AMHERST — A proclamation issued by the Select Board this week is encouraging the community and social service agencies to remain vigilant in meeting the needs of those who go hungry and are food insecure.
The proclamation, adopted by a 3-0 vote, states that September will be Hunger Action Month, and comes following a request from the League of Women Voters of Amherst and the Amherst Survival Center, which are partnering on making the community aware about potential cuts in funding to various programs.
Cynthia Brubaker, a member of the League, told the Select Board that there are threats to the safety net, including at the federal level to programs like Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, Meals on Wheels and school lunches and breakfasts. In Amherst, more than one third of students are on free and reduced meal plans.
The proclamation also notes that the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts distributed 10 million pounds of food in 2016, and that the Survival Center served 17,000 free lunches last year, and calls attention to other places where food is available, including the Not Bread Alone soup kitchen and churches, synagogues and mosques.
The Amherst Regional Public Schools will welcome back to school students of all ages during a free event on the Town Common Tuesday from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
The annual First Day Celebration gives children and their parents and guardians the opportunity to meet school principals and teachers and participate in activities.
These will include rides on the “smoothie bike” to make a smoothie with Ryan Harb, the new in-district food services director, horse rides provided by Muddy Brook Farm, games with student athletes from Amherst College, a visit with University of Massachusetts mascot Sam the Minuteman, tours of a fire truck, police cruiser and the electric school bus and a meeting with the high school football team.
Entertainment will be provided by the middle school chorus and the Grupo Tradiciones dance troupe.
In case of rain, the festivities will be moved to the high school cafeteria.
Street lists for 2017 are available at the town clerk’s office at Town Hall.
The publication lists all residents who are 17 and older as of Jan. 1.
Two books are available, one listing people by precinct and the other listing people alphabetically. Each costs $10.
A port-a potty for the North Amherst Library, which has no public bathroom, and striping of parking spaces closest to the building, is proceeding following recent site plan approval from the Planning Board.
But board members are asking that the Department of Public Works go back to the drawing board for painting parking spaces in other parts of the former Village Auto Service lot, and examine the need for Jersey barriers that have been installed along the lot’s exit onto Montague Road.
The work is being undertaken after the town purchased the private property.
Planning Director Christine Brestrup said the drive aisles in the parking lot are planned for just 20-feet wide, rather than 24 feet, to create more parking, as this lot is also envisioned to serve the “cow pasture” ballfield on Sunderland Road. This limited width created the need for the Jersey barriers so vehicles can only enter and exit from Sunderland Road.
Vincent O’Connor, of Summer Street, told planners that a single row of parking should be sufficient and there need to be ways for patrons to access the sidewalk leading to the library’s front entrance. If this path is safe and effective, and a step above makeshift, O’Connor said, it will encourage patrons to use the parking area. He also expressed concern about the Jersey barriers limiting access to the lot.
The port-a-potty is a two-month donation from retired teacher Terry Johnson, who intended it for use by children participating in the library’s summer reading program. Town officials envision that restroom will serve people using the playing field.
TUESDAY: Library Trustees Buildings and Facilities Committee, 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., Goodwin Room, Jones Library; Munson Memorial Library Building Trustees, noon, Munson Memorial Library; Town Meeting Coordinating Committee Subcommittee on Policies and Procedures, 1 p.m., Bangs Community Center, Room 101; Charter Commission, 7 p.m., police station community room.
WEDNESDAY: Select Board, 6:30 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.
THURSDAY: Public Art Commission, noon, First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall; Library Trustees Buildings and Facilities Committee, 3:30 p.m., Goodwin Room, Jones Library; Charter Commission public hearing, 7 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall
