Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020 ~ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ~ TOWN MEETING MEMBER WANTS BIKE PATH MOVED AWAY FROM FIRE STATION Dear Editor: Upgrades to the Northern Strand/Bike to the Sea bike path are progressing. Work on the Essex Street/School Street Crossing will be starting shortly. The plans are to remove the dangerous path that crosses Essex Street at a long angle with a direct 90 degree angle perpendicular to Essex Street. I believe that this bike path should cross Essex Street in the most direct manner (90 degrees). My problem with these plans is that the new route for the bike path will take it through the middle of the fire station driveway. A shared use of the fire station driveway replaces one bad idea for another bad idea. There must be another way to run this path than through the middle of the fire station driveway! The intersection of Essex and School streets already have enough challenges such as speeding traffic, lack of signage, park activities, a steady flow of fire engines and a bike path. I believe we need to rethink this plan and not rush a bad idea. Sincerely, Bill Brown Precinct 6 Town Meeting member School Street Saugus THE SAUGUS UNITED PARISH FOOD PANTRY APPEALS FOR PUBLIC HELP IN PROVIDING FOOD SO LESS FORTUNATE CAN ENJOY A HAPPY THANKSGIVING Dear Editor: Do you know someone who is hungry? Perhaps an elderly neighbor living on social security, a veteran who served our country but is now struggling or a family that has been affected financially from COVID. They may not feel comfortable reaching out for help! Food Insecurity is being without reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food. More than 800 million people live every day with hunger or food insecurity. The Saugus United Parish Food Pantry’s mission is to ensure that no one in and around our community goes hungry: to help supplement low-income and anyone in need with basic nutritional food items; and to serve our clients with compassion and respect. The need is great and we depend on donations from our community! We are reaching out to everyone in our community to see if they can help with any kind of donation. As Thanksgiving approaches, the Saugus United Parish Food Pantry is hoping we can provide food for our clients to enjoy a happy Thanksgiving. We are seeking donations of frozen turkeys, pies, rolls, reusable bags, gift cards or financial support so we can put together meals. We will be happy to pick these items up, or you may choose to deliver them. To schedule a pick-up, please email Wendy Reed at WLBRWENDY@gmail.com Deliveries may be brought to the side door of the Cliftondale Congregational Church (the driveway between the church and the MEG building) on any Friday morning through November 20th between 8 to 11 a.m. The Saugus United Parish Food Pantry is an all-volunteer, collaborative, non-profit, religious organization; your donation is tax deductible. We welcome clients to register and pick up food on Friday mornings from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the Cliftondale Congregational Church, 50 Essex St., Saugus. We understand if you feel that you cannot donate, but at the very least we have made more people aware that the Food Pantry exists, and if you know someone that needs help please pass this information along. Please contact Wendy Reed, Food Pantry Director, at 781640-6131 for more information or to arrange a donation. Sincerely, The United Parish Food Pantry ~WORTH REPEATING~ A COVID-19 contradiction Roller World owner wonders why the state won’t let him reopen when ice skating rinks have the green light Jerry Breen says he can’t understand why the ice skating rinks in town were recently allowed to reopen while his Roller World, Inc. business remains shutdown on account of state health concerns over COVID-19. “Roller skating is not a dangerous thing – certainly no more dangerous than ice hockey, where people are flying around on the ice, hitting each other and not practicing social distancing, the longtime owner of the Route 1 rink said in an interview this week. “With ice skating, I think you have a better chance of spreading something than by roller skating. “It would be a lot safer in my building. If I had 400 people in here, they could be 30 feet apart. You wouldn’t have to worry about six feet. My building is 340 by 120 feet. That’s bigger than a football field,” he said. Breen said he and the other 10 roller skating rink operators in Massachusetts are unfair casualties of the Coronavirus, which he estimates has already cost him up to $600,000 in financial losses since his business was shut down this spring. “I feel so discouraged. I did everything they told me to do to make this place safe, and I have no idea on when they will let me open. It’s just not fair,” he said. “Rhode Island and Connecticut are both open for roller skating. Why the heck not Massachusetts?” he said. Breen said he has spent more than $50,000 on renovating his business so it’s safer. The work has included changing faucets and sinks so they are handsfree and making other adjustments in the building. The COVID-19 has also cost Breen’s workers their jobs. He had to lay off about 50 parttime employees. In addition, he has three daughters working full-time. “Right now, we have a pro shop where we can sell skates. But we can only have one person in there at a time. They have to call us up and make an appointment,” he said. “I had all my ductwork cleaned. I had to get rid of half the tables and chairs in my snack bar area and get the place in shape. But they can’t tell me when I can open,” he said. There are a lot of other things that people can’t put a price on which Breen says his business has contributed to the local economy. Up to 90 schools in the area frequent the rink. Breen says he helps them with fundraisers. On Friday mornings, he helps the special needs kids, who look forward to the free time he gives them weekly. He’s worried about the future, whether he can pay his bills, including $38,000-a-year in taxes. “I’ve got 2,000 pairs of roller skates that I didn’t buy overnight. They cost about $100 bucks a pair. And I’ve got an occupancy permit for 1,000,” Breen said. “Sure, I’m discouraged and worried. But I’m trying to keep the place open. I want to leave the business to my kids. I’ve put 40 years in this place,” he said. “I can’t walk away. I’ve got banks that won’t let me walk away. And I’ve got my three daughters. The ice skating rinks in Saugus are open, why not Roller World? GREATER BOSTON THEATRES PLAY “WICKED HARD” TO SUPPORT ARTISTS AND THEATRE PRACTITIONERS IN CRISIS T imes are hard and when times get hard, Boston Plays Wicked Hard. To raise funds for the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund (TCBF), an organization that helps theatre practitioners in times of need, 54 area theatre companies have collaborated to promote a limited-edition T-shirt which celebrates the diversity and vitality of the Boston theater community. These special T-shirts, which have the Boston Plays Wicked Hard logo on the front and a list of the 54 WHEELABRATOR | FROM PAGE 7 deaf ears,” Heffernan said. But people from Revere and surrounding communities who are concerned about Wheelabrator can’t be on the subcommittee because of the “residency requirement.” What’s next? The Board of Health usually meets on the first Monday of the month. They plan to meet again on Nov. 2, the night before Election Day. They will participating theatre companies on the back, are just $25, with 100% of the proceeds from sales going directly to TCBF. Note that tax and shipping are not included. To purchase one of these limited-issue T-shirts, and to show support for local theatre artists during this challenging time, theatre fans can visit Rowboat Creative and their Creatives Who Care initiative at http:// bostonplays.creativeswhocare.org. “I have seen how furloughs meet at 6:30 p.m. via “Zoom” teleconferencing. Heffernan, who will chair the subcommittee, said he will reach out to the 10 other members to determine when to meet. He said he would figure out a day and time which is best for a majority of the committee. A minimum of six members would constitute a quorum to convene in an official meeting. The Wheelabrator subcommittee could meet as early as Nov. 9, if members find alterare affecting our industry, and know that, sadly, there is very little work in the foreseeable future for Boston’s Theater Community,” said Greater Boston Stage Company Associate Artistic Director llyse Robbins. “In addition, as a board member for Stage Source and the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund, I have seen the incredible need pouring in from our community of artists and practitioners. I have spent many THEATRES | SEE PAGE 20 nate Mondays as good times to meet. Heffernan said he would like to see Health Director John Fralick attending the subcommittee meetings. Board of Selectman Vice Chair Corinne Riley said she requested to be on the new panel and is excited about being named. “Personally, I am looking forward to working with this committee, having open dialogue with Wheelabrator and working toward what is best for our town,” she said.
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