A car found submerged in Hadley's Lake Warner was retrieved Friday evening was reportedly owned by a Chicopee resident, but so far, police do not know how the vehicle got into the lake or where the driver is.

HADLEY - Hadley Police and Fire departments retrieved a car found submerged in Hadley's Lake Warner Friday evening, but so far, have not determined how the car got there or if anyone went into the water with the vehicle. 

Hadley Police Sgt. Mitchell Kuc said Hadley emergency crews and an Amherst ambulance responded to a report of a car in the lake just after 6:30 p.m. to find a white, 2007 Nissan Murano in the water. 

Kuc said police found the car not far from the Mt Warner Road boat ramp, but the car appeared not to have driven in at the ramp, but apparently entered the water on the opposite side of the lake from Mt. Warner Road and down a grassy embankment. The car then floated across.

No one was found in the vehicle when first responders arrived, Kuc said, and officials found no evidence that the driver may have died in the incident and remains in the water. 

The car is reported to belong to an individual in Chicopee, but thus far has not been reported stolen. No cars were reported stolen in Hadley. 

The incident remains under investigation. 

In his new post, Zavala will bring "advocacy, empathy - and style," said Judge William Boyle, the district court's presiding judge.

SPRINGFIELD -- As a kid growing up in the Springfield's North End, Hector Zavala liked to carry a brief case and pretend to be a lawyer.

"I was always in awe of the law - and dreamed of being an attorney," Zavala said during a ceremony Friday in Springfield District Court attended by judges, elected and court officials and Zavala's many friends.

"Other kids played cops and robbers; I wanted to play courtroom," he said.

By the end of the ceremony, Zavala - a former assistant district attorney, a lawyer for the district court's legal service center and chairman of the city's Community Policing Hearing Board - had achieved another milestone in his real-life legal career.

He was sworn in as an assistant clerk-magistrate at the newly renamed Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse, which houses district, superior and probate and family courts.

The appointment comes as the Massachusetts Trial Court moves to make courts more fair and accessible by reflecting the racial, gender and ethnic diversity of communities they serve.

In his new post, Zavala will bring "advocacy, empathy - and style," said Judge William Boyle, the district court's presiding judge, who said the appointment marks the dawning of "Zavala time" in the courthouse.

He congratulated "the kid from the North End" before adding, in Spanish, "It's a great day for Puerto Ricans."

Judge Charles W. Groce III, one of Zavala's former law professors, offered a quick overview of his former student's resume.

"He put himself through college and law school. He's been a social worker, a victim-witness advocate, an attorney, an assistant district attorney," Groce said, citing some of the positions Zavala has held since law school.

"How old is he?" the judge asked, drawing laughter from the audience. "Nobody really knows."

The judge also praised Zavala's parents, who attended the ceremony along with his grandmother, nephew and other relatives.

"He's had the benefit and blessings of coming from good people - and he didn't mess it up," Groce said. "This is a great day," he added.

During his remarks, Zavala thanked dozens of people, from Clerk-Magistrate John Gay, who hired him, to State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield, and his former colleagues in the district attorney's office.

Two people, however, were singled out for gratitude. 

"My amazing parents -- they encouraged me and never doubted me even when I doubted myself. When I though about quitting, they'd say you have to pursue this," Zavala said.

More than anyone else, they helped turn his childhood career fantasies into "an attainable dream," Zavalda said.

"I've been blessed," he added.

HOLYOKE - Holyoke police have charged a Holyoke man with 15 counts of animal cruelty in connection with a Thursday raid on a Newton Street apartment by animal control officials.  Fourteen emaciated, dehydrated dogs were removed from the apartment.  One dog was deceased when officials arrived. Holyoke Police Lt. James Albert said Julio Rivera, 49, of 81 Newton St., was arrested...

HOLYOKE - Holyoke police have charged a Holyoke man with 15 counts of animal cruelty in connection with a Thursday raid on a Newton Street apartment by animal control officials.  Fourteen emaciated, dehydrated dogs were removed from the apartment.  One dog was deceased when officials arrived.

Holyoke Police Lt. James Albert said Julio Rivera, 49, of 81 Newton St., was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with one count of animal cruelty for each of the canines involved.

The 14 remaining animals were taken to the Thomas J. O'Conner Animal Shelter in Springfield where they were being treated. 

Rivera will be arraigned in Holyoke District Court Monday.  

