I like writing with a pencil. Further, I will admit that, in general, I just like pencils. Remember being in first grade and learning how to write? I know that I felt so big because the teacher told us to put our crayons away and handed out brand new pencils.
There was something special about being allowed to use a pencil. I mean, a pencil needs to be sharpened. This meant that we all got to, one by one, march up to the pencil sharpener and take our turn making a fine point. And then we had to be careful not to poke ourselves (or another) with the pencil because the lead we just exposed like a piercing pin could be dangerous.
Before I could even worry about how to effectively write with my new instrument, I had to first learn how to handle my new little #2 weapon with care. In addition, back when I was in grade school, our desks came with a built-in pencil holder. This only further contributed to making the pencil the king of the school supplies.
The pencil reigned supreme for many of my grade school years. The requirement of sharpening made it interactive. Whenever I was stuck on a math problem, had trouble with remembering how to spell a vocabulary word or was simply bored, I delighted in being able to raise my hand to get up and sharpen my pencil. Teachers couldn’t say no to any sharpening requests because who were they to tell us how sharp we liked to use our pencil. I mean, the pencil point was, and still is, completely tailored to its user. Some like a dull pencil. Some like an ultra-sharp, pin-point pencil. I prefer my pencil sharp but not too sharp that it breaks when I press firmly.    
Additionally, the built in eraser on a pencil allows for its user to think critically. Imagine if learning was accomplished without a backspace button? The expectation for perfection would feel overwhelming. For example, at the beginning of my math test, I may have thought that 3+4 equals 6 but by the end, I see that 4+3 equals 7. With my pencil, I can erase and change my wrong answer to the correct one. And if I didn’t erase perfectly, more than just getting the answer right, my teacher would know that I learned. What a wonderful concept.
In its essence, a simple pencil taught me how to be both creative and responsible. To this day, I can’t help but smile when I see a pack of regular pencils on the shelf. Ironically, they are still one of the least expensive school supplies you absolutely should buy. But make sure to buy the pack that needs sharpening…
Point. Point.
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!

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Music and Fireworks

page 1 from the top:

Audrey Leighton, 2, of Webster

Whiskey Boulevard singer


Navigating the bouncy obstacle course

on page 4, clockwise from top right:

Vera Wlaszkiewicz, 20 months, of Putnam

Sara Seney and Mayor Barney Seney

Whiskey Boulevard singer

It takes eight hours to put together Putnam's fireworks display. Pyrotecnico of New Castle, Penn., did the honors. They had to wait for the rain to stop Saturday morning.


Joyful Eats



 

captions, from top:

Former Bradley Beef site

Former Metal Mast site. Linda Lemmon photos.


And eyesores coming down
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Eyesores are coming down. Within the last couple weeks, the former home of Bradley Beef on School Street was demolished, as was the former Metal Mast on Providence Street.
Mayor Barney Seney said the town had written to the owners of the former Bradley Beef building requesting it be demolished as it as it was unsafe. The owners, 284 School Street LLC of Oxford, Mass., did not remove the building and so, Seney said the town acted within the state statutes and had the building razed. The work was done by Mancini Demolition of Rhode Island and what remains is all the debris leveled off in the footprint of the building.
In addition to covering the cost of the demolition, the town will also cover the cost of putting a safety fence around the site. It is up to the owners, he said, to have the debris removed — debris that contains asbestos.
The cost to the town is $15,000 for the demolition work and around $7,000 for the fence. The exact amount awaits the invoice from Killingly Fence Co.
Once the final figure is determined, a lien will be put against the property in that amount. Whenever the property is sold, that lien will have to be repaid to the town.
A short ride away, on Providence Street, the owners of the former Metal Mast had that site leveled. Seney said the owner, ICB Enterprise Initiative LLC of Woodstock, had the site cleared at the town’s request.
The next site in the town’s sights is the long-ago burned building on High Street. Requests for the demolition of that unsafe site were unheeded so the town is gearing up to have it demolished. It will be a similar scenario as with the School Street property.
On a brighter note, Seney said the town is still working with the bank that owns the chock-a-block full property on Woodstock Avenue. The town anticipates that the bank will have a dumpster and a crew to clear out the unsafe property, possibly this week.

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