Truly manna: a Thanksgiving feast feeds 750

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - A host of MANNA volunteers stepped up Thursday afternoon to serve hundreds of fresh-cooked turkey dinners to local residents who might otherwise have had no Thanksgiving Day meal.

The free roast-turkey dinner, which was served at Edwards Church on Main Street, drew fewer residents than the 900 who attended last year, but officials were pleased to see a larger turnout of volunteers.

"We had a few less than last year; our total was around 750 meals," MANNA board member Lee Anne Musante said. "There were more volunteers than last year though, we had over 100 people come in to help."

Musante attributed the decline in dinner requests to an improving local economy and said, after spending the past week taking calls from residents looking to help out, she thinks that this year, there is plenty of holiday spirit to go around.

"I was just amazed with how many people were calling in to volunteer," she said.

Along with turkey, Musante said the nonprofit offered ham, stuffing, potatoes and vegetables - as well as pies, cakes and desserts donated by the local community.

As dinner was being served at the church, volunteers from the Salvation Army delivered 120 meals to some city residents who were unable to come to the gathering.

"MANNA strives to create a place of warmth and welcome at every meal, but on Thanksgiving Day, we especially want to reach out to the home-bound," MANNA Board Chairman Carl Erickson said.

The area nonprofit took over preparing and serving Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for the hungry when the Northampton Honor Court dissolved in 2006.

This year, Musante said MANNA has served more than 9,000 free meals, including a hot supper every Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m., a full lunch on Saturdays from 11:30 to noon, both at Edwards Church, and a hot dinner on Mondays from noon to 1 p.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church on Elm Street.

Although Musante expects to have enough help for MANNA's Christmas meal, she said additional volunteers are always welcome to help serve and clear.

"We will probably have enough volunteers for Christmas, but we want people in the community to feel like they can always come down and help out if they want to."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Haydenville man stable after crash in Cummington

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

CUMMINGTON - A Haydenville man who was critically injured in a two-car rollover accident on Stage Road Wednesday afternoon was listed in stable condition at UMass Medical Center in Worcester, a hospital spokesman said Thursday.

According to Assistant Fire Chief Steven Emerson, it took local firefighters and emergency responders from Plainfield more than an hour to free George Fleischner, of 2 Hillenbrand Road, from his crumpled Toyota Camry before he could be flown by helicopter to Worcester.

Emerson said members of the Worthington Fire Department established a landing zone for the LifeFlight helicopter behind the Berkshire Trail School on Main Street.

Although a state police accident reconstruction team is still investigating the accident, Emerson said the cause appeared to be a patch of black ice on the bridge.

"That bridge was total ice," he said.

The driver of the other vehicle, a Toyota Tundra pickup, was transported by Highland Ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Emerson said. Emerson did not release the driver's name.

Emerson said the bridge was temporarily closed while the two cars were cleared from the roadway and was reopened after being sanded by a MassHighway crew Wednesday night.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Local businesses face license penalties

Various violations prompt state action

By Owen Boss
Staff Writer

The state's Division of Professional Licensure has suspended the credentials of several area businesspeople, as a result of disciplinary action taken by the boards that govern them.

According to the report, the state Board of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons suspended the real estate broker's license granted to Calvin R. Bridges, of South Hadley, for 21 days, following allegations that he falsely reported to the board he had never been convicted of a criminal offense.

Jason Lefferts, a spokesman for the Division of Professional Licensure, said suspensions are routine when a broker is found in violation of a board policy.

"Whenever a real estate broker fills out an application or renews their license every two years, there is a question on the form where they need to tell the board whether or not they had been convicted of any criminal offense," Lefferts said. "Apparently, the board felt Bridges didn't answer that question truthfully."

Bridges, who works in a Century 21 office on Front Street in Chicopee, did not immediately return messages left on his cell phone Tuesday.

The State Board of Chiropractors placed Greenfield chiropractor Jeffrey Denney on probation for three years after the board concluded that he violated record-keeping and billing regulations.

"The violation refers to the medical records they keep on their patients, and the reason they need to keep close tabs on those records is because if there is a conflict with the insurance company, those records need to accurately show the number of visits and treatments," Lefferts said. "If a chiropractor is not keeping great records, we will make sure they correct that."

As a condition of the probation, Denney's practice will be monitored by a board-approved clinical monitor, and he must complete 36 hours of continuing education and pay a $200 fine, Lefferts said.

Calls to Denney at his Mohawk Trail office were not immediately returned Tuesday.

Other area businessmen listed in the report included Luis A. Castillo, of Springfield, who voluntarily surrendered his license to practice as a real estate broker for a minimum of five years after facing allegations he held and accessed client funds while still a licensed real estate salesman, held himself out as a real estate broker while still a salesperson, commingled client funds with his own, failed to maintain escrow funds once he became a real estate broker and failed to account for and remit monies belonging to his clients.

Also, Andrew Perrier, a Holyoke plumber, agreed to a $200 fine and a formal reprimand on his license to practice as a journeyman plumber, following allegations of defective workmanship and failure to correct problems cited by the Agawam plumbing inspector.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Elderly driver bill stalls

‘Hot potato’ faces uncertain outcome

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON — A bill that would require Bay State motorists age 75 and older to pass cognitive and physical exams every time they renew their licenses has stalled on Beacon Hill, and local politicians say more pressing issues, as well as the bill’s controversial nature, are likely to keep the legislation on the back burner.

State Sen. Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said the bill, which was stuck in committee when lawmakers closed out their formal legislative session Wednesday, hasn’t gained traction because this legislative year’s agenda has so many other high-profile items.

“It is a really difficult issue that keeps coming up in caucus and in general discussion but then gets overshadowed by the latest crisis, which is focused mainly around the budget and how we are going to pay for things with local aid cuts,” Rosenberg said. “It is on the agenda but I would have to say it is on the B list and not the A list.”

