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

Three years ago yesterday…

October 30, 2015

Elizabeth Cherniak of South Great Road surveys the tree across her driveway on the morning after the storm (click any photo to enlarge).

The post-Sandy view on Laurel Drive.

A tree knocked down across Silver Hill Road by Hurricane Sandy.

On Oct. 30, 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast. Lincoln got off fairly lightly, though many trees still at the height of their autumn colors were knocked down. More than half of homes in town lost power in the storm, and the muffled roar of generators could be hear in many neighborhoods for days afterward. Of course, this was dwarfed by the damage seen in coastal New York and New Jersey.

Shortly after the storm, Scientific American compiled some meteorological statistics on Sandy, which had:

the second-lowest barometric pressure (940 millibars) ever recorded at that time for a tropical cyclone in the western hemisphere (it’s now #3 behind Patricia in October 2015 at 879 millibars and Wilma in 2005 at 882 millibars)
waves of 39.67 feet (recorded at a buoy about 20 miles east of Bermuda)
9-foot storm surges in New Haven and The Battery, N.Y.
26 inches of snow in Redhouse, Md.

There was plenty of drama for Elizabeth Cherniak of South Great Road, who heard a tree go down across her driveway on the evening of the storm. Ten minutes later, another loud crash came as a tree fell across power lines on the road adjacent to her driveway.

“Then a transformer exploded—it was like a bomb going off,” she said. “Then I noticed little fires up in the wires and the tree trunk was glowing” as the tree began to burn. Fortunately, the heavy rain doused the fire quickly.

Lincoln safety officials postponed Halloween trick-or-treating for the second year in a row because of downed power lines. Sandy came exactly a year after a 2011 nor’easter dumped an unexpected load of wet snow from West Virginia to Canada. The largest snowfall in Massachusetts was 30.6 inches in Plainfield.

Truck instead of cowboys used in this Lincoln cattle roundup

October 30, 2015

The Red Devons have their last Lincoln meal before heading out west.

The Red Devons have their last Lincoln meal before heading west (click to enlarge).

The cattle truck leaves Page Farm Road in Lincoln (click to enlarge).

Some of the purebred Red Devon cows that have been part of the Lincoln agricultural scene for over 25 years now have a new forwarding address in Wisconsin, where they should feel right at home.

The cattle, which are owned jointly by Codman Farm along with Ken Bassett and his wife Mary Helen Lorenz, have been gazing on public fields around town since the first handful came from a herd in Maine in the late 1980s. The herd eventually grew to number more than 40. Earlier this month, eight yearling heifers, four adult cows and three calves were sold to a Red Devon farm in Spring Green, Wis., to expand its breeding program.

Though some of the Lincoln cows are now Midwesterners, the Red Devons have deep New England roots—their ancestors came here from England in the 1600s close on the heels of the pilgrims. Examples of the breed can be seen as oxen pairs at historic sites such as Mt. Vernon and Sturbridge Village, Bassett said. As a breed, they’re known for their gentle disposition, ease in calving, and ability to thrive on grass without supplemental grain or other diet supplements, so they are an excellent source of grass-fed beef.

One might wonder if the cows will miss the architectural as well as agricultural atmosphere in Lincoln, which boasts the Gropius House among its stock of historic homes. Not to worry, though—the relocated bovines are now grazing on idyllic Lincoln-like pastures that happen to abut the farm/estate know as Taliesin East, the home and studio of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

(Perhaps in the future, some adventurous Lincoln cows will make a longer trip in a rocket rather than a truck, all the way into Earth orbit… which would make them the herd shot ’round the world.)

Gazing and grazing… the Lincoln Red Devons joined this herd in Wisconsin, who are admired by the grandchildren of their new owner. Photos courtesy Ken Bassett

November activities at the Council on Aging

October 28, 2015

Lincoln Academy with Avram Kalisky—From the desert (Israel) to the midnight sun (Scandinavia)
November 2 at 12:30 p.m.
Come to Bemis Hall on Monday, Nov. 2 at 12:30 to hear Avram Kalisky discuss “From the Desert (Israel) to the Midnight Sun (Scandinavia).” 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.

