Holyoke High School will get upgrades officials had thought were beyond the project cost, like 280 new doors.

submitted photoHolyoke City Councilor Rebecca Lisi

HOLYOKE – Additional work like improvements to science laboratories and replacement of nearly 300 doors at Holyoke High School will get done without having to borrow more money, officials said Tuesday.

The upgrades will occur thanks to the City Council’s 14-1 vote at City Hall to make a language change in an existing bond authorization for the $23 million project.

The extra work is possible because proposals from contractors in 2009 to do the work came in $6 million less than budgeted, said John P. Brunelle, a School Building Advisory Committee member.

The first phase of the ongoing renovations at the school included replacement of the heating system, addition of air conditioning, a new fire alarm system and installation of all new windows.

Having money left over allows for revamping of the science labs and nurses area, both of which were cited as being inadequate in an accreditation report from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, officials said.

Also, more than 280 doors will be replaced, asbestos tiles in hallways will be replaced and improvements will be made to the choral and band rooms and the girls’ lockerroom, officials said.

The state School Building Authority is reimbursing the city for 90 percent of the high school renovation costs, officials said.

The City Council vote was necessary to change language because the bond authorization permitted a limited scope of work based on previous cost estimates, officials said.

“What happened is the bids came in lower than expected. There’s plenty of other things that still need to be done at the high school,” Mayor Elaine A. Pluta, chairwoman of the School Committee, said later.

Council Finance Committee Chairman Todd A. McGee said in presenting the order about the language change in the bond authorization that the order didn’t entail additional borrowing.

“This is not going to cost the city any money, this is part of the original bond?” Ward 1 Councilor Donald R. Welch said.

“Correct,” McGee said.

Councilor at Large Rebecca Lisi voted no because she objected to the wording of the order, which noted there would be “an additional” appropriation.

"Do we know if there's any reason for this to be worded this way?" Lisi said.

City Treasurer Jon D. Lumbra said it had to be worded that way because the City Council was being asked to change language in the original bond authorization and that’s how the original authorization was worded.

A focus on maximizing budgeted money means that additional and needed improvements at the school can get done, said William R. Collamore, School Committe vice chairman, after the meeting.

"I think it's wonderful that the City Council is doing this," Collamore said.


Voting in favor of the change in the bond authorization language were council President Joseph M. McGiverin and councilors Diosdado Lopez, Anthony M. Keane, Timothy W. Purington, Linda L. Vacon, John J. O’Neill, Aaron M. Vega, Kevin A. Jourdain, Brenna E. Murphy, Patricia C. Devine, James M. Leahy, Peter R. Tallman, McGee and Welch.

The bill will end lifetime alimony and will no longer punish payers who remarry.

Republican file photoMassachusetts Statehouse

BOSTON – Legislators Wednesday will unveil legislation before the joint committee on the judiciary that would limit alimony.

The bill was written by a task force including members of many legal organizations such as the Massachusetts Bar Association, advocates and legislators. The chief justice of the Probate Court served as a consultant to ensure changes would not conflict with existing child custody or divorce laws, said Sen. Gale D. Candaras, D-Wilbraham.

Candaras served as chairwoman of the task force with state Rep. John V. Fernandes, D-Milford. The group worked for 14 months to hammer out the changes in the law, which has not been amended since the early 1980s.

“It is an outmoded law. It needed to be modernized so it would be fair and consistent and provide guidance to the judiciary while at the same time maintaining an appropriate amount of discretion to the judiciary,” Candaras said.

The new law calls for limits to the time alimony must be paid and includes a formula which sets the duration between 50 to 80 percent of the length of the marriage. It also calls for payments to end at the legal age of retirement and addresses the issue of ex-spouses who are living with new partners without remarrying.

Gale Candaras

None of the changes proposed would abolish alimony or affect child support, Candaras said. “It does not address the child custody law.”

The current law makes it difficult for the judge to award alimony for a term shorter than life and gives no guidelines on how much to award. It gives little discretion to judges who want to award so-called transitional alimony that will give the other spouse time to get an education or job training so they can support themselves, she said.

