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Wind storm causes power outages, road closures

February 25, 2019

High winds caused a large tree to fall on this blue car parked near Donelan’s (click to enlarge). Photo by Joanna Schmergel

It was a winter storm without the snow or a hurricane without the rain, but even without any precipitation, Monday’s wind storm to tear down plenty of trees and limbs in Lincoln.

As of 5 p.m., Eversource reported that Lincoln had 347 customers without power due to more than 20 separate outages. In neighboring towns, there were 1,183 customers without power in Lexington, 953 in Wayland, 508 in Sudbury, and 517 in Weston. Downed trees, power lines and utility poles closed parts of Farrar Road, Old Concord Road, Macintosh Lane, Fox Run, Deerhaven Road and Huckleberry Hill, police reported.

A tree down on power lines on Farrar Road. Photo by Martin Dermady.

The wind tore most of the plastic sheeting from this Lindentree Farm greenhouse. Photo by Moira Donnell.

No injuries were reported, though a falling tree in the Donelan’s parking lot near Lincoln Woods damaged a couple of cars. Police Chief Kevin Kennedy said. Given the several hours of very high winds he noted that the damage would have been much worse if there had been foliage on the trees, or the storm had included heavy snow or ice, he added.

Because the Department of Public Works is busy clearing brush and trees from roads, the transfer station will be closed on Wednesday, Feb. 26.

Category: news

Correction

February 25, 2019

The original headline on the February 21 letter to the editor (“Letter to the editor: response to leaf-blower proposal critique“) regarding the leaf-blower bylaw proposal was incomplete at the time of publication and has since been corrected.

 

Category: news

Rudder… flaps… takeoff! (Lincoln Through the Lens)

February 24, 2019

Swans seen in bottoms-up and liftoff mode. (Photos by Harold McAleer)


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.

Category: Lincoln through the lens, nature

Letter to the editor: response to leaf-blower proposal critique

February 21, 2019

To the editor:

As a member of the Leaf Blower Study Committee, I thank Mr. Deck for his thoughtful critique of our initiative (Lincoln Squirrel, February 20, 2019). In truth, I find more common ground than I might have expected, and have only two points of disagreement.

(1) Mr. Deck says his own leaf blower use has no impact on his neighbors. I wonder if that is truly the case — I know from my own neighborhood experience that the sound of gas-powered leaf blowers several properties down from my home carries way farther, and is significantly more intrusive, than the users perhaps know.

(2) The civil disobedience Mr. Deck proposes to practice should the leaf blower by-law pass is a seriously slippery slope. By this same logic, perhaps we could dispense with those annoying stop signs by the library, for example. Reasonable courteous Lincolnites would simply defer to each other voluntarily at that corner. Maybe — but not likely. As a community, we recognize the need to balance individual rights against larger common interests. We believe the proposed leaf blower by-law does that, and we invite Mr. Deck to throw in with us.

Sincerely,

Robin Wilkerson
31 Old Winter St., Lincoln


Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Category: conservation, government, leaf blowers*, letters to the editor

News acorns

February 20, 2019

Actress to portray Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams, wife of a president, mother of a president, and sister of the captain of Lincoln Minutemen, will be portrayed by Sheryl Faye in a one-hour show on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. at Bemis Hall. The show is sponsored by Friends of the Council on Aging and the Lincoln Historical Society as a tribute to Harriet Todd. (Note: the “Ford Flappers, and Fitzgeralds” session scheduled for the same day has been postponed until Thursday, March 7 in Bemis Hall.)

Evensong, Climate Justice Ministry film at St. Anne’s

The St. Anne’s choir.

On Sunday, Feb. 24 at 5 p.m., St. Anne’s will present a service of choral evensong, a beautiful Anglican liturgy in which the word of God is illuminated by music. The choir will chant the psalm and prayers, and offer the mystical “Collegium Regale” settings of the “Magnificat” and “Nunc Dimittis” by Herbert Howells.

There will be a showing of the film “The Devil We Know” at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church on Tuesday, Feb. 26 as part of the church’s ongoing series of films on climate justice. “The Devil We Know” is the story of how a synthetic chemical used to make Teflon products contaminated a West Virginia community. But new research hints at a much broader problem: nearly all Americans are affected by exposure to non-stick chemicals in food, drinking water, and consumer products. A representative of the Toxics Action Center will discuss the organization’s work. A simple vegetarian soup supper will be served at 6:30 p.m. and the film will begin at 7 p.m. Donations will be accepted to help with the cost of screening rights.

South Sudanese program seeks volunteers

The South Sudanese Enrichment for Families program is looking for volunteers for its Saturday Bridges program, which brings together Sudanese children, parents, local students, volunteers, and professionals for enrichment programming during the academic year. Offerings include:

  • Preschool with pre-literacy and early literacy support for 3-4 year olds
  • Outdoor experiential education at Drumlin Farm for elementary and middle school students
  • Infant care
  • Adult workshops covering topics including parent-teacher conferences, Individual Educational Plans (IEPs), how to find resources in the community to support families, and how to look for signs and symptoms of trauma.
  • Personalized tutoring for adults

The program runs on Saturdays from 1:30–5:30 p.m. on March 16, April 6, April 27, and May 11 in the Hartwell pods. Orientation training for all volunteers will be held on Wednesday, March 6 at 7 p.m. at 10 Meadowdam Rd. in Lincoln. For more information, see www.SSEFBoston.org and email Keith Johnson at kjohnson@lincnet.org.

