William Lowell Putnam founded Springfield's first television station back in 1953.

They live in Flagstaff, Ariz., now, but Bill Putnam and Kitty Broman are still vivid in the minds of Western Massachusetts television viewers who watched WWLP-TV, Channel 22, between the early 1950s through the mid 1980s.

He was the founder, president and editorial writer of WWLP (It’s call letters are an abbreviation for his full name, William Lowell Putnam). She was the interviewer, hostess, and behind-the-scenes backbone of the outfit.

Putnam is 88 now, and Broman is 96. They got married 15 years ago, but their history dates back to Springfield at the mid-century. “I always admired her,” says Bill Putnam, “from the moment I met her.”

The couple have co-authored a 230-page memoir for McFarland & Co. Inc. titled “How We Survived in UHF Television.” Putnam retired from television in 1984 and the station he founded has changed ownership four times since he signed off.

UHF stands for Ultra High Frequency, the bandwidth once used for broadcast channels 14 through 83. If it brings to mind fuzzy black-and-white screens and rabbit ears, so will the many photos in “How We Survived in UHF Television.”

Images of former WWLP staff members like weatherman John Quill, anchor Tom Colton, sportscaster Rollie Jacobs, and reporters Keith Silver and Ed Kennedy illustrate the memoir. There are also photos of Broman with various celebrity interview subjects including Jack Benny, Liberace, and the cast of “Gunsmoke.”

Putnam and Broman were pioneers in the television industry. The FCC granted a permit for the NBC affiliate in 1952, and the first show went on the air in 1953. The first few years were broadcast on Channel 61 before WWLP relocated to Channel 22 on the dial.

Chapters of the book are preceded by initials to show who is writing, but soon it becomes clear that Putnam likes to handle the technology and politics aspect of their story.

Broman is about people and a sense of humor, whether it’s a pair of false eyelashes coming loose as she interviews the late actor Gig Young on the air, or a turkey sliding off the platter and onto the floor in a Thanksgiving cooking segment.

“TV today is so sophisticated,” says Broman in a telephone interview, sounding as sharp as ever. “Back when we were doing it, it was all live.”

Putnam, a descendant of the blueblood Lowell clan of Boston. He went to Harvard, served in World War II and has written books on mountaineering.

He is the sole trustee of the Lowell Observatory, founded in 1894 by his granduncle, famed astronomer Percival Lowell. Putnam is currently writing another book.

Broman is the former Kathryn Flynn. Her mother died in childbirth when she was a little girl. Kitty became a model and amateur actress in Springfield, but she says she had “never really worked before” when she met Putnam.

She had two small children and needed a job. “I had very few skills. I did some typing, some shorthand,” Broman recalled.

Putnam saw a lot more in her. “She was classy, she was smart, and she figured out early how to handle me,” he said.

Broman didn’t stop to think that she was helping create a new era in communications. “I had two small children, so I didn’t stop to think much,” she said. “I would go to work, go home and take care of the children, go to work.”

But soon she was indispensable to the station. “I knew she was integral to me and I could trust her completely,” Putnam said. “I could always go off and do adventurous things – build new stations or (rescue) some dumbass off a mountain. I knew the station would be in good hands.”

“He is a little impetuous,” Broman said, “and I was the cautious one. He would listen to me. He was usually receptive, and if he wasn’t and things went wrong, the next time he would think twice before he spurned my advice.”

“One of the salient features of my lady,” Putnam said, “is that she’s very honest.”

He calls her “my lady” or “Mother,” a nickname she got because her kids would call the station and ask for “mother.” In the book she calls him “my William.”

But don’t expect revelations about their personal relationship. It’s not that kind of book.

They have been “somewhat together,” as Putnam describes it for 60 years.

“She was everything I ever expected,” Putnam said. “We’ve had a great life together.”

The Little League catcher, now 13, has been sued by a woman he hit in the face with an overthrow two years ago.

• N.J. woman hit with ball sues Little League player [Associated Press]
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• Report: Saudis will pay salaries of rebel Syria army [MSNBC.com]
• Turkey says jet downing cannot be ignored [Al Jazeera]
• NH swimmer prepares for Paralympics in London [NECN]
• Google Doodle honors Alan Turing [USA Today]
• Two biologists study decline of shad over 140 miles of Connecticut River [Daily Hampshire Gazette]
• Former Northampton public works foreman denies theft of brush hog [Daily Hampshire Gazette]
• Norton woman wins national boxing title [WCVB-Boston]
• Length of jobless benefits falls in Mass., along with unemployment rate [Boston Globe]
• PHOTOS: Cops’ dramatic ‘suicide’ save [New York Post]
• Land deal halts solar farm at drive-in [The Recorder]
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Obituaries from The Republican

Nelson W. Elliot III

Nelson W. "Skip" Elliot III, 53, of Springfield died Wednesday June 20, 2012. Nelson was born in Springfield on August 12, 1958. Raised in Springfield, he graduated from Springfield Trade High School. Skip was in the car electronics business for over 30 years and was recently training in HVAC.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Andrade, Vanessa A.
  



• 
  Baer, Dianne (Sussman)
  



• 
  Bemben, Joseph
  



• 
  Bennett, Mary L. (Morrison)
  



• 
  Caracciolo, Jean F. (Quinn)
  



• 
  Chavez, Benigno E.
  



• 
  Chmura, Joseph S.
  



• 
  DeMartino, Dr. John D.
  



• 
  Elliot III, Nelson W. "Skip"
  



• 
  Garde, Elaine E. (Larson)
  



• 
  Kielbasa, Alice K. (Paschal)
  



• 
  Montagna, Carmella T.
  



• 
  Osinski, Helen (Grabiec)
  



• 
  Perez-Ramos, Maria A.
  



• 
  Rivera, Iris
  



• 
  Rusiecki, Kenneth R.
  



• 
  White, Susan McDonald
  

Members of the legislature are mounting a concerted push to approve a resolution calling on Congress to pass a constitutional amendment overturning the Citizens United ruling and for in-state disclosure laws to give voters information about the sources and amounts of corporate spending.

1.20.2012. SPRINGFIELD- More than 50 protesters gathered in front of the U.S. District Courthouse on State Street in Springfield, Massachusetts on Jan. 20, 2012 to protest the 2nd anniversary of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision relaxing limits on election spending by corporations and labor groups. (Republican File Photo by Robert Rizzuto)

By Michael Norton and Matt Murphy, STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON -- Concord Rep. Cory Atkins feels one of her colleagues this election cycle could become the first local victim of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.

To hear Atkins tell it, the court’s January 2010 ruling means there’s nothing stopping corporate interests from swooping in days before the election and dumping large amounts of cash into Super PAC ads targeting a particular representative or senator, who would then be unable to respond proportionately.

