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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUly 7, 2023 Page 13 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Good morning, Saugus! Hope you enjoyed your weekend and July Fourth – especially if you were able to extend the weekend to five days. Next week looks like a slow one meeting-wise at Town Hall, which is standard for the week following July 4. Many people in local government are on vacation. The next two Board of Selectmen’s meetings are scheduled for July 19 and August 22, so if you feel a need to get involved with your local government, head over to the Community Room of the Saugus Public Library for the seventh edition of “Saugus Over Coffee at 6:30 p.m. Monday (July 10). The upcoming program’s focus will be on Precinct 7. It’s an opportunity for residents in that precinct to have coffee with their Town Meeting members, listen to what they have to say about the most important issues affecting the neighborhoods they represent and then address the panel of Town Meeting members on issues that concern them. Precinct 7 residents should come early at 6 p.m. and have a one-on-one session with one of your Precinct 7 Town Meeting members. Residents from other precincts are welcome to attend the forum. Monday night’s forum will be videotaped by SaugusTV for future showings. Residents will be able to view the program at their leisure on vimeo.com/saugustelevision. We sent out invitations last month – via email and letters to the homes of each of the five Town Meeting members. So far, we have one commitment and one Town Meeting member who told us he won’t be attending. 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 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. Tour the historic Boardman House on Sunday Historic New England, which owns the Boardman House located at 17 Howard St., will be conducting tours at noon and 2 p.m. on Sunday (July 9). The Boardman House has not been open to the public recently, so this is a good opportunity to see Saugus’ “other” 17th-century house (the more familiar one being the Appleton-Taylor-Mansfield House at Saugus Iron Works. The Saugus Historical Society and Saugus Iron Works will have information tables from noon until 3 p.m. C.H.A.R.M. Center is open The C.H.a.R.M. Center will be open during the summer to residents on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The site is located behind the Department of Public Works at 515 Main St. Stickers are required to gain seasonal access to the site. Stickers may be purchased for $25.00 at the Department of Public Works (DPW) located at the Compost Site when making your visit to the Compost Site. The Town accepts checks only for payment of the $25. No cash will be accepted. Kindly bring a check when visiting. Thank you! Compost site stickers must be permanently placed on the lower left corner of residents’ automobile windshields. Vehicles registered out of state are not permitted. Yard waste must be disposed of in brown compost bags or open containers. The Town will accept grass clippings, leaves and brush. As in years past, no branches or limbs larger than three inches in diameter are permitted. Residents may call Scott Brazis at the Solid Waste and Recycling Department at 781-231-4036 with questions. Some Special “Shout Outs” We had several “Shout Outs” this week. Saugus Cemetery Commission Chair Rich Thompson offered a couple of “Shout Outs” this week to express his appreciation of those who worked to pass a Town Meeting warrant article for funding a suitability study of property at Riverside Cemetery which might accommodate future expansion. Thompson offers: “A shout out to my fellow Cemetery Commision members Ron Wallace, Tom Nolan, Janice Jarosz, Kathy Giannetta, and Cemetery Superintendent John Falasca for all the time spent exploring a cemetery expansion. “Thanks to the Town Manager’s office, The BOS, Town Clerk, for your advice, assistance, and time. And to Dennis Gould for lending his research materials and knowledge to help the Commission plan. “A second shout out: To Town Hall employee Stacy Billingsley for all her assistance during her time working for the Cemetery Clerks office.” Thompson is also a Precinct 3 Town Meeting member and serves on the Saugus Planning Board. Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Debra Panetta wanted to acknowledge all of the folks behind this year’s July 3-4 celebration in Lynnhurst: “The Lynnhurst Fourth of July events have been a tradition in my neighborhood for 106 years. Thanks to Jaclyn and Derek Hickman, and all the volunteers, the tradition continues. “The children had so much fun participating in all the races and events. They got especially excited when the firetruck sprayed streams of water on the field where the kids played underneath. “I remember my family decorating our son and daughter’s bicycle for the most patriotic bike contest. My kids never missed a Lynnhurst Fourth of July, so I’m happy to help in any way that I can. “Having such a wonderful tradition in our Town is so important where it brings people together, spreading happiness and joy. I hope it continues for the next 100 years.” 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. Community Garden needs some help St. John’s Episcopal Church near Saugus Center has a community garden where vegetables are grown for the Saugus food pantry. This is the third growing season for this all-volunteer project. This year there are raised beds in front of the church as well as a larger garden area behind the rectory. Volunteers are needed to help weed and water the garden. If you would like to volunteer for an hour or so a week, or for any period of time during the summer, please call the church office at 781-2331242 or email StJohnsSaugus@gmail.com and leave a message with your contact information! 2023 Summer Concerts at the Saugus Iron Works, 244 Central St. The Saugus Public Library and the National Park Service are proud to bring another summer of music to the Saugus Iron Works. These free, weekly concerts are open to the public and begin at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesdays beginning July 12 through August 30. Our 2023 lineup: Ju l y 12 : Squeezebox Stompers (Cajun & Zydeco). July 19: Atwater & Donnelly (Traditional American & Celtic Folk & Dance). July 26: Decades of Rock (Classic Rock: 60s, 70s, 80s). August 2: Sweet Soul Sounds (Motown). August 9: Ditto (Folk & Rock: 60s and 70s). August 16: Jumpstreet (Rock, R&B, Blues, & Jazz). August 23: Headlands (Folk, Country, Americana Pop). August 30: Memorylaners (50s, 60s, 70s). Bring chairs or a blanket and a picnic! Enjoy a summer evening at the Iron Works with great music and friends! Knights of Columbus Craft Fair and Flea Market The Saugus Knights of Columbus will hold its Outdoor Craft Fair and Flea Market on Saturday, August 19. Their last events were all sold out. Reserve your space now. A 12 x 12 space costs $30. Vendors must bring their own tables and chairs. Call Paul Giannetta for reservations or info – 978-239-1392. The Saugus Cultural Council seeks help The Saugus Cultural Council is recruiting new members. If you have a passion for arts, education, community engagement and building an inclusive community, feel free to apply. Please send a letter of interest and brief resume to the Saugus Board of Selectmen. The Saugus Cultural Council is a local agency funded by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. For more information, please contact saugusculturalcouncil@gmail.com. MEG Foundation offers Dedicated Chairs to Families The MEG Foundation Board of Directors is hoping to return former Saugus High School Library chairs, at no charge, that were originally donated to the Saugus High School Library by many families and friends, in their memory. We hope the chairs will find their way back to their loved ones. We have approximately 50 dedicated chairs available to relatives. Please contact Janice Jarosz at 339222-2178 or Linda Ross at 781-233-4607 for further information. The list includes the followTHE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 14

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