Rockets advance in three events at state track

Unity's Ashlyn Denney hands off the baton to teammate Arianna Pruitt-LeFairve while competing in the 4x400 Relay at the Illinois High School Association Track & Field State Finals. The Rockets' time of 4:10.38 qualified the squad for the Class 2A finals in Charleston on Saturday. Unity will have an entry in two other events, including the 4x800 Meter Relay and Kayla Nelson in the 200-Meter Dash. See more Unity Rocket photos from state.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Urbana finishes 5th in relay prelims, squad gets a shot at the state title

May 20, 2022 - Charleston, Illinois - Tiarra Townsend-Cooper takes the baton from teammate Syniyah Quenga during their heat in the 4x200 Meter Relay at the IHSA Girls Track & Field Finals preliminaries. The Tigers' relay squad finished 5th overall in the prelims with a time of 1:44.97 and advance to Saturday's finals. Quenga, a freshman, will also represent Urbana in the 200-Meter Dash finals. See more photos from the girls' state track meet.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Area yard and garage sales

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1061 County Rd 1200 E.

Tolono

May 14 and May 15 / 9 am - 4 pm

Featured items:
Gourd birdhouses
Various sizes of dried gourds—$2-4
Mesquite wood posts
10 gal. New black plastic pots
3ft metal conduit tree stakes
4- 4x8 ft 3/4 in. Plywood
4- 4x8 ft sheets wood lattice board
Pieces of weathered wood
Snow fencing - 4 rolls
Portable Basketball stand with hoop & net -almost new
Tv stand free
Girls equestrian almost new black English Riding boots size 6

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ECIYO to host spring concert on Sunday

Urbana -- The East Central Illinois Youth Orchestra will present this year's spring concert at Monticello High School's auditorium this Sunday.

The May 15 concert will be free and starts at 7:00 pm.

"The kids have worked long and hard during a challenging time, and the results will be very much worth hearing," said Kevin Kelly, Music Director for the East Central Illinois Youth Orchestra. "If you have the evening free, I hope you’ll consider attending."

The young musicians who will perform on Sunday are the top high school classical instrumentalists in the area. The student-musician group, who audition individually for their chair, consist of 49 students from Champaign, Urbana, Mahomet, Monticello, and Danville.

In addition to classical pieces from Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Mozart, concert-goers will hear new work by Aaron Rosenstein, a member of the orchestra.

"The kids have worked long and hard during a challenging time, and the results will be very much worth hearing," Kelly added.

SJO basketball coaches earn IBCA accolades

Coach Kiel Duval goes over the Spartans' game plan during their home game against Cissna Park last November. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Normal -- SJO basketball head coaches Drew Arteaga and Kiel Duval will be recognized as coaches of the year at the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association annual luncheon today at Redbird Arena. The two St. Joseph-Ogden award winners are among a class of 185 Illinois basketball coaches selected this season.

Arteaga led the girls' program to a 24-8 finish in his inaugural season at the helm. Duval's boys' team also finished with a 20-win season with a 23-10 record.

Coach Arteaga watches his team play against the Unity Rockets on February 5. SJO won 49-27 on their way to perfect 10-0 conference record. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Mediterranean-style diet shown to reduce risk of preeclampsia during pregnancy

Photo: Edgar Castrejon/Unsplash

by American Heart Association

DALLAS -- Following a Mediterranean-style diet during pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of developing preeclampsia, and Black women appeared to have the greatest reduction of risk, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

Previous studies have found that following a Mediterranean diet, which consists primarily of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, olive oil, whole grains, and fish, reduces heart disease risk in adults.

Preeclampsia, a condition during pregnancy characterized by severe high blood pressure and liver or kidney damage, is a major cause of complications and death for the mother and her unborn child. Preeclampsia also increases a woman’s risk of heart diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke or heart failure, by more than two times later in life. Women with preeclampsia have a higher risk of preterm delivery (giving birth before 37 weeks gestation) or low birth weight babies, and children born to mothers with preeclampsia are also at higher risk of developing high blood pressure and heart disease.

Black women are at higher risk of developing preeclampsia, yet research on potential treatments for high-risk women are limited, according to the study researchers. The researchers investigated the potential association of a Mediterranean-style diet among a large group of racially and ethnically diverse women who have a high risk of preeclampsia.

