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Baystate Health, MassMutual CEOs to serve as honorary chairmen of Urban League of Springfield's 100th anniversary celebration committee

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As the oldest African American owned and operated agency in Western Massachusetts, the Urban League has served more than 1 million people through a wide variety of educational, recreational, job-training and social service programs, said Henry Thomas, the agency’s president and chief executive officer.

Urban League honorary chairs 2013.jpg Roger Crandall, left, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the MassMutual Financial Group, and Mark Tolosky, president and chief executive officer at Baystate Health have agreed to serve as honorary co-chairmen of the Urban League of Springfield's centennial celebration.  

SPRINGFIELD – The top corporate officers at Baystate Health and MassMutual Financial Group have agreed to serve as honorary co-chairmen for the Urban League of Springfield’s centennial celebration committee.

Robert C. Jackson, chairman of the Urban League’s governing board, announced that Roger Crandall, chairman, president and chief executive officer at Massachusetts Mutual, and Mark Tolosky, president and chief executive officer at Baystate, will serve in the honorary posts.

As the oldest African American owned and operated agency in Western Massachusetts, the Urban League has served more than 1 million people through a wide variety of educational, recreational, job-training and social service programs, said Henry M. Thomas III, the agency’s president and chief executive officer.

“It is befitting that Roger Crandall and Mark Tolosky are serving (as co-chairs) considering their two institutions have been consistent supporters of the Urban League’s work and mission in the Springfield area for decades,” Thomas said.

“The commitment they demonstrate through partnering with the league and other community base organizations is in fact the value-added proposition for community uplift and development,” he added.

Crandall and MassMutual will host a wealth development forum; Tolosky and Baystate Health will host a health and wellness forum, Thomas said.

Both sessions will be held in the fall.

Other forums are in the planning stages, Jackson said.

“We are proud to celebrate this great milestone; however the centennial celebration is as much about our future as it is about our history,” he said.

“Engaging in discussions around these four focus areas will have a critical impact on the quality of life for Springfield families, and the communities in which they live,” he added.


Holyoke DPW works to make St. Patrick's Parade route look like thousands of debris-dropping bystanders were never there

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Public works crews collected 2 to 3 tons of refuse in the post-parade clean up.

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HOLYOKE - The clean up began while the mess was still being made.

Employees of the Department of Public Works comprised the last contingent of the annual St. Patrick's Parade Sunday that drew hundreds of thousands of onlookers here to watch 15,000 marchers go from the Kmart plaza on Northampton Street at 11:45 a.m., right onto Beech Street and then to Appleton, High and Hampden streets.

"Even after all these years I'm still amazed on Monday morning to see how well the cleanup went," General Superintendent William D. Fuqua said Monday.

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Twelve men and a supervisor begin working about 3 p.m. and hit the mess until dark set in, removing 2 to 3 tons of refuse from the 2.6-mile parade route, side streets and parks, he said.

They use litter vacuumers, leaf blowers, a street sweeper and a refuse truck, he said.

Everything from pieces of paper and cardboard to food waste and furniture is picked up along the 2.6 mile parade route and neighboring streets. Workers also collect the road barricades and signs used to direct traffic during the day, he said.

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"I'm very proud of the effort my staff makes throughout the weekend, but especially the Sunday night cleanup after a long and hectic weekend," Fuqua said.

Mayor Alex B. Morse praised the DPW's after-parade spruce-up. This year that work included areas near the main route based on residents' comments in recent years, he said.

"We are lucky in Holyoke to have such an efficient and responsive operation - be it post-parade clean up, snow removal, or anything else. I commend Bill Fuqua and all the DPW employees for their hard work continued contributions to the city," Morse said.

Sean Mulveyhill, who served probation in the Phoebe Prince case, faces charge of breaking into South Hadley home

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Sean Mulveyhill, 20, of South Hadley is charged with breaking and entering a building in the nighttime for a felony.

Sean Mulveyhill 5411.jpg Sean Mulveyhill is seen in this file photo in Hampshire Superior Court Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of criminal harassment in connection with the Phoebe Prince case.  

SOUTH HADLEY - A 20-year-old man who served probation for criminal harassment in the Phoebe Prince case has been charged with breaking and entering into a Prospect Street home.

Sean Mulveyhill, of 107 Lyman St., was charged with breaking and entering a building in the nighttime to commit a felony. Police also charged him with being under 21 in possession of liquor, a "nip" bottle with alcohol in it.

South Hadley police said the homeowners discovered Mulveyhill in their kitchen before daybreak Sunday.

Mulveyhill was among six people charged in the case of Phoebe Prince, a South Hadley High School freshman who committed suicide on Jan. 14, 2010, following what prosecutors said was weeks of harassment by fellow students.

Mulveyhill briefly dated Prince.

The probable cause report for the Sunday break-in at 24 Prospect St. states, "The homeowner found Mulveyhill inside the home in the kitchen. Mulveyhill admitted to entering into the home."

Mulveyhill was arraigned Monday morning in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown and was released on personal recognizance. He was represented by attorney Michelle Cruz.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled on April 18.

On May 4, 2011, Mulveyhill pleaded guilty to criminal harassment of Prince. Related charges of statutory rape, disturbing a school assembly and violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury were dropped.

Authorities said Prince had endured ongoing harassment by a handful of fellow students at South Hadley High School. Most of the cases were resolved without guilty pleas. None of the six defendants was sentenced to jail.

Mulveyhill was ordered to serve one year of probation in the case, a period that has ended.

The notoriety accompanying Prince's death sparked a nationwide movement to combat bullying in schools.

Springfield begins installing carbon monoxide detectors in senior citizen's homes thanks to state grant

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Springfield officials gathered at the home Phyllis Bilton in East Forest Park, to launch a carbon monoxide detector installation program for senior citizens.

smoke.phot.JPG Springfield city officials gather at the home of Phyllis Bilton as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are installed, provided under a state grant program. From left are Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph A. Conant, Elder Affairs Director Jan Denney, homeowner Phyllis Bilton, Springfield Mayor Domenc J. Sarno, and installers Angel Cordero and Carl Perrot.  

