Hello everyone,
I hope everyone was able to get out and vote in the municipal elections this week. Voting is one of our most important civic duties and the impact that local government has on our communities is incredibly tangible.
Our school committees and city councils play critical roles in how our neighborhoods are built and what are children are taught. Congratulations to all those who won this past Tuesday night and all who ran as candidates as well. I look forward to all the good work we will do together to better our communities.
Today makes the passage of Veterans’ Day. As a veteran myself who is now the Senate Chair of the Veterans’ and Federal Affairs Committee, this holiday is of special importance to me. Our veterans have sacrificed so much in the course of our nation’s almost three-hundred-year history and it’s because of them that we are able to enjoy the freedoms that we have today. I would like to extend a big thank you to all veterans for their service to our country.
Monday marked yet another hearing of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery. As the Senate Chair of this hearing, I and the other committee members heard many bills on these topics. One of my bills, S.1274, an Act relative to Narcan Availability in Schools, had its first hearing. This bill, if enacted, would go a long way to preventing overdose deaths and expanding access to this critical life-saving tool.
This week was packed with Veterans’ Day events as well. On Wednesday, Westfield State University held an event for their veteran students and alumni at the university and I was honored to have been asked to speak to this wonderful group. Today there are events in Agawam, West Side and Holyoke as well to honor our veterans. With all of these incredible events, I have to say that Thursday morning was one of the best as I attended “Bring a Vet to School” Day at the Robert Doering School in Agawam. I love coming into our schools and speaking to our youth about the value of service for our nation. This is such an amazing group of students too.
All around the district this week, our students have been preparing homemade letters for our veterans at the Holyoke Veterans’ Home. In an overabundance of kindness and appreciation my office received more than a thousand letters. Thursday afternoon, I was proud to have distributed them to our veterans at the Home.
This week, my team hosted office hours on Monday at the Agawam COA and on Wednesday at the West Springfield COA. Next week, we be hosting office hours at the Chicopee COA on Tuesday from 10:00am to 11:00am and at the Holyoke COA on Wednesday from 10:00am to 11:00am. If you can’t make office hours, I can always be reached by email, john.velis@masenate.gov, by phone, (413) 527-3920, and you can find me online at senatorjohnvelis.com
Sincerely,
