Hometown Heroes book signing/sales April 9
PUTNAM — The American Legion will hold a fund-raiser book signing event from 6 to 8 p.m. April 9 in the Putnam Town Hall, Room 201.
Putnam’s Mayotte-Viens Post #13 of the American Legion has embarked on a “novel” approach to fund-raising – through book sales. Although it doesn’t involve selling books in the literary genre of novels – it does involve selling books of the historical genre.
According to Post #13 Commander Michael Rocchetti: “We are publishing a series of local history books called ‘Hometown Heroes of the Quiet Corner.’ These books will chronicle the service and sacrifice made by members of our community in all wars and conflicts of the United States”.
One of the core values of the American Legion, as stated in the preamble to its constitution, is to “preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in all wars.” Rocchetti said, “We owe it to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines – to make sure that they are never forgotten, and that the memory of their service and sacrifice will forever live on in the hearts and minds of the grateful people of our community.” He added, “This series of books will serve that purpose – it will preserve the memories of our veterans”.
All proceeds from the book sales will help fund American Legion scholarships, youth programs, Boy’s State, Girl’s State, American Legion baseball, veterans-in-need, Americanism initiatives, and other programs which directly benefit the local community.
Post #13’s first book has been completed (written by Michael Rocchetti) and self-published. It is the “Civil War Edition – 2025 Volume 1”. It consists of 200 pages with the complete service records of approximately 1,000 local men from Putnam, Pomfret, Woodstock, and Thompson, who served in the Army and Navy during the Civil War. It also has in-depth profiles of more than 50 of these men who were very prominent in our community. The book has been endorsed by local civic leaders including Barney Seney, Chandler Paquette, Maureen Nicholson, and Amy St Onge. It has been endorsed by the National Commander of the American Legion – James LaCoursiere, and it has also been endorsed by Major General Francis Evon – the commander of the CT National Guard.
Where to find it: There will be a book signing event at the Putnam Town Hall, Room 201, from 6 to 8 p.m. April 9. There will also be a presentation and book signing at the Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse breakfast May 27 at the Putnam Elks. The book will be sold by American Legion members during local events. The book can also be purchased at the Wolperdinger Bookends Bookstore in downtown Putnam (Montgomery Ward building).
Rocchetti said: “The next in this series will be published soon and it will be called “Volume 2 – 2025, the World War II Edition”. This book will include in-depth profiles of more than 100 men from Putnam, Pomfret, Woodstock, Thompson, Killingly, Brooklyn, and Eastford who died during WWII.”
Future volumes will include other veterans. If you would like to nominate a local veteran for inclusion in a future volume, please contact the Mayotte-Viens Post #13 at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or stop by one of our meetings – which are usually held from 6 to 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the Putnam Town Hall, Room 201.

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Elks donate $3,000 in supplies to Access
PUTNAM —he Putnam Order of the Elks #574 recently donated $3,000 in supplies to the Access Homelessness Prevention Program in Danielson. These supplies will help adults facing homelessness stay warm throughout the cold weather months.
Rhiannon McCabe, the director of Homeless Prevention Outreach at Access, has witnessed a rise in the number of unsheltered homeless individuals. “This donation from the Putnam Order of the Elks enables us to fulfill our mission and assist vulnerable individuals, such as the homeless people we serve,” McCabe said. 
Paula Eccleston, CIP Grant writer/Coordinator of the Putnam Order of the Elks #574, said that this is the least their charitable organization can do for individuals facing hardship in Northeast Connecticut.
Last year, Access helped nearly 1,200 people, including 130 children, address their housing. Access assisted 23 families and 17 single adults in avoiding eviction. Additionally, 50 single adults, 37 families, and 25 young adults maintained safe and affordable housing. Our Rapid Rehousing Team helped 194 individuals including 80 children, find housing. Our Diversion Teams helped “divert” 185 families, 61 youth, and 3 children into housing so they did not have to enter a shelter. Furthermore, 75 adults were prevented from freezing during the winter by staying at our Cold Weather Overnight Shelter.

