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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Parents speak out on bullying

WESTFIELD — Parents who participated in the School Committee’s public forum on bullying Monday night made it perfectly clear that there is a problem in the Westfield schools, and it begins at a much younger age than expected.
Members of a school committee task force heard disturbing reports from parents, who, while appreciating the work being done by school officials, and members of the Westfield Police Department school resource officers in secondary schools, called for a “no tolerance” policy and for clarification of the school system’s bullying policy, questioning among other things, its disciplinary scope.
Bullying is not a new issue. The bullying policy that is now in place was originally adopted in 2001 and revised in 2004, but students are now dealing with new technology that has given wide berth to new avenues such as cyber-bullying and text messaging. …
BERNADETTE JOHNSON

Town mulls radio revamp

SOUTHWICK — Representatives from a Connecticut communications company unveiled a proposed $300,000 revamp of the town’s emergency communications system to selectmen and Finance Committee members last night, detailing a digital voice and data stream transmitted over microwave links rather than land based phone lines.
Manny Litos, an account executive and Brooks Gianakos, an engineer for WPCS of Hartford, outlined a new radio communications system that would eliminate many of the problems now encountered with the combination low-powered “walkie-talkie” styled portable radios carried by both police and firefighters, and higher powered units installed in police cruisers. Litos said because of the typography of the town, certain areas are nearly inaccessible by radio communications, despite a fairly elaborate repeater system. The current network is also expensive, he said. …
DAVE CANTON

Board requires pub financials

WESTFIELD — A petitioner seeking a liquor license for a downtown restaurant will have until Thursday to provide financial documents to the License Commission.
The commission voted Monday night to extend its consideration of an all-alcoholic beverage license petitioned by Lori A. Lucia to operate Shenanigan’s Pub & Restaurant Inc. at 150-154 Elm St.
The License Commission conducted a public hearing on that request Monday night, at which board members raised several issues dealing with the financial backing of the proposed restaurant. …
DAN MORIARTY

Board appoints mechanic

WESTFIELD — The Fire Commission voted Monday night to hire a “civilian” mechanic for the department, traditionally a position held by a firefighter.
The board interviewed four candidates for the position before selecting Dan Rauthier of Easthampton.
“W had four excellent candidates,” Fire Chief William Phelon said this morning. “They all came with between 10 and 25 years experience working on trucks. The commission would have been happy to hire any one of those candidates. …
DAN MORIARTY

Town to rebuild Robin Road

SOUTHWICK — Town officials are looking at paying perhaps as much as $150,000 to rebuild an unaccepted substandard subdivision road long after the project was completed.
Residents of Robin Road petitioned the Board of Selectmen to fix the shoddy work on their road even though the town never accepted the street.
“We believe the condition of the pavement to be in poor and unsafe condition,” the petitioners wrote to the board, and DPW Director Jeffrey Neece agrees with the homeowners. …
DAVE CANTON

Monday, March 8. 2010

Bid process begins to replace meters

WESTFIELD — The Water Commission authorized department officials to solicit a bid to replace water meters throughout the city.
The department currently has a bid for the new generation of meters, called the fixed network, but also needs a contractor to perform the actual installation work, to remove the old meters and install the new system.
That project, discussed at the March 2 Water Commission session, comes with a projected cost of about $2.5 million to $3 million for the cash-strapped water division of the Water Resource Department.
However, the old meters have contributed to the decline of revenue, said Water Resource Director Dave Billips. …
DAN MORIARTY

