This year’s Westfield Public Schools Science & Engineering Fair was one of the largest in recent memory, with over 100 judges, 350 students and 228 projects.
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SOUTHWICK
Nomination papers now available for Southwick’s election
The Town Clerk nomination papers ready for those who are seeking to fill the 16 board, commission and committee seats up for election during the May municipal election.
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SRS principal and School Committee member pitch electric sign
School officials during the Select Board’s Feb. 2 meeting said an electric sign would be a good way to promote community involvement and improve the schools’ climate.
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FEBRUARY 13th - 16th
PUBLISHED BY REMINDER PUBLISHING
Committee prepares for ‘bumpy’ budget season
By Amy Porter aporter@thereminder.com
WESTFIELD — During his update at the Feb. 2 School Committee meeting, Mayor Michael McCabe said he expects the school district budget to be done by March 6. Once it is, it’ll then come in front of the School Committee.
“It’s going to be a bumpy ride,” McCabe said, adding, “The preliminary reports aren’t rosy.” He said regular city department budgets are due by Feb. 6.
Despite that ominous forecast, McCabe said he has spent a lot of time recently at Westfield High School and Westfield Middle School, both of which are “thriving.” He also noted that two of the students with top projects at the Jan. 29 Science & Engineering Fair are representing the schools at regional sporting events.
McCabe said that the city received a bid of $630,000 to renovate and repair a bathroom at Westfield Technical Academy, which has never been in the School Department budget. He said the bid was submitted to the City Council, and he hopes to have it approved this month.
Also discussed was the future of the Head Start building at 390 Southampton Road, which Community Action of Pioneer Valley told McCabe would be vacated in June at the end of their lease, which expires in May. Head Start is moving to a new facility being built at Southampton Road and Falcon Drive.
McCabe said there are plans for future use of the building by the district, which will be brought to the full School Committee. He said the plans could bring an immediate financial
benefit by creating a space where out-of-district placement could be addressed in the department.
Special Education Administrator Greg Rosenthal said a proper presentation is in order for the plans being discussed, which potentially include small group instruction in a separate setting that would be more beneficial for the students and would be a savings if the program were in district instead of out of district.
Bo Sullivan, who chairs the Finance Committee, said that although the budget isn’t due until March 6, he wondered if Rosenthal’s presentation could include numbers in cost savings built into the budget, if that number is known.
“It will be preliminary, but I’ll have some projections for you,” Rosenthal said. The presentation was scheduled for the next School Committee meeting,
which is on March 2 due to the February holiday.
Kathleen Hillman said that after she served as a judge for the high school science fair, she stopped in at two programs at Westfield School that she wanted to bring to the attention of the School Committee.
The first was the culinary program, which she said has a brand new sink and new tables.
“I think it’s important that all students are able to go into this special class,” Hillman said. She said the program, which was threatened with elimination during last year’s budget talks, is moving forward, and the community has reached out with its support. “I’m very proud of that,” she said.
Hillman also visited the Community Closet at WHS for the first time. She said it was open, and students were in there,
hanging out. “All students feel comfortable going in. The teacher was telling me, even staff use that program,” she said, including one teacher who spilled coffee on herself and needed a shirt. Hillman said when asked what they needed, she was told folders and pencils. They also accept clothing, and regularly keep bags of clothing for students going into foster care. Donations may be dropped off at WHS and will be put into the Community Closet. At the start of the meeting, Westfield Middle School Principal Jesse McMillan introduced the school’s new chorus teacher, Kerry Cipoletta, who formerly taught at Westfield Intermediate School. He said she has increased participation this year to
The Westfield Middle School Choir, led by Kerry Cipoletta, performed at the start of the Feb. 2 School Committee meeting.
Photo credit: Westfield Community TV See BUDGET on page 2
Deadlines approach for admission to vocational schools
By Amy Porter aporter@thereminder.com
WESTFIELD — The deadlines are approaching for students wishing to apply for admission to Westfield Technical Academy, the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative and to career technical education programs at Gateway Regional High School.
This year’s admissions will be impacted by new state regulations requiring all CTE programs to base admissions on a lottery system.
In WTA’s former admissions policy, five factors for admission were considered, including attendance, discipline, academic referral from a guidance counselor, grades and a student’s interest in career technical education.
This year, only attendance will be a factor.
“We will have a weighted lottery. A student can have their name in the lottery twice. Once for a completed correct application that is in before the deadline of March 1. They can add a second name if their attendance for the previous 270 school days is above 90%. If a student is chronically absent, they will not get a second name in the lottery,” said WTA Principal Bruce Hastings. Hastings said out of 160 available seats last year, there were 177 applicants from Westfield and 80 applicants from other districts, 20 of whom were admitted. This year, 25 slots will be reserved for out-of-district students. Since WTA is a part of the Westfield Public School District, only Westfield students are in-district.
