The blaze, which broke out on the third floor, was reported about 6:30 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Arson & Bomb Squad has determined that an electrical malfunction was the cause of a fire that displaced a family of three from a Dunmoreland Street home Friday morning.

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 the family lives on the second floor and the first and third floors are vacant. The blaze started on the third floor, he said.

Leger estimated damage to the home, which is in the Upper Hill neighborhood, at $75,000.

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

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

The state Supreme Judicial Court closed the apparent loophole Friday morning.

The Republican file photo 

GREENFIELD – Western Massachusetts police, weighing in on the Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling Wednesday that the use of cell phones to take photos up women’s skirts did not violate state law, stressed those who do so are at risk of a variety of criminal charges.

“Before anyone gets any ideas....” warned police here at the start of a post on the department’s Facebook page, published the same day as the court ruling.

The post goes on to state that there are other laws that could have been used, but weren’t, to prosecute the man who used his cell phone to take pictures up the skirts of women riding on the Boston subway.

East Longmeadow Police Sgt. Patrick Manley said much the same. “There are situations where other statutes may be applicable,” he said.

The apparent loophole, which caught national attention by leaving some with the erroneous impression that “upskirting” was a perfectly legal thing to do in Massachusetts, was closed Friday morning when Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill banning it.

Manley said even without the new law, police could charge those suspected of upskirting with, for example, annoying and accosting a person of the opposite sex or disorderly conduct.

That happened in East Longmeadow in 2009 when police arrested a man suspected of using a small camera to take a photo up a woman’s skirt in a North Main Street supermarket, Manley said.

“The woman thought she felt something brush against her leg, turned around and saw him scurrying away,” Manley said, adding that the woman chased the photographer down the aisle and that store video confirmed her suspicion.

The suspect ultimately faced charges of annoying and accosting a person of the opposite sex in Palmer District Court, Manley said.

The new law makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by 2½ years in the House of Corrections and a fine of up to $5,000, to secretly photograph a person’s “sexual or other intimate parts” under or around their clothing under circumstances when “a reasonable person would believe” those parts would not be visible to the public. It makes it a felony to disseminate such pictures. The penalties are increased when the victim is a child under age 18.

The bill got unanimous support in the state Senate. The state House passed it during an informal session with no objections.

Manley said, however, that additional laws could still apply. A suspect who, for example, comes into physical contact with the victim that he is attempting to photograph, could be charged with indecent assault and battery.

Conviction on that charge would require the suspect to register as a sex offender, Manley said.

Greenfield police ended their Wednesday Facebook post by accurately predicting the state legislature’s rapid move to rectify the law.

The Facebook post stated in part: “The Greenfield Police Department warns not to partake in the activity of taking 'upskirt' photographs as we will aggressively enforce any and all applicable laws.”

Springfield Police Sgt. John M. Delaney, speaking before the passage of the new law, said Springfield police take such issues seriously.

"We wouldn't look the other way because of the recent ruling," said Delaney, aide to Commissioner William Fitchet. "We would take it seriously and make an arrest whenever it is appropriate."

Every year the bank donates more than $100,000 back to the community.

MONSON - For the fourth year in a row, Monson Savings Bank asked community members to help plan the bank’s community giving activities by inviting people to vote for the organizations they would like the bank to support during 2014.

Steven Lowell 

“This year more than 900 votes were cast which is the most since the bank began the tradition in 2010,” said Steven Lowell, president of the bank.

The top votegetters are River East School-to-Career, which will receive $2,000, Shriners Hospital for Children, which will receive $1,500, Link to Libraries, which will receive $1,500, Monson Free Library, which will receive $1,000 and Lupa Zoo, which will receive $1,000.

Also, Two Town Trolley, which will receive $750, Nomads of Hope, which will receive $750, Boy Scouts of Western Massachusetts, which will receive $500, Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts, which will receive $500 and Veritas Prep Charter School, which will receive $500.

These organizations are among many that the bank will support in 2014. Every year the bank donates more than $100,000 back to the community.

In 2013, the bank’s charitable giving to the community totaled approximately $134,000.

“It feels like it's the right thing to do to get input from the community regarding our charitable giving,” Lowell said, adding, “It is so rewarding because so many people respond.”

The Union Station property, the former train station, has been vacant since 1973. It is being eyed as an $83 million Union Station Intermodal Transportation and Rail Center.

BOSTON — Memorial Avenue in West Springfield would get a much-needed overhaul and the Union Station project in downtown Springfield would get an additional $10 million in funding according the transportation bill approved by the Massachusetts State Senate.

The bill, which passed through the Senate late Thursday, proposes a massive $13 billion in capital spending over the next five years to pay for upgrades to the state’s transportation system.

The House in January approved a $12.7 billion transportation bill.

The Senate bill and the House bill will now go to a conference committee to produce a compromise bill that would need to be approved and then signed by the governor to become law.

