NEW BRITAIN — Mary Frances (Platt) Markoski, 94 of New Britain, widow of Sylvester Markoski, entered into eternal rest March 4, 2021.
Mary was born Dec. 26, 1926, in Burtonwood, England; the daughter of the late Harry and Lucy (Grice) Platt. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1946 on The Queen Mary, and was proud to become an American citizen.
Mary was a loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother and friend. Mary enjoyed spending time with her family: especially playing dominos and hosting tea parties for her grandchildren. She was known for handing out $2 bills and rolls of pennies.
In addition to her parents, and husband; Mary was predeceased by her daughter, Theresa Masztal, two brothers John Platt and Derrick Platt, sister Anne “Nancy” Martin, and good friend and neighbor of 70 years Eileen G. Doucette.
She leaves son, Thomas J. Markoski (Deborah) of Burlington; five daughters, Patricia Maddocks (Earle) of Abington; Nancy Markoski of Plainville, Margaret Markoski of Plainville, Katherine Markoski of California, Elizabeth Veseskis (Marc) of Florida; bonus daughter, Doreen Tabor; brother, Les Platt (Diane) of Stafford; son-in-law Gerald Menard of Putnam; grandchildren and great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews; and a host of extended family and friends who will cherish her memory; including her youngest daughter, Judy, the Maltese dog. The Mass of Christian Burial was March 8 at St. Joseph’s Church with interment in St. Mary’s Cemetery, New Britain. Luddy-Peterson Funeral Home.
.
Wed. March 17
Art Exhibit
THOMPSON --- The Northeastern CT Art Guild Inc. is putting on an Art Guild Charity Exhibit at the Thompson Public Library through March 30. It benefits the Thompson Congregational Church. Visit the library to view artwork, visit the guild’s Facebook page, artguildne.org or email us at
Blood Drive
PUTNAM --- The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 8:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and from 12:45 to 5:45 p.m. at the Putnam Elks Club on Edmond Street.
Sat. March 20
Foodshare
PUTNAM --- The Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse, the Town of Putnam, the Putnam VFW Post 1523 and the Putnam American Legion Post 13 will host a Foodshare at 9 a.m. at the Putnam Elementary School. All welcome. Two 30-pound boxes pe rperson. Drive-thru. Masks required.
Tues. March 23
Coffeehouse
PUTNAM --- The Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse will be held at 9 a.m. at the Putnam Elks. Sign in required. No more than 4 members to a table. Masks required except when actually seated and engaged in eating and drinking.
Sat. March 27
Drive Thru Lasagna
BROOKLYN --- The Federated Church of Christ on routes 6 and 169 will present a drive-thru lasagna dinner from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. $8. Call 860 774 9817 by 11:30 a.m. March 25 to reserve. Drive-thru and they will deliver your order to your car.
Food Drive
PUTNAM --- The Daughters of Isabella will hold a food drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Providence Street. Nonperishable food items or cash welcomed.
Easter Bunny Visit
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Parks and Recreation department and the Putnam Fire Department will host the Easter Bunny starting at 10 a.m. at the Putnam Fire Department on Church Street. The Easter Bunny will be giving out free chocolate. Drive-thru.
Sat. April 3
Foodshare
PUTNAM --- The Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse, the Town of Putnam, the Putnam VFW Post 1523 and the Putnam American Legion Post 13 will host a Foodshare at 9 a.m. at the Putnam Elementary School. It open to all. 1,200 30-pound boxes of food are due to be distributed. 2 boxes per person. Drive-thru. Masks must be worn by all.
Sat. April 17
Foodshare
PUTNAM --- The Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse, the Town of Putnam, the Putnam VFW Post 1523 and the Putnam American Legion Post 13 will host a Foodshare at 10 a.m. at the Putnam Elementary School. It is open to all towns. Almost 1,500 30-pound boxes of food are due to be distributed. Drive-thru. Masks must be worn by all.
Race/Walk
POMFRET --- The Windham-Tolland 4-H Camp Camper Scamper 5K Race/Walk and 1 Mile Kid Run will begin with registration at 8 a.m. Kids’ Race at 9:30; Adult Race starts at 10; walkers start immediately after runners. Professionally timed by Last Mile Race Management. Register by March 31 to receive discount and free T-shirt. Go to www.4hcampct.org for more details and registration forms.
Sat. April 24
Wall of Honor
PUTNAM --- The Putnam High School Wall of Honor ceremony will be held today.
Beautification Putnam
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Business Association is spearheading again clean-up Putnam from 8:30 a.m. to noon, starting in Putnam Rotary Park. Rain date May 1. Gloves, trash bags and water will be provided. Meet back at Rotary Park for lunch --- grilled hot dogs, chips. Masks required. Groups, schools, individuals all encouraged to sign up; 860-963-6834. Trophies awarded. Funded in part by The Last Green Valley and the Town of Putnam.
