Lawyer said it's not clear what defense will be used.

File photo by Don Treeger / The RepublicanJay DiRico is seen in April at his arraignment in Chicopee District Court

SPRINGFIELD – The lawyer for Jay T. DiRico, accused of assaulting a Chicopee police officer – has requested a court-ordered competency exam for his client.

J. Timothy Mannion, DiRico’s lawyer, filed the motion asking for the exam when his client was arraigned in Hampden Superior Court June 8.

In the motion Mannion wrote he has talked enough to DiRico to question his competency in regards to the case.

“I believe he suffers from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder),” Mannion wrote.

He said it is undetermined whether or not DiRico will rely on the defense of “lack of criminal responsibility due to mental disease or defect.”

Mannion said if it is decided he will use that defense the prosecution will be notified in a timely manner.

DiRico, who had been previously arraigned in Chicopee District Court before being indicted in Superior Court, denied charges of assault with attempt to murder, assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery, assault and resisting arrest.

He remains free on his own recognizance and must live with his parents in Agawam, cooperate in mental health evaluation and treatment as order by probation, and take medicines prescribed by a physician.

He is monitored by GPS and must stay home except for medical, legal and religious occasions.

DiRico, 40, a former court officer, is charged with assaulting officer Jeffrey Couture.

Couture said he was attacked at DiRico’s Murphy Lane home in Chicopee on April 15.

Couture testified at a previous hearing that he was sent to the address to protect DiRico’s girlfriend, Corrine Nelson, while she removed her belongings from the home.

The officer said DiRico took a step toward Nelson in anger and he believed DiRico was going to attack her.

Couture said he shoved DiRico, who shoved him back. He then attempted to grab DiRico by the wrist, but DiRico broke free and knocked him to the floor, punching him in the head repeatedly.

DiRico, a top amateur golfer, is also a mixed martial artists, according to Chicopee police. 

The budget will be $2.9 million more than it is for this school year.

Republican file photo

CHICOPEE – A nearly $3 million increase in state assistance will allow the School Committee to hire two elementary vice principals, four special education teachers and two math teachers, more teacher assistants and upgrade classroom technology.

The School Committee voted 11-0 to adopt the $74.9 million budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. It is an increase of $2.9 million over this year’s $72 million budget.

Committee members asked questions about homeless busing reimbursements, computer replacements and teacher training about the new common core proposal but had no complaints about the spending proposals. It will now go to the City Council for final approvals, but City Council cannot add to it or transfer money to different departments.

“We are doing good things with what we have,” said Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr.

With the additional money, the School Committee will be able to hire vice principals at Hugh Scott Streiber and Lambert-Lavoie schools. That will leave just Belcher, which has children in kindergarten through second grade, as the only elementary school without a vice principal.

With all schools required to update curriculum and train teachers to fit with the new federal Common Core initiative, vice principals are needed to help run the schools, Rege said.

The budget will also allow the schools to better serve special education students. About 17 percent of students in the schools have some type of learning disability, he said.

Chicopee Academy, the city’s alternative school, will get a Spanish teacher, so the school can offer a language elective for the first time. Students made the request for the added class, Rege said.

An in-school suspension teacher will also be added at Chicopee Academy to monitor middle school students who are being disciplined.

“I am concerned we have another new initiative, and we don’t have the resources we need,” Committee member Michael J. Pise said, referring to the work that has to be done on the Common Core.

But Assistant Superintendent Deborah A. Drugan said there is training money available for teachers through federal Race To The Top grants and there are not a lot of other resources needed.

The budget will also allow the school department to continue its efforts to replace aging computers at Chicopee High School and to purchase computer tablets for each elementary school that are to be used by students when they are divided into different study groups during class, Rege said.

The School Department is also hoping to put aside for emergencies $500,000 to $1 million that is expected to be left over from this year’s budget. The department has been making a practice to set aside an average of $1 million per year for unexpected expenses, said Stephen N. Nembirkow, the finance and human resources manager.

The boy, who wasn't publicly identified, apparently drowned to death. Authorities said they don't suspect any foul play.

HOLYOKE — A body of a teenager, whom authorities believe to be a Chicopee boy reported missing earlier this week, was pulled from the Connecticut River in Holyoke on Thursday, police said.

The body was located in the water near Springdale Park, a waterfront park bounded by Main Street, Jeb Days Landing and the Connecticut River.

Officials do not suspect any foul play. "We believe it to be an accidental drowning linked to a missing-person report filed in Chicopee," Chicopee Police Capt. Thomas Charette said Friday.

Charette said he would not release the victim's name out of respect for the boy's family and his juvenile status. He deferred further comment to Holyoke Police Capt. Arthur Monfette, who did not immediately return a phone message left for him.

The teen reportedly went missing on Sunday, but officials would not immediately confirm that information. The body was retrieved from the river around noontime on Thursday, according to police.

Teresa Shepard, director of the Holyoke Parks and Recreation Department, said police typically notify her if a body is found at a city property. But she said she received no notice of a drowning victim located near the riverside park, or on actual park property. "Nobody told me nothing," she said Friday.

More details will be posted on MassLive as they become available.

THE MAP BELOW shows Springdale Park in Holyoke, where a body was discovered Thursday in the Connecticut River near the waterfront park:

View 900 Main St in a larger map

More students nation-wide are showing a bigger interest in taking vocational courses.

File photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanChicopee Comprehensive High school carpentry students Tina Niedermeier and Travis Lelievre set up a porch column while instructor Gary Guilbault watches late last year.

