Police are still looking for the white van, which fled the scene. It is described as a commercial van with no markings and will likely have left rear damage.

WILBRAHAM - A hit-and-run accident on Boston Road Saturday morning left the driver of a car narrowly escaping serious injury, according to police.

Sgt Daniel Carr said one vehicle was traveling east on Boston Road near the Post Road Plaza around 10:30 when a white van pulled out going in the opposite direction, cutting off the first driver. The car struck the van and veered off onto an embankment to avoid a more serious crash. Carr said the car flipped over once and landed on its tires. The driver was taken to Baystate Medical Center by ambulance with minor injuries, Carr said.

Police are still looking for the white van, which fled the scene. It is described as a commercial van with no markings and will likely have left rear damage. Officer James Gagner is investigating the collision. Anyone with relevant information should call 596-3837.

The 1 percent heading for military service got special recognition and applause at the commencement ceremony at Symphony Hall on Saturday morning.

SPRINGFIELD - Kelsey J. Niziolek expressed the same combination of fears and hopes that much of her fellow graduates from Agawam High School harbored during the commencement of the Class of 2013 Saturday.

She recalled her anxiety as a freshman and compared it with her anxiety as a soon-to-be grad.

"It just feels like a life-changing moment. I won't be with the same friends and people I've been with over the last 12 years, and we're all going on different paths. I remember walking into the high school on the first day being so nervous," said Niziolek, 18, who will attend the University of New Hampshire in the fall as a health and human sciences major.

Niziolek, a pro merito graduate, is among 42 percent of a class 317 preparing to attend private four-year colleges with another 30 percent enrolled in public four-year colleges and still more preparing to attend two-year colleges. The 1 percent heading for military service got special recognition and applause at the commencement ceremony at Symphony Hall.

Also receiving loud applause were the hockey team that won the Division IIIA state tile this year and the football team that beat West Side, a perennial rival.

Principal Steven P. Lemanski lauded the class for its "courage, sense of purpose and all-around goodness."

While the auditorium was filled with hooting grads in robes and mortarboard caps, orange balloons, bouquets and beaming family members, Lemanski said the most essential thing was invisible.

"That is character," Lemanski said, urging the new graduates to mentally conjure up a mentor or person they admire and think of that person when their next potentially tough decision was at hand.

The class valedictorian was Andrew Tang.

There was a time when homosexuality was deemed a mental disorder by the nation's psychiatric authorities, and gay sex was a crime in every state but Illinois.

There was a time when homosexuality was deemed a mental disorder by the nation's psychiatric authorities, and gay sex was a crime in every state but Illinois. Federal workers could be fired for the mere fact of being gay.

That time wasn't long ago — just 50 years.

Today, gays serve openly in the military, work as TV news anchors and federal judges, win elections as big-city mayors and members of Congress. Several hugely popular TV shows have gay protagonists.

And now the gay-rights movement may be on the cusp of momentous legal breakthroughs. Later this month, a Supreme Court ruling could lead to legalization of same-sex marriage in California, the most populous state, and there's a good chance the court will require the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in all U.S. jurisdictions where they are legal — as of now, 12 states and Washington, D.C.

The transition over the last five decades has been far from smooth — replete with bitter protests, anti-gay violence, backlashes that inflicted many political setbacks. In contrast to the civil rights movement and the women's liberation movement, the campaign for gay rights unfolded without household-name leaders.

Progress came about largely due to the individual choices of countless gays and lesbians to come out of the closet and get engaged.

These were people like a Chicago graduate student who, early on, was willing to confront a high-profile critic of gay relationships. A young community organizer plunging into advocacy work for victims of AIDS. Three gay couples in Hawaii suing for the right to marry at a time when that seemed far-fetched even to many activists.

"It is pretty mind-blowing how quickly it's moved," said David Eisenbach, who teaches political history at Columbia University and has written about the gay-rights movement.

Eisenbach contrasted the attitudes of the '50s and '60s, when even many political liberals viewed homosexuality as pernicious, to what he sees today.

"There are kids coming out in high school now, being accepted by their classmates," he said. "Parents, relatives, friends are seeing the people they love come out. It's very hard to discriminate against someone you love."

As the Supreme Court rulings approach, here is a look back at three of the gay-rights movement's pivotal phases and some of the people who chose to get involved.

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View full sizeFILE - In this March 14, 1997 file photo provided by Touchstone Television, Ellen DeGeneres, left, playing character Ellen Morgan, discusses her fears about coming out as a lesbian with her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey, during a taping of the show "Ellen" in Burbank, Calif. DeGeneres herself came out as gay in an interview on Winfrey's talk show earlier in the year. (AP Photo/Touchstone Television, Mike Ansell) 

INTO THE STREETS

Dr. David Reuben had legions of fans after publishing his best-selling "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex" in 1969. Murray Edelman wasn't among them.

Edelman, then a University of Chicago graduate student, was part of a tiny band of activists who launched a gay liberation movement in the city starting late in 1969 and continuing through the early '70s

When Reuben — who depicted gay men's relationships as bleakly impersonal and short-lived — was booked to appear on a TV talk show in Chicago in January 1971, Edelman and some fellow activists decided to attend.

Irked at being denied a chance to ask questions, Edelman rose from his seat and headed to the stage toward the end of the session, seeking to confront Reuben face-to-face. He was hauled out of the studio, but the incident received TV and newspaper coverage.

"It was the first time they really acknowledged there were gay activists in the city," Edelman said.

It was an era abounding with firsts for the gay-rights movement.

Historians can trace its roots back to individuals and incidents many decades earlier, and some pioneering national gay-rights organizations were formed in the 1950s — notably the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis.

But the pace picked up in the 1960s. Frank Kameny, who sued after being fired from his job as a government astronomer for being gay, took his anti-discrimination case to the Supreme Court in 1961 (the justices declined to hear his appeal), and helped stage the first gay-rights protest in front of the White House in 1965. The U.S. Court of Appeals, in a separate case, ruled in 1969 that federal civil servants could no longer be fired solely because they were gay.

Gay activists formed organizations in New York, San Francisco and elsewhere. Amid the ferment of the anti-war movement and civil rights movement, there was a surge of interest in gay liberation — gays and lesbians publicly revealing their sexuality and evoking it as a source of pride rather than shame.

Edelman, during an hour-long interview, recalled being herded into a police paddy wagon in Washington, D.C., in 1965 after he and other gay men were arrested at a party. He began singing, "We Shall Overcome" under his breath, and the other men in the vehicle joined him.

"When I look back, I realize I'd made that connection with civil rights even before I came out," he said. "That was like a turning point ... To me it felt right. I didn't feel ashamed."

Much of the activity in the '60s unfolded out of the national spotlight. But the movement broadened — and public awareness grew — after police harassment of patrons at the Stonewall Inn, a New York City gay bar, sparked three days of riots in June 1969.

Emboldened by Stonewall, Edelman decided to promote gay activism at the University of Chicago, where he recalled gay student life as "basically one restroom where people had sex."

Through an ad placed in the student newspaper, he and friend convened a meeting to launch a gay liberation group, which started with a handful of members and grew steadily,

"We came to the conclusion that, before we could do anything else, we had to come out," he said. "We decided to wear buttons — 'Out of the closets, into the streets.'"

