Moving violations: Westhampton veteran finds path to accessibility route of frustration

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

WESTHAMPTON - Every day, to get to a hospital bed in the basement, Mark Wright uses a cane to struggle down a long metal ramp connected to his back porch. Then he must lean over to hoist open two heavy metal doors on the bulkhead at the rear of his Southampton Road home. A longtime Westhampton resident, Wright, 51, retired from the U.S. Army in 1983 because of injuries that led to permanent physical disabilities.

Although he frequently uses a wheelchair while inside his home, Wright said when getting around outdoors he typically relies on a cane. He needs the hospital bed in the basement, he said, because in order to sleep without pain he has to elevate his right leg which, after two surgeries, doesn't bend as it should and is a full inch longer than his left.

In 2008, Wright was awarded $64,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to construct a handicapped-accessible home. As it has turned out, that was the easy part.

The hard part has been finding a contractor willing to use the federal dollars to convert his small trailer into housing that meets the VA's accessibility requirements. His trailer is housed on a lot in a small meadow off Southampton Road about 2 miles from the center of town.

It has been more than two years, and Wright's house is still not accessible to someone who has trouble just getting up and down the steps on the front porch to check the mailbox.

In addition to widening the trailer's doorways and hallways, Wright said the project would also install bathroom fixtures that will help him with day-to-day tasks and a fireplace to help keep warm when dealing with his arthritis in the winter months.

"I'm mainly using a cane for now but I'm 51 and 60 isn't far off," Wright said. "These disabilities I have to my back, leg and foot are going to be with me the rest of my life and I may end up needing a home made for a wheelchair in the future."

While traversing the Westhampton property last week, Wright used a cane to make his way around his light blue trailer home that rests atop a cement foundation. With noticeable discomfort, he demonstrated the exertion it takes him just to get from his front door to the garage entrance in the back.

"I'm not over here looking for someone to build me a new house for nothing, I'm just looking for a contractor who is willing to work with the Veterans Administration. So far that has been really hard to find," Wright said. "It's been almost three years now and I'm still in the same boat."

Wright has had ongoing problems resulting from a knee replacement surgery two years ago that ended in an infection and required spending eight days at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. He also suffered non-combat injuries to his back and feet that make it difficult to accomplish day-to-day tasks.

"I'm just really worn out," Wright said. "Having to deal with the disabilities and all the pain in addition to trying to get what you need from the VA can be too much."

For almost a year now, Wright has continued his search for a contractor with the assistance of Christopher McGurk, a fellow veteran and an outreach coordinator for the state's Department of Veterans' Services.

"It has just been a really frustrating process for Mark," McGurk said. "Over the last couple of months we've had several contractors go out there and look at his property and for one reason or another they've all passed on the project."

In order to make his home handicapped accessible, Wright said builders would have to remove the existing trailer from the foundation because in order to qualify for the VA's Adaptive Housing grant funding the project would have to meet all of the administration's regulations.

The doors on Wright's 14-foot-wide trailer, he said, aren't even wide enough to drive his electric wheelchair through and are far from being compliant with the VA's door regulations.

"I would love to see this project completed by this winter because I've been out there to see him a number of times and the situation just breaks my heart," McGurk said.

Although he said he already has enough VA grant funding lined up to help pay for the majority of the reconstruction project, Wright said the problem is that he can't apply for a bank loan to help pay the difference until a contractor signs on and provides him with a price estimate.

McGurk said any contractor that meets the VA's requirements regarding worker's insurance and is deemed qualified could be selected to complete the project and he hopes to get shovels in the ground before this year's building season ends.

"All they would have to do is sign off on three pieces of paper saying they are an equal opportunity employer and that they have the necessary insurance for the project. It's as easy as that," McGurk said. "So far we just haven't found anyone willing to do the work."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Granby gets another chance to weigh in on gravel project

GRANBY - The Select Board will hold a public hearing Monday to further consider a gravel pit permit allowing for the removal of 323,800 cubic yards of material over the next three years.

Gagliarducci/Stony Hill Sand & Gravel Co. is the applicant. If the permit for the project is approved, it would mean that each day 40 to 60 tri-axle trucks would haul the material over Trompke Avenue, Batchelor Street and down several surrounding roads.

Pedestrian safety, environmental impact, noise and road damage were among the concerns raised by area residents at a public hearing held in June.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be held inside the town's new Council on Aging Building, at 10 West St.

- OWEN BOSS

Baby cow injured after being struck by SUV in Easthampton

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - A baby cow that police say escaped from Heritage Farms was injured Wednesday night when it ran into the path of an SUV on Florence Road.

According to Police Capt. Donald C. Emerson, at 11:47 p.m., officer Todd Joseph responded to a report that a 2003 Ford Explorer driven by Alexandra Whiting, 17, of Northampton, had struck and injured a cow that was running loose in the roadway.

"There was a row of cars parked on the side of the road and when she tried to drive around them a cow ran right into her car," said Rick Whiting, Alexandra's father. "She was uninjured but she is still very shaken up. She is an animal lover so she's going to be hurt when she hits an animal."

About a half hour later, Emerson said Joseph was able to locate the cow hiding in the woods nearby. The animal, he said, was hurt in the accident but didn't appear to suffer any life-threatening injuries.

While filling out an accident report at the police station Thursday afternoon, Rick Whiting pointed out that black fur from the cow was still lodged in the grill of the family's gray SUV and estimated damage to the vehicle to be approximately $3,000.

When contacted Thursday, an employee at Heritage Farms declined to comment on how the cow got loose because she wasn't present at the time.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Book Brigade ready to work Saturday

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

WESTHAMPTON - Volunteers will form a human chain across South Road Saturday morning as they move books from the current library's Children's Section to their future home in the new library across the street.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m., a group of children dubbed "The Book Brigade" will pass books along one-by-one until they reach the town's newly constructed library, located across from Town Hall.

In 2008, town officials received a $1.1 million matching grant as part of the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program to build a new library.

With the state's portion of the funding in place, the town bought the historic Parsonage building across the street from the town's former 2,500-square-foot library.

The newly renovated 4,200-square-foot building, equipped with a larger learning space for local children and a 60-seat community room for assorted town meetings, will have a "soft opening" in early September and a grand opening celebration at the town's annual Fall Festival in October.

