Changes 
coming to
Walmart
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Changes are in the offing for the local Walmart.
If you’ve been to the Brooklyn Walmart lately, you already know just how Putnam’s changes will look.
According to the paperwork, the existing square footage is 144,750. The remodeled square footage is 53,053 and an addition is 2,299 square feet. That will make the total finished square footage 147,049.
The building permit value is $5.1 million. The permit value for the signage is between $70,000 and $80,000.
In plans submitted to the town, the most significant part of the project will be the 2,299-square-foot addition on the north side of the building (Rt. 44 side). It will be constructed starting from about halfway back on the side of the original building and run to the back corner.
The space is for pickup of to go and online purchases. Currently there are numerous parking spots delineated near the pharmacy end for this. The north parking lot will be reworked for this service.
Post-COVID, retailers are aware this pickup service is here to stay.
In the front of the store, self-checkout will be taking a huge step up. Plans show eight “regular” registers. The rest are self-checkout.
The Pharmacy & Vision Center will be revamped. The bakery and deli spaces will be tweaked. 
Changes listed on the paperwork: Move location of dressing rooms; move location of electronics desk and add digital display boards; repair and replace floor finishes; demolish and replace exterior sidewalks and pavement; sign installation and replacing exterior signs; add mother’s room in rear of store; refurbish restrooms/Family restroom, remodel Customer Service and add digital displays; relocate photo lab; online pickup moves to new addition; cleaning, new paint and finishes everywhere. In grocery — remodel, remove refrigerated cases and equipment, add refrigerated cases, equipment, digital displays.
Currently the plans are before the Inland Wetlands Commission as the proposed work is within 200 feet of the wetlands on the south side of the store.

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Centaurs fall 
on soggy 
T-Day
It just seemed par for the course this season for the Woodstock Academy football team.
There was always another curveball thrown at the program.
On Thanksgiving Day, not only were the Centaurs down their first two quarterbacks due to injury, the field that the game with Killingly was supposed to be played on at Nichols College was unavailable and Mother Nature decided to add a rainstorm into the mix.
“This week has mirrored our season in a lot of ways and what I mean by that is being resilient and flexible. We found out that Nichols wasn’t really an option a week ago. We met with the older kids and told them our options were to play at Killingly or we can do whatever we can to play at Bentley. I left the option up to them and I saw the sparkle in their eye about playing here (at Bentley),” head coach and Athletic Director Sean Saucier said.
“I am just so grateful for all the people that volunteered and helped at the last minute to make it work at Bentley,” said Associate Head of School Holly Singleton. “
Killingly came in with an undefeated record and was averaging 46 points a game while giving up only 14. Those numbers stayed true to form as Killingly blanked the Centaurs, 47-0, to finish with an undefeated regular season.
The Centaurs finished the season with a 2-8 mark.
Killingly jumped on top early when junior back Hayden Allard on the third play of the game, broke free of a couple tackles and went 58 yards for the score just 1 minute, 22 seconds in.
The Centaurs continued their quarterback experiment as seniors Kyle Grist and Cam Nason played their final games behind center.
 “As crazy as it sounds, it feels normal to us now,” Saucier said of the Grist-Nason combo. “How do you get to this? But, now it feels normal. Here we are two to three weeks later of having them rep it and we worked on fine tuning some things.”
It was tough on the first possession as the Centaurs were forced to punt.
Killingly took over on the Woodstock 45 and on the next play, quarterback Quinn Sumner (3-for-3 passing, 124 yards) found Hunter Allard down the sideline for the 45-yard touchdown. It was Sumner’s 16th, but not last, touchdown pass of the season while Allard reeled in his eighth touchdown reception.
The Centaurs did get into Killingly territory on their second possession.
A facemask on a run by Nason moved them up to their own 40 and Grist (12 carries, 47 yards) reeled off a 9-yard gain to near midfield.
A Killingly offside penalty got the ball into Killingly territory and a pair of runs by Grist and Gabe Luperon moved the ball to the Killingly 41.
Unfortunately for the Centaurs, the drive stalled and went backwards with Killingly taking over on downs at its own 49.
Sumner, on the first play from scrimmage, stepped back and lofted a pass downfield to Aiden Lamotte for the junior’s third touchdown catch of the season.
Another Woodstock punt gave Killingly another opportunity which Sumner used to find Joseph Gould with a 28-yard touchdown pass.
The Centaurs fumbled the ensuing kickoff which was recovered by Killingly and Everton Brown trotted in from 11 yards out for the 35-0 first quarter lead.
The Centaurs did put together a decent drive beginning at the end of the first quarter where a 12-yard pass from Grist to Aiden Brailsford gave them a first down on their own 44 going into the second quarter.
Grist added 25 yards on the ground in five carries to get Woodstock to the Killingly 32.
Brailsford (7 carries, 30 yards) found daylight for another 10 and the Centaurs were in the red zone at the 19-yard line.
But the Centaurs decided to go to the air and it created a highlight moment for Hayden Allard.
The Killingly junior, who had come into the game with 1,510 yards rushing, only carried the ball three times for 74 yards in the game.
But he was defending on the pass and picked it off near the goal line, returning it the distance for a 100-yard interception return and a 41-0 Killingly advantage.
Killingly wrapped up the contest with a 14-yard run by Gould with three minutes left to play in the first half to account for the final score.
Nason finished the day by completing both of his passes for 11 yards while Brailsford had two catches for 20.
“We had our last meeting before we came down here with the seniors. We don’t meet after or on Monday, this is it. We had a special meeting before the game and I told them that they had left an incredible legacy of resilience for everyone else to follow with everything we have been through. I’m proud of them,” Saucier said.
Earlier in the week, Jacob Say, Dylan Phillips and Alec Nunes were named ECC Div. II football All-Stars. Sam Clark and Nason were chosen as honorable mention All-Stars with Nunes earning the team’s ECC Scholar-Athlete Award and Aidan Soukaloun named as the ECC Sportsmanship Award recipient.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

