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

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¿Como se llama? (Lincoln Through the Lens)

This llama, who is often seen by drivers on Old Sudbury Road, lives at Ellen Raja's sheep farm...

Henry the llama* is one of the collection of livestock at Ellen Raja’s farm on Old Sudbury Road. Henry has taken full charge of the flock, being as Raja describes him “large, smelly and protective.” He is often rude to humans and hates dogs (though he tolerates Raja and her sheepdogs). Fortunately, though he gets along with sheep, he is also full of rancor and aggression toward other members of the dog family, including foxes and coyotes. “Earn his keep? You bet he does,” Raja says. Photo: Harold McAleer

* “L-L-A-M-A,” as most people know, is one of only three ways to spell this word. A “one-L” lama is a teacher of Tibetan Buddhism; a “two-L” llama is the creature resembling an alpaca; and a “three-L” lllama is a wicked big fire in Summahville.

Readers may submit photos for consideration for Lincoln Through the Lens by emailing them to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. If your photo is published, you’ll receive credit in the Squirrel. Photos must be taken in Lincoln and include the date, location, and names of any people who are identifiable in the photo. Previously published photos can be viewed on the Lincoln Through the Lens page of the Lincoln Squirrel.

Upcoming public hearings

meetingPlanning Board

  • Public hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. to review the following proposed changes to the Lincoln Zoning By-Law: amend Sec. 6.1 and Sec. 6.2 to add parties permitted to farm by right, add agricultural uses permitted by right on parcels less than five acres, and to clarify agricultural uses requiring a special permit on parcels containing less than five acres, substantially as on file with the Town Clerk.
  • Public hearings on Tuesday, Feb. 9 to review applications for Site Plan Review:
    • 7 p.m. — Mark Deck, 30 Silver Hill Road, proposes to tear down an existing house and construct a new house.
    • 7:20 p.m. — Randall Briggs, 31 Morningside Lane, proposes to renovate and expand an existing house.
    • 7:45 p.m. — Rick Kelleher, 91 Weston Road, proposes to tear down an existing house and construct a new house.

Conservation Commission

Public hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7:45 p.m in response to a Request for Determination of Applicability by George Seeley for a replacement septic system within the 100-foot buffer zone at 212 Concord Road.

New solar installation at Lincoln Woods

The newly installed solar array in Far Meadow.

The newly installed solar array in Far Meadow.

A “solar farm” is nearing completion at Far Meadow on property owned by Lincoln Woods, and if the good weather holds, it should be producing non-polluting electricity by the end of February.

Four hundred solar panels have been installed and the electrical connections are currently being made. You can see the installation by walking out the dirt road parallel to the railroad tracks from the commuter parking lot. Once it’s on line, the project is expected produce 112 kW of electricity. The average Massachusetts home used about 615 kWh of electricity per month in 2014, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Additional collectors are being installed on the flat-roofed Lincoln Woods units themselves. Their completion will depend on other work being done to bring Lincoln Woods in compliance with state refunding requirements.

The Far Meadow site is a relatively small installation and is expected to have minimal impact on the conservation land and meadow habitat which it abuts, according to Conservation Commission co-chair Peter von Mertens.

The town is looking into the idea of creating a larger solar site atop the old landfill tat could produce somewhere from 650 kW to 980 kW of electricity. Lincoln’s Green Energy Technology Committee presented information on this at the State of the Town meeting in November 2015.

Correction

correction-smThe Lincoln Squirrel story about Mary’s Way incorrectly described where the new road is located. It runs along the south side of Route 2 from Crosby’s Corner to Deerhaven Road, not Brooks Road to Rockwood Lane. The accompanying map also reversed the labels for Horses Crossing and Emerson Road. The article and map have been updated to reflect these corrections.

 

New road name leads to clash among residents

The new roads built during the Route 2 project (click to enlarge).

Editor’s note: This article and map were updated on January 18, 2016 to reflect corrections.

By Alice Waugh

The fourth and last of the new roads adjacent to Route 2 has been officially named, but not everyone is happy with the choice.

Mary’s Way, formerly known as Service Road 4, is on south side of Route 2 starting near Crosby’s Corner and ending at Deerhaven Lane. Normally, when a new road is built, it’s part of a subdivision and the builder gets to name it, but in this case the task fell to the Board of Selectmen, who approached the road’s residents to ask for their input.

“Consensus quickly emerged in case of other roadways, but unfortunately in the case of Service Road 4, there was some divided thinking,” Town Administrator Tim Higgins noted at the board’s December 21 meeting.

Several area residents had suggested the name “Mary’s Way” as a nod to several women named Mary who have lived in the area. Selectmen voted to adopt the name on October 5 and it became official on January 1.

