AMHERST — After more than a decade of planning, with various starts and stops that resulted from both lawsuits filed by neighbors and a solar developer’s bankruptcy, a capped landfill off Belchertown Road will be producing renewable energy.
Town officials are holding a ribbon-cutting for the project, located at the North Landfill, adjacent to the town’s transfer station at 740 Belchertown Road, on Monday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
The 3.8-megawatt installation was developed by Cypress Creek Renewables and, in addition to the green energy, will also provide needed revenue for the town’s solid waste enterprise fund.
The event marks the culmination of a project that was announced in April 2011 by then-town manager John Musante, who hoped to bring solar installations to both capped landfills, on either side of Route 9.
Since that time, as construction on the solar arrays began at the North Landfill, the South Landfill has been largely preserved as a habitat for the grasshopper sparrow, with a section of that carved out for the Amherst Dog Park, which opened over the summer.
Rossana Salazar, community engagement and evaluation specialist with Health Hampshire, was recently nominated by Rep. Mindy Domb for the state’s Latino Excellence Award.
The awards are hosted annually by the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus “to commemorate Latino community leaders, trailblazers, and change-makers that are moving the needle forward in cities and towns across the state.”
Salazar is a doctoral candidate in environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts, focusing on Indigenous communities in Latin America.
Domb said in a statement that Salazar has advanced food justice in Amherst, in partnership with Family Outreach of Amherst, and community conversations and activities around how to increase food security and access.
“These efforts have led to the development of the bicultural, bilingual, community-led Amherst Mobile Market and the Fort River Community Garden,” Domb said.
“Creating wellness opportunities for the community inspires me every moment,” Salazar said in a statement.
Locally made gifts by more than 40 artists and makers will be available at the Holiday Arts Market being set up outside the Mill District General Store and Local Art Gallery from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.
“We’ve got a really diverse group of area artisans attending, showing locally crafted items including jewelry, pottery, candles and cards,” said Mill District Director of Placemaking Hannah Rechtschaffen.
Being held for the second time, the event coincides with an open house at the Provisions store, where there will be wine tastings and handmade raw milk cheeses from Parish Hill Creamery in Vermont.
All attendees are encouraged to bring in their unused art supplies, including paints, brushes, pencils, markers, brushes and more, for an open exchange table.
In case of rain, the event will move to Sunday.
Dagmar, a whiskey bar, is being planned for the street level at 26 Spring St., the mixed-use building under construction across from the Inn on Boltwood.
Dylan Barstow-Manz, a representative for Archipelago Investments, told the Design Review Board recently that the name is derived from the gray Danish brick on the exterior and the building’s motifs, with stone that makes people think about cooler temperatures.
Dagmar takes its name specifically from the wife of Arctic explorer Peter Freuchen. “We liked the name Dagmar because it had some ambiguity to it,” Barstow-Manz said.
The site will have cocktails both inside and on a street-facing patio, with food that can be prepared without a kitchen, such as charcuterie boards. That is unlike Protocol, a bar that will have a kitchen the developer is planning to open in the One East Pleasant building.
Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan’s office was the winner of the 28th annual Amherst Education Foundation Trivia Bee last month, coming out on top of a field of 17 teams.
The event, held in person at the middle school auditorium for the first time since 2019, raised $13,490 that will go to support grants for programs and projects created by teachers and staff in Amherst-area public schools.
Former state Rep. Ellen Story, who previously emceed the event, along with Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service Director Earl Miller and Amherst Education Board President Shawn Fortin, served as judges, while the emcee was Tony Maroulis, who heads community relations at the University of Massachusetts.
MONDAY: Cultural Council, 6 p.m., and Town Council, 6:30 p.m.
TUESDAY: Jones Library Building and Facilities Committee, 4:15 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: Jones Library trustees, 5 p.m.
THURSDAY: Solar Bylaw Working Group and Zoning Board of Appeals, both at 6 p.m.