Despite several accidents this year involving elderly drivers, including a fatal accident in May on University Drive in Amherst where a 75-year-old woman struck and killed a cyclist before driving away from the scene, Rosenberg said he hasn’t been approached by many local residents about the issue.

“I have heard from surprisingly few constituents about this issue and in part you are driven by what your constituents are asking for and in part you are driven by what needs to be done,” Rosenberg said. “The combination of what needs to be done right now and what people are asking for is what keeps crowding issues like this one out of the agenda.”

Although Rosenberg said he hasn’t noticed many area residents calling for action on the issue, state Rep. Ellen Story, who represents the state’s 3rd Hampshire District, said she has been approached by those on both sides of the debate and said the bill is stuck in committee because it has turned into a “political hot potato.”

“I have office hours in Granby at the Council on Aging and I got a real earful from them about how this bill was discriminatory,” Story said.

A key problem with passing the legislation, Story said, is that it has been poorly received by senior citizens, an overwhelming majority of whom show up to vote during election season.

“There is tremendous disagreement about how to do this,” Story said. “There are strong opinions on all sides of the question and I just hope we do something about this before July 31.”

Bob McDevitt, a 63-year-old Northampton resident, said the bill, which would require older drivers to pass physical and cognitive tests every five years and could allow physicians and police officers to report unsafe drivers to the state Registry of Motor Vehicles, isn’t fair to older motorists.

“It wouldn’t be fair unless they made everyone across the board pass the same tests when they renew their licenses,” McDevitt said, noting that younger motorists who regularly use their cell phones to text when driving pose just as much of a threat as any senior citizen.

The Registry already has a voluntary system where doctors can report individuals they believe are unfit to drive. In 2008, the Registry’s Medical Affairs Branch asked for the surrender of 2,961 licenses. So far in 2009, the agency has asked for the surrender of 2,212 licenses.

Legislation targeting elderly drivers has been filed for years, but the issue drew extra attention this year after a series of accidents, including the June death of 4-year-old Diya Patel, who was struck and killed by 88-year-old Ilse Horn as the youngster crossed a Stoughton street in a crosswalk with her grandfather.

Horn later pleaded guilty to negligent motor vehicle homicide and lost her driver’s license for 10 years.

Although he said he understood why older residents would consider the bill’s conditions ageist, Sean Hooper, 24, of Northampton, said he believed the bill would make state roadways safer.
“There are a lot of people out there driving who are just too old to do it safely,” Hooper said,” and a lot of the time families have a hard time approaching them about it.” Having a doctor make the recommendation could make the discussion easier on the family, he added.

However, Amy Sobel, 55, of Springfield, said passage of the bill would promote age-based discrimination and impede seniors’ civil rights.

“I just think it would give too much power to doctors,” Sobel said. “Who are they to make the decision about whether I can drive or not?”

Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Hospital softens flu rules: CDH allows kids over 14 to visit

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - A recent drop in reported swine flu cases has prompted officials at Cooley Dickinson Hospital to lower the age restriction on a new flu-related temporary visitation policy last week.

Earlier this month, the hospital instituted a temporary policy that restricted children under 18 from visiting patients, in response to high rates of swine flu cases among members of that age group. This week, at the recommendation of infectious disease specialists, hospital officials changed the age limit to children under 14.

Meanwhile, Christina Trinchero, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said exceptions to the policy will be made on a case-by-case basis and age restrictions will be revisited each week as swine flu surveillance statistics come in from area clinics.

Although she acknowledged that the new policy has generated a mixed response from the community and hospital patients, she said that response didn't play a role in the decision to lower the age restriction.

"It is really about where the flu was as we were tracking it both nationally and locally," said Trinchero. "Our paramount concern is the well-being of the patient."

One area resident unhappy with the temporary visitation policy is Belchertown resident Eileen Martinez, who is upset that when she goes into labor next month, her 7-year-old daughter may not be able to see her or meet the newborn in the hospital.

Martinez said she was notified about the policy last week, and her first response was to call around to other area hospitals to see if she could deliver her baby in a facility that would allow her daughter to visit. What she found, she said, is that hospitals across the state have enacted similar age restrictions.

"I think this policy is extreme, and I think they need to understand the impact that it has on the families of patients," Martinez said. "I offered to get my daughter vaccinated and give her a mask to wear and the first response I got was `no' because all it takes is one kid sneezing."

Trinchero said officials will take the best interest of the patient into consideration when deciding whether an exception to the visitation policy is warranted.

"We will be reviewing the policy on a case-by-case basis," Trinchero said.

The recent policy change from 18 to 13 doesn't help Martinez, who said she has gone to great lengths to reach out to hospital officials for an exception to the rule, so far without satisfaction.

"What is supposed to be this incredible experience is being marred by this very rigid policy," Martinez said. "They could restrict visitors in general, they could limit the amount of time they visit, you could require masks, or only allow siblings of the children. There are a lot of places where they could make an exception, and they were pretty stiff about it."

The policy also has Martinez worried for a friend of hers who is also pregnant and is preparing for a birth by Caesarean section at the hospital this week.

"This is more about the stress that the policy puts on mothers," Martinez said. "My friend's children had planned to have presents ready when they went to visit their new little brother, and here she is going into surgery and having to plan how to take care of her other two children, their emotional needs and her own emotional needs."

Another criticism Martinez has of the visitation policy is that it is based solely on the age of the visitor and not other factors such as where they work or how likely they are to have come in contact with the disease.

"I work in a school, and right now you're telling me that my daughter can't come visit me but my co-workers can, and none of them have been vaccinated because there isn't enough vaccine," Martinez said. "It is just very hard and frustrating."

