a 2011 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck that was driven on the ice of the Middle Pond in late January, crashed through and submerged in over 25 feet of water, was recovered on May 18 by members of the Western Massachusetts Regional Dive Team.
“It was a coordinated effort,” said Richard Grannells, the chair of the town’s Lake Management Committee, who stood with over 100 people for over four and half hours watching as the members of the dive team worked to recover the truck.
Grannells was surprised at where the truck was found. A security camera recorded the truck, whose driver’s name has not been made public and who not present on May 18, according to acquaintances, as it crashed through the ice. It was found about 200 yards from where it was thought to be submerged.
He said it must have floated to where it was found in the minutes after it went through the ice. It stopped with all four wheels on the bottom of the pond, right side up, he said.
After divers determined the location, they went under and attached two flotation bags to the truck.
Those who were watching thought that the truck would surface, but it didn’t.
Even one of the members of the regional dive team said they were expecting the truck to surface, but it was raised a few feet from the bottom and floated to the Middle Pond Boat Ramp launch, where it was driven in on Jan. 22.
Waiting at the launch was Interstate Towing’s 60-ton recovery truck.
As the truck got closer to the dock, a diver attached a thickly braided steel cable to the truck’s hitch and slowly pulled it out.
Just as the blue truck’s cabin broke through the surface over five nip bottles popped to the surface and floated away.
The truck was intact, but its windows had been broken out by the divers to attach the flotation bags.
The cost of the recovery effort was covered by the driver’s insurance, said Police Chief Rhett Bannish.
The driver went to the police station on Jan. 24 to report the incident.
Bannish said at the time the state Department of Environmen-
tal Protection and the Massachusetts Environmental Police were notified and that the MEP would conduct the investigation into the incident.
The driver was fined $50 by the Conservation Commission for violating a town ordinance that prohibits the operation of vehicles on the ice of the three Great Ponds of Congamond Lakes.
Owners are also legally responsible for the removal of submerged vehicles and can face thousands of dollars in penalties if fluids contaminate the water or if the incident is deemed negligent.
According to state law, a person who negligently commits an environmental violation and thereby causes serious bodily in-
jury to another human being or a substantial risk of damage to natural resources or to the property of another person in an amount exceeding $25,000, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $2,500, not more than $50,000 per day of violation, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. When a vehicle sinks and remains underwater for weeks or months, which could be the case here, there are specific environmental hazards created, including leaking engine fluids like gasoline, transmission fluid, antifreeze — which is highly toxic hydraulic fluids and acids, like sulfuric acid, from batteries.
WESTFIELD
FY27 budget public hearing scheduled
The Westfield City Council will hold a public hearing on June 3 at 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers. Page 3
SOUTHWICK
Meals Tax bites the dust
A majority of voters were against the meals tax. Page 4
Interstate Towing, using its 60-ton recovery truck, pulled the Dodge Ram 1500 up the launch at the Middle Pond Boat Ramp on May 18. The truck was recovered after being underwater for 117 days. It was driven on the ice and crashed through on Jan. 22. The driver and his dog were uninjured. Reminder Publishing photo by Cliff Clark
Fighter wing honors fallen airmen during annual rededication
row, from left: Col. Michael Glass, 104th Fighter Wing commander, addresses the base personnel, alumni, families of the fallen and distinguished guests assembled around the F100 static display for the solemn ceremony on May 15 honoring the memory of its members who gave their lives in service. The wreath placed on the F100 memorial during the rededication ceremony. Family members gather at the 104th Fighter Wing rededication ceremony on May 15. Family members and base personnel gather under the static F100 display after the rededication ceremony May 15. Middle row, from left: Family members of those memorialized are flanked by SrA Abigail Hartley, Chief Master Sgt. Michael Gardner, and at right, Col. Michael Glass, 104th Fighter Wing commander. Col. Michael Glass places a wreath at the F100 static display during the 39th annual rededication ceremony. At right: A 21-gun salute was performed at the ceremony.
By Marc St. Onge Correspondent
WESTFIELD — The 104th Fighter Wing held its annual F100 rededication ceremony on May 15. The event honored the
13 fallen airmen who have given their lives in aviation-related events in performance of their duties to the state and country.
ilies of the fallen, and distinguished guests assembled around the F-100 static display. A 21-gun salute was performed, and the laying of a memorial wreath occurred as the names of the fallen airmen were read.
Poll: Voters support Healey, but unsure of state’s
By Michael P. Norton State House News Service
BOSTON — As she seeks a second term, Gov. Maura Healey holds comfortable leads over two Republican challengers but voters in a new poll also showed they increasingly believe Massachusetts is on the wrong track.
Pollsters found Healey leading Republican Michael Minogue with a 58-31 percentage point advantage and also outpolling Brian Shortsleeve 59-30. Minogue is pouring money into his campaign and running extensive ads after being endorsed at the state Republican Party convention.
