The cause of the fire is under investigation.

CHICOPEE – A fire seriously damaged the interior of a home at 57 Harwich St. and left the three occupants looking for another place to stay temporarily.

Their pet, a white and orange cat called Little Less, was missing Sunday night. Firefighters were not sure if it escaped or succumbed to the smoke.

The fire was reported at about 8:30 p.m. Firefighters were at an alarm call at nearby Meadow Street and were able to respond within four minutes, Deputy Fire Chief Joseph R. Crevier said.

“When we got here there was heavy fire in the bedroom area,” he said.

Firefighters had a difficulty entering and getting around in the house because of a lot of clutter. It took a dozen firefighters about a half-hour to extinguish the blaze, Crevier said.

The three residents were not in the one-story home at the time of the blaze. They arrived to find firefighters at their home. Crevier said he was working with them to get any needed belongings out of the house.

One resident praised the firefighters for preventing the house from burning more.

"Thank God these people are on the ball," said the man who did not give his name.

The structure of the house was not destroyed but side windows were blown out by heat and the siding on the neighboring house was partially melted. Most of the interior and belongings were damaged, Crevier said.

Crevier did not have a damage estimate but said the family would not be able to return until repairs could be made.

The cause is unknown and under investigation, he said.

The elderly homeowner was in his house when the fire started.

The Republican | Mark M. Murray

SPRINGFIELD – An elderly man was able to escape when his home caught on fire while he was inside Sunday night.

The owner, Van Vander, did inhale some smoke from the blaze. He was taken to Baystate Medical Center as a precaution and is expected to stay with family until repairs can be made, said Dennis G. Leger, executive aide to Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph A. Conant.

The fire was reported just before 8 p.m. in the one-story home at 68 Saffron Circle. The blaze is believed to have started in the bedroom.

When firefighters arrived smoke alarms were sounding, which alerted the homeowner to the blaze. He called the fire department and left the house, Leger said.

“The cause is under investigation, but it is not suspicious,” Leger said.

The fire is believed to have caused about $70,000 in damage. The structure was not seriously damaged but the interior must be repaired before the owner can return, Leger said.

It took firefighters a few minutes to get the blaze under control, he said.

The financial crisis in Europe is seen as a “high threat” to the global economy over the next year, according to more than half of those polled.

AP File photoFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington last month.

By RICH MILLER
Bloomberg News

WASHINGTON – Global investors give Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke his highest approval rating since 2009 and expect him to take further action this year to accelerate a revival in the U.S. economy and financial markets.

Bernanke, whom Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he wouldn’t reappoint for running too lax a monetary policy, receives a favorable assessment from three of four of those surveyed in the latest Bloomberg Global Poll. Respondents to the survey of investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers also rate U.S. financial markets highly: 46 percent say they will be among the best performers over the next year, double the percentage that select China, in second place.

“There is no other choice than the U.S.,” Kenichi Katsuhara, a poll participant and credit default swap trader with Aozora Bank in Tokyo, says in an email. “Companies in the U.S. are chugging along” while consumers could benefit from a “drop in commodity prices.”
More investors expect oil prices to fall over the next six months than to rise, 35 percent to 31 percent, the first time that’s been the case since September. Respondents also are the most bullish on the dollar since September, when they were first asked about their investment intentions regarding the greenback. Close to two in five say they are adding to their dollar positions, while only about one in 10 are reducing them.

The Fed gets a lot of credit from investors for its handling of the U.S. economy, based on the poll. Four in five say the Fed has done a better job in handling the problems facing the U.S. economy than the European Central Bank has in coping with its region’s troubles.

The financial crisis in Europe is seen as a “high threat” to the global economy over the next year, according to more than half of those polled.

More than three in five investors identify the European Union as among the worst-performing markets over the next year. That’s up from less than half who said that in the last survey in January and is the poorest rating for any market since the poll began asking that question in October 2009.

The latest survey of 1,253 Bloomberg customers was conducted May 8, in the wake of elections in France and Greece that saw the incumbent parties lose out in a backlash by voters against budgetary belt-tightening.

“Protests against austerity measures are spreading fast,” Lionel Mellul, a poll participant and co-founder and chief executive officer of Momentum Trading Partners in New York, said in an email. “The risk of contagion will soon resurface, increasing the spread in terms of performance between the U.S. and Europe.”

More than two in five polled say the U.S. economy is improving. While that’s down from half who said that in January, it’s still markedly better than the euro region’s economy, which more than four in five describe as “deteriorating.”

The slowdown hasn’t heightened concerns of a double-dip of the economy, according to the poll. Less than one in five expect the U.S. to relapse into recession this year, about the same who said that in January. In September of last year, half of investors foresaw a
renewed economic decline.

More than three in five of those polled expect the Fed to take more action to aid the economy after its “Operation Twist” program expires in June.

