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WEATHER TONIGHT Clear and cool. Low of 48.
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014
See Broadband, Page 5
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Greater Westfield hit by storms
Broadband Bill up for vote today By Peter Francis Staff Writer BOSTON – Last Thursday, State Senator Benjamin B. Downing (D-Pittsfield) and State Representative Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington) announced that both houses of the Massachusetts State House had enacted an Act Relative to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, moving the bill to the desk of Governor Deval L. Patrick. A division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, or MassTech, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) has sought to expand affordable high-speed/broadband internet access in the Bay State, long a priority for Downing and Kulik, who represent the most rural and underserved districts in the state. The bill was drafted in consultation with the MBI and cable provider Comcast, and the process of crafting the legislation began last year, when the MBI did not expect the pending Information Technology Bond Bill to fund last mile solutions in certain hilltowns that are considered “partially served” by cable providers. The bond bill – $50 million in total, $10 million of which will be used for towns with existing cable access – was discussed in conference committee over the weekend, and is up for vote in both Houses today. Kulik said the legislation and bond bill are “seperate companion pieces.” “The legislation is going to enable that $50 million to be spent in innovative and flexible ways to address the needs of different kinds of communities,” he said. “They very much compliment each other and one needs the other to get our last mile initiative underway.” Kulik referenced Chester and Huntington as communities which are partially served by Comcast for cable television and will benefit from the bond bill. “This IT Bond Bill was originally proposed by Governor Patrick at $40 million, but I filed an amendment in the House to increase it to $50 million and to devote several million to address the needs of these ‘partial cable towns,’” he said. “We’ve developed a plan so that the state can subsidize the build-out by Comcast or other providers in the communities where they serve a portion of the town but not all of it.” Regarding the Act Relative to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, Downing said the bill is “specifically aimed” at dealing with the problem faced by partially-served municipalities. “This bill gives the Mass. Broadband Institute and Mass. Tech Collaborative the ability to provide grants and incentives to the cable providers if they’re interested in that community of expanding their existing plan for internet access,” Downing said, referencing similar efforts which have been made in rural neighboring states like Vermont. Regarding the next steps which the state must take to ensure that the rest of rural western Mass. can get broadband service, Downing said the wheels are in motion. “Once they (these towns) have the resources, the Patrick administration will develop a plan for the rollout of those resources,” said Downing, adding that the western Mass. legislative delegation has been discussing this with Patrick, but didn’t want to announce the plan until they had their ducks in a row. “We’ll be bringing the conversation out to western Mass., with the Broadband Institute and others, about
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VOL. 83 NO.175
“A country can
Mike Zajdel, center, throws an old headboard into a scrap pile at the Twiss Street Recycling Center as his dad Dave, rear left, removes debris from the pickup truck yesterday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Single-stream recycling faces implementation hurdles By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – A team of municipal officials are working to institute a singlestream recycling program for city residents by the end of the year, but are identifying new challenges as the program takes shape. The team includes Community Development Director Peter J. Miller Jr., City Purchaser Tammy Tefft, Health Director Joe Rouse, Sanitarian Barry Searle, who has fostered the city’s recycling initiatives to date, and Deputy Superintendent of the Department of Public Works Casey Berube. Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said this week that funding for the transition to single-stream recycling “is all in the (2015 FY) budget.” “The team has already started the ball rolling logistically to get it started,” Knapik said. The single-stream recycling plan is intended to increase the volume of material recycled and reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills or incinerators. The city receives some revenue for recycled materials, but it is the cost-avoidance
aspect of reducing the volume of solid waste which makes single-stream attractive. The city’s program will convert residents’ current 96-gallon trash barrel into a single-stream recycling barrel, eliminating the need for bins now used to recycle cans and bottles and paper, bins which do not have wheels and are awkward to carry to the curb. The city will purchase new 65-gallon trash barrels with less volume than the current barrels to encourage residents to recycle more material. Miller said several questions have been identified and have to be answered as the plan transitions into a live program. “We’re waiting for a barrel count from Public Works,” Miller said. “We’d like to place an order for the new barrels within a week or two. We’re still working with Tammy (Tefft) on some procurement issues.” One of those issues is how many barrels will be needed for the conversion to single-stream. The city sends out 11,800
