We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
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While Stockton, Galena, Lena-Winslow, Eastland and several other teams are getting pumped up and primed for next week's Volleyball Regionals, there are others who are not nearly as excited about them. The Warren Warriors got a very low seed, and are not expected to advance out of the opening day of competition. So, while they will show up, and do their best, a much more important game – for them – took place Tuesday night in Warren when they faced off against West Carroll. To begin with, it was...
Many years ago, back under coach Chris Thornton I believe, the Stockton Blackhawks adopted a special "alternate" home jersey – gold in color – and only worn for special games, no more than once a season. The impact of the jerseys is still remembered by those players who played for the Blackhawks. As many said that once the coaches brought them out, the entire team got pumped up. And even though they did not "always" result in a victory on the field, their importance to the tradition of the pro...
It was supposed to be a Pre-trial hearing – where everyone would simply confirm that they were ready to proceed to the trial scheduled to begin on Monday, October 28th. That’s what it was supposed to be. “We’re asking to move the trial back your honor,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Thomas Madigan to Judge Schorsch. “In conversations with the attorney for the defendant, we learned that there is some discovery that they have not received yet.” “This is a two year old case, and we’re still h...
It may not have been a record, but after a more than three-hour Freeport City Council meeting that included a ton of the usual nonsense and idiocy, the overwhelming feeling when it was over, was an honest sense of accomplishment. The main issue, that brought a lot of people in for public comment, was the Open Bible Water Main debate. The Reader’s Digest Version, is that the Daycare Center at Open Bible was being forced by the Fire Marshall to attach their sprinkler system to City Water, so t...
The conference champions have been crowned, and Regional action begins this week throughout the state, but which teams do we think will be hoisting the wooden plaque on Thursday night? Serena Regional This is the least interesting of all the regionals that will feed into the Polo sectional. Newark is the number one seed, and they are a traditional power, so ... we'll go ahead and say they win the title so we can move on to the ones that are more interesting. Indian Creek Regional This one...
This column is coming with a warning: “Unwanted mental images may be formed by the reading of this column, so anybody eating, or operating heavy machinery might want to wait until near a bathroom before continuing.” As many people are aware, I have been dealing – as many of us are – with the payment of my sins regarding diet as I have been added to the roles of people in America with type two diabetes. The number of pills needed each day makes me feel like I’m a walking pharmacy, and the need...
Pearl City was coming into their Regional opener as an underdog to begin with, but then players started dropping. Sophomore sensation, Danica Sager, came down on a player's foot in practice on Friday – severely twisting it. And Serving, and outside hitting stud, Maya Boyer, was home in bed with a fever over a hundred. "We had to make a lot of changes on the fly," said head coach Tammy Stephan. "We never even had a chance to practice the new rotation." That alone would make playing well d...
There are two ways to score in volleyball. You either earn a point on an ace serve, a kill, or a mean stuff block ... or, your opponent hands you a point on an unforced error like a call for being in the net, or hitting the ball out of bounds, etc. In their opening round match against Forreston in the Class 1A Regional, the Lena-Winslow Panthers were below their normal kill statistics ... but it didn't matter because Forreston was handing them points in droves. "They did that the last time we...
Pecatonica brought their 'A' game to the Regional semi-finals against Stockton, and pushed the top seeded Blackhawks with strong offensive numbers. But, in the end, Stockton never flinched, remained calm, and let the game speak for itself as they pulled out the 25-18, 25-20 victory to advance on to the Regional Championship. The Blackhawks were actually the first team to call a time out in game one after a lengthy rally cut their lead to only one at 15-14. But the time out was not for reasons...
About a month ago, following a Lena-Winslow victory over Durand on their home floor, Durand head coach, Molly Kelsey, pointed out how many players were still missing from her lineup. "I really wish I could play them when I had my whole team," she said at the time. Wednesday night, after stunning the Panthers with a 27-25, 25-17 victory in the Regional semi-finals, coach Kelsey was quick to remind us of that comment. "I told you I wanted to play them with my whole team, Dan. Well tonight, we had...
One week ago, the Eastland Cougars were sitting at 17-2 on the season, earned the #4 seed in the post season regional, and looked like a major contender. Since then, the Cougars were stunned by Amboy, lost to a strong Fulton team, then limped out of the Huntley Tournament after only going 1-4 on the day. In less than a week, 17-2 had turned into 18-8. "Everybody goes through slumps," said head coach Kelsey Thurman. "Unfortunately for us, we're picking the worst time of the year to do it." In...
Kaydra Wright, the sophomore setter for the Stockton Blackhawks has a problem most setters dream about ... she might have too many options of who to give the ball to. "A lot of times they call out to me and tell me they want it," Wright explained. "but coach has always said that whenever I can I should set the middles because when they get it, that usually leads to a kill. So, I try to set the middles when I can, but – yeah – there are times when someone is hot – like Madie and Taylor tonig...
Last week, we reported on the proposed Track and football field project that the School Board of Lena-Winslow approved, and how they discovered a Village Water main lying underneath the current field. The School Board was told that there was no easement or agreement on record – after all the main was put in over 40 years ago – so the responsibility, and cost, to move the main would reside with the Village of Lena. So, the decision, as far as the School Board knew, was that the Village nee...
