All three major stock indexes, however, fell for the fourth week in a row.

Associated Press photoKenny Eley fuels his car with his daughter Kenisha, 4, as they prepare for the Memorial Day weekend in Richmond, Va., Friday. For every $10 a household earns, almost a full dollar now goes toward gasoline, forcing Americans to rethink what they spend on everything else, including the family vacation.

NEW YORK – Maybe American consumers are better off than everybody thought.

A key measure of consumer confidence rose unexpectedly this month. Meanwhile, Americans’ spending and income rose in April, giving stocks their third straight day of gains on Friday. The market was still down slightly for the week.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index rose to 74.3 in May, above analysts’ estimates of 70. Concerns about higher gas prices and inflation knocked the gauge down in March and April.

Gas prices have come down in May after reaching nearly $4 last month, giving a lift to the closely watched measure of how people feel about the economy. That raised hopes that people might be willing to spend more.

“That’s what a 25-cent drop in gas prices will do,” David Ader, bond strategist at CRT Capital Group, wrote in an email to clients.

Both personal income and spending rose 0.4 percent in April, in line with what economists expected, according to the Commerce Department. Still, higher prices for food and gas ate up most of the gains in income. The report from the Commerce Department lags by a month, so the recent decline in gas prices isn’t reflected in those figures.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 38.82 points, or 0.3 percent, to 12,441.58. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.41 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,331.10. The Nasdaq composite rose 13.94 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,796.86.

All three major stock indexes fell slightly for the week, the fourth week in a row of declines. The Dow lost 0.6 percent, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each lost 0.2 percent. The last time stocks fell for four weeks in a row was February 2010. Still, the Dow is up 7.5 percent for the year. The S&P 500 is up 5.8 percent, the Nasdaq 5.4 percent.

The week started with a batch of bad news from Europe. Another downgrade of Greece’s already weak credit rating, a warning on Italy’s debt and a defeat of Spain’s ruling party deepened worries about Europe’s fiscal crisis. The Dow fell 131 points on Monday after the news.

U.S. stock indexes hit their highest levels of the year April 29 following a strong run of corporate earnings. The S&P 500 has lost 2.4 percent since then as Greece struggles to avoid default and U.S. economic forecasts were revised lower, partly due to high gas prices.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. jumped 11 percent. The maker of chips for data-storage and Blackberry’s smartphones reported a slight drop in earnings. But Marvell’s CEO forecast higher sales in the current quarter.

Another chipmaker, Broadcom Corp. rose 5 percent. FBR Capital Markets said Broadcom should benefit from growing demand for smartphones. FBR put the company on its list of top picks.

CVS Caremark Corp. rose 2 percent after the pharmacy benefits company won a three-year contract from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program.

Nearly three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

Trading was thin ahead of the Memorial Day holiday. Consolidated volume on the NYSE was 2.8 billion shares. Markets will be closed Monday.

At both ceremonies, attendees said Memorial Day is a way to remember veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice.

In advance of the barbecues and relaxation of the long Memorial Day weekend, Springfield and Palmer conducted ceremonies Friday to remember those veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Nearly 75 people gathered for a Memorial Day ceremony at Court Square in Springfield that included the laying of the wreaths at war monuments, color guards from local high schools, and patriotic speeches and music. Some had signs in support of veterans.

Jerry Dolloff, of Springfield, a U.S. Army veteran whose service included two tours in Vietnam, said he feels “a sense of renewed pride in the country.”

“I am here to remember the brothers I left behind and to recognize the sacrifices of all veterans,” Dolloff said.

James F. O’Connell, of Indian Orchard, who served 35 years in the military, said he is concerned that too many people consider Memorial Day just a day off from work.

“I think we should think of the troops that we’ve lost, and the disabled ones still out here,” O’Connell said.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, in his remarks, said he wished the crowd was larger, and believes that some people take the sacrifices of veterans for granted.

While the weekend includes “picnics and retail sales,” people should be thankful every day for the service and sacrifice of veterans, Sarno said.

Jose H. Irizarry, a school principal and 26-year veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve, another keynote speaker, praised the bravery of men and women who have given their lives including in the latest wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In Palmer, Converse Middle School, seventh-grader Angelina Roulston said that the holiday is more than just a day off from school, and thanked the soldiers for fighting for what they believed in – to preserve the country’s freedoms.

“The sacrifices these soldiers have made, make our country stronger. They risk their lives for us and that’s not something many people will do,” she said.

“Memorial Day is important to me and I take it seriously because my grandfather was a World War II veteran. He once risked his life for us, too .¤.¤. I look up to him as a hero and one of my country’s heroes,” Roulston said.

The guest speaker was 1st Michael Domnarski, an Iraq war veteran and state police lieutenant. Domnarski is the father of fifth-grader Mitchell Domnarski.

Domnarski served in Iraq for a year with the 747th military police, and told the students that freedom is not free, and that they can hate the war, but should respect the soldiers.

The ceremony also featured performances by the band and chorus. Reading specialist Ivy Peritz-Smith said the annual ceremony is a tradition at the middle school.

“It’s part of the middle school experience, and important to show respect to those who served and gave,” Peritz-Smith said.

Staff writer Lori Stabile contributed to this report

Brown made a swing through Western Massachusetts Friday and planned to attend a number of Memorial Day events in central Massachusetts this weekend.

May 27, 2011 - Wilbraham - Staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - U. S. Senator Scott Brown, D-Mass. was the featured speaker Friday at the Mid-Year Legislative Outlook Luncheon presented by the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS) and the East of the River 5 Town Chamber of Commerce (ERC5) held at the Country Club of Wilbraham. At right is Thomas R. Creed, senior vice president of Berkshire Bank and member of the ACCGS Legislative Steering Committee.

WILBRAHAM – When U.S. Sen. Scott P. Brown visits American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, even they ask him about job creation, Brown told members of the East of the River 5-Town Chamber of Commerce at lunch Friday.

“Jobs, jobs, jobs,” Brown told the crowd of 125 gathered at the Country Club of Wilbraham. “That’s why you are here, to meet up with people, try and network and grow your businesses.”

But Brown said a lack of coherent tax and regulatory policies in Washington, D.C., stymies job creation.

“What we need to do is remove the uncertainty,” he said. “We need to give businesses certainty when it comes to taxes and regulation so they know what the landscape is moving forward.”

Brown made a swing through Western Massachusetts Friday and planned to attend a number of Memorial Day events in central Massachusetts this weekend.

