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

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Free mental health clinics, social worker now available in Lincoln

Emily Morrison, the town’s social worker.

Lincoln residents of all ages can now consult with a social worker at several locations in town and get free 45-minute appointments with a mental health counselor.

Social worker Emily Morrison was hired in January and works alongside Council on Aging (COA) co-assistant director Abby Butt, who primarily handles issues with seniors age 60 and older. “About a year and a half ago, we began to notice a significant increase in households with people of all ages in crisis,” COA Director Carolyn Bottum said. Many were at risk of homelessness or having their utilities shut off, insufficient food, and  issues with family dynamics. The COA caters only to seniors, “but because we’re the only social service department in town, everyone was coming to us.”

Morrison can refer residents to the many area services that are available to them at little or no cost, such as emergency housing, fuel assistance food stamps, etc. Residents can also see a counselor from Eliot Community Health Services to discuss issues related to anxiety, depression, joblessness, loss, or any other issue. The counselor can also make referrals for longer-term treatment. Eliot may be able to bill insurance, but clients are not responsible for any copays if they can’t afford them (the Board of Health provided a small grant for copays and fees for those without insurance).

The social worker position was created with the help of grants from the First Parish in Lincoln, St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, and the Ogden Codman Trust. The funding will allow the clinics to run for two or three years “while we gather data show how important they are; then we hope to go to another source for more stable funding such as the town or a group of private citizens,” Bottum said.

Morrison began working in Lincoln in January after earning her social work degree after being a stay-at-home mother for her five children. She did her internship at the Belmont COA and is particularly interested in disability and inclusion, older adults, and hospice.

Morrison is available from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of the month and Tuesdays from 8–11 a.m. at Bemis Hall. She also has hours on the other two Mondays of the month at Lincoln Woods, at Battle Road Farm, and (during the school year) at LEAP for parents picking up their children after school. Call her at 781-259-8811 to set up an appointment with her or a mental health counselor.

News acorns

Hospice volunteers come to Drumlin Farm

Care Dimensions volunteers at Drumlin Farm (click photo to enlarge).

More than a dozen Care Dimensions employees recently volunteered at Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm in Lincoln to plant vegetables, herbs, and flowers that will the farm will go to CSAs, farmers’ markets, and cafeterias. The farm day was part of the company’s employee volunteer program in which selected employees volunteer with a community organization located within the company’s service area. Last year, the Care Dimensions company opened an 18-bed hospice house in Lincoln, and it also has offices in Waltham and Danvers.

Food donations needed in summertime

Summer is a particular time of need for donations to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. During the school year, students can get free or reduced-price lunch at school, but now that the academic year is over, more food is needed to compensate for the loss of these lunches. Please donate canned goods, cereals, spaghetti sauce, diapers, snack foods, etc.  The pantry is always looking for healthy treats, gluten-free, and reduced-salt items as well. Bring items to St. Joseph Church (side door, basket on the floor) or the Parish Center at St. Julia Church (374 Boston Post Rd., Weston).

Get free books at the library

Summer is actually spring-cleaning time at the Lincoln Public Library, where summer interns help process discarded books for the public to pick up for free. The library scans selected books to see if its used book re-seller will take them, then offer put them on the discarded books cart in the library’s lower stack level downstairs. Some of the books are in good condition; others have been well loved and will be replaced by newer copies. Note: The books aren’t meant to take the place of our Friends Book Sale Cart — those books are all in good condition, and sales support the library programs.

Residents can now apply for building permits online

The Lincoln Planning Department is updating its services to include online applications for building permits. Applicants may click here, create an account, and apply for a permit. Only building permit applications are available online, but electrical, plumbing and gas will be added in the future. Anyone with questions regarding the system may call Lincoln IT Director Michael Dolan at 781-259-2702.  

Two new outdoor installations at deCordova

“Sunday, Sitting on the Bank of Butterfly Meadow” by Wardell Milan.

Two new sculptures were recently unveiled at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum and will be on view until the end of December. In “PLATFORM 24: Wardell Milan, Sunday, Sitting on the Bank of Butterfly Meadow,” New York artist Wardell Milan adapts one of his lush, intricate photo-dioramas to a monumental scale. Working with photography, sculpture, drawing, and collage, he stages intricate maquettes of found imagery to create compositions of pastoral landscapes populated by bodies of diverse genders and racial identity. The PLATFORM series at the deCordova includes one-person commissioned projects by early- and mid-career artists that engage with deCordova’s unique landscape.