“It’s unbalanced speech,” said Atkins, adding she disagreed with the court’s ruling that restrictions on corporate political campaign ads violated constitutional free speech protections. “It’s a megaphone versus a whisper. And it’s a megaphone 24-7 versus a whisper for five minutes. They know how to get a message and stay on a message and blast it, blast it, blast it until it’s in your head.”

While unable to alter the possibility of Super PAC spending on state and local races, Atkins and other members of the Legislature are mounting a concerted push for the Legislature to approve a resolution calling on Congress to pass a constitutional amendment overturning the Citizens United ruling and for in-state disclosure laws to give voters information about the sources and amounts of corporate spending.

“I’m kind of a free rights person when it comes to a lot of this stuff, but something is prostituting the process,” said Sen. Stephen Brewer, using the example of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s political giving to presidential candidates as a prime example.

“If Sheldon Adelson and Sheldon Adelson’s wife are bankrolling Mitt Romney to a great degree, and bankrolled Newt Gingrich I think to the tune of $20 million to $25 million, there’s got to be something wrong with the system,” Brewer said.

The Senate on Thursday attempted to debate the resolution, which has been co-sponsored with Atkins by Sen. Jamie Eldridge. While no one actively opposed its introduction or faulted the plan on its merits, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr delayed its consideration until next Thursday.

“I’m a little disappointed, but I’m eager to have this debate. There’s, I think, widespread support for this not only amongst the Senate but the public in general,” Eldridge said after the session.

Eldridge said more than 70 residents turned out in Newburyport in the sweltering heat Wednesday night “very fired up to get this resolution passed and make the point that corporations have far too much influence in the policy sphere now and it will be even worse under the Citizens United decision.”

Senate President Therese Murray also said she supports the resolution, and Atkins claims majority support in the House for corporate disclosure of donations after 83 House lawmakers, including two Republicans, signed a letter backing H 308 and S 1985.

“I don’t believe that corporations are individuals and that kind of money that we’re seeing put into the campaigns on the national level is obscene,” Murray said after Thursday’s Senate session. Murray this fall is on track to face a Republican challenger, Tom Keyes, who nearly beat hear in 2010.

Atkins said Bay State Democrats got a laugh out of watching the impact of Super PAC money on the GOP presidential primary, but take seriously the potential for Super PAC money to influence local races.

“This could go local in a heartbeat,” she said. “There’s no controls on it and most people don’t have the resources to respond.”

The Election Laws Committee put the disclosure proposals into a study, usually a dead end for most bills, but Atkins said the bills have been taken out of study, a move she described as a “smoke signal” that the proposals may advance before formal legislative meetings end for the two-year session on July 31.

The Senate on Thursday approved an extension until July 9 for the Election Laws Committee to report on the bills.

Sen. Barry Finegold, an Andover Democrat and co-chair of the committee, said the state is limited in what it can do, and the committee wanted the extra time to make sure it addressed the issue “prudently and properly.”

“I don’t care what your persuasion is. I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on. This is a very concerning issue for everybody where you have undisclosed money that can come from either side that can basically really sway elections,” Finegold said.

Eldridge said the bills would have an immediate impact on this year’s elections. “If we can get that passed into law, if corporations do spend money in the fall election, that will be reported to OCPF,” he said.

Members of the Democracy Amendment Coalition of Massachusetts this month said the number of cities and towns that support overturning Citizens United, as expressed by town meetings and city councils, is up to 66. Since mid-May, Newbury, Richmond, Brookline, Quincy, Wendell and Bernardston have added their communities to the list, which already includes cities like Boston, Worcester and Amherst.

“Sixty-six communities is pretty overwhelming. This is a huge grassroots movement,” said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause.

According to the coalition, state lawmakers in Rhode Island, Vermont, New Mexico and Hawaii have already passed resolutions. The coalition includes groups like Common Cause Massachusetts, MassPIRG, MassVOTE, Public Citizen and Move to Amend.

Wilmot said volunteers are gathering signatures to put non-binding question on ballots in November in state Senate and representative districts. Attorney General Martha Coakley also backs the resolution and is among 11 state attorneys general who have written Congress asking for a Constitutional amendment.

U.S. Rep. John Tierney’s campaign, in a heated contest with former Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei this cycle, this week called attention to the formation of a new Virginia-based super PAC called Massachusetts Forward Inc., leaders of which have declined to reveal which race it will try to influence.

With Sen. Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren agreeing to limit outside influence on their campaigns, it is presumed the PAC will focus on the 6th Congressional District.

Semb is the president of the Bow, N.H.-based International Candlepin Bowling Association, and, in 1984 in Westfield during the Western New England Pro Tour, he rolled a world-record-setting score of 245 out of a possible 300, beginning the string with seven consecutive strikes.

Photos by Cori UrbanRalph W. Semb, president and owner of French King Bowling Center in Erving, stands on the lanes during neon bowling. In 1984 he set a world record in candlepin bowling for a score of 245 out of a possible 300. The record still stands but was tied last year.

ERVING – In the world of candlepin bowling, Ralph W. Semb is still the kingpin.

Such a distinction comes from years of dedication to the sport of candlepins and from his excellence as a bowler.

Semb is the president of the Bow, N.H.-based International Candlepin Bowling Association, and, in 1984 in Westfield during the Western New England Pro Tour, he rolled a world-record-setting score of 245 out of a possible 300, beginning the string with seven consecutive strikes.

Semb’s record of 245 has yet to be broken, though Chris Sargent, of Haverhill, tied it in Peabody last year.

Candlepin bowling uses 15-1/2-inch-high narrow pins and hole-less balls that are 4-1/2 inches in diameter and weigh 2.4 to 2.7 pounds.

Invented in Worcester by Justin P. White in 1880, candlepin bowling is a variation of bowling that is played primarily in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec and in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In candlepin bowling, fallen pins, known as dead wood, are not removed from the pin deck area between balls, unlike in either ten-pin or duckpin bowling.

Semb played all three types of bowling when he was a young ski jumper traveling to tournaments, and he told his father, Jack, all about it.

Jack Semb ran a restaurant and motel on Route 2 here, giving him the opportunity to talk to a lot of people who indicated a growing interest in candlepin bowling.

So, in 1959, Jack Semb opened the French King Bowling Center with 12 lanes next to his other businesses. (His son also made it to the U.S. ski jump team.)

Photo by Cori UrbanRalph W. Semb, president and owner of French King Bowling Center in Erving, shows how candlepins are set in the machine room at the 55 French King Highway center.

Semb was a student at the old Northampton Commercial College when Jack Semb, not mechanically inclined, lost one of his thumbs while trying to fix the number-one lane pin setter that had gotten jammed.

