WEST SPRINGFIELD - Michael J. Banas, a police officer with more than 25 years experience, was officially sworn in as a captain by Mayor Edward Sullivan on Feb. 28 at 26 Central St. “He’s been working hard for West Springfield and the law enforcement for 26 years and I know he was appointed captain March of 2011,” said Sullivan. “The...

WEST SPRINGFIELD - Michael J. Banas, a police officer with more than 25 years experience, was officially sworn in as a captain by Mayor Edward Sullivan on Feb. 28 at 26 Central St.

“He’s been working hard for West Springfield and the law enforcement for 26 years and I know he was appointed captain March of 2011,” said Sullivan. “The thing I can say about Mike is that everything he’s received he’s earned and this is no exception.

“We’re looking forward to some really positive leadership,” said Sullivan.

Michael J. Banas said he is thankful for his position as police captain and he gave special consideration to his family and his co-workers such as Chief of Police Ronald Campurciani.

Seven people were arrested at 12 Mattoon St. in Metro Center, and 11 were arrested at 36 Fort Pleasant Ave. in Forest Park, according to Springfield Police Department records.

 

SPRINGFIELD — City police charged a total of 18 people in connection with recent Metro Center and Forest Park drug investigations, according to online arrest records.

The records do not indicate if the arrests were the result of coordinated raids stemming from long-term investigations, but the suspects were charged with drug crimes ranging from distribution to possession to possession with intent to distribute.

Seven people were arrested early on the evening of March 1 at 12 Mattoon St. in Metro Center, and 11 people were taken into custody the previous afternoon at 36 Fort Pleasant Ave. in the Forest Park section of the city.

Police said the charges involved class A, B and D drugs, which may include heroin, crack and marijuana, respectively.

Arrested in the Metro Center case were Leonardo Mendez, 26, Jerome Jahmol Washington, 42, and Clifford Williams, 50, all of 12 Mattoon St.; Springfield residents Yan Israel Caraballo, 35, of 769 Worthington St., Marcus Joel Lebron, 26, of 93 Pine St. and Angel Luis Santiago, 43, of 53 Lebanon St.; and Westfield resident Laura Owens, 44, of 34 Meadow St.

Arrested in the Forest Park case were the following residents of 36 Fort Pleasant Ave.: Robert H. Campbell, 22; Trenton Lewis, 20; Khidhr N. Moultrie, 31; Rashaad Moultrie, 18; Munir Qadir, 26; Najee A. Qadir, 23; and Yusuf Qadir Jr., 23.

Also taken into custody were Naugutuck, Conn., resident Joshua Dickens, who turns 23 Friday; Herman Cruz Montes, 26, of 716 Chicopee St., Chicopee; and Springfield residents Justin Dajuan Graham, 23, of 110 Lincoln St. and Decovin Jerome Hall, 30, of 99 Washington St.

Graham also was charged with two gun offenses, according to police records.

Arraignment information for the suspects was not immediately available.

Massachusetts now has more than 3,000 bears, most of which tend to roam the hinterlands west of the Connecticut River. But the bear population continues to spread eastward, with sightings becoming more frequent in heavily developed parts of the state.

BELCHERTOWN — What a difference a day makes.

One day you're with the leader of the free world in Connecticut, talking about raising the federal minimum wage so the nation's lowest-paid workers can survive. The next day you're scrambling through the snow-covered woods of Belchertown in search of bears.

Baby bears, that is.

And the guy who'll be surveying bear cubs with MassWildlife officials in Belchertown on Thursday is Gov. Deval Patrick, who just a day earlier joined Barack Obama at Central Connecticut State University as the president discussed such policy initiatives as elevating the minimum hourly pay rate for people.

Patrick and wildlife biologists will set out from the McLaughlin Fish Hatchery, 90 East St., at about 9:45 a.m.

The state began studying its bear population way back in 1970, when there were only about 100 of the large omnivores in Massachusetts. Today, however, that population is estimated at well over 3,000 bears, whose favorite territory tends to be forested areas west of the Connecticut River.

That said, the bear population continues to spread through Worcester County, with bear sightings as far east as suburban Boston and as far south as Cape Cod, where a wayward bear became somewhat of a tourist attraction in 2012.

In recent years, sightings have become more common in suburban Springfield, including the city's eastern suburbs. Meanwhile, Northampton sightings have become so common that the city could some day add "Bear City" to its list of nicknames.

 

The 22-year-old New Jersey native died suddenly on Tuesday, according to officials.

EASTHAMPTON — Williston Northampton School teacher and coach Brian Crockett has died of "medical complications," according to an official statement on the private school's Facebook page.

"Although he joined us just this year, Brian quickly became a beloved colleague, teacher, coach and friend to many in the Williston community," the statement reads. "Our thoughts are with Brian's family at this sad time, as we join them in mourning this terrible loss."

Head of School Bob Hill could not immediately be reached for comment, but the Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that the 22-year-old Passaic, N.J., native started working at the Easthampton school in fall 2013.

Williston spokeswoman Traci Wolfe told the Northampton newspaper that Crockett did not feel well this past weekend and went to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton for treatment. He died suddenly on Tuesday from medical complications, Wolfe said.

