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Miners topple Bulldogs on their court

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Cameron Tucker attempts to lay it in for two points.

Coming out of the Holiday Tournament with last place, the Miners were out to prove that they are better than the talk of the town. Heading into a loud and gruesome playing field Tuesday evening, the Miners faced off against nearby rival and Prairie State Conference opponent: Staunton. The Bulldogs entered the bout with a decent record of 8-5 while the Miners’ 3-11 record does not represent their talent nor performance.

The Miners came out of the gates hard and went on an early 4-0 scoring run in the first quarter and went on to score 5 more points, but Staunton was able to score a minimal 5 points in the quarter as they trailed by 4 points after the first eight minutes. With an early lead, the boys were somewhat clueless how to hold this lead the rest of the game and attempted to force too many questionable shots and difficult passes in the second quarter.

The boys sputtered in the second quarter and Staunton outscored them by double amount of points while the Miners scored just 7 points and the Bulldogs scored 18. Trailing by 7 points at halftime, the Miners spent the second half of the game trying to overcome the deficit and regain the lead. Efforts came short in the third quarter as Holloway from Staunton continued to walk over the Miners as he scored 9 of their 21 points in the quarter while the boys in the away uniforms could only gather 14 points while Bussmann scored half of them.

With only 8 minutes set on the clock and the scoreboard reading 44-30, the Miners not only had 14 points to score to tie the game, but they also had to hold the Bulldogs to overtake them. Easier done than said as the Miners performed in the fourth quarter and had their best quarter in the entire season,  some would say. Michael Bussmann led the boys in the final quarter as he and the Miners outscored the Bulldogs by 18 points. The Miners combined for 25 points and were able to hold Staunton to just merely 7 points to take their third victory on the season: 55-51.

The first quarter did anything but set the tone for the Miners. They came out strong and outscored the Bulldogs by 4 points at the end of the quarter. Led by senior pointguard Cameron Tucker, scoring 5 of the 9 points, the boys jumped out with a quick lead as they were able to force Staunton to shoot the perimeter shot rather than the easy lay-up. The Miners broke out in a man-to-man pressure defense and as it should have been unfamiliar to the Staunton Bulldogs, they sure acted like they have never seen such a thing before.

Derrick Tiburzi pulls up for a two point jumper.

The Bulldogs from Staunton forced multiple passes that landed in the hands of Michael Bussmann or Cort Hellmann as Staunton recorded almost 6 turnovers in the quarter. There were no complaints from the boys in the orange uniforms Tuesday evening because the team strives on steals, according to coach Terry Allan. The boys were no longer trading basket for basket as they took the steals to the opposite end of the court. Although, all the points were not “gimmes” either and the Miners did slow the offense down and work the ball around to find the open shot. The game plan worked and the Miners led by 4 points entering the second quarter.

With the lead, a small lead nonetheless, the Miners simple strategy for the second quarter was to hold the lead until halftime. The plan did not hold up as strong as it did in the first quarter as all five starters from the Staunton side of the court had at lead 3 points to their name in the scorebook. The Bulldogs, totaling 18 points, not only tied the game, but also took over the lead on the scoreboard while both teams were in the bonus by the end of the quarter.

The Miners sent Staunton into double bonus by the end of the second quarter while they were able to gather just 4 points from the free throw line, but the Miners on the other end were not able to score any points from the line as they were in single bonus for almost the entire quarter. Scoring just 7 points in the quarter, the Miners set theirselves up for a long second half as they now trailed by 7 points at halftime: 23-16.

“Seven points is nothing,” the boys talked coming out of the locker room at halftime. The boys were right, seven points was nothing. Not only did the Miners score 7 points, but they doubled that to score 14. Led by Michael Bussmann while he scored 7 of the 14 points, he dominated the paint over a pair of 6’2″ standing forwards on the offensive end. It was the same awful taste going back into the Miners mouths as they tried to stop the Bulldogs on the defensive end.

