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

News acorns

Discuss death at the Death Café on January 31

St. Anne’s in-the-Fields is hosting a Death Café on Sunday, Jan. 31 (rescheduled from October 2015) from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Death Café is an international movement started in Europe dedicated to taking death out of the closet and discussing it publicly. At a Death Café, people come together to eat cake, drink tea, and discuss death in a relaxed and non-threatening setting. The Café is where people share respectful, thought-provoking and life-affirming conversation. There are no agendas or objectives. It is not a bereavement or grief support group, nor is it a counseling session; it is simply conversation.

St. Anne’s held its first Death Cafe in 2014 (see the Lincoln Squirrel, Oct. 8, 2014). The Jan. 31 event is free, but space is limited and preregistration is required. Register online or call 781-259-8834.

HATS meeting on Jan. 28

HATS (Hanscom Area Town Selectmen) will meet on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Office Building. Agenda items include a presentation by Minute Man National Historical Park Superintendent Nancy Nelson on the park’s upcoming centennial celebration, and updates on the Route 2 and Crosby’s Corner highway projects.

Lincoln Police to auction off bikes

bike auctionThe Lincoln Police Department will be holding a public auction of unclaimed bicycles on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. at their headquarters. Any bicycles not auctioned will be donated to a children’s charity.

 

Letter to the editor: Minuteman building needs are driving debate

letter

Editor’s note: Antia is Lincoln’s representative on the Minuteman School Committee.

To the editor:

On February 23, Lincoln will be holding a Special Town Meeting and we will be asked to take two votes. We will be asked to vote on amendments to the Minuteman High School district regional agreement, and we will also be asked to vote on whether we want to remain in the district. This is the second in a series of letters from me about Minuteman, the first of which was published on January 4.

[Read more…] about Letter to the editor: Minuteman building needs are driving debate

Letter to the editor: group examines vocational education

letter

Editor’s note: See the Lincoln Squirrel posts from Dec. 23, 2015 and Jan. 4, 2016 for more information about the Minuteman regional agreement and the Vocational Education Options Working Group.

To the editor:

The Board of Selectmen urges the town to follow the work of its recently formed Vocational Education Options Working Group (VEOWG). The VEOWG was formed in response to a vote by the School Committee of the Minuteman Regional High School to approve certain amendments to the regional agreement that include the opportunity for seven specific member-towns, including Lincoln, to withdraw from the district unilaterally by a Town Meeting vote taken on or before March 1, 2016. The Lincoln Board of Selectmen has called a Special Town Meeting to be held on February 23, 2016 to consider whether to withdraw, as well as whether to accept the amendments.

The VEOWG is being formed to assist the town in determining whether its interests are best served by: (1) remaining a member of the Minuteman Regional High School district and enabling Lincoln students to attend Minuteman at Lincoln’s expense based on assessment under the regional agreement; or (2) withdrawing from the district and making arrangements to enable Lincoln students to enroll at Minuteman or another vocational high school at Lincoln’s expense on a non-member, tuition-paying basis.

The VEOWG shall prepare a report that describes the advantages of the various options. The report should include an analysis of the relevant educational, financial, practical, and legal considerations. The VEOWG shall conduct interviews and site visits and access data and resources as it deems appropriate.

We invite interested residents to attend the meetings of the Working Group, and/or to follow its activities via the Town’s web site. A dedicated VEOWG web page has been established where meeting agendas and minutes, key background materials and, eventually, the Working Group’s report will be posted.

Please join us for the February 23 Special Town Meeting at 7 p.m. in the Brooks Auditorium to help us make the best decision for the town.

Sincerely,

Lincoln Board of Selectmen:
Noah Eckhouse, Chairman
Peter Braun
Renel Fredriksen

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, 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.

News acorns

movie reelWilliam Inge movies to be shown

The Lincoln Library Film Society presents a William Inge retrospective with screenings on Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. in the library’s Tarbell Room. Refreshments will be served. Dates and titles are as follows:

Calling all Lincoln authors!

Perhaps as many as 200 of you in Lincoln have written and published at least one book. Whether it’s a children’s book, an academic text, or a dime novel, you’re part of Lincoln’s rich literary tradition. The Lincoln Historical Society and the Friends of the Lincoln Library have scheduled a public reception in your honor on Sunday, Jan. 31 from 2-4 p.m. at the Town Offices. You are invited to come display your book(s), hobnob with your neighbors, see the Lincoln Authors exhibit, sell and sign book(s), and be inspired by the intellectual and creative talent resident in Lincoln. If you’re interested in sharing your work at this event, please contact Rick Wiggin at rcwiggin@earthlink.net.

MBTA proposes revised commuter rail schedules

Commuter rail riders in Lincoln and elsewhere and others will have until February 12 to offer feedback on the MBTA/MassDOT proposals for revised train schedules.

