police pg 8 2-15-24
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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.
Feb. 5
Brett A. Boisse, 32, Pomfret Street, Putnam; creating a public disturbance.
Feb. 6
Roger A. Rioux, 56, homeless, Putnam; second-degree breach of peace.
Feb. 7
Noah R. Hollmann, 25, Woodstock Avenue, Putnam; traveling unreasonably fast, operating under suspension, use of a misuse registration plate, operating a motor vehicle without insurance.
Feb. 10
Michaeleen Lannon, 44, Lake Road, Dayville; two counts of breach of peace.
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susan pg 8 2-15-24
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DAYVILLE — Susan Prest, Housekeeping supervisor, garnered recognition as Westview’s January 2024 Employee of the Month. She has worked there since 2021. She is part of the highly dedicated housekeeping team that maintains the cleanliness, courtesy, and collegiality of the whole building.
The meticulously manicured message presented by the visage of the indoor aesthetics is her pride and joy.
Prest is one of eight siblings, and she greatly appreciates the bonds shared between herself and her brothers and sisters. She is quite close to her father—literally and figuratively. He lives at Country Living at Westview Commons, which is a sister facility to Westview Health Care Center. She credits her earnest, determined, and kind work ethic from his inspiration. After graduating from Killingly High School, Susan attended Southeastern Academy in Kissimmee, Fla. She thoroughly enjoys spending time with her husband Vail and with her father “Morrie” at Westview Commons. One of her favorite things to do is to go out to lunch with them at local dining destinations.
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Fleeton pg 1 2-22-24
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Fleeton Named ECC Girls’ Basketball Coach of Year
The ECC initiated a new pair of postseason awards this athletic season.
The league now asks each of its set of coaches in every sport it sponsors to vote on a Player and Coach of the Year.
The inaugural Coach of the Year award in girls’ basketball, it was announced recently, went to Woodstock Academy coach Will Fleeton.
“It is special because of where it comes from. I have some quality peers, other coaches out there in the ECC, so to be recognized by them is truly an honor. I give all thanks to my kids, though. If they don’t get done what they have to, they don’t get recognized and if they don’t get recognized, neither do I,” Fleeton said.
Fleeton has been at the helm of the program for the Centaurs since the 2015-16 season and guided Woodstock Academy to a 15-5 regular season record this year.
In addition to Fleeton being honored, sophomore guard Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain was named an ECC Division I All-Star with junior center Eva Monahan getting honorable mention honors.
D’Alleva-Bochain is also the team’s ECC Scholar-Athlete while senior Reegan Reynolds is the ECC Sportsmanship Award recipient for the team.
Fleeton, originally, had been coaching boys’ basketball but made the transition to girls with the Centaurs.
“It was a little bit lifting at the time because it was new and new things are a challenge. It can be fun, and that’s definitely a bonus, and it’s been fun the whole ride. I’ve been lucky enough to have some high quality, high character kids who have bought into the program over the years. That has made it fun because if things go the other way, it’s not as much fun. Regardless of our record, year in and year out, it has been a pleasure to coach the girls at Woodstock Academy,” Fleeton added.
That transition from boys to girls is not without adjustment. Fleeton said in certain areas, it is very similar but there are some that are dramatically different.
“I learned early on that some things I take for granted being a guy is important to a female and I have to respect that. I learn from them as much as they learn from me and we take it a step at a time together,” Fleeton said.
He did say the key is that he has had high character players to work with.
“How can I be disappointed when there is nothing but satisfaction and trying to do the right thing. All of the bigger picture stuff, they seem to have a good understanding of so how can I be disappointed? How? I get to work with good people daily who like basketball,” Fleeton said.
He is currently working with a core group of young players.
This year’s version of the Centaurs sports just two seniors, Reynolds and Kerry Blais and just five juniors.
“We’re battling, fighting and competing but I’m seeing team and individual growth by the minute. That’s a coach’s dream, seeing your players improve in an area that you have worked on. They have been improving by leaps and bounds and, at the same time, are still able to compete. Usually, you have to have some sort of development before you can compete at a high level but because they like the game so much, they put in extra time,” Fleeton said.