SPRINGFIELD – The city began installing 1,000 free carbon monoxide detectors that were provided through a grant from the state Department of Public Health at the homes of senior citizens Monday.

Phyllis Bilton, 77, of 148 Hadley St., in East Forest Park, received three battery-operated carbon monoxide detectors, representing the first home in Springfield to benefit from the new program, officials said. She also received new smoke detectors under a related five-year program.

“I think it’s a great service given to the elder people,” Bilton said, as the detectors were being installed.

She estimated that her old detectors were 30 to 35 years old.

A home must be owner-occupied, and the homeowner must be at least 60 years old to be eligible for the new carbon monoxide detectors, installed free of charge, said Janet E. Rodriguez Denney, the city’s director of elder affairs. There is no income restriction.

The homeowners can request the detectors by dialing 311.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Fire Commissioner Joseph A. Conant praised the carbon monoxide and smoke detector programs, saying the detectors save lives.

“It is something we are building on,” Sarno said. “We want to make sure we are keeping our seniors safe.”

Conant said that 83 percent of fires in Springfield are in residences, and more than 60 percent of those are the result of unintended cooking mishaps. Early detection is extremely important in the case of smoke and carbon monoxide cases, he said.

The state Department of Public Health had obtained the carbon monoxide detectors through a “Fire Prevention and Safety Grant” provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Springfield’s application was included in the state application.

The carbon monoxide detectors should be tested monthly, and the batteries should be changed annually, officials said.

Premier Source Credit Union plans to close Hasbro Games branch in East Longmeadow

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The number of transactions at the bank branch is minimal.

Premier Souce 2010.jpg Bonnie J. Raymond, seen in this 2010 photo, is chief executive officer of Premier Source Credit Union.  

EAST LONGMEADOW – The Premier Source Credit Union is petitioning the Massachusetts Division of Banks for permission to close its branch office at Hasbro Games because of the dwindling number of people who are using the bank.

Over the past few years Hasbro’s staff has been reduced with layoffs and transfers of some employees to the headquarters in Rhode Island. Because of the change, the hours at the branch have been limited to Fridays and the number of transactions is minimal, said Bonnie Raymond, chief executive officer for the bank.

The bank does have a regular branch located less than two miles from Hasbro so its customers will still be served conveniently. It is also planning to offer Saturday hours soon, she said.

Late-winter snowstorm expected to muck up morning commute in Massachusetts, forces postponement of MCAS writing test

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Schools planned to give the statewide writing test on Tuesday, but with concerns for the weather, Massachusetts Department of Education put the test on hold until March 25.

SPRINGFIELD – A late winter snowstorm with the potential to drop 6 or more inches was zeroing in on Western Massachusetts Monday, and forecasters were predicting it would arrive early Tuesday just in time to muck up the morning commute.

Hours before the first flake fell, the Massachusetts Department of Education announced it was putting off a portion of the statewide MCAS exams until next Monday.

Across the region, several communities enacted emergency parking bans including Greenfield, Northampton and Palmer.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for much of Massachusetts in advance of the storm. The warning is scheduled to be in place until 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Snowfall totals will vary by location between 4 and 8 inches and result a time in “treacherous travel conditions.”

Nick Morganelli, meteorologist for CBS 3 Springfield, the media partner of The Republican and Masslive.com said accumulation at daybreak in Springfield should be around four inches while parts of the Pioneer Valley north of Interstate 91 could see six inches or more. Higher elevations may see more than that, with a potential for close to 10 inches.

Massachusetts schools were scheduled to administer the statewide writing test on Tuesday, but with concerns for the weather, the state Department of Education decided to postpone the test until March 25.

The test was to be held at all schools across Massachusetts for grades 4, 7, and 10. If the storm forced school cancellations in some communities, but not others, it would disrupt the entire test administration, according to a Department of Education statement.

"We realize that this change may be disruptive for some schools, but for security reasons it is critical that all schools administer the ELA Composition on the same day. Even schools that are unaffected by the storm must wait until Monday, March 25, to administer the test," according to the DOE statement.

Schools that remain open Tuesday are still able to hold the MCAS reading comprehension, however. Further details may be found at www.doe.mass.edu

The storm is also complicating things for the state Department of Transportation, which burned through its $45.5 million snow-and-ice-removal budget weeks ago.

As of March 11, the cost of road clearing operations on state roads was already $84 million.

“That amount is expected to rise as wintry weather continues and we receive deliveries of materials and call on our plow truck vendors...again!” DOT spokeswoman Sara Lavoie wrote in an emailed response to inquiries about the state snow and ice budget and spending trends.

MassDOT is authorized to spend $30 million in addition to its $45.5 million budget without seeking supplemental funding from the Legislature. And since spending has already exceeded that level, department officials say Beacon Hill is aware that a request for additional funding is likely this spring.

“Spring may be here, but we all know that does not necessarily mean the end to plowing and treating roadways. There is significant snow fall in the forecast for tonight into tomorrow,” Lavoie said.

According to MassDOT, state spending on snow and ice removal in recent years breaks down as follows: fiscal 2007, $41.7 million; fiscal 2008, $104 million; fiscal 2009, $127.5 million; fiscal 2010, $69.7 million; fiscal 2011, $106 million; and fiscal 2012, $35 million.

O'Brien's Corner in Springfield expected to remain open after public auction abruptly canceled

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The auction notice listed everything from the pub’s oven, freezer and dishwasher to flat screen televisions, cash registers and a credit-card swiping machine as sale items.

SPRINGFIELD – The shamrocks were still hanging at O’Brien’s Corner Monday, corn beef was still on the lunch menu and Guinness beer was still an option for the 8 a.m. breakfast crowd.

Despite rumors to the contrary, one of the city’s best-known Irish bars remains open, with no plans to close anytime in the future, bartender Patty Wholley said Monday.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Wholley said around 1:30 p.m., after the lunch regulars had finished their meals and gone back to work.

