Citing a police attempt to reconstruct the incident, Jennings suggested that Morse was blinded by the glare of sunlight on the water and did not see the kayak.

Steven Morse

NORTHAMPTON – A judge has denied a motion to dismiss the charges against Steven J. Morse, of Westfield, who is accused of killing a 10-year-old boy in a kayak by running him over in his motor boat on Lake Norwich in Huntington.

Prosecutors say Morse, 37, was impaired by a combination of marijuana and alcohol when he crashed into Augustus Adamopoulos, who was kayaking on the lake with his father on Aug. 17, 2010. The boy, known to all as Gus, died as a result of his injuries.

Last week, defense lawyer Michael O. Jennings asked Hampshire Superior Court Judge Bertha D. Josephson to dismiss the manslaughter and homicide by boat charges against his client, arguing that the grand jury did not have sufficient evidence for the indictments. According to Jennings, a breathalyzer test administered at the scene by police showed that Morse was not legally intoxicated. A subsequent test at the police station showed little or no alcohol in Morse’s system, Jennings said.

Citing a police attempt to reconstruct the incident, Jennings suggested that Morse was blinded by the glare of sunlight on the water and did not see the kayak. In her ruling, Josephson said the jury had probable cause to believe the defendant diminished his ability to operate the boat safely through consuming a combination of drugs and alcohol.

“(T)he Commonwealth’s presentation was complete and fair,” Josephson wrote, noting that evidence favorable to Morse was also presented.

The explosion occurred early Thursday morning on Cady Street in Ludlow.

Republican file photo

LUDLOW - More than a hundred Western Massachusetts Electric Co. customers remained without power early Thursday after an transformer exploded on Cady Street.

Police said the explosion was reported shortly after 3:15 a.m. and that utility workers could remain on the scene until noon.

Cady Street remains open to traffic, police said. According to WMECO’s website, 126 of Ludlow’s 9,130 customers were without power as of about 7:40 a.m.

More than 20 neighbors attended a public hearing on the proposal.

LUDLOW – The developer of a proposed paint ball and go cart facility at 1115 Center Street withdrew his application for site plan approval from the Planning Board Thursday night after neighbors expressed their objection to paint ball and go carts.

More than 20 neighbors who attended a public hearing on the proposed site plan said they objected to the traffic and noise such a facility would bring.

Kathy Murdock of Reservoir Road said she moved to her neighborhood because she wanted to be “in the country.”

“This would impact my quality of life,” she said.

Jose Fernandes, developer of the proposed facility which also would include miniature golf, said he will not put either paint ball or go carts on the site if the neighbors object.

“If paint ball and go carts are an issue we will eliminate them from the plan,” Fernandes said.

Fernandes said he intends to move his existing driving range further back from the street and will possibly put a miniature golf facility on the property which abuts the Springfield Reservoir.

Planning Board members suggested that Fernandes withdraw his proposed site plan and come back with a new site plan which shows the scope of the work he plans to do including the addition of parking spaces.

Brian Dobek of Clearwater Circle said if the property were to be further developed traffic studies should be done.

There already are cars parking along Reservoir Road to hike along the reservoir, he said.

Planning Board member Raymond Phoenix said a full site plan must be resubmitted before any approval for increased development on the site is given by the Planning Board.

If another site plan is submitted, the abutters will again be notified, he said.

Antonia Golinsky-Foisy of Center Street said the traffic already is very heavy on Center Street.

“I can’t walk to the reservoir from my house,” she said.

Interim Superintendent Thomas Charko, Christine DeBarge, Todd Gazda and Earl Metzler are the finalists.

PALMER - The four finalists for the school superintendent position were announced at Wednesday's School Committee meeting, and one of them is interim superintendent and business manager Thomas A. Charko.

Charko, of Agawam, has been the business manager for the Palmer Public Schools since 1999 and was appointed interim superintendent this past June, taking over for superintendent Gerald A. Fournier, who retired.

The other candidates are:

• Christine DeBarge, of Belchertown, a state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education level 4 plan manager for the Gill-Montague Regional School District since July. DeBarge also was the director of student support services for Ludlow public schools from 2003 to 2011.

• Todd H. Gazda, of West Hartford, Conn., principal of Gateway Regional Middle School in Huntington since 2007; prior to that he was the assistant principal from 2005 to 2007.

• Earl Metzler, of Quincy, principal of Quincy High School since 2007. From 1997 to 2007, he was a middle school principal in Quincy.

A total of 26 people applied to be the superintendent, and the Superintendent Search Committee whittled down that number to 10 to interview. Five nights of interviews were held, according to Bonny B. Rathbone, who co-chaired the 13-member Superintendent Search Committee with Ronald Masnicki.

She described the four finalists as "outstanding professionals" who demonstrate the qualities to lead the district forward.

Masnicki said the School Committee has a great opportunity to pick the next superintendent.

"The choice you all will make will have a lasting impact on the children of Palmer for many generations to come," Masnicki said.

Patricia Correira, search consultant for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, which was hired to assist with the search, said each finalist will visit Palmer, and site visits to the districts where they work also will be conducted.

The visits to the finalists' workplaces caused some discussion, as some Search Committee members who are school employees want to attend them.

Search Committee member Catherine Reed, a school librarian, said they have a right to take personal days, but School Committee Vice-Chairman James L. St. Amand said it would be too expensive to replace them with substitutes.

School Committee Chairwoman Maureen R. Gallagher said she is not paid for days off, unlike the school employees.

Laurie McDonald, a Search Committee member, said the School Committee was acting like it did not care about the efforts the Search Committee put into the process. School Committee members said that wasn't the case.

Correira told the search committee to contact her if they are interested in attending any of the site visits, and commended the members for doing a great job. She wanted four individuals at each site visit.

On Oct. 24, Gallagher and St. Amand will visit with Charko in Palmer.

On Oct. 25, School Committee members Robert R. Janasiewicz and David M. Lynch will visit DeBarge, possibly in Ludlow, where she previously worked.

On Oct. 26, Janasiewicz will travel to Huntington for Gazda, and on Oct. 28, School Committee member Gary Blanchette will go to Quincy to observe Metzler.
The finalists will visit Palmer in November.

Besides Rathbone, Masnicki, Reed and McDonald, search committee members included Beth Zelazo, Claudia Messier, John Dyl, Thomas Barnes, Amy Herring, Stephen Muniec, Charles Abbate, Lisa Murray and Diane Warnock-Graper.

Zelazo, who said she is excited about the finalists, as is the entire Search Committee, hopes the community takes advantage of the "meet and greets" with the finalists that will be held next month.

Two Holyoke men were arrested on Thursday after a Ludlow woman came home and allegedly interrupted a day time burglary.

LUDLOW - Two Holyoke men were arrested on Thursday after a Ludlow woman came home and allegedly interrupted a burglary.

According to Ludlow police Sgt. Mark Mendes, officers were sent to the victim's Jackie Drive home around 1:15 p.m. after she found one of the suspects in her bedroom. Before police could arrive, the men fled, but the victim was able to get a vehicle description and license late number.

