We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
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Believe it or not, some studies have shown that there are many people who fear having to speak in public more than being eaten alive by a shark, bear or other large carnivore. So, the saying that speech kids hold onto is a simple one: "What some people fear more than death, we do for fun!" Covid riddled a lot of High school extra curricular events, but it nearly killed competitive speaking. But now that the days of being forced to wear a mask while trying to deliver a dramatic interpretation...
I have to be careful how I word this because there are kids reading this right now … Do you know the classic joke women tell about how men have a false sense of proportion? You know, men tend to think that things are “bigger” than they actually are? Well, this has nothing to do with anything sexual, so get that idea out of your head, but the axiom was proven in our house this past week. You see, we have in our family room a television that sat on a cabinet at the far end between two windo...
A clash of formidable girls basketball powers took place in pool play at the Pearl City holiday tournament as Lena-Winslow took on the Orangeville Broncos. And while the game had all of the lead changes, excellent plays and coaching chess moves you would expect between the two NUIC North powers, in the end it was the mastery of one simple fundamental that allows the Panthers to claim the 36-33 victory. Free throws. One statistic tells a great deal about the whole game. The Panthers were 6 of 8...
An exceptional game needs an exceptional ending to truly make it into the "legendary" status. And Tuesday night's conference battle between East Dubuque and Scales Mound more than met the standard. No other teams in the NUIC West have opened up conference play, but because they were scheduled to play the Friday before they both had two games scheduled in the Pecatonica MLK Tourney, the agreement was made to move the contest to before the Christmas break. Both teams came in with only one loss,...
Residents of Stephenson County would have been stunned if they were in attendance to watch the first official meeting of the recently seated County Board. Not because of the typical in-fighting, fireworks, or petty attacks thrown out between the partisan small town politicians, but because of the lack there of. I mean, this is the Stephenson County, the entity that gave rise to the Dangerous Eight, and saw some of the most moronic legislation in the history of man. (Remember the law passed...
Lena-Winslow was over-matched, and anybody could see it. In the opening quarter of their non-conference battle at home against the Winnebago Indians, the Panthers turned the ball over more than they actually shot it. Meanwhile, Bago was getting whatever they wanted as they pulled out to a dominant 17-6 lead. "To start the game, they put a lot of pressure on us and we weren't ready for it," said senior Jake Zeal. "So, we put a lot of pressure on them after that, and I think it surprised them."...
This story originally ran several years ago when the Dangerous Eight were making a mockery of the Stephenson County Board. Seeing how the Board is now functioning almost like it should … which is as scary as it is delightful – we are re-running this piece, partly because it is funny, but also to remind everyone of just how bad things used to be. Hadley – Can we all please come to order? Clay – This isn’t a formal meeting, you can’t order us to do anything. Martindumb – This is the problem with...
So, what was your favorite Christmas? I think the answers change as we get older. I mean, back when I was a kid there were two that stood out. The first one most of you who follow this column know about - that was when I got the G.I. Joe Jeep and mounted bazooka that shot big plastic bullets and I pegged my sister right between the eyes. Sure, I got paddled for it, but ... I still get a warm feeling inside every time I think about it. Another great one was spent with family out in Washington...
Boys Basketball 1. Pecatonica 5 – 0 Huge win over Scales Mound puts Pecatonica in the top spot. Big, athletic, and deadly shooters. 2. Scales Mound 10 - 1 If not for one three minute stretch, the Hornets would still be undefeated. Still a major powerhouse. 3. Lena-Winslow 5 - 1 Panthers got a huge win at home over Winnebago. Scary thing is, they admit they’re not in shape yet. 4. Warren 6 - 2 Warren proved with big win over Galena that they are for real. Have not lost to an Illinois school yet...
Girls Basketball 1. Galena 12 – 0 Pirates got their first major test against Rockford Christian and passed by a single point. But passed. 2. RR/SM 13 - 2 With Bass done for the season, the Wildcats will need to play great if they want to upset Galena. 3. Lena-Winslow 11 - 3 Win over Broncos moves the Panthers up a spot, but loss to Morrison is a small head scratcher. 4. Orangeville 9 - 3 Broncos drop a spot as they fell to Lena-Winslow at the PC Tourney from the free throw line. 5. Eastland 8 -...
There are 16 members of the Stephenson County Board, so nine votes were needed in order to be seated as the new County Board Chairman. And while all of it was supposed to take place at Monday Night's special Reorganization Meeting of the Board, it became quickly obvious that the respective camps had been doing a lot of work behind the scenes. During Public comment, the first five people to speak all implored the Board to keep Bill Hadley as Chairman, with several comments making it a point to...
Both Orangeville and Lena-Winslow went to the non-conference battle between RR/SM and Pecatonica hoping to get information they could use, but neither one did. Because the story of the night was the relentless full court pressure applied by the Wildcats which frustrated Pecatonica repeatedly, and neither Orangeville or Lena-Winslow apply that kind of full court pressure. From the opening tip, the Wildcats swept over the Indians with a relentless 1-2-2 full court press that resulted in several tu...