Minuteman High School building conversation
November 3 at 2:30 p.m.
Join the Minuteman High School Building Committee on November 3 at 2:30 p.m. at Bemis Hall to get an update on plans to build a new Minuteman High School. The project, with Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) support, is now in the schematic design phase. Building a new school was determined to be the least expensive alternative for local taxpayers and the option with the most educational benefits for students by Minuteman and the MSBA. The new building will be in Lincoln, next to the existing high school. Come with questions and concerns. [Read more…] about November activities at the Council on Aging

News acorns

October 27, 2015

Trunk or Treat is now on Friday

“Trunk or Treaters” now have two more days to get your costumes and/or trunk decorations perfected. Park and Rec’s Trunk-or-Treat event will now be held on Friday, Oct. 30 from 5-6 p.m. in the Brooks Gym parking lot. If you are planning to be a “trunk,” please enter the lot between 3:30 and 4:15 p.m. No cars will be allowed to enter the lot after 4:15 pm. Trick-or-treaters can start at 5 p.m.

DeCordova releases video with drone footage

The deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park just released this video of the park incorporating aerial drone shots. It’s a useful tool for convincing out-of-town friends and relatives to visit Lincoln.

Learn about coywolves and beavers in LLCT programs

October 27, 2015

The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust is serving up programs on local wild animals and a nature walk in early November.

Dr. Jonathan Way and a friend.

Learn about coyotes and coywolves

Ever wondered if there was a wolf in your back yard? Come to “Eastern Coywolves: Ecology and Behavior” with Jonathan Way on Sunday, Nov. 1 from 4-5:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Way studies eastern coyote populations and is at the forefront of research determining how much of our coyote population is actually a hybrid of the eastern red wolf and the eastern coyote. His multimedia presentation of still and video images comprehensively covers the subject of eastern coyotes/coywolves, including the process of hybridization. Way is the author of two books: Suburban Howls: Tracking the Eastern Coyote in Urban Massachusetts and My Yellowstone Experience. He founded and runs his organization, Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research, where he is continuing his goal of long-term ecological and behavioral research on coywolves.

“Leave it to Beavers” screening

All are welcome to a screening of “Leave it to Beavers,” a PBS Nature documentary telling the story of beavers in North America, on Thursday, Nov. 5 from 7:30-9 p.m. in the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, above Aka Bistro. The film recounts beavers’ history, near extinction, and comeback as a growing number of scientists, conservationists and grassroots environmentalists have come to regard beavers as overlooked tools when it comes to reversing the effects of global warming and worldwide water shortages. Once valued for their fur or hunted as pests, these industrious rodents are seen in a new light through the eyes of this novel assembly of beaver enthusiasts and “employers” who reveal how the presence of beavers can transform and revive landscapes. Using their skills as natural builders and brilliant hydro-engineers, beavers are being recruited to accomplish everything from reestablishing water sources in bone-dry deserts to supporting whole communities of wildlife drawn to the revitalizing aquatic ecosystems their ponds provide.

Visit beaver ponds on a nature walk

Explore beaver habitats in Lincoln on a nature walk with Mark Fraser, executive director of the Nature Walks Conservation Society (NWCS), on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. in the parking lot behind St. Anne’s Church (147 Concord Rd.). Participants will look for signs of beaver activity, observe a lodge, and hopefully spot a busy beaver at work. Learn fascinating facts about beavers and how to protect them. Wear shoes or boots suitable for a one-two mile walk and possibly soggy ground conditions.

The NWCS is a nonprofit working to raise awareness about the natural world through direct public education. Fraser is a public environmental educator at the Sherburne Nature Center in Tyngsborough and is also executive producer and host of “Nature Walks with Mark Fraser.” His films have been seen on Discovery News, PBS, and on his YouTube channel.

All three events are free, with donations to the LLCT welcomed.

Stained glass? (Lincoln Through the Lens)

October 26, 2015

A Bemis Hall window offers a lovely view of fall colors. (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.

