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

news

Letter to the editor: rescind tax breaks for Smith & Wesson

letter

Editor’s note: This is a copy of a letter sent to Massachusetts Sen. Michael Barrett and Rep. Tom Stanley on August 15.

To the editor:

I fully support the conditions in the recent Massachusetts gun safety law prohibiting the sale and purchase of “copycat” assault weapons as described in Attorney General Healey’s July 20 opinion statement in the Boston Globe.

The gun safety resolution passed at Lincoln’s Town Meeting this year illustrates both the risks and dangers of assault weapons, but also includes a clause reporting the finding of constitutionality of such laws of such laws in New York and Connecticut as determined by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015.

I am further appalled that Smith & Wesson recently donated $500,000 to fight Attorney General Healey’s decision. Smith & Wesson also donated $1 million to the NRA in 2015 to fight responsible gun safety laws.

Smith & Wesson were the beneficiaries of a state and local tax incentive program in 2011, yet they have contributed at least $1.5 million to fight responsible gun safety measures in spite of the financial benefits they have received from the tax payers of the Commonwealth. In effect, Massachusetts tax payers are financially supporting an industry committed to fighting laws that provide for the safety of those same taxpayers!

The Commonwealth must both rescind those tax benefits and support the attorney general’s initiative in support of responsible and common-sense gun safety measures.

Sincerely,

Gary Davis
21R Indian Camp Lane
Co-chair, Lincoln Democratic Town Committee

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Take the Lincoln open-space and recreation survey

openspaceLincoln conversation officials are asking residents—including children—to complete an online survey to help them update the Open Space and Recreation Plan, or OSRP (see the Lincoln Squirrel, July 20, 2016).

The OSRP includes an environmental and open-space inventory and outlines how the Conservation Commission and Lincoln Land Conservation Trust work together to manage Lincoln’s 2,000+ acres of conservation land, as well as the community’s vision and statement of needs. The survey will help to identify priorities, goals, strategies and actions to be implemented over the next seven years. It asks residents what conservation, recreation and agricultural facilities they now use in Lincoln, what they would like to see improved, and any new initiatives they favor, such as a dedicated dog park, lighted outdoor athletic field, etc.

There will be a public forum to discuss the topics presented in the survey on Wednesday, Sept. 14 from 7:30-9 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room. A second community forum is slated for November 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Office Building.

Click here to take the survey. Anyone who has questions or would prefer to fill out a paper copy is invited to call or visit the Conservation Department (781-259-2612).

News acorns

ballot

Editor’s note: This post has been edited to reflect a correction to the time given for the 9/11 ceremony.

Voter registration deadline for state primary is this Friday

If you are not already a registered voter, the deadline for participation in the September 8 state primary is 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19. You may register in person at the Town Clerk’s Office, or register using this Secretary of State website to register or check your registration status. Incumbents U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, state Sen. Michael Barrett and state Rep. Thomas Stanley are running unopposed  in the Democratic primary, and none of those offices has a challenger on the Republican ballot. However, Lincoln resident Peter Georgiou and Newton resident William Humphrey are running in the Democratic primary against incumbent Governor’s Council member Marilyn Devaney of Newton.

Flag display and ceremony to make 15th anniversary of 9/11

The Veterans of Lincoln, Mass. (VOLMA) is sponsoring a flag display and ceremony to commemorate the 15th anniversary of  the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. A flag to represent each person killed in the attacks in New York, Washington and Shanksville, Penn. (almost 3,000 in total), will be placed on the hill beside Bemis Hall and displayed from a week before the anniversary until a week afterwards. A ceremony will be held beside Bemis Hall at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11. When the flags are taken down on September 17, all are invited to participate and take home a flag.

McLean psychologist downplays risks of Bypass Road facility

mcleanBy Alice Waugh

In an August 2 interview with the Lincoln Squirrel, a senior medical executive at McLean Hospital refuted the notion that the occupants of a proposed residential facility on Bypass Road would be violent or pose a risk to neighbors, contrary to fears of neighbors who have spoken out against the plan in a controversy that has spilled onto the pages of the Boston Globe.

