Quantcast
Channel: Breaking News - MassLive.com: Ludlow
Viewing all 540 articles
Browse latest View live

Fatal wreck in Holyoke blamed on weather; roof collapses reported around Western Massachusetts

$
0
0

Holyoke police said icy roads caused a five-car crash on Routes 10 and 202 (Apremont Highway).

massmutal.JPGRepublican staff photo by John Suchocki - MassMutual Center crews are seen cleaning snow off the roof after all"Disney on Ice" shows were canceled because of the snow load. The photo was taken from the 21st floor of Chestnut Towers in Springfield.

Conditions continued to deteriorate in Western Massachusetts Saturday as freezing rain contributed to a fatal crash in Holyoke and added weight to roofs already dangerously laden with snow.

Holyoke Police Sgt. John P. Hart said icy roads caused a five-car crash on Routes 10 and 202 (Apremont Highway) after 5:30 p.m. The wreck forced the closure of the road to the Westfield border.

Police were still investigating Saturday night and Hart could not provide more information about the wreck or injuries.

State police in Russell warned of “flash freezing” of rain and the speed limit on the Massachusetts Turnpike was reduced from 65 mph to 40 mph from the Sturbridge exit west to the New York line.

Roof collapses from heavy snow remained a concern as the Hampshire Regional YMCA and a dormitory at Smith College, both in Northampton, had to be evacuated.

Northampton Fire Capt. Jon M. Davine said approximately a half-dozen workers were removing snow from the roof of the YMCA on Prospect Street when they heard “five loud bangs and the roof bounced.” The incident happened at approximately 2:30 p.m.

“We got the call and we evacuated the structure,” Davine said.

Davine said the building inspector was called, and they are waiting for a structural engineer to do an evaluation. There were no injuries. The recorded greeting at the YMCA said the building was closed as a precaution.

The Fire Department also received a call at 5:45 p.m. about “a lot of water leaking” into the kitchen at the Dawes House, a dormitory at Smith College at 8 Bedford Terrace, he said. Davine said there was snow buildup on the back roof, and the students were evacuated. The building inspector also was called to the scene and is working with the Smith College public safety department.

Davine said he was not sure if the students would have to find alternate housing. A spokeswoman for the college could not be immediately reached for comment. The college’s website states that Dawes House was built in 1926.

Snow that accumulated throughout last week already was taking a toll on roofs before heavy rain and ice were added to the mix on Saturday.

Roofs found to have collapsed Saturday including one on a garage at 251 Eastern Ave. in Springfield, and one on a large barn at 226 Lower Hampden Road in Monson used for storage, according to Monson Fire Chief George L. Robichaud, who said the roof of a storage building at 99 Main St. in that town failed Friday. The Stop and Shop on Riverdale Street in West Springfield was closed as a precaution Saturday, according to the Fire Department. In Ludlow, a firefighter said that a bathtub refinishing business at 541 Center St. – Miracle Method – had its roof collapse on Saturday morning; the business was vacant at the time. On Friday night, Ludlow firefighters responded to 66 Guertin Ave. because a wall buckled in due to the snow. The home was condemned by the Building Department, a firefighter said. No injuries were reported in any of the incidents.

Meanwhile, officials with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority announced the MassMutual Center has been deemed safe from a snow collapse and will re-open today after a thorough engineering inspection.

The “Disney on Ice” performances remain canceled.

A spokeswoman for the Springfield facility on Friday said weekend performances of “Disney on Ice” would be canceled over concerns about the potentially crushing weight of snow that had piled up on the building’s roof. However, engineers found no signs of damage or stress in the support structure of the arena or its roof, and determined that the load of snow was far less than what the roof is designed to hold.

“We acted appropriately on the side of caution and in the interest of public safety in deciding to close the facility,” said James E. Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, which owns the MassMutual Center at State and Main streets.

The State Street side of the building was clogged with heavy equipment on Saturday to clear the roof.

“We have now confirmed that the roof is structurally safe and sound and will be around for a very long time; we’ll be open for business (Sunday),” Rooney said.

In addition, the Springfield Falcons have postponed Tuesday’s game against Bridgeport to Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.

Weather conditions are expected to improve temporarily. Dan Brown, a meteorologist at abc40, said Sunday should be sunny with highs in the mid- to upper 30s. But he said there is potential for a big storm on Thursday.

Staff writer Stephanie Barry contributed to this report.


Ludlow annual Town Meeting delays budget vote

$
0
0

The vote was delayed until a June 13 session; voters appropriated $5,000 for Celebrate Ludlow.

LUDLOW – The annual Town Meeting convened Monday night, but voters agreed to postpone action on the proposed fiscal 2012 town budget and other financial articles until a June 13 session.

Selectman Aaron Saunders told town meeting members that the town is facing “a difficult budget year.”

The School Committee will be meeting Tuesday night at 7 at the School Department offices on Chestnut Street to consider an additional $350,000 in budget cuts due to an increase in health insurance costs for all town employees.

The annual Town Meeting will reconvene June 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Exit 7 Theater on Chestnut Street.

At Monday’s session of the annual Town Meeting, voters agreed to appropriate $5,000 to the annual Celebrate Ludlow celebration held every July.

Selectman William E. Rooney said the financial gifts and donations which are used to fund the event have decreased over the past two years along with the troubled economy.

The town has been holding the event for the past 11 years. The first Celebrate Ludlow was organized in 1999 to celebrate the town’s 225th anniversary.

Celebrate Ludlow Committee member Kathleen Ouimette said proceeds from the annual celebration which includes fireworks go to fund non-profit civic groups in the community such as high school athletics clubs and other youth organizations.

Originally, the group asked for a $7,500 appropriation this year, but the amount was dropped to $5,000, Ouimette said.

Christine Banas, a member of the Hubbard Memorial Library Board of Trustees, said she was opposed to the appropriation to Celebrate Ludlow because there are some town departments such as the library which have had funding cut for part-time positions.

“The library could use this money,” she said.

The $5,000 appropriation to Celebrate Ludlow was approved by a majority show of hands.

Also at the Town Meeting voters approved a $10,800 request from the Fire Department to replace thermal imaging cameras and a transfer of funds for an automatic chest compression device which Fire Chief Mark Babineau said makes a dramatic improvement in the survival rate of heart attack victims.

Westover Job Corps students create stone awards for U.S. Labor Department's response to W.Va. mining disaster

$
0
0

As a tribute to the sacrifice of the 29 courageous men who perished in the 2010 mining disaster, and to recognize the untiring efforts of the Labor Department's first responders and rescue teams, the students made the awards out of Goshen stone found in western Massachusetts and West Virginia.

