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More private well test results released By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—As results from private well testing continue to come in, two more homes have been reported to have tested for perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) above the lifetime advisory limit provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Two more homes have had private wells that tested for PFCs above the EPA lifetime advisory limit of 70 parts per trillion (ppt), which gives a total of three homes with private wells that have tested above the limit in the city so far. All three homes are located on Lower Sandy Hill Road. The tests results were released in the latest update and letter provided by MassDEP on their website, which was dated July 5. The first home that tested above the limit had a reading of 864 ppt according to a table in the letter, the latest two tested at 141 ppt and 787 ppt, respectively. “Thirteen years we’ve been here,” Ed Lopez, a resident affected on Lower Sandy Hill Road,
said. “What’s the effect of us drinking the well water? My main concern is will there be effects down the road?” Lopez lives with his wife at the home with the reading of 141 ppt, and at one point was also living there with his daughter. Lopez said that those helping them, such as the city, including Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan who visited Lopez, and MassDEP officials, have been “very nice” to him but the concern still remains about the effects. He said that MassDEP also did provide water for the family, in what he called a “cooler,” which alleviates the problem of ingesting the possibly contaminated water but he said it is an inconvenience. Plus, you cannot do everything you normally do with the water. “We still shower and brush our teeth with the water from the well,” he said. “We don’t cook with it or drink it.” According to Catherine Skiba from MassDEP, Lopez and others affected were provided with
water and eventually, will be provided with filtration. “All three homes are being provided water and the treatment systems are under design and will be installed in the next couple weeks,” Skiba said. “All the surrounding homes are on city water to the best of our knowledge.” Still, for Lopez, the filtration system may not be enough. “Even with the filtration we don’t think we’ll drink the water,” he said. The tests are part of a continued effort by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), along with the city and the Air National Guard at Barnes Regional Airport, to investigate the possible effect of PFC contamination of groundwater and private wells. Also according to the letter, 41 total private wells have been tested and 65 access agreements were issued, which are used to help schedule sampling of the water.
Huntington sets plan for Chapter 90 road funds By AMY PORTER Correspondent HUNTINGTON – Highway Superintendent Charles “Chip” Dazelle said this year, with the $163,000 he’s getting in Chapter 90 funds, he’s going to reclaim Cullen Road, which is adjacent to Historic North Hall in Huntington. That work will begin in August. Dazelle said they’ll have a big grinder come in to grind up the dirt and blacktop and pulverize the rocks. Then they’ll add calcium and regrind it again, which makes it hard, and will give it a good surface for black top. “If you don’t’ start with a good base,” Dazelle said, “It’s like putting lipstick
Huntington Highway Superintendent Charles Dazelle. (Submitted photo)
on a pig. It’s still a pig.” After paving Cullen Road up to the top, they are going to work on the intersection with Allen Coit Road and Searle Road, and then go up about 1,500 feet of Allen Coit with a skim coat. Dazelle said the whole road needs to be done but that’s all the money he has. Dazelle said it costs $83,000 to blacktop a mile of road an inch and a half. Since he became highway superintendent in 2010, he’s blacktopped 12 miles, and says he has another 12 miles to go. Altogether, Huntington has 37 miles of road, 25 of which are paved and the other 12 miles are dirt roads. Two years ago, Governor Charlie Baker added an extra $100 million to the $200 million in Chapter 90 funds statewide. That gave Huntington an extra $82,000, enough for another mile of road, which allowed him to redo County Road. This year, the extra funds are not in the budget. When Dazelle saw that the University of Massachusetts was getting $513 million in this year’s budget (down from a See Road Funds, Page 8
Bee aware of local apiaries By NICK LOMBARDI WSU intern ‘18 There is much concern over the bee population in Western Mass, but there is much being done about it by our local beekeepers. Westfield resident Bill Speery,
owner of Bee Tree Acres, commented that a lot of the problems faced by bees in general is caused by agriculture. The pesticides used by orchards to See Bee Aware, Page 8
In this Tuesday, July 11, 2017 Associated Press file photo, the health of beehives are checked while keeping an eye on parasites to prevent blight from destroying the hives. (Santiago Flores/ South Bend Tribune via AP)
City OKs $2.5M grant for home acquisition Thomas Krutka of the Southwick Police Department handles his K-9 partner, Jax, during a training and certification exercise. (WNG file photo)
Southwick Police seek new K-9 By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Police Department is looking to fill their open K-9 position since Jax, the department’s K-9 dog of 10 years retired, and they are seeking donations from the community for support of their K-9 unit. Officially effective on May 31, Jax retired from the force and decided to live out the rest of his years as a pet when his former handler, Officer Tom Krutka, was promoted to a patrol Sergeant. According to Chief Ricardi, he’s in the process of searching for an officer that could be the next K-9 handler. While that search is in progress, Ricardi is asking for donations of any amount from Southwick residents or anyone in the area. The purchase for a K-9 dog is around $8,000. In May, Chief Ricardi posted on the department’s website information about the pending K-9 retirement and asking the public for help in raising the money needed for a replacement. If anyone is interested in making a donation, checks can be payable to the Southwick Police Department K-9 Fund, and can be dropped off or mailed to the department at 11 Depot Street. For further information or questions, call Ricardi at 413-569-5348, ext. 606.