Mednes said that a BOLO (be on the lookout) bulletin was issued and officer Dennis Fernandes pulled the suspect car over near the intersection of center and Lyon streets in Ludlow. Following a brief investigation, the two men were arrested.

Mendes reported that Fred A. Falcon, no age given, of 66 Center St. and Derek Cruz, no age given, of 158 West St. Apt. 204, both of Holyoke, were charged with breaking and entering in the daytime.

Both Falcon and Cruz were taken into custody and held awaiting arraignment. The felony charge of breaking and entering in the daytime carries a maximum penalty of ten years in state prison if convicted.

A woman was home in the house when the break occurred, police said.

LUDLOW – Police Thursday charged two Holyoke men with breaking and entering in the daytime, causing fear after a woman who lives on Jackie Drive reported that there was an unknown male in her bedroom.

Charged in the break were Fred A. Falcon, 22, of 66 Center Street, Holyoke, and Derek Garcia, 20, of 158 West Street, Apartment 204, Holyoke.

Both men were held on $25,000 bail following the break for arraignment in Palmer District Court.

The woman who was home during the break was unharmed, Sgt. Mark Mendes said.

After the two men left the house, the woman was able to get a description of the vehicle and the registration plate, police said.

Minutes later police officers located the car on Center Street.

The men gained entry into the house through a garage side door, police said.

The restaurant is closed Mondays, and there were no injuries, fire officials said.

LUDLOW – The Ludlow Fire Department was investigating the cause of a fire Monday afternoon in the Europa Restaurant at 390 West St.

The fire was reported around 3:30 p.m. when it was observed by a neighbor, fire officials said. It got into the walls of the restaurant and spread to the roof.

Fire officials reported extensive smoke, water and fire damage to the interior of the building and the roof.

The restaurant is closed Mondays and was unoccupied at the time of the fire.

There were no injuries, fire officials said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The budget already has a $673,000 shortfall in anticipation of reduced state and federal money, and contains no money for teacher raises.

LUDLOW - School Superintendent Kenneth J. Grew on Tuesday presented the School Committee with a preliminary fiscal 2013 School Department budget.

Grew presented a preliminary budget of $20,562,108 which he said is needed to provide a level services budget. The budget represents a 4 percent increase over this year’s budget, Grew said.

Grew said the budget has a $673,000 shortfall because that is how much state and federal grants to supplement the budget are expected to decline for fiscal 2013.

“State and federal money is down,” Grew said.

He said the budget contains no money for raises for teachers. A teachers contract for next year has not yet been negotiated, he said. Every one percent in negotiated raises would require an additional $200,000 in raises, Grew said.

Grew said there is some supplementary state money that has been appropriated for this fiscal year’s school budget by the Legislature, although he said he is unsure of the amount.

The additional funds will not be needed this year, Grew said. He said he will recommend that they be applied to next year’s school budget.

Grew also said he will recommend that 10 additional School Choice students be accepted and the additional state revenues go to an account to improve technology in the schools.

The school district should not be concerned about educating additional out-of-town students, Grew said.

He said if parents are willing to “get up earlier” to drive them to Ludlow schools, the students are likely to put in the effort to meet Ludlow school standards.

School Committee Chairman Michael J. Kelliher said a school subcommittee will begin meeting to begin evaluating Grew’s proposed budget.

The school district needs to raise academic expectations, the school superintendent said.

LUDLOW - At the urging of Ludlow High School Principal Lisa Nemeth and Interim School Superintendent Kenneth J. Grew, the School Committee has voted to apply to join the Massachusetts Math Science Initiative to increase student participation on Advanced Placement exams and increase passing scores.

Massachusetts was one of six states selected by the National Math and Science Initiative to receive a privately funded grant to expand student participation in taking Advanced Placement exams and increase passing scores.

Applications now are being accepted for schools to participate for the 2011-2012 school year.

Grew told the School Committee Tuesday that the school district by applying to join the initiative has the chance “to raise academic expectations.”

Other districts have seen dramatic improvements in the number of students taking advanced placement tests and receiving passing scores, Grew said.

He added, “That can happen here if we set the expectation.”

School Committee Chairman Michael J. Kelliher said, “We as a district are lagging. We need to increase our participation and scoring.”

Grew said the top 20 percent of students should be encouraged to take advanced placement courses.

Advanced placement courses are offered in high schools, and if a passing grade of 3 is received on a test, college credit for the course is given at some colleges.

If Ludlow joins communities receiving the grant to improve participation on advanced placement courses, there will be money available for teacher training and for Saturday tutoring sessions for students.

The grant can also be used to pay half the cost of the $86 AP exam which helps to make the exam affordable to students.

If Ludlow students get passing grades on the exam, they can compare themselves to students across the state, Grew said.

School Committee member Jacob R. Oliveira said that students who get a passing grade on just one advanced placement course have a higher chance of success once they get to college.

“It would be irresponsible not to pursue this grant,” School Committee member James P. “Chip” Harrington said.

Major closings and cancellations for Monday, October 31.

10/30/11-Springfield- Staff Photo by Dave Roback- Decorative light poles and down trees litter State Street in Springfield on Sunday.

Rounding up major closings and cancellations for Monday, October 31. Please contribute additional closings in the comments.

Halloween
Palmer cancels Halloween events

School districts:

Agawam: Closed Monday
Amherst: Closed Monday
Cathedral High School: Closed Monday
Chicopee: Closed Monday
Easthampton: Closed Monday
East Longmeadow: Closed Monday
Greenfield: Closed Monday
Hadley: Closed Monday
Hampden-Wilbraham: Closed Monday
Holyoke: Closed Monday
Longmeadow: Closed Monday
Ludlow: Closed Monday and Tuesday
Monson: Closed Monday
Northampton: Closed Monday
Palmer: Closed Monday
Southwick-Tolland: Closed Monday
Springfield: Closed Monday
Ware: Closed Monday
Westfield: Closed Monday
West Springfield: Closed Monday

Colleges and universities:

American International College: Closed Monday
Amherst College: Closed Sunday
Bay Path College: Closed Monday
Elms College: Closed Monday
Greenfield Community College: Day classes cancelled Monday at all sites
Holyoke Community College: Closed Monday
Mount Holyoke College: Closed Monday
Smith College: Closed Monday
Springfield Technical Community College: Closed Monday
Westfield State University: Closed Monday

Courts:
Hampden County: Closed Monday
Hampshire County: Closed Monday
Franklin County: Closed Monday
Berkshire County: Closed Monday

Medical:
Baystate Eye Care Group
Chicopee Medical Center
Noble Hospital’s Cardiovascular Rehab and Sports Therapy Rehab
Mercy Hearing Center
Cooley Dickinson Hospital: Cardio. Rehab, Radiation Therapy, MRI, stress tests cancelled Monday

More cancellations:

Read more cancellations at wggb.com »

Hundreds of children and their parents went to Mall-o-Ween at the Holyoke Mall.