“There should be a time in your life when you are finally free of your obligations to another person,” Candaras said.

Under the proposal, judges may deviate from the formula for a number of circumstances such as one spouse continuing to pay health insurance for the other or if one spouse has become unable to work because of the abuse from the other.

The bill is keeping with the national trend of doing away with lifelong alimony, said Taylor Flynn, a professor of family law at Western New England College School of Law.

“I think it will be helpful for (judges) because they are allowed to deviate,” she said. “They appreciate guidance as long as they are allowed to use their judgment if necessary.”

Flynn said she believes it may push judges to award larger lump sum payments at the time of the divorce so there are few on-going payments that can extend animosity between the couple.

“I think there is strong consensus there needs to be alimony reform,” said Ellen M. Randle, a family practice lawyer for 25 years who works at the Springfield firm of Buckley, Richardson and Gelinas. “Some will say the legislation proposed goes too far in certain respects ... overall people seem to be very supportive.”

Randle said Candaras did consult her occasionally about the bill so she is familiar with the law. “I think that it is never going to be perfect for every situation, but it is a very good effort to address and redress a lot of problems that have existed under the current alimony law,” she said.

She called the cut-off at the legal retirement age “huge.” Even is the person who is paying the alimony chooses not to retire, the payments are finished. There is a provision that will allow the recipient to argue they are a special case and request the judge continue it.

The bill currently has 132 sponsors. Because it has been carefully crafted to avoid contradicting other laws, Candaras is hoping it will survive committee with little changes.

It is unknown when the Legislature will take a final vote on the bill.

Alimony Fact Sheet

The Wind Technology Testing Center is the first commercial blade test facility in the nation capable of handling blades as long as 90 meters.

Associated PressA worker takes a picture of one of three blades from a giant wind turbine after it was unloaded from the deck of the ship Federal Pioneer at the Port of Cleveland. The turbine, which was shipped from Europe, will stretch 24 stories high to the tip of the blade and will be installed at the Lincoln Electric Co. in Euclid, Ohio. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

BOSTON — The nation's largest wind blade testing facility is opening for business on Boston's waterfront.

Gov. Deval Patrick is scheduled to join other officials Wednesday for a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Wind Technology Testing Center, the first commercial blade test facility in the nation capable of handling blades as long as 90 meters.

In 2009, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced Massachusetts would receive $25 million in federal stimulus dollars for construction of the testing center on Boston Harbor in the city's Charlestown neighborhood,

The center is designed to help wind turbine developers reduce costs, improve technical advancements and speed deployment of the next generation of blades to the marketplace.

Locating the center on the harbor will allow test blades too long to negotiate highways and local roads to be delivered by ship.

The robber handed the teller a note and implied he had a weapon, but no weapon was shown, police said.

SPRINGFIELD - The TD Bank branch at 412 Boston Road in Pine Point was robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash just after 5 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

The robber handed the teller a note and implied he had a weapon, police said. No weapon was shown.

The robber was last seen leaving the bank and running from the scene, police said. The bank is located at the intersection of Boston Road and Bay Street.

He was described as black, between 6 feet, 2 inches tall and 6 feet, 3 inches tall, and about 220 pounds. He also had a full beard. He was also wearing a black Red Sox hat with a white “B” logo.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Springfield police Detective Bureau at (413) 787-6355.

Those who wish to remain anonymous may text a tip via a cell phone by addressing a text message to “CRIMES,” or “274637,” and then beginning the body of the message with the word “SOLVE.”

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Selectman Roger Cataldo objected to a $1,200 pay raise for Police Chief Mark Krynicki; voters approved.

Republican file photo

SOUTHWICK – The 130 residents who attended Tuesday’s Special and Annual Town Meetings approved all warrant articles presented, including the town’s $8.2 million assessment of the proposed $19.1 million district school budget, as well as a modest increase to the police chief’s salary.

The current education spending plan is supplemented by $8.6 million in state aid in the form of $8.1 million in Chapter 70 funds and another $530,000 in transportation monies. Another $797,921 is expected in school choice revenue, and Tolland’s assessment is $383,014.