By Peter Francis Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Widespread power outages hit the city of Westfield Sunday evening, but through the efforts of Westfield Gas & Electric, the problems were quickly alleviated. G&E spokeswoman Beth Burns said that Westfield’s situation wasn’t unique, as many communities in western Massachusetts were facing outages as well. “Starting at about 6 p.m., we had a few outages, but we had crews come in quickly. We responded,” she said Monday morning. “We had a wave at 6 and then there was another one at quarter to 9 or so.” Burns said that the second period of thunder, lightning and rain caused outages that were concentrated mostly in the southeast corner of the city. “(There were outages on) East Main and Main Streets. We had a limb come down on East Mountain Road but nothing of any great significance,” she said. “It was quickly repaired and we had people back in power.” Burns acknowledged the strength of this weekend’s See Storms, Page 3
Town seeks state, federal plan review By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer MONTGOMERY – Town officials conducted the third public meeting last night for the development of a hazard mitigation plan seeking comment on options to reduce the damage, and possible loss of life, caused by natural disasters. The hazard mitigation planning process was initiated in late June under a program funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and coordinated by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. Josiah Neiderbach of the PVPC said the adoption of the hazard mitigation plan will make the town eligible for FEMA grant funding. “The Town of Montgomery is currently developing a hazard mitigation plan to identify ways to prevent See Federal Plan, Page 3
See Hurdles, Page 3
Doherty appointed to serve planning board By Hope E. Tremblay Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – Michael Doherty was appointed as the associate member of the planning board last night. A joint meeting of the board of selectmen and planning board was held, and three candidates offered their service to the town. Doherty, an attorney, has lived in Southwick just over a year. He threw his
hat into the ring last year when the board was seeking an associate and once again offered to serve. “I was a member of the zoning board where I previously lived in Randolph,” he said. “This is something I’m interested in doing. I would like to get involved in the town.” Frank Larson also applied for the position for the second time. A town resident for eight years, he offers experience in the mortgage and real estate
field. “I think I can make a difference on the board,” he said. The third candidate was nine-year town resident Ralph Pittello. Pittello is known in Southwick for his work with Motocross 338 for many years. He said last night that he has also served on a number of local non-profit boards, including several terms as president of various boards. “I don’t have any plan-
ning board experience but I am willing to learn and do the best for the town,” he said. Planning Board Chairman Douglas Moglin recommended Doherty, who was who unanimously approved. Moglin said that according to the town bylaw the associate position is a “weak position” but Moglin said he believes the opposite is true. “We view that position as a place to learn,” he
said, adding that he served as the associate before running for election. “We encourage the associate member to attend all the meetings and participate in all discussions,” Moglin said. “The associate usually makes the decision to opt to run for election or is sometimes promoted by these boards.” Doherty will serve as the associate member for the remainder of a one year term.
Westfield driver unfazed by accident By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – A man who crashed his car into a convenience store reportedly didn’t let the collision distract him from his purpose and went into the store to buy a pack of cigarettes before getting back in his car and driving away. Police report that a 10:26 a.m. caller on Saturday reported that a car had jumped the curb and driven into the Cumberland Farms building on Main Street and when Officer Jeffrey Vigneault arrived he found that the door of the store and adjacent brickwork had been damaged but the offending vehicle had left. Vigneault reviewed the store’s security video
and reports that the operator was seen when he exited the car to buy his cigarettes and the vehicle was identified. Vigneault went to the owner’s registered address on McKinley Terrace and found the damaged vehicle parked behind the residence. He spoke with the owner, Charles A. Travers, 58, of 18 McKinley Terrace, who invited him into his apartment. Vigneault reports that Travers appeared to be intoxicated and the man told the officer that he had consumed about a quart of vodka before he went to the store for cigarettes. He attempted a series of field sobriety tests which he did not pass.
While in the man’s home, Vigneault observed a .22 caliber rifle in plain view and reports that Travers said that his FID card had expired some time ago. The gun was seized. Travers was transported to the station and arrested for operating under the influence of liquor and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. In addition, he will be summoned to court to answer a charge of possession of a firearm without a firearms identification card. Travers was arraigned on Monday before Judge Philip A. Contant in Westfield District Court and was released on his personal recognizance pending a Sept. 23 hearing.