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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
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www.thewestfieldnews.com FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 065
“Dare to err and to dream. Deep
meaning often lies in childish plays.” — FRIEDRICH VON SCHILLER
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Bill would protect those who give anti-overdose drugs BOSTON (AP) — First responders, health professionals and family members who administer overdosereversing drugs would be shielded from potential lawsuits under a bill filed in Congress. The bill’s supporters say the use of drugs like naloxone — also known as Narcan — in an emergency overdose situation shouldn’t be deterred by fear of legal action. The bill is sponsored by U.S. Sens. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat; Kelly Ayotte, a New Hampshire Republican, and Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) SEN. EDWARD plans to introduce companion legMARKEY islation in the House of Representatives in the coming weeks. The bill is a response to a surge in the number of overdose deaths in the region in recent years. State health officials said there were 978 unintentional opioid overdose deaths in Massachusetts in 2013, the last year for which complete statistics were available. That’s a 46 percent increase over the previous year. More than 7,900 people died of opioid overdoses between 2000 and 2013 in Massachusetts; 978 of those deaths were in 2013 alone. Last week, six people overdosed on heroin within a 48-hour period in Lynn, resulting in three deaths. “No one should be afraid to save a life because of a lawsuit,” said Markey. “We cannot allow the prescription drug epidemic to spread from the emergency room to the courtroom as a result of good Samaritans administering lifesaving drugs like naloxone to prevent overdoses. This legislation is an important step to help protect the first responders, volunteers, and family members who are on the front lines of preventing overdoses and working to end the scourge of prescription drug and heroin addiction in Massachusetts and across the country. I thank Senator Ayotte for her partnership on this effort to combat the opiates epidemic and call on my Senate colleagues to join us in responding to a See Anti-overdose Drugs, Page 3
Bill would let marijuana be sold, taxed in Massachusetts BOSTON (AP) — Marijuana would be taxed and regulated like alcohol under a bill being backed by more than a dozen Massachusetts lawmakers. The bill would let adults 21 years or older to possess and grow limited amounts of marijuana. The proposal would also create a regulated system of licensed marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, processing facilities and testing facilities. The bill is being pushed by the Marijuana Policy Project. The group says it plans to put a question on the 2016 ballot to regulate and tax marijuana if the bill fails to win support on Beacon Hill. The bill is sponsored by two Democrats — Rep. David Rogers of Belmont and Sen. Pat Jehlen of Somerville. It’s co-sponsored by 13 other lawmakers. Voters have already approved two previous promarijuana ballot questions. “Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol to the consumer and to society, and it ought to be treated that way,” said Matt Simon, New England Political director for the Marijuana Policy Project. “There is a mountain of evidence demonstrating marijuana is less addictive than alcohol, less toxic, and less likely to See Marijuana, Page 3
People leave federal court to board a bus carrying Boston Marathon bombing survivors, family and friends after attending the federal death penalty trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston yesterday. Tsarnaev is charged with conspiring with his brother to place two bombs near the Boston Marathon finish line that killed three and injured more than 260 people in April 2013. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Carjack victim describes harrowing ride with Boston bombers By DENISE LAVOIE AP Legal Affairs Writer BOSTON (AP) — A carjacking victim yesterday described his harrowing ride at gunpoint with the Boston Marathon bombers three days after the attack and the moment he made the terrifying decision to bolt from the car. Dun Meng, a Chinese national who moved to the U.S. in 2009 to attend Boston’s Northeastern University, testified in bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s trial that he had left work in Cambridge late on the night of April 18, 2013, when he pulled over and returned a text message. A car quickly pulled up behind him, a man got out and knocked on his passenger-side window. Meng said he thought the man was asking for directions, so he lowered his window. The man then reached in, opened the door and quickly jumped into his car, Meng said. “He point a gun to me — right to my head — he ask money first, ‘Where’s your cash?’” Meng said.
