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

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Town Meeting warrant article list published

The list of articles for the 2017 Annual Town Meeting on March 25 includes 42 articles that will ask residents for a “year” or “nay” on numerous issues that have been in the news in Lincoln over the past year or more.

Below are links to previous Lincoln Squirrel stories about some of the items. The Squirrel will also publish new stories about Town Meeting articles in the coming days and weeks as more details become available.

Wang property acquisition (article 11)

Accessory apartments (articles 12-14)

School project (articles 33 and 34)

Community center feasibility study (article 35)

Landfill solar initiative (article 36)

Agricultural bylaw amendment (article 38)

News acorns

Special teacher’s book sale on Wednesday

The Friends of the Lincoln Library will host a special Teacher’s Valentine’s Day book sale on Wednesday, Feb. 8 from 4-7 p.m. in the Bemis Hall basement. The sale features gently used books of interest to teachers, including children’s series, chapter books, early readers, non-fiction, professional books and more!

Hamilton karaoke singalong next week

On Thursday, Feb. 16, L-S will host the Hamilton Singalong, a karaoke event featuring the songs of the Broadway musical Hamilton, starting at 7 p.m. in the high school’s auditorium. The event will have two parts; middle school students will sing from 7-8:30 p.m. and high school students will sing from 8:30-10:30 p.m. Music and lyrics will be provided for every song. People may perform as individuals or groups, or just come watch and enjoy. Costumes encouraged (but no weapons, please).

The event is free, but donations are welcome; proceeds benefit the Lincoln-Sudbury Memorial School in Cambodia, which opened in 2009 after a fundraising effort by members of the L-S community. Middle school and high school students from any town or school can sign up by emailing Danielle Weisse at danielle_weisse@lsrhs.net. Non-students will be allowed to sing if there are slots available; email Weisse ahead of time and she will get back to you closer to the event date.

Library offers “blind date with a book”

The Lincoln Public Library is offering “blind date” books for loan through Valentine’s Day. The books (on display near the circulation desk) are covered in blank paper; with only the first line of the book visible. Read the first line written on the paper cover, decide if the chemistry is right, and check out the book as you normally would.

Public hearings coming up

The Zoning Board of the Appeals of the Town of Lincoln will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Office Building to hear and to act on the following petitions under the Zoning Bylaws:

  • Nunzio Domilici, 22 Deer Run Road, for transfer and renewal of an accessory apartment special permit.
  • Holly Hedlund, 21 Morningside Lane, for extension of time on original approved special permit.

The Lincoln Historical Commission will hold a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7 in the Town Office Building to consider the application of Massachusetts Audubon Society to demolish the existing structure known as the “Education Building” at 208 South Great Rd.

A complete list of public notices for the town of Lincoln can be found here.

Letter to the editor: support updated open-space plan

letter

(Editor’s note: See this Lincoln Squirrel article from July 2016 for more background.)

To the editor:

Lincoln’s update to the Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) is nearly complete (the previous update was published in 2008). The OSRP Committee has worked diligently over the last eight months to get to this point. There were two community forums and an OSRP survey to obtain feedback from residents. Now it is ready to bring before the Selectmen for final approval. Please join us at their February 6 meeting and show your support for this guidance document.

An OSRP is a tool that helps a municipality maintain and improve the benefits of open space and recreation facilities that contribute to the character of the community and protect its “green infrastructure.” Planning for this “green infrastructure” of water, land, farms, wildlife habitat, parks, recreation areas, trails and greenways is as important to the economic future of a community as planning for schools, roads and public safety. With a current plan approved by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Lincoln will be eligible for state grants to help fund open space and recreation projects and programs. OSRP highlights include:

  • an inventory of Lincoln’s open spaces and recreation facilities
  • a 7-year action plan
  • descriptions of key scenic resources
  • background on our community’s natural resources and conservation history
  • an evaluation of how our OSRP facilities serve people with disabilities
  • accompanying maps

The Board of Selectmen will discuss the OSRP on Monday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Donaldson Room of the Town Office Building.

Sincerely,

Angela Kearney
Conservation Planner, Lincoln Conservation Dept.

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.

