The department is holding an open house on Aug. 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the fire station at 50 Springfield St. and Hryniewicz Park in Three Rivers.

PALMER - The Three Rivers Fire Department averages three to five river rescues a year, so Three Rivers Fire Chief Scott A. Turner is looking to improve the way his firefighters respond to them.

Turner, who took over as chief in January, said he will send four or five firefighters to training later this month in the Berkshires specifically for swift water rescues. They will learn how to “read” the river, and methods to pull people out.

There are about two miles of river in Three Rivers - the village’s name comes from the three rivers that converge in the center of town - the Quaboag, Ware and Chicopee rivers.

Turner said the department lacks formal swift water rescue training. Most of the river rescues occur in spring, when water is running at high levels. The firefighters are trained in rope rescues, the method they often use when canoeists and rafters have trouble in the water. Often, problems happen near the bridge, where the Ware and Quaboag rivers converge to form the Chicopee River. If boaters can wade to the bridge abutment, firefighters will climb down to rescue them.

“The roughest part of the river is right there, in the Main Street area,” Turner said.

The most recent rescue happened on June 23, and involved a father and son who were out on the river on a raft and got hung up on a rock. The father broke his paddle trying to free the canoe. They were not injured. The man did not want to get into the river by himself, so he called 911 on his cell phone. Firefighters waded into the river for the rescue and were attached to ropes that were held by firefighters on the shore. In addition to Three Rivers, fire departments from Palmer and Bondsville also responded.

Turner also is looking into buying a Zodiac inflatable raft for water rescues, and hopes to have one by the year’s end. A model that holds four people retails for approximately $7,000. The additional training and raft will come in handy when dealing with injured people in the river, he said. Three Rivers is the only fire department in town that does not have a boat.

Turner, who is the only full-time employee of the 33-member department, said he wants to eventually send more firefighters to the training. The first group will be sent according to availability and physical ability.

Before he became chief, he worked for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, in the forestry division. Turner fought wildfires out west, including in California, Washington, Colorado and Montana.

The department is holding an open house on Aug. 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the fire station at 50 Springfield St. and Hryniewicz Park; there will activities for children, including face painting, fire gear, finger printing with the Palmer police, raffles and more.

“Come celebrate with us by bringing back the tradition of joining the community and the Fire Department together as a family,” the advertisement reads.

Police were looking for a dark-colored Dodge Avenger. The driver was a man described as having sandy blond hair and estimated to be in his mid-20s, authorities said.

LOS ANGELES — A driver plowed into a crowd walking along one of the most popular beach boardwalks in Southern California early Saturday evening, injuring 12 people, two of them critically, before fleeing, officials said.

The sandy-haired man drove the powerful midsized Dodge Avenger into vendors and tourists as they walked along the paved pedestrian walkway of the Venice Beach boardwalk, leaving behind a scene strewn with bleeding victims, mannequins, knocked over lawn chairs, and chaos as he drove away, police and witnesses said.

He had yet to be taken into custody more than three hours later, police said.

Ten of the 12 injured were taken to hospitals, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said. Two of them were in critical condition and two more in serious condition, Humphrey said.

Witnesses told firefighters it appeared the man was in control of his car as he ran people down, but police said they did not know his motives.

"If this was an intentional act that certainly raises the stakes quite a bit," Los Angeles police Lt. Andy Neiman said.

Alex Hagan, 22, who was working the front desk at the Cadillac Hotel, said the man was sitting in his parked car on the street right next to the boardwalk and his hotel when he suddenly started the engine and accelerated, swerving past yellow poles meant to keep cars off the pedestrian walkway.

"I heard a big 'boom, boom,' like the sound of someone going up and down the curb, it was super loud," Hagan told The Associated Press."

The car knocked down two mannequins then ran into vendors selling at their booths, Hagan said.

Many rushed to help the injured while others ran after the car screaming and cursing, Hagan said.

Firefighters surveyed the sprawling crowd looking for injured immediately after the crash, Humphrey said. Hours later police surveyed the same ground for evidence.

The Venice boardwalk is a cultural hub in a part of Los Angeles known for its circus-meets-gritty-city eccentricities.

The 1.5-mile ribbon of asphalt that runs along the sand a few hundred yards from the ocean is home to galleries, restaurants, tattoo shops, skateboard parks and the famous outdoor weight room known as Muscle Beach.

It can draw as many as 150,000 people on summer weekends.

Witnesses told firefighters it appeared the man was in control of his car as he ran people down, but police said they did not know his motives.

LOS ANGELES -- A driver plowed into a crowd walking along one of the most popular beach boardwalks in Southern California early Saturday evening, injuring 12 people, two of them critically, before fleeing, officials said.

The sandy-haired man drove the powerful midsized Dodge Avenger into vendors and tourists as they walked along the paved pedestrian walkway of the Venice Beach boardwalk, leaving behind a scene strewn with bleeding victims, mannequins, knocked over lawn chairs, and chaos as he drove away, police and witnesses said.

He had yet to be taken into custody more than three hours later, police said.

Ten of the 12 injured were taken to hospitals, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said. Two of them were in critical condition and two more in serious condition, Humphrey said.

Witnesses told firefighters it appeared the man was in control of his car as he ran people down, but police said they did not know his motives.

"If this was an intentional act that certainly raises the stakes quite a bit," Los Angeles police Lt. Andy Neiman said.

Alex Hagan, 22, who was working the front desk at the Cadillac Hotel, said the man was sitting in his parked car on the street right next to the boardwalk and his hotel when he suddenly started the engine and accelerated, swerving past yellow poles meant to keep cars off the pedestrian walkway.

"I heard a big 'boom, boom,' like the sound of someone going up and down the curb, it was super loud," Hagan told The Associated Press."

The car knocked down two mannequins then ran into vendors selling at their booths, Hagan said.

Many rushed to help the injured while others ran after the car screaming and cursing, Hagan said.

Firefighters surveyed the sprawling crowd looking for injured immediately after the crash, Humphrey said. Hours later police surveyed the same ground for evidence.

The Venice boardwalk is a cultural hub in a part of Los Angeles known for its circus-meets-gritty-city eccentricities.

The 1.5-mile ribbon of asphalt that runs along the sand a few hundred yards from the ocean is home to galleries, restaurants, tattoo shops, skateboard parks and the famous outdoor weight room known as Muscle Beach.

