TTC_12_13_17_Vol.14-No.07.p1-12

December 13 - 19, 2017 www.TheTownCommon.com Page 3
Continued from page 1
struggled during the past year.
We want to give a meaningful
Christmas to children who do not
have a gift. And it is all for free.”
Jarvis played Santa alone the
first year. Now he has added a
crew, another veteran man to
play Santa and three women who
play Ms. Claus and a couple of
elves. Veterans with the Veterans
Northeast Outreach Center
in Methuen are wrapping the
presents.
Families who want to invite
Santa and his crew for a visit
can sign up on Facebook at
Community Santa.org, so “we can
add you to Santa’s Christmas list.”
You can also donate a toy or other
present in exchange for a visit by
Mr. and Ms. Santa Claus.
There are several other agencies
collecting toys for distribution
during the holidays. In addition
to raising funds for four college
scholarships, the Rowley Veterans
Association is a collection point
for donated toys which will be
given to underprivileged children
on the North Shore. The RVA
is working in a program, called
Christmas for Kids, sponsored
by Sin City Cycles in Lynn and
Saugus. The toys can be dropped
at the RVA and will be distributed
to the children at St. Michael’s
Continued from page 1
Other North Shore cities and
towns, including Amesbury and
Rowley, have not implemented
the ban, local officials said.
The Green Network organization
fought hard for the ban in Boston
because it believes having the
largest city on board will lead to a
statewide ban on plastic bags.
Plastic bags, which were handed
out at grocery and drug stores and
many other retailers, were largely
used only one time. Estimates are
that a plastic bag is used for an
average of 17 minutes before it is
discarded sometimes in the trash,
but too often in the environment
where it causes problems.
Styrofoam, which has not been
as widely banned, releases toxic
chemicals that may be carcinogenic
into the environment.Neither the
plastic bags nor Styrofoam break
down in the environment.
In Ipswich, town leaders adopted
the program, and Connelly led the
effort, raising more than $8,000
from grants to buy the canvas bags
that were distributed through the
schools, the Council on Aging and
the food bank. The grants for the
bags came from Wheelabrator, the
town’s recycling company, and its
recycling committee.
Santa Makes House Calls
Hall in Lynn for an event at 7
p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15.
For more information, visit
Christmas for Kids on Facebook.
Jarvis is working with the
Newburyport Housing Authority
to identify families that should
receive a visit. Twenty children are
already scheduled to receive visits,
starting with the homes on Park
Circle.
His focus is primarily in
Newburyport and surrounding
communities. One target is
the families who are living in
the motels on Beach Road in
Salisbury, he said.
In a post announcing the home
visits, Jarvis wrote: “Thank you
so much for bringing the Magic
of Christmas and Santa to every
child! Santa’s Gifts are available
to children under 18 in specific
communities. BE ADVISED:
you may be visited by Santa, Mrs.
Claus or an Awesome Elf!”
Santa’s crew includes Paul
Riapelle of Methuen, who plays a
Santa. Eva Montibello of Haverhill
and Esther Cabrera from Methuen
will be either Ms. Claus or an elf.
Tammy Jenkins from Newbury
will be Ms. Claus.
Montibello, who is the
executive director of Homeless
Empowerment Project, met
Jarvis when they were both doing
“Most towns don’t have a
Marlee,” Ventimiglia said. Town
Manager Robin Crosbie gave
Connelly the responsibility of
implementing the bans.
Her approach was to call the
ban “a switch” in lifestyle, she said.
“No one likes to be told what to
do.”
It helped that Ipswich also lost
its two disposal companies that
accepted Styrofoam.
In Gloucester, which recently
adopted the ban, ward two
councilor Melissa Cox wrote:
“there really isn’t a good reason
to oppose a ban of disposable
plastic bags. The reality of plastic
bags is that while they are in fact
recyclable, only a small percentage
find their way into a recycling
bin. Most plastic bags end up in
landfills or as litter. And there is
no denying that plastic bags do
not safely break down and that it
costs money to pick up litter.”
Arguments against the ban
include their convenience for
shoppers. Robert Whynott, a
former Gloucester city clerk,
proposed the city adopt stronger
ordinances against all litter instead
of just singling out the plastic
bags.
Plastic bags, he wrote, “are a
outreach to homeless veterans.
Several times a month they bring
homeless veterans food, clothing,
backpacks and toiletries.
Asked how she got involved
in the community Santa project,
Montibello said she has been
volunteer all her life. One of her
childhood memories is the public
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On the Facebook page, the
Santa community crew will take MANSION DRIVE • ROWLEY, MA • JUST OFF ROUTE 1A
requests for children that have
special needs. “It has been a real
education
The
for us,” Montibello
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said, to learn about toys that cater
to the special needs of certain
children.
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Students are also getting into
the holiday spirit, coloring 500
paper wreaths to be handed out
to homeless veterans. Each wreath
will be signed by the student who
colors them, Jarvis said.
Jarvis, a Triton Regional High
School graduate, is also collecting
real wreaths to place on veterans’
graves at Christmas. On Black
Friday, supporters bought 200
wreaths, which brings his total
this year to a record 523 wreaths.
Ipswich Students Back Plastic Bag, Styrofoam Ban
boon to the elderly, some of whom
go shopping every day, returning
home with one bag hanging from
each hand, with a couple of items
in each one.”
Connelly said she got the most
questions about Ipswich’s ban
from seniors.
Merchants see the ban as
inevitable and have found
suppliers of multi-use bags that
comply with the law. At Shaw’s if
you forget your reusable bags, you
can carry your groceries home in
a paper sack or for 10 cents take
home a reusable thicker plastic
bag.
Stores were given an adjustment
period. Several started offering
cardboard boxes from their own
deliveries.
The fines for violations are
less than a slap on the wrist. For
the first infraction, violators
will receive a written notice and
warning. They are given 30 days
to remedy the violation. If they
don’t, they will be fined $50 for
the first offense and then $100 for
each separate offense.
Most residents and merchants
have readily jumped on board
with the program, Connelly said.
“The commitment in this town is
amazing.”
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