12

Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, May 22, 2020 THE SOUNDS OF SAUGUS By Mark Vogler H ere are a few tidbits that you might want to know about this week in Saugus. A “Shout-Out” for “Shout-Outs” It’s hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since we introduced the “Shout-Out” feature in our “Sounds of Saugus” column. It’s always great to allow our readers the opportunity each week to acknowledge acts of kindness or achievements – big and small – by our readers. So, it is rather appropriate that this week’s contribution comes from Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member Jeanie Bartolo – whom I refer to as “the mother of ShoutOuts.” For she is the one who recommended the concept to me last year. So, here’s another contribution from Jeanie: “Memorial Day marks the 1 year anniversary of the “Shout Out” column so I thought a Shout Out was in order, here goes: “The Sounds of Saugus “Shout Out” column started 1 year ago on Memorial Day 2019. Since then there have been over 60 “Shout Outs” published. So in honor of it’s first anniversary I would like to give a big “Shout Out” to EVERYONE who nominated someone special and to Mark Vogler for printing them. So many people have told me it’s the first thing they look for in the Sounds of Saugus section each week. So let’s keep the “Shout Outs” coming!!!” Well said, Jeanie. It was last year, during the town’s Memorial Day observance, that Jeanie asked me to put “an extra shoutout” to the kids from the Belmonte Middle School, along with their principal, Myra Monto. Jeanie wanted to make a point about the wonderful parade float that students helped to create – specifically, the members of “The Yes Club” – the student group at Belmonte Middle School known formally as “Youth Empowering Saugus.” “Myra Monto, Belmonte School Principal, her husband and the students built and decorated the float to resemble a cozy front porch with rocking chairs and the children displayed the Memorial Day pictures they drew to honor our Veterans,” she said. “It was well worth the hard work they put into building it. What a great way to honor our Veterans and teach our children that they can have an idea, make a plan for how to build it and then make it happen!” The rest is history, folks. Every week, Saugonians have a chance to praise a fellow town resident for something that’s positive. And we can truly use positivity during these troubling times. Want to “Shout-Out” a fellow Saugonian? This is an opportunity for our paper’s readers to single out – in a brief mention – remarkable acts or achievements by Saugus residents or an act of kindness or a nice gesture. Just send an email (mvoge@comcast.net) with the mention in the subject line of “An Extra Shout-Out.” No more than a paragraph; anything longer might lend itself to a story and/or photo. A scaled down Memorial Day ceremony Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Corinne Riley, who has been a huge supporter and volunteer behind veterans’ activities in town, made this announcement at Tuesday night’s meeting: “Memorial Day Observance, May 25th: The American Legion will be holding a Memorial Day Ceremony at the Veterans plot at Riverside Cemetery. The Ceremony will be smaller scale than normal, around 30 minutes. There will be no parade, no flagging. be played, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country will be remembered. Everyone is invited to the ceremony which begins at 10:00 a.m. Social distancing and face coverings are required in accordance with State guidelines.” A virtual Memorial Day Observance Saugus Veterans’ Service Officer Jay Pinette sent this message along: “The Saugus Veterans’ Service Office invites you to join us in honoring, remembering, and respecting the sacrifices made by our brave men and women. All are encouraged to decorate their homes, doors, or windows with patriotic spirit leading up to Memorial Day on May 25. Through these actions, we can Honor Those Who Served, show our appreciation and honor the service and sacrifice of our fallen heroes.” Thanks for your support I would like to send along a special “thanks” to all of the folks who have emailed me well wishes or left kind messages on my answering machine during these challenging Coronavirus times. These are probably the most challenging, if not stressful times, of my newspaper career, which dates back nearly a half a century. Being an “essential worker” who must wear a face covering or mask and protective gloves only adds to the anxiety. It’s scary out there on the road, with some people driving like lunatics and other people you encounter who refuse to wear masks. So, indeed, it is a risk to bring you the news each week. As a journalist, there’s the ongoing challenge of reporting enough about COVID-19 on the local level to keep our readers informed. While, at the same time, it is important to provide readers COVID-19 news with the right balance of upbeat, positive human interest. What are people doing locally to escape the day-to-day pressures of the Coronavirus? Laura Eisener has been an asset for us with her ongoing “Saugus Gardens in the Pandemic.” With good weather here and more people walking outside, Laura’s stories about “what’s blooming in town this week” gives the reader loads of fun and useful information about local plants and flowers to make the hometown walk more enjoyable. And you got to love Susan Curry, the Saugus woman behind “BeLikeGeorgie,” that fun website that has residents in this town and many others going out “bear