The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

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Bella Wong of L-S agrees to contract extension

The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee has announced that it has finalized a three-year contract extension with Superintendent/Principal Bella Wong. “We appreciate Ms. Wong’s work and dedication over the past seven years and are thankful to have her experience and leadership as we navigate the challenges caused by the pandemic. We look forward to working together as we confront the current crisis while continuing to move the District forward,” the panel said in a statement.

The School Committee also announced the hiring of Kirsteen Patterson as the Director of Finance and Operations for a three-year term beginning in July. Patterson brings many years of experience in public school finance, serving most recently as the Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Administration for the Medford Public Schools.

Watch town’s Memorial Day observance online

Lincoln’s traditional Memorial Day event has been cancelled. But the veterans of Lincoln and the Parks and Recreation Department have organized a brief and respectful ceremony at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 25 and everyone is invited to watch on Facebook Live by clicking here.

LLCT hosts Wildlife Bingo

The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust is hosting virtual Wildlife Bingo on Wednesday, May 27 for wildlife bingo. You’ll see some of the same birds as the previous Bird Bingo, along with lots of other fun reptiles, amphibians, and mammals of New England. Prizes will include gift cards to local businesses and LLCT swag. Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive a zoom link, and we’ll email you further instructions and your bingo card. You’ll be able to access your bingo card from a browser, or you can download and print the card.

The event is limited to 20 households, each of which will receive one set of bingo cards. If you register and find yourself unable to attend, please update your RSVP on Eventbrite so we can offer that spot to someone else. Click here to register.

How to talk to teens about relationships

Join the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable (DVR) and their partners at REACH Beyond Domestic Violence for a webinar entitled “How to Talk to Teens About Relationships” on Wednesday, May 27 from 9:30–10:30 a.m. This training is designed for parents, educators, clergy, and community members who interact with teens. The one-hour workshop will explore adult and teen perceptions of teen dating violence, discuss messages and barriers that uniquely impact youth relationships, and provide strategies to address these barriers when talking with teens. Registration is required and can be completed by clicking here or on the REACH website. Email Youth Education Specialist Molly Pistrang at molly@reachma.org with any questions.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the DVR is continuing its activities and programming. At the outset of the pandemic, the Roundtable donated $20,000 to five domestic violence agencies for emergency services. If you would like to help, please visit the DVR website for further information.

Drumlin Farm program provides fresh food for the needy

The Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary is helping to provide fresh vegetables and eggs to Cambridge families in need. Each week, Drumlin delivers some of its sustainably grown produce to Cambridge, where Food for Free of Cambridge distributes it to those facing food insecurity, a situation made more dire because of the coronavirus.

Drumlin Farm has also been providing healthy produce to the Cambridge Public School system cafeterias for school lunches since 2017. With school districts shut down statewide and most of its client restaurants also on pause, the sanctuary was determined to keep growing food and ensuring that underserved communities would be a priority — hence the Drumlin Farm Food Donation Project. 

Sanctuary Director Renata Pomponi said this collaboration also offers a great opportunity in a time of stress and uncertainty for businesses and individuals to contribute meaningfully to the moral principle that people should have enough to eat. “It’s inspiring to work with Food For Free and other local hunger relief partners on such a worthy project, especially in this time of COVID-19, and generous donors are already stepping up,” she said. To support these efforts and learn more, visit the Drumlin Farm Food Donation Project website.

High school seniors recognized

The Board of Selectmen, on behalf of the Town of Lincoln, has officially proclaimed Sunday, June 7 as “Class of 2020 Day” in Lincoln to encourage everyone to support opportunities for graduating seniors, recognize their contributions and achievements.

Help for those with financial difficulties due to Covid-19

Many people in the Lincoln community are experiencing financial distress due to the Covid-19 crisis. The Council on Aging’s Emergency Assistance Fund and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Financial Assistance Program and Food Pantry are working together to help. Please contact the Council on Aging (bottumc@lincolntown.org or 781-259-8811) or the Society of  St. Vincent de Paul at St. Julia Parish (781-899-2611 or svdplincolnweston@gmail.com) if you are a Lincoln resident and:

  • Will not be able to pay your rent or utility bills once the State of Emergency is lifted
  • Cannot afford food, medication, health insurance, or other essential health-related costs
  • Are going into credit card debt to pay essential bills
  • Have other financial challenges that threaten your ability to live safely in our community

You may contact either organization for a private and confidential consultation to determine what services and benefits you may be eligible for, including possibly payment of some bills.

