In response to a Boston war veteran's claim that he was denied an apartment by a "peace activist" landlord, Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is filing anti-bias legislation in the U.S. Senate.

Associated Press photoU.S. Sen. Scott P. Brown, R-Mass., speaks to reporters at the Statehouse in Boston following release of an October poll that showed him ahead of Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, in the 2012 Senate race.

BOSTON- In response to a war veteran's claim that he was denied an apartment in Dorchester by a "peace activist" landlord, Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., is filing anti-bias legislation in the U.S. Senate.

Sgt. Joel Morgan, a National Guardsman who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said earlier this week that a landlord in the Hub's Dorchester neighborhood told him that his military service was at odds with her beliefs and she denied him the living quarters.

“For her to do that to me, it was like a spit in the face,” Morgan told the Boston Herald on Monday, as the newspaper broke the initial story. “For what we have gone through overseas, to come home to our country and have people ... discriminate against us. ... It made me extremely insecure about being a soldier.”

Janice Roberts, the 63-year-old woman who rents the apartment, denied the claims, telling the Associated Press that 30 people showed an interest in the unit and Morgan never filled out an application. She additionally said there were questions about his ability to pay, but a voicemail she reportedly left for the veteran states other reasons.

“We are very adamant about our beliefs. It just is not going to be comfortable for us without a doubt," Roberts told Morgan in a voicemail, according to the Herald report. "It probably would be better for you to look for a place that is a little bit less politically active and controversial."

Although Morgan has since filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court, Brown, an active member of the Maryland National Guard, said he feels the situation is something too important to stay silent on.

“American heroes deserve the same protection from housing discrimination as any other group,” Brown said in a statement. “Our servicemembers and veterans should be welcomed home, not discriminated against because of their brave service. Even if a servicemember or veteran comes from a state with strong laws preventing housing discrimination, they are just one move or transfer away from losing those protections. Our heroes should never have to worry about being barred from renting or owning a home because they answered the call and made sacrifices for our country. My legislation makes housing discrimination against our veterans and servicemembers illegal nationwide for the first time.”

The Ending Housing Discrimination Against Servicemembers and Veterans Act of 2012 would amend the Fair Housing Act which was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 and was last amended in 1988. Former Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke was an original co-sponsor of the Act.

According to Brown's Senate office, the Federal Housing Act currently only prevents discrimination in advertisements, offers, contract conditions, and agreements for housing on the account of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin.

"Senator Brown's work to protect service members and veterans from housing discrimination is very positive," said Richard L. DeNoyer, Commander-in-Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. "It is unconscionable that members of our military and veterans should fear not being able to rent or buy a home because of their status as a veteran. This bill will correct the issue."

Brown's Democratic rival in his reelection bid, Elizabeth Warren, didn't immediately respond to a request for a statement as to where the Harvard Law Professor stands on the issue.

The landmark building was closed in 2010 due to structural issues with its aging porch, a popular outdoor viewing spot for autumn leaf-peepers.

The Summit House deck will reopen this October.

HADLEY — The Summit House atop Mount Holyoke in J.A. Skinner State Park is poised to reopen in October, just in time for the fall foliage season.

Built in 1821, the historic mountaintop building was closed in May 2010 by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which cited safety issues with the structure's wraparound porch.

A DCR spokesperson tells 22News that the Summit House is slated to reopen to the public in October. A precise date was not immediately available.

The Summit House, originally a hotel, was donated to the state in 1940 by Joseph Allen Skinner, a wealthy businessman.

Boston transit workers are gaining praise from a mother for rescuing her 3-year-old daughter's stuffed animal from the train tracks.

(Photo by Kinkisharyo / Flickr)

BOSTON (AP) — Boston transit workers are gaining praise from a mother for rescuing her 3-year-old daughter's stuffed animal from the train tracks.

According to Casey Carey-Brown's blog, "Life with Roozle," MBTA workers acted quickly to save her daughter's stuffed bunny from being run over at the Green Street stop in Jamaica Plain on Wednesday.

Carey-Brown writes that the stuffed animal "jumped" from her daughter's stroller as they exited the train, and fell onto the tracks.

She says a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority worker called the oncoming train, halting it, so he could safely rescue the toy.

In her blog, the mother thanks the workers who aided in the rescue effort, saying "you really didn't have to do what you did today, but you have made a little 3-year-old incredibly happy."

The public can pick up the shuttle, starting at 1:45 p.m., at Western New England University, 1215 Wilbraham Road

SPRINGFIELD – Free round-trip shuttle service will be available this afternoon and evening for the public to get to the wake of slain Springfield police officer Kevin Ambrose at the Chapel of the Acres, 21 Tinkham Road.

