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WEATHER TONIGHT
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
Partly Cloudy. Low of 38.
ourselves alone can never be
found; for a happiness that is
diminished by being shared is not
big enough to make us happy.”
— Thomas Merton
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 86 NO. 89
“A happiness that is sought for
75 cents
MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017
Huntington Riverwalk among Healthy Hampshire grant recipients
The town of Huntington will receive a Healthy Hampshire grant of $4,500 to create a Riverwalk recreational area behind town hall on the Westfield River. (Photo by Amy Porter)
By AMY PORTER Correspondent HUNTINGTON – The town of Huntington is among several hilltown communities set to receive a grant from Healthy Hampshire, part of the Mass in Motion statewide initiative through the Department of Public Health to support infrastructure projects, policies and maps that promote walkability and healthy town center design. Healthy Hampshire is administered by the City of Northampton in partnership with the Collaborative for Educational Services.
The Town of Huntington along with local architect Jeff Penn will receive a grant of $4,500 to develop access to the riverfront through the lot behind Town Hall by designing a Riverwalk with fully accessible public paths for exercising, relaxing, picnicking, or fishing. “Huntington is grateful for this award as a catalyst for the long-range recreation improvements we envision. We are partnering with other communities and planning agencies to increase access and preservation of our remarkable forests, hills and his-
See HELO, Inc., Page 5
A home that lost a roof during Hurricane Matthew.
See Riverwalk, Page 3
Drug take-back day scheduled with Westfield Police Dept.
Children will benefit from Pasta Fundraiser By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD — World Service Committee members of First Congregational Church are extending an invitation to local residents to attend a Pasta with a Purpose fundraiser on April 28 to benefit orphaned and abandoned children in Haiti. The 6 to 8 p.m. dinner at 18 Broad St. will feature baked ziti and pasta with meatballs, as well as a meatless pasta sauce, a gluten-free pasta option, macaroni and cheese, salad, and ice cream for dessert. Tickets are $12 per person or $30 for a family with children under age five free. Advance ticket purchases are encouraged and can be made by calling the church office weekdays at (413) 568-2833. Tickets will also be sold at the door. “We are working in partnership with HELO, Inc. on the dinner to ensure that 100 percent of the money raised will go to HELO that provides Haiti’s children with a loving home, proper nutrition, and education,” said Dorothy Cichonski. Cichonski is working on logistics for the event with committee members including Linda Hauk and Jean Zimmermann.
tory as we encourage complimentary recreational and economic development,” said Huntington architect Jeff Penn, about the award. Also funded with a grant of $2,500 will be the Jacob’s Ladder Business Association’s (JLBA) Hilltowns Destination Map, which will include at least two dozen family-friendly, well-marked accessible trail heads in twelve hilltown communities. The map will also include JLBA businesses and access points for food, water,
Elm Street captured by photographer Danny Nason, 2017.
Danny Nason uses his Canon camera and iPhone to capture images of the city.
3 eras of photographers capture city’s vibrancy By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD-For more than 140 years, the city has had photographers capturing indelible images for posterity, and one only has to look now at the Westfield Community Forum’s Facebook page to see that individuals like Danny Nason are continuing that tradition. “Unless I have a specific
subject in mind, I never really know what I’m going to photograph until I see it,” said Nason. “Time of day, lighting, and weather play a big part of what looks good at any particular time.” On a recent late afternoon, Nason shared why photographing the city in his spare time is important to him. “If I’m not helping I’m
part of the problem,” said Nason, who started the Facebook page Whip Westfield Back Into Shape. “I try to make the photos endearing and bring out what the eyes can’t see.” Nason’s subjects are varied, from obsolete signs including Valley Electric on School Street, to businesses and individuals who See Photographers, Page 5
By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD–The city’s police department is giving residents another opportunity to properly dispose of unused drugs, including addictive substances like opiates, later this month. The Westfield Police Department will be having a drug take-back day on Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., at the department headquarters on Washington Street. The program is done in conjunction with the city of Westfield’s Health Department, as well as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the latter of which helps with the proper disposal of the medications. “The drug take-back provides a logical and safe place to dispose of medications,” Westfield Police Capt. Michael McCabe, said. The take-back program, in addition to removing medication that could pose a possible harm if it were to get into water systems through dumping it down drains or if someone accidentally ingested it, also takes the possibility of drugs like opiates and other drugs of abuse from ending up in the hands of people other than the patients to whom the See Drugs, Page 3
Masons building relationships with Community Breakfasts By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD-Heaping piles of French toast, pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage awaited area residents who enjoyed a community breakfast at the Masonic Lodge on Easter Sunday. Throughout the year, members of the Mount Moriah Lodge serve up hearty breakfasts on the first Sunday of the month and members of Mount Orthodox Masonic Lodge AF & AM serve up their homestyle breakfasts on the third Sunday. Breakfasts are conducted from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Masonic Lodge, 72 Broad St. Dave Masters Jr. coordinates the logistics for the breakfasts and has kitchen helpers including Melvyn Hook, Joe McGavin,
Joe McGavin chats with Sandy and Jon Flagg during the Mount Orthodox Masonic Lodge AF & AM community breakfast on Easter Sunday.
Christopher “Chico” Colon, Neal Liptak and Dale Williams. Masters noted that the Mount Moriah breakfasts have been conducted for 11 years and feature a cooked-to-order (served at your table) menu including biscuits with gravy, home fries, omelets (cheese, ham, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, onions), eggs (scrambled, sunny side up, over easy, over hard), French toast, pancakes, white or wheat toast, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and orange juice. “We enjoy offering these breakfasts to the community,” said Masters, adding it is a “great value for all you can eat.” The cost for the Mount Moriah break See Masons, Page 3
Town employees attend Dementia Training By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – On Friday morning, a number of Southwick town employees and residents gathered at the land use room at the Southwick Town Hall for a dementia training that was hosted by Armbrook Village. The training went from 9:30 a.m. and ended at 11:30 a.m. Beth Cardillo, the Executive Director of Armbrook Village, and Julie Waniewski, the Director of Community Relations, were the instructors for the training. The two instructors had the participants engage in an exercise that would help them directly understand what it’s like to have Dementia. With four different stations, the town
employees and residents were broken up into four different groups and took turns experiencing a different effect from Dementia. At one station, participants had beans in one of their shoes, which meant that someone with Dementia could have Diabetic Neuropathy. Having gloves on their hands in another station was to experience what it’s like to have arthritis. Glasses were also worn at a station so people could experience the impact of having macular degeneration or cataracts. Ear plugs were worn to hamper their hearing and a radio was on to create extra noise for a distraction. Cardillo felt that the exercise was important in order for everyone to get a better
sense of what people with dementia go through on a daily basis. “It’s just a chance for people to feel a little bit confused,” said Cardillo. “Usually the take away is that people are feeling very frustrated.” Cindy Sullivan, the Council on Aging Director for the Town of Southwick, found it worthwhile taking part in the training. “I think it will create more empathy for people coming in,” said Sullivan. Sullivan was also pleased to see a diverse representation from the town. “I love that there’s a cross-section of the town here,” said Sullivan. Select Board Administrative Assistant See Demetia Training, Page 3
Town employees go through one station of the exercise that Armbrook Village instructed. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)