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

News acorns

Henry Purcell Society concert on Friday

Join the Henry Purcell Society of Boston and the Filigree Ensemble for “The Inevitability of Love” — a candlelit concert probing the multifaceted nature of desire and love through a series of dramatic cantatas and duets by Scarlatti, Purcell, Morley, and Henry Lawes — on Friday, Feb. 21 at 8:00pm at the First Parish in Lincoln’s stone church (14 Bedford Rd). Also featured:  Cullen O’Neil on cello and Andrus Madsen on harpsichord. Tickets are $40; click here to purchase.  

Forum on reimagining healthcare

Joining state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, Rep. Carmine Gentile, and others at “Reimagining Healthcare: A Community Forum” on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7:00pm at the Goodnow Library in Sudbury. The forum, hosted by the Sudbury, Lincoln, Maynard and Wayland Democratic Town Committees, will feature three experts on healthcare and an in-depth discussion and Q&A on universal healthcare and Medicare for all. Click here for details on panelists, and click here to RSVP.

Rep. Gentile’s office is also looking for summer interns, and he’s especially interested in candidates from towns in his district, which includes Sudbury, Lincoln, Concord, Wayland, and Marlborough. Click here to learn more. Anyone with questions about the internships or the Feb. 27 event may email Gentile’s aide Ravi Simon at ravisimon@gmail.com.

Photo exhibit by Lincolnite

Lincoln resident Linda Hammett Ory is exhibiting her photos in Concord Arts 2025 Members’ Juried Exhibition, along with painter Tracey J. Maroni. Linda’s love of nature is her strongest photographic inspiration, and many of the photos in her Hidden Treasure series are taken while exploring the landscape of Lincoln and Concord. The exhibition runs from February 27 to March 27, and the opening reception is on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 5:30pm. Click here for more information.

Hearing on water rates

The Lincoln Board of Water Commissioners will hold a hearing on water rates on Tuesday, March 4 at 7:00pm. The hearing is remote only; click here to join the meeting. Water Department Superintendent Darin LaFalam said the proposed rate will be revealed at the hearing.

The Water Department raised rates by 3% last year  zero rate increases over the past 4 years until a 3% increase last summer. Though our cash flow was positive the previous year, 3% increase was required by the state DOR to satisfy their requirements for our FY25 budget. However, after a financial and staffing crisis that came to a head in 2019, rates went up by 28% in 2020.

Workshop dealing with substance use

The Great Meadows Public Health Collaborative is looking to engage people with lived experience with substance use (opioids, alcohol, prescription medication, etc.) for an art-making and audio storytelling workshop facilitated by the Opioid Project during the weekend of April 12-13. This workshop provides a safe space for individuals impacted by the opioid epidemic — including those who have lost a loved one to overdose, individuals in recovery, first responders, front-line workers, and nonmedical caregivers — to process and share their experiences through creative expression. For more details and to sign up, click here.

Historical Society has new website

The Lincoln Historical Society recently unveiled its revamped website in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the beginning of organized resistance to British rule. The site features an expansive overview of the town’s history with an ever-expanding collection of historic photos, documents, and materials as well as information on Lincoln250 and other events, an online bookstore, and their “Did You Know? blog.

Legal notices in the Lincoln Squirrel OK’d by state

An example of a legal notice in a newspaper.

Thanks to passage of a state law late last year, the town may now publish legal notices in the Lincoln Squirrel without also having to pay for publication in a print newspaper. 

State law requires that certain legal notices must be published in a print newspaper, including municipal notices of upcoming public hearings, requests for bids, etc., as well as property foreclosures, notices informing creditors of dissolving corporations, etc. This closes off an important source of potential revenue for digital-only news sites like the Lincoln Squirrel and does a disservice to residents who no longer get their information from hollowed-out legacy news sources.

However, Lincoln is now exempt from the print requirement. Go to the Legal Notices tab at the top of every Squirrel web page to see the notices for the last 12 months, including this one from the Lincoln Historical Commission. Note that this part of the website is always available to nonsubscribers as well as subscribers.

