The Boston Globe - 19.09.2019

B2 Metro The Boston Globe THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

By Maria Lovato

GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

S

tudents at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the public

will able to view close-up images of our solar system when a new

observatory opens this fall due to a generous donation, the uni-

versity said.

The new Schueller Observatory, named after a late UMass

Lowell alumnus and amateur astronomer, will be located on the South

Campus. It will feature a donated Celestron 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain

telescope housed in a cylindrical building topped with a metal dome weigh-

ing 3,200 pounds, UMass Lowell said.

“This will help students interested in physics, as well as non-science ma-

jors and the public, in learning more about the secrets that the sky keeps in

its vast stretch,” Noureddine Melikechi, dean of the Kennedy College of Sci-

ences, said in a statement.

The telescope is one typically found in universities teaching public star-

gazing or owned by an advanced amateur astronomer, Silas Laycock, an as-

sociate professor in the physics department, said.

Human eyes are very small and can’t pick up on dim objects far away in

the sky. This Celestron telescope will allow users to see stars, up-close imag-

es of the moon’s surface, planets, and even other galaxies up to 23 million

light years away, Laycock said.

“[The telescope] allows us to see things that are very faint,” he said.

Students and faculty will be able to visit the observatory when construc-

tion is completed in mid-November. The telescope can also be operated re-

motely, and cameras will be attached so that students in classrooms all

around campus will be able to see what is being viewed through the tele-

scope.

“[Students] can use the telescope to gain hands-on experience before

they go out and work in professional observatories,” Laycock said.

The public will be able to use the telescope for free once a month, the

university said. The observatory will hold six people at a time and is wheel-

chair accessible.

“We plan to invite schools, libraries, and clubs in Lowell and neighbor-

ing communities to join our stargazing sessions,” Laycock said. “Physics

students will be on hand to give talks and answer questions.”

Richard Schueller graduated from UMass Lowell in 1986 with a degree

in physics. He went on to become a successful scientist and inventor credit-

ed with six patents and seven more in the approval process. In his spare

time, he observed the skies from his backyard in Chelmsford with his Cele-

stron telescope, the university said.

Schueller died of brain cancer in 2015. His wife, Susan, decided to do-

nate the telescope to UMass Lowell. The university is paying for the con-

struction of the observatory.

The Schuellers also donated an endowment to UMass Lowell so that

students can afford to pursue their interest in astronomy, Laycock said.

“That was a very visionary thing the Schuellers did,” he said.

Maria Lovato can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on

Twitter @maria_lovato99.

Star-gazinginLowell

AROUND THE REGION

BOSTON

Ex-VAnursecharged

withstealingmorphine

A former nurse in the hospice unit at the Bedford

VA hospital is facing federal charges alleging she

took morphine for personal use that had been in-

tended for veterans under her care, federal pros-

ecutors said Wednesday. In a statement, US At-

torney Andrew E. Lelling’s office identified the

suspect as Kathleen Noftle, 55, of Tewksbury. She

was arrested Tuesday night and made her initial

appearance in US District Court in Boston

Wednesday afternoon in handcuffs. Prosecutors

did not ask for any cash bail and she was re-

leased on personal recognizance after pleas of

not guilty were entered on her behalf. Noftle did

not speak during the brief proceeding. She is

charged in a criminal complaint with obtaining a

controlled substance by misrepresentation,

fraud, deception, and subterfuge, and tampering

with a consumer product, Lelling’s office said.

BOSTON

Policewellness

programgets$500k

Two organizations donated a total of $500,000

this week for Boston police to help create a

health and wellness team after several officers

died of illness or suicide in 2018, officials said.

The City of Boston Credit Union and the Boston

Police Runners Club gave the money to fund the

department’s new health and wellness team, ac-

cording to a joint statement Tuesday from the

credit union, the runners club, police unions,

and Commissioner William Gross. “This funding

will help continue our work to create a healthier

environment and wellness opportunities for the

men and women of the department who are

committed to serving our community every day,”

said Boston police Sergeant Detective Cecil

Jones, the director of the credit union, and presi-

dent of the runners club. The team was created

after several officers died in 2018 of heart at-

tacks, strokes, cancer, and suicide, according to

the statement.

