Archive - Oct 2010

Tecumseh mixed its game up a bit more and scored two touchdowns against visiting Bedford but lost 50-15 against the undefeated Kicking Mules. The Indians (1-7 overall) remain at home and face Charlotte in the final game of the season.

It’s well into October and I’ve taken a couple of weeks to put my thoughts together on Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Each October I do this. It’s unavoidable. Everywhere I go I see pink. Even the endless NFL games my Dear Partner J watches flash pink all over. I go to the store to pick up groceries and there are displays advertising buy this pink item and support breast cancer or buy that pink item and support breast cancer.
For a long time I stood in the camp that the more we hear about it the better, but I’ve realized there is a tipping point and that some of the marketing is at odds with what it is trying to promote. For instance, I see pink candy for breast cancer awareness, which makes me think “Well, that’s nice and all, but sugar is no cancer survivor’s friend.” Then I see pink pizza boxes or, better yet, pink buckets of fried chicken and I think, “Well, that’s nice but didn’t my oncologist say that eating right, which doesn’t include eating lots of saturated fats and starches, and exercising will go a long way in helping me ward off a second bout of breast cancer?”
I suppose it really is a small price to pay for the abundance of awareness. In fact, I can think of no other disease that gets so much play. Just recently, I spent a morning with Amanda Pardee and Kari Mattson, who lost their father to Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gerhig’s Disease. They are working hard to get the word out about that devastating disease in hopes of finding at least a treatment, if not a cure. All the breast cancer hoopla has surely worked in my favor. I’m one of the lucky 25 to 30 percent of breast cancer survivors to be HER2+. Back before 2001, when a wonderful drug called Herceptin came onto the market, HER2+ meant for a poor prognosis. Now, a few extra days in the chemo spa means I have a fighting chance of never hearing the words “You have cancer” again.

Tecumseh’s varsity girls swim and dive team found itself in an uncomfortable situation on Thursday, Oct. 7, with a strong Saline team staying one stroke ahead of the Indians all night to record a sound 132-54 victory.

The Hornets rode the waves at Tecumseh’s Community Pool to first place finishes in 10-of-12 events but the Indians were able to record a few highlights during the evening. Tecumseh sophomore Rachel Waite placed first in two events, winning the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.97 and the 100-yard freestyle in 56.19.

In one-meter diving, Marissa Martin totaled 185.45 points to place second behind Saline’s Lindsay Gauche with a score of 223.25. Tecumseh’s other competing diver, Sarah Kelly, placed fourth in the event with a score of 167.80.

The Indians had second place finishes in all three relays. Tecumseh placed second in the 200-yard medley relay with the team of Allie Merritt, Waite, Kelley Marlene and Dominique Shelle clocking in at 2:01.44. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Danielle Sloan, Nicole Greene, Kelley Marlene and Nicole Collins placed second with a time of 1:51.55 while the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Waite, Sloan, Greene and Merritt placed second in 4:02.33.

Sloan also placed third in the 100-yard freestyle while Nicole Greene was fourth in 1:01.62. Merritt placed fourth in the 100-yard butterfly (2:12.14) and the 100-yard backstroke (1:08.20) while Karly Smith placed fourth for the Indians in the 200-yard IM (2:42.78). Kelley Marlene was fourth for Tecumseh in the 100-yard butterfly (1:08.37). Tecumseh’s Kelsey Smith placed fourth in the 500-yard freestyle (6:15.95) while Rachel Malcolm was fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:20.12). Tecumseh’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of Elizabeth Becker, Madison See, Kelsi Malcolm and Kelsey Smith placed fourth with a time of 2:04.96.

The Indians compete next at home on Thursday at 6 p.m. against Adrian and Monroe at the Tecumseh Community Pool.

A big 54-6 varsity football win at Whitmore Lake on Friday, Oct. 8, improved Clinton’s Tri-County Conference record to 4-1 and its overall record to 4-3.

