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Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2021 YEAR IN REVIEW | FROM PAGE 11 ple to “stay vigilant” in spite of declining COVID-19 cases in Saugus; four new cases are reported. The installation of lights begins at World Series Park. Seven stores are cited for selling tobacco products to minors during compliance checks of 25 establishments during June of 2019. Selectmen reward Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree with a three-year contract extension to keep him in charge of town government through August 2025. The town gets a $98,000 Shared Street & Spaces Grant to make Cliftondale Square traffic and sidewalk improvements. After pandemic cancellations last year, the YMCA of Metro North’s 5Ks and half marathon return to in-person run or walk for charity. An entomologist warns that an invasion of scuttle flies in a home on Pemberly Drive can pose “a significant” health risk. New Saugus Public Schools Superintendent Erin McMahon is optimistic she has the staff to raise the academic achievement level of the town’s low performing education system; the superintendent floats a survey seeking public feedback from Saugus families where students attend town schools and from families who send their children out of town for an education. The UPS project planned for Route 107 riles East Saugus residents. A spike in COVID-19 cases continues, with 19 new cases reported. A new area for the Saugus School Committee is completed at Belmonte School in the School District administrative wing. August Selectmen set a hearing date for next month to consider applications for new liquor licenses. An Arizona mountain hiker calls Saugus native’s death “needless and avoidable” – Angela Tramonte, 31, overwhelmed by 104-degree heat, turns back down the trail alone while her companion, an off-duty Phoenix police officer, continues his upward hike. Tramonte never made it back to the car where she planned to catch up with the boyfriend she had first met on Instagram two months earlier; a search party found her body off a trail on the side of the mountain where she died. Pastor Bill Ladd begins a three-year assignment at the First Congregational Church of Saugus after an acting career that spanned more than three decades. The Town shuts down Pearce Memorial Drive from Main Street to the parking lot to keep traffic away from where the pavement collapsed and sank. The Town reports 53 new COVID-19 cases during the past week as an upward trend concerns officials. The Saugus Fire Department Color Guard performs at a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Former U.S. Postal worker Brian Thibodeau pleads guilty in U.S. District Court to mail theft; he admits to stealing about $2,000 worth of gift cards from Saugus postal customers on his mail route last year. Wrestling great “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan is a big hit at Kowloon Restaurant. The Commonwealth Amateur Baseball League donates $5,000 to the World Series Park Lighting Fund. A Saugus woman is fatally shot during a police encounter; Stephanie Gerardi, 38, allegedly challenged officers with a knife when they entered her home during a domestic call, and one of the officers fired three shots, killing the mother of two children. Superintendent Erin McMahon announces ambitious goals for student achievement. Selectmen delay a vote on an S-2 permit for a UPS facility to get a legal opinion from town counsel on whether they can add more resident protections. State Rep. Jessica Ann Giannino (D-Revere) announces the appointment of Christopher A. DeFilippis as her new legislative aide. The New Friends of the Saugus Public Library cancels its Annual Book Sale that was scheduled for Founders Day, citing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 400 cars compete, drawing a crowd of 1,000 people, at the Third Annual Cars & Cops Show outside Square One Mall. School officials have mixed feelings about the state’s new mask mandate. The Saugus Y hosts Not A Walk in the Park 5K at Breakheart Reservation. The sinkhole problem remains unsolved at the Saugus Middle-High School. The latest COVID-19 data shows a dramatic increase in Saugus – 68 new cases in a week. A boat comes loose from a pickup truck on Walnut Street, smashing down on the hood and windshield of an SUV. September Supt. Erin McMahon launches lofty academic achievement goals for Saugus Public Schools as a new school year begins. A shortage of candidates: Only three School Committee hopefuls pull nomination papers as the deadline nears; six express interest in the Board of Selectmen. MSBA awards $140-million-plus for the Northeast Metro Tech building project. School Committee Vice-Chair Ryan Fisher says he might not seek reelection because of verbal abuse and threats of violence he’s received. The Town reports 73 new COVID-19 cases in a week. An Arizona medical examiner rules Saugus native Angela Tramonte’s death on a Phoenix mountain trail in late July accidental and that she died from environmental heat exposure. Saugus receives a state grant to develop a plan in response to climate change. Two School Committee members offer their take on Day One transportation woes and how the district and parents can improve the situation. Only 11 candidates pull nomination papers for 10 top elective offices in town government just a day before the deadline; School Committee Chair Thomas Whittredge and committee Vice-Chair Ryan Fisher decide to run. The new year greets Saugus Public Schools with a new Belmonte STEAM Academy to replace three elementary schools. The Town reports 60 new COVID-19 cases. Selectmen finally agree to a permit modification that will enable a proposed UPS terminal to get extra hours. The First Congregational Church plans the 19th Annual Pumpkin Patch in Saugus