The Lincoln Squirrel

News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

My Turn

My Turn: On the journey towards an antiracist school district

By Becky McFall, Jessica Rose, and Marika Hamilton

Yesterday’s announcement of the verdicts in the Derek Chauvin trial provided validation of the discrimination and injustices that Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in our country have experienced their entire lives. George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police officers was determined to be a crime by our justice system and Derek Chauvin will be held accountable. George Floyd’s murder and the Chauvin trial mark a turning point in our country. These are moments that communicate to the nation that we can never again turn a blind eye to the injustice and discrimination that exists for members of our BIPOC community.

The verdicts handed down yesterday are not an end to a single horrific incident but a beginning of continuing to work to ensure that no more lives are unnecessarily lost due to the inherent racism that exists in so many systems in our country and around the world. They are also a reminder that we cannot afford to be silent or wait until we are comfortable talking about the reality of institutional and systemic racism.

While Chauvin will be held accountable, it is not the same as having justice. In order for justice to occur, our entire country and its many systems — including education, policing, court systems, banking, real estate, medical, employment and so much more — need to transform. As Professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr. said, “We must understand that justice is a practice, not an end.” There is so much work ahead of us, and George Floyd and countless others will not be with us as we take our next steps.

Police brutality is an outright reflection that racism still exists in our society. This violence has caused many members of the BIPOC community to suffer deep loss and to consistently be victims of marginalization, oppression, racial profiling, and acts of discrimination. We must unite to oppose and dismantle racism and discrimination in all its forms.

It is not enough to say we stand united; we must follow through in action. Just as Chauvin’s verdict was being announced, a 15-year old girl in Columbus, Ohio was shot and killed by police. During these turbulent times where each day we learn of more young people of color who have died, we must engage in self-reflection, educate ourselves, and deepen our commitment  to antiracism. We must learn to believe and act in ways that demonstrate that an injustice towards one is an injustice toward all and that our freedom, our thriving, and our happiness is intertwined. 

We must prepare our students for an increasingly complex world, and this will take all of us working together. It is critical that we learn from our history and experiences as well as the experiences of those whose cultures, values, beliefs, and views are different from our own. We must strive to become more empathic and more compassionate every day. We each have an important role to play in creating a community, a country, and a world that values and honors each individual for who they are and who they may become.

For too long, discrimination and racism have resulted in the the squandering of human potential and the oppression of many in order to maintain the privilege of a dominant culture. As educators, we have an obligation to continue to learn and reflect on how our school systems and interactions with students perpetuate the status quo.

As a district, we have begun our journey of reflection and learning in order to become an antiracist school district. There is a great deal of important work ahead of us. It will not be easy, and as we move forward, there will certainly be points along the way where we will stumble. But each misstep is a moment that provides great potential for learning. Let us remember to give each other grace as we stumble and learn together.

We are hopeful for the future. The veil has been lifted and it has admitted light that can never be darkened again. We look forward to the actions our district and our community members will take together to make the world a better place for our students and ourselves.

Becky McFall, Lincoln Public School Superintendent
Jessica Rose, Assistant Superintendent
Marika Hamilton, METCO Director

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Cancel plans for a new women’s prison

By Laura Berland

Over the past quarter-century, more expansive law enforcement efforts, stiffer drug sentencing laws, and post-conviction barriers has significantly increased the female prison population. The number of incarcerated women in the United States is seven times higher than in 1980, and more than 60% of women in state prisons have a child under the age of 18.

 While Massachusetts has the fewest number of incarcerated women in the country (roughly 300 as reported by the Department of Corrections (DOC) in January 2020), this hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm for prison construction.  As I write, the Massachusetts DOC is proposing the construction of a $50 million dollar women’s prison. And the Massachusetts government is in negotiation with HDR, a global architecture firm, for a $550, 000 design contract.

Not only is it morally wrong — this project represents a grossly irresponsible use of tax dollars. It reeks of lobbying by vested interests who are making money off the prison industrial complex, and, consequently, human suffering.

There are alternatives. In a letter to HDR asking the firm to withdraw, community activists write: “We can build healing centers in our communities to begin addressing mental health and trauma in our own neighborhoods, rather than building yet another prison to incarcerate more mothers and daughters while profiting off Black, Brown and cash-poor communities.”