Sat. May 1
Town-Wide Tag Sale
POMFRET --- The 15th Annual Pomfret Town-Wide Tag Sale will be held May 1. To register or for info call 860-972-3714.
Fri. June 12
Golf Tournament
KILLINGLY --- The Killingly-Brooklyn Rotary’s 28th annual Nick Haines Memorial Golf Tournament will be held at Connecticut National Golf Course. Benefits local charities. For info: 860-230-3530.
Fri. July 2
Red, White, Blue Celebration
KILLINGLY --- The Killingly Parks and Recreation Department will present the Killingly Red, White & Blue Celebration and Fireworks from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at Owen Bell Park. Whiskey Boulevard will entertain from 7 to 9:15 p.m.
Fri. Aug. 6
Rotary Golf Tourney
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Rotary Club will host the Ronald P. Coderre Golf Tournament fund-raiser at the Connecticut National Golf Club.
Thur. Aug. 19
Bike Night
KILLINGLY --- The Killingly Parks and Recreation Department will present Killingly Bike Night downtown. Rain date Aug. 25. Benefits the Killingly-Brooklyn Rotary Club, TEEG and the Killingly Parks and Recreation Department.
Sun. Aug. 22
Pluck-a-Duck
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Business Association’s fund-raiser, Pluck-a-Duck will be held today at a secret location. For info, contact the Putnam Business Association.
..
PUTNAM — The Putnam Business Association will host Putnam Beautification Day from 8:30 to 11 a.m. April 24, starting at the Rotary Park Bandstand.
Gloves, trash bags and water will be provided. Please wear masks.
Meet back at Rotary Park for lunch – grilled hotdogs, chips.
The rain date is May 1.
Teams, groups, individuals and organizations are invited to take part and trophies will be awarded. To register your Team contact Delpha Very at
.
He does it all
Theo Benoit has been playing more like it’s Three-o Benoit.
Benoit, the Putnam Science Academy Elite basketball team’s sharpshooter, has been playing at an unbelievable clip of late, leading the Mustangs to three wins in their last four games. In that stretch he has scored: 31 points (23 in the second half) with seven 3-pointers in an 89-76 win over Overwin Academy; 22 points that included six 3’s in a 90-68 win over South Kent; 19 points and five made 3’s in an 84-64 loss to St. Thomas More on March 12; and 30 points while draining eight 3-pointers in a 93-82 win over the same St. Thomas More team the next day.
The basket doesn’t look any bigger as some have said when they get in the zone like this. Instead for Benoit, who is from Lyon, France, it’s just the muscle memory from hours upon hours of hoisting shots with impeccable form that is leading to all the makes.
“I wake up every morning and I shoot maybe 500 shots. Every morning,” he said. “And that helps.” That is an understatement. His coach, Dana Valentine, loves his work ethic and how aggressive Benoit was, particularly March 13, in hunting good looks from deep.
“Theo’s in the gym to the point that I have to tell him to take a break,” Valentine. “He could have 30, he could have 3, he’s still going to get back in the gym as soon as possible and get more shots up. What you’re seeing his last couple of games is just a product of his hard work. He’s a more-than-capable shooter. He’s a high, high-level shooter and we trust him.”
A member of the Class of 2022, Benoit is probably best suited for the Division III or NAIA level in college. As of now, he remains undecided about his future. The pandemic has done him no favors, as Valentine said that in a normal year of scouting and recruiting, many of those schools would have made a move for him. For now, he’ll wait and keep shooting his way into some school’s program.
Three of PSA’s games in this stretch have been at home, and it’s no secret that PSA has some of the softest rims around, which helps shooters get friendly bounces into the net. But truth be told, so many of Benoit’s shots are splashing through the hoop, seemingly without even slightly touching the rim.
“Maybe it’s a little bit of home cooking, but I don’t think so,” Valentine said. “It doesn’t matter, home, away, put him in the parking lot, Theo is going to make shots. I’m really happy for him right now.”
Benoit is happy too, because he said he has never had a stretch like this. He said that at the most he maybe had four 3’s in a game. Now he’s knocking down six in a half.
“(Saturday) I made some shots, and then I felt good,” he said. “And then I kept shooting and they went in. It feels great when that happens. You feel untouchable, like you can do anything.”
In the Mustangs’ loss to St. Thomas More, Sean McCarthy added nine points and Jaden Brewington seven in his return to the court, but it wasn’t enough support for Benoit’s game-high 19. PSA then played the second game without three starters, but in addition to Benoit’s 30 points, Brewington had 26, Eddie Linares 15, and Ikenna Smith 10 for the Mustangs (6-4).
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
.