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

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.

News acorns

Discussion on surviving domestic violence

The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable will host an online discussion of “Covid-19’s Impact on Survivors of Domestic Violence” on Tuesday, May 12 at 3 p.m. on Zoom. To register, go to domesticviolenceroundtable.org.

Social distancing is a necessary strategy for keeping the community safe during this pandemic, but isolation in one’s home is having a profound effect on survivors of domestic violence and their families. This forum will feature representatives of local domestic violence agencies who will address several different situations that survivors might be in right now, including those who may be in controlling or abusive relationships and those who may have left a controlling and abusive partner. Panelists will look at the emotional, psychological, and economic implications of this complex time for survivors of domestic abuse and will answer questions from the online audience..

If you or someone that you care about is a survivor of domestic abuse and would like help or support, all of the local domestic abuse programs in the area are responding to phone calls and emails:

Two online programs from the COA

The Council on Aging invites you to two virtual programs. In “Making Decisions When It Matters Most: Conversations About Health Care Proxy, Five Wishes, and More!” on Wednesday, May 13 at 10 a.m. Mary Crowe and Joan Sullivan of Care Dimensions will discuss the importance of advance care planning and making one’s health care wishes known through the use of Five Wishes and other planning tools. Click here to register and attend.

Residents of all ages are invited to a “Conversation with a Select(man)” on Friday, May 15 at 2 p.m. via Zoom. Join Board of Selectmen Chair Jennifer Glass to get the latest updates, ask your questions, and offer ideas. For information on how to join in, please email her at selectmen@lincolntown.org prior to the meeting.

A stay-at-home Bird-a-thon

Mass Audubon’s Bird-a-thon, which typically sends teams of birders rambling throughout the Commonwealth in a friendly competition to identify the most species in a 24-hour period, is staying at home this year to respect social distancing and will take place Friday to Saturday, May 15–16.

Mass Audubon’s biggest single fundraising event is again expected to attract hundreds of competitors of all abilities, but will be carbon-free, safety-focused, and family-oriented. Participants will select bird observation  spots—a window, backyard, or a green space within short walking or biking distance from their homes. From 6 p.m. on Friday the 15th through 6 p.m. on the 16th, they’ll spend time observing and identifying species from their birding positions, solo or with other household members.

Competitors join teams representing different Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuaries and programs. Their pledges can be directed to specific wildlife sanctuaries and programs or to the overall organization, the state’s largest nature conservation nonprofit. Participants can also earn points for their team by completing other fun, nature-based activities or as “Bird-a-thon Boosters,” who raise money while birding for fun (or not birding at all).

Last year’s event raised $240,000 and recorded 273 species, with Drumlin Farm garnering $30,850 for its work through the event. Sponsors this year include presenting sponsors Ream Design of Ayer and Camosse Masonry Supply of Worcester, and media sponsor WBUR.

To participate, donate, and to learn more about Bird-a-thon, visit www.massaudubon.org/birdathon.

Covid-19 by the numbers

The Lincoln Squirrel has compiled some charts from Covid-19 data supplied by the state Department of Public Health. Click any chart to enlarge.

Some observations:

  • The New York Times Covid-19 dashboard divides U.S. states into three categories: those where Covid-19 cases are still increasing, those where new cases are slowing, and those where new cases are decreasing. Massachusetts falls into the first category and has the highest cases total of the 22 states in that group. It’s currently #3 in the country (after New York and New Jersey) in total number of cases.
  • Though cases in Massachusetts are still increasing, the rate of increase has slowed considerably since peaking on March 25 and has been averaging about 5% a day for the last two weeks.
  • Lincoln saw a steady rise in cases after public health officials began posting figures on March 21, but there have been no new cases reported since April 25.
  • The state Department of Public Health began publishing town-by-town data on April 16 and is now updating its figures every Wednesday. Among area towns, Lincoln has both the lowest total number of cases and also the lowest prevalence of Covid-19 as a unit of population. Lexington has the highest number of cases as well as the highest prevalence. It also has the largest population and is geographically closest to Boston.
TownPopulation (2010 census)
Lexington33,480
Concord19,323
Sudbury18,940
Bedford14,126
Wayland13,720
Weston12,067
Lincoln6,726

Letter to the editor: COA grateful for donations

To the editor:

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging in response to our appeal here in the Squirrel. We appreciate your generosity! As we are reaching out in many different ways, some of you may receive a postal letter asking for a contribution as well. We didn’t cross-check our mailing list against our list of recent contributors, so if you’ve already donated, just know that we’re grateful and recycle that letter.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Swain
President, Friends of the Lincoln COA

Letter to the editor: thanks from food pantry

The restocked food pantry.