“You’ve just attended your last day of school,” Semb remembers his father telling him. “You’re working here now. And, here I’ve been ever since.”

Though he has devoted years of his life to his work for Shriners Hospitals for Children, the owner and president of French King Bowling Center is, at 71, still involved in all aspects of the operation of the bowling center.

From cleaning the building each morning and mopping the lanes to handling administrative responsibilities, Semb “starts off as janitor and goes home at night as owner,” he said recently.

He has seen a lot of change in the candlepin business since 1959.

“Candlepin bowling is not as strong as it once was,” he said, explaining that as industry moved out of the area, candlepin bowling lost its backbone: the leagues from employers like Millers Falls Tool Co., Greenfield Tap and Die and Strathmore Paper. “People don’t bowl like they used to.”

Semb recalls the days when 330 bowlers a night came to the center for league play; now there are but five leagues, and he considers himself lucky to have between 30 and 40 bowlers a day.

What’s kept French King in business has been Semb’s business acumen and willingness to diversify. He added a dozen ten-pin bowling lanes in 1987 (and took them out in 2000); during that period the bowling center had its most lanes, 36.

There are now 16 lanes, including four in a VIP room complete with a bar, television and Internet access. The center has a snack bar, a children’s arcade and banquet facilities along with climate-controlled indoor storage units. There are facilities for parties, and bowling can be done with a setting of neon lights and music.

Ralph W. Semb

Semb has taken his experience with the Shriners – he is a former Shriners Hospital chief executive officer, past imperial potentate and a member of the board of trustees – to his position as president of the International Candlepin Bowling Association. He helps the bowling organization serve as an “umbrella organization” to deal with rules, regulations and standards and to work with other bowling associations like the Bowling Proprietors Association of America to garner benefits, like special pricing on soda for members.

The international association currently has 56 houses (what bowling centers are called).

Semb, the father of four, works with his son, Erik R. Semb, who is vice president of French King Bowling Center; the Semb family moved here from Long Island, N.Y., in 1945.

Asked what made him such a good bowler, Ralph Semb acknowledges his athletic ability but says it came with good luck.

“There’s a certain amount of luck to it,” he said, adding there is also a skill to making the ball hit the headpin just right so other pins scatter and fall.

“You want to hit the headpin with the first ball every time. It’s not easy to do,” he said. “And, it doesn’t mean that every time you hit the headpin you get a strike. The object is to be to the left or right of the center of the headpin to make the pins splash and scatter.”

The candlepins used to be made of solid rock maple, just like the French King lanes. They’ve evolved into solid plastic pins which can last 10 to 15 years.

The mechanisms for setting the pins have improved over the years, and Semb has added semi-automatic scoring to replace pencil and paper. He chose not to completely automate that so players would stay more involved in the game, having to punch in their scores and push a button to reset the pins.

Photo by Cori UrbanRalph W. Semb, president and owner of French King Bowling Center on Route 2 in Erving, stands outside the center that opened in 1959.

Semb now bowls about once a week, but he’s busy with another enterprise: a Dunkin’ Donuts shop and convenience store being built next to the bowling center on the site of what had been his father’s restaurant. He hopes traffic from those businesses will bring in more bowlers.

“There’s a definite need for bowling,” Semb said. “It’s a healthy sport, and every Tom, Dick, Harry, Mary and Jane can bowl. It doesn’t matter your skill level. You just enjoy the company of other people and get away from the TV.”

Plus, it burns calories and helps relieve stress, he says.

And it’s simply part of the way of life in New England, Semb said. “It’s like the Red Sox. It’s like the Patriots. It’s like the Celtics. Candlepin bowling, it’s New England.”

For more information on French King Bowling Center, go online to www.bowling4fun.com.

Instructor James P. Shea explained that sped up, tai chi looks like a martial art, but there’s deep philosophy involved in it and the development of mind, body and spirit.

Republican photo by DAVE ROBACKKeith Gauthier, right, and Megan Schwartz, both of Longmeadow, participate in a tai chi class at Old Town Hall.Tai chi instructor Jim Shea leads a class at the Old Town Hall in Longmeadow.

Tai chi chuan, often shortened to tai chi, originated in China as a martial art for self-defense. But, in recent years, it has gained popularity among the general population as a beneficial exercise.

For anyone looking for a class in this gentle, meditative form of movement, they need look no further than Longmeadow’s Old Town Hall, where James P. Shea has been teaching classes as part of the town’s Parks and Recreation Department for the last seven years. He is a high school counselor in Tolland, Conn.

Shea, who also teaches karate, has been a practitioner of both karate and tai chi for decades. He began studying karate 40 years ago in Florida while a graduate student there.

But after an accident sidelined him for several months, he took up tai chi as part of his recovery, studying under Master Poi Chen, a leading tai chi master. Its slow, purposeful movements helped him regain strength and flexibility, but it was its meditative quality that hooked him.

“Tai chi is a many faceted diamond,” Shea said. “It’s like peeling an onion, revealing many layers. It’s never boring. You always find something new in it. When I found tai chi, I found something wonderful.”

Republican photo by DAVE ROBACKTai Chi instructor Jim Shea, right, leads a class at the Old Town Hall in Longmeadow. Keith Gauthier, of Longmeadow, left front, Andrew Kniska of Longmeadow, left back, and Paola Ferrario of Holyoke, center, follow him through a series of postures.

Shea explained that sped up, tai chi looks like a martial art, but there’s deep philosophy involved in it and the development of mind, body and spirit.

In its slow form, tai chi is graceful and moving to watch, with the quality of fine dance.

The classes meet once a week in eight-week sessions throughout the year. Many of his students have been training with him for several years. They classes generally begin with standing movements designed to warm up and stretch the various body parts and then a series of standing postures that flow from one to another.

Longmeadow resident Marianna McKee said she’s been taking tai chi for two years. “A friend talked me into it,” she said. “I’ve never loved exercise, but I thought I should be doing something physical.”

Republican photo by DAVE ROBACKTai chi instructor James P. Shea leads a class at Old Town Hall in Longmeadow.

McKee, who praised Shea as a great teacher, said she’s never had good balance and has arthritis in her knees. Tai chi has helped with both.

But it has another advantage. “This is so meditative,” she said. “For an hour you are moving in almost complete silence. You’re concentrating so much that everything else in your life falls away.”

Shea described his classes as a one-room schoolhouse, where novices train with more experienced students.

“I instruct newcomers in the basics,” he said, “and then I have them watch and integrate slowly into what everyone else is doing.”

Republican photo by DAVE ROBACKTai chi instructor James P. Shea leads a class through warm-up stretches at Old Town Hall in Longmeadow.

Shea teaches the Yang style of tai chi.

