The Lincoln-Sudbury Civic Orchestra (LSCO), the resident community/student orchestra at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, has openings for musicians for the 2014-2015 concert season.
Letter to the editor: Support expanded bottle bill
To the editor:
I am voting YES on Question 2 on the November ballot because more types of bottles (water, iced tea, etc.) will now be included. This will reduce plastic waste and litter enormously.
But there’s also another great reason to vote for Question 2 on the ballot this November. With it, voters have a chance to right a wrong. Years ago, politicians raided the clean environment fund (where unclaimed bottle deposits used to go) and moved that money into the general fund to spend as they please. Question 2 will move those unclaimed deposits back into the clean environment fund, where it will be used exclusively for cleaning up our open spaces and increasing recycling.
Think about it—less bottle litter and more funds for a clean environment. What’s not to like?
Sincerely,
Diana Abrashkin
181 South Great Rd.
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 Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.
Columbus Day foliage (Lincoln through the lens, 10/15/14)
“Columbus Day in Massachusetts” by Harold McAleer.
Following are some words written in the 1970s by Harold McAleer that he recently submitted to the Lincoln Squirrel along with this photo.
It’s not just the color, actually. After all, the colors are all bunched on one side of the color wheel – greens, and yellows and oranges and reds. And it’s not just the brilliance, mostly pastel – although shafts of occasional sunlight do make the colors glow. What it is is the surprise of it all. The same thing that makes a Fred Allen joke, or a Fats Waller solo, or a Sinatra song – the unexpected twist.
You round a bend or top a rise and there it is, visual overload. A field of weeds backed up by a row of pines and maples, a rather bland vista during most of the year, now shimmers and vibrates, shouting at the senses and tugging at the tear ducts. Even the dull old oak tree assumes a saucy demeanor, as if the washerwoman had suddenly become Kim Novak. And the gnarled and stunted apple tree is transformed into a tapestry. Your entire span of awareness becomes an event, a happening, and this remarkable feeling gets branded into your memory.
It fades, however gradually, until almost forgotten. Then when you find it again in a later season, it returns with that sudden rush and the poignance that accompanies a sweet surprise.
Words come close but pictures don’t. You have to see it.
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.
Letter to the editor: come to CCSC forum on Oct. 17
To the editor:
The Community Center Study Committee and the Lincoln Council on Aging invite Lincoln residents of all ages to a public meeting on Friday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. in Bemis Hall to explore the need for a new community center in town.
The Community Center Study Committee (CCSC) was appointed by the Board of Selectmen to evaluate options for the long- and short-term facilities needs of both Parks and Recreation and the COA, in addition to the numerous other community organizations which currently use such town facilities as Bemis Hall and the Hartwell School buildings for their activities and storage. Questions to be explored by CCSC, discussed at November’s State of the Town Meeting and next spring’s Town Meeting, are whether Lincoln should have a Community Center and, if so, where it should be located and whether it should be new construction or adapted from within an existing structure.
At the October 17 meeting, residents will have the opportunity to learn more about the space and programming needs of the departments and community organizations and the options being considered, then have an open discussion of what programs, activities, and services should be included and where either a combined or separate facilities should be sited. This meeting, along with a charrette held on October 8 (see the Lincoln Squirrel, Oct. 14, 2014), are the first steps in its dialogue with residents to explore and discuss various options. We hope that any residents who were not able to attend the October 8 evening event will come to the October 17 public meeting. The CCSC will then take information learned during the workshop as they go forward. Refreshments will be served.
We hope to see you on October 17!
Sincerely,
Dilla Tingley
5 Laurel Drive
Community Center Study Committee and Council on Aging board member
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.
Residents brainstorm options for a community center
Residents including Selectman Renel Fredriksen (center) discussed options for the Hartwell property.
By Alice Waugh
More than 100 residents packed into Hartwell Pod C for an October 8 charrette to share ideas for a community center in Lincoln and discuss where it might be located.
The evening included lively discussion over pizza as attendees clustered around maps and models of five sites identified in a 2012 report by the Community Center Feasibility Study Committee: Bemis Hall, the Hartwell pod area, the current Department of Public Works site on Lewis Street, the commuter parking lot behind Donelan’s, and Pierce House.
The Community Center Study Committee (CCSC) formed in June and hired Abacus Architects and Planners to gather community input and produce an analysis of possible sites for a facility that would be home to the Parks and Recreation Department (PRD) and the Council on Aging (COA) as well as a central meeting place for residents. While the PRD is content with its current location in Hartwell Pod C, the COA has outgrown Bemis Hall, which has numerous issues including insufficient parking, activity space and handicapped access as well as lack of privacy for counseling. All of the Hartwell pods need upgrades as well.
Abacus began its work knowing that the PRD did not want to relocate. “Moving the programs away from the children makes no sense,” said Abacus architect David Pollak. That said, there are other questions such as whether the COA should share renovated or newly built space with the PRD, stay in a renovated Bemis Hall, or move to another site in town. He noted that less total space—about 20,000 square feet—would be required for a shared facility, vs. 10,000 square feet for a separate COA and 15,000 square feet for the PRD.
After Pollak outlined the pros and cons of each of the five possible sites for a community center, residents split up into smaller groups around maps of each site, talking and manipulating little foam blocks that represented segments of buildings and seeing how things might fit within property lines, wetlands and other features. The groups then shared their brainstorming ideas about each site with the entire gathering.
Pierce House — Possibilities include construction on the southeast corner of the property, underground beneath the parking lot, or even in Pierce Park, a notion that drew good-natured boos from some in the crowd.