“The March 1 date is the last date set by the new state policy for admissions. We have not yet
Budget
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71 students, 46 in seventh grade and 25 in eighth grade. He said a recent performance was standing room only.
set dates for any lottery and notification. We will announce that soon,” Hastings said. March 1 is also the deadline for admissions to the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative this year, due to the statewide changes. Previously, the deadline for applications had been April 1, according to Director of Occupational Education Donald Jarvis.
LPVEC is a partnership of the Agawam, East Longmeadow, Hampden-Wilbraham, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Southwick-Tolland-Granville and West Springfield school districts.
Jarvis said for the last four years, LPVEC had overenrollment. Last year, 313 students applied, and the school accepted the top 200 based on their grades, attendance, discipline, letters of recommendation and student interviews.
This year, the 200 students who are accepted will be chosen based on a random lottery drawing by the Rediker student information system, using a certain number of slots per sending district. “We have to go with so many slots per district. We averaged out the attendance over the last three years, taking into consideration how many students attended from each town, to determine what their slots were,”
Jarvis said. He said the number of slots is not based on the populations of the sending towns.
He said, for example, West Springfield and Agawam are the two biggest sending districts and will have the most slots. “That is the fairest way.”
Jarvis said the LPVEC Board of Directors, which is made up of one representative from each member district’s School Com-
Devlin Bowers, a senior in construction at Westfield Technical Academy, looks to clear a form at the entrance of the school for a concrete pour.
mittee, also voted to reserve 15 slots for out-of-district students who pay a higher tuition. “The superintendent [Alvin Morton I] said the school board wanted to maintain the 15 out-of-dis-
Cipoletta introduced two of her students to speak about the chorus. Ciara McBride said in the chorus that they work together to make beautiful music. “When we walk into the classroom, all of our smiles light up the classroom, and all the stress of the day goes away. Chorus at Westfield Middle School is more than just making music; it’s a family and a calming environment,” she said. Amelia Mazairz, the president of the eighth-grade chorus, said music has changed her life for the better. “Choir offers me the opportunity to express my
trict to bring in funds, and offset the costs.” Jarvis said the tuition received from out-of-district students is allocated back to member districts, and for the 15 students
feelings and gives me motivation to keep going. Being in choir has taught me, if you have a passion for something, you should pursue it. Through chorus, I have had so many opportunities and made so many friends. These memories will stay with me forever.”
The chorus, which had pre-
will total almost $1 million. He said some of the smaller towns could not afford not to get that reimbursement. “That’s why we
See ADMISSION on page 5
viously led the Pledge of Allegiance, sang two songs for the School Committee — “A Beautiful Noise” by Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlisle, and “Ain’t gonna let nobody,” from the poem by Langston Hughes’ “Words like Freedom,” featuring solos from several of the students.
Reminder Publishing photo by Amy Porter
WHS Science and Engineering Fair top scoring projects announced
By Amy Porter aporter@thereminder.com
WESTFIELD
— This year’s Westfield Public Schools Science & Engineering Fair was one of the largest in recent memory, with over 100 judges, 350 students and 228 projects. “The projects this year were especially creative, and we are noticing some new categories of research gaining popularity among the students, particularly engineering, artificial intelligence, renewable energy and the remediation of environmental pollution,” said Science Fair Coordinator Christina Smith.
Smith said the projects that will move on to regionals have yet to be determined at this time, but Westfield will bring up to 17 projects to the regional fair, which will take place on March 6 at Western New England University.
“Our students from both WHS and WTA [Westfield Technical Academy] did an excellent job representing themselves, their teachers and their schools. We’re very proud of all the hard work they did leading up to the fair, and of their conduct and professionalism at the fair itself,” Smith said.
“We are thrilled with how the students from Westfield Technical Academy performed at the Westfield Science Fair this year. We had a record number of student participants, which speaks volumes about the growing enthusiasm for project-based learning and discourse across our campus,” said Kristen Styspeck, who spearheaded student involvement at WTA this year according to Assistant Principal Kevin Daley.
Smith shared that it was wonderful to hear the conversations between students and judges. “We are so thankful for the judges who generously volunteered their time and who worked very hard at the fair! We finished up our three rounds of scoring with time to spare and were able to judge many projects a fourth time, which strengthens the validity of our scores,” she said.
Smith also gave kudos to WHS departments and staff who helped make the Science & Engineering Fair a success. “The WHS Culinary Arts Department, led by Mrs. Katie Rosario, pulled off a delicious breakfast and lunch, complete with gluten-free and vegan options, with only a single day to prepare, given our two snow days. Custodial staff and secretarial staff helped immensely with building logistics and set up, and the Fine Arts Department put together a beautiful display of science-themed student
work,” she said.
“The collaboration of the science teachers from both schools was outstanding as usual, with 15 teachers working collaboratively for months to put this event together, all while helping students with their projects and teaching their classes.