The drafts were created in response to rider outcry in November over the MBTA’s planned elimination of rush-hour stops in Lincoln and other changes in the commuter rail schedule.

A comparison of the current and proposed commuter rail schedule for the Fitchburg line (click image to enlarge).

A comparison of the Lincoln stops in the current and proposed commuter rail schedule (click image to enlarge).

The proposed Fitchburg line schedule as well as a comparison of the current and proposed schedules for all commuter rail lines can be found online, along with the survey and public meeting schedule.

Final commuter rail schedules will be released in April and go into effect on May 23.

Riders can convey their opinions in several ways:

  1. Via the online survey, which offers a fast and easy way to weigh in on the proposed schedule. Written surveys will also be available at Back Bay Station, North Station, and South Station through February 12.
  2. By attending one of eight public meetings in Lynn (January 25), Malden (January 27), Concord (January 28), Worcester (February 1), Mansfield (February 3), Natick (February 3), Norwood (February 8), and Woburn (February 8).
  3. Via email at crschedules@mbta.com.

Door-to-door salesman? (Lincoln Through the Lens)

Anyone home? This turkey appeared recently at the ktichen door of Brooks Road resident Dan Boynton.

“Anyone home?” This turkey appeared recently at the kitchen door of Cambridge Turnpike resident Dan Boynton—perhaps looking for a post-Thanksgiving handout.

 

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: concerns over leaf blower group activities

letter

To the editor:

Last fall, the Leaf Blower Study Committee spent $829.81 of the taxpayers’ money to mail a flyer to every postal patron in Lincoln, describing the alleged risks of leaf blowers. The flyer said nothing of the benefits of leaf blowers or costs of restricting their use. The money was taken from the Selectmen’s printing budget and categorized as “educational.” Town taxpayers also paid to obtain an Internet domain name for the Leaf Blower Study Committee.

[Read more…] about Letter to the editor: concerns over leaf blower group activities

Treasured object has narrow escape but is reunited with owner

Caption...

Jeff Eaton (top photo, center) and his recovered fender with Lincoln DPW workers Ian Sears (left) and Mike Desmond. Lower photo: the fender back in its rightful place.

This is the story of an antique, a transfer station, and the people in a small town who helped reunite the antique with its owner just as it was about to be unwittingly tossed into a garbage truck. Sounds like it might have been a priceless family heirloom, but actually it was something a bit more utilitarian—the fender from an old utility trailer owned by Jeff Eaton.

[Read more…] about Treasured object has narrow escape but is reunited with owner

News acorns

satelliteTalk on high-schoolers and satellite missions

Can a high school design, build and operate a satellite mission to the moon and beyond? Come hear Paulo C. Lozano, Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics Director at MIT’s Space Propulsion Laboratory, when he speaks at the Lincoln Public Library on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 2 p.m. Rethink space exploration and consider how advances in miniaturization and spacecraft engineering allow students to design their own satellite and put it in space.

Run for local office in Lincoln

Looking for a rewarding if occasionally vexing way to feel more connected? Willing to undertake new challenges? Unafraid to speak up? Then run for local office! The annual Town Election will take place on Monday, March 28, 2016. Nomination papers are available at the Town Clerk’s Office now. Papers must be returned by 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 8. For additional information, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 781-259-2607.

The following offices will appear on the March ballot: Board of Selectmen for three years; Board of Assessors for three years; K-8 School Committee for three years; Water Commissioner for three years; Board of Health for three years; Cemetery Commission for three years; Planning Board, two seats for three years; Commissioner of Trust Funds for three years; deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park for four years; Housing Commission for three years; Parks and Recreation Committee for three years; Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee, two seats for three years each; Bemis Trustee for three years; Town Clerk for three years; and Library Trustee for three years.

Aka Bistro discount for Lincoln Public Library patrons

The Lincoln Public Library and Aka Bistro are offering Lincoln residents who hold Lincoln library cards a 1o percent discount on food at Aka Bistro during the months of January and February. Drinks are not included, and the offer is not available on Valentine’s Day weekend (February 12-14).

hermione

Photo: Philippe Leray/Thalassa

Hear about seven months at sea

Come to an hourlong presentation detailing the maritime adventures of Adam Hodges-LeClaire, recently returned from seven months of sailing aboard the recreated frigate l’Hermione on her maiden voyage from France to the United States, on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Adam, currently a history major at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, grew up in Lincoln and brought his love for recreating the 18th-century to work on this French tall ship. Hi’s adventures were the subject of a lengthy article in the Boston Globe this year. Topics he’ll address include the context of the original l’Hermione, its connection to Lafayette, and its significance in French naval operations during the War of American Independence.