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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 202
WESTFIELD
‘Yogi’ the black bear eludes ACO By CHRISTINE CHARNOSKY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – One of Westfield’s animal control officers was led on a wild goose, or, wild bear chase Tuesday. ACO Kerri Francis received five calls of bear sightings in a four-hour period, which led to a Westfield police dispatch operator naming the bear “Yogi” by the time the fifth call came in. “That bear was fast!” Francis said Wednesday. “It covered a lot of ground and I never got to see it, not once!” The first call came in at 11:46 a.m. Tuesday morning with a resident at 354 Falley Drive reporting seeing a black bear in her fenced-in backyard. Next, a resident called police at 12:29 p.m. Tuesday afternoon with reports of the bear being seen on Lawton Avenue, Cranston Street and Yeoman Avenue, according to police logs. Westfield Police Capt. Hipolito Nunez said that the bear would have had to cross the river to get to that location. “I’d be heading back from one location and get another call of a new sighting,” Francis said. She could “bearly” keep up! At 1:40 p.m. the bear was seen crossing the road near the Elm Motel at 50 Russell Road. Less than a half hour later, a caller reported seeing a large black bear in his backyard at 39 Western Ave. at 2:06 p.m.
CRANSTON ST. YEOMAN AVE.
WESTERN AVE.
1:40 pm RUSSELL ROAD
3:50pm VALLEY VIEW DRIVE
11:46 am
Tuesday afternoon and was headed westbound. Lastly, the bear was spotted at 85 Valley View Drive at 3:50 p.m. Tuesday, which is where Francis’s game of “Find Yogi” came to an end. Francis believes it was the same bear, but said there could possibly have been two bears. When residents spot a bear, they are certainly welcome to call the police, and as Francis did on Tuesday, an animal control officer will respond to the call. “There is nothing I can do, though, if no one is bothering
FALLEY DRIVE
the bear and the bear is not bothering anyone,” she said. Residents should always be careful and absolutely never approach a bear, Francis said. “Do not take things into your own hands because you will lose,” she said. According to Francis, the Environmental Police won’t even come out unless a bear is in a person’s home. Nunez said if a bear is threatening, then the Environmental Protection Agency would come to tranquilize and move the bear. The number one thing to
attract bears are bird feeders. A bear’s sense of smell is better than a greyhound’s, Francis said. Small pets could be in danger depending on how hungry or irritated a bear is, but a barking dog will likely scare a bear away. It isn’t unusual to see bears out at this time of year, and they can even be seen in the winter. “A bear will come out of hibernation to look for food if it gets hungry enough,” Francis said. See Bear, Page 3
Skybox noise issues being addressed By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The Board of Selectmen and Southwick Police Sgt. Robert Landis are working together to resolve issues of noise at the Sky Box sports bar. Landis met with the Board this week and said there have been numerous complaints of noise from a neighbor of the establish-
ment at 25 Point Grove Road. “I just wanted to let you know where we’re at because we’re still getting complaints from the same person,” Landis said. The problem seems to stem from noise coming from inside the bar to the deck when customers come in and out. See Skybox, Page 3
Woman rolls car and lands on railroad tracks By CHRISTINE CHARNOSKY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – A city woman failed to negotiate a curve, rolled her vehicle and landed upside down on railroad tracks early Wednesday morning. A witness called police at 12:33 a.m. Wednesday to report that a vehicle was off the roadway and into the trees in the vicinity of 19 Arch Road and 2 Southampton Road. While on the phone with the Westfield police dispatch, the caller was able to walk to the accident scene and reported there were possible injuries and entrapment.
At least four police units and three vehicles from the Westfield Fire Department arrived to find a 2008 Kia Sedona on its roof on the railroad tracks, according to police logs. CSX was notified, but police were told that Pioneer Valley Railroad owns that section of tracks, so police notified PVRR. Westfield Police Capt. Hipolito Nunez said they are auxiliary tracks used for deliveries, so there was no need to stop any rail traffic due to the accident. Apparently, the 46-year-old woman had been traveling eastbound on Arch Road when “she didn’t navigate the bend in the
— JOSEPH FORT NEWTON
Childhood wellness program ready to go
12:29 pm
In East Hartland, CT, Mel Harder was visited by a black bear on the deck of the house in 2012. The bear is wearing tags and a collar. By calling the CT DEEP, Mel learned the bear was female, had been tagged in 2010, and was 200lbs when she was tagged. (CT DEEP)
ly because they build walls instead of bridges.”
75 cents
LAWTON AVE.
