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

News acorns

Beth Taylor

Screening of documentary “13th”

There will be a screening of 13th, a documentary exploring the intersection of race, justice and mass incarceration by acclaimed director Ava DuVernay, on Sunday, June 11 at 3 p.m. in Bemis Hall. State Sen. Mike Barrett will be on hand to discuss current criminal justice reform legislation in Massachusetts. Clarence Blevins, a reformed ex-felon and advocate for justice reform, will speak about his personal experience of incarceration and adjustment to life after prison. This is a free event, but donations to support criminal justice reform are appreciated. Sponsored and supported by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee. For more information, email lauraberland@comcast.net or call 617-320-9749.

Globe features Beth Taylor obit

The Boston Globe ran an obituary on May 19 for Beth Taylor, who died on April 10 at age 87. Taylor was co-founder of the Mission Hill School in Roxbury and board president of the Codman Community Farms. An earlier obituary ran in the Lincoln Squirrel on April 17.

News acorns

L-S art students host open house

In celebration of its students’ creative accomplishments, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School’s Fine, Applied and Technical Arts Department will be hosting an open house on Tuesday, May 23 from 6­–8 p.m. The AP studio art students will have a show and reception, and rockets, solar-powered water heaters, woodworking projects and more designed by the Technology and Engineering program students will be on display. Come see 3D printing and CNC routing in action, drive the 2017 Warrior Robotics robot, and hear music from the L-S Jazz Ensemble. The shows will be on the B200s level near the cafeteria.

Former minister Bill Gregory at appear at First Parish

Rev. Bill Gregory on a visit to the Galapagos Islands in 2015.

H. William (Bill) Gregory, senior minister at the First Parish in Lincoln from 1970–1984, will speak at the church on Sunday, May 28 at 10 a.m. Rev. Gregory will speak on the topic of “Reflecting: Saved from Regret for Gratitude.” His appearance kicks off the celebration of the congregation’s 75th Jubilee Year, marking the merger between the Congregationalist and Unitarian churches in Lincoln.

Now retired, he and his wife Nancy live in Yarmouth, Maine, where he leads spiritual growth groups and works for the health of Maine’s Royal River. They are the parents of Layne of Falmouth, Maine, Jay of Lincoln, and Jan of Westbrook, Conn.

“The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” on tap

The next screening by the Lincoln Library Film Society will be The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie starring Maggie Smith and directed by Ronald Neame (1969, rated PG) on Thursday, June 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the library. The film is about a headstrong young teacher in a private school in 1930s Edinburgh who ignores the curriculum and influences her impressionable 12-year-old charges with her over-romanticized world. Popcorn will be served.

Hear 1775 news at Hartwell Tavern

Minute Man National Historical Park will host “In the News” on Saturday, June 10 from 1–4 p.m. In colonial Massachusetts, taverns were hubs of news and communication.Travelers brought news and perspectives from far away places, and locals read newspapers, advertisements, and public notices. Current events were discussed and political issues were debated. What were local people talking about in 1775? Visit Hartwell Tavern, talk politics with local residents of 1775, and discuss the potential impact of events.

Alice Howe at next LOMA night

Alice Howe is the featured performer at the next LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) night on Monday, June 12. The event runs from 7-10 p.m., and Howe will perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30. Her musical sensibility springs from ’60s folk and ’70s Southern California songwriters, the pure, distilled sounds of artists like Joan Baez, Kate Wolf and Joni Mitchell.  LOMA is a monthly event. Admission is free and refreshments are provided.Performers can sign up at the event or email Rich Eilbert at loma3re@gmail.com for a slot. There is a sound system with mikes and instrumental pickups suitable for individuals or small groups.

Dog art event benefits Phinney’s Friends

Come find the artist in your dog at Paws in Bloom at two Pet Source locations to benefit Lincoln-based Phinney’s Friends. We’ll dip your dog’s paw on washable, pet-safe paint and imprint it on artist paper canvas, then turn the paw prints into flower paintings. The resulting pictures cost only $20 and you take it home that day. All proceeds will go to Phinney’s Friends, which helps low-income people keep their pets by providing financial assistance and pet care. The events will take place on Saturday, June 10 from 11 am. to 3 p.m. at Pet Source at 1173 Main St. in Concord, and on Saturday, June 24 at the Pet Source at 1141 Boston Post Rd W. in Marlborough.

