caption:
Marathon
These four, and many others, helped execute the Woodstock Marathon CT which raised more than $12,000 for Community Kitchens and Quiet Corner Reads. From left: Seana Weaver, Jessica Weaver Boose, Joyce Garabrant and Fraser Davis. Linda Lemmon photo.
Running Feet Help Extend a Helping Hand
Marathon raises
$12,000+
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
WOODSTOCK — “We knew it was time to get together; do things together,” said Woodstock Marathon Race Director Seana Weaver.
And they certainly did, raising more than $12,000 for Community Kitchens and for Quiet Corner Reads. The April 30 Marathon, 26.5 miles around Woodstock, seven individual runners and — new this year — six relay teams. The individual winners were Michael Stadolnik of Plainfield, 3:05:46; second was Arthur Kisby, 3:37:21; and third was Scott McClure, 3:38:14. The winning team was Team Tour de Woodstock, 3:33:31
Also a winner: Community Kitchens and the Quiet Corner Reads in northeastern Connecticut.
Weaver has worked to end hunger and food insecurity for seven years. In 2020 she was the Agency Relations Manager at Worcester County Food Bank. Now, she’s the Program Director of Fresh Truck at About Fresh in Boston.
Initially she targeted helping the five Community Kitchens in the Quiet Corner with solo marathons. Last year more than $8,000 was raised and the year before, $1,200.
This year they decided to expand the marathon to include relay teams.
Food insecurity and hunger are invisible and they became more prevalent very quickly during the pandemic “with little warning for people, especially in rural areas like this,” she said. The Community Kitchen had to shift its focus and they did it quickly and successfully, she said. They went to drive-thru and dry goods.
And the Quiet Corner Reads conglomerate in the Quiet Corner is a vital part of the community. “We need to keep a strong, safe gathering place for the public. Where they get resources for free,” Weaver said.
And the needs remain. And that’s where the Woodstock Marathon came in.
“I was incredibly grateful and inspired by the 20-plus volunteers who helped, at least 15 local businesses that gave money or prizes or both, and the four farms that also donated prizes and money,” she said. She added that the Woodstock Public Works Department, on its own, cleaned the race route roads right before the race.
With the giving people in the Quiet Corner, she said, “It’s inspiring to be their neighbor.”
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Pomfret School
to present
musical comedy
POMFRET — Pomfret School Theater will present the public premier of an original musical comedy co-written by Pomfret Theater Director Chip Lamb and New York Times bestselling author Ridley Pearson ’71 at 7 p.m. May 21 in the Hard Auditorium on the Pomfret campus. The performance is free and open to the public. A reception will follow. Alumni and friends of the school are invited and encouraged to attend. Registration is not required.
The Academy, set at a private boarding school that bears a striking resemblance to Pomfret, follows two young freshmen who are faced with a mystery to solve. It is based on the second book of the same name in Pearson’s “Steel Trapp” series.
“I had no idea when I asked Ridley if we could adapt his book into a play that we were embarking on a multi-year odyssey,” said Lamb. “I had no idea our version of the story would be a musical. I had no idea Ridley would fully embrace this project, put his own professional projects on hold, and spend literally hundreds of hours writing music, lyrics, and the script with me. I had no idea about his total dedication to our school, a place that changed his life.”
The Academy has been in development since January 2020, but like so much of life, it was disrupted by the pandemic. Pearson and Lamb completed the first draft of the two-act musical at Pearson’s home in the Northern Rockies in August. The first table read took place at Pomfret on Nov. 14, 2021. Since then, Lamb and Pearson have been working day-in and day-out with the cast and crew to refine the musical comedy’s script, music, and dance numbers.
More than 30 Pomfret students have dedicated an untold number of hours to bring this project to life. “We get to play with different harmonies,” said Lexi Beck ’22 from North Andover, Mass. “I love that if the words in the song or in the dialogue don’t work, we’re able to change them because we want them to be natural.”
Lexi stars alongside Maya Bullied ’23 from Pomfret; Austin Kendig ’22 from Columbia; Brooke Zahansky ’22 from Pomfret; Nathan Kikonyogo ’25 from Hopkinton, Mass.; and Kaya Horvath ’22 from Galway, N.Y.
Ridley Pearson is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 50 award-winning suspense and young adult adventure novels, including the “Peter and the Starcatchers” series, which he co-wrote with Pulitzer Prize winner, Dave Barry. “Peter and the Starcatchers” was adapted for the stage by Rick Elice, and has been awarded five Tony Awards.
Chip Lamb is the current arts department chair at Pomfret School, as well as a respected playwright and theater director. This is the third original work he has written for the school. The other two plays include 70lbs of Books (2013), which tells the story of Pomfret alumnus Loring “Ring” Bailey ’63, who died in the Vietnam war, and I’m a Master, I Believe (1994), about Pomfret’s founder William Peck.
