news

Police log for week of February 21, 2020

March 3, 2020

February 21

Codman Community Farms (4:35 p.m.) — Walk-in to the police station was concerned about a tree truck parked at Codman Farm due to the soft ground. Person was advised to speak with farm staff.

Lincoln Road (6:15 p.m.) — Caller was concerned about a male party who is at the train station dancing. Officer spoke to the party; he was cold waiting for the train trying to stay warm.

Cambridge Turnpike eastbound (6:53 p.m.) — Caller’s vehicle was towed from Rte. 2 by State Police and would like to know where it is. Party was given the State Police Concord phone number to follow up with them.

Cambridge Turnpike westbound (3:38 a.m.) — Vehicle was stopped on Rte. 2 westbound at Bedford Road and Benedict Amuta, 20, of 20 Massmills Dr. in Lowell was arrested on a traffic warrant out of Clinton District Court. He was later released to appear in court.

February 22

Codman Community Farms (7:02 p.m.) — Caller reported that at about 5 p.m., there was a person who couldn’t control their dog who was at the farm. No identifying information regarding the dog or the owner.

February 24

Wells Road (1:00 p.m.) — Walk in came to the station to report an incident that previously occurred in Watertown. An officer spoke to the party and provided the information to Watertown PD.

Lincoln Road (3:05 p.m.) — A party came into the station to report striking a deer on Lincoln Road near Ballfield Road.

Lexington Road (5:50 p.m. and 8:28 p.m.) — Officer attempted to give paperwork to a resident.

February 25

Lexington Road (11:40 a.m.) — Officer attempted to give paperwork to a resident.

Lincoln Road (1:52 p.m.) — Officer attempted to give paperwork to a resident.

South Great Road (2:13 p.m.) — Report of an erratic operator on Rte. 117 coming from Weston. Driver was located and arrested on Willarch Road. Leslie Hallowell, 57, of 5 Willarch Rd. in Lincoln was arrested for OUI/liquor. She was later bailed to appear in Concord Court.

South Great Road (3:04 p.m.) — Caller reported an aggressive dog in the area. An officer located the dog and following up with the owner.

Entrance road, Hanscom Air Force Base (8:26 p.m.) — A party came into the station to report receiving harassing messages over social media. Report taken.

Lincoln Town Hall (8:36 p.m.) — A party reported a person who was possibly intoxicated in the area of Town Hall. An officer located the party walking and brought them to their residence.

Lexington Road (8:28 p.m.) — Officer attempted to give paperwork to a resident.

February 26

South Great Road (12:30 a.m.) — Officer stopped a vehicle on Rte. 117 near Mt. Misery. Scott Mahon, 28, of 256 Great Rd. in Stow was arrested for OUI. He was later brought to Concord Court.

February 27

Maynard Fire Department — Lincoln Fire Department responded to Maynard to cover the town as Maynard firefighters are at a fire elsewhere.

Weston Road (11:23 p.m.) — Caller reports a fallen tree blocking the road. Officer on scene asked the DPW to remove.

Lincoln Road (11:59 a.m.) — Officer assisted a party in regard to a civil matter

North Commons (12:31 p.m.) — Resident reported that she’s missing a door that she put away in storage a while ago. Report taken by an officer.

Baker Bridge Road (1:49 p.m.) — Callers reported a large tree blocking the road. Officer responded and asked EverSource to respond.

North Great Road (8:01 pm.) — Caller reported a party walking on Rte. 2A wearing dark clothing. Officer checked the area and was unable to locate the party.

South Great Road (9:13 p.m.) — Officer found a party near the Concord town line who was looking for a lost friend. The lost person was found in Concord and reunited with the reporting party.

Correction

February 26, 2020

In the February 25 article headlined “Water usage rates to go up by 28%, base charges by 43%,” Bryce Wolf’s name was misspelled and her place of residence was in error — she lives at Lincoln Ridge, which has 58 dwelling units, not the 41 that were cited in data supplied to the Lincoln Squirrel. Also, in a table accompanying the article, the Greenridge multi-unit development was incorrectly labeled as mostly rental, when in fact it is owner-occupied. The table and article have been corrected.

Correction

February 24, 2020

The February 12 article headlined “Planning Board has the only contested seat in upcoming town election” misstated the length of term on the Water Commission for which Ruth Ann Hendrickson is running. She is on the ballot for a two-year term. The original article has been corrected.

Police log for week of Feb. 14, 2020

February 24, 2020

February 14

Bypass Road (8:38 a.m.) — Officer assisted a party who ran out of gas; gave them a ride to All Town Gas to get fuel.

Aspen Circle (1:37 p.m.) — Resident received a call from an unknown party looking for money that was allegedly owed to them. Resident has no further information.