According to the school's web page about its football team, Crockett was a line coach who had graduated from Colgate University in 2013. In his senior year at Colgate, Crockett started all 12 games at offensive left guard, and was named to the 2012 All-Patriot League first team.

On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia had no intention of annexing Crimea, while insisting its residents have the right to determine the region's status in a referendum.

TIM SULLIVAN, Associated Press
YURAS KARMANAU, Associated Press

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (AP) — Lawmakers in Crimea called a March 16 referendum on whether to break away from Ukraine and join Russia instead, voting unanimously Thursday to declare their preference for doing so.

"This is our response to the disorder and lawlessness in Kiev," Sergei Shuvainikov, a member of the local Crimean legislature, said. "We will decide our future ourselves."

The 100-seat parliament in Crimea, which enjoys a degree of autonomy under current Ukrainian law, voted 78-0, with eight abstentions in favor of holding the referendum, and for joining Russia. Local voters will also be given the choice of deciding to remain part of Ukraine, but with enhanced local powers.

There was no immediate response from the Ukrainian central government to the vote. On Wednesday, Ukraine's prime minister told The Associated Press that Crimea would remain part of Ukraine.

In Moscow, a prominent member of Russia's parliament, Sergei Mironov, said he has introduced a bill to simplify the procedure for Crimea to join Russia and it could be passed as soon as next week, the state news agency ITAR-Tass reported.

On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia had no intention of annexing Crimea, while insisting its residents have the right to determine the region's status in a referendum. Putin called a meeting of his Security Council on Thursday to discuss Ukraine.

A referendum had previously been scheduled in Crimea on March 30, but the question to be put to voters was on whether their region should enjoy "state autonomy" within Ukraine.

Earlier, Crimea's new leader said pro-Russian forces numbering more than 11,000 now control all access to the peninsula in the Black Sea and have blockaded all military bases that have not yet surrendered.

The West has joined the new Ukrainian leadership in Kiev in demanding that Russia pull its forces back from Crimea, but little progress was reported after a flurry of diplomatic activity in Paris on Wednesday involving U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

European Union leaders will meet for an emergency session in Brussels on Thursday to decide what sort of sanctions they can impose on Russia over its actions in Ukraine. Moscow has threatened to retaliate if any punitive measures are put in place.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, in Brussels for the summit, said Russia was continuing to stir up trouble.

"We ask Russia to respond whether they are ready to preserves peace and stability in Europe or (whether) they are ready to instigate another provocation and another tension in our bilateral and multilateral relations," Yatsenyuk said.

In Simferopol, Crimea's capital, about 50 people rallied outside the local parliament Thursday morning waving Russian and Crimean flags. Among the posters they held was one that said "Russia, defend us from genocide."

"We are tired of revolutions, maidans and conflicts and we want to live peacefully in Russia," said one of the bystanders, Igor Urbansky, 35. "Only Russia can give us a peaceful life."

Maidan is the name of the downtown square in Kiev where tens of thousands of protesters contested the rule of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia.

Not all in this city favored the lawmakers' action.

"This is crazy. Crimea has become Putin's puppet," said Viktor Gordiyenko, 46. "A referendum at gunpoint of Russia weapons is just a decoration for Putin's show. A decision on occupation has already been made."

Svetlana Savchenko, another Crimean lawmaker, said the choice she and her fellow deputies took in favor of joining Russia will force Moscow to make a decision.

"This is our principled position," she told The Associated Press. "Now the Russian Federation must begin a procedure - will it take us in or not."

Under the Soviet Union, Crimea belonged to the Russian Federation until it was transferred to Ukraine in 1954 by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Concern that the turmoil could engulf eastern Ukraine grew after hundreds of demonstrators — many chanting "Russia! Russia!" — stormed a government building on Wednesday in Donetsk, a major industrial center near the Russian border.

Clashes between protesters and police broke out early Thursday in Donetsk as police cleared demonstrators from the regional administration center. The Ukrainian flag once again was hoisted over the building, and about 100 Ukrainian Interior troops could be seen in and around it. Two large trucks were parked in front to block the approach.

The European Union on Wednesday extended $15 billion in aid to help support the new Ukrainian government, which took over in late February after months of protests drove out Yanukovych, the Moscow-supported president.

The EU also imposed asset freezes against 18 people held responsible for embezzling state funds in Ukraine, including Yanukovych, his son and some of his closest allies.

Crimea's new leader, Sergei Aksyonov, said his government was in regular contact with the Russian officials, including those in a large Russian delegation now in Crimea.

Speaking at Crimea's government meeting late Wednesday, Aksyonov said the strategic peninsula is fully under the control of riot police and security forces joined by about 11,000 "self-defense" troops. All or most of these troops are believed to be Russian, even though the Russian president and defense minister have denied sending in the military other than those stationed at the home port of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

___

Sergei Chuzavkov contributed from Donetsk, and Juergen Baetz from Brussels.

A jury has awarded $1.4 million to the family of a Westfield man killed by a drunken driver in 2010.

NORTHAMPTON (AP) — A jury has awarded $1.4 million to the family of a Westfield man killed by a drunken driver in 2010.

The Hampshire Superior Court jury determined Wednesday that 46-year-old Craig Barton was grossly negligent and acting recklessly when he got behind the wheel and struck 22-year-old Frederick Kareta III in August 2010.

