In response to the PulseLine of April 24th and the person who observed children in the park throwing rocks at the ducks and fish… If you were so concerned, why did you not either alert park officials or call the Westfield Police Department? Why did you not take note of the license plate of the van they were huddled around and report it to the WPD? I’m not excusing the behavior of the youth; their behavior was indeed cruel. That said, park officials and the WPD cannot be in all places at one time. At some point, citizens need to become involved in reporting crimes or misconduct.
Concerning the tragic loss of life of officer Jose Torres in Westfield July 26, 2012. Without pointing fingers or placing blame I would like to merely ask a question. Before working at any construction project, are police officers afforded the same mandatory opportunities of receiving proper health and safety training, that is required by law, of all construction workers? Employees should receive training to obtain knowledge, skills, and motivation to carry out their tasks without any risks for their own or others’ safety, health, or well-being. “Employers” bear the responsibility to make employees aware of their occupational safety and health risks. Training should be given before starting the working activity and should include temporary employees and contractors. If it isn’t the case already, hopefully this can be a wake up call so that future tragedies can be averted. That being said, it was a very sad day for all involved.
Just read in the Sunday paper where a Westfield citizen was complaining that he had to divulge personal information to Westfield Animal Control Officer Ken Frazer because Frazer demanded it when the citizen sought to register his dog. The citizen, William Mead, was concerned that Frazer had his personal information but Frazer was refusing to issue the dog licenses unless Mead provided Frazer with his personal driver’s license information. Frazer noted he needed the information for “lost” dogs and demanded the driver’s license information because people tell the RMV their true addresses “because they have to”. It is noteworthy that recently a Holyoke woman, sick with cancer, was recently arrested by a MA State Trooper because she failed to renew a dog license. What kind of deranged police state do we live in nowadays that the dog cop will rat you out to a court and you can be arrested for failing to license your dog? I will never, ever license my dog because of these Gestapo tactics of state and local law enforcement officials. Additionally, I hate to burst your bubble, Mr. Frazer, but us citizens rarely, if ever, notify the RMV of license address changes. Frankly, we don’t trust your ilk and what you can or might do. Aren’t you the same Animal Control Officer that just had a two year old baby moose and a bear shot to death? Your excuse on that was that tranquilizing was not a viable option as humans could get sick if they happened to shoot the aforementioned moose or bear and ate the meat because of the tranquilizing agent. That’s lame. If some poacher shot that moose or bear, out of season, and then ate the meat, they deserve to get sick. I urge the citizens of Westfield to ignore Frazer’s demands and keep your vital information private. Do you really trust “Big Brother” or a system that will shoot defenseless animals or arrest citizens, sick with cancer, over a stupid dog license renewal?
