Obituaries from The Republican.

William M. Dunn

HOLYOKE - William Michael Dunn, 59, of Holyoke, died at Baystate Hospital in Springfield on May 29. Son of Carroll and Annamae Dunn, Bill was born and raised in Holyoke and took great pride in his city's history. He graduated from Holyoke High School, Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut, Amherst College, and earned a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He enjoyed hiking, camping, canoeing, fishing, and walking the Mt. Tom reservation. Bill was a master guitarist and moving folk and blue vocalist, but a mediocre fiddler. A songwriter, storyteller, and poet, he also participated in Irish music sessions. Known by many as "The Old Dunner" he leaves a long legacy of tales and friendships. He was a student of history and knowledgeable about the Indian and immigrant history of Western Massachusetts. He was also a student of Irish culture. He was employed by the Holyoke School system from 1977 to 2011. He taught at Peck School and went on to hold several positions at Dean Technical and Vocational High School, serving as head of the English department, coordinator of the Dean Alternative Program, Academic Coordinator, and interim vice principle. While serving at Dean he developed an interdisciplinary curriculum based upon the history of the Connecticut River. He also published articles on racism and multicultural education. He was a zealot for social justice which was evident in his life and work. He served as adviser to the school newspaper and participated in the Outdoor Club which introduced Holyoke students to hiking and camping. Because of his work in education he also held many part time jobs including stints at the Fitzpatrick Skating Rink, Mount Holyoke College Library, and as an instructor at the University of Massachusetts. He was also a carpenter and builder.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Alves, Paul




• 
  Barrus, Ann (Griffin)
  



• 
  Berube, James P.
  




• Boyer, Henry H.
  




• 
  Dunn, William M.
  



• 
  GUERRA, GLORIA A. (NATALINI)




• 
  Hall, Peter C.
  



• 
  Hassenfratz, Anita (Miller)
  




• Klinakis, Paul A
  




• 
  Mazor, Roger "Bob"
  



• 
  O'Connor, Jerome B.




• 
  Paquette, Bob
  



• 
  PUPEK, CLAIRE N. (LYSIAK)
  




• Sullivan, Peter A.
  




• 
  Tranquilli, Walter
  

Police said they have reviewed the delay and taken steps to see that it doesn't happen again.

Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD – A “technical glitch” in the Springfield Police Department’s computer-aided dispatch system last Tuesday night kept officers from responding to an ongoing vandalism-spree to parked cars in the Forest Park neighborhood for well over an hour.

East Alvord Street resident Meghan Ashe, one of the first to report the vandalism, said she heard the “puff, puff” of a BB-gun or air rifle closely followed by the sound of breaking glass.

“It was my car window,” Ashe said, adding that when she quickly called police to report the crime she saw on her cell phone that it was 10:07 p.m.

The two youthful suspects ran away, but came back some 15 minutes later and started up again, this time on West Alvord Street, where they shot the windows of two more vehicles, Ashe said.

Ashe said she again called police to report that the situation was ongoing and that the suspects were still in sight. Other neighbors called as well, she said.

At least six vehicles on East Alvord, West Alvord and Davidston streets had been hit in the spree, she said.

Ashe said, however that it was close to 11:40 p.m. by the time she saw any officers on scene. By then, the suspects were long gone.

Ashe said the failure of the police to get there sooner was unsettling. “They are literally right in front of me,” Ashe said of the suspects. “And, that didn’t seem to make a difference.”

Sgt. John M. Delaney confirmed Ashe’s story, although he said that officers arrived in the neighborhood by 11:24 and not in the area of 11:40 p.m. as Ashe indicated.

Even so, however, the lag time of 1 hour and 16 minutes between the call and the response was not acceptable and is “something that normally wouldn’t happen under all the proper circumstances,” he said.

Delaney said the delay was caused by a “technical glitch in the computer-assisted dispatch system.

It began, he said, when the initial call was reported to dispatchers as a low priority because the vandalism was not thought to be an immediate and ongoing concern.

Subsequent calls that came in on the ongoing spree were never upgraded on the screens that dispatchers use to direct police.

Response was further delayed by reports of shots fired (with a firearm) on Myrtle Street and a violent domestic situation, Delaney said.

Commissioner William J. Fitchet has been apprised of the delay and Melissa Nazzari, director of emergency communications, has met with the department’s call-takers and dispatchers to review the matter and ensure that it doesn’t happen again, Delaney said.

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The senator also maintains an office in the former federal building in Springfield.

Scott P. Brown

WORCESTER – U.S. Sen. Scott P. Brown is opening an office in Worcester as he prepares to make his case to voters next year.

The office is located in the Harold D. Donohue Federal Building on Main Street. Brown invited local and state officials to the Tuesday ribbon-cutting.

The office will give constituents in the Worcester area more access to Brown without having to make a trip to his Boston office.

The opening of the office comes as Brown gears up for next year’s election.

Democrats want to deny the Republican a full six-year term after he defeated Democrat Martha M. Coakley in the 2010 special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy

Although Brown lost Worcester, he won neighboring communities like Shrewsbury, Holden and Grafton.