“It’s something you can do as you age,” he said, describing one former student who couldn’t bend over to wash his feet in the shower. “Tai chi gave him the flexibility he was seeking.”

But he warned that it’s not a quick fix. “Those who endure, get the most out of it,” he said. “You need a strong spirit and you need to stay with it.”

Gerald M. Green, an area physician, and his wife Beth, both in their 60’s, have been taking tai chi with Shea for a year and a half.

“I had observed some classes and thought it was something I could do with my limitations,” Green explained.

He was pleasantly surprised to find a good option in his hometown.

He was interested in a low impact exercise that could improve his flexibility and it has been successful for him.

Republican file photo by dAVE ROBACKParticipants in the tai chi class of James Shea at the Old Town Hall in Longmeadow are Gerald M. Green, of Longmeadow, right and Keith Gauthier, of Longmeadow, back.

He described an added benefit. “It gets you into a focused state so that other things in life evaporate. It has been a meditative adventure for me.”

He said Shea is a teacher who takes a slow, traditional approach.

“We master one thing before moving on,” Green explained.

For him as a pulmonologist, the emphasis on breathing is also an important aspect of tai chi.

“Sometimes,” he said, “we just practice breathing. The combination of mind, body, spirit, and the consistency of movement, provide meditation and healing.”

Green’s wife Beth added that the routines they learn are not memorized but become part of one’s muscle memory.

“You use every muscle in your body,” she said. “It’s hard physical work, even though it’s slow and methodical, and you come away tired and sore as with any good exercise.”

Longmeadow resident Megan Schwartz, both a karate and tai chi student of Shea’s, has studied karate for three years and tai chi for two.

She described tai chi as a good warm up for karate. Its movements are slow and flowing, while karate movements are sharp, and more abrupt.

“As a mom of two,” she said, “tai chi is time just for me. It’s a kind of meditation. You don’t think of anything else but breath, movement and body. I love it, and Shea is a fabulous teacher.”

For more information about either the karate or tai chi classes, contact the Longmeadow Parks and Recreation Department at (413) 565-4160 or visit the website at www.lprd.net.

TAI CHI CLASS

The next tai chi class for ages 16 and older through the Longmeadow Parks and Recreation Department begins July 3 and runs Tuesdays through Aug. 28 with the exception of July 17. Cost for the eight weeks is $60.

Class are held from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Old Town Hall, 417 Longmeadow St., across from CVS, on Route 5 in Longmeadow.

Sign up at the The Community House, 735 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow. Hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or go online to www.lprd.net. For further information, call (413) 565-4160.

The class is described as “less strenuous than other martial arts, with an emphasis on deep breathing, slow movements, and chi (energy) development.” It involves traditional warm-ups and stretching, breathing exercises, stances and three-part form. Participants are advised to wear comfortable clothing, a flat sole indoor sneaker, dance shoe, or bare foot.

James P. Shea, a licensed karate and tai chi instructor with nearly 40 years experience is the instructor.

David Kruse, of Cleveland, has been named the new CEO of the Western Massachusetts Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

David Kruse

WESTFIELD – Local Boy Scouts are getting a new leader on August 1.

David Kruse, 45, of Cleveland, will become Chief Executive Officer and Scout Executive for the Western Massachusetts Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The council is headquartered in Westfield.

Kruse will replace Lawrence Bystran, who announced his retirement in February after 20 years.

The Western Massachusetts Council serves about 7,000 youths and has a budget of about $1.02 million, according to Bob D’Avignon, field director for the council.

New England will be a new experience for Kruse, who grew up in St. Louis, Mo., and spent most of his career in the Midwest.

After graduating from Valparaiso University in Indiana in 1989, he returned to St. Louis, where he earned his living as a pharmaceuticals salesman and volunteered as a Scoutmaster.

Kruse had been a Boy Scout all through his youth, earning the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. “Some of my best friends came from Scouting,” he said. “They are all over the country now.”

He especially enjoyed Scouting because his dad was not fond of the outdoors, and the Scouts allowed the boy to experience nature through camping and other programs.

To this day Kruse lists his favorite activities as hiking, camping and golf.

While volunteering for the Scouts, he was impressed by what he observed. “That’s when I saw the impact it had on the lives of Scouts,” he said, “and that’s when I became passionate about it and decided to make it my profession.”

He remembers one of his charges, a boy named Mike, who was terrified of going in the water until he joined the Scouts. The boy not only learned to swim, but went on a canoe trip with his troop to the “boundary waters” along Minnesota and Canada.

“He lived out of a canoe for 10 days,” said Kruse. “Pretty remarkable for someone who started out as a non-swimmer.”

In 1999, Kruse became field director for the Boy Scouts in Milwaukee, Wisc. He then moved to Cleveland, where he has been serving as director of development for a council serving 17,000 youths.

He and his wife, Susan, were married a year ago. She is an attorney.

Kruse wants to bring more boys than ever into the Scouting programs in Western Massachusetts.

He says Boy Scouting is “completely and totally relevant” to life today. Its STEM program, for example, emphasizes science, technology, engineering and math, with merit badges available for such skills as drafting, welding and robotics.

Also, says Kruse, the values of leadership and character are as applicable now as they were when Lord Robert Baden-Powell founded the organization more than 100 years ago.

“Youth needs the positive values that Scouting teaches,” said Kruse.

The Democratic governor signed the bill Friday in a small ceremony with families, advocates and state lawmakers.

The Republican file photo | Mark M. MurrayGov. Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray said the new law will help ensure that parents are not receiving outdated information on Down syndrome.

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has signed a bill into law that requires care providers to offer up-to-date educational information to parents whose children are diagnosed with Down syndrome.

The Democratic governor signed the bill Friday in a small ceremony with families, advocates and state lawmakers.

Under the legislation, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health must make the most recent, evidence-based written information on Down syndrome available to individuals and facilities that provide prenatal and postnatal care or genetic counseling. The information must include details such as life expectancy, intellectual and functional development and treatment options.

Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, who attended the signing, said the new law will help ensure that important resources are available to parents.

City and school officials said the merger of the two finance positions have saved many thousands of dollars

Timothy J. Plante

SPRINGFIELD – Timothy J. Plante, who has been working double duty as finance director for the School Department and City Hall for more than two years, was granted a one-year contract extension by the School Committee last week.

A multitude of bosses including Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Superintendent of Schools Alan J. Ingram, praised Plante’s performance on Friday, and said the consolidation of the city and school finance director positions has benefited both sides and saved money.

Plante’s annual salary is $137,699, with the School Department paying approximately $82,0000 of that amount and the city paying the balance, officials said.

Plante is a city employee, but serves as “chief financial officer” for the School Department and as “finance director” for the city.