The restocked St. Vincent de Paul food pantry at St. Joseph’s.

To the editor:

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul would like to thank the First Parish in Lincoln’s Community Engagement and Service Task Force under the leadership of Margit Griffith and Sarah Bishop for organizing an amazing food drive. They got the information out, arranged for signup and drop off, and bagged and delivered food. It was a true success.

A special thank-you to the entire town for donating so generously. We received more bags of potatoes, apples, oranges, onions, and sweet potatoes than we can count. In addition, we received a large number of staple items, condiments, and snacks. The grocery bags will be distributed in the next few days, bringing much relief and many smiles. We are also grateful for the many generous monetary donations we have received. 

We are now serving approximately 200 people in Lincoln and Weston. In the coming days, Karen Boyce, our pantry chair, and her team will give out 500 bags of food. And in two weeks we will do it all over again.

If you are in need of food or financial emergency help with payment of bills, please reach out to us. This is a difficult time for many who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in a situation they could never have imagined. It’s hard to ask for help, but we are here to support you! Please call St. Julia office at 781-899-2611 and leave a message for St. Vincent de Paul and someone will call you back. For more information, go to stjulia.org/st-vincent-de-paul-society.

Sincerely,

Ursula Nowak
President of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Joseph Conference

News acorns

Virtual Carnival: resource for Lincoln online activities

Lincoln now has its own Virtual Carnival with links to online programs designed to stimulate, educate, support and motivate residents of all ages. The programs by town organizations include:

  • Home-based exercise classes and children’s activities offered by the Parks and Recreation Department
  • Active Aging, Stretch and Flex, and Line Dancing classes for seniors from the Council on Aging
  • Online read-alouds, personalized reading recommendations, and other activities for children and teens from the Lincoln Public Library. Kids who fill out the library’s Book Match form will receive customized lists of books (e-book, audio, and print format) suggestions from the children’s librarians.

Library activities and offerings

  • In lieu of the previously planned six-part seminar about Walt Whitman at the Lincoln Public Library, actor Stephen Collins has made available his one-man show, “Unlaunche’d Voices, an Evening with Walt Whitman,” via online video — click here to watch. Funding provided by the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging and The Friends of the Lincoln Public Library.
  • Residents can borrow virtual magazines from the library’s large online collection with hundreds of titles. Browse or search magazines on Overdrive by title, topic, or date added.
  • The library will hold its Friday Morning Book Group via Zoom on Friday, May 8 at 9:30 a.m. Participants will discuss Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II by Robert Matzen. Hepburn participated in the Dutch Resistance, working as a doctor’s assistant during the “Bridge Too Far” Battle of Arnhem, the brutal execution of her uncle, and the ordeal of the Hunger Winter of 1944. Copies of the books are available for download in eBook or audiobook formats. Email lincoln@minlib.netfor assistance and an invitation to the Zoom meeting.

Nature Naturalist Online classes from Drumlin Farm

Drumlin Farm is offering a series of Nature Naturalist Online classes as well as a session on “Learning Bird Song Online” on Thursday, April 30 from 7–9 p.m. Each of the six Nature Naturalist Online program features a Wednesday evening online presentation along with questions and discussion; a week to complete guided outside exploration, observations, gather data, and develop questions; and a second online session for feedback, questions, and discussion. Fees are $25 per program for Mass Audubon members ($30 for nonmembers) or $125 for members for all six programs ($150 for nonmembers).

Program titles and dates are below. To learn more and register, click on one of the session titles, email dfeducation@massaudubon.org, or call 781-259-2220.

Council on Aging newsletter now online

Click here for the May COA newsletter, which includes:

  • Information on Town Meeting and the town elections
  • Greetings and reminders from Tricia McGean, Lincoln’s Public Health Nurse
  • Greetings from the food pantry
  • A Lincoln history trivia quiz by Jack MacLean
  • Practicing self-care
  • Benefits for veterans who are unemployed due to the pandemic
  • Information from the Fire Department on Knox Boxes and for those with special medical needs
  • Hosting virtual family get-togethers
  • News from the Conservation Department

Obituaries

Herbert Wasserman

Herbert Wasserman, 92 (April 19) — He marched behind Rev. Martin Luther King at Selma and could be found many years later on the Lexington Battle Green where, in a tricorn hat, he regaled tourists with tales of Revolutionary War battles. Click here for full obituary.

John W. Earle, 94 (April 17) — A U.S. Army Ranger who served at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. Click here for full obituary.

William Reals

William Reals, 94 (April 13) — Fondly remembered at The Commons in Lincoln as “Mr. Bill,” the man with his well-worn tan briefcase always in hand. Click here for full obituary.