A public auction notice posted in the Sunday Republican suggested otherwise.

The 100-seat restaurant, bar and lounge at 1082 Page Blvd. was to be auctioned off April 3, with land, building, equipment and furnishings to be sold on the premises, according Aaron Posnik Auctioneers and Appraisers of Springfield.

The auction notice listed everything from the pub’s oven, freezer and dishwasher to flat screen televisions, cash registers and a credit-card swiping machine as sale items.

A spokesman for Posnik Monday said the auction had been canceled, but would not elaborate.

Wholley acknowledged that the pub had been dealing with “obstacles” in recent weeks, without offering specifics.

“We’ve overcome the obstacles, and we had a very good St. Patrick’s Day,” she said.

The fate of the 28-year old pub was subject of speculation in recent weeks as rumors that its founder, Brian O’Brien, was leaving the business.

Neither O’Brien, 71, nor his partner, Daniel J. Roncalli of East Longmeadow, could be reached for comment Monday.

For regular customers, losing the pub would be bad enough, but losing it less than 24 hours after St. Patrick’s Day would have been intolerable, said Angela Baxter of Springfield.

“This place is our home away from home,” said Baxter, whose first visited the pub with her parents for lunch when she was 16.

Jose Diaz, a city police officer, said the 8 a.m. opening time is especially attractive for people working the overnight shift.

“You see AMR (the American Medical Response ambulance service) workers, nurses, doctors, police officers, firemen here,” said Diaz, who also works overnight.

“That’s our 5 p.m.,” he added.

“It’s our Cheers,” Baxter added.

Ware apartment fire is the latest involving smoking and medical oxygen, says Massachusetts fire marshal

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The presence of the oxygen contributed significantly to the speed with which the fire spread, officials said.

 

WARE – A Sunday morning fire that left one person injured, and gutted one apartment and damaged an adjacent residence is the latest in a series of Massachusetts fires blamed on cigarettes being smoked near a home oxygen system, according the office of the state fire marshal.

Investigators with the Ware Fire Department and the office of Fire Marshal Steven D. Coan determined the fire at apartment 26A at Highland Village Apartments on Stony Point Drive was caused improper disposal of smoking materials in a home where medical oxygen was being used.

The presence of the oxygen contributed significantly to the speed with which the fire spread, officials said.

Firefighters were called to the scene just before 10:45 a.m. and upon their arrive found heavy smoke and flames in one of the four apartment units. It took 35 firefighters to bring the blaze under control.

The resident of the apartment with the fire suffered minor burns and was taken to Baystate Mary Lane Hospital.

Since 1997, there have been 34 fire deaths in Massachusetts involving home oxygen, including one last month in Westfield. A 72-year-old woman was killed Feb. 25 at General Shepard Apartments in Westfield.

Ware Deputy Chief Ed Wloch said, “We are very fortunate that this fire did not result in any loss of life. Smoking in a home where medical oxygen is used is extremely dangerous to everyone in the building and to responding firefighters.”

The state Department of Fire Services recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking near medical oxygen called "Breath Easy."


Holyoke Dean Technical High School likely to continue under some form of outside management

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Dean Technical High School has been run by a private manager since June 2011.

holyoke schools logo.JPG  


Updated at 10:34 p.m. to include statement from Dean Principal Jonathan Carter.

HOLYOKE -- The city's vocational school is likely to remain under at least partial control of an outside manager following the current manager's announcement last week it was terminating its contract, officials said Monday.

Superintendent David L. Dupont told the School Committee he would send an email to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education agreeing to an option the state offered of having a "school turnaround operator" appointed for Dean Technical High School.

What exactly that means and when a decision would come was unclear, Dupont and other officials said. Dupont, who is retiring in June, said he and incoming superintendent Sergio Paez have been speaking with state officials and representatives of management firms to clarify such a manager's role.

The state in late 2010 ordered the city to put Dean under control of a manager in the hope of staging an academic turn-around because of students' persistently poor scores in the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests in English language arts, math and science. That means Dean is categorized as a Level 4 under performing school.

But the nonprofit organization that has been managing Dean since June 2011, the Collaborative for Educational Services, of Northampton, informed Dupont by letter Wednesday it was terminating its contract as of June 30.

Collaborative Executive Director Joan E. Schuman told Dupont the termination was because of issues related to funding, control, staff professional development and student achievement goals. Federal and other grants are paying the collaborative $606,520 a year to run Dean.

But, Schuman provided a press release after the School Committee meeting Monday that said her organization was willing to "entertain proposals for alternative arrangements" to continue operating at Dean.

It was unclear if the Collaborative for Educational Services was among managers the state would approve now for Dean in some capacity.

Dean has a budget of about $7 million, 530 students and 121 teachers and other staff. Students take shop classes that include auto body repair, welding, cosmetology and culinary arts.

Officials at the committee meeting, which was held at Dean at 1045 Main St., expressed frustration at what some perceived as the state's threats to put Dean in receivership -- so-called Level 5 status -- in response to lack of student progress.

"I am sick of Holyoke being threatened with Level 5," committee member at large Michael J. Moriarty said. "If you're handed a gun, do what you've got to do, but enough with the threats."

Officials said the state was expecting a fast turn-around while seemingly ignoring that Dean's problems built up over years. English is not the first language for nearly three-quarters of the school's students, for example, and while improvements have occurred in recent years, Dean's graduation and drop-out rates remain worse than city and state averages.

"This Level 5 pre-emption, it's just semantics, because they don't want to take it over," committee Vice Chairman Devin M. Sheehan said. "It is just ridiculousness, ignorance what is going on."

Dean Principal Jonathan B. Carter, asked by the committee for his views, said during the meeting the mission of he and his staff would be the same regardless of who is managing or helping to manage the school. The mission is to give students a strong education in a safe environment to help them go onto college or into a trade career, he said.

Later, Carter emailed a statement thanking the Collaborative, which was instrumental in hiring him to be Dean principal in January 2012.