For updates about the visitation policy at Cooley Dickinson or information about preventive measures taken to slow the spread of the H1N1 virus, visit the hospital's Web site: http://www.cooley-dickinson.org.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Two Northampton teens held in Easthampton armed robbery; two more sought

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - Two Northampton teens were ordered held without bail Tuesday and two others remain at large for their alleged involvement in an armed robbery at a Pleasant Street rooming house Monday evening.

David M. Malley, 19, of 942 Bridge Road, Northampton, and Pedro J. Baez, 19, of 73 Barrett St., unit 6203, Northampton, pleaded innocent in Eastern Hampshire District Court Tuesday to charges of home invasion and larceny over $250. Malley pleaded innocent to additional charges of possessing a firearm without an FID card, improperly storing a firearm and two counts of receiving stolen property valued below $250.

At 5:25 p.m. Monday, four Easthampton police officers were dispatched to 145 Pleasant St., for a report that a man had been robbed at gunpoint by three men while sitting in his apartment with friends, according to police.

The victim reportedly told police that, while in his apartment, he and three friends heard someone knocking on the door of an apartment above them. One of his friends, the victim reported, went upstairs and told three men there that the tenant of that apartment wasn't home.

They followed him back downstairs.

Shortly after his friend re-entered the apartment, the victim told police the three men barged in and brandished two handguns; one was pointed at his friend's back and the other was pushed into the victim's groin.

As the four were held at gunpoint, one of the intruders stole several items off of a table inside the apartment, including an iPod, a PlayStation portable and $80 in cash before the trio fled toward the park area of Pleasant Green, according to court documents.

One of the victims told police she recognized one of the men as "Pedro" and knew that he lived at Hampshire Heights in Northampton.

After running the name through their system, police received word that Pedro J. Baez had been seen at an autobody shop on Easthampton Road in Northampton, and that he and David M. Malley were heading to the latter's apartment on Bridge Road.

After staking out the location, officers found Malley and another man in a black Chevrolet Beretta sitting in the driveway at Malley's house. Police also saw an iPod matching a description of the one stolen sitting in the front seat, which both men reportedly denied owning.

After agreeing to come to the station for an interview, Malley told police that he picked up Baez and two unidentified men after Baez offered him $10 for a ride. Malley told police he then brought them to a house in Easthampton and after a brief time, the three came running out of the building to his car. Malley drove the three men back to the autobody shop, and two of the men left his car and got into an orange sports car, police said; Malley and Baez then went back to Bridge Road. These other two men are still sought by police.

When police interviewed Malley's mother, Deborah Davis, she reportedly told police that Malley had asked her earlier in the afternoon if he could borrow her two replica pistols, and she said she gave them to him and "didn't think anything of it," according to court documents.

Once in custody at Northampton Police Station on charges of home invasion, Baez reportedly used a friend's cell phone to contact Malley, and the call was traced to a cell phone tower in Goshen. Malley told police the number belonged to a friend of his who lived on 4 Highland Road in Goshen. Baez was later found in an upstairs bedroom at that address and was arrested for his alleged involvement in the home invasion and on unrelated warrants, according to police.

At 6:47 a.m. Tuesday morning, police executed a search warrant of Malley's home and found a .380 Russian-made semi-automatic pistol, with seven live rounds in the magazine, hidden under his mattress, according to court documents. The search also revealed two black semi-automatic replica pistols and the PlayStation stolen from the victim's apartment, police said.

Judge Richard J. Carey ordered the two men held without bail until their pretrial hearing on Friday.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Local veterinarian: swine flu can be passed to pets

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON — News of a cat in Iowa being diagnosed with swine flu last week has some area residents wondering how to protect their pets. One local veterinarian says good hygiene is the best method.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, a 13-year-old indoor cat in Iowa was taken to the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, where it tested positive for the H1N1 virus. Several of the cat’s owners, the department reported, became ill with an influenza-like illness before the cat began showing signs of a respiratory infection.

People who are sick with H1N1 can spread the virus not only to humans, but to some animals, including ferrets, dogs and cats, according to the department. Both the cat and its owners have recovered, according to the department.

Dr. Lori Paporello, of the Northampton Veterinary Clinic on South Street, said the best way to avoid transmitting the virus to your pets is by washing your hands, covering coughs and sneezes, and minimizing contact with pets while ill with flu-like symptoms. If a pet exhibits signs of a respiratory illness after a flu-like illness has circulated a household, contact your veterinarian, she said.

“We haven’t seen any cases of (swine flu) here or any cases that we’ve been highly suspicious of, but with any emerging illness we are typically concerned about two things: how it changes over time through mutation and resistance,” Paporello said.

“Again, we haven’t seen any cases here, and the American Veterinary Medical Association wasn’t overly concerned about it, but people should continue to use good hygiene practices.”

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Nursing home pledges to stop sewer backups

By Owen Boss
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Neighbors of the Northampton Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on Bridge Road sat down with nursing home officials Monday night to discuss what the facility is doing to correct the improper waste removal procedures that have them facing $10,000 in fines from the city.

The meeting, which was arranged by Ward 1 City Councilor Maureen Carney, drew about a dozen residents from Gleason Road, Jackson Street and Prospect Avenue to the community room at JFK Elementary School. All said they were concerned that the nursing home's improper disposal of sanitary napkins and other materials could lead to future backups.

James A. Lomastro, the center's administrator, and Richard Perry, director of environmental services, tried to alleviate the neighbors' concerns by promising to have a $71,000 "grinder system" installed at their sewer outflow location before the end of the fall.

Before the discussion, Ned Huntley, the city's director of public works, provided those in attendance with a step-by-step analysis describing when the problem at the nursing home was first noticed, the efforts have been made to correct it and plans for the installation of the new system.