“It’s a tremendous amount of work, but a great payoff to see the schools and community come together to celebrate student learning,” Smith said.
Districtwide Top Scoring Projects
• Giovanni Santaniello, WHS first place — “Mycoremediation Employing Pleurotus ostreatus var. columbinus to Degrade Plastics.”
• Kaitlynn Goulette, WHS second place — “Acheta domesticus Consumption Rates as a Function of Varying Electromagnetic Wavelengths.”
Teagan Chisholm-Godshalk, WHS third place — “Smile Say ‘Plastics’: Investigating How Many Microplastics Are Hidden in Cheese.”
Districtwide Finalists (Alphabetical by Project Title)
Ximena Pena, WTA finalist — “A Study on Sustainable Cup Design as an Alternative to Plastic.”
• Isabella Chalmers, WHS finalist — “Analyzing How Different Tinted Glass Bottles Withstand Chemical Migration Against Solarization.”
• Sophia Bevilacqua, WHS finalist — “Comparing the Antibacterial Effectiveness of Acid-Based Skincare Products Using Zones of Inhibition.”
• Adedipo Soyele, WHS finalist — “Designing An Alternative Energy Source That Is Cost Efficient.”
• Nathan Gillette, WHS finalist — “Does Applying Chitosan Coating Reduce Biofilm Formation of E. Coli on Surfaces Compared to Uncoated Surfaces?” Andy Liu, Alec Piepergerdes, WHS finalist — “Exposing the Effects of Noise Pollution Through Eisenia Fetida.”
• Kathryn Gillette, WHS finalist — “How Different Types of Dish Soaps Affect the Amount of Bacteria that Stays on a Plate after Being Washed.”
• Leileenah Rios, WHS finalist — “Natural Water Filter.”
• Pablo Contreras-Munoz, WHS finalist — “Neural Network for Determining Alzheimer’s Severity.”
Daniel Romanelli, WHS finalist — “Testing the Effectiveness of House Plants vs. Air Purifiers at Improving Air Quality.”
• Ethan Guay, WHS finalist — “Testing Water Filters for Microplastic Removal.”
• Mason Matovich, Zar Iodlovskiy, Alexander Bousquet, WTA finalist — “The Bounce Behavior of Batteries: An Analysis of Internal Structure and Charge State.” Zach Maslar, Ethan Bargatti, WHS finalist — “The Ultimate Mosquito Trap.”
Westfield Technical Academy Top Scoring Projects
• Mason Matovich, Zar Iodlovskiy, Alexander Bousquet, first place; districtwide WTA finalist — “The Bounce Behavior of Batteries: An Analysis of Internal Structure and Charge State.”
• Ximena Pena, second place; districtwide WTA finalist — “A Study on Sustainable Cup Design as an Alternative to Plastic.”
Westfield Technical Academy Finalists (Alphabetical by Project Title)
• Vladyslav Stepanchuk, David Nazarets — “An Experimental Investigation into How Quickly a Q-tip Collects Bacteria After Floor Contact to Determine the Validity of the Five Second Rule.”
• Jillian McCaul — “Design and Development of a Bluetooth Enabled/AI-Assisted Stethoscope.”
Science Fair coordinator Christina Smith and WHS Principal Charles Jendrysik were live on the air during the morning judging. Reminder Publishing submitted photo
• Haywood Nilson, Liam Priest — “Effective Degreasing Agent.” Chloe Fisher — “Efficiency test of liquid fertilized water VS Fish waste fertilized water for growing plants.” Jadalys LeMay, Bella Rainey — “From Gold to Green.”
• Korena Bradley, Adriana Jimenez Diaz — “Influence of
Music on Heart Rate and Its Effects on Tone of Writing.”
• Andrian Panchenko, Elias Layng — “Shape Matters; which one shatters?”
By Cliff Clark cclark@thereminder.com
SOUTHWICK —
The Town Clerk has nomination papers ready for those who are seeking to fill the 16 board, commission and committee seats up for election during the May municipal election.
“I encourage anyone interested in serving in our town’s municipal government to consider taking out nomination papers,” Town Clerk Christie Myette said.
The race that will be most watched will be for the open seat on the Select Board currently held by Diane Gale, who was elected to her first three-term on the board in 2023 when she prevailed over former board Chair Russ Fox by 35 votes.
Gale wasted no time picking up her nomination papers from the Town Clerk, posting on her Facebook reelection page a copy of the filled-out nom-
ination form.
“Looking forward to May. I picked up my nomination papers seeking to serve this community for a second term on the Southwick Select Board,” Gale wrote on her page.
And former Select Board member Joseph Deedy didn’t waste any time either. He pulled his nomination papers on Feb. 2.
Deedy served nine years on the board starting in 2013. In 2022 he squared off against political newcomer Jason Perron, who bested Deedy by 83 votes out of 1,171 cast.
