Heeding two recalls: Area Toyota owners try to sort through pair of safety issues

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

Two recent recalls of millions of Toyota models, one prompted by a safety issue caused by interior carpeting and another due to sticky accelerators, have sparked confusion and panic among Valley Toyota drivers - and have the owners of local dealerships looking for any way to calm their concerns.

Toyota announced last week it was recalling 2.3 million vehicles in the United States to fix the sticking accelerator problem. Earlier this week, the company said it was suspending U.S. sales and production of eight models to fix the problem. The announcements came just months after it recalled 4.2 million vehicles due to gas pedals that could become trapped under floor mats, causing sudden acceleration. That problem was the cause of several crashes, including some fatalities.

According to Robert Cartelli, owner of Toyota of Greenfield, each dealership is taking its own approach to dealing with the onslaught of calls from concerned car owners, and the real problem is that many drivers don't know which of the two recalls their vehicle falls under.

"Right now I have two Toyota specialists who are doing nothing but handling calls and taking customer information down," Cartelli said. "The confusion lies in whether they are included in the gas pedal recall, which requires cutting off the carpet around the gas pedal, or the separate accelerator problem, which is at this point just being called a sticking accelerator. People need to know that those are two completely different recalls."

Cartelli said once the specialists have collected a given driver's information and vehicle identification number, they can easily determine which of the recalls, if any, the model is affected by.

Using that information, Cartelli said, the dealership can then either order the parts necessary to fix the initial gas pedal problem, or put the motorist on a waiting list for the future repair of the sticking accelerator, the solution to which he said the company is still working on.

"(Customers) should know that if something were to happen with the accelerator, they should take their car out of gear, pull over to the side of the road, shut it off, call the dealership, and we will send them an alternative means of transportation free of charge," Cartelli said.

About 30 percent of Cartelli's inventory has been affected by the recalls, and while he said the announcements have had a negative impact on overall sales, he is finding that many customers buying affected models are willing to wait until after the necessary repairs have been made to make their purchase.

"One of the things I have to commend Toyota for is that they have been very proactive about jumping on this and immediately addressing the problem. This recall wasn't a mandate from the federal government, this is something Toyota chose to do, and chose to do the right way," Cartelli said.

The other area dealer is Lia Toyota on King Street in Northampton. A representative there declined comment Thursday.

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it's closing in on solutions to the gas pedal system problem, but it still had no details on when drivers would see repairs. The recall has now spread to more than 2.4 million vehicles on three continents.

Toyota dealers in the United States have been swamped with calls from concerned owners but had few answers as the recalls snowballed. Elkhart, Ind.-based CTS Corp., which made the parts, is cranking out redesigned gas pedal assemblies that fix the problem, which is caused by condensation around an arm attached to the pedal and springs that send the pedal back to the idle position.

Toyota engineers are developing ways to repair the pedal systems in existing cars and trucks, said spokesman Brian Lyons.

House lawmakers, meanwhile, said they intend to hold a Feb. 25 hearing to review the complaints of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles. "Like many consumers, I am concerned by the seriousness and scope of Toyota's recent recall announcements," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Rail boost to redraw Valley map

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Northampton and Greenfield are poised to get back on the railroad map with President Barack Obama's decision to award $8 billion in federal stimulus funding to high-speed rail projects nationwide, announced during his State of the Union address Wednesday night. Of that amount, $70 million will support the development of the "Knowledge Corridor," a regional rail system with stops in the Franklin and Hampshire county seats.

Gov. Deval Patrick described the proposed high-speed line along the Connecticut River and Interstate 91 as a "cornerstone for regional rail and regional economic growth."

"This is exceptional news," Patrick said in a release, adding, "This $70 million will support long-awaited improvements, create jobs and restore access to cities in the Pioneer Valley ... I couldn't be more thrilled or more grateful."

Also applauding the release of stimulus funding was Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who has been a vocal advocate for railway projects and was the lead author of the High-Speed Rail for America Act.

"High-speed rail is jobs and the future," Kerry said in a statement. "This investment will create immediate jobs, help fix our crumbling infrastructure system, and put our rail systems on par with the high-tech systems across the globe."

As a member of the Finance Committee, Kerry worked to include significant investments in high-speed rail corridors as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Kerry provision allows transit projects to receive tax-exempt financing, and also requires that high-speed trains reach speeds of 150 mph, according to the release.

The Knowledge Corridor project will rehabilitate the existing Connecticut River rail line connecting Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. It calls for rerouting the existing 60.4-mile-long line, from Northfield to Amherst to Palmer to Springfield, to a 49.8-mile-long track from Northfield through Greenfield, Amherst and Northampton to Springfield. Reducing the distance of the line by 11 miles, officials reported, should eliminate the need for a time-consuming reverse movement at Palmer.

The revised route will provide for two new station stops, one at the former Amtrak station in Northampton and another at the soon-to-be-constructed intermodal transportation terminal in Greenfield, which is being built with $12.8 million in reinvestment act funding, according to a plan for the project submitted before funding was made available.

The plans also stipulate that existing Amtrak transit service offered in Amherst will provide a connection to the rail station in Northampton.

According to that same plan, the proposed intercity passenger rail project, which was studied by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission in conjunction with the Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works, "has the potential to be a major component in producing economic revitalization, spurring job creation, improving air quality, increasing overall mobility and reducing traffic congestion."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

BPW backs expansion of Northampton landfill; council will vote

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Expanding the Glendale Road landfill would be a safe and economical way to dispose of the region's solid waste, the Board of Public Works declared in a unanimous vote Wednesday night. At the same time, the board referred the final decision on the matter to City Council.

The meeting, which drew about 50 residents to the Community Room at JFK Middle School on Bridge Road, featured a lengthy public comment session during which both sides had their chance to weigh in.

Prior to public comment, Terry Culhane, chairman of the city's Board of Public Works, clearly laid out what the board was charged with doing and defended the reasoning behind its final determination.

"We set out to answer two questions: Is it even a choice, and is it a good choice, one we can safely consider," Culhane said, referring to the board's research. He added, "We've spent years on this. We've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars working on this question and I feel, and the board feels, that in the face of what is clearly a strong negative reaction from the people within the city, that it would be a real shame to just walk away from all that work. What happens in the future is going to be a function of what the City Council and the mayor's office decide to do."

Culhane said that when the landfill reaches capacity some time in the next year, the existing facility will have to be closed. Now that the board has completed research on its safety, he said, the final challenge will be both political and financial and should be left to City Council.

"We recognize that any decision to expand the landfill has a non-technical dimension which is beyond the scope of our board," the motion read. "However, on practical, environmental and economic merits, the BPW is prepared to make a final recommendation to the city."

Ward 6 City Councilor Marianne LaBarge, clearly upset with what she called the board's decision to "flop the question along to City Council and leave it on us," said that after visiting residents directly affected by fumes emitted by the landfill, she had hoped the board would call for its permanent closure.