This all started with a citizen’s petition that was circulated by the Lincoln Squirrel and approved by residents at Town Meeting in March 2024. The Select Board subsequently sent a home rule petition to the state legislature, which approved House bill H.4664 (sponsored by Assistant House Minority Leader Alice Peisch and Carmine Gentile, and Assistant Senate Majority Leader Mike Barrett of Lexington) late last year. It was signed by Gov. Healey in January 2025 — an unexpectedly swift process. In the same session, similar bills for Arlington, Bedford, and Franklin were approved (learn more here). Many thanks to our state legislators, town officials and residents for their support!

Meanwhile, the Squirrel and other members of the Eastern Mass. News Alliance are still pushing for a statewide law change so other towns don’t have to go through the same home-rule petition process. It’s not easy because the newspaper industry is understandably fighting to preserve one of their last steady sources of revenue, but it’s probably only a matter of time in a rapidly evolving media environment.

Legal notice: Lincoln Historic District Commission hearing

Lincoln Historic District Commission 

The Historic District Commission will hold a virtual online public hearing at 7:30pm on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, to consider the application of 68 Conant Rd., M/P 168-1-0, to replace several windows and add a new one. Anyone wishing to be heard on this matter should be present at the designated time and place. 

 

Police log for February 7–17, 2025

February 7

Hanscom Drive (1:19am) — Hanscom Air Force Base reported a single-vehicle crash near the Sartain Gate. Officers assisted until the vehicle could be removed.

Lincoln Road (7:27am) — An officer assisted a motorist who had pulled to the side of the road.

February 8

Concord Road (12:55am) — An officer checked on a pedestrian walking on the side of the road. The person required no assistance and continued on their way.

Old Sudbury Road (6:58am) — A motorist reported the railroad gates were stuck in the “down” position. Officer remained on scene for approximately one hour until a representative from Keolis arrived and reset the switch.

Lincoln Gas and Auto (11:19am) — Officers responded after the owner called requesting police respond for an out-of-control customer. Officers remained on scene until the customer left.

Lincoln Road (3:30pm) — A resident turned in several model rocket ignitors to the Fire Department. The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad was requested to examine the items. A controlled detonation was conducted a short time later at the DPW.

Reiling Pond Road (6:51 p.m.) — A resident reported their dog was missing. The dog was found safe a short time later.

Cambridge Turnpike eastbound (11:30pm) — The Lincoln Fire Department responded to the report of a vehicle fire in Lexington.

February 9

South Great Road (7:07pm) — A caller reported a Doordash driver mistakenly drove over their backyard, possibly damaging their septic tank. Police and Fire units responded to the scene.

February 10

Ridge Road (6:27pm) — The Fire Department assisted a resident with a residential lockout.

Minuteman Tech High School (7:45pm) — An officer spoke to a person regarding an ongoing situation.

February 11

Old Sudbury Road (6:25am) — A motorist reported the railroad gates were stuck in the “down” position. Officer remained on scene for approximately 40 minutes until a representative from Keolis arrived and reset the switch.

Transfer Station (7:19am) — An officer assisted the State Police with the transfer of an item.

Ridge Road (1:32pm) — An officer spoke to person regarding an ongoing situation.

Tower Road (3:29pm) — An officer spoke to an individual regarding a possible online scam.

Greenridge Lane (7:43pm) — An officer served court paperwork.

February 12

Wells Road (4:13pm) — An officer served an individual court paperwork.

February 13

Old Sudbury Road (7:54am) — Officers responded for a problem with the railroad gates. They remained on scene for approximately an hour until Keolis reset the malfunctioning switch.

Wells Road (4:43pm) — An officer spoke with an individual regarding an ongoing situation.

February 14

Old Sudbury Road (7:22am) — The railroad gates were malfunctioning again. An officer remained on scene until Keolis arrived to reset the switch.

Conant Road (9:33am) — A vehicle had driven off the road after encountering a large section of the road covered in ice. A tow was required to remove the vehicle.

South Great Road (10:37am) — An officer encountered a large tent that had blown into the roadway. Weston Police were asked to assist.

Lincoln Road (12:19pm) — A motorist called about a person walking in the roadway. An officer spoke to the individual, who had opted to walk in the roadway rather than the ice-covered sidewalk.

February 15

Old Sudbury Road (7:43am) — The railroad gates were stuck in the “down” position for approximately one hour. Officers remained on scene until Keolis arrived.

