Putnam pg 1 9-1-22
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Putnam
hires new
town clerk
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — The Town of Putnam made it official this week, hiring Scotland Town Clerk Christine Bright to be Putnam’s new town clerk.
The hiring follows a circuitous process with the job posted as a part-time, possibly full time position and then posted later as a full-time position.
Bright replaces Sara Seney who served as town clerk for 26 years. Before that Seney at the Thompson Town Hall prior to Putnam.
Putnam brings a special challenge as it is a “hospital town” and the Putnam Town Clerk is responsible for birth and death records, in addition to the other town clerk duties. She's due to start in mid-September.
According to online information about Bright, she is a Certified Connecticut Town Clerk and has served as the town clerk for the Town of Scotland from April 2018 through the present. She is also Scotland's assistant tax collector. From November 2014 through August 2017, she worked as a real estate paralegal for Chinigo, Leone and Maruzo LLP in the New London-Norwich area. Prior to that, from March 2009 to November 2014, she worked as a paralegal for Anna Zubkova, attorney at law. She lives in Canterbury.
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not pg 1 9-1-22
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Not Mardi Gras
This is just the regular look for a huge (at least 4 inches long) cecropia caterpillar. He'll spin himself a cocoon and turn into a cecropia moth which is at least 6 inches across. These caterpillars are rare in Connecticut so if you're lucky enough to see one, leave him be. Linda Lemmon photo.
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Leffler pg 1 9-1-22
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JEWETT CITY — Thomas F. Leffler, owner of the Leffler Funeral Home in Jewett City, announced the sale of his funeral home to local funeral director Robert Fournier of Putnam.
According to Leffler, “Working alongside my father since my youth, I have worked at the funeral home for most of my adult life. While I plan to continue to be affiliated with the funeral home, I look forward to pursuing a career in a field outside of funeral service.”
Bob Fournier, a third-generation funeral director, has been serving Connecticut families since 2005, carrying on the tradition of care begun by The Gilman & Valade Funeral Homes in 1919. In 2013 he built the Park Tribute Center, Windham County’s first and only crematory. In July, Fournier acquired the Dougherty Brothers Funeral Home in Plainfield.
“I am honored to continue Tom and his father’s dedication to serving families in their time of need,” said Fournier.
With the transition, the funeral home name will change to the Griswold Funeral Home and all prepaid funeral contracts will be honored as planned under the new name.
Fournier added, “Several of our team members have a local connection to Griswold and are excited to be reconnected to the area. James Morin, Tim Plante, Bill Juzwic, Ed Bachand and Bob Bernier are some of the familiar faces you will see on our services. Furthermore, because we own and operate our own crematory, when Griswold Funeral Home clients choose cremation, their loved ones will never leave the care of our staff.”
The Jewett City Funeral Home was started as a branch of Church & Allen Funeral Home and sold to Thomas D. Leffler in 1976 and operated as the Leffler Jewett City Funeral Home. In 2011, Tom’s son, Thomas F. Leffler purchased the funeral home from his father and operated as the Leffler Funeral Home.
The Gilman Funeral Home, founded in 1919 by Alexander Gilman, and the Valade Funeral Home, founded in 1924 by Alphonse Valade, merged in 1980 under the direction of Lawrence J. Bellerose. In December 2005, Robert “Bob” Fournier purchased both funeral homes and then built The Park Tribute Center, Windham County’s only crematory, in 2013. In July of 2022, Bob purchased Dougherty Brothers Funeral Home.
caption, page 5:
Acquired
Leffler Funeral Home in Jewett City was acquired by local funeral director Robert Fournier, left, is shown with Thomas Leffler. Courtesy photo.
police pg 1 9-1-22
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caption:
New Hire
Hailey Griffin is congratulated by Putnam Police Chief Christopher Ferace after she is sworn in at Putnam's newest police officer. Courtesy photo.
Police hire
new officer
PUTNAM — Putnam Police Department Chief Chris Ferace announced the hiring of the newest officer at the Putnam Police Department. Officer Hailey H. Griffin was sworn in Aug. 29. Officer Griffin comes to the Putnam Police Department as a lateral hire who previously served five years with the Plainfield Police Department.
Officer Griffin brings a wealth of experience and knowledge with her and will be an outstanding addition to the Putnam Police Department, Ferace said. She is a 2012 graduate of Plainfield High School and in 2016 earned a bachelor’s in criminal justice from Post University where she graduated Cum Laude and was a two-sport Division II athlete.
While studying in college she completed her required student internship at the Putnam Police Department. Officer Griffin comes highly trained and holds a POSTC Detective Certification, she is a certified Field Training Officer (FTO) and Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained. She is the second female officer hired by the Police Department.
Officer Griffin becomes the 17th sworn member of the Police Department. This position is funded by the Town of Putnam, resulting from the overwhelming decision by townspeople to increase the department and have a School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to the Putnam School District starting this school year.
Officer Griffin lives in Brooklyn with her fiancée. After completing a familiarization and orientation training with the Police Department, she will be assigned to the department’s Patrol Division.