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

Wanda Paik, 1934–2026

Wanda Paik, 91, of Lincoln, passed away on Jan. 24, 2026, after suffering a stroke in December. She passed in her sleep at The Commons in Lincoln.

Ms. Paik was predeceased by her husband, Dr. S. Francis Paik, engineer and executive. She is survived by her children and their families, Carol Paik (Daniel Slifkin) of New York and their children Jonathan Slifkin and Meredith Slifkin; Richard Paik (Barbara) of Marblehead and their daughter Frances Paik; and George Paik (Janice) and their daughters Laura Paik (Burak Bagkesici) and Sarah Edwards (Benjamin) and their daughter Lily Edwards.Ms. Paik was born Won-hi Yi on Sept. 17, 1934 in Seoul, Korea. She emigrated at age 5 with her family to Chicago, where her father was minister of the Korean Methodist Church of Chicago. She excelled in piano performance, which led to her earning a B.A. and M.A. in piano at the Northwestern University School of Music. She and Dr. Paik were married in 1957 and moved several times until settling in the region in 1966, first in Sudbury then in Lincoln from 1986. Here she re-launched her piano career, teaching and performing, which she continued until her stroke.

She performed in numerous sites around New England and the country. Notable appearances included two solo performances with the Boston Pops, a recital at the Smithsonian National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and a concert at Yonsei University in Korea. Her students over three generations included many who went on to study at major music conservatories.

Wanda delighted in her personal collaborations and friendships. She was an active leader in the Concord Area Music School Association and the New England Piano Teachers Association, and she and Frank were long time members of the First Parish Church of Sudbury.

A private interment is planned.

Arrangements are under the care of the Duckett Funeral Home of J.S. Waterman & Sons in Sudbury, which provided this obituary (the family requested that the Lincoln Squirrel not include a photo). Click here to add a memory or send flowers.

Bemis Hall closed due to boiler failure; library also needs new HVAC

Bemis Hall is closed after its boiler failed last week, and repairs can’t be completed until Feb. 23, leaving the Council on Aging & Human Services as well as Bemis Hall auditorium renters scrambling.

The 14-year-old boiler system initially failed right before the December holidays, according to Assistant Town Administrator Dan Pereira. “We were able to repair it and had hoped the fix would sustain us long enough to plan for a full replacement. Unfortunately, it failed again last Thursday [Feb. 5] and cannot be repaired, so we are forced to make an emergency replacement immediately. Next week is the earliest we can schedule the work,” he told the Lincoln Squirrel on Feb. 11.

COA&HS Director Abigail Butt and Barbara Low, who manages the building rentals, said they heard that certain parts were not available right away. Butt referred further questions to facilities manager Brandon Kelly, who could not be reached for comment

The COA&HS has made some of its Bemis Hall events for seniors hybrid or virtual while others have been relocated. Exercise classes will be held at the Pierce House, while tax help, tech talks, knitting, and mahjong will take place in Town Hall. The town social worker will be able to meet with clients in their homes or in private spaces in Town Hall or Lincoln Woods. Butt and her staff have contacted regular attendees to let them know of the change. Senior dining and Lincoln Academy will take place in the stone church.

There were no private events scheduled at Bemis Hall for the weekend of Feb. 14-15, but there are three slated for the following weekend that are up in the air. On Saturday, Feb. 21, Bemis was expected to host a Kids 4 Humanity charity talent show, while on Sunday, Feb. 22, it was booked for two events: “Uncovering What is Lost: Telling the Under-told Stories of Black Lives” sponsored by the Lincoln Historical Society, and a Music Street concert that requires a piano but could be held at the Pierce House. Low is hoping that the repairs will be done by Friday, Feb. 20 so they events can go ahead as planned.

The repairs will cost about $50,000 that will be paid from the town’s emergency reserve fund, Pereira said.

Library HVAC system

Coincidentally, Bemis Hall is not the only town-owned building in need of major HVAC work. Voters will be asked to appropriate money to replace the Lincoln Public Library’s 35-year-old gas-fired boiler, which is at risk of failure. Rather than simply replacing it with another gas system, the library agreed to study decarbonization options aligned with the town’s climate goals, as detailed in the January 2026 Select Board newsletter.