"You should go into the homes that I have been in, and see the little children deathly ill with their mothers. I have a serious problem with what is occurring around the whole perimeter of this landfill," LaBarge said.

Also speaking in opposition was Mimi Odgers, chairwoman of Water Not Waste, an organization established to fight landfill expansion, who said the board was just "passing the buck." She compared the city's dependency on funding generated from the landfill to a drug addiction.

"I keep thinking of this as an addiction, and our addiction to this landfill has been going on for 40 years," Odgers said.

However, not all those present opposed a landfill expansion. Peter Flynn, 47, of 848 Ryan Road, was one of several residents who worried that transporting garbage generated in Northampton to other parts of the country would just be sending the problem elsewhere, and could result in even less recycling among city residents.

"I mainly object to taking our garbage, putting it into trucks and sending it off to someone else," Flynn said. "Because once it drives away from us we don't know whose water we are polluting. I think we should just keep our own garbage, and if that means expanding the landfill, then we have to figure out a way to do that safely."

Sharing Flynn's distaste for any plan that would relocate waste was Geoffrey Kuter, of 292 Elm St., who said after spending 35 years working in the recycling business, he doesn't necessarily support landfills, but thinks sending trash elsewhere would only increase the city's already poor recycling record.

"When the landfill is closed, our waste will go elsewhere and it will end up either in an incinerator or a landfill. Taxes will go up, sticker fees will go beyond $2 a bag and the revenue the city is now generating will be lost," Kuter said.

Now that the landfill debate has moved beyond the BPW, Culhane said the board would wait for approval from City Council, rather than send along a request for a special permit for heavy public use, because members felt "the process is stuck and we can't unstick it."

The one-and-a-half-page motion, which was amended slightly before its passage, will be made available on the city's Web site, www.northamptonma.gov/dpw/solidwaste.

The motion

"Resolved: The BPW, after carefully considering the expert reports and citizen input, has determined that the expansion of the Glendale Road Landfill is a safe and responsible option for solid waste disposal in the region. While we recognize that the citywide discussion has been a controversial and difficult process, we feel the weight of the evidence supports our final determination. We are persuaded that a local landfill is a safe, convenient, environmentally sound and economical method for the City to handle the solid waste generated by the residences and businesses in Northampton and the region.

We are concerned about whether or not the city can develop a strategy to avoid potential litigation, and we must adequately address the financial challenges associated with a temporary landfill closure by securing a waste stream of sufficient size to support the landfill expansion program costs. We also recognize that a local facility would enhance the development and management of forward-looking recycling and waste-handling programs.

The next step would normally be to prepare an application for a site approval plan. This would require allocating additional staff resources as well as more funds in technical assistance and design. However, without a clear indication of City support, we have decided not to pursue further investment in development of the landfill expansion project at this time."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

City firefighters douse blaze mere feet from gas pumps

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Firefighters quickly extinguished a raging truck fire that broke out next to a Shell gas station on Pleasant Street Tuesday morning.

The truck was fully engulfed in flames when the first firefighters arrived shortly after 9 a.m. at O'Connell Convenience Plus at 506 Pleasant St. The truck - which belonged to Eastern Connection Deliveries, a company out of East Hartford, Conn. - was parked just seven feet away from the walls of the gas station's convenience store, where thick clouds of smoke billowed into the sky, according to Fire Deputy David Gagne.

Many spectators at the scene feared the fire could escalate, given its close proximity to gas tanks, though firefighters contained the blaze with marked efficiency. Police kept morning traffic moving in both directions on Pleasant Street.

Video courtesy of Dr. Roger Allcroft

The cause of the fire, Gagne said, was friction from a rear tire rubbing against the frame of the truck which ignited a fire in the cargo section. There were no reported injuries, he said, and there was no reported damage to the gas station itself.

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

Advocates to lobby DPW to save Leeds dam

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Advocates for a historic 19th-century dam in Leeds plan to lobby the Board of Public Works tonight, asking for more time to raise money to fix the structure.

The 300-foot-long Upper Roberts Meadow Dam, located off Chesterfield Road, appeared headed for demolition after being deemed highly hazardous by the state's Office for Dam Safety in 2006. The structure is made up of an earthen embankment with a stone masonry spillway and was originally constructed in 1883 by the local Water Board as a means of generating water for the city, according to Board of Public Works Chairman Terry Culhane.

After it was ordered discontinued in 1905, Culhane said the dam hasn't been used as a water source and a DPW study done last year showed that if needed, the reservoir would produce less than two days worth of water for the city.

"I believe they originally hauled the water into town either in barrels or in horse-drawn wagons, because there doesn't appear to be distribution pipes attached to (the dam)," Terry Culhane said. "But now it isn't even the back-up to the back-up of the city's water supply."

Following the 2005 collapse of a dam in Taunton, which resulted in the evacuation of much of the city's downtown area, the state's Office for Dam Safety began reviewing the structural integrity of dams statewide, and determined that the Upper Roberts Meadow Dam was "highly hazardous" because it is in disrepair, is upstream of a very populated area and could have disastrous consequences should it collapse, Culhane said. "If it were to fail catastrophically, it could take the next dam out, which would be the dam above Musante Beach," Culhane said. "And our engineer determined that it could affect 280 houses and other buildings, depending on how you model it."

Culhane said the board has already voted to breach the dam at the recommendation of engineering consultants from GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc., but will consider allowing Friends of the Upper Reservoir and Chesterfield Dam, an ad-hoc group committed to saving it, six more months to raise money to save the dam.

Although he said he doesn't believe faults with the dam, such as active seepage, could cause a collapse or pose an immediate threat to the city, Culhane said the board has been mandated by the state to either repair or breach the dam. Its repair, Culhane said, would cost about $1.825 million, $600,000 less than the estimated cost of $1.2 million to remove it.

"It is a gorgeous setting, we get that. Several of the people who are most upset by this look at the little pond every day and are heartbroken at the prospect of seeing it drained," Culhane said. "But I would point out that if we rebuilt it, it wouldn't be the same lovely structure, it would be made up of concrete and look like a mini Hoover Dam, and we would have to come in and clear trees out by the dozen."

One resident looking to preserve the dam by raising the $600,000 needed to repair it, is John I. Clapp, 61, of 940 Chesterfield Road, who, along with his wife, Dee Boyle-Clapp, joined Friends of the Upper Reservoir.

The Friends' plan, Clapp said, is to raise money through local fundraising to hire an engineer who can determine the dam's killowatt potential if converted to generate micro-hydro power.

"At this point it seems like even with their figure of 30 kilowatts, we could make enough money off of the dam to pay for repairs, maintenance and future dredging, all three of which make up a large portion of the $600,000 figure."

Clapp, who has lived near the dam his entire life, said the Friends' desire to save the dam isn't solely to harness its hydro-electric potential, but to preserve the wildlife that depends on it and the beautiful setting it has created.

