Pomfret Community
All meals served with fruit and veggies. Monday: Cheese quesadilla. Tuesday: Cheeseburgers. Wednesday: Meatball grinders. Thursday: French toast, sausage. Friday: Mozzarella sticks.
Putnam Elementary/Middle
Monday Blue and Tuesday White: Dr. Seuss! Green eggs and ham, French toast bites, hash browns, strawberries and cream. Wednesday Blue and Thursday White: Crispy chicken sandwiches, carrots, fruit. Friday Blue: Stuffed-crust pizza, salad, fruit.
Putnam High
Monday Blue and Tuesday White: Cheesy beef tot-chos or spicy chicken sandwiches. Wednesday Blue and Thursday White: Spaghetti, meatballs or bacon cheeseburgers. Friday Blue: Stuffed-crust pizza or mozzarella stick with marinara.
Woodstock: Menus not received by press time.

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There are several moments in life wherein you enter someone else’s world and think to yourself “What the *&%! is that?”  We all think that just because we are friendly with someone that they are similar to us in what they like to eat, where they like to travel and how they decorate.  Right? It’s a natural and normal inclination, as we are automatically drawn to people who are similar to ourselves.
Opposites may attract, but they rarely stand the test of time.  It is more appropriate to consider that those who complement each other, stay together.  On this note, couples find friends who enjoy similar activities and individuals find friends who demonstrate care, concern and kindness in what they say and who they are.
A friendship is a wonderful thing but building these types of bonds can, sometimes, take an extraordinary effort like running errands for them when they are sick or traveling across the country for a visit.  When we hold someone as dear to us, we often make selfless gestures and hope that, they, in return, do the same for us.
Given this, why then, is it so hard sometimes to pretend not to notice something strange in their house or car or … ON THEM?
We easily pass judgment on our partner, children or parents; frequently offering helpful suggestions of “It would be easier if you did it this way…” or “Why are you wearing that? It looks terrible!” Yet we instinctively know to draw the line with this judgmental behavior with our friends … even when they ask for our opinion.  If a friend asks me if I like her new pants (which are lime green with yellow daisies on them), I will always respond with a “They are wonderful and so YOU” even though I’ve never seen her wear bold color schemes before, but if she is wearing them now, then I think she must like them and I pretend to like them, too. If it was my daughter, I would answer something like “If you like them, that’s all that counts” making my opinion known without hurting her feelings.  But what I just described are the easy friend pretends. What happens when we are confronted with a bigger discovery about what our friend likes and, more significantly, what that might say about them?
Perhaps you ask for a glass of water and discover that your friend doesn’t like doing dishes, nor running the dishwasher until it is absolutely full, handing you a flimsy paper cup to use instead.  That’s a little quirky but you pretend that it is not, because you don’t want to tell them you think it’s a little weird as that might be insulting to their character.  Instead, you make a mental note to bring your own water bottle next time you visit.
Likewise, if friends proudly display an expensive piece of art on their wall that you find “odd,”, such as a framed banana peel (yes that exists), you pretend to like it by saying how “interesting” it is, which isn’t really a lie, but rather just a time of acting.  And why not? Because at home, you have an apple peel which would look fabulous with their color scheme…
Fib. Fib.
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!

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Energy
assistance
still available
Applications for energy assistance for the 2021 heating season are still being accepted by the Access Community Action Agency. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all applications for energy assistance will be completed over the phone.
Funding for this program is provided by The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) and is housed under the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS). These CEAP funds are targeted to limited income families and seniors who need them the most. The Energy Assistance program is designed to offset winter heating costs for low-income (below 60% of state median income) households in Windham and Tolland counties. Benefits are determined by total household gross income and liquid assets; eligibility ends on March 15 unless otherwise changed by DSS. Utility-heated households (Eversource Energy, electric and gas) in the matching payment program are protected from utility shut-off until May 1.
Contact Access in Willimantic at 860-450-7400 or Danielson at 860-412-1600 to make a phone appointment and provide a working telephone number in order for an Intake Tech to call. Previous Access customers can create an account and schedule an appointment online at: https://accessagency.nexacomm.net/.
Households that have received energy assistance in the past must reapply and drop off updated documentation to be eligible for the new heating season.  
After completing the application over the phone, a list of documentation will be mailed to the applicant and they will have 10 days to return the documentation either by mail, fax, email, or it can be dropped off at Willimantic or Danielson in a designated drop box. Anyone entering the building will need to wear a mask and keep social distance. We are determined to keep each energy assistance customer and our staff safe. 
To apply for assistance, applicants must schedule an appointment and provide copies of the following documents for all household members 18 and over and not in school:
-  Names, birthdates and proof of Social Security card numbers for all household members.
- Pay stubs if employed, (4 if paid weekly, 2 if paid bi-weekly), unemployment printout.
- If self-employed, Self-employment worksheet with all schedules of the previous year tax returns.
- Letter for SS, SSI, SSDI, DSS readout for cash assistance and SNAP benefits.
- Proof of Child Support and/or Alimony documents.
- Rent Receipt/Lease, with name, address and telephone number of landlord.
- Mortgage statement or tax bill if property owner.
- Utility bill(s) with account numbers for ALL adult household members.
- All pages of recent bank account statements for ALL adult household members, showing name and account numbers (checking & savings that reflects activity 30 days prior to application date).
- Liquid Assets are assets that are readily convertible to cash, and include savings accounts, checking accounts, bonds, stocks/shares, certificates of deposit, annuities and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), provided the IRA’s accounts are in the name of a household member who is 59 ½ years old or older. Households must provide verification of all liquid assets
- Letter from a friend or relative if they give support money, must have an amount.
- If paid under the table a letter stating how much you were paid during the previous 4 weeks.
- Financial aid forms for everyone in the household.
- If a person in the household is receiving a pension we must have a letter from the pension plan or a 1099-R from the IRS.

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