From Other Sources: News for and About Amherst.  This Week: Catching Up

We’re still trying to catch up on the news from when we were on vacation a couple of weeks ago.  Here are some links to stories that we missed.

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AREA NEWS ROUNDUP
Primary Care Crisis. Doctor Shortage Continues to Plague Region Nearly Two Decades After First Reported by Alexander MacDougall (7/26/24). Last month, Valley Medical Group, the Greenfield-based group that has offices throughout the Pioneer Valley, sent out an email to its patients saying that it would be, for the time being, limiting new patients in order for current doctors to be able to sufficiently serve their current workload.“While it goes against our mission of community care, for the time being we’ve limited new patient appointments to meet current needs as we work to hire more practitioners,” the email states. “We never want to turn away patients but it’s necessary to serve those who already are scheduled. Once our open provider positions have been filled, we will again offer more new patient appointments.”For Christopher Flory, himself a retired former primary care physician (PCP), the hassle in finding a physician is emblematic of a much larger crisis that continues to affect the Pioneer Valley and beyond. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

A Moment with “Dr. Xi”, Amherst Regional’s New Suprintendent by Scott Merzbach (7/26/24). New Amherst, Pelham and Amherst Regional Schools Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman sees a student-centered approach to education, including leading with love, as bringing the school district stability following a period of tumult, caused in part by allegations of gender-based bullying at the middle school. “I’m a champion for the children of the districts,” Herman says. “I put them first.”  As Herman enters her fourth week on the job, coming to Amherst from her time serving as insular (island) superintendent of the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Education, she anticipates she and her leadership team will look at everything through a student-centered lens. “Everyone wants me to be successful,” Herman said, speaking from her office at the middle school this week. “This is not a challenge, but an opportunity.”  Preferring to be addressed as “Dr. Xi,” Herman will earn $176,500 in the first year of three years, coming to a school district that in 2023 was rocked by reports that middle school counselors intentionally misgendered some students and didn’t intervene when there was reported mistreatment of LGBTQ students at the middle school. That led to Title IX and associated investigative reports revealing what had occurred. Herman said that procedures and guidelines for dealing with and preventing bullying, and promoting a positive learning environment, are in place or being developed and that she wants the district to remain compliant with all state rules and regulations. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Valley Bounty: Rising from the Ashes: One Year After Tragic Fire, J & J Farms in Amherst Enters New Chapter with Community Backing by Jacob Nelson (7/26/24). For over two decades, J & J Farms stood alone as the last dairy farm in Amherst. Many other small New England dairies shuttered as the economy shifted even more in favor of mega-dairies, but the Waskiewicz family held on, milking cows while also growing vegetables on around 130 acres. It was an operation run with equal parts skill and optimism. In the end, only a natural disaster could derail it. Last June, lightning struck the back corner of one of their barns, setting it alight. The fire spread quickly, engulfing two barns and shooting flames into the nearby home where 93-year-old patriarch Joseph Waskiewicz Sr. was resting. He made it safely across the street, but even as his children, neighbors, and first responders did their best, all he could do was watch as the blaze consumed the farm buildings. As they went up in smoke, so too did several lifetimes worth of memories and equipment that had been passed down for generations. None of them could truly be replaced. Luckily, no people or cows were lost that day, but life would be forever different for all of them. Within hours, other local dairy farmers had volunteered to rehome the entire herd, a move that soon became permanent. Meanwhile, Joseph’s sons, Joe Jr. and Mike, and daughter, Jane Suprenant, were left to ponder how their six-generation family farm would rebuild, if at all. A year later, the siblings are still figuring out what the future of J & J Farms looks like, but one thing is certain: it will have a future. And despite the tragic events forcing them to reinvent the family business, they seem to approach this new chapter with both gratitude and positivity. Maybe that’s one reason their community has offered such tremendous support along the way. (Greenfield Recorder)

Amherst Regional Schools Already Talking Budget for Next Year by Scott Merzbach (7/25/24). Continued fallout from the approved $35.27 million fiscal year 2025 budget for the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, which exceeded financial guidelines set by the town of Amherst while falling short of maintaining all existing staff and programs, is prompting school officials to get an early start on discussing next year’s budget. Less than a month into the new fiscal year that began July 1, the Amherst Regional School Committee on Tuesday began talking about how to avoid budget uncertainties, with new Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman explaining that the Amherst Town Council wants budget preparations to begin as soon as possible. Herman said iterations of the fiscal year 2026 budget will be brought much sooner than this past year, when initial projections were released in late fall and then a spending plan was refined over the winter, when the first understanding of how many positions would be cut.The discussion comes as the school committee was informed that it shouldn’t expect the same level of support next year, with a letter from the Town Council advising it couldn’t support the schools beyond a 2.5% increase in fiscal year 2026, and to also not build the fiscal year 2026 budget with a 6% increase as the base. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Arrest Netanyahu Rally Held in Northampton by Jonah Snowden (7/24/24). Activists held an “Arrest Netanyahu” rally in Northampton Wednesday afternoon ahead of the prime minister’s speech to Congress. People were seen gathering on the steps of Northampton’s City Hall Wednesday. Organizers say this was an opportunity for people to voice their concerns that President Biden and Congress would allow Netanyahu into the U.S., saying he has committed genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. This local rally occurred simultaneously with a massive national mobilization in Washington D.C. (WWLP)

