| Methodist church offers counseling to public: Fees to be based on clients' incomes
First United Methodist Church in Gainesville is extending its ministry beyond its own congregation, opening up a counseling center to serve the general public. The new facility, to be called the Care and Counseling Center of Gainesville, is located at 425 Bradford Street in a building formerly occupied by Hall-Dawson Court Appointed Special Advocates. CASA moved earlier this summer into a rented building off Ridge Road as the agency prepares to build a permanent home. The Rev. Steve Winter, executive pastor at First United, said church officials decided to lease the Bradford site because they felt Gainesville needed more options for faith-based counseling. "As ministers, we are general counselors. We're able to help people on a short-term basis," he said. "But when someone has a bigger problem than we have the expertise to handle, we have to refer them." Though Gainesville has a number of competent therapists, Winter said First United has been sending people to centers in metro Atlanta, run by the nonprofit, Decatur-based Care and Counseling Center of Georgia.
FDA Accepts Glaxo Vaccine for Review
British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline on Tuesday said federal regulators will review its prospective vaccine to prevent a virus that causes diarrhea in infants. The company's oral vaccine Rotarix is made from a weakened strain of rotavirus, which is the most common cause of diarrhea among children, according to the Centers for Disease Control. About 55,000 U.S. children are hospitalized each year due to the virus, the CDC says. .
SPECIAL REPORT - Parents of addicts: Many watch helplessly as their children turn to crime to support their habit
QUINCY - They had hopes and dreams for their children.Dale and Lisa's daughter traveled to Europe twice in high school as a student ambassador - to England, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy. She was a member of the National Honor Society. She aspired to work as an artist in Spain.Nancy's son was handsome, a great student. He got good grades and Division 2 colleges were scouting him to play baseball.Typical Quincy kids.But these days, hope for these parents is like a four-letter word, and their dreams are focused on the most basic of things - survival.Their children are drug addicts. They are the human face behind the soaring number of drug arrests in Quincy and the high rate of overdoses.Gathered around a conference table on a recent summer night, Dale, Lisa and Nancy were joined by about a dozen other parents and relatives of addicts.
Chicopee jail opening soon
CHICOPEE - A Sept. 13 dedication is planned for the $26.1 million Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center on Center Street. Following the dedication, between 190 and 195 inmates will be transferred to the jail at the end of September or early October, Patricia A. Murphy, the superintendent of the facility, said yesterday. The jail was originally slated to open in early June, but a snag in the delivery and installation of the electronic security system delayed the opening. The system is being installed and tested, Murphy said. "We'll be close to capacity when we transfer over," Murphy said. "We're thrilled about it because it's really going to offer an opportunity for elbow room. The facility in Ludlow is really overcrowded." The 210-bed facility, operated by the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, will hold female inmates from Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin counties who are sentenced to terms of 2½ years or less.
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleads guilty to felony charges
NEW YORK (AP) - Former referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felony charges Wednesday in an NBA betting scandal that rocked the league and raised questions about the integrity of games. Donaghy faces a maximum of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced for conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting wagering information through interstate commerce. He was released on a $250,000 bond. Donaghy provided recommendations, called "picks," to co-conspirators about what team they should bet on, said U.S. District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon. If he was correct, they paid him. The picks included information about games that Donaghy officiated, the government said. The information was not public, the judge said. Donaghy had "unique access," including what crews would officiate at games, the interaction of different officials and players, and the physical condition of certain players.
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