RUTLAND — The sugarhouse at Sap Castle has been working overtime lately, a true sign that maple syrup season is in full swing and spring is around the corner. Husband and wife Jon and Lauren Williams run the third-generation farm at 29 Overlook Road.

I was amused to read the Feb. 16 story (in The Landmark) about a former local office seeker who was so frightened by aging liberals at the Feb. 6 meeting of the Holden Board of Selectmen that he is now “afraid to attend meetings ever again.” To be paralyzed with fear at a selectmen’s meeting is not a good argument for being elected to office.

After viewing the recent Wachusett Regional School District School Committee meeting and reading the reporting in The Landmark (Feb. 9 issue) regarding the new DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) policy, I found myself running for the dictionary (old school hard copy) to look up the word equity.

Saint Anselm College presents sophomore nurses MANCHESTER, N.H. — Saint Anselm College sophomore nursing student Marguerite Ortiz of Sterling joined fellow student nurses in the Abbey Church for a blessing before beginning clinical placements.

HOLDEN — The Holden Garden Club will hold its next monthly meeting at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, March 2, at the Holden Light Department, One Main St. The new speaker is Nancy Riggs, a Master Gardener and member of the club. Riggs will be presenting Fun with Trees: Basic Tree Identification, and some interesting information about each tree will be presented followed by a contest in identifying the trees presented. There will be prizes! The public is welcome. For more information about the club, visit www.gcfm.org.

STERLING — In Spring 2022, members of Hope Chapel, 35 Chocksett Road, started digging and preparing a community garden. Half of the free garden plots were reserved by people in the community. The other half was planted with seeds donated by church members and DiMeco’s, with more than 670 pounds of food grown donated to local charities, including WHEAT Community Connections in Clinton. The church is taking reservations for the 2023 growing season, with 4-by-10-foot plots ready, for free.