VIP Lounge owner Robert Anastas of Springfield applied for the change on March 28 – and told selectmen in April he did not appreciate that it would take months for them to schedule the hearing. The bar is located on West St.

Robert Anastas is shown behind the bar at the former Robbie's Place in Ware in 2005.File photo / The Republican 

WARE – A controversial businessman who wants more exposed skin – but not total nudity - at his barroom will speak before selectmen on Tuesday for an amended license.

The public hearing at town hall on June 4 begins at 7:15 p.m.

VIP Lounge owner Robert Anastas of Springfield applied for the change on March 28 – and told selectmen in April he did not appreciate that it would take months for them to schedule the hearing. The bar is located on West Street.

His handwritten request to amend his entertainment license seeks permission for "Karaoke, recorded music, live music, sports related parties, television, go-go dancing and belly dancing." He said there would be no nude dancing, but there would be "bikini attire."

Anastas used to own Robbie’s Place on Pulaski Street. The site is now a barber shop.

Selectmen ordered Anastas to close Robbie’s Place in 2009 – when police determined there were license violations at the establishment, including nude dancing, lap dancing and “intimate” contact between dancers and customers.

According to Ware Town Manager Stuart Beckley, live performance dancing is not allowed with Anastas’ current license to operate at VIP Lounge. Also, a special permit is required for adult entertainment.

The driver, identified as Jeffery White, was facing multiple motor vehicle violations.

Republican file photo

LUDLOW - A man who Tuesday night led state, Wilbraham and Ludlow police on a chase through three towns before jumping from his moving car was taken into custody when a woman told police he was hiding in her mobile home trailer off Miller Street, police said.

The driver, identified as Jeffery White, was facing multiple motor vehicle violations. He was taken into custody in Ludlow and turned over to troopers with the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Worcester, said Sgt. Daniel Valadas.

The exact charges were still being sorted out, but he is facing multiple charges from state, Wilbraham and Ludlow police for speeding, driving to endanger, failure to stop for a police officer and leaving the scene of a property damage accident, he said.

According to Wilbraham police Capt. Timothy Cane, the pursuit began in Palmer when a state police trooper attempted to pull his car over at around 7 p.m. The car bolted away with the trooper in pursuit, and the chase headed into Wilbraham, Cane said.

The trooper lost the sight of the car at one point but Wilbraham officers Joseph Brewer and Thomas Motyka spotted his car and each gave chase, Cane said.

The pursuit continued through Wilbraham and into Ludlow with Brewer and Motyka continuing the chase across the town lines. 

In the area of Miller Street, White jumped out of the car and while it was still traveling an estimated 10 to 15 miles an hour. The car crashed into a guard rail and White ran off as police had to secure the car, Cane said.

Wilbraham and Ludlow were setting up a perimeter in the area when a woman approached to say White was in her trailer, Cane said. The woman said she was an acquaintance of him but he entered the trailer without her permission and was trying to hide.

He was taken into custody at the trailer without incident, Cane said.

The students were asked to raise their hands if they had ever been in trouble and most raised their hands.

Hamden Superior Court Clerk Laura Gentile greets Dorman School students at court program on juries.Buffy Spencer / The Republican 

SPRINGFIELD - Fourth grade students from Hiram L. Dorman School were eager to get picked to sit in the jury box on a recent visit to the Hampden County Hall of Justice.

Hampden Superior Court Clerk Laura S. Gentile hosted the group of about 60 children in a program to learn about courthouse roles and the right to trial by jury.

The first lesson was from Assistant Chief of Court Officers Timothy Destefano.

The ebullient students filed into the courtroom benches and DeStefano had to quiet them, telling them because it's a courtroom, they must be silent.

First Assistant District Attorney Frank Flannery explained his role is to represent the community, or the state. Asked if his job is difficult, he said it was indeed very difficult.

Jared Olanoff, a public defender, told the group, "When you get in trouble, I'm the one to help you."

He asked the students to raise their hands if they had ever been in trouble and got a big response. Then he asked them to raise their hands if they ever got in trouble when they had done nothing wrong, the students responded even more enthusiastically.

Public Defender Jared Olanoff talks about his work to Dorman School studentsThe Republican/Buffy Spencer 

In amongst the serious questions asked of Olanoff was this not so serious one from a student: "How do you get your hair this way? "Gel," Olanoff responded.

