On January 26, the four officers of the Wachusett Regional School District’s Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC) resigned. Their resignation followed a January 21 community forum with WRSD Superintendent James Reilly and Special Education Director Joan DeAngelis.

On the SEPAC Facebook page, Chair Laura Ybarra, Vice Chair Lindsey Lukason, Secretary Dr. Katie Jones, and Treasurer Katie Antinarella wrote, “After much thought, the SEPAC Officers have made the difficult decision to resign from our roles, effective immediately. We stepped into this work because we believe in strong, respectful partnerships between families and the district. Recent events made it clear to us that the level of collaboration and openness needed for that partnership to be successful is not currently present. …At this point we can no longer devote our energy to trying to build partnership where there is not a shared willingness to engage in meaningful change. … We remain committed to supporting one another and advocating for our children.”

On February 1, Maleah Gustafson, Wachusett Regional School District Committee member, posted a letter to parents signed by WRSDC chair Lauren Salmon-Garrett, citing that under Mass. General Laws, the School Committee is responsible for establishing a SEPAC and to that end a meeting, “to be held virtually per SEPAC tradition,” will be held on February 11, from 7-8 pm to nominate SEPAC members and on February 25, 7-8 pm, another Zoom meeting will be held to elect new SEPAC members. For the Zoom link to these meetings, visit the Facebook page: Maleah Gustafson Wachusett Regional School District Committee – WRSDC. Wachusett Free Press will follow and report on this story as it develops and will post links to the Zoom meeting on our own Facebook page. 

Holden

• Wachusett Area Chamber of Commerce offers scholarships for graduating seniors who reside in the Wachusett area. This year, four scholarships will be awarded. Three $2,500 scholarships are designated for students pursuing a degree in business at a two- or four-year college. A fourth $2,500 scholarship will be awarded to a student entering a technical field of study. This scholarship is intended to support students preparing for technical professions and reflects the Chamber’s commitment to strengthening the region’s workforce. Applicants with exceptional community service may also be considered for the Brian R. Forts Memorial Scholarship, which includes an additional award.

Applicants must reside in one of the towns served by the Chamber: Boylston, Holden, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland, Sterling, or West Boylston. The scholarship applications can be obtained from the guidance department at area high schools or on the Chamber’s website: www.wachusettareachamber.org. The deadline to apply is April 30, 2026. The winners will be announced prior to high school graduation, and the awards will be given out at the Chamber’s annual meeting in June. 

The Chamber hosts events throughout the year to fund this program, including the Scholarship Scramble golf tournament scheduled for Monday, May 18 at Sterling National Country Club in Sterling.

• Keep Holden Beautiful Committee, a seven-person volunteer nonprofit, is fundraising and applying for grants to support the installation of floral hanging baskets on Main Street. The $35,000 project will purchase 65 specialized metal brackets to affix to the lamp posts, metal floral hanging baskets, plants from a local nursery, a 150-gallon water sprayer, and will help pay a landscaper to maintain the flowers throughout the growing season. The committee has received town approval for the project.

 The Committee has organized three town-wide litter pick-up days and placed 33 whiskey barrels filled with flowers throughout Main Street last year. Checks can be made out to Keep Massachusetts Beautiful (put “Holden Chapter” in the memo line), and mailed to 702 Oakwood Street Extension, Holden MA 01520. As a non-profit, donations are tax deductible.

Paxton

• Richards Memorial Library kicked off its Centennial Celebration on January 15 by hosting a get-together with drop-in activities for patrons, trustees, Friends of the Library, and sponsor Fidelity Bank - who brought the made-to-order cookies.

• In news from Anna Maria College, David McCauley, the school’s executive director of athletics, announced the expansion of women's sports by adding flag football and competitive cheer/dance. Bridget D'Amelio was named inaugural head coach of women's flag football and Dr. Erin Blette was named as the inaugural head competitive cheer coach.

• Baypath Regional Vocational High School will partner with the town to do all the renovations that will turn the building at 10 West St. into a community meeting place. Renovations will begin the week of February 8 – so if you drive by and see a Dumpster in the parking lot, no need to worry. All materials for the renovations will be paid for by an insurance settlement that the town received that covered damage to 10 West. Once renovations are complete, the building will be named in honor of former Police Chief Robert J. Mortell, who was killed in the line of duty on February. 1, 1994. 

• Paxton Municipal Light Department, a member of Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC), was recently awarded $1,180,039 to replace and upgrade a substation transformer and associated equipment to modernize infrastructure. Work will include the installation of a backup transformer foundation, containment and work area so the existing transformer can be retained as a spare in the event of a failure. Paxton was one of six municipal utilities awarded grants under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, said the MMWEC. The funding, under the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s “Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Grid,” grant opportunity program, is being administered by the Mass Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). 

Rutland

• The Rutland Select Board is accepting nominations for the 2026 Moses How Award for Excellence in Public Service. This award is given annually to a resident or town employee who has exemplified excellence in public service. This year’s award will be given for performance during the 2025 calendar year.

Past recipients include Detective John Songy, Jeffrey Stillings, Ronald Marsh, Kenneth Lowe, Jr., and Ruth Lowe. Nominations will be accepted until February 20 and the winner will be announced at the March 2nd Select Board Meeting. Go to the town website rutlandma.gov and search for the Moses How Award nomination form.

• The Town of Rutland reminds residents that the FY2027 budget process is well underway. They encourage residents to visit the budget page online (https://www.rutlandma.gov/718/Financial-Budget-Information) for updated documents, schedules and more. Residents are encouraged to attend budget hearings, all of which are held at the Rutland Library, or watch the recorded meetings on Rutland Community Television. The schedule for the hearings can be found on the same budget page. W