AMHERST — A community reception for the leaders of Amherst’s new municipal departments was held at Groff Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Amherst League of Women Voters is sponsoring the event to welcome Pamela Nolan Young, whose appointment as director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was confirmed by the Town Council on Monday, and Earl Miller, who began his tenure as Community Responders for Equity, Safety, and Service in March. The reception runs from 3 to 5 p.m.
League member Martha Hanner gave a formal invitation to the Town Council and the community this week.
“We in the League believe that the creation of CRESS and DEI can mark the start of a new era that can bring equity and inclusion, and dignity and integrity, for all residents, and this truly is a cause for celebration,” Hanner said.
Both DEI and CRESS are outgrowths of recommendations from the Community Safety Working Group, formed in 2020 after the George Floyd murder to study safety and other issues affecting Black, Indigenous and people of color residents.
Hanner notes that Young, who starts her tenure on July 1, rearranged her schedule to attend. The DEI department’s operations have been overseen by assistant director Jennifer Moyston for several months.
The reception featured live music and food, and a playground will be open, though the spray park is likely closed until Memorial Day weekend.
The Garden Club of Amherst held its first plant sale since 2019 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday on the Town Common.
The sale will be held rain or shine and will offer plants donated by numerous gardeners in town.
The Amherst Public Schools Multilingual Parent Advisory Council and Salsa con Tacos held a fundraiser at the American Legion in Hadley, 162 Russell St., Saturday evening.
Money raised from the salsa lessons, at 7 p.m., and the dance social at 8 p.m., will go toward the awarding of two Excellence in Biliteracy scholarships to graduating Amherst seniors who have earned Seals of Biliteracy. The dance social, with tickets for $10 for anyone 12 and older, will feature salsa, bachata, kizomba and merengue played by DJ Picu.
As town officials explore whether the former South Amherst school building may be suitable for Amherst Media to use on a temporary basis, the nonprofit’s executive director told the Town Council he is dismayed that costs for this project are not yet known.
“Its reuse is doable, but because of the delays and the lack of time we have, we would not be able to get in there the time we needed,” Jim Lescault said.
Lescault said he sees the site as an opportunity to bring cultural events and other activities to the community and partner with the nearby Munson Memorial Library.
“Our commitment was to put money into that so other organizations could go in there when we move on,” Lescault said.
Amherst is recognizing Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month throughout May following a proclamation recently adopted by the Town Council.
The measure notes that the town will “celebrate the achievements and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders that enrich our history, society, and culture” but also recognizes “the additional determination, hard work and perseverance AAPI individuals must put forth to be heard and seen, and that these additional efforts are a response to inequitable institutional and systemic injustices fueled by xenophobia, misogyny, ableism, classism and other forms of discrimination.”
The resolution was sponsored in the community by Professor Richard Chu, Dr. Leo Hwang, Yasmin Padamsee Forbes, Meenakshi Bharath and Miliann Kang.
A Hopkins Academy senior recently earned a $1,000 scholarship from the Friends of the Hadley Public Library.
Kyle Uchneat, who will be attending the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts next fall, won the prize after submitting an application in which he wrote that libraries are more than books and movies.
“They are places that make memories, places to enjoy yourself, places to learn, and places to interact with others,” Uchneat wrote. “Nowhere else in the world are all of these positive influences offered for free, making these places priceless.”
Smart Solar Shutesbury and Smart Solar Western Massachusetts are staging a “We Speak For The Trees March and Rally” on the Amherst Town Common at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The event, to raise concerns about removal of forests to make way for large-scale solar projects, begins at 359 Montague Road, Shutesbury, at 9:15 a.m.
Those speaking will include Doug Harris, deputy tribal historic preservation officer for the Narragansett Tribe, hydrologist Steve Garabedian, Bettina Washington, tribal historic preservation officer for the Wampanoag Tribe, William R. Moomaw, professor emeritus of International Environmental Policy at Tufts University, and music and dance ensemble instructor Aqua Y Bosque.
MONDAY: Jones Library Investment Committee, 3 p.m., and Amherst Recreation Commission, 3 p.m.
TUESDAY: Jones Library Buildings and Facilities Committee, 9 a.m., and Building Committee, 4:30 p.m.
THURSDAY: Community Resources Committee, 4:30 p.m., and Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m.