Page 16 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MAy 12, 2023 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Good morning, Saugus! Town Meeting is beginning to crank up and it should prove interesting at 7:30 p.m. next Monday, with the Cliftondale Rezoning article expected to draw some hot debate. There are several other articles that could pique the interest of Town Meeting members and residents. One of them is a proposal initiated by Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian to rename the property known as the Ballard School to Ballard Gardens. Manoogian has organized a neighborhood meeting for 4 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, May 13) on the Ballard School Property primarily for the immediate neighbors to discuss the Ballard Garden Proposal that will be coming up on Monday (May 15) at Town Meeting, at 7:30 p.m.in the second floor auditorium at Saugus Town Hall. “If you are a neighbor or nearby abutter, I encourage you to attend, preferably both on Saturday and Monday,” Manoogian wrote in a flier he’s been circulating. “It is clear there WILL BE OPPOSITION to the creation of this park/greenspace. The main argument AGAINST is ‘we should have a plan for all the vacant buildings before we commit to one,’” he wrote. “Yet those who make this argument have no suggestion (at least that they will publicly willing state) for this 30,000 sq. ft. single family residentially zoned parcel.” “As neighbors and abutters your voice is important. Your Precinct 10 Town Meeting Members will need your help to get this passed. Please call or text me if you have questions,” Manoogian said. Anyone interested in further details can contact Manoogian at 781-820-5690 or email – pm1963@comcast.net “Town Meeting, by its vote, supports the concept of demolishing the existing building, site preparation, repurposing where appropriate, elements and materials that can be incorporated into a passive green space with topographical features and designs that may include perennial planting, trees, brick walkways, a gazebo, a separately fenced area for dogs and a separate tot lot,” according to Article 17. “It is further understood that all planning, site decisions, and procurement are within the purview of the Saugus Town Manager who will seek input from neighbors, the Saugus Tree Committee, the Saugus Garden Club as well as the general public and furthermore that any appropriation necessary for construction must be adopted by a vote of Town Meeting.” “Saugus Over Coffee” With a strong likelihood that Town Meeting sessions will continue on Mondays now through June, we decided it was best to reschedule our next “Saugus over Coffee” forum. The new date is Tuesday, June 20, at 6:30 p.m., when we will be featuring Precinct 6. We will be sending out an invitation soon – via email and letters to the homes of each of the five Town Meeting members. For those unfamiliar with the “Saugus Over Coffee” forums, they are cosponsored by The Saugus Advocate and the Saugus Public Library. The primary purpose is to give citizens in each of the town’s 10 precincts an opportunity to voice their concerns about top issues in their respective precincts. It also gives them an opportunity to meet their Town Meeting representatives and chat over a cup of coffee or tea. Town Meeting members will benefit by getting to know more about concerns in their precincts. Viewers of the forums videotaped by Saugus TV will also get to learn a little about the history or interesting things about the precinct being featured each month. One of my major hopes for the forums is that they spur an interest for citizens to become potential candidates for Town Meeting in this fall’s town election. The public should keep in mind that there was a paucity of candidates for Town Meeting seats in the town elections back in 2021. In five of the 10 precincts, only five candidates ran for the five seats. That means half of the 50-member body was elected without competition. Stay tuned for more information as “Saugus Over Coffee” continues. Here is the remaining schedule: Precinct 6 – June 20 Precinct 7 – July 10 Precinct 8 – August 14 Precinct 9 – September 11 Precinct 10 – October 23 Please check with The Saugus Advocate or library for any changes in dates. Residents can check the programming guide on the station’s website (www.saugustv.org) for dates and times. A video of the forum will also be available for viewing on the station’s vimeo page within a day or two after the event (www.vimeo.com/ saugustelevision). Saugus Garden Club Fundraiser May 17 Lisa Greene, a Master Designer and teacher, will be the guest speaker at the Saugus Garden Club’s Annual Fundraiser, which is set for Wednesday, May 17, at 6:30 p.m. in the second floor auditorium at Saugus Town Hall. Doors open at 6 p.m. The program will feature an auction of floral centerpieces, raffle baskets, door prizes and refreshments. Tickets for the evening will cost $5 and will be available at the door or you can purchase tickets from Garden Club members. For more details, please contact Garden Club Co-Presidents Lorraine DiMilla (home: 781-233-7541) and Donna Manoogian (home: 781-233-5640; or cell phone: 617-240-9003). This is the year’s top event for the Saugus Garden Club and the program always draws a large gathering. Kane’s Donuts will host breast cancer event Both Kane’s Donuts locations in Saugus will participate during the period May 12-18 in Bakes for Breast Cancer Massachusetts – a campaign to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research. Kane’s Donuts will dedicate 100% of the sales from one of their featured donuts back to Bakes for Breast Cancer. “We are on a mission to end breast cancer for