IPC names volleyball First Team

Payton Vallee lines up a kill during St. Joseph-Ogden's Class 2A third place game against Rockford Lutheran. Vallee and six other Sentinel area volleyball players earned all-conference recognition for their efforts during the shortened 2020-21 season. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Last week, the best volleyball players this season in the Illini Prairie Conference were announced late last week. Kennedi Burnett and Payton Vallee from St. Joseph-Ogden High School join Unity's Emma Bleecher were awarded First Team All-Conference honors by the Illini Prairie Conference last week.

Rockets' Emma Flesman and the Spartans' Hannah Fox were two of ten players who earned Second Team honors from the conference coaches.

Three-sport athlete Taylor Henry and teammate Macie Knudsen, both from Unity, received Honorable Mentions.

Below is a complete list of this season's honorees.

2020-21 IPC All-Conference Volleyball Team


First Team

Kenna Wollard, Illinois Valley Central
Kaitlin Dean, Olympia
Caroline Kerr, Saint Thomas More
Renni Fultz, Monticello
Kennedi Burnett, Saint Joseph-Ogden
Payton Vallee, Saint Joseph-Ogden
Colleen Hege, Saint Thomas More
Emma Bleecher, Unity

Second Team

Mairen Mannon, Illinois Valley Central
Amaya Webb, Illinois Valley Central
Allie Carr, Monticello
Brooke Fox, Pontiac
Jenni Slagel, Prairie Central
Bella Shields, Rantoul
Hannah Fox, Saint Joseph-Ogden
Mallory Monahan, Saint Thomas More
Maci Walters, Saint Thomas More
Emma Felsman, Unity

Honorable Mention

Abby Cox, Central Catholic
Steph Hebel, Central Catholic
Mia Brady, Pontiac
Addison Masching, Pontiac
Natalie Graf, Prairie Central
Briley Hoffman, Prairie Central
Ashlee Freeman, Rantoul
Taylor Henry, Unity
Macie Knudsen, Unity

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Prep Sports Notebook: Unity softball wins 2, SJO baseball rebounds for a conference win


Unity's Joop and Jones earn All-Conference accolades
Unity's Taylor Joop and Logan Jones learned last week that they are All-Conference Scholar Athletes for the 2020-21 academic year by the Illini Prairie Conference. Both received recognition at luncheon held at Illinois State University on April 29.



Rockets' Taylor Joop puts the ball in play during her team's home game against Central Catholic. Joop, who plans to continue her academic and athletic career at Heartland College, scored the game-winning run in Unity's 5-4 win on Saturday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Knott sets new school record in the shot
St. Joseph-Ogden senior Hayden Knott raised the bar in the shot put setting a new school record with a throw of 17.14 meters on Saturday at the Rantoul Invite. The toss was also good enough to secure a first place finish in the event with throwers from Hersher, Danville and Pleasant Plains among the field of 17 competitors.

Knott also placed first in the discus throw beating his nearest competition by nearly 2 meters. His winning throw went 53.70 meters.


Miller, Altenbaumer pile on RBIs
Together, St. Joseph-Ogden's Coby Miller and Tyler Altenbaumer tallied nine RBIs, four and five respectively, in the Spartans' 17-9 win over Monticello on Saturday.

Miller was 3-for-3 and Andrew Beyers (3 RBI) added a 3-for-5 performance from the batter's box.

Zach Martinie picked up the win for the Spartans while Monticello's Cole Dasher suffered the loss after the conference pairing.

SJO improves to 10-1 on the season following their 3-run loss to Mahomet-Seymour at home on Friday.


Unity softball picks up second conference win
Unity Taylor Joop scored the winning, go-ahead run on a fly ball from Ruby Tarr in the bottom of the 6th innning in the Unity softball team's conference game against Central Catholic on Saturday.

Pitcher Taylor Henry had 3 hits and on RBI. Hailey Flesch secured one hit in four trips to the plate and delivered a pair of RBI.

Facing 29 batters, Henry gave up 9 hits and 4 runs after 104 pitches.


Good Graces win for the Rockets
Grace Frye earned a pitching win after seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits, striking out five and walking one in a 6-2 softball decision over Newton.

Meanwhile, Gracie Renfrow was 3-for-3 and pushed 2 runs across the plate for the Rockets. She collected a triple on a fly ball to center on her third pitch in the bottom of the 3rd inning allowing Erica Steinman to score and homered two innings later on a solo shot to right field.

The win keeps Unity season untarnished at 6-0. Frye and Renfrow host Villa Grove on Monday at 4pm and have a game 2 rematch against Central Catholic on the road on Tuesday.