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Roundup
Plouffe finishes 2nd in shotput in NY; shatters school record

Woodstock Academy junior Avery Plouffe almost did the unexpected — bring home a first-place finish from the Nike indoor track Nationals in New York City.
Plouffe unleashed a 41-foot, 1 ¼ inch throw in the shotput on Sunday in the preliminaries to briefly take the lead in the event.
The throw was 4 feet better than the school record which Plouffe had already held.
Unfortunately, Plouffe was passed for first-place later in the event but she still brought home a second-place medal.
“Coach (Gerry) Lamontagne has been saying all season that Avery was on the verge of breaking out with something big,” said indoor track coach Josh Welch. “But, still, I don’t think anyone could have expected a 4-foot improvement at the Nationals. When the officials start to get excited and cheer at that level, you know something special happened there.”
It was the highlight of the weekend for Welch and the Centaurs but it was not the only one.
Plouffe also participated in the weight throw on Thursday and finished 21stin the Emerging Elite division.
She launched a 39-foot, 1 ¼ inch throw that was only 2 inches shy of the school record which she already holds.
Senior Colton Sallum firmly entrenched himself in the school record book.
Sallum obliterated the previous school record in the 2-mile as he finished in 9 minutes, 32.43 seconds to best the previous mark by 37 ½ seconds on Friday.
Sallum finished 22nd overall in the competition.
Junior Emma Weitknecht now owns the school record for the 60m hurdles as she bested the mark previously held by Bella Sorrentino with a 9.67-second finish. She placed 40th overall and just missed out on making the semifinals in the event by 2/10th’s of a second.
Senior Christian Menounos nearly matched his school record in the 800-meter as he finished in 1:56.09 and was 20th overall in the championship division.
“He competed in the slowest of the five heats, but still managed to beat the bulk of the competition at the meet,” Welch said.
Teagan Maloney placed 46th in the 60m dash for freshmen in 8.59 seconds. That was just .02 seconds away from a school- record performance.
“It was great to get our kids some experience with these bigger meets. I think we’re starting to see more growth in how our athletes handle the pressure of a big audience and high-level competition,” Welch said.
Winter Season Closes
While winter doesn’t officially end until Thursday, it came to a close a week before last week.
The annual Winter Sports Awards Night traditionally heralds the end of the season with spring sports beginning in a couple of weeks.
The highlight of the event is the coaches for the programs giving out their Coaches Awards.
Award winners:
Boys’ Basketball: Varsity Coaches Award Recipients: Matt Hernandez, Caleb Simoneau; JV Coaches Award Recipient: Ryan Chabot; Freshman Coaches Award Recipient: Brody Dexter.
Girls’ Basketball: Varsity Coaches Award: Kaylee Saucier, Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain; JV Coaches Award:  Finley Hamilton; Freshman Coaches Award: Addison Shaw.
Prep Select Basketball: Varsity Coaches Award: David Volz, Filippo De Giorgi; Unified Co-Ed Basketball, Coaches Award: Athlete: Ariana Fox and Partner: Luke Thompson.
 Gymnastics: Varsity Coaches Award: Scarlet Hogarty, Anyah Oatley.
Boys’ Hockey: Varsity Coaches Award: Seamus Coleman, Jayden Fuller.
Girls’ Hockey: Varsity Coaches Award: Avery Nielsen, Grace Lescault.
Wrestling: Varsity Coaches Awards: Olivia Digregorio, Owen Hamilton; 
JV Coaches Award: Colby Deary.
Boys’ Indoor Track: Varsity Coaches Award: Christian Menounos, Colton Sallum; JV Coaches Award: Tiernan Curran.
Girls’ Indoor Track: Varsity Coaches Award: Juliet Allard, Avery Plouffe; 
JV Coaches Award: Addison Casteen.
Dance Team: Coaches Award: Caroline Costa, Scarlet Delaney.