By the summer of 1970, the activists had hosted some well-attended public dances and organized Chicago's first gay pride parade on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The incident with David Reuben followed a few months later, turning gay liberation into a topic of public conversation for Chicagoans.

It was a far cry from Edelman's youth — growing up in a Jewish household in Chicago where sexuality was not discussed. Even as a 20-year-old jobseeker in Washington, he was confused and insecure about his sexual identity.

"I was trying to figure all this out," he said. "There was no support, no place I could read about someone like me. I was totally alone."

Edelman, now 69, went on to earn a doctorate in human development, work for CBS News and serve as editorial director for Voter News Service, the consortium that conducted exit-polling during several presidential elections.

What did he and his colleagues accomplish four decades ago in Chicago?

"It was a whole new consciousness for gays — we made it OK to be gay," he said. "We thought that we had strength in each other, that we could define ourselves differently from how society defined us."

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COPING WITH CRISIS

The 1970s brought a rush of milestones as gays came out of the closet and started demanding equal rights — the first openly gay people elected to public office and ordained as ministers, the first municipal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the first national gay rights march in Washington. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder.

With those winds of change at his back, 27-year-old Tim Sweeney moved to New York in the fall of 1981 to become executive director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay legal advocacy group.

A few months earlier, The New York Times had published an article under the headline "Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals." Sweeney worried this mysterious illness would give the public another excuse to denigrate and discriminate against gay people at a time when he and his colleagues were feeling hopeful.

"Once we sort of got the government out of our lives and shed some of the stigma of criminalization and mental illness, we were allowed, because we had the safety to do it, to dream about the world we wanted for ourselves," he said.

He couldn't have conceived of the pain, losses and political challenges that lay ahead.

It would be a year before the cluster of strange ailments afflicting not only gay men, but intravenous drug users, hemophiliacs and some women would have a name — Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS — and another year after that before the virus that caused it, HIV, was isolated.

Sweeney had come to Lambda Legal planning to oversee challenges to state laws that criminalized gay sexual activity, to fight police harassment, to represent people fired from or denied jobs because they were gay. That work continued in the earliest years of the epidemic while volunteers and community clinics performed the day-to-day task of caring for the growing numbers of terminally ill.

Soon, though, the scourge became all-encompassing.

In 1983, Lambda took on the case of a doctor being evicted from his rented Manhattan office because he treated people with AIDS. A court blocked the eviction, ruling that it violated state laws protecting the disabled; the decision provided a template for securing insurance coverage and other basic rights for the afflicted. As panic and prejudice spread in the general population, gay lawyers also sought to protect the confidentiality of patients who were being tested or treated for the disease.

The epidemic not only made gay people more visible than ever, but also spotlighted the absence of legal protections for their relationships. Survivors who cared for longtime partners found themselves barred from hospital rooms, frozen out of funerals and stripped of shared possessions. Without marriage as an option, couples prepared wills and even tried to adopt one another so their relationships would be respected in the event of death.

And death loomed terrifyingly. By the end of 1985, 15,527 cases of AIDS had been reported in the United States and 12,529 deaths attributed to the disease.

But President Ronald Reagan still had not uttered the word "AIDS" publicly and the government had not devised a plan for combatting the disease.

"What we found out in facing a new pandemic worldwide is that we absolutely could not save the lives of our brothers and sisters without having the government extremely involved in our lives," Sweeney recalled. "It was the government's responsibility to fund research. It was the government's responsibility to guarantee access to health care."

Seeking to intensify pressure on federal officials to invest in a national response, Sweeney became public policy director and eventually executive director of the New York-based Gay Men's Health Crisis, the nation's first AIDS service organization.

It was a huge operation, with 235 staff members and 4,000 volunteers feeding, counseling and advocating for 3,000 people with AIDS every month. The group, and similar organizations in other major cities, also promoted "safe sex" messages that later would be credited with slowing infection rates.

Reflecting the growing anger within the gay community over the government's slow response to the epidemic, Sweeney also participated in the launch of ACT UP, an advocacy group that used protests and civil disobedience to bring urgency to the cause of developing effective drugs.

"We were losing in those days dozens and dozens of clients at GMHC every single month. We had staff who died. We had board members who died ... It was a very dark period," he said. "We somehow took that incredible loss and fury we all felt about how dispensable certain people in this society thought we all were and forced change in the system."

By mid-1993 Sweeney had left Gay Men's Health Crisis to care for his older brother, Mark, who would die of AIDS the next year. The deaths still were mounting, but federal engagement had been gradually increasing. President Bill Clinton established an AIDS policy office in the White House, and Congress passed legislation protecting people with AIDS and those suspected of being infected with the HIV virus from discrimination. Under pressure from activists, the pace of federally funded research and the timeline for getting experimental drugs to consumers picked up.

In 1996, a turning point with the introduction of drugs that would eventually change AIDS from a death sentence to a somewhat manageable disease, Sweeney returned to full-time activism with the Empire State Pride Agenda, the group that would eventually secure the passage of a law legalizing same-sex marriage in New York. Since 2007, he has led the Gill Foundation, which funnels millions of dollars annually into gay-rights organizations.

For historians, there is no doubt that AIDS hastened the gay-rights movement's growth by shining a light on inequality and mobilizing the gay community.

"It galvanized collective action, organizing and the habits of giving — giving time as well as money," said Kenneth Sherrill, professor emeritus of political science at Hunter College. "It helped to develop a notion of what it was to be a responsible member of the gay community."

Sweeney put it this way:

"When they saw how much we cared, how much we organized and reached across every barrier, whether it was race or gender or neighborhood or class, to say we would care for each other, the fact that we showed that kind of heart and innovation and courage in spite of what was just relentless stigma and dehumanization, I think that really changed the country's sense of who were as human beings."

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View full sizeFILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 file photo, Sgt. Brandon Morgan, right, kisses his partner, Dalan Wells, in a helicopter hangar at the Marine base in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii upon returning from a six-month deployment to Afghanistan. The photo, made some five months after the repeal of the military's "don't ask don't tell" policy prohibiting gay servicemen from openly acknowledging their sexuality, was among the first showing a gay active duty serviceman in uniform kissing his partner at a homecoming. (AP Photo/David Lewis) 

THEN COMES MARRIAGE

The three gay couples didn't even have an attorney, let alone an inkling of the weighty consequences, when they arrived at Hawaii's Health Department on Dec. 17, 1990, to apply for marriage licenses.

Indeed, one couple, Ninia Baehr and Genora Dancel, had met only six months earlier. They'd fallen in love; Dancel had already bought Baehr a ring.

"For us, it wasn't part of long-term strategy," Baehr said in a recent interview. "It was the emotional part of wanting that respect, and wanting the protections of things like health coverage."

The couples' applications were rejected — unsurprising given that same-sex marriage was legal in no state or nation — and their plan to file a lawsuit floundered when major gay-rights groups turned down the case.

Eventually, a lawyer in private practice, Dan Foley, took the case, which dragged on for five years while a backlash materialized. Hawaii lawmakers voted in 1994 to limit marriage to unions between a man and woman, and in September 1996 Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriages and said no state could be forced to recognize such marriages that might become legal in another state.