On the Special Town Meeting warrant, voters were asked to increase the salary of Police Chief Mark J. Krynicki by from $89,730 to $90,930, a motion to which former Selectman Roger Cataldo objected, saying no other town employees received an increase in pay for fiscal year 2012.

“The chief is the highest-paid town employee,” Cataldo said. “This will bring his salary to $125,000. That’s excessive for what he’s paid to do.”

Krynicki countered that his earnings do not amount to that number.

“I wish I made $125,000,” he said. “This will keep me in line with the 1.5 percent raise the patrolmen negotiated this year."

The articled was approved by a majority vote.

Voters were asked to consider 24 articles on the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting and seven for the Special Town Meeting.

All Special Town Meeting articles were approved by either a majority or two-thirds vote, as were Annual Town Meeting articles.

As expected, Articles 19, 20, 21 and 22, pertaining to the acceptance of private roads in the three Pine Knoll subdivisions as public, were approved. In accepting the roads, townspeople, in particular Pine Knoll residents, gave officials permission to make $50,000 to $75,000 in repairs to the drainage system using state Chapter 90 funds.

In addition to the nearly unanimous acceptance of the articles on both warrants, newly elected selectmen Fred B. Arnold and Russell Fox were officially sworn in to serve on the board, and Schools Superintendent James D. Barry gave a brief update on proposed regionalization to include Granville.

Of the 135 positions to be eliminated, less than one-third will require layoffs, assistant superintendent Daniel Warick estimated.

SPRINGFIELD – The School Committee approved a $335 million budget that eliminates 75 teaching posts and sharply curtails the Gateway to College program for at-risk students.

The budget, approved on a 5-1 vote, also wipes out 60 non-teaching positions, including 55 paraprofessional and five nursing posts.

The cutbacks came in response to a $18.5 million budget shortfall, but will not compromise the quality of education or increase class size , according to Superintendent Alan J. Ingram.

Republican file photoAlan Ingram

The actual number of jobs lost remains unclear because reductions will be achieved mostly through retirements and unfilled vacancies. But assistant superintendent Daniel J. Warick estimated that less than one-third of the 135 eliminated positions will require layoffs.

Warick praised school budget managers for avoiding larger cutbacks, given the $18.5 million shortfall caused by a reduction in state aid.

Based on Warick’s recommendation, the committee agreed to phase out the district’s participation in the Gateway to College program by providing funding for only 24 juniors scheduled to graduate next year. The program is run by Holyoke Community College, and serves students between 16 and 21-years-old who have dropped out of high school or are considering quitting school.

The remaining 39 students, in grades 9 and 10, will be offered classes in another early college program or elsewhere, Warick said.

Ingram had initially recommended cutting the entire program, based on low graduation rates and high truancy and drop out figures. But after a public hearing last week, the superintendent reinstated $208,000 for next year’s graduating class.

Committee member Christopher Collins said the students should not squander the last opportunity in the program. “We’re going to put up the money to allow it to continue so this is on you - get it done,” he said.

School officials said the paraprofessional positions will be eliminated mostly in special education, where one-on-one staffing is often used.

The reduction was recommended by an audit that found the number of paraprofessionals was excessive in the special education program as compared to similar districts nationwide.

The former Springfield Finance Control Board chose to hire a new superintendent in 2008, selecting current superintendent Alan Ingram.

Joseph P. Burke

SPRINGFIELD – Former superintendent of schools Joseph P. Burke has been selected as superintendent of the Lee County Public Schools in Florida.

The Lee County School Board selected Burke from among four finalists on Tuesday, according to a press release from the county school system.

Burke, 60, had served as superintendent in Springfield for seven years, ending June 30, 2008, and previously worked for 27 years in the Miami Dade County School District.

Burke is listed as living in Key West, and has been serving as school superintendent in Monroe County, Fla.

Burke was sometimes criticized in Springfield for job hunting during his tenure.

