Dear WIDE and the residents of Lincoln,

First, I want to publicly state that I fully support WIDE Lincoln [Welcome, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity] and its current work. Whether I win this election or not, I look forward to this group’s reports and recommendations to help make Lincoln a more welcoming town. I believe that it is important to have groups and commissions with different stakeholders in town to advise and make recommendations to the Board of Selects to update the policies and rules that need to be updated.

By now, I think everyone knows my stance on housing: we need more and diverse housing so people can afford to live in our great town. In addition, I agree with WIDE that building more housing isn’t the only solution and that more work needs to be done.

If I am elected as the next member of the Board of Selects, one of my proposals is to advocate for more community events in town and to make these events free so that they are accessible to all. I believe building community through a wide variety of events would be beneficial for the town. I would also advocate to work with community partners like LincFam, the schools, churches, Lincoln Veterans Association, Council on Aging, and other organizations to help reach out to the various communities in our town. When planning these events, it is important to welcome people onto the planning committees so that we can have new and diverse ideas for these events. Growing up in Lowell, the wide variety of community events helped bring various community stakeholders together and I think increasing these types of events in Lincoln would be beneficial.

Also, I would look to invest in our town website and allow our town organizations to be on the website so people can seek out organizations they might be interested in so they can get involved. For new members of our community, I would support a welcome packet to new residents to showcase our town organizations and events, so newcomers feel welcomed to the community.

Lastly, we must have great schools that serve all families. As a member of the School Committee, I have advocated for language in the school’s AIDE [Antiracism, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity) policy to address the huge achievement gap between various subgroups in our district, as well as the hiring of an [AIDE] HR director to recruit and retain diverse staff. I have also advocated for expanded preschool so every child has access to a quality education from the start.

While housing, in my opinion, is the number one issue facing us currently, the work doesn’t stop there, and we must continuously work to make everyone feel connected in Lincoln. While these conversations may be difficult at times, we can’t shy away from them. Anyone that knows me knows that I will not shy away from having these difficult conversations.

Please reach out to me if anyone would like further details.

Sincerely,

Adam M. Hogue, candidate for Select Board
50 Lincoln Rd.
978-828-6184

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Dear Fellow Lincolnites,

We are writing to endorse Jim Hutchinson for the Select Board.

Jim has served the town of Lincoln in many capacities and has done so with respect, dedication, and humility. He has consistently shown that he has the best interests of the town and its residents in mind, with no political agenda.

Jim was the treasurer of Codman Farm for three years, a member of the Finance Committee for seven years (as chair for two of those years), and most recently has served on the Green Energy Committee for eight years and on the Water Commission for two years. Jim is an exceptional listener, thoughtful team member, problem solver, and consensus builder; a true leader of Lincoln and what our town embodies. We are fortunate to have him running for Select Board.

We hope you join us in voting for Jim on Monday, March 28.

With gratitude,

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Lloyd to speak on income inequality and racism

Glynn Lloyd

“Redressing Injustices of the Past: Building Wealth in Communities of Color” is the title of a Zoom talk by Glynn Lloyd, Executive Director, Foundation for Business Equity on Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m. Income inequality and financial insecurity are foundational to structural racism. The Federal Reserve cites the median net worth of a White family as $171,000 compared to $17,600 for a Black family. How are banks and financial institutions making amends for the redlining practices of the past? To what extent do lending barriers still exist for Black and Brown families and businesses? A pioneer in the field of transformative urban economic development, Lloyd helped found the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts and most recently the Coalition for an Equitable Economy.

Hosted by the First Parish in Lincoln Racial Justice Advocates and co-sponsored by the Lincoln Public Library and Lincoln WIDE. Click here to register.

Talk on environmental and racial justice

Staci Rubin, Vice President, Environmental Justice at the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), will give a talk titled “Environmental Justice is Racial Justice: Centering Equity in the Climate Movement of our Region” with on Thursday, March 31 at 7 p.m. Introduction by Lincoln resident Andy Falender, Senior Advisor at CLF. Click here to register for this virtual meeting. Sponsored by The First Parish in Lincoln and the Conservation Law Foundation. Cosponsors include Lincoln Public Library, Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Lincoln WIDE, Mothers Out Front Lincoln, 350 Mass MetroWest Node, St. Anne’s Climate Justice Ministry, and MetroWest Climate Solutions.

Middle school stages  “High School Musical Jr.”

We’ve all heard the phrase “we’re all in this together” countless times in the last two years, and now we can hear it in a joyful, new way: in the Lincoln middle school performance of Disney’s “High School Musical Jr.,” featuring many familiar songs from the movie, including “We’re All in This Together.” The show will feature a cast and crew of 60 creative and dedicated students in grades 5–8. Shows will be on Wednesday, March 30 at 3 p.m., and Thursday and Friday, March 31 and April 1 at 7 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door ($10 for adults $10, $5 for students/seniors/LPS employees). Running time is approximately one hour with no intermission.

Kristin Hall, the show’s director, did two shows with the middle schoolers during the pandemic. The first, “Charlotte’s Web” in April 2021, had the actors record their scenes while apart, and everything was then edited together and streamed to ticket holders. Then in December 2021, the students did “A Wrinkle in Time,” where the actors performed masked and together (but distanced) and ticket holders were again able to watch over a weekend.

Domestic Violence Roundtable to host discussion on “Maid”

The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable will host a conversation about the book and TV series Maid on Tuesday, April 5 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. In addition to being one of the most popular shows on Netflix, Maid is also a best-seller written by Stephanie Land about her experiences as a single mother and housecleaner after fleeing an abusive relationship. The discussion will focus on the portrayal of domestic abuse and a survivor’s journey after leaving their relationship. 

Reading the book or watching the series is recommended but not required to attend. Copies of Maid are available at the Lincoln Public Library as well as Wayland and Goodnow libraries. The books were donated by the Roundtable in memory of Nalini Goyal, a Roundtable member and a founding member of Gifts of Hope Unlimited. The program is free and open to all, but registration is required.