police pg 8 12-15-22
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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.
Dec. 4
Julie A. Lang, 43, Providence Street, Putnam; failure to stop at stop sign, operating a motor vehicle while under suspension.
Dec. 6
Austin L. Hunt, 25, Lyons Street, Putnam; violation of probation.
Dec. 9
Mallory Kunz, 33, Roseland Park Road, Woodstock; third-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct.
Ross Vance, 38, Senexet Road, Woodstock; two counts of second-degree threatening, disorderly conduct, breach of peace, third-degree criminal mischief, first-degree unlawful restraint.
Dec. 10
Alyssa Denaris, 27, Groveland Avenue, Putnam; third-degree assault, disorderly conduct, third-degree criminal mischief.
Ryan A. Wilson, 32, South 2nd Avenue, Taftville; operating a motor vehicle under suspension, failure to maintain lane.
Roger Anctil Jr., 43, School Street, Putnam; operating a motor vehicle while under suspension, operating a motor vehicle while using a cell phone.
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promoted pg 8 12-15-22
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W. WARWICK, R.I. — Centreville Bank that Leland “Lee” R. Merrill Jr. has been promoted to the position of executive vice president, chief lending officer. In this expanded role, Merrill is responsible for overseeing the commercial and residential lending business throughout Rhode Island and Connecticut.
President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board Harold M. Horvat said: “Lee continues to be both a leader and an innovator in the commercial and residential lending space, having already made a significant impact during his short time at Centreville. As we continue to expand our local business lending, we will look to Lee for his experience and strong relationships in this field.”
With over 25 years of experience in community and regional banking, Merrill brings a deep understanding of the commercial and residential lending space. Initially joining Centreville Bank in March 2022, Merrill previously held positions at BankNewport, where he served as executive vice president, COO and chief lending officer. Prior to that, he was a commercial lender at Citizens Bank.
Merrill earned an MBA in Finance from the University of Rhode Island, Kingston, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont in Burlington. He is also a graduate of the ABA’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Merrill currently serves as a board member for both the Newport County YMCA and BancAlliance and is a former Board member of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and former Chair of the Newport County Advisory Fund, a division of the Rhode Island Foundation.
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vaccine pg 8 12-15-22
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Vaccine appointments
The Northeast District Department of Health is doing vaccinations by appointment only as of Dec. 14. Call for an appointment at 860-774-7350.
The department does COVID-19 vaccines, primary doses and boosters. They are free and no insurance is needed. Minors must be accompanied by a legal guardian.
Bring your vaccination card for primary dose and boosters. Masks are required at all NDDH vaccination clinics.
The department is also offering seasonal flu vaccine – Fluzone Quadrivalent. Pediatric ages 3 to 18 (no charge); adult seasonal flu shots for over age 18 ($30 cash only. No insurances accepted).
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psa pg 1 12-22-22
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PSA's e-sports
team champs
Ibo Rivera’s phone kept going off because Gavin Lo Vasco kept texting.
“It was like 3 o’clock in the morning,” Rivera said. “Gavin’s out in California and he was just flying questions out at me … I think we stopped talking around 4:30.”
But it was that conversation that really took Putnam Science Academy’s newbie e-sports team to another level. The Mustangs were a first-year program last school year, and in the carefully chosen words of Rivera and fellow coach Aaron Jones “we really struggled.”
Despite that, Texas native Angel Lopez, one of the best Rocket League players in the country, announced in May that he was going to enroll at PSA for the 2022-23 year and join the e-sports team. He then connected the coaches and Lo Vasco, who later connected the coaches with James Murphy, who’s from Oregon.
“They’d never seen each other in real life, they just knew each other from playing Rocket League online,” Rivera said. “They connected with each other, and they connected each other with us.”
Then he added with a laugh, “I don’t think Gavin knew about the time difference when he was texting me, but it was definitely worth it.”
Indeed it was. This past week the Mustangs won the Play VS Rocket League state championship, besting Hall High School 4-0 in a best-of-seven series.
“We were the first PSA team to win one,” Lo Vasco said, “but we won’t be the last.”
“It’s wild,” Rivera said. “We didn’t make the playoffs last year. And it was hard to get kids in here, telling them that we have a Rocket League team but we’re not that good. At least not yet. We wanted to bring in people who could change that.”
Said Jones: “Coming from last year into this, it’s just a dream. It’s insane. We really are very fortunate with who we have here this year.”
PSA plays in three leagues – PlayVS, HSEL, and UFEA – each of which is run or sponsored by different companies. The Mustangs won championships in all three, with the biggest of course being Wednesday’s state title.
Rocket League – a three-player game that is essentially playing soccer with cars instead of people – is one of the games the Mustangs play. Lopez, Lo Vasco, and Murphy are the starters, with Ryan Staite and Jonathan Galdamez serving as reserves.
PSA teams also play Overwatch, Valorant, and Apex, plus Daniel Tang does individual VR racing. Peter Chen’s game is Valorant, Noel Reid and Caden Wu specialize in Overwatch, while Ben Sendlakowski plays Apex. The games they play depend on what is popular at the time, so every few years or so, the lineups will change.
“Our goal was to have a really strong Rocket League team,” Jones said. “You only need three strong players as opposed to Overwatch where you need five or six. Our other games are strong, don’t get me wrong, but we just don’t have the kids yet who are at the same level as Rocket League. The idea is to now build off the success we’ve had this year and hopefully kids will realize that PSA is a great place for esports.”
For those who say playing video games is a waste of time, e-sports is here to say otherwise. Colleges offer scholarships and majors in e-sports (though these guys are interested in majoring in things like Computer Science, Biotechnology, and Criminal Justice). Sponsorships, endorsements, and streaming allows people to make a substantial professional career out of playing. The prize money, depending on the game and level, can start at $10,000 and surpass $1 million. If PSA wins a Rocket League national championship in the spring, Lopez, Lo Vasco, Murphy, Staite and Galdamez could split a five-figure prize dedicated as college scholarship money.
“I wish e-sports was popular when I was younger,” Jones said. “It’s a great opportunity for kids to earn scholarship money, and to earn money as professionals. There is a lot to be had, but not everybody can make it. It’s very competitive. And we’re not trying to push our kids to just go pro and not focus on a college education, not at all. But I think our kids have the drive to be at that high level.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
caption, page 2 L-R Aaron Jones Ibo Rivera Gavin Lo Vasco Angel Lopez Ryan Murphy Photo by Vaso Brodeur
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