park pg 1 5-25-23
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Getting the beds ready for planting.
A whole trailer full of plants arrived, along with the newest acquisition, a water tank to take care of all the gardens. More photos Wed. night on our FB page: Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger. Linda Lemmon photos.
Left: Artist Dan Durand prepares to install a custom piece of whimsical art. Above: Checking the diagram.
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM --- Dedicated members of the Quiet Corner Garden Club didn't let Saturday's deluge bother them as they installed more than 200 plants in the newly recreated Providence Street Municipal Memorial Garden. The club adopted, designed and will maintain the garden in memory of garden club members who "have departed but live on in our hearts," said club President Elaine Turner.
She added: "This project is one from the heart! Honoring the very founder and President, Mary Seney ,and all who inspired the club is quite meaningful. The Garden Club began meeting in each other’s living room with a maximum of 25 members. Today we stand at 120 strong!"
In a partnership between the Town of Putnam and the club, the town's pocket parks and small parks around Union Square, South Main Street and Providence Street are getting a boost. Parks are being "adopted" and renovated.
Putnam Economic and Community Development Director Carly DeLuca said $15,000 was added to the Parks and Recreation Department's budget for beautification.
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softball pg 1 5-25-23
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Softball team
takes first-ever
ECC title
outright
For the first time in a traditional ECC alignment, Woodstock captured a league divisional title and they did so by themselves with a 5-1 win over Killingly.
“This one was important for us,” said coach Jason Gerum. “We’ve never had an ECC championship, an outright one, so this game was a big deal to us and we will take it.”
The only other time the Centaurs have won an ECC divisional title in softball was in 2021 when it shared the Division 2 crown with Griswold in a COVID-altered alignment.
“This means a lot to all of us. We have an older team with seven seniors on it and this was a really good way to put icing on the cake,” said senior winning pitcher Lexi Thompson.
Sarah McArthur (2-for-3) had the big hit for the Centaurs, a two-run double, that sparked a four-run uprising in the second inning for the Centaurs. Ainsley Morse added an RBI single in the rally and another run scored on an error. Pinchrunner Maci Corradi scored the fifth run in the top of the seventh inning on an error.
“We had a few hits here and there and they were clutch which is good. We were able to get the early lead and then we held them and took it,” said senior catcher Maddie Martinez.
Thompson scattered seven hits and struck out eight to pick up the win.
“Our program is on the way up. Our JV looks really good. Look at what our freshman Ellary (Sampson) did (against Killingly). She came in to hit for Mia (Pannone) and she did the job (knocking in Corradi with a hard shot that resulted in an error and the run). We’re so proud of everyone. We put in a lot of work and it’s all coming together,” Thompson said.
“From where we were and where we are now. I couldn’t imagine this. You just keep on saying, ‘I will try another year’, and another year and I’m getting a little older now but the kids keep coming back, keep working hard, keep buying in. They say winning and losing is contagious and , at some point, we started to win a little and stayed the course and here we are,” Gerum said.
The Centaurs finished up the regular season with a 7-6 win over St. Bernard. Woodstock ended with a 14-6 mark.
“I was very pleased to have a winning season,” Gerum said. “Most of the games we dropped were very competitive and we were right in the mix.”
The final game came down to the final inning as the Saints threatened late but Thompson came in to record a last-out save in the circle.
The senior was also instrumental offensively as she hit a pair of three-run homers in the third and fifth innings to give the softball team an early six-run lead.
Thompson has eight homers this season.
Winning pitcher Grace Delsanto knocked in what proved to the game-winning run with a single in the sixth inning.
Martinez had three hits in the win while Elizabeth Morgis added a pair of hits. including a double, for the Centaurs.
The postseason began on Tuesday for the Centaurs as they hosted Ledyard in an ECC first-round tournament game (the game ended too late for this edition).
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
The Woodstock Academy softball team was all smiles last week in Dayville as the Centaurs clinched their first-ever traditional ECC divisional title with a win over Killingly. Photos by Marc Allard.
