http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/spencer/ Spencer, MA News http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/spencer/content/90c4ab8d8c87df510e67e443b51c5a12.html GaudetteKirk American Legion Post 138 will hold its annual turkey raffle at 2 pm at the post 175 Main St Spencer For more information call Jim at 508 8853730 http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/spencer/content/40e25a9de121efd5ce9164888534ac6a.html Strewn out on a long workbench: a jumble of marine dieselengine parts looking like the pieces of a mindtwisting jigsaw puzzle Gears idles crank shafts actuated plungers push rods bearings http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/spencer/content/86ec514862c2d04c49f95058b775bea1.html Tollpayers unite The large toll increases passed on a preliminary vote this month by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority have sparked some fierce antitoll activism in Tea Party Land http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/spencer/content/831f90288a5fbc0a61ed6b998a09ca03.html He said the most he ever did was to gently tap her on the back of her head to get her attentionPhotos by Dave Roback The RepublicanJason D Strickland shows defense attorney Alan J Black an area on the chin where he noticed an injury to Haleigh Poutre during Friday morning's court session in Hampden Superior Court Court Strickland took the stand in his own defenseThis is a 2 pm update of a story originally posted at 12:55 pm By BUFFY SPENCER bspencerrepubcom SPRINGFIELD Jason D Strickland took the witness stand in his own defense Friday morning in the case charging him with child abuse of his stepdaugther Haleigh Poutre and said his late wife Holli A Strickland told him repeatedly that Haleigh was hurting herself Strickland called by his lawyer Alan J Black said that Holli Strickland took Haleigh to all her doctors' appointments and a social worker visited the house while he was at work He said he never saw Haleigh without long pants and long sleeves on so he would not have seen injuries that were covered by the clothes Strickland said that he never physically punished Haleigh or Samantha Poutre Haleigh's sister Samantha is the child of Holli Strickland and Jonathan Poutre At the time of Samantha's birth Holli was Holli Poutre Jason Strickland answers questions for his lawyer Alan Black during his trial in Hampden Superior Court Friday Strickland said the most he ever did was gently tap the back of Haleigh's head to get her attention Strickland's comments were made as Black started questioning him about the events of the weekend of Sept 911 2005 Haleigh 11 at the time was brought to Noble Hospital in Westfield unconscious by Jason and Holli Strickland on the afternoon of Sept 11 She suffered a severe brain injury and is in a Boston rehabilitation facility now in custody of the state Department of Children and Families Samantha Poutre now 12 is the only prosecution witness who has testified to seeing Jason Strickland push Haleigh Poutre down basement stairs on Sept 10 2005 Strickland testified Friday that he came home with the rest of the family from Samantha's soccer game about 2 pm that day and Haleigh assisted him putting up brackets for a microwave oven in the kitchen He said Haleigh liked to help him by handing him tools and in other ways when he worked around the house and he like having her with him Strickland said Haleigh seemed tired and rundown and when asked Haleigh said she didn't feel well Strickland said Holli Strickland made Haleigh chicken soup which she ate He believes Haleigh was taking a bath when he left the house at 7 pm He said in response to a telephone message that he went with 2yearold Cody Strickland his and Holli's son and Samantha to Lenscrafters at the Holyoke Mall to pick up glasses The three got food at Wendy's hamburger restaurant in the food court he said Black asked Strickland if he saw Haleigh when he got home that evening about 9 pm and he said no Strickland 34 formerly of Westfield faces charges of assault and battery on a child with substantial bodily injury and other charges from events in Westfield on Sept 10 and 11 2005 as well as several charges from the summer of 2005 He is accused along with his late wife of hurting or allowing someone else to hurt Haleigh causing severe brain damage Holli Strickland was dead soon after her arrest in what police have said was a murdersuicide at the hands of her grandmother Carhart has ruled out putting any information about how Holli died before the jury He only allowed Strickland to answer Black's question of whether she is alive Strickland said she had passed away but when Black asked if he knew how Assistant District Attorney Laurel H Brandt objected and Hampden Superior Court Judge Judd J Carhart sustained the objection Friday began with a long and sometimes angry discussion without jurors in the room of what questions Black may ask a doctor a nurse practitioner and two people who saw Haleigh for psychological issues Black wants to ask them if they at any time thought Haleigh's injuries were caused by another person other than Haleigh Brandt objected saying any answers by the medical people supporting selfabuse by Haleigh would give credibility to Strickland's testimony that he believed Holli Strickland when she told him Haleigh's injuries were selfinflicted Carhart said he would not allow the question so Black angrily protesting put on the record that he was not calling the witnesses because of Carhart's ruling about the question Carhart said he would revisit the issue after Strickland testifies Testimony continues Friday afternoon in the case More details in The Republican tomorrow http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/spencer/content/479113317a0f46688cc9851611c283a4.html By BUFFY SPENCER bspencerrepubcom Republican photoDAVE ROBACK Bryan Young a relative of the late Holli A Strickland testifies