AMHERST — Food trucks will be part of the Amherst Rotary Community Fair for the first time when the four-day event begins May 25.
While the annual town fair will have numerous rides for children of all ages and other carnival-style booths, changes to the state fire code make it difficult for volunteers with the Rotary Club of Amherst to cook french fries, hamburgers and hot dogs. This is prompting the club to bring in professionals to do the food preparation.
Ed Severance, a member of the board of directors, said in an email that there will be four food trucks, with ice cream from Bart’s Homemade, Korean fusion food from Sun Kim Bop, farm-to-table offerings from Wheelhouse Farm and burgers and fries from the Bistro Bus.
The Rotary will continue to sell drinks at its tent, and a covered area for tables and chairs will also be provided.
To encourage people to dine while at the fair, for every $15 an individual or family spends on food, the Rotary will provide five tickets for rides.
The fair will run from 3 to 10 p.m. May 25 and then from noon to 10 p.m. May 26 to May 28.
The fair is a major fundraiser for the Rotary Club, whose members meet at Bertucci’s restaurant on East Pleasant Street every Thursday at noon.
Proceeds from the fair funds student scholarships, assisting many local nonprofits through small grants, and the $25,000 to $50,000 Community Grant.
Medallions reminding people about the dangers of dumping contaminants into catch basins are being installed throughout downtown.
The green-and-blue markers, with a fish featured in the center, were purchased using a $36,000 Massachusetts Environmental Trust grant the town received as part of an assessment and water monitoring program for the Fearing Brook.
The goal of the project is to identify contaminants in the brook and their source and to develop strategies to improve and maintain the water quality.
Teens interested in part-time summer employment doing yard work for senior citizens are encouraged to contact the Senior Center.
Program Director Maura Plante said a number of elders need help mowing lawns and trimming shrubs and can’t afford a professional landscaper.
“The seniors asking for this are ones who can’t do it themselves,” Plante said.
Plante would make the matches, with seniors paying for the work that is done.
Both senior citizens and teens interested in participating should call Plante at 259-3213 or send email to plantem@amherstma.gov.
With Leisure Services and Supplemental Education offices now in the middle school, and only a few feet away from the swimming pool, hopes are being renewed that the facility might again be used by townspeople in the near future.
Sean Mangano, finance director for the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, told Town Meeting recently that he intends to talk with LSSE officials during the summer about coming to an agreement.
“We haven’t had the conversation yet, but it’s coming,” Mangano said.
Mangano was responding to a question from Town Meeting member Amy Mittelman of Precinct 5, who said community access to the indoor pool should be a priority.
The pool was last used for swimming lessons and open swims by the town department in summer 2011, the final year before War Memorial Pool opened for the summer. LSSE has also used pools at the University of Massachusetts when it couldn’t reach a financial arrangement with the regional schools.
MONDAY: Lincoln-Sunset Local Historic District Study Committee, 3:30 p.m., First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall; Select Board, 6 p.m., Band Room, middle school; Planning Board, 6 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall; Town Meeting, 7 p.m., middle school auditorium.
TUESDAY: Cable Advisory Committee, 8:30 a.m., Town Room, Town Hall; Dickinson Local Historic District Commission, 2 p.m., First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall.
WEDNESDAY: Select Board, 6 p.m., Band Room, middle school; Town Meeting, 7 p.m., middle school auditorium.
THURSDAY: Public Art Commission, noon, and Board of Assessors, 4:30 p.m., both at First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall; Lincoln-Sunset Local Historic District Study Committee, 7 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.