Bedford Road (3:23 p.m.) — Caller reported an odor of gas on Bedford Road near Route 2. National Grid was on the scene working.

February 15

Wells Road (9:29 p.m.) — Caller reported another resident banging on the wall. Officer arrived and spoke to the party and advised them to stop their behavior.

February 16

Concord Road (10:05 a.m.) — Officer checking the property saw a person out in back of the shop. Officer spoke to him and learned he’s an employee of T&F Auto.

Winter Street (4:55 p.m.) — Caller reported a tree down on wires. Verizon notified.

Brooks Road (6:20 p.m.) — A walk-in to the station requested assistance with a civil matter. Officer spoke to the party about their legal options.

Lincoln Road (8:55 p.m.) — A party contacted the station to report losing a key somewhere in the Donelan’s parking lot.

Wells Road (4:35 a.m.) — Party reported that an unknown person was in her apartment. Officers responded and assured the caller that no one was present, and also spoke to another family member who was there.

February 17

Old Concord Road (9:47 a.m.) — Officer delivered legal documents to a resident.

Boyce Farm Road (9:51 a.m.) — Officers assisted a party in regard to a civil matter.

Cambridge Turnpike(1:59 a.m.) — An officer stopped a vehicle Route 2 eastbound at Gerard’s Farm Stand and subsequently arrested Robert Campbell, 43, of 20 Acton St. in Maynard for possession of a Class B substance and Possession of a Class E substance.

February 18

Smith Hill Road (11:34 a.m.) — Concord police reported finding a resident’s purse. An officer met with Concord police and returned the purse to its owner.

Aspen Circle (1:26 p.m.) — A walk-in to the station reported his license plate is missing or was stolen from his vehicle. Report taken.

Sandy Pond Road (4:07 p.m.) — Concord police requested a check of a residence looking for a juvenile who left the Walden Pond area and headed back home. Officers located the party and reunited them with a parent.

February 19

Hanscom Air Force Base, Vandenberg Gate (2:41 p.m.) — Officers arrested Christopher Towns, 41, of 7 State St. Apt 1 in Peabody on a warrant from Ipswich police for obscene material to a minor (six counts). He was booked and transferred to Ipswich Police Department.

February 20

Wells Road (8:16 a.m.) — Resident reports being a victim of identity theft. Investigation ongoing.

Harvest Circle (2:10 p.m.) — Officer reports being in a very minor motor vehicle crash in the lot of 2 Harvest Circle. Accident documented.

Lewis Street (5:34 p.m.) — Caller reported a possible water main break. Officers found water coming from a building in which a pipe burst and they’re pumping out the building.

South Great Road (5:40 p.m.) — Walk-in to the station reporting people ice-skating on Farrar Pond. Officers checked and were unable to locate anyone.

Tabor Hill Road (10:24 p.m.) — Caller reported a suspicious package in their mailbox. Officers found the package contained gardening seeds.

Send your creative seeds to the Chipmunk!

February 19, 2020

The Lincoln Squirrel is adding a new section — the Lincoln Chipmunk, a periodic compilation of feature articles, first-person essays, poetry, drawings, photos and other creative work by Lincolnites. It’s the digital successor to the Lincoln Review, which was published for more than 40 years by Betty Smith and friends.

The Chipmunk will be published as part of the Squirrel website every two or three months, depending on the volume of submissions. Our editor is former Lincoln Review staff member Jeanne Bracken, assisted by Lincoln resident Rhoda Taschioglou.

The deadline for our first issue is March 1, so send us your stuff! Here are some ideas:

First-person essays on almost any topic — a compelling memory, a recent trip, a person or animal you’ve known, your predictions for the coming year, etc.
Nonfiction feature pieces about Lincoln history, nature, farms, architecture, etc.
Humor and satire
Short fiction
Poems
Profiles of interesting Lincoln residents (current, former, or deceased)
Book and movie reviews (especially by or about Lincoln authors/artists)
Original drawings and photographs

If you have something else in mind that doesn’t fall into one of these categories, just let us know. You can address questions and send items via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com or call Squirrel editor Alice Waugh at 617-710-5542.

The fine print:

Submissions must be original work by Lincoln residents, their immediate family members, employees, or others with a direct connection to the town, and they must include the submitter’s name and email address. Anonymous items will not be published.
All submissions are subject to selection and editing by the Lincoln Chipmunk staff; publication is not guaranteed.

Police log for week of Feb. 7, 2020

February 18, 2020

February 7

Indian Camp Lane (5:33 pm.) — Council on Aging requests a check on a resident. Officer checked on the resident and everything was fine.

Hobbs Brook Road (6:19 p.m.) — Party calling 911 reports being scammed. Party resides in Waltham and was advised to contact Waltham police.