Kareta was retrieving mail from his aunt's mailbox in South Hadley when a speeding Barton lost control of his car and struck him.

Kareta's father tells The Daily Hampshire Gazette he doesn't expect to see a dime, but wanted Barton held accountable.

Frederick S. Kareta

Barton represented himself at the trial.

The Springfield man pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and other charges in September 2011 in connection with Kareta's death and was sentenced to five to seven years in prison.

Rivera was fined $29,000 and surrendered two bank accounts totaling $79,000.

SPRINGFIELD — A 38-year-old city man pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to charges related to the sale of counterfeit brand-name goods in his Indian Orchard store.

Josue Rivera avoided jail time but agreed to pay a $29,000 fine and surrendered two bank accounts containing approximately $79,000, officials said.

According to prosecutors, Rivera sold imitation brand-name items at his store, Main Source, 164 Main St., Indian Orchard, from April 2011 through June 2012. Among the items being sold were items labeled Gucci, Nike, Coach, Chanel and Oakley, as well as unauthorized reproductions of movies and music CDs.

This was the second such case involving counterfeit goods in the area within in the last year.

In October, Chicopee retailer James Dent pleaded guilty to five counts of dealing in counterfeit merchandise. He was sentenced to six months in a halfway house, plus six months house arrest and probation, and fined $29,000.

Brian Turner (Creative Commons) 

The mayor and others remain hopeful the Holyoke High School Gay Straight Alliance would be able to participate in the parade.

HOLYOKE -- The status of the Holyoke High School Gay Straight Alliance's participation in the St. Patrick's parade March 23 has gone from accepted to uncertainty.

Raymond H. Feyre, spokesman for the Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade Committee, had told The Republican and MassLive.com earlier Thursday the Alliance would be accepted by the Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade Committee as a sponsored group to join the parade.

But Feyre said Thursday night that that was inaccurate and that all that 2014 parade president Jane C. Chevalier is saying about the matter for now is the committee has no comment.

It was unclear if eventually it would be decided that the Alliance can participate in the parade, he said.

"That's all we're saying at this point," Feyre said.

Mayor >Alex B. Morse, Alliance adviser Marisol Rivera and others also had commented that they understood that Alliance participation in the parade was likely.

Morse, who founded the Gay Straight Alliance when he came out as gay at age 16, said, ""It’s exciting that a group of Holyoke High School students may be part of this historic moment. I’ve never been more proud of this city, our parade and the committee who organizes it."

"They were very excited to be part of it," Rivera said.

The developments fit with the rollercoaster-like events regarding efforts this week to get gay rights groups a place in the parade.

A spokesman said MassEquality, a Boston group that has been banned from that city's parade on March 17, said the group is weighing whether it can logistically accept Morse's invitation to march in the parade here.

But any group's participation in the hugely popular parade here is the decision of the Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade Committee.

Because it is late into the planning, parade officials have said, any group that seeks to participate now must do so as a sponsored group. Such groups pay a fee of $2,000 to $15,000, are limited to three or four marchers and must agree to carry a sign provided and designed by the Parade Committee and refrain from distributing leaflets or other information during the parade. Whether a group is accepted is up to the Parade Committee.

Fran O'Connell, of O'Connell Care at Home here, told The Republican and MassLive he would pay the sponsorship fee for the Alliance members to participate in the parade if the Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade Committee approves of the group's participation.

"I just feel it is an opportunity to shine a light on Holyoke that we don't discriminate against people, we're really open," said O'Connell, of Holyoke.

President Barack Obama ordered the West's first sanctions in response to Russia's military takeover of Crimea on Thursday, declaring his determination not to let the Kremlin carve up Ukraine.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama ordered the West's first sanctions in response to Russia's military takeover of Crimea on Thursday, declaring his determination not to let the Kremlin carve up Ukraine. He asserted that a hastily scheduled referendum on Crimea seceding and becoming part of Russia would violate international law.

European leaders announced their own measures but split over how forcefully to follow America's lead. Obama threatened further steps if Russia persists.

After announcing his sanctions at midday, Obama emphasized his resolve in a personal telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin later Thursday, the White House said. In a one-hour discussion, Obama affirmed his contention that Russia's actions violate Ukraine's sovereignty.

The U.S. president told Putin there was still a way to resolve the dispute diplomatically, the White House said — with Russian forces moving back to their base in Crimea, the governments of Ukraine and Russia holding direct talks and international monitors arriving.

The U.S. is also calling on Russia to recognize the legitimacy of Ukrainian plans for elections in May, not the Crimean referendum a week from Sunday.

In all, signs still pointed to a continuing diplomatic battle over Ukraine and what could prove a broader fault line in Europe's post-Cold War order.

While East and West no longer threaten nuclear war and have vastly expanded commercial ties, Russia is determined to dominate the future of the former Soviet republics along its borders. Washington, its NATO partners and others across the continent are striving to pull these nations out of Moscow's orbit.

Underscoring his position, Obama issued an executive action slapping new visa restrictions on Russian and other opponents of Ukraine's government in Kiev and authorizing wider financial penalties against those involved in the military intervention or in stealing state assets. None of the measures appeared aimed at the Russian president personally.

