AMHERST — Ensuring Amherst remains a diverse community is a goal for Town Manager Paul Bockleman, who hopes to embed this effort into municipal hiring practices, housing and commercial developments and other aspects of municipal government.
At a recent Human Rights Commission meeting, Bockelman said obtaining new employees that promote diversity is a critical step.
“How we hire and who we hire is a high priority me,” he said. “Getting a workforce that reflects our community is something we care a lot about.”
Sufficient affordable housing for people of all income levels is something that Geoffrey Kravitz, the town’s economic development director, will focus on.
In addition to promoting these developments, Kravitz said he is looking into how Amherst is doing at ensuring pay equity, and is attempting to measure the level of social entrepreneurship in the community. He points to the success of the summer forum on homelessness, which has led to renewed work on making sure homeless individuals have social services in town, and there is a more coordinated response to their needs.
For instance, the homeless shelter, which opened this week, will have a resource center in addition to the meals and cots for guests. “It’s not just a bed for the night,” Bockelman said.
Human Resources and Human Rights Director Deborah Radway, said one area the town could focus on is cultural literacy training, observing that this has not been provided for town staff since 2011. Only police officers, she said, get regular trainings in how to understand people of all backgrounds.
The Amherst Senior Center is seeking local families who can pack traditional Thanksgiving meals and bring these to one or two elders.
Senior Center Director Nancy Pagano said 17 people are on a list who have asked for a meal to be delivered and need this service. Five others already have means of getting their meals.
The need for deliverers comes after the traditional Thanksgiving Day meal was canceled due to the elevator breaking down at the Bangs Community Center.
Anyone willing to help should call the senior center at 259-3060 and ask to speak to Pagano or social workers Helen MacMellon and Maura Plante to learn more.
A series of in-depth interviews about Amherst issues are the subject of “Let’s Be Reasonable” podcasts put together by Amherst Live founder Oliver Broudy.
The first two episodes feature hour-long interviews with Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee members Trevor Baptiste and Vira Doungmany Cage, focused on the departure of Superintendent Maria Geryk, with the third a conversation John Kuhn, of Kuhn Riddle Architects, regarding a new office building planned for the corner of North Pleasant and Hallock street. Broudy said he will be covering issues ranging from tiny house movement, the town charter debate and the Wildwood School project.
The podcasts can be found on iTunes and Stitcher, or linked to directly at http://letsbereasonable.libsyn.com/.
Amherst resident Ellen Kosmer, a retried art history professor at Worcester State University, is among five new members of the Dakin Humane Society’s board of directors.
Kosmer joins Joanne Gloster of Agawam, Joseph Lopez of Enfield, Connecticut, Rachel Slosek-Couture of Chicopee and Jen Yergeau of Suffield, Connecticut on the board. Dakin Humane Society delivers its services that improve the lives of animals from locations in Leverett and Springfield, sheltering treating and fostering more than 20,000 animals each year.
MONDAY: Amherst Housing Authority Executive Director Screening Subcommittee, 3 p.m., Jean Elder Community Room; Select Board, 6:30 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall; Charter Commission, 7 p.m., Community Room, Amherst Police Station.
TUESDAY: Union 26 andAmherst-Pelham Regional School Committee joint meeting, 5 p.m., high school library; Board of Registrars, 8 p.m., town clerk’s office.
WEDNESDAY: Charter Commission, 6:30 p.m., Amherst Survival Center.
