Tyler P. Boczon will be arraigned Wednesday on the charges in Palmer District Court.

LUDLOW – Thanks to an alert resident who got up at 3 a.m. to get a glass of water and looked out her window, police caught a 17-year-old breaking into her neighbor’s car Saturday.

Sgt. Daniel J. Valadas said Tyler P. Boczon of 10 Wedgewood Drive was charged with two felony counts of breaking into a motor vehicle in the nighttime, as well as resisting arrest. Boczon, who was released on bail, will be arraigned Wednesday on the charges in Palmer District Court.

Valadas said Boczon was caught breaking into a car on Haswell Circle. He said the neighbor saw a young man in her neighbor’s car and called police. Boczon ran from police, Valadas said.

Valadas said police are investigating to see if Boczon was involved with other motor vehicle break-ins in the area. He said the west side of town, in the area of Cady and Holyoke streets, has been plagued by motor vehicle break-ins, with approximately 50 since the spring.

Construction could start in the fall of 2011.

LUDLOW – The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded a HAPHousing capital grant of $4,439,300 and rental subsidies totaling $434,100 to convert the Stevens Memorial Building on Chestnut Street into affordable rental housing for seniors.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, announced the federal grant Friday morning for 28 units of affordable senior rental housing.

Selectmen Chairman William E. Rooney said the Board of Selectmen put out a request for proposals for redevelopment of the Stevens Memorial Building, and HAP was one of the agencies which responded.

State legislators, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and HUD worked together on this, Rooney said.

“It is good when different branches of government work together for the benefit of seniors,” he added.

The HUD funds will cover much of the development cost and HAPHousing will be applying to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development for additional financing.

The HUD rental subsidies ensure that residents will pay an affordable rent based on their income.

Construction could start in the fall of 2011 at the earliest.

Plans for redevelopment of the building include adding a floor within the existing envelope of the building, increasing the building to 31,680-square-feet on four levels and creating 27 one-bedroom apartments and one studio apartment.

Rooney said the building which will be renovated has played a crucial historical role in the town.

Located in the center of town at 12 Chestnut St., the three-story 23,760-square- foot building was built in 1905 as a recreation facility for employees of the Ludlow Mills. The building was sold to the town in 1949 and served as the Boys & Girls Club for 53 years, until a new Boys & Girls Club was built. The building has been vacant since 2001. HAPHousing was named preferred developer in January 2008.

Rooney said the building is advantageously located across the street from the Ludlow Senior Center which offers services to seniors including outreach, information and referral, recreational activities, computer classes, meals, transportation and health screening.

HAPHousing will retain the existing brick facade of the building and will add an elevator and ramping, making all units and common spaces accessible.

The building will include multiple green features to foster energy efficiency.

The Putts Bridge in Ludlow will be closed from 7 p.m. Tuesday until 5 a.m. Wednesday as part of an ongoing restoration project at the bridge, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced.

View Putts Bridge, Ludlow, Ma in a larger map

LUDLOW - The Putts Bridge in Ludlow will be closed from 7 p.m. Tuesday until 5 a.m. Wednesday as part of an ongoing restoration project at the bridge, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced.

The contractor on the project needs to close it to traffic to remove the barriers and temporary traffic markings, and install permanent markings.

Structural steel repairs to the truss section of the Putts Bridge that required a lane to be taken in order to remove live loads from above the areas being repaired will be completed by the end of this week. Work on the structural steel repairs to the truss section will continue below on the work platform for another one to two weeks.

The bridge on Route 21 connects Ludlow and the Indian Orchard section of Springfield.

A recent Vatican ruling confirming closures of 10 Boston-area churches has Immaculate Conception parishioners worried.

The Republican / Dave RobackGreg Warszt, of Ludlow, a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Church in Springfield, heads for the raffle tent Friday with baskets to be raffled Sunday during the church's Dozynki Festival.

SPRINGFIELD - As giant bounce houses were inflated and 30,000 pierogis were set to boil in preparation for the 30th annual Dozynki Festival, the pastor was in the rectory Friday tallying up baptisms, weddings and funerals.

“I’m not sure whether or not the month of June is going to make a difference,” said the Rev. Dariusz P. Wudarski, of Immaculate Conception Church, a largely Polish parish in Indian Orchard. “I don’t know if it’s any different than the month of May or April.”

The figures are part of monthly statements Wudarski sends to the Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell, since the leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in November delayed the closing of the parish for six months. It had been among more than a dozen local churches slated to be shuttered amid fiscal belt-tightening for the diocese, which extends from here to Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties.

