Mayor Richard A. Cohen has proposed a fiscal 2013 budget that is based getting about $23 million in aid from Massachusetts.

File photo | The RepublicanAgawam Mayor Richard Cohen at Town Hall.

AGAWAM — Mayor Richard A. Cohen has developed a proposed fiscal 2013 budget of $77,385,217, a spending plan 5.2 percent, or $3,837,587, more than this year’s budget.

Cohen sent the proposed spending plan to the City Council. It is empowered to make cuts, but may not add anything to the proposal. The council has until July 1 to put a budget in place, otherwise Cohen’s plan takes effect.

The mayor’s proposed budget is balanced and does not call for any layoffs.

Cohen’s proposed spending plan also allows for a School Department budget of $36,488,490, the amount of spending for next year recommended by the School Committee. That proposed School Department budget reflects an increase of about $2 million, or 5.9 percent over this year’s school spending. The School Department spending plan is a so-called “level of services” budget, meaning it would keep the current level of services.

Cohen’s proposed budget is based on about $23 million in local aid from the state. He anticipates the city will receive about $4.4 million in local receipts and approximately $50.6 million in money collected in property taxes.

“I’m trying to be cautious. I don’t know what the new year will bring,” Cohen said Monday. The mayor pointed to uncertainty over how much FEMA will reimburse the city for about $6 million in damage from the Oct. 29 snowstorm. He is hoping for 75 percent reimbursement from the federal government and as much as 25 percent from the state.

His budget calls for using $1,250,000 in free cash, which should still leave about $4 million in the free cash account.

The spending plan calls for a total of $3,247,555 to fund Town Hall departments including the Mayor’s Office, an increase of 6.7 percent.

Proposed spending for police, fire services, emergency management and inspection services as well as street lighting costs totals $8,858,316, an increase of 5.2 percent. The proposed budget for the Department of Public Works comes to $4,851,962, an increase of 6.9 percent.

“The fact that we will be able to avert layoffs and massive service cuts to municipal and school services within this budget is no small feat,” Cohen wrote to the council in his budget message in the document. “The cooperation of everyone is needed in difficult times and is crucial in guiding our town through these fiscal challenges. However, continued cooperation is and will be needed as we move forward in order to minimize the impact of the economic recession on our taxpayers.”

The spending proposal got a boost from so-called new growth, or increased value to the city’s property tax base, of about $2.7 million. Cohen said much of that was due to work by Western Massachusetts Electric Company setting up new power towers.

Darrick Kustra of Palmer won a gold medal in the statewide SkillsUSA competition; silver medalist Shawn Bresnahan of Belchertown won a silver medal, and will travel with Kustra as the alternate.

Submitted photoThese Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School students won medals in the recent SkillsUSA statewide competition last month. They are, from left to right, McColl Rhodes, Shawn Bresnahan, Darrick Kustra and Jason Morin. Bresnahan and Kustra, both HVAC students, are going on to the national competition next month in Kansas City, Mo. Kustra will compete and Bresnahan is the alternate.

PALMER — Two Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School juniors will head to Kansas City, Mo., next month to compete against students from all over the country in the national SkillsUSA competition.

Darrick T. Kustra, of Palmer, won a gold medal in the statewide SkillsUSA competition, where he showed his skills against other heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) students.

Shawn E. Bresnahan, of Belchertown, also studying HVAC, won a silver medal in the competition, and will travel with Kustra as the alternate.

Junior McColl M. Rhodes, of Monson, won a silver medal in automotive refinishing, and senior Jason Morin, of West Warren, received a bronze medal in CNC milling.

Their advisor, auto body instructor Craig A. Sankey, said he was proud of the students. He brought a total of 26 gold and silver medal winners – the most in the school’s 19-year history of participating in SkillsUSA – to the state competition last month at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton.

Kustra received a scholarship from the Pipefitters Local 537 that will pay his $1,000 cost of the trip, Sankey said. They will be at the nationals from June 23 to 28. Bresnahan’s trip will be funded out of money budgeted for the competition.

