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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 86 NO. 31
“Children see things very well sometimes — and idealists even better.” — LORRAINE HANSBERRY
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2017
Roots controversies uprooted by planning board By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—The city’s planning board is finally moving on from the controversies surrounding the Roots Athletic Complex. It was decided last night at the Westfield planning board meeting that the controversial Roots Athletic Complex located on Root Road will no longer be discussed by the board and other departments will now have to deal with any problems or concerns. And in the process, the
board has decided that there will need to be some changes to how it proceeds with potentially controversial projects going forward. “I am not happy with some of the things we decided but we shouldn’t be discussing this anymore, we should be moving on,” planning board chair Philip McEwan said last night. The planning board has been discussing a variety of concerns with the fields since the summer of last year, when Roots first came under fire for lighting that was not OKed by the
board. Then, synthetic turf was used for playing surfaces for the facility’s soccer field and crumb rubber—a substance that some residents believe can be carcinogenic—was placed under the turf, creating more concerns with the board and residents, especially considering that the facility is on top of a portion of the Barnes aquifer. At the beginning of the meeting, Karen Planning board huddle around the chairMello, a resident of Westfield who also person’s podium to look at plans during See Roots, Page 8 last night’s meeting
No major damage done in house fire
2016-17 Westfield School Committee. (WNG file photo)
WPS sub-committees to hold meeting on redistricting By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – The Westfield School Committee will be holding a joint meeting of the Finance and Curriculum & Instruction SubCommittees on Wednesday, February 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of Westfield Technical Academy. Families and stakeholders of the Westfield Public Schools will be notified of the meeting by phone messenger calls and emails, and encouraged to attend. The School Committee is looking at different options for redistricting in order to reduce expenses, after discovering that $2.9 million more would be needed for the FY18 district budget in order to provide the same level of services as in FY17. All but one of the options involve ending the lease for the Russell Elementary School, and moving students and grades around within the district’s existing schools. A previous Finance Sub-Committee meeting
exploring the seven possible options was held on January 17 in the auditorium of Westfield Technical Academy, at which 200 people participated. Since then, according to Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski, the district has been looking more deeply into the four options which are still being considered after three were voted not to recommend to the full School Committee. Option 1: Russell Elementary Remains Open. Pros: Stability for students and staff, great physical plant, keeps school community together. Cons: Almost 200 students (187) students travel out of town. Option 3: Distribute the 187 Russell students to other elementary schools. Pros: Savings of at least $699,764 in staff, rent and utilities. This option could reduce additional staff; provide an opportunity to redeploy the 5 buses on the C-run. All students would attend a school in Westfield.
Cons: Requires redistricting of all elementary schools; may impact transportation; may be tight in some schools; would create layoffs; breaks up an established school. Option 5: Redistrict the City to six-K-4 elementary schools and two 5-8 middle schools. Pros: Saves at least $699,764. Increases 5th grade learning time by 30 min./day, or 90 hours/ year, adding the equivalent of almost 15 more days of school. Reduces transportation; staff savings, can redistribute staff; students at Middle School for 4-years; frees up 20 elementary classroom spaces; may be able to consolidate 19 classes into 17. Cons: Large middle schools, (North Middle School=897 and SMS=747); 150-student-difference between middle schools; would require redistricting of middle schools to balance; would create layoffs; parent concerns with fifth graders at middle school. See Redistricting, Page 3
By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—City residents with private water wells may be getting their water tested by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) after a regional committee made their recommendations to the department yesterday. The Barnes Aquifer Protection Advisory Committee (BAPAC) suggested five separate areas in the greater Westfield area to MassDEP to have private wells tested, after fears of contaminants continue to flow through the com-
munities. Three of the locations are in Westfield while two are located in Holyoke, but all are in the general vicinity of Barnes Regional Airport. The study comes on the heels of groundwater in Westfield being contaminated with perflourinated carbons (PFCs), which has been tied across the US and in the community to the use of firefighting foams, like the kind found on the airport grounds. The testing will be initially funded by MassDEP but it is expected that the department will seek fiscal compensation afterward from the Air National
Guard, who BAPAC members suggest are responsible for the contaminants. This though, could limit the tests. “MassDEP is going to undertake this study because the Air National Guard is not moving quickly enough, then they will have to recoup the costs, so I don’t know if they are going to do something very broad,” Patty Gambarini, chairperson of BAPAC, said. The areas of the wells are as follows, in order of importance, as determined by BAPAC: See Private Wells, Page 3
A fire occurred in Granville late afternoon on Monday. (Photo from Granville Fire Department)
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Private wells to be tested in Westfield
By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent GRANVILLE – A fire occurred after 4 p.m. yesterday afternoon on Timber Doodle Road. According to the Granville Fire Department’s Facebook Page, firefighters responded to a chimney fire. The firefighters found hotspots in the chimney that were up to 150 degrees, along with light smoke inside the home. Mutual aid was brought in once a box alarm was requested. Area fire departments in Tolland, Southwick, and East Hartland, all helped in the incident with additional resources. The post on the Granville Fire Department’s Facebook Page, went on to say that some mutual aid was relieved of their duties once it was determined that there was no extension into the residence. Firefighters were eventually able to extinguish the fire and there was no major damage done to the home.
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Rep John Velis files bill to help firefighters diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the Commonwealth WESTFIELD – When Westfield resident and firefighter Greg Heath first started to feel tension in his right hand, there was no way he’d believe that three years later, he would find himself in State Representative John Velis’s office working to pass a piece of historic legislation. Heath, now 43, was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at age 41, 17 years after he joined the local department. After two years of coming to terms with his diagnosis, Greg has taken action-
researching his illness and starting a change.org petition that has collected over 52,000 signatures. He has since teamed up with the Representative, and now they are leading the charge to extend accidental disability benefits to Massachusetts’s firefighters diagnosed with Parkinson’s. HD1670, An Act relative to Parkinson’s Disease Disability and Death in Firefighters, was presented this session by Representative Velis in collaboration with the
Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts (PFFM), the union who represents firefighters across the state. If passed, the bill would extend accidental disability benefitsto firefighters who are diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease by creating a presumption that the illness was incurred in the line of duty. Accidental disability benefits are reserved for those who suffer from injury or illness sustained while on the job. See Bill, Page 3
REP. JOHN VELIS