The Republican | Don TreegerChildren register for the costume contest at the Mall-o-Ween event at the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside.

HOLYOKE – Briana Banas said her family always celebrates Halloween “old school” with children going trick-or-treating in her neighborhood.

But on Monday the Ludlow resident and a friend drove their two 8-year-old girls and two 12-year-old boys to the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, where they could go store-to-store to collect candy.

“The snow wouldn’t have deterred it. It was the darkness and the tree limbs that are still hanging down that is scary,” Banas said.

With nearly 100 percent of Ludlow without power, Banas said the Mall-o-Ween event was the best option.

“It is still fun and they got to do the costumes and collect some candy,” she said.

The trick-or-treating at the mall is a tradition that dates back to the mall’s 1979 opening. Store owners volunteer to hand out candy, and there is a costume contest, said Lisa L. Wray, marketing director for the mall.

Most city and town officials recommended children stay home on Halloween because of hanging wires, downed branches and widespread power outages caused by the weekend snowstorm. The mall was the last option for children to continue celebrating a favorite holiday, especially since many parties were canceled and the Eastfield Mall, which also offers trick-or-treating, was closed.

Holyoke Mayor Elaine A. Pluta recommended against trick-or-treating and Patty McKinnon, of Holyoke, was going to call it quits, but her 5-year-old daughter Keira, who was dressed as a gypsy, begged to go. Her son Liam, 2, was dressed as a firefighter.

The Republican | Don TreegerFrom left Myia Gilday, 6, of Springfield, Tyrus Traska, 4, of Westfield and Bri-anna Gilday, 4, of Springfield, participate in Mall-o-Ween at the Holyoke Mall.

“School got canceled so there was no party there,” she said.

Several other communities delayed trick-or-treating. Northampton canceled the Halloween Rag Shag parade and postponed citywide Halloween festivities until Nov. 5. Chicopee also moved trick-or-treating to Saturday and Amherst is postponing trick-or-treating until Sunday.

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno recommended that parents keep their children home on Halloween a day before the event. Officials in Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Monson and Wilbraham did the same on Monday.

“We can’t have people walking on the streets with all the wires down, it’s just too dangerous,” Hampden Selectman Vincent Villamaino said.

As a result the mall was packed with skeletons, princesses, witches and super heroes. Traffic was backed up onto Interstate 91 from people trying to reach the mall.

“We had calls from as far away as Connecticut,” said Jennifer Serra, guest relations manager. Just 45 minutes into the event more than 500 children had signed up to compete in the costume contest.

Carrie Al-Rekaby, of Huntington, said she has brought her step-daughter Alison Duval, 6, to the mall before to go trick-or-treating but had never seen it so crowded.

“Usually we can go through in an hour,” she said.

Alison didn’t seem to mind the wait. She was happy to show off her butterfly costume and light-up sneakers.

“I think it is awesome and we get a lot of candy,” she said.

The question on everyone's minds is when they will have heat and lights again and Internet service.

The question on everyone’s minds is when they will have heat and lights again and Internet service.

Following Saturday’s unseasonal snowstorm which snapped countless tree branches and downed countless power lines, there were 100,522 WMECO customers without power late Monday night or about 47 percent of WMECO’s 212,000 customers.

Sandra Ahearn, spokesman for WMECO, said power should be restored to most customers by Wednesday or Thursday, and in some cases, not until Friday.

Ahearn said Saturday’s storm is the most damaging storm in WMECO’s history.

“The damage to the system is like what we have never seen,” Ahearn said. “This is easily the largest storm in terms of damage and customers out that we have ever seen.”

So far more than 50,000 WMECO customers have seen their power restored since the storm trounced the region on Saturday. The peak of the outage left some 150,000 customers in the dark.

WMECO had 75 line crews and 35 tree crews out working in the field Monday. Some crews have come from far away as Michigan, Kansas and Missouri, Ahearn said. More crews are on the way and Tuesday should see a total of 200 line crews and 100 tree crews out repairing the damage.

Richard K. Sullivan Jr., state secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said Monday that storm damage in Western Massachusettts is more significant than that inflicted by the June 1 tornadoes.

“There is much more significant damage in a much wider area,” he said.

Sullivan said there are 1,500 utility and tree crews on the ground in Massachusetts, which is more more than were here for Tropical Storm Irene and the ice storm of 2008.

“I think there have been a lot of lessons leaned from both the ice storm and the tornadoes,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said Western Massachusetts residents who remain without power should “seek shelter if necessary. “The nights are cold, use common sense.”

By late morning Monday there were lines at all open gas stations.

Police were deployed at busy stations, including Breckwood and Wilbraham roads, St. James Ave. and Tapley St., and Bay St. & Berkshire Ave.

Sullivan said the state will bring in generators to help more gasoline stations open for business if needed.

A clerk at the BP station on Main Street said customers were coming from Connecticut just to get gas.

Most public schools will be closed on Tuesday.

In Springfield, the public schools are closed for the remainder of this week due to concerns about safety, city officials announced on Monday.

Municipal officials recommended that trick-or-treaters be kept in Monday night, Halloween, due to hanging wires and the lack of lights. Some communities were planning to reschedule trick-or-treating for the weekend.

Twenty-two schools in Springfield were still without power on Monday, and there were dangerous conditions including damaged trees and limbs and live power lines that could jeopardize safety, said Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Superintendent of Schools Alan J. Ingram.

Missed days of school will have to be made up, Ingram said.

The Army National Guard is providing assistance with cutting and clearing trees and with traffic control, Sarno said.

In addition, Sarno said he asked the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency to provide 10 additional generators to the city to restore traffic lights at more intersections.

The storm had fatal results in Hatfield, where a 49-year-old woman succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning. A man and a woman at 80 Elm St. were taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital early Sunday morning after state police responded to a report of an unresponsive woman at that address. Nancy Morris was declared dead. The man, whose name police did not divulge, was treated and released. Officials are attributing the incident to carbon monoxide poisoning from a propane heater.

At Squire Village Apartments on Route 116 in Sunderland residents were evacuated because of high carbon monoxide levels.

It was believed that a barbecue contributed to high carbon monoxide levels. Two or three people were brought to the hospital, but were able to return after carbon monoxide levels went down, police said.

U.S. Sen. Scott P. Brown said Monday it seems utilities were unprepared for the October snowstorm that left more than a half million Massachusetts residents without power.

In a sharply-worded letter to the state’s four largest energy providers on Monday, Brown expressed “outrage” over what he claimed was a lack of adequate contingency plans. He said it doesn’t appear utilities had the necessary assets in place to quickly respond to outages caused by the storm.

Brown pointed to similar criticism of the companies after Hurricane Irene.

In contrast, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said earlier in the day it appears that the utility companies’ responses have been “sound.”

The utilities say damage from the snowstorm was even more severe than Irene and they have hundreds of crews working to restore power.

