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Russell, MA

Police & Fire
Man With Dementia Found Lying In Snow In Western Mass; K9 Leads Police To His Location Man With Dementia Found Lying In Snow In Western Mass; K9 Leads Police To His Location
Man With Dementia Found Lying In Snow In Western Mass; K9 Leads Police To His Location An 87-year-old Hampden County man is likely alive today thanks to the efforts of a Massachusetts State Police dog named Orry.  The man, who suffers from dementia, had wandered off from his home in Russell in the area of Blanford Road on Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 21. He was missing for more than eight hours on a frighteningly cold day. Records show the temperature didn't get above 40 degrees that day.  Russell police and state troopers quickly began canvassing the area in the hopes of finding him. it wasn't until a K9 unit found footprints in the snow that searchers got their first…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Fatal Accident Reported On Mass Pike In Western Mass: Police Fatal Accident Reported On Mass Pike In Western Mass: Police
Fatal Accident Reported On Mass Pike In Western Mass: Police A fatal accident has occurred on the Mass Pike in Western Massachusetts on Thursday morning, March 30, according to Massachusetts State Police on Twitter. The incident happened on I-90 West in Russell around 6 a.m., according to a Tweet from State Police. The department later clarified that the crash involved one vehicle and one person had died. UPDATE-Crash involves one car and has resulted in a fatality. The right lane westbound is closed. Investigation is underway. #MATraffic https://t.co/4dvyFzuDHX — Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) March 30, 2023 The westbound lane of the high…

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by David Cifarelli
Police & Fire
Cause Of 4-Alarm Fire At Vacant Russell Mill Revealed Cause Of 4-Alarm Fire At Vacant Russell Mill Revealed
Cause Of 4-Alarm Fire At Vacant Russell Mill Revealed Fire officials said a 4-alarm fire that broke out at a vacant mill in western Massachusetts earlier this week started accidentally. The fire, which spread to two buildings on Woronoco Road on Tuesday, July 26, sparked while the building's owner was using an oxygen-acetylene torch close to the outside of the structure, the Department of Fire Services said.  “I want to remind our residents and businesses that cutting, welding, and other hot work require a permit in advance through the local fire department," said Russell Fire Chief Edward J. Renauld. "Taking that simple step would have ensur…

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by David Cifarelli
Police & Fire
Multiple Crews Battle 4-Alarm Fire In Russell (UPDATE) Multiple Crews Battle 4-Alarm Fire In Russell (UPDATE)
Multiple Crews Battle 4-Alarm Fire In Russell (Update) Multiple crews were on the scene of a 4-alarm fire that spread to two buildings in western Massachusetts, the West Springfield Fire Department said on Twitter.  WSFD is currently sending E2 mutual aide to the town of Russell for a 3 alarm fire. pic.twitter.com/eCe74mKoCf — W. Spfld Fire Dept. (@WSFD01089) July 26, 2022 The fire broke out at a building on Woronoco Road around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26, Russell Police said on Facebook.  This happened at the Strathmore Mills, which have been vacant for years, Western Mass News reports. A witness told the outlet that the fire appeared to …

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by David Cifarelli
Police & Fire
Suspect In Stolen Car Nabbed With Gun, Drugs In Hampden County Suspect In Stolen Car Nabbed With Gun, Drugs In Hampden County
Suspect In Stolen Car Nabbed With Gun, Drugs In Hampden County A man driving a stolen Jaguar SUV is facing a host of charges after being busted with cocaine and an illegal weapon, Massachusetts State Police said. In Hampden County, a Massachusetts State Police trooper in the town of Russell on patrol at approximately 6 p.m. on Route 90 on Sunday, May 8 conducted an Electronic Vehicle Registration check on a black Jaguar, which found that the SUV had been stolen two days earlier. Police said that the trooper began to follow the Jaguar and requested assistance before attempting a high-risk felony traffic stop. According to police, during the subsequent …

