Italian classical singer Andrea Bocelli says he might one day get to use the tools for the visually impaired that researchers around the world are developing with support from the foundation that bears his name.

AMY CRAWFORD, Associated Press

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - Italian classical singer Andrea Bocelli says he might one day get to use the tools for the visually impaired that researchers around the world are developing with support from the foundation that bears his name.

Scientists and engineers working on high-tech tools to help people with low or no vision make their way through the world gathered at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Friday to share some of their projects.

The daylong workshop was organized by MIT and the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, launched in 2011 to focus on poverty, illiteracy and the disabled.

Participants heard an introduction from Bocelli, who was born with congenital glaucoma and lost his sight completely after a childhood accident.

There have been multiple break-ins to businesses in the North Main Street area since September.

 

PALMER — Police are investigating a break-in at Cindy's Sports Bar on North Main Street.

Police Chief Robert P. Frydryk said Thursday's reported break-in was the third one since September at the 1618 North Main St. bar.

The break-in is believed to have happened sometime overnight, and was discovered Thursday afternoon when staff arrived at the bar. A window was smashed and cash was stolen, Frydryk said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Palmer police at (413) 283-8792.

Cindy's also was broken into on Sept. 12 and 26. There have been several break-ins to businesses in the North Main Street area since September.

New York Giants fans could miss out because of the Springfield market DirecTV dispute: The G-Men play at the San Diego Chargers at 4:25 p.m. Sunday on FOX.

SPRINGFIELD — There was no resolution as of Friday in the contractual dispute that has kept Gormally Broadcasting's ABC40/FOX6 off of DirecTV locally since Dec. 1.

A contract allowing DirecTV to carry the stations expired and the sides have been unable to come to terms.

Patriots fans won't be impacted this weekend, said Thomas Tyrer, DirecTV spokesman. The New England vs. Cleveland game will be on CBS at 1 p.m. Sunday. The New York Jets vs. Oakland game also is a CBS game, but will be off the air locally because kickoff is the same as the Patriots.

New York Giants fans could miss out, however. The G-Men play at the San Diego Chargers at 4:25 p.m. Sunday on FOX.

About an inch for Springfield by Saturday morning; 2 to 4 inches across the hilltowns.

Steadier bands of rain still have to work their way through the area for the early evening commute as a cold front moves closer to the region. Highs reached the mid-40s today, but expect those numbers to quickly drop tonight and introduce some wintry weather after 11 p.m. in Springfield (sooner for the hilltowns) as temperatures fall.

Snow and sleet will start mixing in late tonight through early Saturday morning as colder air settles into western Massachusetts. There could be some steady snow falling, but it will be pretty brief overnight, ending just before sunrise, so only minor accumulations are expected.

2 to 4 inches is predicted across Franklin County and the hilltowns. Accumulations lessen south of the Mass Pike, with an inch expected in the downtown Springfield area.

Skies become partly cloudy Saturday afternoon and Sunday, but another storm is on the horizon for Monday, which will have rain and snow impacts on the Northeast. Right now, it may start with a wintry mix early Monday morning, but this appears to be more of a rain event for Springfield throughout much of the day. Stay posted!

Tonight: Rain early this evening, snow and sleet overnight, minor accumulations, low 41.

Saturday: Wintry mix before sunrise, clearing afternoon skies, high 39.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, cool, high 37.

Monday: Morning snow and ice, changing to afternoon rain, high 40.

Nelson Mandela led black South Africans in their struggle to throw off the yoke of white rule and then helped the entire nation heal the wounds of racial division.

SARAH DiLORENZO, Associated Press

Nelson Mandela led black South Africans in their struggle to throw off the yoke of white rule and then helped the entire nation heal the wounds of racial division.

But his message of perseverance, respect and forgiveness didn't just heal South Africa. He also inspired people in countries far and wide in their fights against authoritarian rule.

The measure of his influence was in the varied and immediate outpouring Friday from people around the globe in response to his death. In South Africa, people held his image in the streets, but they did so in the Palestinian territories as well. South Africans lowered their flags to half-staff, but so, too, did Europeans and Americans.

Several African countries declared three days of mourning, and traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange stood quiet for a minute before the market opened. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared that a Brooklyn high school will be renamed The Nelson Mandela School for Social Justice.

As leaders and citizens, athletes and artists remembered Mandela, many struggled to find words big enough to describe the man who changed the face of South Africa and inspired a continent and a world: a colossus, a father figure, a giant baobab tree providing shade for an entire nation.

Many noted that Mandela's legacy would not go with him. It would live on, for example, in the freedom of the Eastern bloc countries and the example he set for other African ones.

"He no longer belongs to us. He belongs to the ages," said President Barack Obama.

