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

97 residents endorse Jim Hutchinson for Select Board

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,

Abigail Adams
Rob Ahlert
Chris Andrysiak
Sarah Andrysiak
Loretta Arthur
Lisa Baer
Michelle Barnes
Emily Parker Beekman
Alex Benik
Becky Bermont
Sarah Bishop
Paul Blanchfield
Pam Boardman
Kim Bodnar
Jessica Callow
Thomas F. Casey
Ted Chan
Lindsay Clemens
Marshall Clemens
Chris Dale
Erica Darnall
Greg Darnall
Moha Desai
Jim Fleming
Nancy Fleming
Amy Funkenstein
Philana Gnatowski
Andy Gnazzo
Trintje Gnazzo
Rob Graves
Cheryl Gray
Adam Greenberg

Jennifer Hashley
Jim Henderson
Nancy Henderson
Lis Herbert
Zach Herbert
Brian Jalet
Kim Jalet
Audrey Kalmus
Elizabeth Kelly
Jon Kelman
Mike Killick
Sarah Killick
Stephen Kutenplon
Lauren Lane
Spencer Lane
Jake Lehrhoff
Jackie Lenth
Pete Lowy
Michael Mach
Nancy Marshall
Peyton Marshall
Lucy Maulsby
John Mendelson
Peter von Mertens
Melissa Moses
Patty Mostue
Kathleen P. Nichols
Craig Nicholson
Katie Nicholson
John Nolan
Lydia Ogden
Andy Ory

Linda Hammett Ory
Jason Packineau
Jessica Packineau
Jason Paige
Susanna Paterson
Christine Pillar
Robert Pillar
Neal Rajdev
Ginger Reiner
Heather Ring
Dana Robbat
Jenny Rogers
Matt Rogers
Travis Roland
Brad Rosen
Aldis Russell
Greg Schmergel
Joanna Schmergel
Cindy Sheriff
Victoria Slingerland
Erica Steckler
Andy Stevenson
Hannah Stevenson
Jeannine Taylor
Laura Taylor
Katy Walker
Tom Walker
Alice “Ty” Webber
Ben Webber
Irene Weigel
Lynn Weigel, MD

“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.

Property sales in January 2022

1 Harvest Circle — BSL/BN Groves CCRC LLC of Lincoln to NELP-Commons LLC of Topsfield for $70,852,153 (January 6)

14 Todd Pond Rd. — Rodger Weismann Jr. to Eric and Sarah Ward for $3,215,000 (January 6)

146B Lincoln Rd. — Stephen Smith to Janet and Meagan Maloney for $515,000 (January 10)

263 Lincoln Rd. — Gail J. Matot Trust to Fan Ye and Xueyuan Wu for $1,500,000 (January 11)

19 Oak Meadow Rd. — Robert Valleau to Arjun and Anupam Mathur for $1,520,000 (January 19)

8 Boyce Farm Rd. — Anson James to Seth and Tracy Grandeau for $1,180,000 (January 26)

6 Short Hill Rd. — Mildred Cooper to Burton Hanley for $995,000 (January 28)

 

News acorns

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.

My Turn: Payne endorses Hutchinson for Select Board

Fellow residents,

I’m writing to endorse Jim Hutchinson for Select Board, and I urge you to vote for him in the town election on March 28 (the Monday after Town Meeting).

This is an easy endorsement to write: I’ve worked with Jim closely for a number of years on Lincoln’s Finance Committee and other town projects, and I’m constantly impressed with his expertise and understanding of financial and management issues in our town. Residents may not fully understand how much he’s led and contributed, from a revised OPEB “level-budgeting” policy at FinCom, to playing a key role reviewing and negotiating our complex solar power purchase agreements for our new school building, to learning the municipal water business (probably more than he bargained for!) and getting operations there back on track.

When Jim was talking to me about joining FinCom, he said (paraphrasing), “If you want to understand how a town really works, follow the finances.” While there’s much more to the Select Board than just business and finance stuff, I have a hard time imagining someone with a better perspective and instinct on Lincoln’s opportunities, challenges, issues, and constraints than Jim. He’s been a model for volunteering, analytical thinking, active listening, problem-solving, dry humor, and “giving back.” We’re all lucky to have him.

