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

Police log for week of April 27, 2020

April 27

Woods End Road (4:50 p.m.) — Caller reported suspicious activity in the area of his residence. Officers spoke to the caller’s wife and everything was fine.

April 28

Tower Road (2:41 p.m.) — Doctor’s office requested a well-being check on a party. Officers made contact and everything was fine.

April 29

Wells Road (9:37 a.m.) — Juvenile over age 12 was reported missing. Officers tracked down the juvenile in Providence, R.I. and picked them up.

Mill Street Extension (12:04 p.m.) — Caller reported that a suspicious vehicle had been driving in the area the day before.

Old Conant Road (3:20 p.m.) — Council on Aging requested a well-being check on a party. Party no longer lives at the residence.

Ridge Road (4:52 p.m.) —  Officer took a report of credit card fraud. Investigation is ongoing.

South Great Road (4:57 p.m.) — Resident reported a larceny that took place over a year ago. Report was needed for insurance purposes.

Winter Street (8:02 p.m.) — Report of a brush fire in the area. Fire Department responded; the owner was putting out the small fire.

April 30

Virginia Road (7:16 a.m.) — Resident requested advice regarding a civil matter involving alleged intimidation/harassment.

South Great Road (4:26 p.m.) — Registry of Motor Vehicles paperwork was delivered to a resident.

May 1

Virginia Road (10:06 a.m.) — Resident requested assistance with a civil matter (wanted a party removed from the property). Officers responded and assisted in having the party leave the area.

Wells Road (9:49 p.m.) — Confused party reporting someone is in their house. Officers responded and everything was fine.

May 2

Concord Road (3:56 p.m.) — Caller reported that a green Honda nearly hit her while on Concord Road near the Wayland town line. Officers checked the area but were unable to locate.

Old County Road (4:04 p.m.) — Caller complained about vehicles parked on the roadway. Officer checked and there were no violations.

Lincoln Cemetery, Lexington Road (4:46 p.m.) — Caller complained about a party not wearing a mask in the cemetery and filming them. Officers spoke to both parties and found that an individual was documenting the fact that people were wandering on cemetery grounds on people’s plots. He is looking to have the Cemetery Commission put signs up to respect peoples’ resting places. Party was advised to contact the Cemetery Commission.

Lincoln Cemetery, Lexington Road (5:19 p.m.) — Resident located a wallet while in the cemetery. The owner was contacted so they could pick it up at the station.

Wells Road (6:44 p.m.) — Officer assisted a party in dealing with a civil matter.

Weston Road (8:01 p.m.) — Resident reports hearing a loud car driving up and down Weston Road erratically.

May 3

Old Farm Road (9:26 a.m.) — Caller reported being bitten by a dog an hour earlier while on the trails. Caller has the owner’s information, which was given to the dog officer to follow up.

Juniper Ridge Road (1:09 p.m.) — Caller requesting a well-being check as they hadn’t  been able to get in touch with a family member. Officers spoke to the owner; everything was fine (they were having phone issues).

Conant Road (5:03 p.m.) — Caller reported a brush fire. Fire Department responded and extinguished a small fire.

Cambridge Turnpike eastbound (5:54 p.m.) — State police reported two motorcycles racing on Rte. 2. Units checked the area but were unable to locate. State police subsequently reported having one motorcycle stopped on Rte. 2 at Walden Street.

Harvest Circle (6:54 p.m.) — Confused party called 911 reporting that they spilled their milk. Staff at The Commons were contacted to assist the party.

Lincoln Road (7:18 p.m.) — Party found a key while walking on Lincoln Road near Todd Pond Road.

Signs of the times (Lincoln Through the Lens)

Parks & Recreation Director Dan Pereira (with his dog Walter) along with Emma Coates and Stacy Carter of the Conservation Department get ready on Wednesday morning to place new sandwich boards on trails to alert the public to wear face masks, and to be aware of ticks bearing Lyme disease. (Photo by Susan Taylor)

Letter to the editor: support the library by donating to FOLL

Dear Lincoln,

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lincoln Public Library — now closed temporarily — is faced with new challenges. We, the Friends of the Lincoln Library (FOLL), are here to help. And we’re asking for your help, too.

Who are we? A nonprofit formed to provide financial assistance to the Lincoln Library. FOLL supplements the town’s library budget. Book sales at Bemis Hall and donations from Lincoln residents are our main sources of revenue. Last fiscal year, we contributed nearly $46,000 to fund programs, library passes, furnishings and the Tarbell Room hearing loop. Click here to see a full list of what we support.

Since our monthly book sales and other fundraisers are now on hold, we’re exploring new, revenue-generating ideas such as the installment of book donation bins as well as online book sales to compensate for lost income. But it’s not enough. In order to keep our beloved library vibrant and to adapt to these new circumstances, FOLL needs your financial donations now more than ever.