On Feb. 3, Deedy said he pulled papers because he believes leadership works best when it’s “grounded, thoughtful and accountable.”
“I’m approaching this election with patience, respect for the process and a commitment to moving forward with the right ideas and the right intentions,” Deedy said.
When residents head to the polls on May 12, they will also choose 12 seats on the town’s boards and commissions to fill.
There is one seat open on the Board of Assessors, which is currently held by William A. Brown IV. It is for a three-year term.
On the Board of Health, one seat is open for a three-year term, which is currently held by Terry Hannah Putnam.
Two of the seats Gene H. Theroux currently holds, as a cemetery commissioner and as a Dickinson School trustee, are each open for three-year terms.
There are two seats open on the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District School Committee. Fox, who was appointed in 2025 to fill the seat held by Erika Emmelmann, who resigned, and Ryan W. Korobkov are the incumbents. Each seat has a three-year term.
The town moderator position, which has a three-year
term, is up for grabs. Celeste St. Jacques is the incumbent.
There are two seats open on the Parks & Recreation Commission. The seats, which have three-year terms, are currently held by Michael T. Sheil and John Whalley III. Whalley III’s seat on the Community Preservation Committee is also open. It has a threeyear term. Whalley III pulled nomination papers for both seats on Feb. 2, according to Myette.
On the Planning Board, the seat currently held by Marcus G. Phelps will be contested. It has a five-year term.
On the Southwick Public Library Board of Trustees, there are two seats open with threeyear terms. They are currently held by Andrea Bugbee and Michael McMahon.
There is also one seat, with a two-year term, opening on the Library Board of Trustees. It is currently held by Kathleen Fis-
chbach, who was appointed last July to the seat, replacing Jennifer Belden, who resigned. On the Water Commission, one seat, currently held by John F. Cain, is open. It is for a three-year term, There is an open seat for a five-year term on the Southwick Housing Authority. The seat is now held by Kevin LaFance. It is a seat for a five-year term.
Nomination papers will be available until March 21 and can be picked up at the Town Clerk’s office in Town Hall.
The deadline to submit unenrolled nomination papers is March 24.
The last date for the Democratic and Republican caucuses to be held is April 4.
If there are any citizens’ petitions for the May Town Meeting, the deadline for those is April 17.
The election will be held on May 13.
SRS principal and School Committee member pitch electric sign
By Cliff Clark cclark@thereminder.com
SOUTHWICK — With the Select Board discussing replacing the Town Crier and considering other places to install programmable LED signs around town, school officials during the board’s Feb. 2 meeting said the signs would be a way to promote community involvement and improve the schools’ climate.
“One of our goals for the school year is to improve school climate. So that sign is really important for us … just for that reason alone,” said Southwick Regional School Principal Diana Bonneville, adding that there is
an effort to rebrand the Rams, the district mascot.
She said the sign, especially for the schools, would be used to encourage students and celebrate their achievements, she said, using the news that Southwick girls basketball standout Avery Burkholder recently reached the 1,000-point mark as an example.
“After she scored it, it took a couple days to get the sign up. It would have been nice to have that done immediately,” Bonneville said.
That type of message for district students, their parents and the community would demonstrate the schools’ “philosophy of our community.”
“That’s really what the message that we want to get out there,” she said.
SRS Vice Principal Christopher Barbarotta expanded on Bonneville’s message to the Select Board.
“Another thing that we are trying to do is build camaraderie with the community,” Barbarotta said.
He said the school has a new initiative called Kindness in Motion, which will ramp up in the spring. It is a program that gets students involved in the community in a meaningful way.
The sign could highlight the students’ volunteer activities.
“Whether it’s shoveling for some elderly people in their neighborhood or going to nursing homes and playing games, or volunteering for youth organizations,” he said.
He also said a new sign at the entrance to the school or any other place one might be installed would allow SRS to announce sporting events going on that afternoon or night.
“It’s our senior night tonight
for girls’ sports, and nobody knows that because we don’t really have a way to get it out to the community. If that was on [an electronic sign] today, we may have a whole different crowd going,” Barbarotta said.
He said a sign at the school could also alert parents to the MCAS or display employment opportunities.
Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District School Committee member Russell Fox spoke to the benefits of a new sign.
“It’s a win-win situation for our region, schools and for the town of Southwick,” Fox said.
“I mean, this is an opportunity to let people know what’s happening at our schools and get them involved, you know, get that Southwick Rams spirit going again,” he said.
He added that a sign at the school could be used to promote town events, like dates for Town Meeting and Special Town Meeting, or public service announcements from the Police and Fire departments.
How to pay for the sign/s was discussed.
Depending on size and resolution, the sign would cost anywhere from $25,000 to $70,000.
