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WEATHER TONIGHT Partly cloudy. Low of 55.
Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 167
INDEPENDENCE DAY The Westfield News Group office will be closed Friday, July 3. The Westfield News will not publish, Saturday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day.
75 cents
Council initiates land transfer for new school
WNG FILE PHOTO
Westfield fireworks set for August The Westfield Rotary Club's Fireworks for Freedom at Stanley Park display has been rescheduled next month for Sunday, August 16, 2015 (rain date planned for Monday, August 17).
Fighter Wing supports July 4th celebrations WESTFIELD – F-15 Eagles from the 104th Fighter Wing, Barnes Air National Guard Base, will fly over three separate cities and towns in support of community events for the 4th of July celebrations being held in the commonwealth tomorrow.
The F-15 Eagles will fly in formation over Salem and Rutland as well as over the Boston Pops 4th of July concert – serving as a symbol of patriotism and as a reminder of the sacrifice our military members make each and every day to protect the
values, ideas and freedoms our nation celebrates on the 4th. “We’re proud of our heritage and always look forward to supporting flyovers for events such as these,” said Col. James Keefe, 104th Fighter Wing Commander.
The flyovers performed by the 104th Fighter Wing’s F-15 Eagles during special events display the Air National Guard’s presence serve as a training opportunity for the pilots and ground crews and for recruiting future members.
ECONOMISTS:
Harsh winter didn’t disrupt state economy By BOB SALSBERG Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — The brutal winter had only a “transitory, and ultimately minor” effect on the state’s overall economy, according to economists who said Thursday that Massachusetts is in many ways experiencing its strongest expansion since the late 1990s. The editorial board of MassBenchmarks, a journal of the state’s economy, also waved some warning flags about uneven growth and pockets of stubbornly high unemployment. It also said future growth could be curtailed without greater investment in transportation infrastructure. The board, in a summary of its latest research, said surveys showed strong growth in the labor force and that the estimated gross state product was continuing to outpace the U.S. as a whole. The growth was being fueled by the so-called knowledge sector, including software development, computer services, and architectural, engineering and consulting services. A series of winter storms from late January through early March pummeled Massachusetts with record snowfall. The storms brought Boston’s aging public transit system to its knees, disrupting travel and
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK BOSTON impacting many local businesses. The economic harm, according to MassBenchmarks, was for the most part temporary. “As the board anticipated, this year’s severe winter weather had only a transitory, and ultimately minor, impact,” the economists wrote. The storms did expose the degree of stress that growth was placing on transportation infrastructure, leaving it “in serious need of attention and investment,” if economic expansion is to continue, they said. The journal is published by the
Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The latest summary pointed to continued regional and socio-economic disparities. “Economic growth continues to be disproportionately concentrated in the Greater Boston region and within the Route 495 belt,” the economists said. “While there are notable exceptions to this pattern of imbalanced growth, including the cities of Lowell and Worcester, conditions in regions outside of the Greater Boston region are improving but their economic performance continues to lag.” Other short- and long-term threats cited by the board include rising electricity rates that are limiting economic growth in some areas, and a shortage of new housing that is driving up home prices — making it more difficult for businesses to recruit highly-skilled workers from outside Massachusetts.
By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The City Council approved the first reading of an order transferring the care, custody, management and control of property on Ponders Hollow Road from the Fire Department to the Park & Recreation Department. The property transfer is being done to bring the city into compliance with the National Park Service requirement related to construction of the proposed Ashley Street elementary school which will include use of part of the Cross Street playDAN ALLIE ground. The city must transfer property of equal or greater value to the 1.3 acres being lost at Cross Street. Mayor Daniel M. Knapik has proposed the use of nearly 4.8 acres of land on Ponders Hollow Road to satisfy the transference requirement of the federal agency. Critics of the proposal argue that the Ponders Hollow property, which is divided by a flood-control levee, built by the Army Corps of Engineers, and contains an area that was used as a dump a century ago. There was a clear division among the council members as they prepared to take the vote for the CINDY HARRIS first reading last night. The action was approved by a 9-4 vote. Voting against the transfer were: At-large Councilors David A. Flaherty, Dan Allie and Cindy Harris, and Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell. The council will take the second reading and final passage vote at the Aug. 20 session. The transfer required nine affirmative votes and appeared that it might fail. L&O chairman, Ward 2 Councilor Ralph Figy, delayed bringing the issue out at several meetings because of the absence of councilors supporting the transfer. Residents, in particular parents of school children who will be bused to Russell next year because of the closing of Juniper Park School and the delay in the new school construction by litigation, speaking during the public participa- DAVE FLAHERTY tion session advised councilors that they will be held accountable in the fall municipal elections for votes against the transfer issue. Speakers warned Councilors O’Connell and Flaherty “to regain focus before this year’s election” and that they “were responsible for sending (those school children) our (to Russell).” Harris said she opposed taking the transfer vote until the issue of the school construction project, now in the Appellate Court, is resolved to avoid “transferring it out of the hands of the court and putting it into the hands of Boston politicians (the state Legislature). We need to hear from the court first.” MARY L. Ward 3 Councilor Brian Hoose argued that the O’CONNELL council had to approve the transfer if for no other reason than the fact that the Park & Recreation Department is better suited to maintain the land, and the levee, than the Fire Department. The Army Corps of Engineers was invited to attend an information meeting on the Little River Levee in that Ponders Hollow Road area. The federal agency does not oppose recreational use of that land, but also made it clear that the city is financially responsible for the levee maintenance. Hoose said the council “always seems to come up with a reason not to do something. I’m looking for a reasons to do this.” Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe, who during the committee review of the transfer CHRISTOPHER expressed reservations, said KEEFE that the financial question, where the money would come from to begin development of the property, could be answered with Community Preservation Act funding. Taxpayers are paying a surtax to collect the CPA money “and this is what they’re looking for, BRIAN HOOSE to use that money for recreational purposes,” Keefe said. “This qualifies. This land is better in the hands of the Park & Recreation Department than it is in the Fire Department.”
JULY 4TH CELEBRATIONS HAMPTON PONDS ASSOC. July 4th Parade 10 am SOUTHWICK BOAT PARADE Babbs Beach 4pm WYBEN July 4th Parade - 6:30pm
Make-shift construction offices on the site of the former Ashley Street School in April of 2013 (WNG file photo)