But a particularly vocal push-back by parishioners won them a stay until June 30, a deadline that has obviously come and gone. Wudarski said he received a personal letter from McDonnell on June 29.

“With the arrival of the end of the fiscal year, the time has come for a final analysis of what has happened over the past several months in Immaculate Conception Parish,” the letter begins, according to Wudarski, who read it to a reporter.

McDonnell said he will make a final decision by the end of July. A recent ruling by the Vatican’s highest court, however, has ratcheted up the anxiety level for Wudarski and his parishioners.

Ten Boston-area churches appealed their closures to Rome and learned in May that they had been denied, but written rulings supporting the decision were not issued until July 10. The translated decisions essentially said that dioceses are justified in closing even fiscally sound parishes if it suits the greater good of the flock.

“What is to be judged in deliberation is not only the condition of the parish to be considered, in truth also the entire diocesan salvation of souls is to be provided for, to be accomplished by the best possible means,” the ruling said.

Wudarski believes the ruling leaves “an awful lot of doors open” for the church hierarchy, though he is reluctant to speculate how it may affect his own parish.

View full sizeThe Republican / Dave RobackRichie Stanley, 6, of Monson, has fun with Silly String at the Dozynki Festival at Immaculate Conception Church.

“I am not at ease with this,” he said simply. Of the congregants laboring outside in the oppressive heat to set up for the annual Polish-American festival, he said they are optimistic. “This is an immigrant population, many of whom fought against Communism ... They have the mentality to challenge authority.”

A spokesman for the diocese said 11 other local churches have appealed their closures, but declined to provide an updated list.

Church officials said the ruling is consistent with the rationale it has been offering to parishioners since announcing parish closures and mergers in the winter.

“This is Rome acknowledging that we are all one piece ... and that parishes can be modified irrespective of what their financial situation is,” said Msgr. John J. Bonzagni, director of pastoral planning for the Springfield diocese. “The rulings are saying what we and other dioceses have been saying all along, that dioceses have a need to take a healthy look at the entire diocese and stabilize their future.”

Officials attributed the closures to shrinking revenues, plummeting numbers of Catholics over several decades and shifting populations. They were careful to note at the outset that churches targeted had more to do with geography, and clusters of churches in certain areas, than financial health.

However, McDonnell challenged the Immaculate Conception parish to boost its congregation and revenues when he attended a morning Mass in November.

Kelly A. Tracy, of Ludlow, a longtime parishioner whose great-grandparents helped build the church more than a century ago, said the church has picked up around 60 new members and weekly collections are up about 33 percent.

“This church is a lot of things to a lot of people,” she said, adding that she is unbothered by the Vatican ruling.

While Wudarski confirmed weekly collections are about $26,500 greater than they were this time last year, he worries nonetheless.

“Is that enough? I don’t know ... We will wait and see what happens,” he said.

Diocesan officials would not comment on the future of the parish.

The Republican file photo / Mark M. MurrayImmaculate Conception Church on Parker Street in Indian Orchard section of Springfield.

The convoy raises money for the Ronald McDonald House and offers children at local hospitals and their families a little fun.

The Convoy for Kids through Chicopee, Ludlow and Palmer raises money for the Ronald McDonald House.

CHICOPEE - A convoy that joins trucks, motorcycles and disabled children will run through the streets of Chicopee, Ludlow and Palmer for the 14th time this weekend.

The Convoy for Kids not only raises money for the Ronald McDonald House, it also offers children being treated at local hospitals and their families a little fun, Jennifer M. Putnam, executive director of the House on Chapin Terrace.

“One of the best things is they include our kids and our families. They let our kids ride in the trucks, and they have a big barbecue with entertainment,” she said.

The Convoy of Kids was started by now-retired truck driver Donald J. Basile, who got the idea from a country and western song. He is disabled by a stroke so now it is organized by his wife Donna O. Basile and daughter Dawn M. Basile, both of Ludlow.

Its first year the ride donated funds to a different charity, but organizers decided they wanted to support the local Ronald McDonald House, Donna Basile said.

Children who are staying at the house are invited and brought to the start of the route on a bus. Those who want to can ride in a truck with their parent, she said.

This year the event will be held Sunday. Trucks and motorcycles will begin registering at 8 a.m. on First Avenue in Chicopee. The convoy will leave at 11 a.m., she said.

