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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com
VOL. 83 NO.130
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2014
“... The future stands still; it is we who move in infinite space.” — Rainer Maria Rilke
75 cents
Water use ban extended The Granville Reservoir remains dry as a safety inspection is performed. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Water Commission voted last night to continue the current water use restrictions until the end of September because of the on-going repair work at the Granville Reservoir dam. Water Resource Superintendent Dave Billips said the ban was set to expire when the treatment plant, which draws water from Granville Reservoir, was put back on line this month. “That will not happen,” Billips said to the Water Commission members last
night because of a delay in the upgrade to the dam face. Deputy Superintendent Fran Cain said this morning that the dam upgrade includes reinforcing the “toe” of the dam by adding new material and installing a new under-drain system. The earthen dam allows water to weep through the dam and is then collected by the drainage system. Cain said a “soft spot” in the face of the dam was found and the Office of Dam Safety, a division of the Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs, was
Councilor’s absences explained By Hope E. Tremblay Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Some residents may have noticed the absence of Councilor Robert Paul at a few City Council meetings, but Paul reassured constituents that he is working hard for them. Paul, whose work includes global travel, has missed three out of 10 meetings since he was sworn-in this past January. Paul said two of them were planned before he took his oath. “I had two absences because of my kids’ vacation and I told the Council about them ahead of time,” said Paul. The third was out of his control. “I missed the third because of a strike in Europe,” said Paul, who was stuck at a European airport. City Councilor Christopher Keefe, chairman of the Finance Committee, of which Paul is a member, said Paul has always been “diligent” about giving advance notice of trips. “He travels out of state and out of country for business,” said Keefe. “And we try to work our meetings around it – when he is there he is a very active participant.” Keefe said Paul is on top of the issues and serves the residents of Ward 5. Paul missed two City Council meetings in April and one in early May according to the City Clerk’s Office.
ROBERT PAUL
notified and requested the city drain the reservoir to facilitate an investigation of the dam structure. “The way the dam is designed allows water to percolate through the soil and is collected by the drainage system,” Cain said. “There is no clay barrier or membrane.” “During the re-sloping work (to reinforce the dam toe) the (Tighe & Bond) project engineers saw material shifting, so the Office of Dam Safety wanted to See Water Use Ban, Page 3
Bear strolls downtown
Katrina Tomecek, a student at Suffolk Law School, is flanked by other animal activists yesterday morning as she stands in a human-sized version of an animal cage used on farms to confine breeding sows. The animal rights advocates visited Park Square yesterday morning to show residents, and especially State Rep. John Velis, the highly restrictive cages which are targeted by a pending bill which will be considered by the committee of the legislature which Velis was appointed to. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
Animal activists visit Westfield By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Activists supporting pending legislation to ban extreme forms of animal confinement of animals on farms in the Commonwealth visited the city yesterday to bring their support to the home of State Rep. John Velis who sits on the judiciary committee which must approve the bill. The proposed law, H.1456, would prohibit the use of the most extreme forms of animal confinement. A similar bill, S.741, is pending in the Massachusetts senate. About a dozen people representing the Massachusetts Humane Society and the Western Massachusetts Animal Rights Advocates gathered at Park Square yesterday morning with signs and examples of the confinement systems some farm animal endure to showcase the issue of inhumane treatment of farm animals. Katrina Tomecek, an animal rights advocate and a student at Suffolk Law School, spent time in a human-sized cage similar to cages that breeding sows are kept in which make it impossible for them to turn around or stretch their limbs. Alexis Fox, a spokesperson with the group who represents the Humane Society of the United States, said that the group is on a three-day tour which will take them to six communities which are home to state representatives positioned, like Velis, to influence the passage of the bill.