Both organizations are funded entirely by grants and donations. To make a donation to the Council on Aging Emergency Assistance Fund, please send a check payable to the Town of Lincoln with a memo line of “Emergency Assistance Fund” and addressed to COA c/o Town Offices, 16 Lincoln Rd., Lincoln, MA 01773. To make a donation to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, please send a check to St. Vincent de Paul, PO Box 324, Lincoln, MA 01773.

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DeCordova set to reopen this week

The deCordova Sculpture Park (though not the indoor museum) expects to open on Tuesday, May 19, but visitors must reserve a parking permit for a specific time slot in advance, even if they arrive on foot or by bike.

The Trustees of Reservations is opening two other properties (Naumkeag and World’s End) using the same system. Fruitlands and Crane Beach will offer parking passes for the day, also available online only. Parking for Trustees members is free or discounted for all five sites.

For Lincoln residents visiting deCordova, there is a special ticket type that allows for continued free access. During the checkout process, you’ll be asked to enter your Lincoln street address to verify residence. Other things to know:

  • The Trustees are limiting capacity to 50% at its parking lots at these sites.
  • Any visitors who do not have proof of a parking pass will not be allowed to enter. No transactions will occur at the sites.
  • In keeping with the governor’s recent order, all visitors over age 2 will be required to wear a face covering at all our properties.
  • The Café at deCordova will remain closed. Guests are welcome to bring their own food and drink for consumption on site, but alcoholic beverages are not allowed.

Click below for:

First Parish teams up with Lincoln MCC

In partnership with the First Parish Church, the Lincoln METCO Coordinating Committee is accepting financial donations to support the families of the Lincoln Schools’ Boston-based families with unforeseen financial needs. Donations to the Lincoln MCC before September 1 will be administered by school administration and the Lincoln METCO director to support individual Boston families with critical financial requests. You can make donations via PayPal, or send a check made checks payable to: Lincoln MCC, P.O. BOX 393, Lincoln, MA 01773.

Friday book group meets on May 22

The Lincoln Public Library’s Friday Morning Book Group will meet via Zoom on Friday, May 22 at  9:30 a.m. to discuss The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan. If you have never attended this group on Zoom before and you’d like to join the session please email lincoln@minlib.net and we will invite you to the meeting. Copies of the book will be available for download in eBook or audiobook formats. Go to www.hoopladigital.com or email lincoln@minlib.net for assistance.

Letter to the editor: heartfelt thanks to the Boy Scouts

A carload of food donations orchestrated by the Lincoln Boy Scouts.


To the editor:
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) would like to thank Lincoln Boy Scout Troop 127 for organizing a very successful food drive last week.  The Scouts delivered letters attached to grocery bags to Lincoln homes, outlining the needs of the Lincoln Food Pantry with a date and time for donation pickup. About a week later, the Scouts cruised these neighborhoods, acquiring 73 bags of food donations!
A terrific part of this particular food drive was that former Lincoln Boy Scouts who are currently living at home from college dusted off their badges to come together and participate in this service activity. I heard them say “Once a Scout, always a Scout.”
Coincidentally, our next food drive will be hosted by the Weston Boy Scouts. This is a wonderful display of “neighbors helping neighbors.” SVdP relies heavily on the generosity of our communities to do our work and the outpouring of support has been absolutely wonderful.  Thank you! And many thanks to Donelan’s Supermarket for donating the shopping bags for this project. 
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of St Julia Parish works with people in need who live, work, or go to school in Lincoln or Weston. We are currently serving more than 230 people twice a month at the Lincoln Food Pantry located behind St Joseph’s Church. SVdP also offers emergency financial assistance to help with bills, rent, etc. 
Sincerely,
Tomasina Lucchese
Vice President of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Joseph Conference

If you or somebody you know is in need of food or emergency financial help, please reach out at 781-899-2611 ext. 4 or svdplincolnweston@gmail.com. This is a challenging time for many, and although it can be difficult to ask for help, we are here to support. Everything is kept completely confidential.

Letter to the editor: support the library by donating to FOLL

Dear Lincoln,

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lincoln Public Library — now closed temporarily — is faced with new challenges. We, the Friends of the Lincoln Library (FOLL), are here to help. And we’re asking for your help, too.

