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Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2020 THE SOUNDS OF SAUGUS By Mark E. Vogler H ere are a few tidbits that you might want to know about this week in Saugus. Brace yourselves for COVID-19 times, folks Anyone who has been following the news and the weekly COVID-19 infection numbers knows that Saugus – like the rest of the country – is far from out of the woods yet in distancing itself from the threat of the killer Coronavirus. In several parts of the country, states are undergoing spikes and surges that are so alarming that the respective state officials are shutting things down again. These were some of the fresh headlines from across the country as I polished off this week’s column early yesterday (Thursday, Nov. 12): “Texas Tops 1 million cases as COVID-19 surge engulfs the U.S”—The Associated Press “Record Covid-19 Hospitalizations Strains System Again”—The Wall Street Journal “Some hospitals are running out of health care workers. Here’s what could happen next” —CNN And in Massachusetts all we have been hearing about over the past week is how the numbers are spiking again. Meanwhile, the state Department of Public Health (DPH) has manipulated the numbers and altered the methodology so that it appears things are actually better. The “red”-colored communities on the state COVID-19 map which identify the communities with the worst risk for the virus have suddenly dwindled from 100-plus down to 16, as of last Friday. Saugus is among the many which have dropped into the “yellow,” or moderate risk, category. But if we take that metric – new cases per 100,000 over a 14-day period (Oct. 11-24) – which saw Saugus with a rate of 24.4 (the 8th highest in the state), it appears things haven’t gotten any better in town. Though now in the “yellow,” Saugus’ daily incidence rate (Oct. 18-31) had increased slightly to 24.8. The only thing that has changed is the metrics. For Massachusetts communities with a population of 10,000 to 50,000, the state increased the daily case average from 8 to 10 while adding the 5 percent or greater positivity rate. To be a “red” community now, Saugus needs to have 10 average cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate of 5 percent or greater. Saugus was already more than double the daily incidence rate. Meanwhile, its positivity rate of those being tested within the most recent 14-day period was 4.35 percent. So, some laymen folks who are too overwhelmed and confused by the changing methodology could legitimately argue that Saugus remains a “red” community. It’s apparent the state has changed the methodology to downplay or disguise the soaring “red” community numbers. Keep in mind that back in March at the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the state was reluctant to provide a community breakdown of the virus numbers. So, the public wouldn’t know how bad things were in a particular community. Public pressure forced the state to become more transparent on that data. But now, as the virus incidence seems to be spiking all over Massachusetts, the state changes the methodology, and it makes it look like things have gotten better in Saugus and dozens of other communities that were once red. Stay tuned, Saugus. Also, please stay safe. Wear your facial covering. Practice social distancing when you go out. And try to avoid large gatherings. If you aren’t feeling well, stay home. Getting some election blame As I have mentioned in previous columns during my four and a half years as editor of The Saugus Advocate, I am a longtime believer that preelection coverage is one of the most important duties of a daily or weekly newspaper. I have always believed that – ever since 1972, my cub reporter days while a student at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and working part-time for The Springfield Union, and Saturdays and Sundays at the newspaper’s Northampton bureau. Of course, my early days of journalism were tempered by Watergate and those two guys at The Washington Post – Woodward and Bernstein – who exposed the Watergate scandal that led to the demise of President Richard Nixon. So, being a journalist of that generation, I have always thought it was important for a reporter on any level – small town, state or national – to give it his or her all in covering candidates and the elections. flict of interest because Bartlett was living with one of the town’s most powerful non-elected officials. People at Nantucket Town Hall were complaining about the relationship. How can a selectman who is about to get married to one of the top town officials continue without a potential conflict of interest? The only time the other paper mentioned the issue was in its front-page story, which was published after the election – after I had left the island for a job at The Eagle-Tribune. My landlady on Nantucket mailed me a copy of the story weeks after it was published. Cheryl Bartlett actually went on to have a pretty good public life – off of the island. She worked for seven years at the state Department of Public Health – two