Latest news with #Willette
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Meriden man sentenced to 20 years in prison for manufacturing, selling firearms
MERIDEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A Meriden man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for manufacturing and selling firearms. Jonathan Willette, 34, is facing 20 years in prison, suspended after eight years served, followed by five years of probation. Willette pleaded guilty to one count of sale of a firearm, one count of manufacturing a firearm, one count of possession of an assault weapon, one count of criminal possession of a firearm and violation of probation. Norwalk man busted with 150 grams of suspected cocaine, $20K in cash According to court documents, this comes after officers executed a search and seizure warrant at Willette's home on June 23, 2022. Authorities found several firearms, eight Polymer 80 brand firearms, five fully automatic firearms, and one AK-47 assault-style rifle. Firearm manufacturing equipment was also located, including drill presses, jigs, and 'Glock switches.' Authorities also searched his phone, which revealed that he was manufacturing, modifying, and selling firearms, according to court documents. Willette was not legally allowed to possess firearms because he had previously been convicted of a felony. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Winslow family reopens Bee's Snack Bar
Apr. 26—WINSLOW — Bee's Snack Bar reopened in early April, holding fast to a decadeslong legacy as the tiny restaurant that can survive just about anything. Former owners Danielle and Fred Sylvester had announced the restaurant's closure in February, citing Ticonic Bridge construction and high food costs as barriers to reopening. Residents mourned the restaurant on Facebook, sharing memories of times and meals past. Northern Light Inland Hospital's closure gave Bee's another shot at life. With the Waterville hospital's end date coming in June, hospital nurse Ryan-Marie Willette decided it was time to take over the restaurant, which was run by her family from 1974 until she rented it to the Sylvesters in 2018. Now, four generations of Willettes help out at the small diner at 1 Lithgow St., overlooking the Kennebec River. Employees wear red shirts with the new motto — "We survive!" — pointing to nearly eight decades of floods, relocations, bridge complications and ownership changes threatening to pull the business under. Willette, who still works 12-hour shifts at the hospital, said business at Bee's has been even better than she hoped. "It has exceeded my expectations, again. Again, again, again," she said. "I mean, everyone's back. I'm already making the Bee's celebrity wall of fame, I've got my Polaroid, and I'm taking pictures of all the old regulars that have already come back through." One regular showed up before 6 a.m. on opening day to help her put out the opening sign and flag. The loyalty is nothing new, said her mother, Evelyn Willette, who recalls a regular from decades ago who would show up at the family's house — next door to Bee's — and honk every morning she was running late. "He wouldn't come to the house until 5," she said. "He'd just blow the horn, and I'd come running. Seems like no matter what time I came, he was here." Ray Weed, an 87-year-old Winslow resident, has been coming to Bee's for the last decade. He said the restaurant is a gathering space for community members. "It's just small and casual, is what's good about it," Weed said. "And I see a lot of people from in town, a lot of friends and neighbors." Open Tuesday through Saturday, Bee's serves all-day breakfast while rotating through comfort food specials like loaded hotdogs and macaroni and cheese. Fries are peeled, cut and served piping hot. Booths line the windows and a rounded bar gives customers a chance to chat with staff in the bustling open kitchen. Bee's Snack Bar reopened April 1 — the same date the Willette family bought the restaurant in 1974, and the date of the disastrous flood that nearly swept it away in 1987. Ryan-Marie Willette said she remembers playing with the trash that washed up in the street after the flood. There's a picture of 8-year-old Willette wearing a tie she found in a tree next to Bee's. "I thought I was real cool," she said. The flood gutted the Willettes' house, leaving the family without a home or work until the water went down a few weeks later. The family moved into a mobile home and Winslow school teachers helped clean the restaurant. In the decades that followed, Evelyn Willette said Bee's became a hot spot for school fundraisers and sporting team events. David Leathers, a Bee's patron for 65 years since his father first brought him when he was 10, was friends with the Willettes before they bought the restaurant. He still eats there most days, driving from Vassalboro for a bowl of oatmeal. "It's just been many years and a lot of friends," Leathers said. "That's why I keep going back." Family photobooks live on the counter at the restaurant, documenting five decades of Bee's and the Willettes' often interchangeable history. One book chronicles the time Bee's became a filming destination for the miniseries "Empire Falls" in the early 2000s. The show aired in 2005, with Paul Newman winning a Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a series, miniseries or motion picture. Weed said he remembers talking to a couple of women at the local Walmart when the three of them overheard Paul Newman and Ed Harris were filming at Bee's. That was the end of the conversation, he said. "I was talking with a couple ladies, and they just took off like lightning — they didn't even finish their sentence," Weed said. "They heard that Paul Newman was over at Bee's diner. They were talking