In addition to getting a chance to demonstrate what they’ve learned at Pathfinder, there’s a possibility the students could land a future job.

“There are always companies at the nationals handing out their business cards to potential prospects. There are many major corporate sponsors looking for hard working, well-polished young talent. The students competing out there really are the cream of the crop,” Sankey wrote in an e-mail.

Kustra said the state competition was fun, and he had to troubleshoot a problem-plagued gas furnace, which required wiring and soldering. He plans to spend the next few weeks studying, and staying after school to learn as much as he can in preparation for the nationals.

In an effort to avoid tomato blight, this year members can plant tomatoes only if they come from the greenhouse of member Robert Lak.

File photo | The RepublicanA section of the South Hadley Community Gardens on Route 47.

SOUTH HADLEY — GRO South Hadley, the town’s community garden on Route 47, is back for the season with onsite running water, a date for a food pantry planting, a plan for avoiding the tomato blight that swept the Northeast last year, and plots are still available in the newer section.

“GRO,” which stands for Gardening and Residential Outreach, was founded in 2009. The original 24 plots are spoken for, but a new section of 20 plots was added last year, and some of those are still available to South Hadley residents. Fee is $20 for a plot 10 by 20 feet.

Last summer a section of the property known as “the hill” was worked into shape by member Larry Dubois for purposes of contributing fresh produce to the South Hadley Food Pantry at 30 Carew St.

Susan Brouillette, who oversees the Food Pantry garden, said a planting will be held on there May 19 at 10 a.m. Volunteers from South Hadley High School and the Food Pantry will be there, and more volunteers are welcome.

In an effort to avoid tomato blight, this year members will be allowed to plant tomatoes only if they come from the greenhouse of member Robert Lak. The tomatoes are available at Lak’s farm stand on Ferry St. at $1.25 for a four-pack, $1.75 for a six-pack.

Lak is also donating vegetable plants free to the Food Pantry plot.

The soil in the new gardens is richer this year, said member Linda Young, thanks to the people at McCray’s Farm. They volunteered to “rototill” fertilizer into the ground at the end of last season to supply needed nutrients.

Four water faucets were installed among the gardens a year ago, thanks to a $1,500 grant from the Grassroots organization. Before that, gardeners had to trek to a nearby athletic field for water.

Young said the gardens produced a “wonderful” harvest last year. Even some of the tomatoes survived. This year, because of the warm winter, lettuce and spinach have already come up, she said.

The Food Pantry plot on the hill produced so many vegetables, said Brouillette, that surplus went to the South Hadley Senior Center.

To apply for a plot, South Hadley residents can email GRO.SoHadley@gmail.com or phone (413) 532-3921 or (413) 534-1013.

For more information on the community garden, go to the town’s website at www.southhadley.org/pages.

Besides Young, Dubois and Brouillette, other members of the GRO committee are Susan Kelsey, Joan Cummings, Pat Gouin and Dee Martin.

Graduates of the major could work on police departments, in courts, as counselors, in probation and in other careers.

Republican file photoThe new science building will be attached with an indoor walkway to the existing Berchman's Hall at Elms College.

CHICOPEE — Elms College will offer a new bachelor’s degree program in criminal justice starting in September.

The backbone of the program will be in forensic science and technology used by law enforcement. Fitting with the socially conscious tradition of the Catholic college, it will also have a strong focus on rehabilitation, ethics and integrity, said Alice Perry, a 20-year prosecutor for Massachusetts superior courts, who will serve as program director.

The new program was announced in a reception attended by a large number of law-enforcement officials including Hampden Sheriff Michael J. Ashe, Chicopee District Court Judge Mary E. Hurley, a variety of defense and prosecuting lawyers and representatives from the State Police, FBI and Department of Homeland Security.

Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan praised the program and talked about the importance of having classes that focus on science and the latest technology.

“They have to understand the cutting edge,” he said. “Without a modern program, they are not going to keep up with the bad guys.”