Private practice lawyer Joseph Bernard said he sometimes has to go to a jail to meet with a client. Students asked if his job was hard.

"We represent people who do get in trouble but they're not necessarily bad people," he said.

"By the way, chose your friends carefully," Bernard said, as students were told about the concept of joint venture where a getaway driver can be in just as much trouble as the bank robber he drove.

Private practice lawyer Joseph Bernard speaks at Hall of Justice program for Dorman School studentsBuffy Spencer / The Republican 

Hampden Superior Court Judge Edward J. McDonough Jr. took the bench, and began asking the group general type questions jurors get asked.

Students had been picked to be Mike, the defendant, and Jose, the victim. McDonough first asked if anyone knew Mike, and of course most all hands shot up.

The students were all give a juror number, just as real jury pools have. Gentile called out numbers and sat jurors, then explained how both sides can challenge a juror.

"Challenges can't be illegal," she said, saying lawyers cannot challenge a juror because they don't want any girls, or black people, on a jury.

After 90 minutes immersed in court procedures, the students filed out and took what they learned back to school.

Also participating were Court Reporter Alicia Cayode-Kyles, Law Clerk Liz Zuckerman and Senior Court Officer in Charge India Guadeloupe.

Honored during the gathering at the MassMutual Center recently were George Rosa, III, of Greenfield; Ivy Ward, of Wilbraham; Ellen Patashnick, of Springfield; Robert White, of Sunderland; and Marcia Conrad, of Enfield.

SPRINGFIELD – The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross honored several volunteers for outstanding contributions during its 105th annual meeting this week.

Honored during the gathering at the MassMutual Center recently were George Rosa, III, of Greenfield; Ivy Ward, of Wilbraham; Ellen Patashnick, of Springfield; Robert White, of Sunderland; and Marcia Conrad, of Enfield.

Rosa was awarded for his contributions in fund raising and administrative support for Rick Lee, the chapter’s executive director.

Ward was recognized for disaster coordination and response and support for the disaster services workers.

Patashnick, who has been deployed on regional and national disaster relief efforts, was honored for her dedication to the overall mission of the American Red Cross.

White and Conrad received pins for Red Cross volunteer service of 70 and 60 years, respectively.

The chapter also elected six new board members to serve as volunteer leaders: Mark Dindas, of the Jewish Community Center; John Duffy, Grainger, Inc.; Eleanor Jones, Clark School For The Deaf; Lisa Kusek, Babson Capital; Michael Zaskey, Zasco Productions, and Sujing Yang, Capuano Care.

“We are thrilled to welcome six brand new members to our Red Cross board this year,” Lee said.

“These are motivated and committed individuals and we very much look forward to the contributions they will make to the work we do throughout the Pioneer Valley.”

Two men, one armed with a gun, entered an apartment at 150 White St. and stole cash from occupants, police said.

 

SPRINGFIELD — Police are investigating a Tuesday night home invasion at 150 White St., an apartment building near the corner of Orange Street in the city's Forest Park neighborhood.

Police said no one was injured when two men, one armed with a gun, entered a unit inside the four-story brick building and robbed occupants of an unspecified amount of cash around 10:30 p.m.

Authorities have not cited a possible motive for the crime, which remains under investigation. No arrests had been made as of early Wednesday, Springfield Police Lt. Henry Gagnon said.

Physical descriptions of the suspects were unavailable.

Police have asked anyone with information about the crime to call the detective bureau at (413) 787-6355. Text-message tips to CRIMES (274637) must begin with SOLVE, police said.

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A 20-year-old Springfield man was arrested and charged with assault after threatening an elderly couple with a knife in a dispute at the pumps of a Longmeadow Street gas station.

These were the most read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now. The most viewed item overall was Leslie Arak's Sabis International Charter School prom photo gallery, at right.

1) Springfield police officer shot in head with pellet gun while patrolling North End [Conor Berry]

2) Springfield dog quarantined after attacking wife and family pets of City Councilor Melvin Edwards [Peter Goonan]

3) Springfield man arrested, charged with pulling knife on elderly couple in Longmeadow gas pump dispute [Patrick Johnson]

4) Holyoke police: Man orders hamburger and 'all the money in the drawer' during robbery of Burger King on Northampton Street [Conor Berry]

5) Holyoke police stop vehicle at Cabot and Main streets, arrest 3 from Westfield on heroin charges [George Graham]

The Bay State now has a healthy – and growing – black bear population of about 4,000 animals, some of whom continue to extend their range into eastern and southern parts of Massachusetts.

