SCOTTSBLUFF- The Scottsbluff boys finished 43 points ahead of the field and the Torrington girls prevailed by 22 points to bring home team titles at the West Nebraska Twilight Friday afternoon 100m Hurdles – 33″ Varsity – Finals 300m Hurdles – 30″ Varsity – Finals 10Lexi Lopez12Emma Machado10Kaelyn Mazanec11Danielle ColeDQAlliance – A Shot Put – 4kg Varsity – Finals High Jump Varsity – FinalsField Series Long Jump Varsity – FinalsField Series 110m Hurdles – 39″ Varsity – Finals 300m Hurdles – 36″ Varsity – Finals 12Evan Hellus10Ace Heron10Beau Martinez11Colby SanduskyDNSTorrington – A Shot Put – 12lb Varsity – Finals Discus – 1.6kg Varsity – Finals Pole Vault Varsity – FinalsField Series Shot Put – 12lb Unified – FinalsField Series Long Jump Unified – FinalsField Series © 2025 Nebraska Rural Radio Association. All rights reserved. Republishing, rebroadcasting, rewriting, redistributing prohibited. Copyright Information Website ©2025 Nebraska Rural Radio Association | All rights reserved. | Website developed by Hollman Media you will be automatically redirected here whenever you go to https://ruralradio.com you can click the "Clear home" link in the footer of the site Kelly Shimo (left) was honored with a Life Saving Award by Torrington Police for her actions in saving the life of Anthony Maria (center) with the assistance of State Trooper Sierra Thibault (right) Kelly Shimo received a Life Saving Award from the City of Torrington for her actions in October 2024 joined by Chief Vernon Riddick and Assistant Chief Larry Terra as well as members of the State Police and Torrington Police was honored with a Life Saving Award by Torrington Police for her actions in saving the life of Anthony Maria (center) with the assistance of State Trooper Sierra Thibault (fourth from right) The quick action of an off-duty West Hartford Police officer during an incident last fall was praised by the Torrington Police Department as Ofc Kelly Shimo was presented with a Life Saving Award at a ceremony on Wednesday Shimo was driving on Winsted Road in Torrington when she observed a blue Subaru Legacy “moving slowly in the middle of the road and drift to the opposite side of the road where it jumped the curb and came to rest against a tree,” according to Torrington Police Shimo immediately pulled over and ran to the Subaru where she observed that the operator – later identified as Anthony Maria of Torrington – appeared to be having a medical crisis Shimo was unable to detect a pulse and immediately proceeded to get Maria out of the vehicle assisted by his friend and fellow Torrington resident Robert Undari who was also at the scene utilizing her emergency first aid training was passing by the scene and immediately stopped and assisted Shimo by performing a few rounds of chest compressions Thibault then administered artificial respirations with the use of a bag valve mask while Shimo continued with chest compressions and Maria regained his pulse and regained consciousness Torrington Police and emergency crews arrived at the scene and ambulance personnel then took over Maria’s medical care and transported him to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital West Hartford Police Chief Vernon Riddick and Assistant Chief Larry Terra attended the award ceremony on Wednesday and members of the State Police and Torrington Police departments The Life Saving Award presented to Shimo on Wednesday states: we are grateful to Office Shimo and Trooper Thibault who selflessly jumped into action to protect the lives of members of our community by rendering aid in a time of crisis Maria survived this medical emergency through the quick actions of both Officer Kelly Shimo and Trooper Sierra Thibault and as a result of their heroic and professional actions they are being recognized and honored for a job well done Both Officer Kelly Shimo and Trooper Sierra Thibault’s performance are in the highest traditions of the Torrington Police Department and is therefore recognized in the issuance the issuance of this Life Saving Award for a job well done!!” Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford Click the blue button below to become a supporter of We-Ha.com and our efforts to continue producing quality journalism and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" © 2025 • WeHa News • All Rights Reserved • Ezoic Privacy Policy - Created by Roy Web Design the Goshen County Communications Center received a report of multiple gunshots being fired on the west side of Torrington High School Officers from the Torrington Police Department and Goshen County Sheriff’s Department responded to the area to verify the safety of students at the school. Almost simultaneous with the report of the gunshots, the fire alarm at Torrington High School was activated and signaled for students to evacuate the school School Resource Officers immediately contacted the Torrington High School Administration to inform them of the reported gunshots on the west side of the school THS Administrators and TPD Officers worked together to direct students to safety while other officers began investigating the