Lancers smother Bombers

SPRINGFIELD — Yes, Whip City — the Longmeadow High School hockey team is that good.
Freshman forward Tyler Kelleher scored two first-period goals off rebounds and the top-seeded Longmeadow Lancers powered their way to a second straight western sectional championship, defeating the No. 2 Westfield Bombers, 4-1 Sunday at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield before a crowd of 2,313.
Longtime Westfield coach C.B. “Moose” Matthews has reiterated all season long just how good this season’s Lancers’ team is, even going as far as saying that they are the best to ever take the ice for Longmeadow.
It was apparent why.
Longmeadow came out peppering Westfield freshman goalie Nick Liberto (23 saves) with shot after shot. Any other goalie, any other team and the game easily could have gotten out of hand much sooner.
Liberto held up, stopping the initial shots from Longmeadow. But Kelleher picked up rebounds for a pair of goals late in the first period. …
CHRIS PUTZ

Spartans own the night

AMHERST – It was a memorable night for the East Longmeadow basketball program – the Lady Spartans toppled the unbeaten Amherst Hurricanes just moments before the boys’ team played suffocating defense to snuff out the Westfield Bombers – to sweep the Western Massachusetts Divison I championships Saturday evening at the Curry Hicks Cage on the campus of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
No. 2 East Longmeadow put fourth-seeded Westfield in a hole hurry and clamped down on defense en route to a 79-65 victory.
Westfield hung on early as both teams traded baskets for much of the first quarter, but the senior-laden Spartans went on a 14-2 run over the last 1:50 of the first quarter. East Longmeadow tacked on six points in the opening minutes of the second quarter to build a 26-14 lead. The Spartans increased their lead to 25 early in the fourth. It was an insurmountable lead that the Bombers could not overcome.
“I did not expect the press to bother us the way it did – they tweaked it a bit,” said Westfield coach Bill Daley, whose Bombers managed to defeat the Spartans late in the regular season. “One turnover led to another turnover….It was one bad decision after another bad decision after another bad decision.” …
CHRIS PUTZ

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Bombers seek WMass titles

WESTFIELD — This weekend is officially dubbed, “Bomb Squad” weekend.
Come Monday, fans of the Westfield High School boys’ basketball and hockey teams may have a bad case of laryngitis. But for many fans of the Bombers that may be a welcome thought.
Westfield will be the center of attention when the basketball and hockey teams vie for Western Massachusetts championships this weekend.
“It’s wonderful,” Westfield High School principal Raymond Broderick said. “Any time one of our teams makes it beyond (the first round of the playoffs), it’s a great experience for our fans.”
“It’s the same feeling we get when (football coach) Bill Moore takes his team to the Super Bowl, (field hockey coach) Julie Little takes her team to the finals….when our girls finish second in alpine skiing, or a junior (Carolyn Stocker) can finish first in a state meet and head to New England.”
“It’s great for the school spirit, the athletic programs, and the city of Westfield.”
The Bombers’ hoops team, seeded fourth, tips off the weekend festivities Saturday evening against No. 2 East Longmeadow (17-4) at the Curry Hicks Cage on the campus of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst at 7:30 p.m. …
CHRIS PUTZ

Kiwanis Auction live on Channel 15

WESTFIELD — Members of the Westfield Kiwanis Club are hoping that the combination of an unprecedented level of support from the business community and new auction software developed by Westfield State College will add up to a record yield for the club’s 41st annual TV Auction.
The auction will be held Sunday, March 7, from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Comcast community access channel 15 in Westfield and Southwick. The program will also be streamed live on the Internet at www.wsc.ma.edu/kiwanis.
According to Kiwanis Club President Christine L. Roncolato, Greater Westfield businesses have set a new record for auction donations, with the total value of merchandise and cash collected for the auction exceeding $53,000, despite the slow economy.
In addition, Roncolato said, students from the Westfield State College Computer Science Department have developed a new fully-automated bidding system for the auction, making it possible for bids to be recorded and displayed in real time. …

PVEC pledges safety

WESTFIELD — The proponents of a natural-gas-fired generation plant proposed for construction on Ampad Road said the explosion at a similar facility in Connecticut could have been avoided.
Matthew Palmer, project manager of the proposed 400 megawatt Pioneer Valley Energy Center, spoke during the public participation segment of the City Council meeting Thursday night.
Palmer was joined by Steven P. Walker, an engineer with CHI Engineering Services, Inc., which is providing services for PVEC and for the Westfield Gas & Electric Department for the proposed gas line construction through the city to the power plant. …
DAN MORIARTY

