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

Town Archives launches new digital website

The architect’s sketch and floor plan for the Lincoln Public Library (click to enlarge).

The Lincoln Town Archives (LTA) has launched a new website at lincolntownarchives.omeka.net to highlight treasures from their historical collections. The site features selected archival materials and exhibits about Lincoln’s local history, including some rarely seen images and artifacts—all easily accessible online. 

Currently the LTA is featuring a new digital exhibit called “R.D. Donaldson: A Vernacular Carpenter.” The exhibit explores the life and legacy of Lincoln builder Robert Douglas Donaldson and is based on research conducted by late Lincoln resident Robert Loud. It also highlights photographs and documents recently donated by R.D.’s grandson, Craig Donaldson. Archives intern Indrani Kharbanda assisted in the creation of the exhibit.

The new LTA website also includes an exhibit titled “From Bookcase to Building: A History of the Lincoln Library,” adapted from an original physical display created by Marjorie Hilton for the Lincoln Town Archives’ grand reopening in 2009. It chronicles the history and development of the Lincoln Public Library, and spotlights documents such as the Constitution of the third Social Library in Lincoln (1840) and images of the original Lincoln Library building in the 1880s.

As an ongoing digital project aimed at providing easy remote access to archival collections and promoting local history, Town Archivist Marie Wasnock will add more historical items and exhibits to the site periodically. 

The Lincoln Town Archives collects, preserves, and provides access to the history and culture of the town of Lincoln. Collections include municipal records, manuscripts, books, photographs, audiovisual materials, and other ephemera documenting the history of Lincoln from 1746 to the present.

Adults and students walk out to protest school gun violence

A group of Lincoln residents stands vigil on Tuesday, one month after the Parkland school shooting.

Undeterred by the recent heavy snowfall, a group of Lincolnites held a 17-minute silent vigil in South Lincoln on March 14, the one-month anniversary at the Parkland, Fla., school shootings. The following day, students at the Lincoln School and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School walked out of school for 17 minutes to protest gun violence.

The school walkouts were delayed a day because schools were closed on March 14, two days after a blizzard dropped almost two feet of snow on the area. But adults braved the cold on Wednesday and stood silently for 17 minutes to commemorate the 17 students and adults who were shot. Organizer Sharon Antia played a bell tone on her phone once each minute as participants took turns reading the names of the victims.

Although the First Parish Church rang its bell 17 times at 10:00, it couldn’t be heard at Peace Park—but bells rang out anyway at the end of the vigil as a commuter train approached.

“I just felt I had to find a place to be open about what I feel about guns and this tragedy,” said vigil participant Toby Frost.

At the vigil, “I was thinking about my own children. When I see something like that, the unimaginable horror as a parent I would feel…” said Margit Griffith, her voice trailing off.

“As students, it’s kind of scary to think about [a shooting] and that it could be a younger adult who just graduated high school,” said Griffith’s daughter Emma, 14. “Guns are meant for war—they shouldn’t be anywhere near students.”

“Our Constitution and our democracy are being hijacked by a false understanding of the Second Amendment,” said Chris Damon.

“No one should be able to purchase that kind of weapon, especially at that age,” said her son 14-year-old Javi Damon. Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz used an AR-15 in the Parkland school shooting.

The next day, hundreds of students at L-S left class and walked around the high school with signs and a student speech. Police were on campus to prevent anyone from entering or leaving except in an emergency.

At the Lincoln School, about 150 students in grades 5–8 also walked out. Student Council members read names and brief pieces of information about each of the 17 people who were killed in Parkland, and the names were interspersed with poems, moments of silence, and one impassioned plea to end gun violence.

After they reentered the building, the students had an opportunity to reflect on the event by talking to adults and each other, writing letters to students or lawmakers, draw, write on sticky notes to be posted around the school in response to the question “how can we take care of each other?”