Also recognized were those who received All-State and league All-Star awards including:
Class M All-State and ECC All-Star in gymnastics: Olivia Aleman; Class M All-State in gymnastics: Anyah Oatley; Class M All-State and ECC Div. I All-Star in girls’ indoor track – Juliet Allard; Class M All-State and ECC Div. I All-Star in girls’ indoor track – Avery Plouffe.
Also: Connecticut High School girls’ hockey Association 2nd team All-State – Sophia Gouveia; ECC Division I All-Star in girls’ indoor track – Emma Weitknecht; ECC Division I All-Star in boys’ indoor track – Christian Menounos; ECC Division I All-Star in boys’ indoor track –  Thatcher Patterson; ECC Division I All-Star in boys indoor track – Aidan Tyler; ECC Division I All-Star in boys’ indoor track – Collin Teal; ECC Division I All-Star in girls’ basketball: Kaylee Saucier; ECC Division II All-Star in boys’ basketball- Brady Ericson; Nutmeg Conference All-Star in boys’ hockey – Seamus Coleman; Nutmeg Conference All-Star in boys’ hockey – Jayden Fuller; Nutmeg Conference All-Star in boys’ hockey – Devlin Mansolf; ECC Honorable Mention Division II boys’ basketball- Cam Nason;   Class M All-State and ECC All-Star in gymnastics: Olivia Aleman; Class M All-State in gymnastics: Anyah Oatley; Class M All-State and ECC Division I All-Star in girls’ indoor track – Juliet Allard; Class M All-State and ECC Division I All-Star in girls’ indoor track – Avery Plouffe; Connecticut High School girls’ hockey Association 2nd team All-State – Sophia Gouveia; ECC Division I All-Star in girls’ indoor track – Emma Weitknecht; ECC Division I All-Star in boys’ indoor track – Christian Menounos; ECC Division I All-Star in boys’ indoor track –  Thatcher Patterson; ECC Division I All-Star in boys indoor track – Aidan Tyler; ECC Division I All-Star in boys indoor track – Collin Teal; ECC Division I All-Star in girls basketball: Kaylee Saucier; ECC Division II All-Star in boys basketball- Brady Ericson; Nutmeg Conference All-Star in boys hockey – Seamus Coleman; Nutmeg Conference All-Star in boys hockey – Jayden Fuller; Nutmeg Conference All-Star in boys hockey – Devlin Mansolf; ECC Honorable Mention Division II boys basketball- Cam Nason; ECC Honorable Mention Division I girls basketball- Isabel D’Alleva – Bochain.
Also recognized were the ECC Scholar-Athlete Award winners including: Girls’ basketball -   Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain; Boys; basketball – Matt Hernandez; Gymnastics –  Emma Long; Wrestling – Ayden Angel; Boys’ Indoor Track –  Chandler Folkerts; Girls’ indoor track –  Kira Greene.
ECC Sportsmanship Awards: Boys’ indoor track –  Aiden Kane; Girls’ Indoor Track  – Ella Lidonde; Wrestling – Gunnar Basak; Girls’ basketball – Madison Bloom; Boys’ basketball –   Garrett Bushey; Gymnastics – Olivia Aleman.
Aleman also received her plaque for being named the ECC’s Domino’s Player of the Year in gymnastics and Tim Mozzi was announced as the Hoby Baker Character Award recipient in boys’ hockey. The girls’ basketball team had the best cumulative GPA of the winter teams.
Marc Allard 
Director of Sports Information 
The Woodstock Academy 

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From left: Christian Menounos finished 20th overall. Avery Plouffe with her record-setting throw in the shotput. Colton Sallum broke the school record in the 2-mile by 37 ½ seconds. Photos by Josh Welch/Woodstock Academy.

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A sure sign that spring has sprung as catchers like Caleb Simoneau and pitchers like Brady Ericson were out on the baseball diamond. Photos by Connor Elliott.

Winter All-State
Those who received All-State and league All-Star designation were recognized at Woodstock Academy’s annual Winter Sports Awards Night last week. Photo by Savannah Canty/Woodstock Academy.

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