After I wrote this, a few other residents that feel the same way about Jim asked to add their names below. We all urge you to vote for Jim in the March 28 Select Board election.

Sincerely,

Andy Payne
83 Tower Rd.

“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.

Candidate forum highlights housing, schools, and diversity

Candidates in the March 28 town election shared their views on the proposed community center, the Lincoln-Sudbury regional agreement, South Lincoln, and diversity and inclusion at a March 16 forum — the first public event held in the renovated Brooks auditorium.

Four of the races (Select Board, Planning Board, Lincoln School Committee and L-S School Committee or LSSC) are contested, and the Lincoln PTO, the forum’s organizer, addressed questions specific to those groups of candidates. The event, which began with introductions by all 16 candidates who attended, can be viewed here. An earlier forum for the LSSC candidates sponsored by the Sudbury League of Women Voters can be viewed here.

Community center cost is an issue

Select Board candidates Jim Hutchinson and Adam Hogue, who are vying for the seat being vacated by James Craig, said they supported the community center but expressed concern about how to pay for it (although many residents at the State of the Town meeting in November 2021 supported pursuing the project aggressively before costs went even higher). The project is now estimated to cost around $25 million and comes on the heels of a $93 million investment in the Lincoln School.

Hogue said he was against raising taxes to fund a community center, something that would be necessary if it were to be paid for primarily through bonding. “We have to look at different funding options,” he said, adding that the town could consider “pushing off other capital projects so we have to borrow less… This is going to be an expensive project. We have to be very conscious about how we actually fund those [projects] because our taxes have gone up quite a bit in town.”

The projected cost increase for the community center (first pegged at about $15 million in 2018) “has caused a bit of sticker shock for a bunch of us,” said Hutchinson, a former Finance Committee member. “We should take another look at the scope of the project and see if there’s any way we can maybe move some of the functions to our newly renovated school or other spaces in town and keep costs under control somewhat.” 

The town’s debt stabilization fund is another potential source of funding, as are private donations, though the town is not permitted to actively solicit donations for public projects, Hutchinson said. “I want to have dialogue with the community and do what you all want, not what I want to do.”

L-S regional agreement

Earlier this month, the L-S School Committee established a subcommittee to look at the regional agreement governing how funding for the high school is apportioned between Lincoln and Sudbury. That agreement has not been reexamined in many years.

The agreement “should be treated almost like a marriage, and what makes a marriage stronger is trust, respect, and communication,” said LSSC candidate Maura Carty. Budgeting timelines in the two towns have diverged, and the superintendent of schools must spend considerable time making both operating and capital budget requests to both towns. “I’d like to give the superintendent more time to spend with our students” while streamlining the budget process, Carty said.

Current LSSC chair Cara Endyke Doran agreed that a review of the agreement was overdue, saying the committee should update it to reflect “standard legal language and best practices.”

“There’s been a lot of talk across the river in Sudbury that’s really alarmist” when the subject of reviewing the regional agreement comes up, said incumbent Kevin Matthews (all three candidates vying for two open seats are Sudbury residents). “It’s a contract between two towns, but it’s also an opportunity to build more trust between the towns. There’s no way that anyone is going to snowball the other one in something like this.”

South Lincoln zoning changes

The future of South Lincoln in light of the state Housing Choice Act was issue #1 for the three Planning Board candidates competing for two seats. The board and its SLPAC subcommittee were working on ideas for rezoning the area to encourage more housing and commercial development even before last year’s passage of the state law, which (if enforced in its current form) would require Lincoln to allow at least 750 housing units within half a mile of the commuter rail station. They went back to the drawing board after residents complained two years ago that an initial rezoning proposal would give the Planning Board too much power at the expense of Town Meeting.

