it credible yet. "In the polling stations that I visited ... I saw plenty of good practice and good will, which is very important," she said.

The United States and the European Union have said that the fairness of the voting will be a major factor in their decision on whether to lift economic sanctions that were imposed to penalize the former junta.

The White House called the election an "important step" in the country's democratic transformation.

"We hope it is an indication that the government of Burma intends to continue along the path of greater openness, transparency, and reform," it said in a statement.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the participation of candidates from various parties, including the National League for Democracy, "another significant step toward a better future for Myanmar" and acknowledged "the courage and vision of President Thein Sein, which has made such progress possible," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

"Despite some complaints of irregularities during the voting, key stakeholders in Myanmar, including political parties, have stressed to the U.N. team their strong belief that these by-elections are a boost for the ongoing reforms and a very important step towards a more peaceful and democratic future in Myanmar," Nesirky said, adding that a U.N. team had witnessed voting in some constituencies.

The topdown revolution has left Myanmar befuddled and wondering how it happened — or at least, why now? One theory says the military-backed regime had long been desperate for legitimacy and a lifting of Western sanctions, and its leadership had quietly recognized that their impoverished country had fallen far behind the rest of skyscraper-rich Asia.

Sunday's by-election was called to fill 45 vacant seats in Myanmar's 664-member bicameral assembly and regional parliaments, and the military-backed government had little to lose by holding it. The last vote had already been engineered in their favor — the army was allotted 25 percent of the seats, and the ruling party won most of the rest.

"The real danger of the by-elections is the overblown expectations many in the West have cast on them," said David Scott Mathieson, an expert on Myanmar for Human Rights Watch.

"The hard work really does start afterward," he said. "Constitutional reform, legal reform, tackling systemic corruption, sustainable economic development, continued human rights challenges ... will take many years."

The proposals would create a Gun Court and a Gun Squad to focus on firearms crimes and illegal guns.

Springfield City Councilors Michael A. Fenton, left, and Timothy C. Allen have filed multiple proposals aimed at cracking down on crime.

SPRINGFIELD — Two city councilors who have sponsored a series of proposals aimed at improving public safety in Springfield said Monday night they will rely on public input and suggestions from law enforcement officials to move the ideas into action.

Three city ordinances and four resolutions, sponsored by Ward 2 Councilor Michael A. Fenton and Ward 7 Councilor Timothy C. Allen, were referred to committee for further review. That included a resolution to support creation of a gun court in Springfield to focus on gun-related crimes, and a proposed ordinance to create a gun squad, that would work to crack down on illegal guns.

Former City Councilor Jose F. Tosado, however, said Monday that the “Public Safety Package” from Fenton and Allen was a replica of his own public safety plan that he presented when he ran for mayor last year. That plan called for a gun court and gun squad, as well as ideas that mirror current council proposals for impounding and selling cars found with illegal guns and for reactivating the city Youth Commission, among others ideas, Tosado said.

“I’m pleased that public safety package is being proposed, but I’m taken aback that it’s my public safety plan for the city as part of my campaign for mayor,” Tosado said. “I find it disingenuous and unsettling.”

Just prior to the council meeting, Fenton and Allen said the ideas came from multiple sources, including Tosado.

However, the public safety initiatives are being put before the council for action – both as proposed resolutions and as city ordinances – for the first time, Fenton said.

The residents of Springfield feel victimized by crime and the proliferation of illegal guns, the councilor said.

“We’ve got to put law abiding citizens back in the driver’s seat,” Allen said.

The councilors said they met with District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni and Police Commissioner William Fitchet about the ideas, and will rely on their agencies’ input.

The gun squad is modeled after a shooting squad in Hartford, and the gun court is modeled after Middlesex and Suffolk County programs, Allen and Fenton said. The council did vote in favor of one resolution Monday to urge Mayor Domenic J. Sarno to reactivate the Youth Commission, which has been dormant.

Allen said police already impound cars in some drug cases and when the vehicles contain multiple illegal guns, but the councilors are seeking to expand that action, and to use the funds raised for a public safety revolving fund.