February 8

Wells Road (12:27 a.m.) — Resident called regarding someone slamming their door. Officers checked the area and all was quiet.

Old Concord Road (1:35 a.m.) — Resident called to complaint about the noise of road work being done overnight at the Rte. 126 railroad bridge. Resident was advised it is scheduled work and they can make a complaint to MassDOT.

Sandy Pond Road (3:38 p.m.) — New Hampshire State Police requested a check of the residence for a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run in New Hampshire. Officers checked and were unable to make contact with anyone at the residence.

Lincoln Police Department (4:21 p.m.) — Resident came into the station to complain about where the Fire Department vehicles were parked.

Garland Road (5:22 p.m.) — Resident called reporting their child over age 12 was missing. A short time later, they called to report the child was with the other parent at a neighbor’s house.

Deerhaven Road (5:22 p.m.) — Caller inquired why an ambulance turned around in their driveway and a fire truck drove by their house. Caller was advised the Fire Department had just cleared a medical call in their area.

February 9

South Great Road (6:23 p.m.) — Weston Police asked that an officer check Rte. 117 for a disabled vehicle after a car-vs.-deer crash in Weston involving a vehicle that continued west into Lincoln.

Linway Road (6:48 p.m.) — Caller reported smoke inside their house. Fire Department responded and found that the smoke was caused by a pellet stove.

February 12

Harvest Circle (5:21 p.m.) — Staff who were dealing with a personnel matter requested that an officer go by in case there was an issue. No problems; the officer cleared shortly thereafter.

Lincoln Road (6:16 p.m.) — Officers responded to a two-car crash near Tower Road. One person suffered a minor injury. A report taken and a citation was issued.

Old Concord Road (10:52 p.m.) — Elderly party reported an unknown party was in the house. Officers responded and found it was a healthcare worker.

Service on Feb. 20 for Nancy Ritchie

February 16, 2020

Nancy Ritchie

Nancy M. (Pratt) Ritchie died at Emerson Hospital in Concord on February 13 at age 76. She was the beloved wife of James Ritchie, with whom she shared 53 years of loving marriage.

Nancy was born in Somerville on August 8, 1943, the daughter of the late Harry and Beulah (Barry) Pratt. She enjoyed being raised in Burlington and graduated from the town’s high school in 1961. She was then employed at Lincoln Laboratory for 12 years.

Active in the Lincoln community, Nancy was faithful to her church. She served as secretary of St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church for 13 years, and later, as an administrative assistant and assistant town clerk for Lincoln.

She was dedicated to her family and friends, and will be remembered as a fabulous cook.

In addition to her husband, Jim, she will be forever missed by two daughters, Nicole Ann Freutel and her husband Trevor of Renton, Wash., and Melissa Noelle Ritchie of Lincoln; two grandchildren, Alek and Ethan Freutel; a brother, Harry D. Pratt and his wife Carole; and several nieces and nephews. She was also the sister of the late Pat Munoz.

Family and friends will gather for visiting hours on Thursday, Feb. 20 from 6–8 p.m. in the Dee Funeral Home, 27 Bedford St., Concord. Nancy’s funeral service will be celebrated on Friday, Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. in St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Lincoln, with burial at Lincoln Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, 147 Concord Road, Lincoln, MA 01773.

Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord. To share a remembrance or to send a condolence in her online guestbook, please visit www.DeeFuneralHome.com.

Planning Board has the only contested seat in upcoming town election

February 12, 2020

By Alice Waugh

Signatures have been gathered and papers filed to decide who will be on the ballot for the town election on March 30 (see full list below). And despite an earlier flurry of interest by would-be candidates for Water Commission, the Planning Board will have the only contested race, where three residents — Lynn DeLisi, Richard Rundell, and Robert Domnitz — are running for two open seats.

Both openings on the Planning Board are for three-year terms, so the top two vote-getters will be seated. DeLisi and Rundell are incumbents running for reelection, while Domnitz is a former board member. He ran for reelection in 2015 but lost to challenge and current board member Gary Taylor, who ran unopposed for reelection in 2018.

A whopping seven residents took out papers in preparation for running for three openings on the Water Commission, which has been troubled by budget and personnel issues. However, only incumbent Ruth Ann Hendrickson, Michelle Barnes and James Hutchinson submitted papers and signatures to get on the ballot before the February 10 deadline. The others who initially took out papers were Ephraim Flint, Steven Kanner, Allen Vander Meulen, and Tobin Hack.

Those running for the Water Commission have to declare their candidacy for a specific term. Hendrickson (who has said this will be her last term) is running unopposed for reelection for a two-yer term. Barnes joined the board in the fall as one of two emergency appointments after two of the three commissioners resigned, and she is now running for a full three-year term. Hutchinson is currently serving a seven-year term on the Finance Committee that expires in March 2021 and is resigning to run unopposed for a one-year term on the Water Commission.

