North Adams
Man charged with murdering wife
A North Adams man was arrested and charged with murdering his wife, law enforcement officials said Saturday. Mark Steele-Knudslien, 47, went to the police station in neighboring Adams at about 9 p.m. Friday and told police that he killed his wife in their home, a police official said. “He did admit to the murder,’’ Adams Police Sergeant Scott McWhirt said in a phone interview Saturday. Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, 42, was later found dead at the couple’s home at 107 Veazie St. in North Adams, McWhirt said. An autopsy is to be conducted on Sunday, the Berkshire district attorney’s office said in a press release. Mark Steele-Knudslien was ordered held without bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Northern Berkshire District Court, the release stated.
Marion
Mattapoisett man killed in I-195 crash
State Police are investigating a fatal crash that killed a Mattapoisett man on Interstate 195 in Marion Saturday morning. Robert Xifaras, 55, lost control of his 2014 Hyundai Veloster while traveling eastbound and veered left into the median, which caused the vehicle to roll over, according to State Police. State troopers responded to the crash around 7 a.m., and Xifaras was determined to be dead at the scene. The crash remains under investigation.
Northampton
Ex-bus driver sentenced for girl’s death
A former school bus driver has pleaded guilty in the death of a Massachusetts third-grader who became trapped in the door of the bus. Prosecutors say 71-year-old Tendzin Parsons of Hawley was sentenced to a year in jail Friday after pleading guilty to negligent motor vehicle homicide in the death of 9-year-old Summer Steele in October 2016. Authorities say the girl was getting off the bus near her Plainfield home when the doors closed and Parsons started driving away. The child was dragged a short distance before the bus ran over her. Her father witnessed it. Parsons told police he thought all children were clear and was focused on his next stop. (AP)
New Hampton, N.H.
1 person, a dog, 100 chickens die in fire
One person has died in an early morning house fire in New Hampton. Firefighters responded to the scene around 3 a.m. Saturday. WMUR-TV reports that authorities say a dog and about 100 chickens also were killed. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Fire officials say the freezing trucks and an unplowed driveway made fighting the fire challenging. The victim’s name has not been released. (AP)
Concord, N.H.
Man sentenced on drug charges
A Lawrence man was sentenced to more than four years in prison for trafficking heroin, the US attorney’s office for New Hampshire announced on Friday. Allan Raymond Pimentel, 21, was one of nearly a dozen people from Massachusetts and New Hampshire charged with running a heroin operation spanning both states, prosecutors said in a statement. Pimentel, who was one of four Lawrence residents indicted, delivered heroin to customers for the drug ring in 2016. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison with three years of supervised release, according to the statement.
Concord, N.H.
Sununu against off-shore drilling plan
Republican Governor Chris Sununu is among those opposing the Trump administration’s plan to vastly expand offshore drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans. The new five-year drilling plan announced Thursday would open up federal waters off California for the first time in more than three decades. It also could open new areas of oil and gas exploration in areas off the East Coast from Florida to Maine, where drilling has been blocked for many years. Asked about the plan, Sununu said Friday, ‘‘Of course I oppose drilling off of New Hampshire’s coastline.’’ (AP)
Warwick, R.I.
Bill seeks protection for hunting dogs
Legislation has been introduced in both chambers of Rhode Island’s General Assembly to protect hunting dogs from extreme temperatures. State law makes it illegal to keep any dog outside during extreme temperatures but makes an exemption for hunting dogs. Warwick’s Democratic Representative Patricia Serpa and Senator Erin Lynch Prata want to amend it. They say keeping hunting dogs outside in frigid temperatures is cruel. (AP)