Governor Baker signs Fiscal Year 2018 Budget BOSTON – Today Governor Charlie Baker signed the Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) budget into law, a $39.4 billion plan that supports on the Baker-Polito administration’s work to build stronger and safer communities, advance educational opportunities, promote economic development and workforce skills training, and invest in mental health and substance misuse services. The FY18 budget responsibly keeps spending to 1.7% growth over Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17), in line with revenue growth projections and will result in a $98.4 mil-
lion increase into the Stabilization Fund, bringing the Commonwealth’s reserves up to $1.4 billion, or nearly 30% higher than the start of the administration. It also reduces the reliance of one-time revenues for the third year in a row, down 90% from $1.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2015 to $125 million in FY18, and does not raise taxes or fees to balance the budget. “Our administration is committed to building stronger and safer communities in every corner of the Commonwealth and creating more opportunities for success,” said Governor Baker. “Despite slow rev-
A cup is filled with water at a sink. (File photo)
enue growth, this year’s budget contains historic investments for local schools, critical funding for our cities and towns, workforce development and programs to fight the opioid epidemic. We are pleased to sign a budget that support the needs of our residents without raising taxes, and we thank our partners in the Legislature for their collaboration.” The FY18 budget will raise Chapter 70 education aid to local schools to an alltime high of $4.747 billion, an increase of
By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—The city has OKed the acceptance of a third grant to fund the continuing Noise Compatibility Program (NCP) near Barnes Regional Airport. The grant, which is for about $2.5 million, will go toward the continuing acquisition of homes that were identified in the NCP, which was done by Wyle Acoustical Engineering. The grant was first approved by the city council two weeks ago, then by the city’s airport commission on July 14. According to Jane Verbeck, program manager for Wyle, the money will be used only for acquisition at this time. “The grant is strictly for acquisition,” she said. “For this grant, between eight to 10 homes.” The grant is the third such grant that the city has received for the NCP. Each grant has totaled about $2.5 million Verbeck said, and are made up of 90 percent Federal Aviation Administration funds, five percent city funds and five percent Massachusetts Department of Transportation funds. Verbeck said that the homes for this grant are in the Holyoke Road area, toward the end of one of the runways on the airport. However, homeowners have not yet been notified. “I would say by early fall the homeowners would be notified,” Verbeck said. The homes are a portion of the 25 total that have been identified for acquisition according to the NCP. These homes are identified for acquisition through a noise contour map, “which is based on mathematical contours from the variety of noise-making vehicles on and around the airport rather than measured decibel levels, to determine what homes are at risk for noise pollution,” according to a January 2017 article in The Westfield News. The result of this is called the day-night level (DNL), which is an average decibel level with additional factors included. Homes in a contour of impact with DNL levels of 65 or over are the ones selected for acquisition. This would mean that if the homeowner agrees, then the home would be purchased from them, comparable housing would be found and the home in the contour of impact would then be demolished. As for homes that are below the 65 DNL, those owners have the option of sound insulation, which includes new windows, doors, roofs and central air conditioning units being installed. However, this is not expected to be done until the home acquisition portion is finished. Verbeck said that so far one home has been acquired and five have been appraised since the NCP was approved in mid-June. The next step for those appraised homes is for a review appraisal, Verbeck said, and once that is received offers will be made. From there, she said that they would then move onto the next five homes.
The control tower and a plane hangar at Barnes. See 2018 Budget, Page 3
(Photo by Dan Desrochers)