AMHERST — About a year after first being proposed, a working group that would examine Cherry Hill Golf Course and make recommendations for the future of the Montague Road site is being proposed by Town Manager Paul Bockelman.
According to a draft charge, “the goal is to determine if golf operations can/should continue to be provided by the town and to determine if the operations of golfing at Cherry Hill can be and should be self-supporting.”
Bockelman said that he wants to get an informed opinion as to whether the town continues to provide a subsidy for recreational activity at Cherry Hill, adding that it is different from the town’s two swimming pools, in that they promote a life safety issue and the idea that all children should learn how to swim.
In addition to conventional golf, Cherry Hill also has disc golf and, during the winter when there is sufficient snow on the ground, can be used for Nordic skiing.
One of the challenges is whether Cherry Hill could be leased out and used for other purposes due to the restrictions on the land. The town bought the golf course and its surroundings, a total of 91 acres, for $2.2 million in 1987, preventing a private housing development.
When formed, the working group will also investigate innovative strategies for course management and fiscal sustainability, including reviewing the current and past management practices and budgets and exploring alternative and compatible uses of the property.
Two current members of the Recreation Commission and three residents will make up the committee.
Amherst History Center opens
Starting Saturday at 11 a.m., the Amherst History Center at 45 Boltwood Walk will be open to the public.
The inaugural exhibition at the new space, which will be open year-round, is “Amherst Then and Now,” a photographic juxtaposition of historic and contemporary images done in collaboration with students from Amherst Regional High School.
Also on view is “Eclipse Chasers,” documenting the travels of Mabel Loomis Todd and David Todd on their journeys around the world to study and photograph solar eclipses.
This is the first time the Amherst Historical Society will have regular exhibits off site from the Strong House. Some of the exhibits are familiar, such as the Emily Dickinson dress, while others are new to the public, after items were mostly kept in storage.
The museum is open until 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m., as well as by appointment.
Art sculpture at Wildwood
Wildwood Cemetery at 70 Strong St. is unveiling its first public art sculpture, Touch, sculpted by Matt Mitchell, Aug. 6 at 5:30 p.m.
Light refreshments will be served at the sculpture, to be located in the main entrance garden.
Wildwood Cemetery is among a growing number of cemeteries with public art programming, in keeping with the founders of Wildwood more than a century ago. In 1887, Fredrick Law Olmsted advised Austin Dickinson and others involved in setting up the cemetery that Wildwood should have native plantings, forested conservation land and collective monuments.
Touch was carved from a 5-foot tall boulder and represents two hands holding each other in the way that people hold hands when walking together or when clasping hands to feel support and connectedness. Mitchell lived in Amherst with his wife and their child for several years and enjoyed walking in Wildwood Cemetery during all seasons.
Mitchell earned a BFA in sculpture at Pratt Institute and is the winner of a 2010 Western New England Public Radio Arts and Humanities Award, and his work has been shown in museums around the country, including The National Portrait Gallery, Coral Springs Museum of Art, Pensacola Museum of Art, Stauth Museum and Daytona Beach Museum of Arts and Sciences.
MADD recognition
Amherst police officers Matthew Frydryk, Joseph Worthley and Matteo Picardi recently were recognized with a Mothers Against Drunk Driving Operating Under the Influence Enforcement Achievement award.
Presented in June at the Law Enforcement Recognition Breakfast and Awards in Devens, the award goes to officers who have shown a commitment to enforcing drunken driving laws and getting those operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol off the roads.
