Southwick Open Space Draft Map Available by HOPE E

TONIGHT: Partly Cloudy. Low of 51. The Westfield News Search for The Westfield News Westfield350.com The WestfieldNews Serving Westfield, Southwick, and surrounding Hilltowns “TIME IS THE ONLY WEATHER CRITIC WITHOUT TONIGHT AMBITION.” Partly Cloudy. JOHN STEINBECK Low of 55. www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 86 NO. 151 TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2017 75 cents $1.00 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 VOL. 88 NO. 230 Southwick Open Space draft map available By HOPE E. TREMBLAY also be discussed at the Oct. 7 Conservation tected temporarily and in perpetuity.” Clark said residents were also interested in Assistant Managing Editor Commission meeting. A survey was sent to residents earlier this having a town dog park. SOUTHWICK – The town is making prog- Conservation Commission Coordinator year in property tax bills for residents to “A lot of people are driving to Connecticut ress on its Open Space Plan and will offer a Dennis Clark said the state requires an updat- weigh-in on what they want from the town’s and Agawam to the dog park,” said Clark, review of the plan during the Oct. 2 Open ed plan and the town began working on it in open space. “and more than just using it as a park, they Space and Recreation Committee meeting and May of 2018. “The main point they brought up was the want to use it for socializing with their dogs.” a draft map is available on the town website. “One of the main objectives has been to map,” Clark said. “People don’t know where Another common request made through the The Committee will meet at 7 p.m. in the update the mapping,” said Clark. “It includes the open spaces are and what they can use Land Use Room at Town Hall. The plan will all open space properties and property pro- them for and when they can use them.” See Draft Map, Page 3 Conservation Commission recommends agreement with Franklin Land Trust By AMY PORTER Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Following a review by the Law Department, the Conservation Commission voted unanimously to recommend co-holding a conservation restriction with the Franklin Land Trust on 40 acres of farmland on Montgomery Road owned by Robert and Karen Baker. The idea was first proposed in August by Emily Boss, land protection specialist with the Franklin Land Trust. She said as co- holders the town would participate in annual monitoring of the land. Franklin Land Trust would remain the primary holder. Boss said if any enforcement were required, the land trust would take on any financial burden. At the Aug. 27 meeting, Conservation Commission members were enthusiastic, but wanted to wait before voting for a ruling by the Law Department. This week, a report from First Assistant City Solicitor Shanna Reed said it was a normal conservation restriction, and that it “looked fine” to her. Former Conservation Coordinator Karen Leigh, who was filling in until the new coordinator starts Oct. 1, said that Reed ques- tioned why a Memorandum of Understanding was needed. Leigh is leaving to teach full- time at Westfield State University, and had members of her Wetlands class observing the meeting. Emily Boss of the Franklin Land Trust (on right) at the Conservation Commission in August. (Photo by Amy Porter) Boss said Franklin Land Trust would have primary responsibility for enforcement of the conservation restriction, which is in perpetuity, with Westfield’s participation. She also said the Winding River Land Conservancy handed the responsibility to Franklin Land Trust, and that it could be turned over again. Boss said that a Community Preservation Act open space grant of $189,900 awarded to the Bakers in 2017 is going to make the conservation restriction possible. “It was important to explore because it was CPA-funded, and seems like the right course of action to invite Westfield’s participation,” she said. She said under Massachusetts General Law, the Conservation Commission would be the responsible entity, so she came to them first “I keep looking for a downside,” said Carl Grove. The land is contiguous to another 30 acres donated to the city by the Bakers and to other city owned conservation land, making a large parcel of open space off of Montgomery Road. Thomas Sharp then made a motion to recommend to the City Council that the City of Westfield become a co-holder of the property, which passed unanimously. “Westfield’s a good place. When they put Winding River together, it was a good thing,” said Baker. Leigh said she would put together the let- ter for the City Council. Outgoing Conservation Coordinator Karen Leigh, who now teaches full-time at WSU, had her Wetlands class observe the