Once again a newspaper irresponsibly puts a picture on the front page showing a child using a scooter or skateboard without safety equipment. This is often done with bicycles and other sports as well. How do we get people to obey safety regulations if they only see the opposite advertised as the way to have fun. Most young people only see the pictures so photographers need to think twice about if their subject matter presents a safe and legal way to behave. The Westfield Police Department has stated that there is no law, statute or ordinance requiring a helmet for individuals using non-motorized scooters, roller blades or skateboards. There is, however, a Massachusetts State statute requiring helmets to be worn by individuals age 12 and under when riding a bicycle. Unfortunately, that statute does not allow for a penalty to be imposed when an individual is not abiding by the statute.
My name is Jason Stomski and I was a derby driver from Saturday. I do agree with the statements about some favoritism about team cars. Unfortunately this kind of stuff happens, and should no way be a reflection upon the Westfield Fair. They do quite an amazing amount of work that most people would never realize. I am sure that if the fair thought there was wrongdoing, they would handle it in a very appropriate manner. Again – the Westfield Fair does a top-notch high quality job and should no way be scrutinized by the actions of the derby drivers.
This is in response to the PulseLine article from the long time Russell resident. First of all, you are a little out of touch with the town political tone. We have only one person on the Select Board that by her own admission is in office because of her views on biomass. We have a newcomer that is unstated but if you go by who ran his election then this person is anti-biomass. The third person is, of his own making, claiming to be for the betterment of the town and to date seems to be a person of his word. All three were not present for the police chief appointment. The chairman had excused himself for health reasons and was not in attendance the appointment night. He did read a couple of letters from the public but then let the two remaining members try to defend their reasons for appointment. A lot goes on in Russell but not to the extreme that appears in the paper. By allowing general remarks by unsigned parties to happen makes Russell seem like an undesirable place to live and not is not the case. One case in point is the oozing at the Westfield river paper lagoon site. The town itself is not pushing for these tests to be done. It’s a group of private persons.
