AMHERST — Planning for this year’s Amherst Community Clean-Up Day is underway, with residents encouraged to mark their calendars to participate in the April 30 event.
The cleanup, from 10 a.m. to noon, will be the first time the town is coordinating the event since the spring of 2019.
Town Communications Manager Brianna Sunryd said people should sign up in advance. Then, three so-called rally points will be established on the day of the work, with teams of captains making assignments and supplies to be handed out. People should bring their own work gloves and eye protection.
A community celebration on the Town Common put on by the Amherst Business Improvement District will be held at 1 p.m. that day.
To sign up, go to engageamherst.org/cleanup2022.
In Hadley, an annual clean-up day is being held this Saturday, with 27 participants already registered. Coordinated by the Hadley Climate Change Committee, people will be removing trash from several locations beginning around 8 a.m., and also separating out plastics and recyclables from the garbage.
An in-person Cuppa Joe event will allow the community to meet Earl Miller, director of the Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service department.
Miller, who started the job March 21, will join Town Manager Paul Bockelman and others on April 15 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Bangs Community Center.
Bockelman told the Town Council this week that Miller, who will oversee the new department that provides an alternative to an armed police response, is already getting to know people in town and functioning as the first CRESS responder. He has been at various events, including at the downtown fire station and a flag-raising at Town Hall for Child Abuse Awareness Month, and has dropped by the high school to meet students and assist administrators.
The UMass 5K Dash and Dine to benefit the Amherst Survival Center is returning at 9 a.m. Saturday. Put on by UMass Dining Services, the 11th annual event, following a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic, promotes health and wellness while raising money.
Ken Toong, executive director of UMass Amherst Auxiliary Enterprises, said in a statement that he sees it as fantastic for the UMass community to come together for a cause.
“We’re big believers in building community through food and promoting health and wellness, and this event is another shining example of this,” Toong said.
The race fee is $10 for all UMass and Five College students, $15 for UMass faculty and staff and $20 for the public. Children 8 years and under can race for free. The race fee includes registration and a complimentary meal at the Hampshire or Berkshire Dining Commons.
Walk-up registration is available on the day of the race. For more information, go to RunUMass.com.
In a presentation on Amherst’s wastewater treatment plant this week, Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford Mooring told the Town Council that UMass and the colleges are good partners in keeping the system functioning.
In fact, Mooring said the system will often encounter more problems from restaurants and household items, such as so-called flushable wipes that shouldn’t be put down toilets.
But Mooring said one area where the institutions of higher education cause issues is when spoiled milk is dumped at the end of semesters.
“It’s too much good stuff for the bugs, and the bugs will die off in the plant,” Mooring said.
The UMass Table Tennis Team will be competing Friday through Sunday in the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association National Championships in Round Rock, Texas.
The UMass team qualified following regional competition on March 8. Brown, Harvard and Yale will also be fielding teams.
Led by John McDermott, the UMass team has been practicing regularly at the campus Recreation Center.
Those who want to can view the competition on YouTube at https://bit.ly/3LKlQml.
Meanwhile, alcohol will be sold at Garber Field at UMass for lacrosse games played on April 16 and April 29.
The Board of License Commissioners recently were informed by Christopher Fisher, a representative for dining services, that the alcohol would be considered a value add for spectators.
The commission requested a postgame report after the first service of alcohol was scheduled for the April 2 game.
MONDAY: Jones Library Development Committee, 10 a.m., Residents’ Advisory Committee, 11 a.m.
THURSDAY: Community Resources Committee, 4:30 p.m.