250th celebration - anything but quiet
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
The Quiet Corner America 250 planning group is anything but quiet.
In fact, it’s guaranteed to be loud Oct. 11 and 12 with the Battle of Fairholm Farm. Several re-enactment regiments, playing American “rebels,” the British Red Coats and French troops, are set to go at the Fairholm Farm, 80 Chandler School Road in Woodstock. Drills, artillery demonstrations, fife and drum demonstrations, children’s programs and demonstrations, 18th-century medical tent demonstration and George Washington are just some of the events backed into two days.
The battles will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 11 and at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 12.
The Quiet Corner America 250 group includes planners from Putnam, Woodstock, Thompson and Brooklyn and they are planning everything from battles to veteran monuments to films, library programs, children’s activities, programs, school contests, and a multitude of fund-raising events. Every corner of the Quiet Corner is being included including historical societies, schools, granges, recreation departments, veterans groups and more.
The battle, planned by the Thompson committee, has been in the works for a while, according to Amy St. Onge, Thompson’s first selectman. She said the total cost of the Battle of Fairholm Farm is almost $6,500.
Coming up in Putnam is the CT250 Roast Beef Dinner/Band on Nov. 22 at the VFW. One fund-raiser on the horizon is a trivia night/spaghetti supper. It will be held Jan. 15. Committee member Jim Bradley said the America 250th Trivia Night at the VFW will start with a $15 ($25/couple) spaghetti dinner at 5 p.m. followed by a trivia competition ($10 per team). Committee members last week were brainstorming trivia categories such as the American Revolution, America Through Music, Putnam History, Lost Industry and more. The list will be tweaked.
The VFW is also planning a May guest bartender event to help raise funds for the Quill and Scroll granite monument set for unveiling in the Veterans Park July 4.
Other Putnam events
Oct 25, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at the library: Exclusive Preview of the PBS - Ken Burns “The American Revolution;” February: America 250th ice sculpture at the Fire and Ice Festival; March: “Women in the American Revolution: Putting the ‘Her’ in Heroics”; April: “The Sons of Liberty in Windham County”; May: General Israel Putnam costumed interpreter at the Putnam Public Library; June: Community Celebration at the Cady Copp Cottage and Field. 
In Thompson
January: Revolutionary War themed mystery dinner; April “Red Coat Retreat Run” 5K; May: Community Concert & Maker’s Fair; July: Possible July 3 fireworks, community parade and BBQ on July 4.
In Woodstock
July: Roseland Tea and Vintage Baseball Game; November: Veterans Quilt Raffle. Also: Declaration of Independence re-dedication at Jamboree; Roseland Cottage Revolutionary Tea; American History Documentaries shown at local business and collecting stories from residents of Woodstock.
In Brooklyn
Running a logo design contest; looking at hosting a possible re-enactment (details TBD); July 4:  Large event at the Brooklyn fairgrounds, and many reading programs and a patriotic dance.
Committee members also discussed having a collective float for the 250th for the Holiday Dazzle Light Parade.
Check Woodstock Celebrates 250 on Facebook. It is currently the clearinghouse for events. 
Donations are welcome: Make your check out to the Town of Woodstock, Town of Putnam, Town of Brooklyn or the Town of Thompson and mail to the town halls.