Minuteman Technical High School (4:30pm) — A motorist reported being locked in the parking lot. An officer was able to respond and unlock the gate.

Concord Road (10:50pm) — Officers responded for a noise complaint and advised the homeowner.

February 16

Bypass Road (11:02am) — A minor motor vehicle crash was reported. The Massachusetts State Police were already on scene and assisting the operator.

Old Concord Road (6:21pm) — A caller reported that a home under construction was causing water to collect in the roadway. An officer checked the areal the road was passable, and the DPW and Building Department were notified.

February 17

North Great Road (9:27am) — A caller reported a one-car crash. The operator was not injured and the vehicle was towed from the scene.

South Great Road (11:56am) — The Lincoln Fire Department responded to a residence for a reported oven fire. The crew was able to extinguish the fire.

Codman Road (6:21pm) — An officer provided a courtesy transport to a resident.

News acorns

Coming up at the library

GearTick robotics demonstration
Wednesday, Feb. 19 from 2:00–3:00pm, Tarbell Room
Come see the Lincoln GearTick and the L-S High School Robotics Team demonstrate their robot creations. Best for ages 5+.

Lincoln Library Film Society: “Neruda”
Thursday, Feb. 20 from 6:00–8:00pm, Tarbell Room
An inspector hunts down Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, who becomes a fugitive in his home country in the late 1940s for joining the Communist Party.

Inclusive and diverse book recs
Thursday, Feb. 20 from 7:30–8:30pm, Zoom
Click here for more information, and click here to register for the Zoom link (regustrants will get the list of recommendations). Sign up for one session or for all.

L-S School Committee listening session

The Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee will hold a listening session for students, families, and community members on Monday, Feb. 24 from 7:00–8:00pm on Google Meet. The purpose of the listening session is to give individuals the opportunity to raise items with members of the Committee. In attendance will be committee members Lucy Maulsby and Ravi Simon.

Domestic Violence Roundtable session

On Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 7:00pm, the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable will host a conversation with a parent whose teen was in a dating relationship with a person who mistreated her. This program will take place at the Goodnow Library (21 Concord Road, Sudbury) and on Zoom — register for the link here. The parent speaker will talk about what she didn’t know to look and listen for, and what surprised her as she learned more about her teen’s relationship.  This program is for parents/guardians/grandparents, educators, coaches, youth advisors, healthcare professionals, and anyone else who has teens or young adults in their life.

Photo exhibit by Lincolnite

Lincoln resident Linda Hammett Ory is exhibiting her photos in Concord Arts 2025 Members’ Juried Exhibition, along with painter Tracey J. Maroni. Linda’s love of nature is her strongest photographic inspiration, and many of the photos in her Hidden Treasure series are taken while exploring the landscape of Lincoln and Concord. The exhibition runs from February 27 to March 27, and the opening reception is on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 5:30pm. Click here for more information.

Conservation summer positions open

The Lincoln Conservation Department (LCD) and Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (LLCT) will be hiring two seasonal field assistant positions to support the management of conservation land this summer. The LLCT will also be hiring one pollinator field assistant. Learn more here.

Service in May for Jack Pugh

Jack Pugh

Alexander L. (Jack) Pugh III died on February 7, 2025 in his mid-nineties.

Jack was raised in Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, Penn. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, studying electrical engineering. His ROTC program led him to Hanscom Air Force Base in Lincoln, a place where he settled. Jack’s love of the nascent field of computer science led him to two master’s degrees in electrical engineering at MIT (SMEE, EE) where he collaborated with Professor Jay Forrester.

With Jay and others, he developed system dynamics, a field of research and practice for understanding dynamic, emergent patterns in our social, ecological, business and political worlds. He and his wife, Julia,  initiated and led the System Dynamics Society for almost 20 years. An entrepreneur in the 1960s, he developed the system dynamics software, Dynamo, while co-founding with MIT Professor Edward Roberts the management consulting firm “Pugh-Roberts, Associates” (now Sage Analysis Group). There he worked until his retirement in 1995.

