business sports election agawam · 10-10-2019 · last week. working with a powerpoint ....
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413.786.7747 • Fax: 413.786.8457 • Facebook: @AgawamAdvertiserNews • Email: [email protected]
A TURLEY PUBLICATION ❙ www.turley.com
October 10, 2019 ❙ Vol. 41, No. 31 ❙ $1.00 www.agawamadvertisernews.turley.com
ADVERTISER NEWSAGAWAM
BUSINESSHP Hood cited as Energy StarPAGE 2
ELECTIONQ&A with City Council candidates PAGE 12
SPORTSBrownies battle for 1-0 win PAGE 9
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By Mike [email protected]
School officials made the case for redistricting the town’s four elementary schools, as well as in-tegrating preschoolers into those schools, at a community forum last week.
Working with a PowerPoint presentation, School Superin-tendent Steve Lemanski and As-sistant Superintendent Sheila Hoffman explained the need to rebalance the number of students at the elementary schools start-ing in September 2021.
Between 75 and 100 residents attended an hourlong forum last Thursday evening at AJHS. It was a smaller turnout than anticipat-ed, likely because of the School Committee’s unexpected voted on Sept. 24 that eliminated a plan to covert Robinson Park School into a kindergarten and pre-kin-dergarten center.
One of two redistricting op-tions, that plan was adamant-ly opposed by RPS parents and teachers, who saw it as a “dis-mantling” of their neighborhood school. Lemanski said converting RPS to an early childhood build-ing would have created a “domino effect” on redistricting, requiring students and teachers for grades
1-4 in the current RPS zone to be divided among the three other el-ementary schools.
The unanimous vote was also prompted by schematic drawings showing how the four elementa-ry schools could accommodate preschoolers with minor modifi-cations and without the need for additional modular classrooms. Adding them could have cost tax-payers between $1.5 million and $5 million.
Enrollment data that was pre-sented showed Robinson Park currently has the most students enrolled — nearly 390 — while Granger has the fewest, 250 stu-dents. Lemanski said it’s “too ear-ly” to know how many students will be affected by redistricting.
“We’re getting some prelim-inary data, but will need much more time before any solutions are brought to the table,” he said.
Lemanski said the goal of re-districting, last done in 2002, is to equalize K-4 enrollment so there would be between 310 and 320 students at each school. Add-ing preschoolers could increase enrollment at each elementary school by about 30 to 40 students. Under the redistricting plan, there would be two pre-kindergarten
Annual fundraiser helps keep former tavern’s doors open
By Dalton [email protected]
What can be more tra-ditional than a glass of wine at sunset?
How about tastings from several bottles — all to benefit one of the town’s most historical structures.
Last Friday, nearly 300 locals attended the ninth annual Har-vest Craft Beer and Wine Tasting to raise money for the Captain Charles Leonard House.
“It’s fantastic. We all love the house. We do this to keep it pre-served,” said City Council Presi-dent Christopher Johnson. “We think that it’s the most significant historic building in Agawam. We’re very fortunate and grateful for all of the people that came.”
McCarthy Liquors of Agawam hosted the event; tickets cost $25. Approximately 40 vendors set up both in and outside the house. At-tendees had a variety of wine and
CAPT. LEONARD HOUSE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Drinking in all that historyAn assortment of raffle items was on display during the Harvest Craft Beer and Wine Tasting to support the Leonard House.
PHOTOS BY DALTON ZBIERSKI
Marylyn Curry and Mario Tedeschi prepare hors d’oeuvres inside of the Captain Charles Leonard House during the ninth annual Harvest Craft Beer and Wine Tasting event on Oct. 4.
Jim Loomis ran the grill outside of the Captain Charles Leonard House last Friday.
LEONARD ❙ page 8
REDISTRICTING ❙ page 15
HARVEST ❙ page 16PLANS ❙ page 8
Officials share redistricting plan at public forum
School officials made the case for redistricting the town’s four elementary schools, as well as integrating preschoolers into those schools, at a community forum last week. From left are Steve Lemanski, superintendent of schools, Shei-la Hoffman, assistant superintendent of schools, Cynthia Palazzi, retired prin-cipal, Robert Clickstein, school business manager, and Mayor William Sapelli.
PHOTO BY MIKE LYDICK
Bank, plaza planned for Cincotta land
By Michael [email protected]
Cincotta’s Farm will be re-developed into a three-building strip mall, under a proposal cur-rently before the town Conserva-tion Commission, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals.
Instead of the fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables that gener-ations of Feeding Hills residents picked up at the farmstand at
By Mike [email protected]
A roller coaster now sits where cars used to roar around a race track at the former River-side Amusement Park. The park’s speedway is gone, but it is not for-gotten.
The New England Antique Rac-ers, a club dedicated to keeping alive the memories of local race tracks like Riverside, is bringing some of its cars and stars to the
Agawam Rotary Club’s Harvest Festival next Saturday. The event will celebrate and remember the 20th anniversary of the “final ride” at the track.
Growing up in Agawam, Albert Fini was a “super fan” and briefly a racer himself during local auto racing’s glory days. He’s not only a charter member of NEAR, which was formed in 1981, but also served as its president for more
ROTARY CLUB
Riverside Park racers to reunite at Harvest Festival
Page 2 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ October 10, 2019
Public Safety ..... 2
Crossword.......... 4
Youth .................. 5
Opinion .............. 6
Sports ................ 9
Calendar .......... 11
Public Notices .. 13
Classifieds ..14-15
16 PAGES
IN THIS ISSUE
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Manufacturing/Fabrication Training N o - C o s t , P a r t - T i m e E v e n i n g T r a i n i n g 160 Total Hours Program Begins: Monday, November 4th, 2019 Program Ends: Thursday, January 30th, 2020 Training Time: Monday-Thursday, 4:30 pm-8:30 pm
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The Agawam Police De-partment responded to 388 calls for service from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6. The department recorded no arrests in its public log.
POLICE LOG
Grange tag, bake sale set for Oct. 26
Community Grange 382 will hold a tag sale and Halloween bake sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Grange hall at 47 N. West St., Feeding Hills.
Grange members will have several treasures to sell. Proceeds will benefit the building fund.
HP Hood LLC, the leading dairy brand in New England, announced last week that its plant on Main Street in Agawam is the first fluid dairy processing facility in the nation to receive Energy Star certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Hood’s Agawam plant received a perfect score in an EPA assessment of sus-tainability, water reduction, and efficient use of energy.
“Plant Manager David Laden and the entire Agawam team embody the compa-ny’s dedication to sustainability,” says Mike Suever, senior vice president of milk pro-curement at HP Hood. “They really stepped up to the plate and went above and beyond to ensure Hood remains an industry leader in energy and water use reduction.”
The award was presented to Laden at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., last week.
“The Agawam plant is doing an out-standing job of managing energy, enabling
the facility to be one of the most energy efficient fluid milk processing plants in the U.S.,” said Walt Tunnessen, the EPA’s Energy Star industrial program manager. “It now joins an elite group of U.S. manu-facturing plants that have earned Energy Star certification for best-in-class energy performance.”
Energy Star was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partner-ship to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Every year, the award is presented to dairy plants that have a distinguished mark of energy effi-ciency and achieve the highest score on the EPA performance scale known as the En-ergy Performance Indicator. The EPI score enables plants to compare its energy per-formance to similar plants.
To learn more about HP Hood in New England and its continued efforts to con-serve energy, visit Hood.com.
HP Hood Plant Manager David Laden, left, is presented with an Energy Star certificate from Gale Boyd of Duke University, part of the Energy Star assessment team. At right is Bob Hale, maintenance manager at the Agawam facility. SUBMITTED PHOTO
Hood plant awarded as nation’s 1st fluid dairy Energy Star
Kaisen Japanese & Korean Restaurant celebrated its grand open-ing on Monday at 1325 Springfield St., Agawam. Pictured at the ribbon-cutting are, from left, city councilors Rosemary Sandlin and Robert Magovern, Kaisen employees, Mayor William Sapelli, restaurant owner Trang Le, Michelle Moriarty, constituent service aide from Sen. Donald Humason’s office, and City Council Vice President Cecilia Calabrese. SUBMITTED PHOTO
Restaurant opens
The Agawam St. Pat-rick’s Committee will hold a celebrity bartender fund-raiser next week at the Back Room Bar and Grill, 827 Springfield St., Feeding Hills.
Mayor William Sapelli, Fire Chief Alan Sirois and
television news anchor Mike Masciadrelli will serve up drinks from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17. All pro-ceeds benefit the St. Pat-rick’s Committee and Aga-wam’s participation in the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Celebrity bartenders pour for St. Patrick’s
All are invited to join the members of the Catholic Women’s Club of Agawam in participating in a Living Rosary at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, at St. John the Evan-gelist Church, 833 Main St., Agawam. Club members
are asked to arrive by 5:30. Refreshments will fol-
low in the gym in the Parish Center behind the church, and the club’s monthly meeting will complete the evening. All are welcome.
Living Rosary planned for Tuesday at St. John’s
The Agawam Library is displaying a photogra-phy exhibit this month by East Longmeadow resident Richard Harper.
Harper is a retired phar-maceutical chemist and has made photography his hobby in retirement. He states: “A chemist will tell you that matter can neither be created nor destroyed, only altered. A photog-rapher will tell you that matter can be captured for eternity. The world is full of beauty and should be pre-served for eternity.”
The exhibit will be avail-able for viewing during the month of October in the library at 750 Cooper St., Agawam. Visitors are wel-come during regular open hours: Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Any artist interested in exhibiting at the library should contact Adult Ser-vices Librarian Cher Col-lins at 413-789-1550, ext. 8851, or [email protected].
Photographer’s work on display during October
NOTICEERRORS: Each advertiser is re-quested to check their advertise-ment the first time it appears. This paper will not be responsible for more than one corrected inser-tion, nor will be li-able for any error in an advertise-ment to a greater extent than the cost of the space occupied by the item in the adver-tisement.
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October 10, 2019 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ Page 3
AGAWAM ADVERTISERStatement of Ownership
Management and Circulation(Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685)
Date of Filing: Thursday, October 3, 2019Title of Publication: Agawam Advertiser
Publication Number: 001-170Frequency of Issue: Weekly
Annual Subscription Price: $35 1 yearAnnual Subscription Price: $50 2 year
Location of known office of publication:Agawam Advertiser
24 Water St., Palmer, MA 01069Hampden County
Location of headquarters of publishers:Turley Publications, 24 Water St.
Palmer, MA 01069Hampden County
Editor: Michael BallwayAgawam Advertiser
24 Water StreetPalmer, MA 01069
Publisher and Owner:Patrick H. Turley, Turley Publications
24 Water St., Palmer, MA 01069
Total number of copies of single issues published September 19, 2019 (net press run): 2,000; mailed outside county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541: 39; mailed in-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541: 1,285, paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales and other paid distribution outside USPS: 385, paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail) 0, total paid distribution, 1,709; free or nominal rate outside county copies included on PS Form 3541: 0, free or nominal rate in-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 0, free or nominal rate copies mailed at other classes through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail): 0, free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail (carriers or other means): 0, total free or nominal rate distribution: 0, total distribution: 1709, copies not distributed: 291, total: 2,000, percent paid: 100%.
Michael BallwayEditor
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Bless these pets
The Blessing of the Animals on Oct. 5 included a donation drive for shelter pets. A basket, at right, collected supplies to benefit T.J. O’Connor Animal Rescue.
The Rev. Steven Amo prays over pets in the parking lot of Sacred Heart Parish last Saturday as part of the church’s annual Blessing of the Animals, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. Parishioners brought 20 dogs, three cats and two chickens to be blessed. SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Fire Dept. open house next weekend
The Agawam Fire Department will host an open house from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sun-day, Oct. 20.
The event will take place at Fire Head-quarters, 800 Main St., Agawam, and will include fire apparatus tours, a firefighter chili cook-off, fire safety education, the offi-cial opening and demonstration of the new structural firefighting training prop at 11 a.m., and a “Jaws of Life” vehicle extrication demonstration at noon. All are invited.
New volunteers invited to Little League meeting
The Agawam Little League Board of Directors is extending an invitation to in-dividuals that have interest in helping to make 2020 another successful season for local youth baseball and softball players.
New volunteers are invited to the Little League meeting at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, at Take 5 Restaurant, 944 Springfield St., Feeding Hills. The agenda for this meeting is to provide information about the organi-zation and conduct the 2019-20 board elec-tions. Agawam Little League is a privately run, nonprofit organization that couldn’t operate without the help and support of board members, volunteers and sponsors.
The objective of Agawam Little League is to instill the ideals of good sportsman-ship, teamwork, physical well-being, disci-pline and respect for authority. The league needs volunteers in all capacities. Board members encourage everyone to attend this meeting and learn more about the organization and how to assist. To show their appreciation, for each parent who at-tends the meeting, the league will deduct $10 from one of their children’s 2020 Little League registration fees.
For more information, visit agawamlit-tleleague.com.
