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

Police log for Sept. 27–Oct. 3, 2022

September 27

Mill Street Extension (10:35 am.) — Caller reported receiving a suspicious email regarding an expiring anti-virus account. In following up on the matter, it was determined to be a scam email. There was no financial loss to the caller.

Weston Road (4:29 p.m.) — Caller reported an odor of natural gas coming from their stove. The Fire Department responded and metered the residence with no readings found.

September 28

Nothing of note.

September 29

Nothing of note.

September 30

Cambridge Turnpike eastbound (1:07 a.m.) — Hubbardston police were looking for a party having a mental health crisis in a vehicle, possibly in the Acton area on Route 2. Officers remained in the area. Hubbardston later updated area departments that the party was in the Haverhill area.

Todd Pond Road (9:48 a.m.) — A contractor reported striking a small gas line. The Fire Department responded and National Grid was contacted. The Fire Department remained on scene until National Grid arrived.

Oak Meadow Road (10:03 a.m.) — Caller reported their son was bitten by a dog. Officers responded to the area and made contact with the owner. Animal Control was also contacted and is handling the matter with the owner.

Cambridge Turnpike westbound (11:52 a.m.) — Lexington police were looking for a party involved in an assault and battery in their town. An officer located the party on Old Cambridge Turnpike near Route 2. Lexington police arrived on scene to handle the matter.

Bypass Road (4:19 p.m.) — Two-car motor vehicle crash, no injuries. One vehicle was towed from the scene.

Lincoln Road (8:44 p.m.) — One-car crash where the car drove on top of a stone wall at the intersection of Lincoln and Codman Roads. No injuries. The vehicle was towed from the scene.

October 1

Cambridge Turnpike westbound (2:52 a.m.) — An officer conducted a motor vehicle stop on Route 2. As a result of an investigation, Jaime Lopez-Gaitan, 30, of Fitchburg was arrested for OUI–liquor (third offense), operating after suspension of license, speeding, and marked lane violation. He was later bailed to appear in the Concord District Court

Oak Meadow Road (12:44 p.m.) —  A party called the station wishing to speak to an officer regarding the dog bite incident on September 30.

Lincoln Police Department (3:00 p.m.) —  A party came to the station to report they had lost their wallet in Waltham. Officers advised the party.

Hillside Road (7:26 p.m.) — Caller reported their spouse went out for a walk and was overdue. Officers checked the area. The reporting party called back to report their spouse arrived home.

October 2

Ridge Road (3:10 p.m.) — A walk-in to the station reported being yelled at by an unknown party earlier while walking their dog. An officer took a report.

October 3

Bedford Road (8:52 a.m.) — A party called the station wanting to speak to an officer. An officer spoke to the party and found that the matter was civil in nature. The party was given their legal options.

Greenridge Lane (12:00 p.m.) — A party called to report that someone dumped a tire on the property. An officer responded and the complainant contacted the management company to handle.

Indian Camp Lane  (3:47 p.m.) — Caller requesting a well-being check on a party. An officer responded and everything was fine with the resident, who planned to contact the caller.

Lincoln changes Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day

Columbus Day will hereafter be known as Indigenous People’s Day in Lincoln after the Select Board voted unanimously to change the name of the holiday on town documents, two years after the Lincoln Public Schools did the same thing.

The vote came after discussion and public comment continued from the board’s September 19 meeting. All Lincoln residents who spoke were in favor of the change, though two others at the virtual meeting representing Italian-American organizations argued against it. One of them was John Toto, a Wayland resident and board member of the Italian American Alliance (IAA), who supported a day to celebrate indigenous people but said that such a day already exists: Native American Heritage Day, which falls on the day after Thanksgiving but is not a federal or state holiday. 

Toto argued that Columbus was not guilty of enslaving or murdering the indigenous people he encountered and that those atrocities were committed by Spanish sailors and settler who came after him. “To go after Columbus… we believe is petty and hateful,” Toto said. “Trying to rewrite history the way this proposes is not American and to me it’s scary and smacks of McCarthyism. It truly makes me sad as an Italian-American.”

Brian Patacchiola, a member of Sons and Daughters of Italy and the IAA, said Columbus Day is of “incredible cultural and symbolic significance to the Italian-American community” and urged the board not to support “removing one ethnic group’s holiday at the expense of another.” The charges against Columbus are “flagrant and salacious lies” stemming largely from Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, which he called “a work of total fiction,” and he cited the work of other scholars including Carol Delaney and Mary Grabar.

