Page 4 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MArCH 17, 2023 ~ Letter to the Editor ~ Malden resident decries blasting for new Northeast Metro Tech Current plans for building the new NEMT (Northeast Metro Tech in Wakefield, aka the “Voke”) call for blasting a huge swath of extremely hard bedrock out of a forested hilltop next to the existing school. I can say from personal experience what this might be like for abutters and near Gerry D’Ambrosio Attorney-at-Law Is Your Estate in Order? Do you have an update Will, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney? If Not, Please Call for a Free Consultation. 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere (781) 284-5657 neighbors. For an entire year, beginning September 2020, life in our Malden neighborhood was made miserable by developers who chose to build an enclave of expensive homes by reducing an 80-ft. rock outcropping in half. The location of this development is Maple Terrace/Hillside Park near Swain’s Pond in Melrose, near the Malden line. Several times a week we’d hear the warning horn, then brace ourselves for the inevitable blast that would follow. Experiencing your house shaking is unnerving, to say nothing of possible damage. We’ve had to close our windows during the loveliest weather and hottest summer days due to the loud incessant pounding into the remaining rock. This was accompanied day after day by the noise and vibration of large trucks hauling away the blasted stone. We had little say in this — despite the public process, the developer prevailed. It was imposed on us whether we liked it or not. Thus the pounding, scraping, and endless noise is ongoing even now, two and half years after it began, with two houses still to be built. If the new Voke is built on the site of the forested hilltop, I’m afraid those living nearby will endure the same hardship. Their ordeal could be worse, because the area to be blasted for that project is larger than that near our home. So I urge the planners of the new school to be thoughtful of those living in the area. Build on one of the two existing athletic fields next to the current school. Do what is typical in these cases: once the new school is built, raze the old school and create a new athletic field on that spot. Don’t lower the Voke’s neighbors’ quality of life by putting them through the misery of blasting. Jane Robie Malden Urgent Plea to Save the NEMT Forest To: Melissa Hoffer, Climate Chief From: Sherri Carlson, Wakefield MA resident Re: Urgent Plea to Save the NEMT Forest Date: March 12, 2023 Cc: Maura Healy, Governor, Friends of Wakefield’s NorthOur 50th Anniversary Dan - 1972 We Sell Cigars & Accessories! Chris 2023 * Travel Humidors * Desk Top Humidors * Many Types of Lighters * Ash Trays * Juuls * Vapes * Glass Pipes * Rewards Program * CBD Infused Products * GIFTS UNDER $30 - GIFT CERTIFICATES R.Y.O. TOBACCO & TUBES ON SALE! NEW STORE HOURS: Mon. - Sat.: 9AM - 6PM Sunday & Holidays: 9AM - 5PM --------HUMIDORS ON SALE! STARTING AT $99. COMPLETE! --------ST. PATRICK’S DAY SPECIALS! Cigars with Green Labels, Buy 2, Get 1 Free! MARCH MADNESS CONTINUES!! Singles * Tins * Bundles * Boxes A.B.C. CIGAR 170 REVERE ST., REVERE (781) 289-4959 east Metro Tech Forest, SAVE the Forest and BUILD the Voke, and Mary Judge, Wakefield MA resident Dear Climate Chief Hoffer, I am writing today to ask what can be done to halt the senseless clear cutting of 13.5 acres of rare virgin forest to make way for a new Northeast Vocational High School building in Wakefield, MA, when there are other viable options available that are less costly, far more environmentally friendly, and more considerate of the needs of the disabled. The current site will include over 100 concrete steps to ascend the 60-foot elevation of the hilltop site, with a 735 foot ADA-compliant, yet potentially dangerous and uncovered handicap ramp. As the Friends of Wakefield’s Northeast Metro Tech Forest (nemtforest.org) so aptly described, the beautiful and pristine NEMT forest, with its unique biodiversity is at risk. “We and our children are facing grave challenges in real time - global warming, loss of forests and native habitats, declining populations of birds, arthropods, and overall biodiversity. Therefore, it is incumbent upon each of us to protect and preserve the forests in our neighborhoods for wildlife, for us, for our children, and for future generations.” The environmental impact of the current site plan for the “Voke,” per Friends of Wakefield’s Northeast Metro Tech Forest, would be as follows: • Extensive land alteration including deforestation of >2000 trees • Destructive effects of Construction • Destruction of Native American Cultural sites • Pollution • Destruction of core forest and rare species habitat and native soils • Impairment of Wetlands and associated Buffer Zones • Impairment of Water Quality • Increases in flooding and storm water flows • Reduction of groundwater levels The construction plan of the “Voke” involves the partial destruction of the nearby Breakheart-Hill Forest, a cherished 13.5-acre spot known as home to some rare and endangered species with vernal pools and wetlands and a migratory forest for birds. The forest is home to Hentz’s Red-bellied Tiger Beetle and a previously undocumented population of Eastern Whippoor-will, a nocturnal bird whose habitat is being lost to development. The forested site is property owned by the school district – it was transferred from Breakheart Reservation to serve as a buffer between the Voke grounds and the reservation. Sources: https://neighborhoodview.org/2023/02/21/ the-vote-for-the-voke-hasled-to-a-surprising-twist/?fbclid=IwAR3sNZ_bEj_4MpwZqp35AB-3x10dHjQMfX2Fi7MxweOFDNvvGNWUTfbyp8U and https://www. nemtforest.org/ A SAVE the Forest and BUILD the Voke Facebook entry on February 22, 2023 highlighted that the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) noted in their February 11, 2021 meeting minutes (p. 7) that site C2 (baseball/football field location) was acceptable but had been removed from NEMT FOREST | SEE PAGE 12
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