In December 1996, the three couples and their legal team — reinforced by New York-based gay-rights lawyer Evan Wolfson — won the first-ever judgment ordering a state to legalize same-sex marriage. Circuit Judge Kevin Chang said Hawaii failed to provide sound reasons for banning such marriages, and rejected the claim that same-sex couples are less fit to raise children than heterosexuals.

The victory was short-lived. Chang suspended his ruling the next day to allow an appeal, and in 1998 it was rendered moot when Hawaii voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment giving state legislators the power to limit marriage to heterosexual unions. Over the next two decades, 30 other states passed amendments banning gay marriage — including California with a ballot measure that's been challenged in one of the cases now before the Supreme Court.

Despite all the setbacks, the campaign for marriage equality grew inexorably from a quixotic cause to a broad mass movement now supported, according to many polls, by a majority of Americans.

Under a court order, same-sex marriage began in Massachusetts in 2004. Soon legislators and voters in other states were legalizing it without court pressure. With the addition of Rhode Island, Delaware and Minnesota in May, there are now 12 gay-marriage states.

Among the millions of Americans who've shifted their views is Rick Eichor, who opposed the Hawaii lawsuit in 1996 as deputy state attorney general.

Eichor said he had no strong opinion on gay marriage at the time, though he argued in court that children have a fundamental right to grow up in the company of their biological mother and father.

"Now I'm solidly in favor of same-sex marriage," he said. "I think it's time. It probably was time a long time ago."

Evan Wolfson, who puzzled some of his Harvard law professors back in 1983 with an academic paper arguing for gay marriage, is now president of Freedom to Marry, an advocacy group that has played a key role in the movement. He married a management consultant in 2011, a few months after gay marriage became legal in New York.

The Hawaii case, Wolfson says, "was the real turning point."

"It was the first time in the history of the world that the government was forced to come before a trial judge and show a reason for excluding gay people from marriage," Wolfson said. "We were able to show that the government doesn't have one."

Tens of thousands of American gays are now legally married, though none of the Hawaii couples who filed the suit are among them.

The two men, Joseph Mellilo and Pat Lagon, were partners for nearly 30 years before Mellilo died in 2006.

Tammy Rodrigues and Toni Pregil, partners for 26 years, entered into a civil union in Hawaii after that became an option last year. Now retired in Las Vegas, they say they'd get married if that's ever allowed in Nevada.

Baehr and Dancel broke up not long after Chang's 1996 ruling, though they stay in touch.

"Being part of that case, and such a public face of it, brought us closer, and we felt very fortunate to be part of it," Baehr said. "But it also placed a lot of stress on us."

Baehr, who works on gay-rights issues in Montana for the American Civil Liberties Union, believes same-sex marriage will eventually prevail nationwide. Short term, she's hopeful the Supreme Court will order federal recognition of the same-sex marriages that exist now, striking down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act that surfaced as a backlash to the Hawaii lawsuit.

"We've had that feeling like DOMA is our responsibility — it was a bad thing that happened in part because of what we'd done," Baehr said. "To see it made right, two decades later, is going to be very sweet."

With a stroll under the California desert sun, President Barack Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping opened a second day of talks at a "get to know you" summit featuring a high-stakes agenda.

View full sizePresident Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, walk at the Annenberg Retreat of the Sunnylands estate Saturday, June 8, 2013, in Rancho Mirage, Calif. While saying it is critical that the U.S. and China reach a "firm understanding" on cyber issues, Obama told reporters his meetings with Xi have been "terrific." (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) 

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — With a stroll under the California desert sun, President Barack Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping opened a second day of talks at a "get to know you" summit featuring a high-stakes agenda.

Obama described the talks as "terrific" as he and Xi walked side by side Saturday through the manicured gardens of the sprawling Sunnylands estate. In the spirit of the informal atmosphere at the meetings, the men went without jackets and ties.

The presidents rejoined advisers for a session expected to focus on economic issues, along with additional discussions on North Korea and cybersecurity.

Neither leader was expected to make a closing statement before the gathering wrapped up in the early afternoon. U.S. and Chinese officials planned to address reporters after the summit.

At a news conference Friday night, Obama said the United States and China were in "uncharted waters" regarding computer security. The presidents carefully avoided accusing each other's nation of high-tech intrusions, but acknowledged an urgent need to find a common approach on addressing the matter.

"We don't have the kind of protocols that have governed military issues and arms issues, where nations have a lot of experience in trying to negotiate what's acceptable and what's not," Obama said.

Obama also sought to distinguish between China's alleged cyberspying and his own government's monitoring of U.S. phone and Internet records. He insisted the two issues were separate and distinct, and that concerns over hacking and intellectual property theft shouldn't be confused with the debate over how governments collect data to combat terrorist threats.

"That's a conversation that I welcome," he said.

Xi, who called rapid technological advancements a "double-edged sword," claimed no responsibility for China's alleged cyberespionage. He said China was also a victim of cyberspying but did not assign any blame.

U.S. officials cast the summit as an opportunity for Obama and Xi to hold candid talks on the many issues that define the relationship between the two powers, including the economy, climate change and North Korea's nuclear provocations.

It was the leaders' first meeting since Xi took office in March.

They originally were scheduled to hold their first talks in September, on the sidelines of an economic summit in Russia. But both countries agreed there was a need to meet earlier.

U.S. officials see Xi as a potentially new kind of Chinese leader. He has deeper ties to the U.S. than many of his predecessors and appears more comfortable in public than the last president, Hu Jintao, with whom Obama never developed a strong personal rapport.

Many of the same issues that defined Obama's relationship with Hu remain.

Xi was expected to press China's claims of business discrimination in U.S. markets and to express concern over Obama's efforts to expand U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region. China sees that as an attempt to contain its growing power.

On North Korea, U.S. officials said Obama was looking to build on Xi's apparent impatience with North Korea's nuclear provocations. The U.S. has welcomed Xi's recent calls for North Korea to return to nuclear talks, though it's unclear whether the North is ready to change its behavior.

Xi was due to depart for China in the afternoon. Obama planned to stay in California through the weekend, though he had not public events planned.

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The gunman, dressed all in black and carrying a semi-automatic rifle, walked calmly through the Santa Monica College campus after killing his father, brother at their home and another man near the school, authorities said.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The gunman, dressed all in black and carrying a semi-automatic rifle, walked calmly through the Santa Monica College campus after killing his father, brother at their home and another man near the school, authorities said. He would kill a woman outside the library moments later, before dying from police gunfire.

Trena Johnson, a longtime administrative assistant working in the dean's office, heard gunfire and looked out the window around noon Friday. Students were jumping out of windows of nearby buildings to get away. A man in black with a "very large gun" shot a woman in the head outside the library.

"When I saw her shot in the head and she fell to the ground we ran out the back door," Johnson said. "I haven't been able to stop shaking."

Before the rampage was over five people, including the gunman, were killed and five more were wounded, police said.

The violence, which lasted little more than 10 minutes, started about a mile away when the gunman began shooting at a house, and it caught on fire. Two bodies were later found inside, police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said.