But Jessica Packineau and her daughter Evie read from diaries by Columbus’s crew detailing atrocities they committed. 

“It would behoove the Italian-American Society to reconsider their heroes,” Jessica Packineau said. “It’s pretty extraordinary that the entirety of [Italian-American] heritage would hinge on one person… This is an opportunity to shift the focus from the violence and brutality onto the survival, the resilience, the extraordinary myriad of cultures and customs and language and traditions and wealth of diversity that the word Indigenous encompasses — it would be an enormous gift for our community.”

“I’m frankly baffled by [Italian-Americans] hanging their hat” on Columbus,” Kim Jalet said. The holiday was established at a time when Italians were “new immigrants and were being treated poorly. Now they’re assimilated, and there are many ways to acknowledge their culture.” Even if Columbus himself never set foot in what is now the United States, “he played a role in getting the ball rolling” for what was done to Indigenous people in his wake, she added.

As a Select Board member, Jonathan Dwyer said he was a “huge fan of adjusting to circumstances and revisions” and listening to Lincoln residents. “For 88 years it was Columbus Day — for the next 88 years I’d like to see something different.”

Board member Jim Hutchinson said he would have preferred to measure to come to the town as a citizens’ petition but pointed out that Lincoln residents who spoke were unanimously in favor of changing the name of the holiday. 

“It’s really not about Christopher Columbus the man, but about the idea that we are celebrating a moment in time that turned out to be a tipping point of destruction for many people in the country,” board member Jennifer Glass said. “This day has historically told one side of the story and not acknowledged the full experience of our history… This is an opportunity to say ‘let’s think about our history’… and that definitely leaves room” for celebrating Italian-American contributions in other ways.

News acorns

Public forums scheduled on Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan

The Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee is hosting four virtual public forums to review the Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan draft and collect feedback to improve the plan. There will also be a short presentation about the master plan at the State of the Town meeting in November.

The master plan, which was drafted by BPAC in consultation with the Planning Department, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and other town committees and departments, aims to make Lincoln to be more safe, green and accessible for residents and visitors traveling by foot and bike.

The public forums each focus on one region of Lincoln, but the BPAC will review the overall plan at each forum and are happy to discuss any region of town at any meeting if participants desire.

  • Thursday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m. — North Lincoln (Route 2 and north). Zoom link.
  • Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. — South Lincoln (Route117 and south). Zoom link.
  • Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. — East Lincoln (east of Lincoln Road/Bedford Road, south of Route 2 and north of Route117.) Zoom link.
  • Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. — West Lincoln (west of Lincoln Road/Bedford Road, south of Route 2 and north of Route117.) Zoom link.

More information:

Watering restrictions still in effect

With the continued Stage 3 drought, the state requires maintaining water use restrictions. To comply, the Lincoln Water Commission voted unanimously to extend water use restrictions in Lincoln beyond the traditional stop date of September 30. When drought restrictions are ended, a posting will be made on the town website and via other means. Don’t hesitate to contact the Lincoln Water Department if you have any questions (781-259-2669 or lafalamd@lincolntown.org).

During Stage 2 and above, Water Department staff monitors all sprinkler use in town and will stop to remind residents of the restriction policy. A first offence will result in a $100 fine, and subsequent violations will result in a $200 fine. For more information, see this Restrictions, Conservation & Water Use page and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ drought page.

Film screening: “After Life”

The Lincoln Library Film Society will screen “After Life” (1998) directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. If you could choose only one memory to hold on to for eternity, what would it be? In Japanese with English subtitles. Free and open to all.

Walk to benefit SVdP food pantry

Join a walk to benefit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Lincoln and Weston, which operates the food pantry for the two towns, on Saturday, Oct. 22 at St. Julia Church (374 Boston Post Rd., Weston) along Weston’s rail trail (approximately 2.2 miles). Check-in/same-day registration begins at 9 a.m. and the walk at 9:30 a.m., with an ice cream social at 10:30 a.m. Pre-register by October 15 to receive an SVdP gift. Suggested donation: $10 per person/ or $25 per family. Click here to register and/or donate. For more information, email svdplincolnweston@gmail.com.