The Polity Research Consulting poll of 608 registered voters was conducted between April 29 and May 7 for the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus four percentage points.
Respondents ranked cost of living issues as their chief concern, including housing, energy, taxes, healthcare and grocery costs. Fifty-three percent said
future
state leaders on Beacon Hill have hurt the effort to make life more affordable in Massachusetts, and more than 50% of those surveyed said the state should reduce sales and property taxes.
Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they would definitely or probably vote to approve a ballot question imposing statewide rent control, and 76% said they would definitely or probably vote to pass a ballot question cutting the income tax rate from 5% to 4%. Both of those measures are unpopular with Healey and among members of the Democrat-controlled state Legislature.
Thirty-six percent of respondents said Massachusetts is heading in the right direction with 45% saying it’s on the wrong track. The same poll in 2023 found 59% of respondents said the state was moving in the right direction, with 29% saying it was on the wrong track.
Sixty-eight percent of respondents said the U.S. was on the wrong track, with 24% saying it was heading in the right direction.
Top
Reminder Publishing photos by Marc St. Onge
Council schedules FY27 budget reviews and public hearing
By Amy Porter aporter@thereminder.com
WESTFIELD The Westfield City Council will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, June 3, at 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers, Room 207, on the fiscal year 2027 annual budget as submitted by Mayor Michael McCabe.
At the meeting, all interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard for or against the proposed expenditures or any item. Comments may be sent in advance to city.council@cityofwestfield.org.
Also scheduled are a series of budget reviews by the council’s Finance Subcommittee, which is chaired by City Councilor Daniel Knapik and includes Councilors Brent Bean II and Cindy Harris. All meetings will start at 5:30 p.m.
On Monday, June 1, the School Department, Fire/Ambulance, Emergency Management and Westfield Athenaeum will be reviewed in Room 315. On Tuesday, June 2, Police/Animal Control, Dispatch, Veterans and PEG will be discussed in Room 201. Lastly, on Monday, June 8, Retirement, DPW/Water and En-
gineering/Flood will be reviewed in Room 201. The Airport, Clerk’s Office and Collector/ Treasurer were heard on May 13. Meanwhile, Community Development & Planning, Purchasing, Law and the Tech Center were reviewed in Room 201 on May 20.
On Tuesday, May 26, Assessor, Health, Transfer Station, Council on Aging and Weights and Measures were reviewed in Room 315; and on Wednesday, May 27, Mayor/Facilities/Building, Personnel, Audit and Conservation were discussed in Room 201.
Knapik said the hearing that is scheduled for June 3 provides the public with the opportunity to come to the meeting to voice their opinion on the budget. The committee meetings are open to the public as well, but he said there is less of an opportunity to ask questions at those meetings.
“I think with last year’s budget built with a 6% property tax increase, and this proposed budget at 4%, a lot of voters are asking how that happens. Spending drives the property tax proposal. Lower spending means less property tax burden. To get to 2.5% this year, the council would have to consider cuts of approxi-
mately $1.5 million,” he said.
Knapik said the mayor has done a good job explaining the state aid situation and how it is different today than it was years ago. “It’s quite clear that state government needs to reevaluate the relationship with its cities and towns as all funding sources are dramatically lower in real dollars than years ago.”
In preparation for the reviews by the Finance Committee, Knapik prepared a 25-year analysis of state aid, property tax levy and municipal finance that he said clearly shows the problem and how it has gotten worse over the years.
He also said that Westfield’s traditional approach of levying below 2.5% is problematic these days due to the significant decline in state aid. “That really is the big difference from years ago. After economic downturns in the past, the state aid would eventually rebound ... and the city’s past taxation strategy was fine. But with the declining state aid, it has apparently shown to be a problem today,” Knapik said, an argument that McCabe has made in defense of the 4% increase in the FY27 budget.
Knapik acknowledged that McCabe has generated a budget proposal that has significant reductions in it from where it started in February. “He got to a number that he feels can meet his goals and expectations. In short, the council will need to consider that request and decide if it would like to further reduce the budget to further lower the proposed property tax increase. That is the job of the Finance Committee, to vet the budget and identify reductions and let the council take a vote on them,” he said.
Two of the areas that Knapik believes should be reviewed are not under the auspices of the Finance Committee’s budget reviews. One is the Westfield Gas & Electric payments in lieu of taxes, based on a formula negotiated in the early 2000s. The payment for FY27 is scheduled to be $552,397. He said the G&E plant value has grown substantially over the years, but the PILOT has not. “I would welcome an opportunity to have a joint working group with the mayor’s office, the light board members, and the city council revisit this issue,” he said.