“The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries, and preeclampsia contributes to it,” said Anum S. Minhas, M.D., M.H.S., chief cardiology fellow and a cardio-obstetrics and advanced imaging fellow at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “Given these health hazards to both mothers and their children, it is important to identify modifiable factors to prevent the development of preeclampsia, especially among Black women who are at the highest risk of this serious pregnancy complication.”

This study included data for more than 8,500 women enrolled between 1998 and 2016 in the Boston Birth Cohort. Participants’ median age was 25 years old, and they were recruited from Boston Medical Center, which serves a predominantly urban, low-income, under-represented racial and ethnic population. Nearly half of the participants were Black women (47%), about a quarter were Hispanic women(28%) and the remaining were white women or “other” race, according to self-reported information on a postpartum questionnaire. Researchers created a Mediterranean-style diet score based on participants’ responses to food frequency interviews and questionnaires, which were conducted within three days of giving birth.

The analysis found:

10% of the study participants developed preeclampsia.

Women who had any form of diabetes before pregnancy and pre-pregnancy obesity were twice as likely to develop preeclampsia compared to women without those conditions.

The risk of preeclampsia was more than 20% lower among the women who followed a Mediterranean-style diet during pregnancy.

Black women who had the lowest Mediterranean-style diet scores had the highest risk (72% higher) for preeclampsia compared to all other non-Black women who more closely adhered to the Mediterranean-style diet.

“We were surprised that women who more frequently ate foods in the Mediterranean-style diet were significantly less likely to develop preeclampsia, with Black women experiencing the greatest reduction in risk,” Minhas said. “This is remarkable because there are very few interventions during pregnancy that are found to produce any meaningful benefit, and medical treatments during pregnancy must be approached cautiously to ensure the benefits outweigh the potential risks to the mother and the unborn child.”

Minhas added, “Women should be encouraged to follow a healthy lifestyle, including a nutritious diet and regular exercise, at all stages in life. Eating healthy foods regularly, including vegetables, fruits and legumes, is especially important for women during pregnancy. Their health during pregnancy affects their future cardiovascular health and also impacts their baby’s health.”

The study’s limitations are related to the food frequency interviews: they were conducted once after the pregnancy, and they relied on self-reported information about which foods were eaten and how frequently they were eaten.

How much are life and freedom worth?

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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Most of us have wondered about life beyond the grave. Many today are in search of life before the grave. Given what many people traditionally believe about heaven, eternity and life beyond, it would certainly seem very valuable to think about a life beyond. However, what about life here?

The Ukrainian people wake up every day to fight, survive or hide another day. They fight for life and freedom. Why? Life and freedom are worth something.

How much are life and freedom worth? What does it mean to you to hug your spouse or loved one? How much do you enjoy laughing with family, friends or at a funny tv show? How good does it feel to do something you enjoy? Cooking a meal, music, reading, your faith assembly, grandkids or enjoying a sunny or rainy day. Life is living and enjoying our living.

God didn’t make us to be miserable. We make ourselves miserable. Sickness makes us miserable. Addictions destroy us and others. Death of the people we love zaps us and creates major voids in our lives. Yet, life can only be lived forward and often this is where we get stuck.

Too often we put our cars in park and start watching the world go by us. We look in the rear view mirror. Life is whizzing by and we can’t seem to get our foot back on the accelerator to start moving again. This becomes a very stagnate and unhappy way to live. Actually, it’s not a life at all.

Living before you die must have some routine. Go to work. Go someplace. Do something. It doesn’t have to be exotic or glorious. Often routine is the same thing every day. There is some peace in routine. When our routine and entire lives are shaken, like what is happening in Ukraine, then every minute is about surviving another day.

Survival mode for you may be doctor’s visits. Making a plan for the next five years or year of your life. Reconnecting to some family or a friend or two. Making peace with the past and embracing today.

The keyword for life is hope.

Peace is another keyword but peace doesn’t exist without hope. If we have hope we can look forward to life. We hope we have enough health. We hope we have enough money. The people of Ukraine have hope they can overcome Russia. This keeps many of them going. Many have fled the country in search of hope.