Minuteman offers middle-school program starting in March

Minuteman High School has announced the launch of a new after-school program for students in grades 6-8 to explore a host of career pathways through project-based learning. Classes begin on March 21, and there will be an orientation session for parents on March 14 at 6 p.m. at Minuteman.

Students can explore one of 21 different career pathways through hands-on technical projects in sessions taught by Minuteman faculty. There will be two four-day sessions running from 4:15-6:15 p.m. Session 1 will run March 21, 23, 28 and 30; Session 2 will run April 4, 6, 11 and 13. To see a complete list of course titles or to register for one or both sessions, visit Minuteman’s Career Pathways Afterschool Program website.

Students will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and students living in one of Minuteman’s 16 member towns (including Lincoln, which is part of the district until July 1) will get priority. The cost is $100 per student per session for in-district students and $500 per session for out-of-district students. Minuteman will provide free busing from each middle school within its district; a bus schedule of pick-up/drop-off locations and times will be available soon.

Minuteman officials said they’re launching the program as a direct result of research conducted by the school as part of a $10,000 Competitive Career and Technical Education Planning Grant from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Lincoln musician hopes to benefit causes with house concerts

Trevor Berens.

Millions of Americans concerned by the election of President Donald Trump marched on January 20, but for many, the question remains of what to do next. Lincoln musician Trevor Berens has a novel idea: offering house concerts for charity.

Berens, a pianist and composer specializing in contemporary/avant-garde classical music, will come to the home of anyone with a well-tuned piano and enough space for at least 15 guests. Rather than pay him a fee, the host would make a donation to a charity that focuses on the environment and climate change, minorities and/or women. The host could collect donations from guests or simply make a single larger donation himself or herself.

Though he’d had the idea for charity house concerts before the election, recent events brought it more into focus. “Like many people, I’ve been trying to figure out things I can actively do to help our situation, and one of the things I felt would be useful for me and probably others was to offer a space in which I could give music,” Berens said.

Berens is particularly interested in helping the National Resources Defense Council, Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union, but is open to playing for the benefit of other nonprofit organizations that have similar agendas. The dollar amount to be raised at house concerts is flexible, but he hopes that each concert would reap at least $300.

Berens and his wife, singer and voice teacher Jessica Tunick, moved from their native Los Angeles to the Boston area so he could earn a graduate degree in music therapy from Lesley University (they’ve lived in Lincoln for seven years). He’s now a music therapist and private piano teacher who usually teaches in students’ homes. Both are also active performers; they are members of the Sonic Liberation Players, which is giving its next concert on February 3 at 8 p.m. at the Third Life Studio in Somerville. Musicians from that group may be available to play with Berens at house concerts if the host wants.

Though classically trained, Berens’s repertoire consists of recent music. Some of his favorite modern composers are John Cage, Frederic Rzewski, Morton Feldman and Giacinto Scelsi. “I think modern music engenders more conversation and has the ability to better reflect current times. The classics were written in a time when things were different. It’s important to look at the artists of now and the recent past to better understand where we are,” he said. “I hope the way I present this kind of music isn’t like dropping a foreigner in a new country and leaving them there—I’m hopefully taking them by the hand and leading them there.”

Those interested can see more on Berens’s website or listen to samples of his compositions and other performance pieces on SoundCloud. He and Tunick also have a separate website for their teaching.

Lincoln on the march

For the Women’s March on January 21, the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee organized a bus to Boston Common for 50 participants under the group title of “Lincoln Marchers,” while many other residents made the trek to the nation’s capital. Marches in Washington and other U. S cities drew at least 1 million people in total, and thousands more participated in similar events around the world.

“The Washington Women’s March for America was amazing from start to finish,” said Barbara Slayter, one of the Lincoln DTC riders. “The crowd included people of all ages and races—men as well as women, Muslims, and even, I observed, a gentleman wearing a Sikh turban. There were children in strollers and baby carriages as well as on foot, and there were disabled or elderly people in wheelchairs. The mood was upbeat and even jubilant.

“These exuberant good spirits were accompanied by a huge array of largely homemade signs ranging from humorous to mocking to lighthearted, angry, compelling or uplifting [see the end of this gallery]. As we marched—very slowly—we frequently sang or chanted or contributed to great shouts rolling like waves through the crowd. Chants included ‘We want a leader, not a creepy tweeter,’ ‘Education, not deportation,’ ‘Women’s rights are human rights,’ and ‘Hands too small! Can’t build the wall!’

