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School superintendent to be selected next week

The School Committee will hold a special meeting to deliberate and vote on the appointment of the next Lincoln Public Schools superintendent on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. Click here to watch it live on Zoom. Final interviews are being conducted this week and recordings should be posted on the new town video website by Friday, Feb 3. Last week, the four finalists visited the schools and took part in forums with administrators, faculty, and community members.

Library opens late on Feb. 8

The Lincoln Public Library will open at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8 rather than 9 a.m. due to staff training.

Sip, talk and learn at story-telling event

Lincoln residents are invited to listen and tell their three-minute story on Sunday, Feb. 12 from 4–5:30 p.m. in the First Parish in Lincoln’s Stearns Room. The church began the series in 2019 and has heard stories of adventures, passions, hobbies, unknown siblings, and more. Telling a story in three minutes is a challenge but it makes for a fun event with about 12-15 speakers. We will have a fire going and if you’d like to bring a beverage to share, we will provide some pre-Super Bowl nibbles. Please email tuckerwsmith@gmail.com to sign up to tell your story or if you have questions.

Events on love songs and Black History Month

All are invited to a program about the history and significance of the most cherished and enduring love songs of the 20th century at “The Greatest Love Songs of All Time” on Friday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Hear more about classics including Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Some Enchanted Evening,” Tony Bennett’s “The Way You Look Tonight,” and Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable.” Presented by John Clark & the Great American Music Experience and hosted by the Council on Aging & Human Services.

The COA&HS will present “Black History Month in the Era of CRT Book Banning” on Friday, Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Lincoln resident Ray Anthony Shepard, author of several biographies for young readers, will discuss the current hot-button topic of what in American history should be taught to children and will share how he addresses race in his picture book, Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge. Questions? Call 781-259-8811.

Intergenerational events feature ice cream, maple tapping

All residents, especially parents and grandparents who are watching children during school vacation week, are invited to an intergenerational ice cream social on Tuesday, Feb. 21 from 1–2:30 p.m. and a session on tree tapping, sap collection, and maple syrup with Conservation Department Ranger Will Leona on Friday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. in Bemis Hall. On Tuesday, build your own sundae; on Friday, learn about how indigenous peoples in our area collected and boiled sap, sample some of Will and Abigail’s syrup, and then go outside to tap the sugar maples next to Bemis Hal with Nancy Bergen from Matlock Farm. Dress for outdoor weather.

Talk on heart disease in women

The Council on Aging & Human Services presents “The Truth About Women and Heart Disease” with moving testimony by Margaret Perras, spokesperson for the American Heart Association, on Friday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Heart disease strikes even the most fit — learn how to watch for the signs. Attendees are invited to wear red and help raise awareness for the #1 killer of women: cardiovascular disease. Questions? Call 781-259-8811 or visit WearRedDay.org.

Campaign kickoff event for Sudbury L-S School Committee candidate 

Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee (LSSC) candidate Ravi Simon of Sudbury (an L-S graduate and legislative aide for State Rep. Carmine Gentile) will host a campaign kick-off event at on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. at the First Parish of Sudbury (327 Concord Rd., Sudbury). The host committee includes Gentile, Sudbury LSSC members Cara Endyke-Doran and Candace Miller, former LSSC member Nancy Marshall of Lincoln, and former Sudbury LSSC members Jack Ryan, Tania Vitvitsky, Josh Troop, and Andrew Blair. RSVPs using this online form are appreciated but not required. For more information, email RaviforLincolnSudbury@gmail.com.

Library offers online events

“The Challenges of Being a Debut Author” featuring Chelsea Banning will take place via Zoom on Monday, Feb. 6 from 7–8 p.m. Debut author (and librarian) was very excited to publish her first book, “Of Crown and Legends”. And then came the book signing where very few people showed up, and then the Twitter storm of support when Chelsea posted about the experience. Now, we speak with Chelsea in conversation with debut authors Laura Gao, Brian D. Kennedy, Jean Louise, and XiXi Tian to chat about the challenges and joys of getting your first book out in the world.

This event is hosted by the Ashland Public Library. Click here to register.

On Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., join Emily Levine of Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site for “Freedom’s Cause: Historical Black Communities and George Washington’s Cambridge Camp,” a discussion of how free and enslaved Black members of Washington’s war camp interacted with one another, members of the local community, and the general himself. For example, Washington corresponded with poet Phillis Wheatley; he segregated the Continental Army, then reversed the decision. The family of Tony and Cuba Vassall, formerly enslaved by the first owner of the Cambridge house (which Lincoln’s Pierce House was designed to emulate), lived in freedom next to people enslaved by the Washingtons.

This event is hosted by the Wellesley Free Library. Click here to register.

Panel marks Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Join the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable on Monday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. for “What is Important to Us: A Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month Panel,” an event marking February as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. In this program, teen panelists will highlight what they want adults and peers to know about relationships, media consumption, trust, and boundaries, and how adults can support the teens in their lives.

Registration is required for this event and can be completed here. All participants will receive an email with the Zoom information after registering. For more information, visit www.domesticviolenceroundtable.org or email infordvrt@gmail.com.

The Commons seeks to expand

The Planning Board and Select Board will hold a joint meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 24 to hear a proposal from The Commons in Lincoln to add 38 independent living units to its campus. Because the development is in a zoning overlay district, the proposal will require approval at the Annual Town Meeting next month. Also on the agenda are requests for vote of approval/endorsement by the two boards on the updated Complete Streets prioritization plan. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. and the discussion on The Commons is scheduled to begin at 7:45 p.m. Click here for the Zoom link (passcode: 125966) and click here for the full agenda.