The Union Station property, the former train station, has been vacant since 1973. It is being developed as an $83 million Union Station Intermodal Transportation and Rail Center, which will combine train and intercity and local busing in one location.

The project, said to be on track for completion sometime next year, will include a 200-space parking garage with 23 lower-level bus berths in place of the baggage building adjacent to the station proper. Ticketing operations for Peter Pan Bus Lines, Amtrak and Greyhound will go into the surviving railroad ticket offices.

Among Western Massachusetts items included in the Senate package are:

• $3,000,000 for the design, reconstruction and safety improvements to Memorial Avenue in West Springfield;
• $3 million for a pedestrian walkway and bike path along the Connecticut River in downtown Springfield;
• $3 million for improvements to the tunnel connecting Gerena School with Main Street in Springfield;
• $2 million for the redesign and safety improvements for the intersection of Hancock, Ashley, Walnut and Alden streets in the Six Corners section of Springfield;
• $2 million for the redesign of the intersections at Alden Street, Roosevelt Avenue and Island Pond Road in Springfield.

Those items were added to the bill by State Sens. Gale D. Candaras, D-Wilbraham, and James T. Welch, D-West Springfield.

Candaras said in a prepared statement that it is critical for Massachusetts to fund transportation infrastructure projects in Western Massachusetts in order to bring new economic opportunities to the region.

“Businesses cannot do well without properly maintained roads, bridges and public transportation systems to get people to their locations,” Candaras said.

Welch said he was pleased to bring investment resources to Western Massachusetts.

"It is important that we continue to enhance our transportation system and infrastructure while working to create job opportunities throughout our communities,” he said. "These projects will increase safety, improve traffic patterns and create a pedestrian walkway and bike path along the Connecticut River."

State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, also announced he was able to include funding for several projects for communities in his district.

Brewer is chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which each year is responsible for assembling the Senate’s version of the state budget.

Among the projects he supported are:

• $3.05 million for reconstruction of Pommogussett Road and Charnock Hill in Rutland;
• $1.45 million for reconstruction of Glen Valley Road in Petersham;
• $1 million for maintenance of Route 62 in Barre;
• $2.5 million for repair and resurfacing of several roads in Phillipston;
• $1.4 million for replacement of Champeaux Road Bridge in Sturbridge;
• $2 million for the purchase, planning, design and construction of a bikeway and riverwalk in Athol;
• $200,000 for design and repair of Healdville Road Bridge in Hubbardston;
• and $250,000 for the construction of a bridge on Grant Trunk Trail in Brimfield that will connect the Brimfield Trail System to the Sturbridge Trail system.

An informational meeting for families of residents of the closing nursing home is set for Monday.

HOLYOKE -- The state Department of Public Health said Friday it had approved a plan to close the Holyoke Geriatric Authority.

The board of directors of the financially struggling nursing home at 45 Lower Westfield Road voted 3-2 Monday to contact the state and begin closing a week after the facility was unable to meet payroll for its 120 employees.

Families of the nursing home's 71 residents received letters from the authority this week about the closure. The letters said that residents would be transferred to the most appropriate nursing home in a 25-mile radius and that an informational meeting for residents and families will be held at the authority Monday from 6 to 8 p.m., said physician Howard W. Raymond, of Holyoke. Raymond's sister-in-law Janis Godere, 67, has been a resident of the authority since 1979.

The state will monitor to ensure residents are appropriately relocated, said Anne Roach, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health.

"Due to patient privacy considerations, we cannot provide specific details as to the type of assistance that has been provided to the facility and to residents," Roach said in an email.

Timing appeared to be a source of confusion, according to Raymond and others. Roach said federal regulations require that facility residents are given two months' notice of the closure.

The letter that families received from the authority notes that federal regulation. But it also says that under state law, residents won't be involuntarily transferred sooner than 45 days from the date of the letter, which was Thursday, said Raymond and Michael Parker, of South Hadley, whose mother Sabina Parker, 94, is a resident.

"Forty-five days, that's pretty soon," Raymond said.

Authority board Chairman Fred Glidden said another attempt was made at a board meeting Friday to seek funding from a lender to keep the nursing home running for a while but it was voted down.

Board members and other authority officials have met regularly with staff members to answer questions, he said.

"We're trying to make sure they know everything that's going on," Glidden said.

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.

Board members are eligible for yearly stipends of $4,000 each.

Officials have blamed the authority's financial problems on government reimbursements that covered only about 75 percent of costs and mismanagement as outlined in a state audit in September that has led to a $2.2 million authority debt to city agencies.

According to the audit, the authority failed to seize revenue sources over the years, such as missing out on fees for outpatient physical therapy services, not renting out unused space and not renting out vans to transport elderly from other facilities.

Among inefficient and unauthorized transactions cited in the audit were management's failure to research availability of funding for projects, such as one in 2009 to seek a smaller facility; making purchases such as $27,924 for a Ford pickup truck and $47,275 for an industrial dishwasher without soliciting competitive bids that could have netted lower prices; lack of written policies in the period the audit covered of Jan. 1, 2010 to June 30, 2012 to ensure that cash accounts were reconciled monthly; and lack of enforcement of procedures for use of the authority's three credit cards, such as the requirement they be locked in a safe when not needed for a specific purchase.

