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

Covid-19*

Board tackles vacancies and staff positions, postpones Town Meeting

The Board of Selectmen appointed several residents to fill vacancies on boards and in the Planning Department and also voted to postpone the Annual Town Meeting normally held in March.

Paula Vaughn-MacKenzie is the new Director of Planning and Land Use. She has been the acting director since the leave and then departure of Jennifer Burney. The vote came after the Planning Board “voted unanimously and enthusiastically to support Paula in this role,” Planning Board chair Margaret Olson said at the selectmen’s December 14 meeting.

Rachel Drew was confirmed to one of two appointed seats on the Housing Commission. Those seats have five-year terms, while the other three seats are elected on a three-year rotation. Drew succeeds Diana Chirita, who had served on the commission since 2014. The other appointed seat is currently held by Allen Vander Meulen.

Selectmen also spoke with Reanna Wu and Julian Huertas, two of the three candidates to fill a longtime vacancy on the Zoning Board of Appeals. A third candidate, John Carr, was not able to attend the meeting. A second opening is expected soon as a long-time member plans to retire, ZBA Chair David Henken said.

Other appointments made this week were:

  • Community Preservation Committee — John Ottenberg, replacing John Valpey
  • Battle Road Scenic Byway Committee — Robert Domnitz, replacing Paula Vaughn-MacKenzie, who is the new director of Planning and Land Use. Domnitz also served on the Planning Board.
  • Emergency Assistance Fund Committee — Mary Stechschulte, replacing Jane Thomas
  • Pierce House Committee — Peter Braun (replacing Lucia McMahon) and Barbara Peskin (replacing Jean Horne)
Staff positions

Selectmen also heard a proposal to fund two other town employee positions as part of the fiscal 2022 budget. If approved, a part-time position in the Town Clerk’s office will become full-time to help handle the added workload resulting from administering elections (largely due to the advent of early voting) as well as death certificates. That job has required more time since the Care Dimensions Hospice House opened in spring 2018.

The part-time town social worker position was created with grants in 2019, with the understanding that the town would eventually assume the expense once the grants’ funds were exhausted. Social worker Emily Morrison helps residents under age 60, complementing the Council on Aging’s social worker for seniors. The council itself plans to change its name to the Council on Aging and Human Services to reflect its expanding services.

Annual Town Meeting

The 2021 Annual Town Meeting has been postponed to an outdoor May 15 event because of the ongoing pandemic, although the town election will go ahead indoors as planned on March 29.

The change was approved this week by the Board of Selectmen, though there are details that need to be ironed out. Among them: where exactly on the school campus the meeting will take place, given the ongoing school construction project, and what will be on the agenda. in the interest of time efficiency amid the pandemic, last year’s ATM was stripped of some of the usual warrant articles, including votes on several citizens’ petitions.

Also to be determined is whether residents can vote in the town election by absentee ballot, and how to coordinate it with the school’s schedule when classes are in session.

Correction

A December 14 article headlined “Covid-19 cases in Lincoln see rapid increase” incorrectly stated that half of the V-shaped skilled nursing section of The Commons at Lincoln had been converted to a Covid-19 unit. According to Benchmark Senior Living, the skilled nursing neighborhood has isolated Covid-19-positive residents in seven of the area’s 32 rooms rooms with a staff dedicated solely to their care. Also, the staff in the skilled nursing area are tested every three days.

Library helps connect far-flung families during pandemic

By Lucy Maulsby

Cathy Moritz reads over Zoom to her great-niece and great-nephew in California.

The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed all of us to imagine new ways of doing familiar things, including connecting with friends and family when being together in person is not possible. The Lincoln Public Library has been supporting the community in this effort in a number of novel ways that have stretched well beyond the boundaries of Lincoln to Alabama, California, and even Greece.

Since the start of the pandemic, the librarians have been helping Lincoln residents who are reading virtually to younger family members over Zoom. During the summer months before books were circulating, they recommended books and provided support in setting up and using digital delivery services like Hoopla.

Ruth Ann Hendrickson, for example, is reading to her grandchildren, the youngest of which is 9, in Alabama nearly every day. Earlier in the school year, her grandchildren, no longer as busy with after-school activities and then summer, had time for reading sessions, but their enthusiasm for a good story quickly exhausted her supply of books. Their recent favorites have included R.A. Spratt’s Adventures of Nanny Piggins, Robert McCloskey’s Homer Price, and Ann McCaffery’s Dragon Song.

“I’m enjoying it even more than they are, and they’re loving it!” Hendrickson said.