The former Springfield Finance Control Board decided to advertise for a new superintendent in 2008, as Burke’s final, one-year contract was scheduled to expire. The School Committee was contesting the control board’s action when Burke announced he would not fight to keep the Springfield job which then paid $180,000 a year.

Burke was replaced by current Superintendent of Schools Alan J. Ingram.

The Lee County School Board voted 4-1 to offer Burke the superintendent position there.

“Each of the four finalists brought quality to the table, and the decision was difficult for all of us,” said Thomas Scott, School Board Chairman. “In the end, Dr. Burke’s qualifications were at a higher level than the others, and that is what we were looking for– someone who can hit the ground running and continue moving our District forward.”

The school system has more than 81,000 students in the Cape Coral-Fort Meyers area.

The Shad Derby means a lot to the region economically. “People stay in hotels, use bait shops, marinas, gas stations, restaurants.

File photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanJames P. Sypniak, right, of Holyoke, Peter J. Plant, left, of Holyoke, and Michael J. Carlin, of Chicopee, fish for shad on the Willimansett Bridge during the 2007 Holyoke Gas and Electric Shad Derby.

The biggest American shad on record was caught in South Hadley waters in 1986. This weekend hundreds of fishing enthusiasts from all over the Northeast will converge on the Connecticut River to chase that record.

The 46th annual Holyoke Gas and Electric Shad Derby will take place May 21 and 22.

There is no entry fee.

The tournament requires that shad must be caught by hook and line anywhere in the Holyoke-South Hadley-Chicopee area.

The fish must then be brought to the official weighing station on the Holyoke side of the Route 116 bridge that joins Holyoke and South Hadley, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on both days of the tournament.

The competition has a junior division for those 14 and under, and a senior division for everyone else. People in the senior division must show their fishing licenses to collect a prize.

Ten prizes will be given out in each division, including a $1,000 top prize in the senior division. A special trophy in honor of fallen Holyoke police officer John DiNapoli is given for the first shad caught in the junior division.

Anglers are asked to register at the weighing station before they cast, but it’s not required, so no one has exact numbers on how many people participate in this annual event.

Veteran fisherman John Coughlin, of Holyoke, estimates that it’s more 1,000 each year. “The riverbanks are lined with people fishing,” said Coughlin, adding that competitors may also fish from boats.

The Shad Derby “means a lot to the region economically,” said Coughlin, an associate member of the Massachusetts Sportsmen’s Council. “People stay in hotels, use bait shops, marinas, gas stations, restaurants.”

Before the utility came along, the shad derby was sponsored by Northeast Utilities, and before that it was Holyoke Water Power, according to Calvin Ellis, spokesman for HG&E.

It’s not likely that anyone will top the historic shad caught by the late Bob Thibodo in 1986, which weighed more than 11 pounds.

But this weekend they’ll be trying.

Look for an insert in the May 20 Holyoke edition of The Republican, which will have a detailed map and description of the tournament from HG&E, according to Ellis.

For more information, go to www.hged.com/shadderby.

Two new polls show former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leading the GOP presidential primary in New Hampshire.

Associated Press photoPresident Obama greets well wishers as he steps off Air Force One at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., Wednesday. Click on the link, below, for a report from the Hartford Courant about the president's appearance in Connecticut to deliver the commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

• Era of social change blamed for Roman Catholic church sexual abuse scandal [Boston.com]


• Arnold Schwarzenegger political career not likely to be terminated by marital infidelity, observers say [LATimes.com]


• 2 new polls show Mitt Romney leading Republican presidential field in New Hampshire [TheAtlantic.com]


• American anger at gas prices fueled by rising household energy costs [CSMonitor.com]


• White House shuts out Boston Herald reporter following Page 1 Mitt Romney commentary [BostonHerald.com]


• Louisiana residents warned to look out for venemous snakes in wake of Mississippi River flooding (video)[USAToday.com]


• President Obama gives commencement address at U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. [Courant.com]


• Gateway Regional School District budget rejected again [WenPub2.com]


• Twitter posts tagged #westernma in Western Mass. [MassLive.com]


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Twenty percent of Republicans polled said Romney was their preferred candidate.