Two officials told The Associated Press that the killings began as a domestic violence incident and the victims in the home were the gunman's father and brother. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

As flames rose from the house, the man, wearing what appeared to be a ballistic jacket, carjacked a woman at gunpoint and directed her to drive to the college campus, having her stop so he could shoot along the way, police said.

He wounded one woman in a car who was in critical condition late Friday. He fired on a city bus where three women were left with minor injuries. One had shrapnel-type injuries and the two others had injuries not related to gunfire. They were treated at a hospital and released.

The gunman also fired on police cars, bystanders and pedestrians, police said.

From there, the chaos shifted to Santa Monica College, a two-year school with about 34,000 students located among homes and strip malls more than a mile inland from the city's famous pier, promenade and expansive, sandy beaches.

In a faculty parking lot on the edge of campus, he fired on two people in a red Ford Explorer that crashed through a block wall. The driver was killed, police said, and a passenger was in critical condition after undergoing surgery UCLA Medical Center, doctors said. On Saturday, authorities identified the driver as Carlos Navarro Franco, 68, of West Los Angeles.

College employee Joe Orcutt was in the lot and said the gunman looked calm and composed as he fired at him. Orcutt jumped out of the way.

"He's just standing there, like he's modeling for some ammo magazine," Orcutt said, "seeing who he could shoot, one bullet at a time, like target practice."

The gunman walked on to campus and shot the woman in front of the library, who appeared to be in her 50s and carried a bag of recyclables, police spokesman Richard Lewis said. She died at the hospital about three hours later.

The gunman went inside the library and kept shooting but apparently hit no one, Seabrooks said.

Dozens of students, who had been studying for final exams, ran for the exits.

"I was totally scared to death and I can't believe it happened so fast," said Vincent Zhang, a 20-year-old economics major.

Officers entered the library and shot the gunman moments later, Seabrooks said. He was carried to a sidewalk, where he was declared dead. His body remained there many hours later as coroner's investigators examined the scene. His name and the names of most of his victims' were being withheld while the coroner's office notified relatives.

Nine crime scenes were under investigation by officers from 11 different law enforcement agencies, said Lewis, the police spokesman.

On the gunman they found a canvas bag that included an "AR-15 style" assault rifle, a handgun and magazines of ammunition, Lewis said. A small cache of ammunition found in the house that had burned.

Police had said earlier that seven people were killed, including the gunman, but they revised the death toll to five at a news conference late Friday. Lewis said there were conflicting descriptions of some victims and they were counted twice.

Police detained a second man but released him and said he was not a suspect, expressing confidence the crisis had ended.

"Santa Monica is very safe tonight," Lewis said.

Caleb Cooley Dickinson was considered an eccentric in his time, the 19th century. He never married and had little to do with his Hatfield neighbors or his family.

NORTHAMPTON – It took almost 85 years for Champ Dickinson to see a likeness of his great great uncle, but when he finally did this week, he noticed a family resemblance.

“He was a good-looking man,” said Dickinson. “He had lots of hair.”

Caleb Cooley Dickinson has loomed larger than life to his great great nephew, a Hatfield resident. Caleb, who also lived in Hatfield on the family homestead, made a lot of money trading in horses and bequeathed much of it to establish Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

For reasons lost to time, Caleb Cooley Dickinson disliked having his photograph taken. The only known likenesses of him are a sketch hanging in the hospital and an oil portrait that is normally kept in storage. The two are so unlike each other, they could be of different men.

A few years ago, Joanne Dickinson, Champ’s daughter and a longtime surgical technician at the hospital, saw the portrait during a tour. Her father immediately came to mind.

“I wanted Dad to see Caleb and what he really looked like,” she said.

With Champ Dickinson’s 85th birthday coming up on June 17, his daughter thought she would surprise him when he went to the hospital for a check-up. She succeeded.

“I was shocked, kind of,” said Champ, whose formal name is Champion. “I guess he didn’t like pictures. It’s the only one I’ve ever seen.”

Caleb Cooley Dickinson was considered an eccentric in his time, the 19th century. He never married and had little to do with his Hatfield neighbors or his family.

“He didn’t associate with the family until the later years, when he came to live on the homestead,” said Champ. “He left them his watch. That was the only thing.”

The rest of Caleb’s considerable estate went to establish a hospital for the sick and poor of Hatfield, Whately and Northampton, following his death in 1882. Dickinson directed that the facility be located in Northampton, where he believed the people were better businessmen. His family contested the will, claiming he was insane. The document prevailed, however, and on Jan. 10, 1886, the first patient was admitted to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

Champ Dickinson took a different route in life. A graduate of Smith Vocational High School, he worked in sheet metal for decades, then became a hairdresser in Haydenville. He has always had a strong sense of family pride, tending his ancestors’ graves in Hatfield, including the headstone of Caleb Cooley Dickinson.

In a 25-minute speech, Obama praised Markey for his work in areas ranging from gun control to improving the economy.

ROXBURY, Mass. - Democratic President Barack Obama riled up a crowd of thousands of voters at the Reggie Lewis track and Athletic Center in Roxbury on Wednesday, urging them to vote for Democratic U.S. Rep. Edward Markey in the U.S. Senate special election.

“I’ve got to have votes in the United States Senate who are willing to stand up for the working people just like I do,” Obama said, to rousing applause. “I need Ed Markey in the United States Senate!”

With just two weeks to go before Massachusetts voters choose their next U.S. Senator, Markey and Republican private equity investor Gabriel Gomez are fighting a campaign that could hinge on turnout, in a special election that so far appears to have generated little enthusiasm among voters. Recent polls show Markey leading Gomez by seven points, a significant lead but one that has narrowed in recent weeks. Obama’s appearance could gin up excitement among Democratic voters and activists.

“I just love him,” Alice Gesheedy, a North Andover retiree, gushed about Obama.

“It’s an honor to be in the same building as Obama,” said Stephen Schmitz, a student from Woburn.

The Markey campaign estimated the crowd at 5,400 inside the stadium with another 2,000 people who were turned away due to lack of space.

Obama’s visit comes as the president is mired in numerous scandals, including the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups; questions over the government’s handling of the attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya; the Justice Department’s subpoenaing of journalists’ phone records; and the leak of information about the government’s secret surveillance programs of phone and Internet records.

However, a recent poll by Suffolk University found that Obama remains popular in Massachusetts, a heavily Democratic state, even as his approval ratings have dropped in light of the scandals. Approval of Obama’s job performance stands at 57 percent, according to the poll, down from 63 percent last month. The president last visited the Boston for an interfaith service after the April 15 bombings at the Boston Marathon.

A handful of protesters stood outside the rally, holding signs with messages against the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the NSA surveillance and other causes. Obama’s talk was briefly interrupted by protesters, but it was not immediately clear what they were protesting.

Neither Markey nor Obama referenced the scandals during their speeches.

In a 25-minute speech, Obama praised Markey for his work in areas ranging from gun control to improving the economy. Obama said Markey, like him, is committed to educating American children, investing in manufacturing, preventing gun violence, and addressing climate changes. “There are things that government can do that will help middle class families, and that’s what Ed Markey is committed to doing,” Obama said.

