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Council narrowly endorses Russell elementary school deal
Firefighters Support Foundation unrelated to city fire department By CHRISTINE CHARNOSKY Correspondent WESTFIELD – A group calling themselves The Firefighters Support Foundation has been making phone calls to Westfield residents soliciting donations. According to the organization’s Website, ffsupport.org, “FSF is a 501(c)(3)tax-exempt non-profit organization primarily dedicated to assisting firefighters and rescue personnel perform their jobs effectively and safely through free training.” Deputy Chief James Kane of the Westfield City Fire Department said he has never heard of the Firefighters Support Foundation and the Westfield Fire Department does not see any of the funds the Firefighters Support Foundation raises. Kane said the WFD is associated with the International Association of Firefighters Local 1111 and their fundraising for the department is done once a year and that ended in March. The website give.org, which is the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, a site that helps donors make informed giving decisions, states that the Firefighters Support Foundation “did not disclose.” Not disclosing means that either the company has not responded to BBB requests for information or has “declined to be evaluated in relation to BBB Standards for Charity Accountability,” according to give.org. Participation in BBB review is voluntary. The Firefighters Support Foundation’s address is listed as See Foundation, Page 3
Knapik not offered Southbridge postition By BRIAN LEE Worcester Telegram and Gazette staff SOUTHBRIDGE – Town councilors voted 8-1 to offer the town manager post to Hanson Town Administrator Ronald S. San Angelo, subject to a mutually agreeable employment contract. San Angelo was interviewed for more than 70 minutes Thursday. He demonstrated that he had done his homework on Southbridge, having visited the Southbridge Hotel & Conference Center and exchanged pleasantries with the popular vendor of a Main See Post, Page 3
to be naive.” — R. BUCKMINSTER FULLER
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 139
“Dare
By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The City Councilor voted 9-3 to approve an agreement between the School Committee and the Russell Board of Selectmen to lease the former Russell Elementary School. The lease, an initial 18 months, with three six-month options, is the solution that the School Committee selected to house students who have been attending Juniper Park School under a lease agreement between the city and the state. That school, located on the Western Avenue campus of Westfield State University, is being returned to WSU for its expanding academic programming. Several of the councilors who voted against the resolution approving the Russell school building lease said they opposed sending Westfield children out DAN ALLIE of the city, but saw no other viable option. At-large Councilor Dan Allie expressed the opinion of many councilors. “I think we could have done better, but in this situation I can’t see how we vote against this,” Allie said. Ward 2 Councilor Ralph Figy, in whose ward a new elementary school was supposed to be constructed, said “It’s not an ideal solution, but it’s the only solution available to us.” At-large Councilor Cindy Harris said the council had
Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional Schools Superintendent John Barry, center, speaks to the school committee as Business Manager Stephen Presnal, at left, and committee member William Stevenson, right, listen last month. (Photo by Hope E. Tremblay)
School transportation fund established By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The SouthwickTolland-Granville Regional School Committee established an account this week for regional transportation funds. Superintendent John Barry said the approval only creates the account, but does not fund it. “This just starts it,” Barry said. “We’re not putting money in it, but it can be a legal place to park money for a year as long as it benefits transportation.” Any leftover funds from regional transportation reimbursement can be put in this account. “We’re not talking about deposits right now, just establishing the fund,” stressed Barry. Business Manager Stephen Presnal said the district is reimbursed for a percentage of regional transportation expenses by the state but he never knows what that percentage will be. “I think originaly they were going to refund 100 percent or 90 percent, but it’s more like 50 percent to 70 percent,” Presnal said.
See Council, Page 3
Some years, the state reimburses more than what the department estimates at budget time. When this happens, Presnal said the extra funds go into an excess account. “Technically, we need a vote to approve using these funds,” said Presnal. The new regional transportation account created this week would allow those excess funds to be placed in that account and used without a vote at Town Meeting. Presnal added that spending the funds has not been a problem in the past. “The communities have been good about it,” he said. Presnal said he still does not know the reimbursement amount for the year. “The legislature decides it and then you’re competing against other regional districts in the state,” said Presnal. “We submit our expenses through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s year-end report and then the legislature decides how to distribute it.” Presnal said the schools typically receive reimbursement in two payments, one in December or January and one at the end of the fiscal year.
Springfield’s Baystate Medical Center cutting jobs, decreasing hours SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — The parent company of Springfield's Baystate Medical Center is laying off of 24 employees, decreasing hours for 17, and leaving 45 positions unfilled to help close a $22 million budget shortfall. A Baystate Health spokesman said Thursday the cuts, almost exclusively in Springfield, will be in clinical support, administration and management, and do not include bedside nurses or doctors. Laid off employees have been given 30 days' notice. Baystate officials say the shortfall is the result of the government not paying enough to cover health care costs of the poor. Baystate Medical provided more than $112 million in unreimbursed care in 2014. Affected employees will receive severance, extended benefits, and job placement assistance. Baystate also runs hospitals in Ware, Palmer and Greenfield. Baystate Health employs about 11,500.
Southampton Select Board amends residency requirement By CHRIS LINDAHL @cmlindahl Daily Hampshire Gazette SOUTHAMPTON — The Select Board has revised its contract with Fire Chief John Workman so that he is no longer required to live in town, and officially ended its investigation of him that was prompted by a complaint filed in March by a Fire Department employee. Workman was placed on paid administrative leave for less than a week in March after one of his employees filed a complaint against him. The nature of the complaint, and the identity of the
person making the complaint were never made public. The Select Board met with Workman in a private executive session March 11, a few days after he was put on leave. After that meeting, the board announced that it had “restored” Workman’s role as chief. When asked Thursday to provide the minutes from any executive sessions held to discuss the investigation of Workman, Town Administrator Heather Budrewicz said she believes they are exempt from the state’s public records and open meeting laws because
they concern complaints against an employee. She added that she will check her interpretation with the town’s attorney. The board Tuesday reached an agreement with Workman to amend his con-
SCHOOL STREET IS RE-OPENED!
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tract, and “closed the file, without prejudice, to a complaint filed earlier in the year” after completing an investigation, according to a statement issued by the town. According to the contract amendment signed June 2, Workman is allowed to “reside within 5 roadway miles of Primary Fire Station currently located at 204 College Highway.” After being asked at Town Meeting in May to provide his address, Workman said that he lives at 73 Glendale Road in Easthampton — about 3.8 miles from the fire
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station. When Workman was hired as chief in October 2013, his contract stated that he must move to Southampton and live within five miles of the fire station within a year. He was living in South Hadley at the time. After Workman failed to meet the terms of his contract, the Select Board unanimously voted in October 2014 to allow him an additional six months to find a home in Southampton. That extension expired in April. Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com.