By Alice Waugh
Lincoln school officials learned late last week that they will not be considered for state funding to help pay for a major school project this year.
[Read more…] about State again says no to Lincoln School funding
Letter to the editor: tree work has “denuded” environment
“Before and after” shots of a tree at Lincoln Woods (click to enlarge). Photos: Claire Mount.
Editor’s note: This letter is in response to the tree-cutting described in this Lincoln Squirrel article.
To the editor:
I was told by one person who was doing the actual cutting down of the trees at Lincoln Woods that they had to be removed because they were
installing solar panels on the roofs. That made sense, but removing all those trees was necessary to get sun to most of the roofs. Are they truly installing solar?
Who really is in charge of tree removal? No one seems to be. A private owner in Lincoln often gets a lot of grief if they want to change something on their property. How do these owners get to do whatever they want without regard to the overall way Lincoln regulates and thinks of land, privacy, and conservation? I and many others would like to know.
Now we have had three unnecessary and irreplaceable denudings of our environment (Route 2, Lincoln Woods, Greenridge Lane.) These two pictures show you how utterly unnecessary it was to remove this beautiful maple at Lincoln Woods, which made the buildings look attractive and artistically shielded the extent of the buildings behind it and did not really block the roof. This show the thoughtlessness of just one beautiful tree being cut down.
Mr. Gumbart, please don’t just say “things will grow back.” Not in my time.
Sincerely,
Claire Mount
Tower Road
Letter to the editor: leaf blower mailing questioned
To the editor:
The Lincoln Leaf Blower Study Group recently sent a brochure to everyone in town in which it quoted a March 2014 statement by the Board of Health saying, “Exposure to high-intensity, episodic or long-duration noise and air particulate and vapor dispersion from leaf blowers represents significant potential health hazards to our citizens.”
That statement is misleading because it fails to reference the Board of Health’s December 10, 2014 statement in which it said that exposure to dust and noise generated by leaf blowers is a concern only in the paved town center and that, “in contrast, the board is much less clear that the use of leaf blowers in other areas of our town presents consistent or even frequent bystander health risks from noise or air pollution.” Other statements in the brochure suffer from a similar lack of context.
I am informed that the brochure was prepared and mailed at town expense. The brochure is obviously a prelude to an effort to enact a by-law to limit or prohibit the use of leaf blowers in Lincoln. The taxpayers of Lincoln should not be paying for campaign literature supporting an initiative that many question or oppose. Will the town pay to prepare and mail a brochure that corrects the misleading statements in the Study Group’s mailing, and to state the other side of the issue?
Sincerely,
Michael R. Coppock
214 Aspen Circle
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.
Key votes on Minuteman slated for Monday night
By Alice Waugh
Selectmen from towns in the Minuteman High School district met last week to endorse a new regional agreement with a few minor changes—including adding language that would allow Lincoln to leave the district along with several other towns without having to pay for the new school project.
[Read more…] about Key votes on Minuteman slated for Monday night
Letter to the editor: Building interreligious understanding in Lincoln
To the editor:
Boston.com published a story on December 17 about the recent experiences of Muslim youth in the metro-Boston area, including the story of Amal Dirrane, who attends school in Lincoln. Dirrane shared her mixed experience, in our town, of both struggle and support in being identified as Muslim in the wake of the recent Paris and San Bernardino tragedies. Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Rebecca McFall subsequently sent out a letter to the community affirming our school district’s commitment to supporting cultural and religious differences. I commend Ms. Dirrane for courageously sharing her experience with us, and Superintendent McFall for her strong and unequivocal support of values that our town holds dear.
[Read more…] about Letter to the editor: Building interreligious understanding in Lincoln
Tree-cutting dismays some South Lincoln residents
Trees were recently cut down on Greenridge Lane (top) and at Lincoln Woods. Photos: Alice Waugh
By Alice Waugh
In scenes reminiscent of the controversy over the Route 2 tree-cutting in 2013, residents on Greenridge Lane and Lincoln Woods were surprised and unhappy when a number of mature trees near their homes were recently cut down.
[Read more…] about Tree-cutting dismays some South Lincoln residents
Letter to the editor: Craig announces candidacy for Board of Selectmen
Editor’s note: Noah Eckhouse announced earlier today that he will not be running for reelection to the Board of Selectmen.
To the editor:
I am writing to announce my candidacy for the open seat on the Board of Selectman and to ask for your support. I am excited by the opportunity to bring my skills, experience and energy to the board as we face many important challenges as a town over the coming months and years.
For those of you who may not yet know me, I have lived in Lincoln with my family since 2004 and am the proud parent of a fifth-grade child in our public schools. Serving on the Planning Board since 2008 (five years as an elected member and two as an appointed associate member), I have had the privilege to work alongside many wonderful and dedicated volunteers on many different committees and boards, all of whom care deeply about our town. I believe this experience, combined with my professional background as an attorney in private practice with an emphasis in real estate law, will allow me to bring added value and perspective to our Board of Selectman, especially as the town considers significant land use issues and their affordability, including: a school building project, a multigenerational community center, and the feasibility/desire for future growth of Lincoln Station.