“Bernanke gives clear guidance that he will print more money anytime if there’s risk to the current economic recovery,” Rachel Chan, who took part in the survey and handles institutional equity sales at Argonaut Securities Asia in Hong Kong, said in an email.
About two in five anticipate the central bank will adopt a similar strategy to “Twist,” which sought to reduce long-term interest rates without increasing the Fed’s balance sheet. About one in five believe it will embark on a third round of large-scale asset purchases, otherwise known as QE3.

Bernanke told reporters last month that central bankers “remain prepared to do more” if economic conditions worsen. The Fed also has said that it anticipates keeping short-term interest rates at “exceptionally low levels” at least through late 2014.

More than half of investors expect the central bank to raise interest rates before then, according to the poll. One quarter, though, don’t see it tightening credit until after 2014.
Bernanke’s 75 percent approval rating is the highest since the Bloomberg quarterly poll began in July 2009 and is nine percentage points above ECB President Mario Draghi’s. The Fed chief’s support is broad-based, with respondents in the U.S., Europe and Asia all giving him high marks.

His standing in the financial markets contrasts with the pasting he’s received from Republicans on the presidential campaign trail. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, vowed to end the Fed. Romney, the presumptive nominee, has said he won’t reappoint the Fed chief when his term runs out in January 2014. +rt>

U.S. investors are more concerned about fiscal gridlock in Washington than their counterparts in Europe and Asia. More than one in three U.S. respondents describe it as a high threat to the global economy, compared with less than one in five Europeans and Asians who believe that.

The Bloomberg Global Poll was conducted by Selzer & Co., a Des Moines, Iowa-based firm. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

The medical examiner's officer will determine the cause and manner of death.

WESTBOROUGH — Authorities say a 4-year-old boy has died after he was found in a swimming pool at a Westborough apartment complex.

The Worcester County District Attorney's office says Alexie Lepoer was reported missing at about 5 p.m. Sunday. The boy was found about a half-hour later in the murky water of the swimming pool at the Park Village West apartment complex on East Main Street.

He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

State police, Westborough police and the Worcester County District Attorney's office are investigating.

The medical examiner's officer will determine the cause and manner of death.

Meg Theriault, 21, was in intensive care with a serious head injury, a broken right arm and grazes over her body, her parents, Boston residents Todd and Deb Theriault, said in a statement.

By NICK PERRY

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The parents of a Boston University student critically injured in a New Zealand minivan crash that killed three of her schoolmates have flown to the country to be by her side at a hospital.

Associated PressMeg Theriault

Meg Theriault, 21, was in intensive care Monday. Four other students suffered less serious injuries when their minivan rolled over several times Saturday while they were traveling to a popular hiking spot.

Theriault suffered a serious head injury, a broken right arm and grazes over her body, her parents said in a statement.

"She is a fit and stubborn young woman and we know she is getting the best care," said Todd and Deb Theriault of Boston.

Boston University is mourning the three students killed: Austin Brashears, of Huntington Beach, Calif.; Daniela Lekhno, of Manalapan, N.J.; and Roch Jauberty, of Paris, France. Hundreds took part in a vigil at the school Saturday night.

"These things can happen when you've got international tourists on your roads, but obviously it's a great tragedy and our sympathies go out to the families," New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said on Television New Zealand's Breakfast show.

The school said 26 students were traveling in three vans on their way to walk the Tongariro Crossing, a hike across a volcanic crater that is rated as one of New Zealand's most spectacular.

One of the minivans drifted to the side of the road around 7:30 a.m., then rolled when the driver tried to correct course near the North Island vacation town of Taupo, New Zealand police said.

The driver of one of the other vans saw the crash in his mirror and pulled over. The driver of the third van didn't see the accident and continued to the planned destination. All three vehicles were driven by students.

"Our first impulse was to do whatever we could, but everyone had a sense of helplessness," Evan White, who was in the minivan that stopped, said in a story posted on the school's website. "I helped people away from the van. Others ran to a house to get help."

New Zealand police official Kevin Taylor said it was unclear why the van drifted to the side of the road. He said some students were thrown from the vehicle, indicating they may not have been wearing seat belts. An investigation into the accident is going to take several days, he said Monday.

Police said the driver was among those injured and was released from a hospital Saturday.

Meg Theriault was airlifted to Waikato Hospital and had surgery there Saturday, according to hospital spokeswoman Mary Anne Gill. She said two other women, one 20 and the other 21, remained hospitalized Monday in stable condition. The other two injured — a 20-year-old man and 20-year-old woman — were released Saturday.

All the students except Theriault were enrolled in a BU study abroad program in Auckland, the university said. Theriault was enrolled in a study abroad program in Sydney, Australia. Study abroad program executive director Bernd Widdig called the deaths were the worst tragedy to hit the program since it began in the 1980s.

White was quoted on BU's website as saying that the students in New Zealand were staying together in Auckland after the accident.

"Last night we all dragged our mattresses into the common room and slept in the same place just to show solidarity," he said. "We are just talking about it and trying to be very open. Hopefully everyone at BU can come to terms with it too, like we're trying to do here."

Efforts by The Associated Press to reach family members of Lekhno and Brashears were unsuccessful. Tori Pinheiro, a close friend of Brashears, fought back tears at Saturday's vigil as she told the crowd about an old voicemail he had left her.