In Springfield, the senator maintains an office at Suite 406 of the former federal building at 1550 Main St.

Suspensions include the possible exclusion from senior activities including graduation exercises.

WESTFIELD – A theatrical performance out of Star Wars and Vaseline on door knobs will not keep four seniors at Westfield High School from graduation exercises Friday.

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, Principal Raymond K. Broderick lifted 10-day suspensions for four seniors, responsible for “bad choice” incidents that occurred on the Montgomery Road campus last week.

“The main issue is always the safety and well-being of our 1,600 students at Westfield High,” Broderick said Tuesday.

The actions of the students, because of the suspensions, could have kept them from participating in the graduation ceremony scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.

“Suspensions carry the potential of exclusion from senior activities, including graduation night,” the principal said.

“These incidents may have been poor choices on their part but, I am comfortable that they will all go forward and succeed and have learned from this,” Broderick said.

Broderick announced his decision to lift suspensions after meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday with two senior boys who staged a light saber fight, with toy replicas, in the school cafeteria last Thursday.

His decision also lifts a suspension handed down on two other seniors earlier in the week for an incident involving spreading Vaseline on door knobs to offices and other rooms at the school.

“These are all great kids with super futures and they understand the consequences of their action,” the principal said.

The two seniors involved in the Star Wars performance have been identified as Tom Costello and Ryan Angco. The two involved in the Vaseline incident were not identified and Broderick did not name any of the four students.

His suspensions of the four students was supported Tuesday by Superintendent of Schools Shirley Alvira and Mayor Daniel M. Knapik, who serves as chairman of the School Committee. Their support came prior to Broderick’s decision to lift the suspensions after only three days.

“I still support the principal. Mr. Broderick is a seasoned, professional principal and his concern is rightly the safety and well being of all students in his school,” said Alvira.

Knapik called the discipline “tough medicine” but added “Policies have been in place for years and students are aware of them.”

At a senior assembly earlier last week, Broderick said he addressed the issue of graduation pranks and the resulting discipline that would be meted out.

File photoWestfield High School

Thomas Dimino said Richard Vitale told him that DiMasi favored state Rep. Robert DeLeo as his successor:

This is an updated version of a story posted at 12:11 this afternoon.

File photo by Greg Saulmon / The RepublicanFormer Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi is seen outside U.S. District Court in Boston Friday.

By KYLE CHENEY

BOSTON - In December 2007, Speaker Salvatore DiMasi’s accountant, Richard Vitale, boarded a client’s private jet to return home to Massachusetts from a trip to Las Vegas. On that flight, he had a conversation with a longtime colleague, Thomas Dimino, in which he described DiMasi’s interest in leaving the Statehouse and joining the private sector to make more money – belying DiMasi’s public claims to the contrary.

Dimino, who testified to the conversation Tuesday in federal court, said Vitale told him on the plane ride that DiMasi had a favored successor as speaker: Rep. Robert DeLeo, then a top DiMasi ally and chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

“He mentioned that DeLeo was the person that he would like to succeed Sal,” Dimino testified.

Dimino’s testimony bolstered the contention by prosecutors in the corruption trial of DiMasi, Vitale and lobbyist Richard McDonough that DiMasi had set his sights on leaving public office more than a year before he actually acknowledged it. His preferred destination was WN Advisors, a separate firm Vitale operated that had, in 2007, received a $500,000 payment from the sale of a $13 million Cognos contract, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors have argued that DiMasi, who had seen diminished income from his law practice after assuming the speakership, had sought new sources of income to help maintain an extravagant lifestyle and manage tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt.

Dimino was the second witness in the trial to suggest DeLeo was DiMasi’s handpicked successor long before either acknowledged that DiMasi had plans to leave the Statehouse. Dino DiFronzo, a North End political ally of DiMasi’s, testified earlier this month that he met with DiMasi and DeLeo in December 2007 to discuss how to help DeLeo succeed DiMasi as speaker.

DeLeo, through a spokesman, has declined comment on the witness accounts. The Winthrop Democrat outpolled Rep. John Rogers in January 2009 to succeed DiMasi, who spent parts of 2008 reacting to turmoil in the House as allies of DeLeo and Rogers jockeyed in a fight to become the next speaker.

During cross-examination by Vitale’s lawyer, Thomas Drechsler, Dimino noted Vitale never specified where in the private sector DiMasi intended to land or “what specific options Mr. DiMasi might explore.”

DiMasi, Vitale and lobbyist Richard McDonough are charged with conspiring to steer two state contracts – a $4.5 million deal in 2006 and a $13 million deal in 2007 – to Cognos Corp., a Canadian software company, in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks. The three are charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud. DiMasi is also facing a count of extortion. Prosecutors allege DiMasi received $65,000 funneled through a law partner, that McDonough received $300,000 for his role in the two deals and that Vitale received $500,000 through WN Advisors.

Defense attorneys have argued that any financial transactions related to Cognos payments were legal and that DiMasi pursued software of the type offered by Cognos to help improve the efficiency and data analysis of state government.

