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

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Another Israel-Palestine film on tap

The GRALTA Foundation will sponsor two screenings of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” on Saturday, May 3 at 10:00am and 2:00pm, and Monday, May 5 at 7:00pm (all in Bemis Hall). Watch the trailer or click here for a review by the Guardian.

Walk Bike Roll to School Week

During Walk Bike Roll to School Week at the Lincoln School next week (May 5–9), students are encouraged to travel to and from school each day without a car and enjoy the benefits of fresh air, exercise, and an environment-friendly trip. Students who ride the bus will be dropped off at the end of Ballfield Road to walk in from there. Bike trains will leave from a few locations in town (details to follow on LincolnTalk). Click here to volunteer as a crossing guard or bike train leader

Softball league opening day

The Lincoln Co-ed Slow-pitch Softball League will hold an Opening Day event on Sunday, May 4 at 5:00pm at Codman Field with a casual pick-up game and a home run derby as well as contests for kids. All skill levels and awkward batting stances welcome. Equipment provided, including left-handed bats. To learn more and register for the league, click here. 

Screen Free Week for kids

Celebrate Screen Free Week in Lincoln in mid-May. The team at LincolnWait.com has organized a week of local activities including:

  • “Fort-Night,” where families are invited for a fun-filled night of reading, games, and making blanket forts in the library on Monday, May 12 from 6:00–8:00pm. Complete the week-long Family Reading Adventure and earn a prize!
  • Join a local walk leader from Lincoln Land Conservation Trust for a family nature walk on Tuesday, May 13 at 4:30pm. Registration required.
  • Enjoy some popsicles and bubbles on the playground at an all-ages popsicle party with LincFam on Wednesday, May 14 at 4:00pm at the blue playground near Codman Pool while supplies last.
  • Stop by Codman Community Farms all day on Thursday and Friday, May 15 and 16 to pick up your seed-starting kit with pots, seeds, soil, plant care information and a check-in journal (first come, first served).

Details and signups are at LincolnWait.com, where you can also read more about the “delay smartphone” pledge and the local chapter of the national Wait Until 8th organization. Learn more about Screen Free Week at ScreenFree.org and download resources including a 101 Activity Checklist and Screen-Free Bingo.

Jessa Piaia presents Isabella Stewart Gardner

Isabella Stewart Gardner reenactor Jessa Piaia will appear at the library on Friday, May 9 from 12:30–1:30pm in Bemis Hall. Known for her flamboyant manner and free-spirited ways, Gardner (1840–1924) became known as the first American “patroness of the arts” and her significant collection of Italian Renaissance art.

Lincoln Dems reschedule caucus

The Lincoln Democratic Town Committee (LDC) has rescheduled its caucus to elect state delegates from April 26 to Saturday, May 10 at Bemis Hall for the state convention (doors open at 9:30am and close at 10:15am). Six delegates and four alternates will represent Lincoln in Springfield on September 13. All are welcome, but only registered Democrats may vote. Youths age 16 and up, people with disabilities, people of color, veterans, and members of the LGBTQ+ community who aren’t elected as delegates or alternates are encouraged to apply at the caucus or online to be add-on delegates. Those interested in getting involved with the LDC may contact Travis Roland at travis89roland@gmail.com.

Sweetbriar stars at LOMA

Brad Meyer and Amy Lohman of Sweetbriar.

Folk duo Sweetbriar will be the headliner at the next Lincoln Open Mic Acoustic (LOMA) on Monday, May 12 from 7–10 p.m. in Bemis Hall. LOMA is a monthly open mike night event with mikes and instrumental pickups suitable for individuals or small groups playing acoustic-style. Come and perform (contact loma3re@gmail.com to sign up) or just come listen to acoustic music and spoken word. Free admission.

Town now has EV chargers

The town has installed two electric vehicle Level 3 charging stations at Town Hall through a grant from Eversource and has been approved for two more to be installed at the municipal gravel lot at Lincoln Station. To use the chargers, download the SWTCH phone app (a flyer explaining how to get started can be found here.) The fee will be 35¢ per kilowatt hour.  A vehicle may stay plugged in until it’s fully charged; at that point, the user will be notified via the SWTCH app and will have a 30-minute grace period to move the vehicle. A loitering fee will be charged after the grace period of $1.00 per minute. The town enlisted the help of Beacon Integrated Solutions to set the charging rates; see the memo here.