It was the fourth straight victory of the season for the Redskins after opening up with three straight losses.

Clinton’s offense went right to work against the Trojans, scoring 21 points in the first quarter and adding another 20 points for a huge, 41-0 first half lead.

The Redskins gained 464 yards during the evening with 264 yards coming on 26 rushes.

The Redskins added just one touchdown in the third and another in the fourth quarter to secure the big victory.

Whitmore Lake scored its only touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Hayden Craig recorded three touchdown passes and rushed for another to lead the Redskins to the win.

Kevin Cook had seven carries for125 yards and a touchdown for Clinton while Alex Karapas ran five times for 52 yards and a touchdown. Nate Dreslinski recorded a 70-yard kickoff return for a Clinton touchdown.

Josh Sanborn had three receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns while Nate Dreslinski had three catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. Casey Wert had two receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown.

Clinton plays in its homecoming contest against Morenci on Friday, Oct. 15.

By Mickey Alvarado

Adrian’s varsity football team won the Southeastern Conference White Division outright after handing Tecumseh’s Indians a 55-7 loss at Indian Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8.

The Maples are one of the toughest teams in the conference with a record of 5-0 and an overall record of 7-0 and they didn’t allow the Indians much when it came time to punch the ball through the end zone.

The Maples, on the other hand, were more bite than bark, baring their teeth early in the rivalry contest and scoring two touchdowns in the opening quarter on short runs by Marrcell Grayer.

After stopping the Indians just 15 yards away from Adrian’s end zone, Maple quarterback Sebastian Johnson added another touchdown on a keeper in the second quarter for a 21-0 advantage. He finished the contest with five carries for 25 yards and completed 10-of-12 passes for another 149 yards.

The Maples totaled 253 rushing yards on 30 carries while the Indians were limited to 183 rushing yards and 49 yards from passing.

Tecumseh’s Matt Napieralski scored the Indians only touchdown of the game on a pass from Brad Vannatter in the second quarter. Napieralski was sidelined during the early season with a broken leg so it was a special touchdown for the Indians’ homecoming king.

Adrian added another touchdown with 45 seconds left in the second quarter with Grayer rushing into the end zone from just two yards out to give Adrian a 28-7 lead at halftime.

Cody Nolan hit the end zone on a 27-yard pass from Johnson and a good kick after by Ryan Dempsey gave the Maples a 42-7 lead with 9:26 left in the third quarter.

Vannatter completed 3-of-7 passes for 47-yards with two being intercepted. One was returned 78 yards for a touchdown by Adrian’s Tyler Frank with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter. The Maples then held a 48-7 lead after missing their extra point kick.

By DEB WUETHRICH

Members of the Tecumseh School Board held a discussion on Monday night regarding an offer from Lutheran Social Services of Michigan to purchase the Administration Services building and convert the facility into a senior citizen complex. The group would utilize HUD funding if they were successful in obtaining the grants. The board has been awaiting an appraisal on the building before moving ahead with any decision.

Supt. Mike McAran said just prior to the meeting, he had been given a “rough” appraisal over the phone by Affinity Valuation, who would be finalizing the process by the end of the week.

“The rough estimate, based on the fact it’s 33,000 square feet, at $20-28 per square foot, is $600,000,” said McAran. “The hard part is finding another building to compare this to, another building this size and this age.” McAran said a probable selling price could be between the $400,000-$500,000 appraisal price for its worth on the market. “Whether you can get that or not is the question,” he said.

Louis J. Prues, Vice President, Planning and Business Development of the nonprofit Lutheran Social Services (LSS) of Michigan, told the board in September that they would consider taking the building for the cost of moving present occupants out and into new quarters. He urged a decision prior to November so his group could make application to HUD within its application timeline.

Board President Dr. Edward Tritt said board members are stewards of the community’s assets in its school district, and needed to be making decisions with that awareness.

“The number one question is how much would maintaining this building run, and what’s it going to cost for the remodeling over at the high school,” he said.