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vets pg 1 5-25-23
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Step 1
Last week Killingly Fences installed the posts for the white vinyl panel fence in Putnam's Veterans Park. Linda Lemmon photo
Veterans Park -
respect will be
stepping up
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — As Memorial Day approaches hearts turn toward honoring our military.
The town’s active Veterans Advisory Committee took care of installing a new flagpole at the Grove Street Monument and once the new sidewalks are finished along that small area, benches and plantings will put the finishing touches on that veteran site.
The small bit of funding left over from thatGrove Street Monument project will be applied to the next project — the Veterans Memorial Park at the corner of Bridge and Church streets.
It will involve a multi-phase effort, according to committee chair Rob Challinor. The entire project will cost $200,000 to $300,000, he said.
The committee is a 5013C which will allow it to get grants and funding more easily.
The first phase at the Veterans Park began last week with the installation of a vinyl white panel fence. It’s installed on the synagogue level of the property and will have bushes along the fence, on the synagogue side.
Challinor said there will be a ramp on both sides of the fence to allow safe, easy access to the park level. The sidewalks through the park will be reworked to accommodate the current and future monuments to the various wars. The oval walkway around the American flag pole will become a circle.
Challinor said the committee plans to apply to the Ellis Tech program for help with concrete, masonry and electrical work. Some new lighting will be installed around the park and monuments will be lighted. Applications for this program open in September. In the meantime he said he expects the blueprints to be finished in June.
Monuments that will be added along the redone sidewalks include Desert Storm, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and a new one, Operation Inherent Resolve. The town already has its Beirut Monument in storage, waiting for its place in the revitalized park.
Plans call for memorial bricks to be sold. He added a sign visible from three sides will be installed near the corner of Bridge and Church.
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because pg 2 5-25-23
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As much as I really enjoy planning a trip or an adventure, I fully feel that it is, typically, the Journey, rather than the Destination that makes things more interesting. However, it is usually the Destination that is the reason for the Journey in the first place, and so diminishing the importance of the Destination can also make the Journey feel a bit… pointless.
I mean, it would be hard to travel all the way to Paris for the first time and NOT visit the Eiffel Tower. Likewise, I don’t think that anyone who drives across the country to see the Grand Canyon ever feels that, upon their arrival, they should skip seeing the Grand view simply because they had ‘so much fun already’. But what happens when the Journey IS the Destination?
The simplest example of what I mean by this is climbing Mount Everest. Reaching the top of the mountain is clearly the Destination but the Journey to the top, and then back again, is the entirety of the experience and, typically, the primary thing that the climber remembers. Ask the climber about the view at the top and they will be able to respond with one word (AMAZING!) but ask the climber about getting to the top and 30 minutes later, you may still only be at Camp 1. Of course, most of us do not/will not climb Mount Everest, but even for those of us just taking a leisurely hike to reach a small peak; we wouldn’t keep going if we didn’t want to see the view.
I can remember a trip to Beijing wherein visiting The Forbidden City was the Destination for this day. The Forbidden City is an imperial palace with nearly a thousand buildings. And despite the throngs of people with entry tickets, it didn’t feel crowded… That is until I decided that I simply had to see the ancient (and most popular) throne of the Emperor in the Palace of the Supreme Harmony. Suddenly, I found myself standing amongst a mass of people who were steadfastly moving in a deliberate wave of motion that would, eventually, take me by the open door so that I could peak inside at the throne. I immediately had second thoughts about trying to see the throne, but it was too late to reverse my steps as more people had already filled the empty space behind me. The circle of movement grew tighter and tighter and soon I found that my body was actually lifted off the ground. I was scared and unsure about the whole experience but, I realized, that since I had wanted to see the throne, I was now along for the ride. My memory of the throne is that of a rather unassuming wooden bench. Of course, my memory of SEEING the throne also includes viewing the throne from my back, whilst my head was tilted to the left as I was carried by the door on the shoulders of a sea of people. Still, the view was better than when I went to the Louvre to SEE the Mona Lisa…
Jump! Jump!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!
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