If you know me at all then you fully understand that one of my most distinguishable characteristics is my hair. I have a lot of it, it’s quite long, thick and VERY curly. It always has been and so I have gotten used to the fact that in some ways, I shed. I don’t shed like my cat, leaving clumps of short hair all over blankets and chairs — I shed by leaving long, curly, individual hairs all over blankets, chairs, the bed, towels, the floors, freshly laundered pieces of clothing … in the house!
My husband has learned not to mind (or at least to complain) about the incessant discovery of my hair on his clothing, socks, pillow, shoes … mostly because I told him before we got married “Love me. Love my hair!”
Over the years, I have gotten used to putting my arm through a sweater sleeve, only to discover that my hand and a long strand of my hair emerges on the other end. I can sense that the hair is there, but I usually have to search for a moment before I can officially locate and remove it. Since my hair is dark brown, I typically can spot, with relative ease, my hair on the things it lands on or clings to, such as the mail, the shower tile, the bathroom counter…that is, until lately.
Although the vast majority of my hair is dark brown, there are many strands on my head that are now not that color. Perhaps a more precise description of the not dark brown color would be a gray(ish), maybe almost silver color. I am not yet ready to admit that white may be the best description as I can still celebrate the fact that I am still mostly dark brown. Unfortunately, what I have noticed over this past year is that the hairs that are now falling out of my head and onto the bureau, the lamp shade, the notepad … are the ones that are not classified as dark brown.
Now, when I plunge my bare foot into my white athletic sock and feel the hair beginning to wrap around one of my toes, I have a hard time locating it. If it was a short, gray, straight hair, I would know that the hair belonged to my husband, but when I spend several minutes searching for it before locating the ‘tickly’ offender, I cannot dispute that the whitish, long, curly, hair, is my own.
And since I am a scholar/researcher and have noticed that I spend more time trying to search for the offending hairs, I have begun to understand that the natural assumption is that MORE of the hairs on my head, and thus, on the stair railing, the plant leaf, the TV remote, the computer keyboard, the dish towel, the candle, the car steering wheel, the welcome mat, the puzzle piece…are NOT dark brown!
Color! Color!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!
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caption, page 3:
Look for this Woodstock Lions Club Plant a Row for the Hungry logo on the donation totes at four Woodstock churches.
Lions Club
will link
gardeners
with those
in need
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
WOODSTOCK — Sometimes the simple ideas are best. Here’s one: Gardeners plant an extra row of food and that food goes to those in need.
The matchmaker here is the Woodstock Lions Club.
Marc Moseley — club president, chairman of the club’s new Plant a Row for the Hungry program, AND gardener — said he had read about the program and gave it some thought. Since this is the first year the club is promoting the program he said, “We want to keep it simple.”
Gardeners are urged to plant an extra row of food and then they drop off the extra fruits and vegetables, starting June 6, in totes set up outside four local churches: First Congregational Church of Woodstock, East Woodstock Congregational Church, the South Woodstock Baptist Church and the Church of the Good Shepherd.
Drop-offs are welcome on Wednesdays and Sundays, he said. If possible, please include packaging (turn plastic bags inside out). Woodstock Lions Club members will pick up the totes around 7 p.m.
Food gathered on Wednesdays will go to TEEG and food collected on Sundays will go to the Community Kitchens of Northeastern Connecticut at the First Congregational Church of Woodstock. The Community Kitchen may incorporate the food into the meals they offer those in need and/or make them available for people to take home.
Moseley said he had read about the Plant a Row program and happened to visit the Community Kitchens where he saw 150 people being helped.
Matchmaker. He said this “energized him to carry this forward.”
“The pandemic definitely factored into our thinking. And there was a significant upswing in those in need of food,” he said.
The club had been looking for a way to do more outreach. “Lots of people in Woodstock had not heard of us (the Lions Club) or what we do.” Outreach and need — a natural combination.
“We partnered with four sites. They all happened to be churches,” he said.
Gardeners and those in need don’t have to be from Woodstock. The club urges gardeners to plant an extra row of relatively durable food that will keep. And as the garden changes through the summer season, the offerings to those in need will change. “We’re not picky. Good food, not pretty is fine.”
Moseley urges participants to post photos on their FB pages and email them to
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caption, page 3:
Sizing Up Putt
Woodstock Academy teammates Kaily LaChapelle, left, and Mia Dang eye a putt on the 9th hole. Photo by Marc Allard.
Pretty great. It’s how Woodstock Academy junior Mia Dang described the girls’ golf season thus far at the Academy. The Centaurs have won their first 10 matches including all three last week, finishing off with a 192-233 win over NFA.