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by Zak Failla
News
DEP Fines Local Businesses Nearly $100K For Environmental Violations This Year DEP Fines Local Businesses Nearly $100K For Environmental Violations This Year
DEP Fines Local Businesses Nearly $100K For Environmental Violations This Year A Central Massachusetts man has been assessed the largest fine from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection so far in 2021. Nathaniel Odell of Upton has been fined a little over $40,000 for allegedly demolishing a Franklin residence without proper care for asbestos, according to a Feb. 8 “notice of intent to assess a civil administrative penalty.” Odell has a right to challenge the allegations and appeal the fine through a hearing. While Odell has been assessed the highest fine yet this year, he is not the only local company to receive a hefty penalty from the Massachusetts Dep…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
City Spends $8,000 Per Mile On Snow/Ice Removal - How Does Your Town's Spending Compare? City Spends $8,000 Per Mile On Snow/Ice Removal - How Does Your Town's Spending Compare?
City Spends $8,000 Per Mile On Snow/Ice Removal - How Does Your Town's Spending Compare? Snow plowing is among the most important services a city or town can provide in the winter - but it’s more of a priority in some places than others. In a review of snowplow/snow removal expenditures per community, differences in how much a town is willing to pay for the service quickly emerge. Among the 10 largest communities in Central and Western Massachusetts, it’s hard to beat Worcester. The city spent $8,530 per mile of city roadway on plowing services in 2019. The biggest city spending the least amount of money per mile to plow its streets is Chicopee - which spent $2,635 per mile i…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Infection Rates Down In Most Central/Western MA Big Cities COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Infection Rates Down In Most Central/Western MA Big Cities
Covid-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Infection Rates Down In Most Central/Western MA Big Cities COVID-19 rates went down in 7 out of 10 of Massachusetts’ largest cities west of I-495. The COVID-19 infection rates per 100,000 people went down in Worcester, Springfield, Chicopee, Leominster, Fitchburg, Amherst, and Shrewsbury, according to town-level data released by Massachusetts’ Department of Public Health on Thursday, Jan. 21. All of these communities, except for Amherst, are in the “red” - meaning they are at the highest risk for the spread of the virus. Amherst is in the yellow category. Massachusetts's color-coded risk system has four levels. They are, from most to least risk, …

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by Kristin Palpini
News
Where Are The Hotspots? COVID-19 Town-By-Town Trends, Rates - Hampden County Where Are The Hotspots? COVID-19 Town-By-Town Trends, Rates - Hampden County
Where Are The Hotspots? Covid-19 Town-By-Town Trends, Rates - Hampden County Good news! The COVID-19 rate in most Hampden County cities and towns has gone down, according to the most recent information from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Hampden County now has a “green” community as well - a term for communities with a low risk for the spread of the virus - it’s Holland. Other Hampden County communities where the risk is low include Montgomery, Wales, Blanford, Granville, Tolland, and Russell. While the daily COVID-19 infection rate went down in most Hampden County communities, there are four that saw their rates rise: Agawam, Longmeadow, Montgomery…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
City Pays $8,000 Per Mile For Snow/Ice Removal - See How Your Town's Plowing Budget Compares City Pays $8,000 Per Mile For Snow/Ice Removal - See How Your Town's Plowing Budget Compares
City Pays $8,000 Per Mile For Snow/Ice Removal - See How Your Town's Plowing Budget Compares Snow plowing is among the most important services a city or town can provide in the winter - but it’s more of a priority in some places than others. In a review of snowplow/snow removal expenditures per community, differences in how much a town is willing to pay for the service quickly emerge. Among the 10 largest communities in Central and Western Massachusetts, it’s hard to beat Worcester. The city spent $8,530 per mile of city roadway on plowing services in 2019. The biggest city spending the least amount of money per mile to plow its streets is Chicopee - which spent $2,635 per mile i…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends, Hampden County - Dec. 18 COVID-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends, Hampden County - Dec. 18
Covid-19: Town-By-Town Rates And Trends, Hampden County - Dec. 18 Two communities in Hampden County lowered their COVID-19 incident rate and nearly a dozen are below the highest risk category - red, according to the most recent state data. On Thursday, Dec. 17, Massachusetts Public Health Department released weekly town-by-town datasets that include how many COVID-19 incidents there are per 100,000 residents - the incident rate. The communities where the rate went down are Southwick and Belchertown. HIGHEST Meanwhile, Springfield, Ludlow, Holyoke, Wilbraham, Chicopee, and West Springfield had the highest COVID-19 rates per 100,000 residents. The rates…

