Clik here to view.
Chicopee City Council, Mayor Michael Bissonnette spar over new fire truck,...
The $2.1 million in equipment requests included a fire truck, ambulance, two refuse trucks, two four-wheel drive vehicles, a forestry truck and new garbage barrels. Michael Bissonnette The Republican...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee City Council refuses to appraise parking lot
A gas station once was located on the parking lot owned by the Ferris family. Republican file photo CHICOPEE – The City Council has unanimously rejected a proposal to spend $10,000 to appraise a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
State reforms drive down numbers of homeless families living in hotels and...
State housing officials said the numbers of homeless families living in hotels has decreased by 16 percent since July. Springfield residents Juana Finnerty, with her children Emmanuel, 6, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee City Council rejects plan to modify residential trash collection
Councilors said they are concerned about the cost and potentials for illegal dumping. A city of Chicopee recycle truck dumps a load of plastic bottles at the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee residents give mixed opinions about proposed solar farm off Memorial...
The project calls for land next to the St. Stanislaus Cemetery to be leased for 20 years to Citizens Energy Corp. File photo / Associated Press CHICOPEE — Residents gave mixed reactions to a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
World War I Purple Heart comes home to Chicopee's Anderson family thanks to...
Being too young did not stop William C. Anderson from going into the Army in World War I; being too old for the Army did not keep him out of combat in World War II. Donna Blews, of Westfield, holds...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Springfield Schools hire Chicopee principal Jordana Harper-Ewert as new Zone...
Harper-Ewert was praised for her leadership role in improving Litwin Elementary School in Chicopee. Jordana Harper-Ewert Provided by Springfield Public Schools SPRINGFIELD — Superintendent of...
View ArticleSocial media largely attributed to Valley Gives Day success
Organizers said nonprofits that used social media aggressively often received more donations. Valley Gives Day helped almost 270 nonprofit organizations in the Pioneer Valley raise money for necessary...
View ArticleElizabeth Masse to serve as acting principal at Chicopee's Litwin Elementary...
Superintendent Richard Rege called Masse an experienced teacher who has been a good vice principal. CHICOPEE — The Chicopee School Committee recently voted 10-0 to promote the vice principal of Litwin...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee, Agawam residents plan candlelight vigil to remember Newtown,...
Chicopee residents are also being asked to show their support and sympathy by placing purple ribbons on their homes. A young woman cries during the candlelight vigil on Saturday night, Oct. 13, 2012,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Casino traffic and engineering studies under way for Eastern States...
The head of the Eastern States Exposition has stated the nonprofit organization is exploring the possibility of adding a casino to its 175-acre campus on Memorial Avenue in West Springfield. West...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee Academy, middle school principals explain how public education is...
Chicopee schools are trying new ideas to boost MCAS scores. Gov. Deval L. Patrick meets with students during his visit to the Fairview Veterans Memorial School on Britton St. last year. Here, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Western Massachusetts honors victims of Connecticut school shooting
Kimberly Placzek, of Chicopee, said parents can use the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as a teachable moment, and to affirm that the number of good people in the world far outnumber the bad. At...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee fires leave one resident homeless; cause minor damage to a garage
The cause of the fire on McCarthy Avenue is under investigation. Conor Berry, The Republican CHICOPEE – Firefighters battled two fires within six hours of each other Sunday morning. The more serious...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holyoke remembers Newtown, Conn. shooting victims
About 150 people gathered at the start of the Canal Walk in Holyoke for a candlelight vigil. A large crowd gathers Sunday night along the River Walk in Holyoke for a candlelight vigil honoring the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Selser School community in Chicopee gives from the heart to Toy for Joy
Selser is not located in a wealthy community; in fact, 83 percent of the children are from low-income families. CHICOPEE — On Fridays, staff members at the Selser Memorial Elementary School in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee fire caused by deteriorated fireplace and chimney, officials say
The house can be repaired and the resident is staying with relatives. CHICOPEE – A fire that seriously damaged a home on 44 McCarthy Ave. was caused by a deteriorated fireplace and chimney, which...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission releases report on 'high-crash'...
