A household word in Revere for 30 years! Vol.30, No.22 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Free Every Friday 781-286-8500 Friday, June 4, 2021 City honors fallen heroes on Memorial Day By Adam Swift M emorial Day is always a special and solemn occasion in Revere, a small seaside community that has lost so many of its sons and daughters in the cause of freedom. On the American Legion lawn on Monday, the city’s annual Memorial Day service took on added signifi cance, both as a return to honoring the fallen in public after a year of COVID-19 restrictions, and as the last Memorial Day when the United States will have boots on the ground after 20 years in Afghanistan. “Despite the weather, today is a beautiful day,” said Veterans Services Director Marc Silvestri. “Today we get to mourn our fallen. As we near the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Operation Enduring Freedom is coming to an end. The longest war in history is now soon over.” Silvestri said that the best part of his job is coming to speak in front of the Memorial Day crowd and honor those Revere residents who have lost their lives in the service of the country. “The amount of valor that has come from this little city on the beach is truly staggering,” said Silvestri, adding that it is important to share the history of those sacrifi ces with younger generations. “It is important to tell the entire history of everyone who fi ghts under our fl ag.” This year’s guest speaker was retired U.S. Army Major Deborah Bowker, who now leads the Revere High School JROTC program. Silvestri praised both her groundbreaking role as a female leader in the military, and her role in creating new leaders in MEMORIAL | SEE Pages 12-13 Firefighters injured battling Kingman Ave. blaze Mayor Brian Arrigo and Revere Veterans Service Offi ce Director Marc Silvestri dedicated a war memorial during this year’s Memorial Day services on May 31. (Advocate photo by Tara Vocino) ZBA approves variances for Point of Pines Fire Station By Adam Swift T he long-awaited Point of Pines fi re station is another step closer to construction, thanks to last week’s approval of several variances by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The fate of the station, which the City Council approved a $9.2 million bond for in 2019, was likely never in question before the ZBA, but the variances were necessary to pave the way for the demolition and construction of the new station. Because of the limited lot size of the old station at 140 Lynnway and the proposed size of the new building, variances were necessary for issues regarding setbacks and the total amount of open space on the property. Project architect Dana Weeder said that part of the reason for the increased size of the new fi re station is that it will also include a community room for use by residents in the Point of Pines area. “About a third of the footprint of the fi rst fl oor is dedicated to a foyer, a public lobby area and a community room with an egress foyer on the opposite side,” said Weeder. In addition, there will be three unisex bathrooms off the foyer for use by APPROVAL | SEE Page 19 Two fi refi ghters were reportedly injured battling a three-alarm fi re at 24 Kingman Ave. on Wednesday. Firefi ghters rescued a dog, Mel who was trapped inside. Pictured, Revere fi refi ghters are shown battling the blaze. See page 4 for additional photo. (Photo by Michael Layhe) REVERE FIREFIGHTERS’ VIRTUAL MEMORIAL Sunday, June 13, 2021 8:15 A.M. Relatives and friends of the Revere Fire Department are cordially invited to tune into our Annual Firefighters Memorial Day Exercises virtually. The ceremony will be live on RevereTV on Comcast Channel 9 or 1072 HD, RCN Channel 13 or 613 HD. You can also watch the ceremony on RevereTV's Facebook and YouTube page. Please tune in as we honor our departed members at this, our most solemn traditional service. Christopher P. Bright Chief of Department
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