All three candidates emphasized that any changes will have to be approved by residents, not just the Planning Board. “We’re all ears to hear anyone’s suggestion,” Gladstone said. “Our job is to facilitate bringing as much information to as many people as possible so the town can decide.” Though some fear that the “we’re going to make a decision and suddenly something is going to be foisted on the town, that is simply not the case.” 

“If it does require some rezoning, the town will make the final decision,” said Ephraim Flint, a challenger who previously served on the board.

“South Lincoln is very important to the town, and whatever changes we make there, we will be living with for many, many years,” Planning Board Chair Margaret Olson observed. “I’m looking forward to hearing about more options and tools to help us all understand what something might even look like, being able to visualize and understand what this means and what the implications are.”

Mental health, diversity, and social issues in schools

The two Lincoln School Committee candidates (both newcomers running for a vacant seat) said they supported the school district’s work around AIDE (antiracism, inclusion, diversity and equity). “We have to have smart educational accountability. We spend a lot of money and we have to be sure everyone is included and gets a good education,” said Joseph Dwyer.

Kim Rajdev implied that the goals of AIDE are not well served by having children grouped by ability. “It really pains me when I hear a very young child say ‘I’m not good at math’,” she said. The schools need to “move away from content and more toward adaptability and teamwork skills… thinking on our feet.”

Later in the forum where each contested candidate was asked about the most significant issue facing their board, Dwyer echoed Rajdev’s sentiment. “What students specifically learn today will be irrelevant as a flip phone 20 years from now. We have to teach them how to learn, not just regurgitating numbers and facts. They need to learn how to learn, analyze a situation, improvise, adapt, and overcome that situation.”

Mental health for teachers as well as students in the wake of the pandemic’s disruptions is also a central issue, Rajdev said. “We need to have deeper learning, but in a measured way and check in with teachers to make sure it’s not overwhelming for them,” she said.

The L-S School Committee candidates agreed on the importance of addressing mental health issues among students. The high school needs more data and metrics on this issue, Carty and Endyke Doran said. 

“The services are there,” but a majority of students don’t feel comfortable asking for help with mental health. More school-wide programs and events would help with that issue as well as building a sense of inclusiveness and confidence among students, Carty said.

Matthews supported improving student services but observed that “all of that needs to be paid for,” which is challenging in a time of declining enrollment and revenue at the high school. “It’s important  for us to be very cognizant of how we’re going to take care of students who have been impacted by the pandemic mentally and emotionally and have them be educated in a way that’s equal to everything else.”

“We need to know what’s working and not working so we can appropriately allocate funds and resources for our students,” Endyke Doran said.

The School Committee candidates were also asked if parents should have input on how the schools present information on controversial social issues to students. Many districts around the country are arguing over how (or even whether) to teach about topics such as race and homosexuality, although those issues were not mentioned specifically in the Lincoln forum.

“Yes, it’s our kids, and we should have input,” although local schools must be guided by state education standards, Rajdev said. If a parent is concerned about age-appropriate teaching material on controversial topics, “that discussion should be happening with the teacher and the superintendent. The School Committee is there to make sure the district is following the strategic plan and is supporting the administration” as its board of directors.

“There’s something that should be 100% clear: anything that is taught at school should be public to the parents,” said Dwyer, adding that he was recently told that he would have to sign a nondisclosure agreement if a school board were to tell him what was being taught. “That’s wrong. Parents have the primary responsibility. It’s very important for parents to know everything that is being taught, chapter and verse.”

Housing and diversity

Both Select Board candidates identified the housing crisis as the most pressing issue facing the board. “We need more housing and I do believe we can afford to do those housing units down there” as directed by the Housing Choice Act, Hogue said. “We can’t move slow on this; there’s a housing crisis in this area, and we need to develop and pass more housing options for people… [if] we’re going to get serious about this as a community.”

While Hutchinson said he supported the act’s intentions, he said it’s flawed in its current form. “The state needs feedback from us on how to fix this. Seven hundred and fifty units is not appropriate for our town… I believe residents would like to help do our share with the housing situation, but let’s get the implications of this act right first.”