Center. Saugus remembers its “9/11” victims on the 20th anniversary: Gertrude “Trudi” Alagero, who was killed at the World Trade Center terrorist attack, and David DiMeglio, who died on as a passenger on one of the highjacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. All incumbent selectmen and School Committee members plan to seek additional twoyear terms in the Nov. 2 Town Election. Saugus officials learn of 101 new COVID-19 cases. For the 19th consecutive year, members of the Saugus Fire Department observe the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed more than 3,000 people in the highjacking and crashing of four jet airliners in New York City, Arlington, Va., and Shanksville, Pa. Saugus celebrates Founders Day a year after the COVID-19 pandemic led to cancellation of what would have been the 40th annual event. Saugus native Paige Marie Giadone-Naimie wins the Mrs. New England Petite USA 2021 title. Evergreen Street homeowners seek relief from drainage woes that have flooded their homes for 44 years. Dozens of town residents and community leaders gather in a candlelight vigil on the front lawn outside Saugus Town Hall to recognize the local heroes who helped get the town through the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and to remember the 400 Saugonians who have died since March of last year – including 74 related to COVID-19. Selectmen approve in-person early voting for the Town Election. The Saugus Veterans Council holds Prisoner of War/ Missing in Action Ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park. The Town reports 73 new COVID-19 cases in a week. World Series Park’s night light project nears completion. Vinicius Teixera of Saugus pleads guilty to federal drug and firearms offenses. October Town Election: Five of Saugus’s 10 precincts will have no ballot competition to fill their five Town Meeting seats. Saugus’s longtime and beloved Youth & Recreation Director Gregory Nickolas dies of COVID-19 complications at age 58. “The Orange Glow” brightens the lawn of First Congregational Church as a shipment of 4,000 pumpkins arrive from the Navajo Reservation in Farmington, N.M., for the start of the church’s 19th Annual Pumpkin Patch. The Town reports 53 new COVID-19 cases. Colleagues blame School Committee Member Arthur Grabowski’s alleged treatment of a School Department employee for the School Committee’s decision to switch from in-person meetings to remote sessions via Zoom teleconferencing. Two Saugus School Committee Members – Maureen Whitcomb of Precinct 4 and Peter Manoogian of Precinct 10 – will be candidates along with their sons on the Nov. 2 election ballot. A Special Town Meeting will consider an article to fund construction of a new vocational school in Wakefield. A Saugus woman pleads guilty to drug trafficking charges: Nicole Benton, part of organization that produced more than 100,000 counterfeit Percocet pills. The Saugus Public Library Foundation elects new officers. “Duck Lemonade” enables young students to help Breakheart Reservation. Local state reps blast Boston’s plans to relocate “Methadone Mile” to the Quality Inn in Revere near the Saugus town line; Saugus selectmen join Revere officials and local legislators in opposing Boston’s proposal to relocate “Methadone Mile.” Harvested community garden vegetables from St. John’s Episcopal Church are donated to the community’s less fortunate. The Finance Committee recommends against an article to fund Saugus’s share of a new Northeast Metro Tech school in Wakefield. Precinct 2 Town Meeting Member Chris Riley calls for civility as the Saugus political season heats up. In “An open Statement to The Citizens of Saugus,” School Committee Member Arthur Grabowski calls the allegations that he was hostile toward a Saugus Public Schools employee “the typical Saugus ‘pre-election’ smear campaign.” The Town reports 52 new COVID-19 cases. A Saugus woman is convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft: Jayne Carbone, 52, stole over $400,000 from her elderly uncle. World Series Park dedicates lights and recognizes 170 people who contributed to the lighting fund. Special Town Meeting overwhelmingly rejects an article to fund Saugus’s share of a new Northeast Metro Tech. Town Election: The Saugus Public Library will host two days of in-person voting. Another wave of pumpkins hit Saugus Center. The Town reports 65 new COVID-19 cases. Saugus is walloped by a nor’easter; the storm damages fences, creates hazardous road and sidewalk conditions and knocks down electrical wires, causing power outages to close to 100 homes and businesses. The Town reports 45 new COVID-19 cases. Town Election: Three candidates battle for a Saugus Housing Authority seat in a very competitive local political race. The Theatre Company of Saugus kicks off a two-weekend performance of “Night of the Living Dead.” World Series Park hosts a fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis (MS): 11 of the 12 members of the celebrated 2003 Saugus American Little League team which advanced to the U.S. championship game at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa., attend the event. They show up to help teammate Dario Pizzano, who organized the fundraiser; his mom suffers from MS. November Saugus voters decide to keep most of their top elected leaders in the 2021 Town Election; despite facing five challengers, all five selectmen hold onto their seats by comfortable margins; four of five incumbent School Committee members win another two-year term; 38 of the 41 incumbent Town Meeting members are re-elected; a veteran housing authority member wins another term by a wide margin in a three-way race. Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano tabs agreement with Win Waste Innovations YEAR IN REVIEW| SEE PAGE 13

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