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

News acorns – 2/2/15

Left to right: Evan Lee, Katherine Feng, John Dale and Jada Edwards.

Left to right: Evan Lee, Katherine Feng, John Dale and Jada Edwards.

Lincoln School students excel

At a January 31 audition, four Lincoln School music students qualified for the Eastern District Music Festival in March: violinist and concert mistress Katherine Feng and second violinist Evan Lee (orchestra), second trumpet John Dale (band) and soprano II Jada Edwards (chorus). Also auditioning were Kent Mashimo, Kevin Sheppard, Tara O’Malley, Jaelynn Rodney and Colin Christian.

Students in the Lincoln School’s Model UN extension were recognized for excellence at events in recent weeks. At the United Nations Association of Greater Boston (UNAGB) conference at Northeastern University for over 450 students, Lincoln seventh-graders Tara O’Malley and Darcy Flaherty were assigned to the World Health Organization (WHO) committee. As delegates from South Korea, they received a perfect score for their position paper on pandemic response. Eighth-graders Elena Christenfeld and Irene Terpstra and seventh-grader Keith Hylton, representing Nigeria, were also in the WHO committee. They earned Best Delegation award—the highest award possible—for a combination of the work they did on their position paper and negotiating skills during the conference. Then at the December Invitational Model United Nations (DIMUN), 80 students from all over New England had to respond to a pandemic outbreak using real-time information that would change the experience throughout the day for students. At the end of the day, Irene received one of six awards for Best Negotiator.

Six Lincoln School students made honor roll in the AMC-8 exam sponsored by the American Mathematics Competition. The Lincoln School also made the the School Honor Roll, which is unusual for such a small school. The awardees were seventh-grader Zachary Tam (distinguished honor roll); honor roll awardees were eighth-graders Irene Terpstra and Howie Tsang, and seventh-graders Laura Appleby, Piper Bau and Collin Graf.

Downton Abbey finale screening at Pierce House on Feb. 22

For the second year in a row, the pleasure of your company is requested by the Pierce House Committee at a screening party for the final episode of Season Five of Downtown Abbey on Sunday, Feb. 22 from 7-10 p.m. Join your fellow Lincoln Downton-ophiles to watch the popular drama together in the elegant parlor of historic Pierce House. Hats and gloves optional; tea, champagne and sweets will be served. Admission contribution is $10 at the door. Seating is limited, so contact Virginia Rundell (vq@verizon.net or 781-259-0201) to reserve your place now.

Letter to the editor: Kinder Morgan in Colorado

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To the editor:

Peggy Flint, a childhood Lincoln friend whose family is still in Lincoln, just forwarded the “Letter to the editor: gas pipeline concerns” [Lincoln Squirrel, Jan. 23, 2015]. A granddaughter of George Grosvenor Tarbell (1886–1968), I grew up in Lincoln from 1941 to 1958. Peggy Flint and I rode our horses on “the pipeline,” not knowing or caring at the time that it was part of Kinder Morgan’s operations.

Now I’m living in southwest Colorado—Montezuma County, atop the McElmo Dome, which contains the greatest concentration of CO2 in the world (according to Kinder Morgan). For the last 15 years, life in this agricultural area, which also has the highest concentration of ancestral Pueblan archaeological sites in the U.S. (Canyons of the Ancients National Monument), has been very pleasant. Most of the land is publicly owned and managed by the BLM [Bureau of Land Management], and much of the remaining private land has had the mineral rights sold off. To a relatively minor extent, oil, natural gas, uranium, and CO2 exploration and extraction have been going on for decades. But in the last two years, Kinder Morgan [KM] has been conducting subsurface studies to determine optimal locations at which to drill for CO2. There are now half a dozen CO2 wells within a couple of miles of my little house, and, according to whomever one listens to, plans for another two dozen more or less, in the good agricultural fields around me. The CO2 is piped to Texas, where it is injected into old oil wells, in order to extract more oil.

I have asked KM personnel several times why atmospheric CO2 cannot be captured rather than extracting more from below ground. The answer is, as one would expect, “too expensive.” A few years ago when fracking issues first presented in and threatened our community, I asked a KM official about responsible disposal of used (produced) fracking fluids. He told me the technology is available to inject and extract fracking fluids at the drilling site, then recycle it by means of a closed system moveable device/machine, which can travel from well to well. This technology, I was told, is “too expensive,” so open-air settling ponds are the preferred (cheapest) disposal method for used fracking fluids. KM injects their used fracking fluid into deep drilled wells (disposal wells)—probably less worse than settling ponds. They claim it doesn’t affect aquifers and potable water supplies…

My experience with KM until recently has been that they have more respect for the environment, archaeology, agriculture and other aspects of life than other extraction and mining companies. That said, it seems to me that the entirety of the extraction and mining industries, including the transportation of their products, needs ongoing examination, reasoned public input and well-considered regulation. Pipelines themselves aren’t the problem, but rather, extensions of the primary problems.