Knapik did not mention that
the Municipal Light Board has pledged and is paying an additional $1 million a year in PILOT contributions for the new athletic fields at Westfield High School, up to a total of $11 million. Knapik also believes that any collective bargaining agreements and conditions within the agreements need to take into account the present state aid situation. “I think much like the period in government during the recession years of 2009-2012, the city management and its employee unions need to work together to address the significant personnel cost drivers, especially health care, and respect that the taxpayer is tapped out, and just because you can tax beyond 2.5% due to excess levy capacity, doesn’t mean it needs to be done or should be done,” he said.
“My expectation for the Finance Committee this year is to generate proposals for the council to consider that will allow for a vote on a 2.5% property tax increase,” Knapik said, adding that if that doesn’t work, the next chance to address some of these issues would be during the rate-setting meeting in December.
Review finds gaps in special education staffing, professional development
By Amy Porter aporter@thereminder.com
WESTFIELD In an effort
to assess its special education programming, Westfield Public Schools has asked a Massachusetts-based educational consulting service, through a bidding process, to suggest where the programming can be improved.
Dr. Greg Rosenthal, administrator of special education for Westfield Public Schools, gave a summary of a review by Academic Discoveries to the School Committee on May 18.
“It was important to have someone come in from the outside and help give us the foundation of a plan to improve moving forward,” said Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski after the meeting.
The slideshow presented to the School Committee, along with the executive summary and the in-depth report by Academic Discoveries are posted on schoolsofwestfield.org under WPS Special Ed Review.
Rosenthal said the lengthy process by Academic Discoveries involved classroom observation, focus groups, individual in-
terviews and surveys of parents, teachers and staff. The summary underlined areas of promise, such as a strong commitment to inclusion and collaborative co-teaching, but also the lack of a consistent district-wide inclusion model and a gap in its implementation and effectiveness.
“There are pockets of great collaborative co-teaching, but they are not throughout the system,” Rosenthal said.
Other areas that need improvement, according to Rosenthal, are effective professional development and consistency in staffing and instructional practices at the classroom level.
“We need professional development. We don’t have enough time for the professional development that we need. What we do with the time that we have is awesome,” Czaporowski said, referring to the curriculum summit held over the summer.
He said the new school year calendar has five early release days built in for professional development.
Czaporowski added that Westfield has been short-staffed since COVID-19 in the special education area, often due to a
lack of candidates. “You can have all the PD [professional development] that you want, but with the constant turnover, it’s like Groundhog Day all over again,” he said.
Rosenthal said the department is setting multi-year improvement goals.
In the first 12 months, a coherent district-wide inclusion and service delivery framework will be defined and published district-wide. Co-teaching expectations that support inclusion will be clarified, and different models presented. Role definitions for educators and service providers will be standardized and feature written guidance for inclusion and service delivery.
Rosenthal said the new guidance will work to build protected co-planning time and structures into teachers’ schedules, and will establish minimum collaboration expectations by formalizing team structures and limiting reliance on informal collaboration.
Towards that goal, the department will start with very small and very motivated teams of general education and special education staff to launch instructional consistency and co-teach-
ing foundations, to be used as “islands of influence,” spreading to other staff, he said.
The district also wants to improve communication and service delivery through an annual staffing audit, strengthen professional development and its relevance for teachers, and communicate staffing structures and constraints to stakeholders.
“The bottom line is we’re struggling to meet our requirements for special education for a number of reasons, most glaringly, lack of funding and lack of ability to find staff. It’s pretty frustrating because there are no candidates out there to hire,” Czaporowski said, adding that the next step is to find contracted services, which almost doubles the cost.
During the School Committee discussion following the presentation, a concern was expressed about the increase in students in substantially separate programs.
Presents...
of special services and student support services for the Westfield Public Schools on July 1.
acknowledged that the department is seeing more transitions to these programs and students not coming
Saturday, May 30 ~ 7-11pm
Harlot Queen’s Album Release Party at Westfield Women’s Club
Tickets: Visit Westfield Women’s Club
Monday, June 1 ~ 5:15pm Flag Raising at City Hall
Tuesday, June 2 ~ 6:00pm Pride Karaoke at Shortstop Bar & Grill
Wednesday, June 3 - 6-7:30pm
443 Shaker Rd, Suite B, East Longmeadow
Family Gift Card Bingo at the Senior Center
Thursday, June ~ 4-7pm Comedy Night at Hutghi’s
Friday, June 5 ~ 5:00pm “Out & About” Social at Fame 386 Dwight St, Holyoke, MA
Saturday, June 6 ~ 11-3pm Rainbows Over Elm Pridefest at the Elm Street Plaza
Family Equality Picnic from 11am-1pm with Tom Knight and Brie’s Balloons Magnolia Masquerade and Friends 1pm-3pm Stonewall Visual Memorial on Park Square
Sunday, June 7 ~ 6-7pm
Ecumenical Service at First United Methodist Church
Sponsored by...
Rosenthal
Dr. Gregory Rosenthal will begin as the new administrator
Meals tax bites the dust at Southwick Town Meeting
By Cliff Clark cclark@thereminder.com
SOUTHWICK
— Of the town’s 7,969 registered voters, 142 attended Town Meeting on May 19, and of those, 126 cast votes on an article to levy a meals tax, which had the potential to generate over $140,000 annually. A majority of them, 77, decided against it, while 49 said yes.