Kids act out against bullying

SOUTHWICK — “I want to get out of here, and I never want to go to school again!” Young kids can come up with a myriad of reasons for skipping school, but “Max” has a very real problem. Rocco won’t get off his case. To Rocco, Max is “a baby,” a punching bag. Whatever Max has that Rocco wants, he takes. Max is being bullied.
“It’s funny,” Woodland Elementary School adjustment councilor Penny Sibley said. “I wrote this play four years ago, long before the ‘thing’ that’s going on now.”
Sibley talked about her play, “My Bully,” performed by the school’s Safety Council in several presentations yesterday. The ‘thing’ to which Sibley referred is the recent bullying incident that ended with a young girl taking her own life after being bullied by a group of students in South Hadley. The presentation of the play and the South Hadley incident are coincidental, she said, but still very relevant. …
DAVE CANTON

Bullying forum slated

WESTFIELD — The School Committee’s Human Resources and Policy Subcommittee has scheduled a public forum on bullying Monday, March 8, at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of South Middle School.
“We’re going to present where we are now,” said Dr. Joseph A. Dupelle, Administrator of Special Education and Student Support.
“Our hope is to better educate people, let them know what we, as a school system, are doing, hear parents’ concerns and let them know that we’re there if they have any questions or concerns. …
BERNADETTE JOHNSON

Friday, March 5, 2010

Third son deployed to war zone

RUSSELL — A lone candle burns in the window of the Bush family home alongside a service star banner, marking once again the absence of a beloved son bound for a field of battle.
Pfc. Anthony Martone, 22, a 2006 graduate of Westfield Vocational-Technical School and a member of the Massachusetts Army National Guard 379th Engineer Co. out of Pittsfield, left for Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, on February 21, to undergo 45 days of training in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan, the third son of Roger and Linda Bush to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Following in the footsteps of his older brothers, Army Airborne Staff Sgt. Joseph Oleksak, 29, of Fort Carson, Colo., and Marine Corps Sgt. Nate Bush, 29, of Hadley, Martone chose military service shortly after graduating from high school.
“I knew he was going to join from the time he was probably 2 or 3,” said his mother. “He always wanted to wear military stuff, like for Halloween. I knew he would go in, especially when these two went in,” she said. “When his brothers joined, they became his heroes. It was destiny. I knew it was going to happen.”
That doesn’t make it any easier for Bush, though she’s holding up a lot better than anyone thought she would, said her daughter, Jaime Oleksak, 32, visiting from Sedona, Ariz. …
BERNADETTE JOHNSON

Biomass permit draws fire

WESTFIELD — Environmentalists and water resources protection advocates are up in arms over a state Department of Environmental Protection maneuver to intervene in the appeal of a water withdrawal permit issued to Russell Biomass LLC, accusing the DEP Commissioner of making law without due process.
Now several groups are challenging the DEP’s ability to set standards with no hearings, scientific basis or environmental protection.
“The DEP developed these ‘interim safe yield standards,’ which most river advocates say are not adequate. But nonetheless, the DEP applied them to (Russell Biomass’s) modified permit application,” environmental attorney Margaret Sheehan said.
Sheehan has filed a response to Commissioner Burt’s Remand Order, basically her call to study water withdrawal standards and set new ones. …
DAVE CANTON

