Search for The Westfield News
WEATHER TONIGHT Clear. Low of 46.
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
will not be published Monday, May 25.
www.thewestfieldnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 129
In observance of Memorial Day, the Westfield News
75 cents
Cemetery faceplates located and returned By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Two of the missing faceplates from the Old Burying Grounds are back in the possession of the city’s Historical Commission after news reports of the “theft” triggered the memory of a former city employee. Commissioner Walter Fogg, who reported the possible theft of three cast iron pieces a week ago, said Friday that he was given the two faceplates by city police Thursday and that he “currently has them in my possession. They’re sitting in a box in my kitchen.” Fogg said the city’s Old Burying Grounds was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 2007. The historical significance of the Old Burying Grounds is that the cemetery is the final resting place of soldiers who served in the French and Indian War, as well as the Revolutionary and Civil wars. It holds the remains of colonial pastors, poets and senators, farmers and, in general, the founders of Westfield. Many of the headstones bear family names that are recognized by residents today as the names of streets surrounding the downtown area. Police Captain Michael McCabe said the three plates apparently fell to the ground in the 1990s and were picked up by a city employee who was mowing at the cemetery. That employee gave them to Walter Ayers, who was the Parks and Recreation Department director, for safekeeping. Ayers apparently put them in a safe place then forgot about them until local media printed reports, with photographs, earlier this week. Ayers contacted the police who then took possession of the missing artifacts and notified the Historical Commission of the recovery. McCabe said as part of the department’s investigation the post on which they were attached and the faceplates were examined. See Faceplates, Page 5
Update from Rep. John Velis WESTFIELD — We have a saying in the military - “All gave some, some gave all.” This weekend we celebrate our fallen brothers and sisters who gave all. This weekend, we pay tribute to the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice- our brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors, grandparents and great grandparents who raised their hand to volunteer to serve REP. JOHN this great nation and who paid the VELIS ultimate price. I hope everyone is able to attend a service or event this weekend to commemorate the fallen in some way. We would not have the freedoms we enjoy today if it were not for their great sacrifice. Several schools in Westfield hosted Memorial Day ceremonies this past week. I was honored to be involved in these ceremonies, they have given me such an incredible sense of admiration for the teachers and students in our community. Each year, Westfield schools hold assemblies that help honor and remember those that gave their lives serving this country. As a veteran myself, I sometimes wonder if people are too caught up with their own lives and the cook outs they’re attending to remember what this day is really about. That is why the school visits are so important. The schools we visit each year do a terrific job of honoring the men and women who volunteered to fight for this nation and never returned from the battlefield. This tradition makes Westfield so unique and helps students understand that Memorial Day weekend is about much more than another day off from school. See Rep. Velis, Page 4
The city of Westfield and Town of Southwick will join communities across the country this weekend to honor those who gave their lives for the United States. (Photo submitted)
Westfield, Southwick, to honor Memorial Day By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The city of Westfield and Town of Southwick will join communities across the country this weekend to honor those who gave their lives for the United States. Westfield starts its remembrance Saturday, May 23 at 10 a.m. with the Circle of Honor at the Veterans’ Memorial, Stanley Park. After the event, a meet and greet will take place with Donald S. Dorrington, USMC Iwo Jima Survivor, and Robert A. Greenleaf, USN, Pearl Harbor Survivor. Spectators should bring a lawn chair. In case of inclement weath-
er, the ceremony may be cancelled. Westfield will continue its Memorial Day parade tradition Monday, May 25 with a 10 a.m. kick-off. Marchers should assemble starting at 9 a.m. at Mestek on North Elm Street. The route will begin at Mestek and march south down North Elm Street across the Great River Bridge. The parade will continue down Elm Street to Broad Street, turning right onto West Silver Street and ending at Parker Memorial Park for the solemn remembrance of Westfield’s fallen soldiers. Following the Parker Park Ceremonies, American Legion Post 124 will march theroute in reverse to the
post home on Broad Street for additional ceremonies. In Southwick, American Legion Post 338 will sponsor the annual Memorial Day Parade and ceremony also on Monday. The parade begins at 10 a.m. near the Summer House on College Highway and continues south to the New Cemetery. Ceremonies will take place at the Town Common Memorial as well as at the cemetery. Spectators are encouraged along the route in both communities. Police will control traffic, which will shut down to allow for marchers.
From the Desk of the Superintendent WESTFIELD — Needed: one working crystal ball! It’s budget season and our team is hard at work trying to close the books on the fiscal year 201415. With nearly six weeks remaining in this fiscal year, it’s a busy operation to close out the thousands of accounts in our budget. Hats Off to Mr. Ron Rix, Mrs. Pam Kotarski and the rest of the staff who are scrambling to get us a bottom line. We are pleased that our personnel side of the budget looks to be landing smoothly and accounts for nearly eighty percent of the school budget. The expense side is much trickier in a year like this with increased utility costs, overtime for our hard-working maintenance staff and all the things that break over the course of a year and need repair or replacing. Winter might be a thing of the past but the bills are still arriving. I’m still hoping for a year when the costs actually go
DR. SUZANNE SCALLION down… All said, we have been able to close the gap between the Mayor’s anticipated budget for fiscal year 2016 and our anticipated budget of need. The current gap sits at about 1.5 percent of our total budget (about a million dollars and shrinking) and we hope it closes even further as we resolve all of our open accounts for this fiscal year.
SCHOOL STREET IS RE-OPENED!
e h T
Over the next month, there will be lots of banter about the city budgets, cuts and the like. We urge you to read between the lines of fact, opinion and politics. Our schools have been making progress and we are still catching up. The second half of the tech bond never happened and the needs are still there. We are grateful for the ongoing support from the City and will keep the lines of communication open on both the needs and successes in our schools. The new school is still muchneeded despite rumors to the contrary. Again next year, there won’t be a single open classroom in our elementary schools. It has been 6 long years since the start of the new school project. During that time the conditions in some of our other schools has continued to decline. We must be prepared to face renovation and facelifts for Fort Meadow, Highland and Southampton
Coffees • edibles • News Mon-Fri 7am-5pm • Sat-Sun 7am-2pm
See Scallion, Page 4
COME ON DOWN!
Press room 62 School St. • Westfield
Road after the Abner Gibbs and Franklin Avenue facilities are closed or re-purposed. And our high schools still need significant upgrades to the Science labs. The sky is not falling but the needs are real. This budget season will come to a close and we will do the best we can to maintain a challenging program of studies for our students. The greatest investment this city can make is educating the next generation. And, the progress being made in educating our students with special needs in our own city schools is remarkable. Instead of hours on a bus each day going to and from programs in neighboring communities, our students are receiving first rate services right here in their hometown many of which are coordinated in a partnership with the University. The quality of our programs is gaining attention