Some scenes from the walkout and student signs that were taped afterwards to windows at L-S (click an image to enlarge):

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Letter to the editor: Matthews supports Kasper, Hullinger

To the editor:

The Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee is losing two long-serving colleagues and this election on March 26 will be crucial in finding strong, thoughtful, and hardworking successors to Nancy Marshall and Gerald Quirk. I am writing this as an individual and not in my capacity as a member of the committee and its current chair, but my experience definitely informs my views. The towns of Lincoln and Sudbury are losing two key committee members, both have been serving on our current contract negotiations committee, so it is clear how critical this election will be to the future of L-S. Our towns need to send the best two candidates to serve for the next three years.

Carole Kasper is from Lincoln and has served her community and Sudbury well. She is a collaborative, dedicated, thoughtful leader and is a candidate at a time when there is much hard work to be done. She has already worked with the LSSC with her service on the L-S School Start Time Subcommittee and was a major force on that committee determining L-S’s need to balance start time and end time with our student’s health needs. Carole has proved her leadership qualities with her work with middle school parents from Lincoln and aiding in the transition of students from Lincoln Middle School to L-S.

Siobhan Hullinger from Sudbury,is well known from the community service she has already done. She serves on three boards in Sudbury: HOPEsudbury, the LSPO, and the L-S Scholarship Fund. She was also elected to and served on L-S School Council and has had three children go through L-S with her last child as a sophomore. She is hard-working, thoughtful, collaborative and best of all, very familiar with the unique culture of L-S. The towns of Lincoln and Sudbury need Siobhan on the L-S School Committee to do the hard work and make the difficult decisions that preserve the excellence in the academic experience for all students and preserve the unique culture that the two towns have fostered in L-S.

Please join me in voting for Carole Kasper and Siobhan Hullinger (a write-in candidate) on March 26. Help keep the L-S School Committee the high-performing team it currently is.

Sincerely,

Kevin J. Matthews
Haynes Rd., Sudbury

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.

Obituaries

Raymond Dunn III

Raymond Dunn III, 75 (March 7) — former administrator of  New England Rehabilitation Hospital and founder/CEO of Advantage Health Corp.

Arthur Tetreault, 94 (January 9) — part of husband-and-wife team of builder-developers and real estate agents.

Letter to the editor: Sudbury selectman endorses Hullinger

(Editor’s note: Brown is a member of the Sudbury Board of Selectmen).

To the editor:

I am writing to support Siobhan Hullinger for a seat on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School School Committee in this year’s election.

Siobhan has a long record of volunteering for community service and a notable record of service at the high school. This not only demonstrates her commitment to the school and the L-S community, but also provides her with an understanding of the specific strengths, weaknesses, and unique culture at L-S. She understands the need for collaboration among L-S, Sudbury, Lincoln and METCO to create a seamless academic experience for our students, to address school start time recommendations, and to create an effective administrative structure for our schools.

Further, Siobhan is thorough and meticulous in her research and in deriving her conclusions and recommendations. This requires time, effort and analysis upon her part, and she undertakes this work with an open mind. I have learned to consider her statements carefully, even when we might disagree. Her willingness to argue passionately on the issues while maintaining a courteous and civil manner to her colleagues is one of her great strengths.

I urge you to write in Siobhan Hullinger for L-S School Committee on March 26.

Sincerely,

Pat (Patricia) Brown
34 Whispering Pine Rd., Sudbury

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.

Letter to the editor: Hylton endorses Kasper for LSSC

To the editor:

I write to encourage my fellow Lincoln voters to get to the polls on Monday, March 26 and to cast their votes for Carole Kasper of Lincoln and Ellen Joachim of Sudbury for the two open seats on the L-S School Committee.

Carole is well known to many in town, having served in a variety of volunteer capacities. As everyone who has worked with her will attest, she is smart, hardworking, a natural leader, and an excellent listener. She is the only candidate whose name will actually appear on the ballot this year, so casting a vote for her will be a straightforward civic exercise!

As most know, Lincoln is not guaranteed any seats at all on the L-S School Committee. In order to make sure our voice is heard, it is imperative that a candidate like Carole, who is a strong and effective advocate for high-quality public education, joins the committee with a powerful signal of support from the community.