"I listened to it four times, just to hear your voice," she said.

Associated Press writers Bridget Murphy in Boston, Mass., and Stephen Singer in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this report.

View Taupo, New Zealand in a larger map

Browse the pictures that appeared in the weekend editions of The Republican.

From Springfield's annual pancake breakfast, to the college graduations at UMass, Springfield and Bay Path — and more — our photographers are documenting life in the Pioneer Valley from every angle.

Browse photos from the weekend editions of the newspaper in the gallery at right.

As a mutual bank, Easthampton Savings can’t be bought out. But it is set up in a way that it could merge with another mutual bank. Hogan said any merger would most likely be with a bank slightly outside Easthampton’s footprint. Both names would be retained but back-office functions and management would merge.

The Republican / John Suchocki5-2-12 -Easthampton - Republican staff photo by John Suchocki - Easthampton Savings Bank President William S. Hogan is retiring after 42 years.

EASTHAMPTON – With $644 million in loans, $756 million in deposits and a new loan center and retail branch building taking shape on Northampton Street, Easthampton Savings Bank President William S. Hogan feels he is leaving the bank in a pretty good place.

“It just feels right to me,” Hogan said in a recent interview.

He announced last month that he’ll retire sometime before the end of 2013. He wanted the bank’s board to have plenty of lead time because none of them have ever done a search for a bank president before. He’s had the job since 1992, having come to the bank in 1970.

“Back then, we did everything. I opened accounts, and took mortgage applications that were one page long,” Hogan, who is nearing his 65th birthday, said. “Now they are four inches thick.”

He recalled talking to a longtime friend and customer who was put off by the documents needed to refinance his mortgage. Why ask for years of tax returns when he’d been banking at Easthampton Savings for years?

“I told him it’s not me,” Hogan said. “I can’t make character loans anymore. We all have to play by the same rules.”

Daniel J. Forte, president of the Massachusetts Bankers Association, said Hogan has always been able to look beyond his own bank and see issues affecting every bank in the state or every business in his community.

Easthampton also has a great team of executives around Hogan, Forte said.

“That’s indicative of Bill’s strength, too,” Forte said. “That bodes well for the future of the bank.” In 2011, Easthampton Savings Bank saw its loans increase $61 million from $583 million to $644 million at the end of 2011. The bank saw its deposits grow $52 million from $704 million to $756 million at the end of 2011.

Hogan pinned a lot of that growth on the bank’s two most recently opened branches, in Westfield and Agawam. Moving into bigger communities, even if they are outside of Hampshire County, where there is a lot of business to be had is the best way to grow the bank.

“We don’t need to compete for the percentage of business in Agawam or Westfield as we do in Northampton to succeed,” Hogan said.

But how spread out can Easthampton Savings Bank become?

“It’s something we have struggled with as a board. How far can we go with the name ‘Easthampton?’” Hogan said. “Can we go too far away to a place where no one knows where Easthampton is?”

Hogan’s answer is no. He thinks that by having branch managers involved in the community, for instance the Agawam senior center, Easthampton Savings Bank can build a name for itself elsewhere in the valley.

But new Easthampton Savings Bank branches might be smaller, a place where customers go and sign up for accounts, direct deposit of pay checks, electronic bill pay and debit cards that can be used to make purchases without cash. High-tech banking is popular, but Hogan said people still want to know there is a person they can speak with if something goes wrong.

Growth is important, Hogan said, because banks need to comply with new regulatory burdens, which cost money. The only way to thrive is to spread those costs out over a large number of customers.

“It’s the cost of technology, too,” Hogan said. “It costs me the same amount to keep my website as a bank that is larger or a bank that is smaller.”

As a mutual bank, Easthampton Savings can’t be bought out. But it is set up in a way that it could merge with another mutual bank. Hogan said any merger would most likely be with a bank slightly outside Easthampton’s footprint. Both names would be retained but back-office functions and management would merge.

Greater Springfield lost 36.9 percent of its manufacturing jobs from 2000 to 2010, the 69th worst showing out of the 100 largest metropolitan areas. Manufacturing jobs grew by only 0.5 percent from the beginning of 2010 to the end of 2011, compared with a 2.7 percent national growth rate.

The Republican / John SuchockiWestfield , 5/8/12 - Westfield Vocational High School senior Oleg Novenko checks out the machine center program with Bart Aslin. Aslin is with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and was visiting the schools machine shop.

Last week, Bart A. Aslin, CEO of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, told manufacturing technology students at Westfield Vocational Technical High School that they are learning skills that can take them anywhere.

But everyone hopes that the budding machinists and high-tech manufacturers in Clement D. Fucci’s classroom will be able to build their careers right here in the Pioneer Valley.

Aslin visited Westfield last week to announce that the Vocational Technical High School will receive $15,000 in grants from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation’s PRIME: Partnership Response for Manufacturing Education program. He was in the region for the Mfg4 industry event held last week at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.