CHICOPEE – Citing a nation-wide trend in increasing interest in vocational programs, the School Committee is trying to add more programs to its career technical department.

While the shops at the school have little extra room but it may be possible for the school to take over the maintenance building next to the school for its horticulture and landscaping programs and free up room in the school for another program or two, Superintendent Richard W. Rege said.

The maintenance department is eventually planning to move all its equipment and staff to the former Telecommunications building, which is now unused, he said.

School Committee member Donald J. Lamothe asked to have the facilities subcommittee examine possibility. The committee approved the recommendation 9-0.

He added that the school committee recently toured the career technical department and Director Kenneth R. Widelo said the shops were full and students are waiting to get into some of the programs.

“He is looking to add several new programs,” he said.

Widelo and some teachers are studying the idea of starting new programs now. They are supposed to report to the School Committee with ideas in late summer, Rege said.

He reminded the committee that Widelo had originally wanted to add more programs when the new Comprehensive High School was built more than five years ago. His ideas were rejected because of the cost of adding more space to the building, which was already facing $20 million in cost overruns.

School Committee members said they will be interested in adding programs, but were unsure if they can fund them.

Students from Comprehensive High School are expected to do some of the renovation work at the garage.

Repbulican file photoA truck is parked in front of the Department of Public Works on Baskin Drive preparing for a past snowstorm.

CHICOPEE – The city is beginning to begin the process of building offices on the vacant second floor of the Department of Public Works headquarters and is hoping to move employees there for next summer.

This year some of the water department employees were moved to the building on Baskin Drive, joining Department of Public Works and engineering workers in an attempt to reduce the number of buildings the city uses and to better coordinate offices which work together.

“We all have gotten closer since everyone moved in,” Stanley W. Kulig, the Department of Public Works Superintendent said.

Kulig said the city has hired the architect firm of Caolo & Bieniek Associates, Inc. to do a space analysis and preliminary design so at least some of the second floor can be converted to offices and storage space.

Because the city is also considering moving the building and health departments into the building, they are also looking at the needs of those department, Kulig said.

“This will make the second floor useful finally. I call it the bowling alley. It needs to be used eventually,” City Councilor James K. Tillotson said.

The cost of the study is about $50,000 and the design work is estimated at between $100,00 and $122,000 and construction is expected to cost between $1 and $1.2 million, Kulig said.

The City Council last week approved spending $50,000 from the sale of real estate account to fund the design.

But teachers at Comprehensive High School have agreed to have students studying in the carpentry and electrical departments to do some of the work to give the teenagers a new way to get learning experience. Students are expected to save the city about $250,000.

The city will still have to hire plumbers, heating and ventilation experts since the high school does not teach either trade. A company will also have to be hired to install an elevator to make the second floor handicap accessible, Kulig said.

“We will do some work in-house with out staff as well,” he said.

Kulig said he expects the design to be completed by the fall and construction work to last most of the school year. The offices are not expected to be ready until the summer or next fall.

The male victims of separate knife assaults were both recovering at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, police said.

CBS 3Springfield police are investigating a knife assault Tuesday in the Hollywood section of the South End that sent an 18-year-old male to the hospital with a stab wound to the chest. No arrests had been made as of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

SPRINGFIELD — Police in Springfield and Chicopee continue to hunt for suspects in unrelated stabbings in the neighboring cities.

Chicopee police are looking for five suspects involved in an early Wednesday knife assault along the banks of the Chicopee River near Front Street. "He is in good condition," Chicopee Police Capt. Jeffrey Gawron said of the male victim, whom police declined to publicly identify.

The incident was reported at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. Gawron said the victim was still being treated this morning at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for a stab wound to the chest. Physical descriptions of the suspects were unavailable. "If we knew who they were, they'd be under arrest," he said.

On Tuesday night in Springfield, a teenager was rushed to Baystate after being stabbed in the chest in the Hollywood section of the South End. Springfield Police Capt. William Collins said the victim, whom police declined to publicly identify, was semi-conscious and unable to speak with investigators before being taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. Collins said detectives would attempt to interview the teen after his surgery.

An update on the victim's health status was not immediately available, though Springfield Police Lt. David Martin said the teen's condition had not worsened. "No change," Martin said just after 6 a.m. Wednesday.

The stabbing happened around 8 p.m. Tuesday on Niagara Street, one of the main streets leading to the series of brick apartment blocks comprising the neighborhood's Hollywood section. Police said they found the teen bleeding in the middle of the road with a large crowd around him. Witnesses to the crime have not cooperated with investigators, according to Collins.

Anyone with information about the stabbings is asked to call Springfield police at (413) 787-6355 or Cicopee police at (413) 592-6341.

The city meanwhile, will open spray parks and cooling centers today and Thursday.

Don Treeger / The Republican6-19-12 -Springfield- 4 year old Liza Kelleher of Springfield puts her best foot forward as she tests the water at the spray park at Kenefick park. Don Treeger Previous Page 1 of 4 Next Page

CHICOPEE – Spray parks and cooling centers will open and schools will close early Thursday and Friday as the city moves to help residents beat the heat.

Temperatures, about 82 degrees mid-morning, are expected to hit the upper 90s Wednesday and Thursday, CBS3 meteorologist Nick Morganelli.

Rising humidity, meanwhile, will make it feel like temperatures have edged into the triple digits.

Mayor Michael Bissonnette, posting on Facebook Wednesday morning, said schools will be half-day both Thursday and Friday, which is expected to see a high of 86.