One of the activists leading the effort is Stacey Borden, founder of the nonprofit New Beginnings Re-Entry Services. Formerly incarcerated herself, Borden has been working in partnership with community agencies to empower and provide supportive services to formerly incarcerated women. Having run a highly successful fund raising campaign, she is currently developing a home called Kimya’s House in Dorchester that will serve as a residential treatment center for 15 women.

“When we picture what different looks like, we see Kimya’s house — a sanctuary for formerly incarcerated women to heal, and a place where women can go instead of jail and prison, run by and for women who have been through it,” she says.

Right now in Massachusetts, we have a chance to take a different approach. We can focus on healing women and families rather than continue the cycle of violence and trauma that are the reality of incarceration.

I am calling on HDR to withdraw from the project and for our legislators to place a moratorium on all new prison construction. I hope you’ll add your voice. If we are serious about addressing over-incarceration, this is an excellent place to start.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: COA needs donations to keep up with pandemic needs

By Rhonda Swain

Over the past year, the Lincoln Council on Aging (COA) has been faced with many new challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the COA’s regular programs and activities had to be cancelled, but others were adapted and moved online. In spite of the difficulties of working remotely,  the COA staff have stepped up and continued to serve the town’s most vulnerable residents of all ages by helping people find the resources — food, counseling, medical care, etc. — they need in these unprecedented times.

Especially now, the needs of those served by the COA have been increasing faster than the town’s ability to cover the cost of meeting those needs. Fortunately, the Friends of the Lincoln COA, a nonprofit organization formed to provide financial assistance to the COA, is able to supplement the COA budget.

Since last April, the Friends were able to contribute $20,000 to COA programs and services, including funding for increased mental health services, which have been particularly important in helping vulnerable individuals stay connected during the pandemic.

Donations from individuals in Lincoln are the Friends’ principal source of income. We hope that you will support the COA and its work with your tax-deductible contribution. If you can, please contribute by sending your check to Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging, P.O. Box 143, Lincoln, MA 01773. We appreciate your support.

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Swain is president of the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: The more green electricity, the better

By Sue Klem

Lincoln recently launched a new, greener electricity program, called LincolnGreenEnergyChoice.com. Residents were automatically enrolled in March unless they chose to opt out of the program or were using a third-party electricity supplier.

For about the same price as we were paying before, 45% of the electricity provided to Lincoln residents will be generated from clean renewable sources like wind and solar. This is a big improvement over the 18% renewables supplied by Eversource. Eversource will continue to deliver and bill for our electricity, but First Point Power is our new, greener electricity supplier. 

But we can do even better. You can  have all of your electricity come from renewable sources by choosing to “Opt Up to Lincoln 100% Green” for about $20 more per month for an average household compared to Lincoln Standard Green (the default option that customers were automatically assigned to), To do this, simply call 844-651-8919 or go to www.masspowerchoice.com/lincoln/enroll. 

There are many other electricity supply companies pushing hard to get our business. — but the only program that provides this much green electricity for this low a price is Lincoln Green Energy Choice. The town negotiated this deal for its residents. Do not sign up with another company thinking it is the Lincoln program. Unless the company has LINCOLN in its name, it is not the Lincoln program and does not provide as much green electricity.

Pricing for the three options in Lincoln Green Energy Choice (click to enlarge).

You can also “opt down” to save a little with Lincoln Basic, or you can opt out of the program entirely, although that would be more expensive and provide less green energy. For more information on these options, go to www.LincolnGreenEnergyChoice.com.

Lawn signs

Have you noticed the bright green and yellow lawn signs sprouting up around Lincoln? They indicate homeowners who have opted up to Lincoln 100% Green, meaning that 100% of their electricity comes from clean, renewable sources like New England wind and solar projects. The Lincoln Green Energy Committee is running a campaign with the goal of getting 25% of Lincoln residents to choose Lincoln 100% Green for their electricity supply. It only costs about $20 more per month for the average Lincoln household, and you’ll be doing something important to fight climate change.

To “Opt Up to Lincoln 100% Green,” just grab your Eversource electricity bill and go to www.masspowerchoice.com/lincoln/enroll and choose Lincoln 100% Green, or call 844-651-8919. Your “Opt Up to 100% Green Electricity” lawn sign will be delivered to you soon. Please display it to help spread the word!