with me, and they didn't even finish their sentence. And look, I have blue eyes, just like Paul Newman." The film crew made few changes to the small restaurant — converted into a doughnut shop for the scene — said Leathers, who stood outside and watched two days of the filming. "Basically, they pretty much left it the same, ," Leather said. "Except when they were done, all the actors signed the counter, which has worn off over washings, but it was there for a while." Some celebrities are from closer to home. On one wall of Bee's, a Polaroid 'celebrity wall' honors regular customers, while a red carpet leads from the front door because, as Ryan-Marie Willette says, all customers should feel like royalty. Many photos were captured by her 6-year-old son, a member of the younger Willette generation with unlikely camera skills. Ryan-Marie Willette is taking applications to expand her staff. She hopes to pass the restaurant down to a family member when she returns to nursing. Her mother said it's rewarding to see her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren behind the counter at Bee's. "I'm glad it's still in the family," Evelyn Willette said. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
enCore Energy Increases Uranium Extraction at Alta Mesa ISR Uranium Central Processing Plant; Appoints Director and Site Management
NASDAQ:EUTSXV:EU DALLAS, April 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- enCore Energy (NASDAQ: EU) (TSXV: EU) (the "Company" or "enCore"), announced today the results of the most successful month at the Alta Mesa In-Situ Recovery Uranium Central Processing Plant ("CPP") since commencing operations in June 2024. Following previously announced improvements to operations (see EU NR dated March 13, 2025) with the goal of expanding uranium extraction, decreasing unnecessary costs and increasing efficiency, the Company captured 50,000 pounds of uranium ("U3O8") in the last 26 days in March 2025. With a healthy treasury including unencumbered cash, inventory and marketable securities of ~$40 million USD, the Company continues to improve Alta Mesa CPP operations and the wellfield development program, which is now on track to meet 2025 contract projections. The Company also announced the appointment of Rob Willette, Acting Chief Executive Officer ("A/CEO"), to the Board of Directors and the promotion of Daniel Calderon to Director of Texas Operations. Mr. Willette will hold the Board seat dedicated to the Chief Executive Officer until such time a permanent appointment is made. William M. Sheriff, Executive Chairman of enCore Energy stated: "The improvements at the Alta Mesa CPP are the result of a true team effort, led on site by an outstanding group of dedicated professionals. Mr. Calderon has taken on a key leadership role, managing day-to-day operations at both the Rosita and Alta Mesa CPP's. We also want to recognize the invaluable contributions of two of our Directors—Dr. Dennis Stover and Mark Pelizza—who bring decades of experience in In-Situ Recovery (ISR) operations. Their ongoing commitment and additional efforts have been instrumental in enhancing site operations and advancing permitting initiatives at the Texas state level." Mr. Sheriff further added: "Mr. Willette has provided immense value to the Company in his role of Chief Legal Officer, and now A/CEO, assisting greatly with the transition to a U.S.-domiciled company. His understanding of the regulatory environment in the U.S. has been of great benefit to our team. I am pleased he has agreed to join the Board to provide continuity at the leadership level." Alta Mesa CPP and Project highlights include: Uranium capture of 50,000 pounds of uranium has been realized at the Alta Mesa CPP between March 6th and March 31st with one day offline due to power failures associated with torrential rain; Average daily capture rate for the last 26 days of March 2025 was in excess of 1,900 pounds of uranium per day; this is the highest rate since the plant returned to operations in June of 2024; In 2025, the Company has, as of this date, delivered 290,000 pounds of uranium under its contracts with utility companies. An additional 365,000 pounds of uranium is expected to be delivered for contracts through 2025. At the current extraction rate, it is expected that the Company will not purchase additional uranium in the market to meet 2025 contractual commitments; The Company accelerated its August 2025 contract delivery requirements to May 2025 due to the improved uranium capture at the Alta Mesa CPP; A total of 21 drill rigs are now in operation at the Alta Mesa Project; 14 drill rigs dedicated to wellfield installation and advancement of Wellfield 7 ("PAA-7"). 4 drill rigs are at Wellfield 8 ("PAA-8") focused on development drilling; 2 drill rigs are focused on Alta Mesa exploration and 1 drill rig is located at Upper Spring Creek; Initial preparatory work commenced at the permitted Wellfield 6 ("PAA-6"), which was in operation in 2013 briefly, prior to operations at Alta Mesa being placed on stand-by due to low uranium prices. The Company looks forward to resuming operations of the fully permitted wellfield in Q4 2025 following necessary refurbishment and repairs. The Company will continue to accelerate wellfield development and intends to source up to 12 additional drill rigs, with the target of at least 30 drill rigs operating at its South Texas projects. This target is expected to provide the Company with the optimal number of drill rigs to accelerate extraction and advance wellfield development at the Alta Mesa Project. Mr. Robert Willette, Director & A/CEOMr. Willette served as the Chief Legal Officer for enCore Energy prior to also being appointed as Acting Chief Executive Officer. As an accomplished general counsel and business