That fund could help finance the gun court, a proposed neighborhood public safety fund, and a proposed illegal gun tip line.

There was also a resolution urging the License Commission to evaluate the need for safety certification of bar owners, bouncers and managers. Most of the ordinances and resolutions were referred to the Public Health and Safety Committee, chaired by Councilor Thomas M. Ashe.

Another resolution supports asking Congress to “fix” background checks by requiring that all people prohibited from buying guns be included on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, as sought by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. A separate resolution called for support of Senate bill that would raise the age allowing students to drop out from 16 years old to 18 years old.

There was also an ordinance to create an Entertainment and Nightlife Commission.

File photo | The Republican

A Ron Paul supporter asked Romney whether he agreed with a passage from the Book of Mormon that describes a cursing of people with a "skin of blackness."

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at a building supply store in Green Bay, Wis., Monday, April 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

By STEVE PEOPLES

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was questioned about his Mormon faith while campaigning for Tuesday's Wisconsin primary.

A Ron Paul supporter, 28-year-old Bret Hatch, asked Romney whether he agreed with a passage from the Book of Mormon that describes a cursing of people with a "skin of blackness." Romney's staff took away the microphone before the Green Bay man could read the passage.

"I'm sorry, we're just not going to have a discussion about religion in my view, but if you have a question I'll be happy to answer your question," Romney said Monday.

Hatch then asked whether Romney thought it was a sin for interracial couples to have children.

"No. Next question," Romney responded curtly.

Hatch was citing verses from Mormon scriptures which he argued called it sinful for blacks and whites to have children.

Such allegations are often made by critics who accuse The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of racism and consider Mormon teachings heretical. The church barred men of African descent from the Latter-day Saint priesthood until 1978. Some Mormons may have heard verses from scripture cited in their communities as an explanation of why blacks were not allowed to become priests.

However, church leaders have said the origins of the prohibition are unknown. The church recently issued a statement from its offices in Utah denouncing racism and warning against what it called speculation about how the ban came to be.

"For a time in the church there was a restriction on the priesthood for male members of African descent," the church said. "It is not known precisely why, how, or when this restriction began in the church but what is clear is that it ended decades ago."

Romney often talks about the decade he spent as a volunteer Mormon pastor in the Boston area before becoming governor of Massachusetts.

Not long after Hatch's question, Romney reflected upon that experience.

"This gentleman wanted to talk about the doctrines of my religion. I'll talk about the practices of my faith," Romney said, noting that his service as a pastor helped him connect with people on "a very personal basis."

"Most Americans, by the way, are carrying a burden of some kind. We don't see it. We see someone on the street, they smile and say hello, but behind them they're carrying kind of a bag of rocks," Romney said. "I want to help people. I want to lighten that burden."

AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll contributed to this report.

City officials said the auctions also serve to return the properties to the tax rolls and to reduce neighborhood blight.

The Republican | Dave RobackThis house at 57 Commonwealth Ave. in Springfield attracted the highest price during an auction of tax-title properties.

SPRINGFIELD – An auction of tax-title properties generated bids totaling $326,205 last week, and sets the stage for 24 properties to return to the tax rolls, officials said.

“I am very pleased with both the turnout and the bids,” City Treasurer-Collector Stephen J. Lonergan said.

“The goal of any auction is to return the properties to the tax rolls and also to assist the revitalization of Springfield through home ownership.”

The auction included commercial lots, residential lots and nine houses, and the prices ranged from a high of $50,400 for a house at 57 Commonwealth Ave., to a low of $105 for a small residential lot on Lancashire Road. Three properties did not sell, and could be auctioned at a future date.

“The proceeds from the tax title auction are good for the bottom line of the city’s budget but more importantly to quality of life issues,” Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said.

Daniel J. Flynn & Co., of Quincy, conducted the auction at City Hall, on behalf of the city, and the auction cost is covered by a 5 percent buyer’s premium added to each sale price. It was the first city auction of the year.