It can draw as many as 150,000 people on summer weekends.

So far this year, low-paying industries have provided 61 percent of the nation's job growth, even though these industries represent just 39 percent of overall U.S. jobs, according to Labor Department numbers analyzed by Moody's Analytics. Mid-paying industries have contributed just 22 percent of this year's job gain.

In this Aug. 1, 2013, photo, a "Now Hiring" sign hangs in front of a new McDonald's restaurant under construction in Tempe, Ariz. Of the 162,000 jobs the economy added in July 2013, a disproportionate number were part-time, low-paying or both. Part-time work accounted for more than 65 percent of the positions employers added in July with low-paying retailers, restaurants and bars supplying more than half July’s job gain.Associated Press 

PAUL WISEMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The 162,000 jobs the economy added in July were a disappointment. The quality of the jobs was even worse.

A disproportionate number of the added jobs were part-time or low-paying — or both.

Part-time work accounted for more than 65 percent of the positions employers added in July. Low-paying retailers, restaurants and bars supplied more than half July's job gain.

"You're getting jobs added, but they might not be the best-quality job," says John Canally, an economist with LPL Financial in Boston.

So far this year, low-paying industries have provided 61 percent of the nation's job growth, even though these industries represent just 39 percent of overall U.S. jobs, according to Labor Department numbers analyzed by Moody's Analytics. Mid-paying industries have contributed just 22 percent of this year's job gain.

"The jobs that are being created are not generating much income," Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities USA, wrote in a note to clients.

That's one reason Americans' pay hasn't kept up with even historically low inflation since the Great Recession ended in June 2009. Average hourly pay fell 2 cents in July to $23.98 an hour.

Among those feeling the squeeze is Elizabeth Wilkinson, 28, of Houston. After losing a $39,000-a-year administrative job at Rice University in January, Wilkinson found work at an employment agency for $15 an hour. Yet she's had to supplement that job with part-time work as a waitress.

"This morning I put $1.35 worth of gas in my car because that is all the money that I had," Wilkinson said via email. "It's very difficult to survive on $30,000 (a year), and I am living paycheck to paycheck."

Part-time work has made up 77 percent of the job growth so far this year. The government defines part-time work as being less than 35 hours a week.

Analysts say some employers are offering part-time over full-time work to sidestep the new health care law's rule that they provide medical coverage for permanent workers. (The Obama administration has delayed that provision for a year.)

Weak economies overseas have also reduced demand for U.S. goods and, as a result, for better-paying U.S. jobs in manufacturing. Government spending cuts have taken a toll on some middle-class jobs, too.

Many employers have also discovered that they can use technology to do tasks more cheaply and efficiently than office workers used to do. And some have found that they can shift middle-class jobs to low-wage countries such as China.

By contrast, most lower-paying jobs — from waiters and hotel maids to store clerks, bartenders and home health care aides — can't be automated or shipped abroad.

"You're always going to have jobs in the retail sector," says Michael Evangelist, a policy analyst with the liberal National Employment Law Project, which advocates on behalf of low-wage workers.

Consider Mike Ulrich, 30, who earned a master's degree in public administration in May from the University of Colorado. Ulrich hasn't been able to find work that requires a college degree. Instead, he works at a hardware store in Spokane, Wash., earning the state's minimum wage: $9.19 an hour.

Not all July's new jobs were low-paying. Local schools hired more than 10,000 teachers and other employees. Financial firms added 15,000.

And Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West, thinks concerns about the surge in part-time work might be overblown. The government's figures on part-time jobs are highly volatile, Anderson notes. The big gain this year could quickly reverse, he says.

Yet for the most part, Daniel Alpert, managing partner of Westwood Capital, wrote in a report last month, "the only folks engaging in meaningful hiring are doing so because labor is cheap."

The low quality of the added jobs could help explain something that has puzzled economists: How has the U.S. economy managed to add an average of roughly 200,000 jobs a month this year even though it grew at a tepid annual rate below 2 percent in the first half of the year?

Some are proposing an answer: Perhaps a chronically slow-growth economy can't generate many good-paying jobs — but can produce lots of part-time or lower-wage retail and restaurant work.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, recalls that the robust economic growth of the late '90s generated millions of middle-class jobs. And it pushed unemployment so low that short-staffed companies were forced to convert part-time jobs into full-time ones.

"Faster growth would fix things," Swonk says. "That's the magic fairy dust."

Walmart is provider or destroyer, employing people and pumping taxes into communities, where many hate the giant retailer.

Two anti-Walmart groups and a Twitter account sprouted in Holyoke warning of big-box sprawl days after the retailer announced plans to put a “supercenter” there.

Meanwhile, Walmart employs 1,800 people at nine Western Massachusetts stores, where parking lots bustle and taxes flow to cities and towns. Walmart says it paid $32.4 million in state and local taxes in Massachusetts last year.

Walmart has a history in Western Massachusetts of stirring people to action, in a variety of ways, the current controversy in Holyoke being just the latest example.

The dispute occurring in Holyoke over Walmart's proposal mirrors arguments about exploited workers and low prices steamrolling small businesses that have erupted elsewhere about Walmart plans, including the citing of dueling studies that present Walmart as provider or destroyer..

"You see their parking lots are full of cars. They're full for a reason. So as much as people demonize them, they still shop there," said Sandra Alvarez, sociology professor at American International College in Springfield.

The first Walmart in Western Massachusetts opened on Boston Road in Springfield June 1, 1993. It expanded into a super center 10 years later. Walmart also has stores in Chicopee, Westfield, Hadley, Northampton, Ware, Orange, North Adams and Pittsfield, spokesman William Wertz said.

Statewide, Walmart has 47 stores and employs 11,302 people. They make an average full-time hourly wage of $13.86, have career-advancement and higher-pay opportunities and belong to health care plans that meet quality standards under the federal Affordable Care Act, he said.

In Holyoke, Walmart has proposed a 160,000-square-foot store at 222 Whiting Farms Road with more than 300 employees, general merchandise, a garden center and a full line of groceries at low prices.

The Holyoke store would be a supercenter, a kind of store Walmart began building in 1988.

