Page 18 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022 THE SOUNDS OF SAUGUS | FROM PAGE 17 Yard waste must be disposed of in brown compost bags or open containers. The Town will accept grass clippings, leaves and brush. As in years past, no branches or limbs larger than three inches in diameter are permitted. At this time residents will not need a compost site sticker to access the site. We ask all residents to please wear a mask and maintain and respect social distancing from others while visiting the site. Residents may call Lorna Cerbone at the Solid Waste and Recycling Department at 781-231-4036 with questions or for more information. Jumpstart your Financial Future Just starting out? Join this virtual four-part program to acquire the skills for long-term fi nancial prosperity and independence. Explore real-world fi nancial situations to build lifelong strategies for budgeting, building credit, saving for retirement, and more. This is a free program for ages 17–30 presented in cooperation with The Babson Financial Literacy Project (BFLP), the Saugus Public Library and several local libraries. See sauguspubliclibrary.org to register for one session or all four. Tips and Tricks for Managing Your Credit – Tuesday, March 1, 7-8 p.m. – Alia Georges (presenter). This workshop provides insights on how to manage credit cards, their hidden costs, and tips to avoid credit card traps. Learn about credit reports and credit scores and what steps you can take to improve your fi nancial standing. Managing Your Money to Build Your Best Life – Tuesday, March 15, 7-8 p.m. – Jennifer Bethel (presenter). This workshop will help you learn how to budget your money and start saving for your future. Decisions! Decisions! – Tuesday, April 5, 7-8 p.m. – Matt Trogdon (presenter). Health Insurance? Retirement? Investing? Join us to gain some important insights on how to make these essential decisions. Protecting You and Your Assets – Tuesday, April 19, 7-8 p.m. – Jennifer Bethel (presenter). This workshop will help you prepare for the fi nancial challenges ahead. For more information, contact the Saugus Public Library at 295 Central St., Saugus, MA 01906 or call 781-231-4168 or check out sauguspubliclibrary.org. Want to be a Knight? The Knights of Columbus is looking for new members to join. If you are interested in becoming a member of this local organization, please call 781-233-9858. Healthy Students-Healthy Saugus (Editor’s Note: The following info is from an announcement submitted by Julie Cicolini, a member of the Board of Directors for Healthy Students-Healthy Saugus.) Who we are: Healthy Students-Healthy Saugus (HS2) is a nonprofi t group of volunteers that are helping to off set food insecurity in households. HS2 provides students/families that enroll in the program a supply of nutritious food for when school lunches and breakfasts are unavailable to them on weekends. How HS2 can help you: HS2 bags are distributed at school on Fridays to take home. Bags include such items as peanut butter, jelly, a loaf of bread, canned meals/soups/tuna/vegetables, pasta/sauce, fruit cups, cereal, oatmeal, goldfi sh, pretzels and granola bars. To sign up go here to complete online form: https://forms.gle/gmMGguycSHBdziuE9. Want to partner with us: HS2 relies on donations to create take-home bags for a weekend full of meals. All food is provided to children free of charge. It is our hope these resources will support the health, behavior and achievement of every student who participates. We would love to partner with organizations, youth groups, PTOs, businesses and individuals to assist in feeding students of Saugus. To learn more about how you can partner with us, visit the Healthy Students-Healthy Saugus Facebook page or email us at HS2Saugus@gmail.com. Checks can also be sent directly to Salem Five c/o Healthy Students-Healthy Saugus, 855-5 Broadway, Saugus, MA 01906. Online donations can also be made at https://givebutter.com/HealthySaugus. Food Pantry still open The Saugus United Parish Food Pantry continues to remain open between 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Fridays despite concerns over the Coronavirus. They have made adjustments to protect their core of volunteers and the needy people who receive the food. For the protection of volunteers & clients, and to limit personal contact and crowding/gathering, the food pantry has been distributing prebagged groceries. Even though clients may receive items they don’t want or need, food pantry organizers feel this is the best course of action to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19. Those in need, even for short-term or one-time assistance, are encouraged to come. The food pantry is in the basement of Cliftondale Congregational Church at 50 Essex St. in Saugus. Clarifying some veterans’ issues Jay Pinette, the Veterans Service Offi cer for the Town of Saugus, wanted to pass along a few words to promote a better understanding of how his offi ce works. “Veterans Service Offi cers (VSOs) are not VA employees and do not have direct access to VA systems or information,” Jay wrote in an email to us. “Local VSOs are employees of their respective cities and towns. VSOs are generally able to assist veterans and eligible dependents with VA-related claims and benefi ts activities. “One of the primary duties of the VSOs is to administer a program for veterans and eligible dependents that is referred to as ‘Chapter 115’. Under Chapter 115 of Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L. CH. 115), the Commonwealth provides a uniform program of fi nancial assistance for low income veterans and their dependents. Qualifi