Burning Desire for a New Fire Station in Saugus
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2017 AN EDITORIAL Swampscott What harbormaster was les lawsuit the Saugus re- to save job ghter Wil- point? liam Cross is By Gayla Cawley advocating ITEM STAFF the need for Am I a bigot? a third re SWAMPSCOTT — Lawrence Bithell, We splashed the ques- station on the attempting to save his former job as har- tion across our front page west side of bormaster, has led a lawsuit against the from March 27 until yes- town. town of Swampscott. terday. The “complaint for declaratory judg- We asked 13 writers to ITEM PHOTO | ment and injunctive relief” was recently consider the question, and OWEN O’ROURKE led on behalf of Bithell by his attorney, their re ections we pub- Neil Rossman, at Salem Superior Court. lished were compelling. The defendants are listed as the Board of Reactions from readers Selectmen, town of Swampscott and Town ranged from one extreme Burning desire for a new Administrator Sean Fitzgerald. to another. “The plaintiff, Lawrence Bithell, has Some readers demand- served as the town’s harbormaster for ed to know why we were over 38 years,” reads the complaint. “In a running it. Even before re station in Saugus series of illegal actions, the town, acting the series started, readers by and through its (then) Town Adminis- saw promotional ads teas- By Bridget Turcotte under former Fire Chief Thomas Nolan, but trator Thomas Younger, its (then) Inter- ing to the series and sub- ITEM STAFF is even more crucial today with the mixed- im Town Administrator Gino Cresta, Jr., stituted the “Am I” in our use developments planned for Route 1. and the current board of selectmen, has question with “Are you.” SAUGUS — As the amount of residential and attempted to remove the plaintiff from Some weren’t happy. commercial properties grow, the town needs to Essex Landing, a $120 million development under construction at the former Route 1 the of ce of harbormaster, rst by placing Said one: “How dare increase public safety resources to cover it, said him on administrative leave and then by you make me think.” On veteran re ghter William Cross. Miniature Golf & Batting Cages, will include 250 apartment units, two hotels, shops and allegedly not reappointing him.” the other extreme, an at- Cross, the union president of Saugus Fire- The complaint was led to prevent restaurants. AvalonBay Properties is propos- torney from Swampscott ghters Local #1003, is advocating for a third the town from removing Bithell from suggested the series be re station to cover the west side of town with ing 280 apartment units and 24,000 square his position, before a formal judgment nominated for the Robert easy access to Route 1 North and South. It’s SAUGUS, A7 by the court on “his rights to continued F. Kennedy Journalism a ght he said dates back to the early 1970s employment in of ce, and subsequently, Award. for a declaratory judgment on his right Why did we take a to continued tenure in of ce,” reads the sharp departure from document. strictly traditional com- Fitzgerald said the selectmen and Ross- munity-news coverage to man were looking at a possible settlement. talk about bigotry? “At this point, we are in the middle of The answer lies in The litigation, so I can’t really get into any Item’s mission statement speci cs,” Fitzgerald said. (including “to provoke Naomi Dreeben, chairwoman of the thought”) and the one board of selectmen, said she wouldn’t published every day with comment on the lawsuit, calling it a “rath- the series. Bigotry, we er delicate situation.” concluded, demands in- The complaint argues that Bithell’s ap- trospection. pointment from its initial enactment in We sought to engage 1978 “shall remain in force unless the our readers and contribu- harbormaster is removed for neglect of tors in a conversation on duty, negligence or conduct unbecoming bigotry that began with of a harbormaster” and alleges that he self-analysis. had never been charged with any of the We achieved our objec- three reasons for removal. Rossman, in tive: Visits to itemlive. the complaint, also argues that the of ce com jumped by 63 percent of harbormaster is not subject to reap- on March 28 over site vis- pointment. its one week earlier. Rossman said by phone on Tuesday that Our writers revealed he had no further comment and the com- how bigotry — more pre- plaint speaks for itself. cisely, the language as- sociated with it — hurts. HARBORMASTER, A7 Item Sports Editor Steve Krause wrote from the Police seize weapon during perspective of an over- weight person about how INSIDE the language of bigotry surprise middle-school search “dehumanizes people.” In Lynn Lynn City Council- By Thomas Grillo for illegal