good, one sweet treat at a time,” said Bakes for Breast Cancer Founder Carol Sneider. “The Massachusetts culinary scene is thriving, and in addition to our trusted partners that have participated year after year, we had more new venues reach out to us more than in years past. Here’s to what is shaping up to be our most successful year to date.” There are two ways to participate in Bakes for Breast Cancer Massachusetts: Establishments can offer one designated dessert where 100 percent of the proceeds go towards Bakes for Breast Cancer, or offer up their entire dessert roster where 50 percent of the proceeds go back to the organization. Since its inception in 1999, Bakes for Breast Cancer has raised more than two million dollars. To date, more than 4,500 different bakeries, cafés, pastry shops, supermarkets and restaurants have participated in annual events in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and the Cape & Islands. How Scottish POWs shaped New England The Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site has an interesting forum set for 1 p.m.at the park on May 21. The press release issued recently by the Iron Works invited historic-minded residents and others to attend and “share your ideas to help shape the future of an exciting research project.” “New research conducted by an international team of archaeologists and historians is unearthing the fascinating story of some of the workers at the Saugus Ironworks,” it continued. “Landscapes of Indenture is an international investigation of the lives of the Scots, and the environmental impact they and other laborers had on the New England frontier. National Park Service is a partner in the project along with Salem State University, the University of New Hampshire, Old Berwick Historical Society, Durham University in England, and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The team of archaeologists, historians and paleoecologists are currently conducting fieldwork on sites associated with the Scots,” the press release noted. “The story of 400 Scottish soldiers taken prisoner at the Battles of Dunbar (1650) and Worcester (1651) and shipped to New England as forced labor is one of the most compelling immigrant stories in early American history. Many Scots served their fiveto-seven-year indentures at the Saugus Ironworks, and the rest worked in other hard and dangerous jobs in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.” A June run for Mission Ready Marine veteran Brandon Montella, the U.S. Marine veteran who completed a 100-mile run last Veterans Day to honor local veterans and to raise money for his nonprofit cause, announced he has scheduled a 5K fund-raising run/walk through Breakheart Reservation this summer. The event – set for 10 a.m. Saturday, June 10 – is to benefit his 501C3 Mission Ready, which provides fitness programs and events to under-resourced youth and veterans. Here’s a link to the event with all the information and sponsors on the site: https://runsignup.com/Race/ MA/Saugus/MissionReady5K Multiple “Shout Outs” this week We can never get enough “shout outs.” So, it’s always a great week when you have more than one “Shout Out” to heap praise on town residents who show acts of kindness or a good deed that contributes to the betterment of the community. Here are the nominations: Editor’s Choice: “For all of the Saugus mothers out there, for all you do throughout the year, to make a happy home for your children while also performing acts of kindness as volunteers with various groups to help make Saugus a better place. Saugus TV Interim Executive Director Rachel Brugman: “I am very pleased to announce that our one and only, John Prudent has been nominated for a New England EMMY AWARD for his Saugus TV production of The Cops and Cars Show 2022. We are very, very proud of his hard work and are going to celebrate this victory with an Emmy Pre-Party BBQ Bash that will take place Saturday, June 10th from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on the Saugus TV front lawn. The event is sponsored by Polcaris and there will be free pizza. This isn’t just for Saugus TV members, everyone and everyone they know is invited for food, friends, and fun. The Emmy winner will be announced later that evening so everyone better wish him luck! We will see you and everyone you know then! Editor’s Choice: “Let’s have 200 shout outs for Joanie Allbee, AKA ‘The Sketch Artist.’ Over the past three years, the local artist/ writer and frequent contributor to The Saugus Advocate has spent untold hours spreading positivity and joy through town with her sketches of people from all walks of life who contribute to the betterment of Saugus. Joanie would network with a handful of businesses in the community to provide a $10 gift certificate for contest winners each week. She would follow up the sketch with a story about the person or people being sketched. That is a few thousand hours of volunteer work shining a public light on Saugus people who make a huge difference in their efforts to make Saugus a better place. Now that she has revealed herself as the artist and writer behind the sketches, she deserves as many shout outs as readers feel like making. She is also the designer of the ‘Hope rings’ that have been left in places all around.” Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member Jeanie Bartolo: “A ‘Shout Out’ to Saugus Residents regarding the Rezoning of Cliftondale Square: The next Annual Town Meeting will be held on Monday, May 15, 2023, at 7:30 p.m., second floor of Town Hall. Town Meeting Members will discuss and VOTE on ARTICLE THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 17
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