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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
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www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 84 NO. 064
See Climate, Page 3
SEN. BENJAMIN DOWNING
75 cents
Councils mull hydrant clearing ordinance
In this April 2, 2012, file photo, Massachusetts state Sen. Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, poses outside the Statehouse in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
Rosenberg: Taxpayers won’t fund Olympic bid BOSTON (AP) — A top state lawmaker said yesterday he expects the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker to take a firm stand against any taxpayer funding for Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. “We do not want to put ourselves in a position of having to provide any kind of operating subsidy, or subsidy to close a deficit with the Olympics,” said Senate President Stan Rosenberg, an Amherst Democrat. Should the group organizing the bid approach the Legislature for money in the state budget, it would face “very serious problems,” he added. Boston 2024 repeatedly has pledged that if the city is awarded the Olympics, no tax dollars would be used on sports venues or for operational costs. Organizers have said public investment would be restricted for infrastructure improvements that are needed even if the city does not host the games. Rosenberg’s comments came a day after Boston 2024, a privately funded nonprofit group, disclosed that six of its
ten full-time staffers were earning annual salaries of more than $100,000, led by chief executive Richard Davey’s $300,000 a year salary. The group also revealed that former Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, who was named as a consultant to promote the Olympic effort overseas, would be paid $7,500 for each day he travels. Asked about Patrick’s stipend, Rosenberg joked that Massachusetts was famous for “good jobs at good wages,” but added that he had no objections to organizers hiring top talent to pursue the games. He said legislative leaders and Baker, a Republican, have discussed bringing in their own unpaid outside experts to assist state officials with the Olympic planning process. No Boston Olympics, a group that was formed to oppose bringing the games to Boston, mockingly released its own salary list yesterday, making clear that all of its members were volunteers who earned no pay whatsoever.
State gets new Registrar of Motor Vehicles BOSTON (AP) — The former interim commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families has rejoined the state Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) as registrar. Erin Deveney was named to the post yesterday by state Transportation Department Secretary Stephanie Pollack. Her one-year appointment is effective next Monday. Deveney succeeds Celia Blue, who is transferring to a new role as Transportation Department senior adviser. Blue served as Registrar since Jan. 30, 2014. Deveney was chief of staff at the Registry for five years, and previously served as deputy registrar and general counsel. Pollack says Deveney has a “deep understanding of the RMV’s systems and employees” that will allow her “to quickly focus on how the Registry can become
more convenient and customer friendly.” After graduating from the College of the Holy Cross in 1994, Deveney went on to earn a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in 1997. She comes from the Department of Children and Families, where she served as Interim Commissioner beginning in April 2014. Immediately prior to joining DCF, she was Chief of Staff at the RMV for five years, and previously served as Deputy Registrar, General Counsel from 2000 to 2005, under Dan Grabauskas. “I am excited for the opportunity to rejoin the RMV in the new role as Registrar,” she said. “I want to thank Secretary Pollack for her confidence in me and for the opportunity to serve on her senior team. The Secretary has set a clear goal of moving the RMV into a new See RMV, 3
Southampton Fire Chief returns to work statement, said “The Select Board is currently investigating a personnel matter and as such we cannot comment at this time. The fire chief will be back working in his capacity effective immediately.” Workman appeared to have left the building at that point and could not be reached for comment. Workman, who lives in South Hadley, was hired as chief in October 2013. His contract stated that he must move to Southampton and within five miles of the fire station within a year. The Select Board voted unanimously in October to allow him an additional six months to find a home in Southampton. That extension will expire in April. Asked if Workman’s residency was the subject of the investigation, Moulton said she was unable to comment. Workman was hired to replace Stephen Hyde Sr., who was fired in 2012 after six
years as chief and 32 years with the department. The reason for Hyde’s dismissal was not made public until over a year later in October 2013. The state Ethics Commission accused Hyde of violating conflict-of-interest laws by falsifying payroll documents to pay his son, Stephen Hyde Jr., for firefighting work he did not do, and for using a townowned generator to power his home without permission. In December, the commission fined the former chief $7,500 for the falsified payroll records. The commission found that Hyde committed no wrongdoing in using the generator, as it was used to power radio equipment. ——— Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com.
