Laura Dewey
There will be a service on Friday, June 9 at 11 a.m. at the First Parish Church for Laura Dewey, who died on May 19 at the age of 90. She was active with the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum board, the Lincoln Town Democratic Committee, and the choir of the First Parish Church. Click here to read her obituary.
“Waxwings on Cedar Tree” by Barbara Peskin (click to enlarge).
Lincoln resident Barbara Peskin’s photo titled Waxwings on Cedar Tree won the Lincoln Garden Club’s recent Tree Photo Contest. She received a certificate, ribbon an $50 gift card from Stonegate Gardens during the Tree Tour Photo Exhibit at Pierce House on June 4. Her entry was chosen by the people who attended the Tree Tour in a display in the Pierce House of 72 photos taken by 23 contestants. Tree tour participants were guided by the Garden Club’s new 40-page color booklet to 16 trees of interest in Pierce Park, and at the Lincoln Public Library, Old Town Hall, Station Park and Lindentree Farm. Copies of the booklet will soon be available at the library.
The Cycling Safety Advisory Committee invites residents to complete this online survey as it collects feedback on ways to make biking to school easier for families. On Friday, June 9, Lincoln students are invited to bike to school—grab your helmet and bike and wave to the adults helping out at a few intersections in town.
The Lincoln Literary Society will meet on Friday, June 9 from 10 a.m. to noon. in the Lincoln Public Library’s couch area outside the Tarbell Room. Organizer Daniela Caride will provide tea and cookies as well as free books from the Swap House. The group meets on the second Friday or every month to talk about books they’ve read (recently or not), recite poems, read a passage, or anything that can start a conversation. The structure is very informal and there are no assigned books.
Opening Day for the Lincoln Farmers Market is Saturday, June 10 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market is now located at Codman Farm where it first began, and it will take place every Saturday at the same time until October.
To the editor:
On Saturday, June 3, more than 3,000 Democratic Party delegates gathered at the DCU Convention Center in Worcester for the Massachusetts Democratic Party 2017 Platform Convention. Representing Lincoln were Sharon Antia, Graham Atkin, Gary Davis, Andrew Glass, Jennifer Glass, Sarah Cannon Holden, John MacLachlan, Peter Pease and me (Barbara Slayter). Andrew, Jennifer and John were newcomers to the process—motivated, as we all are, by the need to “move forward and fight back” in the context of an alarming array of harmful policies and disturbing decisions on the part of the Trump administration.
We departed from Lincoln at 7 a.m. to be in time for the pre-plenary breakfasts and an opportunity to hear key speakers, but the long breakfast lines and logistics were daunting. Instead, we roamed the corridors; chatted with the supporters of various candidates and causes; acquired signs, bumper stickers, and pins from our favorites; and encountered old friends some long-time political participants and others engaging with the process for the first time.
Lincolnites at the Democratic platform convention were (front row, left to right): Graham Atkin, Barbara Slayter, Peter Pease, and John MacLachlan, and (back row, left to right) Andrew Glass, Jennifer Glass, Sarah Cannon Holden and Sharon Antia. Not pictured in Gary Davis, who took the photo.
It turns out that this was the largest state Democratic convention ever. No surprise here, given grassroots activism among Democrats that has emerged since the 2016 election. Of the participants, approximately 1,500 were first-time delegates. Prominent among them were the 700 members (many of them Millennials) of “Our Revolution Massachusetts,” an organization that has its origins in the pro-Sanders movement. This group has been intent on pushing the platform into a more progressive stance. Indeed, the platform is one of the most progressive ever with planks that includes, among other things, free public higher education, sanctuary, an end to for-profit prisons, climate justice, student loan debt forgiveness, establishment of independent commissions to fix gerrymandering, and even an Election Day holiday.
Lincoln delegates were glad to have an opportunity to hear from the three still relatively unknown Democratic contenders for governor in 2018: Setti Warren, mayor of Newton; Jay Gonzales, former budget chief under Duval Patrick; and Robert Massie, entrepreneur and environmentalist. We agreed that they would have a tough road competing against Charlie Baker, a popular governor, but they did force us to think about a key question: “What kind of commonwealth do we want to be and how do we get there?”