According to Huntley, the city first noticed a problem with the nursing home's sewer system about five years ago, when several backups were blamed on employees and residents of the facility who were flushing sanitary wipes, adult diapers and other cleaning materials down the toilets. Twice since then, Huntley said, the city has found enough blockage in the sewer line to fine the nursing home $5,000.

Since the initial discovery, Lomastro said, the home has banned the use of the sanitary wipes that allegedly caused the backups and educated everyone who works and lives there about the proper way to dispose of adult diapers and other cleaning supplies.

"This is a major problem for us and one that we aren't taking lightly," Lomastro said, "but some of our residents have dementia and they are going to continue to flush things down the toilets that they shouldn't."

Despite the home's best efforts, Huntley said just three weeks ago DPW workers lifted the manhole cover on Gleason Road and Propect Avenue and found it clogged with a "basketball sized" mound of sanitary wipes and rags - and the $10,000 in fines have yet to be paid.

The neighbors urged Lomastro to install the grinder system before the winter. Huntley said he expects it to be installed before Christmas.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Service to mark church project

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Members of the Christ United Methodist Church on Rocky Hill Road will gather Sunday to celebrate a recently completed $500,000 building renovation with a dedication at 10 a.m. followed by a lunch at 11:30.

Kirk Birrell, building committee chairman, the celebratory church service will be presided over by the Rev. Michael R. Stotts, the current pastor of the church and the Rev. Peter A. Hey, who was pastor when the idea for renovations was first proposed more than 10 years ago.

Renovations, which took 28 weeks to complete, include the installment of a three-stop elevator, the modification of bathrooms for disabled access and the creation of a four-stall women's bathroom; the re-painting and re-carpeting of the church's sanctuary; replacing old pews; a new entrance to the church's organ loft; and an expansion of the pastor's office.

"We spent $500,000 on these renovations and that is something the community should appreciate because a lot of jobs were created in conjunction with this," Birrell said. "It's nice to know that in this economy, someone is still spending some bucks."

The original plan in 2000 included a major expansion, but Roxanne A. Pin, chairwoman of the church's capital campaign, said as time passed renovations became the top priority.

"We had actually talked about adding on to the building but scaled back to those plans and focused more on the immediate needs and making the church more welcoming," Pin said.

Also discovered during the work, Birrell said, were deficiencies in the church's bell tower, which required the removal of the bells and some renovations to the inside.

"We hope to have those bells on display in front of the church sometime soon," Birrell said.

The event will include a tour of the renovations, a scavenger hunt and addresses from Hey, Stotts and Mark Ledwell, the General Contractor for Wright Builders Inc.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Soldiers' Home pinched: outpatient care lost to cuts

By Owen Boss
Staff Writer

HOLYOKE - Recent budget cuts announced by Gov. Deval Patrick will mean that the 2,200 area veterans who depend on the Holyoke Soldiers' Home's outpatient services will no longer have that option - and the move will likely translate to increased traffic at local clinics.

According to Soldiers' Home's superintendent Mike Pasterczyk, with the $894,000 cut to the facility's 9C funding, it will no longer be able to provide veterans with a variety of outpatient services, including prescription renewals, dental care, routine checkups and doctor consultations.

The cuts, Pasterczyk said, will also bring job losses for a number of the organization's employees. He declined to specify how many or in which department because the cuts were still being reviewed by the office of employee relations.

"This means that (veterans) are going to have to seek out other private physicians or health clinics for these services, and depending on where these 2,200 vets go, other clinics will definitely feel the strain," Pasterczyk said.

Although Pasterczyk said this round of budget cuts will have no impact on the 285 veterans who live at the home and receive long-term care services, officials are preparing for additional cuts in the future.

"Indications have been told to us that fiscal 2011, which will commence on July 1, 2010, will be worse than fiscal 2010, so we will be bracing ourselves for that," Pasterczyk said.

After receiving word of the discontinuance Friday afternoon, Mary Rodowicz, public relations manager at the Northampton VA Medical Center in Leeds, said the hospital offered its support.

"We heard today because of the media and we talked to them informally and offered to assist them with some of their veterans during the transition," Rodowicz said.

"We are working with the Soldiers' Home to figure out exactly how many veterans this is going to affect."

One local news channel that aired the announcement last night, Rodowicz said, featured interviews with area veterans who said the trip to Leeds would be too far for them.

"Those veterans should know that we offer outpatient services in Greenfield, Springfield and Pittsfield, so people should keep that in mind," Rodowicz said. "If they are able to enroll, they could receive some of their care at one of those clinics if that is more convenient for them."

Veterans affected by the cuts who are interested in enrolling at the VA, Rodowicz said, should contact their eligibility department at 582-3091, to see if they qualify.

Steven Connor, a veterans services officer for Central Hampshire County, said he expects the cuts will mean a lot more veterans coming to him for help.

"I will probably see more people coming to me at Veterans Services to find out whether or not they qualify for care other places," Connor said. "Some of the veterans already know that this program exists, and those that don't will find out soon, because they won't have anywhere else to go."

According to WWLP Channel 22 News, tState Sen. Michael Knapik (R.-Westfield) and State Rep. Michael Kane (D-Holyoke) have sent a letter to the governor, asking him to reconsider the cuts.

A rally in protest of the budget cuts has been scheduled by staff members and veterans for Saturday, Nov. 14, from 1 to 3 p.m., at Crosier Field, 1914 Northampton St. in Holyoke.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Recreation panel recommends farm buy

By Owen Boss
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Before a standing-room-only crowd Monday, the Recreation Commission voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council that the city purchase the Bean family farm, and voted to seek Community Preservation Act funding before a formal agreement with the owner has been reached.