When the Town Crier sign was installed in 2013, the $20,000 cost was covered by what is called “Public, Educational and Governmental money” from franchise fees Comcast pays to Southwick to support public television, channel operations, and to purchase related capital equipment.
Select Board member Douglas Moglin said, when the board began discussing the project, that PEG money could be used to purchase the sign.
However, board member Russ Anderson said he had spoken to a Comcast official and was told the franchise fee couldn’t be used.
Fox said if PEG money was off the table, it might have to be included in capital projects in the district’s budget.
“[We could] try to do it that way, but it goes on to the tax rate. And we’re facing over a million dollars [in capital expenses] to do the boilers. So, it’d just be one more thing,” Fox said, adding later that if it were a capital request for the district budget that Tolland and Granville Town Meeting would have to approve it.
Bonneville asked if the district could fund half of the cost, asking if the town would be willing to cover the balance. No one responded to her proposal.
Anderson said that a company was scheduled to provide an estimate of the cost, including installing one at Town Hall, replacing the Town Crier, one at the entrance to SRS, and possibly one at the public library.
“We could tie them all together through the internet or PC, or cloud or whatever, and have multiple messages everywhere, because as a board, we recognize that communication is pretty weak to the community,” he said. Board member Diane Gale suggested one be installed at the intersection of Congamond Road and College Highway.
“I think at the other end of town, there’s a good opportunity for another sign as well … there’s a lot of traffic in and out,” she said.
The board plans to discuss the proposed project after it gets the cost estimates from the company Anderson referred to earlier in the meeting.
HILLTOWNS
Music in Montgomery gears up for fourth anniversary
By Amy Porter aporter@thereminder.com
MONTGOMERY — Music in Montgomery will celebrate four years of free weekly concerts by local musicians on March 5, announced volunteer organizer and Montgomery resident Dale Rogers.
Now held in Montgomery Town Hall, 161 Main Road, every Thursday afternoon from 3-4:30 p.m. except for holidays, Rogers and a “marvelous team of people,” including Dolly and Dick Painchaud, and Jean Wall and Dennis Wassung, set up the meeting room for the event and the refreshments, mostly cookies, which are brought in by concertgoers. Coffee and tea are also provided by donation. She said every week, other people also offer to help.
“The audience brings the refreshments as donations — cookies and brownies. Coffee and tea are provided by donation, with a tip can for the refreshments. All of the dollars in the tip go to the Montgomery Library for cultural events and to the volunteer Fire Department.” Rogers said. The Fire Department has used the donations for equipment and for its annual scholarship named in memory of former Fire Chief Stephen Freye.
Rogers said there is also a tip can for the musicians, who are also supported by donations from the Montgomery Council on Aging.
The musicians come from all over: Montgomery, Southampton, Wyben, Otis, Westfield, Worthington, Holyoke and Easthampton. The music ranges from classical, country, jazz, and rock and roll, with some hymns sprinkled here and there. “The music is all over the place. That’s what’s so interesting — there’s such variety. Sometimes there are original songs in there,
Admission
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ended up taking 15 out-of-district kids,” he said, leaving 185 slots for member districts.
For Gateway Regional, the deadline is earlier, Feb. 15, to apply to one of their school’s two Chapter 74 CTE programs, Welding & Metal Fabrication and Early Education and Care.
The welding program at Gateway offers hands-on experience in state-of-the-art facilities renovated in 2022. Students learn on modern equipment, including a robotic arm, and participate in both on-site and off-site internships.
Early Education and Care at Gateway puts students on track to become certified professionals. The curriculum includes lesson planning for young learners, CPR and First Aid certification and immersive internship opportunities.
Superintendent Melissa Matarazzo said the school accepts applications for the CTE programs from both Gateway residents and non-resident students, but is also subject to the new lottery admissions regulations for CTE programs.
too,” she said, although the musicians mostly play standards.
“They are all local and very talented musicians.”
They play before an audience ranging from 25 to 40 people on average. While there is a good contingent of regulars from Montgomery, concertgoers also come from all over, many from the same towns as the musicians. She said all ages are welcome, although due to the time of day, many who come are retired. “There is a young mother with her 16-month-old baby that comes regularly. I just look around and see all the happy faces. I love it,” Rogers said.
She said people generally arrive between 2 and 3 p.m. for conversation before the concerts start, because when the music begins, there is no talking.
“That’s why the musicians love to come, this is one of their favorite places,” Rogers said.
“Several people told me yesterday they never knew their neighbors until they came to Music in Montgomery, and these are people they’ve been living next door to for decades,” Rogers added.
“People come for sharing community and music, and for the goodies. When they contribute, they are also having the pleasure of giving to the Town Library and the volunteer Fire Department,” Rogers said. “It’s so sweet — the giving ripples out. I love that project.”