Brown also paid a visit to Agawam, where he visited Mayor Richard A. Cohen.

As to why he choose Agawam, Brown said, “It is an important part of the state. It’s good to be back and I’m here to learn. ... There is life after (Interstates) 128 and also past 495.”

“It is very positive and encouraging to have him come here and care about us and our needs,” Cohen said.

The senator took a tour of Southworth Company and had plans to stop at the police and fire stations as well, guided by state Rep. Nicholas A. Boldyga, R-Southwick.

Friday morning, he visited the H.P. Hood ice cream plant in town.

May 27, 2011 - Wilbraham - Staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - U. S. Senator Scott Brown, D-Mass. was the featured speaker Friday at the Mid-Year Legislative Outlook Luncheon presented by the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS) and the East of the River 5 Town Chamber of Commerce (ERC5) held at the Country Club of Wilbraham. From left: Attorney Carmina Fernandes of Ludlow, Brown, Gloria Faria and Cid Inacia, both with Chicopee Savings Bank.

As to reports that he is being targeted by the Democratic Party because he has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012, Brown said, “I’m going to let other people do the politicking.”

Brown, a Republican and former state senator who was elected last year to fill the unfinished term of the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, said the deficit, federal spending, job creation and national security are really the only important issues in Washington. But partisan battles keep getting in the way.

Brown said a small business bill he’s working on with Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, is being held up by the Democratic minority because of one clause.

“When it’s 2012 we can run for reelection,” Brown said. “For now, lets govern.”

Brown said he will run for a full six-year term in 2012.

Brown spoke of recent hearings he has participated in with Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del., that identified $150 billion a year in misspent federal payments. Those include pension payments to the dead and other bureaucratic snafus. Brown also called for free the passage of pending free trade agreement with South Korea, Panama and other countries. He wants to keep United States business plugged into those markets. Because if the United States doesn’t do business there, China and India certainly will.

“When I was a kid, you couldn’t see those countries in the rear-view mirror,” Brown said. “But now you look to the left, look to the right and yes, look a little bit ahead of us, and there they are, folks.”

Staff writer Sandra E. Constantine contributed to this report.

Belichick reminded the graduates there is no "I" in "team" but there is one in "win," and a team wins when individual players do their jobs.

Suffield Academy Graduation - Here, New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick delivers the commencement address.

SUFFIELD – New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick told Suffield Academy graduates Friday morning to follow their heart, their passion and their curiosity in life, and not to worry about what everyone else is doing.

Belichick, a parent of graduating senior Brian C. Belichick, gave the commencement address to 127 graduating students and their friends and family in an outdoor ceremony on Bell Hill.

Belichick made several references to his dedicated NFL players as he urged students to work hard and be a team player.

He reminded students that in the past decade, no championship team in professional football, baseball, basketball or hockey has also claimed the most valuable player of the league that year.

“There’s no ‘I’ in team, but there is an ‘I’ in win,” he said. “That stands for individual achievement. You need to do your job, because without it, there’s no leadership.”

Belichick told students that they should always do what’s right for the team, whether or not they want to do it.

“The greatest leaders I’ve coached just go out there and do their job with a good attitude,” he said.

Belichick also urged students not to lose touch with their childhood friends or their siblings, as their lives pull them apart and longtime friends grow fewer.

“Your mission in life is to love life,” he said. “Chase the dreams you have, not somebody else’s.”

Senior Class Speaker Patrick J. Tolosky, of Longmeadow, an honors student and athlete, was chosen by his peers to address them. He reflected on the fun he and his classmates had over the past four years.

He told students how Suffield Academy taught them all “to be, rather than seem.”

“Be what you are and don’t pretend to be anything else,” Tolosky said. “When we go on to college, jobs, starting a family and becoming successful, it’s because of this idea of being rather than seeming.”

Tolosky also urged students to follow their passion.

“Each of us has a dream,” he said. “While I’m quite concerned about some of these dreams you have, I still think you should pursue them.”

Cahn closed the ceremony by telling graduates that they have made him proud.

“You have shown tremendous cohesion, loyalty to each other and to Suffield, and compassion as people,” he said. “I am optimistic that you will have fruitful and interesting life journeys, and I am appreciative of your many contributions to this great school.”

Of the 127 students graduating this year from the private high school, 24 are from Massachusetts. Students in the 2011 class hail from 15 states and 20 countries.

The Pioneer Valley has had three serious motorcycle crashes over the past three evenings, beginning Wednesday when a Springfield man was critically injured after colliding with a car on Boston Road.

Staff photo by Patrick JohnsonThe debris field from a Boston Road motorcycle accident that seriously injured the rider, who collided with a car Wednesday evening in Springfield.

MONSON -- The Pioneer Valley has had three serious motorcycle crashes over the past three consecutive evenings, each of which resulted in a serious or critical injury.

The accidents occurred in Monson, Westfield and Springfield on Friday, Thursday and Wednesday, respectively. Updates on the riders' conditions weren't immediately available early Saturday, but all three incidents remain under investigation.

The latest crash occurred around 8:30 p.m. Friday on Route 32 in Monson. The name of the rider wasn't immediately available from the Monson Police Department, which had no new information about the incident early Saturday morning.

A local TV station said the victim was a 44-year-old man who apparently lost control of his bike while rounding a curve on Route 32, also known as Stafford Road. The incident took place near the Connecticut border, but police didn't indicate the direction in which the man was traveling.

Monson Police Chief Stephen Kozloski told 22News that the motorcycle hit a dirt embankment near 228 Stafford Road.

The man was rushed to Wing Memorial Hospital in Palmer before being airlifted by helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, according to police and media reports.

A Monson police officer contacted by The Republican on Saturday said he didn't have an update on the condition of the man, who reportedly suffered a head injury.

The crash closed a stretch of Route 32, according to 22News. Traffic was rerouted onto May Hill Road, which merges with Hampden Road.

Friday's crash follows evening accidents on Wednesday and Thursday in Springfield and Westfield.

In the former incident, Springfield police said that 23-year-old Vincent Surprenant was critically injured after losing control of his motorcycle on Boston Road around 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Surprenant, of Newbury Street, Springfield, was traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed when he collided with a Nissan Maxima in the vicinity of 600 Boston Road, police said.

As of early Friday morning, Surprenant remained in critical condition at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Springfield Police Sgt. John M. Delaney said Surprenant apparently lost control of the bike while rounding a curve. Surprenant skidded into the westbound lane of Boston Road, clipping the front end of a 2000 Maxima driven by Jorge Mendez, 36, of Morton Street, Springfield, Delaney said.