Spartan track team win Invite title
The St. Joseph-Ogden boys track team tallied 178 points to win this year's Rantoul Invite title.

Monticello finished in second place with 162 points and host Rantoul collected 106 points for a third place finish. Unity finished 6th (77 points) in the 12-team field.

SJO's Brady Buss took second in the 200-meter dash, Brandon Mattsey clocked a 4:53.12 in the 1600-meter run for the meet title and Hayden Knott won both throwing event to lift the Spartans on Saturday.


Unity baseball team drops first loss
After a dominating 2-0 start, the Rockets' baseball team fell 7-4 on the road to Illinois Valley Central (7-1) on Saturday.

Damian Knoll took the loss after a two-inning appearance scattering 4 hits and 3 walks.

Knoll (1 RBI) along with Blake Kimball scored one run apiece. Tyler Hensch, 1-for-3 from the plate, also had one RBI and double.


3 Spartan homers crush Sages
Sandwiched between two home runs by Shayne Immke, St. Joseph-Ogden's Kaylee Ward went deep in the seventh inning for one of her own. Immke put the first of two homers out of the park in the 1st inning and repeated her effort with another in the fifth.

The hot bats, which helped SJO to improve to a 7-4 season, allowed the Spartans to easily win, 12-6.

Scoring in five of their seven innings, St. Joseph-Ogden tacked on a pair of runs in each of the last three innings of the game to pull away on the scoreboard.

Pitching duties were shared with Alyssa Acton, who earned the win after five innings, and Sophia Martlage closed out the game with 20 pitches in the last 2 innings.

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Prep Sports Notebook: Unity drops conference game, SJO hammers Monticello

Rockets suffer first loss of the season
The Unity baseball team (2-1) scored four runs but it wasn't enough to slide by Illinois Valley Central (7-1) in their road conference game on Saturday. The Grey Ghost handed the Rockets their first loss of the season, 7-4.

On the hill, Damin Knoll, who went 1-for-3 at the plate, surrendered 4 hits and 3 walks in the pair of innings to suffer the loss. The junior was responsible for one-quarter of the Rockets' runs. Blake Kimball batted .500 on the day and turned in one as well.

Tyler Hensch pounded a double and pushed one RBI across the plate.


Spartan baseball team burn Sages on the road
The bats were smoking hot for St. Joseph-Ogden on Saturday morning during their 11th game of the season. Putting runs on the board in every inning, the Spartans burned their Illini Prairie Conference rival, 17-9.

Down 5-3 at the top of the third, the Spartans'ignited a huge 13 run rally scoring five runs, then four and another four across the middle three frames.

Zach Martinie earned the win throwing 62 pitches during his four-inning appearance after relieving junior Hayden Brazelton on the mound.

Coby Miller and Tyler Altenbaumer paired up to drive in nine of the Spartans' 17 runs. Miller had all three of the Sages' pitchers numbers going 3-for-3 with a 2-run homer in the top of the fifth and double in the earlier frame.

Meanwhile, Alterbaumer's two hits yielded 5 RBIs.

Box Score

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
SJO 1 1 5 4 4 1 1 - 17 13 3
Monticello 2 3 0 3 0 0 1 - 9 11 6

Pitching
Hayden Brazelton 3.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R , 5 K, 5 BB
Zach Martinie 4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R , 3 K, 1 BB

Batting
2B: Andrew Beyers, Zach Martinie, Coby Miller 2, Ty Pence; 3B: Tyler Altenbaumer; HR: Coby Miller

Baserunning
Stolen bases: Tyler Altenbaumer, Andrew Beyers 2, Hayden Brazelton 2, Isaiah Immke 2


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Four area soccer players earn all-conference recognition

SJO's Logan Ingram dribbles the ball
St. Joseph-Ogden forward Logan Ingram dribbles the ball down the field during the Spartans' home soccer match against St. Thomas More on April 13. Ingram and three other are seniors earned all-conference recognition from the Illini Prairie Conference. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Four area seniors earned all-conference soccer team recognition from the Illini Prairie Conference coaches last week.

Logan Ingram and Mason Behrens from St. Joseph-Ogden along with Unity's Zach Ohlsson were named to the conference's 2nd team selections.

Unity midfielder Andrew Miller earned an Honorable Mention for his performance this season.

Below is a complete list of this season's honorees.