Talk by artist/activist/author at library

Lincoln Public Library presents a talk by Suzanne Hodes, author of Studio Days: A Memoir, on Saturday, June 10 from  2–3:30 p.m. in the Tarbell Room. “Studio Days” is about Hodes’ creative process in her 50-year career as an artist. She will share how she combined family life and peace activism with her art career despite having a serious illness, as well as several dozen images from her memoir as they relate to her story and the shared stories of our time, from the Kennedy and King Assassinations to the 9/11 attacks. She will also discuss the creation of Artists for Survival, which was devoted to supporting the nuclear freeze and several other social justice causes. A limited number of copies of Studio Days will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Lincoln-Sudbury awards and honors

Six L-S faculty win FELS grants

Foundation for Educators at Lincoln-Sudbury grant recipient for 2017. Left to right: Xin Dong, Nancy Dion, Samantha Parker, Nicole Frattaroli, Elizabeth Carver, and Thomas Grandprey (click to enlarge).

The Foundation for Educators at Lincoln-Sudbury (FELS)—a nonprofit that awards enrichment grants to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School faculty and staff to pursue their professional and personal interests and passions—announced six grant recipients for 2017. Recipients, their departments and projects are:

  • Xin Dong, World Languages —  Dong, who is completing her first year of the new Mandarin pilot program at L-S, will attend the MaFLA Proficiency Academy this summer. The four-day program focuses on curriculum design under the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages proficiency framework.
  • Nancy Dion, Special Education — Her grant will allow her to attend a week-long workshop at The College of the Atlantic in Maine that introduces photographers of all abilities to the art of conservation photography. She hopes print and frame the images for display at L-S.
  • Samantha Parker, Science (Physics) — Parker will travel to the Grand Tetons to witness the total eclipse of the sun on August 21. She hopes to use her explorations to enrich her teaching in astronomy and other sciences.
  • Nicole Frattaroli, Guidance Counselor — Frattaroli will take a 10-week course at The New England School of Photography to advance her strong interest in the art, allow her to contribute to the mindfulness curriculum and online resources, incorporate her photographs into presentations that the Counseling Department coordinates with Student Services for incoming families
  • Elizabeth Carver, World Languages (Spanish) — Carver’s grant will partially fund a four-week trip to Mexico this summer to explore the Mayan culture and study their language and art. She plans to document her work by maintaining a daily journal; recording interviews with Mayan people on their past and present culture; creating portraits, collage, and sculptures of Mayan people and their environment; and writing a narrative for each and of art in English, Spanish and some Maya.
  • Thomas Grandprey, Director of  Instrumental Music — he will visit museums and historic sights in Rome, Florence and other cities as well as music venues in Italy, exploring the jazz culture in Italy and make contacts for future professional and educational exchange.

FELS raises money through donations and also hosts an annual FELS Talk at the high school. Click here to see past grants.

Chess team is tops in Mass.

Left to right: L-S Chess Club members Jesse Sun, Sandeep Shankar, Greer Fried, Eric Feng, and Michael Isakov (click to enlarge).

The L-S Chess Team came in first at the state team chess championship in April, bringing home the Hurvitz Cup as two-time state champions. There were 12 teams with a total of 46 players at the championship. L-S team members were Sudbury residents Michael Isakov, Eric Feng, Sandeep Shankar, Jesse Sun, and Greer Fried. The team won all four of its matches to finish well ahead of the competition.

Ocean sciences team in #9 nationally

The L-S National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) team placed ninth nationally at the NOSB national competition held at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore., and won an all-expenses-paid trip to the competition after having won the Blue Lobster Bowl at MIT earlier in the year.

The NOSB competition is largely structured in “quiz bowl” style and covers all aspects of oceanography (biological, physical, chemical, and geological), maritime technology, and marine policy. The competition also required the team to take on the roles of stakeholders testifying in front of a congressional committee, with judges playing the parts of members of Congress, and advocating positions related to an actual and complicated piece of energy legislation. The students were required to submit written statements in advance, and they followed up with oral testimony and answered questions from the committee about the legislation at the competition. The L-S team placed sixth nationally in this portion of the competition.