Who are we? A nonprofit formed to provide financial assistance to the Lincoln Library. FOLL supplements the town’s library budget. Book sales at Bemis Hall and donations from Lincoln residents are our main sources of revenue. Last fiscal year, we contributed nearly $46,000 to fund programs, library passes, furnishings and the Tarbell Room hearing loop. Click here to see a full list of what we support.

Since our monthly book sales and other fundraisers are now on hold, we’re exploring new, revenue-generating ideas such as the installment of book donation bins as well as online book sales to compensate for lost income. But it’s not enough. In order to keep our beloved library vibrant and to adapt to these new circumstances, FOLL needs your financial donations now more than ever.

Why now? Although the library is closed, we kept our financial commitment to already-hired performers. The library staff is working with them to deliver online events or to find new performance dates. Our goal is to help keep our vendors solvent during the pandemic. Also, we continue to renew museum passes even though museums are closed. It’s our way of helping to ensure that our venerable cultural institutions remain viable.

We’ll continue our monthly board meetings (virtually) with Library Director Barbara Myles and Assistant Director Lisa Rothenberg to discuss ways to support remote library operations during these difficult times. Please consider showing your support by making a tax-deductible contribution today to the Friends of the Lincoln Library.

PayPal is the preferred method of payment. If paying by check, mail to: Friends of the Lincoln Library, 3 Bedford Rd., Lincoln MA, 01773. (Please note, since we currently have no access to mail at the library, there will be a delay in depositing checks and acknowledging donations sent there.)

Thank you! Stay well. Be safe.

Sincerely,

Daniela Caride on behalf of the Friends of the Lincoln Library board

 

 

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Bicyclist taken to hospital after fall

On Saturday, May 2 at about 3 p.m., Lincoln emergency personnel assisted an 83-year-old Arlington woman who fell off her bicycle while traveling north on Lincoln Road just north of Todd Pond Road. Her fall was due to a defect in the road; no other vehicles were involved. The woman was conscious and alert but was transported to the hospital. 

First Parish organizes drive for communities in need

The First Parish in Lincoln is holding a Mother’s Day pop-up drive for communities in need with a donation deadline of Monday, May 11. The church is collecting donations of supplies to support communities of color as well as the homeless who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The supplies will be distributed by Bay Cove Human Services in Boston to homeless men and women and to children of families they serve.

Residents can drop off donations on the church’s Stearns Room porch (across from the library at 4 Bedford Rd.) or have items picked up by contacting Mary Jo Veling at 781-259-8588 or veling1@hotmail.com. For more information, click here or contact Janet Boynton at janetkboynton@gmail.com or 781-259-0928.

Items needed include:

  • Diapers in size 4 and 5 and baby wipes
  • Stop & Shop gift cards (which can be purchased at Donelan’s)
  • New men’s and women’s underwear, T-shirts, and sweatshirts in sizes L and XL
  • New men’s and women’s socks and flip-flops in sizes L and XL
  • Women’s hygiene supplies
  • Essential toiletries in small containers
  • Power bars, snacks, tea bags, single-serve sugar-free drink mix

Seedling sale benefits The Food Project

The Food Project is holding its annual seedling sale next Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10. We will have contactless pickup available on the farm at the end of Baker Bridge Road. Please visit thefoodproject.org/seedlings/ to order. 

Library now offers Acorn TV

The Lincoln Public Library is now offering Acorn TV’s streaming service to patrons with web-connected devices. Offerings include Vera, Land Girls, Doc Martin, and other mysteries, dramas, and comedies from Britain and beyond. To access Acorn TV, visit www.lincolnpl.org and have your Lincoln Public card number handy. You’ll be asked to create an Acorn account with a username and password. If you already have an account with RB Digital (the library offers RB Digital magazines), you can use that account information to access Acorn TV. 

Each patron will be allowed to check out one “license” per week, which includes unlimited access to view as many episodes of programming you like. When the week is over, you can simply check out another license to watch more content.

Anyone who needs assistance with any of the library’s online services, email lincoln@minlib.net.

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Discussion on surviving domestic violence

The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable will host an online discussion of “Covid-19’s Impact on Survivors of Domestic Violence” on Tuesday, May 12 at 3 p.m. on Zoom. To register, go to domesticviolenceroundtable.org.

Social distancing is a necessary strategy for keeping the community safe during this pandemic, but isolation in one’s home is having a profound effect on survivors of domestic violence and their families. This forum will feature representatives of local domestic violence agencies who will address several different situations that survivors might be in right now, including those who may be in controlling or abusive relationships and those who may have left a controlling and abusive partner. Panelists will look at the emotional, psychological, and economic implications of this complex time for survivors of domestic abuse and will answer questions from the online audience..