WE-CAMPUS-SIGN.sflb.png

WASHINGTON — Unique, handcrafted awards honoring the service and dedication of U.S. Department of Labor employees following the Upper Big Branch mining disaster in West Virginia last year were created by students from the Westover Job Corps Center in Chicopee, Mass.

As a tribute to the strength and sacrifice of the 29 courageous men who perished in the 2010 mining disaster, and to recognize the untiring efforts of the Labor Department's first responders and rescue teams, the students made the awards out of Goshen stone found in western Massachusetts and West Virginia, which bears a resemblance in both texture and color to coal.

In a ceremony today, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis presented the awards to 215 Labor Department employees in recognition of their exceptional efforts and outstanding displays of professionalism, teamwork and devotion during the mine rescue, recovery and communications efforts in response to the Upper Big Branch explosion.

These employees were the dedicated first responders and mine rescue teams involved in search and recovery efforts, as well as others who sought justice and mine safety improvements so that an accident of that magnitude will never be repeated. The department honored employees from several of its agencies: the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, the Office of Public Affairs, the Solicitor of Labor and the Office of the Secretary.

"This award symbolizes that the Labor Department's thoughts and prayers are never far from the miners who lost their lives and the loved ones they left behind," Secretary Solis said. "It is also a daily reminder that this department's employees have dedicated themselves to improving mine safety so that every miner, at every mine, after every shift, returns home to his or her family safe and whole."

Job Corps is a program of the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration.

Westover Job Corps Center and the Upper Big Branch Award design

The Employment and Training Administration's Job Corps is the nation's largest career technical training and education program for students ages 16 through 24. The program serves approximately 60,000 young people each year at 124 centers in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Students from the Westover Job Corps Center's brick masonry track came together as a team to brainstorm what the award should look like, be composed of and symbolize. They chose a mica schist type of granite known as Goshen stone, which each miner would have encountered in mining for coal to provide America with energy.

The students felt that the hardness of the stone symbolized the determination and resolve of Labor Department employees who worked tirelessly in search and rescue teams, and subsequent legal and regulatory mine safety efforts.

Under the direction of Jason M. Laverty, an International Masonry Institute bricklaying instructor, students used hammers and chisels to cut 2-by-3-foot Goshen stone slabs down into 6-by-6-inch workable chunks. The students then shaped the stones to resemble pieces of coal, and went through eight different polishing techniques so that the stones could be affixed with a Labor Department medallion and a nameplate.

No two awards are alike, and each took 2.5 hours to complete.

Biographies of the Westover Job Corps Center Upper Big Branch Award team
  • Armando Castro, 19, came from a rough neighborhood in Lynn, Mass., where getting into trouble was easy, and achieving success was difficult. Thanks to the inspirational example set by his hardworking single mother, Armando chose to enroll in Job Corps and train in bricklaying. "I really liked the work. I liked being able to create something with my hands, by myself," said Armando. He is honored to be a member of the talented student team selected to create the award.
  • Erick Garica, 23, of Holyoke, Mass., came to the Westover Job Corps Center seeking a high school diploma and the skills necessary to compete in today's job market. His bricklaying training has opened up his artistic side and allowed him to focus on a potential career because, as he said, "This vocation lets you play and explore as you work." Being among the students who designed the Upper Big Branch Award is special to him.
  • Justin Bracewell, 17, of Worchester, Mass., is the youngest member of the Upper Big Branch Award team. Justin already knows that once he completes his bricklaying studies, he plans to join a union and make his living in the construction field. Being part of the winning submission was an honor, he said.
  • Jonathan Oliver, 20, of New Haven, Conn., said that he wants to be a success some day to make his adoptive mother proud. Although his training at the Westover Job Corps Center is in brick masonry, he hopes to go to college and maybe even become an actor. Being part of the winning submission that both honored the fallen miners and paid tribute to dedicated government workers helped open his eyes to the value of hard work because, he said, "Nothing is promised. Each day is a gift."
  • Daryl Lidwin, 18, of Ludlow, Mass., knew even in high school that he wanted to become a certified bricklayer. "I am learning about a skill that I love, working with staff and students that care about the trade, and I feel good about who I am," at Westover, he said. Daryl said that the Upper Big Branch Award represents coal, the complexity of mining, and an appreciation for those who work in the field and those in government who sought to make it a safer occupation.
  • Eric Cruz, 21, of Boston, Mass., chose Job Corps and brick masonry training because, "In bricklaying, you have to think about what the design is going to look like before you complete it... You are always using your mind." The design his team submitted, he said, was meant to honor strong people and their land.

4 Western Massachusetts students among 29 statewide to be issued 'Who Shine' awards by Board of Higher Education

$
0
0

They are being singled out for their academic achievement and contributions to the Bay State.

All 4 winners 51111.jpgAngelina Cavallini, of Springfield, Eric Gregoire, of Ludlow, Ruben Sepulveda, of Holyoke and Jacob Powers, of Montague, clockwise from top left, are scheduled to be honored with state "Who Shine" awards at the Statehouse in Boston Thursday.

BOSTON – A formerly homeless high school dropout and an aspiring actress are among the four graduates of state public institutions of higher learning with Pioneer Valley connections to be honored Thursday during a Statehouse ceremony.

They, along with 25 other students statewide, have been singled out for their academic achievements and their contributions to the commonwealth with the “29 Who Shine” awards. This marks the second year the state Board of Higher Education has give out the honor.

The student honorees range in age from 17 to 52. They were selected from among students at each of the state’s 29 public higher educational campuses.

“Each of these outstanding graduates has a remarkable story to tell,” Governor Deval L. Patrick stated in a prepared statement. “Collectively, they remind us of the power of public higher education, not only to change individual lives but to move Massachusetts forward in an increasingly competitive global economy.”

“Each one of these students is a success story in her or his own right and as a group they remind us of the power of public higher education to change lives,” said Massachusetts Education Secretary Paul Reville in a press release.

“Individually and collectively, these students have proven themselves and shown that they will make significant contributions to our state’s future,” said Higher Education Commissioner Richard M. Freeland said in a press release. “They’ve studied hard to prepare for productive careers, but they’ve also made time to engage in the civic life of their communities, and Massachusetts is better off because of these efforts.”

The students will also be honored with donated full-page and half-page advertisements appearing on Thursday in most daily newspapers across the state. The Republican was the first newspaper to donate an advertisement to honor the students.

“As a publisher, I know that most of these students are Massachusetts residents who’ve grown up here and plan to stay here,” said George Arwady, publisher and chief executive officer of The Republican. “Many of these college students are members of my community and I’m delighted to be able to give them the recognition they so richly deserve.”