There were too many field trips in the works to pull-off a half-day today on such short notice, according to Bissonnette.

Opening both days allows district to meet state law of being in session 180 days each school year, Bissonnette said.

Meanwhile, the Senior Center in Aldenville and the main library on Front Street will operate as public cooling centers through Friday.

“No one should be left out in the heat (with apologies to Joe K.), ” Bissonnette wrote in an apparent seasonal twist on the tagline that Joseph Kennedy uses in his ads for the Citizens Energy home heating program.

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation will open its various beaches and wading pools, including Chicopee Memorial State Park’s Reservoir Beach, on Wednesday. That’s three days earlier than the anticipated opening.

Chicopee follows Ludlow in closing schools early due to the steamy weather. Ludlow’s early school closings are set for Wednesday and Thursday.

The elementary schools, according to an automated message sent out Tuesday to members of the Ludlow school community, will end classes at 1:45 p.m. The middle school, meanwhile, will end classes at 1:15 p.m.

Ludlow High School students are already getting out early those days as a part of final exam week.

The city of Springfield does not anticipate declaring a heat emergency that would precipitate the opening of cooling centers in various areas of the city, said Helen R. Caulton-Harris, the city’s director of health and human services.

Springfield typically declares a heat emergency whenever heat indices are expected to exceed 105 degrees or nighttime temperatures are expected to remain at 80 or higher for three consecutive 24-hour periods. Neither of those benchmarks are expected go be hit this week, Caulton-Harris said.

Springfield schools have already closed for the summer.

Cooling centers have also been opened in Chicopee and Holyoke.

Michael Beswick / The Republican6/19/12 Forest Park - The dog days of summer are here as an English Bulldog takes a breather from chasing his ball at the Michael T. Downey Fields in Forest Park.

AGAWAM - A cooling center has been set up at the Senior Center on Main Street here as the mercury inches towards the upper 90s

The cooling center which opened this morning at 8, will remain open until 9 p.m. It will maintain the same hours on Thursday. The Senior Center is located at 954 Main St.

The West Springfield Senior Center, at 126 Park St., will operate a cooling center on Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Maximum heat indices, which measure the combined effect of heat and air moisture on human comfort, are expected to exceed 100 degrees both days, CBS3 meteorologist Nick Morganelli said.

The temperature in Springfield, as of about 2:30 p.m., was 94 degrees.

Chicopee and Holyoke are among the Western Massachusetts communities that have also opened up cooling centers.

The city has spent more than $90 million upgrading the sewer system and may spend as much as $200 million before the projects are finished.

Republican file photoA man works on a Jones Ferry combined sewer overflow station in a past project to improve the sewer system in the city.

CHICOPEE – The city has finished about 60 percent of the work to upgrade the city sewer system and is developing plans to move onto the next project.

The citywide program to separate sewer from storm water pipes started in 1988 when Chicopee and many other cities were mandated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to stop dumping raw sewage into the Connecticut River, which happened frequently during rain storms. The main reason is storm water and sewage were carried by the same pipe and overwhelmed the treatment plant during rains, Department of Public Works Superintendent Stanley W. Kulig said.

The city has upgraded the treatment plant, but the biggest and most expensive, effort has been to add new sewer pipes throughout the city and use the older ones for storm drains, said Thomas M. Hamel, project supervisor for water pollution control facility.

“We have been working on it ever since. We have actively been working on it since the late 1990s,” Kulig said.

The city has now spent $93 million on the project and is expected to spend $125 on all the projects scheduled before 2015. The city is likely to spend as much as $200 million before it is finished, he said.

Unhappy with the pace of the improvements, the federal government threatened to fine the city if the amount of effluent flowing into the river did not decline quickly. During a series of negotiations, the two sides developed a schedule through 2015 to hasten improvements, Kulig said.

But Kulig said he and other officials hope to be able to open negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency after 2015, saying most of the problem will be solved then and the projects after that will be more complicated and most of the pollution will be eliminated.

This summer work along Grove Street, Broadway and Wheatland Avenue will be finished at a cost of $9.1 million. A second phase of Chicopee Falls, which includes East Street, Waite Avenue and side streets, should be finished by January. That work is to cost about $8 million, Hamel said.

The third phase of the Chicopee Falls project is scheduled to start this summer. It will separate pipes along Beauchamp Terrace, St. James Street, Broadway and Academy Street. The two-year project is estimated at $15 million, Kulig said.

This summer the city is also improving the sewer system on Memorial Drive near Friendly’s Restaurant and Home Depot. The $450,000 project is designed to increase reliability rather than meet federal requirements, Hamel said.

There are also plans for several projects.

“We are already designing the next phase of the sewer separation project and that will be bid by Christmas,” he said.

That project, estimated at $2 to $3 million, will cover the lower Montgomery and lower Sheridan street area, Kulig said.

The next project, scheduled for the end of 2013, will separate sewers from storm drains in Aldenville. That will be followed by a project in Willimansett, he said.

At the same time there are planned upgrades to the main wastewater treatment plant and two other pumping stations, Hamel said.

The quality of the river has been improved because of past projects and residents have benefited because sewer backups into homes have decreased, he said.

“If we got an inch of rain, we would have two pages of sewer backups. We would get 50-60 calls,” Hamel said. “Now we can get a two-inch rain and no one calls.”

Nearly all the improvements are being made with low-interest loans at an interest rate from 2.5 percent, which are being paid back through sewer and storm water fees. The city has also received a few small federal grants, Hamel said.