“Sometimes we sang songs such as This Land is Your Land or old union songs. One group knew songs from the musical Hamilton and entertained us for a bit along the way, as did several different drummers. And one cluster of some 30 or 40 marchers even sang a rousing Happy Birthday—to me—tipped off by my daughter, much to my surprise.”

The crowd were so large that Slayter’s group never got close enough to the podium  hear the speakers address the crowd, or even to the official march route. Instead, they made their way alongside the mall down Madison Avenue along with throngs of other marchers. “From 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. we were ‘on the move’ and it proved to be a thrilling day. Now we are trying to reflect on how we can build on the momentum the march has given us,” she said.

Here are pictures and words from other Lincoln marchers.

Janet Boynton, Larry Buell, Dilla Tingley, Marie Roberts, Lucretia Giese, Kim Buell, Elizabeth Cherniack, Julie Hibben and Al Schmertzler on Boston Common.

Rosamond DeLori marches in Boston.

Dilla Tingley and her friend Marie Roberts of Lexington. “The march restored my sense of humor and some hopefulness—there was lot of camaraderie and solidarity. We will need it,” Tingley said.

Jessica Tunick and her husband Trevor Berens went to the Washington event. “The feeling of the march was one of diversity, solidarity, love and determination,” Berens said.

Three generations march in Boston: Lincoln residents Natalie McNerney (front right) and her daughter Mary McNerney (front center) with her son Tim McNerney (back left) and 14-year-old granddaughter Sofia McNerney of Shutesbury.

Gwyn Loud and Rosamond DeLori on Boston Common.

Carolyn Montie and her daughter Eve in Boston.

Barbara Slayter (left) just happened to bump into Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall at the march in Washington. “Can you imagine a chance encounter of two Lincolnites in a sea of 500,000+ people and an extraordinary number of pink hats? It was an astonishing moment!” she said.

Jennifer Morris (right), her niece Norah Deluhery (left) and her sister Andrea Morris. Jannie and Andrea stayed in Washington with Norah, who was an Obama administration appointee in the Department of Agriculture for eight years.

Virginia Rundell (right) and her daughter Elisabeth, a senior at Drexel University. “As a mom, you never know if the values you try to instill in your children will stick—but this demonstration, and the conversations it prompted, proved to me that she’s been listening with her heart all along!”

Al Schmertzler, Julie Hibben and Lucretia Giese in Boston. “The crowds and their enthusiasm were tremendous. The trick will be to use that enthusiasm to effect change in the House and Senate,” Schmertzler said. “The attendees must make their goals painfully clear so that particularly Republicans know that if they do not change their positions, they will be voted out of office immediately just as the Democrats were in this recent election. 2018 will be the first test.”

Current and former Lincoln residents Houwa Ibrahim, Suzanne Karl, Rayna Caplan, Susan Taylor and Paula Waterman. “We packed into the Red Line car at Alewife—so tightly packed I couldn’t turn around,” Taylor said. “In the middle of the car, held up only by the press of other passengers, was a young mother with purple dyed braids and a still-toothless baby in a front pack dressed as SuperGirl. The ride was slow and the car began to get hot and stuffy. SuperGirl began to cry. Two young women who were squeezed up against the mother began to sing to SuperGirl: ‘Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…’ Concentric ripples of passengers began to join in the song until, when everyone reached the verse ‘I simply remember my favorite things,’ the entire car of at least 100 people shouted out ‘And then I don’t feel so bad!’ little SuperGirl had stopped crying, and everyone in the car was laughing. Solidarity, sisterhood, femininity at its best, and joy of common purpose.”

Sharon Antia and her granddaughter Armani Sims on the bus in Boston. Antia borrowed Armani’s pink Hello Kitty hat for her pussy hat.

The Washington march was “an amazing experience,” said Nancy Bergen. “There was a wonderful sense of unity and support for the democratic values that most of us want in our country. It was just incredible to look out at a sea of united people, many holding signs expressing why they were there. I wish there had been a place to put all the signs as they were so beautiful and creative. I experienced a great feeling of community, kindness and camaraderie among everyone there. Being at the march gave me hope that change can happen even in times like these, and that speaking up matters.”