By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Despite the efforts of city and state police officers, a black bear seen roaming the downtown section of the city yesterday morning was able to elude officers and remains at large. A caller reported seeing a black bear strolling on Arnold Street at 5:19 a.m. moving toward School Street and officer Francis Gaulin spotted the bear three minutes later in a tree behind the former courthouse on the corner of School and Washington streets. A city dispatcher notified environmental police but Gaulin reported at 5:38 a.m. that the bear, which he said was a young black bear about a year old, had descended the tree and was walking toward Franklin Street. He last reported the bear to be in the area of Littles Court and Madison Street but officers then lost sight of the bear for a little more than a half hour until an officer received a call from her mother reporting that the bear was in a Charles Street backyard. The city’s animal control officer, Kerri Francis, was notified and reports she responded to Charles Street but did not find the animal which she said was last seen on Jefferson Street. Francis, when asked if the bear’s activity was unusual, said “yes and no.” She said that the bear was hungry and “was just hanging out in somebody’s backyard eating birdseed.” An environmental police officer who also responded to the report was unable to find the bear. Francis said that bears are a part of the modern urban environment and said that residents should learn how to cope with them. She said it is especially important to teach children. She said that most often bears are attracted to human areas by feeders residents put out for birds. She pointed out environmental officials recommend that bird feeders be removed in early April and not returned until December because they are often attractive to bears. Her supervisor, Police Captain Michael McCabe, said that the primary reason bears are so attracted to bird feeders is the suet that they often contain. He said that all commercially available suet contains honey and bears, which have more discriminating noses even than bloodhounds, can detect the odor of suet, literally from miles away. In addition, seeds spilled from birdfeeders can attract small animals which may be prey for larger problematic animals. Other MassWildlife suggestions include common sense advice such as don’t approach or try to pet wild animals, don’t feed them, don’t feed pets outdoors, don’t let pets roam and don’t leave trash scattered or unsecured.
City builds full-time Law Department By Peter Francis Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Sitting in her third floor City Hall office, City Solicitor Susan Phillips sat at her desk and pondered her career in municipal law. Having worked for eight Mayors in both Chicopee and Westfield, Phillips is uniquely qualified to explain the ins and outs of a Law Department. “When I started here in 2004, there was just a First Assistant and I was the Second Assistant, and that’s kind of an anomaly in the valley. Generally there’s a City Solicitor,” said Phillips. “I can speak to Chicopee because I’ve worked off and on there for 12 years.” After serving as an Assistant City Solicitor for Chicopee in 1985, Phillips became that city’s City Solicitor in ’86 through ’87, and returned to that post for her law partner Richard Kos’ first term as Mayor of Chicopee from 1998 through 2003. Following her stint with Kos, a former city solicitor himself, Phillips headed to Westfield for two years full-time. She then split her time between Westfield and Chicopee from 2006 to 2010, when she worked
SUE PHILLIPS City Solicitor for the city’s next mayor, Mike Bissonnette. “Chicopee is a hybrid of a parttime and full-time Law Department. When I started many moons ago, they were part-time and all my experience in Chicopee was part-time,” she said. “We all had private practice, and it worked really well in the ’80s and ’90s. It allowed you to get very skilled attorneys with a variety
of expertise who weren’t willing to leave their private practice.” Phillips explained that the city of Chicopee operates differently than Westfield. “In Chicopee, the (City Solicitor) appointment is a one year term, so it’s kind of hard to leave when you know the expectation is that you may have one year at that job,” she said. “So that drives the part-time status.” “I believe Chicopee does have one full-time position, and that was created last time I was there to create some continuity in the office,” Phillips said. “It can be very disruptive, in this legal world, when you have a change in administration and you get an entirely new Law Department.” “Westfield always had a full-time department, but when I started, it was one full-time and one part-time. I became the second full-time person, and I’ve been a strong advocate for having that combination,” she said. “I think a full-time Law Department, with the complexity of municipal law, is essential.” Phillips said that she has tried to model her department after the city of Springfield’s Law Department, See Law Department, Page 3
Senior Center Annual Meeting A group listens to an update of the Westfield Senior Center during the Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Westfield Senior Center. See additional photos Page 2. (Photo by Frederick Gore)