AMHERST — Dog lovers in Amherst came out in force for an initial meeting in the summer of 2015 to promote the concept of a municipal dog park, following a petition that collected more than 100 signatures.
On Wednesday at 10 a.m., the new dog park, built at a cost of close to $300,000 on the capped landfill on Old Belchertown Road, will open following a ceremonial ribbon-cutting.
“The new Amherst Dog Park is a great example of a collaboration between private citizens and the town,” Jim Pistrang, chairman of the Dog Park Task Force that began its work five years ago, said in a statement. “The community recognized the need for a park, volunteers joined the Dog Park Task Force to design the park, establish the rules, identify funding sources, and town officials and departments helped bring the park to reality.”
Said Ted Diamond, a local veterinarian who’s vice chairman of the task force: “I am happy that the Amherst community will finally have a place where all dogs can socialize off leash in a safe environment,” said Ted Diamond, a local veterinarian who is the vice chairman of the task force. “This park will have benefits for both dogs and their owners for many years to come.”
The town provided Community Preservation Act money for site and design preparation, and a design grant came from the Stanton Foundation, a private organization dedicated to canine welfare. Berkshire Design Group of Northampton then designed the park, and the park was built using another grant from Stanton.
Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek thanked the Department of Public Works for its role in the design and construction, and for its future oversight of operations and maintenance.
A Friends of the Amherst Dog Park group is being formed to assist with governance of the park. Those interested in joining should send an email to friends@amherstdogpark.org
Hoop Joy fitness studio, opened on Pomeroy Lane by resident Stephanie O’Keeffe in October 2015, will not be reopening, mostly due to the ongoing pandemic.
“I got a one-year extension on my studio lease last year, back when it seemed like the vaccines might be enough to get life back to normal, but the variants have continued to take all the fun out of the prospect of indoor hoop classes,” O’Keeffe wrote in a message to the community.
“Under these circumstances, renewing the lease doesn’t make any sense. My personal hoop joy just doesn’t jibe well with worrying about mask quality, ventilation, someone’s stray cough or sneeze … So here we are.”
O’Keeffe, who served on the Select Board from 2008 to 2014, had her final Hoop Joy events at Williamsburg’s 250th anniversary celebration on Sunday and on the Shutesbury Town Common Wednesday evening. She will be selling items from the studio before vacating at the end of July.
A 25-year member of the Amherst Police, Lt. Brian T. Johnson of South Deerfield, recently retired after stints as a patrol officer and detective and supervising the management of the field officer training program.
Johnson, who joined the department April 7, 1997, was promoted to detective in June 2003, serving as lead officer for sex offender registry compliance, and as a member of the Hampshire County Drug Task Force.
As sergeant and then lieutenant, Johnson trained Amherst public school personnel in keeping buildings safe from possible intruders looking to cause harm, and as operations supervisor was in charge of recruitment and staffing and the department’s active shooter response.
Johnson graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a communications degree and earned a master’s degree in criminal justice at Anna Maria College.
Amherst is changing its weekly COVID-19 vaccine clinics to an office-hours setting with public health nurse Olivia Peters.
Anyone 12 and over can drop by the Bangs Community Center’s health offices any Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. to receive the Pfizer vaccine.
A special pediatrics clinic, for children 6 months to 5 years old, using the Moderna vaccine, takes place Wednesday, July 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Bangs.
Diana Lempel, who has work experience at the de Cordova Museum, Cambridge History, Cambridge Arts Council and the New Bedford Working Waterfront Festival, recently began a stint as temporary curator for the Amherst History Museum.
“I want to create an intimate, personal place for us to remember, grieve, think, and hope together, across generations,” Lempel wrote in a statement.
The museum, at 67 Amity St. next to the Jones Library, is open to the public Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Meanwhile, the museum’s intern, Shannon Feng noted her recent find in the collection of “Irish figure 8” handcuffs donated by former Amherst police chief William Engelmann in 1949. This has prompted Feng, who has Chinese ancestry, to seek out information about immigrants to town and their interactions with police. Those who can share details and photos are welcome to contact Feng by email at info@amhersthistory.org, or by stopping by.
MONDAY: African Heritage Reparations Assembly, 2 p.m.
TUESDAY: Jones Library Building Committee, 4:30 p.m.
THURSDAY: Board of Assessors, 9:30 a.m.