He said he appreciates the fact that the college has a strong ethical mission, saying law enforcement officers must have integrity to do their jobs well. Its strong foreign language program also helps because professionals who speak Spanish and other languages are needed in courts and on police forces.

Sullivan and others pledged to work with the college by offering internships to students.

Plans to begin construct a new $13.5 million science building is one of the things that attracted Perry to the program. She said she has been promised the program will be able to use the laboratories for forensic science classes.

The new major is one of several moves college officials have taken in the recent past to expand. In September it added a master’s degree in business administration and earlier entered into partnerships with Holyoke Community College and Springfield Technical College to offer several bachelor’s degrees on the two campuses. The science building should also allow the popular nursing program to expand and add the first doctorate degree for those who want to become a nurse practitioner.

The criminal justice program was started in part at the request of students and the need for people to be trained for criminal justice professions, said Katherine Currier, chairwoman of the joint criminal justice and legal studies department.

Students did get a preview of the program since two classes, “Introduction to Criminal Justice” and “The American Legal System” were offered this semester, she said.

Starting in the fall, about 20 of the approximately 814 undergraduates at the college will be in the major. Some will be those who transfer from different academic programs, Currier said.

The criminal justice major will prepare students for a wide variety of careers such as police officers, probation officers and victim counselors. Since the program will be closely tied with legal studies, students can also focus more on careers in the courts, Perry said.

Perry holds a juris doctor from Washburn University School of Law, and a doctoral degree from Northeastern University. She has a varied career that includes work with district attorneys, state police and federal law enforcement. She represented police and correctional officers as a labor lawyer with the International Brotherhood of Police Officers and also served as an assistant city solicitor for Worcester.

Jon Rogers, leader of the round-the-clock vigil at St. Frances X. Cabrini church in Scituate, said the decision was unjust, and parishioners will appeal to the Vatican's high court.

File photo | Associated Press

By JAY LINDSAY

BOSTON — The Vatican has rejected an appeal by parishioners who've occupied a Scituate church in protest since the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston closed it eight years ago.

The decision announced Monday by the archdiocese is a blow to a protest at St. Frances X. Cabrini church that is, by far, the strongest remaining of several that arose after widespread church closings were announced by the archdiocese in 2004.

In the ruling, the Vatican upheld Cardinal Sean O'Malley's decision to convert the Scituate church building to secular use — a step necessary before sale.

In other dioceses, including in Springfield and Allentown, Pa., the Vatican has refused to let dioceses close church buildings.

Jon Rogers, leader of the round-the-clock vigil in Scituate, said the decision was unjust, and parishioners will appeal to the Vatican's high court.

A budget in the spring that proposes an increase usually means higher taxes by January to fund the higher spending plan.

The Republican/David MolnarHolyoke Mayor Alex Morse

HOLYOKE — Mayor Alex B. Morse will present the City Council on Tuesday with a budget of $124.4 million to run the city in the next fiscal year.

That’s an increase of 3.5 percent above the $120 million approved for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

The council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

Under the city charter, the City Council has 45 days to review the budget. The council is authorized to cut, but not add to, the budget.

The proposed budget funds no new positions, but avoids employee layoffs and furloughs on the city side of the budget, Morse said.

The city has more than 2,000 employees. That consists of 1,340 school employees and more than 700 full- and part-timers in the police, fire, public works and other departments, Treasurer Jon D. Lumbra said.

The picture could be gloomier on the school side of the budget, where an official said last week layoffs are likely.

“My proposed budget is both lean and fiscally conservative, as many departments will see no increases over ‘FY12,’ and most will see decreases,” Morse said.

Nearly all increases in the proposed budget are because of fixed costs for items such as contractual obligations to employees, he said.

Another $1.3 million of the increase is because city contributions to employee retirements is rising to $11.3 million in the new budget from the current $10 million, he said.

Also, payments on long-term debt will increase by $1.2 million, to $4.1 million from the current $2.9 million. Such payments are for projects such as reconstruction of Community Field, building of a new senior center, reconstruction of the Holyoke Public Library and renovation of Holyoke High School, he said.