According to Walmart, the idea is to give customers one place for everything: electronics, apparel, toys, home furnishings, groceries with fresh produce, bakery, meat and dairy products, as well as specialty shops such as pharmacies, banks, hair and nail salons, name-brand restaurants, vision centers or health clinics.

Such a complex and the traffic it would draw, just up the road from the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, is what led neighbors of 222 Whiting Farms Road like Terri Laramee to form Holyoke First to fight Walmart.

“If Walmart wants to bully their way onto this site, we’re prepared to fight for the value of our homes,” said Laramee, of Gordon Drive.

Stop Walmart in Holyoke, a coalition of groups, also has formed and brands Walmart a "predator" on its Facebook page.

"We say that we can do better for Holyoke," said James Bickford of Stop Walmart in Holyoke.

Far from being a predator, Wertz said Walmart employs people, pays taxes to help communities operate and is embraced for providing affordable shopping.

Walmart has scheduled a public meeting to discuss its Holyoke project for Aug. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House, 500 Easthampton Road, he said. "Walmart Yes" signs began appearing in Holyoke Wednesday.

"We are hearing from new supporters almost every day and believe our project has widespread community backing," Wertz said.

The Holyoke Walmart plan has become an issue in the races for mayor and City Council Ward 5.

Walmart has yet to submit a plan for the Holyoke Planning Board to review. That will happen by late summer or early fall, company officials have said.

The Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce will await details of the Walmart plan before declaring a position, President Kathleen G. Anderson said.

"While we are actively involved in nurturing those that shape Holyoke’s business environment, we support responsible growth that makes Holyoke a more attractive place to live and work," Anderson said.

Albert Norman, who has been battling Walmart in Greenfield since 1993, said what Holyokers should know about Walmart is that much of what its officials will say before a store is built is deceptive.

For example, a complaint of neighbors of the proposed Whiting Farms Road store is the size and proximity of a big-box store near so many homes.. Norman said it would be unsurprising to see Walmart try to curry favor by reducing the square footage, when in reality, Walmart probably never intended to pursue the full 160,000 square feet.

"It's a very undesirable location in terms of the impact on the community. Putting big-box stores in residential locations is just bad zoning. It's a game. They don't need 160,000 square feet for that model," Norman said.

Norman's fight with Walmart in 1993 led him to form the consulting group Sprawl-Busters, which has opposed big-box retailers across the country.

Walmart hasn't given up trying to open a store in Greenfield, said Norman, who said a developer pitching the latest big-box plan in Greenfield hasn't identified the store but Norman said his experience on the issue leaves him certain it is a Walmart. The site design is nearly identical to the Walmart in North Adams, he said. The case is in the Western Division of Housing Court in Springfield over a wetlands issue (Docket number 11 CV 628), he said.

"They can parse their words to say they're not pursuing the store, the developer is. Walmart is pursuing a store in Greenfield," Norman said.

Wertz said that that wasn't the case and that Norman and other critics fail to mention how Walmart helps people stretch "heard-earned money."

"Walmart is not pursuing a store in Greenfield. Al Norman has made a career out of opposing Walmart. But our company’s growth in Massachusetts and around the country speaks for itself," Wertz said.

In Westfield, Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said the Walmart on Route 20 is the go-to store for many shoppers. The store donates merchandise to the Red Cross for families in need and gift cards during emergencies, he said.

“I’ve got no complaints. Certainly it’s become a place where pretty much everybody goes to get pretty much everything you need," Knapik said.

So why do so many people seem to oppose Walmart?

"We build hundreds of stores around the country every year and receive an enthusiastic welcome in most communities," Wertz said.

"If you look into the most vocal protests against Walmart, I think you’ll find that most are inspired, encouraged and often funded by special interests like a grocery union or a competitor who have their own agenda. They don’t represent the community as a whole and those who want jobs, economic growth and affordable prices," he said.

Critics say Walmart hurts more than helps a community. A wage of $13.86 an hour, or $519 a week (based on a full-time, 37.5-hour work week) or $27,000 a year isn't enough to live on, they said. The minimum wage in Massachusetts is $8 an hour.

Such a wage forces many Walmart employees to get food stamps and other government subsidies, straining a community. That's according to sources such as a May 2013 report prepared by Democratic staff of U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Eve Weinbaum, associate professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and director of the schools' Labor Center.

"Walmart has been welcomed into most communities in the U.S. for two reasons. One is that they bring jobs and the other is they bring affordable merchandise....I think the most important point is Walmart promises to bring jobs into a community, but people are starting to ask questions about the quality of those jobs," Weinbaum said in a telephone interview.

Combine the wages Walmart pays workers with the struggle that existing businesses experience trying to compete with Walmart's low prices, and the result is a zero net gain that people notice, she said.

"People are saying we're not just consumers, we're also workers," Weinbaum said.

Wertz said the "Walmart hurts local businesses" argument is a myth.

"Walmart stores often serve as magnets for other new businesses, large and small. The small businesses that surround our stores generally have products and services we don’t offer or are strong in areas where we can’t compete," Wertz said.

He noted a West Virginia University study in 2008 -- "Has Walmart buried Mom and Pop? The Impact of Walmart on Self-employment and Small Establishments in the United States," by Russell S. Sobel and Andrea M. Dean. That study said, "Contrary to popular belief, our results suggest that the process of creative destruction unleashed by Wal-Mart has had no statistically significant long-run impact on the overall size and profitability of the small business sector in the United States."

Working at Walmart has helped people end reliance on government subsidies, Wertz said.

"I have talked to many associates – people who were unemployed or working in temporary or minimum-wage jobs. They appreciated the opportunity Walmart gave them to help them move up the economic ladder," Wertz said.

When the Walmart came to Westfield, Knapik said Caldor and Kmart department stores soon closed but they already had been struggling.

"It’s hard to say whether they chased the other ones out. The other ones had some serious problems," Knapik said.

In Springfield, the Walmart blended into what is one of the region's busiest retail areas on Boston Road. As far as Walmart's status as corporate citizen in Springfield, Jeffrey S. Ciuffreda, president and chief executive officer of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, said Walmart was a chamber member from September 2010 to September 2012 and participated in no chamber events..

Wertz said it was unclear what other activities might have prevented Walmart from participating in Springfield chamber events.