As a summit on peace and security in Africa opened in Paris, many leaders vowed to live up to the model he set, but his legacy is also an uncomfortable one for other leaders on a continent where many cling to power and amass riches while their populations suffer.

In Gambia, for instance, intellectuals and public servants quietly wondered if the death of the South African icon would serve as a wakeup call to President Yahya Jammeh, who has ruled his West African nation with an iron fist, accused of imprisoning, torturing and killing his opponents, including journalists. Jammeh has yet to comment on Mandela's death.

AN INSPIRATION FOR STRUGGLING PEOPLE THE WORLD OVER

In Haiti, a Caribbean nation that became the world's first black republic in 1804 through a successful slave revolt, Mandela symbolized the struggle for black equality.

"Mandela is not only the father of democracy in South Africa, but is also a symbol of democracy," said Haitian President Michel Martelly. "And like any symbol, he is not dead. He is present in all of us and guides us by his lifestyle, his courage and faith in the true struggle for equality."

___

"When he could leave prison after 27 years of suffering, that coincided with the fall of communism in our part of the world, thus Mandela became a moral compass, a source of inspiration not only in South Africa but in our region, too," Hungarian President Janos Ader said in a letter addressed to his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma.

___

Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski called Mandela a "Titan of the 20th century."

"All people who fought for freedom in the 20th century, including the Poles, understand what this great man meant to Africa and for the whole world."

___

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India compared Mandela to his country's own icon for the struggle for freedom, independence leader Mohandas K. Gandhi.

"A giant among men has passed away. This is as much India's loss as South Africa's. He was a true Gandhian. His life and work will remain a source of eternal inspiration for generations to come."

___

Palestinians have pinned photos of Mandela on Israel's separation barrier to draw a parallel between his struggle against apartheid and theirs against Israeli occupation.

Several dozen demonstrators marched from the West Bank village of Bilin to the nearby barrier Friday, chanting "Mandela, Mandela" and pinning 20 photos of the former South African leader to the wire mesh fence.

___

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban and now campaigns for girls' right to education, paid tribute to Mandela, whom she called "my leader."

"Nelson Mandela is physically separated from us, but his soul and spirit will never die," Yousafzai said in a statement.

A MAN WHO LED BY EXAMPLE

"God was so good to us in South Africa by giving us Nelson Mandela to be our president at a crucial moment in our history," Archbishop Desmond Tutu said. "He inspired us to walk the path of forgiveness and reconciliation, and so South Africa did not go up in flames."

___

"He transformed hate into love, putting his country and people back together," Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara told French TV.

___

"He is comparable to a great baobab, this invincible tree under which everyone shelters. And when this baobab falls, we find ourselves exposed," said Guinea President Alpha Conde.

___

Model Naomi Campbell said: "He was much more than just a figurehead to me — he was my mentor, my honorary grandfather, my Tata. Since meeting him in 1993, he's guided me and gave me a reason for being in the tough times of my life. He changed my perception of the world."

___

South African Foreign Minister Maite Mashabane told the summit in Paris that Africans must work together to achieve peace and fulfill Mandela's vision.

"We will do so, if we work together to find a peaceful resolution so that our people can continue to put peace, security and development together in the name of our father, who chose no revenge, who said South Africa belongs to all living in it, irrespective of color or creed, who made the impossible possible."

___

Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said the world had lost "a visionary leader, a courageous voice for justice and a clear moral compass."

___

"Nelson Mandela is an example. An example of resistance in the face of oppression. An example of freedom in the face of injustice. An example of dignity in the face of humiliation. ... An example of forgiveness in the face of hatred," French President Francois Hollande said as he opened the summit in Paris, devoted to bringing peace to Africa.

Hollande said that Mandela's spirit would preside over the summit.

___

"Nelson Mandela was convinced that it is not hatred and revenge that make the world better, but reconciliation and political change — and that is how he lived," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in Berlin. "That is why he is a giant of history, a statesman with a message that is valid in every country and at every time."

AN UNCOMFORTABLE LEGACY

Robert Mugabe, whose wasted Zimbabwe is often held up as the counterpoint to Mandela's multiracial, prosperous South Africa, has yet to comment on Mandela's death. Mugabe recently criticized Mandela for being too conciliatory to whites.

But Zimbabwe's opposition hailed him as an icon.

"Africa should continue to produce more Mandelas who think more about the people than personal power; for whom the people's welfare is more important than the selfish pursuit of personal power and glory," said opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

___

Speaking under condition of anonymity, a top official at the Gambian Civil Service, who could not be named for fear of reprisal, said President Jammeh should emulate the leadership qualities that Mandela had shown.

