Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a local school’s senior awards event. I attended on behalf of the Rotary Club and as a representative for the scholarships we awarded. The task had minimal requirements in that I only needed to sit in the audience and come to the stage at the designated time to hand out the two awards. However, given the three-page list of awards to be presented, I anticipated that the task would mandate a rather lengthy amount of my time. As I settled into my front row seat and my stomach began to growl, I started to regret not having made time to eat something before I left.
The ceremony began with a pledge of allegiance and then a short introduction to an appropriate member of the administration. The administrator welcomed us all, thanked everyone for coming and offered congratulations to the entire senior class. Then, the awards presentations began. I couldn’t believe it. There was no long speech. No multi-paragraph explanation of why we were all gathered. As a matter of fact, there were no wasted words of any kind. The welcome was short and succinctly appropriate. I sat up straighter and paid attention.
Approximately 12 minutes later, I looked up at the clock. Nearly all the awards on the first page of the three-page program had been distributed. What made the pace of the event even more rigorous, was that several of the awards (or nearly all of them) had multiple recipients. Each one was called. Each one marched up to the stage to receive their award. But what made it so efficient was that there were not long speeches about the award nor were their long pauses in between the reading of each recipient’s name. Rather, there was simply applause.
It was the applause that impressed me the most. Names were read quickly and in abundance, but the applause was loud, deliberate and joyful each and every time. Soon, my hands started to hurt from clapping so much. I looked around at the crowd filled with students, friends and proud family members.
No one seemed bored or distracted. On the contrary, everyone seemed respectful and enthusiastic. And their applause was unwavering.
I am sure that, like mine, their hands hurt.
But their applause continued.
Approximately 30 minutes later, the event was over. Just as it began, it ended without long-winded fuss or unnecessary fanfare.
Just with a congratulations to all the award recipients and a thank you to all those individuals and organizations, like my Rotary Club, who supported the graduates on the next phase of their journey.
My return sentiment was just as succinct.
Thank. YOU.
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!
.
Asikainen to lead TEEG
THOMPSON — The TEEG Board of Directors announced June 26 that Carl Asikainen will replace Anne Miller as executive director when she retires in November of 2024.
Asikainen worked for End Hunger CT! conducting outreach for feeding programs in Eastern Connecticut from 2003 to 2011.He began his work at TEEG in 2011, and worked to create equity in the food that people could access through TEEG and other local pantries.
He left the agency in 2016 to work with the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. While there, he worked at the state level to address youth homelessness by training network partners, coordinating resources, and advocating for those who faced unstable housing or homelessness. He returned to TEEG in 2021, stepping in to manage what are now three TEEG Markets, overseeing food rescue, distribution, and acquisition.
He has a strong passion for the work TEEG does, a vision for TEEG’s future and a knowledge of local resources. Miller said that she is delighted with the choice, and she looks forward to working with Asikainen in the coming months to create a shared vision and understanding of the work ahead.
He said “I’m thrilled to continue to work in our region in this new capacity as executive director. TEEG is as important a resource for local residents as it has ever been and with a dedicated staff and board I’m prepared to help continue this tradition of service.”
.
Trash: Next,
time for
payment
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — The town’s new trash program with Casella Waste Inc. is going along very well. In July, part two of the equation steps to the forefront: Fees.
Town officials and Casella Waste reps agree that the town is looking much cleaner. At a meeting last week, said Marc Morgan, Casella’s strategic account manager – Municipal Services, he toured the town with town officials. “There are no more trash piles to be picked up, blowing around or raccoons digging through trash.” He said their tour date was a fairly windy day but no trash was blowing around.
Town Administrator Elaine Sistare said “Things look a lot neater. It’s certainly been cleaner.”
He said there were a couple hiccups with the schedule. For example he said there might be one house where the app says the pickup is Wednesday but the rest of the homes on the road are picked up on Tuesday. “We think we have all the app glitches fixed.”
As for recycling he said the residents now have three or four times the recycling capacity compared to before. Recycling pickups are every other week.
After the holiday, he said, Casella will reassess how the program is going. “Then we’ll shift gears to make adjustments.”
Cart (bin) adjustments will be made at that point. If a resident had asked for a 65-gallon cart but there weren’t any available, after the holiday “We’ll be able to make the swap.”
During signups, town officials ordered 500 65-gallon carts, thinking that would cover it. But they were more in demand than they thought so some residents got a 95-gallon cart until a 65-gallon cart became available.
Morgan said the company ordered more 65-gallon carts so making the swaps should go well.
“There have not been any surprises or concerns in particular,” he said. “We feel this has been a success.”
He added, “We really appreciate everybody’s cooperation in this transition. Putnam is fortunate to have the great people it has.”
The Fees
Sistare said tax bills for the trash program will be going out with the property tax bills. Casella is in charge of service and the town’s tax office is in charge of billing. The charge for a 95-gallon cart for a year is $395. The charge for a 65-gallon cart is $350 a year. Both include the required 95-gallon recycling carts. The trash bills will go out to about 2,400 property owners, she said. Like a property tax bill, payment is split in half, with the first half to be postmarked by Aug. 1. The second half is due at the end of January 2025.
What happens if the trash bill is not paid? Sistare said by mid-August, at the latest, they will ask Casella to stop picking up those carts. “They can put the bins out all they want, but there will be no pickup,” she said. By late August, early September Casella will be asked to retrieve the carts.
Human nature being what it is, she anticipates they will get phone calls in August with “Hey, how come my trash hasn’t been picked up.”
“By late August prep will begin to get the bins picked up.”
.
Patriotic Mother Nature
Mother Nature is putting on her red, white and blue for July 4. This is the front porch of the Pomfret Town Hall. More photos on page 4. Expanded photo array Wednesday night on our FB page: Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger. Linda Lemmon photo.