The book brigade is expected to wrap up around 11 a.m. and library officials said any residents looking to volunteer are welcome.

An article published in this week's edition of The Summit, which is distributed in the Gazette on Thursdays to readers in Easthampton, Southampton and Westhampton. incorrectly stated that the brigade would be transporting books today.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Search committee forming to find new Northampton Superintendent

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - As the new school year begins, members of the city's top education board are already preparing for the departure of Superintendent of Schools Isabelina Rodriguez and are looking to replace member Tim Fisher, who currently represents the city's third ward.

At their meeting last week, School Committee members unanimously voted to form a search panel charged with finding a replacement for Rodriguez, whose current three-year contract expires in the end of June 2011.

According to Stephanie Pick, vice chairwoman of the committee, Rodriguez, who has held the post since 2004, recently informed members that she isn't interested in renewing her contract, because she wants to pursue other educational opportunities.

The search committee, which will be appointed by Pick, is expected to be made up of parents, faculty members and students and will be tasked with conducting the preliminary screening of candidates before nominating several semi-finalists for the School Committee's consideration. Pick said anyone interested in serving should send a brief letter of interest with a summary of their background to her at stephaniepick@yahoo.com no later than Sept. 3.

In addition to search panel members, the School Committee unanimously voted to hire a third-party consultant to assist in the process, which is expected to begin in the coming months.

Rodriguez began working in Northampton as director of pupil services in 1994. Prior to joining the local school system, Rodriguez worked in Springfield public schools, serving first as a bilingual special education teacher for six years before accepting the position of supervisor of special education.

At the same meeting, Pick said Fisher announced that he is moving from the area and will be resigning his seat on the committee this fall, more than two years before his term was set to expire.

Because he has more than two years left, Pick said a special election will have to be held to determine a replacement.

City Clerk Wendy Mazza, Pick said, hopes to have nomination papers ready before the end of September, and a primary date for the election, if needed, will likely be set for December, with a final vote expected in January.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

A group effort: Volunteers, pros team up for new library

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

WESTHAMPTON - From the landscaping of its tiered backyard to the owl weathervane adorning its delicately handcrafted cupola, the town's new library, which opens next month, was built with the support of hundreds of community volunteers, who turned a dream into a reality.

During a recent tour of the soon-to-be-completed building, Library Building Committee member Tom Martin, and Euthecia Hancewicz, president of the Friends of the Westhampton Library, pointed out that much of the work was performed by area residents and businesses.

"The outpouring of support has been so great from the beginning," Martin said. "We've relied on a mixture of community volunteers and people who are willing to work for lower rates than they normally would."

The town in 2008 received a $1.1 million matching grant as part of the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program. To receive the grant, the town needed to finance $700,000 of the project, the majority of which was raised by the Friends of the Westhampton Library and at fundraisers run by local volunteers.

With the state's portion of the funding in place, town officials bought the historic Parsonage building across the street from the town's former 2,500-square-foot library. The renovated Parsonage building, plus the new addition, provide a total of 4,200 square feet of space for the library.

"The orginal library space was just so tiny," Hancewicz said. "We new we needed to come up with a way to improve upon what we were already offering."

As Martin and Hancewicz walked the property last week, David Loven, a local contractor, and a crew of workers worked through sweltering heat to dig out a tiered walkway leading to the library's front door.

"Dave Loven has been very supportive of the library project and has given a few days of his time totally free," Martin said.

The terraces, which Martin hopes will have grass on them in time for the annual Fall Festival, have been constructed using stones from the site and will likely serve as seating and staging areas for public events and educational programs.

"We may be able to project movies against the back of the building and if we have a fall event, like the Fall Festival, we can set up food vendors along the terraces and maybe a bonfire at the bottom," he said.

The building addition and the cupola that sits atop it were built using what he called "vernacular architecture"; a style in which old-timey features decorate newer buildings so they blend better with the original structure.

Similar examples of the building style, he said, can be seen in homes and buildings dotting the town center.

The first floor of the original building and the new addition flow into six separate rooms serving readers of different ages. They include the Sylvester Judd Reading Room; a Young Adult room; the Children's Wing; the Adult Room; the circulation area; and a 60-seat community room.

The large desk sitting in the main circulation area, Hancewicz said, was created through the support of students at Easthampton's New England School of Architectural Woodworking in Easthampton.

"We came up with a design and then the students there modified and tweaked the designs to fit their educational needs," Hancewicz said. "We bought the wood and then they did all the work."

The topper for the wooden desk, Martin said, is going to be a piece of local stone from the Ashfield stone quarry and will most likely be acquired by the town at a lower-than usual price.

"A lot of people have said, 'We'll give you services or time at cost or with a minimal mark-up,' " Martin said. "A lot of people have said 'Hey, we don't want to charge our regular rate for this.' "

Another part of the library completed by volunteers is the 6-by-6-foot cupola, which was built in the Northwest Road workshop of woodworker and construction artist Douglas Thayer.

"That was an enormous piece of work, putting that cupola together and painting the dental molds" Martin said, pointing out the owl that tops it was designed locally and was made out of leftover scraps of steel.

The library's new Community Room, Hancewicz said, will have a separate entrance allowing for access after the library itself closes. It will likely be used for art displays and town meetings that require more seating than a typical town board meeting.

In the coming days and weeks, more community volunteers will be needed to transport books across the street from the original library.

This Saturday, a group of local children called The Book Brigade will form a human chain and pass along the majority of the children's section.

Then, a volunteer crew will use a truck to move the majority of the books from the old library, which were packaged by volunteers.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Easthampton: High school building plans move forward

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - As students return to Easthampton High School on Sept. 2, the plans for a new building - that many of them will never occupy - are moving forward.

A $43.6 million high school will be built on the same eight-acre parcel where the current building sits. Construction is expected to be completed by 2013.

Although school will be in session when workers break ground on the 110,000-square-foot building in fall 2011, the architects and School Committee members have vowed to place a high priority on keeping disruptions to a minimum.

A new high school has been in the planning stages for more than 12 years.

The School Committee supported the construction project after running into a slew of problems with the current school, which is 49 years old. Committee members called it undersized, worn out and lacking in technological infrastructure, fire sprinklers and a suitable auditorium.