The report, issued by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, analyzes data from 2007 through 2009. Conor Berry, The Republican KEY | Markers are color-coded by each intersection's rank on the list....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee ends all-girls math class at Bellamy Middle School
Data showed students were doing no better than those in mixed gender classes and the class would have made it difficult to try a new program at Bellamy. Barbara Moskal's instructs the all-girls 8th...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Maj. Gen James Czekanski, former commander at Westover Air Reserve Base, dies
Czekanski served as commander of Westover from 1992 to 1997. Then Col. James P. Czekanski (center) salutes as he prepares to give up command of Westover in 1997. The Republican file CHICOPEE – Maj....
View ArticleTender-hearted cat-lover donates to Toy for Joy fund
Jane Bergeron worked for Mercy Medical Center for 33 years. CHICOPEE - Every morning Jane C. Bergeron opens her front door for a while so her two cats can look out the glass storm door. "They like to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee City Council passes ordinance requiring City Hall's tree to be...
The city of Chicopee called its annual Christmas celebration a holiday tree lighting. Chicopee turns on Christmas lights as part of a past tree-lighting ceremony. Michael S. Gordon | File photo...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee officials to review all bus stops following safety concerns
The review of bus stops was sparked by complaints about one that is considered a problem near Front and Grove streets. All bus stops, like this one in Chicopee, will be reviewed for safety. Republican...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Year in review: Favorite Western Massachusetts photos of 2012, chosen by The...
Look back on 2012 in photos from The Republican photographers. Look back on 2012 in photos from The Republican photographers. Follow the links below for selections from each photographer. • Year in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Callaway Golf Company workers give Toy for Joy fund $15,000
When Tom Gaudrault sent in the $15,000 donation from Callaway workers, he affixed to it a message that reads like a minimalist poem. CHICOPEE - The world is still full of good people, says Tom...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Top 10 stories of 2012: Gunman opens fire on downtown Chicopee injuring a...
Investigators attempted to trace the illegal weapons used by Carlos Gonzalez-Lauger in his gun battle with police. Police respond to a call of shots fired on West Street in Chicopee on Friday, April...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Top 10 stories of 2012: Former Springfield cop Jeffrey Asher guilty of...
Asher served 8 months of his 18-month sentence before being release from the Franklin County jail in Greenfield. Watch video Ex-police officer Jeffrey M. Asher speaks with his attorney Joseph Monahan...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee schools to review safety policies following Newtown, Conn. shooting
The current practice is doors in all schools are locked and visitors must identify themselves to be allowed to enter. Comprehensive High School Republican file photo CHICOPEE – In the wake of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee officials begin approving some of city's hundreds of private ways as...
The streets are treated as public roadways and maintained by the city Republican file photo CHICOPEE – City officials took the first step in approving some of the hundreds of streets that are treated...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee City Council rejects bonuses for mayor, other elected officials and...
City Councilors said they were concerned City Clerk Keith Rattell was left off the list. Chicopee City Hall. The City Council has overwhelmingly rejected a proposal by Mayor Michael Bissonnette to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Amber Alert highway signs in Massachusetts not just for missing children
Peter Baid of Northampton said the traffic advisories serve a purpose for him. This is one of the new electronic signs along Interstate 91 indented to warn motorists when there is an Amber Alert. This...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee students request change in school cell phone policy
The Chicopee School Committee agreed to review the cell phone policy in subcommittee. Chicopee students are trying to convince the School Committee to allow cell phone use in hallways and in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee schools to begin recycling in all classrooms
All residents in Chicopee are are required to recycle and the amount of recycling has increased 40 percent. Children from James C. Selser School stand near recycling bins when students and staff began...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Massachusetts to stop using hotels as emergency shelters for homeless families
Housing families in hotels cost the state $45 million during the 2012 fiscal year as some families stayed in hotels for months. An updated version of this story is now available at MassLive. A school...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee receives federal EPA grant to improve downtown
Chicopee has received two grants totaling $270,000 to be used to study and make improvements to downtown Chicopee. A map of the west end of Chicopee Center showing the brownfield sites. The Republican...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Drop in number of homeless people using hotels one reason Massachusetts...
