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

Clarification

School Building Committee member Peter Sugar has requested a clarification to his remarks in the May 14 article headlined “SBC to make reduced request for school items at June Town Meeting.” At the SBC meeting, he was expressing the sentiment that the committee should assure the inclusion of the previously trimmed items by electing to pay for them using the construction contingency fund, rather than facing the uncertainty of voter sentiment at the Town Meeting on June 13 and/or a Special Town Meeting in the fall. The contingency fund could be replenished if it runs out later in the project, he noted.)

Sugar also said that, because of the construction schedule, the items totaling $828,945 will cost more if they are not approved in June, even if voters decide to add them back later. (The deadlines vary; for the louvers and the auditorium divider, it’s July 1, and for the glass wall and seat, it’s September 1.)

The Chipmunk is coming, the Chipmunk is coming!

Dear Lincoln Squirrel readers,

The long-awaited Lincoln Chipmunk is finally in sight after some software and Covid-related delays. We’re shooting for Monday, June 1 as the launch date. Many thanks to people who submitted materials over the past few months.

Meanwhile, if you’d still like to submit something for the inaugural issue (or you’ve already done so but would like to replace your submission with something newer), please send it along to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com no later than Friday, May 22. You may address any questions to the same email address or call 617-710-5542. Thanks for your patience.

Sincerely,

Alice Waugh
Editor, The Lincoln Squirrel and The Lincoln Chipmunk

Deadline is Friday to apply for agricultural water rates

The deadline for applying for agricultural water rates is Friday, May 15, but many eligible customers in town still haven’t applied.Under a new Water Commission policy, Lincoln farming and agricultural operations are eligible for Tier 1 water rates of $6.52 per 1,000 gallons of water, but they must apply to the commission in order to qualify.

The new requirement came after the commission ended an informal policy of charging the lowest rate for farms regardless of how much water they used. But the sudden rate hike late last year resulted in protests from farmers and a second attempt to craft a new policy.

The original application deadline was April 1, but because of the pandemic, “many of the farmers lost sight of the fact that the deadline was coming up. We are doing our best to reach out to everyone we know of who is farming, but we can’t be sure that we know about everyone who might benefit from this lower rate,” commission member Ruth Ann Hendrickson said.

Click here to download the agricultural-rate policy and application form. Anyone who has not filed before May 15 will revert to the regular tiered residential rates.

SBC to make reduced request for school items at June Town Meeting

Back before the coronavirus hit, the School Building Committee was planning to ask voters at a Special Town Meeting in March for up to $2.08 million to partially offset items it had to cut from the school project. Now it plans to ask for less than half of that amount at a stripped-down Annual Town Meeting now scheduled for June 13. However, depending on economic conditions, the SBC will almost certainly seek more additional funding at a Special Town Meeting in the fall.

The SBC settled on a list of cuts in February after construction bids totaled $3.5 million more than the project’s budget. The hope then was that $1.5 million in free cash that was originally recommended for a new public safety radio system could be used to restore the first two “buckets” of items the SBC prioritized. But now, with all the financial uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, the SBC was unsure about how much to ask for in this new environment.

After meeting with the Finance Committee, the SBC voted on May 13 to make a two-part funding request totaling $828,945. The first question will ask for $628,945 for seven items. If approved, they’ll then ask for the other $200,000 to pay for furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E).

The first appropriation would fund the following items:

  • Restore the glass wall between the K-4 Science area and hallway ($26,666)
  • Interior lite and built-in bench at K-4 Art Room ($11,291)
  • Sun shades on the building’s exterior ($285,709)
  • A new auditorium divider ($279,400)
  • Concrete pavement in front of Reed/Brooks ($9,435)
  • A concrete walkway up to the main entrance ($13,799)
  • Concrete on the CASE (special education) driveway ($2,645)

The “first priority” list identified in February mostly matches these seven items but does not include $451,000 for FF&E, which includes crucial technology hardware and systems as well as some furniture. If approved, the second $200,000 request would restore some of that.