The public can get the shuttle at Western New England University, 1215 Wilbraham Road and free parking will be available, Sgt. John M. Delaney said.

The wake is set to run from 2 to 7 p.m. and the shuttle will run from 1:45 p.m. to the end of the service.

The public is encouraged to use the shuttle service to curtail traffic and parking problems, Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said,

The university will have personnel on hand to help park vehicles and assist people to the shuttle.

Ambrose, one of the city's longest-serving officers, was shot to death Monday by a man embroiled in a domestic dispute with the mother of his child.

Thousands are expected to turn out to honor Ambrose's life and law enforcement career on Friday, when a funeral Mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. at St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church, 1023 Parker St. Burial will follow at nearby Hillcrest Cemetery.

Law enforcement officers from New England and beyond are expected to converge on Sixteen Acres center to take part in the funeral procession, which will leave the Tinkham Road Chapel for the church at 10 a.m., then proceed to the cemetery. Out-of-town police officers are expected to march from the church to the burial site.

Ambrose was killed when he responded to a 911 call from a Charlene Mitchell, a Sixteen Acres resident who said she feared for her life after a dispute with her former boyfriend, Shawn Bryan, a New York City corrections officer who works at Riker's Island.

Bryan killed Ambrose and critically wounded Charlene Mitchell before shooting himself in the chest, police said. Ambrose and Bryan were pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center. Mitchell is recovering at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray will be among the dignitaries attending today's wake. Gov. Deval L. Patrick will be in New York City this afternoon, and will not be attending the wake. The governor and both U.S. senators from Massachusetts are among the many officials slated to attend Friday's funeral. Murray will not be attending, according to a spokeswoman.

After the Mass and burial, visiting police officers and invited guests are expected to fill Court Square in downtown Springfield for an open-air reception beginning at 1 p.m. Friday. Ambrose's family will have its own private viewing perch from a terrace at One Financial Plaza.

Authorities are asking people who do not plan on watching Friday's funeral procession from Tinkham Road to Wilbraham Road to Parker Street to avoid driving in that section of Sixteen Acres center from roughly 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Parker Street, from the corner of Wilbraham Road to Hillcrest Cemetery, will be reduced to two lanes after 9 a.m. Friday to accommodate the procession.

While Elizabeth Childs and Sean Bielat claim the other is a Republican in name only, Joe Kennedy III is on the campaign trail meeting voters and landing endorsements.

Republican candidates Sean Bielat, a U.S. Marine and businessman, and Elizabeth Childs, former state mental health commissioner, are running for Congress in the 4th Congressional District in Massachusetts. Both candidates are aiming to win the seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Barney Frank at the end of his term. (Photos courtesy of the respective campaigns)

Two of the GOP challengers looking to win the 4th Congressional District seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Barney Frank at the end of his term, are waging a war of words over who is the better Republican while Democratic challenger Joseph Kennedy III is busy shaking hands and bagging endorsements across the district.

Dr. Elizabeth Childs, former state mental health commissioner, and Sean Bielat, a U.S. Marine and businessman, have spent much of the week claiming the other is a Republican in name only.

In a press release, Bielat, who unsuccessfully ran against Frank in 2010, said that although he was once a Democrat and later an independent, he is now a Republican and stands for the party ideals.

"There is obviously nothing wrong with being a Democrat and, like many other Massachusetts Republicans, I used to be a Democrat too. There is definitely nothing wrong with being an independent and it is only because I won a clear majority of the independent vote that I achieved the success that I did in 2010," Bielat said. "Ms. Child's problem is that this is a Republican primary and Republican voters have a reasonable expectation that candidates in our primary are actually Republicans. I believe the onus is on Ms. Childs to demonstrate that she does in fact meet that criterion by virtue of something other than her fewer than 12 months as a registered Republican."

Bielat said Childs only registered as a member of the GOP last summer and he has criticized her campaign contributions to Democrats in the commonwealth. But still, Childs says her commitment to the party is strong.

"I have been open and honest about my party affiliation history, and it's about time for Sean to do the same," Childs said in a statement. "Sean is intent on trying to wash away the fact that he worked for Bill Clinton and Al Gore and worked for Democrats in Washington, DC."

The Associated PressIn this photo taken Jan. 7, 2010, Joseph P. Kennedy III attends a campaign event for the senate candidacy of Martha Coakley in Medford, Mass. Kennedy has since jumped into the race for the Congressional seat held by retiring Democratic Rep. Barney Frank. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Meanwhile, Kennedy, the son of former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy II and a grandson of the late Robert F. Kennedy, has outraised his challengers and is racking up endorsements from groups key to Frank's support in the 4th district.

