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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 174
“Life is a lot like jazz — it’s best when you improvise.” — GEORGE GERSHWIN
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Prank call rouses residents from bed as police rush to home Beautification Day, volunteers brighten school WESTFIELD — Students, parents, teachers, and administrators worked together this week to improve Westfield school grounds during Highland Beautification Day, a collaborative effort. The Elementary Summer EDventure Program at Highland Elementary School, with more than 200 students, were inspired through a Nature Curriculum as well as a service learning component to assist in the beautification efforts. Summer EDventure’s fourth grade students will maintain two of the flower beds, flower Campus beautification pots, and fifth grade students contributions are a way to will care for the garden. show appreciation to the
PHOTOS BY DR. JENNIFER ALEXANDER AND JENNIFER JOHNSON-CORWIN
district and have become a opportunity for collaboration within the city.
Next Beautification Day will be Wednesday, July 15, 2015.
Siblings joined, separated by addiction By BRAD PETRISHEN Telegram and Gazette WESTMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — Jacqueline Rosario can disarm a man with more than just her smile. “You’re too pretty to be in the Army,” men in bars would tell the slender, blueeyed brunette. “You don’t look like a soldier,” she’d hear at church, in the supermarket or the salon. In 2003, while girls her age back home sauntered into dorm showers armed with shampoo, Rosario hung her M16 inside her shower in Kabul, Afghanistan, in case enemies attacked. While friends posted rants against war to Facebook before choosing a movie, Rosario pushed her doorless Humvee on mountain roads, hoping her convoy wouldn’t come upon a sniper or roadside bomb. Her younger brother Adam E. Morse spent many of his days retrieving the burned-out vehicles such bombs wrought, a gruesome task that haunted him until the day he died. That was nine weeks ago, on the other end of a needle, after a lengthy battle with substance abuse. And while the grief is still fresh, his death is something Rosario feels compelled to discuss. Because if you look at her face and think she’s lucky to have avoided the addiction that consumed her brother and so many other veterans, you certainly wouldn’t be alone. But you’d also be wrong. Just about the only time the Westminster woman breaks eye contact is when she talks about her brother. “Anything he touched, he would break,” the 34-year-old remembered, staring into space, a smile stealing over her face. “He was a complete troublemaker, but in a funny way.” Rosario laughed at the image of her brother scrambling up a light post in Salt Lake City in 2002 after a couple of latenight drinks. The two were providing security with the Army National Guard for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and dressed in their fatigues on what Morse dubbed a “secret squirrel” mission. “He climbed up the flagpole and sto — acquired — the Olympic flag,” she said, correcting herself in midsentence with a grin.
In this July 1, 2015, photo, Jacqueline Rosario, an Afghanistan veteran and recovering heroin addict holds a photo of her brother Adam Morse, an Iraq veteran who died of an overdose, while posing for a photo holding in Worcester, Mass. (Christine Peterson/ Worcester Telegram & Gazette)
“I think that’s my favorite memory,” she said, recalling the sight of him cresting the pole, his hood pulled tightly around his head, his hard breaths causing plumes of white air to rise into the cold night. “You’re gonna catch me, right?” he said as his big sister stood below. The two grew up with their father, an electric motor technician, in East Templeton. The pair were separated by two years of age, but not much else. “We did everything together,” she said, from hunting for rocks for hours along with their sister Jenn to taking rides on his motorcycle. “We were inseparable.” The siblings adored their grandfather, Bayard L. Morse Jr., a Harley-Davidson repairman who served in the Army during World War II. His grandfather’s service was one of the reasons Morse joined the service. That, and his sister. An accomplished runner who’d been offered multiple running scholarships, Rosario opted instead to join the Guard while at Narragansett Regional High School. Asked why, Rosario said she liked what