"Our president should be the first person to reflect on Mandela's legacy," he said.

___

Associated Press reporters Gillian Gotora in Harare, Zimbabwe; Karl Ritter in Stockholm; Geir Moulson in Berlin; Bernard Ghee in Atlanta; Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary; Dalia Nammari in Ramallah, West Bank; Monika Scislowska in Warsaw; Jill Lawless and Cassandra Vinograd in London; Jamey Keaten and Sylvie Corbet in Paris; Abdoulie John in Mbour, Senegal; Svetlana Kozlenko in Kiev, Ukraine; Ian Deitch in Jerusalem; Ashok Sharma in New Delhi; Kristen Gelineau in Sydney; Aye Aye Win in Yangon, Myanmar; Julie Pace in Washington; Jake Pearson in New York; David Koop in Mexico City; Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky; Sara Burnett in Chicago; and Andrea Rodriguez in Havana contributed to this report.

Before Aaron Collins died, he gave his brother, Seth, a mission: Eat, be merry and leave a giant tip. The other night, Seth Collins, of Lexington, Ky., did just that, leaving a $500 tip for a Friendly’s waitress in Springfield, Vt.

Do you have news or a news tip to submit to MassLive.com for consideration? Send an email to online@repub.com.

At the time of his death, Moran was studying criminal justice at Springfield Technical Community College, and he had served as a cadet with the Police Department for a year.

SPRINGFIELD — As the rain fell outside St. Patrick Parish in Sixteen Acres on Friday, the tears fell inside the church as the family, friends and colleagues of a young Springfield man prepared to lay him to rest.

Max Moran, an accomplished 23-year-old who died in a car accident on Thanksgiving, was remembered for his big heart, his warm smile and the sense of humor that seemed to define some of the most cherished memories held by the approximately 100 in attendance who knew him.

At the time of his death, Moran was studying criminal justice at Springfield Technical Community College, and he had served as a cadet with the Police Department for a year. His father, Springfield Police Sgt. Ricky Moran, said his son had a big heart, just like the people who turned out to pay their respects on Friday.

"When I see all the people here and I think of all the people we've met in the past few days, I'm overwhelmed," he said, before relaying a story about Max's sense of humor and the fact that he rarely missed an opportunity to playfully jab at him.

Ricky Moran said that when transportation problems delayed him making it to Washington, D.C., in time to see his daughter Elizabeth graduate from law school, it was Max who sent him a text message saying, "We're thinking of you as we're eating all this good food ... I'm hilarious, right?"

Read Max Moran's full obituary here. 

Max's mother Anne Moran and Elizabeth next took to the pulpit, where they told a story about Max getting a Nerf gun one Christmas as a young boy.

"Max started out practicing his marksmanship on furniture and items around the house, but it wasn't before long he turned to moving targets, like us," Elizabeth Moran said. "So we strategized as a family and came up with a plan."

Anne Moran said that they purchased a bunch of Nerf guns and stashed them around the house ahead of one holiday gathering, and when Max was going to make a move, they struck first.

"To this day I'm still finding Nerf bullets around the house," his mother said.

In addition to his aspirations to become a Springfield police officer, the young Moran was an active member of the National Guard. It was in that capacity 1st Sgt. Peter Pouliot knew him.

"Max was the motivation of Alpha Company. He lived his life fully without regrets," Pouliot said. "I will miss my talks with him, I will miss his optimism."

The Republican's archives are peppered with notes of Moran's achievements over the years. One of the most recent entries came as he graduated from Army National Guard Infantryman One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., in 2010, and after he made the dean's list at the University of Massachusetts in 2009.

Moran also is listed as receiving maximum honors at his 2008 graduation from Central High School and honors at Holy Name and MacDuffie schools.

John Sheaffer, Springfield police chaplain, said that although it is natural for his loved ones to ask why he is gone, he encouraged them not to blame a higher power.

"God lets each of us live our lives and he is there with us each step of the way," Sheaffer said. "God didn't put Max on that road on Thursday morning, but he was there with him."

The speed limit on the MassPike has been reduced to 40 mph from Westfield to the New York line.

 

SPRINGFIELD - A winter weather advisory is in effect through much of Western Masachusetts Friday evening as the falling temperatures and constant rain is leading to slick road and icy conditions, according to the National Weather Service.

The advisory is in effect through 6 a.m. Saturday morning.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation reduced the speed limit on the Massachusetts Turnpike to 40 MPH from Westfield to the New York State line.

The National Weather Service is predicting that the rain could turn over to sleet and snow Friday night in areas north of the Massachusetts Turnpike, particularly in parts of Hampshire, Franklin and upper Berkshire counties. Snow may be heavy at times between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. Saturday.