OK, you might ask, then who is Ellen Joachim and why should I support her for a seat as well?  To all who generally believe (as I typically do) that political races in Lincoln are dull, predictable affairs, this year is a clear exception. L-S School Committee incumbent Gerald Quirk unexpectedly withdrew from the race a few weeks ago. Ellen came forward and, after several weeks of campaigning, has demonstrated that she is by far the best choice for Lincoln voters and Sudbury voters who are committed to the high academic standards and all-around excellence L-S is known for.

Ellen served for many years on the Sudbury K-8 School Committee and is very familiar with the political landscape in Sudbury. She values the terrific faculty and rich programming L-S is rightly proud of, and she is eager to include Lincoln in any and all conversations about how to improve the experience for the wide range of students at L-S.

Like Carole, Ellen is serious about collaboration and process and is committed to the joint project that Lincoln and Sudbury began in 1954 of running a first-tier regional high school. As with any relationship, there are from time to time important issues that arise which potentially divide the two towns. These include, for example: finances, governance, and potential curriculum changes.

With Carole and Ellen on the School Committee, we increase the likelihood of intelligent and practical solutions to these questions. What do you get for your vote? That’s simple: more in the way of sensible solutions and less divisive rhetoric—a good bargain for voters under any circumstances.

On March 26, vote for Carole Kasper and write in Ellen Joachim’s name on the ballot!

Sincerely,

Maria O’Brien Hylton
5 Oakdale Lane, 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.

Neighbors protest Oriole Landing plans

Civico Development’s landscaping plan for Oriole Landing (click to enlarge).

Neighbors of the proposed Oriole Landing mixed-income housing development offered impassioned protests over the plan at a March 6 Planning Board public hearing that continues on Tuesday, March 20 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.

If approved, the project would guarantee that Lincoln will have well more than the minimum 10 percent affordable housing units required to block a 40B housing development, which would be allowed to bypass many town zoning regulations. The first steps are “yes” votes at Town Meeting on March 24, one to approve the preliminary site plan and the other to make a zoning change to allow the development. The developer would the have to return for Planning Board approval of a final site plan incorporating traffic, parking, landscaping, drainage and septic, etc.

The existing 1870s Dexter C. Harris house on the property will be relocated to stand between two 30-unit residential buildings and serve as a garden house with a large unfinished space inside for gatherings or possible studio use, said Andrew Consigli of Civico Development.

Current plans call for 60 one- and two-bedroom units (25 percent of them affordable) ranging from 644 sure feet to 1,142 square feet in two three-story buildings. The company originally hoped to include 12 condominiums as well, but backed off due to community concerns, Consigli said.

The Garland Road/Deerhaven Road neighborhood stands to see significantly increased traffic during the morning rush hour, according to traffic engineers, who suggested that to minimize this impact, the town might prohibit a right turn from the development onto Mary’s Way in the morning, or make Mary’s Way one way westbound.

Seeking to allay fears that the development would cause a surge in school-age children, Lincoln Public Schools Administrator for Business and Finance Buck Creel explained that changes in class size happen every year when kindergarteners enter school or new families move into town. “We’re used to this phenomenon, these bulges moving through the boa constrictor,” he said. The development will not have any units larger than two bedrooms.

Creel also disputed the notion that mixed-income housing would be more likely to attract families with special-needs children whose more expensive education the town must pay for. The proportion of children from Lincoln Woods who require special education is the same as that for the rest of the town, and none are on out-of-district special-ed placements, he said.

Neighbors unhappy

Nonetheless, the development would mean more noise, heavy equipment and loss of open space in a part of town that has already seen construction of The Commons and its recent extension, as well as the Route 2 project. “All of these projects have impacted us on a daily basis for past 10 years,” said Cathy O’Brien of 3 Mary’s Way. “How would you feel if another developer came to your neighborhood knocking on your door and saying ‘Here’s another two years’?”