Since jumping in the race, Kennedy has landed endorsements from the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts union, the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the National Education Association political action committee, and this week he received a nod of support from the Stonewall Democrats, a pro-gay rights group which cited his "commitment to equality and fairness."

"Congressman Frank was a trailblazer in the LGBT movement. The Bay State Stonewall Democrats see Joe Kennedy as following that path in his support of the LGBT community, and his commitment to repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and fighting for the passage of [the Employment Non-Discrimination Act]," said Claire Naughton, co-chair of the Bay State Stonewall Democrats. "We are pleased to endorse him."

On Monday, Julius "Jules" Levine, a Democratic Boston University professor also vying for the seat, dropped out of the race, endorsing Kennedy in the process. That leaves Herb Robinson, the Newton Democrat who dropped out of the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts in December, as Kennedy's only potential in-party competition.

On the Republican side, Fall River dentist David Steinhof is also working for the party's nod to move on to the general election.

The state primary is scheduled to take place on June 6.

Romney campaign rakes in $76,8 million, while Obama gets $60 million.

The Associated PressThis composite image of Associated Press photos shows President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney outraised Democratic President Barack Obama by around $16 million in May, according to figures announced Thursday by both campaigns.

The Romney campaign said it had raised $76.8 million. The Obama campaign said it has raised “more than $60 million.”

Both campaigns typically use fundraising figures as a measure of grassroots support. The Obama campaign said 98 percent of the donations it received in May were less than $250, compared to 93 percent for the Romney campaign. The Obama campaign also said it had gotten money from 147,000 first-time donors.

The Romney campaign says it has $107 million cash on hand. The Obama campaign did not provide a comparable figure. The campaign’s reports are due to the Federal Election Commission June 20.

The Boston Globe ran a story Thursday based on an analysis by the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute showing that, before the May numbers came out, the Obama campaign has been getting a higher percentage of small donors than Romney, while the Romney campaign has gotten the maximum allowable donation of $2,500 from more donors.

As MassLive.com previously reported, the campaign fundraising figures are based on contributions to several committees on both the Democratic and Republican side, with money going to the candidates, the parties’ national committees and some state Republican committees.

Both candidates have recently been holding a number of high-dollar fundraisers. Obama has done several fundraisers with Hollywood stars, including one last month at the home of George Clooney. Romney’s most high-profile fundraiser last month was with Donald Trump in Las Vegas.

Providence-based 38 Studios last month laid off its entire workforce.

FILE- In this May 21, 2012, file photo, former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, center, is followed by members of the media as he departs the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation headquarters in Providence, R.I. Schilling has dabbled in politics, World War II history and raised millions for Lou Gehrig's disease, but it's a gamble on his video game company 38 studios that is in danger of failing and possibly leaving Rhode Island taxpayers with the tab on a $75 million loan guarantee that lured the firm from Massachusetts in 2010. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's troubled video gaming company has filed for bankruptcy.

The filing was made in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on Thursday.

Providence-based 38 Studios last month laid off its entire workforce. It also was more than two weeks late on a $1.1 million payment to the state.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee has said the company has been facing "grim times."

The company was lured to Providence from Massachusetts in 2010 when Rhode Island officials offered a $75 million loan guarantee they said would bring jobs and tax revenue. The state is likely to be on the hook for some of the company's debts.

A message was left for Schilling.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Janice Butcher

Janice C. Butcher, 73, of Westfield, died Tuesday. She was born in New Haven, Conn., and graduated from Albertus Magnus College in 1960. She was employed as a schoolteacher for 35 years. She taught at Fair Haven Junior High School in New Haven, St. Mary's High School in Westfield and for 22 years in the Westfield Public School System, from which she retired in 2008. She was a communicant of St. Mary's Church in Westfield, a member of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority for 50 years and The Delta Kappa Gamma Society. She was also a member of the Westfield Woman's Club and was its recording secretary.

Obituaries from The Republican:

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  Ahern, Mark R.
  



• 
  Ahern, Mark R.
  



• 
  Ambrose, Kevin E.
  



• 
  Boyle, Margaret M.
  



• 
  Butcher, Janice C.
  



• 
  Cushing, Richard
  



• 
  DeCasse, Antoinette N.
  