“Kitchen Trees” by B. Wurtz.

“Kitchen Trees” is the first large-scale, public work by B. Wurtz. Its trunk is composed of blue colanders stacked in a slender column with thin metallic branches leading to overturned pots and pans, out of which plastic fruits and vegetables appear to fall. The sculpture’s form is partially inspired by the bulbous bronze fountain in New York’s City Hall Park where “Kitchen Trees” was first displayed alongside four other sculptures from the same series. At deCordova, the whimsical piece evokes a tropical palm tree, in striking contrast to the towering pines and elegant beeches that thrive in New England.

Lincoln Squirrel offers discounts until July 4

The Lincoln Squirrel is now the only news source solely dedicated to our town, because the Lincoln Journal no longer exists (see the Lincoln Squirrel, June 11, 2019). Although the weekly Concord Journal will carry a few Lincoln items, that paper has no dedicated Lincoln reporter or editor, and it now costs $95 a year. To keep informed about what’s going on in Lincoln with near-daily updates for half the price, subscribe to the Lincoln Squirrel and get a discount until July 4.

If you’re not a subscriber and are reading one of your three free articles a month, or if you have a friend or neighbor who might be interested in subscribing, now’s the time. Until July 4, 2019, subscribe to the Squirrel for one year for only $43 (regular price: $48), or become a monthly subscriber for $3.99 per month and get your first two months FREE.

Sounds great! How do I get my discount?

To subscribe online using your credit card:

  • Click here (or go to lincolnsquirrel.com and click on “Subscriptions” at the top right).
  • On the “Subscription Checkout” page, click the link that says “Click here to enter your discount code” and enter 85C07545FB.
  • If you opted for an annual subscription, your credit card will be charged $43, and then automatically charged $48 one year later to renew. Monthly subscribers will get the first two months free and will then be automatically charged $3.99 per month.

To subscribe via check:

  • Send a check made out to “Watusi Words” (not “Lincoln Squirrel”) for $43.00.
  • Include a note with your name, telephone number and email address, and be sure to include the discount code of 85C07545FB.
  • Mail it to:

Alice Waugh
178 Weston Rd.
Lincoln MA 01773

  • Once I get your check, I’ll send you an email explaining how to log in. Or if you prefer a phone call or on-site visit, say so in your note or call me any time at 617-710-5542.

Thanks, and happy reading!

Alice Waugh
Editor, Lincoln Squirrel

Letter to the editor: join the parade!

To the editor:

We are writing to invite you to join Lincoln’s Annual Fourth of July parade. This year, our quintessential small-town parade will be led by Parade Marshal Becky Eston, who’s retiring as a Lincoln School teacher and community treasure for the past 39 years. This is our chance to honor her dedication, compassion and talent as an educator, so please join us to send her off in style.

We expect the parade to include well-loved traditional groups such as the Lincoln veterans, the Fire and Police Departments, the Lincoln Minute Men, and the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, to name a few. But this year we also encourage new participation — we’re talking to you parade newbies! Come up with something you want to promote, something the town should be aware of or proud of, and roll on out!  Not sure if you have a good idea? Please give us a call and run it by us!

Download a parade application and return it either electronically to dpereira@lincnet.org or by mail to the Parks and Recreation Department at 16 Lincoln Rd. You’ll then receive detailed instructions about the event. Most importantly, on the morning of July 4, please meet on Ballfield Road before 9:30 a.m.  We look forward to seeing you in the parade!

Sincerely,

Lindsay Clemens and Ingrid Neri

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

St. Anne’s appoints new rector

Rev. Garrett Yates and his wife Katie Yates.

From St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church

Reverend C. Garrett Yates will begin serving in August as the new rector at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Lincoln.

Since his ordination to the priesthood in 2016, Garrett has served as assistant rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon, Penn. Garrett, his wife Katie, and their boxer Hank will arrive in August, and Garrett’s first Sunday service will be soon thereafter. 
 
