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

News acorns – 3/10/15

acornTown election ballot online; absentee ballots now available

The Town of Lincoln has published this specimen ballot for the town election March 30 are available now in the Town Clerk’s Office. More information is available on this Town of Lincoln web page.

Dore & Whittier report at several locations in town

The School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC) and Dore & Whittier Architects have completed their study of the Lincoln School. The study focused on developing a wide range of options to address the facility and educational space needs of the Lincoln School. The final report contains a comprehensive accounting of the process and outcomes of their work. Copies of the study are available for public viewing at the following locations:

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Letter to the editor: forget First Parish “grandiose expansion ideas”

letter

Editor’s note: This is a copy of a letter sent by Ms. Harvey to the Planning Board.

To the editor:

I am a member of First Parish. When the renovation of the Stearns room was planned, I was in favor of it and contributed what was, for my circumstances, a generous amount. As things progressed and the plans became more and more grand, my approval became less and less enthusiastic. As things stand now, I’d be just as glad to have the mold problem remediated, the décor freshened up and the grandiose expansion ideas forgotten.

The cavalier attitude shown by the persons representing the First Parish in this situation toward the abutters is shameful. I am sorry that a community which I joined for its principles of unity and “service for all” has behaved in such un-neighborly manner.

To sum up: I hope that the Planning Board will use its power to put a halt to this sorry business.

Sincerely,

Adele Harvey
140 Lincoln Road, Unit 215

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.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 Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: senators hear about We the People Act

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Editor’s note: Article 44 at the Town Meeting on March 28 will ask if Lincoln residents support passage of the We the People Act. The full warrant can be found here.

To the editor:

I attended the first of eight “Commonwealth Conversations” with state senators at Newton North High School [last week] to urge quick passage of the crucial We The People Act (Mass. House Docket 1988, filed Jan. 15, 2015). The “Commonwealth Conversations” are a series of grassroots forums that our state senators are holding to hear from us. It was a moving experience.

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Letter to the editor: support fossil fuel divestment at Town Meeting

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Editor’s note: The authors are referring to Article 42 at Town Meeting on March 28. The complete Town Meeting warrant can be found here.

To the editor:

Global warming, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels and the resulting increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, is a serious threat to current and future generations in Lincoln and around the world. Already global warming is causing costly disruption of human and natural systems throughout the world, for example. The effects of global warming will further intensify with increased temperatures such that almost all governments in the world, including that of the United States, have agreed (through the 2009 Copenhagen Accord) that any warming above a 2º C. (3.6º F.) rise would be unsafe for human habitation. Scientists estimate that humans can emit only approximately 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and still retain a reasonable hope of not exceeding 2º C. of (additional) global warming.

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Letter to the editor: support Taylor for Planning Board

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To the editor:

I am writing in support of Gary Taylor’s candidacy to the Planning Board. I have known Gary through a number of years, having first worked with him when I was chair of the Finance Committee in the early 1990s. He is a thoughtful and energetic individual who would bring his much-needed skills to the board. This is particularly important from the perspective of the town’s Comprehensive Plan, formulated in 2009 and worked on for a number of years by the Implementation Committee, which I also chaired. We made periodic presentations to the Planning Board but received little support other than verbal encouragement. I believe that Gary would be instrumental in revitalizing this effort, which is so very critical to the well being of Lincoln. I encourage all of our citizenry to vote for Gary.

Peter C. Sugar
Chestnut Circle, Lincoln

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.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 – 3/5/15

acornAddendum to Kanner letter

The letter to the editor about outdoor lighting regulations from Steven Kanner has been modified to reflect a paragraph that was inadvertently omitted when it was published on March 3.

Town meeting shuttle service offered; carpooling recommended

The Town of Lincoln Annual Town Meeting will take place Saturday, March 28 beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the Brooks School auditorium on Ballfield Road. As an open Town Meeting, all Lincoln citizens are encouraged to attend and participate. Lincoln residents should receive their Town Meeting packets, including the Town Report and the Financial Section and Warrant, on or about March 21. More information can be found on this Town of Lincoln webpage.