• 
  Duval, Joann (Lukasavage)
  



• 
  Fahey, Marlena R. (Herzig)
  



• 
  Harbey, William C. "Billy"
  



• 
  Heath, Stuart R.
  



• 
  Koprek, Stanislaw
  



• 
  Lagos, George M.
  



• 
  LeClair, Constance
  



• 
  Lubowitz, Murray
  



• 
  Nunes, Arthur
  



• 
  Reilly, Sandra M. (Malek)
  



• 
  Rojas, Vincente
  



• 
  Schoolfield, Ella M.
  



• 
  Seiffert, Henry C. "Hank"
  



• 
  Slate, Earl B.
  



• 
  Slossberg, Estelle (Esther)
  



• 
  St. Pierre, Leon T.
  



• 
  Torres, Juan P.
  



• 
  Wanegar, Taita-Lai (Johnson)
  



• 
  Whalen III, William F.
  

The wake at Sampson's Chapel of the Acres funeral home continues until 7 p.m. for Ambrose, who was killed Monday in the line of duty.

View full sizeThe Republican | Don TreegerHundreds of people lined up outside Sampson's Chapel of the Acres on Tinkham Road in Springfield on Thursday to pay respects at the wake of Springfield Police Officer Kevin Ambrose, who was killed in the line of duty on Monday.

SPRINGFIELD – Mourners began arriving shortly after noon at Sampson’s Chapel of the Acres to line up for the wake of Springfield Police Officer Kevin Ambrose, who was killed in the line of duty Monday.

A private mourning session was held for his family, friends and his closest colleagues at the Tinkham Road funeral home an hour before the 2 p.m. public wake started. Well before 2 p.m. a line of 400 to 500 people formed in the parking lot outside the funeral home.

A variety of high-ranking law enforcement arrived with supporters of the family and members of the public who wanted to pay their respects to the family of the fallen officer. Politicians and many well-known people from across Western Massachusetts queued up to honor the officer.

Police were providing shuttle service from the nearby Macedonia Church of God in Christ and other sites, but traffic still started becoming tangled on Wilbraham Road early. Police are asking motorists to avoid the Wilbraham and Tinkham road area if at all possible.

Some city councilors wanted to study the proposal more, but others voted against the idea.

Republican file photo

CHICOPEE – City Council rejected a plan to take a 2.5-acre site by eminent domain that was being proposed as a location for a new police department.

The proposal was to spend $280,000 to take the land in middle of West Main, Grove and Oak streets from owner Yves Demers. The property was originally owned by the Facemate Corp. and was acquired by Demers as part of a tax settlement.

Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said the city should take the land for future use, especially since it is located across the street from 72 acres of property from the former Uniroyal and Facemate plants that the city owns and is working through the long process of cleaning it up and developing it. He said it would be a good spot for a police station.

City Planner Catherine L. Brown confirmed Demers does want to develop it and has requested a building permit for one duplex on the land. The property is zoned for single or multi-family dwellings and the application is now being reviewed by different departments for a variety of issues.

Some city councilors first proposed delaying the vote and sending it to committee to study it more. That idea was rejected 7-6.

Frederick T. Krampits, a councilor, said one of the biggest questions is if there is contamination on the site, as there is on most of the Uniroyal and Facemate land. He said he would also like to ask lawyers more about the proposed taking.

Member William J. Zaskey agreed, saying more research should be done on the proposal, but added it could be valuable as the city does more to clean up the former industrial property across the street and starts the project to build a senior center on the Facemate property.

“Its value can only increase,” Zaskey said.

The board then voted against purchasing the entire property in a 9-4 vote.

Councilor James K. Tillotson argued that the cost was too high. He said the owner paid $93,000 in back taxes to acquire the property, which would give him a $187,000 profit.

“I don’t see it for a new police station. I don’t think we can afford $24 million for a new building right now,” he said.

Councilor Frank N. Laflamme said he agrees the city needs to replace the police station, which has multiple problems, but disagreed about purchasing the land for it.

Instead, he said he would like the city to consider building it next to the site where the new senior center will be constructed, where Facemate buildings are now being demolished.

Councilor Jean J. Croteau cautioned members before they rejected the purchase that it will be their only chance.

“The owner is trying to build condos. We can’t sit on it for months and months,” he said. “If you lose this opportunity tonight, you will be kicking yourself.”

Prior to the meeting, Narkewicz asked the room to observe a moment of silence for Springfield police officer Kevin Ambrose, who was killed in the line of duty this week.

NORTHAMPTON – The City Council Thursday night gave its preliminary approval to Mayor David J. Narkewicz’ $74.5 million budget for fiscal 2013.