Although commissioners didn't discuss the ultimate use of the farmland, it reportedly has been eyed by the city as a site for a multi-use sports complex aimed at easing the current lack of available field space for sports leagues across the city.

The meeting drew more than 30 residents to the department's meeting room at Smith Vocational High School and featured a lengthy public comment session during which the overwhelming majority of speakers urged that the parcel, if purchased, be preserved as farmland.

"I'm here because I want to see this land preserved for agricultural purposes and the key word here is #prime farmland," Florence resident Darcy Sweeney said, before adding, "There is only so much prime farmland left in this city and our children can play on fields that are not made up of top-quality soil."

The 60-acre farm, located on both sides of Spring Street about a quarter-mile north of Meadow Street, currently belongs to the Bean family and has been on the market for the past two years with an asking price of $2.5 million. The farm has been in the Bean family for more than 100 years and is farmed today primarily for hay, although one speaker noted that the land has produced a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in the past.

Without predicting how the land would be used, Wayne Freiden, the city's director of planning and development, laid out some of the city's options in a PowerPoint presentation, and stressed the importance of acting quickly in acquiring the land.

One of the only residents speaking in favor of using the land for recreation was Jim Miller, the director of athletics for Northampton High School. He argued that the growth of the city's youth was just as important as the growth happening on its farmland.

"We're talking about agriculture here also, the growth of our youth," Miller said. "If we continue not having enough land for our youth sports, the land we have will continue to be beaten into the ground and in the long run it will become unsafe and hard to use at all."

Now that the purchase of the land has been recommended to the City Council, Freiden laid out a potential timeline that he called "optimistic," in which a public forum on the future use of the land would be held sometime in early December and at a venue capable of handing a much larger turnout.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Family sues over gun death

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

SPRINGFIELD - The Micro Uzi machine gun that killed 8-year-old Christopher K. Bizilj at a Westfield gun fair last October reportedly jammed twice and was inspected by a 15-year-old boy before it slipped from Christopher's grasp and discharged, according to a $4 million wrongful death lawsuit filed Monday.

Christopher was shot through the head at the "Great New England Pumpkin Shoot" last year, an event the suit alleges was advertised as "an opportunity to shoot machine guns and automatic weapons, without the requirement of permits or licenses to do so" It was sponsored by COP Firearms & Training, owned by Edward Fleury, who resigned as Pelham police chief in March, and the Westfield Sportsman's Club.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court by attorney Vincent A. Bongiorni, of Springfield, on behalf of Christopher's parents, Suzanne M. and Charles D. Bizilj, and his 11-year-old brother, Colin, of Ashford, Conn. The suit alleges negligence in maintenance and training, wrongful death and the infliction of emotional stress against seven defendants: the Westfield Sportsman's Club Inc.; COP Firearms & Training of Amherst; Fleury, of Amherst; Provost Precision Pistols LLC, of Weatogue, Conn.; Carl Giuffre of West Hartford, Conn.; D&T Arms LLC, of New Milford, Conn.; and Domenico J. Spano, of Milford, Conn.

Fleury, Spano and Carl Giuffre face additional criminal charges in Hampden Superior Court. Each has pleaded innocent to charges of involuntary manslaughter and furnishing a machine gun to a minor in connection with the shooting. Their trial had been set for Dec. 8, but was postponed last week.

According to the 32-page lawsuit, on Oct. 28, 2008, Charles Bizilj purchased the opportunity for his son, Christopher, to fire a Micro Uzi 9 mm that was owned by Giuffre and brought to the exposition by Spano. Giuffre and Spano were reportedly designated as "renters" at the expo, hired and solicited by Fleury to provide the weapons used by patrons.

When Christopher reportedly stepped to the line to fire the weapon, the suit alleges that Spano's son, 15-year-old Michael Spano, was the line officer charged with loading the weapon, handing it to the participant and providing instructions on its use. While Christopher was firing, Charles Bizilj was reportedly ordered to stay clear of the area and was required to stand behind restraining ropes.

On the first and second firing attempt, the suit alleges the weapon jammed and that Spano retrieved it, cleared what he believed was a jammed round of ammunition, and handed it back to Christopher. On the third try, when the boy attempted to raise the weapon to his shoulder, the stock slid down his shoulder, causing the barrel to spin upward and discharge as Christopher tried to prevent it from falling, according to the suit.

Shortly after the incident, Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett initiated a probe into the boy's death aimed at determining whether it was illegal or reckless for children to possess or fire a machine gun. State law prohibits furnishing a machine gun to any person under the age of 18.

But others have asserted that the state's gun laws are so poorly written that even experts have trouble deciphering them.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Sex trade arrests stun Hadley; neighbors react to raid on 'massage' business

By Owen Boss and Ben Storrow

Staff Writers

HADLEY - An army of police cruisers massed behind a neighboring building Wednesday before officers with guns drawn and carrying shields stormed a Hadley massage business to arrest a suspected prostitute, a witness reported Thursday.

Court documents show the arrest and another at a nearby parlor were the result of a sting operation in which the two women allegedly offered sex for money to two undercover officers.

Xiumei Zheng, 43, and Zenshu Li, 47, both of Russell Street in Hadley, pleaded innocent Thursday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown to a charge of offering sexual conduct for a fee.

On Oct. 28, 2009, Agawam police Detective Michael Gruska, as part of a multi-agency law enforcement task force, entered Hadley Massage Therapy, at 215 Russell St., posing as a customer and was given a massage by Li, according to court documents.

At the end of the massage, Li reportedly asked Gruska if he "wanted more massage," and when asked what that meant she reportedly pulled her hair back, and made suggestive gestures with her lips and hands, according to a police report. After reportedly pulling away, Gruska asked Li how much additional services would cost, and she allegedly told him "whatever you want to give me."