Of the many applicants that the Rector Search Committee considered, Garrett stood out as a gracious, wise, and energetic leader with a gift for rigorous preaching and a humble presence. The committee was impressed with his warm spirit and moved by his thoughtful approach to ministry. 
 
At St. Paul’s, Garrett developed a thriving Young Adult Group, as well as facilitated the Environmental Stewardship team and served as the chaplain to the St. Paul’s Episcopal Nursery School. Garrett was proud to be a part of St. Paul’s installation of solar panels on the church, as well leading an Education for Ministry group, group spiritual direction, and a men’s Bible study. 
 
Garrett is passionate about preaching, integration of faith into daily life, and helping faith communities recognize the abundance of God’s life already in their midst. A native of Alabama, Garrett earned his B.A. in classics at Samford University, where he met Katie. Garrett then earned his M.Div. from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, where he wrote his honors thesis on “The Christological Shape of the Preaching of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.” When he’s not at church, Garrett loves spending time with his dog, running and hiking, playing board games, playing guitar, watching the NBA, and reading novels.  

Lincoln Journal absorbed by Concord paper as news industry continues to contract

By Alice Waugh

Lincoln no longer has a newspaper bearing the town’s name.

Subscribers to the Lincoln Journal were informed by letter late last month that GateHouse Media New England (GHMNE), which owns more than 100 weekly newspapers and several dailies in eastern Massachusetts, was merging the Concord Journal and Lincoln Journal into a single newspaper retaining the Concord Journal name.

It’s part of a broader consolidation whereby the company is merging 50 newspapers into 19 — in most cases removing local town names from the new titles. Three of the new publications combine four former newspapers into one, and another will cover five towns previously served by separate papers in Hopkinton, Shrewsbury, Northborough, Westborough, and Southborough. WickedLocal websites for the affected weeklies will not change.

“This consolidation will reduce production expenses and represents a necessary next step in our evolution, while creating a stronger product for both our subscribers and advertisers,” GateHouse Media New England executives Peter Meyer and Lisa Strattan said in a May 31 letter to company staff. “Our readers will continue to receive the same in-depth local news coverage of their town plus additional reporting from nearby communities, giving them up-to-date news on what’s happening in their region.”

Although the Lincoln Journal had its own print edition and website, it hasn’t had an editor or reporter devoted exclusively to the town for several years. Most of its recent coverage has consisted of regional stories and photos shared by several other newspapers in the area. The changes reflect a growing “ghost newspaper” trend in the economically distressed news business.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Lincoln and Sudbury were covered by the Fence Viewer. Some time later, the Concord Journal covered Lincoln until the most recent version of the Lincoln Journal came along. Papers in the region have changed hands numerous times in recent years as the newspaper business has been decimated by free or cheap online news and classified ads, the rising cost of newsprint, and other factors.

A note to readers in the June 6 edition of the merged Concord Journal observed that “from minimalist millennials to Marie Kondo’s tidying to the tiny houses trend, everyone nowadays seems to be distilling their surroundings to their most essential purpose, streamlining and focusing only on what matters most. We’d like to think that’s what we’ve done with the edition you’re holding right now.” The paper features one inside page of Lincoln material comprising reprinted press releases and other submissions with no original reporting. 

Lincoln Journal readers were told in the May 24 letter that their subscription balances would be transferred to the Concord Journal. When subscriptions expire, they will be renewed at a new unspecified rate. As of Tuesday night, the GHMNE web page for newspaper delivery subscriptions still offered the Lincoln Journal for $93 a year, almost twice the price of the Lincoln Squirrel.

The Concord-only Concord Journal had a circulation of about 3,600 and went to about 50% of households in that town, according to Pamela Calder, an advertising account executive with WickedLocal Media Solutions/GHMNE. Calder added that she did not know the circulation of the Lincoln Journal, but “I don’t think it was very high,” and added that she did not yet know how the merger would affect advertising rates.

Calls and emails from the Lincoln Squirrel to Strattan (the vice president of news for GHMNE and senior vice president, executive editor and publisher of Wicked Local, the company’s online division) and to Kathleen Cordeiro, regional director of news and operations for GHMNE, were not returned.

