Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MAy 26, 2023 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Good morning, Saugus! Today (Friday, May 26) marks the beginning of the long Memorial Day weekend when Saugus and communities throughout the nation pause to reflect on the brave sacrifices of Americans who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. At about 3 p.m. today, Veterans Graves Registration Officer Randy Briand and his army of helpers will converge on Riverside Cemetery to place miniature American flags on each of the veterans’ graves. The local Boy and Girl Scouts are usually the nucleus of the volunteers. But Randy welcomes any help he can get. And if you have some free time this afternoon and are in a patriotic mood, come down to Riverside Cemetery and help by flagging a few of the veterans’ graves. The town’s annual Memorial Day Parade is the weekend’s main event and is set for tomorrow (Saturday, May 27). Bands, marchers, vehicles and other participants will gather at the staging area at Anna Parker Field at 124 Essex St. at 9 a.m. The parade will begin at 10 a.m., traveling the same parade route as last year: down Essex Street toward Cliftondale Square, down Lincoln Avenue, onto Central Street, to Winter Street and into Riverside Cemetery for the Memorial Day Ceremonies. Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Stephen L. Castinetti, commander of the Saugus Veterans Council, said this year’s parade will feature a media truck that will display sites that honor Saugus veterans and photos of deceased military men and women. A video prepared by Saugus TV Studio Associate John Prudent will be running throughout the parade, and residents will be able to view it. Frank Manning, the outgoing commander of Cpl Scott J. Procopio Saugus American Legion Post 210, has been chosen as this year’s parade grand marshal. A former U.S. Senator and Ambassador to New Zealand will be this year’s keynote speaker. Castinetti said this year’s parade will include Junior ROTC color guard units from Beverly, Peabody, Revere and Salem. Guy Moley, the man behind local charity car shows, will arrange to have some classic cars in the parade. Martin Cox has offered to bring three military vehicles with him. The ceremony at Riverside Cemetery is expected to take place at about 11 or 11:15 a.m., according to Castinetti. On Monday evening from 5:30 p.m. to dusk, the Saugus Veterans Council will be sponsoring Motorcycle Monday at Fuddruckers on Route 1 North. People can visit the Fuddruckers parking lot, check out the motorcycles and enjoy a burger while supporting the Saugus Veterans Council. This will be a regular Monday evening event throughout the summer. Saugus, be safe Memorial Day Weekend is traditionally one of the busiest traveling periods of the year. The heavy traffic – with people rushing to family outings and get-togethers with friends – makes it a dangerous time to be out on the highways. It’s a period where traffic fatalities are known to spike. It’s also the time of the year when fun outdoor activities can turn tragic. Warmer weather might make an outdoor lake seem inviting to swimmers who are oblivious to posted warning signs and not familiar with the hazardous conditions that could prove fatal. If you are traveling on the highways this weekend, drive safely. If you are participating in outdoor events, play it safe and don’t engage in risky behavior. I plan to attend the Memorial Day Parade and ceremony in Saugus tomorrow. And on Sunday, I plan to go down to Swansea in Southeastern Massachusetts to put flowers on the veterans’ graves of family members in my hometown cemetery. One of them is my late twin brother, Lance, who was killed in a motorcycle accident on Memorial Day of 1978. Lance, who served with the U.S. Air Force in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam during scary times during the Vietnam War, was an honor roll student going into his junior year at the then Southeastern Massachusetts University – now UMass Dartmouth – at the time of his accident. And so it goes: On a dark, foggy night, less than a quarter of a mile from my folks’ house in Swansea, he hit a curb with his motorcycle and went flying off the vehicle. He died quickly after snapping a vertebra, according to the doctors. My brother – the Air Force veteran who came home safely after dangerous duty in Southeast Asia – was a Memorial Day traffic fatality statistic. It’s something you never forget. Big week ahead for the Class of 2023 Next week marks the final days together for the students of the Saugus High School graduating Class of 2023. Besides graduation rehearsals, there will be special activities throughout the week for the seniors. The 152 Commencement Exercises of Saugus High School is set for Friday, June 2, in Christie Serino Jr. Memorial Stadium adjacent to the new Saugus Middle-High School Complex. Holiday delay on trash/ recycling pickup The Town of Saugus announced that trash and recycling collection will run on a one-day delay for the Memorial Day Holiday. Trash and recycling will not be collected on Monday, May 29, due to the holiday. Collection will resume on a one-day delay on Tuesday, May 30. Residents are kindly asked to leave trash and recycling curbside by 7 a.m. the day after their normally scheduled collection day. The Town of Saugus would like to thank everyone for their cooperation. Please contact Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator Scott A. Brazis at 781-2314036 with any questions. “Saugus Over Coffee” The next “Saugus Over Coffee” forum has been set for Tuesday, June 20, at 6:30 p.m., when we will be featuring Precinct 6. We will be sending out 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 it spurs 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. 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 Once again, we’ve received several “shout outs” from our readers: Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member Jeanie Bartolo: “Memorial Day marks the 4th anniversary of The Advocate’s Sounds of Saugus ‘Shout Out’ column with a total of 327 Shout Outs, so I thought a ‘Shout Out’ for ‘Shout Outs’ to EVERYONE who nominated someone special and a great big thanks to Editor Mark Vogler for printing them every week. Let’s keep it going! Many thanks, have a great Memorial Day weekend!” Gordon Shepard, for all Saugus residents who volunteer to help maintain, restore and beautify the veterans graves in Riverside Cemetery and Parish Cemetery: “I want to give ‘shout outs,’ especially for the DPW who went down to Parish Cemetery last fall and cleaned up some leaves and cut down some trees I requested. And some ‘shout outs’ for the DAR for all that they do. The more people that go down there and see it [Parish Cemetery], the better off we are in getting it taken care of on a regular basis.” Editor’s Choice: Gordon Shepard. When it comes to keeping the gravesites of town veterans and cemetery grounds in great shape, no living Saugonian has done more on a voluntary basis than Gordie Shepard. Shirley Bogdan: “I’d like to give a ‘shout out’ to whoever decorated Veterans Park with American flags. It looks beautiful. Thank you very much.” Ruth Berg for her grandson: “David Benjamin Levine just graduated with the highest of honors; Summa Cum Laude and the Chancellor’s Medal from U/Mass Lowell.” 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. Attention 2016-18 Saugus High grads The Saugus High School graduate classes of 2016, 2017 and 2018 Cumulative Record Folders will be destroyed on July 15, 2023. Any graduates from the dates above of Saugus High School wishing to obtain their records before they are destroyed, please email Kim Alba at kalba@saugus.k12. ma.us. The pick-up dates and times will be given to you via email. If you would like them mailed, please include an address in your email. Seeking Sachems Sports Historical Data If you are knowledgeable about the Saugus High Sachems Boys and Girls sports teams prior to 1969, Saugus Public Schools could use your help. The School District is looking for data on Saugus THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 13
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