hunting” – taking pictures of various bears in different shapes and sizes in the windows of homes and keeping score as they count the bears and share their findings on social media. There’s a lot of good stuff going on in town that folks ought to pay notice to – if they have been overdosing on COVID-19 news or Saugus politics. Graduates provide a silver lining One of the things I’ve looked forward to over the past two months has been getting an opportunity to talk with some of the recent graduates. If this were a normal year, I’d be lucky to get five or 10 minutes of interview time with these bright, young and very talented people. Over the past month, I have gotten as much time as I need. And what an opportunity it is to share the views and passions with our readers. In this week’s “The Advocate Asks,” we talk to Salutatorian Ronald DiBiasio, Jr., one of the smartest kids you would ever meet coming out of Saugus High School. And I find it so interesting that he acknowledges a lot of his scholastic success to two sisters who graduated from Saugus High and went on to obtain college degrees – and a fifth grade teacher (Bill Palmerini of Veterans Memorial Elementary School), who had more impact on him than other teachers in Saugus Public Schools. Talking with students like Ronnie DiBiasio is a great diversion from today’s troubling times. Food Pantry still open The Saugus United Parish Food Pantry will continue to remain open on Fridays between 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. despite concerns over the Coronavirus. But there have been adjustments to protect the core of volunteers and the needy people who receive the food. “For the protection of our volunteers & clients, and to limit personal contact & crowding/gathering, the food pantry has been distributing pre-bagged groceries,” says Wendy Reed, Clerk of the Saugus Board of Selectmen, who also oversees the operation of the all-volunteer food pantry. “We understand clients may receive items they don’t want or need, but feel this is the best course of action to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19. Those in need, even for short term or one-time assistance are encouraged to come.” The food pantry is located in the basement of the Cliftondale “There will be one speaker. The National Anthem and Taps will Congregational Church at 50 Essex St. in Saugus. Taking care of hungry students Julie Cicolini, a member of the Board of Directors for Healthy Students-Healthy Saugus (HS2), wants to make sure people in the community are aware of some recent program changes. “Please be aware that Healthy Students-Healthy Saugus bags are now available on Thursdays instead of Fridays 10 a.m. to noon,” she advised us. “Whitsons food service, that has been managing the grab-n-go meals for students and HS2 weekend bag distribution during the school closure, will be moving to 2 days a week. This is to help reduce contact and limit residents from leaving their home to pick up food…HS2 will provide weekly, no contact, delivery on Thursdays to ensure those we serve receive their HS2 weekend bags and keep everyone home. Please visit Healthy Students-Healthy Saugus facebook page and send a message to be added to the delivery list.” Grab-n-Go meals: “Grabn-go breakfast/lunch meals will be distributed every Monday (3 days worth of meals) and Thursday (2 days worth of meals) from 10am-12pm. Please wear a mask/face covering when picking up food. Again, these changes are to help reduce contact and limit how many times people are leaving their home. “Please visit Healthy Students-Healthy Saugus Facebook page for updates.” Food help for veterans This came in from Saugus Veteran Services Officer Jay Pinette: “We want to share a couple of opportunities with you for food assistance that are being offered to Veterans and/or their surviving spouses. First, the Melrose-Wakefield-Saugus Veterans’ Services Offices partner with the Greater Boston Food Bank to provide food to Veterans and their surviving spouses on the third Wednesday of each month. The food market is generally held at the Saugus Senior Center, but given the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently offering a contact-free, drive-thru food pantry at Memorial Hall on Main Street in Melrose. If you are unable to pick-up, some limited deliveries may be available. This offering is year round. Please call the Saugus Veterans’ Service Office at 781231-4010 or e-mail VeteransServices@saugus-ma.gov in order to register. Proof of Veteran status is required. “In addition, there is now another offering for food assistance on the North Shore. Many of you may have heard about the food distribution for Veterans that was held recently at Gillette Stadium. In order to make this more accessible to Veterans on the North Shore, the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center and Massachusetts Military Support Foundation Food4Vets are bringing the food drive to the North Shore and Merrimack Valley! They have partnered together with local VSOs to offer assistance to Massachusetts Veterans experiencing limited access to food due to COVID 19. They will be holding drive-through food distribution events on Wednesdays beginning this week on April 22nd , 2020 in Haverhill. Distributions will be held on alternate weeks at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, and North Shore Community College in Danvers. The distribution will take place in the college parking lots. Veterans will SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 13

13 Publizr Home