news

Lincoln residents who are unhappy with the planned elimination of rush-hour train stops in Lincoln are circulating an online petition to try to avert the schedule change.

[Read more…] about Petition aims to sway MBTA over commuter rail schedule

By Alice Waugh

A number of Lincoln residents have lodged complaints about MBTA’s plan to about eliminate rush-hour express commuter rail stops in Lincoln starting next month, but MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo says the new schedule will go into effect as planned.

[Read more…] about Residents unhappy with new commuter rail schedule

Runners from the Lincoln School won the Division 2 team title at the Massachusetts Middle School Cross Country Championships. The team, which was new this year to the Lincoln School, was coached by teachers David Trant and Karen Shepard and organized by Alex Appleby. Left to right: team members Olivia Pistorio, Tara O’Malley, Callie Breiter, Emily Appleby, Francesca Lui, and Laura Appleby.

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.

In the November 11, 2015 Lincoln Squirrel story about the possibility of putting a solar array at the landfill, Green Energy Technology Committee members John Snell and Paul O’Neil were not properly identified The story has been corrected to include their full names.

Lincoln Cultural Council wants your input

The Lincoln Cultural Council is hoping to get your feedback. Please click on this link to take a short survey that will give us valuable information about our programming and what you’d like to see us support.

One-time produce pickup offered at Lindentree Farm

Lindentree Farm CSA (one of the Lincoln farmers’ market vegetable producers) invites residents to a one-time pickup on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 12:30-6 p.m. Each share priced at $55 to $60 will include squashes, onions, carrots, garlic, purple-top turnips or celeriac, kohlrabi or fennel, radish or radicchio, kale, a choice of greens choice, spinach and cilantro. Everything is certified organic and biologically supported. For more information and registration, email lindentreecsa@gmail.com or call 781-259-1259.

Night hike at Farrington on Nov. 25

Come on a Full Moon Night Hike at Farrington Nature Linc on Wednesday, Nov. 25 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Start your Thanksgiving celebrations with activities to improve your night vision and a moon-lit night hike. Start your Thanksgiving celebrations with activities to improve your night vision and a moonlit night hike. Bring a flashlight, or borrow one of theirs. Suggested donation of $5 per person. Registration is required; call or email Farrington Program Director Brianne at Brianne@NatureLinc.org or 978-764-9186.

Voter registration deadline

Wednesday, Nov. 4 is the deadline for new voters to register if they wish to participate in the November 14 Special Town Meeting. The Town Clerk’s office will be open until 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 to accommodate registrants.

PTO hosts talk on executive function

Sarah Ward of Cognitive Connections in Concord will give a presentation on executive function skills and strategies on Monday, Nov. 2 from 7-9 p.m. in the Brooks auditorium. Come learn how to help your child create a homework space, organize personal and school materials, record assignments, manage time and tasks, and complete long-term projects. Ward will offer ready-to-use strategies to help children develop independent executive function skills to use at home and in the classroom setting. The event is sponsored by the Lincoln PTO.

DeCordova offers workshops and cocktail party

Develop a partnership between drawing and intuition during this series of experimental workshops that foster creativity and community through mark-making and human connections in a monthly workshop led by Providence artist Julia Gualtieri. The first session is on Tuesday, Nov. 3 from 6:30-9 p.m. Each session’s topic will encourage participants to openly explore a variety of conventional, unconventional, natural, and found materials. This program is presented in connection with the Drawing Redefined exhibition. Registration required for one or all five sessions, which feature new topics, methods, and materials each month. No drawing experience necessary. For ages 18 and older. For members, the cost is $40 per session ($175 for series); for non-members, $50 per session ($200 for series).

On Thursday, Nov. 5, enjoy lively conversation with friends over a selection of artfully prepared cocktails by Café ArtScience bar director Todd Maul, each inspired by work on view in Drawing Redefined. Must be 21 or older. Online registration required ($20 for members, $30 for non-members).

Deputy town clerk awarded CMC designation

Deputy Town Clerk Valerie Fox has been awarded the distinguished Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) designation by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. The IIMC, founded in 1947, has 10,300 members throughout the United States, Canada and 15 other countries. Fox achieved this distinction after completing three successive annual training programs sponsored by the New England Municipal Clerks Institute and Academy (NEMCIA) at Plymouth State University. The NEMCIA program includes a rigorous educational component, a professional and social contribution component, and a commitment to lifelong learning.

Elizabeth Cherniak of South Great Road surveys the tree across her driveway on the morning after the storm (click any photo to enlarge).

The post-Sandy view on Laurel Drive.

A tree knocked down across Silver Hill Road by Hurricane Sandy.

On Oct. 30, 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast. Lincoln got off fairly lightly, though many trees still at the height of their autumn colors were knocked down. More than half of homes in town lost power in the storm, and the muffled roar of generators could be hear in many neighborhoods for days afterward. Of course, this was dwarfed by the damage seen in coastal New York and New Jersey.

Shortly after the storm, Scientific American compiled some meteorological statistics on Sandy, which had:

• the second-lowest barometric pressure (940 millibars) ever recorded at that time for a tropical cyclone in the western hemisphere (it’s now #3 behind Patricia in October 2015 at 879 millibars and Wilma in 2005 at 882 millibars)
• waves of 39.67 feet (recorded at a buoy about 20 miles east of Bermuda)
• 9-foot storm surges in New Haven and The Battery, N.Y.
• 26 inches of snow in Redhouse, Md.

There was plenty of drama for Elizabeth Cherniak of South Great Road, who heard a tree go down across her driveway on the evening of the storm. Ten minutes later, another loud crash came as a tree fell across power lines on the road adjacent to her driveway.

“Then a transformer exploded—it was like a bomb going off,” she said. “Then I noticed little fires up in the wires and the tree trunk was glowing” as the tree began to burn. Fortunately, the heavy rain doused the fire quickly.

Lincoln safety officials postponed Halloween trick-or-treating for the second year in a row because of downed power lines. Sandy came exactly a year after a 2011 nor’easter dumped an unexpected load of wet snow from West Virginia to Canada. The largest snowfall in Massachusetts was 30.6 inches in Plainfield.