Property transactions in April

14B North Commons — Kristin Swanson to Brianne Krupsaw for $435,000 (April 30)

314 Hemlock Circle — Thomas M. Healy Jr. Trust to Mary Ryan for $502,000 (April 26) 

3 Millstone Lane — Margo Selzter to Robert D. Valleau Trust and Pamela M. Valleau Trust for $1,800,000 (April 26)

54 Conant Rd. — Reihl Mahoney to Mary and Harrison Pope for $1,005,000 (April 26)

144 Lincoln Rd. — Tseng-Lin LLC to Lincoln Rd. Realty LLC for $700,000 (April 25)

82 Virginia Rd. #B410 — Mary Pilecki to Eileen Kern and Ellen McCullough for $423,000 (April 19)

11 Woodcock Lane — Hairen Zuo to Jayne Mundt for $1,150,000 (April 19)

51 Greenridge Lane — Ruth Sartori to David Cancian and Iris Hoxha for $475,000 (April 17)

225 Sandy Pond Rd. — Jonathan Prange to Caleb and Suzanne Baker for $810,000 (April 10)

26 Windingwood Lane — Matthew Garrigue to Idan and Yifat Rochell for $670,000 (April 8)

140 Lincoln Rd. #218 — William Weir to Mary and Harrison Pope for $485,000 (April 1)

 

Six L-S staff win FELS grants

FELS grant recipients Erica Wilsen, Shea Justice, Kelly Gaudreau, Rebecca Carr, and David Cole. 

Six faculty and staff members at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School have received grants from the Foundation for Educators at Lincoln-Sudbury (FELS) to pursue their professional and personal interests and passions.

FELS was founded in 2000 to offer parents a tangible way to show their appreciation to the L-S professional staff for the unflagging dedication, tireless effort, and genuine caring they routinely offer our children. The 2019 grant recipients shared over $10,500 in funding, and FELS has distributed well over $100,000 in grants since its founding.  Funds are raised through a direct appeal to L-S families as well as the annual FELS Thanksgiving Pie Sale and Spring FELS Talk.

John Flynn of the L-S Counseling Department.

The 2019 recipients are:

  • Certified Auto Detailer — David Cole, campus aide
  • All Things British — Rebecca Carr, English Department
  • African American History Journey — Shea Justice, Fine and Applied Technical Arts Department
  • Tanzania: Reconnecting and Expanding — Erica Wilsen, Math Department
  • Twin City Tour — John Flynn, Counseling Department
  • Just Breathe:  My Dream to Become a Yoga Instructor — Kelly Gaudreau, English Department

Group unveils proposals to boost South Lincoln development

A map showing locations of the proposed South Lincoln Village District subareas (click to enlarge).

A town committee is proposing new zoning and a special permitting process to allow denser and more diverse commercial and residential development in South Lincoln. A set of proposed zoning bylaw amendments will be up for discussion at the State of the Town meeting in the fall and a Town Meeting vote in March 2020.

The Village Planning and Zoning group (a subcommittee of the South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee) presented its work at a public forum on May 7. The group is one of several SPLIC teams, along with Placemaking, Wayfinding, and MBTA. SPLIC also commissioned a recent study of Department of Public Works needs and potential alternate locations.

The new South Lincoln Village District would have two subareas: business, which emphasizes commercial or mixed use, and residential, which provides a variety of housing options close to transit and retail amenities. The residential subarea would allow buildings up to three and a half stories further back from Lincoln Road to accommodate greater density.

• This series of slides summarizes the work of the Village Planning and Zoning group

Most uses already allowed by current zoning would be allowed by right with a site plan review. Other uses — such as multifamily housing and artist live-work studios in the residential subarea or mixed-use development, restaurants, brew pubs and service stations in the business subarea — would require a special permit.

To get this permit in the residential subarea, up to 15% of the housing would have to be affordable to low-income, residents — and another 10% affordable to middle-income residents.

“That’s a subset that’s missing in Lincoln—people that are not low-income but still can’t afford to move here,” said Alexis Smith, a senior planner with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, which awarded the town a $15,000 grant and assistance with the zoning and design guideline work. (Lincoln also received a $25,000 Community Compact Grant.)

To receive a special permit from the Planning Board, projects must also conform to specific design guidelines that could accommodate both modern and traditional designs, so “it won’t all look like Ye Olde Town Center,” as one resident at the forum commented. Projects exceeding special permit uses and densities could seek Town Meeting approval through South Lincoln Overlay District process.

