Most of Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s senior football players caught up with The Lakeville Journal Thursday, Sept. 11. Back row from left, Cole Simonds, Owen Riemer and Wes Allyn. Front row from left, Cohen Cecchinato, Tyler Roberts, Hunter Conklin and Nick Crodelle. Not pictured is Logan Labshere, who was absent from school that day.
FALLS VILLAGE — This football season, eight Housatonic Valley Regional High School seniors will play for the Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic co-op team.
This class marks the first grade of HVRHS students to spend four years with the GNH team, which Housatonic joined in 2021.
The players got a taste of the postseason in their first two years, advancing into the state tournament in 2022 and 2023 before entering a rebuild year in 2024. This season, they’re ready to make a comeback.
Wes Allyn was named captain of the co-op team. At 6-foot 4-inches and 210 pounds, Allyn has proven himself a force on both sides of the ball as starting tight end and linebacker. He is being recruited by college programs in the region and said he was offered a roster spot at University of New England.
On being named captain, Allyn humbly said, “There’s a ton of seniors on the team that deserve captain just as much as I do... I just get to go out and do the coin toss.” When asked if he’ll choose heads or tails, he said, “[Coach] Big Sal said heads but I’m kind of a ‘tails never fails’ guy.”
Owen Riemer was the leading touchdown scorer on GNH last year, playing nearly every snap as either running back, wide receiver, defensive back, punter or kick returner. Riemer took a beating as the primary ball carrier and almost didn’t return this year for the sake of his body. But his love for the game and his teammates drew him back for one last ride.
“I just missed it, so I had to play,” said Riemer after rejoining the team before the first game of the regular season.
Nick Crodelle is listed at quarterback this year. Crodelle played some snaps as back-up QB last season and said the GNH offense is ready to take on Naugatuck Valley League competition. Crodelle is also listed as a defensive back and running back.
“The offensive line is probably the best we’ve seen in the last couple years,” said Crodelle. “We’re running ‘full house’ this year, so a lot of backs in the backfield.”
Tyler Roberts and Cole Simonds will be two of those backs in the backfield, and they both expect to play on both sides of the ball as defensive corner and safety respectively. Simonds started at safety most of last season. Roberts made impactful plays last year, including a late fourth quarter onside kick-off recovery against rival Torrington High School under the lights with a packed crowd.
Looking ahead, Roberts said, “I just want to make the most of it as my last year. I haven’t really been a big contributor and I want to contribute more.”
Hunter Conklin, Logan Labshere and Cohen Cecchinato are three of GNH’s senior linemen. Coach Scott Salius said this summer the linemen are the most important component of a varsity team and he has high hopes for the big men up front.
Conklin said the experience and athleticism of the line will help on both offense and defense.
“Being big and strong is just as important as being fast,” Conklin said.
“As long as they stay disciplined, that’s the most important thing,” added Riemer.
GNH began the regular season with a non-league game at Plainville High School Friday, Sept. 12.
NVL competition begins at Woodland Regional High School Friday, Sept. 19.
GNH’s home opener is scheduled against Derby High School Friday, Sept. 26, 7 p.m. at Gilbert School’s Van Why Field.
“Hopefully we win,” said Conklin. “And make memories with the guys that I’ll think about for the rest of my life.”
Emergency responders block Amenia Union Road in Sharon Saturday, Oct. 11, while responding to the vehicle crash.
SHARON — Emergency crews were called Saturday, Oct. 11, to Amenia Union Road in Sharon for a report of a vehicle into a building with entrapment.
The call went out shortly after 3 p.m. with an update at 3:20 p.m. reporting one dead on arrival, two conscious. Emergency helicopter transport was requested.
Update Oct. 13, 9:25 a.m.:
Connecticut State Police reported Charles Teti, 62, was driving his Jeep Grand Cherokee northbound on Amenia Union Road when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle veered across the southbound land and exited the roadway where it struck a tree and home. Airbags deployed.