Legal notice: Conservation Commission public hearing

The Lincoln Conservation Commission (LCC) will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 7:05pm in accordance with the MA Wetlands Protection Act and the Town of Lincoln Wetlands Protection Bylaw. This is in response to the duly filed Notice of Intent by Shruthi Bharadwaj for construction of a house addition and gravel driveway within the 100-ft Buffer Zone at 64 Trapelo Road (151-1-0). Information on how to log onto the virtual public meeting will be included in the LCC agenda posted on the town’s website at least 48 hours prior to the hearing. More information can be reviewed here.

Note that legal notices often must be posted twice by law. For previous legal notices and details on how to submit a legal notice to the Lincoln Squirrel, click here.

Read the latest issue of the Lincoln Review!

The Spring 2025 issue of the Lincoln Review is packed with artwork, poetry, and essays by Lincolnites. Note: this issue is free for everyone until Friday, May 2 — after that, you’ll need a Lincoln Squirrel subscription to access it. Email lincolnmareview@gmail.com if you’d like a paper copy. If there’s enough demand, we can have a batch printed up (each copy will be about $10).

The submission deadline for the next issue is August 1, so get your warm-weather creative juices flowing! Click here for information on submitting work.

Community center bids expected; Hartwell work begun

By Alison Taunton-Rigby
Community Center Building Committee

This has been a busy, high-energy month for the community center building project. Construction document drafts are in the final stages of review prior to publication on May 30, 2025. Bids for subcontractors are due on May 21, 2025, and bids for the general contractor will be opened on May 29, 2025.

We all recognize these are challenging, unpredictable economic times, so the Community Center Building Committee (CCBC) has worked hard to design within our budget with considerable contingency. The CCBC and Select Board have scheduled meetings in late May and early June to review the bids and approve a path forward. Assuming the bids come in on budget, we expect to sign a construction contract in June and begin work in early July.

Temporary relocation plans are complete for the occupants of the pods, who will move out as soon as the school year ends. This will free up the area occupied by the three pods for demolition and the beginning of community center construction:

Wall demolition in the Hartwell building for the maintenance shop is complete and electrical installation is ongoing, with HVAC ductwork to begin shortly.

  • The school maintenance shop will move into its new permanent home in the Hartwell building.
  • The Parks and Recreation Department offices will move into the Hartwell building, and programs will continue in school spaces and the usual locations around town.
  • The Lincoln Summer Day Camp will be entirely housed in the Lincoln School as well.
  • LEAP will move into the Smith Gym area of the school building.

Magic Garden Preschool will remain on site and will use the Strats Play area, a safe distance away from construction.The next CCBC meeting is scheduled for May 21, 2025. We welcome your comments, and questions. Please see the CCBC website for full information.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Police log for April 16–25, 2025

April 16

Tower Road (7:55am) — A two-vehicle crash occurred near the intersection of Tower Road and South Great Road. There were no injuries reported. One of the operators was cited for failing to yield at an intersection.

Weston Road (3:04pm) — An officer stood by at a small peaceful rally by the Pierce House.

April 17

South Great Road (2:26pm) — A motorist reported the railroad gates at the Rt. 117 crossing were malfunctioning. An officer responded to monitor the area. Keolis was notified.

North Great Road (1:55pm) — Several items were discovered on the side of the roadway by a Department of Transportation employee. An officer is investigating the incident.

I-95 southbound, Lexington (4:58pm) — The Lincoln Fire Department responded to the town of Lexington for a mutual aid response.

South Great Road (6:19pm) — Officers responded to the Rt. 117 railroad crossing for the report of malfunctioning gates. Officers monitored the area. Keolis was notified.

Greenridge Lane (8:06pm) — A person asked to speak with an officer regarding a civil matter.

April 18

Sandy Pond Road (5:16pm) — Several youths were advised that fishing is prohibited at the Cambridge Reservoir.

Bypass Road (5:34pm) — A person asked to speak with an officer regarding a possible fraud incident.

Minuteman National Historic Park (Visitor Center and Paul Revere lots) — Officers checked on occupied and unoccupied vehicles that were parked in the evening hours in preparation for the festivities the following day.

April 19

See “Lincoln marks 250th anniversary of “shot heard ’round the world” (Lincoln Squirrel, April 22, 2025) for a summary of police activities relating to Patriots Day weekend activities.