“Opera for Everyone” series returns

The Friends of the Lincoln Library present their annual “Opera for Everyone” series on three Sundays from 2–3:30 p.m. at the library. Opera lecturer Erika Reitshamer returns to enlighten, inspire and entertain while passing along her vast knowledge of opera and opera lore to Boston’s educational institutions. Her last offering for Lincoln Library was a lecture on “It Takes Two to Duet,” just in time for Valentine’s Day on February 12, 2022.

  • October 23 —Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love”
  • October 30 —  Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville”
  • November 6 — Rossini’s “The Italian Girl in Algiers”

Click here for plot details.

Family Halloween activities at deCordova

The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum offers moonlit sculpture-building activities with deCordova faculty, self-guided mysteries to solve with friends and family, and a sweet treat or two along the way on Friday, Oct. 21 and Friday, Oct. 28 at 5:30 p.m. Cost is $35 per family ($28 for member families); click here to select date and buy tickets. For more information, call 781-259-3647.

Pumpkin Palooza for kids at library

The Lincoln Public Library will host Pumpkin Palooza on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 10:30 a.m.–noon. Wear your costume and join us on the library lawn for Halloween fun: pumpkin painting, activities, crafts, and more. Drop-in; best for ages 6 and under.

Purple lights highlight domestic violence awareness

Why are those buildings purple? Purple, it is said, is the color of courage, survival, honor, and hope. It is also the color recognizing Domestic Violence Awareness Month each October. For the past several years, the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable, in collaboration with the Lauren Dunne-Astley Memorial Fund and First Parish in Wayland, has chosen to light the towns of Sudbury and Wayland in purple. They have lit numerous faith and public buildings in Sudbury and Wayland and have posted banners and signs in all three communities. The Roundtable invites local businesses and homeowners to join in by adding their own purple lights. Inexpensive 4.5 watt Feit purple LED Electric bulbs are available at Ace Hardware in Wayland and Aubuchon Hardware in Sudbury.

Lincoln School ribbon-cutting on Oct. 28

One of the new breakout rooms at the Lincoln School.

After five years of planning and building, the renovated Lincoln School will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours on Friday, Oct. 28 starting at 1:30 p.m. in the Learning Commons. Here’s the schedule:

  • 1 p.m. — Doors open
  • 1:30 p.m. — Ribbon-cutting ceremony
  • 2:30 p.m. — Reception in Dining Commons
  • 3 p.m. — School tours leave from Dining Commons

Materials from the 1994 project time capsules will be on display in the Dining Commons throughout the event. Additional tours will be offered on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 9–11 a.m.

To attend the October 28 event in person, RSVP to apearson@lincnet.org by October 21 (RSVP not needed for October 29 tours), or watch the ceremony live on Zoom at www.lincnet.org/ribboncutting.

For photo galleries and a full history of the project, visit the School Building Committee website at lincolnsbc.org.

McFall to retire as Lincoln’s Superintendent of Schools

Dr. Becky McFall

Dr. Rebecca McFall, Lincoln’s Superintendent of Schools since 2012, announced that she’ll retire after the 2022-23 academic year, concluding a tenure that saw both upheaval and renewal.

“While we commend Becky for the day-to-day management of the district, the truly exceptional component of her tenure with us has been her leadership through three building projects and a global pandemic. Dr. McFall’s tireless leadership, dedication and creative problem-solving is something that we are grateful for and will not soon be forgotten,” School Committee Chair John MacLachlan wrote on behalf of the group.

He also paid tribute to her good working relationships with union leadership, Lincoln administrators and committees, and the Department of Defense, which funds the Hanscom schools, as well as her cross-district initiatives, strategic planning and execution, and commitment to anti-racism, inclusion, diversity, and equity.

McFall began her career as a middle school teacher assistant 39 years ago and has also worked as a middle school teacher, a director of curriculum and instruction, a K-5 science coordinator, assistant professor of education at Endicott College in Boston, she wrote in a letter to the School Committee posted on LincolnTalk. She succeeded Michael Brandmayer as superintendent after served as an interim principal and elementary science coordinator in Wellesley.

The School Committee has hired the Edward J. Collins Center Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts–Boston to help with the search for a new superintendent. John R. Brackett, a consultant at the center, will hold an orientation on the search process at the committee’s October 3 meeting. They hope to have a replacement selected by Town Meeting in March.