Twenty-one-year-old Eric A. Gregoire of Ludlow is this year’s Fitchburg State University award winner. He is finishing his term as president of its Student Government Association. In 2010, he was elected by his peers from state universities to be their representative to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.

Jacob S. Powers, 23, of Montague, is this year’s Greenfield Community College honoree. He has been on the college’s board of trustees and has consistently made the Dean’s List. Powers is transferring to Amherst College.

Ruben Sepulveda of Holyoke, 36, is Holyoke Community College’s award winner. The formerly homeless high school dropout has worked full time while taking classes through the college’s Adult Learning Center. In January, he transferred to Amherst College, where he is pursuing a degree in psychology.

Angelina Della Cavallini, 30, the president of the Student Government Association at Springfield Technical Community College, is her institution’s honoree. An aspiring actress, she is family science adventure coordinator for the Springfield Science Museum.
At Westfield State University, Kristina M. Norris, 22, of Braintree, is this year's honoree. A senior, Norris is a criminal justice major graduating with Commonwealth Honors, something she never imagined she would achieve because of her dyslexia. She plans to work as a victim witness advocate, earn a law degree and advocate for victims of sexual assault.


,

Retired Army officer David Vacci among Western Massachusetts residents to help raise funds for veterans returning from Iraq, Afghanistan

$
0
0

The former ROTC manager at UMass will be participating in the Run to Home Base that is being coordinated by the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital.

David Vacchi 51411.jpgDavid Vacchi, of Belchertown, plans to participate in the Run for Home Base road race in Boston May 22 to help veterans. He is seen on the campus of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

BELCHERTOWN – As a veteran who’s been there, David Vacchi says he knows support for military families is just as important as for the individual soldiers.

He’s among several Western Massachusetts residents with a passion for helping returning veterans and their families who are gearing up for the second annual Run to Home Base.

The May 22 fund-raiser in Boston will jointly benefit the Home Base Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Proceeds from the event will aid programs to support clinical treatment for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who suffer from combat stress and traumatic brain injuries. The funds also assist the families of those deployed overseas.

Vacchi, a retired Army officer who managed the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Massachusetts, is participating in the event for the first time.

Vacchi, along with UMass graduate and fellow runner Jon Zagami, helped a group of student veterans establish the first student veterans’ organization on campus since Vietnam. Vacchi is now a doctoral student studying veterans’ transitions to higher education.

“We have focused on the military person deploying and coming back, but I think we’re just starting to understand it’s just as difficult, if not more so, on the spouse and the family than it is on the one going to war,” Vacchi said. “For me personally, getting that support for the whole family is just as critical as the treatment for individual veterans.”

While many soldiers returning from deployment don’t suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, they and their families still need help, Vacchi said.

“They may not have a problem adjusting themselves, but it’s people with families where this normalizing process makes it more difficult,” he said.

Vacchi’s running of the 9K Run to Home Base will also be a personal victory for him.

“As a result of my 20 years in the Army, I’m 50 percent disabled,” he said. “The major components are the ankle, knee and lower back.”

Vacchi, 45, said the U.S. Veterans Administration helped him get into the shape necessary to participate in this fund-raiser.

Zagami’s cousin, Allie Paquette, of Ludlow, is also running in the Run to Home Base. Paquette said Zagami suffered a traumatic brain injury during his service. He has been a participant in the Home Base program, and also ran in the event last year.

“I was inspired seeing them and others run last year, and I decided to join them,” Paquette said. “Jon began college upon his return (from deployment). He found it very difficult due to lack of resources and lack of understanding about what these young veterans were going through to try to adjust.”

Zagami receives treatment and counseling through Massachusetts General under the program, according to Paquette. In addition to the clinical treatment, the program sponsors social activities for participating veterans and their families.

“Overall, the program allows young veterans to receive the care they need while they work to become re-acclimated to society through socialization with other veterans,” Paquette said.

Jonathan Schnauber, of Springfield, a graduate student studying social work at Springfield College and an Air Force veteran, has been deployed numerous times since he enlisted in 1990. He said services like those provided by the Home Base program are vital to the future of veterans.

“When we return, we are never the same people that left just several months before,” he said. “We need a voice, support, understanding and a place to feel all right.”

Schnauber said the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are already showing up in homeless shelters throughout the United States.

“In the past, it took an average of 10 years to see Vietnam veterans show up in these shelters, so the veterans of today’s wars are setting a new and sad precedent here,” he said. “We need organizations like this one if veterans are to return to a sense of normalcy after being exposed to war.”

The Run to Home Base will travel through Boston and finishes at home plate at Fenway Park. Friends, family and supporters can watch the runners complete the run and cheer them on from the stands at Fenway. The day will include other activities such as a Family Fun Zone and a Military Appreciation Zone, where supporters are encouraged to send care packages to deployed service members.

Sgt. Joshua Desforges physical fitness challenge scheduled at Ludlow High School

$
0
0

The event is a fundraiser toward a memorial and scholarship to honor the Ludlow Marine, who was killed in action in Afghanistan a year ago.

joshua desforges.jpgSgt. Joshua Desforges

LUDLOW – Two School Committee members have joined the fundraising effort underway for a memorial and scholarship to honor Marine Sgt. Joshua D. Desforges, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in May 2010.

School Committee members James P. “Chip” Harrington and Jacob Oliveira said they plan to participate in the Sgt. Joshua D. Desforges Physical Fitness Challenge fundraiser, which will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at Ludlow High School.

They will both compete in a one-hour, pull-up and plyometric competition. Competitors pay $5 to compete. Anyone able to keep up after one hour has met the Sgt. Desforges challenge, Thomas Cote, an attendance officer at Ludlow High School who knew Desforges, said. Cote, a retired state police officer and a Vietnam War Marine veteran, is organizing the fitness challenge.

Oliveira joked that if he is unable to keep up with Harrington in the challenge, he will wear a T-shirt which says, “I support Chip in the next election.”

He said he is getting calls from Marines who served with Desforges who want to buy the T-shirts.

joshua.JPGThomas Cote with Joshua Desforges fitness challenge T-shirt

Donations in honor of Desforges may be made to the Ludlow High School/Sgt. Desforges Fund, 500 Chapin Street, Ludlow MA 01056.

For anyone who donates and wishes to attend, the $2 entry fee is waived when a laminated thank you card is shown at the door.

“My goal is to fill the gym on May 19 to show appreciation to Josh and his family,” Cote said. He added, “I am especially hoping that all marines in the community actively serving or on the inactive list donate in support of our fallen brother.”