After reviewing the town’s budget situation, the Finance Committee this week recommended that the SBC “think of an outer limit of about $840,000 in free cash” that could be available for the school project, FinCom Chair Andy Payne said at the SBC meeting. Current estimates show a town budget deficit of about $800,000 over two fiscal years due to a drop in state and federal revue and added expenses from the pandemic. In a bit of good news, the mild winter resulted in savings on snow removal that can be applied to offset this year’s shortfall.

Payne emphasized that the FinCom was not recommending spending $840,000 from free cash on the school — rather, it’s the maximum amount that the board felt comfortable making available for discussion and voting.

Other sources that could be tapped include some of the stabilization fund, which currently stands at $2.2 million, or deferring some or all of the town’s planned $550,000 contribution to its OPEB (other post-employment benefits) fund. OPEB covers non-pension costs for retired town employees such as healthcare premiums. Dipping into the stabilization fund would require a two-thirds majority of votes at Town Meeting.

Given the uncertainty of getting voter approval for more money now or in the fall, SBC member Peter Sugar suggested using part of the construction contingency fund for some of the trimmed items instead. “We don’t know what people’s financial situation is,” he said. “I don’t want to have animosity build up in this town for this project, even from a minority. I think that would be a mistake.”

But others didn’t support that idea. If the contingency fund runs dry later on, “we’ll have to go back to the town [anyway] and tell them they have no choice” but to appropriate more money, SBC member Tim Christenfeld said.

“I’m concerned about eating into our contingency too much even before we’ve technically broken ground,” Selectman Jennifer Glass said. “Let’s put the information before the town so the town can make the best-informed choice about how the project will unfold.”

Some SBC members worried that residents would not be receptive to another “ask” in the fall and that the June request should therefore be larger. But the FinCom encouraged the SBC to keep their request lower for now and defer seeking money for items that don’t need to be committed to at this early stage of the project.

“I’m not trying to discourage you from coming back in the fall,” FinCom member Jim Hutchinson said. “It’s obvious to me that some of the FF&E is needed in this project, but it also doesn’t need to be decided right now.”

“If the SBC is heading down a path of a phased-request approach, I would encourage the SBC to share as much visibility as possible into these future requests with the FinCom and ultimately the residents,” Payne said.

Asking for less than the full amount suggested by the FinCom now might be more politically palatable. “I’m not sure we would get support for [all of] the $840,000. My sense is more like $500,000 to $600,000,” School Committee member Tara Mitchell said.

“My sense is that the more we ask for, the thinner the support might be,” agreed FinCom member Gina Halsted.

Town Meeting plans

The current plan is to hold the June 13 Town Meeting outdoors under a large tent and lawn seating in the central ballfield on the school campus. This location provides easy access to electricity from the portable classrooms and the temporarily paved areas offer better footing than the grass in Codman Field, which was also considered as a site.

The Town Meeting will feature an expanded consent calendar of financial items that can be voted on in a bloc (though residents have the right to “hold out” any items for separate discussion and voting). There will also be separate votes for the school funding question and a Water Commission capital request. The commission voted in January to seek another $250,000 to replace aging equipment in the town’s water system.

If the Town Meeting still can’t happen on June 13 for public health reasons, the town (and the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School district) will open the new fiscal year on July 1 using monthly budgets based on 1/12 of their fiscal 2020 budgets for as long as necessary.

Letter to the editor: Candidate DeLisi encourages all to vote in town election

Editor’s note: The Lincoln Squirrel collected and had begun publishing statements by the candidates for town office before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. A roundup for Planning Board candidates ran on March 5 and Water Commission candidates on March 8. The Squirrel will publish statements we received from other candidates in the coming weeks. The town election is now scheduled for Monday, June 15. See the penultimate paragraph of DeLisi’s letter for details on early voting and absentee ballots (the accuracy of this information has been verified by Town Clerk Valerie Fox).

To the editor:

It was just two short months ago that I was enthusiastically printing off flyers with my picture, creating posters to display at intersections, and sitting in the Twisted Tree speaking to residents — all to campaign for reelection to my seat on the Lincoln Planning Board.