O’Brien also questioned why the town was “trying to steamroll this” in a quick time frame. “The town must be trying to exploit some sort of a loophole… there’s some shenanigans or someone is in somebody’s pocketbook,” she said.

In addition, the development is far larger than what’s needed to meet the affordable housing minimum, and the narrow roads and lack of roadside paths are not conducive to more housing in that area, O’Brien said. However, she strongly argued against making Mary’s Way one-way or a cul de sac.

The recently completed Route 2 project “granted us a gift” that resulted in residents on the south side of Route 2 finally being able to turn right or left onto the Mary’s Way access road rather than directly onto the highway. “You’ve given us a neighborhood,” she said. “For you today to take that away is absolutely ludicrous and unfair.”

Orchard Lane resident noted that the area between Crosby’s Corner and Bedford Road is about to get more traffic when the Birches School opens. “It just feel like one section of town for the past 50-plus years has been burdened,” she said.

The Housing Options Working Group was formed a year ago to try to find new affordable housing opportunities in Lincoln, but “it seems the town stopped looking once they saw Civico,” said Commons resident David Levington. “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is… it seems to me we’re acting too quickly.”

But BJ Sheff, a Housing Commission trustee, disputed that notion. “We have looked at every single parcel as it has come up [for sale] in town. This is not new, not coming out of left field,” she said. When the Oriole Landing property came on the market, “instantly we had developers saying they could do a 40B and get 160 or 200 units on it. This was something we had to run with when we finally saw it.” The town had in fact tried to buy the property itself but “couldn’t get anywhere,” she added.

Resident Sara Mattes also warned that “the town needs to indemnify itself against these projections” with the developer if the number of school-age children moving is is significantly higher than expected. “We don’t want to go into Town Meeting with these things unanswered.”

In addition to the continued public hearing, Civico will host three more public forums on Thursday, March 15 from 6:30–8:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library; Friday, March 16 with the Council on Aging at 1 p.m. in Bemis Hall; and Thursday, March 22 from 4:30–8 p.m. in Bemis Hall.

Letter to the editor: former LSSC member supports Kasper

To the editor:

I am writing to strongly urge all of you to vote in the election on Monday, March 26. I am enthusiastically in support of Carole Kasper, whose extraordinary qualifications and competence to serve I will leave others to describe. The issue I would like to emphasize is the importance to Lincoln and to Lincoln-Sudbury of retaining two Lincoln seats on the Lincoln Sudbury school committee. With no major issues on the ballot, I worry that residents might be tempted to avoid coming to the polls. 

I served for seven years on the committee. During that time, Lincoln had two representatives. However, the year before I was appointed, Renel Fredriksen was the only Lincoln representative and if she were still a town resident, she would make clear how difficult that was. There is too much information and work involved in governance for one person to master and having only one member makes it very difficult to adequately debate important issues where the interests of the two towns may be in conflict. There are structural differences between the towns that make for complicated political and fiscal dynamics.

One such controversial issue is currently on the agenda. A number of Sudbury leaders have proposed that there be a combined superintendency for the Sudbury K-8 system and Lincoln-Sudbury. In my opinion, this is not a good idea. It would reduce the independence of the L-S School Committee and would dilute and diminish Lincoln’s influence in the governance of the school.

There are a group of Sudbury residents who have strong negative feelings about Lincoln. This group, of indeterminate size, has called for voters to not vote for Carole and to write in two Sudbury candidates on a listserve that is only available to Sudbury residents. A group of them shamelessly harassed Carole when she presented at a Sudbury forum.

Carole is working in cooperation with Ellen Joachim from Sudbury and suggests that if you are motivated to write in a candidate, you should write in her name. Doing this will insure a more student centric governance structure and continued dialogue with and inclusion of Lincoln.

But the most important message is get yourself to the polls on Monday, March 26 and support our representation at our high school.

Sincerely,

Eric Harris
138 Bedford 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.