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the American Red Cross is urging eligible donors to give blood and platelets to provide hope and healing for patients fighting cancer.
Donors of all blood types, especial-ly platelet donors and those with type O blood, are needed to ensure a stable supply for cancer patients and others this fall.
As a thank-you, those who come to give blood or platelets during the month of Oc-
tober will automatically be entered for a chance to win one of five $500 gift cards redeemable at hundreds of merchants, courtesy of Tango Card. Terms apply; see rcblood.org/game.
Blood drives will be held in Agawam 7:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at Agawam High School, 760 Cooper St., Agawam, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at Whitet-ulip Health Foundation, 270 Main St., Aga-wam. A blood drive is also planned for 1-6
p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, at Southwick Town Hall, 454 College Highway, Southwick. The Springfield Blood Donation Center at 150 Brookdale Drive, Springfield, is open daily.
To schedule an appointment to donate, use the free Blood Donor App, visit red-crossblood.org or call 800-733-2767. Do-nation appointments and completion of a RapidPass online health history question-naire are encouraged to help reduce wait times.
Blood donors needed to help cancer patients
St. David’s Episcopal Church is looking for a few specific crafters to round out its Holiday Bazaar.
Several crafters are already registered, but organizers are still looking for someone who makes custom ornaments, a glass painter, someone who makes wine bottle creations, a crafter who makes a variety of pet gifts, a candle maker and a jewelry crafter.
There are also openings for one Avon
and one Tastefully Simple representative. If interested, call 413-786-6133 and leave a message giving a name and email or postal address where a registration form may be sent.
The organizers are hoping not to have duplicate crafters or vendors. The Holiday Bazaar is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, at St. David’s Church, 699 Springfield St., Feeding Hills, next to the police station.
St. David’s looking for specific craftersSenior safe driving class scheduled
Gerry Smith from Agawam Auto School will offer a class next week on safe driving for seniors.
This class will meet 10-11 a.m. Wednes-day, Oct. 16, in the Garden Room at the Senior Center, 954 Main St., Agawam. For more information or to register, call Kristi-na at 413-821-0605, ext. 5.
The Agawam Cultural Council is sponsoring a “Plan Your Own Day” bus trip to New York City on Saturday, Nov. 16. Activities such as museum and gallery exhibits, theater and mu-sic performances, street festivals and shopping are available to those going on the trip. A member of the council will be available on the bus to help with information along the way. The bus is scheduled to make five stops in Manhattan — the Metropolitan Mu-seum of Art, Rockefeller Center/Radio City, Times Square/TKTS, 34th Street (Macy’s), and finally South Street Sea-port. Riders may elect to get off at any of these scheduled stops.
The bus will depart Agawam High School, 760 Cooper St., Agawam, from the front parking lot near the tennis courts at 7 a.m., sharp. Passengers should be ready to board at 6:45 a.m. The return trip will leave New York City at 6:30 p.m. and be back in Aga-wam between 9:30 and 10 p.m.
Tickets are available now. The price is $45 per person. This is a pop-ular trip and seating is limited to 54 on a first-come basis. Tickets are as-signed only as payments arrive, and cannot be reserved by phone.
Current ticket availability, updat-ed as requests are processed, plus further details and a map to the de-
parture point can be found at www.agawamcc.org. For questions not an-swered on the website, call 413-789-1201. This number is for information only. It is not available for ticket res-ervations.
To secure a seat, send a self-ad-dressed, stamped envelope with a check made out to “Agawam Cultural Council” to Agawam Cultural Council, 153 Anthony St., Agawam, MA 01001.
The Agawam Cultural Council is an all-volunteer partner of the Mas-sachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, which provides part of its funding.
Seats available on next month’s NYC bus
SHARE YOUR NEWS TIPS – CALL THE EDITOR AT 413-786-7747
Page 4 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ October 10, 2019
CLUES ACROSS 1. Google certification 4. Cloths spread over
coffins 9. Disorderly14. “Star Wars” hero Solo15. Toward the rear16. The order of frogs17. Alternative pain
treatment (abbr.)18. “Wolf of Wall Street”
star20. Evoke22. Units of metrical time23. Helps to predict
eclipses24. Some say they attract28. Pitching statistic29. Baseball box score
(abbr.)30. Force unit31. Repaired shoe33. English theologian37. Commercial38. Exchange money for
goods or services39. Give off
41. One from Utah42. Computer department43. Begets44. English navigator46. C C C49. Of I50. Pouch51. Add notes to55. A way to fall into ruin58. Cunning intelligence59. Blood disorder60. Disgraced CBS
newsman64. Tax collector65. Type of grass
common to the Orient
66. Cosmic intelligence67. No (Scottish)68. People who rely on
things69. Stairs have them70. Mathematical term
(abbr.)
CLUES DOWN 1. Clarified butters
2. Primitive Himalayan people
3. Completely 4. Steep cliffs along the
Hudson River 5. Assist 6. Language spoken in
Laos 7. Type of screen 8. An attempt to
economize 9. Volcanic craters10. Still outstanding11. Takes responsibility
for another12. California think tank13. Former Rocket Ming19. A pigeon noise21. Central part of24. Academy Award
statue25. Distinct unit of sound26. Relative on the
female side of the family
27. Passover feast and ceremony
31. The brightest star in Virgo
32. Made with oats34. Subjects to laser
light35. Beloved Hollywood
alien36. Neatly brief40. The Great Lakes
State (abbr.)41. Soon to be released45. Swiss river47. Become involved in48. More dour52. They’re on floors53. Boxing’s GOAT54. Swarms with56. Quantum mechanics
pioneer57. Facilitated59. As fast as can be
done (abbr.)60. Regional French
wine Grand __61. Owns62. Tell on63. Precedes two
The modest white raised ranch in West Springfield looks like most other homes in the area. But this house is not just any house. It offers cancer patients a respite and a supportive community in a homelike, welcoming environment.
Known as the Cancer House of Hope, it’s operated by the Center for Human Devel-opment and is one of only a few programs in the region to offer free services and sup-port to those fighting cancer. The program — which includes support groups, Reiki, therapeutic massage, yoga, mastectomy bras, wig boutiques and more — runs al-most entirely on donations from business-es and individual donors.
It operates mainly because of a large group of dedicated volunteers, many of whom are cancer survivors themselves. One of those volunteers is Agawam High School senior Suzanne Page. Three years ago, she was diagnosed with stage 4 meta-static Hodgkin lymphoma.
Now cancer-free, the 17-year-old un-derwent rounds of chemotherapy for four months. and two months of radiation treatment at the pediatric oncology center in the D’Amour Center for Cancer Care in Springfield. Page didn’t know about Cancer House of Hope or its services at the time. She wishes she had.
“It would have been a great place for me to retreat for help and relaxation. In the beginning, I was terrified and didn’t know what to expect or what the normal side ef-fects of my treatment would be,” she said.
Page began volunteering because she
wanted to be involved with the program and inspire others.
“I want people to know a cancer diagno-sis is not about death. I want them to know it’s a small bump in the road that they can overcome with strength and the will to keep fighting,” she said.
Donations are the lifeblood of Cancer House of Hope, so it can provide services that offer hope and comfort to cancer pa-tients. That’s why the House is partnering with Sarat Lincoln for a unique fundrais-er known as Driven to Give. It will be held during the Rotary Club’s Harvest Festival at School Street Park next Saturday, Oct. 19, with a rain date of Oct. 20.
The fundraiser — which could raise up to $8,000 — costs participants nothing. All they have to do is test-drive a new 2019 or 2020 Lincoln. For each test drive, Lincoln
will make a donation to Cancer House of Hope to help support services for people with cancer.
“The more test drives we get, the closer we get to our goal of raising $8,000,” said Jeff Sarat, the dealership’s general manager.
Test drives will take place from 9 to 3 in the Corey Street parking lot near the pa-vilion. Sarat emphasized that there is no cost, no obligation, and no follow-up sales contacts for anyone taking a test drive. The only requirement is that drivers must be at least 18 and have a valid driver’s license and insurance. There is a limit of one test-drive per household.
“Our goal is not to sell vehicles, but to help raise money to benefit the Cancer House of Hope,” added Sarat. He said Driv-en to Give was launched in 2013 to help dealers raise money for local community
groups and nonprofit organizations. Page said the fundraiser is “extremely
important” because Cancer House of Hope survives on fundraising and volunteer ser-vices.
“People like me volunteer to help those in need of comfort and support services. If there’s no money for the House, cancer pa-tients won’t have the services they need so they have the strength to get through their treatments,” she said.
CHD’s Cancer House of Hope Program Director Margaret Toomey said she’s thrilled that Sarat chose to support her program.
“The wonderful community partnership with Jeff Sarat and the entire Sarat family is an example of how businesses and non-profits can work together to inspire and care for the communities we call home,” she said. “These gifts will help us to con-tinue providing these services at no cost to approximately 500 individuals each year.”
Founded in Westfield in the 1990s by a group of cancer survivors, the Cancer House of Hope is now located at 1999 West-field St. (Route 20) in West Springfield. Anyone interested in accessing services or supporting cancer patients and survivors through financial contributions or in-kind donations should call 413-733-1858.
Agawam High School senior Suzanne Page, a cancer survivor, is one of a large group of dedi-cated volunteers at the Cancer House of Hope in West Springfield.
Free test drives at festival to benefit Cancer House of Hope
Jeff Sarat, general manager of Sarat Lincoln, recently visited Margaret Toomey, center, and her staff at Cancer House of Hope in West Springfield. He brought along a 2020 Lincoln Aviator, one of several models that can be test-driven on Oct. 19 to benefit Cancer House of Hope. SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Sacred Heart Parish, 1061 Springfield St., Feeding Hills, will hold its annual Christmas Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9.
Vendors and crafters interested in ex-
hibiting at the bazaar should contact Jo-anne at 413-998-3454 or [email protected]. Tables are $20 and include complimentary coffee, tea and water for vendors.
Vendors sought for Christmas bazaarWEST SPRINGFIELD — The Agawam
Lions Club will continue in the tradition of holding its annual Harvest Breakfast on Sunday, Oct. 27, at the Agawam Lions Club restaurant (“The Den”) on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition, 1305 Memo-rial Ave., West Springfield. Breakfast will be served from 8 to 11 a.m. All are welcome.
Harvest Breakfast tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children age 10 and un-der. Tickets may be purchased at the door, or in advance from any Agawam Lions Club
member.Parking is free and plentiful; enter at
Gate 1 or 2, just over the bridge from Aga-wam on Route 147. When entering, at-tendees should inform the gate staff that they wish to attend the Agawam Lions Club Harvest Breakfast. The Den is directly across from the Big E Arena ( formerly the Xfinity Arena), at the end of the Avenue of States.
For more information about the club, visit www.agawamlions.org.
Lions to hold Harvest Breakfast
The Agawam Cultural Council’s Ap-plause Series continues its 16th season on Friday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. at the Agawam Senior Center when Jimmy Mazz presents his Legends & Laughter Las Vegas tribute show.
Legends & Laughter is a musical jour-ney through Mazz’s favorite songs by a wide variety of performers from the yesterday’s classics to today’s contemporary artists. Mazz tributes include the Rat Pack and Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Johnny Cash, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Michael Buble, Elton John, “The King,” Elvis Presley, and “The Boss,” Bruce Springsteen; his impressions include the likes of Tom Jones, Tony Ben-nett, Frankie Valli and Neil Diamond.
Doors open at 6:15 p.m. The Senior Cen-ter is at 954 Main St., Agawam, and can be reached by phone at 413-821-0604. This and all Applause Series events are free and open to the public. Sponsors for this per-formance include Kyle and Roberta Miller and Congressman Richard Neal; season sponsors include the Agawam Special Po-lice, Elaine Carlson, OMG Inc., TD Bank and Way Finders Inc.
The Agawam Cultural Council is an all-volunteer local partner of the Massa-chusetts Cultural Council, a state agen-
cy that provides some of its funding. The Cultural Council is charged with bringing engaging, entertaining and educational events and opportunities in the arts, hu-manities and sciences, to children and adults from Agawam and the surrounding communities. More information is avail-able at www.agawamcc.org.
The Agawam Cultural Council’s Applause Series continues Nov. 1 when Jimmy Mazz brings his Legends & Laughter musical tribute show to the Agawam Senior Center. SUBMITTED PHOTO
Vegas tribute at next Applause concert
WEST SPRINGFIELD — The West of the River Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Business Grant and Scholarship Golf Tournament Monday, Oct. 14, at Springfield Country Club in West Springfield.
Cost is $145 per player, $265 per two-some and $500 per foursome. Fees include 18 holes of golf with cart, lunch and dinner,
raffles and prizes. Proceeds from the event will benefit business grants and scholar-ships for workforce development.
The West of the River Chamber serves Agawam and West Springfield.
For more information and to register, call 413-426-3880 or email [email protected].
