SAUGUS Vol. 23, No. 46 -FREEThe Advocate – A household word in Saugus ADVOCATDV C TE AD OC www.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday 781-233-4446 Friday, November 13, 2020 An unforgettable Veterans Day Observance More than 50 people attended an unusual Veterans Day observance that was tempered by COVID-19 concerns and a mission to keep the participants safe By Mark E. Vogler E ven before the birth of America, Saugus displayed its patriotic spirit and pride that is celebrated every Veterans Day. Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Robert Erbetta reminded the small crowd in Veterans Park of how town residents had served their future nation proudly back in the spring of 1775. “Marblehead fishermen and sailors along with the Saugus/Third Parish Minutemen were among the very fi rst American veterans from Essex County to fi ght in the Revolutionary War,” Erbetta said in his keynote address late Wednesday morning as the town observed its annual Veterans Day ceremonies. “They, like their fellow miliclothes on their backs, to fi ght for a principle: the novel idea that colonial Americans should have a say in how they were to be governed and taxed...free from a ministerial British colonial government that treated them like third-class subjects of the Crown,” he said. Then Erbetta provided some KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Retired U.S. Navy Captain Robert Erbetta told the small crowd at Saugus Veterans Park that Saugus can be proud of the 62 men from Saugus who fought in the American Revolutionary War – who were among the fi rst veterans to serve, before America became a country. tia minutemen of nearby Middlesex and Suffolk Counties, upped and left their families, homes and jobs with only the historical details that would make any Saugonian proud of his or her hometown roots. “I would especially like to call your attention to the fi rst veterans of this town and in particular Rev. Roby, who with 62 others marched to Lexington on April 19, 1775, and fought in both the Battles of Lexington and Concord,” Erbetta said. “Four days later the Massachusetts Provincial Congress advised that all men living within 20 miles of the coast be armed at all times. Rev. Roby showed up the next Sunday at the pulpit armed with his sermon and a musket.” Low turnout was by COVID-19 design Erbetta noted that he normally spends his Veterans Days in another North Shore community. “I must admit that after 46 years of participating in Marblehead’s Veterans Day ceremonies, I feel a bit strange standing here in my 21st-century Navy uniform instead of my Marblehead Glovers Regiment 18th-century sailor kit armed with a fl intlock blunderbuss!” he added. The privileged 50 or so Saugus residents and others who VETERANS DAY | SEE PAGE 5 A major COVID-19 Spike in Saugus By Mark E. Vogler S With more than 100 new confi rmed Coronavirus cases over the past week, town surpasses the 1,000 mark Despite an increase of 60 tree said in a text message to The Saugus Advocate, just beaugus experienced its worst week since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March, as the town reported 104 new cases, according to the latest statistics released yesterday. “As of today, the state has notifi ed the Health Department of 1,025 cases and 45 deaths,” Town Manager Scott C. Crabfore the press deadline. “Those numbers are as of this morning, that I received from the Health Department,” Crabtree said. The previous statistics released last Friday by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) showed Saugus reporting 921 cases as of Nov. 4. over an eight-day period through Nov. 4, the town was actually downgraded from the “red” category on the state’s COVID-19 map designating the worst risk communities to “yellow” for the moderate risk communities. When the DPH released the weekly COVID-19 data last Friday (Nov. 6), it also introduced a new methodol~ Home of the Week ~ SAUGUS...PERIWINKLE PARK AT ITS BEST! Wonderful 6 rm. Townhouse offers spac. living, dining rm. w/ newer bamboo flooring and slider to private deck, galley kit. w/ granite counters, full bath w/ granite vanity, 2 bdrms., master w/ double closets & slider to second balcony, wood flooring, second bathroom w/ double sink, granite vanity, finished loft w/ separate heat and a/c, updated heat and cent. air (2012), 1 car gar., bright & sunny corner unit, conveniently located near guest parking. GREAT unit - you won’t be disappointed! Offered at $410,000 View all our listings at: CarpenitoRealEstate.com iht 335 Central Street, Saugus, MA 01906 (781) 233-7300 f th y View the interior of this home right on your smartphone. g ogy which reduced the number of “red” communities from more than 100 to 16. Saugus was among those that were reduced to the “yellow,” or moderate risk, category. Previously, a community would receive the “red” classifi cation if its daily COVID-19 incidence rate over a 14-day period was eight or more. Under the new criteria for Massachusetts communities with a population of 10,000 to 50,000, the state increased the daily case average from 8 to 10 while adding the 5 percent or greater positivity rate. To be a “red” community now, Saugus needs to have 10 average cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate of 5 percent or greater. Saugus was already more than double the daily incidence rate. Meanwhile, its positivity rate of those being tested within the most recent 14-day period was 4.35 percent. A community-by-community breakdown of the latest COVID-19 rates, including the positivity rate for those tested for the virus over a 14-day period, was not available at press time yesterday. 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