People, Places, and Things: 12-12-14

Mixing music with giving – and some eggs on the sideA small group of students from the Lynn Public Schools chorus, directed by Jorge Ibanez from Lynn English, performed live on radio station 104.9 Thursday morning as part of Sen. Bruce Tarr’s annual holiday toy drive. The first stop on Tarr’s daylong tour of the North Shore was the Capitol Diner in Lynn at 6 a.m. Rep. Bob Fennell (above left photo with Tarr) made sure all were well fed and Gov.-elect Charlie Baker (above right photo) came over from Swampscott to lend his support.Retiring minds want to knowFriends and colleagues are bidding retiring Lynn school department employees Jane Dionne and Doris Syrakos farewell. The pair have 42 years of classroom experience combined with Dionne working as an occupational therapist since 1995, traveling from school to school, and Syrakos providing special education instruction and assistance since 1991.LFD collecting blood for Children’sIf you want to do something nice this holiday season, you can stop in at Lynn Fire Department headquarters at 725 Western Ave. from 1-7 p.m. today and give blood. The hardworking members of the LFD are running a blood drive for Boston Children’s Hospital.Revere Chamber parties for a causeThe Revere Chamber of Commerce hosts its holiday party tonight at the Comfort Inn to benefit Cradles to Crayons. Instead of charging admission, the chamber is asking guests to bring new children’s clothes to the party, including winter hats and gloves for children ages 12 to 24 months; boys tops, sizes 10 to 18/20; girls winter coats, sizes 6-12; boys winter coats, sizes 8-12; and body wash, shampoo and conditioner for children ages 3 through 12.Elf T returningHe retired from the Nahant Police Department in August after 42 years, but you better not pout, you better not cry, because Elf T is coming to town to help organize the Christmas Parade.”As soon as it started to get cold, I went, ?OK, Christmas Parade,'” Tom Hutton, “Elf T,” said Thursday. “Talking to (co-organizer) Roz (Puleo) and other people, they said ?Tommy, you’ve got to come back.’ So I’m coming back.”The 19th Annual Christmas Parade will be held Saturday, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m., leaving from a staging area at the Village Church on Cliff Street near East Point.The annual fundraiser for the parade will be held this Saturday at the Tides Restaurant on Wilson Road from 6 to 9 p.m. Raffle tickets for items including a cruise to Bermuda will be drawn Saturday and donations will be accepted. All money raised for the parade go to Item Santa; My Brother’s Table; the family of Anthony Pierro, whose 6-year-old daughter saved the Swampscott family from a fire that destroyed their home Dec. 2; and a $500 scholarships for local graduating seniors.Many wondered whether retirement meant Hutton – who started the parade in Nahant after watching the Lynn Christmas Eve Parade with his son – would also relinquish his duties this holiday season. But Hutton emphasized that the parade has become a tradition – for Nahant and for him.”My granddaughter Madeline is coming this year,” Hutton said. “I decided to do it when I saw it with (my son), now he’s bringing his daughter to the parade, and I’m just psyched about that.”