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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021 Page 13 ZOOMED | FROM PAGE 1 cause I do not foresee any way to safely assemble our 50 member Town Meeting, and allow for public attendance at the same time while complying with state directives on public assemblies during the current health emergency, I am hereby requesting permission from the Saugus Board of Selectmen to hold the 2021 Annual Town Meeting, as last year, in an online format, using Zoom meeting platform, on the evening of Monday, May 3, 2021,” wrote Doherty, of Precinct 4. “We have used this format in the past and know that it allows for all participants to see and hear all other participants. It also allows for the accurate taking of attendance to determine if a quorum is present, the ability to conduct a roll call vote and the ability for all Town Meeting members and registered voters in attendance to get the Moderator’s attention and be recognized to speak,” he said. Doherty noted that he spoke with Kevin Currie of the Town’s Commission on Disability, who he said didn’t think there were any accessibility issues. However, the first order of business will be for Town Meeting members to vote on whether to conduct the meeting using the remote format. “If the Town Meeting members by a majority vote, opt to not utilize this format, the meeting will be adjourned to a date predetermined by the Board of Selectmen, when the body can fulCHRIS SERINO | FROM PAGE 2 sons, and before Serino the Warriors never had a winning season in Hockey East. Chris was also the head coach for baseball at UNH leading the Wildcats to six NCAA tournament appearances, including a Frozen Four appearance in 1977 as the team set the school record with 27 wins for the season. After the 2005 season at Merrimack, Serino resigned as hockey coach and accepted the position at Malden Catholic High School, where he remained until his death in 2012 from throat cancer. He also held the position as the Director of Athletics at Malden Catholic. During his seasons with the Lancers, he led them to the top of the Catholic Conference, winning the Super 8 Division state tournament for two consecutive seasons. Chris Serino is now being considered as the title of the new sports complex at the Saugus Middle-High School, an honor he has earned in his sporting activities in and around Saugus. ly assemble to conduct the town’s business,” Doherty said. Main event – Christie Serino, Jr. tribute There are 24 articles on this year’s warrant. But members will only take up a handful of articles on Monday night because many of the articles – including the budget for the 2022 fiscal year that begins on July 1 – have financial implications and haven’t received a complete review and recommendation by the Finance Committee, according to Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree. The major event of opening night will Article 20 – to see if the Town will vote to rename the outdoor athletic sports complex located adjacent to the new Saugus Middle High School Complex on Pearce Memorial Drive “the Christie Serino, Jr. Athletic Sports Complex. Serino, 63, was the Malden Catholic athletic director and hockey coach when he died of cancer in October of 2012. But he also was one of the best Saugus High School athletes ever – a three-sport MVP for the Sachems – who later became a great coach at his alma mater. Precinct 2 Town Meeting Member Joe Vecchione said Article 20 holds deep, personal meaning for him. “I am excited to be voting in favor of the football field being named after Christie Serino,” Vecchione said. “Christie and my family have a lot of history and he was an incredible mentor to my brother and I growing up in the hockey community,” he said. “Christie was not my coach for youth or high school hockey as he was at Merrimack College during those years but he did mentor me through the hockey camps he held several times a season. I did play and was friends with his son Tony, and often Christie would invite me to Merrimack to skate during off hours and coached me up during those skates,” he said. Vecchione’s younger brother Mike played for Serino when he coached the Malden Catholic hockey team to the school’s first D1A State Championship in 2011. “My brother was a senior captain for that team. He [Serino] passed a year later. We miss him dearly,” Vecchione recalled. Serino coached the 15-year-old Saugus All-Star team, and during one season Vecchione made the team. “He was a family friend for many years. I actually gave a speech as an 11-year-old at a Saugus Youth Hockey banquet in 2002 awarding him ‘person of the year,’” Vecchione said. Mike Vecchione is a center who currently plays for the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League while under contract to the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League. He has played in several NHL games.

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