"The wildlife habitat that has been accustomed to the pond and relies on it includes the river otter, the great blue heron and a number of other species. The view is of one of the more pretty watersheds in Northampton, and there is the historical aspect because it is 130 years old," Clapp said.

Other concerns raised by the Friends, Boyle-Clapp said, include the sudden lack of water available for fighting forest fires if the dam is breached and conflicting results found by private engineers they've hired to consider a collapse and those hired by the city.

The BPW meeting is tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the Community Room at John F. Kennedy Middle School on Bridge Road. Culhane said the meeting will begin with two public comment sessions, one focused on a possible landfill expansion followed by another specifically about the dam.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

No dodging the deluge: Heavy rain, winds assault Valley

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Unseasonably warm weather Monday spawned a storm that dumped more than an inch of rain across the Valley, clogged local drainage systems, and translated to serious headaches for area pedestrians and motorists.

The storm, which prompted the National Weather Service to initiate a flood warning for Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties, was accompanied by strong winds for most of the day, produced more than 1.2 inches of rain locally, and swelled the crest of the Mill River to more than 10 feet - 4 feet above flood stage, according to the service's Web site.

Monday's high temperature of 57, officially recorded at Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, shattered the local record for the date of 52, recorded in 1964, according to Brian Lapis, News 22 meteorologist.

"The core of Monday's storm essentially moved to our north and west and brought a ton of warm air with it, causing a pretty unusual situation for the month of January," Lapis said.

Ned Huntley, Department of Public Works chairman, said the real culprit Monday was the frozen ground, although he said any storm that produces more than an inch of rain in a small period of time holds the potential to cause urban flooding.

"Everything is still frozen solid, and on top of that earth is a fairly heavy snow that doesn't absorb a lot of water, so basically the woods and the fields around the city were acting as giant parking lots and that runoff water was just running to the lowest point, which are our roadways, collection systems, swamps and rivers," Huntley said.

In addition to melting existing snow, Huntley said rainwater running into local drainage systems took with it debris in the form of ice, snow and leaves that resulted in clogs across the city.

"What happens is, some of the snow gets flowing with the ice into our catch basins, and we end up with leaves, snow, ice and other material clogging them up," Huntley said. "And by the time we clear the debris out, the system just can't handle the sudden increase of water."

Huntley said DPW crews were kept busy most of the day clearing sewer drains and responding to a number of calls from residents dealing with flooding. By the time the storm subsided Monday evening, local streets quickly returned to normal.

Lapis said he expects to see rain showers and possibly scattered snowfall through the daylight hours today, but said local residents shouldn't worry about a repeat of Monday's flooded roadways.

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

Amherst ready to hire new fire chief

By SCOTT MERZBACH and OWEN BOSS
Staff Writers

AMHERST — A new fire chief may be close to being named in Amherst as contract negotiations with a recommended candidate are about to begin.

Town Manager Larry Shaffer said Wednesday that he is talking to Walter O. Nelson, 52, deputy fire chief of Holyoke, and starting to seek references and completing background checks after Nelson won the full support of an eight-member search committee. There has been no job offer yet, Shaffer said.

“He is very competent. We’re very impressed with his skills, very impressed with his personality,” Shaffer said of Nelson Friday.

Nelson, deputy fire chief since 2002, has served the Holyoke Fire Department for more than 28 years. He heads up the western Massachusetts hazardous materials response team and has also earned kudos for meritorious conduct as a firefighter from the commonwealth.

“I’ve been preparing for a job like this my whole career,” Nelson said. “I’m a lucky man, I’ve been able to work in a great fire department for 28 years and I’ve worked with some great folks, learned from some people and now I have the opportunity here to be part of a department that is just as good, just as great, and just as dedicated. What’s better than that?”

Although he said he realizes that serving a town like Amherst would take a considerably different approach than fighting fires in Holyoke, Nelson said he feels he has the skill set to suit the job.

“In terms of size (Amherst and Holyoke) may be different but in terms of population it’s not that grand a difference. They are two completely different communities, and that is of course a challenge,” Nelson said. “The good thing is they both have good fire departments and both care a lot about public safety.

During his time with the state haz-mat team, Nelson said he got to meet several of the firefighters in the Amherst station, and has enjoyed working with all of them.

“I’ve known folks from Amherst for a while, we run in the same circle, so it’s a case where I have some degree of familiarity. But if things work out, I’m still going to be the new guy,” Nelson said.

The Fire Department is currently being led by interim Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren, an assistant fire chief who decided against seeking the permanent position to replace Keith Hoyle, who retired as fire chief in August after 10 years in the position. Six fire chief candidates were interviewed last week over two days by eight panelists, and these semifinalists were given a fire problem to solve on the third day. Two were internal candidates, Shaffer said.

After the interviews, seven of the panelists had one person as the elite candidate, and all eight had Nelson in the top position after the fire problem.

“This finalist was, in the committee’s opinion and in my opinion, the best candidate we saw,” Shaffer said.

The town received 22 resumes for the position advertised in October. A paper screening in December reduced this list to six candidates.

The position is advertised at a salary range of $95,000 to $105,000, and the job summary states that the fire chief is “responsible for the planning, directing, and administering all activities of the Amherst Fire Department, to include but not limited to fire suppression, fire prevention, fire inspection, emergency medical response, emergency management, hazardous material response, and other related duties as assigned.”

Valley vote goes to Coakley, but Brown takes big prize

By Owen Boss and Chad Cain

Staff Writers

Perhaps Tuesday's watershed election for Massachusetts politics in which a Republican candidate won a U.S. Senate seat for the first time in nearly 40 years hinged on voters like Terie Fleury.

The South Hadley resident had never held a political sign on a rainy street corner for hours like she did Tuesday afternoon, or spent an entire weekend day cold-calling potential voters on behalf of a candidate.

Then along came Scott Brown and his upstart - and to the surprise of the nation, successful - campaign to replace the late Edward M. Kennedy. Suddenly, Fleury found herself doing all of those things and more for the Brown campaign.

"I'm just excited about Scott Brown. The stakes are too high right now," said Fleury.

She became one of thousands of people who helped Brown pull off one of the biggest political upsets in state history. Once thought of as little more than a stepping stone for Democrat Martha Coakley, the state's attorney general, Brown was able to tap into voter dissatisfaction and ride the wave of national unrest regarding health care reform.

The state senator from Wrentham bested Coakley by 5 percentage points - 52 to 47 - statewide, with 99 percent of precincts reporting.

Hampshire County, though, followed a different path from the rest of the state, voting for Coakley by a wide margin.

--How the Valley voted: Town-by-town numbers

A jubilant crowd of about 75 Brown supporters gathered at the Sandcastle Lounge in Holyoke to celebrate the historic win, at times cheering Republican leaders and mocking Democratic leaders who appeared on television.

Kevin Jourdain, chairman of Western Mass Republicans, a public action committee that represents Republicans in Hampshire and Hampden counties, called the win "huge."

"This is going to put some serious balance back in the congressional delegation," he said. "I think we are now going to move toward a more independent way of thinking in Washington."