"But that’s not a reflection of our involvement in the community," Wertz said.

Walmart provided more than $100,000 in donations of water, food and supplies to first responders and cleanup crews after the tornado in June 2011. The company gave $25,000 to the Springfield Rescue Mission last year in food, clothing, shelter and services to the homeless, addicted and poor, he said.

Ronald J. Willoughby, executive director of the Rescue Mission, said not only has Walmart been a friend, but company officials visit the mission to see how the donation is being used.

"They have been a good neighbor," Willoughby said.

The Walmart in Chicopee has played "a small role" in making Memorial Drive a thriving retail corridor and helped to revive a dead mall, Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said.

"I personally do not shop there due to their anti-union policies and selling goods made overseas, taking away American jobs," Bissonnette said. "It is easy to lower prices when the people who make your products only are paid $3 per hour with no benefits. However, there is no question that the brand is popular and provides employment for many people."

Walmart officials might have wanted to put a big store in Northampton. But when the store replaced a former Caldor on North King Street, Walmart was limited to the existing footprint, City Council President William H. Dwight said.

"Honestly, people know there's a Walmart there, but there hasn't been a lot of buzz about it," Dwight said.

In May 2007, The Republican and MassLive.com ran a photo of Lilly Lombard, of Northampton, holding a sign in protest of Walmart's plan to expand its store on Route 9 in Hadley.

Now, Lombard said, she no longer is involved in efforts to limit Walmart's presence in Western Massachusetts, but she also doesn't shop there.

"I give my business to local shops that are part of our community fabric," said Lombard, executive director of Grow Food Northampton.

In Holyoke, Carol Rogers, who has lived on Gordon Drive for 51 years, is eager to shop at Walmart.

"We're for it. The food is good, everything is good and the prices are lower," Rogers said.

Kaylee Small was visiting her grandmother when the accident happened.

WINOOSKI, Vt. – Police recovered the body of a 12-year-old girl from Springfield who drown while swimming with friends this weekend.

Kaylynn Small’s body was found at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Rescue teams started searching Saturday evening, they stopped after dark and resumed in the morning, Deputy Police Chief Richard Benoit said.

Small, who was spending the summer with her grandmother in the town near Burlington, Vt., had gone swimming with two other children in the Winooski River Saturday. Her friends reported she had gone under the water at about 5:20 p.m., he said.

“Two acquaintances saw her get carried by the current into the middle of the river and go under the water,” Benoit said. “They sought immediate help.”

The Vermont State Police Dive Team and Colchester Technical Rescue team assisted in the search Saturday, which was both on shore and in the water. The crews returned Sunday morning and quickly recovered the 12-year-old’s body, Benoit said.

The undercurrent on the river can be strong and the child did not swim well. The three youths were riding the current down the river when the accident happened, he said.

National tea party leaders hope to re-energize followers by focusing on two of the movement's chief targets: the Internal Revenue Service and the health law.

MIAMI (AP) — This wasn't the revolution the tea party had in mind.

Four years ago, the movement and its potent mix of anger and populism persuaded thousands of costumed and sign-waving conservatives to protest the ballooning deficit and President Obama's health care law. It swept a crop of no-compromise lawmakers into Congress and governor's offices and transformed political up-and-comers, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, into household names.

But as many tea party stars seek re-election next year and Rubio considers a 2016 presidential run, conservative activists are finding themselves at a crossroads. Many of their standard-bearers have embraced more moderate positions on bedrock issues such as immigration and health care, broadening their appeal in swing states but dampening grass-roots passion.

"They keep sticking their finger in the eyes of the guys who got them elected," said Ralph King, a co-founder of the Cleveland Tea Party Patriots. "A lot of people are feeling betrayed."

The tea party is a loosely knit web of activists, and some are hoping to rekindle the fire with 2014 primary challenges to wayward Republicans. But many more say they plan to sit out high-profile races in some important swing states next year, a move that GOP leaders fear could imperil the re-election prospects of former tea party luminaries, including the governors of Florida and Ohio.

"It changes the playing field for us," said Tom Gaitens, former Florida director of FreedomWorks, a political action committee that has spent millions of dollars to help tea party candidates. "The most powerful thing we have as a movement is our feet and our vote."

In the summer of 2009, tea party supporters stormed congressional town hall meetings, shouting down lawmakers who had voted for the bank bailout and the stimulus package. The movement's voice grew louder after Democrats passed the health care overhaul, and voters took their outrage to the polls in 2010. The tea party wave stunned Democrats and many moderate Republicans, sweeping the GOP into control of the House and changing the balance of power in many statehouses.

But not long after some tea party stars took office, political analysts said, they were forced to adapt to a changing landscape, particularly in states Obama won in 2012, and to the realities of governing.

The tea party also fell out of favor with many people. At its height after the 2010 elections, a CBS News poll found that 31 percent of those surveyed considered themselves tea party supporters. A May survey found just 24 percent identified with the movement.

Facing sagging approval ratings, tea party Republicans, some of whom were elected by slim margins, shifted tactics.

Fla. Gov. Rick Scott, a former health care company executive who won office by attacking the health law and calling for deep cuts to state spending, has embraced the health law and signed one of the largest budgets in state history, complete with pay raises for teachers. Similarly, Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, and Rick Snyder, R-Mich., are battling their GOP-dominated legislatures to expand Medicaid, a big part of the health law.

Tea party supporters were most struck by Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants. His personal story and unlikely rise to power made him perhaps the most prominent figure in the movement.

As a Senate candidate in 2010, he denounced as "amnesty" any plan that would offer a path to citizenship for those who were in the country illegally. Yet in recent months, he has emerged as a leader of a bipartisan Senate group that developed a plan that includes such a provision. The plan has been panned by conservatives but ultimately could bolster Rubio's standing with Hispanics, a growing demographic group that has voted overwhelmingly Democratic in recent years.

One sweltering July day, a half-dozen tea party protesters gathered under a tree in front of Rubio's Miami office, seeking shade as they denounced his support for an immigration overhaul. But the protest soon turned into more of a support group, with the four men and two women grousing to each other about how Rubio had turned into a "back-stabber," a "liar" and a "flip-flopper."

Juan Fiol, a real estate broker who organized the protest, kept looking at his phone, waiting for calls from fellow tea party supporters that never came.

