The 14th annual March Forth With Your Dog Not Your Typical Dog Show was held on Saturday at Northampton High School.

NORTHAMPTON - For the Volunteers in Northampton Public Schools, these are the dog days of March. 

VINS hosted its 14th annual March Forth With Your Dog Not Your Typical Dog Show on Saturday at Northampton High School. And yes, that's the name of the show. There's nothing typical about this show, including its long name.

Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz served as parade marshal, leading the dogs and their handlers around a ring to begin the day. The judges were high school Principal Bryan Lombardi, Superintendent of Schools John Provost and self-described cat aficionado extraordinaire Jane Fleishman. Wait, hit the paws button. A cat lover judging a dog show? Well, she is a school volunteer and that counts for something.

"I don't know anything about dogs," she confessed. "I know about schools and kids."

But the judges didn't need a special pedigree for this event. With categories such as best fetcher, best smile, ear-resistable ears and best tail-wagger, the judges were not kept on a short leash.

"One of the things I love about this is it's not really about the dogs," Fleishman said. "It's about the kids."

VINS was founded in 1981. It provides regular volunteers who assist in the classroom, helping students with reading, writing, math and science. Resource volunteers also help on a one-time or short-term basis by speaking to classes about a career or travel. This year, volunteers have provided nearly 2,500 hours of time to the schools.

For more information on becoming a volunteer, contact coordinator Candice Tauscher at vinsvolunteer@gmail.com.

In "The Wartime Sisters," by Longmeadow native Lynda Cohen Loigman, weaves a tale of two estranged sisters whose conflict takes place during World War II when the armory employed as many as 14,000 workers, nearly half of whom were women.

SPRINGFIELD -- When preparing to write her second novel about two estranged sisters --  each sharing a shocking secret -- author and Longmeadow native Lynda Cohen Loigman chose Springfield and the city's historic armory as her setting.

Loigman, 50, originally planned to set the story in the 1960s when her mother's family pulled up roots in Brooklyn, N.Y. to move to Springfield.

Loigman, who spoke last week at the Jewish Community Center as part of the  Literatour series, said she imagined one of the novel's characters would be a woman who had worked at the Springfield Armory so she decided to do a little research about the arms factory established in 1794 by George Washington.

"It was only going to be a page in the book," said Loigman, who now resides in Chappaqua, N.Y.

But after delving into the archives of The Republican newspaper, touring the National Historic site and listening to 1990's audio recordings of women who worked at the armory before and after the war, the story she wanted to tell found its time and place  -- the war years at the Springfield Armory.

The audio interviews included one by a single mother who put together triggers for rifles; another was one by a woman who was the teenager of an officer at the armory.

In "The Wartime Sisters,"  Loigman, weaves a tale of two estranged sisters whose conflict takes place during World War II when the armory employed as many as 14,000 workers, nearly half of whom were women.

Although Loigman grew up only 10 miles from the armory, she confessed that she didn't know about its rich history until she began her research. 

Digging into the Armory's past was a revelation, she said.

"It even has a literary past," she said, noting that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow spent his honeymoon in Springfield where he was moved to pen his famous poem "The Arsenal at Springfield."

During the war years, the campus of the armory looked more like a country club than an arms manufacturing site, she said, noting that it had a pool, tennis courts and extensive gardens tended to by Works Progress Administration workers.

Benny Goodman played for the Armory; there were lunchtime concerts on the grounds and clubs and sports teams and a riflery team, Loigman learned from her research and visits and correspondence with Alex MacKenzie, an archivist at the armory.

Ashman spoke before Loigman's Feb. 26 talk and book signing. Both offered high praise for her story as well as her attention to details about life at the armory during the 1940s

"She nailed it," said Ashman, who launched an Armory book club with Loigman's book as its first group read.

Loigman presented a slide show of archival photos from the Armory.

Photos from the slide show will be on display at the JCC through March. 4.

In addition to the two main characters -- Ruth, the responsible one and Millie, the pretty one  -- whose roles seem foreordained  when they were children in Brooklyn.

The estranged sisters are reunited at the Springfield Armory in the early days of World War II. While one sister, Ruth, lives on the Armory campus as an officer's wife, the other, Millie, arrives as a war widow and takes a job in the Armory's factory making triggers for rifles.

Resentment and secrets the sisters have are shattered when a mysterious figure from the past reemerges in their lives.

Two other characters figure prominently in the story. One is the armory  commandant's wife Lillian, who Loigman modeled after the movie star Carole Lombard and the other is Arietta, a singer and armory kitchen cook modeled after Sophie Tucker. 

"The Wartime Sisters" is Loigman's second novel. The first, "The Two-Family House, was chosen by Goodreads as a best book for the month in March 2016 and was a nominee for the Goodreads 2016 Choice Awards in Historical Fiction.