Two of the Planning Board candidates agreed that housing is the biggest issue for the board right now. “The housing crisis is real. We all want South Lincoln to be a more vibrant place, and that probably requires having more housing there,” Olson said. “This will consume a great deal of the Planning Board’s time over the next couple of years.”

“What’s being asked of the town is some that’s desirable in some sense, but the scale is out of proportion to what we can achieve,” Flint said. Because of two-acre zoning and other  factors, most of Lincoln’s housing “tends to be upper-end and that’s significantly changed the economic demography of the town. How do you deal with that?”

Gladstone said he felt strongly about getting the community center built and hoped that additional development would help pay for some of it. 

“It all goes back to housing,” Hogue said when he and Hutchinson were asked what they would do to help Lincoln become more inclusive and diverse. “You can talk about diversity all you want, but if people can’t move here and afford to live here, we’re not going to have diversity.”

“We have to put our money where our mouth is,” said Hutchinson. As a member of the working group deciding how to spend federal pandemic relief money, he said he supported creating two new AIDE-related positions, one to guide teachers and a consultant to help build the town’s diversity programs. “It’s not easy to figure out what to do on some of these issues, and I’m looking forward to learning lessons [from the consultant] on best practices.”

News from the pews

First Parish in Lincoln (UU/UCC)

4 and 14 Bedford Rd.

Worship
  • Sunday, March 20 at 10 a.m., in-person in the sanctuary at 4 Bedford Rd. and live-streaming on Zoom (see website for registration and links). This Sunday: “Finding Faith in the Little Things,” a Celtic-tradition inspired worship service.
Religious Exploration for Children and Youth
  • Sunday, March 20 at 10 a.m., in-person in the Parish House at 14 Bedford Rd. Join us for “Sunday School of Magic and Mystery” as we consider the role of prophesy in religion and learn some “Divination” techniques.
Beyond Sunday

Details and Zoom links available at www.fplincoln.org.

  • Thursday, March 17 at 10 a.m. — Coffee with the minister via Zoom.
  • Thursday, March 17 (and Thursdays in Lent) from 12–1 p.m​. — Sacred Texts: From Jesus to Christ. Join us for a Lenten sacred texts series exploring the different ways Jesus was viewed in the early church. We will trace the origins of the “doctrine of Christ” and think about the different ways we are encountering the divine in our own lives this Lent.
  • Friday, March 18 at 1:30 p.m. — Quiet Walks. This Friday, the Quiet Walkers will meet on Old Sudbury Road in Lincoln about a quarter-mile west of the toy rocking horses. Once more, we will cover some trails that we’ve been on before (including up on the drumlin) as well as some new territory.  The walk itself will take slightly over an hour with some elevation changes.
  • Tuesday, March 22 at 4 p.m. — Weekly Meditation. Contact Joan Kimball at selenejck@gmail.com to receive the weekly meditation emails. Please note all these ways you may join. Buddhist chanting begins at 3:45 p.m.
  • Wednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m. (in person) — Lenten Contemplative Services. Continue the Lenten season with a special midweek service featuring contemplative music, readings, and a time of prayer and ritual. The season of Lent offers a time to reflect on where we are and to return to that which grounds us. This service will be offered in the Sanctuary at 4 Bedford Rd.

St. Julia Parish (Catholic)

St. Julia Church, 374 Boston Post Road, Weston
St. Joseph Church, 142 Lincoln Road, Lincoln

St. Joseph Church in Lincoln will re-open for Sunday Mass starting on April 3. The 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday Masses will be celebrated at St. Joseph’s in Lincoln.