There was only one resident, former Select Board member Russell Fox, who spoke out against passing it.
“I’m opposed to this article. I’m going to oppose this article on principle. It’s my opinion the Commonwealth of Massachusetts doesn’t have a revenue problem, they have a spending problem,” Fox said to the sparsely attended annual meeting in the Southwick Regional School auditorium.
He said to residents that if they adopted the tax, which would have added 0.75 cents on $100 of cooked food in town, it would be “just the first one.”
“The next one is excise tax, and then the next one, then the next one. The next one, [which is] in essence a tax on a tax. I think it’s time that we realize [it] and send a message to Boston since we’re only getting 0.25 cents back on every dollar we send them … This is not the time to enact this.” Fox said.
The 77 residents who voted against it included every member of the town’s Finance Committee, which also recommended not approving it, and a handful of town employees.
Three residents spoke in favor of it, including Greg Diely, the chair of the town’s Economic Development Commission.
“This is not a tax increase … whatever we collect from this local option meal tax will come straight off the property tax. So, if we get 160,000 from this meal tax, it will lower the rate so that we spend 160,000 less in property tax,” Deily said.
He also said that a large majority – 251 – of the municipalities in the commonwealth already levy the tax.
“People should understand if they vote this down, they’re voting for higher property taxes. If we use that $160,000 amount of the roughly 4,000 taxable properties, that’s [a] $40 reduction in property tax. I just want people to understand that,” Deily said.
Elizabeth Lalli and Juliet Hansen, the other two who supported it, stressed that the tax would only be 0.75 cents on $100.
“The meals tax is small pennies on purchase, but it creates another source of revenue that isn’t carried entirely by the residents. Visitors, commuters and
people passing through would contribute. Would it solve everything? No. But even a small amount of revenue can help the pressure stay off property taxes. I think it’s worth considering,” Lalli said.
Hansen was more succinct.
“It’s a simple thing to gain more money for the community. I mean, it’s 75 cents on $100,” she said.
When Town Meeting Moderator Celeste St. Jacques called for a voice vote on the article, she wasn’t sure if a majority voted no, so a hand count was done, which ended with 77 against it and 49 for it.
Town Meeting also approved a Tax Increment Financing agreement with WGI, Inc., a Southwick-based company that is a leading supplier of precision parts for the aerospace and medical industries and a leader in engine aircraft component maintenance and repair with annual sales of between $25-$30 million.
WGI, Inc. reached out to the town several months ago to ask about the possibility of the company receiving a TIF because it was considering building a new $12 million facility at its headquarters on Hudson Drive. The TIF agreement included an additional $6 million for equipment.
WGI, Inc., agreed to create 30 new full-time jobs within
the first five years of the 10year agreement.
Company President Fred Filios spoke about the need for the agreement.
“We are a company that has enriched Southwick, and we will continue to enrich it,” he said, adding that while considering the expansion, Agawam and Westfield had made offers to have the company relocate to their cities.
“In some ways, [the offers were] better than what Southwick is offering. But we decided to stay here because. For a lot of reasons, one of which is I like it
here,” he said.
Residents approved the company saving an estimated $1.98 million in property taxes over 10 years, according to the agreement.
Without the TIF, the company’s annual tax bill on the new building and equipment was estimated at $260,376.
The town will annually monitor WGI, Inc., to ensure it meets its commitment to hiring the new workers.
Also approved was the annual allocation to the South-
Commission unveils flood mitigation options for Congamond Lakes
By Cliff Clark cclark@thereminder.com
SOUTHWICK — Conservation
Commission Chair Norm Cheever announced at its meeting on May 18 that four alternatives have been developed to mitigate flooding events at Congamond Lakes, and he said the costs range from $3 million to $222 million.
“We’re discussing the alternatives, the pros and cons, and then we’ll move into the design phase,” Cheever said about the alternatives.
In December 2022, the Lake Management Committee asked the Natural Resources Conser-
vation Service for options that would protect the ponds and the properties along the shore in the event of a 100-year storm, which theoretically means a flooding event that raises the level of a body of water between 1 and 3 feet, and has a 1% chance of occurring annually.
The NRCS, using only readily available geological and watershed and photographic data, issued a report in June 2023.
The NRCS proposed four options, including one that involved doing nothing. Two options were characterized as structural solutions, which called for the building of an outlet pipe in North
Pond and replacing the culverts that allow water and boat traffic to move between the three ponds with roadway bridges.
The fourth option was considered “non-structural.” It involved purchasing and demolishing the 79 homes on properties identified as at risk of flooding in a 100-year storm. The current residents would have to be relocated.