on Thursday at Hampden Superior Court in Springfield Jason D Strickland is charged in Haleigh's beating SPRINGFIELD A defense witness in the Jason D Strickland child abuse trial testified on Thursday that he never saw Strickland hit his stepdaughter Haleigh Poutre or deprive her of food Witnesses also said they saw the child stick a plastic utensil down her throat punch herself and engage in stair surfing The testimony in Hampden Superior Court came as the defense opened its case for Strickland 34 a former Westfield resident accused of beating and severely injuring Poutre now 14 in September 2005 Haleigh suffered serious brain injuries and is being cared for at a Roman Catholic rehabilitation hospital for children in Boston The defense called several witnesses on Thursday Defense lawyer Alan J Black called Bryan Young who said he is both Holli A Strickland's brother and uncle Bryan Young's mother Constance F Young adopted Holli Strickland as a child Holli Strickland was Constance Young's granddaughter the daughter of Constance Young's daughter Sandra Sudyka Young testified that he was close to Holli Strickland and visited the Strickland family's Bowdoin Street home in Westfield at least once a week He said he sometimes took Haleigh to medical appointments Young said Haleigh had a large scab on her nose that she picked off repeatedly for a year He said she was always picking at things including a scab on her mouth Young said he never saw Jason Strickland hit Haleigh or deprive her of food He also described an incident in which Haleigh shoved a plastic combination spoonfork down her throat Young described coming home from the Sept 11 2005 soccer game he had gone to with Jason and Holli Strickland Samantha Poutre and 2yearold Cody Strickland the son of Holli and Jason He said Holli screamed from Haleigh's bedroom that the girl would not wake up and he ran upstairs scooping Haleigh in his arms when he saw she was unconscious and carrying her downstairs to take to a hospital Three witnesses testified that in the week following Haleigh's injury her sister Samantha Poutre never said she saw Strickland push Haleigh down the basement stairs on Sept 10 2005 Samantha Poutre now 12 is the only prosecution witness to testify at the trial that she saw Strickland push Haleigh then 11 down basement stairs that day She said she did not say anything about what happened because Strickland and his late wife Holli A Strickland Samantha Poutre's mother told her not to do so On the stand Samantha Poutre pointed to the wrong person when asked to identify Strickland Under defense questioning State Trooper Brendan O'Toole and Reynardo Nazario a social worker with the state Department of Children and Families testified that they witnessed a Sept 14 2005 interview conducted by Westfield Police Detective Susan M Figy in which Samantha said nothing about seeing Jason Strickland push Haleigh They testified that when Samantha was asked if she knew what was going on regarding her sister in the hospital she said Haleigh hit her head while the girls were doing backflips in the cellar on Sept 9 2005 Under crossexamination from Assistant District Attorney Laurel H Brandt O'Toole and Nazario said that the interview ended when Samantha became upset Also testifying was Terry J Dec who was an investigator for the Department of Children and Families Dec testified that he took Samantha to a medical appointment on Sept 13 2005 and when he asked her about Haleigh's injuries Samantha said Haleigh had hit her head during a backflip Dec said Samantha first said Haleigh hit her head on a pipe and then she said on concrete Black also called to the stand State Trooper Margaret Gaffney who testified that she took a statement from Samantha in March in which the child said she saw Jason Strickland push Haleigh on the night of Sept 10 2005 Gaffney said she had received information shortly before she took Samantha's statement that the child was ready to talk about what happened Both Young and defense witness Pamela Krzyzek said they had seen Haleigh and Samantha do what they called stair surfing sliding down carpeted stairs sitting down bouncing from step to step Krzyzek a social worker for a private agency said she saw Haleigh once or twice a week from July 2004 to Sept 2005 Krzyzek testified that Haleigh once told her that she hit herself on the knee with a hammer because she was hearing voices telling her to hurt herself The first defense witness was a forensic pathologist Dr Jonathan Arden He said he is now a consultant but for many years worked in the capacity of a medical examiner and other roles related to determining the cause and timing of injuries He testified that from his review of imaging tests made on Haleigh on Sept 11 2005 her serious brain injury could have happened in the range of two to three hours before hospital admission up to 24 hours before The neuroradiologist called by Brandt testified that the test results showed the injury occurred about 24 hours before Haleigh was taken to Noble Hospital in Westfield in the late afternoon of Sept 11 2005 Strickland is charged with assault and battery on a child with substantial bodily injury and other charges from events in Westfield on Sept 10 and 11 2005 as well as several charges from the summer of 2005 He is accused along with his late wife of hurting or allowing someone else to hurt his stepdaughter Haleigh Poutre causing severe brain damage Holli Strickland was dead soon after her arrest in what police said was a murdersuicide at the hands of her grandmother Arden said that he does not believe the analogy that Haleigh's brain injury had to be caused by an amount of force equal to that of a highspeed vehicle crash The neuroradiologist testifying for the prosecution said the force would have to have been equal to that of a highspeed crash Stephanie L Adams who now lives in Indiana but was a friend of Holli Strickland testified that once