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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com
— Joseph Heller
FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014
VOL. 83 NO.184
75 cents
Preston seeks name change By Hope E. Tremblay Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – Resident Ruth Preston is trying to bring the town up to modern times in the name of women everywhere. Last week Preston, administrative assistant to the Southwick Planning Board, requested that the Board of Selectmen change its name to the more gender-neutral Southwick Select Board. Preston said it’s something she feels would be a giant step toward recognizing the leadership of women in town. “I noticed that other communities in the state have a select board, and we have had women on our board,” said Preston. “The term selectmen is inappropriate in this day and age – women are leaders.” Preston said she did not make the request for Board of Selectmen member Tracy Cesan, but “for all women.” While researching the procedure required to make the change, Preston spoke with officials in Granby, which has a select board, but previously had a board of selectmen. “They said when a woman came on the board, they just changed the name,” said Preston. “It seems it is as easy as that, but I know there will be some financial considerations for things like changing letterhead.” Preston did her homework and found that 17 towns in Massachusetts have a select board and just one or two others have a board of selectmen. Many communities have a city council. “I have spoken to women in town and they thought it was a great idea,” she said. “I thought about gathering signatures for a petition, but decided to just ask first.” Preston has been an employee with the town of Southwick for seven years and was previously the director of the Claremont Chamber of Commerce. Preston said she has not received a response to her request to change the antiquated name of the board and plans to pursue her request.
“It is the anonymous ‘they,’ the enigmatic ‘they’ who are in charge. Who is ‘they’? I don’t know. Nobody knows. Not even ‘they’ themselves.”
Former Westfield State University President Evan Dobelle. (File photo by Frederick Gore)
Fun ride Andrea Prukalski, of Westfield, and her children Joey and Sophie enjoy a ride through Stanley Park Wednesday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Fence charged, gets probation By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Although thieves who break into houses to steal jewelry and other valuables often find themselves in court, others who make money from their crimes usually do not. But occasionally they do. One buyer of gold and silver, who allegedly counseled a pair of addicts who financed their habits by breaking into houses, was an exception to the rule recently after a city detective was able to build a case showing that he knowingly purchased stolen property and, by not operating “above board”, extended their crime spree. Thieves, often heroin addicts, with stolen precious metal jewelry usually can’t directly convert their ill-gotten gains into drugs or other uses but must first sell their loot somewhere. Many sell stolen jewelry at pawn shops, jewelry stores or any of the many diverse retail establishments which advertise “We buy gold” but, Det. Brian Freeman reports, those buyers almost invariably “pay pennies on the dollar” for the precious metals they buy. He explains that the gold and silver buyers pay only for the metal value so thieves selling items which cost hundreds – or thousands – of dollars are only paid tens of dollars, the melt value of the metal. The laws designed to protect the public require that buyers keep stringent records of their sales, their customers and mandate that
ANTHONY WINDOLOSKI the merchants must hold their purchases for 30 days before reselling the items. Detectives searching for stolen property routinely check the records precious metal buyers are required to keep but shady buyers may skirt the rules since items found to be stolen must be surrendered resulting in a loss for the buyer. By doing so, underhanded dealers obstruct investigations and prevent the recovery of stolen items, Freeman said. Freeman reports that, while investigating a series of house breaks in the spring of 2013 that were eventually attributed to a burglary duo, detectives checked a gold buying kiosk at the Holyoke Mall, Gold Deposit owned and operated by Anthony Windolski, without find the missing items they were looking for. When the pair of burglars was eventually apprehended, the suspects said that they had sold their booty at the kiosk where, they said, Tony was helpful to them. See Fence, Page 3
Martha Coakley Massachusetts Attorney General
AG files suit against Dobelle By PETER FRANCIS Staff Writer BOSTON – The Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley announced yesterday that she has filed a lawsuit against former Westfield State University President Dr. Evan S. Dobelle over allegations that he misused university credit cards and funds to the tune of nearly $100,000 for personal purchases and vacations. A recent report by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Glenn Cunha stated that those vacations – including family trips with his wife Kit and son Harry and gatherings in Monte Rio, California at the Bohemian Club, a private men’s social club – cost the university more than $39,000. According to the complaint, filed yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court, Dobelle, whose tenure as WSU president lasted January 2008 until his resignation in November 2013, knowingly submitted to WSU false claims for payment of personal expenses totaling at least $59,000. The aforementioned actions are in violation of the state’s False Claims Act and conflict of interest law, as well as Dobelle’s employment contract and several university policies. “We allege the former president of this university blatantly misused public funds for trips that were nothing but weeklong vacations with family and friends,” said Coakley in a statement. “This pattern of inappropriately spending state money is unacceptable, as leaders of public schools should be enforcing their policies instead of knowingly violating them for their own personal benefit.” Since last fall, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has been investigating allegations of improper spending by Dobelle, following an initial OIG report. See Dobelle Lawsuit, Page 3
Proposed common driveway bylaw sent to selectmen By Hope E. Tremblay Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Planning Board agreed to send a proposed common driveway bylaw to the Board of Selectmen this week. A subcommittee, led by Planning Board Vice Chairperson Roz Terry, met numerous times over the spring and summer to create a driveway bylaw. “We had a lot of heated discussions and came to the conclusion that we needed two – a general bylaw and a common driveway bylaw,” said Terry. The subcommittee, which included two members of the board, representatives of the police and fire departments, a conservation commission member, and community members, debated how far the bylaw should go, literally. Some people said there should be a certain width driveway all the way to the house for safety apparatus to fit in case of emergency. Others said whether or not a resident wanted a certain width – or any driveway – was not a decision the town
should make. In the end, the recommendation was to require the common driveway be wide enough for safety vehicles, but anything over 200 feet was the homeowner’s discretion. Terry said the committee studied bylaws in several towns and based much of Southwick’s bylaw on the town of Southampton. “We used a lot of Southampton’s and simplified it,” Terry said. The bylaw also limits the number of homes sharing a common driveway to two. The board voted to send the bylaw to selectmen, who would then send it to town counsel. Department of Public Works Director Randy Brown, who served on the driveway committee, took the lead on the general bylaw and said he would make sure it was sent to selectmen. Board Chairman Douglas Moglin said a public hearing would be set once the board received the bylaw proposal back from legal counsel. Terry said she hopes to have the bylaw ready for a vote at the annual special fall meeting.
The Southwick Planning Board is sending a recommended bylaw to the Selectmen for review regarding new installations of common driveways. This common driveway, right, at The Ranch serves three properties. (Photo by Frederick Gore)