Church Leaders Gather for Conference on Addiction
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TONIGHT Mostly Clear. Low of 30. Search for The Westfield News The Westfield Search for The Westfield News Westfield350.com The WestfieldNews News THE WESTFIELD NEWS Serving Westfield, Southwick, and surrounding Hilltowns “TIME IS THEWILL RU ONLYN ITS MASTHEAD WEATHER CRITICI NWITHOUT PINK, IN RECOG NITION TONIGHT AMBITIONOF OCT.”OBER BEING BREAST CANCER Partly Cloudy. JOHN STEINBECK SearchAW AREfor TheNESS Westfield MONTH. News Westfield350.comWestfield350.orgLow of 55. Thewww.thewestfieldnews.com WestfieldNews Serving Westfield, Southwick, and surrounding Hilltowns “TIME IS THE ONLY WEATHERVOL. 86 NO. 151 TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2017 75 CRITICcents WITHOUT VOL.87TONIGHT NO. 250 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2018 75AMBITION Cents .” Partly Cloudy. JOHN STEINBECK Low of 55. www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL.Church 86 NO. 151 leaders gatherTUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2017for 75 cents conference on addiction By PETER CURRIER Correspondent WESTFIELD- The Genesis Spiritual Life and Conference center held the ‘Walking with the Prodigal Child’ conference Tuesday morning. The conference, which was sponsored by the Westfield Drug Task Force, was meant to foster discussion between church leaders regarding how to handle opiate addiction Joanne Burke helps the audience to define addiction as a within their congregations. disease (Photo by Peter Currier) The conference began with an opening prayer lead by Reverend Michael Hall of the Keene Unitarian Universalist Church. “We gather this morning, hopeful and yet humbled, by what we see in our world, in our families, in our neighborhood, in our newspapers, those who are stumbling, those who are lost and looking for home,” says Hall in a part of his sermon. Reverend Hall then introduced Mayor Brian Sullivan, who described his first introduction to the opioid crisis in his first Reverend Michael Hall opens the conference with a prayer months as Mayor. (Photo by Peter Currier) “Three years ago I ran for my first term. My thoughts were “Everyone’s answer was the same,” he says, “we need to that I was going to need to know about budgets, potholes, talk about it.” schools, and things like that,” says Mayor Sullivan, “within His first move was to create the Westfield Drug Task Force. months of taking office, Westfield was hit with three overdose “I didn’t want to just put together a task force that met quar- deaths. I did not know how to react. I didn’t know who to seek terly and talked about, looked at statistics, and then moved on for help.” to only meet again next quarter,” says Sullivan, “We wanted Sullivan described how he approached his police chief, fire to make a difference.” chief, the first responders and the Sheriffs department and The wall of healing and hope stands at the ‘Walking with asked what they need to do about this. See Addiction Conference, Page 8 the Prodigal Child’ conference (Photo by Peter Currier) District and business Third annual Glow Baystate leaders brainstorm Walk held on rail trail at the By PETER CURRIER Noble WE2BA Correspondent meeting. WESTFIELD- The Friends of the Columbia (Photo by Greenway Rail Trail held their 3rd annual Glow Walk Amy Porter) Wednesday night on the Rail Trail. Hospital Approximately 30 people of all ages gathered at 6 p.m. with flashlights and warm clothes to walk on the trail as the sun set and the moon rose over the horizon. celebrates Some children that took part were donning Christmas lights that made them easily visible in the dark. A Westfield Police Officer escorted the group on his bike. 125th The walk stopped at historical markers that dis- played the history of the trail and the surrounding area. Anniversary See Glow Walk, Page 8 By AMY PORTER WE2BA introduces new model for Correspondent WESTFIELD – Baystate Noble Hospital celebrated its 125th anniversary business and school partnership with a party for employees, past and present. Staff party planners greeted By AMY PORTER that are not monetary. Getting together guests in poodle skirts, in homage to the Correspondent with Jamie Naughton of Westfield Gas coffee shop off the lobby which opened WESTFIELD – Westfield Public & Electric, Danisha Serrano of the in the 50’s, and reopened for the last Schools Supervisor of English Mary Westfield High School Career Center time on Wednesday. It will now be Keane