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As the Miners scored 14, the Bulldogs outscored them by another 7 points while they teamed up to score 21 points in the third quarter. Led by Holloway and Finnigan from the Staunton who scored 9 points and 6 points respectively, the Bulldogs had no trouble scoring in the third quarter. Both of Finnigan’s three pointers went uncontested as the Miners overlooked his 5’8″ height and Holloway too was able to grab 4 points without a hand in his face as the Miners played, or what looked like, a zone defense. The defense is what makes or breaks a team and the Miners had one quarter left to prove it as they trailed by 14 points now, 44-30.

The defense made the Miners in the fourth quarter and was the major force of the win Tuesday evening as the team returned to their man-to-man defense. The team did let up 7 points in the quarter, but all the scoring came from just one individual while the other four players from Staunton struggled to even get a shot off. Even as the boys were in foul trouble and Staunton was able to shoot bonus free throws if they got fouled, the Miners continued to play strong and play smart as Staunton was able to shoot just 2 bonus shoots throughout the entire quarter.

Michael Bussmann shoots over the defender as he led the team with 26 points.

As the Bulldogs scored 7, the Miners scored a monstrous 25. Led by Michael Bussmann again in the quarter with his 15 points, the Miners did rely on a few others to boost the guest score on the scoreboard above the home side. Jessie Smith pitched in as he scored 3 points before he fouled out and sophomores Derrick Tiburzi and Blake Peterson did the rest of the scoring for the away side of the court as they scored 4 points and 3 points respectively. All four players combined for 25 points and the Miners not only tied the game and took the lead, but they also made their largest comeback of the season as they defeated the Bulldogs in front of their home audience by a score of 55-51.

The Miners played as a team and won as a team in Tuesday evenings game. Without the strong performance by all five players on the defensive end, the game could have been a different story. The boys played just as well on the offensive end as they passed the ball around to always find the open player for the easiest shot. According to coach Terry Allan, this is just the beginning of the fine tuning the Miners have.

The boys take the floor next when they travel to Hillsboro (who support a record of 5-6 as of today) next Tuesday, January 10. JV action is set to begin at 6:0o o’clock pm while varsity action will follow directly after the JV game.

 

 

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Gillespie man injured in DUI accident

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Genisio's Ford Mustang in the City of Gillespie's impound lot Tuesday morning.

A Gillespie man was taken to a local hospital after suffering injuries following a single-vehicle accident that occurred Sunday morning, October 11, after he drove off the roadway and into a deep ditch near the intersection of Route 16 and Charles Street in Gillespie.

Gillespie Police Chief Jared DePoppe reported that the police department was dispatched to the scene of the accident shortly before 3 a.m. Officers arrived to find Jonathan Genisio, 29, of Gillespie as the driver and only occupant inside the Ford Mustang vehicle.

Genisio was arrested, but give a notice to appear in court so he could seek medical treatment. He was charged with six different counts in addition to having his vehicle impounded. His charges include driving under the influence of alcohol, no insurance, improper lane usage, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to notify SOS of an address change and failure to wear a seat belt.

At the time of publication on Thursday evening, the vehicle was recovered from impound and Genisio was discharged from the hospital. The extent of his injuries was unable to be released by medical personnel.

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Community News

Gillespie council discusses budget and meeting process

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Treasurer Dan Fisher addresses the council.

Treasurer Dan Fisher (right) addresses the council.

The treasurer for the City of Gillespie had a lot to say about how city officials handle their subcommittees and how city funds are spent during the city’s committee meeting held Monday evening, July 27.

Dan Fisher, the elected treasurer for Gillespie, spoke to the council for over 30 minutes about how bills are paid and more importantly, how purchases are appropriated for and planned. During the city’s board meeting held earlier this month, Fisher suggested the council move their meeting dates to coincide with how the bills are paid.