Cross-cultural film workshop for kids

A free cross-cultural filmmaking workshop for students aged 12–14 interested in collaborative movie-making with a twist will take place on Saturday, March 16 from 12:30–4:30 p.m. at the Flint Farmstead at 39 Lexington Rd. in Lincoln. Facilitated by Tom Flint and Japan’s only youth filmmaking organization, Children Meet Cinema, students team up for a filmmaking experience that allows them to explore the magic of cinema and create their own version of a famous film. The experience will consist of collaborative discussions, shooting, editing, screenings, and more. Space is limited to eight participants. For questions or registration, contact Flint at tflint@alumni.risd.edu or 617-930-1560.

Film: “Anton Chekhov’s The Duel”

The Lincoln Film Society presents “Anton Chekhov’s The Duel” (2010, in English) on Thursday, March 7 at 6 p.m. Escalating animosity between two men with opposing philosophies of life is played out against the backdrop of a decaying seaside resort along the Black Sea coast, leading to a duel as comically inadvertent as it is inevitable. Directed by Dover Kosashvili.

Events for parents of 8th-graders

“Life at L-S,” a parent-to-parent conversation about the 8th-to-9th-grade transition with Lincoln School Principal Sharon Hobbs and L-S veteran parents and administrators, will take place on Monday, March 4 (rescheduled from February due to snow) from 7–8:30 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room. The program will focus on extracurricular elements of a busy high-schooler’s life so families have contextual knowledge prior to the L-S course selection process in March. There will also be an information session and building tour for middle-school parents on Thursday, March 7 from 7:30–8:30 p.m. For more information, contact Carole Kasper at carolemkasper@gmail.com or Hobbs at SHobbs@lincnet.org.

Discussion on Modernism in Lincoln

Please join us on Sunday, March 24 from 4–6 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Library to listen to a recent interview with Doug Adams about his relationship with Walter Gropius — part of an ongoing effort to record oral histories of Lincoln residents with interesting connections to modernism. Adams will be on hand for informal discussion afterwards.

Category: arts, charity/volunteer, history, kids, religious

Letter to the editor: proposed leaf blower bylaw is an “overreach”

February 20, 2019

To the editor:

In a recent posting to the Lincoln Squirrel (“Leaf blower issue comes before voters again,” February 18), proponents of a Town Meeting proposal to limit the use of leaf blowers describe their proposal as noncontroversial. I disagree, and I strongly urge Lincoln residents to oppose it in its current form.

The proposal limits my rights to use my leaf blower responsibly and with no harm to my nearest neighbors. Instead of a ban that can’t hope to anticipate all reasonable exceptions, the committee should seek for the town to adopt leaf blower use guidelines and focus on education instead of rules that limit their reasonable use.

I agree that the wanton use of leaf blowers can be both an environmental and health problem, but many Lincoln homeowners such as I live on the edge of a forest where leaves blow in and become lodged in gutters and corners around the house. This happens year round and I sometimes use a leaf blower to help dislodge them. I don’t use lawn services that overuse them. I don’t blow dirt off my driveway into the air. I live hundreds of yards from my nearest neighbor. As a result, when I use a leaf blower, it causes none of the harm that the proposers of this ban refer to. I can’t always limit my use to the hours proposed. None of these restrictions should apply to individual homeowners using leaf blowers themselves on properties over two acres.

It’s great that this group of citizens has been able to get the town to use leaf blowers more carefully in public areas and to get more people to use electric leaf blowers. I believe that the first step as described in this article has achieved a good result for us all. These efforts should continue.

This next step as proposed is an overreach. I understand that it is well intentioned, but it goes too far and limits the ability of homeowners to act reasonably — even if it simultaneously discourages unreasonable use. If the proposal is passed by Town Meeting, my only alternative will be to ignore the ban and use my leaf blower when I need to. No one will know, especially in winter when everyone is indoors over a quarter-mile away with their windows shut. But each time I have to do that, I’ll rue the day that the majority of my neighbors somehow found themselves justified to deny me the right to act responsibly on my own property.

We’re better than this. We can do better than this.

Sincerely,

Mark Deck
11 Boyce Farm Rd., Lincoln


Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Category: government, leaf blowers*, letters to the editor

Obituaries

February 19, 2019

Eleanor Fitzgerald

Eleanor Fitzgerald, 79 (February 17) — educator, realtor, and town volunteer. Click here for obituary and February 21 funeral arrangements.

John E. Howard, 90 (January 26) — had dental practice in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Click here for obituary.

