Candidates may submit a candidate’s announcement (400 words maximum, plus a headshot) for publication in The Landmark, both in print and online. The headshot must be a high-resolution jpg file. The announcement must contain the candidate’s name, town, and position being sought. Please include a phone number for The Landmark’s records; it will not be printed.

Candidate name, town: Laura Kirshenbaum, Holden Position sought: Representative to the Wachusett Regional School District Committee (incumbent) I am Laura Kirshenbaum, and I ask for your vote to continue to serve as one of Holden’s representatives on the Wachusett Regional School Committee. I have been serving on the school committee for the past four years.

Candidate name, town: Jim Gettens, Sterling Position sought: Representative to the Wachusett Regional School District Committee Like many of you, especially those on fixed or limited incomes, I am a long-suffering Wachusett Regional School District taxpayer. Since fiscal 2010, WRSD total student enrollment has fallen by 754, from 7,493 to 6,739, a full 10%.

Candidates may submit a candidate’s announcement (400 words maximum, plus a headshot) for publication in The Landmark, both in print and online. The headshot must be a high-resolution jpg file. The announcement must contain the candidate’s name, age, town, and position being sought. Please include a phone number for The Landmark’s records; it will not be printed.

The Landmark accepts letters to the editor of local interest written by residents of our five Wachusett towns. Letters are limited to a maximum of 350 words. Submissions must include the name of the letter writer, the town in which they live, and a phone number for our records; phone numbers will not be printed. Anonymous letters are not permitted.

As a Holden resident, I was dismayed to read that Holden refuses to comply with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s zoning regulation encouraging more multifamily housing (i.e., apartments) in communities near commuter rail. While there are legitimate concerns regarding town services and school enrollment, Town Manager Peter Lukes cited none of these, but was quoted as saying that “it won’t fit the character of neighborhoods” in Holden.