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

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Library closed; extra police on duty

SnowThis is from the Lincoln Police Department’s Facebook page:

“Residents are advised to remain in their homes and off the roads for the duration of the blizzard. Your home is the safest location to ride out the storm. In the event your home becomes unsafe or uninhabitable, contact the police station (781-259-8111) and we will assist you. Both the Police and Fire Departments have additional staff at the ready to ensure the safety and security of Lincoln’s residents. In the event of a power outage, contact NStar at 800-592-2000. Please check on elderly/disabled family and neighbors.”

Police also noted that the Lincoln Public Library will be closed on Friday and Saturday, February 8-9. “There will be a dispensation on overdue books for 48 hours but not one minute more,” the post says. No word yet on possible arrest warrants for massively overdue books 🙂

Events rescheduled as blizzard bears down

Not Lincoln, but China in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. People were trying to buy salt in the belief that it would ward off the effects of radiation from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. (Source: tinyurl.com/b35vhw8)

OK, so the crowds weren’t quite this bad at Donelan’s on Thursday, but the store was certainly doing a brisk business for a weekday afternoon. Store manager Jason Deveau said Friday morning that he had gotten a warehouse delivery a day early and that there was plenty of bread, milk, water and other staples on the shelves.

“Everyone seems like they’re getting what they need,” he said.

Donelan’s will close by 6 p.m. on Friday and possibly earlier, depending on conditions, Deveau said. They hope to reopen at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

The Lincoln schools robo-called parents early Thursday evening to tell them that school would be cancelled on Friday. Other weather-related postponements:

  • Drumlin Farm’s “Stew and Brew” event scheduled for Friday night will take place on Sunday, Feb. 10, according to Christy Foote-Smith, sanctuary director. Because of the schedule change, the previously sold-out event now has some seats available, so attendees can register online until 3 p.m. on Sunday.
  • An open house at the Birches School has been rescheduled for March 2 from 2-4 p.m.
  •  The Lincoln Democratic Town Committee platform hearing and collection of senatorial nomination paper signatures that was scheduled for February 10 has been postponed until February 17 and/or February 24 depending on availability of speakers and venues. Call Gary Davis, chair of the Lincoln DTC, at 781-259-0318 for more information.

Stay tuned to the Lincoln Squirrel for more storm coverage — and please tell us how it’s going where you are and send photos!

Financial help is available for fuel bills and more

billsDo you need help paying your winter fuel bill? Call the Lincoln Council on Aging, which can help you apply for funds from the Massachusetts Fuel Assistance Program.

The program provides a cash benefit, payable to an authorized fuel provider, for both home owners and renters with eligible incomes. How much you receive depends on your household income, how many people you have in your household, and your heating costs.

Regardless of age, residents must apply for Fuel Assistance Program aid through the Council on Aging (COA), whose staff will help with filling out forms. To apply, call Pam Alberts at 781-259-8811 to set up an appointment. The Southern Middlesex Opportunity Council will review the application to determine whether you are eligible.

Even if you’re not sure whether you qualify for the Fuel Assistance Program, “give us a call anyway, because even if you’re not eligible, there are other programs that we may be able to hook you up with,” said Carolyn Bottum, director of the COA. These other state programs offer heating system repairs, discount utility rates, and Citizens Energy heat assistance, and weatherization services.

Lincoln assistance also available

For other types of unforeseen financial emergencies, the Lincoln Emergency Assistance Fund and the Small Necessities Project can help.  The Lincoln Emergency Assistance Fund, which is funded entirely by donations, provides assistance of up to $500 per lifetime for Lincoln residents in situations when that amount will allow someone to stay in our community.

The Small Necessities Project can provide immediate help if a resident has no food in the house, needs emergency medication, needs a night or two of lodging due to a fire or flood, or has a similar problem. This Project is funded by the Ogden Codman Trust and donations.

For more information or to ask for assistance from any of these programs,call Pam Alberts at the COA at 781-259-8811.

Help guide the future of housing in Lincoln

houseThe Lincoln Housing Commission invites residents to participate in a survey about the town’s new five-year Housing Plan—and it’s also looking for new commission member.

The Housing Commission wants to understand what residents think Lincoln’s housing priorities should be and what kinds of housing needs should be addressed in the new plan. Results from this survey will help make the plan appropriate for Lincoln and realistic for implementation over the next five years.

For purposes of the survey, “affordable housing” means a home that moderate-income people can own or rent at a monthly housing cost that’s approximately 30 percent of their gross monthly income. In Lincoln’s area, a family of four with an annual income of $65,000 per year qualifies as moderate income.

The housing survey is now available online and in hard copy at the Council on Aging, the Lincoln Public Library, and other locations around town. The online survey is also linked to the Town of Lincoln home page.