Golf tournament this month to benefit Chamber business grants, local scholarships
October 10, 2019 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ Page 5
Bridal
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS’ MOST COMPLETE BRIDAL RESOURCE
GUIDES U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 9
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Send your photo and wedding date to:BRIDAL GUIDE, Attention: Jamie Joslyn, 24 Water Street, Palmer, MA 01069
or e-mail [email protected] and be sure to put Bridal Photo in subject line.If you would like your photos returned please include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Photo must be received by December 1, 2019.
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GUIDE
257 Feeding Hills Rd., (Rte 57)Southwick, MA • (413) 569-6417
(ACROSS FROM MOOLICIOUS ICE CREAM)
CALABRESEFARMS
Beans, Squash, Cabbage, Cukes,Eggplant, Tomatoes, Peppers,
SNAP & HIP BENEFITS ACCEPTED HERE
FALLHARDY MUMS
• Pumpkins• Corn Stalks• Straw Bales
Fresh from our fiel
ds Our OwnCORN
Winter Squash • Apples
All lunches served with fresh and chilled fruit. Instead of the main entrée, students can sub-stitute a deluxe salad or the sandwich of the day.
AGAWAM HIGH SCHOOLHigh schoolers can also sub-stitute a pizza meal for their entrée.Monday, Oct. 14: Columbus Day — no school. Tuesday, Oct. 15: General Tso chicken, seasoned rice, mixed vegetable, WG knot, orange segments; or twin tacos, lettuce, tomato, salsa, seasoned rice, seasoned corn, churro.Wednesday, Oct. 16: Chicken fillet wrap with assorted sauce, with lettuce, tomato and cheese, side of coleslaw.Thursday, Oct. 17: Fresh as-sorted calzones, garden salad with light dressing; or pasta with meatballs, garlic toast, sea-soned vegetable.Friday, Oct. 18: Texas toast grilled cheese, tomato soup, tater tots, carrot sticks; or turkey and cheese grinder, macaroni salad, carrot sticks, baked Lay’s.
AGAWAM JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
ROBERTA DOERING SCHOOL
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLSMonday, Oct. 14: Columbus Day — no school. Tuesday, Oct. 15: Twin all-beef tacos, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, steamed rice, steamed corn, churro.Wednesday, Oct. 16: Pasta with meatballs, garlic toast, sea-soned broccoli.Thursday, Oct. 17: Rib-b-q sub, celery sticks, whipped po-tatoes, low-fat Doritos.Friday, Oct. 18: Ultra-grain stuffed crust cheese pizza, sal-ad with light dressing, baked cookie.
BREAKFASTThe daily breakfast entrée menu was not available at press time. All breakfasts include assorted cold cereal, muffins and pas-tries, cheese sticks, fresh fruit and orange juice.Serving times: High school, 7 a.m.; junior high, 7:15 a.m.; Granger, 7:55 a.m.; Doering, 8:10 a.m.; Phelps, 8:20 a.m.; Robinson Park, 8:30 a.m.; Clark, 8:35 a.m.
School LunchSchools & Youth
Bradford deVillier, 14, was working the concession stand with his sister, Kristina Nardi, 21, at a field hockey tourna-ment last weekend. Kristina was eating Skittles and started to choke. Bradford took it upon himself to do the Heimlich ma-neuver on his sister when she couldn’t breathe. He was able to then help his sister cough up the candy.
Once everyone calmed down, Bradford called his mom, Sue deVillier, to explain what
just happened. Sue came back to the concession stand to check on them.
“This young man is a hero in my eyes,” said Meleen Gaynor, who witnessed the incident.
She said Bradford is a mem-ber of the Young Marines at Westover, where he learned his life-saving skills.
Bradford deVillier, right, and his sis-ter, Kristina Nardi, whom he saved with the Heimlich maneuver last weekend. SUBMITTED PHOTO
Quick-thinking teen saves sister from choking
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The Agawam Cultural Council is looking for local community-oriented pro-grams in arts, humanities and sciences to support. The council has set Tues-day, Oct. 15, as the deadline for organizations, schools and individuals to apply online for grants that may support or provide cultural activities for the Agawam community.
According to council spokesperson Bob Kadis, these grants can support a variety of artistic projects and activities in Agawam, including exhibits, festi-vals, short-term artist res-idencies or performances in the schools, workshops,
lectures or historical in-terpretation. The council also encourages funding requests from schools and youth groups to cover tick-et and transportation costs for field trips for school-age children.
More information is available at www.mass-cul-ture.org/agawam by click-ing on the “Council Priori-ties” tab. Information about the Cultural Council’s grants program can also be found at agawamcc.org.
This year, the Agawam Cultural Council will have nearly $17,000 to distrib-ute through grants, a boost from the $13,400 available last year. This year’s funds
include $615 left over from fiscal 2019.
For more information on the online application process, contact Lisa Sim-mons at the Massachusetts Cultural Council at 617-858-2707 or at [email protected], or Kadis at 413-789-4814 or [email protected]. Applications are being accepted online at www.mass-culture.org/aga-wam (click “Apply Now”).
The Local Cultural Council Program, of which the Agawam Cultural Coun-cil is a part, is a grant pro-gram funded by the Massa-chusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Funds are dispersed through a strict grant process conducted by the all-volunteer network of the state’s 329 local cul-tural councils. This is the largest program of its kind in the United States.
Deadline Tuesday to apply for $17K for cultural grants
Glenmeadow Learning will host upcoming educa-tional programs in Agawam and West Springfield, on technology and environ-mental stewardship.
Thursday, Oct. 17: “Get Tech-Savvy: An IT Primer for Older Adults,” 10 a.m. to noon at the West Springfield Public Library, 200 Park St., West Springfield. Three IT professionals will discuss how today’s technology makes it possible for us to connect with friends and loved ones who are far away through apps on our com-puters, tablets, and even our telephones. Participants are asked to bring their smart-phone, laptop or tablet.
Tuesday, Nov. 19: “En-vironmental Responsibili-
ty: Taking Steps to Protect Our Planet,” 10 a.m. to noon at Agawam Public Library, 750 Cooper St., Agawam. Terra Missildine, the found-er of Beloved Earth, the first eco-friendly cleaning com-pany in Western Massachu-setts, will discuss what indi-viduals, organizations and legislators can do to begin to bring about positive change and environmental healing.
Glenmeadow Learning programs are free, but as space is limited, reserva-tions are required. To reg-ister, contact Jazlyn Wanzo at [email protected]. For more information, or to register online, visit glenmeadow.org/events.
Tech, environmental learning at free talks
Page 6 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ October 10, 2019
OUR VIEW
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Letters to the Editor
There were two things I looked forward to this fall, the Boston Red Sox in the playoffs and five new people elected to the Agawam City Council.
The former is not going to
happen, the latter is achievable. Please give all the new candi-dates running serious consider-ation and hopefully your vote. They are trying to make a differ-ence.
Change will come only when we, the voters, initiate it.
Ron LaRiviereFeeding Hills
Another election cycle going by translates into more years of promises unkept. Sanitary sewers were promised to Feed-ing Hills back in the 1970s. De-cades of inaction by the Agawam town government has caused residents of this part of town to undergo hardships others don’t even think of.
Relief to the residents of Feeding Hills was cruelly dan-gled in front of them in 2011 with the completion of Phase 1 of the Feeding Hills sewer proj-ect. Relief was on the way for those homeowners who held out hope sanitary sewers would be brought to their homes be-fore they had to shell out tens of thousands of dollars to re-place aging septic systems. Then the Agawam town government dashed those hopes by cancel-ing the completion of the entire project after finishing only Phase 1. Their excuse — too much cost.
News flash, councilors: It’s not going to be cheaper in the fu-ture! If you had let the project proceed, it would be finished by now and a big chunk of it paid for. How convenient that Phase 1 brought sewer service to two highly developable parcels of land and an empty police train-ing center. Makes one think.
Usually, during election cy-cles, the same old people cart out the same old lip service about how Feeding Hills needs to get their long-promised san-itary sewer project completed. But this year has been different, only Mr. [Mario] Tedeschi has mentioned anything about sani-tary sewers. With others it must not be a pressing issue. Maybe because, unless someone has moved lately, no councilor lives on a street not serviced by san-itary sewers. They have no idea about a two-minute shower, no idea about carting your laundry
to a laundromat even though you own a washer and dryer, no idea about the worries if you have a house full of guests, will the septic system tolerate too many flushes.
I know. Sewer systems are not glamorous. Money is literally put into the ground. Every year Aga-wam town government latches on to the newest shiny project: new police station, new Town Hall, new Early Childhood Center. Since the 1970s, how many proj-ects have come before the sewer project? High school expansion, high school athletic fields, library expansion, renovations to all of our schools, purchase of Tucka-hoe Turf Farm, purchase of the Agawam Golf Course, School Street Park rehab and many more. All worthy projects, but when is it Feeding Hills’ turn?
Steve MaloneyFeeding Hills
Voters should elect all 5 challengers for change
Feeding Hills needs sewers, deserves attention
I am supporting Mario Te-deschi for Agawam City Council because I believe he represents the type of leadership that our town needs to move forward. As a homeowner and taxpayer, he experiences the issues we all face daily in raising a family.
As a local business owner of Allied Flooring and Paint, and
employer, Mario understands well the necessity and impor-tance of maintaining a balanced budget while operating under the constraints of limited reve-nue. His business background and fiscal acumen will be a real asset on the council.
His activities over the years in serving on various boards and
commissions, along with his in-volvement in many civic organiza-tions, demonstrates his commit-ment to our town and community. I am both pleased and enthusias-tic to endorse Mario Tedeschi for Agawam City Council.
Michele CalvaneseFeeding Hills
I am writing this letter in sup-port of Dawn Dube for School Committee. I have worked with Dawn for 15 years and find it easy to support her run for School Committee. She has an unwavering love and apprecia-tion for children and community, through serving to our commu-nity in youth sports as a coach, and running youth baseball and football. As an assistant direc-tor of Smart Start Preschool, she works with preschoolers, engag-es in staff development and also
works with parents using her in-depth knowledge and experi-ence in child development.
Dawn’s interpersonal skills, communication skills and integ-rity lend her to be an asset to the School Committee. The commit-tee is often searching for solu-tions to issues that affect our stu-dents, teachers, and community. One of her qualities is to seek out solutions in consideration of all parties and sides. She can be imaginative, think out of the box, and values brainstorming.
Dawn also believes in collabo-ration and values building upon ideas to reach a solution that is in the best interest of our town and families.
I believe that to be in our city government, a candidate needs to possess the skills for negotiation, be selfless and invested in our youth and community. Dawn Dube checks all of these boxes and I sup-port her for School Committee.
Robin JensenAgawam
Tedeschi’s business experience would benefit council
Dube would bring dedication, skills to school board
Share the woods responsibly this fall
Long before the first colonial set-tlers came to this area, hunting, fishing and trapping were a way
of life in the hills, river bottoms and swamps. It is believed Native Americans used these grounds to hunt, fish, grow crops and collect berries in peace.
Today, one’s life may no longer de-pend on the successful harvest of wild game for meat and fur, but those tradi-tions still live on. Whether folks flock to the woods for hiking or hunting, on much of the public land statewide, the resources are for all to share, and those who enter the solitude of the natural world expect peace, too.
Nature-lovers of all kinds must work together to stay safe and avoid conflict during the autumn and winter hunting seasons, which will soon be underway statewide.
The state’s upland bird season opens Oct. 19, and the archery deer season be-gins Oct. 21. Both seasons end Saturday, Nov. 30. Shotgun deer season runs Dec. 2-14, while the primitive firearms sea-son takes place Dec. 16-31.
Duck and goose hunters will be in the field Oct. 14 through Nov. 30, and Dec. 16 through Jan. 4. The state’s late goose sea-son runs Jan. 18 through Feb. 15.
For a complete list of hunting sea-sons and regulations, visit www.mass.gov/masswildlife.
According to MassWildlife, outdoor safety during hunting season begins with being seen. Hunters and non-hunt-ers alike should wear bright orange hats or vests — even pets out for a walk in the forest should wear an orange vest or bandana — and avoid wearing col-ors like white or brown. That being said, hunters are only required to wear or-ange during the firearms deer seasons. During the upland bird season, hunt-ers are required to wear an orange cap on wildlife management areas stocked with pheasant or quail.
Hunters tend to be most active in the early morning and late afternoon hours, making visibility in low light even more important.
Although incidents of hunters hurt-ing non-hunters are very rare, hikers should also make themselves known audibly. If you see a hunter or hear gun-shots, whistle or call out to let the hunt-er know where (and what) you are. Once you are recognized, leave the hunters to their sport, and don’t make unnecessary noise to disturb their quarry; harassing hunters is illegal.
It’s also important for both hunters and non-hunters to know their legal ground. Hunters are not allowed to dis-charge their firearm or bow inside 500 feet of a dwelling (without the landown-er’s permission) or 100 feet of a road. Hunting is allowed on many state and municipal lands.
Report hunter harassment or wild-life violations to the Environmental Po-lice at 800-632-8075 or to state or local police.
Hikers who are uncomfortable with hunting should research their route before they go, and stick to properties where it is not allowed. They can also choose to plan their outing for a Sunday, when hunting is prohibited across Mas-sachusetts.
