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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com
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TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2016
VOL. 85 NO. 116
“If an article is attractive, or useful, or inexpensive, they’ll stop making it tomorrow; if it’s all three, they stopped making it yesterday.” — MIGNON MCLAUGHLIN
Marie Flahive will be among the artists participating in the city’s first Art Walk: Arts on Elm event June 4.
Arts on Elm welcomes artists, musicians By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD — Artist Marie Flahive has been sharing her passion of watercolor painting with students of all ages since 1968 and will be among more than 25 local and regional artists participating in the city’s first Art Walk: Arts on Elm on June 4. Westfield Creative Arts (WCA), together with Westfield on Weekends, Inc. (WOW) will host the event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “This will be a first of its kind for Westfield, which is a treasure chest of enormous talent,” said Diana McLean, WOW president. “Let’s all pray for gorgeous weather to make the day really exceptional.” The artists will be presenting their works both inside 15 businesses as well as outside under tents along the way, from the Westfield Athenaeum across both bridges ending at Westfield’s Depot Square. Food and refreshments will be available from the many eateries lining Elm Street. Flahive’s new studio, the Marie Flahive Art Studio on the ground floor of 22
Cherry St., is only a short walk from Elm Street. The studio is in an old whip factory that has been going through a transformation for several years, according to Flahive who owns the building with her husband Joseph. “During the art walk I am planning a celebration open house and art show,” said Flahive, who relocated her studio from Arnold Street last May due to the Downtown Renewal Program. “This reception will showcase the studio’s new handicap-accessible work and classroom area,” said Flahive, adding that the renovated industrial space also offers gallery space where her work will be featured, as well as local artists associated with ArtsWest. “We will also have space designated for my class participants,” said Flahive, noting that most of the work on
display will be for sale. Flahive said she expects 40 to 50 paintings to be available for sale, ranging in size from 5” x 7” to 22” x 30.” The reception will offer visitors a chance to also meet the artists and enjoy refreshments in the gallery area. “I love to paint and I love to teach painting,” said Flahive, adding, “I have the best of both worlds.” Artists to be showcased along Elm Street include Richard Nowak, demonstrating acrylic painting at Attorney Robert Walker’s office; Sebastian Glebocki, displaying several metal sculptures along the walk path, and Jenn Dorgan of Piece of My Art Studio and Donna Shibley of Pilgrim Candle Gift Shop, both on Union Avenue, will be presenting a summer arrangement of art and home décor See Arts on Elm, Page 3
WHS announces Bronze Tablet Finalists WESTFIELD – Westfield High School is proud to announce the following members of the Class of 2016 who are the Finalists for the 2016 Bronze Tablet Award. They are: Andrew Burrage, Daniel Gosselin and Anthony Riga. The Bronze Tablet is awarded annually at the Senior Assembly to that member of the graduating class “Who has done the most for the welfare, good name, and progress of Westfield High School.” The Senior class voted on the list of 24 Semi-Finalists nominated by the faculty.
Left to right are Susan Dargie, WPS director of curriculum and instruction, Westfield State University’s Dean of Faculty Dr. Stephen Adams, Dr. Jennifer Hanselman, associate professor of biology, Dr. Jim Wright, professor of mathematics and WPS Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Scallion. Westfield Public Schools and Westfield State Unversity are embarking on a two-year Title IIB grant to train elementary teachers in the science and math standards. (Photo by Amy Porter)
High energy presentations fill School Committee agenda By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – Multiple presentations by students and staff of the Westfield Public Schools opened the School Committee meeting on Monday night, all of them interesting and energetic, and worthy of the time allotted to them. Leading off, 23 fourth and fifth graders from the Paper Mill chorus, led by music teacher Janice Longstreeth sang The Paper Mill School Song. The chorus, a volunteer activity which holds practice Tuesdays before school begins, has 53 members this year, and has performed at The American Inn and North Middle School, as well as having spring and winter concerts. Longstreeth, who penned the school song, has been leading the chorus since the school began in 1991. “She’s made it to be the cool thing to do,” said parent Katie Winslow of her daughter Lillian’s teacher. Principal Joanne Hentnich of Fort Meadow School accepted a $500 check from Ben Hogan, Keith Eagon and Rick Paul of the Fire & Iron Firefighters Motorcycle Club. Paul, a paramedic and firefighter from Westfield, said over four years the club has raised more than $2,000 for software for the school’s autism programs. “We feel very strongly about giving back to our community,” Paul said.
Third and fourth graders from the Paper Mill Chorus, and music teacher Janice Longstreeth wait to sing the Paper Mill School Song to the School Committee Monday. (Photo by Amy Porter) Vincent Baker, North Middle School guidance counselor and liaison for the Wright Flight after school program introduced seventhgrader Suvin Sundararajan and eighth-grader Kealyn Matuszcak to speak about Wright Flight. Sundararajan said he joined the aviation after-school program due to his passion for flying, influenced in part by his father, who he said made parts for the Mars Rover. He said he learned in the course
about the history of planes, jet engines, and computer models that make the critical parts of the plane work together. “It opened up possibilities. I don’t know which (career) to decide on now,” the seventh-grader said. The payoff at the end of the program is a half hour of flight time for students that perform well in the class room, on a flight simulator See Schools, Page 3
Southwick officials ask voters to review Community Preservation Act at Town Meeting By AMY PORTER Correspondent SOUTHWICK – Russell S. Fox, vice-chairman of the Southwick Board of Selectmen, said that in addition to the normal budget considerations at the Annual Town Meeting, there are several interesting articles regarding the Community Preservation Act that he would like citizens to weigh in on. The Annual Town Meeting will be held Tuesday, May 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Southwick Regional High School, preceded by a Special Town Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the same location.
Fox said that the Finance Committee is asking residents to review the terms of the Community Preservation Act (CPA) which the town voted to accept on a five-year commitment in 2002. “The program has done I think a lot of good,” Fox said. He said that 1,000 acres of land have been preserved. They have established a museum, preserved records and housing through the program. Fox added that if the town votes for the Whalley Park funding at the town meeting, they will have spent $2 million to preserve Whalley Park. Article 15 will be asking the town to vote to
appropriate and transfer the sum of $541,890.00 from the Community Preservation General Fund in order to install lights for the softball field, the 90ft baseball field, the pavilion, the play-scape and all currently unlit roads, and parking lots, to install electricity for the pavilion and the stage area and to purchase 6 picnic tables and 10 benches at the park. The two articles that Fox wants voters to consider ask whether to decrease the contribution for the CPA from 3% to 1%, and whether to extend to businesses the exemption on the first $100,000 valuation that residents cur-
rently receive. Article 25, which was requested by the Finance Committee, is asking the voters whether they would like to decrease the surcharge (tax) on real property from 3% to 1% to pay for the Community Preservation Act. The majority of the Finance Committee felt that the townspeople essentially had already determined through a survey held a year ago that they wished to retain the program but that there was sufficient reason to put the question on the ballot as to the See CPA, Page 3
RUSS FOX