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TOKYO — Former Beatle Paul McCartney will tour Japan in April, playing three concerts at Tokyo Dome on April 27, 29 and 30. McCartney, 74, made the announcement in a surprise video message during NHK’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen” program on New Year’s Eve. McCartney last performed in Japan in 2015, when he played five concerts, including one at the Budokan, his first appearance there since the Beatles’ 1966 concert. The April gigs are part of McCartney’s “One On One” tour, which he kicked off in the U.S. last year. Tickets range from 14,000 yen to 18,000 yen. Japan Today
OKAYAMA — Police in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture, said Monday they have arrested a 32-year-old man on suspicion of fatally stabbing a 38-year-old man on a mountain road on Sunday. According to police, a man called 119 at around 4 p.m. Sunday, saying he had stabbed someone and gave the location. Fuji TV reported that police rushed to the site and found the victim, Maku Kohara, lying on the road, bleeding from stab wounds to his back and thigh. Kohara, who lived in Kurashiki, was taken to hospital where he died at around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Police said Kohara’s car and another vehicle were parked near where his body was found. However, the owner of the second car, who is believed to have made the 119 call, was nowhere to be found. A bloodied knife was also found by the cars, police said. Police on Monday traced the car to Ryotaro Yamaguchi and arrested him in Kurashiki. Police said Yamaguchi has admitted to stabbing Kohara, whom he knew. He was quoted as saying he and Kohara got into an argument. Japan Today
TOKYO — Prediction is a game we all can play. Whether experts play it better than astrologers, palm readers, tea-leaf readers or the rest of us who simply flip coins is hard to say. Either way, Shukan Gendai (Dec 31 – Jan 7) turns to the experts for educated guesses as to what the dawning Year of the Rooster will sound like. You don’t need expertise to foresee two things looming large – technology and the U.S. presidency of Donald Trump. Trump’s telephone chat early last month with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen defied a protocol in effect since 1979, when the U.S. broke off official relations with Taiwan to recognize China. The conversation may have been bland, but the implied message wasn’t, and China, predictably, was provoked. Here was the president-elect igniting a potential crisis more than a month before taking office, says Shukan Gendai. Where might it go from here? “If President Trump makes continuation of the one-China policy conditional upon Chinese trade concessions, Chinese President Xi Jinping will soon break off relations,” the magazine hears from a Beijing-based journalist. Could it mean war? Probably not, the journalist says, but if it does, given the massive population imbalance in China’s favor, “the U.S. would be the first to back down.” Technological breakthroughs will propel driverless cars, the Internet of Things and so on closer and closer into our increasingly futuristic daily lives. Look for Japan’s first on-road experiments with driverless buses in 2017. There is a puzzling paradox between technologically avant-garde Japan and its deeply conservative leadership. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finds himself in the rather odd position of being more conservative than the reigning emperor, whose postwar demotion to “symbol of the state and of the unity of the people” rankles rightists nostalgic for his prewar divine status. When Emperor Akihito announced in August his desire, owing to his advanced age, to abdicate, Abe and his closest advisors termed the situation “difficult.” There is no precedent for an imperial abdication. One unprecedented development may provoke others – female succession, for example; anathema to the right wing which sees in Abe their reflection and representative. “A decisive confrontation” looms between emperor and prime minister, predicts Shukan Gendai. Abe’s name immediately suggests “Abenomics,” the economic reform package he said four years ago would turn Japan’s economy around. Economist Noriko Hama, long one of its bitterest critics, renamed it “Ahonomics” – “aho” meaning fool. “You might say it’s already at a dead end,” she tells the magazine. The shapeless, ad hoc nature of the program doomed it from the start, in her view. Could 2017 be the year in which the whole shaky edifice comes crashing down? Unfortunately, yes, she says. Not everyone sees it that way. Economic analyst Tsukasa Jonen sees a two-thirds chance of the economy strengthening in the new year. Among the favorable omens is Trump’s presidency – Trump’s economic thinking seems to have much in common with Abenomics, suggesting the possibility of the two economies prospering in tandem. There’s one condition: “that Japan’s foreign ministry doesn’t screw up.” When Abe feels he’s riding a wave, he calls elections. The legislative flurry of 2016 climaxed with the prime minister’s historic visit to Pearl Harbor on Dec 27. However you feel about his ideology and policies, his energy and activism are beyond question, and much admired by an electorate too long numbed by the seeming do-nothingness of too many of his predecessors. Shukan Gendai sees an 85% chance of the Diet being dissolved in January, followed by elections which, whether or not he wins big, Abe “can’t lose.” That would free him from poll worries until 2018, when his term as Liberal Democratic Party president ends. Japan Today
IBARAKI — A man who shot two people at a company office, killing one man and wounding another in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Wednesday morning, was found dead in his car about 80 minutes later after having apparently shot himself. According to police, the suspect, Yoshihiro Tomita, 65, was an employee at the company, Kashima Shinpan, which handles waste disposal. Fuji TV reported that at around 7:40 a.m., he entered the company’s administrative office and fired shots at two male employees. The two employees were taken to hospital where one of them, aged 49, died about an hour later. The second victim, 28, is in a stable condition, police said Wednesday. Tomita was found in his car in a park at 9 a.m. about four kilometers from the scene of the shooting. He had a bullet wound to his head and the gun was in the car. Japan Today
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean prosecutors said Monday the daughter of the confidante of disgraced President Park Geun-hye has been arrested in Denmark and authorities are working to get her returned home in connection with a huge corruption scandal. Park was impeached last month by lawmakers amid public fury over prosecutors’ allegations that the president conspired to allow her longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, to extort companies and control the government. Denmark police arrested Choi’s daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, on the weekend on charges of staying their illegally. South Korea had asked Interpol to search for Chung because she didn’t return home to answer questions about the scandal. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports that Chung, a former member of the national equestrian team, allegedly took advantage of her mother’s relationship with Park to get unwarranted favors from Seoul’s Ewha Womans University. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
NEW YORK — Dick Clark Productions is hitting back against Mariah Carey’s claim it sabotaged her live performance on its “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” special. Carey’s disaster during the annual New Year’s Eve special in Times Square made international headlines: The superstar vocally stumbled through her short set, failing to sing for most of it despite a pre-recorded track of her songs playing in the background. Carey was visibly upset during the performance and afterward tweeted “(expletive) happens.” Her representative Nicole Perna blamed technical difficulties, and in an interview with Billboard she said Dick Clark Productions hampered Carey’s performance. “She was not winging this moment and took it very seriously,” Perna told Billboard. “A shame that production set her up to fail.” Perna said Carey’s earpiece wasn’t working and she flagged the issue to the production team but was told it would be OK when she got on stage. “However, that was not the case, and they were again told that her earpiece was not working,” Perna said. “Instead of endeavoring to fix the issue so that Mariah could perform, they went live.” In a statement released on Sunday, the production company called such claims “absurd.” “As the premier producer of live television events for nearly 50 years, we pride ourselves on our reputation and long-standing relationships with artists,” it said. “To suggest that dcp (Dick Clark Productions), as producer of music shows including the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and Academy of Country Music Awards, would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd.” It said that in “very rare instances” there are technical errors that can occur with live television. It said an initial investigation, however, indicated it had no involvement in the challenges associated with Carey’s performance. “We want to be clear that we have the utmost respect for Ms. Carey as an artist and acknowledge her tremendous accomplishments in the industry,” it said. A person familiar with the production of the show who asked for anonymity to speak publicly about the incident said all of the other performers, including Gloria Estefan, rehearsed onsite for their performances and Carey was there but had a stand-in for her rehearsal, atypical for the show’s performers. The person said all of the monitors were working and no technical problems were found. Ironically, Carey was Dick Clark Productions’ first live performer for the broadcast in 2005, when it went off without any such problems. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
TOKYO — Emperor Akihito delivered his traditional New Year address Monday with tens of thousands of people flocking to the Imperial Palace for what could be his last such appearance after he expressed his desire to abdicate. It was his first New Year message since he announced in August that his advancing age and weakening health mean he may no longer be able to carry out his duties, setting the stage for Japan to prepare for an historic abdication. The Imperial Palace said some 58,600 people attended his address in fine weather, many waving small Japanese flags and shouting “Banzai” or “Long live.” “At the start of this year, I wish for happiness and peace for the people of Japan and around the world,” the emperor said in a televised address from a glass-covered balcony at the palace, where he was flanked by other members of the royal family. Deliberations over his retirement wish are under way in an advisory panel set up by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September to study a possible legal mechanism for a royal departure, which currently does not exist. Any eventual move by Akihito to step down, which would see him replaced by his eldest son Crown Prince Naruhito, appears to have wide support, according to recent opinion polls. Akihito has had surgery for prostate cancer and heart problems, both of which he alluded to in his August announcement, though he stressed that he currently enjoys good health. Speculation about Akihito’s future emerged last year with reports he had told confidantes that he would like to step down in a few years, in what would be the first abdication from the Chrysanthemum Throne in two centuries. Akihito has keenly embraced the role of symbol of the state imposed after World War II ended. Previous emperors including his father, Hirohito, had been treated as semi-divine. Akihito is credited with seeking reconciliation both at home and abroad over the legacy of the war fought in his father’s name, venturing to a number of locales that saw intense fighting, including Okinawa in Japan and Saipan, Palau and the Philippines overseas, offering prayers for the souls of all the dead. © 2017 AFP
BEIJING — Eight people were killed in China’s far western Xinjiang region, including three knife-wielding assailants, in the latest outbreak of violence in the volatile territory, authorities said Wednesday. According to a statement posted on the local government’s website, the attack occurred Tuesday evening in Pishan county in southern Xinjiang, home to China’s Uighur ethnic minority. It said the three also injured five others before being shot dead by police. Uighurs are predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking people distinct from the Chinese-speaking Han national majority. They have long chafed under the rule of Beijing, more than 1,800 miles (3,000 km) away from the provincial capital of Urumqi. While Xinjiang is one of China’s five autonomous regions, its Uighur residents are often prevented from leaving the region and face other restrictions enacted by Beijing, which has ratcheted up security dramatically since deadly anti-government riots broke out in Urumqi in 2009. China says it is battling separatists and the militant East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), while Uighur activists based abroad say Beijing is cracking down on peaceful religious and cultural expression in the name of fighting terrorism. The statement did not say whether Tuesday’s assailants were linked to ETIM, which has carried out a string of attacks inside and outside China. It called the assailants “thugs” and said officials had restored “social order” while continuing to investigate the incident. The ethnic backgrounds of the attackers and their victims were not specified. Dilxat Raxit, an overseas spokesman for Uighurs in contact with residents of the region, said local security forces have put Pishan under lockdown, with more armed officers guarding roads and residents county residents barred from leaving the area. At least two Uighurs have been detained for sharing videos of the scene, Raxit said. Authorities typically respond to violence or unrest in Xinjiang with lockdowns, raids on homes, and restrictions on phone and Internet communications. Calls to local police went unanswered Wednesday. Pishan county is in the far south of Xinjiang, bordering Pakistan. While China has encouraged Han Chinese to move in Xinjiang as part of broader efforts to settle the region, Han Chinese comprise just 1 percent of Pishan’s nearly 300,000 people. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
TOKYO — The parents of a two-year-old boy who died after undergoing surgery at Tokyo Women’s Medical University Hospital in 2014, have filed a malpractice suit against the hospital. The parents filed the suit in the Tokyo District Court against four anesthesiologists who administered the anesthetic, and are seeking damages of 180 million yen, Fuji TV reported. The boy was given a powerful anesthetic known as propofol following his surgery, despite the fact that the drug has been banned for use with children. Although the parents have already sued the two doctors who were in charge of the surgery, a new lawsuit was filed on Tuesday against the four anesthesiologists and nurses over the wrongful death of their child. The boy was given a steady dose of anesthesia and pain killers after he underwent neck surgery, and was put on a ventilator in intensive care for observation. However, three days later, the boy suddenly died after suffering an unexpected acute cardiovascular failure. Hospital officials said propofol, which was administered to the child, was most likely the cause of death. According to the official propofol use instructions, the drug is not supposed to be administered to patients in intensive care who are relying on artificial respiration units, or to children younger than 14. Japan Today
TOKYO — The president of major Japanese housing equipment maker Lixil Corp apologized Wednesday for making an improper remark that he gained weight due to radiation. “I got bigger because of radiation,” Lixil President Kinya Seto said when Environment Minister Koichi Yamamoto asked him about his body during a meeting to discuss what measures should be taken to prevent global warming. Seto, who used to play basketball and be a boxer, apologized later when reporters asked about the meaning of his comment. “It was a joke. It was an inappropriate remark,” he said. “It was an excuse for me putting on weight”. The environment ministry is in charge of decontamination operations in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. The comment came days after an education board admitted that a 13-year-old from nuclear disaster-hit Fukushima had been bullied at a school in Yokohama. The education board said there the boy, who was evacuated from Fukushima after the nuclear disaster, had been called “germ” in reference to nuclear contamination, and that he had paid some 1.5 million yen ($13,000) to his classmates to avoid being bullied. © KYODO
TOKYO — Last year, popular Japanese confectionery chain Ginza Cozy Corner released their “osechi” cake set to ring in the year of the monkey. The cake sets are modeled after “osechi ryori,” which is served in stacked bento-like boxes and contains various foods each with special meanings, such as black beans for hard work and good health, and shrimp for longevity. Now 2017 – the year of the rooster – is just around the corner, and Cozy Corner is back with their cute boxed cake sets and more to help us celebrate in sweet style. Sales of these treats run from now until Wednesday (unless otherwise noted) so you’ll want to hurry and pick yours up before time runs out! Sweets “osechi” 9 cake set – 2,200 yen 12 cake set – 2,800 yen These “osechi” sets include a variety of little cakes, decorated to celebrate the Year of the Rooster. You will find tiny tarts decorated with a cute rooster head, traditional New Year’s “kagami-mochi” (pounded rice cakes topped with a mikan), a roll cake topped with a New Year’s greeting, and more. Year of the rooster cake (500 yen): Chestnut creme filling, including pieces of diced chestnut, sandwiched between two sponge cakes and topped with chestnut cream and whipped cream. Daruma cake (500 yen): Strawberry whipped cream filling sandwiched between sponge cake, topped with whipped cream and raspberry jelly, decorated to look like a lucky daruma doll. New Year’s greeting cheese souffle (530 yen): A cheese souffle with a fluffy, meringue-y texture, steam-baked to retain its softness, and stamped with the New Year’s greeting “geishun” (迎春). Gateau chestnut cake (1,600 yen): A subtly-flavored chestnut pound cake, infused with rum and topped with chestnut cream, whipped cream, and candied chestnuts. Rich matcha cheesecake (1,600 yen): A sponge cake made with matcha from Uji City, Kyoto. Topped with a yuzu citrus custard, matcha cheese mousse, and dusted with matcha powder. Jumbo cream puff with fortune, vanilla or chocolate (115 yen): Light and fluffy puff pastry, filled with either vanilla bean cream or milk chocolate cream. If your fortune reads “daikichi” (大吉 “excellent luck”) you can receive one free cream puff, or if you get “cho daikichi” (超大吉 “extremely excellent luck”) you will get 10 free cream puffs! Sale of the vanilla puff runs until Jan 8, and sale of the chocolate puff runs from Jan 5 to Jan 8. With around 400 stores around Japan, if you’re hoping to pick up something for yourself, you won’t have to look far. And you may want to keep an eye out for Ginza Cozy Corner’s limited edition Disney sumi-e New Year’s sweets too. Source: PR Times Read more stories from RocketNews24. —Pixar character pastries from Ginza Cozy Corner are just as awesome as the films themselves —Limited edition Star Wars sweets are the cutest collection of edible characters in the galaxy —New take on traditional Japanese “osechi” is a sweet way to ring in the new year
OTTAWA — Canada’s answer to Donald Trump is a pediatric surgeon and former cabinet minister who, like the U.S. president-elect, is railing against immigration and political elites. Kellie Leitch, 46, has vaulted to the front of the race to lead the opposition Conservative Party by pushing a hard-right “Canadian values” platform that taps into discontent over the sluggish economy and Canada’s acceptance of 37,000 Syrian refugees. Leitch is ahead of about a dozen candidates in the most recent opinion polls on the Conservative leadership election, scheduled to be held on May 27, 2017. The candidate chosen by party members will be their flag bearer for the October 2019 general election, against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. “Elites pretend this isn’t an issue, but Canadians want to talk about it (immigration),” Leitch said in an interview last week from her farmhouse in rural Ontario. She has professed admiration for Trump’s embrace of the ordinary voter, and acknowledged similarities in their agendas. “I am talking about screening immigrants, I am talking about building pipelines, I am talking about making sure Canadians have jobs, so yeah, some of the ideas and language are the same,” said Leitch, an energetic and plain-spoken former labor and women’s affairs minister. Just as Trump did not initially have the backing of mainstream Republicans, Leitch has alienated many in her party establishment who fear that she will struggle to win Canada’s urban, mainly immigrant, voter base in the general election. One of the reasons why the Conservatives had managed to hold power for almost a decade was their successful push into immigrant communities under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had convinced the party that rising immigration made newcomers a must-win constituency. Canada takes in about 300,000 immigrants every year. “She may believe that swimming away from the broad center of the Conservative electoral coalition, the one that wins elections, may make sense. History and demographics argue otherwise,” said Hugh Segal, who has known Leitch for more than 25 years. Segal is a former senator and chief of staff to former Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Still, a November poll by Mainstreet/Postmedia showed Leitch led a 12-candidate Conservative race with 19 percent support, and separate data showed she led fundraising as well. The pool of candidates running has since swelled to 14, and more may join, including businessman and reality TV star Kevin O’Leary, who has also drawn comparisons to Trump. “There is absolutely room for a populist surprise in Canada,” said pollster Frank Graves of EKOS Research. “The type of forces driving Brexit and Trump are very much at work in Canada, albeit somewhat more muted.” In a year marked by ultra-conservative movements in Europe and the United States, Leitch’s vault from relative obscurity to Conservative front-runner is in part boosted by media fascination with the parallels between her “Canadian values” and Trump’s “Make America great again.” Like Trump, Leitch has been accused of being racist and targeting Muslims with her proposal to make every immigrant go through a face-to-face interview before letting them in. She denies those charges, and says her screening plan is aimed at ensuring each immigrant is a good fit for Canada. “Even if my colleagues are concerned about the backlash of the media or other elites, that’s okay with me because I’m quite comfortable ... I don’t view it as racist in any way,” said Leitch, a practicing Catholic from the traditionally conservative, oil-rich province of Alberta. Trudeau was elected in October 2015 and promised to accept more Syrian refugees more quickly than the Conservatives, who had been in power for nearly 10 years. But his timeline proved too ambitious, and sparked public criticism that the government was too rushed to adequately screen refugees for security concerns. Amid dissatisfaction with the economy and other issues, Trudeau’s approval rating has fallen 10 percentage points to 55 percent in the last three months, according to a December Angus Reid poll, though he remained more popular than any recent prime minister. While much can change in the next three years before the general election, Graves, the pollster, said a Conservative victory is possible in part because Canada’s economic malaise has sparked the same kind of working class resentment that helped propel Trump to victory. Canada’s economy has been hurt by a two-year slump in oil prices, weak business investment and disappointing non-energy exports. The economy contracted in October and the manufacturing sector logged its biggest decline in nearly three years. “The reason Trump got his momentum is he was the only candidate who was prepared to talk about immigration,” said Martin Collacott, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, a Conservative think-tank, and a former ambassador. “If Kellie Leitch plays it right, and refines her message, she could probably get quite a bit of support.” (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017.