"Today the world can see that the United States is united with our allies and partners in upholding international law and pursuing a just outcome that advances global security and the future that the Ukrainian people deserve," Obama said at the White House. "That's what we're going to continue to do in the days to come until we have seen a resolution to this crisis."

Obama hailed U.S. cooperation with the European Union, which imposed its own sanctions on Russia on Thursday. In an emergency meeting in Brussels, EU leaders decided to suspend talks with Putin's government on a wide-ranging economic agreement and on granting Russian citizens visa-free travel within the 28-nation bloc — a long-standing Russian objective. Yet at the same time, Europe's presidents and prime ministers were divided on more drastic steps such as freezing assets and issuing travel bans on Russian officials.

European hesitancy reflected the reality that targeting influential Russian businessmen or major Russian companies would also harm Europe's economic interests. Russian investors hold assets worth billions in European banks, particularly in Britain and Cyprus, and major exporters such as Germany and the Netherlands have far more at stake than the United States in Russia's consumer economy. Many other European countries depend on Russia for oil and gas supplies.

Russian troops have seized control of much of Crimea, where ethnic Russians are the majority. Moscow doesn't recognize the Ukrainian government that came to power after protesters ousted the country's pro-Russian president last month. Putin and other officials have cited strategic interests as well as the protection of ethnic Russians in making the case for intervention. Russia leases a major navy base there.

The Western debate over how strongly to penalize Russia is important given that neither the U.S. nor Europe is advocating the use of force. The U.S. military has stepped up joint aviation training with Polish forces and American participation in NATO's air-policing mission in its Baltic countries. But the Pentagon, like its NATO partners, has strictly ruled out military options.

In the latest threatening move Thursday, Crimean lawmakers voted 78-0 to schedule a referendum on March 16 on whether the region should secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

Obama said such a vote would "violate the Ukrainian constitution and violate international law." Because Ukraine is a member of the United Nations, any action that is unconstitutional in Ukraine would be considered illegitimate in international law.

But the West supported Kosovo's independence six years ago, which included no consent by Serbia's government and occurred despite Russian objections, Obama might have been trying to differentiate Ukraine's situation by arguing that borders shouldn't be "redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders."

The U.S. sanctions push has prompted a rare case of broad agreement among the Obama administration and most Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

The House of Representatives voted 385-23 on Thursday in favor of the first U.S. aid bill for Ukraine's fledgling government, following on an Obama administration promise of $1 billion in loan guarantees. The House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously approved a separate resolution condemning Russia's takeover of Ukraine's Crimea and urging visa, financial and trade sanctions. Senators are at work on a larger bill putting together all elements of a U.S. response and hope to introduce the legislation next week.

The EU offered $15 billion in aid to help Ukraine's cash-depleted economy on Wednesday, still far short of the $35 billion that Ukraine's government says it needs in bailout loans through next year. The U.S., EU and others are trying to work out a package with the International Monetary Fund.

Showing greater caution than Obama on sanctions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said European penalties against Russia depend "on how the diplomatic process progresses." EU President Herman Van Rompuy said travel bans, asset freezes and the cancellation of an EU-Russia summit could still come. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk acknowledged "no enthusiasm" in Europe for economic sanctions.

Western leaders fear Russia is becoming entrenched in Crimea and could turn its focus to Ukraine's industrial heart in the east, where Russian speakers similarly are a majority. Central and Eastern European countries that lived for decades under the Soviet Union's domination are especially sensitive to the threat. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite warned, "After Ukraine will be Moldova, and after Moldova will be different countries."

For the U.S. and its allies, the specter of Georgia's 2008 schism looms large. After a nine-day war between Russia and Georgia's then pro-Western government, the Kremlin supported two regions in breaking away from Georgia. Most of the world doesn't recognize their independence, but Russia protects their autonomy. Then, as now, the U.S. and EU reaction was limited in scope and included no military moves. In the United States, Obama initiated a "reset" of ties with Russia less than a year later.

With Ukraine at risk of a similar fate, the U.S. has suspended talks on an investment treaty with Russia. NATO has halted military cooperation with Russia and has decided to review all aspects of the relationship with Moscow. The U.S. and European countries have halted preparations for a planned June summit in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.

But so far Putin hasn't budged. His government claims that Viktor Yanukovych, the ousted president, remains the leader of Ukraine. The pro-Russian Yanukovych fled to a location near Moscow for protection.

Also Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry met again with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. Kerry stressed a need for a direct Russian-Ukrainian dialogue and the importance of allowing international monitors into Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Diplomatic progress appeared elusive.

Police arrested the two women Wednesday night in the South End.

From left, in photos provided by Springfield police: Jessica Chaclas and Nicole Madru. 

SPRINGFIELD - Detectives arrested a 27-year-old city woman and a 28-year-old West Springfield woman on heroin and crack cocaine charges Wednesday night after they said they spotted the pair conducting a deal in the South End.

Sgt. John M. Delaney said detectives spotted the transaction occur about 6:15 p.m. near Saratoga Street and Dwight Street Extension. The pair then entered a red Dodge Caravan and detectives followed it to East Columbus Avenue and Margaret Street where they pulled it over.

Police searched the minivan and and found 21 bags of heroin, 3 grams of crack cocaine and $1,891 in cash. Delaney, aide to Commissioner William Fitchet, said.

