caption:

Just a Tiny Sample
The Putnam Rotary Club collected more than 70 games in a couple short weeks. Dec. 7 TEEG and the Putnam Family Resource Center came to collect them for the kids they serve. From left: Liz Perry of  TEEG; Rachael Johnston, chair of the club’s Holiday Giving Committee; Chelsea French of TEEG; Club President J. Scott Pempek; Rotarian and committee member, Rande Chmura; and Shannon Haney of Putnam Family Resource Center. Linda Lemmon photo.


Club collects
piles of games
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
Generosity trumps virus-laden times, yet again.
The Putnam Rotary Club’s Holiday Giving Committee collected from fellow Rotarians and friends, games for children who might not have much of a holiday.
And in a couple short weeks, the committee collected record-breaking 70-plus games, according to Committee Chair Rachael Johnston.
Dec. 7 the club invited TEEG and the Putnam Family Resource Center to pick up huge stacks of games so they can give them to Santa in time for the holiday. Johnston thanked the rest of the committee and fellow Rotarians for their help.
J. Scott Pempek, president of the club, said “It’s always a heartwarming feeling when we can brighten the lives of others.”
The games span all age groups. The Holiday Giving project has been collecting games or blankets and more for a few years. It’s a great replacement for the club’s longtime Yankee Swap Chelsea French, TEEG’s Community Program manager, said some 247 families are being helped. TEEG’s Winter Wonderland on Dec. 18 will be filled with everything from toys to pajamas to personal hygiene items for those in need — from kids to families to senior citizens.
Shannon Haney, parent educator at the Putnam Family Resource Center in Putnam, said so far 95 Putnam families have signed up “but we always have last-minute signups.” The center, too, helps Putnam families with as many needs as possible, not just toys.
French and Haney were joined at the Rotary meeting by Liz Perry, program assistant at TEEG. Good thing because their vehicles were packed with games when they left.

..
 

Centaurs look
forward to full
hockey season
The motivation to play boys’ hockey last winter was not the traditional type.
A six-game regular season, no conference playoffs and no state tournament.
“They were playing because they loved (the game) plus there wasn’t much other excitement or positivity, so just playing the game was enjoyable. This year is bringing back some of that extra motivation,” said Woodstock Academy coach Kevin Bisson.
The Centaurs finished only 3-3. “Those games were more geared toward the varsity roster,” Bisson said. As a result, younger players didn’t receive a lot of ice time and development was delayed by a year.
That will all change this season. The 20-game regular season is back, the five-team Nutmeg Conference is back and so is the state tournament.
There is also a full junior varsity schedule.
Of course, all of that is dependent on the COVID virus. Teams will have to stay healthy this winter and the early winter positivity rates in Connecticut are mimicked inside the high schools.
That, said Bisson, adds another level to the anxiety about the season.
The Centaurs had the biggest turnout they’ve ever had since Bisson took over prior to the 2018-19 season.
Out of that, came 24 skaters and three goalies between varsity and JV.
Woodstock only lost five seniors from last season.
Gone is starting goalie Colin Liscomb, blue-liners Gabe Geyer and Alex Wojciechowski, and forwards Nick Chubbuck and Guerin Favreau.
Favreau finished with 45 goals in his high school career.
Junior Kaiden Keddy is the heir apparent to Liscomb.
Keddy did lose almost a season of prep as the small amount of games limited playing opportunities and the majority of the time went to Liscomb.
Chris Thibault and Brendan Hill (out with an illness, not COVID, is shelved until Dec. 15), two senior veterans, will likely anchor the defense.
Sophomore Jared Neilsen, the younger brother of former Centaur Sonny, may move back behind the blue line.
Two transfers to Woodstock Academy, Ryan Wallace, a sophomore who is more familiar with the offensive side of the game but whom Bisson feels can play defense, and his older brother, Shawn, a senior, will add depth to the defense.
Kyle Brennan is one of the holdovers to the offensive line. Brennan was the team’s fourth-leading scorer with six goals and eight assists as a sophomore.
Jeter Darigan and Max Larkin, two juniors who came into the Academy last year, will get their first chance to play a full year of high school hockey.
Sophomores Noah Sampson and Don Sousa will also contribute. Don Sousa scored two goals for the Centaurs in the opening scrimmage.
Woodstock opens the season Dec. 15 against a Nutmeg Conference foe, the Eastern Connecticut Eagles, at 7:40 p.m. in Norwich.
It doesn’t get any easier after that. “I feel I’ve given us the hardest schedule we’ve ever had to play.” Bisson said.
A plus for the Centaurs. The Pomfret School’s Jahn Ice Rink, which has been refurbished a bit, is again their home ice.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