He said Democrats in other states should take stock of Brown's win before they "keep walking off the cliff."

A much more subdued gathering of about 75 Coakley supporters watched the results at Paradise City Tavern in Northampton. The crowd let out a loud gasp when Ray Drewnowski, political director of the Pioneer Valley Young Democrats and a member of the Coakley campaign, announced shortly after 9 p.m. that Coakley had ceded the race to Brown. Most in the crowd quietly began filing out of the bar.

Dave Sullivan, an Easthampton resident sporting a Coakley sticker on his shirt, was "extremely disappointed."

"I think we need Martha Coakley in the Senate to bring progressive change to the state and I don't think Scott Brown is the senator who can do that," he said.

Health care key

Like voters statewide, health care was on the minds of most Hampshire County voters who braved a steady bout of snow and rain to weigh in on the issue.

Losing Kennedy's seat deals a serious blow to President Barack Obama's health care bill, the top domestic priority of his first year in office. Democrats need 60 Senate votes to cut off debate on the legislation, which is exactly how many they got last month.

Brown opposes the bill, which is the main reason Aaron Blodgett, 29, of Amherst, voted for him.

"I really would not like to see health care turned into an American right," said Blodgett, 29. "I don't want certain decisions to be made by government, like how much we are going to spend for someone to live on extended care, abortions, a right to cosmetic surgery or sex change operations. These are not things we are able to deal with as a country."

On the other side of the debate stood Luba Reep, 82, of Amherst. She voted for Coakley because of her support of Obama's plan.

"I think I would have voted anyhow, but, with the 60 votes, it is especially important," Reep said. "It's important to have (health care) passed. I think many people are not covered."

South Hadley's Robert Judge and Mike Fisher supported Coakley in large part because of her support for the direction Obama is taking the nation, in particular the effort to reform health care.

Fleury, the Brown supporter from South Hadley, also believes that health care reform is crucial, but she has major questions about Obama's bill, ranging from the "shenanigans" it has taken to push the deal through and the hefty price tag.

"We must slow down Congress and rethink the health care bill," she said. "There should be health care reform, but not at this price."

Amanda Huhmann, 28, of Amherst, said she started following the race more closely once it became clear that it was going to be competitive. She speculated that Brown had closed the gap on Coakley with a more aggressive campaign that established him as presence throughout the state. Conversely, she said, the Coakley campaign seemed to act as though it had the election in the bag.

"Even in Massachusetts, you can't do that," she said.

Many Brown supporters throughout Hampshire County said they were hungry for change in the Senate. Pam Boice, 54, of Easthampton, said the country is moving "too far to the left," and a Brown win could help change that.

"I think Scott Brown will be elected because people are tired of the whole Kennedy thing," said Bob Gallentine, 63. "People want change; they want something different."

Michael Portno, of South Hadley, said he is tired of politicians who don't listen. Brown is different, he believes.

"He's echoing what I'm feeling," Portno said. "My voice is not being heard right now ... he's saying the things I say over my kitchen table."

At the Northampton Senior Center, voters seemed to be more supportive of Coakley.

Drew Spring, 30, was concerned a Brown win would break up the Democrats' 60 vote majority in the Senate and halt progress on a variety of issues.

"If Brown does get in, he'll bog down the Senate and nothing will get done," he said.

Few voters were swayed by the deluge of advertising over the last week of the campaign.

In Hadley, at Hopkins Academy, Penny Mahoney, said she cast her vote for the candidate she always felt would best represent the Bay State, regardless of the media blitz.

"I voted for who I thought would take the country in the direction I think it needs to go in," Mahoney said.

At Munson Memorial Library on South East Street in Amherst, Susan Abdow followed the same logic.

"I would have voted in a Senate election anyway," Abdow said, adding that after following coverage of the tight race and seeing the candidates' commercials on television, she knew that her vote really counted. "If I had any doubt about whether I would be voting beforehand, they changed my mind."

Valley honors Martin Luther King Jr.

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - At events across the city Monday, area residents gathered together to remember the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his eternal message of challenging society's inequalities through persistent acts of nonviolence.

The American Friends Service Committee's 26th annual celebration of the holiday began with a guided African-American Heritage tour led by local resident Steven Strimer, which started at the Sojourner Truth statue in Florence and passed through her home, the homes of other former slaves, and several nearby underground railroad sites.

The tour culminated with an afternoon memorial service that drew more than 150 residents to First Churches on Main Street, where event organizers took time to remember Julius Ford, a Pioneer Valley community organizer and longtime emcee of the event who died suddenly at the age of 41 in October.

"In many ways (Ford and King) walked along a similar life path. They were both men of African-American descent who lived in the United States and fought for justice and against white supremacy, classism, and homophobia," his friend and colleague Mike Funk said before a video of Ford singing was played.

"They're really of the same ilk, they were both irreplaceable, they were both once-in-a-lifetime kind of people," Funk said.

Debora Ferreira-Ford, along with the couple's 6-year-old son Phoenix, also spoke at the service and compared Ford's promotion of equality in the local community to the role King played on a much larger scale during the civil rights movement, reminding those in attendance that "It's really all about peace."

After reading an original poem she wrote shortly after Ford's passing, Ferreira-Ford introduced Rebirth, a band Ford helped create, who sang his song "Church," and drew a lengthy standing ovation.

"They were both self-actualizing individuals and I believe that Julius left in this community an absence, but we are much richer as a community because of who he was in our lives and because we had the opportunity to walk with him," Funk said.

Following the tribute to Ford, eight local residents, whose activist affiliations span a host of local community groups, took turns reading from King's famous speech "Why I am Opposed to the War in Vietnam," given at Ebenezer Church in New York in 1967.

The program wrapped up with a general discussion about King's life, nonviolence and political activism led by Vijay Prashad, a professor of international studies at Trinity College, and Tim Carpenter, the national director of Progressive Democrats of America.

Another area group celebrating Monday's holiday was the Community Action Youth Program, which hosted a free lunch and workshop for area children at College Church on Pomeroy Terrace.

The program, designed to stimulate a discussion about King's teachings among local schoolchildren, featured several creative workstations and a performance by Alpha Squad, a hip-hop dance group from Florence Heights.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Around Westhampton

By Owen Boss
Staff Writer

Young students share day with their grandparents

As a way of advancing the local Parent Teacher Organization’s goal of bringing more of the school’s children’s home lives into the classroom, students at Westhampton Elementary School had the opportunity to bring their grandparents to school for the first time last week. It was an experiment that school officials said turned out to be just as fun for the seniors as their grandchildren.

“One of the things the PTO wanted to do was support projects aimed at getting the community involved in our school, and fostering more home-to-school connections here,” Principal Deane Bates said.

The all-day event, which drew more than 100 grandparents to the Kings Highway elementary school, allowed grandparents to accompany students on their usual daily routine during the school day and have some fun with each grade’s prepared activities.

