To JBIRDBOMBS--I am very sorry to hear of your great misfoturne and send out the best healing vibes I can. Not a pretty story. BUT please expalin how the individual's immigration status had any bearing on what happened? ANY driver without insurance or assets, and there are millions of them, would have the exact same result following an accident. And there are numerous drivers who continue to drive without licenses, and if they have no assets, again the same result. And even if the driver had proper insurance and/or assets I strongly suspect not much would be different since it takes years to fight for reimbursement and/or damage awards during which time you remain unable to pay your bills due to lack of employment, mounting bills and a host of other issues. And when you do finally get an award the health insurance company will come after you for reimbursement for anything they have already paid out. To nipmuc--I have no doubt that today there are many people willing and able to do the job, BUT we do not know the history. It sounds as if he has worked there for years and perhaps his loyalty and performance are being rewarded with continued employment despite recent events. I know nothing about Mr. Conti but is it possible there is a family relationship here, and blood always trumps. It is also possible, and even likely, that he works for a wage below what many would now accept. I could point out hundreds of citizens right here in MA who are double and triple dipping into the system getting full time pay for multiple jobs, all of these people should give up all but one full time job in favor of others. To dontbeajerk--you make some valid points but lose the hyperbole, insult, and minor vulgarity and you will make your points more forcefully and be taken more seriously. View Comment

I am curious as to how old he is, how old was he when he came here in 1963? There is a difference between those who come as adults and those who are brought here by their parents. While his 'immigration" status is obviously in limbo that does not preclude working here legally. Immigration law is very complex and it is quite possible, even likely, that at one time he was cleared to work here and while he may not have a "social security number" he may have a foreign id number that is used for the purpose of payroll reporting. Very common, especially for foreign students. I suspect he was a student, remember that Obama's father earned a PhD at Harvard so it seems likely that if other family members were following a student status is very possible. This could also explain the driver's license, originally obtained while here legally. As has been pointed out all of this occured long before anyone had even heard of Barack Obama. the "name" is the reason this is even in the papers, thousands more similar stories every day across the country with no press coverage whatsoever. It is worth noting that under the Amnesty Act passed by Ronald Reagan in 1986 he would have been eligible as he entered the country before 1982 and lived here continuously. Not sure why the 1992 deportation order, likely proper paperwork not filed. For those of you with short memories or shorter lifespans (meaning younger than me :) ) it was common practice for decades to ignore such orders as it was understood that they were "formalities" and rarely enforced unless you were a convicted criminal. This was a major contributor to the passing of the immigration reform under Reagan, reform that had the employer sanctions stripped out in order to ensure passage. Yup, didn't want to deprive business of their slave labor. This being Congress's decision, though ultimately Reagan signed it as they voted it without insisting the employer sanctions go back in. And, for the record, the Obama adminstration has deported almost as many people (1.2 million) in the last three years as the Bush administration did in 8 years (1.57 million). View Comment

Everyone see the newest story I hope, they've arrested someone and charged him with arson in this fire!!!!! Sure hope he is the one responsible for the others as well and we will all sleep better. Good job to all our firefighters and responders and police and investigators! Still some loose ends to wrap up. First, I stand corrected on my statement that someone was home at Countryside, I had received an email at work about the fire, my first notice of it, and that person saw Mrs. Benoit with Reverend Phil Goff and had been under the impression that he had helped her out of the house. I didn't read the story here closely enough to pick up on the statement that noone was home at the time and Mrs. Benoit arrived after the fire department. Sorry for the sloppiness on my part. Second, to WBM here is the quote from the fire chief that appeared in the January 5, 2012 story right here on thedailygrafton: ***** The cause of that fire is still under investigation, Police Chief Normand Crepeau Jr. said. Crepeau would not speculate on whether the fires are related, but he stressed that residents should examine their homes for combustible materials stored near potential heat sources, such as electricalb outlets, furnaces, and wood stoves. "Make sure your house is secure," Crepeau said. "Make sure your detectors are working, that the batteries are changed. If your detectors are hard-wired and you lose your electricity, which can happen during a fire, you're depending on those batteries to alert you." ***** I had this in mind when I wrote my first comment. View Comment

And just what would you like them to say that they haven't already said? They do NOT know exactly what has happened yet and it would be irresponsible to say that they do. While many of us will conclude that given three fires in 11 days arson is looking like the most plausible explanation it is not the only one and in fact arson is responsible for only about 7% of all residential fires--see information and link below. Residents of Grafton have been advised first and foremost to double check their smoke detectors, and secondly inspect their homes for potential hazards. Always good advice but much more likely to be followed at this time. I have no doubt that should arson be established, versus speculated, as the cause of these fires we will be informed. As to what additional measures we should take knowing that I am not so sure. Certainly keeping our homes locked and windows secure, well lit on the outside are a good place to start but far from foolproof. This last fire occured in the middle of the day with someone at home, likely awake, and two dogs present (did they bark or behave in a manner indicating unusual activity around the house?). To this family as well as the others my heartfelt condolences, and especially to the Benoits on the loss of their beloved pets. I encourage all Graftonites to look for information here and in other news outlets and around town about how we can help these families. Here is the information referred to: Top five causes of all home fires (in the United States)... 5. Electrical Systems - About 40,000 fires annually 4. Misc. household equipment, not catgorized elsewhere (say an iron, or a candle) - About 45,000 fires annually. 3. Arson - About 55,000 fires annually. 2. Heating Equipment - about 75,000 fire annually. 1. Cooking and cooking equipment - almost 100,000 fires annually. (I add that this totals 315,000 fires of the estimated total of 350,000-400,000 per year, notice that smoking and children playing with matches are also causes--sadly the ones most likely to result in fatalities, but not among the top five causes of all fires) Now for some addtional interesting statistics... Top five causes of fires in the home that result in fatalities... 5. Electrical Systems - About 350 fatal fires a year 4. Children playing with fire - About 370 fatal fires a year, often the children themselves. 3. Heating Equipment - About 480 fatal fires a year 2. Arson - About 610 fatal fires a year 1. Smoking - About 820 annual deaths! (Notice cooking isn't even on the list. Most fatal fires start when the adults of the house are unaware of the fire, usually because they are asleep. That's why working smoke alarms are so important in the home.) I hope this was what you were looking for. Here is some source information. The NFPA site breaks it down much further... Source(s): http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/FieldO… http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categ… View Comment