Page 16 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, March 15, 2019 THE SOUNDS OF SAUGUS By Mark Vogler H ere are a few tidbits that you might want to know about this week in Saugus. The kids loved K9 Bruin I got an email early yesterday morning from Michael A. Smith, the creative, talented and happy-go-lucky principal of Oaklandvale Elementary School. “Hey Mark, We just got some really sad news. Bruin, the K-9 unit here in Saugus, has taken a turn for the worse from the cancer diagnosis and will be put down later today,” Smith wrote. “The school is saying a special goodbye to him today around 11:30. Ofc. Fawcett has promised to drive by the school and the kids are going to line up and wave as he drives by. If you would like, please feel free to come by and take a few pictures. I plan to take some as well and will gladly send them to you if you are unable to swing by,” he offered. I would have loved to have been there with kids of Oaklandvale at that special, solemn moment where they pay their respects to a Saugus K9 legend. But, when news is breaking on deadline and I have to fill the paper, a 45-minute drive down to Saugus and a similar ride back isn’t doable. But, certainly it’s great news to hear the young grade school kids appreciated Bruin’s past visit, along with his longtime handler and friend – K-9 Officer Tim Fawcett. I ran into Tim just a couple of weeks ago, as he was reading to a first grade class at Oaklandvale as the school celebrated Read Across America Day and the birthday of the legendary children’s book author, Dr. Seuss. I took a photo of Tim reading Dr. Seuss’s famous “The Cat in the Hat.” So long, K9 Bruin. May your spirit live on in the hearts of all those Saugus kids who loved you a bunch. Did the Chamber snub any Saugus members? I’m wondering if I’ve been had by some of the Saugus representatives who never called me back about last week’s story about the Board of Directors of the Saugus Chamber of Commerce and the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce voting “unanimously to consolidate into one organization.” Based on some of the scuttlebutt I’m hearing now, it sounds like an exaggeration or gross misrepresentation of the facts as I now know. And after talking with longtime Saugus business leader Peter A. Rossetti, Jr., I have to wonder whether there’s a lot more to the story than some members of the new Chamber want us to know. “I wasn’t involved in the vote, and I was a little surprised when I heard about it,” Rossetti, a longtime member of the Saugus Chamber’s Board of Directors, told me this week. “And I thought I was a board member. But I wasn’t told the voting was going to take place,” he said. Rossetti is not just a board member, but probably the most veteran merchant on the Saugus Chamber’s Board of Directors. And that goes back more than three decades. Perhaps Rossetti was one of the board members who was intentionally left out of the loop because he wouldn’t have voted in favor of the merger. “I didn’t think Saugus should merge with Lynn. That was my personal opinion. But I did not participate in the vote,” he said. Rossetti thinks there may have been a few other members of the former Saugus board who didn’t know ahead of time of the Saugus vote either. So, it begs the question, why did some of the powers that be among the Saugus ranks want to merge with the Lynn Chamber so bad? I’d love to hear from the Saugus representatives on the new board who didn’t return my phone calls when I wrote the story last week. Funny how it is that they wouldn’t want to be quoted in a local story that affects a few local Saugus merchants. Stay tuned. Pinewood Derby tomorrow For those who were disappointed a couple of weeks ago when anticipated snow led to the cancellation of Saugus Cub Scout Pack 62’s Pine Wood Derby, it’s back on! It’s been rescheduled for tomorrow (Saturday, March 16) at the Cliftondale Congregational Church, 50 Essex St. in Saugus. The Open Race (adults, Boy Scouts, parents and siblings) starts at 10 a.m. Pizza will be served around noon. Cub Scouts start racing around 1 p.m. This free event is for anyone who would like to come down and watch some good, clean family fun. One of the highlights of this year’s event could be a car designed and built by Selectman Jennifer D’Eon. It’s kind of a neatlooking derby entry that looks like a miniature Titanic on wheels. But Jen is concerned that might be too heavy to speed down the track. Come down to Cliftondale to cheer Jen on, or root for the other competition. Check it out! Final Saugus Babe Ruth sign-ups The final Saugus Babe Ruth Baseball sign-ups will be held at the Fox Hill Yacht Club on Ballard Street on March 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. Any Saugus resident 13, 14 or 15 years of age is eligible to sign up. Also, 12 year olds who don’t qualify for Little League are eligible for Babe Ruth. The cost for the season is $175 per player. After teams are picked, uniforms and a game schedule will be issued. The season is scheduled to start April 4. Most games will be played at World Series Park, which is celebrating its fifteenth season. Youth sports collaborate this month! Saugus Youth Soccer, Saugus Pop Warner, Saugus National Little League, Saugus American Little League, Saugus Softball and Saugus Lacrosse are excited to announce our joint fundraising event! Come join us for a night of food, dancing, poker and lots of fun at Breakaway in Danvers on Friday, March 22! This is a great opportunity to support one league or multiple leagues