“Together we have created a great place to work and an exceptional place for students to attend school. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity I have had to lead this district for the past ten years and I extend my thanks to the entire LPS community for your support, hard work, and collaborative nature,” McFall wrote. “I am confident that this will be a highly coveted position providing several strong candidates. Please know that I will be doing everything in my power to ensure that the district is in good standing and ready for a transition to new leadership.”

Fred Tingley, 1933-2022

Fred Tingley

Fred Tingley of Lincoln died peacefully surrounded by family members on September 13, 2022, age 89.

Fred was born in Providence, R.I., in 1933 to Harleigh Van Slyck Tingley and Margaret Maryon. He earned an A.B. in physics from Brown University and an M.S. in physics from Northeastern University. Fred worked as a physicist, engineer, and manager in applied research and product development.

He was an inveterate tinkerer and inventor and held a patent for his solar roof de-icer. He could fix anything, and did. An avid outdoor adventurer he enjoyed hiking, sailing, skiing and white water kayaking.

Fred lived in Lincoln with his wife Dilla for almost 60 years. He served several terms as a water commissioner. At the suggestion of a friend and neighbor, Ann Janes, who was on the Cemetery Commission, Fred took on the project of photographing and transcribing the inscriptions of the older tombstones in three of Lincoln’s cemeteries. The Tingley Collection is available through the town archivist and eventually will be available on a digital website.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Dilla Gooch Tingley, and his two sons, two daughters-in-law and six grandsons: Whit and Debora Tingley, and Benjamin, Connor and Luke of Berkeley, Calif., and Lem and Liz Tingley, and Tucker, Forest, and Vaughn of Golden, Colo.

A service of remembrance will be held on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 11 a.m. at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church (147 Concord Rd., Lincoln Mass.). In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging and Human Services.

News acorns

Goats and owls at Farrington

Farrington Nature Linc is hosting two events in October: 

Baby Goat Yoga — Sunday, Oct. 9 at 2 p.m.
Join us for an outdoor yoga class featuring a herd of friendly baby goats from Chip-In Farm in Bedford. Goat kids are naturally curious and playful and our little goats love to cuddle. $30 class with 50 minutes of yoga instructed by Julia Aronis from Little Elephant Yoga, and 10 minutes of picture time with the goats. Tickets are $30 (advance purchase required).

Eyes on Owls — Saturday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m.
Join naturalist Marcia Wilson of Eyes on Owls as she demonstrates the hooting and lifestyle of each unique rehabilitated owl. Tickets are $20 each or $60 for a family four-pack (advance purchase required).

Cub Scout kickoff meeting on Oct. 12

Cub Scouts offers outdoor adventures like camping, fishing, and hiking, and exciting excursions: sleepovers at the Museum of Science and on the U.S.S. Massachusetts battleship. Perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of the program is that it offers kids a real and fun alternative to screen time and gaming. If your child is interested in participating, plan to attend a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Mason’s Lodge at 181 Lincoln Rd. We will discuss getting the Cub Scouts up and running again in Lincoln. Please contact Mark Soukup, troop leader, Lincoln Boy Scout Troop 127, with questions: nickandnate@comcast.net.

Benefit cornhole tournament on Oct. 16

The Doo family is hosting Brain Games 2002, its fourth annual cornhole tournament to benefit moyamoya research at Boston Children’s Hospital, on Sunday, Oct. 16 from noon–5 p.m. at the Pierce House. Their daughter Kalea Rose was diagnosed at age four in June 2019 with moyamoya, a rare brain disease that causes the narrowing of the cerebral arteries resulting in strokes, and without surgery, death. (She has undergone three life-saving surgeries in the past three years.)

There will be a live band, inflatable fun for kids, a magician at 3 p.m., face painting from 1-4 p.m., a cornhole tournament for both kids and adults, raffles, beer from Mighty Squirrel & Barewolf Brewery, tie-dye fun, and food trucks. There is no charge for admission. If you’d like to register a cornhole team, get more details, or make a donation, visit www.doofamilyfun.com.

Tour the 1948 Schwann house

The Friends of Modern Architecture/Lincoln will host tours of the 1948 Schwann House and studio on Sunday, Oct. 16 every hour on the hour from 2–5 p.m. The house was designed by noted architect Walter Bogner, a resident of Lincoln and a professor of architecture at Harvard. He designed the house for the young William Schwann, an organist and musicologist who became widely known for publishing the Schwann Music catalogue.