The temperature on Friday is expected to top out at 93 and by the weekend, 83.

View full sizeThe Republican | Mark M. MurrayWhen trying to beat the heat, a water hose is the pause that refreshes ,as "Noggin" enjoys getting sprayed with water from the hose at the Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Shelter. With Thursday's heat, staff at the shelter sought ways to keep the population from becoming hot dogs. "Noggin" ios one of many available for adoption.

SPRINGFIELD - The combination of heat and humidity dominated the region for the second straight day, but some relief may be within sight as temperatures Friday are expected to drop to the low 90s before dropping further to the mid-80s in time for the weekend.

Across the Pioneer Valley, temperatures were just a shade below Wednesday’s highs in the upper 90s, but with the high humidity a degree or two here or there made little difference.

Communities across Western Massachusetts opened cooling centers and pledged to keep them open on Friday as relief for residents seeking escape from the oppressive conditions.

Bradley International Airport recorded a high temperature of 96 degrees, one degree below Wednesday’s high of 97, according to the National Weather Service.

Wednesday’s temperatures broke the previous high for the date of 96 degrees set in 1996. The best Thursday could do was to tie the high for June 21 set in 1953.

Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee had a high of 95 degrees while Barnes Airport in Westfield came in at 96.

The Republican weather station showed an unofficial high of 96 degrees in downtown Springfield

Typically the average high temperature at the start of summer is 80 degrees.

The forecast Friday calls for temperatures around 93 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms in the morning.

Saturday and Sunday are expected to be mostly sunny with temperatures of around 83 degrees.

For the second straight day, the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory to alert people to the dangers of high temperatures and high humidity. The combination of the heat and humidity, a measure known as the heat index, made conditions feel as if it was closer to 102 degrees.

The advisory warns people against about prolonged outside and recommends people drink plenty of fluids.

Barclay Dugger, the head athletic trainer at Springfield College, said being overcome by the heat in weather like this is serious business and not just a concern for athletes at sporting events.

On hot days with high humidity, the human body is simply not as able to cool down on its own. The body releases heat by sweating, but on very humid days, all that sweat clings to the body instead of evaporating, he said.

Too much exertion on a hot day runs the risk of heat exhaustion, which is when a person’s body temperature rises to 104 degrees. The symptoms are lightheadedness or nausea, an urge to vomit and skin is cool and pale.

“Your body is telling you that you need to stop what you’re doing and get fluids in it.”

Heat stroke occurs when the body temperature rises above 104. The symptoms are similar although someone with heat stroke may show irritability or seem irrational. Failure to treat heat stroke can result in coma or death, he said.

“If you need to work outside, take frequent breaks,” he said. Cool down when you can and drink plenty of water or sports drinks.

Athletic trainers and athletes are always concerned about heat exhaustion, he said. But a typical suburban homeowner mowing his lawn, or a kid playing basketball on an asphalt court in the park may not be as aware, he said.

The exact same rules apply, he said.

Drink plenty of fluids, take breaks when you can and try to cool off when you can, he said. The most important thing is to show some common sense.

“Common sense tells you that you need to drink fluids when it’s hot,” he said.

In Springfield, the heat prompted the city to establish a number of cooling centers where residents can go to beat the heat.

“It is very important that residents heed the message to take whatever precautions necessary to stay cool and avoid exhaustion and other health ailments associated with the high heat index,” said Thomas Walsh, spokesman for Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.

The city also opened a dozen splash pads are locations around the city for people to go an get wet cool off.

On Friday, available cooling centers will be the Mason Square Senior Center, 74 Walnut St., Riverview Senior Center, 120 Clyde St., and Greenleaf Community Center, 1188 1/2 Parker St.. Each will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday.

Northampton opened a cooling center at the city Senior Center, 67 Conz St.

It opened Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It will be open Friday during the same hours.

South Hadley opened a cooling center at the town library, 27 Bardwell St., on Thursday and intends to have it open again on Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In Holyoke, a cooling center set up at the War Memorial, 310 Appleton St., was scheduled to close Thursday at 8 p.m. after being open for two days, although depending on how Friday turns out it may reopen.

Mayor Alex B. Morse said he will review the weather forecast Friday morning and notify the Board of Health whether it should be reopened for another day.

The heat claimed the life to two dogs in Franklin County on Wednesday.

The Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital in South Deerfield reported that two dog died Wednesday as a result of being overcome by heat after being left in a vehicle.

One dog was dead on arrival, while the other had to be put down because of heat-related injuries, said officials at the veterinary hospital on Greenfield Road hospital.

The dogs reportedly had access to water as they waited in the rear of a covered pickup truck whose windows were open.

Deerfield Police Chief Michael Krusiewski said he checked with hospital officials, and they told him that the incident did not occur in Deerfield, which places it outside of
his jurisdiction.

He said yesterday afternoon that he was notified the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is looking into it.

Rob Halpin, spokesman for the MSPCA, said investigators have just started gathering information about the case, but it is too soon to say if charges of neglect or cruelty will be brought against the owner.

“Most of the time when (a dog dies from being left in a car), its an accident and not neglect. It’s a very fine line,” he said. “And that’s what we’re looking at here.”

CBS 3 Springfield, The Republican and MassLive.com's media partner, says the accident was reported after 9 p.m., and that the woman suffered serious injuries.

CHICOPEE - A woman has been sent to Baystate Medical Center after her car crashed into MAR Auto Service, located at 31 Prospect Street.

