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

Council on Aging activities in August

Italian lunch for veterans and spouses/partners
August 1 at noon
Veterans of all ages and their spouses or partners are invited to come to Bemis Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 1 at noon to enjoy spaghetti with sauce, meat lasagna, and a salad with coffee and dessert. Come have a chance to talk about your service or anything else you like with people who understand. Please call the COA at 781-259-8811 to sign up so they know how many to expect.

Lincoln Traditional Jazz Band
August 2 at 12:30 p.m.
Jazz up your summer at Bemis Hall on Thursday, Aug. 2 at 12:30 p.m. when the Lincoln Traditional Jazz Band will share with you their love of traditional jazz music in a delightfully spontaneous concert! They’ll have you stomping your feet and cheering as they belt out good ole favorites such as “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Sunny Side of the Street” or “When The Saints Go Marching In.” The group are all retirees, amateur musicians who give expression to their love of the jazz of the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s at Bemis the first Thursdays (summer) at 12:30 or Fridays (fall), or the third Saturdays at 1.

LGBT get-together for tea and conversation
August 6 at 1 p.m.
All are invited to a get-together for LGBT elders to enjoy tea and conversation at Bemis Hall on Monday, Aug. 6 at 1 p.m. Spend some relaxed social time, get to know others, and share your thoughts and experiences. If there is interest, the COA will plan more events for the future. Let the COA know what events you would like to attend. Elders from other towns are more than welcome.

Brunch and nutrition tips for healthy summer eating
August 8 at 10 a.m.
Choices for healthy cooking and eating are bountiful in the summer, but with so much health information coming at us it can be hard to know who to listen to and how to follow recommendations. Come to Bemis Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. to have a yummy brunch prepared by the chef from the Commons, hear some tips for eating well with summer’s bounty, and get answers to your nutrition questions from Sadie Daniels, RD, dietician at the Commons. If you have a special nutrition concern, call Carolyn at the COA at 781-259-8811 and let her know and she will pass it along to Sadie before the program. Please sign up by calling the COA by Wednesday, Aug. 1.

Free wellness clinic for all ages
August 14 at 10 a.m.
Meet with a nurse at 50 Wells Road in Lincoln Woods on Tuesday, Aug. 14 from 10 a.m. to noon. Blood pressure, nutrition and fitness, medication management, chronic disease management, resources, and more. Provided by Emerson Hospital Home Care.

How has literature enriched your life?
August 15 at 10 a.m.
Seeing life through characters in novels can help us broaden our perspective and find insights into our own dilemmas. As we age, we may find new books that speak to our own situations. Come for three sessions on August 15, 22, and 29 at 10 a.m. at Bemis Hall in which we’ll talk about books that speak to us now and some of the personal issues they address. Please bring a book you would like to share with others. The group will be facilitated by trained leader Alyson Lee.

Free elder law clinic
August 20 at 2 p.m.
Got a question about issues such as estate planning, MassHealth, protecting assets for a loved one with a serious disability, guardianship, conservatorship, or probate? The COA provides a monthly legal clinic with elder law attorney and Lincoln resident Sasha Golden on Monday, Aug. 20 from 2–3 p.m. at Bemis Hall. There’s no charge for the 30-minute consultation, but please sign up by calling the COA at 781-259-8811.

Accessory swap
August 27 at 1 p.m.
Go through your accessories to clean out jewelry, hats, scarves, etc., that you just don’t use anymore. Then come on down to Bemis Hall on Monday, Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. for an accessory swap. Bring some pieces (not more than five)—scarves, jewelry, etc.—put them on a table, and then pick out some to take home. It’s fun and it’s a great way to swap out what’s old to you and breathe some new life, color and style into your wardrobe.

Special Town Meeting vote on marijuana businesses planned

The town will schedule a Special Town Meeting this fall to vote on extending the current moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses in Lincoln and whether to seek a full ban on such businesses.

Massachusetts legalized recreational marijuana sales in 2016, but individual cities and towns can choose to opt out of marijuana growing, processing, testing or retail businesses. Lincoln narrowly voted to legalize recreational marijuana in the state election in 2016; as a result, any future partial or full ban in Lincoln must be approved by a two-thirds majority at Town Meeting and by a simple majority at a later ballot vote.

In March 2017, Lincolnites approved a temporary moratorium on cannabis businesses while residents decided on a permanent course of action. That moratorium is set to expire on November 20, but the town has the option of extending it for a limited period of time. This fall’s Town Meeting vote will seek to extend it until June 30, 2019.

