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SAUGUS Vol. 22, No. 10 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net ~ THE ADVOCATE ASKS ~ Oaklandvale Elementary School reading specialist Karen Small tells how “The Oak” celebrated Dr. Seuss and reading Daylight Savings Time: Set Your Clocks Forward 1 Hour! ADVOCATE Published Every Friday 781-233-4446 Friday, March 8, 2019 Selectmen say lower speed limits will have to wait until consultant completes town-wide study By Mark E. Vogler E fforts by selectmen to reduce the speed limits on three major roads through town have come to a screeching halt after they were notified by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) that their requests weren’t properly filed. Selectmen indicated at BACK WHERE IT BEGAN: Oaklandvale Elementary School reading specialist Karen Small teaches out of the same classroom she had as a third grade student when her family first moved to Saugus 30 years ago. (Saugus Advocate Photos by Mark E. Vogler) Editor’s Note: For this week, we sat down with Karen Small, a veteran educator in Saugus Public Schools and the reading specialist at the Oaklandvale Elementary School. She coordinated last Friday’s observance of Read Across America Day while also honoring the birthday (March 2) of Dr. Seuss (the late Theodor Seuss Geisel), the famous American children’s book author and cartoonist who wrote more than 60 books under that pen name. We asked her about how her school celebrated Dr. Seuss and Read Across America Day. Small, a 1998 Saugus High School graduate, has worked for nine years in Saugus Public Schools. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Communications Disorders from Northeastern University (2002). She also received two Master’s Degrees: in Special Education from Salem State College (2006) and in Reading and Literacy from Endicott College (2009). Prior to becoming a special education teacher in Saugus Public Schools in 2009, Small worked six years for SEEM Collaborative, a Stoneham-based company that serves students with various disabilities in grades Pre-K through age 22. She has a younger sister, Mary Kate Grocki, who is a substitute teacher at Veterans Memorial Elementary School in Saugus. Their parents, ASKS | SEE PAGE 3 ~ Home of the Week ~ SAUGUS....Desirable Sheffi eld Heights Townhouse boasts 7 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 2 half baths, living room open to dining with laminate fl ooring and slider to deck overlooking peaceful views, galley kitchen with solid surface countertops, unique 1st fl oor den, master suite with private bath and walk-in closest, fi nished lower level features kitchenette and family room with slider to patio, updated central air, central vacuum, mostly replacement windows, two deeded parking spaces, inground pool, clubhouse. This well maintained, corner unit is conveniently located off Lynn Fells Parkway. Offered at $449,900. Off ered at $449,900 O 335 Central Street, Saugus, MA 01906 (781) 233-7300 View the interior of this home right on your smartphone. View all our listings at: CarpenitoRealEstate.com Wednesday night’s meeting that the results of an ongoing town-wide speed limit analysis commissioned by Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree will determine if they continue to seek the state’s permission to lower the speed limit to 25 miles per hour on Lincoln Avenue, Main Street and Essex Street. “The board will be taking no action on speed limits throughout the town until the traffic study is completed based on this report from the MassDOT,” Board of Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta said. “So, we will patiently wait for the results of the consultant’s report on this very important issue. We do appreciate all of the input we have received from the public,” she said. After hearing testimony from 18 speakers – most of them expressing support for a measure to reduce the speed limit to 25 miles per hour on parts of the three busy streets, selectmen voted unanimously at their Jan. 9 meeting to back the proposal initiated by the board’s vice chair, Jeffrey Cicolini. The board approved a similar request for Central Street two weeks later. Town officials and residents who called selectmen to lower the speed limits – particularly a grassroots neighborhood group called Citizens for a Safer Saugus – expected state approval was just a formality. But the selectmen needed to do considerably more to justify their request for lower speed limits, MassDOT’s District Highway Director Paul D. Stedman advised the Board of Selectmen in a Feb. 11 letter. “For MassDOT to consider modifying these regulations, the Town of Saugus would have to submit to the district the proper documentation and data for the roadways under their jurisdiction,” Stedman said. “At the request of the town, the district may perform speed studies on the state-owned sections of Main Street and Essex Street. Please be advised that speed studies could result in increasing speed limits based on the 85th percentile speeds observed,” he wrote. Trying to alleviate residents’ traffic concerns Any city or town that seeks to establish a new or modify an existing special speed regulation must follow the detailed process found in the MassDOT Procedures for Speed Zoning. The regulations require a municipality to submit the following information to its local MassDOT District Office as a part of the engineering study: Preliminary Study of Conditions Speed Calculations on Curves Speed Observations Recent Crash History Trial Runs at Location TOWN-WIDE STUDY | SEE PAGE 10 ANGELO’S "Over 40 Years of Excellence!" 1978-2019 Regular Unleaded $2.319 Mid Unleaded $2.639 Super $2.699 Diesel Fuel $2.879 KERO $4.759 Diesel $2.699 FULL SERVE HEATING OIL 24-Hour Burner Service Call for Current Price! (125—gallon minimum) Open an account and order online at: www.angelosoil.com (781) 231-3500 (781) 231-3003 367 LINCOLN AVE • SAUGUS • OPEN 7 DAYS Prices subject to change FLEET

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