The impact ripped the right front bumper off the car, police said. The motorcycle eventually came to a stop near the entrance to Dezi’s Jewelry Exchange and Pawn Shop.

Pieces of the bike were scattered over a large section of Boston Road.

On Thursday evening, Westfield police were called to the scene of a collision between a motorcycle and truck around 6:20 p.m. at the intersection of Southampton Road and Falcon Drive.

The Harley Davidson struck a Ford Ranger as the truck turned left onto Falcon Drive, Westfield Police Sgt. Jason Perron said.

Police said the bike broadsided the Ranger, causing extensive damage to both vehicles and serious injuries to the motorcycle rider, whom police declined to identify.

Perron said the rider was taken to the Baystate Medical Center with serious injuries, but the driver of the Ford and his passenger were uninjured.

VIDEO from CBS3 News of Friday night's motorcycle crash in Monson:

THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of a Friday night motorcycle crash on Route 32 in Monson that seriously injured the rider:

View Larger Map

Serrano and Alexi Carrucini, 20, of Springfield will likely face multiple charges when they are arraigned Tuesday in Springfield District Court.

Republican file photoSpringfield police charged two men in connection with a shotgun assault early Saturday morning in the Six Corners neighborhood. No one was injured in the incident, which allegedly involved a scorned boyfriend who opened fire on his girlfriend's Cedar Street home.

SPRINGFIELD -- Roberto Serrano's relationship with his girlfriend went sour. So sour that the 20-year-old Springfield man fired a shotgun at her Six Corners home early Saturday, according to police.

Serrano is charged with opening fire on 142 Cedar St. around 12:10 a.m. Saturday. Officers tracked him and Alexi Carrucini to the latter's home at 638 Carew St. in Hungry Hill, where the pair were taken into custody, Springfield Police Capt. Cheryl C. Clapprood said.

Even though Serrano allegedly fired the shotgun, Carrucini also will be charged, according to Clapprood. The precise charges were unavailable early Saturday.

Investigating officers recovered the shotgun, live ammunition, 7 ounces of marijuana and a bundle of heroin, police said.

Clapprood said the girlfriend has a restraining order against Serrano.

Serrano, whose street address wasn't immediately available, will likely face felony assault, drug and firearm charges when he's arraigned Tuesday in Springfield District Court. State and federal buildings are closed Monday for Memorial Day.

Clapprood said Serrano threatened the woman, telling her to "come one out" or he would shoot. Police said Serrano opened fire before the woman had a chance to exit the building.

Authorities didn't specify how many shots were fired, but multiple shell casings were recovered at the scene.

No one was injured in the incident.

THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of a shotgun assault around 12:10 a.m. Saturday in the Six Corners neighborhood:


View Larger Map

Mount Washington's Auto Road is celebrating its 150th anniversary; three die in Eastern Seaboard storms; Egypt permanently opens its Gaza border and more headlines.

AP file photoBilled as America's oldest man-made tourist attraction, the Mount Washington Auto Road in New Hampshire is celebrating its 150 anniversary this summer.

• 'Elderly woman' killed Friday in Pine Point car crash, according to 22News [WWLP.com]


• Egypt opens Gaza border crossing, easing 4-year blockade [WashingtonPost.com]


• American held in Thailand for allegedly insulting the nation's monarchy [Boston.com]


• Three die as storms slam Eastern Seaboard [MSNBC.MSN.com]


• Republicans seem to soften on immigration [LATimes.com]


• Instant messages not allowed in Anthony case [MSNBC.MSN.com]


• Longtime North Adams Transcript editor succumbs to cancer [BerkshireEagle.com]


• Body found in Hartford; homicide likely, police say [Courant.com]


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


• Read more News Links »


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Authorities were uncertain of the extent of the outages, which were reported around 6 a.m. Saturday and primarily affected portions of Memorial Drive, Fuller Road, Burnett Road and Sheridan Street.

UPDATE: 8:30 a.m.- Jeff Cady, general manager of Chicopee Electric Light confirmed that electricity has been restored to all of Chicopee following an outage that lasted for less than two hours Saturday morning. Cady reported that a squirrel worked its way into some electrical equipment, causing the outage.

CHICOPEE -- Power outages were reported around 6 a.m. Saturday in Chicopee, although the precise cause of the blackouts remained unknown as of 7 a.m.

Officials with Chicopee Electric Light (CEL), the publicly owned utility that provides power to the city, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

However, a Chicopee Police Department spokesman said the affected areas include a section of Memorial Drive, Sheridan Street and Burnett and Fuller roads.

There was no power at Walmart, Home Depot, Denny's and other well-known Memorial Drive fixtures, according to initial reports around 6 a.m.

More information will be published when it becomes available.

CEL's 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week emergency service number is (413) 594-7581. The main office can be reached at (413) 598-8311 during regular business hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The electric company's website is www.celd.com.

Readers react to a Chicopee High School teacher who is suspended and facing charges after being accused of having sex with and sending sexual text messages to a 15-year-old student.

05/2t/11 Chicopee-- Republican Photo by Mark M.Murray- Donald Cushing a teacher at Chicopee High School is escorted into Chicopee District Court for his arraignment Friday afternoon.

CHICOPEE- Donald Cushing, a 59-year-old special education math teacher is facing four counts of statutory rape and two counts of disseminating obscene matter to a minor after a 15-year-old female student came forward with allegations that she had a sexual relationship with the man.

Cushing denied the charges in court on Friday and was ordered to be held in lieu of $150,000 cash bail.

The girl told police that after the cell phone number exchange, she began calling or texting Cushing every day, according to the criminal complaint.

Cushing routinely responded with text messages and calls of his own, she said.

In April and into May the girl told police that “things got very serious” and that they had sexual intercourse on the floor of the closet “three or four times,” the complaint states.

Cushing, of 645 James St., was removed from class Tuesday morning and questioned by police and school officials. He was verbally suspended later that day, School Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. said.

If he does make bail, he has been ordered to stay away from anyone under the age of 18 and wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.

The school district is also moving to terminate his employment and have the state revoke his teaching license.

The story has stirred up a lot of emotions and the readers of MassLive and The Republican have been quite vocal in its wake.

