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

McLean Hospital plans teen residential facility on Bypass Road

The house at 22 Bypass Rd. where McLean Hospital hopes to house clients age 15-21. The house on the adjacent 16 Bypass Road can be seen at far left.

The house at 22 Bypass Rd. where McLean Hospital hopes to house clients age 15-21. The house on the adjacent 16 Bypass Road can be seen at far left.

By Alice Waugh

Bypass Road residents, including a member of the town’s Board of Health, are furious about a proposal by McLean Hospital to open a residential facility for teens and young adults in their neighborhood, saying they were given no opportunity to comment before Lincoln’s town counsel issued an opinion saying that the facility was exempt from the town’s zoning regulations.

Senior officials from McLean Hospital, a Belmont-based psychiatric hospital, met with Director of Planning and Land Use Jennifer Burney and Building Inspector Daniel Walsh in mid-April to present the proposal for properties the hospital purchased at 16-22 Bypass Rd. The 6,700-square-foot house at 22 Bypass Road would be used to house up to 12 clients age 15-21 “who are participating in a program designed to enhance the development of their life skills through educational and therapeutic training,” according to a follow-up letter to the Lincoln officials.

In the April 22 letter, McLean attorney Diane Tillotson made the case that McLean was entitled to an exemption from zoning restrictions as provided under state law for educational and religious organizations. The Bypass Road facility would be a “transitional living program providing psychoeducational support for young adults struggling with mood disorders, anxiety and depression” with a “curriculum integrating behavioral and cognitive skill building experiences,” she wrote.

Town counsel Joel Bard wrote in a May 2 letter to Burney that be believed the McLean proposal met the standard for a use exemption under Lincoln’s zoning by-law under Chapter 40A of state statutes, also known as the Dover Amendment. But about a dozen Bypass Road families vehemently disagree and have formed a group to fight the proposal by various means, including possibly filing a lawsuit.

“We feel blindsided,” said Dr. Steven Kanner, a primary care physician and Lincoln Board of Health member whose property abuts the Bypass Road site. “This is a life-changing event that could affect the safety of our children and grandchildren and our property values, and we were not even alerted? What kind of town are we living in? The arrogance [of town officials] not thinking we needed to know is astounding.”

The lack of specific information about the nature of the facility’s clients is worrisome, said Kanner, who was chief of medical care for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health during the Dukakis administration.

“I’m certainly not against mental health, but this is something where we don’t know who these people are,” Kanner said. “Are they male or female? How do we know they’re not dangerous? These are disturbed adolescents who have been highly depressed and may have been violent.” If one of them escaped, he added, “there’s nothing to stop them from being in someone else’s yard within 90 seconds.”

The neighborhood group is arguing that the facility is medical and not educational and thus does not qualify for a zoning exemption. “No one has explored why this qualifies as educational… this is medical treatment,” Kanner said. “Are they getting any education? I doubt it.”

On behalf of the neighborhood group, Kanner has been speaking with attorneys. “It appears the only way we can get a hearing we should have been accorded by right is to sue,” he said.

Also at issue is whether the current septic system is adequate for the proposed use, because local septic regulations must be followed even for educational and religious institutions. Burney noted on a town web page about the project that the Board of Health and the Water Department will be consulted about septic and water issues.

McLean Hospital already operates the Lincoln Residence, a transitional residence for adults in Lincoln at 5 Old Cambridge Turnpike. In addition, the Lexington-based Edinburg Center operates is a home for developmentally disabled adults at 15 Bypass Road across from where McLean hopes to locate.

In the April 22 letter, McLean officials said they would hold a neighborhood meeting in mid-June with an anticipated opening date in September 2016.

House allocates $1.72 million in state aid for Lincoln

The $39.5 billion state budget bill for fiscal 2017 unanimously passed by the state House of Representatives last month includes $1.72 million in state aid for Lincoln, according to Rep. Thomas Stanley (9th Middlesex).

