captions:
Members of the Woodstock Academy football team get ready for practice drills with some early running during the first day of practice on the South Campus turf. 2023 preseason football 4: The Woodstock Academy football coaching staff oversee early season drills during the first day of practice for the team last week on the South Campus turf. Photos by Marc Allard.
The message was simple for the Woodstock Academy football team early last week.
The time for fun in the sun is done.
“It’s interesting,” said Woodstock Academy football head coach and athletic director Sean Saucier. “You realize that when OTA’s (Offseason Training Activities which took place for three days the week before) start, until at least Thanksgiving, you’re here for six days a week with this group of boys and girls. Summer is over.”
Of course, there is plenty of time in the sun during the first few weeks of practice with the exception that athletes are wearing a helmet and taking part in drills to improve not only their physical conditioning but also their mental focus.
Those are two qualities not always in evidence in the first few days of practice.
And for the newbies on the team, it’s a complete learning process.
“I’ve learned that over the years – don’t get too amped up over things that are out of your control,” Saucier said. “For a lot of kids, this is their first time on this team and they have to learn the routine. They have to learn how things flow – a little patience goes a long way with them – but they worked hard (in the first day of practice) and they are excited to be out here as are we.”
The OTA’s helped a bit in that regard as uniforms and equipment were handed out and the team could participate in organizational activities as well as go over the expectations.
“I’m feeling good,” Saucier said. “The OTA’s are really helpful with the organization and it helps the first day of practice go a little smoother.”
The Centaurs start with good numbers.
Almost 60 student-athletes were on hand for the first day of practice.
It was a special day for senior Lucas Theriaque.
The wide receiver-defensive back joined Jacob Lizotte and Sam Clark as a team captain. That designation came in front of the team at the end of the first practice.
“It feels great to be a senior and be able to lead my team for my last year and I’m really excited to see what we can do this year,” Theriaque said.
Theriaque, like Saucier, liked the early vibe of the team.
He attributed that to the summer lifts the team has been participating in which helped the team get prepared for the first day of practice as well as established a bit of camaraderie among them.
There are plenty of folks missing from last year. The Centaurs said goodbye to 17 seniors at the end of last season.
“It was tough losing them but it’s next guy up. We have a lot of guys who can fill their shoes and I think we will be pretty good this year,” Theriaque said.
Woodstock Academy is coming off a 4-6 season in which it participated in Div. I of the ECC for a first time. It’s back in Div. I this season.
But while that remains the same, the loss of so many seniors has changed the makeup a bit.
“I think it’s going to be different, very different actually. We will have slightly different offensive and defensive philosophies going into the year so we all have to learn a little. It’s not just dusting off what we did last year. They have to have a new identity. It’s two years in a row where we have lost senior classes of 15-plus,” Saucier said.
The differences in the offense and defense are not only due to add a fresh look but necessitated, as it is at all levels of football, by the personnel which Saucier and his coaching staff will be working with in the 2023 season.
The Centaurs may not have as much size this season.
Quickness will be the key. “Absolutely. We had a tremendous summer doing our strength and conditioning program and that’s our key is speed and angles. We will fly to the ball on defense and utilize angles on offense,” Saucier said.
He and his staff have three weeks to perfect that.
“I don’t get overwhelmed by that (time span); it feels like a lifetime to be honest. Three weeks of football practice, in hindsight, it will always go by quick but it’s a lot of time. It’s a grind. Three hard weeks of practice before a contest – we have a couple of scrimmages in there which will be exciting – but three weeks of practice is a pretty long stretch. It’s what football teams do,” Saucier said.
Woodstock Academy is scheduled to play a scrimmage at W. Warwick, R.I., at 11 Aug. 26. The Centaurs travel to Windham Sept. 1 for a tri-scrimmage with the Whippets and RHAM at 6:30 p.m.
The season opens on Sept. 8 with a rare Friday afternoon game at 4 p.m. against the Quinebaug Valley co-op.
“I like it,” Saucier said of the afternoon contest. “It was just something that came up playing QV, a local team. Sometimes, that first Saturday at noon at Bentley can be, literally, 100 degrees on the turf. So I said, ‘Why not get it in on a Friday afternoon?’ They agreed and that is what we are doing.”
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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Putnam Elementary/Middle
Thursday: Popcorn chicken bowls, corn, fruit. Friday: Pizza, salad, fruit.
Putnam High
Wednesday: Mozzarella sticks or chicken Caesar wraps. Thursday: Chicken potato bowls or "Wild Mike's" cheese bites. Friday: Stuffed-crust pizza or buffalo popcorn chicken baskets.
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Town of Putnam
Zoning Board
of Appeals
Legal Notice
The Town of Putnam Zoning Board of Appeals held a hybrid meeting on August 15, 2023 at 7:00 P.M. on the second floor, Room 201, of the Municipal Complex located at 200 School Street, Putnam, CT. The following action was taken:
Appeal # 2023-003 Jordan Nugent, Appeal from the decision of the Zoning Enforcement Officer to locate a tattoo parlor at 112 Main Street, Town Assessors Map 015, 059, Zoned Putnam Downtown. Approval to locate a tattoo parlor at the above location was granted.
Joseph Nash, Chairman.
