We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
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Last Season The true blessing of covering High School sports is when you witness something like what took place at River Ridge last season. Coming into 2021, nobody expected anything out of the Wildcats - they had gone winless - 0-10 in the Covid shortened spring season, and lost the last remaining strength of senior talent to graduation. But the major turn-around could be summed up in two words - Brittany Sinagra. The former Galena star took over as head coach of the Wildcats, and everything...
Last Season The 2021 season was a growing year for the Hornets. With head coach Nicole Busch stepping down to spend more time with her young children, Keri Werner returned to lead the Hornets from the bench. The team was fairly young, with only four seniors - and only three of them with extensive experience. (Jadyn Strang was a basketball star) And while Josie Korte was strong at the net, along with Kennedy Kudronowicz who earned a spot in the Spring All Star game in Lanark - the bulk of the...
Last Season The 2021 season for Stockton was like a rollercoaster of ups and downs as the Blackhawks got stung by the injury bug to bring them crashing back down to earth. The big hitters were the Haas cousins - Kenzie and Brynn. And while Kenzie was the big hitter who was more than deserving of her first team All-Conference selection - Brynn was a blocking machine at the net, who was more than capable of providing power at the net as well. But it was the match at Milledgeville, when freshman...
Last Season The Warren Warriors put on a good show in the 2021 season, but were limited in size - which made being truly competitive incredibly difficult. Claire Riedl was the only pure hitter with any experience on the roster, and while Cameron Kent brought a lot of senior leadership to the young squad, they were forced to play more of a defensive game as the young athletes on the roster developed. In the end, the Warriors lingered at the bottom of the NUIC West and made an early exit from the...
Okay, we've spent a lot of time taking a close look at every team in our coverage area, but how will they all stack up - not only against themselves, but other schools outside of our region? Glad you asked. NUIC SOUTH Fulton has the most returning talent and seems poised to claim the South Conference title. They could falter, and it won't be a run away, but ... Eastland lost a ton to graduation, but the Cougars have the deepest and richest tradition of anyone in the South. It might be seen as a...
I’ve been in a bit of a quandary this week in regard to what my column would be about. I mean, I had originally planned on sharing another embarrassing camping story, but then all the rains came. Like many people throughout the region, my wife and I had a ton to deal with. Living on the south side of Lena, she even got a video of the water backing up from our storm drain and running into the sump pump that simply couldn’t keep up. While Sunday morning was bad, Monday morning was much worse – a...
I'll be honest, I have never liked the musical "Working" by Stephen Schwartz, and if the truth be told – he knows it, because I told him so when I worked with him back during my New York days. The problem, as I saw it, was that – because there is no plot-line, it is simply a collection of songs and monologues that celebrated the workers of the world – there is no way for any performer to "steal" the show. But Friday night at Highland College, I was proven wrong. First of all, some major kudos...
The weather was far from ideal, but while the sun had a hard time poking through the clouds, the Galena Pirates didn't care as they established themselves early on as the team to beat in the NUIC this season by claiming first place. Five golfers were needed to have their scores added together in order to claim a team score, and in the Boy's Meet, seven of the nine teams were able to compete for team honors, while LW/PC and Polo had less than five golfers, so they competed individually. When the...
About two years ago, I’m not sure exactly when, but my wife got this cool framed map of Wisconsin that listed all of the Supper Clubs on it. To this day it hangs in our kitchen, and while we know we’ll never accomplish the feat – our goal is to sample each and every one of them. Well, this past week, we got #1 off of the list. The top-rated Supper Club in all of Wisconsin … (not sure exactly who ranked them) but the very best was supposed to be Ishnalla, up near the Wisconsin Dells. I joined my...
Dina Gyland has been making her customers beautiful for over 36 years, with the last eight as owner of the Bella 360 Salon in Lena. Quite an accomplishment in its' own right, but when you add in the workload raising children brings, it makes it even more impressive. But when the day came that she decided she needed to cut back on her daily workload, unlike many other businesses, she had a potential fall back. "I called my daughter, Abby, and asked her if she wanted to buy the salon," Dina said....
OK, in case you haven’t noticed, I am not too big on fashion. In fact, I couldn’t care less about it. When it comes to clothing, my top priorities are comfort and function. And the two are very different. For example, while I would much rather wear a short sleeved shirt in the summer, I don’t wear t-shirts much for one simple reason – I need a shirt pocket to keep my phone handy. Now, many would simply say – why not put your phone in a pant pocket – but when you are as large as I am, not onl...
NFL teams have all reported to training camps, and area High School teams will strap on the helmets and begin official practice on August 8th, so naturally it's time to let everyone know what our plans are here at Village Voices for the upcoming seasons. On the High School side, our highly anticipated Fall Sports Preview issue is scheduled to come out on August 24th – the Wednesday before opening week of High School football her in Northwest Illinois. We know Wisconsin football is a week a...
