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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 85 NO. 308
“The way you overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.” — LADY BIRD JOHNSON
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016
COLUMBIA STREET FIRE
Westfield firefighters save home, Christmas Neighbors alert occupants By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD – Police and fire responded to a fire at a home on Columbia Street Wednesday night. The fire was at 5 Columbia St., near the Phipps Liquors on North Elm Street. Westfield Fire Department reported that everyone in the house was evacuated safety and that no one, including emergency personnel, was injured. However, three people were displaced. Westfield Fire deputy chief Eric Bishop said that although everyone made it out safely, it was due to See Columbia Street Fire, Page 3
When your pipes are frozen, don’t ‘Let it Go’ By GREG FITZPATRICK and DAN DESROCHERS Correspondents WESTFIELD/SOUTHWICK– With temperatures continuing to drop this winter, it is important for people to be aware of the dangers that can occur in homes or businesses when not properly conducting certain measures. Frozen pipes can be a detriment to your home, business and your life. In addition to damage and flooding, the problem costs money to repair and can dampen the holidays. The Westfield and Southwick Fire Departments, as well as the State Fire Marshal’s office, have given tips to residents to help prevent the costly mishap. “This bitter cold weather brings the risk of frozen pipes,” said Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey. “As difficult as that situation is, it is important not to make a bad situation worse; many people cause fires trying to thaw frozen pipes.” Locally, Westfield Fire Deputy Chief Eric Bishop and Southwick Fire Chief Russ Anderson, talked about some of the same prevention tips. According to Bishop, there were 39 water-related emergencies in Westfield so far in 2016. Twenty-one of those incidents were broken pipe incidents and of those 21 incidents, 19 happened between Feb. 14 and Feb. 16 of 2016. The other two incidents occurred last week. According to Anderson, an inexperienced individual thawing frozen pipes is a common way for fires to be started. “People using torches to thaw the pipes and catching other parts of the building on fire,” said Anderson. “That’s where a lot of the caution comes in.” A key piece of information to frozen pipes is the fact that as water becomes frozen, it expands in size. Eventually, it can grow as much as 9 percent in size, which causes the fracture of the piping. In the press release from the Department of Fire Services, it states what you should and shouldn’t do when trying to thaw the pipes. “Apply heat to the section of pipe using an electric heating pad wrapped around the pipe, an electric hair-dryer, or wrapping pipes with towels soaked in hot water. Do not use a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, charcoal stove, or other open flame devices. A blowtorch can make water in a frozen pipe boil and cause the pipe to explode. All open flames in homes present a serious fire danger. In addition to thawing pipes, Bishop urges people to be aware of where they are located. “The pipes that are most susceptible are found along exterior walls or that are exposed,” said Bishop. Anderson pointed out that people who are leaving for vacation during the holiday season should never leave their water on for a long of a period.
Susan LeBarron, Hilltown Family Center coordinator, playing with Elayna Dowd of Middlefield and Noah Monfette of Huntington.
Russell brothers Jimmy and Johnny Wright busy at play in the Hilltown Family Center.
(Photo by Amy Porter)
(Photo by Amy Porter)
Hilltown families get educated on child development By AMY PORTER Correspondent HUNTINGTON – On Wednesday morning, a few days before the holidays, a dozen family members dropped off their toddlers in the play room of the Hilltown Family Center at 9 Russell Road, to go upstairs to a workshop on “Feeding the Developing Brain,” given by child development specialist Scott Noyes. Noyes, who drove down from northern Vermont for the workshop, had previously given a six-hour brain development series to Hilltown families. This time, his focus was on the food and brain connection, and how to prepare food for children that benefits brain development. Noyes has worked for thirty years with parents, children and educator. His programs are available on his website at www. EmpoweringPrograms.com. Kim Savery, is the director of community programs and family support services for the Hilltown Community Health Centers, the overseeing agency for the Hilltown Family Center. She said that families made a point to come and hear Scott, despite the busy preholiday activities. “Scott is incredibly knowledgeable,
Kim Savery, director of community programs and family support for Hilltown Community Health Centers. (Photo by Amy Porter)
accessible, warm, open and engaging. We try to have him a few times every year,” Savery said. The workshop is part of the Play to Learn group at the center, which offers parenting education while children are
given supervised play time. Susan LeBarron, Hilltown Family Center coordinator said other programs include school readiness and a newborn group. The center’s programs are grant-funded, and open to all Hilltown families free of charge. LeBarron said she first encountered the Hilltown Family Center as a young mother new to the area, who didn’t know anybody. She started attending fifteen years ago when her youngest was three and she was a stay-at-home Mom. Now that child is in college and her youngest of four daughters is in kindergarten. LeBarron came on staff five years ago. Savery said the Hilltown Family Center reaches out to isolated Hilltown families, providing gas cards and sometimes transportation to its programs. She said the attendance ranges from as few as three families, to as many as twenty during school vacation weeks. Other programs located out of the center on 9 Russell Road are the Domestic Violence Task Force, the HOPE outreach program, which provides home nursing visits to seniors, See Hilltown Families, Page 3
See Frozen Pipes, Page 3
Another public meeting to be held for noise mitigation program By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD – Residents will once again be provided with the chance to have questions answered and voice any concerns they have about Barnes Municipal Airport’s noise mitigation program on Jan. 11. The public informational meeting will be on Jan. 11, starting at 6 p.m., at North Middle School. The meeting is scheduled following a request from the Federal Aviation Administration due to the length of time that has elapsed since the plan was modified in
December 2015. The discussion will be focused around the noise exposure map from December 2015, which is the basis for the program. “We had originally agreed another public meeting would not be necessary because we had one in December (2015) showing the contour map, but because so much time has passed–it’s been a whole year–they wanted another public meeting,” Jane Verbeck, Wyle program manager, said. The meeting will be led by Wyle Acoustical Engineering, which has been overseeing the
entire noise mitigation process for the city. On display at the meeting will be the noise contour map; a question and answer portion will also be part of the meeting. Verbeck requests that all questions and comments be limited to 3 minutes to allow for maximum number of participants. The contour map–also known as the noise exposure map (NEP)–has been OKed by the FAA, and was originally presented in December 2015, after modifications were made and additional homes were added to the acquisition list. Currently, 217 homes are
potentially eligible for noise mitigation efforts, with 25 homes being eligible for acquisition and demolition. The NEP measures sound based on what Wyle senior construction engineer Melvin Baker called “day-night level contour (DNL).” The DNL is measured through a mathematical computation by the FAA, and it creates an average decibel level that a home may be exposed to in a one-year span, with an additional 10 percent factored in for nighttime See Noise Mitigation, Page 3