Her latest book, published in January, is receiving strong reviews.

Alyson Richman, the best-selling author of 'The Lost Wife' and 'The Velvet Hours'  said "The Wartime Sisters was "beautifully written, rich in historical detail, and anchored by two strong women who must reconcile their past -- and their secrets-- in order to survive. Loigman is a master storyteller and this novel had me from its very first page."

MacKenzsie and Ashman hope that Loigman's novel will draw a wider audience to Springfield Armory National Historic Site.

Ashman even has visions of a "Wartime Sisters" walking tour of the grounds, highlight scenes from the book.

The Springfield Armory, bounded by State, Byers, Federal and Pearl streets, is now home to Springfield Technical Community College.

Manufacturing at the armory ended in 1968 with Defense Secretary Robert McNamara overseeing its closure.

Excerpt from "The Wartime Sisters:

Springfield, Massachusetts

"If it weren't for the fence, she would have thought she was in the wrong place - the view from Byers Street made the armory look more like a park than anything else. But the wrought iron fence had an unmistakable military air. It was at least 10 feet high, pointed at the top, ominous and impenetrable. The fence ran the full length of the block, and as Millie turned the corner onto State Street it seemed to go on forever."

Report say such sites "keep people who use drugs alive and help reduce the public health risks of disease transmission."

BOSTON -- A state commission charged with reviewing "harm reduction" initiatives used elsewhere with drug users is recommending a "pilot program of one or more supervised consumption sites" as part of state efforts "to combat the opioid crisis."

"Supervised consumption sites are an effective harm reduction tool in the countries where they have been implemented," states the 51-page report from the Harm Reduction Commission.

"These sites keep people who use drugs alive and help reduce the public health risks of disease transmission."

Safe injection facilities, as the report explains, are among such sites as "spaces where people who inject drugs can inject pre-obtained substances in the presence of trained staff who provide clinical monitoring."

The purpose of the sites, as the report notes, is to prevent drug-related fatal overdoses as well as the transmission of diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis from the use of contaminated needles.

While opioid-related overdose deaths have declined 6 percent between 2016 and 2018 in the commonwealth due to a number of legislative efforts, the report notes the commonwealth is among the top 10 states with the highest rates of opioid-related overdose deaths.

The report's recommendation for such pilot sites as part of other harm reduction efforts already in effect like clean needle exchange programs and access to the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone without individual prescription comes with numerous conditions that must first be met as challenges to them include being in violation of the federal Controlled Substance Act that prevents individual possession of illicit drugs and the operation of facility for that purpose.

The U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling has warned previously, "Employees and users of such a site would be exposed to federal criminal charges regardless of any state law or study."

There are no such sites in the United States, though the report states some 100 safe consumption sites exist in 11 other countries with "no overdose deaths reported inside existing SCSs."

"In order to pursue a pilot program of one or more supervised consumption sites, the challenges the Commonwealth must address include any gaps in legal protections for organizations and individuals who would staff a supervised consumption site and any state criminal and civil laws that may pose a barrier," the report notes.

"An additional challenge is the federal government's strongly stated current stance against supervised consumption sites. Action on the federal level is needed to shift policy in regards to the federal prohibitions on supervised consumption sites."

The report also notes, "Any pilot program must receive local approval and include a rigorous evaluation of the outcomes for individuals and impact on the surrounding area and municipality."

Last month, the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania filed a civil lawsuit to prevent the establishment of the first supervised safe injection site in Philadelphia.

The proposal for the Philadelphia site outlines that participants would register, be evaluated, offered a range of overdoes prevention services and directed to a room where they would be medically monitored in consuming their pre-obtained drugs and provided with sterile consumption equipment and strips to test for fentanyl that can be lethal even mixed in small doses with other illegal drugs like heroin.

A proposal to establish a commission to study the feasibility of operating a site in Massachusetts where medical staff could intervene to prevent a fatal overdose as well as the use of contaminated needles was part of the second law addressing the opioid crisis Gov. Charlie Baker signed in August.

Chaired by Marylou Sudders, the state's secretary of health and human services, members of the 15-member commission include Dr. Monica Bharel, who heads the state's department of public health, and Dr. Robert Roose, chief of addiction medicine and recovery services for Trinity Health Of New England and a member of Governor Baker's Opioid Addiction Working Group.

The commission heard presentations on legal challenges by David Solet, chief legal counsel for the state's executive office of public safety and security, and possible answers to those legal challenges by Leo Belestky of Northeastern University as well as what harm reduction measures already exist in the state by Bharel to address what the report calls the country's ongoing opioid crisis.

It also heard about nine supervised consumption sites in British Columbia where, in combination with other overdose prevention services, it has been estimated 2.5 times more deaths would have taken place without such interventions.