A budget increase now usually translates into higher taxes for home and business property owners in January after the City Council sets the new tax rate in December to fund the budget.

This is the first budget for Morse, who took office Jan. 3.

The proposal has an “anticipated budget deficit” of $700,000 to $1 million, said Morse, noting that he, like previous mayors, will work with the City Council in the fall to use free cash to balance the budget.

The proposed budget has raised eyebrows of a few councilors because Morse said he is relying on $750,000 in revenue that is far from certain.

Of that, $500,000 consists of an annual payment in lieu of taxes Morse said he is negotiating to get from the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, a tax-exempt, $165 million research facility being built on Bigelow Street.

John T. Goodhue, computing center executive director, declined to comment on the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes negotiations with the city.

Another $250,000 in revenue is for a one-year lease between the city and the Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School for use of the former Lynch School at Northampton and Dwight streets. Morse is seeking City Council approval of the lease in an order on Tuesday’s council agenda.

Council President Kevin A. Jourdain said he has invited Morse, City Auditor Brian G. Smith and other officials to a budget review May 29.

“I hope the mayor will have more specific information by the time I call the meeting. ... We certainly don’t want to have to make draconian cuts” if the revenue fails to materialize, Jourdain said.

Council Finance Committee Chairman Todd A. McGee said the sound way to build a budget is based on revenue that is relatively certain like property taxes and state aid, not “hoped-for” revenue.

“You can’t budget that way,” McGee said.

The School Department accounts for most of the budget, consisting of a city allocation of more than $64.2 million.

The whole school budget approved for the current fiscal year was $88.2 million. That includes the city allocation. But most of the school budget, including part of the funding that is considered the city appropriation, consists of state aid.

Expiration of grants and increased costs, such as for busing homeless students, prompted School Committee Vice Chairman Devin M. Sheehan last week to say he was pessimistic about avoiding employee layoffs.

In Morse’s proposal, the Police Department budget would drop to $11.7 million from the current $11.9 million and the Fire Department budget would drop to $8.8 million from the current $9 million.

Currently, the free cash accounts hold about $1 million and the stabilization, or rainy day, fund is nearly $11.4 million, Morse said.

File photo | The RepublicanHolyoke Mayor Alex Morse

Amtrak said there were no injuries to its train's 192 passengers or crew.

File photo / Associated PressAn Amtrak train leaves the station in Detroit Monday, May 9, 2011. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that Michigan has been awarded almost $200 million for high-speed rail projects, including infrastructure upgrades.

BOSTON — Amtrak has resumed service between Providence, R.I., and the Route 128 station in Massachusetts after an Amtrak train fatally struck a trespasser on the track.

MBTA commuter rail service on the line also was delayed late Monday afternoon.

Amtrak said there were no injuries to its train's 192 passengers or crew after the 4:45 p.m. accident, which was about 10 miles west of the Route 128 station. Service was restored about two hours later.

The MBTA used shuttle buses for some of its passengers.

Amtrak police and local police are investigating.

The project, known as the Atlantic Wind Connection, would enable up to 7,000 megawatts of electricity to be produced at offshore wind farms from Virginia to New Jersey.

Associated PressIn this July 11, 2006 file photo, a vessel sails towards a wind farm off the coast of Whitstable on the north Kent coast in southeastern England.

By MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON — A huge underwater power line to serve wind farms planned off the East Coast cleared a regulatory hurdle Monday, although construction is still years away.

The project, known as the Atlantic Wind Connection, would enable up to 7,000 megawatts of electricity to be produced at offshore wind farms from Virginia to New Jersey. Internet giant Google and other investors have pledged up to $5 billion for a network of transmission lines for offshore wind farms to be built over the next decade or more.

The Interior Department said Monday that no competitor had proposed a similar project, allowing Atlantic Wind Connection to move forward knowing it is likely to secure a federal right of way. Construction of the 380-mile line could begin as soon as 2014.

