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

News acorns

movie reelLincoln Library Film Society hosts fall screenings

The Lincoln Library Film Society kicks off its fall offerings on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room with The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) directed by John Cassavetes and starring Ben Gazzara (rated R). A proud strip club owner is forced to come to terms with himself as a man when his gambling addiction gets him into trouble with the mob, leaving him only one option. The next showing will be Splendor in the Grass (1961) at 7 p.m. in Bemis Hall. A fragile girl’s love for a popular boy leads to heartache and madness. Directed by William Inge and starring Natalie Wood and Warren Beattie.

The group meets on the first and third Thursdays of each month. All screenings begin at 7 p.m. alternating between the library and Bemis Hall. Refreshment will be served.

Cardboard Ox plays at LOMA on Sept. 12

Cardboard Ox (Tracie Potochnik and Steve Allain) is the featured performer at the fall’s first LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) on Monday, Sept. 12 in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. The duo will perform a 30-minute set starting around 8:30 p.m. Cardboard Ox’s eponymous debut EP, a collection of six original songs, was released last year. The leadoff song, The Fisherman, can be seen on YouTube or heard on the Carboard Ox website.

LOMA is a monthly event. 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.

‘Boys in the Boat’ to be discussed by book group

The Friday Morning Book Group will read and discuss fiction and nonfiction books about sports at the Lincoln Public Library starting with The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown on Friday, Sept. 16 at 9:30 a.m. The book tells the true story of the American rowing team in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Copies in various formats will be available at the front desk; call the library to see what has arrived. Coffee and refreshments will be served. Click here to see the list of books to be discussed by the group will read in 2016-17.

Operation LIPSTICK featured in September

The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable will join the Leagues of Women Voters of Sudbury and Wayland to present a forum on the work of Operation LIPSTICK (Ladies Involved in Putting a Stop to Inner City Killing) on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Sudbury Police Department (75 Hudson Rd., Sudbury). The guest speaker will be Judy Rose, the organization’s program director. Operation LIPSTICK aims to remove women and girls from the chain of gun procurement by working to prevent them from being used to buy, hide or hold guns for those who are legally prohibited from possessing guns. A public and media education campaign encourages the media and public to ask “Where did the gun come from?” to shine a light on the sources of guns used in crime in order to reduce gun violence.

Obituaries and Aug. 19 remembrance for Rosen

Myra Beecher

Myra Beecher

Kit Carmody

Kit Carmody

Family and friends are welcomed to gather for a remembrance for Joseph Rosen on Friday, Aug. 19 at 4 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Joe was a long-time board member of The Food Project, for which the family has requested donations in lieu of flowers.

Christopher “Kit” Carmody, 77 (August 2) — held positions in banking; former president and board member at Codman Community Farms.

Myra Beecher, 81 (August 8) — artist and mother of five.

Letter to the editor: rescind tax breaks for Smith & Wesson

letter

Editor’s note: This is a copy of a letter sent to Massachusetts Sen. Michael Barrett and Rep. Tom Stanley on August 15.

To the editor:

I fully support the conditions in the recent Massachusetts gun safety law prohibiting the sale and purchase of “copycat” assault weapons as described in Attorney General Healey’s July 20 opinion statement in the Boston Globe.

The gun safety resolution passed at Lincoln’s Town Meeting this year illustrates both the risks and dangers of assault weapons, but also includes a clause reporting the finding of constitutionality of such laws of such laws in New York and Connecticut as determined by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015.

I am further appalled that Smith & Wesson recently donated $500,000 to fight Attorney General Healey’s decision. Smith & Wesson also donated $1 million to the NRA in 2015 to fight responsible gun safety laws.

Smith & Wesson were the beneficiaries of a state and local tax incentive program in 2011, yet they have contributed at least $1.5 million to fight responsible gun safety measures in spite of the financial benefits they have received from the tax payers of the Commonwealth. In effect, Massachusetts tax payers are financially supporting an industry committed to fighting laws that provide for the safety of those same taxpayers!

The Commonwealth must both rescind those tax benefits and support the attorney general’s initiative in support of responsible and common-sense gun safety measures.

Sincerely,

Gary Davis
21R Indian Camp Lane
Co-chair, Lincoln Democratic Town Committee

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.

Take the Lincoln open-space and recreation survey

openspaceLincoln conversation officials are asking residents—including children—to complete an online survey to help them update the Open Space and Recreation Plan, or OSRP (see the Lincoln Squirrel, July 20, 2016).

The OSRP includes an environmental and open-space inventory and outlines how the Conservation Commission and Lincoln Land Conservation Trust work together to manage Lincoln’s 2,000+ acres of conservation land, as well as the community’s vision and statement of needs. The survey will help to identify priorities, goals, strategies and actions to be implemented over the next seven years. It asks residents what conservation, recreation and agricultural facilities they now use in Lincoln, what they would like to see improved, and any new initiatives they favor, such as a dedicated dog park, lighted outdoor athletic field, etc.

