SAUGUS — Like all other communities, COVID-19 reared its head in Saugus in a big way, as the town teetered back and forth between red and yellow in Gov. Charlie Baker’s color-coded map that illustrated the danger of the virus spreading.
Its classification as a red town came often enough over the course of the latter half of the year that the schools remained closed — something that hurt even more since the town was all set to open a new Middle-High school that it has spent years planning for before finally finishing it.
As the year ended, the School Committee was poised to decide on the direction schools would take in the coming year — about whether to remain 100 percent remote or two adopt a hybrid system. School Department Chairman Dr. David DeRuosi and the School Committee decided in August to remain remote.
Also this year, a decade-long battle was resolved when the Saugus Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to turn Kasabuski rink over to the state in July.
The long-awaited news came after a selectmen meeting during which the Board voted 4-0 to accept a mutual agreement ending a lease and sublease between the town, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and the rink’s operators, Nathaniel Maniff and John Curley.
— Even amidst a year of bad news and bleak headlines, Saugus’ iconic Kowloon still found a way to brighten a few days in 2020.
Last spring, owner Bobby Wong announced plans to turn his restaurant’s parking lot into a car hop with outdoor food service, live entertainment, and a big-screen TV for drive-in movies as part of an effort to make his popular Route 1 haunt a COVID-friendly space for diners.
In a May 13 interview with The Item, Wong said the idea had actually been a long time in the making, but when state-mandated social distancing guidelines remained in effect throughout the warmer months, summer 2020 seemed like a perfect time to finally implement the fun project.
Although Wong’s plan was borne from the necessity of devising creative dining solutions during the era of social distancing, Kowloon’s retro setup this year may have reminded some longtime patrons of another beloved dinner joint that ruled over the Route 1 restaurant scene throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s.
— Earlier in December, DeRuosi announced his retirement effective at the end of the school year. He was first appointed to the position in 2016.
— The town’s finances remained stable and solid in 2020, achieving its second straight high bond rating. And at year’s end, Crabtree said the town had a surplus of $4.2 million.
— COVID forced cancellation of the annual tree-lighting ceremony in Saugus Center, but the town decided to hold the Santa Claus parade Christmas Eve.
— It continued to be a tough year for World Series Park, with two vandalism cases reported in 2020.
— In October, a rally designed to show support for the police turned tense as counterprotesters showed up as well.
— Construction began at the Belmonte School to make the necessary repairs for conversion of the former middle school to an upper elementary building for Grades 2 through 5.
— The Public Works building was dedicated to the late director Joseph Attubato in September. Attubato had spent five decades working for the DPW.
— The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (Mass DEP) has approved a scope of work submitted by Wheelabrator Saugus to complete an acoustical study that will assess levels of noise pollution emitted by the plant.
— The town lost several luminary figures over the year, including former Selectman Steve Horlick, Selectman and Town Meeting member Dick Barry, Selectman, Town Meeting Member and activist Arthur Gustafson and popular basketball coach Mark Bertrand, who died tragically in an accident on his property two weeks before Christmas.
