(5/4/07)  Here are some bits and pieces of news and information from around town.

Hear ye, Hear ye: Town Meeting begins Monday, May 7th at 7:30 p.m. at the Middle School auditorium.  Sessions are broadcast live on ACTV's channel 17, with frequent rebroadcasts as well.  Additional dates set aside for Town Meeting are:  May 10th, 14th, 16th, 21st, 23rd, 31st and June 4th, 6th, 11th, 13th, 18th, 20th, 25th and 27th.

Early SB:  The Monday, May 7th Select Board meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the music room at the Middle School, prior to the first Town Meeting session. 

Talk of the Walk: The Amherst Art Walk Association wants to make downtown “a place where this great community can gather, celebrate, and enjoy its cultural riches.”  Hence, the Art Walk, which takes place from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month, and spans downtown galleries as well as those at UMass and Amherst College. In an effort to sustain and enhance the event, the Art Walk Association will solicit feedback and suggestions from the public at a meeting on Tuesday, May 8th at 5:00 p.m. at the Bangs Center.  Share your creative ideas to help make this great community event even greater for the future.

Tasty Tastings:  Learn about and enjoy white wines from Northern Italy on Saturday, May 5th and red blends from Australia on Saturday, May 12th at Amherst Wines and Spirits.  Free tastings are held Saturdays from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and include sliced baguettes to cleanse your delicate palate, and information sheets so you know what you're sipping. 

Pulitzer and Parenting at the Jones Library: 

Debby Applegate, an Amherst College alum and winner of this year's Pulitzer Prize for Biography, will discuss and sign her celebrated book The Most Famous Man in America : a biography of Henry Ward Beecher on Tuesday, May 8th at 7:00 p.m. in the Trustees Room on the third floor. 

Catherine Sanderson, Amherst resident and Associate Professor of Psychology at Amherst College, will discuss and sign her book Slow and Steady Parenting: active child-raising for the long haul on Thursday, May 10th at 7:00 p.m. in the Large Meeting Room. 

Both events are free and open to the public, and both books will be available for purchase.

Hello Dalai:   His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama will be in the Valley on Wednesday, May 9th, for a day-long event organized by Hampshire College, Smith College and the Tibetan Association of Western Massachusetts.  He will deliver a talk at Smith to members of those two college communities from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.  It will not be open to the public, but is expected to be broadcast live on local television.

Get Screened:  Free screenings for anxiety and depression will be provided to members of the public at the UMass Psychological Services Center on Friday, May 11th from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., as part of National Anxiety and Depression Awareness Week. Particpants will be screened on a walk-in basis, and validated parking will be provided in the Campus Center garage.  For more information, call 545-0041, e-mail, or visit the PSC's web site.

Going to the Fair:  The annual community fair will be held on the Town Common Thursday, May 10th through Saturday, May 12th.  Organized by the Amherst Rotary Club, the fair will feature carnival rides, games, food and more. 

Grab Your Helmet:  Bike Week will be held May 14th to May 20th, with events to encourage people to leaves their cars at home and ride their bikes to work, school and play.  In Amherst, the week kicks off with a special ceremony on Sunday, May 13th at 11:00 a.m. when the bike connector between UMass and the Rail Trail will be dedicated to long-time Amherst resident, bicycling enthusiast and retired physics professor, Arthur Swift.  Congressman John Olver is among the dignitaries scheduled to attend the dedication, which will be held at the northern terminus of the connector, where it meets Massachusetts Avenue.  All are invited.

Policing and Adventure:  The Amherst Police Adventure Academy is a free week-long program to be held July 9th – 13th.  Morning policing sessions will cover topics such as law, police patrol, crime scene situations, and defensive tactics, while afternoon sessions will be held at the Police Department's Adventure Based Ropes Course on the Norwottuck Range.  Unfortunately, the Adventure Academy is only open to those who will be entering the 6th, 7th or 8th grades in the fall, so that counts many of us out.  But if you or someone you know is in that lucky demographic, click here for more information and an appplication, or call Officer Bill Laramee or Officer Ricky Arocho at 259-3000.  The class size is limited to 20, and is open to Hampshire County residents with a preference for those who live in Amherst.  Applications and liability release forms are due by June 15th.

Have you been yet?  Amherst College's Museum of Natural History was named an “Editor's Choice” pick in Yankee Magazine's 2007 travel issue, on newsstands now.  The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

 -- Stephanie O'Keeffe