"There is no doubt that they are leaving Dean Tech better than it was when they came into the school 19 months ago. Under their management the school has improved incrementally across all major indicators, including MCAS performance, attendance, and the dropout rate.

"I look forward to working with (the Collaborative) over the next few months as Dean Tech transitions to a new operator or receiver," Carter said.

FBI steps up campaign to recover stolen Gardner Museum paintings; $5 million reward offered for information leading to return

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Just after midnight on March 18, 1990, two men posing as police officers pulled off the heist, stealing 13 pieces of artwork in 81 minutes.

BOSTON (AP) — The FBI says it has solved the decades-old mystery of who stole $500 million in artwork from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, but it is withholding the identities of the thieves, adding another twist to the largest property heist in U.S. history.

On Monday, the 23rd anniversary of the theft, authorities announced a new publicity campaign aimed at generating tips on what they still don't know: Where is the missing artwork? Their focus has shifted from catching the thieves to bringing home the precious artwork, including paintings by Rembrandt, Manet, Degas and Vermeer.

"The key goal here is to recover those paintings and bring them back," U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said at a news conference at the FBI's Boston headquarters.

Just after midnight on March 18, 1990, two men posing as police officers pulled off the heist, stealing 13 pieces of artwork in 81 minutes.

For more than two decades, the FBI has chased leads around the globe, finally making progress over the last few years so that they now believe they know the identity of the thieves.

The FBI's Richard DesLauriers says the agency believes the thieves belonged to a criminal organization based in New England and the mid-Atlantic states. He said authorities believe the art was taken to Connecticut and the Philadelphia region in the years after the theft, and offered for sale in Philadelphia about a decade ago.

After the attempted sale, the FBI does not know what happened to the artwork, DesLauriers said.

The FBI also searched the Worcester home of an ex-convict who has a history of art theft.
DesLauriers repeatedly rebuffed questions from reporters on the identities of the thieves, saying releasing their identities could hamper the continuing investigation. He refused to say whether the thieves are now in prison on other charges, and would not say whether they are dead or alive.

Last year, a federal prosecutor in Connecticut revealed that the FBI believed a reputed Connecticut mobster, Robert Gentile, had some involvement with stolen property related to the art heist.

Gentile, 76, of Manchester, Conn., was not charged in the heist, but pleaded guilty in November in a weapons and prescription drugs case. Gentile's lawyer, A. Ryan McGuigan, said at the time that Gentile testified before a grand jury investigating the heist. He said Gentile knows nothing about the heist, but was acquainted with people federal authorities believe may have been involved.

Ortiz said the investigation was "active and at times fast-moving" over the past few years.

In the meantime, empty frames hang on the walls of the museum, a reminder of the "enormous loss" and a symbol of hope that they will be recovered, said Ortiz. The stolen paintings include: "The Concert" by Johannes Vermeer; and three Rembrandts, "A Lady and Gentleman in Black," Self-Portrait," and "Storm on the Sea of Galilee," his only seascape.

Ortiz said the statute of limitations has expired on crimes associated with the actual theft. She said anyone who knowingly possesses or conceals the stolen art could still face charges, but said prosecutors are willing to discuss potential immunity deals to get the artwork back.

The new publicity campaign will include a dedicated FBI website on the theft, www.FBI.gov/gardner , video postings on FBI social media sites and digital billboards in Connecticut and Philadelphia.

DesLauriers said authorities believe someone not involved in the theft has seen the artwork without realizing it is stolen.

"It's likely over the years that someone — a friend, neighbor or relative — has seen the art hanging on a wall, placed above a mantle or stored in an attic. We want that person to call us," DesLauriers said.

The FBI said it is re-emphasizing a $5 million reward being offered by the museum for information that leads directly to the recovery of the art.

Springfield City Council upholds anti-foreclosure ordinances by refusing settlement with banks

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A group of banks had sought relief from a $10,000 bond requirement for each foreclosed property in Springfield.

 

SPRINGFIELD – The City Council voted Monday to uphold two anti-foreclosure ordinances approved in 2011 rather than accept a negotiated settlement of a lawsuit filed by a group of banks who claimed they should not have to post a $10,000 bond on vacant, foreclosed properties.

The group of banks, in the proposed mediated settlement, had offered to drop the suit and appeal if the bond requirement was removed. Under one ordinance, banks were required to post the bond that could be spent by the city if needed to clean up and maintain the sites if the banks failed to maintain them.

At Monday’s meeting, councilors and some community activists said the $10,000 bond was a critical piece of the legislation as a tool to prod banks to keep foreclosed properties from becoming a blight on the community. Activists said that ordinance, and an ordinance that calls for the establishment of a city-approved, mandatory mediation program to assist homeowners faced with foreclosure are models for communities across the country.

amaad rivera.JPG Amaad Rivera  

“I’m pretty excited the City Council reinforced the historic ordinances that are setting precedents around the country,” said Amaad I. Rivera, a former councilor who sponsored the ordinances, and a community activist. “The city now needs to focus on implementation. The $10,000 is an incentive and a deterrent.”

Councilors said they want the city to start taking the steps to implement the anti-foreclosure program by enforcing the ordinances. The banks have argued that the city overstepped its legal authority and that many provisions are vague or in conflict with state law.

The banks had initially filed suit in U.S. District Court, but Judge Michael A. Ponsor upheld the legality of the ordinances last year. The banks then appealed to the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which was followed by mediation.

Under the proposed settlement, the banks would not have to post the bond if they: register a newly vacant property with the city within a 21 day period; pay a $100 administrative fee to the city; identify a local agent within 20 miles of City Hall that can be served legal notices by the city; and if vacant, identify a local property manager. The council voted unanimously not to accept the offer.

Councilors Melvin Edwards and John Lysak said the banks would only lose the money if they fail to properly maintain their foreclosed properties. While several area banks had filed suit, it is the larger national banks that own the vast majority of the foreclosed properties in Springfield, they said.

