Page 4 THE REVERE ADVOCATE - Friday, August 9, 2019 RESIDENTS | from page 1 in a rally outside Saugus Town Hall to offer support to the Board of Health. “Why does nothing happen when we ask for silence from Wheelabrator and relief from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection? …. Don’t you think it’s ironic that when we beg for silence, all we get is more noise? But when we beg for answers, all we get is silence? This has to stop,” she declared. LaCentra, who has lived in Revere for 35 years, questioned why residents who live near the plant should “have to worry about how long these noise assaults should last.” “Perhaps Wheelabrator should be giving out earplugs with their logo on them because that would be money well spent,” she said. Another Revere resident, Elle Baker, said she is among 600 Revere residents who live within a half mile of the Wheelabrator plant – “close enough to hear the noise.” “There are no town lines separating Revere and Saugus from the noise that we hear from the facility,” she said. Baker, who grew up in East Saugus and has lived in Revere for several years, urged the Saugus Board of Health to think about protecting many Revere and Saugus residents who have endured “many sleepless nights” over the past two months. “The community came here to support you and empower you – the Saugus Board of Health – to have the strength and the conviction to make the diffi cult decision to choose to protect us from the wolf in sheep’s clothing … to hear the voices of the actual good neighbors: the ones that worry about the dangers of the Wheelabrator wolf,” Baker said. “You have volunteered to represent us, just as you do the rest of the community, from other establishments that you hold accountable for public health. And we ask that you do the same – by holding Wheelabrator accountable for public health, not limited to the Town of Saugus, but also the surrounding communities,” she said. “We live here and we have a right to clean air, clean water and to live without excessive noise.” Noise complaints go back to 2016. State Rep. RoseLee Vincent (D-16th Suff olk District) also was among the dozen citizens who were allowed to testify. The board limited the number of witnesses, claiming it was not practical to allow everyone in the audience to speak during the public hearing. “The recent and unprecedented noise assault on our neighborhoods that lasted for well over six weeks is unconscionable,” said Vincent, whose House district also includes Precincts 3 and 10 in Saugus. “It is a very real signal that there is something very wrong with this nearly 50-year-old incinerator. Although the 24/7 noise has somewhat abated, it’s still occurring, and is a clear indication that this incinerator does not, and will never meet A CANCER SURVIVOR SPEAKS OUT: Point of Pines Beach Association Vice President Angela Sawaya, of Revere, stands near the entrance of Saugus Town Hall on Monday night. She blames her bilateral breast cancer on her years of living in a neighborhood aff ected by Wheelabrator Technologies, Inc.’s trash-to-energy plant. She was among many Revere residents who showed up at a rally organized by the Alliance for Health and Environment prior to a Saugus Board of Health show cause hearing. PROTESTING THE NOISE: Revere resident Elaine Hurley and Ward 5 Councillor John Powers were among more than 50 people who attended a rally on Monday (Aug. 5) night on the lawn in front of Saugus Town Hall. They were there to show support for the Saugus Board of Health, which held a show cause hearing on recent noise problems at the Wheelabrator trash-to-energy plant on Route 107 in Saugus. the same standards that are aff orded to people who live in other communities across the Commonwealth,” Vincent said. “What our neighbors have had to endure these past weeks, and continue to endure with this ungodly noise, is unacceptable by any reasonable person’s standards. It should be noted that since November COUNCIL | from page 1 In addition to the 22 school shootings, there have been 251 mass shootings in the United States since the start of 2019, including the shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, this past week that left 29 dead and 53 injured. Parents and caregivers are exploring additional ways to keep their children safe this school year, including the purchase of bulletproof backpacks that retail between $99 and $160. Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna believes there are 2016 our neighbors who live in the shadow of the Wheelabrator have had to endure these types of noise occurrences at all hours of the day and night no less than seven times due to issues at the plant, again demonstrating that perhaps this dinosaur of facility should be reaching the point of extinction.” many other ways to prepare Revere students for possible dangerous situations. “I would also like to add, on the subject of school shootings, that they’re teaching kids now how to tourniquet,” she said. “I think we should start having courses around here. I think it is something we defi nitely should explore.”
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