Associated PressPossible 2012 presidential hopeful, former Republican Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, left, greets business leaders, Tuesday, May 3, 2011, in Nashua, N.H.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was the most popular Republican contender in a recent poll conducted by the Suffolk University Political Research Center, beating out Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and nearly a dozen other candidates among likely Republican voters.

“Romney is the clear front-runner now; that’s a position he’ll have to be prepared to defend over the coming months,” David Paleologos, the center's director, said in a statement.

In the nationwide survey of 1,070 likely voters, Romney received support from 20 percent of self-identified Republicans, over the crowded field of other possible Republican candidates, with Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin receiving a 12 percent in a distant second.

In a hypothetical match-up, however, Romney still lost to President Barack Obama, with likely voters polled favoring Obama 46 percent to 43 percent, with 11 percent undecided or abstaining. Read the full survey results »

Police said found the suspect in the basement of the Armory Street Sunoco station early Wednesday.

Daniel Rivera

SPRINGFIELD – Police, responding to a burglar alarm at a Liberty Heights Sunoco station early Wednesday, said they found a 43-year-old homeless man, with an apparent fondness for the Red Bull energy drink, hiding behind a large water heater in the basement.

Sgt. John M. Delaney said the suspect had cans of Red Bull stuffed into his pockets and a milk crate of the energy drink “filled and ready to go.” Additional cans of Red Bull - some opened - were found strewn around him, he said.

Daniel Rivera, who gave his address as the Friends of the Homeless shelter on Worthington Street, was charged with breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit felony.

“The energetic Rivera was booked and stayed up all night in his cell before he was arraigned before a judge today,” Delaney said. Arraignment information was not immediately available.

Police arrested Rivera shortly after 3:15 a.m. at the 140 Armory St. station and convenience store.

Rivera denied the charge in district court. He was ordered held in lieu of $2,500 cash bail and ordered to return to court on June 9 for a pre-trial hearing.

One of the reporters released is James Foley who writes for the Boston-based news agency GlobalPost.

Associated Press photoThis undated still image from video released by GlobalPost.com, shows James Foley of Rochester, N.H., a freelance contributor for GlobalPost, in Benghazi, Libya. He is one of four reporters who were released from captivity Wednesday.

TRIPOLI, Libya – Four foreign reporters held by the Libyan government for several weeks were released Wednesday and moved to a Tripoli hotel.

Clare Morgana Gillis, an American, said she and her three colleagues – James Foley, Manu Brabo and Nigel Chandler – were in good health.

The four appeared at the Rixos Hotel, which is housing foreign journalists assigned to Tripoli, a day after the Libyan government said it had given them a one-year suspended sentence on charges of illegally entering the country.

Gillis, a freelance journalist who wrote for The Atlantic and USA Today; Foley, who wrote for the Boston-based news agency GlobalPost; and Brabo, a Spanish photographer were detained on April 5 near the town of Brega.

Chandler, a British journalist, was detained separately.

Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim invited the four journalists to stay in Libya but said they would be escorted to the Tunisian border to exit the country if they so wished.

There was no word on the fate of photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who has South African and Austrian citizenships and went missing in Libya about the time the others were detained.

Gillis said she had not seen him.

State police spokesman David Procopio said the woman was taken into custody at an Interstate 495 rest stop in Chelmsford.

Associated Press photoThis computer generated image released by the Maine State Police Sunday, shows the likeness of a young boy found dead along a remote road in South Berwick, Maine, Saturday afternoon.

CONCORD – Police in Massachusetts say they are questioning a woman in the investigation of a young boy whose body was found in Maine.

The body was discovered Saturday alongside a dirt road in South Berwick, a town on the New Hampshire border. Police issued a computer-enhanced image depicting a boy with blond hair and blue eyes. He was believed to be between 4 and 6 years old.

Police are labeling his death suspicious, but haven’t released the cause of death.

Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said the woman was taken into custody late Wednesday morning at an Interstate 495 rest stop in Chelmsford. The questioning is taking place in Concord, Mass.