As I now look back on those days and how life was filled with such “usual” daily activity and joys, the competition that I was about to enter seems so long past. We all struggle to make sense of how quickly life changed. Since that day in mid-March when I obtained special permission from my hospital to work remotely by seeing patients on Google Meets daily and taking care of all kinds of medical emergencies from the safety of my home office, I have had no time until now to reflect on past priorities. I now helplessly watch friends of relatives, some colleagues, and my own 97-year-old mother’s companions at The Commons pass away suddenly of  this new nightmarish illness called Covid-19, and I am trying to put it all in perspective.

Despite all that is happening around me, I still find happiness living in Lincoln. It is a beautiful, peaceful town with stars in night skies and wildlife, from birds to red foxes, roaming in open spaces. I have wonderful friends and neighbors here. We have great schools that we all care about, a historical center dating back further than the Revolutionary War, a national park, an art museum, well-marked nature trails, a nature center, several farms, and much more. Surely this viral epidemic will subside, although it will take time and leave behind many mental health sequelae for us all. Regardless, we will still have this unique town to live in and maintain.

This is all to say that I would truly like to remain on the Planning Board of Lincoln for another term in order to continue to contribute to the town in the best way I can. While I am not an architect by training nor a civil engineer, I do understand people and neighbors and neighborhoods. I believe the Planning Board needs people such as myself who will represent the interests of neighborhoods in whatever new developments are proposed and not simply be a proponent for his or her own preferences. I can promise you, if re-elected, I will support your interests above my own.

Please do vote in the upcoming Lincoln local election. You can vote early by mail using a two-step process. First, apply by downloading and completing this early voting application and send it to Town Clerk Valerie Fox at at 16 Lincoln Rd. or foxv@lincolntown.org. She will then mail you a ballot which you should complete and seal in the enclosed envelope provided, sign the affidavit on the envelope, and mail it back so that it’s received by the June 15 deadline. You can return it by U.S. mail, or put it in the mailbox outside the front door of Town Offices. You can also apply for an absentee ballot here and follow the same procedure for completing and returning it. Ballots will be counted on Election Day if they’re received by the time the polls close. 

If you have questions about any of my views or would like to discuss your concerns, I am available at delisi76@aol.com or 516-528-5366. Stay safe and healthy during these difficult days ahead and remember that times will be better.

Sincerely,

Lynn DeLisi
125 South Great Rd., Lincoln

Police log for week of May 4, 2020

May 4

Wells Road (8:43 p.m.) — Caller reporting a party yelling on Wells Road. Officer responded and found a person praying out loud.

May 5

Morningside Lane (1:35 p.m.) — Resident called regarding a disturbing voicemail from a former client. Officers took the report and contacted Melrose police to follow up with the involved party.
Morningside Lane (2:10 p.m.) — Caller requested a check on the resident who isn’t feeling well. Police and Fire Departments responded and everything was fine.
Harvest Circle (3:39 p.m.) — Resident reported someone gained unauthorized access to their bank account. Investigation is ongoing.
Old County Road (7:03 p.m.) — Resident reported cars parked on the roadway. Officer checked and they’re parked off to the side of the roadway, creating no hazard.
Woods End Road (7:06 p.m.) — Resident turned in old firearms
Parking lot, Ballfield Road (9:05 p.m.) — Officer checked on a party parked in the Hartwell lot. Everything was fine and they were sent on their way.

May 6

Winter Street (3:31 p.m.) — Caller reported seeing an increase in foxes in the area. They’re not bothering anyone; log entry made.
South Great Road (3:44 p.m.) — Caller reports kids playing near the railroad tracks. Officers located the kids; they were spoken to and sent on their way.
Oxbow Road (6:20 p.m.) — Caller reported two vehicles turned around in his driveway, one driving on his lawn. Officers checked the area but were unable to locate.
Lincoln Road 9:53 a.m.) — Officer checking on two suspicious people in the area. Everything was fine.

May 7

Hanscom Air Force Base, Vandenberg gate (12:24 p.m.) — Hansom Security Forces reported possible warrant on a party at the gate. A check found an old warrant for a misdemeanor. The party was advised to contact the court.
Windingwood Lane (2:00 p.m.) — Party requested assistance in getting an elder into the car for a doctor’s appointment. Fire Department assisted the party.
Concord Road (10:45 p.m.) — MBTA called reporting kids on the railroad tracks. Officers located two cars parked near the Food Project, spoke to parties in regards to trespassing, and sent them on their way.
Lincoln Road (11:37 p.m.) — Caller reported that the railroad gates stuck down. MBTA was already on scene.