Cote, who mentored Desforges while he was a Young Marine at Ludlow High School, said that Joshua dreamed of joining the Marines from a very young age.

He said Desforges joined the Young Marines at age 13, graduated from Ludlow High School in 2004 and went into the Marine Corps that September. Desforges’ mother is a special education teacher at Baird Middle School.

Cote said the Board of Selectmen has declared May 19 Sgt. Joshua Desforges Day in the town of Ludlow. He said that all town employees who have purchased a Sgt. Desforges Memorial T-shirt are allowed to wear it on that day.

“So far we have sold 250 memorial T-shirts toward our goal of 1,000,” Cote said.

Cote said members of the Art Department of Ludlow High School are designing a memorial to honor Josh to be placed at the turn-around behind Ludlow High School.

Cote said he wants to make the physical fitness challenge an annual event so a scholarship can be set up in Desforges’ name.

Trevin Smith, facing accessory charge in murder of Sheldon Innocent, sent to Hampshire County Correctional Center over security concerns

$
0
0

A motion filed in court records shows the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow expressed concerns for Smith’s safety.

051711 trevin smith.JPGTrevin Smith at his arraignment in Springfield District Court on Tuesday.

Updates a story posted Tuesday at 10:22 a.m.


SPRINGFIELD – Trevin T. Smith called his girlfriend and told her to wait with her car outside a house near the corner of Burr and Cambridge streets. He said to make sure she had nothing in her trunk.

When she arrived, a man she knew as “Maniac” came running from the house, jumped in the trunk and yelled, “Close the trunk. Close the trunk.”

And, as police swarmed into the Mason Square neighborhood on April 30, the 31-year-old woman – with her 12-year-old daughter and a 6-month-old child she was baby-sitting in the back seat – found herself in the middle of the gun battle between an escaped convict and law enforcement officers who had been searching for him.

New details of the shoot-out between Tamik J. Kirkland, 24, and police are included in a series of police reports filed this week in District Court. They include a statement given to police by the woman who apparently was unwittingly summonsed by Smith to provide a get-away car for Kirkland. In it, she detailed how Smith contacted her asking for a ride and how Kirkland, identified by her to police as “Maniac,” was preparing to flee.

Kirkland was on the run from a shooting a short time earlier at a barbershop on State Street where one man was killed and a second injured, police said.

The woman who was driving the would-by getaway car will face no charges, but Smith on Tuesday was arraigned on a charge of being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Sheldon Innocent, of Wilbraham. Innocent was one of the two men who were shot at Bill Brown’s House of Beauty, 945 State St.

It was in a driveway outside 46 Burr St. where the woman was instructed by her boyfriend to wait that the confrontation with police occurred. Kirkland is accused of opening fire as he leapt from trunk of the woman’s car, wounding two officers before being shot himself in the driveway of the home.

At his arraignment, Smith, 30, of 79 Penrose St. , denied a charge which accuses him of aiding Kirkland, who had escaped from a minimum security state prison in Shirley on April 24.

“I am sitting here wondering why Trevin would put his baby, his little twin in danger. My daughter was in the back seat playing with the baby the whole time. I don’t see how he did this to us,” she told investigators in the statement given about three hours after the shootings.

Smith, who fled to Brooklyn, N.Y., after the incident and turned himself in on May 4, is being held in lieu of $500,000 cash bail set by Judge William Boyle. His attorney, Alexander Z. Nappan, asked for a June 2 hearing to seek a reduction in the bail.

The arraignment, with Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni as prosecutor, took place under heightened security with about a dozen court officers posted in the courtroom.

Smith will be held at the Hampshire County Jail in Northampton; a motion filed in the court records shows that the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow expressed concerns for Smith’s safety.

Emily (Innocent) Goines, Sheldon Innocent’s mother, was present for the arraignment. Goines said her life has been difficult since her son’s death and she is seeking counseling to help her deal with the trauma.

Goines also said she intends to attend every court appearance of the defendants “until the end” of their prosecution. Police have said Innocent was an innocent victim.

It appears the second man who was shot at the barbershop, may have been known to Kirkland. In a report which requested a warrant be issued for Smith’s arrest, the second shooting victim, identified as Darrell King, told investigators he “had seen the shooter on a prior occasion.”

The report by detective Anthony Pioggia is among those on file with Smith’s case.

Kirkland, who is charged with murder, attempted murder, home invasion, assault and weapons counts, still awaits arraignment. Shot six times by police, Kirkland was recently transferred from Baystate Medical Center to an unnamed Department of Corrections facility, where he continues to recover.

Kirkland’s transfer came after several death threats were telephoned to Baystate while he was being treated there; Mastroianni’s office is conducting a probe of those threats, which are reported to have involved calls made by some members of the state Department of Corrections team.

Kirkland’s escape has also been the subject of a probe by the state corrections agency. A preliminary investigation showed Kirkland fled the prison in Shirley a day after his mother was injured in a shooting on Ringgold Street.

Smith’s girlfriend’s statement to authorities detailed how she watched the events unfold in the shoot-out with police. She had been on the telephone with Smith when the police approached her car and ordered her out, leaving the children still in the back seat.

“I got out of the car, and I said, He is in the trunk. They surrounded the trunk. The cops were just a few feet from the trunk. Next thing you know, the trunk was never locked. Maniac just lifted it up,” she said. “Maniac started shooting and the cops started shooting back at him.”

Springfield recognized for urban tree care

$
0
0

Springfield and Worcester were honored for meeting state standards for tree care for 25 years.

SPRINGFIELD – Springfield was honored Wednesday for planting and protecting trees for the last 25 years.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno was presented the 25 Year Tree City award by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation during a ceremony at the Barney Carriage House in Forest Park.

The award recognized the dedication of city Forester Edward C. Casey and the city’s long-term commitment to planting and preserving trees, Sarno said.

Springfield and Worcester were honored for meeting state standards in the 25 year category, while Holyoke and Longmeadow were recognized in the 10-year group, along with Ludlow winning in the 5-year category.

To qualify, cities must have a department devoted to tree care; must earmark money each year for urban forestry; must enforce laws protecting public trees and must host an Arbor Day celebration.

The awards are sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, a non-profit devoted to promoting and preserving trees nationwide.

Three utilities – Chicopee Electric Co., National Grid and NStar – also received the Tree Line USA awards for meeting standards in tree care, worker training, tree planting and educational programs.

Patrick Sullivan, director of Parks, Facilities and Recreational Management, said the city is pleased to be recognized for 25 years of tree planting and protecting along city streets.

The city plans to continue street tree plantings in neighborhoods across the city, Sullivan said.

