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

Police log for the week of Jan. 17, 2020

January 17

Deerhaven Road (9:56 a.m.) — Officer observed a damaged van parked along the road near Old Cambridge Turnpike, but no one was around the vehicle.

Concord Road, Wayland (1:51 .m.) — Officers assisted Wayland police with a reported burglary in progress. Wayland police are investigating the incident.

January 18

North Great Road (1:54 p.m.) — Two-car crash on Rte. 2A at Bedford Rd. One person transported to a local hospital with a minor injury.

Cambridge Turnpike (3:40 p.m.) — Resident came to the station reporting receiving a call about owing the government money. Officers spoke to the resident and advised it was a scam call. No money was sent to anyone by the resident.

Mayflower Road, Hanscom Air Force Base (4:02 p.m.) — Hanscom security forces requested assistance in locating a missing child. Officers responded and found the child on the property hiding in a recycling bin.

Cambridge Turnpike eastbound (5:15 p.m.) — Business owner called regarding a past theft of approximately $1,000 of property. Officers investigated and summonsed two parties to court for larceny under $1,200. The property was recovered.

Cambridge Turnpike eastbound (5:19 p.m.) — Officers responded to a one-car crash near Bedford Road, no injuries. State police were on the scene.

Old Sudbury Road (10:19 p.m.) — Caller reported two people standing on Old Sudbury Road. Officers located the parties and assisted them with arranging to get back home to Wayland.

January 19

Bypass Road (12:23 p.m.) — Report of a suspicious car in the driveway. Officers spoke to the parties and they were sent on their way.

Wells Road (1:13 p.m.) — Caller requested assistance with a civil matter involving another party. Officers assisted and informed the resident of their legal options.

January 20

Wells Road (11:41 a.m.) — A resident of Watertown requested a wellbeing check on a Lincoln resident. Officers checked and all is fine.

Concord Road (6:30 p.m.) — Officers stopped a person who was found to have an arrest warrant out of Clinton District Court. Aricelma DeOliveira, 42, of 657 Main St. in Clinton was arrested and later bailed to appear in Clinton District Court.

January 21

Short Hill Road (3:12 p.m.) — Caller reported being locked out of her house. Fire Department assisted the party in gaining access.

January 22

Sandy Pond Road (6:33 a.m.) — Caller reported a truck idling on Sandy Pond Road. It was gone on police arrival.

Wells Road (6:46 p.m.) — Caller reported hearing a loud noise. Officers checked and found it was a mechanical issue; maintenance was contacted and will handle.

Minebrook Road (9:13 p.m.) — Caller reported hearing gunshots. Officers checked the area and all was quiet.

January 23

Bedford Road (2:28 a.m.) — Officer observed a vehicle parked in the driveway with its car door open. Officer secured the door; appears to be neglect.

Tower Road (10:44 a.m.) — MBTA reported an employee was on the tracks with a deer that had been struck by a train. MBTA work crew to handle.

Oakwood St., Dorchester (2:59 p.m.) — Investigators arrested Robert Barr, 50, of 30 Oakwood St., in Dorchester on a warrant stemming from a breaking and entering case from 2019.

DeCordova Museum (1:57 p.m.) — Caller reported a car on fire in the parking lot of the deCordova Museum. Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire.

Concord Road (9:18 p.m.) — Caller reported an outside odor of natural gas. Fire Department responded and investigated and found nothing.

Lincoln Road (10:26 p.m.) — Caller requested information on a relative who was last seen at the Real restaurant a few days ago. Officers found that his relative was in custody in the Norfolk House of Corrections.

Lincoln hospice house wins several awards

The Care Dimensions Hospice house in Lincoln.

The Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln has won four awards for excellence in architecture, interior design, and construction.

The 18-bed facility, which opened in April 2018, is located on Winter Street at the Waltham town line. The 27,600-square-foot inpatient hospice house offers hospital-level care for hospice patients requiring 24/7 medical care for acute pain and symptom management. An interdisciplinary team provided medical, emotional, and spiritual care to 460 patients and their families in the hospice house’s first year of operation.

At its 2019 Designer Awards, the International Furnishings & Design Association’s New England chapter honored Beverly-based SV Design in the Commercial Healthcare category for its work on the interior design of the hospice house. SV Design’s visions was a relaxed residence that could accommodate a range of needs, with a focus on the emotional and practical needs of its patients and their families, that echoed the natural surroundings that are integral to the facility’s environmental mood and aesthetic.

