MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 ‘Free cash’ will pay dividends in Saugus By Steve Krause day when it found out that the Crabtree. plus is one of the foundations ITEM STAFF Department of Revenue certi- The biggest bene t of having for maintaining the Town’s S&P ed free cash for more than $4.2 free cash, or a surplus, is that AA+/Stable bond rating,” Crab- SAUGUS — There are all million, Crabtree, along with the taxpayers can save millions of tree said. Thank kinds of bene ts to having a Board of Selectmen and the Fi- dollars in borrowing on capital The surplus will also allow the healthy supply of free cash, nance Committee said. improvement projects, among town to save money on whatev- Town Manager Scott Crabtree “It has been a long-standing - them the bonds the town ob- er it borrows to ful ll the dis- said last week. you nancial priority and goal of this tained for the middle-high trict-wide Master Plan, Crab tree The town received an early administration to have adequate school. Christmas Eve present Thurs- annual free-cash reserves,” said “Having a healthy annual sur- FREE CASH, A2 Item Santa raised more than $60,000 Lynn shooting By Steve Krause ITEM STAFF leaves one dead, This year, the Item Santa ran into a few impediments it has not had to deal with in the 54-year history of the ve wounded drive. around 5:30 p.m. Saturday Those challenges came from By Guthrie Scrimgeour ITEM STAFF when she spotted six men the COVID-19 pandemic. First, there were more ap- lming something with a gim- LYNN — A shooting in Lynn bal (a camera-holder that can plicants because there were at around 5:35 p.m. Saturday more people thrown into pivot). on Quincy Terrace left a man According to Thompson, two perilous economic situations dead and ve others injured, because of job loss, higher men sat inside a silver Honda police said. about halfway down the ter- medical bills, and the depres- Quincy Terrace residents sion that can come with being race, displaying fake 20-dol- reported that the shooting oc- lar bills on the dash, while isolated. curred on the set of a low-bud- Then there were the simple another lmed them from the get music video. steps of a porch. logistics. Applicants usually “Numerous people, after came to the Salvation Army Three more men stood on a being shot, ed the scene — porch on the opposite side of headquarters with their let- which scattered the crime ters stamped by the appropri- the narrow terrace, watching scene down to Washington the scene. ate social workers. Because Street,” said Police Lt. Mi- COVID protocols prevented She reported that she recog- chael Kmiec. “Later we were nized one of the men — who a lot of human-to-human con- advised that one of the indi- tact, these applications were, was about 6-5, and skinny viduals had succumbed to his in a lot of cases, done digital- — as an individual who had injuries.” ly. That meant there wasn’t threatened her and ashed a Mass State Police and Lynn a central clearing house for gun at her in the past after Police detectives are active- them. she complained about him ly investigating the case. No Then, we have to take into shooting off reworks. arrests had been made as of account that the Salvation She went upstairs to her noon Sunday, Kmiec said. Army was already coping PHOTO | JOE BROWN apartment and, shortly after, with record numbers of peo- Jennifer Thompson, who heard a spray of gunshots from ple lining up every day for Some of the six victims of Saturday’s shooting were lives on the terrace, was out food distribution. It got so found on Quincy Terrace. One man was killed. walking her dog Hookah at SHOOTING, A3 hectic at the group’s Frank- lin Street headquarters that the whole operation had to be moved to the Manning Field There’s no masking INSIDE Lynn gets parking lot. And that got thrown further Swampscott behind by the 12 inches of urgency in Lynn eld Three Trump $250,000 for snow Lynn had dumped upon supporters it the week before Christmas. By Anne Marie Tobin the number of cases of the virus, charged in All in all, the Salvation Army ITEM STAFF many of which have been traced post-Christmas Brown elds — which runs the actual me- to irresponsible behavior on the Protest. A3 chanics of the drive — had LYNNFIELD — For our com- part of residents, either by not plenty to do this month. munity and for each other. wearing masks, not practicing so- Opinion Finally, there undoubted- cleanup That’s the urgent message the cial distancing and/or by hosting December takes ly were those who usually town is sending these days in its or attending large gatherings. a horrid 2020 donate but just couldn’t this Mask Up Lynn eld campaign, a out the door. A4 By Thor