Cathy Moritz likewise started reading to her great-niece Sylvia and great-nephew Homer, ages 7 and 4, in California last spring shortly after schools closed, when she realized that regular visits would not be possible and that their parents, one of whom works very long hours, needed support. Their appetite for picture books has meant very regular trips to collect books in recent months — sometimes as many as three bags at a time from the library. Children’s librarian Denise Shaver has been especially instrumental in selecting books, focusing on the stories and subjects that interest the children and using those as a bridge to new material.

Even though her young relatives are often busy drawing, sewing, or playing quietly as she reads, Moritz said she’s always “surprised by the intensity with which they listen.” The time she spends reading to Sylvia and Homer has created informal opportunities for conversation, bringing them closer together in a way that might not have been otherwise possible.

In a different vein, Lincoln resident and former library trustee Jenifer Burckett-Picker connected the daughter of a family friend, who was born in Boston and now lives in Greece, with the Lincoln library after their plans to travel Lincoln this summer were canceled as a result of Covid-19 travel restrictions. Erietta, nearly 7, participated in many of the library’s virtual summer programs, including story time, science programs, and virtual trivia. “She had a lot of fun while at the same time staying connected and enhancing her relations with the U.S.,” her mother Maria Kechri wrote. “The creativity and hard work of the people at the Lincoln Library helped to create an ‘open window’ to the world.”

“It’s been really special for us to help patrons during this isolating time in the small way we can — with books,” said Children’s Librarian Debbie Leopold. Indeed, although overall book circulation slowed dramatically after the closure of the library in March, the circulation of children’s books — driven in part by the new ways in which libraries are being used — is now about twice what it was a year ago, with over 4,500 books circulating per month.

As the holiday season approaches, the children’s librarians are putting together winter and holiday Book Bundles, which can be tailored to the interests of young readers, and encourage families to use books as a way to connect with loved ones near and far.

Covid-19 cases in Lincoln see rapid increase

Lincoln’s Covid-19 caseload has shot up recently, with 14 new cases in December thus far.

Thirteen of those cases are at The Commons in Lincoln, Public Health Nurse Tricia McGean told the Board of Selectmen on December 14. One resident there died of Covid-19 on December 13 — the pandemic’s first death in Lincoln since late May.

As of last night’s meeting, the town had recorded a total of 82 cases. Seven more cases have occurred at The Commons but were not counted toward Lincoln’s total because they were temporary rehabilitation patients transferred from facilities or homes in other towns, McGean said. The skilled nursing neighborhood has isolated Covid-19-positive residents in seven of the area’s 32 rooms rooms with a staff dedicated solely to their care, and staff in that portion of The Commons are tested every three days.

At the Lincoln School, which has been doing both five-day-a-week in-person and fully remote instruction, there are four classrooms now in quarantine (two in first grade and one each in second and fourth grade). Everyone in those classes must stay home for 14 days.

“It’s a really important time to stay in your bubble and stay in your household,” including avoiding extended family members who don’t live with you, McGean said. “It’s spreading like wildfire, especially through families, where one parent gets it, then the other, and then all the kids.” Fortunately, most of the Lincolnites who have gotten ill have experienced mild to moderate symptoms, especially aches and severe headaches, she added.

Although vaccines are starting to be distributed to health-care workers and other top-priority segments of the population, the general public won’t have access here until April or May, McGean said. The primary means of vaccine distribution will be through primary care providers and pharmacies. Officials are starting to plan how to vaccinate residents who are unable to get to either of those places.

“We’d love to be in a position to tell residents that [the town] can vaccinate 6,000 people but clearly that’s beyond our capacity,” she said.

News acorns

Youth talent show to benefit Save the Children

To bring the community together in a time of isolation for a good cause, two L-S students are organizing a youth talent show. Performers will be pre-recorded and the show will take place via Zoom on Wednesday, Dec. 23 at 5 p.m. Adults who watch will be asked to make a $10 donation to Save the Children, a nonprofit focused on helping kids impacted by Covid-19. The goal is to raise $1,000. Organizers hope to have prizes for everyone who participates.

To register for free as a performer, email kids4covid.19@gmail.com with your name, age, and talent by Friday, Dec. 11. A few ideas for performers include singing, dancing, instrumentals, group skits, magic tricks, stop-motion, and bike tricks. Click here to donate. All are invited to watch the show; to get the Zoom link, email the address above.