Why now? Although the library is closed, we kept our financial commitment to already-hired performers. The library staff is working with them to deliver online events or to find new performance dates. Our goal is to help keep our vendors solvent during the pandemic. Also, we continue to renew museum passes even though museums are closed. It’s our way of helping to ensure that our venerable cultural institutions remain viable.

We’ll continue our monthly board meetings (virtually) with Library Director Barbara Myles and Assistant Director Lisa Rothenberg to discuss ways to support remote library operations during these difficult times. Please consider showing your support by making a tax-deductible contribution today to the Friends of the Lincoln Library.

PayPal is the preferred method of payment. If paying by check, mail to: Friends of the Lincoln Library, 3 Bedford Rd., Lincoln MA, 01773. (Please note, since we currently have no access to mail at the library, there will be a delay in depositing checks and acknowledging donations sent there.)

Thank you! Stay well. Be safe.

Sincerely,

Daniela Caride on behalf of the Friends of the Lincoln Library board

 

 

Flush water pipes if your building has been vacant

The Lincoln Water Department is advising occupants of small businesses and homes that have been closed or vacant for several weeks due to the Covid-19 pandemic to flush their pipes when they return.

Non-essential businesses such as hair salons, dental offices, and consulting businesses have been closed by state order, and some people in the region have decamped to second homes. When buildings are unused for more than three weeks, water quality may become degraded due to stagnation, which can lead to elevated lead, copper, and Legionella bacteria levels as well as discolored water. The department’s May 6 advisory details steps that property owners should take to flush lines when returning after an extended absence, including regular vacations lasting three weeks or more.

The Water Department office is closed, but office are working remotely and can be contacted at kacprzykm@lincolntown.org or 781-259-2669 (press option #3). Operators are maintaining the water treatment plant and other facilities and can respond to emergencies, though non-essential customer appointments will be scheduled for a later date. A second May 6 memo describes precautions for staff and residents if a home visit is necessary during the state of emergency.

Police nab youths who put tree limbs in road

Two Lincoln youths were caught by police after dragging heavy objects into the road in the early morning hours, and they’ll now face juvenile court proceedings.

Police found and removed limbs and erosion-control straw tubes that were deliberately placed in the middle of Lincoln Road and Ballfield Road on April 21 at 2:30 a.m. The same thing happened four more times on April 30 between 3:34 a.m. and 5 a.m., and another three times on May 4 between 4:40 and 5:30 a.m. In one instance, an officer on patrol realized something was wrong when he saw the car in front of him suddenly swerve into the oncoming lane to avoid the obstacle, Chief of Police Kevin Kennedy said.

“We had an idea who was doing it” after some of the earlier incidents, Kennedy said. Police subsequently had “conversations” with several youths and their parents, to explain that their “juvenile prank” could cause a crash or damage to a vehicle. But on Monday night this week, two of the juveniles were caught placing more objects in the road again. They will be summonsed to Middlesex Juvenile Court for throwing an object onto a public way. Their names and ages were not released by police.

State face mask order supersedes Lincoln’s

Lincoln will adopt Gov. Charlie Baker’s May 1 order to wear face masks in public, superseding a rule passed by the town’s Board of Health on April 29. Meanwhile, officials are keeping a close eye on trail traffic in town and are mulling steps to take if they get too crowded with walkers as the weather warms.

Starting on May 6, everyone in Massachusetts is required to wear a cloth face mask when in public spaces both indoors and outdoors. The state order applies to everyone over the age of 2, whereas Lincoln’s earlier order specified age 5, and the governor’s version is more specific as to fines for violating the rule (up to $300). In any case, businesses may bar entry to anyone not wearing a mask. The order is in effect until the governor rescinds it or until the state of emergency is lifted. The stay-at-home order is currently set to expire on May 18.

As of May 4, Lincoln has had a total of 29 cases of Covid-9. All five deaths have involved residents of The Commons in Lincoln who had “serious health co-morbidities,” Public Health Nurse Tricia McGean said.

The Commons is working with Mt. Auburn and Emerson Hospitals to test all staff and residents starting with the assisted-living and memory care cohorts and doing the independent-living residents after that. The process is ongoing as they experience “peaks and valleys” in inventories of supplies, she said.

McGean also cautioned that anyone who’s gotten tested for Covid-19 is not exempt from continuing precautions. “It’s nice to get a negative test, but we still have to practice all the measures that have been drilled into us,” she said. “It’s how you are today, not how you are the next day or the next.”

The mask requirement extends to people walking on trails when they pass within six feet of another person. Many residents from Lincoln and elsewhere have flocked to the trail system for recreation since the pandemic began.

