A major health care provider is facing a $163,627 fine in connection with the murder of a nurse in a Connecticut halfway house.

The Department of Labor announced the citations Wednesday against Elara Caring in the death of Joyce Grayson.

Grayon, 63, was working at a halfway house in Willimantic on Oct. 28, 2023 when she was attacked and killed by Michael Reese, according to authorities. Reese, a 39-year-old convicted rapist, has been charged with her murder.

“Elara Caring failed its legal duty to protect employees from workplace injury by not having effective measures in place to protect employees against a known hazard and it cost a worker her life,” Occupational Safety and Health Administration Area Director Charles D. McGrevy said in a statement.

“For its employees’ well-being, Elara must develop, implement and maintain required safeguards such as a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program. Workplace safety is not a privilege; it is every worker’s right.”

Grayson had been a nurse for 36 years, including 26 years with the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. She was set to administer medication to Reese, who was on probation after serving 14 years in prison for stabbing and raping a woman in 2006.

According to OSHA, Elara Caring “exposed home health care employees to workplace violence from patients who exhibited aggressive behavior and were known to pose a risk to others,” yet the company had no harm-prevention plan in place.

Reese strangled Grayson to death and struck her on the head and torso while attempting to rob and sexually assault her, police said. He admitted to the crime in a phone call shortly afterward, according to investigators.

“I’m going to take the first offer that they give me as long as the charges are right,” he said, according to a warrant. “I’ve already come to terms that this is it for me.”

Throughout the course of my life, I’ve had a fluctuating relationship with golf. Catch the pun? While I appreciate the game itself, I’ve often struggled with its over-the-top rules and its exclusive past. What is it about golf that seems determined to drain all the fun out of it?

Enter Happy Gilmore, a movie that tickled me right where I itch (does not make sense). Happy had unique values and individual swagger which “the man” tried to beat out of him. Eventually, it was Happy that triumphed over establishment and took the golf world by storm. It’s a great story but it does not workout like that in real life. Try going to your local, private golf course in a Bruins jersey with your pals, be a little loud and take a running start at your ball and you’ll probably end up doing 5-7 upstate.

My perception of golf as a fun pastime was fading into the night until I discovered Golf Ranch, nestled at 1 Sand Cut Road in Brookfield. You might recall it as Golf Quest, but under new ownership, it’s undergone a remarkable transformation.

I had the pleasure of being invited to their grand opening last week, and the turnout was impressive, people were everywhere. With 66 bays equipped with Top Tracer technology, the fun is practically limitless. I was amazed to learn that you can virtually play almost any PGA course in America using the kiosks in each bay. Plus, they welcome all and host parties, all at a fraction of the cost you’d expect elsewhere.

It’s a blast.

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GLASTONBURY, CT — The Connecticut Department of Transportation has scheduled a bridge inspection in Glastonbury for May 13.

TranSystems is currently under contract to the DOT’s Division of Bridge Safety and Evaluation and it will be will be inspecting Bridge No. 00419 which carries Route 3 over Naubuc Avenue.

Lane closures on Naubuc Avenue will be implemented that day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Traffic disruption is expected to be minor and traffic control will be handled by TranSystems personnel, DOT officials said.