CBS 3 Springfield, The Republican and MassLive.com's media partner, says the accident was reported after 9 p.m. Thursday, and that the woman suffered serious injuries.

Chicopee police are investigating the crash.

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The amount of money an applicant can get depends on the size and type of project.

File photo by Greg Saulmon / The RepublicanA row of homes in the Churchill Homes project built with federal H.U.D. funds.

HOLYOKE – Developers, home-builders and other property owners have until July 20 to apply for shares of a $700,000 federal housing grant.

The HOME Fund grant is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Alicia M. Zoeller, deputy administrator of the city Office for Community Development, said Wednesday.

The money is intended for larger projects and not individual homeowners, she said.

“HOME Fund recipients must have demonstrated developer capacity, experience, and fiscal soundness with a demonstrated neighborhood market demand for the proposed project,” Zoeller said.

The $700,000 is being shared by the cities in the Holyoke-Chicopee-Westfield Consortium. The percentages of the money each city gets is based on a HUD formula, she said, with Holyoke getting nearly 53 percent, or $371,000, Chicopee 32.1 percent, or $224,700 and Westfield 15.1 percent, or $105,700.

To get a proposal packet to apply for the grant call (413) 322-5610.

There is no set maximum amount of award to any one applicant. The amount of the award depends on the size and type of project, with the final decisions to be made by Mayor Alex B. Morse and community development officials, Zoeller said.

The city is seeking HOME Fund proposals for projects that increase housing for low- and moderate-income people to own and rent; help low- and moderate-income people with downpayment and closing costs so they can become homeowners; and rehabilitate existing rental housing.

The HOME funding has dropped the past three years. The consortium got $801,728 this year, $854,168 last year and $1,204,175 the previous year, she said.

The Fest of All will be held from Thursday through July 1.

File photo by David Molnar / The RepublicanQuinn Kortright, of Amherst, plays on a bungee jump set up at Chicopee's Fest-of-all at Szot Park last year.

CHICOPEE – There will be food, fireworks and, for the first time this year, a fishing derby at the city’s Fest of All.

This is the seventh year of the event held in Szot Park. It will begin next Thursday and run through July 1. Admission is free.

The highlight remains the fireworks, which will start around 9 p.m. Saturday as many as 30,000 people are believed to fill the park just for that and at least 60,000 people are expected to attend at least one part of the event, said Robert Liswell, one of the founders of the Fest of All.

The Fest of All started as a food festival, and this year more than 20 vendors will sell everything from Italian sausage and pierogis to canolis and cupcakes. There are more with a dozen bands providing music and many events will be offered.

“It is real simple. It is a summer event to get the family out. It is a food festival first and foremost and there are plenty of other events,” Liswell said.

This is the second year the five-mile road race and walk will be held and the antique car show and motorcycle poker run will return. The Chicopee firefighters and police will again face off in a softball challenge, he said.

“We added some more amusements for the kids and we added two new youth events,” he said.

Sunday there will be a bike pageant where children decorate bicycles and drive around the park. That will be preceded by a fishing tournament for children 10 and younger at Beemis Pond.

The fishing tournament was the idea of City Clerk Keith W. Rattell, who has fished in the pond and approached the Fest of All committee with the idea and the promise to sponsor it for the first year.

“I just thought I would something nice for the kids,” Rattell said. “The volunteers work very hard every year and I’m always impressed with what they do and I figured I would contribute a little extra.”

Rattell said he has received permits to stock the pond with between six and seven dozen trout of different sizes. It will cost about $500 for the fish and he will provide prizes.

The Fest of All is run by a non-profit, incorporated group. There are about 40 members who spend months organizing, soliciting for sponsors and registering vendors. In addition, about 200 people volunteer during the four days, Liswell said.

Bands are mainly funded by sponsors and vendor fees generally finance events, public safety personnel and other costs. Any surplus at the end of the event is used for next year’s planning, he said.

While the fireworks are a vital part of the Fest of All, they are run by the Parks and Recreation Department and several local businesses pay the expenses. The Fest of All committee and recreation commission work together, he said.

The graduates are moving on to law enforcement careers throughout the region.

SPRINGFIELD – Thirty-five newly-minted Western Massachusetts police officers received their badges Friday morning during the 47th annual Recruit Officer Course graduation ceremony at Springfield Technical Community College.

The graduates of the Western Massachusetts Academy are moving on to law enforcement careers throughout the region. Departments gaining new officers include Pittsfield, Northampton, Ware, Athol, Longmeadow and many others.

“I can certainly say you are all in for the ride of your life,” said Adams Police Chief Donald Poirot.

[Photo gallery: Graduation ceremony]

Graduates, both during the ceremony and after, spoke of the rigors of the training and the camaraderie that class members formed with each, their instructors and mentors. “To get here we have experienced a lot,” said graduate and class president Mustafa Thompson, now an Agawam police officer. “The 47th at times looked down for the count, yet somebody from the group would always bring us up.”

“I am just overjoyed that it’s al over,” said Emily Rios, who starts on the dogwatch shift with the Springfield Police Department next Thursday. “I think everyone really deserved it and we all worked really hard.”

The stark realities of the world that the graduates are poised to enter was evoked a number of times through the ceremony by the mention of the late Officer Kevin Ambrose, fatally gunned down less than three weeks while responding to a domestic incident just a few miles away.

Near the start of the ceremony, a bagpiper played Amazing Grace in honor of Ambrose and the 45 other law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the United States since the start of the year.