Associate City Solicitor Lisa C. DeSousa said the banks can now proceed with the appeal in federal court, but the city does have the power to start implementing the anti-foreclosure programs. The city will need to provide some upfront funds to start the program, but can charge administrative fees, she said.

Candejah Pink, who continues to live in her home that was foreclosed in 2010, praised the councilors for upholding a “monumental foreclosure ordinance.” David Dunwell, still living in a house foreclosed in 2009, said he is proud the council for standing by the ordinance.

The plaintiffs are listed as United Bank, Hampden Bank, Chicopee Savings Bank, County Bank for Savings, Easthampton Savings Bank and Monson Savings Bank.

In other action, the council voted to approve a $32 million expansion project at Central High School that includes building a science lab addition, renovating existing science labs, and installing a new roof for the entire school and a sprinkler system. The project is approved for up to 80 percent state reimbursement of costs.

Southwick firefighters battling tobacco barn fire on Sheep Pasture Road

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The fire, which was reported at around 8:30 p.m., has fully engulfed the structure.


SOUTHWICK - Firefighters are on the scene of a fire inside a tobacco barn on Sheep Pasture Road.

The fire, which was reported at around 8:30 p.m., has fully engulfed the structure and is spreading to nearby buildings and woods, according to CBS 3 Springfield, the media partner for The Republican and Masslive.com.

A dispatcher with the Southwick Police Department said late Monday the he believed the fire appeared to be under control.

Firefighters from Granby and Agawam on scene to assist with mutual aid.

Sheep Pasture Road runs between Route 57 and Route 168 near the Middle Pond of the Congamond Lakes


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2 inmates recaptured in Canada after helicopter escape

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Two inmates made a daring daylight escape from a prison northwest of Montreal in a hijacked helicopter, then led police in a car chase and exchanged gunfire at a rural cabin before they were finally recaptured, authorities said Monday.

319quebec.JPG Police vehicles block a road just outside the town of Chertsey, Quebec, Sunday, March 17, 2013, during a search for escaped prisoners. A dramatic daylight jailbreak involving two Quebec inmates climbing a rope into a hovering helicopter swiftly escalated into a large police operation Sunday night in which at least one escapee was tracked down hours after he fled.  

By BENJAMIN SHINGLER

MONTREAL — Two inmates made a daring daylight escape from a prison northwest of Montreal in a hijacked helicopter, then led police in a car chase and exchanged gunfire at a rural cabin before they were finally recaptured, authorities said Monday.

Police said the helicopter pilot was held hostage in the Sunday jail-break and was not a suspect. He was treated for shock at a hospital.

"This is the first time this has occurred in a Quebec facility," said Yves Galarneau, correctional services manager of the Saint-Jerome prison.

Galarneau said there are no security measures in place at the prison to prevent a helicopter from swooping down from above.

Yves Le Roux, president of the helicopter rental company, Passport-Hélico, said Monday that two men posing as tourists pulled a gun on the pilot, 23-year-old Sebastien Foray, and told him to fly over the prison.

The hijackers used a rope to hoist two prisoners, 36-year-old Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau and 33-year-old Danny Provencal, from inside the gates. Th escapees dangled from the helicopter before it landed in an open field where they were able to hop aboard. Le Roux said one of the convicts got tangled in the rope, upside-down, and may have been hurt.

They took off again and the pilot switched on an emergency signal during the flight to alert authorities before landing the chopper in Mont-Tremblant, about 55 miles (85 kilometers) away from the prison, Le Roux added.

Police said they followed the helicopter until it landed, and then chased a car until it reached a rural cabin.

"When they got out of their vehicle they started shooting at police officers," Richard said.

Two of the suspects then broke into the cabin and the residents fled unharmed.

Hudon-Barbeau and another suspect were arrested at the scene and Provencal surrendered peacefully after barricading himself in a building for several hours. Another suspect was arrested on a nearby highway.

The two alleged accomplices and the two escaped convicts appeared in court Monday but did not enter a plea.

They were expected to do so as early as their next court appearance on April 16.

Police said the charges include attempted murder, hijacking an aircraft, evasion, possession of restricted weapons, and breaking and entering.

Hudon-Barbeau was serving time on firearms related charges, but it was not immediately clear what Provencal was convicted of.

Both prisoners, however, have long criminal records. Hudon-Barbeau has ties to the Hells Angels biker gang, according to Quebec court records. In January 2012, the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned a 2010 attempted murder conviction against Hudon-Barbeau when the key witness retracted her testimony.

Although the helicopter jailbreak is a first for Quebec, it has a long and colorful history.

A helicopter swooped down on a prison courtyard in Greece last month as armed men on board fired on guards and lowered a rope to help a convicted killer make his fourth attempt to escape from the prison. But the plot was foiled after the prisoner was shot and the chopper was forced to land in the prison's parking lot.

In 1971, New York businessman Joel David Kaplan used a chopper to escape from a Mexican jail and went on to write a book about it.

The prison at the center of Sunday's escape in Quebec is a provincial detention center with a maximum-security wing.

Associated Press Writer Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day at Smith College provides fun and inspiration

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132 girls in grades 5 through 8 participated, and focused on either mechanical, environmental, or aeronautical engineering.

NORTHAMPTON - There may be more women entering the sciences and engineering in the future, thanks to Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day at Smith College.

The March 2 event drew 132 girls in fifth through eighth grades, following the end of National Engineers Week. The program aims to get more women into engineering and the sciences, which are largely male-dominated. All girls participated in an interactive program, choosing to focus on mechanical, environmental or aeronautical engineering.

“By the time kids get to middle school, they’re here because they want to be. Their parents didn’t just sign them up. You get kids really interested in science. They learn the theory behind what they’re doing, and they get Smith students as role models. They’re really eager,” said Sue Froehlich, program coordinator of the environmental engineering workshop.

The students in the environmental engineering program made mini wind turbines out of computer fans. They learned where electricity comes from, the difference between AC and DC current, and the difference between a motor and a generator. Students need to learn the electrical principles behind what they’re building, Froehlich said.