Snowfall amounts could measure between 2 to 4 inches, according to the forecast.

A winter weather advisory is issued whenever the forecast calls for snow or ice., making driving conditions difficult. Motorists are being urged to use caution, especially on roads that have not been sanded, and when going over bridges, which tend to freeze first.

A raid on a Clantoy Street home netted weapons and drugs

 

In a Twitter release dated Dec. 5, Springfield Police said the raid was executed after a week-long investigation into a house break into a Van Buren Avenue home, during which several guns were taken. Police developed information that the weapons were being held at 63 Clantoy St., also a suspected drugs sales location A search warrant was issued and executed Thursday at approximately 6 p.m.

Police said they confiscated an M4 rifle, a compact version of the M-15 semi-automatic assault-styled rifle, along with hundreds of rounds of 5.56mm ammunition, a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun and a .357 Magnum revolver. The weapons were positively identified as those taken from the Van Buren Avenue break by the homeowner.

Police also confiscated a large quantity of MDMA and arrested three people. Those arrested were not identified.

The Detective Bureau and the Street Crime Unit assisted in the raid.

Three men are accused of a Thursday drive-by shooting in Pittsfield.

 

The Berkshire Eagle reports that Terry Martizna,Jr., 23, of Lanesborough, 23-year-old Shaun Silverio, and Derrick Saunder, Jr., 18, both of Pittsfield, entered pleas of not guilty to two counts each of assault to murder as well as other gun and drug charges in Central Berkshire District Court.

Pittsfield Sgt. Glen Decker told MassLive.com that the three are accused of shooting at a Toyota Rav 4 at approximately 4 a.m. Thursday morning as it was parked on Danforth Street. The occupants of the car which was attacked said they were waiting for a third person when the shooting started. Police said the drivers' side of the car was peppered with bullet holes, but none of the shots penetrated the vehicle. The accused then fled the area in their car.

However, Decker said an off-duty detective who heard the description of the fleeing car on a police radio saw the car and followed it, reporting to police its location. The detective followed the car into Lee, Decker said, where Lee police stopped the car and took the three into custody.

Silverio and Saunders were ordered held without the right to bail pending a dangerousness hearing Tuesday. Martizna was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail.

SPRINGFIELD - Accustomed to armed U.S. Marshals and attorneys dripping in deference waiting in his courtroom, U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Ponsor is just getting adjusted to the mixed bag of receptions for a new author. On the eve of the Dec. 3 commercial launch of his novel, "The Hanging Judge," Ponsor gave a reading to the Boston...

U. S. District Court Judge Michael A. Ponsor in his chambers with a copy of his new book "The Hanging Judge."Republican file photo 

SPRINGFIELD - Accustomed to armed U.S. Marshals and attorneys dripping in deference waiting in his courtroom, U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Ponsor is just getting adjusted to the mixed bag of receptions for a new author.

On the eve of the Dec. 3 commercial launch of his novel, "The Hanging Judge," Ponsor gave a reading to the Boston Bar Association including nearly seven dozen colleagues, former law clerks and others.

"It was really an extraordinary experience," Ponsor said, adding that reading an excerpt of his novel in the shadow of the Statehouse nearly 50 years after arriving in Massachusetts from Minnesota was "magical."

However, at his next scheduled reading at the Framingham Barnes & Noble days later, Ponsor fought a driving rain on the Massachusetts Turnpike to arrive on time. He was greeted by an indifferent staffer and an audience of two.

"One of whom was most certainly homeless," Ponsor recounted with a laugh. "The (seemingly) homeless guy seemed kind of interested, but the other was this woman who was there to try to sell me her own book."

Such is the romantic life of a writer on the road, he reasons.

On the upside, Ponsor's novel about a green federal judge, the Honorable David Norcross, being thrust into a capital murder trial in a Western Massachusetts courtroom, is getting positive early reviews.

Kirkus, a prominent American book review magazine and website, said Ponsor's legal thriller would make a great movie, and beyond that: "Ponsor gives readers a unique look into the workings of a courtroom. But more than that, he demonstrates a feel for how ordinary families are affected by the legal system."

Ponsor was appointed a federal magistrate judge in Springfield in 1984 and then a district judge in this city 10 years later. He took senior status, or semi-retired, in 2011 but is still a sitting judge on hundreds of criminal and civil matters.

Ponsor presided over one of the state's few recent death penalty trials, that of Kristen Gilbert, a nurse at the Veteran's Administration in Northampton, convicted in 2001 of killing several of her patients with lethal shots of epinephrine. Jurors passed on the death penalty in the sentencing phase; Gilbert is serving a life sentence in federal prison.

Nina Lassam, senior marketing manager with Open Road Integrated Media, a New York City publishing house, said the book has so far been well-received within and outside the legal community.

