Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, AUGUST 29, 2025 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Good morning, Saugus It’s a nice time of the year. The kids went back to school this week. Before you know it, summer will be officially over and autumn will be upon us (Sept. 22). It will be time to rake leaves and plant bulbs for next spring’s flower beds. And if you are into spectator sports, Major League Baseball will be in playoff mode and the National Football League season will be underway. I returned from my two-week vacation this week and I’m back to work. It was very productive and relaxing. I got to do some fun things and spend some quality time with my good friends. One-day trash pickup delay The Town of Saugus announced that trash and recycling collection will run on a one-day delay for the Labor Day holiday. Trash and recycling will not be collected on Monday (Sept. 1) due to the holiday. Collection will resume on a one-day delay on Tuesday (Sept. 2). Residents are kindly asked to leave their 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 781231-4036 with any questions. Signature events for September There are a couple of Saugus events worth noting that will be coming up next month. I just received an email from Joyce Rodenhiser, asking me to put a notice in this week’s paper to let our readers know that they should “Save the date – Sept. 13” on their calendar. Joyce passed on this important information: “At noon time, in front of our Town Hall, on Founders Day, the Persons of the Year will be announced! Come, see who has been helping Saugus be a better place because of what they have done voluntarily for Saugonians and organizations. “Founders Day is a great time A PATRIOTIC LOOK BACK: presenting Service Medals at Town Hall in 1918. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate) Meanwhile, three incumbent to see old friends and classmates! It’s a big block party with lots of food, fun, civic organizations and shopping. Join us downtown to see what’s happening!” There’s another signature Saugus event happening in September. Karen Spencer reminded me this week that “The Pumpkin Patch” will reappear at First Congregational Church on the side lawn along Hamilton Street, facing Saugus Town Hall. “Our first delivery of pumpkins will be on Saturday, September 27th at 9 am,” Karen wrote in her email. “We need help to un-load the huge truck that will be parked on Hamilton Street. Please come down to the church and help. High school students will receive community service hours for helping. The second delivery is expected on October 11th where we also need help.” The campaign is on! The Nov. 4 Town Election is nine weeks away from this coming Tuesday (Sept. 2). That’s a long time to campaign. But things have definitely been heating up in the School Committee, Board of Selectmen and Housing Authority races since the nomination papers became available to aspiring candidates on July 21. When I checked Monday with the Town Clerk’s Office for the candidates who had pulled out nomination papers, the Housing Authority was a crowded field for the one seat that will be on the ballot in the fall. Precinct 8 Town Meeting Member Kristi Talagan, who ran for the Housing Authority four years ago and lost, had previously pulled papers to run for a seat on the Housing Authority again. Precinct 7 Town Meeting Member John Chipouras and incumbent Housing Authority Member Bill Stewart – who beat out two challengers to keep his seat four years ago – make it a three-candidate race. As of Monday, there were seven candidates who had pulled papers for the five seats on the School Committee and seven candidates for the five spots on the Board of Selectmen. School Committee Member Stephanie Lauren Mastrocola is the latest candidate and the first incumbent member. The field so far includes former School Committee Members Arthur Grabowski and Joseph “Dennis” Gould and challengers Shannon McCarthy, Andrew T. Finn, Roberto F. Bruzzese and Finance Committee Member Brian J. Doherty. selectmen have already pulled papers – Board of Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta and Selectmen Anthony Cogliano and Michael Serino. Former Selectman Jennifer Elaine D’Eon heads the list of challengers, which includes Precinct 1 Town Meeting Member Stacey Marie Herman-Dorant, Precinct 7 Town Meeting Member Frank Federico and Sandro Pansini Souza, an unsuccessful candidate for selectman two years ago when he finished seventh in a field of seven candidates. He currently serves as treasurer on the Saugus TV Board of Directors. There are all sorts of reports out there on possible candidates who haven’t announced yet. If 10 candidates wind up on the Nov. 4 ballot for the School Committee and Selectmen races, that would be great for town voters. To have a competitive local election, the ideal situation is to have two candidates for each elective position. But it’s still early. Candidates have until 5 p.m. Sept. 12 to obtain nomination papers from the Town Clerk’s Office. The deadline for filing those nomination papers is 5 p.m. Sept. 16. Stay tuned. This week’s “Shout out” Newly appointed Housing Authority Executive Director Joseph A. Hart began work this week with a lot of optimism and high praise for the people he will be working for and working with. “I am excited to work for the Saugus Housing Authority. We have good residents who care about the Town, good employees who care about serving the community and an enviable real estate portfolio,” Hart told The Saugus Advocate recently. “I will help maintain high levels of service to our residents by working with our employees and board of directors to improve operations and facilities.” 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/ THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 15
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