Past Issues of the Putnam Town Crier



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.
March 4
Sara A. Theriault, 32, Walnut Street, Putnam; providing a false statement, false report of a stolen motor vehicle.
Maira Pachecho, 23, Pomfret Street, Putnam; disorderly conduct.
Arlindo Neves, 31, Pomfret Street, Putnam; disorderly conduct, risk of injury.
March 6
Gregory Michael Hebert, 20, Jacques Road, Danielson; three counts of assault of emergency medical/healthcare personnel.
March 9
Isaiah Rock, 24, Carol Avenue, Thompson; first-degree trespass, operating under suspension.

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Centreville announces 2 new scholarships
W. WARWICK, R.I. — Centreville Bank announced two new scholarships added to its existing scholarship program.
Applications and nominations for all scholarships are due April 12, 2024 and can be submitted electronically on Centreville Bank’s website.  
Recipients must be: Graduating high school seniors; Graduating from a high school located in Rhode Island, or towns located in Windham County or New London county; Accepted to a college, university, or trade school for the Fall 2024 semester.
Applications/nominations will be reviewed by a selection committee, and scholarship finalists will be presented to the Centreville Bank Charitable Foundation Board on May 8 for approval.  Scholarship recipients will be notified by June 1.
The Future Business Leaders scholarship is for high school recipients that demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit and aspire to be an impactful business leader. Many students are interested in owning their own business and this scholarship fosters this dream while also recognizing the positive impact businesses can have in their local communities. Applicants must submit a business plan to bring their idea to life. Each year, three (3) recipients will each be awarded a $5,000 Future Business Leaders scholarship.
The Emerging Community Leader scholarship will recognize students that uplift and support the community through acts of leadership, advocacy, and volunteerism. Students may be nominated by peers, teachers, guidance counselors, mentors or any other individual that is a non-familial relationship. Each year, three (3) recipients will each be awarded a $5,000 Emerging Community Leader scholarship.
These new scholarships are in addition to the Robert O. Pare scholarship that Centreville Bank has been offering since 2018. This scholarship recognizes students who are dedicated to making a difference through community service. The scholarship’s namesake honors Robert O. Pare who served Centreville Bank for 55 years and was instrumental in its success. Previously the Robert O. Pare scholarship was awarded to two (2) students, but starting in 2024, three (3) recipients will each be awarded a $5,000 Robert O. Pare scholarship.

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Anti-bullying performance a hit with students
WOODSTOCK — Feb. 22 students from six local schools enjoyed an inspiring and fun interactive experience at the Loos Center for the Arts.  Bee True to You, an award-winning rock/pop musical for children, was sponsored by Performing Arts of Northeast Connecticut, which provided free admission to student groups. Participating schools included The Learning Clinic (Brooklyn); Pomfret Community School; Natchaug School (Windham); and Union, Chaplin, and Eastford elementary schools.

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Barry Shead of Woodstock, left, and Ron Coderre of Putnam purchase the first veteran bracelets from Monique Maldonado of the Painted Baker Café.


Café supporting local veterans
PUTNAM — Monique Maldonado, owner of the Painted Baker Café, has a long line of veterans in her family including her father and grandfather and, most recently, two of her sons.
Her appreciation of veterans and their service spurred her to do something to give back to veterans in need.
She recently went into a gift shop on the Cape where the owner was selling handcrafted bracelets in support of veterans and decided they were a way to help veterans in need locally.
Maldonado is selling the bracelets at the Painted Baker Café for $10 apiece.  Her plan is to donate $6 of each sale to a local veteran’s organization or to support a veteran in need.  The elasticized bracelet is made of individual wooden tiles representing each branch of the military, POW/MIA, patriotic symbols and the American flag.  There are two versions of the bracelet suitable for wear by both males and females.
Maldonado’s plan is to get in front of local veteran’s organizations and share the story of the bracelet in the hopes of encouraging people to purchase them, for themselves or to give
Bracelets are available now at the Painted Baker Café on Main Street in Putnam.  It is an ongoing fund-raiser. For information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Cris McElveen. Collin Hamilton photo.

It was an unfamiliar sight at Clark University last Thursday as the final horn sounded on the National Prep Basketball Tournament: Putnam Science Academy walking off the floor dejectedly, the scoreboard revealing the Mustangs on the losing end of the championship game for the first time in a long time.
After one blowout and two nerve-wracking wins over the first two days of the tournament, short-handed PSA fell behind early in the final and could never get back in front, as it fell to a hot-shooting Western Reserve (Ohio) team, 76-63.
PSA had won the last two national championships (technically, the last three, as there was no tournament in 2020-21 because of COVID).
“It’s just really tough,” coach Tom Espinosa said afterward. “I feel for our kids. They’re really hurting. Give Western Reserve credit, they made a ton of shots. But it’s just tough right now.”
The Mustangs led just once, 1-0 about 90 seconds into the game. They trailed by 11 at halftime and by as many as 18 early in the second half.
To its credit, PSA mounted a rally and got within six with 3:40 to play, but could never get over the hump as Western Reserve continued to knock down back-breaking shot after back-breaking shot.
Fallou Gueye had 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, while Oswin Erhunmwunse finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, and four blocked shots. Tony Williams added 10 points and Cris McElveen eight for PSA, which played without leading scorer Justin Johnson, out with an injury suffered in the team’s semifinal win earlier Thursday.
The. Mustangs advanced to the title game by knocking off Combine Academy 76-70 in the semis behind 17 points, six rebounds, and three blocks from Erhunmwunse. Gueye had seven points and a career-high 12 assists, Que Duncan finished with 11 points, and Ben Ahmed and Imahri Wooten both had nine points, as a number of guys filled the void left by Johnson, who was injured about four minutes into the game.
PSA survived a back-and-forth stress-inducer in Wednesday’s quarterfinal, topping Link Year Prep 64-58. Johnson had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals for PSA, which trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, before cutting the deficit to three at halftime. The Mustangs led by six with just over five minutes to play, but found themselves down by one just two-and-a-half minutes later. Johnson, though, made some big shots down the stretch to help PSA advance. Gueye finished with 12 points, while Grant Randall had 10 points, seven rebounds, and a career-high six blocks. Erhunmwunse added 10 points, six rebounds, and three blocks in the win.
PSA rolled to a win in its first-round game, beating Bridgton Academy 96-46 Tuesday, as Ahmed finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds and became the fifth player in PSA history to score 1,000 career points in the process. Later in the tournament, he became the school’s record holder for both points and rebounds in a single season.
The Mustangs finish the season at 32-12, the most losses they have ever suffered. But eight of those came in the first half of the season (and one more came in the team’s first game of the second half), when it was a different team. Four players left the program over the semester break, and three new ones (Randall, Wooten, and Mousa Loum) came in, plus Wiliams was promoted from the Elite team and perhaps most importantly, Erhunmwunse returned from injury. Additionally, a number of players – Gueye and McElveen in particular – made drastic changes in their approaches to the game that it all created a different feel in and around the team starting in January.
“We’ve never had a season like this,” Espinosa said. “And honestly, I’m going to remember it for guys like Fallou and Cris, guys who completely changed their games and made such significant improvements individually that they improved our team as a whole. And those two guys are guys that I pushed like very few others in the past. They could have quit, they could have left. But they didn’t. They fought through the adversity and figured it out and became key starters on a team that played in the championship game.
“I’m going to talk about those guys to future teams for a long, long time.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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