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

Letter to the editor: protest military budget vote

letter

To the editor:

Eight U.S. Senators voted against the massive $700 billion bloated military budget that even exceeded what President Trump actually asked for by some $40 billion (which is enough to fund free college education for everyone who wants it in this country for the next ten years).

Our Senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, were not among the eight who voted against this unaudited, excessive military budget that exceeds the combined military budgets of most of the civilized world.

I called Markey’s and Warren’s offices to share my outrage at their vote. The youngsters who answer the phones do not know why the senators vote as they do. I await their comments on why they voted for it.

We are now facing a possible nuclear war as well as lethal global climate change, all of which is being almost completely ignored by people in DC. We need our “leaders” to show some courage and take a stand against this excess.

If you are as outraged as I am at their vote, please call and tell them. The youngsters who answered the phone did mention that the offices were receiving many calls about the vote. Go to Senator Warren’s and Senator Markey’s  websites and click on “contact” for their telephone numbers.

Sincerely,

Jean Palmer
247 Tower Rd.

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 Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Rhonda Htoo, 60

Rhonda Htoo

Rhonda J. Htoo of Lincoln died on August 31 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital with her husband by her side. She succumbed to the cancers with which she had lived her entire adulthood. She is survived by her husband, John OConnell; her parents, Dr. Maung Shwe Htoo and (Loretta) Anne (Shraybman) Htoo; her sisters Susan Htoo, Nancy Rathbun and Naomi Htoo-Mosher; her nephews, Matthew Mosher and Dan Htoo-Levine; her niece, Mya Mosher; her dear friends Connie Breese, Ava Stone, Betty Lou Edwards, and Annette Trivette; and, finally, her dog, Ella Htoo.

Rhonda was born August 7, 1957 and grew up in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. She was awarded a B.A. magna cum laude from Colby College and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She later went on to graduate from the Radcliffe Publishing Program and received her M.B.A. in high technology from Northeastern University.

Rhonda’s career in information technology included roles as Director of Information Systems at Inc. Magazine and Inc. Business Resources for the Goldhirsh Group; Director, Consulting at CGI; Systems Project Manager at Northeastern University; and Senior Project Manager, Information Technology at Harvard Business School. She was a certified project manager and member of PMI (Project Management Institute) and SIM (Society of Information Management).

Rhonda was active in support of the Jimmy Fund Walk, raising funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Thoracic Center (see Arlington grad Rhonda Htoo finds hope in Jimmy Fund Walk, Poughkeepsie Journal, 11/16/2016).

She was a gifted artist who excelled at painting, watercolors, drawing, photography, weaving, fiber arts, clothing design and fabrication, and jewelry making. She embraced music from all over the world. She relaxed by performing African drumming. She loved to read, especially literature, Nordic noir mysteries, hard-bitten detective stories, and cookbooks. She traveled the world and made friends everywhere. She enjoyed dancing, biking, skiing, hiking, rollerblading, walking, waterskiing, and snorkeling. She was an excellent, inventive, and adventurous cook. She had a gift for entertaining, and was a creative hostess. Rhonda was exceptionally beautiful, smart, mischievous, vivacious, inquisitive, lively, and funny.

Rhonda loved her home in Lincoln, where she enjoyed entertaining friends and gardening, watching the birds that flocked to her yard, and nature walks with her husband John and Boston terrier Ella.

Rhonda was a fundamentally joyful person, filled with positivity and kindness. She was caring, considerate, passionate and straight talking. She was a gregarious introvert. She was fiercely energetic and animated in discussions. She was extremely industrious and gave her all in everything she did. She never let her diseases turn her head, slow her down, or turn her around. She was cheerful and confident. She cherished her family and friends, for whom she was always present to provide love and advice. She was dependable in a crisis and was always prepared. Rhonda was spirited and courageous.

Rhonda was the best that a human can be. She is deeply missed by all who knew her. She is a bright star in the constellation Leo.

Donations in Rhonda’s name should be made to the Jimmy Fund Walk: https://www.jimmyfundwalk.org/2017/rhtoo.

