(Editor's note: Call The Bee at 632-0390 and record a one-minute comment on our Bee Heard line. It gives readers an opportunity to comment quickly and candidly on items of local or regional interest. Callers do not have to identify themselves and no callers' names will be used. In the interest of fairness and good taste, The Bee will not publish derogatory or insulting comments. All comments are by our readers and are subject to editing.

.In response to the concern about the hiring of minorities in the Town of Amherst, as an Amherst resident, I really don't care what color the person is, as long as they are the best candidate. Sometimes, putting minority clauses into our hiring practices doesn't always give us the best candidate. Issuing hiring practices based on minority issues is also considered reverse discrimination.

.It's about time that the exorbitant health insurance given town employees at age 65 be terminated and that Medicare and supplemental insurance policies be used. The current insurance is double-dipping at taxpayers' expense. Supplemental health insurance is available free in almost all cases and, if you want to get a super good policy, it can be had for as little as $7 per month and from that of the best carriers in the area. Tummy tucks and face lifts are not health problems. For all the Satish Mohan bashers, get your facts straight concerning his promises not met; it's not his fault, it's the board members who won't let him keep his promises!

.In regards to the comment about town employees getting Good Friday and presidential days off, the caller needs to know that we negotiated those items years ago in lieu of pay raises. I've been a town employee for many years. We started at the bottom; no one wanted the jobs. We worked our way up; now everyone wants the jobs due to the benefits. But it took many years to get what we wanted and what we deserve, but yet not one town employee lives in a million-dollar house in this town. We have to live in the town, since we work in the town, and we work hard for what we have.

.My 8-year-old grandson was also bullied at the Pepsi Center by an older, bigger kid, perhaps the same one as in the current incident. Is the lack of supervision due to unwise budget cutting? People in Amherst value the amenities for which they moved here.

.I live on Campus West Drive, and it's a cut-through street; all the traffic from the 290 cuts through and from Sheridan Drive to Getzville Road, and the speeders over here are rampant. I've called the police numerous times. They set up radar, make one arrest, and then you don't see them again. It's terrible here.

.To whomever took the Labrador statue from my porch, it was wearing the collar from my puppy from when we first got him four years ago. It has great sentimental value. Keep the figurine, if you must, but I would appreciate it if you would return the collar. Just throw it on my front lawn or put it on the porch - no questions asked. Thank you.

.We in Amherst want to know if Satish Mohan will be pushing out these garbage totes for us next winter. It is outrageous to spend $1.7 million on rat houses when Dana Heights needs electric lights very badly.