McLean is proposing a 12-bed facility in a former private home at 22 Bypass Rd. that will offer dialectical behavioral therapy as part of a psychoeducational program to young men aged 15-21, who will live there for periods of weeks to months.

In a July 8 letter, Building Inspector Daniel Walsh acknowledged that “the issue is murky,” noting that both sides cited the same court case to support their arguments. However, McLean’s proposed use has “multiple objectives which include residential along with therapeutic and educational functions,” he noted. Case law as well as federal and state anti-discrimination laws indicate that McLean’s proposal qualifies for the Dover Amendment zoning exemption for religious and educational uses of a residential property, he concluded.

Walsh’s opinion concurs with an earlier statement by Town Counsel Joel Bard. However, neighbors disagree and are expected to file an appeal with the Zoning Board of Appeals and perhaps a court challenge if necessary.

On July 26, the Planning Board closed the public hearing on the site plan review, which is looking only at parking, traffic and visual screening and cannot pass judgment on the use of the property. The board will vote at its September 13 meeting.

Also at issue is the allowable number of beds, which is limited by the capacity of the property’s septic system. At the moment it is rated for seven beds plus staff. To accommodate 12 live-in residents plus staff, McLean would have to apply to the town’s Board of Health and/or the state Department of Environmental Protection to enlarge the septic system.

Boston Globe face-off

The battle made its way into the Boston Globe last week in a feature called “The Argument” that presents both sides of a current controversy. Lincoln residents Jennifer Morris, who favors the Lincoln proposal, and Dr. Steven Kanner, an abutter and Lincoln Board of Health member who opposes it, made their cases for and against the facility in the July 29 article.

“I’m quite certain the program will serve an educational purpose. As a parent, I felt highly unqualified to teach a disturbed adolescent how to cope, how to interact, how to study and progress,” Morris said. For his part, Kanner argued that a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder or BPD, which many residents of the proposed facility will have, is “a medical treatment unit reimbursable by medical insurance,” and that what McLean wants to offer is “patently a medical program and no more uniquely educational than other psychiatric treatment.”

A poll at the end of the Globe article asks readers which side they’re on. As of the evening of August 2, the votes in favor of the proposal were ahead by an almost two-to-one margin (62% to 38%).

Levandusky explains BPD and DBT

The Bypass Road facility will house “young men with a variety of issues that could be partially related to BPD, or less BPD and more mood or anxiety disorders. It’s not a one-diagnosis program,” said Dr. Philip Levandusky, senior vice president for business development and communications and director of McLean’s Psychology Department.

People with BPD have problems regulating emotions and thoughts; they exhibit impulsive and reckless behavior and have unstable relationships with other people, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. Many also have co-occurring disorders such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse and eating disorders, along with self-harm and suicidal behaviors.

Those with BPD are “much more likely to have co-occurring depressions and anxieties and are not overtly assaultive or aggressive, “ Levandusky said. Violent behavior “is not a hallmark characteristic of people with BPD; if anything, self-harm may be more of a risk.”

Residents will be housed at the Bypass Road facility on a voluntary basis. While they will face locked doors and be forbidden from leaving the building without supervision, “it is not a secure setting in terms of having bars on the windows,” Levandusky said. However, McLean Hospital has more than 100 voluntary beds of this type, and it is “extraordinarily rare that we have people leave the program against our expectations,” he added.

McLean also operates another residential facility on Old Cambridge Turnpike in Lincoln for adult men and women, some of whom “have been stepped down from McLean Hospital” and periodically return there as part of their treatment, though no problems in Lincoln have ever been reported, Levandusky said. It was “within the realm of possibility” that the Bypass Road facility could include McLean Hospital “step-down” residents at times, he added.