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean prosecutors said Monday the daughter of the confidante of disgraced President Park Geun-hye has been arrested in Denmark and authorities are working to get her returned home in connection with a huge corruption scandal. Park was impeached last month by lawmakers amid public fury over prosecutors’ allegations that the president conspired to allow her longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, to extort companies and control the government. Denmark police arrested Choi’s daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, on the weekend on charges of staying there illegally. South Korea had asked Interpol to search for Chung because she didn’t return home to answer questions about the scandal. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports that Chung, a former member of the national equestrian team, allegedly took advantage of her mother’s relationship with Park to get unwarranted favors from Seoul’s Ewha Women’s University. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
SANTIAGO — A Chilean man wanted in connection with the disappearance of a 21-year-old Japanese student in France has submitted a statement to Chilean investigators denying involvement in her murder, sources close to the matter said Tuesday. In the statement submitted in late December, Nicolas Zepeda Contreras, 26, admitted to seeing Narumi Kurosaki, 21, at a dormitory of a university in Besancon, eastern France, where she was studying. But he said he left her room after promising to meet again the next day before exiting the building through an emergency exit, adding he has never been contacted by Kurosaki since. Kurosaki, a junior at Japan’s University of Tsukuba, went missing after dining and returning to her dormitory with Zepeda on the night of Dec 4, according to witnesses. While her body has not been found, French authorities said they have enough evidence to believe she was murdered. They placed the Chilean man on the international wanted list and requested the South American country detain him after confirming he had returned to his homeland. Chile’s Supreme Court rejected the arrest request on Feb 3, citing lack of evidence, but instead prohibited him from leaving the country for two months. Zepeda appeared before the court Tuesday to be informed about the French request to detain and extradite him and the travel ban. Zepeda and Kurosaki reportedly became acquainted in Japan and began dating from February 2015, but the two separated in October 2016 after Zepeda went back to Chile and Kurosaki went to study in France. © KYODO
TOKYO — Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are planning to make their first visit to Vietnam in early March, according to a source close to the Imperial Household Agency. The trip, aimed at promoting goodwill, is being arranged as the imperial couple has often received invitations from Vietnamese leaders when they have visited Japan, the source said. It would be the couple’s first overseas trip since January 2016 when they traveled to the Philippines to visit the site of one of the fiercest battlefields where Japanese soldiers fought during World War II. They paid respects to all the fallen, including Filipinos, as part of their mission of promoting international friendship. The 83-year-old emperor and the 82-year-old empress are expected to attend public events in Hanoi. The trip could last five days as they will also travel to Hue, central Vietnam, the source said. Preparations for the visit are underway at a time when a government advisory panel has been studying the feasibility of the emperor’s abdication following his unprecedented video message televised nationwide last August in which he expressed concerns that his advanced age could one day prevent him from fulfilling his public duties. Shortly after the envisioned trip, the couple may attend a government-sponsored memorial ceremony marking the sixth anniversary of the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan on March 11. They have visited the area on several occasions in the past to encourage people affected by the disaster. Other events the couple have routinely participated in include a tree-planting ceremony to be held in Toyama Prefecture in May, the National Sports Festival to be held from late September to early October in Ehime Prefecture, as well as a national event promoting conservation of the maritime environment in October in Fukuoka Prefecture. Crown Prince Naruhito, 56, is expected to attend the opening ceremony of 2017 Asian Winter Games to be held in February in Hokkaido on behalf of the emperor. His wife Crown Princess Masako, 53, who has been receiving treatment for a stress-induced illness for over a decade, has shown signs of recovery lately, performing official duties more often than before in 2016. Among other overseas trips planned by imperial family members is one to Bhutan in June by Princess Mako, a 25-year-old granddaughter of the emperor and empress. She is the elder daughter of Prince Akishino, the emperor’s second son, and his wife Princess Kiko. Mako’s younger sister Princess Kako, 22, is also expected to perform public duties in Japan while prioritizing her school work as a student of the International Christian University in Tokyo. © KYODO
GOLF PACIFIC PALISADES — Japan’s world number five Hideki Matsuyama is hoping a sexism row won’t spell the end of Kasumigaseki Country Club as a venue for the 2020 Olympic golf competition. Matsuyama didn’t wade into the thorny debate sparked when Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike said she felt “uncomfortable” with the idea that women couldn’t become full members of the club—a fact that has also sparked concerns from the International Olympic Committee. Amid calls to move the Olympic tournament, Matsuyama merely said he hoped that wouldn’t prove necessary. “There are some membership questions right now, but I played well there at Kasumigaseki, won Japan Junior there, Asian Amateur,” Matsuyama said Tuesday as he prepared for Thursday’s start of the U.S. PGA Tour Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club. “When I won there, that’s kind of what made it all possible, why I’m sitting here today,” he said. “So I hope they get things worked out and I hope Kasumigaseki will be the site of the Tokyo Olympic golf competition.” Matsuyama will tee up Thursday with a chance to rise from fifth in the world rankings to number one. He’d need a victory, and even then it would depend on where current world number one Jason Day finishes. He’ll be playing for the first time since retaining his Phoenix Open title a fortnight ago with a playoff victory over former U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson. It was Matsuyama’s fifth victory in his last nine starts worldwide, a stretch that included his triumph in the prestigious World Golf Championships HSBC Champions at Shanghai in October. “He’s been playing tremendous,” Day said of the 24-year-old from Japan. “He’s one of those guys that goes under the radar, no one really thinks about Hideki too much and then he’s always there.” Matsuyama said that kind of comment only fueled his determination to improve. “To have a player like Jason Day say that I might be underrated is a great compliment and an honor,” he said. “But also to be able to live up to that expectation and to try to get better is a motivating factor for me.” Another motivator is the prospect of gaining the world number one ranking, although Matsuyama wasn’t getting ahead of himself there. “I did know that that is a possibility and I can’t control what Jason does this week,” he said. “All I can do is go out and try my best and hopefully things will fall into place. “It’s always been one of my goals and it would be a great goal to be able to achieve. But whether it happens this week or next or sometime in the future, I’ll just keep working hard and hopefully that will happen.” © 2017 AFP
SYDNEY — Troubled Australian swimming great Grant Hackett was arrested Wednesday, with his father citing “mental health issues”, reports said. The dual Olympic 1500-meter gold medalist was taken into custody at Southport on the Gold Coast, The Courier Mail newspaper said. His father Nev admitted his son had “mental health issues”. Seven News television posted footage of Hackett, wearing a cap, being driven to the police station in handcuffs. Police were called to Hackett’s family home around midday following reports of a disturbance, the Courier Mail reported. “Police have made an arrest following a disturbance at an address at Surfers Avenue at Mermaid Waters around midday today,” said a spokesperson for Queensland police. “No further details at this stage.” The 36-year-old came out of six years of troubled retirement in 2014 to try to make the Rio Games, hoping to become the oldest Australian swimmer to qualify for an Olympics. But he narrowly missed out on an Olympic place and last April hit the headlines again after a meltdown on a plane. He vowed to quit drinking after being accused of drunkenly squeezing the nipple of a fellow business class passenger on a flight from Adelaide, where the Olympic swimming trials were held. Hackett admitted he had been binge-drinking and apologised to the man whose nipple he pinched. One of the greats of Australian swimming, Hackett retired after the 2008 Beijing Olympics after winning the 1500-meter freestyle at both the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics. He also claimed four world titles in the 30-lap event. © 2017 AFP
TOKYO — Two people died and 12 others were hospitalized in Tokyo after choking on “mochi” rice cakes on New Year’s Day, the Tokyo Fire Department said Tuesday. Fire department officials said the two fatalities were a 60-year-old man from Kita Ward and an 81-year-old man from Itabashi Ward. Fuji TV reported that their families called 119 after they started choking on the mochi. They were rushed to hospital where they died later Sunday. The other 12 people, ranging in age from 28 to 89, were all discharged from hospital by Monday morning, officials said. Each year, before the New Year holidays, the National Police Agency and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency urge elderly people to be careful when eating the rice cakes during the New Year holidays. Japan Today
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Members of the PBL volleyball team celebrate after scoring a point during Thursday's match against Watseka. WATSEKA -- Head coach Lindsay Muehlbauer had some news for her Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School volleyball team on Thursday. On the same night the Panthers would play at Watseka, Muehlbauer informed them about their assignment and seeding for the IHSA Class 2A regionals. PBL has been selected as the No. 6 seed in a Hoopeston Area Sub-sectional A in which Watseka and El Paso-Gridley are set to host regionals. The assignment -- in which PBL is joined in Sub-Sectional A by No. 1 Tri-Valley, No. 2 Watseka, No. 3 EP-G, No. 4 Heyworth, No. 5 Fieldcrest, No. 7 St. Anne, No. 8 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, No. 9 Clifton Central, No. 10 Iroquois West and No. 11 Hoopeston Area -- was welcome news to Muehlbauer's team. “That's the first thing I told the girls tonight. I kind of gave them the heads-up about the regional and how it might play out, and I think for a couple of them, their eyes opened up wide and it got them excited," Muehlbauer said. "We wanted to be sent north for a couple of years now, and here's our chance. That gave us a little bit more energy tonight in our fight.” The Panthers' confidence may have grown as they defeated the No. 2-seeded Warriors 25-19, 20-25, 26-24 on Thursday. “We needed this. This was a huge win tonight," Muehlbauer said. "Watseka's always a big rival for us, so there's always a lot of energy in the gym.” Before regionals, the Panthers will play in the SVC Tournament in Gilman on Tuesday and the following Thursday, with a possible rematch with Watseka at 7 p.m. Tuesday. “We're going to be facing Watseka again on Tuesday night, so I think coming away with the win tonight gives us a little more energy and better outlook going to the SVC Tournament," Muehlbauer said. "It would have been a different outlook, I think, if we lost tonight. It probably would have sucked a little air out of our balloon, but I'm happy with coming away with a win going into next week.” * Game three was a back-and-forth affair between PBL and Watseka. The Panthers took the early 4-2 lead thanks in part to a Valeree Johnson ace and a kill by Cassidi Nuckols. After Watseka took the lead at 5-4, the two teams traded sideouts before PBL scored three straight points to reclaim the lead at 8-6. The two teams then traded leads again as the Panthers had a 10-9 advantage and Watseka reclaimed the edge at 11-10. PBL (11-10, 3-2 Sangamon Valley Conference) sided out from there as Gentzler recorded a kill to the the game at 11-11 before producing another kill to give the Panthers a 12-11 lead. Aubree Bruns then recorded a kill to extend PBL's lead to 13-11. Watseka (19-8, 3-2) then scored three straight points to take a 14-13 lead before PBL reclaimed the advantage at 15-14. The Warriors then scored four straight points, including two kills from the Warriors' Kennedy Bauer, to take an 18-15 lead. Kills by Nuckols and Kalista Klann tied the game at 19-19 before the two teams traded sideouts to make the score 20-20. Set up by a Windler dig at the net and a Kalista Klann assist, Gentzler recorded a kill to give PBL a 21-20 lead. Gentzler then produced a block to extend the Panthers' lead to 22-20. The two teams traded sideouts again before Watseka's Mallory Drake recorded a kill to cut its deficit to 23-22 and Gentzler produced another kill to extend PBL's lead to 24-22. Drake and Bauer each recorded a kill to tie the game at 24-24 for Watseka before Getnzler gave PBL a 25-24 lead with a kill and a hit out of bounds by Watseka resulted in PBL's match-clinching point. “It was back-and-forth all night. I'm really proud of both teams," Muehlbauer said. "I know Watseka's dealing with an injured player, so they had a lineup change for tonight. PBL has had multiple lineup changes throughout the season, but it was a good battle between two of the teams.” * Watseka started game one with a 3-0 lead before Gentzler recorded a kill. The Warriors then went on a 7-2 run from there before a block by Nuckols and kills by Bruns and Lindsey Windler cut PBL's deficit to 10-7. Two kills by Gentzler helped turn a 12-10 Panthers deficit to a 13-12 lead before Windler recorded two kills to extend PBL's lead to 15-13. A Gentzler block and a Nuckols kill helped the Panthers extend the lead to 20-15 before Watseka scored two straight points and a Bruns kill made the score 21-17. From there, the Panthers scored four of the next six points to take game one. Watseka started game two with a 2-0 lead before Nuckols recorded a kill to give PBL a 3-2 lead. The two teams traded sideouts before PBL extended its lead to 6-4. The Warriors tied the game at 6-6 before the Panthers reclaimed the lead at 8-6. Watseka then went on a 4-0 run to claim the advantage at 10-8. Johnson recorded an ace to tie the game at 11-11 before the two teams traded 2-0 runs to make the score 13-13. From there, Watseka claimed a 17-13 lead with a 4-0 run before a Bruns kill and a Kalista Klann ace helped the Panthers tie the game at 17-17. Watseka scored the next three points to take the lead for good at 20-17. From there, the Warriors scored five of the next eight points to claim game two. *** Kalista Klann finished the match with a team-high 26 digs and 19 assists while also producing an ace and two kills. “She had a killer night defensively," Muehlbauer said. "That's pretty good, especially for a setter because she's going multiple jobs on the court, so she did a really good job defensively. She led us in digs, and that's rare for a setter.” Gentzler led the Panthers in kills with 10 while also recording a block, two digs and an assist. She was one of six PBL players to record multiple kills, followed by Nuckols -- who also recorded a block and 18 digs -- with four, Bruns and Windler with three each and Kalista Klann and Grohler with two each. Johnson had two aces as well. “I don't think I had one clear offensive leader tonight, which is a good thing. All of my hitters contributed, which is all you ask for from your team," Muehlbauer said. "C.J. (Nuckols) did a nice job. Aubree (Bruns) did a nice job. Ariana (Gentzler) came through big time for us in the end, so I'm pleased with the team effort.” Makayla Klann and Maria Lemenager had 15 and 13 digs, respectively, for the Panthers. Bauer had 16 kills and 20 digs for Watseka and Emily Bunting posted 19 assists and three aces. PBL def. Watseka 25-19, 20-15, 26-24 At Watseka For PBL (11-10, 3-2), kills: Ariana Gentzler 10, Cassidi Nuckols 4, Aubree Bruns 3, Lindsey Windler 3, Kalista Klann 2, Madison Grohler 2; aces: Valeree Johnson 2, Kalista Klann; blocks: Gentzler, Nuckols; digs: Kalista Klann 26, Nuckols 18, Makayla Klann 15, Maria Lemenager 13, Johnson 3, Gentzler 2, Windler 2, Nuckols, Grohler, Ashlee Martin; assists: Kalista Klann 19, Gentzler. For Watseka (19-8, 3-2), kills: Kennedy Bauer 16; aces: Emily Bunting 3; digs: Bauer 20; assists: Bunting. SANGAMON VALLEY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT* TUESDAY, Oct. 10 At Onarga Match 1 -- No. 4 Dwight vs. No. 5 Momence, 5 p.m. At Gilman Match 2 -- No. 3 PBL vs. No. 6 Clifton Central, 5 p.m. Match 3 -- No. 2 Watseka vs. No. 7 Iroquois West, 6 p.m. At Onarga Match 4 -- No. 1 Cissna Park vs. Winner Match 1, 6 p.m. Match 5 -- Loser Match 2 vs. Loser Match 3, 7 p.m. At Gilman Match 6 -- Winner Match 2 vs. Winner Match 3, 7 p.m. THURSDAY, Oct. 12 At Gilman Consolation championship match -- Loser Match 1 vs. Winner Match 5, 5 p.m. Third-place match -- Loser Match 4 vs. Loser Match 6, 6 p.m. Championship match -- Winner Match 4 vs. Winner Match 6, 7 p.m. * -- based on the bracket available at the PBL/Watseka match on Thursday prior to the outcome of the match
On Wednesday, July 4, the Paxton-Buckley-Loda Booster Club hosted the Panther Do or Dye 5K. Winners included Kyla Franckey (ages 10 and under), Ryder James (ages 18 and under), Andy Thompson (male adult), Nancy Kidd (female adult) and Amber Williams (Finish Strong Award). Here are some of the sights from Wednesday's race at Pells Park in Paxton ...
WILMINGTON — The Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School cheerleading squad placed second in their division at a competition held Sunday at Wilmington High School, qualifying for the Illinois Cheerleading Coaches Association’s state meet as a result. The Panthers’ next competition will be held this upcoming Sunday at Joliet West High School. The ICCA state meet will take place Saturday, Jan. 6.
PAXTON -- The Paxton-Buckley-Loda eighth-grade girls basketball team won 26-8 Thursday over Fisher. While Makenna Ecker led the Panthers in scoring with 14 points, picking up a double-double with 10 rebounds as well, PBL's defense held Fisher to two points per quarter. Lillie Frichtl had five steals along with four points, Mia Sifuentes had five rebounds along with her four points, Carly Mutchmore had four steals and two points, Lorena Arnett had three steals and two points, Maisy Johnson had five rebounds and two steals, Kendal Normile had three rebounds, Jacey Parrish had three rebounds and one steal and Jordan Parrish had two rebounds. "The girls had a great defensive game last night. We really stressed help-side defense last night, and the girls are starting to get it. They did an awesome job rebounding as well by only allowing Fisher one or two shots at the basket each possession," PBL eighth-grade Lynn Rubarts said. "We struggled a little bit offensively the first quarter, but once we started running the offense after a few adjustments we built a 14-4 lead at halftime. It was nice to have the whole team there last night and have the opportunity to sub and get the girls a few breaks during the game." The PBL seventh-grade girls basketball team won 24-20 over Fisher. The Panthers were tied at 12-12 with Fisher at halftime before PBL pulled away with a 10-4 advantage in the third quarter. Losa Suaava scored six of her game-high 12 points in the third quarter while Gracelyn Greenburg and Emily Robidoux each finished the game with four points and Morgan Uden and Kate Wilson each had two points. "The girls played a great game last night," PBL seventh-grade coach Stacy Johnson said. "We has some other girls get a few baskets, which was great to see. Our defense continues to get better each game, and the girls are getting more comfortable with one another." 8th-grade girls PBL 26, Fisher 8 FISH 2 2 2 2 -- 8 PBL 4 10 6 6 -- 26 Fisher Mariah Sommev 2-0-4, May 1-0-2, Evans 0-2-2. Totals 3-2-8. PBL Lorena Arnett 1-0-2, Carly Mutchmore 1-0-2, Maisy Johnson 0-0-0, Jordan Parrish 0-0-0, Lillie Frichtl 2-0-4, Kendal Normile 0-0-0, Jacey Parrish 0-0-0, Mia Sifuentes 2-0-4, Makenna Ecker 7-0-14. Totals 13-0-26. Rebounds -- PBL (Ecker 10, Sifuentes 5, Johnson 5, Normile 3, Jacey Parrish 3, Jordan Parrish 2). Steals -- PBL (Frichtl 5, Mutchmore 4, Arnett 3, Johnson 2, Jacey Parrish). 7th-grade girls PBL 24, Fisher 20 FISH 8 4 4 4 -- 20 PBL 6 6 10 2 -- 24 Fisher Bishop 1-1-3, Evans 3-3-9, May 2-0-4, Kelly 1-0-2, Moore 1-0-2. Totals 8-4-20. PBL Morgan Uden 1-0-2, Kate Wilson 1-0-2, Hope Watts 0-0-0, Estrella Landeras 0-0-0, Trixie Johnson 0-0-0, Kendyl Enghausen 0-0-0, Humes 0-0-0, Emily Robidoux 2-0-4, Gracelyn Greenburg 2-0-4, Losa Suaava 6-0-12, Jazmyn Kurland 0-0-0. Totals 12-0-24.
PAXTON — Under a proposed ordinance up for approval by the Paxton City Council on Tuesday night, the owners of dogs that are found running at large in the city would be required to get their animals spayed or neutered at their own expense after the second time they are picked up by an animal-control officer. The ordinance would also add a $25 fine for cats that are impounded in the city. Currently, there are no fines for cats, as the existing ordinance only pertains to loose dogs. The ordinance up for approval modifies Section 96.56 of Chapter 96 of the city’s Code of Ordinances. The proposed ordinance says that any dog or cat found to be running at large within the city, without a valid license tag, shall be deemed a stray and may be impounded by the police department. After the second time a dog or cat is picked up, the next time that same animal is found running at large, its owner will be required to get the animal spayed or neutered at their own expense. Other business Also on the meeting’s agenda are: — The possible approval of a policy prohibiting sexual harassment. — The possible approval of proposed redevelopment agreements between the city and Shields Automart, Paxton Packing LLC and Duane Shields (for Nexstep Commercial Products). — The possible approval of a long-negotiated contract regarding the proposed sale of the city-owned Paxton Municipal Airport to a private party. Tuesday’s meeting is open to the public. It begins at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 145 S. Market St.
PAXTON — Victor Johnson’s popular animated Christmas light display has made its long-awaited return to his family’s home in Paxton. The display — featuring more than 140,000 multi-colored lights, all synchronized to music broadcast over a low-power FM transmitter — opened for the Christmas season on Nov. 25 after a two-year hiatus. It’s located at his parents’ two-story house at 332 W. Patton St. The lights are synchronized to eight songs, with at least one more coming. People can drive down Patton Street, park their vehicles and listen to the songs on 89.9 FM. The playlist runs on a continuous 22-minute loop during display hours. Through Jan. 6, the display is open from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday through Saturday. It will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight on Christmas Eve and 5 to 11 p.m. on Christmas Day. Johnson said that hopefully sometime this week, he will be adding a ninth song to the playlist: “Light of Christmas” by Owl City. “It’s a fun, upbeat Christmas song,” Johnson said. Also, after Christmas Johnson hopes to add “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen. Currently running are eight songs: “He’s a Pirate” (Pirates of the Caribbean) by Klaus Badelt, “Sandstorm” by Darude, “Circle of Life” (Lion King) by Elton John ft. Carmen Twillie, “Let it Go” (Frozen) by Idina Manzel, “Amazing Grace” dance mix by Yule, “Music Box Dancer” by DJ Schwede, “Carol of the Bells” by Monique Danielle and “What Child is This?” by Martina McBride. The 28-year-old Johnson said he opened the display on the Saturday following Thanksgiving after putting in an estimated 200 to 250 hours of work into it in previous weeks. The display features more strobe lights on the house and “dripping icicles” in the trees in the front yard, Johnson said, but other than that, it remains unchanged from previous years. Johnson said the traffic to the house has picked up in recent days, especially on weekends. “Friday and Saturday are, by far, the busiest days,” Johnson said. “Basically any day Monday through Thursday there might be a very short line, but it’s manageable. It’s not like you’ll have to wait a half-hour like on the weekends.” In 2015 and 2016, Johnson took a break from the display “to focus my time elsewhere,” he said. It was the first time that Johnson has not had a display since 2011. “Honestly, I kind of enjoyed the break a little bit,” Johnson said. “I still enjoy (the display) a lot, but sometimes when the weather is bad and I run out of time, it gets a little overwhelming, working basically a second job almost.” Johnson’s light display grew from 25,000 lights when he was a teenager to 85,000 lights in 2011 — the year he first had his lights synchronized to music, and also the first year he added colored lights. Today, there are more than 140,000. “Since the debut of the synchronized display in 2011, things continue to grow each year,” Johnson said on his website, www.lightinguppaxton.com. “In 2012 more red and green lights were added, including more trees to the side yard. In 2013 the large maple trees in the front yard got lights up to 50 feet in the air. After two years off from assembling the massive display, 2017 features double the number of strobes and dripping light tubes.” For more information about the display, people can visit www.lightinguppaxton.com or www.facebook.com/LightingUpPaxton. Among other lighting projects Johnson has worked on in Paxton is the Federated Church’s display at the corner of Taft and Center streets. “Mary and Joseph will be progressing across the yard as Christmas nears closer,” Johnson said.
PAXTON -- The Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School volleyball team will go into the 2017 season with an experience squad that includes seven seniors. "I have a lot of seniors, so I'm excited to have a big, mature class," PBL head coach Lindsay Muehlbauer said. The Panthers' senior class includes setter Kalista Klann, who was a member of the all-Sangamon Valley Conference first team in 2015 and second team in 2016. With two of last year's all-SVC first-teamers -- Parkland College-bound Katelyn Riffle and Kelsey Vaughn -- gone due to graduation, returning senior Ariana Gentzler will be taking a lot of the spikes toward the net. "(Gentzler) has really taken some heavy swings. She's doing a good job with that," Muehlbuaer said. "(Klann) really does a good job of mixing up the sets. She and Ariana have a good connection at the net, so I'm excited to see those two together running some different plays this year instead of the traditional one ball out of the middle." Katelyn Crabb, who was an all-SVC honorable mention last year, returns for her junior season as a defender. "She stayed in great shape over the summer," Muehlbauer said. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what those three can do." During the past summer, PBL played its summer ball at Mahomet Summer League in June, the Cissna Park Tournament in early July and at Parkland College during the last weekend of July. The Panthers finished each tournament "in the middle of the pack," Muehlbauer said. "We were a little inconsistent during the summer playing volleyball, so I'm ready to see it all coming together," Muehlbauer said. "We need some work to get done, and I have faith in the girls that it will all come together." The Panthers will start their season in the Timberwolf Tip Off Classic, starting with two matches next Monday in Watseka. They will face Kankakee at 6 p.m. and Momence at 7 p.m. On Thursday, Aug. 24, PBL will face Milford at 5 p.m. and Watseka at 7 p.m. in Cissna Park. "It's always a good start," Muehlbauer said. "I like opening with a tournament because it creates a competitive atmosphere. I'm looking forward to a consistent week of volleyball." In between the Tip-Off Classic, the Panthers will host Oakwood at on Tuesday, Aug. 22. "I think Oakwood is going to be a challenge for us, so I'm ready to see how we can compete against a team like that," Muehlbauer said. The Panthers' conference schedule includes a home match against Cissna Park, which finished third in the IHSA Class 1A state tournament in 2014 and second in state in 2015 and finished the 2016 season with a 26-9 record. The Timberwolves will face PBL on Thursday, Sept. 7. Watseka, which has beea a sectional champion in 2A in each of the last three seasons and five of the last six years and qualified for state in 2014, will host PBL on Thursday, Oct. 5. "I think Cissna Park and Watseka will always be good matches for us," Muehlbauer said. The Panthers will travel to face the 2A state runner-up from last year, St. Joseph-Ogden, on Tuesday, Sept. 12. They will also travel to Champaign to face St. Thomas More, last year's 2A Paxton Regional champion, on Tuesday, Sept. 5. "They always have a good program," Muehlbauer said. The Panthers will have 21 matches -- excluding the PBL Volleyball Classic in Paxton, which starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, and the SVC Tournament in Gilman on Tuesday, Oct. 10, and Thursday, Oct. 12 -- before IHSA regionals start Monday, Oct. 23, where PBL will hope to get its first postseason victory since 2012. Last year, PBL ended its season with a record of 21-11 -- its third straight season with 20 or more wins -- after losing 25-15, 25-16 to Heyworth in the Paxton Regional semifinals. In the meantime, Muehlbauer said her team's goal is to win as many matches as possible to get a higher seeding for the postseason. "Every game matters during the regular season because all head coaches rank the other teams, and, based on ranking, that's the number that you're seeded come the postseason," Muehlbauer said. "I really try to emphasize winning every single match because it's going to come back and really play into your postseason performance. We do keep getting sent into that Champaign (area) sectional, which is extremely tough, but our goal is still -- and always will be -- to win, so we're looking for our first postseason win, and that goal won't change."
PAXTON — The Paxton Area Chamber of Commerce is seeking a new executive director as a replacement for Amanda Donaldson. Responsibilities include event planning, clerical work and networking with the local business community. The 10 to 20 hours worked per work are flexible. An applicant must be a self-starter, as they will often be working on their own. Having efficient computer skills is a necessity, as well. Resumes from candidates may be sent to Cody Kietzman, president of the boad of directors of the chamber of commerce, at P.O. Box 70, Paxton, IL 60957; or by emailing [email protected]. The application deadline is Aug. 25. For a more detailed job description, candidates can email or call Kietzman at the First National Bank in Paxton at 217-379-2336.
MILFORD — A Milford man is expected to be sentenced later this month in connection with the beating death of another man two years ago. Danny R. Murphy, 54, who remains at the county jail in Watseka on a $1 million bond, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder on April 9, 2015. On July 18, the day he was to stand trial in Iroquois County Circuit Court, Murphy pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a Class 3 felony, as part of a plea agreement negotiated between the state’s attorney’s office and his attorney. Also as part of the plea agreement, the two murder charges were dropped. On Aug. 3, Murphy sent a letter to the court asking to vacate his guilty plea, but he then withdrew that request during an Aug. 11 hearing. Murphy is scheduled to be sentenced for involuntary manslaughter by Judge James Kinzer at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23. Murphy allegedly caused fatal injuries to 48-year-old Milford resident David C. Garrett during an altercation at a Milford home on the evening of April 7, 2015. Court documents said Murphy allegedly beat Mr. Garrett in the head and face, causing his death. At the time, Murphy was on parole for robbery and false impersonation of a police officer.
