JOHN VELIS
Greetings Westfield and Happy Halloween! I hope everyone enjoyed the Downtown Trick-or Treat on Friday! It was great to see so many of you out and about. Here is a quick update from the past week.
I want to begin by briefly addressing a national headline you may have seen this past week. Reports came out of California detailing an outrageous situation. Members of the California National Guard were being asked to repay re-enlistment bonuses they had received about a decade ago. It was discovered that these bonuses had been incorrectly administered and the Pentagon asked for them to be repaid.
As a Veteran and member of the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee, I found these reports shocking and disturbing. Service members are being forced to shoulder the financial burden for mistakes that were not theirs. This is absolutely unacceptable. These men and women have given so much to our country and deserve to be treated fairly and with respect.
In Westfield this week we celebrated the One Year Anniversary of the new Senior Center. It is always great to celebrate accomplishments like this one. Westfield Council on Aging is doing a fantastic job in our community and one year in their wonderful new facility is an occasion worth celebrating.
The rest of the week was spent in the district in and out of meetings. Tomorrow I am looking forward to participating in the Rays of Hope walk in Springfield. This event is run by Baystate Health Foundation and raises money to fight breast cancer. All of the proceeds from this event go right back to communities here in Western Massachusetts.
That’s all for this week Westfield! Enjoy the rest of your weekend. As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns at [email protected] or 413-572-3920.