Barbara Slayter and Gary Davis in front of the Third Middlesex sign at the convention.
All of us responded enthusiastically to the trio of keynote speakers: Moira Healey, Ed Markey, and Elizabeth Warren. Their stirring exhortations were part of the “firing up” process. And indeed it worked! Healey: “We don’t give in to bullies.” Markey: “We don’t back down in this fight against the Trump administration. He is creating a divided country 140 characters at a time, heading the nation into an epic battle, and sliding toward a constitutional crisis.” Warren: “Trump may be dividing the country but he is uniting the Democratic Party as never before.”
From Stan Rosenberg, President of the Massachusetts State Senate, came the stirring challenge: “You are the revolution, you are the change. We need change and we need it now.” No doubt most delegates left the DCU ready to enter a “resistance summer” and to resist, organize and mobilize. If somewhat weary after five hours of speeches (and a sixth dealing with amendments), Lincoln’s delegates were among them. In fact, you may soon see Elizabeth Warren’s “Nevertheless, She Persisted” bumper stickers around town. They were acquired by some members of the Lincoln delegation and will be a visible reminder of the tenacity needed for addressing the challenges ahead.
Sincerely,
Barbara Slayter
7 Trapelo 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.
To the editor:
I found out today that Bank of America in Lincoln charges $8 for someone to cash a check drawn on a business account there if the person cashing the check does not also have an account at Bank of America. $8 is a hefty fee if someone, for example, did an odd job and received a check for $30. If a worker comes once a week and makes $30 weekly, they are really only making $22.
A while back, I moved my account to Cambridge Trust in Lincoln because it is a local Massachusetts bank. Cambridge Trust no longer has a branch in Lincoln, so I go to the branch in Weston, but I am willing to do that because Cambridge Trust cares about service and listens to its customers. I also don’t use Bank of America because it funds the Dakota Access Pipeline. I’ve added this $8 fee to my list of reasons for not using Bank of America.
I humbly urge people who bank at Bank of America to pay cash, or use a personal check, to anyone who provides services if that worker does not have an account at Bank of America.
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.
Four women took a short break from restoring the Codman Farm flower garden to allow Ken Hurd to capture the moment on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Left to right: Heidi Nichols, Robin Wilkerson, Hilary Walker, and Nancy Fleming. “Let me assure you, Rosie the Riveter’s got nothing on them!” Hurd says. (Click to enlarge)
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.
Forum on how to discuss neighborhood noiseThe Leaf Blower Study Committee (LBSC) and the Conservation Commission will sponsor a town-wide forum on how to communicate with neighbors about an issue that has increasingly become a source of friction within our community—neighborhood noise—on Wednesday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Donaldson Room at the Lincoln Town Hall.
During “Civil Discourse in a Noisy World: How to Talk with Neighbors about Difficult Issues,” mediator and attorney Jeanne Kempthorne will lead a workshop aimed at finding common ground on the use of noisy leaf blowers, an issue that has become contentious in communities in Massachusetts and around the country.
The LBSC believes that all residents in Lincoln, regardless of their opinion on this issue, would benefit from the establishment of some ground rules on when and how these machines are used, for reasons of health, the environment, and common courtesy. The group is seeking to initiate a conversation and a process that may lead to mutually beneficial resolutions amongst neighbors. Kempthorne is co-chair of the Legal Advisory Committee of Quiet Communities and The Quiet Coalition, and has been active in educational and outreach activities to support their mission.
Parents and kids are invited to camp out under the stars after a hayride, barbecue, s’mores and an old-fashioned sing-a-long around the campfire at Codman Community Farms (CCF) starting on Saturday, June 10 at 4 p.m. There will be breakfast on Sunday with coffee, orange juice and bagels. Visitors are also welcome to enjoy the activities without camping overnight. Cost is $35 per tent site (includes breakfast for all campers in the tent). A CCF family membership required to sleep over. Tickets for the dinner (click to buy online) catered by Blue Ribbon Barbecue are $30 for adults and $15 for children under 12. Click here for stories and photos about the campout in 2012.