“Our sixth-graders had an interactive quiz with clickers that they played with their grandparents and some of our other students made pictures out of both of their handprints,” Bates said. “They all seemed very happy.”

Given the success of the school’s first Grandparent’s Day, Bates said he would definitely be open to having it become an annual event at Westhampton Elementary.
•••
New library taking shape

Town residents who have been eagerly watching the new public library take shape in recent months were happy to see the structure’s new cupola, built by a crew of local volunteers, firmly attached to the building’s roof last week.

According to Euthecia Hancewicz, president of the Friend’s of the Westhampton Library, the 6-by-6 foot cupola, which was built in the Northwest Road workshop of woodworker and construction artist Douglas Thayer, was installed early last week and was crafted to match the style of the original 1814 building.

“They did a ton of what is called dentil work and the cupola was designed to match exactly what is on the original parsonage building,” Hancewicz said.
“It’s up and it is looking good.”

Although much of the building’s roof has been completed, some of the structure is still covered only by tarps and Hancewicz said as work progresses over the winter, area residents will be working to come up with ideas for future programming.

“We’ve already held a couple of meetings to brainstorm ideas about some programs and events that can take place in and around the new library when it opens,” Hancewicz said.

Also in the works while construction wraps is a volunteer effort to transplant all of the books from the former library, located next to Town Hall, to its new location across the street.

“It will be something that will be done by volunteers, because that is how this project has come about and that is how Westhampton works,” Hancewicz said. “We just have to find a away to get a lot of people to help.”

Residents who want to volunteer for the book-move project can call the library at 527-5386 or attend the next Friend’s of the Library meeting.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

I-91 head-on crash brings rush-hour traffic to a standstill

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON — A local elderly woman, who police say crossed the median on Interstate 91 and slammed head-on into a couple from Vermont Friday evening, brought rush-hour traffic to a standstill and snarled traffic into the city for more than two hours.

According to Trooper Giuseppe Champa, of the state police’s Northampton barracks, eyewitnesses of the accident reported that Roslyn Nitkin, 86, who was heading northbound in a Toyota Camry, veered off the highway, crossed the median, and struck a Toyota station wagon occupied by Lori Bowman, 52, and passenger Andrew Harris, 48, of Vermont head-on.

Amazingly, Champa said, the head-on crash left all three individuals with only minor injuries. Nitkin, who Champa said was issued a ticket for failure to stay in her lane, has had her license temporarily revoked as an investigation into the cause of the crash is conducted.

“Witnesses said she just all of a sudden crossed the median,” Champa said. “Remarkably they were all okay because they were all wearing their seat belts and had airbags.”

As a result of the crash, Champa said state police had to temporarily close both southbound lanes on the highway while the damaged vehicles were removed, which translated to lengthy delays for hundreds of rush-hour drivers.

“Traffic was backed up down the highway for about an hour-and-a-half,” Champa said.

All three parties involved in the accident were transported by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where a hospital spokeswoman said they were still being evaluated Friday night.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Variety of events on tap as city celebrates King Day

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON — The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day will bring a variety of free celebrations and youth programs to the Valley, including two in Northampton aimed at preserving King’s message of nonviolence and getting local youth involved in the spirit of the day.

The Community Action Youth Program is hosting a free lunch and several activities aimed at students. The celebration, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at College Church on Pomeroy Terrace, will feature a performance from the Alpha Squad, a hip-hop dance group from Hampshire Heights.

“This is a program where kids can go to their own individual stations, interact with each other, and just do their own thing,” Loren Halman, the program’s community project coordinator said. “There will be a lot for them to do.”

Following the free lunch and dance performance at noon, Halman said, participants will create posters and collages based on suggested historical materials from the King era, write original songs based on protest ballads or statements made during the civil rights movement, and participate in conversations about race and equality.

Also Monday, the annual MLK Day events organized by the American Friends Service Committee kick off at 1 p.m. with a guided African-American Heritage tour starting at the Sojourner Truth statue in Florence, located at the intersection of Pine and Park streets. After the guided tour, a gathering at the First Churches on Main Street will offer readings from King’s speeches, poetry and a community dinner.

The tour, part of the AFSC’s 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. holiday celebration, will be led by local resident Steve Strimer and will pass Truth’s home as well as those of other former slaves and several Underground Railroad sites.

Once back at the First Churches, beginning at 3 p.m., Program Coordinator Jeff Napolitano said eight local residents will take turns reading excerpts from King’s speech, “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam,” followed by a talk about militarism and racism.

The day will conclude in Lyman Hall with a community dinner, free and open to the public, at 5 p.m. The food will be provided by local sponsors and the AFSC.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Three charged in home invasion

Armed robbery alleged in break-in
By Owen Boss and Stephen Hill
Staff Writers

SOUTH HADLEY — Three Springfield residents faced charges Thursday after an alleged armed home invasion and robbery at 104 Lyman St. in the wee hours that morning.

“We believe this particular house was chosen,” Police Chief David LaBrie said Thursday.

Two teenagers, an 18-year-old male resident and another boy, were the only people in the house and were sleeping when two men, armed with handguns, allegedly broke in through a sliding door.

Geremy Linsky, 20, of 225 Mount Holly Drive, Springfield, Jeremy Gervais, 20, of 36 Fredette St., Springfield and Tanya Nitri, 20, of 161 Hartford Terrace, Springfield, were all arrested on charges of home invasion, armed burglary, and larceny of property valued over $250. All three pleaded innocent to all charges Thursday in Eastern Hampshire District Court. Judge Laurie MacLeod ordered Linsky and Gervais held on $75,000 cash bail, and Nitri posted $3,000 cash bail, according to court documents.

The 18-year-old resident called 911 at 1:33 a.m. Thursday, to report that he and his friend had been robbed at gunpoint, South Hadley police stated in a press release. The teenagers said they had been awakened by two masked men, both armed with semi-automatic pistols, who broke into the home through a sliding glass door, threatened them and demanded money, police said.

After the teens told the intruders they had no money, the robbers loaded backpacks with video games, DVDs, cell phones and laptop computers, and then tied the teens’ hands, according to police.

After freeing themselves, they called police and were able to describe the intruders.
Holyoke police stopped a car about 2:30 a.m. for a moving violation and saw electronic devices later identified as coming from the Lyman Street house.

The guns allegedly used in the robbery have not yet been recovered, Labrie said. MacLeod scheduled all three suspects to appear in court Feb. 12 for a pretrial hearing.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Valley groups mobilize to help Hatian earthquake victims

By Owen Boss and Kristin Palpini

Staff Writers

NORTHAMPTON - In the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Haiti, Valley aid groups familiar with the Caribbean nation are trying to figure out how best to help the island's beleaguered people.

The most pressing need in Haiti is medical, local relief volunteers said Wednesday, but those capable of providing it said it is unlikely planes are landing in Haiti.

"The natural instinct for Americans is to rush in there, roll up our sleeves and do our thing," said Mark Bigda, an Easthampton doctor who has been making regular trips to provide free medical treatment to Haitians for years.