“This is probably the proudest moment of my life,” said graduate Johnny A. Jusino Jr., who received his badge from his father, and now fellow Chicopee police officer, Johnny A. Jusino Sr. “The training was definitely intense.”

Graduate Michael Sousa, now an East Longmeadow police officer, received his badge from his grandfather, Americo Sousa, a retired colonel with the state police.

William P. Nagle, clerk magistration for the Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown served as keynote speaker. His son, Kasey Nagle, was one of the graduates and is embarking on his career with the Amherst Police Department.

“Today, once you put on that badge, the public will expect you to have all the answers, “ said Nagle, adding that offieers often assume the role of street-side psychologists or marriage counselors.

Northampton Police Sgt. Robert Powers, also a staff instructor, urged the graduates to hew to the straight and narrow in both their private and proffessional lives.

“Doing the right thing is not always the easiest, but it is the easiest to live with,” Powers said.

The Chicopee City Council voted 11-0 to spend $200,000 to purchase a new ambulance and also called for a study of the emergency medical system run by the Fire Department.

Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette

CHICOPEE – The City Council voted to spend the most of the remaining money in its free cash account to purchase an ambulance after hearing a plea from the fire chief.

The Council voted 11-0 to spend $200,000 to purchase a new ambulance and also called for a study of the emergency medical system run by the Fire Department.

The request came after Fire Chief Stephen S. Burkott said city’s fleet of ambulances is aging and need more and more repairs. Two have nearly 200,000 miles on them.

“I had three go out of service one weekend and we had to borrow one from Westfield,” Burkott said.

Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette proposed the purchase, explaining how often the ambulances are in use. About 8,000 of the 10,000 calls for assistance the Fire Department receives are calls for an ambulance.

During the discussion, the City Council also asked about the costs of running the service and if it is practical to upgrade it to provide paramedic care, instead of using a private ambulance. Several Fire Departments, including Agawam’s, have done that in the past.

“I would like a report on how much it would cost,” Councilor James K. Tillotson said.

Bissonnette said it was worth investigating but said it would take time since firefighters would have to return to school to earn paramedic certifications and the city would also have to purchase more equipment for the ambulances.

Tillotson said he would also like to know more about the cost of running the ambulance now.

“Can we get in writing a budget of how much we take in and how much we spend?” he asked.

The city is reimbursed by insurance companies on the cost of the service, but Tillotson questioned if the funding fully pays for the cost of running the ambulance.

City Council President George R. Moreau agreed to ask Burkott for a report of the service.

“I know it is a worthy service. I just want to know what it costs,” Tillotson said.

Bissonnette said he was unsure about the exact costs but agreed with Tillotson that it does not break even.

Since Chicopee was able to get an interest rate of less than 1 percent, it makes sense to borrow the money short-term and pay it back when FEMA reimburses the city for storm costs, a city councilor said.

Republican file photo

CHICOPEE – The City Council agreed to borrow $4.4 million to give the city available money to purchase an ambulance and some police cruisers and to pay other bills over the next four months.

In what was called an accounting procedure, the City Council also rescinded earlier votes to pay nearly $5.8 million in costs to the October storm, and will technically use the money borrowed in a short-term loan to pay those bills.

“It is really an accounting procedure. The bills have all been paid,” Councilor James K. Tillotson said. “It will give us some liquidity.”

Days before the late October storm hit the city’s free cash – or surplus money from the previous year’s budget – was certified for $5.9 million. The city used nearly all of it to pay bills from the subsequent cleanup.

While it is expecting the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse about $4.5 million of the costs of the cleanup, the city is not expected to see that money until October at the earliest.

It could withdraw money from the city’s about $6 million stabilization account, but that money is earning between 5 and 6 percent interest in investments and the city would also have to pay additional penalties, Councilor Jean J. Croteau said.

Since the city was able to get an interest rate of less than 1 percent, it makes sense to borrow the money short-term and pay it back when FEMA reimburses the city for storm costs, he said.

“It will free up money for the city and we will get it back soon,” Croteau said.

Councilors adopted the changes in 11-0 votes. Most said it made sense so the city will be able to pay future bills.

After accepting the change, the City Council immediately voted to spend $280,000 of the $4.4 million to purchase at least eight police cruisers.

Typically the city replaces some cruisers annually but did not last year because Ford had stopped making the Crown Victoria, traditionally used by officers. After researching options, police officials have decided to buy Ford Interceptors, Councilor Frank N. LaFlamme said.

The Council also voted 11-0 to spend the about $200,000 it has remaining in the free cash account to purchase a new ambulance for the Fire Department.

Fire Chief Stephen Burkott said all of the city’s ambulances are aging and the city recently had to borrow one from the Westfield Fire Department because all three broke down one weekend.

The firearm is in pristine condition and has been appraised at $100,000.

submitted photoThis shows the butt of the Inshaw rifle, owned by the Chicopee Historical Society. which will be published in upcoming book "Colt's Nineteenth Century Engravers" by Hebert G. Houze.

CHICOPEE – The Historical Society could sell one of its most valuable artifacts to help convert a former Facemate building into a museum.

Members agreed there is no easy answer so it is forming two committees to research the proposal to sell a rifle engraved by Richard Bates Inshaw, who became well known in the 1800s for his elaborate etching work on ornamental swords and other items, said Stephen R. Jendrysik, a member of the Chicopee Historical Society and president of the Edward Bellamy Memorial Association.