FARMINGTON, MAINE

Investigationinto

deadlyblastcontinues

The investigation into the explosion that killed

Fire Captain Michael Bell and injured seven oth-

ers continued Wednesday, as officials try to de-

termine the cause of the explosion. Bell and fel-

low firefighters arrived at the administrative

building of LEAP Inc. Monday morning to inves-

tigate an odor of gas, when the building was lev-

eled by an explosion. Maine State Fire Marshall

Joseph E. Thomas said investigators from his of-

fice, state agencies, and the federal Bureau of Al-

cohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives were at

the site Wednesday. Thomas said he does not

know when a conclusion will be reached on the

cause of the explosion. “We could have a break

instantaneously or it could continue,” he said.

Among the injured firefighters were Bell’s broth-

er, fire Chief Terry Bell, 62. Also severely injured

was LEAP employee Larry Lord, whom authori-

ties credit with evacuating employees before the

explosion. He remains in critical condition at

Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

JOHN ELLEMENT

POLICE BLOTTER

RWOMANASSAULTEDState Police believe the

woman who was assaulted on a bike path in Mat-

tapan Tuesday was the victim of a random at-

tack. The assault occurred shortly after 2 p.m.

while she was walking on the path adjacent to

the Ryan Playground in Mattapan, according to

State Police spokesman David Procopio. The vic-

tim, who suffered “contusion and laceration inju-

ries,” was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical

Center and has since been released, authorities

said. On Wednesday, Procopio said the investiga-

tion into the incident is still underway. “Based

on information obtained by State Police Troop H

detectives, we believe the attack on the 46-year-

old female victim was random,” Procopio wrote

in an e-mail. “To protect the integrity of the on-

going investigation, at this time I am not releas-

ing any other details about the assault or investi-

gative actions beyond what we released [Tues-

day].” Procopio said State Police Troop H “has

always maintained, and will continue to main-

tain, a strong patrol presence on the bike path

and other state properties in that area.” State Po-

lice described the suspect in the attack as a man

thought to be in his 20s who stood about 5 feet

10 inches tall, with black hair “worn in an afro

style” about 3 inches high. He wore a navy blue

long-sleeve shirt and navy blue sweat pants, and

is thought to have fled toward River Street

through the Ryan Playground parking lot.

RGUNARRESTA 29-year-old man was arrested

in South Boston Tuesday afternoon for pulling a

gun on a driver after a car accident, Boston po-

lice said. Boston police arrested Danh Nguyen of

Dorchester around 5:09 p.m. near 220 Dor-

chester Ave., Boston police said in a statement.

“After the motor vehicle accident and before po-

lice arrival, Mr. Nguyen was observed exiting his

motor vehicle with the Sig Sauer pistol in his

hand as he approached the driver’s side window

of the victim’s motor vehicle,” the statement said.

Officers arrived and found two cars with open

doors in the middle of Dorchester Avenue, police

said. “Officers immediately conducted a pat-frisk

and recovered an unloaded 9mm SIG Sauer P320

pistol inside of a fanny pack, along with two ful-

ly-loaded 10-round magazines,” the statement

said. Nguyen was arrested and set to be ar-

raigned in the South Boston division of Boston

Municipal Court on charges of assault by means

of a dangerous weapon to wit: firearm, unlawful

possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession

of ammunition, police said.

RSTABBINGDEATHA man was fatally stabbed in

the South End Wednesday night, steps away

from an entrance to Boston Medical Center. The

incident occurred near the corner of Albany

Street and Massachusetts Avenue. Police re-

sponded shortly after 9:10 p.m. to find a man in

his 30s suffering from multiple stab wounds, Po-

lice Commissioner William Gross said. He was

taken to BMC, where he was pronounced dead.