Two members of the American Revolution Round Table will speak at the group’s next meeting on Monday, June 5 at 7 p.m. at the the Minute Man National Historical Park Visitor Center. Jim Hogan will speak about religion as a catalyst of the American Revolution, focusing on the ministers of the towns of Concord, Lexington, Lincoln and Bedford. Nancy Lynch will talk about the political clash between Jefferson and Hamilton, what it meant to the workings of democracy, and the ebb and flow of their ideas during the course of the American political experience, based on the book, Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry that Forged a Nation. Please RSVP to reserve a seat by emailing mbern9@gmail.com.
Melinda Bruno-Smith, certified hatha yoga instructor and Lincoln Garden Club member, will lead four yoga sessions in Station Park Garden (160 Lincoln Rd., across from the train station) on four Saturdays: June 3, 10, 17, and 24, from 9–10 a.m. A $5 donation is suggested; please bring a yoga mat, towel, or blanket to practice on and wear loose-fitting clothing.
(Editor’s note: Following are highlights of the May 22 meeting of the Board of Selectmen. This is the first in a series of summaries of these meetings by former Selectman Peter Braun based on his review of the meeting videos, which are available at lincolntv.viebit.com or via the Town of Lincoln website under “Meeting Videos.”)
The board met with Conservation Commission Chair Peter von Mertens and Larry Buell, a candidate for an open seat on the Conservation Commission. Two other candidates were interviewed at a prior board meeting. Buell described his experience as a professor, academic administrator, and researcher in history and environmental matters. Selectmen thanked him for his willingness to volunteer for the town, acknowledged the dilemma of having to choose one of three well-qualified candidates, and expressed the hope that the two candidates not chosen will be willing to serve in another capacity. The board deferred its decision until its next meeting.
Town Administrator Tim Higgins updated the board on several ongoing matters:
The board also:
St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields Church hopes to demolish and rebuild its rectory while retaining the historic farmhouse facade.
St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields Church plans to tear down and rebuild its rectory, but the red farmhouse’s familiar facade that faces the Codman Road intersection will be retained.
The 1844 farmhouse “just had enough deferred maintenance that we felt it was better to rebuild the whole thing,” said Sarah Hubbell, senior warden of St. Anne’s.
The Zoning Board of the Appeals will hold a public hearing on the church’s application for a special permit on Thursday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. A permit is required because a small portion of the plan does not fall within the required setback, Hubbell said.
The Lincoln Historical Commission (LHC) has approved the plan for the front of the farmhouse, which dates from 1844. The LHC is “very pleased that the historic facade of St. Anne’s Rectory is to be preserved. The Rectory Committee of St. Anne’s worked with the commission, and together, a conclusion that satisfies all concerned was arrived at,” said LHC chair Lucretia Giese.
At its meeting on Wednesday, May 31 at 7 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room, the School Building Committee (SBC) will discuss plans for a June 14 public forum, communications with other town boards and committees, and the committee’s timeline. The full agenda can be found here.
In its two previous meetings, SBC members introduced themselves to each other and elected Chris Fasciano as chair and Kim Bodnar as vice chair. The panel also named an Outreach Subcommittee (Kim Bodnar, Selectman Jennifer Glass and Gina Halsted), and SBC members Buck Creel, Craig Nicholson and Peter Sugar volunteered to begin drafting a request for services (RFS) for the owner’s project manager (OPM).
Residents are welcome to come to part or all of the SBC’s meetings. Anyone who has questions or comments for the SBC to address at a future meeting is welcome to send an email to sbc@lincnet.org (back-and-forth email discussions about SBC business are prohibited by the state Open Meeting Law).
A May 30 article headlined “New preschool opening at Minuteman” incorrectly stated that the addition of the Colonial Children’s Academy (CCA) will the number of preschools in Lincoln to five. There will actually be six, as the Teddy Bear Club and the Drumlin Farm Community Preschool were inadvertently omitted—but the CCA itself will be in Lexington rather than Lincoln when it opens (although it will move over the town line into Lincoln along with the rest of Minuteman High School once the new school is completed). The original article has been amended to reflect this correction.