SPRINGFIELD - One man was shot and wounded just after 10 p.m. at a Liberty Street bar. Springfield Police spokesman Ryan Walsh said the male victim was found in an alley outside Moriarty's Pub at 755 Liberty St. at about 10:12 p.m. with at least one gunshot wound.  The victim was transported to the Baystate Medical Center for treatment....

SPRINGFIELD - One man was shot and wounded just after 10 p.m. at a Liberty Street bar.

Springfield Police spokesman Ryan Walsh said the male victim was found in an alley outside Moriarty's Pub at 755 Liberty St. at about 10:12 p.m. with at least one gunshot wound. 

The victim was transported to the Baystate Medical Center for treatment. Walsh said the victim was conscious when taken from the scene but otherwise his condition is unknown at this point.

Springfield Police Major Crimes detectives are at the scene. 

This is a breaking story.  Details will be posted as they become available.  

The Connecticut River Walk and Bikeway is slated to reopen in early December after being partially closed for two years due to a complex sewer outfall repair project.

SPRINGFIELD -- With a major sewer repair project on the east bank of the Connecticut River complete, a long-closed section of the city's riverside walk and bikeway will reopen in early December.

Some bikeway enthusiasts said this week they are very happy to hear the Connecticut River Walk and Bikeway will finally reopen after being partially blocked for two years.

"Wow," said Sheila McElwaine, a fan of the 3.7-mile paved path. "Having the riverwalk passable from end to end is something all of us can be thankful for."

A section of the 3.7-mile path between Liberty Street to Riverfront Park has been closed since November 2015.

Springfield Water and Sewer Commission officials said the bikeway should reopen sometime between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15. With the sewer repairs done, the contractors still must restore the slope and some bike path areas, a spokeswoman said.

Joshua Schimmel, the commission's executive director, said it was a very complex, but rewarding project. The riverbank work was one segment of a $24 million, federally mandated project to reduce combined sewer overflows to protect the river from contaminants.

"We certainly understand peoples' disappointment in not being able to ride the full bikeway these past three summers," Schimmel said. "But we are relieved and proud as this ... remediation project nears completion, especially considering the many complexities we had to work through to get to this point."

The work at the site of the riverwalk included rehabilitating two large combined sewer outfalls, said Jaimye Bartak, a commission spokeswoman. The two structures at the riverfront at the end of Worthington and Bridge Streets were installed between 70 and 100 years ago. Erosion undermined the foundations, she said.

The contractor for the sewer project is P Gioiso and Sons inc. of Hyde Park, Massachusetts.

The work was expected to be done by April 2016. But multiple factors delayed the project, including bad weather and river conditions, as well as environmental permitting issues and restrictions, the commission said.

Betsy Johnson, another bikeway enthusiast, had a cautious reaction to news about the reopening.

"I'll believe it when it happens," Johnson said. "There have already been so many times we've heard that it was going to be opened by such and such date, and then because of a variety of reasons, it did not happen."

Ben Quick is executive director of the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club.

"After the sudden 10-foot rise in river level on Oct. 30th, I was bracing for news of further delays on this project's completion, so this is fantastic news," he said.

The rise of the river, however, caused significant damage to the club's dock. It will need extensive repairs, Quick said.

Johnson said she anticipates a grand reopening celebration of the riverwalk in the spring. She hopes the Water and Sewer Commission will help underwrite the cost of that event, as has been discussed. She said perhaps the celebration could be timed with Bay State Bike Week celebrations, or in conjunction with the start of the downtown Springfield bike share program.

Bartok said the remediation project was complicated due to its location on the riverbank and near railroad tracks.

"Not only is the site vulnerable do river flooding, which shut down work progress, but rain also activated the pipe and periodically flooded the project area," Bartok said. "In addition, historical shifts in the river's course made subsurface soil composition diffiuclt to predict."

Other factors complicating the project included a need to change foundation piles due to the soils being less supportive than anticipated, and the site being adjacent to a habbitat for two threatenned mussel species and one threatened fish species, Bartok said.

"And of course, the bikeway also runs directly over the outfall pipes, requiring its closure," she said.

City councilors said they have been searching for a solution to speeding on Front Street for 30 years.

CHICOPEE- In an attempt to slow down drivers who speed past the library, three schools, and an elderly housing complex on Front Street, the City Council has voted to reduce the speed and install raised crosswalks on the street.

The Council voted 11-1 to set the speed limit at 20 mph in October. That was followed last week by a 12-0 vote to install raised crosswalks on the busy street.

The order to install the raised sidewalks will now go to the Department of Public Works and Mayor Richard J. Kos to be implemented.