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) “is very clearly an educational experience,” Levandusky said. “It is teaching skills and doing homework assignments, and there is an expectation that the skills will be practiced.” Medical insurance will pay for a limited amount of outpatient DBT, but the Lincoln facility and others like it are for “a person likely to have had other types of experiences that were not as effective as hoped, and this can offer a more intensive kind of setting to engage in the psychoeducational process.”

“Fear of the unknown”

Is Levandusky surprised at the negative reaction to the Bypass Road proposal? “No,” he said. “It’s human nature; people don’t understand psychiatric conditions and psychological problems, or don’t necessarily understand the nature of psychoeducational programs in this day and age.” People are also subject to “fear of the unknown and [making]  catastrophizing assumptions,” he added.

Asked specifically about the concerns expressed by Kanner, a primary care physician and a former chief of medical services for the state Department of Mental Health, Levandusky said, “We all have our things… obviously Dr. Kanner has certain perceptions of what we’re going to be doing there that are radically different from what we are going to be doing there.”

Police chief talks about progress and challenges

Lincoln Police Chief A. Kevin Kennedy.

Lincoln Police Chief A. Kevin Kennedy.

A new “Coffee with a Cop” program, video recording of police encounters, the opioid crisis and the possible legalization of marijuana in Massachusetts are just some of the topics Chief of Police A. Kevin Kennedy  touched on in a wide-ranging interview with the Lincoln Squirrel.

Staring on September 15, Kennedy will host the Lincoln Police Department’s inaugural Coffee with a Cop program in which police will meet with residents on the third Thursday of every month at Bemis Hall from 1-2 p.m. A different officer will be on hand each month to answer questions in either  small groups or one on one.

“There’s no agenda. People can come in and talk about whatever questions or concerns they have,” Kennedy said. “It’s just a way for us to be more involved with the community and answer question residents may have, when they’re maybe not as comfortable coming into the station.”

Questions and issues that may arise range from traffic concerns, handling disputes with neighbors, difficulties with a child, or concerns about driving by an older adult, said Kennedy, adding that he was open to holding an evening session in there was enough interest.

“We mediate and arbitrate things all the time. We’re more of a community-oriented police department offering social services—how can we help people in crisis? How can we point them [victims, suspects and family members] in the right direction?”

Jail diversion coordinator

Calls involving people with mental health issues are fairly common in police work, and Lincoln has another tool to help in those situations. Eight Middlesex County towns including Lincoln got a three-year grant to fund a clinical coordinator for the Regional Jail Diversion Program.

“We know that assaults, larcenies and property crimes are often committed by those with mental health or substance abuse issues,” Acton Police Chief Francis Widmayer said in a statement when clinical coordinator Alia Toran-Burrell was hired in December. “Our goal when we began this coalition was to put residents into treatment instead of behind bars. With the assistance of our clinical coordinator, who will train officers in all our communities on how best to respond to mental health or substance abuse related incidents, we can reduce crimes and change lives.”

The opioid crisis

While Lincoln is not a hub of drug-dealing activity, some criminal activity such as house break-ins can be traced to the opioid epidemic, Kennedy said. Lincoln fire and police personnel carry Narcan, a drug that can quickly reverse an opioid overdose at the scene; the Fire Department has used Narcan on at least one call in Lincoln, though police have not, he said.

“It’s here, it’s everywhere, and no community is immune from it,” Kennedy said.

Video recording of police encounters

Millions of people in recent months have seen the videos of police shootings recorded on bystanders’ cell phones. It’s perfectly legal to film a police encounter as long as it doesn’t interfere with officers’ work, and since cell phones are everywhere, “police are always under the assumption that they’re being filmed,” Kennedy said. At the police station, interrogations and bookings in police stations are also recorded on audio and video.

Some have suggested that police wear body cameras to record encounters, something that could protect both police and civilians when a situation turns violent or the facts are in dispute. But there are legal and privacy concerns as well as possible reluctance on the part of victims and others to speak candidly to police if they know they’re being filmed, Kennedy said. Still, “it’s something we’re definitely looking into… There’s a balance there somewhere, and law enforcement is trying to work out that balance now.”