If walkers don’t cooperate enough in terms of social distancing, Lincoln may consider closing trails to non-residents (a step recently take by Sudbury), closing the parking lots, and/or limiting on-street parking near trailheads. Drumlin Farm trails have been closed since late March.

June 13 is the new target date for Town Meeting

Officials are now hoping to have a bare-bones Town Meeting outdoors on June 13 and the local election on June 15.

“The goal is to have it be as stripped-down as possible,” Selectman Jennifer Glass said at the board’s meeting on May 4. As previously discussed, Town Meeting will include only votes on budget matters that require a decision before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, with votes on less time-sensitive items shelved until the fall. The meeting this spring will incorporate what was originally planned as a separate Special Town Meeting — a vote on restoring items to the school building project.

Presentations and other information that are normally part of the Town Meeting will occur online ahead of time, “so when we get to Town Meeting, it’s about the voting, not about the presentation,” Selectman Jennifer Glass said. Some presentations may be given live using Zoom  so residents can ask questions in real time.

June 13 is the earliest date that the meeting could be held while still satisfying the 30-day public notice requirement after the end of the Massachusetts state of emergency banning gatherings, which is set to expire on May 18.

“Whether or not there is an extension of the state of emergency, we should pick a date and start putting the engine of local government into operation to get that done,” with the option of further postponing until the fall if conditions warrant, Town Administrator Tim Higgins said. Officials are reluctant to schedule an Annual Town Meeting over the summer when many residents are away, and a fall date (in addition to complicating town accounting and budgeting procedures) could be jeopardized if the pandemic makes a comeback just as the next flu season approaches.

The tentative plan is to have Town Meeting outdoors to maximize social distancing — probably in the field next to Codman Pool, with as many people as possible under a large tent (overflow attendees could sit outside the tent if necessary). In case of rain, the meeting could be quickly convened and postponed for a day or two, which may require holding it on a weekday evening.

The election will happen on June 15 regardless of when Town Meeting takes place. Residents can vote by mail, or return sealed ballots to the Town Clerk’s office or leave them in the mailbox outside Town Hall.

Early voting is normally not allowed for municipal elections, but the state legislature has relaxed that rule. Early and absentee voting are both allowed this spring without having to provide a reason (other than the Covid-19 pandemic). All ballots must be received by the time the polls close. By law, polls must be open and staffed on Election Day for at least four hours, but “we hope everyone votes absentee,” Higgins said.

News acorns

Bicyclist taken to hospital after fall

On Saturday, May 2 at about 3 p.m., Lincoln emergency personnel assisted an 83-year-old Arlington woman who fell off her bicycle while traveling north on Lincoln Road just north of Todd Pond Road. Her fall was due to a defect in the road; no other vehicles were involved. The woman was conscious and alert but was transported to the hospital. 

First Parish organizes drive for communities in need

The First Parish in Lincoln is holding a Mother’s Day pop-up drive for communities in need with a donation deadline of Monday, May 11. The church is collecting donations of supplies to support communities of color as well as the homeless who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The supplies will be distributed by Bay Cove Human Services in Boston to homeless men and women and to children of families they serve.

Residents can drop off donations on the church’s Stearns Room porch (across from the library at 4 Bedford Rd.) or have items picked up by contacting Mary Jo Veling at 781-259-8588 or veling1@hotmail.com. For more information, click here or contact Janet Boynton at janetkboynton@gmail.com or 781-259-0928.

Items needed include:

  • Diapers in size 4 and 5 and baby wipes
  • Stop & Shop gift cards (which can be purchased at Donelan’s)
  • New men’s and women’s underwear, T-shirts, and sweatshirts in sizes L and XL
  • New men’s and women’s socks and flip-flops in sizes L and XL
  • Women’s hygiene supplies
  • Essential toiletries in small containers
  • Power bars, snacks, tea bags, single-serve sugar-free drink mix

Seedling sale benefits The Food Project

The Food Project is holding its annual seedling sale next Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10. We will have contactless pickup available on the farm at the end of Baker Bridge Road. Please visit thefoodproject.org/seedlings/ to order. 

Library now offers Acorn TV

The Lincoln Public Library is now offering Acorn TV’s streaming service to patrons with web-connected devices. Offerings include Vera, Land Girls, Doc Martin, and other mysteries, dramas, and comedies from Britain and beyond. To access Acorn TV, visit www.lincolnpl.org and have your Lincoln Public card number handy. You’ll be asked to create an Acorn account with a username and password. If you already have an account with RB Digital (the library offers RB Digital magazines), you can use that account information to access Acorn TV. 

Each patron will be allowed to check out one “license” per week, which includes unlimited access to view as many episodes of programming you like. When the week is over, you can simply check out another license to watch more content.

Anyone who needs assistance with any of the library’s online services, email lincoln@minlib.net.

Police log for week of April 20, 2020

April 20

Ballfield Road (3:54 a.m.) — Officers removed a branch in the road.