The decision to lower the speed limit to 20 mph will now be referred to the city engineer, who must do a speed study before reducing the limit. It will also be reviewed by the Law Department after Councilors raised questions about the proposal.

City Councilor James K. Tillotson, who proposed the change in the speed limit, said the city engineer has supported the idea.

A new state law allows cities and towns across Massachusetts to adopt a reduced speed limit of 25 mph on residential streets, targeting thickly settled areas and business districts, which Chicopee adopted over the summer. It also allows communities to create safety zones, where the speed limit is 20 mph, in areas which have schools, parks and other places which attract a lot of children or older people.

Front Street is a poster child for a continuous safety zone since it includes the main library, a health center, Szot Park, senior housing and three schools - St. Stanislaus, Dupont Middle and Chicopee High - all within seven-tenths of a mile, Tillotson said.

Although the lower speed limit passed overwhelmingly, some councilors questioned if 20 mph on a long stretch of a major road was a good idea.

"I understand something has to be done but 20 mph is too low," City Councilor Gerard Roy said. "We are going to put a heavy burden on the citizens."

While he agreed safety of children was important, Roy called 20 mph "unreasonable" and said he doesn't think it will work.

But Tillotson disagreed saying there are a lot of children on the street and people are driving 30 and 40 mph. Children are also walking between cars to cross the street, especially when parents are picking them up, he said.

"Can we split it up between day and night?" Councilor Gary Labrie asked. "Twenty is needed during the day but I don't see it at 7 or 8 in the evening."

Councilor Robert Zygarowski said the only way the low speed limit will work is if police are diligent about enforcing it. He supported the speed limit saying people drive too fast on Front Street.

"I would like to see this happen because I think this is something that needs to be done," Tillotson said. "We have been trying to control the speed on this road for 30 years."

Councilor William Zaskey, whose ward is in Front Street, agreed he has been fighting the speeding problem on Front Street for years. Along with lowering the speed limit, he asked the council to support his proposal to raise the crosswalks along the street a couple of inches.

Amherst has raised crosswalks on streets in the downtown and it does work without causing major harm on a car, he said.

"We discussed speed zones on Front Street. No cars are going 20 mph," he said. "I think Front Street really is a race track, we really should do something."

The raised crosswalks are not speed bumps but people can't drive 40 over them either, Zaskey said.

Councilors asked if raised crosswalks could hamper snowplowing, but Councilor Shane Brooks said he has seen them in other communities and they have a slightly rounded edge so plows can go over them without a problem.

All three defendants are known gang members and have prior gun and drug charges on their records, police said.

SPRINGFIELD -- An alleged Springfield gang member is facing new drug and gun charges after he and two teenagers were arrested following a police chase and crash on Worthington Street.

Felix Burgos, 20, pleaded not guilty in Springfield District Court on Tuesday to possession of a loaded firearm without a permit, possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute (subsequent offense), receiving a stolen motor vehicle and resisting arrest.

Springfield police spotted Burgos and two minors riding in an allegedly stolen car  early Monday night. A chase ensued with the car running two stop signs before turning onto Worthington Street and getting "T-boned" by a station wagon, according to the arrest report.

The passengers jumped from the vehicle, leading to a second chase. The driver, a 17-year-old who left his sandals on the front seat, was captured nearby while Burgos ran through back yards and cut across traffic on Armory Street before being taken into custody in Magazine Park, the report said.

A third passenger, also 17, struggled to escape the back seat and was quickly captured. Police found his cellphone in the backseat, along with a .357 Magnum revolver with five hollow point rounds, a loaded BB gun and a black mask, the report said.

The gun belonged to the driver, who tossed it into the back seat after the crash, the third passenger told police. "I can't get charged with a gun," the driver allegedly said before fleeing the vehicle, according to the report.

All three passengers are known gang members and have previous gun and drug charges, the report said.

Burgos' bail was set at $2,500 cash and the case was continued for a pretrial hearing on Dec. 14. The other defendants are facing charges in Springfield Juvenile Court.

The city of Springfield and MGM Springfield have issue traffic advisories for the week of Nov. 20, due to ongoing roadway work.

SPRINGFIELD -- The city and MGM Springfield have issued the following traffic advisory for the week of Nov. 20, including some roadway projects that may result in traffic delays.

Department of Public Works

• Barnes Street/Hillman Street -- From Bridge Steet to Dwight Street. Utility work, paving tentative on Tuesday.
• Harvey Street -- From Boston Road to Berkshire Avenue. Utility work and sidewalk work, paving tentative on Tuesday.
• Sidewalk work in the Metro South and Bay Neighborhoods.
• Sidewalk restoration work is being completed at Monarch Place at the intersection of Main Street and Boland Way.