"People who use drugs alone," that presentation states, "and in the absence of medical intervention are at the greatest risk of overdose death."

Dr. Jessie M. Gaeta, chief medical officer of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, also presented information from Canada that showed that overdose mortality decreased by 35 percent in the area around the opening of North America's first medically-supervised safer injecting facility in Vancouver compared with a 9.3 percent reduction in the rest of that city.

Commissioner Bharel's presentation noted, "The defining features (of harm reduction) are the focus on the prevention of harm, rather than on the prevention of drug use itself, and the focus on people who continue to use drugs."

"Harm reduction incorporates a spectrum of strategies from safer use, to managed use, to abstinence - to meet drug users 'where they're at,' addressing conditions of use along with the use itself," Bharel's presentation noted.

"Because harm reduction demands that interventions and policies designed to  serve drug users reflect specific individual and community needs, there is no universal definition of or formula for implementing harm reduction."

Potential harm reduction-based programming benefits cited in her presentation include:

• To engage vulnerable, hard-to-reach populations.

• To reduce fatal overdoses.

• To reduce infections associated with injection drug use.

• To support individuals to protect their health while using as they consider treatment and recovery.

• To keep individuals engaged if they relapse or are not currently abstinent from alcohol or drugs.

• To reduce stigma associated with drug use.

• To improve individual and public health.

"Although there are existing harm reduction programs, there is no comprehensive statewide strategy," the commission report notes.

"A strategy should be developed to expand harm reduction resources across the state, targeting areas with the highest rates of opioid-related overdoses. The strategy should have a strong education component focusing on the public at large and the health care community."

Services the commission report cites that could be expanded as part of a comprehensive statewide strategy include:

• Bulk reduce-cost naloxone purchasing program

• Naloxone dispensing via standing order

• Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution (OEND) Program

• First Responder Naloxone Grant

• Post-overdose follow-up with First responders

• Syringe Service Programs

• Outreach program and community syringe pick up programs

• Programs based upon the Supportive Place for Observation and Treatment (SPOT) model

• Low threshold engagement programs

• Mobile health or support programs

• Fentanyl testing

The Massachusetts Medical Society, which issued a release in support of the commission's recommendation, issued a report in 2017 in support of a pilot safe injection facility.

Its recommendations included advocating "for an exemption from federal drug laws for the pilot SIF program as well as pursue state legislation legalizing the pilot SIF program, and consider partnering with other states or entities in seeking such a waiver of the applicable federal laws."

Also, "Consider harm-reduction strategies (counseling, referral, and placement on demand for all types of drug treatment) as a component of the pilot beyond SIFs to ensure comprehensive health care is available to marginalized persons who inject drugs."

FDA refers to impurity NMBA as "a known animal and potential human carcinogen."

The Food and Drug Administration has issued consumer alerts on two expanded voluntary recalls of medications associated with the treatment of high blood pressure, one due to the detection of a third impurity above acceptable levels in the active pharmaceutical ingredient.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited announced March 1 its voluntarily recall of 60 lots of losartan potassium tablets and 54 lots of losartan potassium/ hydrochlorothiazide tablets, to the consumer level due to the detection of trace amounts of an unexpected impurity found in an active pharmaceutical ingredient manufactured by Hetero Labs Limited.

The impurity detected was identified as N-Methylnitrosobutyric acid (NMBA) and the recall is on lots of losartan-containing products that contain N-Methylnitrosobutyric acid (NMBA) above the acceptable daily intake levels released by the FDA.

The FDA announcement on the Torrent voluntary recall also referenced the Feb. 28 voluntary recall by Hetero/Camber Pharmaceuticals of 87 lots of losartan potassium tablets in different dosages, saying the recalled losartan potassium and losartan potassium/hydrochlorothiazide tablets manufactured by Hetero and distributed by Camber, contains the impurity NMBA above acceptable levels.

A number of medications in the class of drugs known as angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) have been under voluntary recall since July because of the detection of unacceptable levels of N-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) and/or N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in their active pharmaceutical ingredient such as losartan, valsartan or irbesartan.

NDMA and NDEA are chemical compounds in the nitrosamines class and the two are considered to be a probable cancer-causing risk in humans at certain exposure levels.

The FDA acknowledged that the detection of NMBA above acceptable levels in an active pharmaceutical ingredient in its ongoing review of ARBs is new and referred to it as "a known animal and potential human carcinogen."

"This is the first ARB recall resulting from the presence of NMBA, which is the third type of nitrosamine impurity detected in ARB medicines," the FDA said of the Hetero/Camber voluntary recall.

