Police charge Orlando Cooper with assault & battery following East Forest Park shooting
Updated Mar 16, 2021;
SPRINGFIELD - Police arrested a 41-year-old city man and a juvenile boy early Tuesday following a shooting on Dennis Street in East Forest Park that left a man injured, police said.
Orlando Cooper of Dennis Street was charged with assault and battery and other charges in relation to the shooting, while the juvenile was charged with taking the gun and hiding it as Cooper instructed, said police spokesman Ryan Walsh.
The gun was later recovered a block away on Regal Street, Walsh said.
Police were called to the area of 100 Dennis Street, off Plumtree Road in East Forest Park, for a reported shooting. They found a man suffering from gunshot injures. The injuries were described as not life-threatening.
Agawam’s Jack Coughlin, left paralyzed after being struck while picking up trash, awarded the Pat Franklin Courageous Spirit Award
Updated Mar 15, 2021;
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Jack Coughlin’s campaign against litter, particularly “nip” liquor bottles, has gained national recognition, even as he remains confined to a hospital bed.
On Thursday, Coughlin was awarded the Pat Franklin Courageous Spirit Award from the Container Recycling Institute, a California-based nonprofit. He was paralyzed in January after being struck by a car while picking up roadside trash in Agawam.
Coughlin, who turned 78 in the days after the collision, was well-known in town for walking the streets every day, picking up litter. He was also an activist for environmental and sportsmen’s causes, and one of the leaders in efforts to improve the Medina Street boat ramp in Chicopee. While raising a family in Springfield, Coughlin had also been active in neighborhood associations in East Forest Park and Sixtee
Environmental activists, politicians hope to follow example set by Jack Coughlin
Updated Mar 01, 2021;
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AGAWAM Unable to move his arms and legs, voiceless and confined to a hospital bed, Jack Coughlin is still leading the movement to keep his town clean.
Coughlin was struck by a vehicle on Jan. 20 on Mill Street near Kensington Street in the Feeding Hills section of town. Despite the cold weather and waning light, he was doing what he did almost every day: walking the streets of his town, picking up trash.
In the weeks since the accident, he’s remained paralyzed and under close care at Baystate Medical Center. But his friends and supporters around town have been busy ensuring that his work goes on.
Special permits approved for Knox automobile housing plan; with councilors concerned about local input, developer says delays could kill the project
Updated Feb 09, 2021;
Posted Feb 09, 2021
- Aerial view of the historic and long-time vacant Knox Building at Wilbraham and Waltham streets in Springfield s Upper Hill neighborhood Patrick JohnsonPatrick Johnson
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SPRINGFIELD The City Council approved special permits Monday for a housing development at the historic Knox automobile buildings following a discussion that included strong praise for the project as well as strong concerns about neighborhood input and the developer’s track record on hiring minority contractors.
The special permits for the 96-unit affordable housing complex, at two vacant buildings at 53 Wilbraham Road and 42 Waltham Ave., were approved by votes of 10-2 but not before the developer warned that applications for state tax credits needed for the $54 million project would be in jeopardy if
Springfield seeks state funds to advance plans for abandoned Highland Division Railroad walking and bicycle trail
Updated Feb 09, 2021;
Posted Feb 06, 2021
Springfield officials are seeking grant funds to advance plans for a bicycle-pedestrian trail along the abandoned Highland Division Railroad. Here is a file photo of a section in the McKnight neighborhood.
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SPRINGFIELD The city has applied for a $300,000 state MassTrails grant to design the second segment of the long-planned walking and bicycle trail along the abandoned Highland Division Railroad.
State Reps. Angelo Puppolo and Bud Williams, D-Springfield, sent a joint letter to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation this week urging approval of the grant.