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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
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By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The annual treatment of Congamond Lakes for invasive plants is set for Tuesday, May 19. The town has contracted with Aquatic Control Technology (ACT) once again for the chemical treatment aimed at reducing and eliminating invasive plants, Eurasian milfoil and Curlyleaf pondweed in particular. Michael Lennon, a biologist with ACT, reported that “invasive plant cover continues to decline” on the lakes but recommended treating about 15 acres of the lakes now and suggested the town budget for treatment of an additional five acres along the western shore of Middle Pond “in the event that more growth develops before treatment.” Lennon found milfoil in Turtle Cove, which he said was expected, and curlyleaf pondweed was found in limited areas where it has historically been an issue. Residents are warned that using the water for cooking and drinking is prohibited until May 21, swimming is prohibited until May 20, watering livestock is prohibited until May 20, and irrigation is prohibited until May 22. “It will probably be too cold for swimming and people don’t normally use it for drinking or cooking. There’s no livestock right there, so irrigation is really the main thing people have to be aware of,” said Lake Management Director Richard Grannells. The lakes have historically been treated with a selectively targeted herbicide called Diquat. Eurasian watermilfoil is a non-native invasive plant. It has feathery underwater foliage and was once commonly sold as an aquarium plant. Eurasian watermilfoil originates from Europe and Asia, but was introduced to North America many years ago and is now found over much of
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Police Commission appoints four officers
Lake treatment set for Tuesday Spectators along Western Avenue gesture to the participants of the Run Westfield event last year. (File photo by Frederick Gore/www.thewestfieldnews.smugmug.com)
Run Westfield 5K to showcase community By JEFF HANOUILLE Staff Writer WESTFIELD – One of the city’s largest outdoor events will take place this weekend during the 3rd annual Run Westfield Flat Fast 5K, “America’s Fastest 5K.” Festivities will begin with the race Fitness Expo, which takes place from noon to 5 p.m. on Friday at the Woodward Center on the campus of Westfield State University, located at 395 Western Ave. The race itself will take place on Saturday, with the starting gun scheduled to go off at 1 p.m. Runners and walkers will make their way down the 3.1-mile course that will take them from the Westfield State University South Lot, down Western Avenue, onto Court Street and then down Elm Street to the finish line. After the race, there will be a huge block party called the “5K Kool Down,” which will take place over several blocks near the finish on Elm Street. There will be music, onstreet food and beverage vendors, tables for dining, face-painting for kids, and more. “I think this event brings broader attention to Westfield as a whole and helps energize activity in or around the city,” said Kevin O’Connor, senior vice president of Retail Banking, Consumer Lending, and Marketing for Westfield Bank, Run Westfield’s major sponsor. “We’re very excited because it’s a great way to show what Westfield has to offer. The bank really enjoys sponsoring things that have a broad impact on the community. I think it’s great exposure for the city, and it promises to be a great day. It’s all about enjoying the day and enjoying our city.” O’Connor said about 35 people have signed up to run on Team Westfield Bank, while another 15-20 will volunteer during the event. There has been more of an emphasis on teams this year, and the organizations that will benefit from certain groups running or walking for a cause include The One Hundred Club of Massachusetts, The Amelia Park Children’s Museum, The Carson Center, The Westfield Soup See Run Westfield 5K, Page 3
See Treatment, Page 3
MARATHON TRIAL
Jury begins deliberating fate of bomber By DENISE LAVOIE AP Legal Affairs Writer BOSTON (AP) — Just before a jury began deliberating the fate of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, prosecutors reminded jurors of the pain and suffering caused by the bombing and said Tsarnaev deserves to die for what he did. But Tsarnaev’s lawyer said he was an “invisible” teenager in a dysfunctional family who was led astray by his older, radicalized brother and deserves a chance at redemption. The federal jury of seven women and five men began deliberating late Wednesday after listening to powerful closing statements from prosecutors and Tsarnaev’s lawyers. Jurors will return to U.S. District Court on Thursday to resume deliberations. Prosecutor Steve Mellin told the jury that Tsarnaev is a callous “remorse-free” terrorist who bombed the marathon with his brother, Tamerlan, to make a political statement against the U.S. for its wars in
— RING LARDNER
THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 121
“The family you come from isn’t as important as the family you’re going to have.”