2021 IPC All-Conference Soccer Teams

First Team

Seniors:
Jake Edmonson, Monticello (unanimous)
Justin Siebert, Olympia (unanimous)
Jonah Bergman, IVC

Juniors:
Blake Staab, St. Thomas More (unanimous)
Dylan Ginalick, Monticello (unanimous)
Alexandro Gonzalez, Rantoul (unanimous)

Sophomores:
Biniam Lienhart, Monticello (unanimous)
Martin Mondala, St. Thomas More (unanimous)
Jaylen Bischoff, Central Catholic

Freshmen:
Jacob Jongky, Central Catholic
Gavin Young, Central Catholic
Joe Carter, Central Catholic


Second Team

Seniors:
David Broadbear, Central Catholic
Ethan Brakke, Monticello
Mason Behrens, St. Joseph-Ogden
Logan Ingram, St. Joseph-Ogden
Zach Ohlsson, Unity
Cole Smith, Monticello
Noah While, Olympia

Juniors:
Malachi Manuel, Monticello
Tristan Baker, IVC

Sophomores:
Dane Taylor, St. Thomas More
Cabott Craft, St. Thomas More
Eliud Echeverria, Rantoul

Freshmen:
Boyden Chaon, Central Catholic


Honorable Mention

Seniors:
Joshua Jongky, Central Catholic
Payton Carroll, Olympia
Jake Mitchell, Olympia
Dylan Smith, Olympia
Johan Guerrero, Rantoul
Andrew Miller, Unity

Sophomores:
Austin Koch, Central Catholic
Jarrett Wieduwilt, Central Catholic
Ben Williamson, Monticello Gannon Wille, Olympia
Cooper Hannagan, St. Thomas More
Anthony Hoffman, St. Thomas More
Adam Price, St. Thomas More

Freshmen:
Jack Tanner, Monticello
Warren Tomczak, Central Catholic

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Yet to tackle big problems in the state, Illinois House passes bill to regulate balloons

by Brad Weisenstein, Editor
 Illinois Policy


It was 1984 when a German pop group made "99 Red Balloons" the No. 2 song on the Billboard charts, but by 2022 they might face a fine for releasing so many balloons in Illinois.

The Illinois House on April 21 voted to make it illegal to release 50 or more balloons in Illinois. Do it once, get a warning. Twice, a $500 fine. A third time, a $1,000 fine.

And that's for each group of 50 balloons: "The release of more than 50 balloons shall constitute a separate violation for every 50 balloons," according to House Bill 418, which passed the Illinois House 90-23. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2022, if it passes the Illinois Senate and is signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake, said balloons are an environmental threat and recently caused a power outage for over 1,000 customers in Champaign. After released balloons come down, they create problems for farmers and wildlife.

Interestingly, government agencies and universities are exempt from these rules, according to the bill.

Illinoisans face the highest state and local tax burden in the nation and the No. 2 property taxes. There’s a $317 billion public pension deficit eating away at state finances.

Springfield has yet to tackle those big problems. But at least Illinoisans will be safe from too many balloons, if HB 418 becomes law.

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Welcome home, Flesch delivers two-run magic

Hailey Flesch receives welcome at home plate after hitting a home run
Members of the Unity softball team prepare to smoother Hailey Flesch after she steps on home plate in yesterday's home game against Westville. Flesch crushed the ball for a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning to give the Rockets a 2-0 advantage. Unity piled on an additional four runs, two in the fifth and a pair in the sixth, to beat the visiting Tigers, 6-0. The Rockets face Bloomington Central Catholic today at 10am for their second Illini Prairie Conference game of the season.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
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Prep Sports Notebook: Henry records shutout for Unity, SJO gets no-hitter

Rockets light up new scoreboard with 11-1 win over Bombers
The Unity baseball team improved to 2-0 on the season after rolling to another mercy win on Thursday. With Blake Kimball on the mound, the Rockets hammered visiting Argenta-Oreana, 11-1.

Kimball earned his first win after giving up 3 hits and an earned run. The junior hurler didn't walk a batter and struck out five Bombers in the five-inning affair.

Unity put five runs on the board in the second inning breaking a 1-all tie. Thanks to a solid defensive outing by the Rockets, A-O was denied every opportunity to score the remainder of the non-conference contest.

Meanwhile, in their second game on their home turf, Unity christened their new scoreboard by putting runs on in every inning of play, including a 4-run rally in the bottom of the fourth to go up 11-1.

Tyler Hench went 2-for-2 and led the team with 3 RBI. Kimball finished 2-for-4 and chipped in a pair of RBI for the Rockets.

Thomas Cler was 1-for-2 with a triple on the day.


Martinie, Altenbaumer team up for Charleston shutout
SJO's Zach Martinie and Tyler Altenbaumer combined efforts for a 3-0 shutout victory over visiting Charleston on Thursday.

The Spartans scored four runs on four hits from Keaton Nolan, Isaiah Immke, Ty Pence and Altenbaumer.

