Daily Hampshire Gazette from Northampton, Massachusetts • 9

ft KSEE SECIES ObBuailes B2 Towns B4 AmhenUSoulft Hadley B3 Business Thursday Januaiy 19 2006 Daily Hampshire Gazette gazcttenctcom B1 Distraught man breaks into Maun badly hurt in Maze Fire at Amherst apartments displaces 10 families door of the rectory while Honan was home alone Honan told the man to go around to the side entrance but the man reftised police said The man then punched through foe glass door with his fist and climbed through the smashed portal police said Once inside the man began nonsense" to Honan the priest told police Honan called police at 7:48 pm Police found Honan in the rectory office appMng paper towels to the marfs bloody hands when they arrived mi the scene The man had a deep By KRISTIN PALPINI Staff Writer EASTHAMPTON A 38-year-old Westfield man with medical and mental punched through the glass front door of the Immaculate Conception rectory Saturday night and gained entry while the priest was home alone police said Once inside the rectory the man only talked to the Rev Eugene Honan He did not iqjure the priest police said reports the man on the front WVMVW MIMti According to police repo was bedroom apartment was destroyed Hie officials say the blaze appears to be accidental but it is under inves-1 tigation by the state fire office and the fire and police departments An off-duty Amherst College police officer who lived on the top floor helped evacuate residents The building had heavy smoke damage Two units lost power Fire officials estimate the cost of daman will exceed $75000 The American Red Cross placed two families in a hotel while other residents stayed with family or friends or were housed in vacant units Resi By PHYLLIS LEHRER Staff Writer AMHERST Ten families have been displaced from their hdmes and one resident is hospitalized in critical condition following a fire at the Boulders Apartment complex off East Hadley Road Wednesday night The fire reported at 7:40 pjn started in the kitchen of apartment 167A at the rear of the building The resident of that apartment Ernesto Ayala SB was taken to Baystate Medical Center having suffered bums on his face and cuts on his hand Fire Chief Keith Hoyle said the two- dents could return to seven units as soon as the fire alarm is repaired and the smoke damage cleaned possibly today A total of 33 Amherst firefighters with four pumpers the aerial ladder a rescue truck and two ambulances responded to the fire along with a crew from South Hadley District 3 Crews from Belchertown and Hadley fire departments and four Amherst firefighters staffed the Central Fire Station No firefighters were injured The building is owned by the Northland Investment Group of Newton Phyllis Lehrer caa be reached at pkhrergaietteaetcon See DISTRAUGHTPage B2 i Jobs said safe at Mm winds braise region company By PATRICK The Recorder Worker survives tripin culvert ii DEERFIELD Pliant bankruptcy filing should not threaten the 110 jobs at its local plastics factory a spokesman said this week But a union official says he is concerned that the debts could affect employment Pliant owns a 178 000-square-foot factory in South Deerfield formerly Deerfield Plastics off Routes 5 10 Michael Freitag spokesman for Pliant said the US and Canadian operations were included in the Jan 3 filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection The court will oversee the effort to decrease its debt Its Mexican German and Australian operations were not included he said company will continue normal business he said expect any impact on local He said there will be no layoffs at its 25 manufacturing and development plants which employ about 3000 people Pliant produces plain and printed films for different types of packaging concerned because this company has a lot of said David Cohen international representative for United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 274 which represents 75 workers at the South Deerfield plant in this day and age you never know what's going to happen with these companies Two years ago Pliant demanded wage concessions from employees said Cohen He said the company threatened to shut down or move the plant if workers did not give wage concessions Deerfield plant has always been a very profitable plant yet when it was purchased by Pliant it was saddled by this debt he said According to its last annual report Pliant has a debt of $114 billion said Freitag To lessen its debt Pliant will give up part of its ownership to the financial See PLIANTPage B2 GORDON DANIELS By CRIS CARL and RYAN DAVIS Staff Writers DEERFIELD A Deerfield Highway Department worker escaped serious injury Wednesday when floodwaters swept him 130 feet through a narrow cuhwrt Jason Stone 25 of Greenfield was fajured at around 1 pm Wednesday while attempting to remove debris from a 30-inch drain pipe on Wapping Road Deerfield Highway Superintendent Harold Eaton arid that while Stone was working he lost his footing and fell into rushing floodwaters caused by the rainstorm water was moving so quickty it suded him into foe said Eaton popped out onto the other side by some He said Stone was underwater in the pipe for about 15 to 20 seconds and managed to hold his breath the whole time He was taken by Deerfield Ambulance to franklin Medical Center where he was treated for bruises