Five days later, on Nov. 3, state police trooper William McMillan posed as a customer at nearby Jane's Spa, at 206 Russell St., where Zheng was his massage therapist, according to police.

Toward the end of the massage, Zheng reportedly asked if McMillan wanted "more time," and the two allegedly discussed prices for additional services. Zheng reportedly told him to "turn over," and asked him if he was "happy." When he said he wasn't, she too made suggestive gestures and said she would make him "very happy," according to court documents.

Judge Laurie MacLeod ordered both women, who requested a Chinese interpreter at their arraignment, released on $250 bail and scheduled both to return for a pretrial hearing on Dec. 16.

If found guilty of the charges, Li and Zheng face imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of not more than $500, or both.

Coordinated effort

Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Michael Cahillane said the Hadley raids were coordinated along with simultaneous raids in Hampden County.

Cahillane declined to give any further information regarding Wednesday's events. He would not confirm whether the two women arrested were U.S. citizens and did not say whether law enforcement officials suspected any human trafficking in the case.

Paula Grenier, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency in Boston, confirmed that ICE had participated in the Hadley raids. She said that six individuals had been arrested for immigration violations in the two-county sweep and that all were being held pending a removal hearing in immigration court. None of those arrests occurred in Hadley, she said.

Shock, amusement

In Hadley, residents greeted news of the raids with a mix of amusement, shock and a sense of apprehension Thursday.

Gregg Thornton, owner of Greggory's Pastry Shop located in Norwottuck Shopping Plaza, two storefronts down from Jane's Spa, said he had never noticed anything suspicious about his neighbors.

"I'm surprised because it is in this town," Thornton said Thursday, as he applied the finishing touches to a cake. "This is an old, Polish, Catholic, farming community. It's a very nice town to live in. Something like this, it's not this town."

Astonishment was the word used to describe Wednesday's events at Loonar Tattoo and Piercing, the store next door to Jane's, where employees said two Asian women from Jane's Spa were frequent visitors to their store.

Liz Peterson, a tattooist, said she received a massage from the store's owners just after the shop opened earlier in the year, but never suspected anything illegal.

"They were always really nice," Peterson said, as she worked on a tattoo. "I would never have guessed. I haven't had a lot massages in my life, but they were good."

Al Valenta, another tattooist at Loonar, said he often sent customers over to Jane's while they were waiting to get their tattoos.

"They came back and said it was great," Valenta said of the customers who had received massages there. He said none had mentioned anything to suggest that something more than a massage was available. What's more, Valenta added, the two women who worked there did not appear the sort who would be involved in prostitution.

Sketchy parlor

Valenta said that while everyone at Loonar always figured that Jane's was a professionally run business, it was known locally that Hadley Massage Therapy down the street was a place where one could receive more than a standard massage.

"We always knew that the one up the street was sketchy," Valenta said.

He said a Loonar employee had found Hadley Massage Therapy advertising "adult services" on Craig's List, an Internet listing site, and that he had heard tales through the grapevine of men who had gone to the shop and paid for sex acts.

On Thursday, the sign at Hadley Massage Therapy had been removed. Insulation and frosted panes covered the windows and doors of the two story building, which resembles the type of home found in suburbs across the country.

Kevin Michelson, a 30-year Hadley resident and the owner of property abutting Hadley Massage Therapy, witnessed the raid while working next door. On Thursday, he described what he saw.

"They had 20 cruisers, guys with shields, and they had their guns drawn," Michelson said. He said police massed behind Unlimited Business Partners, the building adjacent to Hadley Massage, before storming the parlor itself. "It looked like an army," Michelson said.

The longtime Hadley resident said he had heard rumors of a prostitution operation at Hadley Massage.

"I only heard about it three weeks back before the bust, and I attributed it to regular Hadley gossip," Michelson said.

Linked parlors?

The extent to which the various parlors were linked was unclear Thursday. Jane's Spa has a business certificate registered to one Fenghua Yu, of 253 Belmont Ave., Springfield, according to the Hadley town clerk's office. The Corporate Division of the Secretary of State's Office, the state entity charged with registering businesses in the commonwealth, listed Jane's Spa Inc. to one Jizhen Fan, of 253 Belmont Ave.

Masslive.com reported on its Web site Thursday that a Jane's Spa at 249 Belmont Ave. was raided by police Wednesday.

The state listed David Thatcher as the owner of Norwottuck Shoppes Reality Co. LLC at 208 Russell St. in Hadley, the shopping plaza were Jane's Spa is located.

On Thursday, his son, Justin Thatcher, who helps manage the property, spoke about the spa.

"The people who came to look at the space originally didn't speak English, but they brought an interpreter," Thatcher said in a phone interview. "They said they had been running a location in Springfield."

Thatcher said he could not recall the name of the store's owner. He did say that nothing about the business gave him reason to suspect a prostitution operation might be going on there and noted that the store had a license, which it displayed on the wall.

In 2006, an adult book shop known first as Adults Only and later as The Coin Emporium, was shut down by the Hadley Zoning Board of Appeals for a violation of the town's zoning bylaws.

Hadley Massage Therapy was registered with the state to one Chun Nu Li. The business was also registered with the state Division of Professional Licensure as a licensed massage establishment. Chun Nu Li was the name given on that license, as well.

Hadley Town Administrator David Nixon said that in the past massage parlors had to register with the local board of health, but noted that the state was now in charge of licensing such establishments. Nixon said he had heard that a raid at the two parlors was imminent for several weeks.

He said both businesses had been in operation for four months.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com. Ben Storrow can be reached at bstorrow@gazettenet.com.

No to meals tax in Easthampton

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - Despite calls from recently re-elected Mayor Michael A. Tautznik to endorse the motion, city councilors narrowly defeated a proposed local meals tax increase Wednesday night that would have added 38 cents to a $50 restaurant tab.