Hayden Brazelton and Andrew Beyers padded their season stats with one RBI apiece.

Altenbaumer earned the win after tossing 95 pitches and striking out 11 Trojan batters. Martinie closed out the game with 16 pitches, nine of them strikes.


Unity softball picks up conference road win
Taylor Joop led her team's offense effort going 3-for-3, including a double on a pop fly to left field in the top of the second, in the Rockets' conference road game at Rantoul.

Taylor Henry, who struckout 13 batters, went the distance from the circle in Unity's 11-0 shutout over the Eagles. She gave up just three hits, including a triple to Eagles' Bella Shields.

Up 6-0 at the top of 6th inning, Unity manufactured a 5-run rally starting with a line drive to right field from Henry scoring Joop from second and Ruby Tarr at first.

Grace Frye stepped up to the plate next and crushed the second pitch she saw from Rantoul's Emily Curtis over the fence for a two-run homer.

Despite striking out nine batters from the Rockets, Curtis surrendered 11 runs on 10 hits.

The Rockets, now 3-0, face Paris this afternoon at home and Bloomington Central Catholic in an Illini Prairie Conference showdown on Saturday.


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House bill passes allowing Blockchain financial services

by Patrick Andriesen, Communications Intern
Illinois Policy
The Illinois House unanimously passed a bill to allow financial service companies that operate using cryptocurrency to apply for a charter in Illinois. If the bill becomes law, Illinois will be the second state to allow the practice.

"Our state has the opportunity to lead the way on blockchain technology and cryptoassets, which could make Illinois a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship for future generations – and all the jobs that come with it," said the bill’s chief sponsor, state Rep. Margaret Croke, D-Chicago.

House Bill 3968 has the support of the Illinois Bankers Association, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and other banking organizations that signed on in support of the bill. It is now before the Illinois Senate.

Illinois would be the second state in the nation to allow special trusts to hold digital assets after Wyoming, which drew digital asset bank Avanti and cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to the state with a similar measure in 2019.

The digital asset industry has grown steadily in recent years with the skyrocketing value of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin.

An Illinois Blockchain Business Development report produced by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in December stated worldwide investment in blockchain technology startups jumped from just $1 million in 2012 to $4.15 billion dollars in 2018, enticing thousands more to enter the market. The market value of all cryptocurrencies stands at about $758 billion, according to Statista.

But many digital asset companies have found banking with traditional institutions difficult given the significant cost to startups.

HB 3968 would lend stability to the industry by allowing financial technology companies to offer the same financial products as existing trusts, such as banking and payment services, in addition to other digital asset services, sponsors said.

Traditional financial institutions in Illinois have also voiced support for the bill, stating consumers will benefit and that boosting fintech and cryptocurrencies will drive positive economic growth.

"Illinois has every right to win in blockchain, given that we are a unique intersection of financial hub and real-economy hub (manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, etc.)," Outlier Ventures partner Rumi Morales told Payments Dive. "If we connect digital payments innovation to those sectors, the potential is huge."

Patrick is a communications intern with the Illinois Policy Institute. In this role, he focuses on creating and analyzing content to support our published research and experts in the media. Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization that promotes responsible government and free market principles. This story was originally published on March 9, 2021.

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St. Joseph village board meeting agenda updated

Three additional items were added to tonight's St. Joseph village board meeting for discussion and possible approval by trustees.

In addition to discussing the new village administrator position and taking care of routine budget duties, the board will also listen to a presentation from Roch's on outdoor dining and discuss moving lighting to accommodate potential out dining space.

The board will also discuss and approve the final draft of a new, long-awaited food truck ordinance.

The third addition to the agenda is a discussion on the county's upcoming redistricting options. An informational webpage at http://www.co.champaign.il.us/countyexecutive/redistrictingadvisory.php offers five possible plans under consideration. The mapping application compares redistricting proposals created by or submitted to the Champaign County Redistricting Advisory Group.

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Prep Sports Notebook: Unity baseball wins opener, softball coach gets 100 wins

Knoll RBI forces 11-1, 5 inning decision
Damian Knoll went 2-2 and drove in the game-winning run sealing Unity's 11-1 opening day win over visiting Hoopeston Area. The junior right-hander notched 3 RBIs in the Rockets' first game since 2019.

Tyler Hensch pitched 5 innings for Unity, giving up one hit and one run while striking out seven batters.

Dillon Rutledge, who scored the runs, along with Dylan Moore and Thomas Cler were also 2-for-2 for the Rockets.