Here is the upcoming concert schedule:
• Feb. 12, Barry Searle — We Three Feb. 19, Ed Bentley & Friends
• Feb. 26, Larry Southard
• March 5, Kara & Jerry Noble (four-year anniversary)
• March 12, Helen Arbour, Ursula Elmes, & Joe Nerney
• March 19, Caleb Harris & The Rolling Scones
• March 26, Bob Cipolli
So That Reminds Me
Musicians Kara and Jerry Noble will perform at Music in Montgomery on March 5, the fourth anniversary of the free concert series. Reminder Publishing submitted photo
ST.
St. Mary's defeated High School of Commerce 54-46 at their Jan. 29 game in Westfield.
REMINDER SPORTS PHOTOS TAKEN BY MARC ST. ONGE
Audrey Amaral takes a shot over Jniyah Morris.
Josephine Hicks leads the way up the court.
Angelina Pilecki and Audrey Amaral work to keep control of the ball.
Audrey Amaral puts up a basket for St. Mary's.
St. Mary's Leilani Baez Montanez focuses on the basket.
MARY’S VS HIGH SCHOOL OF COMMERCE
During a timeout, coach Rodney Rodriguez advises the team.
Under pressure, Maddie Szemela looks to pass to an open teammate.
Josephine Hicks keeps her eye on the basket while being guarded by Topaz Green.
St. Mary's Josephine Hicks gets past the Commerce defense for a basket.
Geneva Cataldo passes the ball over Amilliony Therrien.
Tea House must wait for final decision on seating arrangements
By Cliff Clark cclark@thereminder.com
SOUTHWICK — It could be at least a month or longer before the issue of seating arrangements is settled at Crepes Tea House.
When that final decision arrives, it will come after the Board of Health announced that it would discuss in executive session a request by the Planning Board for a formal letter approving the restaurant’s request to offer outdoor dining to its customers in one of its three outbuildings.
“We will go into executive session after the meeting … to further discuss and plan to give some feedback to the Planning Board,” Board of Health Chair Terry Putnam said during the board’s meeting on Feb. 3.
Putnam was responding to a proposal offered by attorney Rachel Fancy, who was representing Crepes and its owner Art Ribinskas, involving the seating capacity of the restaurant at 157 Feeding Hills Road. Right now, the restaurant’s capacity is 93 seats.
Last July, Ribinskas applied for a modification of its special permit to allow it to move 20 seats from the dining room outside to its largest outbuilding on the property to accommodate outdoor dining.
He didn’t request increasing the restaurant’s seating capacity, only to move 20 seats outside
between April 1 and Oct. 31.
Several issues slowed the process, which led to Ribinskas requesting several continuances of the required public hearings to address each. There were also questions of trust after Crepes violated its permit to cook outdoors by doing it more than once a week on two occasions.
In December, it appeared the members of the Planning Board — without member Diane Juzba, who recused herself because she lives beside the restaurant — were comfortable allowing Ribinskas to move 20 seats between the outbuilding and restaurant.
That changed after Planning Board Chair Jessica Thornton invited interim Health Director Caileen Simonds to the meeting.
Simonds said the town’s former health director believed the 20 seats requested for use in the outbuilding should stay there permanently, leaving 73 seats for the dining area.
Thornton was hesitant to move ahead without a definitive decision from the Board of Health on the seating arrangement, which created a delay of at least a month.
At the Board of Health’s meeting in January, Steve Salvini of Salvini Associates attended the meeting, requesting that members approve moving the seats back and forth.
He also addressed the
board’s concern over the restaurant’s septic system, which Putnam addressed on Feb. 3.
“We’re interested … we’re most concerned about the stress to your [septic] system. And then even downstream … should there be a problem in that system. So that’s why the 93 is stuck in our heads,” Putnam said to Fancy and Ribinskas.
Salvini said at the board’s January meeting that the septic system has a capacity of 3,500 gallons per day, and that he pulled water use billings for the restaurant, and it never exceeded 1,200 gallons per day.
Neither Fancy nor Ribinskas responded to Putnam’s septic system concern.
Fancy did, however, offer what she described as a compromise on the seating issue.
Referring to the opinion by the town’s former health director about permanently moving 20 outside, Fancy suggested keeping 10 seats in the outbuilding between April 1 and Oct. 31 and moving the additional 10 seats in and out as needed. Fancy also suggested that they could only be reserved.
“I think the compromise here would be that [Ribinskas] does lose 10 seats in total, but he does have the 10-seat swing, which is a little bit easier to count and maintain for him as well as anyone who comes to inspect, [like] the zoning enforcement officer,” Fancy said.
She also provided the board with her proposal she said would be offered to the Planning Board to include when, and if, it modifies the permit.
“If it is violated, that’s a violation of the permit. It’s not, oh, this is what we verbally said. It’s on the permit. He’s committed to it,” Fancy said.