National Grid president Marcy Reed said the utility has applied lessons from Irene by improving communication with residents and officials in the hardest-hit communities.

Tuesday is the five-month anniversary of the June 1 tornado.

Residents of West Springfield’s Merrick section, which was hit hard by the June 1 tornado, found the blizzard another unwelcome weather event.

“We’re still trying to catch up from the tornado,” Erik N. Hudson of 580 Main St. said of the seven nights his family spent in a motel after the June 1 disaster. “That was $200 a day.”

Emergency shelters opened up across Western Massachusetts as residents sought a warm place to sleep and eat.

In Springfield, city residents without power overwhelmed an emergency shelter at Central High School on Monday, exceeding the legal capacity of 400 people, according the city’s health director.

The number of people seeking shelter exceeded 400 at approximately noon, and the city began transferring any new arriving residents to the regional shelter at Chicopee High School, said Helen R. Caulton-Harris, the city’s director of health and human services.

In Hampden Green Meadow School was set up as a shelter. Center School in Longmeadow was set up until 8 p.m. as a warming center.

Wilbraham residents in need of shelter were invited to go to the Hampden Senior Center on Allen Street in Hampden. Residents were asked to bring sleeping bags, air mattresses and blankets.

In Westfield emergency shelters are open at Juniper Park School and Scanlon Hall, both located at Westfield State University.

Noble Hospital in Westfield was providing shelter services to the elderly and those with medical issues.

Sunderland opened its elementary school as an overnight warming center. Residents were told to bring their own betting. Pets were not allowed.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst had no classes Monday, but had scheduled classes for Tuesday.

Hotel and motel rooms were getting increasingly hard to find as residents without power sought shelter.

Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Springfield’s four major downtown hotels did not lose power and are currently full.

The Hotel Northampton regained power about 10 a.m. and had some rooms available. The Comfort Inn in Ludlow remains without power, Wydra said.

In Deerfield, power had been restored to the downtown village by Monday afternoon, and all three of the town’s traffic signals were functioning again.

“We’ve improved tremendously,” said Deerfield Police Chief Michael J. Wozniakewicz.

At 2 p.m., however, Stillwater, Upper and River roads were still closed because of downed trees that toppled onto wires.

The Deerfield Police and Fire departments’ Halloween hay rides were cancelled, and Wozniakewicz encouraged trick-or-treating to be omitted because many sidewalks had not been plowed because of downed wires and tree limbs.

State police at the Shelburne Falls barracks reported some areas in the communities they covered had received as much as 20 inches of snow and some power outages continued midday Monday.

“Springfield and Hampden County got hit worse than us,” said trooper Adam Leonczyk in Shelburne Falls. “We had more snowfall, but it wasn’t as heavy.”

Leonczyk said his barracks had recorded no “major problems” or life-threatening situations in the area they serve. “We’re hardy folks up here,” Leonczyk said.

A Connecticut Light & Power outage map Monday night was showing 81 to 100 percent outage for both Enfield and Somers. Enfield Square was closed with the exception of Target.

A Western Massachusetts Electric Co. outage map was showing Ludlow, Southwick, Agawam and Longmeadow being 81 to 100 percent without power. Springfield was shown as being 61 to 80 percent without power.

A spokesman at Peter Pan Bus Company said Monday night that all buses were departing on time as scheduled.

Amtrak service in New England remained disrupted. The line between Springfield and New Haven, Ct., remained suspended.

The Vermonter lines between New Haven and St. Albans, Vt., were cancelled.

The line between Albany, N.Y., and Boston also was cancelled.

Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor service between Boston and Washington is operating normally.

Amtrak said passengers on cancelled trains can get refunds or rebook without penalty.

Operations were back to normal Monday at Bradley International Airport following weekend reports by passengers complaining about planes being forced to sit on the tarmac for as long as seven hours.

“Safety and security are always our number one concern,” said Bradley’s John Wallace, director of communications.

Downed trees and branches caused up to $5,000 in damage to some of the Bright Nights light displays installed along the three-mile route at Forest Park, Judith A. Matt, president of Spirit of Springfield, said.

She said a couple of pieces were destroyed, but the damage could have been much worse. Bright Nights is scheduled to open Nov. 23 and run through Jan. 1.

The YMCA of Greater Springfield announced that it will open its facility at 275 Chestnut Street for the community to use the shower facilities during the power outage. Residents are invited to bring their toiletries and towels and enjoy a hot shower.

Associated PressA utility truck makes its way along a rail line that was interrupted by a rare October snowstorm, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011, in Millburn, N.J. The Morris and Essex lines were interrupted by downed trees and power lines during the storm. Millions of people from Maine to Maryland are without power after an unseasonably early nor'easter dumped heavy, wet snow over the weekend on a region more used to gaping at leaves in October than shoveling snow. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Here are WMECo's latest estimates for power resoration in Western Massachusetts.

10/30/11-Springfield- Staff Photo by Dave Roback- Decorative light poles and down trees litter State Street in Springfield on Sunday.

Here are WMECo's latest estimates for power resoration in Western Massachusetts, as of Tuesday afternoon, courtesy of WMECo's Facebook page:

[Looking for National Grid estimates? Click here. For other updates, follow our ongoing live blog.]

TOWN 99% RESTORATION ESTIMATE

AGAWAM -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
AMHERST -- Thursday 11/3, 6PM
ASHFIELD -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
BERNARDSTON -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
BLANDFORD -- Tuesday 11/1, 6PM
BUCKLAND -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
CHESTER -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
CHESTERFIELD -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
COLRAIN -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
CONWAY -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
DEERFIELD -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
EASTHAMPTON -- Friday 11/4, 6PM
ERVING -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
GILL -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
GRANVILLE -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
GREENFIELD -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
HADLEY -- Thursday 11/3, 6PM
HATFIELD -- Thursday 11/3, 6PM
HUNTINGTON -- Thursday 11/3, 6PM
LEVERETT -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
LEYDEN -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
LONGMEADOW -- Saturday 11/5, 11PM
LUDLOW -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
MONTAGUE -- Thursday 11/3, 12 PM
MONTGOMERY -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
NORTHFIELD -- Thursday 11/3, 12 PM
PELHAM -- Thursday 11/4, 12PM
PLAINFIELD -- Friday 11/4, 6PM
RUSSELL -- Wednesday 11/2, 12PM
SHELBURNE -- Thursday 11/3, 12 PM
SHUTESBURY -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
SOUTHAMPTON -- Thursday 11/3, 12 PM
SOUTHWICK -- Friday 11/4, 6PM
SPRINGFIELD -- Saturday 11/5, 12PM
SUNDERLAND -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
WEST SPRINGFIELD -- Friday 11/4, 11PM
WESTHAMPTON -- Thursday 11/3, 12PM
WHATELY -- Friday 11/4, 12PM
WORTHINGTON -- Friday 11/4, 12PM

Sarno said he has directed the city attorney to ask the state attorney general to review WMECO's emergency response procedures for catastrophic power outages.