People can also register by e-mailing Basile at convoyforkids@charter.net. Because most just show up, Basile said she never knows how long the convoy will be.

“I’m guessing we will have at least 100 trucks. I figure we will have 40 motorcycles, maybe more,” she said.

Truck drivers pay $35 and motorcycles are charged $20. Raffles at the picnic help defray the cost of food for the free lunch, Basile said.

This is the third year the convoy will include motorcycles. The addition came at the request of riders who wanted to participate, she said.

The route this year has changed some because of construction. It will start in Chicopee on First Avenue and turn onto Fuller Road. It will travel through Ludlow and pick up Route 20, ending at the Crossroads Sports House on Route 20 for the picnic, Basile said.

The convoy typically raises between $2,000 and $3,000 and is given to the Ronald McDonald House with no spending requirements, she said.

“We try to use it for the families on various things they might need during their stay,” Putnam said.

In the past the money was used to help renovate and furnish two new rooms that were added to the house. It can also be used for food or other supplies, she said.

The incident marked the third time that the suspect violated a restraining order, police said.

Ludlow Police Dept.Richard E. Callahan

LUDLOW – Police believe that a 37-year-old Agawam man who made a spate of threatening phone calls to his estranged wife yesterday, dialed some of them, unbeknownst to her, from an upstairs closet in her Duke Street home.

The suspect, who got into the home by climbing up a lower section and removing an air conditioner from a second floor window, jumped out at the woman and began to strangle her shortly before 10 p.m. when she went upstairs to get her children ready for bed, Sgt. Louis Tulik said.

Police were alerted to the ongoing incident when they received an open-ended 911 call that captured the sounds of an altercation between a man and a woman.

The suspect’s step-son, meanwhile, used his X-Box to text a message to his friend asking him to call police, Tulik said.

Police believe the suspect, Richard E. Callahan, of 63 South Westfield St. in Feeding Hills, had snuck into the home about 50 minutes before, Tulik said.

Tulik said Callahan was angry because the woman amended a restraining order earlier in the day which denied him contact with this 3-year-old son.

The spate of threatening calls began around 4 p.m. and the woman had taken extra steps to secure her home, Tulik said.

Callahan has been charged with violating that restraining order twice this month, Tulik said. On July 6 she encountered him in her driveway and he was charged with assault and battery after he twisted her arm.

Callahan was charged with violating the restraining order again last Friday when she saw him in the backyard peering in through a window, Tulik said.

At some point during Callahan’s struggle with his wife upstairs, she yelled to her 15-year-old to call police.

“At that point, he let her go and ran into (the 15-year-old’s) bedroom and took the cell phone,” Tulik said.

Callahan then ran into another bedroom and grabbed his 3-year-old son.

“The argument continued while he held the child in his arms,” Tulik said.

At that point, Tulik said, the 15-year-old used his X-Box to text his friend. Police, however, alerted by the initial 911 call, were already on the way.

The woman then ran down to the front door, opened it and screamed outside for somebody to call the police, Tulik said.

Callahan then grabbed her while holding his young son and pulled her back inside, Tulik said.

Callahan told the woman he would cut her throat in front of the children if the police were called, Tulik said.

The suspect opened a kitchen drawer where there was a large knife but he never took possession of it, Tulik said.

The woman then forcibly removed the 3-year-old from Callahan’s arms and he left the home.

Officers found Callahan attempting to climb a backyard fence and he was arrested after a brief struggle.

Tulik said Callahan was charged with:attempted murder, breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony, violation of a restraining order, stalking, resisting arrest, two counts of intimidating a witness and unarmed robbery.

He is slated to be arraigned Tuesday in Palmer District Court.

The woman suffered minor injuries but did not require hospitalization, Tulik said.

Superintendent Theresa Kane told selectmen Massachusetts' new anti-bullying legislation will result in "a tremendous need" for a school resource officer.

LUDLOW - The Board of Selectmen and the School Committee are trying to find a way to rehire the school resource officer.

The Police Department has applied for a three-year federal grant to hire an additional police officer and should learn if it receives the funds by Sept. 1.

Theresa M. Kane

If federal funding is not received for an additional police officer, Police Chief James J. McGowan has told town administrator Ellie Villano that his department will pay half the salary for a school resource officer.

The position was cut last year because of a lack of funds. Prior to that the position had been funded for 10 years.

The School Committee planned to meet to discuss whether it could fund half the position. To hire an additional patrolman will cost $41,000.

