Hello! I would just like to share my concern for the young children that attend a Westfield Parks and Rec. Program called “Adventure Zone.” This will be the 2nd year in a row that they have decided to hold this all-day summer child care program at North Middle School and this is a real shame with the children suffering! When it was located at the Vocational School, the children had daily access to the spray park, (getting wet and cooling off on a hot day is first and foremost in a child’s mind), the basketball court, the playground, and lovely Grandmother’s Garden to enjoy lunch with their group or wander along the little path and bog area behind it. Everything they needed was right there! Now, they are forced to endure much different conditions at North. They excuse they give is painting, but 2 years in a row? There are different locations at the Voke that would be totally fine, there is the gym, cafeteria, even a wide hallway. But to be crammed in 1/2 a gym in the back of North Middle with burned grass with full sun and a lot of pavement is a real shame! If the person is charge doesn’t care about the best interests of our wonderful young children, maybe someone else will. The Westfield News spoke with Jim Blascak, Director of Westfield’s Park & Recreation Department, and were told: The department’s first choice is the vocational high school. Unfortunately, the gym floor was scheduled to be replaced in the summer of 2013, but was not. They requested the use of the Voke again for this summer, but were informed that the gym floor will be replaced once school was out and the school would not be available this year. The camp mentioned does have use of the full gym at North Middle, not half. Also, the camp takes a bus trip to the Municipal playground spray park and the Agawam state pool on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as a different field trip every Wednesday. Some of the field trips include Look Park, ice skating at Amelia Park, Majestic Theater, Play Bousquet water park, Lake Compounce and Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park.
What a travesty!!! Four humans failed an innocent dog. As an avid animal lover this story made me so angry, not to mention sick!! Gigit, the dog, once removed from it’s owner to be quarantined should have never been returned. And for the dog’s owner and his mother to leave her where Ms. Gingras had any contact with her; was very wrong. It is time the Court system got serious about convicting these kind of people. Ms. Gingras should spend the two and a half years in the house of correction; maybe that will give her time to realize what she did was wrong. Apparently one aspect of the story was not made clear. The couple broke up, apparently over the dog, and she moved elsewhere. The dog was never removed from his owner to be quarantined after the biting incident (he was in quarantine and confined in his crate in the residence when he was assaulted with bleach) and his owner acted responsibly to ensure that Gigit received the care he needed, spending whatever was necessary to help him recover his health and at least some vision in his injured eye. C.E.H
We enjoyed a lovely concert on the Green last night. We thank all the groups and individuals who put this together. It was a very enjoyable community event. We also appreciate the beautiful flowers, and landscaping with benches and young trees that are growing to eventually provide shade and trash barrels conveniently located. The improved upkeep of buildings, restaurants and stores all have created a very welcoming downtown. Westfield is becoming infused with hope for a bright future. We remember the Westfield of our youth in the fifties with its streets filled with shoppers. Westfield was and is a great community to grow up and live in. We are proud to call Westfield home.