Staff photo by Patrick JohnsonSpringfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno throws his hands in the air in frustration as he talks to the press about his displeasure at WMECO's efforts to restore power to large parts of the city. Sarno said the amount of people still without power going on four days is unacceptable.

SPRINGFIELD - A visibly frustrated Domenic J. Sarno on Tuesday blasted Western Massachusetts Electric Co. for what he called a lackluster effort to restore electricity in the region’s largest city and for projections that could leave several thousands of city residents without electricity or heat for a week or more.

Sarno, at a press briefing in City Hall, voiced frustration and anger at the restoration effort since Saturday night, and with the latest WMECO projections that power will not be fully restored in the city until Friday or Saturday.

“I’m very frustrated with their performance. This is unacceptable,” Sarno said. “I’m told that crews are on the way, but where are they?”

Sarno said that in his travels around the city since Saturday to assess the damage, he has not seen any WMECO trucks. City hall staff and department heads have reported to him the same observation, he said.

“I’ve been told more trucks on their way,” he said. “We’re going into day four of people with no electricity and no heat in the most populated city in Western Massachusetts.”

Fifty-two percent of the city remains without power. The percentage is far lower than other communities, some of which remain above 80 percent.

But Springfield, by virtue of being the largest community, has the most number of people affected.

Sarno said he has directed City Solicitor Edward Pikula to ask state Attorney General Martha Coakley to review of WMECO’s emergency response procedures when responding to catastrophic power outages.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 37,000 households and businesses, an estimated 75,000 people, remain powerless, he said. The city’s emergency shelter reached capacity Monday night, and Sarno said he expects it to reach capacity again.

The city has been forced to send some people to a regional shelter in Chicopee.

“I know its a difficult storm, but where is the commitment to the city of Springfield,” he said. “I’m demanding more of a focus on the city of Springfield.”

Sarno said he was told WMECO sent 4 trucks to the city initially and it has since been bumped up to six.

The number is inadequate and unacceptable, he said.

Also unacceptable is the projection that has full power restored in Springfield by Friday or Saturday.

I see the faces of the people in the shelter, I see the faces of people in the city,” he said. “Seven or eight days in these cold winter months without heat or electricity is unacceptable.”

One of those faces is his own in the mirror.

Sarno said his power has been out since Saturday, and like many people in the city, has limited access to hot-water showers.

Usually impeccably dressed, the mayor addressed the media while wearing blue jeans, a warm-up jacket and a Basketball Hall of Fame ballcap pulled down over his hair. He also had signs of a three-day beard.

“I’m patient, I can work with people but for two days I’ve been hearing trucks are on the way,” he said. “This is unacceptable.”

The response to this storm has been far inferior to the utility’s response to other major outages, including most recently the June 1 tornado, Sarno said.

Sandra Ahearn, spokeswoman for WMECO, said the company has been trying its best to restore power but the damage has been extensive and wide-spread.

“The level of damage has been akin to the June 1 tornado all over the region,” she said. “It’s that pervasive.”

The company is working to restore power in 44 separate communities, she said.

“We have been balancing our responsibilities to serve our customers and make repairs as expeditiously and as safely as we can,” she said.

In the last two days, WMECO has restored power to 60,000 customers, she said, noting that fully half of them were in Springfield.

To restore power, crews have to work on main lines first and then the secondary lines, she said. “A lot of people in the neighborhoods may not necessarily see a truck on their street but that doesn’t mean the work is not being done.”

The company has four times the number of work crews it usually has out making
repairs. In the next day or so, that number is likely to jump to seven times, as crews arrive from as far away as Louisiana and Missouri.

Easthampton Mayor Michael Tautznik said Easthampton, like Springfield, has significant sections without electricity. The town suffered a 100-percent outage from Saturday night until some sections were restored Monday evening.

Tautznik said WMECO crews have been in town and are working. He said he was not prepared to say if he thought they were working quickly enough.

Told of Sarno’s charges, Tautznik said it is not his inclination to criticize WMECO until after all the repairs are made and the scope of the damage and the causes are better known.

In Ludlow, Selectmen Chairman Aaron Saunders shared Sarno’s frustrations about the length of time needed for full power restoration.

“Of course we would all like to be first to have our power restored,” he said.

He said rather than WMECO paying for many more crews and passing the charge on to the customer, a better solution might be to start burying more power lines to prevent an outage on such a scale.

Special permits are required for drive-through restaurants.

Associated Press

LUDLOW - The Planning Board has continued until Dec. 29 a public hearing on a proposal by McDonald’s USA to raze the existing McDonald’s restaurant at 420 Center Street and replace it with a modernized building.

John Kusek of Bohler Engineering which was representing McDonald’s at a Thursday public hearing said the new building will be a more state of the art modern building and will take up less space on the existing lot.

It will allow for the installation of a two-lane drive-through which will help to keep traffic moving if one customer is placing a large order, he said.

“Seventy percent of our business is drive through business,” Kusek told the Planning Board.

The new building also will allow for more parking spaces on the site, he said.

Edgar Minnie who owns commercial property at 430 Center Street told the Planning Board he would like to see a curb cut placed between his property and McDonald’s to improve traffic flow by cars exiting from his businesses.

Cars exiting from his businesses could then use the traffic light which McDonald’s put in on Center Street 30 years ago, he said.

Planning Board Chairman Christopher Coelho said he would like to see Minnie and McDonald’s work out whether a curb cut will be provided between the two businesses.

Curb cuts have been provided between other commercial businesses off Center Street to ease the flow of traffic. There are curb cuts between a Dunkin Donuts, Subway and Friendly’s off Center Street, Coelho said.

The Planning Board debated whether to require McDonald’s to pay for a new traffic study of the amount of traffic exiting McDonald’s onto Center Street, but voted 4 to 1 against requiring the traffic study.

The Planning Board must issue a special permit for the project.

The public hearing was continued until Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall.

Because of the Christmas holiday, the hearing could be postponed to a later date in January, Coelho said.

Western Massachusetts Electric Co. is reporting that more than 76,000 of its customers are without electricity.

An updated version of this story is now available at MassLive.

BOSTON — The state's electric utilities say they are making progress but more than 220,000 homes and businesses remain without power after last weekend's nor'easter.

National Grid reports early Wednesday that more than 136,000 of its customers are still in the dark. Chelmsford, Westford, Worcester and Northbridge are among the communities with the highest percentage of outages.

Western Massachusetts Electric Co. is reporting that more than 76,000 of its customers are without electricity, with Agawam, Longmeadow and Ludlow among the hardest hit.

NStar says just 8,200 of its customers don't have power.

At the height of the weekend storm that dropped more than two feet of snow on some parts of the state, more than 670,000 customers were without power.

WMECo's latest estimates for power resoration in Western Massachusetts.

Westfield, 11/01/11, Staff Photo by John Suchocki - Working for their neighbor and their advancment in rankto Star in Boy Scout Troop 109 by doing community service were Dominic A. Fatttorini age 14 (left) and Bradley R. Alvord age 13. They were clearing tree limbs for Red Fisher on Hillside Dr.