ed veterans and their dependents who meet the income and asset eligibility criteria may receive monthly fi - nancial benefi ts that are intended to assist the veteran with housing and living expenses. “If local Veterans wish to enroll in VA healthcare and/or obtain a VA ID card, representatives from the VA Bedford will be on-site at the Lynn VA Clinic twice a month. The on-site enrollment will be held on the 1 st and 3 rd Tuesday of each month from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Appointments are advised and the dates and times are subject to change. The Lynn VA Clinic is located at 225 Boston Street, Suite 107. For more information or to schedule an appointment for enrollment, call 781-687-3348 or e-mail vabedoutreach@va.gov. “The Veterans Services Offi ces of Saugus and other surrounding communities have partnered with the Greater Boston Food Bank to hold monthly mobile food markets for veterans. With the closure of the Saugus Senior Center during the pandemic, the food market was moved to Melrose. We have now moved the food market back to the Saugus Senior Center. The veterans mobile food market is held on the third Wednesday of each month. Veterans and eligible dependents must sign up with the Saugus Veterans Service Offi ce to determine eligibility. VSO Jay Pinette can be reached at 781231-4010 or at jpinette@saugus-ma.gov. Or on the fi rst fl oor of Saugus Town Hall at 298 Central Street, Saugus MA 01906.” A smoke alarm alert for seniors The state Fire Marshal’s Offi ce has launched a new public service announcement (PSA) campaign that is geared toward encouraging smoke alarm awareness among senior citizens – the people who are at greater risk of dying in a fi re. And this should be of particular interest to Saugus residents who may recall the house fi re that killed two elderly people on Richard Street last July. Fire investigators found no evidence of smoke alarms or carbon monoxide alarms in the home. The “Dear Grandma / Querida Abuela” PSA campaign began this month on television and radio stations in the Boston, Worcester and Springfi eld media markets. Recorded in both English and Spanish, it features a granddaughter writing a letter to her grandmother about all the things she looks forward to doing together, interspersed with messages about the importance of having working smoke alarms and replacing alarms after 10 years. “In Massachusetts and nationwide, people over 65 have a disproportionately high risk of dying in a fi re,” state Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey said in a press release. “Everyone should have working smoke alarms in their homes, but we developed this PSA to reach older adults in particular because of the higher statistical risk they face. Installing smoke alarms on every fl oor of the home, checking them regularly, and replacing them after 10 years can dramatically reduce that risk.” Nationwide, about 60 percent of fatal fi res occur in homes without working smoke alarms. And in Massachusetts, people 65 and older comprise about 17 percent of the population but about 50 percent of last year’s fatal fi re victims. “Working smoke alarms are often the fi rst line of defense against injury and tragedy in a fi re,” Ostroskey said. “We invite our partners in the fi re service, family members, caregivers, and social service providers to share these PSAs and emphasize the importance of working smoke alarms, especially among seniors.” Last year when Louis Gallo, 78, and his sister Rosemarie Naples, 80, died in the three-alarm house fi re on Richard Street, fi re offi cials stressed that working smoke alarms in your home can double your chances of survival if a fi re occurs. Home fi re deaths have been cut in half since the early 1970s, when smoke alarms were fi rst marketed, and about 40 percent of fi re deaths in the United States take place in the four percent of homes without smoke alarms. People should install smoke alarms throughout their home, test them monthly, and replace the batteries when they change their clocks. If your smoke alarm is more than 10 years old, it should be replaced, according to fi re offi cials. The PSAs are available for distribution through the Department of Fire Services (DFS). They can be downloaded at the Department of Fire Services webpage – https://www.mass.gov/service-details/dfs-public-awareness-campaigns – and can be linked or shared from the DFS YouTube channel. They complement the DFS Senior SAFE program, which provides grant funding for local fi re departments to provide fi re and life safety education for older adults. Let’s hear it! Got an idea, passing thought or gripe you would like to share with The Saugus Advocate? I’m always interested in your feedback. It’s been six years since I began work at The Saugus Advocate. I’m always interested in hearing readers’ suggestions for possible stories or good candidates for “The Advocate Asks” interview of the week. Feel free to email me at mvoge@comcast.net. Do you have some interesting views on an issue that you want to express to the community? Submit your idea. If I like it, we can meet for a 15- to 20-minute interview over a hot drink at a local coffee shop. And I’ll buy the coff ee or tea. Or, if you prefer to continue practicing social distancing and be interviewed from the safety of your home on the phone or via email, I will provide that option to you as the nation recovers from the Coronavirus crisis. If it’s a nice day and the temperature is 50 degrees or better, my preferred site for a coff ee and interview would be the picnic area of the Saugus Iron Works.
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