May 8

South Great Road (1:04 a.m.) — Officer checked on two bicyclists riding on Rte. 117 with no lights. Officer spoke to parties and sent them on their way.
Lincoln Road, Country Pizza (3:14 p.m.) — Shop owner reported kids creating a problem inside the shop, harassing people and not wearing masks. Officers responded but they were gone on arrival.
Sandy Pond Road (10:30 a.m.) — Brush fire; Fire Department extinguished.
Trapelo Road (3:57 p.m.) — People fishing at the Cambridge Reservoir. They were sent on their way.
Lincoln Road (6:54 p.m.) — Caller reported a vehicle hit a stone wall in his driveway while turning around. Report taken.
Pierce House, Weston Road (7:09 p.m.) — Report of a broken window in the basement. Officers responded; no sign of entry.
Old Concord Road (8:05 a.m.) — Caller reported what appeared to be a party with a dog lost in the woods near Mt. Misery. Officers located the party and brought him back to his vehicle.
Wells Road (8:18 a.m.) — Caller reported people not social-distancing or wearing face masks on Wells Road.
South Great Road (9:17 p.m.) — One-car crash into a pole on Rte. 117. No injuries; report taken.

May 9

Minute Man National Historic Park Visitor’s Center, North Great Road (1:11 p.m.) — State Police requested an officer to assist two parties with exchanging paperwork after an accident on Rte. 128.
Old County Road (1:25 p.m.) — Tree down across the road involving power lines. Officers closed the roadway and notified the DPW and Eversource.
Baker Bridge Road (3:05 p.m.) — Caller reported a tree is leaning and in danger of falling. The tree is on private property and the owner will have to handle the matter.

May 10

Lincoln Road (3:00 p.m.) — MBTA reported a party near the railroad tracks. Officers later located him and brought him to Emerson Hospital.
Concord Road (3:19 p.m.) — Caller reported her cat was missing. She called back 30 minutes later reporting the cat had been located.

Positive Covid-19 antibody test could require isolation, public health nurse warns

An illustration showing how a sample is collected for a PCR test to see if a patient is currently infected with Covid-19 (click image to enlarge). Source: New England Journal of Medicine (no copyright infringement is intended).

Some residents are getting tested for the antibodies to the Covid-19 virus to see if they’ve already been infected, but some of them get an unpleasant surprise: mandatory isolation if the result is positive, even if they feel fine.

Tricia McGean, Lincoln’s public health nurse, gets the result whenever a Lincoln resident is tested either for a current infection, or for antibodies indicating that they were infected earlier. The infection test uses a nasal swab and is sometimes referred to as a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test.

Serological blood tests for Covid-19 antibodies have recently become available, and some people have taken that test to see if they’d already had the infection, with or without symptoms. “A couple of people told me they did it for fun,” she said.

However, new guidelines handed down late last week by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health require people who test positive for Covid-19 antibodies to immediately self-isolate (even from family members) for at least 10 days — unless they previously had a positive PCR test. For those who never had a PCR test, they can get that test after their antibody test. If that PCR result is then negative, they don’t need to continue isolating — but until the test result comes back, they must isolate. This is because, depending on the types of Covid-19 antibodies they have, they actually might be recovering from a recent infection (even without symptoms) and could still spread the virus.

As soon as McGean learns of a positive antibody result by a Lincoln resident, she’s required to contact the person and order them to isolate. She must also interview them about close contacts and quarantine those close contacts for 14 days.

“This is not going over very well, as you can imagine,” she said at her weekly Covid-19 update to the Board of Selectmen this week. “We weren’t expecting this. They change guidances quite frequently, so hopefully this won’t be the end guidance.”