That growth certainly showed in the final game of the regular season.
The Centaurs saved their best offensive performance, points-wise, for last as they finished off the regular season with a 75-48 win over Somers on the road last week.
Four players finished in double figures for the Centaurs who dropped nine 3-pointers.
Guard Kaylee Saucier led the parade as she put down four 3-pointers, three in the third quarter, and finished with 20 points.
Fellow sophomore Sidney Anderson added 17 while both Monahan and D’Alleva-Bochain (three 3-pointers) added 13.
The shooting touch was not as much in evidence on Thursday when the Centaurs traveled to Groton for an ECC tournament quarterfinal game at Fitch.
The fourth-seeded Falcons handed the No. 5 Centaurs a 46-36 loss.
Monahan led Woodstock with 10 points, eight of those coming in the third quarter. Saucier finished with eight points while Anderson added seven.
The Class L state tournament official pairings have not been released yet but if the rankings hold true the seventh-seeded Centaurs would get a first-round bye and host either No. 10 Windsor or No. 23 Notre Dame-Fairfield in a second-round game on March 1.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
Woodstock Academy coach Will Fleeton was recently selected by Eastern Connecticut Conference girls basketball coaches as the league’s inaugural Coach of the Year. Photos by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
Sophomore guard Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain (with the ball) was recently selected as an Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I All-Star by the league coaches. Photo by Sam Clark/Woodstock Academy.
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claude pg 1 2-22-24
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Claude blows PSA record out of the water
Everyone thought Jalen Claude had a great game Friday when he made five 3-pointers and finished with 27 points. But it was mere child’s play compared to what he did Saturday.
Claude, a postgrad on Putnam Science Academy’s Elite basketball team, scored a school-record 47 points aided by making a school-record 12 3-pointers in his team’s 121-112 win over The Newman School.
“During warmups, I hit my first couple of 3s, then I was getting warmed up in my form shooting and I knew it was probably going to be a good game,” Claude said. “Not this good though. Today was different. Every shot was going in, so I was just like, ‘All right, let’s do this.’
“It was just all confidence, really. After the first five went in, I was just going to keep shooting and keep going until I completely start missing. But I just kept making them, so I just kept shooting.”
Claude, in his third season with the Elite team, was incredibly efficient, missing only four shots in the entire game (he went 12-for-15 on 3s and made seven in a row at one point, 4-for-5 on 2s, and 3-for-3 at the foul line). He admitted that a couple of his attempts were more of a “heat check” than anything, but the reality is that none of his shots were forced.
“The most impressive thing to me was how in the flow of the game every shot was,” coach Nick Schmidt said. “He had 47 and his teammates loved playing with him. I think that shows he wasn’t taking bad shots.”
Said teammate Carter Mungin, who dominated play inside and finished with 23 points: “I’m not mad at any shots he takes because I watch him make shots from everywhere every day. When he shoots, I always think it’s going in…every single time. It’s like playing with (Steph) Curry. What he did (Saturday) was insane. I was speechless watching that as a teammate on the court.”
The previous marks were set at the PSA Prep level, with Rundell Mauge scoring 44 in a game in 2008, and Ta’Quan Zimmerman hitting nine 3s back in 2010.
Claude had 21 points in the first half, when he hit five 3s. He then opened the second half by draining four straight from deep, the last of which was an and-1 on which he got fouled and was knocked to the ground. After being helped to his feet by his teammates, a sheepish smile came across Claude’s face as he walked to the foul line.
He made the free throw, then a 2-point field goal, three more 3s, and a pair of foul shots. He had the ball in his hands on the game’s final possession but with PSA holding the insurmountable advantage, he just dribbled out the clock.
“I wanted to shoot it,” he said with a laugh, “but I did the right thing. It’s fine. Forty-seven is pretty good, too.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
Jalen Claude. Tom Netzer photo.