In the end, police training and preparation are the biggest factors in keeping situations from getting out of control. “You never know who you’re going to be in contact with, or their prior experiences with law enforcement, or whether they have a mental health issue, so officers rely on their training,” Kennedy said. “I can’t emphasize enough the amount of training we’ve done.”

Asked about his take on some of the recent well-publicized shootings involving police officers, Kennedy, replied, “Being on the sidelines without knowing about everything is not fair to make a comment on. Only grand juries hear all the evidence; not everything is released to the public. The public wants [a judgment] immediately, but they have to maintain the integrity of the investigation.

“It all reverts back to officer training, their involvement in the community, and officers treating people with respect and dignity no matter who they are, whether they’re victims of a crime or a suspect,” Kennedy continued.

RESIST training

RESIST, Lincoln’s self-defense class for women, has been very successful since its inception in 2013. The program, which is coordinated by Lincoln resident Jena Salon, was developed by Lincoln police officers who have undergone the more comprehensive 40-hour RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) program, and one of the officers is also a former defensive tactics police instructor. The program teaches situational awareness, confidence-building and escape from attackers rather than fighting back.

RESIST has been so successful that the Domestic Violence Services Network (DVSN) has applied for a grant to offer it, and Lincoln police have trained officers in other communities how to teach it as well. “We’ve had nothing but tremendous feedback,” Kennedy said.

Marijuana

Massachusetts is one of five states that will have a ballot question in November asking voters whether to legalize recreational marijuana (the Commonwealth has allowed medical use of the drug since 2012). But marijuana laws have been evolving for years, Kennedy noted. The drug was decriminalized in 2008, meaning that possession of less than one ounce does not result in arrest but incurs only a civil fine of $100.

“Case law has really dictated over the last couple of years what cops can or can’t do when they come in contact” with the drug, either visually or by smelling burnt or raw marijuana, Kennedy said. Odor alone does not entitle police to perform a search, and if an officer sees the drug, “it has to be immediately apparent to you that’s a criminal amount of marijuana” with an intent to distribute before they can take action, he said.

Police concerns over legalization of recreational marijuana revolve around possible increases in use by juveniles and traffic accidents resulting from driving while impaired, Kennedy said. Right now there is no legal limit for the amount of THC (marijuana’s active ingredient) in the bloodstream for driving and no quick test anyway, so officers have to rely on drug recognition training. If an officer believes a driver is impaired by a drug but is not driving to endanger, they can take the keys away but can’t make an arrest or issue a ticket, Kennedy said.

Security is already an issue for medical dispensaries because marijuana distribution is “a cash-and-carry business,” Kennedy noted. Because marijuana is still illegal at the federal level where interstate financial transactions occur, dispensaries can’t accept credit cards or checks.

“It’s very challenging for law enforcement… but we’ll enforce the law whatever it is, and whatever changes in our policies and procedures are needed, we will cert comply and get trained.”

News acorns

acornHATS meeting on Thursday

The next meeting of HATS (Hanscom Area Towns Committee) on Thursday, July 28 will host a round-table discussion of regional transportation issues. Click here for the agenda and expected guests. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Town Offices.

Middle-school girls’ soccer clinic scheduled

The Warriors Soccer Clinic for girls entering grades 5-8 clinic will take place on August 22-24 from 9-11:30 a.m. on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School turf field. The clinic, which is the primary fundraising event for the L-S girls’ soccer program, will be run by returning members of the L-S varsity girls’ soccer team supervised by at least one of the L-S girls’ soccer coaches. The cost is $90. The first 25 players to sign up will have an opportunity to enter a free raffle. Register online and mail a check for $90 made out to “LSRHS Girls Soccer” to LSRHS Girls Soccer c/o Hayley Barnes, 42 Mary Catherine Lane, Sudbury, MA 01776. E-mail lsgirlssoccer@gmail.com with any questions.