“We have a need for skilled workers,” Aslin said. “We want you to know that we think your school is doing a great job. We want you to know that you are setting yourselves up for great careers. Life-changing careers.”

Of the $15,000 grant, $10,000 will go towards equipment and $5,000 will help students to attend SME’s Gateway Academy Summer Day Camp, according to SME.

Aslin followed up by encouraging Westfield students to continue their educations after high school, possibly by taking community college courses in engineering or manufacturing technology.

The Pioneer Valley still has a higher concentration of manufacturing jobs than most other regions of the country, but it’s lost jobs in recent years and seems to be gaining them back more slowly than other regions, according to a new report from The Brookings Institution.

The Springfield metropolitan area, an area defined as most of Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties, has 26,479 manufacturing jobs, ranking it 73 out of the 100 largest metro areas in the country, according to Brookings’ Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. Ninety-seven percent of those jobs rank as “very high tech,” according to Brookings.

But Springfield has lost 36.9 percent of its manufacturing jobs in the years between 2000 and 2010, the 69th worst showing out of the 100 largest metropolitan areas. Manufacturing jobs grew by just 0.5 percent from the beginning of 2010 to the end of 2011. That’s compared with a 2.7 percent rate of growth nationwide.

Springfield ranked 64 out of 100 when it comes to manufacturing job growth in 2010 and 2011.

“You haven’t had as big of a bounceback,” said Howard J. Wial, a fellow at Brookings. “It’s because the recovery in the manufacturing sector has been in the auto industry, which is centered in the Midwest. They got hit the hardest, but they have come back the fastest.”

The oil and gas boom also has benefited manufacturers who specialize in making equipment for drilling and pipelines.

Wial was surprised to learn that the migration of manufacturing to the American South has largely stopped. The biggest gains were in the northern Midwest, probably due to the recovery of the auto industry.

He also noted that manufacturing wages are higher in metro areas with a strong “cluster” of manufacturers.

“Companies learn from each other,” Wial said. “If they are all in the same area, they make each other better.”

The Pioneer Valley’s cluster of companies doing precision manufacturing is strong, said Stephen J. Ebbrecht, director of sales for the industrial lubricants division of A. R. Sandri Inc. in Greenfield. Ebbrecht attended the Mfg4 event in Hartford to make sales contacts. Mfg4 replaced what had been the annual Eastec trade show at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. Eastec will return in 2013.

But Ebbrecht said smaller machine shops are getting squeezed by the larger manufacturers that subcontract out the work.

“I know that margin is getting squeezed,” he said. “So everyone is trying to get as efficient as they can get.”

Manufacturers also need more capacity and James H. Cepican, sales manager for Marubeni Citizen-Cincom Inc. of Agawam, is trying to get it to them.

Cepican and his team sell milling equipment capable of shaping metal to tolerances of a millionth of an inch or less. It’s critical stuff for the aircraft, medical implant and, increasingly, the clean energy industries. One machine can sell for $200,000 to $350,000.

“I think less work is going offshore,” Cepican said from his company’s display at Mfg4. “We’re doing more with clean energy.”

The fox attack, the fourth in a week, injured Gouse as he was outside his Cooley Street home with his baby boy.

FacebookLarry Gousse of Agawam was attacked by a fox as he stood in the driveway of his Agawam home. The fox was killed by Gousse's landlord, who used a shovel to beat the animal.

AGAWAM – An Agawam man was injured after a fox clamped down on his leg and wouldn't let go, prompting people to come his aid and kill the animal.

Larry Gousse is recovering after being bitten on his lower left leg Friday at his Cooley Street home. The fox was killed and its carcass is being tested for rabies, according to officials.

The attack was the region's fourth case involving a fox within a week. A fox was killed after attacking two people and a dog in separate incidents in Pittsfield on May 4. The fox bit a 14-year-old girl, an 84-year-old woman and a dog before it was captured and put down by wildlife officials.

In the Agawam case, Gousse was attacked in broad daylight as he stood in his driveway with his infant son nearby. "It was a really horrific scene. It was terrible," he told abc40 news.

Gousse told 22News that his girlfriend's brother was present at the time of the attack and used a screwdriver to stab the fox. Gousses's landlord also assisted, using a shovel to hit the animal several times before eventually killing it.

Healthy foxes will generally stay away from people. But a fox that behaves erratically or approaches humans may be sick and should be avoided, according to state officials, who are testing the Agawam carcass for rabies.

In the Berkshire County case, animal control officials said they believed the same fox was responsible for all three Pittsfield attacks. The animal was located and shot on May 5, and its carcass was sent to a state lab to determine if it had rabies.

Gousse and the other two victims are undergoing rabies treatment as a precaution. Gousse is "really sore from all the shots," according to a post by his girlfriend on the couple's Facebook page.

Material from 22News, abc40, the Associated Press and The Republican was used in this report.

The crash happened north of Exit 14 on Interstate 91 in Holyoke, according to Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Adam Hakkarainen.

