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Volume 18, Number 27
Friday, July 2, 2021
‘You wish you had 24 Laurens’ Southington’s talented, coachable Lauren Verrilli brought good vibes wherever she played By Sean Krofssik Record-Journal staff
Lauren Verrilli did it all at Southington. She was a star defender on the soccer field, a standout third baseman on this spring’s Class LL state champion softball team and an All-State distance runner on the track team. It all added up to Verrilli being named the Record-Journal Female Athlete of the Year for 2020-21. Going against the contemporary grain, Verrilli was never an athlete who specialized in a sport. She said she was never discouraged from
playing other sports or specializing in one. She loved them all and excelled at everything she tried. “I was never pressured,” Verrilli said. “My coaches always encouraged me to do other sports and understood my decisions. “I appreciate all of my coaches for that. A lot of girls play only one sport and I had slower starts to the season. My coaches got me into the groove each season.” As much as Verrilli’s coaches brag about her play on the field, it’s her off-the-field demeanor and her ability to be a great teammate that is her biggest strength.
“She’s one of those types of players who plays for the right reasons; you can see it in her face,” Southington girls soccer coach Mike Linehan said. “You wish you had 24 Lauren’s on the team and I mean that sincerely. She’s the definition of coachable. She does everything you ask for. See Verrilli, A8
Lauren Verrilli, a three-sport standout in soccer, softball and track, is the Record-Journal Female Athlete of the Year. Aaron Flaum, Record-Journal
Referendum for new $17M library set for Nov. 2 By Jesse Buchanan Record-Journal staff
The Town Council voted unanimously to send a $17 million plan for a new library to the voters for a Nov. 2 referendum. Library leaders made their pitch for a new building during Monday night’s council meeting. The
goal for a new library is to provide a better and bigger building, more space for quiet meetings, a larger children and teen’s section and better handicapped accessibility. “We are here after 25 years of discussion on and off about a new or expanded library,” said Walter Grover, a library board member. He
was excited about plans for “a building that we deserve, a building that we can be proud off, a building that’ll last for the next fifty years.” Grover said library leaders have been building support with local residents. “They want signs in their yards, they want buttons,” Grover said.
Education planners in Southington are considering what they might do with shuttered elementary schools and the community impact of closing a downtown school.
The Board of Education is considering the future of Derynoski, Flanders and Kelley elementary schools. All three are in need of either replacement or major renovation and it’s likely that only two schools will be needed.
During a meeting of education leaders on Tuesday, June 22 board members talked about possibilities for Derynoski such as closing it and selling the land, building a new school on the property and selling the building or renovating it. See Schools, A2
See Referendum, A4
THE BEES ARE BACK!
School leaders consider impact of closing Derynoski, Flanders By Jesse Buchanan Record-Journal staff
Joanne Kelleher, a library board member and chairwoman of the board’s advocacy committee, said she’s also the director of the Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington. She feels the existing library is inadequate for families with young children.
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