Susan Pease brought a pair of signs to Boston.

Former Lincoln resident Isabel Peterson.

Various signs photographed by Barbara Slayter.

Last call for Women’s March anecdotes and photos

On Tuesday evening, The Lincoln Squirrel will compile and publish a collection of photos and words from Lincolnites who attended a Women’s March in Washington,D.C., Boston or any other location. If you haven’t already done so, send your words and pictures to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 24. Thanks!

Alice Waugh
Editor, The Lincoln Squirrel
www.lincolnsquirrel.com
617-710-5542 (m)  ~  781-259-0526 (h)
lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com

You otter be in pictures (Lincoln Through the Lens)

Fred Winchell spotted this otter slide on Farrar Pond a couple of weeks ago while out walking with his dog Fennec after a period when the icy was slushy. “They are very playful animals and will slide on their bellies over snow and ice,” says Conservation Director Tom Gumbart. “They can be fairly large, so when sliding, they leave a long swath of snow that’s pushed to the sides. Otters also can move a fair distance in the air when they leap, so that probably accounts for the lack of tracks at the bottom of the picture.” Photo by Fred Winchell

Readers may submit photos for consideration for Lincoln Through the Lens by emailing them to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. If your photo is published, you’ll receive credit in the Squirrel. Photos must be taken in Lincoln and include the date, location, and names of any people who are identifiable in the photo. Previously published photos can be viewed on the Lincoln Through the Lens page of the Lincoln Squirrel.

 

Two commercial properties moving toward next chapter

By Alice Waugh

Two prominent commercial properties in South Lincoln will see some changes—and perhaps new tenants—in the coming months.

152 Lincoln Rd., formerly occupied by the Cambridge Trust Co. until the branch closed its doors last year, was purchased in November by Cambridge West Partners for $1,015,000. Meanwhile, the new owners of the mansard-roofed building at 2 Lewis St. are continuing renovations they began after they bought it from Sejfi Protopapa in November 2015 for $850,000.

152 Lincoln Rd.

The new owner at 152 Lincoln Rd. has hired KeyPoint Partners to find a replacement occupant for the 3,375-square-foot space in a building that is also home to Barrett Sotheby’s International Realty and other tenants. Decades ago, the Community Store, Lincoln’s grocery store before the mall across the street was built, occupied the entire building, which was faced with pink stucco.

Although the Cambridge Trust Co. is obviously set up as a bank, many kinds of businesses would work there, said KeyPoint’s Michael Branton. “Because it’s a fully built-out bank branch with teller stations and a drive-up window, a financial services tenant could move in easily. However, the property is suitable for a variety of uses, from retail to professional services to office,” he said.

The distinctive Lewis Street property, also known as the Wyman Cook House dating from 1870, currently has four commercial tenants, though one of them—a field office of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)—will leave in the spring now that its work overseeing the Route 2 project is almost complete. The other three businesses (the Lincoln Barber Shop, Lincoln Town Cleaners and the Travel Station) are tenants at will, and “everyone can stay as long as they’d like to,” said Christina Van Vleck, who co-owns the building with her husband David Nydam Jr.

Back in South Lincoln’s commercial heyday, the building was home to a post office and general store. More recent tenants have included a ski and bike shop, a cafe, and educational software company Lexia Learning Systems.

2 Lewis St.

The top two floors have been vacant for years, and the Van Vlecks are renovating it with the goal of moving their family into the 2,800-square-foot space. They’re also planning some work on the exterior, including exterior paintwork to change the familiar mint green. “We will definitely paint it a new color, which will be a welcome change for everyone,” Van Vleck said with a laugh. Depending on budget, future plans may include replacing the vestibule that was “pasted in the front of the building” with a more traditional front porch, and replacing the aluminum siding with wood or fiber cement siding.

Once the Van Vlecks and their three-year-old move in, “we hope to participate more actively by being landlords and helping foster businesses,” said Van Vleck, a graphic designer who works out of her home.

The Van Vlecks are talking to potential tenants for the 1,900-square-foot space currently occupied by MassDOT and hope to have one in place by early summer. “We very much hope that the building provides space for business owners living in Lincoln or neighboring communities to work close to home and, ideally, provides a service that meets a need within the local community,” Van Vleck said.