FRIDAY, Aug. 18 At PBL High School, Paxton 4 p.m. — Senior athlete group picture, volleyball pictures (picture times approximate) 4:30 p.m. — Cheerleaders, cross country, football, golf, volleyball, swim and band eat 5 p.m. — Public eats 5:30 p.m. — Volleyball scrimmage in high school gym 5-5:15 p.m. – Golf, cross country, swim pictures 5:15-5:45 p.m. — Cheerleader pictures 5:45-6:45 p.m. — Football pictures 6:45-7 p.m. — Introduction of youth football teams 7-7:10 p.m. — Introduction of golf, volleyball, cross country and swim teams (at the football field) 7:10-7:30 p.m. — Freshman/sophomore football scrimmage 7:30-7:35 p.m. — Cheerleader routine (introduction of cheer squad before routine) 7:35-7:45 p.m. — PBL Panther Regiment band performance 7:45 p.m. — Varsity football scrimmage (introduction before scrimmage)
CLINTON -- It was "a good day, overall," for the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher High School wrestling team at IHSA Class 1A Clinton Regional, said head coach Josh Carter. Six Falcon wrestlers advanced to the sectional round via top-three finishes in their respective brackets. GCMS/Fisher also has three alternates via fourth-place finishes. As a team, GCMS/Fisher placed third overall in the nine-team regional with a score of 133 while Clinton (191 1/2) and LeRoy/Tri-Valley (144) placed first and second, respectively. "I figured we'd probably end up somewhere in that range," Carter said. "I knew Clinton was going to be very tough to beat. They've got a pretty solid lineup from top to bottom. I was pleased with our effort." Freshman Cale Horsch won the championship in the 106-pound bracket. He won via a 2-0 decision over Ridgeview's Billy Tay in the title match. "He wrestled a tough kid in the finals," Carter said. "I thought he stayed in good position and did a good job." The two wrestlers met before earlier this season, with Horsch claiming victory via 6-2 decision in the Heart of Illinois Conference East Quad on Tuesday, Jan. 23. "I felt like I should have beaten him by more today, but a win's a win, I guess," Horsch said. Horsch reached the championship match by pinning Olympia's Jake Mitchell in a time of 1:12 in the semifinals. "It feels good. I thought I could have wrestled better, but I got it done, so I feel good going into sectionals," Horsch said. With three more years of eligibilty, Horsch said he hopes to continue his wrestling success beyond this year's postseason. "I'm really excited for sectionals and stuff like that in coming years," Horsch said. "I'm excited. I'll see what I can do to get better in the offseason and stuff like that. I'm excited for future years." Three Falcons left Saturday's regional meet with a second-place medal. Jacob Horsch placed second in the 145-pound bracket after a loss via 3-2 decision in the championship match to Clinton's Christian Reynolds. On Thursday, Jan. 11, Reynolds pinned Horsch in a time of 1:27 as the Maroons beat the Falcons 59-16 in a dual meet. "He had a tough match there against (Christian Reynolds). He's just been a big rival for him, but I thought Jacob wrestled very well and stayed in good position and almost had a chance to win at the end, but he came up short," Carter said. In the regional title match, Jacob Horsch and Reynolds were tied at 1-1 midway through the third and final period before Reynolds outscored Horsch 2-1 in the final minute. "It was really close," Jacob Horsch said. "It came down to the end there. I felt pretty good about the whole thing the whole time. It was just one little thing, but it's alright. I'll bounce back." The senior Jacob Horsch earned his fourth straight trip to sectionals by winning via a 7-1 decision in the semifinals over Olympia's Grant Kessinger. In the quarterfinals, Horsch pinned Normal University High School's Alex Woolford in a time of 1:05. Jacob Horsch is looking to make his second consecutive trip to the 1A state meet after placing second at last year's sectionals. "I'm excited to keep going and keep competing hard," Jacob Horsch said. "I hope to make it to state and to get on the podium." Should a third match against Reynolds await for Jacob Horsch at next weekend's Stanford Olympia Sectional, he will not change his gameplan. "(I'll have the) same mindset," Horsch said. Unlike Jacob Horsch, fellow senior Owen Duke is going to sectionals for the first time since his eighth-grade year. "It feels good," Duke said. "I'm hoping to make it to sectionals and go to state." After receiving a bye through the quarterfinals of the 195-pound bracket, Duke pinned Hoopeston Area's Adam Colunga in a time of 4:27 in the semifinals. In the title match, LeRoy's Dylan Woolridge pinned Duke in a time of 3:04. "I tried something new, but then I went back to my old habits, and right when I did that, he hit me with the underhook," Duke said. "That's what ended it." Junior Garrett Wright finished second in the 220-pound match. Wright pinned Paxton-Buckley-Loda's Christian Denam in a time of 1:56 in the quarterfinals and won via 2-1 decision over LeRoy's Darek Wiggins. In the title match, Clinton's Kyle Hammer pinned Wright in a time of 3:03. "It feels good," Wright said. "I've put in the work this season, and it's finally paying off. I'll just try my best (at sectionals). Hopefully, I'll move on. I'll just go in there, work hard, work my stuff and try to move on." Junior Lucas Chittick qualified for sectionals by pinning Eithan Campbell in a time of 1:19 in the third-place match of the 160-pound bracket. "I had him on his back," Chittick said. "I was just happy about getting him on his back and wrestling that well." Chittick pinned Campbell in a time of 1:38 in the quarterfinals before losing via 10-0 major decision to Clinton's Bryce Reeves and pinning Normal U-High's Brody Kline in a time of 1:09 in the wrestleback semifinals. "I'm pretty happy about going to wrestle some more," Chittick said. "I'll just wrestle as well as I can and see how far I can go." Payton Kean also earned a third-place medal en route to making his second straight trip to sectionals. The sophomore pinned PBL's Hobert Skinner in a time of 2:34 in the quarterfinals of the 182-pound bracket. After losing via 43-second pinfall in the semifinals to Hoopeston Area's Eliseo Zamora, Kean pinned Olympia's Alec Gaither in a time of 1:34 in the wrestleback semifinals before winning via 3-1 decision over LeRoy's Dayne Wiggins in the third-place match. "It got me going pretty well," Kean said about the third-place match. "I was just trying to keep him off my legs and looking to score. i was looking to ride him out on top in the second period -- that helped a lot -- and then get out quick in the third period. Getting another takedown probably put me out on top. I was looking to seal the match." Kean was eliminated from sectionals in the second round of wrestlebacks last year and hopes to improve his place this time around. "I'm looking forward to (sectionals)," Kean said. "I'm hoping to improve myself. I hope to win a few matches at sectionals and prove myself to be a good wrestler as a sophomore. In the next two years, I'm looking to go to state, probably, and maybe get a place or two." Jacob Horsch was the only Falcon wrestler to reach the state meet last year, and Carter and his GCMS/Fisher wrestling team hope to achieve more next weekend at the Olympia Sectional. "We'll see where things end up next week," Carter said. "It's going to be a tough week next week for us. Our sectional is a grinder, and we've got to be ready to go." Kaden Gream finished fourth in the 113-pound bracket. Gream pinned Clinton's Caiden Turner in a time of 5:08 in the quarterfinals before LeRoy's Ethan Matlock won beat him via 8-0 major decision in the semifinals. After pinning Hoopeston Area's Ethan Larkin in a time of 1:07 in the wrestleback semifinals, Gream lost via 15-1 major decision to Olympia's Austin Weaver. Drew Purvis placed fourth in the 132-pound bracket. Purvis pinned Olympia's Gage McLin in a time of 3:58 in the 132-pound bracket's quarterfinals before Heyworth's Andrew Sims beat him via 21-4 technical fall in a time of four minutes in the semifinals. After winning via 18-9 major decision in the wrestleback semifinals over Ridgeview's Ethan Wissmiller, Purvis was pinned in 43 seconds by Clinton's Kaleb Johnson in the third-place match. Calen Ragle finished fourth in the 138-pound bracket. Ragle lost via 3:47 pinfall to Clinton's Jacob Vidmar in the quarterfinals before pinning PBL's Nick Reck in a time of 3:19 in the wrestleback quarterfinals. Ragle pinned Normal U-High's Nolan Dale in a time of 4:51 in the wrestleback semifinals before losing via 19-3 technical fall in a time of 4:51 to Vidmar in the third-place match. Cole Maxey lost via 4-2 decision to Clinton's Nate Smith in the quarterfinals of the 120-pound bracket before losing via 4-0 decision to Olympia's Wesly Litwiller in wrestlebacks. Caleb Liestman lost via 1:19 pinfall to Olympia's Landon Alcorn in the quarterfinals of the 170-pound bracket before losing via 48-second pinfall to Heyworth's Garrett Houston. Logan Benningfield lost via 37-second pinfall to Ridgeview's Colton Tay in the quarterfinals of the 126-pound match before lsing via 19-second pinfall to LeRoy's Owen Gulley in the wrestleback semifinals. PBL places eighth at regionals Paxton-Buckley-Loda underachieved at Saturday's IHSA Class 1A Clinton Regional, according to head coach Erik Ronney. As a team, PBL placed eighth with a score of 26, with no individual sectional qualifiers. "There shouldn't have been a reason for it. We just chose the wrong weekend not to perform. It's hard to try to find the good in today when I go in expecting to have five kids, at least, making it to sectionals," Ronney said. "We've wrestled better. For the most part, we just didn't show up today, and that's all-around. We just didn't wrestle. We had opportunities. For a few kids, all they had to win was (win a couple of matches) to go to sectionals." The Panthers have three sectional alternatives that finshed fourth in their respective brackets. Keyn Humes placed fourth in the 145-pound bracket. After losing via a 7-6 decision to Heyworth's Ryan Graves in the quarterfinals, Humes pinned Hoopeston Area's Colby Burton in a time of 1:22 in the wrestleback quarterfinals before winning via 9-7 decision over Olympia's Grant Kessinger in the wrestleback semifinals. In the third-place match, Graves pinned Humes in a time of 3:18. Hunter Anderson placed fourth in the 152-pound bracket. After pinning LeRoy's Zach Thomas in a time of 2:22 in the quarterfinals, Anderson lost via 11-3 major decision to Clinotn's Kolby Winter in the semifinals. Anderson pinned Normal U-High's Jacob Matchett in a time of 5:09 in the wrestleback semifinals before losing via 2:23 pinfall in the third-place match to Olympia's Lane Miller. Alberto Cruz placed fourth in the 285-pound bracket. Cruz pinned LeRoy's Caleb Borklund in a time of 1:06 in the quarterfinals before losing via 54-second pinfall to Olympia's Keaton Fogler in the semifinals. After receiving a bye through wrestlebacks, Cruz lost via 1-0 decision to Hoopeston Area's C.J. Curry in the third-place match. Tanner Bowen was pinned by Clinton's Brett Reeves in a time of 2:48 in the quarterfinals of the 195-pound bracket. Adam Colunga pinned Bowen in a time of 1:33 in the wrestleback semifinals. After losing via pinfall to GCMS/Fisher's Wright in the quarterfinals of the 220-pound bracket, Denam was pinned in a time of 3:28 by Gage Kenner of Hoopeston Area in the wrestleback semifinals. After his loss to Kean, Skinner was pinned by Wiggins in a time of 5:45 in the semifinals of wrestlebacks. Before his defeat to Ragle in wrestlebacks at 138 pounds, Reck lost via 18-2 technical fall in a time of 4:04 to Olympia's Noah Newmister in the quarterfinals. The Panthers wrestled on Saturday without Alesha Cornett, who was scratched for medical reasons, and Austin Hadden. The previous Saturday, PBL placed seventh in a 15-team meet at Quincy Notre Dame, with Anderson winning a first-place medal and three other wrestlers going home with a fourth-place medal. "That's why my expectations were so high," Ronney said. "I don't know if their past success from that weekend got to their head, but we're just walking around like we're trying to go downstairs, and there's no basement. It doesn't make any sense." "You can't cook an egg if it's already hatched," assistant coach Jacob Meyer added. "Once people decided how the matches were already going to go, it's already lost, or it's already won. All we can do is build from here. We're kind of down, and when you're in the basement, the only way to go is upstairs." The Panthers entered the 2017-18 season with no players graduating this spring. "It's hard with a young program, but that's the only positive side that we can comfort them with today," Ronney said. "Hopefully, everyone's going to return. We've got to work toward goals. We need to have individual goals. I can tell them all they need to do, but it's up to them to do it. "We've had past success, and the biggest thing it comes down to is do they want it, and will they fight for it? We've got to see. We've got a long offseason. Hopefully, they'll start going to these offseason meets, lifting a little bit more and taking advantage of the opportunities they have to get some mat time. We'll see what happens next year." IHSA Class 1A CLINTON SECTIONAL Team scores 1. Clinton, 191.5; 2. LeRoy, 144; 3. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher, 133; 4. Hoopeston Area, 125; 5. Heyworth, 120; 5. Stanford Olympia, 120; 7. Ridgeview, 39; 8. Paxton-Buckley-Loda, 26; 9. Normal University, 7. 106 pounds Championship match -- Cale Horsch (GCMSF) dec. Tay (RID), 2-0. Semifinals -- Horsch (GCMSF) pinned Jake Mitchell (OLY), 1:12. 113 pounds Third-place match -- Austin Weaver (OLY) maj. dec. Kaden Gream (GCMSF), 15-1. Quarterfinals -- Kaden Gream (GCMSF) pinned Caiden Turner (CLIN), 5:08. Semifinals -- Ethan Matlock (LER) maj. dec. Gream (GCMSF), 8-0. 120 pounds Quarterfinals -- Nate Smith (CLIN) dec. Cole Maxey (GCMSF), 4-2. Wrestleback semifinals -- Wesly Litwiller (OLY) dec. Maxey (GCMSF), 4-0. 126 pounds Quarterfinals -- Colton Tay (RID) pinned Logan Benningfield (GCMSF), :37. Wrestleback semifinals -- Owen Gulley (LER) pinned Benningfield (GCMSF), :19. 132 pounds Third-place match -- Kaleb Johnson (CLIN) pinned Drew Purvis (GCMSF), :43. Quarterfinals -- Purvis (GCMSF) pinned Gage McLin, 3:58. Semifinals -- Andrew Sims (HEY) tech. fall Purvis, 21-4 (4:00) Wrestleback semifinals -- Purvis (GCMSF) maj. dec. Ethan Wissmiller (RID), 18-9. 138 pounds Third-place match -- Jacob Vidmar (CLIN) tech. fall Calen Ragle (GCMSF), 19-3 (4:51). Quarterfinals -- Vidmar (CLIN) pinned Ragle (GCMSF), 3:47; Noah Newmister (OLY) tech. fall Nick Reck (PBL), 18-2 (4:04). Wrestleback quarterfinals -- Ragle (GCMSF) pinned Reck (PBL), 3:19. Wrestleback semifinals -- Ragle (GCMSF) pinned Dale (NU), 4:51. 145 pounds Championship match -- Christian Reynolds (CLIN) dec. Jacob Horsch (GCMSF), 3-2. Third-place match -- Ryan Graves (HEY) pinned Keyn Humes (PBL), 3:18. Quarterfinals -- Horsch (GCMSF) pinned Alex Woolford (NU), 1:05; Graves (HEY) dec. Humes, 7-6. Semifinals -- Horsch (GCMSF) dec. Grant Kessinger (OLY), 7-1. Wrestleback quarterfinals -- Humes (PBL) pinned Colby Burton (HA), 1:22. Wrestleback semifinals -- Humes (PBL) dec. Kessinger (OLY), 9-7. 152 pounds Third-place match -- Lane Miller (OLY) pinned Hunter Anderson (PBL), 2:23. Quarterfinals -- Anderson (PBL) pinned Zach Thomas (LER), 2:22. Semifinals -- Kolby Winter (CLIN) maj. dec. Anderson (PBL), 11-3. Wrestleback semifinals -- Anderson (PBL) pinned Jacob Matchett (NU), 5:09. 160 pounds Third-place match -- Lucas Chittick (GCMSF) pinned Eithan Campbell (HEY), 1:19. Quarterfinals -- Chittick (GCMSF) pinned Campbell (HEY), 1:38. Semifinals -- Bryce Reeves (CLIN) maj. dec. Chittick (GCMSF), 10-0. 170 pounds Quarterfinals -- Landon Alcorn (OLY) pinned Caleb Liestman (GCMSF), 1:19. Wrestlebacks -- Garrett Houston (HEY) pinned Liestman (GCMSF), :48. 182 pounds Third-place match -- Payton Kean (GCMSF) dec. Wiggins (LER), 3-1. Quarterfinals -- Kean (GCMSF) pinned Hobert Skinner (PBL), 2:34. Semifinals -- Eliseo Zamora (HA) pinned Kean (GCMSF), :43. Wrestleback semifinals -- Kean (GCMSF) pinned Alec Gaither (OLY), 1:34; Dayne Wiggins (LER) pinned Skinner (PBL), 5:45. 195 pounds Championship match -- Dylan Woolridge (LER) pinned Owen Duke (GCMSF), 3:04. Quarterfinals -- Brett Reeves (CLIN) pinned Tanner Bowen (PBL), 2:48. Semifinals -- Duke (GCMSF) pinned Adam Colunga (HA), 4:27. Wrestleback semifinals -- Colunga (HA) pinned Bowen (PBL), 1:33. 220 pounds Championship match -- Kyle Hammer (CLIN) pinned Garrett Wright (GCMSF), 3:03. Quarterfinals -- Wright (GCMSF) pinned Christian Denam (PBL), 1:56. Semifinals -- Wright (GCMSF) dec. Darek Wiggins (LER), 2-1. Wrestleback semifinals -- Kenner (HA) pinned Denam (PBL), 3:28. 285 pounds Third-place match -- C.J. Curry (HA) dec. Alberto Cruz (PBL), 1-0. Quarterfinals -- Cruz (PBL) pinned Caleb Borklund (LER), 1:06. Semifinals -- Keaton Fogler (OLY) pinned Cruz (PBL), :54.
PAXTON – There was not a lot of excitement on the offensive end during the first half of Tuesday’s high school boys basketball game between Tuscola and Paxton-Buckley-Loda. However, one spark was provided by PBL’s Luke Fitton in the first quarter, as he received a lob pass from Dalton Coplea and slam dunked it through the basket for a go-ahead score to put the Panthers up 6-4 en route to a 51-29 PBL victory. “He's just playing with so much confidence right now,” PBL head coach Adam Schonauer said. “He went up and got that, and that was an impressive dunk he had tonight.” After Fitton recorded a steal on Tuscola’s ensuing possession, Luis Rodriguez sank a 3-pointer to extend PBL’s lead to 9-4 with 1:55 left in the first quarter. He and Fitton each finished the first quarter with six points while Ray Kerkhoff made two baskets for Tuscola. “Luis hit a couple of big 3-pointers there in the first quarter for us,” Schonauer said. Luke Sluder made a basket before Kaleb Williams hit a game-tying 3-pointer for Tuscola. Rodriguez then made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer off the glass to give PBL a 12-9 lead going into the second quarter. Both teams were held scoreless for nearly half of the second quarter before Kerkhoff scored on an offensive-rebound putback to cur the Warriors’ deficit to 12-11. The PBL defense forced Tuscola to turn the ball over via a traveling violation in the backcourt with 7:04 left in the second quarter. With 4:20 left in the second quarter, Andrew Zenner missed a 3-pointer on PBL’s ensuing possession after Kerkhoff’s putback. Fitton then blocked a shot with 3:20 left in the second quarter before Keaton Krumwiede drew a charging violation on Dalton Hoel with 2:45 remaining in the quarter. Kerhoff then gave Tuscola a 14-13 lead with a basket with 1:35 left in the second quarter. After Kerhoff’s go-ahead basket, Zenner ended PBL’s scoring drought with a running jump shot to give PBL the lead back at 14-13. After Krumwiede recorded a steal on the Warriors’ ensuing possession, Zenner nailed a 3-pointer with 1:03 remaining in the second quarter to extend the Panthers’ a 17-13 lead. Both teams were then held scoreless for the rest of the first half. “I thought our defense was very good tonight,” Schonauer said. “We were very active. We were able to get a lot of deflections and steals, and we needed them tonight. We weren't very good offensively, but we were able to shut them down.” The Panthers’ defensive prowess continued as Tuscola was called for a five-second inbound violation with 6:34 left in the third quarter. With 6:17 remaining in the third quarter, Sluder recorded a steal, but was called for a charging violation as he tried to score. Zenner and Kerkhoff exchanged baskets to make the score 19-15 before PBL went on a 9-0 run. Fitton scored on an offensive-rebound putback to extend the Panthers’ lead to 21-15 before recording a blocked shot and getting fouled by Tuscola’s Jaret Heath in transition with 4:04 left in the third quarter. Fitton made one of his two resulting free-throw attempts to extend PBL’s lead to 22-15. Cole Eshleman and Zenner each made a 3-pointer to extend their team’s advantage to 28-15 before Tuscola’s Tyler Meinhold ended the run with a trey to cut his team’s deficit to 28-18. Rodriguez then made the third of his four game-total 3-pointers to extend PBL’s lead to 31-18. With 38.4 seconds left in the third quarter, Breyden VonLanken made two free throws to cut Tuscola’s lead to 31-20. Fitton then made a buzzer-beating layup on a Rodriguez assist to extend the Panthers’ lead to 33-20 to start the fourth quarter. Eshleman started the fourth-quarter scoring with two free throws to extend PBL’s lead to 35-20 before a three-point play by Kerkhoff cut Tuscola’s deficit to 35-23. Kerkhoff then scored while being fouled to make the score 35-25. The Panthers then went on a 13-0 run that included three 3-pointers. Colton Kleinert made the first of PBL’s treys before Zenner added two shots from beyond the arc to extend PBL’s lead to 44-25. Eshleman then stole the ball and assisted Dalton Coplea on a basket with 3:08 left in the game to extend the Panthers’ lead to 46-25 before Zenner added a two-point field goal to make the score 48-25. “Some shots fell, the offense came together, and it ended up being a nice win for us,” Schonauer said. “We were able to finally get some shots to go down there in the third quarter. We finally got the ball moving and got up and down a little bit. We were able to get some shots and knock them down, and once a couple went through the net, it gave other guys confidence, and we were able to build a lead there by getting ball movement and getting good shots.” Jacob Craddock made a basket to cut Tuscola’s deficit to 48-27 before a Rodriguez 3-pointer extended PBL’s lead to 51-27. Cale Sementi made a shot for the Warriors to conclude the game’s scoring with 51-29. Zenner finished the game leading PBL (17-7) in scoring with 18 points while Rodriguez and Fitton also scored in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Panthers. “He's rebounding the basketball. He's finishing around the rim,” Schonauer said. “He's making post moves and going up with confidence. We need him to continue to grow, and as these other guys get back into rhythm shooting the basketball, we could be a tough out come next week in the postseason because he's somebody a lot of teams have struggled to guard. When he makes up his mind up that he wants to score around the rim and he wants to post up and be physical, there's not much opponents can do. He's definitely an X-factor for us going into the postseason.” Eshleman scored five points for PBL while Kleinert and Dalton Coplea added three and two points, respectively. For Tuscola, Kerkhoff led in scoring with 15 points, but no other Warrior finished with more than three points. Panthers reach milestone Tuesday’s win over Tuscola was PBL’s 501st victory since the school’s consolidation between Paxton and Buckley-Loda in 1990. The Panthers reached the 500-win milestone with a win the previous Saturday over Warrensburg-Latham in the Riverton Shootout. “It's really neat. I know our kids were really shooting to get it this year,” Schonauer said. “They're excited that they were able to get that for the program and for the community. It's an honor.” Over the 27 years of the consolidation, PBL’s varsity boys basketball team won an average of 18.5 points per game. During that time, the Panthers won eight regional championships – including the 2010-11 season in which they won a school-record 29 games – and made one state tournament appearance – a fourth-place finish in 1995-96 via a 27-7 record. “That's a lot of wins for our basketball program over that period of time,” Schonauer said. “It's something to be proud of, not just for these guys, but everybody who was a part of the program.” Junior varsity The Paxton-Buckley-Loda junior varsity boys basketball won 38-34 in overtime against Tuscola on Tuesday. In the overtime period, Tuscola took a 33-32 lead via free throw with 1:05 remaining before Mason Ecker made what would be a game-winning 3-pointer with 46 seconds left to give PBL a 35-33 lead. After another Warrior free throw cut the team’s deficit to 35-34, Drake Schrodt made two foul shots with 24 seconds remaining to extend the Panthers’ lead to 37-34. After Tuscola’s Will Little airballed a potential game-tying 3-pointer, PBL’s Andrew Swanson made a shot from the charity stripe to make the score 38-34. In the first quarter, PBL took an 11-4 lead as Schrodt made two 3-pointer, Ecker added a trey and Austin Gooden made a two-point field goal. In the second quarter, Gooden and Dalton Busboom each made a basket as the Panthers went into halftime leading 15-12. In the third quarter, PBL outscored Tuscola 13-6 as Ecker scored five points, Schrodt made a 3-pointer, Tanner Coe and Swanson each scored two points and Busboom added a free throw. Busboom made two baskets for the Panthers’ lone fourth-quarter points as Tuscola outscored PBL 14-4. The Warriors’ Turner Hastings hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Ecker and Schrodt each led the Panthers in scoring with 11 points while Busboom had seven points, Gooden had four points, Swanson had three points and Coe had two points. PBL 51, Tuscola 29 TUS 9 4 7 9 -- 29 PBL 12 5 16 18 -- 51 Tuscola Tyler Meinhold 1-0-3, Kaleb Williams 1-0-3, Jered Heath 0-0-0, Luke Sluder 1-0-2, Ray Kerkholl 7-1-15, Breyden VonLanken 0-2-2, Cale Sementi 1-0-2, Jacob Craddock 1-0-2. Totals 12-3-29. PBL (17-7) Wolfgang Heisler 0-0-0, Dalton Coplea 1-0-2, Keaton Krumwiede 0-0-0, Luis Rodriguez 4-0-12, Tyler Pichon 0-0-0, Colton Kleinert 1-0-3, Jaxson Coplea 0-0-0, Cole Eshleman 1-2-5, Tom Henrichs 0-0-0, Luke Fitton 5-1-11, Andrew Zenner 7-0-18. Totals 19-3-51. 3-pointers – Tuscola 2 (Williams, Meinhold). PBL 10 (Zennner 4, Rodriguez 4, Kleinert, Eshleman). JUNIOR VARSITY PBL 38, Tuscola 34 (OT) TUS 4 8 6 14 2 -- 34 PBL 11 4 13 4 6 -- 38 Tuscola Will Little 2-1-6, Haden Cothron 2-0-5, Turner Hastings 2-0-6, Cale Sementi 0-1-1, Jacob Craddock 0-0-0, Lucas Kresin 0-0-0, Wynniger 0-0-0, Jacob Kibler 6-0-12, Noah Woods 1-2-4, Brayden VonLanken 0-0-0. Totals 34 PBL Mason Ecker 3-2-11, Drake Schrodt 3-2-11, Trey VanWinkle 0-0-0, Tanner Coe 1-0-2, Tommy Quinn 0-0-0, Austin Gooden 2-0-4, Andrew Swanson 1-1-3, Colton Coy 0-0-0, Dalton Busboom 3-1-7. Totals 13-6-38. 3-pointers – Tuscola 4 (Hastings 2, Little, Cothron). PBl 6 (Ecker 3, Schrodt 3).
PAXTON -- Upper Room Bible Church outscored First Lutheran Church 7-2 to take the championship game and win a seven-team church softball tournament played Saturday in Paxton. Upper Room earned its spot in the championship with wins over Paxton Federated Church and United Methodist Church earlier in the day. Sluggers Craig DeLong, Wil McClure, Peyton McClure and Dave Lithgow each had home runs en route to the team’s championship win. Outfielder Mike Moser was credited with the defensive play of the day, robbing a home run in the game against the Methodists. Runner-up First Lutheran faced off against tournament newcomer St. Mary’s Catholic and last year’s champion, Evangelical Covenant. First Lutheran put together a strong defense led by shortstop Drew Krumwiede to finish on top of both games and earn its spot in the finals. Following the early loss to the Lutherans, St. Mary’s was victorious over Covenant and Hope Vineyard to finish 2-1 on the day. St. Mary’s offense was led by RBIs from Jimmy Quinn (7), Mike Quinn (6), and Derek Diesburg (4), including a home run. Evangelical Covenant and United Methodist both finished the tournament with an even win-loss record. Mike McDermaid and Bob Curry led each team with three home runs, respectively. Curry also had a walk-off base hit in the 13th inning to earn a 6-5 win over Federated. Following the extra-inning loss to Methodists, Federated led off their next game against Covenant with a home run from Brock Johnson, but failed to hold the lead after the first inning. Federated and Hope Vineyard both ended the day with a record of 0-3. Paxton’s annual church softball tournament has now completed its sixth year with United Methodist, Evangelical Covenant, and Federated having competed all six years. Along with use of softball fields in the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school district and help from the Paxton Park District, the church softball tournament participants recognize Bob Nuckols for volunteering his time and efforts to prep fields for play last weekend.
PAXTON — The Paxton-Buckley-Loda school board is expected to approve a final version of the school district’s annual property tax levy during its monthly meeting Wednesday night. Prior to approval, the board will hold a public hearing regarding the levy. The hearing will immediately precede the meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in the board room at the unit office. Also on the meeting’s agenda are: ➜ Approval of a consent agenda, which includes the approval of minutes of previous meetings, the affirmation of staff resignations, the approval of donations to the district, a “budget-to-actual” report, a report from the PBL High School guidance office, the approval of items deemed no longer useful to the district, the approval of a technology report, and a report on November’s Triple I Conference. ➜ Approval of Parkland College’s early transfer program, proposed PBL High School course additions for the 2018-19 school year, credit recovery, and an SAT prep course. ➜ Approval of a groundskeeper job description and evaluation. ➜ A report on the Clara Peterson Elementary School addition and renovation project and the PBL High School renovation project. ➜ Approval of the release of bids for the Clara Peterson Elementary School addition and renovation project and the PBL High School renovation project. ➜ Approval of a contract with Environmental Consultants for asbestos removal design at Clara Peterson Elementary School, PBL High School and PBL Eastlawn School and demolition design at PBL Eastlawn School. ➜ Notification of the administrator and superintendent evaluation period. ➜ Approval of placing the district’s amended budget for 2018 on public display and the establishment of a date and time for a public hearing to be held regarding the amended budget. ➜ Approval of the purchase of a used 2012 Chevrolet van. ➜ A report on the district’s 403(b) plan. ➜ A closed session, with possible action to follow, regarding the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees of the district; the review of minutes of closed meetings; and the destruction of audio recordings of meetings that are 18 months or older.
PAXTON — The Paxton Police Department released the following list of recent activity: ➜ Daniel R. Anderson, 45, of Kankakee, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a suspended driver’s license during a traffic stop at 12:11 a.m. Monday, April 23, at the intersection of Market and Patton streets. During the traffic stop, police learned that Anderson’s license was suspended, and a subsequent search of his vehicle revealed two one-hitter pipes. The 2003 Ford Windstar that he was driving was seized by police under city ordinance. ➜ Patrick M. Cahill II, 19, of Paxton, was arrested for possession of 10-30 grams of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia at 4:31 p.m. Friday, April 20. The arrest occurred after an Illinois Department of Corrections parole agent went to 202 N. Market St., Apt. 2, to check on a parolee. While there, the agent, accompanied by Paxton police and sheriff’s deputies from the Ford County Sheriff’s Office, located about 11 grams of cannabis and items of drug paraphernalia that belonged to Cahill. ➜ Cody A. Riddle-Mikules, 25, of Paxton, was arrested on an Iroquois County warrant for failure to appear in court on a burglary charge at 11:20 a.m. Friday, April 20. The arrest occurred at 201 N. Elm St. in Paxton. ➜ Kaylee M. Wilkins, 18, of Loda, was ticketed for driving too fast for conditions at 9:50 p.m. Monday, April 16, following a traffic accident in the 800 block of North Market Street. The accident occurred when Wilkins was driving a 2008 Pontiac G6 south on Market Street and her vehicle went off the east side of the road. Wilkins then overcorrected, and her vehicle started to slide backward. Her vehicle then struck three unoccupied, parked vehicles, which pushed into two other vehicles. No injuries were reported.