Aug. 24, 2023
Legal Notice
POMFRET BOARD OF
ASSESSMENT APPEALS
Pursuant to Section 12-110 of the Connecticut General Statutes, any person claiming to be aggrieved by the doings of the Assessor for motor vehicles on the Grand List of 2022 may appeal therefrom to the Board of Assessment Appeals. Such appeal shall be made in person along with the vehicle to the Board on September 6, 2023, between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the Pomfret Town Hall, 5 Haven Road, Pomfret.
Dated at Pomfret, CT
this 16th day of August, 2023
Pomfret BAA Chairman,
Raymond Wishart
Aug. 24, 2023
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caption, page 1:
'Duck Master'
Abby Poirier of Hale YMCA Youth and Family Center corralled all the Pluck-a-Duck "contestants." The fund-raiser brought in more than $24,000. More photos on page 4 and expanded photo gallery Wed. night on our FB page: Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger. Linda Lemmon photo.
caption, page 2:
Above: Krupa Shah, owner of Putnam Spirits, left, gives a $200 donation to Beth Markowski-Roop for the Pluck-a-Duck fund-raiser. Top right: Jenn Lowell gets ready for another dunking in the Pluck-a-Duck Dunk Tank held Aug. 20. More photos on page 8. Expanded photos Wed. night on our FB page: Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger. Linda Lemmon photos.
caption, page 8:
Last Two 'Ducks'
Mayor Barney Seney, left, and Thomas Borner, president of the Putnam Business Association, went into the Hale YMCA pool to fetch the last two ducks in the annual Pluck-a-Duck fund-raiser. Expanded photos Wed. night on our FB page: Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger. Linda Lemmon photo.
'It’s so heartwarming
how the community
embraces this event'
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
Records were broken yet again during this year’s Pluck-a-Duck fund-raiser, according to Putnam Business Association Pluck-a-Duck chair Beth Markowski-Roop.
The number of ducks sold for this, the fifth year of the fund-raiser, was 6,758, she said, smashing the record by a stunning 1,300.
She said the 17 non-profits earned themselves $11,610. Non-profits sell duck tickets and get to keep half the amount they raised.
Donations are still coming in and Roop believes the grand total to the Putnam Business Association will be around $24,000.
New this year and likely to return every year was a Dunk Tank at the “duck’s” Kid Zone during the Main Street Car Cruise the day before the ducks went for a swim in a secret location. “It was so heartwarming,” she said. “No one said ‘no’.” The Dunk Tank raised more than $1,500.
The top 10 winners included: 7500 Watt Generac Generator with Electric Start. James Mansolillo; $500 VISA Gift Card. Sharon Barnes; 25 Tons Sand Stone Gravel with delivery. Ruth Richardson; 6-Month Family Membership Hale YMCA Youth & Family Center. Joe Blanchard; Newport RI Getaway, Justin Ryan; Yeti Cooler with $50 Gift Card, Richard Tremblay; Foursome round of golf with carts at Connecticut National Golf Club, Judy LaRoche; $250 Gift Card The Inn at Woodstock Hill, Terry King; Foxwoods Getaway, Jill Exley; Round-trip airport transportation to Bradley, Logan or T.F. Green for 4 passenger in Chevy Suburban, Michael Maturi.
Roop said the committee works for six months on the fund-raiser with the busiest months being March, April and May.
“We would not be able to coordinate such a detailed two-day event if it wasn’t for the tireless efforts of our small, but mighty volunteer Pluck A Duck Committee, that includes: Lynn Converse, RE/MAX Bell Park Realty; Jennifer Lehto, PBA Coordinator; Ashley Grant, Gerardi Insurance; Jo-Ann Chenail, TEEG; Rosemary Carminati, Healthy Connections; and Tayler Shea, NOW.
She also thanked Event Sponsors including: Jewett City Savings Bank – Media Sponsor; Byrnes Agency – Top Cash Prize Sponsor; Event Sponsor – Hale YMCA Child and Family Center; # Of Ducks Sponsor – Westminster Tool; Arts & Crafts Tent Sponsor – Tom & Kathy Borner; Duck Mobile Sponsor – Centreville Bank; Wall Of Wishes Sponsor – Day Kimball Healthcare
Celebrity Dunk Tank Sponsor – WIN Waste Innovations. The top three celebrities that raised the most funds will have a $100 donation made in their name to the charity of their choice; Jennifer Brytowski, Chase Graphics; Andrew Morrison, Real Custom Training; and Carly DeLuca, Town of Putnam Economic Development Office).
Other sponsors: Mid-Stream Mallards Sponsors – Berkshire Bank, Gerardi Insurance & Linemaster; Kids Zone Sponsor – Colonial Health & Rehab of Plainfield and The Learning Clinic ;Bounce House Sponsor – Castinetti Realty Group; Photo Booth Sponsor – Creamery Brook Village; Lame Duck Prize Sponsors – Hope Lodge Venue and New York Pizza Company; Final Prize Sponsor – Putnam Rotary Club; Go Shopping! Sponsor – Christopher Heights Assisted Living Community of Webster; Refreshments Sponsors – Soleil Bakery & Foster Corporation.
The 2023 Pluck A Duck Corporate Duck Winner was Luxe & Nature Apothecary/Taraesthetics.
“We also appreciate the efforts of Putnam Spirits who created a unique way to support the PBA Pluck A Duck Raffle Event. For the month of July, owner Krupa Shah donated 10% of sales for a Terranoble Sauvignon Blanc to the PBA Pluck A Duck Raffle Event, yielding a $200 donation,” Roop said.
“It’s so heartwarming how the community embraces this event,” she added.
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