Any house sold must be occupied for a minimum of three years, officials said. In addition, the buyer must confer with the Planning Department regarding repairs needed and other conditions before each sale is finalized.

Tina M. Quagliato, deputy director of neighborhood stabilization for the city’s Office of Housing, said she believes the auction was very successful. Under the program, the vacant houses must be redeveloped, “a key component to the revitalization of the city neighborhoods,” she said.

“We believe this program has had outstanding results in the past and we believe it is vital to the continued success and improvement of the city,” Quagliato said.

Local officials said the auctions have regularly benefited the city and neighborhoods, while also providing some very good buys for the bidders.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

John Suchocki / The RepublicanBelchertown, 4/02/12i - A stiff breeze blew whitecaps on the Quabbin Reservoir as this lone hiker looks out on the vast waterway.

SPRINGFIELD – Fire danger is high once again with gusty winds and low relative humidity forecast for Western Massachusetts.

The National Weather Service has issued what it describes as a red flag warning for much of southern New England for 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. All of Western Massachusetts, save for Berkshire County, falls under the warning.

Outdoor burning is not recommended.

Northwest winds will blow at 10 to 15 mph with gusts of up to 30 mph and relative humidity will linger at 15 to 20 percent, according to the National Weather Service.

A red flag warning is posted whenever any fires that develop have the potential to spread rapidly.

Brush fires, according to scanner reports, were reported Monday near Paridon Street and in Northampton along the railroad tracks near Strong Avenue.

Daytime temperatures are expected to hit the low- to mid-60s every day through next Monday, according to CBS3. Easter Sunday will likely see a high of 64.

Jailers may perform invasive strip searches on people arrested even for minor offenses, an ideologically divided Supreme Court ruled Monday, the conservative majority declaring that security trumps privacy in an often dangerous environment.

The Associated PressIn this Oct. 11, 2011 file photo, Albert Florence, right, sits at his home Bordentown, N.J., with his attorney Susan Chana Lask. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against Florence, who faced strip searches in two county jails following his arrest on a warrant for an unpaid fine that he had, in reality, paid. An ideologically divided court ruled Monday, April 2, 2012, that jailers may perform invasive strip searches on people arrested even for minor offenses. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jailers may perform invasive strip searches on people arrested even for minor offenses, an ideologically divided Supreme Court ruled Monday, the conservative majority declaring that security trumps privacy in an often dangerous environment.

In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled against a New Jersey man who was strip searched in two county jails following his arrest on a warrant for an unpaid fine that he had, in reality, paid.

The decision resolved a conflict among lower courts about how to balance security and privacy. Prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, lower courts generally prohibited routine strip searches for minor offenses. In recent years, however, courts have allowed jailers more discretion to maintain security, and the high court ruling ratified those decisions.

In this case, Albert Florence's nightmare began when the sport utility vehicle driven by his pregnant wife was pulled over for speeding. He was a passenger; his 4-year-old son was in the backseat.

Justice Anthony Kennedy said the circumstances of the arrest were of little importance. Instead, Kennedy said, Florence's entry into the general jail population gave guards the authorization to force him to strip naked and expose his mouth, nose, ears and genitals to a visual search in case he was hiding anything.

"Courts must defer to the judgment of correctional officials unless the record contains substantial evidence showing their policies are an unnecessary or unjustified response to problems of jail security," Kennedy said.

In a dissenting opinion joined by the court's liberals, Justice Stephen Breyer said strip searches improperly "subject those arrested for minor offenses to serious invasions of their personal privacy." Breyer said jailers ought to have a reasonable suspicion someone may be hiding something before conducting a strip search.

Breyer said people like Florence "are often stopped and arrested unexpectedly. And they consequently will have had little opportunity to hide things in their body cavities."

Florence made the same point in his arguments: He said he was headed to dinner at his mother-in-law's house when he was stopped in March 2005. He also said that even if the warrant had been valid, failure to pay a fine is not a crime in New Jersey.