In its 27th annual Excellence in Construction Awards, the Massachusetts chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) recognized Windover Construction of Beverly, Mass., with its Merit Award, which recognizes overall excellence in project execution, craftsmanship, safety, innovative elements and challenges, and client satisfaction

In its 2019 Design for Aging Review, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) cited EGA, a Newburyport-based architectural design and planning firm, for successfully achieving a balance between a home-like environment and the highest quality of clinical elements in the facility’s design.

The hospice house solarium.

A patient’s room with an exit to a patio overlooking the Cambridge reservoir.

In its sixth annual Senior Housing News (SHN) Architecture & Design Awards, SHN, an Aging Media Network Publication, awarded second place to the Care Dimensions Hospice House in its 2019 Hospice category. More than 100 residential senior communities across the country and globe submitted new construction and renovation projects for commendation, vying for top honors across SHN’s nine individual award categories.

Winter at the farm (Lincoln Through the Lens)

The white barns of Codman Community Farms match their snowy surroundings earlier this winter. See this CCF blog post for a description of what goes on during the quieter winter months.

Readers may submit photos for consideration for Lincoln Through the Lens by emailing them to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. If your photo is published, you’ll receive credit in the Squirrel. Photos must be taken in Lincoln and include the date, location, and names of any people who are identifiable in the photo. Previously published photos can be viewed on the Lincoln Through the Lens page of the Lincoln Squirrel.

COA, Selectmen seek to change their names

By Alice Waugh

Two town government organizations — the Board of Selectmen and the Council on Aging — are hoping to change their names to keep up with changing times.

The Council on Aging (COA) wants to change its name to the Council on Aging and Human Services to reflect how its mission has expanded to serve Lincoln residents of all ages. A group of residents is proposing an update from Board of Selectmen (BOS) to Select Board to promote gender inclusivity and equality, in the same spirit as other title changes such as chairman to chair, fireman to firefighter and mailman to postal carrier. Both changes require Town Meeting approval in March.

Residents including Ellen Meyer Shorb, Stuart Rose, Kim Bodnar, Emily Haslett, and current Selectman Jennifer Glass organized a citizen’s petition to change the name of the BOS. The board itself is also sponsoring a warrant article that, if approved, aims to ensure that all language in the town by-laws is gender-neutral. Selectmen will discuss the issue at their next meeting on January 27.

According to the measure’s background document (which is based on similar measures enacted in 30 other Massachusetts towns including Bedford, Concord, Lexington, Sudbury, and Weston), the term “selectman” traces its history back to the early days of America. In the new open town meeting form of government, every citizen could voice opinions and vote on town matters — but “every citizen” referred to every land-owning male citizen. Soon, the notion of calling every man in town together to decide daily matters proved too cumbersome, and a group of men were selected to manage the details of town governance.

Lincoln elected Beth Ries as its first female Selectman in 1977; nine other women have since held that office.

“My personal thinking on ‘why do this and why now’ is that language matters and how we speak reflects who is included, and I’m glad that our town and towns around us are finally formalizing language that reflects this,” Shorb said.

Council on Aging

When the COA was first established, its mission was to serve seniors exclusively, but more recently, it’s been administering the Emergency Assistance Fund and the fuel assistance program, which are both open to all residents. In the past two years, the COA and other town officials have seen “a significant increase in the number of residents of all ages in various kinds of crisis,” and many of them were coming to the Council on Aging for help, COA Director Carolyn Bottum said.

in response, the town funded a community nursing position starting in 2018, and last year, with the help of grants, the COA began administering two more services for all ages: a town social worker and mental health clinics. Then in October, the Rental Assistance Program was launched in collaboration with the Housing Commission to provide help to residents of all ages who need assistance with rent. 

“The current name no longer reflects the fact that a considerable portion of our services are human services provided to residents of all ages. It also doesn’t reflect the fact that the town nurse, town social worker, AARP tax aide, SHINE [a program that helps Medicare recipients with health insurance], and veterans agent, all of whom serve residents of all ages, are all housed in the COA building and organized by the COA,” Bottum said.

“In addition, we do find that younger residents, especially, are confused and sometimes reluctant to work with us because they think we only serve older adults. Finally, we do think it may help when we go to apply for grants that are for services for younger people, since gran-tmakers might be confused as to why a Council on Aging is asking for funds for a program for younger people,” she added.