Tours will be led FoMA board members Matt Andersen-Miller, who has recently restored the house, and Woodie Arthur, who will speak about the house restoration, Bogner’s design, and the Schwanns’ love for the house. Proceeds from ticket sakes ($50) benefit FoMA’s mission of preservation, documentation, and education about Modern architecture. Visit the FoMA donation page to purchase tickets; after specifying the dollar amount, indicate in the notes section which hour’s tour you would like to attend; we may have to adjust your time depending on demand.

Estate planning evening at deCordova

Join us for a free evening of art, cocktails, and estate planning at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. There will be a private tour led by Senior Curator Sarah Montross of the New Formations exhibit followed by a discussion about how thoughtful planning may strengthen your present finances, reduce taxes, and fulfill both charitable and personal aspirations: “What is Your Legacy?” with Drew McMorrow, President and CEO Ballentine Partners, and “Elements of a Good Estate Plan and Ways to Include Philanthropy” with Julia Satti Cosentino, partner at Nutter, McClennen, and Fish. The event is free but advance registration to reserve a spot is required.

Take survey on recreational land and water use

The National Park Service requires the state to complete a Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) every five years to remain eligible for funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund grant program. As a part of the SCORP update, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs is asking for opinions on outdoor recreation and open space from municipal employees, land trusts, and all users of Massachusetts’ outdoor recreational facilities. It’s critical for us to hear from as many residents as possible to know how to best distribute LWCF funding over the next five years. The response deadline is October 31. Click here to take the survey.

Sustainable products available at Donelan’s

Zero Waste Lincoln, a subgroup of Mothers Out Front, works with the DPW to run the swap shed and encourage recycling at the transfer station. The group also works on the purchasing side of the trash problem and has worked with Donelan’s Supermarket manager Jason Deveau to stock sustainable alternatives to products that are often packed in plastic, including:

  • Laundry detergent in cardboard (three brands available)
  • Shampoo and conditioner bars (Brixy brand)
  • 100% recycled toilet tissue and paper towels (two brands available)   
  • Compostable single-use plates/utensils/cold cups and straws
  • Compostable trash bags
  • 100% recycled aluminum foil
  • Juices in glass bottles
  • Paper bags for school lunches
  • Single-use water bottles in aluminum
  • Locally grown produce

If there are other items you’d like to see in local stores or have other ideas or energy to contribute, email pmokiwi@comcast.net 

Phinney’s holiday festival on Nov. 6

Phinney’s, a Lincoln-based all-volunteer nonprofit that helps keep people and their pets together, will hold its Holiday Festival at Lincoln’s Pierce House on Sunday, Nov. 6 from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. This free event will feature caroling and the lighting of Phinney’s Angels Tree. Purchase refreshments and hand-painted ornaments as well as unique wares such as eco-friendly, washable pet pads. Visit phinneys.org/events to learn more. 

Volunteers need for MCC estate sale

The Lincoln METCO Coordinating Committee’s Downsize for Diversity fundraiser is seeking volunteers for its final two-day Estate Sale Extravaganza on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18-19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 18 Cerulean Way. We will be selling off all pre-Covid inventory of fine china, pottery, linens, luxe decor, estate jewelry, small antiques, holiday décor, and other curiosities donated by generous supporters from all over eastern Massachusetts. Are you a high school student who needs volunteer hours? We are a 501(c)3 and can sign your volunteer form. Volunteers are needed to move and unpack items on November 16 and 17 from 9 a.m.–noon, as well as for various shifts during the sale days and on November 20. Please call, text, or email Joanna Schmergel to volunteer at owenjoanna@yahoo.com or 617-645-9059.

Read the Downsize for Diversity story and see photos of items they’ve sold to raise money in Downsize for Diversity: How We Raised $122,000 with a Pickup Truck and a Little Help from Our Friends.

View recording of postponed piano concert

Abla Shocair

Abla Shocair recently gave a classical piano performance on Bemis Hall’s Steinway grand. The concert, which can be viewed here on Zoom (passcode: de#W1j&$) was a spontaneous preparation owing to a last-minute cancellation of a piano duo performance. She played the Liszt/Paganini Etude No.3,”La Campanella” and Chopin’s 12 Etudes Opus 10, dedicated to his friend Franz Liszt. Despite being a civil/structural engineer by profession, Abla kept up her piano performances in different cities. She was born in Amman, where she started her piano lessons at age 4.

