It was an abnormally short week for the Woodstock Academy prep basketball teams.
The Centaurs Gold and Blue teams had only one game on the schedule each after some weekend action was postponed.
That opened the door for a little shore leave and, possibly, a little wandering of the minds Feb. 14 in games with Redemption Christian Academy at the Alumni Fieldhouse.
“Coach (Tony Bergeron) has given us the next couple of days off (last Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and I think people are looking forward to that a little too much. We had to keep our focus and come away with the win,” said Woodstock Academy center Tre Mitchell.
The Centaurs Gold team, ranked No. 2 in the country by the 2ndtoNone prep basketball poll, held off a late charge by the Lions and posted a 96-80 win to raise its mark to 32-1.
It’s the second number that Mitchell remembers most.
“It hurts,” Mitchell said with a shake of his head. “That one loss hurts man. I still think about that every day. It was a game we struggled with and it was, obviously, away (at Brewster Academy) and we had a lot of adversity to deal with there. The refs, the crowd, it was tough,” Mitchell said.
The Centaurs were locked in a close battle with Redemption Christian early in the game until T.J. Weeks got hot.
A Mitchell basket, another by Tre Williams, and a 3-pointer by Noah Fernandes put the Centaurs up, 28-16, and set the stage for the Weeks’ assault.
The guard hit four 3-pointers in the matter of a minute and a half and finished with seven treys in the first half when he scored 25 of his 28 points.
“Oh man,” Mitchell said with a laugh. “I love playing with that kid. He is always positive. Something will happen and he will come over and make sure everyone is good and upbeat and ready to keep going.”
The Weeks’ production led the Centaurs to a 58-35 lead at the half.
Mitchell took over in the second half.
He scored 17 of his game-high 31 points in the second half and pulled down the majority of his 17 rebounds.
“I didn’t think I was close to that. I was just doing what I was supposed to and help my team win,” Mitchell said.
The Centaurs needed all of Mitchell’s points.
The Lions roared back and cut it to 12, 84-72, with 3:21 left after a quartet of free throws were made by Redemption Christian’s Eden Holt who finished with 30 points.
The Centaurs scored eight of the next 12 points to guarantee the victory.
The game that Mitchell had showed why he is in so much demand by Division I schools.
Mitchell has an offer from the top-ranked team in the country in the NCAA, Tennessee, as well as UConn, Notre Dame, Illinois, Iowa State, Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Xavier and a host of others.
Syracuse University joined the fray by offering to the 6-foot-9 center Feb. 12.
“There are a bunch of schools that just started to come in the past two weeks. I’m just looking forward to getting more and weighing out my options,” Mitchell said.
There is also the chance that Mitchell could still re-classify and not choose a college, waiting for the Class of 2020 and playing a post-grad season.
“It’s a possibility,” Mitchell said. “We just have to talk about it at the end of the season and kind of see where things are at.”

Blue prevails
The Centaurs Blue prep basketball team also posted a victory, their eighth in a row, Feb. 14, 97-68, over Redemption Christian. The win raised the Centaurs record to 24-7.
“I think we’re rolling and everybody is finally (on the same page). We had a few bumps in the road, but I think everyone has found their groove,” said Woodstock Academy swing player Ty Mosley.
Kevin Evdandra hit a 3-pointer just 32 seconds into the game for the Lions (12-12). The Centaurs scored the next 28 points.
“We were rolling,” Mosley said. “(Coach Nick DeFeo) told us to put our foot on the gas and don’t let up. We did that very well. We love listening to our coach, love to make him happy, we try.”
Jeff Planutis (23 points) had eight points in that run while Mosley had six of his 14, those coming on a three-point play and a 3-pointer, to give the Centaurs the 28-3 lead.
Woodstock Academy did not take its foot off the pedal in the first half.
It led 58-32 at the break.
But the Centaurs did give Redemption Christian a little hope in the second half when the Lions went on a 16-0 run, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Michael Matais, to cut the lead to 18, 72-5.
It was as close as Redemption Christian would get the rest of the way.
“I like the way things have gone this season,” Mosley said. “We’ve had a lot of close games that we should have finished. Other than that, I think we’ve done well and have been playing well.”
The Centaurs have just two home games left. They played Rise Academy on Monday (the game ended too late for this edition) and have Capital Prep Harbor on Feb. 27.
They also have three games on the road at Commonwealth Academy, the Knox School and Upper Room Christian before finishing at the beginning of March with the Power 5 Conference tournament.
It’s the most games that most of the players on the Blue team have ever played in a season.
“It hasn’t been tough for me. I like playing. If my body hurts, I don’t try to think about it. I can play through pain because my adrenaline is pumping and I don ‘t even think about it,” Mosley said.
Like Mitchell, Mosley was just looking forward to a couple of days off after the win. “I think we need the weekend off,” Mosley said.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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caption, page 5:


Breaking Ground
Ground was broken for the new independent living center, Country Living at Westview Commons in Dayville. Left to right: David T. Panteleakos, owner; Donna Copeland, executive director; and Herbert Czermak, owner. Courtesy photo.