"It was supposed to be a big event," he said as he waved a large "Don't Tread on Me" flag.

Speaker of the House Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, right, listens as Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder delivers an address in Lansing, Mich.AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File

The movement's top strategists acknowledge the tea party is quieter today, by design. It has matured, they said, from a protest movement to a political movement. Large-scale rallies have given way to strategic letter-writing and phone-banking campaigns to push or oppose legislative agendas in Washington and state capitals. In Michigan and Ohio, for example, leaders have battled the implementation of the president's health law and the adoption of "Common Core" state school standards.

Local activists say they have focused largely on their own communities since Obama's re-election and the ideological drift of some tea party-backed politicians. Many are running for school boards, county commissions and city councils, focusing on issues such as unfunded pension liabilities and sewer system repairs.

"The positions that people are filling at the local levels are more important for the future of the movement and the future of the country," said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, a national umbrella organization. "It's creating a farm team for the future."

The Republican establishment, however, is concerned about 2014. Party leaders worry about the GOP's most passionate advocates walking away, particularly those supporters angered by the Senate's immigration bill. In a nod to the tea party, business and conservative groups have launched ad campaigns recasting the bill as a national security measure.

The conservative American Action Network spent $750,000 on pro-reform commercials. One ad aimed at Florida voters called the legislation "the toughest border security plan ever passed by Congress" and urged viewers to thank Rubio for "keeping his promise and fighting to secure the border."

National tea party leaders hope to re-energize followers by focusing on two of the movement's chief targets: the Internal Revenue Service and the health law. They said the Obama administration had handed them a recruiting tool when it delayed the law's implementation and when the IRS singled out tea party groups and other conservative political organizations for special scrutiny.

"The very issues that brought us together in the first place are emerging as more center stage than they were in 2009 and 2010," said Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks. "That animates the political conversation and mobilizes our grass roots going into the 2014 election."

Some Republicans are also moving to repair their relationships with the movement.

Rubio recently spoke to about 50 conservative activists and other lawmakers at a meeting of the Senate's tea party caucus. Organizers said he breezed past immigration, instead devoting much of his speech to repealing the health law.

The fire was extinguished quickly but there is smoke damage throughout the house.

Fire investigators search for the cause of a blaze at 60 Oregon St.Springfield Fire Department/ Dennis Leger 

SPRINGFIELD – A fire that started in the kitchen and pantry area of a single-family home displaced the resident and caused an estimated $125,000 in damage.

The fire was reported at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday at 60 Oregon St. A woman who was home at the time was able to leave safely, said Dennis G. Leger, aide to Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

Firefighters were able to get the fire under control quickly but there is smoke damage throughout the house. The resident is staying with family, Leger said.

Springfield fire investigators are searching for the cause. It is not suspicious, Leger said.

The uncle of murder suspect and former Patriots star Aaron Hernandez has been killed in a moped crash in Connecticut.

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — The uncle of murder suspect and former NFL star Aaron Hernandez has been killed in a moped crash in Connecticut.

Bristol police identified the victim of the early Saturday morning crash as Robert Valentine of Bristol.

In an interview with The Boston Globe, Patrick Valentine said he and Robert Valentine are the brothers of Terri Hernandez, Aaron Hernandez's mother.

It was the second recent fatal accident involving a Hernandez relative. Thaddeus Singleton III of Bristol was killed when the car he was driving slammed into a country club building on June 30. He was married to Hernandez's cousin.

The former New England Patriots tight end has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player whose body was found June 17 about a mile from Hernandez's home in North Attleborough, Mass.

Nathan Louis Campbell, 38, of Los Angeles, remained jailed Sunday on $1 million bail.

LOS ANGELES -- The driver parked outside a hotel and surveyed the leisurely summer scene at the Venice Beach boardwalk: Hundreds of people were sitting at cafes, walking along the seashore or shopping at vendors selling jewelry or art.

Then, according to surveillance video, the man got into a large black car, swerved around a vehicle barrier and accelerated mercilessly through the crowd, hitting one person after another as bystanders tried desperately to get out of the way.

Saturday's hit-and-run killed an Italian woman on her honeymoon and hurt 11 others who only a moment earlier had been enjoying an afternoon near the beach at the height of vacation season.

A couple of hours later, authorities arrested a man on suspicion of murder after he walked into a police station in neighboring Santa Monica and said he was involved. But authorities said they did not know of any motive.

Nathan Louis Campbell, 38, of Los Angeles, remained jailed Sunday on $1 million bail.

Police declined to discuss a motive but Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese said there was no indication that the attack was a terrorist act or that anyone else was involved.

By the time it was over, the driver had covered about a quarter of a mile along the boardwalk before fleeing. The entire incident was over in minutes.

Witnesses reported a horrifying aftermath.

People were " stumbling around, blood dripping down their legs, looking confused not knowing what had happened, people screaming," said Louisa Hodge, who described "blocks and blocks of people just strewn across the sidewalk."

The Italian woman was identified as Alice Gruppioni, 32. Her family in Bologna told the Italian news agency LaPresse that she had been on her honeymoon after a July 20 wedding.

Gruppioni worked as a manager for the family business Sira group, which makes radiators. Her father, Valerio Gruppioni, runs the company and was formerly president of the Bologna soccer team, according to LaPresse.

The family declined to speak to The Associated Press on Sunday.

Another person was critically injured. Two others were taken to hospitals in serious condition. Eight suffered less serious injuries, police said.

According to security video and witness accounts, the driver parked next to the Cadillac Hotel and twice walked out to the boardwalk before getting into the Dodge Avenger. He carefully maneuvered between a storefront and metal poles that had been erected to prevent anyone from driving onto the boardwalk. Then he stepped on the accelerator and plunged into the crowd.

"I heard a big 'boom, boom,' like the sound of someone going up and down the curb, it was super loud," said Alex Hagan, who was working the desk at the hotel.

The driver knocked over two mannequins and an ATM, then started hitting people, swerving from side to side and often running straight into victims. Video showed the car struck at least three vendors -- a fortune teller who had a table, a couple selling jewelry and a woman who does tattooing.

Two women who appeared to be in their 60s were also hit. Many people ran after the car, screaming and cursing as it sped away, Hagan said.

Golestan Alipour was bartending at Candle Cafe & Grill when the menacing car drew near.