At least there are new beginnings—people beginning to recognize some of the problems and becoming involved, hopefully toward better solutions.

Sincerely,

Nancy Tarbell Carman
Pleasant View, Colo.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrrel.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 – 1/29/15

acornCouncil on Aging events rescheduled

The Better Business Bureau presentation scheduled for Friday, Jan. 30 has been canceled due to the predicted snow. We will reschedule for the spring. The Artist’s Coffee that was canceled on Tuesday, Jan. 27 has been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 26 at 2:30 p.m.

Coming up at the library

“Orcadian Rhythms: The Films of Margaret Tait”
On Tuesday, Feb. 3, the Lincoln Library Film Society presents a night of short films by pioneering filmmaker Margaret Tait, whose transcendental, homemade films speak of the poetry of Scotland, and specifically of Orkney (a bit of Scottish and a bit of the Norse). Then, after a two-week break, the group will reconvene on February 17 to begin a six-part retrospective of Ukrainian poetic cinema. For more information, email lincolnlibraryfilmsociety@gmail.com.

Fischman and O’Hanlon at LOMA
The Friends of the Lincoln Library and Lincoln Open-Mic Acoustic (LOMA) will welcome featured performers Peter Fischman and Deb O’Hanlon at the next LOMA event on Monday, Feb. 9 from 7-10 p.m. in the Tarbell Room. They will perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30 p.m. The duo has several CDs including their latest, In His Own Words, featuring original songs on topics such as life, home, commuting and vegetables. To hear samples of their music, visit Reverbnation or see their website.

“Voices from the Back Stairs: Domestic Servants in 19th- and 20th-century New England”
Jennifer Pustz of Historic New England will speak about life for domestic servants, with special attention to the servants at the Codman Estate, on Sunday, Feb. 8 from 2-4 p.m.

ICA sculpture-making for kids
Artist educators will lead the sculpture making project related to the Institute of Contemporary Art’s architecture and design concepts on Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 2-3 p.m. for children ages 5 and up. Each child will leave with her or his own sculpture! Signup in advance is necessary; call 781-259-8465 x205.

Robots on the run: build a robot
The Rhode Island Computer Museum presents this workshop for kids ages 10 and up on basic circuits and simple robot making on Thursday, Feb. 19 from 2-4 p.m. You’ll learn programmable electronics and instructions for making a robot with working lights and sounds and a running motor. Learn about interactive software called Arduino and create your own sample robot. Registration in advance is required; call 781-259-8465 x205.

Jump into improv
Come and learn the joy of improvisation on Tuesday afternoons from February 24 to April 7 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. for kids in grades 4-7. During improv exercises, participants create characters and stories and act them out. There are no lines to learn—no staging, just lots of creative fun. Learn acting games and skills. No previous experience needed. Lots of fun, laughter and creativity involved. The class will be taught by actor/teacher Sally Kindleberger. To register: visit or call the library at 781-259-8465.

 

Photos from the Blizzard of ’15

How you look at the snow depends on a lot of things, including your species. Here are some photos submitted to the Lincoln Squirrel of Juno and its aftermath.

Click one of the images below to see a larger version in the lightbox. Once you’re there, click in the “i” icon at the bottom of the image to see the caption. To move between photos, move your mouse cursor to the far left or right of your screen and a white arrow will appear. To return to the Lincoln Squirrel, click the “x” in the upper right of your screen.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”9″ gal_title=”The Blizzard of 2015″]

Lincoln riding out the blizzard

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Picnic, anyone?

So far, so good… as of 9:45 a.m., there have been no reports to Lincoln police or NStar of power outages in Lincoln due to the blizzard, though there are some on Cape Cod and the south shore (see map below).

The Lincoln Police Department is providing continual updates via its Facebook page. Meanwhile, on Monday afternoon, Selectman Noah Eckhouse reminded residents via LincolnTalk to look out for neighboring seniors, those with mobility limitations or people on their own.

power-0945

NStar’s online power outage map as of 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

“I, and my posse of L-S kids (who will be at home and bored by noon) are happy to come over (by car, foot, ski or snowshoe) and shovel, dig out your car or firewood, bring hot food or drinks (if we lose power), say hello, and tell bad jokes,” Eckhouse wrote. “It is time for all of us to look out for each other.  This storm will be beautiful but challenging.  Call me (259-8322) or email and we will do our best to come over and help.”

