WBA wins
award
WOODSTOCK — Based in Woodstock, and Franklin, Mass., Woodstock Building Associates, LLC, received a 2019 Guildmaster Award from GuildQuality for demonstrating exceptional customer service within the residential construction industry. WBA achieved a recommendation rate of 90 percent or above from their customers surveyed by GuildQuality. This is the 6th year in a row that WBA has been awarded this designation.
Out of more than 700 eligible applicants, Woodstock Building Associates is one of 300-plus businesses within the residential construction industry recognized by GuildQuality for consistently delivering superior customer care.
“Once again we are pleased with the recognition from GuildQuality,” says Architect Steven Keene. “Customer surveys have proven to be an invaluable tool to our industry. We are humbled by our clients and take their opinions to heart. Every review offers us the opportunity to provide even better service. We would like to thank both our team and our clients. WBA has worked hard to build a talented team and develop standardized systems over the last four decades so we can complete our projects with the highest quality standards and provide an exceptional client experience.”
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PUTNAM — The 13th Annual Particle Accelerator: A Day of Music and Hope will be from noon to 11 p.m. June 8 in Rotary Park.
The free, all day music festival features 20 bands playing music of all genres and for all ages, including family friendly activities for children, and featuring the “Wheels-N-Motion” BMX Bike Stunt Team.
The annual benefit concert has two main goals. The first is to raise funds and awareness to support United Services, Inc., one of Connecticut’s most comprehensive private, non-profit behavioral health centers, providing mental and behavioral health education, prevention, treatment and social services to the children, adults and families of northeastern Connecticut since 1964.
United Services is available 24/7/365 at 860-774-2020 for adults experiencing a mental health crisis.
The second goal is to provide information and support for depression and suicide prevention, while promoting music and civic engagement as a healthy alternative to drug and alcohol abuse among young adults.
The festival is held in memory of local musician Jack Young Jr. and organized by local residents, business owners, musicians and artists. In addition to the concert, the family-friendly festival will also feature art displays, children’s activities and booths from local nonprofit organizations providing information on various local behavioral health and human services.
Funds raised will sponsor QPR Suicide Prevention Training, a public education initiative that helps the public develop skills to help them identify people at risk of suicide and help readily refer them to the resources and professional help they need before they harm themselves. Local sponsors and supporters are needed to help continue this vital outreach initiative to help reduce rural suicide rates which continue to climb even as urban suicide rates decrease.
Free QPR Suicide Prevention Trainings will be offered at noon and at 6 p.m. May 23 at United Services, Inc., 1007 North Main St., Dayville. A light meal will be served over the course of the 90-minute training.
For more information about Particle Accelerator or to sign up for QPR contact John J. Goodman at 860-774-2020 or
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Then
This is Union Square looking toward the former Bugbee's around 1888. Notice the dirt roads, buggies and the trough for horses in the center of the square. Putnam Town Crier file photos.
& Now
This is the same square today. The block of buildings on the immediate right burned down. Antiques Marketplace is where Boots and Shoes was in 1888.
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Marina Monrabal picked up not one, but two first-place finishes in East Lyme May 14.
It was a great way for the junior to get ready for the ECC and Class MM state championship meets still to come.
Unfortunately, for the Centaurs, it didn’t help all that much against the host Vikings who had a little too much firepower and scored the 111-39 victory.
“East Lyme has a heck of a program, a good tradition of track-and-field and some good coaching. We knew it would be a tough one,” said Woodstock Academy coach Josh Welch. “We just wanted to see if we could poke some holes in there and it was nice to see the 4 x800 team win by quite a margin. We went 1-2-3 in the 2-mile and picked up other points where we could.”
It ended the regular season for the Centaurs who finished with an 0-3 mark both in Eastern Connecticut Division I competition and overall.
“It was very quick,” Welch said of the regular season.
Monrabal won both the 100 and 200-meter sprints for Woodstock Academy.
In the process, the junior also qualified for state competition in both events.
“She had a very good day,” Welch said. “It’s great to have some sprinting talent. I did not really expect that level of talent that we would get from her at the beginning of the season.”
It was her first time running the 200-meter this season.
“We kind of threw it together and gave her a couple of workouts to prep her, thought she could get ready for states and she did. It was great to see. Putting points up against East Lyme was rather difficult and she was a great help in that,” Welch said.
Freshman Linsey Arends qualified for state championship competition by winning the 3,200-meter in 12 minutes, 10 seconds.
She already had qualified in the one-mile which gives Welch and her options in the states.
Gohn also placed second in the 800m against East Lyme.
Iris Bazinet finished runner up in the mile with Alexia Bourbeau just behind her in third.
Maddie Grube took second place in the 100-meter hurdles and third in both the long and triple jump.
The 4x800 meter relay team of Alexia Borbeau, Danuse Horka, Arrends and Meg Gohn also qualified for states in the win over the Vikings.
The quartet is also not all that far off the Woodstock Academy school record.
“They are within 12 seconds. It’s not super-close, but at the same time, it was the first time that the group was together and I know each one of them has a few seconds that they can shed. They can, at least, get in the neighborhood if they push for it. It will be interesting to see and I think they will be competitive in the ECC with that,” Welch said. “Right now, it’s not a super-competitive seed time for the states, but 12 seconds down, it could be in the ballpark to win a medal.”
The ECC championship took place May 20 —too late for this edition.
The 4 x 100 relay team of Monrabal, Gillian Price, Aochen Li and Grube has qualified for state competition and so has the 4 x 400 team of Gohn, Bourbeau, Arends and Horka.
Grube is also qualified in the long jump.
“It’s a pretty good number (of competitors) and it’s spread out over a few different events,” Welch said. “It’s nice to put a couple of relay teams in there so that we get some bodies in there and get them used to it and build off that,” Welch said.
The Centaurs will compete in the Class MM state championship May 29.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
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