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Reminder Assistant Editor EAST LONGMEADOW If only one thing could be inferred from the Board of Selectmen's Feb. 12 meeting, it would be that the residents of the town are doing good, not only for themselves, but for others as well. Michael Outten, a former native of Maine, received a citation from the Board of Selectmen for his courageous work in assisting both store security and the East Longmeadow Police Department in apprehending a purse snatch suspect on Jan. 28 at the Stop & Shop on North Main Street. Police Chief Doug Mellis explained how a woman shopping had her purse sitting in her cart when the young perpetrator ran up and stole it away from her. "This caught Mike's attention," Mellis explained. "He met up with store security at the front of the store." "It could have been my grandmother," Outten stated. "And where I come from, we don't take kindly to that behavior." Board of Selectmen Chair Jack Villamaino told Outten what he did was "a gutsy thing to do," adding Outten did his "civic duty, to say the least." "The whole town appreciates what you did," Selectman Joe Townshend added. "You disregarded your personal safety to help another." Officer Joseph Barone, who arrested the purse snatcher, said, "Mike did not hesitate and he helped a lot." He added that the perpetrator was wanted on juvenile offenses in the state of New Jersey. "This is what people are supposed to do," Outten said. "It's like what Kennedy said: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." He continued by joking that the only reason he helped the way he did was because his wife Robin "let him off the leash" that day. In addition to the citation from the Board of Selectmen, Outten received a letter from Mellis, thanking him again for his assistance. The board's discussion moved from helping one person to helping the entire town and the environment when Arlene Miller, a recycling coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, gave an update of the town's waste reduction program. "The recycling program continues to do well," Miller told the board. "In the first 30 months, we've saved $246,000 [in trash disposal costs] and you'll be receiving a check for $37,000 soon for the first six months of this fiscal year." Since the program was first instituted the summer of 2005, the town of East Longmeadow has saved $66,029 by reducing their tonnage of trash by 28.86 percent and has earned $30,704 by increasing recycling by 11.38 percent. The town saves $73 for each ton of trash saved and earns an approximate $28 per ton of recycled material. Bag revenues have brought in nearly $40,000. The amount saved and earned by the town will continue to increase if trends continue. The town's recycling rate has increased from 25 percent in 2005 to 33 percent in 2008. As successful as the current plan is, it wasn't always an accepted one. "It was an unpopular decision [to accept the waste reduction program] at the time," Selectman Jim Driscoll explained. "Now it's a tremendous success. It's a huge windfall financially and environmentally." Driscoll added that he believed a program like this could be a huge success for the city of Springfield, where Mayor Domenic Sarno is looking for ways to fund the addition of up to 50 police officers to the force. "I'm thrilled this is growing," Miller said. East Longmeadow recently received a Department of Environmental Protection technical assistance grant to assist the town in its ongoing effort to develop a comprehensive recycling education and outreach plan. Miller is working with the Board of Selectmen's Executive Secretary Nick Breault on this plan. "I want to congratulate the residents ... and give kudos to the schools for all their hard work," Miller said. "We're working on a more comprehensive plan for this year, with more education and a coordinated effort with all the town departments." | ||||||