Team members (all from Sudbury) are seniors Melody Phu, Steven Weiman, and Julia Wyatt, and juniors Michael Isakov and Avi Lepsky. Dr. William Pegram, an earth sciences teacher at the high school, is the faculty sponsor. The team also toured a large National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel based on the Oregon coast, went out on a small research boat to create temperature and salinity profiles of estuary waters and to sort out and classify the life forms found in a trawl of the same waters, and toured a large repository of marine sediment cores stored on the Oregon State campus.

Sobkowicz chosen to work with Apple on classroom technology

Mark Sobkowicz, a computer science and physics teacher at L-S, was selected as an Apple Distinguished Educator for 2017, one of approximately 130 elementary, secondary and higher educators in the U.S. to be so honored. Individuals selected as ADEs work with Apple to develop new uses for technology in the classroom and share insights with educators and policymakers throughout the world.

With the recent improvements to the high school’s information technology infrastructure, technology has been integrated into classrooms across the curriculum. In addition, an AP Computer Science Principles course will be offered at L-S for the first time in 2017-18 with a curriculum was designed by Sobkowicz based on the introductory computer science course taught at Harvard University. A demonstration of how Apple computing is used in L-S classrooms can be found in his online application for the ADE award.

News acorns

Boogie down at Club Codman on Saturday

Club Codman, the annual fundraiser with fashions and music from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and beyond, takes place on Saturday, May 20 at 8:30 p.m. at Codman Community Farm. This 10th anniversary event will feature a live band with musicians you may have seen at school functions and local board meetings. No costumes required, but there will be much respect for the biggest hair and most polyester. Cash bar; adults only. Tickets are $50 each and are available online or by emailing info@codmanfarm.org. This event sells out every year, so buy your tickets soon.

Event for new empty-nesters

A panel conversation titled “Approaching an Empty Nest?” is slated for Monday, May 22 from 1–2:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Library. You’ll learn how parent panelists prepared, tips that helped during the transition, what was unexpected, what worked and what didn’t, and what their lives are like now without children at home. Presented by Embrace Change, a nonprofit support network. Free, but space is limited; register online.

Library closings

The Lincoln Public Library will close at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 26 due to staff training. It will also be closed on Monday, May 29 in observance of Memorial Day.

Outdoor watering now allowed one day per week

Flint’s Pond water levels since 2010. In previous droughts, the lowest levels seen at the pond were 5.5 feet below full in 1951, and a bit more than 7 feet below full in 1967 (click image to enlarge).

The complete ban on outdoor lawn watering imposed during last summer’s drought has been modified, though it isn’t back to the old two-day-a-week permitted schedule.

The Water Department Commissioners voted to allow outdoor watering on a one-day-a-week schedule. Outdoor watering via irrigation systems and/or hose sprinklers on Saturdays for street addresses ending in an even number and on Sundays for addresses ending in an odd number.  The irrigation systems can operate between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Hand-watering of plants is allowed any day of the week from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m.

The water level in Flints Pond has rebounded more than 2.5 feet since the near-record low water levels of this past fall and winter. However, even with this strong recovery, the pond is still more than two feet below full capacity and has not yet reached the level it was at this time last year, according to Water Department Superintendent Greg Woods.

“With normal summer water use (i.e., watering twice a week), the pond level typically decreases by 2–3 feet, so if it’s another dry summer, it’s likely we will be right back in a similar situation as last year,” Woods said.

The Water Commission anticipates that the current watering restrictions, coupled with the increased use of the Tower Road well, will minimize the drawdown of the pond level. The panel will continue to monitor the pond level and the town’s water demand on a monthly basis to determine if the water restriction requires further adjustment. Anyone with questions may call Woods at 781-259-1329.

Letter to the editor: Lincoln Food Pantry needs your donations

Left to right: Jason Deveau (store manager at Donelan’s); Cheryl Rodgers; Gretchen, Nick and Peter Covino; and Nancy Cronin setting up the donation bin at Donelan’s. Food donations will benefit the Lincoln Food Pantry.