Jourgensen The online initiative consists ITEM STAFF year. Perhaps they lost jobs town-wide appeal to residents to of a series of three-plus-minute themselves, or at the very stop the spread of COVID-19 by Sports videos featuring statements from LYNN — The former Whyte’s Laun- least, had their hours cut, practicing safety protocols. St. Mary’s boys community leaders, all of whom dry site next to the Willow Street post and/or experienced illness and The town has been hit especially hockey opens conclude their remarks with an of ce is slated for environmental clean- hard with alarming — and seem- season with big up with $250,000 in state Brown elds win. B1 ITEM SANTA, A7 ingly out-of-control — spikes in SAFETY, A3 money, state Sen. Brendan P. Crighton announced. “This grant is the result of a target- ed vision for downtown Lynn and a collaboration between local and state After 40 years stakeholders,” said Crighton. “Thank you to the Baker administration, Mayor Thomas M. McGee, and the Economic service to Development & Industrial Corporation (EDIC/Lynn) for their leadership to pro- mote economic growth and neighbor- Swampscott, hood improvement.” The grant is part of a $1.25 million al- location from the state Brown elds Re- matron retires development Fund announced last week By Guthrie Scrimgeour by Gov. Baker. ITEM STAFF EDIC/Lynn will use the money to pay for cleaning up the one-third-acre down- SWAMPSCOTT — Irma Rubin, who served town site located a block away from the the town of Swampscott for 40 years, rst as former Anthony’s Hawthorne restau- a crossing guard and then as a police matron, rant. The cleanup sets the stage for re- has nally decided to retire. development of nearby downtown prop- Rubin, 83, who is originally from Lynn, - erties for housing or commercial uses. nally stepped down earlier this month. She In 2019, the EDIC/Lynn was awarded began her career as a Swampscott crossing $248,000 from the Brown elds Rede- guard around 1980, working at the same in- velopment Fund to conduct pilot bench- tersection on Humphrey Street, Atlantic Ave- scale testing at this site. nue and Puritan Road for 16 years. “EDIC was proud to work with May- “I could go out and work the streets, as they or McGee on this application. These are say,” said Rubin. “And be home when my kids much-needed funds that will begin the got home.” clean up of a former laundromat locat- Through 16 years of service on the corner, ed in the heart of our downtown. It is she came to know most of the kids in the the rst step in developing this vacant neighborhood. lot,” said EDIC/Lynn Executive Director This was back when the crossing guards James M. Cowdell. were still hired by the police department. She MassDevelopment last August would wear a full uniform — a police jacket opened a competitive solicitation for with white gloves and black pants. Eventu- applications from municipalities and ally though, Rubin said, the crossing guards their agencies or authorities for up to were shifted from the police department’s $100,000 in site assessment funding, or jurisdiction because it cost too much to pay up to $250,000 in site assessment and/ them. or remediation funding. PHOTO | OLIVIA FALCIGNO “Once they decided that we were too expen- “This grant is the product of collabo- sive, we couldn’t wear the police jackets or the ration between state and local partners Irma Rubin is retiring as a crossing guard and matron af- ter 40 years working in Swampscott. RUBIN, A3 BROWNFIELDS, A7 OBITUARIES ..............................A2 LOOK! .......................................A8 DIVERSIONS .............................B5 HIGH 49° VOL. 142, ISSUE 17 OPINION ...................................A4 SPORTS ................................ B1-2 CLASSIFIED ........................... B6-7 LOW 31° POLICE/FIRE .............................A5 COMICS ....................................B4 HEALTH .....................................B8 PAGE A8 $1.50 A2 THE DAILY ITEM MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2020 OBITUARIES Greta D. (DeFelice) Medros, Dr. Arthur C. Buckley Jr., 75 Ronald J. Simone, 68 92 1945 - 2020 1952 - 2020 PEABODY - Arthur C. Buckley MIDDLETON - 68, passed LYNN - Greta D. Medros, Jr., D.M.D., 75, of Peabody, a away unexpectedly at home age 92, of Lynn, died Wednes- well-known Dentist in Peabody Sunday, December 20, 2020. day, December 23, at the and Reading, died on Monday, Born and raised in Lynn, MA, Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, December 21, 2020 at the the son of the late Frank and Melrose, after a brief illness. Massachusetts General Hospi- Louise Simone. A graduate She was the wife of the late tal, Boston after a brief illness.