Springfield leaders discuss helping Wing family

Ways to help the Wing family of Springfield after their tragic loss dominated discussion at an emergency meeting of Project ACTION on Wednesday.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150423/NEWS02/704239855

Springfield leaders discuss helping Wing family By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | April 23,2015 Photo by Len Emery Springfield Select Board Chairman Kristi Morris, standing, fields comments and ideas at a meeeting of Project Action Wednesday in Springfield SPRINGFIELD — Ways to help the Wing family of Springfield after their tragic loss dominated discussion at an emergency meeting of Project ACTION on Wednesday. Community leaders met to discuss the weekend killing, which has set back the town’s effort to counter mounting drug crime and violence. Wesley J. Wing, 37, was shot to death Saturday, after he confronted a woman he believed was dealing drugs, police said. The woman’s boyfriend, Gregory A. Smith, 30, of Springfield, is wanted on a charge of second-degree murder, police said, but he has eluded capture. Wing, a carpenter and builder, was the sole means of support of the family, which includes four children, ages 3 to 16, as well as his wife Sheila, who is a stay-at-home mom. Sheila Wing and her children are no longer staying at their home because they are afraid, said Stephanie Thompson, one of Project ACTION’s leaders. Fundraising efforts have already started, and churches in the community are planning different events to help the family, including hosting Wing’s funeral service and a community reception afterward. A GoFundMe account has been established in the family’s name, said the Rev. George Keeler, who warned that donors should be careful to donate to only the official account at www.gofundme.com/scnjp4. The account, Help Support Wes Wing’s Family, has raised more than $4,000 for the family in about three days. The Wing family’s landlord, the Pluss family of Springfield, who had hired him to do renovations on another home, said the family was in dire financial straits. Ada Pluss, who along with her husband, Walter, own the house at 1 Cardinal Drive, said there was no danger of them evicting the Wing family. But Ada Pluss told the gathering at the Springfield Community Center that money was a big worry for the young family. Several people both praised and condemned social media and its role in this case, with the Rev. Jean O’Bresky of the Springfield Congregational Church and Wendi Germain of the Springfield Justice Center both saying they stopped reading social media because it was so negative and upsetting. Several people at the meeting said the shooting was a short distance from their home, or a home of their family members. School Superintendent Zachary McLaughlin said that since Springfield schools were on vacation this week, school officials were in the process of planning how to help not just the Wing children, but other children affected by the violence. Thompson said that helping the South Street community, where the shooting took place, should also be a priority. Four of five Select Board members attended the meeting, with Chairwoman Kristi Morris and Selectman Peter MacGillivray saying the board was responsible for combating violence in town. Thompson and Trevor Hanbridge hope to hold a community vigil on Saturday on South Street, but only with the approval of the Wing family. Thompson said she didn’t want to do anything without the family’s consent. Thompson and others emphasized that, while the shooting is a stunning setback in the community effort to counter drug and gang violence, Springfield is working toward solving these problems. Bob Flint, executive director of the Springfield Regional Development Corp., said the town had many strengths but that the drug problem had to be addressed. “There still is tremendous opportunity in the community,” Flint said, adding there had to be a sense of urgency to address the drug and violence problems. “This swamp of issues need to be number 1, 2 and 3,” he said. Ethan McNaughton, a local lawyer, said he knew Wes Wing, and he was taking his death very hard, but he urged the Project ACTION group to take action, including helping Wing’s family. “Get to the doing,” McNaughton said. Attending the standing-room-only meeting was John Tracy, state director for Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. Tracy, a Springfield native who still owns a home here, said Leahy and his office would do whatever it could to help Springfield and the rest of Vermont battle the problems of drugs and violence. “This is a tough knockback,” Tracy said. Neither Springfield Police nor Vermont State Police attended the meeting. Thompson said Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston was out of state at a meeting. Other officers who have been participating in Project ACTION had said they would attend unless the shooting investigation took precedence.