news

The Lincoln Telephone Directory (sort of a paper-based search engine for the town) is in the process of being updated by the Friends of the Library (FOLL). Every other year, the FOLL compiles the telephone numbers of residents, local businesses, town offices and the Healthy Communities Pink pages, which list resources for mental, physical, and spiritual health. Look for a yellow card in the mail with instructions on adding or updating your information, or a brochure about advertising opportunities for businesses.

“Lincolnites love the small-town feel of the book,” says Julie Brogan, vice president of the FOLL.

Businesses can profit from the local nature of the directory as well, a listing in the Lincoln Telephone Directory is a sure sign that vendors have patrons from Lincoln. A growing trend started by Library Trustee Jacquelin Apsler is to purchase an advertisement on behalf of a favorite business. Non-profits also benefit from advertising space. In our previous directory, Phinney’s Friends, which helps families in need take care of their pets, advertised for volunteers, and t\The Domestic Violence Services Network used advertising space to increase its visibility.

The Lincoln Telephone Directory is mailed free to every household in Lincoln. For residents, it’s an easy way to contact neighbors, and advertisers know that every Lincoln home has a copy. Extra copies are sold throughout the year at the library and the Old Town Hall Exchange, so new residents or those wanting a copy for their car or the office can purchase one. “It’s a popular item which we regularly need to restock,” says Stacy Osur, manager of the Exchange.

Businesses interested in advertising or anyone who would like to volunteer with the project may email LincolnPhoneBook@gmail.com.

Codman meat CSA starts this week

Codman Community Farms is starting its next six-month session of its meat CSA (community-supported agriculture). Each $600 share includes six monthly pickups of Codman Farm-raised organic, grass-fed beef and pork with various cuts and ground meats totaling 5 lbs. of pork and 5 lbs. of beef (members also have the option of a no-beef, all-pork share. Pickups are on the first Thursday evening of each month (January to June) from 5-7 p.m. in the Codman barn at 58 Codman Rd. Due to the New Year holiday, the first pickup is Thursday, Jan. 8. 

Call 781-259-0456 or email info@codmanfarm.org if you have questions or would like to sign up, or click on this registration and payment link. You can also use the link to make a one-time purchase of 10 lbs. of beef and pork for $120 with pickup by arrangement.

Spots still available in women’s self-defense class

There are still spaces available in two free self-defense sessions for women run by the Lincoln Police Department in January and February. Each session will be two nights for three hours each night. On the first night, participants will talk about general safety and then begin practicing physical self-defense moves like strikes, blocks, kicks, and knee strikes. On the second night, an officer suit up in a padded suit will “attack” participants, who will use moves to escape. This part of the course is intense but empowering.

By Alice Waugh

The Lincoln Public Library has reopened after a New Year’s Day leak caused water damage, but the reference section will remain closed until inspections and repairs can take place.

The problem was apparently caused by a faulty sprinkler head in the turret room next to the main entrance, said Barbara Myles, the library’s director. There was no water above the ceiling, indicating that the pipe itself did not break.

The library’s new fire suppression system contacts the Lincoln Fire Department whenever a sprinkler or smoke alarm goes off, and firefighters responded quickly and turned off the water, but not before it flooded the holiday materials in the turret room and the floor in the adjacent reference section. The ground-floor reference books and computers were not damaged, “but it looks like we may lose that carpet,” Myles said. The power to that area has also been shut off because water leaked through floor outlets and into the staff lunch room below the turret room through lighting fixtures. Some of the books and movies in the basement, though undamaged, are inaccessible to the public because they are in an area that’s been closed off, though staff can retrieve titles if asked, she said.

Library staff were doing an inventory on Monday to determine the exact extent of damage and working with a flood service firm and the town’s insurance carrier to “dry things out, salavage what we can and replace what we need to replace,” Myles said.

“We were lucky,” she added. “If the leak had been in the children’s room ceiling, we would have lost a lot more.”

Visit the library’s website for periodic updates.