Page 4 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, SEpTEmbEr 15, 2023 Come see what Lionism is all about By Tony Speziale, President of Saugus Lions Club T he Saugus Lions Club kicks off its 94th year as a nonprofit, public serving organization. For years, Lions clubs have devoted their efforts in ending blindness and serving the community through scholarships, toy drives, the peace poster and more. Since 1917, Lions clubs have offered people the opportunity to give something back to their communities. From involving members in projects as local as cleaning up an area park or as far-reaching as bringing sight to the world’s blind, Lions clubs have always embraced those committed to building a brighter future for their community. The Lions Club International is the largest and Gerry D’Ambrosio Attorney-at-Law Is Your Estate in Order? Do you have an update Will, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney? If Not, Please Call for a Free Consultation. 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere (781) 284-5657 most effective community service organization in the world. We have over 1.4 million members in more than 46,000 clubs in roughly 199 countries and areas of the world. Our motto best describes our mission: “We Serve”. Lions Club International is a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to helping people in need, in both the local community as well as throughout the world. At present, our major international service commitment is SightFirst: Lions Conquering Blindness, which has an aim to eliminate preventable and reversible blindness around the world. Come see what Lionism is all about. We meet every 1st & 3rd Wednesday at Polcari’s starting at 6 p.m. We’d like to see you there!! SAUGUS LIONS CLUB LEADERS: This picture introduces the new board for 2023-2024. Pictured from left to right, they are Frank Rossetti, Sue Palomba, Brad Barahona, Rosetta Cannizzaro, Anthony Speziale, Anthony LaRosa, Edward Wawrzynowicz, Bruce Torrey, Nelson Chang, Tom Traverse, Georgio Meimaris, Peter Rossetti Jr., Mike Murphy and Patty Fierro. POT SHOP | FROM PAGE 2 BOS to discuss the findings and was told no, as it would violate the open meeting law. How discussing a written, public document would violate the open meeting law is beyond me. While I have plenty to say about the findings of the report, these are continued hearings so I will save my comments until the end. “I will state that I filed three disclosures during the process as I have three friends involved. Two of them are land owners. Medi Mirnasari of 173 Main Street where Old World remedies is seeking to be licensed. Sal Palumbo who owns the property where Triple M is seeking to lease and Ray Falite who is seeking to lease the property where Oye was located. “Because of this, someone, I have an idea who, turned me into the State Ethics commission saying that I was seeking compensation to get these three licenses awarded. After a five minute investigation I was exonerated of the bogus claims and asked to file a disclosure before voting on those applicants and I did. I’m not at all shocked that none of the three were recommended by the committee even though some of them did an outstanding job in their presentation. No friends of mine should receive preferential treatment in a licensing matter but they should at least be treated fairly, and that clearly was not the case at this point in the process. The applicant seeking to lease 173 Main Street, Old world Remedies wasn’t even afforded a meeting before the MERC as the previous meetings went late and they never even gave him another date. That’s not how I treat people and that’s not how the process works. I’ve seen enough and heard enough over the last two days to make me realize the Board of Selectmen as the S2 granting Authority for the Town of Saugus, needs to further our investigation before granting any special permits. I will be setting up site visits at the applicant’s dispensaries and growing facilities to get a better understanding of how they operate. I will continue the hearings next month to discuss those findings and seek further public comment which again was lacking in the MERC report. “Then and only then will I be willing to grant the S2 permits.” (Editor’s Note: In next week’s edition, The Saugus Advocate will take a closer look at the seven companies vying to open marijuana establishments in Saugus.)
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