source of the reported gunshots The Goshen County School District Administrative Offices and Platte River School were also notified of the potential danger and were placed in a secure status The investigation revealed that the reported gunshots were the result of an animal being euthanized at the sale barn on the west side of the school and checking the area for any additional danger and Administrative Office were released from their secure status The students at Torrington High School remained outside until the Fire Alarm was investigated and it was determined safe for them to return to the building The source of the Fire Alarm activation is believed to be a system malfunction and not related to any pull station activation This combination of events was concerning for everyone involved and prompted a significant response from all of our First Responders The Torrington Police Department is grateful for successful partnerships that allow them to work together quickly to keep our most treasured community assets safe when danger appears A special thanks go out for the patience of students and School District staff who experienced some frightening moments while TPD made sure everyone was safe Torrington Properties has purchased Mill Plaza in Durham for $8.8 million retail and industrial properties across New Hampshire it has invested in excess of $500 million so far in the Granite State is a shopping area anchored by a Hannaford grocery store and Rite Aid pharmacy in the heart of downtown Durham purchased from Colonial Durham Associates which was unsuccessful in a recent effort to redevelop the site for residential and commercial use Torrington said it has no immediate plans for the 10-acre plaza other than to start filling its empty storefronts it is the current home to Allegiant Physical Therapy “Mill Road Plaza is a welcome addition to our growing retail and commercial portfolio,” Torrington’s chief operating officer Matt Morgan said “This is an important piece of our investment strategy in grocery-anchored shopping centers.” but its executive team has been spending a lot of time in New Hampshire since its initial Veridian Residences venture and we really liked a lot of the different dynamics around the different municipalities that are here So we’ve grown into an owner of retail industrial and mixed use,” said Torrington CEO Jay Bisognano Mill Plaza in downtown Durham has been purchased by Torrington Properties for $8.8 million another in Torrington’s torrid pace of acquisitions in New Hampshire totaling upwards of $500 million so far “In spending countless hours permitting most municipalities wanted to be constructive and wanted to solve problems and wanted things to be transformed that’s never been our experience elsewhere,” added Bisognano we’re hooked to the point where we’ve built a business portfolio that’s heavily weighted towards the state.” bookmarked by the earliest (Veridian Residences) and the latest (Mill Plaza): Fort Eddy Shopping Center Newington; commercial offices on Domain Drive in Exeter; West End Yards Portsmouth; a housing development at the site of the former Cinemagic in Portsmouth; Campus Flats Durham; industrial space in Seabrook; and Wellington Hill development site Its purchase of 100 Domain Drive in Exeter for $46.9 million is considered one of the largest commercial office real estate acquisitions in recent years The 263,000-square-foot building’s tenant roster includes Bauer Hockey The Torrington team assesses a potential project “Generating a return is important for a lot of people – It’s important to us – but it’s nowhere near the most important part of what we do,” said Bisognano But when we apply our vision to any given property we feel that if we can execute on that vision An interview with the Torrington team – CEO Bisognano COO Morgan and head of capital markets Brett Pagani – took place at West End Yards in Portsmouth The West End Yards project itself is big in its vision and scale it has two apartment buildings containing 252 units Apartment buildings in the first floor common areas have a cafe There are two commercial buildings – it is the new home for the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant that relocated from the Fox Run Mall in Newington It is also the new corporate home for ConvenientMD As with the recent acquisition of the Fort Eddy Shopping Center in Concord Torrington said it is focused on acquiring grocery-store-anchored community-focused retail plazas and investing in them to improve the shopping experience “Vision and expense and setting that bar super high – it’s a pillar of what we do,” said Bisognano We are here to build something like this and own it I think you’ve got to build it right and you have to go the extra mile It just creates a long term sustainable investment when you do it all the way through.” Asked about their vision for the now vacant former Sears department store in Newington Bisognano described it as “a unique challenge.” Torrington acquired the store in October 2022 for $11.5 million “We’re in the middle of reimagining that box,” he said “We’re in the first