Some non-hunters may favor an ab-solute ban on hunting, but that argu-ment is for another day and not for the woods.
For now, it’s up to everyone to enjoy the outdoors safely, respectfully and in peace.
What do you think? Send your letter to the editor to [email protected].
October 10, 2019 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ Page 7
From yesteryear’s editions of the Agawam Adver-tiser News, compiled by Michael Ballway.
A year ago: Mayor William Sapelli presented his plans for the long-neglected, town-owned Tucka-hoe Turf Farm on Oct. 15, 2018. He said the 292-acre property in Feeding Hills can be redeveloped as a park, with hiking trails, pond access and perhaps playing fields, at no cost to taxpayers, by setting aside 25 acres to be leased as a solar farm. Income from electricity generation would fund the landscaping and other improvements, he said.Five years ago: EMT and movie buff Kimberly Wheeler said she couldn’t let her favorite theater close, and in October 2014 she put up some of her own money, got a bank loan and started a $40,000
Kickstarter.com crowdsourcing campaign to re-open the recently closed Agawam Family Cinemas on Suffield Street. Her campaign would ultimately be successful.Ten years ago: Mayoral candidate Derek Ben-ton’s campaign received a boost on Oct. 13, 2009, a week after finishing a surprise first in the sev-en-way preliminary election. Benton was endorsed by the Agawam Police Patrolmen’s Union, even as he fought to change the subject from a newly publicized 2007 incident when he pleaded guilty to malicious damage to a motor vehicle and had been charged — though not prosecuted — with assault and battery on a police officer. He dismissed the discussion as “smear tactics.”
Our Back Pages
This program is free and open to the public, but space is limited and registration is required. To register, call 413.567-7800, e-mail [email protected], or register online at glenmeadow.org/events.
Welcome to Glenmeadow Learning, a series of free lifelong learning opportunities.
Get Tech-SavvyAn IT Primer for Older AdultsThursday, October 17, 10 a.m.–noonWest Springfield Public Library200 Park Street, West Springfield, MA
Today’s technology makes it possible to connect with loved ones who are far away through apps on our computers, tablets, and even our phones. IT professionals offer an overview of how these tools work. Learn about programs that find you a ride, allow you to video chat with family, or play games. Please bring a smart phone, laptop, or tablet.
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CANDIDATE STATEMENT
Kerri O’ConnorSCHOOL COMMITTEE INCUMBENT
Editor’s note: Because of an editor’s error, this candidate announcement was omitted from the Sept. 12 edition of the Agawam Advertiser News. All candi-dates were invited to sub-mit announcements up to a mid-September deadline; this one was received before the deadline but erroneous-ly not printed.
On behalf of the Com-mittee to Elect Kerri O’Connor for Agawam School Committee, we are pleased to announce that Kerri will be running for re-election and asking for your vote on Nov. 5. Kerri is an Agawam graduate of 1995 and a proud parent of her son who is entering his freshman year within the Agawam school dis-trict. She has extensive knowledge both person-ally and professionally advocating all students with various needs. Kerri has knowledge within the areas of behavioral health, community resources and social/emotional learn-ing. Kerri sits on various subcommittees and has a solid professional work-
ing relationship with all administrators and school staff to address the needs of our students and the school en-vironment.
Kerri be-lieves in trans-parency and strong com-m u n i c a t i o n amongst all school staff to ensure fol-low-through of district wide initiatives. Kerri is very engaged within the school district by attend-ing several school-related functions. Kerri is a United States Navy veteran and is also a member of the Agawam Veterans Coun-cil. Kerri has years of work history in the fields of ed-ucation, behavioral health, and within the criminal justice system, and a BS in criminal justice and MS in psychology. Kerri con-tinues to work as a team member to ensure that the needs of our students are priority. Kerri’s priorities to advocate are:
1. A grant writer for the Agawam School District
2. To ensure that our budget meets the needs of
our students3. Early child-
hood education4. Special edu-
cation5. Extracurric-
ular activities for our students to en-hance our students self-esteem
6. Transitional age skills including
vocational and employable skills
7. Continued profes-sional development for our teachers and school staff
8. Support for our school staff
9. Transparency of a positive school climate
10. Safety, security and welfare for all students
Kerri is proud to be serving on the School Committee and is always available to meet with anyone who has questions or concerns regarding the Agawam Public Schools. We respectfully ask for your vote on Nov. 5, as Kerri will continue to be a strong advocate for the Agawam Public Schools.
Election letters welcomeThe Agawam Advertiser News wel-
comes readers to participate in this year’s town election campaigns by writ-ing letters to the editor for publication on these pages. Letters of up to 250 words from local residents endorsing specific candidates or discussing local campaign issues should be sent to Agawam Adver-tiser News, care of Turley Publications, 24 Water St., Palmer, MA 01069, faxed to 413-283-7107 or emailed to [email protected]. Please include a daytime telephone number for verification purposes (it will not be printed). Letters must be received by noon Monday to be considered for that Thursday’s newspaper. No attack letters will be printed. No letters written
by candidates supporting their own can-didacy will be printed. If the volume of letters received is larger than the space available in the newspaper, or if the let-ters become repetitive, the newspaper reserves the right to print a representa-tive sample. No endorsement letters will be printed in the last week before the election (edition of Oct. 31). For more information, call Michael Ballway at 413-786-7747.
Candidates who wish to publicize their own candidacy, beliefs, events and fundraising may contact John Baskin, 413-695-4901 or [email protected], about paid advertising in the Agawam Advertiser News.
The Agawam Historical Association will hosting its member meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, at the Captain Leon-ard House on Main Street in Agawam.
Velya Jancz-Urban and her daughter Ehris will present “The Not-So-Good Life of the Colonial Goodwife,” an entertaining and informative look at the perils endured by women of the 18th century. Velya and Ehris are owners of the 1770 Grounded Goodwife Farmhouse in Woodbury, Conn., where they conduct hands-on herbal and holistic workshops, and offer tours of the historical property.
Velya is an author, teacher, former Bra-zilian dairy farmer and expert on New En-gland colonial women. She has conducted presentations throughout the Northeast. Ehris is the owner of Grounded Holistic Wellness and is a certified herbalist. She also practices flower essence therapy, is a certified Ingham Method reflexologist and
holistic nutritionist. This presentation is funded by the Aga-
wam Cultural Council. All are welcome, and encouraged to join the association.
The Agawam Historical Association, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, has been part of the Agawam community for many years with the mission to preserve the town’s history and artifacts and to educate the citizens of Agawam. The association owns the Thomas Smith House in Feeding Hills, the oldest existing house in town (cir-ca 1757), as well as the Fire House Museum on Elm Street, currently under renovation, which houses antique fire trucks and ap-paratus on the ground floor and contains artifacts, memorabilia and exhibits from Agawam and neighboring areas on the second floor.
Tales of colonial wives to be told at historical meeting this month A very special fall harvest supper is
scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at Agawam Congregational Church.
The supper, being catered by 141 Main Street Deli, will consist of pumpkin bisque, rolls and butter, herb-roasted chicken thighs, mashed potato, mashed butternut squash with a touch of maple syrup, and apple crisp for dessert, along with coffee, tea and water.
“It’s a terrific menu, especially given the bountiful pumpkins, potatoes, squash and apples, this time of year,” said supper coor-dinator and church member Roberta Page.
There will be door prizes, music, and some surprises, Page added.
Tickets are $20 and may be obtained from the church office at 413-786-7111 or [email protected]. Tickets will, also, be available at 141 Main Street Deli beginning Saturday, Oct. 5. No tickets will be available at the door. The deadline to purchase tickets is Wednesday, Oct. 23.
The church is located at 745 Main St., Agawam, with ample parking, and is hand-icapped accessible. The church continues to celebrate its 200th year on Main Street this year.
Tickets on sale for church’s harvest supper
The Wild Goose Bible Study, scheduled to take place the second Monday of each month at Sacred Heart Church, will not be held next month because of the Columbus Day holiday.
It will resume at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, in the parish center at 1061 Springfield St., Feeding Hills. For more information, contact Deb Briancesco, pastoral minister at 413-786-8200, ext. 3.
Bible Study at Sacred Heart postponed
Page 8 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ October 10, 2019
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craft beer samples to choose from.“All of the funds that we collect are do-
nated towards the upkeep of the building; it was constructed in 1805,” said John Mc-Carthy, owner of McCarthy Liquors.
Located at 663 Main St., Agawam, the Leonard House served as a stagecoach tavern during the 19th century. Its preser-vation is supported not by town or state funds, but by income from tours, rental as a function hall, and fundraisers.
“Fundraising events save the house. Without this, we would be in dire straits, because it’s so expensive to keep up an old house,” said Phillip Kimball, a member of the building’s Board of Trustees.
“We’re trying to get the word out,” he continued. “That’s part of what we’re doing when we do these events. People are real-
ly awesome. They come and have a good time.”
The event required more than a month of planning, said McCarthy.
“It takes a lot of time,” he said. “You have to line up all of our suppliers, the wholesal-ers and the reps that come line up all the beers and wines so that we can list them all and show the people what they’re tasting by table.”
Nine years ago, less than 10 vendors at-tended the function. Now boasting dozens of vendors and hundreds of attendees, this year’s edition of the Harvest Craft Beer and Wine Tasting was a definitive success.
“It gets bigger every year,” said Ryan Rooney, an organizer. “The first one we did was just wine; now it’s grown into all this. It’s awesome. People are really enjoying themselves and having a great time. We’ve had fantastic luck with weather, and they love it.”
LEONARD ❚ from page 1
PLANS ❚ from page 1
1252 Springfield St., which closed last fall, modern buildings will offer banking ser-vices, retail or professional offices, and a restaurant.
The plans from Eagle Investments LLC, which purchased the property from the Cincotta family, call for a central parking lot roughly on the site of the current house at 1266 Springfield St. To the west would be a small building with a two-lane drive-through window, labeled “proposed bank” on plans. The driveway around the bank runs close to the Stop & Shop property line. North and east of the parking area would be two 7,200-square feet buildings labeled “proposed retail” on plans.
James Baldyga, the owner of Eagle In-vestments, did not respond to a call seek-ing comment last week.
Although no prospective tenants have been announced, architects’ renderings of the proposed buildings indicate that they will include pitched roofs, gables and cu-polas. The north building has three doors in the front, three in the back and one on the side, flanked by office-style windows. The eastern building appears to include three retail spaces, one large one labeled “Springfield Street Restaurant” and two smaller storefronts with signs indicating a health clinic and a sports equipment shop.
With only 74 parking spaces on the plans, the town’s Planning and Community Development Office determined in its ini-tial review that “the proposed parking for the potential uses of these buildings does not appear to be adequate.” A financial in-stitution is expected to provide five parking spaces per teller window, plus one per em-ployee; a retail building, 1.5 parking spaces for every 200 square feet, which would work out to 54 spaces per building; an office or professional building, one parking space per 300 square feet, or 24 spaces per building; and a restaurant, one parking space for each 50 square feet of dining area, one parking space for each 80 square feet of patio, and one parking space for every two employees.
Development on the Eagle Investment plans is clustered on the south end of the 6.34-acre farm property, as the northern half has substantial wetlands. All of the existing farm buildings — the house, the farmstand, the barn, and several green-houses — would be demolished to make way for the parking lot and retail buildings.
Eagle Investments is scheduled to dis-cuss the project’s wetlands impact with the Conservation Commission at its Oct. 10 meeting. The developer will have to ap-pear before the Zoning Board of Appeals on Oct. 28 for permission to install the drive-through window. After the ZBA, the project will go back to the Planning Board to com-plete its site plan review.
Dan Bobcki, Samuel Morassi and Ben Brown en-joyed themselves at the Harvest Craft Beer and Wine Tasting. PHOTOS BY DALTON ZBIERSKI
Andrew Smith, Josh Jacques and Tim Jacques took in the scene outside of the Leonard House during the Oct. 4 event.
From left, Ginny Walkwitz and Susan Kleciak pose by the popcorn machine during the Oct. 4 community function.
Faye Borgatti and Dale Melanson operated the check-in table outside of the Leonard House on Oct. 4.
Agawam City Council President Christopher Johnson works the oven during last Friday’s event at the Leonard House.
Casey Goodreau displayed products found at McCarthy Liquors, which runs the annual beer and wine tastings to benefit the Captain Charles Leonard House.
Mike Pingeton of Baystate Wines opens a bottle during the Harvest Craft Beer and Wine Tasting.
Ryan Rooney, Susan Kleciak and Tracy Goodrow helped organize last Friday’s fundraiser.
PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER
BOYS SOCCER GIRLS SOCCER
SPORTSacebook.com/turleysports@turleysports www.turleysports.com
By Tim [email protected]
LUDLOW — Agawam junior forward Hope Santaniello was one of the local soccer players who played for the New England Mutiny this past summer.
On June 28, Santaniello scored the game-winning goal in the Mutiny 2-1 win versus the Lan-caster Inferno, which was held at historic Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow. The victory clinched a playoff berth for the Mutiny for the first time in three years.
