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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com
— Charles F. Kettering
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2014
VOL. 83 NO.203
“People are very open-minded about new things — as long as they’re exactly like the old ones.”
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Military: Pilot killed in F-15 crash
Col. James Keefe, commander of the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National guard announces last night the missing F-15C pilot remains have been found in the plane wreckage. Keefe announced the news at the Massachusetts Air National Guard in Westfield, home of the 104th Fighter Wing, where the pilot and jet were based. (AP Photo/The Republican, Dave Roback)
By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD (AP) — The pilot of an F-15 jet that crashed in remote Virginia mountains was killed, military officials said last night. The pilot’s name is being withheld pending notification of family members and will be released when appropriate. The pilot and jet were with the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and we are doing all we can to support them during this very difficult time,” said Col. James Keefe, Commander, 104th Fighter Wing. “We ask that everyone respect the privacy of the family and allow them the time they need to grieve.” Keefe said the crash investigators were hampered by the terrain and the fact that fires were still burning yester-
Young members of the Civil Air Patrol watch a search helicopter take of at the Deerfield Valley Volunteer Fire Department in Deerfield yesterday. The pilot of an F-15 jet that crashed this week in remote Virginia mountains was killed, military officials said yesterday, bringing to a sad end an exhaustive two-day search involving more than 100 local, state and federal officials as well as volunteers. (AP Photo/The Staunton News Leader, Griffin Moores)
day at the crash site. “On-scene crash investigators notified (the 104th) at 1700 Hours (5 p.m.) that the pilot was deceased, that the pilot did not survive the incident,” Keefe said at a press briefing held outside the gate of the base at Barnes Regional Airport at 10 p.m. “Investigators were able to enter the crash site this afternoon,” Keefe said. “The pilot did not safely eject from the aircraft. The pilot had died as the result of the crash.” The pilot had declared an in-flight emergency just before 9 a.m. Wednesday morning. The F-15C Eagle crashed at approximately 9:05 a.m. Radio contact with the pilot was lost about 5 minutes earlier. Keefe said that unit personnel had met with the pilot’s family prior to the press briefing. See F-15 Crash, Page 7
(File photo by Frederick Gore)
Brigadier General Timothy P. Williams, adjutant General of the Virginia National Guard, left, and Brigadier General Robert Brooks, component commander of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, answer questions from members of the media after announcing that the pilot who had been missing from an F-15 jet that crashed near Deerfield, Va. was found dead yesterday. (AP Photo/The Staunton News Leader, Griffin Moores)
Hydrant maintenance begins
Brewery given go-ahead
By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK - The Department of Public Works (DPW) began hydrant maintenance this week, with plans to reach every one of the town’s 340 hydrants over time. DPW Director Randy Brown said water department employees will be painting the hydrants and adding a grease lubricant to the inside of the hydrant caps for easier removal in an emergency. “We are also installing hydrant markers to make them easier to see when it snows,” said Brown. Brown said it could take a while to get to every hydrant on the town’s 50 miles of water pipes, adding that he does not think they have ever been painted before. “They’re a standard yellow and the paint is suitable for being exposed to weather conditions,” said Brown. See Hydrants, Page 3
By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The Westfield River Brewing Company got the final go-ahead from the Southwick Board of Selectmen last night. The board unanimously approved all licenses needed for the brewery to operate in its new location at 707 College Highway, best known as the former Chuck’s Steak House. Now that the local licenses, including Farmer’s Brewers, Farmer’s Winery, and Farmer’s Distillery licenses, have been granted, owner Sergio Bonavita just needs approval from the state Alcohol Beverage Control Commission. Once approved, the brewery will open to See Brewery, Page 3
Rick Mannion, a seasonal employee for of the Southwick Department of Public Works, paints a fire hydrant along College Highway in Southwick yesterday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Firefighters take ethanol course By Peter Francis Staff Writer WESTFIELD – In order to keep the public as safe as possible, firefighters all over America must stay sharp with training and certification. First responders from the Westfield Fire Department, along with several other volunteer departments which receive mutual aid from the city, were at South Middle School Wednesday to take a safety course on ethanol-related fires. Ethanol, or ethyl-alcohol, is a highlyflammable, colorless liquid made from corn that has become a common biofuel additive to gasoline. “We teach first responders how to handle incidents involving ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels,” said Bill Brobst, a firefighter from Columbus, Ohio who has been traveling the country conducting
ethanol seminars with his wife Cheryl as representatives for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), a trade organization based out of Washington D.C. “Since it’s now in about 98 percent of our gasoline, (this class) helps them to change their attitudes about dealing with gasoline products as we have in the past,” said Brobst. “Now, how does the fact that we have ethanol in the fuel really change the fuel’s properties? How do you have change how you respond to it?” Brobst stated that incidents involving railcars, over-the-road trucks, and other automobiles are the common instances when fires involving ethanol may arise for first response. He also shared a wide array of scenarios and how to react when ethanol blends with water, a worst case scenario for first responders.
“If we are dealing with alcohol and gasoline and there’s no water, the things we’ve done in the past will continue to work,” Brobst said. “Ethanol is very happy with gasoline, and it will stay mixed until I get water involved with it.” “If it mixes with water, the water will draw the ethanol out of the mixture, and what you’ll end up with is gasoline floating on top and a water-ethanol mixture floating below it,” Brobst said, adding that ethanol can cause environmental hazards if it is released into a body of water. “By EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) standards, the best thing you can do sometimes is to let it (ethanol) burn. Sometimes, if it ain’t hurting anything, let it burn.” The four-hour lecture course was See Firefighters, Page 3
Sergio Bonavita, brewmaster at The Westfield River Brewing Company, appeared before the The Board of Selectmen who act as the Liquor Commission, requesting the issuance of a new license, Farmer-Breweries, Farmer Wineries & Farm Distilleries for the relocation of his business at 707 College Highway in Southwick. (Photo by Frederick Gore)