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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
VOL. 85 NO. 301
www.thewestfieldnews.com THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2016
The traffic commission during deliberation Dec. 14.
Nurse practitioner Brenda Jaeger and Eliza Lake, CEO of the Hilltown Community Health Centers (center) give an update to the Gateway School Committee Wednesday. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Gateway Regional School Committee gets update on School-Based Health Center By AMY PORTER Correspndent HUNTINGTON – The Gateway Regional School Committee received an update about its School Based Health Center, part of the Hilltown Community Health Centers, from HCHC chief executive officer Eliza Lake and nurse practitioner Brenda Jaeger at its meeting Wednesday. HCHC is a federally qualified health center, with locations including the Worthington Health Center, the Huntington Health Center, the Hilltown Community Center, where social service programs are provided, and the School-Based Health Center in Gateway. Lake said they will also be opening a new health center in Amherst next year, to meet the need for a community-based program in that area. Lake called Gateway one of its most important community partners, and one of the best referral sources for care for HCHC. She said the SBHS, which opened 16 years ago in Gateway, provides a full range of dental services from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, in addition to routine and preventive health care, sports physicals, same day sick visits, emergency care, behavioral health counseling, and nutrition services. Gator Grins, the dental outreach program, serves 34% of the children in the district, according to Lake. Lake also introduced Brenda Jaeger, nurse practitioner at the clinic, who began in October. Jaeger, a
Russell resident, has an extensive background as a nurse, nurse supervisor and nurse manager, including 22 years as a flight nurse in the Air Force Reserves, from which she recently retired as a Lt. Colonel. While earning her doctorate in nursing practice/nurse practitioner, she interned at the Huntington Health Center. Jaeger told the School Committee that 59% of the school district is signed up to come to the schoolbased health center, if needed. She spoke about the great collaboration between the health center and school staff, especially school nurses. After the meeting, Jaeger said she works three days a week at the schools and two days at the Huntington Health Center, alternating with physician Mary Chmura at the schools. “It’s a great program. I wish there were something like this when my children were younger. It’s a great asset to the school and the community,” Jaeger said. She said the ability for parents to have their children seen quickly is “huge.” Jaeger said the clinic opens at 7:30 a.m., before the elementary school start time of 9 a.m., and sometimes parents send their children to her to see if they’re okay to go to school. The clinic also offers sports physicals for students, which are sometimes hard for parents to schedule with their regular physicians. See Update, Page 3
Council on Aging hosts Christmas party for seniors By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – The Council on Aging center was rather busy on Wednesday morning as they hosted their annual Christmas party for seniors. Around 100 seniors came to the event held in the dining area of the senior center. Festive decorations were hung throughout the entire dining area and a candy cane sculpture created by Council on Aging Director Cindy Sullivan was on display. Hors-d’oeuvre’s were available at the beginning of the party and Tucker’s Restaurant provided the meals. In years past the Christmas party was held at Tucker’s but for the past four years, since Sullivan has been the director, the party has been at the senior center with Tucker’s doing the catering. While seniors were picking at their appetizers and chattering about, several town and local officials arrived to help with the event. Select Board members Russ Fox, Doug Moglin, and Joe Deedy were all present along with the town’s Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart. Other town officials present included DPW Director Randy Brown, town clerk Michelle Hill, and Fire Chief Russ Anderson. On the state side, Sen. Don Humason and Rep. Nick Boldyga were also present. A number of town officials were seen helping deliver salads and other food items from the kitchen to the senior’s seats in the dining
— DONALD CREIGHTON
75 cents
Fire safety for the holidays
Westfield traffic commission announces more possible changes for Root Road, other areas By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD–City officials are continuing to attempt to modify the area around the Roots Athletic Center after the traffic commission requested that a portion of Root Road be made into a “no parking” zone yesterday. The no parking suggestion was one of several made to the city council by the commission. Other suggestions included the prohibition of engine braking on portions of Western Avenue and no parking for a portion of Holland Avenue. The decision to suggest the no parking zone on both sides of Root Road, which is proposed to extend from the Medeiros Way and Root Road intersection to the northern entrance of Hampden Village, came after Root Road resident Heidi Leonard petitioned the commission to help with the burden she feels residents are facing there. “From 2004 to 2012, Root Road had a total of two traffic fatalities,” Leonard said. “I don’t want to see another child die.” Leonard claimed that traffic has increased down the road, which has been occurring since prior to the development of the Roots Athletic Complex. “The street has had over seven mailboxes replaced,” she said. “We’ve had tire tracks on our lawn, we’ve had car accidents in our yard.” Leonard said that the road is too narrow for on-street parking, and that the parking is contributing to the problems seen on the road. The commission agreed with Leonard, with city engineer and commission member Mark Cressotti noting that the city should not be tasked with helping to fix a parking issue for businesses. “You shouldn’t burden the public sector for a business’s lack of planning,” Cressotti said. The board voted unanimously to pass the legislation on to city council, who will now determine the next step in implementation. Also going to city council will be the proposal for no parking on Holland Avenue at a point opposite of Avery Street, as well as a suggestion to prohibit engine braking on portions of Western Avenue, including upper Western Avenue. The next traffic commission meeting will occur March 15, 2017.