The young bear that scrambled up a tree near the Massachusetts Turnpike in Newton on Sunday had to be killed because it posed too much of a public safety hazard, according to state environmental officials, who defended their decision to euthanize the bear rather than relocate the animal. The decision has angered many people.AP file photo 

NEWTON — Despite a public outcry over Sunday's shooting of a bear in suburban Newton, state environmental officials say there's no need to change policy about how to deal with bears that threaten public safety.

In such instances, and as a last resort, bears will continue to be euthanized instead of relocated. "There will be no change in procedures," Reginald Zimmerman, a spokesman for the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental affairs, told the Boston Herald. For bears that pose an "immediate threat to public safety," the procedure is "to euthanize the bear with a firearm," Zimmerman said.

Law enforcement officials responded to an early Sunday morning call of a bear in a tree on Washington Street, which parallels the Massachusetts Turnpike in Newton. Massachusetts Environmental Police shot and killed the bear after the young male weighing about 150 pounds could not be tranquilized.

Officials said the proximity of the turnpike and mass transit facilities were factors in the decision to euthanize the bear, which fell onto commuter rail tracks about 40 feet below the tree. The dead animal was removed from the scene just before 8 a.m.

Newton police officials said they were "very saddened" by the shooting, which was done as a last resort after the animal couldn't be tranquilized for relocation.

State environmental officials came under fire for the decision, but agency leaders defended their actions. The prospect of a bear on the loose in a densely populated Boston suburb was too risky, according to Environmental Police Lt. Col. Chris Baker.

"The bear can run 30 miles per hour. He could have been out of the tree and onto the Pike in a matter of seconds," Baker told the Boston Globe. "We could have waited, I guess, but the problem is he could have gone in any direction, and we would have lost him in an urban situation."

Joanne Mainiero, founder of the Massachusetts Humane Society, criticized Environmental Police for moving too quickly. "They rushed to judgment: Shoot it, kill it," she told the Globe, adding that the public would have waited patiently and that other options should have been considered.

Anita Quinn, of Wrentham, implored authorities to exercise restraint in the future. "Please don't kill anymore bears; it's just not the right thing to do," she wrote on the Newton Police Department's Facebook page.

Bears are more common in western and central Massachusetts than in eastern parts of the state. In this region, the bulk of the bear population, now estimated at about 4,000, is located west of the Connecticut River, but bears continue to push east and south into heavily populated sections of the commonwealth.

Last year's Cape Cod bear caused quite a stir when the wayward animal swam across the canal and wandered the length of the peninsula.

WARNING: This video of the Newton bear contains footage of it being shot:

President Barack Obama's top national security adviser Tom Donilon is resigning and will be replaced by U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, marking a significant shakeup to the White House foreign policy team.

JULIE PACE
AP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's top national security adviser Tom Donilon is resigning and will be replaced by U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, marking a significant shakeup to the White House foreign policy team.

A White House official confirmed the personnel changes Wednesday morning ahead of a planned announcement by the president later in the day.

Donilon has been a key foreign policy adviser to Obama since he first took office. But the 58-year-old had been expected to depart sometime this year, with Rice seen as the likely candidate to replace him.

Rice, a close Obama confidante, came under withering criticism from Republicans as part of the investigations into the deadly attack on a U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. Rice, relying on talking points from the intelligence community, said in television interviews that the attacks were likely spontaneous, which was later proven incorrect.

Obama considered nominating Rice as his second-term secretary of state, but she withdrew amid the GOP criticism, saying she didn't want her confirmation fight to be a distraction for the White House.

Her new post as national security adviser does not require Senate confirmation.

The White House official said Donilon is expected to stay on the job until early July, after Obama wraps up two overseas trips and a summit later this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The official insisted on anonymity in order to discuss the personnel changes before they were publicly announced.

A work crew is reportedly on scene to repair the break.

03.09.11 | Photo by Julian Feller-Cohen – An Agawam Police cruiser.  

AGAWAM -- A water main break at Springfield and Witheridge streets is not blocking traffic, police said Wednesday morning.

