BRIDGEWATER: LENENTINE, WHEELER WIN CONTESTED SELECTMEN’S SEATS

Residents voted on three municipal seats and approved a $194,056 budget when the town held its annual elections and town meeting Monday, according to Town Manager Amanda Dow. In the town’s only contested race, Allison Lenentine and Edgar Wheeler beat out Adrian Boyce for two available three-year terms to the Board of Selectmen, Dow said Thursday.

Terri Allen, who ran unopposed for a three-year term on the school board, also was voted in. Dow was elected to a one-year term as town clerk and treasurer. During the annual town meeting, residents approved the 2006 municipal budget, which is up about $7,012 or 3.75 percent from last year. Dow said that major cost drivers for the budget included allocations of $2,000 for the recreation department and $1,700 for the Bridgewater library. Other impacts to the budget included energy costs, insurance, cost of living increases, and expenses for streetlights and the Fire Department.