But Kennedy focused on the fact that Florence was held with other inmates in the general population. In concurring opinions, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito said the decision left open the possibility of an exception to the rule and might not apply to someone held apart from other inmates.

Kennedy gave three reasons to justify routine searches — detecting lice and contagious infections, looking for tattoos and other evidence of gang membership and preventing smuggling of drugs and weapons.

Kennedy also said people arrested for minor offenses can turn out to be "the most devious and dangerous criminals." Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh initially was stopped by a state trooper who noticed McVeigh was driving without a license plate, Kennedy said.

In his dissent, Breyer said inmates in the two New Jersey jails already have to submit to pat-down searches, pass through metal detectors, shower with delousing agents and have their clothing searched.

Many jails, several states and associations of corrections officials say strip searches should be done only when there is reasonable suspicion, which could include arrest on drug charges or for violent crimes, Breyer said.

Susan Chana Lask, Florence's lawyer, said, "The 5-4 decision was as close as we could get ... in this political climate with recent law for indefinite detention of citizens without trial that shaves away our constitutional rights every day."

The first strip search of Florence took place in the Burlington County Jail in southern New Jersey. Six days later, Florence had not received a hearing and remained in custody. Transferred to another county jail in Newark, he was strip-searched again.

The next day, a judge dismissed all charges. Florence's lawsuit soon followed.

He still may pursue other claims, including that he never should have been arrested.

Florence, who is African-American, had been stopped several times before, and he carried a letter to the effect that the fine, for fleeing a traffic stop several years earlier, had been paid.

His protest was in vain, however, and the trooper handcuffed him and took him to jail. At the time, the State Police were operating under a court order, because of allegations of past racial discrimination, that provided federal monitors to assess stops of minority drivers. But the propriety of the stop is not at issue, and Florence is not alleging racial discrimination.

In 1979, the Supreme Court upheld a blanket policy of conducting body cavity searches of prisoners who had had contact with visitors on the basis that the interaction with outsiders created the possibility that some prisoners had obtained something they shouldn't have.

For the next 30 or so years, appeals courts applying the high court ruling held uniformly that strip searches without suspicion violated the Constitution.

But since 2008 — in the first appellate rulings on the issue since the Sept. 11 attacks — appeals courts in Atlanta, Philadelphia and San Francisco have decided that a need by authorities to maintain security justified a wide-ranging search policy, no matter the reason for someone's detention.

The high court upheld the ruling from the Philadelphia court, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The case is Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of County of Burlington, 10-945.

Police arrested the motorist at the Food Bag on Westfield Street.

Republican file photo03.09.11 | Photo by Julian Feller-Cohen – A West Springfield Police Department cruiser.

WEST SPRINGFIELD - A report of suspicious activity at the Food Bag store on Westfield Street late Sunday afternoon led to the arrest of a 30-year-old motorist for operating under the influence of narcotics and other charges.

J. Kelly Lynch, 52 Westfield St., Apt. 7, was also charged with possession of a Class A drug and possession of a Class E drug, according to police documents.

Alexander Barnett, 30, of 11 Falmouth Road, Southwick, was also charged with possession of a Class A drug and possession of a Class E drug, according to police documents.

Police arrested the suspects shortly after 4 p.m. Additional information was not immediately available.

An RMV spokeswoman said Obama "met all of the criteria" to qualify for the hardship license, including proof he was enrolled in an alcohol treatment program.

Onyango Obama

BOSTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's uncle has been granted a hardship driver's license by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles just a week after he lost the right to drive for 45 days in a deal in a drunken driving case.

The license granted Monday allows 67-year-old Onyango Obama to drive from noon to midnight to get to work as manager of a Framingham liquor store.

A Registry spokeswoman tells the Boston Herald that Obama "met all of the criteria" to qualify for the hardship license, including proof he was enrolled in an alcohol treatment program.

Obama is the half brother of the president's late father. He was arrested in August.

He pleaded to sufficient facts last week.

