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captions, left to right:
Maya Orbegozo
Sophie Gronski
Ella Musumeci
Liliana Bottone. Photos by Marc Allard

Every shot counts.
“That’s the stinging nature of golf,” said girls’ golf coach Earl Semmelrock. “We lose the individual medalist by one shot and we lost the team trophy by two shots. Some days the ball bounces your way and some days it doesn’t.”
Semmelrock said he emphasized the point of not giving up on any shot on the short bus ride over from Woodstock Academy to the Connecticut National Golf Club in Putnam for the ECC tournament championship last week.
The Centaurs had already found out just how much every shot means.
“I told them that we had missed qualifying for States by a cumulative 13 shots over the season so every shot counts,” Semmelrock said.
The Centaurs had just played on the Connecticut National course in their last regular season meet the day before and posted a 225 total. It was enough to defeat Killingly which had only three players and didn’t meet the minimum requirement for a team score to be posted.
The win over Killingly meant the Centaurs finished the regular season with a 12-3 overall record and a 10-2 mark in the ECC, good enough for a second-place finish.
That meant most expected a showdown between Norwich Free Academy (12-0 in the league) and the Centaurs in the league championship tournament.
That party, however, was crashed by East Lyme who came out of nowhere to finish with a 214 total, two strokes better than the Centaurs who improved by nine strokes over the day before with a 216 total and three better than NFA at 217. The sting may even have been a bit worse when it came to the individual medalist.
Senior Maya Orbegozo was in the first of the nine groups that played in the tournament.
She came into the clubhouse with an eight-over par 43 and was the leader for a lengthy amount of time.
But Killingly freshman Mackenzie Pothier went into the ninth hole tied with Orbegozo.
The senior peered down from a hill above the ninth green at Connecticut National as Pothier’s tee shot landed on the back of the ninth green and trickled into the rough.
Had the two tied, a playoff would have ensued and Orbegozo, who had been sitting for awhile, was advised to go and get ready for such an event.
Orbegozo chose to stay and watch. Pothier was just off the green but was a good 50-feet from the pin.
Her chip, however, was on line and did a 180-degree victory lap around the cup before it fell in.
As the ball fell, so did Pothier who knew what it meant due to the new scoring system adopted by the CIAC this season that allows players to know their status in a match at all times. The birdie gave the youngster the win.
The Centaur senior had a good first seven holes in the 9-hole match.
She was just three-over par going into the eighth hole. She got a couple pars and a birdie on the par-5 sixth hole.
“I hit a three-wood down the middle just to play it safe into my seven-wood to the back of the green and my second putt went right in the hole,” Orbegozo said.
But things got a little more difficult after a par on the seventh hole as Orbegozo triple-bogeyed the eighth and double-bogeyed the ninth.
Ella Musumeci added a 56 and Liliana Bottone finished with a 57 for the Centaurs to help them earn the second-place finish as a team in their final competition.
Orbegozo, Musumeci and Bottone were all named ECC All-Stars with Shannon Cunniff named as the team’s ECC Scholar-Athlete and Sophie Gronski getting the team’s ECC Sportsmanship Award.
The Centaurs will lose Orbegozo, Musumeci and Cunniff to graduation.
There was a glimmer of hope that the team had made the CIAC Div. II state tournament which took place on Monday.
On Thursday, Semmelrock was informed the Centaurs were a part of the field.
Unfortunately, a scoring error was discovered and the invite to the tournament was rescinded on Friday bringing an end to the Woodstock Academy season.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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Wed. June 7
Art
PUTNAM --- “A 70-year Retrospective: The Works of Jerry Ferguson”  will appear in the Corridor Gallery at Putnam Municipal Complex through June 30. It features the works of Gerald (Jerry) Ferguson. Free.

Fri. June 9
'Nuts'
PUTNAM --- The Theatre of Northeastern Connecticut at the Bradley Playhouse will present Nuts at 7:30 p.m. June 9, and 10 and at 2 p.m. June 11. Tickets are $23 for adults; $20 for seniors, students, veterans and first responders.  Mature audiences. Reservations: www.thebradleyplayhouse.org.

Sat. June 10
Music Fest
PUTNAM --- Particle Accelerator, a free, all-day music festival, features music of all genres and for all ages will be held from noon to 8 p.m. at Rotary Park. In its 17th year, Particle is dedicated to the memory of the Legendary Jack Young Jr. and to raising awareness for suicide and depression and local resources available to help. Funds raised benefit United Services, Inc., northeastern Connecticut's non-profit mental health and social service agency. For info: particle.rocks or unitedservicesct.org.