In 2025, the Green Energy Committee (GEC) secured a MassSave Energy Manager Grant to conduct a comprehensive 20-year cost lifecycle analysis of conventional, air-sourced heat pump, and geothermal options. A multiboard group (the library trustees, Select Board, and Green Energy Committee) determined that a ground-source heat pump system is the preferred approach due to the availability of grants and federal and state incentives that will make the net cost of comparable to that of a conventional system replacement.

“A full conventional HVAC system would only be marginally less expensive than a ground-source heat pump solution, with a worse environmental impact,” the newsletter says. The analysis was presented in detail at the Jan. 12 Select Board meeting.

The system will cost an estimated $5.5 million, and the town will have to finance $4.5 million after receiving an initial Massachusetts Climate Leaders Program grant of $1 million. Once the project is complete, the town can expect to receive state and federal incentives of roughly $2 million, making the final net cost to the town roughly $2.5 million.

The Community Preservation Committee will recommend bonding the $2.5 million and paying the debt service for that bonding from Community Preservation Act funds. If the project is approved by residents at Town Meeting next month, the project will not cause any tax bill increase to residents, although it will incrementally crowd out other CPA-eligible projects in the future, the newsletter says.

One contested seat in upcoming town election

The only contested seat in the town election on March 30, 2026 is on the Parks and Recreation Commission. David Onigman is currently a Parks & Rec member but not technically an incumbent, since he was  appointed to the seat. He’s running against newcomer Hilary Dionne.

Rachel Marie Schachter is not running again for Trustees of Bemis Fund and no one has filed to run for her seat. On Election Day, voters may write in a candidate for that position, and whoever gets the most write-in votes will be elected, assuming the candidate is qualified and willing to serve. This last occurred in 2024 when Commissioner of Trust Funds incumbent Donald Collins did not file papers for reelection but was re-elected as a write-in candidate.

BOARD/COMMITTEECANDIDATES
Board of Assessors (one seat)Ellen Meadors*
Board of Health (one seat)Frederick L. Mansfield*
Cemetery Commission (one seat)Manley Boyce*
Commissioner of Trust Funds (one seat)D. Paul Fitzgerald*
LSRHS School Committee (two seats)Ravi Simon, Sudbury*
Jason McLure, Lincoln
Moderator (one seat)Andrew Payne
Parks and Recreation Committee (one seat)Hilary Dionne
David Onigman (see above)
Planning Board (two seats)Lynn DeLisi*
Setha Margaret Olson
School Committee (three years)Matina Madrick*
School Committee (three years)Thomas Nickerson
School Committee (one year)Jessica Callow
Select BoardKim Bodnar*
Trustees of Bemis FundNone (see above)
Water CommissionMatthew Bio*

* running for re-election

Simon runs for House seat of Gentile, who’s not running for reelection

Ravi Simon

Ravi Simon of Sudbury, longtime aide to Democratic State Rep. Carmine Gentile and chair of the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee, announced that he is running for State Representative in the 13th Middlesex District, following Gentile’s decision not to seek re-election in 2026. Gentile has endorsed Simon as his successor for the 13th Middlesex, which covers southwest Lincoln (Precinct 1), all of Sudbury, and parts of Concord, Wayland, and Marlborough.

“No one is better prepared than Ravi to take on the responsibilities of this office,” Gentile said. “He has an unmatched understanding of the district, a deep knowledge of the legislative process, and a strong grasp of policy. In Ravi, the district has the opportunity to elect a thoughtful, energetic leader who will be ready on day one.”

“For the last 11 years, Rep. Gentile has been the model of responsive, principled public service. I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked closely with him for five of those years,” said Simon. “In that time, I have had the privilege of getting to know each of the communities in the 13th Middlesex District better. I’m running for State Representative to continue our work fighting for both the progressive values and needs of my home district.”

During his tenure with Gentile, Simon assisted constituents with issues ranging from housing and healthcare to unemployment and public benefits, according to a press release from Simon. He drafted and helped advance legislation and amendments including Gentile’s bills to establish a $20/hour minimum wage, allow same-day voter registration, make public higher education debt-free, and restrict unlawful deployments of the Massachusetts National Guard. 

