NewsTribune_IV Woman_022424

wom an

Making a difference the Maitri way

ALSO:

• Holli Rapp, a positive role model for children

• A professional disc golfer shares her love for the sport

• Orange recipes to brighten your winter

Celebrating Women in Sports

I’ve always loved participating in sports and being physically active. I went to an extremely small grade school where there weren’t many options for girls who wanted to play sports. I signed up for volleyball and cheerleading as soon as I was able. And that was all the Senachwine Grade School in Putnam offered in terms of girls and sports.

Times have changed for today’s girls. They often have many options for joining various sports teams year-round. It’s easier than ever to join a team and find a sport you love.

My teenage daughter has spent many years playing softball, volleyball, and running cross country.

Even though she gave up basketball and track after grade school ended, she enjoyed competing in those sports as well.

Of all the things my daughter has accomplished, I think she may be proudest of her years as an athlete. She’s become mentally tough, has learned how to work through injuries and disappointments, and has realized she can do things she once believed she couldn’t, like running three miles without stopping and hitting an over-the-fence home run.

All girls should have the opportunity to play sports. They benefit in so many ways, including increased physical fitness, a greater appreciation for what their bodies

can do, more confidence, and better time management.

After you leave school, you have to look harder to find ways to stay involved in sports, but the opportunities are there if you seek them out. This magazine issue has two stories about women who are pursuing their love of sports in their adult years. I hope you love reading these inspiring articles as much as I did.

Best wishes,

Shannon Serpette Niche Editor

Variety is the Spice of Life

Holli Rapp enjoys playing many roles

Story by Brandon LaChance

When you ask Holli Rapp what she does, she could answer with multiple options, and they’d all be accurate.

“I usually say I do a lot of things. I try to say that I do a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” Rapp said. “I’m an activities di-

rector at a campground, a teacher, an athletic director, a coach, a referee, on a school board. Most of all, I like to say I’m an amazing human being that tries to make everyone better each and every day.”

Rapp, a 1996 Mendota High School graduate, has played a lot of roles.

After playing sports for the Trojans, she coached in Amboy, St. Bede, and a long list of junior highs, and was the head coach of the LaMoille

girls basketball team. She taught at Northwest Elementary School in LaSalle for seven years, was a newspaper sports editor, is currently on the Mendota school board, and is a referee.

As the athletic director of Lostant and Tonica for the last two years, she has a job and duties she is thankful for from the time she wakes up until it’s time for bed.

“We have a great administration. Our shared

Holli Rapp (fourth from left) takes a photo with the volleyball team before volleyball camp begins at Tonica Grade School.

superintendent is great. The students and their parents are great. They’re all great people,” Rapp said. “I’m very blessed and very thankful. I get to spend time in two beautiful high school gyms for junior high.

“I didn’t know I’d be a shared athletic director for Tonica and Lostant. But I had the dream to be an athletic director. I have a recreational degree, and I work at a campground during the summer. I wanted to be an athletic director, and I’ve really enjoyed it,” she said. “There are some long days when I’m leaving my driveway at 5 a.m., running to Tonica, to Lostant, then back to Tonica. Then there is a practice and games. That is truly what I want to do. I enjoy it, and you can see the student-athletes are excited as well.”

This year is an exciting one for the Lostant-Tonica or Tonica-Lostant co-op. A new mascot has been voted on and selected. New jerseys have been purchased. The student-athletes and their parents have forgotten the schools were rivals. Now they live by the co-op’s moto, “There has been a lot going on. We’re getting a new mascot as the two schools together are known as the Cobras,” said Rapp of the two schools that haven’t had a separate sporting event in two years. “We had a process where both junior highs picked their top four.

Then the student population from both schools were able to vote. The student vote chose the Cobras,” she said.

“Each individual school will keep their mascot. Tonica will remain the Braves, and Lostant will stay the Comets. When they come together, they’ll be the Cobras. The C and the O are from the Comets, and the B, R, and A are from the Braves. The S is from both. The school colors are taken from both schools. We’ll be blue, green, and black.”

The uniforms for all sports wore a price tag

of $15,000. They used it as a teaching lesson of hard work as the schools manned and operated five tournaments and three regional playoff brackets to raise money.

“I think I have always worked hard because my parents (Dave and Linda Rapp) instilled in me that you have to keep dreaming and you have to remember things are not given to you,” Rapp said. “One of my parents graduated high school and the other got their GED. They’ve always worked hard. My

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

Caleb Chambers has his photo taken with Lostant-Tonica Athletic Director Holli Rapp after he finished third at the Oglesby Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot. Before Chambers, it had been at least 12 years since a Lostant athlete competed in the contest.

dad worked at Caterpillar Inc. for 37 years, where he drove from Mendota to Aurora. He hardly ever missed a day.”

“It’s always been instilled in me that you work hard. That’s what I’m trying to teach to these student-athletes at both Tonica and Lostant,” she added.

Tonica, serving kindergarten through eighth grade, has around 130 students and Lostant, also serving kindergarten through eighth grade, has 57 students.