PAXTON — The director of Paxton’s public works department has been charged with reckless driving and talking on a cell phone while driving in connection with two separate incidents involving a city-owned truck. Ford County State’s Attorney Andrew Killian filed one count of reckless driving, a Class A misdemeanor, against Mark J. LeClair, 58, of Paxton, on Monday, Aug. 7, in Ford County Circuit Court. The charge alleges LeClair committed the offense in April 2016 as he drove a 2013 Ford truck “with a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.” The charge alleges LeClair “accelerated the vehicle in an excessive manner such that it caused gravel to be thrown behind the vehicle.” The gravel allegedly struck another city employee, Richard A. Malivuk. Paxton Police Chief Bob Bane said the incident occurred on April 7, 2016, at the public works department’s tool shed on U.S. 45. “At the time this incident took place on April 7, Rick Malivuk was the Teamsters union rep (for the public works department’s nonsupervisory employees),” Bane said. “He was discussing an issue with Mr. LeClair, which caused Mr. LeClair to become extremely upset. When Mr. LeClair left the building, he slammed the walk-in door, causing damage to the door. Outside, Mr. LeClair was cursing. He then got into a city-owned pickup truck, started it up, revved up the motor, and then exited the parking lot, throwing gravel all over Mr. Malivuk, chipping a tooth of his. Mr. Malivuk happened to be wearing safety glasses; otherwise, the rocks would have hit him in the eye. He got pelted with rocks.” Bane said Malivuk first contacted the police department about the incident the following day, but he opted not to pursue any charges after reaching out to the Teamsters union. “At that time, the union rep did not recommend anything, except to try to calm everything down,” Bane said, “because they were in (contract) negotiations (with the city).” Bane said the friction between LeClair and Malivuk later escalated, and Malivuk ultimately decided to file a formal complaint, which he did on June 9 of this year. Paxton police interviewed Malivuk and other witnesses and forwarded their statements to Killian, recommending a charge of aggravated battery against LeClair, Bane said. Killian then reviewed the evidence and charged LeClair with reckless driving. LeClair was issued a summons to appear in court for a status hearing at 10 a.m. Aug. 21 in Judge Matt Fitton’s courtroom. LeClair was also charged last week with using an electronic communication device while driving a motor vehicle. After 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, Paxton police allegedly saw LeClair talking on his cell phone while driving a city-owned truck after normal work hours. Bane said police saw LeClair go to various locations, including the state’s attorney’s office, attorney Bob Martensen’s office and attorney Lance Cagle’s office. LeClair was pulling into Cagle’s office when a traffic stop was initiated, Bane said. Bane said he had personally warned LeClair “numerous times” that he was not exempt from the state law that prohibits the use of cell phones while driving — even if doing so in a city truck. LeClair was issued an Aug. 30 court date for that charge. LeClair had no comment when reached last week. Also declining comment was Mayor Bill Ingold. In April, LeClair began his 39th year as a city employee. He started as a street department worker, then in the early 1990s switched to the wastewater department. In 2009, he was promoted to water and wastewater department superintendent. LeClair held that job until June 2015, when the streets and alleys department and water and wastewater department merged into the public works department and his current position of public works director was created.
FISHER -- The Paxton-Buckley-Loda Junior High School baseball team swept its season-opening doubleheader against Fisher on Saturday. The Panthers won game two 19-4. Jeremiah Ager hit 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored while Aiden Johnson went 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs for PBL, which produced 11 hits in the second game. Kayden Snelling went 2-for-2 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored. Mason Bruns picked up the win on the mound for PBL, allowing no runs on one hit and one walk while striking out three batters through two innings pitched. Snelling struck out two batters while allowing no runs on no hits and no walks through one inning and Beau Kleinert allowed four earned runs on three hits and three walks through an inning pitched. The Panthers took a 9-0 lead in the first inning of game two Aiden Johnson singled to lead off the inning and Ephraim Johnson walked. With one out, Jakob Gronsky walked and advanced to second on a throw as Aiden Johnson crossed home plate. Ager then singled to send Ephraim Johnson across home plate to make the score 2-0. After Bruns was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Ty Graham hit a single to send Gronsky across home plate. With two outs, Ager scored on a wild pitch. After Cory Degarmo walked, Aiden Johnson hit an RBI single. After Graham stole home plate to score another run, Ephraim Johnson walked before Keagan Busboom hit a two-RBI single. Ephraim Johnson crossed home plate on a wild pitch. In the second inning, Ager led off with a single and Bruns was hit by a pitch before Mason Uden singled and Bruns crossed home plate on an error on a ground ball hit by Aiden Johnson to extend PBL's lead to 10-0. Ager singled to center field with two outs in the third inning before Snelling hit a line-drive to left field to send Ager across home plate to make the score 11-0. PBL scored eight more runs in the fourth inning to extend their lead to 19-0. Uden was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning before Aiden Johnson singled to left field with one out. Busboom was hit by a pitch with two outs to load the bases before Peyton Hutchcraft drew a bases-loaded walk to send Uden home and Aiden Johnson crossed home plate on an error on a Griffin Johnson ground ball. Snelling sent Busboom and Hutchcraft across home plate with a double to left field. After Graham walked, Uden, Charlie Pound and David King each drew a bases-loaded walk and Beau Kleinert was hit by a pitch to each send a run across home plate. Fisher scored all four of their runs in the fourth inning before the game was called. In game one, PBL defeated Fisher 12-2. The Panthers produced 10 hits in the first game as Aiden Johnson went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored while Keagan Busboom and Jakob Gronsky each went 2-for-4. Busboom drove in two runs and scored two more while Gronsky had two RBIs and a run scored. Ashton Pope was the winning pitcher for the Panthers in game one, allowing one earned run on one hit and five walks while striking out six batters. Jakob Gronsky picked up the save, allowing one run -- none earned -- on no hits and one walk while striking out three batters. In the top of the first inning, PBL scored three runs. Aiden Johnson singled to lead off the inning before Ephraim Johnson walked. With two outs, Aiden Johnson scored on a passed ball. After Jeremiah Ager walked to load the bases, Ephraim Johnson scored on a steal of home plate as Ager scored as well on the sequence. The Panthers tallied another run to extend their lead to 4-1 in the top of the third inning. Busboom hit a leadoff single to left field before Gronsky singled to right field. With two outs, Mason Bruns was hit by a pitch before Busboom scored on a wild pitch. In the fourth inning, PBL scored five runs to extend its lead to 9-1. Degarmo hit a leadoff single to right field and stole second and third base before Aiden Johnson singled to left field to send him home. After Busboom reached base on an error with two outs, he stole second base and advanced to third on a passed ball before Gronsky hit an RBI single to center field. Ager and Charlie Pound each hit an RBI double to center and left field, respectively, before Pound scored a run as well. The Panthers added three more runs to their lead in the fifth inning. Degarmo and Ephraim Johnson each walked and Aiden Johnson singled to center field to load the bases with nobody out. Busboom then singled to right field to send Degarmo and Aiden Johnson home before Ephraim Johnson crossed home plate on a Gronsky groundout. Game 1 PBL 12, Fisher 2 PBL 301 53 -- 12 10 1 FISH 100 01 -- 2 1 1 W -- Ashton Pope, 4 IP, H, ER, 6 K, 5 ER. S -- Jakob Gronsky, IP, 0 H, R, 0 ER, 3 K, BB. PBL -- Aiden Johnson 3-4, RBI, 2 R. Ephraim Johnson 2 R, 2 BB. Keagan Busboom 2-4, 2 RBIs, 2 R. Jakob Gronsky 2-4, 2 RBIs, R. Jeremiah Ager 1-3, RBI, 2 R. Charlie Pound 1-4, R. Cory Degarmo 1-1, 2 R. Game 2 PBL 19, Fisher 4 PBL 911 8 -- 19 11 3 FISH 000 4 -- 4 4 2 W -- Mason Bruns, 2 IP, H, 0 R, 3 K, BB. PBL -- Aiden Johnson 3-4, RBI, 3 R. Ephraim Johnson 2 R, 2 BB. David King RBI. Keagan Busboom 1-3, 2 RBIs, R. Jakob Gronsky R. Peyton Hutchcraft RBI, R. Jeremiah Ager 3-3, RBI, 2 R. Griffin Johnson R. Mason Bruns 2 R. Kayden Snelling 2-2, 2 2B, 3 RBIs, R. Ty Graham 1-3, RBI, 2 R. Mason Uden 1-2, RBI, 2 R. Cory Degarmo R. Charlie Pound RBI.
GIBSON CITY — The Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley football team will be strong up the middle of the field on both sides of the ball this season. Senior Mitch McNutt and junior Jared Trantina lead the stable of running backs into the 2017 season. McNutt will again get the majority of the touches after toting the ball 134 times last season for 1,183 yards and 21 touchdowns. Trantina, as a change of pace option from the fullback position, brings 105 carries and 585 yards of experience into his second season at the varsity level. Senior Alex Rosenbaum, a three-year starter at the center of the offensive line, will have a different quarterback under center after two-year starting quarterback Keegan Allen graduated. Junior Nathan Garard takes over the huddle in 2017 and brings size (6-1, 180 pounds), strength, and athleticism to the position. On defense, three-year starter and all-conference tackle Levi Davis graduated, but the two linebackers who played behind him return. Seniors Luke Freehill (91 tackles in 2017) and Connor Wahls (65 tackles) started in the middle of the second level all of last year. Behind them, senior and returning starter Brooks Schmitt (two interceptions) will roam the center of the secondary at safety. The talent and experience up the middle of the field helps coaches and fans raise their level of expectations for this season. Those expectations begin to soar when you start talking about the overall team strength. Coach Brandon Luttrell took a small group of players, led by McNutt, and put them on a strength program during the summer months. “Our numbers went way up,” McNutt said. “Some squatted over 500 pounds. That got other guys to go to the weight room when they saw us (upperclassmen) working out. I think that really pushed them, and now we have 16 guys cleaning over 215 (pounds).” The total of 16 players lifting that much in the power clean is the most of any Falcons team. The 2009 squad that made it to the state semifinals had 12 and the 2015 team that reached the quarterfinals had 11. “This is by far the strongest team (we’ve had),” GCMS head coach Mike Allen said. “And hopefully that carries over to the field. There is a saying, ‘look like Tarzan, play like Jane,’ but I think all of these guys are all Tarzans. It’s carried over to the field (at practice), and their attitudes have been great.” Regardless of outside expectations, Rosenbaum said the record strength numbers give him confidence headed into the season. For Freehill, the raised expectations from those outside of the locker room are welcome. “It’s nice to have people believe in you, too,” Freehill said. “When people in the crowd think you can win every game, it gets you more pumped up.” Position battles continue at many other spots around the field, including offensive line, wide receiver/tight end, defensive tackle, and the secondary. Senior Jared Thompson, junior Hayden Workman and others are fighting to replace Davis in the middle of the defensive line. On the outside, juniors Bryce Barnes, Ryland Holt and Josh Bleich bring height and athleticism to the receiver/tight end positions. Barnes (6-3) and Holt (6-4) are back on the gridiron after electing not to play last season to focus on basketball. Bleich (6-2) earned some playing time last year when then-senior Sam Baillie needed a breather at tight end. “People are going to key on (McNutt); we know that,” Allen said. “I think we have multiple weapons to attack different ways. We just need to fine tune now. “We can go empty (backfield) and put 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 out there and let (Garard) choose who to throw to,” Allen continued. “(Garard) has looked good at 7-on-7s, he’s looked good (at practice). We have a lot of receivers, so the competition is great there.” With all of the competition and individual position battles, Allen said it has made practices better and should result in a deeper squad this season. “People are wanting to fight for positions, and we’ve told them it doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman or a senior, we owe it to the team to put out the best 11,” he said.
IHSA Class 2A Hoopeston Area Sectional At John Greer Grade School, Hoopeston 609 W. Main Street, Hoopeston MONDAY, Oct. 30 Match 1 at 5:30 p.m.: Winner El Paso (E.P.-Gridley) Regional vs. Winner Westville Regional Match 2 at 6:30 p.m.: Winner Monticello Regional vs. Winner Watseka Regional WEDNESDAY, Nov. 1 Match 3 at 6:00 pm: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 El Paso-Gridley Regional MONDAY, Oct. 23 Match 1 at 6 p.m.: (8) Gibson City (G.C.-Melvin-Sibley) vs. (10) Gilman (Iroquois West) TUESDAY, Oct. 24 Match 2 at 5:30 p.m.: (1) Downs (Tri-Valley) vs. Winner Match 1 Match 3 at 6:30 p.m.: (3) El Paso (E.P.-Gridley) vs. (5) Minonk (Fieldcrest) THURSDAY, Oct. 26 Match 4 at 6 p.m.: Winner Match 2 vs. Winner Match 3 Watseka Regional MONDAY, Oct. 23 Match 1 at 5:30 p.m.: (7) St. Anne vs. (9) Clifton (Central) Match 2 at 6:30 p.m.: (6) Paxton (P.-Buckley-Loda) vs. (11) Hoopeston (H. Area) TUESDAY, Oct. 24 Match 3 at 5:30 p.m.: (2) Watseka vs. Winner Match 1 Match 4 at 6:30 p.m.: (4) Heyworth vs. Winner Match 2 THURSDAY, Oct. 26 Match 5 at 6 p.m.: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 Westville Regional MONDAY, Oct. 23 Match 1 at 5:30 p.m.: (7) Georgetown (G.-Ridge Farm) vs. (9) Westville Match 2 at 6:30 p.m.: (5) Bismarck (B.-Henning-Rossville-Alvin) vs. (10) Catlin (Salt Fork) TUESDAY, Oct. 24 Match 3 at 5:30 p.m.: (2) Fithian (Oakwood) vs. Winner Match 1 Match 4 at 6:30 p.m.: (3) Arthur (A.-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond) vs. Winner Match 2 THURSDAY, Oct. 26 Match 5 at 6 p.m.: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 Monticello Regional MONDAY, Oct. 23 Match 1 at 6 p.m.: (8) Monticello vs. (11) Urbana (University) TUESDAY, Oct. 24 Match 2 at 5:30 p.m.: (1) Champaign (St. Thomas More) vs. Winner Match 1 Match 3 at 6:30 p.m.: (4) St. Joseph (S.J.-Ogden) vs. (6) Tuscola THURSDAY, Oct. 26 Match 4 at 6 p.m.: Winner Match 2 vs. Winner Match 3
DWIGHT -- The Paxton-Buckley-Loda Youth Football Seniors opened their season with a 16-0 victory Saturday over Dwight. "The Panther defense was the star of the game with a nearly brick-wall defense that time after time stopped Dwight in their tracks," said Jim Hobson, PBL head Seniors coach. "Our defense was outstanding today and we expected that. Through the first three weeks of practice, we have been having trouble moving the ball in practice against our defense." The Panther defense was also the offensive star of the game, scoring both Panther touchdowns via fumble recovery. In the first quarter, Will Henry picked up a Dwight fumble and returned it 48 yards for the Panthers' first score. Followng a Cory Degarmo 2-point kick try, the Panthers led 8-0, and that score would hold up until half time. After a scoreless third quarter, the Panther defense was able to strike a second time via Robert Blackburn's fumble recovery in the end zone and a second Degarmo 2-point kick, making the score 16-0. "We didnt have much offense today," Hobson said. "However, we had some nice runs and we are very encouraged by some of the passes we were able to complete. "Offensively, we just have to get better. We had several drive stopping penalties and turnovers that just hurt us as we were gaining momentum. You can't put the ball on the ground three times and throw two interceptions and expect to score a lot of points." The Panthers will travel Watseka for their week-two game at 5 p.m. Saturday. "We will take this week and improve on the mistakes we made and get better," Hobson said.
GCMS 48, Ridgeview 32 GCMS 16 11 16 5 — 48 RID 11 9 5 7 — 32 GCMS (20-3, 9-1) Nathan Garard 0-0-0, Ben Freehill 2-0-4, Mitch McNutt 3-1-8, Connor Birky 2-0-5, Josh Bleich 0-0-0, Ryland Holt 5-1-11, Bryce Barnes 7-5-20. Totals 19-7-48. Ridgeview (20-4, 7-3) Jacob Donaldson 2-2-6, Alex Tongate 0-0-0, Matthew Nunamaker 1-1-4, Justin Myers 7-4-20, Levi Zimmerman 1-0-2, Tristan Campbell 0-0-0, Juan Rios-Narciso 0-0-0. Totals 11-7-32. 3-pointers — GCMS (McNutt, Birky, Barnes). Ridgeview 3 (Myers 2, Nunamaker). Here are some of the sights from Friday's game in Colfax ...
WATSEKA -- The Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Youth Football Seniors team defeated Watseka 22-2 in its season opener on Saturday. Aiden Laughery returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown and scored on an 45-yard run as well. Zander Wier had a 25-yard touchdown run as well. Laughery also had two extra-point kicks. Kellen DeSchepper had an interception on defense and the Falcons' leading tacklers were Jacob Rutledge, Laughery, Parker Chase and Wier.
PAXTON — The city’s police chief thinks the $1,190 in overtime pay that a judge has ordered the city to pay him is not enough. In a written motion filed in Ford County Circuit Court on July 7, Police Chief Bob Bane claims he is actually owed twice that amount. Bane, in his motion, requests that Judge Mark Fellheimer amend his earlier ruling to require the city pay him an additional $1,190 in the form of liquidated damages. Bane noted that in his earlier ruling, Fellheimer did not consider the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which “provides as a remedy the amount of the shortage (owed) plus an additional amount equal to the shortage as liquidated damages.” “Liquidated damages are required and are not discretionary in this case,” Bane’s motion said. “Payment of overtime shortage does not satisfy the FLSA damages, which include liquidated damages.” A hearing to consider Bane’s motion was set for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 20. In his small-claims complaint, filed on Oct. 25, 2016, Bane claimed the city owed him $6,848 in overtime pay for city council meetings he attended between May 2006 and August 2015. However, Fellheimer ruled in June that under the state’s Minimum Wage Act, a three-year statute of limitations applies to Bane’s claim for wages, meaning he is only able to receive overtime pay for work performed within three years of filing his complaint — specifically, the period of Oct. 25, 2013, through Aug. 10, 2015. As of Aug. 10, 2015, Bane was no longer eligible to receive overtime pay. That is when Bane’s position became salaried at $62,000 per year, up from the $53,111 he was making as an hourly employee. The defendants named in the case were the city of Paxton, Mayor Bill Ingold and City Comptroller/Treasurer Julie Burgess. They are represented by Danville law firm of Dukes, Ryan, Freed & Meents Ltd.
FARMER CITY -- The Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School girls golf team finished first in Monday's Blue Ridge Invitational by tallying a team score of 390. El Paso-Gridley shot a 405 to finish second while Stanford Olympia placed third (418), Monticello placed fourth (445) and Centennial was fifth (458). While Fisher's Sydney Hood finished second with a score of 88, GCMS's Shannon Spangler tied for fourth with Armstrong-Potomac's Anna Duden. Spangler and Duden each shot a 92. Megan Moody shot a 94 to take eighth place individually for GCMS. Tiger Kickoff Classic The Rantoul/Paxton-Buckley-Loda boys golf team finished fifth with a score of 364 in the Tiger Kickoff Classic on Monday at the Urbana Country Club. FRIDAY The Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley boys golf team finished fifth in the seven-team Ron Schaede Memorial at the University of Illinois Orange Course. FRIDAY BOYS’ RESULTS Ron Schaede Memorial At UI Orange Course TEAM SCORES 1. Normal West 323; 2. Central 328; 3. Centennial 343; 4. Bloomington 349; 5. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 365; 6. Tri-Valley 370; 7. Marshall 409. TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS 1. Nelson (Uni) 76; 2. Barger (BLM) 77; 3. Ott (NW) 78; 4. Sutton (BLM) 79; 4. Hutson (NW) 79. MONDAY BOYS’ SUMMARIES Tiger Kickoff Classic At Urbana Country Club TEAM SCORES 1. Charleston 300; 2. Champaign Central 320; 3. Bismarck-Henning 340; 4. Centennial 344; 5. Rantoul-PBL 364; 6. Bradley-Bourbonnais 374; 7. Monticello 377; 8. Danville 379; 9. Paris 381; 10. Mt. Zion 392; 11. Clinton 427; 11. St. Joseph-Ogden 427; 13. Oakwood 438; 14. Urbana 461; TOP TEN INDIVIDUALS 1. Lanman (CHAR) 71; 2. Gowin (CHAR) 73; 3. Nelson (Urbana Univesity High) 75; 4. Reynolds (CLI) 76; 5. Butts (CENTR) 76; 6. Keith (BH) 77; 7. Rardin (CHAR) 77; 8. Wright (MON) 77; 9. McCoy (CENTR) 78; 10. Smith (CHAR) 79. GIRLS’ SUMMARIES Blue Ridge Invitational At Woodlawn Par 72 TEAM SCORES 1. GCMS 390; 2. El Paso-Gridley 405; 3. Olympia 418; 4. Monticello 445; 5. Centennial 458; 6. St. Teresa 473; 7. Fisher 479. TOP TEN INDIVIDUALS 1. Miller (Meridian) 83; 2. Hood (FIS) 88; 3. Parkhouse (EPG) 91; 4. Bugener (ST) 92; 4. Duden (Armstrong-Potomac) 92; 4. Spangler (GCMS) 92; 7. Stringer (MON) 93; 8. Moody (GCMS) 94; 9. Sherrick (CENT) 95; 10. Dean (OLY) 96.
PAXTON — The Paxton Police Department released the following list of recent activity: ➜ Michael W. Smith Jr., 43, of Paxton, was arrested for driving with no valid driver’s license and ticketed for operating an uninsured vehicle during a traffic stop at 5:54 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13, at the intersection of U.S. 45 and Green Street on the city’s south edge. The silver 2007 Chevrolet Impala he was driving was seized by police under city ordinance. ➜ Jessica R. Shumate, 21, of Paxton, was arrested for domestic battery on Saturday, Aug. 12. The alleged battery occurred around 3:30 p.m. that day but was not reported to police until 7 p.m. Police said they received video footage of the incident, showing Shumate striking her 1-year-old son in the back using her fist. The incident occurred at Shumate’s home at 107 E. Center St. ➜ Salazar W. Ramirez, 23, of Rantoul, was arrested for driving under the influence of a drug and driving with no valid driver’s license during a traffic stop at 5:19 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, on West Ottawa Road by the Interstate 57 interchange. Ramirez was also ticketed for possession of 10 or fewer grams of cannabis, operating an uninsured vehicle and speeding (50 mph in a 40-mph speed zone). Police said they found half a blunt filled with cannabis in Ramirez’s possession. The silver 1992 Oldsmobile 88 that Ramirez was driving was seized by police under city ordinance. ➜ Lisa M. Yates, 45, of 800 S. High St., Apt. 3, Paxton, was arrested for driving on a suspended or revoked driver’s license during a traffic stop at 2:12 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at the intersection of Summer and High streets. Yates was also ticketed for operating an uninsured vehicle and no rear registration lamp. The 2005 Dodge Magnum that Yates was driving was seized by police under city ordinance. A juvenile passenger in the vehicle was turned over to a family member. ➜ Damage to a chain-link fence at the city-owned Nelson Field was reported to police at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10. An employee of the Paxton Park District, which uses the field, found that a large hole had been cut in the fence. The damage was estimated to be $100 to $200. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Paxton police at 217-379-4315 or Ford County Crimestoppers at 217-784-4173. Informants may choose to remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. ➜ Kyle D. Smith, 25, of 656 W. Franklin St., Apt. 201, Paxton, was arrested for aggravated battery to a police officer, resisting a police officer, criminal damage to state-supported property and criminal trespass to land on Thursday, Aug. 10. Around 2 p.m., Paxton police responded to a report that Smith was present at 656 W. Franklin St. despite being previously banned from the property. When officers confronted Smith, he allegedly became extremely agitated and combative. In the process of an officer taking Smith to the ground, the officer’s portable radio was damaged. ➜ Aaron C. Campbell, 19, of Urbana, was arrested for driving with no valid driver’s license and ticketed for possession of 10 or fewer grams of cannabis, operating an uninsured vehicle and expired registration during a traffic stop at 1:15 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, at the intersection of Market and Patton streets. The 2000 Volkswagen Passat that Campbell was driving was seized by police under city ordinance. ➜ Police are seeking a warrant for the arrest of Bonnie A. Swofford, 37, of Neoga, on charges of writing bad checks, theft (over $500), burglary and deceptive practice. Swofford allegedly used bad checks to buy gift cards and groceries at the IGA grocery stores in both Paxton and Mahomet. At the Paxton IGA, Swofford allegedly first bought $431.70 in gift cards plus $26 in groceries using bad checks on Aug. 3. Then, on Aug. 8, she returned to the store and allegedly used bad checks again to buy $317.85 in gift cards plus $54.35 in groceries. The Paxton IGA canceled the gift cards following the second incident. Mahomet police have interviewed Swofford, who reportedly admitted to using bad checks at both stores. No arrest had been made yet, however, because Swofford complained of an infection at the time and was taken to an area hospital. ➜ Police are seeking burglary charges against a 15-year-old boy from Paxton in connection with a rash of vehicle burglaries that occurred in Paxton in May. The juvenile had been spending the summer in Florida with a relative.
WATSEKA — The March 20 primary election in Iroquois County will feature a number of contested races, including for the Republican nominations for county treasurer and county board positions in four districts. Filing as GOP candidates for treasurer were two newcomers — Kurt Albers of rural Martinton and Christy (Hoffman) Fink of Gilman. They are vying to replace the retiring Mindy Kuntz Hagan of Sheldon. Filing as Republican candidates for county board were: — In District I, where three seats are up for election: incumbent Lyle Behrends of rural Ashkum and newcomers Paul J. Ducat of rural Chebanse, Laverne H. Boettcher of rural Chebanse and Leanne Hofbauer Duby of rural Martinton. Not running for re-election are Daniel Rayman of rural Clifton and Kyle J. Anderson of rural Beaverville. — In District II, where two saets are up for election: incumbents John Shure of rural Buckley and Daniel W. Pursley of Lake Iroquois and newcomers David H. Penny of rural Buckley and Steve Huse of rural Gilman. — In District III, where three seats are up for election: incumbents Vincent LaMie of Milford and Donna Crow of Milford and newcomers Paul Bowers of rural Milford and Joe Young of Cissna Park. Not running for re-election is Troy Krumwiede of rural Watseka. — In District IV, where two seats are up for election: incumbent Larry Hasbargen of Watseka and newcomers Roger Bard of Watseka and John Zumwalt of Watseka. Not running for re-election is Russell Bills of Watseka. Unopposed are Republican candidates Derek W.M. Hagen of Watseka for re-election as sheriff and Lisa L. Fancher of Gilman for re-election as county clerk and recorder. Filing as Republican precinct committeemen candidates were: Shure (Artesia), LaMie (Ash Grove), Behrends (Ashkum I), Mitchell J. Bence of Watseka (Belmont II), Patrick Doggett of rural Watseka (Belmont III), Ducat (Chebanse II), Jody L. Munsterman of rural Onarga (Crescent), Barbara Offill of Gilman (Douglas I), Ernest Curtis of Gilman (Douglas II), Tira Clement of rural Watseka (Martinton), Joann Kissack of Watseka (Middleport II), Daniel Joyce of rural Watseka (Middleport III), Martin K. Tilstra of Onarga (Onarga I), Stephen Huse of rural Gilman (Onarga II), Charles R. Alt of Cissna Park (Pigeon Grove), William Milan of Sheldon (Sheldon II) and Marvin Stichnoth of rural Milford (Stockland). All but Joyce are incumbents. No one filed as a Republican candidate for precinct committeeman in the other 19 precincts. Filing as Democratic candidates for precinct committeemen were: Dale Strough of Watseka (Belmont III), David Trout of Loda (Loda), Angela M. Fry of Martinton (Martinton) and Dustin Wells of rural Hoopeston (Prairie Green). All but Fry are incumbents. No one filed as a Democratic candidate for precinct committeeman in the other 33 precincts.