“It’s definitely a unique situation for a city the size of Springfield to have a joint finance director for the city and School Department,” Plante said. “I have truly enjoyed the last two and a half years trying to align the district resources to close the achievement gaps and improve student outcomes.”

It can be challenging and does result in some long hours, Plante said.

The School Committee appointed Plante as its chief financial officer in December of 2010, and he filled the position on an interim basis beginning in 2009. The vote in 2010 was 5-2 in favor of Plante’s appointment, as some members raised concerns about his split duties.

The one-year extension was granted by a 6-1 vote on Thursday, with member Antonette E. Pepe again opposed. He also has one-year left on his contract with the city, but said he will be seeking an extension.

Ingram said Plante has performed “exceptionally well” within the School Department.

“He’s not missed a single beat and our financial services team has never been stronger than it is under his leadership,” Ingram said. Ingram, superintendent the past four years, is being replaced on July 1, by newly chosen superintendent Daniel J. Warwick.

Both Sarno and the city’s Chief Administrative and Financial Officer Lee C. Erdmann said Plante has done “a tremendous job.”

The merging of the positions was part of a consolidation effort and has helped to achieve “mutually beneficial goals” including cost savings, Sarno said.

Erdmann said Plante has “modernized the business office at the School Department improving many processes,” and has found and implemented many efficiencies.

The dual roles have saved money, and have led to additional consolidation efforts between the city and school system including the payroll departments, Erdmann said.

The last school budget director, Robert A. Peters, left the job in 2009, and the merger helped save that salary of roughly $147,000, officials said in 2010.

The recipient of The Republican scholarship, awarded in the name of retired Springfield Newspapers editorial writer and longtime chair of the Valley Press Club Scholarship Committee, was Joshua Wolfsun of Amherst.

Staff photo by Don TreegerThe Valley Press Club presented 6 area High School graduates with their annual scholarship awards during a gathering at Mercy Medical Center. Robert McClellan, retiring chairman of the Scholarship Committee (center) greets the scholarship winners at the start of the event. Winners from left to right are, Neliana Ferraro, of Wilbraham, Gregory Fitzpatrick, of East Longmeadow, Joshua Wolfsun, of Amherst, Heather Brouillard, of Chicopee, Emily Cimino, of West Springfield, and Avarie Cook, of Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – Six journalistic hopefuls received scholarships from the Valley Press Club annual awards reception Saturday, many of whom said they developed a thirst for news at an early age.

For Neliana Ferraro, of Wilbraham, a graduate of Minnechaug High School, she said her interest was tweaked during her freshman year when a teacher offered a news program in class Ferraro believed was biased, and she went hunting for other perspectives.

“That spawned my want for the truth, not just what I believed to be twisted facts,” said Ferraro, recipient of the WWLP-22 News Scholarship.

In the fall, Ferraro will attend Quinnipiac University’s Communications program and hopes to be a broadcast journalist. Each winner received a $1,000 grant from area news outlets and local patrons of journalism. The Press Club awarded its first scholarship in 1964 to Al Jaffe, then a senior at Pittsfield High School and now senior vice president for talent negotiation and production recruitment at ESPN. Jaffe attended the reception in a conference room at Mercy Medical Center.

The keynote speaker at the banquet was Wayne Phaneuf, executive editor at The Republican and longtime journalist, who spoke about the lightning speed with which news is disseminated in the current climate and the menu of skills new journalists must bring to bear.

“There are not linotypists, no proofreaders, no compositors, no composing room, no lead, no turtles, no vacuum tubes, no copy paper, paste pots or typewriters,” Phaneuf told the audience, rattling off the functional jargon and roles that once laid the foundation of putting out a daily newspaper. “But there are still reporters, photographers and editors who have taken on the jobs of all those others. And, the changes that once took generations to achieve are now accomplished in months.”

Yep, times they are a’changin’, all agreed, and Phaneuf also noted he saw colleagues leave the business altogether during the transition from typewriters to computers because they couldn’t adapt – long before blogging made its debut. However, the principles of news writing have not changed.

“The who, what, when, where and how are as important now as they ever were. In fact more so … given the immediacy of the digital age and the tremendous responsibility of getting it right and getting it fast,” Phaneuf said.

The recipient of The Republican scholarship, awarded in the name of Robert McClellan, retired Springfield Newspapers editorial writer and longtime chair of the Valley Press Club Scholarship Committee, was Joshua Wolfsun of Amherst. He is both founder of “The Student News,” a monthly show that runs on public access channels and perhaps the youngest civil rights litigant in the room.

Wolfsun, 18, in middle school brought a freedom of speech lawsuit against school administrators who censored a poll he had published in the school paper on the quality of teachers and school administrators. The American Civil Liberties Union took up his cause and Wolfsun won the lawsuit.

Wolfsun will attend Swarthmore College, a liberal arts school outside Philadelphia in the fall as a political science major with a focus on journalism.

“I’ve always been interested in news,” Wolfsun said. “I’ve always been interested in being informed about the world.”

Other recipients were: Heather Brouillard, of Chicopee, who received the Valley Press Club Scholarship in the name of retired Holyoke Police Chief Anthony Scott, who donated a portion of the proceeds; Emily Cimino of West Springfield, who received The Valley Press Club Scholarship made possible by a donation by club member Diane DiPiero-Saia; Avarie Cook, of Indian Orchard, an honors graduate of Springfield Central High School and editor in chief of her school’s newspaper, “The Talon:” and Gregory Fitzpatrick, of East Longmeadow, who received the Al Jaffe Scholarship. Fitzpatrick was sports editor at his school newspaper and interned at The Republican as a sportswriter. He will attend Springfield College as a sports journalism major.

Charles F. Bennett, editor of the Wilbraham Times and president of the club said they were looking for candidates whose goals were to make it as a reporter in broadcast, print or electronic media.

A stray shower still possible early this evening. Sunshine returning tomorrow.

A cold front has swept all of the heat and humidity out of the region for the weekend. Highs this afternoon only reached a seasonal low-80s, breaking the heat wave (three 90+ degree days) that we endured. A few scattered thunderstorms are possible as we finish out this afternoon as it is still a little unstable around this front. Cooler and less muggy conditions will be with us overnight.

High pressure returns to western Massachusetts for Sunday, giving us mostly sunny skies and dry conditions. Temperatures will be right around 80 degrees once again, and dewpoints will comfortably stay in the 50s. That will change come Monday as rain starts off the workweek.

Periods of rain will be likely throughout the day on Monday. Conditions stay cloudy and muggy with highs in the mid-70s. The first half of the week will feature scattered showers...not a total washout for the workweek, but enough of a disturbance to keep a chance of showers in the forecast through Wednesday.

Tonight: Scattered thunderstorms early, less muggy, low 55.