“I’ve done it two years before. I had a good experience the first time, and I liked it so I came back,” said Sangha Kang-Le, 13, of Northampton.

“I learned about it through a flyer at school, and it sounded really interesting. The sciences are really cool. My mom is a doctor, and she makes a big difference in her patients’ lives. I want to make a difference like that,” said Eva Gerstle, 13, of Northampton.

In the aeronautical engineering program, the girls built gliders. They studied simple model airplanes to see how they fly. Then, they followed directions to make their own planes out of balsa wood and parchment. The girls also got to see a tornado simulator, a tube-like structure that generates a vortex of mist and air. They stuck their hands in to study how the air moves, said aeronautical program coordinator Maria Frese.

“I like planes. I’ll be flying in 10th grade; my dad’s going to sign me up to get me ready for the National Guard and the Air Force,” said Reagan Foster, 12, of Rutland.

The goal of the mechanical engineering workshop was to have the girls build a Rube Goldberg machine to pop a balloon. (Goldberg was a cartoonist famous for creating outlandishly complicated mechanisms to accomplish a simple task.) The girls also learned about energy transfer, said mechanical engineering program coordinator Lisa Kumpf.

“They worked backward to see how they can pop a balloon, using kinetic and potential energy. They also watched videos of Rube Goldberg machines for inspiration,” said Kumpf.

“My girl scout troop leader signed me up. I thought it would be boring and it turned out to be fun,” said Sarah Blatz, 14, of Hadley. Blatz, who wants to be a veterinarian, said she finds the sciences in general interesting.

In previous years, the programs were taught in one-hour units. But after conducting a survey, program coordinators found the girls preferred doing one three-hour unit and doing real engineering, Froehlich said.

Volunteers, many of whom are Smith students, worked with the girls to build their mechanisms. The girls were able to experience real engineering, and all said they were having fun in the process.

Palmer Town Clerk Susan Coache says moving town election to same date as statewide election will save town about $3,000

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The Town Council agreed with Coache that holding two separate elections – one local, the other a statewide election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by John Kerry – made no sense if it means saving Palmer money.

PALMER — Town Clerk Susan Coache says moving Palmer's annual election from June 11 to June 25, the same date as the special state election, will save the town about $3,000.

"I think it makes a lot of sense," she said. Voters can "kill two birds with one stone" and save the town money, she said, noting the elections were only two weeks apart.

The Town Council did not hesitate to honor Coache's request. Palmer is now among a growing number of commonwealth communities that have changed annual town election dates to coincide with either the April 30 primary for U.S. Senate or the June 25 special election to fill the seat formerly held by Secretary of State John F. Kerry.

Dozens of Massachusetts municipalities so far have changed their election dates. The deadline for doing so is March 26, according to Secretary of State William F. Galvin. Cities and towns can save money by holding their elections on the same days as the statewide primary and special election, he said.

The state elections are projected to cost Massachusetts more than $13.5 million. In Palmer, however, that figure is only about $16,000, or $8,000 apiece for the local and state elections, according to Coache.

Like all other municipalities combining their election dates, Palmer must maintain separate voting lists for each election. "They have to be treated separately," Coache said. There will also be two separate voter check-ins and check-outs, she said, noting that voters are allowed to bring both ballots to the voting machine at the same time. That means they won't have to wait in line again to cast the second ballot, she said.

Combining the local election with the state election may also produce a higher number of voters. "Historically these special elections, it's not a big turnout," Coache said.


Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

West Springfield Mayor Gregory Neffinger rejects both casino consultant proposals

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'The city will send out new requets for proposals for economic development consultants qith regard to Hard Rock International's $800 million casino proposal.

Gregory Neffinger horiz mug 2011.jpg Gregory C. Neffinger  

WEST SPRINGFIELD Mayor Gregory C. Neffinger told the city council Monday that he has thrown out the two responses to the city’s request for proposals for a consultant to help it with the $800 million proposal by Hard Rock International to build a casino complex on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition.

Last week, Edward C. Sullivan, chairman of the mayor’s casino advisory committee, announced that it and the mayor had decided to hire the Boston law firm Kopelman and Paige to consult with the city in conjunction with Burlington engineering firm Fay, Spofford & Thorndike and the economic development consultants C.H. Johnson Consulting of Chicago. At that time, Sullivan said the city would negotiate to reduce the scope of work proposed to lower the $444,700 fee Kopelman and Paige had proposed.

However, Neffinger said Monday that he rejected proposals by both Kopelman and Paige and the other contender, The Partner House of Las Vegas, Nev., because the city had found things in the proposals that were not in the community’s best interests.

“Generally it was found we should reject them all,” Neffinger said.

The mayor said he is negotiating with Kopelman and Paige for it to be the city’s attorneys with regard to legal help regarding the casino proposal, for which he said it is not required to issue requests for proposals. Instead of using Fay, Spofford & Thorndike for engineering the city will tap some of the engineering firms it already has approval to use, Neffinger told the council. That includes Fay, Spofford & Thorndike; Milone & MacBroom; Benesch; Vanasse Hangan Brustlin; and Tighe and Bond of Westfield.

Because Hard Rock International is using Tighe and Bond for its engineering work, Neffinger said they city will not use it for the peer review it will have done of the casino proposal.

In addition, Neffinger said the city will seek new proposals for the economic development part of the casino proposal.

“Time is a wasting here,” Town Councilor Brian J. Griffin said. “I agree the engineering costs were exorbitant.”

Griffin chairs the Town Council’s ad hoc casino mitigation committee, which it formed last year at his request to be prepared should either of the two proposals for casinos in nearby downtown Springfield come to fruition.

Sullivan has said he is hopeful West Springfield will have a host community agreement negotiated by June and be able to put the casino issue on a binding referendum for voters as early as September. Next February, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is expected to decide which of four competing casino projects it will grant a license to in Western Massachusetts.

MGM wants to build a casino in Springfield’s South End, while Penn National Gaming wants to build a casino in Springfield’s North End. In addition, the Mohegan Sun wants to establish a casino in Palmer.