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE – State police from the Northampton barracks responded to a three-car crash in the northbound lane of Interstate 91 just before 10 p.m. Sunday that sent a person to a local hospital for treatment.

The injured motorist was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Adam J. Hakkarainen.

The collision occurred along a stretch of I-91 near the 12.5-mile marker between exits 14 and 15 near the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside. It was not immediately clear if anyone was charged in connection with the crash, which remains under investigation.

Massachusetts jurors have long been told by judges to refrain from discussing cases they are weighing outside the courtroom, but judges are now being told to expand those instructions to include social media sites.

(AP Photo/dapd, Timur Emek

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts jurors have long been told by judges to refrain from discussing cases they are weighing outside the courtroom, but judges are now being told to expand those instructions to include social media sites.

The Massachusetts Appeals Court in a recent case said "instructions not to talk or chat about the case should expressly extend to electronic communications and social media," including Facebook and Twitter.

The ruling was made in a case where several jurors in a larceny trial made comments on Facebook. Those posts elicited responses from friends. Despite the online postings, the verdict was upheld.

Experts tell The Boston Globe (http://bo.st/IQCRpL ) judges should not only instruct a juror to not discuss the case on the Internet, but explain why, including the possibility of a mistrial and the associated costs.

___

Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe

Police have released more details about a baby found in a car seat in a Worcester street that led to a nearby apartment where a man was found dead and two women were found injured.

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Police have released more details about a baby found in a car seat in a Worcester street that led to a nearby apartment where a man was found dead and two women were found injured.

The male victim was identified as 32-year-old Javier Maldonado.

The women's names were not released but police say they are 36 and 18 and have life-threatening injuries.

Maldonado and the older woman were a couple. The 18-year-old woman is the mother of the baby found in the street. She is related to one of the other victims.

All were tied up.

Police tell the Telegram & Gazette they received a call just before midnight Saturday from a driver who reported seeing the 3-month-old boy in the road. He is in state custody.

Paul urged his libertarian-leaning backers to continue working at the state party level to cause havoc for presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay JannerU.S. Rep. Ron Paul speaks at The Tea Party Express rally at the Capitol in Austin, Texas, on Sunday May 6, 2012.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas and a favorite of tea partyers, effectively ended his presidential campaign Monday but urged his fervent supporters to continue working at the state party level to cause havoc for presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

In an email to supporters, Paul urged his libertarian-leaning backers to remain involved in politics and champion his causes despite the apparent end of his presidential aspirations. Paul has found success in wrecking the selection process for delegates to the party's late-summer nominating convention in Tampa, Fla., and trumpeted that he has delayed Romney's expected nomination.

"Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted," Paul said in his statement. "Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have. I encourage all supporters of liberty to make sure you get to the polls and make your voices heard, particularly in the local, state and congressional elections, where so many defenders of freedom are fighting and need your support."

Paul's supporters have proved successful in winning state GOP conventions in places such as Maine and Nevada. His supporters in Iowa and Nevada were chosen to lead the state central parties.

Paul's flock is likely to make similar inroads this weekend in Minnesota, which Paul was slated to address. Paul has already dominated the state's congressional district conventions, winning at least 18 of the 24 national delegates selected, even though he finished a distant second to Rick Santorum in local caucuses in February.

"Our campaign will continue to work in the state convention process. We will continue to take leadership positions, win delegates and carry a strong message to the Republican National Convention that liberty is the way of the future," Paul vowed.

Primaries have not been Paul's strong suit — he hasn't won a single primary or caucus. But Paul's supporters have successfully navigated the convention process in a number of states, adding to Paul's delegate total while gaining influence over state parties.

Romney, however, is on pace to capture the nomination this month. He has 973 of the 1,144 delegates required to formally become the GOP's nominee, according to an Associated Press tally. Vanquished foe Santorum has 264 and Newt Gingrich has 130. Paul badly trails with 104 delegates.

Romney already is campaigning against Obama, and Paul's announcement does little to change the head-to-head campaign in November.

Paul is unlikely to endorse Romney as the party's nominee. The pair strongly clashed during the debates over foreign policy, and in interviews Paul has refused to say he would champion Romney's campaign.

Many of Paul's libertarian views dovetail nicely with mainstream Republican ideas on limited government and low taxes. But Paul breaks with much of his party when he rails against American intervention abroad and government efforts to fight terrorism at home — positions that earned him a loyal following.

Paul, a longtime congressman, is not running for another term to represent his Texas district.

Nathan Perez, one of the state's witnesses in the trial, testified in a recent hearing he lied when he said at the trial he saw Wilhite shoot Rodriguez.

04.09.2012 | The Republican file photo by Michael S. Gordon | SPRINGFIELD — Charles L. Wilhite sits in Hampden Superior Court for a hearing related to his request for a new trial after his conviction in December 2010 of first degree murder.

SPRINGFIELD — Hampden Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis Monday granted a new trial for Charles L. Wilhite.

Wilhite, with co-defendant Angel Hernandez, was convicted of first degree murder for the October 2008 fatal shooting of Alberto L. Rodriguez in front of the Pine Street market.