The budget, Narkewicz’ first as mayor, represents a $2.3 million increase over the 2012 budget, or about 3 percent. When water, sewer and solid waste enterprise funds are taken into account, it will cost $95.8 million to run the city of Northampton in fiscal 2013.

Like his predecessor, Mary Clare Higgins, Narkewicz is holding a tight line, asking city unions to forgo pay increases and trying to cut health care costs while delivering a level services budget. Among the positions cut in Narkewicz’ budget are the Parking Director job vacated by the retirement of William Letendre and the Community and Economic Development post formerly held by Teri A. Anderson, who has taken a job in the private sector.

The School Department and Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School accounted for $29.8 million. School Superintendent Brian Salzer had come before the council asking for more money, but was told an override would be necessary to fund his “best educationally sound” budget.

Several councilors Narkewicz for coming up with a sound budget during tough times.

"We're doing the best we can, given the money we have," said Ward 2 Councilor Paul D. Spector.

Ward 6 Councilor Marianne L. LaBarge urged her colleagues to lobby the State House for tax equity, saying the rich have not been paying their fair share.

The council is scheduled to take a second and final vote on the budget at its June 21 meeting. By law the budget must be in place by June 30.

Prior to the meeting, Narkewicz asked the room to observe a moment of silence for Springfield police officer Kevin Ambrose, who was killed in the line of duty this week.

The council also gave final approval to four projects recommended by the Community Preservation Committee: $290,000 for the purchase of 87 acres that will expand the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area; $104,000 to fund the restoration of the Beaver Brook Bridge; $100,000 to help renovate the Hampshire County Courthouse; and $50,000 for the Conservation Commission’s conservation fund. The Community Preservation money comes from a fund created by a surcharge on property taxes.

Teens met at Beachgrounds Park last Sunday to prime the garage doors, and returned Thursday to stencil the image in preparation for painting this Sunday.

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The South Hadley Youth Commission invites the public to help them paint this mural on Sunday at Beachgrounds Park, across from Town Hall

SOUTH HADLEY – The South Hadley Youth Commission will paint a mural on the theme “Above the Influence” on Sunday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at Beachgrounds Park, and Youth Commissioner Adam Roberts invites anyone in town who wants to help to stop by.

The mural will be painted on garage doors visible from both Main Street and the park.

Hadley artist Heather Berlin designed the picture with the help of a team consisting of Youth Commission member Sophia Kebbede, home-schooler Jessica McMenamin and South Hadley High freshman Melanie Wantanabe, all of South Hadley.

Berlin was chosen because “she has done a lot of work with murals,” said Roberts, “especially youth-driven murals.”

To come up with a design, more than 70 young people in town were presented with the query: “What keeps you above the influence of the negative pressures in life?”

Last Sunday eight members of the Youth Commission and the South Hadley High School Peer Leaders met to prime the garage doors, which measure about 10 by 15 feet.

On Thursday, they returned to stencil Berlin’s image onto the doors. “It entails projecting an electronic version of the design on the doors, and tracing it with markers,” said Roberts.

The picture shows two young people helping a third up a hill, against a background of a river and a tree. The final product will be much more detailed and realistic than the preliminary design shown here, said Roberts.

The project will cost less than $1,000, said Roberts, and is paid for by the Youth Commission’s operating budget, fund-raising projects and a contribution from SPIFFY (Strategic Planning Initiatives for Families and Youth) in Easthampton.

The Youth Commission was founded last year in the wake of the suicide of South Hadley student Phoebe Prince, which shook the community to its core. Roberts was chosen as director of the commission in September.

At the June 5 Selectboard meeting, board member Marilyn Ishler publicly thanked Roberts for his work with local teens. “You’ve come to our town and adopted it,” she said. “You are making a difference.”

Principal Lisa Nemeth said 86 percent of the graduates will go on to college.

LUDLOW - Interim School Superintendent Donna Hogan Thursday wished the 213 graduates of Ludlow High School happiness, more than success.

“Success is not the key to happiness,” Hogan told the graduates.

She added, “Happiness is the key to success.”

Hogan concluded, “Thank you for sharing your senior year with me. It has been a gift.”

Hogan, who retired as principal of Baird Middle School, stepped in mid-year as interim superintendent after the acting superintendent became ill.

A new superintendent is set to take over July 1.

Hogan said she knows many of the graduates personally since she was principal of Baird Middle School when they were in eighth grade.

Hogan said she hopes that Lisa Nemeth, the new principal of Ludlow High School, and Todd Gazda, who will take over as superintendent in July, give many years of service to the Ludlow public schools.