Miriam Schaffel

Miriam Schaffel, 95 (April 12) — The longtime resident of Pittsburgh and later The Commons in Lincoln died of Covid-19 in Cambridge. Click here for full obituary.

Elizabeth Whitman, 91 (March 15). Click here for memorial donation information.

Lincolnites reflect on how the pandemic has affected their lives

Earlier this month, the Lincoln Squirrel asked readers to share their thoughts on what’s changed for them since the Covid-19 lockdown began. Here are some of their responses.

One of the dolls that Ellen Morgan kitted out for her granddaughter (click to enlarge).

From Ellen Morgan:

My granddaughter, Dorothy Grubler, lives in Hudson, N.Y. She is four and a half and worried — all her dolls are sick and in bed, and she is short on hospital beds. So I made them all masks and gowns. I sent them to her since I can’t visit.

From Sharon Antia:

I’ve been surprised at how quickly the titles I have on hold through Minuteman Library Network have become available, and then I made the connection. Everyone must be home catching up on their reading so we are all cycling through our reading lists quicker.

I miss my grandchildren.

My house gets dirty a lot quicker when I’m home all day.

I love being home.

It’s hard not to just run into Donelan’s for this or that. I’m not good at planning a week or two’s menu and shopping all at once, and though I happily live off rice and beans, I prefer to have fresh fruits and vegetables to go along with them.

I do not watch the news — well, except I try to catch Governor Cuomo — and I watch “The Tonight Show” the next day on Hulu (OK, this is not the news but it is as close I currently allow myself to news). Other than that I read the Globe and the Times. Watching the news leaves me with a feeling of hopelessness. I miss listening to public radio but refrain for the same reason as above.

Making and distributing masks to family, friends, and neighbors gives me the opportunity to feel like I’m at least doing something to help.

I’ve been taking advantage of yoga classes online, live music, Zoom, and talking to my siblings more than usual.

I subscribed to “In Ayr’s Kitchen” on YouTube. Our neighbor, Ayer Muir, owner of the Clover restaurants, has an almost daily show telling us how to use our pantry items. I either watch him live or the next day. Have made many of his recipes, all with much success.

Tucker Smith has been creating a “Good News” wall in her house along with a bingo card to remind herself and others to look for the good things happening around us in this uncertain time.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”133″ gal_title=”Covid-Tucker”]

From Jennifer Glass:

Something I’ve really enjoyed is spending time on Lincoln’s trails. We walked from our house to Walden Pond last weekend — something we never took the time to do before now. In addition, it’s been great to get to some of the organizational projects that always fall to the bottom of the to-do list. I also think the garden/yard will get much more attention this year.

Frozen fruit and flour have been harder to find at Donelan’s. We are grateful that Codman has really risen to the occasion and we will continue to be frequent shoppers there even when the restrictions lift.

This is definitely a challenging time for college students who miss being on campus. The work continues to be rigorous, but the experience is not the same. On the other hand, there’s been lots of positive sister time.

I work part-time at the Grasshopper Shop in Concord. I miss being there, interacting with customers and ordering crazy socks. And while it’s convenient to have town-related meetings from home, I do miss the in-person interaction.

Joanna Schmergel took these photos during long walks around Lincoln.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”134″ gal_title=”Covid-Joanna”]

“Life has changed in tremendous ways,” said David Levington, an independent-living resident at The Commons in Lincoln. No one can have visitors. Staff members take requests and leave meals and groceries outside residents’ doors, and his daughter drops off items for him outside his porch. He ventures out only to walk his dog and drop off bags of trash.

The only thing that compares to the Covid-19 pandemic, Levington said, is the Blizzard of ’78, which happened when he was the superintendent at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. The storm caught the region mostly unprepared, killing dozens, stranding hundreds inside their cars on roads and highways, and paralyzing the Northeast for a week.

“The whole town was shut down, but there was an old civil defense hospital area in the school basement back from the Sputnik days,” Levington recalled. “There were lots of cots; they were thinking of making L-S a refuge, but in the end they didn’t.”

One of his biggest challenges in the immediate aftermath of the blizzard emergency was making sure the off-campus students were safe and could get home. L-S in those days encouraged internships, “alternate semesters,” and other study-away opportunities. “We had a student studying in Montreal who couldn’t get home, one kid interning with the mayor in Philadelphia, and one in a yurt in Colorado,” he said. “The French Club was in Montreal — the teacher had maxed out her credit card and didn’t know what to do.”

As illnesses and deaths mount and restrictions on people’s lives continue for months, the pandemic’s effects will be felt for far longer than a natural disaster. “A blizzard is discrete — it has a beginning and an end,” Levington noted. “This is really not comparable.”