Sunday: Partly cloudy, comfortable, high 83.

Monday: Periods of rain, high 72.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, scattered showers, high 75.

The donations of furniture ranged from kitchen tables and chairs to a plastic guard dog.

Republican staff photo by Don TreegerHAPHousing conducted a community wide "Tornado Recovery Hits Home" furniture drive to help people who lost the contents of their homes in last year's tornado. Here HAPHousing administrative assistant Ellyn Gerrmann carries a piece of donated furniture to a waiting truck in the parking lot of the Basketball Hall of Fame

SPRINGFIELD – Area residents dropped off truckloads of furnishings on Saturday, ranging from kitchen tables to a plastic guard dog during a furniture drive at the Basketball Hall of Fame parking lot to help victims of last June's tornado and families moving out of homelessness.

The “Tornado Recovery Hits Home” furniture drive, conducted by HAPHousing, resulted in the collection of items that included bed frames, kitchen tables and chairs, dressers, living room furniture, linen, pots and pans, and other donations, organizers said.

“I think it was an unbelievably successful event,” said Jennifer M. Kinsman, HAPHousing’s project manager for the furniture drive. “We have enough things here to at least partially help 50 to 75 families.”

The drive took place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the lot just south of the Hall of Fame building on West Columbus Avenue.

The request for “gently used household donations” brought in furnishings loaded into truck beds, trailers and even piled inside a towed speedboat, said JoAnne O’Neil, director of resource development for HAPHousing.

One of the items donated was a plastic life-size replica of a Doberman, that some family might place on a porch as a deterrent to any trespasser.

The donations help provide families with “a place to rest their head and a place to eat” in their homes, O’Neil said.

It is hard to imagine the difficulties families have gone through, losing not only their homes but also their personal belongings in the tornado of June 1, 2011, O’Neil said.

HAPHousing used rented trucks to bring the furniture to a very large, donated warehouse in Ludlow and to three smaller warehouse locations in Springfield, O’Neil said.

HAPHousing did not accept appliances, electronics or mattresses.

HAPHousing provides a broad range of housing services to meet the needs of low- and moderate-income households and its the region’s largest nonprofit developer of affordable housing. To donate, call (413) 233-1766, or e-mail Kinsman at jkinsman@haphousing.org.

Political Analysts are split as to whether the ads featuring Brown's wife will appeal to female voters in Massachusetts.

Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., right, speaks with his wife Gail Huff, left, before the start of the Day of Portugal Parade in Somerville, Sunday, June 17, 2012. Brown has spent weeks fanning questions about Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren's claim of Native American heritage on the campaign trail, while Warren regularly paints Brown as a darling of Wall Street. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

By SHANNON YOUNG, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — After being forced to sit out of the 2010 U.S. Senate campaign, former Boston-area television reporter Gail Huff is back on the Massachusetts airwaves, this time to support her husband, Sen. Scott Brown, in his re-election bid.

In a series of ads rolled out in early June, Huff speaks about her relationship and family life with Brown, who is campaigning against Democrat Elizabeth Warren to keep his seat.

Speaking to the camera from the family's home in Wrentham, Huff references her marriage, family and long career as a local reporter — a position that required her to be largely kept out of Brown's 2010 campaign. She now works for ABC7/WJLA-TV in Washington D.C., after spending 17 years in front of Boston cameras.

Brown "is by far the most understanding of women, probably of any man I know," she says in the 30-second ad titled "Husband," which many agree is an attempt to reach the coveted independent female vote.

During a Thursday radio interview, Brown skirted questions on whether or not the ads were made to target women, saying they depict real life and the supportive relationship between him and his wife.

"I'm honored to have my wife next to me and helping me for the first time," he said.

But whether ads featuring her will appeal to the desired demographic remains to be seen, political consultants say.

Patrick Griffin, a senior fellow at the St. Anselm Institute of Politics, said a wife supporting her husband's campaign in televised ads is common.

Griffin, a Republican consultant who has worked on campaigns across the country, points to the ad titled "Dad" where Huff speaks about Brown stepping in to manage the household so she could pursue a broadcast career, saying he believes her ability to have a career would likely appeal more to voters than her recognition.

"This is a very artful way to say to women: this Scott Brown is not the Republican that Warren says he is," Griffin said, noting he believes Brown's ability to separate himself from some conservative issues will go a long way with independent female voters.

He called the ad campaign a "masterful political stroke," saying it humanizes the Republican senator and gives voters a sense of authenticity that they are not seeing from his political opponent.

Meanwhile, Democratic consultant Mary Anne Marsh, who has worked on the campaigns of Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy, says she believes Brown is using the ads to distract female voters away from his record in Congress.

"It's clear, the only reason he did these ads now is because he voted against the interests of every woman in Massachusetts," Marsh said.

Marsh points to Brown's party-line vote against the so-called "Paycheck Fairness Act," which aimed to strengthen the Fair Labor Standards Act's protections against pay inequities based on gender, as well as his support for the "Blunt amendment" that would have allowed employers to refuse coverage of services for "moral reasons" under the Obama administration's birth control coverage bill.

Both proposals failed in the Senate.

According to OpenCongress, a nonpartisan project of the Participatory Politics Foundation and the Sunlight Foundation, nearly 70 percent of Brown's votes are along party lines — ranking the Republican's voting record among the most bipartisan in the Senate.

But, Carol Hardy-Fanta, the director of the nonpartisan Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston, said Brown's ad follows a recent trend taken by male politicians.

"Male candidates are putting out ads and making comments about their support for women and their appeal to women, but most of them seem to be having a hard time explaining what they're doing that will actually help women," she said. "Instead, they're portraying themselves as family men."

Hardy-Fanta said women in Massachusetts who are on the fence about which candidate they will support need an explanation of how voting for Brown will benefit them.

Like Griffin, she also said while it's no surprise to see his family backing his campaign, Huff's celebrity in the Boston-area, as well as her media expertise will not hurt Brown's bid.

Brown's campaign said the ads aim to highlight the Senator's role as a husband and father because they are large part of who he is.

"There's no better person to tell that story than his wife Gail," said campaign Press Secretary Alleigh Marre.

Warren's campaign would not comment on the ads or Huff's introduction to the campaign

The infielder disputed stories that he has been told of his status.

The Associated PressKevin Youkilis says he has not been informed of his status in the lineup beyond the game of a particular night - or for that matter, the future.

BOSTON - If Kevin Youkilis does stay in Boston, he and his manager might want to work on their communication.

According to Youkilis, there hasn't been any.

Youkilis said he has not been told of his status, other than knowing he was out of the Red Sox lineup Saturday for the third straight day.

"I was never told what's going on here. Let's get that straight,'' the infielder said before the game against Atlanta at Fenway Park.

