Western Massachusetts Archives

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) The Keto Diet has been around for centuries but recently has gained popularity again. There are some common mistakes you want to avoid if you plan to follow a Keto Diet.

The Keto Diet is a low carb, high-fat diet. If you have gotten the OK from your doctor to follow a Keto Diet, avoid these three common mistakes.

Mistake number one is not drinking enough water. Your body loses water because it is flushing out the ketones. Drink water all day.
Drinking water all day leads to mistake number 2: not getting enough sodium. When you need to drink so much, you also lose sodium. You may need to salt your food.
Mistake number 3 is not preparing yourself for the Keto flu. In the first 2 weeks, many people get muscle cramps, nausea, aches, and fatigue.

What is the Keto Diet and is it safe for everyone?

It is a tough diet to follow and not safe for everyone. If you decide to come off the Keto Diet, be sure to get help from a dietitian to do so without gaining back lost weight.

NEXSTAR – New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady has been on quite a run as of late. The 41-year-old quarterback has been on the field at the Super Bowl for the past three straight seasons, and four out of the last five. There is, however, an even more impressive run at the Super Bowl that puts Brady’s to shame.

It’s a run that has lasted 53 straight years. Every game ball, at every Super Bowl, every year, has been manufactured at Wilson Sporting Goods

Ask Deb Ellis what she does for a living and you’ll be, well…

“Shocked, they’re like you what?” Ellis said.

Ellis helps make footballs–NFL footballs– and her company, Wilson Sporting Goods, has been doing it for more than 75 years.

“George Halas, one of the founding fathers based in Chicago reached out to Wilson Sporting Goods to develop the first NFL ball and we’ve been the only football used by the NFL since 1941,” Mike Kuehne said.

Who could have imagined cowhide could look so good. Stitched, stretched, and laced– that cowhide goes through quite a bit to take the shape of an NFL football, including a stop at the sauna.

“You can’t leave it in there too long because it will discolor the leather because once you’re done steaming it you put it up on this bar and line the seams up with the grooves and pull it through little by little,” Jim Gatchell said. He’s been making footballs for 41 years.

Once the ball is softened up, it’s then passed along to be inflated and laced, which is no easy task.

“It has to be the same width all the way down, so you eye-ball that as you’re going down the ball,” Ellis said. “You’re constantly looking at that ball. You don’t take your eyes off it really.”

Laser-focus concentration, like a receiver catching the game-winning touchdown pass. These employees are game changers in their own rights.

“What’s the one thing everyone is looking at?” Katie Long, a lock stitch operator, said. “They’re looking at that ball that I made, so definitely there’s a lot of pride involved.”

They should be proud.

All NFL balls are made in Ada, Ohio– population, 6,000– at a plant with roughly 80 workers who will all leave their marks on Super Bowl 53.

ATLANTA (NEXSTAR) — The Patriots have just two more days before they go head to head with the Rams for Super Bowl LIII.

The Patriots are just two days away from kickoff. When they are done with their media obligations later Friday, they will have their final practice of the week over at Georgia Tech.

On Thursday, the Rams practiced outdoors, but the Patriots practiced indoors. Dont’a Hightower was not there with an illness. The Pats didn’t have pads on; just a walk-through.

Coach Bill Belichick said that they will have a traditional practice Saturday and team pictures; all of this ahead of Sunday’s kickoff.

“One game, nothing else to say. Whether you think you can make a difference, the right play, the right call, the right situation, it’s the right time to do it,” Belichick said.

“You always put together a plan, but it probably rarely does that. You try to watch the tape, get a feel for the other team’s defense, then try to develop a game plan around that,” Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady said.

Belichick said he was happy with the team’s week of preparation in Atlanta, but now being in his ninth Super Bowl as head coach, that doesn’t always correlate to success on the field come Sunday.

Full letter below.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A 10-year-old girl from Massachusetts has a selfless request for Santa this Christmas: to change her dad’s work shift!

“I want very little things for Christmas this year,” ‘Zee’ wrote in a letter to Saint Nick. “But out of all of the things you bring me, I would want one of them to come true.”

She goes on to ask Santa to move her father’s work shift to start two hours later.

“He would be so happy,” Zee said. “And when he is happy, I’m happy, and I’ll tell you this: I’ll even let you skip my house.”