Worship
  • Weekend Masses — Saturday at 4 p.m.; Sunday at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 5 p.m. All Masses continue at St. Julia Church in Weston for now and are live-streamed. We will continue to post Masses on Facebook and our website.
  • Weekday Mass — Monday through Thursday at 8 a.m. at St. Julia Church, Weston
  • Lenten Confession and Mass —Wednesday evening confession at 5 p.m. followed by Mass at 5:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Church in Lincoln continues through Lent, with April 6th being the final time.
  • Eucharist Adoration — Friday, March 18, noon–1 p.m. in St. Julia Church
Faith Formation for Children and Youth
  • Sunday, March 20 — grades 1–8 and high school session. Grade 4 will host Mass with a gathering afterwards.
  •  Monday, March 21 — grades 1–3 grade 5 (no grade 4; they will have attended the Mass and gathering on Sunday). 
Stations of the Cross
  • Booklets for a self-guided Stations of the Cross are available in the back of St. Julia Church, Weston. The church is open for Stations on weekdays from 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.  

St. Anne’s in the Fields (Episcopal)

147 Concord Road, Lincoln

Worship
  • Sunday, March 20th at 8 a.m. — spoken Holy Eucharist (in person)
  • Sunday, March 20th at 10 a.m.  — Holy Eucharist with choir (in-person and live-streamed at www.stanneslincoln.org)

Town spending measures for fiscal 2023 outlined

The proposed town budget for fiscal 2023 (click to enlarge).

Following are some of the spending-related warrant articles that will be voted on at the Annual Town Meeting on Saturday, March 26.

The proposed town budget for fiscal 2023 is 3.0% higher than last year’s. A summary (right) can be found on page 8 of the Financial Section and Warrant, with a detailed breakdown beginning on page 57.

Voters will be asked to approve spending $1.18 million from Community Preservation Act funds on 14 line items. Debt service for the Town Office Building renovation ($304,660) and the Wang property purchase ($111,550) accounts for 35% of the total. The largest other requests are $310,000 for Town Hall athletic field drainage improvements, $205,000 for library parapet repairs, and $119,950 for improvements to access to Codman Community Farm (in concert with $210,000 already approved for driveway work in 2020 but never spent due to the pandemic).

Projects that will be funded by the Community Preservation Fund if voters approve at the March 26 Town Meeting.

Debt service for fiscal 2023, excluding debt service for Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and after application of a proposed Capital Planning Committee offset, is $4,32, representing a very slight decrease versus FY22. About 90% of the town’s debt service is for the school building debt, most of which was bonded in February 2019. The second tranche of bonds were issued this month, with payments starting in September 2022. 

The Capital Planning Committee recommends spending $621,094 for 17 items, the most expensive of which is $240,000 for a heavy hook truck. The other items range in price from$4,902 for Lincoln’s share of a skid steer loader for Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School to $60,000 for repairing the roof on one of the Hartwell pods.

Proposed cash capital expenditures (click to enlarge).

The committee is also seeking $154,866 for classroom, town buildings and library maintenance, plus $350,000 to remove the modular classrooms on the school campus. The cost for that removal plus field restoration are expected to be fully offset by future proceeds from sale of the modular classrooms. Another school district has offered to buy them for $550,000.

Advisory shoulders coming to Farrar Road

An example of a sign about advisory shoulders. See Farrar Road illustrations below.

Painted advisory shoulders will appear next month on Farrar Road as a one-year pilot project aimed at improving safety on certain roads in Lincoln.

Advisory shoulders are lanes marked with white dashed lines on either side of a road to indicate where bikes and pedestrians have the right of way. Vehicles can cross the lines to avoid traffic coming from the opposite direction but must yield to oncoming traffic if there are “vulnerable users” (bicyclists, pedestrians, or any other non-vehicle) ahead or alongside.

In November 2020, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) presented a proposal for trying advisory shoulders on Baker Bridge Road. “Ultimately, the working group decided, with resident input, that Baker Bridge Road is a complicated road, with sharp corners and hills, and we don’t collectively have enough experience with advisory shoulders in Lincoln yet to make that our pilot installation,” BPAC member Ginger Reiner said on Wednesday. Farrar Road is a walking route for residents that road as well as Oxbow, Route 126, Farrar Pond Village and the Lincoln Ridge condos, as well as being a cycling route. “We had broad support from abutters, the DPW, and police that Farrar was an appropriate location for advisory shoulders.”

