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caption, page 1:
'Green Marshal'
Morgan Lefebvre, 12, of South Killingly, was part of the grand marshal's float. The Last Green Valley was the Dazzle Light Parade's grand marshal. More photos on page 6. Linda Lemmon photos.
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Top left: Nick Lavoie, a member of the PHS Clipper Marching Band. Above: Jenna Tatro and Gina.
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM --- The beginning of the day might have been drizzly, but the temperatures were nearly tropical for December. The drizzle was gone by the time the 12th annual Dazzle Light Parade stepped off Dec. 1, but it did affect the parade.
Gary Osbrey, parade director, said about 130 entries had registered for the parade. "We lost a few, but we picked up 10 who registered that day so it turned out even."
Saying he was pleasantly surprised by the turnout despite the earlier drizzle, Osbrey said the spectator count was a little lower. He estimated that 12,000 to 15,000 came. Usually there are 20,000.
"This was the mildest temperature (44) in the 12 years of the parade," he said. "I'm happy we got it in. We know it's December and the weather is always a factor. We try to roll."
"I was pleasantly surprised all the way 'round," he added.
In honor of The Last Green Valley being the parade grand marshal, parade organizers had an army of volunteers from the High Pointe Church in Thompson and the Quinebaug Young Marines hand out litter bags before the parade and the litter bags were disposed of after the parade. Osbrey said Wilfred Bousquet, Putnam's Parks and Recreation director, said it was "noticeably cleaner." Osbrey called the litter-free campaign a hit. "It worked."
Bill Reid of TLGV told organizers after the parade that the group would like to take care of the anti-litter campaign at future parades. So a new tradition is born.
The parade was born when Gary and Karen Osbrey were at a light parade at Disney years ago. Gary said every day Disney has a Main Street Parade and each night there is a light parade. "I thought that would be neat here," he said. He "pressed" for two years and finally the Dazzle Light Parade in Putnam got the green light.