executive with 20+ years of experience managing corporate legal functions for public and privately held entities he has worked across a multitude of sectors, including industrial, manufacturing, transportation, oil & gas, and renewables. His broad experience includes corporate law and sophisticated commercial transactions, including securities, capital market transactions, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, as well as significant experience in manufacturing, real estate, governance, compliance, intellectual property, and international operations and transactions. Prior to joining enCore, Mr. Willette served as ProFrac Holding Company's Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary, a multi-billion dollar publicly traded oil and gas services and technology company. Mr. Willette holds a B.S., an M.B.A., and a J.D. from the University of Kansas. Mr. Daniel Calderon, Director of Texas OperationsMr. Calderon serves as the Director of Texas Operation and is responsible for managing the Rosita and Alta Mesa CPP's and Wellfields. He previously served as Manager of South Texas Operations. Prior to joining enCore, Mr. Calderon was employed by Uranium Resources Inc. ("URI") for 14 years in various capacities including Plant Engineer and Operations Manager. He was responsible for operations at the Kingsville, Rosita and Vasquez CPP's and Wellfields. Mr. Calderon holds a BSc In Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University Kingsville. About the Alta Mesa Uranium CPP and WellfieldThe Alta Mesa Project hosts a fully licensed and constructed ISR Central Processing Plant and operational wellfield located on 200,000+ acres of private land and mineral rights in and regulated by the state of Texas. Total operating capacity at the Alta Mesa CPP is 1.5 million lbs. uranium per year with additional drying capacity of 0.5 million lbs. The Alta Mesa Project operates under a 70/30 joint venture with Boss Energy Limited (ASX: BOE; OTCQX: BQSSF) that is managed by the Company. The Alta Mesa CPP historically produced nearly 5 million lbs. of uranium between 2005 and 2013 when production was curtailed as a result of low prices. The Alta Mesa Project utilizes well known ISR technology to extract uranium in a non-invasive process using natural groundwater and oxygen. Currently, oxygenated water is being circulated in the wellfield through injection or extraction wells plumbed directly into the primary pipelines feeding the Alta Mesa CPP. Expansion of the wellfield will continue with production to steadily increase from the wellfield as expansion continues through 2025 and beyond. John M. Seeley, Ph.D., P.G., C.P.G., enCore's Manager of Geology and Exploration, and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 and Regulation S-K subpart 1300 of the Exchange Act of 1933 as amended, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure in this news release on behalf of the Company. About enCore Energy Energy Corp., America's Clean Energy Company™, is committed to providing clean, reliable, and affordable fuel for nuclear energy as the only United States uranium company with multiple Central Processing Plants in operation. The enCore team is led by industry experts with extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of In-Situ Recovery ("ISR") uranium operations and the nuclear fuel cycle. enCore solely utilizes ISR for uranium extraction, a well-known and proven technology co-developed by the leaders at enCore Energy. Following upon enCore's demonstrated success in South Texas, future projects in enCore's planned project pipeline include the Dewey-Burdock project in South Dakota and the Gas Hills project in Wyoming. The Company holds other assets including non-core assets and proprietary databases. enCore is committed to working with local communities and indigenous governments to create positive impact from corporate developments. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements:Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities referenced herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available. This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities laws that are based on management's current expectations, assumptions, and beliefs. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by such words as "expects", "plans", "believes", "intends", "continue", "potential", "remains", and similar expressions or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", or "will" be taken. Forward-looking statements and information that are not statements of historical fact include, but are not limited to, any information relating to statements regarding future or potential extraction and uranium delivery under existing contracts, and any other statements regarding future expectations, beliefs, goals or prospects, statements regarding the success of current and future ISR operations, including projects in our pipeline, our accelerated wellfield development and uranium extraction plans and expectations that the Company will meet 2025 contractual commitments without purchasing additional uranium in the market should be considered forward looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and forward-looking statements are subject to important risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward looking statement, including those described in greater detail in our filings with the SEC and on SEDAR+, particularly those described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, annual information form and MD&A. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with assumptions regarding timing and schedule of the projects, general economic conditions; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments; the ability of enCore to implement its business strategies; and other risks. A number of important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated or implied by such forward-looking statements, including without limitation exploration and development risks, changes in commodity prices, access to skilled personnel, the results of exploration and development activities; extraction risks; uninsured risks; regulatory risks; defects in title; the availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals and unanticipated environmental impacts on operations; litigation risks; risks posed by the economic and political environments in which the Company operates and intends to operate; increased competition; assumptions regarding market trends and the expected demand and desires for the Company's products and proposed products; adverse market conditions, the failure to satisfy ongoing regulatory requirements and factors relating to forward looking statements listed above. Should one or more of these risks materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated, or expected. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in this communication, except as required by law. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in filings by the Company with the various securities commissions which are available online at and Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations, beliefs and plans of management. Such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes and readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, that speak only as of the date hereof, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE enCore Energy Corp. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
'I don't even have words': Future uncertain for Louisville Llama Farm after devastating fire
Owners of Louisville Llama Farm Caroline Willette and Dale Hill lost their livelihood with the death of their seven remaining llamas in a barn fire Monday morning. The incident comes six years after the death of eight of their llamas in a dog attack — an unexpected and horrific incident that prompted them to start locking up the animals at night. "We never used to to enclose them at night ... but since the dog attack six years ago, we put up some fencing so that they could stay in close to the barn at night and be protected," Willette said. "They were locked in, and when the barn started to burn, they couldn't get out." The farm, located behind the Louisville Zoo near the Poplar Level neighborhood, has been a staple for the neighborhood and community for the past 30 years. Willette said they used to host a "Llama Fest" with hay rides and pumpkin carvings and encouraged community members to view the space as their own. "I never feel like it's my property," Willette said. "I feel like I'm a caretaker of the property for the whole area and the community and the world, really. You try to keep the property for everyone." Willette said she's "heartbroken" by the fire after viewing her llamas as her "babies" for decades. After falling in love with the animals while on a llama trek in New England, she and Hill immediately bought five, not realizing one was pregnant. The baby of the pregnant llama, named Secret, was one of the seven who died Monday. Her mother previously died in the dog attack that killed more than half the herd in 2019. A spokesperson with Louisville Metro Animal Services previously said they couldn't confirm "whether a coyote, dog or other large animal" was responsible but a veterinarian from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture who examined the llamas said the wounds "appeared canine in nature." "The dog attack was so unexpected and to lose eight llamas just like that was really difficult," she said. "We had thought we'd done so good to have the fencing and keep them in at night ... I don't even have words." The fire, called in by a driver of a nearby highway, engulfed the entirety of the barn at around 4:15 a.m. Monday, Louisville Division of Fire Public Information Officer Donovan Sims said. Crews responded to the scene in the 1500 block of Schuff Lane and it took around 20 minutes for 21 firefighters to gain control of the blaze. Due to the original intensity, crews were unable to enter the building. Louisville Fire's arson unit is investigating the cause of the fire and while official results are still pending, Willette said it's possible it was caused by faulty electric wires or hay bales stored inside. They also had a heated bed for their barn cat Panic, who they haven't seen since the fire, which could've contributed. More: Attack on Louisville llamas appears 'canine in nature,' officials say Willette said the damages, which include the lost barn, equipment and the animals, would likely cost around $130,000. The barn was uninsured due to being in a flood plain and Willette says it's undecided if she and Hale will rebuild. "It's a big loss for us, and we'll have to see where we go with things right now, because it's still real fresh and real difficult," Willette said. Willette said they buried their llamas — Secret, Oreo, Felicity, Jubilee, Spectra, Prism and Dixie — Monday and are working, with the help of community members, to clean up debris and other damages. "We're just so blessed with the community," she said. "I must have had 20 people out here today helping us clean up the barn, the metal roofing and all of this stuff and they got us a dumpster. They're all pitching in and we've almost filled the dumpster with everything. There's a silver lining. The community has been really supportive ... and we're blessed for that, our neighbors and our friends." Reporter Billy Kobin contributed. Reach Marina Johnson at This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Llama Farm destroyed in fire; 7 llamas killed