The following is MGM Off-Site Roadwork in and around Downtown Springfield, which change in traffic patterns and delays are expected:

• Boland Way between East Columbus Avenue and the Memorial Bridge
• Dwight Street at the intersection of 291 off ramp
• Pynchon Street at East Columbus Avenue.
• State Street between East Columbus Avenue and Hall of Fame Avenue.
• Union Street between Main Sreet and East Columbus Avenue.
• Plainfield Street between Avocado and West Columbus Avenue.

No roadwork is occurring Thursday or Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Residents and businesses on Center Street will have water turned off between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. so the Water Department can complete installation of the South Street water main.

CHICOPEE - The Water Department is warning residents of West and Center streets that water will be shut down overnight between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Sunday into Monday.

The shutdowns will impact homes and businesses between 166 and 206 Center St. and 95 West St.

The water department has installed a new main on South Street, replacing the one which is at least 70 years old and is in such bad condition it continually has had breaks.

The shutdown is needed because the new water main must now be connected to all the side water mains at the end points of Springfield and Center streets. Because of heavy traffic especially on South and Center streets, the tie-ins are scheduled to be done during the nighttime to prevent serious traffic problems, Alan Starzyk, Water Department superintendent said.

Holding her keys in her hand, Nugent approached the crusier and "began asking me to forgive her ... (and) not arrest her and to please not tow her vehicle," Officer Edwin Torres wrote in the arrest report.

SPRINGFIELD - A Ludlow woman with two drunken driving convictions is being held without right to bail following her arrest on a third charge.

Tiffany Nugent, 33, pleaded not guilty Friday in Springfield District Court to operating under the influence of liquor (subsequent offense), reckless operation of a motor vehicle, resisting arrest and giving a false name.

She was arrested Thursday night after a Springfield police officer spotted her making an illegal U-turn on Boston Road, according to a report filed by Officer Edwin Torres.

Nugent drove into a curb after being ordered to pull over and then ignored orders to remain in her car, the report said.

Holding her keys in her hand, she approached the cruiser and "began asking me to forgive her ... not arrest her and to please not tow her vehicle," Torres wrote, adding that she was unsteady on her feet, smelled of alcohol and "very talkative."

Nugent was too impaired to take a field sobriety test, according to the officer, who said he struggled to handcuff her and place her in a cruiser. A passenger in Nugent's vehicle said she had "two glasses of vodka" earlier in the day, the report said.

At police headquarters, Nugent refused to take a blood alcohol test and was released after posting bail.

At the request of Assistant District Attorney Frederick Burns, Nugent was ordered held without right to bail for a so-called dangerousness hearing Tuesday. At the hearing, a judge will decide whether Nugent poses too great a threat to be released before trial.

Two women were injured Saturday when the vehicle they were traveling in crashed on Orange Street, city firefighters have reported.

SPRINGFIELD -- Two women were injured Saturday when the vehicle they were traveling in crashed on Orange Street, city firefighters have reported. 

Emergency crews responded to reports of a single vehicle crash near 273 Orange Street just after 3 a.m., according to Dennis Leger, aide to Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

Firefighters used the jaws of life to free two female passengers from the vehicle, Leger said. The women sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the crash.

The Springfield Fire Department did not release details on the cause of the crash and other information surrounding the incident.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated if further information is made available.

Traffic on Interstate 84 has been partially shut down after two tractor trailers crashed and one caught fire, Connecticut State Police reported Saturday.

SOUTHBURY, CONN. -- Traffic on Interstate 84 has been partially shut down after two tractor trailers crashed and one caught fire, Connecticut State Police reported Saturday. 

Eastbound lanes near Exits 16 and 17 on I-84 in Southbury remained closed as of 8:35 a.m., according to state police. 

Emergency crews responded to reports of two tractor trailers that collided on the highway around 4:50 a.m. One of the trucks then caught fire, state police said. 

The crash closed all eastbound and westbound lanes -- the latter of which had been reopened as of 8:30 a.m. 

Only a minor injury was reported in relation to the incident, according to state police. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more information becomes available.

The suspect in a Thursday stabbing in Norwood is in custody thanks to the work of a Massachusetts State Police dog, officials reported Saturday.

NORWOOD -- The suspect in a reported Norwood stabbing is in custody thanks to the work of a Massachusetts State Police dog, officials said Saturday. 

