Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MArCH 21, 2025 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Good morning, Saugus Happy Spring! We are only into the second day of Spring. But with temperatures hovering in the low 30s, there is still a possibility of snow. And there’s 10 more days left in the month of March. Stay tuned. Recall Reflections I arrived in Saugus a year after the historic recall of four Saugus selectmen – which was the focus of our cover story in last Friday’s paper. And as I look back on that first year, I observed some tension in my coverage of local government and in my dealings with town officials. I was new to the Saugus landscape. And because of my approach to journalism – being a watchdog for open government (Yeah, I filed a number of Open Meeting Law complaints against the Saugus School Committee, which were later validated by the state Attorney General’s Division of Open Government) – I’m sure I made a few people nervous. Some folks who were anti-recall questioned whether I was “a suck-up” for the town manager. And some folks who were staunch supporters of the town manager had me pegged as a reporter who was “out to get” the town manager and focus on totally negative stories. Both perceptions of who I was were untrue. My job was to monitor local government and be as fair and balanced in my reporting as I possibly could be. I’ve learned in five decades of reporting that being consistently fair and balanced will never fail a newspaper reporter. It won’t get you invited out to lunch or coffee. But people will respect you and realize that you are just trying to keep the public informed. Last week, when I sought observations from long-time participants of Saugus local government on what their perceptions of the recall was, I found only a few SauCELEBRATING THE LADY SACHEMS: Local McDonald’s owner/operator Lindsay Wallin showed strong support for this year’s Saugus Girls’ Basketball team. She sponsored new team jackets and presented them at her restaurant located at 738 Broadway (Route 1 North) in Saugus last week. The celebration came on the heels of a fundraiser held by Wallin earlier in the season where she enlisted the help of local customers in the community to rally together and support the team’s goal of playing at TD Garden. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate) gonians who were willing to talk about that low point in the town’s political history. A few people told me that it was a matter they would prefer to not talk about. To them, it was like pulling a scab off a wound. They would prefer to focus on the positive aspects of Saugus town government and not on the dark days of Saugus government when a Saugonian’s support or opposition to the Recall divided family, friends and neighbors. Saugus United Parish Food Pantry The Saugus United Parish Food Pantry welcomes all neighbors facing food insecurity on Fridays from 9:30-11 a.m. at 50 Essex St. in the basement of Cliftondale Congregational Church. Food drives resumed this month. Legion Breakfasts today There’s a good deal for Saugus veterans and other folks who enjoy a hearty breakfast on Friday mornings. The American Legion Post 210 at 44 Taylor St. in Saugus offers Friday morning breakfasts for the 202425 season. Doors open at 7:30 a.m., with breakfast served from 8-9:00 a.m. for an $8 donation. Veterans who cannot afford the donation may be served free. This week’s “SHOUT OUTs” We didn’t receive any nominations from readers this week for people they wanted to shine a public spotlight on in a positive way. But we did receive this nice, upbeat note from Saugus Selectman Corinne Riley, one of the chief organizers of Saugus 4-1-1, who wanted to publicly commend a number of people who helped to make the event successful – and something the community can be proud of. Here’s Selectman Riley’s take on Saugus 4-1-1: “The Saugus 411 event held this past Saturday, was successful and attended by so many at the information tables. The people interested in seeing what we have to offer and again having new participants speaking with other groups that weren’t aware of their existence in town. That is what makes this so special. I personally met new people who were interested in getting involved in the community, and I am looking forward to keeping in touch with them to get them involved in future plans of new town wide events that I believe will get many people involved and hopefully have more community engaged happenings. “We are discussing combining the Saugus 4-1-1 and the Saugus Cultural Festival in March next year. The bigger the better and we look forward to working with the Cultural Council for a successful event. “I would like to especially thank Donna Sordello and Jean Swanson for all the work they did to make this successful. I’d also like to thank all the non-profit organizations that participated, places of worship, Carla [Scuzzarella], the high school principal who helped with the venue planning, the Board of Selectmen, the town departments, civic groups the Town Manager, Rep. Donald Wong for donating the coffee, Nancy Vivace and to SCTV for covering the event. The welcome bags are a nice way to get business information to the new residents and I want to thank those who gave us items to fill them.” Want to “Shout Out” a fellow Saugonian? This is an opportunity for our paper’s readers to single out – in a brief mention – remarkable acts or THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 11
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