news

Library mystery party for teens

Kids age 12 and up are invited to a Crimson Mystery Party at the Lincoln Public Library on Thursday, July 14 at 6 p.m. Sign up to be a character and come prepared to work together to solve the mystery. Space is limited; email SFeather@minlib.net with any questions and to sign up. Supported by the Friends of the Lincoln Library.

St. Anne’s hosts blood drive

St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church will host a community blood drive with the American Red Cross on Thursday, July 21 from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. For more information or to make an appointment to donate, call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or sign up online at redcrossblood.org using the sponsor code STANNEITF. Blood is routinely transfused to patients with cancer and other diseases, premature babies, organ transplant recipients and trauma victims. With someone in the U.S. needing blood every two seconds, blood products must be constantly replenished. Donors with all blood types are needed, especially those with types O negative, A negative and B negative.

Submit your nature photos for LLCT calendar

Calling all photographers! Each year the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust/Rural Land Foundation produces the Open Spaces of Lincoln calendar, which is a stunning showcase of Lincoln’s rural landscapes and abundant wildlife. All proceeds benefit the conservation, stewardship, and educational activities of the LLCT. Photographers of all ages and levels are encouraged to participate. Photos must be taken in Lincoln and capture the rural and natural landscape, waterways, plants, or wildlife. Submissions for the 2023 calendar will be accepted through Sunday, July 24. Click here for participation guidelines and instructions for submitting photos.

In the July 4 parade photo gallery posted on July 5, Marika Hamilton’s title was listed incorrectly. She is Lincoln METCO Director and AIDE Coordinator. Also, the name of the band was incorrect — it  is Jonda, not the Nays.  Three members of Jonda — Bryce Wells, Doug Carson, and Jon Taunton-Rigby — grew up in Lincoln (bass player John Orosz lives in Somerville).   

The gallery also now includes lots more images. We couldn’t include them all, but many thanks to the readers who submitted photos!

Click on photos below to see larger versions and captions.

A fire that started atop a Lincoln Road home’s hot tub on June 26 burned the deck and the side of the adjoining house before firefighters extinguished it.

Thirteen-year-old Keira Aslam was home alone at 227 Lincoln Road she saw flames and smoke and called 911 just before 2 p.m. on an afternoon where the temperature was about 90 degrees. Lincoln firefighters and two trucks arrived minutes later, followed shortly by backup fire trucks from Concord, Wayland and Sudbury.

When firefighters got there, they found the back deck fully involved with flames rolling up the side of the house, along with fire under the deck and kitchen windows breaking from the heat. They extinguished the fire and opened the roof and soffits to check for any spread.

The fire started when a mop with flammable deck-refinishing oil was drying on the hot tub cover. “With the extreme heat on Sunday afternoon and the sun beating down, it spontaneously combusted and immediately burned the hot tub and surrounding deck and exterior walls,” said Keira’s mother, Erica Gonella. “It’s very fortunate she was there and they were speedy. It could have brought the whole house down.”

The Lincoln Fire Department’s report estimated there was more than $840,000 in damage to the house, which had an assessed value of $1.4 million (not including land).

Words of advice from Gonella (delivered via email with a smile emoji): “Make sure you properly store and clean flammable materials and don’t let your husbands do home projects :-)”

Retirement party for library’s Rothenberg

Residents are invited to a retirement party for Lincoln Public Library Assistant Director Lisa Rothenberg on Thursday, June 30 from 2–4 p.m. (the library will close at 5 p.m. that day). Rothenberg began working at the library in September 1988 when the new library addition was under construction as Head of Technical Services and ran the back office operations for purchasing, cataloging, and processing books and other materials. For the past eight years, Lisa she served as Assistant Director and oversees adult services departments (reference and circulation) as well as selecting materials to purchase for adults.

Over the span of her career, Lisa also worked on special projects. For example, Lisa worked with consultants and staff to build and redesign the library’s website. She’s always interested in what’s new, like electronic materials (books, movies, and music), and making them available to our patrons. Many residents know Lisa from her book groups and her work at public service desks.

Kids’ triathlon is this Saturday

Lincoln’s 18^th annual Splash, Mash & Dash Kids’ Triathlon takes place at Codman Pool on Saturday, July 2 starting at 8:30 a.m. Race distances are as follows:

• Ages 5-6: 25m swim (1 length), ¼ mile run (no bike) 
• Ages 7-8: 25m swim (1 length), 1 mile bike, ½ mile run
• Ages 9-10: 50m swim (2 lengths), 2 mile bike, ½ mile run
• Ages 11-12: 75m swim (3 lengths), 2 mile bike, ¾ mile run
• Ages 13-14: 150m swim (6 lengths), 4 mile bike, 1 mile run

Racers 8 and under are accompanied by a guard in the water. Click here to register $30 per person). Everyone gets a T-shirt, a finisher’s medal, and lots of memories. Pick up packets on Friday, July 1 from 12:30–7 p.m. at the Parks and Recreation Department in Hartwell Pod A. Organizers are also looking for volunteers to help out during the race — email ginger.reiner@gmail.com. 

