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

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 Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Students plan school walkouts to protest gun violence

On Wednesday, March 14, students at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and at Brooks Middle School plan to join in the national school walkout to protest school gun violence. They will leave school for 17 minutes—one minute for every life lost in the recent Florida school shooting.

Church sessions

First Parish in Lincoln’s Youth Programs Committee (YPC) is providing a placde for students to discuss their action and think about next steps. Lincoln adults will be on hand for guidance and support. There are two events planned for March 14, both in the auditorium at the Parish House (14 Bedford Rd.) The YPC will proviode pizza and salad.

  • Middle school students will meet after school at 12:45 p.m. To register, click here.
  • High school students: will meet in the evening at 6:45 p.m. To register, click here.

For more information, contact the director of religious education at First Parish in Lincoln at 781-259-8118 ext. 112 or Margit@FPLincoln.org.

Bell-ringing

Both the First Parish and St. Anne’s-in-the-Field Episcopal Church will ring their church bells 17 times on March 14 at 10 a.m.

High school restrictions

Lincoln and Sudbury police will be on the L-S campus for the high school walkout, but only students escorted by staff and police will be present. No one will be allowed to enter or leave the campus during the walkout except in an emergency.

News acorns

School Building Committee meeting rescheduled for March 12

Last week’s School Building Committee meeting that was cancelled due to weather has been rescheduled for Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room. The main focus of the meeting is to learn about the sustainability analysis performed by Bill Maclay Architects. Maclay will be on hand to talk about how “green” each of the project concepts is, and what it would take to make the Lincoln School a “net zero” building. If you can’t make it Monday, the meeting will be recorded and available on the web. Also, the same information will be presented at the community workshops sponsored by the School Building Committee and the Community Center Committee on Tuesday, March 13 at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the Brooks gym (weather permitting).

Talk on Jerusalem and U.S. embassy

Lincoln resident Steve Low will speak on “Jerusalem, the Embassy, and the Future” at the Council on Aging on Monday, March 12 at 12:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. In his talk, he will discuss why Trump’s American embassy announcement was so controversial and what it might this mean for a two-state solution. A Q&A will follow.

Test-drive an electric car

Electric vehicles will be available for test driving on Wednesday, March 14 from 6:30–7:30 p.m. at Hartwell School lot. There will be a Nissan Leaf and a Chevy Bolt or Volt. Visitors may also sit in a Tesla S and a Prius Prime and speak with the owners. 

Poll worker training offered

The Town Clerk’s office will be offering a poll worker training on Friday, March 16 at 10:30 a.m. and on Monday, March 19 at 7p.m. If you are interested in becoming trained as a poll worker, please RSVP to brookss@lincolntown.org.

Two more L-S School Committee candidate sessions

L-S School Committee candidates Carole Kasper of Lincoln and Ellen Joachim of Sudbury (a write-in candidate), will make an additional appearance to meet Lincoln voters on Tuesday, March 20 from 7–8:30 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room. The candidates had previously announced meet-and-greet appearances on March 9 and 14.

Woolapalooza coming to Drumlin Farm

Celebrate the coming of spring at Drumlin Farm annual Woolapalooza festival featuring fiber, food, and fun! On Saturday, March 24 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m., visitors will have the opportunity to meet new baby animals, shop local artisans, explore the sanctuary, and learn the history of wool and sheep. Festival highlights include:

  • Sheep-shearing demonstrations
  • Sheep herding with border collies
  • Sheep-to-Sweater Interpretive Trail: Learn how wool becomes yarn and make a craft to take home.
  • A hearty lunch made from Drumlin Farm’s own meat and potatoes for additional purchase.
  • Local artisans demonstrating and selling handmade products.

Tickets are $15 for Mass Audubon members and $17 for nonmembers (free for children under 2). No advance ticket purchase; walk-ins only. Parking is limited so allow extra time.

Storm Quinn: photos by Lincolnites

The storm wasn’t particularly remarkable for the number of inches of snow, but that snow was very heavy and wet—and plentiful enough to cause major damage in Lincoln and other towns by bringing down many trees and heavy limbs onto power lines and homes. Much of the snow has since dripped off the trees and many of the closed roads have reopened, but 27 percent of Eversource customers in Lincoln were without power as of 10 p.m. on Thursday—down from a 62 percent earlier in the day. The buzz of chainsaws gave way to the steady dull roar of generators as the evening closed in. Here are photos submitted by Lincoln residents on the morning of March 8, 2018. 

snow-ballfield
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[Show as slideshow]

Letter to the editor: LSSC’s Mostue supports Kasper

To the editor:

I write in support of Carole Kasper, candidate for the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee. Her background and skills reflect those characteristics of a good committee member: the conviction that public education is important, commitment to public involvement, decisiveness, belief in the democratic process, willingness to devote time and energy, acceptance of the will of the majority, courage to stand up for convictions, respect for district faculty and staff, and communication skills.