The project got the final OK last May when city residents approved an $18.1 million debt exclusion override by a 3-1 margin. The override's passage means that the city will raise taxes over the next 20 years to help build, equip and furnish the new learning space.

An additional $25.5 million will be funded by the state's School Building Authority.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

School-community ties among Westhampton Elementary's priorities

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

WESTHAMPTON - Students returning to Westhampton Elementary School can look forward to greeting a new third-grade teacher and being part of the school's effort to become more community-focused.

Hampshire Regional Superintendent Craig Jergenson said the 2010 school year will continue toward the school's goal of promoting literacy across the curriculum and breaking down the barriers that divide family life from the classroom to promote learning beyond school hours.

"We have been working really hard to look at how we put together tiered instruction in regards to reading," Jergenson said. "We are trying to find the best methodology for improving our school and ensuring that we have truly meaningful literacy instruction."

Weekly community meetings in the school's common room, Jergenson said, allow him to gauge what his students and their parents consider educational priorities.

A new teacher, Sarah Moylan, of Easthampton, will join the school as a fifth-grade teacher after spending the last five years teaching third grade at Frederick Harris School in Springfield. Moylan recently obtained her master's degree at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

One of the major draws of coming to Westhampton, Moylan said, was the town's tight-knit community."It seems like a town that is very close and all about the kids," Moylan said. "I really like how invested everybody seems."

"I've met people in the past who have taught at this school for 20 years and had nothing but good things to say about it," Moylan said. "Teachers seem to stay at the school for a very long time, which shows that they take good care of their teachers."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

In Easthampton: A year of financial recovery, start of new high school

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - New Superintendent Nancy Follansbee said increased school funding will help reverse losses suffered last year at each of the city's public schools.

"We are really pleased that we are now able to put back some of the positions that were lost because of budget cuts last year," Follansbee said.

Follansbee, who joined the district in 1991 and most recently served as the system's director of curriculum for four years, was selected by School Committee members last year to take over as superintendent, replacing Deborah Carter.

In addition to two new full-time elementary school teachers, this year will see a paraprofessional in each of the system's full-day kindergarten classrooms, Follansbee said. "We have been able to hire all of our paraprofessionals back which means teachers will have more individual time with each student," Follansbee said. "This is something we are very excited about."

First-grade teacher Michaela Thibault and second-grade teacher Kimberly Gilbert will join the elementary school staff. Thibault, Follansbee said, is filling a vacancy left by a resignation, while Gilbert's second-grade teaching position was restored after being cut last year due to budget constraints.

Continued efforts to promote literacy among all elementary school students, Follansbee said, will remain a top priority.

At White Brook Middle School, Follansbee said, the Development Designs Program, a middle school version of the Responsive Classroom, will be expanded.

"We now have the program in all grade levels, five through eight, and it provides strategies that are designed to keep our students safe, responsible and engaged in learning," Follansbee said.

Also at White Brook, Linda Lindwall has been hired as the new fifth- and sixth-grade English, art and social studies teacher, filling a vacancy left by a retirement. Three new guidance counselors, Christina Davidson, Chad McGuire and Christine Soverow, will split time between Easthampton High School and White Brook.

At EHS, officials have appointed Melissa Earls as the new director of curriculum. Follansbee said the school will continue efforts to promote advanced placement courses.

"In 2008 we had 28 students enrolled in AP courses and last year we had 99. In 2008 we had 10 students register qualifying scores and last year we had 41," Follansbee said. "We are very pleased with those results and will continue working on encouraging these classes."

The high school was also awarded a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant to fund an after-school program. "What's great is we now have a grant for an after-school program at every single level of our public school system. These programs provide academic support as well as wellness learning," Follansbee said.

Other new hires at EHS include world language teacher Laurie Ferreira, who is filling a vacancy left by a retirement; biology teacher Andrew Best; English teacher Catherine Fryzel; and part-time drama teacher Amy Davis.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Sixth grade foreign languages return; several new hires start in Northampton

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Officials in Northampton's public school system are preparing for a school year that will feature a host of new faces, including a new principal at Leeds School.

The 2010 school year will mark the first as principal for Joseph Smith, of Easthampton, who has assumed leadership at Leeds School on Florence Street.

When Smith was hired for the position last June, schools officials touted his wealth of experience among the main reasons he was selected over other applicants. After spending 12 years as a special education teacher at public and private schools in upstate New York, Smith began working in Amherst when he accepted the position of Title 1 teacher at Mark's Meadow Elementary School. Two years later, he was named vice principal of Amherst's Crocker Farm Elementary School.

Smith said one of the main reasons he jumped at the opportunity to take over at Leeds School was because area residents are committed to providing a quality education.

"The community is very welcoming, and it is very progressive," Smith said. "They also have a very committed staff. The teachers who work here have been here an average of 11 or 12 years, which shows how committed they are."

Smith said he plans to kick-off the first day of school at Leeds with a celebratory pancake breakfast aimed at acknowledging veteran staff members as well as welcoming new students and employees.

Among his top priorities for the school year, Smith said, is continuing efforts to promote literacy among all of the school's students and providing anti-bullying education.

Schools Superintendent Isabelina Rodriguez said she is already impressed with the work Smith has done in preparation for the upcoming school year.

"He really is doing a great job already, and he has already been working with our staff and administrators," Rodriguez said. "I expect that he will do some wonderful work with our students, staff and parents."

Rodriguez said school officials are in the process of interviewing for a new director of academic effectiveness, who will be responsible for preparing curriculum and supervising professional development for teachers. The position, Rodriguez said, will hopefully be filled by mid-September.

Other new faces, Rodriguez said, include Sandra Donah, who is taking over the district-wide position of supervisor of special education. Nathan Ziegler will then become director of the special education department, and Barbara Black will begin teaching special education and early childhood education.

Rodriguez also noted that, thanks to federal funding, officials were able to bring back a foreign language program for the city's sixth-grade students.

"Sixth-grade foreign languages were going to be cut right up until our last School Committee meeting," Rodriguez said. "But when we heard we were getting federal funding, we were able to reinstate it."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

New law aims to measure creativity

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

It's a question that seems impossible to answer: How do you measure creativity? Yet that is what a new state commission, trumpeted by state Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, will aim to do at every public school in the commonwealth.

