AMHERST — People who want to say goodbye to Wildwood School can mark their calendars for a celebration and farewell at the 71 Strong St. site on June 22.
That evening, starting at 5:30 on the fields behind the school, student alumni, parents, former staff members and others will gather for a picnic and play Wildwood trivia.
Former Princiapl Nick Yaffe is helping to organize the event, lining up the Expandable Brass Band to lead a parade around Wildwood. There will be ice cream treats, a Wildwood scavenger hunt and other activities.
At 6:15 p.m., the parade will be followed by a community circle, and then a marching band at 6:45 p.m. The event concludes with a dessert potluck and personal tributes and stories of Wildwood.
Meanwhile, the Wildwood Remembered Oral History project is underway with sixth graders in Chris Eggemeier’s interviewing alumni.
So far, 40 interviews have been uploaded to a StoryCorps community site. The interviews are being conducted until the end of the school year.
Yaffe said it’s possible additional interviews will be done over the summer.
Anyone with questions can contact Yaffe at yaffen@arps.org. In case of rain the event may be rescheduled.
Both Wildwood and Fort River close at the end of this academic year, to be replaced by the Amethyst Brook School under construction on South East Street.
Sojourner Truth awards
An Amherst Regional High School senior was among six area students who recently earned Sojourner Truth Social Justice Awards, coming at the 20th annual celebration at the memorial statue in Florence in late May.
Janaki Ewoton was recognized for completing social justice work aligned with the vision of Truth, an abolitionist and women’s rights pioneer who lived in the Northampton village from 1843 to 1857.
Other winners included Kai Imperial-Jewett, Kendal Mangum and Zoe Santiago, all Northampton High students, Avery Coburn at Minnechaug Regional and Melanie Farrell at Discovery Polytechnical Early College.
Terry O’ Toole, a previous chair of the Truth Committee, was the keynote speaker, with music performed by the Amherst Gospel Choir and Ujima Singers.
More Amherst students will be recognized for their contributions during the annual Race Amity Day and Youth Hero Awards Celebration on Sunday.
The Human Rights Commission is putting on this event at 11 a.m. at Mill River Recreation Area, 95 Montague Road.
High school teachers honored
As part of the Amherst Regional High School graduation ceremony, two teachers earned Robert Frost Teaching Chairs, recognition that comes from being nominated and voted on by their peers.
Geoff Friedman, a math teacher, and Kristen Ripley, an arts teacher, took home the honors, receiving flowers as they took the stage at the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts.
High School Principal Talib Sadiq said both are “educators who have contributed in so many ways to the community.”
Puffer’s Pond breakfast
An annual pancake breakfast to raise funds to care for both Puffer’s Pond and the trails and conservation areas surrounding the site takes place at Mill River Recreation Area Saturday.
Running from 8:30 to 11 a.m. and put on by the Friends of Puffer’s Pond, money raised will go to support the town’s conservation department, which hires caretakers for the summer and coordinates volunteers to care for the trails.
Multigrain pancakes will be made with ingredients from local farms, with gluten-free pancakes and local sausages also available. Raffles will also take place, along with live music.
Donations are $12 for adults, $10 for children and $6 for sausage.
Next steps for local historic district
A scaled-back local historic district for the East Amherst village center could be developed by the Local Historic District Commission.
On the heels of the Planning Board rejecting the placement of more than 50 properties along lower Main Street into the district, with concerns over limiting development and making it harder to build, the commission will soon explore shrinking its size.
Commission member Steve Bloom said he wants as many properties as possible protected, but reading the “tea leaves” he would vote on a smaller outline for the district, with fewer homes making up the core properties.
Bloom’s idea is to reduce the district from 56 properties to 17 and that they be grouped together. He said he worries that the 5-1 Planning Board vote against the proposal would mean the Town Council would not support the district.
“My goal personally in this is that these buildings don’t get knocked down,” Bloom said. He added that every one of the buildings he would put into the district deserves to be preserved and that the smaller district shows the spirit of good compromise.
Meetings
MONDAY: Town Council, 6:30 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.
TUESDAY: Finance Committee, 1 p.m.