DAYVILLE — After years in the development and planning for a new independent living center in northeastern Connecticut, Country Living at Westview Commons officially broke ground Jan. 9 at the 117 Ware Road site.
The new construction includes a two-story 115,000-square foot facility with a lower level parking garage for the 55 and older population. This state-of-the-art facility will contain a total of 73 “premiere, deluxe and elite” living units that include a kitchen, living room, one or two bed room lay-outs, storage, bathrooms and walk out patio options as well. The building’s design concept is to provide elegant housing with numerous services for active adults to age in place while maintaining independence.
The facility touts a 13,000 sq. ft. center core common area that includes an open, two-story Great Room for dining and entertainment activities, an Irish pub, Mediterranean café, movie theater, private dining room, open lounges, physician offices, salon and more. Complete meal services, linen services, housekeeping, maintenance, and transportation will be available to residents.
The original concept for the project was initiated in 1998 by Westview Health Care Center’s previous Administrator Eileen A. Panteleakos and President Herbert Czermak. Current Westview Administrator David T. Panteleakos has since taken on the reigns and explains, “Mrs. P. and Mr. Czermak began this journey over 20 years ago and I am honored and humbled to bring forward their mission for the creation of an independent living facility in our community. I am very proud of the amazing team we have assembled for this significant investment and look forward to bringing Westview Commons to fruition.”
David is the son of Eileen Panteleakos and has been the administrator at Westview since her retirement in 2001. Donna Copeland from Putnam is the executive director. Provost and Rovero designed the project and Engineered Construction from Plainfield is the construction contractor. Financing for the $16.5 million project is being provided by Jewett City Savings Bank.
Construction is expected to take approximately 18 months with an autumn 2020 opening being planned.

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I have found myself, at one time or another, in the situation wherein it was necessary to use the restroom in some sort of eating or drinking place, not because I was hungry or thirsty, but rather only because, I had to GO.  When nature calls, I am happy to find the closest coffee shop or fast food chain or, when really necessary, a full-service restaurant.
Since most of these establishments hang a sign on their restroom door stating that the bathroom is for Customers Only, despite the fact that I am not at all hungry or thirsty, I must become a customer.  Over the years, I have ordered LOTS of food and/or drinks I didn’t really want and certainly didn’t need.  In addition, WHAT I order and WHEN I order it, varies, depending upon how badly I need to GO.
If my urge to GO is not uncomfortable, then I am much more willing to pop-into a counter service restaurant, wait my turn in line and then place my order for a simple beverage of sorts, like a coffee or bottled water or soft drink.  It is only after I have paid for my drink, proving without a doubt that I am, indeed, a customer of the establishment, that I use the restroom.
If my urge to GO is dire, then things change… I will seek out the restrooms first, trying desperately to make eye contact with the ‘teenager’ behind the counter, so that I can flash my best “I am using the bathroom first BUT I will return to place and pay for an order” stare.
The ‘teenager’ behind the counter really doesn’t care if I actually ever place an order, but I am a rule follower and it is important to me to “subliminally” let them know this.  And to further emphasize what a good customer I can be, when I am finished in the restroom, I often order not only a drink, but also some sort of food item.
The greatest challenge in GOing is when I am forced to use the restroom in a full-service restaurant.  If I really can’t or don’t want to eat anything, then I head to the bar and casually, yet efficiently, take a seat.  Taking a seat at a bar is one thing, but you don’t actually become a customer until you place an order and so I do my best to look like I know exactly what it is that I want so that the bartender comes over quickly. I feel silly going to a bar to order just a soda or a glass of water, so I typically order a beer.  I actually like wine better, but the beer is usually less expensive and less of a hassle, allowing me to politely excuse myself from my stool in search of the restrooms, quicker.
Sometimes I think that in restaurants or food places, it would be nice to have the option to just pay to use the toilet.  But then again, if you are a restaurant and you charge customers to use your bathroom, then you would become the “Restaurant that charges people to GO” and you would have NO business.  So this begs the question, in a restaurant, is the bathroom a service to those who are eating and drinking, or is the food and drink a service to those who simply, just have to GO?
Charge! Charge!

Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!


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