2024 Aiden Brailsford: Woodstock Academy senior Aiden Brailsford runs the football against Killingly on Thanksgiving Day at the Bentley Athletic Complex. (2 pictures to choose from)

2024 Cam Nason:  Woodstock Academy senior quarterback Cam Nason looks to throw on Thanksgiving Day against Killingly.

2024 Woodstock Academy offensive line: The Woodstock Academy football team’s offensive line of (from left to right) Jacob Say, Henri Bessette, Cayden Menor, Ryder Chaput and Wyatt Voter were ready prior to their showdown with Killingly on Thanksgiving Day.

2024 Luperon, etc…: At times, Woodstock Academy seniors Aiden Brailsford (5), Kyle Grist (44) and Cam Nason (16) were in the same backfield together against Killingly on Thanksgiving Day.

2024 Umbrellas, Tents:  The background says it all as onlookers huddled under tents and umbrellas in a persistent rain as Woodstock Academy battled Killingly on Thanksgiving Day. Photos by Abby Ditzel/Woodstock Academy.

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Trash: How’s it going?

By Linda Lemmon

Town Crier Editor

PUTNAM — More than a week in for the new Casella Waste trash/recycle program, and Casella officials say the process has been relatively smooth.

Marc Morgan, Casella’s strategic account manager – Municipal Services, said it went pretty well on the trash side.

One issue, hopefully worked out now, is that the company went from a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday schedule to a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday schedule as of May 1. Those who had had their trash picked up on Fridays were moved to either Wednesday or Thursday. The company managing the app incorrectly told some of those customers that their day was Thursday. It was Wednesday and they did not get their trash out that day. Morgan said it affected six streets and he believes it’s all corrected now.

The trash is picked up by a side arm on the trash truck. Morgan said folks may see two people in the truck cab for “perhaps a few weeks” because the second person is adjusting the carts (bins) if they are not placed properly for the arm. “In some cases cart placement is not quite right; not in the right place. They should not be backwards or sideways, which can damage the lid,” Morgan said. Some customers were left a tag detailing proper cart placement.

Morgan said that in the weeks before the new program started, Casella was driving the collection routes, making sure they matched up with the app. They were also checking streets and heights and one ways.

The company makes almost 3,000 stops. “All in all, I think it went well,” he said.

Last week Casella added the recycle portion of the program.

What belongs in the 95-gallon recycle cart (bin): Cardboard (broken down into 2-foot squares, max), boxboard, junk mail, periodicals and office paper (paper bags, envelopes, catalogs). Also, plastic bottles, jugs, tubs and lids including empty kitchen, laundry and bath containers and clamshells. Also aluminum and steel cans, foil and empty food and beverage cans. And finally, glass bottles and jars (empty food and beverage bottles and jars). All containers should be clean and dry.

Do not bag recyclables.

What’s not accepted? No items 2 inches or smaller, plastic bags, bagged recyclables, clothing/textiles, tanglers (hangers), scrap metal items, batteries, medical waste, food waste/liquids, electronics, hazardous materials or explosives, plastic wrap, films or tarps, wood, waste, or tires, disposal items, waxy boated paper items, ceramics or baking glass.

For recycling tips and resources, visit casella.com/RecycleBetter.

Morgan said the reasoning for making sure cardboard is no larger than 2 feet is so that it will not get stuck.

The side-arm truck will pick up the cart up and flip it upside down once into the hole at the top of the truck. No shaking, no multiple emptying motions. One motion. Anything in the cart needs to fall freely into the truck.

For that same reason, Morgan said, they often see things like vinyl Venetian blinds, mop handles and scrap metal or cardboard that is too large and they get stuck.

He added, “If you have to jam it in there, chances are it’s not going to fall in.”

Place the trash cart and the recycle cart on a flat surface at least 3 feet apart, with the front facing the road. Morgan said many people put the trash cart on one side of the driveway and the recycle cart on the other side of the driveway. The carts should be clear of snow, landscaping, mail boxes and utility poles.

Morgan said in Putnam the same truck will be used for trash and for recyclables. The truck will do its route picking up trash, go unload it and then return to collect the recyclables. So if you see your trash gone but the recycles are still in the cart, hang on, they’re coming back for it.

If you have any questions for Casella the phone number for service is 860-423-4527.

What About Bulky Waste?

The town’s Bulky Waste Collection will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 18 at the Putnam Armory. No charge — you just need to show residency. Two more are planned --- Aug. 17and Oct. 26 at the Putnam Middle School.