Simon also helped secure millions of dollars in state funding for local projects across the district, including rail trails, the redevelopment of MCI-Concord, and the development of a new food pantry on the Sudbury-Wayland border, his release said. 

In addition to his State House experience, Simon has served for three years on the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee, including two years as chair, and he is running for reelection unopposed. During his tenure, the committee successfully onboarded a new superintendent, negotiated a teachers’ contract that increased educator pay without a Proposition 2½ override, and banned cellphones in classrooms. He also serves as co-chair of the Sudbury Democratic Town Committee and as a member of the Democratic State Committee.

Previously, Simon worked as public policy and communications associate for Providers’ Council, advocating on behalf of community-based nonprofits that serve seniors, children with disabilities, and people experiencing homelessness.

Simon’s story is rooted in the immigrant experience. His father’s family fled Russia in the early 20th century while his mother immigrated from Sri Lanka and become an American citizen. His parents chose Sudbury to raise their family, and Ravi is a 2015 L-S graduate (he has a 2019 bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University in political science and government). If elected, he would be the first person of South Asian descent to serve in the Massachusetts legislature.

“My generation will live with the consequences of the choices we make right now,” Simon said. “I’m running because I don’t want us to look back and wish that we had done more to defend our democracy, make Massachusetts affordable, or save our climate and environment. Over the coming months, I look forward to listening closely to residents across the district about their own hopes and dreams for the future.”

For more information about Simon and his campaign, visit www.ravisimon.com.

News acorns

Service opportunity for Lincoln teens

Does a teenager you know like working with their hands or with a group? Do they like helping people in need? Do they need service hours for school? If the answer to any of these is yes, your teen in grade 8–12 is invited to join students from First Parish in Lincoln’s youth service group for a half day of service at Household Goods in Acton on Feb. 28. 

Household Goods is a nonprofit that distributes donated furniture, kitchenware, mattresses, lamps and other goods to people in need. Volunteer teens will be helping people leaving homeless shelters or domestic abuse situations, unhoused veterans, people with disabilities, and others. Tasks might include loading trucks, cleaning furniture, stocking the showroom, organizing kitchenware, or sorting donations.

Teens will leave together from the First Parish stone church on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 12:15pm and return at 4:30pm. Volunteer don’t need to be members of the church, but they are responsible for bringing their own school community service form. Register here. Questions? Contact Lora Venesy at lora@fplincoln.org or Chris Andrysiak at chris.andrysiak@gmail.com.

Community center site about to go vertical

The community center construction site earlier this month.

Structural steel installation is expected to begin next week, a development that moves the project into the start of framing and above‑grade construction. Progress will be very visible and move fast. See the CCBC website for more pictures.

All work will remain fully contained within the construction site perimeter, and there will be no changes to parking lot access, Hartwell access, or any pedestrian routes. Material deliveries are planned for early mornings to avoid busy times such as daycare dropoff and school traffic. There are expected to be two to three days of early deliveries for steel members and decking. Delivery trucks will be escorted by crew members when exiting the site to ensure safety and smooth traffic movement.

Drumlin Farm seeks more sugar maples

As a result of climate change, the area is experiencing milder winters and earlier, more unpredictable spring thaws which are resulting in challenging maple sugaring seasons and lower sap yields. In order for Drumlin Farm to continue to produce enough syrup to support its educational goals, the farm is seeking to tap additional trees in Lincoln this season

An ideal site would have at least five trees and a place to park a pickup truck close to the trees for carrying out buckets of sap. Trees are large enough to be tapped if they have a diameter of at least a foot (an easy way to tell is to hug the tree — if your arms overlap, it’s still too young). The trees would be tapped by experienced staff who would return every few days throughout the maple season to check and collect the sap. The season lasts a maximum of 6six weeks from February through March (specific dates depend on weather conditions). As a thank-you for sharing your trees, you’d receive a bottle of the maple syrup, as well as admission to Drumlin’s Maple Magic program. If you’d like to participate, email dfgrower@massaudubon.org.