Mayor Alex B. Morse said closing the facility is difficult but necessary because of its financial plight.

"This will ultimately protect the taxpayers of this city, the employees of the (authority), and the residents of the facility," Morse said.

The city will continue working with authority officials to find a buyer for the property at 45 Lower Westfield Road, near the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, he said.

Lastly, Morse said, "As this process moves forward, my thoughts are with everyone who gave their heart and soul to make sure this facility was one that provided quality care and treated the residents with respect and dignity. While this chapter in the Geriatric Authority is closing, their hard work will not be forgotten and they deserve our thanks.”

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 lost contact with the Subang air traffic control at 2:40 a.m. Saturday (18:40 GMT Friday).

Associated Press [file] 

UPDATE, 10:33 p.m.: At Beijing's airport, Zhai Le was waiting for her friends, a couple, who were on their way back to the Chinese capital on the flight. She said she was very concerned because she hadn't been able to reach them.

Airport authorites posted a written notice asking relatives and friends of passengers to gather to a hotel about 30 minutes drive from the airport to wait for further information, and provided a shuttle bus service.

Another woman wept aboard the shuttle bus while talking by mobile phone, "They want us to go to the hotel. It cannot be good!"

UPDATE, 9:34 p.m: Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement: "Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew. Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support. ... Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members."

Malaysia Airlines has 15 Boeing 777-200 jets in its fleet of about 100 planes. The state-owned carrier last month reported its fourth straight quarterly loss.

The 777 had not had a fatal crash in its 20 year history until the Asiana crash in San Francisco in July 2013.

UPDATE, 9:13 p.m.: China's state news agency is reporting that the Malaysia Airlines aircraft lost contact over Vietnam. According to China's Xinhua News Agency, the plane lost communication over Vietnam with the control department in the Ho Chi Minh area at 1:20 a.m. Saturday and that radar contact also was lost.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia Airlines said Saturday it lost contact with a plane carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Flight MH370 lost contact with the Subang air traffic control at 2:40 a.m. Saturday (18:40 GMT Friday). The flight was operated on the Boeing 777-200 aircraft. It departed Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m. Saturday (16:41 GMT Friday) and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m. Saturday (22:30 GMT Friday).

The airline said it was working with the authorities who activated their search and rescue team to locate the aircraft.

The flight was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members, the airline said.

Abbott Street in Springfield might be closed during some phases of road construction that will begin on March 17.

The Republican [file] 

SPRINGFIELD — Contractors will be replacing the sewer main within the intersection of Allen Street, Sumner Avenue, Abbott Street and Harkness Avenue in Springfield's East Forest Park neighborhood.

Construction will begin March 17 and continue through the end of April. Typical construction hours will be Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The work, authorized by the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission, is not expected to affect private property or interrupt sewer service.

Traffic delays are expected. Traffic will be managed with posted traffic signs and police details.

Drivers are advised to seek alternate routes when possible. Abbott Street might be closed during some phases of construction. In these instances, Abbott Street traffic will be detoured to Gillette Avenue.

Underlying the talk about taking harsh punitive measures against Russia for its military incursion into Ukraine are economic complications and worries that sanctions levied against Moscow could, in the words of the Kremlin, "boomerang" back on the U.S. and Europe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Underlying the talk about taking harsh punitive measures against Russia for its military incursion into Ukraine are economic complications and worries that sanctions levied against Moscow could, in the words of the Kremlin, "boomerang" back on the U.S. and Europe.

Heavier U.S. and European Union sanctions could sting Russia's already slow-growing economy and hurt its financial sector. But Moscow could retaliate and seize American and other foreign assets or cut exports of natural gas to Europe, which is heavily dependent on Russia for energy.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday warned Secretary of State John Kerry that U.S. sanctions could "backfire," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. During a telephone call, Lavrov urged the U.S. not to take "hasty, poorly thought-out steps that could harm Russian-U.S. relations, especially concerning sanctions, which would unavoidably boomerang on the U.S. itself," the statement said.

In a separate statement on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry also warned the European Union that any sanctions it imposed would not go unanswered and would harm "the interests of the EU itself and its member nations."

Kerry underscored to Lavrov the importance of finding a constructive way to resolve the situation diplomatically, which would address the interests of the people of Ukraine, Russia, and the international community. Kerry and Lavrov agreed to continue to consult in the days ahead, according to the State Department.

Declaring his determination not to let the Kremlin carve up Ukraine, President Barack Obama on Thursday slapped new visa restrictions on Russian and other opponents of Ukraine's government in Kiev and authorized wider financial penalties against those involved in the military intervention or in stealing state assets. Obama emphasized his resolve in an hourlong telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, affirming his contention that Russia's actions violate Ukraine's sovereignty.