The Freeport City Council has an odd tradition of letting Council Members “Chair” their monthly Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting, and last week it was Cecelia Stacy’s turn. Now, for a woman who takes a dramatic pause before each and every vote she makes, and desperately wants to feel important, this seemed like the perfect recipe for disaster. (And it was.) The biggest issue “debated” on the Council Floor during the COW, only illustrated the racism, and complete lack of comprehen...
OK, I thought everybody knew this story, but after mentioning it in last week’s column I got a ton of phone calls asking me about it, so … I figure I might as well tell the story again. We need to go back to 2005, when the White Sox were battling the Anaheim Angels in the American League Championship series for the right to go to the World Series. On Thursday, October 12th, the White Sox tied the series at a game apiece with a 2-1 victory that was controversial. You see, A.J. Pierzynski was at...
Lena-Winslow was cruising along in their conference battle at Pearl City – playing nearly flawless volleyball with a grand total of only one unforced error in all of game one. Combine that with nine kills, three stuff blocks, and exceptional defense, and the Panthers looked like they had everything well in hand as they cruised to the 25-15 game one win. Meanwhile, after a strong start to the match, the Pearl City Wolves seemed to get down on themselves as unforced errors mounted – nine as a tea...
The gym was packed, the sound was deafening, and the energy was palpable as the one loss Galena Pirates paid a visit to Stockton to take on the one loss Blackhawks in their conference rematch. "I think this is all going to come down to which team can play in system," said Galena head coach Dennis Wills before the game. Truer words were never spoken. In game one the Pirates put on a clinic as they riddled the Blackhawks from every angle. Gracie Furlong led the way with five kills, while Mya...
Lena-Winslow needed a good scare, and the EPC Wildcatz delivered on the opening kickoff as senior star, Adam Awender, gathered in the kick, found a seam, cut back once to avoid an arm tackle, and was gone – 93 yards for the touchdown. The conversion run failed, but with only 14 seconds gone, EPC was already up 6-0. Panther fans weren't worried, they'd seen this before. Lena-Winslow would surely drive the field and run a ton of clock before claiming the lead ... But they didn't. EPC used a lot o...
When the West Carroll Thunder got hammered by Milledgeville earlier in the season, Thunder head coach, Abelardo Sustaita, did some self-scouting. "We were too run heavy, we weren't balanced on offense," he said. So, the Thunder took a lot of time to work on their passing attack, and Saturday in Orangeville, all of that work paid big dividends. West Carroll scored on long touchdown passes of 72 yards to Raef Picker-Schington, and a 41 yard strike to Roger Laborn as quarterback, Winter...
Larry Sanders reached a whole new level of imbecility at Monday’s Freeport City Council meeting – to the point where he got called out during public comments. But … odds are he still won’t realize how much he is hurting the Council as opposed to helping it. You knew it was going to be a bad evening when an ordinance came up to approve a lease with Pete Alber for the fourth year. Alber rents out the first floor of one of the buildings in the Rawleigh complex. And it was pointed out, “The floor is...
OK, fair warning, you might not want to read this column because it deals with politics. I was taught at an early age that there are two things you should never argue about – religion and politics. Because what people believe in regard to their religion or political leanings is what they believe – you’re never going to change their mind. So, if you’re anything like me, as soon as someone starts going into a political conversation – I tend to tune them out. You’ve been warned. Personally,...
The Lena-Winslow School District was facing an issue regarding their track. In a word, it was old. The asphalt was more than 30 years old, and has gotten to the point where there is no way they can resurface, or repair it. Bottom line, the track needs to be replaced. “We’ve known that the track was going to be an issue a long time ago,” said Superintendent Tom Chiles. “So, there’s been a committee looking into it for a few years now.” At the most recent School Board meeting, the committee’s...
Everyone following area volleyball knows how young the Warren Warriors are. They only have two seniors on the roster, and use many of the JV players at the varsity level. So, when playing host to a local power like Durand ... the outcome wasn't really a surprise – or even important – Durand won, as expected. What was of interest, was how the young Warriors would compete, and how the JV match would go. The JV match was a thriller. No, it was not the 32-30 game three battle that took place bet...
There might be some form of legal paperwork that needs to be done, but as far as we're concerned, we're officially changing Rachael Setterstrom's name to Settersome – More. Behind a 13 kill performance by the Panther senior, Lena-Winslow was able to rally back to knock off Durand at home in a big NUIC-North show down of top teams. Game one was ugly, there's no other way to describe it. The Panthers, who came into the match leading the north with a perfect 5-0 mark, looked nothing like a c...
Talk about the history of the Eastland Cougars, and you have to start with the lengthy list of outstanding setters they have had. From Hope Linker and Ashley Beyers to Jenica Stoner, there was always a "master" handling the distribution duties that made the Cougars so effective. So, when it was announced that a freshmen – a girl not even 15 years old yet – was going to be handed the starting job ... it raised some eyebrows. But following the Cougar's sweep over Milledgeville Wednesday nig...