when she was in the home talking to Holli she saw Haleigh standing at the top of the stairs between the first and second floor and then come down headfirst on her belly Adams testified that whatever Haleigh did she could not get Holli Strickland's attention From what I observed Jason seemed to have a heart for Haleigh he seemed to befriend her Adams said Brandt questioned what she called Adams' story about Haleigh coming down the stairs headfirst You didn't see Haleigh at the top of the steps correct Brandt asked Adams said she did see Haleigh at the top of the stairs Adams said that at other times she had seen Haleigh punch herself and bang her head on a wall http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/spencer/content/3cd479562f85b761e4e797d28758944b.html Increasing the gasoline tax and turnpike tolls are options being offered to offset the state's transportation debt GASOLINE TAX FACTS National gasoline tax average: 30 cents a gallonHighest state tax: California 487 cents a gallonLowest state tax: Alaska 0 cents a gallon Note Alaska's 8 cents a gallon gasoline tax suspended from Sept 1 2008 to Aug 31 2009 but 8 cents would still be the lowest gasoline tax nationallyNew York: 425 cents a gallonConnecticut: 472 cents a gallonMassachusetts: 235 cents a gallonNew Hampshire: 196 cents a gallonGasoline tax facts provided by the American Petroleum Institute as of Oct 1By HOLLY ANGELO hangelorepubcom A proposal to increase the state's gasoline tax rather than almost doubling tolls at the eastern part of the state Turnpike is drawing mixed reviews from Western Massachusetts drivers and legislators I think the gas tax is high enough as it is said Adam D Lewko of Holyoke as he pumped fuel at the Shell Station on the corner of Center and West streets in Chicopee on Thursday We've been paying for the eastern part of the state We shouldn't have to subsidize Boston This week House Speaker Salvatore F DiMasi DBoston proposed that the Legislature consider increasing the gasoline tax instead of raising tolls east of Route 128 This was his response to a vote taken on Nov 14 by the state Turnpike Authority which recommended increasing tolls inside Route 128 from 250 to 4 and doubling tolls for cars in the Sumner and Ted Williams Tunnels from 350 to 7 Public hearings on the toll increases will be scheduled with a final vote by the authority expected next month The toll increases would raise up to 100 million a year and be used to help pay for the 22 billion worth of debt incurred in the Big Dig project Adam D Lewko To add to the debate state Rep David P Linsky DNatick is planning to file a bill to eliminate all turnpike tolls in exchange for a 6centsagallon gasoline tax increase The state's gasoline tax has remained at 235 cents since 1991 Thirtysix House members have signed on to Linsky's bill All of them live in the eastern or central part of the state I'm not prepared to say I'd support an increase in the gas tax but it should be part of a discussion we should have said state Rep Joseph F Wagner DChicopee cochairman of the Transportation Committee I don't think the gas tax alone is the way to solve the transportation funding problems He said he believes people from Western Massachusetts would be more accepting of a gasoline tax increase if they were assured that a portion of the money raised would come back to Western Massachusetts to improve bridges and roadways Mary Lou BonfittoState Rep Donald F Humason Jr RWestfield is adamantly opposed to a gasoline tax increase I'm not surprised it's filed by a bunch of people from the Boston area who use the pike all the time he said I never think it's a good time to raise taxes but in a recession this is the worst possible time State Rep Todd M Smola RPalmer echoed Humason's sentiments It's an interesting conceptual idea but it won't be getting my support he said Where's the fairness and equity to Central and Western Massachusetts I don't like the idea at all The proposal irks Mary Lou Bonfitto of Westfield who was also filling her gasoline tank in Chicopee William H DempseyI'm annoyed she said The quick fix is always adding on to the taxes We don't get as many services as Eastern Massachusetts William H Dempsey of the Feeding Hills section of Agawam said he does not have a problem with increasing the gasoline tax They've got to he said after making a transaction at the Shell Station Where do you think the road improvements will come from That's what pays for your roads Others like Adam A Stearns of Chicopee and state Rep Ellen Story DAmherst talked about a combination of toll and gasoline tax increases as a possible solution As long as the gas prices keep going down it would be okay Stearns said of raising the gasoline tax I say raise the tolls anyway I never take the pike I think the whole pike should be tolls Adam A StearnsStory said she does not mind the idea of raising tolls in the eastern part of the state but also sees the wisdom in discussing the gasoline tax increase idea We haven't raised the gas tax in a long time she said Maybe we could end up with a combination with some toll increases on the eastern part of the state and some increase in the gas tax However Story added this will be very hard for people to agree on On the same day that the Turnpike Authority voted to recommend a spike in tolls the citizens group Stop the Pike Hike was formed to fight it We're not opposing any other solution said Spencer H Kimball of Longmeadow the spokesman and director of operations for the statewide group Perhaps the gas tax is the better solution http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/spencer/content/59b89bd24f280d750fa68b832a19f89f.html WORCESTER New fire station opens on site where six firefighters died http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/spencer/content/0ee7f7abc01a67b57f17470cfd43f1c2.html SPENCER David Prouty High School has announced its Honor Roll for the first quarter