"I think it raises many interesting issues, especially the death penalty and the jury system," Lassam said. "Readers really related to that, and the stress and turmoil that can put on a person."

The book was first exclusively released earlier this year by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. "The Hanging Judge" was the first fictional work it published.

Ponsor has a reading scheduled at Broadside Books in Northampton on Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.

A 23-year-old Middletown,Conn., woman faces two felony charges after Ludlow police say she tried to cash a bogus $2,000 payroll check.

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

1) 2 men, 1 woman from Springfield charged with armed assault following East Forest Park disturbance [Patrick Johnson]

2) Max Moran, 23-year-old Springfield police cadet killed in Thanksgiving car crash, remembered for his smile, sense of humor [Robert Rizzuto] Photo gallery above.

3) Connecticut woman Shandra Cherry arrested for allegedly passing forged check [Dave Canton]

4) Westfield State University vice president Milton Santiago resigns in wake of ex-President Evan Dobelle controversy [Jeanette DeForge]

5) Dunkin Donuts pushes for change to Massachusetts law to let more employees share tip jar [State House News Service]

About 15 to 20 employees from Hasbro in East Longmeadow helped with the registrations.

View full sizeTo get a printable version of this coupon to mail in with your donation, click on "view full size," above. 

SPRINGFIELD - Friday was the last day for needy families to register in Springfield to receive toys for Christmas from the Toy for Joy fund, and Danielle LaTaille, director of services for the Salvation Army, said approximately 3,200 families registered.

“We’re still tallying,” LaTaille said, “but we think we have approximately 14,400 children. That is more than last year.”

The Toy for Joy fund, which is in its 91st year, is sponsored by The Republican and The Salvation Army, with the help of campaign partner Hasbro of East Longmeadow, which donates a portion of the toys for the campaign.

About 15 to 20 employees from Hasbro in East Longmeadow helped with the registrations on Friday at the Greater Springfield Citadel at 170 Pearl St., as part of its first-ever Global Day of Joy initiative. Toy for Joy was just one of more than 100 charitable organizations the company helped.

“It was excellent to have the additional help,” LaTaille said.

Today, the Springfield fund drive received $2,135. It still needs $137,684 to reach its $150,000 goal by Christmas Eve.

Karen Davis, spokesman for Hasbro, said that on Friday Hasbro had 5,000 employees in 36 countries who became “elves” to help with getting toys to the world’s neediest children as part of its “Global Day of Joy.”

“Hasbro’s commitment to helping children where we live and work began with our founders more than 90 years ago and continues with our inaugural Global Day of Joy,” said Brian Goldner, president and CEO, Hasbro, Inc. “With the help of our many charitable partners, this initiative provided our talented team of employees with a glimpse into the incredible impact that can be made for children in need across the globe when we work together.”

The Team Hasbro employee volunteer program gives employees four hours of paid time off per month to volunteer with child-focused organizations in the communities where they live and work. During the 2013 holiday season alone, Hasbro expects to donate more than $3 million worth of toys and games to children and approximately $15 million in total philanthropic support worldwide.

As far as the Toy for Joy fund itself is concerned, delivery of toys continues next week and they will be sorted and arranged in the gym at the Citadel, LaTaille said.

The toys must be sorted into bags for children by age and gender before families arrive at the Citadel to pick up the toys.

“We have many volunteers who will be helping us,” LaTaille said.

She said some of them have been helping for years.

Toy registration
Here are the times for families to register at Salvation Army sites for the 91st annual Toy for Joy campaign. Registration has closed in Springfield, Greenfield, Westfield and the Hilltowns.
Holyoke
Holyoke Citadel: 271 Appleton St., Holyoke; Dec. 9-20, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; for info, call (413) 532-6312; serves Holyoke, South Hadley, Granby
Westfield
Required documentation
Participants must bring the following documents: Photo ID for head of household; proof of address (within the last 30 days); MassHealth cards or other identifying information for any child age 16 or younger; and birth certificates (or passports) for any child age 16 and younger.
For more information, call 733-1518. To make a contribution to the Toy for Joy fund, write: Toy for Joy, P.O. Box 3007, Springfield 01102. Contributions may also be dropped off with the coupon to The Republican, 1860 Main St., Springfield, weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. through Dec. 24.