To the editor:

It’s challenging to believe that there are families in the Lincoln and Weston communities who rely on contributions to a food panty, but there are. Since 2003, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) at St. Joseph Church has helped Lincoln clients in emergency situations.

The food pantry, located at St. Joseph Church in Lincoln, was opened in 2005 and is now serving about 25 families (46 people) each month. This service is supported by the members of St. Julia Parish (Weston/Lincoln) as well as those from St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields and the First Parish Church. The pantry receives food from the Greater Boston Food Pantry and is also supported by the MetroWest Hunger Relief Fund for the Foundation for MetroWest. Most client families are our neighbors or those who work within our Lincoln and Weston communities and who are experiencing an emergency or a period of financial challenge.

The food panty relies upon donations of staple foods (e.g., cans of soup, pasta, rice, juice) that can be stored as dry goods. We are fortunate to have the assistance of Donelan’s supermarket in Lincoln who has created space at the front of the store for a collection bin. We are asking residents of our town to make a small donation of a canned or boxed item when they do their shopping. A sign above the bin indicates the items that are needed most at a given time, but any nonperishable food is welcome. The bin will be emptied each week and the goods transported to the food pantry at St. Joseph Church.

Please note: the collection bin at Donelan’s is for food bought at the store only. If you would like to donate other nonperishable items, please drop them off at St. Joseph’s. Enter the church through the side entrance on the left side of the church, where the ramp is. There is a collection bin right there in the little entrance hall. We are not allowed to give out food that is past the “best by” date, or is in damaged or opened packages.

Please make time and space for this important work. It is more necessary than you think, and your investment in our community will be impactful and most appreciated.

If you are in need of food or would like more information, please call St. Julia Parish of Weston and Lincoln at 781 899 2611.

Sincerely,

Ursula Nowak (president of SVdP, St. Joseph Conference)
33 Conant Road

Nick, Gretchen and Peter Covino
15 Mackintosh Lane

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.

Lincoln residents can get discounts on solar installation

A rooftop solar array in Chicago (image courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Lincoln is one of three towns selected by the state to participate in Solarize Mass, a program where residents can get lower pricing from an approved vendor of residential rooftop solar installations.

Sponsored by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Council (MassCEC), Solarize lets residents of a community to enter into a competitive pricing agreement with a preferred solar installer following a vetting process. Representatives from Lincoln, Wayland, and Sudbury’s energy committees are working with MassCEC to promote solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar hot water for residential rooftop installation. This program helps consumers by keeping costs lower—historically, up to 21% lower—and ensuring that installations are of high quality. Lincoln participated in the same program five years ago.

“Following the success of the 2012 Solarize Lincoln program and building on the increasing momentum of greener energy among residents means the time is ripe for another round,” said Jennifer Haugh of the Green Energy Committee (GEC) in a press release. “We’ve seen so much interest and excitement among residents, and it’s clear our communities are ready.”

In addition to finding a vendor for solar photovoltaic, the three towns were also selected to engage in a pilot project, Solarize Plus, which will engage a separate vendor to offer solar hot water. Unlike solar photovoltaic, which converts direct sunlight to electricity, solar hot water transfers heat from the atmosphere directly to a hot water tank in the home. This technology can be more forgiving of shadier rooftops but may require ongoing investments and maintenance.

In the coming weeks, GEC members will work with MassCEC and the towns of Wayland and Sudbury to accept and review bids for both solar photovoltaic and solar hot water providers. The team expects to announce a winner and launch the program this summer.

Since its launch in 2011, 58 cities and towns have participated in Solarize Mass, resulting in more than 3,400 new small-scale installations at homes and businesses totaling 20.6 megawatts of solar capacity.

Bylaw change maximizes rooftop solar

Residents voted at Town Meeting in March to remove a zoning bylaw setback requirement on rooftops, which will create additional space for rooftop solar arrays. GEC member Jim Hutchinson, who presented the warrant article, said the measure could make the difference for some Lincoln residents looking to install solar on smaller rooftops.

“In one case, that [former] one-foot setback requirement reduced the amount of rooftop available by 44 percent,” he said. “Having more viable space makes the decision to go solar that much more feasible for homeowners.”

