THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, November 6, 2026 Page 11 Bayrd Foundation funds UTV for Malden Fire Dept. T hanks to a generous donation from the Adelaine Breed Bayrd Foundation, the Malden Fire Department has a new option to serve Malden residents in a more efficient manner while working to keep members and equipment safe. A new Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) can haul equipment and supplies to locations where using a fire truck or ambulance is impractical or impossible. A UTV can gain access to patients and emergencies that ambulances and fire engines are unable to do without delays. With fuel prices increasing, more people are using the Northern Strand Community Trail in Malden with battery-operated bikes and scooters. Their higher speeds can create increased trauma when there is impact. Reaching a patient when ambulances and fire engines cannot access the area is critical Malden Art Exhibit Reflects on Loss and What Remains A re grief and happiness, dark and color opposites? This is a question Malden artist Karyn Alzayer asked herself as she worked on a new art exhibit for The Gallery@57. “Facing Grief: On Life, Loss & Honoring What Remains” is a challenging, carefully curated exploration of the artist’s feelings after the loss of a family member. Along with traditional materials of paint on canvas, she worked in precious materials, actual skulls and animal bones, which she purchased from local groups as part of sustainable hunting. She explains, “I had a roe deer skull for maybe two years that I wanted to work with, but I didn’t feel called to create with it. I had to wait until the skull was ready. I had to sit and listen. After the death of my sister from cancer, I suddenly knew what was needed. Subconsciously, I knew how it wanted to be decorated. I use this same process for all my art—whether it’s henna decoration on a person or painting on canvas—I feel it first, then work spontaneously.” The artist is aware some viewers might be squeamish about her materials or subject until they see the work. Lifeless skulls and bones are transformed with metallic gold paint, henna paste, wire or prisms. Karyn explains, “This creature can still give us something; a light shines through, and I try to honor a life T lost.” And almost universally, viewers remark on how much smaller an animal’s skull actually is. “The space we take up when we are alive is just bigger. It was hard to describe how it could be so different, but I understand it now. I sat with my sister in the hospital and held her hand up through the end. After she passed, she seemed smaller. I realized it was because her life force was gone.” Even as the mounted bones command the wall, bursts of brilliant color balance the exhibit. In the painting, “Awakening,” Alzayer used fluorescent paint to celebrate the cycle of life from sunrise to sunset. On the tree’s trunk, a penetrating eye looks out. The motif is revisited in many of the works in the exhibit because sight is a powerful symbol for the artist. “My sister was an organ donor. The gift of her corneas enabled a blind person to see, even though she herself had lost her own vision as part of her illness. I specifically chose fluorescent in these instances. Additionally, when inclement weather hits, a UTV can mount a plow and get to areas ahead of an ambulance if roadways are limited. It can also assist in Fire Station access issues during weather emergencies. Malden has a large amount of forested acreage that during dry months can smolder and lead to fires — a UTV carries a pump along with 55 gallons of water and drafting equipment that can access water from ponds where there are no hydrants. Whether at Waitt’s Mount, the Fellsway, Pine Banks or the Northern Strand, Malden Firefighters can now access these areas without bringing the nearly $1 million fire apparatus into the woods. Malden Fire was also able to use the funds to repurpose their old Public Safety Day trailer into a trailer to be put into mutual aid to support Malden firefighters when they are called to duty in other communities. This will prevent injuries and time when committing Malden’s resources to other areas. The savings made with the repurpose allowed Malden Fire to procure a utility trailer to support Public Safety Day, National Night Out with the Malden Police Department and other events. This trailer also provides versatility for transporting training and testing equipment — keeping it safe and dry. Friends of the MPL’s upcoming events he President of the Friends of the Malden Public Library, Huy Nguyen, has shared info about their upcoming events at the Malden Public Library: Saturday, December 5: book room organizing, 10 a.m. Sunday, December 6: Holiday Concert, 2-4 p.m. Saturday, December 12: Holiday Book Sale, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. paint because it reflects more light than a person can see on their own.” The result is work that seems to transcend the canvas, almost more lively than real life. While creating the works, Alzayer was also considering broader topics like climate change, species extinction, and the health of the environment. “We are in the middle of huge changes and possible loss, and skull imagery is called for right now. This grief exists side by side with our need to remember that we have ART | SEE PAGE 17
12 Publizr Home