"But I'm afraid the ability to get in the country right now is probably extremely limited," he said.

Less than a day after the magnitude 7 earthquake that has toppled much of the nation's capital and surrounding towns, Valley residents were talking about raising money to pay for water, medical treatment, food and construction efforts in Haiti.

In the days to come, area aid organizations said they expect to form action plans to help Haiti.

Dave Entin, chairman of the First Churches in Northampton peace and justice committee, said the church would soon discuss how best to meet Haiti's need. Pauline Bassett, a committee member, said parishioners will be asked for donations. How donations will be used to aid Haiti must still be decided.

"We're eager to have that discussion," said Entin, who noted Sunday's sermon would be dedicated to Haiti. "They're going to need the help."

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 80 percent of the population living under the poverty line and 54 percent in abject poverty, according to the CIA. In recent years, Haiti has suffered devastating floods and hurricanes.

Adrien Tofighi, a University of Massachusetts student and member of P.E.A.C.H., a student group dedicated to aiding Haiti, said he plans to contact the university's Haitian-American student association to help organize a food drive or collect medical supplies.

"I want to be effective, but I'm not trained as a nurse or a medic," Tofighi said. "I know I can do something.

The mood inside Grace Episcopal Church in Amherst was a somber one Wednesday night as several parishioners held a prayer service and candlelight vigil for Haitian citizens, especially those living at a church-sponsored school and ministry in Saint Mathieu De Bayonnais, a small town about four hours from Port-au-Prince.

"I'm sure there is going to be an effort down the road to gather donations, but at the moment we are giving donations to Episcopal Relief & Development, a religious organization we work with," the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas said. "We typically work through the agencies there."

Annie Scarff, a Grace Episcopal parishioner, said she attended the vigil because a visit to the country less than a year ago left her with firsthand knowledge of the deplorable conditions that many Haitians endure.

"It is hard to imagine how things in Haiti could get any worse, but I'm sure they are now," Scarff said. "The electricity pretty much didn't go on at night before, and there probably is a lack of power, water and the basics."

According to Bullitt-Jonas, area residents looking to help can donate to Episcopal Relief & Development by visiting the Web site: http://www.er-d.org.

Another resident who will be collecting donations in coming days is Mariaelena Garcia, of Amherst, who said her daughter's husband, a native of Haiti, was desperately trying Wednesday morning to locate family members who still live on the island.

"I spoke with someone there, and she said that when she walked through the streets she saw little hands coming out from underneath concrete slabs, and without heavy machinery no one there was able to lift the concrete off of them," Garcia said. "This is all about helping the people who are still surviving."

Garcia, who plans to fill a 16-foot truck with assorted goods, said people can come by her home at 74 N. Whitney St., between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday to drop off any items they would like to donate to survivors. Then, Garcia said, after collecting more goods Tuesday morning, she will take the truck to Boston, where she will help fill a reserved container heading for Haiti.

"People should remember when they donate that these people lost everything and absolutely anything they can bring by will be a huge help," Garcia said.

Garcia said anyone interested in donating or volunteering their time can call her at 413-222-1001.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Patrick announces $8M in federal stimulus funds

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick announced Tuesday that he will commit $8 million in Reinvestment Act funding to invest in re-employment services programs statewide in the hopes of offering a lifeline to the thousands of unemployed Bay State residents struggling to find work.

The announcement, made at the North Shore Career Center in Lynn, means the Franklin and Hampshire County Workforce Investment Board, overseeing projects in Greenfield, Northampton and Amherst, will receive $157,324 in state funding.

According to Patricia Crosby, the executive director of the Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board, the funding will provide for a variety of services including support groups, career planning and workshops focused on getting out of work residents back on their feet.

“It allows us to provide more intensive services to the people who walk in our door every day,” Crosby said. “It will give us the ability to respond more quickly to them and offer them the resources they need for their job search.”

Re-employment services programs kicked off last November, and currently over 37,000 residents are enrolled statewide. The $4 million put aside for this fiscal year has been allocated to the state’s 16 regional Workforce Investment Boards (WIB). These allocations were determined by Department of Workforce Development using a formula based on unemployment claimants in each region.

For employment and news and updates, visit the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Web site at: www.mass.gov/EOLWD.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Alert clerk helps Easthampton police foil pharmacy theft suspects

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - Three Springfield residents were in court today after police allege they attempted to steal more than $800 worth of merchandise from CVS Pharmacy on Northampton Street.

John Henderson, 42, Ronald Rivera, 43, and Sharon Crochiere, 53, all were arrested Friday at 7:06 p.m. after police pulled over the black Nissan Maxima they were traveling in on Union Street.

A pharmacy clerk had called police to report that a customer had just left the store with multiple bottles of aspirin, allergy medication, a 12-pack of toilet paper, reading glasses, cold medication and 17 four-packs of the energy drink Red Bull, according to Police Captain Donald Emerson. The clerk gave police a description of the vehicle.

Henderson faces charges of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and receiving stolen property in excess of $250. Rivera faces charges of receiving stolen property in excess of $250 and shoplifting by concealing merchandise in excess of $100. Rivera also had a warrant out for his arrest. Crochiere faces charges of shoplifting by concealing merchandise in excess of $100 and receiving stolen property in excess of $250, according to police.

All three pleaded innocent to all charges Monday in Northampton District Court and were released on their own recognizance. Judge Richard J. Carey ordered all three to appear in court on Feb. 17 for a pretrial hearing.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Unpiloted pickup rolls, takes out cars, hydrant

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON — Had Gabriella Riesz’s car been parked on the side of the road rather than in her driveway Monday night, Phil Giers’ Toyta Tacoma would have ended up in her living room.

Riesz’s daughter, who was waiting for a ride, was among the first to see Giers’ unoccupied truck barrelling down Liberty Street Monday evening — and by the time she called out to her mother, it was too late.

“By the time I had reacted to her yelling for me I heard a terrible crash in our driveway,” Riesz said. “She actually saw the truck coming toward the house, which is why she got so upset.”

Giers’ truck, which he said was parked atop a steep hill at the end of the street, rolled about a quarter-of-a-mile downhill, dislodged a fire hydrant from its base, ricocheted off of a Toyota Corolla, careened over a snowbank and narrowly missed a tree before slamming into Riesz’s Toyota Camry, leaving it severely damaged and pinned against the foundation of her house.

“I left the emergency brake on when I parked it, but now its not on,” Giers said. “I was visiting a friend. I don’t know what happened.”

Amalia Reinhardt, 21, whose parked Corolla was pushed about 30 feet down the hill when it was hit, said she was cooking in her kitchen when she heard the collision.

“I heard a loud noise outside my window,” Reinhardt said. “When we came outside to see what happened, we saw the truck all the way across the street.”

The cause of the accident, which didn’t result in any injuries, is under investigation, according to Fire Capt. John Davin.