Prosecutors neared the close of their close of their argument Tuesday – they expect to wrap up Wednesday – with testimony from Vitale’s administrative assistant Vera Copeland. Copeland testified that she would regularly send files, at Vitale’s request, to DiMasi’s office in the State House, including copies of a proposed consulting agreement between WN Advisors and Montvale Solutions, a Cognos reseller operated by Joseph Lally, who pled guilty in March to conspiring with DiMasi, McDonough and Vitale.

Vitale’s defense attorney, Martin Weinberg, had Copeland describe Vitale’s work with charities, including the Boys and Girls Club, documentation of which he would also send to the State House from time to time. When Vitale – who also worked for a stint as DiMasi’s campaign treasurer – departed his accounting firm, Copeland said, he expressed deep care and concern about her future and his clients’ future.

Another witness Tuesday – Mary Feeley, a paralegal in the U.S. attorney’s office preparing to attend a Boston University master’s degree program – described compiling detailed phone records indicating frequent, regular contact among Lally, DiMasi, McDonough and Vitale. Those contacts – occasionally dozens within a narrow timeframe – Feeley indicated, often coincided with significant events pertaining to the Cognos contracts in question. Flurries of phone conversations also preceded and followed events related to WN Advisors’ consulting agreement with Lally and the renewal of a contract between Cognos and Steven Topazio, DiMasi’s law partner, who redirected portions of $5,000 monthly payments to DiMasi.

On March 10, 2008, the day the Boston Globe ran an article raising questions about the Cognos deals, phone records show repeated early-morning contact among McDonough, Lally, DiMasi and Vitale’s phones. Those frequent calls continued through March 12, 2008, according to documents displayed by prosecutors.

Weinberg, Vitale’s lawyer, emphasized that Feeley’s testimony was limited to vague details contained in phone records.

“You cannot testify as to the content of any of those calls,” he said, getting an affirmative response from Feeley. “All you can say is a phone associated with one of those people is connected was connected with a phone associated with one of the other people.”

Weinberg also pointed out that prosecutors selected specific dates and events for Feeley to research and excluded phone records and emails on other days. In addition, Feeley could not testify whether Vitale actually picked up any of the phone calls made to his accounting office, Weinberg noted. He also showed emails and other records indicating that Vitale was working on unrelated matters at the time of some of the phone calls on Feeley’s charts.

More details coming in The Republican.

Dylan Tallman was injured during February school vacation when an old firework exploded in his hands.

PALMER – A benefit will be held on June 4 at Wales Irish Pub for Dylan Tallman, the Converse Middle School seventh-grader who severely injured his hands and lost several fingers in a firework accident in February.

The idea for the benefit came from family friend Martha P. Berry, who is selling tickets to the benefit at her business, Firefly Hearth, Home & Patio at 1240 Park St. Tickets also are available in advance at Wales Irish Pub on Holland Road, or at the door that day. The tickets are orange wristbands that say "Dylan Tallman benefit." The cost is $20 for adults, $10 for students and free for children six and under.

Berry went to high school with Dylan's father, Gary, and has known him for more than 30 years. She hopes to raise $17,000 for the family,; she said they will receive all the proceeds. She said the bills can add up because of the frequent doctor visits, and noted that the family recently had to spend $100 to buy a special toothbrush so that Dylan could hold it.

The benefit will be held from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. Pulled pork, cole slaw, baked beans and rolls will be served. Entertainment will be provided by the band, The Kings, and there will be a cotton candy machine for the children. Berry said Dylan plans to attend.

Dylan's aunt, Jacqui D. Mastriani said her nephew has returned to school, and is there half-days. She said he is on track to attend eighth grade next year at the high school. Before he returned to school, he was being tutored at home.

His hands are still bandaged, but she said he is able to write and use a computer, as his index finger and thumb are not bandaged. He has undergone several surgeries at Baystate Medical Center, and more are ahead of him.

"He's learning to adjust . . . He's doing really well," Mastriani said. "He is moving forward, and taking time to be with his friends."

She said her nephew played football, baseball and basketball, pursuits that are now on hold. She said he has been staying active by running.

"Nothing's going to stop him," Mastriani said.

The eighth-graders at the high school held a spaghetti supper fundraiser for Dylan in March, raising $2,200 for him. Dylan's brother Gary and cousin

Madison Mastriani are in eighth grade. Contributions also are being sent to North Brookfield Savings Bank on Thorndike Street in Dylan's name.

Dylan was home with a friend on Feb. 25, which was school vacation, when he lit a firework inside his kitchen and it exploded in his hands.

Police said he tried to put it out by submerging it in water in the kitchen sink, but because the fuse was waterproof, it exploded.

The firework, dating back 30 years, had been found a few days earlier during house cleaning.

Though it had been put away, to be disposed of later, the boys, who were there alone, found it. Dylan's 14-year-old friend had only minor injuries.

Officials are on the scene of a freight train derailment in South Amherst along Station Road.

Staff photo by Diane LedermanThe scene of a freight train derailment Tuesday afternoon on Station Road in South Amherst.

