Colbert Column

SPORTS COLUMN No-go for football so what about cross country?

With football shut down for the fall, I wonder if any small schools thought about putting a cross-country team together.

Sure, many of them already have golf, but why not add cross-country?

It is one of the cheapest sports with no equipment, gyms or stadiums needed. Basically, get a group of kids together and start running.

Established programs hastily threw schedules together anyway, so finding other teams to run against shouldn’t have been that big of a problem. Schools could certainly grab a coach from its track and field ranks.

But, perhaps the IHSA has rules and deadlines for setting up new programs. However, even with the pro sports, rules are being made up as they go along.

No doubt, it could have been done and a whole group of athletes would have another option this fall and one that is very healthy for mind, body and spirit.

And the kids will reap the conditioning benefits in their other sports.

It was good to see about 30 girls out for cross country at Oregon. What was disappointing was only 10 boys on the team, including only one football player, Austin Ebert.

I remember my daughter going out for cross

COMMENTARY Andy Colbert

country her senior year and having the best time, because of the social aspect.

No matter what your physical ability, it is truly a sport for anyone.

Both Forreston and Polo already have a heritage of cross country.

I can remember Polo putting together a boys team about 15 years ago and seeing them advance downstate and place in the top 10 with the school’s only boys all-stater in Brian Tyne.

Before that, Erin Collins put Polo on the map with three straight all-state finishes (1994-96) in the girls meet.

Terah Cheatham came along about 10 years later and finished fifth overall.

Under long-time coach Rich Bennett, the Forreston boys were a regular downstate in the mid 1980s, with all-staters Mark Gassman and Paul Korf. Mark Korf was also an all-stater from ’79.

With other regular fall sports postponed, the only significant gain in golf for either Forreston and Polo were more Marco girls than normal, with 11 total. Only five boys are out at Polo.

According to Matt Handley at Forreston, he gained one footballer and no volleyball players. He hopes to talk more into coming out when school starts this week.

Oregon golf fared much better with coach Jim Spratt reporting that he has about 2-3 each from volleyball, football and soccer, plus a few new duffers. About 34 altogether.

Another random thought was why not tennis this fall at Oregon? The park district has good quality courts that deserve to see more action.

With a trip out west this week, I hope to see my first high-school football game. Or maybe not. Stadiums can only hold 20 percent regular capacity, with first preference to family.

Utah started playing last week and so far, so good. For a small state, they play a good brand of ball with home-grown skill players and a heavy dose of Polynesian linemen.

The Latter Day Saints have been making trips to places like Samoa and Tonga for over 150 years and besides proselytized Mormons coming to America, the ranks of prep football in Utah got much better.

VOICE OF DEMOCRACY

VFW scholarship competition

Area high school students have the opportunity to compete for scholarships and a trip to Washington, D.C. through the Voice of Democracy Scholarship competition.

Students must write and record a 3- to 5-minute essay on the selected theme using an audio CD or flash drive. Their recording, typed essay and completed entry form must be submitted to their local VFW Post by Oct. 31. The theme is “Is This the Country the Founders Envisioned.”

Students begin by competing at the local Post level. Post winners compete at the District level, with the winner advancing to the state competition.

All state first-place winners receive a 4-day trip to Washington, D.C., and the chance to compete for their share of more than $150,000 in scholarships.

The first-place winner receives a $30,000 college scholarship. Contact the VFW State Headquarters at 217-529- 6688 or email vfwil@vfwil.org.

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COMMUNITY NEWS Oregon teen paints 70 fire hydrants for city

Sophomore wanted to do something positive

BY EARLEEN HINTON ehinton@oglecountynews.com

Watching the unrest unfold in several American cities this year moved one Oregon teenager to action right in her own hometown—and that mission started right outside her window.

“I was watching all the riots and fires on television and I saw so many bad things happening that I wanted to do something,” said Gracie Prose, 15. “ I looked out my window and there was a fire hydrant so I asked my mom about painting the fire hydrants in town. We made some calls and we put it into action.”

One of the calls Prose and her mom, Charity, made was to Dave Kent, the operations manager for the city’s water and waste water department.

“They both called me and I thought, ‘OK’, we’ll start with 8 hydrants and then Gracie called back and wanted more so we went from there,” said Kent. “We gave her the brushes and the red paint and she did all the rest.”

Prose repainted around 70 hydrants, starting with the one right outside her home on S. Seventh Street.

“The scraping before the painting is what took the bulk of time,” said Prose, a sophomore at Oregon High School. “It usually took me around 45-50 minutes.”

“And she had some very hot days in there,” said Kent noting that the city has around 250 hydrants in town. “She’d get done with one and she’d hike down to the next one.”

Oregon Mayor Ken Williams, City Administrator Darin DeHaan, Oregon Fire Chief Michael Knoup and Commissioner of Public Property Melanie Cozzi joined Kent by the hydrant in front of Prose’s home on Monday to present her with a certificate of appreciation and to tell her thanks.

“The Oregon Fire Department really appreciates all the help you did with this project,” Knoup said.

Prose is working toward a goal of 400 volunteer service hours before she graduates and calculates she donated between 68-70 hours on the hydrant painting project.

“I also helped out at Village of Progress and the Oregon library this summer, in between painting,” she said. “It made me feel good about myself.”

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media ABOVE: Oregon Mayor Ken Williams presents Gracie Prose with a certificate of appreciation for volunteering to paint 70 fire hydrants

in Oregon this summer. Pictured with Prose and Williams in front of one of the recently repainted hydrants are, left to right: Darin DeHaan, city administrator; Melanie Cozzi, commissioner of public property; Dave Kent, operations manager of the city’s water and

waste water department; and Oregon Fire Chief Michael Knoup. BOTTOM RIGHT: Williams chats with Prose.

TIME TO VOTE Voting ends Aug. 23 for straw sculpting contest

Hurry! Cast your vote online soon at EncoreMtMorris.com

The Fifth Annual US National Straw Sculpting Competition continues, with voting for your favorite 2020 Straw Sculpture, on the Mt. Morris Campus through 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23.

Five new, ‘Fine Art in Straw’ sculptures are entered in the competition for this year.

All new straw sculptures were built by returning artists; 1. Steve & Michele Lentz, 2. Doreen White (Polished Hair &

Nails/Hair on Main) 3. Chris, Cecilia & Ellen Mann 4. Danica & Mark Rogers 5. Fran Volz

Twelve additional sculptures are on display including one or more from each 2020 sculptors, the Community Big Build from 2019, Lady Liberty from 2016-17, and others.

“The display is spaced for comfortable social distancing on the beautifully shaded campus in the center of Mt. Morris. There is nothing like seeing this unique art form in person, but photos of the sculptures and a link to voting are available at StarwUSA.com,” said Jeff Bold, organizer.

“We thank ComEd for their continued support in sponsoring the US National Straw Sculpting Competition. There is no closing weekend StrawFest day this year due to COVID-19 concerns,” Bold said. “Encore strives to safely provide art opportunities; and continues their mission of making Mt. Morris a unique rural destination for the arts.”

For more information, visit EncoreMtMorris.com or call Village Hall at 815-734-6425 to leave a message.

1. Jungle Life, by Steve and Michele Lentz, of Montello, Wisconsin.

2. Straw flamingos, made by Polished Nails and Hair on Main, of Mt. Morris.

3. Grandaddy Snapping Turtle made by Chris, Cecilia and Ellen Mann, of Rockford.