"Recent testing of these recalled lots of losartan potassium tablets showed NMBA levels higher than the FDA's interim acceptable intake limits. The FDA's evaluation suggests that the nitrosamines found in ARBs may be generated when specific chemicals and reaction conditions are present in the manufacturing process of the drug's API, and may also result from the reuse of materials, such as solvents."

The release contains a statement by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb saying that the FDA is "deeply concerned about the presence of a third nitrosamine impurity in certain ARB medications, but it's important to underscore that, based on the FDA's initial evaluation, the increased risk of cancer to patients with NMBA exposure appears to be the same for NDMA exposure but less than the risk from NDEA exposure."

The FDA, which posted an updated table of interim acceptable intake limits for nitrosamine impurities to reflect NMBA limits, which are the same as those for NDMA, also announced March 1 the expanded voluntary recall by AurobindoPharma USA include 38 additional lots of valsartan and amlodipine/valsartan combination tablet due to unacceptable amounts NDEA found in the medicine.

Aurobindo is only recalling lots of valsartan-containing medication where NDEA has been detected above the interim acceptable intake limit of 0.083 parts per million.

In December Aurobindo Pharma USA had announced a voluntary recall of 80 lots of amlodipine valsartan tablets, valsartan tablets with the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide, and valsartan tablets due to the detection of trace amounts of NDEA above "interim acceptable daily intake level of 0.083 parts per million."

In January, Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited expanded its voluntary recall from two lots of losartan potassium tablets to a total of 10 lots due to trace amounts of NDEA in the losartan active pharmaceutical ingredient manufactured by Hetero.

Last week, the FDA alerted patients and health care professionals to a voluntary recall of one lot of losartan potassium/hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) 100mg/25mg combination tablets manufactured by Macleods Pharmaceuticals Limited due to the detection of NDEA above acceptable leves.

Patients are advised to continue taking their medication, until their pharmacist provides a replacement, or their doctor prescribes a different medication that treats the same condition as the risk of harm to a patient's health may be higher if the treatment is stopped immediately without any alternative treatment.

The companies involved have said to date they have not received reports of any adverse affects.

The FDA is working with manufacturers to reduce and remove nitrosamines from ARBs.

The agency also updated the list of losartan products and valsartan products under recall.

Known for his signature red suspenders, Swain - a biologist, gardener, writer and storyteller will share his knowledge and gardening tips with members and guests of the Springfield Garden Club at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday March 23 at the Community Life Center in East Longmeadow.

SPRINGFIELD -- Celebrity gardener Roger Swain -- former host of the long-running PBS series "The Victory Garden" -- believes gardens grow good neighbors.

"Generosity comes with gardening," Swain said, during a recent telephone interview from his home in Townsend, explaining that preparing the soil the and planting of seeds sparks curiosity, bartering and giving.

National interest and the popularity in gardening began to surge during the World War I "victory garden" campaign that aimed to to encourage and increase home-grown food production, Swain said.

 During and after World War II, planting and tending a garden -- then sharing its bounty with others -- yielded strong social and community bonds, he said.

It was  a time when 44 percent of the total production of fruits and vegetables came for work of 20 million amateurs, Swain said.

"Today the average garden is 100 square feet," Swain said. "I've been to salad bars that were bigger than that."

Known for his signature red suspenders, Swain - a biologist, gardener, writer and storyteller will share his knowledge and gardening tips with members and guests of the Springfield Garden Club at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, at the Community Life Center in East Longmeadow.

"I love talking to gardeners and hearing from gardeners," Swain said. "Talking to real people is a lot more fun than standing in front of a green glass," he said referring to the television studio.

His March 23 talk will focus on early garden preparation and the gardening tasks to complete in the spring.

Among his sage advice for gardeners in winter: Get busy perusing seed catalogues and do so with an eagle eye to disease-resistance plants.

When gardeners flip through seed catalogues, Swain said it is best to skip to the end of the description of the plants to the diseases that threaten them.

Search for new varieties that are resistant to powdery mildew -- the bane of gardeners, he said.

Despite the long New England winters, Swain said the region's growing season is about 120 days long, noting that there are all sorts of techniques for getting a jump on the season such as starting to grown tomato plants inside.

Swain said there's no such thing as a low-maintenance garden, adding that it's a perennial question from would-be gardeners.

"You can't plant it and go to the Cape for a month," he said. "Gardening is a commitment."

The rewards are worth that commitment, Swain said.

Tickets for Swain's talk can be obtained by contacting Beate Bolen at (413) 306-5454.

Tickets may also be purchased at Flowers Flowers at 758 Sumner Avenue, Springfield.

Refreshments will be served and there will be raffle and auction of "Victory Garden" themed items.

Advance tickets are $10 and $15 at the door.

