Page 4 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2021 Saugus police capture bank robbery suspect A man accused of robbing a Saugus bank on Monday (Nov. 15) afternoon drew attention to himself by trying to hitch a ride, eventually leading to his arrest, according to police. Gary Lacey, 48, of Tewksbury, was charged with two counts of unarmed robbery. He was later arraigned in Lynn District Court. At 12:27 p.m., Saugus Police dispatchers received a wireless alarm from Eastern Bank at 605 Broadway and dispatched officers to the bank. While officers were still en route, they were updated that dispatchers confirmed there was a robbery at the bank. “Upon arrival, officers learned that a suspect passed a note to two tellers inside the bank, received an undisclosed amount of cash and subsequently fled on foot toward the parking lot of a large retailer at 400 Lynn Fells Parkway,” Saugus Police Chief Michael Ricciardelli said in a press release issued by his office. “A short time later, Saugus Police received an additional call reporting a suspicious male asking people for a ride in the parking lot at 400 Lynn Fells Parkway, which is only a few hundred yards from the bank,” Chief Ricciardelli said. “Saugus Police located an individual whom they later identified [as] Lacey in that Northeast Metro Tech School District officials will consider election option for new school project By Mark E. Vogler O fficials of the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School District still hope that the Town of Saugus and the City of Chelsea will reverse their opposition to supporting the funding of a new Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School (Northeast Metro Tech). “I’m hopeful that they will reverse their voted, but I’m not optimistic about that happening,” Northeast Metro Tech Superintendent/Director David S. DiBarri said this week. “But I’m completely optimistic that if we do wind up going to a ballot election, the vote will be overwhelming in support of the project,” he said. Ten of the 12 member communities support the $300-million-plus project. But an opposition vote by just one community forces district officials to seek a general election for a popular vote by residents in each community. The Northeast Metro Tech School Committee is set to meet on Dec. 9 when members will decide if and when it will hold an election among the 12 member communities in the district. “Unfortunately, it was the leadership in Saugus and Chelsea which opposed the project,” DiBarri said in an interview this week. “We’re going to ask them to reconsider. The next few weeks are going to give us a little better road map on what we need to do,” he said. “The real challenge in Saugus has been that even though we have been attending the Finance Committee meetings for six years, the Finance Committee recommended against the project. And it’s been clear that the Finance Committee hasn’t been communicating with the Town Meeting,” he said. But many Saugus town officials disagree with DiBarri’s characterization of why Saugus opposed the project. In a two-hourplus meeting last month, Saugus Town Meeting members voted 37-6 in favor of a Finance Committee recommendation against approving an article which many town officials worry could lead to massive cuts in the town’s operating budget over the next 30 years. The estimated financial impact for Saugus over a 30-year period is $40.6 million. A project with that kind of price tag should be funded through a debt exclusion instead of the town’s operating budget – and by a vote of the people, a majority of the members agreed. Otherwise, the town would be faced with having to fund its share by an average of $1.3 million from its operating budget each year. DiBarri and other district officials are concerned that the $140.8 million in state reimbursement for the project could be jeopardized if the district is unable to get extensions of certain project deadlines later in the year. Even with extension of those deadlines, the district has to mount campaigns in each of the communities to sell the project – which could be a challenging task in the current economic climate. The COVID-19 Update: Town reports 85 newly confirmed cases over the past eight days, according to town manager By Mark E. Vogler T he number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases reported yesterday (Nov. 18) by the town over the last eight days was 85 – an increase of one from the previous week, according to Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree. The recently confirmed COVID-19 cases raised the number of total cases to 5,222 since March of last year, Crabtree said in a press release yesterday. Meanwhile, there was one additional COVID-19-related death in Saugus over that period, raising the death toll linked to the killer virus to 81. “Our hearts and prayers go out to those families affected by this health pandemic,” Crabtree said. THIS WEEK ON SAUGUS TV Sunday, November 21 at 9 to 11 p.m. on Channel 8 – “Sunday Night Stooges” (The Three Stooges). Monday, November 22 all day on Channel 8 – “Movie Monday” (classic movies). Tuesday, November 23 at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 9 – School Committee Meeting from November 18. Wednesday, November 24 at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 9 – Planning Board Meeting from November 18. Thursday, November 25 at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 9 – Board of Appeals Meeting from November 18. Friday, November 26 at 4:30 p.m. on Channel 8 – MS4MS Fundraiser from October 31. Saturday, November 27 at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 9 – Board of Selectmen Meeting from November 16. Saugus TV can be seen on Comcast Channels 8, 9 & 22. For complete schedules, please visit www.saugustv.org. ***programming may be subject to change without notice*** parking lot, and following up an on-scene investigation, Lacey was taken into custody. Saugus Police recovered the cash that was taken from the bank. Lacey was not in possession of any weapons when he was taken into custody, and no weapons were displayed during the robbery.”
5 Publizr Home