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Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MAy 12, 2023 Town Meeting 2023 A freedom of speech discussion proves precious and priceless as members vote to enhance that right By Mark E. Vogler T own Meeting members breezed through 11 articles – many of them financial – in unanimously approving them in rapid fashion on Monday (May 8) night. But members showed they value the concept of democracy as the cornerstone of the New England Town Meeting as precious and priceless as they took more than an hour debating the final two articles, which still passed by large margins: Article 18, which, while controversial, passed by a 36-1 margin, guarantees that Town Meeting members get to introduce nonbinding resolutions with 48 hours’ notice. Article 19, which prevailed on a 32-6 vote, virtually guarantees that everyone who wants to address Town Meeting gets an opportunity to speak no matter how long it takes. Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian, who authored both articles, led the charge by passing out photocopies of a Norman Rockwell painting from his “Four Freedoms” series depicting a man standing up at a Town Meeting exercising his right to free speech. “You might not like what they have to say, but they should have a right to say it,” Manoogian said of Article 19, which would require a nine/ tenths vote of Town Meeting to “call the question” and end debate on articles if the moderator determines there are Saugus residents in the audience who want to express themselves on matters being discussed. “It sets the threshold high for our citizens to speak,” Precinct 3 Town Meeting Member Rick Smith said. “Every voice matters no matter what side of the aisle…By passing this, it provides an open door policy. Let’s prevent people’s democracy being stolen,” he said. “Democracy is a participatory sport,” Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Martin Costello said. “If it wasn’t, it doesn’t exist anymore,” he said. Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member William S. Brown argued “that it doesn’t make sense to go to a nine/tenths requirement” to call the question. “Two-thirds margin is hard enough to get,” he said. Brown, who was one of six members voting against Article 19 and the lone dissenter on Article 18, predicted that passage of the article would lead to longer discussions at Town Meetings. Matters that take two to three meetings would now take four meetings, he predicted. “At some point, we have to say enough is enough,” Brown said. “I think you ought to plan on spending a lot of time on other articles. We have to move along at some point,” he said. But former Town Meeting Member Andrew Whitcomb, from Precinct 4, declared “I think Town Meeting has a responsibility to hear from its residents.” “It shorts out 48 hour notice by 11 hours,” Brown said, suggesting that resolutions submitted on Thursday evening after the Town Clerk’s Office closes wouldn’t get adequate notice. But Manoogian noted that the 48-hour notice is the same procedure used under the state Open Meeting Law. “By not supporting this, you’re saying we don’t have the need to express ourselves,” he said. A musical play at Legion Hall Theatre Company of Saugus begins two-weekend performance of Peter and the Starcatcher tonight (Editor’s Note: The Theatre Company of Saugus issued the following press release) The Theatre Company of Saugus will present Peter and the Starcatcher, a play with music, during the second and third weekends of May. This Tony-winning show upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). A wildly theatrical adaptation featuring marauding pirates, jungle tyrants, unwilling comrades, and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher playfully explores the depths of greed and despair… and the bonds of friendship, duty and love. A young orphan and his mates are shipped off from Victorian England to a distant island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They know nothing of the mysterious trunk in the captain’s cabin, which conASKS | FROM PAGE 8 able on a full-time basis for my services. Q: From the time that you began as town counsel to now, have you seen an increase in the amount of time that the town decides to go tains a precious, otherworldly cargo. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a Starcatcher-in-training who realizes that the trunk’s precious cargo is starstuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands. When the ship is taken over by pirates – led by the fearsome Black Stache, a villain determined to claim the trunk and its treasure for his own – the journey quickly becomes a thrilling adventure. Featuring 18 actors portraying more than 100 unforgettable characters, Peter and the Starcatcher uses ingenious stagecraft and the limitless possibilities of imagination to bring the story to life. The Theatre Company of Saugus (TCS) production is directed by Matthew Garlin, stage managed by Ally Lewis, and musically directed by Sawith a special counsel, because of the complicated issues that confront the town, which would make it impossible to focus on a complex case while at the same time doing the day-to-day tasks as town counsel? I just want to get your read on that. mantha Prindiville; with choreography by Julie Liuzza; costumes by Venessa Phelon; and props by Addie Pates. Performances are May 1213-14 and 19-20-21, 2023, on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. The venue is the American Legion Post 210 at 44 Taylor St. in Saugus. The performance space is not wheelchair accessible, but it does feature a bar serving alcoholic and soft drinks. Snacks and raffle tickets are available for purchase before the show and during intermission. Masks are required indoors for the safety of the audience and cast. Tickets paid at the door are $25 for adults or $23 for youth, seniors, or veterans. Tickets purchased in advance online are only $22 or $20. Tickets are now on sale; for complete information visit the Tickets A: Sure. I think the legal profession, just like the medical profession, has become very specialized. So, if we have an environmental case, we bring in an environmental lawyer; we’ll hire a special lawyer for labor negotiations. I am the day-to-day corporate counsel. My advice is requested. But, page on the TCS website: TCSaugus.org/tickets/ Peter and the Starcatcher is written by Rick Elice, based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, with music By Wayne Barker. The show was originally produced on Broadway by Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Greg Schaffert, Eva Price, Tom Smedes, and Disney Theatrical Productions. Peter and the Starcatcher is presented through special arrangement by Music Theatre International (MTI). We are pleased to announce the cast, including actors from throughout the North Shore area of Boston. The Orphans include Michael Mazzone as the Boy, Jackie Daley as Prentiss, and Jennifer Antocci as Ted. The British Subjects are Jon Workman as Lord Leonard Aster, Hailey Cooke as his daughter Molly Aster, D’Shyla Hodge as her governthere’s a lot of specialization: There are lawyers that just litigate; there are lawyers who only handled labor negotiations; there are lawyers that only do environmental cases. There’s a need for that, and that need is in every city and town. Most cities and towns have a city solicitor or a town ess Mrs. Bumbrake, Ted Merritt as the ship captain Robert Falcon Scott, and Kris Reynolds as Grempkin. The Seafarers aboard one ship, the Wasp, include Kaleigh Ryan as The Black Stache, Maria Mulcahy as Smee, and D’Shyla Hodge as Sanchez. The Seafarers aboard the other ship ,the Neverland, are Bridget R Saunders as Bill Slank, Meg Brown as Alf, and Chinedu Ibiam as Mack. When the ships get to the island they meet the Mollusks: Andrew Quinney as Fighting Prawn, Chinedu Ibiam as Hawking Clam, and Kris Reynolds as Teacher. The Mermaids include Natalie Lewis, Jodie Putnam, Meg Brown, and JacLene London. Melz Phelon is the Young Child. For more information, see the Theatre Company of Saugus website at TCSaugus.org. counsel, and they bring in outside lawyers, too, on a caseby-case basis. As you can see, zoning has become very specialized. Development has become very specialized. Although the manager might bring in a special counsel, he’ll ASKS | SEE PAGE 15

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