At the fall vote, residents will also be asked if they want to institute a full ban on all cannabis businesses. If two-thirds say yes, the town will seek to affirm that vote at the ballot box after the spring 2019 Annual Town Meeting. “We’re fairly close to two-thirds now in terms of support for a full ban,” Selectman James Craig noted at the board’s June 19 meeting, referring to results of a town-wide survey mailed to residents in April.

If the two-thirds bar isn’t met, the Marijuana Study Committee will seek more feedback with another survey “so we can really drill down on what appetite the town has for commercial development ore retails sales” of cannabis products, Craig said. The Planning Board would then draw up proposed zoning amendments to regulate businesses and would bring them to a Town Meeting vote in spring 2019.

If the town does nothing, the state could begin issuing licenses to marijuana-based establishments in Lincoln once the moratorium has expired, as noted in the FAQ document posted by the committee in April.

Selectmen emphasized that any town-wide action on cannabis businesses will not affect the personal rights granted under the 2016 statewide legalization of recreational marijuana. Under the new law, Massachusetts residents 21 and older may use, grow and possess marijuana products. Individuals may possess under 10 ounces of marijuana inside their homes and under one ounce in public, as well as grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes (or 12 plants in households with two adults). Public consumption and driving under the influence of marijauan remain illegal.

There will be another public forum on marijuana businesses in Lincoln in October. “We want to make sure people understand what they’re voting on” at the Special Town Meeting later in the fall, Craig said.

Events at deCordova include outdoor programs with artists

“Taking the Cure” by Cat Mazza.

Earlier this month, the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum installed two new large-scale sculptures in the Park, both created specifically for deCordova, and both artists will host events this summer.

Cat Mazza, creator of “Taking the Cure,” will give an artist’s talk at a craft evening on Saturday, July 28 from 4–6 p.m. Her sculpture explores issues of convalescence and self-care through an intricate wooden latticework inspired by New England’s “cure cottages,” which were used to treat tuberculosis patients in the nineteenth century. As she and participants work on a woven textile piece together, Mazza will talk about the history of the cure cottages in New England and how that has inspired her piece for deCordova.
Click here to register.

“Pasture Song” by Nancy Winship Milligan.

Nancy Winship Milliken’s “Pasture Song” features reclaimed cello bow hair woven into a net and suspended from a wooden frame. The horse hair, once used to flick flies on a hot summer day, was fashioned into a bow to make music and then returned to the harmony of nature. Bring your own lunch and join Milliken for a picnic in front of her sculpture on Thursday, Aug. 2 from noon–1 p.n. and  learn about how she constructed the piece, her experiences making art on farms around the globe, and her commitment to environmental practice. Click here to register.

In “Sensing Place: A Summer Photo Workshop” on Saturday, Aug. 4 from 10 a.m.–noon, Concord naturalist and photographer Cherrie Corey leads an exploration of deCordova’s natural and artistic landscape on an outdoor tour focused on how contemporary sculptors devise innovative ways of casting and replication to explore memory, artifice and history. Ages 12+. For emerging and experienced photographers alike. Free with admission or membership; registration requested.

Deer’s ears (Lincoln Through the Lens)

A deer glances back toward camera-toting Lincoln resident 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.

Schedules proposed for school, community center projects

The current school campus showing when various sections were built.

School and community center planners have proposed schedules for further community input and eventual start dates for their respective projects.

Daedalus Projects Inc., the owner’s project manager for the school project, presented a schedule to the School Building Committee earlier this month calling for three community forums from August to October as well as six committee charrettes on various aspects of the school design.

Charrettes on hubs and commons and on building envelope and sustainability took place on June 27 and July 11, respectively. The next session on Wednesday, July 25 at 7 p.n. in the Hartwell multipurpose room will focus on building exteriors and site circulation. Other charrette dates and topics:

  • Systems and photovoltaic panels – August 8
  • Interior spaces and security – August 22
  • Schematic design pricing set – September 5
  • Cost review: September 27

The final cost estimate is due on October 1. Residents must vote on a dollar amount to borrow for the project at a Special Town Meeting on December 1, 2018 (with a two-thirds majority required for passage) and at the ballot box on December 3.

Assuming the project is approved, construction documents and bidding will take place next, with modular classrooms installed in spring and summer 2019, and actual construction running from November 2019 to November 2023.

Community center plan

The Community Center Planning and Preliminary Design Committee submitted its final report outlining two possible design directions on July 19. A survey of residents who attended the June 9 Special Town Meeting showed that voters were almost evenly split on which of the two they preferred.

