Though things have turned a little colder and wetter this week, last Thursday’s sunny weather made
the day all about popsicles and playing outside for Mariyah Hannon and Aliyah Martinez (right).
They are pictured here at Kayem Park, where the Salvation Army handed out hundreds of popsicles
last Thursday to kids as part of National Salvation Army Week.

Nine-year-old Izabella (Izzy) Barr, of Chelsea, celebrated the cul­mination of her wish to learn to play the guitar by performing in her very own live concert at Berklee College of Music on May 9th. Izzy, who has Pulmonary Hypertension, a progressive heart and lung condition, had her wish granted by Make-A-Wish Massachu­setts and Rhode Island.

Izzy was joined onstage by her guitar instructor Amanda Monaco, of Berklee, and was accompanied by drummer Tim Merle and bassist Casey Anderson, both Berklee students. Izzy performed six songs including “Let It Be” (which she performed with her grandfather), “Brown Eyed Girl,” and “Ring of Fire” in front of a live audience that included friends and family, and the Chair of the Guitar Department at Berklee, Larry Baione, and Berklee Presi­dent Roger H. Brown

Decorated Army Specialist Stephen Leon – who is originally from
Chelsea – has been transitioning to Civilian life in America after
being wounded during his last tour in Afghanistan in 2011 amidst
an act of tremendous heroism. For stopping an attack on Camp
Phoenix, he was given numerous commendations, as shown here.
He is also from a very well-known Chelsea family, and his brother
is actually a Chelsea Police Officer.

There are no tears on the warpath.

In fact, soldiers aren’t allowed to cry or mourn in the slightest for their fallen fellow warriors for fear that it may compromise their mission or disturb their mental focus.

That’s a pretty solid rule in the military, save for one exception.

That exception is Memorial Day.

“That’s the only day I have for crying and mourning and remembering all the loved ones who perished while they were serving with me,” said decorated Army Specialist Stephen Leon – a Chelsea native who now lives in Revere. “As soldiers, we’re not allowed to show our emotions and we don’t, but Memorial Day is our day to cry and mourn and open all the old wounds for a time. That’s what it is for a soldier, and that’s what I’ll do on Monday. After that, I’ll go to the Soldiers Home and then visit as many ceremonies as I can so I can also show respect.”

Leon, 54, has served three tours of duty in Afghanistan as a specialist, and has been in the military since 1978 – saying he knew he wanted to be a soldier every since he got a GI Joe toy as a kid.

He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with a ‘V’ and the Purple Heart and so many other citations that he can’t even find a place to keep them all.

He also has three brothers – including Chelsea Police Officer Robert Leon – who all served in the military for a time as well.

Stephen Leon, though, made a career out of the military, and his service shows through the triumphs and battle scars he carries.

However, last Friday he was at the Senior Center not to show off his achievements, but to say ‘Thank You’ in advance of Memorial Day.

His gratitude comes from the fact that – coincidentally – Leon’s unit received care packages from the Revere Senior Center through Operation Troop Support each time he went over to Afghanistan. Recently, after having met Revere veterans advocate Morris Morris, Leon put two and two together.

“I wanted to come here and thank everyone here for all the packages we got when we were over there,” he said. “I met Morris and he was telling me about Operation Troop Support’s care packages from the Senior Center here in Revere. I said, ‘Wait a minute. That’s the same people my unit has been getting packages from since 2008 when I first went over.’ What we see is ugly. You don’t realize what a package can do to lift a soldier’s spirits in the field. A package can change your week. There’s no music in the field or TV or radio. Any little thing you get is just a tremendous relief. They’re packages to us were such a blessing.”

And there was plenty to need relief from – especially during Leon’s last tour, which ended for him in 2011 after he was injured while stopping the attack of five suicide bombers on a sleepy military camp near Kabul, Afghanistan.

It was the middle of the night on April 2, 2011 when – out of the darkness – a planned attack came knocking at the main entrance of Camp Phoenix.

Leon and another soldier were the only ones standing in the way.

