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Honored
Jason Verraneault, center, was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow by the Putnam Rotary Club. At left is Paul Pikora, chairman of the club’s Paul Harris Committee, and at right, Missy Meyers, Putnam Rotary Club president. Linda Lemmon photo.
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
“It is said that when asked to help out, Jason just can’t say no. I would say, it’s not that he can’t, it’s more that he just doesn’t want to. It’s not in his nature.”
These were the words written about Jason Verraneault, the Putnam Rotary Club’s most recent Paul Harris Fellow honoree. He received the award at the Putnam Rotary Club’s July 12 meeting from Missy Meyers, the club’s recently installed president.
In her nomination of Verraneault for The Rotary Foundation’s highest award, Meyers, recounted only part of a list of Verraneault’s involvement in the community — from Little League to Daily Bread to schools and beyond. Meyers said “Jason’s volunteerism is spread across our entire region.”
She added: “Jason also extends himself to many local Board of Director groups, and currently serves on the board for Northeast Placement Services and Quiet Corner Cares. As the owner of NorthStar Home Loans LLC, he is very active in promoting local business and is the vice president of the Killingly Business Association and on the Executive Committee of the Putnam Business Association. In addition to all of these ongoing commitments, Jason also responded during the COVID pandemic and became very engaged for an extended time in the Food Distribution Drives hosted by the Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse and Town of Putnam.
“Jason is clearly a very busy guy, but he always makes time to give of himself to his community. He puts the virtues of volunteerism front and center, and models this ethic to his children and employees, often getting all of them to join him in whatever the latest task is to support our region. His altruism and enthusiasm are infectious.”
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DANIELSON — EASTCONN’s Quinebaug Middle College (QMC), a regional, public magnet high school, has released its Semester 2 Honor Roll.
High Honors: Grace Benoit (Putnam), Claire Bonafine (Windham), Matthew Bradley (Griswold), Gabrielle Breault (Sterling), Meadow Bulan (Eastford), Sophie Caron (Plainfield), Marisa Chappell (Killingly), Alannah Coutu (Plainfield), Chloe D’Andrea (Pomfret), Kaleb Dansereau (Sterling), Jaida DeBruycker (Killingly), Rachel Gagliardo (Plainfield), Katrina Imre (Killingly), Nevaeh Ivory (Hampton), Emily Leclerc (Plainfield), Yareni Mendez-Hernandez (Windham), Janette Morales-Monzon (Windham), Mercer Neff (Tolland), CJ Orthmann (Canterbury), David Palmisciano (Killingly), Elsie Peterson (Plainfield), Ella Poppleton (Mansfield), Cassandra Reynolds (Killingly), Lianna Rivera (Plainfield), Ninoshka Robles Solano (Windham), Lourdes Sanchez Rodriguez (Windham), Michaella Tetrault (Plainfield), Marylynn Whitfield (Plainfield)
Honors: Jason Adjei (Plainfield), Cameron Barber (Plainfield), Abigail Bates (Killingly), Damarqus Battle (Windham), Madison Briquier (Killingly), Gabriel Brisson (Killingly), Phoenix Carosi (Thompson), Zoie Castillo (Plainfield), Madison Chaplin (Plainfield), Karina Clavell (Griswold), Miangeliz DeJesus (Windham), Daniel Edelman (Windham), Ryan Fantoli (Sterling), Trinity Garceau (Putnam), Darren Gravel (Plainfield), Kailey Hamel (Sterling), Abby Homen (Plainfield), Lacie Horton (Eastford), Nakari Madison (Plainfield), Gavin Martell (Plainfield), Jasmine McKalin (Plainfield), Melany Mendoza (Windham), Kairi Moore (Putnam), Harrison Moss (Mansfield), Joseph Muscara (Killingly), Marisely Ramos Ortiz (Windham), Tristanie Sweet (Plainfield), Ramaya Talabert (Putnam), Zachary Underwood (Brooklyn), Kaydin Valdes (Canterbury), Rheilley Vegiard (Plainfield), Kyla Vezina (Plainfield), Abbey Washburn (Killingly).
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The following charges were listed in the Putnam Police Department logs. The people charged are innocent until proven guilty in court. The Town Crier will publish dispositions of cases at the request of the accused. The dispositions must be accompanied by the proper documentation. The Putnam Police Department confidential Tip Line is 860-963-0000.
July 11
Roger Rioux, 55, Powhattan St., Putnam; sixth-degree larceny.
July 13
Sandra Davino, 26, Old Turnpike Road, Quinebaug; operating unregistered motor vehicle, insufficient insurance, failure to display plate, misuse of plates.
July 14
Adam Eldib, 40, Sylvan Avenue, New Haven; first-degree failure to appear, second-degree failure to appear.
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When Connor Dubsky visited Putnam Science Academy back in April, one thing was very apparent to him that helped him decide it was the place for him.
“I heard a lot of languages being spoken,” said Dubsky, one of the newest members of PSA’s prep basketball team. “It’ll be cool to be in an environment with people from all over the world and learn about how they live and how they think, and that it’s differently than I do. I’m really looking forward to that part of it.
“I’m trying to build a lot of relationships and connections, but not just in the basketball spectrum. The idea is to build them with other students, with the people there. I want to be able to get to know everybody and build off that. Obviously, I want to become prepared for college basketball and rack up more college offers and one day play in the NBA, but to continue to grow as a person, as a man, is really important to me.”
As for the basketball piece, Dubsky, a 6-foot, 4-inch guard from Woodbridge, Va., looks to be an exciting piece as the Mustangs chase back-to-back national titles, and their fourth overall. Dubsky is a three-level scorer who has had an outstanding summer on the court. He went into the first live recruiting period with three scholarship offers, and came out with 17 all together, including from Maryland, Kansas State, Bryant, URI, and Wichita State.
PSA assistant coach Nick Schmidt once worked hard to recruit Dubsky to Catholic University, when Schmidt was coaching there.
“At that point, Connor was a really good Division III, Division II player,” Schmidt said. “I knew he could really score the ball, but never in a million years did I think he was a Division I player. Credit to Connor, he’s a gym rat. He has turned himself into a high major D1 basketball player and I couldn’t be more excited about him being at Putnam Science.”
It’s been quite a leap for Dubsky, who only recently realized how good he could be.
“I’ve played basketball since middle school, but I only started loving the game this past school year, if I’m being honest,” he said. “I know that’s pretty late, but I was surrounded good people and good coaches who gave me confidence and reassurance that I’m a good player that I can go anywhere I want.
“I just love the game and have passion for it, and you can see it when I play. I play really hard, and I play with a lot of effort and energy. I love putting in the early mornings and late nights. The work, the failure, the success, it all comes to one.”
When Dubsky visited back in the spring, he spent some time on the court with a handful of Mustangs who are returning. He also played in meaningful games with PSA’s summer team in a NEPSAC event earlier in the summer. So he’s got some familiarity heading into things. But even if he didn’t, the readily apparent maturity he displays would have him on good footing.
“The basketball piece of coming to Putnam is nice, of course,” he said, “but it’s going to prepare me for college, both as a player and as a student. It takes maturity, and to become mature, you’ve got to take a lot of losses. It’s a mindset. I look at mindset for everything…basketball, life, education.
“There’s a lot more to life than basketball if I’m being honest. The ball will stop bouncing. So if basketball doesn’t go your way, it’s important to have genuine relationships that you’ve built along the way. This is going to be a great experience.”
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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