Onyango Obama is from Kenya. He's appealing a deportation order.

Amherst officials are warning area students in advance of the warmer weather to be mindful of their non-student neighbors, and to expect consequences if they break the law.

(Republican file photo by Robert Rizzuto)An Amherst Police cruiser.

AMHERST – In a town that's home to a university once listed among the nation's top party schools, a bit of cautionary advice may fall on deaf ears. But that hasn't stopped Amherst officials from reminding area students to be good neighbors as the school year winds down and local campuses succumb to spring fever.

Nice weather on tap often means more beer on tap as teenagers and twentysomethings gear up for end-of-the-year parties and gatherings, and Amherst officials are taking proactive measures to curtail the sort of bad behavior that can transform the gentility of Emily Dickinson's former 19th century home into the hurly-burly of a Chuck Bukowski story.

Amherst Select Board Chairwoman Stephanie O’Keeffe penned a letter to the Massachusetts Daily Collegian, the campus newspaper of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, urging local students to enjoy all of the history and culture that the town has to offer. But she also reminded them to be mindful of their neighbors.

"Imagine if your Mom found a kid peeing in her yard late at night, or if your Dad couldn’t sleep because of music blaring at 1:30 a.m. Imagine if your grandfather had to pick a bunch of cups and broken bottles out of his garden. Imagine if your little sister or your nephew woke up frightened in the middle of the night to the sound of screaming and F-bombs," O'Keeffe wrote. "Anything that doesn’t pass the 'family test' is not OK — not someplace you call 'home,' not anywhere."

Though it's been a half-dozen years since UMass last graced Princeton Review's list of the nation's top 20 party schools, the public drunkenness associated with last month's Blarney Blowout is still fresh on officials' minds, with some forecasting trouble as temperatures rise over the next few weeks. "From here to graduation, we anticipate call volume will increase significantly," Amherst Police Detective David Foster told the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Amherst police were busy this past weekend, even with the chilly, wet weather. More than two dozen young people, including local college students, either were arrested or summoned to court for alcohol- or noise-related offenses, the Gazette reports. All told, police broke up weekend parties attracting more than 500 people, while more than 50 emergency medical runs were made to local hospitals — including about eight cases involving intoxicated college students.

Police are stepping up enforcement of alcohol violations in an effort to forewarn students ahead of the warmer weather. "We're going to use a proactive approach to decrease the volume (of illegal activity)," Foster told the Gazette.

The Blarney Blowout, a St. Patrick's Day-themed event promoted by Amherst-area bars, led to numerous incidents involving public urination, vomiting and drunkenness, according to town officials, who don't want to see a repeat performance next year. O'Keeffe said efforts will be made to "dial down the obnoxiousness" of the annual event.

In her letter to the UMass newspaper, O'Keeffe offered a refresher course to students on unacceptable behavior. "Just like in your other home, where you grew up or where you live when you aren't here (in Amherst), certain things are not OK," she stated. "Being so loud that you wake up the neighbors? Not OK. Throwing litter in the street or in other people's yards? Not OK. Having 250 people in your house and on your roof and hanging out your windows? Not OK."

Police raided a home at 11 Darrell Ave. at about 9:30 p.m.

Eric Lacoste

GRANBY - Investigators raided a Darrell Avenue home Monday night and arrested a 29-year-old man on charges including dissemination of obscenity to minors and posing a child for sexual photographs.

Police executed arrest and search warrants at 11 Darrell Ave. at about 9:30 p.m. and arrested Eric Lacoste. Police also seized several pieces of computer equipment and cell phones, according to a release issued by Police Chief Alan Wishart.

Lacoste, who lives at 11 Darrell Ave., was held overnight on $10,000 cash bail. He denied the charges Tuesday morning in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown.

Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Christine Tetreault asked that the suspect be held on $10,000 cash/$100,000 surety bail.

Judge John Payne, however, released Lacoste on personal surety with certain conditions. They include that he stay away from - and have no contact with - the victims or their families, stay away from Granby Junior/Senior High School, have no contact with children under 16, have no Internet access.