School Superintendent Theresa M. Kane told selectmen at their Tuesday night meeting that with the new anti-bullying legislation there will be “a tremendous need” for a school resource officer.

Kane said the legislation is going to require many investigations and follow up investigations of bullying complaints.

“We are not staffed for this,” Kane said, adding, “A school resource officer will help.”

Selectmen chairman William E. Rooney said he feels there is a need for a school resource officer. Like any community, Ludlow has drug issues in the community and in the schools, Rooney said.

Selectman Antonio Dos Santos said, “We should make this a priority. We are all the town of Ludlow. We need to find the funds.”

Kane said, “We do have very safe schools, and the police have always been right there for us.” She called the rehiring of a school resource officer “a preemptive action.”

Kane also said she would like to see officer Paul Dobek returned to the schools if funds become available. She said the School Department may not be able to fund any part of the position.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield announced parishioners donated $592,000 for relief.

submitted photoDr. Paul Gerstein, emergency department physician at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital in Ware, was one of the many area residents who volunteered to provide health care to victims of the January earthquake in Haiti

When death totals topped 250,000 and the national news showed people suffering in Haiti, Western Massachusetts residents took out their checkbooks and credit cards.

In six months, they donated more than $1.15 million to help victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti. Schools held fund-raisers, many gave at local supermarkets and donated through text message.

Officials for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield announced Friday parishioners donated a collective $592,000 to Haiti. Most of the total went to Catholic Relief Services, but some congregations sent about $75,000 to other organizations, spokesman Mark E. Dupont said.

“It was our largest one-time collection,” Dupont said. “I think for the Catholic community and the entire community, the images moved people as well as the fact that the country is already poor.”

The 2005 Hurricane Katrina came in at a close second with churches donating $585,000, he said.

The tragedy may have resonated with Catholics because some parishes had been involved with helping Haiti previously, Dupont said.

The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross recently received a report showing $408,477 was donated by Western Massachusetts residents. Not included was money given through a program that let people donate $10 through text message, Paige N. Thayer, deputy director of chapter support, said.

In total $468 million was raised nationally by the organization, she said.

“This is the biggest thing I’ve seen here,” Thayer said.

MassMutual Financial Group in Springfield donated more than $200,000. The company first gave $100,000 and then matched any employee contribution, spokeswoman Laura B. Demars said.

About half that money was given to the Red Cross and the other half was given to the Haiti chapter of Habitat for Humanity, she said.

Big Y donated $108,277 to the Red Cross from change customers dropped into store canisters. Big Y Chief Executive Officer Donald H. D’Amour and his wife, Michele, educational partnership administrator, donated another $10,000 to Hope for Haiti.

The tally of donations from Western Massachusetts is likely higher than the $1.15 million because residents donated to other organizations and gave anonymously.

“Everyone has been extremely generous. We raised a lot of money,” said Peter J. Kelly, a Wilbraham eye surgeon and president of the CRUDEM Foundation of Ludlow, which helps support the Sacred Heart Hospital in Milot, Haiti.

The hospital, which was undamaged in the earthquake, cared for hundreds of people who traveled 90 miles from the capital city of Port-au-Prince to find treatment.

It made national news and donations poured in from across the world as well as from Western Massachusetts.

“We raised more than $1 million and our costs were about $950,000,” Kelly said.

The foundation is still caring for about 150 patients, about half of whom are earthquake victims. It has also set up a prosthetic laboratory at the hospital and has fit 15 people with new limbs and has about 70 more waiting, Kelly said.

Because so many hospitals in Haiti have been destroyed, the organization started a campaign to raise money to build an addition to double the size of its 65-bed hospital. Now many patients are being cared for in tents, Kelly said.

It wasn’t just financial generosity that amazed Kelly. More than 1,500 doctors, nurses and physical therapists flew to Milot at their own expense to volunteer at the hospital. Many were from Western Massachusetts.

Kelly was one of those volunteers, as was retired orthopedic surgeon Mark H. Pohlman, of Longmeadow.

Pohlman was an organizer the First Church of Christ in Longmeadow which partnered with the CONASPEH School in Port-au-Prince and provided scholarships for children. The school was destroyed in the earthquake, killing many nursing students.

The First Church of Christ raised $30,000 for overall relief for Haiti.

It recently started a fund drive to raise money for scholarships for children who are attending the re-opened school. It is now teaching about 600 kindergarten through 12th-graders in tents until rebuilding can get under way. It will reopen its seminary and nursing program soon, he said.

