Pomfret pg 12 10-21-21
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POMFRET — The Town of Pomfret is looking for its first poet laureate.
Selectmen recently approved a resolution creating the position of “Pomfret Poet Laureate.” The resolution is designed to support literacy and imagination, foster young poets and to offer a new way to commemorate life in the community through poetry.
Nominations (including self-nomination) of interested poets who live in Pomfret should be made by Oct. 29. The Pomfret Poet Laureate will serve a two-year uncompensated term with potential for another consecutive term. The Library Board of Trustees administers this unpaid position and its functions. Full details regarding requirements for nomination and responsibilities can be found at www.pomfretlibrary.org.
The Pomfret Public Library’s Board of Trustees will consider all nominations, select a poet laureate, and recommend that person to the Board of Selectmen, who will appoint the poet laureate. Requirements for nominees include residency in the town of Pomfret, being over 18 years of age, excellence as evidenced by submitted poetry examples and history of publication, a history of activity advancing poetry in the Pomfret area and its literary community, and excellence as shown by recognition, awards, and so forth.
The goal of establishing a Pomfret Poet Laureate is to “promote poetry, good writing, reading, and imagination,” to inspire people to “promote literacy through poetry,” and to add a new way to commemorate Pomfret and its life by “composing poetry that speaks to, for, and of our town.” The poet laureate should also help “foster the development of youth poetry...and help provide a platform for emerging young poets to present their works in conjunction with library and town-sponsored events.” The selectmen’s full resolution can be read at www.pomfretct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3701/f/uploads/202108121250.pdf.
Do you or someone you know fit the bill for Pomfret Poet Laureate? If so, limber up your pen (or keyboard), and submit a nomination to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The board will consider all nominees and recommend one to the selectmen for two years of literary glory.
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Arends pg 1 10-28-21
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captions, page 2
Ian Hoffman hustles home in sixth place at the ECC boys’ cross-country championship meet.Linsey Arends holds a sizable lead over Bacon Academy’s Jordan Malloy coming up one of the final hills at the ECC girls’ cross-country championship meet. Photos by Marc Allard.
Lauren Brule races E. Lyme’s Maya D’Aquila to the finish line at the ECC girls’ cross-country championship meet. Photos by Marc Allard.
Arends
realizes goal
at ECC
championship
The joy was more than evident on the face of Woodstock Academy senior Linsey Arends.
She had just finished running the ECC girls’ cross country championship late last week and finally captured something that had just escaped her grasp in her two previous times – an ECC individual championship.
Arends toured the course in 20 minutes, 21 seconds. That was 25 seconds better than her friendly rival, Bacon Academy senior Jordan Malloy.
The monkey was off her back. “All week, she had been saying, ‘I have to get this. I have to get this.’ I told her (Thursday) was going to be her day. It turned out better than I had thought,” said coach Joe Banas.
Malloy had won the title when she was a freshman with Arends coming in third place. As sophomores, Malloy edged out Arends at the finish line, winning by a second.
It was a memory that has haunted the Woodstock Academy senior for two years as the pandemic cancelled last year’s ECC championship.
“I love Jordan and I’ve been waiting to race her again after (the outdoor) track (season). I was like, ‘This year, I’m going to do it’. I’m going to be ECC champion and I am. I couldn’t have had a better time running against anyone else. Jordan and all the girls are amazing,” Arends said.
The key was the hills, according to Banas. He, assistant coach Josh Welch, and Arends had designed a plan as to when Arends should make her move against Malloy.
It was to take place on a wooden bridge leading into the first large hill. She was to work that hill and a couple of others that followed. Then, she had to hold off an anticipated sprint by Malloy.
“My goal was to stay on her for the first two miles and in the last mile, just take it. I did. It was awesome. I was really pushing those hills. I know I’m strong on hills and I knew I had to get her on those. It worked out,” Arends said.
Arends led Malloy by about 150 yards heading into the final mile and gradually extended that lead.
“She pulled away from me in the hills and I was trying to keep up, but she was keeping up a good pace. I wanted to push the hills; they are challenging here. I wanted to maintain pace after the hills, not slow down too much and we stayed together until the end. (Arends) had very good grit and a very good kick,” Malloy said.