"I don't want to start up anything. I never had a conversation (with manager Bobby Valentine).''

With Will Middlebrooks emerging as the everyday third baseman, Youkilis has been a hot-button name in trade rumors. The Chicago White Sox and several National League teams have been rumored, and some media reports say a deal is imminent.

Valentine said on Friday that he had spoken with Youkilis. Asked to clarify those comments in lieu of Youkilis' contradictory remarks, the manager gave a rather convoluted reply.

"I'm not going to go there. I did (talk with him Friday), but not before the lineup went out,'' Valentine said.

"If he wasn't spoken to and he didn't understand, I made a mistake. In life, we all make mistakes. I thought he was spoken to.''

"Basically, there was no conversation about (his status),'' Youkilis said.

The contradictory stories recall an episode in April, when Valentine's comments about Youkilis' ability to be "into the game'' physically and emotionally became a full-blown controversy.

Valentine said his words were misinterpreted, but apologized to Youkilis.

Middlebrooks is hitting .319. He is 7-for-10 with two home runs on the homestand.

"I'm just trying to play the people I want in the lineup. I think that's one thing I'm allowed to do,'' Valentine said pointedly.

Youkilis is hitting .225. He had two hits in his last start on Wednesday.

"I went 2-for-3, but if you don't play, you can't hit,'' said.

"I was raking 'em in the batting cage, if you want to go with that. I was hitting missiles there.''

Youkilis said he wants to play but will also help the team's younger players, as he was helped by veterans when he came up.

As Saturday's media questions dovetailed into his memories of the Red Sox, Youkilis called a halt.

"Is this a good-bye session? I'm just sitting here at my locker,'' he said.

"I'm still here. i'm not dead yet.''

Youkilis said he is trying to remain fresh, working in the batting cage and taking grounders.

"It's definitely different,'' he said of not playing.

"It's uncharted waters. You want to play the game, enjoy it and have fun.

"All I do is come in every day and get in my work. I don't know my situation, and until I am told, I can't respond.''

If these are indeed Youkilis' final days with the Red Sox, though, there is poignancy attached to the moment. It has been the only team for a player who had to overcome skepticism that he had the physical skills to succeed, despite a "body type'' that did not fit the typical ballplayer stereotype.

Only Youkilis and David Ortiz remain from the 2004 team that ended Boston's 86-year World Series title drought.

Youkilis said he won't be able to analyze his career until it is over.

"I'll ask Petey (Dustin Pedroia). Petey remembers everything,'' he said.

"To be continued, I guess.''

Maybe.

The Northampton City Council gave final approved Thursday to the fiscal 2013 budget after some contentious discussion.

The RepublicanMajor David Narkewicz

NORTHAMPTON – The City Council gave final approved Thursday to the fiscal 2013 budget after some contentious discussion.

Although the councilors approved the spending of $74.5 million in general funds unanimously, the vote came after a failed amendment to exclude $21,000 paid to Council on Aging Director Patricia Shaughnessy in lieu of compensatory time.

Shaughnessy had accrued much of the comp time during the building and organizing of the Senior Center. Because of her contract, she is not allowed to collect overtime pay.

Councilor Eugene A. Tacy argued that there was not enough documentation for the hours Shaughnessy said she worked beyond her 40-hour shift and moved to exclude the payment from the budget.

He and Owen Freeman-Daniels were the only ones who supported that amendment, however.

Mayor David J. Narkewicz told the council that Shaughnessy’s comp time was approved through the appropriate channels over the years and that denying her the money could result in a costly legal battle. The city and Shaughnessy settled on the $21,000 in lieu of having her take all her accrued time off.

“She’d have to basically take six months off of work to use that comp time,” Narkewicz said.

Tacy’s objection to the payment comes amid concerns about other city employees, notably in the Department of Public Works, allegedly altering their time cards to receive money for time they did not work.

Narkewicz said he is reviewing the complex payroll system in a effort to hold city workers to caps on items such as comp time and to prevent future such situations.

Also on Thursday, the council agreed to accept about 11 acres of land along the Connecticut River and place a conservation restriction on it in the hope that it will be the site of a boathouse.

Lane Construction owns 22.5 acres between Damon Road and the Connecticut River, including 1,300 feet of river frontage. The company is giving the 11 acres to the city and retaining the rest for the proposed development of a 35,000-square-foot commercial project.

The land acquisition does not cost Northampton any money. Smith College and other parties hope to raise funds for the estimated $4.67 million project, which could host the college’s crew team as well Northampton High School’s and private rowing clubs.

The city also intends to apply for state funds and could contribute some money in the form of Community Preservation Act funding.

The boathouse would give rowers, canoeists, kayakers and other river users new and convenient access to the Connecticut River. The city is hoping it will also create jobs and generate new tax revenue.

Since Chicopee was able to get an interest rate of less than 1 percent, it makes sense to borrow the money short-term and pay it back when FEMA reimburses the city for storm costs, a city councilor said.

Republican file photo

CHICOPEE – The City Council agreed to borrow $4.4 million to give the city available money to purchase an ambulance and some police cruisers and to pay other bills over the next four months.

In what was called an accounting procedure, the City Council also rescinded earlier votes to pay nearly $5.8 million in costs to the October storm, and will technically use the money borrowed in a short-term loan to pay those bills.

“It is really an accounting procedure. The bills have all been paid,” Councilor James K. Tillotson said. “It will give us some liquidity.”

Days before the late October storm hit the city’s free cash – or surplus money from the previous year’s budget – was certified for $5.9 million. The city used nearly all of it to pay bills from the subsequent cleanup.

While it is expecting the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse about $4.5 million of the costs of the cleanup, the city is not expected to see that money until October at the earliest.

It could withdraw money from the city’s about $6 million stabilization account, but that money is earning between 5 and 6 percent interest in investments and the city would also have to pay additional penalties, Councilor Jean J. Croteau said.

Since the city was able to get an interest rate of less than 1 percent, it makes sense to borrow the money short-term and pay it back when FEMA reimburses the city for storm costs, he said.

“It will free up money for the city and we will get it back soon,” Croteau said.

Councilors adopted the changes in 11-0 votes. Most said it made sense so the city will be able to pay future bills.

After accepting the change, the City Council immediately voted to spend $280,000 of the $4.4 million to purchase at least eight police cruisers.

Typically the city replaces some cruisers annually but did not last year because Ford had stopped making the Crown Victoria, traditionally used by officers. After researching options, police officials have decided to buy Ford Interceptors, Councilor Frank N. LaFlamme said.

The Council also voted 11-0 to spend the about $200,000 it has remaining in the free cash account to purchase a new ambulance for the Fire Department.