Due to the expected turnout for Town Meeting and the limited parking spaces available at the school complex, the town is asking residents to carpool. Also, the town is offering a shuttle service from the Lincoln commuter lot (the non-resident paved lot) to the school from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.  The shuttle will run continuously throughout Town Meeting.

Make preserves at deCordova on March 7

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Mural, mural on the wall

paintings

 

 

Now showing March through April: paintings from Lincoln’s Open Studio in the Bemis Hall Map Room. There will be a coffee with the artists on Thursday, March 19 at 2:15 p.m.Lincoln artists on display include Joan Seville, Stephanie Rolf, Bernadette Quirk, Harold Smith, Kumiko Asada, Cappie Martin, Claire Mount, George Thomas, and Ruth Ann Hendrickson. Most of the paintings are for sale.

Top left: Majestic Tree with Shadows, a watercolor by Ruth Ann Hendrickson depicting a tree she discovered last summer in Codman field.

Bottom left: At the preceding exhibit in the map room, Ed Koehler of Lincoln talks about his work. Ed combines his architectural skills and artistic talent to create murals that depict celebrities. Photo by Patricia Fitzsimmons.

Letter to the editor: questions on lighting proposals

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(Addendum, 3/5/14: The paragraph beginning with “Fourth, what about…” was added after this letter was published.)

(Editor’s note: Kanner references a letter to the Lincoln Journal by Margaret Olson for which the link is unavailable, but the Lincoln Squirrel published a similar letter from her on February 23.)

To the editor,

I believe the outdoor lighting issue is a bit more complex and potentially disruptive than Margaret Olson of the planning board suggested in her letter Friday, Feb. 27 to the Lincoln Journal, at the same time as I also support Lincoln as a delightfully idiosyncratic quasi-rural community and share the concern about excessive regional ambient light.

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Letter to the editor: Quirk runs for reelection to LSSC

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To the editor:

I am writing to announce my candidacy for reelection to the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee and hope to earn your vote on Monday, March 30.

Our accomplishments over the past three years are noteworthy. We have recruited and retained an exceptional educator and savvy administrator to lead the district as Superintendent-Principal, and the high school’s administrative leadership team has been revitalized with stellar additions in Finance, Student Services, Curriculum and Athletics. Thanks to the support of the citizens of Lincoln and Sudbury, we have substantially upgraded our IT infrastructure. We have undertaken innovative projects that have significantly reduced our energy costs and positioned the high school as a leader in the green energy movement. We have implemented a number of innovative programs designed to benefit students with language-based learning disabilities and other learning challenges, obtaining grant funding to launch these programs wherever possible.

We have made shrewd decisions with respect to health insurance that resulted in reductions in the district’s healthcare costs in each of the last two years and yielded a substantial reduction in the district’s OPEB liability. Finally, we negotiated a fiscally conservative teacher contract that has enabled us to begin restoring staff at a time when our enrollment has substantially increased. Meanwhile, our students continue to thrive in the classroom, on the field, on the stage and in the studio, as well as in college, the military and the workplace after they graduate. We all should be proud, and grateful, for the exceptional work being performed at Lincoln-Sudbury.

While we have accomplished a great deal, a number of significant challenges remain. The high school’s enrollment remains at record highs, and Sudbury must adopt a regular practice of funding our schools in a manner commensurate with shifting enrollment in order to serve our students appropriately. We need to support efforts to establish programs that will prepare our students to thrive (indeed, to be leaders) in a rapidly changing, technologically focused, and increasingly global environment. We need to nurture programs to support students who need additional help, and to make every effort to keep students whose needs can be served at Lincoln-Sudbury in the district. Finally, we need to support our exceptional educators who are singularly focused on delivering a rigorous and purposeful education for our students.  I look forward to addressing these challenges, and diligently serving both of our partner communities, if reelected.

Thank you for your support.

Gerald E. Quirk
20 Scotts Wood Drive, Sudbury

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.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.