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 963-0000.

Aug. 27

Christopher Shaffer, 53, Nichols Street, Putnam; unsafe backing.

Aug. 29

Catherine Kreimes, 60, Harrison Street, Putnam; disorderly conduct, sixth-degree larceny.

Aug. 30

Sam Bedard, 31, Green Acres, Quinebaug; operating under the influence, failure to drive right.

Toby Ciukaj, 32, Providence Street, Putnam; third-degree burglary, sixth-degree larceny.

 

Sanchas 

moves into 

the sports air

chair at 

WINY Radio

By Ron P. Coderre

WINY Radio in Putnam recently went through a major shift in its sports department with the naming of East Killingly resident Josh Sanchas as its sports director.  Sanchas, 22, is a May 2014 graduate of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in Farmington.

Sanchas is familiar with WINY, as he started at the station as a 16 year old intern, while a student at Killingly High School.  He graduated from Killingly in 2011, where he was a member of the Redmen’s basketball team.  He’s been working at WINY since shortly following his graduation from broadcasting school.  In his new role, Sanchas is responsible for daily sports reports twice per hour on the Morning Show between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.  

He’ll also be the play-by-play voice of high school sports, where he’ll team with Stu Neal in presenting football and with Scott Desrosiers for basketball and baseball.  Sanchas will also assume the lead on the popular Saturday morning Sports Talk show.

“I want to continue WINY’s spotlight on high school sports, while also presenting our listening audience with the latest in local, college and professional sports news.  I hope to bring a younger perspective to sports with quality reporting,” said Sanchas of his new role.

“As a former athlete I realize that sports provide a way of relieving stress in people’s lives.  I want to build a rapport with the listener so they’ll appreciate the effort we put into bringing them the latest and best in sports,” concluded Sanchas.

Although he’s excited to begin in his new position, the ambitious Sanchas admits that his ultimate dream is much the same as many others in the field as he aspires to work for ESPN some day.  He notes that television is different than radio and his immediate goal is to paint a vivid picture of the action for the listener.  He’s also a big fan of Boston Red Sox play-by-play man Don Orsillo, who coincidentally will not return to Boston next year.

“Orsillo’s a class act.  I love the way he teams with Jerry Remy.  That’s the atmosphere I hope to achieve with my partners,” said Sanchas.

Sanchas replaces John Wilbur, who was WINY Sports Director for the past nine and one half years.  Wilbur left recently to pursue other professional interests.

 

 

caption, page 6:

 

Grand Reopening

The Woodstock Fair's Main Exhibition Hall was restored recently. Left: Mike Blanchflower, builder; above Mike Alberts presents state Citation to Susan Lloyd, president. Linda Lemmon photos.

 

 

Restored 

Exhibition 

Hall

shines

By Linda Lemmon

Town Crier Editor

WOODSTOCK --- For builder Mike Blanchflower, the best part of the restoration of the Main Exhibition Hall at the Woodstock Fairgrounds was getting the building back to the way it was.

The opening of the 155th Woodstock Fair was a special one this year as the Woodstock Agricultural Society celebrated the grand reopening of the restored hall. President Susan Lloyd said the original one-story section of the building, measuring 36 feet by 96 feet, opened in 1874. In 1885 the three-story front section was added. The second and third floors were leased to the Masons and the Grange, she said.  The society knew the building needed attention and began serious discussions around 2010. Blanchflower, of Woodstock, began work in December and tackled the foundations and sills and supports of the building. Parts of the building were sagging. Parts were too high. Parts were leaning in 8 inches. Foundations were missing and rotting sills were sitting on dirt. The Douglas fir beams to raise the building, he said,  were 36 feet long and the door underneath the main floor was not large enough to allow the beams to go inside and turn. Builders solved that problem by cutting slots in the floor to get the beams in. 

Blanchflower said that raising and lowering the building took "a lot of the winter." Then the foundations were addressed. He said 196 feet of foundations were rebuilt and replaced.  

The foundation problems were the biggest surprise, Blanchflower said. It was assumed that there were no problems with the foundations, but there were. The most challenging part of the project was "getting the beams in and getting this building straightened out." he added.

Blanchflower was assisted by Jonathan Davol. Davol said, "We work well together."

More was learned about the building, Blanchflower said, when beams were discovered stamped "Warren Lumber Company" from New Hampshire. "Those would have had to have been brought by rail into Putnam and then put on wagons and moved to the Woodstock Fair site. 

He added that the windows of the main hall were covered. The team painstakingly uncovered the windows and removed them, taking care to save the wavy glass. He said Ray Gagne of Andover, a third-generation window builder, recreated 43 windows, using the wavy glass the contractors had saved. 

Upstairs, Blanchflower said, they were able to replace the lost dormer brackets with fancy cast iron ones. 

State Rep Mike Alberts presented the society with a state citation. Lloyd said the exhibition hall has become an iconic symbol of the Woodstock Fair.

"This building is a statement of why we're here," she added.