Boys’ Hockey Schedule: Dec. 15: at Eastern Connecticut Eagles, 7:40 p.m.; Dec. 20: at East Haven Co-Op, 8:45 p.m.; Dec. 22: at Rocky Hill Co-Op, Cromwell, 8:05; Dec. 27: at Auburn, TBA; Dec. 29: vs. Branford, 5:30; Dec. 31: vs. Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks, noon; Jan. 5:  vs. Eastern Connecticut Eagle, 7; Jan. 8: vs. Smithfield, 7; Jan. 12: vs. E.O. Smith-Tolland, 7; Jan. 15:  vs. Auburn, 5; Jan. 17:  vs. Housatonic Co-Op, noon; Jan. 19:  at Moses Brown (RI), TBA; Jan. 22:  vs. Glastonbury, 5; Jan. 26:  vs. Bishop Hendricken (RI), 7:30; Feb. 4:   at Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks, 8:20; Feb. 9:   vs. Tri-Town, 8; Feb. 16: vs. Burrillville, 6:30; Feb. 19: at E.O. Smith-Tolland, 4; Feb. 21: at Housatonic Co-op, 4; Feb. 25: at Tri-Town, 8:20.

..

PUTNAM — At noon Dec. 18 the “Wreaths Across America” ceremony will take place at the Veterans Memorial Park (rain location: The Farmers Market Pavilion on Kennedy Drive).
The community of Putnam along with towns throughout America will pause for a minute of silence in tribute and remembrance to the fallen, the Prisoners of War, the Missing in Action and to honor those who have served and are serving.
The Putnam ceremony is coordinated by the Mayotte-Viens American Legion Post #13 and the Albert J. Breault VFW Post #1523.  The members of the Legion and VFW are encouraging the public to attend the ceremony. National Wreaths Across America Day is a free, non-political, community event, open to all people.
The mission of “Wreaths Across America” is to “Remember and Honor those who served, those who gave their lives in defense of our country, those who are serving today and to teach our children the value of freedom.”
Following the minute of silence at exactly noon, the program will open with remarks from Michael Rocchetti, senior vice commander of American Legion Post #13, and the singing of the National Anthem by Army National Guard Specialist and American Legion Post #13 member, Emily Lajoie.  In the presence of the combined Honor Guards of the American Legion Post #13 and VFW Post #1523, wreaths will be laid in memory of those who served and are serving in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines.  An individual wreath will be laid in remembrance of the 93,129 service personnel from all branches whose last known status was either Prisoner of War or Missing in Action.
Reflections will be offered by Putnam Deputy Mayor and Post #13 member, Roy Simmons; American Legion Post #13 and District 4 Past Commander Ronald P. Coderre; and VFW Post #1523, Commander Hans Lowell.
The reflections will be followed by the tossing of a remembrance wreath into the Quinebaug River by American Legion’s Rocchetti and the VFW’s Lowell. The ceremonial wreath tossing will be followed by Taps performed by Tyler Eddy of Putnam.
After the closing of the ceremony, the Honor Guard will disburse to local cemeteries and bridges where they will honor veterans by placing wreaths at each location.
The program is coordinated by the two service organizations in cooperation with Town of Putnam’s Recreation Department.


.