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by Kristin Palpini
Police & Fire
Vacant Paper Mill Is On Fire - For The 4th Time Since June Vacant Paper Mill Is On Fire - For The 4th Time Since June
Vacant Paper Mill Is On Fire - For The 4th Time Since June For the fourth time since this summer, an empty paper factory has caught fire. In the early morning hours of Thursday, Dec. 10, firefighters received a report of flames at the old Strathmore Paper Mill on Valley View Avenue in Russell. As of 9 a.m. on Thursday, the fire was still blazing. This is the fourth time, the old paper mill has caught on fire in just over half a year. The sprawling, vacant mill complex caught on fire in June. The result was the destruction of building 2. Then there was another fire in July, a third in November, and now a fourth in December. A suspect, or suspec…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19: Two Hampden County Towns Come Off 'Red' List - Town-By-Town Rates And Trends COVID-19: Two Hampden County Towns Come Off 'Red' List - Town-By-Town Rates And Trends
Covid-19: Two Hampden County Towns Come Off 'Red' List - Town-By-Town Rates And Trends Only one new Hampden County town has been added to the state’s COVID-19 red list and two have come off of it, according to data released Thursday, Dec. 3. The communities that lowered their COVID-19 infection rate to the point that they were removed from a list of the state’s riskiest places are Belchertown and East Longmeadow. The town that was added to the red list is Palmer. There are now 36 Western and Central Massachusetts communities on the red list, including 9 cities and towns in Hampden County. Massachusetts's color-coded risk system has four levels. They are, from most to le…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
State Goes To Biden, But Here Are The Massachusetts Towns Where Trump Won State Goes To Biden, But Here Are The Massachusetts Towns Where Trump Won
State Goes To Biden, But Here Are The Massachusetts Towns Where Trump Won As many elections, including for president, are still being counted, Massachusetts has finished voting for president. As was anticipated, challenger Democrat Joe Biden won the majority vote for president. Biden won 66% of the vote with more than 2 million ballots cast in his favor.  Incumbent Republican Donald Trump won 34% of the vote with more than 1 million people supporting him at the polls. The following is a list of communities that went against the grain in Massachusetts and the majority of residents there voted for Trump - Central and Western Massachusetts are in bold, v…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Trends, Rates - Hampden County (Aug.) COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Trends, Rates - Hampden County (Aug.)
Covid-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Trends, Rates - Hampden County (Aug.) Hampden County’s largest cities continue to steadily reduce the number of positive COVID-19 tests among its residents, according to the most recent information from the Baker Administration. Springfield’s 14-day positive COVID-19 test rate was 2.3 percent - down from a high of 3.4 percent on July 17. West Springfield’s positive test rate dropped to 0.9 percent - it was at 1.7 percent just last week. Westfield also saw a decrease with the positive test rate ow at 0.9 percent. Meanwhile, Holyoke is holding steady at 2.4 percent positive. Palmer has increased to a 2.3 percent positive test…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County, Aug. COVID-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County, Aug.
Covid-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County, Aug. Hampden County has a lot to celebrate in this week’s COVID-19 positive test results - a lot of cities were able to bring their rates down, according to the most recent information from the Baker Administration. This week, the update contains a new community, Longmeadow, that had been previously missing from the report. Positive test rates have gone down in Agawam, Brimfield, Chicopee, Springfield, West Springfield, and Westfield. Meanwhile, Holyoke positive test rate has held mostly steady over the last three weeks and rates in East Longmeadow and Wilbraham went up a bit. In Massachusetts…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates, Trends - Hampden County, Aug. COVID-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates, Trends - Hampden County, Aug.
Covid-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates, Trends - Hampden County, Aug. Chicopee’s positive COVID-19 test rate continued to climb this week as most Hampden County communities see declines or are holding steady, according to the most recent information from the Baker Administration. In Springfield, the 14-day COVID-19 positive test rate is down significantly from a high of 3.4 percent in the city in mid-June. The most recent test rate was 2.7 percent. In Massachusetts, the goal is that by December the state will have less than 5 percent of COVID-19 tests come back positive. On Friday, Aug. 5, Gov. Charlie Baker reported the state’s 7-day positive test rate was a…