Openings on town election ballot

There are still a few offices on the ballot for which no one has taken out nomination papers. There are two open seats on the Housing Commission, one for two years and one for three years, and one open three-year seat for the Trustees of Bemis. The deadline for taking out papers is Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 5 p.m. Papers with there requisite number of signatures must be returned to the Town Clerk’s office by Friday, Feb. 3 by 5 p.m.

Gospel choir plans concert

The Joyful Voices Gospel Choir featuring Lincoln resident RL Smith will give a concert on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. in Donaldson Auditorium. Featuring a repertoire of stirring gospel music interspersed with stories about its origins and history as a uniquely American art form, this free, all-ages concert is a highlight of the Winter Carnival experience at the start of Black History Month. Sponsored by the Bemis Free Lecture Series.

Public hearing on Route 126 bridge project

On Wednesday, Feb. 8, there will be a public hearing on a MassDOT proposal to rebuild the Route 162 bridge over the MBTA railroad tracks. Construction will take place in stages so a detour will not be required. Bicycles and pedestrians will be accommodated during construction by the installation of a Temporary Bike/Ped Bridge. Details on the project and hearing can be found here. A link to register for this virtual meeting will be posted here closer to the day of the hearing.

Domestic Violence Roundtable hosts event on teen dating

Everyone is invited to watch “What is Important to Us: A Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month Panel” with the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable on Monday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. In this program, teen panelists will highlight what’s important to them and what they want adults and peers to know about relationships, media consumption, trust, and boundaries. The panelists will share their own perspective on how adults can support the teens in their lives. Registration is required; click here to register and get the Zoom link. For more information, visit www.domesticviolenceroundtable.org or email infordvrt@gmail.com.

Event looks at insect decline

Professor Dave Goulson will give a talk on “Silent Earth: Saving our Insects” on Saturday, Jan. 21 from 2–3:30 p.m., discussing why insects are in decline and what steps we can take to help. Click here to register for the Zoom link. Sponsored by the Mass. Pollinator Network, Lexington Living Landscapes, the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, and Mass Audubon. Click here to register for the Zoom link.

Talk on wildfires and climate change

Join The Walden Woods Project and RESTORE: The North Woods for “Fire Suppression & Climate Change: A Conversation with George Wuerthner” on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Wuerthner, a professional photographer and the author of more than two dozen books on natural history and other environmental topics, including Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy, He will provide insights and an overview on the major factors driving large wildfires in the West and discuss the ecological impacts of these blazes as well as policies that could help to protect communities from such events in the age of climate change. Click here to learn more and register.

Film: “In the Mood for Love”

The Lincoln Library Film Society presents “In The Mood For Love (Fa Yeung Nin Wah)” (1962) on Thursday Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. in the Tarbell Room. Chow Mo-Wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-Zhen (Maggie Cheung Man Yuk) move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encounters are formal and polite — until a discovery about their spouses creates an intimate bond between them. With its aching soundtrack and exquisitely abstract cinematography by Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping Bing, this film has been a major stylistic influence on the past two decades of cinema and is a milestone in Wong’s redoubtable career. In Hong Kong Cantonese and Shanghainese with English subtitles.

Library-sponsored events on ransomware, British cooking

Pulitzer Prize finalist Renee Dudley and Pulitzer Prize winner Daniel Golden will discuss their latest book, The Ransomware Hunting Team — a real-life technological thriller that illuminates a dangerous new era of cybercrime — via Zoom on Wednesday, Jan. 25 from 7–8:30 p.m. Again and again, an unlikely band of misfits, mostly self-taught and often struggling to make ends meet, have outwitted the underworld of hackers who lock computer networks and demand huge payments in return for the keys. Click here to register.

Join British travel/relocation consultant Claire Evans for a delightful culinary tour of the U.K. (via Zoom) inspired by “The Great British Baking Show” TV series on Thursday, Jan. 26 from 2–3 p.m. She’ll talk about how to make a proper cup of tea and regional specialties, as well as translating the trickiest parts of British recipes for Americans so you can try them in your own kitchen. This program is hosted by the Cary Memorial Library in collaboration with several Massachusetts libraries. Sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Public Library. Click here to register.

LincFam New Years’ Dance party

LincFam (the Lincoln Family Association) will host a New Year’s dance party on Friday, Dec. 30 from 4–6 p.m. at the First Parish in Lincoln’s parish house (the stone church) with family-friendly dance music, crafts, and pizza. Free for LincFam members, $10 for others. Click here to RSVP or email info@lincfam.org.

Scholarship program now accepting applications

The Sudbury Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2023 Atkinson Scholarship Program. The Atkinson Scholarship is $5,000 and is renewable for three additional years of support. Students are selected based on a combination of financial need, academic performance, and merit. The program is open to high school seniors graduating in spring 2023 who are planning to attend a four or two-year college, or approved, post-secondary vocational school. Applicants must be:

• Enrolled at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (L-S), OR
• A Sudbury resident or the dependent of a Sudbury resident, OR
• The dependent of a Town of Sudbury or L-S full-time employee. 

The application deadline is Feb. 1, 2023. If you know a high school senior who might be interested, please let them know that they can find information about the scholarship program here, or call 978-443-0849.

Lincoln student at BC High makes honor roll

Patrick Blanc of Lincoln, a senior at Boston College High School, was named to the first-quarter honor roll with High Honors (Class of 2023). The recognition requires a quality grade point average of at least 3.80 and all grades C+ or higher.

Author conversation via Zoom

Join an evening with two of the country’s top young adult authors as Maureen Johnson (Nine Liars) is interviewed by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Final Gambit) in a webinar on Wednesday, Jan. 4 from 7–8 p.m. Sponsored by the Lincoln Public Library.  Click here to register.