introduced a new concept for the and Susan Leggett of Westfield State turned into an easy access lab. Old pho- “Adopt a Classroom” program to dis- University, they came up with a time- tos adorned the walls, and copies of the trict and business officials gathered at limited focused project that would ben- defunct Noble Digest replaced maga- the Westfield Education 2 Business efit all. zines on tables in the lobby. Alliance (WE2BA) meeting at Mestek’s The project, which would pilot in Reed Institute on Wednesday morning. Westfield High School, would link a From 2 to 3 p.m., hot vintage hors Westfield Police Lt. Eric Hall speaks with partici- d’oeuvres were served to leadership and Keane said she wanted to provide business with a WHS teacher to teach opportunities for businesses interested pants as they wait at the first historical marker. (Photo by Peter Currier) See 125th, Page 7 in being involved in the schools in ways See WE2BA, Page 8 Southwick Fire receives pet oxygen masks By GREG FITZPATRICK oxygen mask kit. Correspondent Southwick Fire Chief Russ Anderson acknowl- SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Fire edges that pets are an integral part of families and Department received potentially life saving knew the masks could be important when there is devices for pets from Western Mass Invisible a fire in homes with pets. Fence this week. “It gives the pet a chance, it’s more efficient,” Project Breathe was created to give pet oxygen said Anderson. “The masks are tailored towards mask kits to fire departments and other first their bodies and it can make the application of responders. The kits include small, medium, and oxygen more efficient.” Pets tend to hide during an event like a fire mak- large masks, and each fire department is eligible Southwick Fire Chief Russ Anderson to receive one kit. ing it hard for fire personnel to find them in a was given pet oxygen masks from timely manner, which may result in greater smoke Senator Don Humason and Baystate Based in Longmeadow, Western Mass Invisible Western Mass Invisible Fence this Noble President Ron Bryant. (Photo by Fence reaches out to local fire departments every week. (Photo from Southwick Fire See Pet Oxygen Masks, Page 8 Amy Porter) year to see if they’ll accept their donation of a pet Department) Town-wide hydrant flushing continues By GREG FITZPATRICK a.m. Correspondent Brown noted that not every hydrant in town will be flushed and SOUTHWICK – The Southwick DPW has continued through that this process is to help clear off the mains of the hydrant and town with their annual town-wide hydrant flushing. According to eliminate tuberculation. Flushing the air out of the hydrant system, DPW Director Randy Brown, they have moved to the northern end tuberculation is material that builds off of the walls in the pipeline of College Hwy going towards the Westfield border and side of the hydrant. streets off of College Hwy. Brown assures residents that they shouldn’t be concerned if they The flushing began on October 10 on Feeding Hills Road, see a drop in the water pressure and discoloration of their water. Powder Mill Road, and the side streets off of those roads. The If the public has any questions or comments to make about the flushing takes place every Wednesday morning from 3 a.m. until 7 town-wide flushing, contact the DPW at 413-569-6772. Hydrant on Feeding Hills Road. (WNG File Photo) PAGE 2 - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2018 WWW.THEWESTFIELDNEWS.COM THE WESTFIELD NEWS TONIGHT FRIDAY SATURDAY Partly Cloudy. Rain. 48-52 35-37 WEATHER DISCUSSION Today, abundant sunshine. High 48F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 Mostly Clear. mph. Tonight, a mostly clear sky. Low around 30F. Friday, intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 52F. Winds light and variable. Friday Night, cloudy skies with periods of rain after midnight. Low near 35F. Chance of rain 90%. Saturday, peri- ods of rain. High 43F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Rainfall pos- sibly over one inch. Saturday Night, cloudy with periods of rain. 30-31 Low 37F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. WWLP.com • WORKING FOR YOU TODAY 7:16 a.m. 5:56 p.m. 10 hours 39 Minutes SUNRISE SUNSET LENGTH OF DAY ODDS & ENDS LOCAL LOTTERY LAST NIGHT’s numBERS MASSACHUSETTS What a break! 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E-mail and broke his hip, but the trip to the hospital the photo with a brief description to [email protected].