I am also excited at the chance to work with the board in continuing to engage our many nonprofits to share in the costs of the services the town provides, working to further strengthen our relationship with Hanscom and the Air Force, and collaborating with other boards and committees in addressing the many day to day issues facing our town.
Lincoln has a tradition rich in balancing conservation of our natural resources with necessary growth, all while exercising prudent fiscal discipline. An avid runner, I am reminded daily of how special and unique our town is, in large part due to the foresight and strategies implemented over the years by our town leaders. If elected, I look forward to working with the board and fellow Lincolnites to create and adopt the strategies that will continue our shared vision for Lincoln’s future.
Lastly, I would like to thank Noah Eckhouse for his many years of tireless and dedicated service to our town. Noah’s willingness six years ago to step forward and run for selectman at a time in his life when most of us would be otherwise wholly consumed with work and family has inspired me to do the same this coming year.
I look forward to meeting and hearing from you over the coming months, and hope you will consider supporting me at our town election in March.
Sincerely,
James Craig
Farrar Road
jameslaw33@comcast.net
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
Solstice celebration at library
Celebrate the winter solstice at the Lincoln Public Library on Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 4:30 p.m. by decorating a paper lantern and taking part in a twinkle light parade around the library. For all ages. Advance signup required; call 781-259-8465.
Last year’s First Day at the Pierce House.
First Day at the Pierce House
Whether you’re new to Lincoln or have lived here forever, come to the Pierce House on Friday, Jan. 1 from 1-5 p.m. to celebrate the New Year together at the town’s 17th annual First Day gathering. Start the year right with legendary soups, live music, congenial company, and a magician for kids. Complimentary admission for Lincoln residents, but donations are gratefully accepted for the upkeep of this special town resource. With support from the Lincoln Celebration Committee.
Open Space calendar now available
The 2016 Open Spaces calendar with photographs taken in Lincoln is now on sale. This is the fourth year that the calendar has been designed by Lincoln residentLindsay Clemens. It’s a chance to look at our lands through other people’s eyes and to see what moments strike them.
Calendars can be purchased at the Lincoln Public Library, Cambridge Trust, Old Town Hall Exchange, Something Special, the Shop at Drumlin Farm, and in the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (LLCT) above the post office in the mall. Membership discount is available in LLCT offices only. The LLCT will also sell the calendar and other publications in front of Donelan’s on Saturday, Dec. 19 from 9 a.m. to noon. Proceeds support the LLCT.
Jane Mostue, daughter of Brooks and Patty Mostue of Lincoln, and J. Daniel McGeeney, son of Mr. and Mrs. John McGeeney of Louisville, Ky., were married on July 18 at St. Joseph’s Church in Lincoln with a reception at Pierce House. Rev. George Evans celebrated the Nuptial Mass. Jane and Daniel met at Amherst College, from which they both graduated. They now live in Louisville, where Jane works as a case worker at Home of the Innocents and Daniel teachers international baccalaureate physics at Sacred Heart School.
CapComm wrestles with Minuteman options
By Alice Waugh
Faced with the prospect of increased costs for Lincoln students at Minuteman High School and the uncertainty about host community compensation, the Capital Planning Committee openly wondered about the possibility of having Lincoln withdraw from the Minuteman regional school district.
Letter to the editor: Eckhouse not running for reelection
To the editor:
I write to announce that I will not be seeking reelection as selectman when my term expires in March. After serving on the board for the past six years, twice as chairman, I am ready to step back and encourage another generation of leaders to take my seat at the selectman’s table.
The last six years has been a blur of success, challenge and difficult compromise. We accomplished many things: the complete renewal of our Town Office Building, rebuilding our roads and streetlights, liquor licenses, conservation of important parcels, and healthy relationships with our town employees and their unions. We created the town’s first PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement, with more on the way. We saw the regional effects of traffic, construction, dog walkers and even murders encroach our little town and force us to respond as a team. And we never once asked for an override.
Rest assured Lincoln is in good hands. From our eminently capable town staff led by Tim Higgins to our committed volunteers on countless boards and committees, Lincoln has a passion for governance “by the people and for the people” like few other places in these cynical times.
As for me, I will enjoy my return to civilian life watching my two children complete their studies at L-S (while still clinging to hope that I can run faster than them in the Fourth of July road race), supporting STEM education in our K-12 schools, and helping to grow our L-S varsity sailing program into a dominant force. And building a few less parade floats…
In closing, I’d like to thank my predecessor Sarah Cannon Holden for helping me ramp up, Gary Taylor and Sara Mattes for tolerating me as a young pup, and Peter Braun and Renel Fredriksen for many years of co-leadership teamwork. Of course my family deserves the biggest thanks for putting up with distractions, phone calls and evening meetings, and general immersion in all things local. (Catherine: it will soon be safe to go with me to the dump and Donelan’s again!)
Lincoln needs all of us as active volunteers. The job can be demanding at times but creates a sense of accomplishment and reward that is unlike anything else I’ve done. I encourage our next generations of leaders to step up. If not you, who?
Sincerely,
Noah Eckhouse
Baker Bridge 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 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.