NORMAL – Normal Community High’s boys basketball team found themselves down early in their Big 12 Conference matchup against Bloomington High on Feb. 5, but managed to overtake the Purple Raiders en route to a 63-50 win, sweeping the series between the two teams for the season.

NCHS (15-8, 6-3 in Big 12 after this game) had a brief early lead, 4-2 on a basket by Kyle Dierkes and a pair of free throws by Nathan Haynes. But BHS responded with a layup by Nate Cannell, and Timothy Manns’ going 2-for-4 from the free throw line after being twice fouled by the Ironmen. That gave BHS a 6-4 lead with 3:09 left in the first quarter.

But a three from Kevin Bischoff gave NCHS a 7-6 lead, which they expanded to 9-8 on a basket by Dierkes with 36.8 seconds left in the quarter, and carried that lead into the second quarter.

From that point on, NCHS led the remainder of the way, starting the second quarter with an 8-0 run, starting with back-to-back unanswered deuces by Haynes, topped off by a three by Bischoff, giving the Ironmen a 17-8 lead, and forcing BHS to take its first timeout with 5:41 left in the quarter. A second Bischoff three with 3:46 in the same quarter helped increase NCHS’ lead to 27-15 at halftime.

Although Nate Caldwell was able to sink three deuces in the third quarter for BHS, it also turned out to be a cold-shooting free throw period for him as well. Despite being fouled by NCHS twice, Caldwell went 0-for-4 in the quarter from the line, as NCHS increased its lead going into the fourth quarter, 44-29.

Dierkes led NCHS’ scoring on the night with 15 points. He was followed by Bischoff’s 12, 9 of those on a trio of threes.

Manns led BHS (8-13, 5-5 in Big 12 after this game) in scoring with 22 points, followed by Caldwell’s 11.

“The first time we played them this season, it was a 39-36 score (that NCHS won), (and) this game was a little more offense-oriented,” NCHS head coach Dave Witzig said. “So you can tell both teams improved on the offensive end.

“I thought we did a good job of getting the ball into the post,” Witzig said. “We have a pretty tall team and it’s an advantage for us, and our guys did a nice job of finding our big men.

All 13 players took to the floor at some point in the contest – a point of pride for Witzig. “We want to give everybody a feel for a basketball game, especially with a big crowd like that. (We wanted to) put all 13 guys in and give them a taste of it. We shared the ball, did a good job of finding the open man, and getting a win tonight.”

“We needed to hit crucial free throws and we didn’t do that,” said BHS head coach Peter Goff. “We let their big kids have (shots) at will, and (Bischoff) had some big threes in the first half that kept us an arm’s length away.”

NORMAL – The big question following the girls’ basketball game between Normal Community West High and Normal Community High turned out to be, “Can fans expect a fourth game between these two teams in the Illinois High School Association Regionals later this month?”

What with NCHS winning a 51-42 contest in November, and Wildcats winning a 47-44 game at the State Farm Holiday Classic in December, fans at this game on Feb. 4 were looking to see their team move in front in the win column when they visited NCHS.

Fans at this game got that wish when West beat the Lady Ironmen, 56-50. Regional pairings, to be announced in the next week by IHSA, will determine if these two teams will play a fourth game before the season ends.

NCHS (15-11, 6-5 in Big 12) seemed to own the game from the beginning, jumping out to a fast 4-0 lead on a basket by Molly Etheridge and two free throws by Kristi Schmidt as the game began. But a deuce by West’s Erin McGinnis and trey by Brandi Reed gave the Wildcats a 5-4 lead with 5:07 in the first quarter. A basket by Lauren Berry and free throw by Ashley Reeves gave West an 8-4 advantage.

But baskets by NCHS’ Katy Sebring and Luci Weis gave the Lady Ironmen a 9-8 lead with 3:04 left in the quarter, which they increased to 13-10, entering the second quarter.

A basket by Sebring and free throw by Holley Varner stretched NCHS’ second quarter lead to 16-10 at the 16:22 mark before the Wildcats made substantial moves to take the lead.

A basket by McGinnis at 4:36 before halftime tied the game at 16-all. That was followed up by two unanswered baskets by Sara Motsinger to put West in front, 20-17. A trey by Anne Brown pushed West into owning a 23-18 halftime lead.