There will be a public forum to discuss the topics presented in the survey on Wednesday, Sept. 14 from 7:30-9 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room. A second community forum is slated for November 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Office Building.

Click here to take the survey. Anyone who has questions or would prefer to fill out a paper copy is invited to call or visit the Conservation Department (781-259-2612).

Lincoln Road track crossing to close for repairs

crossing2The MBTA recently notified Lincoln officials that they will be making rail improvements at the Lincoln Station railroad crossing, which will require the closure of Lincoln Road at the railroad tracks from Saturday, Aug. 20 at 5 a.m. until Monday, Aug. 22 at 4 p.m. Area businesses will remain open, and trains will be running on a normal schedule. There will be detours in place to reroute traffic, as well as additional public safety personnel hired by the MBTA so public safety will not be compromised.

News acorns

ballot

Editor’s note: This post has been edited to reflect a correction to the time given for the 9/11 ceremony.

Voter registration deadline for state primary is this Friday

If you are not already a registered voter, the deadline for participation in the September 8 state primary is 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19. You may register in person at the Town Clerk’s Office, or register using this Secretary of State website to register or check your registration status. Incumbents U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, state Sen. Michael Barrett and state Rep. Thomas Stanley are running unopposed  in the Democratic primary, and none of those offices has a challenger on the Republican ballot. However, Lincoln resident Peter Georgiou and Newton resident William Humphrey are running in the Democratic primary against incumbent Governor’s Council member Marilyn Devaney of Newton.

Flag display and ceremony to make 15th anniversary of 9/11

The Veterans of Lincoln, Mass. (VOLMA) is sponsoring a flag display and ceremony to commemorate the 15th anniversary of  the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. A flag to represent each person killed in the attacks in New York, Washington and Shanksville, Penn. (almost 3,000 in total), will be placed on the hill beside Bemis Hall and displayed from a week before the anniversary until a week afterwards. A ceremony will be held beside Bemis Hall at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11. When the flags are taken down on September 17, all are invited to participate and take home a flag.

Olympic long jump? (Lincoln Through the Lens)

turtle

This could be the “turtle hurdle” event at the Summer Olympics in Rio. Or maybe… because the turtle can see his shadow, we’ll have six more weeks of summer. (Photo by Harold McAleer)

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.

Letter to the editor: new GMO labeling law doesn’t go far enough

letter

(Editor’s note: Recent articles in Consumerist, The Atlantic and Science have more information on this issue.)

To the editor:

Recently Congress rushed through and President Obama signed bill S.764 into law. This new law has been called by some the “Deny Americans the Right to Know” (DARK) Act because it makes it nearly impossible for you and me to know whether GMOs [genetically modified organisms] are in the food we buy.

The DARK Act does not require most processed foods to have a label, defines genetic engineering so narrowly that most GMOs on the market don’t qualify, and gives the USDA two more years to come up with even more loopholes to labeling. The DARK Act does not provide clear nationwide GMO labeling standards similar to those in Vermont’s carefully written, very popular law (now moot). The DARK Act also does not assure the American public that they are not test subjects for GMO products. The DARK Act does not require companies to prove their GMO products are safe before they expose consumers and our natural ecosystems to their products.

Jill Stein’s website clearly states: “Label GMOs, and put a moratorium on GMOs and pesticides until they are proven safe. Protect the rights of future generations.” I do not know where Hillary Clinton stands on labeling GMOs.

Sincerely,

Jean Palmer
Tower 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.

Four-legged wildlife caught on cameras

Lincolnites have been quick on the draw with their smartphone cameras in recent days, exchanging photos and quips on the LincolnTalk email list about a coyote and a somewhat larger quadruped.

Several residents saw an Eastern coyote (which is a hybrid wolf/coyote with perhaps a bit of domestic dog—sometimes called a coywolf) on August 1 in the area of Tower Road, Millstone Lane and Round Hill Road. While some were concerned about the safety of small children or pets, others hoped the creature would visit their neighborhood to make a dent in the population of rodents, groundhogs, deer and even beavers who are allegedly chewing down some of the newly planted along Route 2.

Meanwhile, Steve Durante photographed another beige quadruped spotted on Brooks Road and posted the photo on LincolnTalk. Among the comments this time:

  • “The coyote looks … different.”
  • “If that wanders into your property, finders keepers? ‘Honey, I will need a bigger meat smoker.'”
  • “It’s an Eastern Cowyote.”

Closer inspection revealed the animal to be an ordinary cow. “He got out onto the street and I had to walk him back,” Durante said.

Click on any image below to enlarge:

Isabella Nebel posted this picture of a coyote on Millstone Lane.

Isabella Nebel posted this picture of a coyote on Millstone Lane.

Another probably Eastern coyote photographed on Tower Road on July 23 by Joshua Jade.

Another probable Eastern coyote photographed on Tower Road on July 23 by Joshua Jade.

An Eastern cowyote? (Photo by Steve Durant)

An Eastern cowyote? (Photo by Steve Durant)