News acorns

October 26, 2015

Submit leaf blower complaints online

Although it is much better for our health, sanity, air, soil, plants, birds, insects and animals to mulch, compost or rake leaves, fall is the high season for blowing leaves and dust. The Lincoln Leaf Blower Study Group has created a short Lincoln Leaf Blower Complaint Form for submitting concerns. The form is also posted at Town Hall, Old Town Hall, Bemis, the Lincoln Public Library, and the Recreation Department. Please share your concerns.

Oct. 28 Fireside Chat on community responses to hate

Any community can experience acts of hate, but how a community responds can make the difference between whether it grows stronger, wiser, and more caring and welcoming of diversity, or more fractured, apathetic, unwelcoming, and isolated. Come to a special Fireside Chat on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. at Bemis Hall when Bedford Chief of Police Robert Bongiorno and Rabbi Susan Abramson discuss a recent incident of anti-Semitism there and how the community came together to offer a positive response that promoted diversity, tolerance and dialogue. All residents are invited to come together each fourth Wednesday at 10:00 for the Fireside Chats of a current topic of importance.

Lincoln Dems to discuss gun violence

The Lincoln Democratic Town Committee will meet Saturday, Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to noon in Bemis Hall to discuss the history and status of continuing gun violence across the U.S., recent court findings, current and pending Massachusetts gun violence prevention laws, and the feasibility of submitting a citizens petition to the 2016 Lincoln Town Meeting in support of comprehensive national gun safety laws.

The LDTC will note that the federal 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has just decided that New York and Connecticut gun control laws enacted following the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre are largely constitutional, though it is anticipated that the case will be appealed to the Supreme Court. Key provisions of the 2014 Massachusetts law for prevention of gun violence will be reviewed, as well as recently submitted amendments. The committee will also discuss the possibility of submitting a citizens’ petition to the 2016 Town Meeting asking the town to recommend and support the development of comprehensive national gun safety laws, and amending the recent Massachusetts gun safety laws to coordinate with the New York and Connecticut laws.

The public is always welcome to attend, and encouraged to consider membership in the committee. Refreshments will be available.

Program on teen marijuana use

Rick Cresta of the Boston University School of Social Work, will present the most current research and facts around marijuana at “Marijuana Use in Teens: A Dangerous Neurotoxin or a Harmless Recreational Substance?” on Monday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in A217 at Lincoln-Sudbury regional high School. His presentation will attempt to dispel the myths around marijuana use and discuss some of what is still unknown about its effects.

Fischman and O’Hanlon at next LOMA

Peter Fischman and Deb O’Hanlon are the featured duo at the next LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) on Monday, Nov. 9 from 7-10 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. Admission is free and refreshments are provided. Fischman and O’Hanlon will perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30. Their latest CD is the critically acclaimed In His Own Words with original songs on topics such as home, commuting, and vegetables. To hear a sample of their touching sound, click on Here In This Place. on Reverbnation.

LOMA is a monthly event. Performers can sign up at the event or email Rich Eilbert at loma3re@gmail.com before noon of the open-mike day for a slot. Names of those who are signed up by 7:15 will be drawn at random. We have a sound system with mikes and instrumental pickups suitable forindividuals or small groups playing acoustic-style. We expect everyone will have a chance to perform, but in case of overflow, the first 20 performers to sign up will be given priority.

Two authors and a Nutcracker reading for kids at library

October 25, 2015

There will be a reading of The Nutcracker Ballet geared to young children, accompanied by costumed dancers from the Commonwealth Ballet Company acting out some of the parts, at the Lincoln Public Library on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 11 a.m. to noon. All ages are invited.

Sylva Boyadjian-Haddad

On Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. in the Tarbell Room, the library presents an afternoon of poetry with Sylva Boyadjian-Haddad, a professor of English and comparative literature, emerita and a poet, writer, and translator. Now a resident of Concord, NH, she was born in Beirut of Armenian parents. Boyadjian-Haddad is the founder and editor-in-chief of Entelechy International/A Journal of Contemporary Ideas. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, magazines, and anthologies, and she has been nominated several times for a Pushcart Prize.