He explained that many council members bring up issues or have questions about certain bills during the council meetings, but the questions are left to be answered by the city clerk who isn’t present at the board meetings. In addition to dragging out the meetings, Fisher said the questions should be taken care of before the meeting is held.

“We need to have a standardized process on how we buy things,” Fisher told the council Monday evening. “We need to spend more time on appropriating.”

We need to have a standardized process on how we buy things

Fisher distributed a “Budget Basics” packet to board members during the committee meeting held Monday and said the council should consider implementing a purchase order system to account for all purchases. “That way when the bills come in, we can match the form up with it and everyone knows what the purchase was for and what account it comes out of,” he clarified.

Council members agreed with what Fisher had to say to them. “We need to spend a lot of time when do our appropriation and it’s going to take a lot of time from everyone, including myself,” he continued. “We need to find a way to be collective in how we do things.”

Fisher closed by adding that the council also takes too long at their regular city council meetings, which are held on the second Monday of each month. Speaking of the city’s July meeting that lasted nearly 3 hours, Fisher said the council needs to be much more “business-like”.

“We take too long at our meetings,” he closed. “It’s been proven that people lose focus after 90 minutes and there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to get a meeting done in 1 hour and 15 minutes.”

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City clerk Frances Smith spoke up after Fisher referred to the council’s last meeting. She prefaced her statement by saying she didn’t intend to saying anything, but continued by saying that the council’s July 13th meeting took her three days to transcribe. “It makes the clerk’s job hard – whoever it is,” she said. “There is a lot of side conversations and it’s very hard to hear on the tape.”

Ash Street Project

Alderman Steve Kluthe informed the board that he received the bid specifications back for the Ash Street Project which allows the council to advertise the specs to get an idea how much drainage project will cost.

Kluthe said the bid specifications cover everything including equal opportunity employer and prevailing wage information, but said the project could probably be handled by a local contractor. The project includes installing a culvert that will transfer the water to Cherry Street.

The council hopes the completed project will then alleviate the water that currently gets backed up north of Ash Street. “They are going to put a culvert underneath Ash Street to the north and grade the ground on the north side so the water flows to the culvert and down to the south end where there is a storm drain,” Kluthe explained.

TIF District

We should stretch the money out and begin to reinvest the money into community development

Fisher informed the council that the tax bills for the TIF district went out and the city can expect to receive close to $60,000. He reminded the council that even though the city made a big payment to United Community Bank last year in excess of $90,000, there will still be a payment made to UCB for their portion paid into the TIF until the TIF expires, which Fisher said is 12-14 more years.

After the city pays UCB, Fisher said the council can expect to still have somewhere north of $40,000 remaining each year. “I would like us to start to look at other projects that meet the TIF criteria that we could spend $20-$30,000 per year,” Fisher explained. “Long-range projects – projects that could last 10-12 years. We should stretch the money out and begin to reinvest the money into community development.”

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Elementary School News

Elementary school releases supply lists for fall

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School Supply 2

Kindergarten

  • 5 boxes CRAYOLA brand crayons (24 count)
  • 1 box CRAYOLA brand broad-line markers (classic)
  • 1 backpack
  • 1 box of water paints
  • 1 pair FISKAR brand scissors (children’s)
  • 6 large glue sticks
  • 1 small plastic school box
  • 4 pocket folders
  • 4 large erasers
  • 20 pencils (#2, lead, plain yellow)
  • 2 boxes of Kleenex
  • 2 rolls of paper towels
  • 2 containers of anti-bacterial wipes
  • 1 large box of sandwich size ZIPLOC bags (girls)
  • 1 large box of gallon ZIPLOC bags (boys)
  • 1 clipboard
  • 1 highlighter
  • 1 spiral 1-subject notebook (wide ruled)
  • Extra set of clothes to keep at school
  • Tennis shoes for P.E.