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Centaurs take 2 out of 3 in busy week
The girls’ volleyball match between Woodstock Academy and Rockville was truly good to the last drop.
It began a week that saw the Centaurs win two of their three matches to improve to 10-5 on the season.
About 2 ½ hours into the battle royal with Rockville, the Centaurs were up, 24-23, needing just one point to claim the win.
It didn’t come easy. What followed was a lengthy volley highlighted by a truly remarkable play by the Rams that saw their Libero Manahil Ali, take a Kaylee Bundy slam almost to the face but managed to still put the ball up in the air where Caroline Burg dug it and Jordyn Grant put it back over the net.
Moments later, Bundy would get the set and match winning kill to give Woodstock the 3-1 victory.
“That (Ali) save was unbelievable. It hit her in the head or shoulder or face and (Burg) was there to pick it up and they got it back over. I’m glad my team did not continue the celebration and it finally went our way, but it took a bit, a lot longer than I wanted,” said coach Adam Bottone.
The match got off to a slow start as Rockville arrived nearly an hour late meaning the varsity match didn’t start until after six. Then, it didn’t want to come to an end.
“It was tough,” Bundy said. “I definitely started a little rough, hitting a lot out and then I had to come and speak to Bottone and I started to realize when I needed to keep the ball in when it was tight and I think it definitely helped us.”
It was a battle of outside hitters. Bundy finished with a career-high 23 kills. But Burg bested that. She finished with 28 kills.
“She was really intimidating,” said Libero Gianna Musumeci, who had to absorb much of the abuse from the Rockville player. “All of the back row players (Monday) did an amazing job, just staying, looking, watching and getting to the ball which we really needed especially against a hitter like her. She is amazing.”
Burg was hitting not only from her outside spot, but also in the middle, from the opposite side and even from the back row.
“She’s fantastic,” Bottone said. “She can hit it from anywhere and she’s a lefty. What a gift. We knew she was going to get her kills, that was the reality of it, but when she was in the back row, we did a good job of digging her especially Alexa Delmonaco. She had some wonderful digs but it was a battle of power hitters.”
The Centaurs did take the first set 25-23 and came back with an overtime, 27-25 win in the second set.
The home folks were hoping that it would quickly come to an end when the Centaurs built an 18-14 lead in the third set. The Rams (9-2) had other ideas. They tied the match at 19 and it was still tied at 24.
But the Rams extended it a set as a service error by the Centaurs and a Burg kill gave Rockville the win.
“You see what I mean by streaky play,” Bottone said. “We are so inconsistent and it’s the nature of what we’ve been doing all season. Sometimes, we pass great, have good sets, and destroy the ball and at other times, it’s like ‘What are we doing?’”
But the Centaurs would be the ones walking off the court with a smile thanks to Bundy’s final kill of the match.
“I was standing, waiting, watching and was like, ‘Oh my, please, please, please because that rally just went on for so long and I was so happy we pulled it out,” Musumeci said.
Lily Morgis had 38 assists in the win while fellow senior Vivian Bibeau had 13 service points.
“We have to work on our consistency. We do a lot of things that are good but we don’t do them consistently enough. So once we get that consistency down, it will be a lot easier for us to finish games,” said Bundy.
The Centaurs were a bit more consistent later in the week when they downed Waterford, 3-0 on the road.
Bundy had another good outing as she led the team with 14 digs and 12 kills. Fellow outside hitter Kennedy McCooey and Bibeau both had seven kills with McCooey adding 13 digs.
Musumeci also contributed 13 digs and Morgis had 26 assists.
But the good news came to an end when the Centaurs traveled to East Lyme on Friday.
The Vikings have been just about unbeatable since a season-opening loss to RHAM, winning 13 straight matches.
East Lyme had also lost just two sets, both to Farmington in a 3-2 victory, since that loss to RHAM and that trend continued against Woodstock as the Vikings prevailed 3-0.
The win gave East Lyme a 7-0 record in Div. I of the ECC and clinched the regular season title for the Vikings.
Bundy again led the Centaurs (5-2 ECC Division I) in a pair of categories as she had nine kills and eight digs,  Morgis contributed 18 assists and five service points and McCooey had eight kills.
Girls’ Cross-Country
It was not the easiest day for freshman Emelia Langevin. Her calf was sore and on a course laden with hills like the Woodstock Fairgrounds, that can take a toll.
Add to that, a summer-like day where temperatures hovered in the mid-to-upper 70s and it could have easily been a pretty rough day.
Langevin just shook it off and went on to finish first in 21 minutes even which was 18 seconds better than East Lyme’s Anna Konon.
Unfortunately, the first-place position was not enough to snare the Centaurs a win as East Lyme prevailed 23-37.
 “I am a little concerned because (the calf tightness) has been nagging for about a week. She’s wearing the calf sleeves but also needs to do things at home to help herself. This is all new to her. Middle school to high school training is a huge difference. She’s learning as she is going. There is no book,” coach Joe Banas said.
Langevin immediately went for the ice pack after finishing the race.
“It’s been bugging me for a few weeks,” Langevin said. “The heat was definitely a factor with how I ran. It was a lot hotter than last time.”
Langevin was coming off a fine effort just a couple of days before when she captured a first-place finish at the Ocean State Invitational in North Kingstown, R.I.
“It was pretty good,” Langevin said. “I went out fast, stood my ground, kept my pace and it all worked out.” She admitted competing in the Ocean State Invite was a lot different than trying to tame a dual meet.