By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Public Health & Safety Committee discussed the functional status and access to fire hydrants throughout the city last night with Water Resource Director Dave Billips. At-large Councilor Dan Allie, PH&S chairman, requested Billips to present a report about non-working hydrants and steps which can be taken to allow access DAVE BILLIPS to hydrants during an emergency response. Billips said that The Water Resource Department, which is responsible for testing and repairing hydrants, has a protocol in place to fix a hydrant which is out of service. If the hydrant cannot be repaired immediately, it is tagged as being out of service and the Fire Department notified. Billips said that some of the city’s hydrants are so old that parts are not available. Another problem is that many older hydrants are not equipped with shut off gates, which would require the department to shut off water service to a number of customers in order to replace the defective hydrant, something that the department avoids if there are functioning hydrants located nearby the out of service hydrant. Another common problem, especially in the downtown See Hydrant Clearing, Page 3
RALPH FIGY
MARY L. O’CONNELL
DAN ALLIE
Calling all shoe hoarders:
Drop off your donations at WSU WESTFIELD – Westfield State University’s Circle K Club is holding a shoe drive from now until April 8 to collect sneakers, slippers, heels, and sandals. The donations will be given to Soles4Souls, a global not-for-profit institution dedicated to fighting the devastating impact and perpetuation of poverty. Soles4Souls advances its anti-poverty mission by collecting new and used shoes and clothing and distributing the donations to people in need. Some donations are sold to carefully selected micro-enterprise organizations to support ultra-small businesses in countries like Haiti where there are virtually no jobs to generate personal income. The drive was organized by Circle K Treasurer Rebecca Talamini ’15, who learned about the organization last year. “I went to Nashville, Tennessee for an international conference and for one of the service projects, I worked with Soles4Souls,” Talamini said. “I learned that they were looking for colleges to put on a shoe drive to keep shoes out of landfills this year for Earth Day. The shoes are donated all over the world to those in need and I wanted Westfield State to contribute.” Talamini hopes to collect at least 150 pairs of shoes during the month-long drive. Single shoe donations are also accepted and will be given to amputees. Donation boxes will be on campus in the Ely Campus Center by Dunkin Donuts, the Scanlon Hall lobby, and in the Commuter Café in Wilson Hall. The shoe drive is sponsored by Circle K, a Kiwanisaffiliated organization of university students, which promotes community service, leadership development, and fellowship. For more information, contact Rebecca Talamini at RTalamini2803@westfield.ma.edu. To learn more about Soles4Souls, visit http://soles4souls.org/.
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By CHRIS LINDAHL @cmlindahl Daily Hampshire Gazette SOUTHAMPTON — Fire Chief John C. Workman is back on the job after being placed on paid administrative leave late last week as an investigation into what the Select Board terms a “personnel issue” continues. Workman met with the Select Board behind closed doors Tuesday night at Town Hall. Immediately after the meeting began, Chairwoman Elizabeth Moulton said the board would enter into an executive session to discuss complaints or charges against a public employee, an allowable exemption to the state Open Meeting Law. Officials have not made public the reason for Workman’s leave. After the nearly two-hour session adjourned, Moulton, reading from a
— KATE CHOPIN’
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015
Senate report calls for climate action By RICHIE DAVIS Greenfield Recorder Staff A new state Senate report on climate change is a call to action for the new Baker administration, as well as the Legislature, to set policies in the face of deepening environmental impacts, said state Sen. Benjamin Downing, one of six members on the committee which drafted the document. As if that point might be lost on anyone, the report, released in February, is titled, “No Time to Waste: Our climate clock is ticking and our natural resources, public health and the future of our economy are at stake.” The report, which Downing said will ideally lead to a mix of new regulations and legislation, includes recommendations pushing for more energy efficiency, modernizing the electricity grid, encouraging deployment of “smart meters” to help users track their energy consumption, and putting a price tag on carbon emissions as one way of enforcing the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act. “Massachusetts has made significant progress towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for climate change,” says the report, pointing out that the state requires increasing levels of energy to come from renewable sources. “On the other hand, the former Patrick administration unfortunately declined to … pursue a carbonpricing mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” A simpler means of carbon pricing than a market-based cap-andtrade program, a “fixed carbon fee” could come in a variety of forms and could be used for multiple purposes, according to Downing, a Democrat from Pittsfield. “At its most simple level, it would be a tax on emission of carbon, whether from power plants or tailpipes or the use of electricity.” Yet Downing said implementing such a fee “gets tricky,” especially
“Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one’s life.”