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WEATHER TONIGHT Partly Cloudy. Low of 35.
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 85 NO. 261
The Westfield News will run its masthead in pink, in recognition of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2016
Gateway School Committee considers Blizzard Bags By AMY PORTER Correspondent HUNTINGTON – At the Gateway Regional School Committee in Stanton Hall on Wednesday, the committee considered an alternative program for students during snow days, called “blizzard bags.” The program, still in its planning stages, would provide students projects to complete on or within a certain time frame of school closures during snow. Gateway superintendent Dr. David B. Hopson explained the concept, saying teachers create work to be done on snow days or within a week. Lessons plans have to comprise the same number of hours and complexity as in school. Teachers would also have to ensure that students without broadband access can do the work, and special needs students are accommodated in the plans. “Different schools have done it different ways. Some have used it after three days,” Hopson said. The program was first initiated in
the Kearsarge Public School district in New London, NH several years ago. Only two schools in Massachusetts, including Burlington Public Schools, have tried the concept. Hopson said that Gateway averages 5.4 snow day closures in a typical year, so he builds in six into the calendar. Any closures beyond that number require that days are added to the end of the school year, in order to reach the minimum of 180 days. He said that school was closed for five days last year due to road conditions among the six member towns, even though there was not a lot of snow. Hopson also said that it does not represent a day off for teachers, as more planning work is required ahead of time to prepare assignments, in addition to reviewing and correcting the work that is done at home. Hopson said that not all of the teachers in the school have embraced the idea. He said that while the elementary and high school teachers are for it, the middle school teachers don’t
think the alternative projects can make up for having teachers in front of students. “If you walk around the last days of school, middle school students are more focused. High school and elementary (students) lose focus,” he said. Students don’t necessarily embrace the idea, either. Senior class president Anna Pless and junior student council representative Audrey Gamble, who presented student activities to the School Committee at Wednesday’s meeting, said that students when asked were not enthusiastic about working on snow days. The School Committee will consider the proposal again at its next meeting on November 9. Hopson said if approved, it would then have to be approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) before being implemented. At the end of the year, the program would also have to be reviewed for its See Blizzard Bags, Page 3
First snow causes trouble for local residents
Dedication ceremony held for Southwick Regional School By GREG FITZPATRICK Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – A dedication ceremony was held at the Southwick Regional School on Thursday afternoon. The ceremony recognized everyone that worked towards helping create the remodeled Southwick Regional School which broke ground on Sept. 12, 2013. Superintendent Jen Willard started off the ceremony. Although Willard wasn’t the Superintendent during the process of the new school being built, she acknowledged everyone that was involved. “I can’t thank everybody enough for the amazing work you did to get us here today,” said Willard. At the end of the ceremony, Willard and former Superintendent of the Southwick School District, John Barry, unveiled the plaque that has the numerous names of people that were a vital part of the project. Along with Barry, members of the building and school committees, the architect, project manager, general contractor, and the select boards from Southwick, Tolland, and Granville, were all honored on the plaque. See Dedication, Page 3
Gateway senior Anna Pless and junior Audrey Gamble said that students were not enthusiastic about working on snow days. (Photo by Amy Porter)
In this photo taken Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, women walk with plastic bags. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
WSU student helping to bring plastic bag ban to life By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD–A Westfield State University student has been given the large task of drafting a plastic bag ordinance for the city, which could impact the environment and businesses for different reasons. Sean Bacon, of Ware, is a sophomore at Westfield State and will be interning for the city, working directly with Ward 1 Councilor Mary Ann Babinski. Previously, Westfield State students helped to present the idea of a plastic bag ban, along with a documentary, to the city council and residents in the city. Bacon would also be assisting in outreach to the community, in order to educate and create understanding in the community for the plastic bag ordinance. “We’re not trying to be lords over everybody, not trying to say no you
