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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
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hesitate if you then go ahead.”
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FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016
VOL. 85 NO. 61
Five Southwick school superintendent finalists announced
OPIATE CRISIS COMMUNITY FORUM #2 Stories of Families & Opiates: Tragedy & Hope Tuesday, March 15th 7:00 PM Westfield Technical Academy Cafeteria SPEAKERS: Kate Phelon Molly Osowski Tracy Wilkie Followed by Q & A Please Note: Local Providers and resource materials for a variety of agencies will be on hand.
104th named Air Control Alert Unit of the Year WESTFIELD — The 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes Air National Guard Base has been named the “Air Control Alert Unit of the Year” by the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region – 1st Air Force (CONR-1AF/ AFNORTH). A component of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the Continental U.S. NORAD Region (CONR) provides airspace surveillance and control and directs aerospace control activities for the continental United States (CONUS). The ACA mission is to protect Northeastern United States with 24/7 alert teams, ready to launch at any moment. The 104th Fighter Wing commenced the Air Control Alert (ACA) mission in February of 2010, after the conversion from the A-10 Thunderbolt to the F-15 Eagle. Additionally, Staff Sgt. Trevor Tompkins of the 104th Fighter Wing was named “First Air Force Maintainer of the Year”. Tompkins was selected as the best maintainer of 16 ACA units. Among other accolades his superior workmanship and attention to detail led to a 98.5 percent pass rate on 67 inspections for 2015 Maintenance Standardization and Evaluation Program. “These winners competed against nominees from across the entire enterprise, so the competition was extremely tough,” said Lieutenant General William H. Etter, 1st Air Force (Air Force North) and Commander Continental North American Aerospace Defense Command Region. See 104th, Page 3
Westfield Technical Academy carpentry students swept gold, silver and bronze medals at the SkillsUSA regional competition on Tuesday. (L-R) Dimitri Kostenko, silver; Samantha Crevier, gold, and Vitaliy Nazarets, bronze. (Photo by David Tefft)
Westfield Technical Academy students earn bragging rights By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – On Tuesday, 50 sophomores, juniors and seniors from the Westfield Technical Academy participated in the SkillsUSA regional competition at the McCann Technical High School in North Adams. Thirteen medaled in their trades of choice, and students from carpentry swept their category, winning gold, silver and bronze medals. Eight technical high schools and an estimated 600 students participated in the District 6 regional competition, according to David Tefft, SkillsUSA advisor at the Technical Academy. The district competition is comprised of a written test, with 50 questions from the trade area, and 25 questions on business and employment. Students are also judged on professional appearance. Gold and silver medalists go on to compete in the state competition on April 20-30 in Marlborough, Mass, where students will also have hands-on competition in their trades. Gold medal winners on Tuesday were Samantha Crevier for carpentry, Devon Doiron for collision repair technology and Sean Crawford, for electrical construction
wiring. Silver medalists were Dimitri Kostenko for carpentry, Amber St. Denis for commercial baking, Christian Verdon for industrial motor control and Duffy Muller and Ben McCann for team competition web design. Bronze medalists were Vitaliy Nazarets for carpentry, Nicholas Avery for industrial motor control, Oleksander Stuzhuk for computer programming, Tim Hallenbeck for restaurant service and Isaac Santos for automotive refinishing technology. All the students that participated received certificates. Dominique Rogers, a sophomore in graphic arts who participated for the first time this year, said now that she knows what it’s all about, she’s going to try again next year. Rogers also belongs to the SkillsUSA after-school program run by Tefft. “That’s one of the reasons why we include some of the sophomores, to give them a chance to build,” Tefft said. He said winners also get bragging rights. “The kids take it pretty seriously,” he said. “The kids who know what it See WTA, Page 3
By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – Finalists for the Southwick-TollandGranville Regional School Superintendent were announced this week. Superintendent John Barry’s office released five candidates selected following interviews March 3. The candidates are Natalie B. Dunning, Alison LeClair, Jennifer C. Willard, Jeffrey T. Zanghi, and Elizabeth Zielinski. Dunning is the current assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for the Freetown-Lakeville Regional Schools in Freetown, MA. She has a BA and M.Ed from Providence College, an MA from Rhode Island College, and C.A.G.S. and Ed.D from Johnson & Wales University. She was previously the chief academic officer of Springfield Public Schools and is a licensed Massachusetts Superintendent. LeClair is the assistant principal for curriculum, instruction and human resources in Agawam. She has a BS and ME from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and an Ed.D from American International College. LeClair is licensed as a Massachusetts Superintendent. Willard is the director of human resources for the Westfield Public Schools. She received her BS from Westfield State College and M.Ed from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and is licensed as a superintendent in Massachusetts. Zanghi is the assistant superintendent of Tantasqua and Union 61 School District in Sturbridge. He received his AAS/Chem, at the Community College of Rhode Island, a BA from Northeastern University, and M.Ed from Fitchburg State College. Zanghi is licensed as a Massachusetts superintendent. Zielinski is the superintendent of the King Phillip Regional in Norfolk, MA. She received her BA from Elms College, M.Ed Curriculum at Lesley College, M,Ed Administration at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Ed.D. at Bostin College. She is licensed as a Massachusetts superintendent. Finalist interviews will be conducted the week of March 21 when the candidates visit the district.
Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional Schools Superintendent John Barry, center, is set to retire at the end of this school year. Candidates for the position were announced this week. (Photo by Hope E. Tremblay)
Increased staffing coming for hilltown ambulance service HUNTINGTON – On March 1, Hilltown Community Ambulance Association’s Board of Directors voted on a staffing plan that would increase emergency medical services to the towns of Blandford, Chester, Huntington, Montgomery, Russell and Worthington beginning on April 1, 2016. The non-profit ambulance service currently provides EMS coverage to the six towns in their service area from 8 p.m. – midnight 7 days a week through the use of paid full- and part-time employees. For the last two years the organization has increased services to cover overnights paid with a stipend program. The change made by the board will pay the overnights at the hourly level for all employees, which will allow HCAA to hire more paramedics. “We have always had our eye on ways to incentivize the overnight shifts for our
employees while stopping short of paying them at the hourly level. With our current pay structure, any level of EMT receives a $60 stipend for being within 12 minutes of the ambulance base on the overnight and receives payment per call. Call volumes have risen over the last year to the point where paying the
stipend and per call overnights has rapidly caught up to the payroll costs of simply manning the station 24/7. To address this, and increase our ability to successfully fill the overnight shifts we will begin paying 5 overnights a week at the hourly rate on April 1, 2016. The remaining two overnights will be paid with the stipend until we add them in August,” said Angela Mulkerin, HCAA Service Director. “This week we are sending out our winter newsletter which went to the press in February. The information in the newsletter about our service hours is already partially outdated with this change. That is how close we have been to being able to make this possible.” “When the towns came together and made this organization this was the goal. We knew that this was not going to be an overnight project, and we have used the town’s investments
to create a lasting, sustainable, local service option which has become a model across the state and country.” said Ron McBride, Worthington representative on the Board of Directors. Hilltown Community Ambulance Association was called 634 times in 2015, and passed 96 calls for the year. “When I started in 2006 we were passing upwards of 30 percent of our calls,” said HCAA Assistant Director Stephen Gaughan. “Last year, 50 of our passed calls were attributed to multiple calls happening at once, and although that happens in every system we are actively working on plans to establish a call back program so our second ambulance can be ready in the event multiple calls happen. The other 46 calls were passed on nights we were unstaffed, which will no longer happen with our new plan.”