“There was just a lot more competition, a lot more people and I was more nervous than in a dual meet where there is just not as many people,” Langevin said.
It will be something she will have to get used to with meets like the Wickham Park Invitational, the ECC championship and CIAC state championship races still to come.
“It’s really nice to have Emme on this team. She is very good and it’s to have someone to chase after,” senior Olivia Tracy said.
Tracy was nearest to Langevin at the finish line on Tuesday.
She finished fourth behind East Lyme’s Rachel Quadrato in 22:25.
“I was pretty happy with my finish. It was a big improvement from my time here (against Ledyard),” Tracy said. “This is a tough course but we have been out here, training the hills and putting in the work. I think it’s really going to help when it comes to the ECC championship at the (Norwich) Golf Course and Wickham (Park).”
But the spaces between Tracy and ninth-place finisher Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain were filled by four Vikings who improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in Div. I of the ECC.
“It’s well run, it’s well coached. I tip my hat to (East Lyme coach) Mike Flynn,”” Banas said of the Vikings program. “They had a solid pack of four, the ‘chunk’, where the scoring takes place.”
The Centaurs slipped to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the Division.
Boys’ Cross-Country
The race with East Lyme produced the expected results. The Vikings, one of the top teams in the state, never mind the ECC, came ready to race.
Fortunately for Woodstock, there was a little race within the race that took some of the Centaurs’ attention off the Vikings.
East Lyme cruised to the 21-35 win over Woodstock getting the automatic victory when Sam Leone, Jack Faitsch and Joey Papalia finished 1-2-3.
The Vikings are now 5-0 overall and 3-0 in Div. I of the ECC.
“We kind of expected that we would have a tough time with them. I was hoping we would crack into the top three with a couple of guys. They were in there for most of the race until (East Lyme) caught a surge with a half-mile to go and fell off a little. They were a phenomenal team as always but our kids held up really well and we had some personal bests on a very hilly course so we’re moving in the right direction,” said coach Josh Welch.
One runner in particular headed in the right direction was junior Sam Greene.
Greene caught up to the Centaurs’ sophomore frontrunner Lucas Hecker and slipped by him toward the end to finish in 18 minutes, 9 seconds, six seconds better than his younger teammate.
“I think it’s awesome,” Welch said of Greene’s effort. “It will be tough for Lucas to process that a little but he is going to have to go back after him. Sam’s been chasing him just like Harrison (Durand) and Bronson (Eddy) has been chasing Sam and they’re all kind of working together with that. The cool thing is that they are all supportive of that process and help each other out. Lucas might be a little bummed (Tuesday) but it will bring us closer together,” Welch said.
Internal competition is not a bad thing. “It’s a beautiful thing,” Welch said. “We try to encourage that. We’re racing each other out there, too, and it’s not about letting someone win. We’re trying to push the level of competition up.”
Bronson Eddy and Harrison Durand finished seventh and eighth and Carter Mydlarz was the team’s fifth runner in 11th.
The loss dropped the Centaurs to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in Division I of the ECC.
Girls’ Soccer
The girls’ soccer team was in need of a win and on Friday, it got it. 
The Centaurs traveled to East Lyme for the Terri Brodeur Think Pink match and posted a 2-0 victory over the host Vikings.
The win raised the Centaurs record to 2-7-3 overall and 2-3-3 in Div. I of the ECC.
Just 11 minutes into the contest, Woodstock was awarded a corner kick and Avery Danis used it to find Kaylee Saucier just outside the 18. The senior rocketed a long-distance shot into the back of the net for the early lead.
The Centaurs added a little insurance with just 2 ½ minutes left in the first 40 when Harper Simoneau passed to Gia Baldyga who put the ball just inside the far post for her second goal of the year.
Woodstock was hoping a win over Waterford the Friday before would rub off a little early in the week. And for a while, it did.
The Centaurs did take the lead over Norwich Free Academy on a goal by Baldyga who scored off an assist from her sophomore classmate, Lily Mioduszewski.
But the Wildcats countered, scoring on a penalty kick to tie the match and then went ahead later in the second half and claimed the 2-1 victory.
The Centaurs went on the road on Wednesday and suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of Stonington. Ellary Sampson made seven saves in the loss.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

captions:
IMG 3093 – The boys’ cross-country team is led off the starting line by Sam Greene, middle, and Lucas Hecker, right.

IMG 3100 – Sophomore Lucas Hecker leads a pair of East Lyme runners in a boys’ cross-country race.

IMG 3083 – Freshman Emelia Langevin strides across the finish line all alone in first place.

IMG 3063: There is no one else in sight as freshman Emelia Langevin navigated the course in a girls’ cross-country meet.

IMG 3070- Freshman Claire Bruneaux makes the turn.  

IMG 3058 – The Woodstock and East Lyme girls’ cross-country teams take off from the starting line. All photos by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.

Briefly
Williams appointed
HARTFORD — Former state Senate president Donald E. Williams Jr. of Brooklyn has been appointed, effective immediately, by Governor Ned Lamont to serve as a member of the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education (BOR), the governing body for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system.

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