Julia Glass

Author and Lincoln native Julia Glass will give a book talk and signing at the library on Monday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Tarbell Room. Glass, who won the National Book Award in 2002 for Three Junes, will speak on her writing and growing up in Lincoln.

Both author events are sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Public Library.

News acorns

October 22, 2015

Corrections

The calendar listing for the October 29 climate change talk described in the October 16 News Acorns gave an incorrect location. It will be held in Bemis Hall.
In the photo of the National Merit Scholarship Commended Students on October 15, two names were omitted. Adam Thompson of Lincoln and Tiger Zhang of Sudbury are also Commended Students but did not appear in the photograph.

More Halloween activities for kids

Celebrate Halloween on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 5:30 p.m. with the Friends of Minuteman National Park at the annual Spooky Colonial Tales, lantern walk and singalongs featuring the Lincoln Public Library’s Sally Kindleberger. Meet at Hartwell Tavern (off Route 2A opposite the intersection with Bedford Road). Suggested donation for mini lanterns: $5 per person or $10 per family. This activity is best for children age 8 and under. See the October 11 Lincoln Squirrel for other Halloween events for kids of all ages.

The First Parish Church will host a pizza potluck and pumpkin carving party on Sunday, Oct. 25 in the Parish House at 14 Bedford Rd. from 5:30-8 p.m. Bring your favorite pizza to share or make a donation toward purchased pizzas. Bring your pumpkin, carving tools, and newspaper. All ages and families invited. This event is sponsored by the church’s Youth Program Committee. For more information, email Kathy Cronin.

A hat found near Doherty’s (click for larger view).

Is this your hat?

Found: a colorful, soft hand-knit hat found near Doherty’s Garage parking lot. If this hat belongs to you or your child, please call Alessandra at 508-314-2194.

Discussion at L-S on adolescent behaviors and health

Where do L-S students feel bullying is taking place at school? How many L-S students are smoking e-cigarettes? Who is at greater risk for engaging in self-harming behaviors? How many L-S students feel that they lives are “very stressful”? How many L-S students are driving after smoking marijuana? These questions and more will be addressed at the World Cafe discussion regarding the 2014 MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey on Wednesday, Oct. 28 in the L-S cafeteria at 7:30 p.m. There will be an introduction to the survey results and then L-S students will help facilitate topic-based table discussions.

Zoning Board of Appeals needs volunteers

Lincoln’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) is seeking new members for open seats on the board. The ZBA is a land use board that interprets and applies the town’s zoning bylaw. It acts on a case-by-case basis on requests for variances, special permits, and appeals of decisions by the building inspector, considering the impact on the town and neighborhoods and the requirements of the bylaws. The board, which has five regular members and three associate members, generally meets one evening a month. For information or an application, please visit this Town of Lincoln volunteer web page or call the Selectmen’s Office at 781-259-2601.

State of the Town promises plenty of discussion

October 20, 2015

stateofthetown-cropped Residents will have an opportunity to lean about and discuss several front-and-center Lincoln issues at the State of the Town meeting on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Brooks auditorium. Agenda items will be:

A status report on Ballfield Road campus planning efforts, incorporating information presented at the Campus Mater Planning Committee forum on October 17.
A general discussion of medical marijuana distribution and cultivation. There is no specific proposal on the table, but town officials have had informal talks (though not recently) with New England Wellspring, which is looking into locating facilities in one or more towns including Lincoln.
A preview of contemplated zoning bylaw amendments.
A discussion on the merits of installing solar power collection equipment at the closed Lincoln landfill adjacent to the transfer station.
A status report on Minuteman Regional High School’s proposed new building project.
A segment devoted to open discussion.

The morning will also include a very brief Special Town Meeting to vote on a proposed bylaw amendment that would ensure that Lincoln’s Annual Town Meeting always occurs in advance of its Annual Town Election.

The Lincoln Squirrel will have more information on some of these topics in the coming weeks.