Awards made
DANIELSON — At the Arc Quinebaug Valley awards night, the following received awards: Jennifer Annese for the staff Spirit Award and Debra Combies for the Dove Award for her advocacy efforts. Two Volunteer Awards went to Lynn Bourque for her work on the Board of Directors and Capital Campaign and Patricia Burke for her help in the office. Betty Hale received an Appreciation Award for her longtime support of The Arc. Ron and Donna Coderre received an Appreciation Award for their service as Giving Appeal Chairpersons. Jeff Bousquet received an Appreciation Award for his sponsorship of a fishing derby which raised more than $5,300 for the Capital Campaign. Achievement Awards were given to Angel Ruiz, Terence Chambers, Betty Scheinman, Kathleen Lawless, Abby Snyder, Gloria Beaudet, Shana Tedford and Brian Guertin.  From the community, Gerardi Insurance Agency was awarded the Community Partnership Award for their years of support. Putnam Bank received the Community Support Award for their $10,000 gift to The Arc’s Capital Campaign and generosity to the agency over the years.
Other awards; Ann Tetreault who received the Norma Cassettari Award for her commitment to the mission of The Arc. A Special Recognition Award for her contributions in a professional capacity was given to Dawn Lazaroff. Receiving Employer Awards were Aubuchon’s Hardware and Lisbon Walmart. Other staff recognized included Nikki Hammon, Erin Lambert, Matthew Stringer, Garry Brown, Regena Flaherty, Emily Groves, Jade Flynn, Mike Waters, Kara Noel, Kingsley Otuorimuo, Susan James, Jennifer Annese, Misty Bennett, Elizabeth Kirkconnell, Lee-Ellen Achten, Kaitlin Main, Ryan Bissonnette, Steven Chase and Kayla Sikora.

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Then
This is looking up Main Street in downtown Putnam just after the Flood of 1955. Putnam Town Crier file photo.

& Now
This is the same area today. The Post Office and the Congregational Church of Putnam are halfway up on the left side of each photo.

Greetings.  Using store-bought dough, homemade pizza can be made quickly and easily.  The toppings can be prepped in advance to save even more time.  For the salsa and Caesar dressing, I used Newman’s Own brand.
Two Quick Pizzas
1 lb store-bought fresh pizza dough
Chicken & Salsa Pizza
1 tablespoon olive oil  ~  ¼ cup salsa, or more to taste
½ breast from a rotisserie chicken, shredded (about 1½ cups)
4 ounces fontina or Monterey jack cheese, shredded
4-ounce can roasted green chili peppers, sliced
½ teaspoon chili powder
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Roll out ½ of the dough to fit an 11 or 12-inch pizza pan. Transfer dough to pan. Coat dough with olive oil, then with salsa. Top with shredded chicken, cheese, and peppers. Sprinkle surface with chili powder. Bake on lowest oven rack until crust is golden brown,  8-12 minutes. Transfer pizza to cutting board, and allow to rest for a few minutes before cutting into slices.
Artichoke Pizza
2-3 tablespoons Caesar salad dressing
13.75-ounce can artichoke hearts, sliced in half lengthwise
4-ounce can roasted green chili peppers, sliced
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced or shredded
Follow directions above, substituting Caesar dressing for olive oil and salsa; and artichokes for the   chicken, and omitting the chili powder.