The number of families housed in hotels in Western Massachusetts has dropped from 513 in July to 416 on Dec. 31. This is an updated version of a story posted at 8:20 this morning. These homeless...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fire heavily damages Lukasik Street home in Chicopee
No injuries have been reported in the blaze. 01.03.2013 | CHICOPEE -- Fire officials at the scene of a blaze that heavily damaged a Lukasik Street home Thursday. The Republican / Dave Roback...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Funding for Westover Air Reserve Base, Barnes National Guard Base included in...
ow much money and what they can spend it on has yet to be determined. A crew chief loads baggage aboard a C5 cargo plane bound at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee. File photo | The Republican...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee School Committee elects Marjorie Wojcik, Adam Lamontagne as board...
The election of Marjorie Wojcik and Adam Lamontagne was unanimous. Republican file photo CHICOPEE - The Chicopee School Committee reelected its vice chairwoman to serve for another term as the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Investigators charge 24-year-old Joel LaBonte with setting fire that heavily...
The suspect is slated to be arraigned today in Chicopee District Court 01.03.2013 | CHICOPEE -- Fire officials at the scene of a blaze that heavily damaged a Lukasik Street home Thursday. Dave Roback...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee police: Man and woman suspected of robbing Walgreens pharmacy...
The suspects allegedly robbed the Walgreens early Thursday and made off with an undetermined amount of cash. Republican file photo CHICOPEE -- A man and a woman suspected in an unarmed robbery at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vietnam veterans, families, urged to apply for overdue military bonuses
Hundreds of Vietnam Era veterans in Western Massachusetts never received "welcome home" military bonuses of $200 or $300. Thomas M. Belton Sr., the director of veterans services in Springfield, shown...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Massachusetts gets reprieve for military bases in Chicopee, Westfield and...
The annual legislation to authorize military spending, signed by President Obama on Wednesday, includes in its $633.8 billion package several provisions championed in recent months by a coalition of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Retired Chicopee lawyer Eileen Sorrentino now working to institute free legal...
A similar program has been offered for many years in Hampden Probate & Family Court. Eileen Sorrentino CHICOPEE - Eileen Sorrentino, a long-time Chicopee lawyer, is now one of seven lawyers in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Springfield, Ludlow fire departments search Chicopee River for person seen...
The search has been called off and the victim is presumed dead. Ludlow fire and rescue personnel search the Chicopee River Tuesday for a person seen jumping from the Putts Bridge between Ludlow and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
State police divers, firefighters from Springfield and Ludlow, resume search...
Witnesses saw the man jump off the Putts Bridge at about 3:15 p.m. UPDATE, 4 p.m., : The search was discontinued Wednesday afternoon and will resume Thursday morning with members of the Massachusetts...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee school principals from Barry, Bowie and Lambert-Lavoie give...
As a result of its MCAS scores, Barry School improved from a Level 2 designation to the highest Level 1. Lambert-Lavoie music teacher Elizabeth Dominick conducts the school's choir. This is one of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee City Council, Mayor Michael Bissonnette meet to work out differences
The relationship between the mayor and city council members has been growing Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette is seen at the city's 39th inauguration at Berchman Hall at the Our lady of the Elms College...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Budget cuts proposed for Westover Air Force, Barnes Air National Guard bases...
The Pentagon announced proposed cuts to six Massachusetts bases a year ago. Col. Kerry L. Kohler, commander of the 439th Maintenance Group, Air Force Reserve Command, Westover Air Reserve Base, leads...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicopee City Council may reconsider rejection of request to remove asbestos...
The School department could move to the former library if the building is structurally sound. The former Chicopee library now sits vacant. Republican file photo CHICOPEE – Mayor Michael D....
View Article