Network Amherst: The Lehrer Report
By Phyllis Lehrer
Published on April 04, 2008
It's happened once again - spring. The green shoots of daffodils, day lilies and primrose are up. I think some daffodils will be in bloom by the time the paper comes out. I have had to rake leaves from the lawn since the snow fell before I could finish the task last fall. I hung our laundry for the first time this year. That's always a good sign. We have over 12 hours of daylight now.
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Vivienne Carey and Roger Webb, of Amherst, sent a card from Vieques, Puerto Rico, where the major decisions centered on what beach to visit and what restaurant to eat in.
Don and Honore David, of Amherst, sent a card from California where they were on an Elder Hostel. They enjoyed Steinbeck country and the fabulous vines and plants that grow there. After that Elder Hostel, they enrolled in another at Yosemite National Park.
Anna, Lad and Alexandra Nagurney, of Amherst, sent a card from Sicily where Anna was spending several weeks as a Fulbright senior specialist in business administration at the University of Catania. The stamp depicted the Lamborghini shield.
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Lisa Trahan reports that author Michael White spoke on research for fiction writing at the annual meeting of the local chapter of the National Writer's Union. He's familiar to the areas since he wrote "The Garden of Martyrs" about the hanging of two Irish men in Northampton, which was a community read choice. His other books include "The Soul Catcher," "Dream of Wolves" and "Blind Side of the Heart."
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Jarrad Green, the son of Laura and Richard Green, of West Pomeroy Lane in Amherst, achieved high honors at the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, where he is a sophomore. He will perform in the Pioneer Art Center of Easthampton's production of "West Side Story" at the Academy of Music April 23 through April 27. I'm surprised there is no protest about the production.
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Michael Brooks, the son of Glenn and Donna Brooks, of Belchertown Road in Amherst; and Ariel Childs, the daughter of Michael Childs and Diane Amsterdam of Oak Knoll in Amherst, were named to the dean's list at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Brooks is a senior political science major.
Childs, a senior sociology major, spent her junior year studying in Beijing for the International Honors Program, a challenging program concentrating on an individual's role in the global community, with special emphasis on direct and interactive learning experiences. She is a 2004 graduate of Amherst Regional High School.
Toby Hartwell, the son of Fred Hartwell and Marie Hartwell-Walker, of North Whitney Street in Amherst, was named to the dean's list at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams.
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Correction: Sylvia Stoneham's granddaughter's first name is spelled Emilia.
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UMass English professor Laura Doyle's book, "Freedom's Empire: Race and the Rise of the Novel in Atlantic Modernity" was published by Duke University Press this year. She revises histories of race, of the novel in English and of their linked shaping of the modern contract state under capitalism.
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Paul Norton, the son of David and Claire Norton, of Bayberry Lane in Amherst, placed second in the 3,000-meter run to earn All-New England honors at the New England Division III indoor track and field championship at Tufts University. His time was 8:41.03 and he missed winning the race by 1.5 seconds. He is a freshman at Brandeis University in Waltham.
Christopher Ducharme, of South Deerfield, was named to the dean's list at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, where he is majoring in information technology.
