Kaitlyn Copley

Kaitlyn Copley

Tigers take down Ducks

The Tiger’s Parker McCoy looks to feed the ball inside to Ephrem Kayembe (#4).

The Beardstown Tigers salvaged a rough week by blasting the Havana Ducks 71 to 44 on Senior Night last Friday.  

A hearty pot of Duck soup is just what the Tigers needed after road losses to Payson-Seymour and Pittsfield. Beardstown ended the week with a 19-9 record including 4-4 in the West Central Conference

Dailey is State bound – BHS and BJHS Wrestling Results

Beardstown's Garrett Dailey (far right) placed fourth in the IHSA Wrestling Sectional at Geneseo and will wrestle in the State Tournament starting Thursday, Feburary 15 in Champaign.

Beardstown junior wrestler Garrett “Chunk” Dailey will join an impressive list of Tiger grapplers who have earned the right to wrestle on the grandest of stages, the Illinois High School State Wrestling Tournament. 

Dailey placed fourth in the Olympia Sectional at 285 to punch his ticket to the big dance at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois starting Thursday, February 15.

Jays drop two Conference Games

Porta Bluejays

A tough stretch for the PORTA-AC Central boys basketball team got even tougher as the Jays dropped two tight conference games to good teams last week to push their losing streak to five games. PORTA-AC has lost eight of their last nine to fall to 12-16 on the year and 1-6 in the Sangamo Conference.

Lady Jays win Sangamo

Lady Bluejays

Add undefeated Sangamo Conference Champions to the ever-growing list of accomplishments for the 2023-2024 PORTA-AC Central Lady Bluejays.  

A whipping of rival Pleasant Plains last week gave the Lady Jays a perfect 8-0 mark in the conference and the championship. Wins over Athens and Canton pushed their record to 29-1 overall entering postseason play.

Season ends for Lady Tigers

The best season in twenty years for the BHS girls’ basketball team came to an end in the first round of regional play on the road at West Hancock.  

The Lady Tigers finished the year with a record of 12-19 which is the most wins in a season since they won 17 in 2003-2004. After winning a maximum of seven games for six years running, Beardstown has won twelve, nine and eleven the last three and Coach Jimmy Maltby will return a very solid core of players for next year. Having joined the West Central Conference, BHS was obligated to make up a snowed-out game against West Hancock, meaning they would face the Titans twice in the final week of the season. A loss to West Central in the middle meant a three-game skid to end the season.

Lady Trojans advance

Trojans

The third time was the charm for the Triopia-Meredosia-Virginia Lady Trojan basketball team as they beat South Fork for the first time in three tries to win in the opening round of their own regional.  

In a process that is yet to make sense to me, the Lady Trojans traveled to the better seeded Ponies home floor in the opening game even though Triopia is the Regional host. Nevertheless, Triopia got the win, roping and tying the Ponies in 43 to 38 victory, moving to 14-14 on the season. Prior to regional action, the Trojans knocked off North Greene and lost to Pawnee.

Heart Healthy

Heart shaped by veggies and fruits with red banner that says Heart Healthy.

A healthy diet can help people lower their risk for various conditions, including heart disease. That’s a significant benefit, as the World Health Organization estimates that 32 percent of deaths across the globe can be attributed to cardiovascular disease, which is an umbrella term used to refer to a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels.

Good Growing – Proper pruning is an act of love

Heart Garden

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I want to share one of my great horticulture loves with you all…pruning. I love the idea of it, the exercise of pruning, the science of it, and the potential it has for significantly improving the health and longevity of woody plant material. 

Since trees are large, long-lived plants in our landscape, pruning activities done throughout the life of a tree can have a significant impact on how that tree functions in the landscape and how long it survives. Proper pruning conducted while a tree is young can have exponentially advantageous results for overall tree health, maintenance requirements, and beauty.

Tigers tame Wildcats

Beardstown's Payton McCoy handles the ball under some extreme pressure in JV basketball action against Western.

A strategic defensive adjustment by coach Eric Anderson and an increase in intensity for the Beardstown boys’ basketball team turned a five-point halftime deficit into a 72 to 52 runaway home win over the Western Wildcats in the Tigers only game last week. 

The long journey of Alzheimer’s – Support group to help others

Charles Kirchner (left) & Sara Brannan

Losing a loved one is always tough, but losing them to dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease is worse because you lose them a little at a time before death.Sara (Kirchner) Brannan, Beardstown, lost her dad, Charles “Shorty” Kirchner January 2, 2024 to dementia. His actual diagnosis was dementia of the Alzheimer type. He was diagnosed over 10 years ago.