Food drive for St. Vincent de Paul

Residents are encouraged to donate items by Monday, Dec. 14 for a food drive organized by Lincoln resident Devon Das to benefit clients of the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry. Bring donations to the collection bin to the left of the main entrance to the Smith school building (drive through the bus loop to avoid any construction and please wear a mask). Any nonperishable food is welcome, but here are some specifics of what the food pantry needs:

  • Spaghetti sauce
  • Peanut butter
  • Jam
  • Mayonnaise
  • Baked beans
  • Canned corn
  • Canned peaches
  • Salad dressing
  • Canned tuna

Questions? Email devondas3d@gmail.com.

Boy Scouts selling Christmas trees

Christmas trees are now for sale by Lincoln Boy Scout Troop 127 on the corner of Codman and Lincoln Road, across from the public safety building. Tabletop sizes up to eight-foot trees are available along with wreaths. Scouts will trim the trunk, wrap the tree and fasten it to the customer’s cars. The tree lot is open on weekends from 9 a.m.–7 p.m. and most weeknights from 5–7 p.m. Maximum three families at a time in tree lot.

L-S orchestral concert on Dec. 18

The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Music Department will present an Orchestral Winter Concert on Friday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. The concert will air in both Sudbury and Lincoln on Comcast channel 9/Verizon channel 32, with a live stream at this link. It will also be available to view on demand a few days after the concert.

L-S Orchestra Cohort A rehearses for the December 18 concert.


Due to COVID restrictions, student musicians were placed into two groups. Cohort A will perform a scene” from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” and “B Rosette” by Su Jin Kim. Cohort B will perform the viola concerto in G major (first and second movements” by G.P. Telemann featuring student soloists Richard Yao and Will Sotiriou, and then themes from the “American Quartet” by Dvorak. Selected movements from “Le Carnaval De Venise” by C. Dancla will also be performed by the L-S Music Violin Ensemble. There will also be video performances from the combined Concert Choir and Treble Choir, Chamber Singers, Guitar Class Level II students, and the combined Symphonic and Concert Bands.

To learn more about the L-S music program and how the community can support L-S musicians, please visit www.lfom.org.

Fridays at Farrington program

Farrington Nature Linc is offering a new Fridays at Farrington program for children from January 15 to February 12 from 2:15–4:15 p.m. Activities (all outdoors and socially distanced with masks) include hiking, art with natural materials, scavenger hunts, exploring around the pond, and more. Registration is open until Friday, Dec. 18. There will be also later series starting in March, April, and May. Click here for more information and registration materials.

GearTicks fill a gap for kids with monthly STEMtastic Challenges

By Olivia Crisafi, Prerna Karmacharya, Amelia Pillar, and Victor Han

When the GearTicks, Lincoln’s high school robotics team, realized that the Covid-19 pandemic would make it impossible for First LEGO League (FLL) robotics teams to meet, they brainstormed alternative STEM activities to offer the town’s youth.

For the past 11 years, the GearTicks have mentored FLL robotics teams in Lincoln, Sudbury, and surrounding towns, making FLL and FLL Explore (a program for kids age 6-10) one of the most popular programs run by the town Parks and Recreation Department. Participating in programs such as FLL and FLL Explore provide students with the opportunity to learn about STEM hands-on through building LEGO robots to complete annual challenges.

Recognizing the lack of STEM activities for the town’s youth during the pandemic, the GearTicks brainstormed about how to best address this need. They developed a series of challenges for students that would expose them to STEM concepts with fun, educational activities for families to do together while also teaching them about the engineering design process. The result: teaming up with the Lincoln Public Library to offer STEMtastic Challenges.

Each month the GearTicks will release a new STEMtastic Challenges on their website. For each theme, the Lincoln Public Library will create a resources list, including books and websites that can be used for inspiration, instruction, and enrichment.

Lucy’s winning plan and build-out of Big Ben using marshmallows and toothpicks.

November’s theme was Marshmallow Architecture. Participants drew inspiration from books and their imagination to build marshmallow structures, which included everything from flying airplanes to earthquake-resistant buildings.

The GearTicks were impressed with the ingenuity and hard work of all the participants and are pleased to announce that the winner of November’s challenge is ten-year-old Lucy, who created a marshmallow-and-toothpick Big Ben. The high school students thought Lucy’s detailed drawing was great, and that she might enjoy learning to use some of the CAD tools they use to design robots.

The STEMtastic challenge for the month of December is Marble Runs. It’s a great opportunity for students of all ages to use materials they have around the house — anything from toilet paper rolls to disposable water bottles — and extra time from school breaks to participate in something fun and educational. It’s open to all ages, and participants are welcome to work together with family and friends over the holidays.