In their report to the Board of Selectmen, the CCPPDC recommended creating a community center building committee in late 2020. That group would approve a budget for schematic design (currently estimated at $300,000), hire an architect and owner’s project manager, and prepare for a Town Meeting vote on the building site and budget in March 2021.

The town will not have the borrowing or campus space capacity to begin the community center until after the school project is nearly complete. The CCPPDC therefore recommended holding a bonding vote on March 2022 and starting construction in March 2023.

Property sales in June

82 Virginia Rd. #B411 — Debra Taylor to Carol Bickford for $420,000 (June 29)

5A South Commons — Ronald Golay to Kathleen Sullivan for $460,000 (June 26)

17 Stonehedge — Henry Cretella to Joseph Soucy and Norana Cavanao for $1,315,000 (June 26)

3 Smith Hill — Gita Srinivastava to Piyush and Gari Srinivastava for $1,150,000 (June 26)

84 Davison Drive — Belinda Gingrich Trust to Xiaoran Fu and John Carr for $1,492,500 (June 22)

102 Lincoln Rd. — Steven Tanabe to Ephraim Lessell for $590,000 (June 22)

97 Lincoln Rd. — Susan Jones to Timothy Clark and Kate Johnsen for $1,400,000 (June 22)

10 Twin Pond Lane — Roger Cody to Antje and Sebastian Barreveld for $2,288,000 (June 21)

12 Hiddenwood Path — Carolyn L. Buckler Trust for Elana McDermott and Michael DiGiando for $865,000 (June 18) 

7 Linway Rd. — Herman Michael Tannert Trust to Jonathan and Elizabeth Everitt for $885,000 (June 18)

55 Old Bedford Rd. — FFMS Lincoln North LLC to RCS-Bedford (DM) (Parks IDE) LLC c/0 Arsenault Holdings LLC for $19,550,000 (June 15)

# Goose Pond Rd. — Patricia Gray to Robert and Anne McGarr for $1,285,000 (June 13)

 

 

A stand-up guy (Lincoln Through the Lens)

Raccoons in Harold McAleer’s back yard will stand for almost anything, it seems.

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.

DeCordova announces staff appointments, grant

The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum has announced two new staff appointments and an $80,000 grant for a major exhibit in 2020.

Jennifer Klahn has been named Deputy Director for External Affairs. In that role, she will lead the strategic growth of development, membership, corporate art loan program, and marketing functions in support of deCordova’s advancement and greater prominence within the regional, national, and international contemporary art communities. Additionally, deCordova has promoted Sarah Montross to Curator, a role in which she will continue organizing indoor and outdoor exhibitions, sculpture projects, and programming.

Klahn has held senior management development roles with Harvard University Art Museums and Historic New England. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Philanthropy at the Archaeological Institute of America.

Montross joined deCordova as Associate Curator in June 2015. She has curated or co-curated numerous exhibitions and has continued deCordova’s PLATFORM series of commissioned outdoor projects, bringing in work by artists Letha Wilson, Noémie Goudal, and Saul Melman. She has also organized many Sculpture Park loans, including works by Aaron Curry, Nari Ward, and Josephine Halvorson. Currently, she is working on deCordova’s spring 2019 Biennial and spring 2020 Visionary New England exhibition.

DeCordova recently received an $80,000 grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to support its 2020 exhibition Visionary New England, organized by Montross. This grant reflects the foundation’s mission to support work of “a challenging and often experimental nature” and encourage “curatorial research leading to new scholarship in the field of contemporary art.” 

Visionary New England (opening spring 2020) is a group exhibition of contemporary art inspired by the rich history and ongoing impact of New England’s visionary, spiritualist, and utopian practices. From Transcendentalism and utopian agrarian communities in the mid-1800s to the merging of mysticism and psychology in the early twentieth century to the psychedelic experiments of the 1960s, New England has long nurtured alternative ways of creating community and social reform.

Grounded in this legacy, Visionary New England will feature the work of more than a dozen contemporary painters, photographer, sculptors, video artists, and performers with strong ties to the region. Shown together, their artwork will offer a thought provoking perspective on society and power, as well as a hopeful vision for future harmony between humanity and the natural world. An array of public programs, lectures, performances, and partnerships with nearby historic sites will enrich the exhibition. 

The foundation awarded a total of $3.6 million to 42 cultural organizations selected from an applicant pool of 224 nonprofit arts organizations as part of its spring 2018 grant cycle.

Route 117 intersection getting safety improvements

The state of work last week on Route 117 at Lincoln Road looking toward the fire station.

Addressing long-standing safety concerns at the intersection of Route 117 and Lincoln Road, the town is working on new traffic islands and a pedestrian light that should be complete in a few weeks.