Members of the Dutchmasters, and their fans, celebrate after the final out is made during game two of the Eastern Illinois Baseball League championship series against the Champaign Dream on Sunday. BUCKLEY — With a 7-5 victory over the Champaign Dream in game two of the Eastern Illinois Baseball League Tournament championship series, the Buckley Dutchmasters three-peated as the league's postseason champion. By winning in game two of the best-of-three championship series on Sunday, not only did the Dutchmasters claim their third straight tournament championship victory, but they have more postseason titles (15) than any other team in the EI League. “It never gets old,” Buckley player/manager Brock Niebuhr said. “There's a lot of history here in Buckley. To be a small part of it is a blessing. The last three (titles) have all been equally fun. Not one stands out over the other.” In each year of Buckley's three-peat, the Dutchmasters finished the best-of-three championship series in two games. “We had a fun weekend, a tremendous weekend," Niebuhr said. "I'm very thankful for the crowd we had out here. They were outstanding. We had a lot of fun, and I'm happy to get it done in two (games). It was a lot of fun It's a lot of fun. We're really proud of it." Newcomers shine in game two After Sunday's game-two victory, Niebuhr -- a member of the Dutchmasters for more than a decade -- acknowledged that his team is a mix of veterans and younger players. “We've had a good, core veteran group over the past few years, and I've got a feeling that, in time, that's going to change relatively soon, but we feel like we've got a good nucleus of young guys coming who can hopefully carry on that tradition," Niebuhr said. Jake Stewart, a 2014 St. Joseph-Ogden graduate, is in his second year with Buckley. In 2015, he played for a Royal Giants team that lost to the Dutchmasters in the EI League Tournament. “I haven't lost since, so I'd like to keep that streak going for as long as possible," Stewart said. "That's for sure. Let's keep this going another year. Thanks to everybody who has been supporting us. I couldn't ask for a better fanbase, that's for sure.” Stewart helped his relatively-new team out in a big way on Sunday as he went 5-for-5 with a double and three runs scored. “All we care about is getting a win. Individual stuff doesn't necessarily matter a whole lot as long as we get a win," Stewart said. “It doesn't get much better than winning a championship.” He led off the third inning with a single to right field before scoring on a wild pitch to extend the Dutchamsters' lead to 2-0. Josh Krumwiede walked in the next at-bat. Jonny Walder grounded into a double play, but the two outs led to Stewart advancing to third base. In the fifth inning, an inning in which Buckley (19-5) extended its lead to 5-0, Stewart singled to left field to put runners on second and third base. “Up and down the lineup, you could talk about different guys stepping up all weekend long. Today, it was Jake Stewart. He just had an outstanding day," Niebuhr said. Jay Eshleman led off the inning with a walk before scoring on a wild pitch. After Walder and Trey Russell were each walked to load the bases, Stewart crossed home plate on a Robb Wicks groundout. “As a leadoff guy, you just have to try to get on base,” Stewart said. “I got a really good (lineup) behind me that can drive some guys in and make some noise. My job is to get on base, and they'll drive me in from then on.” After Drew Schrodt was hit by a pitch -- one of two hit batsmen yielded by the Dream -- to load the bases once again, Evan Regez drew a bases-loaded walk — one of 11 walks yielded by the Dream's pitching staff — to send Walder home to extend Buckley's lead to 5-0. “Offensively, I thought our guys just had a great approach (at the plate) all weekend," Niebuhr said. "We were able to get ahead in some counts. The biggest thing is we didn't miss this weekend when we had the opportunity to drive in runs. "The guys were really focused and dialed into every single at-bat and every single pitch. They put together good at-bats. They were just outstanding. We always expect that, when we score seven runs, our pitching staff will hold that up.” Regez hit 1-for-2 with two walks and Russell was 1-for-1 with a couple of walks in game two after hitting 4-for-5 and 3-for-4, respectively, in game one on Saturday. “I thought Trey Russell had a great weekend, Niebuhr said. “Evan Regez hitting out of the No. 7 spot was very productive. Up and down the lineup, different guys in different situations stepped it up and got it done for us. When you win like this, it's usually not just one guy, but several guys stepping up in big situations, and that's what happened today.” Andrew Zenner, a first-year Dutchmaster and 2017 Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School graduate, threw six innings of shutout baseball as Buckley's starting pitcher. Zenner retired his first six batters as Joe Kenney, Cully Day and Tom Kenney each flied out in the first inning. In the second inning, Nick Stokowski flied out to Stewart, Jon Goebel grounded out to Buckley third-baseman Robb Wicks and Noah Niswonger grounded out to the second-baseman Krumwiede. After Connor Gross lined out to Krumwiede to lad off the fourth inning, Mike Namoff singled to left field. Luke Beesley flied out to Stewart at center field before Joe Kenney singled to center field to put runners on first and second base. Tom Kenney and Stokowski each flied out in the fourth inning before Goebel singled to left field, Niswonger hit an infield single and Gross walked to load the bases. Namoff then grounded into a a fielder's choice to Wicks. In the fifth inning, Beesley popped out in foul territory to first-baseman Rob Winnicki before Joe Kenney doubled to left field. Day and Tom Kenney then grounded out to Krumwiede to leave Joe Kenney stranded at third base. Stokowski flied out to left field and Goebel grounded out to shortstop Jay Eshleman to start the sixth inning, but Niswonger singled to left field and Gross lined a base hit to center field. Namoff then popped out to Eshleman. Zenner finished his outing with one run allowed on eight hits and one walk with one strikeout through 6 1/3 innings. “I felt good today. My defense picked me up a lot. The defense was really good today. I felt good out there,” Zenner said. I'm glad we could come out and get a win, especially in a championship game.” After game one, Niebuhr said he was undecided on whether Zenner or Austin Mendell would start game two. “He just told me yesterday to be ready to pitch, and then during batting practice today, he told me I was starting," Zenner said. "I got in a groove, and it worked out for me today.” “We decided to throw the kid out there and see what he can do," Niebuhr said. "We all felt like we were going to win this first game, but we all said, 'If we don't, we've got a veteran guy (– Mendell –) that we've got in our back pocket for game three.” Veterans step up as well Russell, who has been a member of the Dutchmasters since 2010, was hit by a pitch with two outs in the sixth inning. His hit-by-pitch loaded the bases as Eshleman and walked and Stewart hit an infield single before Krumwiede -- a seven-year Buckley veteran -- sent them both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. As Russell slid back to first base, Dream catcher Mike Namoff committed a throwing error that led to Eshleman and Stewart each crossing home plate. Russell tried to reach third base on the error, but was tagged out to end the inning after the two runs crossed home plate. “It's a fair trade. I'll take it. I knew he wasn't covering the bag, so I figured the right fielder was far enough from the ball that I could try to take third (base). They caught me, though," Russell said. "Getting runs. That's all that matters.” The two runs unconventionally driven in by Russell would turn out to be the game-winning runs as Champaign rallied with four runs in the seventh inning to cut their deficit to 7-4 and tallied another run in the ninth. After Beesley singled to center field and Zenner struck out Joe Kenney, Zenner was relieved by Kyle Flessner. Day walked before Tom Kenney singled to right field to send Beesley and Day across home plate. After Flessner hit Stokowski with a pitch to put runners on first and second base, he was relieved by Mendell, a three-year veteran with the Dutchmasters. “I approached Mendell and said, 'I could use you out of the bullpen,' and he was willing to do that," Niebuhr said. Goebel then sent two runs home with a double to left field, but Mendell got Niswonger to ground out to Eshleman and Gross flied out to Stewart to leave Goebel stranded in scoring position. In the eighth inning, Mendell forced Namoff to pop out to Eshleman and Beesley to fly out to Schrodt. After Joe Kenney hit a two-out double to left field and and Day walked, Mendell was relieved on the mound by Mark Walther who got Tom Kenney to ground out to Krumwiede to leave the Dream scoreless through the inning. "Mendell came in and got some big outs for us," Niebuhr said. “I can't speak enough about the guys in general – just the way they accept their roles. There are 26 guys in here, and you're only playing nine innings. Not everybody is going to necessarily be on the field, but everybody accepted their role and was a major piece to this season.” In the ninth inning, the Dream cut its deficit to two runs at 7-5. Walther forced Stokowski to line out to Schrodt and Goebel to fly out to Russell, but Niswonger was hit by a pitch, Gross singled to center field and Namoff walked to load the bases with two outs. Beesley then reached base on an error by Eshleman as Niswonger crossed home plate. The game ended, however, as Joe Kenney grounded into a fielder's choice to end the game. “You've got to give Champaign a lot of credit. They weren't just going to lay down," Niebuhr said. "They put together some good at-bats on Mark, but we had a lot of confidence that Mark's going to get it done, and he's done it for us for a long time, and he did it for us again. Give Champaign credit – they made it interesting – but in the end, we got it done.” Walther picked up the save on the mound, allowing one run on one hit and one walk through 1 1/3 innings pitched. “I kind of lost it there at the end,” Walther said. “I don't know if it was lack of focus or what was going on. I just couldn't figure it out, but you've just got to lock it in and refocus and make sure to put the nail in the coffin and seal that thing up.” Dutchmasters express gratitude Walther, who played college ball for Parkland College and the University of Southern Indiana, is a nine-year veteran with the Dutchmasters who resides in Indianapolis. “I drive this far to be around these people just because I love it so such," Walther said. "It really has been a blessing to play here for nine seasons.” During his time in Buckley, Walther had a 3.16 earned-run average going into last weekend with seven saves as of Sunday. The Dutchmasters, meanwhile, have won the EI League Tournament championship four times. “In the last couple of years, I've kind of come into my own here in the league with this team and kind of solidified a position closing with Brock or whoever was able. As old bodies, we don't exactly hold up the way we used to, so bouncing back from week-to-week isn't always easy," Walther said. "We get here every day before the game starts and try to focus in on who's good to go and who's closing in what situation. We've done a really good job together the last few years, and it's such an amazing experience out here. I love these people. I love this town, the fans and the team. This is what I come here for.” Russell, who was the EI League's batting champion and Most Outstanding Player in 2015 and had a career batting average of .313 going into last weekend, also expressed his gratitude toward the Buckley faithful. “It's so much fun being out here with these guys," Russell said. "They've all just accepted me right into the Buckley family. It's a really good group of guys. The young guys are going in the right direction. They're really talented. It's a lot of fun being out here with these guys every Sunday.” After the game, members of the Dutchmasters walked along the first-base fence at Scheiwe Field to high-five fans standing on the other side of fence. Prior to the game, the Buckley Community Band played "The Star-Spangled Banner." The band also played "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch. “I'm just thankful for the Buckley faithful," Niebuhr said. "This is like a summer family for us. We have a blast with it every summer. It's always fun playing out here in front of a big crowd like this. I hope they had as much fun watching us as we did playing in front of them this year. Hopefully, we can continue this tradition out here for a long time.” After he plays ball for John A. Logan College during the 2017-18 school year, Zenner said he plans on returning to the Dutchmasters for the summer. “I really don't know where else I'm going to play in the summer, so I know I can definitely come back here," Zenner said. Buckley Dutchmasters 7, Champaign Dream 5 CHA 000 000 401 — 5 13 3 BUC 011 032 00x — 7 8 2 W — Andrew Zenner, 6.1 IP, 8 H, ER, K, BB. L — Alec Altmyer, 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, K, 4 BB. S — Mark Walther, 1.1 IP, H, R, 0 ER, 0 K, BB. Champaign (13-12) -- Joe Kenney 3-6, 2 2B. Cully Day R. Tom Kenney 1-5, RBI, R. Nick Stokowski 1-5, 2 RBIs, R. Jon Goebel 2-5, 2B. Noah Niswonger 2-4, R. Connor Gross 2-4. Mike Namoff 1-4. Luke Beesley 1-5, R. Buckley (19-5) -- Jake Stewart 5-5, 2B, 3 R. Jonny Walder R. Trey Russell 1-1, R, 2 BB. Robb Wicks RBI, 2 BB. Evan Regez 1-2, RBI, 2 BB. Rob Winnicki 1-4. Jay Eshleman 2 R, 2 BB.
LEROY -- Madi Eberle had 25 digs for the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School volleyball team in a 17-25, 20-25, 25-19 loss to LeRoy on Thursday. With the loss, the Falcons fell to 4-17 overall and 2-9 in the Heart of Illinois Conference. For LeRoy (3-15, 1-10), Cara Levingston and Danielle Hanshew each had seven kills while Megan Claunch had 18 service points, 15 assists and three aces. Mack Kerns added 21 digs.
A Vietnamese exchange student was found dead on March 11 in Dortmund by German police, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Tran Thi Thu Ha, a student from Finland’s Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, flew to Germany’s International School of Management Dortmund through a foreign exchange program on March 7, according to a Facebook post from Tran Kim Ngan, Ha’s sister. Ha’s family lost contact with her after the flight, and it wasn't until last Thursday that they found out about her death through representatives from ISM. German authorities and the General Consulate of Vietnam in Frankfurt are invesigating the cause of death. In her Facebook post, Ngan said Ha has always been a diligent girl, winning herself a full scholarship to go to study in Finland four years prior.
Vietnam needs to act to stay competitive amidst rise of protectionism: PM Vietnam still faces multiple challenges despite stellar trade turnover last year, its PM said. Vietnam needs to search for new markets, align production with market demands and tighten quality control amidst the rise of protectionism to stay competitive, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Vietnam still faces challenges despite stellar trade turnover that reached $214 billion last year, Phuc said at a conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Hanoi on Monday. One of those challenges is the rise of protectionism in certain countries, which could potentially hamper global trade. For Vietnam to stay competitive, three courses of action are needed, he said. First, Vietnam needs to break into new markets so it not have to depend too much on traditional markets such as China. Second, Vietnam needs to start aligning production in accordance with market demands in order to avoid oversupply and financial losses. “Before you produce a product, you need to know who you’re selling it to. We need to produce what other markets need, not what they already have,” said the PM. Third, Vietnam needs to tighten quality control on its exports to meet rising standards in other countries, especially regarding agricultural products. “Without proper quality control, we won't be able to export our products,” said the PM. Last year, China overtook the U.S. to become Vietnam’s largest export market. China has started boosting trade and investment in Southeast Asia while the U.S. has adopted several trade protectionist policies, as reported by Bloomberg. The position of Vietnam’s top export market was held by the U.S. since 2002. Vietnam's total import-export turnover reached an estimated $107.32 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 17.7 percent against the same period last year, with export value in the first three months hitting $54.31 billion, while imports registered $53.01 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.3 billion, according to data from the General Statistics Office.
Directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo and cast & crew of 'Avengers: Infinity War' attend the Los Angeles Global Premiere for the movie on April 23, 2018 in Hollywood, California. Photo by AFP/Jesse Grant This week, Marvel Studios unleashes the highly-anticipated "Avengers: Infinity War" on theaters worldwide, almost 10 years to the day that it introduced movie fans to its ever-expanding comic book world with "Iron Man." The film, set to hit US theaters on Thursday night, is sure to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the year -- and the unofficial kick-off to the summer movie season. "Infinity War" is the 19th film in the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) -- it combines a whopping nine franchises, and the cast list reads like a who's who of Hollywood's A-list. Robert Downey Jr will don the red and yellow metal suit once again as Iron Man; Benedict Cumberbatch is Doctor Strange; Scarlett Johansson is back as Black Widow; and Australia's Chris Hemsworth is Thor. Also back for more? Black Panther -- the Marvel breakout of the year after the massive opening of the standalone pic in February, Captain America, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, the Guardians of the Galaxy and their assorted allies. Their mission? To prevent the powerful purple alien Thanos (Josh Brolin) from destroying the universe. "We took a picture of every single person whose character has been in the MCU. We hung it up on a wall all around us," co-director Anthony Russo, who helms the pic with his brother Joe, told reporters ahead of the film's release. "We basically spent months and months and months talking about where we could go with each character, how we could draw them through the story," he added. "Every one of these characters... has been on a very specific journey through the MCU to arrive at this moment." This is the third "Avengers" film, with the final, untitled saga set for next year. At the press conference in Beverly Hills, the directors and stars were careful not to reveal too many details about the film's plot. But expectations are high after the massive success of "Black Panther," which so far has raked in more than $1.3 billion worldwide and has broken the all-time North American record set by "Titanic," with more than $680 million in the US and Canada. Some projections have it opening at more than $235 million, and even higher, according to Variety -- the record opening weekend of $248 million for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is within reach. "It was great to go from what we did with 'Black Panther', and bringing some of that into 'Avengers'," said Chadwick Boseman, who portrays the character -- the first black superhero to front a movie. "It's its own thing." Hero in pajamas? An important source of inspiration is the Marvel canon -- the storylines developed over decades in the original comic books. "Infinity War" is drawn from the "Infinity Gauntlet" series from the early 1990s. "It starts with those comics and us beginning to rip pages out or rip copies of pages out and put them on the walls and start to be inspired," explains Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney. "It's a North Star for us as we lead these giant productions into reality." In the movie's trailer, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) -- Thanos's daughter, of sorts -- explains that the villain believes that if he annihilates half of the universe, he can save the other half. He needs the so-called Infinity Stones to do it. So, the heroes need to keep him from getting them. The film -- which cost an eye-watering $300 million to make, according to Hollywood media -- is likely to wow audiences with its cutting-edge special effects. And Marvel legend Stan Lee -- the co-creator of numerous heroes including Spider-Man, the Hulk and Black Panther, who is facing claims of sexual assault -- makes his usual cameo appearance. "It was about the most fun creative exercise I think I've ever been through in my life," said Anthony Russo. "We thought about everybody in the MCU." Tom Holland, the young British actor who is the latest to wear the Spider-Man suit, says his only disappointment was not getting to wear the "Iron Spider" armor, which is instead digitally edited into the film. "It's too amazing to exist in real life," says Holland. "So I joined the wonderful Mark Ruffalo... and stood amongst these gods wearing pajamas," he joked.
A woman stands in front of an International Women's Day advertisement by Tmall, Alibaba's e-commerce platform, at a subway station in Beijing, China March 7, 2018. Picture taken March 7, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Jason Lee Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said Monday it will appoint one of its founders as head of Lazada and inject another $2 billion into Southeast Asia's leading online shopping firm, boosting its regional expansion. Alibaba, which already owns 83 percent of Lazada with two investments totalling $2 billion as of June last year, has been trying to acquire both online and offline assets to further bolster its business. Lazada operates in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and has 560 million consumers in the region. One of Alibaba's founders, Lucy Peng, will take over as chief executive officer of Lazada. Peng is already chairwoman of the Southeast Asian firm. "With a young population, high mobile penetration and just 3 percent of the region's retail sales currently conducted online, we feel very confident to double down on Southeast Asia," Peng said. Lazada founder Max Bittner said Alibaba's "new commitment of capital and resources is good for Lazada and good for the Southeast Asia e-commerce market". Peng is also the chairwoman and chief executive of Alibaba's affiliate Ant Financial, which is planning a separate public offering.
Palestinian protesters during clashes with Israeli troops in Gaza over Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 8, 2017. Photo by Reuters Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian teenager during an arrest raid in the village of Burqin in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said on Saturday. A Reuters witness said about 200 Palestinians were throwing stones at Israeli military vehicles when a gunshot was heard, adding that a wounded person was then carried to a car. Israel's military said its forces had been searching in Burqin for suspects involved in the fatal drive-by shooting of an Israeli rabbi from a nearby settlement on Jan. 9. A military spokeswoman said rioting had broken out while troops were apprehending several suspects connected with that shooting and troops responded with non-fatal "riot dispersal means" against Palestinians throwing rocks and firebombs and then with live gunfire at the main instigators. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the teenager killed on Saturday was 19 years old, while the hospital in Jenin where he was taken said he had been shot in the head. The Israeli military spokeswoman said he had climbed onto a military vehicle and had opened its door before he was shot. Israeli forces in the adjacent city of Jenin last month shot and killed a Palestinian gunman whom they had also suspected of involvement in the rabbi's shooting. Tensions in the region have risen since U.S. President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December. Since then at least 20 Palestinians and one Israeli have been killed. Trump's reversal of decades of U.S. policy enraged Palestinians, who want to create an independent state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel captured those territories in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognised internationally. It says the entire city is its eternal, indivisible capital. It pulled out of Gaza in 2005. U.S.-led peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in 2014. A bid by Trump's administration to restart negotiations has shown no real signs of progress.
Flying taxi trials get go ahead in New Zealand An autonomous 'air taxi' designed by Larry Page-backed Kitty Hawk has been approved for trials in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Vietnam is the world’s largest black pepper exporter, accounting for 60-65 percent of global trade. Photo by VnExpress Vietnam plans to slash its black pepper growing area by 26.7 percent in response to falling global prices, the chairman of the country’s pepper association said Tuesday. Vietnam is the world’s largest black pepper exporter, accounting for 60-65 percent of global trade, and nearly half of global output. “We will cut the area to 110,000 hectares from 150,000 hectares over the coming years by encouraging local farmers to grow other crops and remove pepper farms with poor quality,” said Vietnam Pepper Association Chairman Nguyen Nam Hai. Hai said the surge in world pepper prices in the 2013-2015 period led local growers to expand their farms uncontrollably, from 50,000 hectares in 2013 to the current of 150,000 hectares. “Now with the increased output, prices have fallen and we need to cut the area,” Hai said. Vietnam’s black pepper exports in the first quarter rose 17.5 percent from a year earlier to 60,033 tons, but export revenue in the period fell 31.4 percent to $221 million, according to official customs data. Hai said exports for the entire 2018 are forecast to stay flat from last year at around 215,000 tonnes. Vietnam’s key markets for the spices include the United States, India, China and Europe.
Russian foreign minister Lavrov's visit to Vietnam cancelled at last minute Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with his Turkish counterpart in Moscow on March 14, 2018. Photo by AFP/Kirill Kudryavtsev A visit to Vietnam by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was abruptly called off Monday for "unexpected reasons", Hanoi said, hours after President Vladimir Putin was re-elected for a fourth term. Lavrov, who has long been part of Putin's inner circle, was scheduled to begin his visit on Monday morning. But Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the cancellation in an email sent to reporters just an hour before his planned meeting with President Tran Dai Quang. "Due to unexpected reasons, the visit to Vietnam of Russia's Foreign Minister will not take place as scheduled," the emailed statement said. "We will inform specific time of the visit to press agencies later," it added. Lavrov was also due to meet his Vietnamese counterpart on Monday, along with the head of Vietnam's Communist Party, and hold a press conference. A security source told AFP that Lavrov had not traveled to Vietnam. "No reasons known yet," the source said on condition of anonymity. Moscow said the trip was called off due to a scheduling conflict, according to reports. "Due to a change in the minister's work schedule, the dates of his trip to Vietnam are being revised," Russian agencies reported, citing the foreign ministry. The 11th-hour cancellation came amid a deepening diplomatic crisis between Moscow and London after former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were exposed to a nerve agent in the English city of Salisbury on March 4. London has accused the Kremlin of orchestrating an attempted murder on British soil using banned chemical weapons. Britain expelled 23 Russian officials earlier this month. The Kremlin reciprocated over the weekend, booting out 23 British diplomats and halting the activities of the British Council in Russia. Russia is one of Hanoi's earliest allies, establishing relations in 1950 while Vietnam was still occupied by the French. Russia is one of Vietnam's leading trading partners today, and a top military equipment supplier for the country.
Vietnam is looking at two options to raise the retirement age for both men and women as part of changes to the country's social insurance policies. Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung presented the options at a conference held by the legislative National Assembly in Hanoi on Monday. The first option would raise the retirement age to 62 for men and 60 for women, by adding three months to the current retirement age every year until they reach the new retirement age. The second option would increase it to 65 and 60 respectively, by adding four months to the current retirement age every year. The current retirement ages for men and women in Vietnam are 60 and 55, respectively. “By increasing the retirement age step-by-step like this, it won’t be such a shock to people,” said Dung. During the conference, a change to the minimum amount of years spent paying social insurance to be eligible for a monthly pension was also proposed. The minimum amount of years required would drop to 15 years from the current 20 years under the proposal. “In the short-term, we plan to reduce the minimum number of years to 15, but in the future, we may cut it to 10,” said Dung. These two proposals will be presented during the 7th Plenum of the Party Central Committee in May. The subject of increasing Vietnam’s retirement age has been hotly debated among experts, some of whom say it could exert pressure on the country’s labor market. Last year, Nguyen Huu Dung, former director of the Institute of Labor Science and Social Affairs, said raising the retirement age would only suit people with professional qualifications and management skills. The ministry should leave it unchanged for those working in the public sector, and lower it for those who do physically demanding and dangerous jobs. "The ministry hasn't researched the matter properly, while a survey conducted by the Vietnamese Trade Union found that 70 percent of workers want the retirement age to remain unchanged,” Nguyen said. Vietnam currently has about 600,000 functioning businesses, but only 230,000 businesses are paying into the country's compulsory social insurance scheme, said Minister Dung, citing data from the General Department of Taxation. There are about three million laborers in Vietnam who don't have social insurance, according to data from the ministry. Vietnam reached a turning point in 2015 when it started to become one of the countries with the fastest aging populations in the world, the ministry said in a report in 2016. The number of Vietnamese people over the age of 65 will rise from 6.3 million last year to a projected 18 million by 2040, accounting for more than 18 percent of the population and transforming Vietnam from a young society into an old one, the report quoted the United Nations as saying. If the current retirement age remains unchanged, the country’s social insurance fund may fall short by 2020 and would be exhausted by 2037, Vietnam Social Insurance predicted. According to the United Nations Development Program, if Vietnam fails to create jobs, develop social security and improve quality of life before the working age population peaks, it will risk instability in the future, including a lack of workers and an increased need for health care for the elderly.