Event page for The Garden Club event:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/springfield-garden-club-hosts-roger-swain-tickets-5692302429

Asked if selectmen have scheduled a meeting to discuss the complaint, Ware Town Manager Stuart Beckley said the board had yet to do so, adding: "they may wait to hear response from AG's office."

WARE -- Fire Chief Thomas Coulombe, who has been on paid leave since last month, has filed an Open Meeting Law complaint against the Board of Selectmen.

Coulombe has requested that Attorney General Maura Healey's office impose monetary fines on each of the board members. The chief is also requesting that a Feb. 19 selectmen's meeting executive session, at which he was not present, be nullified.

Coulbombe and his attorney, Jack Collins, believe it was on that date the board took action to place him on paid administrative leave.

Collins said he believes selectmen discussed complaints against the chief on Feb. 19. If that was the case, he said, the board was supposed to have provided the chief advance notice of the meeting and allow him and his lawyer to be present to rebut any accusations. And, according to the men, it would have been their decision whether to have those matters discussed in public, instead of in executive session.

Asked if selectmen have scheduled a meeting to discuss the complaint, Ware Town Manager Stuart Beckley on Monday said the board had yet to do so, adding: "they may wait to hear response from AG's office."

In seeking that selectmen be fined, Coulombe's complaint alleges that the board's "continued actions demonstrate willful and intentional disregard for open meeting laws."

After chief was placed on leave, the selectmen Chairman John Carroll said Daigle Law Group of Connecticut had been hired to investigate the chief, but did not disclose how much the firm is being paid.

A letter from Beckley to Coulombe says the investigation centers on a money issue and a personnel matter, alleging he "may have abused (his) position as Fire Chief and acted inappropriately."

Carroll disputed Collins' contention that selectmen violated the Open Meeting Law.

The city's fire department confirmed that five calves perished during a Monday afternoon blaze that destroyed a large barn at Pomeroy Dairy Farm, 491 Russellville Road.

The emergency call to dispatch came in at about 4 p.m.

The farm owners were doing their best to evacuate cattle from the barn when firefighters arrived on scene; the barn was destroyed.

As of 9 p.m. Monday, firefighters were still on scene to prevent any possible flareups.

In addition to Westfield, departments from Southampton, Westhampton and Southwick responded. The West Springfield and Holyoke fire departments provided backup coverage at the Westfield station.

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Nelson Roman resigned his position at the nonprofit and his council seat in late 2018, saying he'd taken a job in Chicago.

HOLYOKE -- Police are investigating allegations of theft and misappropriation of funds by Nelson R. Roman while the two-term city councilor worked as the executive director of the nonprofit organization Nueva Esperanza.

Roman, who said in late 2018 that he was resigning from his council seat and from his position at Nueva Esperanza to take a job in Chicago, has not been charged with any crime. 

Holyoke Police Lt. Jim Albert said Monday that the department's Criminal Investigation Bureau began its probe in early December, around the time Roman announced his resignations.

Police received information that Roman allegedly stole or misappropriated funds and equipment, Albert said.

"We felt it was important to take a look at that," Albert said. "We began our investigation, and we've since interviewed quite a few folks. We've got some more to do. That investigation is ongoing. It is open."

The investigation includes how Nueva Esperanza spent money and if those expenditures were within "the scope of the organization's mission," Albert said. Detectives are "strictly" focusing on Roman's time with Nueva Esperanza and not with the City Council.

Albert said there is "sufficient reasonable suspicion" to investigate the allegations, which also include whether Roman was "overpaid beyond the scope of what the employment arrangement was between him and Nueva Esperanza."

Albert declined to release Roman's salary with Nueva Esperanza, saying the amount is tied to the investigation. "We're still working to confirm some of that," he said.

The organization's fiscal 2018 tax filings are not yet available through the Massachusetts secretary of state's office. The most recent filings are for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017, one month after Roman was named interim executive director. 

The organization appointed Roman as its permanent executive director in June 2018.

Albert emphasized that the investigation is ongoing as detectives continue to conduct interviews.

"It's obvious the public is aware of some of Mr. Roman's history with Nueva Esperanza," he said. "Some of it's good, and some of it's negative. We don't want to work off innuendo and rumor. That's why we're looking at this."

Investigators have not spoken with Roman, who moved out of the area in late December. "We hope he would cooperate. That's up to him," Albert said.

He said some of Nueva Esperanza's board members are cooperating with investigators. "We hope to go back to them for additional questions. I would hope we get the same consideration and honesty that a public agency like Nueva Esperanza would expect," Albert said.

Two emails The Republican sent seeking comment from the president of Nueva Esperanza's board of directors were not returned.

Roman could not be reached at either of two phone numbers, including a number previously listed on the city council's web page. 