“I’m thrilled with the state aid Lincoln received in the House budget, including my amendment that was adopted to assist the town’s financial burden for the preK-12 education of retired military families living at Hanscom,” Stanley said in a press release.

The House budget lines for Lincoln include $967,767 in Chapter 70 education aid, $654,570 in unrestricted general government aid, and $100,00 to help mitigate the costs of educating children of retired military families living at Hanscom Air Force Base.

Of the $86 million added to the budget in amendments by the House, the biggest chunk was $19.9 million for amendments related to education and local aid, according to MassLive.com. The budget now goes to the state Senate for consideration.

FY 2017
(passed by House)		FY 2016FY 2015
Education aid$967,767$857,038$841,588
Unrestricted general government aid$654,570$627,584$605,776
Hanscom education aid (special item)$100,000----
Totals$1,722,307$1,484,622$1,447,364

Residents moving into new areas at the Commons

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at The Commons on March 29 featured (left to right) Stephanie Handelson, president and COO of Benchmark Senior Living; Benchmark executive director Chris Golen, Dr. Laurie Tolman, a resident of The Commons; Tom Grape, founder and CEO of Benchmark; and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. See more photos below.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at The Commons on March 29 featured (left to right) Stephanie Handelson, president and COO of Benchmark Senior Living; Benchmark Executive Director Chris Golen, Dr. Laurie Tolman, a resident of The Commons; Tom Grape, founder and CEO of Benchmark; and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. See more photos below.

The new assisted nursing, skilled nursing and memory care units at The Commons are open for business and accepting at least one new resident every day.

The units opened to residents on April 1. As of earlier this week, 27 residents had moved into assisted living, which has a capacity of 40, while eight of the 40 beds in skilled nursing were occupied, according to Executive Director Chris Golen. By the end of May, 32 of the 40 assisted-living units should be occupied, and the memory care section (which has a capacity of 32) should be full in about a year, Golen said.

A handful of residents in the newly opened areas came over from the independent living units at The Commons but the rest are from other facilities or homes, Golen said.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony in late March marked the completion of  changes instituted by Benchmark Senior Living, which purchased The Commons (formerly called The Groves) after the facility filed for bankruptcy in 2013. The Groves was never able to fill more than about half of its 168 independent living units, and many felt that this was because it did not offer a “continuum of care” for residents who eventually needed more help with things like mobility, memory care, and day-to-day activities such as cooking and dressing.

Construction on the new areas began in July 2014, “and things really started taking off at the end of that year” for purchases of independent-living units, Golen said. As of late April, the main Russell Building was 100 percent full, while the cottages and the Flint Building on the north side of the campus had a total of about 17 units left, he said.

Among the offerings in the new areas are lounges with large Roku-equipped flat-screen TVs; dining rooms serving three meals a day (though the assisted living units also have kitchenettes); hair salons with manicure/pedicure stations and spa tubs; and a physical therapy suite that operates seven days a week. Patients can receive outpatient therapy there even if they don’t live at The Commons. “I think that’s going to be a big attraction for us,” Golen said.

All caregivers in the new areas at The Commons now have iPhones connected to a wireless security system that allows them to see the location of all patients, who wear GPS-enabled emergency pendants. This is for increased safety as well as the convenience of visitors who arrive to find their relatives away from their rooms.

Residents who’ve purchased independent living units at The Commons can move into assisted living or skilled nursing at no extra cost. Others must pay a nonrefundable entrance fee plus rent starting at $5,500 a month, Golen said in December 2014. Skilled nursing beds are also available for short-term rehabilitation patients coming from hospitals or homes.