“Playing for the Mutiny was a lot of fun,” Santaniello said. “I’ve kept in touch with those players and I’ve been to a few of their col-lege games.”
Santaniello played another soccer game in Ludlow last Tues-day night (Oct.1), as the Brownies battled the Lions in a non-league match.
Santaniello didn’t score the game-winning goal in that con-test, but one of her teammates did.
With 10 minutes remaining in regulation, sophomore midfield-er Kailey Butler scored the only goal of the match giving the Lady Brownies a 1-0 victory.
“We worked very hard as a team and we really didn’t want this game to end with a 0-0 tie,” said Butler, a first-year member of the Agawam girls’ varsity soc-cer team. “I really can’t describe my feeling after I scored the goal late in the second half.”
The Brownies, who also de-feated previously undefeated
Minnechaug Regional, 1-0, had a 4-6-1 overall season record following the shutout victory against Ludlow.
“We hit a little bump in the road at the beginning of the sea-son, but we’re back on the right track now,” said Santaniello, who’s recovering from a presea-son injury. “It was just amazing to see Kailey score that goal and it’s a very exciting win for us.”
It was also the third shutout of the regular season posted by Agawam sophomore goalkeep-er Clara Laudato, who made 11 saves in the second meeting against Ludlow.
Butler’s tally brings Agawam victory
Brownies fall to Frontier
The Agawam High School field hockey team saw their los-ing streak pushed to three games with a 2-1 loss against Frontier Regional. All of the scoring came in the second half. Emily Houle scored Agawam’s only goal with help from Olivia Frogameni. Sar-ah Croteau made eight saves in the defeat. Agawam is 5-3-1 this season.
Top left: Olivia Frogameni grabs the ball and guides it up the field.Bottom left: Emmerson White at-tempts to take over possession of the ball.Top right: Nina Liqouri tries to over-take the ball from an opponent.Bottom right: Emma Thomson throws a backhand stick to try and stop a Frontier attacker’s progress.
PHOTOS BY GREGORY A. SCIBELLI
PHOTO BY DAVID HENRY WWW.SWEETDOGPHOTOS.COM
Stephanie Maloni is held as she goes after a loose ball.
BOYS SOCCER ❙ page 10 GIRLS SOCCER ❙ page 10
By Tim Petersonsports@turleycom
AGAWAM—The Agawam boys varsity soccer team posted a 1-0 home victory over Ludlow in the 2015 Western Massachusetts Di-vision 1 quarterfinal match.
The Brownies came very close to pulling off a repeat perfor-mance in the only meeting of the 2019 regular season between the two squads.
Trailing 1-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, the Lions, who are the defend-ing Division 1 state champions, clawed back-to-back goals for a 2-1 come-from-behind win on a gloomy afternoon at Harmon A. Smith Field which is located on the Agawam High School campus, last Thursday.
“Agawam is a very good soccer team and they just gave us a hard-fought battle in today’s game,” said Ludlow head coach Greg Kolodziey. “We played with a little more urgency during the final 10 minutes and we found a way to score a couple of goals.”
It was the Lions (7-1-1) fourth consecutive victory since suffer-ing a 4-2 road loss versus Smith Division rival Longmeadow on September 19.
The Brownies (6-3), who won their first six games of the regular season, lost their third straight match. They haven’t defeated the Lions on the soccer pitch since 2015.
“We just defended a lot more than they did during the second half and we paid for it in the end,” said Agawam head coach Tom
Brownies stun state champs
PHOTO BY DAVID HENRY WWW.SWEETDOGPHOTOS.COM
Igor Lavrenchuk tries to reach the ball before his opponent.
Page 10 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ October 10, 2019
Sports
PHOTOS BY DAVID HENRY WWW.SWEETDOGPHOTOS.COM
Left: Kailey Butler takes a shot on goal. Right: Hope Santaniello goes full stride after the ball.
BOYS SOCCER ❚ from page 9
GIRLS SOCCER ❚ from page 9
“Clara joined the varsity team last year as a freshman and made some huge saves,” said Agawam head coach Laura Wray-Ramos. “She played very well in tonight’s game.”
The Lady Lions (3-3-2) squeaked out a 2-1 win at Harmon A. Smith Field located on the Agawam High School campus at the beginning of September.
“Both of the teams are very evenly matched this year,” Wray-Ramos said. “We were able to come out on top in tonight’s game.”
Neither team had very many shots on goal during the first 40 minutes, as it was still scoreless at the break.
A few of the Ludlow shots during the
first half were taken by senior midfielder Jocelyn Trajkovski, sophomore defender Karley Aussant, and junior midfielder Kali Grimes.
Late in the opening half, a shot attempt by Agawam senior Mia Kelley hit off the post and the rebound shot was saved by Ludlow senior goalkeeper Carlie Smith (eight saves).
The contest remained scoreless until the 70th minute when Butler lined a shot over the keeper’s head into the left corner of the net.
“Kailey is our leading scorer this year and she’s a very good midfielder,” Wray-Ra-mos said. “She just shot the ball from the outside and it went over the goalie’s head. It gave us the momentum for the final ten minutes of the game.”
PHOTOS BY DAVID HENRY WWW.SWEETDOGPHOTOS.COM
Left: Sam Polley kicks the ball away. Right: Josh Bouchard plays the ball off his chest.
Smith. “We just made a mistake on their first goal and the other goal was a highlight reel shot. Ludlow is a very good team and they’re the defending state champs for a reason.”
The Lions finally broke the ice during the 74th minute.
The scoring play began with junior for-ward Ethan Lapa sending a pass into the box. After the ball slipped past a couple of Agawam defenders and senior goalkeeper Zach Quick (11 saves), senior forward Mi-chael Tuck Jr. drilled a shot into the back of the net.
“We created several chances but couldn’t get that final touch until late in the second half,” Kolodziey said. “On our first goal, Ethan made a great pass to Michael and he isn’t going to miss that shot.”
A minute later, junior midfielder Bugra Gokcek scored the go-ahead goal by blasting a shot into the upper left corner of the net from about 35 yards out. Senior midfielder A.J. Quiterio was credited with the assist.
“After Michael scored the tying goal, it gave us a lot of energy during the final five minutes of the match,” Gokcek said. “When the ball came to me, I had an open look and I decided to take the shot. It was just a great feeling when I saw the ball go into the net. We just work very hard in every game that we play.”
It was Gokcek’s fourth career varsity goal and his first one since last year’s state semifinal victory over Central Mass. cham-
pion Wachusett Regional of Holden. Gok-cek’s goal in that match was very similar to his first one of this season.
Agawam took a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the opening half on a breakaway shot by senior Nate Mateus into the back of the net past junior goalkeeper Jacob Wadas (7 saves). It was assisted by senior midfielder Connor Montagna.
The Lions bench thought Mateus was off-sides on the play, but the referee didn’t see it that way.
“Nate was definitely on-sides on that play,” Smith said. “We were feeling very good about things at that point, but there were still 73 minutes left.”
Wadas started his third game of the sea-son. He’s filling in for senior Emilio Mancu-so, who’s sidelined with an injury.
Agawam didn’t have very many scoring chances after taking the 1-0 advantage.
In the 26th minute, a corner kick by Quiterio was punched away by Quick. The rebound shot by Gokcek was headed by a defender.
The score was still 1-0 at halftime and it began raining a little bit harder during the second half.
In the middle of the second half, a wide-open shot by Agawam junior midfielder Vinny Romeo was saved by Wadas.
The Lions had a couple of shots on goal before finally scoring two goals with less than ten minutes remaining in regulation.
The two teams could face each other again next month in the Western Mass. Di-vision 1 tournament.
FootballFriday, Oct. 11 Away Longmeadow 7 p.m.Boys SoccerThurs., Oct. 10 Away West Springfield 4 p.m.Friday, Oct. 11 Home Northampton 4 p.m.Wed., Oct. 16 Away South Hadley 6 p.m.
Girls SoccerNo games this week
Field HockeyFriday, Oct. 11 Away West Springfield 4 p.m.
GolfTues., Oct. 15 Home Westfield 3 p.m.Cross CountryWed., Oct. 16 Home South Hadley 3:45 p.m.
Gymnastics Thurs., Oct. 10 Away Chicopee Comp
(tri-meet) 6 p.m.
Girls VolleyballFriday, Oct. 11 Away Mahar 5 p.m.Tues., Oct. 15 Away Central 5 p.m.Wed., Oct. 16 Home West Springfield 5 p.m.
The Week Ahead
THOMPSON, Conn. -- Twenty different divisions of racing, championship corona-tions, a full campground and a packed pit area will be just some of the major head-lines when Thompson Speedway Motor-sports Park closes the season this weekend, October 11-13, with the 57th annual Suno-co World Series.
Headlined by the finale for the 16-race championship points schedule of the NA-SCAR Whelen Modified Tour, three days of racing will take place. On top of the racing, fans will be able to experience the property like never before with their campers, visit the clubhouse for the annual breakfast and dinner buffets, take a hayride on the track Sunday morning, and more.
All five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions will crown their champi-ons, while multiple touring series divisions from across New England also crown their titleholder. Friday, the weekend begins with the title battle for the NWAAS Late Models, with three drivers separated by just 20 points.
With three victories on the season, Woody Pitkat leads William Wall by five points. Both drivers are former champions – with Pitkat earning his title in 2002 and Wall capturing the crown in 2016. Behind them, Derek Gluchacki sits 20 back, look-ing for his first win of his career – but also for the top two to stumble so he can con-tend for the title.
Friday’s headliner is the Granite State Pro Stock Series, back for another year of World Series action. The Pro Stocks were a weekly division at Thompson for more than a decade, with the last full-time season coming in 2012 – a year that Derek Ram-strom earned his third track title. Their 50-lap feature will come as the finale of the Fri-day night schedule – one that also includes feature action for the Open Vintage Mod-ifieds, Senior Tour Auto Racer Sportsman and Senior Tour Auto Racer Modifieds.
Saturday, action begins early with one of the most packed days in all of racing. Ten
different feature races will close the night, but a full slate of qualifying and practice will take place starting at 9 a.m. Qualify-ing begins at 2:30 p.m., with the NEMA Midgets, ISMA Supermodifieds, Sunoco Modifieds, Limited Sportsman, American Canadian Tour, Pro 4 Modifieds, NHSTRA Late Model Sportsman, Exit Realty Truck Series and NEMA Lites all set to qualify. Af-ter group qualifying rounds for the Whelen Modified Tour, ten feature races will be-gin with the championship finale for the NWAAS Mini Stocks.
Former champion Scott Michalski leads by just one-point over Doug Curry in that battle, with Steve Michalski third, just three points out. Based on the standings, and the way these three drivers have run this sea-son, it should come right down to the final lap.
Bryan Narducci has already earned the SK Light Modified championship in 2019, but he will look to add his stamp with a seventh win in the 20-lap feature. Names like Wayne Burroughs Jr., Albert Ouellette, and Nathan Pytko look to keep their top five points position while earning their first career win.
Tickets for the weekend are $55 in gen-eral admission, a pass that is good for all three days. Those seniors (65+), active mil-itary, and veterans, can enter general ad-mission for $50. A pit pass for the duration of the weekend is $75. There are no one-day passes for this event, and children 12 and under are free in the grandstands. Any children that plan on entering the paddock area will have to pay the full price.
The annual breakfast buffet runs from 7-11 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, priced at $14 per person. The dinner buf-fet runs from 5-10 p.m. on Saturday night, priced at $24 per person.
For more information, fans are encour-aged to visit www.thompsonspeedway.com, and follow the track on social me-dia leading up to the race, and during the weekend, for the latest updates.
Titles on the line in final Thompson Speedway event
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October 10, 2019 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ Page 11
Out & AboutOut & About is a community calendar for Agawam and neighboring towns. Free listings are available for non-commercial, non-political entertainment or edu-cational events that are free to attend, or fundraisers that benefit a non-profit organization. Only events in Agawam or one of its immediate bordering towns, or events that benefit an organization based in Agawam, will be listed. Submitted items should be brief, with only time, date, location, activity explanation, and contact information, and may be edited for length and style. Items may be sent to [email protected], fax to 413-283-7107 or mail to Agawam Advertiser News, c/o Turley Publications, 24 Water St., Palmer, MA 01069. The deadline for calendar listings is noon Friday, the week before that Thursday’s newspaper.
Sunday, Oct. 13DONUT DASH 5K at Mittineague Park, West Spring-field, 10 a.m. The 3.1-mile trail run, hike or walk raises funds for the West Springfield Rotary Club’s scholarships, community projects and international causes. Cider and doughnuts will be served after the race. Park at Altamont Avenue off Westfield Street (Route 20). Signups and more info: WestSpringfiel-dRotaryClub.com.
Thursday, Oct. 17CELEBRITY BARTENDING FUNDRAISER at the Back Room Bar and Grill, 827 Springfield St., Feeding Hills, 5-8 p.m. Behind the bar will be Agawam’s mayor and fire chief, William Sapelli and Alan Sirois, as well as television broadcaster Mike Masciadrelli, all raising funds for the Agawam St. Patrick’s Committee.