See electric vehicles at Pierce House

The Lincoln Green Energy Committee will celebrate Energy Independence Day on Monday, July 4 with electric vehicles on display at the Pierce House after the parade. If you’ve been wanting to learn more about EVs, come see a Tesla, Bolt, and Leaf. EVs from other manufacturers are also welcome — email Belinda Gingrich at belinda.gingrich@gmail.com.

Annual water quality report available

Every year, the Water Department is required to publish an official Consumer Quality Report (CCR) explaining what is added to town water and the results of all the tests performed during the year. The data collected during 2021 is now available to the public. Print versions of the report are available in the lower lobby of Town Hall and at the library, or read online by clicking here.

Residents with private wells should also test their water every year or two. The Water Department website lists several local laboratories, and the MassDEP has a searchable database of laboratories you can use to find a laboratory on your own. Please read the MassDEP’s guidance document on things to consider when choosing a laboratory.

The June 26 story headlined “Debate over opening more trails to bikes continues” incorrectly stated that the trail segments shown in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee’s June 22 presentation to the Conservation Commission were new additions to the draft master plan the group unveiled to the Select Board in April. The segments actually were contained in that earlier plan but were coded with the same colors as roadway and roadside path opportunities.

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Committee last week highlighted some areas where town conservation trails could be upgraded to allow use by bicycles. Three of the spots suggested by the BPAC are within areas that the ConCom is also considering opening to bikes as part of its set of proposed amendments to the town’s trail use regulations.

The trail segments shown in the BPAC’s June 22 presentation to the Conservation Commission were part of the draft master plan the group unveiled to the Select Board in April. That plan outlined several types and examples of infrastructure improvements they recommended making over a period of decades to increase roadway and path safety for all users (cars, bikes, and pedestrians) and improve connectivity within the town.

Some of the suggested spots (shown with fuchsia arrows in the images below) already have walking trails but are not currently usable by bikes because of flooding or other reasons; in other locations, the BPAC suggested creating new trails, as indicated by asterisks. 

Complicating the issue is the fact that the trails have different owners. Some of the land is owned by the town, some by the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, and some by private property owners who have granted easements. “We understand there are a lot of land ownership issues, but these are the connections we’ve identified where trails might be the best option,” said BPAC Co-chair Ginger Reiner.

North Lincoln

• Bypass Road to Brooks Road*
• Brooks Road to Sunnyside Lane
• Minute Man National Historic Park to the corner of Old Bedford and Virginia Roads
• Mill Street to Bedford Road*

East Lincoln

• Weston Road to Tower Road
• Tower Road to Todd Pond Road*
• A trail connection to a future underpass or overpass near Page Road if MassDOT ever builds one*

South Lincoln

• Mt. Misery to the canoe landing parking lot alongside Route 117
• The canoe lot to Birchwood Lane (now open to walkers but closed to bikers via terms of an easement over private property)
• The link from Old Sudbury Road to the Weston trail system

West Lincoln

• Baker Bridge Road near Woods End Road to the rear commuter lot in South Lincoln*
• The link to the Concord trail system in Adams Woods just northeast of Fairhaven Bay
• Concord Road to Goose Pond Road, very close to the easter edge of Walden Pond*

Three of the suggested areas for opening trails to bikes totaling 1.2 miles are part of the ConCom proposals to open more trails to bikes: Adams Woods (West Lincoln), Brooks Road to Sunnyside Lane (North Lincoln), and the Weston trail connection in South Lincoln.

In a few areas prone to flooding, the work might have to include a boardwalk that bikers would be required to walk their bikes over. Most or all of the initial work could be funded by grants, BPAC Co-chair Bob Wolf said.

The improvements will require multiple neighborhood discussions as well as plan modifications and compromises over time as circumstances change, said Wolf, noting that it took the Netherlands at least 25 years to make its targeted roadways equally safe for bikers, walkers and cars.

If we can’t get a full loaf, we’re happy to get half a loaf,” he said. “We’re not advocating for a wholesale opening of trails… [the recommendations] are highly selective and in places we could not get a roadside path option to work well.”

The BPAC will continue to meet with town boards and committees over the summer, followed by regional public forums in the fall and a State of the Town presentation in November and a possible measure to be voted on at Town Meeting in March 2023.

Bikes on trails

Later in the Zoom meeting attended by more than 50 residents, the ConCom continued its discussion of the four areas of proposed trail improvements from its last meeting on June 1. Most of the comments focused on the bikes-on-trails issue, with some residents advocating for more equity in how some trails can be used and others worrying that more biking will damage trails and detract from the enjoyment of walkers. There was debate over what neighboring towns allow on their trails, how new rules would be posted and enforced, and why certain trail segments were targeted for opening.

Given the strong and numerous opinions, “This might be a wise place to pause… this is a very hot issue and I think it needs a lot more consideration,” Diana Beaudoin said. Sara Mattes agreed, saying the town should “step back a minute and look more holistically” at the issue of safe roadway and trail use.

“Our goal is to reach consensus… but we know we won’t keep all of the people happy all of the time. It’s a dance,” ConCom Chair Susan Hall Mygatt said. 

The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust is scheduled to discuss the issue early next month, and the ConCom will resume its discussion on July 13 at 8 p.m.