An Independent Weekly Newspaper Salem Community


HYPE Networking Event Connects Young Professionals


Salem Community Patriot Patriot


by S. Aaron Shamshoyan “Cheers to the New Year” was the name of a networking event sponsored by Helping Young Professionals Excel (HYPE) last Thursday evening. The event consisted of many young and established professionals swapping business cards and talking business. The event was held at Jocelyn’s Mediterranean restaurant with complimentary appetizers available. For more information on HYPE and to get involved, check out www.gshype.com.


Dwight Feeney, Justin Hirscn, and Dave Marroncelli


by Doug Robinson The press release from the U.S. Coast Guard simply stated, “U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Thomas Iaci, formerly of Windham, New Hampshire, and son of Linda (Oliveri) Balles and Joseph Iaci, received the Coast Guard Achievement Medal on Friday, January 7, 2011, for recognition of heroism. Displaying unwavering bravery and presence of mind in the face of danger, Boatswain Mate 3rd Class (BM3) Iaci disrupted a violent attempted murder in July 2010 by assisting in disarming the assailant of his weapon, thereby preventing further trauma to a gravely injured victim and subsequently saving the member’s life.” Iaci, a 2000 graduate from Salem High School, spent his school years playing basketball, baseball, soccer, and wrestling.


Kristen Vadala, Jocelyn Maroun, and Matt Bryant Upcoming Special Feature


Mom Needs Some Help Local Services for our Aging Citizens


Iaci joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 2003. Known as “TJ” to his friends and the father of three children, he wanted “his son, Justin, to be proud of him,” stated mom, Linda Oliveri Balles. TJ, in only eight years, has distinguished himself as a leader within the U.S. Coast Guard. His training and schooling have involved a Tactical boat crew member course, Maritime law enforcement, Coxswain C School, and Leadership and Management School. He has received Good Conduct awards in 2006 and 2009. “Professionalism, commitment, please to commend your performance, consistently demonstrated exceptional expertise and professionalism, outstanding


U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Tomas Iaci


dedication to duty, exceptional meritorious service in support of the 2009 Independence Day celebration on the Charles River [involving] more than 1,000 vessels in a confined area of less than one square mile,” are words written about Iaci from his commanding officers.


“He has a history of saving


people,” commented his mother. “When he was 12, I remember him saving the lives of two kids who were stranded in a rubber dinghy as the tide was carrying them out to sea while sailing out of Gloucester Harbor. He lowered the motorized dinghy from our sailboat, attached a line, and towed the kids back to shore. He told me years later that event had a profound effect on him.” Little did U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Iaci


know that he would be saving another life 16 years later. When TJ and his friends


arrived in the shopping center parking lot, all they could hear were screams from a car nearby. “Semper Paratus,” which means “always ready,” is the motto of the U.S. Coast Guard.


“When we got there, he was holding his wounds, and he was bleeding to death. We are trained in first aid, so I took off my shirt and applied it against the wounds to stop the bleeding. Another ‘coastie’ grabbed a blanket and we wrapped him up. We ended up wrestling the assailant to the ground and I was able to get his arm around his back, twisting his thumb, so that he would not move. We held him until the police arrived.” According to the Lawrence


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Volume 4 Number 26 January 21, 2011 12 Pages


Salem Graduate Thomas Iaci, U.S. Coast Guard, Honored for Heroism


Eagle Tribune, Iaci said, “he and some of his comrades were off-duty and went to a parking lot at Fort DeRussy Beach Park. Suddenly, ‘from out of nowhere,’ a man started stabbing Seaman Jonathan Klingenberg in the face, neck, and left arm, he said. Klingenberg was behind the wheel of a car when the attack began, Iaci said. A Coast Guardsman who was in the back seat was able to grab the attacker’s arm, he said.” According to Iaci, the assailant continues to be held in jail without bail, charged with attempted murder. The assailant could be looking at 20-plus years in jail if convicted.


Iaci has served in the United States Coast Guard since 2003 and is currently stationed on board the Coast Guard Cutter KUKUI, a 225- foot Juniper Class Buoy Tender home-ported in Honolulu, HI. In addition to servicing aids to navigation throughout the Hawaiian Islands and Central Pacific Ocean, other duties performed by the crew include Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement, Marine Environmental Response, and Homeland Security missions. In speaking by phone with


Iaci’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander J. Malzone, U.S.C.G., commented, “He epitomizes service before self. The Coast Guard always preaches the giving of self, to act without thing for others. He is someone you would want as a shipmate. He has upstanding character. He put himself in danger, and it was just second nature to him and saved his shipmate.”


The Whistle Blew...


Front: Diane Kierstead, Salem Housing Authority; Patti Drelick, Salem Senior Services; Dick O’Shaughnessy, Greater Salem Caregivers. Back: Sonny Tylus, Executive Producer; Peter Rayno, Host; and Travis Terry, Chairman, GSCC


by S. Aaron Shamshoyan Over the next few weeks, the Salem Community Patriot will be introducing various elderly services offered in Salem. This will also be a cooperative effort with Salem Community Television and the Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce, who will be airing interviews with the directors of these organizations. The stories will be told from the perspective of a fictional person with the intent to best explain the functions of these organizations. We will begin with Patti from Salem Senior Services and the Ingram Senior Center. She will explain the programs and activities offered at the Center. There are over 135 programs, activities, and services for residents of the greater Salem area over age 60.


Next, Diane will introduce the Salem Housing Authority. This organization is designed to provide subsidized public housing for low-income, elderly, and disabled households. She will explain about low-income


tax credit rental units available for elderly households. Following Diane, Dick will explain the Greater Salem Caregivers. The organization was established by a group of community and church leaders to assist elderly and disabled adults so that they might remain independent in their own homes. Their services include rides to medical visits, running errands, and small household chores.


Connie of ServiceLink will then elaborate on their function as a connection point. They serve to link you with various programs and organizations for information, education, and support on topics including Medicare, long-term care options, and access to government programs. Then, Paula of Silverthorne Adult Day Center will talk about providing participants and their caregivers with a secure, comfortable setting, including nursing and personal care. They


continued to page 12- Upcoming Feature


At 8:30 on Wednesday mornimg, the race began—four candidates signed up to run for selectman: Mike Lyons, Rolande Teberge, Stephen Campbell, and Everett McBride


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staff photos by S. Aaron Shamshoyan staff photo by Robyn Hatch


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