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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2013
VOL. 82 NO. 306
“Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God t hat it can go.” — Brooks Atkinson 75 cents
Committee, chief, recommend repair
Special election set for April 1
By Hope E. Tremblay Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – Fire Chief Richard Anderson and a committee of firefighters recommended the town repair its pumper truck at a cost of about $120,000. The 1993 apparatus was sent for minor corrosion repairs needed due to road salt but once in the shop it was discovered the problem was worse than what the eye could see. “They took the water tank out and found rust on the frame,” said Anderson. Because of Department of Transportation regulations, the frame must be rebuilt by the manufacturer. Anderson formed a committee of firefighters to study the best approach to repairing or replacing the pumper. Options included repairing it, replacing it with like apparatus at a cost of $450,000, purchas-
By Peter Francis Staff Writer WESTFIELD – House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) has requested a special election to be held on April 1 for the seat of former State Representative, and now State Senator, Don Humason. The primary, if needed, will be held on March 4. The winner of the race will immediately need to collect 150 signatures to get on the ballot for next November’s normal general election. Humason was elected to the Massachusetts Senate by the voters of the Second Hampden and Hampshire District in a special election that took place on
ing a similar truck without a custom chassis for $325,000, or buying a mini pumper for $225,000. “The committee recommends – and it’s my opinion – we spend the money to repair it,” Anderson told the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee yesterday. “The taxpayers spent the money for this truck to last 30 years and we’re at 20.” Anderson believes there is a minimum of 10 years left in the pumper once it is repaired. The repairs should take 10-12 weeks. A new apparatus could take six to 12 months to complete. Several weeks ago the board discussed leasing an unused pumper from Suffield, Conn. if they chose to purchase a new truck. Because of the quick turnaround of repairs, the town would not need to rent a truck, but would rely on mutual aid if necessary.
RICHARD ANDERSON Anderson said to prevent corrosion from occurring again due to salt, a hose attachment has been purchased to clean off the undercarriage of vehicles before returning them to bays. Selectmen Chairman Russell Fox said the board and Finance Committee would meet next week to discuss how to proceed.
STORIES
ALLIE VELIS November 5. The seat had previously been held by former Senator Michael Knapik (R-Westfield), who resigned in August to accept a position with See Special Election, Page 3
2013:The Year in
Fatal crashes claim 5 lives By Carl E. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Four persons died on the city’s streets in 2013 and, although that is four too many, it is one fewer than died in 2012. Officer Michael Gamache of the Traffic and Safety Bureau of the Westfield Police Department said of the number “That’s like average, unfortunately” and went on to say “I’d be happy with zero.” The year was only 13 days old when the first fatal crash occurred, on Western Avenue, not far from the scene of a 2012 fatal crash which also involved a bicyclist. Howard Beardslee, 60, of 14 Old Quarry Road, was riding his bicycle westbound near Scanlon Hall at Westfield State University when a Ford Explorer crossed the fog line and struck the bike. Although he was reportedly not breathing at the accident scene, he was transported to Noble Hospital. He was transferred from Noble to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where he was pronounced dead. The city did not have another fatal crash until late spring when, on May 20, a seven-year-old boy died in a collision between his bicycle and a dump truck while he was crossing Montgomery Street in a crosswalk with his mother.
Westfield City Engineer Mark Cressotti, right, answers questions during a slide presentation at an informational meeting on proposed roadway improvement projects along Western Avenue and Court Street. More than 200 residents attended the meeting at Highland Elementary School. (File photo by Frederick Gore)
Knapik set to begin third term By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Mayor Daniel M. Knapik will be sworn into office for the third time Monday, Jan. 6 in a ceremony to be held in the South Middle School at 9:30 a.m. Knapik won his third term in a hotly contested race against a challenger new to city politics, Michael L. Roeder, LTC, US Army retired. Knapik’s margin of victory was only 333 out of the 9,048 ballots cast by the eligible 23,882 voters in the city. The 37.89 percent voter turnout was the highest for
Cold case heats up in 2013
“Based on significant feedback from the faculty and staff, student dress needs to improve to reflect our focus on a positive school climate,” said Carter in a statement in September. “We need to support our students in finding the balance between freedom of expression and a school climate that does not create distraction or disruption.” “Fashion is changing, kids are pushing the boundaries, and the policy hasn’t been enforced,” said Westfield School Committee
By Peter Francis Staff Writer WESTFIELD – It was a warm afternoon on July 15 as local and state law enforcement representatives gathered at South Middle School, blanketed by a crowd of media from near and far, hanging on every word, waiting with bated breath. The cold case disappearance of James “Jamie” Lusher, a 16-year old Westfield boy who vanished while riding his bicycle to visit his grandmother over 20 years ago, was getting reopened. Flanked by retired Massachusetts State Police Lt. Stephen Griffin and Westfield Police Capt. Michael McCabe, who spearheaded the investigation in 1992, current Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, Col. Timothy Alben, and Berkshire County District Attorney David Capeless, Hampden County District Attorney Mark Mastroianni approached the podium to
See Schools, Page 6
See Cold Case, Page 6
See City of Westfield, Page 3
MAYOR DANIEL M. KNAPIK
Dress code, contracts mark first half of school year
Minimum Wait. Maximum Care.
worked for Xerox before serving as principal at two high schools in Springfield, as well as Holyoke’s William J. Dean Technical High School, earned the reputation of a hard-nosed disciplinarian. His first days in Westfield were marked by an incident that took some of the shine off his opening days, namely enforcement of the district’s dress code, which caused a stir days into the fall semester, as over 40 students were brought to the high school’s auditorium and told to call their parents to bring clothes for them to change into on one occasion.
By Peter Francis Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Following an investigation into the spending practices of his administration, Westfield State University President Dr. Evan Dobelle resigned from his position in early November, ending a tenure in which the university saw unprecedented growth and, as revealed in Dr. Evan an audit report from a Dobelle Braintree-based accounting firm, rampant policy violations related to spending on travel, accommodations, and entertainment. See Dobelle, Page 6
See Fatal Crashes, Page 5
By Peter Francis Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Following the retirement of Principal Ray Broderick, Westfield High School formed a summer search committee composed of students, parents, staff members, and a school committee member selected by Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Scallion and the committee, and whittled down a long list of applicants, selecting Jonathan Carter as the latest Westfield High principal. The technology-minded Carter, who
Dobelle debacle tarnishes Westfield State
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