The name change must be approved at Town Meeting in March. In December, the Board of Selectmen were supportive of the plan.

“It’s a signal to people of where to turn if they don’t fall into that [senior] category but need some help, so it’s a benefit to the community in that way,” Selectman Jennifer Glass said.

“It’s more comprehensive and more transparent,” Selectman Jonathan Dwyer said.

Several other Massachusetts towns including Littleton, Taunton, Foxboro, Seekonk, Norton have also updated the name of their Council on Aging “simply because there is no other human services department in town,” Bottum said.

Regardless of the change, “it’s extremely essential to note that adding Human Services to our name does not denote that we are in any way no longer focused on seniors.  We are here to be the second home, voice, and advocate for Lincoln seniors just as much as we always were. Our focus is still on seniors; we have just added a service component for other ages and the name change reflects that. But we will always be a Council on Aging first,” Bottum said.

News acorns

Forum on South Lincoln rezoning proposal is Feb. 5

Residents can hear the latest on the proposed rezoning of the Lincoln Station area at a public forum on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.

Officials have been working with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council to rezone on rezoning Lincoln’s village center to create equitable transit-oriented development that will allows for housing options and create a vibrant, active walkable, and sustainable village center. The South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee’s Planning and Zoning team.

Last May, the group presented its proposal for the new South Lincoln Village District would have two subareas: business, which emphasizes commercial or mixed use, and residential, which provides a variety of housing options close to transit and retail amenities. The residential subarea would allow buildings up to three and a half stories further back from Lincoln Road to accommodate greater density.

Memorial event for Sylvia Kennedy (1934-2018)

St. Julia Parish, Weston/Lincoln invites you to join us on Saturday, Feb. 8 from 2–4 p.m. at Bemis Hall in Lincoln as we share our memories of a beloved parishioner, Sylvia Kennedy (1934-2018) and her contributions to our community. Please RSVP to Colm McGarry (cmcgarry@stjulia.org) if you plan to attend. All are welcome.  

Gustafson-Zook featured at next LOMA

Sadie Gustafson-Zook

Sadie Gustafson-Zook is the featured performer at the next LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) night on Monday, Feb. 10 in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. The event runs from 7–10 p.m., and she’ll perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30.

Gustafson-Zook holds a master’s degree in jazz and contemporary music from the Longy School of Music. Since moving to Boston from Indiana in 2017, she’s collaborated with some cutting-edge acoustic musicians from New England including Julian Pinelli (violinist with Ben Sollee), Ethan Setiawan (national mandolin champion) and Dan Klingsberg (bassist of Ruthless Moon). 

Admission is free and refreshments are provided. Performers can sign up at the event or email Rich Eilbert at loma3re@gmail.com for a slot. There is a sound system with mikes and instrumental pickups suitable for individuals or small groups.

Climate science is focus of Groundhog Day at Drumlin Farm

Drumlin Farm’s resident groundhog, Ms. G.

The Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary is set to host its annual Groundhog Day event on Sunday, Feb. 2, with a focus on climate science and weather.

Climate Action Day will feature activities centered on what children and adults can do to learn about and respond to the effects of climate change. The event will again feature Ms. G, the official state groundhog of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as she emerges from her winter hibernation and determines whether or not spring will come early this year.

“The impact of climate change on people and wildlife in New England is already evident, but that doesn’t mean that there ‘s nothing that we can do about it,” said Drumlin Farm Sanctuary Director Renata Pomponi. “Climate Action Day is intended to be a way for families to engage with a serious issue in a positive way, focusing on the small but meaningful actions that they can take in their own lives to help meet this challenge. As the Commonwealth’s most prominent wildlife ambassador, Ms. G serves as a symbol of the animals and their habitat that we all can help to protect by working together in our communities.”

The traditional Groundhog Day ceremony and forecast start at 10 a.m. (encore at 11:15 a.m.), followed by winter activities such as meeting resident wildlife and exploring wilderness trails. There will be live music starting at 10:30 a.m., and hot cocoa and warm beverages will be provided throughout the day. Visitors can also purchase produce grown at Drumlin Farm.