Bond sought to support grant

WESTFIELD — The City Council voted Thursday night to accept a $120,000 federal grant to improve Maple Street.
The Council also accepted a late communication from Mayor Daniel M. Knapik to consider a $2.2 million bond request submitted by the Water Commission to finance water line improvements as part of the Maple Street work.
The bulk of that $2.2 million, about $1.9 million, will be dedicated to replacing aged water lines under Main and Broad streets as part of the $12 million road reconstruction project.
However, the Water Commission included $150,000 for the Maple Street water line replacement effort in that bond because the department does not have the cash available to finance that work without resorting to the bonding process.
Typically the Water Division has a construction account funded annually with $300,000 to pay for projects such as Maple Street. …
DAN MORIARTY

Contract frugality urged

WESTFIELD — The City Council served notice Thursday night that business as usual can no longer be the city’s standard operating procedure in dealing with union contract negotiations.
At Large Councilor David A. Flaherty opened that discussion with an assessment of the city’s financial status.
“I want people to be aware that it is not a rosy looking picture,” he said. “I’ve done my homework, looked at the big items on our budget.
“If we continue as we have in the past, we will not be able to sustain the budget,” Flaherty said.
The major cost factor in the city’s budget is salaries, which have continued to increase even though the city’s revenue has declined, Flaherty said.
“We have to put a stop to this. We have to play hardball,” he said, suggesting that in upcoming contract negotiations, city employees should be expecting much smaller salary increases. …
DAN MORIARTY

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Westfield Gas and Electric’s bond status upgraded

WESTFIELD — The bond rating of the municipal utility has been increased, ironically because of its ability not to have to bond.
The Westfield Gas and Electric Department received an increase in its bond rating from Standard & Poor, climbing from an “A” status to an “A+” status.
Andrew Banas, the WG&E’s chief financial officer, said the credit rating was issued by David Bodek, S&P’s primary credit analyst on Feb. 1, 2010.
That increase was due to the funds in the utility’s electric division stabilization account, which currently stands at about $14 million.
“Mr. Bodek indicated that such funds are viewed positively by the rating agency since, when properly structured, they provide utilities with an added degree of financial flexibility and liquidity,” Banas said. …
DAN MORIARTY

Brzezinski speaks at WSC

WESTFIELD — While many are predicting the decline of the United States as the pre-eminent world super power, Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor for President Jimmy Carter said last night that the end of America’s dominant role in world affairs is not inevitable. But what kind of world player the country ends up in the future depends on how it deals with its problems now.
“While I am concerned about some of the trends that currently apply to America,” he said at Westfield State College, “(what will happen) will be affected, influenced and determined by what we do or do not do. That to me is the critical question.”
A political scientist, geostrategist and former colleague of college president Evan Dobelle, Brzezinski presented his views on world affairs as part of the Westfield State College continuing Speakers Series.
“He was National Security Advisor when I was the Chief of Protocol,” Dobelle said last night. “We traveled aboard Air Force One all over the world together.”
Dobelle served as Carter’s Chief of Protocol for 18 months before accepting the post of treasurer of the Democratic Party, and later was the chairman of Carter’s 1980 re-election bid. …
DAVE CANTON

Energy initiative promises jobs

WESTFIELD — A fledgling, bootstraps initiative got under way Monday as the Westfield Energy Efficiency Trades Center opened its doors to the public.
Under the aegis of Co-op Power of Greenfield, the center, housed in donated space at the Sullivan Transportation Building at 39 South Broad St., is a worker-owned cooperative aimed at providing local jobs and improving the city’s historic and older building stock, making them energy efficient, said Ann Lentini, executive director of Domus, Inc., one of the sponsors of the new intitiative along with the Westfield Business Improvement District.
Two young women, Betsy Julian, of Springfield, and Yelena Kostyushko, of Westfield, the first two worker-owners, have begun work at the facility, first building work tables at the site and now constructing frames for insulated window panels for five elder homeowners under a $10,000 Community Foundation grant to Domus.
Pam Howland, of Worthington, products and services manager of Co-op Power, who is supervising the Westfield effort, said she approached Lentini with the idea last spring. …
BERNADETTE JOHNSON