Hartwell — This site resulted in the greatest number of feasible ideas. The parking and traffic pattern could be reconfigured and one or more two-story structures could fit on the site, perhaps with space in the middle to be shared by the PRD and the COA, residents said. The structures could also be used as swing space for a school building project. The primary concerns were keeping both age groups safe and protecting the stream that runs between Ballfield Road and the parking lot. Some even suggested putting a second entrance to the site on the east side.
Bemis Hall — Residents in this group saw the close proximity of the historic cemetery and Bedford Road as significant obstacles. However, Pollak noted that other towns have solved similar problems by expanding into an adjacent hillside via underground space with an atrium to let in natural light. “From an architectural standpoint it’s quite doable, but no one is recommending that this is the right thing to do with the mustering yard,” he said.
Commuter parking lot — Although it’s a good location for a senior center, the property is fully used on weekdays by commuters, and users would encounter a bottleneck in the Lincoln Road entrances that are also used for the mall.
The DPW on Lewis Street — Most of the conversation in this group focused on the “challenges and disorders” of the site, said Town Administrator Tim Higgins, who was a member of the group that looked at this location. At issue is relocating the DPW to the transfer station off Route 2A, “which is not an attractive use in any residential neighborhood,” he noted. Although the site has potential for mixed-use development for housing and retail, “there was more concern than creativity voiced about the site” as a senior center, Higgins added.
Residents who couldn’t attend the charrette were invited to complete a brief online survey or to attend one of the other community center public meetings:
- Friday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. at a COA-sponsored open house in Bemis Hall
- Friday, Nov. 7 at 8:30 a.m. (a joint session with the PTO and the School Building Advisory Committee) in the Brooks auditorium
Abacus and CCSC members will analyze the information gleaned from the forums to craft a proposal for residents to consider at the State of the Town meeting on November 15.
Letter to the editor: Lincoln gets more affordable housing
To the editor:
If you’ve driven by 75 Tower Rd. any time since midsummer, you’ve seen a good deal of construction as a single-family house was renovated and turned into a two-bedroom apartment and a one-bedroom accessory apartment. The renovation, which is almost complete, will allow Lincoln to add an additional unit to our subsidized housing inventory. The Community Preservation Committee presented the proposal to spend $150,000 of CPA funds on the renovation at Town Meeting in March. Town Meeting approved the proposal, and work was begun as soon as the money was available.
We invite everyone in town to join the Housing Commission for a tour of the new apartments on Sunday, Oct. 26 between 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Lincoln’s affordable housing program is administered by the Lincoln Housing Commission. With the addition of the new unit at 75 Tower Road, we will have seven town-owned rental properties. Anyone interested in getting on our waiting list should call Elaine Carroll in the Town Office Building at 781-259-2613 and ask for an application.
Sincerely,
Constance Lewis
South Commons
Chair, Lincoln Housing Commission
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.
Correction
An October 13 Lincoln Squirrel article about Halloween-themed events gave an incorrect date for the Lincoln Family Association’s Halloween parade. The correct date is Sunday, Oct. 26.
Halloween-themed events coming up
LFA pumpkin decorating and parade
The Lincoln Family Association is sponsoring two events at Codman Community Farms: pumpkin decorating on Wednesday, Oct. 15 and a Halloween parade on Sunday, Oct. 26. These are LFA member events. For more information on joining, see the LFA’s membership web page.
Girl Scouts host Pumpkin Fair
The Lincoln Girl Scouts will hold its third annual Pumpkin Fair on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 2-5 p.m. Proceeds to benefit our troops. We will also have fresh baked goods, face painting and more. Rain date is Sunday, Oct. 19 at the same time. For questions please contact jillharrison@me.com.
“Tales of the Night” at Drumlin
Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary is once again hosting “Tales of the Night,” a special Halloween-themed celebration with tricks and treats appropriate for the whole family, on Thursday and Friday, October 23 and 24 from 6:30-9 p.m.
“Tales of the Night” activities target everyone from young toddlers to teens. “We offer fun activities that provide the thrills that older kids are looking for and a Nursery Rhyme trail for little ones on the lower end of the ‘fright-o-meter’ as well,” said Drumlin Farm Sanctuary Director Christy Foote-Smith. Visitors can enjoy a special haunted hayride, get up close to insects in the Creepy Critter Mansion, or meet their favorite storybook characters on the Nursery Rhyme Trail. Witches’ brew, spider cider, and tasty treats can be purchased and enjoyed while you peruse a display of more than 100 jack-o’-lanterns or learn about nocturnal wildlife from Drumlin Farm teacher naturalists.
Visitors are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets are $11 per person if purchased on or before October 23. Tickets purchased on the days of the event are $13 per person and may be bought online at massaudubon.org/drumlinfarm or by calling 781-259-2206.
Trunk or Treat!
Bring young children and the whole family on Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 5-6 p.m. to “Trunk or Treat” in the roped-off parking lot behind the Brooks gym, where kids incostume can stroll safely among vans and trucks decorated in a variety of fun themes. Games and treats as well. Sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department. For details, call 781-259-0784.
New School Committee member named
The School Committee and the Board of Selectmen jointly voted last week to appoint Peter Borden as the interim School Committee member. Borden will serve as an appointed member until town elections in late March.
Borden replaces Tom Sander, who stepped down in September. Other candidates for the interim position were Vin Cannistraro, Lisa Freedman, Philip Greenspun, Randy Harrison, Caitlin Hogu and Aldis Russell.
Foggy morning (Lincoln through the lens, 10/11/14)
Codman Road between Lincoln Road and and Route 126 on a foggy morning. —Photo by Julie Sax
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.