AMHERST - Officials are on the scene of a freight train derailment in South Amherst along Station Road.

The derailment was reported at around 3 p.m.

Traffic on Station Road is blocked off, and police are detouring cars.

Amherst police said there was nothing in any of the affected cars that is considered hazardous, and there is no public safety threat to anyone in the vicinity.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

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Last year, a record number of American shad, lamprey, herring and eel passed through the Westfield River ladder.

File photo by Don Treeger / The RepublicanNathan Henderson, senior aquatic biologist with Metcalf & Eddy, uses a directional antenna to track shad that have been tagged as part of the Westfield shad fish study in 2004. An open house will this weekend will give people an upclose look at fish that travel through the West Springfield fish ladder.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Last year, a total of 3,444 American shad, 477 sea lamprey, four blueback herring and 377 American eel were passed upstream along the Westfield River in spring and summer months, a record high.

That array of species will be among those that visitors can view on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., during the annual open house at the West Springfield fish ladder. The open house is located, as always, in the former Southworth Paper Company property on Front Street.

Every year since 1995, when the West Springfield fish ladder opened, the Westfield River Watershed Association has hosted an open house, an event that attracts several hundred visitors who have the opportunity to view passing fish and eel through an underwater window.

“An underwater viewing window offers viewers a chance to see fish returning to the river and its tributaries to spawn. Species that may be spotted include American shad, Atlantic salmon, sea lamprey and blueback herring,” said watershed association member Lynn Bannon.

“Experienced guides will explain the operation of the fish ladder and offer insights into the life cycles of the fish,” Bannon said.

The fish ladder, she added, provides access to upstream waters for migratory fish.

Five species of anadromous fish and six species of resident fish were identified and enumerated during the spring-summer fish passage season, according to Caleb Slater, anadromous fish project leader for the state Division of Wildlife. Anadromous fish are those which are born in fresh waters, such as rivers and streams, then travel out to sea to spend much of their lives before returning upriver to spawn.

In addition, white sucker, brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, tiger trout, and smallmouth bass – all non-anadromous fish, were documented passing upstream through the West Springfield fish passage facility in 2010, Slater added.

Not only are varying species of fish and eel counted at the fish ladder, Atlantic salmon are stocked in the hope that they will spawn in order to perpetuate the fish whose numbers are dwindling, he said.

“We stock 750 fry in the tributaries of the Westfield River,” Slater noted. “Every four years, the adults return. The fish ladder enables migrating fish to bypass the dam to spawn in the river.”

Slater also said that during the spring and summer season of 2010, three Atlantic salmon were trapped, after which all salmon were transported by personnel of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to the Richard Cronin National Salmon Station in Sunderland.

This once-a-year chance to visit the fish ladder is free to the public. Parking is available in the former Southworth lot at 150 Front St. A half-mile long path leads from the parking lot to the dam where the fish ladder is located. The event will be held rain or shine.

Defense lawyer Colin Keefe told the court that he intends to request an evaluation to determine if Assab was responsible for his actions on the day of the incident.

NORTHAMPTON – A man charged with robbing a Main Street bank at knifepoint pleaded innocent to armed robbery and other charges Tuesday in Hampshire Superior Court.

Jamal Assab, 37, of Florence Road also faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and larceny under $250 in connection with an April 13 incident at TD Bank next to Thornes Marketplace.

According to police, Assab walked into the bank, drew a knife on one of the tellers and demanded cash. After she handed him an undisclosed amount of money, he fled onto Main Street, police said. A Northampton police officer who arrived on the scene reported seeing Assab trying to stuff something into a coat pocket.

After spotting a large knife sticking out of Assab’s coat, the officer tackled him and arrested Assab with assistance from other officers. Assab had a large wad of cash and a box containing five knives, police said. A subsequent investigation revealed that Assab had shoplifted the knives from Acme Surplus in the basement of Thornes prior to entering the bank, according to police.

Assab’s arraignment was delayed until an Arabic interpreter could arrive at the courthouse. A native of Morocco, Assab worked at Amanouz Cafe, a Middle Eastern restaurant on Main Street. Two of his co-workers at the restaurant attended his arraignment.

Defense lawyer Colin Keefe told Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder that he intends to request an evaluation to determine if Assab was responsible for his actions on the day of the incident. According to Keefe, surveillance videos will show that Assab was extremely intoxicated. Prosecutor Jeremy Bucci promised to turn over all the evidence he has in the matter within the next few weeks.

At Bucci’s request, Kinder kept bail at $25,000, the amount set at Assab’s arraignment in Northampton District Court in April. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Aug. 15.

No one was injured, but several yards of train track were torn up, an official said.

Photo by Diane LedermanA photo showing two derailed train cars and the damage to the tracks following a train wreck Tuesday in South Amherst.

This is an update of a story originally posted at 3:58 p.m.

AMHERST - The derailment of six to eight freight train cars presents no threat to public safety, but it could take days to clear the scene and repair damage to the rail lines, an Amherst town official said.