Fire Chief Stephen Burkott said all of the city’s ambulances are aging and the city recently had to borrow one from the Westfield Fire Department because all three broke down one weekend.

Voters will have the opportunity Tuesday to vote for or against a $3.4 million debt exclusion for a new Town Hall-Police Station to replace the tornado-damaged building on Main Street.

The Republican/Lori StabileThe Monson Town Office Building on Main Street seen a day after the tornado struck Monson on June 1, 2011.

MONSON – Voters will have the opportunity Tuesday to vote for or against a $3.4 million debt exclusion for a new Town Hall-Police Station to replace the tornado-damaged building on Main Street.

Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Quarry Hill Community School on Margaret Street. Voters approved borrowing $3.4 million at the annual Town Meeting in May, and the vote on Tuesday is the second step needed for the project to move forward.

Its total cost is $10.3 million, but $6.9 million will be funded through an insurance settlement. The cost includes demolition of the condemned town offices and police station.

Selectman Edward S. Harrison said he supports the project and thinks it’s “a phenomenal opportunity.” Without the insurance settlement, taxpayers would have to fund the entire cost of the project.

“The tornado was not a blessing by any stretch of the imagination, but a few good things came out of it and this is one of them,” Harrison said.

Through the new building, the police will have a sally port to drop off prisoners in a secure area, as well as two holding cells. The old police station lacked cells, and a sally port. The police have been operating out of temporary trailers next to the closed building since shortly after the tornado struck it a year ago. Town offices are in the former Hillside School on Thompson Street.

Harrison also noted the projected energy savings, which is expected to be about $59,000 annually with the new building.

“I’m very pro this project and I hope the electorate sees it the same way,” Harrison said.

Selectmen’s Chairman Richard Smith said he will vote for the debt exclusion, and hopes residents do the same. After he walked through the current building, built in 1925 as a school, and saw the damage firsthand from the tornado and ensuing rain, Smith said he realized how bad it was. Adding in the energy savings with a new structure, Smith said he feels building new is the best decision for the town.

“It’s a net (tax) effect of $40 for the average homeowner for a state-of-the-art building,” Smith said.

The debt exclusion is being proposed for 15 years, meaning taxes will be raised only for the life of the project. It is expected to cost the owner of the average home valued at $220,000 an extra $100 the first year. But adding in savings from the refinancing of the Monson High School construction debt, the actual cost is expected to be only $40 the first year.

Selectman Edward A. Maia said supporting the project “just makes sense.”

“We have the opportunity to build a state-of-the-art building that brings us into the future and we have the opportunity to do that for $3 million,” Maia said.

Maia said he watched with interest what happened in neighboring Palmer, where voters approved a $7.4 million debt exclusion for a new police station. Maia said for $3.4 million, Monson would get both a new Town Building and Police Station. The combined structure would be two stories and 26,000-square-feet, which is 5,000-square-feet less than the former building. There will be a large community meeting space, and an emergency 911 dispatch center.

Historical Commission Chairman Dennis S. Swierad said he wants to preserve the old building and will not support the project.

Additional information about the project is posted on the town website at http://www.monson-ma.gov 

Clear and quiet overnight ... sunshine finishes out the weekend.

Skies have cleared out and thunderstorms have completely died out across the region. Conditions stay pretty calm overnight, and it will be less muggy as a cold front has swept out the excessive humidity. Overnight lows fall to the mid-50s.

High pressure returns to Western Massachusetts for Sunday, giving us mostly sunny skies and dry conditions. Temperatures will be right around 80 degrees once again, and dewpoints will comfortably stay in the 50s. That will change come Monday as rain starts off the workweek.

Periods of rain will be likely throughout the day on Monday. Conditions stay cloudy and muggy with highs in the mid-70s. The first half of the week will feature scattered showers ... not a total washout for the workweek, but enough of a disturbance to keep a chance of showers in the forecast through Wednesday.

Tonight: Mainly clear skies, less humid, low 55.

Sunday: Partly cloudy, comfortable, high 83.

Monday: Periods of rain, high 72.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, scattered showers, high 75.

A portion of the roof that serves as a parking area crumbled in the afternoon, exposing metal and concrete supports as Algo Centre Mall bustled with weekend shoppers.

A woman checks out the damage after a roof collapsed at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Saturday, June 23, 2012. The partial collapse prompted a local state of emergency and a search for anyone who might have been injured in the cave-in. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Cora Richer)

ELLIOT LAKE, Ontario (AP) — A roof partially collapsed at a busy shopping mall in Canada on Saturday, prompting an evacuation and a search for anyone who might have been injured.

A portion of the roof that serves as a parking area crumbled in the afternoon, exposing metal and concrete supports as Algo Centre Mall bustled with weekend shoppers.

Police spokeswoman Christine Ouimet said police did not yet know whether anyone has been injured or if there was anyone missing.

The collapse also triggered a gas leak and prompted emergency officials to shut off the mall's power.

Emergency officials quickly cleared out the mall and closed surrounding roads.

Mayor Rick Hamilton declared a state of emergency soon after the collapse.

Joe Drazil, a Zellers store employee, said several cars appeared to have fallen through the gaping hole near some escalators.

"You can see the roof with the cars hanging inside," he said. "Everybody was cleared from the whole mall. After that, there was numerous police and emergency vehicles coming from all over."

The two-level mall in this northern Ontario community is approximately 200,000 square feet (18,580 sq. meters). It houses a grocery store, restaurants, a number of retail outlets, a hotel, and the constituency office for a member of the provincial parliament.

Calls to the management office at the mall were not immediately returned. Calls to the Algo Inn hotel attached to the mall were not answered.

___

Associated Press writer Charmaine Noronha contributed from Toronto.

Storm chasers caught video of a tornado that touched down Friday night near the southwest South Dakota ghost town of Ardmore.

ARDMORE, S.D. (AP) — Preliminary reports from the National Weather Service say a tornado touched down Friday night near the far southwest South Dakota ghost town of Ardmore.

Meteorologist Jeff Schild tells the Rapid City Journal that the Weather Service has received reports that the tornado hit a farm north of Ardmore about 8:15, destroying five out buildings.

Schild says the Weather Service is working to confirm the reports and determine the severity of the tornado.

Schild says although only one tornado was reported Friday night, a storm dropped hail across northeastern Wyoming and southwestern South Dakota.

Reports from Edgemont list golf-ball- to softball-size hail, and baseball-size hail was reported in the Moorcroft, Wyo., area.

This photo taken Thursday, May 24, 2012 shows a tornado touching down near Cornlea, Neb. The tornado struck a farm house causing extensive damage. The farmstead sits about two miles west and a mile north of the Platte County village of Cornlea. (AP Photo/Nick Brichacek)