Some residents worried about helping the business spaces already in South Lincoln succeed in addition to encouraging new ventures. Smith assured them that denser and more affordable housing would “create the foot traffic that would support those businesses and bring down those vacancy levels.”

“We definitely want to give a stronger footing to the businesses we do have,” said SPLIC member Gary Taylor.

Another resident was wary. “This is like a Pandora’s box. Once you change the zoning law, you don’t know what you’re going to get. Lincoln has a certain character, and that’s the reason I moved here,” he said.

But resident Jon Lynch was supportive. “This is really where Lincoln Center should be,” with development around the MBTA mass transit hub, he said. “We don’t have a critical mass of people… if we had stuff there, people would get off the train and do something instead of just jumping in their car and driving away. We have to get cars to stop thinking of [South Lincoln] as a drive-through.”

Sara Mattes urged more work on increasing parking capacity and fixing the MBTA station, saying denser housing could create an undue strain on public services and septic capacity. Director of Planning and Land Use Jennifer Burney assured her that the town is in fact doing a parking study for the commuter and business lots. Lincoln has also applied for another $400,000 Complete Streets grant to enable walkability and parking improvements, she added.

“With the school [project] and taxes, increasing the tax base is really important, so there’s urgency from another perspective,” Peyton Marshall said.

Attracting more residents and commercial development is crucial for Lincoln’s future, Ken Hurd said. “This is a death knell for this town if we don’t address it and attract younger folks.”

Harold Smith, 1933–2019

Harold Smith at Open Studio in Lincoln. (Photos courtesy Eric Smith)

There will be a memorial service on Sunday, May 19 for Harold Dean Smith — husband, father, artist, engineer — who passed at Emerson Hospital on April 23 at age 85, just after celebrating 55 years of marriage to Elizabeth “Betty” (Harris) Smith.

Harold was born in St. Louis, Mo., on October 10, 1933. He was the son of the late Silas Clark Smith, Jr. and Verna Louise (Eichmeyer) Smith Roloff. Harold was raised with his brother Bernie, and they shared great times sailing toy boats in Clifton Park pond, playing on swing sets at the Bryan Mullanphy School, making toy paper airplanes, blowing up tin cans with firecrackers, using windup trains to knock down wooden block buildings, visiting Grandpa, and sledding down Sulphur Street (swing wide at the bottom of the hill and steer hard to miss the house across the street — impossible but he did it anyway).

Harold graduated in 1957 from the University of Washington in St. Louis with a degree in architecture, in which he had an interest from an early age. He went on to earn two advanced degrees from MIT  in civil and environmental engineering (1957) and civil engineering (1961). He was employed by Simpson Gumpertz and Hager for 32 years as a structural engineer. During that time he worked on the Epcot Center in Florida, the John Hancock Tower, telescope facilities in Hawaii, and as a consultant for Firestone, among many other projects.

He was a quiet, reserved man who enjoyed his time painting. He was a longtime member of the Lincoln Recreation Department’s Open Studio and he showed his watercolor paintings on occasion. He was honored to have his work chosen to be part of the 15th edition of the book Splash15: Creative Solutions (part of the Splash: The Best of Watercolor series). He was also the primary designer behind the design and layout of the local magazine the Lincoln Review.

Smith and two of his grandchildren.

Some of Harold’s most beautiful work was his early pen and ink drawings that captured the simple flavor of his beloved Lincoln. In his later years, his art was inspired by his international travel. This included France, England, Turkey, India, New Zealand, Japan, Hungry, Anguilla, and many more. He enjoyed traveling with his wife and photographing the places they visited. He shared his view of the world with others and using some of those photos as the basis for his paintings.

Harold is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Harris Smith; his brother, Bernard Smith; his four children, Dean Smith, Caron King, Eric Smith, and Craig Smith; and five grandchildren, Jessica Smith, Krysta Smith, Susannah King, Kamille Smith, and Stephen Smith.

There will be a private burial at the Lincoln Cemetery. Relatives and friends are encouraged to gather for a memorial at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 19 at the First Parish Church. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory can be made to the Annual Fund of Washington University, c/o Washington University, Campus Box 1082, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130. Click here to leave a note in his online guest book at Dee Funeral Home.