Pumpkin Painting
Laura Coderre, 9, of Putnam, was intent on painting the perfect pumpkin at bankHometown. More photos on page 6. Linda Lemmon photo.

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caption, page 7: Adian Muller scores first goal.

As basketball season is getting started at Putnam Science Academy, the soccer season — and the school’s teams — continue to roll on.
All three Mustangs squads won their games handily this week; with the girls’ team trouncing St. Andrews 10-0, the boys’ prep team topping Hoosac 5-0, and the boys’ varsity team rolling MacDuffie 12-3.
The latter was led on Oct. 16 by Josue de Leon, who scored four times, and earned high praise from coach Ivan Damulira.
“Josue De Leon has been our best player on and off the pitch,” Damulira said. “He plays and works hard no matter the opponent. He has really been a positive key player on this team and I am proud of him.”
David Menzies had a hat trick in the win, while Artur Silva, Luca Almeida, Javier Moscardo, Matus Vician, and Alvaro Redondo added one goal each for the Mustangs (4-3).
The prep team readied itself for a showdown later this week with Berkshire Academy by overwhelming Hoosac on Oct. 18. Aidan Muller and Matheus Reis scored in the first half before the Mustangs (6-1) played a crisper game after halftime to put away the win. Jenluis Parades, Filippo Marcantoni, and Gabriele Formiconi tallied the final three goals.
Coach Sam DeMello was happy with the turn in play in the second half, but is still looking for that complete game.
“We’re still in that situation where we go through lulls during games,” he said, “and we come out and the tempo is really high and then all of a sudden it drops down for a period of time. Against the top-level teams, that’s not going to be good enough. But there were definitely pockets of some good things in this one.”
PSA plays at Berkshire on Oct. 26.
Girls’ Team
Finally, the girls ‘team closed out the week with another dominant win on Oct. 19. Karol Souza had four goals (giving her 15 in five games), and Ana Aldaz had a goal and two assists for the Mustangs (5-0), who have outscored their opponents 46-3.
Ana Velasco, Elisha Clinkscale, Lu Guimaraes, Ana Garcia, and Tais Mota all had one goal, and Steph Davis had five saves in the win. Coach Jen Bennett was especially pleased with the play of her midfielders.
“Claudia (Paz) and Tais work hard in the midfield and I’ve been really pushing them to distribute the ball, change the field, split the defense,” she said. “They have been really doing great. My outside midfielders have also been doing fantastic. (Aldaz) had two assists and a goal.”
Bennett noted a number of other players who are succeeding in new positions.
“The changes that we’ve made in the last week or so, I’m very pleased with,” she said. “I love that the players are stepping up and getting the job done.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
 

Help
needed
for winter
shelter
project
DANIELSON — A coalition of nonprofit groups, governments and churches is working on providing a shelter where local homeless people can spend the night out of the cold this winter. “It’s a collaborative effort to provide shelter during the no-freeze months (from December-March),” said Kathleen Krider, senior director of Community Engagement and Resource Management at the Access Community Action Agency.
Donations for this project can be made through the end of November to: “Access CAA” with “No-Freeze Project” written on the memo line and either postal mailed or dropped off at 1315 Main Street, Willimantic, CT 06226, or donate online at accessagency.org/donate.
Access already operates a year-round homeless shelter on Reynolds Street in Danielson. It’s the only one in the area. Last winter, Krider said, the shelter, which has 40 beds, became overwhelmed on some cold nights, taking in as many as 15 more people, including families with children, than it had beds for. “Our facility is simply not equipped to handle an overflow like that, especially with families already in the building.” Krider said.
Because there are so many people who need shelter in the cold winter months so that they don’t freeze the coalition was formed last April to create a Northeast CT Overnight No-Freeze Shelter that would be available this winter. In addition to Access, coalition members include the Killingly-Brooklyn Interfaith Council, Interfaith Human Services of Putnam, nonprofit agency TEEG and the Eastern Connecticut Coordinated Access Network (ECAN).
After Krider spoke last month at a meeting of the Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (NECCOG), the Town of Brooklyn donated $2,000 toward what Krider said would be a $75,000 cost to operate the shelter. The Killingly Town Council then donated $5,000 for the shelter. NECCOG Executive Director John Filchak said he expects other towns to provide funds as well. “She was well-received,” he said. “It’s great that these leaders get it,” Krider said. A tentative site that can accommodate up to 30 people has been identified as the No-Freeze Shelter in Brooklyn, and can be served by public transit lines, according to a fact sheet from the coalition. The Shelter would be open overnight from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m.
Priorities, she said, are to raise enough funds to pay for operating the No-Freeze Shelter, and to find and train up to 60 volunteers who would spend one evening per month there to supplement paid staff members. 
Once up and running, the Shelter would provide a warm dry place for people experiencing homelessness to sleep, with access to bathroom facilities. The goal is to have it open 7 nights a week from December to March. Volunteers will work from 6:30 to 11:00 p.m., and paid staff will be on site from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.  Animals will be sheltered at no cost to the NECCOG.  Filchak noted that some homeless people who have pets are reluctant to stay at shelters because their animals aren’t allowed. “We would take in their dog at our shelters at no cost,” if they do stay overnight at the shelter, Filchak said. “They put themselves or others at risk by trying to tough it out.”
The Northeastern Connecticut Transit District (NECTD) will bus people to site with a with a 7 p.m. arrival, and provide rides from the site at 8 a.m. The Collaborative’s goal is to raise $75,000, so far has $29,500 in hand. The funds have come from Access ($15,000), TEEG ($2,500), the ECAN ($5,000), Killingly ($5,000), and Brooklyn ($2,000).

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