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Virtual tour of New England cemeteries on May 5

On Thursday, May 5 at 10 a.m. at the Lincoln Public Library, the Gravestone Girls present a program about New England cemetery art, history and symbolism, including graveyards in Lincoln.  The “virtual tour” will go from colonial burial grounds through the rural cemetery movement of the 19th century and into 21st-century locations, examining why we have cemeteries and gravestones, why they look like they do, and how styles and art have evolved over almost 400 years. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Lincoln Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Toast Mom with a glass of wine at deCordova cafe

The cafe on the fourth floor of the deCordova Museum is now serving wine and beer, and mothers get in free on Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 8). The café will offer two red wines, two white wines and prosecco, along with several craft beers and Downeast cider. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, expanding to seven days a week after Memorial Day. The Park Cafe in the courtyard behind the store will be open from Memorial Day through Labor Day from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and serves cold drinks, snacks and ice cream.

Display of L-S student engineering and art work

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School’s Technology and Engineering program and AP art class will hold an open house and show of student work on Tuesday, May 10 from 7-9 p.m. Student-designed rockets, solar-powered water heaters, woodworking projects, sculpture paintings and more will be on display. Visitors can also see 3D printing and a CNC routing machine in action, drive the 2016 Warrior Robotics robot and hear music from the L-S Select Jazz Combo. The shows will be on the B200s level near the cafeteria.

See Samba at L-S French Movie Night

sambaThe French Cinema classes at L-S will host a French Movie Night on Friday, May 13 with a showing of Samba, a dramatic comedy about a hard-working young man who, while facing the challenges of immigration in France, finds himself drawn towards a volunteer immigration employee trying to pull her life together. The Movie Night will start with a reception at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments and music from the L-S jazz bands. There will be a brief presentation about the film, followed by the movie at 7:30 in the L-S auditorium. The event is free but we will be collecting donations for 9 éléves, an organization that raises money for Haitian children’s education. Please RSVP on this Facebook page or this SignUp Genius page. Tickets will be available at the door, but signups are greatly appreciated. Please email MJ Galano at mj_galano@lsrhs.net with any questions.

Join the 2016 garlic mustard pull

Join your neighbors for a garlic mustard pull any time before May 31 and help the Lincoln Conservation Department eradicate this invasive plant. Free paper leaf bags for garlic mustard will be distributed to residents at the transfer station on Saturday, May 7 from 9 a.m. to noon. After that, bags will be available at the Conservation office, courtesy of the Lincoln Garden Club. Drop off filled bags at the DPW on Lewis Street Monday through Friday (plus Saturday, May 7) from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (no wall lettuce or yard clippings, please). The Conservation Department will also pick up full bags of garlic mustard through May 31 if you contact them at 781-259-2612 or trails@lincolntown.org; please allow a few days for pickup.

Public hearings on May 10

House-1The Lincoln Historical Commission will hold two public hearings on Tuesday, May 10:

  • 7:40 p.m. — to consider the application of Peter and Hytho Pantazelos for a Demolition Plan Review to demolish more than 25 percent of the roof structure and an attached greenhouse at 12 Woodcock Lane.
  • 7:50 p.m. —  to consider the application of Seth and Lynne Miller for a decision on a Demolition Plan Review to demolish the dwelling and detached garage at 15 Stonehedge Road.

The Lincoln Planning Board will also hold two public hearings on May 10:

  • 7 p.m. — to review an application from Laurie Wardell, 20 Farrar Road, for replacement of a fence under Section 18.5 of the Zoning Bylaw.
  • 7:15 p.m. — to review an application for Site Plan Review under Section 17 of the Zoning Bylaw. The applicant, Zeis Lincoln One LLC, 0 Lexington Road, proposes to construct a new home.

AKA Bistro to close Sunday; Blazes may take its place

Aka Bistro, part of the Mall at Lincoln Station.

Aka Bistro may soon be replaced by Blazes.

By Alice Waugh

Mother’s Day will be the last day of business for AKA Bistro, which garnered widespread praise for its innovative French and Japanese cuisine but was a victim of not one but two natural disasters.

Meanwhile, Richard Card, the Lincoln resident behind the proposed Blazes bookstore/coffee shop/cocktail bar, has made an offer to lease the space currently occupied by AKA Bistro and has launched a website detailing what Blazes plans to offer.