Jack met Julia (nee Spear) in the MIT Choral Society, and they married in 1962. He was predeceased by his parents, aunts, uncles, and brother, Walter Pugh of Darien, Conn. He leaves behind his wife; children Rebecca, Katrina, and Alexander, and their partners Laurie, Peter, and Anneliese; grandchildren Isaiah (Jessica), Josiah, Sarah, Phoebe, and Benji.

Jack loved sailing, reading, fixing things, and hiking. After he retired, he was on the board of the Lincoln Public Library, the treasurer and webmaster of the First Parish Church of Lincoln, and the captain of his  sailboat, the Mobjack, in which he won races over many years.

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, May 10 at 2:00pm in Duvall Chapel at Newbury Court, 80 Deaconess Road in Concord, and in July in Friendship, Maine. In lieu of flowers, please send cards or consider a donation to the Midcoast Conservancy in Maine, midcoastconservancy.org, P.O. Box 439, Edgecomb, Maine, 04556.

Arrangements are entrusted to Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord, which provided this obituary.  Share a memory or offer a condolence on Jack’s tribute page.

 

My Turn: Ryan seeks support for L-S School Committee

By John J. Ryan Jr.

In times of uncertainty regarding federal funding of public education, federal regulation of public education, and even the existence of the Department of Education itself, experience matters. That is why I am declaring my candidacy for the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee.

I have been a resident of Sudbury for 44 years. I have practiced law for decades, including representing a regional school district. I previously served on the L-S School Committee from 1998 to 2010. I also served as chair of the L-S Building Committee, responsible for the design and construction of the new high school and for obtaining substantial state funding for that design and construction. Prior to my service on the committee, I served for seven years on the Sudbury Finance Committee and afterwards served for seven years on the Sudbury Council on Aging.

My wife, Barbara, was a teacher at Curtis Middle School for more than 20 years. I had two daughters graduate from L-S and have two granddaughters now in the Sudbury public schools who will be attending L-S.

I ask for your support for my candidacy for the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee so we can keep L-S the great school it has been.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnians. 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.

Correction

Due to an error on the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee web page, the February 12 article headlined “Four candidates vying for seats on Planning Board” mistakenly said that Lucy Maulsby is the only Lincoln resident on the committee. In fact, Catherine Bitter is also from Lincoln. The table of candidates should also have indicated that Ray Shepard, a candidate for Trustees of Lincoln Library, is an incumbent. The article and table have been corrected.

Four candidates vying for seats on Planning Board

(Editor’s note: this article as updated with corrections on February 13.)

Sixteen Lincoln residents have filed to run for town office in the March 30 election — and four of them are competing for two openings on the Planning Board. 

Board Chair Margaret Olson is running for reelection to another three-year term. Also on the ballot are Robert Ahlert, Susan Hall Mygatt, and Suzanne Parker. Ephraim Flint is not running for reelection. That panel is often the most competitive; in 2024 amid the Housing Choice Act rezoning controversy, incumbent Gary Taylor beat out Sarah Postlethwait by a margin of 952-699. In 2023, incumbent Lynn Delisi and newcomer Craig Nicholson won the two openings in a three-way race with Mark Levinson.

In the other contested race, three Sudbury residents (Charles Morton IV, Eric Poch, and John J. Ryan Jr.) are competing for two openings. The two Lincoln residents on the committee, Catherine Bitter and Lucy Maulsby, are not up for reelection this year. 

BOARD/COMMITTEECANDIDATES
Board of Assessors (one seat)Bruce Campbell*
Board of Health (one seat)Steven Kanner*
Cemetery Commission (one seat)Conrad Todd*
Commissioner of Trust Funds (one seat)Douglas Harding*
LSRHS School Committee (two seats)Charles Morton IV (Sudbury)
Eric Poch (Sudbury)
John J. Ryan Jr. (Sudbury)
Parks and Recreation Committee (one seat)Thornton Ring*
Planning Board (two seats)Robert Ahlert
Susan Hall Mygatt
Setha Margaret Olson*
Suzanne M. Parker
School Committee (three years)Kenneth Lepage
School Committee (two years)Abbey Salon
Select BoardJim Hutchinson*
Town ClerkValerie Fox*
Trustees of Bemis FundSara Mattes*
Trustees of Lincoln LibraryRay Shepard*
Water CommissionSteve Gladstone*

* asterisks indicate incumbents