news

July 22

Virginia Road (8:20 a.m., 11:25 a.m., and 4:02 p.m.) — Residents of three different Minuteman Commons units reported thefts from their garages overnight. Click here for details.

Concord Road (9:28 a.m.) — An officer checked on a vehicle pulled to the side of the roadway. The operator was OK and using their GPS.

Horses Crossing (10:27 a.m.) — A resident asked to speak to an officer regarding a civil matter involving a contractor at their residence. An officer spoke to the resident and informed them of their legal options.

Laurel Drive (3:37 p.m.) — Report of a brush fire. The Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire.

Wells Road (5:14 p.m.) — Caller requested an officer be present while a custody exchange occurred. An officer stood by to prevent a breach of the peace.

Baker Bridge Road (7:01 p.m.) — Parking ticket issued for illegal parked vehicle.

July 23

Wells Road (12:27 a.m.) — Caller reported that their motion detector went off at the rear of their residence. An officer checked and everything was secure.

South Great Road (9:57 a.m.) — Multiple concerned callers reported a party walking on the roadway who appeared confused. Officers responded and located the party and brought them home to their residence nearby.

Lexington Road (1:48 p.m.) — Caller reported a strange odor at the house. Fire Department responded and found no gas readings. Odor could be from the septic system.

July 24

Lincoln Road (8:43 a.m.) — Caller reported an odor of natural gas. Fire Department responded and checked for natural gas readings. Homeowner will call a plumber.

Baker Bridge Road (1:41 p.m.) — Parking ticket issued for illegally parked vehicle.

South Great Road (3:45 p.m.) — Resident called to report a friend stole their computer. An officer spoke to the resident and the resident’s friend, who reported the computer is being fixed.

Baker Bridge Road (5:49 p.m.) — Vehicle towed from No Parking zone. Vehicle’s registration was also suspended.

Lincoln Woods (6:38 p.m.) — Caller reported underage drinking at a gathering nearby. Officers responded and a resident was having a cookout; no underage drinking was occurring.

Walden Pond boat ramp (7:08 p.m.) — Concord Fire Department requested assistance in locating a party having a medical event. Lincoln Fire Department and officers responded. Concord Fire Department made contact with the party.

Wells Road (8:42 p.m.) — Resident reported getting involved in a verbal argument with another resident. An officer responded and spoke to both parties involved. Incident documented.

Partridge Lane (9:10 p.m.) — An officer stood by while a party retrieved items from a residence.

Lincoln School (9:15 p.m.) — Officer checked on a vehicle parked in the school complex. Everything was fine and the party left.

July 25

Concord Road (9:10 a.m.) — Caller complained about a landscaping truck blocking one lane of Farrar Road. An officer responded; the crew was finishing up and will change where they park their vehicles in the future.

Baker Bridge Road (12:22 p.m.) — Court documentation delivered to a resident.

Chestnut Circle (5:57 p.m.) — Weston police requested a well-being check on a resident. Officers responded and the involved party did not wish to have contact with the police.

South Great Road (6:50 p.m.) — Multiple callers reported a party sitting on the sidewalk at the intersection of Routes 117 and 126. An officer responded; the involved party was fine and on their way.

Tower Road (7:16 p.m.) — MBTA report a fire on the tracks. Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire.

July 26

Lincoln Road (10:10 a.m.) — An officer stopped and advised a party to not walk along the train tracks.

Boyce Farm Road (3:00 p.m.) — A delivery driver reported being bitten by a dog. Animal Control will handle.

Lexington Road (3:52 p.m.) — Caller reported that a landscaper was dropping debris and cutting on their property. An officer responded and spoke to all parties involved.

Lincoln Road (5:30 p.m.) — Two-car motor vehicle crash at the intersection of Lincoln and Codman Roads. No injuries; one vehicle towed from the scene.

Blueberry Lane (6:20 p.m.) — Caller reported they’re having an issue with Eversource, which wanted to cut power to the home as they’re making repairs. While en route, the party called back and the matter had been resolved with Eversource.

Bedford Road (7:19 p.m.) — Caller asked to speak to an officer regarding an issue with a contractor. An officer spoke to the party and advised them to call the station if an issue arises.

Virginia Road (7:43 p.m.) — A resident called wishing to speak to an officer regarding the thefts which had occurred on Virginia Road. An officer spoke to the resident.

Wells Road (10:31 p.m.) — Caller asked to speak to an officer regarding an ongoing matter. An officer spoke to the resident and referred them to speak with a mental health specialist.

July 27

250 Merrimack St., Lawrence — Investigators with the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police and Lawrence police arrested Kevin Lynch at his residence in Lawrence. Lynch was brought to the Lawrence Police Department for booking on an arrest warrant issued out of the Concord District Court for breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony (two counts), and three larceny charges.

St. Joseph Church (1:41 p.m.) — Caller wanted to speak to an officer regarding a dispute with another individual. An officer responded to speak to the reported party.

Codman Road (2:10 p.m.) — Caller requested a well-being check. An officer responded and no one appeared to be home.

Wells Road (4:30 p.m.) — A resident came into the station wishing to speak to an officer about a potential issue with a former resident. An officer spoke to the party and documented the incident.

Weston Road (7:51 p.m.) — Caller reported smoke in the area. Fire Department checked the area; it was caused by a resident cooking on their outside grill.

