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

Lincoln police memorialize Sean Collier

Lincoln police officers at a recent Board of Seelctmen meeting includes (left to right) Chief Kevin Mooney, Lt. Kevin Kennedy and Officer Anthony Moran.

Lincoln police officers at a recent Board of Seelctmen meeting includes (left to right) Chief Kevin Mooney, Lt. Kevin Kennedy and Officer Anthony Moran.

By Alice Waugh

The death of Sean Collier, an MIT police officer who was killed by the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, hit home at the Lincoln Police Department, where he had worked intermittently as a special-duty officer for two years. Now the Lincoln Police Association is creating a permanent memorial to Collier in the lobby of the town’s Public Safety Building.

Lincoln police were also heavily involved in the effort to apprehend the suspects in Watertown on April 18, and the Board of Selectmen thanked eight of the officers in person at the board’s May 6 meeting.

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Firefighters extinguish car fire on Route 2A

A car fire on Route 2A was captured by a resident who emailed the Lincoln Squirrel.

A car fire on Route 2A was captured by a resident who emailed the Lincoln Squirrel.

Drivers on Route 2A in the Minute Man National Historical Park were startled to see a car ablaze at about 7:30 this morning, but Lincoln firefighters extinguished the fire and no one was hurt.

According to Lt. Ben Juhola of the Lincoln Fire Department, the driver noticed a warning signal on his dashboard and pulled over into a driveway. He then noticed smoke coming from his car so he grabbed his belongings and jumped out of the car, “and the fire started to progress,” Juhola said.

The  fire took about 20 minutes to extinguish, said Juholas, adding that he did not have the name of the driver.

Kids show their stuff at Science Share

Showing off their display on the science of musical instruments at the Science Share were (left to right), Hannah Bodnar, Josie Sullivan, Allie Schwartz, Meghan Hobbs, team parent Mia Katz, Noa Katz and Alexandre White.

Showing off their display on the science of musical instruments at the Science Share were (left to right), Hannah Bodnar, Josie Sullivan, Allie Schwartz, Meghan Hobbs, team parent Mia Katz, Noa Katz and Alexandre White.

Teams of students and their coaches had a great time showing off their work at the Lincoln School’s seventh annual Science Share for kids in grades K-4. Leading up to the April 8 event, which aims to ignite children’s interest in science, volunteers helped teams of kids learn about a science topic of their choice, doing research and building a display for the Science Share.

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School Committee seeks library trustee candidates

The Lincoln School Committee is responsible for appointing a member of the Lincoln Public Library Board of Trustees and is currently seeking applications from those interested in filling this three-year commitment. The committee seeks candidates who are users of the library and committed to further strengthening the connection between the library and the Lincoln Public Schools.

The library board meets monthly, with additional subcommittee and/or liaison meetings including technology, budget, buildings and grounds, capital planning, DeCordova, Friends of the Library, various ad hoc task forces that work on the Library’s strategic plan, the annual reports needed for the Finance Committee and Town Meeting, and occasional event planning. The trustees also oversee and sponsor events that require a member to attend.

If interested, please submit a letter of interest to Jennifer Glass at schoolcomm@lincnet.org.  Submissions are due by May 30.

Nine years after start, rugby thrives at L-S

Lincoln's Jack Bigelow (dark shirt) fights for the ball during a recent rugby match.

Lincoln’s Jack Bigelow (right) fights for the ball during a recent rugby match.

By Brett Wittenberg

In spring 2004, when it came time to pick a sport, Lincoln-Sudbury sophomore Brendan Wimberly didn’t want to play baseball, he didn’t want to run track, and he wasn’t about to take up Ultimate Frisbee. Wimberly wanted to play rugby, and when he saw that rugby wasn’t among the high school’s eight choices for spring sports, he and 20 of his sophomore classmates approached then drama teacher and housemaster Iain Ryrie  about the possibility of starting a team. [Read more…] about Nine years after start, rugby thrives at L-S

Lincoln “grandmothers” go to work for Markey

"Grandmothers for Markey" recently addressed cards at the Groves. Left to right: xxx (Photo: Alice Waugh)

“Grandmothers for Markey” recently addressed cards at the Groves. Left to right: Joan Kimball, Sonja Johansson, Carolyn Birmingham, Sally Meyer, Peggy Schmertzler. (Photo: Alice Waugh)

Ed Markey has some Lincoln ladies to thank for his recent primary victory.

The group of senior women, spearheaded by Lincoln resident Peggy Schmertzler, got together several times at the Ryan Estates and The Groves in Lincoln to work on cards asking recipients to support U.S. Rep. Ed Markey is his bid to win the Senate seat vacated by John Kerry. The work involved sticking address labels on the preprinted cards but also adding a personal hand-written note to each. Combining modern political techniques with the old-school personal touch, the women got their preprinted address labels from the Markey campaign, which found and printed names and addresses of Democrats and unaffiliated senior women voters who live in Plymouth and Whitman where Markey’s Democratic primary opponent, Steven Lynch, had a strong following.

Markey’s campaign isn’t the first go-round for these women, however. Schmertzler and two others, Betsy Hatfield and Margot Lindsay, started the group in 2008 as Grandmothers for Obama. In 2012, the Massachusetts pilot group established a website, GrandmothersforObama.org, and expanded to include hundreds of women in about 25 states who hand-addressed canary yellow postcards declaring support for Obama. The group doesn’t send money to any political campaigns, though they pay the postage on their postcards themselves.

Since the presidential election, the group has sent postcards on behalf of Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren as well as Markey. In their campaigns, they also advocate progressive stances on issues including the environment, women’s reproductive rights, rights to equal pay and health care, increased taxes on the wealthiest 1 percent to reduce cuts in services, and gun safety.

“In our combined mailings, we reached approximately 10,000 voters,” Schmertzler said.

Markey beat Lynch in the April 30 primary, so the grandmothers will soon be back at work on his behalf in preparation for the statewide special election on June 25, when he will face off against Republican Gabriel Gomez. Democrats are hoping that race will not have the same outcome as the 2010 special election, when favored Democrat Martha Coakley lost to Republican Scott Brown.

Although addressing cards may seem like a mundane task, the women enjoy working together to try to make a difference. “It’s very bonding because we all care about the same issues,” Schmertzler said.

Planning Board candidates sought

Are you a Lincoln resident with an interest in planning, zoning and land use? The Board of Selectmen and Planning Board invite you to apply before May 24 for one of two vacancies on the Planning Board.

Interviews will be conducted during a joint meeting of the two boards to fill one elected position (until the next annual town election in March 2014) and one associate position. Submit a letter of interest together with a completed application form (click here to download a form) to one of the addresses below by Friday, May 24.

For more information about the work of the Planning Board, please see the Planning Board website or contact Chris Reilly, Director of Planning and Land Use, at 781-259-2610. Interested residents are also encouraged to attend Planning Board meetings to learn about the board’s work.

Applications via email:
Selectmen’s Office, attn.: Debra Parkhurst, Administrative Assistant
parkhurstd@lincolntown.org

Applications via U.S. mail:
Office of the Board of Selectmen
Hartwell School Complex (Pod B)
Ballfield Road
Lincoln, MA 01773