On Capitol Hill, both chambers of Congress looked to advance legislation imposing hard-hitting sanctions on Russia.

Obama hailed U.S. cooperation with the European Union, which on Thursday suspended talks with Putin's government on a wide-ranging economic agreement and on granting Russian citizens visa-free travel within the 28-nation bloc. But Europe's presidents and prime ministers remain divided on taking 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. U.S. trade with Russia is less than one-tenth of Europe's.

Russian investors hold assets worth billions in European banks, particularly in Britain, which is highly protective of its financial sector, and major exporters such as Germany and the Netherlands have far more at stake than the United States in Russia's consumer economy.

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.

In some ways, the debate over sanctions echoes the Cold War doctrine of military strategy in which if two opponents fired off nuclear weapons, both sides would be annihilated.

"There is a kind of mutually assured destruction relationship here," said Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and analyst at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington. "Russia could say, 'Well, we're going to cut off your gas, and you guys can now scramble and buy extra gas and pay big prices.'

"It would hurt the Europeans, but it also would cut off the biggest source of cash that flows into Russia today," he said referring to oil and gas sales that account for about 60 percent of Russia's exports and half of its government revenue. "So the Russians may threaten some things, but they also have to consider that if they do that what it would do to the Russian economy."

The State Department sought to allay fears that Europe might find itself short on Russian gas.

"We understand that European gas inventories are well-above normal levels, due to a milder than usual winter, and could replace a loss of Russian exports for several months, if necessary," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "Naturally, we take the energy security of our friends very seriously."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, saw an opening for U.S. gas producers. He called on Obama to fast-track approval of U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas, claiming the Energy Department has a slow approval process that amounts to a de facto ban on American natural gas exports.

The Energy Department has given final approval to one of about two dozen proposed liquefied natural gas export terminals in the past two years. Five other projects have received conditional backing.

However, even if the Energy Department approved all the pending permits from companies seeking to export natural gas, fuel could not begin flowing overseas for several years. A project in Sabine Pass, La., is tentatively scheduled to open in late 2015, but most others are not expected to begin operations until 2017 or later.

Ariel Cohen, an expert on Russian and Eurasian affairs at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said he doesn't know whether the Europeans would be willing to impose tough sanctions, particularly against Russia's banking and financial systems. Even if the Europeans don't, the U.S. needs to take the lead or risk allowing Russia to alter current world order, he said.

"Either we take a lead or the international system goes back to the chaos and high-risk levels that existed before World War I and between World War I and World War II," he said. "This is very serious. I cannot emphasize that enough. People who talk about 'Oh, we won't get cheap gas from Russia' or 'The Russians will get angry' — they do not look at it beyond the current geopolitical and international order."

If Russia grabs Crimea, Iran would be less willing to give up an ability to develop nuclear arms. "The message to Iran would be: If you have nuclear weapons you will not be attacked, your regime will be intact. If you don't have nuclear weapons, your regime can be toppled and pieces of your territory can be taken away."

North Adams Police Director Michael Cozzaglio says 56-year-old Deborah Pierce was ejected from the vehicle van after she struck the pole near the Hillside Cemetery on West Main Street shortly after 6:30 a.m. Friday.

 

NORTH ADAMS — Police say a North Adams woman has died after her van crashed into a utility pole in the city.

Police Director Michael Cozzaglio says 56-year-old Deborah Pierce was ejected from the vehicle van after she struck the pole near the Hillside Cemetery on West Main Street shortly after 6:30 a.m. Friday.

Cozzaglio told The Berkshire Eagle she died on impact.

He says speed appears to be a factor.

SA section of the street was closed during the investigation and to fix the pole.

Two people were injured in a two car crash on I-91 Friday night,.

MassLive.com photo [file] 

State Police Sgt. Michael Andrews, attached to the Springfield Barracks, said the 8:06 p.m. crash involved two passenger cars, one registered to a Connecticut address and the other a Massachusetts registration, collided just after they crossed the state line. Andrews said the troopers responded to the incident approximately one mile into Massachusetts.

The Longmeadow Fire Department responded with two ambulances to take the injured to the Baystate Medical Center for treatment. Andrews said police do not have a current condition on the injured but said the injuries are believed to be non-life threatening.

The accident created a traffic backup for approximately 90 minutes. Traffic returned to normal at approximately 9:30 p.m.

A high-speed chase loops through three towns before it ends with a crash on the South End Bridge.

 

The driver of the car will face "multiple" motor vehicle charges, Andrews said, including failure to stop for a police officer, speeding, marked lanes violations and defective equipment, among others. The unidentified driver is also the subject of an active arrest warrant out of New York state.

State Police Sgt. Michael Andrews said the chase started at approximately 12:25 a.m. on Route-291 when a trooper attempted to stop the vehicle in the westbound lane. The driver refused to stop and fled onto I-91 northbound, Andrews said, and traveled north to Exit 13 into West Springfield.