Here’s a list of the latest contributors:

• For Chuck, $25


• In memory of Big H and John, $25


• In loving memory of Grammy from Marissa, $33


• Greatly missed, Dick, Edith, Eunice, Roy and Laura, $25


• Merry Christmas from Jean, $15


• In memory of my life long friend Barb from Carol, $25


• From Helen, $25


• Merry Christmas from Sunday Money Makers, $50


• In memory of my husband Joe from Olivia, $25


• In memory of Linda and Dad and Mother and Bill, $20


• Margaret, $25


• In memory of Patricia Polonis whose life revolved around children, $100


• Harvey and Jackie, $25


• Anonymous, $200


• In memory of John Martone, Walter Kashila, Kevin Stefanik and Mal Bressani from Eva, $40


• In memory of Bill and Brian, thinking of you with love from Pat “Mom”, $20


• Anonymous, $25


• In memory of Ruth LaBelle who brought joy to all she met, from the employees of Direct Results, $500

Authorities say they are investigating the suspicious death of a woman found in a house fire in Rutland.

RUTLAND, Mass. (AP) — Authorities say they are investigating the suspicious death of a woman found in a house fire in Rutland.

Firefighters came to the two-story home about 7 a.m. Friday after neighbors reported smoke coming from the structure. The woman was found on the first floor.

Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early said circumstances inside the house are considered suspicious, and state police have obtained a search warrant. Early said the state fire marshal and Rutland police and fire departments also are investigating. Early said the victim hasn't been positively identified and the cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner.

The Telegram & Gazette reports that police issued a be-on-the-lookout alert for a Toyota Highlander seen in the area because they want to talk to the driver.

The American Red Cross assisted a nine member family displaced by fire Friday afternoon.

SPRINGFIELD — A fire that broke out in a vacant second floor apartment at 26 Olmstead Drive late Friday afternoon left a family living on the first floor homeless, fire officials said. However, the Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross was able to provide food, shelter and immediate necessities for the nine people displaced by the blaze Communications Director Dawn Leaks said.

While the fire was primarily contained to the building's second floor, the first floor of the house sustained smoke and water damage, making it temporarily uninhabitable for the three adults and six children living there. Fire officials estimate damage at $40,000.

The Red Cross was able to find emergency shelter for the family as well as provide for food, clothing and personal needs lost to the family. Leaks said each of the family members was provided with a "comfort kit" containing age-appropriate personal care items, such as toothbrushes, shaving supplies and other necessities. The comfort kit also includes a stuffed animal for any children involved.

Leaks said the Red Cross will follow up with the family with continuing aid as they recover.

Tapestry Health has been operating a needle exchange out of a downtown office since August 2012.

HOLYOKE - A public hearing on needle exchange will be held Monday at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

"It's going to be a free-for-all, so many people have things they want to say," said Ward 2 City Councilor Anthony Soto, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, which is holding the hearing.

In a needle exchange program, people submit needles that have been used for intravenous drugs and get a clean, uninfected needle in return.

The committee will compile the comments and include them in a report to the full City Council. The hope is that the City Council will take a vote on whether the city should have such a program, Soto said -- an arguably moot point with a needle exchange program having been operating here since August 2012.

But the needle exchange issue here has hardly ever been simple.

Voters have twice said no to needle exchange in nonbinding questions. On the Nov. 5 election ballot -- "“Should the city of Holyoke have a needle exchange program?” -- voters said "no" by 51 percent to 49 percent, or 4,623 votes to 4,433 votes.

Voters also rejected needle exchange in a nonbinding question in 2001.

Tapestry Health has been operating a needle exchange program at 15-A Main St. since August 2012. A lawsuit filed by seven of the 15 city councilors is pending in Hampden Superior Court over approval given for that program.

The Board of Health voted 3-0 to permit operation of a needle exchange program and Mayor Alex B. Morse approved in August 2012.

Morse said such a decision is a public health issue best decided not by politics but by specialists like the three health board members, Katherine Liptak and Patricia Mertes, who are registered nurses, and physician Robert Mausel.

City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain and six others filed suit contending establishing such a program must be subject to a City Council vote.

In the lawsuit, Judge Richard J. Carey in November 2012 denied plaintiffs' request to halt operation of the needle exchange facility here, but agreed a City Council vote is needed to establish such a program and said the argument of plaintiffs has a likelihood of success based on its merits.

Some councilors say council authority is at stake. If the way needle exchange was established is allowed to stand, they say, bypassing City Council authority could set a precedent that could lead to weakening the standing of the city's legislative body.

It was after that decision by Carey that some councilors filed an order calling for a council vote on needle exchange. Months later, a lengthy discussion on Nov. 19 led to the scheduling of the public hearing.

Health specialists say needle exchange helps by reducing the sharing of infected needles and cutting the spread of diseases like HIV-AIDS and hepatitis C for which there are no cures. Such specialists include the Mayo Clinic and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Northampton Police Chief Russell P. Sienkiewicz is among needle-exchange supporters who have said a benefit of the program is it exposes drug users to treatment, the dangers of sharing needles and other risks and other information they otherwise might never see.