all at the same great event! There are two ticket levels available for purchase: $20 General Ticket – includes cheese pizza, salad and DJ entertainment; $40 Poker Ticket – includes Texas Hold’em Tournament entry fee, cheese pizza, salad and DJ entertainment. Prizes will be awarded to players who place in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Doors will open at 7:00 p.m., and the tournament will begin at 7:30 p.m. There is a limited number of tickets so make sure to purchase them early. Tickets can be purchased at https://www. eventbrite.com/e/saugus-youth-sports-fundraiser-texas-holdemtournament-and-dancing-at-breakaway-tickets-55458865961. As much as we love our kids, this is an adult-only event. Please share with aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends so that we can come together to support all the sports that our children love to play! A free film about a veteran Several members of local veterans advocacy groups have asked us to let folks know about an upcoming film that residents will be able to see at no charge. “On Tuesday, April 2, GE is sponsoring the screening of “American Veteran” at the ReelAbilities film festival,” Dennis Gould wrote us in a recent email. “I served on GE Corporate Board for GE Veterans and was past Commander GE Veterans Lynn so was asked to please get word out about this.” The film can be viewed on Tuesday, April 2, at 6:30 p.m. at Showcase Cinema de Lux Revere. It’s directed by Julie Cohen and is 70 minutes long. It’s a documentary in English with Open Captions. Here’s the synopsis: At age 21, Sgt. Nick Mendes was blown up by an IED in Afghanistan, paralyzing him from the neck down. This unflinching and surprisingly funny documentary follows him for five years as he readjusts to life. At the start of the story, he is in a V.A. hospital unable to speak, eat or even breathe on his own. By the end of the film, he is studying for a real estate license, using mouth-operated technology to play video games, and fishing. Nick reunites with the soldier who saved his life in Afghanistan and most amazing of all, he falls in love with and marries his medical caregiver. A panel discussion will follow. Registration is strongly recommended. For more details, go to www.reelabilities.org/boston. Share this event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ events/2161125913922656/. Marching as one league – in one parade The newly formed Saugus Little League has announced it will host its annual Opening Day Parade on Saturday, April 20, at 9 a.m. This year the Saugus National and Saugus American Leagues will march as one. Parade participants will assemble at 8:30 a.m. at the Oaklandvale School, which is located at 266 Main St. With a police and fire escort, the marchers will leave the Oaklandvale School at 9 a.m. and head north up Main Street. They plan to arrive at the Elks Field, which is located at 401 Main St., at about 10 a.m., in time for the Opening Day Ceremony. Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree and the Board of Selectmen are expected to participate. Tom Whittredge, executive president of the Saugus Little League, says he’s expecting 300 players to participate in Opening Day. Saugus River cleanup on Earth Day Join the Saugus River Watershed Council, the Lynn Conservation Commission, Bike to the Sea, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation for an Earth Day cleanup along the Saugus River in Lynn and Saugus on Saturday, April 27, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Volunteers will work together to clean up Marshview Park in Lynn, areas along the Northern Strand Community Trail in Saugus, and the banks of the Saugus River in both Lynn and Saugus. Gloves, bags, tools, coffee, donuts and water will be provided. Please bring gardening tools and rubber boots if you have them. Directions: Check in at Marshview Park adjacent to the Saugus River on Boston Street in Lynn, directly across the street from the previous O’Brien’s and across the river from the previous Spud’s. Deadline for Town Meeting Warrant Anyone who has an Article to be inserted into the Annual Town Meeting Warrant may submit the Article with appropriate number of signatures to the Selectmen’s Office, no later than April 2, or bring it to the April 2 meeting. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Auditorium at 298 Central St. that night. For more information you may contact Wendy Reed, clerk of the Board of Selectmen, at (781) 231-4124 or email her at wreed@saugus-ma. gov or drop by the first floor office at Saugus Town Hall 298 Central St. The Annual Town Meeting begins on the first Monday in May, which would be May 6 this year. It’s Budget Time The Finance Committee began the first of several budget review sessions on Wednesday nights, leading off with Saugus Public Schools last week (March 6) and the public safety budgets on Wednesday night (March 13). So, the work is underway to craft the budget for the 2020 fiscal year that begins July 1. Stay tuned for more details. The agenda for next Wednesday night’s (March 20) Finance Committee meeting, which is set for 7 p.m. in the first floor conference room, is the Department of Public Works. This is generally one that attracts interest from Town Meeting members who like to know what street or sidewalk projects might be happening this year which would be of interest to citizens of any precinct in town. In Memory of Pam Harris SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 17
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