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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MArCH 10, 2023 Page 15 THE SOUNDS | FROM PAGE 13 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 nonprofit group of volunteers who are helping to offset food insecurity in households. HS2 provides students/ families who 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 Saugus Public schools on FriASKS | FROM PAGE 8 coons and squirrels love to get into the trash. When I first moved here, I decided to buy myself some new trash barrels – hard plastic. I thought this was going to be great, but when I went outside, I saw that the squirrels had bitten a hole through my brand-new plastic trash barrel. If you are going to live in the area, you should definitely think about getting rubber trash barrels or something that will hold up to the little critters that want to eat through your trash barrel. Q: What are the big issues facing residents of Precinct 3? Or is there an issue that or are there issues that you are concerned about as a Town Meeting member who represents Precinct 3? A: Yes. What I’ve heard from people is that they are concerned about snow removal. The DPW comes out and puts the sand down so you can put the sand on your street if you get stuck. That’s probably a big issue, and there are people with paper roads or unaccepted roads who have a portion of the road that doesn’t get plowed. There is one man that did ask to have the road near his house plowed. So, snow removal is a big one. And the issue that I was thinking about myself, personally – that we don’t necessarily talk about – are the environmental factors. A couple of years ago, we had a really dry year, and I was concerned that if kids got into that abandoned house I was telling you about, if they got in there and lit a match, it could take out the whole neighborhood because we are so close together, and it would be really hard to get a lot of firetrucks up there. It’s a condays to take home. Bags include such items as peanut butter, canned meals/soups/ tuna/vegetables, pasta, fruit cups, cereal, oatmeal, goldfish, pretzels and granola bars. 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. To sign up go here to complete online form: https://forms.gle/gmMGguycSHBdziuE9 Want to partner with us: We would love to partner with organizations, sports teams, 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 Stucern for me, especially after last summer with the Breakheart stuff, too, because it doesn’t take much to start a fire in that kind of environment. We don’t have the problem of flooding that they have down the street from us. But part of our precinct is next to the river, where Stocker Park is and Chestnut Street is. It’s all right there in the river. Q: You are talking about right around the Chestnut Woods Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center. That’s a business that’s right in your precinct. A: Yes, it is. That’s probably our major business. I was working at Chestnut Woods when the pandemic hit [March 2020], and our program got put on hold. But Chestnut Woods worked with us to get us back in the building. We were back in the building by Nov. 20 [2020], and we continue to have that relationship. And there are five nurses now in the CNA program there. Q: Okay, other concerns you have about the precinct? A: There are houses down there by the river, too. Those environmental concerns around flooding would definitely be something to think about. Another concern – you probably heard enough about Wheelabrator [WIN Waste Innovations], so I’m not going to get into Wheelabrator. But on some days, like the time they had the fire, you can definitely smell it from our house. Q: So issues related to the WIN Waste Innovations plant are definitely a concern for the people in your neighborhood? A: Oh yeah, definitely. The Wheelabrator thing is definitely something that annoys people. Way up in the hill, where I am, you can smell it and see it, and there have been sound issues, sometimes, too. But we’re Stocker Park – also known as Stocker Field or Stocker Playground – located off Winter Street in Precinct 3, has been under consideration by town officials and members of the Dog Park Committee as a possible location for a future dog park. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) a little farther back than the people right up front to it. We just kind of see it from a distance. Q: Do you have a lot of streets in your precinct that aren’t Town-accepted streets? A: The one I told you about on the ridge has been adopted by the Town, so I am not sure why it’s not getting plowed. But there are a lot of streets in the precincts that are dead ends and difficult to get through. When I first moved into the neighborhood, I had a little kid, and the people across the street had a little kid, and people would just fly down to the end of the street. I did put a request in as a Town Meeting member to the Department of Public Works, and they put a sign up, “slow down, children” and another sign, “dead end.” Since those signs went up, I don’t see it as much of a problem. But if you go up into that neighborhood, it’s either dents-Healthy Saugus Facebook page or email us at HS2Saugus@gmail.com HS2 relies on donations to create take-home bags for a weekend full of meals. 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 About The Saugus Advocate We welcome press releases, news announcements, freelance articles and courtesy photos from the community. Our deadline is noon Wednesday. If you have a story idea or an article or photo to submit, please email me at mvoge@comcast.net or leave a message at 978-683-7773. Let us become your hometown newspaper. The Saugus Advocate is available in the Saugus Public Library, the Saugus Senior Center, Saugus Town Hall, local convenience stores and restaurants throughout town 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 over six and a half 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 15to 20-minute interview over a hot drink at a local coffee shop. And I’ll buy the coffee 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, my preferred site for a coffee and interview would be the picnic area of the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site. Precinct 3 at-a-glance: a map showing the roads within the boundaries of the precinct. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate) a dead end or really narrow street with two-way traffic. So, that’s something you definitely think about. Street access and how we get plowed – those are definite issues. When I first moved on my street, 2012 to 2015, it was really a nightmare. Forget it, as far as getting in and out. When I first moved here, I drove a Honda Accord, and about a year later, I decided “I got to get rid of this. This is not going to get me up and down the street in the wintertime.” Q: You really need a fourwheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicle to get up and down those streets. A: Yeah, or else you are stuck. My friend has an Expedition and a big truck, and she says, “I don’t want to go down your road because I’ll start sliding.” Yeah, it’s precarious in the wintertime, when you got two-way traffic. Not that I would want anything to be one-way, because that would be even more chaotic. People who live here are aware of the speed limit. We’re not trying to cut corners, because there are not a lot of places you can go because you got a dead end here and a dead end there. Unless you are familiar with the neighborhood, you are not cutting through the neighborhood. Q: So, what is the number one concern in Precinct 3 and your number one concern? A: I would say the road conditions – road conditions and access. We don’t have fire roads because there’s all these little tiny roads, like near that kettle hole area; there’s no way you could access that if you had a fire. There are areas in the neighborhood that are very difficult for the Fire Department to get access to because it’s hilly. There are not a lot of fire hydrants. There’s at least one right near me. So access and road conditions are the big issues, and then having the existing roads considered to be acceptable as Town roads. Q: Anything else that you would like to say? A: I guess the only thing else I would say is that – going back to the road situation – I have a 16-year-old driver … if you are trying to cut through my neighborhood, please go slow. Just be cautious.

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