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Klem is a member of Lincoln’s Green Energy Committee.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Thanks for election participation and help

By Valerie Fox, Town Clerk

We would like, as always, to thank the many individuals who participated in last Monday’s annual town election, starting first with the 13 individuals who put themselves forward as candidates for public office and the 457 of their fellow citizens who voted.

Voting by mail is certainly successful, as 320 ballots were cast that way. It was a very slow day at the polls, with 137 people voting in person throughout the 12.5-hour day.

We extend our appreciation also to the Department of Public Works, the police officers assigned to the polling place, the Smith School custodial staff and administration, and the following inspectors who checked in, sanitized, and assisted at the polls: Sarah Bishop, Julie Brogan, Gus Browne, Elaine Carroll, Sarah Chester, Tim Christenfeld, Roger Creel, Myra Ferguson, Denis Fox, Chris Hamilton, Jessica Leigh Hester, Kirsten Hopson, Leslie Hunter, Steve Johnson, Rosemary Kerrebrock, Jackie Lenth, Connie Lewis, Eileen McCrory, Andrew Pang, Jonathan Rapaport, Barbara Sampson, Kathleen Sullivan, and Robin Wilkerson. A very special thank-you to Jennie Christenfeld, who assisted at 6:15 a.m. prior to heading into school, returned to cover the office at 11 a.m. after school, and assisted with closing down the election at the end of the day. We are very lucky to have such a phenomenal crew.

”My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Next steps on Massachusetts’s new climate law

By State Sen. Mike Barrett

Bill signing for the Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy took place in the library of the State House, otherwise empty due to the pandemic.

“I have heard words used to describe this piece of legislation — words such as sweeping, landmark, far-reaching, ambitious, bold and nation-leading,” said Senate President Karen Spilka. “I believe it is all of these things.”
Well put. We’re the first state to keep attention riveted on climate by setting emissions limits every five years instead of every ten. The first state to mandate emissions sublimits on the most important sources of greenhouse gases — transportation, buildings, and electric power. The first state to overhaul the charter of its electric power and natural gas regulator to include, alongside price and system reliability, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

At the signing, the atmosphere was cordial. Still, peculiar. Why schedule this important ritual — putting the official touch on the most important climate legislation in Massachusetts in over a decade — on a Friday at 2:30? Why issue no invitations to the advocacy organizations, despite the pivotal roles they played? And why did Gov. Baker spend so much time saluting the valuable yet modest energy bills of years past, and so little time celebrating the law he had just signed?

I sense a problem, and I’m uneasy. I hope the governor is not toying with the idea of disregarding legislative intent by means of a pinched reading of the bill. That would not do. Most people could not give a hoot about keeping a scorecard on the legislature and the executive — who’s winning and who’s losing — but they do care about people in power following the law.

The administration needs to get with the program quickly. Next-Gen sets a number of deadlines:

  • On July 1, Gov. Baker will have three new vacancies to fill — green building experts, all — on a reconstituted Board of Building Regulation and Standards, a low-profile entity with enormous sway over energy use in new construction.
  • By July 15, 2021, the administration must set a first-ever greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal for Mass Save, the popular home energy efficiency program.
  • No later than July 1, 2022, the administration must adopt emissions limits and sublimits for the year 2025, together with a “comprehensive, clear and specific” plan for operating within them.
  • By 21 months from now, the administration must develop and promulgate a new “municipal opt-in specialized stretch energy code” that includes “net zero building performance standards” and a definition of “net zero building.”

This last one promises an ongoing battle. It’s no secret the governor vetoed an earlier version of the climate bill on the prodding of builders and developers. Taking note of the increasing urgency of global warming, we responded to the pushback by doubling down on “net zero” in the version of the bill that became law.

My constituents have been instrumental in seeing to it that Massachusetts passed the most ambitious climate bill in the country, which is cause for celebration. Now we need to make sure it gets implemented well.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Many thanks for the Easter baskets

(Editor’s note: see related story about the finances of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Lincoln and Weston.)

By Tomasina Lucchese

The members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Lincoln and Weston (SVdP) are deeply grateful for St. Anne’s in-the-Fields of Lincoln’s brilliant Easter basket project. Led by St. Anne’s parishioner and Weston resident Christy O’Brien, they provided charming homemade Easter baskets for SVdP Food Pantry clients. Adorned with beautifully colored chocolate eggs, marshmallow chicks, stuffed bunny toys, bubbles, games and more, all of our families received quite a hoppy-happy treat!