David A. Lewis, Wilhite’s lawyer, had argued his client’s first-degree murder conviction should be overturned, or at least Wilhite should be granted a new trial.

Assistant District Attorney Bethany Lynch had argued there is no reason to grant a new trial for Wilhite.

Velis did not reduce the jury’s verdict or reverse it to an not guilty finding, but instead granted the new trial.

Nathan Perez, one of the state’s witnesses in the trial, testified in a recent hearing he lied when he said at the trial he saw Wilhite shoot Rodriguez.

Wilhite’s efforts to get a new trial, or to get his conviction overturned, has generated an organized effort called “Justice for Charles.”

Dozens of supporters have been in court for some of the recent proceedings regarding the appeal.

Velis wrote state law permits a judge to order a new trial “at any time it appears that justice may not have been done.”

He said just because a witness recants does not mean automatically there is a new trial.

Velis said Perez’ recantation is credible.

“Moreover, there is a substantial risk that a jury presented with evidence that 1)Perez doubted his identification but 2)nevertheless resolved his doubts because he felt pressured to implicate the defendant, would have regarded it as significant or important,” Velis wrote.

“At trial, there was no physical evidence directly linking the defendant to the shooting, and the ballistics only pointed to the defendant when veiwed through the lens of Perez’ testimony,” he wrote.

Vira Douangmany Cage, Wilhite’s aunt and a strong force behind the effort for a new trial, said she is “so pleased he is going to get another chance at a new trial.”

“We’re going to come together. We have something to start from at this point. We’ll keep working until he is finally free,” she said.

Charles "Mike" Callahan was reelected as auditor and water commissioner, and Brian Donovan was reelected to the Prudential Committee, which is the governing body of the Fire Department.

PALMER — Palmer Fire and Water District No. 1 held its annual meeting recently, and voters approved budget reductions that will result in fewer hours for two Water Department employees, along with office hours for the public.

Approximately 20 people turned out for the annual meeting, which was held at the library, on May 8.

Charles Callahan III

Water Commission Chairman Charles “Mike” Callahan III explained that due to rising costs for chemicals, as well as fuel and electricity, cuts had to be made to the Water Department budget. It was more than $900,000 in fiscal 2012, but will be approximately $830,000 for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The decrease in funding resulted in the reduction of a laborer’s hours from 40 to 32. The office clerk also will be reduced to part-time, going from 40 hours to less than 20, he said.

Commissioners recognized that water rates were increased 20 percent, a change that took effect in customer’s April bills, Callahan said.

Callahan said the department relied on so-called “free cash” – unexpended funds from the treasury – to balance the budget over the last three years, but that has been depleted.

Office hours at the Water Department will be revised as a result of the cutbacks, he said. The Board of Water Commissioners will meet with the water superintendent to create a new schedule, he said. In the event of a water emergency, Callahan said residents should call the Water Department, and if they cannot reach someone, the Police Department.

William K. Cole, who retired, will continue to work on a per diem basis as the department’s treasurer, Callahan said.

During the special meeting before the annual meeting, voters approved using $85,000 from the Water Department surplus account to pay unpaid bills. Contributing to that cost were three water main breaks over the past year, on Breckenridge Street, on North Main Street by Friendly’s and on Thorndike Street, as well as clean-up from the October snowstorm that damaged a generator, roof at a pumping building and wellfield, Callahan said.

All fire district employees received raises of 2 percent. Voters approved a Fire Department budget of $453,992.79 for fiscal 2013.

Callahan said the water commissioners did not take a 2 percent raise, as employees’ hours were cut. He said the three water commissioners receive stipends of approximately $1,300 a year.

Callahan was reelected as auditor and water commissioner, and Brian Donovan was reelected to the Prudential Committee, which is the governing body of the Fire Department. Candidates ran unopposed.

Republican nominee Robert Russell will face off against Democratic nominee Russell Mitchell for a seat on the Board of Selectmen.

Russell Mitchell, left, and Robert Russell are competing for a seat on the Wilbraham Board of Selectmen.

WILBRAHAM — For a seat on the Board of Selectmen Republican nominee Robert Russell will face off against Democratic nominee Russell Mitchell in the May 19 annual town election.

Voting is Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Voters in Precincts A and C vote at Wilbraham Middle School at 466 Stony Hill Road and voters in Precincts B and D vote at Soule Road School at 300 Soule Road.

For School Committee there are four candidates seeking two positions.

They are Republican Town Committee-endorsed Marc E. Ducey, a member of the Finance Committee, and Michelle Emirzian, a Springfield teacher.

Also on the ballot are Democratic incumbent Gilles Turcotte and James Wilkinson, who is running without the endorsement of a Town Committee.

Russell, who grew up in town, said that serving on the Finance Committee has given him the opportunity to have “a thorough understanding of all town departments and a relationship with many people who make it work.”

“I believe the town is first and foremost a community and that people of good will and a sense of responsibility can make sound fiscal and fair decisions,” Russell said.

