• LOCAL NEWS LOCAL STORIES LOCAL ADVERTISERS • E WARE REGION FOR 1 ING TH 29 YE SERV ARS Vol. 135 No. 8 12 Pages (Plus Supplements) USPS 666100 $31 PER YEAR - $1.00 A COPY THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021 www.warerivernews.turley.com A TURLEY PUBLICATION ❙ www.turley.com STM to be held Saturday, March 27 Mary Lane School lower parking lot. The date will cover a range of town needs, Town Manager Stuart Beckley ly-owned commercial building, DPH public Drive-in style was originally set for April 10, which were scheduled to be part said Moderator Kathleen Coulombe 114 Main St., which was deemed meeting planned as discussed at the last of a STM in November, was not available to moderate the unsafe by the town. The town SelectBoard meeting on SEE STM but had to be rescheduled meetings on April 10, when both ordered the owner to pull the March 16. due to safety concerns STMs were originally scheduled by building down by Oct. 1, which hearing set By Eileen Kennedy It will be a “drive- INSIDE around COVID-19. the SelectBoard. has not happened. Staff writer in” style meeting, where ON PAGE 3 The SelectBoard held The building is also causing residents will stay in a short meeting Tuesday problems to the multi-million for April 1 WARE – There will be a their vehicles, and the to discuss setting a second 114 Main St demolition dollar Main Street redesign proj- The meeting this Saturday will Special Town Meeting this moderator and other speakers Special Town Meeting for Saturday, ect, which is funded through state cover a range of issues, includ- Saturday, March 27, at 10 a.m., will have their remarks commu- April 24, at 9 a.m., at WJSHS, most ing whether voters will approve To be held by at the Ware Junior Senior High nicated over vehicle FM radios. It likely on the football field. $425,000 to pull down a private- Please see MEETING, page 3 conference call from 6 to 9 p.m. By Eileen Kennedy Passenger Staff writer Two Fires in Five Days WARE – The Massachusetts Department of Public Health will rail team hold a hearing on Baystate Health’s proposal to close the Mary Lane satellite emergency facility and optimistic Man dies in Palmer Road house fire other services by conference call on Thursday, April. 1, from 6 to 9 By Michael Harrison Cause of fire p.m. [email protected] In January, Baystate Health deemed accidental announced its intention to close the REGION — The wheels of Mary Lane campus, including the By Eileen Kennedy government are known to turn emergency facility, cancer services Staff writer excruciatingly slow, but citizens and other medical services. The and public officials pushing for company has said it wants to end WARE – A fire at a Palmer the creation of a passenger rail Mary Lane’s emergency services Road home led to the death of line from Pittsfield to Boston are and cancer services by the end of an occupant, John Hebert, 58, feeling some momentum build- June, and then phase out the other according to Northwestern District ing. medical services over an 18-month Attorney David Sullivan’s office. In one instance, someone in period. Sullivan, State Fire Marshal a position to exert power has The company said the reasons Peter J. Ostroskey, Ware Fire given the project a legislative they are seeking closure include Chief Christopher Gagnon and push. State Sen. Eric Lesser, fewer patients coming to Mary Ware Police Chief Shawn Crevier D-East Longmeadow, who Lane for care, the difficulty in get- announced the fire at the one-fam- represents the First Hampden ting doctors to locate their practic- ily home, at 402 Palmer Road, on and Hampshire districts, intro- es at the campus and the hospital Friday, March 19, was accidental. duced a bill called “An Act to building needing $5 million worth The fire was reported at 7:20 establish fast, frequent, and of work for it to remain up-to-date. p.m. on March 19, and firefighters reliable passenger rail service Area state legislators and boards attempted to resuscitate the vic- between Pittsfield and Boston of selectmen have signed a letter tim, but were not successful. “On Turley Publications staff photo by Melina Bourdeau via Springfield” to codify the requesting the emergency services behalf of the fire department and John Hebert, 58, died in a house fire at 402 Palmer Road on the evening of Friday, March 19. proposal and unlock tens of mil- closure be postponed until June the town of Ware, I offer our heart- lions of dollars in state fund- 2022, and have requested a meeting felt condolences to the family and ing that has been approved but the one-story, one-family home. was evidence of smoking and can- was started intentionally. with Baystate officials to discuss friends,” said Gagnon. remains unspent. They were able to