No one was injured in the 2 p.m. derailment, but six to eight of the 55 train cars jumped the tracks, said town official W. David Ziomek, who is acting as town manager while David P. Musante is away.

The train was owned by New England Central Railroad, the St. Albans, Vt. company that operates on the 400 miles of track between the Vermont and Quebec borders and New London, Conn.

The company general manager could not be reached for comment.

Ziomek said it is not clear what cargo was in the cars, but none of it is considered to be threat. It is not clear if any of the cargo spilled from the freight cars.

Police and fire officials have inspected the cars and said there is no danger and it is not considered a hazardous materials emergency, he said.

The cars that derailed were did not flip over, but were off the tracks and leaning heavily to one side.

Several yards of track were torn up and will take several days to clear away the derailed cars and repair the lines, he said.

Station Road remained closed to motor vehicle traffic Tuesday evening, and it would likely remained closed Wednesday, he said.

Cliff Cole, a spokesman for Amtrak, said that as far as he knows, the damage to the track will not affect any of its operations. He said he has not been notified of any service impairment. Amtrak's Vermonter line passes through Amherst twice a day as part of Amtrak service between St. Albans and Washington DC.
Republican reporter Diane Lederman contributed to this story


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A devoutly patriotic young woman, Boyington said she and the country owe their freedom to men like Czupkiewicz.

Frederick Czupkiewicz, of South Hadley, throws out the first pitch at Fenway Park in Boston Monday in the Boston Red Sox game against the Chicago White Sox.

SOUTH HADLEY – “Are ya ready?”

That was a Red Sox representative, speaking to Frederick Czupkiewicz, 94, of South Hadley, at Fenway Park in Boston before the game against the Chicago White Sox on Memorial Day.

Was he ready! Czupkiewicz had been practicing for days. His granddaughter-in-law had been waiting five years.

That’s how long Lynn Boyington, of Granby, has been asking the Sox to let her “Gramps” throw the first pitch.

“He’s an avid Sox fan,” said Boyington.

Czupkiewicz is also a veteran of World War II, a former POW who was liberated from a German camp in 1944.

His granddaughter-in-law has adored him from the beginning. Boyington had lost both of her own grandfathers, and her grandmother had died recently.

“The day I met him,” she said, “he was holding a rhubarb leaf that was bigger than he was. I just fell in love with him.”

A devoutly patriotic young woman, Boyington said she and the country owe their freedom to men like Czupkiewicz.

She was relentless in pursuing her dream for Gramps, and knew she was close this year when she started getting emails from Red Sox events coordinator Dan Lyons.

At one point Lyons asked her if Czupkiewicz used a wheelchair.

A wheelchair? HAH!

Czupkiewicz walks, drives and cultivates a sizable vegetable garden. “He grows things that are taller than me!” said Boyington.

He uses a cane once in a while “only to keep my balance,” Czupkiewicz insists.

On the morning of Memorial Day, veterans had been assigned a variety of honors, such as singing the National Anthem, but no one knew who would make that ceremonial pitch. Finally, when Sox staffer Lyons met Gramps in person, he made up his mind.

Czupkiewicz threw the first pitch before a roaring crowd.

Standing next to his grandson Michael Boyington, a Marine veteran of Somalia, he succeeded in propelling the ball the requisite 45 feet.

“It was a dream,” said Lynn, who rode to Fenway in a two-car family caravan. “I am so proud of him.”

Czupkiewicz wasn’t worried about having thousands of eyes fixed on him. In another situation he might have been afraid, he said, but this time it was all about the ball.

The video Lynn took gets shaky at points. “I got a little emotional,” she said, tearing up again as she watched the scene.

When Czupkiewicz came back from the war, he worked for printing companies in his native Holyoke. His friends used to tell him he was a workaholic.

The game on Memorial Day lasted about two and a half hours. Who won doesn’t matter. Gramps slept a little on the way home.

Now Lynn jokes that she doesn’t know what she’s going to do with herself. She tried so hard for so long.

“It was such a huge thing on my bucket list,” she said.

The Dow closed up 128 points in the last trading session of the month.

Associated Press photoTraders Sal Suarino, left, and Robert Degaetano work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 128 points that day.

NEW YORK – That screeching sound you heard in May? That was the stock market.

While the month ended with four days of gains in most of the indexes, concerns that high gas prices, tornadoes and flooding in the South, the post-natural disaster slowdown in Japan and a growing debt crisis in Europe sent the Standard and Poor’s 500 stock index down 1.4 percent in May. That decline followed a 2.85 percent gain in April, which followed gains that set the fastest pace in the first quarter since 1998. Before this month, stocks were boosted by higher corporate earnings, increased business spending and a global economic expansion.

May was the first down month for the S&P since August 2010.

Other risky assets also saw declines in May, following a year of increases. The prices of commodities like oil, cattle and coffee fell by an average of 7 percent. Meanwhile, Treasury bond prices, which tend to rise when investors fear that the economy is slowing, rose to near their highest level of the year.