Here are WMECo's latest estimates for power resoration in Western Massachusetts, as of Wednesday at 8 AM, courtesy of WMECo's Facebook page:

Estimates from other companies:
CL&P
National Grid

For other updates, follow our ongoing live blog.

UPDATE: See the updated list of WMECo estimates from Thursday morning »

TOWN 99% RESTORATION ESTIMATE

AGAWAM -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
AMHERST -- Thursday 11/3, 6PM
ASHFIELD -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
BERNARDSTON -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
BLANDFORD -- Tuesday 11/1, 6PM
BUCKLAND -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
CHESTER -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
CHESTERFIELD -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
COLRAIN -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
CONWAY -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
DEERFIELD -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
EASTHAMPTON -- Friday 11/4, 6PM
ERVING -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
GILL -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
GRANVILLE -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
GREENFIELD -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
HADLEY -- Thursday 11/3, 6PM
HATFIELD -- Thursday 11/3, 6PM
HUNTINGTON -- Thursday 11/3, 6PM
LEVERETT -- Wednesday 11/2, 6PM
LEYDEN -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
LONGMEADOW -- Saturday 11/5, 11PM
LUDLOW -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
MONTAGUE -- Thursday 11/3, 12 PM
MONTGOMERY -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
NORTHFIELD -- Thursday 11/3, 12 PM
PELHAM -- Thursday 11/4, 12PM
PLAINFIELD -- Friday 11/4, 6PM
RUSSELL -- Wednesday 11/2, 12PM
SHELBURNE -- Thursday 11/3, 12 PM
SHUTESBURY -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
SOUTHAMPTON -- Thursday 11/3, 12 PM
SOUTHWICK -- Friday 11/4, 6PM
SPRINGFIELD -- Saturday 11/5, 12PM
SUNDERLAND -- Thursday 11/3, 11PM
WEST SPRINGFIELD -- Friday 11/4, 11PM
WESTHAMPTON -- Friday 11/4, 12PM
WHATELY -- Friday 11/4, 12PM
WORTHINGTON -- Friday 11/4, 12PM

"Depending on where you live in Western Massachusetts, this could be your fourth major outage event this year," said Massachusetts Environment and Energy Secretary Richard Sullivan.

SPRINGFIELD – Officials are getting heated over continued widespread power outages five days after a crippling snowstorm left hundreds of thousands shivering in the cold and dark.

“I realize it was an historic storm ... that there was a tremendous amount of damage, especially in central and Western Massachusetts – but it’s been days now,” said Gov. Deval Patrick in a briefing with reporters.

“The utilities are going to have to step up,” he said.

Patrick is at the head of a growing list of public officials criticizing power companies for the amount of time needed so far to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people and businesses statewide.

As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, more than 189,000 total customers remained off line, down from a peak of 700,000 on Saturday.

Western Massachusetts Electric Co. was reporting 74,000 remaining outages, roughly 1 in 3 customers in the Pioneer Valley. It has restored service to 76,000 customers.

The National Grid was reporting 115,600 customers still out, including 19,000 in Hampden County, 1,800 in Hampshire County and 1,700 in Franklin County.

Projected restoration times vary from community to community, but some are not expected back on line until as late as Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Attorney General Martha M. Coakley said her office is reviewing how utility companies manage their resources even when a storm is not coming, and what persistent problems need to be corrected.

“I think it’s an important time for us with the (Department of Public Utilities) to say ‘Where are you marshaling your resources?’ Not just the short-term preparation for this storm,” Coakley said at a breakfast event hosted by the public relations firm Denterlein.

Massachusetts Environment and Energy Secretary Richard Sullivan, having toured parts of Western Massachusetts, said the inability of the utility companies to maintain their systems in times of extreme weather will be a hot topic of conversation in Boston for the next several months.

“Clearly there is a growing frustration. I share that frustration and the governor was pretty clear today he is frustrated too,” he said.

Richard Sullivan

Find the news from your town and more.

A tree rests against this house on Park Drive in Longmeadow following the weekend storm. Photo by Mark M. Murray/The Republican

Top Stories:

• Union: Western Massachusetts Electric Co. has too few line crews

• Officials show impatience with utility companies

• Gov. Deval Patrick urges utilities to speed up work in restoring electricity

• Martha Coakley calls for state review of how utilities manage resources

• Linemen working to restore power for WMECO after snowstorm being fed and housed at the Big E

• Western Massachusetts keeps a nose out for bad food

• Live updates: October snowstorm continues Thursday

• Photo gallery: Day 5 of the October snowstorm aftermath

Tree and utility crews gather at the Eastern States Exposition's Better Living Center for a dinner and a place to sleep while working on storm restoration on Wednesday evening. Photo by Dave Roback/The Republican

Western Mass. town reports:
(Ask a question about your town in our live updates)

• Belchertown: Belchertown schools closed all week; water available at Town Hall

• East Longmeadow: East Longmeadow shelter remains open, schools remain closed

• Easthampton: 25% of Easthampton reported still without power

• Holyoke: Holyoke lurching toward normal, but hundreds still without power

• Longmeadow: Fireplaces, wood stoves linked to 4 Longmeadow house fires

• Monson: Monson schools closed for rest of week

• Northampton: Northampton officials say power restored to 96% of households

• Palmer: Palmer schools to be closed all week

• Springfield: Work crews expanding in Springfield to restore power, open roads

• Ware: Most of Ware still without power; shelter open at high school

• West Springfield: Half of West Springfield still reported without power

• Westfield: Westfield power restoration may not be complete until weekend

Connecticut:

• Snowstorm-related power outages in Connecticut drop below 500,000

• Amid ongoing snowstorm relief, Red Cross workers in Connecticut strike

Fatalities:

• Unvented space heaters to blame for at least 3 Western Massachusetts deaths

• Palmer police identify man and woman killed due to carbon monoxide poisoning

• Enfield woman dies of carbon monoxide poisoning as death toll in Connecticut rises

James DiBernardo of Western Massachusetts Electic Company and Local 455 IBEW, right is served dinner at the Better Living Center on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield by Robert Zonghi of Fireflies Catering. Tree and utility crews were able to have a meal and a place to stay at the Big E. Photo by Dave Roback/The Republican

Resources:

• Red Cross opens emergency shelter at Longmeadow High School after Chicopee High shelter closes

• Power restoration estimates from WMECo

• Power restoration estimates from National Grid

• Power restoration estimates for CL&P

• Live updates from town officials and utility companies continue Thursday

11/02/11-West Springfield-Staff Photo by Dave Roback- James DiBernardo of Western Massachusetts Electic Company and Local 455 IBEW, right is served dinner at the Better Living Center on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield by Robert Zonghi of Fireflies Catering. Tree and utility crews were able to have a meal and a place to stay at the Big E.

Western Massachusetts Electric Company announced Thursday it had restored service to 100,000 customers in Western Massachusetts and was confident it would have the remaining 63,000 on line before Saturday.