3 green cafés to escape the summer heat in Saigon Green space and a cool atmosphere make them popular hideouts from the sizzling sun. 38 Flower Market & Tea House This café on the busy Ly Tu Trong Street looks like a small garden in the heart of Saigon where fresh flowers can be found in every corner. Thanks to its breezy, cool space, the café has become an ideal getaway amidst the scorching summer heat with real feel afternoon temperatures climbing to 41 degrees Celsius, or 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Besides coffee, the drinks menu is also designed to help you cool down with various kinds of teas and juices. Prices start from VND30,000 ($1.31). Nang Xanh Garden Café Nestled down a small alley on Hoang Hoa Tham Street in Phu Nhuan District, Nang Xanh (Blue Sunlight) Garden Café catches the attention with its eye-catching interior décor with a tropical theme. The shop is covered with green plants, giving customers a refreshing feeling. The café is open 24 hours a day. Tron (Round) Bistro Café The café on Dinh Bo Linh Street in Binh Thanh District is a not-to-be-missed address for nature enthusiasts thanks to its green space and wall decor.
LAKE MILLS -- St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish/St. Francis Xavier Church in Lake Mills will hold its annual turkey festival on Sunday, July 15, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at 608 College St. in Lake Mills. Dinner and carry outs will be served from 11 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. The Thanksgiving-style turkey dinner will be served family style in the air conditioned center. A country store will feature crafts, collectibles, baked items, candy, cookies, jams, and jellies. A silent auction will have many exciting items to bid on, including Basket Bonanza items, cruises on Rock Lake, sporting paraphernalia, and more. There will be children's games and a raffle with cash and other exciting prizes. Tickets will be available all day with a drawing to be held at 2:45 p.m.
Rev. Mr. Peter Lee Rev. Mr. Drew Olson Rev. Mr. Grant Thies MADISON -- Deacons Peter Lee, Drew Olson, and Grant Thies will be ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison on Friday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Maria Goretti Church in Madison. Everyone is invited to attend. St. Maria Goretti is wheelchair accessible. There will be assistive-listening devices for the hard-of-hearing and a sign language interpreter for the deaf. Large-print leaflets will be available. Rev. Mr. Peter Lee Parents: Nancy and John Lee, Hartford, Wis. Home parish: St. Peter Parish, Slinger, Wis., and St. Augustine University Parish, Platteville Grade school: St. Peter Catholic School (K-5) and Slinger Middle School High school: Slinger High School, Slinger College/degree: St. Gregory the Great College Seminary, Seward, Neb./Bachelor of Philosophy Seminary/degrees: Pontifical North American College, Rome Intern experiences: St. Francis Xavier Parish, Cross Plains; Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Monona Deacon placement: Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish, Sun Prairie First Mass of Thanksgiving: Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at St. Mary Church, Pine Bluff, on Saturday, June 30, at 10 a.m., Commemoration of St. Paul and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Holy Hill on Sunday, July 1, at 3 p.m., the Feast of the Most Precious Blood Assignment after ordination: Parochial vicar, St. Cecilia Parish, Wisconsin Dells, with subsequent return for the academic year to continuing Licentiate studies while residing at the Pontifical North American College in Rome Rev. Mr. Drew Olson Parents: Kathryn and Gregory Olson, Granger, Ind. Home parish: St. Christopher Parish, Verona Grade school: The Montessori Academy, Mishawaka, Ind. High school: St. Joseph High School, South Bend, Ind. College/degree: DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind./Bachelor of Arts with majors in economics and political science and minor in mathematics Work experience: Project manager, Epic Systems, Verona Seminary/degrees: Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Mich./Bachelor of Philosophy; University of Holy Cross, Rome/Sacred Theology Baccalaureate; Augustinianum Patristics Institute, Rome/continuing studies towards Licentiate Intern experiences: St. Cecilia Parish, Wisconsin Dells, and Camp Gray; St. Christopher Parish, Verona; language studies and Église Saint-Eugène-Sainte Cécile, Paris, France; St. Peter Parish, Ashton, and St. Martin Parish, Martinsville; ancient Greek Studies and St. Peter and Paul in Cork, Ireland First Mass of Thanksgiving: Saturday, June 30, at 5:30 p.m. at St. Paul University Center, Madison Assignment after ordination: Parochial vicar, St. Maria Goretti Parish, Madison, with subsequent return for the academic year to continuing Licentiate studies while residing at the Pontifical North American College in Rome Rev. Mr. Grant Thies Parents: Kathy Thies and Dr. David Thies, Elkhorn, Wis. Home parish: Cathedral Parish, Madison Grade school: Westside Elementary, Elkhorn High school: Elkhorn Area High School, Elkhorn College/degree: Marquette University, Milwaukee/Bachelor of Science in economics and Bachelor of Science in marketing; political science minor Seminary/degrees: St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, St. Paul, Minn./Master of Divinity Intern experiences: Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish, Sun Prairie; Church of St. Joseph, West St. Paul, Minn.; Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Monona; Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Minneapolis, Minn.; Cathedral Parish, Madison Deacon placement: St. William Parish, Janesville, and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Minneapolis, Minn. Clinical pastoral experience: Minneapolis VA Hospital and Hospital Ministry Program, Madison First Mass of Thanksgiving: Saturday, June 30, 2 p.m., at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish, Sun Prairie Assignment after ordination: Parochial vicar, Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish, Sun Prairie
MADISON -- Open to all, the Blessed Sacrament chapter of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary meets First Fridays at 7 p.m. at Blessed Sacrament Church. However, because of the holiday week, there will be no event in July. The chapter will meet in August and September: Mrs. Diana Ferrante, OP (Lay Dominican) will speak on Mary in August, and Sr. M. Catherine Ditto, a Schoenstatt Sister, will speak in September. All are invited to spend time growing closer to Mary and praying the Rosary.
MCFARLAND -- In light of the command to be missionary disciples, and the challenges faced in doing so, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has established June 22-29 as Religious Freedom Week. Christ the King Parish in McFarland has coordinated the start of its seventh year of Rosary Rallies during this week. The rallies will be held at the Christ the King outdoor Marian Garden each Tuesday from June 19 through Oct. 30, at 7 to 8 p.m. before Labor Day and 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. after Labor Day. Rosaries and prayer guides will be available, and a volunteer will lead the Rosary. At the beginning of each rally, a three-minute reflection on serving others in God's love will be read, with a related Rosary intention. This year an action component has been added for each reflection. The Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary will then be prayed. All are welcome to attend. If possible, bring a chair and bug repellant. For inclement weather, the Rosary will be prayed in the church chapel. For more information or to receive a free Rosary Rally booklet, contact Julie Allington at 715-862-2523 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Lorianne Aubut, delegate from the Diocese of Madison, reports at one of the plenary sessions at the Region VII V Encuentro held recently at the University of Notre Dame. (Photo provided by Lorianne Aubut) SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- On Friday, June 8, 10 Hispanic diocesan delegates from nine different parishes, accompanied by the Vicar General Msgr. Jim Bartylla, the Encuentro diocesan Chairperson Edgar Martínez and his son Juan Pablo Martínez, departed for the University of Notre Dame in Indiana to attend the weekend long Regional V Encuentro. Region VII consists of the dioceses in the states of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, with 13 of the 16 dioceses represented at the Encuentro. Encuentro process Back in March, the Diocese of Madison held its Diocesan V Encuentro, where close to 100 parish delegates came together to discuss and provide strategies and recommendations to Region VII with the purpose of creating more Hispanic leaders in the Church. The Region VII V Encuentro is part of the National V Encuentro process, which has as a goal to have a continual pastoral conversation that allows the Church to respond with more fidelity and enthusiasm to the Hispanic/Latino presence in parishes and dioceses, and for the Church to empower the Hispanic/Latino people to live their vocation more fully as joyful missionaries. This Regional V Encuentro, attended by nearly 200 delegates and guests, began on Friday, June 8, with an opening Spanish liturgy celebrated by Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades, Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend. His homily focused on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the love we encounter in Jesus’ suffering heart. Bishop Rhoades inspired the Hispanic delegates and guests to go out and love with Jesus’ same sacrificial love. That night after the celebration of the Mass, the delegates were welcomed at a reception where the encounter and faith sharing among the Hispanic participants started. The weekend centered in providing opportunities of prayer, small group discussions, group reports, and times for networking. Engaging in discussions The biggest goal and challenge of this Regional V Encuentro was to bring together the different Hispanic leaders from Region VII so they could engage in discussions according to a variety of ministerial areas that affect their pastoral work; some of these ministerial areas were vocations, evangelization, liturgy, youth and young adult ministry, and immigration, among others. Each group met three times throughout the weekend to evaluate, discuss, and choose successful practices, potential strategies, and essential recommendations for the region and the nation. After each of those small group sessions, a presenter for that group would report their final findings in a large group plenary session. During this plenary report session, any delegate or guest from the other ministerial areas was allowed to ask questions regarding the particular report being given. The plenary sessions provided an opportunity for all participants to listen and engage in deeper conversation. The weekend ended with a closing Spanish Mass celebrated in the Notre Dame Basilica by Auxiliary Bishop Alberto Rojas of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Bishop Rojas also inspired the Hispanic community with a homily on how the different evil influences break our relationship with God and how it is important to reject those evil influences in order to encounter Christ and share Christ with others. Input into National V Encuentro This Regional V Encuentro proved to be an inspiring and successful component of the process of the V Encuentro. All strategies and recommendations gathered by the delegates in this event will be part of a National Working Document that will be presented and evaluated at the National V Encuentro in Grapevine, Texas, this September. Delegates from all over the country, with over 51 bishops and 100 dioceses, will be attending the National V Encuentro. A final document with proposed implementations will be created after the National V Encuentro. This final document is expected to be given to all the regions, dioceses, and parishes in the nation by 2020. For more information on the V Encuentro, visit https://vencuentro.org/ A Spanish version of this article will be published in the July 12 issue of the Catholic Herald. Lorianne Aubut is a wife and mother of three children with a fourth one arriving this fall. She is also the Hispanic minister and coordinator of elementary religious education at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madison.
MADISON -- Good Shepherd Parish invites friends and alumni of St. James School, Madison, to share their memories with retiring school secretary Mrs. Sharon Barry at an open house on Saturday, June 16, from 2 to 4 p.m. at St. James Church Hall, St. James Ct., Madison. A scholarship fund is being set up in her name. Money donated will be added to the Sister Kathleen/Bonnie Moschkau Fund and provide tuition help to St. James School families. Those who can’t attend the open house are encouraged to send their congratulatory messages and memories to St. James School, 1204 St. James Ct., Madison 53715, and they will be shared with Mrs. Barry, who is retiring after 50 years of service to the school and parish. Donations to the scholarship fund can also be sent to the school. For more information, contact Anne Kman at the parish office, 608-268-9930.
MADISON -- The Diocese of Madison is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the encyclical Humanae vitae (Of Human Life) written by Blessed Paul VI, with a special event on Saturday, July 21, featuring guest speaker Dr. Janet E. Smith, one of the world’s leading experts on Humanae vitae and related topics. Dr. Smith is the author of several books and many articles. Her latest book is Self-Gift, which is a compilation of her essays on Humanae vitae and the thought of St. John Paul II. Ignatius Press will soon be publishing a second collection of articles written by others on Humanae vitae entitled Why Humanae vitae is Still Right: A Reader. Dr. Smith served three terms as a consultor to the Pontifical Council on the Family and has received two honorary doctorates and several other awards for scholarship and service. She has appeared on The Geraldo Show, Fox Morning News, CNN International, CNN Newsroom, and AlJazeera, and she has done many shows for various series on EWTN. More than two million copies of her talk, Contraception: Why Not, have been distributed. On Saturday, July 21, there will be a Mass at 7 p.m. at St. Maria Goretti Church in Madison with Bishop Robert C. Morlino presiding, followed by Dr. Smith’s talk and some light refreshments. There is no fee for this event, but space is limited, so people are encouraged to register at www.madisondiocese.org/hv50
WATERLOO -- The Island Church Foundation invites the public to visit the historic St. Wenceslaus (Island) Church on Sunday, July 8, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bill "HORSE" Bossingham will entertain guests on the church grounds from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.. (Bring lawn chairs.) There will be an antique tractor display, lunch, kolache, ice cream sundae bar, and a play area with children's activities. St. Wenceslaus Church was built in 1863 and closed in 1891. It is located at the intersection of Island Church and Blue Joint Rds., off Hwy. 89, south of Waterloo.
Independence Day on July 4 is a federal holiday when we celebrate the anniversary of the day when the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Four days after the signing, the Liberty Bell rang to summon the people to the first public reading of the document. As the words were read, there were great shouts of affirmation and celebration. A nation of immigrants On Independence Day, we can recall that before and after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, America — with the exception of American Indians — was a nation of immigrants. Often immigrants came in search of a better life. As a boy, history was my favorite subject. I knew my paternal grandfather came from Germany, but America was my home. I was proud to be an American and was grateful to men and women who made sacrifices and took a leap of faith to emigrate to an unknown country. Many immigrants came to America to escape persecution and to have freedom to worship according to their conscience. Many recent immigrants to America from what is now commonly referred to as the “less developed” countries have no problem in recalling vividly the sting of overt and unrelenting persecution and the blessings of our country. Emma Lazarus wrote a sonnet entitled the “New Colossus” associated with the Statue of Liberty. Its most famous phrase was, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” She saw the Statue of Liberty as a light of welcome for immigrants. On Independence Day, our nation proclaims its dedication to liberty, justice, and equal rights and opportunities. Since we are blessed, we cannot turn within ourselves and ignore the needs of others. Dependence upon God The signers of the declaration bravely pledged: “For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” Dependence upon God by the declaration’s signers is clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights.” And it ends, “With a firm reliance on Divine Providence we pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our honor.” Recommitting ourselves We thank God for the abundant blessings given to our country. By the providence of natural resources coupled with contributions by many and diverse peoples who emigrated to these shores, we have become a great nation. Recent popes reminded us that our greatness must be shown through our care for the most vulnerable. We must seek to include everyone in our blessings of prosperity. On Independence Day, let us recommit ourselves to living the self-evident truths expressed in the Declaration of Independence. As Pope Francis urges, let us especially defend the rights of the unborn and others who are victims of injustice. Let us pray for our government, the homeless, and the unemployed. May the Holy Spirit gift us with wisdom and courage to respect the dignity and rights of humans in all stages of life. Fr. Donald Lange is a pastor emeritus in the Diocese of Madison.
MONONA -- On May 25, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Monona, Bishop Robert C. Morlino ordained Deacons Stephen Brunner and Lawrence Oparaji to the transitional diaconate. God-willing, both men will be ordained to the priesthood next year as they complete their seminary studies. Thanks and welcome At the start of the Mass, Bishop Morlino, thanked everyone for “coming to participate in faith tonight.” He also thanked the families of the men who were “named after two great deacons . . . I don’t think you ever thought it would end up here, but clearly the Holy Spirit was inspired. Thanks for the wonderful gift of these two great young men.” St. Stephen and St. Lawrence, deacons in the first few centuries of the Catholic Church, were both martyrs, and later canonized as saints. Bishop Morlino also thanked some notable people in attendance such as his “brother priests” from the Diocese of Madison who concelebrated the Mass, including Fr. Chad Droessler, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary. He also thanked Fr. John Klockeman from St. Paul School of Divinity in St. Paul, Minn. -- where Deacon Oparaji is studying -- who served as the elector, presenting the two men as “worthy” to be ordained to the diaconate. Bishop Morlino also acknowledged the diocesan deacons who were in attendance, along with diocesan seminarians, members of the Madison Diocesan Choir, and the Mass servers. “Your faith means everything as we begin our prayer tonight,” said the bishop. Also in attendance were the Knights of Columbus Honor Guard Assembly 1200 Madison and the Knights and Ladies of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre. Other transitional deacons to be ordained in 2018 • Austin Steffen: Thursday, Sept. 27, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. • Cristian Valenzuela and William Van Wagner: Friday, Dec. 7, at St. Paul Church in Madison. A ministry of word and charity As Father Klockeman presented the men, asking the bishop to “ordain these men, our brothers, to the responsibility of the diaconate,” Bishop Morlino replied, “Relying on the help of our Lord God and our savior Jesus Christ, we choose these men, our brothers, Lawrence and Stephen, for the Order of the Diaconate.” In his homily, Bishop Morlino called the evening a “great moment of joy for the angels and saints in heaven, with whom we join in this solemn celebration.” The bishop told the two men, upon receiving their sacrament of Holy Orders to the diaconate, “You will be completely possessed by Christ . . . and become a new creation.” “We know that the deacon is called, at the deepest level, an icon of Christ the servant,” Bishop Morlino added, and said, “The deacon is the minister of the word and of charity . . . charity is another name for that service.” The bishop told the men, quoting St. Thomas Aquinas, that a work of charity is to “hate wickedness,” but not hate wicked people. “Hating wickedness is a work of charity,” he said, and “that work of charity becomes central in your ministry of the word and charity.” Encouraging the men, the bishop said, “I want you, during the next year, to really give the devil the reputation he deserves -- a very bad one. “I want there to be no sense of guilt whatsoever . . . you are free to hate [wickedness], and that’s where the aggressive energy for hatred leads you.” Bishop Morlino also emphasized that, as they near the priesthood, with a charism of ruling and governing, their duty “means saying no to wickedness and without ceasing to love [those who are wicked].” He added, they are called to say no “to those who promote wickedness, while continuing to love them, doing it because you love them.” Ordination rites Following the homily, Deacons Brunner and Oparaji participated in the Promise of the Elect where they declared their intention to undertake the office of deacon. They resolved to be consecrated for the Church’s ministry, to discharge the office of deacon with humble charity, to proclaim faith in word and deed, to live celibately, and to conform their lives as an example of Christ. They approached the bishop separately promising respect and obedience to him and his successors. The next rite was the Litany of Supplication, where the men lie prostrate symbolizing their unworthiness for the office and their dependence upon God and the prayers of the community. The congregation sang a Litany of Saints during this time, led by Fr. Brian Dulli, pastor of St. William Parish in Janesville. Following the litany, the bishop placed his hands upon the men’s heads in a blessing, followed by the Prayer of Consecration. The new deacons were then vested in the stole and dalmatic. Deacon Brunner was vested by Deacon Ray Lukesic from Cathedral Parish in Madison and Deacon Oparaji was vested by Fr. Paul Arinze, pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Janesville. Both men then knelt before the bishop as he placed the Book of the Gospels in their hands and exhorted, “Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you preach.” Bishop Morlino greeted them both with a sign of peace, followed by other deacons present doing the same, welcoming them to the Order of Deacons. Family members of the newly ordained deacons assisted in the Presentation of the Gifts, bringing the bread and wine to the bishop. The new deacons Deacon Brunner is the son of Tom Brunner of Yardley, Pa., and the late Denise Brunner. He is in his third year of theology studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. His parish deacon summer assignment is at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Monona. Deacon Oparaji is the son of Kenneth Ndukauba and Calista Ijeoma Oparaji of Orozo, Abuja, Nigeria. He is in his third year of theology studies at St. Paul School of Divinity in St. Paul, Minn. His parish deacon summer assignment is at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madison.
FORT ATKINSON -- On Sunday, July 15, St. Joseph School's Home and School Association will be hosting its ninth annual golf outing at the Koshkonong Mounds Country Club located at W7670 Koshkonong Mounds Rd., Fort Atkinson. Sign up your foursome today. Registration forms are available at St. Joseph School and at the Scrip table in the church gathering space. For more registration information, contact Bill Roberts at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it If you would like to donate a raffle item or items and/or if you would like to be a hole sponsor, contact Kari Homb at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it All are welcome to support St. Joseph Catholic School in Fort Atkinson and enjoy a day of fun and fellowship.
GREEN LAKE -- The 2018 Traditional Marriage Public Square Rosary Crusade will be held on Saturday, June 23, at 12 noon at Deacon Mills Park in downtown Green Lake. It is coordinated locally by Our Lady of the Lake Parish Council of Catholic Women and nationally by America Needs Fatima Campaign. Prayers will be offered for God’s design for marriage and the traditional family. For more information, call Joyce Hayes at 920-294-0233.
KDE and GNOME: Kubuntu, Krita, GNOME Development Kubuntu 18.04 LTS Could Switch to Breeze-Dark Plasma Theme by Default, Test Now The latest daily build live ISO images that landed earlier today for Kubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) apparently uses the Breeze-Dark Plasma theme for the KDE Plasma 5.11 desktop environment by default. However, we've been told that it's currently an experiment to get the pulse of the community. "Users running [Kubuntu] 18.04 development version who have not deliberately opted to use Breeze/Breeze-Light in their System Settings will also see the change after upgrading packages," said the devs. "Users can easily revert back to the Breeze/Breeze-Light Plasma themes by changing this in System Settings." Interview with Rytelier The amount of convenience is very high compared to other programs. The amount of “this one should be designed in a better way, it annoys me” things is the smallest of all the programs I use, and if something is broken, then most of these functions are announced to improve in 4.0. Grow your skills with GNOME For the past 3 years I’ve been working very hard because I fulfill a number of these roles for Builder. It’s exhausting and unsustainable. It contributes to burnout and hostile communication by putting too much responsibility on too few people’s shoulders. GTK4, GNOME's Wayland Support & Vulkan Renderer Topped GNOME In 2017 A Lot Of Improvements Are Building Up For GIMP 2.9.8, Including Better Wayland Support It's been four months since the release of GIMP 2.9.6 and while GIMP 2.9 developments are sadly not too frequent, the next GIMP 2.9.8 release is preparing a host of changes. Of excitement to those trying to use GIMP in a Wayland-based Linux desktop environment, GIMP's color picker has just picked up support for working on KDE/Wayland as well as some other Color Picker improvements to help GNOME/Wayland too. GIMP's Screenshot plugin also now has support for taking screenshots on KDE/Wayland either as a full-screen or individual windows. Granted, GIMP won't be all nice and dandy on Wayland itself until seeing the long-awaited GTK3 (or straight to GTK4) port.
Comparing Twine and Ren'Py for creating interactive fiction Any experienced technology educator knows engagement and motivation are key to a student's learning. Of the many techniques for stimulating engagement and motivation among learners, storytelling and game creation have good track records of success, and writing interactive fiction is a great way to combine both of those techniques. Interactive fiction has a respectable history in computing, stretching back to the text-only adventure games of the early 1980s, and it's enjoyed a new popularity recently. There are many technology tools that can be used for writing interactive fiction, but the two that will be considered here, Twine and Ren'Py, are ideal for the task. Each has different strengths that make it more attractive for particular types of projects. Fedora 29 For ARM Eyeing ZRAM Support, ARMv7 UEFI Booting When it comes to the growing number of changes slated for Fedora 29, while most of the feature plans benefit all supported CPU architectures, there are also some ARM-specific improvements planned. There are two main ARM feature proposals so far for Fedora 29: enabling ZRAM for ARMv7/AArch64 and using UEFI for ARMv7 device booting. Games Leftovers
KDE and GNOME: Kubuntu, Krita, GNOME Development Kubuntu 18.04 LTS Could Switch to Breeze-Dark Plasma Theme by Default, Test Now The latest daily build live ISO images that landed earlier today for Kubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) apparently uses the Breeze-Dark Plasma theme for the KDE Plasma 5.11 desktop environment by default. However, we've been told that it's currently an experiment to get the pulse of the community. "Users running [Kubuntu] 18.04 development version who have not deliberately opted to use Breeze/Breeze-Light in their System Settings will also see the change after upgrading packages," said the devs. "Users can easily revert back to the Breeze/Breeze-Light Plasma themes by changing this in System Settings." Interview with Rytelier The amount of convenience is very high compared to other programs. The amount of “this one should be designed in a better way, it annoys me” things is the smallest of all the programs I use, and if something is broken, then most of these functions are announced to improve in 4.0. Grow your skills with GNOME For the past 3 years I’ve been working very hard because I fulfill a number of these roles for Builder. It’s exhausting and unsustainable. It contributes to burnout and hostile communication by putting too much responsibility on too few people’s shoulders. GTK4, GNOME's Wayland Support & Vulkan Renderer Topped GNOME In 2017 A Lot Of Improvements Are Building Up For GIMP 2.9.8, Including Better Wayland Support It's been four months since the release of GIMP 2.9.6 and while GIMP 2.9 developments are sadly not too frequent, the next GIMP 2.9.8 release is preparing a host of changes. Of excitement to those trying to use GIMP in a Wayland-based Linux desktop environment, GIMP's color picker has just picked up support for working on KDE/Wayland as well as some other Color Picker improvements to help GNOME/Wayland too. GIMP's Screenshot plugin also now has support for taking screenshots on KDE/Wayland either as a full-screen or individual windows. Granted, GIMP won't be all nice and dandy on Wayland itself until seeing the long-awaited GTK3 (or straight to GTK4) port.