Some parents want no peanut-based products served in the schools.

LUDLOW - The School Committee here is reconsidering its policy on food allergies.

School superintendent Theresa M. Kane says there are parents who want no peanut-based products to be served in the schools and other parents who do not want their children with peanut allergies to be required to sit at peanut-free tables.

Theresa M. Kane

“Some parents say their children will not be segregated in life, and others do not want there to be any risk,” Kane said.

School districts across Western Massachusetts have varying policies for how they deal with students with food allergies, but most do not prohibit all peanut-based products in the school.

In Chicopee, for example, cafeteria workers have photographs of all children with food allergies and are trained in what not to serve them, according to Joanne Lennon, director of food services for the Chicopee Public Schools.

Chicopee students with food allergies also have a medical record on file in the nurse’s office at their schools, and parents have the option to have their children sit at peanut free tables. There are EpiPens for the children with severe allergies, Lennon said.

In Ludlow, the School Committee plans to adopt a final policy at a meeting in August regarding how the system deals with the issue of life-threatening food allergies. The date for the meeting has not been set yet.

Kane said peanut products are not served in the cafeterias at either East Street School or Chapin Street School which the youngest children in the school district attend, but children are permitted to bring products with peanuts from home.

“Our attorney has advised us not to adopt a policy which states there will no peanut-based products in the schools because it may give parents a false sense of security,” she said.

She said there are some oils, for example, which are peanut based, and it is difficult to guarantee that all such products will be kept out of the schools.

The school district has peanut-free tables in the cafeteria, and it is up to parents whether they require their children to sit at them, Kane said.

Students with allergies have a medical plan on file with the nurse, and teachers and cafeteria workers are trained that students with food allergies are not to be served foods to which they are allergic.

Students with the most severe allergies have EpiPens so they can be injected with epinephrine if they go into anaphylactic shock.

In 2006, a 16-year-old Agawam boy collapsed and died after he ate a peanut butter-based cookie at a friend’s house.

Chicopee’s Lennon said peanut-butter sandwiches are served as an alternative to the main meal in school cafeterias there. She said many parents pack peanut butter sandwiches for their children.

“For many children it is a mainstay,” she said. “It is a vegetable based nutritious lunch.”

Besides peanut butter there are children allergic to bread and also tomatoes, Lennon said, and children who are allergic to milk.

Azell M. Cavaan, communications director for the Springfield Public Schools, said the city’s schools do not serve peanut-based products, although children can bring them from home.

Springfield Public Schools cafeterias have peanut-free zones which are an option for students. Students with severe allergies have an EpiPen and a detailed medical plan, Cavaan said.

Massachusetts' new anti-bullying law presents "a tremendous need" for the position, School Superitendent Theresa Kane said.

LUDLOW - A 5-0 vote by the School Committee to provide $20,000, about half the funds needed for a school resource officer position, appears to have cleared the way to restore the position this fall.

Police Chief James J. McGowan has also told town administrator Ellie Villano that his department will pay half the salary plus benefits for the position.

The School Committee can fund $20,000 from one-time federal stimulus funds, School Committee chairman James P. Harrington said. “We felt it was too important not to fund half the position,” Harrington said last week, noting that it’s rare for his committee to take a unanimous vote.

The Police Department, meanwhile, has applied for a three-year federal grant to hire an additional police officer and should learn if it receives the funds by Sept. 1.

If the federal grant is approved, the position will not have to be funded with both the School Department and Police Department funds, Harrington said.

School Superintendent Theresa M. Kane told the selectmen a week ago that the state’s new anti-bullying legislation presents “a tremendous need” for a school resource officer. The legislation requires investigations and follow-up of all bullying complaints.

“We’re not staffed for this,” Kane said.

Three of the cases involve alleged sex crimes in Springfield and Northampton.

NORTHAMPTON – Two cases involving alleged sex crimes in Hampshire County are among six that the state Appeals Court is scheduled to hear arguments in when it comes to town Thursday.

Appeals Court Judges Janis M. Berry, Frederick L. Brown and Joseph A. Trainor will preside over the session, which begins at 9:30 a.m. in Hampshire Superior Court.

One case involves Paul Robillard, convicted by a Hampshire Superior Court jury in 2008 on six counts of incest.

Robillard, 62, was sentenced to 10 to 12 years in state prison.

The alleged assaults took place in Granby in 1986 and 1987, but the victim didn’t come forward until 2007, according to prosecutors.