View full size Longmeadow - Republican staff photo by Don Treeger- Utility crews work on a pole on Williams st. in Longmeadow.

SPRINGFIELD – Electric company officials said Thursday that nearly all of the remaining 126,000 customers across Massachusetts who have been without electricity for six days should have service restored some time today.

Officials with Western Massachusetts Electric Co. and the National Grid each said crews are making strides to restore service and many communities may be back online by midnight Thursday.

The outage, the result of a freak October snowstorm that began Saturday, knocked out power to as many as 700,000 customers across the state.

Thousands of trees and limbs were brought down onto electrical wires, causing widespread outages and bringing entire communities into total darkness in some cases.

National Grid was reporting that as of 7 p.m. Thursday, it had just over 66,000 customers in the dark, including 27,000 in the Pioneer Valley. By county, that works out to 18,100 in Hampden, 8,200 in Hampshire, and 540 in Franklin. The community with the largest concentration of outages was in Belchertown, where close to 5,200 customers, or close to 80 percent of the town, were still without power

Western Massachusetts Electric Company announced Thursday it had restored service to 100,000 customers in Western Massachusetts and was confident it would have the remaining 63,000 on line before Saturday.

Most customers in Greenfield, Hadley and the Springfield area are expected to have restored service overnight Thursday.

There are some sections in each community that were hardest hit which may take a little longer, possibly during the day Friday or sometime Saturday.

WMECO has 400 total crews out continually making repairs.

“Our first task was to rebuild parts of our system that suffered significant damage,” said Peter J. Clarke, WMECO president and chief operating officer. “We’ve completed restoration to the majority of our main lines, and continue to deploy to the neighborhoods to restore service to our customers, street by street.”

WMECO spokeswoman Sandra Ahearn said the company anticipates main lines in the
Springfield area would be able to be energized sometime Thursday, which would clear the way to address secondary lines leading to various neighborhoods.

“We continue to make steady progress,” Ahearn said. “Crews are working the side streets and in the neighborhoods.”

Longmeadow- Republican staff photo by Don Treeger- A utility crew from Indiana arrives on Emerson road in Longmeadow to begin repairs of a broken pole.

Connecticut Light & Power is reporting 378,000 customers are still without power across the state but is projecting most will be restored by Sunday night.

Among affected communities are Enfield with 12,600 customers, or 66 percent, still effected, 3,400 or 69 percent of Granby, 2,700 or 70 percent in Somers, and 5,100 or 85 percent in Suffield.

As the restoration in Western Massachusetts continued throughout the week, more complaints were lodged Thursday against the utility companies preparations for the storm and for their progress in making repairs.

Gov. Deval Patrick on Thursday said he planned to speak with the heads of WMECO and National Grid in a conference call that afternoon.

Prior to the call, he told reporters the two utilities did not appear to be keeping up with the needs of the several thousands of people still affected by the outage.

“(National) Grid and Western Massachusetts Electric are not keeping the pace they were in the first 48 hours,” he said. “People are getting frustrated and losing their patience and so am I.”
Also on Thursday, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno followed up on his promise to ask Attorney General Martha Coakley for an investigation of WMECO’s handling of the restoration in the city of Springfield.

Sarno as early as Wednesday publicly faulted the utility for not devoting enough resources to Springfield, the region’s largest city and home to the single largest concentration of affected customers.

In his letter to Coakley, Sarno writes, “I am requesting that the Office of the Attorney General utilize its oversight authority relative to electric utilities to assure that WMECO deploys sufficient resources for the restoration of power the residents of Springfield, whose residents are in dire straits with prolonged outage.”

In addition to the investigation, Sarno asked Coakley to use her office to assure the city would see expedited resources from WMECO for any “future events this winter.”

As of Thursday evening, some 28,000 customers remained without power, roughly 44 percent of the total customers.

In Longmeadow, Western Massachusetts Electric Co. representatives will meet with residents at 2 p.m. today at Longmeadow High School to discuss the power outage situation, said Select Board Chairman Mark P. Gold.

Agawam Mayor Richard A. Cohen on Thursday sent a letter to WMECO president Peter Clarke, expressing his frustration with the pace of restoration so far.

Agawam as of 7 p.m. Thursday still had 12,800 customers out, roughly 32 percent.

Cohen said he also asked that the company do more to improve lines of communication with the town before there is another prolonged outage.

“It makes me angry the residents of Agawam had had to suffer because of their poor planning,” he said.

Clarke said he could understand the frustration of elected officials, but the company is doing all it can.

“I understand the worst thing that can happen to a politician is to have an event like this a week before an election,” he said.

Crews are focusing on West Springfield and Agawam and working there continually. The two communities were among the hardest hit, he said. “We are in every town trying to meet the needs of all our customers,” Clarke said.

Damage from the storm was extensive across a wide-spread area.

View full size11-3-11 - Agawam - Republican staff photo by Don Treeger- Anthony Hall of Agawam moves wood from a pile at a friend's house on Poinsettia Dr. as he tries to find his cellphone that he lost in the pile last night while helping his friend with storm clean-up.

Even so, in the first two days, WMECO crews restored power to 60,000 customers, a record amount. The previous mark was 52,000 restorations in the two days following a major wind storm in May 2010.

“We really do understand how difficult this has been for our customers and we appreciate their continued patience,” Ahearn said.

Ahearn described the storm as an “act of nature,” and said there will be no reimbursement for spoiled food.

National Grid spokesman Stephen Brady said the company also does not reimburse for spoiled food in such cases. “That’s a fairly standard industry practice,” Brady said, adding that people should check with their homeowners insurance providers to see if they are eligible for reimbursement.

The following are community updates.

Agawam

In Agawam, about 50 people spent Wednesday night sleeping on cots at the Senior Center, which has been open round the clock as a warming shelter because it has a generator. Public school are scheduled to reopen Monday.

Mayor Richard A. Cohen said the city continues to collect tree limbs and other debris from the storm if the waste is placed along the tree belt.

Amherst

Amherst Town Manager John P. Musante reported Thursday afternoon that about 20 percent of the town was still without power but he expected it to be restored to most by evening. Schools will remain closed on Friday.

People without power are asked to call (413) 259-3051 or email outage@amherstma.gov to be placed on the list the town will forward to WMECO.

Belchertown

Belchertown Town Administrator Gary L. Brougham said 98 percent of the town was without electricity immediately following the storm. He hopes there at least 5,000 customers back on by the end of Thursday, which would leave 2,000 customers without power.

Brougham said school will resume on Monday and officials need to get the school ready for the students. Updates are being provided on the town’s website, www.belchertown.org.

Chicopee

All but about 500 homes have power restored, and Chicopee Electric Light and Power is now repairing problems at individual homes, Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said.

The city plans a massive cleanup effort starting Friday. A private contractor has been hired to remove brush left on the curb and residents will be allowed to bring an unlimited amount of brush to the landfill, he said. Schools are scheduled to re-open Monday.