Richard Inshaw was already well-respected as an engraver in New York when he chose to move his family to Chicopee and take a job at the Ames Company in 1836. At the time the company was relatively new and had just received its first government contract to make military swords, Jendrysik said.

Family of Inshaw donated the gun to the Historical Society in 2003. Members appreciated the historic significance of the gun but never knew it was that valuable.

In 2009 Herbert G. Houze, an expert on historic firearms, the author of many books on firearms and a former curator of several museums including the former Winchester Army Museum of Wyoming, contacted Jendrysik after reading a column he wrote about the donation that ran in the Republican and on Masslive.com.

He visited Chicopee, examined the gun and appraised it’s value at about $100,000, Jendrysik said.

“Is it without a doubt the best pre-1850 American firearm I’ve ever seen,” said Houze, who lives in Wyoming.

Submitted photoThis shows the engraved lock plate of the Inshaw rifle owned by the Chicopee Historical Society.

The gun is believed to have been made by Joseph Inshaw and engraved by his brother Richard. It has silver inlays on the stock and gold inlays in other places. It was likely used to demonstrate their work, he said.

“It is so over the top. It would have been too expensive for every day use,” Houze said.

In addition the gun is in superb condition. Jendrysik said it has never been fired.

Wednesday the Historical Society decided to put off making the choice until more research can be done. It expects to make a decision in September, Jendrysik said.

By selling the firearm, which is now being stored in a bank vault, the Historical Society may be able to create a museum to preserve its rich industrial history, he said.

The proposal is to take a former warehouse, which is the only building from the Facemate complex that will not be demolished this summer, and convert it.

There is one museum in the city, the Edward Bellamy House, which is owned by the private non-profit Edward Bellamy Society. The building, which is the former home of the famous author, is not large enough to house most of the Historical Society’s industrial collection.

The Bellamy Society and the Historical Society are different groups, but they work together.

Unlike most of the buildings on the Facemate and Uniroyal complex, the warehouse was rented for years to Baskin Truck Supply and was kept in good condition.

“It is on the road to the new senior center and the (planned) bike path will go right by it,” Jendrysik said. “It doesn’t leak, the floors are sound. The biggest problem is asbestos.”

He called it ideal for a museum, and said if the city does not preserve its industrial history soon, it will be too late.

The city owns a large number of artifacts that show its past as one of the biggest industrial centers in the state, but it has never been able to display them. There is a cannon and a sword collection from Ames Privilege, a restored historic fire truck, an early power lawnmower from Savage Arms and Belcher Taylor farm equipment from company which was in business from 1864 to 1923 in Chicopee, Jendrysik said.

Selling the gun would give the Historical Society the money to do an engineering study on the building and repair and renovate it.

Converting the building to a historical museum may also move the project forward to demolish buildings and clean up hazardous waste at the Uniroyal site, since saving that building could mitigate the negative historical impacts of razing other buildings, Jendrysik said.

The Massachusetts Historical Commission has given the city permission to demolish all the buildings with the exception of the former Fisk administration building and a building next to is which is rented to Quality Plus, Inc., on the Uniroyal property, said Brian S. McNiff, spokesman for Secretary of State William F. Galvin, which oversees the commission.

The city is slowly doing the work as money becomes available.

The Fisk building is in poor condition. The roof leaks, windows are broken and there are questions about the building’s structural integrity, Christopher Nolan, project director for the Uniroyal cleanup, said.

“It is historical but it can be saved only with an extreme amount of money and it does not appear to be viable for reuse,” he said.

The report focuses on jobs, defense contracts and economic impact of state military bases.

Photo by Albert J. Masciadrelli

The state’s six military bases are responsible for more than 45,000 jobs and nearly $14 billion annually in the commonwealth’s economy, an analysis prepared for the state’s Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force found.

“From the Pioneer Valley to Cape Cod, these many jobs support our military and we cannot afford to overlook their value,” Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray said Tuesday in releasing the findings of the University of Massachusetts’ Donahue Institute and Defense Technology Initiative.

“Jobs supported by the military are greater than we ever realized and that reinforces our effort to advocate for our bases as we move forward to actively protect them” from potential federal cutbacks, Murray said.

The report examines each of the six bases in terms of jobs, defense and homeland security contracts and economic impact. A larger report that focuses on defense and homeland security economic benefits to the six New England states, also done by the Donahue Institute and DTI, was released Monday showing a regional economic impact of $34 billion and 319,000 jobs.

Both reports will be added to the state’s arsenal in combating potential reduction of military bases, manpower and defense contracts in the Department of Defense plan to cut $500 billion in spending over the next 10 years. The Air Force announced in March plans to cut 153 civilian and 180 military positions in Massachusetts as early as Oct. 1.

“We understand cuts and consolidation are necessary. We are asking for a seat at that table to offer alternatives,” Murray said. “We can offer options like enhanced use leasing, energy conservation and infrastructure investments to help reduce that.” Murray’s reference to enhanced leasing is representative at both Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield and Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee where both facilities are shared by both full-time military and different reserve and National Guard units.

Murray said the task force continues to work “daily” with the state’s congressional delegation to promote a bipartisan approach to defense cutbacks.

Air Force secretary Michael B. Donley, in response to Massachusetts Congressional delegation, declared last week the core mission of electronics and cyber warfare at Hanscom Air Force Base will not change despite changes in national defense.

In addition to Hanscom, military installations in the state are Westover Air Reserve Base; Barnes Air National Guard Base; U.S. Army’s Soldier Systems Center in Natick; Fort Devens and the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod.