When completed, the Atlantic Wind project could eventually provide power to about 2 million homes, developers say.

Bob Mitchell, CEO of Atlantic Wind Connection, called the government's action Monday an important milestone for the project, which was proposed in late 2010 as a way to boost offshore wind power in the U.S. Without the ruling, the project would likely have gone to auction, costing Google and other investors at least a year, Mitchell said.

Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes called Atlantic Wind a first-of-its-kind project that shows significant industry interest in developing offshore wind power, which has languished despite efforts by the Obama administration to promote it.

No commercial wind power is produced offshore in the U.S., although the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts could begin producing electricity as soon as 2014.

"It's the type of project that will spur innovation that will help us stand up a clean-energy economy to power communities up and down the East Coast," Hayes said of Atlantic Wind. Besides Google, other companies involved in the project include the investment firm Good Energies, Japanese industrial conglomerate Marubeni and Maryland-based Trans-Elect Development Co.

Hayes and other officials have urged Congress to extend a production tax credit for wind energy that expires at the end of the year. Advocates say renewal of the tax credit could save thousands of jobs and bring financial certainty to the wind industry, which has been vulnerable to boom-and-bust cycles.

A study commissioned by the American Wind Energy Association, an industry group, said failure to extend the tax credit could mean the loss of as many as 37,000 U.S. jobs.

The road would be built only if a private company planning an assisted living facility spends $2 million of its own money to clean up environmental hazards.

BELCHERTOWN — Town Meeting said yes Monday night to a $1.25 million bond to build a new road into the former Belchertown State School property.

The road would be built only if a private company spends $2 million of its own money to clean up the environmental hazards on an 11-acre section of the property that would eventually house a 170-unit assisted living facility.

The outcome was not unanimous, and many abstained, but the overwhelming majority of those casting votes decided the idea was worth the risk.

“What they presented shows promise,” resident Paul Healey said as he exited the meeting with his young child. According to the town clerk’s office, 379 of the town’s nearly 9,000 registered voters packed the high school auditorium Monday night.

Town officials say the $1.25 million roadway project would not only put an 11-acre parcel on the tax rolls — and generate at least $150,000 in annual tax revenue — they said the road would do the most to unlock the stalled development potential at the remaining 50 acres. The town-appointed Belchertown Economic Development and Industrial Corporation board is the legal owner of the property

The town has an agreement with Weston Solutions Inc. for the company to spend $2 million to clean up the pollution at the 11-acre site, known as Pad 1. The pollutions was created when the state owned the land.

Weston intends to erect a large assisted living facility. Town officials say they are optimistic the state would release a $10 million bond that would be used to clean the remainder of the property, if the Weston plan shows promise.

In other business, Town Meeting unanimously approved spending just over $45 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The amount is a 2 percent increase.

School spending was increased by 1 percent, to $25.1 million; the Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School budget was approved at just over $1 million.

A controversial proposal to abolish the state’s civil service testing program that determines who is eligible for appointment as the police chief and the fire chief was tabled.

File photo | The Republican

WARE — Ware Town Meeting on Monday night zeroed out the salary line-item for the five selectmen, increased the school budget, cut the town budget and took no action on a controversial proposal to abolish the state’s civil service testing program that determines who is eligible for appointment as the police chief and the fire chief.

The $24.4 million operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 includes a 9.1 percent hike in school spending, to $12,396.969. To fund the school budget, nearly all town employees' salaries were slashed several thousands dollars apiece.

The school increase was the result of the state telling the town it had under-funded school spending by close to $1 million this year. Had Town Meeting refused to increase the school budget, the state would have imposed a penalty on the town and state aid to Ware would have been deducted by the amount the town has underpaid the school system.

The 1993 Education Reform Act requires the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to annually determine how much each public school system must pay to comply with the law. With the town agreeing to comply with the education reform act’s spending requirements, the matter has been resolved.

The selectmen and the planning board salaries were reduced to zero at Monday’s town meeting.

Selectman John Carroll, whose article proposed abolishing the civil service testing for the town’s police and fire chiefs, walked to the microphone to request the proposal be withdrawn.

