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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
“An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to liberty.” — Sen. Eugene McCarthy
www.thewestfieldnews.com WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2014
VOL. 83 NO.176
75 cents
Public Works head retires
Overfull mailbox leads to charges By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – A former Chester resident was arraigned on a charge of cultivating marijuana largely because he failed to pick up his mail. In January, 2013, Chester police officers Todd Allman and James Grzelack were on patrol on Lower Bromley Road and, when they pulled into Higgins Road to turn around, Allman noticed that one of the mailboxes there was overflowing. When he looked more closely he found the mailbox was completely full with mail addressed to Christopher Haskell of 19 Higgins Road and included a newspaper which was ten days old. Concerned for the resident’s wellbeing, the two officers went to the house where they knocked and looked in the windows attempting to see if anybody there needed assistance. Finding a door unlocked, the officers entered while announcing themselves and asking if anybody was at home. Seeing light in one of the rooms, Allman opened a door to find a “large marijuana grow room with approximately 50 three-foot mature marijuana plants.” After ascertaining that nobody was at home, the officer contacted their chief, Daniel Ilnicky, who ordered that they secure the scene from the outside and went to the Higgins Road address. Ilnicky also contacted a state trooper, Marc. J. Reidy, with the detective unit at the Springfield Barracks, who applied for and was granted a warrant to search the house. While waiting at the house, a resident arrived and told Ilnicky that the marijuana growing operation was on the property of the homeowner who he identified as Haskell. He also indicated which bedroom he occupied and which was Haskell’s. When the warrant was executed that evening, the officers found plants “consistent with the odor and appearance of marijuana” growing in two rooms and “green vegetable matter See Mailbox, Page 5
Ramon Diaz, of Westfield, left, runs to the waiting arms of his children Jake, 10, center, and Nick, 12, during a welcome home ceremony at Bradley International Airport yesterday. Also on hand was his wife Maria and friends and family members. Diaz was stationed overseas for six months. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Major Diaz comes home By Peter Francis Staff Writer WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. – At around 1 p.m. yesterday, Nick and Jake Diaz arrived at Bradley International Airport with their Mother, Maria, expecting to pick up their grandmother from Puerto Rico. So it came as a huge shock for the boys to see their father, Major Ramon “Ray” Diaz, walking off that U.S. Airways jet instead, returning from a six-month tour in the Middle East. Diaz, who served as a deputy commander of the Force Support Squadron at an Air National Guard base during his tour, has served in the ANG for over 25 years, and grinned from ear to ear as he walked up to his family in his fatigues, arms wide open. “It’s very good to be home,” said Diaz. “It was pure, utter joy. I’ve been dying to get back to the family. My son Nick has grown three inches since I left. He’s as tall as me.” This was the first full tour for Diaz, a systems architect for MassMutual and member of the Westfield School Committee, whose Force Support Squadron handled food and lodging for the base and was responsible for hundreds of military personnel at any one time. “We feed everyone and give them shelter, handle all their paperwork, and we bring groups in from the U.S. to keep them entertained,” he said. “Whenever theres a buildup, our squadron would be heavily tasked because we have to find places to put people.” After the initial whirlwind of hugging
their old man for the first time in six months had subsided, Diaz’ sons were able to summarize the moment in what few words they could muster, still shocked that their dad was not only on U.S. soil, but coming home with them to Westfield. “It feels awesome,” said Jake Diaz, 10. “I thought the grandma story was real.” “I thought ‘you’ve got to be kidding me,’” said his brother Nick, 12. “I felt tricked, surprised and happy at the same time.” Maria Diaz joked with her boys, smiling and hugging them as their father hugged and shook hands with the large contingent of hometown friends who had made the trip to Bradley to greet him. Diaz said that through technology he was able to stay up-to-date about what was going on in the Diaz home. He also said that he was in on convincing the boys that it was Grandma who would be arriving on that U.S. Airways jet yesterday. “We had wireless Internet out there, so I was able to keep in touch and Skype with the family on the weekends,” said Diaz, who couldn’t stop smiling even if he’d wanted to. “It’s been a whirlwind. We did a lot of work, every day I was out there, every singe day,” he said. “I’m glad to be home and get a little bit of a break. I need some rest.” Diaz was also quick to thank his family and the city of Westfield for their support during his deployment. “They always tell us in the military and