Unity coach gets 100th win
Head coach Aimee Davis picked up career win 100 after her Rockets beat visiting Mt. Zion on Saturday in their season opener, 13-3. The milestone happened a year later than anticipated thanks to COVID and the resulting gameless season last year. Davis, now in her sixth season at the helm, and the Unity softball team started the season with a #7 Class 2A preseason ranking by the Illinois Coaches Association.


SJO softball holds off Fisher's 7th innning rally
SJO pitcher Maggie Ward
Maggie Ward earned yesterday's win after the St. Joseph-Ogden softball team held off a seventh inning momentum shift from the Fisher Bunnies to win 5-3. The pitcher surrendered three runs on nine hits over seven innings, striking out six and walking zero. Ward allowed three runs on nine hits while going the distance in the circle.

Striking out six batters and allowing not a single walk in the non-conference road game for SJO, Ward recorded 79 strikes out of the 118 pitches she put across the plate.

The Spartans put 11 hits in the book. Kennedy Hudson, Peyton Jones, Shayne Immke, Kelsey Martlage, and Audrey Short had two apiece and Alyssa Acton rounded out the offense with one of her own.

SJO improves to 5-3 on the season and faces Villa Grove at home on Wednesday.


Knott wins two of four firsts for Spartans
Last Thursday, field event specialist Hayden Knott won both throwing events in dual meet competition against Eureka.

Knott won the discus throw by just over 10 meters throwing the platter 47.93 meters further than runner-up Brock Trimble. The senior won the shot put competition with his best throw at 16.56 meters.

The Spartans also received first place performances from Brandon Mattsey in the 1600-meter run and Logan Wolfersberger in the 800.

Mattsey completed his four laps in 4 minutes and 43.62 seconds, moving closer to achieving the all-elusive sub-four-minute mile. Teammate Carson Maroon finished behind him second at 4:48.94.

Wolfersberger set a new personal record in the 800, finishing the two loops around the track in 2 minutes and 8.65 seconds.


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When it comes to your health ask questions

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator


You don’t have to stay in the nursing home if you don’t want to. If you can manage to get out and have a place to go then it’s your life. Even if you want to spend your remaining days crawling in the floor to the kitchen or the bathroom then it’s your God given right to live out your days in such a way.

Too often people feel as if they do not have choices. Some nurse or social worker says, "Oh, you can’t leave here."

Really? If you are mentally and physically able then you can show them by getting up, putting on your clothes, if you are able, and walking or crawling out the door.

A few years back, an acquaintance went to the emergency room. After 30 minutes of feeling like she was being treated very poorly, she got up and left.

An attending nurse called for her to stop saying, "Wait, you can’t leave!"

The acquaintance said, "Watch me."

"You have to see the doctor!" the nurse responded.

The acquaintance retorted, "No, I don’t."

"You can’t leave without signing this paper!" the nurse demanded.

"I’m not signing anything," my acquaintance said as she walked out the door.

Most of the time we are submissively obedient to everything the medical community says to do.

Many years ago, when Magic Johnson was diagnosed with HIV, many of us believed he would die very soon. That was in 1992 and he is still alive today. Johnson once said, "I do what my doctor tells me to do."

It only makes sense to pay attention to our doctors. Most of the time, they know more than we do. If your cardiologist says to take statins or high blood pressure medicine then it would be wise to do so until you can get your numbers under control.

A friend of ours was advised by her doctor that she needed a hysterectomy. The doctor scheduled the procedure. Days before the procedure our friend called to say she had some unresolved questions. The doctor never called her back so our friend called and emailed the doctor’s office to cancel.

The morning of the scheduled surgery, the doctor called the woman from the surgical room infuriated because our friend did not show up.

Our friend said, "Doctor, I never received a return call to answer my questions, so I cancelled the surgery."

The doctor replied, "I can answer those questions here, you need to come on now."

"No, I won’t be there," our friend said. "I have questions about this procedure that I need to have resolved."

The doctor verbally berated her and forbid her to cancel. Our friend did not have the surgery. Months later she got a second opinion and learned she didn’t need the hysterectomy. There was a much less invasive procedure that would remedy her problem.

She had the less invasive procedure and has been fine for several years.

We are entitled to ask questions and get answers when it comes to our healthcare, surgery or any medication. If your doctor will not answer your questions then find a doctor who will.

We also have the right to be informed about all medical costs instead of being blind-sided later and pushed into bankruptcy.

We are thankful for our good doctors and all who help us with our medical needs. It’s important for us to listen to what they say, ask our questions and then determine the right thing to do.

The right thing to do, is to ask questions, get answers, and make informed decisions.


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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of American Issues, Every American Has An Opinion and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.

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This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Sentinel. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.


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