Nicole Madru, 28, of 137 Bosworth St., West Springfield, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

Jessica Chaclas, 27, of 63 Margaret St., was charged with distribution of cocaine.

Each woman denied the charges at their arraignments Thursday in Springfield District Court. Each was ordered held in lieu of $1,000 bail and ordered to appear back in court on April 7.

WEST SPRINGFIELD- Offense stole the show Thursday night in the Western Massachusetts Division IIIA hockey championship game at the Olympia Ice Center between No. 2 Wahconah Regional and No. 5 Chicopee, and a stunning Wahconah comeback capped it off. Leading by three goals after two periods, the Pacers looked like they were in position to capture their first Western Mass. title...

WEST SPRINGFIELD- Offense stole the show Thursday night in the Western Massachusetts Division IIIA hockey championship game at the Olympia Ice Center between No. 2 Wahconah Regional and No. 5 Chicopee, and a stunning Wahconah comeback capped it off.

Leading by three goals after two periods, the Pacers looked like they were in position to capture their first Western Mass. title since 1968, but Wahconah rattled off four unanswered goals to win 7-6. The victory gave Wahconah, of Dalton, its first Western Mass. title in team history and Berkshire County's first since 1992.

Chicopee's Devan Longtin opened the scoring 3:09 into the game, and Jeff Hancock answered right back for Wahconah 42 seconds later before Jeff Zebrowski made it 2-1 Pacers after one. The Warriors were told at the first intermission to not give up and keep it close.

"This game was far from over," Wahconah coach Don Disbrow said. "I kept telling them, 'guys, this is going to be a 5-4, if not a 6-5 game.'"

Wahconah took its coach's words to heart. The Warriors tied it up 4:33 in to the second on a beautifully executed two-on-one as Mike Bloom fed Jeff Hancock in transition. Scoring in transition and capitalizing on odd-man rushes was part of Wahconah's gameplan.

"That was a lot of our game plan to work off the transition," Disbrow said. "Generally, we're pretty forecheck heavy and try to work off of turnovers down low, but they're so good and so quick moving the puck up ice, so it's tough to get down there and establish a forecheck. We tried to take away the neutral zone and work off the transition."

And that's exactly how Wahconah scored its next goal, in transition on a blast from Hjlamar Gustafsson just in front of the blue line to take a 3-2 lead.

But that was when Chicopee's high-powered offense struck back with four unanswered goals, three of them in 28 seconds. Brian Turnbull got the final two for the Pacers and Chicopee was outshooting Wahconah 30-13 after the second period. Still, Wahconah did not lose its composure heading into the final 15 minutes, down three goals.

"We knew we could score, we just needed to tweak a couple of things, particularly there in the third, and we did that," Disbrow said.

"We're thinking we've got to come back and get three goals; it's either get three goals or it's the season so (you) leave it all out there," Wahconah sophomore forward Andrew Beaudoin said. "No one was down in our locker room and we were all motivating everyone."

The motivation helped. Just 1:05 in Dan Flynn wristed one from inside the left faceoff circle to make it 6-4 Chicopee. Beaudoin scored from the same spot 67 seconds later to pull within one, and from there, the momentum was clearly on Wahconah's side.

With 9:25 remaining Gustafsson got the equalizer, his second of the game on a feed from Nick Lillie. By that point, Wahconah had asserted its offensive power as much as Chicopee.

Chicopee went on the power play twice in the final five and a half minutes, and got off good scoring chances, but Wahconah was able to kill the penalty.

With 3:22 to go Beaudoin found the back of the net and scored the game-winner the Warriors' fourth unanswered goal. Gustafsson and Flynn contributed with the assists.

"I was just crashing the net. Danny (Flynn) did most of the work there. It was just a battle in front and I saw room so I got a nice backhander," Beaudoin said. "I think about scoring the Western Mass.-winning goal in the shower all the time."

Chicopee outshot the Warriors 43-33. Pacers goalie Jon Santos made 26 saves, while Wahconah's Roger Stedman stopped 37 shots. Beaudoin and Gustafsson each finished the game with two goals and two assists.

Wahconah will face the Central Mass. champions in the Division IIIA title game on March 12 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

The Valentine's Day sting led to the arrest of 11, including Norris and Springfield police detective John Wadlegger of Agawam, Mass. All were charged with patronizing a prostitute.

The Republican file photo 

ENFIELD, Conn. — A former Fermi High School junior varsity boys basketball coach who resigned following his arrest in Windsor Locks in a prostitution sting has been granted accelerated rehabilitation for first offenders that could erase the charge against him, according to Journal Inquirer.

The Manchester newspaper reports that a Springfield, Mass., detective charged in the same sting also applied for the program.

John F. Norris was granted accelerated rehabilitation in Enfield Superior Court. He must perform 50 hours of community service.

Norris' lawyer called it a "dark moment in his life."

The Valentine's Day sting led to the arrest of 11, including Norris and Springfield police detective John Wadlegger of Agawam, Mass. All were charged with patronizing a prostitute.

Wadlegger filed an application for the accelerated rehabilitation program on Monday. A hearing is scheduled March 31.

Trygve S. Petersen, 95, of Granville, was among American soldiers from the 99th battalion who worked with the Norwegian military in their fight against the Germans. Because he was wounded, he was never able to receive the medal while in service, but Norwegian officials made sure Petersen received the recognition he deserved.