Mitchell, who said he plans to retire in 18 months from the Fire Department, said he would like “to give back to the community.” He said he has experience doing budgeting for the repair division of the Fire Department.

Mitchell led a critical incident stress debriefing team of firefighters who went to New York City following the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. He also did stress debriefing after the Worcester warehouse fire which killed six people.

Mitchell said he is currently serving as the potentate, or CEO, of the Melha Shriners.

Ducey, a member of the Finance Committee, said that if he wins election to the School Committee he will provide more accountability to children, parents and voters.

“There is opportunity for improvement,” Ducey said.

At a candidates forum sponsored by the Friends of the Wilbraham Seniors, Ducey said that School Committee members have a responsibility “to the kids, the parents and the taxpayers.”

Emirzian, a writing teacher at Homer Street Elementary School in Springfield, said she favors giving children the best education possible while being fiscally responsible. Emirzian said that if she is elected she will strive to deliver a high quality education with a focus on reading, writing, math, science, technology and social studies, but balanced with fiscal responsibility.

Emirzian said that issues which affect children and the town should be openly discussed at School Committee meetings.

Emirzian beat out Wilkinson for the Republican nomination. Wilkinson, a marketing and economics professor at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, submitted the signatures of enough registered voters to get his name on the ballot.

Wilkinson said school officials should make use of social media to reach out to parents and get them involved in their children’s education.

Turcotte said he has worked with senior citizens and the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative. As a member of the School Committee he said he has worked on evaluations for school principals and the school superintendent.

Also on the town election ballot there is a race for Planning Board where Dean Stroshine, a candidate for re-election, is running against David Sanders, Republican Caucus nominee.

Sanders said he is concerned that implementing a comprehensive master plan for the community would “take away local control.

Stroshine has the support of longtime Planning Board members Richard Butler and Frederic Fuller.

Wallace was apparently crossing i-91 in the southbound lane at about 9:45 p.m. Saturday when she was struck and killed.

Republican file photo

This is an update to a story originally posted at 11:43 p.m. Saturday

SPRINGFIELD - The pedestrian who was struck and killed Saturday night while crossing Interstate 91 in Springfield has been identified as 42-year-old Leslie Wallace of Westfield, according to state police.

The accident happened at around 9:45 p.m. in the southbound lane near Exit 3 in the south end of Springfield. The accident closed the southbound lane for close to two hours.

The crash remains under investigation.

Brown campaign manager Jim Barnett referred questions about Brown's fundraising to his Federal Election Commission reports.

The Associated PressThis composite image made from Associated Press photos shows Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren and Republican U.S. Senator Scott Brown.

Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown’s campaign on Monday declined to reveal whether any J.P. Morgan executives were raising money for him, in response to Democratic questions on the issue.

Instead, the Brown campaign tried to turn the focus back to Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren’s Native American heritage – an issue that has been dogging her for weeks.

“Professor Warren likes to talk about accountability, but has not held herself to that standard,” said Jim Barnett, Brown’s campaign manager, in a conference call with reporters.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party has been asking Brown to reveal whether any J.P. Morgan officials are raising money for him as part of a New York fundraising committee. Brown has raised more than $50,000 from J.P. Morgan employees, according to campaign finance reports.

Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair John Walsh said, “Scott Brown should tell us if people connected to J.P. Morgan are on his secret Wall Street fundraising committee, because Massachusetts families have a right to know if Scott Brown stands with them or with Wall Street.”

J.P. Morgan, the country’s biggest bank, disclosed a $2 billion loss on Thursday in a portfolio designed to hedge against risks the company takes with its own money. Two ratings companies downgraded the bank and the bank’s chief investment officer resigned. Warren has called on J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to step down from his position with the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Barnett, on the call, would not mention names of any Brown fundraisers but said, “Every dollar Scott raises is available to view on his campaign finance reports. That is transparency defined.” Barnett referred questions about Brown’s fundraising to his Federal Election Commission reports.

Barnett tried to keep the focus on Warren’s Native American heritage. He noted a newly revealed report from the University of Pennsylvania showing that Warren listed herself as a minority during her time teaching there, as well as at Harvard. He pointed out that so far, there has been no definitive proof that Warren has Native American ancestry – and some reports have found that a Warren ancestor was actually a member of a militia responsible for rounding up Cherokees.

“The question is not about Warren’s credentials, but about Warren’s integrity and truthfulness, and willingness to be transparent,” Barnett said.

Investors dumped risky assets and plowed into the safety of the Treasury market, pushing yields to their lowest levels this year.

By MATTHEW CRAFT | AP Business Writer

Associated PressGreek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos, center, leaves the presidential palace with a car after a meeting with President Karolos Papoulias in Athens on Monday, May 14, 2012. The critical meeting between the heads of three Greek political parties and the country's president to broker a deal on forming a coalition government ended late Monday with no deal.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris )

NEW YORK — A political stalemate in Greece rattled financial markets worldwide on Monday, driving U.S. stocks lower.

