N. GROSVENORDALE — Aug. 28 TEEG hosted a regional roundtable discussion on rural poverty and jobs featuring US Senator Christopher Murphy (CT-D). The senator came to hear from regional agencies, business leaders and nonprofit groups to hear the challenges facing northeastern CT residents. With a wide variety of participants from around the area, housing and access to transportation became a significant focus of the conversation.
“Northeast Connecticut has all of the same social concerns and challenges as our urban counterparts in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport with very few of the resources to alleviate them. As a region, we rely on community partnerships and creative thinking to solve many of the social problems facing the Quiet Corner. TEEG was delighted for the opportunity to convene many of our HealthQuest partners and professional colleagues to talk about our corner of Connecticut; the collaborative spirit that exists here and needs that together, we are working to meet.”  - Donna Grant, Executive Director, TEEG.
With Day Kimball Hospital as one of the largest employers in the area, another important topic of discussion was the need for our federal legislators to see our local hospital as a vital resource providing more than healthcare, but an access point to a variety of social services.
“As we discuss how to bring people in Connecticut out of poverty, too often those in rural communities are overlooked. Poverty is something that affects people in all areas of our state, and each community deserves proper attention and assistance. I had a great discussion with TEEG and others this week about how to help the poor in northeastern Connecticut and what their unique needs are. I’ll bring this valuable conversation back to Washington, where I’ll work to raise awareness about this critical issue.” said  Sen. Chris Murphy
Attendees of the discussion were - State Senator Don Williams; Donna Grant, Executive Director of TEEG; Shawn Johnston and Kathi Peterson of Interfaith Ministries of Putnam; Roberta Dwyer of the Northeast CT Economic Alliance, Allan Walker, First Selectman Town of Woodstock; Larry Groh, First Selectman Town of Thompson; Ken Beausoleil, Selectman Town of Thompson; John Rauh of Cableworks in Putnam; Betty Kuszaj of the Northeast CT Chamber of Commerce; Virginia SanPietro of the Eastern Workforce Investment Board; Bob Smanik, President and CEO of Day Kimball Hospital; Don St. Onge, Vice President Day Kimball Hospital; John O’Keefe Vice President of Patient Services Day Kimball Hospital; Judie Blackmore Director Day Kimball Hospital Homecare; Rebecca Powell, RN Day Kimball Hospital; Sue Starkey of the Northeast District Department of Health; Erica Kesselman, MD TEEG Board of Directors and Christopher Burke, Esq. TEEG Board of Directors.

Greetings. The nights are becoming cool enough for hearty fare. This recipe makes use of late-summer vegetables. Use Romano beans if you can find them, and the best-tasting, fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes available to you.

Baked Sausage & Pasta Dinner
1 lb sweet Italian sausage links, cut into thirds
1 large green or red bell pepper, seeded and cut into eighths
2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 small red or sweet onion, cut into eighths
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 generous sprigs fresh rosemary
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cover cookie sheet with parchment
paper. In a very large bowl, gently combine above ingredients.
Transfer to cookie sheet. Roast for 35 minutes, stirring a couple of
times, until sausage is done. Keep warm while preparing pasta.
1 tablespoon salt
½ lb penne, or other similar pasta shape
1 lb fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
8 oz arugula, chopped if leaves are very large
1 lightly beaten egg
1/3 cup crumbled bleu or gorgonzola cheese
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup shredded pepper jack or pepperoncino asiago cheese
black pepper
Cook pasta in a large pot of water with the salt for 3 minutes less than
package directions. Add green beans to pasta, and continue to cook
for 2 more minutes.
Add arugula and continue to cook for 1 more minute.
Drain pasta, beans, and arugula, reserving ½ cup cooking water.
Immediately return pasta to pot. Stir in egg. Stir in cheeses and black
pepper. If necessary, add some juices from the sausage mixture
or a little pasta water to loosen the sauce.
Serve the sausage mixture accompanied by the pasta.

caption:

Ground Breaking
Officials of the East Putnam Fire District prepare to put the shovels in the ground to begin construction on the new East Putnam Firehouse Sept. 7. Left to right: Fire Chief Vitt Sochor (in memoriam 1958 to 1984); Fire Chief John Adams (1984--2001); Fire Chief Whitey Lamothe (in memoriam - 2001); Fire Chief David Cutler (2001 to 2010); Fire Chief Abe Walker (2010 to present); District President Douglas Cutler Jr. (1999 to present). Linda Lemmon photo.

caption, page 11:

Plans
East Putnam Fire Chief Abe Walker, right, shows a visitor the plans for the new firehouse. Linda Lemmon photo.



By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
E. PUTNAM --- Dreams of a new firehouse, saving dollar by dollar and many years of hard background work became real Sept. 7 when the East Putnam Fire District broke ground for its new firehouse.
Douglas Cutler Jr., president of the East Putnam Fire District, told fire and town officials, emergency services, friends and families, that planning for the firehouse began in 2001 when  District officials saw that they would have a space problem. The fire department was housed for more than 50 years on property owned by the Sochor family.
"We realized we'd outgrown the space," Cutler said, and started putting money away in a reserve account.  The original price tag for the 12,000 square foot building and property was $4.6 million. Cutler said the district received, with the help of U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney, 2nd District, a $3.3 million low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. The district also asked the town to back its application to the state for a Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant of $500,000. That grant was turned down. With a reduced budget, Cutler said the district has scaled back the firehouse.  Some parts of the project on hold for now include: Some outside lighting, trim work, built-ins, lockers and cabinets and the epoxy floor.
The District has asked the town to back its application for a $500,000 STEAP grant for this funding cycle. Town Administrator Doug M. Cutler said that there's been no word on the new cycle. He said the state is still distributing last year's grants and there's no word yet on this year's funding. He added that in addition to the fire district, the proposed Quinebaug technology park is also looking for STEAP funding.
The construction loan from the Citizens National Bank closed Sept. 5.
Scott Bellville, chairman of the New Facility Committee, in his remarks at the groundbreaking, said "at times we didn't think we'd make it. At times we threw up our hands. But we didn't give up."
Putnam Fire Chief Norm Bernier and Putnam Police Chief Rick Hayes both complimented the East Putnam Fire District with Hayes saying the relationship among emergency services in Putnam is "special and unique," not only in Connecticut, but in New England.
Abe Walker, the current fire chief, said "this building will truly be a blessing to the district and to the town as a whole."
The 13,062-square foot station would be built on 21 acres west of the current fire station on Rt. 44.  The existing fire station contains 3,132 square feet of space, with major deficiencies that cannot be addressed as it sits on a piece of leased land. The district has spent about $450,000 on buying the 21 acres further west on Rt. 44, including costs and another $30,000 on an architect’s advice and design work.  President Cutler said Diggs Construction Company hopes to finish the building in six to eight months.