Friday, Oct. 18FAMILY ROCK-N-ROLL SOCK HOP to benefit the Springfield Sixteen Acres Lions Club and the parish youth group at St. Catherine of Siena Parish Hall, 1023 Parker St., Springfield, 6-10 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children under 12, or $25 per family, and include pizza, salad, drinks and dessert. In addi-tion to music and dancing there will be face painting, a selfie station, prizes and raffles. Tickets and more info: Claudette, 413-783-4929; Tom, 413-266-9823; Maria, 413-374-5358; Jackie, 413-530-6805.
Saturday, Oct. 19HARVEST FESTIVAL at School Street Park, Agawam, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sponsored by the Agawam Rotary Club. More info: Sue deVillier, 413-427-7947, [email protected].
Sunday, Oct. 20FIRE DEPARTMENT OPEN HOUSE at 800 Main St., Agawam, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Training demonstra-tions, fire apparatus tours, chili cook-off, fire safety information, “Jaws of Life” demonstration at noon.
COIN SHOW at the Dante Club, 1198 Memorial Ave., West Springfield, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The West Springfield Coin Club will host several coin dealers on hand to exhibit and purchase coins, as well as offer free appraisals. Free parking and admission. More info: Peter Setian, 413-596-9871.
‘THE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE’ at the Italian Cultural Center of Western Massachusetts, 56 Margaret St., Springfield, 2 p.m. Mary Ann Marzano, who grew up as a first-generation Italian-American in the South End of Springfield, will give a talk about her culture, followed by a discussion of what it is like being Italian in a non-Italian world. Admission is $5 for ICC mem-bers, $7 for non-members.
Wednesday, Oct. 23THROUGH-HIKING THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL, in the Lang Auditorium of the Westfield Athenaeum, 6 Elm St., Westfield, 6:30 p.m. Sam Ducharme will share his life-changing six-month, 2,180-mile journey on foot from Georgia to Maine, and sell signed copies of his book “Sole Searching on the Appalachian Trail.” Free. More info: 413-568-7833.
Friday, Oct. 25ITALIAN SOCIAL NIGHT at the Italian Cultural Center of Western Massachusetts, 56 Margaret St., Springfield, 4-8 p.m. Members, guests and friends are invited to enjoy an evening of camaraderie, conversation, card playing and music. Suggested donation is $5 for members, $7 for non-members. Pasta dinner will be served. More info: 413-784-1492.
Saturday, Oct. 26TAG SALE AND HALLOWEEN BAKE SALE at Communi-ty Grange 382, 47 N. West St., Feeding Hills, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sales benefit the Grange’s building fund.
Sunday, Oct. 27LIONS HARVEST BREAKFAST at the Agawam Lions Den on the Eastern States Exposition grounds, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield, 8-11 a.m. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for children 10 and under. Pro-ceeds benefit Lions charities and scholarships.
Friday, Nov. 1JIMMY MAZZ LEGENDS & LAUGHTER performance at the Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main St., Agawam, 7 p.m. Jimmy Mazz will perform a musical tribute to Las Vegas through the songs of some of the top acts on the Strip. This free concert is part of the Agawam Cultural Council’s Applause Series. More info: www.agawamcc.org or 413-821-0604.
Saturday, Nov. 2HARVEST CRAFTS FAIR sponsored by the Suffield Fire Department Auxiliary at the Center Firehouse, 73 Mountain Road (Route 168), Suffield, Conn., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. More info: Judy, 860-623-8535 or 860-614-0066.
Saturday, Nov. 9CHRISTMAS BAZAAR at Sacred Heart Church, 1061 Springfield St., Feeding Hills, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Vendors and crafters will exhibit. More info: Joanne, 413-998-3454 or [email protected].
Wednesday, Nov. 13THE ELM-BELCHER MASONIC LODGE, 53 River St., Agawam, offers an all-you-can-eat spaghetti supper at a cost of $9 for adults, $5 for children under 12, veterans and first responders. All are welcome.
OBITUARIES
Donna Billard-GabrielDonna Billard-Gabriel will be remem-
bered for her incredible wit and sense of humor, her giving nature, her love for her children, her grandchildren and all children, and for how she loved the Lord deeply.
Her love for chil-dren was profound, which sparked her desire to have a large family of her own. It also led to a career as a social and emotional behav-ioral teacher for special needs children, working in various communities. She ob-tained her master’s degree from Our Lady of the Elms.
She was an Agawam Lion and a devot-ed member of Bethany Assembly of God in Agawam. Donna was a biker chick at heart. She was a member of the Kingdom Warriors, the Red Knights MA12, had appreciation for the Patriot Guard Rid-ers, the American Legion Riders, and the CMA Riders.
She had an incredible spirit to fight. She was a breast cancer survivor and bat-tled leukemia for the past two years. She was a warrior who tried new treatments, pushed forward and kept a positive out-look until her final days.
Born in Waltham, Mass., she was the daughter to the late Hartley and Joyce (Murray) Billard. Donna passed away Monday, Oct. 7, surrounded by her loving family. Donna leaves her seven children to cherish her memory: Shawn Larson and his wife Jen of Sandwich, Mass., Heather Watson and her husband Dan of Virginia, Andrea Salerno and her husband Adam of Virginia, Tiffany Ramos of Agawam, Ashley Pedoty and her husband Chris of Vermont, Jacquelyn Gabriel of Agawam, and Kristine Gabriel of Springfield; her adored grandchildren: Brianna, Audrey, Brayden, Makenna, Olivia, Roan, Jack, Cali, Vera and Tucker; her brother Wayne Billard of Vermont; and her longtime companion and devoted friend Frank Pignatare. Besides her parents, Donna was predeceased by her former in-laws, George and Constance Gabriel and their son Jay Gabriel.
A celebration of Donna’s life will begin with visiting hours 4-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at Colonial Forastiere Funeral & Cre-mation, 985 Main St., Agawam. Her trib-ute will continue at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, starting from the funeral home and traveling in procession to Bethany Assembly of God, 580 Main St., Agawam, for a service at 12:30 p.m. Burial will be private for the family.
To honor Donna’s commitment to the Lord, helping others and especially children, donations may be made in her memory to Royal Family Kids Camp No. 039, P.O. Box 422, Agawam, MA 01001. For more information or to leave a message for the family, visit www.forastiere.com.
Billard-Gabriel, DonnaDied Oct. 7
Celebration of Life Oct. 11Colonial Forastiere Funeral & Cremation
DEATH NOTICES
Turley Publications offers two types of obituaries.
One is a free, brief Death Notice listing the name of deceased, date of death and funeral date and place.
The other is a Paid Obituary, costing $100, which allows families to publish extended death notice information of their own choice and may include a photograph. Death Notices & Paid Obituaries should be submitted through a funeral home to: [email protected].
Exceptions will be made only when the familyprovides a death certificate and must be pre-paid.
Obituary PolicyAgawam Advertiser News
The Senior Center is at 954 Main St., Agawam, and is open weekdays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more infor-mation, call 413-821-0605. Lunch is served daily at 11:30 a.m. for a $3 suggested donation; diners must register 24 hours in advance at 413-821-0604.
Lunch MenuMonday, Oct. 14: Columbus Day — Senior Center closed. Tuesday, Oct. 15: Chicken and broccoli alfredo, ziti, garden salad, fresh pears.Wednesday, Oct. 16: Pork chops, mashed po-tatoes, onion gravy, glazed carrots, applesauce, baked good.Thursday, Oct. 17: Macaroni and cheese, stewed tomatoes, cornbread, fruit cocktail.Friday, Oct. 18: Broccoli and cheddar quiche, hash brown, tomato salad, pudding.
Daily EventsMonday, Oct. 14: Columbus Day — Senior Center closed. Tuesday, Oct. 15: Open knit, 9 a.m.; Strength to
Go (see staff), 9 a.m.; Zumba Gold ($6), 10:15 a.m.; ladies-only billiards, noon; Senior Cinemas (“The Tomorrow Man”), 12:30 p.m.; mah jongg, 12:30 p.m.; canasta, 1 p.m.; Mexican train domi-noes, 1 p.m.; writing group, 1:30 p.m.; yoga ($6), 4:30 p.m.; beginner line dance, 6 p.m.Wednesday, Oct. 16: Yoga ($6), 8:15 a.m.; weight training, 8:30 a.m.; gentle yoga ($6), 9:45 a.m.; Meet the Mayor, 10 a.m.; safe driving for seniors seminar, 10 a.m.; bereavement group, 10 a.m.; bridge, 12:30 p.m.; ballroom lesson (see staff), 1 p.m.; Golden Agers Chapter 2 meeting, 1:30 p.m.; cornhole, 5 p.m.; Zumba Gold ($6), 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17: Foot care (by appointment); Quilting Club, 9 a.m.; Strength to Go (see staff), 9 a.m.; Wii Sports, 10:15 a.m.; reiki, 10:30 a.m.; bridge, 12:15 p.m.; Mexican train dominoes, 12:30 p.m.; open art, 1 p.m.; yoga ($6), 4 p.m.Friday, Oct. 18: Yin Yoga ($6), 8:15 a.m.; Let’s Paint ($10), 9:15 a.m.; tai chi ($6), 10 a.m.; ca-nasta, 1 p.m.; cornhole, 1 p.m.; cribbage, 1 p.m.; card games, 1 p.m.
Agawam Senior Center
PEOPLE/MILESTONE NEWSAs a free service for our readers, we will print all births,
weddings, engagements, milestone anniversaries, major birthdays, military achievements, honors and awards. We have a “people news” form available for you to submit these listings. This material is provided to us by our readers and lo-cal institutions and we do not charge to print this content.
For more information, or to submit people or milestone news for Agawam Advertiser News, please email [email protected].
NOTICEERRORS: Each advertiser is requested to check their advertisement the first time it appears. This paper will not be responsible for more than one corrected insertion, nor will be liable for any error in an advertisement to a greater extent than the cost of the space occupied by the item in the advertisement.
Agawam Democrats Louis Russo and Corinne Wingard will join William Galvin and Barney Frank as honorees at the Aga-wam Democratic Committee’s 2019 annual breakfast next month.
Russo will be awarded as Democrat of the Year, as Wingard receives a Lifetime Achievement Award. Galvin, the secretary of the commonwealth, will be honored as this year’s Democrat of Distinction. Frank, a for-mer congressman representing parts of East-ern Massachusetts, is the keynote speaker.
The breakfast starts with a social hour
at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, at Oak Ridge Country Club, 850 S. Westfield St., Feed-ing Hills. Tickets are $30 per person and available on Facebook.com (search for Agawam Democratic Committee), secure.actblue.com, or with payment mailed to ADC, P.O. Box 233, Feeding Hills, MA 01030. Tickets must be purchased by Oct. 13. For more information, including information about purchasing an advertisement in the program booklet, call Kerri O’Connor at [email protected] or Anthony Russo at [email protected].
Russo, Wingard to be honored by Democrats along with Galvin, Frank
Senior Center plans ‘Monster Mash’
The Agawam Senior Center will hold a “Monster Mash” Wednesday, Oct. 30.
Attendees are welcome to dance, line dance or simply enjoy the music, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the dining room at the Senior Center, 954 Main St., Agawam. Hal-loween costumes are not required but are encouraged.
Tickets are $5 at the door. Attend-ees are encouraged to bring a canned or non-perishable food item for the Senior Center’s food pantry collection.
Page 12 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ October 10, 2019
Voters GuideCity Council candidates in their own words: Budget, stormwater tax
The Agawam Advertiser News sent questionnaires to all 15 candidates for City Council in this year’s town
election, asking for their answers to six questions.
To enable Agawam voters to compare
the candidates side-by-side, we are print-ing all the candidates’ answers to two of the questions this week, in their own words. We will print two more sets of answers next week, and two in the edition of Oct. 24. So that all responses would fit on the page,
candidates were held to a strict limit of 50 words per response.
A School Committee voters guide, fea-turing the seven candidates for that board, will be printed in the Oct. 24 newspaper.
Agawam voters go to the polls Tues-
day, Nov. 5, to choose 11 members of the City Council and six members of the School Committee, along with deciding a non-binding ballot question on whether to ban or allow recreational marijuana busi-nesses in town.
Is there any waste or inefficiency in Agawam government? Where would you look for cuts, if next year’s municipal budget comes in tight?
Do you support a tax on impervious surfaces to fund the stormwater system? What exemptions
or modifications would you advocate for?
George Bitzas
INCUMBENT
There is always room for cuts in our budget, but we must be realistic and not impact education, compromise public safety or city services. When I see next year’s budget and study it then I will decide if any cuts are needed.
I do not support any taxes that are unnecessary. I would prefer to have as-sistance from the state and federal government to fund the much needed storm water system. We need to have workshops and public hearings to listen to the people first, debate and make the right decisions.