Obama criticized congressional Republicans for inaction. Obama said while America remains the “greatest nation on earth,” Washington’s inaction and gridlock are holding the country back. “Too many folks in Washington are putting the next election ahead of the next generation,” Obama said.

Obama said he is willing to work with Republicans, independents and Democrats on issues including immigration reform and gun control. But, Obama said, “The fact is a whole bunch of Republicans out there are not interested in getting things done. They think compromise is a dirty word.”

Obama said House Republican have voted nearly 40 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Obama’s signature health care reform. “That’s not a productive thing to do, people,” he said.

Markey, introducing Obama, praised the president for leading America out of recession, passing the Affordable Care Act, ending the war in Iraq and signing a bill ensuring women get equal pay for equal work. “President Obama helps us lift our gaze to the constellation of possibilities for our country and for our world,” Markey said.

The two men also joked about the upcoming Stanley Cup matchup between the Boston Bruins and Obama’s hometown team, the Chicago Blackhawks. “He is a Chicago Blackhawks fan, and it will be his job to congratulate the Bruins at the White House after they win the Stanley Cup this year,” Markey said. “It will not be easy for President Obama, but I know he will do his best.”

Obama shot back, “I’m not going to say anything about the outstanding qualities of the Chicago Blackhawks….I’m not going to do it because I don’t want to make you all feel bad. I want you to feel good.”

A who’s who of Boston Democrats warmed up the crowd, with the largest applause reserved for Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who has served as the city's mayor for 20 years but is not running again due to health problems.

Gomez, asked about Obama’s visit on Tuesday, said Markey is “running scared, and he’s bringing in the rest of his D.C. team.”

However, Gomez took pains not to distance himself from the popular president. Gomez said he is honored Obama is coming to Boston “because of me.”

“Should I be fortunate enough to be elected as the next Senator from Massachusetts, I look forward to working with you to represent all the people of Massachusetts,” Gomez wrote in an open letter to Obama. “Where we disagree, I will reach across the aisle and work to find common ground with you, and with my fellow members of Congress.”

Indicating the seriousness with which national Democrats are taking this election, Obama is not the only U.S. president who will campaign with Markey. Democratic sources confirmed that former U.S. President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, will campaign with Markey in Worcester on Saturday.

First Lady Michelle Obama already visited Boston for a Markey fundraiser, and Vice President Joe Biden and former vice president Al Gore fundraised for Markey in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday night.

Gomez has enjoyed some national Republican support, including campaign visits from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Several voters said they hoped the national scandals affecting Obama would not trickle down to the Massachusetts race. Alexandra Serrano, the president of a construction company from Methuen, said it’s “tough to say” whether Markey will be affected by the Obama scandals. “We’re now looking for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, not the national election,” she said. Markey, she said, “is a good person who knows the issues of Massachusetts – health care, job security, schools.”

Several Markey supporters also took issue with a comment Biden made Tuesday evening, in which he said Latino and black voters might not turn out in the same numbers for the special election without Obama topping the ballot. Karen Groce-Horan, a grant manager from Milton who is black, said she sees signs for Markey throughout minority communities, indicating that he is doing a good job campaigning. “Communities realize the importance of the Senate election,” she said.

Shirley Carrington, a retired human services administrator from Boston, said Markey understands the issues that are important to the black community, including issues relating to violence, health care, housing, the economy and Social Security. “We turn out when we have to. Always,” Carrington said.

The most sought after foreclosures were former homes located at 61 South Washington St. – that sold for about $72,000 – and at 205 Federal St. – that was awarded to an $80,000 bidder.

BELCHERTOWN – The recent public auction of foreclosed properties seized by the town as tax-delinquent has netted Belchertown $345,000, selectmen said at Monday’s meeting.

A total of 29 properties were on the auction block; 19 actually were sold.

“It was a good process, we are hoping to have them all closed by the end of the month,” town administrator Gary Brougham told selectmen. The importance of closing prior to June 30 means the money can be credited to the current fiscal year.

The most sought after foreclosures were former homes located at 61 South Washington St. – that sold for about $72,000 – and at 205 Federal St. – that was awarded to an $80,000 bidder.

In a related matter, selectmen said a good estimate of how much state aid the town will receive for the fiscal year that begins July 1 remains a mystery and that the most recent projections are worrisome.

Lower than projected aid estimates show the town is running a projected deficit.

“We are in the hole for $106,000,” selectmen chairman George “Archie” Archible said.

Brougham said the Chapter 90 state highway aid picture has become bleak.

About half of the $900,000 that was expected is now on the table, he said.

The $466,000 currently projected is about the same the Belchertown was given in 1997 -- back when Brougham was the highway superintendent.

“The roads are falling apart and that is the primary reason,”Brougham told selectmen.

There is a vacancy on the planning board. Selectmen urged interested residents to notify the town administrator.

Selectmen are seeking letters of interest for residents to serve on the Recreation Committee. Members will have staggered appointment terms.

The board awarded a tree removal contract to Asplundh Tree Expert Co.

In other business, the board elected William Barnett as the new chairman at the end of the meeting. Brenda Aldrich was elected vice chairman.

A private effort is under way to expand a religious building long at the center of the town's public life.

BRIMFIELD - A private effort is under way to expand a religious building long at the center of the town's public life.

The First Congregational Church of Brimfield at 20 Main St. was built in 1721, 10 years prior to Brimfield's incorporation as a Massachusetts town.

In the aftermath of the 2011 tornado, the church served meals and provided infrastructure for essential support services for months.

On Sunday, June 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. the church hosts an informational meeting and will show details of expansion proposal.

The event is also the official campaign launch to raise $500,000 for the expansion project that includes handicapped accessibility upgrades and exterior improvements.

Plans call for a 750-square-foot addition to the building.

Future uses of the extra room include space for Brimfield's Senior Center, which is housed at the church.

The addition would create a community room on the second floor. The installation of an elevator is also planned.

Contact the church at (413) 245-7261 for more information.

The church if affiliated nationally with the United Church of Christ.

Without any good news to drive the market up, investors grappled with the question hanging over financial markets: When will the Federal Reserve and other central banks pull back their economic stimulus programs?

In this Monday, June 10, 2013 photo, specialist Anthony Rinaldi, right, and trader Gordon Charlop work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Asian stocks fell Wednesday June 12, 2013 amid concern about a lack of new Japanese moves to calm bond markets and uncertainty about the outlook for U.S. monetary policy. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 126.79 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 14,995.23. AP Photo/Richard Drew 

NEW YORK — Video-game shops, restaurants and retailers led the stock market lower Wednesday.

Without any good news to drive the market up, investors grappled with the question hanging over financial markets: When will the Federal Reserve and other central banks pull back their economic stimulus programs?

Markets have turned turbulent in recent weeks as traders start preparing for a time when the Fed and central banks in Europe and Japan aren't pumping as much money into the financial system.

"There's nothing concrete out there to turn us around today," Russell Croft, co-portfolio manager at the Croft Value Fund in Baltimore. "So naturally enough, people are back to thinking about the Fed."

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 126.79 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 14,995.23. The Dow had its first three-day stretch of losses this year and is down 1.7 percent for the week.

