police pg 8 7-25-24
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The following charges were listed in the Putnam Police Department logs. The people charged are innocent until proven guilty in court. The Town Crier will publish dispositions of cases at the request of the accused. The dispositions must be accompanied by the proper documentation. The Putnam Police Department confidential Tip Line is 860-963-0000.
July 15
Heriberto Gonzalez Rodriguez, 30, West Main Street, Dudley; operating without a license.
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Different pg 1 8-1-24
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A Different Point of View
Rotary Park
Sheep painting by Elaine Turner
five pg 1 8-1-24
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'The Five Senses of Women'
featured at Putnam gallery
PUTNAM — An Art Exhibit and Opening Reception featuring the works of five local artists - Lisa Andrews, Kathy Guertin, Carolyn Nadeau, Laura Moorehead, and Karen Reid - is being be held at The Corridor Gallery in the Putnam Municipal Complex.
The show, titled “The Five Senses of Women,” will be running until Sept. 30.
The Opening Reception is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 1 with free refreshments and a chance to speak with the artists. It is sponsored by the Putnam Arts Council, is free and open to the public. For hours and more information please visit PutnamCtArtsCouncil.com.
Visitors will see a variety of mediums and techniques including a special Plexiglas box with five sides dedicated to a woman’s senses - tastes, sight, touch, smell, and sound. From oils to watercolors to ink, each piece in the show is the artist’s interpretation of the inspirations and senses that surround her.
Lisa Andrews is a lifelong professional visual artist and arts educator. She is a graduate of The Art Institute of Boston in Fine Arts and Design and has attended Eastern Connecticut State University, pursuing a degree and certification in education. Currently she is an Early Childhood Program Coordinator, and Expressive Arts Facilitator, and a mentor for new mothers through the Hand in Hand program at TEEG.
Kathy Moore Guertin has an associate’s degree from QVCC in fine arts. She has been a full time graphic artist for 30+ years, 20+ of those here in Putnam at Chase Graphics. However, her real passion is to get her hands messy with any kind of paint and drawing mediums.
Carolyn Nadeau is an artist, graphic designer, and accomplished horseman. She has a bachelor’s in fine arts and graphic design from Rhode Island College and worked as a graphic designer until she retired in 2020. Her choice of medium is graphite and pencil drawing, watercolor and ink. Carolyn said she welcomes you to join her on this emotional journey of discovering the beauty and energy of horses through her art.
Laura Moorehead worked as a graphic designer for many years and had her own business, Angell House Design, for over 25 years. Along with travel and gardening, she fills her retirement days with as much art as time will allow - painting, pottery, sewing, weaving, and whatever other fun activity life presents her with.
Karen Reid is a teacher and mentor to this group of women. She has an extensive background in fine arts, with a robust education from several prestigious institutions. Her studies have encompassed various forms of fine art, including drawing, painting, ceramics, and monoprint. Currently, Karen is focused on drawing and painting, using mediums such as oil paint, watercolor, wax, and charcoal. Her studio is in Oxford, Mass.
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caption: Landscape by Lisa Andrews
May pg 1 8-1-24
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May St. proposal:
Protecting the protectors
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — The proposed purchase of the commercial property at 70 May St. would go a long way toward protecting the emergency equipment and the emergency personnel that protect the town, according to officials.
Scott Belleville, Emergency Management director and fire marshal, said the 7,500-square-foot building owned by the Providence and Worcester railroad, would provide a home for the EMS/ambulance crews and all their equipment as well as a safe, secure and out-of-the-weather place for Emergency Management equipment. Putnam is also the base for some of the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Region 4 equipment.
The Putnam Police Department and the Putnam Fire Department are not included in the proposal because they are Special Services District entities. Putnam ambulance is a contract service.
The town vote on the “not to exceed $900,000” purchase is Aug. 5.
Asked where the funding would come from, Town Administrator Elaine Sistare said the Board of Finance has the following accounts available: the undesignated account, the ash landfill account and capital funds. There would be no need for bonding, she said.
Mayor Barney Seney said if the proposal was approved at the Aug. 5 town meeting it would take four to six weeks to firm up figures including: negotiating a price, appraisals and surveys for the property, buildout costs and approaching the Planning and Zoning Commission on the project. “If Planning and Zoning turns it down, it’s done (over),” he said. The sale would be contingent on all of those figures/approvals.
When they have their figures they would go to the Board of Finance about the finances. If the Board of Finance recommends using the undesignated or the ash landfill accounts, Seney said, it would have to go before a town referendum for approval. If they recommend using the capital fund, “we would check with an attorney as to whether a referendum would be needed,” Seney said.
Both Sistare and Belleville said there is no estimate at this time on buildout costs, should the proposal be approved. Some items that would be needed include: an emergency generator, designated male and female restrooms and the need for a sleeping area for on-duty staff. Additional fire alarm systems would be required for the staff spaces.
First-responder needs have been haunting the town for a long time. The town (not district) had put in for a federal Community Investment Fund grant for $4.6 million (with some town matching funds) for an emergency center to be built on the property of the former armory. Belleville said “We’re not likely to get that (grant) this round.”
Using the former armory building, according to Seney, would “cost a significant amount of money.” There are environmental issues to deal with, and it would have to be brought up to code. In addition, it’s smaller.
For help for the EMS/ambulance the town put in for a federal grant for $517,500 through U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal’s office. The grant would be $284,625 and the town match amount would be $232,875, Belleville said. “We’ve crossed two hurdles for that already so I think we would get it.” He said he didn’t think it would be any problem to transfer the destination of the grant to May Street. He added it would have “zero impact on taxes.”
Belleville said he heard about the sale of the May Street property “in passing.”
For EMS/ambulance, Belleville said the crew is sleeping on couches. Separate male and female quarters are required. “They cannot decontaminate” after calls (i.e. bedbugs, etc.) which is an OSHA requirement. May Street would have enough space to store four ambulances and, he said, eight people need sleeping quarters.
“It makes sense to get them out of there (their current place on Church Street),” he said.
If the proposed purchase is approved, EMS would use 4,000 square feet and emergency management would use the remaining 3,500 square feet, Belleville said.
As far as Putnam Emergency Management and Region 4, Putnam is the “custodial party” for some Region 4 emergency equipment. Belleville said he was always borrowing from other towns and about five years ago, began pushing for Putnam to be the custodial party for Region 4. Because Putnam stores some of Region 4’s equipment “we have the ability to do things in minutes that other towns can’t,” Belleville said. That equipment protects the town and even helps promote business, he added.
He said it “makes sense to take care of what we have; to keep it working and inside and secure and out of the weather is important.” The emergency operations center should move out of the Municipal Complex. “Moving it to its own center,” he said “opens up tons of grants.”
He added Putnam needs proper storage for shelter supplies. “We have PPE in a Conex box. It’s 120 degrees inside the box. What is that doing to rubber gloves?”
“We need safe storage for 50 beds, 50 cots. All our shelter supplies,” he said.
As far as Region 4 equipment, Belleville said there is a trailer (which is a command center), two message boards, light tower, traffic trailer, 10 generators and a support trailer (which can be a portable hospital in minutes).
In addition to the inside storage/protection, Belleville said the May Street property has about ½ acre around the building with a secure fence around it. It might be possible to store highway equipment there, too.
In the unlikely event there is a train sitting on the tracks when there is an emergency, the emergency vehicles just go around the other way. Belleville measured difference in response times and it added “1 to 2 minutes, tops.”
“This is a win win for Putnam," Belleville added.
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