Another week, another collection of bits and pieces of information about stuff around Town.

Happy Birthday:  Were she still with us, Emily Dickinson would be 176 years young this weekend.  To celebrate, the Emily Dickinson museum will host its annual Open House on Saturday, December 9th from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.  Continuing a tradition, the first 176 guests will receive a rose, provided by an anonymous donor.  There will be self-guided tours, poetry readings, and cakes from Dickinson family recipes.  Steve Howland on the fiddle and Tim Van Egmond playing the hammered dulcimer will provide live music in the parlor.  Guests are also invited to create holiday ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree next door at The Evergreens.  The event is free and marks the closing of the Museum for the season.  It will reopen March 1st. 

Envy! Competition! Art!  Julie L. Sloan’s lecture on the rivalry between Louis Comfort Tiffany and John La Farge, will be Sunday, December 10th at 2:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse, which is graced with stained glass windows created by both  artists.  The lecture, entitled Opalescent Images: The Stained Glass of Tiffany and La Farge, is free, though donations are welcomed. Refreshments will be served and framed photographs of the windows will be available for sale.  This is the second in a series of lectures about the special windows; a third lecture will be scheduled early in 2007.

Crime and Punishment:  Admit it: you’ve been wondering who was arrested in Amherst last week, or perhaps, last month.  Or maybe you were a little curious about which neighborhoods were hotbeds of breaking and entering, vandalism and car accidents in FY06.  If so, you’re in luck, because all this and more is available on the Amherst Police Department’s web site.    

Deck the Halls: The recent sidewalk work and tree removal downtown has resulted in fewer trees to decorate with lights, so the Chamber of Commerce is encouraging businesses to decorate their storefronts to brighten things up this holiday season.  As added incentive, one lucky winner will be chosen among all the decorated shops, restaurants and offices for the grand prize of – ta-da! – having its name engraved on a plaque.  The judges will be members of the Merry Maple committee and they will render their verdict by December 15th. 

Slow down:  Residents of Lincoln Ave. and the surrounding streets just west of downtown have raised concerns about excessive traffic speed and volume in their neighborhoods.  The Department of Public Works has created a traffic study report with recommendations for addressing these issues.  A public hearing on this subject will be held Tuesday, December 12th at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Room at Town Hall.

Hear and be heard:  As the Town prepares for another dismal budget situation in FY08, parents, students and other concerned citizens will want to take part in a one-hour Q & A session with the Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee on Tuesday, December 19th at 6:30 p.m. in the Amherst Regional High School library.  This will be an opportunity to share ideas and concerns, and to ask questions of the Superintendent and school committee members.  All are invited – spread the word.

Year-round Attraction:  Cherry Hill Golf Course will host Winterfest 2007 on January 20th from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  It will include cross-country skiing lessons, bird watching treks, a snow sculpture contest and plenty of free hot chocolate.  Be on the lookout for Larry Kelley making snow angels by the clubhouse.  Click here for more information. (About the event – not the snow angels…)

Smile:  Finally, I offer you MassLive’s oddly-compelling web cam outside of Antonio’s.  If you are particularly bored or have vastly too much time on your hands, you can go minute-by-minute through the still photos from the last 24 hours, and see if you can spot yourself walking by at whatever time you frequent that section of sidewalk.

-- Stephanie O’Keeffe