We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 1301
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...
The Galena Pirates are the reigning State Champions, and currently sit at 19-1 on the season. The River Ridge Wildcats, graduated most of their kills, and are in full rebuild mode. So, while the outcome of the match was never really in doubt, what was important to see was how well the Wildcats could compete against the powerful Pirates. The answer ... was a bit ambiguous. Galena swept the conference battle 25-13, 25-9, with superstar outside hitter – senior Gracie Furlong – leading the way wit...
In what was easily the best game Lena-Winslow has played this season, Lena-Winslow put a running clock defeat on their biggest NUIC-North challenger, Du/Pec, before claiming the 46-22 victory. The strategy was a simple one – keep the ball away from the Rivermen's highly talented quarterback, Cooper Hoffman. When he's on the sideline, he can't hurt you. But the Rivermen opened the game with possession of the ball – and promptly moved it down the field. An encroachment penalty against the Pan...
Like a broken record, we had been hearing Stephenson County Board Chairman, Scott Helms, complain, scold and preach to the board with almost every single vote they approved, "How are you going to pay for it?" Now, admittedly, we figured he was just being overly-conservative, after all, he is a banker – and don't all bankers prefer to save money than spend it? But after hearing some rumblings circulating around the County Office building, we had a sit down with County Finance Director, A...
Speaking from experience, it is far better being the grandfather than being the father. Now, the biggest reason is obvious – you get to enjoy your grand kids, and as soon as they become crabby, or in massive need of a diaper change or some other maternal comforts, you can immediately pass them off to their parents. In addition, while they do tend to wipe you out whenever they come to visit – due to incredible energy levels that the Energizer Bunny can never hope to match – they will leave … eve...
If all you did was look at the faces of the players involved as Orangeville hosted Warren in a non-conference battle Monday night, you'd swear Warren was winning. The Warriors brought a lot of fire and emotion into the Bronco gym – cheering each other for nice plays, and pumping each other up if a mistake was made. "These kids really like playing together, and you can see it," said head coach Brynn Calow. "I don't know what was going on for Orangeville, it was like they didn't even want to be h...
Typically, we report on the number of kills a team or player gets in a volleyball match. Aces are always impressive, and unforced errors can cost you big time. But a major skill in volleyball that doesn't even have a stat for it is the pass. Scales Mound and River Ridge put the importance of that skill on full display during their special Volley For A Cure conference battle in Scales Mound on Tuesday. "Are you going to ask me why we didn't get the ball to Laiken Haas more," asked River Ridge...
At first blush, East Dubuque was giving Stockton everything it wanted in their conference battle in Stockton Wednesday night. For each kill recorded by the Blackhawks, the Warriors had an answer as the score steadily climbed without either team able to pull away. But with the game close at 13-12 Stockton, the Blackhawks began flexing their muscle from behind the service line. Kaydra Wright nailed back-to-back ace serves to give the Blackhawks a little breathing room. And then the front line...
Forreston has a solid volleyball team. In fact, many could argue that they also boast one of the best hitters in the region in Jaiden Schneiderman. But Thursday night in Lena the Cardinals – who were missing one starter – got manhandled by a Panther team that looked almost unstoppable 25-16, 25-14. Schneiderman was once again, the main focus of the defense – and she needed to be as the senior outside hitter blasted down12 kills on the night – 8 in game one – and also made a stuff block. But that...
It was supposed to be the big show down of the week – Stockton was playing host to EPC to see which team would establish itself as the third best team in the NUIC. That's what it was supposed to be. "On the first play of the game we had a mis-alignment," said Stockton head coach Sean Downey. "He was supposed to be in the right gap, but he jumped over to the left gap. Sure enough, they run the ball right at the gap where he was supposed to be." Adam Awender handed the ball to senior Draven Z...
We announced the contest over six weeks ago – asking people to rank the top ten places where they like to eat from 1 to 10. A reason could be given for their top choice, and a total of three lists could be submitted – 1 for dinner, 1 for lunch, and 1 for breakfast. The only rules involved were that they had to be places where you paid for your meal – so no votes for "Mom's cooking" would count. And the place you chose had to be located somewhere within out circulation area – so Rockfor...
The game had been scheduled since last year, but suddenly, Tuesday afternoon just before school let out, Lena-Winslow was notified that Mineral Point – the team they were to play Friday night – was cancelling their scheduled meeting. “Officially” from what we were able to find out, the reason was that the “Pointers” had suffered too many injuries, and didn’t feel they should put underclassmen in the position of playing varsity competition. Now, all of that is understandable. What isn’t is that...
I don’t know about you, but one of the best investments my wife and I ever made at our house is the addition of a fire pit in the back yard. There is nothing like sitting around an open fire with friends, enjoying a beverage or two and solving the world’s problems on a bright summer night underneath the stars. With the weather beginning to turn, we are nearing the end of the summer fire pit night season. Now, when it comes to the fire pit, I realized that while some nights are a lot of fun, the...
Midway through game one of their conference battle at home against Forreston, the Wolves – for the fourth time in game one – made a service error. So frustrated was head coach Tammy Stephan that she turned to her bench and asked openly, "Can anybody get the ball over the net?" Just consider some numbers. In game one, both teams had 14 offensive points (combination of kills and stuff blocks). But Forreston made a grand total of three unforced errors, and two service errors. So, they handed the...