Lincoln Police Department (3:38 p.m.) — Former resident called regarding an ongoing civil matter. Caller was advised of their legal options.

Lincoln Road (4:32 p.m.) — Caller requested a well-being check on a resident who wasn’t feeling well. Officer made contact with the resident and everything was fine.

Lexington Road (6:05 p.m.) — Caller reported people trespassing on his land over the weekend and said he had posted “No Trespassing” signs. Caller was advised to contact police if it continues.

April 21

Lincoln Road (2:30 a.m.) — Officer came across wood placed in the roadway in the vicinity of Pierce Hill Road and Ballfield Road. Items were removed.

South Great Road (11:12 a.m.) — Wire down on Rte. 117; Verizon notified.

Lexington Road (4:43 p.m.) — Caller was concerned about “No Trespassing” signs being put up and preventing a delivery from occurring. Officer spoke to the party in attempt to resolve the concern.

Giles Road — (4:57 p.m.) — Caller inquired about a past civil matter not involving the caller. Caller was advised that no information could be provided.

April 23

Lincoln School, Ballfield Road (9:31 a.m.) — School staff reported spray-paint damage to the Smith building.

Lincoln Road (10:53 a.m.) — Caller requested a well-being check on their parent. Fire and police units checked on the party and everything was fine.

Lincoln Road (2:23 p.m.) — Doctor’s office called to request a well-being check on a party who missed an appointment. Party was located and was fine.

April 24

Lexington Road (1:05 p.m.) — Caller was concerned about a resident putting barbed wire near their mailbox. Officer checked and advised the post office of the resident’s concern.

Trapelo Road (2:20 p.m.) — Two-car crash near Old County Road, no injures. Report taken.

Concord Road (6:21 p.m.) — Caller requested assistance retrieving a drone stuck in a tree. Fire Department assisted the party.

April 25

130 Lexington Road (3:08 p.m.) — Resident called to document that their neighbor is playing loud music and yelling.

North Great Road near Tanner’s Brook trail (3:19 p.m.) — Caller reported an injured hawk.

Woods End Road (3:56 p.m.) — Officer conducted a well-being on a resident. Everything was fine.

Baker Bridge Road (4:07 p.m.) — Cars were parked in the “No Parking” zone of Baker Bridge. Police issued eight citations.

Trapelo Road (6:40 p.m.) — Waltham police reported people fishing at the reservoir. Lincoln officer spoke to two parties and moved them along.

Tower Road (7:07 p.m.) — Caller requested permission to burn brush. They were advised of the times and protocols.

April 26

South Great Road (12:23 p.m.) — Caller said there was an unleashed dog on the trails jumping on people. Caller reported that the owner leashed the dog and has left the area.

Page Road (1:05 p.m.) — Officer assisted a party with an ongoing civil matter.

Old Concord Road (11:20 p.m.) — Multiple calls of a tree blocking the road that took down wires. Eversource and Verizon notified.

Face masks now required in public in Lincoln

The Board of Health has ordered all residents to wear face masks starting Friday, May 1 when they’re in public — even when outdoors in some cases.

The order posted on April 30 and sent to all Lincoln households via robocall says that everyone age 5 and older entering public spaces including stores and government offices as well as group homes, nursing homes, and other communal facilities must wear a cloth or paper face mask that covers the nose and mouth. There are exceptions for anyone who has trouble breathing or anyone who is unable to remove the mask without assistance, as well as for children under age 5.

Employees in grocery stores, retail store, and food service establishments must wear face coverings, and all businesses open to the public must post signs at their entrances advising customers that they are required to wear a face covering on entering.

Walkers, joggers, cyclists, and others using the town’s roads, sidewalks, bike paths and trails must wear face coverings when approaching or overtaking other people. When no one else is nearby, the face covering may be worn under the chin in a position from which it can be quickly pulled up over the nose and mouth when needed. When approaching or overtaking another person, both parties must move off the path to the side to establish at least six feet of separation.

The order does not have an expiration date; “it will be discontinued when the Board of Health decides there is no longer a public health emergency,” Public Health Nurse Tricia McGean said.

Anyone who does not already have a mask can call the Council on Aging at 781-259-8811 or the Board of Health at 781-259-2614, or check with other residents or online for sources of handmade cloth masks.

Lincoln joins a growing list of cities and towns that are requiring face masks. As of Thursday, 34 Massachusetts communities had issued similar orders, most of which took effect on April 29 or April 30, according to lists on Boston.com and NECN. Waltham’s rule takes effect May 1.

Towns including Cambridge and Somerville say they will fine residents who violate the order. Lincoln’s order notes that it will be enforced as necessary by the Board of Health and Lincoln Police “with the potential for the imposition of fines,” though McGean said that officials hope that won’t be necessary.