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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, May 24, 2019 Page 19 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler H ere are a few tidbits that you might want to know about this week in Saugus. So what is the big deal? Three to four times a week, I drive 45 minutes to an hour down to Saugus and maybe a shorter time back. I love the human interest stories and taking photos. But the town politics seems to get worse and worse. And some of these tin horn politicians are threatening to “Facebook” me if I don’t report the news of Saugus government in a more favorable light. Some of them want me to placate the town administration and make everything look the happy place it isn’t. Wake up and smell the freaking black coffee, folks. Newspapers are supposed to report on the warts as well as the beauty spots of town government. If I write a story a reader wants to talk about, I will return your message under most circumstances. But demands followed buy threats to call me out as a jerk or some kind of satin on Facebook won’t get you a call back. Actually, I don’t mind getting Facebooked because it helps to improve local readership of a paper that’s already well-read. It’s unbelievable how much controversy that Town Meeting member Ronald Wallace’s resolution has sparked. Some of the stuff going on behind the scenes and some of the feedback I’m getting leads me to believe there’s a lot more to the story that some people apparently feel shouldn’t be told. Two weeks ago, when this year’s Annual Town Meeting opened up, I was outside taking photos of the custodians and their supporters on the picket line. Some told me that there was going to be a resolution read. After the meeting I ran into Ron Wallace, the Precinct 5 Town Meeting member with a long face with a very dejected look. He told me his story, which we reported. I reached out to Town Moderator Stephen N. Doherty, who I’ve enjoyed working with over my four Town Meeting sessions. He never called back. And then I went into my archives after punching in “Town Meeting” and “Resolution.” A 2017 story I wrote involving the resolution initiated by Precinct 4 Town Meeting member Albert J. DiNardo popped up. Very useful background. The story noted he was allowed to discuss his non-binding resolution for a study on health care costs even though it wasn’t on the warrant. Once the motion to table discussion of the resolution died by a slim 17 to 19 vote, the article itself sailed by a wide margin: 36 to 1, with two abstentions. DiNardo argued that Town Meeting has a rich history of its resolutions and warned fellow members to “be careful in abdicating” that option, which is has sometimes had an infl uence in changing views on a local issue. Then, there was what I thought to be an eloquent quote. “It’s always been the practice here that resolutions can be offered at any time,” DiNardo said, noting that a resolution introduced several years ago may have helped keep the Saugus Public Library open. That quote and that story sparked some demands from Mr. DiNardo for me to correct the story and stop using the quote. He told me to call him or he would Facebook me. And he did. Had he said something like “I’d like to talk and give you another perspective on the resolution situation,” I would have called him back an interview. That’s essentially what all reporters do. But in this age of social media -- which don’t engage much in, especially on Facebook -- there public offi cials who would prefer to flap their jaws rather than share their perspective. And some of them don’t seem to understand that people have a right to be interviewed and speak their mind in a Democratic Society. By the way, I think the idea to privatize the custodians is asinine. And that’s based on 46-plus years as a newspaper reporter in about seven diff erent states. If somebody has a beef and wants to opine about the virtues of getting minimum wage janitors from out of town to take care of the new school building that will be opening up next year, call me up and we’ll have coff ee for the next installment of “The Advocate Asks.” But so far, nobody is really going out publicly saying why it would benefi t Saugus Public Schools by dumping the janitors. Al DiNardo Facebooking of me This showed up in a screen shot that a reader want to share with The Saugus Advocate. So, here’s Al DiNardo’s take on our coverage of the resolution controversy: Saugus someplace stupid. Some things never change Rte One waterbreaks and everything. Clearly town meeting was very uncomfortable with resolutions 2 years ago. Despite the fact that the resolution was voted on. There was a motion on the table to table the article. That failed 17 to 19. Keep in mind if one town meeting member change their vote it would have been a tie vote thus allowing the moderator to break the tie.. We can assume that the moderator would have voted to table the matter. Currently Town Meeting has 3 members that has fi lled in as moderator. There was no outcry from the body on restriction of last mondays resolution. The moderator has made it clear that future resolutions must be on the warrant and the Attorney general’s offi ce for local government has substantiated that. A special Town Meeting will be called to hear the resolution now that it is properly posted. Wouldn’t you like proper notice if a resolution were to speak against your issue? The reporter for