Thanks to everyone for the great info and suggestions. I had done searches but could not necessarily relate the threads to my needs but with your responses the light is beginning to come on. I had bought a cycling magazine a few weeks ago and they rated the Jamis as one of the best "entry level" bikes so I had been to their website. Now I am able to look at tire size as a factor and understand that for multiple use street/trail the tire size is a balancing act. Also as has been pointed out I need to look into the different classes of hardware and become at least familiar with them. Another item pointed out is to budget in some tools, a tube etc. Easy to overlook.
Again, many thanks to all of you. I am sure the board is queried daily with these requests but you have been great in your responses!