Search for The Westfield News
WEATHER TONIGHT Few clouds. Low of 66.
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 85 NO. 191
“Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it.” — GEORGE CARLIN
75 cents
MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016
Barnes Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing Awards Ceremony held on Saturday
Mountain Home hits a grounder past the Westfield shortstop scoring a run, right before the rains came. (Photo by Bill Deren)
Mother Nature strikes again By CHRIS PUTZ Staff Writer WESTFIELD – There was electricity in the air at Bullens Field Saturday night for Day 3 of the Babe Ruth Baseball 14-YearOld World Series for all the wrong reasons. Mountain Home (Arkansas) struck for the first runs in the top of the second inning. Lightning soon followed, and yet another game was postponed due to Mother Nature’s
wrath. The game finally resumed Sunday. Mountain Home, which led 2-0 before lightning struck Saturday, went on to defeat Westfield Sunday 10-1 (See story in today’s Sports Section). The game began nearly two hours late, a result of a lightning delay earlier Saturday combined with slowed down play likely due to the unbearably hot, humid conditions. The
extreme heat also contributed to nearly a half dozen cases of heat exhaustion at the World Series, some of which involved players directly involved in the World Series. One player at the Westfield-Janesville (Wisc.) game on Sunday, in fact, collapsed to the ground running off the field in between innings, and was treated for heat exhaustion before being wheeled off the field on a stretcher.
Crops wilting, businesses suffer from prolonged drought By BRAD AVERY The MetroWest Daily News SHERBORN, Mass. (AP) — For many families, the summer heat means backyard barbecues with plates filled to the brim with grilled burgers, hot dogs, potato salad and, of course, some fresh farm-picked corn-on-thecob. But if you’re enjoying a side of corn with your dinner this month, make sure to savor it because it’s one ear that survived the brutal drought savaging local farmers. Jim Geoghegan, owner of Sunshine Farm in Sherborn, estimates he lost between 30 and 40 percent of all the crops he planted this year. While some crops came in fine, like strawberries and summer squash, others such as raspberries and corn have been hit hard by the lack of water. As many as four acres of corn have been left dried out, he said. While the farm has enough supplies for its on-site store, wholesale shipments “were the first to go” and pick-your-own fruit days have been limited. Geoghegan said his produce revenue for July was down between 10 and 15 percent. “It’s hot for working and it costs us more for labor and for irrigation,” Geoghegan said. “Our crops are stressed. We lost a lot of
beans, our peppers, eggplant and summer lettuce are all down.” Massachusetts is currently experiencing a sustained drought, with conditions in parts of Middlesex County designated as “extreme,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. On Thursday, the Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force met in Boston to review current weather conditions for the state. Year-to-date, Boston is 7.64 inches of rainfall below normal and Worcester is 8.24 inches below normal. But the drought didn’t start this summer; it reaches back to May 2015 and since then, the state has only had four months where rainfall met or exceeded the average. Combined, Boston is 14.21 inches below normal rainfall and Worcester is 14.63 inches below. During its meeting Thursday, the Drought Management Task Force weighed the possibility of elevating the drought level for Central and Northeast Massachusetts from “drought watch” to “drought warning,” the second highest on its five-level scale. On Friday, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Matthew Beaton declared a drought warning for central and northeast Massachusetts.