the Saugus Advocate Mark Voglar NEVER bother to speak to me or call me back on this issue the last 2 weeks. Our own Saugus FAKE news. Memorial Day refl ections I’ve got a very strong, personal bond to Memorial Day. As a reporter and a human being. And about this time every year, it’s my worst week of the year. And I know that a lot of families in town as well as any other town endure the same kind of tragedies, whether getting killed while serving their country or becoming traffic fatalities on the nation’s highways. It happened 41 years ago this weekend. But, I remember it like it was yesterday -- one of the saddest days of my life -- relived over and over each year when millions of people across the country pause to remember those who sacrifi ced their lives for this country. I was working as a reporter on the police beat for the San Angelo (Texas) StandardTimes. And one of my assignments was to write a story about the death toll on West Texas roads and highways. That grim task included coverage of a crash in the Texas Hill Country that killed seven people in one family. There weren’t that many deaths the next day, so the editor on duty asked me to rehash the fatal facts so he could “juice up” a recycled story that had very little new information, but would still run on the front page for the second day in a row. It really bothered me as I left the newsroom that day, knowing how some of us in the media can be so callous in the way we treat these tragedies. I carried out the assignment while expressing some dismay to the insensitive desk editor. I awoke the next morning to a knock on the door of my motel room. The stranger told me it was a family emergency and I needed to call home. So, I walked out into the parking lot to make a dreaded collect to my hometown in Swansea, Mass. My brother, Wayne answered the phone and told me that my twin brother, Lance had gone to a better place and was no longer with us. Here was a U.S. Air Force veteran who survived the Vietnam War -- serving his time in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and ‘Nam -- coming home without a scratch. But on Memorial Day 1978, Lance was one of the 15 people who died over that weekend on Massachusetts roads. On a dark, foggy night, less than an eighth of a mile down the street from my parents’ home, Lance hit a curb with his motorcycle and was fatally injured. As I recalled, he snapped a vertebrae in his neck. Alcohol wasn’t a factor. There weren’t any witnesses to report what happened. We’ll never know whether a passing car or an animal could have caused him to lose control of his motorcycle. Or, whether there was some other kind of fatal distraction. It was a two-hour car ride from my motel room to the nearest airport in Midland, Tex., where I barely caught the last connecting fl ight to Boston that day. I was stuck in Dallas for several hours. More than 12 hours later, I sat in the kitchen of my folks home, reading the local newspaper story about just another Memorial Day traffi c tragedy. But this one really hit home and still resonates painfully every year at this time. Lance was just 25 and was an excellent student, looking forward to his junior year at Southeastern Massachusetts University. So much of life ahead of him. But all his dreams and hopes ended on that Memorial Day. It’s a holiday tragedy that visits hundreds of American families every year. If you head out to the roads this weekend -- especially to do some long distance driving, be safe out there. Enjoy the holiday with family and friends. And take time to say a few prayers for the service people who sacrifi ced their lives in combat duty to defend our American way of life. This one is for seniors Graduation is right around the corner. Next Friday -- just a week from today -- Saugus High School graduates complete their four-year journey through high school. Savor this week. Enjoy your time with family and friends -many that you may not get to spend too much time with in future years. Best wishes to the graduating Sachems, whether they are head off to college, preparing for a stint in the military service or embarking on a career. The 90th Anniversary Celebration for Saugus Lions The celebration of the founding of the Saugus Lions Club which will be happening on Saturday, June 8, at the Saugus Knights of Columbus Hall on 57 Appleton Street, Saugus, during the hours of 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. The event will include a full dinner menu catered by Daniell’s of Danvers, a live band, dancing, raffl es, installation of Lions Club offi cer and certain to be an enjoyable and fun evening. The deadline RSVP for guests to attend is May 29, 2019 and sent to: Patty Fierro 9 Broadway #218 Saugus, MA 01906 Any and all non-members are always invited to attend and the cost is $35.00 pp. Holiday trash delay The Town of Saugus announces that trash and recycling collection will run on a one-day delay from Tuesday, May 28, 2019 through Saturday, June 1, due to the observance of Memorial Day. There will be no collection on Monday, May 27, due to the holiday. Services will resume on a one-day delay from Tuesday, May 28, through Saturday, June 2, Residents whose collection day falls on Monday will be collected on Tuesday. Collection will continue to run on a one-day delay for the remainder of the week. SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 20

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