can’t do this,” Bacon said. “We’re doing this for a reason–we’re trying to keep people healthier and keep the earth healthy.” Bacon said that plastic bags can find their ways into animals, watersources and even the air people breathe following incineration. This can be unhealthy to people, since plastic bags contain chemicals and compounds that are known carcinogens to humans, and it can also be harmful to the environment as it causes damage by not biodegrading properly and causing pollution. An example of this is the so-called Great Pacific garbage patch, located in the Pacific Ocean. The patch–which is less a mass and more of an amorphous collection of plastic particles–has been created by large amounts of plastic garbage that found its way from humans to See Bag Ban, Page 3
By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD–It wasn’t as bad as the October 2011 snowstorm, but the season’s first snow still brought damage and treacherous conditions to the area. Both Westfield and Southwick Police Departments reported multiple car accidents and other automobile mishaps, like driving off the road or getting stuck in ditches. Additionally, power outages happened across the area after power lines and other municipal utilities were destroyed from heavy snow and falling limbs. When heavy snow falls in October there is an increased risk of limb damage since leaves are still on trees, which become weighed down because of wet, heavy snow. In Westfield, Police Captain Michael McCabe reported that there were eight disabled auto complaints, 11 motor vehicle accidents, and five weather or downed lines complaints. According to Captain McCabe, 10 of those motor vehicle accidents happened at 2 p.m. or after. According to Southwick Police Chief David Ricardi, the problems with the weather in Southwick happened just around 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. Here is the list of accidents that Chief Ricardi provided. Accident on Coes Hill Rd., truck hit a pole and went off the road • Vehicle went off the road on College Hwy right by the Methodist Church • A disabled motor vehicle on Klaus Anderson Rd. • Another disabled motor vehicle on Mort Bining Rd. • Disabled vehicle on Depot St. • Wires down on Bugbee Rd. • Wires and a tree came down on College Hwy • Another tree came down on Sheep Pasture Rd. • Power outages occurred in the area of Veteran St. and Point Grove Rd.
Porter Memorial Library in Blandford to announce big plans at Open House
Blandford’s Porter Memorial Library director Janet Lombardo has announced big plans for the library’s future. (Photo by Amy Porter)
By AMY PORTER Correspondent BLANDFORD – Porter Memorial Library in Blandford has announced a multi-year plan for expanding its facility and services, and an open house on Friday, November 4 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. to introduce residents to some of the changes that have already been made. The library has completed phase one of its plan to digitize its catalog in order to become a member of the CW/MARS (Central and Western Massachusetts Automated Resource Sharing) network. Now, library patrons have access to over 9 million items in the collections of 144 member libraries, according to library director Janet Lombardo. Lombardo said that patrons can order CW/ MARS books, music and movies from the library’s computers, their home computers, tablets or smartphones. Items are delivered within a week, free of charge, to Porter Memorial Library, and patrons are notified by email, text or phone call when their orders have arrived. Blandford library patrons can also return books borrowed at other CW/MARS libraries, such as the Westfield Anthenaeum, and return them to Blandford to avoid the return trip. “So many people here don’t realize they have that capability,” Lombardo said. “Once we went to CW/MARS, our circulation
skyrocketed,” added library staff member Lori Bocon. At the open house, everyone who comes in will get an overview of the CW/MARS system and demonstrations of the online ordering and e-book borrowing process. Residents are encouraged to bring their laptops, tablets or portable devices for hands-on training, or use the library’s computers. The three hour open house will also offer refreshments and door prizes, including a Kindle and Nook, local artwork and local gift certificates. Future plans for the library include a reconfiguration of the space in the 1892 building, to allow for more flexibility and programming. The library is the one spot in Blandford where users can access broadband internet via Wi-Fi, so a priority of the reconfiguration will be to install work stations equipped with high-speed internet connections, to increase student access for research and homework assignments. They hope to have this completed by the end of the fall semester. Plans also include moving reference books upstairs and installing rolling bookcases, which can be moved for performances, meetings, classes, talks and movies. The additional space will also allow patrons to use the library as a communitygathering place. See Open House, Page 3