Cecilia CalabreseINCUMBENT
There are always ways to save money in any budget. Every item in a munic-ipal budget should be scrutinized closely. I pay particular attention to ac-counts with large carry-over balances from prior fiscal years. Sometimes, large carry-overs signal that an account may be over-budgeted.
I do not support a tax on impervious surfaces to fund the stormwater system. Such tax would create an overwhelming financial burden upon our Industri-al Park and would be unwieldly to administer. We should look to neighboring communities to see what has worked and what challenges have been overcome.
I don’t believe there is waste or inefficiency in our government. Because our Mayor has established a relationship of trust, honesty and transparency, his com-munication skills and rapport with the City Council is excellent. If there are any issues/problems with our government the mayor would inform us immediately.
Yes. This program is a state-mandated program which will be completed in four years. The tax for the first year is due shortly. A special exemption should be granted to individuals on a fixed income and those who demon-strate a financial hardship.
Yes. Agawam’s school enrollment is declining; our school budget needs to de-crease as the enrollment declines. $2.5 million budget gap in the fiscal budget, for unexpected costs during the year. But the town then uses municipal bonds to pay for unexpected costs. Town interest debt payments then raise taxes.
No. The proposed stormwater utility fee is not fair and equitable to com-mercial taxpayers that pay double in taxes already and have stormwater site plans with retention ponds. Some residential streets do not have storm drains and flood. Not fair for those residents to pay a stormwater fee.
No photo submitted
I would for sure try to find out if Agawam could be its own bank. That is instead of getting loans from banks, loans could be taken from the town and interest could be paid back to the town.
At this time I do not support a tax on impervious surface to fund the stormwater system. But if a few changes were made it may be worth look-ing into again.
Yes. To close a short-term deficit, I would look to reduce non-personnel ac-counts. I would avoid staff reductions because they result in only minimal short term savings, and drops in service levels to the public. Long term savings could be achieved through comprehensive reorganization of town departments.
No. Agawam needs to raise funds to meet state and federal mandates re-garding our stormwater system. I support the implementation of a flat stormwater fee for residential property owners and a multi-tier flat fee for commercial and industrial property owners.
There is waste and inefficiency in any budget. The key is to know where to look for it. That has been the area where I have contributed the most to the budget review. I analyze financial reports, and listen to residents, in order to determine what cuts should be made.
I do not currently support a tax on residents. The town needs to make sure we are charging our biggest water users enough, and are maximizing all streams of revenue. If necessary, I would support a tax on locations with high amounts of impervious surfaces, not the average resident.
The mayor, School board and City Council have worked hard to eliminate any obvious waste. You never know from year to year what needs will be more important than others. I don’t have a crystal ball to forecast what will happen in our next budget.
We have a very serious problem as it relates to our stormwater sewers. I do not favor impervious surface charges. For homeowners, it would create an unfair burden. It would become prohibitively expensive for businesses. We have to take a hard look at a fair and equitable rate for everyone.
Yes. Councilors must look at all budgets, tight or not. All departments are re-viewed. 2019 budget had Police Department asking for three Tahoe cruisers. Tahoe costs were excessive. Explorers were cheaper, more fuel efficient. Convert-ing back to Explorers. Department’s needs were met at less expense to taxpayers.
Not big on raising taxes. Infrastructure wears. How best to fund replacing it? Chasing business with large impervious surfaces out of town, not the answer. They’re our tax base. Business receives no appreciable services. Shared flat rate between businesses and residents with exemptions for elderly may be the answer.
Although the Agawam Golf Course has seen some improvement, there was a budget increase of $98,392.00. I don’t think that Agawam should be in business competing against 3 other tax paying Courses in town.
Revenue collected to fund the Storm water System should be fee based not taxed. Fees would go directly to a Storm water Fund whereas taxes would go into the General Fund. When I served on the task force, rebates for wa-ter control systems were discussed and which I support.
No! I don’t believe there is. A strong/tight budget gives detailed costs of every activity or services provided. Good budgets will focus on how activities and pol-icies that translate in to spending and focus on outcomes (cost/worth) of ex-penditures for those services. Accordingly, there should not be any cash drains.
Stormwater runoff is a mandated project created through years of neglect. Call it a tax if you will, the unfortunate part is that the residents and busi-ness owners have to share costs in correcting it. However, I do support an equitable distribution of cost.
I think there are contractual items that I would like to see changed to save money. I would look to see what the revenue was for the Golf Course and if it isn’t self-sustaining and if it isn’t, I refrain from voting additional monies.
No, I would not support a fee for this service. Presently we budget annually for wastewater and after attending many meetings on this subject, know that the money we budget is not enough. I would fund it with the .75 per-cent meals tax increase and our new solar field.
No, I would have across the board cuts. Department heads will be asked to develop a proposal for achieving cuts in their area. This gives the flexi-bility to make cuts where they will do the least damage to their operations.
Yes, a utility fee would be the best solution for the Town and it’s residents. The money raised will be directly allocated to the stormwater system. Homeowners that have used methods to reduce their stormwater runoff could qualify for a reduction in fees.
I believe there is inefficiency inside the town. I believe that it is throughout many departments in increments. The budget is always going to be con-sidered tight. Each department needs to be scrutinized individually for budget process and the reason to increase.
I prefer the impervious fee over increased property tax for the stormwater system. An impervious fee for this system will be equal for all property owners in town, including tax-exempt properties. Modifications I support for reduced fee would be proving water runoff from property is self-contained or ground-absorbed.
There is waste in any organization. It is more prevalent with government budgets when individual departments have a “use it or lose it” structure. Departments need to be incentivized to save money. Department heads are the people to iden-tify inefficiency. They just need motivation, leadership and an incentive to do so.
Being on the storm water task force appointed by the mayor, I believe a separate utility should be created to ensure the dollars raised are only spent on this issue. There is talk for “credit” for those who reduce the amount of rain flowing into public systems from their property.
Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
William Clark
Christopher JohnsonINCUMBENT
Robert MagovernINCUMBENT
Douglas Reed
Rosemary Sandlin
INCUMBENT
Anthony Suffriti
INCUMBENT
Paul Cavallo
INCUMBENT
Ruth Cosimini
Gina Letellier
INCUMBENT
Dino Mercadante
INCUMBENT
Robert Rossi
INCUMBENT
Gerald Smith
Mario Tedeschi Jr.
October 10, 2019 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ Page 13
AGAWAM ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
LEGAL ADVERTISEMENTNotice is hereby given
that the Agawam Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing at the Agawam Public Library, 750 Cooper Street, Agawam, MA on Monday, October 28,2019 at 6:30 PM for all parties interested in the request of Eagle Investments, LLC, which is seeking a spe-cial permit in accordance with the Town of Agawam’s Zoning Ordinances, Chapter 180, Section 44 (I) to allow for a bank drive-through ser-vice window at the premises identified as 1246, 1266 and 0 Springfield Street.
Doreen A. ProutyChairperson
Agawam Zoning Board of Appeals
10/10, 10/17/2019
AGAWAM ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
LEGAL ADVERTISEMENTNotice is hereby given
that the Agawam Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing at the Agawam Public Library, Judy Cl in i Room, 750 Cooper Street, Agawam, MA on Monday, October 28, 2019 at 7 PM for all parties interested in the request of Charles A. Calabrese who is seeking a special per-mit in accordance with the Town of Agawam’s Zoning Ordinances, Chapter 180, Section 35 to construct a two family dwelling at the prem-ises identified as 57 High
Street.Doreen A. Prouty
ChairpersonAgawam Zoning Board of
Appeals10/10, 10/17/2019
LEGAL NOTICENotice is hereby given
by Langonet Towing pur-suant to the provisions of G.L. c.255, Section 39A, that on October 11, 2019 at 63 Ramah Cir S, Agawam the following Motor Vehicles will be sold at private sale to satisfy the garagekeeper’s lien thereon for storage, tow-ing charges, and expenses of notices and sale of said vehi-cle.2000 Honda AccordVIN: 1HGCG655XYA078891Gale Brown53 Freeman TerraceSpringfield, MA 01104
2008 Nissan AltimaVIN: 1N4AL21E88C186016Lynn Jean Haberman11 Parsons Street, Unit 205Easthampton, MA 01027
9/26, 10/3, 10/10/2019Commonwealth of
MassachusettsThe Trial Court
Probate and Family CourtHampden Division
50 State StreetSpringfield, MA 01103
(413)748-8600Docket No. HD19P1916EA
Estate of: Elda J. Sitek
Date of Death: September 1, 2019
INFORMAL PROBATE PUBLICATION NOTICE
To all persons interested in the above captioned estate, by Petition of Petitioner
Pamela Tellier of Roseville CA, a Will has been admitted to informal probate.
P a m e l a Te l l i e r o f Rosevil le CA has been informally appointed as the Personal Representative of the estate to serve without surety on the bond.
The estate is being ad min-istered under informal pro-cedure by the Personal Rep-resentative under the Mass-achusetts Uniform Pro bate Code without supervision by the Court. In ventory and accounts are not re quired to be filed with the Court, but interested parties are enti-tled to notice regarding the administration from the Personal Represen tative and can petition the Court in any matter relating to the estate, including distribu-tion of assets and expenses of ad ministration. In terested parties are entitled to petition the Court to institute formal pro ceedings and to obtain or ders terminating or restrict-ing the powers of Personal Representatives appointed under informal procedure. A copy of the Petition and Will, if any, can be obtained from the Peti tioner.10/10/2019
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
The Trial CourtProbate and Family Court
Hampden Division50 State Street
Springfield, MA 01103(413)748-8600
Docket No. HD19P1810EAEstate of:
Peter Angelo CecchiAlso Known As:
Peter A. CecchiDate of Death: April 12, 2019
INFORMAL PROBATE PUBLICATION NOTICE
To all persons interested in the above captioned estate, by Petition of Petitioner Barbara A. Cecchi of Feeding Hills, MA.
Barbara A. Cecchi of Feeding Hills, MA has been informally appointed as the Personal Representative of the estate to serve without surety on the bond.
The es ta te i s be ing administered under informal procedure by the Personal Representative under the Massachuset t s Uniform Probate Code without super-vision by the Court. Inventory and accounts are not required to be filed with the Court, but interested parties are entitled to notice regarding the admin-istration from the Personal Representative and can peti-tion the Court in any matter relating to the estate, includ-ing distribution of assets and expenses of administration. Interested parties are enti-tled to petition the Court to institute formal proceedings and to obtain orders terminat-ing or restricting the powers of Personal Representatives appointed under informal pro-cedure. A copy of the Petition and Will, if any, can be obtained from the Peti tioner.10/10/2019
Commonwealth ofMassachusetts
The Trial CourtHampden Probate and
Family Court50 State Street
Springfield, MA 01103 Docket No. HD12P0584PM
In the matter of: Lillian Etkin
Of: Agawam, MAProtected Person/Disabled Person/
RespondentCITATION GIVING
NOTICE OF CONSERVATOR’S
ACCOUNTTo the named Res pon-
dent and all other interest-ed persons, you are hereby notified pursuant to Rule 72 of the Supplemental Rules of the Probate & Family Court, that the First through Sixth account(s) of James R Goodhines of Springfield, MA as Conser vator of the property of said Respondent has or have been presented to the Court for allowance.
You have the right to object to the account(s). If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance and objection at this court on or before 10:00 a.m. on the return date of 11/05/2019. This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to object to the account(s). If you fail to file the written appearance and objection by the return
date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you, including the allowance of the account(s).
Additionally, within thir-ty days after said return day (or within such other time as the Court upon motion may order), you must file a written affidavit of objections stating the specific facts and grounds upon which each objection is based and a copy shall be served upon the Conservator pursuant to Rule 3 of the Supplemental Rules of the Probate & Family Court.
You have the right to send to the Conservator, by regis-tered or certified mail, a writ-ten request to receive a copy of the Petition and account(s) at no cost to you.
IMPORTANT NOTICEThe outcome of this pro-
ceeding may limit or com-pletely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named per-son has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person. If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense.
W I T N E S S , H o n . Barbara M Hyland, First Justice of this Court.Date: September 24, 2019
Suzanne T. SeguinRegister of Probate
10/10/2019
Public Notices
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visitwww.publicnotices.turley.com
Email all notices [email protected] archives anddigital tear sheets by newspaper title.2Find a quick link to the state of Massachusetts’ public notice web site to search all notices in Massachusetts newspapers.3 Public notice deadlines are Mondays at noon, Fridays noon for Monday holidays.
Page 14 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ October 10, 2019
ClassifiedsA TURLEY PUBLICATION ❙ www.turley.com COMMUNITY MARKETPLACE Call us toll free 800.824.6548
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TAG SALEMULTI FAMILY TAG SALE Sat 10/12, 8:30am-4pm. 548 Amherst Rd., South Hadley. Toys, clothes, misc. items.
