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

Council on Aging activities for February

bemisSeniorSpeak theater performance
February 1 at 12:30 p.m.
Join the SeniorSpeak group for a theatre performance on Monday, Feb. 1 at 12:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. The performance is an outgrowth of the work participants were engaged in as they rediscovered their voice as older adults. Drawing upon memories, feelings, and life lessons, participants have created a performance piece that incorporates turning points and events that shaped their lives both as individuals and as a group. The piece uses scenes and music as tools to capture key moments. After the performance, all are invited to join a discussion with the performers about the development of the theatre piece and the insights gained in the process.

Meet with an aide to Congresswoman Clark
February 3 at 1 p.m.
You are invited to Bemis Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 3 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. [Read more…] about Council on Aging activities for February

By the light of the silvery moon (Lincoln Through the Lens)

Harold McAleer took this photo of the waxing moon over Lincoln. The dot near the center is the Copernicus crater, while the dark circles

Harold McAleer took this photo of the waxing moon over Lincoln. The dot near the center is the Copernicus crater, while the large dark circle above it is Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains). Ranging to the right of that are Mare Serenitatus (Sea of Serenity), Mare Tranquillitatus (Sea of Tranquility, where the Apollo 11 astronauts landed, though Harold’a camera is not up to the task of revealing the lunar module), Mare Foecunditatus (Sea of Fertility), and (above right) Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises). Source: Wikimedia Commons

Ms. G is getting ready to emerge (or not)

Drumlin Farm's resident groundhog, Ms. G.

Drumlin Farm’s resident groundhog, Ms. G.

Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary is set to host its annual Groundhog Day event on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Watch Ms. G, the official state groundhog of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as she wakes from her winter hibernation and decides whether or not spring will come early this year.

Drumlin Farm will be open on February 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This special event is free with paid admission ($8 adults and teens; $6 children 2-12 and seniors), and free for Mass Audubon members. The live groundhog forecast starts at 10 a.m., followed by winter activities such as meeting Drumlin’s resident wildlife, exploring wilderness trails, and learning how to identify animal tracks in the snow. Hot cocoa will be provided.

Featured activities:

  • Learn the forecast for spring’s arrival from our woodchuck weather expert
  • Visit with more of our resident wildlife and farm animals, and explore the trails
  • Attend special nature and farm programs
  • Make some winter crafts to take home

Former WBZ-TV weather personality Mish Michaels will be on hand to share the story of the Wellesley school students who joined Mass Audubon in submitting the bill to the Massachusetts state legislature to declare Ms. G the official state groundhog. The bill was successfully enacted into law and signed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on July 31, 2014.

Upcoming public hearings

meetingPlanning Board

  • Public hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. to review the following proposed changes to the Lincoln Zoning By-Law: amend Sec. 6.1 and Sec. 6.2 to add parties permitted to farm by right, add agricultural uses permitted by right on parcels less than five acres, and to clarify agricultural uses requiring a special permit on parcels containing less than five acres, substantially as on file with the Town Clerk.
  • Public hearings on Tuesday, Feb. 9 to review applications for Site Plan Review:
    • 7 p.m. — Mark Deck, 30 Silver Hill Road, proposes to tear down an existing house and construct a new house.
    • 7:20 p.m. — Randall Briggs, 31 Morningside Lane, proposes to renovate and expand an existing house.
    • 7:45 p.m. — Rick Kelleher, 91 Weston Road, proposes to tear down an existing house and construct a new house.

Conservation Commission

Public hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7:45 p.m in response to a Request for Determination of Applicability by George Seeley for a replacement septic system within the 100-foot buffer zone at 212 Concord Road.

Obituaries

Mary Alice Boyce

Mary Alice Boyce

Mary Alice Boyce, 93 (January 17) — worked in Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson administrations; St. Joseph’s communicant

James Jhun (January 17) — 2012 alumnus of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School

Learn about gun laws and Town Meeting resolution

gunResidents are invited to learn about gun safety and a pending Lincoln Town Meeting resolution advocating a national gun safety law on Saturday, Jan. 23 starting with a reception at 9:30 a.m. in Bemis Hall.

Lincoln Police Chief Kevin Kennedy and Sgt. Paul Westlund will speak at 10 a.m. about gun law differences in neighboring states and how they impact Massachusetts residents. They will also discuss safe practices for handling guns in homes, particularly where children are present.

At 11 a.m., there will be a discussion of a draft Town Meeting resolution on “A Petition to the U.S. Congress to Adopt a Uniform National Gun Safety Law Applying Equally to All States.”

Light refreshments will be provided. The event is sponsored by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee. For more information, email garyddavis04@gmail.com.

New solar installation at Lincoln Woods

The newly installed solar array in Far Meadow.

The newly installed solar array in Far Meadow.

A “solar farm” is nearing completion at Far Meadow on property owned by Lincoln Woods, and if the good weather holds, it should be producing non-polluting electricity by the end of February.

Four hundred solar panels have been installed and the electrical connections are currently being made. You can see the installation by walking out the dirt road parallel to the railroad tracks from the commuter parking lot. Once it’s on line, the project is expected produce 112 kW of electricity. The average Massachusetts home used about 615 kWh of electricity per month in 2014, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Additional collectors are being installed on the flat-roofed Lincoln Woods units themselves. Their completion will depend on other work being done to bring Lincoln Woods in compliance with state refunding requirements.

The Far Meadow site is a relatively small installation and is expected to have minimal impact on the conservation land and meadow habitat which it abuts, according to Conservation Commission co-chair Peter von Mertens.

The town is looking into the idea of creating a larger solar site atop the old landfill tat could produce somewhere from 650 kW to 980 kW of electricity. Lincoln’s Green Energy Technology Committee presented information on this at the State of the Town meeting in November 2015.

Letter to the editor: rebuttals on leaf blower issue

letter

Editor’s note: this letter is in response to a letter published on January 12.

To the editor:

Michael Coppock’s questions and complaints about the Leaf Blower Study Group’s activities answer themselves, by and large. He notes the cost of the flyers mentioned in his letter (January 12, 2016) came from the Selectmen’s printing budget. Simply put, this expenditure, authorized by elected officials and/or persons appointed by them, reflected the interest of the town’s governing bodies in a subject that addresses both quality of life and health issues affecting Lincoln residents. The extent to which leaf-blower emissions and noise are seen as a public health problem is reflected by the existence of hundreds of local laws, ordinances and regulations regarding use of these machines in counties, cities, towns, and villages across the land and around the world. To be sure, these measures have proved difficult to enforce, for a number of reasons—but that does not diminish the public’s interest or the nature of the problem or the Board of Health’s responsibility to address it.

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