The motion, which was defeated by a 5-3 vote, proposed a local option meals excise tax that would have added 0.75 percent to the 6.25 percent state meals tax on meals served at restaurants across the city and would have provided approximately $98,000 to the city annually, according to estimates from the Department of Revenue.

Although the meeting at White Brook Middle School was meant to draw public comment from local residents, the only audience member to approach the podium was Tautznik, who depicted the tax as a necessary evil during a time when the city expects to face a substantial drop in state aid.

"I want you to support this meals tax because it means about $100,000 to us ... and 75 cents out of $100 is not going to stop anybody from eating their meals in this city, nor is it going to take away 75 cents from the tip money for any waiter or waitress," Tautznik said before the vote. "I hope you accept this source of revenue. We're dying for revenue in this community and our neighbors, with the exception of Southampton, have all adopted this tax."

Although Tautznik apologized to councilors for complicating the issue by suggesting that funding raised by the tax could be used to create an economic development staff position, the majority of members seemed to feel that it was the wrong time to implement any new taxes on city residents.

Voting against the motion were councilors Robert M. Harrison, Joseph P. McCoy, Daniel D. Rist, Justin P. Cobb and Donald L. Cykowski.

"This really came down to me as just being another tax on people, and I am getting sick and tired of having them taxed for what I believe is no good reason at all," Harrison said.

Tautznik found support on the motion from councilors Salem Derby, Ronald D. Chateauneuf and from former mayoral rival James Kwiecinski, who said his time campaigning altered his perspective on the issue.

"Maybe it was running for mayor, but it makes you look at it from a different perspective. I want to give our chief executive every opportunity to have flexibility in balancing the budget," Kwiecinski said, adding, "It would be really easy to sit here and not give the mayor that opportunity, but I think it would be a disservice to our city to do so."

Rist, who said he felt "now is not the appropriate time to consider something of this nature," stood opposed to the motion because the national economic downturn has already translated to tough times for local business owners.

"I do hear what the mayor is saying, that we need to bring back people to the city and that we need to get some revenue, but on the other hand this is a tax and now is not the time to add another tax to our citizens, no matter how small it is," he said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Man skips court date for fifth oui

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - A local man was arrested Tuesday night and charged with a fifth drunken-driving offense after another motorist noticed him struggling to operate his moped on Pine Street, police said.

William H. Tenney, 61, of 421 N. Main St., failed to appear at his arraignment in Northampton District Court Tuesday morning, and a warrant for his arrest was issued to local police that, according to the clerk magistrate, wasn't executed by the time court closed at 4:30 p.m.

Tenney, who lives at the VA Medical Center in Leeds, faces charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, fifth offense; operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license and operating a motor vehicle while in possession of an open container of alcohol.

At 5:50 p.m., officer Patrick Moody and officer Joseph Golec responded to a call from a motorist on Pine Street who reported that a man in front of her on a moped appeared to be heavily intoxicated, had fallen off the vehicle and was struggling to get back onto it, according to court documents.

After questioning Tenney and detecting a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, police reportedly conducted a series of field sobriety tests and were able to determine that he was under the influence of alcohol, according to a police report. A further search of the moped, Moody reported, uncovered a partially consumed bottle of vodka hidden in a compartment under the seat.

During booking, Tenney submitted to a Breathalyzer test and his blood alcohol content was reportedly measured at .18 percent, more than two times the legal limit, according to court documents.

Tenney was convicted of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol in Nashua, N.H., in June and December of 1989; in Concord, N.H., in December of 1992; and in Lowell in June of 1996.

If convicted, Tenney will lose his right to operate a motor vehicle for the rest of his life and will face a mandatory 2½-year jail sentence.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Two women in scuffle in Northampton flu clinic parking lot

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - A swine flu clinic on Locust Street turned ugly Tuesday afternoon when two women got into a shoving match over an available parking space, police said.

According to Lt. Michael Patenaude, at 12:30 p.m., officers responded to Northampton Area Pediatrics for a reported altercation between two women in the parking lot. Patenaude said the dispute began when one of the women, who was idling in one of the clinic's parking spaces, felt that the other, who was pulling in to have her child vaccinated, was taking too long to move out of the way.

"Attendance was heavier than they though it was going to be, and the woman parked in the space thought the other was taking too long to move her car," Patenaude said, "and they ended up getting into a shoving match."

Kim Hayes, the practice administrator, said the clinic was offering a free walk-in clinic to their patients who are siblings of infants less than 6 months of age and to children between the ages of 6 months and 3 years of age with severe chronic illnesses, such as asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, leukemia, seizures, heart disease, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

"We give out the vaccine based on capacity, and we can only give out so many of them per session," Hayes said. "We did it over the lunch hour today, and we can only vaccinate about 50 people an hour. Unfortunately, we had to turn some people away and ask them to come back later in the evening."

According to the practice's Web site, vaccinations at its clinics will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis. Only its patients will receive the vaccine, and they must be in good health to have it administered.

Patenaude declined to identify the women involved in the fight and said no charges or arrests were made as a result of the altercation.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Police report finding drugs, cash near Amherst school

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

BELCHERTOWN - A search of an Amherst apartment near Fort River Elementary School uncovered more than two pounds of marijuana and a bag of hallucinogenic mushrooms Thursday.

Jacob D. Canon, 22, of 44 Belchertown Road, Apt. 3B, Amherst, pleaded innocent in Eastern Hampshire District Court to charges of possessing a class D substance (marijuana) with intent to distribute, possessing a class C substance (mushrooms) and committing a drug violation near a school.