Included in the proposal is a provision to revisit the permit modification after a year to ensure there weren’t any violations reported. The Planning Board also met on Feb. 3, and Crepes was on the agenda for another public hearing. Fancy also attended that meeting and provided the Planning Board members with a brief presentation about the proposal to the Board of Health.
Since the Board of Health put off discussing the proposal until the executive session it held, she said, “they have not provided any feedback.”
“We had hoped maybe they’d talk about it in an executive session and come back [in open session and announce the decision], but obviously they do not have that for all of you right now,” Fancy said, adding there were people in attendance who want to talk about their support of Crepes.
Planning Board Vice Chair David Spina, filling in for Thornton, said they were just waiting on the Board of Health decision, which led to the formal hearing being continued until next month.
Spina opened the floor for public comments after one member spoke.
Board member Jason Grunwald said he thought having the defined dates the outbuilding could be used was “kind of what
I’m looking for. I think that addresses [my concern].”
Juzba, not speaking as a board member, said that she was concerned that from the “beginning of all this, there have been many, many things that have been done inappropriately. And there has been no ownership of that.”
“And as a neighbor, not once has anybody asked us about our concerns, about, you know, hey, ‘how can we work together?’” she said.
On March 3, the Board of Health and Planning Board will again meet on the same night.
Because votes can’t be taken during an executive session, it’s unclear whether the Board of Health will have a decision prepared for the Planning Board that night.
There are 10 specific reasons a board can go into an executive session. They are generally related to sensitive personnel, legal, security or real estate matters. The chair must declare the purpose, and a majority vote is required.
Discussing the seating capacity of a restaurant and the apportionment of seats does not fall within the state’s Open Meeting laws exemptions.
The Board of Health had an executive session on its agenda: “[It was] to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel. Not to reconvene in Open Session.”
in case you miss an obit in the daily paper. We hope you find this useful and that you will refer to it weekly.
AGAWAM
David A. Anderson
Patrick A. Jewett
Ernest “Ernie” Liimatainen
Irene Comee Pigeon
FEEDING HILLS
Marguerite G. Cyr
Debra L. MacDonald
Richard Bernard Murray
Marguerite C. Schufreider WESTFIELD
Laura J. Lockhart
Jeffrey D. Trench
Festival to showcase, celebrate youth film and photography
By Trent Levakis tlevakis@thereminder.com
NORTHAMPTON — From the Valley Fest, a new youth film and photography festival started by two Hampshire County high schoolers, is coming to 33 Hawley in Northampton on Feb. 21. The inaugural event will showcase and celebrate the work of young artists in their respective mediums.
The festival was cultivated by Amherst Regional High School junior Ava Beganny and Pioneer Valley Performing Arts School junior Serena Gross, whose passion and friendship tied to photography and visual storytelling helped foster the idea. They became friends at the Deerfield Academy Summer Arts Camp and quickly bonded over their shared interests.
“We’ve been friends for a while, and we became friends because we had a shared love for visual art, such as photography and film. We were looking around the area trying to find some kind of festival to showcase our artwork, and we couldn’t really find anything that was really accessi-
ble to us, so we were like, ‘what if we just made it ourselves?’ And so over the summer, we started talking about it and planning, and it all kind of went from there,” Beganny told Reminder Publishing
As part of their summer at DASAC, the two were exposed to analog photography and visual storytelling, which eventually augmented the poetry they wrote.
Beganny said it was a great experience for the two of them because it helped build their skills in those areas.
The festival will run on Feb. 21 from 2-4 p.m. The first hour is devoted to a photo gallery walk/ mixer, where artists can connect further and speak to attendees about their work. The second hour features a presentation of the film submissions themselves.
“Youth artists can meet up with each other and get inspired, and just have a good connectiveness … I think that part is really cool, talking to other people your age that are interested in the same thing,” added Beganny. “It’s [the festival] casual, as in it’s not something to be super wor-
ried about going into it. Everyone who submitted has really good art, and it’s amazing to see, so it shouldn’t be a scary event where you’re worried your art isn’t good enough. It’s for youth artists, and it’s for people to try and experiment, and get inspired.
Beganny added, “I think that it’s really important to not only be creative in your own way in whatever art form it is, but to also look at other people’s ideas through artwork. I think it’s important to broaden your scope and to also get connected with other people. I have a lot of friends at Northampton High School, and I’m just trying to get a lot of people to come to this event. Not only if you’re an artist, but to see people doing things you’re not used to, because it can really make your brain open up more to different ideas.”
Beganny said the event is not meant to be competitive. Instead, it’s a showcase of the talented youth working in these areas. With that being said, one photographer and one filmmaker will be highlighted at the end of the event as “The Valley Favorite.”
“It’ll be a way to showcase one thing that really excelled in our eyes, but we don’t want it to be a competition; it’s just an added benefit. For everyone that’s submitted, we’re all proud of them, and it’s been amazing to see,” added Beganny.