The statute of limitations for prosecuting such a case normally would be 10 years, but can be extended if the suspect lives outside Massachusetts.

The basis of the appeal is that the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence about where Robillard lived.

Another Hampshire county case is Kevin Sullivan, who is serving an indefinite sentence at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater, after being found to be a sexually dangerous person.

Sullivan has convictions for indecent assault and battery and for lewdness and disseminating matter harmful to minors after incidents in which he sunbathed naked and offered pornographic magazines to children at a park in Ware, according to court files.

Hampshire Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ford ruled in 2003 that Sullivan was sexually dangerous, meaning he could be held beyond his sentence for any period up to life. Sullivan petitioned unsuccessfully for his release. The appeal questions the constitutionality of his commitment.

Judges and staff usually make about six trips a year in an effort to sit in various parts of the state.

In a case from Springfield District Court, a former Springfield school teacher is seeking to have his conviction overturned.

James R. Houlihan, 44, a longtime school teacher, was convicted in September of 2007 of indecently assaulting a child, and sentenced to two years in the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow.

After he was found guilty of the one offense by a jury, the Springfield School Department fired Houlihan.

He was found guilty of one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, involving a female student.

In another appeal from a Springfield District Court case, Samuel Carabello is appealing his conviction for carrying a dangerous weapon and possession of cocaine. And Cornell Robbins is appealing his Hampden Superior Court conviction for possession of a firearm without a firearms identification card.

Callahan is charged on multiple counts, including attempted murder.

Ludlow Police Dept.Richard E. Callahan

PALMER - The hearing to determine if Richard E. Callahan, 37, of Agawam, is a danger and should continue to be held without right to bail was rescheduled from July 22 to Friday in Palmer District Court, according to Ludlow police.

Callahan was charged with attempted murder, breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony, violation of a restraining order, stalking, resisting arrest, two counts of intimidating a witness and unarmed robbery by Ludlow police in connection with an incident involving his estranged wife on July 19.

Ludlow firefighters were called to the pond around 11 a.m.

LUDLOW – Emergency personnel were searching for a potential drowning victim in Haviland Pond late Wednesday morning.


Abc40 reported that Ludlow firefighters were called to the pond around 11 a.m. and began searching for a victim.

The pond is off Center Street near the Massachusetts Turnpike. Police and fire officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

A 19-year-old man who disappeared underwater while swimming Wednesday morning in Haviland Pond was unconscious when he was found and carried to shore, Ludlow police said.

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An update of this story was posted at 7:20 p.m.

LUDLOW - A 19-year-old man who disappeared underwater while swimming Wednesday morning in Haviland Pond was unconscious when he was found and carried to shore, according to police.

The man, whose name was not released, was rushed by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center by paramedics with the Ludlow Fire Department.

His condition was not known.

Police said they were withholding all information until they could contact his family.

Police were called by lifeguards at the Center Street pond at 10:47 a.m. about a possible drowning.

The guards reported that the 19-year old, who was with two other swimmers, disappeared underwater as he tried to swim from the state boat ramp to a small island in the center of the pond.

Police and firefighters conducted a search and found him in the water. Police did not indicate how long he had been underwater.

The incident remains under investigation.

A 19-year-old man visiting the area from California drowned Wednesday morning in Haviland Pond, police said

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This is an update to a story that was first posted at 4:49 p.m. Wednesday

LUDLOW - A 19-year-old man visiting the area from California drowned Wednesday morning in Haviland Pond, police said.

The man, whose name was not yet disclosed, was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center, said Sgt. Daniel Valadas.

Police and firefighters found him underwater after searching the pond for several minutes. He was unconscious when he was carried to shore and placed on an ambulance.

Valadas said the man was from California who was visiting relatives in West Springfield.

Police were called by lifeguards at the Center Street pond at 10:47 a.m. about a possible drowning.

The guards reported that the 19-year old, who was with two other swimmers, disappeared underwater as he tried to swim from the state boat ramp to a small island in the center of the pond.

He was underwater for several minutes before he was found, police said.

The incident remains under investigation.

As a result of the accident, the Ludlow Board of Selectmen ordered the boat ramp and the adjacent beach at Haviland Pond closed until further notice. The pond is also off limits for swimming. Anyone caught there will be cited by police for trespassing, Valadas said.

The death is the third drowning in recent week involving an outdoor body of water.

Keith Rainville, 45, a homeless man, drowned July 18 while swimming in the Connecticut River.

One week earlier, Carlos S. Torres, 22, of 774 State St., Springfield drowned while swimming in Wilbraham’s Spec Pond.