A work crew is reportedly at the scene to repair the break. Springfield Street is also known as Route 147.

Additional information was not immediately available.

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The murder trial of two men charged with a 2011 home invasion in Rockland that left a 36-year-old mother of four dead is scheduled to get started.

BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) — The murder trial of two men charged with a 2011 home invasion in Rockland that left a 36-year-old mother of four dead is scheduled to get started.

The Enterprise reports that opening statements in the trial of 27-year-old Terrell Nicholas and 30-year-old Orlando Kavanaugh are expected Wednesday following the selection of the final juror.

They are both charged in connection with the July 2011 shooting of Tina Gonsalves in her family's apartment.

Prosecutors say Kavanaugh shot Gonsalves during a home invasion while Nicholas waited outside in a rented pickup truck.

An attorney for Nicholas says his client had nothing to do with the shooting. Kavanaugh's lawyer says his client is not guilty.

Prosecutors have not said why Gonsalves' home was targeted.

A Marblehead man has been sentenced to three months in jail after pleading guilty to head butting an MBTA bus driver.

CHELSEA, Mass. (AP) — A Marblehead man has been sentenced to three months in jail after pleading guilty to head butting an MBTA bus driver.

Prosecutors say 48-year-old John Kerivan pleaded guilty Tuesday in Chelsea District Court to assault and battery on a public employee just before his trial was scheduled to begin.

Prosecutors say Kerivan was waiting for a bus at the Wonderland station last July.

When the bus arrived, authorities say, Kerivan began screaming at the driver. When the driver attempted to calm him, Kerivan head butted the MBTA worker, who was disoriented and sought treatment at a hospital.

The MBTA recently announced a crackdown on abuse and attacks on its workers.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is to be the keynote speaker at a Missouri gathering of Democrats.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is to be the keynote speaker at a Missouri gathering of Democrats.

The Missouri Democratic Party says Patrick will headline its annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner this Saturday evening in St. Louis.

The event also is to feature Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and other Democrats holding statewide elected offices.

Patrick is an ally of President Barack Obama and has two years remaining on his term as governor.

The decision by two young Westford women to go "pool hopping" landed one of them in the hospital when she jumped into an empty pool.

WESTFORD, Mass. (AP) — The decision by two young Westford women to go "pool hopping" landed one of them in the hospital when she jumped into an empty pool.

Jane Gallagher, the mother of 18-year-old Kelsey Gallagher, says her daughter suffered a spinal injury, a fractured skull and a broken wrist when she jumped into the in-ground pool just after midnight Monday.

A 20-year-old woman was unhurt.

Pool owner Chester Cook tells WBZ-TV he did not know the women. He says the older of the two pounded on his door at about 12:30 a.m. Monday when her friend got hurt.

The pool is under repair and had no water in it.

Police say the women were engaged in a game of "pool hooping," or taking a quick dip in strangers' pools. They face trespassing charges.

A research and consulting firm has ranked Massachusetts second in the country in clean energy technology.

BOSTON (AP) — A research and consulting firm has ranked Massachusetts second in the country in clean energy technology.

California was the only state above Massachusetts in the 2013 U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index's overall clean technology rankings.

The rankings are done by Clean Edge Inc., which credited the state for — among other things — its commitment to energy efficiency and early stage technology development. Gov. Deval Patrick said Tuesday that the state is shaping the future "rather than just waiting for it to happen."

Massachusetts was ranked first in some individual categories, including policy, which measures variables such as transportation policies and climate change targets.

The state also ranked first in the capital category, which measures venture capital investment, number of patents and higher education and research institutions.

The group's plans also include a new sports bar at the site.

NORTHAMPTON -- The ownership group Notch 8 Inc. will appear before the license commission today to request liquor and entertainment license transfers that would allow it to move forward with plans to revive Northampton's Union Station as a banquet facility and sports bar.

According to the meeting notice [pdf], Notch 8 is seeking a transfer of license, a pledge of license and change of manager, a transfer of common victualler license and a transfer of entertainment license.

State records show that Notch 8's principals are Jeremiah Micka of Easthampton, John C. Rhoades of Florence, and David N. Fortier of Northampton. Micka, the proposed new manager under the license change, has already worked as a manager at the Tunnel Bar and The Deck since 2008.

