We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 1315
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...
It had been five years since the EPC Wildcatz had beaten the Forreston Cardinals, and six years since they made it into the IHSA playoffs. And while head coach Jared McNutt always held his head high and ignored the noise ... there was plenty of grumbling going on behind closed doors. There's still a major murmur permeating the program, but after Friday night's 36-16 dominating win over the Cardinals in Pearl City, it's the kind of rumbling people don't want to make public – not because it is o...
The pre-game strategy plan for the Scales Mound Hornets was pretty simple – avoid unforced errors. If you don't make mistakes, you aren't handing your opponent any points. But in game one of their home conference battle with West Carroll ... the Hornets didn't listen. The Thunder jumped out to the early 5-0 lead without making a kill. All five points came off of Hornet hitting errors, so coach Keri Werner burned a time out to calm them down. It didn't work. Everything that could go wrong – did...
The Galena Pirates are the reigning Class 1A State Champions in Volleyball, so it only made sense that as long as they kept winning, they would hold the top spot in our area Power rankings. But all of that changed Tuesday night when the Stockton Blackhawks went into Galena and knocked off the Pirates in two games to topple them out of the top spot. "It was the most determined I've ever seen this team," said head coach Maddie Pontius. "When they walked into that gym, you could see it on their...
The phone calls came in shortly after the Freeport City Council reversed course and voted to approve the Grant Application program in cooperation with Highland College and the Freeport Park District. “If you hadn’t posted that story, I don’t think anything would have changed. I had a lot of people telling me they called.” We posted our story – You Better Sit Down For This One – late Thursday night. By Sunday night, it had received over 750 hits on our website. But there was still no way of know...
Many years ago, when we found out the hard way that I was allergic to Morphine, I had my brush with death and was lying in an ICU bed in Freeport. Now, as a patient, I have always done what I was told – no matter how much it might hurt – so my ICU nurse, who. I knew personally and was a friend, used the joke for many years that she knew first-hand how “good in bed” I was. That nurse was LuAnn Jordan. For the longest time, my wife even teased that I like LuAnn more than I liked her, and used Lu...
We all got the little card in the mail from the County Clerk, and if you filled it out and mailed it back in, you probably already have your mail in ballot for the upcoming election in November. But even if you only glanced over it and threw it away, people can still begin to vote on September 26th down at the Stewart Center in Stephenson County. So, why are we running a story about this, and more to the point – why should you care? Glad you asked. The real campaign is about to go into high p...
"She's a fantastic player," said Bronco senior Kaylynn O'Haver. "Trying to stop her was not easy." Forreston's Jaiden Schneiderman was dominant in their conference battle against the Broncos. With nine kills in game one, and seven more in game two, for a grand total of 16 kills on the night. Nobody in purple had more than seven. Going up against such a potent weapon was not easy for Orangeville, and they knew it. Trying to trade power for power wasn't going to work, so the Broncos made use of...
There is a well-known axiom in politics ... "People get the government they deserve." The whole point behind the saying is that if voters don't pay any attention when casting their vote – or worse yet – don't bother to vote, then they should not be surprised when the government they put into office is completely inept. Just when you thought the "foolish four" of Freeport couldn't do anything else to harm their community, the witless wonders surpass your worst expectations. The State of Ill...
In public, Eden Dietz is the quiet tall kid who is quick with a smile, but comments after games have to be dragged out of her. "Oh, that's not 'Ed'," stated Panther senior setter Alyssa Daughenbaugh. "You should hear her in practice." "Ed?" "Yeah, Ed, or Eddie, or big Ed ..." "Basically, they call me everything but my real name," Eden stated. But whatever name she might go by, the Panther middle hitter had an amazing night against the Pearl City Wolves Thursday – recording nine kills, an ace ser...
EPC made a statement Friday night in their conference match-up at home against Fulton. Simply put – Speed Kills! When EPC squared off against Galena in week one of the season, everyone you talked to who "followed" NUIC football saw it as a playoff for the playoffs – the loser would probably never get five wins when you considered the strength of the NUIC. And even the winner was only expected to be 5-4 at best. Well, after blowing past a playoff favorite 46-22, everyone is being forced to think...
As the EPC Wildcats were running away from Fulton down in Pearl City, a murmur was building throughout the stadium ... "Have you seen the Lena score? Stockton is beating them!" At first it was dismissed, an early score means little, but then as the updates kept coming in, it became very apparent – the game of the week was taking place to the north. Stockton brought their A-game to Lena, and couldn't care less that it was the Panther homecoming – the Blackhawks were looking to spoil the par...