Zee’s grandmother shared a photo of the letter via ReportIt@wwlp.com:

LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WWLP) — As the nation mourns the loss of President George H.W. Bush Saturday night so does a Longmeadow man who worked closely with him.

Bernie Sweeney, Bush’s former campaign manager back in 1980, spoke about his memories of the former president.

(WWLP) — Many people in western Massachusetts knew the late president on a personal level.

A Massachusetts man on Saturday shared his personal impressions of this world leader, a Massachusetts native who made his home in New England.

Springfield’s internationally recognized political consultant Tony Cignoli maintains a home at Kennebunkport, Maine. He was a neighbor to the Bush family, where the family had vacationed for generations.

Cignoli has just returned to Springfield from his home in Kennebunkport. He spoke about his personal experiences with the late president and his family.

“He was just an incredible gentleman, he was as if, he was your next door neighbor your whole life,” Cignoli described. “That’s how anyone who lived at Kennebunkport would feel he was, just such a part of everything.”

Cignoli remembers vividly the evening he ran into the late president during the Bush presidency at a favorite seafood restaurant in Kennebunkport

“I’ll never forget it was full one day we had the luck to be there at the same time. It was almost like he was one of the wait staff,” Cignoli recalled. “He was moving tables around like he came out of the wait staff. He was moving tables around, the president of the United States. He created a little table for himself and his wife on the porch of the restaurant.”

And as he looks back on the George Herbert Walker Bush presidency, Cignoli feels Bush’s personal qualities deeply affected White House decisions.

“There is a lot of evidence from historians, that man he was, the genteel gentleman from Milton, Massachusetts, who went through a lot in his early life,” Cignoli said. “All those humbling experiences, the loss of his daughter did have an impact on his legislation, through Congress, as president of the United States.”

Cignoli’s final thought, “There was that regular personal touch. This was no imperial’s presidency with this man.”

For Tony Cignoli, the interactions with his Kennebunkport neighbor George Bush were both a pleasure and a privilege. And like his fellow Americans, Cignoli very much mourns the loss of the 41st president of the United States.

BLANDFORD, Mass. (WWLP) — All members of the Blandford Police Department in Massachusetts have resigned effective immediately, according to the interim chief of police.

In a news release, Interim Police Chief Roberta Sarnacki told WISH-TV sister station WWLP officers Chris Anciello, Gage Terlik, Krysten Scapin and herself resigned after multiple complaints to the town about unsafe working conditions.

According to Chief Sarnacki, Blandford officers have been working with cruisers that don’t work, bulletproof vests that are not fitted to them or might be expired, poor radio communications, inadequate staffing and improper wages.

Blandford police officers make $14 and $15 an hour, Interim Police Chief Sarnacki explained in the news release. The department’s best car, a 2010 Crown Victoria, that was purchased from the Otis Police Department overheats at times, has no air conditioning and the electric seat is stuck in the reclined positions.

The interim police chief added that department radios don’t work in most parts of the town. She explained that officers cannot call for help if back-up is needed and instead use their cell phones to call Berkshire Dispatch or Massachusetts State Police.

The town is also currently down three officers and a request for new hires was turned down.

In wake of the entire department’s resignation, Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi told WWLP six deputy sheriffs and marked cruisers from his office have been assigned to Blandford for the night and morning commute so town citizens could have a peace of mind. The Blandford Police Department’s Facebook page is advising all residents to call 911 for police, fire or medical emergencies.

Sheriff Cocchi added that it’s not good to have a town without the appearance of police protection.

Blandford Selectboard Chair Cara Letendre stated in a release to WWLP:

For the past two months, Interim Chief Sarnacki has done a fine job with our police officers and our police department. It is unfortunate that she led this officer walk out as she would have been considered as one of our candidates for Acting Chief position as we pursue the future opportunities with our police force. We have had multiple public meetings with our police force and have offered them the opportunity to engage and provide their opinions for the direction of the force.
We have reached out to neighboring communities to ensure the safety and security of our citizens. Until such time, residents should continue to dial 911 in the event of any emergency and local or state assets will be dispatched to assist them.

Letendre added that “The Town of Blandford is continuing its already posted search for a new police chief.

The interim chief told WWLP that selectboard members were more focused on the town’s merger with the Chester Police Department than resolving issues with the Blandford department had during Monday night’s meeting, triggering the department’s abrupt resignation.