“The city takes great pride in ensuring we maintain our street trees to high standards,” Sullivan said.


Massachusetts Senate approves changes in probation department

$
0
0

The Senate and the state House of Representatives rejected Gov. Deval L. Patrick's proposal to merge probation for adult offenders with parole under the executive branch. Probation is set to remain under the judiciary.

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday unanimously approved legislation aimed at limiting patronage in the state Probation Department, but disagreed in some instances with a similar bill approved last week in the state House of Representatives.

Sen. Cynthia S. Creem, D-Newton, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, said she expects that a House-Senate committee would be created to craft a compromise bill, which would then need approval of both branches. The committee is expected to be appointed next week.

The Senate voted 39-0 to approve the bill. Like the House, the Senate rejected Gov. Deval L. Patrick's proposal to merge probation for adult offenders with parole under the executive branch. The House and the Senate agreed to keep probation under the judicial branch.

Mary E. Heffernan, secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said the bill's provisions on probation hiring and court management are consistent with proposals in the past by the governor and are necessary first steps.

deval patrick, march 2011, APGov. Deval Patrick is shown at a press conference this spring at the Statehouse.
But Heffernan criticized the bill for failing to move probation under the executive.

"Unfortunately, the bill does not deal with the systemic lack of accountability at the probation department, nor does it move Massachusetts towards a more comprehensive re-entry system. Moving the department into the executive branch would have been one way to do that. Regardless of who manages probation, there is more that can and must be done to improve accountability and coordination."

The House last week voted 152-0 to approve a bill to overhaul probation hiring.

One of the biggest differences in the bills is that the House approved new deputy court administrators for the seven departments of the Trial Court. The Senate did not include those positions.

The deputies would serve under a new court administrator, who would be appointed to a five-year term by the state Supreme Judicial Court. The administrator would oversee administrative duties including the hiring of nonjudicial employees and budgets, contracts and leases.

A chief judge, who currently handles administrative duties, would remain and would be in charge of judicial functions such as planning, assigning and disciplining of judges.

Lawrence Dullea, head of a union of probation officers in the National Association of Government Employees, said he was concerned about the costs of hiring seven new deputy court administrators. Dullea said that he supports major aspects of the bill, but that in some ways the bill was creating another layer of bureaucracy to deal with the probation scandal.

"We're hurrying to do this," Dullea said in a recent interview.

petro.jpgRep. Thomas Petrolati of Ludlow agreed to give up his position as speaker pro tempore in the wake of the probation scandal.

The Senate also approved a measure giving the court administrator authority to transfer money between line items in the court budget. The Legislature in the past has shielded the probation department from transfers.

The legislation follows a report by independent counsel Paul F. Ware, who investigated hiring in the probation department. The report found that hiring in probation under former commission John J. O'Brien was corrupt and was tilted heavily in favor of candidates recommended mostly by state legislators. Ware said a rigged hiring process undermined qualified applicants. Ware's report said that probation officials established a bogus hiring process to conceal that jobs were being given to applicants with personal or political connections to legislators or judges.

Late last year, Rep. Thomas M. Petrolati, D-Ludlow, agreed to step down from his speaker pro tempore's position after he was mentioned many times in the report by Ware. The report detailed Petrolati's efforts at patronage in the probation department and said he received campaign contributions from 87 employees of the probation department.

Petrolati voted in favor of the House bill last week. Petrolati has said that he was pleased to recommend qualified candidates for jobs in probation, but that the final say on hiring was with Judge Robert A. Mulligan, the chief justice for administration and management.

In a letter to Senate Republicans in November, Attorney General Martha M. Coakley said Ware's report outlined some serious violations of public trust. Coakley wrote that she assembled a team of prosecutors to investigate probation hiring. The U.S. Attorney's Office is also investigating.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr, R-Gloucester, said the probation department has operated for too long under a dark cloud where politics tainted hiring and promotion. Tarr said approval of the bill will help restore public confidence.

"The Ware report uncovered a serious patronage issue within the probation department which needs to be addressed,” Tarr said. “Probation officers play an important public safety role, and it is imperative that these positions be filled by individuals who are truly qualified for the rigors and demands of the job.”

brucetarr.jpgSenate Republican Leader Bruce Tarr said new bill will restore confidence in probation department.

The legislation overhauls hiring by requiring applicants for probation jobs and court officers to pass an exam and be screened before advancing to an interview.

The bill also requires that all recommendations for state government and court jobs be written and made public for successful candidates. It also requires that the letters be weighed after candidates are in the final stage of the hiring process, something that could limit political influence.

The bill would also require all applicants for jobs within the executive, legislative and judicial branches to disclose the names of all immediate family members who are state employees. The information would be public if people are hired.

Ludlow selectmen report $180,000 shortfall in this year's School Department budget

$
0
0

There will be a special meeting on Tuesday to resolve the issue.

ludlow_town_seal.JPG

LUDLOW – The Board of Selectmen and the School Committee will meet Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. in the selectmen’s meeting room to iron how how to pay for a $180,000 shortfall for health insurance caused by more teachers taking municipal health insurance.

Selectmen Chairman William E. Rooney told the School Committee that there is a $180,000 shortfall in this year’s school budget for the fiscal year which ends July 1.

Rooney came to the School Committee meeting because he said the town does not have the money to make up the shortfall.

The town needs the help of the School Department to pay for the shortfall, Rooney said.

School Superintendent Theresa M. Kane said the School Department should have been notified last fall of the shortfall.

She said that 23 teachers who were hired to replace retiring teachers elected to take the municipal health insurance as well as 16 teachers who joined in an open enrollment period.

There were also seven new hires who took health insurance, she said.

She said the town did not notify the School Department that there were additional School Department employees taking the municipal health insurance.

“We should have been notified in the fall,” she said.

School Committee Chairman Michael J. Kelliher said it would be extremely difficult for the School Department to find $180,000 a month before the fiscal year ends.

“This is a significant deficit,” Rooney said. “We don’t have the money.”

School Committee member James P. “Chip” Harrington suggested that the two boards meet on Tuesday to try and resolve the issue.

Brian D. Bylicki, president of the Ludlow Education Association, said the town has $2.1 million in its stabilization account. He suggested that the $180,000 be taken out of the stabilization account.

Rooney said selectmen do not favor funding recurring expenses such as health insurance out of the stabilization account. “That would be a difficult sell to Town Meeting members,” he added.

School Committee member Jacob R. Oliveira said Ludlow has a very strong bond rating. He said he does not feel the bond rating would be negatively impacted if the money were taken out of the stabilization account.