If you or someone that you care about is a survivor of domestic abuse and would like help or support, all of the local domestic abuse programs in the area are responding to phone calls and emails:

Two online programs from the COA

The Council on Aging invites you to two virtual programs. In “Making Decisions When It Matters Most: Conversations About Health Care Proxy, Five Wishes, and More!” on Wednesday, May 13 at 10 a.m. Mary Crowe and Joan Sullivan of Care Dimensions will discuss the importance of advance care planning and making one’s health care wishes known through the use of Five Wishes and other planning tools. Click here to register and attend.

Residents of all ages are invited to a “Conversation with a Select(man)” on Friday, May 15 at 2 p.m. via Zoom. Join Board of Selectmen Chair Jennifer Glass to get the latest updates, ask your questions, and offer ideas. For information on how to join in, please email her at selectmen@lincolntown.org prior to the meeting.

A stay-at-home Bird-a-thon

Mass Audubon’s Bird-a-thon, which typically sends teams of birders rambling throughout the Commonwealth in a friendly competition to identify the most species in a 24-hour period, is staying at home this year to respect social distancing and will take place Friday to Saturday, May 15–16.

Mass Audubon’s biggest single fundraising event is again expected to attract hundreds of competitors of all abilities, but will be carbon-free, safety-focused, and family-oriented. Participants will select bird observation  spots—a window, backyard, or a green space within short walking or biking distance from their homes. From 6 p.m. on Friday the 15th through 6 p.m. on the 16th, they’ll spend time observing and identifying species from their birding positions, solo or with other household members.

Competitors join teams representing different Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuaries and programs. Their pledges can be directed to specific wildlife sanctuaries and programs or to the overall organization, the state’s largest nature conservation nonprofit. Participants can also earn points for their team by completing other fun, nature-based activities or as “Bird-a-thon Boosters,” who raise money while birding for fun (or not birding at all).

Last year’s event raised $240,000 and recorded 273 species, with Drumlin Farm garnering $30,850 for its work through the event. Sponsors this year include presenting sponsors Ream Design of Ayer and Camosse Masonry Supply of Worcester, and media sponsor WBUR.

To participate, donate, and to learn more about Bird-a-thon, visit www.massaudubon.org/birdathon.

Letter to the editor: COA grateful for donations

To the editor:

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging in response to our appeal here in the Squirrel. We appreciate your generosity! As we are reaching out in many different ways, some of you may receive a postal letter asking for a contribution as well. We didn’t cross-check our mailing list against our list of recent contributors, so if you’ve already donated, just know that we’re grateful and recycle that letter.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Swain
President, Friends of the Lincoln COA

Letter to the editor: thanks from food pantry

The restocked food pantry.

The restocked St. Vincent de Paul food pantry at St. Joseph’s.

To the editor:

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul would like to thank the First Parish in Lincoln’s Community Engagement and Service Task Force under the leadership of Margit Griffith and Sarah Bishop for organizing an amazing food drive. They got the information out, arranged for signup and drop off, and bagged and delivered food. It was a true success.

A special thank-you to the entire town for donating so generously. We received more bags of potatoes, apples, oranges, onions, and sweet potatoes than we can count. In addition, we received a large number of staple items, condiments, and snacks. The grocery bags will be distributed in the next few days, bringing much relief and many smiles. We are also grateful for the many generous monetary donations we have received. 

We are now serving approximately 200 people in Lincoln and Weston. In the coming days, Karen Boyce, our pantry chair, and her team will give out 500 bags of food. And in two weeks we will do it all over again.

If you are in need of food or financial emergency help with payment of bills, please reach out to us. This is a difficult time for many who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in a situation they could never have imagined. It’s hard to ask for help, but we are here to support you! Please call St. Julia office at 781-899-2611 and leave a message for St. Vincent de Paul and someone will call you back. For more information, go to stjulia.org/st-vincent-de-paul-society.

Sincerely,

Ursula Nowak
President of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Joseph Conference

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Kids’ programs this week from Farrington NatureLinc

Farrington NatureLinc is going virtual with partners sites to offer with live streaming outdoor adventures and nature crafts for kids twice every day this week. Topics will be:

  • Tuesday, April 21 — Cairns and Rocks (11 a.m.), Flowing Water (2 p.m.)
  • Wednesday, April 22 — Earth Day (11 a.m.), Nature Journals (2 p.m.)
  • Thursday, April 23 — Nature Weaving (11 a.m.), Bird Feeders (2 p.m.)
  • Friday, April 24 — The Story of the Land ( 11 a.m.), Backyard Wildflowers (2 p.m.)