East Longmeadow

Power is expected to be restored to most homes in East Longmeadow by midnight Friday, said Board of Selectmen member Enrico J. Villamaino. He said the shelter established Sunday at Birchland Park Middle School will close Friday after breakfast.

The Department of Public Works is asking residents with transfer station stickers to bring the debris from their homes to the transfer station on Somers Road. The station will be open Wednesdays and Friday through Saturday starting today, officials said.

The town will also be picking up debris from the tree belt.

Easthampton

Nearly a quarter of the homes in Easthampton were still without power by mid-afternoon on Thursday, but Mayor Michael Tautznik was hopeful that work crews would reduce that number by the end of the day. Tautznik said schools would be in session Friday.

Tautznik said the Public Safety Complex would remain available to the public as a warming center and place to charge cell phones.

Hampden

National Grid spokesman Stephen Brady said the “vast majority” of the customers here should have their power restored by Thursday night. Brady said customers with damage to their home service, not the service line but the parts that are attached to the house, may take longer to get power restored. That’s because an electrician is required to do that work.

Holyoke

Fewer than 50 homes scattered around Holyoke remained without electricity as of Thursday afternoon. Those residents will need to work with the Holyoke Gas and Electric Department or find an electrician to repair damage to their homes, such as if downed wires ripped off part of their houses, Holyoke Mayor Elaine A. Pluta said.
The city will begin curbside collection of fallen trees and branches next week, she said.

Longmeadow

In Longmeadow more than 50 percent of residents were still without power Thursday. The town will host a public meeting with Western Massachusetts Electric Co. Friday at 2 p.m. at Longmeadow High School to discuss the delay.

Ludlow

WMECO was reporting Thursday that 50 percent of Ludlow residents were without power. Selectmen Chairman Aaron Saunders said police have been doing hundreds of wellness checks on elderly residents in town.

Monson

In Monson, 56 percent of the town is without power, according to Selectman Edward A. Maia, who said he was told that all the main lines should be back by Thursday night.

School Superintendent Patrice L. Dardenne said he will know on Friday afternoon about the status of school for Monday. Granite Valley Middle School was still without electricity Thursday, and Quarry Hill Community School on Margaret Street is being used as an emergency shelter.

Liz Manley, who is running the shelter for Monson, said they plan to offer supper Friday night, and will remain open at least until 8 p.m. She said they have had people from other towns, such as Wales and Wilbraham, stay at the shelter as well.

Northampton

All but about 6,000 National Grid customers in Northampton had power by mid-afternoon on Thursday and acting Mayor David J. Narkewicz was hopeful that the rest of the city would be on line by the end of the night. Narkewicz said 35 crews were working on the problem. All schools, including Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, are scheduled to open on Friday.

Palmer

About 40 percent of Palmer is still without electricity, according to officials. Administrative Assistant Andrew Golas said he was told by National Grid that 99 percent of the power should be restored by the end of the weekend.

Police Chief Robert P. Frydryk said people should place vegetative debris on the tree belt for pickup, not on the sidewalk or roadway. The town is contracting with a vendor for debris pickup. The leaf pit on Old Warren Road will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday if people want to drop off the debris themselves, he said.

The shelter at Converse Middle School will remain open for as long as there is a need, Frydryk said.

South Hadley

Power has been restored to over 90 percent of the town, South Hadley Electric Light Manager Wayne Doerpholz said Thursday morning.

Southwick

Schools in the Southwick-Tolland Regional School District, including Granville Village School, are expected to reopen Monday.

Estimates on power restoration in Southwick was 60 to 70 percent complete late Thursday.

Springfield

Springfield was continuing to operate its shelter at Central High School on Thursday. Hundreds were taking shelter there and receiving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Helen R. Caulton-Harris, the city’s director of health and human service, said she anticipates that the shelter will close on Saturday.

On Thursday morning, 41 percent of the city, about 23,000 customers, continued to be without power in Springfield. Power line crews and tree crews were expanding, according to city officials and Western Massachusetts Electric Co.

The Salvation Army is providing services including mobile feeding vans at: the Van Sickle Middle School parking lot, 1170 Carew St.; the Kiley Middle School parking lot, 180 Cooley Street; and the John F. Kennedy Middle School parking lot, 1385 Berkshire Ave., with lunches from noon to 1:30 p.m., and dinners from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The Springfield Housing Authority has been operating warming centers and providing meals, particularly to its residents in elderly housing. The authority has been assisted by the American Red Cross of Springfield, Greater Springfield Senior Services and the city’s Department of Elder Affairs.

The warming centers have been provided at the John L. Sullivan Apartments, the Jennie Lane Apartments, the Forest Park Manor and Morris School II Apartments, with generators providing heat. They have also provided emergency meals at the warming centers.

Ware

Schools are closed through Friday, as 50 percent of Ware is still without electricity. Karen M. Cullen, the town’s public information officer, said the shelter at the high school will remain open until 8 a.m. Friday. It is not yet known if school will be open on Monday.

She said the town is focusing on power restoration, and will have information about a debris collection site at a later date. Ware also is posting storm-related information on its website at www.townofware.com.

West Springfield

West Springfield Mayor Edward J. Gibson reported late Thursday afternoon about 48 percent of the city was still without electricity. “The phones are ringing off the hook. People are getting frustrated and ticked off,” Gibson said. Classes in West Springfield public will return Monday. The mayor said he has been told by the utility that power should be restored to 99 percent of the city by noon Saturday.

Thirty-four people spent Wednesday night at the West Springfield Senior. The center has been acting as a warming center and shelter during the crisis.

Westfield

Westfield’s Gas and Electric Department was nearing 100 percent completion in efforts to restore electricity to its 19,000 customers late Thursday, spokesman Sean P. Fitzgerald said. “We expect to have electrical power on every city street by Friday afternoon,” he said. Some homes, an estimated 600, where service lines from the street were downed by limbs and trees, still may not see power restored until Saturday, officials said. Homeowners are responsible for home damage and/or damage to electrical service beyond the meter.

Residents were urged Thursday to deposit downed limbs and brush on tree belts. The Department of Public Works will collect the brush and limbs, Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said. Also, the city’s transfer station on Twiss Street will open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday for residents to bring brush for disposal. Identification will be required.

Wilbraham

Wilbraham Selectmen Chairman Patrick J. Brady said that as of Thursday only 42
percent of residents had power. “Our projections are that we won’t be at 90 percent until sometime Saturday,” Brady said. Those who need a place to stay are invited to go to the Hampden Senior Center which has cots and has been serving meals. The Scantic Valley YMCA also is making showers available for Wilbraham residents.

School is canceled through this week and Saturday SATs are canceled, Brady said.

The Disposal and Recycling Center on Boston Road will be open to residents (no DRC sticker is required) for brush disposal Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Only vegetative debris from the town’s right of way will be removed. Debris from private property will not be picked up in the tree belt. The town hopes to start picking up vegetative debris on the town’s right of way from public streets beginning next week. There will be only one pass per street for pickup