inning of that significant opportunity to hopefully add some life to something that is vacant and producing just about zero But that does go back to the vision of trying to think outside of the box and trying to add the creativity that is a big piece of our strategy In acknowledging an overall “business-friendly” attitude in the state the Torrington executives say success comes about with the approach that projects are partnerships they are relationships between the developer and the community built on respect “There’s a respect level on both sides of the table and it’s very refreshing,” said Morgan “Both sides doing a lot of listening and understanding before responding which is a thoughtful approach that and we found it in multiple places in the state.” Added Bisognano: “It becomes a partnership The building we’re sitting in is a partnership with the city of Portsmouth You don’t get to come in and dictate everything We’ve experienced that with this city and others It’s a value they’ll apply to whatever might come from their purchase of the Mill Plaza in Durham Morgan cited their experience with Campus Flats a housing project serving the needs of University of New Hampshire students “Durham’s a unique place,” said Morgan And we’ve built relationships with the town as well as the university The Torrington team is keenly aware of the need for housing in New Hampshire particularly the need for affordable housing there has to be enough of a balance between units rented at market rates and workforce/affordable units rented at less expensive rates The state’s current law says communities must provide “reasonable and realistic opportunities for the development of workforce housing” as long as the areas meet “reasonable standards” that include water and sewer infrastructure “There is a requirement for workforce housing,” said Bisognano “and that is a good first step at trying to provide some affordability So we’ve certainly complied with that and we’ll continue to do it and we’re proud of it.” The question for developers – and policymakers – is how much of a project should be made affordable “Where that becomes challenging is when the percentage of workforce housing becomes – call it 20 percent – it becomes prohibitive,” said Bisognano “That’s when development stops And so you don’t get 20 percent workforce housing you actually get zero because the project doesn’t occur.” is coming up with creative solutions to make that 20 percent affordable to the developer short-term property tax credits or creative financing “If we can apply some of our energy to creative thinking “We’re actively looking at opportunities to create 100 percent affordable housing in some cases in some municipalities but you’ve hit on something we’re actively working on.” Bisognano had extensive experience with a property management company in Boston before starting Torrington Properties in 2015 as founder and principal with a background as a commercial real estate broker having worked in commercial mortgage brokerage also includes all the collaborators within Torrington “This is not done with just the three of us,” he said “This is done in collaboration with a lot of folks – everything from great investors to great builders to great attorneys A committee tasked with reviewing concepts for housing development on Old North Main Street heard from Lakes Region Community Developers discussed the conceptual plan for the development of a 10-acre parcel A 12-unit raised commercial building was pitched in 2024 to replace the shack businesses but that idea was scrapped following public criticism The site will be cleared and equipped with utility service needed for the new units by the end of 2025 with construction scheduled to start in 2026 A developer plans to construct six buildings with a total of 36 housing units could soon see new life as an assisted-living and elderly housing facility The White House wants to eliminate federal support for public media Congress will vote soon on a proposal to slash millions from NHPR and NHPBS’ budgets advocates braved the cold and wind at a public gathering at Bronstein Park in Manchester to take a stand against youth homelessness JCPenney has sued the Steeplegate Mall’s owner which wants to tear down most of Steeplegate and build some 600 apartments as well as businesses such as Costco or perhaps Whole Foods New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald is implementing a hiring freeze and warning of potential layoffs across the judicial branch as the Legislature looks to make deep cuts to the budget SCOTTSBLUFF- Torrington junior Brooklyn Asmus and Sidney junior Lance Holly were named the athletes of the meet at this year’s Best of the West track meet Asmus contributed four gold medals for her Torrington team She brought home individual medals in the 100m (11.96) while adding a team gold in the 4x100m relay alongside teammates Natalie Hawes Trishell Pontarolo and Illyana Ponce (49.65) Holly also collected four golds by winning the 100m (10.87) and 200m (22.44) individually and also by being a member of Sidney’s winning 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams Here are the rest of the results from Tuesday night:GIRLS 100m Hurdles – 33″ High School – Finals 300m Hurdles – 30″ High School – Finals 4×100 Relay High School – Finals 4×400 Relay High School – Finals 4×800 Relay High School – Finals Shot Put – 4kg High School – FinalsField Series Discus – 1kg High School – FinalsField Series High Jump High School – FinalsField Series Pole Vault High School – FinalsField Series Long Jump High School – FinalsField Series Triple Jump High School – FinalsField Series 110m Hurdles – 39″ High School – Finals 300m Hurdles – 36″ High School – Finals 11Corbyn Fleming10Jake Sparks12Cole Katen11Frank LopezDQBridgeport – A 10Drew Kramer11Colby Sandusky10Ace Heron10Beau MartinezDQTorrington – A Shot Put – 12lb High School – FinalsField Series Discus – 1.6kg High School – FinalsField Series © 2025 Nebraska Rural Radio Association. All rights reserved. Republishing, rebroadcasting, rewriting, redistributing prohibited. Copyright Information PORTSMOUTH — Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant and sports bar — which recently closed its location at the Mall at Fox Run in Newington — will be opening a new location at West End Yards a major mixed-use development off the Route 1 Bypass Torrington Properties, which developed the roughly 10-acre West End Yards project confirmed "a new concept" Buffalo Wild Wings is set to open this spring in the Portsmouth development “We are excited to announce the first commercial tenant at West End Yards,” said Matt Morgan chief operating officer of Torrington Properties “West End Yards is a thriving location for people to live and Buffalo Wild Wings is a great fit for the community we’re creating there.” along with a public dog park and 44,000 square feet of retail and office space Nearly $2,000 for studio: Is West End Yards' apartments rent too high, even for pricey Portsmouth? Developers have already opened a new city road that runs from the Route 1 Bypass through the mixed-use development which ultimately connects to downtown Portsmouth Jason Cole is a partner in Pictor Enterprises the local owner of the new Buffalo Wild Wings and five other Buffalo Wild Wings franchises across New Hampshire and Maine Cole said he expects guests will appreciate the new design The new concept Buffalo Wild Wings will feature a bar made from recycled basketball courts along with stadium-like audio visual technologies with LED modular screens 'Taking a break': Mr. Kim's restaurant won't reopen on State Street. Will it be revived? the restaurant will feature a dining area with a mix of booths including an LED modular “Jumbotron” screen that flanks an entire wall An enclosed takeout area features a sauce bottle wall and televisions for guests to enjoy while waiting for their food Cole added that the new Portsmouth location is expected to also support a robust take-out business The Boulos Company, which has partnered with Torrington on past projects, such as the recent acquisition of the Newington Park Shopping Center helped secure Buffalo Wild Wings’ relocation to West End Yards More: Newington Park Shopping Center sold for $13.3 million. The new owner plans to 'transform' it. 'A win for them, a win for us': Poco's restaurant in Portsmouth being sold to Labrie family “We’re thrilled to have Buffalo Wild Wings kick off the commercial leasing at West End Yards and think that their new modern concept is going to be well received by Portsmouth,” said Caitlin Burke “Now that the building frame is up and construction is underway momentum is building with prospective tenants and we’re excited to see the developer’s vision come to life.” has more than 1,200 restaurants in 10 countries More projects in PortsmouthTorrington Properties is also working on a separate project off of Route 1 near the Water Country amusement park The company is proposing to demolish the now-closed Cinemagic movie theater off Lafayette Road and replace it with a five-story 100-unit multifamily condominium building according to documents filed with the city More: Cinemagic site condo plan in Portsmouth includes plaza, pickleball courts, dog park The proposed site of that condo project is 2454 Lafayette Road and if approved will be located near the Veridian Residences luxury apartments which were also developed by Torrington Properties This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Evangelical abolitionist John Brown became an icon of American history when he led a raid on a federal armory at Harpers Ferry West Virginia in an attempt to foment a movement to free enslaved people in the region in October 1859 A new Showtime series titled “The Good Lord Bird” – based on the novel by James McBride – explores Brown’s life Connecticut Historical Society Executive Director Mark McEachern about Brown’s roots in New England John Brown was pretty young when he lived in Torrington mother and siblings until 1805 when they moved west to Ohio as part of that Great Western migration they had a 40-acre farm on the west side of Torrington bordering the Goshen town line So there was a small stream on the property which