People seeing the score might think there was no defense in the game ... they would be wrong. In one of the best High School games witnessed – not only this year, but in the last four – the undefeated Pecatonica Indians paid a visit to the undefeated Scales Mound Hornets. On paper, the Hornets were totally out-manned. With 6'8" foreign exchange student, Dylan Slavenburg, sidelined with a bruised knee, the tallest Hornet on the floor was 6'3" Jonah Driscoll. The Pecatonica front line was lis...
Don't look now, but a team many people have overlooked is beginning to play some very strong basketball. The Warren Warriors have been slogging their way to sub 500 seasons over the past few years, so nobody was paying much attention when the 2022 season began ... but they better start noticing now. New first year coach Michael Flanagan might be confused as one of the players when the Warriors walk into the gym, but make no mistake, he's got them organized and playing solid fundamental...
OK, I know there are a lot of “lists” out on the internet, and for the most part, a list is simply someone’s opinion. They might have done some polling, but for the most part … and the bottom line is, if it’s an opinion, then it could be full of holes. I accidentally landed on a site where they listed the Easiest High Paying Jobs in America, and as curiosity made me read through it … well, you tell me if their list has merit, or if my added insight might have a point. 1. House Sitter If you’re l...
Two traditional girls basketball powers locked up Monday night as the Eastland Cougars paid a visit to the Aquin Bulldogs. But anybody thinking they would be able to see a post season playoff preview had better think again. Eastland used their depth, size, and constant pressure to wear down the depleted Bulldog lineup and claim a 40-31 non-conference victory. But both teams will certainly look vastly different by the time the games get truly serious. To begin with, Aquin – which has a thin l...
The Stockton Blackhawks paid a visit to Lanark to challenge the Eastland Cougars in a non-conference basketball tilt, but when the final horn sounded, there were more questions than answers following Eastland's 51-36 victory. Stockton came into the game missing their best player, Ryley Schultz, who has been battling illness this season and has still not seen the floor. But even without Schultz, the Blackhawks opened up the early lead – claiming a 9-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. "We p...
When the football regular season ended, we learned that both Aquin and West Carroll would need new coaches to lead them next season. But the dust hasn’t even gotten a chance to settle on the Panther’s State title trophy, and already there have been additional openings pop up in area Fall Sports. Orangeville will be looking for a new head football coach as Jay Doyle and assistant Willie Guy both stepped down. Both had been coaching for several years, and Doyle also has his hands full with the Gir...
The Forreston Cardinals were far from being at full strength as they are missing some starters due to injuries, and it only got worse in the second period as Jaiden Schneiderman went down with a turned ankle. As a result, Forreston was stuck sitting in a 2-3 zone all night in order to try and slow down the Panthers, and ... that's not a good thing to do. Tianna Esser drained a three point bomb to open the game, then added another to open the second half. And when the Cardinals tried to extend...
The game was tied, and RR/SM had just knotted it up at 43-43 on a nice play inside from Sadie Fry to Sydney Driscoll. With the final eight seconds ticking down, the Wildcats stole the ball and tried to convert a buzzer beating winning shot, but it rimmed out. Two girls jumped for it, and collided, but neither one got possession as the horn sounded as they hit the floor and the ball bounced away. The horn had sounded ... Then, (did I mention that the horn had already sounded?) the whistle blew....
Every year we haul out the boxes of Christmas Icicle lights, and begin the tedious process of going through to see which ones light, which bulbs need to be replaced, and once completed – then there is the fun of lugging out the large extendable ladder to begin the tedious process of climbing up and down the huge metal ladder in a biting wind to hang lights from the gutters of both the up and down stairs roof lines. Why? I’ll be the first one to say I love holiday lights on houses, and liv...
I’ve been reporting area news for a long time, and have built up a rather extensive network of sources, so quite often I hear what is about to happen before it actually does. If my sources are correct, and there is no reason to doubt them, then by the time you read this there has been a change in leadership on the Stephenson County Board. Each time there is an election, the first meeting of the board is to swear in the new members that were elected, and to have that board elect who they c...
The Boys' Basketball season officially got underway in Scales Mound on Monday as the Hornets played host to their first Tip-Off Tourney. The opening contest was a back and forth battle between Galena and East Dubuque that was a lot of fun to watch. Pirate junior, Connor Glasgow led all players with a 26 point night, but it wasn't enough as new Warrior head coach, Scott Schaber, lost his voice – but not the game as the Warriors held off a late Pirate rally to claim the 65-61 victory. With 31 s...
The Aquin Lady Bulldogs and River Ridge/Scales Mound Lady Wildcats squared off at the Dakota Turkey Tournament Tuesday night in a battle of unbeatens, but it was the Wildcats who ran away with a dominant 67-44 victory. The Wildcats jumped out to the early 8-2 lead as Aquin simply had no answer for Sydney Driscoll in the middle. The senior post was getting fed the ball, and even with defenders hanging on her, would muscle up the inside shot. But when the Wildcats subbed Driscoll out as part of a...
With their sixth state championship in 12 years, and third title in a row, it became official on Friday – the Lena-Winslow Panther football team has become a dynasty. "Most people around here have no idea where Lena-Winslow is," said University of Illinois Executive Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Development, Howard Milton. "We just refer to Lena-Winslow as the Alabama of small school football." The Panthers proved that point once again as they methodically pounded the ball down the fie...
