Past Issues of the Putnam Town Crier
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caption, page 2:
Left: The Hoover family of Safe Haven Rescue, from left: Jim, Teagan, Galen and Cory. Above: One of the rescues. Linda Lemmon photos.
Christmas
wish: a
501c3 OK
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — What would make an excellent Christmas gift for the Hoover family?
Notification that their application for 501c3 nonprofit status is approved.
Cory Hoover said her daughter Galen Hoover put in the paperwork for the designation for Safe Haven Rescue in mid-November and they are hoping to hear in the next week or two that the application is approved.
The Hoover family bought property on Heritage Road about a year ago with the goal of creating a safe haven for horses — and for humans, Cory Hoover said. Finding enough space in Connecticut is rare, she said. They moved to Putnam from Columbia.
The family, which also includes Jim Hoover and daughter Teagan, rescue horses, donkeys and mules.
Cory said they wanted a safe haven for horses, a place to teach and to have the horses here at home. Three generations live on the Heritage Road property.
Cory and Jim have pulled in rescues already. They have four currently and one has already been adopted out.
They go to local auctions in New York and Pennsylvania and save the animals from the slaughter house.
Once they have them back, they get their health back up, then assess what’s needed behaviorally and train them with the goal of adopting them out to a better life. One horse they saved was 400 pounds underweight.
Their goal is also to become known as a safe haven locally. Cory Hoover said if, for example, someone has had a horse for 20 years and finds they can no longer afford to keep it, Safe Haven Rescue will rescue it. And the original owner can even visit their horse if they like.
And if for some reason a horse adopted out does not work out, Safe Haven Rescue will always take them back.
Galen Hoover has Natural Horsemanship Training certification. Cory said if a horse has a behavior that might keep it from getting adopted, for example, if the horse is “head shy,” Galen is trained to correct the behavior.
And daughter Teagan is now a furrier.
And if a horse isn’t rideable he’s still worth saving — as a companion horse. Currently, Cory Hoover said, one of their horses is doing companion duty for a horse in Brooklyn after another horse there died. “Horses are herd animals,” Cory said. “They need to be with other horses.”
Cory is a Certified Horsemanship Association member. She is both a therapeutic and standard instructor.
The rising cost of taking care of the rescuees is one reason for the 501C3 filing — donations would then be tax deductible.
For example, she said, one bale of hay, weighing 50 to 70 pounds, but that feeds one horse for one day. The 800-pound hay bales are gone in 3 days.
Forty to 50 pounds of grain used to cost $10. Now it’s $30.
Dec. 9 the family held a “Photos with Santa” (and photos with one of the first rescue horses) event to raise funds. There were vendors including a huge table of items crocheted by a family member. There were also custom candles and hand-worked leather items.
Galen works with a jousting group and they have offered to come do an event this coming summer.
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Junior
commits to
Auburn
equestrian
program
WOODSTOCK — Woodstock Academy Junior Emily Jurnovoy of Woodstock has verbally committed to a Div. I equestrian program. Born into a family where the love for riding was passed down from her grandmother and mother, Jurnovoy has had a deep-rooted connection with the equestrian lifestyle for as long as she can remember. At age 5 Jurnovoy mounted her first horse, and from then on, she began competing.
Under the guidance of Linda Langmeier at the Kelianda Barn in East Granby, Jurnovoy honed her skills, learning not just the art of riding but the discipline, resilience, and grace required to excel in the world of competitive equestrianism. Currently, she competes with her two horses—Calendaro for equitation and It Factor for show jumping.
In recent years, her training schedule has intensified, and now Jurnovoy’s winters are spent in Wellington, Fla. There, she trains and competes for 12 weeks at the Winter Equestrian Festival. During training, she stays on top of her academics at The Woodstock Academy by completing online assignments from her teachers and using a tutoring service.