Maine State Police Lt. Brian McDonough said detectives are investigating new information, but he declined to comment further.

The outage was reported shortly before 2 p.m., police said.

EAST LONGMEADOW - Over 3,500 National Grid customers remain without power Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the outage was reported shortly before 2 p.m. According to National Grid’s website, two separate shortages have affected some 3,566 customers.

Additional information was not immediately available.

The winner of this round will advance to the Field of 64, and everyone else goes home.

After an extensive round of voting, the Valley Food Championship Pizza Playoffs tournament field is almost complete.

Almost.

As a result of your voting, 60 restaurants have qualified for the Pizza Playoffs. Voting on those restaurants will begin Friday.

We now need your help to fill the last four open spots in the tournament. Like college basketball teams "on the bubble," these restaurants are on the verge of making the tournament, but need that extra push to avoid elimination.

We want to give all the restaurants on the bubble one last chance to make the Pizza Playoffs.

Vote below for one restaurant in each region. The top vote-getters in the polls below will advance to the Field of 64, and the others will be eliminated. Voting closes Friday May 20 at noon. Voting for the first round of the tournament begins shortly afterwards on Friday.

Come back to masslive.com/pizza on Friday to see the complete field and begin voting for Round 1.

East of the River region:

West of the River region:

North region:

South region:

The state Department of Corrections is investigating allegations of an intimate relationship between Kirkland and an employee of a prison vendor who may have provided a cell phone to Kirkland.

Springfield police shooting suspect Tamik Kirkland might have been helped in his escape from the minimum-security prison in Shirley with the use of a cell phone provided by an employee of a prison vendor, according to a Massachusetts Department of Corrections report.

BOSTON – Murder suspect Tamik Kirkland was helped in his prison escape by a cell phone that may have been provided an employee of a state prison vendor who is alleged to have had an "inappropriate and intimate relationship" with Kirkland, said a new report on his escape by the state Department of Corrections.

The allegations about the relationship are being actively investigated and the vendor employee has been banned from all facilities of the corrections department, the report said. If the allegations are substantiated, they could be referred to the district attorney for criminal prosecution, the report said, without identifying the vendor or employee.

Kirkland fashioned a dummy from inmate clothing to make it look like he was sleeping in his dorm and then escaped via a third floor window onto a fire escape from the minimum-security prison in Shirley about midnight on April 24, the report said. The dummy was not found until about 7 the next morning, the report said.

The report also said that a correctional officer violated department policies and procedures during checks of inmates during the night and he has been "detached" pending an administrative hearing. The department is ready to terminate the officer pending the results of the hearing, the report said.

A supervisor also failed to observe and document one hourly census count by correctional officers, the report said. The supervisor failed to ensure that staff were observing "living, breathing flesh" during the checks, the report said. Based on the conclusions of an administrative hearing, the department is prepared to discipline the supervisor, the report said.

There are two major counts of inmates on the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift at Shirley, one at 11:30 p.m. and one at 3 a.m. the report said. There are also hourly counts.

Kirkland is alleged to have killed customer Sheldon Innocent, 24, at a Springfield barbershop on April 30, about a week after he escaped from the prison on the Shirley-Lancaster line. Officials suspect he may have been looking for those responsible for the April 22 shooting of his mother as she was in the driveway of her home in Springfield. The barber was seriously wounded.

Moments later, Kirkland, an alleged gang member, was involved in a shoot-out with police at Cambridge and Burr streets. He was shot six times and critically injured. Two officers were also hit but escaped injury due to their protective vests.

Separately, state police and Hampden County authorities are investigating whether state prison employees made anonymous phone calls, threatening to kill Kirkland while he was being held at a Springfield hospital, officials said last week.

The report said that Kirkland's escape stemmed from staff procedural errors and staff misconduct, not a failure of the system. No changes in department policies or procedures are required, the report said.

Report on escape of Tamik Kirkland from MCI-Shirley

The changes take effect next month.

WILBRAHAM - The Department of Public Works has decided to change the hours of the town’s Disposal and Recycling Center beginning June 1.