Here is what some of our readers had to say about the developing story:

monstercamry86 says: I knew him very well he subbed as a teacher for me for a long time .... he was always the first to help people with their studies even outside of school. but he never was sexual towards anyone .... the evidence shows nothing to back this up no witnesses no text of sexual nature just her word versus him. this article sickens me that people jump on the bandwagon that he is a sexual predator .... people don't just wake up one day and say hey im a pedophile... there is no history of it with him and no real evidence.... and when i was in school with him he used to joke around with us guys but always very strict about gender respect. he at one time even gave me advice to not worry about women until i felt like it even though everyone around me were harassing me about it.

Itcf says: This is unbelievable. Is there anything in this guy's past that didn't show up before? It seems strange that a 59 year-old just woke up and started being a sexual predator. Will more kids start coming out? Does he have children?

tsirch says: Who agreed to a $150,000.00 for a guy with no prior record, ties to the community and family in the area. This guy is off to a bad start already.

kakistos says: The $150,000 bail is complete crap, seeing that Lisa Lavoie only had a $25,000 bail and she was charged with alot more than he was. Now the argument that her bail should have been higher is definately a legitimate one, but a judicial precedent was set. This is just a random question but has anyone ever sued because their bail was different than some who committed the same crime and had the same background...

freeearl says: Everyone shut up-- innocent until proven guilty. This man has a family. I'm sorry, but I don't necessarily trust 15 year old girls on their word.

What is your take on this situation? Visit the most recent story here and join the conversation.

The medal was established last year to recognize families of service people who died either in combat or of wounds received in action.

Photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanJean James, of Longmeadow, shows the Massachusetts Medal of Liberty awarded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to her late son, United States Army Lt. Col. Leon G. James II, who was killed in action in Iraq in 2005. The award honors Massachusetts residents killed in action as a result of wounds received in action. A portrait of her late son is behind her.

LONGMEADOW – Jean James has been steeped in military tradition all her life.

Greenville, S.C., where she grew up, was home to an air base during World War II.

Her grandfather served in the Marine Corps. Her late husband, Leon James, and his three brothers were Navy men, at one point all serving aboard the same ship.

But nothing prepares a mother for the loss of a son to war.

James is the mother of Army Lt. Col. Leon G. James, who died in 2005 at Walter Reed Army Hospital of wounds sustained a roadside bombing in Iraq. He was 47. The colonel grew up in Springfield and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Now his mother has received the Massachusetts Medal of Liberty, a new honor established last year for next-of-kin of service people who died either in action or of wounds received in action.

Since her son’s widow and three daughters live in Kentucky, Jean James, as next-of-kin, was urged to apply for the Massachusetts medal.

At ceremonies conducted in April at the Statehouse in Boston, she was among 30 people presented with the new gold, heart-shaped medal which hangs from a purple ribbon.

There was a reception, music by a military band, a flag ceremony, speeches and a benediction. One by one, the honorees were escorted by National Guard members to receive the medal. They also were presented with plaques and certificates.

Col. James was one of Leon and Jean James’ six children. Her husband wanted to name a son after himself, but she wanted to avoid the “junior” or “big Leon-little Leon” tags, according to Jean James. She announced that baby Leon would be known as “Buster,” and that’s what people always called him.

“Buster” James was a born leader, his mother remembers, and his classmates at Technical High School in Springfield looked up to him.

When a bone disorder kept him from playing football, he threw himself into Boy Scouting and earned his Eagle Scout designation, the top honor in Boy Scouting, at a young age. He was a camp counselor, and served as a commander for the Reserve Officer Training Corps at his school a full year instead of the usual half-year.

Buster was also a runner and competed in track events. One of his sisters-in-law still runs in his memory in the annual “Army Ten-Miler” at the Pentagon in October; one year, nine people ran the race in his memory.

A 25-year career Army man, Col. James was commander of his battalion when he was fatally wounded in Iraq. He was serving with the 3rd Battalion, 314th Field Artillery Regiment of the 2nd Brigade 78th Division based at Fort Drum, N.Y. , and had been in Iraq for about six months when he was injured.

According to the Army report, James was traveling in a vehicle with other soldiers when an explosive device on a median curb detonated. James was severely wounded in the neck.

He was flown to Germany and then to Walter Reed in Arlington, Va., where members of the family converged.

Though brain-damaged and unconscious, he was never alone for a moment, recalled his mother.

“I stayed in the room and watched,” she said.

So, too, did others, including his brother, Thomas, from Florida, who stayed with him all night.

It was a sad echo of happier times when the generations would gather for “Buster.” “Always when he was going away,” said Jean, “the family would get together.

“Once, before he went to Bosnia, we rented a house on a lake for three days. They went fishing, and there was a ship with an orchestra that sailed right into the town.” That was in Sackets Harbor, N.Y., where the colonel and his family lived.

His mother says she remembers asking him, “Don’t you think it’s time to retire?”

It wasn’t to be. “It’s something born and instilled in these military people,” Jean James said. “Some of them can’t wait to go back because they feel that’s what they ought to be doing.”

James lives with her son Douglas and his wife. She is also mother to Lynnette, who lives in Springfield, Brenda, a resident of Gilbertville and Vicky Wilson, who lives in Manchester, Conn.

Douglas’s children, aged 7 and 9, “talk about Uncle Buster all the time,” their grandmother says. They have little military camouflage caps with the family name printed on them.

At the James’ house this weekend, there will be an American flag flying on Monday in observance Memorial Day, just as it does every day

The Elliot Street site, built in 1872 and adjacent to the federal courthouse on State Street, has been boarded since a fire in January 2008.

The Republican / File PhotoHistoric duplex at 25-27 Elliot St., Springfield, boarded since 2008 fire

SPRINGFIELD – The owner of a historic, fire-damaged duplex on Elliot Street pleaded with a Housing Court judge last week to regain control of her property, while she and lawyers said there are potential buyers who might restore the site.

Housing Court Judge Robert G. Fields said the owner, Angela Dennis, is free to market the property over the next 60 days, at which time he will review the case again.

However, Fields said he is keeping the New England Farm Workers Council in place as the court-appointed receiver to manage and maintain the property, not convinced yet that Dennis has the capacity to manage the property herself.

The property at 25-27 Elliot St., built in 1872 and adjacent to the federal courthouse on State Street, has been boarded since a fire in January 2008.

If a market sale is deemed unfeasible, Fields said he would consider a proposal for a foreclosure sale on the property by the receiver.

Dennis recently filed a motion to discharge the receiver, with a formal decision not yet issued by Fields.