No one is running for openings on the Housing Commission and Trustees of the Bemis Fund, although two residents (Deb Wallace and Victoria Benaflew) took our nomination papers but never submitted them. Anyone can write in a candidate for those seats or any other. However, if no one is elected, the group in question and the Board of Selectmen may jointly make an appointment to fill the opening at a later date.

There are two candidates for two openings on the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee, and Lincoln resident Harold Engstrom is running for the seat being vacated by Patty Mostue, who is retiring after many years of service with that group. Candace Miller of Sudbury is running for reelection.

* Asterisks indicate incumbents

Board or Committee	Openings/terms	Candidate(s)
Board of Assessors	One for three years	Ellen Meadors*
Board of Health	One for three years	Frederick L. Mansfield*
Board of Selectmen	One for three years	Jonathan Dwyer*
Cemetery Commission	One for three years	Manley Boyce*
Commissioners of Trust Funds	One for three years	D. Paul Fitzgerald*
Housing Commission	One for three years	—
Moderator	One for three years	Sarah Cannon Holden*
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee	Two for three years	Candace Miller,* Harold Engstrom
Parks and Recreation Committee	One for three years	Robert Stringer
Planning Board	Two for three years	Richard Rundell,* Lynn DeLisi,* Robert Domnitz
School Committee	Two for three years	Tara Lynn Mitchell,* Adam Hogue*
Trustees of Bemis	One for three years	—
Water Commission	One for three years, one for two years, one for one year	Ruth Ann Hendrickson,* Michelle Barnes, James Hutchinson

Police log for the week of Jan. 31, 2020

February 9, 2020

January 31

Baker Bridge Road (10:28 a.m.) — Property owner reports they recently put up “No Trespassing” signs up on their property and they were removed, possibly by a neighbor.

Bypass Road — Caller reports receiving a suspicious package for which she doesn’t recognize the packaging. Officer spoke to the party and found that what she ordered was in fact inside the box.

February 1

Wells Road (3:07 p.m.) — Resident reported being a victim of a scam. Report taken; the matter is under investigation.

Giles Road (4:39 p.m.) — Caller reports a dead deer on conservation land behind their residence. Dispatch contacted the Conservation Department to handle.

February 2

Cambridge Turnpike (2:30 a.m.) — Diana Casillo, 36, of 3 Jeanette St. in Worcester was stopped and subsequently arrested for OUI/liquor.

February 3

Browning Lane (5:05 a.m.) — Resident called asking questions about her alarm system. Resident was advised to contact her alarm company.

February 4

145 Lincoln Rd. (3:11 p.m.) — Party called saying he lost an item in the Donelan’s parking lot and left contact information in case the item is found.

February 5

Old Concord Road (7:44 a.m.) — Walk-in to the station requested a well-being check on a family member. Officer responded and assisted the resident and family with resources.

Trapelo Road (8:10 a.m.) — Caller was concerned about a child crying while walking with an older male. Officer spoke to the parties; the child was upset about missing the school bus and having to walk to school.

145 Lincoln Rd. (9:25 a.m.) — Officer spoke to party about jumping over the fence onto the railroad tracks to catch the train.

Bypass Road (12:43 p.m.) — Walk-in spoke to an officer in regard to a civil matter. Officer assisted the party with information.

Old Concord Road (1:48 p.m.) — Fire Department was asked to check the residence for carbon monoxide; none found.

Concord Road (4:20 p.m.) — Report of a dog running in the roadway on Rte. 126 near the railroad bridge. Nothing found.

Lincoln Road (4:42 p.m.) — Party found an item in the parking lot and brought it to the police station. Owner was contacted and item returned.

February 6

Wells Road (12:39 a.m.) — Caller reported a suspicious person. Officer spoke to the caller and all is fine.

Harvest Circle (12:56 a.m.) — Party reported an unknown person coming into their room. Officers responded and found that the unknown person was a staff member.

Warbler Springs Road (9:14 .m.) — Report of a dog barking in the area. Officer checked and all is quiet.

Brush cleared over gas pipeline

February 5, 2020

The recently cleared Kinder Morgan right of way across Bedford Road near Oak Knolll Road (click image to enlarge).

The gas company Kinder Morgan recently cleared brush over a gas pipeline crossing Bedford Road and other locations in Lincoln. The company’s right of way is 30 to 50 feet wide in Lincoln, a company spokesman said.

“Periodically clearing the rights of way is part of our safety protocol to ensure the right of way can be visually inspected both by air and on the ground. The frequency of clearing depends on tree and brush growth in the area. In cases where a right of way crosses private property, the property owner is notified in advance.” The railroad ties in the photo were used to support heavy equipment on the soft ground and will be removed, the spokesman said.