St. Bede Brings Home First Ever Girl’s Sports Trophy

Clear out space for a new banner inside the St. Bede Academy gym.

Family, friends and fans saluted the Lady Bruins state finalist softball team Sunday afternoon at the academy.  They received a police and fire escort from Oglesby thru La Salle and Peru before gathering in the gym.

St. Bede Athletic Director Tom McGunigal put the girl’s accomplishment in perspective mentioning they’re not only the best softball team in school history but the first ever girl’s team in any sport to place at state. Coach Bill Prokup and his daughter and senior second baseman Barbie Prokup also spoke at the celebration thanking the community for their support in the playoffs.

The Bruins finished 24-7.

LaSalle firemen have nick of time rescue

Could you keep calm awaiting rescue in a fire? LaSalle Fire Chief Andy Bacidore said three people at 337 Hennepin did just that this morning, even as flames approached. Bacidore told AM 1220 WLPO news a burning staircase trapped a 38-year old woman and two teens upstairs in the back of the structure.  A ladder truck rescued all three, said Bacidore, and with little time to spare. The veteran firefighter said the truck was forced to park on uneven terrain making the rescue slower and a bit precarious. The fire was under control in 30 minutes said Bacidore. The woman,  Amanda Milton,  who co-owns  the house,  a 13-year old boy and 16-year old girl were treated for smoke inhalation at IVCH. A state fire marshall will investigate though the cause doesn’t seem suspicious. Utica, Troy Grove, Peru and Spring Valley also helped.  A 9-1-1 call came in to LaSalle Fire station about 3:04am today.

P-C baseball team welcomed home

What do Putnam County and LaSalle-Peru varsity baseball teams have in common?  They both have 2nd place trophies now and they both won the hardware with Bill Booker on the coaching staff. After a controversial end to his head coaching career at L-P, Booker joined his friend Dave Garcia as an assistant at Putnam County.  Garcia told Saturday’s welcome home celebration crowd that Booker is the best baseball man he’s known.  Garcia even poked fun of the L-P controversy saying “we actually relieved Coach Booker of his coaching duties three weeks ago…out of a ritual…because the last time L-P did that they went to the state championship.” Senior Xavier Warren spoke on behalf of the players saying they came together at the right time after an inconsistent regular season. P-C lost to Waterloo Gibault 6 – 2 in the State 1-A title game.   LaSalle Peru lost a 3A sectional title game at Coal City Saturday to Tinley Park,  7 – 2.

Vinegar test may indicate cancer

A study of women in India  has found that a simple test using vinegar could save thousands of lives a year by spotting early signs of cervical cancer. Researchers tested 150,000 women in India, where cervical cancer is the leading cancer killer of women.  Vinegar swabbed onto the cervix can cause abnormal cells to change color, a warning sign that further testing is needed.

Fed report on disaster help

Since April’s record flood and accompanying disaster declarations, the U.S. government has distributed 68-million dollars in FEMA grants to 24-thousand individuals and households. According to a FEMA release, from the 68-million, more than sixty million went to housing assistance and repairs and eight million toward medical costs and possessions. The Small Business Administration has approved two million in loans to renters, businesses and homeowners. Thirty-three thousand home inspections have been performed. Assistance is being communicated in fourteen languages other than English including Greek, Hindi and Tagalog. The Bureau County Republican reports FEMA will be setting up shop in Bureau County in the coming days.