For Tuesday, the stock market ended higher, on signs that Germany might drop its demands for an early rescheduling of Greek bonds, paving the way for a deal that could prevent Greece from defaulting on its debt. The S&P index gained 14.10, or 1.1 percent, to 1,345.20. The Dow Jones industrial average added 128.21, or 1 percent, to 12,569.79. And the Nasdaq composite rose 38.44, or 1.4 percent, to 2,835.30.

These gains came in spite of another grim report on the U.S. housing market. Home prices in 12 of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index dropped in March to the lowest levels since the housing bubble popped in 2006. “Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices.

Oliver Pursche, president of Gary Goldberg Financial Services, said the report didn’t hurt investors’ confidence much because their expectations for the U.S. housing market were already low.

“There’s no shock factor there,” Pursche said. “We knew it was going to be bad, and it is.”

Even so, the month of May was an unhappy one for stock holders for the second year in a row – although the losses weren’t nearly as bad as they were last year. Just like 2010, when the S&P index lost 8 percent in May, Greece said that it will need outside help from other European Union countries to meet its debt payments. And in the U.S., the domestic economy sputtered again. Thirteen economic indicators, ranging from personal spending to manufacturing orders, were weaker than economists had predicted, a sign investors and analysts say indicates that high gas prices are slowing growth more than anticipated.

Some investors believe that May was merely a short-term dip–and given the news of the month, markets could have seen bigger declines. “(Stocks) held up reasonably well this month, given all that the market had to digest in terms of worries,” said David Kelly, chief market strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds.

Kelly and others say that the lingering good feelings from a strong earnings season, where the average company beat Wall Street’s quarterly earnings expectations by more than 6 percent, was part of the reason the broad market didn’t decline further. Another reason, Kelly says is that the belief “in the market that any of the slowdown in the economy is relatively temporarily.”

One-time factors like bad weather and problems with getting parts from Japan, along with a sharp upturn in investments by private companies, all suggest that the economy will continue to grow this year despite recent signs of weakness, Kelly said.

The few industries that performed well in May were so-called defensive ones like health care and utilities that have stable earnings because the items they sell are not luxuries. Consumer staples – companies like PepsiCo and Costco Wholesale that sell everyday items like soda and diapers – rose nearly 2.5 percent, the most out of any group.

June should provide some answers as to whether the economy truly is slowing down. Economists expect that Friday’s jobs report will show that the unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent in May from 9.0 percent in April. And at the end of the month, the Federal Reserve will end its bond-buying stimulus program, QE2. The program has kept interest rates low, which makes owning riskier assets, like stocks or commodities, more attractive.

Some investors believe that the end of the Fed’s stimulus program is already reflected in stock prices. “The market looks ahead six to nine months, so if the market thought the end of QE2 was going to be harmful we would have felt it already,” said Peter Maris, the founder of Resource Financial Group, a financial adviser in Wilmette, Ill.

The S&P index has risen 7 percent this year, before dividends. At this point would take an 87.56 point drop for it to turn negative for the year. The Dow would need to drop 992.28 points to erase its 8.6 percent gain for the year.

Luz Soto-Lambert said she was the first in her family to graduate from high school or a college.

Photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanLuz Soto-Lambert, of Springfield, talks about her upcoming graduation at the 39th annual nurses pinning ceremony at Springfield Technical Community College Tuesday.STCC

SPRINGFIELD – Luz Soto-Lambert delivered her second baby eight days ago, but that did not stop her from attending her nurses pinning ceremony Tuesday at Springfield Technical Community College.

Soto-Lambert, 28, was one of 74 students who received their nurses’ pins Tuesday afternoon from Springfield Technical Community College.

“I am the first high school graduate and the first one in my family to get a degree from a college,” Soto-Lambert said. “My parents are from Puerto Rico. One has a third grade and one has a sixth grade education.”

Soto-Lambert said she worked as a nurse’s aid while getting her nursing degree.

Festus Vanjah, 28, said he decided to become a nurse because his mother is a nurse and she told him that many patients would like to have a male nurse.

Vanjah said he hopes to get a job in a hospital emergency room or in a cardiac care unit.

“I want to do something fast paced where I have to think on my feet,” he said.

“There is always work waiting to be done in the nursing field,” Vanjah said.

Three of the nursing school graduates are veterans of the Middle East conflict, Mary M. Tarbell, dean of nursing, said.

Graduate Tracy Clapp urged her fellow graduates to “hold your heads high and treat others as you would want them to treat you.”

STCC President Ira Rubenzahl said nursing is a field that is critical to every American’s well being.

“You will be on the front line of the transition of national health care reform,” Rubenzahl told the graduates. He said there are $2.6 million registered nurses in the United States.

Hector Toledo, chairman of the Board of Trustees of STCC, praised the graduates for balancing long nights of study with all of the other responsibilities in their lives.

“Enjoy the rest of your professional lives,” he said.

Graduate Michelle LaVallee said nurses are healers and advocates.

“You overcame hardships to get here,” she said. “Some of you held two or three jobs while studying and some of you also had to master the English language.”

She called nursing “a noble profession” and a calling where you “put others before self.”