Carole’s professional experience has focused on organizational performance of public and private-sector workplace communities, with particular work in multiculturalism. Furthermore, as  the chair of the Lincoln Campus Master Planning Committee and the president of the Lincoln Parent Teacher Association, she has made clear her interest in the work of the committee through her attendance at most of the meetings in the past few months. 

The committee’s current priorities include continued support of rigorous college preparatory courses; responsible management of the school budget; ongoing support of excellent faculty; and collaboration among the Lincoln, Sudbury, and Boston communities. Her concern for those issues will serve to make her transition to the committee seamless.   

It would be a pleasure to have Carole on the L-S School Committee. I hope you will support her with your vote on Election Day: Monday March 26.

Sincerely,

Patricia Mostue, Ph.D. (L-S School Committee member)
3 Lexington 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.

Letter to the editor: Hogue running for Parks & Rec

(Editor’s note: Hogue is one of three candidates running for the open seat on the Parks and Recreation Committee. The others are Rey Romero and Sarah Chester.)

To the editor:

My name is Adam Hogue and I am writing to announce my candidacy for Lincoln Parks and Recreation (Parks & Rec) Committee. I look forward to earning your vote on Election Day on Monday, March 26.

As a member of Parks & Rec, I will prioritize programs that bring our community together and increase summer and after-school programs for our town’s kids so that they have a safe place to interact with each other and learn more about themselves. I also want to promote our veterans’ events in our community because of our proud history of service and proximity to Hanscom Air Force Base.

I have been an active volunteer in our community since moving here in 2013. I am the president of the Lincoln Veterans Association and have helped plan the annual Memorial Day celebration as well as the 15th anniversary of September 11th remembrance ceremony. I have also spoken to our kids in the Lincoln schools about my military service and experiences overseas. I want to continue to serve this community as a member of this great committee.

I started my professional career as an officer in the U.S. Army Airborne, serving one combat tour in Afghanistan, and I am currently a major in the Massachusetts Army National Guard serving out of Hanscom. I also own my own financial services company, Ulen & Hogue Financial, offering individual and small business insurance and investment solutions. 

My education background includes a BA in history from UMass-Lowell, a MA in education from the University of Nebraska, and an MBA in management from Fitchburg State University, as well as a graduate certificate in financial planning from Boston University. I live on Todd Pond Road with my wife Katy (Green) Hogue, who is a lifelong Lincoln resident, our dog Woodstock, and our soon-to-be-born daughter. 

It would be my honor to serve each and every one of you on the Parks & Rec Committee and I would appreciate your vote. Thank you in advance for your consideration on Election Day!

Sincerely,

Adam M. Hogue
36 Todd Pond Rd.
Adam.m.hogue@gmail.com
978-828-6184

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: Glass runs for reelection to BOS

To the editor,

I write to declare my candidacy for the 3-year term on the Board of Selectmen, and I ask for your support at the town election on Monday, March 26.

Last year when I sought to fill the final year of Renel Fredriksen’s term, I knew that serving as a member of the BOS would be interesting and challenging. It is both, and I would also add the adjectives “energizing” and “humbling.” Energizing because grappling with issues such as housing, the School and Community Center projects, the town budget, solar panels, traffic, and zoning policy is an intellectually engaging, nuanced process that brings me in contact with a wide variety of community members. Humbling because the range of expertise and knowledge among our professional staff and residents is truly amazing. I am fortunate to be part of a collaborative board and of a community that strives to draw on its members’ vast talents for the betterment of our town.

During the last 12 months, our board has focused on reaching out to residents through meetings, individual conversations, a series of listening sessions, and our BOS newsletter. Our goal is to be transparent about the business of the town and to foster communication among boards and with the community. As residents of Lincoln, we have many (and sometimes conflicting) issues we are all trying to balance. I believe our goal is to keep our eye on how specific projects and policies can serve our town’s broader vision and mission while we pay careful attention to the details. I look forward to staying engaged with you, to being challenged by your questions, and to being inspired by your ideas.

Please put both the March 24 Annual Town Meeting and the March 26 town election on your calendars!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Glass
11 Stonehedge Road

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: Hullinger seeks write-in votes for LSSC

To the editor,

My name is Siobhan Hullinger and I am pleased to announce my candidacy for the write-in candidate opening for the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee (LSSC) in the upcoming election on Monday, March 26.

I respectfully ask for your vote because as a 27-year resident with three children who have attended and are attending L-S, I am grateful for and understand the importance to our children and town of L-S’s national reputation among colleges and universities, and the diversity of its academic and extracurricular offerings.