Carroll said he had recent discussions with the chiefs and the wisest course of action now is to review what is in place and see what improvements can be made.

Former selectman Jack McQuaid said there is nothing broken that requires fixing civil service. McQuaid made his comments known to a reporter as he and wife Olive left the meeting.

“Leave it alone,” he said.

The next step will be a special election, where voters can again weigh in on the proposal for the 15-year debt exclusion.

The Republican file photo | Lori StabileThe Town Office Building/Police Station at 110 Main St. in Monson that was condemned after it took a direct hit from the June 1, 2011 tornado.

MONSON — Voters at Monday's annual Town Meeting approved borrowing $3.4 million for a new police station-town office building at 110 Main St. — twice.

The first vote, which came after 10 p.m., was not heard by everyone in the auditorium at Granite Valley Middle School.

They thought a vote to "move the question" forward was a vote for the project, and between 20 and 30 people could be seen filtering out of the room as the vote was being taken. A few residents were yelling not to leave, saying, "We didn't vote!"

Historical Commission Chairman Dennis Swierad went up to Town Moderator Richard E. Guertin and said, "All these people have left. How legal is this? Give me a break. Say something."

Guertin said that article 18 — the article on the new town offices/police station — would be revoted.

"There seems to be confusion," Guertin told the crowd.

The final vote was 282 yes, and 22 no. A hand count was taken.

The project is still not a done deal.

The next step in the process is to have a vote at a special election, expected to be held sometime in June, to approve the funding. There, voters will have their final say on authorizing a 15-year debt exclusion for $3.4 million. A debt exclusion raises taxes only for the life of a project.

The Town Meeting vote was preceded by a lengthy presentation by Town Administrator
Gretchen E. Neggers, who explained the problems with the current condemned Town Office and Police Station at 110 Main St., and why Hillside School, where town offices relocated, cannot be used long-term.

The police operate out of six temporary trailers behind 110 Main St., which took a direct hit from the June 1 tornado. Neggers said 75 percent of the roof was torn off by the twister. Water leaks have buckled the wood floor. Mold is a problem, she said.

"This is about the tornado. But not for the tornado, we wouldn't be sitting here tonight having this discussion ... It's just something that happened and we're trying to make the best of it," Neggers said.

At the end of her presentation, she was met with a round of applause.

The article generated the most discussion. James Hoffman, of Bumstead Road, said he is on a fixed income, but believes "it is time for people of Monson to dig deep in their pockets" and approve the article.

Selectman Edward S. Harrison spoke about the $59,000 in energy savings a new building would generate.

Critics said they wanted to see actual renderings of the new building being proposed, and asked why it couldn't be built smaller. Another resident called 110 Main St. a piece of history that will be gone forever.

The proposal calls for the construction of a 26,000-square-foot facility. The building at 110 Main St. is 31,000-square-feet.

The tax impact for the average home valued at $220,000 is expected to be approximately $100 the first year.

Combining a savings from the refinancing of the Monson High School construction debt, the actual cost to the average homeowner is expected to be approximately $40 the first year, according to information provided.

The total project cost is $10.3 million, but insurance will contribute $6.9 million.

Neggers explained that the town offices cannot stay at Hillside School on Thompson Street, as it too needs repairs. There is a termite problem, and mold issues, Neggers said. The school was built in 1955, and the basement is home to numerous feral cats.

Of the 5,630 registered voters in the town of Monson, 422 of them turned out for the annual Town Meeting.

The meeting got under way a half hour late, to allow latecomers a chance to get inside the auditorium.

National Grid's online outage map indicated about 200 customers are without power in the area.

BELCHERTOWN — Police closed a stretch of Daniel Shays Highway (Route 202) Monday night following a single-vehicle accident near Allen Road.

Police said several utility poles were knocked down during the accident that was reported at about 10:35. Police advise motorists to stay clear of the area.

Police did not have information on the condition of the lone occupant of the vehicle.