The Groundhog Day/Climate Action Day events take place from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. and is free with paid admission ($9 adults and teens, $6 children 2–12 and seniors), and free for Mass Audubon members. Drumlin Farm is open that day from 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Featured Programs:

  • Learn the forecast for spring’s arrival from our woodchuck weather expert (six more weeks of winter if she sees her shadow; an early spring if she doesn’t).
  • Visit with more of our resident wildlife and farm animals, learn about winter tracking, and explore the wildlife sanctuary’s trails
  • Listen to live music performed by the local band Sweet Wednesday starting at 10:30 am
  • Make winter crafts to take home
  • Investigate our local climate with Don McCasland of Blue Hill Observatory Science Center
  • Purchase produce grown at Drumlin Farm
  • Learn how climate change impacts hibernating species in New England

Ms. G was declared the Official State Groundhog by then-Governor Deval Patrick on July 31, 2014, when he signed the bill submitted by Wellesley’s Hunnewell Elementary School students. The measure also had its origins at Drumlin Farm (see the Lincoln Squirrel, Jan. 30, 2013).

Eighth-grader named as Lincoln’s Project 351 Ambassador

Devon Das

Lincoln School eighth-grader Devon Das has been selected as Lincoln’s Project 351 Ambassador, joined other other eighth-graders from every Massachusetts city and town for a transformational year of service, leadership development, and civic engagement.

The annual Launch and Service Day convened Project 351’s tenth Class of Ambassadors for a day of service and leadership to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Gov. Charlie Baker, First Lady Lauren Baker, and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito joined the morning celebration at Faneuil Hall. The day included service in support of 18 nonprofit organizations including the Greater Boston Food Bank, the Pine Street Inn, Be Like Brit, and the Chelsea and Holyoke Soldiers Homes.

There is no application process; educators nominate and select their community’s ambassador based on criteria and a process provided by the organization. Devon was selected by the Lincoln School to represent Lincoln for demonstrating an ethic of service and the values of kindness, compassion, humility, and gratitude. “Devon has volunteered for everything I’ve offered this year and he will make the most of the opportunity,” said Steve Cullen, the eighth-grade social studies teacher.

Project 351 ambassadors develop the skills and confidence to mobilize schools and communities in statewide service campaigns. Their spring service will benefitting Cradles and Crayons and 9.11 Tribute Service with the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund, while their fall service will addresses the challenge of hunger through support of hundreds of hometown food pantries. At the close of the Ambassador year, they can continue to hone skills and lead communities in service as members of the Alumni Leadership Council or alumni community.

Since its founding in 2011, 3,381 eighth graders have engaged as Project 351 Ambassadors, serving more than 720,000 neighbors through youth-led statewide service campaigns.

Property sales in December 2019

27 Storey Drive — Iain Fraser and Jean Gray for $1,283,000 (December 20)

103 Page Rd. — Kathleen P. Gentile Trust to Klaus and Iwona Dobler for $645,000 (December 6)

41 Lincoln Rd. — Magda L. Fleckner Trust to Gregory and Melanie Haines for $1,047,000 (December 6)

361 Hemlock Circle — Robert G. Ruland Trust to Keith Gilbert and Stacey Osur for $505,000 (December 6)

Commuter parking fees to go up

Starting February 1, the daily charge for non-resident parking in the commuter rail lot near Donelan’s will rise from $3 to $5.

The Board of Selectmen voted the increase in December — the first price hike in about 15 years. Lincoln’s fee was considerably lower than those for other towns with commuter rail lots. Selectmen briefly debated raising the price to $4, but the lots still accept only cash payments, and “I’m looking at four folded one dollar bills stuffed into the slot vs one five dollar bill,” Selectman Jennifer Glass said. 

The town will explore getting a pay-by-phone app this spring after the Annual Town Meeting, said Director of Planning and Land Use Jennifer Burney. Selectmen are also considering ways to increase the number of spaces by restriping, removing islands or changing the traffic circulation. 

The South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee has also hired a consultant to study the idea of creating fund as part of a new parking benefits district, which would require Town Meting approval.

News acorns

Art sale, climate film at St. Anne’s

St. Anne’s Episcopal Church will host a Haiti Art Sale on Sunday, Jan. 26 after morning worship (8 a.m. spoken Eucharist, 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with choir). Items made by artisans from Haiti will be for sale, and all proceeds benefit the artists who are helping support their families. That evening at 5 p.m., St. Anne’s is hosting a four-parish Evensong — St. Anne’s choir will be joined by choirs from Church of the Good Shepherd in Acton, Trinity Episcopal Church in Concord, and St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Sudbury. A reception will follow. All are welcome.