Amherst receives state grant to study wastewater reuse in municipality, University of Massachusetts and Amherst College

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Amherst is looking at what it would entail to use wastewater for irrigation.

amherst town hall.jpg Amherst Town Hall  

AMHERST – The town received a $105,527 state grant to study the reuse of wastewater, one of 11 communities statewide receiving money for a variety of water conservation projects.

The grants are from the Sustainable Water Management Initiative, part of the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Amherst was the only community in Western Massachusetts receiving funding. State officials announced the grant funding Monday.

The town will use the money to determine whether it could use treated wastewater for irrigation at the University of Massachusetts and Amherst College among other possible uses, said Guilford B. Mooring, superintendent of the Department of Public Works.

The study would look at how much water could be saved by using the treated water at both institutions as well as what kinds of modifications Amherst might have to make to its facility to accommodate reusing the water, he said.

They will also look into the feasibility of using the water on town property.
Mooring said.

The Central Heating Plant at UMass currently uses effluent from the Amherst Waste Water Treatment Plant to produce steam for the campus.

Mooring said they are looking at possibly using the wastewater for the towers that cool equipment at the heating plant.

According to information from Edmund J. Coletta Jr., director of the Office of Public Affairs for the DEP, the study will also allow for a further understanding of the “necessary treatment, required testing and licensing, volume potential, and location options.”

And as the town, along with Hadley and UMass are looking at a possible anaerobic digester to be located next to the wastewater treatment facility at UMass, the opportunity for reusing water at the facility will also be explored.

UMass, meanwhile, is holding a public hearing March 27 at 5 p.m. in the Campus Center on the proposal to reuse water for the cooling towers.

According to the UMass website, the campus currently uses about 340 million gallons of water per year. If allowed, UMass would be able to use up to 200,000 gallons per day of reclaimed water, resulting in a potential reduction of potable water consumption of 21 percent.

Rand Paul: Immigration reform needs conservatives

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Paul said this month he's seriously considering a presidential bid in 2016.

By ERICA WERNER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tea party favorite Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday that the nation's illegal immigrants should be able to become citizens eventually, but amid a furor from conservative activists on the explosive issue he quickly sought to make clear that, while they would not be sent home, they couldn't get in line in front of anyone else.

What he doesn't support, the Kentucky Republican said, is amnesty or a new pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country. He said he simply believes they should be able to stay in the country on what he called probationary status.

"You get in the normal line to citizenship that's already available, so it's not a new pathway, it's an existing pathway," Paul told reporters.

The dust-up underscored how semantics matter in the volatile debate over immigration, especially for a conservative who may seek the presidency in 2016. Twitter users were already dubbing Paul's stance "Randmesty," while an anti-immigration group, NumbersUSA, deemed his proposal "radical" and predicted that Kentucky residents would be "disappointed and maybe even shocked."

Paul himself ended up telling reporters on a conference call that both the terms "amnesty" and "path to citizenship" were better avoided because they just cloud the debate and prevent immigration reform from happening.

"We're trapped if we get lost in those terms," he said.

Earlier in the day, in a speech to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Paul issued an appeal to conservatives to get involved in the immigration debate and warned that the GOP risks "permanent minority status" if it doesn't win over more Hispanics.

"Let's start that conversation by acknowledging we aren't going to deport" the millions already in the country, Paul said. "Prudence, compassion and thrift all point us toward the same goal: bringing these workers out of the shadows and into becoming and being taxpaying members of society."

"Immigration reform will not occur until conservative Republicans, like myself, become part of the solution. I am here today to begin that conversation," he said.

Paul spoke a day after a Republican National Committee report called on the GOP to support comprehensive immigration reform, though without specifying whether it should include a pathway to citizenship. And like Paul's remarks, the RNC's new stance after significant election losses last fall also was questioned by conservative activists.

A bipartisan group of eight senators struggling with the same issues has made it clear its legislative package will include a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Their effort could get a boost from Paul's stance.

The brouhaha surrounding Paul's remarks started Monday night when The Associated Press and others posted excerpts from his prepared speech to the Hispanic business group. In that version provided to the AP by Paul's office, Paul said illegal immigrants should be able to get work visas, enjoy a probationary status "and then enter another five-year period of holding a full green card." Green cards are the permanent resident visas whose holders become eligible after five years to obtain citizenship.

The AP and others reported that Paul had embraced a pathway to citizenship. But Paul omitted any reference to green cards when he spoke Tuesday morning, and the reference was not included in the text of the speech handed out at the Hispanic Chamber event. Paul's staff said the reference was removed in late edits but offered no further explanation.

In his speech, Paul never said the word "citizenship," and his aides aggressively contested reports from the AP and others that what he supported was, in fact, a path to citizenship. Conservative bloggers joined in, with the Red State blog declaring: "Feel free to disagree with Sen. Paul if you must. Just don't claim he's pursuing a path to citizenship he never even mentioned."

It was left to Paul himself, questioned by reporters after his speech and again on a conference call later in the day, to confirm that, yes, he foresaw allowing illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship, although it would be after waiting an unspecified length of time in a probationary status, and would happen only after Congress certified that the border was being secured. But immigrants would not have to return to their home countries first, as they do under current law, Paul said.

"The biggest change, really, on immigration reform for getting to citizenship would be we're not going to make you go to Mexico," Paul told reporters after his speech. "You have an option to get in the line without going home and that's the main difference from what we have now, as well as you get a work visa if you want to work."

Paul's newly articulated stance clearly has political overtones. He said this month he's seriously considering a presidential bid in 2016 and Hispanics are an increasingly growing portion of the electorate. Latino voters overwhelmingly backed President Barack Obama last year, helping seal his re-election.

In his speech, Paul laid out broad elements of a comprehensive immigration overhaul that overlap with the approach contemplated by the Senate's bipartisan Gang of Eight. The bipartisan group hopes to release its legislation next month with provisions for securing the border, improving legal immigration and boosting workplace enforcement, as well as creating a pathway to citizenship. In an interview, Paul said he could foresee backing the Senate group's emerging bill, although he plans to try to amend it on the floor with some of his own ideas.