South Great Road (4:46pm) — A two-vehicle crash occurred close to Sweet Bay Lane. There were no injuries reported. Both vehicles were towed from the scene and one of the drivers was cited for a marked lanes violation.

April 20

South Great Road (1:54pm) — A one-vehicle crash was reported. The operator was not injured and the vehicle was towed from the scene.

April 21

Brooks Road (12:56am) — Temporary “No Parking” signs were removed from the north of town related to the Patriots’ Day weekend events.

Wells Road (8:27am) — An officer helped a resident get back to their home.

Wells Road (2:39pm) — An officer spoke to a resident regarding a civil matter.

April 22

Lexington Road (10:37am) — A caller reported a dog walking loose in the area of Lexington and Trapelo Roads.

Concord Road (1:32pm) — Wayland Police reported a vehicle had struck another and continued north on Rte. 126. Officers checked the area but were unable to locate the vehicle.

April 23

Branch St., Methuen (7:05am) — Members of the Lincoln Fire Department Dive Team were involved in an ongoing search in Methuen for a boy who fell into the Merrimack River on April 19.

Lincoln Road (11:43am) — An officer assisted drivers involved in a minor two-vehicle crash with exchanging papers.

Ballfield Road (1:08pm) — An officer spoke to two motorists regarding a traffic complaint.

Tower Road (7:28pm) — An officer spoke to a person who had been soliciting without a permit and advised them of the proper credentialing process.

April 24

Weston Road (11:15am) — An officer spoke to a resident regarding possible credit card fraud.

April 25

Trapelo Road (8:46am) — A person came to the police station to retrieve their dog that had been walking in the area without a leash.

Greenridge Lane (5:09pm — An officer spoke to an individual regarding an ongoing civil matter.

Sandy Pond Road (6:11pm) — Several people were advised fishing is prohibited at Flint’s Pond.

Legal notice: Planning Board public hearing

The Lincoln Planning Board will hold a public hearing at 7:01pm on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 via Zoom and in person at the Donaldson Room at Town Offices at 16 Lincoln Road to review an application for Multi-Family Residential Site Plan Review under Section 17 of the Zoning Bylaw. The applicant, Fabio Andrade, proposes to remove an existing building and construct a 4-unit multifamily townhouse at 150 Lincoln Road, Parcel 162-30-0.

Plans are available for review by e-mailing Jennifer Curtin at curtinj@lincolntown.org. The agenda with the Zoom information and meeting location will be posted to the town website at lincolntown.org/calendar at least 48 hours prior to the hearing. Anyone wishing to be heard may be present at the designated time and place; written comments will also be accepted.

Note that legal notices often must be posted twice by law. For previous legal notices and details on how to submit a legal notice to the Lincoln Squirrel, click here.
Note that legal notices often must be posted twice by law. For previous legal notices and details on how to submit a legal notice to the Lincoln Squirrel, click here.

20-home development eyed for Panetta/Farrington land

A map showing the land that the town hopes to purchase (click to enlarge).

Lincoln could see 20 new homes near Route 2 along with dozens of acres of newly town-owned woods and wetlands if residents vote yes at a Special Town Meeting on June 25.

Seventeen of the 20 homes will be tightly clustered 1,850-square-foot “starter homes” on 14 acres of Page Road land currently owned by the Panetta family. The town proposes to buy a total of 77 acres from the Panettas and Farrington Memorial (which operates the nonprofit Farrington Nature Linc) for $6.4 million. Funds for the purchase would come from developer Consigli ($3.3 million), which built Oriole Landing, as well as $800,000 from the City of Cambridge, $950,000 from the Lincoln’s Community Preservation Act fund, and $1.35 million in private donations.

Farrington Memorial will retain ownership of some of its land within its parcel that will be accessed (as will the new houses) from a roadway coming off Page Road, and Farrington Nature Linc will continue to operate as it now does (see the Lincoln Squirrel, April 17, 2015).

A sketch of where the homes would be placed.

To make it all happen, voters must two zoning measures by a two-thirds margin — a change to the existing North Lincoln Overlay District for the proposed housing and another to preserve the existing Gerard’s Farm Stand on Route 2 — plus the CPA funding for the conservation component of the project that would protect the land from development and eventually add 1.5 miles of new trails connecting to the Osborn Conservation area to the south.