Murray was joined Tuesday by members of the state’s new Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force, state military leaders including Massachusetts National Guard acting Adjutant General L. Scott Rice, DTI President Chris Anderson; Donahue Institute executive director Lynn Griesemer and New England Council president James T. Brett to discuss details of the report.

Griesemer said combined, the two reports create a picture of the economic benefit to the New England region and “combined will serve to strengthen” efforts to preserve defense installations in the northeast.

Martin Romitti, director of economic and public policy at the Donahue Institute, said “effective defense requires support from highly skilled workers, precision manufacturing and scientific and technical experts. Military base here have become crucial hubs for promoting and making these connections and innovations possible that benefit national security and the economy.”

In addition to jobs, Rice said the report recognizes that the location of military installation in the state “also allow for rapid response to local, domestic and international security missions as well as natural disasters. That kind of support is priceless.”

Military Bases Economic Contribution

Brig. Gen. Frederick Walker served at Westover from 1986 through 1992.

File photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanBrig. Gen. Frederick D. Walker stands in front of a C-5 Galaxy jet when he was commander of Westover Air Reserve Base.

CHICOPEE – The man described as the father of the modern Westover Air Reserve Base has died.

Brig. Gen. Frederick D. Walker, who was better known as Mike, died this past weekend at the home of one of his children in Illinois.

Walker ended his 37-year military career at Westover. He arrived as the commander in 1986 and served there through 1992.

“I think of him as the father of the modern day Westover. Everything we have here, the Galaxy Council and the USO and the flight simulator, he fought to bring all of those things here,” said Mary Syriac, executive officer for the 439th Mission Support Group, who served as Walker’s secretary.

When Walker took over, reservists were considered “weekend warriors,” but that changed during his tenure, especially with Persian Gulf War of 1990, she said.

Westover became the main staging area for moving equipment and military personnel to the Persian Gulf in the summer and fall of 1990, and its role reversed when troops returned home six months to a year later, Syriac said.

At the time, crowds would converge at Westover and welcome every returning plane. That idea came from Walker, she said.

Walker had true talents as a leader. He was a champion of Westover and used his vast experience and military connections to modernize the base, Syriac said.

“I remember in a meeting about Desert Shield and Desert Storm he said we need to put together an area where families can get information. The next day we had a family readiness center,” she said.

Walker was married to Carol Walker, who died in December. He loved to farm, and had returned to his family’s farm in Michigan after retiring, Syriac said.

Col. Steven D. Vautrain, commander of the 439th Airlift Wing, announced Walker’s death to the base Tuesday. He talked about Walker’s leadership during the Gulf War and said he set the “gold standard” for homecomings.

Information about funeral services have not been announced yet, he said.

Retired Public Affairs Chief Gordon A. Newell said Walker never had an easy time at Westover. He arrived when the base was switching from flying the C-130 Hercules to the C-5 Galaxy jets and the Persian Gulf War followed.

“Gen. Walker got us through the whole thing,” he said. “He was a really good man and he was a great commander. They don’t make them like him any more.”

His legacy will be the welcome home celebrations, which have continued nationwide for troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, Newell said.

“It was before 9/11. You can’t open the base like we opened the base and these people came flooding in,” Newell said. “There were 3,000, 4,000 people waiting for an airplane.”

Lt. Col. James R. Swindell worked with Walker for four years as his executive officer handling a variety of details and assignments.

“I found him to be very focused on whatever he was doing,” Swindell said.

With Walker results counted and the general from time-to-time would move people into jobs he felt were better suited for their abilities was able to move people around to make a stronger wing, he said.

He called Walker a hard worker especially during the conversion to C-5 Galaxy jets and then during the Persian Gulf War.

“During the war he was working 15 hours a day, seven days a week,” Swindell said.

Master Sgt. Kimberly A. Babin, Chicopee’s Veterans’ Services director, said she was a new reservist at Westover when she met Walker in 1989.

“He made a huge impression on Westover,” she said. “He was a very big people person, he cared about people and he made it fun and he made you proud to be in the military.”

“If I were to sum it up, he had a huge impact of Westover, he had a huge impact on the airmen and he had a huge impact on the community,” Babin said.

Traffic will be detoured away from the Market Square section of Chicopee Center as work crews address the soggy situation.

CHICOPEE — A water main break near City Hall is expected to make for a wet and messy commute in Chicopee Center this morning.

The break was reported around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. The affected streets include sections of Springfield, Exchange and Grape streets near City Hall, and officials are asking motorists to avoid these areas this morning, a city police spokesman said.

There's no official word on what caused the main to break, but crews are attempting to fix the problem. A section of Springfield Street has reportedly collapsed as a result of the break.

The impact on area residents and businesses was not immediately clear, though a local TV station is reporting that the break is not expected to affect water delivery or pressure to residents of the Market Square section of the city.

Chicopee Water Department Superintendent Alan M. Starzyk told abc40 that roughly 1.7 million gallons of water was released during the break. No water was flowing as of 5:30 a.m., Starzyk said.

This is not the first time a water main break has resulted in a soggy situation in the city's center. An April 2011 break in a cast iron pipe buried under South Street between Nonotuck Avenue and School Street caused about $100,000 in damage, officials said at the time.

In February 2009, a major break left all of Chicopee without water, dumping about 650,000 gallons onto city streets and causing part of Granby Road to collapse.

"The water came flying out," Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said Sunday.

Check back with MassLive.com later today for updates on this and other stories.

MAP of area where a water main break was reported early Thursday:

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