AMHERST — Several individuals in Amherst and the region, including a longtime educator at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment and a former executive director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, are being recognized as part of the chamber’s annual A+ Awards.

With a theme of Harvesting Excellence, the chamber will hold a dinner to honor the recipients at the the Student Union Ballroom on the University of Massachusetts campus on Nov. 14 at 5 p.m.

The chamber recently announced those it will be celebrating.

One honoree is Colleen Kelley, the former education director at Hitchcock. Kelley is earning the Legacy Award for her 40 years there.

Claudia Pazmany, who left the chamber last winter after 5½ years, is getting the Harvesting Excellence Award.

Seiha Krouch, a pareduator at the Amherst Regional Middle School and organizer of the Cambodians in Amherst exhibit on display at the Amherst History Museum, is getting the Community Service Award.

Georgia Moore, a former president of the chamber, is earning Chamber MVP. Moore is also part of the development team at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

The Young Professional Award is going to Kayla Sheridan, marketing director for the TommyCar AutoGroup. Finally, Feel Good Shop Local, established by Leeds resident Michelle Wirth, is getting the Leader in Innovation Award.

ABC House benefit

The 52nd annual Fall Foliage and Cider Run to benefit the A Better Chance Amherst program takes place Saturday at 10 a.m.

The event starts and ends on the Town Common, with registration available online. ABC is a residential high school program that prepares academically talented young men of color from educationally underserved school districts for college and future leadership roles.

For more information, email FallFoliageAndCiderRun@gmail.com.

In-person early voting

Registered voters who want to cast ballots for the presidential election will have a number of in-person opportunities before the Nov. 5 election.

Starting Saturday, in-person voting will be at the First Floor Meeting Room at Town Hall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Voting will continue throughout the week, each day from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with additional voting hours Oct. 26 and Oct. 28 through Nov. 1.

New bakery coming

A new bakery is being planned for 174 North Pleasant St., the space long used by Henion Bakery before it closed in 2021, and which recently had been home to The Humble Peach.

Buttercup Craft Bakery, operated by Ya Lin Chiang and Ogawa Bakery LLC, recently got its common victuallers license from the Board of License Commissioners and will be in front of the Design Review Board on Monday for approval of “buttery yellow” signs and exterior paint color. 

Cranberry Fair

The Cranberry Fair, featuring antiques and collectibles, baked goods and preserves and clothes and accessories, is being held at the First Congregational Church, 165 Main St., on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The annual event will also include a silent auction and a white elephant table.

Library project

As part of the federal Section 106 review of the Jones Library expansion project, a requirement of receiving about $2 million in grants, feedback was recently taken on what should be included in a memorandum of understanding. That memorandum will focus on various mitigation measures aimed at limiting the known adverse effects of the project on the 1928 section of the library building.

Ginny Adams, senior architectural historian at the Public Archeology Lab in Pawtuket, Rhode Island, said some of the measures could include archival photographs and interpretive displays and panels.  “The Section 106 process is intended to identify adverse effects, if there are any, and find ways to resolve or mitigate them,” Adams said.

Efforts already done to minimize or avoid impacts have included keeping the central stairwell, all fireplaces and 75% of woodwork in the 96-year-old part of the building.

Among those who advocated for significant changes to the current expansion and renovation plans was Local Historic District Commission member Elizabeth Sharpe, who said the open floor plan conflicts with the building’s original design and overwhelms the neighboring Strong House Museum. Sharpe suggested using an architectural hyphen on the west facade to clearly separate the 1928 building from a new addition.

“Without some separation, there is no distinction, and you don’t understand the rambling ell of the idea of the old Connecticut Valley home,” Sharpe said.

Historical Commission member Madeleine Helmer suggested design changes, reducing the impact of the 138-feet-long addition, more than twice the length of the existing building, and limiting the 43-foot height. “It’s size and massing are not compatible with a historic building, as it’s not subordinate in scale and character,” Helmer said.

Others, though, suggested a more limited approach. Katherine Whitcomb, special collections curator, said records will show how the building has changed over time and will trace its history on Digital Amherst and other online platforms.

“Our mitigation plans are rather simple, though they fit with the overall plan of Special Collections to document and preserve any and all changes to the history of the building.” Whitcomb said.

Liz Larson, president of the Amherst Historical Museum, said trustees for the society support the benefits to the town of renovating and expanding the library, and creating improved gathering spaces for sharing stories, and are comfortable with the project and trustees, and have been assured there will be no impacts on the museum and the famed “Groom” sycamore tree.

Meetings

MONDAY: Amherst Local Historic District Commission, 3 p.m., Amherst Design Review Board, 5 p.m. Town Council, 6:30 p.m.

THURSDAY: Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m.