Two free throws and a basket by Molly Etheridge opened the third quarter for the Lady Ironmen, pulling them within two of West, 24-22. But baskets by Berry and Motsinger allowed the Wildcats to escape and increase their lead to 30-24 with 3:42 left in the quarter.

West (18-6, 10-1 in Big 12) would own a 34-30 lead going into the fourth quarter.

West would get one three each from Brown and Reed in the fourth quarter, helping push the Wildcats to a 43-34 lead with 3:57 left in the contest.

But fouls called against West in front of NCHS’ home crowd in the last period would send four separate Lady Ironmen players to the free throw line. As a result, Etheridge, Schmidt, Varner, and Seibring would make a combined 8-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter, but the effort would fall short in the end.

If these two teams square off for a fourth time, it would be in the Class 3A Regional at Minooka on Feb. 16.

Motsinger lead West’s scoring effort with 13 points, followed by Berry’s 11. Seibring led all scorers with 16 points, for NCHS. She was followed in double digits for the Lady Ironmen by Ethridge’s 14 and 11 from Schmidt.

“We focused on our goal of not allowing (opponents) to score more than 10 points per quarter,” said West head coach Angie Codron. “As long as we keep meeting that goal each quarter (we play), we’ll be successful.

While Codron said she wasn’t sure that her team had game plans tailored against specific team players, “we (leave our players with) the idea that ‘opponents’ have the ball” – that’s regardless of who actually physically handles it.

“We turned the ball over too many times in the first half, but we did a nice job on the boards,” explained NCHS head coach Megan Schwefel. “I think we burned too much energy in the first half. It was a competitive game, our kids played hard, and that’s all you can ask for.”

West’s junior varsity squad started the night off by beating NCHS’ JV, 41-34.

NORMAL – Normal Council members voted 4-1 to pass a resolution authorizing approving an agreement with Normal-based consulting firm The Hile Group, Inc. for facilitation services relating to the Main Street Task Force.

In 2007, Council members approved a redevelopment plan for Main Street. One recommendation made in the report was for Normal and Bloomington to adopt a Form-Based Code which the two communities would be able to adopt in an effort to establish standards of uniformity with relation to items such as development and signage along the Main Street corridor.

By early last year, both communities began exploring how to put the form based code into practice. Residents and business owners, as well as the McLean County Chamber of Commerce, began raising questions concerning about the form based code.

The Main Street Commission elected to look for a facilitator to help an ad hoc committee set up by the Commission with their discussions concerning form based code.

To find the facilitator, the Commission submitted a request for proposals, and selected The Hile Group.

Under terms of the agreement with The Hile Group, they are charging a flat fee of $25,000. Under the agreement, responsibility for paying the fee would be split with Normal and Bloomington, each community contributing $4,500.

The remaining members of The Main Street Commission – Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and the McLean County Chamber of Commerce — would each contribute $4,000 toward paying the tab.

The Commission has asked that the Town of Normal serve as fiscal agent, responsible for handling the payments due The Hile Group.

Council member Jason Chambers, an attorney, recused himself from discussion of the matter, and did not participate in the vote.

Council member Adam Nielsen reminded Council members discussions concerning signage standards in the corridor have gone on for a couple of years with no agreement for numerous reasons.

Concerning this matter, Nielsen said, “Somewhere on the path, I fell off the bandwagon. I couldn’t support (paying for) this.” He added he hoped alternatives could be found to the form based code.

“If common ground on (the subject of) form based code can’t be found, then alternatives need to be sought,” said Council member Jeff Fritzen.

Council member Sonja Reece said having committees that study community improvements are useful. She cited the committees who studied bike trails and proposed bike routes for the Town, as an example.

But, Reece said, where committees contribute to studies, Councils like Normal’s, and Bloomington City Council, are charged with making policy. She said there is no guarantee Normal Council will vote to approve anything brought to their agenda by the Main Street Commission.

City Manager Mark Peterson said he wanted to make sure the Commission did not look as though its work was driven by Town staff.

Mayor Chris Koos said Normal and Bloomington will each appoint three members to the task force. Those persons will be an at-large member, a person who owns a business within the corridor, a resident living within the corridor. The other three groups involved will appoint one member each, and the McLean County Chamber of Commerce will appoint three people to join the task force.

Recommendations from the task force are expected by August. All recommendations will first go to the Main Street Commission, then have to be approved by both Normal Town Council and the Bloomington City Council.

