First 1st

Fridays is

May 5

PUTNAM — “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....” So begins the most famous Science Fiction film of all time: Star Wars. This opening line is fitting to begin the seventh season of First Fridays events. For 2017, First Fridays will celebrate the craft of film making with the season long theme – First Fridays Feature Films: A Celebration of Cinema. On May 5, from 6 to 9 p.m., the streets of downtown Putnam will once again be filled with vendors, performers and thousands of visitors. The public is invited to come and join the festivities, enjoying a spring evening in the arts & culture hub of northeastern Connecticut. Spanning six evenings from May through October, each event will bring something new to see, taste, and experience.

May’s event is aptly subtitled, Revenge of the Fifth and the evening will see a celebration of the Science Fiction & Fantasy genre of film. Visitors to the festival are encouraged to come to the event dressed as their favorite Sci Fi or Fantasy characters, with plenty of photo opportunities available throughout the evening.

In addition to the fun theme, First Fridays will feature more than three dozen art vendors on Main Street and Union Square in Putnam. Live music continues as a festive feature of the event. On Main Street, Juicebox, a six-piece party band from northeastern Connecticut, will cover all the best music from classic rock to current hits. In Union Square, That Dollar’s Gone will perform a variety of ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s classic and contemporary acoustic rock and folk music.

May 5th will also feature a variety of gallery events open to the public. Arts & Framing & The Sochor Gallery will host multi-medium artist, Tim Oliver from 5 to 8 p.m. The Complex Performing & Creative Arts Centre will perform a Maypole Dance at 6 on the lawn of the Congregational Church of Putnam to kick off the May event. The Complex Dance Theatre will also perform throughout the night on their STAGE located at 135 Main Street. Also at 135 Main Street, Artique will feature small canvas paintings for artists of all ages to create their own works of art. Keeping with the theme of the event, The Flying Carpet Studio will host a Dr. Who Tardis photo opportunity. 

Art remains the focus of First Fridays and during each evening of the 2017 season, local artists have been invited to create live art during the event. For May, Pomfret based temporary environmental artist Randy Markes will create an installation of Cairns. Markes will erect natural stones into gravity defying sculptures. Families attending the festival will be delighted with the Community Arts table, which will feature “Junk Bots” – inviting children of all ages to create their own robot out of foil, nuts, bolts, and more!

 

 

PUTNAM — Three from Willimantic were arrested on drug charges after being stopped by state troopers for speeding on I395.

Kyle Carrero, 21, of Willimantic and Keontae Samuel, 22, of Willimantic and a 17-year-old juvenile from Worcester were charged with possession of marijuana over a kilogram, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance and narcotics outside the original container. Carrero was also charged with reckless driving.

April 13 a state trooper stopped a 2014 Mercedes C300 for driving 91 mph in a posted 65 mph zone. The troopers became suspicious and found $13,000, 2.65 pounds of marijuana, 39 Xanax pills, an amount of “DABS” and 10 Alprazolam pills. Anyone with information regarding the illegal sale of narcotics are encouraged to call the Troop D QLTF anonymous Tips Hotline at 860-779-4950 or message the QLTF Facebook page.

 

Boys’ Wrap Up 

Clippers lead, 

then add 

insurance, 

winning 7-2

By Ryan Rumrill

Town Crier Sportswriter

The Clippers took a one-run lead into the sixth inning until they opened up the run insurance by adding four  runs on the board to take a 7-2 victory over Norwich Tech. Putnam moves its to 2-4, but 2-0 in the CSC East putting them on top of the standings. The Clippers were led by Mitchel Barylski who recording two hits bring a couple runs across to score. Scott Davagian threw a complete game striking out three batters and allowing seven baserunners but got help from his defense to seal the victory. 

Woodstock Academy 8

Stonington 2

The Centaurs faced off against the Bears of Stonington and gave the ball to Alden Brennan who went the distance for Woodstock as he totaled up 10 strikeouts from the hill and compiled up two hits at the plate with two RBIs. David Redfield also contributed with two hits and driving in two runs of his own. With this win, Woodstock moves its record to 4-3 on the year, as Stonington slips to 3-4 on the campaign. 

Bacon Academy 7

Killingly 5

 The Bobcats took on the Killingly Redmen and were in a close game, and the Redmen had loaded up the bases with one out in the fifth inning, but Bacon’s Matt Shane got out of the jam and not allowing Killingly to put up more runs and wrapped up the game over the next two innings. Peter Swain scored three times for the Bobcats, making them 4-3 on the year. With this loss, Killingly drops to 3-5 on the season, but Dylan George knocked in two runs on a double for the Redmen. 

Woodstock 2

Killingly 0

In a close game between the Centaurs and the Redman, both teams threw their ace pitchers on the mound. Both pitchers fanned 11 batters by strikeout. Bryan Albee went the distance for Killingly which moved to 3-4 on the year.  David Redfield struckout 11 for the Centaurs and brought Woodstock’s record back to 3-3. 

Parish Hill 17

Tourtellotte 12

In a high-scoring contest with a total of 29 runs in the game, the Pirates were led by the charge from Henry Tiemann who had a perfect 5 hits in five at-bats, driving in four runs at the plate. He scored four runs himself. Kyler Zaimoff also contributed to the run total with his three-run double and his four-RBIs in the victory for Parish Hill, which moves to a record of 3-1. Tourtellotte slides to 1-5 on the season but got great effort from Will McGlynn who picked up two hits and scored three times for the Tigers. 

Montville 4

Killingly 3

The Redman and the Indians took a tie game into the fifth inning when John Domijan put the Indians ahead on a solo homerun to seal up the 4-3 victory enroute to their third consecutive victory for Montville. Montville stands at a record of 4-1 on the year. Killingly moves to even 3-3 on the year but did get contribution from Tyler Chitmanotha who had two runs batted in for the Redman.

Waterford 9

Woodstock 1

The Lancers were behind their ace Michael Burrows who once again took the mound with vengeance as he continued to be practically unhittable. He sat down 14 batters by strikeout and only gave up two hits for the whole game. Waterford moves to 6-1 on the year after Tyler Yeomans had two hits in three at-bats and scoring twice. One of Centaurs’ two hits was a double by David Preston but Woodstock slips to 2-3 on the year. 

PSA alum enters draft

Putnam Science Academy alum enters the NBA draft but will not hire an agent during this process. Hamidou Diallo announced on Twitter that he will be enrolling in this year’s NBA draft to see where about he would be drafted, go through all the NBA workouts and the combine. This evaluation is to basically get an idea of his value and to pinpoint his strengths and weaknesses that he will need to work out. It is expected that he will most likely return to the University of Kentucky where he looks to lead a loaded recruiting class under coach Calipari, with his star-studded teammates, Quade Green, Nick Richards, PJ Vanderbilt, and Shai Alexander. The team is still trying to land No. 2 center Mo Bamba for next year as well.  Hamidou is still following his plan of enrolling as a student early, getting familiar with the Kentucky System, hitting the gym hard in practices, and expected to be looked at as the key guy for next year’s Big Blue Nation. 

 

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Takes part

WILLIMANTIC — The directing work of advanced theatre students at Eastern Connecticut State University was on display recently for “Short Stuff.” an annual showcase of student-produced short plays. Emily John ’17 of Woodstock Valley directed “The Man Who Couldn’t Dance,” originally written by Jason Katims. John majors in theatre with concentrations in acting and directing and minors in music and English.

Written by established playwrights such as David Ives and Jon Jory, the plays featured in the showcase ran the gamut of genres and themes, with all acting and behind-the-scenes functions performed by students.