Raining down on them was small arms fire, hand grenades, rifle-fired grenades and suicide insurgents. The attack was meant to get the suicide bombers past the entrance and into the barracks of the sleeping soldiers – where five bombers planned to detonate exploding vests.

“There were 8,700 soldiers behind us and they were all sleeping in the middle of the night, so we figured it was going to be our time to die because we weren’t going to let them get to those 8,700 sleeping soldiers,” recalled Leon. “My partner got hit and I said to him, ‘Just keep shooting because if they get by us, it’s all done.’ I got blown up, but we stopped them.”

According to his commendation letter from the Army, despite being rocked by multiple explosions, Leon was able to gather himself and deliver lethal shots to the attackers and to the suicide bombers who had not yet detonated their vests.

“While disoriented from a series of explosions, Specialist Leon refused to surrender ground and delivered accurate and lethal fire which prevented insurgents from gaining entry to the base,” read the citation. “His exceptional courage, dedication to duty, care for fellow soldiers and personal sacrifice directly contributed to the successful defense of the main entry control point. His actions saved lives.”

He was originally awarded the Bronze Star for his heroism, but it was bumped down to an Army Commendation Medal. However, he said he thinks they’re going to move it back up to the Bronze Star.

Due to the injuries he sustained in defending the camp in that 2011 attack, Leon had to be hospitalized, and following that, his tour ended. He said he was never so grateful to be back on U.S. soil.

“It’s like the ‘Wizard of Oz’; there’s no place like home,” he said. “You miss the States so badly and when you see the country on the plane coming in, it looks so beautiful. I’ll never forget my brother inviting me to the Chelsea Police Station and all the officers giving me a huge ‘Welcome Home’ party. It was wonderful to be home.”

And Leon said it has been wonderful being back for the last year or so, but the transition has been hard. He said it helps to go around and thank people who helped him while he was overseas – such as the Revere Seniors – and to just keep easing into Civilian life.

“I was at such a high level of vigilance for so long,” he said. “I have to let my guard down and to try to learn to be a human being again. The transition from being a soldier to being a Civilian is a huge difference. I’m just starting to go to sleep regularly again. When you’re out there in Afghanistan, you don’t sleep. Now, those kinds of things are starting to come back to me. They call it transitioning, but I call it becoming a human being again.”

Despite that, Leon said he’s ready to go back if his unit – the 182nd Infantry – is called back to serve in Afghanistan. That is, if his body will cooperate.

“I’ve been healing now for close to two years,” he said. “I’m about 60 percent, but I’m ready to go back and do whatever needs to be done. My mind wants to keep going, but my body can’t keep up with it. I have traumatic brain injuries from the explosions, loss of hearing and nerve damage in my arms. Those were my gifts from Afghanistan.”

But Memorial Day will be America’s gift to him.

Investigators emerge from a car on Shurtleff Street last Thursday
afternoon after recovering ballistics evidence from the vehicle.

As police tell it, it’s a miracle that no one died last Thursday on Shurtleff Street as two men stopped in the middle of the street and broke up the sunny afternoon by spraying more than a dozen, large .25 calibre bullets throughout the crowded neighborhood.

“We were very, very, very fortunate that no one was hurt, injured or even killed,” said Chief Brian Kyes. “This is no way to start the nice weather and I think we averted a tragedy here.”

According to police, about 2 p.m. last Thursday, a silver Honda Civic stopped in the middle of Shurtleff Street – about one block away from the back of the Bunker Hill Community College campus – and began shooting at one of the buildings.

The shots came from a high-capacity firearm and more than a dozen .25 calibre bullets littered the neighborhood. Police found 12 shell casings at the scene.

Dozens of people on the crowded street scattered as the shots rang out, and the shooters were gone as quickly as they had appeared. Investigators shut down the street for quite some time and recovered three of the bullets. One had broken the window of a minivan, another was downrange in a man’s bedroom and a third was lodged in the baby car seat of an empty, parked four-door sedan.

Kyes said officers were patrolling the neighborhood heavily due to the nice weather and potential for conflict. However, the shooters were able to slip away on foot after a brief chase.