Dang was the medalist with a 44. She also finished with a pair of 4-over par 40s in wins over NFA and E. Lyme earlier in the week.
Her first three rounds this season were all in the 30s and she held the top spot in the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Association individual girls’ golf rankings for a couple of weeks. She’s still among the top 10 individuals in the state.
Dang came to the Academy after St. Peter-Marian in Worcester closed. She played ice hockey over the winter which helped familiarize her with several of her now golf teammates.
That, in itself, is a change. She was a member of the boys’ golf team at St. Peter-Marian as the school did not sponsor a girls’ team.
Academy coach Earl Semmelrock said playing on the boys’ team helped Dang’s first two years of high school golf.
“Most likely,” Semmelrock said. “It is my understanding that she usually played the white tees but sometimes the reds. Longer courses will be more difficult but you still have to get the ball in the hole.”
St. Peter-Marian’s course was difficult, Cyprian Keyes in Boylston, Mass.
“It’s hard,” Dang agreed. “I’m used to narrow holes and water everywhere. Here (at Quinnatisset), I can drive it to another hole and it’s still playable.”
Dang said her former home course put a premium on accuracy and playing with a fade or a draw did not lend itself to low scores.
“It also helped with playing smart. You can’t just go for every hole. You have to think it through. Maybe you have to lay up, even though you don’t want to, it’s probably the safer play,” Dang said.
In the seven matches she has played she is averaging about 4-over par, 40.4. She is also undefeated in her dual matches.
But she is not satisfied because she has been 40 or over in her last four matches. She’s trying to be more consistent. “I have to improve my putting and my approach shots, too. My drives are always in the fairway.”
Senior Kaily LaChapelle has been a steady No. 2 player for the Centaurs who are 9-0 in ECC play. She finished with a 47 in Norwich, but added a pair of 6-over par 42s earlier in the week and sports a 44.3 stroke average. She is also undefeated in individual match play as is Ciara MacKinnon (49.6) and Alex Vaida (48.9).
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
caption, page 2:
Lacrosse Seniors Honored
Woodstock Academy seniors, from left: Emma Auker, Kileigh Gagnon, Eliza Dutson, Rachel Canedy, Peyton Saracina and Sierra Bedard celebrate Senior Day with coach Mikayla Jones (middle). Photo by Marc Allard.
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Roundup
Girls’ tennis
team clinches
tie for title
The Woodstock Academy girls’ tennis team clinched at least a tie for the ECC Div. 2 regular season title May 14. They downed Killingly 7-0 to raise their record to 6-1 overall and 6-0 in the division.
“We are thrilled of course but we’re going to stay focused on playing to the best of our abilities and hopefully that will come with an outright division title,” said head coach Keith Atchinson. The Centaurs can do that with a win over St. Bernard this week.
They face the Saints twice this week and need to take only one win for the Div. 2 title.
Consistency has been a key for the Centaurs. Against Killingly Addy Smith, the top singles player, posted a 6-2, 6-1 victory. No.2 singles player Jackie Trudeau was a 6-2, 6-3 winner; Sydney Schuler walked away with a 6-1, 6-0 win and Alexa Fernandez followed suit with a 6-0, 6-1 victory.
The doubles also swept Killingly as the first doubles team of Ellie Bishop-Klee and Logan Reynolds got things going with a 6-0, 6-2 win. It was the fifth win in a row for the Academy.
The team faces Div. 1 opponents, Fitch and Stonington, this week in the academy’s first four-match week of the season.
Boys’ Track
For a first time this season, the academy boys’ track team had to compete on a track that was foreign to them but the coaches said they knew what to do.
The Centaurs beat the Panthers, 104-45.
Coach Pete Lusa was moving his athletes around a bit. For example, senior Adam Schimmelpfennig won the 110-meter hurdles but was not in the 300-meter hurdles as Lusa put him into the 4x400 meter.
Instead, he told Aaron Allard and Lucas Theriaque to pick up the slack and they did by getting second and third places for the Centaurs.
Eric Phongsa won the 100-meter but did not run the 200, instead concentrating on the 4x100m relay.
The throwers did well with Keenan Lamontagne winning both the shotput (38 feet, 5 inches) and the discus (38-5). Another thrower, Silas Strandson, was first in the javelin, second in the discus and third in the shotput for the Centaurs.
Ethan Aspiras won the 800-meter, Vince Bastura was best in the 3,200 meter, Liam Wilcox won the triple jump and Ian Hoffman was first in the pole vault for the Centaurs (3-2, 3-1 ECC Div. 2).
The ECC championship is May 24 and will be held in Plainfield.
