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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com
VOL. 83 NO. 21
and learned again and again; there is no end to it. Hate needs no instruction, but wants only to be provoked.”
— Katherine Anne Porter
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2014
75 cents
improvements
Vandals slash tires By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – A city detective is seeking victims – and witnesses – of a recent vandalism spree in the city which left at least six vehicles with two flat tires. Police report that a resident called police at 10:23 p.m. on Jan. 15 to report that two tires on his 2007 Hyundai Sana Fe were slashed while it was parked at a Springfield Road department store and the next day five more residents reported that tires on their parked vehicles were also punctured overnight. The additional vandalism was reported on Cardinal Lane, Main Street, Plantation Circle, Westfield High School on Montgomery Road and Barrister Circle. One of the vehicles was also reportedly keyed and, in one case, an unlocked vehicle was apparently entered and a wallet may have been stolen. Det. Daniel Gustafson was assigned to investigate the case and said in a recent interview that the incidents “seem to have a common denominator” and said that he hopes his detailed examination of security video from some of the incidents will yield additional connections to investigate. He said that although the locations of the incidents are scattered throughout the city there appear to be similarities linking the owners who all appear to be young men. “The majority of the victims seem to be familiar with each other” and said that his investigation is considering the possibility that the owners were specifically targeted. He suggested that, in the cases in which there is no connection between the owners, the vehicles vandalized may be similar to vehicles owned by other young men with connections to the other victims. Gustafson said that his investigation suggests that there may be at least one more similar incident which has not been reported to police and he would like to hear from all the recent victims of tire slashing vandalism. Of course, Gustafson said that he would also like to hear from anybody who may have observed any of the incidents or who may otherwise be knowledgeable about the vandalism spree he is investigating. Gustafson may be reached via email at d.gustafson@ cityofwestfield.org or by calling him at the detective bureau at 642-9386 or 572-6400.
“Love must be learned,
Road meeting slated Seniors from the Allied Health Department at Westfield Vocational-Technical High School pose for a group photo after successfully competing the Certified Nursing Assistant program Friday. The students, in random order, Emily Boyden, Steffany Costa, Bria Curran, Nataliya Goretskiy, Irina Kiforishina, Val Kuznetsov, Yelena Levkha, Amber Lindsay, Shannon Michael, Vitaliy Molokvas, Inna Shtyba and Chelsie Smith-Robinson were all recognized for their outstanding achievements. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Nursing achievement
Maureen Wrobleski, a school nurse for the Westfield Vocational-Technical High School, presides over the lighting ceremony at Westfield Vocational-Technical High School where 12 seniors from the Allied Health Department graduated from the Certified Nursing Assistants program Friday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Residents living in neighborhoods off Main Street corridor are invited to attend a public informational meeting at the South Middle School auditorium Monday night to discuss the scope of work of an ambitious roadway improvement project which will have impact on those neighborhoods. City Engineer Mark Cressotti and the project consultants, Tighe & Bond, will provide residents with details of the proposed Old Town Roadways Reconstruction Project of 2014 at the 7 p.m. information meeting. The meeting will focus on the design effort to reconstruct the streets in the target area. The streets which will be improved includes East Silver, State, Cross, Ashley, George, Frederick, Noble, Cycle streets. Also included in the project are Taylor, Cleveland, Parkside and Lozier avenues, MARK CRESSOTTI and Lindbergh Boulevard. The scope of the design and engineering work has been expanded to include permitting and traffic studies in the target area which includes East Silver, State, Noble and Cross streets as well as Lindbergh Boulevard. City Engineer Mark Cressotti said Friday that the city has divided the project, because of the scope of work and based on financing, into two phases. Phase 1 is the work in the Cross Street, Taylor Avenue, State Street and Ashley Street neighborhoods which need to upgraded infrastructure in support of the proposed Ashley Street elementary school construction. Those improvements include replacement of water lines, burying the current above-ground utility lines and sidewalk improvements, as well as paving the streets and constructing new sidewalks and curbing. Phase 2 is the other streets, including Noble Street, where a larger water line will be installed to provide fire protection at the Senior Center. Cressotti said that initially an eight-inch water line under McKinley Terrace will be extended up Noble to the senior center site, as well as a sixinch main from Murphy Circle to create a looped system. “The paving triggers other infrastructure improvements which will follow as the roads are opened for reconstruction,” Cressotti said. Each street will have improvements depending on the condition of the existing infrastructure and may include installation of water and stormwater line improvements. See Road Meeting, Page 8
Senate OKs bill to overhaul foreclosure laws By Hope E. Tremblay Staff Writer BOSTON — The Massachusetts Senate has unanimously approved a bill that would restore the titles of foreclosed properties to homeowners. Senate leaders said the measure was approved Thursday after thousands of foreclosure sales in Massachusetts were determined to be void as the result of recent state Supreme Judicial Court decisions. Senate President Therese Murray said some residents are without a clear title to their home because of potential procedural errors that took place years ago.
The Plymouth Democrat said restoring the titles will help support a healthy real estate market. Attorney General Martha Coakley said the bill is intended to provide predictability for property owners and additional consumer protections to those whose property may have been wrongfully foreclosed on. State Sen. Donald F. Humason (R-Westfield) supported the bill. “It’s a corrective measure and it protects homeowners and home buyers,” Humason said. “After the last real estate bu8bble burst in 2008 a lot of houses were foreclosed. People would buy them and find out later on that some Ts were not crossed
and Is were not dotted. The legislature responded with this bill.” Humason said because of these issues, people were reluctant to purchase a foreclosed home. “This protects people who purchased foreclosed homes,” he said. The Senate also passed a second bill Thursday 37-2 to provide funding for military installations. Six bases across Massachusetts, including Westover Air Force Base and Barnes Fighter Wing, received funding for improvements and upgrades. The bill now heads to the House.
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AGAWAM • EAST LONGMEADOW • GREENFIELD SOUTH HADLEY • SPRINGFIELD • WARE
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Jim Maloney, Physical Therapist and Tim Daggett, Olympic Gold Medalist