Nemeth told the graduates, “You are my first graduating class. It has been an honor and a privilege to be your principal.”

Class valedictorian was Kaila Grenier. Class salutatorian was Emily Assarian. Class president was Christopher Scagliarini.

Grenier will attend the University of Virginia in the fall where she plans to major in biomedical engineering.

Assarian will attend the Commonwealth Honors College at UMass, Amherst and plans to major in microbiology.

Ludlow High School students this year were accepted at 50 colleges, Nemeth said, including Amherst College, George Washington University, Boston University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Berklee College of Music in Boston, University of Virginia, University of Vermont and Providence College, among others.

Nemeth said 86 percent of the graduates have plans to go on to college.

The bishop used social-media references to urge reflection on God.

HOLYOKE – The Most Rev. Timothy A. McDonnell said Thursday Holyoke Catholic High School graduates should devote the same effort to God as they do to texting and Facebook.

“Be persistent in your contact with God in whatever comes, success or failure, and you’ll be a success,” said McDonnell, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.

“Keep in touch with God in everything,” he said.

All 71 seniors in the Class of 2012 plan to attend college, officials said, in the ceremony at St. Jerome’s Church, 181 Hampden St. Holyoke Catholic is located in Chicopee.

The procession of seniors in gold caps and green gowns included the wail of bagpipes and banners noting the presence of 15 members of the Class of 1962 celebrating their 50th anniversary.

The class valedictorian was Jacqueline Peret and the salutatorian Benjamin Chartier.

Chartier reminded classmates of the love and work provided by family, school teachers and staff.

“Nobody here can today say that they went to high school on their own,” Chartier said.

He asked that graduates enjoy these years. Also, think about how they would like people to remember them, he said.

“I wish you all the best in the future. I know you will all go far,” Chartier said.

McDonnell said time spent on social media like cell-phone texting and Facebook updates should be done with perspective. And remember, he said, that the late Apple company founder Steve Jobs said each of the pioneer’s successes came after hundreds of failures.

“The difference is that when something failed, he learned from the failure and went on to try something different,” McDonnell said.

An estimated 1,000 police officers from the Pioneer Valley and the farthest reaches of the state attended together to pay respects to their fallen comrade and the family left to bear his absence.

This is an updated version of a story first posted at 5:19 p.m. Thursday.

Law enforcement officers from many jurisdictions enter the Chapel of the Acres Funeral Home to pay thier respects at the funeral of slain Springfield Police Officer Kevin Ambrose on Thursday afternoon.

SPRINGFIELD – A steady stream of mourners, estimated to be in the thousands, lined the parking lot of Sampson’s Chapel of the Acres Friday to pay their final respects to slain Springfield police officer Kevin Ambrose.

Elected officials, former police commissioners, police from Boston, Worcester, Arlington and Enfield, as well as what appeared to be nearly every law enforcement official in this city, dotted the waiting line along with family, friends and members of the public who came out to show their support for the Ambrose family and the department during the wake at Sampson’s funeral home on Tinkham Road.

For much of the day, regardless of the sun or the late afternoon shower, the line stretched in a horseshoe around the parking lot of the funeral home and into the side entrance.

An estimated 1,000 police officers from the Pioneer Valley and the farthest reaches of the state attended together to pay respects to their fallen comrade and the family left to bear his absence. By the late afternoon, the home was closed to visitors to allow the police to assemble and file by the casket. Once the police contingent departed, the home was reopened to the
public and the line out back began slowly moving again.

Filing out of the funeral home just before 6 p.m. were Dot and Leo Lortie, of Springfield. Each expressed feeling a mixture of sadness and fatigue from spending much of the afternoon in line to pay their last respects.

“Three and a half hours,” said Dot Lortie. “But it was worth it.”

The couple said they knew Ambrose much of his shortened life. He used to play soccer with their son, Steven, as a boy, they said. They were also friends with his parents.

Young Kevin, she recalled “was always a lot of fun. He was very friendly.”

The news of his death Monday shocked and saddened their family like few things before, she said. “We’re devastated, and our son Steven is devastated,” Dot Lortie said.

They last time they saw Ambrose was a month ago.

He gave them his card with his personal phone number on it, she said. “He said he was around and if we ever needed help, we could call. He said ‘Call me directly and I’ll be there in 2 minutes,’” she said.

“That’s the part that kills me. Two minutes,” Dot Lortie said with a sigh.

It probably took him only two minutes to respond to his final call, she said.