The group is seeking the transfers from Chew-Chew Inc., operated by Northampton resident Matthew M. Pitoniak.

Under Pitoniak's ownership, the restaurants Union Station and Spaghetti Freddy's closed in March of 2011. Two other bars at the site -- the Tunnel Bar and the seasonal outdoor bar known as The Deck, have continued to operate.

The license committee agenda shows that Notch 8 plans to do business at the site as Platform Sports Bar, Union Station, the Tunnel Bar, and the Deck.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette's Chad Cain reports that Notch 8 plans to operate Union Station as a banquet facility, with the Platform Sports Bar located in the building at the site of a former train platform.

The meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. in City Council chambers.

In other news, updates on Sen. Warren's student loan bill and the latest on a Brockton, Mass. stabbing.

A sign showing the town seal and a black ribbon is posted on the door of an antique colonial home in the historic district near the funeral for six-year-old student shooting victim Jack Pinto in Newtown, Conn., Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. (AP Photo | Charles Krupa)  

• Senate, House Overwhelmingly Approve Bill To Withhold Homicide Photos, Other Records, After Newtown [Hartford Courant]
• Massachusetts touts high rankings in clean energy tech [Berkshire Eagle Online]
• Sen. Warren’s Student Loan Bill Draws Support, Scorn [WBUR.org]
• Brockton, Mass. woman stabbed in throat during home invasion [NECN.com]
• First lady clashes with protester; threatens to leave event [CNN.com]
• New Miss R.I., at 19, is a cancer survivor, URI triple major [Providence Journal]

• Leominster youths' helmet project qualifies for national finals [Sentinel & Enterprise]
• Man asks police if arrest ruins his chance to be a cop [Eagle-Tribune]
• Embarrassed siblings want brother's name off headstone [Telegram & Gazette]
• Twitter posts tagged #westernma in Western Mass. [Masslive.com]
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Markey is likely to use the debate to tie Gomez to the national Republican Party. Gomez is expected to attack Markey as a longtime Washington insider. The two will debate in Springfield on June 11.

The two candidates for U.S. Senate will meet head-to-head for the first time in a Wednesday evening debate in Boston.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Edward Markey and Republican private equity investor Gabriel Gomez will hold an hour-long debate at the WBZ-TV studios at 7 p.m.

The debate will be moderated by WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller with questions by the Boston Globe’s Cynthia Needham. The debate will be streamed live on boston.com, bostonglobe.com and cbsboston.com and will be simulcast live on WBZ-AM NewsRadio 1030.

The special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by John Kerry will be held on June 25. While Markey has maintained a lead throughout the race, polls have varied on the size of that lead. The most recent poll, conducted June 1-2 by New England College, found Markey 12 points ahead of Gomez, 52 percent to 40 percent, with 8 percent undecided.

Gomez, asked about the debate on Monday, downplayed expectations. “I’ve only debated two or three times in my whole life, that was back in the primary,” Gomez said. “Congressman Markey’s been there 40 years…I’m sure he’s a much better debater. But I think I’ve got the benefit of having the issues and the truth on my side.”

Markey said it will be up to the people of Massachusetts to determine who is the better debater. But, he said, “I think it’s important for us to talk about the big issues and to ensure that the voters out there know what the differences are between me and Gabriel Gomez.”

Markey is likely to stress some of the same issues he has throughout the campaign -issues where there are clear differences between him and Gomez, and where Gomez has taken the traditional Republican position. Markey has been tying Gomez to the national Republican Party since Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sent out a fundraising email for Gomez last week. Massachusetts is a heavily Democratic-leaning state.

“(Markey will) bring up Mitch McConnell’s name a lot, how Gomez is going to support these radical right policies in Washington,” predicted Ray La Raja, associate professor of political science at UMass-Amherst.

Markey released a new ad on Tuesday highlighting some of the policy differences that he is likely to focus on. Markey supports abortion rights; Gomez opposes abortion, though he has said he believes Roe v. Wade is settled law. Markey opposes anything that would lower Social Security benefits. Gomez supports gradually raising the retirement age and instituting means testing for future retirees, and using a formula called “chained CPI” to calculate cost of living adjustments. Markey supports an assault weapons ban; Gomez opposes one.

