Longtime Board of Health members leaving in Saugus

SAUGUS – Come New Year?s Day, the Board of Health will be saying goodbye to three of its long-standing members.With 35 years of experience between the three, board Chairman Joseph Vinard said Frank Woods, Pamela Harris and Stephen Rappa will be missed sitting at the table in 2014.?Time flies when you?re having a good time,” Vinard said with laugh. He?s served 22 years on the board.Vinard said the three, whom he called “talented” and “perceptive,” had “contributed a lot over the years.” He credited Harris with her watchdog role concerning the Resco power plant, and he said Rappa?s expertise as a pharmacist was helpful in working with engineering and environmental issues. He said Woods was invaluable as a science educator at the high school “not only because of his education but because of the knowledge of the school system he brought to the table.”As for the process moving forward, Vinard said Town Manager Scott Crabtree would be proposing two names to the selectmen to appoint to the health board. Vinard said he knew Crabtree already had two names in mind, though he wouldn?t release them before they were officially proposed.Vinard said although there would be a learning curve with the newcomers, he said the two wouldn?t be too far behind. “They?ll have enough of a strong background to come in and hit the ground running,” he said.Crabtree could not be reached for comment Friday.Vinard said some of the issues that would continue to be relevant in 2014 included the regulation of the e-cigarettes, keeping an eye on Resco and the rise of tricky diseases, like tuberculosis.Vinard said as a “pretty active board in Saugus,” he and the other board members, new and old, would continue to keep Director of Public Health Frank Giacalone very busy.