A rout in global markets helped pull the Dow down 116 points Tuesday. The selling started after the Bank of Japan decided not to make any new attempt to spur growth in the world's third-largest economy.

In other trading Wednesday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 13.61 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,612.52. All 10 industry groups in the index dropped, led by consumer-discretionary and utility companies.

Two of the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 this year, Netflix and BestBuy, led consumer-discretionary companies down. Netflix lost $6.82, or 3 percent, to $207.64. BestBuy dropped $1.01, or 4 percent, to $26.88. GameStop fell $1.13, or 3 percent, to $36.69.

The S&P 500, the stock-market benchmark for most investment funds, has lost 3.4 percent since reaching a record high on May 21. The next day, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank could decide to scale down its bond-buying program in the coming months if the economy looks strong enough.

Since then, the discussion among investors has centered on what will happen when the Fed shifts course. "'Tapering' is definitely the word of the month," Croft said.

Many on Wall Street think the Fed could signal that it's ready to start cutting back on its $85 billion in bond purchases at the end of its two-day meeting next Wednesday. That's a key reason bond traders have been selling Treasurys, sending the 10-year yield from a low of 1.63 percent last month to as high as 2.29 percent this week.

Long-term borrowing rates are still near historic lows, but their jump over the past month has grabbed investors' attention, said Mark Travis, president and CEO of Intrepid Capital Management. "I think people are starting to pause," he said. "If rates continue to drift up, it's probably going to be a headwind for the market."

Despite the losses, there were a few bright spots. Cooper Tire & Rubber jumped 41 percent after Apollo Tyres, an Indian company, announced plans to buy the tire maker for $2.5 billion. The combined company would be one of the world's largest tire makers, Apollo said, with combined 2012 sales of $6.6 billion. Cooper Tire gained $10.10 to $34.66.

Gigamon soared 50 percent on its first day of trading as a public company. The Milpitas, Calif.-based company, which makes equipment for computer-network traffic, raised $128 million in its initial public offering Tuesday. Its stock surged $9.47 to $28.47.

The Nasdaq composite sank 36.52 points, or 1 percent, to 3,400.43.

In the market for U.S. government bonds, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged up to 2.23 percent from 2.18 percent late Tuesday.

In commodities trading, crude oil rose 50 cents to $95.88 a barrel in New York. Gold rose $15 to $1,392 an ounce.

Among other stocks making moves:

• First Solar slumped 11 percent, the biggest drop in the S&P 500, following news late Tuesday that the company plans raise money through the sale of 8.5 million shares of stock. First Solar had 87.8 million publicly traded shares as of May 3, and its stock has more than quadrupled over the last year. First Solar lost $4.68 to $47.54.
• Rambus, a designer of memory chips, rose 52 cents, or 6 percent, to $8.55 after saying late Tuesday it had resolved a decade-old patent dispute with South Korean chipmaker Hynix. Hynix will pay Rambus $240 million over the next five years.
• Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance jumped $12.51, or 15 percent, to $96.84. The company reported late Tuesday that its income increased 20 percent in the latest quarter as shoppers streamed into the retailer's stores and website.

Mastroianni said the violence Kirkland showed “rises to a level frankly the courts don’t see often.”

Tamik KirklandThe Republican/Michael Gordon 

SPRINGFIELD - They told their stories in court Wednesday in victim impact statements - the city officer, the state trooper, the mother and the widow.

City Police Officer Raul Gonzalez, State Trooper Stephen Gregorczyk, Emily Innocent and Savannah Innocent all let a Hampden Superior Court judge know just how Tamik Kirkland’s violent acts of April 30, 2011, harmed their lives.

They were speaking at the sentencing of Kirkland, 27, who was found guilty earlier that day of first degree murder and 10 other crimes.

Judge Tina S. Page sentenced Kirkland to the mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of 24-year-old Sheldon Innocent of Wilbraham, and concurrent sentences on the other counts.

Sheldon Innocent with wife Savannah and son XavierFamily photo 

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni had asked Page to sentence Kirkland to 45-60 years on the three counts of armed assault with intent to murder and then start the life sentence after that.

He said the violence Kirkland showed “rises to a level frankly the courts don’t see often.”

Mastroianni said he was asking for the extra sentences because Kirkland “affected so many people in so many horrible ways.”

Page said she understood Mastroianni’s request, but was not going to do as he asked and she stuck to the mandatory life sentence with concurrent other sentences.

Kirkland was found guilty of armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury for shooting barber Darryl King 11 times.

Innocent was King’s barber shop customer and King testified Kirkland came in and began shooting at him (King). Innocent, because of where he was sitting in the barber chair at Bill Brown’s House of Beauty on State Street, was struck and killed.

King was in the courtroom for the sentencing but when Page asked if he was going to give a victim impact statement, prosecutors said he declined to do so.

Kirkland was found guilty of a number of crimes from a shoot-out with police in the driveway of 46 Burr St. shortly after the barber shop shootings.

Kirkland was found guilty of two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, and of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, with Gregorczyk and Gonzalez the victims.

Gregorczyk was hit in the chest by a bullet fired by Kirkland as Kirkland hid in the trunk of a car. His protective vest kept him from getting injured.

Speaking in court at the sentencing, Gregorczyk said no matter what the danger, police will not stop going to reports of gunfire.

He said, “We are asking the court stands behind us and sets a standard.”

Gregorczyk’s wife Jessica told Page Kirkland had taken away any security she may have felt about her husband’s job.

“I will never again be comfortable when my husband is at work,” she said.

Gonzalez was struck by a shell fragment in the driveway of 46 Burr St.

Assistant District Attorney Karen Bell read a written statement from Gonzalez in which he said he knew the dangers inherent with his career.

He said the public sometimes believes getting hurt is part of the job, but it is not.

“It’s burned into my memory...I saw first hand when Tamik Kirkland shot the trooper,” Gonzalez said.

He said Kirkland “forced his hand” to protect himself and other officers.

“I had to shoot him,” Gonzalez said.

Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Col. Timothy P. Alben issued a statement Wednesday afternoon thanking the jury for listening to the facts, reviewing the evidence and then reaching what he called the appropriate verdict.

"We said at the time of the shooting that Tamik Kirkland’s violent acts would not go unanswered, and thanks to the work of the prosecutors, police officers, and troopers involved in this case, those acts were answered by a strong investigation and prosecution," Albens said.

"I would like to commend the superb work of our State Police Detective Unit for Hampden County, of state troopers and police officers in Springfield, and of Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni and his staff," he said.

He concluded by expressing thanks that officer Gonzalez and trooper Gregorczyk were not injured and expressing condolences to the family of Sheldon Innocent.

Savannah Innocent, Sheldon Innocent’s widow, was crying so much during her statement it was hard for her to speak. She had a picture of their son Xavier - who was 11 months old when his father was killed - handed to Page.

Sheldon Innocent’s grandparents, Betty and William Innocent, stood at the prosecution table as the latter talked to Page.

He said he remembered his grandson fishing, camping, graduating and “tenderly carrying his newborn."

Now, he said, there is “no grandson, no father, no son, no husband, emptiness.”

Emily Innocent described her son Sheldon as “smart, caring” and a wonderful person.

“Sheldon was so proud to see the first African American president elected,” she said.