No Trespassing Notices Issued for Community Members Arrested at Pro-Palestinian Protests at UMass in May by Namu Sampath (7/26/24). The majority of people who were arrested on May 7 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst were students, but the few who are not affiliated with the university have now been issued no-trespass notices, their lawyers say. It is standard for the school’s Police Department “to issue trespass notices to unaffiliated individuals who are arrested on campus,” said Melinda Rose, the interim director of news and media relations at the university. Rose said that these notices can be appealed. Tyler Ingraham, one of the attorneys working pro bono on the UMass arrestees’ legal cases, said that the notices included a number to call if “we found issue with the notices,” he said. “When I tried to reach the university’s Police Department, I didn’t hear back from them,” he said. “It’s been about two weeks since then.” (MassLive)

Northampton Council Backs Completion of 104 Mile Bike Trail to Boston by Alexander MacDougall (7/23/24). The City Council has added itself to a number of voices calling for the state’s Department of Transportation to complete the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail (MCRT), a 104-mile stretch of walkable and bikeable path that would connect Northampton to the city of Boston.The council voted unanimously during its July 11 council meeting to approve a resolution that calls for the completion of the trail, which is estimated to cost upward of $100 million to complete. Currently, 60 miles of the trail are open for walking, with another 34.5 miles under public protection.“The Northampton City Council recognizes and stands by the more than twenty years of planning by our elected and appointed officials that completion of the MCRT is consistent with a safer, greener, and more welcoming community,” the resolution states. “The completion of the Mass Central Rail Trail project aligns seamlessly with our city’s vision for a thriving and interconnected community, creating a lasting legacy for future generations.” (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Note from the Publisher: Amherst Bulletin Distribution Change by Shawn Palmer (7/17/24). On Aug. 1, 2024, we are changing how the Amherst Bulletin is distributed. Effective with the Aug. 1 edition, the Bulletin will be available weekly for free pickup at nearly 60 locations throughout Amherst, Belchertown, Hadley, Hatfield, South Deerfield and Sunderland. With this increased availability in the area, we will no longer be using the mail to deliver the Bulletin. A full list of pickup locations will be available Aug. 1 on amherstbulletin.com. Over the years, the Bulletin has continually changed its distribution model, moving from news racks throughout the market, to the mail, to Gazette subscribers receiving it with their home delivery, and most recently to a mix of mail and pickup locations in Amherst and Hadley. With the rising costs of the mail, we feel it is more prudent to invest our resources in newsgathering rather than the distribution of a free product. Over 95% of the content in each week’s Bulletin was previously published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, so please consider our special discounted offer to subscribe to a home-delivered or digital subscription of the Gazette and enjoy the convenience of having the news from throughout Hampshire County delivered right to your home each day. If you have questions or wish to subscribe to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, please contact customer service at (413) 586-1925 or circulation@gazettenet.com. And thanks for reading. (Amherst Bulletin)

Working Group to Examine the Future of Money-losing Cherry Hill Golf Course by Scott Merzbach (7/16/24) A working group may soon be formed to examine the future of a public golf course in North Amherst that has long relied on municipal funding to remain solvent, even though memberships, greens fees and assorted other revenues are supposed to cover all operating expenses. With annual deficits continuing in the operating budget for Cherry Hill Golf Course, Recreation Director Rey Harp told the Recreation Commission at a recent meeting that he will be submitting a proposal to create the Cherry Hill Working Group to Town Manager Paul Bockelman. While Harp said the golf course doesn’t have to be a money maker for the Recreation Department or turn much of a profit, the $54,000 and $50,000 shortfall between anticipated revenues and actual expenses in the first two years he has overseen the department is an ongoing worry. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Playing Catchup on Housing: Affordable Projects in Pipeline Around Valley as Gap Keeps Growing by Alexa Lewis (7/15/24. Thousands of new affordable housing units will be built in western Massachusetts in the next few years, but local housing advocates say this still will not be enough to meet the massive regional demand for housing relief. The lack of affordable housing is a growing problem nationwide, and the impact has been particularly acute in Massachusetts. The western part of the state, though more rural and less densely populated than the greater Boston area, has not been immune to the sting of a highly limited housing stock.A count of homeless populations conducted this year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that the number of homeless families in Hampshire County has doubled over last year, with a lack of affordable housing as a prominent driving factor. A 2022 study conducted by Way Finders and the Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts found that there was an 11,000-unit shortage of housing in the Pioneer Valley in 2018, which is expected to grow to a 19,000-unit shortage by 2025. Keith Fairey, president and CEO of Way Finders, said a preliminary survey was recently conducted among member organizations of the Western Massachusetts Housing Coalition, which estimated that about 1,500 units are currently slated to be built in the region in coming years. “It’s not even close to filling that gap,” Fairey said. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Herrell’s Ice Cream to Open Pop-up Shop in North Amherst This Summer by Scott Merzbach (7/12/24). Herrell’s Ice Cream, a mainstay on Old South Street at Thorne’s Marketplace in downtown Northampton, will be opening a pop-up shop in the North Square at the Mill District in North Amherst by the end of July, with plans to have a permanent location there in the near future. The arrival of the ice cream shop on Cowls Road in North Amherst this summer means that people visiting Mill River Recreation Area, Cherry Hill Golf Course and Puffer’s Pond, as well as North Amherst Library throughout the year, will have a place to get their ice cream fix a short distance away. Judy Herrell, who owns Herrell’s, explained that the decision to expand the business, founded in 1980, comes while looking for a site with a good mix of both restaurants and retailers. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)