Motorist rescued from thin ice

SOUTHWICK — Town rescue workers assisted a Lakeview Street resident out of her vehicle, which was on thin ice, Wednesday night.
A motorist passing by the North Boat Ramp on Point Grove Road called the Southwick Police Department emergency dispatch to report that a vehicle, with its emergency lights flashing, was on the ice of Middle Pond of the Congamond Lake chain.
Officers Tom Krutka and Marc Siegel were dispatched to investigate the report and found the vehicle on the ice off the boat ramp parking area.
Krutka, the first to arrive, illuminated the interior of the vehicle, a Toyota Corolla, with his flashlight and did not initially see any occupants.
The second time he illuminated the vehicle interior, he observed a female kneeling on the front seat facing toward the rear of the vehicle and the approaching officer. …
DAN MORIARTY

Break-in leads to charges

WESTFIELD — Two young men will be summoned to Westfield District Court after Westfield Police Officer Andrew Cekovsky found probable cause to file a criminal complaint against them for breaking and entering and for possession of a burglarious tool.
The incident began at 4:54 a.m. Wednesday when a State Street resident called police to report that moments earlier a vehicle belonging to her son-in-law had been broken into and property stolen.
Cekovsky responded to the call and the woman told him that she had heard the crash of breaking glass and looked out a window to see a young man reaching into the window of a parked vehicle and removing a satellite radio before fleeing.
The woman said that, due to the good lighting in the area, she was able to get a good look at the suspect and she provided a comprehensive description of the suspect, which Cekovsky relayed to patrol officers. …
CARL E. HARTDEGEN

McMahon to address Rotary

WESTFIELD — On Monday, March 8, 2010, the Rotary Speaker will be Lisa McMahon, executive director of Westfield’s BID — the Westfield Business Improvement District, Inc. She has been the executive director for more than two years. McMahon came to the BID with extensive background in nonprofit management, marketing and event planning. She is dedicated to the BID’s mission of making Westfield a safe and exciting place to work, live and do business.
Prior to the Westfield BID, McMahon served as executive director at the Amelia Park Ice Arena and Gardens for two years. She is presently on the board of directors of the Westfield YMCA, a trustee with the Shurtleff Children’s Services Foundation, serves as a corporator with the Westfield Athenaeum, is a longtime board member of the Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) and is a member of a number of other local organizations.
McMahon came to Westfield with her husband and two sons in 1989. She will discuss what is currently going on downtown, as well as future plans, and take questions from the floor.
For more information, call Bill Caplin, Program Chair, at (413) 562-0310 or visit www.westfieldrotary.org. The Rotary Club of Westfield meets every Monday, at noontime, at the Tavern Restaurant, 1 Broad Street in Westfield.

Published Thursday, March 4, 2010

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Water rate increase set

WESTFIELD — The Water Commission voted Tuesday night to increase the water rate by about 10 percent beginning with the April billing cycle.
That 3-0 decision came after a discussion of capital improvement projects and the overall status of the department’s financial status.
Dave Billips, director of the Water Resource Department, which includes both the Water Division and Sewerage Treatment Plant, said the City Council has had to cut the Water Department budget to comply with state law when setting the city’s tax numbers.
Under state law, the department’s budget cannot exceed its gross revenue for the previous year. Several years with wet summers have substantially impacted the division’s revenue because residents have not used water for lawn irrigation and outdoor recreational activities.
The city would have to add the department’s revenue deficit to the tax base if the division’s budget was not cut back to match the lower revenue figures.
“For the past three years, the (City) Council has had to reduce our budget by between $300,000 and $400,000 a year to set the city’s tax rate,” Billips said. …
DAN MORIARTY

