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

My Turn

My Turn: Vote yes on plastics-ban articles at Town Meeting

By Trisha O’Hagan

Lincoln has an exciting opportunity on May 15­ at our annual Town Meeting to drastically reduce our reliance on single-use plastics.

The Lincoln-Sudbury Environmental Club and Mothers Out Front–Lincoln have submitted articles proposing Styrofoam, polystyrene, and plastic straw bans. From start to finish, these plastics pollute our air, water, land, and bodies, and once created they never go away.

There is also an article calling for a 10-cent checkout bag charge to encourage the use of reusable bags over single-use paper bags. 

Lincoln has no ability to recycle Styrofoam. It goes into our trash and is incinerated in North Andover, Mass. These incinerators, while producing some electricity, also pollute their nearby communities with dioxins, mercury, and other contaminants. And disproportionally, these incinerators are located in environmental justice communities.

Lincoln would join 51 other Massachusetts cities and towns in banning polystyrene (including our neighbors in Sudbury, Wayland, Concord, and Lexington). Hopefully, as more towns pass these bans, it will apply pressure to our state legislature to pass statewide bans.

We need your help! Please attend Town Meeting and support these articles. 

Join with others working towards sustainable/zero waste policies for our town. This Town of Lincoln website has a full presentation of the articles, or contact Trisha O’Hagan at PMOKiwi@comcast.net for more information. Thank you.

“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 Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.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: A welcome language update

By Kim Bodnar, Jennifer Glass, Emily Haslett, Sarah Cannon Holden, Stuart Rose, Ellen Meyer Shorb, and Peter von Mertens

At the upcoming Annual Town Meeting on May 15, we have an opportunity to catch up with the times (and many of our neighboring towns!) by voting to change the name of the Board of Selectmen to the Select Board. Additionally, passing Article #24 will authorize clerical updates to ensure town bylaws and policies are gender-neutral.

When Lincoln held its first town meeting in 1754, only men could vote and five men were chosen to serve as the Board of Selectmen. Over 220 years later, in 1977, Beth Reis was the first woman elected to the board, and since then, an additional nine women have served. We believe the time has come to make sure the name of the board welcomes all residents, regardless of gender identity, to see themselves reflected in this visible role in town government

At least 93 towns have changed to the gender-neutral name “Select Board,” including our neighbors in Sudbury, Concord, Weston, Lexington, Bedford, and Wayland. In 2020, the Massachusetts Selectmen’s Association voted to become the Massachusetts Select Board Association.

Last year, we filed a citizens’ petition to change the name of the board, but it was removed from the warrant when, due to COVID-19, town meeting was limited to financial articles. As we bring the petition forward again this year, we are pleased that it is being jointly sponsored by the Board of Selectmen and our citizen’s group.  

Please join us in taking this step to make town government a welcoming place for all!

“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: All those eligible should get the Covid-19 vaccination

By Chris Eliot

While many Americans have now been vaccinated against Covid-19, it is critical to vaccinate everyone who is medically eligible. Most estimates indicate 60-70% of the population must be vaccinated to reach herd immunity. Historically, approximately 10-15% of the population cannot take a vaccine for medical reasons. There is no approved vaccine for children, which are about 20% of the population. Adding up these numbers leaves no room for anyone to choose not to get the vaccine.

I am in favor of making the vaccine mandatory, but there are many prior steps that can be taken. We should create a shared incentive to get vaccinated by connecting relaxation of social distancing restrictions directly to vaccination rates. Currently, there is a highly opaque political process for deciding when to open up theaters, restaurants, and other areas, and this strange system does little to really encourage public acceptance of vaccination.

Instead, there should be specific advertised policy changes tied numerically to local vaccination rates. For example, when 50% of the medically eligible population in a community is vaccinated, there should be no requirement to wear masks outside. When 60% of the medically eligible population in a community is vaccinated, more businesses should be open at higher levels. The restrictions should be lifted in increments as 70%, 80%, 90%, and 95% of the medically eligible population of a community are vaccinated. This process would directly connect everyone’s contribution to public health measures to a tangible set of rewards. People would have a chance to take specific actions to achieve the common goals, empowering the population.

I believe this kind of measure is necessary for us to reach full vaccination and end the Covid pandemic.

Eliot is a computer scientist with a background in medical teaching software and chair of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission.

“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.

This may be a bad year for Lyme disease

By Rhea Karty

(Editor’s note: Karty, a Lincoln resident, is a senior at Lincoln-Sudbury who has always been interested in biology, particularly diseases and ecology. “After taking biology and AP biology, I wanted to continue to broaden my understanding and look into some practical applications,” she said. “Lyme disease was really meaningful to me because many of my friends and coaches from cross-country and school have had scary experiences with it. So I worked with my former biology teacher (Ms. Shopiro) to develop an independent study curriculum where I studied the ecology, immune response, treatments, and microbiology of Lyme, and I interviewed some doctors and community members. Now I’m doing some projects to spread awareness.”

Acorns and mice and ticks — oh my!

With the onset of spring comes the bane of New England: Lyme disease. Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, other diseases may have slipped off our radar, but Mother Nature is not so quick to give us a break. In fact, there may be a significant uptick in Lyme disease cases this year due to a bumper crop of acorns.

Oak trees operate in cycles: they naturally have years where they produce blankets of acorns and others where they have very few. As you may have noticed, 2019 was a particularly plentiful year for acorns in suburban New England, called a mast crop These blankets of acorns are great for wildlife and rodents, but also provide a building block for Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria and is transmitted to humans through the bite of black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis), sometimes known as deer ticks. The ticks pick it up from mice and other small rodents that are already infected with the bacteria.

Ticks feed three times in their life. In their larval stage just after they hatch from eggs, they bite and drink the blood of mice and small rodents. This is when they potentially become infected with Lyme disease. (Surprisingly, even though they are called deer ticks, they don’t actually get Lyme disease from deer.) Once a tick picks up Lyme disease, it will carry it for the rest of its life and is able to transmit it to humans.

In the next two years of a tick’s life, it will bite once or twice more. This is when humans can get the disease.

Our ecosystem operates in harmony, where changes in one section cascade to other areas. The plethora of acorns from the mast year provides plenty of food for the rodent population, which will then cause a higher population of infected ticks for the next one to two years, so, the acorn mast year in 2019 will be felt this year with increased ticks.

An illustration of how Lyme disease is transmitted between species (click to enlarge). Image courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

With indoor restrictions on gatherings still in place, we’re all hoping for an active outdoor spring. However, as kids go outside to play and families begin to start biking and walking in the woods, we should be aware that Lyme disease will be particularly bad this year and must keep an eye out for the symptoms. Here are a few things you can do to stay protected:

Dress — wear light-colored clothes, long pants, high socks, and bug spray, especially when venturing off trail.

Environment — Consider spraying for ticks or other remedies like tick tubes, essential oils, chickens, keeping deer out of your yard, maintaining a well-kept yard, and staying away from the edge of the woods.

Awareness — check for ticks after going outside. If a tick is pulled out within a short period of time, Lyme disease may be avoided. Make sure you have all the parts of the tick, including the eight legs and head.

If Lyme disease is caught and treated early, the worst effects can be prevented with antibiotics, so keep an eye out and be prepared. For more information about Lyme disease and symptoms, visit www.cdc.gov/lyme or www.mass.gov/service-details/lyme-disease.

“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: 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.