Roman's official Facebook account appears to be deactivated, and an email account he used during his time on the council returned the following reply:

"Thank you for your email. As of December 31, 2018, I will no longer be living in the City of Holyoke, nor will I have the privilege of serving as your Ward 2 City Councilor.

"During my transition, I will have limited access to my email address for any constituent needs and or requests please feel free to reach out to one of the other 12 amazing Holyoke City Councilors, until the new Ward 2 City Councilor is selected & announced."

Roman was first elected to the Ward 2 seat in November 2015. He easily won re-election two years later and served until Dec. 31, 2018.

In a Nov. 26 interview, Roman said he accepted a position with a Chicago nonprofit. He would not name the organization, saying only that he would be working on homeless issues germane to teens and the LGBT community.

He last appeared before the City Council Dec. 4, giving a 23-minute farewell address that included thank you gifts for Ward 4 Councilor Jossie Valentin, former Mayor Elaine Pluta, and former City Council President Kevin Jourdain.

After his speech, Roman stopped attending the council's regular sessions or subcommittee meetings. He did, however, hold a celebration and fundraiser Dec. 12 at Capri Pizza.

Terence Murphy was to fill the vacant Ward 2 council seat on January 9. 

Albert asked anyone with information to contact the Holyoke Police Department's Criminal Investigation's Bureau at 413-313-6900, or its anonymous tip line at 413-533-TIPS (413-533-8477).

The spaghetti dinner will be the first in a series of events scheduled this year.

EAST LONGMEADOW -- This Friday, the town will kick off a year-long celebration commemorating the 125^th anniversary of its founding.

The first town-wide event will be a spaghetti dinner at Saint Luke's Greek Orthodox Church, sponsored by a number of local businesses and chaired by East Longmeadow police chief Jeff Dalessio, said Nancy Connor, executive director of the five-town chamber of commerce, ERC5. 

"It's going to be a general town-spirited party and a celebration for the many successes that East Longmeadow has had over the past 125 years," Connor said.

Tickets for the dinner are still available for $10 each. Commemorative gifts celebrating the town's anniversary, from mugs to ornaments and window hangings, will also be available for purchase.

In addition to the ERC5, Connor has been participating in the town-wide volunteer celebration committee responsible for organizing Friday's kickoff event - and others that will be held throughout the year. 

Other 125^th anniversary events on the docket for this spring include a fishing derby in April, a softball game and town-wide sidewalk chalk decorating event.

A large, multi-year Danish study evaluating whether immunization against measles, mumps and rubella increases the risk for autism has concluded it does not.

A large, multi-year Danish study has concluded that immunization against measles, mumps and rubella does not increase the risk for autism.

The nationwide cohort study analyzed health data from some 660,000 children born in Denmark from 1999 through December 2010, with follow-up from 1 year of age and through the end of August 2013.

It concluded that the study "strongly supports that MMR vaccination does not increase the risk for autism, does not trigger autism in susceptible children, and is not associated with clustering of autism cases after vaccination."

The study was a follow-up of a large study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002 that also involved Danish children and also concluded that there "was no association between the age at the time of vaccination, the time since vaccination, or the date of vaccination and the development of autistic disorder."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines autism as a developmental disability that is caused by differences in how the brain functions, and has long said studies show there is no link between autism and vaccines.

A 1998 study in the prestigious medical journal Lancet suggested the vaccine was increasing autism in British children. The article was later retracted by the magazine, which found elements of it to be incorrect. Its lead author lost his medical license to practice in Britain, but it helped to embed anti-vaccination fears in parents that continue today. 

Effective vaccination coverage helped declare measles eliminated in the United States in 2000, and vaccination worldwide has resulted in an 84 percent decline in measles deaths in this century.

However, the highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family remains a global one associated with low vaccination rates even in developed parts of the world like Europe.

Mushrooming numbers of cases in European countries where measles had been considered eliminated or transmission associated only with imported cases have been attributed to unequal rates of immunization within certain areas or population groups.

The CDC said some 82 people brought measles to the U.S. from other countries in 2018. It called this the "greatest number of imported cases since measles was eliminated from the U.S. in 2000."

There have been 206 individual cases of measles in 11 states so far this year, according to the CDC, with six outbreaks associated with imported cases. 

The CDC recommends a child should get the MMR vaccine on or after their first birthday. A second dose of MMR vaccine is recommended before children enter school at 4 to 6 years of age.

Infants ages 6 to 11 months should also receive MMR vaccine before travelling internationally.

CDC data shows that in 2017 91.1 percent of infants aged 19 to 35 months had received their one plus doses of the MMR vaccine.

Since 2000, the annual number of reported measles cases in this country ranged from 37 people in 2004 to 667 people in 2014. The last measles death in the U.S. is said to have occurred in 2015.