At its Feb. 15 meeting, Normal Council members will be asked to decide if it wished to continue working with the guidelines that are in place for the corridor or whether they would prefer to scrap the guidelines, which have existed for almost two years.

“How long can you spend studying something?,” Nielsen asked reporters rhetorically after the meeting. “How long can you create a cloud of uncertainty surrounding a major segment of your community?

“There are people who own businesses and property (in that area),” Nielsen said. “Basically, we’re tying it all up by this delay. So, I think it is time to say something, and hopefully, speed this process along.

Nielsen said he thinks Normal “(bit) off more than it can chew” by agreeing to approve the resolution. He said he believes Main St. could be improved by dividing it up into separate unique areas as has already been done with a Tax Increment Financing districts, using TIF as a means of promoting development along the street.

Sales Tax Increase Approved: Council member unanimously approved a one-quarter percent increase in the Town’s sales tax, effective July 1. With the Council’s unanimous vote, local sales tax will jump from the current 7.5 percent to 7.75 percent.

Council member Cheryl Gaines reminded Council members it has been nine years since the Town had a sales tax hike.

“The important thing is, we’ve made cuts (in the Town budget) because we saw the writing on the wall (about the current recession),” Gaines said.

Endicott Appointed To Human Relations Commission: It was announced at the meeting that Amy Endicott, 716 Normal Ave., has been appointed to the Human Relations Commission. Endicott will be completing the term of Laurie Bergner, who recently resigned from the Commission. Ms. Endicott’s term will expire in March 2013.

Omnibus Agenda Items Approved: Omnibus agenda items approved by the Council included:

• Approval of the minutes of the reconvened public hearing of Jan. 19, 2010.

• Approval of the minutes of the Council’s regular meeting held Jan.19, 2010.

• Approval of Town of Normal expenditures for payment as of Jan. 27, 2010.

• A motion to support the Central Illinois Regional Broadband Network (CIRBN) Initiative.

• A resolution authorizing the filing of the Town’s 2010-2015 Consolidated Plan and 2010-2011 Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding.

• A resolution authorizing payment to Bloomington-based Clark Dietz, Inc. in the amount of $138,394.75 for additional work performed on the Uptown Normal Street and Streetscape Project.

• A resolution waiving the formal bidding process and authorizing the purchase of three newspaper dispensing devices for the Uptown area from Sho-Rack by Kaspar Wire Works, Inc. of Shiner, Texas, in an amount not to exceed $18,000.

• An ordinance amending the Town Purchasing Manual to require the payment of prevailing wage on all Public Works projects.

• An ordinance amending Section 4.9 of the Town Liquor Code, adding a mention of a $100 fee for license holders who wish to pay their annual license fees in two installments.

• An ordinance amending Section 7.21-1 of the Town Municipal Code – Sewer Rates. Effective April 1, 2011, the system maintenance fee charged to residents on a bi-monthly basis will increase from $1.50 to $2.50.

• An ordinance amending Section 17.10, Section 23.11-1, Section 25.16-3, and Section 25.16.5 of the Town Municipal Code for various fees and charges.

• An ordinance amending Section 25.9 of the Town Municipal Code to increase the Municipal Retailer and Service Occupation Tax.

NORMAL – Following Pekin Community High’s game against Normal West High here Saturday night, Coach Dave Mott said his team played a team he described as being “long and athletic.”

While that may describe the members of the team, in some ways, it also described the game between the Dragons and the Wildcats itself – Normal West showed athleticism in their scoring, thus making the game a long one for the Dragons, who lost the non-conference contest, 49-36.

“(West’s) tall guys all could shoot threes,” Mott said.

In fact, Austin Stewart, Bradley Hallstein, Tyler Bell, Taylor Scheuermann each contributed at least one three each to the contest, with Stewart’s 21 points, including one trey leading the Wildcats on the night. Bell followed in double digits, with 15 points.

“We did not do a very good job of locating Stewart and Bell on the arc, even though we knew they could shoot it (from there) very well,” Mott said.

“But let’s face it: they were tall, and in spots, very athletic, and I think that wore us down,” Mott said.

An exchange of treys opened the contest with West’s Bell firing the first salvo to open the game at 6:49, followed by Caleb Huss’ 3-point reply 30 seconds later. Pekin’s defense occupied the paint enough to force West to employ outside shots, in a quarter that ended with the Wildcats owning a 9-6 lead going into the second quarter.