The chase continued onto Riverdale Street with up to five State Police cruisers joining the chase, as well as West Springfield police. The fleeing car continued to Route 5 and turned onto city streets at the North End Bridge rotary

Police said the car looped through the city winding up on Memorial Avenue eastbound to Route 5. From there the pursuit continued south to Agawam, entering Route 57 westbound at the South End Bridge rotary.

Agawam police joined the chase as the car turned off onto Agawam streets and circled back to Route 57, now traveling eastbound.

Andrews said the vehicle tried to cross the South End bridge into Springfield, but the driver lost control near the Springfield side and crashed. Police took three people into custody.

Andrews said troopers were still on the scene at the time of publication and information is limited at this time. MassLive.com will update this report as information becomes available.

Search and rescue crews across Southeast Asia scrambled on Saturday to find a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that disappeared from air traffic control screens over waters between Malaysia and Vietnam.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Search and rescue crews across Southeast Asia scrambled on Saturday to find a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that disappeared from air traffic control screens over waters between Malaysia and Vietnam early that morning, leaving the fates of the 239 people aboard in doubt.

CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said at a news conference that Flight MH370 lost contact with Malaysian air traffic control at 2:40 a.m. (18:40 GMT Friday), about two hours after it had taken off from Kuala Lumpur. The plane, which carried passengers mostly from China but also from other Asian countries, North America and Europe, had been expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m. Saturday (22:30 GMT Friday).

Pham Hien, a Vietnamese search and rescue official, said the last signal detected from the plane was 120 nautical miles (140 miles; 225 kilometers) southwest of Vietnam's southernmost Ca Mau province, which is close to where the South China Sea meets the Gulf of Thailand.

Lai Xuan Thanh, director of Vietnam's civil aviation authority, said air traffic officials in the country never made contact with the plane.

The plane "lost all contact and radar signal one minute before it entered Vietnam's air traffic control," Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan, deputy chief of staff of the Vietnamese army, said in a statement issued by the government.

The South China Sea is a tense region with competing territorial claims that have led to several low-level conflicts, particularly between China and the Philippines. That antipathy briefly faded as nations of the region rushed to aid in the search, with China dispatching two maritime rescue ships and the Philippines deploying three air force planes and three navy patrol ships to help.

"In times of emergencies like this, we have to show unity of efforts that transcends boundaries and issues," said Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda, commander of the Philippine military's Western Command.

The Malaysian Airlines plane was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members, the airline said. It said there were 153 passengers from China, 38 from Malaysia, seven each from Indonesia and Australia, five from India, four from the U.S. and others from Indonesia, France, New Zealand, Canada, Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Taiwan, the Netherlands and Austria.

At Beijing's airport, authorities posted a notice asking relatives and friends of passengers to gather to a hotel about 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the airport to wait for further information, and provided a shuttle bus service. A woman wept aboard the shuttle bus while saying on a mobile phone, "They want us to go to the hotel. It cannot be good!"

In Kuala Lumpur, family members gathered at the airport but were kept away from reporters.

"Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew. Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support," Yahya, the airline CEO, said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members."

Fuad Sharuji, Malaysian Airlines' vice president of operations control, told CNN that the plane was flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet (10,670 meters) and that the pilots had reported no problem.

Finding planes that disappear over the ocean can be very difficult. Airliner "black boxes" -- the flight data and cockpit voice recorders -- are equipped with "pingers" that emit ultrasonic signals that can be detected underwater.

Under good conditions, the signals can be detected from several hundred miles away, said John Goglia, a former member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. If the boxes are trapped inside the wreckage, the sound may not travel as far, he said. If the boxes are at the bottom of a deep in an underwater trench, that also hinders how far the sound can travel. The signals also weaken over time.

Air France Flight 447, with 228 people on board, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janiero to Paris on June 1, 2009. Some wreckage and bodies were recovered over the next two weeks, but it took nearly two years for the main wreckage of the Airbus 330 and its black boxes to be located and recovered.

Malaysia Airlines said the 53-year-old pilot of Flight MH370, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, has more than 18,000 flying hours and has been flying for the airline since 1981. The first officer, 27-year-old Fariq Hamid, has about 2,800 hours of experience and has flown for the airline since 2007.

The tip of the wing of the same Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777-200 broke off Aug. 9, 2012, as it was taxiing at Pudong International Airport outside Shanghai. The wingtip collided with the tail of a China Eastern Airlines A340 plane. No one was injured.

Malaysia Airlines' last fatal incident was in 1995, when one its planes crashed near the Malaysian city of Tawau, killing 34 people. The deadliest crash in its history occurred in 1977, when a domestic Malaysian flight crashed after being hijacked, killing 100.

In August 2005, a Malaysian Airlines 777 flying from Perth, Australia, to Kuala Lumpur suddenly shot up 3,000 feet before the pilot disengaged the autopilot and landed safely. The plane's software had incorrectly measured speed and acceleration, and the software was quickly updated on planes around the world.