More than 4,000 individual alumni, friends, and foundations have contributed toward the $35 million campaign goal.

SPRINGFIELD - Western New England University officials held their "Campaign for Our Second Century" fundraiser at The Armory at MGM Springfield Tuesday with an estimated 200 guests in attendance.

Officials of the university have already secured more than $30 million since it began a pre-launch campaign in 2016. 

"This is indeed an exciting time for the university as 2019 marks our Centennial," said Anthony S. Caprio, president of Western New England University. "The 'Campaign for Our Second Century' will help propel us into the future, ensuring that we can continue to deliver a dynamic learning experience for all students." 

Campaign Honorary Chairpersons are Kevin S. Delbridge, Class of 1977, and Janet Johnson Bullard, Class of 1969, and university trustees.

Campaign co-chairs are Western New England University alumni John J. Brennan Class of 1971, Denis G. Gagnon Class of 1976, and Laura Sturgis Boule 2001/2002. 

The school is located on 215-acres in Springfield and serves 3,974 students including 2,629 full-time undergraduate students.

The campaign priorities include:

* Growing scholarship aid

* Build and enhance campus facilities

* Create impactful opportunities for student life

* Boost academic initiatives and experiences

* Strengthen the President's Fund for Excellence

To date more than 4,000 individual alumni, friends, and foundations have contributed toward the $35 million campaign goal.

Current and future students will be the direct beneficiaries of the most ambitious fundraising effort in the university's history, according to a university statement.

Springfield Museums bring back memories for many at Culture & Cocktails social.

SPRINGFIELD - Toys, toys, and more toys, were the main attraction during the Springfield Museums Culture & Cocktails 'Toytopia' social event Thursday at the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History.

The over-21 crowd enjoyed special hors d'oeuvres by Log Rolling which was included in the ticket price. The menu for the evening includes novelties from A to Z:

• Arcade: Mini  Tuna Salad Subs
• Buzz  Light Year's balsamic bruchetta 
• Go  Broke: General Tso's Chicken Tempura
• Jack  in the Box: Tempura Green Beans with Ranch 
• Lego:  Goat Cheese and Pear with Arugula flat bread
• Lincoln  Logs: Churro Logs with Marinara
• Mr.  Potato Head Dippers
• Pacman  Meatballs
• Zoltar:  Samosas with Cucumber yogurt dip

Guests enjoyed a trip down memory lane with toys from many toymakers including Hasbro, Duncan Yo-Yo, Schleich, Breyer, Crayola, and Lincoln Logs.

Of particular interest to the Springfield Museums, the exhibit includes many toys and games that were part of Milton Bradley, a toy company founded right here in Springfield by lithographer Milton Bradley in the late 1800s.

As with all Culture & Cocktails events, drinks are available for purchase. This evening's special drink is Magic 8 Ball Sangria.

Organizers estimated more than 250 visitors attended the three-hour social event. Thursday night sponsors included The Republican and PeoplesBank.

The 3-day show features everything wheels in the Better Living Center

WEST SPRINGFIELD - All things with wheels were parked under the roof of the Better Living Center as Mark's Northeast Motorsports Expo began a three-day run at the Eastern States Exposition grounds on Friday.

The family-friendly event is a new venture for Mark's, known for its popular Classic Cruise nights in East Granby, Connecticut, during the summer months.

Almost no category of vehicles was left out at the Expo, including show cars, specialty vehicles, classic cars, custom cars and trucks, rat rods, imports and tuners. Also, motorcycles, exotics, race cars, off-road vehicles, new car displays and more.

Other features and activities included a Pit Challenge, Gear Head Mafia Slot Cars, Optimus Prime Replica Truck, Killustrate Pin Striper, race track displays, Star Wars characters, musical entertainment and food concessions. Many motorsport vendors were on side as well.

Part of the proceeds from the gate will be donated to: USA Breast Cancer, Drive to Survive Foundation, Dream Ride Special Olympics.

Marks Northeast Motorsports Expo is presented by Marks Auto Recycling Industries, East Granby, and Trantolo and Trantolo of Hartford.

The show continues on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Better Living Center, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield.

Admission is $15 for adults, and free for children age 7 and under. Admission is free for anyone wearing an Active Service Uniform for any military branch.

For more information, visit https://marksnemotorsportsexpo.com/

Greene said the railroad was a major route around the Swift River Valley towns from the 1870s to 1930s before the debut of the automobile.

JR GREENE will discuss "The Rabbit" railroad on March 12 at Palmer Public Library.Lori Stabile | Special to The Republican 

PALMER - Quabbin expert J.R. Greene is bringing his slide presentation about "The Rabbit" railroad to the town of seven railroads.