 

 

Police log for Sept. 20–26, 2022

September 20

North Great Road (2:11 p.m.) — Report of a multi-vehicle crash on Route 2A at Hanscom Drive. Police and fire units responded. Two parties were transported to local hospitals, two vehicles were towed.

Laxfield Road, Weston (3:50 p.m.) — Weston Fire Department requested an engine respond for a report of smoke coming from the residence. Lincoln Fire Department was cancelled while en route.

Hawk Hill Road (4:00 p.m.) — An officer took a report of a scam involving the investment of bitcoin. An investigation is ongoing.

September 21

Bedford Road (7:36 p.m.) — Report of gunshots heard in the area of Bemis Hall. Officer responded and checked the area but was unable to locate the source.

September 22

Lincoln Road (9:35 a.m.) — Caller reported losing their cellphone at the restaurant.

September 23

Concord Road (5:49 p.m.) — An officer stopped a vehicle on Concord Road near Walden Pond for a motor vehicle violation. The operator, Giovanni Ventura, 32, of Wayland was arrested for a warrant out of the Waltham District Court for negligent operation of a vehicle, and leaving the scene of a crash. He was booked and later bailed to appear in the Waltham District Court.

September 24

Lincoln Road (11:22 a.m.) — A party came to the station and turned in a pair of earrings that were found.

Davison Drive (1:30 p.m.) — Caller reported cars parked on the roadway impeding traffic. An officer responded and the vehicles were attending a private event; there was no hazard.

Care Dimensions Hospice House (3:45 p.m.) — Report of cars racing in the area of Winter Street at the Waltham town line. Officers responded and all was quiet.

September 25

Concord Road (4:16 p.m.) — Report of gas near the residence. Fire Department responded found no gas readings. National Grid was contacted.

Minebrook Road (4:17 p.m.) — Report of a solicitor going door to door for a masonry service. Officers checked but was unable to locate the person.

Wells Road (6:50 p.m.) — A party came to the station wishing to speak with an officer regarding a custody issue. An officer spoke to the party and advised them that it was a civil matter and provided them with their legal options.

Juniper Ridge Road (10:25 p.m.) — PA party called to report that their vehicle was broken into some time the previous night. An officer responded and took a report; investigation is ongoing.

Beaver Pond Road (10:35 p.m.) — Officers responded to the residence regarding a custody issue. Officers gave the parties their legal options.

September 26

Old Sudbury Road (11:25 a.m.) — Caller reported a malfunction of the railroad gates. An officer responded and waited for the train; the gates appeared to be working properly.

Hanscom Vandenberg Gate (9:58 p.m.) — Hanscom Security Forces requested assistance with a possible intoxicated driver. Officers responded and conducted a roadside investigation and found that the driver appeared to be fine.

Report issued on train near-miss that traumatized Lincoln resident

In a 138-page report, Keolis analyzed the factors involved in the terrifying near-miss between an MBTA commuter train and a car crossing the tracks in Lincoln last spring and recommended fixes so it won’t happen again. But the woman who was driving the car isn’t over it — not by a long shot.

Lincoln resident Betsey Yeats was crossing the tracks eastbound on Route 117 on April 11 after picking up her 17-year-old daughter from a private school in Sudbury. “I’ve been going over that crossing four times a day for 20 years. You get used to trusting that it works,” she told the Lincoln Squirrel. Because of a curve in the tracks and a tree blocking the sight line,”it’s not until you’re really on the track that you can see the train,” which suddenly roared into view. “I felt my body stop and freeze. My foot went off the gas.”

The driver of the train, which was traveling at about 50 miles per hour, saw her car and immediately sounded the horn. “The horn was deafening. My brain didn’t tell my body to move my foot, but somehow I pushed [the accelerator] down to the floor without realizing what I was doing,” Yeats said. Her SUV cleared the train’s path just in time. “I could feel the rush of the train behind us. When I looked in my rear-view mirror, all I could see was the train rushing through. Then I saw the blinking light and the gates coming down… Without a V-8 engine, I don’t know if we would’ve gotten out of there.”