During the Greater Springfield Reliability Project, as it is called, power is not scheduled not be interrupted.

Northeast Utilities is awaiting approval from Massachusetts regulators to begin an estimated $714 million project in Greater Springfield to upgrade roughly 39 miles of high-voltage power lines, considered a major weak link in the New England electric utility system.

It is feared the relatively low-capacity 115-kilovolt copper lines, which run from Ludlow to Bloomfield, Conn., may soon be insufficient to meet the growing power demand in the region. They will be replaced by 345-kilovolt steel and aluminum lines during the three-year project.

In March, Connecticut regulators approved the portion of the project in their state, said Frank J. Poirot, a spokesman for Northeast Utilities, the parent company for the Western Massachusetts Electric Co.

Massachusetts regulators are expected to make a decision in September, and if the three-year project is approved, it would begin later this year, he said.

“The transmission project strengthens the grid, but it also has regional benefits. Any weak link would have a negative impact in the entire New England system,” he said.

Just how much the work will increase customer rates locally is not yet known, since the cost will be shared in varying degrees by customers throughout the region, Poirot said.

“It may not even be dollar a month. But that impact won’t be known until the project is completed and we know what all the costs are,” he said.

During the Greater Springfield Reliability Project, as it is called, power will not be interrupted for area customers.

Peter J. Clarke, president and CEO of Western New England Electric Co. said that because the project will improve reliability of the region’s power grid, the cost will be borne by power customers across New England.

“We have a lot of great projects going on,” Clarke said during a meeting this week with The Republican’s Editorial Board.

There are nearly 350 power generating stations in New England connected by almost 8,000 miles of electric transmission lines. The power is shared throughout the six states using high-voltage lines, a distribution process overseen by ISO New England based in Holyoke.

ISO New England has identified four significant weak links in the New England system, including the Greater Springfield lines, that can cause bottlenecks in the flow of power across the region, primarily because of antiquated lines.

Clarke said one pinchpoint in particular is electric line that runs under the Connecticut River.

The upgrades will be made in rights-of-way running through Ludlow, Chicopee, West Springfield and Agawam in Massachusetts and Suffield, East Granby and Bloomfield in Connecticut.

In some locations the right-of-way may have to be widened slightly to accommodate larger transmission towers, in which case Northeast Utilities would negotiate with the landowners for those rights.

Business writer Jim Kinney contributed to this report.

Ludlow police on Thursday identified the 19-year-old man who drowned Wednesday while swimming at Haviland Pond as 19-year-old Ansar S. Shakirov.

LUDLOW - Police on Thursday identified the 19-year-old man who drowned Wednesday while swimming at Haviland Pond as 19-year-old Ansar S. Shakirov.

Shakirov, who was from California, was staying with relatives in West Springfield, police said.

According to police, he was swimming with two others at the pond Wednesday morning when he disappeared under water.

Lifeguards called police at 10:47 a.m., and police and firefighters began searching the pond. He was found unconscious after being underwater for several minutes, and was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

An investigation by Ludlow police and the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office determined the death was an accident.

Teen bands performed during the 11th annual Celebrate Ludlow Saturday.

Neil Hawley photoMembers of The Full Effect, performing at Celebrate Ludlow Saturday, are, Jeremy D. Eibeiro, front left, Alex M. LaFayette, front right, Andrew C. Luzio, back left, and Nicholas G. Nogueira, all of Ludlow.

LUDLOW – A year ago, The Conceited performed at Celebrate Ludlow with great success, so organizers invited three more bands of teenage musicians to play this year.

“I think it’s cool to support local musicians,” said Stephen P. Hensley, 16, a Ludlow High junior, who sings and plays guitar for The Conceited.

The four bands of teenagers Saturday joined a day-long line up of entertainment which included musicians, actors, tae kwon do presenters and a juggler. The evening ended with fireworks at the Fish and Game Club.

Celebrate Ludlow began 11 years ago when volunteers organized an event to celebrate the town’s birthday. It proved popular and the Celebrate Ludlow Committee decided to continue, said Elizabeth A. Rustic, a committee member from Ludlow.

One benefit is all 17 booths selling food were run by non-profit organizations such as Ludlow Hockey, the First Church and the Middle School Band and Chorus, she said.

“It is for the community by the community,” she said.

The about $18,000 needed for the event comes from donations from businesses and residents and the town budget, Rustic said.