At the Conservation Commission meeting on May 18, Cheever discussed four alternatives that were developed using the NRCS options as a guide
Select Board member Diane Gale was recognized for her threeyear service on the board by her fellow Select Board members Douglas Moglin and Russ Anderson during Southwick’s Town Meeting on May 19.
Reminder Publishing photo by Cliff Clark
At the Conservation Commission meeting on May 18, four options to mitigate flooding on the Great Ponds of Congamond Lakes was announced. Each would include this weir gate, which is along Berkshire Avenue, being raised nearly a foot and a half. Reminder Publishing submitted photo
HILLTOWNS
Chester on Track draws thousands of visitors
By Amy Porter aporter@thereminder.com
CHESTER
— Over the course of a beautiful spring day, 3,000 visitors enjoyed the many old and new sights and sounds in the historic factory village of Chester during Chester on Track.
From Revolutionary War live musket fire in the parade on Main Street, to an hoursold lamb at the Mapledell Farm petting zoo in the Emery Street ball field, to sitting inside Bernie’s Dining Depot, the 1940s Pullman coach now on exhibit at the Chester Railway Station, and taking a tour at the Granite Works & Sawmill, the town was on full display.
Chester brother and sister
Paul and Judy Young marched in the parade in their Revolutionary War costumes, which Paul Young said he has been doing since 9/11 in 2001, with his sister joining him a few years later. Paul Young said he made his entire suit, except the pants, by hand. They participate every year in Chester on Track and in the Memorial Day parade in the town where they have lived all their lives.
The parade marshal was Craig Boyer, a former Conrail employee. “We like to honor ex-railroad guys,” said David Pierce, president of the Chester Foundation. Also featured in the parade were area fire departments, the State Police and Hampden County Sheriff’s Department’s mounted unit on
a handsome and huge pair of Clydesdales. The Gateway Regional marching band performed, and Chester Taekwondo marched along with antique cars and tractors and a line of Corvettes from a club in Connecticut.
Pierce said many of the visitors to the historic railway station came to see Bernie’s Dining Depot car. People were able to bring lunch purchased at the Blue Caboose kitchen parked in front of it and sit down in the former restaurant, where they exchanged tales of its famous prime rib dinners. Judy and Paul Young took a lunch break there. Also visiting was the car’s former owner, Barbara Bernashe, who donated the car to the museum.
Over at the Chester Granite
and Polishing Works across the street, Western Mass Hilltown Hikers President Elizabeth Massa and board members were giving tours of the granite saw, the largest antique shot saw in the state at 12 feet in diameter. One of their visitors was 100-year-old Leonard Alexander, the house welder for the stone mill and the last to weld the teeth on the 12foot saw blade.
For the Mapledell Farm traveling petting zoo, the newborn lamb was a surprise. The farm had loaded the animals the evening before, and when they went to check on everyone in the morning, they found their sheep, Victoria, had delivered a baby, which they aptly named Chester.
Drabiuk voted in as new member of Board of Selectman
By Amy Porter aporter@thereminder.com
HUNTINGTON — At the May 9 annual town election, a total of 203 votes were cast for 13 positions and one ballot question.
The only contested election was for a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen, in which newcomer Robert Drabiuk defeated two-term selectman William Hathaway III by a vote of 113 to 85.
Write-in candidates elected include Elizabeth Canedy for a three-year term on the Gateway Regional School Committee with 24 write-in votes, Jose Aceve-
do-Rivera for a three-year term as Constable with 40 votes, and Sara Thrasher, who received 20 votes for a three-year term on the Whiting Street fund and seven votes for a two-year term. All write-in candidates must accept their election by communicating with the Town Clerk. All terms begin on July 1.
Unopposed candidates on the ballot who were elected include Jean Jackman for Board of Health with 163 votes, George Peterson III as moderator with 177 votes, Lorraine Wickland for Board of Assessors with 174 votes, Karon Hathaway for Water and Sewer commissioner with
141 votes, Keith Plant, constable 1-year, with 152 votes, Linda Siska for library trustee with 174 votes, Judith Guyette for Alphonso Pettis Fund with 172 votes and Henry Sarafin as tree warden with 177 votes.
A ballot question asking whether Huntington be allowed to exempt from the provisions of Proposition 2 1/2 the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to purchase and equip a new fire engine, including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto, passed on a vote of 104 yes votes, 94 no votes and
four blanks. The question must also be approved at the Annual Town Meeting, which will be held on Monday, June 1, at 7 p.m. in Stanton Hall, 26 Russell Road. The meeting will also be preceded by a Special Town Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Warrants for the Annual Town Meeting were unavailable by press time, but they will be posted seven days in advance at Town Hall and other public locations. For more information, email Michelle Fieldstad-Booth, town clerk, at townclerk@huntingtonma.us.