and scrapes He was released in the afternoon a pretty rugged Eaton said of Stone who has worked for the highway department full-time for a year and a hall Stone was resting at home today Eaton said His number is unlisted and he could not be reached for comment The culvert located near the entrance to Historic Deerfield is not onty extreme fy narrow it is a true straight Eaton said with stones along the inside edges in several locations gotten lodged up against erne of the stones he never would have made Eaton said Other highway department employees called police and Eaton as soon as Stone fell into the pipe They were on the scene within minutes Eaton said that after Stone emerged from the pipe be was conscious and alert was cold more than he said Amherst Regional High School junior Carl Anderson 18 eats a slice of pizza outside restaurant on North Pleasant Street in Amherst on Wednesday School was canceled because of a power failure in the morning (For a story see Page B3) At right electric company workers cut branches lying on high-voltage power lines on Belchertown Road in Amherst on Wednesday morning The day saw extensive power failures (See stray Page B2) 1 GORDON DANIKL8 DIGEST Amherst gets ready to interview town manager candidates 'V ii candidates from 10 am to 5:30 pm The Select Board interviews taka place in the Bangs Community Center Room 101 The Advisory Committee interviews take place in the Town Room at Town Hall The lorum Interviews and other Father asks records in Maura Murray case HAVERHILL NH (AP A judge Wednesday took under advisement a Massachusetts request to see the police files in the case of his daughter who disappeared in northern New Hampshire Grafton County Superior Court Judge Timothy Vaughan heard the case in Haverhill a few miles from where UMass student Maura Murray 21 disappeared after a minor car accident on Route 112 in Fbbruury 2004 Fred Murray of Hanson Moss believes his daughter was a victim of Masked men attempt robbery in Easthampton By BEN FEDEK Staff Writer EASTHAMPTON A group of masked men broke into a Northampton Street apartment in Easthampton Wednesday afternoon demanding money police said A scuffle between the three or four would be robbers and the tenants ensued One of the victims suffered a minor knife wound to the hand Easthampton police said Without taking any money the perpetrators then fled from the apartment to a white vehicle that was parked at the Burger King parking lot nearby The vehicle was last seen heading south toward Easthampton police said It was not clear how many tenants were In the apartment at the time The break-in was reported at 4:45 pm and Is under investigation Easthampton Police Chief Bruce McMahon said officers don't have much information to go on at this point They are asking the public for help "Wh're trying to talk to people who may have Information may have seen he said Anyone with Information fa asked to contact the Easthampton IVlice Department at 527-1212 JOHN MUSANTE with any increases In stats aid this Laurence Shaffer Ags: 57 Carnet job: Town administrator ot Vernon Conn Speaking from experience: "How do you balance the wish tor top-flight education and municipal services with affordable taxes?" Richard White Age: 52 Gemot job: Interim acting town administrator lor Manchester-by-the Sea Speaking tnm experience: "I've learned that tome ot your greatest learning is Inspired by some ot the demands that are placed on you" For candidate profiles see Pago B5 Twenty-three years Is a long time to manage a town Some say It will be the end of an era when veteran Town Manager Barry Del Castilho retires at the end of March This weekend three possible successors meet the public and participate In the last round of Interviews with the Select Board and a Citizen Advisory Committee The Select Board has not set a date for selecting the new manager The finalists are Amherst's finance director John Musante a native of Northampton Laurence Shatter town administrator of scrappy Vernon Conn and Richard Whits former longtime administrator of Lexington whore hundreds of residents ire said to participate In town government Town Meeting Moderator Harrison Gregg will moderate i public forum Friday 7:30 to 9:30 pm In IN Town Room at Town Had The three cindidatei will apeak and taka questions A reception will follow with refreshments On Saturday ths public can watch the Select Board and Cltizani Advisory Committee respectively interview the foul play Murray claims police the attorney general and the governor violated state and federal public weekend activities Including i tour of Crocker Farm School a farm and the downtown are the culmination of a months-long search that drew 38 applications for ths position Del Castilho earns $125421 year MARY CAREY John Musante Age: 44 Current job: Finance director of Amherst Speaking tram experience 'The hardest work balancing ths budget remains to be done so ws'vs got to be vary disciplined information laws by not retaining the Investigative files and that New Hampshire authorities have failed to conduct a criminal Investigation The state disputed that claim and said a missing person Investigation has the potential of being a criminal cane and thus details that could compromise the Investigation cannot be made public vyvw 4 A i 4-8 ft 8 ft-8 4 wiftlfa A 4d ft ft ft ft 4 i 1.