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Friday, June 1, 2018
Peabody remembers its fallen on Memorial Day Seven Medals of Liberty presented at City Hall ceremony By Christopher Roberson
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ollowing this year’s Memorial Day parade residents and veterans joined city and state officials in front of City Hall for the weekend’s final ceremony on May 28. During the ceremony, Robert Dunne, commander of the Peabody Veterans Council, called attention to the four stone memorials with the names of those from Peabody who were lost in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Dunne said many of those soldiers still had their whole lives in front of them. “Look at the ages of these young men,” he said.“These men put on the uniform, swore an oath and died in combat – that’s a very powerful thought.” Mayor Edward Bettencourt presented a Challenge Coin to veteran Al Scotina, Sr., who, along with his two brothers,
GENERATIONS OF VALOR: During the City’s Memorial Day ceremonies in front of City Hall Monday, Mayor Edward Bettencourt presented the Challenge Coin to WWII Veteran Al Scotina, Sr., shown being supported by his grandson, Army Special Forces Staff Sergeant Michael Scotina, who recently returned from Afghanistan. See more photo highlights on pages 5–7. (Advocate photo by Ross Scabin)
served in the Marines during World War II. “From April 1943 through March 1946 the Scotina boys had a continuous presence overseas in support of combat operations,” he said. Bettencourt also said Scotina’s
son, Al Scotina, Jr., had been a Peabody Police officer and is now a sergeant with the Lynnfield Police Department. Scotina’s grandson, Michael Scotina, is a staff sergeant in the Army’s Special Forces and recently re-
turned from Afghanistan, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor. Reading a narrative from Michael’s commanding officer, Bettencourt said that on Feb. 21, Michael’s unit was pinned
down under heavy fire from enemy snipers, 40-millimeter guns and rocket-propelled grenades. To make matters worse, his unit was running out of ammunition and his team leader had been shot in the neck. “Staff Sgt. Scotina began running in the open and returned with 600 rounds of M249 ammunition and a spare barrel,”Bettencourt said as he read from the narrative. “Staff Sgt. Scotina directly saved the life of the team leader.” In addition, Bettencourt presented Medals of Liberty to the families of the following servicemen who were killed in action: Army Pvt. First Class Edward Cormier, Marine Pvt. James Hubisz, Army Pvt. Daniel Flynn, Army Sgt. Ralph Maney, Marine Pvt. First Class Paul Trainor, Army Pvt. First Class James Sintomas, Carpenter’s Mate Clarence Williams of the Coast Guard and Army Pvt. Ralph Yonis.
Councillors wrestle School Committee with golf course audit passes $73.7M budget By Christopher Roberson
By Christopher Roberson
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he City Council’s Finance Committee recently voted, 4-1, to pay $15,000 to Niblick Golf to audit the operations at The Meadow at Peabody Golf Course. During the May 24 meeting, Councillor-at-Large Anne Manning-Martin said she is concerned that the city would not follow through on the recommendations produced by the audit results. She also said the original cost of the audit was $5,000. In addition, Manning-Martin asked why an outside company would be hired rather than having city employees complete the audit. In response, Finance Director Michael Gingras said the $5,000 figure was only an estimate. He also said the city needs a company that specializes in golf course audits. Councillor-at-Large Thomas Gould said he agrees with hiring a company that does that kind of work. “Recommendations will be golf-related and food-related,” he said. “Golf will be the flavor of the audit.” However, Ward 5 Councillor Joel Sa-
T
Anne Manning-Martin Councillor-at-Large
slaw said he was not aware that an audit request had been sent out for bid. “In the future, if you’re going to put something out for bid, I’d like to see the request,” he said, adding that other companies submitted cost estimates of $19,000 and $23,000, which could have produced a better audit report.
COUNCILLORS | SEE PAGE 2
he School Committee voted 5-1, on May 22, to send its $73.7 million budget request to the City Council. This year’s figure represents a three-percent increase over the fiscal year 2018 budget. Prior to the vote, there was something that Mayor Edward Bettencourt needed to get off his chest. He said he is concerned that some news outlets reported that the budget would be slashed by $6.4 million. “We’re not cutting $6.4 million from the budget; that would never happen,” he said. However, Bettencourt said the city is still burdened with a $2.5 million expense from the three-alarm fire that destroyed the Coolidge Avenue Water Plant on March 13, 2017. He also said that for every million dollar increase, each resident’s tax bill goes up by approximately $40. However, he said education is one of the few areas where he cannot justify making any concessions. As a result, Bettencourt was proud to announce that every student in grades
Dr. Herbert Levine Supt. of Schools
6-12 will have a Chromebook in the fall. “That was a big investment on our part,” he said. Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Herbert Levine said additional revenue is expected from a $50,000 rollover grant and that the Circuit Breaker reimbursement is $200,000 more than what
BUDGET | SEE PAGE 2