“History is the record of an encounter between character and circumstances.”
Select Board Chairman Russ Fox is all smiles as Select Board ViceChairman Doug Moglin and Clerk Joe Deedy help prepare the salad for the seniors. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick) room. It is an experience that the officials always enjoy participating in. “We try to do more and more each year for our seniors,” said Fox. “This is a little way of the town repaying them for all they’ve done.” “It’s always nice to see the seniors in town,” said Sen. Humason.
As there isn’t much snow on the ground, Humason always enjoys a holiday party where there is at least some snow on the ground. “Things are in a Christmas frame of mind,” said Humason. See Christmas Party, Page 3
By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD–While the holiday season is for friends, family and celebration, it is also a time to be mindful of fire safety. The Christmas season is the second-highest time of the year for home fires, ranking only behind time around Thanksgiving. The Westfield Fire Department wants residents to be safe and prepared Westfield Fire deputy chief during this holiday season, in Eric Bishop. order to prevent adding to the statistics and ruining the holidays for you or your family. “It’s important for people to know that it isn’t just one thing that can cause fires, you have to be careful of everything,” Westfield Fire deputy chief Eric Bishop said. “Fire doubles in size every minute so it can consume quickly.” Bishop said that causes of holiday fires include electrical issues, decorations, heating units and the most common of all–cooking. According to the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, cooking-related fires were responsible for 47 percent of fires in one- and two-family homes, and were responsible for 84 percent of fires in apartments, dormitories and other smaller living spaces. These fires typically occurred while cooking was left unattended, to Bishop that suggests residents should be more attentive when cooking. Additionally, most injuries occur when people try to put the fires out, so if it appears unsafe to put it out then wait for firefighters to extinguish the flame. For electrical fires, make sure that cords and outlets are not covered, especially with material that could become combustible, such as paper or cloth. If you are utilizing an extension cord, make certain that it is only for temporary use and that no major appliances, such as a microwave, refrigerator or other large appliance is plugged into it. When using electrical decorations make certain that all lights and other decorations are turned off before going to bed. If you have multiple strands of lights, it is also recommended that you do not put more than three strands into a single outlet. It is also suggested that you utilize LED lighting, which has a lower temperature than traditional older lighting. Also, make sure that the lights and other decorations that you use are graded for their use, which would mean outdoor-use decorations for outdoor use, and vice versa. Finally, whether it is during the holidays or any other time, Bishop suggests making sure that smoke alarms are checked regularly and that all are working properly. “A working detector can double the chance of a family surviving a fire,” he said.
Local fire departments get funding from the state By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK/TOLLAND – Gov. Baker’s administration made an announcement on Tuesday that the Department of Conservation and Recreation has awarded 38 communities throughout Western Massachusetts with grants. The grant money totals $63, 528 with the funding being provided by programs like the Cooperative Fire Protection and Volunteer Fire Assistance programs. The communities receiving the grants are rural towns that have a population of 10,000 people or less. Being considered rural communities, both Southwick and Tolland received volunteer fire assistance grants. Southwick was given Southwick Fire Chief Russ $1,500 while Tolland Anderson. received $1,936. The money for the two fire departments will be going towards new protection gear for fighting wildfires and brush fires. Southwick Fire Department Chief Russ Anderson certainly sees a need for the grant going into an upgrade to their protection gear. “The stuff we have (now) is very old,” said Anderson. As the Tolland Fire Department consists of all volunteers, it allows the firefighters to keep up with the technology and latest upgrades. “These kinds of grants can make us more professional,” said Tolland Fire Chief Eric Munson. The fire chiefs were glad to get funding from the state that can mean so much to a smaller community. “For a small town like Tolland, these grants are invaluable,” said Munson. “A little money goes a long way for that type of stuff,” said Anderson. Other equipment that can be used towards the grant includes things like portable radios, backpack pumps, hoses, mapping software, and binoculars.