of those years as the agency’s commissioner. The scariest fallout I received from preelection coverage was my time as an investigative reporter for The Leesburg Commercial (in Florida). I wrote some stories about corruption in the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, which probably contributed to the election defeat of the incumbent sheriff. One of the stories featured a colorful collage of credit card receipts for work done on private vehicles that the public was paying for. There were also receipts for a vehicle that was out of commission. The exposé on credit card abuse by the administration of the incumbent sheriff – without a reasonable explanation – didn’t sit well with the voters. Shortly after the election, I began receiving anonymous, threatening calls from some of the sheriff’s supporters. It was scary. As I look back on some of those years when local politicians and supporters blamed me for losing elections, I’m certain the stories I wrote influenced the election outcomes, but it was the voters who actually decided that the election outcomes – not me. We have a winner! We have a winner in last week’s “Guess Who Got GUESS WHO GOT SKETCHED? In this week’s edition, we continue our weekly feature where a local artist goes out and mingles with townsfolk and sketches them. Got an idea who this Saugus resident might be? If you do, please email me at mvoge@comcast. net or leave a phone message at 978-683-7773. The first reader to respond between now and Tuesday morning and correctly identify the person sketched is the winner of a $10 gift certificate, compliments of Dunkin’ at the 1204 Broadway Saugus location at Route 1 North. But you have to enter to win! Look for the winner and identification in next week’s “The Sounds of Saugus.” (Courtesy illustration to The Saugus Advocate by a Saugonian who goes by the name of “The Sketch Artist”) I have been so passionate about that over my 48-plus years that I’ve gotten blamed by some of the candidates who lost the elections. Back in my days as the Lawrence City Hall reporter for The Eagle-Tribune, I was physically attacked by a candidate who lost her City Council race. She grabbed me by the lapel before I walked into City Council Chambers to cover a meeting. And she f-bombed me no less than 15 times. My editors were mad that I didn’t file a complaint with the Police Department. But heck, the incident took place in front of a Lawrence cop. So, I just brushed it off. But one of the paper’s columnists referred to the incident and noted that she was “foul-mouthed.” More than 20 years ago when I was the editor of The Nantucket Beacon, I actually got blamed for a selectman losing her election. “Bartlett blames Beacon for her loss, says personal life was put under a microscope,” trumpeted a post-election headline in the rival island weekly. “I think The Beacon did a number on me,” then former-Selectman Cheryl Bartlett said in a front-page story. Bartlett lost the election by 127 votes. She blamed The Beacon for her loss. But Bartlett’s loss was of her own making. We reported and editorialized about her romantic affair with the town’s finance director, which eventually led to marriage. It did pose a potential conSketched” contest. Congratulations to Jean Lyons, who contacted us first and guessed correctly. Thanks to many other readers who sent the correct answer by email or phone message. Try again this week. Here’s last week’s answer, offered by the person who goes by the name of The Sketch Artist: “Paul Kenworthy. His wife Laura Eisener, of ‘Saugus Gardens in the Pandemic,’ thoughtfully wrote Her husband’s Bio so, I leave it in her hands only to add a grace note of (If you are playing Tourist in your own Town of Saugus a must to do is go on a tour of Saugus Iron Works and get in a tour led by Paul. He really gives of himself 100% and animates factual representation with care from start to finish! Fascinating tour guide as others have mentioned.) “thankyou and Now Ms. Laura’s words: “‘Paul was born in Providence RI, graduated from Connecticut college in New London, CT with a degree in history, and received a Master’s Degree in business from State University of New York at Albany, NY. He has been a Saugus resident since 1990. In 2014 he left his previous career and returned to his first love, history, when he began working as a park ranger at Saugus Ironworks National Park. During the winter he teaches a computer class at Worcester State University. He lives in the Lynnhurst neighborhood with his wife of 28 years, Laura Eisener, his niece Monique Todd, and their 2 cats.’ “Yours Truly, The Sketch Artist.” A “shout-out” to the Castraberti family Saugus School Committee Member Arthur Grabowski offered two “shout-outs” this week. For the first one, he nominated Steve Castraberti and family of Prince Pizzeria for the generous gesture he does every Veterans Day of offering a free large pizza to every veteran or active duty member of the armed forces. A “shout-out” to the food pantry volunteers THE SOUNDS OF SAUGUS | SEE PAGE 11

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