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

More Lincoln soccer uniforms going to African kids

Sandy Storer spotted a Lincoln Youth Soccer jersey (front row, third from left) on a recent visit to Uganda on behalf of FundaField. Photo: Sandy Storer.

Sandy Storer spotted a Lincoln Youth Soccer jersey (front row, third from left) on a recent visit to Uganda on behalf of FundaField. Photo: Sandy Storer.

More donated Lincoln Youth Soccer (LYS) uniforms will be appearing on young African athletes as another drive to collect used uniforms is underway.

LYS is collecting clean soccer uniforms and other equipment in a box near the registers at Donelan’s. “The soccer uniforms don’t have to be from Lincoln; uniforms from other towns or club teams are just as valuable to these kids,” said LYS Treasurer Ted Charrette. The group is also collecting extra cleats, balls, ball bags, nets, and other types of soccer equipment, as well as tax-deductible donations that will be used to buy more used uniforms from thrift stores.

This is not the first time that LYS uniforms will be finding their way to Africa. Several years ago, Lincoln resident Sandy Storer donated 24 jerseys collected by fellow Lincolnite Margit Griffith to a town in Uganda. Last summer, she was photographing a FundaField tournament in Kiboga, a remote village in northern Uganda, and was startled to see one of the players dressed in the familiar green shirt. 

In a separate effort about a year ago, Heather Broglio, another Lincoln resident, brought LYS uniforms to children in a hospital in Ethiopia.

FundaField is a nonprofit that works to enrich the lives of less fortunate kids in the developing world through sports, specifically building soccer fields and collecting gear. Storer initially got involved in because her son went to college with the people who started the organization.

Storer has gone to Uganda several times as a chaperon and photographer for FundaField and has also piloted a project to teach soccer players how to use donated digital cameras together with battery-powered printers to document the successes of the organization. In the future she plans to teach Ugandan women how to use the donated camera equipment to document their own lives.

Letter to the editor: keep supporting “We the People Act”

letter

To the editor:

The legislative bill H3127 (“An Act for a U.S. Constitutional Amendment and Amendments Convention”), which was endorsed by overwhelming vote at Lincoln’s Town Meeting earlier this year, will have its legislative committee hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 28 before the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs. The hearing will begin at 1:30 p.m. in State House hearing room A2.

The “We the People Act” calls on the Massachusetts Legislature to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution saying that the rights it protects are those of natural persons only—not corporations or other artificial entities—and that political contributions and expenditures are not protected free speech and can be limited by Congress and the states. Furthermore, if the US Congress fails to propose an amendment, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is on record for requesting an Article V constitutional convention for the purpose of proposing such an amendment.

Its passage will make Massachusetts the fifth state to request an Article V convention with the goal of limiting corporate political power and big money politics. Lincoln residents may wish to contact State Sen. Michael Barrett and State Rep. Tom Stanley to reiterate their support for this bill.

It’s not often that voters actually see progress in bills they have supported, but this is one of those rare times that progress is actually being made in front of our very eyes.

Sincerely,

Gary Davis (chair, Lincoln Democratic Town Committee)
20R Indian Camp Lane

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.

No major obstacles to putting community center on campus, consultant says

A map showing which parts of the campus were built at different times (click to enlarge).

By Alice Waugh

If a community center is built on the Hartwell campus, more parking will be needed, but creating a new entrance from Lincoln Road on the south side of the site probably won’t be necessary, according to an interim report by the Campus Master Planning Committee consultants.

Because both a school project and a community center are being contemplated on the Ballfield Road campus, the CMPC was formed to study the basic infrastructure and physical layout of the campus and assess the capacity of the existing infrastructure (buildings, roadways, septic systems, etc.) to support future uses. [Read more…] about No major obstacles to putting community center on campus, consultant says

Heron go bragh! (Lincoln Through the Lens)

Lincoln resident Susan Taylor photographed this great blue heron and its reflection in the pond at the Pierce House on October 8.

Lincoln resident Susan Taylor photographed this great blue heron and its reflection in the pond at the Pierce House on October 8.