The commission is seeking a new member for a three-year term to help make a significant contribution to the future of affordable housing in Lincoln. The group meets twice a month on the first and third Fridays at 8 a.m. Please call Pamela Gallup at 781-259-0393 to learn more.

School project survey announced

By Alice Waugh

How do you really feel about the school building project? The Lincoln School District is surveying town voters to find out what they like and don’t like about the plan that was voted on in November—and what would garner more support for the project.

Registered voters may complete the survey online or fill out a paper version that will be mailed to all Lincoln households, though each voter is asked to fill out only one version. The completion deadline is February 1. Results will be used by the School Committee and School Building Committee (SBC) as they discuss the future of the project. It’s still unclear to what extent the approved plan can be changed while still qualifying for $21 million in state funding, but the town has until February 28 to tell the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) how it plans to proceed.

The survey asks voters what they think are the top three problems and/or benefits of the project. The problems offered on the survey are:

  • Not clear that the existing building has significant structural, systems, and/or educational needs
  • The site design (parking, roads, fields) of proposed project was worse than the existing site
  • The layout of proposed building was worse than the existing building
  • The proposed project tore down the Smith Gym and classrooms built in 1994
  • Not sure the project provided value for Lincoln’s portion of the cost ($29 million)
  • The project would have raised Lincoln’s taxes too much
  • Lincoln needs other non-school community facilities

The survey also asks residents if they agree, disagree, or aren’t sure about these statements:

  • The Lincoln School building has significant systems and repair needs
  • Having a kitchen and cafeteria would benefit the entire Lincoln community
  • If asked again, I would vote for the MSBA-approved project as presented at Town Meeting
  • I would vote for the MSBA-approved project if changes were made to the site design (e.g., parking was less visible; more of center field is preserved; more trees saved)
  • I would vote to spend $29 million on a project that keeps the current (“L-shaped”) layout of the building
  • I would vote to spend MORE than $29 million IF the project keeps the current (“L-shaped”) layout of the building
  • It is acceptable to have students in temporary trailers during construction
  • The school should do minimal repairs as needed and avoid code compliance triggers as long as possible
  • The building should be handicap accessible and brought up to present-day fire & safety codes
  • The Lincoln portion of the MSBA-approved project ($29 million) increased taxes too much

Future meetings

The SBC also announced a change in location for one of the upcoming meetings about the school project. The January 22 meeting to plan the two community charrettes will be held in the Hartwell multipurpose room rather than Reed Gym at 7:30 p.m. Residents are invited to attend one of the two identical charrettes:

    • Sunday, January 27:  1-4 p.m., Hartwell multipurpose room
    • Thursday, January 31:  7-10 p.m., Reed Gym

On Wednesday, February 6, the SBC will meet at 7:30 p.m. in Reed Gym to plan its response to the MSBA, which told town officials in a December 14 letter that the project could retain the promised $21 million in state funding only if the school district “determines as a result of its community outreach that the same project as proposed and approved by the MSBA is the preferred direction.”

Residents ask for more financial, community use considerations in school project

By Alice Waugh

Heeding the School Building Committee’s call for more public input on what the school building project should look like, dozens attended a January 9 SBC workshop and asked for a building that considered the needs of the broader community and was closely connected to its surrounding natural environment.

The workshop’s goal was to reexamine the guiding principles and evaluation criteria that were used in developing the school project. Residents broke into groups and contributed ideas that were then written on poster paper hung on the walls of Reed Gym.

The SBC will decide on a final consolidated set of criteria at its January 22 meeting.

[Read more…] about Residents ask for more financial, community use considerations in school project

School, LEAP beefing up security

The Lincoln After-school Extended-day Program (LEAP) has begun keepings its door locked at times, and this week the Lincoln Schools will announce measures to increase security in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shootings.

When the children are indoors doing homework or other activities, LEAP visitors must now ring a doorbell and be admitted by a staff member. The door will not be locked when children are playing outside under staff supervision, said Susan Callum, program administrator at LEAP, adding that the locked-door policy was put in place after discussions with the Lincoln Police Department.

It’s a minor inconvenience to ring the bell and wait at the door rather than walk right in as before, “I think the parents understand,” Callum said, adding that eventually she hopes to replace the doorbell with a keypad system.

Many other Boston-area school districts have increased their security measures since the tragedy in Newton, Conn., when a gunman forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 children and six staff members on December 14, 2012.

Lincoln School District officials and staff have also been meeting with Lincoln police to review security procedures at the Lincoln and Hanscom schools, Superintendent Becky McFall said on Friday. At the Lincoln School, all teachers must wear a visible plastic badge. Visitors are required to sign in at the office and wear a paper name badge, though this policy is not always strictly enforced.