Lacoste must also wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and maintain a curfew save for work, medical and legal appointments.

The warrants were the result of an cooperative investigation into an Internet-based crimes against children case that began about two weeks ago.

The warrants were executed by Granby police, state police and personnel from the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. Additional information was not immediately available.

Gov. Deval Patrick called the allegations against Cahill troubling.

Associated PressIn this Sept. 14, 2010 file photo, independent gubernatorial candidate Timothy Cahill speaks during a debate in Braintree, Mass. Cahill, a former Massachusetts state treasurer, has been indicted on public corruption charges, according to a person familiar with the indictments returned Monday, April 2, 2012, by a Suffolk County grand jury in Boston.

BOSTON (AP) — Former state treasurer Timothy Cahill is preparing to defend himself against charges that he used taxpayer-funded ads intended to promote the state lottery to instead boost his unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2010.

The indictments, returned by a Suffolk County grand jury, were announced Monday by Attorney General Martha Coakley, who said Cahill abused his position of trust and put his political ambitions ahead of the public interest.

"We allege that Treasurer Cahill gained an unwarranted and unlawful privilege by his ability to launch a television ad campaign ostensibly on behalf of the Massachusetts state lottery, but was actually carefully coordinated primarily to promote his own campaign for governor instead of promoting the lottery," Coakley said.

The state treasurer oversees the lottery.

Cahill denied the charges.

"We will fight these charges and do whatever we have to do to clear my name and my reputation," he said outside his Quincy home Tuesday.

Cahill's lawyer, E. Peter Parker, said Cahill is guilty of nothing more than doing his job.

"We are confident that a jury will agree and in the end, the Attorney General will have wasted an enormous amount of time, energy and scarce resources to bring criminal charges that never should have been brought," Parker said Monday.

Cahill was indicted on charges of violating state ethics law and procurement fraud and conspiracy to violate both those laws.

Two former aides also were named in the indictments. Scott Campbell, Cahill's former chief-of-staff, faces similar charges, and Alfred Grazioso, the lottery's former chief of staff, was indicted on two counts of obstruction of justice. It wasn't immediately known if they had retained lawyers, and messages left at their homes weren't immediately returned.

Cahill served two terms as treasurer as a Democrat before running for governor as an independent. He finished a distant third behind Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, who won re-election, and Republican Charles Baker.

Patrick called the allegations against Cahill troubling.

"If proven in court, they warrant serious consequences," he said in a statement.

The $1.5 million lottery ad campaign began airing in September 2010 and highlighted the success of the lottery in helping provide funding for local communities. It did not feature Cahill or mention him by name.

According to Coakley, the ads were framed after a series of focus groups designed to identify a message that would resonate with voters in the governor's race. As a result of those focus sessions, the Cahill campaign identified the treasurer's leadership of the lottery, considered one of the most successful in the nation, as "the major selling point for him as a candidate for governor," the attorney general said.

Cahill's one-time gubernatorial campaign manager, Adam Meldrum, who by then had defected to Baker's campaign, said in October 2010 that he was poised to give the attorney general evidence that Cahill improperly coordinated with his campaign to release taxpayer-funded TV ads touting how well the lottery was run.

Cahill filed suit at the time against Meldrum and other former staffers to prevent them from sharing information about the Cahill campaign with Baker's campaign.

Coakley said investigators reviewed emails, phone records and other documents and interviewed former aides to the treasurer and lottery employees.

Parker, Cahill's lawyer, said the ads were run in response to ads attacking the integrity of the lottery by the Republican Governors Association. He said those ads undermined the public's confidence in the lottery and hurt sales.

"My job as treasurer was to maximize revenue for the lottery, which we did. Which I did," Cahill said Tuesday. "And that was my job and I performed that duty with or without a campaign. It was entirely appropriate and legal for the lottery to run its ads in response to the Republican Governor's Association attacks on the integrity of the lottery."

