The Archives

On behalf of everyone here associated with Saugus.net, have a happy New Year!

Our office will close a little early today (3:00 PM) and will be closed tomorrow in celebration of the New Year. Voting on the Impeachment Survey will end sometime tomorrow, so if you'd like to express an opinion on that topic and have not already done so, please do so soon.

We've added a page of pointers to area people's personal home pages. It'll permanently be available through the Neighborhoods page. If you'd like your personal home page added to the list and you live in the area, please let us know.

We've put up a page of Holiday Lights Highlights.

We've been given information about Ken Shaw's funeral. The funeral will start on Wednesday at 9:30 AM at the Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home (5349 Lincoln Avenue, Saugus) and will be followed by a Funeral Mass in the Blessed Sacrament Church (14 Summer Street, Saugus). Visiting hours are on Monday from 7 - 9 PM and on Tuesday from 2 - 4 & 7 - 9 PM. In lieu of flowers donations to his memory may be made to the Ken Shaw Fund, care of Saugus Co-operative Bank, Box 988, Saugus, MA 01906 or the Memorial & Honor Program, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1905.

Our office will be closed for the holiday tomorrow, but we'll be out in the streets tonight taking pictures of houses decorated with holiday lights. Also, don't forget to vote in our Impeachment Survey if you haven't already done so.

It is with deep regret that we must report that Ken Shaw, former police officer of both Saugus and Boston, passed away earlier today.

We've updated the Search the Internet page to include a new (and still somewhat experimental) search engine called "Google". Give it a try and see what you think.

What do you think of the whole presidential impeachment situation? While details of what's actually happening can be found on News page, there has been some public discussion that perhaps the impeachment is not what the people really want. Are you in favor of it or against it? We're running an Impeachment Poll to see what the people really think.

There have been updates to the SAVE site today; in particular be sure to check out the current newsletter.

Also, don't forget that you can follow national and world events on the News page.

We've added in a Browser Special Features How-To page to cover useful browser-specific items not already covered in the Bookmarks How-To page or the Home Page Setting How-To page. This should be of particular interest to MSIE (Microsoft Internet Explorer) users.

Just a reminder of how we'll be posting pictures of the five most impressive holiday light displays this year. If you're covering your house and/or grounds with holiday lights this year and want to make sure we don't miss you, you know of a place not to be missed, please drop us a feedback note so we'll be sure to send someone out to check it out.

The Saugus Year 2000 Millennium Celebration Committee page is now available. Its direct URL is:

http://town.saugus.ma.us/Millennium/

There have been some minor updates to the Saugus Housing Authority page today.

Although we don't usually update the dailies here on Saturdays, we received this clarification late last night from Ken Shaw's sister, Linda Skidmore:

Ken continues to improve but at a slow rate. He encountered a few problems after surgery and was kept on a ventilator for 8 days. The inside of his mouth is quite sore so he has not been able to eat anything yet.

Ken has had three bone marrow transplants which is a good thing. These transplants, from the donor, help assure that Ken does not reject the donor's liver. On a positive note - the liver is working excellent and shows no sign of rejecting. His pain has been very limited and the surgery itself is healing quite well. There has been improvement in his skin tone and his eyes are almost clear.

Each day, he sits up for longer periods of time and practices on focusing and understanding. He is very frustrated and wants to come home for his recovery.

The hospital is hoping that he will be able to leave intensive care soon and be transferred to the transplant patient floor. Once there, Ken will work on regaining his strength and hopefully will be able to talk to us.

The road to recovery is a very slow and often a bumpy one. Ken has been in Florida since October 24th and it is expected that he will see the New Year ring in while at Jackson Hospital.

Donations are still welcomed and very much needed to aid in his ever-increasing medical costs.

Hopefully this detailed explanation will help clarify yesterday's entry.

We thought we'd give an update on Ken Shaw's condition today since we haven't given one for some time. He continues to improve after his transplant, and with each passing day is capable of moving a little bit more. His speaking now is very strained since he's had the tube removed from his throat, so he's not really capable of talking normally yet. His liver transplant was not a moment too soon.

The MIME type for SID audio files has been standardized. There had been originally two different competing specifications. The only reason it's even mentioned here at all is that we had been using the version not chosen, and we're changing over all the sites & pages that use SID audio clips to the new format today. For an example of a SID audio clip, check out the GBA, Inc. site. If your browser has the proper plug-in installed, you'll hear background music.

We've made some slight changes to our Sherlock Plug-in today. It should now be more selective with its returns, defaulting to an "and" instead of an "or" for its search words.

We've been asked to let everyone know that the Saugus High School Scholarship Fund is still selling ornaments featuring pictures of both the old and new Saugus Public Library. If you didn't get a chance to purchase one of these historic ornaments during the Hammersmith Stroll, you can still send e-mail to Ruth Berg (Ruth3@Juno.com) to find out how to obtain one.

Pictures from the recent Saugus Hammersmith Stroll & Tree-Lighting Ceremony have been posted. Also, there have been minor updates to the TV & Radio page.

We've updated the Saugus Hammersmith Stroll information page. Also, while strolling, watch for local businesses with Saugus.net posters in their windows to get a free Saugus.net T-shirt (while supplies last).

There have been some additions / modifications to the Saugus Historical Society site today.

As the shortest day of the year rapidly approaches, people fight the darkness with holiday lights. This year, we'll have our scouts searching the area for the best looking non-commercial light displays. We'll be posting pictures of the top five. Are you covering your house and/or grounds with holiday lights this year and want to make sure we don't miss you, or do you know of a place not to be missed? Please drop us a feedback note so we'll be sure to send someone out to check your work.

As happens every month, the Most Popular Pages Countdown has been retabulated.

We also have the final results on both the Patriots Poll and the Story Writing Feedback campaign. The campaign missed by just three feedback letters, so the president gets away without writing a story this year. As for the poll, the quick answer is that most viewers didn't bother voting on it at all, but the relative few who did voted to keep the Patriots' link on the Entertainment, Recreation, & Sports page by a narrow margin. Details are available on the Patriots Poll page.