SOUTHWICK — It was an honor he should have received 69 years ago, but Trygve S. Petersen of Granville was finally pinned Thursday with the Norwegian defense medal for fighting against the German occupation of Norway in 1945.

Petersen, 95, was among American soldiers from the 99th battalion who worked with the Norwegian military in their fight against the Germans. Because he was wounded, he wasn't able to receive the medal while in service, but Norwegian officials made sure Petersen received the recognition he deserved.

As Capt. Yngve Skoglund, from the Norway liaison NATO office in Virginia, pinned the medal on to Petersen’s original military uniform, an emotional Petersen said, “I wish the men of my battalion were here.”

“They are in your soul,” Skoglund responded.

Humbled by the honor, Petersen told the crowd gathered at the Southwick American Legion Post 338 that his memories of World War II and his involvement in the mission in Norway are tempered by the loss of men in his unit.

03.06.2014 | SOUTHWICK -- Trygave S. Petersen, of Granville, a 95-year-old, World War II veteran from the 99th Batallion in Norway, salutes the military after receiving the Norwegian defense medal during a ceremony held Thursday at the American Legion Post 338 in Southwick. Petersen is wearing his original uniform from 1945.Manon L. Mirabelli photo 

“I find it so hard to accept something for me when there are so many men who earned it more,” he said.

Petersen’s son, Karl A. Petersen, also of Granville, said as the years have gone by, his father’s memories of his service in the military have become more vivid, and most of those recollections involve the service men who lost their lives.

“He always felt that the real heroes were the men who didn’t come home,” he said, adding that for him, his father taught him the true meaning of hero.

“I’ve always been proud of him,” the younger Petersen said. “When I was a kid I thought John Wayne was a hero. Now I know my dad was the real hero.”

As the pinning ceremony of the Viking medallion ended, veterans and well-wishers lined up to shake Petersen’s hand and thank him for his service. From youngsters to senior citizens and veterans from multiple conflicts, Petersen was given a hero’s welcome seven decades after he returned from war.

Robert G. Kough, commander of Post 338, said the recognition bestowed on Petersen, a member of the Southwick American Legion, was a true honor to the local post.

“It’s our honor to have this man here,” he said.

Of Petersen’s clear memories of his World War II service, Kough said it is a common military experience to “remember people who had your back.”

“There are things you don’t forget,” he said.

The 3 locations that were raided by Springfield police are in the vicinity of Kenefick Park and Chestnut Accelerated Middle School.

SPRINGFIELD — Police arrested seven people Wednesday during simultaneous narcotics raids at three locations in the same area of the Brightwood neighborhood in the city’s North End, police said.

Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet, said narcotics detectives under the command of Capt. William Collins and Lt. Charles Cook executed search warrants just after 2 p.m. for residences at 9 Orchard St., 29 Orchard St. and 100 Division St., Apt. 301.

Narcotics detectives had been investigating the location for the past month in regard to a heroin distribution operation that had been working out of the three locations, Delaney said.

The police operation yielded quantities of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and some pills, although Delaney did not disclose how much of each. Police also confiscated $4,601 in cash.

Arrested were Alex Garcia, 23, of 44 Kamuda St.; Luis Garcia, 21, of 29 Orchard St.; Jennifer Cruz, 28, of 29 Orchard St.; Ramon Luis Melendez, 30 of 9 Orchard St.;
Victor Moctezuma, 25, of 55 Orchard St.; Jose Orta, 19, of 11 Horace St.; and Joseph Ortiz, 20, of 21 Daytona St.

Each was charged with possession of heroin, possession of marijuana and possession of Class E narcotics, each with intent to distribute, violation of a drug-free school zone and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

The raided apartments were all near Kenefick Park and the Chestnut Accelerated Middle School.

At their arraignments Thursday in Springfield District Court, each of the seven denied the charges.

Alex Garcia, Melendes and Orta were ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bail, and bail for Luis Garcia was set at $5,000. All are due back in court on April 7.

Moctezuma and Ortiz were ordered held without the right to bail and were due back in court on Friday.

Cruz was ordered held in lieu of $500. She is also due back in court on April 7.

Locations of drug raids marked in red. Blue flags show nearby park and school

An American who trained at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan in the spring of 2001 before losing his nerve testified Thursday how he encountered Osama bin Laden and the terror group's spokesman at a safe house — and that bin Laden hinted that a suicide attack on U.S. soil was in the works.

NEW YORK — An American who trained at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan in the spring of 2001 before losing his nerve testified Thursday how he encountered Osama bin Laden and the terror group's spokesman at a safe house — and that bin Laden hinted that a suicide attack on U.S. soil was in the works.

"Just know you have brothers willing to carry their souls in their hands," bin Laden told the witness, Sahim Alwan, and other recruits, Alwan said on the witness stand in federal court in Manhattan.

Asked what he thought that meant, Alwan responded, "To die."

His testimony came at the trial of bin Laden's son-in-law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, who's accused of plotting to kill Americans by being a motivational speaker at al-Qaida training camps before the Sept. 11 attacks and as a spokesman for the terror group afterward when it sought to recruit more militants to its cause.