Political consultant Anthony Cignoli, of Springfield, who has clients from both parties, said both Gomez and Markey must go after the votes of independent women, who will be a key constituency. These women, he said, are likely to care about a range of issues including economic issues as well as abortion and health care. “You’ll see Markey hit on themes of Gomez being anti-choice, pro-big oil, anti-Social Security, for older women’s votes, and you’ll see him hit Gomez for being pro-gun,” Cignoli said. “I think Markey will be hoping that Gomez has still not formalized good responses on these issues.”

Gomez, a former Navy SEAL, has focused heavily on biography during the campaign. He is likely to contrast his work in the private sector and his military experience with Markey’s 37 years in Congress. On the issues, Gomez has tried to focus on the economy. Markey has said he wants to raise taxes on the wealthy; Gomez does not want to raise taxes. Gomez has talked about the need to lower the corporate tax rate and create jobs. He wants to decrease government spending.

Gomez has tried to distance himself from the national Republican Party, and he is likely to discuss areas in which he has broken with Republicans – his support for gay marriage, his support for immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and his support for expanded background checks for gun buyers.

“Markey’s got to make Gomez look like part of the good old guy Republican network,” Cignoli said. “Gomez has to try to make Markey look like the old guy insider liberal network.”

The debate will also showcase differences in personality. Gomez, 47, is younger and more charismatic, and has called himself a "new Republican." Gomez has been taking an aggressive tone against Markey, calling Markey “pond scum” while objecting to an ad that briefly juxtaposed Gomez’s face with Osama bin Laden’s. He has criticized Markey for taking special interest money. On Monday, Gomez said Markey “should move to Massachusetts,” referring to questions about Markey’s residency, based on the second home Markey owns in Maryland.

Markey, 66, appears more like a distinguished statesman, and is likely to play up his experience. While his campaign has attacked Gomez, Markey’s own criticisms have been more issues-driven and less personal, for example telling seniors that Gomez would cut Social Security benefits.

LaRaja predicted that there “will be sparks flying” in the debate, as Gomez in particular needs to go on the attack to try to draw attention from the press and voters and throw Markey off balance. “For voters, this is about is this guy Gomez serious? Can he really stand toe to toe with the frontrunner, and who is he really?” LaRaja said.

The second of three Senate debates will be held in Springfield on Tuesday, June 11 at WGBY’s TV studios. Members of the public can pick up free tickets at The Republican newspaper's offices, 1860 Main St., Springfield between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. beginning on Wednesday until the tickets are gone. There will be a limit of two per person. The day of the debate doors will open at 6 p.m. and close at 6:30 p.m. The debate will be streamed live on MassLive.com and on local TV and radio stations.

A 28-year-old Worcester man was arrested on Wednesday afternoon in connection with a motor vehicle break-in on Illinois Street earlier in the day, report police.

WORCESTER - A 28-year-old Worcester man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a motor vehicle break-in on Illinois Street earlier in the day, report police.

According to police, officers responded to a home on Illinois Street for a reported motor vehicle break-in that was in progress. Before police could arrive, the man who had broken into the vehicle, a minivan, left the scene on a bicycle.

According to police, the minivan had a smashed window and the owner confirmed a GPS was missing from it. A witness identified the suspect and told officers the suspect rode off on a black, kid's-style mountain bike. Officers were unable to locate the suspect at the scene.

Police located a male matching the description of the suspect that the witnesses had given, stopped at a gas station on Chandler Street. The witnesses were brought to the scene and identified the suspect as the man taking items from the minivan earlier in the day.

The suspect was identified as Eddie Jurado, 28, of 19 Hancock Street, Worcester. Jurado was arrested and charged with malicious destruction of property over the value of $250, breaking and entering into a motor vehicle in the daytime with the intent to commit a felony and larceny from a motor vehicle over the value of $250.

According to police, police did not recover the stolen property at this time.

Jurado will be arraigned at the Worcester County District Courthouse Thursday.

Plans are in the works to hold a fund-raiser for Sikes at The Fort in September.

SPRINGFIELD -- Accomplished and well-known area photographer Keith Sikes continues to cope with a devastating fire earlier this spring that heavily damaged his Texel Drive home and destroyed a portfolio representing his best work.

Sikes, his wife Margaret, and his dog -- a "puggle" named Sam -- safely escaped the blaze that broke in their 61 Texel Drive home at about 8 p.m. on April 29.

