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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MArCH 3, 2023 Page 19 THE SOUNDS | FROM PAGE 17 self to a story and/or a photo. Run For a Cause, Run with the Y Join the Saugus Family YMCA’s Not a Walk in the Park 5k and help support your community. This family-friendly run/walk takes you through the beautiful scenery of Breakheart Reservation in Saugus. Registration includes post-race refreshments and prizes for runners in every age category. All proceeds support the YMCA of Metro North Annual Fund to provide access to YMCA child care, camp and health and wellness programs to everyone. Race Details: Saturday, April 22, 8:30 a.m. race start. Packet pick-up for preregistered runners: 7:00 a.m. Race day registration: 7:00 a.m. Where: Breakheart Reservation – 177 Forest St., Saugus. Packet Pick-up: Friday, April 21, 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m., Saugus Family YMCA, 298 Main St., Saugus. Race Features: Chip Timing by Bay State Race Services; post-race refreshments; awards to the top fi nishers in each age group; T-shirt guaranteed to those who register prior to April 7. The YMCA of Metro North Road Race Series raises funds for a variety of charitable activities that benefi t our community. Participants in their four unique 5k races run or walk to support the YMCA of Metro North Annual Fund and raise money to provide access to YMCA child care, camp and health and wellness programs for everyone. In 2022 the YMCA of Metro North provided more than 1.6 million dollars in fi nancial aid – providing all children, adults and families with opportunities to develop a healthy spirit, mind and body regardless of income. Legion breakfasts on Friday mornings Saugus American Legion Post 210 hosts its popular breakfasts from 8-9 a.m. on Fridays. The Legion requests a donation of $8 from those who are looking for a delicious meal at Legion Hall. The Legion also welcomes veterans who can’t aff ord the meal to enjoy a free breakfast. Bon appétit! Compost/Recycling DropOff Site The Town of Saugus Compost/Recycling Drop-Off Site is closed for the winter season. But the site will reopen for recycling, weather permitting, on Saturday, March 18, 2023, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Please contact Scott Brazis, Director of Solid Waste/Recycling, at 781-231-4036 with any questions. What’s happening at the Saugus Public Library For schoolchildren looking for interesting projects and programs to participate in this fall, there’s plenty to do at the Saugus Public Library. There are some very good programs offered for grownups, too. Join our Teen Advisory Board: fi rst Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Teen Room; Grades 5 and up; meet with the Teen Librarian once a month to talk about what you’d like for programs and materials at the library. Your opinion matters! No registration required. Snacks provided! Just Sew! Saugonians are welcome to join a monthly sewing class for adults that is held the third Monday of each month from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Community Room of Saugus Public Library. The class covers basic topics like sewing buttons, hemming clothing and mending torn fabric and will move on to more advanced topics in the coming weeks. This class is free. (See sauguspubliclibrary.org) A neat teen group called Manga & Anime Club: The Manga & Anime Club, from all accounts, is a lot of fun for kids in Grades 6 and up. So, if you are curious, check out the Teen Room. Chat with friends! Make crafts! Try Japanese snacks! Club meetings will continue on Saturdays through May from 1011 a.m. They will be held on March 4, April 1 and May 13. Please sign up in advance; call 781-231-4168 or stop by the Reference Desk (https://www.sauguspubliclibrary.org/new-manga-anime-club.../) Adult Coloring Group: Come relax with the continuing Adult Coloring Group. It’s a great opportunity to take time to unwind, be creative and have fun – no experience necessary! There are pencils and coloring pages ready and waiting. See you there! Space is limited; please call 781-231-4168 x 3106 to register. When: Wednesday, March 8, at 10 a.m. Where: Saugus Public Library, 295 Central St., Saugus, Brooks Room on the second fl oor. Bento Boxes presented by Table for Two. Learn how to make lunch the Japanese way! Why is using five colors of food important? What does it mean to eat with your eyes? Join us to make two Japanese rice balls, one traditional triangle shape and one cute penguin. Turn cherry tomatoes into hearts and cucumbers into quick pickles. You will get your very own bento box to take home. When: Thursday, March 23, 4:30-6 p.m. in the Community Room. Age 11 and up. Please sign up in advance; call or register online from our Event Calendar (https:// www.sauguspubliclibrary. org/events/). Saugus Public Library, 781231-4168, 295 Central St., Saugus, Mass., www.sauguspubliclibrary.org First Baptist Church presents “Can We Talk…” First Baptist Church Pastor Leroy Mahoney invites troubled people to join others in a special program called “Can We Talk … Community conversations on Trauma and Healing” the