Malaysia Airlines has 15 Boeing 777-200s in its fleet of about 100 planes. The state-owned carrier last month reported its fourth straight quarterly loss and warned of tougher times.

The 777 had not had a fatal crash in its 19-year history until an Asiana Airlines plane crashed in San Francisco in July 2013. All 16 crew members survived, but three of the 291 passengers, all teenage girls from China, were killed.

Three men are being charged with a murder of 78-year-old Pay O'Hagan of Sheffield, Vermont.

A license picture of Pat O'Hagan,78, who was killed in September of 2010. Vermont State Police announced Friday that they have arrested two and have a warrant for a third man in connection with the murder. Vermont State Police 

On Friday, brothers Richard Fletcher, 27, of Sheffield, and 33-year-old Keith Baird of St. Johnsbury were arrested and charged with burglary, kidnapping and 1st degree murder. A third man, 22-year-old Michael Norrie of St. Johnsbury will be extradited from a federal penitentiary in Pennsylvania where he is serving a sentence on firearms charges. He faces the same state charges as the others.

O'Hagan disappeared from her home in Sheffield in September of 2010, and it wasn't until nearly a month later her body was found by hunters in woods in Wheelock.

According to reports earlier, police got a break in the case when Norrie allegedly made incriminating statements about the O'Hagan death when he was being questioned in connection with the firearms charge. He was later sentenced after being found guilty of being a convicted drug user in possession of a stolen firearm. Police said they also received extraordinary help from the public in the case.

Police said earlier that Norrie and Fletcher each told stories about O'Hagan's death, but pointed fingers at the other. Police said they believe Flethcher and Norrie went to O'Hagan's home September 3, 2010 to steal pills. Once inside her home, one shot her and the two sexually assaulted her, before taking her body to Wheelock and disposing it in deep woods.

Keith Baird is currently being held at the Northeast Regional Correction center in lieu of bail on charges of violating conditions of release, violations of an abuse prevention order and being a habitual offender. Fletcher was returned to Vermont from a correctional facility in Kentucky and is being held in the Southern Regional Correctional Facility on a charge of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Baird and Fletcher will be arraigned in the Vermont Superior Court, Caledonia Criminal Division on March 10 at 12:30 p.m.

The School Committee, in adjusting the bullying policy, took the stance that bullying does not ways involve just students as the perpetrators and victims,

SPRINGFIELD – The School Committee amended the school system’s policy for bullying this week, expanding beyond the students to also cover staff and faculty as potential perpetrators or victims.

The policy was not triggered by any specific case, but was adjusted to acknowledge that bullying does not always involve just students, officials said.

“It was to reassure a learning environment that is healthy and safe for everyone,” said School Committee member Barbara Gresham, chairwoman of the School Safety Subcommittee. “We had to amend our bullying policy to expand the definition of bullying to include the school staff or anyone that could be a perpetrator.”

Azell Cavaan, chief communications officer for the Springfield public schools, said the local change further promotes the effort to ensure a “safe and caring environment” in the schools for students and staff.

“It is just taking a more holistic look at the culture and the climate that we in the district are trying to create,” Cavaan said.

“I think it's a great move,” committee Vice Chairman Denise Hurst said. “Once again, Springfield is really trying to lead the charge and be progressive in our thinking. We want to make sure our policy is all encompassing. Bullying is not always amongst students. It can occur with faculty and staff."

Under a state model bullying prevention and intervention policy, the definition of “perpetrator” could include school staff including but not limited to “an educator, administrator, school nurse, cafeteria worker, custodian, bus driver, athletic coach, adviser to an extracurricular activity or paraprofessional,” according to the state policy.

Springfield’s bullying policy, adopted in 2010, defined bullying as “the severe use by one or more perpetrators of a written, verbal, or electronic expression, or a physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, directed at a victim.” Bullying occurs when it causes physical or emotional harm, or reasonable fear of harm, or creates a hostile environment, or infringes on rights, or is a significant disruption of the education process, according to the policy.

There are requirements for staff to quickly report any incidents known of, or witnessed, that must be followed by a “prompt investigation” by the principal or a designee, according to the policy.

Police in Connecticut are investigating after prison inmates found five garbage bags along a stretch of road containing the body parts of a dismembered Shetland pony.

PLYMOUTH, Conn. — Authorities in Connecticut are investigating after prison inmates on a work detail made a gruesome discovery earlier this week.

According to published reports, the inmates were picking up trash along a stretch of Route 262 in the town of Plymouth on Wednesday when they came across five black garbage bags not far from the road. Inside the bags, according to police, were the dismembered body parts of a Shetland Pony.

Assistant Police Chief Robert Wright told the Waterbury Republican American newspaper that the animal's remains could have been there since Monday and that they do not know how the animal, which appeared to be of an older age, died. He said the bags may have been thrown from a car since no footprints were seen in the wooded area near the road where the bags were found.