Thanks to ground-breaking legislation signed into law this summer, public schools in Massachusetts will be ranked not only on how they perform on standardized tests but also on whether their respective curricula encourage students to think outside of the box.

"Employers are increasingly saying that they don't just need people with basic job skills, but people who are creative (and) who can generate new ideas and new ways of solving problems," Rosenberg said.

Last week, as he signed off on an economic development bill, Gov. Deval Patrick made Massachusetts the first state in the country to call for the formation of a creativity index aimed at rating public schools statewide based on their ability to teach, encourage and foster creativity in students.

Rosenberg said it's a step toward boosting the commonwealth's financial health via the "creative economy," a means of increasing a region's overall cash flow through the fostering of the arts and intellect-driven industry. "When we talk about a creative economy, we aren't just talking about artists, musicians, painters and dancers, but architects, landscape designers and a variety of fields that rely upon creativity well beyond just the arts themselves," he said.

The bill, which was presented by Rosenberg, D-Amherst, and state Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, was the brainchild of Boston University creative writing professor Dan Hunter, who pitched the idea to Rosenberg while at his former post as director of the Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities.

"We need to recognize as a society that our economy has changed," Hunter said. He cited two recent studies that say 82 percent of American CEOs and 62 percent of CEOs worldwide, when asked what they look for in a new hire, identified creativity as a requisite skill.

"The current situation in our schools has already been called a creativity crisis by Newsweek magazine," Hunter said. "Studies have shown that our children are not experienced in doing creative work. Creative work cuts across all disciplines, and there is a general consensus among business leaders that developing a creative skill set is what they want for our students going forward."

The legislation calls for the formation of a 15-member commission of experts representing various interest groups from all corners of the state. Seven members will be appointed by the governor; one will be a representative of the Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts Sciences and Humanities; one will be a representative of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts; one will be a representative of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable; three members will be appointed by the president of the Senate; and three will be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

Each commissioner will serve a two-year term and will meet with a panel of experts before deliberating on how best to produce an index that will be based in part on the creative opportunities in each school as measured by the availability of classes and the before- and after-school programs they offer.

The commission must be fully staffed in the next three months, according to the legislation, and at a series of meetings will come up with a list of recommendations for how a school's creativity index will be measured and what kind of funding would be needed for its implementation. And, sometime before Dec. 31, 2011, members will submit a written report to the governor and several educational subcommittees detailing their findings.

Rosenberg said creativity index scores will likely be based on, but not limited to, the availability of arts education, debate clubs, science fairs, theater performances, filmmaking and independent research.

"Creativity is not a gift," Hunter said. "The more you stimulate a student's creativity, the more adept they become at it. The craft of being creative is something that is learned from repeated efforts."

Easthampton Superintendent Nancy Follansbee said she was encouraged to hear that the state's leaders have recognized the importance of promoting creativity in local schools and noted that in Easthampton, it has been labeled a top priority.

"One of our major initiatives is to promote the integration of 21st-century skills and the knowledge that our students will need to be career and college successful," Follansbee said. "Creativity is one of those skills that has been identified as being particularly important and is one that we will be looking to integrate into all of our instruction and curriculum."

Also pleased with the state's decision to try to quantify learning beyond a student's ability to perform on a standardized test was Northampton Superintendent Isabelina Rodriguez, who called the leglislation a "step in the right direction."

"We've known we have a governor who has been a strong educational advocate and (who) is trying to look at education the same way we do in Northampton, which focuses on a wholistic approach to learning," Rodriguez said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettnet.com.

Lifelong Westhampton resident shares lifetime of treasures

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

WESTHAMPTON - On the front porch of the South Road home he and his wife have shared for more than 20 years, Daniel Krug points out the special windows he had installed to improve his view of Mount Holyoke. It is a view he will miss dearly when he moves out.

With plans to relocate soon to his son's house on Northwest Road in Westhampton, where the couple will stay until their new digs are ready in Westhampton Woods, the town's senior housing complex, Krug was more than happy to give a visitor a tour of his home and the treasures he has filled it with over the years.

Brushing past the cardboard boxes piled near the front door, Krug, 86, presented each room one by one, pausing along the way to talk about the hundreds of items he has acquired during a life spent collecting pieces of local history.

Family keepsakes

Whether it be his collection of military buttons, some of which were stitched onto the uniforms of soldiers who fought for our nation's independence in the Revolutionary War, or the vintage model cars and black-and-white pictures of trains lining the wall in his basement, Krug's home is filled to the brim with relics from the Valley's not-so-distant past.

In preparation for his big move, Krug has begun unloading some of his treasures. A traveling collector bought the bulk of his prized button collection, which was passed down to him from his mother.

"My grandmother lived to be 90 and she passed her button collection down to my mother, who then lived to be 106 before passing them along to me," Krug said with a smile. "But some button collector came through here the other day and just completely wiped me out."

Ironically enough, Krug, who has had a lifelong love for antique buttons, will soon leave a home that was constructed in 1821 as a water-powered wooden button factory.

"You see where the bearing was for the water wheel?" Krug asked as he pointed to a holed plank on his basement wall. "There is a brook on the other side of my property and the owner would re-route the water into the house and the water wheel was set up right here in the basement."

Although the majority of his buttons are gone, Krug was happy to show off his collection of antique model cars and original photographs of some of the first automobiles to have putted their way across the Pioneer Valley.

Knocking the dust off a picture of a 1923 Model T, Krug reminisces about a time when he owned one of them and proudly drove it in Chesterfield's annual Fourth of July parade.

When asked to pick his favorite for a photo, Krug quickly chose a framed advertisement for a 1912 Brush Runabout, depicting a young couple using the vehicle to visit a syrup-making operation.

"This one is my favorites because I made syrup in Chesterfield for 36 years - just like this," Krug said, pointing to a shack in the background surrounded by workers boiling syrup. "And these here are a couple of city folks who wanted to see how the operation works."

The feel of history

Moving on to the next stop on his tour, Krug opens a box filled with framed photographs of old trains that criss-crossed the region before revealing his last remaining military buttons, labeled by date and conflict.

