Legal Notice
Town of Pomfret
 ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – 
MAY 14, 2026 AT 6:30 PM
POMFRET COMMUNITY 
SCHOOL CAFETERIA

The legal voters and citizens qualified to vote in Town Meeting of the Town of Pomfret are hereby warned to meet at the Pomfret Community School Cafeteria, 20 Pomfret Street, Pomfret, Connecticut, on Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 6:30 P.M. to act upon the following articles:
Opening Remarks by First Selectman Maureen Nicholson
Article 1: To choose a Moderator for said meeting.
Article 2: To see if the Town will consider and act upon the following resolution:  “Resolved” that the Board of Selectmen is hereby authorized and empowered to enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of Transportation and the Office of Policy and Management, State of Connecticut, for the expenditure of all Highway funds under the provisions of Chapter 240 and the expenditure of all Local Capital Improvement Funds under the provisions of Chapter 7-536, CT General Statutes, for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026.
Article 3: To see if the Town will consider and adopt the Five-Year Local Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal year 2026–2027 as proposed by the Board of Selectmen.
Article 4: To see if the Town will accept the following cemetery funds for perpetual care: 
      Abington Cemetery Association:  John & Susan Boland- #502 and 503  deTallyrand Annex - $200.00; 
      Pomfret Cemetery Corporation: Jean & Terry Ann Fleming- Yard 3, Lots 135 & 136 - $200.00.
      Article 5: To see if the Town will approve an Amended Ordinance Regarding Tax Abatements for Volunteer Firefighters. Said Ordinance was approved by the Pomfret Board of Selectmen and is on file with the Pomfret Town Clerk, 5 Haven Road, Pomfret Center, CT. 
Article 6: To see if the Town will approve an Ordinance that would allow Vote for Three Regarding the Board of Selectmen where electors may vote for the same number of candidates as there are members to be elected. Said Ordinance was approved by the Board of Selectmen and is on file with the Pomfret Town Clerk, 5 Haven Road, Pomfret Center, CT 06259.
Article 7: To see if the Town will adopt an appropriation in the amount of $3,576,769 for the 2026/2027 fiscal year General Government budget, the same to be funded by estimated revenues as recommended by the Board of Finance.
Article 7 to be voted on by paper ballot with a “Yes” or “No” vote 
Article 8: To see if the Town will adopt an appropriation in the amount of $12,160,903 for the 2026/2027 fiscal year Board of Education budget, the same to be funded by estimated revenues as recommended by the Board of Finance.
Article 8 to be voted on by paper ballot with a “Yes” or “No” vote 
Article 9: To do any other business proper to come before said meeting. 
Dated at Pomfret, Connecticut, 
this 6th day of May, 2026

Maureen A. Nicholson
Patrick R. McCarthy
Martha B. Emilio
Its Board of Selectmen
Attest: Sandy Arcayan, Town Clerk

May 6, 2026

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Putnam Elementary/Middle
Every day: Fruit. Monday: Chicken Alfredo bake, carrots. Tuesday: French toast sticks, sausage, hash browns. Wednesday: Orange popcorn  chicken rice bowls, broccoli. Thursday: Sloppy Joes, roasted vegetables. Friday: Pizza, salad.
Putnam High
Monday: Chicken & waffles or spicy chicken sandwich. Tuesday: Macaroni and cheese with pulled pork or buffalo chicken or bacon cheeseburger. Wednesday: Chicken Parm sandwich or chef's choice wrap. Thursday: Cheesy beef tot-chos or "Wild Mike's" cheese bites. Friday: Stuffed-crust pizza or chicken tender fry basket.
Woodstock Public Schools
Every day: Fruit. Monday: Chicken patties on rolls, corn. Tuesday: Bosco sticks, marinara. Wednesday: Popcorn chicken, brown rice, black beans. Thursday: Grilled cheese, tomato soup. Friday: Pizza, cucumber cups.
Pomfret Community
Monday: Mac and cheese, cuke wheels. Tuesday: Beef hot dogs, BBQ baked beans. Wednesday: French toast sticks, turkey sausage, hash browns. Thursday: Chicken Caesar salad. Friday: Pizza, baby carrots.

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Quiet Corner Pride: ‘Celebrate you, us’
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
An umbrella might have been occasionally employed but rain did not dampen spirits at the third annual Quiet Corner Pride festival May 2. After all, this year’s theme was resiliency.
Full of song, joy, smiles and color color color everywhere, the festival drew about 2,000. Vendors filled Rotary Park and inspiring words and songs filled the stage. Openness and inclusion greeted all.
The vehicles of joy ran from a bicycle parade, to tie dyes, to poetry, songs, and more.
Pastor Ross Johnson, in his welcome, said “Today’s a day for building community and taking a few minutes to celebrate you, us. All the ones who have found a place somewhere beyond the rainbow. “
Mayor Barney Seney said: “We love our community. We love our people and this is what it’s all about – loving people, respecting people’s rights. Be yourself.”
Pastor Ross said the committee of 12 had been working on the festival since January.
Poetry Abounds
Putnam’s Poet Laureate Aubrey Waz-Grant said the planning committee chose the word resilience for this year’s theme. “All of us have had things that we’ve overcome. That’s something that we all have in common, so I wrote this poem for every single one of you.” She read her poem, “Candles and Sunlight.”
Waz-Grant last week led a poetry workshop with the resiliency theme. Christina Cirillo Schmidt took the poems that were written and transformed them into an art installation at the festival. Poems were transferred to waterproof paper and hung among crystals from a black metal arch that represented a rainbow. Her inspiration for the installation was rainbows, resiliency. “Without the darkness of a storm and water, you don’t have the rainbow.” The poems are meant to mimic falling rain. The crystals capture the light and on a sunny day, it’s beautiful.” 
Following the festival, the poetic art instillation will move into the Montgomery Ward building for Pride month. 
Joy on Wheels
Dot Burnworth was the creator of the bicycle parade. She said they were brainstorming ‘what else can we do?’ and came up with the parade. The goal is always to pursue more inclusivity. Full of bright happy colors the group rode to the festival at Rotary Park from the Farmers Market Pavilion. 
Arc’s Inclusion
After stops and starts, Jamie Lazaroff, a self-advocacy coordinator at the Arc Eastern Connecticut, brought to fruition the inspirational Voices of Inclusion Words That Unite that was unveiled along the River Trail. There are 10 quotes etched into metal plates that are attached to some of the posts that hold the Putnam Public Library’s story boards. The installation is about words that unite, not divide. Lazaroff was inspired by his mother Dawn who passed recently. “She believed we are stronger together,” he said. Putnam was the perfect community for the project. “Putnam has a reputation as a community that values inclusion, diversity and belonging. Walking the River Trail is the perfect time to reflect on what is important.” 
Pastor Ross said later: “I view the event as a tremendous success because it connected what is otherwise an isolated community here in the Quiet Corner. No rain or sun can take that away. Folks were there from all generations celebrating and meeting one another.
He added, “It is my hope that we have raised enough support and engagement to continue community events throughout the year.”