Submissions should be sent to stemsubmissions@gearticks.com by December 31. More challenge details can be found on the GearTicks’ December STEMtastic Challenge web page. To access the library’s resources, click here and scroll down to the blue GearTicks logo.

Lincoln Covid-19 cases are creeping up

Lincoln Covid cases week by week (click to enlarge).

After a relatively quiet summer pandemic-wise, cases of Covid-19 in Lincoln have been trending upward in recent weeks.

The five cases last week were the most in one week since April 18, which tied for Lincoln’s pandemic’s weekly high with six cases. There were four cases reported for the week of November 12; three of them were in their 50s and one in his or her 20s, according to Public Health Nurse Tricia McGean. She didn’t have demographic information for the latest batch of residents who tested positive, but said that none were in a school or group living facility such as The Commons.

Cumulative Covid-19 cases in Lincoln

The accompanying graphs were made from the town’s Covid-19 page, which includes some information for surrounding towns and the state. Households rather than external group settings have been by far the most commons means of transmission since mid-October, according to the chart on that page showing active Covid cluster by exposure setting type.

Council on Aging news

Here are some of the December activities hosted by the Lincoln Council on Aging. Most events are open to Lincoln residents of all ages. For more information and a full list, including regular meetings of clinics, groups, and online chats with town officials, see the COA’s calendar page or newsletter.

Lincoln Academy talks

To register for either event, call Amy at the COA at 781-259-8811 or email gagnea@lincolntown.org. Please register at least two business days prior to lecture.

Justice Denied: A Personal Perspective
Monday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m.
Margie Yamamoto tells a personal story of a Japanese American family, following them from immigration to imprisonment during World War II and as they rebuilt their lives during the post-War years. Illustrated with family and historic archival photographs.

Overcoming Poverty in Rural Honduras: Stay or Emigrate?
Monday, Dec. 14 at 1 p.m.
Learn what life is like in a small Honduras village. This slide presentation by photographer Mark Hopkins, tells how American volunteers have helped in this country. The challenges that lie ahead for these hardworking people will be explained.

Health Webinar: Taming Your Mind with Mindfulness Techniques

Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m.
When stress levels rise, our minds can become filled with worried, anxious thoughts. Mindful- ness, the practice of focusing on the present moment, can quiet your mind and help you feel calmer. Join Janet to learn breathing exercises and a five minute sitting meditation. Presented by Janet Fontana, RN and sponsored by Blue Cross/BlueShield. Click here to register.

The Connections Program

A new four-week session begins on Sunday, Dec. 13. The Connections Program provides a social connection and benefits the Lincoln-Sudbury student who receives community service. Learn more at www.connections01773.org. Please call the COA 781-259-8811 x102 or email gagnea@lincolntown.org if you’re interested in participating in this intergenerational program. After you sign up, complete this online survey Friday, Dec. 11 to be matched with an eager high school student. The weekly connections can be made by letter, email, phone, Facetime, or Zoom (the senior chooses the communication mode).

Podiatry clinic

The clinic will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at Bemis Hall, following Board of Health protocols. All participants must preregister by calling 781-259-8811. Space is limited and registration is on a first-come, first served basis. Suggested $10 donation. Co-sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging and the Pierce House.

Free salt buckets delivered

If you would like a free sand/salt bucket to help with slippery spots on your driveway or walkway, contact the COA by phone at 781-259-8811 to sign up, and the Girl Scouts will arrange to deliver one to you.

New medication drop box

The Lincoln Police Department has a new medication drop box in the public safety building lobby where residents can safely dispose of old medications, vitamins, ointments, and prescriptions for people and pets. Please do not put bags, needles, liquids, or loose pills in the box.

Covid-19 colors reports at first State of the Town meeting

(Editor’s note: the slide decks from the November 17 and 18 State of the Town forums will be posted on the town website on November 19. The Lincoln Squirrel will publish an addendum to this article with the web address when it becomes available.)

In the first of three State of the Town meetings this week, officials updated residents on public health situation, the town’s 2021 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) and budget, and the school project.

Public health

Since the pandemic began last spring, Lincoln has seen 62 cases of Covid-19 to date, including seven deaths, all of them at The Commons (which, however, has not had a case since May). Contact tracing is “working like a well-oiled machine,” Public Health Nurse Trish McGean said at the November 17 session

One or more vaccines are on the horizon for early next year, but in the meantime, cases are rising in Massachusetts and the rest of the country, so she urged people to maintain their vigilance with masks and social distancing. Once a vaccine is widely available, Lincoln expects to have a drive-through vaccination clinic.