fi rst Thursday of every month from 6 to 7 p.m. at Rev. Isaac Mitchell Jr. Fellowship Hall (105 Main St. in Saugus). “Join us as we gather in community to share our stories, thoughts and feelings about whatever you are going through,” Rev. Mahoney states in a written announcement. “As always, it is a safe space to come together in community,” he says. Scholarship available to Saugus High students Greater Lynn Senior Services (GLSS) is accepting applications from high school seniors through the Lique Human Services Scholarship. Two $5,000 scholarships will be awarded to students who have an interest in or are considering a career in human services and who have made an impact in their community or the world through community service. The Lique Human Services Scholarship will be awarded to two seniors who attend one of the eight high schools located in GLSS’ service area – including Saugus High School. The scholarship is named in memory of Vince Lique, the Agency’s long-time Executive Director, who devoted his career to helping others, particularly vulnerable senior citizens and people of all ages with disabilities, demanding that all people be treated with dignity and respect. THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 20 Say Senior How to Protect Seniors from Say a H t P t Dear Savvy Senior, What tools can you recommend to help protect trusting seniors from scam calls? My 74-year-old mother gets tons of unwanted telemarketing and robocalls on her cell and home phone and has been duped out of hundreds of dollars. Frustrated Daughter Dear Frustrated, It’s a great question! Scammers are always looking for new ways to dupe people out of money, and in the U.S., phone calls remain the primary way swindlers hook older victims. The Federal Trade Commission recently found that 24 percent of adults over age 60 who reported losing money to a scam in 2021 said it started with a phone call – the largest percentage of any method, including email, text and mail. To help protect your mom from the onslaught of robocall scams, telemarketing and spam calls, here are some tips and tools you can help her employ. Register Her Numbers If your mom hasn’t already done so, a good fi rst step in limiting at least some unwanted calls is to make sure her home and cell phone numbers are registered with the National Do Not Call Registry. While this won’t stop fraudulent scam calls, it will stop unwanted calls from legitimate businesses who are trying to sell her something. To sign up, call 888-3821222 from the phone number you want to register, or you can do it online at DoNotCall.gov. Cell Phone Protection Most wireless providers today off er good tools for stopping scam calls and texts. For example, AT&T has the ActiveArmor Mobile Security app; Verizon provides the Call Filter app; and T-Mobile offers the Scam Shield app. To activate these tools, download the spam-blocking app from your mom’s carrier on her phone, which you can do at the Apple and Google App store. These apps are free to use, but most carriers will also offer upgraded services that you can get for a small monthly fee. If, however, your mom uses a regional or small wireless carriSenio n by Jim Miller i f Scam Calls er that doesn’t off er scam/robocall protection you can use a free third-party app. Truecaller (Truecaller.com), Call Control (CallControl.com), Hiya (Hiya. com) and YouMail (YouMail. com) are all good options to consider. Built-In Call Blockers Many smartphones today also off er built-in tools that can block spam calls. If your mom uses a newer iPhone (iOS 13 or later), she can completely silence all unknown callers who aren’t in her contacts list in the phone “Settings.” Silencing all unknown callers is an extreme solution that will defi nitely stop all unwanted calls, but your mom will also miss some legitimate calls too. However, unknown callers do have the option to leave a voice message and their calls will appear in her recent calls list. And she can add any number to her contact list to let them through in the future. If your mom owns a new Android phone, she can also block spam calls in the phone “Settings.” Or, if she owns a Samsung Galaxy phone, she can use “Smart Call,” which flags suspected spam calls and allows her to block and report them. She can also block specific reoccurring spam call numbers on iPhones and Android manually. Home Landline Protection To stop scam calls on your mom’s home phone set up the “anonymous call rejection” option. This is a free feature available from most telephone companies, however some may charge a fee. It lets you screen out calls from callers who have blocked their caller ID information – a favorite tactic of telemarketers. To set it up, you usually have to dial *77 from your landline, though diff erent phone services may have diff erent procedures. Call your mom’s telephone service provider to fi nd out if they off er this tool, and if so, what you need to do to enable it. And if they don’t off er it, fi nd out what other call blocking options they off er. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. niorenior r

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