Reflecting on the creation of the festival, Beganny said she and Gross are both thankful to be living in the valley, where doing something like this is attainable.
“I think we’re really lucky to live in an area where it’s accessible to do things like this and also to be supported through that. I think that it’s good that we’re taking this opportunity because there are places where people just don’t have access to these forms of art, or access to the funds to be able to put on such an event,” said Beganny. “We want to take advantage of that and be able to do this so that people will be more inspired in the future to do more stuff like this, because in all honesty, my ideas were inspired by a lot of local theater people who have put on their own events at different venues and such, and I kind of
wanted to lean into that and put on my own event. I just wanted to lean right into my hobbies, which I know a lot of youth share with me, and to be able to have a big gathering where everybody can learn one way or another.”
Tickets for the first-ever From the Valley: Youth Film and Photography Festival are $7 for students and $12 for general admission if purchased on Eventbrite: visit tinyurl.com/tjmvd4s8. The cost at the door is $5 for students and $10 for general admission attendees.
“Art is a very special medium. I think that it’s not encouraged in a lot of places, and I want to be able to encourage that to youth so that they can try this thing that is often discouraged, because it’s hard to make a living when only focusing on art,” added Beganny.
“But I think, especially as a kid or teenager, that’s the prime time to experiment with art, whether it’s film and photography, or theater, or writing, anything like that, I think is just wonderful, and I think everybody should have access to those types of things.”
Chamber of commerce to host health and wellness expo
WESTFIELD — With New Year’s resolutions still fresh in mind, the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce invites residents and interested members of the public to focus on wellbeing at its first Health & Wellness Expo. Being held Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 4-7 p.m., the expo will feature local businesses in the health industry.
A variety of chamber businesses will set up table displays at the expo, which is being held at the Westfield River Elementary School. “We have nearly
20 businesses registered so far, and we expect several more to join us,” said Amanda Waterfield, executive director of the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce. “From home health services to fitness trainers to financial advisors, we have businesses that will provide a wealth of information and resources to attendees.” The expo is presented by Cambridge Credit Counseling with sponsorship support from Baystate Health Systems. There is no cost for attendees to visit the expo. Participating
businesses as of Feb. 2 include:
All Natural Reiki
• The Arbors at Westfield
• Baystate Health
• BHN Center for Wellbeing
• Cambridge Credit Counseling
• CHD Cancer House of Hope
• Deborah Calvanese, LMHC Fore Point Retirement
• Friends of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail Full Plate Strength & Conditioning
• Health New England
• Highland Valley Elder Services
• Momentum Health
& Performance Serendipity Psych
• Visiting Angels
• Vivid Hair Salon & Spa
• YMCA of Greater Westfield
Businesses interested in registering as an exhibitor should contact the chamber at 413568-1618 or register at www. westfieldbiz.org/events. Chamber members can participate at no cost; there is a fee of $75 for nonmembers to participate as a vendor. The Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce is the
voice for our member organizations, representing a combined workforce of over 10,000 employees throughout the chamber’s nine communities of Westfield, Southwick, Russell, Granville, Blandford, Chester, Huntington, Montgomery and Tolland. Our mission is to develop and foster a prosperous business environment by serving, protecting and promoting our members through advocacy, education, information, marketing and networking programs and activities.
Springfield Symphony’s Fearless Women Awards open for nominations
SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Symphony Orchestra announced that its fourth Annual Fearless Women Awards are open for nominations, honoring local women who embody courage, resilience and empowerment. Women are nominated by their peers, and nominations are being accepted until Feb. 13 at 5 p.m.
Nominations can be made through a form on the SSO website at SpringfieldSymphony.org. This year’s Fearless Women will be recognized on stage at the SSO’s March 14 performance at 7:30 p.m., “Gershwin and A Woman’s Voice.”
Those who nominate a Fearless Woman can choose among five inspiring categories that most embodies the individual, including Bravery, Advocacy, Passion, Perseverance; and Authenticity. Last year’s Fearless Women Awards honored seven local women, and since its inception, the Awards have recognized more than 20 women in the region.
Those being honored will receive two tickets to the March 14 SSO concert, along with the individual who nominated them, and there will be a Welcome Reception for honorees, their guests and nominators in the Mahogany Room prior to the concert. The Fearless Women will then be recognized on-stage at the start of the performance. The honorees will receive a plaque in recognition of this honor.
According to Heather Caisse-Roberts, president and CEO of the SSO, “The Fourth Annual Fearless Women Awards celebrate the remarkable women whose courage, creativity and commitment elevate our community and inspire us all. They reflect a deep dedication to lift-
ing others, fostering connection, and creating meaningful, lasting impact through their everyday actions. We are proud to recog-
nize their achievements and to shine a spotlight on these amazing women in our very own Symphony Hall.”