Statistics from Tapestry Health provide a sketch of visitors to the needle exchange office. Between the beginning of Tapestry's program and Oct. 31, 40,608 clean needles were distributed and 42,248 needles were removed from circulation at the 15-A Main St. office, said Timothy W. Purington, Tapestry director of prevention services.

The office has had 2,963 encounters, or visits, with users, he said.

Of the clients, 74 percent reported never having visited a needle exchange program before, he said.

Between July 2012 and June 2013, he said, the office provided 194 HIV tests, resulting in three new HIV diagnoses. One hundred hepatitis C tests also were provided.

In the fiscal year that ended June 30, the office had 584 unique clients, he said.

Racially, such clients were mostly Latino, 315, or white, 242. He said 17 were African-American, three Asian and seven unidentified.

By gender, such clients were mostly male, 459, compared to 124 female. He said four were unidentified.

More than 90 percent of the unique clients in the previous fiscal year were between the ages of 18 and 54, he said.

Those who oppose having needle exchange here question studies' findings about the program's effectiveness. They also say it is unfair that diabetics must pay for needles but heroin users can get free needles to inject the illegal drug by exchanging a used needle.

Foes also lament that having a needle exchange program functions as a welcome mat for drug users in the region to come here, get a needle and inject.

Not all studies show needle exchange is effective. AIDScience.org, an off-shoot of Science magazine, reported in 2001 about a study in Vancouver in 1997 that showed an outbreak of HIV among intravenous drug users despite the presence of a high-volume needle exchange program. The same website noted a 1999 study in Seattle, Wash. that reported no benefit of needle exchange program attendance on rates of hepatitis B and C among intravenous drug users.

Still, said AIDScience, "the overwhelming majority of studies have found (needle exchange) to be associated with beneficial health outcomes."

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are councilors Todd A. McGee, Brenna M. McGee, James M. Leahy, Joseph M. McGiverin, Daniel B. Bresnahan, Vacon and Jourdain.

Defendants in the suit are Morse, professionally, the Board of Health and Tapestry Health.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Edward Morris 

"Chief" Edward H. Morris, 82, of Chicopee, passed away on Thursday. He was born in Mason, Ill., raised in Havana, Ill., and joined the Navy in 1948. He served in the Korean Conflict, Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War. During his military career, he was a C Bees and at one point was stationed in the Philippines, where he was the personal driver and mechanic for General Douglas MacArthur. He served for 44 years, retiring from the Air Force as chief master sergeant. He worked for Rivet Oil Co. in Chicopee as a repairman and also worked as a salesman for Sid Harvey Inc. in Springfield for 35 years.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Aubin, Keith Alan (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Baker, William G. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Barbato, Joseph and Rose (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Barbato, Joseph P. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Baron, Frances S. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Baron, Naomi S. Baniel
  



• 
  Belton, Rose V. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Bobrowski, Joan (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Bobrowski, Joan (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Borchers, William (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Caputo, Albert F. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Carduff, Martha Savaria (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Carlson, Kenneth J. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Carney, Diane (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Chmael, John (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Cressotti, Florence (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Czupryna, Aniela
  



• 
  Dialessi, Evelyn I. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Ennaco, Mary (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Ennaco, Ralph (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Fessenden, Sheryl B. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Fratamico, Thomson (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Galavotti, Elizabeth L.
  



• 
  Gillette Jr., Greg A. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Gillette Jr., Greg A. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Gingras, Martha (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Gomes, Manuel J.
  



• 
  Guidi, Anna M. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Henderson, Agnes "Nan" (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Irla, Mary A. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Isham, Wesley and Lillian (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Jazab, Walter J.
  



• 
  Jones, Emma (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Kelly, Brian P. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  King, Inez M. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Kittridge Jr., Paul Hendrick
  



• 
  Kornacki, Kevin (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Laliberte, Gladys Laliberte (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  LaPierre, Dr. Hilda Marta (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Lepine, Beatrice (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Morris, Edward H.
  



• 
  Olson Jr., Algot V. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Pallatino, Josephine (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Panetti, Antoinette (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Penna, Michael (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Placanico, Giorgio (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Reid, Lawrence A. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Robledo, Barbara A. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Rodriguez, Rafael
  



• 
  Rota, Alan L.
  



• 
  Santaniello, Nicholas (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Santos, Julieta D. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Sawa, Stella M. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Stomski, Joan F. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Weiner, Seymour (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Williamson Sr., Raymond Otis (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Witaszek, Thaddeus J.
  



