AMHERST — A member of the Rotary Club of Amherst for half a century prior to his death in July, Stanley P. Ziomek will be honored with a scholarship given to a graduating Amherst Regional High School senior next year.
The scholarship in Ziomek’s memory was announced at Rotary meeting last week that paid tribute to the longtime president of Amherst Baseball and head of the Department of Public Works.
Rotary President Susan Clark said the scholarship will recognize a student who has the same values of community service held by Ziomek, who had served as the club’s sergeant at arms.
“This will not be for your typical senior,” Clark said. “This scholarship is actually geared toward a non-traditional student, someone who has shown a more humanitarian side.”
The club would like the selection to be made by a guidance counselor, Clark said.
During the meeting, Ziomek’s widow, Beverly, brought her husband’s Rotary shirt, belt buckle and tie to auction off. But the most money, nearly $5,000, was raised for the scholarship as the result of donations made by members for an illustration of Ziomek done by Rotary member and artist Edith Hunsberger.
This large amount of contributions, which will help fund the scholarship for its first five years, show the respect members had for Ziomek, Clark said. “Stan was really deeply loved in our club,” Clark said.
Hunsberger’s drawing will eventually be on display at Town Hall.
This new scholarship will join the eight $1,000 scholarships given to local high school seniors this year. In addition to ones Amherst Regional students are eligible for, the Rotary also provides scholarships to seniors at Belchertown High, Hopkins Academy and Smith Vocational and Technical School.
A presentation on the project to co-locate two elementary schools at the Wildwood School site, the subject of a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion that will be on the Nov. 8 presidential election ballot, will be held next week.
Sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the forum, from 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 28 in the Amherst Regional Middle School Auditorium, will give the community an opportunity to hear about the pros and cons of the project and to ask questions.
Speakers will include Wildwood Building Committee members, including acting Superintendent Michael Morris and member Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, town Finance Committee Chairwoman Marylou Thilman and Vice Chairman Stephen Braun, Save Amherst Small Schools representatives Maria Kopicki and Laura Quilter, and Bold Amherst Schools representatives Liz Larson and Susan Bellak.
The event will be moderated by former Select Board member Nancy Eddy.
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Stephen Kurkjian, author of “Master Thieves” that focused on the 1990 Isabella Stewart Garner Museum art heist, will speak at the Jones Library’s Woodbury Room at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Kurkjian, formerly a member of the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, will discuss the book and the still unsolved theft of 13 pieces of art valued at $500 million.
Then, on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m., local authors whose works explore the theme of the civil war in Guatemala will read from their novels.
Shirley and Rudy Nelson, authors of “The Risk of Returning,” and Jacqueline Sheehan, author of “The Center of the World,” will discuss their choices and decisions in building the two stories.
Books will be available for purchase and signing, and some Guatemalan artwork will be on display.
Both events are free. For more information, call Janet Ryan, head of programming and outreach, at 259-3223.
The University of Massachusetts recently announced that a campus record 16 Fulbright scholarships have been awarded to its students this year to study, research or teach English in other countries for one year.
“For these students, it’s a terrific opportunity. For UMass, it’s recognition for the high quality of education our campus provides,” said Susan Krauss Whitbourne, director of the UMass Office of National Scholarship Advisement, in a statement.
UMass has earned recognition as a “Top Producing Institution” from the Fulbright Program for the past two years.
These scholars will be heading to countries including Kosovo, Romania, Brazil, China, Russia and Germany.
MONDAY: Lincoln Sunset Local Historic District Study Committee, 3 p.m., Plannning Department library, Town Hall; Select Board, 6:30 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.
TUESDAY: Diasability Access Advisory Committee, 11:30 a.m., conference room, Stavros.
WEDNESDAY: Downtown Parking Working Group, 10 a.m., First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall.