"The restaurant was full. Everybody ran," Alipour said.

It was not immediately clear how fast the car was going.

The driver eventually turned up a side street and headed away from the ocean. The car was later found abandoned less than two miles away, police said.

At the scene, detectives searched for evidence across the boardwalk, which is in a part of Los Angeles known for eccentricities. The 1.5-mile ribbon of asphalt that runs along the sand a few hundred yards from the ocean is home to galleries, restaurants, tattoo shops, skateboard parks and the famous outdoor weight room known as Muscle Beach. It can draw as many as 150,000 people on summer weekends.

Hodge said she and her friend, Ashley Taylor, had noted the large number of people walking along the seaside.

"It was a really nice day. There were tons of people out. In fact, we were talking about how packed it was, because we were having a hard time getting through all the people," Hodge said.

The two women stopped to buy ice cream and a couple of hats, which may have saved their lives. They stepped out of a store as emergency crews arrived.

Hodge saw a man and woman lying next to each other, wearing head braces, barely able to move but grasping hands.

The crash was not far from where an elderly driver sped through an open-air farmer's market in Santa Monica in 2003, killing 10 people and injuring more than 70 others.

Investigators said George Weller, who was 86 at the time, mistakenly stepped on the gas instead of the brake and then panicked. He was doing up to 60 mph when he plowed through the market. Weller was convicted of 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and was sentenced to probation.

U.S. diplomatic posts in 19 cities in the Muslim world will be closed at least through the end of this week, the State Department said Sunday, citing "an abundance of caution."

A Yemeni soldier inspects a car at a checkpoint on a street leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. Security forces close access roads, put up extra blast walls and beef up patrols near some of the 21 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington ordered closed for the weekend over a ``significant threat'' of an al-Qaida attack.  

ALICIA A. CALDWELL,Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. diplomatic posts in 19 cities in the Muslim world will be closed at least through the end of this week, the State Department said Sunday, citing "an abundance of caution."

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the decision to keep the embassies and consulates closed is "not an indication of a new threat."

She said the continued closures are "merely an indication of our commitment to exercise caution and take appropriate steps to protect our employees, including local employees, and visitors to our facilities."

Diplomatic facilities will remain closed in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, among other countries, through Saturday, Aug. 10. The State Department announcement Sunday added closures of four African sites, in Madagascar, Burundi, Rwanda and Mauritius.

The U.S. has also decided to reopen some posts on Monday, including those in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Baghdad.

The Obama administration announced Friday that the posts would be closed over the weekend and the State Department announced a global travel alert, warning that al-Qaida or its allies might target either U.S. government or private American interests.

The weekend closure of nearly two dozen U.S. diplomatic posts resulted from the gravest terrorist threat seen in years, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss said "the chatter" intercepted by U.S. intelligence agencies led the Obama administration to shutter the embassies and consulates and issue a global travel warning to Americans.

"Chatter means conversation among terrorists about the planning that's going on — very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11," Chambliss, R-Ga., told NBC's "Meet the Press."

"This is the most serious threat that I've seen in the last several years," he said.

Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC's "This Week" that the threat intercepted from "high-level people in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula" was about a "major attack."

Yemen is home to al-Qaida's most dangerous affiliate, blamed for several notable terrorist plots on the United States. They include the foiled Christmas Day 2009 effort to bomb an airliner over Detroit and the explosives-laden parcels intercepted the following year aboard cargo flights.

Rep. Peter King, who leads the House Homeland Security subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence, said the threat included dates but not locations of possible attacks.

"The threat was specific as to how enormous it was going to be and also that certain dates were given," King, R-N.Y., said on ABC.

Rep. Adam Schiff, a House Intelligence Committee member, said the "breadth" of the closures suggests U.S. authorities are concerned about a potential repeat of last year's riots and attacks at multiple embassies, including the deadly assault in Benghazi, Libya, where the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed.

In addition, Interpol, the French-based international policy agency, has issued a global security alert in connection with suspected al-Qaida involvement in several recent prison escapes including those in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

Those prison breaks add to the concerns about an attack, said Schiff, D-Calif., also noting the approaching end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

"So you have a lot things coming together. ... But all of that would not be enough without having some particularly specific information," he said.

The Obama administration's decision to close the embassies and the lawmakers' general discussion about the threats come at a sensitive time as the government tries to defend recently disclosed surveillance programs that have stirred deep privacy concerns and raised the potential of the first serious retrenchment in terrorism-fighting efforts since Sept. 11.

The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman has scoffed at the assertion by the head of the National Security Agency that government methods used to collect telephone and email data have helped foil 54 terror plots.

Schiff said he has seen no evidence linking the latest warnings to that agency's collection of "vast amounts of domestic data."

Other lawmakers defended the administration's response and promoted the work of the NSA in unearthing the intelligence that lead to the security warnings.

"The bottom line is ... that the NSA's job is to do foreign intelligence," Ruppersburger said. "The whole purpose is to collect information to protect us."

Added King, a frequent critic of President Barack Obama, "Whether or not there was any controversy over the NSA at all, all these actions would have been taken."

Friday's warning from the State Department urged American travelers to take extra precautions overseas, citing potential dangers involved with public transportation systems and other prime sites for tourists. It noted that previous terrorist attacks have centered on subway and rail networks as well as airplanes and boats. It suggested travelers sign up for State Department alerts and register with U.S. consulates in the countries they visit. The alert expires Aug. 31.

The statement said al-Qaida or its allies might target either U.S. government or private American interests.

Associated Press writer Michele Salcedo contributed to this report.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is making a swing through the western part of the state with stops in Pittsfield, North Adams, Dalton and Westfield.

BOSTON — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is making a swing through the western part of the state with stops in Pittsfield, North Adams, Dalton and Westfield.

Warren's first stop in the Berkshires was Sunday afternoon, where she attended an ice cream social and met with constituents in North Adams.

Warren continues her swing through the region on Monday, with a morning tour of the General Dynamics site in Pittsfield. General Dynamics is a defense industry contractor for shipbuilding and marine systems, defense systems, land and amphibious combat systems and munitions. The tour of the company's Plastics Avenue facility is closed to the press, although Warren is slated to be available for questions afterward.