But David Segal of 39 Cambridge Turnpike, one of the residents whose mailing address has changed to Mary’s Way, took issue with the process at the board’s December meeting.

“There was a list circulated by Tim, and the next thing I know, it’s already been decided,” Segal said. “We submitted names but were not consulted. Let’s not whitewash it. I think the whole process was wrong and we should rethink it. Why does it have to be personalized on my mail every day? Why do I have to live by Mary’s way or Mary’s rule? I just think it’s kind of ridiculous.”

Segal added that when he polled 31 residents on Deerhaven Road, Partridge Lane, Old Cambridge Turnpike, and Horseshoe Lane, 27 said they preferred Great Meadow Road and only four preferred Mary’s Way.

Kathy O’Brien of 27 Cambridge Turnpike was one of several residents who attended the December meeting, one of whom held a sign saying “Let Mary’s Way Be.” O’Brien’s father and month, Mary O’Brien, bought her house 45 years ago; next door was Mary Morrissey, and nearby were other Marys, including Mary Ledger and Girl Scout leader Mary Herman.

“It’s a tribute to the ladies of the neighborhood who moved out here and left the city,” O’Brien said.

Razia Shaikh of 33 Cambridge Turnpike said she and her family also preferred Mary’s Way but suggested a compromise of Marigold Way, noting that it incorporated the sound of Mary. “As second-generation Americans, we also would like some of our own culture, and marigolds are very important in Bengali culture,” she said.

Selectman Noah Eckhouse said the board picked the name because they liked it and was under no obligation to hold any sort of vote on the matter.

“We bent over backwards, got suggestions, debated them in a public forum, and delayed the discussion again. None of you attended any of this, and now three months after the fact, you’re not only questioning the outcome but you’re really casting some ugly sideways glances at the process, and I take offense at that,” Eckhouse said. “I’m kind of done with this topic. If we crack this thing back open, it’s just going to get worse.”

“I feel bad that not everyone is pleased with outcome, but there are many, many situations where we can’t please everyone, and we have to move on,” Selectman Renel Fredriksen said.

News acorns

Discuss death at the Death Café on January 31

St. Anne’s in-the-Fields is hosting a Death Café on Sunday, Jan. 31 (rescheduled from October 2015) from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Death Café is an international movement started in Europe dedicated to taking death out of the closet and discussing it publicly. At a Death Café, people come together to eat cake, drink tea, and discuss death in a relaxed and non-threatening setting. The Café is where people share respectful, thought-provoking and life-affirming conversation. There are no agendas or objectives. It is not a bereavement or grief support group, nor is it a counseling session; it is simply conversation.

St. Anne’s held its first Death Cafe in 2014 (see the Lincoln Squirrel, Oct. 8, 2014). The Jan. 31 event is free, but space is limited and preregistration is required. Register online or call 781-259-8834.

HATS meeting on Jan. 28

HATS (Hanscom Area Town Selectmen) will meet on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Office Building. Agenda items include a presentation by Minute Man National Historical Park Superintendent Nancy Nelson on the park’s upcoming centennial celebration, and updates on the Route 2 and Crosby’s Corner highway projects.

Lincoln Police to auction off bikes

bike auctionThe Lincoln Police Department will be holding a public auction of unclaimed bicycles on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. at their headquarters. Any bicycles not auctioned will be donated to a children’s charity.

 

MBTA proposes revised commuter rail schedules

Commuter rail riders in Lincoln and elsewhere and others will have until February 12 to offer feedback on the MBTA/MassDOT proposals for revised train schedules.

The drafts were created in response to rider outcry in November over the MBTA’s planned elimination of rush-hour stops in Lincoln and other changes in the commuter rail schedule.

A comparison of the current and proposed commuter rail schedule for the Fitchburg line (click image to enlarge).

A comparison of the Lincoln stops in the current and proposed commuter rail schedule (click image to enlarge).

The proposed Fitchburg line schedule as well as a comparison of the current and proposed schedules for all commuter rail lines can be found online, along with the survey and public meeting schedule.

Final commuter rail schedules will be released in April and go into effect on May 23.

Riders can convey their opinions in several ways:

  1. Via the online survey, which offers a fast and easy way to weigh in on the proposed schedule. Written surveys will also be available at Back Bay Station, North Station, and South Station through February 12.
  2. By attending one of eight public meetings in Lynn (January 25), Malden (January 27), Concord (January 28), Worcester (February 1), Mansfield (February 3), Natick (February 3), Norwood (February 8), and Woburn (February 8).
  3. Via email at crschedules@mbta.com.