First Grade

  • 1 plastic school box
  • 3 packs of pencil top erasers
  • 2 large pink erasers
  • 5 packs of Ticonderoga brand pencils
  • 2 yellow highlighters
  • 2 boxes of CRAYOLA crayons (24 count)
  • 12 Elmer’s brand glue sticks
  • 1 pair of FISKAR brand scissors
  • 1 spiral 1-subject notebook (wide ruled)
  • 2 plastic 2-pocket folders
  • 1 8ct classic CRAYOLA fine line markers
  • 2 dry erase markers
  • 1 roll of paper towels
  • 2 boxes of Kleenex
  • 3 containers of Clorox Anti-Bacterial Wipes
  • 1 box of sandwich size ZIPLOC bags (girls)
  • 1 box of gallon ZIPLOC bags (boys)
  • Tennis shoes for P.E.
  • Extra set of clothes to keep at school

Second Grade

  • Handheld pencil sharpener
  • 8 large Elmer’s glue sticks
  • 1 large zippered pencil bag
  • 24 – #2 pencils
  • 1 wide ruled spiral notebook
  • 1 package wide ruled loose leaf paper
  • (2) 1” three ring binder
  • 1 pack of pencil top erasers
  • 1 pair of FISKARS brand pointed scissors
  • 1 yellow highlighter
  • 1 box broad line classic CRAYOLA markers
  • 2 boxes CRAYOLA crayons (24 count)
  • 2 plastic pocket folders
  • 1 CRAYOLA watercolor paints
  • 1 box of Kleenex
  • 1 roll of paper towels
  • Large Ziploc bags
  • Sandwich size Ziploc bags
  • 2 containers of Clorox wipes
  • 1 box of CRAYOLA colored pencils
  • 2 dry erase markers
  • Extra set of clothes to leave at school
  • Tennis shoes for P.E.

Third Grade

  • 1 small school box
  • 4 packages of pencils (#2, plain yellow)
  • 2 boxes CRAYOLA crayons (24 count)
  • 1 box CRAYOLA colored pencils
  • 1 highlighter
  • 1 pair pointed scissors
  • 6 ELMER glue sticks
  • 2 pocket folders
  • 3 boxes Kleenex
  • 2 containers of CLOROX wipes
  • 1 roll of paper towels
  • 1 package of loose leaf paper (wide rule)
  • 2 notebooks (wide rule)
  • (2) 1” binders
  • 2 packs of pencil top erasers
  • Gallon-sized Ziploc bags (boys)
  • Sandwich-sized Ziploc bags (girls)
  • 2 packages of post-it notes
  • Tennis shoes for P.E.

Fourth Grade

  • 2 packages of wide rule loose leaf paper
  • 48 pencils
  • 3 packs pencil top erasers
  • (1) 2” binder
  • 1 box 24 or 48 count CRAYOLA crayons
  • 1 pair FISKAR scissors
  • 1 box of colored pencils
  • 1 single subject notebook (wide rule)
  • 3 folders
  • 2 packages of white index cards
  • 4 highlighters
  • 4 packages of post-it notes
  • 2 boxes Kleenex
  • 1 container of Clorox wipes
  • Hand held Pencil Sharpener
  • Dividing tabs for binder
  • Tennis shoes for P.E.

Fifth Grade

  • Art Box
  • Pencil Pouch
  • 36 pencils (mechanical preferred)
  • 12 pencil top erasers
  • Crayola crayons
  • Markers
  • Crayola Colored Pencils
  • Red or Blue Pen
  • Scissors
  • Clear Ruler
  • Clear Protractor
  • 1 Bottle of Elmer’s Glue or 2 Glue Sticks
  • (1) 3 Ring Binder (2 inch)
  • 2 notebooks (one subject-wide ruled)
  • 1 package of loose leaf paper (wide ruled)
  • 3 folders
  • 2 highlighters
  • 2 boxes Kleenex
  • Girls-Antibacterial Wipes
  • Boys-4 pack of post it notes
  • Hand Held Pencil Sharpener
  • Pocket Dictionary
  • Tennis shoes for P.E.

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