Columnists

Some head coaches may shy away from surrounding themselves with equally successful assistant coaches, not wanting to look over their shoulders. Dave Garcia is not one of those coaches.

All Heidi James has ever wanted to do on the softball field is pitch. She started out pitching at age 8 or 9 and pitched every year since.

The end is drawing near for one of my favorite seasons. The weather sort of postponed our mushroom season, but several people have had some good luck this last week. I had a couple of friends drop by and give me some tasters. They were so good. I just wished the season lasted a little longer. I had some in the morning with egg and cheese and then in the evening on a big cheeseburger. It doesn’t seem what recipe you use, they make a meal so much better. The sad thing is, my sources tell me, that the season is just about over. Guess we’ll just have to wait for next year.

I’ve seen countless injuries and scary moments as a sports fan over the years.

I’ve met a lot of great kids covering sports in Bureau County the past 26 and a half years and become friends with many of them, now, who are all grown up. One of the first kids I met when I arrived in Bureau County was Danny Gelsomino of Princeton.

As I drove around Princeton Tuesday, I was totally amazed by all the flowering trees and bushes that I saw. Just a week ago when it was much cooler and rainy, there was hardly a bud on any tree. Yellow, white and purple can now be seen on almost every block. I am a little sad because I know they won’t be around very long, but we all can enjoy them this week.