Rumors have swirled for some time that Aka Bistro might be closing. “AKA is a tenant at will and has been struggling to pay the rent for the space,” Geoff McGean, executive director of the Rural Land Foundation (which owns the Mall at Lincoln Station), said in an email last week. “We have talked with several new potential restaurant tenants about the space. Richard Card/Blazes is one of the potential tenants that has expressed interest in the space, and we have had discussions with them.”

Card confirmed that he has made an offer on a five-year lease for the AKA Bistro space for Blazes, which he hopes to open as soon as this fall if all goes well, but said on Tuesday he had not gotten a response.

“This is very sad because I like the town very much. It reminds me of the village in France where I grew up, a small community where everyone knows everyone. This is something I’ll miss a lot,” Christian Touche, co-owner and general manager of AKA Bistro, said in an interview Tuesday night. “It would have been easier if there was something bad” such as substandard food or poor service, but such was not the case, he said.

AKA Bistro was was never able to recover from a pair of unfortunate events: the lengthy closure of nearby Donelan’s after its roof collapsed in a snowstorm in February 2011, significantly reducing business traffic for the entire mall, and the closure of AKA itself for several months starting in December 2013 after a burst ceiling pipe caused extensive interior water damage. “I learned a lot about insurance,” Touche said ruefully.

The plan for Blazes had its first public airing at Town Meeting in 2015 when Card applied for a liquor license. He told the Lincoln Squirrel beforehand that his business would aim for a “salon atmosphere” with a breakfast, lunch and light dinner menu, and a small bookstore that would stock “only high-minded and literary works.”

At that time, Card said he did not have a specific site identified, though he later said he was looking at space on 10 Lewis St. That later turned out not to be workable due to a shortage of parking space.

Even though nothing has been signed, Blazes now has its own website noting that the establishment will be a “cultural cafe” with “an inviting chic and urban edge.” Offerings will include crafted coffees, loose-leaf teas, fresh fruit drinks, and food including “meticulously prepared soups, local cheeses and charcuteries.” The website includes a sample menu and an undated list of events Card hopes to hold there.

Asked about pricing, Card said that Blazes would be somewhere in between Concord’s Woods Hill Table and the Whistle Stop in Lincoln “so people can come here once or twice a week and not feel it’s going to be a big expense. We definitely do not want to be a ‘special occasion’ place.”

Card has assembled a committee of about a dozen Lincoln residents who are investing and/or lending their expertise in the design and planning process. He’s also planning to launch a Kickstarter online fundraising campaign featuring a promo video and a song. Among the committee members is Wendy Harrington, who said she and other Lincolnites are excited about what Blazes could offer beyond just its menu and merchandise.

“Italy and France have cafes in town squares, England has the pubs and Iceland has the baths,” Harrington said. “The problem with a small town like Lincoln is that it doesn’t have a town center” where people can run into each other and socialize with a cup of gourmet coffee or a cocktail.

“I’ll still go to Concord or Waltham or Lexington” to eat out for dinner, “but I would much rather have a casual meal [at a place] where I can throw on a coat and and go downtown [in Lincoln] with my daughter, or drop in during the day,” Harrington said. “I think Richard has really hit on it. I think he’s got a very holistic approach to the culture [of Lincoln] and the food part of it that was really missing.”

The impending closure of the well-regarded AKA Bistro came as a surprise to gourmets outside Lincoln as well. The restaurant was featured on April 22 in Boston Magazine’s “Best Food Instagrams of the Week” and was reviewed in detail on April 15 in The Passionate Foodie, a blog by Richard Auffrey, who said he had no idea about the upcoming change when he wrote his blog post.

Touche said he had considered “downgrading” the AKA Bistro menu a bit to get more local customers, but decided it was too risky. “I may or may not gain people from Lincoln, but I’d certainly lose the people who drive half an hour” for AKA’s fare, he said.