Krug, a World War II veteran who crossed the Atlanic 11 times during his service, points out each button, which range from the Revolutionary War to the American Merchant Marines.

"These were all worn by American soldiers," Krug said as he traced his fingers along the outside of a glass case. "These right here are some of my favorites."

Although he will have less space once he moves into his new digs at Westhampton Woods, Krug said he still plans to pursue his latest hobby.

Lining up a row of golf balls, Krug was glad to show off an artificial putting green that he constructed in his basement as a way of improving his short game.

As he sinks ball after ball, Krug proudly recounts how he recently shot a single-round 83 at Westfield's East Mountain Golf Course, a score he called "pretty good" for someone of his age.

Originally from South Hadley, Krug has lived in Westhampton for 63 years. His wife, Jessie, has lived in the town for more than 82 years.

"I am going to miss this place," Krug said looking out over his front porch. "Soon we'll be all packed up."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

City man killed in the Dominican Republic

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

Northampton - A city man was shot and killed in the Dominican Republic earlier this week when he accidentally entered the wrong house the night before his sister's wedding.

Josefina Rodriguez has taken her two sons to the Caribbean country to attend the funeral of their father, Hipolito Rodriguez, according to Mary Cowhey of Northampton, co-founder of Families with Power, a group that supports low-income schoolchildren of color in the Northampton area.

"I spoke with her a couple of days ago when she first heard of his death and asked her if she thought she would need our support now or when they come back to Northampton," Cowhey said. "She told us she was OK right now and she just wanted to focus on getting herself and the boys to the Dominican Republic and that she'd need some help when she gets back."

An online directory listed Hipolito and Josefina Rodriguez as residents of 178 Florence Road.

Jackson Street School principal Gwen Agna recently notified faculty and staff members that Hipolito was shot the night before his sister's wedding when he went into the wrong house and was mistaken for an intruder, according to a report published on MassLive.com.

Cowhey said Josefina Rodriguez is very active in Families With Power. Cowhey said when she and her two sons, Joseury, a first-grader, and Reneury, a fourth-grader, come home the nonprofit group will be there to lend a helping hand. "It is a custom in the Dominican Republic for the family to come together and pray for nine days after something like this," Cowhey said. "That is probably what she is doing, I think that's the stage of the grieving process that they are in."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

On the way to garage, car bursts into flames

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON — Firefighters say a motorist on his way to get his car repaired Friday afternoon barely made it into the parking lot of a local repair shop before it burst into flames.

Deputy Fire Chief Steve Vanasse said firefighters responded to a report shortly after 1 p.m. that a car had coasted into the front parking lot of Pro Lube at 480 Pleasant St., and the hood was already smoking heavily.

John Richi, of New South Street in Northampton, who owns the business, said he rushed toward the vehicle with one of the garage’s fire extinguishers but decided to call for help after spotting flames coming from the car’s undercarriage.

The driver had fled from the car and was unhurt. The vehicle was deemed a complete loss, according to Vanasse.

“I ran out there with a fire extinguisher and could see that there were already some flames under the fenders and I figured I was in over my head at that point,” Richi said. “We have a bunch of really well-trained firefighters in this city for that sort of thing.”

Vanasse said the motorist, who he declined to identify, told firefighters he was on his way to get his 1995 Buick Park Avenue fixed when he got stuck in traffic on Interstate 91 and it started to overheat.

“The vehicle came off of 91 with some mechanical problems and the driver opted to go to the Pro Lube, where it became fully engulfed,” Vanasse said.

It took firefighters only a few minutes to extinguish the flames, Vanasse said, and the car was soon towed away from the scene.

The cause of the fire was likely mechanical, Vanasse said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Auto Body Shop owner recalls harrowing assault

By OWEN BOSS

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON — The owner of a Northampton Street auto body shop says she knew the former employee who showed up drunk and armed Wednesday afternoon was not there to harm anyone, but after a recent high-profile office shooting in Connecticut, she wasn’t about to take any chances.

All on-duty Easthampton police officers responded to Nicky D’s at 1:12 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a report that Ryszard Rzasa, 50, a former employee from Chicopee, had shown up intoxicated and was yelling at employees and waving a handgun.

“He wasn’t let go or fired or anything like that, he just hadn’t showed up for work in two weeks,” Betty Duprey said. “He definitely had some alcohol and drugs in his system when he got here. Unfortunately he made the bad choice of pulling a gun out when he was ranting and raving.”

She told police that Rzasa had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath, and that she believes his drinking and drug problem had caused him to miss work, according to court documents.

After confronting Rzasa, who was holding what was later discovered to be a black pellet gun, Duprey said he was clearly under the influence of alcohol and she told an employee to call police.

“My job is to protect my employees and myself. Luckily there were only three employees in the building at the time because it happened during lunch,” Duprey said. “I basically distracted him and told everyone else to lock themselves in the office and wait for police.”

Duprey said she wasn’t going to risk trying to calm Rzasa herself after a shooting at a business in Manchester, Conn., earlier this month resulted in nine deaths.

“You just can’t take chances in a situation like that, so we called for police and they were extremely responsive,” Duprey said. “The whole thing lasted 15 minutes, but when you are in the middle of it, it seems a lot longer."

According to court documents, police could not immediately locate the handgun and Rzasa became combative while they attempted to arrest him for disorderly conduct.

“He wasn’t threatening anyone in particular or this place, he just came in angry at the world and when someone is in that kind of a mind-set and they are on drugs and alcohol they don’t know what they are doing,” Duprey said. “I wasn’t about to try to figure out what was going on with his issues, because who the heck knows? We were more worried about trying to figure out what he had put in his system.”

After searching the business, police located the gun in a tool box that Rzasa had used while an employee at the shop.

“You just can’t go around pulling out a gun, whether it is a pellet gun or a real gun, and start pointing it at people,” Duprey said. “Especially when you do it with the intention of scaring or intimidating someone.”