As of June 1, users will be able to bring their household trash and recyclables to the facility on Sundays between noon and 5 p.m.

This is the first time the center will be open on Sundays, DPW Director Edmond W. Miga said.

In addition, the Disposal and Recycling Center will be open for longer hours on Saturdays - from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To accommodate the new hours, without adding staff, the facility will be closed on Tuesdays, and evening hours will be discontinued on Wednesdays.

“It is a significant shuffle of operational hours,” Miga said.

He said the intent is to try to increase the number of users overall by offering weekend hours when more people may be home doing household chores.

Miga said the Sunday hours were proposed by a citizen committee in March. Members of the Solid Waste and Recycling Advisory Committee were asked by the Board of Selectmen last fall to make recommendations which would result in cost savings, expansion of the user base and long-term viability for continuing the center as a town service.

The committee recommended closing on the slowest day, Tuesday, in favor of Sunday hours.

The Disposal and Recycling Center also is available to residents of neighboring towns, such as Ware and Palmer, which already have participants.

All users must purchase a car sticker to use the facility. Users also purchase town-authorized trash bags for household trash brought to the center. There is no additional charge for recycling.

To sign up for the service or to request additional information call the town offices at 596-2800, extension 225.

The new hours are Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The center is closed Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Next year, organizers hope to gather all the donations into one pot of money for all three markets to facilitate the process, Anderson said.

File photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanJorge Pereira, of Northampton, buys sugar corn from Doreen Kaparis, co-owner of the Green Meadows Farm, at the farmers' market in Northampton in June.

NORTHAMPTON – The city’s farmers markets are teaming up with Grow Food Northampton and the Board of Health to encourage people to spend their food stamps on healthy, locally grown produce.

FoodStampsX2 aims to double the value of food stamps at the three weekly farmers markets, steering recipients away from junk food and towards fresh broccoli, kale and other local farm produce. The program is fueled by donations and staffed by volunteers at the Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday markets.

“The city thinks this is an excellent idea,” said Teri A. Anderson, Northampton’s Community and Economic Development Coordinator. “It provides access to health food that people can afford to purchase. Often you hear that fresh food is expensive and low income people are not always able to afford it.”

According to Anderson, the idea came out of the Farmers Market Subcommittee of the city’s Agricultural Commission. It’s being spearheaded by Ben James, who operates Town Farm and has been a driving force behind the Tuesday Market outside the E. John Gare Parking Garage. The Tuesday Market put the plan into operation last year. It is now expanding to the Wednesday market in Florence and the Saturday market on Gothic Street.

As Anderson explained it, those markets will supplement the amount people spend from their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cards up to double the amount, depending on the donations at hand. The tax-deductible donations may be made to either the Health Department, which will accept them for the Wednesday and Saturday markets, or Grow Food Northampton, which will put the proceeds towards the Tuesday market. Grow Food Northampton is a local organization that formed to purchase and lease newly acquired farm land off Spring Street. It is also creating new community gardens on the land.

The Board of Health has provided grant money for the three markets to buy electronic benefit transaction machines in which people can swipe their food stamps or credit cards. Staff at the markets will hand out tokens for the food stamp transactions, supplementing the amounts based on available funds. Customers can then purchase produce with the tokens.

“People receiving assistance are on a very tight budget and they frequently feel they can’t afford the fresh, local, healthy alternatives to the proceeded foods sold at supermarkets,” James said. “Doubling the value of food stamps levels the equation.”

Next year, organizers hope to gather all the donations into one pot of money for all three markets to facilitate the process, Anderson said.

The Tuesday Market is also teaming with the Health Department to create a new, monthly market at Hampshire Heights that will cater to the city’s Latino population. In addition, the Tuesday Market will feature a series of fund-raising events. On May 24, chef Unmi Abkin, of the former Northampton restaurant Cha Cha Cha, will teach onlookers how to cook her popular honey miso noodle salad and give away free copies of the recipe while donations are collected for the FoodStampsX2 program. The local band Lux Deluxe and guitarist Peter Blanchette will also play at the event.