Teti and front seat passenger Aidan Cassidy, 63, sustained serious injuries. Teti was airlifted to Hartford Hospital and Cassidy was transported by ambulance to Sharon Hospital for treatment.
Back seat passenger Shea Cassidy-Teti, 17, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on scene. Cassidy-Teti was a senior at Kent School. He played on the football and tennis teams.
The residence that was struck is located at 35 Amenia Union Road.
The case remains under open investigation. Witnesses are asked to contact Trooper Lukas Gryniuk at Troop B 860-626-1821.
LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.
Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.
In 1982 after graduating summa cum laude from Harvard College, Rhys returned to Hotchkiss to teach biology, where he met his wife of 35 years, Rebecca (Becky) Snow. After two years of teaching, he worked at a research field site in Borneo, then went on to the University of California, Davis where he earned a PhD in Animal Behavior in 1995.
Rather than follow an academic tenure track, Rhys preferred the solitary focus of field ornithology, and he spent several decades researching the ecology of bird species in California and on Cape Cod and the Islands. Rhys believed passionately in supporting biodiversity through habitat preservation. His proudest achievements, therefore, came through his work for the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, in New Hampshire, where he served on committees and the Board of Trustees for twenty years, including three years as Chair.
Deeply intellectual and curious, Rhys learned Homeric Greek so he could read The Odyssey and The Iliad in their original language. An amateur Melville scholar, he would wax poetic about reading Moby-Dick for the umpteenth time.Rhys’s spirit was filled by the performing arts. Concerts by the Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Early Music Festival often brought tears to his eyes, while Boston Bluegrass Union shows delivered toe-tapping fidgetiness.
Rhys will be missed by his wife, Becky Snow, his mother, Anne Bowen, extended family, friends, and anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
A service will be held at The Hotchkiss School chapel on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 at 1 p.m..
In honor of Rhys’s memory, donations can be made to the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.
LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.
Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.
In addition to her husband and parents, Kelsey is survived by her two beloved children, Hunter Horton and Aryanna Horton, both of Lakeville; a step-brother, Jason Tuncy of East Hartford, Connecticut; her mother-in-law, Frances “Fran” Horton and her brother-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton III and his wife Penny of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and their son, Alec, and several aunts, uncles, cousins and many dear friends. She was predeceased by her father-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton, Jr. in 2017.
There are no calling hours. A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Millerton American Legion Post # 178, Route 44, Millerton, NY 12546. A time to celebrate Kelsey and share stories and memories. Memorial contributions may be made to The Jane Lloyd Fund. Please make checks payable to Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (please note in memo line, The Jane Lloyd Fund) and mail to: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, 800 N. Main Street, Sheffield, MA 01257.
To send an online condolence to the family, flowers to the service or to plant a tree in Kelsey’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546.
SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.
In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.
Normally at this point one might list some interests, but in Eliot’s case, it’s easier to list what he wasn’t interested in: watching sports.
Eliot made a living as a fine craftsman and carpenter, but at heart he was an artist. He was well versed in music, painting, literature, biking, travel, Mardi Gras costumes, poker, pranks, street performance and on and on and on.Having previously hiked the entire Camino de Santiago in Spain and Portugal, he recently achieved another dream of summiting the highest stratovolcano in North America.
Eliot’s creative ability was astounding. His creations were designed to bring joy to others. He didn’t seek recognition or praise, and a large part of his work was anonymous. Pieces of art would appear in the community, encouraging people to think, connect and enjoy.
From the precociously funny and determinedly defiant boy that grew up in the Northwest corner of Connecticut, Eliot grew into a brilliant, gentle souled, boundlessly creative, ever mischievous, perpetually scraggly, and astoundingly wise and caring man who made an indelible impact on those who were lucky to have him in their lives.
In honor of Eliot, please consider making donations to organizations that work to end gun violence, support the arts, or provide mental health services. A service will be held at the Congregational Church in Salisbury on Sunday Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.