K9 Unit Trooper Robert Bohn responded to the Norwood Police Department's request to help locate a suspect in the Thursday night stabbing, in which a person reportedly sustained a wound to the head, according to state police. 

Bohn, with assistance from Trooper Paul Rego, deployed K9 Ranger to track from the suspect's last known location, police said.

Ranger acquired the suspect's scent in a backyard and tracked the smell onto a side street and over two more streets before Rego observed a person matching the suspect's description, state police reported on Facebook. 

Police identified the suspect, who reportedly had a knife, and took the individual into custody without incident, state police said.  

How members of the Western Massachusetts delegation voted on various pieces of legislation under consideration on Beacon Hill during the week ending Nov. 19, 2017.

Cassidy played the oldest son in "The Partridge Family" from 1970 to 1974. Watch video

David Cassidy, "Partridge Family" actor and 70s heartthrob, has been hospitalized and is "surrounded by family," his representative told The Associated Press.

Cassidy has been in a Florida hospital since Wednesday. No other details were immediately available.

Other media sites have reported Cassidy is suffering from organ failure.

Cassidy, 67, announced earlier this year he'd been having trouble with memory loss and would no longer perform concerts.

He appeared in the "Partridge Family" sitcom from 1970 to 1974 as the oldest son in a musical family headed by a single mother. His real stepmother, Shirley Jones, played his mother on the show.

A car that was found submerged in Lake Warner in Hadley had previously been reported stolen out of Chicopee, according to police.

HADLEY - The car that crashed into Lake Warner in Hadley Friday night had previously been reported stolen out of Chicopee, said police Saturday. 

The vehicle, a white, 2007 Nissan Murano, was found unoccupied, submerged in the lake waters, not far from the Mt Warner Road boat ramp around 6:30 p.m.

Investigation showed the car belonged to a woman in Chicopee, said Sgt. Ken Hartwright of the Hadley Police Department. 

The woman told police that the car was stolen from her after she left her keys in the ignition and went back inside her house, attempting to warm the vehicle before she used it.

A Chicopee police officer confirmed Saturday that the car had been reported stolen.

Hartwright said that a home security system of a Hadley resident had captured video of the car being pushed into Lake Warner and of a suspect running away from the scene, but that the suspect had not been identified yet. 

Investigators determined that the vehicle must have entered the water on the opposite side of the lake from Mt. Warner Road and rolled down a grassy embankment. The car then apparently floated across the lake.

Old Saint Nick made a visit to Bernardston on Saturday, Watch video

BERNARDSTON, MA - Hundreds of families turned out to Kringle Candle in Bernardston on Saturday afternoon to see Santa Claus hitch a ride into town aboard an Amtrak train. The visit, not the product of sleigh malfunctions, but actually a long planned event organized by the local business and the train company, was a major success with the surrounding community.  

Michael Kittredge, the owner of Kringle Candle, said Saturday that Santa's visit had been a dream of his for the better part of a decade. "I've been planning for seven years to do this event," Kittredge said Saturday. 

Santa's visit was only part of a full day of festivities organized by Kringle. The day's events included family friendly entertainment such as performances by stilt walkers, aerial artists, a magician, and Christmas carols sung by the Franklin County Community Chorus.  

After Santa arrived to much fanfare, the bearded toy magnate made his way into the basement of the venue's Country Barn toy store where he posed for pictures with families and children. The pictures were taken by a professional wedding photographer. 

The special pitstop for Santa at Kringle Candle was arranged through coordination with Amtrak & MassDOT, said Kittredge.

Kittredge said the idea for Santa's visit originated with a tradition that his father, former owner of Yankee Candle Michael Kittredge II, had started.

During his time with Yankee Candle, Kittredge II had scheduled yearly visits from Santa--always by helicopter. After Kittredge began Kringle Candle, he said he planned to follow in his father's footsteps with more annual visits. As Kringle is located right next to the local train tracks, the event seemed a natural fit. "We've got the tracks and Santa always travels via Polar Express, so we thought it would be natural to have it here," Kittredge said. 

Some initial difficulties kept Kittredge from realizing the project. The tracks were not initially up to commuter code standards, he said. Eventually the tracks were renovated and the plan became a legitimate possibility.  

"MassDOT and Amtrak were great to work with. These guys were phenomenal and they helped us put the whole thing together," Kittredge said. "It was amazing." 

The business also had to build a special platform from which Santa could disembark from the train. 