July 28

South Great Road (9:36 p.m.) — Caller reported a party walking in dark clothing on Route 117 near the Weston line. Officers checked but were unable to locate the party.

Codman Community Farms gets Edible Boston writeup

Edible Boston’s summer 2022 issue features a story about the changes wrought at Codman Community Farms by farmer Pete Lowy and his crew, especially at the farm store. Click here to read the story.

Area libraries sponsor “library crawl”

On Wednesday, Aug. 3 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., everyone is invited to take part in the Library Crawl. The challenge is to visit as many libraries as you can and take a picture of yourself with a designated item in each library in a 21^st-century scavenger hunt. Download your Library Crawl passport with library locations and photo ops.

This is an event for all ages – all you need is a love of libraries and a way to get from place to place. Post your pictures and tag the libraries at #mlncrawl2022. Each library will have handouts and giveaways. Show your pictures to a librarian, get a prize, and see how many you can collect. Start and end wherever you like on the self-guided crawl.

Participating Minuteman Library Network libraries are Arlington Robbins & Arlington Fox Branch, Ashland, Bacon Free (Natick), Concord & Fowler Branch, Dedham & Endicott Branch, Framingham & McAuliffe Branch, Lexington (Cary), Lincoln, Maynard, Morrill Memorial Library (Norwood), Morse Institute Library (Natick), Needham, Newton, Sudbury, Wayland, Wellesley Main, Wellesley Hills, Wellesley Fells, and Westwood Main & Islington Branch.

Children’s events at library

“Not So Scary Animals” live program
Thursday, July 28 from 10:30–11:30 a.m., Tarbell Room
We think of some animals like sharks, snakes, and spiders as scary, but are they really when we learn more about them? Many seemingly scary animals have important jobs in nature, and some even help people. Children of all ages are welcome learn about and meet some “not so scary animals.” Registration required; email dleopold@minlib.net.

Mo Willems Film Festival
Friday, July 29 at 10:30 a.m.
Short films based on beloved Mo Willems stories. Ages 2+. Drop in.

Due to a malfunction on an outbound train, sensors at four commuter rail crossing gate systems were damaged on July 21, causing significant delays during part of the morning rush hour and into the afternoon.

Shortly after 8:00 a.m., the gates at Old Sudbury Road, nearby South Great Road, and Lincoln Road got stuck in the down position. Lincoln police and crews from Keolis, which maintains the commuter rail system, responded and ensured the safety of the crossings. A fourth crossing in Cambridge was also affected.

When a crossing experiences any issues, gates are designed to default immediately to a safety mode by going down and staying down until the problem is fixed. The train follows a “stop and protect order” whereby the locomotive engineer and conductors reduce speed and stop at each crossing to confirm that it’s safe for the train to proceed, explained Alana Westwater, Manager of Public Relations and Government Affairs at Keolis. This happens fairly frequently — in Lincoln it occurred most recently on May 18, June 21, and July 2 before the July 21 incident.

These gate problems are unrelated to an April 11 incident in Lincoln where a gate was up when it should have been down, causing a train to narrowly miss hitting a car. The investigation into that incident is ongoing. At the June 27 Select Board meeting, Town Administrator Tim Higgins called the delay in getting more information “frustrating.”

“If much more time goes by without real evidence of progress in the investigation, we’ll call on our elected officials who oversee the MBTA to expedite that process,” he said.

The Lincoln Chipmunk got overwhelmed with busy-ness in the spring and is on hiatus for the rest of the summer. But this is a great time to relax and work on those creative words and images you’ve been thinking about. The next deadline is September 9, 2022. Anyone with a Lincoln connection is welcome to submit their work — click here for details.

Most of the state is now in a Level 2 “Significant Drought” condition, and it appears that the current weather pattern with limited rain will continue for some time. As a result, the Water Department has imposed Stage 3 watering restrictions, meaning that homes on town water are now permitted to do lawn and garden watering with sprinklers and soaker hoses just one day a week — down from the previous two days (see chart below). Handheld watering may still be done any time. The move is required as part of the town’s detailed Drought Management Plan.

Because Lincoln consistently exceeds the maximum annual and daily per-capita water withdrawal amounts stipulated in its state permit, the town is required by MassDEP to implement water conservation measures one step more strict than the current drought level declaration would normally call for. For the same reason, Lincoln automatically starts each watering season on May 1 with Stage 2 restrictions.

Conant Road resident Carol Roede took these photos of some recent visitors to her back yard (click images for larger versions).

Codman film: “Curse of the Were Rabbit”

Come watch a hilarious claymation favorite, “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit,” on Thursday, July 14 at 7 p.m. at Codman Community Farms. Latecomers welcome. Buy tickets in advance online or in person.

Drum one, drum all

“Drumming About You!” will take place under the tent at the Pierce House on Friday, July 15 at 10:30 a.m. The library is sponsoring the interactive event with Bob Bloom where everyone has a chance to play his array of colorful drums on legendary songs. All ages; no registration required. In case of inclement weather, the event will move to the library’s Tarbell Room (check the library’s website or social media feeds by 9 a.m. that day).

Film screening: “L’Eclisse”

The Lincoln Library Film Society will screen “L’Eclisse” (1962) on Thursday, July 21 at 6 p.m. In the movie, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Monica Vitti, Alain Delon, and Francisco Rabal, a young woman meets a vital young man, but their love affair is doomed because of the man’s materialistic nature. Free and open to all.