Sat. June 17
Art & Crafts Festival
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Fine Arts & Crafts Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 17 and 18, rain or shine at the Putnam Municipal Complex. It will feature more than 40 art vendors, demonstrations, live music, and more. Free parking and admission. PutnamCtArtsCouncil.com

Sat. June 24
Radio Field Day
THOMPSON --- The Eastern Connecticut Amateur Radio Association (ECARA) will be participating in the annual American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day June 24 and 25. The last full weekend of June is a field day to test the capability of the nation's FCC-licensed Amateur Radio operators to set up and operate stations under simulated emergency conditions to practice and demonstrate their ability to communicate during potential disasters. It has evolved into more than that; becoming part operating event, part social activity and part contest to see which stations and clubs can make the most contacts over the 24-hour period. ECARA will operate from Gawron Farm on Gawron Road in Thompson, and the public is invited to tour, observe and even participate. For info: ECARA.net.

Rabies Clinic
DANIELSON --- Pet Pals Northeast will hold a low cost rabies clinic from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Quinebaug Valley Veterinary Hospital on Rt. 12. $15 cash per animal. Preregistration and appointment is required. No walk-ins. 860-317-1720. This is the last clinic until October.

Sun.  July 9
Touch-A-Truck
WOODSTOCK --- The Bungay Fire Brigade will host Touch-A-Truck from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Roseland Park.

Sun.  Aug. 27
Cruise Fund-raiser
THOMPSON --- DKH will hold its Cruise, BBQ & Brew - Motorcycle & Car Cruise at 10 a.m. at the Thompson Speedway and The Black Dog Bar & Grille in Putnam. Benefits the NECT Cancer Fund of Day Kimball Healthcare. $35 registration. daykimball.org/cruising.

Fri.  Sept. 8
Golf Classic
PUTNAM --- The Day Kimball Hospital Centreville Bank Golf Classic will set off at 7:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Connecticut National Country Club. For info: daykimball.org/golfclassic.

Sat.  Sept. 30
BBQ
WOODSTOCK --- The Bungay Fire Brigade will host its fall 2023 Chicken BBQ from 4 to 6 p.m. www.bungay.com.

Sat.  Nov. 11
Dueling Pianos
THOMPSON --- The DKH Dueling Pianos fund-raiser will be held at 6 p.m. at the Raceway Restaurant and Banquet Hall. Benefits Day Kimball Healthcare At Home services of HomeCare, HomeMakers, and Hospice & Palliative Care of Northeastern Connecticut. Food, drawings and more. Tickets $45, must be purchased in advance. daykimball.org/pianos.

Sun.  Dec. 3
Tree of Life
The DKH 34th Annual Hospice Tree of Life Ceremonies will be held at 5 p.m. in 11 towns throughout northeastern Connecticut. The purchase of memorial lights on each community's Tree of Life benefits Hospice & Palliative Care of Northeastern Connecticut. For info: daykimball.org/treeoflife.

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N. GROSVENORDALE — Rev. Charles F. Seivard, 85, died May 30, 2023. Born in 1937 in Stocksville, N.C., he was the son of the late Charles L. and Margaret (Cheek) Seivard.
Rev. Seivard attended Mt. Airy Seminary in Philadelphia and received his doctorate in divinity from Princeton. He was the current pastor at Emanuel Lutheran Church in N. Grosvenordale, prior to he was stationed at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Marlborough, Mass., Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester, Calvary Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, and Zion Spies Lutheran Church in Reading, Penn.
Charlie will also be remembered as a very talented local musician who played the bass, guitar, flute, and clarinet with the East Woodstock Cornet Band and at the Bradley Theater.
He leaves his children, Christopher B. Seivard (Karen) of Dillsburg, Penn., Michelle R. Murphy (Gary) of Warwick, R.I., and Grant C. Seivard of Encinitas, Calif.; and his grandchildren, Alexandra Murphy-Chappell (Daniel), Kevin Murphy, Joanna Seivard, and Jackson Seivard.
The Funeral Service was June 3 in the Emanuel Lutheran Church, N. Grosvenordale with burial in Swedish Emanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery. Donations: Emanuel Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 221, N. Grosvenordale, CT 06255. Valade Funeral Home & Crematory, 23 Main St., N. Grosvenordale.

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Downtown 'Newness'
It used to be an ugly electrical box next to Union Square. With the help of artists from the Art Guild Northeast, some very handsome turtles appeared. Linda Lemmon photo.

Instant Posers, like mini billboards, were created by Jennerate with help from Sheila Frost, the PBA, the town of Putnam and Rawson Materials. A second one will go up in Rotary Park. Linda Lemmon photo.

Dave Laab from the Airbrush Shack created this mural on the side of the Hare and the Hound in downtown Putnam. Linda Lemmon photo.

'Sailing' into Fun
Visitors to Putnam's Ciao Italia had fun with the photo op gondola --- the brainchild of TEEG. Linda Lemmon photo.