Rzasa pleaded innocent in Northampton District Court on Thursday to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon (handgun), disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Judge Richard J. Carey ordered Rzasa released on his own recognizance and scheduled him to return to court for a pretrial conference on Sept. 16.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Truck rolls into Connecticut River, ruptures gas tanks

By OWEN BOSS and BOB FLAHERTY

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - Firefighters and members of the state's Department of Environmental Protection scrambled Thursday afternoon to prevent at least 20 gallons of diesel fuel from dispersing into the Connecticut River after a driver for a West Springfield company rolled a flat-bed truck too far down the Route 5 boat launch into the water and ruptured both of his fuel tanks.

Firefighters from both Easthampton and Northampton responded to the scene about 3 p.m. for a report that a boater, trying to pull his motorboat out of the Connecticut, had accidentally submerged his truck up to the driver's-side window and had become stuck in the river.

Greg Sicard, of Easthampton, said he pulled off Route 5 to check the river conditions when he saw a truck sliding into the river.

"I was standing right here and I watched it go three-quarters of the way into the river," Sicard said. "There's a pretty deep drop-off over there and he must have just gone right off the edge when he was trying to get his boat."

Firefighters laid about 100 yards of boom across the water to absorb the approximately 20 gallons of diesel that had seeped into the river from the truck's two tanks. Two tow trucks from Aaron's 24/7 Towing and Recovery of Easthampton were chained together to haul the truck out of the water.

"One was for the dead weight, the other to winch the vehicle out," said company owner Joel Keefe. "We pulled it out until we realized the tank was ruptured and stopped everything until the environmental police arrived. The auxiliary tank held a substantial amount of fuel."

The operation took about three hours. Keefe said the driver must have been unfamiliar with the launch's pronounced drop-off, because the truck's rear wheels dropped to the bottom.

Western Mass Environmental Cleanup of West Springfield and the state's Department of Environmental Protection joined local officials in the operation. The identity of the driver was unconfirmed at presstime, but the truck, described as a Chevy 4400 Series flatbed, is registered to Aatl Inc., a trucking company, of West Springfield. The company was issued a notice of responsibility, according to Joseph Ferson of the DEP.

Special Olympics athletes to compete this weekend

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

Special Olympics athletes will compete in a variety of sporting events around the region during Special Olympics Massachusetts' 25th annual August Tournament.

Special Olympics spokeswoman Kirsten Goulet said more than 900 athletes from across the state are expected to travel to the Pioneer Valley to join the more than 100 local competitors this weekend.

Among them will be 28-year-old Lee Gagner, of Robin Road in Easthampton, who said he looks forward to participating in the tournament every year and has competed in one sport or another each of the last 15 years.

Although he only plans to compete in Saturday's bocce tournament, Gagner said he also enjoys playing volleyball, floor hockey and soccer and enjoys meeting new friends and getting the chance to compete against other special needs athletes.

The tournament allows Special Olympics athletes from across the region to test their skills in bocce, softball, golf, cycling and fishing competitions. Some of the athletes competing at the weekend-long event, Goulet said, recently returned from the 2010 Special Olympic National Games in Lincoln, Neb.

"SOMA athletes always look forward to competing in the August Tournament," said Special Olympics Massachusetts' President and CEO, Robert Johnson. "The event gives athletes a chance to form friendships with teammates that may have never occurred without the competition. We are proud to host an event that encourages equality and inclusion."

Weekend Schedule

The public is welcome to watch the contests. The schedule is as follows:

· On Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., bocce and traditional softball will be played in Easthampton's Nonotuck Park, located along Daley Field Road. Also Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. a cycling competition will be held at Swift River Elementary School in Belchertown, located at 57 State Street.

· A fishing competition will take place at the Quabbin Saturday. Athletes will launch their boats into the Quabbin Reservoir at 8:30 a.m. and return at 1 p.m. Residents attending the fishing event should enter the reservoir using Gate 8, which is located on Route 202 in Belchertown.

· Also, in Springfield, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Special Olympics competitors will play unified softball at Blunt Park on Roosevelt Avenue. Unified softball is for athletes 13 and older who have developmental disabilities but know the basics of the game. In order to compete, they play side-by-side with non-disabled partners.

· Sunday, starting at 10 a.m., more bocce will be played in Nonotuck Park in Easthampton

· Also Sunday, at 10 a.m., golfers will tee off at Stow Acres Country Club, located at 58 Randall Road in Stow.

For more information about the tournament or Special Olympics Massachusetts, see www.specialolympicsma.org/august.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Truck fire in Easthampton considered suspicious

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - Police are investigating a truck fire that firefighters believe was intentionally set behind a Cottage Street building Saturday night.

According to Fire Chief David Mottor, about 8:10 p.m. Saturday firefighters responded to the rear of the former Dye Works building on Cottage Street after receiving calls from residents who saw a large plume of black smoke rising above the building.

Mottor said they found a 1975 Ford box truck fully engulfed in flames.

"The entire cab area of the truck was engulfed to the point where the inside was so hot that it was melting the aluminum on the box that was attached to it," Mottor said.

It took about 40 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the blaze, said Mottor. Evidence they found afterward pointed to arson, he added.

"The battery inside the truck was completely dead and the fire originated in the cab and not in the engine compartment," Mottor said. "The only thing that could have started it would have been an electric short and because there was no electricity in the vehicle, it had to have been set."

The truck, which Mottor said was a total loss and belongs to the owner of an adjacent mill building at 1 Cottage St., was left parked behind the building last winter so it would not interfere with street plowing.

The Easthampton Fire Investigative Unit continues to try to determine the cause of the fire. Anyone with information is urged to contact officer William Mielke at 527-4200.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Local schools awarded history grant

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

Students at Gateway and Hampshire regional high schools can look forward to learning about American history well outside the classroom, thanks to a five-year, $1.6 million grant recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.

The grant project, titled "Memorializing Promise and Conflict: A Monumental History of U.S. Democracy," will use the federal money to pay for field trips, seminars and a series of professional development programs for U.S. history teachers in six school districts across western Massachusetts.

"This funding is a great boost for our teachers. The resources that they are able to bring into the classroom are virtual and it really makes a big difference," said Hampshire Regional Assistant Superintendent Anthony Ryan. "This gives them a clear opportunity to enrich the classroom."

Over the next five years, students will delve into a new 50-year period of American history, beginning this year with the era from 1950 to present and then working backwards.

The project was designed by a consortium of partners that includes the Center for Teacher Education and Research, Westfield State College, Veterans Education Project and the Historical Journal of Massachusetts.

