THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUnE 27, 2025 Page 15 SOUNDS | FROM PAGE 13 (C.H.a.R.M.) has opened for the season, with normal operational hours of Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The C.H.a.R.M. Center is located at 515 Main St., Saugus, behind the Saugus Department of Public Works. Residents are welcome to use the C.H.a.R.M. Center for their recycling needs. Saugus was the first municipality in Massachusetts to open a C.H.a.R.M. Center. The C.H.a.R.M. Center accepts the following items at no cost to residents: • Bottles and cans • Paper and cardboard • Scrap metal • Shoes, clothes and other textiles • Fluorescent light bulbs and batteries (button and rechargeable) Residents are also permitted the free disposal of three TVs or computers/CRT monitors per household each year at the C.H.a.R.M. Center. Residents can obtain new stickers for this year free of charge when visiting the C.H.a.R.M. Center. By purchasing a $25 sticker that is valid for the entirety of the season, residents will be permitted to dispose of yard waste and brush at the C.H.a.R.M. Center. The $25 sticker also covers the cost to dispose of hard/rigid plastics at the facility. The C.H.a.R.M. Center accepts CHECKS ONLY, no cash or cards. Please note tha t the GARDENS| FROM PAGE 14 by several of the birds who also flock to my feeder. Other birds around town can be seen drinking and swimming in the river, ponds and reservoirs. One of them seems to have left me a gift a few years ago by planting a European elderberry shrub (Sambucus nigra) near the bird feeder. Some of the seeds from fruits birds eat pass right through them without being digested, with the result that the seed is dropped with “a packet of fertilizer” around it when the bird perches on a branch or the eaves of in case they may want to attend and need to make travel plans. Some of our Classmates have kept in touch with some of our High School teachers, and they attended our last two Saugus High Reunion events – we hope they’ll join us again. Feel free to reach out to any of your favorite teachers that you may want there – I’m sure they would love to hear from you. More information is forthcoming. Any questions, please feel free to reach out to Andrea or Pete: Andrea Saunders (1980 Class President) can be reached at paulgreens@aol. com or 978-482-5787. Pete Nicolo can be reached A PEACEFUL PROTEST ON THE TOWN HALL LAWN: A small loose-knit Saugus area citizens group that calls itself “Saugus & Friends Resist” staged the latest of its anti-administration demonstrations at the corner of Hamilton and Central Streets last Saturday and plans to continue its demonstrations indefinitely from 11 a.m. till noon every Saturday. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate) C.H.a.R.M. Center does not accept any household trash or construction materials and debris. The Town of Saugus reserves the right to refuse any material if quantity or quality is questionable. Go to https://www.saugus-ma.gov/ solid-waste-recycling-department and click on “Recycling Guide” for a comprehensive list of items that are accepted or not accepted at the C.H.a.R.M. Center, in addition to guidelines for how to prepare different items for disposal at the facility. The C.H.a.R.M. Center will remain open on Wednesdays and Saturdays through the house. The elderberry that came up near my bird feeder must have originated as a seed dropped by a bird about five years ago. The seeds are poisonous to mammals but not to birds. The flowers and the outer parts of the fruits are not poisonous, though, and are eaten by many different creatures. The shrubs also make good nest sites for many songbirds. The shrub that grew from that one seed is already about 6 feet tall and wide, and is currently in bloom with lacy white flower clusters. While this elderberry is not a native species it does the season until the winter. Please contact Solid Waste/ Recycling Coordinator Scott A. Brazis at 781-231-4036 with any questions. Saugus High Class of 1980 Attention, Saugus High Class of 1980. Mark your calendars for Nov. 29 (Saturday after Thanksgiving) and reach out to your friends that you’d like to see at the 45th Class Reunion for 1980 graduates and friends. The reunion will be held that day from 1 to 6 p.m. inside the Saugus Elks. Invite Saugus High friends from other classes that you may want to be at our 1980 provide many benefits for wildlife and is rather attractive, so I am keeping it where the bird planted it at least for the time being. Editor’s Note: Laura Eisener is a landscape design consultant who helps homeowners with landscape design, plant selection and placement of trees and shrubs, as well as perennials. She is a member of the Saugus Garden Club and offered to write a series of articles about “what’s blooming in town” shortly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was inspired after seeing so many people taking up walking. Class Reunion. Our last Saugus Class BBQ event a couple of years ago had three sisters from three different classes attend and they had a blast – so many loved seeing them and appreciated them being there. So many old friends reconnecting after decades; friends from overseas and across the country came; Saugus Classmates that left in Jr. High and that went to other High Schools came. How special it was for so many people to see each other after over 40 years. Reach out to your friends who are not on Facebook to give them some early notice PSNicolo2533@comcast.net or 978-815-8234. About The Saugus Advocate We welcome press releases, news announcements, freelance articles and courtesy photos from the community. Our deadline is 6 p.m. on Tuesday. If you have a story idea, an article or a photo to submit, please email me at mvoge@comcast.net or leave a message at 978-683-7773. Or send your press release to me in the mail at PO Box 485, North Andover, MA 01845. Let us become your hometown newspaper. The Saugus Advocate is available in the Saugus Public Library, the Saugus Senior Center, Saugus Town Hall, local convenience stores and restaurants throughout town. The Sayles’ front garden is full of varied flowers to delight pollinators throughout the growing season. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) This elderberry bush grew from a seed “dropped” by a bird in my garden. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener)
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