Alwan, 41, was among a half-dozen men who became known as the Lackawanna Six after their arrests on charges of providing material support to terrorists by attending bin Laden's al-Farooq camp in Afghanistan in 2001. He pleaded guilty in 2003 and served about seven years behind bars.

Testifying under subpoena, Alwan told jurors that he became an aspiring jihadist after worshipping at a mosque in Lackawanna , N.Y., where he grew up. In April of 2001, he traveled to Pakistan and crossed the border to Afghanistan, where he was directed to the safe house to wait for an assignment to a training camp.

While staying there, bin Laden showed up in a truck with an entourage of AK-47-toting men with masks on their faces, Alwan said. He testified that he recognized bin Laden as the FBI's "most wanted guy."

He also testified that Abu Ghaith showed up at the house days later and explained an Islamic oath, or "bayat." He said the defendant told the men that if they swore allegiance to bin Laden, they were also expected to back the Taliban.

The recruits were shown a video depicting the 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole in Aden harbor in Yemen that killed 17 American sailors, Alwan said. Prosecutors say the video was narrated by Abu Ghaith, and portions of it were shown to jurors Thursday.

After seeing the video and understanding who was behind the USS Cole attack and the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa in August 1998 that killed 224 people, including a dozen Americans, he said, "I knew I was in over my head."

Once at the camp, where bin Laden visited the trainees one day, Alwan informed his trainers that he wanted to go home. He said he even faked an ankle injury, hoping to be sent to Kandahar.

But he was told that he needed to meet face-to-face with bin Laden first and that the al-Qaida leader knew he was from the United States even though he and the others had been warned not to disclose that fact.

He testified that Bin Laden quizzed him about America, asking, "How are Muslims there? ... How are the youth there? What do they think of the operations?" By operations, Alwan said, he assumed bin Laden meant suicide missions.

"I just said, 'Oh we don't think about it,'" he testified.

The survey found that on average main school buildings were 44 years old. Schools that underwent a major renovation had the work done on average 12 years ago. Building replacements or additions were on average 16 years old.

KIMBERLY HEFLING
WASHINGTON – More than half the nation’s public schools need to be repaired, renovated or modernized, a survey released Thursday found.

Getting these schools in good condition would cost about $197 billion, the National Center for Education Statistics said. That’s $4.5 million per school, on average.

The survey found that on average main school buildings were 44 years old. Schools that underwent a major renovation had the work done on average 12 years ago. Building replacements or additions were on average 16 years old.

There were signs of upgrades, however, in some schools. Seventeen percent of public schools had major repairs, renovations or modernization work underway, while nearly 40 percent had these types of improvements planned in the next two years.

School construction projects are funded in a variety of ways, depending on the state and locality. Many school districts have had to delay maintenance and construction projects because of slashed budgets during tough economic times. Even as states’ revenues are rebounding, officials from the National School Boards Association said many states are still focused on other priorities.

Reggie Felton, interim associate executive director at the National School Boards Association, said there’s a strong desire to provide modern facilities that support learning and are environmentally friendly even with limited resources. He said districts are looking for innovative ways to save money for these types of projects such as by sharing libraries or athletic fields.

The fine levied on Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton was the result of an inspection in September 2012.

NORTHAMPTON — Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton has been fined $6,000 by the state Department of Environmental Protection for failing to comply with state regulations regarding the proper disposal of hazardous waste, the state Department of Environmental Protection announced Thursday.

The fine was the result of an inspection of the hospital in September 2012, during which it was determined staff failed to properly determine the hazard level of its medical and pharmaceutical waste, and was also allowing some pharmaceutical waste to be hauled away by a firm not licensed by the state, officials said.

“Certain medications that are destined for disposal are considered hazardous wastes and must be managed in accordance with the Massachusetts hazardous waste regulations,” said Michael Gorski, director of the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Western Regional Office in Springfield.

The inspection also found hazardous materials improperly labeled.

The hospital cooperated with officials from the state agency during the investigation, and took steps to correct any areas of noncompliance immediately, officials said.

The fine was originally $8,000, but the agency agreed to waive the remaining $2,000 if the hospital remained in compliance with regulations.

A public hearing during Thursday night’s council meeting allowed Principal Planner Jay Vinsky, speaking on behalf of the Planning Board, the opportunity to present a zoning proposal to regulate marijuana cultivation and dispensary operations.

WESTFIELD – As a May 1 the moratorium on medical marijuana operations within the city is about will expire, and the City Council and Planning Board are working to create a zoning ordinance prior to that date.

A public hearing during Thursday night’s council meeting allowed Principal Planner Jay Vinsky, speaking on behalf of the Planning Board, the opportunity to present a zoning proposal to regulate marijuana cultivation and dispensary operations.

“The moratorium that was put in place last year will expire May 1,” Vinsky said. “We need to figure out how medical marijuana will fit into city zoning. It cannot be prohibited.”

Vinsky noted the importance of having an ordinance in place before May 1 by saying that without one a dispensary could be located downtown with pharmacies used as a guideline.

“If the moratorium expires and someone want to open a dispensary, the building inspector would have to put it where pharmacies are located, creating a new category of use to regulate,” Vinsky said.