Holocaust survivor tells tale in granddaughter’s book
“The declaration made today represents the lasting agricultural, environmental, economic, and public safety impacts associated with prolonged drought conditions,” said Beaton in Friday’s press release. “The Baker-Polito Administration will continue to work with the Drought Management Task Force, government officials, and stakeholders to ensure appropriate actions are taken to minimize any harmful effects of the drought. The public is strongly encouraged to limit outdoor water usage, and integrate water-saving techniques into their daily routines.” The declaration gives the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Agricultural Resources the ability to recommend special legislation and utilize federal assistance. It also increases focus on managing threats posed by drought conditions. Although there was some heavy rain this past week, it wasn’t enough, Geoghegan said. Despite downpours in MetroWest Wednesday, far less than an inch of rain fell. “Unless we get three or four inches of rain it’s going to continue,” Geoghegan said. See Drought, Page 8
Boston firefighters work to extinguish opioid addiction
By ETHAN FORMAN The Salem News PEABODY, Mass. (AP) — A man who escaped the horrors of the Holocaust — who once stole a shoe to stay alive — celebrated a century of survival this week at the Aviv Centers for Living in Peabody. Shlomo Masis, a former Lynn resident and native of Moldova turned 100 on Wednesday. The family plans to celebrate his birthday with a party on Saturday, said granddaughter Julie Masis, of Newburyport. "He survived World War II in the Obodovka ghetto in Ukraine, where his father and his two brothers died. After he was liberated from the ghetto, Shlomo got drafted into the Red Army and fought his way to Prague, before walking home to his village in Moldova," wrote Julie Masis via email. A 35-year-old freelance journalist, she has put together a collection of her grandfather's tales of survival, culled from his stories,
By JOE FITZGERALD Boston Herald BOSTON (AP) — Right now you'll see them hosing one another down for brief relief from the searing heat of summer, and then in a few months we'll see them shielded by icicles dangling from their helmets as they face the severities of winter. They're firefighters and they're a rugged breed. But there's another dimension of their service to this city that's intentionally sub rosa because sensitivity is essential to make it work. They've given it the acronym FAITH, which is shorthand for Fighting Addiction In The Hub, and it's as noble an endeavor as entering an inferno. Addictions used to be synonymous with Bud, or Smirnoff or Johnnie Walker Red, but now there's a new vocabulary of vicious evils known as opioids; they go by names like heroin, morphine, codeine, oxycodone, Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, fentanyl and they are perilous, if not lethal.
See Survivor, Page 8
See Addiction, Page 8
By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – The 104th Fighter Wing presented four major awards and performed a significant number of Change of Commands during a ceremony, Saturday, August 13. Accepting 2015 Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Command Region/ 1st Air Force Air Control Alert Unit of the Year was Chief Master Sgt. Robert Roy, ACA Superintendent. The 104th Fighter Wing was recently 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). “We have our hearts and souls in this fighter wing,” said Lt. Gen. Scott Rice, Director of the Air National Guard, who spoke at the ceremony. “One of the best fighter wings of ninety Air National Guard wings that we have across the country. This is what I use to set my standard. When I stand up and say things in Washington about having my connections to the field I’m referring to Barnes and all you do here. The World is a very dangerous place out there. You hear about it in the news and the 104th Fighter Wing is the pointy end of making a difference across the world. We need you, our country needs you, our nation is thankful for all you do.” The Legion of Merit was presented to Col. Edward J. Gunning Jr., who allowed for the successful stand up of the Northeast aerospace alert mission. The 2015 Air Forces North Air Control Alert Maintainer of the Year was presented to Staff Sgt. Trevor Tompkins, a See 104th Awards, Page 8
Col. James Keefe presents the 2015 Air Forces North Air Control Alert Maintainer of the Year to Staff Sgt. Trevor Tompkins, center. He was selected as the Best Maintainer of the Air Control Alert Units throughout the nation. In addition Chief Robert Roy of the 104th Fighter Wing, left, accepted the Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Command Region 1st Air Force Alert Unit of the Year for the Wing. Keefe also presented the Massachusetts Air National Guard Non-Commissioned Officer of 2016 to Staff Sgt. Coakley, right, who deployed to Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air National Guard Photo by Tech Sgt. Melanie Casineau)
PUBLIC NOTICE
Westfield World Series - King Street Extension Closure WESTFIELD — King Street Extension will be closed for the Babe Ruth World Series from the entrance to the upper level parking lot at Westfield Vocational Academy to Hubbard Street, starting Thursday August 11 thru Thursday August 18 from 10am to approx. 10pm. The road way will be used for handicap parking, team bus drop off and pedestrian traffic.