(courtesy of Legacy.com)

Construction begins on new learning center at Drumlin Farm

An architect’s rendering of the planned Environmental Learning Center at Drumlin Farm.

Construction on Drumlin Farm’s new Environmental Learning Center has begun. Replacing the 50-year-old Education Building, the ELC and the accompanying outdoor educational pavilion will serve as the hub for environmental education programming, including Drumlin’s summer camp. At 3,700 square feet, the project (funded as part of Drumlin’s capital campaign) will be almost three times the size of the existing structure.

Work is underway to establish the perimeter fence and do initial tree clearing. The trees and plants being removed along Route 117 are mostly non-native, invasive species that were either dead or dying, and Drumlin Farm is ensuring that large, healthy, native trees are preserved where possible. Site work on the new parking lot and foundation will then take place, followed by construction of the building itself. An extensive replanting plan in place with native trees and shrubs for the final landscaping phase of the project next spring.

The installation of a major rooftop solar array to fully power the building will make the ELC a net-zero energy use facility and also offset power consumption of other Drumlin Farm buildings. Completion of the building is expected by June 2018.

News acorns

Garden Club party for prospective members

The Lincoln Garden Club is hosting a wine and hors d’oeuvre party for prospective members on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 5 p.m. To RSVP, call Susan Seeley (781-259-0841) or Ann Parke (781-259-0276) or email membership@lincolngardenclub.org. The club maintain an active yearly schedule of speakers, workshops, and field trips on a range of gardening and nature topics. Members contribute to the community by designing, planting and maintaining various public planters and garden sites, such as Station Park across from the mall. Members also create flower arrangements for the library, Council on Aging events and delivery to local shut-ins at various holidays. No level of skill or expertise is required, just an interest in gardening.

Minuteman offers after-school program for middle schoolers

Registration is open for Minuteman High School’s fall after-school program for area middle school students that starts on Tuesday, Oct. 3. Now in its second year, Minuteman’s Career Pathways After-school Program is an opportunity for students in grades 6–8 to choose from 19 project-based classes including “Build a Steam Powered Putt-Putt Boat,” “Create an Android App,” “Intro to Graphic Design, “The Celebrity Look” (cosmetology), The Importance of Plumbing” and “Basic Plant Science.” The sessions will be taught by Minuteman faculty at Minuteman High School in Lexington.

There will be two, four-day sessions running from 4:15–6:15 p.m. Session A will run October 3, 5, 10, and 12. Session B will run October 17, 19, 24, and 26. Students must register for the program and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority will be given to students from Minuteman’s member towns. Students from non-member communities including Lincoln will be accepted if space is available. Tuition for students from member communities is $100 per session, or $500 per session for those from non-member communities. Click here to see a complete list of course titles or to register for one or both sessions.

Scarecrow Classic steps off Oct. 15

The 5th annual Scarecrow Classic 5K Run/Walk takes place on Sunday, Oct. 15. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the race starts at 9:30 a.m. (start and finish are both at the Mall at Lincoln Station). Registration is $30 in advance or $35 on race day. The event supports the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, which helps manage over 2000 acres of land and nearly 80 miles of public trails as a regional recreational resource for the greater Boston area. Click here to register.

Public hearings coming up

Planning Board

The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. to review an application for Site Plan Review. The applicant, Robert Domnitz, 21 Mill St., proposes to add a ground-mounted solar array.

Zoning Board of Appeals

The Zoning Board of the Appeals of the Town of Lincoln will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. on the following petitions:

  • Wendy and Richard Finnerty, 7 Old Farm Rd., for a special permit to replace an existing carport with a garage.
  • Joshua and Cailin Gidlewski, 54 Tower Rd., for a special permit for a chicken coop.
  • Natalie Miller, 107 Old County Rd., for renewal of a special permit for an accessory apartment.
  • DeNormandie Farm Real Estate Trust, 65 Trapelo Rd., for renewal and transfer of name of a special permit for an accessory apartment.
  • Stephen and Emily Nohrden, 14 Old Cambridge Turnpike, for renewal of a special permit for an accessory apartment.
  • Sandra Bradlee, 259 Old Concord Rd., for renewal of a special permit for an accessory apartment.
  • Martha DeCesare, 244 Concord Rd., for renewal of a special permit for an accessory apartment.