Members of the local police and fire departments responded to the scene and all of the vehicles involved were eventually towed away from the scene.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Valley CDC gets $2.1 million for housing

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON — Gov. Deval Patrick announced Friday that the state will invest $153.9 million toward the completion of 26 affordable-housing projects in 17 communities across Massachusetts — $2.1 million of which will support Valley Community Development Corp. projects in Northampton.

The first project, paid for by $650,000 in state and $500,000 in federal HOME funding, will create 10 new affordable-housing units, five specifically for homeless individuals, as single room occupancy units on lower King Street.

The second, which utilizes $950,000 in state finds, will rehabilitate 11 affordable units at The Maples Apartments on Maple street, with four targeted to house currently homeless local people.

According to Patrick, when completed, the 26 projects will create or preserve 1,305 rental homes, 1,147 of which will be affordable to low-and moderate-income working families and individuals, including 144 units set aside for families making the transition to permanent housing from homelessness.

“This is a great example of government and the private sector coming together to help get people back to work — here in New Bedford and around the commonwealth,” Gov. Patrick said at a press conference in New Bedford. “With the indispensable help of the entire congressional delegation, we are creating jobs today and building affordable communities for working people tomorrow.”

Also endorsing the funding for affordable housing was Sen. John Kerry, who said recent economic woes in the Bay State have translated to tough times for state residents.

“Working families across Massachusetts have taken a severe beating from the lousy economy and below-freezing temperatures. This investment will help deliver affordable housing to those struggling most to keep a roof over their heads in the dead of winter. I’m grateful the Patrick administration is committed to working with Congress to address this urgent housing problem,” Kerry said in a statement.

In addition to the two projects in Northampton, funding will support developments in Acton, Auburn, Beverly, Boston (seven projects), Fall River, Falmouth, Gloucester, Ipswich, Harvard, Lawrence, Lowell (two projects), Marion, New Bedford (two projects), Quincy, Spencer and Worcester, according to release.

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

Ward 3 residents form neighborhood watch

By Owen Boss
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Just two days after police made an arrest in connection with a series of suspicious fires in the city's third ward last week, Northampton's first neighborhood watch is taking shape.

Nearly 100 residents attended a neighborhood meeting at the World War II Club Wednesday night. Its purpose was to elect block captains, enlist volunteers, and distribute the smoke detectors, exterior lights and emergency beacons donated before the arrest was made.

The meeting, held at the same club police believe the alleged arsonist visited the night of Dec. 26 before setting a fire that claimed the lives of two city residents, allowed members of the Hampshire County Sheriff's Department to explain what a neighborhood watch is, what is required of those who look to join and how it can help protect residents in a given community.

The theme of the night, it seemed, was reminding neighborhood residents that Monday's arrest of Anthony P. Baye, the man police believe to be responsible for at least one of the 15 fires set that night, is no reason for them to stop being vigilant.

"This meeting is just a start; there is no place for complacency," Hampshire County Sheriff Robert Garvey said. "We have to be proactive and aggressive and make sure our neighborhoods are safe, not just from arsons but from any kind of criminal activity."

Also speaking at the meeting was Ward 3 City Councilor Angela Plassmann, who mentioned several lessons she learned during her five years working with the University of Massachusetts Police Department to make Amherst's campus safer for students.

Sheriff's Deputy David Fenton, who has been charged with helping organize the watch, said he was pleased to see so many residents interested in forming a neighborhood watch even after the investigation into the fires led to an arrest.

"Since the arrest I've heard comments like, "Thank goodness I can turn my porch light off" and "Thank goodness I can leave my car unlocked now,'" Fenton said. "This isn't the time to stop doing those things. This is a time to buck up and do things the way they are supposed to be done in order to protect ourselves."

Prior to the meeting, Owen Freeman-Daniels, Ward 3 Neighborhood Association vice president, and neighborhood resident Arnold Levinson divided the ward into 20 sections and called on members of the audience to volunteer to be block captains for each.

"What we are looking for in a captain is someone who has been in the neighborhood for a long time and either knows or can get to know everyone in their part of the ward," Levinson said.

The role of a block captain, Fenton said, is to gather the contact information of all residents in their neck of the woods, understand concerns specific to their portion of the ward, make sure homes are clearly numbered and have proper safety equipment, and to remind people to keep an eye on the street whenever possible.

Ward 3 residents interested in becoming a block captain or community volunteer are encouraged to contact Levinson at 413-320-6982, according to the association's Web site.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Eager for the facts: Arrest prompts more questions from victims

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Though police have a suspect in custody in connection with a series of deadly fires that left city residents gripped in fear, the victims of that night are hungry for more information. Still, they say, they can sleep a little easier knowing the investigation led to an arrest.

At 8 p.m. Monday police arrested Hawley Street resident Anthony P. Baye, 25, on charges of arson, armed burglary and two counts of murder in connection with the fatal fire on Fair Street.

Charles Marchand, of 52 Highland Ave., who awoke to his apartment filling with smoke Dec. 27 and found that someone had set a small bag on fire on his front porch, said he isn't entirely convinced all the fires could have been set by just one person.

"It is good to know that they caught somebody and the police are doing their job, that's for sure," Marchand said. "But I'm still not convinced that this person acted alone."

Marchand, who had to leave his house that night, said he thought that given the steady rain and slippery conditions it would have been difficult for one man to cover the distance required to set all the fires.

"I went out to my car after our porch was lit and we saw a fire on the other side of the street, and after a while we walked by another fire, and a short time later we saw another house blazing, and it was like being in a war zone," Marchand said.

Also looking for more information is Stacia Potter, who lives in an apartment on Northern Avenue with her husband and 18-month-old son Rhyse. She fled her home the night of the fires after looking out her window and seeing her neighbor's garage and the two vehicles inside engulfed in flames.

"This is going to give us a tentative sigh of relief, because we don't know the story yet and we don't know the details," Potter said. "I want the details to be there in the courtroom, and I want it to happen perfectly because it has to happen just right in order for there to be a sense of relief and a sense of justice."

Although she admitted that she will sleep better knowing that the police have made an arrest, Potter said she and her family are waiting to see if other arrests are made. "One of our reactions to the arrest was 'Only one person?,'" Potter said, "We are definitely intrigued to see if this is going to be the beginning of a series of arrests."

Another resident who awoke to a fire that night was Tim Schwaber, who looked out his window on Franklin Street to find his car and his girlfriend Misti Adams' car burning in their driveway.

"I'm pretty stoked about it because I wasn't sure that they would find anybody," Schwaber said. "I'm impressed that they found somebody so quickly."

Word of the arrest Tuesday morning brought tears to the eyes of Patricia Trant, of 42 Fruit St., who has been sleeping on a couch on the first floor of her home she shares with her husband and elderly parents ever since she awoke to find her husband's Volvo burning in their driveway.

"I was paranoid even starting to work at night and putting my lights on. It was just making me crazy," Trant said. "You really feel unnecessarily targeted by some individual who maybe you didn't smile at the right way."