The idea of donating Easter baskets came to O’Brien while she was buying candy for her own children’s baskets. She acknowledged just how quickly the cost of these items adds up and felt compelled to contact SVdP. She asked, “If I were able to pull together a group of volunteers from church to create and donate baskets, is this something your families would enjoy?” Our answer was, “Certainly!”

Christy O’Brien and daughter Grace Colsman, parishioners from St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Church, prepare beautiful Easter baskets and bags of Easter treats for SVdP Food Pantry families.

Wasting no time, O’Brien launched the initiative enlisting dozens of basket-making volunteers from many of our surrounding towns. The parishioners of St. Anne’s in-the-Fields not only created and donated enough Easter baskets for all the SVdP clients’ homes with children, but they made up bags of candy for each of the remaining households “just so everyone could enjoy an Easter treat,” she said. These beautiful baskets were as diverse as the people who created them.

Because it was the first time Easter baskets were distributed to SVdP clients, everyone was very surprised! Thank you to St. Anne’s in-the-Fields for putting your faith into action this Easter season and spreading so much joy, hope, and love, especially during these trying times. To echo what one of our pantry clients said in response to the Easter basket she was given, “It never fails to amaze me just how generous and thoughtful this community is!”

Lucchese is Vice President of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Lincoln and Weston.

 

 

”My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

October 2015October 2019October 2020
Households served at the food pantry196392
Clients served at the food pantry37141226
Bags of food given out62150300
Total expenses (food pantry plus
emergency financial help)		$22,714$50,925$84,484
Donations/grants received$18,498$61,157$77,099

My Turn: Opt in for 100% renewable electricity in new Lincoln program

By Ed Kern

I’ve been seeing lots of web ads lately for Clearview Energy touting “Save money on energy, we provide cheaper 100% green electricity.” As with much on the web, this is both true and misleading. Clearview’s product has two components: (1) actual electricity purchased from generators in New England and Canada and (2) Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), most likely bought from wind farms in west Texas where wind speeds are higher and open lands are abundant.

There is no way that Clearview can import electric power from Texas wind energy projects to Lincoln. Texas has 86 GW of generation capacity, but under 1 GW of transmission capacity for exporting power to states immediately to its east. The RECs sold by Clearview are not associated with New England generators providing “cheaper 100% green electricity.” This “cheap” green electricity is being generated and consumed in Texas and you are being asked to help pay for it.

The key to assuring your electricity is truly renewable is to buy RECs minted in your regional power pool. Massachusetts is in the New England Power Pool. Texas has its own — recently infamous — pool serving only Texas. Most power generated within a pool is consumed in the same pool, and that’s certainly the case in Texas.

In Massachusetts we are incrementally ratcheting up the percentage of green electricity all suppliers are required to provide (currently 18%). In Texas, a rather low goal was set 20 years ago and was exceeded threefold in about a third of the time allowed. Texas is not increasing its green requirements, so there is no Texas market for their excess RECs, which are now selling for under $0.002 per kWh; and being offered to you for about the price of a New England REC, now about $0.04 per kWh — higher priced because we are driving demand for RECs via the Commonwealth’s renewable requirement of 18% (and growing).

Lincoln’s Green Energy Choice (LGEC) program is buying these higher-priced RECs and is driving construction of renewable energy plants in New England — not buying Texas RECs cheap and selling them high to naive though well-meaning “green” consumers. These concepts can be confusing, and marketers are targeting communities transitioning to cleaner power such as Lincoln to sow confusion and make a fast buck with their “cheaper 100% green” claims.

Please don’t be fooled. Lincoln’s program is a good one and offers an affordable path to a greener future — and the best way to realize this goal is to “opt up” to the Lincoln 100% Green option. This month, Eversource Basic customers in Lincoln who did not opt out, as well as those who were already using a third-party supplier (about two-thirds of households in total) were automatically switched to the Lincoln Standard Green option, which provides an additional 27% renewable electricity from New England over and above the minimum amount required by state law, for a total of 45% clean, renewable electricity from New England. But we can do better by signing up for the Lincoln 100% Green option, which provides 100% clean, renewable electricity from New England.