provided enough water for John Brown's father to establish that tannery up there WAMC: What's left of that birth site today as one of the first historic homes in Connecticut that was open to the public there have been no structures on the property It's the original 40 acres with an additional 60 acres attached to it and it's currently owned by the Torrington Historical Society although the site where the house stood is essentially a clearing in the woods on the side of a town road and to contemplate such a pivotal time in American history and all the repercussions of that period in American history Was there anything going on in the Torrington community that informed his upbringing as a Christian And I think John Brown was in a sense to chip off the old block when it came to religion and abolitionism His father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War And Owen Brown was in Norfolk for a couple years It's where he started his tanning business and then moved to Torrington the section in Torrington that they moved to is the western part of town and the Congregational Church there was the first Congregational Church established in Torrington about 12 years before the Browns moved to Torrington the pastor of that church was Lemuel Haynes who was the first ordained African American congregational minister So I think that says something about the racial tolerance that was afoot in this area of Connecticut at that time period How is John Brown remembered in Torrington today John Brown is remembered much the same as he is throughout the country There are those who revere his actions and what he did to end slavery in America and I think that's a divide that exists in Torrington and really throughout the country Be one of the first to know what's coming up on WAMC See additional subscription options PORTSMOUTH – The Planning Board voted Thursday night to give developers final site plan approval for the huge mixed-use project West End Yards which will be built on what is now about 12 empty acres off the Route 1 Bypass will feature 250 apartments – 27 of which will be rented at work-force housing rates - 23 townhomes commercial and office space and a beer and food hall told Planning Board members Thursday night that his team had completed “full financing” on the project and can start construction “immediately” after getting final approval on the project Developers worked with city staff and land-use boards during the past 20 months to come up with what he called “a thoughtful and transformative development.” The project also includes a land swap – which the City Council previously approved – which will allow the city to create a long sought-after Cate Street connector road will ultimately “provide direct access between Bartlett Street to the Borthwick Avenue traffic signal on the Route 1 Bypass,” City Manager John Bohenko said previously the proposed road would follow the existing Cate Street right-of-way for approximately 250 feet and then travel across what is currently private property to connect to the Bypass,” Bohenko said Bisognano referenced the connector road during the board’s hearing in City Council Chambers and said developers have agreed to pay half its cost told the Planning Board that the team has “been hard at work on this project since 2017.” He invited board members to “take a step back and kind of appreciate what this project is bringing to the city.” will “transform what was once a fairly blighted area of Portsmouth into something very positive.” The development is located off the Route 1 Bypass Northbound on what used to be the Frank Jones Center The 27 work-force housing units represent the “single largest work-force housing project by a private developer in the city,” Bosen added The project will also include 529 parking spaces The two four-story apartment buildings will have 132 units and 118 units Retail space at the front of the property near the bypass will include a restaurant Planning Director Juliet Walker acknowledged in her memo to the board that the project likely will cause more traffic back-ups in the area “Recognizing that growth and development will likely continue in this area of the city staff recommends that the city undertake a study to identify and recommend future capital investments at this location,” Walker said “Staff recommends that West End Yards project should contribute a fair share contribution to fund the study approximately equal to the project’s anticipated proportion of project-generated traffic at this location The estimated cost of the study is $100,000 and the project-generated traffic at this location is projected to be approximately 20% of the overall future traffic growth.” Developers agreed to make that contribution as part of the site plan approval Planning Board Chair Dexter Legg told developers he appreciated “the applicants and the team for working diligently with the city and boards.” “We have a great project here that you guys can be proud of and I know the city can be proud of,” he said This article was originally published by Mennonite World Review | September 6, 2016 | | | | | |