meeting. (Photo by Amy Porter) SEPAC offers ‘Basic Rights’ workshop for parents of children with special needs By AMY PORTER The Basic Rights workshop will focus Staff Writer specifically on evaluations and eligibility, WESTFIELD – The Special Education according to SEPAC parent volunteer Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC) is Michele Douglas. hosting a workshop on parent’s basic rights Topics will include the Individuals with on Oct. 3 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Disabilities Education Act and other Westfield Technical Academy cafeteria, 33 Massachusetts laws; evaluations and refer- Smith Ave. rals, the team meeting, Individualized The workshop, led by Nancy Stewart on Education Program (IEP) and 504 plans, behalf of the Federation for Children with and strategies for success. Special Needs (fcsn.org), will provide an “For parents with young children going introduction to the complex special educa- into Fort Meadow, this meeting can give tion laws and procedures. Child care and them valuable information that can help refreshments will be provided. them through the special education pro- A description on the workshop at fcsn. cess,” Douglas said. org, states: “Special education laws are SEPAC, which describes itself as an complex, and we recommend that parents organization which supports parents with attend several workshops to be fully special needs children, may be contacted apprised of their legal rights and responsi- with questions or for further information at bilities.” [email protected]. SEPAC members Dawn Altieri, Michele Douglas and Melissa Rutkowski. PAGE 2 - MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 WWW.THEWESTFIELDNEWS.COM THE WESTFIELD NEWS Big E weird food review: The Craz-E burger By PETER CURRIER Staff Writer WEST SPRINGFIELD- We have come to the end of the Eastern States Exposition and thus, my reviews of strange foods that can be found at the fair. To close things off, I decided to personally test out a Big E icon: The Craz-E burger. For those who are not aware, of which I am sure there are few, this burger is made up of a normal burger patter, two strips of bacon, cheese, and the most important part, a donut cut in half horizontally being used as the bun. This is peak fair food. The Craz-E burger can be found at the Big EZ cafe just outside one of the gates of the Better Living Center. It is relatively small for a burger, thankfully, or I may not be alive right now to write this. For $7.50, this burger is actually a pretty good deal as far as “calories per dollar” is concerned. The burger is reported to have around 1,500 calories, most of the recommended daily value for the aver- age adult. As a disclaimer: I was unable to actually eat this burger while I was still at the Big E. Due to some heavy rain coming in, and the fact that I had just eaten the catfish po-boy, I brought my burger home to allow myself to digest a little before doubling my daily calorie count within 5 minutes. Thus, the burger was not as warm and fresh as if I had eaten it right away. Regardless, my first bite into the Craz-E burger presented me with a mix of emotions. This thing is delicious, dangerously so in fact. This is one of those foods that you can taste exactly how bad it is for you, and that is what makes it so good. The Craz-E burger, found at the Big EZ Cafe next to the Better Living Center for $7,50. (Photo by Peter Currier) The donut was glazed, so grab some napkins if you’re going to tackle this one by hand. Strangely enough, a glazed donut, a burger, and bacon go donut as a burger bun, you may as well go burger, and I still have not felt hunger since is the reality we live in now. quite well together. My only wish is that the Craz-E all in. then. So, in the wise words of Jeff Goldblum as burger was made with a fried egg on top of the I am unsure if I will ever need to eat food At no point during these reviews did I Dr. Ian Malcom, “Your scientists were so bacon and burger patty. My reasoning is that, if you for the rest of my life. Admittedly, I write imagine that I would need to quote Jurassic preoccupied with whether or not they could, are going to go in this ridiculous direction using a this review 12 hours after having eaten the Park to sum up my opinion of food, but this they didn’t stop to think if they should.” ODDS & ENDS YOUR LOCAL FORECAST Delaware school sorry for serving Roseanne anthem rendition SEAFORD, Del. (AP) — “The Star- Perrington says pregame proceedings will be TONIGHT TUESDAY WEDNESDAY Spangled Banner” isn’t an unusual feature of improved to spike future occurrences and the high school pregame festivities, but Roseanne lapse is being investigated.

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