Summer doesn’t officially end until Sept. 22, but when our students start returning to school and our Revere High School and Pop Warner football and cheerleading teams begin practices, we know that the “real” summer season is coming to a close.
It’s been a great summer in Revere where the annual Revere Beach National Sand Sculpting Festival was a tremendous success, along with the seventh annual “Reach the Beach” Festival, the Revere Beach Foundation’s Kite Festival, and the Revere Firefighters Volleyball Tournament — all wonderful events that bring our community together in the months of the summer. We’re fortunate to have in our midst a true treasure in Revere Beach, the first public beach in America.
Of course, any reflection on the Summer of 2014, must include the tornado that struck our city on the morning of July 28. That incredible weather event will remain indelibly etched in the minds of our residents for years to come. Mayor Dan Rizzo’s outstanding leadership — and the tremendous work of Revere’s Police and Fire Departments and its Department of Public Works — in the immediate aftermath of this incredible storm and in the days following, were efforts that the entire city could be proud of. Mayor Rizzo was on the scene coordinating emergency response efforts, keeping the public well-informed, and making sure that the cleanup was safe and swift. Our mayor deserves commendation for his leadership and decision-making in what was the first tornado ever to strike Suffolk County.
Students have begun their final year at the McKinley School — a new school will open on the former site of Hill Park in 2015. Our other students will begin school Monday and we wish them well in the 2014-15 academic year. With students back in school, we ask motorists to be cautious in their travels throughout our city.