Glenn D. Goodman, a Springfield lawyer representing Long Wharf Financial, a lienholder on the property, urged against a foreclosure sale, saying there are some “bona fide offers in the wings.”

Dennis and her lawyer, Maurice C. Powe, said there are discussions with potential buyers, but Powe said it may take until the fall for results.

Lisa C. deSousa, associate city solicitor, said that saving the property from demolition remains a goal of the city.

“The city continues to be optimistic that someone will come forward who will be able to rehab the property,” deSousa said.

The Farm Workers Council has been unable to secure grant funds or tax credits to renovate and restore the property because it does not own the site, according to the council’s lawyer, Dennis Powers, of Springfield.

There was significant damage to the interior due a destroyed roof and exposure to the elements after the fire while under prior ownership, according to city officials.

Both the former owner and Dennis sought permission to demolish the building, denied by the Springfield Historical Commission.

The Farm Workers Council has submitted bills totaling $33,770 for its expenses since December of 2008, including legal costs, architectural services, a temporary roof, a fence, maintenance and inspections.

Dennis is contesting some expenses but offered to pay the $33,770 immediately if she could get back control.

Fields advised Dennis and Powe that he stands ready to consider any evidence of her capacity to manage the site herself.

Preservation Massachusetts, a nonprofit historic preservation group, added the Elliot Street building to its “Massachusetts Most Endangered Historic Resources” list last fall. The building is located in the Quadrangle-Mattoon Street Historic District.

An Egyptian judge has fined Hosni Mubarak and two other former officials $90 million for government-imposed telecommunication disruptions during the popular uprising earlier this year.

An Egyptian displays books showing cartoons on the covers of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, May 23, 2011. Egypt's budget deficit could hit 185 billion Egyptian pounds ($31 billion) in the next fiscal year following the mass uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the country's finance minister said. Arabic titles read " The alternative President" and " The last days " (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian judge has fined Hosni Mubarak and two other former officials $90 million for government-imposed telecommunication disruptions during the popular uprising earlier this year.

Internet and mobile phone services were cut for days when hundreds of thousands took to the streets in January to demand the president's ouster.

Judge Hamdi Okasha ordered the fine Saturday as compensation for financial losses the nation incurred during the telecommunication disruptions.

Mubarak is now in custody at a hospital pending trial on charges of corruption and conspiring in the deadly shootings of protesters.

He has been ordered to pay $33 million of the sum. Former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly will pay $50 million and ex-Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif $7 million.

The city's redistricting plan is due to the state June 15.

HOLYOKE – Preliminary changes would have Ward 4 both gaining and losing some blocks in citywide redistricting that will be the focus of a public hearing Tuesday.

The City Council Redevelopment Committee will hold the hearing at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Cities and towns must redistrict, or redraw voting ward lines, after each 10-year federal census to ensure each ward has roughly the same number of residents.

If lines are reestablished to change the configuration of a ward, it could mean some residents will have to go to different polling places to vote in elections.

The census showed the city’s population to be 39,880.

That means each of the seven wards must have between 5,412 and 5,981 people, said Jeffrey F. Burkott, principal planner with the city Office of Planning and Development.

Since each ward here has two voting precincts, that means each precinct must have between 2,705 and 2,990 people, he said.

Cities and towns must file redistricting plans with the state Local Election District Review Commission by June 15.

The goal is to have the City Council vote on the redistricting plan June 7, so officials will be heeding public hearing comments, committee Chairman Kevin A. Jourdain said.

“We could make changes if there’s enough of a groundswell,” Jourdain said.

Burkott and other officials said they wanted to emphasize ward changes at this point are preliminary.

Also, efforts were made to avoid changes that would hinder residents who lack transportation by making them have to walk far to vote, Burkott said.

“We don’t want to strand them,” he said.

To fit each ward to the population requirement, the following changes are being considered, Burkott said:

Õ¤Six blocks would be moved from Ward 4 to Ward 1 between Hampden, Hampshire, Walnut and Elm Streets.

Õ¤Four blocks would be moved from Ward 2 to Ward 4, between Oak, Elm, Sargeant and Hampshire streets.

Õ¤Six blocks would be moved from Ward 6 to Ward 7, from Beacon to Hampden streets, and from Thorpe Avenue to Northampton Street.

Õ¤In Ward 3, 51 people would move from Ward 3A to Ward 3B on Gilman Street, Ball Avenue and Clark Street to Northampton Street.

Õ¤In Ward 2, 172 people will change from Ward 2A to Ward 2B, from Cabot, to South Bridge to South Canal, to Main St., then down Main to Meadow St. and up to the rail bed to the northwest.

Õ¤In Ward 5, some streets will move from Precinct B to Precinct A, which will gain the block of Kane, to Knollwood, to Village, to Knollwood, back to Kane. Also to increase Precinct 5A, moving would be a block that includes Kane to Homestead, to Lower Westfield, then following Tannery Brook (to the east) northerly back to Kane.

Because there is one polling place for both precincts in three of the wards, residents there – Wards 4 ( St. Paul’s Church Parish, 485 Appleton St.), 6 (First Lutheran School, Northampton Street) and 7 (E. N. White School, 1 Jefferson St.) – would be unaffected by precinct changes.

Retirements and possible building sales mark an institution that reflects the profound changes that have occurred in the education of the deaf.

Photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanRobert D. Storm, left, a science and math teacher at the Clarke School for Hearing & Speech, and middle school Principal Michael O'Connell talk about changes they have seen at the facility.

NORTHAMPTON – Robert D. Storm remembers that once upon a time, students at Clarke Schools for Hearing & Speech had their own unique way of enjoying the music at school dances.

“We had these enormous amplifiers, and the kids would go and press their bodies to the speakers because that way they could feel the music,” Storm recalls.

Thanks to vastly improved technology, most people born with hearing impairments can simply hear the music now, one of many significant changes that teachers like Storm, 63, and Michael O’Connell, 61, have seen in their long careers teaching the deaf.

Between them, they have put in 79 years on the hilltop campus on Round Hill Road that has long served as a beacon in the field of deaf education.

They are among seven long-time Clarke teachers who will retire as the school year comes to an end, having put in a collective total of 239 years at the jobs they love.

The mass departure of veteran teachers is not the only sign that Clarke Schools is undergoing a sea change. The board of trustees has put nearly all of the once-sprawling campus on the market after selling off other buildings over the last several years.

Ten buildings on nearly 12 acres of land are up for grabs. Should the school sell them all, only Alexander Graham Bell Hall, the newest of the Clarke buildings, would remain.

