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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
“Some of us think
holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.” — Hermann Hesse
www.thewestfieldnews.com TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 114
75 cents
ON THE STREET What do you like most about the month of May?
PHOTO BY FREDERICK GORE
KAREN MAYO Our family has a lot of birthday’s in May and I love the weather.
TIMOTHY ROGALSKI You can see and feel the transformation in people and nature.
ALICE DAWICKI I love it. It’s really spring and the weather is beautiful.
CHELSEA ROGALSKI Everything is green and the cold winter is gone.
ANTONIO ADAMS The warm temperatures and the flowers.
GLENN HEWITT I love the nice weather. PHOTOS BY FREDERICK GORE
Newcomers win seats in Southampton By CHRIS LINDAHL @cmlindahl Daily Hampshire Gazette SOUTHAMPTON — Voters shook up local government yesterday, selecting four new members to its two most powerful boards at the annual town election. Newcomers elected to the Select Board are Charles J. Kaniecki and Shannon Cutler, both of whom defeated longtime incumbent member David McDougall in a threeway race for two seats. Kaniecki received 305 votes, Cutler 302 votes and McDougall 256 votes. Hampshire Regional School Committee will also get two fresh faces in Margaret Larson and Tammy Walunas, who beat incumbent Joseph Moynahan in another three-way race for two seats. Larson received 311 votes, Walunas 296 votes and Moynahan 279 votes. In the only other contested race, Jeffrey M. Dugas beat Charles D. Kaniecki for a threeyear seat on the Board of Health. Dugas received 301 votes while Charles D. Kaniecki received 175 votes.
Just under 12 percent of the town’s 4,339 registered voters came out to the polls, with 512 ballots cast. All of the elected positions are for three-year terms. After being sworn in by Town Clerk Janine Domina at Town Hall Monday night, Charles J. Kaniecki, one of the Select Board winners and the father of Charles D. Kaniecki, said he feels gratified by the win. “I’m looking forward to bringing the community together as a whole,” he said. Charles J. Kaniecki, 62, is no stranger to government. He is the western Massachusetts district health officer for the state Department of Public Health, is the chairman of the Public Safety Complex Committee and has served in a number of other town positions throughout his life. He said his work on the Public Safety Complex Committee might have contributed to the win. “I think (voters) all realized I have the town’s well-being at heart,” he said. Cutler is also a familiar face in Town Hall. See Seats, Page 3
Baker signs state employee retirement plan By BOB SALSBERG Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Republican Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday signed into law a bill offering incentives to thousands of state employees to take early retirement, cutting the state’s payroll by an estimated $172 million in the next fiscal year. Baker signed the bill hours after the House and the Senate, without debate, accepted compromise language that caps at 5,000 the number of executive branch workers who can opt for early retirement and allows the administration to designate certain critical positions that would be exempt from the program.
Eligible employees can apply for early retirement between May 11 and June 12. Critics of the plan warned that early retirement could devastate key state agencies that would see a sudden wave of departures of highly experienced personnel. But the governor said he did not foresee major problems. “I would remind everybody that this is the third time (Massachusetts) has done this in the course of the past 20 years and the two previous times about 4,500 people took advantage of a program like this and state government continued to do the work of the people,” Baker said
JDay races a concern for Southwick chief By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The Board of Selectmen made it clear last night they agree with Police Chief David Ricardi that JDay motocross racing must be toned down. JDay is an extreme version of motocross racing which includes an offroad segment in the woods where riders must navigate over logs and other hurdles. Ricardi expressed concern not about the style of the race, but the danger associated with JDay spectators.
“I was quite surprised at how dangerous it is,” said Ricardi. “I have nothing but good things to say about motocross, but when it comes to JDay, I have concerns about safety.” Spectators are allowed in the woods and on the motocross track during the event. “People are allowed on the track during the race and can even cross the track,” Ricardi said. “Maybe we shouldn’t allow JDay races in Southwick.” Police Lt. Kevin Bishop, a longtime motocross racer himself, said he did not
realize spectators were allowed on the motocross track. He said part of the draw of JDay races is that spectators can get close to racers in the woods but he did say he was at a JDay race last year in another town where a rider came out of the woods and hit six people. Ricardi said the event is billed as an “extreme spectator sport” and he asked the board to reconsider allowing it in Southwick. Safety Officer Sgt. Kirk Sanders said last year the See JDay Races, Page 3
‘Jug handle’ special permit hearing slated By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Planning Board will continue the public hearing requested by Pride Limited Partnership to construct two fueling facilities in the area of the “Jug Handle” at the entrance of the Massachusetts Turnpike. Robert L. Bolduc, the founder of Pride and engineering consultant John Furman of Springfield office of VHB, presented details of the complicated project which involves two separate property parcels, one for commercial vehicles and the other for passenger vehicles. Both parcels have frontage on Owen District Road and Friendly Way. The commercial truck facility will be located behind the Friendly’s Restaurant and given the designation as 33-39 Southampton Road. That site will primarily provide diesel fuel for commercial trucks, but will also have a compressed natural gas (CNG) pumping station which will be operated in conjunction with the Westfield Gas & Electric (WG&E) Department pending a public-private partnership agreement. Bolduc said that CNG is the “fuel of the future” because it costs half of the price of diesel fuel and because CNG is 14 times cleaner than diesel. The commercial fueling station is designed to fill the saddle tanks of truck from both sides of the vehicle. The passenger car fueling station across
Friendly Way from the commercial facility also will have an alternative fueling station proposed in conjunction with the WG&E Department, Bolduc said. The plan is to put a recharging station at the front of the passenger vehicle facility. The passenger vehicle fueling facility would have to one-way entrances, one form Owen District Road (the jug handle) and the other from Friendly Way. There would be a second entrance and exit onto Owen District Road and a second entrance and exit, with a right turn only onto Friendly Way near the intersection with Owen District Road. Furman said that much of the road improvement work will be triggered by the Mass Turnpike transition to electronic tolls, replacing the toll booth system with Fast Lane technology and cameras to record registration plates of vehicles, without Fast Lane transponders, entering and leaving the turnpike. Residents were asking questions of fact when Board Chairman Philip McEwan called for a vote to continue the hearing to tonight when residents may continue to ask questions of Bolduc and Furman. That will be followed by the part of the hearing which allows residents to speak in favor or against a special permit proposal. The board closed the public hearing for a special permit requested by Marc Hortie to erect an internally illuminated sign at See Special Permit Hearing, Page 3
See Early Retirement, Page 3 Noble Medical Group and The Noble Health Network | NobleHealthNetwork.com
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