Residents have complained for years about the intersection’s dangers to both cars and pedestrians. “Everyone who lives near this intersection has had too many close calls to count, some of them involving children,” Lincoln Road resident Chris Ratiner wrote in a LincolnTalk discussion.

Not everyone was pleased with the project, however. Trapelo Road resident Brad Meyer noted that the new curbing restricts eastbound traffic to a single lane, leaving no room for cars waiting to turn left into Lincoln Road. “This means that the moment anyone wants to turn there during the morning rush hour, the whole line of eastbound traffic will grind to a halt waiting for that driver to complete the turn. If this impression is correct, there will be frequent lines of stopped traffic at that intersection, full of frayed tempers at the needless delay. We may have to wait until the summer slack time is over before this mistake (if that’s what it is) becomes obvious,” he wrote.

“Throughout the process, the local neighborhood supported the improvements and were involved, along with the Roadway and Traffic Committee, in determining a course of action,” said DPW Superintendent Chris Bibbo.

Once work is complete, the intersection will have safety islands in the middle of Route 117 for pedestrians who aren’t able to cross both lanes at once due to traffic volume. There will also be pedestrian-activated flashing yellow crossing lights and signs similar to those outside Bemis Hall on Trapelo Road.

The project (which will not include any road widening beyond what’s already been done) was designed by consulting engineer Hayner and Swanson with input from the Cycling Committee and vetting by the RTC, Bibbo said.

The work was made possible by a grant from a state program that encourages safety measures on roadways for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. The town held public forums to hear how residents thought the money should be spent, and the Route 117 intersection was identified as a safety priority.

The Roadway and Traffic Commission (CK) has looked at various safety-improvement ideas for the intersection over the years, including a roundabout. The Department of Public Works removed some vegetation and relocated a fence to improve sight lines, but this is the first time the roadway itself has been changed.

Several other projects funded by the same $400,000 grant, such as repairs to roadside paths, are also in progress or already complete. Everything is slated for completion by September, and the town plans to apply for another Complete Streets grant in 2019 for a second set of road and path improvements.

Work stopped temporarily while the contractor awaited delivery of granite cobblestones but is expected to resume this week, Bibbo said.

News acorns

Frisbee show and other events at library

  • On Tuesday, July 17 at 4 p.m., two-time freestyle Frisbee champion Todd Brodeur will put on an amazing Frisbee show with an interactive play shop to follow. All ages; drop in.
  • Kids entering grades 3–6 will enjoy activities and games based on Roald Dahl books on Thursday, July 19 from 4–5:30 p.m. Snacks provided. To register,  call the library at 781-259-8465 ext. 4.
  • A summertime singalong with Ed Morgan takes place on Friday, July 20 at 10:30 a.m. for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.
  • Singer Heather Ferrari and pianist Alex Olsen present songs from the Great American Songbook as well as contemporary Broadway repertoire on Monday, August 13 at 7 p.m. Selections range from beautiful ballads to your favorite toe-tapping tunes.

Middlesex Democratic candidates debate next week

There will be a Middlesex District Attorney and Governor’s Council debate on Tuesday, July 24 from 7–9 p.m. at the First Parish Arlington (630 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington). District attorneys are the most powerful people in the criminal justice system—and they’re accountable only to voters. Learn more and hear from incumbent DA Marian Ryan and challenger Donna Patalano, as well as candidates for the Governor’s Council, which has the power to appoint judges and Parole Board members.

HeatSmart extended until Aug. 31

HeatSmart CCL (Carlisle, Concord, and Lincoln) has been extended until August 31. Until then, homes and businesses in the three towns can purchase advanced air-source and ground-source heat pumps and modern wood heating systems at a special, limited-time discount from competitively selected installers to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Visit HeatSmartCCL.org to schedule a free home visit with a HeatSmart selected installer or contact Lincoln HeatSmart coaches John Snell and Belinda Gingrich at HeatSmartLincoln@gmail.com.

Library crawl and challenge

The Lincoln Public Library is on the self-guided Minuteman Library Crawl for the first time this year on Wednesday, Aug. 1 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. A “crawl”, or tour, is a fun way to visit multiple libraries in your area. You can travel from library to library, meet staff and learn more about what libraries in the area have to offer.

The challenge is to visit as many libraries as you can and take a picture of yourself with a designated item in each library. At Lincoln. we have chosen Athena and a very large stuffed bear. If you go to at least five libraries, you’ll get a prize (one per group). All ages are welcome and the route is up to you. Click here for locations and “scavenger” items to find at each library.