Page, speaking to the Innocent family, said, “Your loss must be insufferable. For someone to go get a haircut and never go home.”

“This little boy is what you have to live for - Xavier,” she said.

Page said she knows Gregorczyk and Gonzalez will be able to get past what happened and keep doing their good work.

Defense lawyer Nikolas Andreopoulos, who with Andrew M. Klyman made up the defense team, said Kirkland’s mother and siblings support him, and he loves them.

Kirkland said he does not want his 7-year-old daughter to make the same type of choices he made, Andreopoulos said.

He said Kirkland had called his mother on her birthday from the minimum security prison at Shirley where he was serving a sentence, and she was in the hospital having been shot several times.

Andreopoulos said, while he was not offering an excuse on behalf of Kirkland, “He was overcome by emotion, by the love he had for his mother.”

Kirkland escaped from the prison to avenge his mother’s shooting, police had said. Police have said neither Innocent or King had anything to do with the shooting of Kirkland’s mother.

No one has been charged in that shooting.

Page, referring to testimony from one witness Kirkland said he was going to go out with a bang, said she found Kirkland’s actions inexplicable.

“Some things there are no answers for,” she said. “I’m sorry your mother got shot, I really am.”

“I wish I could understand why a 27-year-old man wishes to end his life with a bang,” Page said.

Kirkland’s mother, other family and friends sat quietly in the courtroom during the sentencing.

About two dozen court officers were in the courtroom for the sentencing, along with a large group of state troopers and police officers. Kirkland took the news of the verdict without showing obvious emotion.

Cowan said he is confident in the Bruins, however, and believes they will bring the Stanley Cup back to Boston.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ahead of the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Finals series between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks, the U.S. Senators from Massachusetts have challenged their counterparts from Illinois to a friendly wager.

U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and William "Mo" Cowan, D-Mass., are betting Legal Seafood’s Chowder and Sam Adams beer against some home-state products being put on the line by Sens. Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk, a Democrat and Republican representing Illinois.

“The Bruins team has shown extraordinary grit and resolve throughout the season,” said Sen. Warren. “I have faith they will show Boston's strength on the ice in the Stanley Cup Finals and they will bring home the Cup to Boston. When Senator Durbin from Illinois asked me what we should wager, I said he should put up whatever he was ready to lose.”

Durbin and Kirk have wagered Chicago’s famous Eli’s cheesecake and 312 beer from Goose Island Brewery.

“From the historic streak to begin the season to the double-overtime heroics in clinching the Western Conference Championship, the Blackhawks have captivated the city of Chicago,” Durbin said. “Patrick ‘Hat Trick’ Kane, Captain Jonathan Toews and coach Joel Quenneville want to bring the Stanley Cup home again. From the first notes of the Star-Spangled Banner to the final horn, I know Blackhawks fans will make the ‘Madhouse on Madison’ live up to its name."

Kirk agreed, adding "The Blackhawks have won more games than any other team in the NHL this season, and I am confident they will notch four more victories in the final series to reclaim the Stanley Cup. Chicago will cheer on its Hawks with pride all the way to the last winning goal."

Cowan said he is confident in the Bruins, however, and believes they will bring the Stanley Cup back to Boston.

"With Tuukka Rask posted up in goal, and players like Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, and our team’s veteran, Jaromir Jagr, on the ice, the Bruins will no doubt be an unstoppable force backed by fierce momentum and the incredible spirit of the people of the Commonwealth,” said Cowan. “We are looking forward to seeing the incredible persistence and cohesion of the Bruins team, along with their remarkable talent, on full display tonight in Chicago and throughout the series.”

Boston came out on top in a seven-game battle with the Toronto Maple Leafs before defeating the New York Rangers in five games and sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins. After defeating the Minnesota Wild in five games, the Blackhawks came back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the rival Detroit Red Wings in seven games on a thrilling overtime goal by Brent Seabrook.

The Hawks earned a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals by dethroning the defending champion Los Angeles Kings in five games—this time on a double-overtime strike by Kane. Neither team is a stranger to the finals with the Blackhawks having won the Stanley Cup in 2010 and the Bruins doing the same in 2011.

The best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals begin Wednesday night in Chicago at 7 P.M.

According to eyewitnesses, Casey Howard struggled with police after an officer discovered him with what appeared to be drugs in one of the building’s bathrooms.

NORTHAMPTON – A Hampshire County grand jury added to Casey Howard’s legal woes Tuesday, indicting him for attempting to commit a crime. Howard, 27, of 145 Water St. in Northampton, has already been arraigned on charges of resisting arrest, possession of a class B substance and possession of marijuana in connection with a Jan. 31 incident in Thornes Marketplace. He has pleaded innocent to all charges.

According to eyewitnesses, Howard struggled with police after an officer discovered him with what appeared to be drugs in one of the building’s rest rooms.

One eyewitness said she heard someone shout “gun!” during the altercation. Although police found no gun on Howard, the attempted crime described in the new indictment is possession of a firearm.

Vander Linden will receive about $120,000 a year for his new job and is scheduled to begin on June 24.

BOSTON - Mark Vander Linden is set to be introduced on Thursday as the new director of research and problem gambling for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

Mark Vander Liden 

Vander Linden will receive about $120,000 a year for his new job and is scheduled to begin on June 24.

He is currently the executive officer in the Iowa Department of Public Health's Office of Problem Gambling Treatment and Prevention. He directs all aspects of problem gambling services for Iowa.

Vander Linden will oversee all the commission's research efforts on compulsive gambling, and serve as the head of the gaming commission's Office of Compulsive and Problem Gambling, according to Elaine Driscoll, communications director for the commission. He will work closely with the state Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling.

Vander Linden will research, develop and recommend the most effective and innovative programs designed to prevent, educate and treat compulsive and problem gambling, according to the commission.Vander Linden will also evaluate a casino applicant's plans and strategies for dealing with problem gamblers.

He is scheduled to attend the commission's meeting on Thursday in Boston.

N. Richard "Rick" Day, executive director of the commission, appointed Vander Linden.

West Springfield Police Captain Daniel M. O'Brien questions why the city wants a Chicopee law enforcement official to investigate him.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Although Police Captain Daniel M. O’Brien has produced a letter from the U.S. Attorney’s office stating it will not pursue charges against the officer, the city is not going to let him return to work pending its own investigation, according to the mayor.

Daniel M. O'Brien 

Mayor Gregory C. Neffinger said Tuesday that the city will have a member of the Chicopee Police Department investigate the matter and officials are awaiting a report from the Justice Department.

O’Brien, whose pay is about $100,000 a year, has been out of work on paid administrative leave for more than a year and a half. The U.S. Attorney’s office investigated his treatment of a woman in police custody during the Eastern States Exposition’s Big E agricultural fair in September 2011. Officials, including O’Brien, have declined to outline any specifics in the matter.

The mayor said he expects the probe, which will result in a report to the public safety commission, should take about two weeks. Neffinger said he has been told there is a possibility of a civil lawsuit being filed in the case, but that O’Brien’s return is not tied to that.

O’Brien has released a copy of an internal letter in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Springfield U.S. Attorney’ stating that charges will not be pursued. Officials in the U.S. Attorney’s office refuse to confirm or deny the existence of investigations and have declined to comment in this case.

