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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 85 NO. 180
TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2016
“We look forward
to the time when the power to love will replace the love of power.” — WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING
75 cents
Westfield Council on Aging helping first responders By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD–When an emergency happens, seconds count. And those seconds can turn into precious minutes if first responders are looking for the right house number. That’s why the Westfield Council on Aging’s “Retire the Fire” program, in conjunction with the Westfield Fire Department, is providing improved house numbering for seniors who qualify. The program is being sponsored by the Massachusetts Senior SAFE Program. “When people have an emergency we want to be able to quickly find their house,” Westfield Fire Deputy Chief Eric Bishop, who is helping to head the project, said. “When seconds count we don’t want to be guessing.” The program is targeted exclusively toward those who are 60 and older and who have numbers
that are obstructed, not easily visible, too small, written out rather than numerical or are missing. Additionally, the program will aim to replace mailbox numbers so first responders have additional ways of spotting a home. “The whole program is about being more fire safe for seniors in Westfield,” Tina Gorman, executive director of the Council on Aging, said. According to the State Fire Marshal’s office, a clearly visible house number will have numerals that are at least 4 inches in height and are under lighting with a contrasting background. Numbers must also never be obstructed with plants. Additionally, for homes with longer driveways, numbers should be placed on both sides of the mailbox, also clearly visible. This is the third year that Council on Aging has done a program to assist senior citizens in fire and emergency response safe-
The Westfield Senior Center is loated at 45 Noble St, Westfield. ty. Two years ago, the program provided 40 homes with smoke, carbon monoxide and heat detectors, or any combination of the three, and last year year brought stovetop automatic fire suppressors to 73 households. This year they received $3,115 from Senior SAFE to fund the project. Gorman said that if you are unsure whether or not the numbers are clearly visible, have someone else go outside and look at the number. If it
is not easily seen, or if during the night time the numbers are not visible, then you probably qualify for the program. Currently, the program is targeting those who received meals at home or are known to be homebound, but is also trying to reach out to other senior citizens in the city that may not be aware of the program. For them, Gorman suggests friends and family notifying them and looking to see if the numbers are easily visible.
Gorman said that she hopes to have a list of potential candidates by the end of August, then they will purchase the necessary materials and the Rotary Club will install the numbers. If you or someone you know may be eligible for the program or have any questions, you can call the Council on Aging at (413)562-6435 for more information and how to apply.
Sunday’s Child: Syriana
New England Disc Golf meets with Conservation Commission By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – New England Disc Golf Center just went one step closer with their intentions of having a disc golf facility on 41 & 51 John Mason Road. The Conservation Commission held a continued hearing for the disc golf facility on Monday night and the Commission unanimously approved the project. Partial business owners Randy Brown, Freda Brown and Drew Gardner presented their specific plan to the Conservation Commission. The discussion was generated towards making sure the proposed piece of land for their business is not interfering with the existing wetlands surrounding it. According to Freda Brown, the goal has been to maintain the natural beauty of the property. Gardner noted that the only change made from the last plan was that they were previously in the buffer zone and now are outside the buffer zone, which meets the regulations. The approval from the Conservation Commission was yet another good step forward for New England Disc Golf Center, but they aren’t quite at the finalized stage just yet. “We’re not there yet,” said Randy Brown. “We’re getting closer.” The next step will take place on August 16 when the potential disc golf owners go back to the Planning Board.
Syriana is an energetic tenyear-old Hispanic girl who loves to be active! She describes herself as smart and fun. Syriana has many interests including singing, painting, gymnastics, and reading. She is doing well academically in school and benefits with support for some behavioral needs. Syriana especially likes learning math! When she grows up, Syriana wants to be a famous singer. Syriana needs a stable, consistent environment that can accommodate her needs while supporting her as part of the family. She should be the only or significantly younger child in her adoptive Syriana (Photo courtesy of In Grace family. The ideal family would be Photography) a two parent (female/female or female/male) or a single female family who has some prior parenting or childcare experience, including advocacy skills. Syriana has contact with some of her extended birth family members who would like to remain part of her life post-adoption. Syriana would really like a dog too! How do I adopt a child from foster care? To adopt a child from foster care, you must go through a training, interview and matching process that can take one to two years. To begin, call the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE), for referrals to agencies in your area. A social worker will meet with you, then refer you for the Massachusetts Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (MAPP) training. After completing the MAPP course, you’ll have meetings with a social worker who will conduct your “homestudy” to explore adoption possibilities with you and begin to match you with a waiting child. It’s important to balance patience with persistence to make a match that will build a lifelong family. To learn more about Syriana, and about adoption from foster care, call the MARE at 617-54-ADOPT (617-542-3678) or visit www.mareinc.org. The sooner you call, the sooner a waiting child will have “a permanent place to call HOME.”
“It’s just one step at a time,” said Randy Brown. “We’ll see the Planning Board in a couple of weeks and go from there.”
Lunch With The (Musical) Locals WESTFIELD - Artworks/Westfield and Friends of the Athenaeum are cosponsoring a series of free Friday lunch hour concerts on The Esplanade in front of The Athenaeum. All performers have generously offered their time and their talent toward the goal of making the performing and visual arts more visible and accessible in Westfield. On this Friday, August 5 Ed Bentley, one of the area’s most respected singer/songwriters will perform his own compositions along with a selection of popular covers. Kelsey Viellette, another very talented Westield singer/songwriter will be featured on Friday, August 12th. There is seating on the low wall around the Esplanade and the Athenaeum will provide additional seats if needed. Bring your lunch, a sun hat if it is sunny, and enjoy the show!
The partial business owners of New England Disc Golf Center discuss their thoughts with the Conservation Commission. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)