Board authorizes bond for projects

WESTFIELD — City Engineer Mark Cressotti presented details and cost estimates of several water infrastructure improvement projects to the Water Commission Tuesday night.
The elephant in the meeting room was how the commission will finance the Main Street/Broad Street and Maple Street reconstruction.
Cressotti has estimated the cost of replacing water lines along Main and Broad streets at $1.2 million and the cost of installing a replacement water line under Maple Street at $150,000.
The state Department of Transportation is requiring the board to secure financing for $2.2 million under its agreement with the city as part of the $15 million reconstruction of Main and Broad streets.
Much of the discussion related to a vehicle to finance that work. Cressotti said the Water Division of the Water Resource Department does not have cash funds available and that bonding for those projects appears to be the division’s only recourse. …
DAN MORIARTY

Kenyon arraigned in murder

WESTFIELD — A Westfield man was ordered held without the right to bail yesterday after he was arraigned in Springfield Superior Court on a single charge of murder.
James R. Kenyon, 51, is accused of strangling his longtime, live-in girlfriend, Alice Connors, in their 30 Northridge Road home the evening of February 3.
Kenyon was returned to the Hampden County Jail where he has been held since his arrest the evening of the murder. A spokeswoman for District Attorney William Bennett’s office said Kenyon will be represented by Attorney Charles Groce when he returns to court July 30 for a pretrial conference.
Kenyon was indicted by a Springfield grand jury on February 18.
Police say Kenyon was arrested after they received a 911 call at approximately 11:30 that night, allegedly from Kenyon, reporting the murder and telling the 911 dispatcher, “I strangled her.” …
DAVE CANTON

Special Town Meeting passes all articles

SOUTHWICK — Town Meeting members approved all 12 of the Special Town Meeting articles presented last night, but had to be dragged kicking and screaming to some decisions, while a radical revision attracted heated participation of others.
The very first article requested approval of $52,448 in raises for town employees, to which several people objected. Harold Odiorne Jr., a lake shore homeowner, complained that his local property taxes jumped, but he got no increase in Social Security.
“I just received a tax bill with an increase of 17 percent. I also received a notice from Social Security that there will be no cost of living increase this year, or next year,” he said. “How in good faith can town employees rate a raise at my expense in these times?”
Peter Lefevbre told the board that he did not get a raise.
“You are voting a raise for town employees when I haven’t gotten one in three years,” he said. “My taxes went up $2,000. You are going to price me right out of my own home.” …
DAVE CANTON

Bomber Boys Win!!!

Westfield High School @ Western Mass Div 1 – Semi-Finals – Held At: AIC Bombers Win!
See our complete local coverage/story and photos in Wednesday’s Westfield Evening News!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Developer denied hearing extension

SOUTHWICK — After approximately 24 30-day continuances, the Conservation Commission told developer Ralph DePalma that enough is enough and last night closed a public hearing on his incomplete Williamsburg Estates Notice of Intent, rejecting his plea to allow the case to remain open for 30 more days to allow for final plans to be drawn.
Commission Chairman Christopher Pratt told DePalma, his attorney Joseph M. Pacella and engineer David L. Bean that some of the current Conservation Commissioners who have been appointed within the past two years have never had any part of the project before them, and he was concerned that they would not be able to make an informed decision. Pratt also said a recently filed lawsuit against Olde Farms Golf Club could drag the hearing out even further than the 30 days DePalma asked for last night.
“We have been bending over backwards with the Ranch,” DePalma said. “We have been submitting plans to them and every time, they make no decisions. They are stringing us along. Our patience is running out.”
DAVE CANTON

Board extends status

WESTFIELD — The School Committee voted Monday night to continue its grantee status for the Greater Westfield Head Start program until a new grantee is awarded the contract to provide administrative oversight.
That decision came after the board voted in January to end its 25-year grantee status on June 30 and notified regional Head Start officials of that decision.
The regional officials have met with local school officials to outline various options that could occur depending on the School Committee’s decision Monday night to amend its original vote.
One option, rejected by the board members, was to uphold the January vote to end its grantee status as of June 30, 2010, a decision that would have resulted in an interim grantee assuming oversight of the local Head Start program, which provides services in Westfield, West Springfield, Agawam and Russell.
The board voted 5-0-1 for option two, to continue its grantee status until a new grantee has been identified and hired to provide oversight for the program. …
DAN MORIARTY

