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Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2022 By Mark E. Vogler THE SOUNDS OF SAUGUS “The answer to last week’s sketch is Saugonian James Community Garden meeting tomorrow It was nearly a year ago that Rev. John T. Beach put the wheels in motion for a mission to transform the yard behind the St. John’s Episcopal Church rectory into a community garden to help fi ght food insecurity in Saugus. That was quite an ambitious project that generated a lot of love and kindness in the community. “We were able to provide several hundred pounds of vegetables to the Saugus food pantry,” he wrote in an email that caught my eye this week. “Thank you all for the help you have given last spring and summer in making the Saugus Community Garden such a success,” Rev. Beach wrote. “It is my hope and expectation to plant the garden again this summer and would like to invite any interested and available persons to help. It is my hope that some among you might be able to grow some seeds in your homes as we wait for the warm weather to come,” he said. Rev. Beach plans on having a brief organizational Zoom meeting tomorrow (Saturday, March 26) at 1 p.m. using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89211864138. “If you are interested in helping but not able to attend this meeting, let me know,” Rev. Beach said. “I am planning to have a follow up meeting in the near future,” he said. What a wonderful project that is worth repeating. Hopefully, many more people will get involved in the project this year. If you want to help out, Rev. Beach can be reached by phone at 774-961-9881 or by email at revjbeach@gmail.com. We have a winner! Congratulations to Jean Lyons for making the right identifi cation in last week’s “Guess Who got Sketched!” contest. She was one of several readers answering correctly, and the one who had her name selected from the green Boston Red Sox cap. Here’s the correct answer, off ered by the person who goes by the name of The Sketch Artist: CONTEST SKETCH OF THE WEEK Donovan, who was born in the old Saugus General Hospital. James Donovan recently retired as a Saugus Police Detective after 32 years! “In James’ sketch, I tried to capture the essence of his attentive listening mode and depth of character. James is a Marine Veteran and holds a blackbelt in Karate, which is no easy accomplishment. “To obtain such a rank as blackbelt, one must achieve through white, orange, blue, yellow, green and brown belts and that usually takes fi ve years, fi ve hour exam, knowledge of the 3 creeds Courtesy, Integrity, perseverance, self control, indomitable spirit and many other teachings. “This takes a lot of hard work, high standards, and much practice endurance. Bruce Lee’s Martial Arts movie star has never held a black belt to my understanding. “Editor Mark E. Vogler interviewed Detective Donovan in The Saugus Advocate ‘The Advocate Asks’ March 11, Front cover, page 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 22. “In the article, Detective Donovan states ‘your job is basically to help people. Unfortunately, we have to do things sometimes people don’t like. Nobody likes to hear a knock on the door from police offi cers. But we are there to help, whether it’s a missing child, somebody with Alzheimer’s who is out walking around – your job is to bring them back. If somebody gets hurt, you provide fi rst aid. You help. Those are the good sides to what we do. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make the papers that often. It’s always the negative. But thank you for giving me the chance to share something about my fi eld.’ The article speaks volumes about Detective James’ positive approach and attitude as a police offi cer. “James and his wife of 35 years (who recently passed) have two kids Paul (Boston Firefi ghter) & Rachel (Firefi ghter candidate) both are following in their Dad’s footsteps in fi elds of Public service. “Deepest, empathetic condolences for the loss of your wife. Keep shining your bright light with your family’s lights! “Thank you “Yours Truly, “The Sketch Artist” A “Shout-Out” to Tracey Ragucci Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member Jeanie Bartolo, a prolific contributor to this column, off ered high praise this week to a well-respected Saugus educator: “This ‘Shout Out’ for Tracey Ragucci, Principal of the Belmont STEAM Academy. It is sad she is stepping down as Principal, as she has accomplished so much for the school during her 8 years; renovating the Belmonte, implementing the STEAM curriculum, and getting the students through COVID Pandemic just to name a few. The upside of this is that she will be back in the classroom because all the kids love her! Best of luck Tracey!” 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 achievements by Saugus residents or an act of kindness or a nice gesture. Just send an email (mvoge@comcast.net) with a mention in the subject line of “An Extra Shout-Out.” No more than a paragraph; anything longer might lend itself to a story and/or a photo. GUESS WHO GOT SKETCHED! If you know the right answer, you might win the contest. In this week’s edition, we continue our weekly feature where a local artist sketches people, places and things in Saugus. Got an idea who was sketched this week? If you do, please email me at mvoge@comcast.net or leave a phone message at 978683-7773. Anyone who between now and Tuesday at noon identifi es the Saugonian sketched in this week’s paper qualifi es to have their name put in a green Boston Red Sox hat with a chance to be selected as the winner of a $10 gift certifi