The two had one other factor to consider. An unusually warm October day with the thermometer nearing 80 degrees.
“It was tough. I don’t like the heat. I’m a person who prefers the 50’s for my races. I knew I was going to have to sweat it out. Blood, sweat and tears all the way, maybe some fingernail clippings came off and some white hairs from stress, but it was just a good time,” Arends said.
She crossed the finish line and then Banas had to go into action.
“I watched the last 30 meters with (Linsey’s) Mom, and if the race had to go to the street, I don’t know. She was wibbly-wobbly and we didn’t touch her until she had crossed the plane (of the finish line) and her Mom got on one side and I on the other and held her up. Her legs were tightening up from dehydration but we didn’t have time to get acclimated,” Banas said.
Following behind Arends was junior Lauren Brule who finished 10th. ““I didn’t get the personal record that I wanted but it was such a hard course and I’m really just happy to finish in the top 10.”
Senior Leah Castle was 12th followed by Julia Coyle in 14th and Sydney Lord in 15th. Those numbers helped the Centaurs finish second as a team just 15 points behind first-place E. Lyme.
The important meets continue Oct. 30 when the Class MM state championship takes place. “I am so psyched for States. I want to go out and see what we can do as a team. We want to place high, I want to place high, maybe win. I don’t know. That may be asking for a lot, but definitely, I want to run well and realize more of my senior year goals because this is my last shot. I can’t wait,” Arends said.
Centaurs Boys Place 4th
If someone would have told Woodstock senior Ian Hoffman that he would finish in the top 10 in the ECC boys’ cross-country championship at the beginning of the season, Hoffman’s response would have been cautious.
“It sounds ambitious,” Hoffman said his response would have been a couple of months ago. Oct. 21 it became reality.
Hoffman, in his first and last ECC championship, finished the 3.1 mile course in 17 minutes, 41 seconds, good enough for sixth place overall.
“I was just trying to stay with the three Griswold guys (Michael, Jacob and Lucas Strain) because I knew they were really good. I was just trying to stick with them and I did that fairly decently,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman was part of a second pack that consisted of Michael Strain who finished second, followed by Plainfield’s Jack Pothier, NFA’s Ethan Manfredi, Jacob Strain and then, Hoffman.
E. Lyme’s Luke Anthony dusted the rest of the field.
“I’m so pleased with (Hoffman), he did fabulous,” said coach Peter Lusa. “He dropped like two seconds off his fastest time ever and this is a pretty tough course. I think we’re going to see even better things from him in States.” Hoffman started the season with an 18 ½ minute 5K.
“The training has done a whole bunch but the main thing that held me back in the beginning was the mental part,” Hoffman said.
That includes running with pain, to really push himself, something Lusa is hoping to inspire in him for the upcoming Class MM state championship meet.
Vincente Bastura (18:40) placed 14th and Christian Menounos (19:06) was 20th.
The Centaurs finished fourth as a team behind E. Lyme, Griswold and NFA. Now, it’s on to the States Oct. 30.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
Centaurs pg 1 10-28-21
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caption, page 5:
First Goal
Woodstock Academy’s Manny Vidal scored his first goal of the season for the Centaurs in the boys-only match of the week, a 3-1 loss to Waterford. Photo by Marc Allard.
The Woodstock Academy football team had a pretty simple plan going into its game with Bacon Academy.
Get the lead early, take the fight out of the Bobcats and get out of Colchester with a win.
The Centaurs scored 27 first half points and rolled to a 33-0 win over Bacon Oct. 23.
“Our goal was to execute with the 1’s (the starters), be efficient, which we were and then get all the 2’s (reserves) in and we did a great job. The 2’s defense stopped them, caused a turnover in the fourth quarter and we were able to get a bunch of guys in for the second half,” said coach Sean Saucier.
Senior Tyler Green scooped up a fumble on the opening possession for the Bobcats and gave the Centaurs the ball on the Bacon Academy 27. Instead of throwing, the Centaurs elected to run the ball into the end zone, going with eight rushing plays to get the score.