Thanks to the grant, each new school year will begin with a field trip to visit monuments and historic sites relevant to the era that is being studied.

Ryan said in past years, students have visited old manufacturing buildings in Lowell and other monuments across the state.

"They don't limit our field trips to local sites," said Ryan. "We get the opportunity to travel to historic locations statewide."

The money will allow each teacher to create an archive box of primary sources, documents, tools, books and artifacts to bring history back to students in the classroom.

Then, based on recent research showing that interest in history stems from family experiences and personal stories, the Veterans Education Project will bring personal accounts of people who witnessed or lived through the historic events as part of teacher training.

American history teachers will then continue additional training throughout the school year with a series of seminars focused on U.S. history content, analysis of student work, and the "Crafts of a Historian" co-led by the editor of the Historical Journal of Massachusetts. Participating teachers will also take part in workshops that include book groups and instructional technology training.

Gateway Regional will serve as the fiscal agent for the grant. Other participating districts include West Springfield, Westfield, Chicopee, and Pittsfield.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Elderly man tied up, robbed in S. Hadley home invasion

SOUTH HADLEY - Police are looking for two suspects they say broke into the home of an elderly man Friday afternoon and tied him up before making away with his cell phone and some money.

According to Lt. William Sowa of the South Hadley Police Department, at 1:32 p.m., police responded to Cove Island Road for a report that a 75-year-old man had been tied up and robbed.

"The phone call came from some people who were in the area and saw something going on," Sowa said. "The call wasn't made by the victim."

The man, who police declined to identify, was transported by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he was treated for minor injuries and released Friday night, police said.

Although no arrests have been made in connection with the alleged home invasion, Sowa said local police are actively investigating the incident.

Anyone with information about the break-in is encouraged to contact the South Hadley police department at (413) 538-8231.

OWEN BOSS

Truck fire in Easthampton considered suspicious

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - Police are investigating a truck fire that firefighters believe was intentionally set behind a Cottage Street building Saturday night.

According to Fire Chief David Mottor, about 8:10 p.m. Saturday firefighters responded to the rear of the former Dye Works building on Cottage Street after receiving calls from residents who saw a large plume of black smoke rising above the building.

Mottor said they found a 1975 Ford box truck fully engulfed in flames.

"The entire cab area of the truck was engulfed to the point where the inside was so hot that it was melting the aluminum on the box that was attached to it," Mottor said.

It took about 40 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the blaze, said Mottor. Evidence they found afterward pointed to arson, he added.

"The battery inside the truck was completely dead and the fire originated in the cab and not in the engine compartment," Mottor said. "The only thing that could have started it would have been an electric short and because there was no electricity in the vehicle, it had to have been set."

The truck, which Mottor said was a total loss and belongs to the owner of an adjacent mill building at 1 Cottage St., was left parked behind the building last winter so it would not interfere with street plowing.

The Easthampton Fire Investigative Unit continues to try to determine the cause of the fire. Anyone with information is urged to contact officer William Mielke at 527-4200.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

New council to boost county's tourism efforts

By OWEN BOSS

Staff Writer

With a single flick of the wrist, state officials expect Gov. Deval Patrick will soon sign off on an economic development bill that calls for the creation of the first ever Hampshire County Tourism Council.

For Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, the bill’s passage would mean the end of a 24-year mission to develop a local tourism council that dates back to his early years in the state’s House of Representatives.

“As a freshman state representative 24 years ago I heard from folks in the Hampshire County business community who felt it was unfair that we didn’t have our own tourism council,” Rosenberg said. “Although this still requires the governor’s signature, we are very hopeful that it will pass as written.”

There are currently 13 tourism councils statewide, and Rosenberg said Hampshire County is the largest county still without one.

“Three times I’ve included this provision in a bill and this is the farthest it has ever gotten,” Rosenberg said.

Echoing Rosenberg’s optimism for the bill’s future, Patrick issued a statement shortly after its passage Friday night commending senators for their time spent crafting the legislation.

“Passage of this legislation is an important step in our economic recovery and comes on the heels of today’s news that the Massachusetts economy expanded at more than double the rate of the nation as a whole,” Patrick said.

Although he didn’t predict who might be tapped to head the council or what its annual budget might look like, Rosenberg said if created, the tourism council would be entirely state-funded and locally controlled.

“Tourism is one of the three largest industries in the commonwealth, and because a lot of the local tourism funding gets put into attracting people to the Springfield area, many parts of western Massachusetts don’t get the recognition they deserve,” Rosenberg said. “We have a lot of great museums, theaters and the Five College area. We have a lot we can work with right here; we just need a little more control.”

The current economic development bill was approved by state senators late Friday and is expected to reach the governor’s desk for approval by the end of next week.

According to Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, which currently works to promote tourism in the Hampshire County area, her organization would work hand-in-hand with the new council toward a common goal of developing the Pioneer Valley’s tourism industry.

“(This) demonstrates the value of regional tourism promotion as provided by the existing 13 councils. Regional promotion is vital to the state’s $15 billion tourism industry,” Wydra said.
“Our efforts put ¿heads in beds,’ showcase area attractions and strengthen the local economy by drawing visitors and their important dollars into the Pioneer Valley. We will continue to promote all three counties in Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley as a year-round destination for conventions, meetings, group tour and leisure travel.” ”

If the development of a tourism council is approved, Wydra said the visitors bureau would continue to promote tourism as a way to help the state through its ongoing economic recovery.
“We cannot have an economic recovery in Massachusetts without a strong tourism sector, and we welcome the opportunity to work with all who share that goal,” Wydra said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com

Hampshire president announces resignation

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

AMHERST - Ralph J. Hexter, who has served as president of Hampshire College for five years, informed the college's board of trustees Monday that he would soon be stepping down from the post.

"My time at Hampshire has been filled with deeply meaningful work alongside dedicated and creative colleagues," Hexter said in a statement. "I take great pride in the innovations and accomplishments of Hampshire, its faculty, students, staff and alumni."

Although no date has been set for his official departure, trustee Chairman Sigmund Roos said Hexter's decision comes during a continuing formal review of his first five years as president of the college. Roos declined to comment on whether or not the review prompted Hexter's decision to step down.

