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About the Times
Early
into the new millennium, the Turley Publications family
of Palmer felt that Wilbraham and Hampden should have
their own weekly newspaper that would exclusively highlight
what was going on in the towns. The first edition of the
Wilbraham-Hampden Times, started by Turley marketing
director Keith Sykes, debuted after the 2002 Peach Festival
on Labor Day that year. The Times is direct mailed
to all homes and businesses.
From the beginning, our goal has been to focus on the
quality of family life in our towns. Along the way, we
added departments and features that cover everything from
town meetings to Minnechaug sports to suburban living.
In 2004 and 2006, the Times was given the C.
Bruce Murray Service Above Self Award for public service
to the community. In 2005, we created the Editorial Advisory
Board to take the pulse of the community and take a stand
on the issues of Wilbraham and Hampden.
The paper has always made space available for “citizen
journalists” and “citizen photographers.”
With constructive opinion on town issues, we take very
seriously our role in analyzing the concerns facing our
towns.
Meet
the Staff
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Email
Charlie |
Charles
F. Bennett
Editor
Charlie, a Wilbraham native, began in the
newspaper business as a staff member of the first issue of
the Smoke Signal, the newspaper of Minnechaug Regional High
School in 1959. After graduating from Northampton Commercial
College he worked in the Eastern Edition headquarters of The
Wall Street Journal in Chicopee, Mass. and became the Assistant
Advertising Production Manager. After 19 years he left to
publish and edit The Jewish Weekly News of Western Massachusetts,
which won Best Front Page in Mass. Press Association competition
in 1987. After selling the weekly, he did media consulting
and became public relations director of Big Brothers Big Sisters
of Hampden County. He covered the Wilbraham Board of Selectmen’s
meeting when the Wilbraham-Hampden Times was born and became
its editor in 2003. He is president of the Valley Press Club,
serves on the board of the Rotary Foundation and is a Paul
Harris Fellow. Charlie has been married to Susan for 45 years.
They have two grown sons, Greg and Clarke, and a granddaughter. Charlie enjoys
reading, cooking, kayaking, tennis and music. |
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Tim
Kane
Executive
Editor, Turley Publications
A 16-year veteran of the newspaper industry, Tim
has been a part of the Turley team since 2005. He entered
the trade with the goal to make a difference in the world
by serving as a public informant and seeking the truth—and
continues to work by that guiding principle today. His favorite
assignment was breaking a series of stories in Ashland,
Mass. about one man's battle with cancer and his quest to
uncover the truth about a former manufacturer's decades
of hazardous waste dumping in town. Tim has a BA from Fitchburg
State College and attended the American Press Institute.
Tim lives in Brookfield with his wife, Danielle, and their
two sons, Timmy Jr. and Christopher. His pastimes include
songwriting, drumming, writing fiction, cross-country skiing,
hiking, trail maintenance, and volunteering for the Boy
Scouts. |
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Dave
Forbes
Sports
Editor, Turley Publications
A
lifelong sports fan, Dave figured a career covering sports
would be the next best thing to playing them. The Chicopee
resident is new to the Turley team but brings seven years
experience in journalism, most recently as sports editor for
nearby Stonebridge Press. His favorite assignments have included
covering the Tantasqua boys' varsity basketball team during
the 2006-2007 season, not to mention the 2003 New England
Patriots Super Bowl Championship parade and the 2004 Boston
Red Sox World Championship parade. Dave is a 2000 graduate
of Westfield State College with a major in Communication. |
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Jocelyn
Walker
Sales Representative
Jocelyn grew up in South Hadley and has been resident of
Belchertown since 1984. She has a degree in retail management
and worked in the retail industry for 10 years before transitioning
into sales. She joined Turley Publications in 2005. “Not
many people can say they love their jobs, but I do! I have
the privilege of meeting and working with wonderful people
in the community and helping to make a difference in the
success of their businesses,” says Jocelyn. Jocelyn
has been married to Dan for 23 years. They have two children,
21-year-old Brendan and 18-year-old Brynn. |
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Tyler
Witkop
Correspondent
A native of Hampden, Tyler Witkop started covering news as
an intern for the Times in the fall of 2008 during his senior
year of college. Always a curious individual and a passionate
writer, he found himself drawn to reporting by the desire
to know and communicate information. His favorite assignment was covering
the groundbreaking of the new Minnechaug High School. The
Class of 2005 Minnechaug grad received his BA in English Literature
from Western New England College and enjoys the outdoors and
shooting sports, cooking, reading, writing, and music. |
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David
Miles
Photographer
Veteran photographer David Miles has been shooting for the
Times for four years. The Korean War combat veteran
has practiced his photographic arts for over 50 years. Dave
is a member of the Springfield Camera Club and an active member
of the Valley Photo Center in Springfield. His work has been
published in National Shutterbug Magazine. Dave is
well known around Wilbraham and Hampden and covers large events
like the Peach Festival. He lives in town with his wife Joan
and they have two grandchildren. |
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