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  • Wilmington’s Bruce Green Audette excited to play in Deaf Hockey Series

    Wilmington’s Bruce Green Audette excited to play in Deaf Hockey Series

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    Bruce Green Audette isn’t letting his lack of hearing hinder his hockey career.

    The Wilmington resident and deaf hockey player will represent Team USA at the inaugural Jeff Sauer International Deaf Hockey Series, April 11-14 in Buffalo, N.Y. The four-day event will feature the best deaf and hard of hearing hockey players from around the world, with teams from Canada, Finland and the Czech Republic also taking part in a round robin format.

    Green Audette will be part of a star-studded roster that includes veterans Garret Gintoli, Jake Schlereth and Tyler Balcerak.

    “I’m so excited I made the team,” said Green Audette, 17.

    This will be the first time team USA will play in a tournament setting since 2019, when the USA Deaflympic team enjoyed its gold medal run. About half of that team is returning this year, with Green Audette as one of the newest recruits.

    A 5-foot-9, 170-pound defenseman, Green Audette was put through the paces during a rigorous five-day tryout over the summer, with two practice sessions each day. At the end of tryouts, the team played the University of Buffalo’s Club Hockey team, which plays in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).

    A blueliner, Audette was competing with 12 other defensemen for seven roster spots. The team was originally supposed to be unveiled in mid-October, but due to a conflict with the Deaflympic Committee, the players didn’t find out until late January.

    Born deaf, Green Audette has managed to make the most of his other senses to get his way around the rink.

    “Being deaf hasn’t affected my impact on the game at all,” said Green Audette, who turns 18 in April. “I have a similar approach to how any player would have on the ice. I just want to win, and willing to do anything for that win.”

    Although the game remains the same, he utilizes subtle nuances over the course of a contest.

    “I would use the glass reflection to see where opposing players are,” he said. “Or take a very wide angle to see more of the ice. I’ve done something similar to this when I played in two exhibition games against the Canadian team. Players were not allowed to wear their hearing aids or implants, so most of us couldn’t hear much.”

    A lifelong Wilmington resident, Green Audette received his first cochlear implant, an electronic device that improves hearing, at 18 months. He picked up his first hockey stick at age 5, getting his second implant a year later.

    “I first started skating at age four,” said Green Audette. “I initially wasn’t attracted to hockey at all, but eventually got around that initial displeasure and now I love the game.”

    A senior at Malden Catholic, Green Audette has committed to the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he’ll major in Game Design and Development.

    A member of the American Hearing-Impaired Hockey Association, the blueliner is eager to reunite with some familiar faces back on the ice.

    “I know most of the players on Team USA,” said Green Audette. “Most of them go to an AHIHA camp every summer.”

    As for the inaugural tourney itself, he’s ready for anything and everything thrown his way. It is really anybody’s game.

    “There is no clear favorite when it comes to this tournament,” said Green Audette. “I don’t know how good Finland and the Czech Republic are, but I think the U.S. team can make it to the finals. It will be a good competition regardless.”

    According to Team USA coach Joe Gotfryd, Green Audette will bolster the blueline brigade

    “Bruce is a young player, but plays with confidence and patience,” said Gotfryd. “No panicking with the puck. He’s a good defenseman and an excellent skater. He gets better handling the puck every time I see him, and he’s smart. He doesn’t get caught out of position. That takes a lot of pressure off a young guy when he plays smart.”

    Gotfryd first took notice of Green Audette’s skills a couple of summers ago in games against Canada, and has grown over that time.

    “He’s more mature and probably chomping at the bit to get out there,” said Gotfryd. “This is going to be his first taste of international competition in a tournament venue. We played Canada during our hockey school in June. We didn’t have our full team, they did, and they beat us up pretty good. I think that might change this time around.”

    Named after Jeff Sauer, former head coach of the USA men’s deaf team, the four-day Sauer International Deaf Hockey Series will showcase the four men’s teams, as well as a pair of women’s teams from the United States and Canada. The series will be hosted by the American Hearing-Impaired Hockey Association (AHIHA) and the Stan Mikita Hockey School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

    A member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Sauer spent more than 40 years coaching hockey. He is also remembered for his work coaching hockey players with disabilities. Sauer was president of the American Hearing-Impaired Hockey Association.

    He helped select the last five U.S. Deaflympic Ice Hockey teams and led them as head coach at three Winter Deaflympics, including earning a gold medal at the 2007 Deaflympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

    As he preps for the tournament, Green Audette is staying positive.

    “I just want to keep improving on my craft and get into even better shape,” said Green Audette. “So by the time the tournament rolls around, I’m ready to compete and maybe even lead the team to victory.”

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    Christopher Hurley

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  • Art in the eye of the beholder: Free art shop in North Andover

    Art in the eye of the beholder: Free art shop in North Andover

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    NORTH ANDOVER — Any artist — or budding creative’s parent — knows how expensive art supplies can get.

    Materials are also not readily available.

    So Julie Faro set out to ensure artists of any age and any financial background are able to participate in art and allow their creativity to flow.

    “I just think it’s important for all of the kids to have access to all of the things and try out different materials,” Faro said. “I knew when I was a kid it was a big deal going to the art store and picking out a few things.”