The downsizing of the campus reflects the profound changes in deaf education over the last two decades and the effect they have had on Clarke’s mission. Even the name has changed from Clarke School for the Deaf.

Founded in 1867, Clarke School has always taken the auditory-oral approach to educating the deaf, emphasizing lip reading over the more silent world of sign language.

With the development of technology such as cochlear implants, which allow all but the most profoundly deaf various degrees of hearing, the possibilities for deaf children have expanded exponentially.

At the same time, advancements in the testing of infants have identified children with hearing loss at an earlier age. As a result, children are learning to deal with their hearing impairments from the time they begin developing speech skills.

Thus, the chatter in the hallways at Clarke today sounds much like the speech of hearing students.

Because of these advancements, many deaf students are able to learn in mainstream environments. Clarke’s population of boarding students, once its mainstay, has shrunk to a current total of eight. Instead, it is sending teachers out to other schools to help teach the hearing-impaired there.

President William J. Corwin, who is also the father of two deaf children, is a believer in the Clarke way.

“We thought if we could give our kids the opportunity to connect freely with the 99.98 percent of the population that uses spoken language, then it was something we wanted to do,” he said.

Clarke alumni have gone on to success in fields from engineering to teaching. One Clarke alumnus recently became the first profoundly deaf person to graduate from the Citadel, a military college in South Carolina.

Despite some anxiety about the downsizing of the Northampton campus, the change in its mission does not mean the end of Clarke. The school has campuses in Boston, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania, all dedicated to bringing the auditory-oral approach of education of the deaf to as many as possible.

The Northampton campus alone still provides services for more than 700 students a year.

Storm and O’Connell have had front-row seats for the educational evolution at Clarke.

After graduating from the University of Massachusetts, O’Connell spent a couple of years in mainstream education before coming to Clarke in the 1970s. His wife also taught there.

“She sort of opened the door for our careers in the education of the deaf,” he said.

For Storm, Clarke has been his only job.

Both teachers live on campus and raised their families there. O’Connell and his wife reside in Adams House, where Calvin Coolidge lived while serving as the school’s lawyer. It was at Clarke that Coolidge met his wife Grace, a teacher.

The buildings where Storm and O’Connell live are among those for which Clarke is soliciting proposals through Boston-based LandVest, an affiliate of Christie’s.

Both men hearken back to the days when they would stand at the head of the classroom wearing a heavy microphone on a wire frame connected to an amplifier.

“You went home having neck-aches,” Storm said.

The students also wore big headphones plugged into control boxes. There was a lot of tripping and twisted wires. Today, thanks to technology, everything is wireless. Each class even has its own radio frequency.

Other aspects of the job remain the same, however.

“The thing that has never changed is that we always taught the whole child,” said Storm. “And, we still do.”

Teachers at Clarke tutor students in a wide variety of social skills, as well as in subjects like reading and math. To the undying amazement of O’Connell and Storm, their students actually like sitting down with them at lunch.

“It’s a different relationship,” Storm said. “You’re not only a teacher. You’re much more than that.”

Still, as they prepare to leave the place that has been both home and workplace, Storm and O’Connell are not overwhelmed by nostalgia.

O’Connell, who has led field trips to Washington, D.C., for the last 33 years, said the words engraved at the Jefferson Memorial mean more to him than ever.

“It says if there’s no change then you might as well expect a man to wear the coat that fit him as a boy,” he said. “We’ve been here for one of the most exciting time periods in the school.”

Storm believes the best is yet to come in the education of the deaf and hearing impaired.

“We’re providing more services to kids than ever before,” he said. “A program isn’t just buildings; it’s the people in those buildings, and that’s what really matters.”

Springfield police are investigating an attempted robbery of the TD Bank branch located at 1800 Boston Road.

(File Photo courtesy of the City of Springfield)Springfield police are investigating an attempted robbery at this TD Bank branch located at 1800 Boston Road.

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield police are investigating an attempted robbery of the TD Bank branch located at 1800 Boston Road.

Just after 12 p.m. Saturday afternoon, a hold-up alarm notified police of the situation. Minutes later, a bank employee called 911 to confirm that a man had just attempted to rob the bank.

Initial reports indicated police were looking for a light-skinned black or Hispanic man with a stubbly beard, approximately 6-feet tall with a medium build, wearing a black baseball cap, a black and a gray long-sleeve shirt with faded jeans and work boots.

Apparently the man walked up to counter, set down a note demanding all the money and left the bank with note in hand. It is unclear if the man actually got anything.

He was last seen on foot traveling toward Wilbraham and that town's police are aware of the situation and also keeping an eye out for the suspect.

This is a developing story and additional information will be published as it becomes available.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Springfield police Detective Bureau at (413) 787-6355. Those who wish to remain anonymous may text a tip via a cell phone by addressing a text message to “CRIMES,” or “274637,” and then beginning the body of the message with the word “SOLVE.”

Only five responses from tax-exempt organizations have come in so far, and all have said no to the request for contributions.

Republican file photoCharles E. Cavagnaro III, MD, President and CEO of Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers.

PALMER - Wing Memorial Hospital will not be donating $115,000 to the town because it does not have the funds to do so, its president and chief executive officer wrote in a letter to town officials.

Dr. Charles E. Cavagnaro III, Wing's president and chief executive officer, said if the hospital had "suitable operating margins" it would make such a donation. But he said like many other non-profits dependent on state and federal programs for reimbursement, the hospital struggles to remain fiscally sound.

"It would be wonderful if Wing had the additional resources needed to make a payment to the town in lieu of taxes, but as health care reform continues to push against hospitals and other providers to cut costs, it is unlikely that this will be possible anytime soon," he wrote.

Acting Town Manager Patricia A. Kennedy recently sent letters to 25 tax-exempt organizations in town asking for a payment to be made in lieu of taxes, as a way to help the financially-strapped town. The amount requested from Wing was the largest.

As of Friday, four other organizations, Apostolate of the Suffering Inc., Palmer Ambulance Inc., Polish Alliance Youth Camp Inc. and St. Paul's Church also declined to offer contributions. They did not provide explanations as to their decisions. Apostolate was asked to contribute $1,449.56; Palmer Ambulance, $940.91; Polish Alliance, $2,087.97; and St. Paul's, $6,610.69.

The amount each organization is being asked to contribute varies. The amount was calculated using a property's assessed value, and the cost of basic services, which represent 12 percent of the operating budget.