"The Rabbit" was a 48-mile long railroad from Athol to Springfield that passed through all four towns that were later flooded to make the Quabbin Reservoir. It also traveled through Palmer's village of Three Rivers, where it had a station, according to Greene.

"The subject has a lot of interest for people. The Quabbin connection holds a romantic interest for people," Greene said.

The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Palmer Public Library. Greene's two books on "The Rabbit" will be available for sale, as well as his other works on the Quabbin and his annual Quabbin calendar, after the presentation.

The Quabbin has been a labor of love for Greene since the 1970s when he was a college student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and discovered an abandoned railroad bed near the reservoir's Gate 35 in New Salem.

He wondered why the railroad bed led to water, and in his research found out about the story of the Quabbin and the people whose homes were lost due to the project.

The towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott were flooded to make room for the sprawling 412-billion gallon reservoir that supplied drinking water to metropolitan Boston.

The railroad bed was a part of "The Rabbit," so called, said Greene, because it had more than 20 stops on the route, "short hops on a stop." There also was the tale that "The Rabbit" was so slow that someone could jump off, shoot a rabbit and jump back on, hence the name, Greene said.

Greene said the railroad was originally built from Athol to a point in southern Belchertown. It was chartered in 1869. The city of Springfield chipped in money to extend it to Springfield in 1873. It was a branch of the Boston & Albany Railroad.

Most of the railroad closed in the 1930s as a result of the Quabbin project, but not before the line was used to help transport materials for the Winsor Dam project, according to Greene.

Passenger service on the line ended on June 1, 1935 so the tracks north of the dam site could be torn up that summer, Greene said. Freight service continued from Springfield to Bondsville until after the Hurricane of 1938, when track damage caused it to be cut back to Ludlow, except for the track to the Windsor Dam, which lasted until 1940. Freight service to Ludlow ended in 1982, he said.

A 4- to 5-mile stretch of the old line still exists near the Eastman Chemical Co. - formerly Monsanto - in the Indian Orchard section of the city and is used as a freight line, part of the Athol Industrial Track of CSX, according to Greene, noting that the line has never completely closed.

"The program will be a brief history of the railroad and some of the characters involved," Greene said. "It was a one-track line, nothing major, but important to Western Massachusetts."

Greene said the railroad was a major route around the Swift River Valley towns from the 1870s to 1930s before automobiles became the main mode of transportation; raw materials also were shipped on it from cloth manufacturers in North Dana and Enfield, as well as ice, Greene said.

Both Athol and Springfield received a "great deal of passenger and freight business" from the towns along the railroad and "it enabled many factories in most towns along the route to bring in supplies and ship out finished products," Greene said.

"It made the Swift River valley towns much less isolated than some nearby towns which did not have rail service," Greene added.

Palmer Library Services Librarian Amy Golenski wrote in an email that "railroad history is very important to our patrons" and the staff thought residents of all ages would be interested in learning more about "The Rabbit" from Greene.

The library features a room dedicated to the town's railroad history.

The snow date for the program is March 19, also at 6:30 p.m.

More children are lost to cancer in the United States than any other disease.

SPRINGFIELD -- "These are the toughest kids on the planet. Anything I can do to support them, I'm all for it."

A few minutes later, Jeff Sylvain was as bald as a billiard ball.

MGM Springfield supported the St. Baldrick Foundation's "Be Brave and Shave" campaign to raise funds to fight childhood cancer in a flurry of clippers and scissors Saturday at the historic State Armory.

St. Baldrick is not a real saint. It's a mash-up of St. Patrick and bald, thus St. Baldrick Day. It started as a dare: Would you shave your head and donate money to kids' cancer research? Teaming up again with the St. Baldrick's Foundation, dozens of volunteers -- mostly executives and front-line employees of MGM Springfield -- said "yes." 

More children are lost to cancer in the United States than any other disease; in fact, more than many other childhood diseases combined. According to the St. Baldrick's Foundation, almost all children diagnosed with cancer in the 1950s died. Because of research, about 90 percent of children with the most common types of cancer today will live.

Children with cancer are called superheroes by their families for their fight and determination. Many children now fighting cancer were at MGM Springfield on Saturday. It did take a wee bit of bravery for Jill Monson-Bishop and her wife Jen Monson-Bishop to have their heads shaved. They held hands while volunteers from The Salon at MGM shaved their heads.

The "Be Brave & Shave" event is not new to MGM, according to Alex Dickson, general manager of MGM Springfield.

"We've done this for many years in Las Vega and all across the country," he said Saturday. "We wanted to bring something that is special to our company and help celebrate it in Western Massachusetts."

Dickson said the kids are an inspiration. He read some of their stories aloud to to the crowd Saturday. "I did everything in my power to keep it together just reading their stories of what these young people have to go through."

For more information and learn how to donate, go to stbaldricks.org.