Kenneth J. Grew, who will take over July 1 as interim superintendent, said town officials should contact state legislators to see if further state revenues can be sent to the town if more taxes than were projected are collected.



Ludlow School Committee approves interim superintendent's recommended budget reductions

$
0
0

The final school budget will be approved at the June 13 annual Town Meeting.

ludlow_town_seal.JPG

LUDLOW – The School Committee is taking the recommendation of its newly appointed interim school superintendent in approving $340,000 in cuts which the town says are needed to next year’s School Department budget.

The final school budget for fiscal 2012 which begins July 1 is to be approved at the annual Town Meeting on June 13.

The School Committee has appointed Kenneth J. Grew to take over as interim superintendent effective July 1. He will replace Theresa M. Kane who is resigning July 1 to take over as school superintendent in East Windsor, Conn.

School Committee member James P. “Chip” Harrington said Grew already has been spending most days in the school district meeting with teachers, administrators and parents about the priorities for the school system.

At its most recent School Committee meeting School Committee members approved Grew’s recommendation to move four academic “coaches” back into elementary classrooms.

The coaches, who are certified teachers, were hired to help teachers raise student test scores on MCAS tests.

Harrington argued last year that students would be better served by having the teachers in the classrooms.

By moving the academic coaches into classrooms, the School Department will be able to keep class size low and avoid layoffs, Harrington said.

Moving the academic coaches into classrooms will save the district $200,000 for the academic coach positions, Harrington said.

That change goes a long way to solving the shortfall for next year’s budget, he added.

Kane, who until July 1 is still superintendent of schools, said the School Committee is going in a different direction than she had advocated. Kane said hiring the coaches to help teachers with effective teaching techniques was an effective way to improve student test scores.

Grew, who attended the last School Committee meeting as a spectator, advocated cutting the coaches. “The classroom teachers should do what the coaches do. This is where the rubber meets the road.”

Grew added that the coaches will be kept on staff as teachers and can give advice to other classroom teachers who desire it.

“We are not abandoning professional development,” Harrington said. “We are making the classroom a priority.”

Other reductions recommended by Grew and approved by the School Committee include the reduction of a special education position and a nurse and the reduction of the budgets for legal services and consultants.

Grew said he is looking for available funds in the budget which are needed for textbooks and supplies.



Developing: Ludlow police investigate Center Street bank robbery

$
0
0

The robbery was reported shortly after 3 p.m.

LUDLOW - Town police are at the scene of a reported bank robbery at the Chicopee Savings Bank branch, 477 Center St., police said.

Police were called to the bank shortly after 3 p.m.

Police were not yet disclosing any information about the robbery or a description of any suspect.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.


View Larger Map

Ludlow police searching for suspect in robbery of Chicopee Savings Bank branch

$
0
0

He was last scene fleeing the bank on foot, but Foye said there are indications he may have gotten into a car a few blocks away.

This is an update to a story first posted at 5:39 p.m.

LUDLOW - Police are searching for an unknown suspect who robbed the Chicopee Savings Bank branch, 477 Center St., of an unknown sum Friday afternoon, police said.

The robber handed the teller a note that implying he had a weapon, but no weapon was show, said Sgt. Thomas Foye of the Ludlow Police.

He was described as, about 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and wearing a red hat and a white T-shirt with printing on the front. He also appeared to have a bandage on his neck, but Foye said investigators believe it was to conceal a tattoo or some distinctive mark on his neck.

He was last scene fleeing the bank on foot, but Foye said there are indications he may have gotten into a car a few blocks away, and that car drove to the entrance of the Massachusetts Turnpike, which is on Center Street near the bank branch.

Foye said police have issued a lookout to surrounding communities and the Massachusetts State Police for a silver or gray Nissan Maxima that may have been involved in the robbery.

K-9 officer Michael Whitney and his dog followed the robber's scent to Harding Avenue, a few hundred yards away from the bank, where it lost the track, Foye said. A review of surveillance footage from local businesses in the vicinity showed the Nissan Maxima driving on Harding Street at the same time the robber was likely in the vicinity, and police believe he got in the car and left the area. Video footage indicated the car went directly to the turnpike, he said.

Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call the Ludlow Police at (413) 583-8305.

The below map shows the scene of the bank robbery investigation in ludlow

View Ludlow bank robbery in a larger map

Carlos Serrazina pleads guilty to OUI, serious bodily injury resulting, for striking motorcyclist in Ludlow

$
0
0

The victim in the case, Kevin Bowen of Chicopee, said he thought the outcome was fair.

ludlow police patch.jpg

PALMER - A 30-year-old Ludlow man pleaded guilty on Wednesday for his role in a crash last summer that seriously injured a Chicopee motorcyclist.

Carlos F. Serrazina, who was operating a 1992 BMW when it collided with Kevin Bowen's motorcycle at Fuller and Cherry streets in Ludlow in July 2010, said little at the hearing before Judge Patricia T. Poehler in Palmer District Court.

Poehler recommended that he serve 18 months at the House of Correction, with nine months direct and the remainder suspended. He will be subject to supervised probation for two years. The sentence was a compromise between what the commonwealth asked for - 2 1/2 years in jail, and what his lawyer Robert S. Murphy requested - one year, with six months direct.

Serrazina was charged with operating under the influence of liquor, serious bodily injury resulting, and reckless operation of a motor vehicle. On the latter charge, he received three years supervised probation. He will lose his driver's license for two years as a result of the conviction. He also must remain alcohol free, seek counseling, and be subject to random testing.

Bowen, 38, was operating a 2005 Victory motorcycle when Serrazina took a left turn in front of him, causing the collision, Prosecutor Mary D. Partyka said. Bowen, whose left ankle was severely injured, still uses crutches.

Bowen addressed the court, and said his life has changed forever due to Serrazina's "reckless behavior." Bowen said he has had six blood transfusions and 13 surgeries, and another surgery is coming up.

Shedding tears, he said he cannot live independently, and said his ability to financially support his young daughter has been jeopardized. A master sergeant with the Air Force, Bowen said his work has been affected by the accident. Bowen later said he was satisfied with the outcome of the case.

"I believe the judge was fair," Bowen said.

Murphy said his client is "extremely regretful" and understands the harm he brought to Bowen's family. Serrazina said he had been drinking at a friend's house prior to the accident. He was led away in handcuffs at the conclusion of the hearing.

Violent Massachusetts tornadoes not unprecedented, according to climate center data

$
0
0

Massachusetts averages three tornadoes per year and the same amount of violent tornadoes per 10,000 miles as Texas, Missouri and Tennessee.