cate, compliments of Dunkin’ in the Food Court at the Saugus Square One Mall. But you have to enter to win! Look for the winner and identifi cation in next week’s “The Sounds of Saugus.” Please leave your mailing address in case you are a winner. (Courtesy illustration to The Saugus Advocate by a Saugonian who goes by the name of “The Sketch Artist”) Buy a brick to honor a Saugus veteran The Saugus War Monument Committee once again is sponsoring the Buy A Brick Program to honor all those who have served their country. If you would like to purchase one in the name of someone who is presently serving or has served, in the memory of a loved one, or just from your family, school, etc., the general pricing is $100 for a 4” X 8” brick (three lines) and $200 for an 8” X 8” brick (fi ve lines). Each line is a maximum of 15 characters. The improvement and upkeep of the monument on the corner of Winter and Central Streets rely on the generosity of donors through fundraising. The brick application must be in by Sept. 15 to ensure the bricks will be ready for Veterans Day. Please contact Corinne Riley (781-231-7995) for more information and applications. Help the Vietnam Era vets roll to D.C. A group of area veterans leaders continue to organize an all-expenses-paid trip to the nation’s capital in September for 45 veterans who served during the Vietnam War in all locations – not just in combat. A special fundraiser is set for Tuesday, March 29, from noon to 9 p.m. at the Dockside Restaurant at 1099 Main St. in Wakefi eld to help make that trip a reality for Vietnam Era veterans. Whether it’s dine-in, take-out, order delivery or curbside at the Dockside, 10 percent of your bill will be donated to the Veterans Wall trip. There will be raffl es for the cause. Money earned from this fundraiser will help to send 45 Vietnam Era vets from Melrose, Saugus and Wakefi eld on a fi ve-day-four-night coach bus trip from Sept. 11-15. Riverside Cemetery Spring Cleanup The Town of Saugus Cemetery Department announced that spring grounds cleanup will begin at the Riverside Cemetery on Monday, April 11. The Cemetery Commission kindly asks members of the public to remove any personal and/or holiday/seasonal items from the grounds before the cleanup begins. All Veterans fl ags will be placed back on gravesites in May, prior to Memorial Day. For more information, please contact the Cemetery Department at 781-231-4170 or email Stacy Billingsley at sbillingsley@saugus-ma.gov. Capt. Cross to address Saugus Historical Society Fire Captain Billy Cross will be the speaker at the April 13 Meeting of the Saugus Historical Society. The brief business meeting starts at 7 p.m. followed by the program. The public is invited free of charge, and light refreshments will be served. The speaker, William Cross III, grew up in Saugus, attending the Evans School, Belmonte Junior High and Saugus High. He has been a fi refi ghter in this town for 28 years and is the president of the Firefi ghters’ Local 1003. Captain Cross is a 2008 recipient of the Medal of Valor for an off duty rescue. He has served as a Town Meeting member, and he is a longtime member of the Saugus retirement board. His father was a fi refi ghter in Chelsea and his son Patrick is also a Saugus fi refi ghter. He will be speaking about many aspects of fi re service. The fi re department responds to many kinds of events in town, including fl oods and weather emergencies as well as fi res. This will be a very interesting and lively presentation. An encore tribute for Mike Gaff ney The Feb. 15 Board of Selectmen’s meeting was supposed to be the last one for Saugus Advertiser Editor Michael Gaff - ney, who informed the board that night that he was calling it a career after 18 years of covering Saugus. On that night, selectmen called Mike to the lectern so they could individually thank him for nearly two decades of newspaper coverage. As it turned out, Mike delayed his departure a few weeks, so this past Tuesday night (March 29) actually became his fi nal meeting. That gave selectmen time to give the soft-spoken and hard-working community journalist time for a more fi tting tribute. Selectmen opened the meeting at 7 p.m. by presenting Mike with a citation in recognition of his years of covering the town. It is a rarity for newspaper journalists in this day and age to hang around as long as Mike has, researching and writing stories about the good times and bad times in one little town – including major news stories, human interest stories, local government events, police and fi re – you name it. For 18 years, Mike has been a major source of public information for the people of Saugus. Presenting Mike with the citation on Tuesday night was a classy move by this Board of Selectmen. A rare tribute indeed to be bestowed upon a local reporter. But defi nitely, it was well-deserved, as few of us local journalists have focused their time and talents in one community for so long. Well done, Mike. Lenten Bible Study at St. Johns St. John’s Episcopal Church in Saugus will be spearheading a global Lenten Bible Study on a passage from the Book of Isaiah for members and friends of: * St. John’s Episcopal Church, Saugus * All Saints Anglican Church, Rome, Italy * St. John’s Vankleek Hill and other Churches in Eastern Ontario, Canada * The Church of the Annunciation, Chislehurst, London, UK For those who are interested, here is the info: March 31: Isaiah 42:1-9 (First Servant Song). This Gathering will take place on Zoom and will begin at noon Eastern Standard THE SOUNDS OF SAUGUS | SEE PAGE 13

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