State Rep. Kelly Pease
FROM YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
The trees look nice and bright, but the leaves are really starting to come down. I do love fall, with the nice, cool weather and chilly nights. I hope everyone is enjoying October and is taking part in the many events that are going on. Enjoy the season and have a safe Halloween. If you are interested, the Cub Scouts are having a trunk-or-treat at Highland Elementary School starting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 25.
October has been a busy month, with many meetings and events. Over the course of the last few weeks, I attended multiple hearings for the Joint Committee on Education, Higher Education, Interagency PFAS Task Force, and the Broadband Equity Commission. There were also a couple of formal sessions where the new district boundaries were passed in the House. I will be sad to lose Precinct 6B from Westfield, but state Rep. Michael Finn from West Springfield will do a good job for those residents. I will be working closely with him to make sure that Westfield is well represented. I am excited about picking up Southampton as part of my new district, and look forward to getting to know all the people through meetings with their Selectboard and residents to introduce myself.
Besides the formal State House business, I attended several meetings. I took part in a meeting with school Superintendent Czaporowski, Mayor Humason, Council President Bean, and Senator Velis to discuss the progress and cost of the Franklin Street school project. I had the great pleasure of meeting with a group of constituents who talked with me about the Green Futures Act, and what it meant to them. I met with Baystate Noble president Ron Bryant to talk about hospital operations and his concerns about staffing. I also attended a meeting with the Massachusetts Agricultural Fair Association with a follow-up meeting at Westfield Fairgrounds with representatives from Westfield, Blandford, Middlefield and Littleville fairs, to discuss their concerns and needs.
As Senator Velis likes to say, one of the best parts of our job is attending ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new businesses or centers. One of those I attended was the grand opening of the William R. Parks Early Education Center. What a great addition to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield. Congratulations and best of luck to Christina Gustafson’s grand opening of Chrissy G’s Bakery. If the opening weekend is any indication, then she will have a very successful business.
There were other events that I had the pleasure of attending. The Agawam Veterans Memorial Cemetery fundraiser at the Sons of Erin and the PumpkinFest were great events, with big crowds coming out to support both. Ethan and I had fun learning about cranberry bogs with my fellow freshman House members on a tour in West Wareham. Friday was the Westfield Chamber of Commerce Legislative Luncheon at Tekoa. On a more personal side, I attended the Southampton Road School open house with Riley, where he also manned a Cub Scout table to try and earn his recruitment badge.
If you need any assistance with state departments or agencies, please reach out to my office at 94 N. Elm St., Suite 301N, in the Westwood Building, phone 413-875-8787 or email [email protected] or [email protected].
Kelly Pease, R-Westfield, represents Westfield in the state House of Representatives.