The deal won’t go through unless the RLF can raise $1.35 million in donations by June 25. RLF Executive Director Geoff McGean acknowledged the tight timeline for fundraising and voter approval. “It’s a very complicated project with a lot of moving parts that somehow all come together at this brief moment in time, unfortunately,” he said.

The fundraising effort will include appeals to foundations, friends of conservation, and a townwide mailing. “Most of the time it’s individual Lincoln residents that step up, and we’re hopeful that residents will think this is a good project worth supporting,” McGean said.

The housing plan is modeled on the state’s nascent 40Y program, which offers a zoning tool for towns to approve “starter homes” of up to 1,850 square feet in districts that allow at least four starter homes per acre. However, though the law has been passed, the state has not yet released specific guidelines for towns and developers, so there will be no opportunity for state grants or other involvement, McGean said.

The RLF presented the proposal to the Select Board on April 14 and will make an informal presentation to the Planning Board on Tuesday, April 29.

The plan is similar in some respects to the town’s 2016 purchase of the Wang property on Bedford Road. That deal paved the way for a new home for the Birches School, a new town playing field, and several acres of conservation land.

GearTicks robotics team recognized for community outreach

The GearTicks team with their robot. Back row, left to right: Oliver Chu, Ethan Chu , Will Mendelson, Henry Hussey, Maeve Hussey, Camille Gammack. Front row, left to right: Miles Wang, Aaron Ortiz, Ela Koro, and Ira McLure (click to enlarge).

The GearTicks, a Lincoln-based student robotics team, competed in March at the Massachusetts FTC Robotics State Championship in Boston and were runners-up for the Motivate Award for their strong outreach efforts, including volunteering at the Perkins School for the Blind and in various community events in Lincoln. 

The GearTicks take part in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) competition for students in grades 7-12, where teams around the world design, build, and program robots to complete a challenge each year. At competitions, 18-by-18-inch robots are pitted against each other in two-on-two matches, where teams compete to have their robot score points in a variety of ways. The robot must be fully autonomous for the first 30 seconds of the match, while the final two minutes are driver-controlled.

This year’s challenge, “Into the Deep,” features rectangular blocks, or “samples,” which robots are tasked with picking up. These samples can be scored by dropping them into four-foot-high baskets. Alternatively, they can be delivered to the human drive team, who can modify the sample so that it can be hung on a bar. The most exciting part of the game comes in the final seconds, or “Endgame,” when robots can attempt to hoist themselves up a series of two bars and hang at the top, a full three feet off the ground. 

The GearTicks’ robot after a completed “Ascent,” where it climbed up two rungs to hang over three feet off the ground. 

At the state championship, the GearTicks showed off their custom-made robot in signature blue colors. They most notably created an arm that could extend out 48 inches and rotate 100 degrees. Blocks were picked up with a silicone-molded intake and could be dropped off with the same mechanism. An innovative part of the GearTicks’ design was a NeoPixel LED panel that they coded to display custom images to provide information for drivers. In addition, the GearTicks were one of the few teams who were able to find a solution to the difficult task of hanging the robot from the highest bar.

Much of the FTC Robotics competition is centered around judging — teams are evaluated based on their robot, design process, programming, and community outreach — and the GearTicks took second place in the last category.

The event capped off a strong season, where the GearTicks were able to advance to the state level after winning their initial qualifying competition, achieving the Inspire Award (the top award) out of a field of 22 teams. With their season now over, the GearTicks are running outreach events and preparing ahead of next season. 

If you or your child is interested in joining the FTC program as a coach or team member, contact us at hello@gearticks.com. If your child is too young to join FTC, there are also LEGO-based FIRST Robotics programs for elementary- and middle school-aged students, FIRST Lego League/FLL (grades 4-8), or FLL Explore (grades 2-4). To learn more, come visit to the FIRST Robotics Open House at the Lincoln School on May 27.

Correction

An incorrect version of the obituary for Jean Loud Mallary was published on April 24. The correct version is now on the Lincoln Squirrel website.

Legal notice: Historic District Commission

The Historic District Commission will hold a virtual online public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, to consider the application of 59 Conant Rd., M/P 181-5-0 to determine the significance of the building. Anyone wishing to be heard on this matter should be present at the designated time and place. 

Note that legal notices often must be posted more than once by law. For previous legal notices and details on how to submit a legal notice to the Lincoln Squirrel, click here.