Aaron King’s two baskets at the beginning of the second quarter helped Pekin pull in front of West, 12-11 with 6:10 in the second quarter, but a three by Stewart at 3:43 until halftime pushed the Wildcats forward, 18-16, on their way to a 22-17 halftime lead.

Stewart scored three baskets for West (14-8) fairly quickly almost from the beginning of the third quarter, pushing West in front 29-21. A trey by Bell, followed by Taylor Scheuermann’s two free throws helped push West toward a 42-23 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Mott installed fresh troops in the fourth quarter for Pekin (6-15), to try giving younger players floor time while attempting to cut the deficit. Nathan Taphorn and Tom Lohmann made the most of the opportunity. Taphorn opened the last stanza with a basket and free throw, cutting West’s lead to 42-26 at 7:13, and Lohmann’s layup at 5:22 cut West’s lead to 45-28.

“In the first half, I thought our older players were competing hard,” Mott said. “(But) the start of the third quarter killed us. That was it. In the first three or four minutes of the third quarter, the game was over.

“I was just disappointed that we weren’t more competitive to start that third quarter,” Mott said.

Despite his team’s record to this point, Mott said he still has a goal of making sure the Dragons make it to – and through – their regional game, come tournament time.

West head coach Brian Cupples also saw the third quarter’s action as “being the key to the game.”

Cupples said his team “saw some things that (Pekin) was doing to us defensively, and our defense was really good for us the whole night, which gave us the lead, kept us in the lead, and then, helped extend it, and then we executed a little bit offensively in the third quarter.”

PCHS’ junior varsity began the night on a down note, losing to West, 36-28. The Dragons resume conference action against Morton Tuesday night.

Relay For Life of McLean County is pleased to introduce its Honorary Male, Honorary Female Adult, and Honorary Youth Survivors for its 2010 Relay. The following three individuals were introduced at a “Kickoff” dinner for this year’s Relay, held at the DoubleTree Hotel and Conference Center, Bloomington, on Jan. 23.

Meet Our Honorary Female Adult Survivor…Carla Painter: Carla, Bloomington, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in May five years ago. She is celebrating three years of her Cancer being in remission. That is wonderful, considering hers was not a typical cancer for someone her age, so her treatment options were a challenge. Although her oncologist was in Chicago, where she had multiple surgeries, Carla said she considers herself lucky that she was able to receive treatments locally. Carla’s first Relay was seven years ago, to honor her father who she had lost to Cancer.

Meet Our Honorary Male Adult Survivor…Greg Jonas: Greg, Bloomington, was diagnosed with a Thymoma, which occurs in the thymus gland, and, in Greg’s case, triggered a condition known as Myasthenia Gravis. In 1999, the Thymoma came back throughout his chest cavity. He went through extensive radiation and chemotherapy, and has since then been Cancer free. Greg has been participating in Relay For Life since 2006, spending two years on a Relay team from Livingston County before joining the Survivor Committee of Relay For Life of McLean County.

Meet Our Honorary Youth Survivor…Rachel Trimpe: Five-year-old Rachel, daughter of Tim and Vicki Trimpe, Normal, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, specifically a germ cell tumor, in September 2005, at the age of 11 months. Her treatment consisted of surgery to remove the tumor and her right ovary and fallopian tube, and three rounds of chemotherapy. She received all of her treatment in Peoria through St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Thanks to the treatments she received, Rachel has been Cancer-free for four years. She has been attending our Relay as a survivor ever since she was diagnosed. Tim and Vicki have spent several years being part of Relay teams.

Goals that Relay For Life of McLean County has set for 2010 are to have 270 teams of [up to 15 people each] at this year’s event. This year’s Relay For Life of McLean County will be held from 12Noon to 12Noon on June 25-26, 2010, at Normal Community West High School. [Other goals for 2010 include seeing 500 survivors attend our event, and to raise $630,000.]

In 2009, Relay For Life of McLean County raised over $602,000. Since it began in McLean County in 1995, Relay For Life of McLean County has raised over $5 Million to fight Cancer. We are looking for more teams to help us join in the fight!

More information may be obtained by contacting either Steve Robinson at 309-242-7838 or Tricia Krzesinski 309-242-4957.