From left: Live musket far by Revolutionary War reenactors during the parade at Chester on Track. Chester sister and brother Judy and Paul Young and the Gateway Regional High School band. Reminder Publishing photos by Amy Porter
WESTFIELD TECH VS EASTHAMPTON
BASEBALL
The Westfield Tech Tigers played the Easthampton High Eagles May 15 at Bullens Stadium, notching a 5-4 win.
REMINDER SPORTS PHOTOS TAKEN BY MARC ST. ONGE
Lucas Cummings steals second base.
Logan Csekovsky crosses home plate for another Tiger run.
Josh Elmer watches a low pitch go by.
Tech's Lucas Cummings delivers a hit for the Tigers.
Josh Elmer scores the Tigers first run of the game.
Lucas Cummings strides in another run.
Josh Elmer strides to first base.
Westfield Tech senior Antonio Simpson gets a hit.
Logan Csekovsky’s hit sends Josh Elmer home.
Starting pitcher Lucas Cummings on the mound for Westfield Tech for their May 15 game with Easthampton High.
Jack Harris connects and delivers a base hit.
Cam Witczak makes it back to first after a pickoff attempt by the catcher.
and what technicians with Holyoke-based Pare Corporation, which was contracted by the NRCS, found during a “boots on the ground” survey.
Alternative 1 has a goal of limiting the amount of backflow into the ponds. That would be accomplished by replacing the Canal Brook and Great Brook weir gates with an automated control structure.
It also includes regrading 2,600 linear feet of the rail trail and raising it 3.5 feet.
Lake Management Committee Chair Richard Grannells said on May 19 that a portion of the rail trail could be breached by a flood, but he shared that has never happened before.
The estimated cost of Alternative 1 is between $3 million
WPS
Continued from page 3
back out. He said some of that can be addressed through professional development skills that will be worked on every day,
and $6 million, according to the PowerPoint slide shown by Cheever during the commission meeting on May 18.
Alternative 2, which includes the alterations proposed in Alternative 1, involves an alteration to Canal Brook, which includes dredging it for 6,000 linear feet, removing 50,000 cubic yards of earth, lowering its bed by up to 3 feet and widening it between 10 and 25 feet.
It also includes replacing the bridge crossings at Quarry, Notch, Brookside, Griffen and Phelps roads, as well as two access points on the Rail Trail.
The estimated cost of Alternative 2 is between $53 million and $88 million.
Alternative 3 would alter Great and Canal Brook by using the alterations proposed in Alternatives 1 and 2. This includes altering 15,000 linear feet of Great Brook that would involve clearing woody vegetation, lowering
which he said go hand in hand with inclusion practices.
School Committee member
Jeffrey Gunther said he is looking forward to the staffing audit.
“It’s very clear through qualitative data that needs to be done.
The struggle with staffing shows up,” he said.
the stream bed by 3 feet, and widening it by up to 22 feet. It also means replacing the crossings at Sheep Pasture, South Longyard, Feeding Hills, Shaker roads and Industrial Drive.
The estimated cost is between $135 million and $222 million.
Cheever said Alternative 2 and 3 wouldn’t give the town the “big benefit we were hoping to get.”
He said elevating the bed of Canal Brook wouldn’t provide the outflow needed.
Alternative 4 would include the alteration in Alternative 1. It would mean a 6-foot outlet on North Pond and a weir gate at the outlet would be installed at an estimated cost of between $9 million and $15 million.
For thousands of years, North Pond had a natural outlet, and geological maps of North Pond in the late 1800s and early 1900s show where that brook carried water out of Congamond
Gunther also noted the relatively high rate of substantially separate programs, and wondered how the new separate program planned for 390 Southampton Road fits in.
Rosenthal said the entrance criteria for the 390 Southampton Road program will be strict.
“We want to make sure we’ve exhausted all options before referrals there,” he said.
Czaporowski said the former Head Start building at 390 Southampton Road will house transition services for young adults in the front of the building, and three elementary classrooms in the rear for students needing more specialized services.
He said right now there are five substantially separate classrooms at Paper Mill, two of which will be moved to 390 Southampton Road, along with
Lake, which is in the area of the cul-de-sac on North Pond Road. However, at some point, the brook was “plugged.” It remained plugged until Hurricane Diane swept through in 1955 and dumped nearly 2 feet of rain over the area. During the deluge, Great Brook was measured at 100 feet in width, according to news reports at the time.
Cheever also proposed a fifth alternative, which would mean the installation of a conduit from the ponds into the Great and Canal brooks. The town would also pump the ponds’ water out.
The point of the alternatives is to have the water in the ponds flow out of the Canal and Great brooks. This is how the ponds maintained their water quality for 14,000 years.
Over the decades, the brooks have become so thick with dead vegetation that the ponds’ water doesn’t escape during a rain event, but flows in, which affects
one of the three at Westfield River Elementary.
“The goal will be to provide special services in a smaller environment, to help students to develop the skills to go back to their sending school,” Czaporowski said, adding they will move the classrooms but not necessarily the students. Every student will be reviewed in their IEP team meetings to determine their placements.