By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Department of Public Works Superintendent Jim Mulvenna has retired after 20 years of service to the community, the past 14 at the DPW and prior to that employment served three terms as a City Council member. Mulvenna, who has been on paid administrative JIM MULVENNA leave since early June and the subject of two Board of Public Works executive sessions, retired last Friday from his $88,000 post. The BPW never voted in open session, so the focus of those executive sessions is not public record. Mulvenna was appointed Superintendent of the DPW in 2008 and was the Deputy Superintendent for several years prior to his appointment following the resignation of former DPW Superintendent Philip Genovese. Mulvenna was hired in 2000, the year before Jack Dowd, who served as Westfield’s DPW superintendent since his appointment in 1997, resigned in 2001 See Public Works, Page 7
MARY L. O’CONNELL
CHRISTOPHER KEEFE
Public Works post to be revised
By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – An admittedly larcenous homeless man who said he broke into a catering truck in search of something to eat was frustrated when he found no food available so he lit the interior of the truck on fire. Several callers reported, starting at 11 p.m. Sunday, that a food truck parked at a Union Street repair facility was on fire. One of the callers said that he had seen three young adults walking toward Powdermil Village minutes before he called and when officers returned to the station they found that two witnesses were waiting to speak with them. Det. Lt. David Ragazzini reports that in the resulting investigation several persons were subsequently interviewed including the suspect, Michael England, 22, of no fixed
By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – City officials are considering options following the retirement of Public Works Superintendent Jim Mulvenna, including options to restructure the Public Works Department. Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said this week that he has requested the Personnel Department to research and revise the job description and duties of the DPW superintendent post. Knapik said that revision could also include new application standards for candidates applying for the post. “I’ve asked Human Resources to look at the job descriptions and application requirements for that post in surrounding communities,” Knapik said. “I plan to submit the revised job description to the City Council at its August meeting, although they may not act on it immediately. “I think there is some desire in the council to look at other options including consolidation of departments,” Knapik said. “This is a process that we go through every time there is a vacancy in a department head position.” City Council President Brent B. Bean II said the council members may opt to do both, review the job description revision and look at consolidation. “We do need to look at that job description,” Bean said. “I think that the DPW director’s position is very
See Arson, Page 7
See Post, Page 7
See Major Diaz, Page 5
Arson admitted
MICHAEL ENGLAND
Hilltown Information Technology Bond Bill passes By Peter Francis Staff Writter BOSTON – A $50 million Information Technology Bond Bill was approved unanimously in both the House of Representatives and State Senate yesterday, providing half the funding needed to connect the most rural towns in western Massachusetts to high speed broadband Internet access. Representative Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington), who helped draft the House’s version of the bill, titled an Act Relative to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, and has called the bond bill passed yesterday a “seperate companion piece” to the broadband bill passed last week. “The legislation is going to enable
DONALD HUMASON JR.
SENATOR BENJAMIN DOWNING
that $50 million to be spent in innovative and flexible ways to address the needs of different kinds of communities,” Kulik said earlier this
STEPHEN KULIK (D – WORTHINGTON)
week. “They very much compliment each other and one needs the other to get our last mile initiative underway.”
Kulik referenced Chester and Huntington as communities which are partially served by Comcast for cable television and will benefit from the bond bill, a portion of which will be go to completely outfit partially served communities. Earlier this week, State Senator Benjamin B. Downing (D-Pittsfield), who authored the Senate’s version of the broadband bill, said that the next step is to get these funds to the communities as soon as possible. “Once they (these towns) have the resources, the Patrick administration will develop a plan for the rollout of those resources,” said Downing Monday. “We’ll be bringing the conversation out to western Mass., with the Broadband Institute
and others, about the different options before communities. This last mile is going to be driven by local communities saying what they want – how they want the dollars invested and what role they can play in increasing those investments.” Following the vote Tuesday, Kulik said that the bill was given an emergency preamble, which makes the legislation effective immediately. “It will come up once again tomorrow for final enactment, which is just routine and will probably also be unanimous,” he said, adding that the voting was conducted as a simple yes or no. “Because See IT Bill, Page 7