The suit cites both state and federal law protecting the Constitutional right to the free exercise of religion.

One of three buildings the Catholic Diocese of Springfield plans to raze to build a new parish hall for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.

NORTHAMPTON – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield is suing the city and the Planning Board, maintaining that conditions the board set for a building project are onerous and violate the plaintiff’s freedom of religion.

The diocese wants to build a 14,000-square-foot parish hall at 99 King St. on the site of the former Sacred Heart Church. Last year, the Springfield Diocese closed several other churches in Northampton and consolidated them into one parish named St. Elizabeth Ann Seton at that location. In order to construct the parish hall, the diocese is demolishing three other buildings on the property, including a former rectory.

The plan came before the Planning Board for site plan approval earlier this year. In an April 26 decision, the board said that the parish must either create a connection between the parking lot and the Northampton section of the Norwottuck Rail Trail, which runs behind the property, or sacrifice one of the two curb cuts the parish had requested. The board said the conditions are based on concerns about increased traffic created by the parish hall.

In a suit filed May 16 in Hampshire Superior Court, the diocese appealed those conditions, arguing that they are costly, unreasonable and a violation of its right to use the land for religious purposes. According to the suit, creation of the bike path ramp would constitute a taking of property by the city without compensation. It also argues that none of the other landowners in the area has been required to construct such a ramp.

The suit cites both state and federal law protecting the Constitutional right to the free exercise of religion, saying that the Planning Board’s conditions would “place a substantial burden” on the plaintiff and “unreasonably limits religious expression.”

City Solicitor Elaine Reall said Wednesday she is still digesting the arguments made in the complaint but added, “I’m at a loss to how this conflicts with their religious creed.”

Reall said the city is both surprised and disappointed by the claim because it has tried to work with the diocese to address the issues.

“The Planning Board could have just denied their plans but we’ve been working with them so we could come up with something,” she said.

Mark DuPont, a spokesman for the diocese, had the opposite view, saying the city has forced the diocese’s hand.

“The parish and the diocese have gone to great lengths to work with officials in Northampton,” he said.

According to Senior Land Use Planner Carolyn Misch, the city’s liaison to the Planning Board, other businesses along King Street, including the Super Stop & Shop, have been required to create links to the bike path system. Walgreens on King Street had to construct a link to a section of trail that had not even been completed, she said. Misch also pointed out that only one curb cut is allowed by right on the property and said the Planning Board can attach conditions to its approval of a second.

The suit seeks a declaratory judgment in favor of the diocese along with legal fees and any other damages the court sees fit to assess.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield lawsuit vs. Northampton

The recent transfer in ownership of The Atrium at Cardinal Drive in Agawam, a congregate housing complex for the elderly, should not mean any changes for the complex, according to an official.

AGAWAM – The Atrium at Cardinal Drive, a 44-unit congregate housing project for the elderly, has acquired a new owner as part of a $890 million recapitalization deal, according to an official involved in the transaction.

Thomas H. Grape, chairman and chief executive officer of Benchmark Investments in Wellesley, said his company now owns the local property with Health Care Reit Inc. of Toledo, Ohio, as a partner and well as with 153 Cardinal Drive Agawam LLC.

The sale involved a total of 34 senior housing projects, according to him.

The sale was basically Benchmark refinancing its mortgage, he said.

ãWe just have a different partner,” Grape said.

The facility at 153 Cardinal Drive will continue to be run in the same manner as previously and there should be no changes noticeable to the public, Grape said.

The sale involved the local complex selling for $3,964,170, according to records on file in the Assessors Office in Town Hall.

The group of assets involved, including independent living, assisted living, memory impaired and respite stay communities, are in six New England states, according to information on the Commercial Property Executive Web site.

The majority of the Benchmark properties is located in Connecticut and Massachusetts, where there are 14 and 13 properties, respectively. There are three in Rhode Island, two in New Hampshire and one each in Vermont and Maine. They have an average age of 12 years.

Assessors records state that the Agawam property is valued at $3,775,400. It consists of six acres with a building with 44 units, 45 bathrooms and four half baths.