A story that we had heard about. and had been working on behind the scenes was the recent ... "issue" that took place at the Lena Park District. Now, it is important to point out at this point that the "issue" we are referring to encompassed the possibility of a serious crime being committed. Simply put, Park District money was apparently being spent to support a private business owned by one of their employees. Initially, a problem arose when the Food Court at the Pool was coming up short – w...
OK, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Snap Chat … if you’re anything like me, the options out there when it comes to social media are mind boggling. I mean, the paper had a Facebook page when Todd Nielsen was handling it, but … we also have our own website that by itself is a handful to keep updated – let alone produce a paper every week, so … I guess the point is that – as my wife is very fond of telling me … I’m old and out of touch. I mean I don’t even know the differe...
Recently, some friends and I were talking about our middle names, and where they came from. And the conversation turned towards a story I thought I had relayed – because it is well known in my family – but apparently, nobody had ever heard it before. So, let me relay it now. My maternal grandfather, Lewis Peterson, was where I got my middle name – Lewis. Like most kids growing up, you never really heard it unless your parents were seriously mad at you, “Daniel Lewis Stevens you should be smac...
Everyone who knew her thought that Joann McGee would be successful in life after she graduated from Freeport High School, but nobody ever expected this. For the past 21 years she had been working within the Department of Corrections in Stephenson County, but after earning her Doctorate degree in Public Administration from Walden on Thursday, she immediately boarded a plane and returned to Freeport where she was sworn in as the new Director of Court Services for the 15th Judicial District Friday...
I think I have come to the realization that God got our lives backwards. I mean, think about it – instead of the current timeline we are all familiar with, what if “life” followed this pattern instead? - At birth, we are diapered, fed food that is healthy for us, but shipped off to a home with other newborns where we are convinced that we are generally ignored except for birthdays and holidays. - When we turn 18, they give us a gold watch and send us off to work for the next 45 years. - When...
“Hand over your Man Card!” Several people have told me that – from my cousin to Barry Homan to Rhett Roethe … and for those of you who do not know what I’m talking about, let me explain. You see, my wife and I have very different hobbies and tastes. Whenever we go out to a restaurant for a nice meal, they will hand me the steak and beer, and put the fried shrimp and Diet Coke in front of my wife … which always leads to us then having to trade. The point being, I love fried shrimp and Diet Co...
Back in the May 25th issue of the Voices, our frontpage story was about how the small town controversy that was beginning to surface regarding the Taste of Lena was overblown, a misunderstanding, and I did my best to assure everyone that all was right with the world. I really wasn't worried about it. I mean I got all of the information for the story from the current president of the Lena Lions Club – Ron Fluegel. And on occasions such as this, when trying to help, I did what I often do – I act...
“Bring out your dead … Bring out your dead …” “I’m not dead yet.” “Oh, yes you are.” “I’m feeling better.” “But it’s a killer rabbit … with, with the teeth” “We need the Holy Hand grenade.” “Yes, the Holy Hand grenade. Pull the pin and count to three. The number to count is three, and three is the number to count. Not two, not four, but three …” “Five is right out!” “Don’t be silly, it’s only a flesh wound.” “I just cut both of your arms off!” “Have at you! I’ll bite off your knee caps!” “We are...
The Jim Shaw Classic All Star Basketball games were held at Eastland High School on Tuesday last week, and the very next day the first ever Volleyball All Star game was played at Eastland as well. And judging from the smiles witnessed both on and off the court ... both events were a big hit with the kids who participated ... which was the whole point. In the Jim Shaw Classic, the game worth watching was the Girls contest, where the South jumped out to a huge 29-8 halftime lead, only to see it...
(Ouch) I love my wife, I really do … honest … but there are times I’m convinced she’s trying to kill me. For those who don’t know – and that would be just about all of you – we have had a pool for many years. It was a vinyl one for a long time held up with a metal frame, but we eventually put in a hard sided one about a year ago. My wife and kids were always pool rats, and for a long time they were the only ones who used it. Not because I’m scared of water or anything, but because the ric...
Last week, I presented details regarding the question that Orangeville residents need to determine for their school district. Well, Lena-Winslow has an item on the upcoming Primary Ballot too – one that some might recognize. The issue, is whether or not the School Board members should be elected by popular vote, (like most people in the modern world) or if they should keep the antiquated system where members must live in certain congressional districts in order to hold a seat. The best e...
Pearl City deserved better. The Lady Wolves didn't just fix their defensive problems, they perfected them. What had been the Achilles heel for the Wolves all season, was erased as they didn't just play strong defense – they played perfect defense for eleven innings – not making a single error in their Sectional semi-final against the Forreston Cardinals. Forreston, made five. The Wolves had more hits, had more baserunners, never walked a batter and – thanks to the excellent defense – never g...
The baseball season came to a bitter end for the Lena-Winslow Panthers in the Sectional semi-finals at the hands of a very strong Sterling Newman Comet squad. Jake Zeal threw an excellent game, and also added a monster solo homerun to make it a 3-2 ballgame going into the fifth inning. But the Achilles heal for the Panthers on this day was their battery – whether it was ruled a wild pitch, or a passed ball didn't matter. The point that did was that even though the Comets were only hitting s...
