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WEATHER TONIGHT Partly cloudy. Low of 28.
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2016
VOL. 85 NO. 26
“It is the tragedy of the world that no one knows what he doesn’t know — and the less a man knows, the more sure he is that he knows everything.” — JOYCE CARY 75 cents
Season back on track for Team Justice By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – Team Justice Racing is back on track following a fundraiser Saturday night. After three of the team’s motorcycles were stolen from Team Justice President Kevin Bisop’s own garage, the community came together to make sure the team wasn’t going to eat asphalt before the season began. “The money raised here will really have an impact on the 2016 races,” said Bishop. Organized by Jessica Bishop and Melissa Bridges, the “Team Justice Season Rescue” fundraiser featured
endless pizza and soda, live music, and numerous raffles. “They sold out,” said Bishop, a Southwick Police lieutenant. “Two hundred tickets were sold.” Bishop said he was overwhelmed by the support of the town and motocross community. Former Southwick Motocross 338 promoter Ralph Pittello was on hand to support his longtime friend Bishop and the youth he mentors through Team Justice. “We have always been close,” said Pittello. “We care a lot for the team See Team Justice, Page 3
Annual Penguin Plunge participants dive in Saturday at Westfield’s Hampton Ponds State Park. See additional photos Pages 6, 7. (Photos by Marc St. Onge)
‘Penguins’ take the plunge for children’s museum Ralph Pittello, at left, speaks to Kevin Bishop during the Team Justice Season Rescue fundraiser Saturday at Roma Restaurant. (Photo by Hope E. Tremblay)
Southwick police to carry Narcan SOUTHWICK (WWLP) – Another area police department has turned to the life-saving drug Narcan as part of their fight against overdosing. The Southwick Police started carrying a nasal spray Narcan on Friday. Southwick Police say adding Narcan to their cruisers just makes sense. The Pioneer Valley has not been immune to the opioid drug overdose crisis that was declared a public health emergency. Police are often the first to arrive to an overdose call. Administering Narcan can reverse the effects of an overdose by activating receptors in the brain that tell your body to breathe.
WESTFIELD (WWLP) – The traditional Penguin Plunge happened at Hampton Ponds State Park in Westfield Saturday. Westfield state senator Don Humason continued his longtime tradition of taking a cool dip to help raise money for the Amelia Park Children’s Museum. He said he found this year’s Penguin Plunge to make him feel less frozen than in previous years. “What a beautiful day. It’s gorgeous out there. It’s like being in Aruba. I swear it’s warmer, penguiners floating by,” he said. “A little cold, but it’s for a good cause.” The water was, in fact, a bit warmer than usual for Humason and his fellow penguins. 22News Storm Team meteorologist Adam Strzempko said the water temperature was in the 30s and the air temperature in the 40s.
City ranks as one of the safest for drivers
By CHRISTINE CHARNOSKY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Westfield Detective Bureau doesn’t want residents becoming victims of IRS (Internal Revenue Service) scams this tax season. “The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) urged taxpayers to remain on ‘High Alert’ and announced additional outreach efforts to prevent them from falling victim to criminals who impersonate Internal Revenue Service and Treasury employees this filing season,” according to a January 20 release on the treasury.gov website. “’The phone fraud scam has become an epidemic, robbing taxpayers of millions of dollars of their money,’ said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. ‘We are making progress in our investigation of this scam, resulting in the successful prosecution of some individuals associated with it over the past year,’” according to treasury.gov. The Westfield Detective Bureau posted the following tips on its Facebook page: The IRS generally first contacts people by mail – not by phone – about unpaid taxes and the IRS will not ask for payment using a prepaid debit card, a money order or wire a transfer. The IRS also will not ask for a credit card number over the phone. The callers who commit this fraud often: • Utilize an automated robocall machine. • Use common names and fake IRS badge numbers. • May know the last four digits of the victim’s Social Security Number. • Make caller ID information appear as if the IRS is calling. • Aggressively demand immediate payment to avoid being criminally charged or arrested. • Claim that hanging up the telephone will cause the immediate issuance
By CHRISTINE CHARNOSKY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The city ranked in the top ten safest cities for drivers in the Commonwealth in two categories for 2014. ConsumerAffairs, a consumer news and advocacy organization founded in 1998 providing consumer news, recall information and tens of thousands of pages of consumer reviews, reported that Westfield ranked number 8 in Massachusetts for having deaths caused by distracted drivers and number 8 for lowest number of deaths related to DUIs (motorists driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs). ConsumerAffairs says the “Data is sourced from the 2014 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System,” according to www.consumeraffairs.com/ insurance/car.html#safest-drivers-dui-ma-westfield. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 6.1 million police-reported crashes nationwide in 2014 (the most current available data), according to Kay Evans of ConsumerAffairs.com. Evans provided the following information: – 32,675 people were killed and 2.3 million injured in motor vehicle crashes nationwide in 2014 – 10 percent of fatalities were caused by distracted driving – 31 percent of fatalities were alcohol-related – 28 percent were caused by speeding
See IRS Scams, Page 3
See Safest, Page 3
Authorities warn taxpayers of IRS scams this filing season
Baystate Noble officials continue investigating disinfection lapse By STEPHANIE McFEETERS @mcfeeters Daily Hampshire Gazette WESTFIELD — In the wake of a disinfection lapse that left 293 patients at a small risk for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, Baystate Health officials continue to piece together the puzzle of what went wrong and why it took so long for the error to come to light. The hospital acquired new colonoscopes in June 2012 but did not properly adjust its method for cleaning them until April 2013. Questions remain as to how that lapse occurred in the first place, and why patients were not notified when the hospital realized and fixed the mistake. Among the complicating factors are limited records at Baystate Noble Hospital — which has been part of the Baystate system only since last July — and different manufacturers for the colonoscopes and the equipment used to clean them. Sitting around a small conference table at the Westfield hospital one afternoon last week, hospital officials stressed that the risk of infection is extremely low, the error has been rectified and colonoscopies remain a crucial tool to combat colon cancer. Still, hospital officials said they recognize the mistake and are trying to take responsibility. On Jan. 20, Baystate Health alerted patients who had colonoscopies at Noble Hospital between June See Investigating, Page 5