    Faro owns Julie’s Art School, at 5 Hodges St. Last summer she and her work partner, Michelle Roy, became inspired by the little free libraries across the area and decided to create something similar, but this time for art.

    The free art shop was originally a greenhouse, Faro said. The blue-painted house was adorned with a water proof roof, and now the shelter sits outside of Julie’s Art School for anyone in the community — young and old.

    “I just think it’s great that anybody who might want to paint or do anything creative and artistic has the ability to do so,” Roy said. “We’re always supportive of anybody who wants to do anything creative.”

    The free art shop neighbors are encouraged to “look inside to find some creativity.” Artists can take supplies and leave some for others.

    On Friday, the free art shop was filled with masks and other sketches on canvas for artists to color or paint in. There were also brushes, crayons, colored pencils, little fun-shaped erasers, and a few art kits for painting wood or clay sculptures.

    “It’s generally mostly empty because people take stuff out of it,” Faro said. “Generally when it’s filled up, within a week it’s taken.”

    Faro said she regularly adds to the shop as well. She said extras from classes go into the shop, and if Faro sees a deal at the art store, she might grab a few pieces to put in the free art shop.

    “It came about because when we did a clean out of the studio, we had all of this extra stuff,” Faro said. “We figured we could have a little free shop for all of the extra stuff.”

    Faro’s art career started early. She was in a since-closed art class called Tasha’s Art, in North Andover, with Roy. The two now are able to share their talents, similarly to how Ms. Tasha used to with them.

    “Growing up I thought this was the coolest job in the world,” Faro said.

    In 2012, Faro opened Julie’s Art School. It was originally located on Main Street, and right after opening, the school saw about a dozen students enrolled in a class.

    Now the studio has grown to its location on Hodges Street and offers classes for both adults and children. Artwork by students, as well as Faro and Roy, decorates the school, with paintings ranging from a lighthouse to a mountainous landscape and even a few glass pieces.

    Spring classes begin on March 1. Faro also offers private lessons, including canvas painting, slime creation and sharpie tie dye.

    Julie’s Art School does have resources for students from low-income families to participate in some classes, but the space can be limiting. This is why Faro said the little art shop can be so beneficial. Faro and Roy said they “just want to help out the students.”

    “We try to give our classes to a few kids who can’t afford our classes every session,” Faro said, “but there’s only a couple of spaces for that, so this is an additional resource.”

    Follow Monica on Twitter at @MonicaSager3

    Follow Monica on Twitter at @MonicaSager3

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    By Monica Sager | msager@eagletribune.com

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  • AgeSpan to serve more communities

    AgeSpan to serve more communities

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    LAWRENCE — AgeSpan, formerly Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley, has been awarded contracts by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs to provide supportive services at Old and New Farrell Court in Marblehead and Trestle Way in Georgetown. The three properties have a combined 238 units.

    Supportive Housing offers adults age 60 and older and people with disabilities a range of services so they can remain independent. Each location will have a dedicated AgeSpan Resident Service Coordinator, along with 24/7 emergency coverage through a contracted vendor.

    “These supportive services are vital to enhancing the quality of life for residents and providing access to programs and benefits that empower them to remain as independent and self-sufficient in their homes for as long as possible, “ said AgeSpan CEO Joan Hatem-Roy.

    Resident service coordinators are available on-site to help residents access community resources such as home care or personal care homemakers and Medicare counseling; plan social, health and wellness activities for residents; and arrange congregate meals.

    They also help to foster stability and a sense of community at each property and serve a vital link between the tenants and the housing authority.

    There is no cost to residents for these services. AgeSpan has Resident Service Coordinators at 13 other senior housing sites across the Merrimack Valley and North Shore.

    To learn more visit agespan.org/solutions/housing-support/ or call 800-892-0890.

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    By News Staff

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  • Presidents Day sales draw crowds to local businesses

    Presidents Day sales draw crowds to local businesses

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    HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – Presidents Day is a big day for many stores and car dealerships, as companies offer sales events to draw people in.

    The selling season has kicked off this President’s Day for consumers nationwide.

    The holiday had people flock to stores to purchase those marked down big ticket items, like appliances, mattresses, and especially vehicles.

    Gary Rome of Gary Rome Hyundai in Holyoke told 22News, “With the Tucson, you get zero-percent financing, we have our electric vehicle, the Ioniq 6 and 5, and we have a few left over 2023 Ioniq 6’s that you can save over $20,000.”

    Here at Gary Rome Hyundai, they have been busy all holiday weekend, with people taking advantage of those deals, which will last all month long. Monday alone, drawing in about 100 people, and the dealership selling about 60 cars.

    According to experts, vehicle inventory has increased since the pandemic, which means potentially better deals on car this President’s Day. Rome adds, “The manufacturers, Hyundai and Kia, have come out with some great rebates and zero percent financing to incentivize people to come in now, and buy a car.”

    Some advise from car experts to secure a good deal:

    • Strengthen you credit score, to get a better rate
    • Apply for a pre-approval before going out to shop for a car
    • Know your budget, especially if you can afford the costs outside of the vehicle price tag

    And to make the deal more sweet this holiday, if a customer buys a vehicle they can get free unlimited car washes at the new Gary Rome car wash and dog wash center.

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