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

An image from last year's Scarecrow Classic. Photo: Angela Kearney

A view of last year’s Scarecrow Classic. Photo: Angela Kearney

All are invited to Scarecrow Classic

Please join us for the third annual Scarecrow Classic 5K road and trail race on Sunday, Oct. 18. Even if you don’t run or walk, join the after-race celebration with live music, cider donuts, hot soup, a fire pit and awards ceremony. There will also be raffle prizes.

Pre-register for the race at ScarecrowClassic5k.com at a discounted rate and get a long-sleeved tech race shirt. “Day-of” registration is from 8-9:15 a.m. and the race starts at 9:30 a.m. This 5K run/walk race to benefit the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (LLCT) will start and finish at the Mall at Lincoln Station. Colorfully decorated scarecrows along the course will guide participants through their scenic journey. If you’re not up for the race but still want to help, please contact Anna Wilkins to volunteer. We have Saturday or Sunday morning jobs available.

The LLCT helps protect and manage more than 2,000 acres of land and nearly 80 miles of public trails In Lincoln as a regional recreational resource for the greater Boston area. The nonprofit local land trust is one of the oldest land trusts in the country and is recognized nationally for its conservation work.

Nature walk at Birches School

Come explore the woods with Birches students and teachers on a “Walk with Your Senses” nature walk on Saturday, Oct. 24. We will interact with nature through sight, sound, smell, touch—and maybe even taste. Meet at 10 a.m. at the Birches School Playground (next to the Stone Church). Learn more about activities at the school in the Birches blog.

L-S lacrosse fundraiser via Bertucci’s

It’s tough to deal with dinner when dealing with last-minute Halloween costumes. On Thursday, Oct. 29, eat at the Wayland Bertucci’s (14 Alyssa Ave., Wayland) between 11:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. and help raise funds for L-S girls’ lacrosse. Mention the team and 15% of what you spend will be donated to the program.

Talk on climate change on Oct. 29

Lincoln residents have a long history of environmental leadership and conservation. Today, concern about climate change has many of us asking questions such as:

  • What are fossil fuels and why should I care?
  • After last winter, why are we still thinking about global warming?
  • How does the new Mass Energy/Eversource renewable energy offering work and where does the energy come from?
  • Is this the right time to consider installing solar panels on my home?

Quentin Prideaux of the Climate Reality Project (CRP) will help answer these and other questions about climate change on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. in Bemis Hall at a talk sponsored by the Lincoln Garden Club. The CRP was formed in 2006 to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every level of society. Come learn about what you can do at the local level to understand and address this global problem.

Fauré Requiem to be sung at St. Anne’s

On Sunday, Nov. 1, the Fauré Requiem will be sung as part of the 10:00 am service for All Saints’/All Souls’ Day at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church. The St. Anne’s Choir will be joined by members of the Copley Singers and accompanied by organ, harp and violin. Other music appropriate to this sacred day will be anthems by John Rutter, John Goss and Geraint Lewis. Brian Jones, interim director of music at St. Anne’s, will conduct. All are welcome at St. Anne’s. For more information, visit www.stanneslincoln.org or call 781-259-8834.

Six from Lincoln are National Merit Commended Students

Editor’s note: this article was corrected on October 22 to include two students who are not in the photo.

Thirty-four Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School seniors have been named Commended Students in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program. Six of them are Lincoln residents.

About 34,000 of the 1.5 million students nationally who entered the 2016 competition by taking the 2014 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test received letters of commendation. Another 16,000 entrants qualified as semifinalists on a state-represented basis, and about 15,000 of those will be named as finalists for about 7,400 scholarships.

scholars

Commended Students in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program from L-S. Lincoln residents are in boldface. Top row: Emily Gorman, Rudhra Raveendran, Samuel Mlawer, Aaron Epstein, Samuel Neil, Katerina Matjucha, Katherine Quirk, Claire Telfer, Nicole Pellegrini, Sarah Hausmann, Sara Bennett, Samira Mehta, Alina Strileckis, Jessica Keller, Jillian Cusick, Caroline Goswami, Alexandra du Toit. Bottom row: Matthew Short, Madeleine Kline, Jasmine Falk, Ariel Keklak, Zacharie Day, Indrani Kharbanda, Eve Montie, Katherine Semple, Catherine Pinto, Sara Kimble, William Sheldon, Aaron Corin, Andrew Fasciano, Gavin Mays, Regan Murray. Not pictured: Adam Thompson and Tiger Zhang. Photo courtesy Charles Despotopulos.