Lincoln School Foundation benefit evening

The Lincoln School Foundation invites residents to Lincoln Lounge on Saturday, March 7 from 7:00–10:00pm at the Pierce House to support teachers, administrators, and students at both the Lincoln and Hanscom school campuses. Enjoy a wine-tasting with Ansonia Wines, bid on silent auction items (going live one week before the event), listen to live music from the Mike Caudill Trio, have your photo taken with Corey Flint Photography, and experience a touch of magic with the Sage Raven tarot card reader. Participation helps fund teacher-driven grants that expand classroom possibilities, support professional growth, and help every student thrive. For adults 21+ only. Buy tickets here.

EV charging station aided by grant

The Lincoln Public Schools have been selected for the MassCEC (Massachusetts Clean Energy Center)’s first-of-its-kind Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Demonstration program, according to a release from MassCEC. Selected participants (five school districts, four municipal districts and 30 state residents) will receive bi-directional electric vehicle (EV) chargers at no cost.

The program will help to accelerate the adoption of V2X technologies, which, at scale, can lower energy bills by reducing energy demand during expensive peak periods and limiting the need for new grid infrastructure. Lincoln is using its grant to build an EV charging station for use by school buses and vehicles in the commuter parking lot.

Bi-directional charging enables EV batteries to both draw power from and return power to the grid or to buildings. This functionality enables EVs, including electric buses and trucks, to provide backup power during outages and alleviate pressure on the grid during peak energy demand. These bi-directional chargers will enable EVs to act as mobile energy storage assets, with the program expected to deliver over 1mW of power back to the grid during a demand response event — enough to offset the electricity use of 300 average American homes for an hour.

Group makes recommendations for improving Town Meeting

Donaldson Auditorium, the site of Town Meetings for decades.

Presenting motions in a more balanced manner and improving voting access were among the recommendations for improving Town Meeting outlined by a study committee at the Feb. 9 Select Board meeting.

The Town Meeting Study Committee was formed in October 2024 after the Annual Town Meeting earlier that year, where an unexpected amendment to the hotly debated proposed Housing Choice Act was made on the floor. Controversy swirled about who was allowed to speak, when, and from where. Shortly before the TMSC was formed, residents offered initial feedback and ideas at a kickoff session in September 2024.

One of the group’s goals was to preserve and enhance Town Meeting traditions including resident questions, discussion and deliberation, as well as greater use of the consent calendar for noncontroversial items, and gathering data on meeting metrics and overall satisfaction with the process.

“The biggest issue is the length of Town Meeting,” TMSC Chair Kenny Mitchell said. Also, presentations on warrant articles are often seen as “very one-sided [in favor of]  the proponent and the town board or committee pushing it,” he added.

Respondents to a survey in fall 2025 showed that a large majority of residents wanted to see written “pro and con” summaries of warrant articles before voting. Among the recommendations to address these issues:

  • Have sponsors of “high-interest” measures hold public forums with two-way discussion and feedback before Town Meeting
  • Allow differing viewpoints to be presented via written pro-vs.con handouts and/or slide presentations as well as designating the two floor microphones for supporters and opponents.

The survey confirmed that the length and scheduling of Town Meeting are major barriers to participation, especially for those with young children. The TMSC therefore recommends:

  • Continuing to use clickers for voting
  • Enforcing the two-minute limit on speakers from the floor, and encourage article presenters to limit the number of speaking slots for other boards and commissioners who support a measure
  • Considering imposing a time limit on podium speakers
  • Considering scheduling high-interest items at the start of the meeting

Another idea that would require a town bylaw change is to schedule specific times for votes on specific warrant articles. The change that many people really want — the ability to participate and vote at Town Meeting remotely — would require state legislation as well as a local bylaw.

Since the pandemic, the state allowed towns to conduct other types of meetings remotely, an innovation that has been largely successful. The legislature has extended that allowance until March 2027 and there are discussions about making it permanent, but it doesn’t apply to Town Meetings.

To reduce overall confusion at Town Meeting, the TMSC recommends doing systematic educational outreach work, especially to new voters, and creating educational informational material in multiple modalities to reach a broad audience in town.

Mitchell said the next steps will be issuing a written report and scheduling public forums in person and via Zoom before the Annual Town Meeting on March 28 to review the recommendations and answer questions.