Like the Senate group, Paul would aim to secure the border before granting illegal immigrants probationary status. "In order to bring conservatives to this cause, however, those who work for reform must understand that a real solution must ensure that our borders are secure," he said.

Paul didn't specify how the border should be made more secure, but he said the Border Patrol and an inspector general would have to certify that it is. Congress would also have to agree annually for five years that border security was progressing in order for the other reforms Paul envisions to keep moving forward.

In year two of his plan, illegal immigrants could begin getting temporary work visas. They would have to wait for an unspecified period of time in a probationary legal status before getting green cards. A bipartisan panel would determine the number of visas per year. High-tech visas would be expanded and a special visa for entrepreneurs would be issued. Illegal immigrants would not be able to get on a citizenship path ahead of anyone already going through the process legally.

Different from other approaches, Paul's approach would not attempt to crack down on employers by expanding working verification systems, something he says is tantamount to "making every business owner a policeman."

"My plan will not grant amnesty or move anyone to the front of the line," Paul said in his speech. "But what we have now is de facto amnesty."

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Follow Erica Werner on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericawerner

Elizabeth Warren seeking book deal, Boston Globe reports

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Warren is reportedly writing a book about her experiences and views relating to the financial industry, her work in Washington and her U.S. Senate race.

Democratic Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is shopping around a book proposal, the Boston Globe reports.

The Globe reported Tuesday afternoon that Warren plans to write a book, titled “Rigged,” about her work fighting Wall Street and working to protect consumers from predatory financial practices.

Warren told the Globe that her book would be a personal, first-person account of her experiences in Washington dealing with bankruptcy laws and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as well as her 2012 Senate run. The title, she told the Globe, echoing a common talking point on the campaign trail, “refers to how the economic system’s too often rigged against families who work hard and play by the rules – and how it’s loaded in favor of those with money and power.”

Warren, who was elected to the Senate in November, came into the Senate with a national reputation, having helped create the national Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and chaired a congressional panel overseeing the use of federal bailout money. She received support from national liberal groups in her successful race against Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown. Since her election, most of Warren’s public statements have come through her testimony at Senate Banking Committee hearings, where she has grilled federal regulators.

A book would continue to enhance her reputation nationally and would give her a platform to lay out her views. A former Harvard Law School professor, Warren has already written several books, mostly focused on bankruptcy law.

Widow of fallen Palmer soldier Clint Storey reflects on 10th anniversary of Iraq invasion

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As the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion passes, Storey says she still struggles with what to tell her children about what their father was fighting for.

storeys.JPG Melissa Storey is seen in this family photo last year with her daughter Adela, 10, and son Clint II, named after his dad, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Clint J. Storey. The senior Storey was killed Aug. 4, 2006, when a bomb exploded under his Hum-Vee in Ramadi. He was home on leave just before and learned his wife was pregnant with their second child. The family is pictured here at an event called "Remembering the Brave" in Florida.  

PALMER - Ten years after President Bush announced the United States and allied forces had invaded Iraq, U.S. troops are gone but bombs are still exploding across the war-torn country.

Some are left wondering how to describe their fallen solders' legacies.

Army Staff Sgt. Clint J. Storey's widow and children make birthday cakes and send balloon messages into the sky every Feb. 27. He would have been 35 on that day this year.

Melissa Storey and her two children, Adela, 10, and Clint "C.J." II, 6, celebrate an "Angelversary" each Aug. 4, commemorating the date the senior Storey was killed when a bomb exploded under his Humvee in Ramadi in 2006.

"Every time I hear the phrase 'move on,' I'd like to punch someone. I've moved on every day since they knocked on my door to tell me he was never coming home again," Melissa Storey, 35, says of trying to make it after her husband's death. "It's about finding ways to cope. These are the cards I've been dealt. Being a soldier's wife, you know there's a chance he might not come home. But, you convince yourself every week that someone else is going to get that call."

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The younger Clint Storey, is, of course, delighted by images of soldiers. Just like daddy, exclaims to his mother.

As the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion passes, Storey admits she still struggles with what to tell her children about what their father was fighting for.

"Why did they all die; was there a good reason? I'd like to be able to tell my kids that there was," Storey said.

There have been 4,422 U.S. deaths and 134,000 Iraqi deaths linked to Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to U.S. Defense Department statistics. The department lists 66 additional U.S. casualties as part of Operation New Dawn; that designation marked the official end of the war in Iraq on Dec. 15, 2011. The last U.S. troops withdrew in the days following.

The day of the anniversary of the invasion always sees an uptick in violence. This year, 53 were killed and 177 more wounded on Tuesday after car bombs and roadside explosives ripped through Baghdad and other towns.

"Of course they were fighting for freedom, but I often ask myself: Did we accomplish what we sent our men over there to do, or was it that we made no difference there and went home?" Melissa Storey said.

Melissa Storey and family 2007.jpg Melissa Storey, at home in 2007 with daughter Adela, then 5, and son C.J., 8 months, displays photos of her meeting at the White House with President Bush. Storey's husband, Staff Sgt. Clint Storey, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2006.  

But in their home, Clint Storey is a hero either way you answer the question.

He was home on leave in the summer of 2006 when his wife became pregnant with C.J. He knew for two weeks he had a new baby on the way, and told everyone he hoped for a son, according to Melissa Storey. But, he was killed in Iraq during his wife's first trimester - before she learned she was to give birth to a boy.

Melissa Storey has since bought a pretty little home with a pretty little yard for her children in the town where her mother lives. At her late husband's suggestion, she came to live with her mother when he was assigned to be stationed in Germany before being deployed to Iraq.

The Storey home is filled with pictures of the the late soldier.

"C.J. was a beautiful gift to both of us," Melissa Storey said. "With every end there's a new beginning. But he grieves in a way that my daughter and I don’t understand, because we knew him. I would love to think he’s grieving for a father, but he’s grieving for not having a father."

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