Cavagnaro cited the $3 million in net charity care and direct benefit expenses it provides to the region. He also noted that Wing employs 850 people, making it the largest employer in Palmer.

"By providing stable employment to the people who live in our service area, we aid the local economies in many ways. While Wing may not be providing the town with real estate tax revenue, it is our hope that it is viewed as a vital resource that provides more than comparable services for the town's loss of tax revenue," Cavagnaro wrote.

Town officials are still waiting to hear from the remaining 20 tax-exempt entities: Amvets, Belchertown Land Trust, Camp Ramah, Crossway Church, Western Mass. Diocese, Faith Baptist Church, First Congregational Church, American Legion, Milestone Ministries, M-Pact, New Birth Christian Church, Knights of Columbus, Masonic Hall Association, Roman Catholic bishop, Second Baptist Church, Second Congregational Church, South Central Rehab, SMOC Housing Corp., Three Rivers Chamber of Commerce and Union Evangelical Church.

Bruce Henriques, M-Pact's general manager, said he has to bring the request before the non-profit local cable access station's board of directors. Henriques commended Kennedy for a "creative" idea during tough financial times.

In Springfield, Baystate Health will provide a $250,000 payment to the city in lieu of taxes in fiscal 2012.

The $250,000 pledge is less than half the amount that Baystate was paying annually under its prior five-year agreement that expires June 30.

Baystate, which is tax-exempt, initially agreed to a $500,000 annual payment in lieu of taxes in 2006, as sought by a state-imposed Finance Control Board and then-Mayor Charles V. Ryan. That amount increased by 2.5 percent each year.

The amount Baystate Health pays is slated to drop to $150,000 in fiscal 2013, and $100,000 in fiscal 2014 under the new agreement.

Baystate, however, will keep the amount at $250,000 each year if the city raises $250,000 from other large nonprofit organizations in each of those years, Mark R. Tolosky, president and chief executive officer of Baystate Health, has said.

In Boston, city officials sent out letters to its largest nonprofit institutions this year, seeking to increase payments in lieu of taxes already received from that city's major tax-exempt hospitals, colleges and cultural institutions.

In fiscal year 2010, the Boston program yielded approximately $34 million, including participation from Boston University, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, according to a 2010 task force report.

In Springfield, the amount received totals approximately $5.7 million, according to estimates from city officials last year. Besides Baystate, contributors include Mass Power, urban redevelopment corporations, the Springfield Housing Authority.

Staff writer Peter Goonan contributed to this report.

The $177 million dorm-classroom project is being fast-tracked with a completion date of July 2013.

This is a look at the new $177 million Commonwealth College dorm and classroom building to be built at UMass over the next two years.

AMHERST - Drive or walk around the University of Massachusetts campus and you’ll see scaffolding, hard hats, safety vests and construction equipment as a decade’s long growth spurt continues.

And June 1, the latest project begins construction, the $177 million Commonwealth Honors College residential complex - a building that will provide a community for the college’s scholars. The building, to be built between Boyden and the new Recreational Center, is being fast-tracked with a summer of 2013 completion.

Dimeo Construction of Providence, R.I. is the general contractor, said UMass spokesman Edward F. Blaguszewski. That company built the $93 million North Residential Area dorm project, which opened in 2006. During the summer, nearby Hicks Way will be closed to traffic as electrical and water is attended to, he said.

The building will provide space for 1,500 students as well as classrooms. The university is borrowing the money from the UMass Building Authority but the loan will be repaid by room fees paid by the students who will live there through their dorm fees.

This is the latest project beginning under the tenure of Joyce M. Hatch, the retiring vice chancellor for administration and finance. And while many projects were built during her time here, she said many had been in the works for more than a decade. “A lot of things came together,” Hatch said.

Hatch who’s leaving her post at the end of June talked about the state of the campus building plan - recent accomplishments and what’s on the horizon. Facilities and campus planning was part of her job responsibilities.

Some of the projects this past decade were built out of necessity with little state help - take the central heating plant which came on line in 2008. Before she became vice chancellor in 2002, her predecessor and others were lobbying the state trying to convince officials to fund it. “It didn’t meet environmental standards. It out lived its life,” she said, but that wasn’t enough. Finally the university had to agree to had to borrow $100 million.

The $26.5 million Studio Arts Building, which a also opened that year, was built because the state only allowed the school to use some of the existing classrooms with the promise of a new building.

And while state money was hard to come by early on, the state “has been stepping up, coming through for funding for a number of the new projects in recent years,” she said. The state is paying $65 of the $85 million cost of a new academic building being erected on the north pond site and expected to be ready to open in 2014.

The state is contributing $100 million to the new laboratory science building and shell with $56.5 million coming from the campus for the project. That new building will provide 310,000 square feet of research space, and its north wing will be occupied by the fall of 2012. The Integrated Science Building, which opened in 2009, has provided labs and classroom but not research space.

Research is being conducted in buildings that are decades old, said Hatch. Goessman Laboratory was built in the 1920s and the Lederle Graduate Research Center was built in 1973 and while labs have been upgraded, the buildings haven’t been. “We’re going to be poised to take the next step for research,” she said.

“We have terrific researchers and we have terrific faculty...we’re trying to keep them.” UMass needs the new facilities to catch up with their requirements, she said.

“It’s absolutely terrific,” Hatch said of the all that’s in the works. “Every single one of these buildings is needed.” And now with these are underway, UMass can “look out ahead, instead of reacting to the problems at hand.”

Hatch officially retires June 30 but said she’ll be back in July part-time to help in the transition. Hatch has been at UMass since 1982 working at several budget office positions. During that time, she also earned her master’s through the School of Management.

The head of the U.N. AIDS agency told a Vatican conference on AIDS Saturday that Pope Benedict XVI's comments about the use of condoms in preventing HIV transmission had opened new prospects for dialogue with the U.N.

(AP Photo)Pope Benedict said last year that a male prostitute who intends to use a condom might be taking a first step toward greater responsibility by looking out for the welfare of his partner, even if condoms aren't a moral solution.

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The head of the U.N. AIDS agency told a Vatican conference on AIDS Saturday that Pope Benedict XVI's comments about the use of condoms in preventing HIV transmission had opened new prospects for dialogue with the U.N.

Dr. Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, said it will help strengthen the fight for greater access to treatment for those afflicted. Sidibe said Benedict's views were important, even if differences remain between the U.N. and Catholic Church.

The U.N. says condoms should be an integral part of HIV prevention programs; the Vatican opposes condoms as part of its overall opposition to artificial contraception.