Touche isn’t certain what’s next for him, but said there will definitely be another restaurant in his future, and the AKA Bistro experience has taught him a lot. “I wish the best for the new people who are coming. It’s a great spot and maybe they’ll get a better sense of the needs of the residents,” he said.

LSF spelling bee is a B-L-A-S-T

By Liz Lieblich

The Lincoln School Foundation‘s ninth annual town-wide Spelling Bee, a springtime ritual for grades 3-6, saw another record-breaking year, with 137 excited and bright students from Lincoln and Hanscom schools participating in the April 10 event. The Star Wars-themed event was filled with teamwork, spelling and even a Wookie.

The third-grade teams kicked off the day with three heats of competition, the winners of which went on to the championship round. The Omega Ms team with Mia Arvelo, Miguel Bannister and Morgan Gibson won the championship round with the word prohibit.

Three heats of fourth-grade teams competed to make it to the championship round. Under the team name Sparkleberries—Micayla Herlihy, Annabella LaPuma and Travis Rabe won with their final word pursue.

In keeping with the LSF’s mission to bring innovative ideas into our schools, this year’s fifth-graders helped pilot a new style of Spelling Bee competition. Every team was given the same word to spell out on a whiteboard and double elimination helped ensure that one extraordinarily hard word didn’t wipe out the whole group unfairly. A big congratulations goes out to fifth-grade team Buzz Killers—Oliver Ansin, David Christenfeld and Henry Johnson-Cramer won for the third year in a row by spelling the final word imagery.

For the sixth grade, it was Amal Dirrane, Emily Feng and Emma Griffith who won as Werd Nerds, ending the Bee by correctly spelling the word dramatically.

The LSF extends a special thank-you to Callahan’s Karate in Bedford. Richard and Winnie Callahan and a team of martial arts students dressed up as Star Wars characters and put on an exciting light-saber demonstration for the audience.

As always, the LSF had great support from school faculty and the community. Many thanks to the pronouncers: Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall; Assistant Superintendent Patricia Kinsella; Principals Beth Ludwig, Sharon Hobbs and Erich Ledebuhr; and the judges: teachers Jennifer Mastrullo, Deb Carpenito, Joe Colombo, Nancy Rote and Blake Siskavich as well as Officer Ian Spencer from Lincoln Police Department, Lincoln Parks and Recreation Director Dan Perira, and Lincoln Public Library children’s librarians Debbie Leopold and Denise Shaver.

The LSF is also immensely grateful to the local businesses that sponsored the Bee: 440 Labs, Budget Printing in Concord, Boston Sports Clubs, Callahan’s Karate, Cambridge Trust Company, Coldwell Banker, Doherty’s Garage, Donelan’s Supermarkets, Doug Carson Real Estate, the Hanscom Air Force Base Commissary, Marquis Tree Service, Mystic Valley Music Together, Party City, Something Special and the Whistle Stop.

The LSF is a nonprofit organization that solicits community donations for projects proposed by Lincoln Public Schools teachers and staff to enhance education. Click here to see projects funded by the LSD in 2015-16. Individuals may also donate to the LSF’s HATS program (Honor a Teacher and Staff) to fund grants.

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Council on Aging events in May

bemisMeet with an aide to Congresswoman Clark
May 4 at 1 p.m.
You are invited to Bemis Hall on Wednesday, May 4 at 1 p.m. to meet with Anthony Moreschi, Constituent Service Representative for Congresswoman Katherine Clark. He will be available to assist residents with Social Security, Medicare, and MassHealth/Medicaid. You are also welcome to discuss other matters with him that he may be able to help with.

We honor veterans: end-of-life and survivor benefits
May 6 at 9:30 a.m.
Veterans and their families have special needs when it comes to end-of-life care, whether related to the unique life and health care experiences of veterans or to the benefits of the Veterans Administration for end-of-life health care, burial benefits, or survivor benefits. “We Honor Veterans” is an initiative of the Veterans Administration and local hospices and other care providers to make sure that veterans receive sensitive and compassionate care and know about all their benefits. Come find out more when Mary Beth Kawalek of Brookhaven Hospice comes to Bemis Hall on Friday, May 6 at 9:30 a.m.