Advisory shoulders have been proven to reduce vehicle speed, lower stress for those on foot or bike, and increase safety for all road users, according to the BPAC, adding that a recent study showed that advisory shoulders reduce vehicular crashes by 40%.

“It doesn’t change the way folks should use the road — it’s not like a stop sign or speed limit. It just advises about what’s safe,” BPAC member Bob Wolf told the Select Board in June 2021. 

The measure has been implemented in cities and towns across the nation as well as in Canada. Click here to see a video of how it works, or click here or an illustration. The photo gallery below shows how Farrar Road will look.

The Farrar Road design has been approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA). A crosswalk to the Route 126 roadside path will be installed at a later date. BPAC members will reach out in August to collect feedback on the Farrar Road treatment from all roadway users.

The pilot is a collaboration of BPAC, Roadway & Traffic Committee, Department of Public Works, Police Department, Select Board, and the FHA. Anyone with questions or comments, please email lincoln-bpac@googlegroups.com.

Click on images for closeups views of each segment of Farrar Road:

Farrar AS design
Farrar AS design
Farrar AS design
Farrar AS design
Farrar AS design

My Turn: Mitchell endorses Endyke-Doran for L-S School Committee

Dear Lincolnites,

In the upcoming town election, I encourage you to vote for Cara Endyke-Doran for the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (L-S) School Committee. Cara is the current chair of the committee and, since becoming chair, has improved communications with the L-S parent community by sending more frequent updates and sharing goals and progress the L-S School Committee has made to support the school’s mission.

All four of Cara’s children have graduated from or are currently attending L-S. This provides an important insider’s view to the pulse of the students, parents, and staff.  She has an openness and willingness to hear constituents’ ideas, concerns, and feedback, enters into challenging discussions when necessary, and works to improve the school experience for all students regardless of what town they are from.

Over the course of the last three years, Cara Endyke-Doran has been involved in the information gathering and decision making surrounding Covid-19. As a public health professional, she provided valuable public health knowledge and perspective to the L-S district. In 2020, during the first summer of the pandemic, Cara provided leadership in advocating to Gov. Baker and the state Department of Early and Secondary Education regarding testing practices and protocols for local districts to help get students in school for the opening of the 2020-2021 school year. She initiated and led the committee’s Covid-19 Testing Subcommittee which put in place pool testing well before it was offered by the state. 

As chair of the Lincoln School Committee, I have been able to work with Cara and find her style collegial and collaborative. She openly shares lessons learned and thinks about the links between the “feeder schools” of the Lincoln and Sudbury middle school programs. While Cara lives in Sudbury, she represents the interests of both communities.

The last two years have been complicated to say the least, but Cara approaches her work on the L-S School Committee with enthusiasm and has a balanced, problem-solving approach. I strongly support Cara Endyke-Doran for LSRHS School Committee and know that she will continue to have a positive impact on the students, staff and families of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. I hope you will cast your ballot for Cara, too! Thank you.

Sincerely,

Tara Mitchell
Chair, Lincoln K-8 School Committee
67 Sandy Pond Rd.

“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.

My Turn: Shepard seeks support for election as library trustee

Dear fellow Lincolnites,

I am running for the position of trustee of the Lincoln Library. Although the race is uncontested, I ask for your support.

As a trustee, I support the library’s vision to be “recognized as one of the town’s premier intellectual and cultural centers, serving as a focus for lifelong learning and literacy.” I know firsthand the important link libraries play in nurturing a community’s social, informational, cultural, and intellectual life. After retiring from educational publishing, I launched an encore writing career for young readers. I have given many books and writing workshops at public and school libraries as an author.

I served on the Friends of the Lincoln Library for six years, including one year as chair. And I represent Lincoln on the Massachusetts Special Commission of the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution.

I look forward to supporting civic Lincoln as a library trustee by working collaboratively with other trustees, library staff, town departments, and organizations to manage our iconic New England library building and grounds that anchor Lincoln’s Historical District. Thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,

Ray Shepard
37 Beaver Pond Rd., Lincoln

“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.