The train screeched to a halt with the last car blocking the road at the crossing, and the conductor notified the dispatcher about three minutes afterwards at 3:18 p.m. Meanwhile, Yeats called Lincoln police, who also reached the dispatcher five minutes later, according to the report by Keolis, which operates the commuter rail for the MBTA. 

The incident report is dated April 26, but town officials did not see it until fairly recently because the MBTA and the Federal Railway Administration had to review it and “make sure they were comfortable with it,” Town Administrator Tim Higgins told the Select Board on September 19. Higgins and Police Chief Kevin Kennedy first met with MBTA officials on April 28 and “we got early confirmation at that meeting that it appeared to be human error,” he said.

On that day in April, a Keolis communications and signals maintainer was calibrating the warning system (the connection between the train detection system and crossing control system) in the bungalow near the two adjacent crossings. No train was scheduled to pass through the area during his work — but he wasn’t aware that a train on one of the tracks was running nine minutes late and was actually approaching the crossing.

The maintainer tried to auto-calibrate the systems for each of two tracks and succeeded with one, but after 30-60 seconds, he got an error message for the other, according to his account in the report. Unbeknownst to him, the failed auto-calibration process on that track left the warning system deactivated. Before the system prompted him to try again, he noticed that the crossing gate at Old Sudbury Road had gone down, but not the one on Route 117. Realizing a train was approaching, he moved to open the manual control box for the crossing gate but then saw that the train was almost at the crossing, so “I started waving my hands to try to stop traffic as quickly as I could.”

The train conductor saw Yeats’s car and applied the brakes about 60 feet before reaching the Old Sudbury Road crossing. The vehicle immediately behind Yeats was able to stop just in time.

Until the issue was corrected, trains approaching both crossings as well as the one at Tower Road were required to slow to 30 miles per hour, blow their horn, and be prepared to stop. The speed restriction was lifted at 6:09 p.m.

Yeats later learned that a friend of her daughter’s was two cars behind hers and reported what he saw to the police. “He said it was deafening, the squealing of the brakes… [and the maintainer] was running with his hands up in the air towards the train freaking out.”

The investigation found that the maintainer had not informed the dispatcher that he was about to do maintenance at the crossing, that he had never seen the “calibration fail” error, and was not up to date on his training. Investigators recommended improving training, ensuring that auto-calibration work automatically triggers the fail-safe system, and requiring maintainers to notify the dispatcher to verify that there are no approaching trains before they begin work (“begging the obvious question, why is it a new protocol?” Higgins commented at the Select Board meeting). The maintainer was terminated the day after the incident.

However, Lincoln officials also gave credit to Keolis officials after meeting with them. “They took immediate action, they involved the right people, they followed the right protocol to ensure safety” in the immediate aftermath of the incident, Higgins said. 

“They took ownership of it — they weren’t trying to skirt the issue, they were very up front with it,” Kennedy said.

Higgins and Kennedy asked in their meetings with Keolis if the cause of the near-miss was the same as that for an accident in January in which a woman in Wilmington was killed when a train hit her car while crossing the tracks when the gates were up. Keolis said that accident happened because a maintainer deactivated the warning system but forgot to reactivate it before leaving for another assignment, Higgins said.

According to a February 24 WBUR story about the aftermath of that accident, new procedures and requirements were stipulated for when work was done involving roadway crossings. Going forward, “dispatchers would have to get affirmation from the signal maintainer that the system was enabled [and] the maintainer must also remain on location to ensure the system functions properly when the next train passes and, if necessary, deploy it manually,” the story says. It’s unclear when these requirements were actually put in place.

Since the incident, Yeats said she’s been “researching up a storm” and meeting with Higgins and Kennedy to learn more about what happened. “I want to say how much I appreciate all of their time and support, and their commitment to understanding why this happened. It’s clear that public safety is their top priority and they’ve been doing everything possible to work with Keolis and the MBTA to get the answers we deserve and to get an action plan put in place so this never happens again,” she said last week.

Still, the effects linger. Her daughter has had dreams about being stuck at a crossing with a train coming, and Yeats herself feels anxious every time she hears a train passing through.

“It used to be a nice background noise… I used to enjoy it,” said Yeats, who lives within earshot of the railroad tracks.

Yeats continues to drive over the crossing almost every day, “but I have a very new way of going over that track,” she said. She knows the commuter rail schedule, “and I look at my clock before I get to the train tracks and I look between the trees… I definitely have a lot of built-in mechanisms now.”