(1/5/07) Here's a collection of bits and pieces of news and information from around town.

More candidates:  As of mid-day Friday, two challengers had taken out nomination papers for Select Board:  Alisa Brewer and David Keenan.  They join Gerry Weiss and Robie Hubley, both incumbents seeking re-election to that office, who had taken out papers last week.  Other declared candidates for town-wide offices so far are Tom Flittie, seeking re-election to the School Committee; Kathleen Wang, seeking re-election to the Library Board of Trustees; and Joan Ross Logan, seeking re-election to the Housing Authority.  Oliver Smith Will Elector David Farnham is also seeking re-election to that post.  Nomination papers must be filed with the Town Clerk's office by 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 6th.

Focus on coverage:  Frank Gatti will host Focus on Sunday, January 7th at noon on WMUA 91.1 FM.  His guests will be Diana Stein and Jackie Wolfe, and the topic will be universal health care coverage.   [This entry was updated at 2:30 p.m. on 1/6, to reflect a change of scheduled guests.]

Rookie review:  Town Manager Larry Shaffer will present a lecture titled “A Rookie's Reflection on Amherst,” Monday, January 8th at 1:30 p.m. at the Amherst Women's Club.  The club is sponsoring the lecture, which is open to the public.  Refreshments will be served after the presentation.  The club is located at 35 Triangle Street.

Tickets to Beauty: Tickets are now available for LSSE's Community Theater presentation of “Beauty and the Beast.”  Performances will be held at UMass' Bowker Auditorium as follows:

Thursday, January 18 at 7:00p.m.

Friday, January 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 21 at 2:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 25 at 7:00 p.m.

Friday, January 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 27 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 28 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are $9 for Thursday performances and all other days are $17 for adults and $15 for seniors and children.  Tickets can be purchased on site, at the LSSE office in Bangs Center, or on-line.  For additional information, click here.  

Out with the trees:  The town-wide Christmas tree pick-up will be Friday, January 12th.  Trees must be curbside by 7:00 a.m.  All ornaments and tinsel should be removed, and trees should be reduced in size so as not to exceed six feet in height and four feet in width.  In case of bad weather, the tree pick-up will be postponed to Friday, January 19th. Christmas trees may also be brought to the landfill and recycled for free during its regular hours:  Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

Anatomy on display: Amherst College's Mead Art Museum will host “Visionary Anatomies” an exhibit showcasing “the work of 11 contemporary artists inspired by human anatomical imagery to express aesthetic, social and cultural ideas,” according to the College. This is a traveling exhibit put together by the National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian, and it will be at the Mead from January 6th through March 18th.  For more information, click here.

Location, location, location:  There will be a real estate open house January 13th from noon to 3:00 p.m. at the condos Barry Roberts built on Amity Street at the site of the former Amherst Funeral Home.  If you can't wait that long to see what three quarters of a million bucks will get you in a condo these days, click here for an on-line tour.

On the news:  A Boston TV news crew was in town this past week covering the story of one of the letters received in response to Town Meeting's resolution on Iran.  If you missed the CBS4 broadcast, you can watch it here.   

Got a nugget of news to share?  Let me know.