The senator is also scheduled to participate in a public hearing on arts and tourism held by the state Legislature's Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield. House Speaker Robert DeLeo is also expected to attend the hearing.

Afterward, Warren plans to tour Dalton's Crane & Co., which has supplied currency paper to the U.S. Department of the Treasury since 1879.

The last scheduled stop is at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, where she will meet with officials and tour the runway construction project. The tour is open to the press.

Warren is in her first year as senator following a victory over former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., in November.

During the investigation more fireworks were found at the house.

The Republican file photo / Michael Beswick 

CHICOPEE – A city resident suffered serious burns on his hand after fireworks exploded on him Sunday.

The man, a resident of 125 Bemis Ave., was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield by ambulance at about 7 p.m. The exact circumstance of how he was injured is still under investigation, Chicopee Deputy Fire Chief Joseph R. Crevier said.

The State Fire Marshal’s office was called in to assist the Chicopee Fire Department. During the investigation they discovered more fireworks, which were removed by the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad, Crevier said.

Thousands of civilian drones are expected in U.S. skies within a few years and concerns they could be used to spy on Americans are fueling legislative efforts in several states to regulate the unmanned aircraft.

A small Draganflyer X6 drone is photographed during a test flight in Mesa County, Colo. Thousands of civilian drones are expected in U.S. skies within a few years and concerns they could be used to spy on Americans are fueling legislative efforts in several states to regulate the unmanned aircraft. 

By LISA CORNWELL

CINCINNATI — Thousands of civilian drones are expected in U.S. skies within a few years and concerns they could be used to spy on Americans are fueling legislative efforts in several states to regulate the unmanned aircraft.

Varied legislation involving drones was introduced this year in more than 40 states, including Ohio. Many of those bills seek to regulate law enforcement's use of information-gathering drones by requiring search warrants. Some bills have stalled or are still pending, but at least six states now require warrants, and Virginia has put a two-year moratorium on drone use by law enforcement to provide more time to develop guidelines.

Domestic drones often resemble the small radio-controlled model airplanes and helicopters flown by hobbyists and can help monitor floods and other emergencies, survey crops and assist search-and-rescue operations. But privacy advocates are worried because the aircraft can also carry cameras and other equipment to capture images of people and property.

"Right now police can't come into your house without a search warrant," said Ohio Rep. Rex Damschroder, who has proposed drone regulations. "But with drones, they can come right over your backyard and take pictures."

Since 2006, the Federal Aviation Administration has approved more than 1,400 requests for drone use from government agencies and public universities wanting to operate the unmanned aircraft for purposes including research and public safety. Since 2008, approval had been granted to at least 80 law enforcement agencies.

But the FAA estimates that as many as 7,500 small commercial unmanned aircraft could be operating domestically within the next few years. A federal law enacted last year requires the FAA to develop a plan for safely integrating the aircraft into U.S. airspace by September 2015.

Damschroder's proposed bill would prohibit law enforcement agencies from using drones to get evidence or other information without a search warrant. Exceptions would include credible risks of terrorist attacks or the need for swift action to prevent imminent harm to life or property or to prevent suspects from escaping or destroying evidence.

The Republican said he isn't against drones but worries they could threaten constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

"I don't want the government just going up and down every street snooping," Damschroder said.

The Ohio House speaker's office says it's too soon to comment on the chances for passage. But similar legislation has been enacted in Florida, Tennessee, Idaho, Montana, Texas and Oregon.

The sponsor of Tennessee's bill said the law was necessary to ensure that residents can maintain their right to privacy.

"Abuses of privacy rights that we have been seeing from law enforcement recently show a need for this legislation," said Republican Sen. Mae Beavers.

Beavers and Damschroder modeled their bills after one signed into law this year by Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who said then that "we shouldn't have unwarranted surveillance."

But the industry's professional association says regulating law enforcement's use of unmanned aircraft is unnecessary and shortsighted. It wants guidelines covering manned aircraft applied to unmanned aircraft.

"We don't support rewriting existing search warrant requirements under the guise of privacy," said Mario Mairena, government relations manager for the Arlington, Va.-based Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.

The association predicts unmanned aircraft systems will generate billions of dollars in economic impact in the next few years and says privacy concerns are unwarranted.

In Maine, Gov. Paul LePage vetoed the state's drone-regulating legislation, saying "this bill steps too far" and would lead to lawsuits and harm Maine's opportunities for new aerospace jobs. He plans to establish guidelines allowing legitimate uses while protecting privacy.

The American Civil Liberties Union supports legislation to regulate drone use and require search warrants, but it would also like weapons banned from domestic drones and limits on how long drone-collected data could be kept, said Melissa Bilancini, an ACLU of Ohio staff attorney.

In North Dakota, Rep. Rick Becker's bill to ban weapons from drones and require search warrants failed, but the Republican says he plans to try again because "we must address these privacy concerns."

Democratic Rep. Ed Gruchalla, formerly in law enforcement, opposed Becker's bill out of concern it would restrict police from effectively using drones.

"We are familiar with drones in North Dakota, and I don't know of any abuses or complaints," he said.

Drones can be as small as a bird or have a wingspan as large as a Boeing 737, but a program manager with the International Association of Chiefs of Police says most law enforcement agencies considering unmanned aircraft are looking at ones weighing around 2 pounds that only fly for about 15 minutes.

"They can be carried in the back of a car and put up quickly for an aerial view of a situation without putting humans at risk," Mike Fergus said, adding that they aren't suited for surveillance.

Medina County Sheriff Tom Miller in northeast Ohio says his office's 2-pound drone is intended primarily for search-and-rescue operations and wouldn't be used to collect evidence without a warrant.

Cincinnati resident Dwan Stone, 50, doesn't have a problem with some limits.

"But I don't oppose drones if there is a good reason for using them," she said.

Chase Jeffries, 19, also of Cincinnati, opposes them.

"I don't want the government being able to use drones to spy on people," he said.

There is a Legoland in Yonkers, N.Y.

SOMERVILLE - Lego plans to build a Legoland Discovery Center at the Assembly Row complex here.

The plans were announced by Federal Realty Investment Trust and Merlin Entertainments which are planning the 44,000-square-foot center.

The attraction will open in late spring of 2014, and will be the first-ever Legoland Discovery Center in Massachusetts and the only one in the New England region, according to a news release. Lego's U.S. headquarters is in Enfield.

