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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com
— KURT VONNEGUT
75 cents
MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016
VOL. 85 NO. 86
Superintendent of Building position awaiting Council final approval
Short Story winners celebrated at Athenaeum By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – Winners of the annual short story contest, sponsored by The Westfield Athenaeum, were invited to come and be celebrated at the Boys and Girls Library on Saturday afternoon. First place winners of the contest, which has been held for at least the last ten years according to Youth Services Librarian Jessica Blasko, received a certificate from the library, along with a $15 gift card. They were also treated to a cake in their honor. “It was so fun reading all of them, to see the ideas that they had,” Blasko said. She said there were approximately 50 entries this year which were judged by library staff. Winning entries are bound together in a book, and kept at the library. First place winners attending the celebration included home-schooled first grader Gianna Beluzo for her entry, “Nutty Goes Nuts About Reading,” Franklin Avenue fourth grader Alexander MacQueen See Short Story Winners, Page 3
‘Lament of the Library Books’ By ANASTASIA ANTROPOVA Grade 7, Southwick Regional We are nothing more than heavy papers and the thread holding them together. Glossy plastic jackets that shield strong cardboard covers and stiff spines. We stand in contrast to our solid wooden shelves. We lean against each other, our sisters and our brothers of a thousand colors. But even among others, even united by the waiting, we are all alone. All alone together. We wait and we beckon to you, hoping, desperately hoping, that you’ll pick us up. And love us. Cherish us. Keep us in your heart, forever. But you so seldom do. But still we wait for you. For the lonely girl, finding solace in our words. For the boy and his older brother, allowing us to cart them away on the next adventure. For the old women down the block, who lets us love her back. We do not know what stories we contain. What terrifying mysteries or enchanting fairytales. We are unaware if we hold messages of courage, or of steady determination. We have no idea what pleasure we bring, or if we summon tears or laughter. We only know we wait, and that we long to be part of you. To help you the only way we can. But more often we are left. More often ignored. Forgotten. And we can not call out to remind you that we are
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
Mayor Brian P. Sullivan briefs the City Council on communication items prior to the meeting Thursday evening. (Photo by Amy Porter)
City Council reviews Westfield School District bus contract By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – The City Council voted unanimously on Thursday to authorize the School Department to enter into a five-year contract for school bus services with Lecrenski Brothers, Inc. in Russell, Mass. During his briefing prior to the City Council meeting, Mayor Brian P. Sullivan said the School Department will save considerable money with a five-year contract. He said the last contract was for three years, with two one-year options. Ron Rix, Westfield Public Schools Director of Technology and Business Services, said during the briefing that the school district will save $175,000 a year over the five years. After the meeting Rix said the savings resulted from a restructuring of the transportation services. The district was able to reduce by six buses, going from 35 to 29 through restructuring and consolida-
tion. He said most of the changes were at the high school level, where there was low ridership. The new contract maximizes the ridership while not oversubscribing, Rix said, knowing that not all high school students will choose to ride the bus. He said if they hadn’t restructured, the cost of the contract would have increased by $330,000 over the five years, so the actual savings for the district is $1.5 million. “We had two very competitive bids,” Rix said. Five bids in all were taken out, and two submitted for the contract, from Lecrenski Bros. and Five Star Transportation. He said it also helped that fuel costs were low. “There will be adjustments (for fuel) in the contract, but it was a good time to go out,” Rix said. During the meeting, Ward 2 Councilor Ralph J. Figy made a motion to take under immediate consideration approval See Bus Contract, Page 3 This photo shows a safety arm which is deployed in front of a parked school bus. (Source Wikipedia.org)
See Lament, Page 3
By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – The appointment of Carissa M. Lisee of Chicopee for a three-year position as Superintendent of Buildings was sent to the Personnel Committee at Thursday’s City Council meeting, along with several other appointments. Lisee is Mayor Brian P. Sullivan’s choice to fill the position which has been vacant since Jonathan Flagg resigned from the post last August. Former Mayor Daniel Knapik had recommended Donald R. Torrico of Great Barrington for the position in November, pending approval by the City Council. The Personnel Committee submitted the appointment of Torrico to the City Council for approval at its meeting on Jan. 21; however, the Council voted down the appointment by 11-2, with Knapik, in his role as At-large Councilor, and At-large Councilor Cindy Harris, See City Council, Page 3
Educators welcome to attend ‘Preview’ Night By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD — Teachers including Lisa Pignatare of Westfield know the importance of sharing their love of reading with their students. This Wednesday night, the Friends of the Westfield Athenaeum will be offering a special preview for area educators the night before its popular Spring Book Sale that starts on Thursday morning. Pignatare, a former para-professional in the Westfield school district who now teaches second grade at the Lincoln Elementary School in Springfield, is also a member of the Friends’ board and is spreading the word among her peers about the many books and puzzles that await patrons during the annual book sale. “The book sale is such an incredible experience all around,” said See Book Sale, Page 3
City woman taken to BMC following Sunday morning blaze By CHRISTINE CHARNOSKY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – A fire abruptly woke a city family early Sunday morning and sent a woman to the hospital. Westfield Deputy Chief Patrick Egloff said the call came in at 7:20 a.m. by a neighbor who reported seeing smoke coming from 243 Russell Road. When crews arrived on scene, they saw that it was a structure fire that began in a front bedroom. It was determined that the fire was started by a candle being knocked over, Egloff said. Homeowner Errol Nicholls said he was
asleep and woke to smoke and chaos. It happened so fast, he isn’t even sure whether he heard the smoke detectors go off. His daughter, Natasha Nicholls, 36, was transported to Baystate Medical Center with burns to her feet. The fire started in her bedroom, Nicholls said. Nicholls’ wife and 4-year-old grandson also live in the house, but no one else was injured. The family was able to vacate the home before firefighters arrived. Egloff said the fire was quickly brought under control and no firefighters sustained any injuries.
The blaze caused $20,000 damage to the building, Egloff said, and $5,000 to the contents. When asked whether the family needs any donations, June Wakzak, a close family friend said, “He has plenty of family and friends in the area.” Nicholls, who is retired, said the family has insurance. Westfield fire and rescue along with Westfield police responded to the blaze. Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at christinec @thewestfieldnewsgroup.com Follow me on Twitter @charnoskyWNG
A fire began in front bedroom of 243 Russell Road early Sunday morning (Photo by Christine Charnosky).