As her junior year at the Academy approached, Jurnovoy had visited various Div. I universities, including Texas A&M, Auburn University, and University of Georgia. After weighing her options, Jurnovoy verbally committed to Auburn’s nationally ranked equestrian program in November of 2023, saying: “I really liked Auburn when I went to visit in September. It was the smaller size of the school that was a good fit for me, and I really liked the trainers.”
She plans to visit Alabama to sign the National Letter of Intent in November of 2024.
A scholarship covering half of her tuition made her commitment even more rewarding. With aspirations to explore the equestrian business world, Jurnovoy hopes to pursue an MBA that potentially combine her passion with her academic pursuits.
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PSA’s Elite basketball team was without four of its top players for all or most of last Wednesday’s game. No worries though, as Octavius Wheeler was up to the challenge.
Wheeler scored 30 points, grab eight rebounds, and come away with three steals in a 103-94 win over Rocky Hill (R.I).
In the final minutes Wheeler converted a three-point play to cut the deficit to 80-76, then after a defensive stop, Gio Escalona scored while getting fouled to make it 80-78. He missed the subsequent free throw but Sebastian Fermin kept the ball alive and it eventually ended up in the hands of Wheeler, who knocked down a wide open 3 to give the Mustangs the lead at 81-80. Another stop followed by an Escalona putback made it a three-point game and PSA never looked back from there.
“I’m really impressed with how we responded,” said coach Andy Lemoine. Monday night, Wheeler had 12 points, eight rebounds, and three steals to help PSA to a 74-58 win at Hamden Hall.
Tony Williams had a game-high 18 points to go with six assists, Jalen Claude finished with 13 points and six rebounds, and Javelle Epps chipped in with nine points and seven boards. Carter Mungin added eight points and eight rebounds for PSA (4-2), which lost 74-63 Friday afternoon to the Newman School at the Zero Gravity Prep Classic.
PSA’s boys’ Varsity team won a pair of games last week as well. Eighth grader Amyas Hall-Chiari had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists in a 69-63 win Wednesday over Fisher College.
Vlad Vetrov had 11 points and 13 boards, Martin Poliuchovic finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, Ilan da Silva-Alp added nine points, and Shane Sebastian-Smalls chipped in with eight points and four assists.
PSA followed up with a 56-50 win over Rectory on Thursday. Da Silva-Alp knocked down six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, Hall-Chiari had 18, Sebastian-Smalls charted 13, and Poliuchovic chipped in five for the Mustangs (3-2), who got a team-high 10 points Saturday from Vlad Vetrov, but too many turnovers cost PSA in a loss at MacDuffie.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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Sexual assault charge
PUTNAM — Putnam Police Chief Christopher D. Ferace said a Lisbon man turned himself in at the Putnam Police station after being advised a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Windham County State’s Attorney Office.
Mark A. Sperduto, 29, of 7 Sylvandale Road, B. was charged with first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, first-degree strangulation and first-degree kidnapping.
Ferace said the arrest stems from an investigation initiated in 2022.
All accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty
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Porch fire cause
ruled ‘undetermined’
PUTNAM — Putnam Fire Marshal Scott Belleville ruled a small fire that damaged first-floor porch of a Van den Noort Street multi-family residence as undetermined.
Nov. 24 Putnam Emergency Dispatch received a 911 call from a postal worker who reported smoke coming from underneath the porch at 76 Van den Noort St.
Belleville said a timely response from the Putnam Fire Department kept the fire from spreading to the rest of the home with minimal damage to the porch.
While on scene firefighters had discovered a second previous fire in potted plant located in the front yard that had burned itself out.
He said: “a comprehensive investigation by members of the Putnam Fire Marshal’s Office found that both fires were localized to planters containing organic potting soil with the porch planter burning through the porch flooring. Most of the residents of the four-family apartment building admit to being cigarette smokers, making the possibility of ignition from an errant cigarette a possible factor. However, an exothermic reaction from the organic potting soil causing auto ignition could not be ruled out" so undetermined.
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