Comparing Twine and Ren'Py for creating interactive fiction Any experienced technology educator knows engagement and motivation are key to a student's learning. Of the many techniques for stimulating engagement and motivation among learners, storytelling and game creation have good track records of success, and writing interactive fiction is a great way to combine both of those techniques. Interactive fiction has a respectable history in computing, stretching back to the text-only adventure games of the early 1980s, and it's enjoyed a new popularity recently. There are many technology tools that can be used for writing interactive fiction, but the two that will be considered here, Twine and Ren'Py, are ideal for the task. Each has different strengths that make it more attractive for particular types of projects. Fedora 29 For ARM Eyeing ZRAM Support, ARMv7 UEFI Booting When it comes to the growing number of changes slated for Fedora 29, while most of the feature plans benefit all supported CPU architectures, there are also some ARM-specific improvements planned. There are two main ARM feature proposals so far for Fedora 29: enabling ZRAM for ARMv7/AArch64 and using UEFI for ARMv7 device booting. Games Leftovers
Linux Foundation News Bruce Schneier: The US government is coming for YOUR code, techies During his opening keynote, Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, made light of the mudslides that brought traffic to a crawl near Donner Pass on Monday evening. The trip at least was less arduous than it was last year, he said. Zemlin's remarks amounted to an open-source victory lap. Some 99.4 per cent of the world's high performance computing systems, 90 per cent of the world's stock exchanges, and 64 per cent of mobile devices run on Linux, he said, adding that the foundation's projects have created $14.5 billion worth of value, as measured in cost per line of code. Hart Invests in Open Source Development With Linux Foundation Gold Membership Hart develops HartOS, an API platform that allows healthcare providers and their vendors and partners to use health data from multiple computer systems in a HIPAA-compliant manner to provide rich digital experiences. These may include medical records, hospital information, radiology information, laboratory information, picture archiving, emergency department and other systems. The Linux Foundation Releases Free Open Source Software Basics Publication Sampling of content from Fundamentals of Open Source Management training course provides a foundation for using open source software in professional organizations Cloud Native Computing Foundation Announces 11 New Members At Annual Open Source Leadership Summit
Programming/Development: fwupd, LLVM and More CSR devices now supported in fwupd The BlueCore CSR chips are used everywhere. If you have a “wireless” speaker or headphones that uses Bluetooth there is a high probability that it’s using a CSR chip inside. This makes the addition of CSR support into fwupd a big deal to access a lot of vendors. It’s a lot easier to say “just upload firmware” rather than “you have to write code” so I think it’s useful to have done this work. Skylake Server Scheduler Model Updated In LLVM 6.0 Along With Other Intel CPU Updates Most Software Code Will Be Written By Machines By 2040, Researchers Predict Imagine a scenario where a programmer needs to follow a couple of tried and tested procedures to write code that becomes a part of a bigger program that needs some insightful contribution from another programmer. So, is the first programmer really needed? Can’t we find a robotic replacement for the same? In the past, GitHub CEO had already made a prediction which says that future of coding is no coding at all. A similar speculation has been made by the researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, who have said that machines will write most of their own code by 2040. Hazelcast joins Eclipse, JCache is key focal point Open source In-Memory Data Grid (IMDG) company Hazelcast has joined the Eclipse Foundation – and it has done so for a reason. Hazelcast’s primary focus will be on JCache the Eclipse MicroProfile and EE4J. In particular, Hazelcast will be collaborating with members to popularize JCache, a Java Specification Request (JSR-107). So what place does JCache fill in the universe then? Software: Darktable, VLC, Mesa, Audacity, Toplip, GNUstep Darktable 2.4-RC1 Rolls Out With Windows Support, OpenCL Improvements The open-source Darktable RAW photography software that's long been available for Linux and macOS has finally been ported to Microsoft Windows. But fortunately that's not all to be found in Darktable 2.4. While Windows support is their big headline feature of Darktable 2.4, the RC1 release that came out today is also packed with other improvements. Linux Release Roundup: VLC, Mesa, Audacity + More Another week has flown by, making it time for another round-up of pertinent Linux app releases that didn’t manage to wangle a full post’s worth of waffle on this site. This week’s crop of curios includes updates to the world’s most popular open-source video player, the world’s most popular open-source audio editor, and the world’s most popular open-source graphics drivers. Toplip – A Very Strong File Encryption And Decryption CLI Utility There are numerous file encryption tools available on the market to protect your files. We have already reviewed some encryption tools such as Cryptomater, Cryptkeeper, CryptGo, Cryptr, Tomb, and GnuPG etc. Today, we will be discussing yet another file encryption and decryption command line utility named “Toplip”. It is a free and open source encryption utility that uses a very strong encryption method called AES256, along with an XTS-AES design to safeguard your confidential data. Also, it uses Scrypt, a password-based key derivation function, to protect your passphrases against brute-force attacks. GNUstep Takes Another Step Forward For Implementing Apple's Cocoa Frameworks GNUstep is the long-standing free software project working to implement Apple's Cocoa Objective-C frameworks used by macOS. The GNU project has made new releases of their GUI and Back libraries. GNUstep GUI 0.26 is out this morning as the latest update to their graphical user-interface library. GNUstep GUI 0.26 has a number of compatibility improvements, translation updates, mouse tracking logic improvements, bug fixes, and other work.
Git is great. It took the crown of version control systems in just a few years. Baked into the git model is that each commit has a committer and one author. Ofen this is the same person. What if there is more than one author for a commit? This is the case with pair programming or with mob programming or with any other way of collaboration where code is produced by more than one person. I talked about this at the git-merge conference last year. There are some workarounds but there is no native support in git yet. It seems that the predominant convention to express multi-authorship in git commits is to add a Co-authored-by entry in the commit message as a so-called trailer. This adds more flexibility than trying to tweak the author and committer fields and is quite widely accepted, especially by the git community.
Purism's Librem 5 Linux Phone Will Support Ubuntu Touch, Thanks to UBports Lead by talented Linux developer Marius Gripsgard, the UBports Foundation keeps the Ubuntu Touch mobile OS developed by Canonical, the company behind the widely-used Ubuntu Linux operating system, alive for various popular smartphones, including Fairphone 2, Nexus 5, OnePlus One, as well as the BQ Aquaris M10 FHD tablet that was designed to run Ubuntu Touch in the first place. Now, Purism and UBports are partnering to offer the Ubuntu Touch mobile operating system on the upcoming Librem 5 Linux phone, which raised more than $2 million last fall, promising to be the privacy and security-focused smartphone you've been expecting for a long time. While not the default OS, users will be able to easily run Ubuntu Touch on the Librem 5 phone. also: UBPorts Ubuntu Touch To Be Supported By The Purism Librem 5 Ubuntu-Based ExTiX Distro, the Ultimate Linux System, Updates Its Deepin Edition Based on the Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) operating system, the ExTiX 18.4 Deepin Edition is now available and it ships updated components, including the latest Deepin 15.5 Desktop, the Calamares 3.1.12 universal installer framework, and a custom Linux 4.16.2 kernel with extra hardware support. "I’ve made a new extra version of ExTiX with Deepin 15.5 Desktop (made in China!)," said Arne Exton in the release announcement. "Only a minimum of packages is installed in ExTiX Deepin. You can, of course, install all the packages you want, even while running ExTiX Deepin live, i.e. from a DVD or USB stick."
Linux Foundation News Bruce Schneier: The US government is coming for YOUR code, techies During his opening keynote, Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, made light of the mudslides that brought traffic to a crawl near Donner Pass on Monday evening. The trip at least was less arduous than it was last year, he said. Zemlin's remarks amounted to an open-source victory lap. Some 99.4 per cent of the world's high performance computing systems, 90 per cent of the world's stock exchanges, and 64 per cent of mobile devices run on Linux, he said, adding that the foundation's projects have created $14.5 billion worth of value, as measured in cost per line of code. Hart Invests in Open Source Development With Linux Foundation Gold Membership Hart develops HartOS, an API platform that allows healthcare providers and their vendors and partners to use health data from multiple computer systems in a HIPAA-compliant manner to provide rich digital experiences. These may include medical records, hospital information, radiology information, laboratory information, picture archiving, emergency department and other systems. The Linux Foundation Releases Free Open Source Software Basics Publication Sampling of content from Fundamentals of Open Source Management training course provides a foundation for using open source software in professional organizations Cloud Native Computing Foundation Announces 11 New Members At Annual Open Source Leadership Summit
Graphics: VC4 and AMDVLK Driver VC4 display, VC5 kernel submitted For VC5, I renamed the kernel driver to “v3d” and submitted it to the kernel. Daniel Vetter came back right away with a bunch of useful feedback, and next week I’m resolving that feedback and continuing to work on the GMP support. On the vc4 front, I did the investigation of the HDL to determine that the OLED matrix applies before the gamma tables, so we can expose it in the DRM for Android’s color correction. Stefan was also interested in reworking his fencing patches to use syncobjs, so hopefully we can merge those and get DRM HWC support in mainline soon. I also pushed Gustavo’s patch for using the new core DRM infrastructure for async cursor updates. This doesn’t simplify our code much yet, but Boris has a series he’s working on that gets rid of a lot of custom vc4 display code by switching more code over to the new async support. V3D DRM Driver Revised As It Works To Get Into The Mainline Kernel Eric Anholt of Broadcom has sent out his revised patches for the "V3D" DRM driver, which up until last week was known as the VC5 DRM driver. As explained last week, the VC5 driver components are being renamed to V3D since it ends up supporting more than just VC5 with Broadcom VC6 hardware already being supported too. Eric is making preparations to get this VideoCore driver into the mainline Linux kernel and he will then also rename the VC5 Gallium3D driver to V3D Gallium3D. AMDVLK Driver Gets Fixed For Rise of the Tomb Raider Using Application Profiles With last week's release of Rise of the Tomb Raider on Linux ported by Feral Interactive, when it came to Radeon GPU support for this Vulkan-only Linux game port the Mesa RADV driver was supported while the official AMDVLK driver would lead to GPU hangs. That's now been fixed. With the latest AMDVLK/XGL source code as of today, the GPU hang issue for Rise of the Tomb Raider should now be resolved.
GNU: The GNU C Library 2.28 and Guix on Android Glibc 2.28 Upstream Will Build/Run Cleanly On GNU Hurd While Linux distributions are still migrating to Glibc 2.27, in the two months since the release changes have continued building up for what will eventually become the GNU C Library 2.28. The Glibc 2.28 work queued thus far isn't nearly as exciting as all the performance optimizations and more introduced with Glibc 2.27, but it's a start. Most notable at this point for Glibc 2.28 is that it will now build and run cleanly on GNU/Hurd without requiring any out-of-tree patches. There has been a ton of Hurd-related commits to Glibc over the past month. Guix on Android! Last year I thought to myself: since my phone is just a computer running an operating system called Android (or Replicant!), and that Android is based on a Linux kernel, it's just another foreign distribution I could install GNU Guix on, right? It turned out it was absolutely the case. Today I was reminded on IRC of my attempt last year at installing GNU Guix on my phone. Hence this blog post. I'll try to give you all the knowledge and commands required to install it on your own Android device. GNU Guix Wrangled To Run On Android The GNU Guix transactional package manager can be made to run on Android smartphones/tablets, but not without lots of hoops to jump through first. Node.js 10.9 and npm milestone Open Source Node.js Hits v10, with Better Security, Performance, More Speaking of which, the brand-new Node.js 10.0 is expected to soon support npm version 6 (currently Node.js ships with npm 5.7.x). The company npm Inc., which maintains the npm software package management application, today announced that major update, called npm@6. The npm company said its JavaScript software installer tool includes new security features for developers working with open source code. Announcing npm@6 In coordination with today’s announcement of Node.js v10, we’re excited to announce npm@6. This major update to npm includes powerful new security features for every developer who works with open source code. Read on to understand why this matters.
Purism's Librem 5 Linux Phone Will Support Ubuntu Touch, Thanks to UBports Lead by talented Linux developer Marius Gripsgard, the UBports Foundation keeps the Ubuntu Touch mobile OS developed by Canonical, the company behind the widely-used Ubuntu Linux operating system, alive for various popular smartphones, including Fairphone 2, Nexus 5, OnePlus One, as well as the BQ Aquaris M10 FHD tablet that was designed to run Ubuntu Touch in the first place. Now, Purism and UBports are partnering to offer the Ubuntu Touch mobile operating system on the upcoming Librem 5 Linux phone, which raised more than $2 million last fall, promising to be the privacy and security-focused smartphone you've been expecting for a long time. While not the default OS, users will be able to easily run Ubuntu Touch on the Librem 5 phone. also: UBPorts Ubuntu Touch To Be Supported By The Purism Librem 5 Ubuntu-Based ExTiX Distro, the Ultimate Linux System, Updates Its Deepin Edition Based on the Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) operating system, the ExTiX 18.4 Deepin Edition is now available and it ships updated components, including the latest Deepin 15.5 Desktop, the Calamares 3.1.12 universal installer framework, and a custom Linux 4.16.2 kernel with extra hardware support. "I’ve made a new extra version of ExTiX with Deepin 15.5 Desktop (made in China!)," said Arne Exton in the release announcement. "Only a minimum of packages is installed in ExTiX Deepin. You can, of course, install all the packages you want, even while running ExTiX Deepin live, i.e. from a DVD or USB stick."
GNOME/GTK: Librsvg, BuildStream, GTK, GStreamer rsvg-bench - a benchmark for librsvg Librsvg 2.42.0 came out with a rather major performance regression compared to 2.40.20: SVGs with many transform attributes would slow it down. It was fixed in 2.42.1. We changed from using a parser that would recompile regexes each time it was called, to one that does simple string-based matching and parsing. When I rewrote librsvg's parser for the transform attribute from C to Rust, I was just learning about writing parsers in Rust. I chose lalrpop, an excellent, Yacc-like parser generator for Rust. It generates big, fast parsers, like what you would need for a compiler — but it compiles the tokenizer's regexes each time you call the parser. This is not a problem for a compiler, where you basically call the parser only once, but in librsvg, we may call it thousands of times for an SVG file with thousands of objects with transform attributes. So, for 2.42.1 I rewrote that parser using rust-cssparser. This is what Servo uses to parse CSS data; it's a simple tokenizer with an API that knows about CSS's particular constructs. This is exactly the kind of data that librsvg cares about. Today all of librsvg's internal parsers work using rust-cssparser, or they are so simple that they can be done with Rust's normal functions to split strings and such. BuildStream Hackfest and FOSDEM I also wanted to sum up a last minute BuildStream hackfest which occurred in Manchester just a week ago. Bloomberg sent some of their Developer Experience engineering team members over to the Codethink office in Manchester where the whole BuildStream team was present, and we split up into groups to plan upcoming coding sprints, land some outstanding work and fix some bugs. builders An idiom that has shown up in GTK4 development is the idea of immutable objects and builders. The idea behind an immutable object is that you can be sure that it doesn’t change under you, so you don’t need to track changes, you can expose it in your API without having to fear users of the API are gonna change that object under you, you can use it as a key when caching and last but not least you can pass it into multiple threads without requiring synchronization. Examples of immutable objects in GTK4 are GdkCursor, GdkTexture, GdkContentFormats or GskRenderNode. GTK+ hackfest, day 2 The second day of the GTK+ hackfest in Brussels started with an hour of patch review. We then went through scattered items from the agenda and collected answers to some questions. GTK+ 4.0 Targeted For Its Initial Release This Fall, GTK+ 5.0 Development To Follow A few days back I wrote about how GTK+ 4.0 is being talked about for release this year and now a bit more specific timeline is in place. The past few days prior to FOSDEM in Brussels was a GTK+ hackfest. Among the items discussed when not banging on code was a GTK+ 4.0 road-map and coming out of this event in Belgium is a more solid understanding now that the initial GTK+ 4.0 release will be targeted for the fall of this year. There isn't any firm release plan at this time but at GUADEC (taking place in Spain this summer) they will revisit their plans to verify they can still ship this fall. GStreamer has grown a WebRTC implementation Late last year, we at Centricular announced a new implementation of WebRTC in GStreamer. Today we're happy to announce that after community review, that work has been merged into GStreamer itself! The plugin is called webrtcbin, and the library is, naturally, called gstwebrtc. The implementation has all the basic features, is transparently compatible with other WebRTC stacks (particularly in browsers), and has been well-tested with both Firefox and Chrome. GStreamer Lands A WebRTC Plugin The GStreamer multimedia framework now has mainline support for WebRTC. WebRTC is the set of protocols/APIs for real-time audio/video communication over peer-to-peer connections. WebRTC is supported by all major web browsers and more while now there is support within GStreamer too. Kraft Moving to KDE Frameworks: Beta Release! Kraft is KDE/Qt based desktop software to manage documents like quotes and invoices in the small business. It focuses on ease of use through an intuitive GUI, a well chosen feature set and ensures privacy by keeping data local. Kraft is around for more than twelve years, but it has been a little quiet recently. However, Kraft is alive and kicking! I am very happy to announce the first public beta version of Kraft V. 0.80, the first Kraft version that is based on KDE Frameworks 5 and Qt 5.x.
A Guide To Buying A Linux Laptop It goes without saying that if you go to a computer store downtown to buy a new laptop, you will be offered a notebook with Windows preinstalled, or a Mac. Either way, you’ll be forced to pay an extra fee – either for a Microsoft license or for the Apple logo on the back. On the other hand, you have the option to buy a laptop and install a distribution of your choice. However, the hardest part may be to find the right hardware that will get along nicely with the operating system. On top of that, we also need to consider the availability of drivers for the hardware. So what do you do? The answer is simple: buy a laptop with Linux preinstalled. Also: The Open-Source / Linux Letdowns Of 2016 Linux 4.10 RC2 Linux 4.10-rc2 Released To Kick Off Kernel Testing For 2017 Linus Torvalds has issued the second test release of the in-development Linux 4.10 kernel. Linux 4.10-rc2 marks the first kernel release of 2017. Linux 4.10-rc2 Hey, it's been a really slow week between Christmas Day and New Years Day, and I am not complaining at all. It does mean that rc2 is ridiculously and unrealistically small. I almost decided to skip rc2 entirely, but a small little meaningless release every once in a while never hurt anybody. So here it is. The only even remotely noticeable work here is the DAX fixups that really arguably should have been merge window material but depended on stuff during this merge window and were delayed until rc2 due to that. Even that wasn't big, and the rest is trivial small fixes. I'm expecting things to start picking up next week as people recover from the holidays. Linus
Submitted by Rianne Schestowitz on Friday 2nd of February 2018 07:01:02 PM Filed under Almost every time Linus Torvalds releases a new mainline Linux kernel, there's inevitable confusion about which kernel is the "stable" one now. Is it the brand new X.Y one, or the previous X.Y-1.Z one? Is the brand new kernel too new? Should you stick to the previous release? The kernel.org page doesn't really help clear up this confusion. Currently, right at the top of the page. we see that 4.15 is the latest stable kernel -- but then in the table below, 4.14.16 is listed as "stable," and 4.15 as "mainline." Frustrating, eh? Unfortunately, there are no easy answers. We use the word "stable" for two different things here: as the name of the Git tree where the release originated, and as indicator of whether the kernel should be considered “stable” as in “production-ready.”
Programming/Development: fwupd, LLVM and More CSR devices now supported in fwupd The BlueCore CSR chips are used everywhere. If you have a “wireless” speaker or headphones that uses Bluetooth there is a high probability that it’s using a CSR chip inside. This makes the addition of CSR support into fwupd a big deal to access a lot of vendors. It’s a lot easier to say “just upload firmware” rather than “you have to write code” so I think it’s useful to have done this work. Skylake Server Scheduler Model Updated In LLVM 6.0 Along With Other Intel CPU Updates Most Software Code Will Be Written By Machines By 2040, Researchers Predict Imagine a scenario where a programmer needs to follow a couple of tried and tested procedures to write code that becomes a part of a bigger program that needs some insightful contribution from another programmer. So, is the first programmer really needed? Can’t we find a robotic replacement for the same? In the past, GitHub CEO had already made a prediction which says that future of coding is no coding at all. A similar speculation has been made by the researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, who have said that machines will write most of their own code by 2040. Hazelcast joins Eclipse, JCache is key focal point Open source In-Memory Data Grid (IMDG) company Hazelcast has joined the Eclipse Foundation – and it has done so for a reason. Hazelcast’s primary focus will be on JCache the Eclipse MicroProfile and EE4J. In particular, Hazelcast will be collaborating with members to popularize JCache, a Java Specification Request (JSR-107). So what place does JCache fill in the universe then? Software: Darktable, VLC, Mesa, Audacity, Toplip, GNUstep Darktable 2.4-RC1 Rolls Out With Windows Support, OpenCL Improvements The open-source Darktable RAW photography software that's long been available for Linux and macOS has finally been ported to Microsoft Windows. But fortunately that's not all to be found in Darktable 2.4. While Windows support is their big headline feature of Darktable 2.4, the RC1 release that came out today is also packed with other improvements. Linux Release Roundup: VLC, Mesa, Audacity + More Another week has flown by, making it time for another round-up of pertinent Linux app releases that didn’t manage to wangle a full post’s worth of waffle on this site. This week’s crop of curios includes updates to the world’s most popular open-source video player, the world’s most popular open-source audio editor, and the world’s most popular open-source graphics drivers. Toplip – A Very Strong File Encryption And Decryption CLI Utility There are numerous file encryption tools available on the market to protect your files. We have already reviewed some encryption tools such as Cryptomater, Cryptkeeper, CryptGo, Cryptr, Tomb, and GnuPG etc. Today, we will be discussing yet another file encryption and decryption command line utility named “Toplip”. It is a free and open source encryption utility that uses a very strong encryption method called AES256, along with an XTS-AES design to safeguard your confidential data. Also, it uses Scrypt, a password-based key derivation function, to protect your passphrases against brute-force attacks. GNUstep Takes Another Step Forward For Implementing Apple's Cocoa Frameworks GNUstep is the long-standing free software project working to implement Apple's Cocoa Objective-C frameworks used by macOS. The GNU project has made new releases of their GUI and Back libraries. GNUstep GUI 0.26 is out this morning as the latest update to their graphical user-interface library. GNUstep GUI 0.26 has a number of compatibility improvements, translation updates, mouse tracking logic improvements, bug fixes, and other work.
GNU: The GNU C Library 2.28 and Guix on Android Glibc 2.28 Upstream Will Build/Run Cleanly On GNU Hurd While Linux distributions are still migrating to Glibc 2.27, in the two months since the release changes have continued building up for what will eventually become the GNU C Library 2.28. The Glibc 2.28 work queued thus far isn't nearly as exciting as all the performance optimizations and more introduced with Glibc 2.27, but it's a start. Most notable at this point for Glibc 2.28 is that it will now build and run cleanly on GNU/Hurd without requiring any out-of-tree patches. There has been a ton of Hurd-related commits to Glibc over the past month. Guix on Android! Last year I thought to myself: since my phone is just a computer running an operating system called Android (or Replicant!), and that Android is based on a Linux kernel, it's just another foreign distribution I could install GNU Guix on, right? It turned out it was absolutely the case. Today I was reminded on IRC of my attempt last year at installing GNU Guix on my phone. Hence this blog post. I'll try to give you all the knowledge and commands required to install it on your own Android device. GNU Guix Wrangled To Run On Android The GNU Guix transactional package manager can be made to run on Android smartphones/tablets, but not without lots of hoops to jump through first. Node.js 10.9 and npm milestone Open Source Node.js Hits v10, with Better Security, Performance, More Speaking of which, the brand-new Node.js 10.0 is expected to soon support npm version 6 (currently Node.js ships with npm 5.7.x). The company npm Inc., which maintains the npm software package management application, today announced that major update, called npm@6. The npm company said its JavaScript software installer tool includes new security features for developers working with open source code. Announcing npm@6 In coordination with today’s announcement of Node.js v10, we’re excited to announce npm@6. This major update to npm includes powerful new security features for every developer who works with open source code. Read on to understand why this matters.
Free Electrons becomes Bootlin (After Trademark Bullying/Trolling by FREE SAS) The services we offer are different, we target a different audience (professionals instead of individuals), and most of our communication efforts are in English, to reach an international audience. Therefore Michael Opdenacker and Free Electrons’ management believe that there is no risk of confusion between Free Electrons and FREE SAS. However, FREE SAS has filed in excess of 100 oppositions and District Court actions against trademarks or name containing “free”. In view of the resources needed to fight this case, Free Electrons has decided to change name without waiting for the decision of the District Court. This will allow us to stay focused on our projects rather than exhausting ourselves fighting a long legal battle. [...] Nothing else changes in the company. We are the same engineers, the same Linux kernel contributors and maintainers (now 6 of us have their names in the Linux MAINTAINERS file), with the same technical skills and appetite for new technical challenges. More than ever, we remain united by the passion we all share in the company since the beginning: working with hardware and low-level software, working together with the free software community, and sharing the experience with others so that they can at least get the best of what the community offers and hopefully one day become active contributors too. “Get the best of the community” is effectively one of our slogans. today's howtos Ubuntu: Ubuntu 18.04, Snapcraft Summit, and Microsoft Exploiting Snaps to Promote (in the Media) Malicious Software
GNOME/GTK: Librsvg, BuildStream, GTK, GStreamer rsvg-bench - a benchmark for librsvg Librsvg 2.42.0 came out with a rather major performance regression compared to 2.40.20: SVGs with many transform attributes would slow it down. It was fixed in 2.42.1. We changed from using a parser that would recompile regexes each time it was called, to one that does simple string-based matching and parsing. When I rewrote librsvg's parser for the transform attribute from C to Rust, I was just learning about writing parsers in Rust. I chose lalrpop, an excellent, Yacc-like parser generator for Rust. It generates big, fast parsers, like what you would need for a compiler — but it compiles the tokenizer's regexes each time you call the parser. This is not a problem for a compiler, where you basically call the parser only once, but in librsvg, we may call it thousands of times for an SVG file with thousands of objects with transform attributes. So, for 2.42.1 I rewrote that parser using rust-cssparser. This is what Servo uses to parse CSS data; it's a simple tokenizer with an API that knows about CSS's particular constructs. This is exactly the kind of data that librsvg cares about. Today all of librsvg's internal parsers work using rust-cssparser, or they are so simple that they can be done with Rust's normal functions to split strings and such. BuildStream Hackfest and FOSDEM I also wanted to sum up a last minute BuildStream hackfest which occurred in Manchester just a week ago. Bloomberg sent some of their Developer Experience engineering team members over to the Codethink office in Manchester where the whole BuildStream team was present, and we split up into groups to plan upcoming coding sprints, land some outstanding work and fix some bugs. builders An idiom that has shown up in GTK4 development is the idea of immutable objects and builders. The idea behind an immutable object is that you can be sure that it doesn’t change under you, so you don’t need to track changes, you can expose it in your API without having to fear users of the API are gonna change that object under you, you can use it as a key when caching and last but not least you can pass it into multiple threads without requiring synchronization. Examples of immutable objects in GTK4 are GdkCursor, GdkTexture, GdkContentFormats or GskRenderNode. GTK+ hackfest, day 2 The second day of the GTK+ hackfest in Brussels started with an hour of patch review. We then went through scattered items from the agenda and collected answers to some questions. GTK+ 4.0 Targeted For Its Initial Release This Fall, GTK+ 5.0 Development To Follow A few days back I wrote about how GTK+ 4.0 is being talked about for release this year and now a bit more specific timeline is in place. The past few days prior to FOSDEM in Brussels was a GTK+ hackfest. Among the items discussed when not banging on code was a GTK+ 4.0 road-map and coming out of this event in Belgium is a more solid understanding now that the initial GTK+ 4.0 release will be targeted for the fall of this year. There isn't any firm release plan at this time but at GUADEC (taking place in Spain this summer) they will revisit their plans to verify they can still ship this fall. GStreamer has grown a WebRTC implementation Late last year, we at Centricular announced a new implementation of WebRTC in GStreamer. Today we're happy to announce that after community review, that work has been merged into GStreamer itself! The plugin is called webrtcbin, and the library is, naturally, called gstwebrtc. The implementation has all the basic features, is transparently compatible with other WebRTC stacks (particularly in browsers), and has been well-tested with both Firefox and Chrome. GStreamer Lands A WebRTC Plugin The GStreamer multimedia framework now has mainline support for WebRTC. WebRTC is the set of protocols/APIs for real-time audio/video communication over peer-to-peer connections. WebRTC is supported by all major web browsers and more while now there is support within GStreamer too. Kraft Moving to KDE Frameworks: Beta Release! Kraft is KDE/Qt based desktop software to manage documents like quotes and invoices in the small business. It focuses on ease of use through an intuitive GUI, a well chosen feature set and ensures privacy by keeping data local. Kraft is around for more than twelve years, but it has been a little quiet recently. However, Kraft is alive and kicking! I am very happy to announce the first public beta version of Kraft V. 0.80, the first Kraft version that is based on KDE Frameworks 5 and Qt 5.x.
