Network Amherst: The Lehrer Report

By Phyllis Lehrer

Published on February 15, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day and President's Day to all our friends and neighbors. Thanks to all who took the time to vote in the primary and thanks to all those who bought baked goods at the sales in the elementary schools. There were some great muffins at Crocker Farm.

Winterfest 08 was a great event with lots of families attending. The kids were still sledding and tubing in the dark. Larry Kelley won his cardboard race, beating Selectman Gerry Weiss and Town Manager Larry Shaffer's stunt double, his son, who rolled over in his box.

Kelley's daughter, Kira, was in his box, adorned with an American flag. The police beat the fire department. Creativity and imagination were evident with the entries. Crocker Farm entered a bright green crocodile. There was a Belgian horse and one box was painted as a house, complete with shutters and bricks.

Atkins won the chili contest that followed by the Lord Jeff. The Atkins chili was tasty, with a slight kick.

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The Saul Fretwell family of Amherst - Jack, Soutey, Katie and Bob - had a long journey, but they made it to Katmandu and sent a card from there.

They report that they have gone to great lengths to win the postcard contest. "We gave it our best shot," they wrote.

Dick Mudgett and Carol Lee of Amherst sent a card from Sedona, Ariz., where they saw sights including Taliesin West, the Frank Lloyd Wright structure, and the Grand Canyon.

Connie Lentz and Bart Bouricius of Amherst sent a card from Costa Rica. The post card is unique since it is a stunning photo that Connie took of a blue morpho butterfly. She said it took her 30 years to get the photo. The butterfly was drunk on fermented bananas mixed with beer. The note was written on paper that was glued to the photo and mailed from Costa Rica.

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Amherst College Professor of Russian Catherine Ciepiela has received three prestigious recognitions for writing and editing.

Her book, "The Same Solitude," won awards from the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages and the American Library Association's "Choice" magazine, while an anthology she co-edited, "The Stray Dog Cabaret," was named a finalist for a 2007 PEN Award for poetry in translation.

She has an undergraduate degree from Amherst College and has been a member of the Amherst faculty since 1989. She holds a master's and doctorate from Yale University and has received fellowships from Yale University, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Mellon Foundation.

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Isaac Julien, the son of Abby and Aaron Julien of Canterbury Lane in Amherst, has been selected to join the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, where he plays horn. The 440 performers in the orchestras, now in their 50th season, rehearse weekly and perform in the Boston area, including at Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory and Sanders Theatre at Harvard University. The Youth Symphony performed Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutte" last month.

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The Friends of the Jones Library sponsors the Beds for Books program, which benefits the library. The program needs hosts for families attending graduations the weekends of May 15 and May 23. Hosts provide a bed and continental breakfast, with no entertaining of guests required.

Guests donate money for the accommodations to the library book budget. If interested, call Sandra Mullin at 549-0058.