The pandemic will be felt especially keenly during the upcoming holidays. “Gathering together at the Thanksgiving table, even if you have the last names, may not be the smartest idea,” she said. Board of Health member Patricia Miller also reminded the more than 120 residents who attended the meeting on Zoom that anyone who travels to any state except Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Hawaii must fill out a state travel form before returning and get tested.

Annual Town Meeting

Last spring’s Annual Town Meeting was held outside under a tent, and though officials hope the 2021 version can be held in the usual way on March 27, “at this moment in time it seems unlikely,” said Town Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden. Aside from the endemic the Brooks auditorium is unavailable because of school construction, so it would have to be in Smith gym, or outdoors in a tent again once the weather is warm enough.

With no citizen’s petitions or acknowledgements of residents who died or retired from town service during the previous year — not to mention the inability to see neighbors and socialize — the stripped-down 2020 ATM “did not have the same flavor and feel of our usual annual gathering,” some of its innovations will be carried forward, Holden said. Among them:

  • Making presentations and background information available online in advance of the ATM, including a comprehensive budget presentation
  • Making greater use of the consent calendar for noncontroversial issues, a step that “was very well received in June,” Holden noted. As always, residents can ask to have individual items held out for separate discussion and voting.
  • Using runners with roving wireless microphones rather than having people lines up at stationary mics to ask questions or make comments.

Some residents at the forum wondered if the ATM could be held remotely. “My opinion is that this format we’re doing right now is not bad,” Water Commission Chair Jim Hutchinson said. Selectman Jennifer Glass pointed out that state law still requires ATMs to occur in person, though dividing it up over several days is permitted.

“My feeling is you lose something about community when you do it that way — it’s just not the same,” Holden said.

School project

Phase I of the two-year, two-phase school project is about halfway done, and the pandemic has not affected the cost or schedule for the work, School Building Committee Chair Chris Fasciano said.

Although several items had to be cut from the project earlier this year when bids came in over budget, some of them are on track to be restored through previously announced donations from the estate of Harriet Todd, Robert and Jacquelin Apsler, and a fund seeded by the eighth-grade Class of 2020. A grant from the Ogden Codman Trust will fund two bike/walking paths.

The Class of 2020 Tree Fund, which aims to restore new trees and plantings originally budgeted at $56,084, now stands at $35,500 (the fund’s goal is $60,000), Fasciano reported. The SBC has also applied for $161,200 in funds from the town’s Community Preservation Act funding in fiscal 2021 to cover the cost of upgrading the former green playground.

New auditorium rigging will not be included in the final project because the construction deadline for funding that work has passed. Also still needed is funding for furniture, fixtures, equipment, and technology that was cut. A total of $956,000 was originally budgeted; voters restored $200,000 as part of a $829,000 school package at the ATM in June.

A request for the remaining $756,000 “is likely to come up at some point,” though exactly when is unclear, Fasciano said. “It is a necessary part of the project.”

Town budget

Another unknown about the ongoing pandemic is how it will affect the budget for the next fiscal year. In the current budget that began on July 1, the Finance Committee trimmed employee retirement contributions, deferred some capital expenditures, and expanded the town’s reserve fund by 50% to $753,000.

The town has also been tracking its expenses relating to Covid-19 and has thus far been reimbursed for all of them — but the CARES Act expires at the end of December and the prospects for another federal stimulus package are uncertain, FinCom chair Andy Payne said. As expected, the biggest Covid-related spending categories for the town have been personal protective equipment, IT hardware and support, and cleaning supplies and services, Payne said.

The FinCom has told departments who are now formulating their fiscal 2021 budget requests that they can ask for the usual maximum increase of 2.5%. The group is willing to consider additional requests, especially if cuts in services would be required, “but it’s gotta be super-compelling,” Payne said.

On the bright side, the town affirmed its AAA bond rating when it recently bonded $2,2 million for the Water Department at an interest rate below 1%, and the stabilization fund is now at about $2.47 million, “so we feel that we remain in pretty good financial shape at this point,” he said.

Three new Covid-19 cases in Lincoln

Town health officials reported three new Covid-19 cases in Lincoln during the week ending September 30. All three are members of the same household and are not at The Commons, which was an early hotspot but has not seen any new cases since May, public health nurse Tricia McGean said.

This is the largest number of cases in a week since August 5. In the seven weeks from then until the most recent count, there were only four new cases in town.

The new Covid-19 cases are separate from those reported more recently in two at Hanscom Middle School  (cases on Hanscom Air Force Base are recorded as being in Bedford, not Lincoln). As a result of the positive tests there, 23 students and six staff members are now working remotely during their period of quarantine, Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall said on Tuesday.