Globe: Lincoln has high incidence of Lyme disease

deertickLincoln had one of the highest Lyme disease infection rates in Massachusetts in 2014, according to state Department of Public Health data published in the Boston Globe on October 12.

A map showing the rates of infection per 100,000 residents by town shows that Lincoln’s rate was 248.35, which translates to about 16 actual cases for Lincoln’s population of 6,362 (as of the 2010 census). Only 28 of the 391 Massachusetts cities and towns had higher Lyme disease rates. Of the 28 towns with the highest rates (250 or more cases per 100,000 residents), the biggest concentrations were on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, followed by a cluster of towns in the southwest corner of the state.

Nationally, Lyme disease is most prevalent in the Northeast and the Upper Midwest, the article notes. Massachusetts had the third-highest overall rate of any state at 54.1 cases per 100,000 residents, behind only Maine (87.9) and Vermont (70.5).

A report from the Middlesex Tick Task Force earlier this year noted that 40 percent of ticks from Lincoln that were tested in 2014 carried Lyme disease. Almost as many carried the bacterium that causes Borrelia miyamotoi disease, which does not cause a rash but can be more serious than Lyme disease. It was first recognized in the Northeast in 2013.

News acorns

lurgio

Joanne Lurgio

Joanne Lurgio appears at next LOMA event

The next LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) event will feature Joanne Lurgio at the Lincoln Public Library on Monday, Oct. 19 starting at 7 p.m. Lurgio, who will perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30 p.m., has four CDs to her credit, including this year’s Rise from the Storm.

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 date for a slot. Names of those who signed up by 7:15 are drawn at random. There is a sound system with mikes and instrumental pickups suitable for individuals or small groups. In case of overflow, the first 20 performers to sign up will be given priority.

Variety show benefits L-S foundation

Want a good laugh? Come see teachers and staff at the 12th annual LSRHS faculty/staff/student Variety Show on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kirshner Auditorium at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School to benefit FELS (Foundation for Educators at Lincoln-Sudbury) and the L-S Teachers’ Association Scholarship Fund. Acts include live music, dance, film, comedy and more. New this year are acts involving both students and school staff. Tickets are $6 for students/senior citizens, $8 for general admission. Advance sales take place October 19-23 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. outside the L-S cafeteria. For further information, email Paul Sarapas at paul_sarapas@lsrhs.net.

Medicare info session on Oct. 30

Anyone on Medicare as well as their family members and other caregivers are encouraged to attend the Medicare 2016 Open Enrollment Insurance Update Session on Friday, Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. in Bemis Hall. This session offers an opportunity to learn about changes in Medicare’s benefits and costs and to get information directly from representatives of supplemental insurance companies and the state’s Prescription Advantage program. The program will be presented by Don Milan and Anne Meade, Lincoln’s SHINE counselors, along with staff from the Minuteman SHINE Program, which provides unbiased information regarding health insurance and prescription drug options for seniors and those with disabilities. Also on hand will be representatives from the major supplemental health insurance plans; Anthony Moreschi, Constituent Services Representative for Congresswoman Katherine Clark; and Priscilla Leach, the town’s Veterans Services Officer. It is co-sponsored by the Lincoln Council on Aging and Minuteman SHINE.

Milan and Meade also provide free one-to-one counseling for Lincoln residents who need help signing up for Medicare, choosing among plans, applying for Medicaid/MassHealth, deciding about whether long-term care insurance is appropriate, resolving problems related to Medicare, and more. To arrange for an appointment, call the Lincoln Council on Aging at 781-259-8811.

Letter to the editor: attend campus master plan forum

letter

To the editor:

This letter is urge all to come to the first forum hosted by the Campus Master Planning Committee on Thursday, Oct. 15 from 7-9 p.m. in the Brooks Gym.

Lincoln is about to engage as a whole in crafting a new, big idea. There is an opportunity to create a legacy project that will serve now and for generations to come. This is the type of project that Lincoln has been famous for—big-picture, holistic thinking, and making large, long-term investments.

[Read more…] about Letter to the editor: attend campus master plan forum