The discovery in Connecticut came just days before a similar discovery was made in the village of Bursledon in England. In that case, a "butchered" bay horse was found dismembered in bags found near some railroad tracks on Friday.

Anyone with information on the case in Connecticut is asked to call the animal control division at the Plymouth Police Department at 860-589-7779.

Vietnamese air force planes on Saturday spotted two large oil slicks close to where a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 went missing earlier in the day, the first sign that the aircraft carrying 239 people had crashed.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Vietnamese air force planes on Saturday spotted two large oil slicks close to where a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 went missing earlier in the day, the first sign that the aircraft carrying 239 people had crashed.

The air force planes were part of a multinational search operation launched after Flight MH370 fell off radar screens less than an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing early Saturday morning.

The oil slicks were spotted late Saturday off the southern tip of Vietnam and were each between 10 kilometers (6 miles) and 15 kilometers (9 miles) long, the Vietnamese government said in a statement. There was no confirmation that the slicks were related to the missing plane, but the statement said they were consistent with the kinds that would be produced by the two fuel tanks of a crashed jetliner.

Two-thirds of the missing plane's passengers were from China, while others were from elsewhere in Asia, North America and Europe.

Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said there was no indication that the pilots had sent a distress signal, suggesting that whatever happened to the plane occurred quickly and possibly catastrophically.

At Beijing's airport, authorities posted a notice asking relatives and friends of passengers to gather at a nearby hotel to wait for further information, and provided a shuttle bus service. A woman wept aboard the bus while saying on a mobile phone, "They want us to go to the hotel. It cannot be good."

Relatives and friends of passengers were escorted into a private area at the hotel, but reporters were kept away. A man in a gray hooded sweatshirt later stormed out complaining about a lack of information. The man, who said he was a Beijing resident but declined to give his name, said he was anxious because his mother was on board the flight with a group of 10 tourists.

"We have been waiting for hours and there is still no verification," he said.

The plane was last detected on radar at 1:30 a.m. (1730 GMT Friday) around where the South China Sea meets the Gulf of Thailand, authorities in Malaysia and Vietnam said.

Lai Xuan Thanh, director of Vietnam's civil aviation authority, said air traffic officials in the country never made contact with the plane.

The plane "lost all contact and radar signal one minute before it entered Vietnam's air traffic control," Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan, deputy chief of staff of the Vietnamese army, said in a statement.

The South China Sea is a tense region with competing territorial claims that have led to several low-level conflicts, particularly between China and the Philippines. That antipathy briefly faded Saturday as China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia all sent ships and planes to the region.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said that Malaysia had dispatched 15 planes and nine ships to the area, and that the U.S. Navy was sending some planes as well. Singapore, China and Vietnam also were sending aircraft.

It's not uncommon for it to take several days to find the wreckage of aircraft floating on the ocean. Locating and then recovering the flight data recorders, vital to any investigation, can take months or even years.

"In times of emergencies like this, we have to show unity of efforts that transcends boundaries and issues," said Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda, commander of the Philippine military's Western Command.

After the oil slick was spotted, the air search was suspended for the night and was to resume Sunday morning, while the sea search was ongoing, Malaysia Airlines said.

The plane was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members, the airline said. It said there were 152 passengers from China, 38 from Malaysia, seven from Indonesia, six from Australia, five from India, three from the U.S., and others from Indonesia, France, New Zealand, Canada, Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Taiwan, the Netherlands and Austria.

In Kuala Lumpur, family members gathered at the airport, but were kept away from reporters.

"Our team is currently calling the next of kin of passengers and crew. Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support," said Yahya, the airline CEO. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members."

Fuad Sharuji, Malaysia Airlines' vice president of operations control, told CNN that the plane was flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet (10,670 meters) when it disappeared and that the pilots had reported no problem with the aircraft.

Asked whether terrorism was suspected, Najib said, "We are looking at all possibilities, but it is too early to make any conclusive remarks."

Malaysia Airlines has a good safety record, as does the 777, which had not had a fatal crash in its 19-year history until an Asiana Airlines plane crashed in San Francisco in July 2013, killing three passengers, all teenagers from China.

Airliner "black boxes" -- the flight data and cockpit voice recorders -- are equipped with "pingers" that emit ultrasonic signals that can be detected underwater. Under good conditions, the signals can be detected from several hundred miles away, said John Goglia, a former member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. If the boxes are trapped inside the wreckage, the sound may not travel as far, he said. If the boxes are at the bottom of an underwater trench, that also hinders how far the sound can travel. The signals also weaken over time.

Air France Flight 447, with 228 people on board, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, 2009. Some wreckage and bodies were recovered over the next two weeks, but it took nearly two years for the main wreckage of the Airbus 330 and its black boxes to be located and recovered.

Malaysia Airlines said the 53-year-old pilot of Flight MH370, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, has more than 18,000 flying hours and has been flying for the airline since 1981. The first officer, 27-year-old Fariq Hamid, has about 2,800 hours of experience and has flown for the airline since 2007.