Those who like FNL’s Facebook page in advance will get notified when each event is about to go live, or the programs can be viewed on its YouTube page a day or so after each Facebook Live event.

FNL will also host Goat Yoga online on Saturday, May 9 from 11 a.m.–2 p.m.; click here to register. Get a sneak peak at the baby goats in this Chip In Farm video.

Walden Woods Project offers virtual events

The Walden Woods Project has three more “Thursdays with Thoreau” scheduled. Each event takes place from 10–11 a.m. and from 4–5 p.m. Registration for each session opens the Thursday before at 5 p.m. Click here to register for the April 23 session.

  • April 23: Society — What do these times suggest about us as a society and how can Thoreau’s words help us reflect on where we currently stand as a society?
  • April 30: Spring — “Shall a man not have his spring as well as the plants?” (Journal, June 1850). How have you been able to experience and observe the transformations of spring this year? Has social distancing allowed you more or less opportunity to notice these seasonal changes? What metaphorical lessons, many noted by Thoreau, does spring have to offer us?
  • May 7: Living Without Regrets — May 6 marks the anniversary of Thoreau’s passing. On his deathbed, Thoreau stated that he had no regrets about his life. What would it take to come to the end of one’s life and have no regrets? In what ways did Thoreau’s life and outlook put him in that position? Are you inspired in this way by Thoreau’s life?

Do you have a question about Thoreau, his work, life, family, or friends? Ask Thoreau scholar and author Jeffrey S. Cramer, WWP Curator of Collections, on Thursday, April 27 from 1–2 p.m. Participants may submit questions prior to the virtual event, or during the chat. Click here to register (participants will receive Zoom access information after registering).

In honor of its 30th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, please click here to donate to the Walden Woods Project and help fund its free virtual events.

L-S seniors will get plants instead of balloons

Because of the Covid-19 epidemic, the L-S Class of 2022 Steering Committee will modify its traditional fundraiser.  Instead of selling and attaching balloons to the mailboxes of graduating seniors, they’ll distribute potted red blooms donated by Cavicchio Greenhouses located close to the high school in Sudbury.

Social distancing requirements mean that gathering dozens of volunteers to inflate and tie up the balloons won’t be possible. In addition, helium is in short supply because it’s used for a type of respiratory therapy as well as for cooling the superconducting magnets used in MRI scanners.

Any balloon orders already received can be converted to these red potted blooms. Pennant orders will be honored unless we hear otherwise in the coming weeks from the manufacturer. Pickup and delivery will be coordinated with the school in keeping with health guidelines with details to come. Recipients can get creative with their displays by adding, bows, flags, signs, and items to the planters in a display that honors graduates and the contributions they’ve made as an LS students.

Orders for plants can be made until May 20 by clicking here. Anyone with questions may email celebrateourgraduates@gmail.com.

Letter to the editor: thanks from food pantry

Andrew Craig and Henry Darnall with the vanload of donations they collected.

To the editor:

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul would like to thank Andrew Craig for organizing a food drive for our Food Pantry in Lincoln. With the help of his mother Julia, his friend Henry Darnall, and Henry’s dad Greg, he collected food from 30 households. They delivered two carloads of food to the Food Pantry, sorted the food, and checked all the use-by dates. It was an incredibly successful food drive. Our thanks go also to the 30 households who took part by donating food so generously.

It is not too late to help. Please drop food donations off at the side entrance on the left side of St. Joseph Church, where the ramp is. If you buy food at Donelan’s you can drop it off in the collection barrel behind the registers.

Items most needed are pasta sauce, Progresso soup, cereal, pasta, brown rice, white tuna, cans of corn, cans of black beans, and Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, as well as toilet paper and paper towels.For monetary donations, please make checks payable to St. Vincent de Paul and mail them to St. Vincent de Paul, PO Box 324, Lincoln MA.

We are very impressed with how much food Andrew was able to collect. The need is growing fast, and we rely on donations more than ever before. We have never before given out so much food. It is heartening to see a young person like Andrew take initiative and so many Lincoln residents responding to his request for donations.

Sincerely,

Ursula Nowak
Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Joseph Conference