THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2020 Page 11 THE SOUNDS OF SAUGUS By Mark E. Vogler Here are a few tidbits that you might want to know about this week in Saugus. We have a winner! We have a winner in last week’s “Guess Who Got Sketched” contest. Congratulations to Ann Devlin, who contacted us first and guessed correctly. Thanks to many other readers who sent the correct answer by email or phone message. Try again this week. Here’s last week’s answer, offered by the person who goes by the name of The Sketch Artist: “The answer is a very remarkable young man named Ryan Duggan! Ryan was generous enough to take the time to beautifully write his own Bio so let’s go with his! And now here are Ryan’s own words: ‘Ryan was raised in Saugus in the Golden Hills and Oaklandvale areas. He graduated from the Natural Resources Management program at Essex Technical and Agricultural High School in 2017, and in 2019, graduated from North Shore Community College with an Associate Degree in Environmental Studies. From here, Ryan transferred to the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst), where he is currently a senior studying Natural Resources Conservation. In the community, Ryan has been a Park Guide at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, a volunteer at Breakheart Reservation, a member of S.A.V.E. (Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment), and a member of the Saugus Tree Committee. He’s also a part of the Essex County Beekeepers’ Association, and served as the 2019 “Massachusetts Honey Ambassador”, teaching people about bees and beekeeping across the state. Typically, you can find him volunteering in the Bee Building at the annual Topsfield Fair. Ryan has been beekeeping for three years, and his family has one hive in their Saugus backyard. They sell local honey and beeswax soap under the name “Breakheart Bees.”’ Thank you Ryan. Ryan was going to include his email so people would be able to purchase his bee soap & honey however he’s all sold out for this year. Yours Truly, The Sketch Artist.” A posthumous “shout-out” to Dick Barry We didn’t receive any nominations this week for a Saugonian who is worth shouting about, so we will adopt a heap of praise we heard from the Saugus Board of Selectmen at Tuesday night’s meeting. Board members observed a moment of silence for Richard “Dick” Barry, the well-liked and well-respected, longtime local government leader who passed away late last month at the age of 89. After paying their respects to Barry, Town Manager Scott Crabtree and the entire board praised the man who had distinguished himself as a prominent elected and appointed town official and community leader for over four decades. Barry’s legacy of leadership and public service includes stints as chair of the Board of Selectmen, chair of the School Committee, Town Moderator and chair of the Saugus Council on Aging – to name a few. In his remarks, Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano called Barry “an incredible person” who set the standard for what a Saugus selectman should be. “When I first got elected, I had no clue what was going on,” Cogliano said, noting that he learned from Barry. He suggested that Barry had done so much for the town that he deserved to have the Saugus Senior Center named in his honor. Cogliano noted there are already several municipal buildings named after late town leaders. The latest such tribute happened back in September when the DPW building was renamed in honor of the late Joseph Attubato, Sr., who has been called a “legend” among the many who worked for the town over the past half century. Attubato worked as the town’s DPW director for nearly three decades (1984-2012). There was unanimous support for Cogliano’s recommendation. “He was the Senior Center,” Selectman Debra Panetta said of Barry. “He was always there. He did so much.” Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Corinne Riley called such a tribute “very fitting.” “Thumbs up!” added Selectman Jeffrey Cicolini. “He was truly a dedicated public servant to the town and a great guy,” added Selectman Michael Serino. Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree praised Barry as someone who was “always a complete gentleman and a true politician.” “I’ve known Mr. Barry since I was a kid and played CYO Basketball. He represented peoples’ interests,” Crabtree said. A bench outside the Saugus Senior Center already bears Barry’s name as a tribute for his many years of service to town seniors. Selectmen seem inclined to name the building after him, too. And it seems that just might happen with a warrant article being introduced at a future Town Meeting. Stay tuned, Saugus. fill out a claim to report the fraud,” the chief said. “They can also go to the Police Department to file an identity theft report,” he said. “If this wasn’t working, it would have stopped by now. But it’s still going strong,” he said. The DUA offers some advice on its website. If you believe your identity has been stolen and a fraudulent unemployment claim has been filed on your behalf, here’s some steps you can take to protect yourself: File a police report with your local police department. Get a copy of the report that you can provide to creditors and credit agencies. Change passwords on your email, banking and other personal accounts Make a list of credit card companies, banks and other financial institutions where you do business. Tell them you are a victim of identity theft and ask them to put a fraud alert on your account. Get a copy of your credit report and dispute any fraudulent transactions. You can request credit reports online from the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Transunion) or by calling (877) 322-8228. Place a credit freeze with each of the three major credit reporting agencies. Call each of the credit reporting agencies at these phone numbers or visit their websites to freeze your credit: Equifax: 800-349-9960 or freeze your credit online; Experian: 888-397-3742 or freeze your credit online; TransUnion: 888-909-8872 or freeze your credit online. Place a fraud alert on your credit file. You can do this by contacting just one of the credit agencies to add an alert with all three agencies. Take notes about all conversations and keep copies of all records. Several opportunities to serve Saugus If you are in a civic-minded mood and feel like serving GUESS WHO GOT SKETCHED? In this week’s edition, we continue our weekly feature where a local artist sketches people, places and things in Saugus. Got an idea what’s being sketched this week? If you do, please email me at mvoge@comcast.net or leave a phone message at 978-683-7773. The first reader to respond between now and Tuesday morning and correctly identify the place being sketched is the winner of a $10 gift certificate, compliments of Dunkin’ at the 1204 Broadway Saugus location at Route 1 North. But you have to enter to win! Look for the winner and identification in next week’s “The Sounds of Saugus.” Please leave your mailing address in case you are a winner. (Courtesy illustration to The Saugus Advocate by a Saugonian who goes by the name of “The Sketch Artist”) 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 a 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. Watch out for the fraudsters! There were well-publicized reports back in June about law enforcement agencies across the state – including the Saugus Police Department – getting swamped with reports of fraudsters stealing people’s identity to file false claims for unemployment benefits. “It’s been going strong for four or five months,” Saugus Police Chief Michael Ricciardelli told us recently. “We’re getting six reports every day,” the chief said. People usually find out they are victims of the scam from a letter they receive from the state Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA), or they might learn it from their human resources office, according to the chief. “When this happens, they’re required to go online [with the state] and your town on a volunteer board, the Board of Selectmen is accepting applications for appointment to: z The Affordable Housing Trust Board of Trustees z The Cultural Council z The Cemetery Commission Those who are interested in one or more of these positions may submit letter of interest/resume no later than Dec. 31 to: Saugus Board of Selectmen Saugus Town Hall, Suite #4 298 Central St. Cultural Council seeks funding proposals Proposals for community-oriented arts, humanities, and science programs are due Monday, Dec. 14. Virtual programming and “take and complete” projects will be given consideration. The Saugus Cultural Council has a new extended Dec. 14, 2020, deadline for organizations, schools and individuals to apply for grants that support cultural activities in the community. According to Council Chair Mike Sullivan, these grants can support a variety of artistic projects and activities in Saugus – including exhibits, festivals, field trips, short-term artist residencies, performances in schools, workshops and lectures. The Saugus Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils (LCC) serving all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The LCC program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and humanities every year. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community. This year the Saugus Cultural Council will distribute about $7,000 in grants. Previously funded projects have included a field trip to see Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” an artist workshop at Breakheart Reservation, dramatic performances and local author speaking engagements. For local guidelines and complete information on the Saugus Cultural Council, contact Mike Sullivan at michaelsullivan027@gmail.com. Application forms and more information about the LCC program are available online at www.mass-culture.org or https://mcc.smartsimple.com/s_ Login.jsp.
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