According to court documents, at 6:40 p.m., state police Lt. Daniel F. Conley, Trooper Chris Bruneau, Amherst Police Detective Gregory Wise, Hadley police officer David Bertera and Amherst police officer Robert Young went to the apartment after obtaining a search warrant from Eastern Hampshire District Court.

A search reportedly netted two pounds of marijuana hidden in a crawl space, $1,400 concealed in a couch, a digital scale, packaging material, a bag of psilocybin mushrooms and prepackaged marijuana in a backpack.

Judge Laurie MacLeod ordered Canon be released on $500 bail. He is scheduled to reappear in court Dec. 3 for a pretrial hearing.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Swine flu vaccine trickles in

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

As hospitals and clinics across the Valley continue administering the few swine flu vaccinations available to the area's highest-risk residents, including infants, pregnant women and frontline health care workers - the question on everyone's mind seems to be: when will vaccines be made available to the general public?

The answer: when larger shipments from the nation's Center for Disease Control reach the state's Department of Public Health and those residents with chronic underlying conditions such as asthma, leukemia and cystic fibrosis have already been vaccinated.

According to the Center for Disease Control's Web site, which is updated daily, of the 16.8 million doses of H1N1 vaccine shipped to hospitals across the country, 404,500 have landed in the Bay State. Although the federal government originally called for 200 million vaccines for the country's estimated 300 million residents, production has been slower than expected.

Sheila Streeter, operations manager for Northampton Area Pediatrics, which will hold two walk-in vaccination clinics this weekend for asthmatic children ages 6 months to 3 years old, said she was wary of specifying how many doses of H1N1 vaccine they currently have because of increasing demand.

"I would rather not say the number. We have to try to do this in a controlled fashion and we only have so much vaccine," Streeter said. "If we run out and there are still patients, we are going to end up having to close the clinic."

Despite the limited amount of vaccine, Streeter said the plan is to continue rolling out clinics as vaccine trickles in. Once all "priority groups" have been vaccinated, those residents without underlying conditions will have their chance.

"As we work through our high-risk patients and more of the vaccine comes in, we will be increasing our clinics and hopefully we will eventually be offering it to all of our patients," she said.

According to a press release from the Amherst Health Department, the town has received 200 doses of H1N1 vaccine, most of which have already been distributed to pediatric and obstetric facilities in town. A portion of the vaccinations, the release states, were reserved for Amherst first-responders, and the town expects to receive another 200 doses in the near future.

Joanne Levin, medical director of infection prevention at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, said the problem with giving residents a specific time line for increased shipments of the vaccine is that area hospitals don't know day-to-day how many doses they will receive.

Levin said Cooley Dickinson reports to the state's Department of Public Health every Monday letting them know how much of the vaccine was used the previous week, and to which age groups it was administered. Based on those totals, she said, the DPH releases a new weekly or biweekly supply.

For more information about the swine flu, visit www.mass.gov.dph/flu or www.cdc.gov/swineflu.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

This city dweller has caught pumpkin growing fever

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - One resident's unusual hobby that started out as an homage to the Halloween classic "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown," has provided one downtown neighborhood with a Great Pumpkin of its own.

Culminating a yearlong effort to eclipse the 420-pound giant pumpkin he grew last fall, Patrick Pucino's hard work and diligence resulted in a 500-pounder - grown right in the backyard of his South Street home and just in time for Halloween.

Pucino said he hopes the pumpkin's presence on his front doorstep will provide a festive decoration for trick-or-treaters tonight. It won't be a jack-o'-lantern or a pumpkin pie, he noted, because it's too tough for carving.

The success of last year's effort, he said, fueled his interest in growing another pumpkin of the giant variety this year. It is a task that requires weeks of soil preparation and constant attention from the time the seed goes underground in April until the giant gourd is full-grown in the fall. His message to other area residents looking to dabble in the giant vegetable trade: you don't have to be an expert to have fun and see results.

"I have a pretty small plot of land, I don't have a farm, my backyard is probably about 400 square feet," Pucino said. "People should know that they don't have to have a farm to do this, they don't need acres of land to grow a giant pumpkin."

The time-consuming process of growing the massive fruit, Pucino said, began last spring when he purchased seeds for a giant pumpkin from Rhode Island in an online auction for $50. In order to support its growth, Pucino said he pretreated the soil in his backyard with nutrients and buried 80 feet of heating cable in concentric circles around where he planned to plant.

"Soil preparation is the biggest thing. You have to see what kind of soil you have, whether it be sand or clay, and put the necessary organic matter into it to help the pumpkin grow," Pucino said. "Anybody can put the seed in the ground and have fun with it, they don't have to go to the extremes that I do."

Over the next six months, Pucino wrapped his emerging pumpkin in plastic to keep it from freezing during the early spring months and spent the unusually rainy summer feeding it a steady diet of water, powdered fish and powdered seaweed; a concoction he said is essential to generating the pumpkin's giant size.

After seeing how much fun he had growing last year's pumpkin, Pucino said the friends and family members he sent seeds to last October planted giant pumpkins of their own and in return, sent him some literature on how to perfect the art.

"A lot of people were nice enough to give me books to read, and I learned from last year's mistakes," Pucino said.

He learned, for example, to spray fertilizer only at night or in the early morning because doing so during the daytime allows sunlight to burn it away.

When the time came to cut the stem and move his giant pumpkin out front for the neighborhood to see, Pucino said his wife, Angela Pucino, elected to use a different approach. Rather than rolling the huge squash along on wooden boards as they did last year, she enlisted the help of the couple's Chevy Prizm.

"She went out, surrounded it with plastic, slammed the plastic in the trunk of the car and dragged it right out to the front of the house," Pucino said.

Pucino said he is eagerly looking forward to preparing for and caring for next year's giant pumpkin, when he and his expectant wife will have a newborn baby to nourish as well.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.