After receiving their pins, the nurses pledged to uphold an international code of ethics and “promote health, prevent illness, restore health and alleviate suffering.”

Police found Kevin Laperle of Chicopee slumped behind the wheel in a car stopped in the passing lane on I-91 and initially believed he was under the influence.

Republican file photo

This is an update of a story originally posted at 9:21 a.m.

CHICOPEE - A man found slumped behind the wheel in a car stopped in the passing lane of I-91 by the Chicopee Curve Tuesday morning turned out to be having a diabetic episode, state police said.

The disabled car caused a traffic tie up beginning at about 9 a.m. in the northbound lane of I-91 as cars tried to squeeze around him, state police said.

Police found the driver, identified as Kevin Laperle, 51, of Chicopee, behind the wheel and “in a stupor,” and initially believed he was impaired from drugs, said State Police Sgt. Alan Joubert.

When police tried to get Laperle out of the car, he fought was officers and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and operating under the influence of drugs, he said.

An investigation at the hospital determined he was having a diabetic reaction, and was not impaired from drugs, state police said.

Laperle had nothing with him, such as a medical alert bracelet, to indicate he had a medical condition, according to state police.

The state police intend to petition the state Registry of Motor Vehicles to have his revoked on the grounds his medical condition makes him an immediate threat to public safety.

According to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the registry has the authority to suspend or revoke a license or learner’s permit without prior notice if it is determined the holder has a medical condition that could interfere with operation of a vehicle.

In most cases, the registry is notified by the police requesting action. If the registry
upholds the request, a person’s license to operate can be revoked immediately for an indefinite period.

James Casey, 51, of Morristown, N.J., was charged with furnishing alcohol to minors, many of whom graduated earlier in the day from Deerfield Academy.

ELMORE, Vt. (AP) – A noise complaint at a Vermont summer camp led police to a party for about 150 graduates of a Massachusetts boarding school, dozens of whom were cited for underage drinking.

The host, James Casey, 51, of Morristown, N.J., was charged with furnishing alcohol to minors.

The young people had graduated from Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Mass., earlier Sunday. Some rode by private coach bus to the party, others drove.

After being processed at the scene for underage consumption, about 140 were given civil tickets for underage drinking.

Each will have to contact a court diversion program in Hyde Park and undergo counseling. If they don’t comply, they could get a $300 fine and a 90-day license suspension.

Casey, who cited into court July 27 for the misdemeanor, could be fined $2,000 and face two years in prison.

An 18-year-old woman who was among the graduates reported being raped at the party, but State Police who investigated couldn’t substantiate the allegation, according to Sgt. David Robillard.

The woman, whose name wasn’t released, was drunk and went to sleep in a tent, where she later woke up nude after having had some type of sexual intercourse with a male she knew, according to Robillard.

But after consulting with her mother, the woman opted not to press charges, according to Robillard.

David Thiel, a spokesman for Deerfield Academy, said the rape allegation was “definitely cause for concern. “

“One of our primary worries about these type of (parties) is that on the surface, they’re common. I don’t think anybody would be surprised to hear there’s a graduation party or that teenagers get their hands on alcohol. Our worry has always been what happens when things get out of control.

“My sources tell me there was no assault, and the police not substantiating it certainly indicates that to be true,” Thiel said.

The map below shows the location of Elmore, Vt. in relation to Deerfield, Ma

View Vermont police shut down Deerfield Academy graduation party. in a larger map

Spring mosquito bites bring few threats to humans; August and September are another matter.

Photo by Michael Beswick / The RepublicanOnly the females mosquitoes bite humans, as they seek a blood meal in order to lay eggs.

To a mosquito in spring, relentless rain is the equivalent of life-giving sunshine.

And after a March, April and May when rainfall was nearly 25 percent above normal in Greater Springfield (including 10 consecutive days with some amount of rain starting May 14), mosquitoes have certainly come to life.

“I know I’ve been working in my garden, and I’m being eaten alive,” said Stephen M. Rich, an entomologist and head of the University of Massachusetts Department of Plant, Soil & Insect Sciences.

“Mosquitoes have a juvenile phase in water. And, if there’s lots of water around, there are a lot of mosquito larvae,” he said.

However, the fact that the Connecticut River – or a local pond – is near flood stage won’t particularly affect mosquito populations, Rich added.

“What makes a difference is the little stumps and small ditches and other places (where) water collects. Some of the more problematic varieties breed there. And, without a lot of rain, water will not accumulate in these places,” he said.

More than 150 different species of mosquitoes have been found in North America, including 51 in Massachusetts.

Mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, and the larvae that hatch remain in water until they reach adulthood and fly away. However, an adult mosquito’s life is short. Most females live for less than two weeks. Most males may last only a week.

However, it is only the females that bite, as they seek a blood meal in order to lay eggs. They are attracted to the carbon dioxide that humans and other animals exhale.

“One thing we can say each year is that there will be mosquitoes. There always are,” said Mark S. Buffone, entomologist with the state Department of Agricultural Resources.