“We’re trying to prevent students from going out-ofdistrict as the very next step,” Czaporowski said.
The review by Academic Discoveries was done in advance of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education coming for an internal monitoring review of Westfield’s special education program on June 8, which is done every three years.
water quality by pushing sediment into the ponds.
Grannells was asked who would make the decision about which alternative is the best solution for potential flooding. He said the four alternatives would be studied by the NRCS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the pros and cons of each would be thoroughly examined. He added that there will be an explanation of why a specific alternative is chosen. For the three not chosen, detailed explanations as to why would also be included in the final recommendation.
It was announced at the commission meeting that LMC member Eric Mueller believes Alternative 1 is the best solution.
Whichever alternative is approved, the federal government would pay the cost for planning and design, but as the “sponsor” of the project, the town would pay 35% of the construction costs.
Czaporowski said DESE will be in Westfield for four days, and the schools have been gathering documents and evidence for them since January.
Czaporowski said the biggest problem is that special education is severely underfunded by the state, with costs going up $1.9 million this year. “What is the state going to do to help fund that gap,” he said, and to address the shortage of teachers in special education or going into special education.
Czaporowski said he plans to ask DESE when they come if the state has a plan to incentivize people to go into the field.
“The report spelled out a lot of the things that we felt. Until DESE fixes the funding formula, the system is broken,” Czaporowski said, adding that it’s a statewide issue.
TheReminder.com
Every week we will provide you with a complete listings of deaths from the preceding week from throughout Greater Springfield. We are doing this as a convenience to our readers 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
Lois T. DePalo
Robert E. Forgette
Laura Anne Kida
Mary Kiefer
Dolores J. Vinesett
FEEDING HILLS
Joseph D. Sopet
GRANVILLE
Bruce Leland Hansen
WEST SPRINGFIELD
Paula J. Allen
Thomas M. Gavin WESTFIELD
Louise G. Amerman
Philip Hosmer “Terry” Ball III
Raymond Johnson
STRM: Pride Month events in Western Massachusetts
By Tyler Garnet tgarnet@thereminder.com
On the latest episode of “So That Reminds Me,” hosts Ryan Feyre and Tyler Garnet sat down with Holyoke Pride Committee members Jeffery Bianche and Jeffrey Anderson-Burgos, while Chris Maza and Dennis Hackett sat down with Springfield Pride Parade Founder and CEO Taurean Bethea to chat about what’s in store for Pride Month in their respective communities.
Holyoke
Holyoke will host its Pride flag raising on Monday, June 1, at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 536 Dwight St., and there will be a Youth Queer Prom on Friday, June 5, at 5 p.m. at the Holyoke War Memorial, 310 Appleton St. The latter event is for LGBTQIA+ youth and allies between the ages of 1324 who want to “celebrate freely and joyfully.”
Other Pride events in Holyoke include a Buen Provecho Drag Brunch on Sunday, June 7, at 11 a.m., at Fame Lounge, 386 Dwight St. and a Rainbow Run 5K and 1-mile fun walk on Saturday, June 13, at 10 a.m., where participants can hit the ground running, or walking, at Ashley Reservoir in their brightest rainbow gear. Anderson-Burgos, who said he is interested in running, created this event and shared he is looking forward to seeing it continue to grow. “I know that runners are constantly looking for the next race, so going into it, I knew it was going to be, if you build it they will come. Just putting in on the race calendar, people are immediately signing up for it.”
All ages and abilities are welcome. Readers can register for the event on the committee’s website until June 12.
Meals Tax
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wick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District of $15.4 million.
District Superintendent Jennifer Willard spoke and touted the high school’s graduation rate of 98%.
She also defended the amount of the annual appropriation.
“We’re doing a lot. We’re trying to do even more with less, but we’re bringing forward a very conservative budget, and we’re really working with the town of Southwick, Granville and Tolland to bring forward the most fiscally responsible budget that we can,” she said.
Town Meeting also approved borrowing $1 million for road repairs, lowering the age of the senior property exemption from 70 years old to 65, and authorizing the town to borrow up to $1.1 million for a new engine for the Fire Department.
It also approved using $200,000 that wasn’t spent when
A Drag Story Hour event will take place on Thursday, June 25, at 1 p.m. at the Holyoke Public Library, 250 Chestnut St. Residents are encouraged to bring the family to library to experience heartwarming stories that celebrate acceptance and diversity.
When talking about Pride Month, Bianche and Anderson-Burgos said it was important for them to create events to support people of all ages.
The marquee event, Holyoke PrideFest, will take place on Saturday, June 27, from noon to 6 p.m. at Veterans Park, 536 Dwight St. The day will include live performances, local food vendors, nonprofits, small businesses, art and community connections.
Bianche said there will be between 60-70 vendors at the event. He added that PrideFest has continued to grow since the first year, and he expects around 2,000 people.