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by Kristin Palpini
Neighbors
COVID-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County COVID-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County
Covid-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County Positive COVID-19 test rates are going up, slowly, in Chicopee and Wilbraham, while West Springfield’s positive test rate continues to decline and Russell’s wildly high rate is starting to flatten out, according to the most recent information from the Baker Administration. Meanwhile, in Springfield, the 14-day COVID-19 positive test rate went up a little from last week to 2.9 percent, but it’s still below a high of 3.4 percent in the city earlier this month. In Massachusetts, the goal is that by December the state will have less than 5 percent of COVID-19 tests come back positive. On Aug. …

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by Kristin Palpini
Police & Fire
Reward Offered For Info Leading To Cause of Raging Russell Paper Mill Fire Reward Offered For Info Leading To Cause of Raging Russell Paper Mill Fire
Reward Offered For Info Leading To Cause of Raging Russell Paper Mill Fire A $5,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can provide information that helps lead to who set the Strathmore Paper Mill fire in June. State and local police and fire officials have been investigating the cause of the blaze since it erupted like a volcano, Friday, June 19, at 34 Valley View Ave. The fire tore through the empty, sprawling mill complex, requiring the work of 120 emergency personnel to extinguish. A month later, the mill still smells like smoke. The Arson Watch Reward Program is offering $5,000 to anyone who can provide information that will lead to the cause of the myster…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19: Where Are The Hotspots? Town-by-town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County COVID-19: Where Are The Hotspots? Town-by-town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County
Covid-19: Where Are The Hotspots? Town-by-town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County There are six Hampden County communities with positive COVID-19 testing rates above 2 percent - is a higher than normal infection rate for Massachusetts. The Massachusetts 7-day positive COVID-19 test rate is at 1.7 percent, said Gov. Charlie Baker during a daily press conference on the pandemic. Reducing positive test rates to under 2 percent is a state goal. In Hampden County, Russell is still the municipality with the highest rate of positive COVID-19 tests, countywide, over the past 14 days (16.7 percent for Russell), followed by Chicopee, West Springfield, Holyoke, and Springfield. T…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town-by-town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County COVID-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town-by-town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County
Covid-19, Where Are The Hot Spots? Town-by-town Infection Rates And Trends - Hampden County Positive tests for COVID-19 continue to stay under 2 percent in Massachusetts. Massachusetts' seven-day positive test rate for COVID-19 has been below 2 percent since the beginning of July. On Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker said the positive rate for the past seven days is 1.7 percent. Meanwhile, in Hampden County Russell has the highest rate of positive COVID-19 tests countywide over the past 14 days, followed by Agawam, Monson, and West Springfield. The state economy is now in Phase 3 of a four-phase reopening plan. The fourth phase - which would see the reopening of business such as …

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by Kristin Palpini
Traffic
Northampton Roundabout Detour To Send Vehicles Over the Coolidge Bridge Northampton Roundabout Detour To Send Vehicles Over the Coolidge Bridge
Northampton Roundabout Detour To Send Vehicles Over the Coolidge Bridge For two to three weeks, motorists exiting Interstate 91 at Northampton Exit 19 will be in for a  long detour over the Coolidge Bridge. The detour is necessary, state officials said, to allow for the construction of a new $8 million roundabout, traffic lights and pedestrian crossing at the Damon Road-Route 9 intersection in Northampton. The detour is set to being July 20 and could last 14-21 days, according to The Daily Hampshire Gazette. Once in place, there will be no going straight onto Damon Road. The four-way intersection will become one-way for travelers coming off the exit. All …

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by Kristin Palpini