On the Job
A month into her job as a new firefighter Katelynn Richard is completely happy with her decision to leave the world of masonry and go into firefighting. She is one of the newest members of the Putnam Fire Department. “I wanted to try something new,” she said. Thus far she’s trained with pulling hose and spraying water and a host of other duties. And she’s there when a fire alarm is struck at 5 a.m. “I love it. I like making sure people are safe,” she said. Linda Lemmon photo.
Interact gets students off to good start
PUTNAM — Aug. 17 the Putnam Rotary Club’s Interact Club, members of the Grace Episcopal Church and others gathered at TEEG to help local school children to pick out new backpacks, fill them with new school supplies and get fitted for new sneakers.
Roberta Rocchetti, Interact advisor, said the Interact Club helped set up, restock tables and be the children’s own personal shopper.
Chelsea French, TEEG administrative director, said there were 40 families and 86 children that were served from grades kindergarten through high school. Rocchetti thanked Interact members: Sofia Thurber, Paige Perry, Kira Green, Serena Smith, Calleigh Levesque and Dylan Axtell and Rotarians Doug Porter, Woody Durst, Tracie Lombardy.
The club’s first meeting of the school year will be at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Putnam Public Library. The Interact Club is a Rotary-sponsored regional club and meets the second and fourth Tuesday September - May. Students ages 12 - 18 are welcome. For more information contact Roberta Rocchetti 860-933-8603 or
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Going Up
The future McGee Toyota dealership showroom is rising quick. Last week the skeleton was completed and then these girders were added. McGee anticipates opening in the spring. The dealership is on Rt. 44 in East Putnam. Linda Lemmon photo.
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Welcome
State Senator Mae Flexer, right, presents a citation to Wolperdinger Bookends founder Dr. Kathy Naumann. More photos Wed. night on our FB page: Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger. Linda Lemmon photo.
Ribbon cut on --- finally --- a LOCAL bookstore
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — There are ribbon cuttings … and then there are ribbon cuttings for a local bookstore where there had been a bookstore desert for years.
Business group officials, town officials, friends, family and even poets were on hand August 16 for the ribbon cutting for the Wolperdinger Bookends bookstore in the Montgomery Ward building.
Elle-Jordyn Sherman, executive director of the Northeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, said “We’re so excited to see a bookstore on Main Street again.” State Senator Mae Flexer was on hand to give a legislative citation to founder Dr. Kathy Naumann and to wish the bookstore well. Putnam Business Association President Thomas Borner also welcomed the store and gave Naumann a plaque.
Deputy Mayor Roy Simmons said it’s great to have a bookstore. “We hope you grown, adding more square footage and adding employees.”
Naumann said it’s more than a bookstore: “So, just as carefully as we curate our book collection, so too do we curate our calendar and social opportunities. Wolperdinger Bookends offers story time for children in our Tot Spot, often featuring “celebrity” readers from the community. We have regularly scheduled book discussions in our canopy space. And if you can’t attend in person, no worries because you can engage in the discussion from the comfort of your home by participating through Zoom. Every month, we provide a topic for adolescents to journal about. More than that, we provide journaling supplies and space for them because you never know who or where or what inspires a new writer. We feature local authors in our store and look forward to inviting them in for a reading. And for novices and veterans alike, we are bringing back a pertinent version of the popular poetry slam! And there is more to come…”
A Wolperdinger is a mythical hybrid creature who lives in the Bavarian Forest. In considering a unique yet appropriately descriptive name for a place filled with books, Wolperdinger fit perfectly, she said.
Simmons said “We’re looking forward to having you around for a long time.”
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