 

South Sudanese organization offering programs in Lincoln

Susan Winship (right), head of the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families, with administrative assistant Carolyn Montie. Behind them is a painting by Sudanese refugee Jacob Lueth Achol titled “Drumming and Dancing” (click to enlarge).

Lincoln has a long track record of helping South Sudanese refugees, and this fall, that tradition will continue when the town hosts the Saturday Bridges Program run by the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families (SSEF).

The Saturday program, which previously has been held in Arlington and Malden, has several components. There will be workshops for adults on writing and financial literacy, as well as an infant/preschool babysitting program. At the same time, older children can participate in a program at Drumlin Farm (or in the Brooks gym in case of rain). The workshops and babysitting take place in Pods A and B on the Hartwell campus on October 14, 21 and 28, November 4 and 18, and December 2 from 1:30–5:30 p.m.

Adult and teenage volunteers are needed to help with the infant/preschool babysitting and the Drumlin Farm program under the supervision of program adults. The training will be on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at the home of SSEF executive director and president Susan Winship at 10 Meadowdam Rd. in Lincoln. Anyone interested in learning more or helping out should contact her at 781-424-8774 or SusanWinship@comcast.net.

Winship is one of those who helped resettle 150 “lost boys” in the Boston area starting in 2000 in the wake of the 22-year civil war in Sudan. Boys who were several miles away from their villages during the day returned to find their homes under attack or destroyed. Groups of homeless and often orphaned children (mostly boys) walked hundreds of miles to arrive in refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, where they lived for several years before emigrating to the United States.

Lincoln has many connections to the “lost boys.” For a time, three of them lived at Codman Community Farms and attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. There are currently two Sudanese families living in Lincoln, including the family of Akuot Deng Leek, the SSEF’s community liaison who matches clients with agencies and services in the Boston area. Carolyn Montie of Lincoln is SSEF’s administrative assistant, and her daughter Eve (now a college sophomore) was a long-time volunteer in the Saturday Bridges Program.

For 12 years, Winship headed the Sudanese Education Fund, which helped pay education costs for the “lost boys.” Those boys grew up, and many returned to Sudan to marry and then and came back to the U.S. The organization was consequently renamed the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families to reflect its expanded mission to assist South Sudanese women and their children.

Most of these women got less education in Africa than the men, and taking classes here is harder since they care for their children while their husbands work. In addition to workshops and tutoring and acting as a social hub for the community, the SSEF offers help with housing, preschool scholarships and summer camp opportunities.

“When you resettle refugees, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Their needs go on and on as they assimilate to a new culture and raise their children,” Winship said. “We really feel strongly that part of our mission is to have the current and next generation as self-sufficient as possible.”

News acorns

Horse show this weekend

Lincoln’s annual horse show takes place on Saturday, Sept. 23 starting at 8 a.m. in the riding ring in Browning Field at the intersection of Weston and Conant Roads. At this small, family-friendly event, visitors will meet lots of ponies and horses and their riders, along with others who are involved with horses in Lincoln. The show highlights Lincoln’s rural and pastoral roots, and features show classes from lead line and costume through short stirrup and hunter. Proceeds from the horse show are used to keep up the riding ring. The event is free and there is lots of parking.

Climate Justice Film Series showing on Sept. 26

The film Chasing Coral will be shown on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Lincoln, kicking off the church’s new season in its ongoing Climate Justice Film Series. The film by the creators of Chasing Ice explores the impact of rising ocean temperatures and acidification on the health of coral reefs around the world. It explores the science behind what’s causing these changes and the implications for the ocean environment and the people who depend on it for food.

A light vegetarian supper will be served at 6:30, followed by the film at 7:00. All are welcome at this free event.

Four workshops on exploring the woods

Farrington NatureLinc is offering a series of workshops called “Into Our Woods: An Adult Forest School Series of Workshops” starting with “What Wild Edibles are Out There?” on Saturday, Oct. 7 from 9 a.m.–noon. Others in the series:

  • October 28—”Mushrooms in Our Woods,” 1–4 p.m.
  • November 4—”Primitive Fire Making and Cordage,” 9 a.m.–noon
  • December 3—”Introduction to Animal Tracking and Bird Signs,” 1–4 p.m.

