By Alice Waugh
The School Building Advisory Committee’s architectural consultants last week presented detailed lists of repair and renovation options and cost estimates for the Lincoln School that will be the topic of town-wide discussion at the State of the Town meeting this Saturday, Nov. 15 at 9 a.m. in the Brooks auditorium.
[Read more…] about School needs at least $27.5m even without cafeterias, architects say
You are invited to a family potluck supper this Sunday, Nov. 9 at 5:30 p.m. in the Parish House of the First Parish Church. All are welcome. We will have pizza and cartoons for the kids. Bring a dish to share (no need to cook—purchased food is fine) and wine or beer if you would like. We provide the soft drinks. Come and spend some relaxing time with great First Parish folk. [Read more…] about News acorns – 11/8/14
(Editor’s note: you can see Lincoln’s results for the November 3 election in the Lincoln Squirrel and on the Town of Lincoln website.)
To the editor:
Last Tuesday’s State Election brought 2,786 voters to the polls during the course of a very busy but blessedly smooth day. We are, as always, indebted to the many people who made it smooth, including the 41 poll workers who greeted and processed all those voters; the police officers who maintained order; our Election Chef, Richard Silver, who kept us well nourished; the Smith School custodial staff, who helped us to maintain a clean and well-ordered polling place; and the DPW crew for getting all of our equipment in and out of the Smith School gym in a timely manner.
And thanks to every one of you who took the time and trouble to exercise that most fundamental of our civic rights and responsibilities. We hope to see a great many of you at the Annual Town Election in March.
Those of us who administer elections (as well, I’m afraid, as the rest of you) will all too shortly be turning our attention to the 2016 presidential election. If you’re interested in training for and serving as poll workers in future elections, please contact us.
Sincerely,
Susan F. Brooks
Town Clerk
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 Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.
To the editor:
The fiscal year 2016 (FY16) preliminary budget for the Lincoln Public Schools has been developed and will be presented to the School Committee on November 6, 2014. The process of developing the school budget began in August when the administrative team and I began an examination of each budget line item within the context of the District Strategic Plan. The process will continue through January 22, when the School Committee will vote on the budget that will be presented for a vote at the March 28, 2015 Town Meeting. I encourage parents and faculty to attend the School Committee meetings throughout the budget process and to provide input during the public comment portion of the meeting.
There are several key considerations in developing the budget:
The FY16 level service budget we will present on November 6 exceeds the 2.5 percent budget guideline established by the Lincoln Finance Committee. I will present the preliminary budget and explain the resulting “gap” between the budget guideline and the costs of providing a level service budget. At the School Committee meetings on November 20 and December 4, we will present options for reducing the budget in order to meet the FinCom guideline. This will require creating a list of gap-closing measures and providing information about those reductions and the impact they will have on the educational program.
At this time, I want to make you aware that our enrollment projections for the Lincoln School indicate that our current four sections of Grade 3 can be accommodated in three sections of Grade 4 in 2015-2016 and still meet the requirements of the class size policy. The total number of class sections in the Lincoln School would remain the same as the current year.
As the process unfolds and budget decisions are made with the School Committee, I will do my best to provide information to the community.
Sincerely,
Rebecca McFall, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Lincoln Public Schools
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.
(Editors note: This version incorporates corrections made on November 7 to the DEP conference date and Angela Kearney’s title.)
By Alice Waugh
The Jet Aviation expansion proposed for Hanscom Field was OK’d by the state earlier this month, but a group of residents immediately asked for a hearing in a further attempt to block the project.
[Read more…] about Jet Aviation approval confirmed by DEP, but residents fight on
Lincoln residents voted for Martha Coakley for governor by a healthy margin and Sharon Antia for state rep by a much smaller majority, though neither woman prevailed overall in her race.
[Read more…] about Lincoln goes for Coakley, Antia in election
Crawley Cooper
A memorial service will be held on December 6 at 11 a.m. at the First Parish Church in Lincoln for Crawley Cooper, who died on October 25 at the age of 81. A retired architect, he served on several First Parish and Town of Lincoln committees, including as chair of the Planning Board.
Cooper’s full obituary from Dee Funeral Home includes links to share memories and send flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to the First Parish Church in Lincoln or to the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging, 16 Bedford Road, Lincoln, MA 01773.
Here are links to obituaries of some Lincoln residents who have died in recent months.
Clifford “Red” Bradley, 96 (May 21) — carpenter and member of St. Joseph’s Church
Richard B. Campobasso, 67 (October 13) — worked for Lincoln’s Department of Public Works for 42 years
Margaret Domenichella, 76 (July 31) — licensed practical nurse in Lincoln and Concord
Alan Donaldson, 68 (August 4) — Lincoln Fire Department firefighter for 30 years
Marjorie Holland, 79 (September 25) — member of St. Anne’s, Cemetery Commission
Karl “Uno” Ingard, 93 (August 21) — MIT faculty members in physics and aeronautics/astronautics for 41 years
William A. King, 82 (August 28) — vice president and general counsel to Thomas Cook Travel USA
Charles Newcombe Jr., 74 (October 22) — owned Lincoln Roofing and Carpentry Co.
Today’s letter to the editor about the Community Center Study Committee contained a broken link for the online survey, which has now been fixed in the letter. Here is the direct link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CCSCSURVEY.
To the editor:
Join the community center conversation! The town is evaluating options to address the facility needs of the Council on Aging, the Parks and Recreation Department and various community organizations that use town space. A variety of solutions are being considered—from adapting existing buildings to new construction and from multiple, discrete projects to one large multifaceted solution—and we’re interested in your opinion. There are a number of ways to get involved:
Both meetings will be held in the Brooks School auditorium in conjunction with the School Building Advisory Committee. We will both be providing an update of our work and soliciting feedback. (Babysitting is available for State of the Town meeting; contact Linda Hammet-Ory at lhamme@aol.com.)
We hope you’ll take the time to participate in our process. Your input is critical to our work!
Sincerely,
Dan Pereira
Community Center Study Committee
Director, Parks and Recreation Department
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.