Girls’ Track
With just one dual meet remaining, the Centaurs girls are still undefeated. The Academy posted a 112-31 win over Plainfield in Central Village. Woodstock Academy is now 4-0 in Div. 2 of the ECC and 5-0 overall.
Head coach Josh Welch said: “These last away meets help our coaches focus on our athletes instead of the officiating and organization of running a meet at home. It’s great to be able to focus on the kids and offer more encouragement and feedback,” Welch said.
The other plus is the Centaurs will return to Plainfield on May 24 when the Div. 2 and 3 championships are held.
Sophomore Bella Sorrentino was tops in the shotput and the 200-meter and freshman Jillian Edwards was once again best in the high jump and 100-meter hurdles. Other first-place finishes: Talia Tremblay (400-meter); Reegan Reynolds (triple jump); Gabby Couture (pole vault); Ksenjia Martinovic (300-hurdles); Leah Castle (1600-meter); Carah Bruce (3200-meter); Leila MacKinnon (javelin), Magdalena Myslenaki (discus), and Linsey Arends (800-meter).
MacKinnon and Arends both qualified for the Class MM state championship in the 800m and Myslenaki did so in discus.
Girls’ Lacrosse
The Academy girls’ lacrosse team celebrated its Senior Day prior to the game with the Fitch Falcons, honoring six seniors: Rachel Canedy, Peyton Saracina, Emma Auker, Eliza Dutson, Sierra Bedard and Kileigh Gagnon.
Coach Mikayla Jones said it will be tough without those six next year. They will be hard to replace but the departure of the six seniors means that six others will have to step up and she believes she has the athletes to fill the spots.
The Centaurs (2-8, 1-7 ECC Div. 2) were not happy with the result on the field as they lost to Fitch, 20-1. Shannon Gagnon was the only Centaur to put the ball in the net, her 13th this season.
Earlier, against NFA, the Centaurs did much better, winning 9-8. Canedy scored five goals and Sofia Murray made 13 saves in goal. It was the most Canedy has scored in a single game in her high school career and it included the game winner which came with less than five minutes to play.
Sydney Haskins, Saracina, Dutson and Shannon Gagnon also scored for Woodstock Academy in the win.
Softball
One thing Academy softball pitchers did not have to worry about last week was run support as the team put 48 runs combined on the board in wins over Wheeler and Tourtellotte. Coach Jay Gerum said: “There are different levels of pitching and we’re always practicing for the fast, compete at the highest level type of pitching, but a lot of times, pitchers who don’t have as much velocity mess us up. Against Killingly and some other teams, we struggled a bit.”
The Centaurs put seven runs up on the board in the first inning and 10 more in the second to post a 21-0 victory in five innings.
The beneficiary of the offense was senior Meg Preston who was making her first start of the season. She allowed the Tigers just two hits and struck out 10. She also knocked in three runs in the game.
Madison Martinez had a pair of hits and drove in three runs. Sarah McArthur, Leveille and Emily Goodell all drove in a pair of runs each for the Centaurs (12-3, 11-1 ECC, Div. 2).
Woodstock Academy had 12 hits against the Tigers and also benefitted from 15 walks from Tourtellotte pitching.
The Centaurs had even more pop in their bats against Wheeler where they posted a 27-14.
The Academy had 31 hits, four of those by Martinez. The catcher also drove in eight. Leveille added four hits and six runs batted in while Marissa Mayhew added five hits and three RBIs.
The Centaurs helped the Lions score eight runs in the third inning when they committed four errors.
Baseball
Academy baseball coach Brian Murphy has been working hard on his team’s approach to hitting with two strikes and it paid off against Tourtellotte when Brendan Hill had a 1-2 count with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the first inning. He delivered a three-run triple.
That three-run lead was more than freshman pitcher Riley O’Brien needed. O’Brien threw only 84 pitches, giving up just three hits, and striking out only two to post a 7-0 win over Tourtellotte.
Hill finished 3-for-3 at the plate. Zach Roethlein and Hamilton Barnes added two hits in the win for the Centaurs (12-4, 11-2 ECC, Div. 1).
Murphy wasn’t as pleased with the team’s performance in its 4-1 win over Wheeler earlier. “It was not a pretty game. We were flat. We didn’t hit well and we were lucky just to get a win,” Murphy said.
Wheeler took the lead with a run in the top of the first, but it was all that starting pitcher Eddie Niejadlik would yield as he went the distance, allowed just two hits and struck out eight.
The performances of Niejadlik and O’Brien meant that Murphy could rest his top two pitchers, Kaden Murphy and Jon Smith, for the entire week.
The Centaurs scored all of their runs against Wheeler in the third inning with Jacob Hernandez, Smith and Roethlein knocking in runs.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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