The tip of the wing of the same Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777-200 broke off Aug. 9, 2012, as it was taxiing at Pudong International Airport outside Shanghai. The wingtip collided with the tail of a China Eastern Airlines A340 plane. No one was injured.

Malaysia Airlines' last fatal incident was in 1995, when one its planes crashed near the Malaysian city of Tawau, killing 34 people. The deadliest crash in its history occurred in 1977, when a domestic Malaysian flight crashed after being hijacked, killing 100 people.

In August 2005, a Malaysian Airlines 777 flying from Perth, Australia, to Kuala Lumpur suddenly shot up 900 meters (3,000 feet) before the pilot disengaged the autopilot and landed safely. The plane's software had incorrectly measured speed and acceleration, and the software was quickly updated on planes around the world.

Malaysia Airlines has 15 Boeing 777-200s in its fleet of about 100 planes. The state-owned carrier last month reported its fourth straight quarterly loss and warned of tougher times.

Barney Blowout 2014 at the University of Massachusetts has resulted in at several arrests, injuries to police officers and dozens of photos, videos and comments about the events posted to social media.

Police officers from Amherst, UMass and the Massachusetts State Police donned in full riot gear moved in on a crowd of what appeared to be several thousand University of Massachusetts Amherst students celebrating the annual Blarney Blowout party in the area of several large apartment complexes off Cottage Street in North Amherst shortly after noon on Saturday, March 8, 2014. The result was a melee that ended with several arrests and what appeared to be injuries. (Republican Staff Photo by Robert Rizzuto) 

AMHERST — Barney Blowout 2014 at the University of Massachusetts has resulted in at least 22 arrests, injuries to police officers and dozens of photos, videos and comments about the events posted to social media.

Police in riot gear had dispersed at least two large crowds, and were continuing to deal with the annual party that spreads out across town and the UMass campus.

Below are some of the photos, videos and other posts related to Blarney Blowout 2014:

Ed Blaguszewski, campus spokesman, said students arrested by Amherst Police or UMass Police will have the details of their behavior reviewed by the Dean of Students under the Student Code of Conduct. Sanctions can include suspension or expulsion from the university.

AMHERST -- The University of Massachusetts Amherst denounced the unruly behavior of participants in the unsanctioned “Blarney Blowout.”

Ed Blaguszewski, campus spokesman, said students arrested by Amherst Police or UMass Police will have the details of their behavior reviewed by the Dean of Students under the Student Code of Conduct. Sanctions can include suspension or expulsion from the university.

UMass Police worked throughout the day with Amherst Police to manage crowds that gathered, which occurred for the most part off campus. UMass Police reported three arrests, none of them UMass students. Other arrests were made by Amherst Police.
In the days leading up to the gathering, the university reached out to students, landlords, parents, faculty and staff in a campaign to communicate the importance of students acting safely and respecting the property of others.

In addition, the university sent letters to students who had been disciplined for alcohol-related misconduct in the past year and to students who live in off-campus housing cited for noise or nuisance complaints reminding them of the possible consequences of bad behavior.

 

The Red Cross was told a family of four adults lived in the home.

Update 9:50 p.m. WEST SPRINGFIELD - Red Cross spokeswoman Kat Powers clarified that the home was a duplex with two adults living in each unit.

Red Cross volunteers provided all four victims with shelter, toiletries and emergency funds for clothing , etc. The Red Cross also provided coffee and hot chocolate to about a dozen people at the scene including first responders.

WEST SPRINGFIELD - A family was forced out Saturday night when fire ripped through a home at the 246 Ashley Avenue in West Springfield.

Firefighters spent hours locating and extinguishing pockets of fire at the back of the house on the second floor and in the attack. They appeared to be repeatedly foiled as flames reappeared under the roof.

There were people at home at the time of the blaze, about 6 p.m., but everyone was able to get out without injury, said West Springfield police officers at the scene.

The American Red Cross Pioneer Valley Chapter sent a disaster assistance team, said chapter communications director Kat Powers.

She said the Red Cross was told a family of four adults lived there.

The home is at the corner of Ashley Avenue and Ferry Avenue, a few blocks east of the busy Riverdale Street shopping strip.

A company spokeswomn said no American citizen Freescale employees were on the flight.

AUSTIN, Texas -- An Austin, Texas, technology company says 20 of its employees were aboard the Malaysia Airlines plane that went missing over the South China Sea.

Jacey Zuniga, a spokeswoman for Freescale Semiconductor, says 12 Malaysian and 8 Chinese employees are "confirmed passengers." She says no American citizen Freescale employees were on the flight.

"At present, we are solely focused on our employees and their families," Gregg Lowe, president and CEO of Freescale says in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event." The company, the statement reads, has assembled a team of counselors for those impacted by the tragedy.

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 airplane, was last seen on radar at 1:30 a.m. (1730 GMT Friday) above the waters where the South China sea.