• 
  Wrobleski, Edward J. (In Memoriam)
  



• 
  Zulkiewicz, Frank "Pop" (In Memoriam)
  

The trial of a Princeton man charged with fatally stabbing another man at a Worcester party earlier this year has been delayed because his lawyer was recently appointed a judge.

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The trial of a Princeton man charged with fatally stabbing another man at a Worcester party earlier this year has been delayed because his lawyer was recently appointed a judge.

Twenty-one-year-old Jay Anderson's first-degree murder trial was scheduled to start last week.

The Telegram & Gazette reports that the trial was postponed until next year because Anderson's court-appointed lawyer, Christopher LoConto, was named last month as an associate justice of the Fitchburg District Court.

Anderson has pleaded not guilty to stabbing 20-year-old Boris Velez II in the neck during an argument at a party in February. Velez died at a hospital three days later. Anderson is being held without bail.

A new lawyer has been appointed.

After the service, Neal, who also credited Napolitan with his political success, said Napolitan remained pure despite his love of politics.

SPRINGFIELD - Joseph Napolitan was remembered as a man who "walked among kings" but who never lost the common touch.

Napolitan, 84, was a Springfield-bred international political consultant who advised American presidential candidates including John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, as well as Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos.

His funeral Mass drew local former and current elected officials including U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, Governor's Councilor and former Mayor Michael J. Albano, former Mayor Charles V. Ryan, who delivered the eulogy, former City Councilors Timothy Ryan, William Foley and Francis G. Keough III.

Napolitan died on Monday after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease, leaving a legacy of high-profile political campaigns unparalleled in local circles. The son of a bar owner, Napolitan ran his globe-trotting business from an office on Chestnut Street.

"There's not too many of us who walked with kings, especially on a regular diet," Charles Ryan told mourners at Holy Name Catholic Church on Saturday.

Ryan was among many local candidates whose campaigns Napolitan gave a boost.

Ryan, a Springfield mayor in the 1960s and again in 2003 and 2005, also was a close friend of Napolitan who lauded his love of people and genuine conversation.

"Conversations with him were like a tennis match. It was back and forth and back and forth and it took two people to make it work. That's kind of a lost art, really," Ryan said.

Napolitan was predeceased by his wife, Mary. He had four children. Two of his five grandchildren gave readings at the service.

Napolitan was amid the inner circles of high-profile elections globally. According to family members, Napolitan worked for onetime French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, heads of state in Costa Rica, the Sudan, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. He persuaded Oscar Arias of Costa Rica to make "peace" the theme of his presidential campaign. Arias went on to win the Nobel Prize.

Napolitan also was the co-founder of the International Association of Political Consultants, a Washington D.C.-based coalition that ran a memorial to Napolitan on-line.

He was a pioneer of political polling and political ads. Napolitan was the author of "The Election Game and How to Win It." Family members said he never shied from speaking his mind, even to some of the globe's most formidable leaders.

Napolitan once traveled to Palestine as an elections observer and participated in a meeting with Palestinian President and Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization Yasser Arafat, who bragged that his campaign lasted only 30 seconds.

"Mr. Chairman, I think you have been running for 35 years," Napolitan interrupted.

"Everyone was silent, wondering what Arafat would do," according to his daughter, who put a synopsis of Napolitan's life in writing for mourners. "Suddenly he got up, clapped Joe on the back, gave him a hug and later gave him a tour of the palace."

Years into his struggle with "forgetfulness," Napolitan never forgot his manners, helping elderly women with their bags at grocery stores and visiting ailing and grieving friends.

Msgr. David Joyce, who presided over the funeral Mass, called Napolitan "a political consultant par excellence" who would often dispense advice over coffee and a cigar at his Longhill Street home on weekends.

Ryan concluded his eulogy by reprising the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy remarks after the assassination of his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, in 1968.

"We wish him to be remembered as a good and decent man," Ryan said, quoting Kennedy.

After the service, Neal, who also credited Napolitan with his political success, said Napolitan remained pure despite his love of politics.

"He revered the institutions of American government. He was never cynical not did he think any of us should be," Neal said.

A Boston police officer was shot while pursuing a suspect in the Geneva section of Dorchester on Saturday afternoon.

BOSTON — A Boston police officer was shot while pursuing a suspect in the Geneva section of Dorchester on Saturday afternoon.

When reached by phone Boston Police spokeswoman Officer Nicole Grant confirmed that a police officer was shot this afternoon but she could not provide any additional information on the condition of the officer.

Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Daniel Linskey is at the scene and told the Boston Herald that the suspect involved in the shooting is dead. The Boston Globe is reporting that the officer shot was struck in the arm/hand area and should survive.

A press conference to update officials on the condition of the officer and the suspect is scheduled for later this afternoon at the intersection of Corona Street and Geneva Ave according to Grant.

This story is developing.