After the indictments were announced, Cahill's wife, Tina Cahill, tweeted: "A good man is being persecuted for challenging the (status) quo. Its not enough to be defeated you need to be destroyed politicly & personally."

Cahill currently works as a registered representative for Compass Securities Corp., a Braintree-based brokerage.

Cahill began his political career on the Quincy City Council in 1987 and won election as Norfolk County treasurer in 1996 and state treasurer in 2002.

If convicted, Cahill could face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine on the ethics and procurement fraud charges. The two conspiracy counts each carry penalties of up to 2 1/2 years behind bars and a $2,000 fine upon conviction.

There was no immediate word on when Cahill would appear in court.

Current state Treasurer Steven Grossman, a Democrat who succeeded Cahill, said his office had cooperated fully with the probe.

Coakley said the indictments are the first issued by her office under the state's new ethics law signed by Patrick in 2009.

Before the law, Coakley said, the allegation of conflict of interest would have been a civil rather than a criminal violation.

The new law was prompted by a wave of political scandals, including one that led to the indictment and conviction of former Democratic House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi on federal corruption charges. DiMasi maintained his innocence as he reported to prison in November to begin an eight-year sentence.

The Roman Catholic Diocese is seeking an extended lease for Cathedral to stay at its temporary location in Wilbraham.

SPRINGFIELD – The reopening of Cathedral High School on Surrey Road in the aftermath of the June 1 tornado last year will take longer than expected due to an impasse between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield and its insurance company over the eventual settlement.

At a press conference Tuesday, diocesan officials announced that arbitration will be needed to resolve the insurance dispute between the diocese and the insurance company, Catholic Mutual, meaning a delay of at least six months. As a result, the diocese has decided to negotiate an 18-month extension in its lease of Memorial Elementary School in Wilbraham that is being used as a temporary location for Cathedral students.

Arbitration is expected to take approximately six months, said Jack Egan, a lawyer for the diocese.

“Hopefully, it's just a six-month setback,” Egan said.

Consultants for the diocese have calculated that it will cost approximately $70 million to build a new school for Cathedral High School and St. Michael’s Academy Middle School, which shared the tornado-damaged building on Surrey Road, Egan said. Damage was too extensive to save the building, he said.

Catholic Mutual, citing its own consultants, estimated the building, built in 1959, could be repaired for $15 million.

The arbitration board will consist of one member selected by the diocese, one member selected by the insurance company, and a third member chosen by the two appointed members.

The diocese now pays an annual lease of $360,000 to use the Wilbraham school. St. Michael’s moved to the Holy Cross campus on Eddywood Street.

Cathedral has approximately 360 students, and the middle school has approximately 230 students.

This is a developing story; it will be updated as our reporting continues today.

The check is half the money spent by the oil and gas industry's main lobbying group on ads urging voters to call Brown and ask him to reject legislation they said would raise taxes on energy producers.

01/25/2012 Springfield- Republican Photo by Robert Rizzuto- Republican Sen. Scott Brown discussed the progress made in tornado-ravaged Springfield and the status of the STOCK Act during a visit to Milano Importers in January.

BOSTON (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown has delivered a $34,545 check to the Autism Consortium in Boston as part of the "People's Pledge" to discourage third-party ads in the Senate race.

The check is half the money spent by the oil and gas industry's main lobbying group on ads urging voters to call Brown and ask him to reject legislation they said would raise taxes on energy producers.

On Thursday Brown voted against a Senate measure opposed by the industry that would have ended $4 billion in tax subsidies to oil companies.

Under the deal with his chief Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren, the candidate who benefits from an ad must write a check for half the cost of the ad to a charity named by the other candidate.

It's the second check Brown has written to the consortium.

"I am very pleased to donate this money to the Autism Consortium and help support their incredibly important work," Brown said. "Over the years, I have supported funding for autism research and support for children and families impacted by this disease. I am also pleased that we have strengthened and expanded the People's Pledge to include issue ads. Closing this loophole is an important step toward keeping outside groups from influencing the Massachusetts election."