Each teacher has a quick-reference “flip book” crisis manual of procedures to follow in the event of a school evacuation, lockdown, bomb threat, suspicious package or other potential danger, McFall said. There will be an afternoon of additional training for teachers and staff as well as more frequent lockdown drills while school is in session, she added.

The School Committee discussed the issue in executive session at its January 19 meeting, McFall said. She plans to send a letter to parents this week outlining what security measures are already in place, as well as any new steps to tighten security, McFall said.

Déjà vu?

From the editor:

I had an oddly sad feeling when I picked up my Lincoln Journal yesterday and saw that the only “pure Lincoln” story was a piece about the transfer station swap table that I wrote back in July 2012. This was a “tryout” story the editor had assigned me to see if I could be a freelancer for the paper, though it was never published and I more or less forgot about it. Obviously they still had it, and they apparently ran it  at a time when this was their only available Lincoln story. (As an aside, I did end up writing several stories for the Lincoln Journal; they’re reposted chronologically here in the Lincoln Squirrel starting in October 2012.)

This is not a snarky attack on the Journal, which is in the same fix as thousands of other newspapers bedeviled by free Internet sites for news and advertising, as well as rising printing and distribution costs. Having worked for several small newspapers myself, I truly sympathize with what’s left of their staff in the wake of acquisitions and cutbacks. Sadly, this just shows that the product eventually suffers when you cut too much. The news business is still looking for a new business model that works for them and for readers, but trying to maintain the status quo isn’t working, though I have no knowledge about the situation at Lincoln Journal other than the fact that for some time now, they have not had a full-time editor or writer, but have had to share those resources with sister newspapers in the area.

I started the Lincoln Squirrel because I like doing local journalism and I thought Lincoln could use some additional coverage. I view myself as fortunate that I don’t depend on income from a newspaper or a website to pay my bills, and I feel downcast for the newspaper employees who are doing the best they can with insufficient resources and the readers who aren’t getting the coverage they need.

Any far-reaching suggestions on how to fix the news problem? Your comments are welcome. Meanwhile, here’s some more background and food for thought:

Crucial meetings on school project begin Wednesday

The School Building Committee this week kicks off a series of meetings to ratchet up communication between residents and the SBC about what the school project should look like—or whether it should go forward under the current scenario at all.

The SBC is trying to regroup after the project failed to garner a two-thirds majority at Town Meeting on November 3. Members are treading a fine line, trying to learn what changes in the project will garner enough resident support while also knowing that if the town comes back with a “different project” than what the Massachusetts School Building Authority previously approved, a promised $21 million MSBA grant is off the table and the town must start the process from the start. Still to be determined is the extent of resident-supported tweaks to the plan, if any, that the MSBA will accept without considering the project to be “different.”

The town has until February 28 to inform the MSBA of how it wants to proceed.

The SBC will host a “Guiding Principles and Evaluation Criteria Workshop” on Wednesday, January 9 from 7-10 p.m. in Reed Gym. “Two years ago, the SBC reached out to the community to develop a set of guiding principles and criteria that were used to develop the school building project. Are they still the right criteria? Are there others that should be added? We need as many people as possible to participate in the upcoming series of meetings. The workshop on January 9th is an opportunity to review the educational and other criteria that were used to develop the school building project,” the SBC said an email to Lincoln School parents and others.

The SBC email also included these details about the meetings:

Wednesday, January 9
7:30-10:30 p.m., Reed Gym
GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND EVALUATION CRITERIA WORKSHOP

Wednesday, January 16
7:30-10:30 p.m., Reed Gym
CONSIDERING SITE AND DESIGN CONCERNS AND IDEAS
The SBC is soliciting site and design ideas from the public. If members of the community have ideas that require presentation time, please contact the School Committee at schoolcomm@lincnet.org by January 11 (date extended). There will also be an opportunity for the public to generate ideas and to discuss ideas that have been raised.

Tuesday, January 22
7:30-10:30 p.m., Reed Gym
PLAN FOR COMMUNITY CHARRETTES
Using the guiding principles and evaluation criteria from the January 9 meeting, evaluate several scenarios. To reach as many citizens as possible, the same event will be offered at two different times.

Community charrettes—two identical sessions to evaluate several scenarios:

  • Sunday, January 27
    1-4 p.m., Reed Gym
  • Thursday, January 31
    7-10 p.m., Reed Gym

Information from the two events will be compiled by the SBC in order to determine its response to the MSBA.

Wednesday, February 6
7:30-10:30 p.m., Reed Gym
PLANNING THE RESPONSE TO THE MSBA