2:06 pm
“People are lone-
road,” Nunez said. She exited the roadway on the right and rolled over onto the vehicle’s roof. The driver was extricated out of the vehicle and taken to Baystate Medical Center, where she is in stable condition this morning. Three tow trucks arrived at the scene to right and tow the Kia from the accident site. ——— Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at christinec @thewestfieldnewsgroup.com
By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Health Department is preparing to launch a family-oriented program intended to instill healthy life choices in children, choices which will serve them throughout their lives. The Board of Health endorsed a pamphlet describing the Westfield Childhood Wellness Program Wednesday night, with plans to initiate the program citywide this fall. The program is based upon Let’s Go, nationally recognized childhood obesity prevention program implemented throughout Maine and in a few communities in neighboring states. JOSEPH ROUSE (See more at: http://www. letsgo.org/#sthash.xp7bW7SB.dpuf) The program encourages parents to provide healthy food and exercise options and to limit children’s exposure to sugary drinks and time spent playing electronic games. The program proposes that families adopt a “5210 Every Day Model” in which the 5 represents a diet of five or more fruits and vegetables, fresh, frozen or canned every day; the 2 is a restriction of recreational screen time to two hours or less with the advice to keep televisions and computers out of children’s bedrooms; the 1 in the formula for a healthy lifestyle is the amount of physical activity, at least an hour a day if not longer; while the 0 is consumption of sugary drinks, sugars found in juices, sodas, sports and energy drinks, which should be replaced with water and low –fat milk. Health Director Joseph Rouse said the pamphlets will be printed shortly and that the department will coordinate with the Westfield Gas & Electric Department in insert the Westfield Childhood Wellness promotion in the utility bills later this fall. The Health Board also discussed several other issues, including the disposal of liquid medication. The Health Department, in conjunction with the Police Department have a kiosk for collection of medication in the lobby of the police headquarters at 15 Washington Street. Residents are prohibited from disposing of liquid medications at that location because of issues such as accidental spillage and currently there is no other option for disposal of those medications. Health Board member Michael Paquette, a registered pharmacist, said the problem with collection of liquid medications is restrictions on transportation of those materials by state and federal agencies and, in some cases, have to be handled in compliance of regulations for disposal as hazardous materials. Paquette said that residents wishing to dispose of liquid medication can pay a licensed hazardous material vendor and that some pharmacies provide mail-in disposal boxes to residents to dispose of those medications. Rouse suggested that a collection program, with the Police Department, could allow residents to bring liquid medication to the police headquarters where they could be collected and disposed of when the department brings confiscated narcotics to the West Springfield incinerator for destruction. “But again there is the transportation issue and I don’t want to put the Police Department in jeopardy of being fined for unauthorized transportation,” Rouse said. Paquette said that he will research regulations pertaining to transportation and disposal of the liquid medication and report back to the Health Board.
Driver strikes house after allegedly ‘huffing’ By CHRISTINE CHARNOSKY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – A driver hit a house Sunday night demolishing a handicap ramp and causing the front porch roof to collapse. James N. Merati, 25, of Westfield, who was arrested at the scene, was allegedly high on drugs at the time of the crash. Police received a call at approximately 10:46 p.m. Sunday night about a vehicle exiting the roadway and hitting the house located at 551 Southwick Road. Westfield Police Capt. Hipolito Nunez said no one was home at the time of the crash. When questioned by Westfield Police
Officer Sean Smith, Merati said, he had “passed out and did not recollect the collision,” according to court records. Merati’s vehicle, a 2015 Chevy Aveo, had heavy front end damage, so it needed to be towed. During inventory of the vehicle prior to towing, Smith found a can of Dust Off Electronics Duster in the rear of the vehicle, according to court records. The can was “ice cold” despite the temperature outside being approximately 65 degrees, which indicated the can had been recently used. Upon further questioning, Merati admitted to “huffing” prior to the accident, according to court documents. Additionally, Smith found a medicine bottle containing 17 white packages of
heroin with the stamp “Gucci,” and two straws were located in the front driver’s side door pocket. Nunez said that Merati wasn’t charged with possession to distribute because 17 packets isn’t that much. “A heroin user can go through that pretty quickly,” he said. Merati was released on $100 cash bail pending a September 18 hearing after being arraigned in Westfield District Court on Monday on charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, possession of a Class A drug and inhaling glue/toxic substance. ——— Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at christinec @thewestfieldnewsgroup.com
The remains of a handicap ramp and porch are seen on a home located at 551 Southwick Road. James Merati struck the house with his car on Sunday, August 9. (Photo by Christine Charnosky)