The owner of the vehicle ended up being an older man outside of Chelsea who had let some young people use the vehicle, and he knew nothing of the shootings. The young men were being sought this week.

The City Council and School Committee – after long debate and measured opposition within their own ranks – have decided to grant themselves notable pay increases for the coming year.

Recently, the City Council voted 9-2 to increase councillor pay from $8,000 per year to $14,000 per year – an increase of $6,000 a year that will kick in Jan. 1, 2014.

All councillors voted for the increase except Councillors Brian Hatleberg and Christopher Cataldo.

Hatleberg has long been against the increase, saying he would rather put the money to what he believes would be more productive uses.

“I think it’s the wrong move for a broad variety of reasons,” he told the Record. “I think there are better places for the City to spend its money. The last place I want to spend money is on us. For a number of reasons, I think it’s not the right move and doesn’t make sense. I expressed that at Council and wasn’t able to convince enough of my colleagues.”

City councillors would still not qualify for health insurance benefits – which some councillors in other cities do collect.

For the School Committee, in a vote of 6-3, that body approved a $2,000 pay increase. That sent members’ pay from $5,000 a year to $7,000 a year. Several members of the Committee were looking for a $4,000 increase, to put them at $9,000 per year. That was the motion from Member Carlos Rodriguez, though it was amended by Member Rosemarie Carlisle to reflect the $2,000 increase.

Board Chair Edward Ells and Members Lisa Lineweaver and Angel Meza voted against any increase.

Ells said that the measure needed a 2/3 vote of the Board to pass, and with six votes, it just passed muster. That increase will also go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014

There has not been a pay raise for the Council or the School Committee since 2000.

Last year, a prolonged salary study committee met and made several recommendations. One of those recommendations was that the Council receive $14,000 per year, and the Committee receive $8,000 per year. Despite those long discussions and some recommendations, no official proposal was ever submitted to the Council or the Committee for a vote. So, last December, the matter died.

This spring, it was brought back to the table and passed both bodies this month.

During last year’s study, it was revealed that Chelsea’s councillors were paid far less than those in surrounding cities.

The average salary for a Revere city councillor is $15,748, with those councillors also eligible for $5,760 in reimbursements for expenses and eligible for City health insurance. Like Chelsea councillors, Everett councillors in 2014 will not be eligible for reimbursements or health insurance. However, Everett’s Council will be paid $15,000.  Malden’s councillors earn $17,500 with health insurance benefits, while Somerville’s Council earns $25,000, with health insurance benefits and $3,100 in reimbursements.

All of those examples, however, come from cities that do not have a City Manager form of government, but rather an elected mayor.

The surprise announcement Wednesday of Lt. Gov. Tim Murray’s intended resignation next month from his post has frequently been mentioned in the same sentence as the upcoming sentencing of former Chelsea Housing Authority Director Michael McLaughlin.

Murray has been tied frequently to the McLaughlin investigation, even once testifying before a Grand Jury in the federal case. Murray was a close political ally of McLaughlin’s and many insiders watching the McLaughlin case believe that Murray is the ultimate target for authorities.

That, however, has never officially been said.

On Wednesday, Murray resigned to take a regional Chamber of Commerce position in Worcester – his hometown – that pays more than $200,000. Administration officials on Beacon Hill said the timing of his departure had to do with the availability of the job – noting that it would not be open in 2015 at the end of Murray’s term in office.

He has long-ago ruled out a run for governor.

The McLaughlin case has had virtually no movement in a month’s time, with the last action coming at the end of April in a mundane extension of the sentencing. McLaughlin was originally supposed to be sentenced last week on May 14th. Now, however, he will be sentenced on June 14th.

His plea deal with the federal government explicitly lays out the fact that the more he helps with the ongoing investigation/prosecution, the more lenient his sentencing recommendation will be.

The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) has honored Chelsea High School (CHS) teacher Catherine Doherty and former CHS student Jennifer LaSala as the student and teacher of the year for New England.

A few years ago, Doherty began teaching an entrepreneurship class at CHS, and it was met with wild enthusiasm from the kids at CHS – many of whom were excited to learn about starting their own business.