Theodore Dreier Jr., 89 (February 4) — longtime psychiatrist at McLean Hospital. Click here for obituary.

John E. Howard

Theodore Dreier Jr.

Category: obits

Library books beckon readers with tantalizing outfits

February 18, 2019

The display inviting library patrons to “fall in love” on a blind date with a book.

Sometimes a book isn’t just a book — it’s a promising blind  date or a ticket to a faraway land.

Since Valentine’s Day, the Lincoln Public Library has been offering a selection of “mystery books” — not whodunits, but rather books concealed in wrapping paper with only a couple of clues to help you decide whether this could be the book for you. They’ll be on offer until midweek.

Meanwhile, since this is school vacation week, the library is also offering prepacked bags with DVDs, books, and CDs focusing on particular destinations such as Florida, Italy and even outer space, even if this is a “staycation” for you. Reference librarian Laura Paryl, who’s been wanting to do this for a while, picked out and assembled all the materials.

As for the “mystery books,” the only clues for potential readers are genre, year of publication, and names of a couple of other “if you liked X” titles. Reference librarian Robin Rapoport chose them based on books that were successful at other libraries that have done similar “Blind Date with a Book” displays. Though she hasn’t read all the books on display, “there are definitely some personal favorites in there,” she said.

Rapoport eventually plans to post a list of the titles to relieve the suspense experienced by those who tried to judge a book by its cover (or wrapping paper), as well as response cards to find out what books people really enjoyed or didn’t.

Category: arts, features, news

Leaf blower issue comes before voters again

February 18, 2019

A group hoping to limit the use of gas-powered leaf-blowers in Lincoln will hold a public forum on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Town Office Building to discuss regulations that will be voted on at the Annual Town Meeting in March.

The Leaf Blower Study Group (now a subcommittee of the Conservation Commission) is proposing a bylaw that would place limits on when leaf blowers can be used. It would allow use of any type of leaf blowers in the fall and spring but only electric machines in the summer, and it would prohibit their use entirely from December 16 to April 14. From June to September, leaf blower use would be permitted during certain hours seven days of the week, though on Sundays, only residents of the property on which the leaf blower is being used may do so.

Leaf blowers could be used at any time for public safety and emergency situations, such as for cleanup after storms. The town’s building inspector could also grant one-day exemptions for users dealing with special situations and not ongoing routine maintenance, and there would be no rules on decibel levels.

“The idea is to regulate leaf blower use, not eliminate it,” group vice chair John Koenig explained in a presentation to the Board of Selectmen in December.

“It’s noncontroversial — there are so many studies that there is consensus that this is toxic and carcinogenic,” said Jamie Banks, chair of the group, which has gathered extensive research on the issue. Leaf blowers pose a health risk from airborne particles and exhaust, as well as noise pollution, research shows. Fuel spillage and maintenance chemicals are also harmful to the environment.

“The proposed bylaw is not a ban, but [instead] places reasonable limits on the use of noisy, polluting blowers for reasons of health, environment, and quality of life,” Banks said.

The Board of Health agreed in 2015 that “exposure to high-intensity, episodic or long-duration noise and air particulate and vapor dispersion from leaf blowers represents significant potential health hazards to our citizens” and members supported “efforts to craft effective and economically sound approaches to mitigate those health risks.”

The issue first came before the town in 2015, when the group proposed more sweeping restrictions. They submitted a citizens’ petition for a Town Meeting vote but later withdrew the item in the face of opposition and opted for more public education instead.

Thanks to its efforts and equipment demonstrations since 2015, town maintenance workers now use electric leaf blowers when possible, and property owners including the Rural Land Foundation have limited the use of the machines in the mall area, because the health risks of leaf blowers are much higher when they’re used to clear dirt and debris from hard surfaces such as sidewalks and streets.

“Now we feel like we’re ready for the next step,” Conservation Commission chair Peter von Mertens said, referring to the proposed bylaw.

At their December meeting, selectmen were initially lukewarm to the proposed bylaw, since there had been little public communication about it to that point (such as during November’s State of the Town meeting) and no formal solicitation of opinion since a 2014 survey.

“I would like to know more about the extent to which the people in Lincoln think this is a problem to be solved immediately,” Selectman Jonathan Dwyer said. “I feel like we have a lot of problems in town to solve right now and people only have a certain amount of capacity to deal with all of them.”

“I just have the sense there will be lots of questions raised” about how the leaf blower group formulated its proposed regulation, Selectman Jennifer Glass said.

“It would be very helpful for me” to hear feedback from public outreach before deciding on his stance on the proposal, Selectman James Craig said. The board will vote on whether to endorse the bylaw in early March.

Banks noted that public education was more difficult before the group became formally aligned with the Conservation Commission because it had no budget; “it was not due to lack of intent or effort.”

Category: leaf blowers*, news

Clarification

February 17, 2019

In the February 14 “News Acorns” item about an art show in Wayland, the name of Lincoln artist Dilla Tingley was inadvertently omitted from the list of Lincolnites who are exhibiting. The original post has been corrected.

Category: arts

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