But James Miller, a communications professor at the college, said the review "took on extra importance" following what he called recent "faculty disgruntlement."

In May, a student and faculty protest halted the construction of a $300,000 satellite admissions office in Adele Simmons Hall, an academic building in the center of the campus. The office would have been the starting point for future prospective student tours, but ran into trouble when students and faculty argued that there wasn't enough community involvement in the plan.

Following a sit-in at the president's office, online petitions and open letters from the college community, Hexter pledged on May 7 to postpone the decision to start tours at Adele Simmons Hall, as well as related renovations there, until further discussions on the issue could be held this fall.

In addition to concerns about the communications rift between college officials and the community, there was also concern among students and faculty that spending $300,000 on the project was unfair while the college was cutting back on other expenses, salaries for faculty and staff and building maintenance.

Hampshire College is an unconventional liberal arts college, with no majors, grades or standard exams. The college has a focus on independent student learning coupled with faculty guidance.

In August 2007, Hexter became the first openly gay American college president to get married when he and his longtime partner Manfred Kollmeier wed. Hexter did not announce the union until a month later, at his home during the college's annual back-to-school party for faculty, staff and administrators.

Elaine Thomas, the college's director of communications, said determining a date for Hexter's departure is still being worked out by Hampshire officials.

"He announced today that he planned to transition out of the office and I assume that (the date) is among the details that they are still working through," Thomas said Monday.

In a statement released Monday, Roos praised Hexter's hard work and diligence.

"Ralph has had a tremendous influence on Hampshire. He concluded a capital campaign, completed funding for a major building project with an addition of a new wing to the Jerome Liebling Center for Film, Photography and Video and promoted sustainability efforts on campus," Roos stated. "The Liebling Center addition received LEED gold certification for 'green' buildings.

"Under his leadership Hampshire established a program that provides a new model for world language learning ... and he has worked tirelessly on behalf of diversity both on campus and across higher education," Roos added.

According to the college's website, after earning degrees at Harvard, Oxford and Yale, Hexter taught for 10 years in Yale's classics department before moving to the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he taught classics and comparative literature. In 1995, Hexter joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, where he became chairman of comparative literature, dean of arts and humanities and executive dean of the College of Letters and Science.

Hexter became the fifth president of Hampshire in August 2005.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.

Company interested in State School site

By Owen Boss
Staff Writer

BELCHERTOWN - Town officials are hopeful a Pennsylvania firm will develop a portion of the former Belchertown State School into a desirable location for retailers, assisted living units, office space, housing and medical facilities.

The company, Weston Solutions Inc., specializes in rehabilitating and developing sites like the former state school.

"Their expertise for more than 50 years has been in the remediation of sites, where they've gone in and done a lot of clean up," said Jonathan Spiegel, of the Belchertown Economic Development and Industrial Corp.'s Board of Directors, which owns the property. "Over the last decade or so, they have brought that expertise to projects just like this, and it takes away some of the unknowns and concerns that other developers have had."

Last week, Weston Solutions, a redevelopment firm, and the EDIC signed a letter of intent, requiring Weston to spend the next 90 days studying a 3-acre parcel of the property on Route 202 near the intersection of Route 21.

Company representatives, Spiegel said, will analyze the structural integrity of the buildings, look for contaminants such asbestos in the surrounding soil and estimate what the project will cost to complete.

The document, hammered out over several weeks, requires the EDIC to wait three months before entering into negotiations with other contractors. It also gives the EDIC time to vet the corporation's credentials and financial standing.

"This gives them 90 days to look into the property and see exactly what it needs," said Spiegel. "It also means that we will be investigating them just to make sure that they are going to bring us the kind of project that we have been looking for."

Weston Solutions is no stranger to the remediation of old buildings and the cleanup of contaminated soil. In 2007, the corporation worked closely with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and cleaned up a 73-acre former chemical research facility in Austin, Texas, to make way for Crestview Station, a mixed-use development, similar to what Belchertown officials are hoping for.

Over a six-month period, according to the company's website, workers demolished all 60 buildings at the former chemical facility, tested and cleaned the soil of benzene contamination and managed to save money on the project by finishing ahead of schedule, the company says.

"Soil remediation is simply one of our strengths," said Valarie Ferro, Weston Solutions' senior technical director. "Weston's founder was a pioneer in stewardship, and this now serves as a foundation for our expanding Green Development Division."

Because the two sides have just recently entered into an agreement, Ferro said she didn't want to specify what kind of development Weston Solutions expects for the site but said officials at the corporation are looking into a number of possibilities.

"We are anxious to delve into the information being made available to us by the BEDIC to enable us to answer many technical questions, among them the environmental hurdles that may or may not be present," Ferro said. "This evaluation is a critical step, but just one of many, in determining whether Weston determines it can realistically redevelop on the site."

Michael Frew, who works on the Texas commission's remediation division, said work on the Crestview Station project was done quickly, and all parties involved were happy with the outcome.

"Other than benzene, there were a number of different chemicals there, and the cleanup went very smoothly," Frew said. "We had zero complaints."

Although the project in Texas was done on a much larger scale than what is projected in Belchertown, many of the old buildings on the former state school site and the soil that surrounds them are believed to be contaminated with asbestos and other pollutants - and soil testing and cleanup will likely be a large part of the remediation process.

Spiegel said Weston Solutions first approached the town about two months ago after one of the company's real estate consultants pitched the idea.

The key difference between Weston Solutions and interested parties of the past, Spiegel said, is that the company specializes in rehabilitating and developing similar sites.

"The agreement feels very good and, on the surface, they seem to have exactly what it takes for this project," Spiegel said.

Two years ago, the EDIC negotiated with Paul T. McDermott, a Chicago-based developer who planned on constructing a health resort at the site. However, the agreement fell through after McDermott missed deadlines and presented the board with a $100,000 check that bounced.
Although he expects to meet with representatives regularly over the next few weeks, Spiegel said work has begun on both sides of the equation.

"They were in the records room yesterday looking over our old records, and I'm sure they did a lot of homework before they came to us," Spiegel said. "This is a different approach than we've had in the past, and we've heard from engineers in different parts of the country that have said with a project like this, these are the folks to call."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.