Now, Kittredge said, the visit will hopefully be an annual one. "We're going to build on this event, this was the first one," he said, explaining that he hoped in the future the event could be bigger, longer and have more fun activities for local children.   

Police are looking to identify a man who stole a tip jar for a local youth aid organization.

WESTFIELD - Westfield detectives are searching for a man who is believed to have stolen a tip jar from a gas station on Elm Street, the proceeds of which would have gone to the local Boys and Girls Club.

Police released surveillance images of the suspect Friday.

The man entered the gas station and stole the tip jar from a Dunkin Donuts located inside the venue around 3:49 a.m. on Wednesday, police said. 

Police say the man took the jar, which was located on the counter, when the store's employee wasn't looking. 

The Boys and Girls Club, which is a national organization, helps to provide career services, role modeling, and other programs designed to provide guidance to young people.  

Anyone who believes they can identify the man or who has relevant information has been asked to contact Westfield Detective Andrew Cekovsky at a.cekovsky@cityofwestfield.org or 413-642-9386.

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of Strategic Command, told a panel at the Halifax International Security Forum on Saturday that he and Trump have had conversations about such a scenario and that he would tell Trump he couldn't carry out an illegal strike.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- The top officer at U.S. Strategic Command said Saturday an order from President Donald Trump or any of his successors to launch nuclear weapons can be refused if that order is determined to be illegal.

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of Strategic Command, told a panel at the Halifax International Security Forum on Saturday that he and Trump have had conversations about such a scenario and that he would tell Trump he couldn't carry out an illegal strike.

"If it's illegal, guess what's going to happen. I'm going to say, 'Mr President, that's illegal.' And guess what he's going to do? He's going to say, 'What would be legal?'" Hyten said.

"And we'll come up with options with a mix of capabilities to respond to whatever the situation is, and that's the way it works."

In the event that Trump decided to launch a nuclear attack, Hyten would provide him with strike options that are legal.

The command would control nuclear forces in a war.

The comments come as the threat of nuclear attack from North Korea remains a serious concern and Trump's critics question his temperament. Trump's taunting tweets aimed at Pyongyang have sparked concerns primarily among congressional Democrats that he may be inciting a war with North Korea.

During testimony before the Foreign Relations Committee earlier this month, retired Gen. Robert Kehler who served as the head of Strategic Command from January 2011 to November 2013, also said the U.S. armed forces are obligated to follow legal orders, not illegal ones.

Hyten said he's talked it over with Trump.

"I think some people think we're stupid. We're not stupid people. We think about these things a lot. When you have this responsibility how do you not think about it?,' he said.

He said he would not obey an illegal order.

"You could go to jail for the rest of your life," he said.

By Rob Gillies, Associated Press

Living up to its name, the International Volleyball Hall of Fame welcomed five new members from the Class of 2017 Saturday at the Ring and Plaque Ceremony, which is one of the events that led up the Induction Gala Dinner and Enshrinement later in the day.

HOLYOKE-- Living up to its name, the International Volleyball Hall of Fame welcomed five new members from the Class of 2017 Saturday at the Ring and Plaque Ceremony, which is one of the events that led up the Induction Gala Dinner and Enshrinement later in the day.

Hailing from Brazil, China, the Netherlands, Russia and Sweden, as well as one special award winner from Haiti, the group was honored during an afternoon ceremony at the hall located on Dwight Street in Holyoke.

Prior to the event, inductees and their families and friends made their way around the facility, which is dedicated to the sport, and has its roots in the Paper City.

U.S. Olympian Kevin Barnett served as the master of ceremony as he introduced the honorees starting with Anders Kristiansson from Sweden. Honored as a coach, he has a long list of men's and women's championships that he led teams to, and he is the first person from Sweden to be inducted in the hall.

Irina Kirillova Parkhomchuk from Russia was named as the Female Indoor Player, as she is known as one of the best setters in the 1980s and 1990s.

Ronald Zwerver from the Netherlands was the Male Indoor Player, as he's considered the best volleyball player in Dutch history.

Jose Loiola from Brazil was named as the Male Beach Player, who was one of the most passionate beach volleyball players of the 1990s, who won 55 World Tour and AVP Gold medals.

Rounding out the class was Jizhong Wei from China, honored as a Leader in the sport, becoming the third president of the FIVB after the 31st World Congress in Dubai in 2008. He was, however, unable to make the trip to Holyoke to pick up his award.

Jacques Joachim from Haiti made the trip along with a large group of family and friends as he was later to be given the Mintonette Medallion of Merit Award in recognition of significant individual achievement.