Want to sit back and enjoy some old-fashioned harmony?
May 6 at 12:30 p.m.
A melody you can sing along with? Hum, tap your toes to? The Lincoln Traditional Jazz Sextet will be bringing those tunes you know and love to Bemis Hall on Friday May 6 at 12:30. “Geezers” swingin’ on piano, trumpet, clarinet, trombone, sax, bass and drums will be there to entertain you. Come join the regulars singing along to When You’re Smilin’, put a smile on your face with Ain’t Misbehavin’, do the Charleston or the Lindy Hop if you’re up for it. Or just put your feet up and relax.

Lincoln Academy with Kathi Anderson—The Walden Woods Project: keeping Thoreau’s legacy alive in Lincoln and beyond
 May 9 at 12:30 p.m.
Come to Bemis Hall on Monday, May 9 at 12:30 to hear Kathi Anderson discuss “The Walden Woods Project: Keeping Thoreau’s Legacy Alive in Lincoln and Beyond.” Bring a bag lunch. The Council on Aging provides beverages and dessert. The lectures last about an hour, including a question and answer period. Participants are welcome to stay after the program to continue their discussion.

May 11 at 7 p.m.
Medicare 101: basics for those about to sign up and others
Learn the basics of Medicare on Wednesday, May 11 at 7 p.m. at Bemis Hall with Minuteman Senior Services SHINE counselors Don Milan and Anne Meade. Come if you will be signing up soon or you just wish to understand your benefits better. Don and Anne will discuss traditional Medicare, medigap plans, Advantage plans, and medication drug coverage (Medicare, Parts A, B, C, and D), how to go about choosing the plan or plans that are best for you, timeframes for enrolling to avoid penalties and more. [Read more…] about Council on Aging events in May

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Lincoln_Plant_SaleMother’s Day plant sale

The Food Project is holding a Mother’s Day Weekend Plant Sale on Saturday and Sunday, May 7-8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. On sale will be vegetables, herbs and flower seedlings to start your garden. The Food Project is located at the intersection of Rt. 126 and Baker Bridge Road.

Baroque concert reminder

The First Parish in Lincoln presents its spring concert at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Church on Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. Baroque music by Vivaldi, Bach, Telemann and others will be performed by world-class musicians from the Handel & Haydn Society in Boston. Suggested donation is $30 per person. Click here for more information.

Frozen yogurt fundraiser for 8th-graders

Orange Leaf Yogurt at 400 Boston Post Rd. in Wayland is hosting a fundraiser for the Lincoln School’s 8th-grade graduation on Wednesday, May 4 from 4-8 p.m. Customers who mention “Lincoln 8th grade” will have 15 percent of their frozen yogurt purchase donated to the graduation fund.

Hundreds of Lincolnites flock to the fair

Dancing around the maypole in Pierce Park.

Dancing around the maypole in Pierce Park.

There was something for everyone at Saturday’s “40 Years of Community” fair, and Lincolnites of all ages flocked to Pierce Park on a bright and sunny spring day to connect and have fun.

Visitors enjoyed music from Colonial fifes and drums, a grand piano, guitars and an a capella group; hundreds of hamburgers, hot dogs, snow cones and ice cream; bounce houses and fair games; an art exhibit; and tables showcasing dozens of Lincoln organizations where they could learn about everything from 19th-century rifles and toys to People for Pollinators, the Lincoln Diversity Committee, The Food Project and the Town Archives.

Lincoln Police Chief Kevin Kennedy, who helped out at the barbecue, estimated the attendance at well over 1,000. “It’s a great day for Lincoln. It’s been a lot of fun,” he said.

Here’s a gallery of images from the fair. For best results, view the pictures on a desktop computer. Click one of the images to see a larger version in the lightbox that pops out. Then you can:

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Photos by Alice Waugh