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WEATHER TONIGHT
The Westfield News
“People show
their character by what they laugh at.”
Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
Mostly cloudy. Low of 2.
- GERMAN PROVERB
www.thewestfieldnews.com TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 045
School committee meeting rescheduled By PETER FRANCIS Staff Writer WESTFIELD – An annual meeting of the Westfield School Committee and Westfield Vocational-Technical High School has been rescheduled yet again, this time for Monday, March 9. The meeting was originally supposed to be held on January 26, but this now marks the second time inclement weather has forced the meeting to be rescheduled. On the agenda for the March 9 STEFAN CZAPOROWSKI meeting, which will be held in the Tiger’s Pride Restaurant on the WVTHS campus, is an appearance from representatives of the WVTHS Aviation Advisory Committee at 7:30 p.m., the group charged with implementing an Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) program for aviation maintenance at the school. Prior to their appearance, school committee members will be divided into three groups to tour the school, all the while receiving updates and feedback from the WVTHS Advisory Committee. At 6 p.m., WVTHS Principal Stefan Czaporowski will address the school committee, as well, discussing the school’s improvements on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Systems, or MCAS, exam. “We’ll also be discussing some of the initiatives we’ve been talking about, like school climate,” said Czaporowski. “We’re doing interventions for science and dual-enrollment coursework with Westfield State University.” Czaporowski said in January that the school has begun establishing articulations with local colleges and universities so that students can receive college See Meeting, Page 8
City seeking construction contracts
www.schoolsofwestfield.org/departments/health_services
School district health website being revamped By PETER FRANCIS Staff Writer WESTFIELD – As the debate over whether or not to vaccinate and immunize children from contagious childhood conditions such as measles continues to rage on amongst medical professionals and political zealots alike, parents of school-aged children are likely becoming more attuned to their school district’s policies about immunizations and vaccines. Unless you live in the city of Westfield, that is. A quick scroll of the district’s Health Services department website brings up a sidebar of expired links to pages that claim to contain crucial information, such as the district’s immunization requirements. In fact, the district’s Health Services site contains inactive links for medical order and physical exam forms, as well as the district’s directory of school nurses. On the school district’s website, the heads of all school departments are easily accessible, with the exception of the district’s Health and Safety Coordinator Elizabeth Flaherty. Flaherty said that the site is in the process of being revamped. Regarding the district’s immunization requirements, Flaherty said that younger students are required to have five Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (DTAP) shots, as well
as a TDAP booster shot in grade 7. “There are four IVP (polio), three hepatitis B, two MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and two varicella (chicken pox) shots,” added Flaherty, adding that, while not an immunization, interim kindergarteners are required to have a lead test completed. “It’s sort of a throwback to the ’70s and 80s when they found very strong links between lead and some cognitive disability,” she explained, adding that lead tests are required by law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Asked whether state law requires all students to be immunized, Flaherty stated that students can receive medical and religious exemptions. As to how many students attend Westfield schools with these exemptions, she said that there are pockets of students with these both religious and medical exemptions, but that she couldn’t give a definitive answer of how many. Regarding the administration of these shots and whether the city Health Department can provide them, Flaherty cites the Commonwealth’s insurance mandate law. “We live in an era of compulsory insurance in Massachusetts, so (students) just go to their doctors and get them,” she said. “The shots begin at birth. The first Hep B shot is given in
Shovel designed to reduce back pain By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Politico.com WESTFIELD – Shoveling snow is back-breaking work but Westfield resident Ralph Thresher is making the winter task a lot less painful. Thresher is the inventor of the Ergieshovel, an ergonomic shovel designed to alleviate the bending associated with shoveling that results in back pain. Thresher first thought of the idea several years ago. “I was leaving church with my wife and baby and saw an elderly woman shoveling and obviously in pain,” said Thresher. An industrial engineer, Thresher’s brain began turning and he quickly had a vision for what would become the Ergieshovel. Thresher spent time tweaking his invention and researched the average size of Americans to get the shovel just right for most people. Once he was satisfied, the first shovel was made. “My brother is also an engineer and happens to weld and we came up with a prototype,” Thresher said. Thresher originally took his design to a manufacturer in Worcester but he has since moved production right here to Columbia Manufacturing in Westfield. Now patent-pending, the Ergieshovel is trademarked and sold across western Massachusetts at See Shovel Design, Page 8
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Engineer Ralph Thresher shows off his invention - an ergonomic shovel called the Ergieshovel - designed to reduce the back pain associated with removing snow with a traditional shovel. (Photo by Hope E. Tremblay)
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See Website Revamp, Page 3
By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The city’s Engineering and Purchasing Department are preparing to advertise a number of contracts slated for the upcoming construction season, including the $4 million reconstruction of the North Elm and Notre Dame intersection and the nearly $3 million segment of the Columbia Greenway. City Purchasing Director Tammy Tefft said this morning that the Engineering Department hopes to submit several contracts to her department for review of compliance with the state bid laws. “I believe they want to get those out in the next several weeks,” Tefft said. City Engineer Mark Cressotti said that the North Elm Street improvements “are pretty much on the same timeline as the Columbia Greenway.” The $4 million North Elm Street and Notre Dame Street improvement projects is being funded through a $10 million bond already approved by the City Council for improvements to the Routes 10 & 202 corridor. That work includes installation of new drainage, deep-sump basing to capture sediment, reconstruction of the road bed, and widening of the pavement to accommodate dedicated turning lanes. “We expect to put those out within the next three weeks,” Cressotti said. “The city has already awarded a contract to ET&L Corporation of Stow for construction of the bridge over East Silver Street and the underpass between Hedges Avenue and Taylor Avenue. They’ve already ordered the steel which is being fabricated for the bridge.” See Contracts, Page 3
MARK CRESSOTTI
TAMMY TEFFT
Worthington girl recovering from injury By REBECCA EVERETT @GazetteRebecca Daily Hampshire Gazette A 16-year-old Worthington girl is recovering not only from a broken femur, but also from a broken heart after losing her horse, Abby, in a serious riding accident in South Carolina earlier this month. Indra Rapinchuk-Souccar was riding in a competition in Aiken, South Carolina, on Feb. 4 when her horse fell while jumping an obstacle and landed on top of her. Abby died immediately. Indra somehow escaped with only one serious injury — her right thigh bone had broken high up and cut her thigh muscle, causing it to bleed internally. Surgeons used a rod and screws to repair the bad break and gave her a blood transfusion. She said she has no memory of the accident, but knows she is fortunate to have survived. “I got away lucky in many respects,” Indra said, although she acknowledged that she has not always felt fortunate in the days since the accident. In a telephone interview Monday from South Carolina, she
said that her horse was not only her teammate and teacher, but a friend that helped her get through the worst time in her life. “She was a lot more than just the horse I competed on,” Indra said. “I got her right before my brother died, and she’s been a good friend for the last four years.” She was 12 when her brother, Zephyr, died in a skiing accident in 2011 at age 18. Tanya Rapinchuk said her daughter is facing her injury and the loss of her horse with a brave face. “Indra is probably one of the strongest kids I’ve ever met. I think she’s had some really hard things happen to her at a formative time in her life and her response has been to try to make life still purposeful,” said Rapinchuk. “I think that’s what she’s doing now.” Rapinchuk said for her and her husband, Kamal Souccar, their daughter’s accident felt like reliving the nightmare of their son’s death. “I know what it’s like to lose a child,” said Rapinchuk, near tears. See Worthington Girl, Page 3
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