A mosquito bite can be a serious matter, as it may transmit disease to its human victim, an infection picked up from something else it bit. However, spring mosquitoes are generally “not a cause for concern in terms of disease (but they are an) annoyance and nuisance,” Buffone said.

August and September are the peak months for mosquito-related illnesses, such as West Nile virus or eastern equine encephalitis, he said.

West Nile virus, present in Africa since the 1930s, was first detected in Massachusetts in 2001, two years after it was first seen in the United States. Most people who are infected exhibit only flu-like symptoms, but a small percentage die from the illness. Since 2001, about 60 human cases have been reported in the state and six deaths have been linked to the virus. There were seven human cases of West Nile virus, but no deaths in Massachusetts in 2010, including one case in Hampden County.

Eastern equine encephalitis is more rare, but more deadly. It kills about a third of the humans it infects. However, no human cases of the disease have been reported in the state since 2008. From 2004 through 2006, there were 13 cases, which led to six deaths.

The assistant town clerk said 30 percent of the town’s 1,078 registered voters cast ballots at the Tuesday annual election.

WALES – Michael E. Milanese won a position on the Board of Selectmen by only two votes, and the second-place finisher, Bonnie L. Jean, is considering a recount, according to Assistant Town Clerk Leis A. Phinney.

Milanese received 124 votes to Jean’s 122. Richard J. Learned, who was the incumbent, received 82 votes, and Bridgett K. Smith received 46.

In the three-way race for constable, Kevin J. Jegelewicz won with 250 votes, to David C. Bull’s 44 votes and Jeremy J. Learned’s 55.

Library trustee Crystal L. Pearlman held on to her position, receiving 159 votes. Her opponents, Kimberly P. Bready and Emily A. Lainson, received 104 votes, and 60 votes, respectively.

Susan P. Hubbell beat out Lynne M. Serrenho, 171 to 150, for School Committee. Barbara C. Milanese dropped out of the Planning Board race, so Howard W. Darnley Jr. was elected to a three-year term.

Phinney said 30 percent of the town’s 1,078 registered voters cast ballots at the annual election on Tuesday. All positions are for three years, except School Committee, which is for one year.

Grief counseling was available to students on Tuesday at the middle and high schools.

Tyler McNeill

BELCHERTOWN – The death of a 15-year-old Belchertown High School freshman on Monday, described as a suicide by family and friends, is the subject of an “active criminal investigation,” Police Chief Francis R. Fox said.

School officials released the name of the student as Tyler McNeill.

Fox said police received the call about the death on Monday at approximately 2:45 p.m. He would not provide further details, citing the investigation by the Belchertown Police Department and state troopers assigned to the Northwestern district attorney’s office.

On Tyler’s Facebook’s page, a woman identified as the teen’s mother described his death as a suicide. While declining comment to The Republican, Melanie McNeill wrote on the site, “If anyone could tell me anything that would help to understand why my son would do something this horrible I would like you to call me. I can’t understand why a boy so beautiful, so confident and so smart would take himself from me.”

Tyler was described on the website as a rapper, a good friend, and a devoted brother.

School Superintendent Judith Houle said counseling was available to middle and high school students on Tuesday. She said the announcement was made about Tyler’s death Tuesday morning, during the first class of the day for students.

“Obviously we are extremely saddened by his passing. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family,” Houle said. “We will keep an eye out for kids who are struggling with this.”

Houle said she didn’t know of Tyler experiencing any problems, including bullying.

One of his friends, Aidan Santiago, of Springfield, described Tyler as “always a real person . . . He always wanted the best for his friends.”

Santiago said Tyler was always there whenever he needed him for anything.

The bear came, feasted on garbage and then skedaddled through a hole in the fence after it was spooked, said a witness.

Photo by Patti SteeleA bear that wandered into the Hathaway Farms apartment complex Tuesday afternoon dines on some morsels found some trash bags.What appears to be a radio collar can be seen around its neck.

Resident Patti Steele said the bear was ripping open trash bags and seemed to be taking his time eating what was inside. "He was enjoying it," she said.

The police were called to the scene but the bear ran off on its own, said Northampton police Lt. Michael Patenaude.

Steele said the bear appeared to get "spooked" by something and then darted off though a small hole in the fence into a wooded area near the apartments.

She said her husband spotted the bear earlier in the day hanging around on one of the trees on the grounds.

Steele estimated the bear was about a year old, and it appeared to have a collar around its neck.

Republican file photoWildlife biologist John McDonald puts a radio telemetry collar on a sedated yearling black bear outside its den in Williamsburg in this 1997 file photo.

Patenaude said the collar means the bear had previously been tagged by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The state DEP uses radio collars to track movements of bears as part of their ongoing study of their habitat.

Hathaway Farm apartments are off King Street, roughly a mile away from downtown Northampton.

There have been several bear sitings in the Pioneer Valley in recent weeks in such places as Holyoke and Springfield.

Wildlife experts say this is the time of year for increased bear sightings, as the animals wander around looking for food. Increasingly they are moving into more settled areas, attracted by easy food sources such as bird feeders and, in this case, trash barrels.