Trevor Savoie (11 carries, 52 yards) got the honor as he scored from 2 yards out just four minutes into the game.
Woodstock (5-1, 3-0 ECC Div. II) got another turnover on Bacon’s next possession when safety Austin Amlaw intercepted a pass from Bacon quarterback Jack Holmes. Unfortunately, Amlaw fumbled the football back to the Bobcats.
The defense forced Bacon to punt and the Centaurs did get the ball back in good field position at their own 47.
A penalty pushed them back to their own 39 but quarterback Ethan Davis hit Jackson Goetz (6 catches, 97 yards) for 20 yards and River Favreau for 15 more. Add in a 3-yard run by Payton Barna and the Centaurs were knocking at the door at Bacon’s 23-yard line.
Davis got that on one play, looking down the left sideline for Parker Anderson (4 catches, 78 yards) who reeled it in for a 14-0 Centaur lead. Davis completed his first 11 passes of the game and threw for 188 yards.
Davis also completed a pair of touchdown passes to Goetz from 11 and 25 yards out to give Woodstock a 27-0 halftime lead.
Davis played only one series in the second half before yielding to junior Braiden Saucier who completed eight of his 13 passes for 160 yards including a 35-yard touchdown pass to Carter Saracina in the fourth quarter.
The win was the fourth in a row for the Centaurs and meant the game with Ledyard in November will mean something.
“We have a division title game against Ledyard so that’s exciting. We have a few tough ones ahead of us but we’re excited for the competition and the opportunity to compete for a division title,” Saucier said.
Volleyball
It took a little while. The volleyball team had been on the wrong side of the score in their previous eight matches.
That finally changed last week against Sports Sciences Academy out of Hartford.
The Centaurs held off the Tigers, 3-0, Oct. 20 and followed that up Oct. 21 with a 3-2 win over Coventry.
“It was very nice to break that streak,” a relieved senior Aurissa Boardman said after the win over SMSA.
Woodstock Academy coach Adam Bottone couldn’t have agreed more. “It was very nice to get a win. It goes a long way for the confidence of the girls. We were still a little more inconsistent than I would like,” said Bottone.
The Centaurs owned the lead in the first set, but had to hold off Sports Sciences at the end, 25-22.
Woodstock Academy took the second set easily, 25-18, but to highlight that inconsistency that Bottone spoke of, had to rally from a 19-14 deficit in the third set to win, 25-20, and seal the match victory.
Junior Emily Goodell had an eight-point run from behind the service line that brought the Centaurs back from the five-point deficit.
In addition to Goodell, Boardman (17 digs) had 10 of her 16 kills on the night in the decisive set.
“They couldn’t stop her swing so she was able to get a lot of kills. Sometimes, you have a hot hand and you go with it. I liked that when she struggled with some things; she adjusted, and put some roll and tip shots in there. That’s really important moving forward. She’s realizing it doesn’t always have to be this crazy kill. My daughter (Liliana) has been working on that, too, and she had a nice tip to end the game so things are slowly starting to click, but it’s a little late,” Bottone said.
The recent Centaurs losing streak means they will not qualify for state tournament play.
But they have opted to participate in the ECC tournament which is an open tournament.
“I think it will definitely be beneficial. Every game we play is beneficial. When you play the best (the Centaurs will likely be paired with one of the top seeds in the opening round), you can only get better,” Boardman said.
In the final few matches of the season, Boardman knows what her job is. “It’s my job to leave on a good note, teach them everything that I was taught by Paula (Hernandez) and all the other girls,” Boardman said.
The good news for the Centaurs continued against the Patriots on “Dig Pink” night at the Alumni Fieldhouse. It went the distance with the Centaurs scoring the last three points in the final set for the 15-12 victory.
Woodstock had won the first, 25-23, and third sets, 25-21, while Coventry won the second, 25-13 and fourth, 25-14.
Liliana Bottone had 14 kills and 19 digs for Woodstock while Annarose Avery had 25 assists and Ellie Nunes had 28 digs.
