1st Friday

heads for

Seattle

PUTNAM —  The first half of the 2016 First Fridays season has taken patrons on an artistic road trip through the east coast and Midwest of the U.S., celebrating three iconic cities: New York, Chicago, and Boston. With August marking the mid-point of the 2016 season, the next stop on the road trip is celebrates the arts and culture of Seattle from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 5. 

All invited to this free award-winning festival. For more info, go to: www.discoverputnam.com. 

August’s event will see more than 50 art vendors on both Main Street and in Union Square in downtown Putnam. Combined with vendors, gallery openings, boutique shopping, and al fresco dining, visitors will also enjoy live music provided by two local bands. Headlining the August event is The Aquatudes out of Central Connecticut. Although Seattle was lauded as the epicenter of the grunge explosion of the early 1990s, the city also launched “The Ventures” in 1958, the band who popularized instrumental rock internationally, and whose unique sounds influenced a generation of musical styles. The Aquatudes have been bringing their reverberating brand of rock ‘n roll to clubs, parties and events around New England and in NYC since 2007. See them channeling “The Ventures” all evening long on Main Street. Over in Union Square, The Cove Street Band will return for a second season with their catchy covers. This trio will play songs made popular in the 1990’s and 2000’s, including the grunge rock that made Seattle famous in the early ‘90s. 

Over the past several months, the Stealthy Street Art Crew has been working on a season-long art project named the Kinetic Bike Sculpture. At each First Friday, a new piece is revealed.  Patrons are invited to view the new additions to the project on display at 114 Main St. In addition to the Kinetic Bike Sculpture, the Stealthy Crew will debut a Seattle-inspired “Gum Wall”. This temporary art installation was inspired by the popular Pike Place Market attraction, The Market Theater Gum Wall, which includes a brick wall covered in used chewing gum several inches thick. The First Fridays gum wall will continue the spirit of this sticky art installation, with patrons invited to add their own personal touch to the wall. 

In addition to being known for rainy days, flannel, and grunge music, Seattle is also known for being a city of coffee lovers. As the birth place of the internationally known Starbucks, Seattle’s coffee culture has a long history. The Community Arts committee will pay tribute to Seattle coffee with a one of a kind coffee mosaic. The mosaic will be a work in progress throughout the festival, with visitors to the event invited to watch and participate in the creation of this coffee-based mural. 

Continuing the coffee theme, there will be another scavenger-hunt contest during the August First Fridays event. Titled Sleepless in Seattle: Find the missing Zzzz’s, the contest will include a search around the festival grounds for cleverly hidden letter “Z’s”. There will be dozens of “Z’s” hidden in plain sight around Main Street and Union Square. Those that find the missing letters can return them to the Putnam Business Association table for a chance to win one of two gift baskets to Ben’s Beans, valued at $100 each. The contest will start at 6 p.m. sharp and only one entry per family will be accepted.

 

 

American Legion 

TriTown 

Juniors bring

Legion season 

to a close

By Ron P. Coderre

TriTown American Legion Jr. Baseball team, sporting a 10-10 regular season record qualified for the Connecticut American Legion postseason tournament.  The Jr. Towners drew a strong Cheshire team as their first round opponent in the double-elimination event.

On the road in Cheshire TriTown hung tough for four innings before the roof caved in on them.  A Cheshire scoring barrage led the home team to an eventual easy 16-0 win as the Towners managed only two hits in the game.

On the cusp of elimination TriTown was on the road once more this time in Glastonbury.  Riding the strong arm of Luke Matthewson the Jr. Towners eased out to a first inning 1-0 advantage.  With Matthewson throwing a courageous game, the teams settled into a pitcher’s duel as goose eggs dominated the scoreboard for both team until the bottom of the sixth inning.

In the pivotal sixth inning Glastonbury found the seams as the Tomahawks broke the game open with a three-run rally.  They held on in the top of the seventh for a 3-1 victory.

In addition to Matthewson’s pitching TriTown received a good defensive effort from third baseman Mike Falco and shortstop Scott Davagian.  Catcher Ryan Whitehouse was stellar behind the plate, while center fielder Jacob Straub turned the fielding gem of the game in the first inning.

“These kids were a pleasure to coach.  They pulled for each other all season.  I’m very pleased with the outcome of this season,” said coach Shawn Bates.

Coach Bates’ team concludes the season with a 10-12 log.

 

 

DAYVILLE — The National Council for Behavioral Health recently announced United Services is one of 10 community behavioral health organizations nationwide that will participate in a new initiative aimed to help eliminate tobacco and cancer disparities among people with behavioral health conditions.

During the seven-month program, United Services will partner with technical experts to develop and implement action plans to enhance tobacco and cancer control and prevention efforts directed toward people with behavioral health conditions. The program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the National Behavioral Health Network for Tobacco & Cancer Control.

United Services, Inc. is a non-profit, comprehensive behavioral health center, offering more than 30 mental health, addiction and social service programs, as well as the region’s only domestic violence program.

 “We are excited to continue to bring innovative programs to northeastern Connecticut,” said Diane L. Manning, president/CEO of United Services. “We are committed to improving the health outcomes for our community through comprehensive behavioral and social service programs, and believe a focus on tobacco cessation will have a positive impact on the people we serve.”

According to the National Behavioral Health Network for Tobacco & Cancer Control, tobacco use rates among people with mental illness and addictions are 94 percent higher than adults without these disorders and of the 440,000 annual tobacco-related deaths in the US, half are among people with a mental illness.

United Services will implement the program in conjunction with its Behavioral Health Home initiative, which provides and manages primary health care and promotes wellness initiatives for clients who have incurred high hospitalization costs. The program seeks to improve the health care of individuals while saving state taxpayers significant dollars.