Find the hope you need to embrace the rest of your life. Hope in family, friends, hobbies and much more is good. Just be very aware, even they may disappoint you. Mainly, find hope in you.

God didn’t make junk. Too often, life, events, mistakes, and sometimes even people we are close to make it difficult for us to see our worth and it tarnishes our spirit.

Hope is an inside job that starts now.

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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of Grandpa's Store, American Issues, 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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With Arms Open Wide benefit concert at the Rose Bowl

The Slavic Reference Service at the University of Illinois will be hosting a benefit concert on Saturday at the Rose Bowl Tavern in downtown Urbana.

Starting at 1pm, the concert will feature local bands from a wide range of styles and genres for three and a half hours. Admission is free.

The event is a collaboration with Doctors Without Borders (DWB). DWB provides medical aid to people around the globe whose well-being and survival are threatened daily by conflict and catastrophe.

As the war in Ukraine continues to drag on, DWB has been on the ground providing humanitarian assistance. Their efforts led to a specially designed medical train such as the one on April 26 that transported patients from Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro to hospitals in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv.

"The “With Arms Wide Open - Give Across Borders” campaign aims to raise $50,000 to aid DWB’s work in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Yemen, and other conflict zones," says event organizer Olga Markarova-Bowman. "Any amount able to be contributed is greatly appreciated and will be used to provide urgent medical care, treatment for malnutrition, emergency surgery, and vaccinations to those in need."

For more information on about the fundraising campaign, please visit the official campaign website.

Guest Commentary: Your past plays a part of where you are today

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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Carrying baggage is exhausting. When traveling we often pack more than we need. When making a trip it’s always easier to travel light.

Life is a trip. The longer we live the more we seem to pack and try to carry. Our mind has so many shelves, drawers and spaces for luggage of all shapes and sizes. We have this giant closet inside our brains that we fill up throughout life.

Your mental closet is filled with memories that are good and not so good. You may have spaces filled with grief, sadness, hurts, rejection, loss, failure, disappointments, defeats and more. You also hopefully have stored up some happy times, victories, successes, celebrations, achievements, love, relationships and peace. Hopefully your mind is filled with more positive happy events.

I heard the story about a young man who loved his cat. The cat died and his mother gave him permission to bury his cat in the backyard. The mother became appalled when she discovered her son was digging up the cat every few days to see how the cat was doing. Too often we live our lives this way. We dig up old stuff that needs to remain buried forever.

Too often the mind carries what cannot be physically buried, good or bad. We are frequently impacted by what we keep stored. One cold morning, a little boy put his backside up against an old coal stove. The hot stove burned his bottom and he knew never to do that again. What we have stored up in our minds can often serve us well. Wisdom is gained the hard way. The school of hard knocks is educational and expensive. We pay dearly throughout life to learn the hard way. Thus, what we have stored up can be very valuable to us as we face additional life challenges and opportunities.

Your past decisions, work, interests, achievements, failures and mistakes all play a part in where you are today. This could be very good. Or, it could be very bad. If you learned from your mistakes and moved forward then you may be further ahead than you ever imagined. If you didn’t learn from your mistakes and you continue to make them then frustration and sadness is haunting you.

Today is a new day. You can’t change the past. You do not know the future. Live your best life now. Dispose of as much baggage as you can. Do away with old resentments and regrets. Forgive people. Forgive yourself. Don’t live in the cemetery but live with hope of seeing your loved one in a better place.

Paul, the author of Philippians said it this way, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of Grandpa's Store, American Issues, 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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SJO baseball streak continues with win over Pontiac

St. Joseph -- Taylor Voorhees is tagged out on a play at second base by a Pontiac player in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Spartans secure their 17th win of the season after defeating the Indians in the Illini Prairie Conference game 7-1 at Meier Field on Thursday. See more photos from this game.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Late surge pushes SJO past Chargers in road game

St. Joseph-Ogden's Avian Gerdes dives back to first base to avoid a pick-off attempt during SJO's road game against Centennial. After light rain during the early innings and three runs across the final four of the ballgame, the Spartans pulled out a 4-1 win over the host Chargers. Gerdes made it back to the bag avoiding the tag and later left on base during his pinch-run appearance. See more photos from this game.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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