Relatively few people who weren’t feeling sick got PCR testing until recently because the test was hard to obtain earlier during the pandemic, but they’re more accessible now, McGean added. 
This summary sheet explains the required public heath responses to test result scenarios. It acknowledges that the guidelines are conservative due to uncertainty about the quality of the various antibody test types as well as the unknown timing of Covid antibody development or duration. “This guidance will change as we learn more about antibody responses to Covid,” the sheet says. 

Here’s a brief Q&A with McGean about timing for those who are thinking about getting a Covid-19 antibody test:

Q. How does my antibody test result get conveyed to the town’s public health nurse?

A. Just like Covid-19 infection results, this happens through the state’s MAVEN website. A majority of my day is spent on this website, so once it’s uploaded, I usually see it quite quickly.

Q. How quickly can I get a PCR test, and where?

A. That’s the million-dollar question, but there are many resources online where you can go for testing. I don’t do them myself.

Q. How soon after I have the PCR test will we receive the result?

A. Usually fairly quickly. It depends if the lab calls the patient or the doctor who ordered it or me when the result comes into MAVEN.

Q. Do I have to self-isolate while I wait?

A. Yes. If your antibody test is positive [and you didn’t have a positive PCR test result before that], you have to be in isolation until we get the PCR test back. The turnaround time for PCR testing has been much quicker recently, with often a 24- to 48-hour turnaround time.

Covid-19 rates still climbing in area towns

[lgc_column grid=”50″ tablet_grid=”50″ mobile_grid=”100″ last=”false”]
The latest town-by-town data show that Lincoln has the lowest rate of growth in the rate of Covid-19 infections among bordering towns over the past month.
Every town except Lincoln is still increasing in its rate of infection per 100,000 people, according to weekly figures released by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. In the past week, Bedford, Weston, and Sudbury have increased at the fastest clip. Bedford has by far the highest rate of infection, while Lexington has the most total cases because it has the largest population among the seven towns.[/lgc_column]

Letter to the editor: heartfelt thanks to the Boy Scouts

A carload of food donations orchestrated by the Lincoln Boy Scouts.


To the editor:
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) would like to thank Lincoln Boy Scout Troop 127 for organizing a very successful food drive last week.  The Scouts delivered letters attached to grocery bags to Lincoln homes, outlining the needs of the Lincoln Food Pantry with a date and time for donation pickup. About a week later, the Scouts cruised these neighborhoods, acquiring 73 bags of food donations!
A terrific part of this particular food drive was that former Lincoln Boy Scouts who are currently living at home from college dusted off their badges to come together and participate in this service activity. I heard them say “Once a Scout, always a Scout.”
Coincidentally, our next food drive will be hosted by the Weston Boy Scouts. This is a wonderful display of “neighbors helping neighbors.” SVdP relies heavily on the generosity of our communities to do our work and the outpouring of support has been absolutely wonderful.  Thank you! And many thanks to Donelan’s Supermarket for donating the shopping bags for this project. 
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of St Julia Parish works with people in need who live, work, or go to school in Lincoln or Weston. We are currently serving more than 230 people twice a month at the Lincoln Food Pantry located behind St Joseph’s Church. SVdP also offers emergency financial assistance to help with bills, rent, etc. 
Sincerely,
Tomasina Lucchese
Vice President of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Joseph Conference

If you or somebody you know is in need of food or emergency financial help, please reach out at 781-899-2611 ext. 4 or svdplincolnweston@gmail.com. This is a challenging time for many, and although it can be difficult to ask for help, we are here to support. Everything is kept completely confidential.

Obituaries

Richard Puffer

Richard Puffer

Richard Puffer passed away on May 8 at the age of 82. He served in the U.S. Marines, had a long career as an architect, and was an accomplished painter and birder. Click here for full obituary.

Alan Burt

Alan Burt

Alan Burt passed away on May 7 at the age of 84. He spent most of his career in the site location research department at Stop & Shop, with a second career in real estate appraisal. He was also a Lifetime Member of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Click here for full obituary.

Herbert W. Pollack

Herbert Pollack


Herb Pollack passed away on April 26 at the age of 93 in Lincoln. He was the founder of Parlex Corporation headquartered in Methuen, and served on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary for 12 years. Click here for full obituary.