The May 28 letter is from Paul H. Smith, assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Springfield branch office, to Special Agent Mark Karangekis. It states: “I write to provide written notice that the U.S. Attorney has declined to pursue the criminal prosecution of Daniel O’Brien with respect to the excessive-force allegations concerning his conduct with a detainee of the West Springfield Police Department on or about September 30.”

The 53-year-old O’Brien, who has been on the city’s police force since 1988, was finalist for the job of police chief last year. Ronald P. Campurciani, another captain the department, was appointed to the position.

O’Brien has said he is eager to return to work.

The officer said Wednesday that he is concerned the city is reaching out to someone from Chicopee to do the investigation.

“Chicopee is having a hard enough time investigating its own people. I’m curious if they are shopping for the results they want,” O’Brien said, adding that he wonders why the matter is not being handled by the West Springfield Police Department.

O’Brien also said that city officials had originally said they were awaiting word on the probe from the U.S. attorney’s office before reinstating him, but are now saying they want to get a report.

“They keep moving the goal line,” O’Brien said.

The law was passed Wednesday. It prohibits pants that droop 3 inches below the waist, exposing skin or underwear.

A young man wears saggy pants on the Wildwood, N.J. boardwalk. Wildwood is set to pass a law Wednesday, June 12, 2013 regulating how people dress on its boardwalk, including a prohibition on pants that sag more than 3 inches below the hips, exposing either skin or underwear. Mayor Ernest Troiano said Wildwood has been inundated with complaints from tourists upon whose money the popular beach town depends for its survival. AP Photo/Wayne Parry 

WILDWOOD, N.J. — Wearing your pants too low in one New Jersey shore resort town is about to get expensive.

Wildwood has passed a law banning overly saggy pants, providing for fines of between $25 and $200 for violators.

The law was passed Wednesday. It prohibits pants that droop 3 inches below the waist, exposing skin or underwear.

Mayor Ernest Troiano says many longtime visitors to the popular shore town have complained about having to look at people's rear ends "hanging out" while walking the boardwalk.

Civil libertarians say the law is unconstitutional and likely will be overturned if it's challenged in court.

The ban takes effect July 2 and applies only to the boardwalk.

The grant will pay to have additional officers out educating and enforcing laws.

AMHERST – Amherst police just received a $5,000 grant that will enable officers to help keep pedestrians and bicyclists safe.

The town is one of 48 to receive the grant from the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The release of the grant comes two weeks after a 22-year-old Hampshire College student Livingston I. H. Pangburn was killed in a collision with a truck while riding a bicycle on College Street.

The driver of the truck has not been identified and the accident is still under investigation, police said.

Sgt. Todd Lang, who is administering the grant, said the money will pay for additional officers to be either on foot or on bicycle handing out information, monitoring crosswalks and intersections that are dangerous to both bikes and those on foot, and educating everyone about their responsibilities. They will also be enforcing the law that requires vehicles to stop when people are in the crosswalk.

He said officers will be out all summer at different locations. Some will be in plain clothes as well and can then signal to a uniformed officer if a motorist has violated the crosswalk law. Police will also be looking for pedestrians who don’t cross at marked crosswalks or bicyclists not following the rules of the road.

“Our goal is to make the streets of Amherst as safe as they can be for all users. This grant will allow us to focus our efforts in specific areas for a few hours at a time uninterrupted,” he said.

Dangerous intersections include those downtown, those on South Pleasant or near the University of Massachusetts, Lang said.

“We’re very pleased the state recognizes (the town),” he said.

And he believes the numbers of people riding bikes is growing. “We certainly do have a lot in town turning to alternative (travel).”

In 2012, there were nine accidents with pedestrians and five with cyclists in Amherst.
The fatality last month was the first this year.

“Bicyclists and pedestrians are particularly vulnerable road users because they may not be immediately visible to drivers and unlike those in vehicles, nothing protects them from impact,” said Chief Scott P. Livingstone in a statement. “All users need to learn to share the road safely and be mindful of one another and the law.”

Downey was filming a driving scene with young actress Emma Tremblay while inside a sport utility vehicle.

SUNDERLAND — Actor Robert Downey Jr. and a crew making the movie "The Judge" visited Smiarowski Farm Stand on Route 47 on Wednesday afternoon.

Downey was filming a driving scene with young actress Emma Tremblay while inside a sport utility vehicle. The vehicle was parked atop a trailer in the Smiarowski parking lot.

Downey acknowledged fans gathered across the street from the farm stand.

"The Judge" is directed by David Dobkin and also stars Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Leighton Meester and Billy Bob Thornton. The comedy-drama features Downey as a successful lawyer who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father (Duvall), who is also the town's judge, is a murder suspect.

Downey, other cast members and crew were in Shelburne Falls last week to film scenes along Bridge Street, which was refashioned into a fictional downtown Carlinville, Ind.

“The Judge” is scheduled to next film scenes Worcester and Boston.

The annual event, that began in the 1950’s and has run each years since 1984 features healthy amounts of home-made Polish food made by parishioners on sale.

This sign announces the St. Mary's carnival that begins a three-day run Thursday.Jim Russell photo 

WARE – The St. Mary’s parish carnival to raise money for the parochial school and the church is this week, Thursday through Saturday. The event is on church grounds at 60 South St.

The annual event, which began in the 1950s and has run each year since 1984, features healthy amounts of homemade Polish food made by parishioners on sale.

In addition to the cabbage, rice and ground beef and spices that make golambki, a popular dish at the St. Mary’s carnival is kielbasa with pierogi and kapusta.

A wide variety of home-baked pastries and desserts will be on sale.

There will be sales of hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, ice cream, cotton candy and fried dough. There will also be a pig roast.

Fifteen carnival rides, including a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round and mini-roller coaster for the younger children, are provided by Mark Fanelli Traveling amusement park.

Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. is "wrist band" day when for one price there are unlimited rides.

There is live singing each evening, with Donna Lee on Thursday, Mark VI Friday and Skidmarks Saturday. There will also be a disco jockey Saturday afternoon.

The hours are: Thursday 5 to 10:30 p.m.; Friday 5 to 11 p.m.; and Saturday, noon to 11 p.m.

Radio station WARE plans to broadcast live on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.

Contact St. Mary’s Parish for more information at (413) 967-5913.

The fire broke out in a 2nd floor bedroom.

This is the home of Palmer Fire Lt. Todd Warren, where there was a fire on Thursday night. Warren was one of the first responders.The Republican I Lori Stabile 

PALMER — A spokeswoman for the state fire marshal's office said the cause of the fire that heavily damaged 22 Fieldstone Drive last week will remain undetermined.

"There was extensive damage to the home. Unfortunately, the fire is undetermined after investigation," Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for the state fire marshal's office, said.

The fire was reported June 6, and among the first responders was homeowner Todd Warren, a lieutenant with the Palmer Fire Department. The majority of the damage occurred on the second floor; the fire started in a second floor bedroom.

The family is staying with relatives, according to the fire chief. A damage estimate was not available. It took approximately 30 minutes to put out the fire, but firefighters were on scene for approximately four hours.