The debut of The Academy coincides with the reopening of Hard Auditorium, which has been under construction for the last nine months. The auditorium was reimagined by Centerbrook Architects and Planners. The $6.8 million renovation includes a state-of-the-art theater; revamped HVAC, electrical, water, and drainage systems; and a new three-story breezeway connecting the auditorium to the School Building.
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Putnam Elementary/Middle
Monday - Breakfast for Lunch: French toast sticks, scrambled eggs, hash browns. Tuesday: Chicken bacon ranch flatbread sandwiches, fruit. Wednesday: Pasta, meatsauce, carrots, sherbet. Thursday: Popcorn chicken potato bowls, corn, fruit. Friday: Stuffed-crust pizza, salad, fruit.
Putnam High
Monday: Cheese steak grinders or spicy chicken sandwiches. Tuesday: Popcorn chicken bar or bacon cheeseburgers. Wednesday: Clipper Burgers or chicken quesadillas. Thursday: Pasta Bolognese or pizza boli. Friday: Stuffed-crust pizza or mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce.
Woodstock public schools
Everyday: Fruit. Monday: Chicken patties on rolls, baked beans. Tuesday: Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup. Wednesday: Chicken nuggets, green beans. Thursday: Bosco sticks, marinara sauce. Friday: Pizza, carrots.
Pomfret Community
Everyday: Fresh fruit and veggies and Alt. Sunbutter and Jelly. Monday: Chicken patties on rolls. Tuesday: Cheeseburgers. Wednesday: Turkey and cheese sandwiches. Thursday: Sausage, egg and cheese on a bagel. Friday: Pizza.
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Legal Notice
Town of Putnam
Notice of Annual Town Meeting
May 11, 2022
and
Adjourned Town Meeting May 21, 2022
The Electors and Citizens qualified to vote in Town Meeting of the Town of Putnam, Connecticut, are hereby notified and warned that the Annual Town Meeting of said Town will be held in the Putnam Middle School Auditorium at 35 Wicker Street, Putnam, CT at 7:00 o’clock in the evening for the following purposes:
1. To choose a moderator for said meeting.
2. To consider and act upon the recommendations of the Board of Finance that appropriation for General Government (including Bonded Indebtedness) in the amount of $8,458,685.00 and the library in the amount of $416,800.00, and Putnam Emergency Medical Services in the amount of $280,000.00 for a total of $9,155,485.00 for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023, and to make such appropriations as are advisable.
3. To consider and act upon the recommendations of the Board of Finance that appropriation for the Board of Education with a total amount of $19,333,407.00 for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023, and to make such appropriations as are advisable.
4. To consider and act upon the following resolution:
RESOLVED: That the Board of Selectmen, acting as agents of the Town of Putnam, be authorized to apply for and receive any State and Federal grants that may become available and appear to them to be in the best interest of the Town of Putnam.
5. To determine the wishes of those present and eligible to vote upon the proposed Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan for the period commencing with fiscal year July 1, 2022, through fiscal year ending June 30, 2027. A copy of the proposed plan is on file in the Mayor’s Office and available for public inspection during normal business hours.
6. To consider and act upon the recommendation of the Board of Finance that appropriation for Capital Non-Recurring Fund budget with a total appropriation of $770,000.00 for capital projects be made for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023, and to make such appropriations as are advisable.
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN, PURSUANT TO THE PROVISION OF SECTION 7-7 OF THE CONNECTICUT GENERAL STATUTES; THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN HAS ON ITS OWN INITIATIVE SET ITEMS TWO – SIX TO THE VOTERS IN A MANNER PROVIDED BY STATE STATUTE INCLUDING ADVISORY QUESTIONS AS TO WHETHER THE SAME ITEMS ARE “TOO HIGH” OR “TOO LOW”. ACTION AT THE TOWN MEETING ON ITEMS TWO-SIX WILL BE LIMITED TO REASONABLE DISCUSSION. THOSE WISHING TO APPROVE ITEMS SHALL VOTE YES ON THE MACHINE VOTE, THOSE OPPOSED, NO. SAID VOTE WILL BE HELD ON May 21, 2022 AT THE FOLLOWING VOTING LOCATION: DISTRICT 1 PUTNAM MUNICIPAL COMPLEX, ROOM 109. DISTRICT 2 PUTNAM MUNICIPAL COMPLEX, ROOM 112
BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 12:00 NOON AND 8:00 PM
Dated at Putnam,
Connecticut
This second day
of May, 2022.
Town of Putnam,
Its Board of Selectmen
Norman B. Seney, Mayor
Roy S. Simmons, Deputy Mayor
Rick Hayes
Gloria Marion
Michael Paquin
J. Scott Pempek
Jeffrey Rawson
May 5, 2022
..