Programming/Development: fwupd, LLVM and More CSR devices now supported in fwupd The BlueCore CSR chips are used everywhere. If you have a “wireless” speaker or headphones that uses Bluetooth there is a high probability that it’s using a CSR chip inside. This makes the addition of CSR support into fwupd a big deal to access a lot of vendors. It’s a lot easier to say “just upload firmware” rather than “you have to write code” so I think it’s useful to have done this work. Skylake Server Scheduler Model Updated In LLVM 6.0 Along With Other Intel CPU Updates Most Software Code Will Be Written By Machines By 2040, Researchers Predict Imagine a scenario where a programmer needs to follow a couple of tried and tested procedures to write code that becomes a part of a bigger program that needs some insightful contribution from another programmer. So, is the first programmer really needed? Can’t we find a robotic replacement for the same? In the past, GitHub CEO had already made a prediction which says that future of coding is no coding at all. A similar speculation has been made by the researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, who have said that machines will write most of their own code by 2040. Hazelcast joins Eclipse, JCache is key focal point Open source In-Memory Data Grid (IMDG) company Hazelcast has joined the Eclipse Foundation – and it has done so for a reason. Hazelcast’s primary focus will be on JCache the Eclipse MicroProfile and EE4J. In particular, Hazelcast will be collaborating with members to popularize JCache, a Java Specification Request (JSR-107). So what place does JCache fill in the universe then? Software: Darktable, VLC, Mesa, Audacity, Toplip, GNUstep Darktable 2.4-RC1 Rolls Out With Windows Support, OpenCL Improvements The open-source Darktable RAW photography software that's long been available for Linux and macOS has finally been ported to Microsoft Windows. But fortunately that's not all to be found in Darktable 2.4. While Windows support is their big headline feature of Darktable 2.4, the RC1 release that came out today is also packed with other improvements. Linux Release Roundup: VLC, Mesa, Audacity + More Another week has flown by, making it time for another round-up of pertinent Linux app releases that didn’t manage to wangle a full post’s worth of waffle on this site. This week’s crop of curios includes updates to the world’s most popular open-source video player, the world’s most popular open-source audio editor, and the world’s most popular open-source graphics drivers. Toplip – A Very Strong File Encryption And Decryption CLI Utility There are numerous file encryption tools available on the market to protect your files. We have already reviewed some encryption tools such as Cryptomater, Cryptkeeper, CryptGo, Cryptr, Tomb, and GnuPG etc. Today, we will be discussing yet another file encryption and decryption command line utility named “Toplip”. It is a free and open source encryption utility that uses a very strong encryption method called AES256, along with an XTS-AES design to safeguard your confidential data. Also, it uses Scrypt, a password-based key derivation function, to protect your passphrases against brute-force attacks. GNUstep Takes Another Step Forward For Implementing Apple's Cocoa Frameworks GNUstep is the long-standing free software project working to implement Apple's Cocoa Objective-C frameworks used by macOS. The GNU project has made new releases of their GUI and Back libraries. GNUstep GUI 0.26 is out this morning as the latest update to their graphical user-interface library. GNUstep GUI 0.26 has a number of compatibility improvements, translation updates, mouse tracking logic improvements, bug fixes, and other work.
Linux Foundation News Bruce Schneier: The US government is coming for YOUR code, techies During his opening keynote, Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, made light of the mudslides that brought traffic to a crawl near Donner Pass on Monday evening. The trip at least was less arduous than it was last year, he said. Zemlin's remarks amounted to an open-source victory lap. Some 99.4 per cent of the world's high performance computing systems, 90 per cent of the world's stock exchanges, and 64 per cent of mobile devices run on Linux, he said, adding that the foundation's projects have created $14.5 billion worth of value, as measured in cost per line of code. Hart Invests in Open Source Development With Linux Foundation Gold Membership Hart develops HartOS, an API platform that allows healthcare providers and their vendors and partners to use health data from multiple computer systems in a HIPAA-compliant manner to provide rich digital experiences. These may include medical records, hospital information, radiology information, laboratory information, picture archiving, emergency department and other systems. The Linux Foundation Releases Free Open Source Software Basics Publication Sampling of content from Fundamentals of Open Source Management training course provides a foundation for using open source software in professional organizations Cloud Native Computing Foundation Announces 11 New Members At Annual Open Source Leadership Summit
GNOME/GTK: Librsvg, BuildStream, GTK, GStreamer rsvg-bench - a benchmark for librsvg Librsvg 2.42.0 came out with a rather major performance regression compared to 2.40.20: SVGs with many transform attributes would slow it down. It was fixed in 2.42.1. We changed from using a parser that would recompile regexes each time it was called, to one that does simple string-based matching and parsing. When I rewrote librsvg's parser for the transform attribute from C to Rust, I was just learning about writing parsers in Rust. I chose lalrpop, an excellent, Yacc-like parser generator for Rust. It generates big, fast parsers, like what you would need for a compiler — but it compiles the tokenizer's regexes each time you call the parser. This is not a problem for a compiler, where you basically call the parser only once, but in librsvg, we may call it thousands of times for an SVG file with thousands of objects with transform attributes. So, for 2.42.1 I rewrote that parser using rust-cssparser. This is what Servo uses to parse CSS data; it's a simple tokenizer with an API that knows about CSS's particular constructs. This is exactly the kind of data that librsvg cares about. Today all of librsvg's internal parsers work using rust-cssparser, or they are so simple that they can be done with Rust's normal functions to split strings and such. BuildStream Hackfest and FOSDEM I also wanted to sum up a last minute BuildStream hackfest which occurred in Manchester just a week ago. Bloomberg sent some of their Developer Experience engineering team members over to the Codethink office in Manchester where the whole BuildStream team was present, and we split up into groups to plan upcoming coding sprints, land some outstanding work and fix some bugs. builders An idiom that has shown up in GTK4 development is the idea of immutable objects and builders. The idea behind an immutable object is that you can be sure that it doesn’t change under you, so you don’t need to track changes, you can expose it in your API without having to fear users of the API are gonna change that object under you, you can use it as a key when caching and last but not least you can pass it into multiple threads without requiring synchronization. Examples of immutable objects in GTK4 are GdkCursor, GdkTexture, GdkContentFormats or GskRenderNode. GTK+ hackfest, day 2 The second day of the GTK+ hackfest in Brussels started with an hour of patch review. We then went through scattered items from the agenda and collected answers to some questions. GTK+ 4.0 Targeted For Its Initial Release This Fall, GTK+ 5.0 Development To Follow A few days back I wrote about how GTK+ 4.0 is being talked about for release this year and now a bit more specific timeline is in place. The past few days prior to FOSDEM in Brussels was a GTK+ hackfest. Among the items discussed when not banging on code was a GTK+ 4.0 road-map and coming out of this event in Belgium is a more solid understanding now that the initial GTK+ 4.0 release will be targeted for the fall of this year. There isn't any firm release plan at this time but at GUADEC (taking place in Spain this summer) they will revisit their plans to verify they can still ship this fall. GStreamer has grown a WebRTC implementation Late last year, we at Centricular announced a new implementation of WebRTC in GStreamer. Today we're happy to announce that after community review, that work has been merged into GStreamer itself! The plugin is called webrtcbin, and the library is, naturally, called gstwebrtc. The implementation has all the basic features, is transparently compatible with other WebRTC stacks (particularly in browsers), and has been well-tested with both Firefox and Chrome. GStreamer Lands A WebRTC Plugin The GStreamer multimedia framework now has mainline support for WebRTC. WebRTC is the set of protocols/APIs for real-time audio/video communication over peer-to-peer connections. WebRTC is supported by all major web browsers and more while now there is support within GStreamer too. Kraft Moving to KDE Frameworks: Beta Release! Kraft is KDE/Qt based desktop software to manage documents like quotes and invoices in the small business. It focuses on ease of use through an intuitive GUI, a well chosen feature set and ensures privacy by keeping data local. Kraft is around for more than twelve years, but it has been a little quiet recently. However, Kraft is alive and kicking! I am very happy to announce the first public beta version of Kraft V. 0.80, the first Kraft version that is based on KDE Frameworks 5 and Qt 5.x.
A Guide To Buying A Linux Laptop It goes without saying that if you go to a computer store downtown to buy a new laptop, you will be offered a notebook with Windows preinstalled, or a Mac. Either way, you’ll be forced to pay an extra fee – either for a Microsoft license or for the Apple logo on the back. On the other hand, you have the option to buy a laptop and install a distribution of your choice. However, the hardest part may be to find the right hardware that will get along nicely with the operating system. On top of that, we also need to consider the availability of drivers for the hardware. So what do you do? The answer is simple: buy a laptop with Linux preinstalled. Also: The Open-Source / Linux Letdowns Of 2016 Linux 4.10 RC2 Linux 4.10-rc2 Released To Kick Off Kernel Testing For 2017 Linus Torvalds has issued the second test release of the in-development Linux 4.10 kernel. Linux 4.10-rc2 marks the first kernel release of 2017. Linux 4.10-rc2 Hey, it's been a really slow week between Christmas Day and New Years Day, and I am not complaining at all. It does mean that rc2 is ridiculously and unrealistically small. I almost decided to skip rc2 entirely, but a small little meaningless release every once in a while never hurt anybody. So here it is. The only even remotely noticeable work here is the DAX fixups that really arguably should have been merge window material but depended on stuff during this merge window and were delayed until rc2 due to that. Even that wasn't big, and the rest is trivial small fixes. I'm expecting things to start picking up next week as people recover from the holidays. Linus
GNOME/GTK: Librsvg, BuildStream, GTK, GStreamer rsvg-bench - a benchmark for librsvg Librsvg 2.42.0 came out with a rather major performance regression compared to 2.40.20: SVGs with many transform attributes would slow it down. It was fixed in 2.42.1. We changed from using a parser that would recompile regexes each time it was called, to one that does simple string-based matching and parsing. When I rewrote librsvg's parser for the transform attribute from C to Rust, I was just learning about writing parsers in Rust. I chose lalrpop, an excellent, Yacc-like parser generator for Rust. It generates big, fast parsers, like what you would need for a compiler — but it compiles the tokenizer's regexes each time you call the parser. This is not a problem for a compiler, where you basically call the parser only once, but in librsvg, we may call it thousands of times for an SVG file with thousands of objects with transform attributes. So, for 2.42.1 I rewrote that parser using rust-cssparser. This is what Servo uses to parse CSS data; it's a simple tokenizer with an API that knows about CSS's particular constructs. This is exactly the kind of data that librsvg cares about. Today all of librsvg's internal parsers work using rust-cssparser, or they are so simple that they can be done with Rust's normal functions to split strings and such. BuildStream Hackfest and FOSDEM I also wanted to sum up a last minute BuildStream hackfest which occurred in Manchester just a week ago. Bloomberg sent some of their Developer Experience engineering team members over to the Codethink office in Manchester where the whole BuildStream team was present, and we split up into groups to plan upcoming coding sprints, land some outstanding work and fix some bugs. builders An idiom that has shown up in GTK4 development is the idea of immutable objects and builders. The idea behind an immutable object is that you can be sure that it doesn’t change under you, so you don’t need to track changes, you can expose it in your API without having to fear users of the API are gonna change that object under you, you can use it as a key when caching and last but not least you can pass it into multiple threads without requiring synchronization. Examples of immutable objects in GTK4 are GdkCursor, GdkTexture, GdkContentFormats or GskRenderNode. GTK+ hackfest, day 2 The second day of the GTK+ hackfest in Brussels started with an hour of patch review. We then went through scattered items from the agenda and collected answers to some questions. GTK+ 4.0 Targeted For Its Initial Release This Fall, GTK+ 5.0 Development To Follow A few days back I wrote about how GTK+ 4.0 is being talked about for release this year and now a bit more specific timeline is in place. The past few days prior to FOSDEM in Brussels was a GTK+ hackfest. Among the items discussed when not banging on code was a GTK+ 4.0 road-map and coming out of this event in Belgium is a more solid understanding now that the initial GTK+ 4.0 release will be targeted for the fall of this year. There isn't any firm release plan at this time but at GUADEC (taking place in Spain this summer) they will revisit their plans to verify they can still ship this fall. GStreamer has grown a WebRTC implementation Late last year, we at Centricular announced a new implementation of WebRTC in GStreamer. Today we're happy to announce that after community review, that work has been merged into GStreamer itself! The plugin is called webrtcbin, and the library is, naturally, called gstwebrtc. The implementation has all the basic features, is transparently compatible with other WebRTC stacks (particularly in browsers), and has been well-tested with both Firefox and Chrome. GStreamer Lands A WebRTC Plugin The GStreamer multimedia framework now has mainline support for WebRTC. WebRTC is the set of protocols/APIs for real-time audio/video communication over peer-to-peer connections. WebRTC is supported by all major web browsers and more while now there is support within GStreamer too. Kraft Moving to KDE Frameworks: Beta Release! Kraft is KDE/Qt based desktop software to manage documents like quotes and invoices in the small business. It focuses on ease of use through an intuitive GUI, a well chosen feature set and ensures privacy by keeping data local. Kraft is around for more than twelve years, but it has been a little quiet recently. However, Kraft is alive and kicking! I am very happy to announce the first public beta version of Kraft V. 0.80, the first Kraft version that is based on KDE Frameworks 5 and Qt 5.x.
Programming/Development: fwupd, LLVM and More CSR devices now supported in fwupd The BlueCore CSR chips are used everywhere. If you have a “wireless” speaker or headphones that uses Bluetooth there is a high probability that it’s using a CSR chip inside. This makes the addition of CSR support into fwupd a big deal to access a lot of vendors. It’s a lot easier to say “just upload firmware” rather than “you have to write code” so I think it’s useful to have done this work. Skylake Server Scheduler Model Updated In LLVM 6.0 Along With Other Intel CPU Updates Most Software Code Will Be Written By Machines By 2040, Researchers Predict Imagine a scenario where a programmer needs to follow a couple of tried and tested procedures to write code that becomes a part of a bigger program that needs some insightful contribution from another programmer. So, is the first programmer really needed? Can’t we find a robotic replacement for the same? In the past, GitHub CEO had already made a prediction which says that future of coding is no coding at all. A similar speculation has been made by the researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, who have said that machines will write most of their own code by 2040. Hazelcast joins Eclipse, JCache is key focal point Open source In-Memory Data Grid (IMDG) company Hazelcast has joined the Eclipse Foundation – and it has done so for a reason. Hazelcast’s primary focus will be on JCache the Eclipse MicroProfile and EE4J. In particular, Hazelcast will be collaborating with members to popularize JCache, a Java Specification Request (JSR-107). So what place does JCache fill in the universe then? Software: Darktable, VLC, Mesa, Audacity, Toplip, GNUstep Darktable 2.4-RC1 Rolls Out With Windows Support, OpenCL Improvements The open-source Darktable RAW photography software that's long been available for Linux and macOS has finally been ported to Microsoft Windows. But fortunately that's not all to be found in Darktable 2.4. While Windows support is their big headline feature of Darktable 2.4, the RC1 release that came out today is also packed with other improvements. Linux Release Roundup: VLC, Mesa, Audacity + More Another week has flown by, making it time for another round-up of pertinent Linux app releases that didn’t manage to wangle a full post’s worth of waffle on this site. This week’s crop of curios includes updates to the world’s most popular open-source video player, the world’s most popular open-source audio editor, and the world’s most popular open-source graphics drivers. Toplip – A Very Strong File Encryption And Decryption CLI Utility There are numerous file encryption tools available on the market to protect your files. We have already reviewed some encryption tools such as Cryptomater, Cryptkeeper, CryptGo, Cryptr, Tomb, and GnuPG etc. Today, we will be discussing yet another file encryption and decryption command line utility named “Toplip”. It is a free and open source encryption utility that uses a very strong encryption method called AES256, along with an XTS-AES design to safeguard your confidential data. Also, it uses Scrypt, a password-based key derivation function, to protect your passphrases against brute-force attacks. GNUstep Takes Another Step Forward For Implementing Apple's Cocoa Frameworks GNUstep is the long-standing free software project working to implement Apple's Cocoa Objective-C frameworks used by macOS. The GNU project has made new releases of their GUI and Back libraries. GNUstep GUI 0.26 is out this morning as the latest update to their graphical user-interface library. GNUstep GUI 0.26 has a number of compatibility improvements, translation updates, mouse tracking logic improvements, bug fixes, and other work.
GNU: The GNU C Library 2.28 and Guix on Android Glibc 2.28 Upstream Will Build/Run Cleanly On GNU Hurd While Linux distributions are still migrating to Glibc 2.27, in the two months since the release changes have continued building up for what will eventually become the GNU C Library 2.28. The Glibc 2.28 work queued thus far isn't nearly as exciting as all the performance optimizations and more introduced with Glibc 2.27, but it's a start. Most notable at this point for Glibc 2.28 is that it will now build and run cleanly on GNU/Hurd without requiring any out-of-tree patches. There has been a ton of Hurd-related commits to Glibc over the past month. Guix on Android! Last year I thought to myself: since my phone is just a computer running an operating system called Android (or Replicant!), and that Android is based on a Linux kernel, it's just another foreign distribution I could install GNU Guix on, right? It turned out it was absolutely the case. Today I was reminded on IRC of my attempt last year at installing GNU Guix on my phone. Hence this blog post. I'll try to give you all the knowledge and commands required to install it on your own Android device. GNU Guix Wrangled To Run On Android The GNU Guix transactional package manager can be made to run on Android smartphones/tablets, but not without lots of hoops to jump through first. Node.js 10.9 and npm milestone Open Source Node.js Hits v10, with Better Security, Performance, More Speaking of which, the brand-new Node.js 10.0 is expected to soon support npm version 6 (currently Node.js ships with npm 5.7.x). The company npm Inc., which maintains the npm software package management application, today announced that major update, called npm@6. The npm company said its JavaScript software installer tool includes new security features for developers working with open source code. Announcing npm@6 In coordination with today’s announcement of Node.js v10, we’re excited to announce npm@6. This major update to npm includes powerful new security features for every developer who works with open source code. Read on to understand why this matters.
Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Friday 2nd of February 2018 10:01:55 PM Filed under The services we offer are different, we target a different audience (professionals instead of individuals), and most of our communication efforts are in English, to reach an international audience. Therefore Michael Opdenacker and Free Electrons’ management believe that there is no risk of confusion between Free Electrons and FREE SAS. However, FREE SAS has filed in excess of 100 oppositions and District Court actions against trademarks or name containing “free”. In view of the resources needed to fight this case, Free Electrons has decided to change name without waiting for the decision of the District Court. This will allow us to stay focused on our projects rather than exhausting ourselves fighting a long legal battle. [...] Nothing else changes in the company. We are the same engineers, the same Linux kernel contributors and maintainers (now 6 of us have their names in the Linux MAINTAINERS file), with the same technical skills and appetite for new technical challenges. More than ever, we remain united by the passion we all share in the company since the beginning: working with hardware and low-level software, working together with the free software community, and sharing the experience with others so that they can at least get the best of what the community offers and hopefully one day become active contributors too. “Get the best of the community” is effectively one of our slogans.
Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Wednesday 15th of February 2017 07:53:39 AM Filed under Alex Larsson announced earlier the availability of a new stable update to the Flatpak 0.8 series of the open-source application sandboxing and distribution framework for Linux-based operating systems. Flatpak 0.8.3 is here about 19 days after the release of the second maintenance update to the series, and adds a small number of improvements, including better handling of extra-data errors, improvements to buildsystem=cmake builds, as well as the implementation of updated OpenGL support that would enable Flatpak to work with OpenGL drivers out of the box. Also: KDE Discover Making Progress With Flatpak Support
Mozilla Leftovers These Weeks in Dev-Tools, issue 3 These Weeks in Dev-Tools will keep you up to date with all the exciting dev tools news. We plan to have a new issue every few weeks. If you have any news you'd like us to report, please comment on the tracking issue. These Weeks in Firefox: Issue 31 Understanding Extension Permission Requests An extension is software developed by a third party that modifies how you experience the web in Firefox. Since they work by tapping into the inner workings of Firefox, but are not built by Mozilla, it’s good practice to understand the permissions they ask for and how to make decisions about what to install. While rare, a malicious extension can do things like steal your data or track your browsing across the web without you realizing it. We have been taking steps to reduce the risk of extensions, the most significant of which was moving to a WebExtensions architecture with the release of Firefox 57 last fall. The new APIs limit an extension’s ability to access certain parts of the browser and the information they process. We also have a variety of security measures in place, such as a review process that is designed to make it difficult for malicious developers to publish extensions. Nevertheless, these systems cannot guarantee that extensions will be 100% safe. Janitor project - Newsletter 10 We hope you’ve had a smooth start into the year, and wish you all the best in your life and projects. This is your recurrent burst of good news about Janitor. Switch from Chrome to Firefox in just a Few Minutes You’ve heard about how fast the new Firefox is. You’ve heard it’s made by people who want the web to be awesome for everyone. You like that, you’re curious to try, but you hesitate. Moving from Chrome to Firefox seems like work. Fussy, computer-y IT work. Ugh. ”What about all my “stuff”? I don’t want to set all this up again.” Glibc 2.27 and everything you didn't know about FSFE in a picture Glibc 2.27 Released With Many Optimizations, Support For Static PIE Executables Being released right on time is Glibc 2.27, version 2.27 of the GNU C Library. As we have been covering the past few months, exciting us a lot about Glibc 2.27 are many performance optimizations with a number of functions receiving AVX/FMA tuning and other performance tweaks particularly for x86_64. But even on the ARM64/AArch64 side are also some performance optimizations as well as for POWER and SPARC. GNU C Library 2.27 released The GNU C Library version 2.27 is now available. The GNU C Library is used as the C library in the GNU system and in GNU/Linux systems, as well as many other systems that use Linux as the kernel. Everything you didn't know about FSFE in a picture As FSFE's community begins exploring our future, I thought it would be helpful to start with a visual guide to the current structure. All the information I've gathered here is publicly available but people rarely see it in one place, hence the heading. There is no suggestion that anything has been deliberately hidden.
A Guide To Buying A Linux Laptop It goes without saying that if you go to a computer store downtown to buy a new laptop, you will be offered a notebook with Windows preinstalled, or a Mac. Either way, you’ll be forced to pay an extra fee – either for a Microsoft license or for the Apple logo on the back. On the other hand, you have the option to buy a laptop and install a distribution of your choice. However, the hardest part may be to find the right hardware that will get along nicely with the operating system. On top of that, we also need to consider the availability of drivers for the hardware. So what do you do? The answer is simple: buy a laptop with Linux preinstalled. Also: The Open-Source / Linux Letdowns Of 2016 Linux 4.10 RC2 Linux 4.10-rc2 Released To Kick Off Kernel Testing For 2017 Linus Torvalds has issued the second test release of the in-development Linux 4.10 kernel. Linux 4.10-rc2 marks the first kernel release of 2017. Linux 4.10-rc2 Hey, it's been a really slow week between Christmas Day and New Years Day, and I am not complaining at all. It does mean that rc2 is ridiculously and unrealistically small. I almost decided to skip rc2 entirely, but a small little meaningless release every once in a while never hurt anybody. So here it is. The only even remotely noticeable work here is the DAX fixups that really arguably should have been merge window material but depended on stuff during this merge window and were delayed until rc2 due to that. Even that wasn't big, and the rest is trivial small fixes. I'm expecting things to start picking up next week as people recover from the holidays. Linus
GNOME/GTK: Librsvg, BuildStream, GTK, GStreamer rsvg-bench - a benchmark for librsvg Librsvg 2.42.0 came out with a rather major performance regression compared to 2.40.20: SVGs with many transform attributes would slow it down. It was fixed in 2.42.1. We changed from using a parser that would recompile regexes each time it was called, to one that does simple string-based matching and parsing. When I rewrote librsvg's parser for the transform attribute from C to Rust, I was just learning about writing parsers in Rust. I chose lalrpop, an excellent, Yacc-like parser generator for Rust. It generates big, fast parsers, like what you would need for a compiler — but it compiles the tokenizer's regexes each time you call the parser. This is not a problem for a compiler, where you basically call the parser only once, but in librsvg, we may call it thousands of times for an SVG file with thousands of objects with transform attributes. So, for 2.42.1 I rewrote that parser using rust-cssparser. This is what Servo uses to parse CSS data; it's a simple tokenizer with an API that knows about CSS's particular constructs. This is exactly the kind of data that librsvg cares about. Today all of librsvg's internal parsers work using rust-cssparser, or they are so simple that they can be done with Rust's normal functions to split strings and such. BuildStream Hackfest and FOSDEM I also wanted to sum up a last minute BuildStream hackfest which occurred in Manchester just a week ago. Bloomberg sent some of their Developer Experience engineering team members over to the Codethink office in Manchester where the whole BuildStream team was present, and we split up into groups to plan upcoming coding sprints, land some outstanding work and fix some bugs. builders An idiom that has shown up in GTK4 development is the idea of immutable objects and builders. The idea behind an immutable object is that you can be sure that it doesn’t change under you, so you don’t need to track changes, you can expose it in your API without having to fear users of the API are gonna change that object under you, you can use it as a key when caching and last but not least you can pass it into multiple threads without requiring synchronization. Examples of immutable objects in GTK4 are GdkCursor, GdkTexture, GdkContentFormats or GskRenderNode. GTK+ hackfest, day 2 The second day of the GTK+ hackfest in Brussels started with an hour of patch review. We then went through scattered items from the agenda and collected answers to some questions. GTK+ 4.0 Targeted For Its Initial Release This Fall, GTK+ 5.0 Development To Follow A few days back I wrote about how GTK+ 4.0 is being talked about for release this year and now a bit more specific timeline is in place. The past few days prior to FOSDEM in Brussels was a GTK+ hackfest. Among the items discussed when not banging on code was a GTK+ 4.0 road-map and coming out of this event in Belgium is a more solid understanding now that the initial GTK+ 4.0 release will be targeted for the fall of this year. There isn't any firm release plan at this time but at GUADEC (taking place in Spain this summer) they will revisit their plans to verify they can still ship this fall. GStreamer has grown a WebRTC implementation Late last year, we at Centricular announced a new implementation of WebRTC in GStreamer. Today we're happy to announce that after community review, that work has been merged into GStreamer itself! The plugin is called webrtcbin, and the library is, naturally, called gstwebrtc. The implementation has all the basic features, is transparently compatible with other WebRTC stacks (particularly in browsers), and has been well-tested with both Firefox and Chrome. GStreamer Lands A WebRTC Plugin The GStreamer multimedia framework now has mainline support for WebRTC. WebRTC is the set of protocols/APIs for real-time audio/video communication over peer-to-peer connections. WebRTC is supported by all major web browsers and more while now there is support within GStreamer too. Kraft Moving to KDE Frameworks: Beta Release! Kraft is KDE/Qt based desktop software to manage documents like quotes and invoices in the small business. It focuses on ease of use through an intuitive GUI, a well chosen feature set and ensures privacy by keeping data local. Kraft is around for more than twelve years, but it has been a little quiet recently. However, Kraft is alive and kicking! I am very happy to announce the first public beta version of Kraft V. 0.80, the first Kraft version that is based on KDE Frameworks 5 and Qt 5.x.