I have spent 27 years in Sudbury devoted to efforts to support our community and schools.   My volunteer efforts include board memberships with HOPEsudbury, the Lincoln-Sudbury Scholarship Fund, and the LSPO as well as L-S School Council member, Sudbury eown election officer, CERT volunteer, parent coordinator for the Kicks for Cancer Soccer Tournament, youth sports age group coordinator, and a participant in the Sudbury Listening Project.

My civic involvement is at the core of who I am and aligns with L-S’s core values of “fostering caring and cooperating relationships, respecting human differences, pursuing academic excellence and cultivating community.” As a longtime participant in local town issues, I understand the essential importance to continually take a fresh look at how we operate our local town organizations, including L-S. Among the key issues I would pursue are:

  • Build a stronger collaboration between L-S, Sudbury, Lincoln, and the METCO program to facilitate open, collaborative, and thoughtful discussions that will improve coordination of academic and social transitions into our high school, identify areas of operating redundancies and inefficiencies, and support reasonable class sizes.
  • Review safety measures to ensure they align with current trends and research while preserving the benefits of an open campus.
  • Enact a policy of periodic reviews of the Regional Agreement, originally enacted in 1954, to ensure it provides an effective and equitable framework reflecting the current and future public education conditions and needs for L-S to thrive.
  • Pursue the start time recommendations of the separate L-S/Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) subcommittees. We must put in the hard work to see whether adjusting our schedule is feasible and tackle obstacles that hinder student growth. Unlike past efforts, we must tackle this task collaboratively with L-S, SPS, and the METCO program.
  • Our music and arts programs currently find themselves under threat of elimination or reduction. We should instead see a growing commitment to these programs which have been proven to boost academic and social/emotional outcomes.

LSSC needs to proactively consider whether the current leadership structure of separate superintendents and administrations from SPS is the most desirable for attracting top-tier leadership at both L-S and SPS for the long term.

I will work tirelessly to represent the interests of taxpayers, families, students, faculty, staff and administration to enhance, support and foster open and constructive dialogue among our partners in education. Please contact me with any thoughts and/or questions at sioforls@gmail.com. I humbly ask for your support by writing in “Siobhan Hullinger” under L-S School Committee on March 26. 

Sincerely,

Siobhan Hullinger
55 Washington Drive, 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.

Most Lincolnites have power back after strong nor’easter

Several roads in town were closed due to falling trees or utility poles from Friday’s nor’easter, but as of Sunday evening, all roads had reopened except for Hilliard Road.

Lincoln Road residents Wendy and Lem Kusik had a close call as an 80-foot spruce crashed down right next to their house, tearing out utility lines. Weston Road was also closed after a pole snapped in front of the Pierce House. Dozens of residents lost power because of the storm, notably in the Tower Road/Pierce Hill Road and Silver Hill Road areas, but only 15 customers were still without electricity as of Sunday evening, according to Eversource’s outage map.

The utility said most of its customers in the greater Boston and MetroWest area would have power restored by Sunday night, but those on the south shore may have to wait until Monday or Tuesday night. More than 50,000 customers on the South Shore and Cape Cod were still without power last night, but Eversource said they should be back on line by Wednesday night.

Click on a photo to enlarge:

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Town Meeting warrant articles published

A total of 36 warrant articles (13 of which will be considered as a group on the consent calendar) will be presented to residents for votes at the Annual Town Meeting on Saturday, March 24. The full warrant is online here. Articles include:

  • Customary financial articles
    • The town budget (including the Lincoln School and Lincoln-Sudbury High School budgets)
    • Capital expenditures, including a new fire engine
    • Funds for routine maintenance of town facilities
    • Appropriations to a retiree health insurance trust fund, and to a debt stabilization fund
    • A variety of other smaller appropriations
  • Campus building projects — Lincoln School and community center
  • Bylaw proposals
    • Mary’s Way proposed zoning overlay (allowing planning for the Oriole Landing mixed-income housing development to move forward)
    • Historic District expansion to include modernist homes (voluntary on the part of homeowners)
    • Site plan sunset provision
  • Green initiatives
    • Vote to initiate the “electricity aggregation” process
  • Citizens’ petitions
    • A ban on the retail use of plastic bags
    • A ban on the retail sale of individual plastic water bottles
    • An alternative ban on the retail sale of individual plastic water bottles that bans the use of such bottles on town property
    • A resolution to support tighter regulation of natural gas leaks
    • A resolution to designate Lincoln as a “safe and welcoming” town; and

The Board of Selectmen is meeting with residents who submitted citizen’s petitions. They voted last week to endorse retail bans on plastic water bottles and grocery bags while removing from the warrant a petition asking for reimbursements for residents’ legal fees.

On Monday, March 5, the board will meet with Mothers Out Front, the proponents of the gas leak resolution, and on Monday, March 19, the board will meet with the proponents of the “safe and welcoming town” resolution.