A related bylaw change increased the maximum allowed height for ground-mounted solar from 10 feet to 12. The Planning Board may also now grant waivers to the solar installation requirements on a case-by-case basis.

Survey results town’s interest in solar

A survey in late February indicated strong interest on the part of Lincolnites in exploring investments in solar options for residences. Of 127 respondents, 66.4 percent were “very interested” and 23 percent were “somewhat interested” in finding out more about group purchasing and favorable pricing of solar equipment, installation, and/or solar electricity, with the remaining 10.7 percent indicating “other”—which primarily consisted of current solar owners who are enthusiastic about their arrays.

From a question regarding the motivations for interest in solar, 90 percent of respondents indicated a concern for climate change and 65 percent were concerned about the global politics of fossil fuels, whereas 56.7 percent were interested in solar in terms of an economic investment.

Of 117 responses to a question regarding types of solar of interest to Lincoln residents, 53.8 percent were homeowners interested in solar arrays for their own rooftops, and 37.6 percent were interested in sharing a sunshine-harvesting somewhere else.

A question about additional energy-efficiency opportunities yielded 48.3 percent of respondents interested in monitoring electric loads in their homes to find phantom loads, with additional interest in having home energy assessments (HEAs) and learning more about electric vehicles.

Optimizing energy use

Solarize is one of several residential energy programs offered by the GEC. Residents are urged to consider ways of conserving energy in their homes first before investing in the supply side, according to Lincoln Energy Challenge coordinator Sue Klem.

“Solar PVs are a great way to minimize your carbon footprint, but you’ll want to optimize your home for energy efficiency first,” she said. “The best way to find out how to make your home as efficient as possible is to get a home energy assessment” or HEA.

Massachusetts has one of the nation’s top statewide energy-efficiency programs in partnership with MassSave, a nonprofit funded through utility fees. Lincoln works with a company called HomeWorks Energy to perform no-cost HEAs, where an energy auditor comes to check a residence for air leaks, proper insulation, lighting, and other sources of inefficiency. They can replace incandescent bulbs with free LED light bulbs, leave free “smart” power strips, and perform on-the-spot air sealing for drafty homes. HEA auditors can also offer recommendations for energy-efficiency improvements, often supported by tax incentives.

For more information on obtaining a no-cost HEA, visit www.lincolnenergychallenge.org or call 781-305-3319.

Children’s maple sugar project raises almost $2,000

Lincoln School third-graders sample the maple syrup they helped make.

The third grade at Lincoln School recently completed its annual educational and charitable maple syrup collaboration with Nancy Bergen and Ephraim Flint at Matlock Farm, where the students tap trees, collect the sap, and learn all about the process, nature, mathematics, and writing along the way. Nancy and Ephraim served as guides to the students, sharing their knowledge and imparting an appreciation for this time-honored local resource.

This year the group raised $1,920 (easily topping last year’s total of $1,400) and made donations to the Ronald McDonald House, Doctors Without Boarders, and Codman Farm.

News acorns

No charges filed in 2016 bike accident

No criminal or civil motor vehicle charges will be filed in the wake of an accident in Lincoln on June 16, 2016 that claimed the life of Eugene Thornberg of Wayland. Thornberg, 61, was killed while bicycling on Route 126 just south of Hillside Road. The decision comes after an investigation by Lincoln Police Department, Middlesex District Attorney’s office and Massachusetts State Police. 

A second fatal accident involving a bicyclist last summer is still under investigation, Lincoln Chief of Police Kevin Kennedy reported. Westford resident Mark Himelfarb, 59, was killed in an August 17 accident on Virginia Road about 200 feet north of intersection with Old Bedford Road.

Eric Chivian to speak at LLCT gala

Dr. Eric Chivian with a Colombian tree frog.

The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust annual meeting and 60th anniversary celebration takes place on Thursday, May 18 from 6–9 p.m. at the Pierce House. The evening starts with a reception and music by Colonial Jazz with Jim White and hors d’oeuvres by Trail’s End Cafe. Wine and beer will be served.