Gallery preview

While seemingly unprecedented, the tornadoes that swept through downtown Springfield and other areas and the storms that followed aren't necessarily new to Western Massachusetts.

As the Washington Post points out, the Springfield tornadoes were similar to the recent funnel clouds that touched down and devastated Joplin, Missouri and Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the fact that they went against the assumption that these storms typically avoid urban areas.

The Post uses a map of the United States, courtesy of the National Climatic Data Center, to show the occurrence of tornadoes on a yearly basis in each state. From 1953-2004, Massachusetts averaged three tornadoes per year.

Most of the 152 tornadoes reported in the state during that time period were weak in force, remaining at the F0 and F1 ratings on the Fujita Scale, which is used to to rate the intensity of a tornado based on the damage to human built structures and vegetation.

That said, the Washington Post looked at the database made public by the Tornado History Project to reveal that many tornadoes hit the state of the devastating F2, F3 and F4 varieties.

The National Climatic Data Center notes that Massachusetts is home to 1.1 'strong to violent' or F2-F5 tornado each year.

While the one violent tornado averaged per year doesn't seem like an alarming number, per capita, Massachusetts endures the same amount violent tornadoes per 10,000 square miles as Texas, Missouri and Tennessee.

Three violent storms stick out in the annals of tornado-watching in the region.

In 1953, 94 people were killed and more than 1,000 hurt in the Worcester area when an F4 storm hit, causing $52 million in damage (valued at $349 million today).

In 1995, three people died in a storm that devastated Berkshire County.

And in 1979, an F4 twister struck Windsor, Windsor Locks and Suffield, Conn. and was rated as an F4 tornado. Three deaths, 500 injuries and more than $400 million in property damage were reported.

The exact rating of yesterday's storms aren't known at this time. A team of National Weather Service meteorologists will assess the damage Thursday.


Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School in Palmer graduates 138

$
0
0

The top two students both were part of the programming and Web development shops.

Gallery preview

PALMER Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School’s valedictorian, AJ Czuprynski, told his fellow graduates at Saturday’s commencement that “graduation is not the end for us but rather the beginning of a new chapter of our lives.”

“As we close one door and open another, new opportunities and adventures await us,” Czuprynski, of Ludlow, said.

“While you’ll probably lose touch with more than half of the people that you’re sitting with today, they’ll forever be a part of your life. If not for them, you would not be the person you are today and for that you should thank your fellow classmates,” he said.

Salutatorian Joshua W. DeLand, of Monson, said, “let us not live for ourselves, but for everyone, and to make a lasting impact on our world.”

“During the last few years of high school, we’ve changed. We’ve become smarter, more independent and more aware of what our future holds,” DeLand continued.

The top two students both were part of the programming and Web development shops. Czuprynski will attend Fitchburg State College, and DeLand will attend Springfield Technical Community College. They also are members of the National Technical Honor Society.

Of the 138 graduates, 72 of them plan to attend two-or four-year schools or colleges, and seven plan to enter military service, according to information from the school.

“This year’s class is remarkable for the number and quality of individual students, but also for how the class has come together over their four years here. They are an extraordinary group of young people. We will miss them and wish them well,” Superintendent Gerald L. Paist said.

The regional school district’s member towns are Palmer, Belchertown, Granby, Ware, Warren, Monson, Oakham, Hardwick and New Braintree, but also has students from other area communities.

Ludlow High School graduates receive diplomas at Mullins Center in Amherst

$
0
0

The Ludlow school system's outgoing superintendent addressed its outgoing high school graduates.

Gallery preview

AMHERST - Another batch of high school graduates set out to conquer the world Saturday.
This time, it was the Class of 2011 from Ludlow High School during its commencement at the Mullins Center along with schools Superintendent Theresa M. Kane, who is setting sail to take over the same post in East Windsor, Conn.
“Make a promise to see each other at least once a year. Set a date; if you don’t set a date at least once a year it won’t happen – trust me,” Kane, the outgoing schools head, told the outgoing 154 graduates.
Kane noted that the tight-knit community gives graduates a sense of family and community as well as a high school diploma.
“If you didn’t enjoy a happy home, take note of what you wanted in your home life and create it yourself,” Kane said.
Class President Michael Ziencina told fellow graduates to set lofty goals and see their glasses half full, preempting a cheer before the Class of 2011 accepted their diplomas in the large auditorium on the UMass campus

YMCA, Head Start and 65 other Western Mass day care centers win grants to improve quality

$
0
0

None of the grants were more than $10,000 per location

classroom.jpg

A total of 65 child care centers across Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden counties have received small grants to boost their curriculum, assessment or teacher training.

The state Department of Early Education and Care with Wheelock College, Merrimack College and the United Way recently awarded a total of $2.8 million in Program Quality Improvement Grants to 445 day care centers in the state.

Some of the programs were larger ones such as the YMCA of Greater Springfield which received 10 grants for different after-school sites and others were awarded to smaller family day care centers.

Pamela J. Graves, owner and director of Pam’s Place in Agawam, said this was the first grant she ever applied for and was delighted to receive $8,425 to improve her program.

“We are purchasing new materials for the classroom to replace things that have been used and abused and we are doing some training for the curriculum piece and assessment piece,” she said.

It was a lot of work to apply for the grant for the center, which is licensed to teach up to 39 children between 2½ and 8 years old. She and her staff had to study many parts of the center and determine what needs to be improved.

One of the benefits was the center did not have a standard tool to assess students’ progress, with the exception of one that staff had created years ago. It now is using one provided by the state, Graves said.

“What we are looking for is to help programs to increase the quality of their programs and to give the tools to help them,” said Sarah Harding, director of operations and human resources for the Department of Early Education.

Using the Quality Rating and Improvement System, each program did a self-assessment. They looked at safety, leadership, curriculum and learning and other parts and submitted a plan for how to improve a level in one of the areas if funding was granted, Harding said.

Some requested money to bring in a class for teachers, others wanted to buy more diverse materials and others needed funds to improve their curriculum, she said.

The grants were small, with a cap of $10,000 on any of them. More than 900 centers applied, Harding said.

The Holyoke-Chicopee-Springfield Head Start won grants for 10 different sites across the area. Most were about $9,000, said Gladys L. Rivera, director of early education and program development.

Some of the funding will be used to train staff on the new evaluation tool. The centers will also purchase some items to improve safety in its outdoor playgrounds, she said.

“It was really about looking at and assessing yourself,” she said.

The YMCA of Greater Springfield received about $20,000, for six different programs.

“It improves the quality. We can adjust our curriculum and programs to meet different children’s needs,” said Kathleen A. Treglia, vice president of education and government regulations for the YMCA.