Meng said he later learned the man was Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of two brothers who had detonated twin bombs near the finish line of the marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 260. Hours before the carjacking, the FBI had publicly released photos of the Tsarnaevs as suspects in the bombing. Meng said he told Tamerlan Tsarnaev he had only about $40 in cash, and Tsarnaev pulled the magazine out of his gun to show him the bullets inside. “He told me, ‘You know I’m serious so don’t be stupid.’” Meng said Tsarnaev asked him if he knew who committed the Boston Marathon bombing. “He said, ‘I did it, and I just killed a policeman in Cambridge,’” Meng said. Meng said he realized then that this was more than a robbery. “I was very scared,” he said. Prosecutors said shortly before the carjacking, the Tsarnaev brothers shot Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier in a failed
attempt to steal his gun. After driving around for 20 or 30 minutes, Meng said, Tamerlan told him to pull over on a street in Watertown and a sedan pulled up behind them. Meng said Tamerlan helped a man in that car load items from the sedan into Meng’s Mercedes-Benz SUV. Meng identified the second man as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, pointing to him in court. “The gentleman over there,” he said. Meng said Tamerlan drove his car to a bank machine in Watertown, where Dzhokhar asked him for his pin number and then withdrew money from his account. Tamerlan asked Meng: “Can your car go out of state, like New York?” he testified. Meng said he decided to make his escape after Tamerlan pulled into a gas station and Dzhokhar went inside to pay. See Boston Bombers, Page 3
Task force will focus on high unemployment BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker says while the state’s overall economic picture is brightening, too many people are still being left behind. The governor yesterday created a task force to look into pockets of chronic unemployment in Massachusetts and report back to him by midNovember with recommendations for easing the problem. Baker says the task force will focus on populations experiencing average unemployment rates from 7 to 12 percent, including blacks, Hispanics, some groups of veterans and people with disabilities. The state’s overall unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent in January, the lowest in Massachusetts
since May 2008. The task force will be chaired by Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Ron Walker and also include the secretaries of education; health and human services; housing and economic development; and veterans services. “Chronically unemployed populations and regions of our Commonwealth require collaboration with our educators and business community to break down the barriers to economic growth and job creation for everyone,” said Baker. “Too many Massachusetts workers have become discouraged as a growing economy unfortunately leaves them behind. This task force will build See Task Force, Page 3
GOV. BAKER
Soldiers’ Home to recognize start of new Gold Star moms chapter HOLYOKE – A ceremony at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. will mark the activation of the first-ever Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Gold Star Mothers. Gold Star mothers from throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island will attend the ceremony, which will celebrate the chapter forming in western Massachusetts. The American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. is a national not for profit 501(c)3 Veterans Service Organization founded in 1928. The organization’s membership is
made up of mothers whose children died while in military service, or died as a result of that service, or are missing in action. The Western Massachusetts Chapter will hold its first official meeting at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke and will meet regularly at the Home for all future meetings. Francisco Urena, secretary of Veterans’Services for Massachusetts, will be at the ceremony, which will take place in the Home’s canteen before Veteran resident and local officials and representatives from Veteran groups.
The American Gold Star Mothers Inc., serves veterans, military members and their families, and families of the fallen by volunteering their time in veterans’ hospitals and homes, community based outreach programs, and through fund raising efforts for causes that support our veterans. “We are very proud, humbled and honored to welcome the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Gold Star Mothers here to the Soldiers’ Home,” said Paul Barabani, superintendent of the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke. “This is
our way of extending our respect and devotion to the Gold Star Mothers in western Massachusetts. The Gold Star Mothers have always strongly supported the Soldiers’ Home and have visited the Home several times over the past few years. Our sacred obligation to our service members and loved ones will never be forgotten, and we are blessed to have the Gold Star Mothers as part of our extended family here at the Home. We look forward to years of closely working together on behalf of all Veterans.” The ceremony will also feature a
presentation by portrait artist Gina Johnson of Woburn on a traveling tribute wall called “Faces of Remembrance,” which honors the memory of fallen service men and women with ties to Massachusetts. Bill Witkowski, a stone cutter from Centerville will also talk about the “Hero Stars” program, which provides slabs of stone with a gold star carved into the center to symbolize the life of a fallen service member. For more information about the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. visit the website at goldstarmoms. com.