substances. Capt. Thom- City facing or Hong Net described ITEM STAFF As police from Lynn, the Essex as Cote and spending shortfall. A3 the bigotry he faced as and Suffolk County Sheriff’s De- K-9 of cer LYNN — It took Dash just min- a Cambodian-American, partment and Saugus Police De- Dash check After-school program a utes to sniff out Danielle Hilton’s and admitted that he has the hallway social space for girls. A3 math classroom on Tuesday to de- partment entered the school at 10 made bigoted assump- lockers at termine there were no drugs to be a.m. for a surprise visit, students tions about people who Pickering In Sports found. and faculty were con ned to their are different from him. Middle Lynn’s Rowe out as We are deeply indebted The German shepherd from the rooms. Panthers head coach. B1 Essex County Sheriff Department’s When Dash arrived with his train- School on and grateful for the coura- Tuesday. geous re ections our writ- K-9 unit spent the morning at the er, Capt. Thomas Cote, at Room 103, In Food Pickering Middle School checking ITEM PHOTO | Try some of Rosalie’s ers shared with us over SEARCH, A7 the last nine days. In ad- lockers, bathrooms and classrooms JIM WILSON pasta with beans. B8 dition to Net and Krause, we saw through the eyes of Yosra Girdia, a Muslim student from Lynn Classi- Peabody cal who embraced Ameri- ca, but wants people to BY BILL BROTHERTON learn about her faith. union has Rubén Montano-Lopez, a gay Latino who works Lynn artist for Family and Children’s dim view Service of Greater Lynn, observed how family, not turns trauma society at large, rst fa- of raise miliarized him with prej- into triumph udices against the LGBT By Adam Swift community. ITEM STAFF When they witnessed By Dalia Shilas anti-Semitism, Marble- PEABODY — It’s been FOR THE ITEM more than two decades head High students Ol- BOSTON — The rst thing you ivia Schauer and Averi since the elected members of the Peabody Municipal see as you enter the Canvas Fine Kaplowitch worried about Arts exhibit on the fth oor of City becoming “the school Light Commission have Hall is “Red Sky In The Morning,“ snitches” if they com- gotten a raise, but for plained. They were quick- some Peabody Municipal a glass shard painting by longtime ly reminded that “as Jew- Light Plant union mem- Lynn resident Dr. Eleanor Ruth ish girls, we could not sit bers, two decades is still Fisher. Three of her glass shard back.” not long enough. Dr. Eleanor paintings are displayed here. Examining his own big- On Thursday night, the Ruth Fisher Her mentor, Georgia O’Keeffe, otry, history and sociology City Council’s nance in her Lynn once said: “When you take a ow- teacher Anthony Mathieu, committee will consider home. er in your hand and really look at who is black, concluded a request from the light it, it’s your world for the moment. PHOTO | BIGOT, A4 PEABODY, A7 DALIA SHILAS FISHER, A7 OBITUARIES ..............................A2 POLICE/FIRE .............................A6 COMICS/DIVERSIONS ........... B4-5 HIGH 44° VOL. 139, ISSUE 102 LYNN .........................................A3 LOOK! .......................................A8 CLASSIFIED ........................... B6-7 LOW 38° OPINION ...................................A4 SPORTS ................................ B1-3 FOOD ........................................B8 PAGE A8 ONE DOLLAR A2 THE DAILY ITEM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2017 OBITUARIES Joseph G. Dwan, 95 Thomas F. Quinn, 77 Lloyd H. Caswell Jr., 73 1940-2017 1944-2017 LYNN — Mr. Joseph making all types of NAHANT — Thomas ty” A. (McCormack) MARBLEHEAD — A. M., Marblehead; G. “Gerard” Dwan, furniture. F. Quinn, age 77 and Quinn of Nahant; Lloyd H. Caswell Jr., Gerry No. 5 Veteran age 95, of Lynn, died In addition to his longtime resident of his daughters, Col- 73, of Marblehead, Fireman’s Associa- on Monday, April 3, wife, he is survived Nahant, passed away leen Quinn Sainato passed away at Mer- tion, Marblehead; 2017, at the Ka- by four sons, Kevin peacefully at his and her husband rimack Valley Hospice and the Heritage Po- plan Family Hospice Dwan and his wife home surrounded by Paul of Nahant and House, in Haverhill on mona Grange, Bever- House after a lengthy Tina, Daryl Dwan, his family on Monday, Kerry Barrasso and April 2, 2017. ly. He also served on illness. He was the Claude Dwan and April 3, 2017. her husband Perry Born on April 23, the Marblehead Dis- husband of M. Rose his wife Ann and He was born in of Nahant; his son, 1944, he was the ability Commission, (Gillis) Dwan, with Wayne Dwan; two Lynn on Feb. 13, Thomas F. Quinn III son of the late Lloyd the Fort Sewall Com- whom he shared more than daughters, Lisa Markee and 1940, the son of the late Dr. and his wife Beverly of Nah- H.