Trail’s End vies with Blazes for Aka Bistro space

Aka BistroThe identity of the future tenant of the AKA Bistro restaurant space is very much up in the air, as Trail’s End Cafe in Concord is also hoping to lease it, even as Richard Card of Blazes said he can’t wait much longer for an answer from the Rural Land Foundation, which owns the Mall at Lincoln Station.

“We’re still in discussions with a few potential tenants for the AKA space and we hope to have more to report in the next couple of weeks,” Geoff McGean, executive director of the RLF, in an email on July 20. Asked if Trail’s End was in the mix, he said “they are one of several who have expressed interest.”

Trail’s End Cafe has a full dinner menu and catering service as well as serving breakfast and lunch.

Bree Showalter, general manager of Trail’s End, confirmed in a July 21 email that “we are having ongoing discussions with RLF about the former AKA Bistro space” but would not comment further.

Meanwhile, Card is still waiting for an answer on his proposal for leasing the Aka Bistro space for Blazes, a combination bookstore that would also service food and cocktails as well as host events.

“We’re put in a very, very good offer,” he said in an interview on July 22. “I was told by the RLF there would be an answer a month ago and I’ve heard nothing… It’s been so frustrating to have the support of the town and the people who have come on board with this thing.”

Card said he was looking into other locations for the Blazes venture, including Sudbury, Maynard and even in Maine where he has a summer home. “I can’t continue to wait and wait,” he said. “If I found something tomorrow, the situation in Lincoln would be dead for me… but I haven’t found anything yet.”

Card was not entirely unsympathetic to the RLF, saying that “negotiations have been more protracted than either party would have liked” and that “they want to do something for the town too… they’re in a tough situation.” Emphasizing that he did not know what was going on behind the scenes, Card speculated that the holdup may be due to negotiations or legal proceedings involving Aka Bistro, which closed on May 8.

The sudden closure of the Whistle Stop last week is also concerning for Card. “I start to look at these serial failure and it makes me nervous, too,” he said.

The closures would seem to emphasize that market in Lincoln is not sufficient to support two restaurants, so if Trail’s End wins the bidding for the AKA Bistro space, putting Blazes in another Lincoln location (even if one were available) would not be an option.

“The short answer is, it just doesn’t seem possible to me” for both establishments succeed in Lincoln. Card said. “We would essentially serve the same type of fare as Trail’s End does. Two places like that? No.”

Card has another idea for a Lincoln establishment that might coexist with a place like Trail’s End—a combination bike shop and tap room—but it’s not something he would pursue any time soon, he said. Card’s long-term goal is to have about 10 versions of Blazes in different locations around the country, though they would look different from what Card envisioned for the business in Lincoln, such as not having the bookstore.

But Card is still hoping to open the first Blazes in his home town. “For me to start in Lincoln would be ideal because it represents everything I believe in and cherish. I think we could really make it work here,” he said. “Blazes is a big concept; it’s not just a restaurant, which in some ways is only incidental. It’s coming together for a social experience, cocktails and coffee—really making an an effort to be a community center.”

News acorns

Residents invited to forum/brunch on accessory apartments

The Lincoln Housing Commission invites all residents to a forum and brunch at Bemis Hall on Thursday, July 28 at 11 a.m. to participate in a discussion about developing accessory apartments in Lincoln.

The purpose of the meeting is to gather opinions about various ways to provide small or smaller units for current residents who want to stay in Lincoln. Some have houses in which they would like to remain but are larger than they need, and/or require more work than they want to continue to do.  To accomplish that goal, they would provide a small unit in their existing home at regular or subsidized rates. On the other hand, there are folks whose resources, for various reasons, are limited but who also want to remain in Lincoln and only need or can only afford smaller units.

The meeting will provide an opportunity to hear how to deal with town regulations, guidance on design and construction  issues.  Those with limited resources will hear discussions about the information they need to provide to be eligible to live in these units.

DeCordova summer activities

The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum has several activities slated for the rest of the summer. For details, click on one of the events below.