But all good things have to come to an end and it did for the Centaurs Oct. 22 when they traveled across the state to Newtown. The drive took longer than the match as Newtown posted straight set victories of 25-20, 25-23 and 25-13. Boardman had 10 kills while Bottone added nine and Nunes had 17 digs.
Boys’ Soccer
The boys’ soccer team, unfortunately, will have to live with a 3-1 loss to Waterford for a little while as they are off until they play host to Bacon Academy on Senior Day Oct. 27.
The Centaurs fell behind the Lancers in Waterford by two goals in the first half and couldn’t make up any ground in the second half.
Manny Vidal scored the only goal for Woodstock (5-7-1, 3-4 ECC Div. II) with three minutes left in regulation in the loss to the Lancers. It was the first goal of the season for Vidal.
The Centaurs need either a win or a tie in their final two matches to guarantee themselves a state tournament berth.
Girls’ Soccer
Just like the boys’ soccer team, the Woodstock girls’ soccer team had a relatively quiet week. The Centaurs scored three goals in the first half and rolled to a 6-1 victory over Fitch in Groton in their only match of the week.
Grace Gelhaus scored two goals for Woodstock (5-7-2, 2-2-1 ECC Div. I) while Addy Smith added a goal on a penalty kick and two assists to help sink the Falcons. Juliet Allard, Bella Mawson and Ava Coutu also tallied for the Centaurs. Kayla Leite, Allard and Macy Rawson also contributed assists in the win.
Woodstock needs either a win or a tie in their two matches this week to qualify for state tournament play.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
Municipal pg 1 10-28-21
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Municipal
Complex
celebrates
opening
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
It was a long road getting to the new Municipal Complex and it will serve a long line of those who follow.
At the close of his speech at the grand opening of the complex Oct. 23, Mayor Barney Seney said “It’s been centuries in the making and it will serve centuries into the future.” He recounted the “flawless” history of the project that was on time and under budget and credited the citizens of Putnam for their foresight and their support. The citizens voted to build the complex and, long ago, also voted to allow the Wheelabrator landfill and to save the rent money from that for future projects like this one.
“You citizens and you citizens alone, made this possible,” he said. In addition he gave credit to the building committee and its chairman Karen Osbrey, LLB Architects, general contractor Downes Construction Company, Town Administrator (and former town planner and town engineer) Elaine Sistare, and all the departments.
Originally the complex was going to house the Town Hall and the Putnam Public Library. But in the interest of serving all the citizens, a community center for seniors and more, and the new home for the Aspinock Historical Society were added, Seney said.
Osbrey said LLB Architects and Downes were “the consummate professionals.” She added: “This is more than bricks and mortar. It’s me, you and all of our community.”
Sistare thanked all the help from departments. “The departments made this work.” “We’re here for the community; we’re here to serve.”
Priscilla Colwell, library director, said “We will serve the community in so many ways for a long time to come.”
Bill Pearsall, president of the historical society, was over the moon with the society’s “magnificent” new space. He joked about living across from the society’s old quarters, the old Aspinock House. “Every morning I’d get up and look out my bedroom window to see if the building was still standing.” That building was demolished to make room for the School Street entrance and exit of the complex. He called 2021 a banner year for the society. First its new spacious home on the second floor of the complex, and second, after two and one-half years, renovations to the Gertrude Warner Boxcar Museum are complete and the museum is ready to open in the spring.
Architect R. Drayton Fair said this project has gone through six years, three town administrators and two mayors. “This is your town hall, above everything,” he said. “It contains the true essence of the citizens of Putnam.” Joseph Desautel from Downes said the town can take pride in this complex. “I think it’s second to none in its class.”
A ribbon cutting followed and Osbrey said the “Putnam Blue” ribbon will be given to the Aspinock Historical Society. Inside were refreshments, tours and the town’s first art exhibit on the first-floor hallway/gallery.
Sistare estimated about 90 people attended the grand opening, not counting departments and dignitaries and officials.
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After speeches, officials cut the ribbon at Putnam's new Municipal Complex. The blue bow was given to the Aspinock Historical Society.
Checking out the art exhibit.
Architect R. Drayton Fair (glasses) talking about the mural in the children's section of the new library.
Elaine Sistare and Mayor Barney Seney.