Addendum

The Feb. 8 story headlined “Town email addresses are changing as part of cybersecurity effort” did not discuss town email addresses other than those in Town Hall that are now using the @lincolnma.gov domain suffix — for example, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Lincoln Public Schools, which both use @lincnet.org, and the Lincoln Public Library (@minlib.net).

The library is not changing its email domain, and the schools and Park & Rec will continue to use @lincnet.org addresses for the time being, although they will eventually transition to lincolnma.gov once the new community center is up and running. 

Legal notice: Conservation Commission (Civico)

LEGAL NOTICE — CONSERVATION COMMISSION

The Lincoln Conservation Commission (LCC) will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 at 7:05PM in accordance with the MA Wetlands Protection Act and the Town of Lincoln Wetlands Protection Bylaw. This is in response to the duly filed Notice of Intent by Civico Development LLC for work within the 100-foot Buffer Zone associated with the construction of residential homes and accessory structures at 109 Page Road and 279, 283, and 295 Cambridge Turnpike (Parcels 132-25, 132-26, 132-27, and 132-28). Information on how to log onto the virtual public meeting will be included in the LCC Agenda posted on the town’s website at least 48 hours prior to the hearing. More information can be reviewed here.

Note that legal notices often must be posted twice by law. For previous legal notices and details on how to submit a legal notice to the Lincoln Squirrel, click here.

Country Pizza owner told to vacate by Feb. 26

Country Pizza will be changing hands later this month after the business owner and landlord couldn’t agree on rental terms going forward.

Country Pizza is in the same building as Lincoln Petroleum on Lincoln Road. Cindy Murphy (granddaughter of Doherty’s founder Matthew Doherty) and her husband Dennis sold the property and the gas station/car repair business in 2023 to 161 Lincoln LLC headed by John Frangieh, who runs Lincoln Petroleum. According to Harry Kyros, owner of Country Pizza for 29 years, Frangieh recently told him that his rent was going up by $1,000 a month, but still on the previous month-to-month basis rather than a multi-year lease.

Kyros said on Feb. 7 that he told Frangieh, “I’ll pay the thousand, but I want a lease.” But Frangieh declined to offer him a lease and told him needed to be out of the building by Feb. 26, leaving him with two options: moving his ovens and other equipment into storage while seeking another location, or selling the business, Kyros said. Frangieh has offered to buy it, but for “pennies on the dollar,” he added. “It’s going to cost me thousands of dollars just to get [the equipment] out of here. His intentions are to squeeze me out.”

Reached on Feb. 9, Lincoln Petroleum assistant manager Paul Traniello said that 161 Lincoln LLC was purchasing the business from Kyros and that the plan was to keep it open.

“The business is not busy and it’s not that profitable, and it’s not our fault,” Traniello said. “Expenses have gone up, so we have to go up on the rent.”

The business will stay open during a transition period while “a few changes” are made, such as the ability to accept credit cards and perhaps some menu tweaks, according to Traniello. “We’re going to make it more profitable… [but the changes] are not going to be drastic,” he said. Referring to the move away from Kyros as business owner, “that’s the only difference,” he added.

“I’d sell it to him if he gave me something close to the asking price, but he’s trying to steal it. He’s holding the cards because he owns the building,” said Kyros, adding that he is almost 60 but had planned to run Country Pizza for several more years. “I’m going to start [a new business] now… or get a job?” he said skeptically. “I feel like crying.”

Reactions on LincolnTalk over the weekend ranged form disappointment to outrage, with at least one resident advocating a boycott of Lincoln Petroleum and others suggesting a GoFundMe fundraising campaign.

“The Lincoln people are so nice… the support from them is unbelievable. People been coming in and calling me, coming in, wanting to know if it’s true,” Kyros said. As for the idea of raising money to somehow aid in negotiations or storage and moving expenses, “I’ll talk to him and see. Something’s better than nothing.”

If Country Pizza closes, it will be the third business in Lincoln that has recently made such an announcement. Bank of America said in November that it would be leaving the Mall at Lincoln Station as of March 2026, and Weston Nurseries said last month that it had closed its Route 117 location as well.