eliminate the dle use, either of which could have When firefighters arrived at the the request. Investigators determined that “I don’t know that’s going to electrical system as a possible started the fire, officials said, but The Ware SelectBoard has cre- the fire started in the basement of Please see FATAL, page 2 pass or anyone is going to do cause. In the area of origin there there was no evidence that the fire ated a committee, which has town that, but it was a stroke of genius officials as well residents on it on Lesser’s part to basically say, to help the town as it works with ‘we want this to happen. You Baystate Health officials through will start running east-west rail the closure. passenger service in January Fire Baystate Health has offered 2022,’” Ben Hood, chairman of to demolish the buildings at the the Rail Steering Committee, end of two years, and make sure said during a recent meeting displaces Please see MLHL, page 2 held virtually over Zoom. The bill says MassDOT “shall run passenger rail service between the cities of Pittsfield 12 people and Boston via Springfield at SelectBoard least five-times daily on the existing CSX rail line. The No injuries in candidates forum department may utilize the Massachusetts Bay Transit Main Street fire set for March 27 Authority or contract with out- side entities in order to run By Eileen Kennedy WARE – There will be a Ware said passenger rail service. The Staff writer SelectBoard candidates’ forum on department may also utilize a March 27, at 2 p.m., which will portion or all of the $50 million WARE – The second fire be recorded by Ware Community in capital authorization allocat- in town in less than week was Television. There will be no audi- ed for East-West passenger rail called in Tuesday at 11:44 a.m. ence and Ware TV will put the service.” after smoke was seen at an recorded forum online later the Co-signed by senators Anne apartment and retail building at same day. Gobi (Worcester, Hampden, 135 Main St., although no one The four candidates are Alan Hampshire, and Middlesex), was injured. Whitney, Keith Kruckas, Caitlin Joanne Comerford (Hampshire, The several story building Maureen McCarthy and Josh Franklin, and Worcester), has apartments on several floors Kusnierz. Rebecca Rausch (Norfolk, and retail establishments. Fire The Ware River News will be Bristol, and Middlesex) and rep- departments from Belchertown, developing questions and is also resentatives Brian Ashe (Second Warren, Palmer and Bondsville asking residents to send in ques- Hampden), Jake Oliveira provided mutual aid in helping tions they think are important to (Seventh Hampden), Kelly Pease with the fire and coverage for ask the candidates to ekennedy@ (Fourth Hampden) and Todd the town. turley.com. Smola (First Hampden), the bill North Brookfield Fire Chief A Turley Publications employee also directs MassDOT to “con- Joseph Holway happened to be will be asking the questions, and a duct an economic impact anal- in Ware at the time, and was story about the forum will be in the ysis on the economic benefits first on the scene helping to April 1 edition of the Ware River and transformational impact” of make sure residents got out News. The Town Election is scheduled The second fire in a week was reported at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday at 135 Main St., a multi-use building with 12 Please see MAIN ST., page 2 Please see RAIL, page 8 residents and two business spaces. for April 12. Inside this edition: EDUCATION COMMUNITY SPORTS Connect with us Viewpoints 4 Public Notices 10 Dan Orszulak Cub Scouts Ware receives try out disc beats Warren 5 Classifieds 11 excellence golf Btown, Sports 7 award 37-8 Obituaries 9 Police/Fire 10 Page 2 Page 6 Page 7 WareRiverNews Page 2, Ware River News, March 25, 2021 Ware River News Orszulak receives 2021 Partners Each week the Ware River News Obituary digs into its submitted photo archives and selects a people Policy in Excellence Teacher Award photo to publish We need your help to help identify those Turley Publications WARE – Congratulations to Ware reaches far beyond their days at Ware pictured Junior Senior High School Math Junior Senior High School. The les- offers two types of Email your answers by Monday at obituaries. Teacher Dan Orszulak on sons he teaches his students receiving a 2021 Partners prepares them for life and noon to ekennedy@turley com One is a free, brief in Excellence teaching stays with them forever. It Death Notice listing award from Mass Insight is common place to see for- the name of deceased, (Mi).This award is present- mer students return back to date of death and ed to Advanced Placement the community and share (AP) STEM & English their gratitude for the life funeral date and place.