the recruiters had to say, and what the work would be. “I knew that I wanted to go (overseas),” she said. “I just really respected what people do for freedom.” As luck would have it, the two ended up serving in the same unit at Devens. Eager to more actively assist in the war effort, Rosario ended up volunteering to deploy with the 747 Military Police Company to Afghanistan in 2003. Three weeks later, her brother got orders to deploy to Iraq. She tried to switch back, but it was too late. Each taking one of the other’s dog tags, the two, age 23 and 21, set off for the Middle East several months apart. While in Iraq from 2003 to 2004, Morse spent time recovering damaged equipment. His sister didn’t have to face the grisly scenes he often encountered, but had struggles of her own. Rosario acted as a supply sergeant for a Special Forces base in Kabul and would make hour long trips to Bagram in convoys that sometimes had to stop for bombs. As nerve-wracking as such trips could be, what happened inside the base took a deeper toll. “I experienced a lot of harassment,” she said, noting that her base had about 500 men and a handful of women. Rosario could not bring herself to speak much further on the topic. “It was a lot of sexual harassment to deal with,” she said. “That’s putting it nicely. “Some bad things happened, but it is what it is,” she said, noting superior officers weren’t much help, as some were part of the problem. “Camels tend to look good (to a man) over there,” she said. Ms. Rosario said she suffered a back injury during her time in the service that caused doctors to describe her an innocuous-looking pill — Percocet. “That’s where it started,” she said of the addiction that would eventually rob her of many of her most treasured relationships. For Rosario, the descent to addiction was gradual. She was sent home in August and found herself sitting around reliving unpleasant memories. She soon discovered her pills helped See Addiction, Page 5
By CHRISTINE CHARNOSKY Correspondent WESTFIELD – A prank phone call caused a dozen Westfield police officers to rush to a home and rouse the residents from their beds Thursday night. At 9:46 p.m., someone phoned the Westfield police reporting that “his brother just shot his mother with a gun,” according to police records, and the caller stated the shooter had locked himself in his room. The line disconnected before dispatch could get anymore information. Police are not releasing information about the phone number involved in the call. Officers arrived at 29 Rita May Way at 9:53 p.m. Homeowner Linda Ann Matthews said Friday that they received a phone call from police before officers arrived at their home. Four residents exited the house for the police without incident. “Everybody is a alive and well at this location,” officers reported. “We stood on the porch and they came in and swept the house,” said Matthews. “Instead of being frightened, we were glad they were protecting us.” She said they have no idea who would do this. “It was a false alarm, nothing to do with us,” said Matthews, who has owned the house with her husband, Clark Matthews, for 13 years. It appears to be a random event, according to police. Police do not want to release further information other than to say the investigation is ongoing, according to Westfield Police Capt. Michael McCabe.
Kamp for Kids ready to celebrate 40 years of time-tested inclusion WESTFIELD — Meet the campers and staff of Kamp for Kids at 754 Russell Road, from 12:30 -1:30pm Friday, July 17th. Enjoy performances by The Kids, then immediately following as the 40th Celebration continues at Tekoa Country Club, 459 Russell Road, with light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar, from 1:30 – 3:30PM. To join this complimentary celebration, please R.S.V.P. by calling Anne or Kyle (413) 568-8484 or email either abenoit@carsoncenter.org or kduggan@carsoncenter.org. A very special thank you goes to Team Hoyt, The Hoyt Foundation, and the entire Hoyt Family. We’re changed because you’ve made a difference in the lives of others. It’s because of you that we are celebrating 40 years of time-tested inclusion at Kamp for Kids. Thank you!Kamp for Kids, a place where kids learn, grow and play together, began because of one Mom’s dream: To start the first inclusive summer day camp for children, with and without disabilities. In memory of Judith Ann Hoyt, (March 8, 1941 - September 5, 2010). Kamp for Kids has been in continuous operation for 40 years, providing an integrated summer camp experience for campers ages 3-22, with and without disabilities. At Kamp the focus is on personal achievements, skills development, peer integration, working together to form social relationships, and having fun in a safe non-competitive environment. The recent summers have brought children from more than 17 communities in Western Massachusetts, during July and August. We owe the success of this celebration to our sponsors: Westfield Bank, The Wealth Technology Group, Westfield Gas & Electric, and Easthampton Savings Bank. We are most grateful for your dedicated support. ——— Carson Center Programs continue to provide comprehensive community-based Mental Health and Rehabilitation Services, for some 7,700 Children, Adolescents, Adults, and Families each year, in 40 Communities, from Pittsfield to Ware. The Carson Center is a program of Behavioral Health Network.