CBS3 Springfield footage of Thursday's wake for Officer Kevin Ambrose

Ambrose was shot to death on Monday while responding to a domestic disturbance at 90 Lawton St. Shawn Bryan, a New York City corrections officer, shot Ambrose multiple times in the hallway of the third floor of an apartment building. He then shot Charlene Mitchell, his estranged girlfriend and mother of his daughter, critically injuring her. Bryan then left the apartment and went into his parked car where he killed himself. Police credit Ambrose with saving the lives of Mitchell and her daughter.

“How many years was he on the force, 36? Multiply that by almost 365 and that’s how many times he came home safely to his wife and children, until this,” said state Sen. Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham, who waited patiently in line for hours to pay her respects. “But I’m not calling this a killing, or say he passed away. He was murdered.”

Inside the funeral home were a vast spray of flower arrangements around a clutch of rooms where the family stood in a receiving line near the open casket. In one room, there were four poster boards with snapshots displaying pictures from Ambrose’s childhood and adulthood. Some showed the veteran officer as a player on his Little League team and others showed a young father holding an infant in his arms. The candid pictures progressed to the more recent.

The Police Department ran shuttle services from the nearby Macedonia Church of God in Christ on Tinkham Road, and traffic was congested but orderly with Springfield police officers and state troopers from the highest ranks to patrolmen corralling cars at the busy intersection outside the funeral home.

Uniformed police from this city and beyond, plus law enforcement officials from the Hampden district attorney’s office and elsewhere, came by bus. Although the occasion was somber, mourners and the family appeared to glean some goodwill from the legions of people who came out to honor Ambrose.

The Republican | Patrick JohnsonAndrew DiNapoli, son of slain Holyoke Police Officer John DiNapoli, said he attended the wake to let the Ambrose family know they are not alone in their despair. "It's hell and that's the best way I can put it," he said.

Holyoke police officer Andrew DiNapoli, son of John DiNapoli, a Holyoke policeman who was shot to death while responding to a call in Holyoke’s Churchill neighborhood in 1999, said it was very important for him to go through the line and meet Ambrose’s family.

“For me, I just wanted to let them know that they are not alone,” DiNapoli said. “They’re going to have a few thousand people going through the line telling them ‘I know how you feel,’ but to be honest there are only a dozen or so people here today who really know how they feel.”

DiNapoli recalled his feelings upon learning of the death of his father.

“You wake up to go to work, or to go shopping, and you get a phone call. And you find out someone you love has been taken away,” he said. “It’s different if you have a relative who dies of illness, you can prepare for that.

“There’s no way you can prepare for this,” he said.

He said it’s difficult to describe what his family went through, or what the Ambrose family is going through.

“It’s hell – that’s the best way I can put it,” DiNapoli said. “Hell and shock.”

Staff writer Stephanie Barry contributed to this report.

Early said investigators hope new technology will yield more information on the 12-year-old case.

Molly Bish

BOSTON – The Worcester District Attorney says some evidence related to the killing of teenage lifeguard Molly Bish is undergoing new DNA testing.

District Attorney Joseph Early told Boston’s WBZ-TV Thursday that investigators hope new technology will yield more information on the 12-year-old case. Twenty pieces of evidence are to be tested for DNA, including items such as cigarettes found at Comins Pond in Warren, where the 16-year-old Molly disappeared from her lifeguard job on June 27, 2000. Some of the items have been tested before.

Early announced last week that his investigators planned to sit down with FBI investigators to explore possible new approaches to the case.

Bish’s remains were found three years after she disappeared, in woods a few miles from the pond.

More than 80 percent of Chicopee High School students will attend colleges including Yale University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Elms College Bryant University.

Photo by Conor BrennanJennifer Kulig, Tamara Kuzmenko and Natalie Laurin, from left, pause Thursday moments before entering the auditorium at Bellemy Middle School for Chicopee High School's graduation.

CHICOPEE – In a passionate appeal, Chicopee High School valedictorian Monica Czausz asked her fellow graduates to resist convention.

Thursday 256 students from Chicopee High received their diplomas. Earlier that day 10 students from Chicopee Academy also graduated.

The highlight of both ceremonies were the student speakers. Czausz, salutatorian Danielle B. Dobosz and class president Amanda Baltazar were the main speakers for Chicopee High. Natasha Carmenatty, who will attend Holyoke Community College, was the student speaker at Chicopee Academy’s graduation.

More than 80 percent of the Chicopee High graduates plan to attend colleges across the country.

Czausz, who plans to study organ performance at Rice University in Texas, encouraged her classmates to pursue something great.