The euro sank to a three-month low against the dollar and borrowing costs for Spain and Italy jumped as bond traders anticipated that financial stress could spread far beyond Greece. Investors dumped risky assets and plowed into the safety of the Treasury market, pushing yields to their lowest levels this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 125.25 points to close at 12,695.35. The Dow has lost more than half of its gains for the year in the past two weeks as worries resurface about Europe and the strength of the U.S. economy.

In Athens, talks between political parties to form a government dragged into a second week. The uncertainty has raised concerns that Greece could miss a debt payment and drop the euro currency. The worry is that if Greece leaves the currency union, bond traders may demand steeper borrowing rates from other troubled countries and push them deeper into debt.

The turmoil could easily spread to the U.S. through the banking system. "The large banks are globally connected," said Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. "The concrete fear is that if Greece exits the euro, that would hurt European banks. They'll pull back lending to U.S. banks and then they'd be in worse shape."

In other trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 15.04 points to 1,338.35. The Nasdaq composite sank 31.24 points to 2,902.58.

The losses swept across the market. All 10 of the industry groups within the S&P 500 fell.

JPMorgan Chase's $2 billion trading loss continued to hang over bank stocks. JPMorgan dropped 3 percent following news that the executive overseeing its trading strategy would step down. Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, two banks with large trading operations, sank more than 4 percent.

The loss to JPMorgan appears "manageable," said Matt Freund, a portfolio manager at USAA Investments. "But people are looking at other banks and wondering who's going to be next? What else could be lurking?"

Major markets in Europe plunged. France's CAC-40 and Germany's DAX lost 2 percent. Benchmark indexes fell nearly 3 percent in Italy and Spain.

Traders shifted money into the safest of government bonds, pushing Treasury prices up and their yields down. The yield on the 10-year note hit a low for the year, 1.77 percent.

Since hitting its high for the year on May 1, the Dow has been on a steady slide, closing lower on seven of the previous eight trading days. The Dow's 1.7 percent loss last week was its worst since Dec. 16.

Despite the broad market decline, some stocks posted gains:

• Chesapeake Energy Corp. jumped 4 percent on reports that the investor Carl Icahn bought a stake in the natural gas company. Chesapeake's CEO said he'd welcome an investment by Icahn, who is known for shaking up companies.

• Yahoo gained 2 percent. The company replaced its CEO, Scott Thompson. Yahoo reportedly pushed Thompson out for padding his resume.

• Electronics retailer Best Buy Co. rose 1 percent after the company's founder, Richard Schulze, said he would step down as chairman. An investigation found that he knew the CEO was having a relationship with a female employee and didn't tell an audit committee.

Mary Allen and Thaw Dar were honored recently at the Statehouse by the Medical Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Tuberculosis.

The Republican | Sandra E. ConstantineThaw Dar, left, a community health worker with the state Department of Public Health's Refugee and Immigrant Health Program, with Mary E. Allen, West Springfield public health nurse administrator. The two women were recently honored for their work in preventing and treating tuberculosis in recent immigrants.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — A public health nurse administrator with the city Health Department and a state health worker she teams up with were honored recently at the Statehouse by the Medical Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Tuberculosis.

The committee, which is a group of physicians and other tuberculosis experts focused on Massachusetts, gave citations to Public Health Nurse Administrator Mary E. Allen and Thaw Dar, a community health worker with the state Department of Public Health’s Refugee and Immigrant Health Program in Northampton. The two women, who both live in West Springfield, were honored for their work to fight tuberculosis.

“They have done extraordinary work in the community,” Yoojin Lee, coordinator of the committee, said of the two women. Allen and Dar work together to communicate with the local refugee and immigrant population about tuberculosis.

Dar, who came to this country in 2008 from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, translates for non-English speaking people from her former homeland. Allen provides the medical expertise

A former elementary school mathematics teacher in her country, Dar is fluent in Burmese. However, her job is made difficult by the fact that as many as 135 languages are spoken in Myanmar. She has to find someone who is fluent in Burmese as well as the other language in order to translate information for Allen.

“It is very hard for me,” Dar said.

She and Allen have worked with about 1,000 people from Myanmar. Recent immigrants to the area live mostly in Chicopee, Springfield and West Springfield.

While tuberculosis is still somewhat rare in the West, it continues to be a problem in much of the rest of the world, Allen said.

“It can be highly contagious,” Allen said.

Immigrants are tested before being admitted to this country and then again shortly after their arrival here, she said.

In West Springfield, the women have worked with 40 people who have been exposed to the disease and only three with active cases of the respiratory disease.

Allen praised Dar for working lots of unpaid hours helping the new arrivals do things like get to doctors’ appointments and look for apartments and jobs.

“She was an absolute godsend in the disasters of last year,” Allen said of Dar’s work with victims of the June 1 tornado as well as the hurricane and October ice storm.

A native of West Springfield, Allen has also gone above and beyond her role as a nurse in working with new residents vulnerable to tuberculosis, according to a press release issued by the West Springfield Health Department about the women and their citations.

“It is really clear how connected (Allen) is to the community and how much she really cares,” Yoojin Lee, coordinator of the committee, said.