Other residents on the email list reassured each other that those on town water will still have flowing taps if power goes out, because the Water Department has a generator. “Should the generator fail, as it did once, the Water Department receives priority service from both NStar and the generator company. Last time the pump was back on line within a few hours. Worst case, the tank on top of the hill on Bedford Road holds a million gallons of water and will provide water to the pipes via gravity feed,” Water Commission member Ruth Ann Hendriksen wrote.

Once the storm has abated and it’s safe to venture outside with your camera, send us your snow photos and stories, or take a photo from indoors and we’ll publish a collection on the Lincoln Squirrel.

Letters to the editor: differing opinions on “We the People” Act

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Editor’s note: The two letters below also appear as comments at the bottom of a January 8 letter that supported the “We the People” Act. We’re now posting them as separate letters for those who didn’t see the comments appended to that letter.

Jan. 26, 2015

To the editor:

The rebuttal letter from Mr. Michael R. Coppock of January 8 [see below], which was in reply to the letter of January 8 from Jean Palmer et al, says that the “We the People” amendment could deprive corporations of fundamental capabilities, some of which they need to operate effectively, and prohibit all political advertising and thereby wipe out most political speech. Of course those things could happen, just as Congress could decide to demolish the interstate highway system.

But the likelihood that any of these things would happen is zero. Most corporate rights and privileges that enable them to operate are incorporated in federal and state law which would not be overturned with this amendment. Mr. Coppock seems to imply that a “We the People” amendment would require these extreme and bizarre results. Whether intended or not, that implication is simply false.

What the amendment would do is return to us, as voters, the ability to make such decisions through our elected representatives as had been done since the country’s founding. The amendment will restore the meaning of parts of the Constitution to what any reader can see was their original intent now given them by the Supreme Court.

It is unfortunate that the only way to overturn harmful decisions by the Supreme Court—in this case, the fiction that corporations are people and money is equal to free speech—is by amending the Constitution, but that is the situation.

Sincerely,

Jean Palmer
Tower Road

Jan. 8, 2015

To the editor:

I read the letter of Jean Palmer et al regarding the proposed constitutional amendment to “to affirm, (1) that rights protected by the Constitution are the rights of humans only, not corporations, and (2) that Congress and the states may place limits on political contributions and spending.” The first proposal would deprive corporations of the right to jury trial, indictment by grand jury, compensation for taking of property, free speech, protection against double jeopardy, unreasonable searches and seizures, equal protection of the law, and due process of law. This would affect not merely Exxon Corporation, but also the ACLU. All corporations, for-profit and non-profit, would become outlaws.

The second proposal would permit Congress and the states to effectively prohibit advertising and publications on political issues by limiting expenditures on those topics to zero, or to amounts so small as to make publicity ineffectual. In other words, limitations on political spending would repeal the First Amendment right of free speech on “political” topics (and what topics are not “political” today, given the vast scope of government?), for how can we exercise that right if we cannot join with others to spend money to support, oppose, or influence the policies of the government? Again, this would limit not only Exxon, but also the ACLU. Is that what the proponents of the amendments want?

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 news@lincolnsquirrrel.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.

February activities at the Council on Aging

bemisHere is the list of February activities sponsored by the Council on Aging.

Do less, accomplish more, feel better!
February 3 at 10 a.m.
We’re all overwhelmed with information about what we should be doing that’s good for us. Simplify to be more productive with a six-week group led by Pam Mizrahi. The group will explore how to determine what you can do to do less while accomplishing more to make you happier and healthier physically, mentally, and spiritually. This free group will meet on Tuesday mornings at 10 a.m. beginning on Feb. 3 at Bemis Hall. You will benefit from this group whether you were in the fall group or not. [Read more…] about February activities at the Council on Aging

Letter to the editor: gas leak on Bedford Road

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To the editor:

There is a gas pipeline leak under Bedford Road near First Parish. The smell of gas is a regular part of walking to church. The congregation has noticed this and talked about this for years. Each time it is discussed we remember the last time we called the gas company and nothing happened. Could this leak be coming from the large gas main the writer referred to in a recent letter?

Sincerely,

Lewis Lloyd
8 Moccasin Hill

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

“Top of the Town” postponed

Top of the Town postponed

Due to the snowstorm predicted for tomorrow, the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging’s Top of the Town Winter Gala has been rescheduled for Sunday, Jan. 25 from 5-8 p.m. at the deCordova Museum.