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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
“Tomorrow
is a thief of pleasure.” — SIR REX HARRISON
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Town seeks more TV equipment for public access station By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The town is considering seeking equipment upgrades for its cable access channel from Comcast. The Cable Advisory Committee met with the Board of Selectmen this week to discuss its options for funding new technology that would greatly improve Channel 15. The big question, said committee member Robert Horacek, is how much the town wants to charge for a user fee. “Right now the fee is ¾ of a percent,” said Horacek. “We have the flexibility to charge zero or we can charge five-percent.” Dennis Clark, who has taken over the town’s cable access channel since the retirement of Art Boissoneault, said they are hoping Comcast will assist with purchasing new equipment to bring the channel up to date. “We haven’t had anything new since 2008,” Clark said. “It’s obsolete.” To bring Channel 15 completely up to speed would cost about $43,000, said Clark. “I can cut it down to the minimum then add on later,” he said. “It would be $16,391.” The equipment would allow for scrolling notices on the channel, including school closings and emergency notifications. “And it can be done remotely,” said Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart. The $16,000 would cover just the mechanicals and an additional $6,000 would be needed for software. Clark said he hopes beefing up the channel will create more of a demand from viewers for additional programming. The Board discussed the possibility of increasing the fee slightly to one percent but did not vote on the matter. Last year, the town purchased the electronic billboard using Comcast fee funds. Westfield Comcast customers pay a threepercent user fee, and Northampton residents pay the full five-percent and has three cable access channels and a studio at the high school.
75 cents
SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 2016
VOL. 85 NO. 56
Board of Health bans use of Styrofoam Patrick Kennedy directs the Westfield High School Band. See additional concert photos Page 7. (Photo by Lynn F. Boscher)
Westfield High School Broadway Pops Concert
By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – The Westfield Board of Health recently voted to ban the use of polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam, containers in restaurants, effective September 1. “It’s a known carcinogen,” said BOH Director Joe Rouse, adding that it should not be used to hold hot food, hot drinks, or reheat food in the microwave. “We don’t want the residents to be exposed to it,” he said. The federal Environmental Agency and the National Toxicology Program have issued warnings about the See Styrofoam, Page 7
WESTFIELD FIRE DEPT. PARAMEDICS
Drug related medical calls WESTFIELD — In the seven day period of 2/26/2016 to 3/4/2016, the Westfield Fire Dept paramedics responded to the following drug related medical calls: 2 POSSIBLE OVERDOSES 2 PATIENTS GIVEN NARCAN. 1 POSSIBLE OVERDOSE DEATH
Westfield High School Band Jazz Band vocal section.
Westfield native applauds Johnson & Johnson verdict
memorize and perform, “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), and “Revenge” by Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802-1838). “We just rehearsed after school, and I just practiced them,” LeBlanc said. In the competitions, students are evaluated on their physical presence, voice and articulation, evidence of understanding, dramatic appropriateness, accuracy, and overall performance. Her mother, Tara LeBlanc, didn’t even know at first that her daughter was participating. “Her teacher, Miss Simon, has been a wonderful coach to her,” Tara LeBlanc said. “Staying after school with her, involving other teachers to critique what she’s doing.” Three students chose to try out for regionals this year, and LeBlanc was picked to represent the school. Simon said multiple classrooms use lessons throughout the year from Poetry Out Loud, with approx. 100-120 students in the high school learning about poetry through the program. Some years, they have had as many as eight students compete to be the school contest
By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD – Even at a young age, Deane (Martel) Berg knew that her vocation would be in health care one day. Her background as a health care provider would serve her well when she was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer in 2007. Berg, a Westfield native who grew up on Oak Terrace in the 1960’s, was recently featured in the New York Post for sharing her story of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer which she attributed to her use of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products as a daily routine since she was 18. She is now 58 and has two daughters, ages 30 and 27. “I didn’t smoke, I wasn’t Deane Berg when underoverweight, and I did not have going chemotherapy in a family history of ovarian 2007. cancer,” said Berg, a physician’s assistant at a veteran’s center in Sioux Falls, S.D. “The one risk factor at that time was my use of talcum powder.” During the past week in a Missouri courtroom, the family of an Alabama woman who died from ovarian cancer which was linked to her lifelong use of Johnson & Johnson’s talcbased Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products was awarded $72 million. Berg said she was “relieved” that the issue by Johnson & Johnson to conceal the dangers of the talc products was finally brought to light. In 2013, Berg had also sued Johnson & Johnson, and a federal jury had found that its body powder products were a factor in her condition. Berg and her family have made their home in Sioux Falls since 1980. “South Dakota is a very conservative state,” she said, “and there had to be a unanimous verdict on whether any compensation should be paid.” The jury was not unanimous in a verdict so Berg did not receive a settlement.
See WHS Poet, Page 7
See Berg, Page 7
Julia Bufiere and Blaine Attikson bring lunches to awaiting seniors. (Photo by Lynn F. Boscher)
WHS freshman to participate in regional poetry competition By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – Freshman Olivia LeBlanc, 14, will represent Westfield High School in the Poetry Out Loud regional competition at the Community Music School in Springfield this Sunday at 10 a.m. Poetry Out Loud www.poetryoutloud.org is a national contest, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation that encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. The program was launched in high schools nationwide in the spring of 2006 and has grown to involve millions of students across the country. This is the tenth year that Westfield High School has participated in the regional competition. “There was an announcement over the intercom,” LeBlanc, who is interested in drama, acting, and writing, said. She liked the sound of it, and told Kelly Simon, her English teacher that she would like to get involved. LeBlanc chose two 19th-century poems to
Westfield High School freshman Olivia Leblanc will represent the school at the Poetry Out Loud regional contest in Springfield on Sunday. (Photo by Kelly Simon)