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The week may have been shorter, but the turnout and the effort were anything but for PSA’s second week of its Drills and Skills basketball camp.
“We only went three days this week because we had our golf event Thursday, but it was another great turnout and just a great couple of days,” said Mustangs coach Tom Espinosa. “Just like the one we did in the July, the kids came ready to work and have some fun.”
The day-camp was held Aug. 8-10 attended by 50 campers from Putnam, Woodstock, Eastford, Thompson, Pomfret, Plainfield, and Killingly, as well as Sutton, Dudley, and Charlton, Mass.
At the camp – for boys and girls in third-eighth grades – players worked daily on individual skills such as dribbling, passing, and shooting, while also participating in competitions and games by age group (NBA, Big East, and younger Big East) that led up to championship battles on the last day.
Incoming PSA basketball player Ben Ahmed coached an NBA group Cooper Brown, Iayah Burke, TJ Espinosa, Ryan Grupposo, Colin Healey, Jonah LaBonte, Greyson Marquez, and Alec Nunes to the NBA title. PSA girls assistant basketball coach TaNajia Smith guided the Big East champions team consisting of: Maximos Boulmetis, Theo DeChellis, Lucas Jankins, Dominic Kostovski, Jayden Robidoux, and Elijah Wills; while former PSA assistant boys’ coach Kevin Donovan coached Jackson Crescimanno, Teagan Espinosa, Maddy Healey, and Sean Healey to the younger Big East crown.
Individual award winners from the NBA included: TJ Espinosa (MVP, Free Throw, Hot Shot, Elbow Shooting), Alec Nunes (Mr. Hustle), and Roan Donovan (Most Improved).
In the Big East: Maximos Boulmetis (MVP, Free Throw, 1-on-1), Bryce Espinosa (Hot Shot, Elbow Shooting), Noah Charron (Mr. Hustle), and Ryder Magnuson (Most Improved).
And in the Big East younger division: Teagan Espinosa (MVP, Free Throw, Hot Shot, Elbow Shooting), Sawyer Scott (1-on-1), Jackson Crescimanno (Mr. Hustle), and Gavin Crescimanno (Most Improved).
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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Award
Presentation of a special award, the 2022 Civic Achievement Award, was given to the Putnam Lions Club. Mayor Barney Seney  is shown with past president of the Lions, Leia Faucher. Linda Lemmon photos.

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HAMPTON — Ian Frederick Wolfgang Connolly, 40, of Windy Hill Rd., died Aug. 6, 2022, in Hartford Hospital.  Ian went into the hospital on April 19, 2022, with strangulated intestines from a hernia, and after eight surgeries he returned home on June 7. Ian was recovering well before his unexpected passing.
Ian was born in Beverly, Mass., the son of Frederick T. Connolly and Madeleine A. Desroches of Pomfret.  Ian, nicknamed “EZE”, graduated from Putnam High School where he was a member of the Putnam Clippers football team.  He attended UConn at Avery Point for a year to study marine sciences, then left to join the workforce and buy his first house at age 20.
Ian was a dedicated telecommunicator (dispatcher) for the East Hartford Police and Fire Department for 18 years where he answered 911 calls.  Although he worked full time, he also built playscapes for Cedar Works of Maine, and was a court process server.
Ian was easy to be around and made connections with all types of people.  He was highly dedicated to his family, friends, and job; and was generous with his time and efforts.  Ian was innovative and had a talent for finding solutions to problems; he was tough and would rarely complain; he was fun-loving and always eager to initiate a good time.  He loved the backwoods life and enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, scuba diving, backpacking, skiing, cooking, traveling, playing cards, betting horse races, pulling pranks, and had recently taken up playing the harmonica.  His favorite things to watch as a child were He-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  As an adult his favorite “Christmas movie” was Die Hard, and he frequently watched Hot Tub Time Machine, The Sopranos, and Breaking Bad.
He listened to outlaw country music, and his favorite team for his entire life was the Dallas Cowboys.
He leaves his parents; a sister, Harmonie (Sweet) Jewett of Franklin, Vt.; a brother Devon Connolly of Roanoke, Vir.; and his maternal grandmother, Anne Desroches; uncles, aunts, and cousins, friends, and a “work-family” at the East Hartford Police and Fire Department.
A Celebration of Ian’s Life is from 1 to 4 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Inn at Woodstock Hill, 94 Plaine Hill Rd., Woodstock. Donations: Ian Connolly Community Fund, c/o East Hartford Police Chief, 31 School St., East Hartford, CT 06108. Gilman Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam.

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Poetry event set
for Sept. 11
WOODSTOCK — Connecticut’s most recent poet laureate, Margaret Gibson, will be among the readers at the next Poet’s at Large spoken word/poetry event at Roseland Park in the barn.  This will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 11. Recommended for ages 14 and up.
Others include: former National Beat Poet Laureate Paul Richmond (2020), Montreal International Poetry Contest Finalist Karen Warinsky and Pomfret co-Poet Laureate Nancy Weiss. Open mic will be held after intermission and sign-ups are at the event.  Poets will be held to a 5-minute limit.
Gibson has a wealth of awards and writing credits.  She has authored 13 books of poems. Richmond hosts monthly readings and organizes yearly Word Festivals and has published several.
Warinsky, the coordinator of Poets at Large, has published poetry since 2011.  Her work appears in several anthologies including the 2017 release, Nuclear Impact: Broken Atoms in Our Hands, the 2019 Mizmor Anthology,   Honoring Nature, released in 2020, as well as pieces in lit magazines including Blue Heron, Circumference,  and most recently, Consilience, published in the U.K., an effort that combines science and poetry.  Her debut collection Gold in Autumn was released in 2020 and her new book is titled Sunrise Ruby, both from Human Error Publishing.
Weiss is serving as the first co-Poet Laureate for Pomfret. For more than 15 years she has written a weekly column for the Villager newspapers. She wrote for the Putnam Traveler, Edible Nutmeg and Naturally at UConn for many years as well.
Sponsors of the Roseland Park readings include Charter Oak Federal Credit Union, Linemaster Switch, Atty Mark Brouillard, Ashford Xtra Mart, CR Premier Properties, WHZ Strategic Wealth Advisors, Bank Hometown & EA Custom Millwork of Northbridge, MA.  Sponsors of the Singh Center events include Webster First Bank, EA Custom Millwork and ValleyCast/Open Sky Community Services.
The last reading in the series is from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Singh Center.

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