One of the first students in Doherty’s class was LaSala, a CHS 2011 graduate. She was able to take her idea from Doherty’s class and turn it into a burgeoning career.

LaSala, now CEO of Sugar Coated Heaven, was honored for such as the New England recipient of  the 2013 Young Entrepreneur of the Year, joining tens of others from across the nation in receiving this prestigious award. In the past two years, Jennifer turned her fledging high school NFTE business idea, Sugar Coated Heaven, into a flourishing business due to open its bakery doors this summer in Providence, where Jennifer attends Johnson & Wales University.

Equally proud is NFTE New England of Doherty, a dedicated NFTE teacher at Chelsea High for three years running, who was honored as the 2013 NFTE Entrepreneurship Teacher of the Year for the New England Region. Doherty has worked hard to extend her students’ learning by bringing a Level 2 class to her school as well as developed new curriculum materials that are used throughout the NFTE organization.

Both LaSala and Doherty were honored at a special award ceremony and had the opportunity to meet NFTE’s young entrepreneurs and teachers from around the globe at a NFTE 25th Anniversary Gala held on April 23rd at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria.

Social entrepreneur and renowned educator, Steve Mariotti, founder of NFTE, was also honored. The event, supported by MasterCard Worldwide and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, recognized 37 outstanding young entrepreneurs from 10 different nations, alongside 25 entrepreneurial educators.  Today, NFTE is an international non-profit organization committed to engaging and inspiring youth in low-income communities around the world to pursue educational opportunities, start their own businesses, and succeed in life.

Memorial Day usually is the unofficial start of the all too brief summer in New England.  Temperatures become hotter and days also become longer.   For many grade school students, Memorial Day means that the end of the school year is in sight with only weeks remaining of books, teachers and homework.

The deeper meaning of Memorial Day is to remember the men and women who died while serving in our armed forces.  The first Memorial Day service was held shortly after the end of the Civil War to remember all those who died from both the North and South.

Of late, it has become a day to remember our departed family members and friends who have also have died.

And perhaps this is what we as parents and mentors need to instill in this newest generation.

It seems that world is moving very fast and to get a day off is usually just accepted as a special three day weekend with really no thought of why.

We hope that on the hustle of getting the weekend homes ready for the coming season or being out on the golf course or just barbequing on Monday, that a few minutes is set aside to tell or hopefully remind our children of those family members and friends who have died much too young and what their ambitions were that have yet to be fulfilled in making this world and our  community a better place to live for all. For their unfilled legacy falls to us and our children.

Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day.

May 13

Edward Lockett, 41, of 216 Revere Beach Parkway, Chelsea, was arrested for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer.

Asia Galvin, 27, homeless, was arrested for misdemeanor warrant default.

Erin L. Sherwood, 37, of 128 Shurtleff Street, Chelsea, was arrested for misdemeanor warrant default.

Ayala Michael Angelo Flores, 22, of 58 Cottage Street, Chelsea, was arrested for assault and battery.

Jaime Rivera, 30, of 58 Cottage Street, Chelsea, was arrested for assault and battery.

May 14

Ramon Rivera, 21, of 96 Park Avenue, Revere, was arrested for marked lanes violation and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Zouheir F. Alami, 35, of 176 Shurtleff Street, Chelsea, was arrested for assault and battery and witness intimidation.

Manuel Hernandez, 30, of 88 Hawthorne Street, Chelsea, was arrested for operation of motor vehicle with suspended license, license not in possession/failing to show after accident.

Manuel Hernandez, 55, of 34 Shirley, East Boston, was arrested for two counts of misdemeanor warrant default and warrant felony default.

Jonathan Arce, 26, of 1155 Saratoga Street, East Boston, was arrested for driving under the influence and stop sign violation.

Christine Puopolo, 28, of 104 Geneva Street, Revere, was arrested for possession of Class B drug, and misdemeanor warrant default.

Felix J. Vega, 50, of 100 Bellingham Street, Chelsea, was arrested for two counts of violation of abuse prevention order.

Justin A. West, 41, of Long Island Shelter, Boston, was arrested for straight warrant misdemeanor.

