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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 85 NO. 157
“Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”
— WILLIAM FAULKNER
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2016
Allen experiences ‘challenges,’ ‘unexpected joys’ in director’s role By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent SANDISFIELD-Life was breathed into the old Silverbrook Café when director Karen Allen and her crew transformed the surroundings in early June to life in 1947. The café is the main setting for Allen’s directorial debut of “A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud.” The film is based on the Carson McCullers’ short story of the same title. “The Silverbrook Café was a challenge in many ways,” said Allen during an interview with the Westfield News. “It had been closed for about 18 months and we had to bring it back to life.” Allen said she and her crew hadn’t anticipated the level of work that would be required to transition the café to an earlier time period. “In the end we all pulled together and made it work,” said Allen. “It looks absolutely great in the film, so every effort paid off.” While transforming the café was a “challenge,” Allen said one of the “biggest” challenges from the beginning has been raising the money to be able to shoot the film. “Now we are faced again with the challenge of raising the funds for post-production,” she said, noting funds are needed for editing and sound mixing, music, titles and all aspects of finishing the film. “We would like to submit the film to the Sundance Film Festival which means having it ready in September, so we have a timeline that we are working toward both in terms of work and raising funds,” said Allen. Now in post-production, producer Diane Pearlman said life is “hectic” these days. “Karen is now working with our editor, Noriko Sakamoto, on the rough cut of the film,” said Pearlman. “We are hoping to use a local composer and are hoping to do our sound mix here as well.” Almost two years ago, Pearlman said that Allen and her East Coast manager, Brian Long, invited her to a meeting at Allen’s home. “They were in the initial discussions of how to go about doing the film and asked me if I’d like to join the project,” said Pearlman. “The story has been a favorite of Karen’s for decades and she wanted it to be her first project.” See Allen, Page 6
KAREN ALLEN
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BOB McKEAN Stefan Czaporowski Executive Director Stanley Park
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Margaret Terklesen with Bonnie, a pitbull mix at the shelter that is receiving care, originally found in Easthampton.
Tom Ricardi shows his license plate.
No day is the same for animal control officers By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—As animal control officer Margaret Terklesen walks by the Westfield Animal Shelter’s cages, cats meow, dogs bark and a rooster crows. Yes—a rooster. These are just some of the animals in the care of the Westfield Animal Shelter, where Terklesen assistant manages alongside manager and animal control officer Lori Charette. But many people may not be aware of the services that animal control provides or what they see on a daily basis, which can be just about anything. “Someone called yesterday saying that they saw a hawk in their backyard and saw no nest,” Terklesen said. “They thought it was hungry so they fed it ground beef.” Terklesen advised to never feed wild animals, especially food that they wouldn’t come across in nature. Regardless, the hawk was in need of care since it appeared to have fallen out of its nest. The bird had no injuries, but was obviously young, with fluffy white feathers around its neck and wings, which suggested that it wasn’t ready to be out of its nest. So the night before, at 9 p.m., Terklesen had to go and secure the bird from the backyard, and bring the animal the following morning to the local “birdman”—according to his license plate—Tom Ricardi from Conway. Ricardi and Terklesen met in a local parking lot and exchanged the bird, which Ricardi estimated was just five to six weeks old and said that it is a Cooper’s hawk. While there, Ricardi showed another bird he picked up earlier in the day in Ashfield—a young falcon. These two birds will add to Ricardi’s current number of 65 total at his home in Conway. For Ricardi and Terklesen this is at least a weekly occurrence. They will meet up and exchange a bird, and
Tom Ricardi shows the Cooper’s hawk talons. Ricardi will nurse it back to health and set it free. And Ricardi said that animal control officers like Terklesen help keep animals safe, as well as helping animal rescuers like Ricardi stay in business. “Without animal control, forget it,” Ricardi said. “We wouldn’t have many calls without them.” While Terklesen was waiting for Ricardi to show up, her to-do list had grown. She was meeting Ricardi for 11 a.m., had to bring paperwork to the Westfield Police Department and then she was requested to go to Easthampton as soon as possible to take care of a cat stuck in a tree. “When cats go up in trees it’s because
they’re scared of something,” Terklesen said. “They do eventually come down.” Within 10 minutes of heading toward Easthampton though, another call came in. Another animal was in a tree in Westfield. But instead of a cat, it’s a bear. Terklesen said that for bear calls, like cat calls, there isn’t much that animal control can do. So, she will have to go to the area where the bear was seen and just warn people about the sighting and to go inside. Terklesen said that this is what she finds most frustrating about the job. “I go home many days feeling like a failure because of the decisions I’ve made and people not understanding,” Terklesen said. “Animal jobs are hard because you’re dealing with animals and they can’t talk, and it’s almost more people-oriented,” she said. “At the end of the day those in animal care don’t feel like they’ve done enough due diligence.” Terklesen described what psychologists would call “compassion fatigue,” and it’s a difficult reality for those in animal rescue. Compassion fatigue strikes those who have to care for others often and, among other symptoms, it can cause feelings of depression, hopelessness, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. According to an American Journal of Preventive Medicine study, this also puts animal rescue workers at a rate of on-the-job suicide of 5.3 per 1 million. That’s the same rate as police officers, detectives and firefighters, all of which were the highest in the study. And the stress that causes compassion fatigue can build up while on the job over time. After Terklesen finished her rounds warning the neighbors about the bear sighting—with an occasional “thank you” thrown in that she greatly appreciated—it was off to Easthampton to deal See Animal Control, Page 7
Las Vegas juggler sets the stage for laughter in Park Gala
Juggler Stephen Caruso will headline Stanley Park’s gala titled “Laughter in the Park.”
By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD-Stanley Park’s annual gala, “Laughter in the Park,” is being billed as the “Party of the Summer.” Robert McKean, managing director of Stanley Park, noted it is the first large celebration sponsored by the park in the new Beveridge Pavilion. The pavilion is located next to the flower and rose gardens and near the arboretum. The gala’s featured entertainer is Las Vegas showman Stephen Caruso, known for his extraordinary juggling routines. The gala is slated for Saturday Aug. 6. “Stephen Caruso is a very unique performer for the evening’s entertainment,” said McKean. The gala gets under way at 5:30 p.m. with a greeting and a sample of the “Orange You Funny” signature drink and hors d’oeuvres. Dinner, which begins at 7, features boneless breast of grilled honey lime chicken, grilled filet with port wine stilton
demi glaze, seared salmon with jicama mango salsa, and a vegetarian option upon request. McKean added that the gala has seating for 250 patrons for a “comfortable dining and show experience.” In addition to the evening performance which starts at 8 p.m., a silent auction is planned as well as several “live” auction items, according to McKean. “We hope to raise $35,000 from the gala,” said McKean. “Funds will be used to continue the enhancement of providing all access areas in the park and to continue to offer services to the community.” Reached in Las Vegas, Caruso said he is “excited” to be a part of the fundraiser in Stanley Park. “I’m going to perform my unique comedy juggling act, and halfway through we are going to have a live auction that people See Park Gala, Page 7