News acorns

School/community workshops, Planning Board meeting postponed

Due to the impending snowstorm, the School Building Committee (SBC) and the Community Center Committee (CCPPDC) joint workshops scheduled for 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13 are cancelled and will be rescheduled. The continuation of the Planning Board’s Oriole Landing public hearing  has also been rescheduled from March 13 to Tuesday, March 20 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.

The School Building Committee scheduled for Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. in the Hartwell multi-purpose room is still on. Bill Maclay, founder of Maclay architects, will present his sustainability analysis on the school building concepts. The meeting is open to the public and public attendance is strongly encouraged.

“Shrek The Musical Jr.” this week at Lincoln School

The Lincoln School’s middle school students present “Shrek The Musical Jr.” based on the Oscar-winning movie and the hit Broadway musical in three shows this week. The comic story follows the green ogre Shrek and his loyal companion Donkey as they set off to rescue the Princess Fiona from a fire-breathing lovesick dragon in an adventure that’s all about embracing the differences in others and being proud to be your true self.

Performances are Wednesday, March 14 at 3 p.m., and Thursday and Friday, March 15 and 16 at 7 p.m. in the Donaldson Auditorium. Tickets will be available at the door ($10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors). The cast and crew of 85 students is led by drama teacher Kristin Hall (director and producer), music teacher Blake Siskavich (musical director), and fifth-grade teacher Maurisa Davis (dance director). Another 50 parents, faculty and staff have worked behind the scenes to create the elaborate sets, props and costumes that make up “Shrek the Musical Jr.’s” fairy tale world.

Wi-Fi will be available at Town Meeting

At this year’s Annual Town Meeting on March 24, there will be public guest Wi-Fi for the first time. This is being offered on a best-effort basis. Due to the large number of anticipated users, bandwidth will be limited and will not be suitable for activities such as video streaming or large file downloads. Technical support for connecting to or using the guest Wi-Fi during the meeting will not be available.

The Lincoln Public Schools and the town of Lincoln are not responsible for the security of any information communicated through the Town Meeting guest Wi-Fi network, or the content accessed through this public guest Wi-Fi network. All users of the Town Meeting guest Wi-Fi network agree to refrain from any use that is illegal or in violation of Lincoln Public Schools policies, including but not limited to any communications that are harassing, bullying, discriminatory or threatening; violations of copyright laws; any use involving materials that are obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit or sexually suggestive; any use for disseminating or propagating malicious software; sending mass-marketing or spam messages; any malicious use, damage or disruption of the district’s network and technology resources; misuse of computer passwords or accounts; or any attempt to access content blocked by the district’s content filter.

Letter to the editor: endorsement for Hullinger for LSSC

To the editor:

I confidently endorse Siobhan Hullinger as the write-in candidate opening for the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee in the upcoming election on Monday, March 26.

Ms. Hullinger is a long-time Sudbury resident who is well respected in the community. I have most admired Mrs. Hullinger’s selfless volunteer work having served alongside her as a board member on the Lincoln-Sudbury Scholarship Fund, Inc. Dollars for Scholars (LSSF).

Through my involvement with LSSF and having built a strong working relationship with Ms. Hullinger over the years, I have gained tremendous respect and admiration for her strong work ethic, resourcefulness, and dedication to supporting L-S students in their pursuit of academic excellence, through the LSSF encouraging students’ future success as they moved on to college, and promoting the L-S core values of “fostering caring and cooperating relationships, respecting human differences, pursuing academic excellence and cultivating community.”

As an L-S School Committee member, Ms. Hullinger will put many hours into:

    • Advocating for the interests of the community
    • Promoting a working relationship that is honest and transparent
    • Ensuring an optimistic future for taxpayers, families, students, faculty, staff and school administration.

With proud enthusiasm, I support Siobhan Hullinger as the write-in candidate opening for the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee.

Sincerely,

Andrew Nyemekye
731 Concord St., Framingham

(Editor’s note: Nyemekye was the METCO specialist at L-S from 2010-16 and is an LSSF Dollars for Scholars committee member.)

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.