But Benedict said last year that a male prostitute who intends to use a condom might be taking a first step toward greater responsibility by looking out for the welfare of his partner, even if condoms aren't a moral solution.

"This is very important," Sidibe told the conference. "This has helped me to understand his position better and has opened up a new space for dialogue."

While Benedict's comments in the book "Light of the World" drew near-universal praise within the AIDS community, conservative Catholics insisted he wasn't altering church teaching and that the church's ban on condoms remained. After three attempts at clarification, the Vatican eventually issued a definitive ruling from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith saying the pope in no way was changing church teaching.

Nevertheless, the impression left at least within the AIDS community was that he had made an opening — and Sidibe latched onto that in his comments Saturday.

Sidibe said previously the AIDS community and Catholic Church were "talking over" one another and often held opposing views about how to deal with the AIDS crisis. But he said Benedict's words had opened a new possibility for working together, particularly in agitating for greater access to anti-retroviral treatments for the world's poorest patients.

"Yes, there are areas where we disagree and we must continue to listen, to reflect and to talk together about them. But there are many more areas where we share common cause," Sidibe said.

Increasing access to treatment has become an even greater rallying call following the recently published results of a nine-nation study showing that HIV-positive patients who received early treatment were 96 percent less likely to spread the virus to their uninfected partners.

Sidibe called the research a "game-changer" in the fight against AIDS and Vatican officials said it gave new hope to couples where one partner is HIV-positive and want to have children.

While there had never been an official Vatican policy about condoms and HIV, some Vatican officials had previously insisted that condoms not only don't help fight HIV transmission but make it worse because they gave users a false sense of security. Some claimed the HIV virus could easily pass through the condom's latex barrier.

Benedict himself drew the wrath of UNAIDS and several European countries when, en route to Africa in 2009, he told reporters that the AIDS problem couldn't be resolved by distributing condoms. "On the contrary, it increases the problem," he said then.

The comments drew fierce criticism in Africa, where an estimated 22.4 million people are infected with HIV, two-thirds of the global total.

With his revised comments, the Vatican debate seems to have changed ever so slightly. The fact that Sidibe was even invited to speak at the Vatican was significant; usually only like-minded outsiders are invited to speak at Holy See conferences.

That said, the Vatican officials present made clear that condoms weren't the answer to fighting AIDS and that changing sexual behavior to emphasize marital fidelity was the best answer. Monsignor Zygmunt Zimowski, head of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers which hosted the meeting, didn't even refer to Benedict in his keynote speech.

Rather, he cited Pope John Paul II on three separate occasions, quoting him as speaking about the "crisis of values" that was behind the AIDS crisis.

The two students reportedly performed a pretend battle with toy light sabers, earning a standing ovation from their peers and a 10-day suspension.

WESTFIELD - Two Westfield High School students were suspended and barred from attending their own graduation ceremony after they took part in a fake "Star-Wars" themed fight in the school lunchroom.

The story hit several media outlets in the past week, and comes in the wake of similar heavy-handed punishments being handed to students across the region for offenses such as proposing for prom via cardboard letters on the front of a school.

Westfield students Tom Costello and Ryan Angco reportedly performed a pretend battle with toy light sabers in the lunchroom at school, earning a standing ovation from their peers and a 10-day suspension from Principal Raymond Broderick.

"They very easily could have hit another student," he told WWLP-22 News. "They could have started something different, someone could have gotten hurt and it was just a disruptive situation and they understand it's not acceptable."

The students have reportedly written letters apologizing for the situation and an official hearing on the matter is scheduled to take place this coming week.

A Facebook page was created to show support for Costello and Angco and as of midday Saturday, there were more than 500 supporters listed and voicing their opinions.

The Facebook Page Demanding that Tom Costello and Ryan Angco be Allowed to Walk at Graduation

"It really was just harmless fun. And as many other people have already said, it was not even a senior prank, so why take their ability to walk at graduation?," one person said. "What were they possibly doing, disturbing the peace that we call lunch time? I could understand if they were to have fought or cause complete chaos, but they didn't. This is clearly just blown out of proportions. The punishment really doesn't fit the crime."

Another person called the stunt "good clean fun," and said that she believes Costello and Angco deserve to walk across the stage at graduation.

"I salute the kids for their good clean fun. I would call that performing arts, nothing to be suspended for. I hope that the principal has the ability to own up to the fact that not letting these two walk would be a mistake that can never be fixed."

What do you think? Should Tom Costello and Ryan Angco be allowed to walk across the stage at graduation or did their Star Wars tribute go too far? Chime in below and join the conversation.

Neighbors have complained for years that motorists use Lincoln and Sunset avenues and McClellan Street as shortcuts from downtown to UMass.

AMHERST – Motorists traveling from downtown to the University of Massachusetts will have to go more slowly after the Select Board approved the installation of speed bumps on three nearby streets.

But this is only part of what the town is doing to address the ongoing speeding and volume issues.

Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford B. Mooring requested approval for the speed bumps on Lincoln and Sunset Avenues and McClellan Street.

They are to be installed as the roads are repaved. The town has embarked on a $4.5 million repaving project.

Mooring said that Sunset Avenue and McClellan Street are on this year’s repaving schedule with Lincoln on for next year.

Motorists use these streets as shortcuts from downtown to UMass and neighbors have complained for years.

The town had installed speed cushions in late 2007, but vehicles were able to straddle them.

They will not be able to straddle these, Mooring said. The speed bumps “will be something like a raised crosswalk,” the kind near Amherst College. They will be graded, he said, and be marked by white stripes.

The Department of Public Works earlier this year considered a plan to close Lincoln Avenue at the North Hadley Road intersection to prevent drivers from using Lincoln as a straight route from Amity Street to Massachusetts Avenue and UMass. But many in town opposed it.

In a memo to the board, Mooring reported that “the major concerns were that the roadway systems that would replace Lincoln Ave. are not capable of handling the increase in traffic.”

To also address the traffic, the department is recommending a multi-step process, Mooring reported, including the upgrades under way at the Big Y and University Drive intersection.

Other proposed changes include upgrading the intersections at Amity Street and University Drive and at East Pleasant and Triangle streets.

The hope is that more motorists would enter the university on University Drive.

Select Board chairwoman Stephanie J. O’Keeffe said Monday night that she thinks that “this an excellent minimalist solution .¤.¤.¤. It’s nice to be able to have a solution to have an impact,” she said.