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WEATHER TONIGHT WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 031
“History teaches
us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.”
— ABBA EBAN
75 cents
Sullivan to launch mayoral campaign Southwick resident Wayne Szczpanik, 45, was killed Saturday night in a snowmobile accident on the Congamond Lakes while attempting to hydroplane his sled across the water in this tunnel on Congamond Road near Crabby Joe’s. The water in the tunnel does not freeze and snowmobilers are known to pick up speed and hyrdoplane through the tunnel. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Snowmobile accident victim identified By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – Southwick resident Wayne Szczpanik, 45, was killed Saturday night in a snowmobile accident on the Congamond Lakes. Southwick police and fire responded to the area of 141 Congamond Road just before 9 p.m. Saturday. Szczpanik and friends were snowmobiling on the lakes and traveled through the tunnel between Middle and South ponds when the accident occurred. The water in the tunnel does not freeze and snowmobilers are known to pick up speed and hyrdoplane through the tunnel. “Apparently he hit the wall while trying to hydroplane in open water,” said Fire Chief Richard Anderson. Southwick EMTs responded along with the rescue truck. Szczpanik’s friends tried to revive him. “His friends came back to get him when they noticed he was missing and started CPR,” Anderson said. Southwick EMTs continued CPR until Westfield Advanced Life Support arrived and took over resuscitation efforts until arriving at Noble Hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 9:30. Police from Suffield, Connecticut, also assisted at the scene of the crash.
By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – City Council President Brian Sullivan said this morning that he will formally announce “my intentions to seek election as Mayor of Westfield” at the campaign organizational meeting to be held, weather permitting, tomorrow night at the Tavern on the Green restaurant. “This started out originally as BRIAN P. a event to announce my intention SULLIVAN to run for mayor,” Sullivan said, “but it’s morphed into a fund raiser.” Sullivan said that Lisa McMahon, the former Westfield Business Improvement District(BID) executive director, will serve as his campaign manager and that he has been working with a group of people over the past several weeks to organize his campaign. “I have a committee of 20 people who have been meeting over the past three weeks to set up a campaign structure with six ward committees, a platform committee, a media committee and a fundraising group,” Sullivan said. “A lot of people are jumping on board.” Sullivan is currently serving his ninth term on the City Council and is in his eighth year as council president. “I’ve been City Council president one year of the last eight terms I’ve been on the council,” Sullivan said. “This year as president ties me with Charlie (the late See Sullivan, Page 3
A woman sits crying on the shore of Congamond Lake Sunday at the site where Southwick resident Wayne Szczpanik, 45, was killed Saturday night in a snowmobile accident. A black inflatable marker, top center, indicates the area of the accident. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Penguin Plunge 2015 another chilly success By PETER FRANCIS Staff Writer WESTFIELD – It was a smaller crowd than usual for this year’s edition of the city’s signature nautical winter event at Hampton Ponds, the Amelia Park Children’ Museum’s Penguin Plunge. The event started as a small gathering of about 50 on Southwick’s Congamond Lakes over a decade ago and has raised tens of thousands of dollars during that time. While the final haul for Saturday’s event is unknown at this time, estimates are that it will pass $20,000 and might even eclipse last year, which was the biggest plunge in the event’s history, bringing in around $25,000 to benefit the museum. Jay Pagliuca served as the event’s master of ceremonies and said that there were around 100 plungers this year, including Westfield state Sen. Don Humason, Jr., who has participated in all 11 installments of the event, and state Rep. John Velis. “I’ll bet there was at least 400 people watching, but we’ve had up to 1,000 in the past,” said Pagliuca, who attributed the lower turnout to the day’s windchill. “Zero degrees, people will still come out, but windy? Not so much.” Pagliuca added that the air temperature was around 2 degrees at 8 a.m. and that it had risen to 13 degrees by plunge time. The water temperature was around 34 degrees, he said. Regarding the total amount of money raised by the event, Pagliuca said the final tally will be announced this week but that this year’s “Penguin Excelsior” – the event’s top fundraiser – was Rick Barry, a member of the Amelia Park Children’s Museum See Penguin Plunge, Page 3
Participants in the 2015 Amelia Park Children’s Museum Penguin Plunge braved near-freezing water temperatures for a good cause Saturday afternoon at Hampton Ponds. (Photo by Peter Francis)
Northeast deals with another snowstorm By SYLVIA LEE WINGFIELD and SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A winter storm is bringing its fury to the Northeast on Monday, causing the cancellation of flights, classes and major court cases a day after it dumped up to a foot-and-a-half of snow on the Chicago area and blanketed much of the Plains and Midwest. The weather system moved slowly eastward overnight through the Ohio Valley into Pennsylvania and western New York state. Then it went into New England, where residents had celebrated the New A pedestrian is covered in England Patriots’ snow as he walks along Super Bowl victory Columbia Turnpike on days after digging out Monday, Feb. 2, 2015, in from a massive storm East Greenbush, N.Y. (AP that brought from 1 to Photo/Mike Groll) 3 feet of snow to some areas. Here’s the outlook: THE STORM The snow storm, which had brought 17.5 inches of snow to O’Hare International Airport by early Monday, was expected to deepen off the southern New England coast, bringing accumulations of 9 to 16 inches to Boston and nearly as much to Hartford, Providence, southern New Hampshire and Vermont. “For New Englanders, we’re used to this during the See Snowstorm, Page 3