“I am grateful that it didn’t happen in the middle of the night,” said Sikes, who is now living with his wife and dog in a trailer on the property as they start the slow process of rebuilding their home and lives.

05.31.2013 | SPRINGFIELD -- Photographer Keith Sikes looks through a pile of ruined framed photos after a fire tore through his Texel Dr. home. Don Treeger | The Republican 

The fire, sparked by a pinched electrical cord to a small dorm-style refrigerator that was in an enclosed rear porch, essentially gutted the home's first floor and caused heavy smoke damage to the second floor.

“It was a real inferno and there was no chance to do anything but get out of the house,” Sikes said.

While grateful the fire didn't strike in the middle of the night, Sikes said that in anther way the timing couldn't have been worse. Sikes, preparing an exhibit of his life work at the Bing Art Center on Sumner Avenue, had just taken 60 of his framed pieces from storage on the third floor down to the porch, where he was cleaning them up in anticipation of their hanging.

“All of the framed prints were just vaporized,” he said.

The prints represented Sikes' best work over roughly 25 years of photography. He specializes in street scenes -- what he describes as “people in their natural environments” -- and the shots were taken locally and in such far-flung places as Las Vegas, Hell's Kitchen and Times Square and the aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks in New York City, Key West, California, Mexico, and Germany.

Sikes, who founded the Valley Photo Center in Tower Square and taught photojournalism at American International College for six years, is still attempting to determine the full extent of the loss. He estimates that he lost perhaps 20 percent of the negatives for the destroyed prints.

"I need to go through and see what I have," Sikes said. "The thing is that it will never be recovered. Going forward it's going to be a different Keith Sikes."

Also lost to the flames were a number of pieces, by other photographers, that had been hanging on the first floor of his home.

These included three prints of photographs taken by the late Vincent D’Addario, a Holyoke native and photographer for The Republican Newspapers whose work was recognized around the world with numerous awards from the United Press International, Associated Press, and National Press Photographers Association.

The photographs captured images of Mohammed Ali, back when he was known as Cassius Clay, when he trained in Springfield to prepare for his historic fight with Sonny Liston in 1965 in Lewiston, Maine. "It was a treasure," Sikes said.

Fortunately for Sikes, two valuable Edward Weston prints that he owns were hanging in a gallery in California when the flames broke out.

Sikes, attempting to be as positive as he can about the loss, said he hopes that it can inspire a fresh burst of creativity -- art from the ashes, so to speak.

“Some good will come out of it,” said Sikes, who retired from his job as director of marketing at Turley Publications about a year-and-half ago. “It will get me up and moving and creating new images.”

He said he is looking forward to an upcoming trip to France, which he is taking as a chaperone with Minnechaug Regional High School next April.

“There will be a wealth of new images,” he said.

Plans are in the works, Sikes said, to hold a fund-raiser at The Fort in September to raise money for frames, replacement prints and some photographic equipment that was lost in the fire.

Police officers arrested alleged drug suspects in the Churchill and South Holoyke sections of the city, as well as elsewhere in Hoyoke.

 

HOLYOKE — Street stops by city police so far have produced multiple arrests this week, including a Tuesday morning foot chase that ended with an Easthampton man being charged with a drug crime.

Evisto Oxford, 37, of 106 Lovefield St., was charged with possession of a class A drug after leading officers on a pursuit that ended near the corner of Appleton and Walnut streets around 10:40 a.m., according to Holyoke police records.

Class A drugs in Massachusetts include heroin and other opiates.

Street stops on Wednesday produced two additional drug arrests: Westfield resident Stephanie J. Lulek was taken into custody just before 8 p.m., while Holyoke resident Richard A. Smith was charged shortly before 10:30 p.m.

Police said Lulek, 28, of 55 South Maple St. was charged with possession of both class A and B drugs after being stopped near the corner of Cabot and Main streets in South Holyoke. Class B drugs in Massachusetts include cocaine, crack cocaine, LSD, methadone and other substances.

Smith, 54, of 286 Linden St., Apt. 2, was charged with class A drug possession after being stopped near Hampshire and Beech streets in the Churchill section of the city, according to police records.

All suspects were expected to be arraigned in Holyoke District Court. Additional information wasn't immediately available.