Several of the centers will also work with the Behavior Health network which will visit different sites and work with staff and children to better improve and manage problems with behavior, Treglia said.



Below, a list of child care centers that received grants


• Agawam: Pam’s Place Child Care Center Inc., The Kid’s Place


•Amherst: Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions - at the Amherst Community Child Care, Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions - at North Amherst


•Belchertown: Belchertown Day School


•Chicopee: YMCA of Greater Springfield’s School Out at Litwin, Holyoke.Chicopee.Springfield Head Start Inc. - Westover Early Childhood Center, Holyoke.Chicopee.Springfield Head Start Inc. - Westover Job Corp.


•Easthampton: Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions - at Easthampton


•East Longmeadow: The Kids Place


•Gill: Giving Tree School


•Greenfield: Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions at Washington Street, Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions - Greenfield Family Learning Center, Girls Club of Greenfield


•Hampden: YMCA of Greater Springfield’s School Out at GreenMeadows


•Holland: Tri-Community YMCA


•Holyoke: Holyoke.Chicopee.Springfield Head Start Inc.- Maple Street, Holyoke.Chicopee.Springfield Head Start Inc. - Churchill, The Kids Place


•Ludlow: Holyoke.Chicopee.Springfield Head Start Inc. - Parkside


•Monson: YMCA of Greater Springfield’s School Out at Quarry Hill


•Northampton: Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions - at Northampton, Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions - at Vernon Street, Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions - at Ryan Road


•Orange: Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions at North Orange

• Palmer: Quaboag Children’s Center


• Springfield: Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children - Goodstart Early Intervention Program, Clarendon Family Day Care, Holyoke.Chicopee.Springfield Head Start Inc.- Carew Street, The Kids Place, Holyoke.Chicopee.Springfield Head Start Inc.- Madison Avenue, Holyoke.Chicopee.Springfield Head Start Inc.- Riverview, Holyoke.Chicopee.Springfield Head Start Inc.- Eastern Avenue, Holyoke.Chicopee.Springfield Head Start Inc.- Mason Square, Acorn Learning Center, Clarendon Family Day Care - Alooah’s Family Day Care, Square One Kid Stop at Sumner Avenue, Clarendon Family Day Care - Ana Rivas, Cupcakes Family Day Care, Early Childhood Centers of Greater Springfield, New Beginnings Childcare Center, Square One at King Street, KinderCare Learning Center and Titi Elbas Day Care


•Turners Falls: Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions at Central Street and Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions at G Street


• Ware: Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions - at Ware and Kidstop Preschool Center


• Westfield: the Kids Place


• West Springfield: Cathy’s Child Care, Mittineague Methodist Community Preschool, YMCA of Greater Springfield’s School Out at Birch Park


•Wilbraham: Scantic Valley YMCA Child Development Center, The Kids Place, YMCA of Greater Springfield’s School Out at Soule Road, YMCA of Greater Springfield’s School Out at Stony Hill

Ludlow Town Meeting approves $52.9 million budget

$
0
0

The budget includes an additional $25,000 for the Council on Aging.

LUDLOW – Voters at the annual Town Meeting in Ludlow Monday night approved a fiscal 2012 annual town budget of $52,906,537, which includes a fiscal 2012 annual School Department budget of $25,242,721.

Town Meeting members approved the addition of $25,000 to the recommended $314,000 Council on Aging budget. Monday night's session was a continuation of the annual Town Meeting that began May 9.

Senior Center Director Jodi Ahearn lobbied for the $25,000 increase in the Council on Aging budget to provide a 35-hour transportation coordinator.

Following the budget cuts of several years ago, there is not adequate help to coordinate all the requests the senior center gets from seniors for senior center van rides to doctor’s appointments.

“Many residents take the van,” Ahearn said. She said the service is provided to 2,000 seniors per year.

For some, the van service is the only lifeline to doctors for seniors who continue living in their own homes, Ahearn said.

She said the parents of many seniors voting at the Town Meeting take the van service.

Selectman William E. Rooney said he sympathized with Ahearn’s request, but he said other departments were just as needy.

“The School Department is just as needy,” Rooney said.

Selectman John P. DaCruz said the Council on Aging operates on a very small budget.

“A lot of people use the Senior Center van,” DaCruz said.

The request to increase the Council on Aging budget for a transportation coordinator was approved at the Town Meeting by a majority show of hands.

The $25.2 million School Department budget represents a cut of $340,000 to the original School Department budget proposed by School Superintendent Theresa M. Kane.

To achieve the $340,000 reduction, the School Committee cut $200,000 for four academic coaches. The coaches, who are certified teachers, were hired to help teachers raise student scores on MCAS tests.

The academic coaches will be moved back into classrooms to keep class size low, School Committee member James P. “Chip” Harrington said.

Ludlow selectmen continue hearing on proposed smart growth zoning districts

$
0
0

The selectmen are being asked by a Smart Growth Zoning Advisory Committee to recommend four smart growth zoning districts for the town.

LUDLOW – The Board of Selectmen has continued until a future selectman’s meeting a public hearing to consider a proposal for four smart growth zoning districts for the town.

The next meeting of the Board of Selectmen is July 5.

Chapter 40R Smart Growth zoning districts, which can be adopted by communities, encourage a higher concentration of housing and mixed-use commercial and industrial developments to create a range of affordable housing options.

The selectmen are being asked by a Smart Growth Zoning Advisory Committee to recommend four smart growth zoning districts for the town.

They are the Ludlow Mills, an adjacent Riverside area just over the Ludlow-Indian Orchard bridge, an area off East Street referred to as downtown and the intersection of Holyoke and West streets known as Scott’s Corner.

Selectmen Chairman Aaron Saunders said he is concerned about the demand the proposed zoning districts would place on town services.

Selectman Antonio Dos Santos said there is the potential for 200 high density units at Scott’s Corner if the zoning district is approved.

Dos Santos said he has questions about whether the town would have the financial resources to educate the additional students. He said the high density area would be a marked contrast to the single-family homes in the Scott’s Corner area now.

Saunders said he wants time to find out how residents in the downtown East Street area feel about the proposal.

Selectman John DaCruz said the proposal would allow people with commercial businesses on East Street to add a residence on a second story.

If the town adds four smart growth zoning districts it could receive a $350,000 incentive from the state, Town Planner Douglas Stefancik said.

Planning officials are proposing to take a proposal for the smart growth zoning districts to an October special town meeting for approval by town meeting members.

The Board of Selectmen must first endorse the proposal, and then the Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed zoning districts in August, Stefancik said.

Viewing all 540 articles
Browse latest View live


<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>