The following charges were listed in the Putnam Police Department logs. The people charged are innocent until proven guilty in court. The Town Crier will publish dispositions of cases at the request of the accused. The dispositions must be accompanied by the proper documentation. The Putnam Police Department confidential Tip Line is 963-0000.
March 4
Karen James, 60, Church Street, Putnam; operating unregistered motor vehicle.
March 5
Ethan Gould, 23, Park Street, Putnam; operating unregistered trailer, operation without tail lights.
March 6
Christopher Croft, 25, Rachael Drive, N. Grosvenordale; failure to display plate, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration.
Nicole Wolfram, 35, Walnut Street, Putnam; failure to display plate, operating an unregistered motor vehicle.
Michael White, 22, New Boston Road, Dudley; failure to obey stop sign.
March 7
Haylee Long, 23, Van den Noort Street, Putnam; illegal use of a cell phone, operating an unregistered motor vehicle.
March 8
Sarrah Bernier, 19, Marshall Street, N. Grosvenordale; speeding.
Emily Paul, 21, Pinecrest Drive, Danielson; second-degree criminal mischief, third-degree assault, disorderly conduct.
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PUTNAM — Scott Bushey of Hebron won the 2019 Courthouse O’Putnam 5K with a new course record. Stella DiPippo of Brooklyn won for the women.
The annual St. Patrick’s Day-themed Courthouse O’Putnam 5K drew nearly 1,000 participants March 10 despite cold and rainy weather conditions.
As part of the HMF Can community initiative, participants brought 254 pounds of non-perishable food donations to benefit Putnam’s IHSP-Daily Bread Food Pantry.
Bushey won the race in 16:28, setting a new course record. The Hebron native ran at RHAM High School and in college. He came out to run the race in Putnam because his father works for Putnam Bank, and Scott looked forward to racing through the quaint and charming downtown.
DiPippo, a high school runner from Brooklyn, won the women’s race in 19:55.
The top three 5K finishers were: 16:28 Scott Bushey, 25, Hebron; 16:47 Adam Gootnick, 33, Unionville; and 18:09 Piotr Kostyk, 28, Bethel.
The top three women’s 5K winners were: 19:55 Stella DiPippo, 15, Brooklyn; 22:02 Lindsay Hartzog, 38, Glastonbury; and 22:17 Lauren Konicki, 28, Putnam.
The race was the second of four “O’Races” produced by the non-profit Hartford Marathon Foundation. The series of festive 5Ks across Connecticut features epic post-race parties and four custom finisher medals that connect to form a Celtic knot.
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PUTNAM — March 9 an Ashford man was arrested on drug charges after Putnam police found him in a vehicle with another person in the Key Bank parking lot.
The Putnam Police Department said they encountered a vehicle occupied by two at 1:48 a.m. in the Key Bank parking lot.
Michael Hiller, 34, of 54 Fitt Road, Ashford was sitting in the operator seat, initially unresponsive with packages of what appeared to be heroin/fentanyl on his chest.
His current significant other was sitting in the front passenger seat also initially unresponsive. The passenger regained consciousness followed shortly thereafter by Hiller. EMS was called to the scene as a precaution.
Police found 124 baggies of suspected heroin/fentanyl (the suspected substance later tested positive for fentanyl), drug paraphernalia and $820 dollars in cash.
In addition, it was learned there was a “no contact” Protective Order in place between Hiller and his passenger. The passenger was transported to Day Kimball Hospital for evaluation.
Hiller was arrested and charged with violation of a protection order, possession of fentanyl, possession of fentanyl with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia. Hiller was released on a $25,000 non-surety bond to the care of Day Kimball Hospital for evaluation and appeared in Danielson Superior Court March 11.
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PSA alums make noise at next level
Putnam Science Academy has had its fair share of alums move on to play college hoops but few have made an impact quite like the trio of seniors from last year’s National Prep Championship team: Kyle Lofton, Osun Osunniyi and Jose Perez.
Lofton and Osunniyi teamed up to play at St. Bonaventure while Perez found the perfect fit with former Mustang Jaheem Cornwall at Gardner-Webb.
Kyle Lofton, who in his time at Putnam Science Academy didn’t receive a Division 1 offer until the last game of the year, has played over 40 minutes a game in his freshmen year for the Bonnies and has been a catalyst in propelling the team to a 12-6 conference record. That 12-6 record helped the Bonnies earn a double bye as the 4th seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.
Osun has been a major factor in St. Bonaventure’s success. The 6-foot, 10-inch freshmen big man has exploded on the scene as a shot blocker and rim protector in his first season at the college level. Osun leads the Atlantic 10 in blocks with 81; he’s third in rebounding averaging 7.5 per game and ranks seventh in field goal percentage right around 57 percent. The freshmen tandem has been a huge boost for Head Coach Mark Schmidt and will look to keep it up in the A-10 conference tournament.
Putnam Science Academy alum Jose Perez has beat the odds and blossomed as a freshman at Gardner Webb. Perez has found his fit as a “Runnin Bulldog” compiling just over 15 points per game and leading the team in rebounds (5.7) and assists (3.0). Perez has seen success in his first year at Gardner Webb being named Rookie of the Week a whopping six times while helping the team to a 22-11 record in the Big South Conference. Perez also made history scoring over 500 points on the season, becoming the first freshmen in program history to do so. The Bulldogs used Perez by increasing his minutes and his play only benefited.
History wasn’t done being made as Gardner Webb finished with an 11-6 conference record, winning 11 of their last 13 games taking home the Big South Conference Championship as the #4 seed knocking off 2 seed Radford March 10. The win was the first Big South Championship for the Bulldogs as they punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, another program first.
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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