National Grid's online outage map indicated about 200 customers are without power in the area.

This is a developing story and will be updated as our reporting continues

Police, fire and ambulance workers arrived on scene to find a car on fire perpendicular to the road.

Jim Russell photosPublic safety officials work at the scene of an accident early Tuesday morning on Route 202 in Belchertown. The accident was reported at 10:35 p.m. Monday.

Updates a story posted Monday at 11:41 p.m.

BELCHERTOWN — A vehicle on fire sitting perpendicular to the road was the scene Monday night when police, fire and ambulance workers arrived at a one-vehicle crash on Daniel Shays Highway, Route 202.

Police declined several requests to release information about the lone occupant of the vehicle, or the driver's condition.

The road remains closed to traffic.

The four-door vehicle was seen burned on the exterior as police on scene continued their investigation past midnight on Tuesday. Police said the crash was called in at 10:35 p.m. Monday. They did not say when the road would reopen.

The collision happened about 200 yards north of Allen Road. Police said many utility poles were down. National Grid’s website confirmed about 200 homes without power.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

The map below shows the approximate location of the accident:

View Fiery crash on Route 202 in Belchertown in a larger map

This is a developing story and will be updated as our reporting continues

Voters will be asked to spend $3,500 from available funds for the Wales 250th celebration.

WALES — The annual Town Meeting will be Wednesday at Wales Elementary School on Main Street.

There are 30 articles on the warrant, as well as a non-binding petition that asks voters whether selectmen should appoint a superintendent of streets. Voters will be asked to spend $3,500 from available funds for the Wales 250th celebration, and grant permission to petition the general court to allow for recall elections.

The most popular baby names for 2011 include Mason, as in Kourtney Kardashian's 2-year-old son.

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

1) Fox attacks Agawam resident Larry Gousse in his driveway [By Conor Berry]

2) State police ID pedestrian killed on I-91 as Leslie Wallace of Westfield [By Patrick Johnson]

3) Most popular baby names derived from reality TV, religion [By The Associated Press]

4) 3-car crash on I-91 in Holyoke sends 1 to hospital with injuries [By Conor Berry]

5) Missing boy dies after being found in Massachusetts swimming pool [By The Associated Press]

To view local photos from Monday's editions of The Republican, click on the photo gallery above at right.

An argument over a parking space on Everett Street led to firearms charges against 27-year-old Craig Iannoli, who was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a shotgun without a permit, among other offenses.

EASTHAMPTON – A local man is accused of bringing a shotgun to a weekend argument, which ended after he allegedly emerged from his apartment with the weapon slung over his shoulder.

Craig A. Iannoli, 27, of 54 Everett St., was charged late Saturday afternoon with multiple firearms offenses, including assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a shotgun and ammunition without a permit, and improper storage of a firearm, according to a report in the Daily Hampshire Gazette. That information could not immediately be confirmed with a ranking Easthampton police official, who was on patrol early Tuesday morning and unavailable for comment.

The Northampton newspaper reports that Iannoli, from a second-floor apartment window, began arguing with a group of women below about a parking space. Things reportedly escalated as Iannoli emerged from the apartment with a shotgun over his shoulder, prompting the women to call 911, the newspaper reports.

The address of the alleged incident is located near the corner of Everett and Lovell streets in a long row of 2½-story apartments bordering St. Brigid's Cemetery.

No further information was available this morning.

MAP of alleged crime scene:

View Larger Map

A possible structure fire at 2964 Main St., a 4-story brick apartment building at the corner of Main and Portland streets, prompted officials to temporarily close a one-block stretch of Main Street.

SPRINGFIELD – A stretch of Main Street in the Memorial Square section of the North End was closed Tuesday as city firefighters investigated a possible electrical fire at an apartment building at the corner of Main and Portland streets.

A 5:06 a.m. report of a possible structure fire at 2964 Main St. appeared to be electrical in nature, according to initial radio reports, but Springfield Fire Department officials at the scene were unable to locate any flames. "We don't think we have anything," a responding official reported, after firefighters removed portions of the ceiling of a fourth-floor unit in the brick apartment building in search of possible heat sources.

