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Main entrance wall
Gable brickwork
Arcade
Corner wall
Elevator (photo by Downes)
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Despite some of the worst winter could throw at it, the Municipal Complex project is making “tremendous progress,” according to the senior project manager/superintendent.
March 4, on a tour of the complex with building committee members and town officials, Downes Construction Company, LLC superintendent Tom Sheard said “where it seemed like they lost one day a week to weather,” the progress kept coming.
Sheard said the brickwork is “substantially complete” around the large Town Hall portion of the complex. Black bricks in the gable sections of the larger building create a 3-D “Morse Code” pattern in the red brick background. The bricks around the main entrance are blackish. Brickwork around the arcade section is basically done — it’s curing now. Wide columns alternate with skinnier columns and there are indents and bricks laid vertically for interest. Large windows in the conference room run along the arcade.
Bricks will start going up on the library portion of the building “tomorrow (March 5) morning.”
He said the interior is substantially complete with the drywall and taping and yesterday painters started with priming portions of the inside. The elevator is installed and with a couple more additions it will be inspected and then deemed complete.
Inside, he said, the plumbing and electrical work are finished and inspected. The HVAC systems will be tested shortly.
With the painters already getting down to work, Sheard said the acoustical grid work should start, probably within the next two weeks.
Windows around the first floor are going in at a good clip. He said “curtain glass walls” should be started by the end of March.
The “prep kitchen” next to the community space (with adjustable walls) has been enlarged.
Sheard said the grand stairway at the entrance to the Town Hall portion of the building should be up by April 7 or 8. He said the stairs contractor was the one contractor who delayed the schedule.
Otherwise the building is still set for occupancy around the end of August. The project is still under budget.
The complex includes 40,000 gross square feet (sf) of offices, meeting spaces, and public library. Interior space will include approximately 11,400 sf for the library, 7,000 sf for the Community Room area, 3,600 sf for the Historical Society, and the remaining 18,000 sf for Town Hall offices.
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Town of Putnam
Position Vacancy - Caretaker
The Town of Putnam, Connecticut is accepting applications for the position of Parks and Grounds Caretaker (35 HOURS a week) until Wednesday, March 24, 2021, at 4:30 PM. Applications, resumes or letters of interest will be submitted to the Director of Parks and Recreation, 126 Church Street, Putnam, CT 06260.
Qualifications, Skills, and Other Requirements:
One year of labor maintenance experience and experience in safe operations of trucks and construction equipment is required. The Parks and Recreation Maintainer must:
• Possess a Class Il Motor Vehicle Operator’s License
• Connecticut Commercial Driver’s License will be REQUIRED, copy with application or copy of pending CDL from DMV.
• Experience in the operation of grass cutting and lawn care equipment
• Experience in the operation of snow plowing equipment
• Have the ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed but uninvolved written or oral instructions
• Have the ability to safely operate trucks and other motor vehicles
Have the ability to climb and/or work in high places, and;
• Have the ability to operate equipment requiring manual dexterity and mechanical aptitude
• Assist town in preparing for special Events and supervise Activities at Bandstand and Rotary Park on weekends.
Applicant will be required to take and pass a pre-employment physical and drug and alcohol tests as a condition of employment.
Questions concerning this vacancy should be directed to Wilfred Bousquet, Director of Parks and Recreation, at 963-6800, EXT. 141
The Town of Putnam, Connecticut is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Putnam Elementary/Middle
Monday Blue and Tuesday White — Wolf Meal: beef burgers with cheese, sherbet. Wednesday Blue and Thursday White: Fiesta Taco Bowls, corn, fruit. Friday: No school – Professional Development.
Putnam High
Monday Blue and Tuesday White: Chicken Parmesan sandwich or spicy chicken sandwich. Wednesday Blue and Thursday White: Nachos Grande or bacon cheeseburgers. Friday: No school – Professional Development.
Pomfret Community
Everyday: Fresh fruit and veggies. Alternate: Sunbutter and Jelly. Monday: Cheese quesadilla. Tuesday: Chicken tenders. Wednesday: Pizza. Thursday: Macaroni and cheese. Friday: Cheeseburgers.
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I have always been a snacker. When we are babies, we are trained to enjoy snacks of things like fruits and fiber-filled crackers in order to maximize our health and physical well-being. Sugary snacks were doled out more as bribes for the promise of or reward for, good behavior. As an athletic and outdoorsy kid, I constantly searched for a snack because I was simply hungry and the thought of waiting another hour or two before a meal came felt like an imposed cruelty or punishment for my perpetually active behavior.
This is when I developed my hungry whine, stating in a long and dramatic tone “…but I’m STARVING. Can’t you hear my stomach growling?” My mother, the three-meal a day, seven days a week cook for our family of six, would often reply with her go-to response of “Have a piece of fruit”. Since I was STARVING, a piece of fruit seemed like a completely inadequate snack choice. A cheeseburger seemed like a much better option! As a teenager, I no longer needed to ask permission for a snack, and simply helped myself to whatever I felt was the most appropriate snack at the time; potato chips, a yogurt, potato chips, a grilled cheese sandwich, or potato chips. My mother’s go-to responses to my snack-seeking efforts at this point, became more of “You better eat all of your dinner” or “Just clean it up after you are done!”
I have always been fortunate that I have been able to continue to enjoy my snacking habit with very few consequences for my weight, and more importantly, for my health. That is, up until now. My ever-fast metabolism has seemed to, of late, drop into a speed limit of that of what is posted in a crowded urban neighborhood, cautiously moving at a pace which carefully avoids successful digesting of things like cholesterol and sodium, preferring, instead, to keep them inside in places that could potentially cause me harm. The result is that now my snacking inclination becomes a self-imposed battle of not only what I should and shouldn’t eat, but also, when I should eat it, if at all. Let’s face it, if I’ve eaten a perfectly ample and healthy dinner at 6 p.m., having a snack at 8:30 p.m. is not really necessary. And to make things even more transparent, having a snack of cookies or cheese and crackers or ice cream, is completely the antithesis of what I should be doing in order to maintain a healthy diet and the use of the clothing that currently hangs in my closet.
Gone are the days where I can (or should) consume potato chips as a snack. Instead, if I am going to snack, I should opt for something with lower salt and fewer calories….like a piece of fruit!
Karma. Karma.
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!
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