Trant, who said she and her husband are working on replacing the family's destroyed car, went back into her house for some much-needed rest.

"I haven't been sleeping lately," Trant said with a smile.

"I'm going inside to go take a nap."

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

Dazed Ward 3 gains a little piece of mind

By Owen Boss and Dan Crowley

Staff Writers

NORTHAMPTON - As word of an arrest in connection with a deadly arson spree last week spread through the city Tuesday, residents of Ward 3, the area hardest hit, expressed relief and hope the development will bring closure to their family.

Late Monday night police arrested Anthony P. Baye, 25, of 85 Hawley St., on charges of two counts of murder and one each of arson and armed burglary resulting from the fatal fire at 17 Fair St. that took the lives of Paul W. Yeskie Sr. and his son, Paul W. Yeskie Jr.

The Yeskies' neighbor, Shaun Powers, 44, of 15 Fair St., said he learned of the arrest from workers demolishing the burned-out remains of the Yeskie home, just a few feet from his front door.

"It is a huge relief that they have someone in custody and everyone around here will be watching with intense interest every bit of news that they have on this guy," Powers said. "But what we are really looking for is evidence."

Powers said he is optimistic that the police wouldn't have made the arrest without being sure they had the right person, but he is going to wait until he has more information before he lowers his guard.

"He lived right on Hawley Street, so he was in the epicenter of all of this and you think that someone in that position would consider themselves a suspect and therefore would behave appropriately and not give themselves away," Powers said. "It just makes you wonder if they have the right guy."

Others who live in the neighborhood and have been terrorized by a string of unexplained fires in recent years expressed a combination of relief and puzzlement after Baye's arrest.

"I can't even express the words, because we have so many emotions about it," said Page Brody, 33, of Williams Street as she walked her dog past Baye's home the morning after his arrest. "It's quite a relief. It's been a scary time to live here."

Knowing whether Baye is responsible for past fires in the neighborhood "will really feel that it puts everything to bed for us," she added.

Even with the news of Baye's arrest, some neighborhood residents still had all kinds of questions.

"What if there were other people?" asked Sonja Sweeney, of 73 Hawley St., just a few doors down from Baye's home. "I'm just trying to figure out what is going through his head."

The home to the right of Sweeney's at 67 Hawley St. burned down under suspicious circumstances in January 2007 and the home to her right was nearly set ablaze when a trash bag was found burning next to a wooden staircase three days later.

"There's been fires everywhere, all up and down the streets," said Roger Salloom, who lives nearby at 83 Pomeroy Terrace.

"It's a sad day for his parents today, that's for sure," Salloom said. "I feel sorry for them."

The Gazette attempted to talk with Baye's family Tuesday. A woman who answered the door at 85 Hawley St. declined to comment.

"I was definitely feeling like it was somebody close to us," said Simone Rainaud, who can see Baye's home from her front door on Hancock Street.

Four years ago, a six-unit apartment building at 25 Hancock St. and kitty corner to Rainaud's home, burned to the ground in what authorities deemed arson.

Hrvoje Cvijanovic, of 79 Hawley St. and Baye's neighbor, had a car set ablaze in the driveway outside his bedroom window last August and said police had been outside Baye's home throughout Monday night and Tuesday morning.

He said he saw flashes of light within Baye's house at around 4 a.m. Tuesday, which "looked liked someone taking pictures," said Cvijanovic, a graduate student from Croatia studying political science at the University of Massachusetts.

Fair Street residents react

Another neighbor glad to hear of the arrest was Leon Jasinski, of 11 Fair St., who said he hopes the arrest will mark the end of an investigation that has left him and his wife living in fear for their lives.

"This is a huge sigh of relief for me and my wife," Jasinski said. "I'm glad not only for myself but for the people who perished, because it will bring a little closure to their family and the loss of those individuals."

And, Jasinski said, "I feel sorry for his parents because they are going to have to live with this."

Sharing Powers' concern that the police have their man was Melvin Burgess, whose home on Bridge Street sits just 100 yards from the Yeskie's former home.

"I'm just hoping it is the right person," Burgess said. "The first thing that came to my mind when the fires hit was that it might be the same person that set the fires on Hawley Street, and now we find out they arrested someone on Hawley Street."

News of the arrest offered a break in the action for Ward 3 Neighborhood Association President Gerald Budgar, 127 Bridge St., who has been coordinating a neighborhood effort to help victims get back on their feet ever since the night the fires hit.

"I take it personally that so many elderly and handicapped residents of this ward had to take that kind of miserable abuse, that they had to be fearful in their homes - and I never want that to happen again," said Budgar.

Of the Yeskie family, he said, "I hope this arrest brings them some degree of solace."

He said the neighborhood reaction seems palpable.

"I've had several calls this morning, and you can almost hear the sense of relief in people's voices," he said. "I don't know whether this is the end of the investigation or if there is more to be done, but I just hope this brings this very sad chapter of our city's history to an end."

Although the fires shattered a sense of security for many of those living in the ward, Budgar said the way the community pulled together after the fires was a testament to the resilience of city residents.

"Aside from the arsons themselves, the real story here is that the character of Northampton was clearly demonstrated," Budgar said. "That when things get really tough, the people of Northampton get going."

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

Weather pattern will keep temperatures below freezing

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

As a corridor of arctic air continues to produce high winds and unseasonably low temperatures as far south as Florida and Alabama, local residents are preparing for freezing conditions and a week during which local weather experts are predicting overnight lows to consistently drop into the low teens.

The National Weather Service predicts that daily highs across the region will remain in the high 20s and low 30s through this weekend, and overnight lows are expected to be between 10 and 15 degrees, chilly conditions that News 22 meteorologist Brian Lapis attributed to a stalled weather pattern hovering over parts of the Northeast.

“The storm system that produced just a little bit of snow here late last week just doesn’t seem to want to leave the region and it is causing a ton of cold air to be drawn down from Canada and the Arctic,” Lapis said. “A storm system like this produces a kind of atmospheric highway that will bring colder air right down into the southern states.”

Although temperatures well below freezing can be expected in northern states during the winter months, Lapis said an entire week spent below freezing is abnormal this early in the season.
“What is remarkable is that it looks like we are going to struggle to reach freezing most of the days this week, and there is a very good possibility that we won’t get above freezing as far out as Sunday,” Lapis said.

Outside of Thornes Marketplace Monday night, area residents like Tim Hawley, of Easthampton, hustled down the sidewalk and braved the elements by bundling up in several layers of winter clothing. “People should expect it to be this cold this time of year — this is New England,” Hawley said. “All you can do is wear winter clothes and stay inside whenever you can.”

Lapis said it’s a common misconception that it can be “too cold to snow,” but he expects current weather conditions to limit any precipitation this week, expected for Wednesday and Friday, to flurries.

“The one upside for us is that this pattern keeps large coastal storm systems away from us. Because it isn’t leaving, we can rule out any significant accumulation through the end of the weekend,” Lapis said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com