There is a Legoland in Yonkers, N.Y.

The center will offer interactive and educational two- to three-hour indoor experience specifically designed for families with children ages 3 to 10 years old.

Based on the ever popular Lego brick, there will be rides, a 4D cinema, an insight into how Lego bricks are made in an interactive LEGO factory tour experience, building workshops led by the center's master model builder, plus a range of themed play areas.

Assembly Row will also include outlet retailers and restaurants as well as residential and office components, according to Don Briggs, senior vice president of development for Federal Realty. It is also to be the site a new MBTA "Assembly Row's unique mix of retail, dining, and entertainment will deliver a game-changing development to the Boston market, the first of its kind in the country," Briggs said.

Added Glenn Earlam, managing director of Merlin's Midway Attractions Operating Group, " The Legoland Discovery Center concept is already successful in both Europe and elsewhere in the USA, and I know people will love it in New England."

The project will alleviate periodic flooding in the town following heavy rains. The work is being done by GEG Construction of Indian Orchard.

LONGMEADOW - An $850,000 project to install 48-inch drainage pipes on and around Merriweather Drive will continue to October, according to the town.

The project will alleviate periodic flooding in the town following heavy rains.

The work is being done by GEG Construction of the Indian Orchard section of Springfield.

The man was doing brick work on a chimney at 47 Texel Drive when his ladder was blown down by winds from an approaching storm.

 

SPRINGFIELD — Firefighters rescued a man who was stranded on the roof of a Forest Park home just before a powerful downpour and hailstorm late Sunday afternoon.

The man, who wasn't publicly identified, was performing brick work on a chimney at 47 Texel Drive when gusts from the storm blew down his ladder, leaving him stuck on the roof of the house off Dickinson Street.

Firefighters used a ladder to retrieve the man, bringing him to safety just in time, Springfield Fire Department Public Information Officer Dennis G. Leger told 22News. There were no reported injuries in the incident.

View Larger Map

WARREN — State police are investigating a crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike involving a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle that caused multiple injuries Sunday night. The crash happened around 8:30 p.m. near mile marker 67, several miles east of Exit 8, when a truck collided with a vehicle in the westbound lane, according to authorities. A Massachusetts State Police...

 

WARREN — State police are investigating a crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike involving a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle that caused multiple injuries Sunday night.

The crash happened around 8:30 p.m. near mile marker 67, several miles east of Exit 8, when a truck collided with a vehicle in the westbound lane, according to authorities.

A Massachusetts State Police official at the Charlton barracks said the trooper investigating the incident would not be back on duty until Monday afternoon, but 22News reports that an adult and three children were injured in the crash. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known.

A preliminary investigation indicated road debris may have contributed to the crash. No further information was available.

Sunday's incident follows a Saturday morning crash involving a jackknifed tractor-trailer in the westbound lane of the turnpike in Auburn. The 6 a.m. incident near Exit 10 caused about 160 gallons of diesel fuel to spill onto the highway and delayed traffic for much of the morning. The truck driver was uninjured, officials said.

About 11:30 a.m., all three lanes were opened.

Boston police released a report detailing the circumstances of Wilbraham native Amy Lord's death.

These were the most-read stories on MassLive.com over the weekend. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now.

1) State police find sub-compact machine gun inside Chevy; all five occupants charged with gun offenses [By Lori Stabile]

2) Springfield police issue list of 43 level-3 sex offenders living in city [By Patrick Johnson]

3) Rescuers lift car off motorcycle rider [By Dave Canton]

4) Boston police report details Amy Lord's death [By Stephanie Barry]

5) Gov. Deval Patrick signs bill for 2013 sales tax holiday in Massachusetts [By Dan Ring]

Photos: A slideshow of photos as Civil War reenactors recreated the life, times and battles of the Civil War during the Battle at the Pines in Look Park in Northampton.

People from Worcester to Springfield attended the event, including town and school officials from Ware.

Tre Gaumond, 14, pictured with his prospective donor, Lezette Bowler, 37.Jim Russell 

WARE — Close to a thousand friends and family of all ages packed the Ware Knights of Columbus grounds Sunday for a festive party to benefit 14-year-old Leon “Tre’” Gaumond III, who has kidney failure and hopes to receive a transplant soon.

A decision on the final medical clearance for the prospective kidney donor, Lezette Bowler, 37, of Ware, is expected this month.

Gaumond, whose family resides on Church Street, will be a freshman at Ware High School this year.

With onset of end-stage renal failure in April, Gaumond’s kidneys stopped working. He now must go to Boston three times a week for dialysis treatments lasting more than three hours per visit.

At the Ware benefit, more than a hundred children were playing in the huge bouncy house, adults were trying their gambling luck at chug-a-lug, disco music wafted through the pavilion, and no one went home hungry.

Kuki, Nitwit, Grandma Pickles and Curly, clowns from the Warren-based Clowning for Kidz nonprofit organization, serenaded children for hours.

Some 400 chicken barbecue tickets sold at $20 apiece, along with 300 hot dogs and hamburgers.

“It has been just absolutely amazing – all the people that showed up to support” the cause, said Stacy Collette, who helped put the event together.

“We pull together around here for a member of the community,” added Tracey Wrzesien, 39, who volunteered.

“Look at this. This is the real Ware,” said Melanie Barnes, 39, lead organizer of Sunday's barbecue. She is a close friend of Candace Gaumond, Tre’s mother.

Barnes and Bowler, the prospective kidney donor, are sisters.

Bowler’s husband and children praised her courage.

“I am glad that she is doing it; I couldn’t. She’s calm about it,” said Bowler’s son, Alec Bowler, 15.

Tre’s health condition forbids him from eating chicken, but he enjoyed a hamburger, and was the assistant disc jockey for the night, helping his uncle, Chris Gaumond, DJ the event.

Despite the festive atmosphere, Tre’ maintained equanimity. “It’s just a benefit, I don’t know what to say,” he said.

People from Worcester to Springfield attended. Several Ware officials, including members of the Board of Selectmen and School Committee and school administration, also came out to show their support.

“This has been an amazing day,” said Tre’s father, Leon Gaumond Jr. “We are blessed and so appreciative.”