Breese mayor proclaims Oct. 11 as 'Lions Candy Day'
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- Written by: Matt Wilson - Breese Journal Reporter
A proclamation naming Friday, Oct. 11 as Lions Candy Day was announced during the Breese City Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Mayor Kevin Timmermann read the proclamation, saying that the Breese Lions Club has been an active part of the community.
The proclamation stated that the Breese Lions Club is dedicated to service to the community, particularly in the areas of vision and hearing conservation and in the areas of aid to the deaf and blind.
The club will participate in Lions Candy Day on Friday, Oct. 11. Members will be giving away candy and accepting donations for humanitarian services.
Timmermann proclaimed Friday, Oct. 11 as Lions Candy Day and urged the community to donate generously.
Also during the meeting, Timmermann stated that the recycling dumpster behind Breese City Hall has been removed as of Sept. 25. He said a survey sent out to Breese residents came back 85% against a recycling option given by Waste Management.
Timmermann also said that the dumpster behind city hall had been abused. He said a lot of the items put in the dumpster ended up being garbage. He said that in-town and out-of-town residents would use the dumpster for everything but to put recycling in it.
'The Streak' to be featured in film festival at Indianapolis
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- Written by: Matt Wilson - Breese Journal Reporter
A pair of Clinton County residents will be featured in the movie documentary "The Streak" set to come out this fall.
'The Streak' is a two-act documentary film that follows the 1987 Salt Lake City Trappers baseball team. Frank Colston of Beckemeyer and John Groennert of Trenton were both members of that team.
The Trappers were an unaffiliated team at the lowest level of the minor leagues.
"This was a team that had the gift of desperation," Colston said. "We were on the bottom of the rung in the professional baseball ladder. But the thing about this team was that we were a family. We still refer to ourselves these days as the Trapper Family."
By the end of the 1987 season, they had achieved the longest winning streak in the history of professional baseball at 29 games. The previous record was 27 consecutive games set by the 1902 Corsicana Oilers (of the Texas League) and the 1921 Baltimore Orioles (of the International League). The longest win streak in Major League Baseball was 26 consecutive games set by the 1916 New York Giants. The Trappers had their 29-game winning streak ended with a 7-5 loss to Billings.
"This was just a bunch of guys that no one wanted and we played with a chip on our shoulder," Groennert said. "We wanted to go out and show that we could play with anybody, even the teams that had players get drafted."
Manager Jim Gilligan said it was a special group of players.
"I have never seen a group of guys compliment each other like they did," Gilligan said. "My job as the manager was to just get out of their way and let them play. Our job as the managers were to just put it all together and they were just a special group of guys."
The Trappers' winning streak earned them a spot in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
"When you grow up playing baseball, you never expect something like this to happen," said Colston, who was a two-year member of the Trappers before being picked up by the Seattle Mariners organization. "This is just a great story. It's a story of hope."
Colston was the catcher and team captain for the Trappers. He had two bases-loaded doubles for six RBIs in a 13-3 win over the Pocatello Giants that gave the Trappers the record-breaking 28th straight win.
Groennert was the winning pitcher in the record-breaking game. He was brought in the game in the second inning with the bases loaded. He got out of the jam and cruised from there. He struck out eight, had no walks and gave up five hits for the win.
Cougars move to 6-0 after 49-7 rout at Salem with another running clock
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- Written by: Jeremy Chawgo - Breese Journal Sports Editor
The Central Cougars continued their record-breaking season on Friday at Jim Finks Field in Salem as the Cougars emerged victorious 49-7 in the Cahokia Conference clash.
The Cougars are currently ranked #2 in the Illinois Media’s Class 4A poll and they are 6-0 for the first time in school history. They will host 5-1 Roxana on Friday in a pivotal conference match up against the defending champs.
As for Friday’s win over Salem, the Cougars set the tone early and often with their defense making their dominance know from the opening kick.
The Wildcats had scored on their first possession in each of their first five games, were shut down on their first possession and forced to punt after three plays.
“I thought we played as well as we could have tonight on the defensive side of the ball,” said Central head coach Brian Short. “I felt like we had a great scouting report from some of the things that we saw on film and the kids executed the game plan.”
Central left no doubt on their opening drive when they marched six plays right down the field before senior Kaden Rakers scampered in from 37 yards out with Noah Koch adding the PAT for a 7-0 lead.
After another three-and-out from the Wildcats, the Cougars needed just four plays and 60 seconds to get back on the board when Cole Davis ran in from 30 yards out for a 14-0 lead with seven minutes gone.
“We talked about the importance of getting an early stop and getting out to that early lead on the road,” added Short. “We slowed them down and we were faster than they were.”
After their third-straight three-and-out, the Wildcats punted for the third time, this one resulting into another scoring drive for the visitors.
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