Despite the lack of flames, Main Street was temporarily closed to vehicle traffic between Harriet and Waverly streets, according to Springfield Police Sgt. Dennis Prior. The early morning closure only lasted about an hour, with the road reopening just before 6 a.m.

MAP of fire investigation scene in Springfield's North End:

View Larger Map

The car burst into flames after crashing into one or more utility poles alongside Route 202, also known as Daniel Shays Highway. The fatal crash knocked out power to about 400 utility customers.

Jim Russell Public safety officials responded to the scene of a fatal, one-car crash on Route 202 in Belchertown late Monday night. Authorities have yet to publicly identify the driver, who crashed into one or more utility poles alongside the roadway.

Updates a story published at 1:41 a.m. Tuesday, May 15.

UPDATE: As of 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, May 15, National Grid is reporting that less than five customers are still without power due to Monday night's motor vehicle crash in Belchertown. The crash initially knocked out electricity to nearly 400 utility customers.

BELCHERTOWN – A motorist was killed in a fiery car crash late Monday night on Route 202, according to authorities.

Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Michael Fitzgerald confirmed that one person died after crashing into a utility pole just after 10:30 p.m. A state police detective and accident-reconstruction officers assisted with the investigation, which is being conducted by Belchertown police, Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said state police will not be releasing the victim's name; identification of the victim will be left up to Belchertown police, he added. A Belchertown police dispatcher said ranking officers were unavailable for comment this morning.

When emergency officials arrived at the Route 202 crash site about 200 yards north of Allen Road, they found a four-door vehicle on fire and sitting perpendicular to the roadway. The vehicle, which appeared to be either a small SUV or a mid-sized hatchback, apparently burst into flames after hitting one or more utility poles, police said.

A section of Route 202 (Daniel Shays Highway) was closed to traffic after the incident. The road has since reopened to a single lane of traffic as utility crews work to restore electricity to customers affected by the accident. The crash knocked out electricity to about 400 National Grid customers, according to the utility company's website. National Grid estimated power would be restored by about 7 a.m. today.

Authorities have not released the cause of the fatal crash, which remains under investigation.

THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of a fatal car crash in Belchertown:

View Fiery crash on Route 202 in Belchertown in a larger map

Massachusetts drivers are starting to see higher auto insurance rates, four years after they tumbled when the state opened the market to more competition.

Republican file photo

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts drivers are starting to see higher auto insurance rates, four years after they tumbled when the state opened the market to more competition.

Many of the state's largest auto insurers have raised rates in each of the past two years, citing the need to keep pace with the rising cost of claims for car accidents, theft, and injuries.

Some companies say they could not make enough money after they dropped rates in 2008 to compete with rival insurers or to gain market share.

The Boston Globe reports that major insurers have raised rates by a median of 4.3 percent so far this year after a median increase of 4.5 percent last year, outpacing the overall rate of inflation.

Auto insurance rates used to be set by the state.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is holding its first meeting after their pick to serve as interim executive director declined the offer.

The Associated PressMembers of the five-person Massachusetts Gaming Commission are shown in this panel of photos taken during a news conference in Boston Tuesday, March 20, 2012, where the last two appointees were introduced. From left the members are: Enrique Zuniga, James F. McHugh, Chairman Steve Crosby, Bruce Stebbins, and Gayle Cameron. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is holding its first meeting after their pick to serve as interim executive director declined the offer.

Carl Stanley McGee told Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby last week that he didn't feel he could be effective in the job and wanted to allow the commission to do its work.

McGee had come under fire for an old allegation of child sexual abuse, including calls for a new investigation. Criminal charges in the 2007 incident were dropped against McGee.

Gov. Deval Patrick vetoed portions of a bill sent to him this week that would have required the commission to conduct criminal background checks on potential workers.

Patrick said the language wasn't needed because the commission already has that power.

The commission is scheduled to meet Tuesday at 1 p.m.