Head Start budget approved

WESTFIELD — The Westfield School Committee approved the Head Start fiscal year budget Monday night.
The 5-0-1 vote came following several months of review after “red flags” were raised during discussion of the budget with Head Start Executive Director Barbara Glanville and Fiscal Officer Sue Houghton.
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik, chairman of the School Committee, requested Laura Maloney, Head Start liaison, and school officials to conduct a thorough review of the budget following the School Committee’s February discussion of the budget. …
DAN MORIARTY

Special Town Meeting tonight

SOUTHWICK — Town residents will consider 12 separate articles tonight when Town Moderator James Putnam convenes a Special Town Meeting at 6:30 in the Southwick-Tolland Regional High School auditorium, including articles that fund raises for some 86 employees, approve the renovation of the Town Hall auditorium, give a break to local taxpayers in trouble and rezone land-locked industrial properties. …
DAVE CANTON

Monday, March 1, 2010

Sewerage project, other bids due this month

WESTFIELD — March will be a busy month for the city’s purchasing department with eight contracts pending.
Tammy Tefft, director of the Purchasing Department, reported to Mayor Daniel M. Knapik that the city will open bids for a variety of goods and services within the next two weeks.
The largest, in terms of dollars, will be the improvements to the Wastewater Treatment Plant, where bids for equipment to remove “rag” material from the wastewater flow are expected to come in at nearly $1 million. That bid is slated to be opened on March 12, 2010, at 1 p.m.
The “rag removal” work was a hot topic at the City Council’s February 18 session as members of the council questioned Water Resource Director Dave Billips about his overtime account.
The City Council approved a $1 million bond for the rag removal system last spring after Billips said that the plant’s present system was inadequate. The current technology, channel grinders, was installed as part of an upgrade to the facility four years ago. Both grinders failed at the same time, with a replacement cost of between $75,000 and $100,000 for each unit, an expense that the city would pay on a regular basis to replace the grinders. …
DAN MORIARTY

Developer facing hefty fines

SOUTHWICK — A North Granby, Conn., developer faces up to $300 a day in fines depending on the outcome of a Conservation Commission meeting tonight.
Douglas Williams, developer of the upscale 45-lot Lexington Circle subdivision will face an administrative hearing at 7:30 p.m. to determine if he should be fined $300 a day, pending repairs to a faulty storm-water detention system that has carried away tons of soil , eroding a cavern 30-feet-deep, 80-feet-wide and nearly 300-feet-long. In a letter to Williams, Conservation Commission Chairman Christopher Pratt said eroded soils from the defective outfall from a detention basin have washed down a slope and buried a bordering vegetative wetland area under some four feet of silt. All of this occurred long after the commission requested Williams devise a plan to fix the storm water detention system. …
DAVE CANTON

Retiring lieutenant bid festive farewell

WESTFIELD — Paul Miller got a special birthday present Friday — relief from his responsibilities as a lieutenant in the Westfield Police Department.
Miller, a Westfield native and a graduate of St. Mary High School, served for 32 years with the city’s police, starting in September 1977 as an auxiliary officer and becoming a patrol officer later that year. He was promoted to sergeant in August 1986 and became a lieutenant in September 1990.
One of his fellow lieutenants, Paul Kousch, said “he was my mentor during my career and touched some of the younger officers.” Kousch said that Miller “led by example” and didn’t need to be in the limelight but was always in the background making sure things were done as they should be. “He didn’t have to be on TV but he was the one making sure everything was done by the numbers,” Kousch said.
Miller retired as the supervisor of the department’s detective bureau and had served in that role for a time about a decade earlier. He also spent many years as a patrol supervisor. …
CARL E. HARTDEGEN