The program is open to those 16 and up; the cost is $35 per workshop or $125 for the full series. Click here for more information on each workshop and to register.

Girls’ field hockey clinics

Field hockey clinics for girls in grades K-8 will be offered by members of the Lincoln-Sudbury  varsity field hockey team starting on Tuesday, Sept. 19 from 5-6 p.m. and running through October (times will depend on the team’s game schedule). Each session is $10. Sticks are available to borrow, but girls should bring a mouth guard, shin guards, and goggles. Email Email vicky_caburian@lsrhs.net to sign up.

Blessing of the Animals at St. Anne’s

On Sunday, Oct. 1, St. Anne’s Episcopal Church will honor St. Francis, patron saint of animals, with a Blessing of the Animals at both morning services at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Animals on leashes or in carriers are welcome; photos and stuffed animals are welcome, too. That day’s Still Your Soul service at 5 p.m. in the Side Chapel will be a service of Holy Eucharist for Healing and Wholeness, with laying on of hands and music from the Concordia Consort.

Students holding yard sale to benefit hurricane victims

Three Lincoln students are holding a yard sale on Saturday, Sept. 16 to raise money for victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The sale will be held from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at 22 Tabor Hill Rd. in Lincoln.

Organizing the sale of household items, toys, clothing, and books are seventh-grader Calum Stein, eighth-grader Liam O’Leary, and ninth-grader Caroline Hodge. Caroline attends Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and Liam and Calum are at the Meadowbrook School in Weston.
The charities they’ve chosen are:
  • The American Red Cross, which is using donor dollars to provide shelter, food, and emergency support for individuals and families affected by the hurricanes.
  • Catholic Charities USA Hurricane Relief, the official domestic relief agency of the U.S. Catholic Church. Donations will support disaster response and recovery efforts including direct assistance, rebuilding, and health care services.
  • Focus on the Family is partnering with Convoy of Hope, whose on-the-ground in the disaster area providing displaced families with basic needs including food, water, hygiene supplies, and other essential items.

Minuteman school construction work on track thus far

The Minuteman building site looking from Lincoln toward the school.

Site preparation work for the new Minuteman High School building in Lincoln is progressing smoothly, according to construction officials, though residents are hearing more noise than they would like.

Construction crews haven’t run into anything unexpected or unusual while clearing and excavating the site, said Walter Kincaid, a project executive for Gilbane Building Co. He and a representative from Skanska Building USA, Minuteman’s project manager, met with neighboring residents and the head of the Minute Man National Historical Park at a meeting in late August. They updated residents on site clearing, ledge blasting, rock crushing and dirt removal as well as efforts to minimize dust and the relocation of a massive 130-ton boulder to the west end of the property.

Builders have thus far kept their promise about keeping the trucks off Mill Street, which is frequently used by cyclists and walkers. “There are many blind turns on Mill Street, and it would be disastrous, given the narrowness of the street and the high number of recreational users, to have heavy trucks also using the street,” said Keith Hylton, who lives at 5 Oakdale Lane.

In addition to noise from truck backup horns starting at 7 a.m. during the week, “the blasting has also been louder and more intense than we thought. Our whole house shakes and it can be quite scary sometimes,” said Joe Genovese of 27 Mill St.

“We’re hoping that the concussions from blasting have not caused any hard-to-see damage in the foundations for homes or in water wells in the area,” Hylton said.  Workers have been giving advance notice of blasting to residents via email, he and Genovese added.

Kincaid said blasting of ledge would continue up to three times a week through the month of September. Crews are scheduled to start putting in the building’s foundation around September 18.

The $145 million project broke ground in June and is thus far on schedule to be completed within two years. “We’re going to put kids in the new school in the fall of 2019,” Kincaid said.

Correction

A News Acorn published on September 13 incorrectly stated that the Board of Selectmen would meet on September 28 at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum cafe. The meeting is actually on Monday, Sept. 25. The original article has been corrected.