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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
“Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.” — Spanish proverb
www.thewestfieldnews.com
VOL. 86 NO. 42
75 cents
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2017
Southwick Police update shoplifting incident details By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – Two individuals over the weekend were suspected of shoplifting at Big Y. On Saturday Feb. 18, the Southwick Police Department posted on their Facebook page that the suspects were being sought by police. According to the post, there was a substantial loss for Big Y due to the shoplifting incident. Later on Saturday, Southwick Police gave an update on their Facebook Page that the two individuals were identified. Southwick Police thanked everyone in the community that was asked to call the police if they had any information. The names of the suspects will be released once that information is obtained from the Southwick Police Department.
Southwick Police Department.
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Students gather around a table set up by MASSPIRG and learn information about the project. (Photo provided by Kane Sheek)
Student organization seeking to make all energy renewable in Mass. By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—A student organization at Westfield State University (WSU) is trying to make changes in energy production and consumption in the area. Students from MASSPIRG’s WSU chapter are working on a campaign to get the community and the university to pledge to run completely on renewable energy since last week. The campaign is part of a larger state-wide one that has gathered over 7,000 signatures since its beginning, and has also influenced pending legislation in the state house. “Really what we’re trying to do is get communities to think about renewable energy, making that commitment and hopefully implementing things like solar panels and getting energy from wind turbine farms and geothermal,” Kane Sheek, campus organizer for MASSPIRG’s WSU chapter, said. According to Sheek, the campaign is aiming to make all electricity in Massachusetts communities to be from 100 percent renew-
able resources by 2035, while trying to get all cars to use 100 percent renewable resources by 2050. The plan is not easy, but according to Sheek the support thus far on campus has been considerable. Sheek said that since the campaign started on campus on Valentine’s Day last week, they have gathered over 500 signatures. “We are getting a lot of student and faculty endorsements,” Sheek said. “We have 20 faculty members already and gathered close to 500 petitions in [WSU].” WSU, according to the school’s website, has 6,383 students, including both graduate and undergraduate, as of Oct. 15, 2016. And the support hasn’t just come from the students and faculty at the university, either. In spite of the lack of campaigning in the city’s community itself—which Sheek said will occur later in the semester—the project has gained support from Westfield-based Rep. John Velis, according to Sheek, who said Velis co-sponsored legislation titled, “An Act to transition Massachusetts to 100
percent renewable energy,” that was introduced earlier last week. The bill was initially filed by Rep. Sean Garballey of the 23rd Middlesex district, Rep. Marjorie Decker of the 25th Middlesex district and Sen. Jamie Eldridge of the Middlesex and Worcester district. The bill, which has similar prospects to the MASSPIRG petition, would require that the state have all electricity generated from renewable resources, like wind or solar, by 2035, and that fossil fuel be eliminated as a power source by 2050. MASSPIRG is a “statewide, student directed and student funded nonprofit working to win concrete victories on social issues,” according to the organization’s website. Students pay a $9 fee to help the organization hire professional services but the fee can be waived. ——— For more information, you can visit their website, http://www.environmentamerica. org, to learn more.
courtesy of Southwick Police).
Westfield Tech students demonstrate career tech programs at Southampton Road By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – Students from Westfield Technical Academy’s Career Tech shops spent the morning in the Southampton Road Elementary School on Thursday, as part of its Adopt-a-School program. The different shops were assigned
Westfield State student teacher Courtney Connors and second graders in Phil Lewis class show off newly planted flower pots. (Photo by Amy Porter)
to classes in kindergarten through fifth, where they read a story that related to their career directions, and did a project with the students. In Ann Marie Buell’s first grade class, Construction Tech instructor Matt Gomes, senior Alex Sparks and freshmen Rachael Cyrankowski and Bailey Ala brought materials to demonstrate how to build a birdhouse. Before starting, Ala read the story, “Going Places,” to the class, about two friends who take a creative direction in building a go-cart from a kit. “Our students start in 9th grade by building things that are pretty small, like this bird house. In 11th and 12th grade, students leave school during the day to build houses,” Gomes said. He told the students that they were doing similar things by following instructions to build their “100th day of school” celebration hats earlier in the day. In Phil Lewis’ second grade class, Horticultural Tech instructor Nathan Sperry and seniors Nick Clegg and Arianna Washington had just helped the students to plant marigolds and johnny jump-ups in a pot. After planting, they put the pots on the window sill with their names written on sticks in the dirt. Since school vacation week was coming, Sperry told them to take the pots home, and water them just a little every day with a squirt bottle. Rebecca Fulton’s fifth grade was treated to a demonstration
Construction Tech senior Alex Sparks and freshmen Rachael Cyrankowski and Bailey Ala prepare to demonstrate how to build a birdhouse to first graders at Southampton Road School on Thursday. (Photo by Amy Porter) by Aviation Maintenance Technology freshmen Faith Young, Jamie Toomey, Vlad Selesnev and Lidia Bazukin, led by AMT instructor and pilot Krysten Renihan. Young read the story of “Miss Todd and her Wonderful Flying Machine” by Frances See Tech Students, Page 3
Educational board to vote on 3 proposed charter schools BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts education commissioner Mitchell Chester is recommending approval of new charter schools in Plymouth, Sturbridge and Westfield. The Map Academy Charter School would serve students in grades 9-12 from the towns of Plymouth, Carver and Wareham. The school would have a flexible schedule and cater to stu-
dents who have dropped out of school or are at risk of dropping out. The Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School would initially serve 160 kindergarten through Grade 3 students from Sturbridge and surrounding communities. The Hampden Charter School of Science-West, with a focus
on math and science, would initially serve about 250 students in grades 9-12 and eventually 588 students in grades 6-12 from Agawam, Holyoke, Westfield and West Springfield. The board of education will vote on the proposed charters later this month.