Lisa M. Martin, of Ludlow, was the committee member who organized the entertainment. It was her idea to give teen bands an opportunity to perform for 20 minutes each.

The Evan Willard Band, which is made up of four students from different towns, played in public for the first time. When students signed up they didn’t have a name so Martin gave them one, choosing the drummer’s name, which was on the application.

“A couple of us have been playing for three years,” said Willard, 17, a senior at Minnechaug High School in Wilbraham. “We have all been practicing together for a couple of months.”

Hensley, 16, a Ludlow High junior, said his band performs nearly every week but had never played for so many people until The Conceited played Celebrate Ludlow.

“My only advice is you have to go with it no matter what. If someone makes a mistake, if someone breaks a string you have to keep going,” he said.

Exit 7, a community theater group in Ludlow, benefited twice from Celebrate Ludlow. They grilled hamburgers to raise money and also had an opportunity to perform.

Youths from their summer theater program sang. Then two of the 37 adult cast members who will put on “Jekyll & Hyde” for seven performances starting Oct. 29 gave the crowd a preview.

“We raise a little money and help with the entertainment. It works hand-in-hand,” said Peter R. Hamel, president of the board of directors for the Exit 7 Players.

The company serves 40,000 cable television customers in the Pioneer Valley.

Charter Communications Inc. has moved channels around its lineup because of plans to add more high-definition stations later this year.

The changes had no impact on cable-television prices, said Dennis P. Jerome, director of marketing for Charter in New England, by telephone from his office in Worcester. Prices for basic cable vary from municipality to municipality because of state regulations. The lineup changes went into effect Tuesday.

But the price of basic and expanded basic service together adds up to $60.99 a month in all the Massachusetts towns and cities Charter services, Jerome said.

All channels but one, MTV 2, will remain on the same tier of service as before. MTV 2 will move from 74 to 68 and will now be on the digital tier, requiring a converter box but no need for a more expensive level of cable service, Jerome said.

Charter’s plan is to add as many as 10 or 15 high-definition television channels by the end of the year, Jerome said. In most cases, those channels won’t cost customers more because they already receive the regular-definition versions of those channels as part of their regular service.

Other changes were: NECN or New England Cable News from 39 to 77, The Weather Channel from 43 to 39, Spike TV from 70 to 43, CMT, or Country Music Television, from 71 to 64, VH1 from 72 to 65, MTV from 73 to 66 and WDMR , the Spanish-language Telemundo affiliate, has moved from 96 to 95.

Jerome said there were skipped numbers in Charter’s channel lineup. The moves help to fill in those gaps and create vacant channel numbers at the upper end.

But Jerome said some televisions are programmed to skip unused channel numbers as people scroll through the stations. People with cable-ready televisions and no cable box need to use their television’s autotune or autosearch function in order to pick up the stations in their new homes, he said.

Both features are accessible through a television’s menu function. St. Louis-based Charter provides cable television to roughly 40,000 customers in: Westhampton, Southampton, Easthampton, Hadley, Belchertown, Ludlow, Chicopee, Wilbraham, East Longmeadow and Hampden.

School Superintendent Theresa Kane says Massachusetts' new anti-bullying law heightens the need for the resource officer.

LUDLOW - The Board of Selectmen has agreed to call for a Civil Service list to fill two police officer positions following a vote by the School Committee to fund half of a school resource officer position.

The School Committee has voted to fund half of a school resource officer position up to $21,000 for one year.

James J. McGowan

Police Chief James J. McGowan said he has the money in his budget to fund the other half of the $40,000 position.

McGowan said the Police Department also is seeking a three-year federal grant to hire an additional police officer and should learn if it receives the funds by Sept. 1.

If the federal grant is approved it will pay for the school resource officer position, school officials said.

At a recent joint meeting between the Board of Selectmen and school officials, School Superintendent Theresa M. Kane said that the state’s anti-bullying legislation will provide “a tremendous need” for a school resource officer.

The school resource officer position was cut last year due to a lack of funds. Prior to that the position had been funded for 10 years.

The new anti-bullying legislation requires investigations and follow-ups of all bullying complaints received by the School Department.

“We’re not staffed for this,” Kane said.

Kane said she would like to see officer Paul Dobek returned to the schools if a new police officer is hired.

Selectmen said they believe that having a school resource officer is a priority. Selectman Antonio Dos Santos said hiring a school resource officer should be a priority, whether the town or the schools fund it.

“We are all the town of Ludlow. We need to find the funds,” Dos Santos said.