Muslim countries. Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when two pressurecooker bombers packed with shrapnel exploded near the marathon finish line on April 15, 2013. Mellin said Tsarnaev wanted to cause his victims as much physical pain as possible. “The bombs burned their skin, shattered their bones and ripped their flesh,” Mellin said. The blasts “disfigured their bodies, twisted their limbs and punched gaping holes into their legs and torsos.” Defense attorney Judy Clarke asked jurors to spare Tsarnaev’s life, saying her client “is not the worst of the worst, and that’s what the death penalty is reserved for.” “We think that we have shown you that it’s not only possible, but probable that Dzhokhar has potential for redemption,” she said, adding that he was “genuinely sorry for what he’s done.” The prosecutor showed a
TSARNAEV large photograph of 8-yearold Martin Richard, who was killed in the attack, and other children standing on a metal barricade. Tsarnaev placed his bomb just 3½ feet from the children. Another photo showed bloodied victims on the sidewalk. “This is what terrorism looks like,” Mellin said. Tsarnaev, he said, showed no regret after the bombings, calmly going to buy a half gallon of milk 20 minutes later. From the beginning of the trial, Tsarnaev’s lawyers
admitted he participated in the bombing, but told the jury he was “a good kid” who was led down the path to terrorism by Tamerlan. Clarke said Tsarnaev’s parents favored his older brother and pinned their hopes on him, believing he would become an Olympic boxer. She showed photos of his father at boxing matches with Tamerlan, and then asked, “Where are the pictures of Dzhokhar? He was the invisible kid.” The Tsarnaevs, who are ethnic Chechens, lived in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan and the volatile Dagestan region of Russia, near Chechnya, before moving to the U.S. about a decade before the bombings. Tamerlan was a “jihadi wannabe” who returned to the U.S. angry and frustrated after an unsuccessful attempt to join Islamic extremists in Russia, Clarke said. Then he decided to find another way to wage jihad.
By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Police Commission voted Monday night to appoint four reserve officers to full-time patrol officer positions, with those officers set to attend the police academy in August. Captain Michael McCabe said the four appointments bring the department’s patrol force “to where we need to be” but added that retirement of at least one veteran officer is scheduled for later this year and that others are pending. Commission Chairman Kart H. Hupfer said yesterday that he has been impressed with the quality of recent candidates being appointed to the Police Department. “We’ve been pretty lucky. All of the reservists appointed have been right up CAPTAIN to par. The last 17 reservists have been MICHAEL excellent candidates,” Hupfer said. MCCABE “There are a few left on (the current) Civil Service list and they are excellent candidates for future appointment.” The Commission appointed Andrew Vega, whose appointment was effective Tuesday, and Steven Clement, Zachary Demers and Aaron Spiller. Clement, Demers and Spiller’s effective date of appointment is Aug. 17 when all four of the new patrol officers will begin attending the academy. “They’re all good candidates,” McCabe said Tuesday following the Police Commission’s action Monday night. “They all have between 80 and 120 hours of training done through the in-house Field Training Program which is taught by veteran officers who are subject matter experts in different area of policing.” “I look forward to working with these young officers in the future,” McCabe said. “This will, at least temporarily, get us to a full complement of patrol officers.” Hupfer said that the commission received a Civil Service waiver to immediately assign Vega to patrol duties following the resignation of a patrolman who is transferring to the state Department of Environmental Police. “We got a waiver that allowed us the opportunity to appoint Officer Vega immediately to work until the academy begins in August,” Hupfer said. “He’s already completed all of his in-service and reserve training. So his appointment was effective May 12 which will save a little of overtime money.” Hupfer said the commission “went right down the Civil Service list, appointing the top three candidates, the fourth candidate on the list asked not to be appointed because he is currently undergoing training, so we took the fifth person. The appointments bring us back to a full complement barring retirements.”
Deadline looms for Brady's appeal of 4-game suspension By HOWARD ULMAN AP Sports Writer FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady's challenge to his four-game suspension by the NFL is set to begin. The star quarterback of the defending Super Bowl champions is expected to appeal by the deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday. The suspension was issued Monday for his part in the deflation of footballs below the league-mandated minimum for the AFC championship game. His agent, Don Yee, said shortly after the suspension was announced that the appeal would be filed. The New England Patriots have not said if they'll appeal their penalty — a $1 million fine and the loss of a first-round draft pick next year and a fourthrounder in 2017. Yee has criticized the suspension that was based on a 243-page report of an investigation headed by NFLSee Suspension, Page 3
See Jury, Page 3
New Boston Police Department policy will release names of arrested officers BOSTON (AP) — After coming under fire for withholding the names of five officers caught driving drunk, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans says the public will now know whenever an officer is arrested.
Evans tells The Boston Globe (http://bit. ly/1QL1R5f ) the department’s new policy of transparency applies to future cases only and won’t be retroactive. Police officials say they are barred from releasing information on old cases under the
state’s Criminal Offender Record Information law, which restricts access to the criminal records database. Evans says brief items on the department’s website have already been posted after an officer was recently charged with attacking an
Uber driver. Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts Carol Rose says the same rules apply for all citizens and “no one is above the law.”