After a brief business meeting at 7:25, Dr. Eric Chivian, physician and Nobel laureate, will give a talk on “Human Health and the Environment.” Chivian will discuss how medical models can help people understand the implications of our altering of the global environment by translating the abstract, technical science of these changes into the concrete, personal, everyday language of human health.

While a staff psychiatrist in the MIT Medical Department, Chivian co-founded International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for its efforts to highlight the implications of nuclear conflict for global health. He is on the Harvard Medical School faculty and directs the nonprofit Program for Preserving the Natural World, Inc. Copies of his book Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity will be available for purchase.

Bike to school on May 19

In celebration of National Bike Month, and in collaboration with Lincoln Cycling Safety Advisory Committee, hop on your bicycle for an environmentally friendly, good-for-your-body, fun ride to school on Friday, May 19. Don’t forget your helmet!

Dr. Timothy Johnson at St. Anne’s

Dr. Timothy Johnson

Physician, author, minister and St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields Church parishioner Timothy Johnson will host a forum on the state of U.S. health care and what’s at stake with the new administration’s proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act at the St. Anne’s on Sunday, May 21 at 9 a.m. That afternoon, Still Your Soul will be a service of Contemplative Holy Eucharist, with time to soothe the soul before the beginning of another busy week.

Town seeks members for new community center planning group

The Board of Selectmen is seeking volunteers for the new Community Center Planning and Preliminary Design Committee (CCPPDC) to fill the roster by June 12 after approving the charge to the committee on May 8.

Residents approved $150,000 at Town Meeting in March to commission a feasibility study and draft design for a community center to be located on the Hartwell side of the school campus. The facility will meet the needs of the Parks and Recreation Department, and the Council on Aging as well as other town groups. The CCPPDC will work closely with the newest School Building Committee (SBC), which held its first meeting on May 3.

Selectmen are seeking four community members to serve on the CCPPDC who have experience in fields that are relevant to the committee’s work, such as architecture, planning or design, project management, or community engagement. Those interested should send letters of interest, mentioning relevant experience, to the Board of Selectmen via email to at ElderP@lincolntown.org by Friday, June 2.

The board will appoint members of the CCPPDC at its meeting on June 12. The committee will hold its first meeting the following week and will present public updates (including at the fall 2018 State of the Town meting). If possible, there will be a final report and/or town vote at the spring 2018 Town Meeting.

As its long name implies, the CCPPDC has limited scope, selectmen said. If and when the town chooses to move forward with a community center project, the committee’s preliminary design and cost estimate would be developed by a community center building committee.

The duties of the CCPPDC will include:

  • Gathering stakeholder input, and plan regular communication with and input from relevant town boards, committees, and the community.
  • Hiring a design firm to develop preliminary design plans and provide detailed cost estimates. Selectmen and the School Committee hold out the possibility that one firm could be hired to support both the school building project and the community center process.
  • Developing a detailed program of activities that would take place in a new community center and an assessment of space requirements and optimal adjacencies for the program
  • Evaluate several previously identified community center building locations within the Hartwell area, and any others that may be identified, and develop a preferred building location and supporting Hartwell campus site plan. This will require close coordination with the SBC, particularly with respect to things like future plans for the after-school program, the school’s shop area, any changes in use at the Hartwell main building, parking demands, any reorientation of the Ballfield Road roadway network or playing fields, the possible use of the pods as swing space during school construction, potential shared space opportunities, etc.

“Options for the community center must pair logically with options for the Lincoln School project to ensure all current and desired functions of the campus are included in the overarching plan for the campus,” according to the CCPDC charge.

As with the SBC, membership on the CCPPDC will entail many hours, hard work, and complicated conversations, but also offers a unique and exciting opportunity to participate in the creation of a central piece of the community and the future of the town, selectmen noted. Anyone with questions about the responsibilities and expectations of committee membership should send email before the deadline to the e-mail address above.

The PPDC will also include representatives from the Board of Selectmen, Council on Aging, Parks and Recreation Committee, Planning Board and Finance Committee. Selectmen are encouraging additional boards and committees such as the Conservation Commission, Green Energy Committee, Historical Commission, parent organizations and the Disabilities Commission to appoint liaisons to the CCPPDC.