The celebration continues at a Pride After Party from 6-11 p.m. at The Wauregan, 420 Dwight St., with music, dancing and “unforgettable vibes.” Tickets for the after party are available on the website.
For the latest updates and event details, readers can visit holyokepride.org. Vendors and performers can apply on the website as well. Readers looking to donate, sponsor, or volunteer can do so on the website, as well.
Bianche said he still needs to add a couple events to the website’s calendar for people to check out. He explained that the celebration has grown so much throughout the city and that he wanted the community to work together in making the celebration special.
“We’re trying to just get anyone who’s working in this realm to just sort of submit their event and get it listed to become part
the Town Hall’s roof and HVAC systen were replaced. Joshua Martel, who is a volunteer at the Southwick Rec Center, was recognized for his efforts to revitalize the center and
of this bigger Holyoke Pride umbrella,” Bianche said.
Springfield
Springfield is hosting its LGBTQIA+ flag raising on Thursday, June 5, at 10:30 a.m. at Springfield City Hall, 36 Court St. Bethea said this will be the fifth year that Springfield Pride Parade will host events to celebrate Pride Month.
Instead of the annual Gala, this year’s schedule will feature the first ever “Pride Strikes,” a charity bowling classic on Friday, June 5, at Tap’s MGM Springfield from 7-10 p.m. Readers can register their teams at springfieldprideparade.com.
The fifth annual Springfield Pride Parade is taking place on Saturday, June 6, starting at noon. The parade starts at the Springfield Technical Community College campus and proceeds to downtown Springfield, where guests can continue the celebration at the fifth annual Springfield Pride Parade Block Party from 1-6 p.m. at Stearns Square and the Pride Lands in downtown Springfield.
Outside of those events, Bethea said he is looking forward to the youth community panel. “Just hearing their thoughts on different things, and I feel like there’s always something to learn,” Bethea stated. “It’s like what’s happening in the world from their perspective, where we’re just like, ‘Oh wow I didn’t know that.’” Bethea said Springfield Pride’s work is much more than the parade. It’s also an opportunity to create “safe spaces” programming throughout the city for the youth and residents.
Although this year’s event in Springfield coincides with Boston’s celebration, Bethea said he expects a great turnout of about
was presented with the Robert L. Miller Public Service Award by State Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Troy Henke. Martel didn’t attend the meeting, so Fox accepted it on his behalf.
5,000-7,000 people rain or shine. He joked, “If you’re from Springfield, you are obligated to be here. A few years people have been like, ‘We went to Boston in the morning and ended up in Springfield,’ so there’s enough to go around.”
More details and information on each event can be found at springfieldprideparade.org.
To hear the full episode, visit thereminder.com/our-podcast or search “So That Reminds Me” on your favorite podcasting platform. Some other Pride events taking place during the month of June in the Pioneer Valley include:
• Westfield Pride Month events: Harlot Queen’s Album Release party at Westfield Women’s Club; a Pride flag raising at Westfield City Hall on Monday, June 1, at 5:15 p.m.; Pride Karaoke on Tuesday, June 2, at Shortstop Bar & Grill at 6 p.m.; Family Gift Card Bingo at the Senior Center on Wednesday, June 3, from 6-7:30 p.m.; Comedy Night at Hutghi’s on Thursday, June 4, from 4-7 p.m.; Out & About Social event at Fame, 386 Dwight St., Holyoke on Friday, June 5, at 5 p.m.; Rainbows over Elm Pridefest will take place on June 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and there will be an ecumenical service at First United Methodist Church on Sunday, June 7, from 6-7 p.m.
• Chicopee Pride Festival, pre-
sented by the Chicopee Queer Consortium — Saturday, June 13, noon to 6 p.m. Includes its inaugural Chicopee Pride Parade, which will kick off the day at 10 a.m. The parade will step off at Dana Park on Serman Street and process down Springfield Street, Fairview Avenue, Academy Street and Front Street and into Szot Park.
• Franklin County Pride — Saturday, June 13. Parade begins at noon in Greenfield, starting at the intersection of Sanderson Street & Federal Street and finishing at Energy Park. The festival begins at 1 p.m. All of Miles Street down to Energy Park for the festival.
• Belchertown Pride Festival, hosted by the Belchertown DEI Task Force and Belchertown Police Department — Saturday, June 20, noon to 5 p.m. at the Belchertown Common.
• Amherst Pride Parade and Celebration — Sunday, June 28, noon to 3 p.m. The parade begins at Amherst-Pelham Regional High School and processes to the Amherst Town Common.
This is not a comprehensive list of every event going on in Western Massachusetts. Readers are encouraged to check out events within their local communities for other celebrations taking place during Pride Month.
Road
Alyson Marie Clark, Alyson M. Jarvis and Erikson Q. Leger Clark to Brenda Bartels, 38 Northway Drive
Angie Roman and Richard Rios to Ashley A. Vazquez, 52 Vadnais St.