Gross said altercation preceded the stabbing and

that a suspect is believed to have fled, first on

foot, then on a bicycle, onto Massachusetts Ave-

nue, toward Harrison Avenue. Motive was not

immediately clear, and Gross said it was not

known if the suspect and victim knew each oth-

er. He said there was no indication if the suspect

or victim were homeless. There are multiple

homeless facilities near the crime scene, which

was located in the middle of an area known as

Methadone Mile.“This happened on a busy inter-

section,” Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Roll-

ins told reporters on the scene. Gross said inves-

tigators would canvas the area for video footage.

‘Intheend,Parliamentwill

beattheheartofthe

decision-makingprocess

andnothingisgoingto

changethatfact.There’sa

veryoldsayinginour

country,“Beyoueverso

high,thelawisabove

you.”’

JOHN BERCOW
Speaker of Britain’s House of Commons, on
efforts to sideline lawmakers on Brexit.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

GET SMART

By Jacquelyn Corley
STAT
Ambulance crews generally are supposed
to take seriously ill patients to the closest hos-
pital that offers the necessary emergency ser-
vices, such as stroke or trauma care. However,
new research shows that patients are some-
times transported somewhere else, and that
their race may have something to do with it.
A national study published recently in
JAMA Network Open found there were differ-
ences in the emergency departments where
patients were taken by emergency medical
services, based on their race or ethnicity. The
researchers, from Boston University School of
Medicine, found that black and Hispanic pa-
tients were more likely to be transported to
safety-net hospitals compared with white pa-
tients living in the same zip code. Safety-net
hospitals serve a high proportion of people
who are uninsured or on Medicaid, and other
vulnerable populations.
The authors said that the study is the first
to look for racial differences in where patients
are taken by EMS, and that the findings high-
light the need for further research into the
reasons for the disparity. One possible expla-
nation: Patients or their families may choose
to go to a more distant hospital because it’s
where they go for routine primary care.
Among the unknowns is whether patients
are harmed by going to a more distant emer-
gency department, said Amresh Hanchate, co-
lead investigator of the study and associate
professor of general internal medicine at BU.
“There is a tradeoff between going to the
nearest place vs. going to the familiar place,”
he said. “The benefit is not clear, and more re-
search is needed.”
The study involved Medicare enrollees
over age 66 who were transported by EMS to
an emergency department from January 2006
to December 2012. The researchers also
looked at instances when patients or families
drove to the ED themselves. Overall, there
were 864,750 enrollees from 4,175 zip codes.
For each zip code, the most frequent desti-
nation among white enrollees was used as a
reference ED. White patients were taken by
ambulance to the reference ED 61.3 perent of
the time, but for blacks this number was 5.3
percent lower, and for Hispanics it was 2.5
percent lower.
The pattern was similar for patients who
arrived at the emergency department on their
own, a finding that supports the explanation
that patient choice is influencing ED destina-
tion. Perhaps black and Hispanic patients reg-
ularly seek care at safety-net hospitals and
other non-reference hospitals, and in times of
emergency, the patient or family may request
to be taken back to those locations.
“It would make sense that a patient would
want to be transported to a hospital where
their physicians offer services and where they
customarily receive health care,” Dr. Henry
Wang, professor and vice chair for research in
the department of emergency medicine at
University of Texas Health Science Center at
Houston, said in an e-mail. “The observed
transport patterns may simply reflect EMS
personnel appropriately appeasing patient
preferences.”
But he added, “The study data sources
have inherent limitations and cannot be used
to explain the reasons for observed racial dis-
parities.” Instead, the findings “set the stage
for more detailed inquiry.”
The study also found more variation in ED
destinations among black and Hispanics com-
pared to white enrollees, and this variation
was larger in cities and when there were mul-
tiple hospitals in a given zip code.
The data from Medicare claims are not
granular enough to capture the decision-mak-
ing process between emergency response pro-
viders and patients or families, but this is the
goal of future research.

Onambulances

andrace

The MetroMinute

SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF

FRIENDLY FELINE —A tiny kitten found outside and brought to the MSPCA by a good Samaritan will undergo surgery in the

coming days to treat his heart condition, which would otherwise be fatal. The MSPCA is raising money for Kevin’s operation.