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WEATHER TONIGHT Partly cloudy. Low of 66.
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014
VOL. 83 NO.152
See Pig Roast, Page 3
Marine Corps League continues to serve HOLYOKE – The Department of Massachusetts Marine Corps League recently donated $1,000 to the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke in support of the Home’s recreation fund. The Marine Corps League, with an active detachment in Westfield, supports various programs at the Soldiers’ Home to promote and honor the spirit and traditions of the Marine Corps and to help all veterans from any branch of service. In addition to the donation which will go toward quality of life programs at the Home, the Marine Corps League sponsors and hosts several events at the Home to include breakfasts with veterans every month and holiday activities. A pig roast at the Home’s outdoor pavilion that the Marine Corps League leads every July is a highlight of the summer for veterans. The league has 28 detachments in Massachusetts, including a local detachment, the Westfield River Valley Detachment 141. In addition to supporting veterans, the League also helps with community programs such as scholarships for students and Toys for Tots. The donation to the Soldiers’ Home came from contributions from the national Marine Corps League, the state department organization of the league as well as from local detachments. “Our goal is to support veterans in the community, including the Soldiers’ Home and other Veteran medical centers and hospitals in Massachusetts,” said Don W. Rivette, of Ludlow, the state liaison for the Marine Corps League to the Soldiers’ Home. The League was chartered by an act of See Marine Corps League, Page 3
Woodrow Wilson
75 cents
Senior center bond approved
BOS approves pig roast funds By Hope E. Tremblay Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – A request for $2,500 from the Board of Selectmen Gift Account to host a thank you party for the Southwick Fire Department (SFD) was approved 2-1 last night, with reluctance from Joseph Deedy. Fire Chef Richard Anderson made the request to help pay for a pig roast for the employees, dispatchers and volunteers of the department. He said the SFD had about $1,900 in it’s own gift account, but it would not cover the cost of the event set for July 20 at Louie B’s. Deedy said he took issue with the amount requested. “I don’t think my wedding cost that much,” Deedy said. “So you need your $1,900 plus this?” Anderson said he wasn’t sure they would need the entire amount, but he wanted to make sure expenses were covered. He said any money left over would be returned. Deedy said the $10 per person staff holiday party caused a major problem and the pig roast would cost roughly $50 per person, including spouses. “It’s a huge number,” said Deedy. Anderson argued that the party was mainly for the SFD volunteers. He said there are only
“One cool judgment is worth a thousand hasty counsels. The thing to do is to supply light and not heat.”
Three year olds Alex Bousquet-Powers and Ezequiel Vega run though the waters of the spray park at Chapman Playground where a community watch group has been organized to protect the playground and neighborhood. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
New playground, new watch group By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – An effort to protect the Chapman Playground area is resulting in the formation of a new community watch group which is being organized to preserve the improvements made to the playground by the million dollar renovation project which was completed in 2012. Community Policing Officer Kevin Bard reports that two couples, Donna and Tom St. Jean and Bonnie and Kym Lynch, have been keeping an eye on the park and recently started an effort to expand their efforts into an active community watch group. Donna St. Jean said that her goal is “to keep it (the playground) safe for the kids, to keep it nice and to keep it active” and said that local residents need to be “eyes” on the park and to call police when problems are observed. The playground has long been attractive to persons who engage in unsavory activities which a watch group can discourage. Because the park is bordered by the dike along the river which incorporates a well used walking path, homeless persons and transients have had a history of drinking
alcohol in and near the park. In addition, older youths have been known to gather at the park, often after dark, to engage in prohibited activities away from parental supervision. St. Jean said that watchers who will report such behaviors to police are necessary because “the police can’t be everywhere at all times” although she said “I can’t say enough about them, they work really hard with us.” She said that regular reporting of undesirable activity at the playground will reduce the number of such incidents because “the more that know it’s being watched, the less they’ll go there.” The community watch group can fill another function, as well, by engaging neighborhood youths, helping them to take ownership of the playground and making them feel invested in their neighborhood. “We’re over there a lot” said Bonnie Lynch who said that her husband, Kym, plays basketball with children at the playground and said that she has spent time removing graffiti from walls and tables. See Watch Group, Page 5
Post 124 vs. Post 207 Left to right: Jim Jachym (1981 American Legion Post 124 Baseball Coach), Sally Nay (American Legion Department of Massachusetts Committee Woman), John Dowd (1981 Post Commander), Everett Talmadge 1981 Team Manager (Post Commander 1987) and Post 124 Commander Gene H. Theroux. The game went into extra innings--Westfield won in the bottom of the 10th. See addition photos and story on Page 11. (Photo by Don Wielgus)
By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Construction of the Council on Aging senior center could begin in late July following the vote of the City Council last night to give final approval to the $7.5 million bond to finance the longawaited project. The council voted 10-0-1 to approve the bond package, with At-large Councilor David A. Flaherty recusing himself because of his business relationship with Forish Construction Inc., of Mainline Drive, the firm which submitted the low bid for construction of the two-story, 20,000-square foot facility on Noble Street. Forish Construction submitted the low bid of $6,184,541 and a combined price of $6,324,625 for the construction and six alternates. The bond approved last night includes a contingency of about $500,000, money which would not be used except to address unanticipated problems during construction. The City Clerk’s Office will publish a legal notice of the approved bond which initiates a 20-day appeal period. The city has already notified Forish that they are the apparent low bidder and will issue authorization to proceed with construction after the close of the 20-day appeal period, which is estimate around July 20. The City Council recognized Council on See Senior Center, Page 3
Council approves school funding By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The City Council voted last night to approve an appropriation of $58,044 to the Westfield Vocational Technical High School instruction account. The School Department originally submitted an appropriation request of $100,000 to the City Council at the May 15 session. The appropriation was sent to the council’s Finance Committee and discussed with Ron Rix, the School Department’s RON RIX chief financial officer, at the committee’s May 29 meeting. The Finance Committee was reviewing School Department requests totaling $314,200 at that meeting. In addition to the money for Voc-Tech, there was a $100,000 request to improve buildings and grounds, and $114,200 for the purchase of three vehicles for Voc-Tech. Rix said that as the end of the 2014 fiscal year approached the School Department was sweeping its budget to identify funding which could be used to lower the amount of those appropriation requests. See Funding, Page 5