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Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, January 17, 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 Harry Surabian I got this email from Janice K. Jarosz just a couple of days before New Year’s, and it made for a wonderful interview with one of Saugus’s most senior, senior citizens: “Harry Surabian – Guidance Counselor 30 plus years, born in Saugus, band leader for an American Legion group – played all over the world for many years. Dad born in Turkey. When he recently retired from his band he donated all his instruments to the SHS Band. Born 1/17/1927. Maybe if you could, wish him a happy birthday – he will be 93. ...Happy New Year, Janice.” And, Happy Birthday to you today, Harry Surabian. Happy 93rd! The best kind of shout-out is the one that leads to an interesting conversation. And interviewing Harry in the living room of his Staaf Road home turned out to be a real treat last week, thanks to Janice. Hey, Saugus Advocate readers. There are lots of people in town like Harry, who are worth writing about. Let us know. A posthumous “shout-out” Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member Jeanie Bartolo emailed me this “shout-out” recommendation to honor the late Ralph M. Materese, the popular town building maintenance supervisor who recently passed away at age 68. “You did a great job writing up Ralphie Materese and I want to honor him with a Shout Out,” Jeanie wrote. “There are not enough adjectives to describe Ralphie Materese, our town’s Building Maintenance Superintendent. Whenever I saw him I always got a smile and a hug and I would think this man is such ‘a class act’ and he was. I swear he kept the town’s buildings together by sheer willpower and his love for Saugus. Our town doesn’t shine as it should without him.” 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. OML: Late and lacking Finally, it’s out. Not much more than two weeks ago, we received the longawaited determination by the state Attorney General’s Division of Open Government in response to seven Open Meeting Law (OML) complaints filed against the Saugus School Committee last summer. Well, it certainly took long enough to receive the nine-page letter that showed up in my mail on Jan. 4. I was one of those people who filed the complaint. Today, I’m wondering whether it was worth the effort and time commitment I invested in something I believed was important for all of those people in Saugus who care about open government. I am having trouble grasping that there is so little consequence or deterrent for those in local government – the School Committee in this case – who believe they don’t have to comply with the state Open Meeting Law because nothing is going to stop them from doing as they please. The fact that the School Committee has been cited by the Division of Open Government three times during a two-year period and hasn’t been fined yet isn’t a good look for Open Government. Wouldn’t you agree, Attorney General Maura Healey? And if it’s going to take six to seven months to resolve an OML complaint! What is the point? What good is served? Then again, the attorney general seems to be more concerned with global issues than whether the Open Meeting Law is an effective tool for citizens who seek open and honest local government. Repeating what I said two weeks ago, it sure does seem like the Open Meeting Law was in better hands when each county’s District Attorney’s Office had a prosecutor who specialized in OML complaints. Citizens could get resolutions within weeks – if not days. There’s got to be some sense of urgency when the Division of Open Government has the responsibility of determining whether an executive session violated the Open Meeting Law. And if a ruling comes down months later that determines the law was violated, what public good has been served? And for those people out there who attempt to minimize the findings by saying only a few of the allegations were determined to be violations … don’t kid yourself. It’s like saying somebody’s daughter is just partly pregnant, which is absurd. A violation is a violation. Using an executive session to discuss public business illustrates disregard for the public. And the public – being the voters of Saugus – did a lot more than what the Attorney General could in this instance. They voted in a new School Committee. Some feedback from elected officials “I think the School Committee got off easy. I really do. I’m really disappointed with the way this was handled by the Attorney General,” Precinct 2 Town Meeting Member William R. Moore told me after he reviewed the determination letter on the Open Meeting Law violation. Moore, one of the School Department custodians who lost his job, filed one of the seven OML complaints. He also decided to run for Town Meeting. And the voters of his precinct embraced his candidacy. “To tell you the truth, I was surprised it took this long. But I also felt that the longer it goes on, that they’ll find something,” Moore continued. “But they kind of whitewashed it, and I’m a little disappointed with that. Why didn’t the AG do something? They got the power to do it, or did they just choose not to do it?” Former School Committee A FULL SERVICE REAL ESTATE GROUP Commercial Sales and Leasing Residential Home Sales Real Estate Consulting Apartment Rentals Real Estate Auctions Business Brokerage Personal Property Appraisals Mass Licensed Auctioneer Member Peter Manoogian, who authored an Open Meeting Law complaint against the committee two years ago – which was validated by the Division of Open Government – sought to maintain a positive outlook. “Hopefully, this will be the last in a series of OML violations committed by a Saugus School Committee,” Manoogian said last week. 560 Broadway, Everett, MA 02149 | 617-512-5712 | sam@broadwayRE.com ADRIANA RESNICK DOMENICA RIGGIO SAM RESNICK “Moving forward, it does appear the new School Committee is focused on addressing issues and challenges facing the Saugus Public Schools … As a Town Meeting Member, I am committed to supporting their efforts to raise student achievement and look forward to the initiatives they bring forth to do so,” he said. New School Committee Chair Thomas Whittredge has ascribed to a pledge for more transparency for the committee since he got elected. “I have no comment about that,” Whittredge said of the OML violation. “I’m interested in making a brighter future for the kids of Saugus with my fellow Committee members. I’m not interested in looking in the rearview mirror,” he said. How about a front row seat at one of those Open Meeting Law seminars organized regionally by the Division of Open Government? Members of the current School Committee should make every effort to be well-versed in the law and make sure they don’t follow in the previous committee’s footsteps. It’s nice to have a fresh, positive outlook on things. But it’s the wise School Committee member who learns from the mistakes of previous citizen committees, especially in his or her hometown. Public hearing on school budget next Thursday In case you missed the show last night – a presentation by Superintendent of Schools Dr. David DeRuosi, Jr. on the Saugus Public Schools proposed budget for the 2021 fiscal year that begins July 1, here’s a makeup date. Or sort of. Next Thursday, Jan. 23, residents will be able to sound off on what they like or don’t like about Dr. DeRuosi’s budget. A public hearing is set for 7 p.m. in the School Committee Room in the School Administrative Building, the Roby Building, at 21 Main St. Anyone interested in getting a copy of the budget can stop by the Superintendent’s office on Tuesday, Jan. 21, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. You can’t win them all I can’t believe all of the people who asked me over the last couple of weeks whether I was having a difficult time after Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were upset in their recent Wild Card home playoff game. No. As a longtime Patriots season ticket holder, I took it all in stride. Sure, losing is disappointing when it comes at home at Gillette Stadium to a team you should beating. But, it’s entertainment, and that’s all it should be considered. Winning has almost become monotonous in Foxboro. Here’s a statistic you can use to put things in the proper context: The hometown fans have SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 13

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