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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 85 NO. 141
“Our memories are card indexes consulted and then returned in disorder by authorities whom we do not control.” — CYRIL CONNOLLY
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THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016
Finance Committee budget hearings find ‘bare bones’
Westfield Director of Purchasing Tammy Tefft (center) reviews budget with Councilors David Flaherty and Matthew VanHeynigen. Also pictured (rear, l-r) are Ward 3 Councilor Andrew K. Surprise, Treasurer Meghan Kane, and Ward 6 Councilor William Onyski. (Photo by Amy Porter)
By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – At–large City Councilors and members of the Finance Sub-Committee David Flaherty and Matthew T. Heynigen held another budget meeting on Wednesday evening to review several departments in City Hall. “We are looking for budget cuts, as you heard. Doesn’t mean we’ll get seven votes to pass any,” said Flaherty to Director of Purchasing Tammy Tefft. Following her review, he asked her about the $410,000 electric costs in the budget for street lights. Tefft said she’d feel comfortable with a $10,000-
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Every drop counts, says Southwick DPW
Bike thefts trend upwards By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—As the weather gets warmer, police say bikes get stolen more often. Westfield Police Sgt. Eric Hall, who heads the Community Police Unit, reported that stolen bikes have been on the rise in the last two months since the weather has gotten warmer, and this is a trend that has been ongoing for many years. There are several factors involved and practicing proper bike safety can help reduce the chances of you being a victim. “There isn’t a large ring where people are stealing bikes and swapping parts, it’s usually a crime of convenience,” Hall said. “They take the bike, ride it to where they need to go and dump it somewhere.” According to Hall and police records, reported bike thefts from Jan. to April of this year have totaled seven, while five were reported in May and 11 were reported already in June. And while these numbers may not seem too high, these are only the bikes that are reported stolen. Hall said that more bikes are not reported stolen because people feel that the police cannot do anything about it. However, Hall said that even if the thieves are not caught, the bikes can be recovered, so reporting the bikes as missing can help. Reporting a stolen bike doesn’t only increase your chance of getting it back, but it also helps police. “If your bike is stolen report it, because it kind of gives us an idea,” Hall said. “Four or five bikes stolen on one street and only one person reports it we are looking at it as a fluke,” but if police receive reports on every bike that was stolen they can notice trends and prevent further crime. Additionally, in order to increase your chances of getting your stolen property back, Hall suggests taking pictures of your bikes, as well as writing down the serial numbers on the frame, so that it can be identified if it’s found. Hall said that at the police station currently, there are about 10 to 15 bikes that have been found, and most of them are not in the original condition, whether they are spray painted or otherwise altered, so the serial number is key in finding your stolen bike. Of course, the best way to not be a victim is to take steps to prevent the crime from happening in the first place. Hall suggests always locking your bike up, even if you will be going into a place for a brief period of time—because if the temptation isn’t there, then the chance of a crime is much lower. But if your bike has been stolen, check in with the Westfield Police Department at (413)562-5411, and give a description of your bike to police. In the end, you may be fortunate enough to get it back.
$15,000 cut in that line. She did say that traffic signals are moving to meters. Currently, the city pays between $12,000 and $13,000 for seven traffic signals on meters. “With LED lights going in, you’d expect costs (of street lights) to go down,” said Ward 6 Councilor William Onyski. Tefft said she hasn’t seen a huge reduction. She said last year, the city paid $350,000 for street lights. This year, the cost was $365,000. Flaherty asked Matthew Roman, who was present representing the community, if he knew how many LED lights were going in. Roman said over
BLACKSMITHS
Colonial Westfield at Munger Hill On Wednesday, the foyer of Munger Hill Elementary School was transformed into an 18th century Main Street, as fifth graders portrayed the tradesmen of the day at shops they had made over the last few weeks. Younger grade schoolers visited the shops throughout the day, hearing from their classmates about how their goods were made, and what life was like before electricity. The Main Street display was part of the Colonial Days of Westfield, a schoolwide project-based learning program, funded by a grant from the Westfield Education Foundation. See additional photos Page 3. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Foster families can change a child’s life By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD-Across the state, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) has been hosting recruitment events this month to introduce area residents to the benefits of becoming a foster parent. On June 25, DCF’s Western Massachusetts foster care recruitment team, along with staff and social workers from the central office in Boston, will visit the Westfield Boy’s & Girl’s Club on Silver Street for a “Foster Care Appreciation and Recruitment Fair.” The 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. event will give an overview of the foster parent role and the importance of providing a supportive and healing environment for the state’s most vulnerable children. At any given time, DCF estimates there are approximately 1,600 children from Western Massachusetts in foster care. “Anyone from the community who is thinking about becoming a foster parent is invited with their children,” said DCF social worker Michelle Daries. “DCF is excited to be able to offer this opportunity to talk about this worthy and fulfilling service.” In addition to traditional foster homes, there are opportunities to provide shortterm care to children who are taken into custody after hours or on weekends and holidays.
“When DCF has to remove a child at night or on the weekends, Hotline Homes provide needed comfort during a traumatic time in a child’s life,” said Susan Tucke, DCF’s director of adoption and foster care recruitment. “Hotline Homes provide a temporary place for a child to be cared for until the next business day.” Tucke explained that DCF provides a support system for foster parents starting with introductory training to help understand the needs of children coming into care. “Both hotline and long-term foster parents are required to submit to a background record check, attend a 30-hour training program, participate in the process in which their home will become a licensed foster home, and participate in regular visits made by DCF social workers to their homes,” said Tucke. Tucke added that foster parents open their homes to care for the most vulnerable children in the state, and make the children feel as if they are a member of their family. During the event at the Boy’s & Girl’s Club, informational sessions are scheduled for 11:30 a.m., 12:15 and 1 p.m. “Each panel will consist of foster youth and foster parents sharing their stories with regards to their experience with foster care,” said Tucke.
By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent SOUTHWICK—The town’s DPW wants to inform residents of an impending water ban that will hit the town. Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is looking to place water conservation measures on the Great Brook Aquafer, which supplies water to both Southwick and West Springfield, as well as the Westfield River. The restrictions are not likely to come until next summer, but the town maintained that there is no guarantee and are looking to have interested residents attend a public informational meeting at the Town Hall Auditorium, Monday, June 20, at 6 p.m. “Our permit expires later this year (in Nov. 2016), so under the new permit it’s going to give additional restrictions on the town and the amount of water we can draw from our wells,” DPW director Randal Brown said. “The biggest impacts will be the amount of water we can withdraw from our own water sources,” he added. According to Brown, there have been reduced water flow levels at the Westfield River which has concerned MassDEP. The reduced levels have a potential impact on RANDAL BROWN wildlife and ecosystems around the waterDPW director way, which can have larger impacts on the area beyond drinking water. Brown said that he wants residents to focus on bringing down their water usage so that they can help protect the waterways, and also allow for the possibility of growth within the town. “If there was a large water user willing to move into town, such as a business, right now we don’t have the ability to supply them with a large amount of water for them to run their business,” Brown said. The current water usage level, according to Brown, is at 690,000 gallons a day, which is the acceptable level currently given by the state. But Brown hopes that they can put in place measures that will reduce the amount of water used per day. Additionally, the new permit drafted by the MassDEP will have built-in measures to lower water use. Brown said that one such measure is an outdoor water ban. According to Brown, the ban will prevent residents from using water for irrigation all but one day a week, and the irrigation can only be done between the hours of 5 p.m. and 9 a.m.
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