Another area of concern for the Planning Board, Vinsky added, is “the retail face” that requires a zoning amendment. The proposal would allow a dispensary in the city’s Industrial A district with cultivation enterprises allowed within the Industrial B district.

At least one City Council member was concerned with the olfactory effect a cultivation operation would have on the public. Council member Cindy C. Harris asked Vinsky, how growers would contain odor from cultivation plants.

“Do these facilities emit an odor,” she questioned.

Vinsky responded that anyone interested in a cultivation operation would have to show proof of a system that would mitigate any potential odor.

“It is an area of concern,” he said. “They will have to provide evidence to comply with olfactory regulations.”

Within the Planning Board’s petition outlining regulated uses for medical marijuana, the board is proposing that a dispensary be allowed in the Industrial A district with its approval of a site plan and that appropriate security measures are put in place designed to “minimize any adverse or inconsistent visual or olfactory impacts on the immediate neighborhood,” and has met all regulations imposed by the state.

The 15-minute discussion met no opposition from the public, but neither did it receive an endorsement from community or council members with one city councilor stating his aversion to the entire subject.

“I still don’t support the whole bloody thing,” said Robert A. Paul Sr. “I just want to make that clear.”

During public comments on the matter, James Liptak, a Granville Road resident, asked if a building on his property could be used as a dispensary.

“I have a little store next to my house,” he said. “Would that be able to be a dispensary?”

Ward 4 City Councilor responded to the question by saying it is not an allowed use in that area.

“That area is zoned residential,” she noted. “It would not be allowed.”

The council voted to send the matter to its Legislative and Ordinance sub-committee for further review.

Vinsky said that since Massachusetts voters passed the medical marijuana initiative on Nov. 6, 2012, he has received “a few” calls from potential investors in a growing or dispensary operation in Westfield, but none has been confirmed.

In late January, the state Department of Public Health announced that it had approved 20 non-profit dispensaries. Eight more applicants are being given more time to find a different location. The program director expects 24 to 26 dispensaries to be operating by August. The state law allows for up to 35 in the first year.

The Planning Board will hold its public hearing on the issue during its March 18 meeting.

The authority board chairman declined to comment on the lawyer for the fired former executive director saying he'd been harassed.

HOLYOKE -- Donald E. Wilcox was unjustly fired as executive director of the Holyoke Geriatric Authority because he filed reports about problems at the nursing home, his lawyer said Thursday.

Also, said lawyer Tara M. Swartz of Boston, Wilcox had been out on medical leave since Oct. 3 because of job-related stress and learned of his Feb. 21 firing by reading MassLive.com.

"He had a really rough time at the authority. Like I said, he maintains that the harassment and bullying he was subjected to caused him to be out on medical leave," Swartz said.

Swartz wouldn't provide specifics about cases of harassment and bullying or about the nature of the reports she said Wilcox filed about the nursing home.

Board Chairman Fred Glidden Thursday declined to comment on Swartz' remarks about Wilcox or on her saying that a wrongful termination lawsuit is likely to be filed on his behalf against the authority in Superior Court in Springfield.

Swartz' comments on behalf of Wilcox were his first public reactions since the board of directors of the authority voted unanimously to fire him.

The authority's years of financial problems led the board Monday to vote to contact the state Department of Public Health about closing the facility.

Donald E. WilcoxDon Treeger, Republican staff 

The authority has 80 nursing-home beds and 80 day-care slots for elderly people. It is overseen by a board consisting of three people appointed by the City Council and three appointed by the mayor, with those six choosing a seventh member.

As of Tuesday, the authority had 71 residents and 120 employees, Administrator Michael Stroetzel said.

Wilcox, who began working at the 45 Lower Westfield Road facility in 2009, filed reports presumably with state agencies about a "myriad" of "potentially unlawful and-or unethical activity," said Swartz, who nonetheless declined to provide examples.

The board voted in open session at a meeting at the facility to fire Wilcox "for cause" after a nearly three-hour executive session. Board members declined to explain what was meant by "for cause."

The board at the Feb. 21 meeting also voted to seek the return from Wilcox of an authority computer and cell phone. Swartz said she believed those items were put in the mail Thursday for return to the authority.

A state audit released in September detailed how mismanagement at the authority led to a $2.2 million debt to city agencies. The audit covers the period of Jan. 1, 2010, to June 30, 2012, and though Wilcox' title before executive director was chief operating officer, Swartz said, "All such allegations predate Mr. Wilcox' employment."

The blaze was reported just before 7 a.m.

This story was updated at 8:35 a.m. to include details from fire officials.

SPRINGFIELD — Firefighters are at the scene of a house fire on Dunmoreland Street in the city's Upper Hill neighborhood.

The blaze, at 136-138 Dunmoreland St., was reported around 6:30 a.m. No injuries were reported.

Fire department spokesman Dennis Leger, aide to commissioner Joseph Conant, said a family of three who live on the second floor was displaced.

The fire appears to have started on the third floor, Leger said. The homes first and third floors are believed to be vacant.

Leger estimated damage to the home at $75,000.

City records list the home as a two-family dwelling, assessed at $93,200.

Investigators from the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad have not yet determined the cause of the fire.

Kat Powers, communications director for the American Red Cross - Massachusetts, said local volunteers have been dispatched to assist the family.

This is a developing story. Updates will be posted as our reporting continues.