On Tuesday, Jan. 28, St. Anne’s will host a free screening of the 2019 documentary “Necessity: Oil, Water and Climate Resistance” on There will be a light supper at 6:30 p.m. The film will start at 7 p.m. and there will be a discussion via video link with filmmaker Jan Haaken at 8:15 p.m. This is the fifth season of the church’s Climate Justice Film Series. For more information, contact Alex Chatfield at adchat@aol.com or 781-697-0140.

Domestic Violence Roundtable collecting Valentine’s Day donations

Area residents are invited to donate items and help fill Valentine’s Day bags for those temporarily living in local domestic violence shelters and transitional housing programs on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 3 p.m. in the Wayland Public Safety Building.

Each February, the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable collects gift bag  items for women, children and men who are being assisted by REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, The Second Step, and Voices Against Violence. The bags were decorated by the children from the Sudbury Extended Day program. Small gestures like the gift bags let families know they are supported in their decision to leave an abusive situation and brighten their day.

Items needed for the bags include gift cards for CVS, Target, grocery stores, etc.; personal items such as full-size bath products, socks, cosmetics, nail polish, hair products, phone cards, journals, postage stamps etc.; and items for children such as crayons, coloring books, small stuffed animals, nonviolent toys, and stickers, as well as bath and hair products, books, diaries, movie passes, iTunes cards and candy for older kids.

Anyone interested in contributing to the collection may contact the Roundtable at info@dvrt.org. There will be a collection basket in the lobby of the Wayland Public Safety Building (38 Cochituate Rd.) from February 6-11. In past years the Roundtable has provided as many as 125 bags for families in shelter and transitional housing.

Minute Man NHP offers internship

Minute Man National Historical Park has a one-year full-time internship opening for a Community Volunteer Ambassador (CVA) starting in February. Applicants must be U.S. citizen between the ages of 18 and 30. See this CVA web page for more information or email Margie Coffin Brown at margie_coffin_brown@nps.gov.

Ceramics and photography classes, collage tour at deCordova

The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum offers “Ceramic Sculpture Workshop: Expressive Vessels, Forms, and Environments” on Wednesdays, February 26 to April 1, and Thursdays, February 27 to April 2 (both from 10 a.m.–1 p.m.) This is a ceramic sculpture course for the unrealized or developing artist, homeowner, or design aficionado looking to enhance indoor or outdoor spaces with one’s own ceramic installations or art, or anyone striving for an ideal in sculptural expression through one-of-a-kind vessels and sculpture. Techniques for building with clay, and thematic analysis of decoration will be explored, drawing inspiration from deCordova’s concurrent exhibition All the Marvelous Surfaces. Click on one of the days above to register.

The deCordova is offering “The Art of Photographing Nature,” a hands-on digital photography class designed for photographers interested in exploring the natural world with their cameras. With the sculpture park’s picturesque grounds as our backdrop, we will explore techniques, tips, and sensibilities common to landscape photography. The 10-week class starts on Thursday, March 5 from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. (no class on March 19 or March 26) and costs $300 for members or $375 for nonmembers. Click here for details and registration.

Join Koch Curatorial Fellow Sam Adams and Curatorial Assistant Elizabeth Upenieks for an in-depth tour of some of the museum’s most elaborate and dense collages on view on Thursday, March 12 from 6:30–7:30 p.m. Click here to register.

New reading circle, performance at Walden Woods Project

The Walden Woods Project (44 Baker Farm Rd.) invites you to join our new Reading Circle. We will read and explore works by Thoreau as well as authors whose work contributes to an even deeper examination of Thoreau’s ideas. At the first session on Wednesday, Feb. 26 from 7–8:30 p.m., we will begin discussing Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, Slavery in Massachusetts by Thoreau, and Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Click here to register.

The Aurea Ensemble will perform “Of Nature Composed,” which explores the intersection of nature, science, the arts and humanities, and the sanctity of our environment, on Thursday, March 5 from 7–9 p.m. at the Walden Woods Project (doors open at 6:30 p.m.; wine and cheese reception to follow). “Of Nature Composed” includes the words and music of 2014 Pulitzer Prize winner John Luther Adams; American composers, Charles Griffes, John Cage, Lou Harrison, and Charles Ives; and words of naturalist Henry David Thoreau, Pulitzer Prize winning poet Galway Kinnell, and Ted Kooser. Click here to register.