May 15

Justus Lawson, 21, of 63B Fremont Avenue, Everett, was arrested for violation of abuse prevention order.

Abel Reis, 51, of Washington Avenue, Chelsea, was arrested for straight warrant felony.

Faith Lewis, 35, of 83 Birchwood Drive, Hollis, NH, was arrested for motor vehicle theft.

May 16

Jean Senat, 19, of 228 L Russell Street, Everett, was arrested for warrant felony default, misdemeanor warrant default and straight warrant felony.

May 17

Kerry Joseph Bell, 35, of 408 Meridian Street, East Boston, was arrested for warrant felony default, straight warrant felony, two counts of misdemeanor warrant default and violation of abuse prevention order.

Degne Lopez, 21, of 808 Border Street, East Boston, was arrested for unarmed robbery and straight warrant felony.

Garron Deramus, 52, of 794 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, was arrested for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

May 19

Dennis P. Smith, 31, of 80 Park Avenue, Revere, was arrested for assault with a dangerous weapon.

Marico Mezabaca, 28, of 136 Chestnut Street, Chelsea, was arrested for assault and battery.

The Chelsea High boys outdoor track team finished in fourth place last Saturday at the Commonwealth Athletic Conference’s All-League Meet out of the nine teams at the meet.

Ricky Maldonado earned the title of CAC champion in the javelin with a throw of 136′-7″. Ricky enjoyed an outstanding meet for the Red Devils, as he also took second in the high jump with a leap of 5′-10″; second in the 400 meter dash in a time of 53.5; and was the anchor leg on the 4 x 400 relay team that finished second in 3:50.1.

Senior Chester Rath earned a third place ribbon in the mile with a personal record (PR) time of  4:54.1. “Chester led midway through the race,” noted CHS head coach Don Fay. “He was really aggressive and made the race.  The two runners who beat him also PR’d  by a lot.”

Brandon Horn was third in the triple jump. Adrial Rodriguez had a personal best in the shotput with a throw of 40′-2″ for a fifth place finish.

Eric Flores had a PR in the high jump with a leap of  5′-6″, good for fourth place. Jeffrey Estrada finished in sixth place in the 400 meter hurdles and was also fifth in the triple jump.

Chester Rath, David Sklodowski and Jeffrey Estrada were part of the second-place 4 x 400 relay quartet.

Maldonado will be competing at the Class B state meet in the high jump this Saturday to be held at Notre Dame Academy in Hingham.

CHS baseball team drops another close encounter

The Chelsea High baseball team dropped both of its contests this past week, including a 6-5 decision at Northeast Regional Tuesday.

After spotting Northeast a 4-0 lead in the third inning, the Red Devils roared back with a five run uprising in the sixth to forge ahead, 5-4. However, their advantage proved short-lived as Northeast put up a pair of markers in its half of the inning to make it a 6-5 ballgame.

Chelsea got the tying run on base in the top of the seventh, but could not get him home. The loss marked the sixth close defeat of the season (a pair of one-run contests and four in extra innings) for the hard-luck Red Devil diamondmen in the 2013 campaign.

“If we’d managed to win some of those games, it could have turned our season around,” noted CHS head coach Alan Beausoleil.

Daniel Velastegui went all the way on the mound for Chelsea and also had two hits and scored a run. Carlos Ramos went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI. Teammate Carlos Vega had a hit, a walk, and scored a run, while Red Devil Armando Montes went 1-for-2 with a double, a walk, and an RBI.

Last week the Red Devils came out on the short end of a 14-3 decision at Greater Lawrence. A shorthanded CHS squad forced Beausoleil to juggle his lineup. Carlos Vega turned in a credible pitching performance, allowing seven earned runs, but some costly miscues by the revised Chelsea defense allowed the floodgates to open.

Vega helped his own cause with a tremendous home run blast on which he trotted home after sending the ball far over the Gr. Lawrence outfielders’ heads. Freshman Nelson Vega and Montes both had a hit and scored a run.

The Red Devils were set to close out their 2013 season yesterday (Wednesday) at Fraser Field against Lynn Tech.