“I speak through music. Some speak through math, God bless you. Find your voice and draft your dreams,” she said.

Dobosz, who is planning to study linguistics at Yale University, quoted author Kurt Vonnegut saying “True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.”

In a light speech, she then talked about a series of mishaps her classmates had gone through while trying to organize fund-raisers, translate a greeting into Spanish and in biology class.

“The world better get ready for us because we are here,” she said.

Baltazar, who is planning to study biomedical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, talked about how her classmates have made a difference in the school and in the community in their four years.

“Just stop and think about what we can do next,” she said.

Seventy percent of the Class of 2012 at Westfield Vocational-Technical High School are college bound.

WESTFIELD – The rain stopped and the sun came out just in time Thursday to welcome the newest alumni of Westfield Vocational-Technical High School.

The Class of 2012, 90 strong, received diplomas from Superintendent of Schools Suzanne Scallion and Mayor Daniel M. Knapik on Bullen’s Field behind the vocational school, where just two hours earlier rain was falling.

It was Scallion’s first Westfield high school graduation ceremony and her message to graduates was to “savior your accomplishment and choose the next doors in you life carefully.”

She said Westfield’s staff and teachers “want nothing but the best for you. Be safe, healthy and successful.”

Knapik’s advice was “nothing will limit you in your future but yourself. The world does not stop for anyone. You are prepared to encounter challenge after challenge.”

Of the 90 graduates, 70 percent are headed to college or higher education. At least five are joining the military.

Valedictorian Andrey Mosijchuk, who will enroll at Springfield Technical Community College to study civil engineering, offered thanks to teachers and parents “for putting up with us.” He told fellow graduates “don’t procrastinate” and “good luck in your future endeavors.”

Salutatorian Anna Kuchar will attend Holyoke Community College, intent on transferring to Westfield State University to major in criminal justice. She referred to graduation as “a stepping stone to our futures. This past year made us realize what we want to do with our future. Good luck.”

Principal James M. Laverty, who is stepping down to become superintendent of the Franklin County School District, quoted Eleanor Roosevelt in telling graduates “the purpose of life is to live it.”

The church occupation began nearly a year ago on June 30.

File photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanMater Dolorosa Church parishioners begin a continuous vigil to keep Holyoke church open.

HOLYOKE – Protesters who have been holding a vigil at Mater Dolorosa Church since it was closed by the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese a year ago voted Thursday if it should end the round-the-clock occupation of the church.

The group of about 100 people will not announce the results until Sunday. They began the prayer vigil the day the church closed on June 30 and was merged into the new Our Lady of the Cross.

The vote was sparked after the highest court of the Vatican, the Apostolic Signatura issued a preliminary decision over an appeal of the closure that called for the group to end the vigil. It also ordered Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell to refrain from selling, destroying or damaging the church until the appeal is heard.

One of the issues the two sides have been sparing about is the steeple. Diocesan officials say it is in poor condition and must be removed. Protesters disagree and want to prevent it from being damaged.

Senior class speakers included Ezra Fradkin and Raychel Schindelman, who spoke as a duo, sometimes in unison, and Graciella Maiolatesi.

NORTHAMPTON – What was possibly one of the most high-spirited and colorful graduation ceremonies in the valley took place Thursday as 63 seniors from the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School in South Hadley received their diplomas at the Calvin Theater in Northampton.

It’s the kind of ceremony where even the chief financial officer of the school cracked wise, making a casino joke, and was wildly applauded.

So theatrical is the event that students have to audition to become part of the act.

As school’s Pit Band performed, the graduates poured down the aisles to the front of the theater, strutting to the beat, flailing their arms, gyrating and never failing to draw a chorus of cheers from the standing, clapping audience.

Most of the artistic young souls had decorated their mortarboards, including a young man who seemed to be balancing a small tree on top of his head and a young woman who had attached what looked like neon tassels to the corners.

Head of school Scott Goldman, who was completing his first year, gave emotional thanks to the students, saying, “From day one, you welcomed me into your community.”

Senior class speakers included Ezra Fradkin and Raychel Schindelman, who spoke as a duo, sometimes in unison, and Graciella Maiolatesi.

An ensemble of six took turns reciting from the humorous essay known as “Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen,” while (why not?) two dancers twirled batons in the background.

Even a montage of student faces on a huge screen drew shrieks of applause as each face appeared.

History teacher Jim Cox and physical education teacher Michael Micucci presented diplomas, while science teacher Michael Pfeiffer had the honor of conferring “rights and responsibilities on the young people.”

Ninety percent of the Performing Arts graduates are going on to college.