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October 10, 2019 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ Page 15
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PAVINGSTANLEY AND SONS PAVING Driveways, parking lots, sidewalks, sealcoat, crack fill, line striping. Over 30 years exp. Senior citizen disc. Free estimates. 413-246-7999 Rich
PLUMBINGGREG LAFOUNTAIN PLUMBING & HEATING Lic #19196 Repairs & Replacement of fixtures, water heater installations, steam/HW boiler replace-ment. Kitchen & Bath remodeling. 30 years experience. Fully insured. $10 Gift Card With Work Performed. Call Greg (413)592-1505
LINC’S PLUMBING LIC. #J27222“New Season”“New Projects”
Call LINC’SFor Your Connection(413)668-5299
ROOFINGEXPERIENCED ROOFER WORKS alone, quality work, licensed. Best prices for sheds, garages, and ranches. (413)786-7924.
FREE ROOF INSPECTIONS. All types of roofing, shingle, flat and slate. Call Local Builders (413)626-5296. Complete roofing systems and repairs. Fully licensed and insured. MA CS #102453, CT Reg. 0615780. Lifetime warranty. Senior Discount. 24 hour service. Veteran Discount.
TREE WORKATEKS TREE- Honest, quality tree service. From pruning to house lot clearing. Fully insured. Free estimates. Firewood sales. (413)687-3220
COMPLETE TREE SERVICE Free Estimates, Fully Insured. Residential, Commercial, Arborist Lic #5-4573,CT. 30 years exp. Prompt Services 413-324-3896 Duane Sr. 413-682-4381 Duane Jr.
DL & G TREE SERVICE- Every-thing from tree pruning, tree removal, stump grinding, storm damage, lot clearing and brush chipping. Honest and Dependable. Fully insured. Now offering a Senior Citizen and Veteran discount. Call today for free estimate (413)478-4212
H & H TREE SERVICE Fully in-sured. 15 yrs experience climbing. Skid steer work, land clearing. Call Dave. 413-668-6560 day/ night.
STUMP GRINDING
DL & G STUMP GRINDING Grind-ing stumps of all sizes, insured & certi-fied. Senior discounts. Call Dave 413-478-4212
CASH FOR CARS! We buy all cars! Junk, high-end, totaled - it doesn’t matter! Get free towing and same day cash! NEWER MODELS too! Call 844-813-0213
RETIRED RACINGGREYHOUNDS AVAILABLE
FOR ADOPTIONSPAYED/NEUTERED, WORMED, SHOTS, HEARTWORM TESTED,
TEETH CLEANED
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GREYHOUND OPTIONS INC.CALL MARY AT 413-566-3129OR CLAIRE AT 413-967-9088
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HORSESHORSEBACK RIDING LESSONS offered year round at our state of the art facility. beginner to advanced. Ages 4 years to adult. Boarding, sales and Leasing also available. Convenient lo-cation at Orion Farm in South Hadley (413)532-9753 www.orionfarm.net
LEARN TO RIDE jump, show! Be-ginner to advanced. Qualified instruc-tors. boarding, training, leasing. IEA teams. Year round riding programs 860-874-8077 endofhunt.com
BALTAZAR HAIR COMPANY is looking for a part-time receptionist. Evening & Saturday hours. Perfect schedule for a student. Please stop by to apply. 1 Springfield St., Wilbraham.
IMMEDIATE OPENING FOR Oil Truck Driver for home heating deliv-eries. Class B license, Air Brakes, Hazmat and Tanker Endorsements a must!! Full time position with opportu-nity to learn HVAC business during off season. Please call 413-323-4123 between the hours of 9 and 3.
TOWN OF WILBRAHAMP/T ADMIN. ASST. - PLANNING & ZONINGP/T RECREATION ADMIN. CLERKRECREATION PROGRAM COORDI-NATORLooking for several reliable individuals to fill these positions. For application and more information please visit www.wilbraham-ma.gov. Application deadline 10/25/19 at 4:30 PM. EOE
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
ROOFING BUSINESS IN Palmer with all equip. plus 5500 sq.ft. building and/ or 10 acres industrial property for sale. If interested Dave(413)231-3131
SALON FOR SALE Nails and hair. Equipment included. For more infor-mation call Jeannie 413-267-0195.
FOR RENT2 BR, 2 BA fully furnished luxury apt. Holyoke $1,555/mo Heat/ HW includ-ed, laundry in unit. Covered parking available. 413-322-8288
ALL REAL ESTATE advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.” We will not know-ingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.
LUDLOW- 4 ROOMS near bus line, private parking. No pets. 413-543-5326
FOR RENT WARE SECOND FLOOR 1 BDR, appliances included. F/L/S. NO PETS. For more information please call 413-893-9197.
VACATION RENTALS
WARM WEATHER IS Year Round In Aruba. The water is safe, and the dining is fantastic. Walk out to the beach. 3-Bedroom weeks available. Sleeps 8. Email: [email protected] for more information.
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CARSCALL OR TEXT413-219-6839
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CONDO DEL RAY BEACH FL. – Turnkey, completely furnished, all appliances,
private elevator, gated community, 4 TV’s, tile throughout, 2 new bathrooms, new a/c,
hurricane shutters, new windows, corner apartment, heated pools, less than 3 miles to the ocean.
Haberman – 413-534-7288
All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status (number of children and or pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, or any intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate that is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertising in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain about discrimination call The Department of Housing and Urban Development “ HUD” toll-free at 1-800-669-9777. For the N.E. area, call HUD at 617-565-5308. The toll free number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.
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REDISTRICTING ❚ from page 1
classrooms at Clark and Phelps schools, and three pre-kindergartens at Granger and Robinson.
The superintendent added that class size is about 20 students in the elementary schools. He expects a similar number after redistricting.
Following the half-hour presentation, several teachers and parents shared their opinions and concerns about redistricting.
Parent Perry Lamkins shared what he suggested would be a better plan: reconfig-ure all elementary schools to serve pre-kin-dergarten through grade 6, and make Doer-ing School — currently the home of grades 5-6, town-wide — a fifth elementary school. Lamkins said such a plan was discussed about 15 years ago when he was interning as a potential administrator in the district. He said this plan would eliminate at least two student transitions and keep children and families together.
“If you have five schools, then your fam-ily can get on the bus together,” he said. “They can go to the one school together. We can go to all those parent and PTO meet-ings together — as a family.”
Hoffman said she found research on the plan he cited, but said it had a couple of factors that would create “bigger ob-stacles” for the district. First, splitting the population into a fifth elementary school would make it more difficult for the district to coordinate curriculums among the vari-ous buildings.
Second, the capacity of the four existing elementary schools is similar, but Doering is a much larger building. Hoffman said this would mean that in a PK-6 elementa-ry school model, the district would not be able to equalize enrollment across the five schools.
Mayor William Sapelli, who chairs the School Committee, said Lamkins brought up some valid points and the committee “seriously considered” including Doering as a redistricting option. But Sapelli said it was ruled out for “a variety of reasons.”
The mayor added that there were a number of pluses and minuses to the plan,
but the minuses “clearly outweighed the pluses.” One of the biggest negatives was pre-kindergarten and kindergarten stu-dents being on buses and in the building with fifth- and sixth-graders.
Kelly Daugnault, an Early Childhood Center special education teacher, said she had “grave concerns” about the number of students who will “overwhelm” teachers in the special education program when pre-schoolers are divided among four schools.
“How are we going to service these chil-dren and also allow the general students to get the services they need as well?” she asked.
Lemanski said he will work closely with ECC Director Robin Fernandes to meet stu-dent needs.
“We’re just getting started. Over the next year and a half we’ll be taking that task on and working it out as best we can to solve the problem,” he said.
Parent Michelle Balch asked if any stu-dents could be “grandfathered” at their current schools rather than be forced to move when district lines change. Lemans-ki said there have been discussions about allowing fourth graders to remain at their schools, as long as parents would be willing to transport students.
Sarah Brittain, the parent of two RPS students, was worried about where the new school boundary lines would be, since her family just purchased a house within the RPS district.
“I have no idea what the district lines are. Are they straight lines now, are they cut into boxes? If I could see what they look like now, I could see if we fall into redis-tricting or not.”
Lemanski said that he plans to share the existing lines so people can be prepared.
“We can’t guarantee anything at this point,” he said. “Is that line going to stay? It might. The line might move on the other side. So we don’t know yet how we want to do this and equitably move students.”
He said he plans to create a steering committee on redistricting and encouraged anyone who is interested to consider serv-ing. Lemanski also reminded residents to email [email protected] with any questions or comments on redistricting.
School Committee members listen as parent Perry Lamkins talks about his suggestion to use Doer-ing School as a fifth elementary school, with all schools serving pre-kindergarten through grade 6. PHOTOS BY MIKE LYDICK
Page 16 ❙ AGAWAM ADVERTISER NEWS ❙ October 10, 2019
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HARVEST FEST ❚ from page 1
This late-model stock car, owned and driven by Ted Chalmers, is the actual car from the final sea-sons at the Riverside Park Speedway. He is among several race car drivers expected to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the “final ride” at the speedway next Saturday during the Agawam Rotary Club’s annual Harvest Festival.
than 10 years. Two years after becoming NEAR president, he presided over the fi-nal race at the Riverside Park Speedway on Oct. 17, 1999.
Fini hopes to bring back many fond memories for other racing fans at the 13th annual Harvest Festival at School Street Park. Several original cars that once raced at Riverside will be on display and a num-ber of drivers are also planning to attend.
The festival — which usually draws 2,000 to 2,500 people — will be held next Saturday, Oct. 19, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The rain date is Sunday, Oct 20. The free event combines a traditional New England fall festival with a variety of fun activities.
Fini and Don Anderson, who has orga-nized the vintage car shows at the festival and drove the pace car at Riverside races, organized the “final ride” reunion of cars and drivers at this year’s festival.
He added that another key person at the Riverside reunion will be Fred Ciavo-la. He will make his research on the track available that day.
“Fred was never a racer, but he’s com-piled the entire history of building the Riverside track and events from the track’s opening in 1948 to its demolition in 1999,” said Fini.
Susanne deVillier, who is in charge of planning the festival, said she liked the idea of bringing the Riverside event to the festival when Fini and Anderson ap-proached her with their idea.
“It ties into the goal of the festival being a community event,” she said. “We try to include things that will attract people to come out and enjoy the day. We want ev-eryone to have a good time.”
Among the former drivers expected to attend are Billy Grecco (now 90), Bob Polverai, Teddy Chalmers, Johnny Lobo Sr., Johnny Lobo Jr., Skip Barna and Denny Zimmerman — “rookie of the year” at the 1971 Indy 500, where he finished seventh.
“Most of the modified competitors from Riverside are at least 70 now,” said Fini. “We also expect quite a few more who will be ‘bench racing.’”
Fini’s stint behind the wheel of a race car at the speedway began in 1965 in a “novice” car.
“I loved it,” recalled Fini, who because of business arrangements used an alias at the time. Known as Red Carr, he moved on to racing in the sportsman and late mod-
el divisions, winning two feature races at a track in New York. But at the end of the 1967 season he decided to walk away from racing.
“I had a family of three children and a growing business,” he said.
According to Fini, auto racing was a popular activity in the area when he was young. During the 1940s, there were two other locally active racetracks besides the Riverside speedway. Both were in West
Springfield. The Eastern States Exposition had a half-mile track and the Century Sta-dium track was located where the Century Shopping Center is today.
In addition to serving as NEAR presi-dent, Fini was also responsible for creating the NEAR Hall of Fame in 1998. The NEAR mobile museum is also expected at the fes-tival. It features a visual history of New En-gland automobile racing.
The display includes the history of NEAR’s hall of famers (track owners, pro-moters, publicists, drivers, car owners and engine builders) as well as rare memorabil-ia.
“The cars have their own unique history and style along with the stories of the per-sonalities,” said Fini.
The race cars will be displayed near the band shell where music fans can enjoy the sounds of Built for Comfort at noon. The four-piece band from Agawam plays a wide variety of music, from classic rock to blues. There will also be performances by the Agawam High School cheerleaders.
In addition to race cars, Fini also enjoys vintage cars.
“I’ve always been a car guy, so each year I bring my 1963 Pontiac convertible to the festival’s car show,” he said.
The festival’s annual car show, spon-sored by Sarat Ford Lincoln, will feature antique and vintage cars displayed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is no charge to en-ter. Cars will be judged in three categories: president’s award, people’s choice award, and entrants’ choice award.
About 45 crafters and vendors are ex-pected at the festival, including Dante Bon-giovanni, who sells sports cards and trad-ing cards, Agawam resident Sue Hitchcock, who sells her handmade soaps, and local author Judy Cosby, who recently published her memoir, “Threads.”
For food lovers, there will be several food trucks selling specialized items, in-cluding Murphy’s Sweet Chili and Thai food, Nicky’s Pizza, and Moe’s Donuts and hot oven cookies.
This coupe is an original car that was once raced at the Riverside Park Speedway in the ’60s and early ’70s by Billy Greco. Restored by Rich Belmonte, pictured in the driver’s seat, it will be one of several former race cars on display next Saturday at the Agawam Rotary Club’s Harvest Festival.
SUBMITTED PHOTOS