The signups for Lincoln 100% Green have been going slower than I would’ve expected in Lincoln, — only about 5% of the town. My hope is that some residents may not yet have taken the time to learn and reflect on the proposition and its relatively modest marginal cost.

The Lincoln Green Energy Committee has set a goal of having 25% households “opt up” to the Lincoln 100% Green option in time for Town Meeting on May 15. It’s ambitious but attainable; the cost is modest but not “cheap.” Please consider “opting up” to 100%. You can easily do this by going to www.masspowerchoice.com/lincoln/enroll or calling 844-651-8919. (If you’re a customer of a third-party electricity supplier, you need to contact the supplier to terminate the relationship before signing up for the Lincoln Green Energy Choice program.)

Kern is a member of the Lincoln Green Energy Committee but is not speaking for the LGEC in this piece. He can be reached at edwardkern@gmail.com.

”My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Work continues on creating a more just and equitable society

By Tara Mitchell
Lincoln School Committee chair

As we mark the anniversary of moving to remote learning one year ago this month, it is difficult to process all that we have been through as a school district, as a community, and as a country. We can all be grateful and proud of the ingenuity, perseverance, and dedication that the Lincoln School District administration, faculty, staff, and students have shown this past year.

While there certainly are bright spots on the horizon with more vaccines coming, violent events continue to shed light on the hate and injustice that exists in our country, the most recent of which was the killings in Atlanta and the mass shooting in Boulder. We stand in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Island communities and acknowledge the fear, anger, and anxiety that these crimes of hate produce.

The Lincoln School Committee has made a commitment to honor and respect human differences and to work toward being an anti-racist district. Hate has no place in school, in our community, or in our country and we will continue to support the work being done in the school district that we hope will lead to a more just and equitable society.

”My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Glass asks for votes as she runs for reelection

By Jennifer Glass

I write to announce my candidacy for re-election to the Board of Selectmen for a three-year term, and I ask for the support of Lincoln’s residents and voters.

When I first ran in 2017, I made a commitment to pursue holistic planning and decision-making given the breadth of topics that fall under the purview of the board. That commitment continues energize me in assisting us to achieve our collective goals and is what motivates me to seek election to serve the town for another term.

Town residents and our town government working together have begun and accomplished many important objectives during the past four years:

  • We approved the Lincoln School revitalization project, and construction is well underway
  • The development of Oriole Landing allowed the town to continue its commitment to more affordable housing options
  • We launched the Lincoln Green Energy Choice program, which meaningfully reduces our collective carbon footprint
  • We entered into an agreement with the deCordova Museum and the Trustees of Reservations to ensure a vital future for the arts in Lincoln
  • We started community discussions about racism and racial equity following the brutal murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor
  • The global pandemic forced us to entirely rethink how we run our town government and care for our residents.

Much of this work is ongoing. Last fall the board hosted a series of roundtables that brought together community members, our police chief, town boards, and community groups and institutions to talk about inclusion, diversity, equity, and anti-racism. This laid the groundwork for the IDEA Initiative, a new committee that we will appoint in April and that is expected to examine how the town can specifically and intentionally address equity and justice.

The work of the South Lincoln Planning & Advisory Committee (SLPAC) forms another major focus of the town. The Planning Board has been studying potential zoning changes in the area around the train station for a number of years, and SLPAC is continuing that examination with an eye toward making recommendations to the town in 2022. The town is now considering the potential changes in the context of the Massachusetts Housing Choice Act that the legislature passed in January that has specific provisions for towns with an MBTA station.

The legislature also recently passed a landmark act to combat climate change, which will have profound implications for us as individuals and a community for many decades to come. We will engage with town residents to assist us all in meeting our commitments under the act.

Now that the school project is nearly halfway completed, it is time for the town to restart the conversation about a community center that would house both the Parks & Recreation Department and the Council on Aging (or “the Council on Aging and Human Services” if we approve the name change at Town Meeting!). In doing so, we will continue discussions about the town’s provision of social services and about town finances and property taxes.

All of these issues are interrelated, and we must consider them together if we are to shape the future of the town in innovative and positive ways. Most fortunately, we have a skilled and knowledgeable professional team and dedicated volunteers on our town boards and committees to engage in this effort. With your vote of support, I look forward to continuing to contribute to the work of this team. Again, I ask for your vote at the town election on Monday, March 29.

Respectfully,

Jennifer Glass
11 Stonehedge Road

”My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.