Lostant is a feeder school of LaSalle-Peru High School, and Tonica

is a feeder school of Putnam County High School with the option of paying the differential in tuition costs to attend L-P.

From the beginning, it was Rapp’s mission to unify the Braves and the Comets into the Cobras.

“Right now, we’re split between which conference we’re in, but we’re going to move out of the Prairie Conference and move into Tonica’s version of the Vermillion Conference,” she said.

“I feel fortunate to have a group of 11 eighth graders for volleyball and eight boys basketball players. They’re great kids. They have great parents with great parent support. They’ve seen the highs and lows of both programs.

Now, they’re experiencing the positives within the co-op. These families have put in a lot of time and effort. Some of the parents have been on the school board, still on the school board, or are long-time volunteers. Both schools have good kids who come from good families,” Rapp said.

They even wear the new mentality on the back of their shirts:

“No one is bigger than the game.”

“Be humble or the game will humble you.”

“Believe in yourself. Be confident, not arrogant.”

“Put your nose down, work hard, and let your talent speak for itself.”

“We’re one for each other.”

MAKE GRANT REGIONAL HEALTH CENTER YOUR FIRST CHOICE FOR ENT CARE

If you are experiencing ear, nose or throat health conditions that are affecting your quality of life - you can turn to our knowledgeable and experienced ENT specialist Dr. Dale Chilson. You might recognize him as he served the Peru, Illinois region for over 20 years. He now sees patients at Grant Regional Health Center in Lancaster, Wisconsin. Trusted care is worth the extra mile!

• Sinus surgery

• Adenoid and tonsil removal

• Ear surgery (ear tubes, repair holes in ear drum)

• Removal of facial cancers and reconstructive surgery

• Hoarseness, swallowing issues and throat cancer screening

From a Game to a Possible Career

Lexi Marx began disc golf during COVID-19 and is now in the professional ranks

Story by Brandon LaChance

During much of the year, Lexi Marx is in a classroom or on a court as a physical education and health teacher and the sophomore girls’ basketball coach at St. Bede Academy.

When school isn’t in session, however, Marx can often be found on a disc golf course.

“I started playing disc golf in 2020 when I was at Illinois State University during COVID-19 when there wasn’t anything else to do,” said Marx, a 24-yearold LaSalle-Peru Township High School graduate who currently lives in Peru. “I wasn’t really playing super serious at the time. I played in my first tournament at the end of 2021. I played one tournament in November 2021 when it was super cold outside, and then I played in tournaments throughout 2022 and 2023. So, about two years of practice and two

Disc golf and Lexi Marx first connected during COVID-19 in 2020 when there wasn’t much to do. She found the sport, found a love and a passion, and has moved up the rankings and collected trophies. She began tournament play in 2021 at the FA3 level (Female Amateur 3) and was in FA1 by 2023, where she won 11 of the 25 tournaments she participated in. She ended 2023 with a few FPO (Female Professional Open) events where she accepted cash prizes. This means she is locked in as a pro and cannot step back into the amateur ranks.

years of tournaments.”

She developed a deep love of the game right from the start.

“I feel like disc golf was something that brought out my competitive edge like bas-

ketball did when I was playing. It’s something to look forward to in competing and challenging myself. I haven’t really played a sport like disc golf. I wasn’t really into individual sports. I always played

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

team sports, so I thought it was really interesting because it’s a me-against-me aspect,” she said.

“There isn’t anyone else to blame for a bad day except me. It was a different type of competitive edge. It was cool to learn about myself and learn things to mentally challenge myself to give myself grace, when need be, but to also push myself to the highest standard,” she added.

Marx has played sports since she can remember.

While growing up, she played volleyball, softball, and basketball (her favorite), and then went to Spring Creek Golf Course with her dad every Monday, where she found ball golf interesting. She has casually played tennis and other sports, but none of them connected like disc golf.

“Calling it ball golf is something the disc golfers do because if we just say golf, no one knows if we’re talking about golf with a ball or disc golf,” Marx said. “When I say it, people will respond, ‘What?’, and I have to explain to them that I’m talking about golf with a ball. It’s funny.”

When Marx put her name into disc golf tournaments, she started at the FA3 level (Female Amateur 3). The lowest amateur division is FA4 and it goes up to FA1, and then the professional division is FPO (Female Professional Open).

Marx won her first FA3 tournament.

She was then forced into FA2 before she felt she was ready for the push, as there needs to be three people to make a card for official scoring and there weren’t enough players at the FA3 level.

However, she is thankful for the push now as she played FA2 throughout 2022 and played at FA1 during

2023, where she won 11 of the 25 tournaments she played in.

Marx’s worst finish in 2023 was fifth at the Professional Disc Golf Association Junior and Amateur Disc Golf World Championships in Peoria. Although she didn’t win the play on the course, Marx did win the distance competition.

“It was a really big achievement for me. Looking back, placing fifth in the world, it lets me know that I belong in the professional division because even though I didn’t play my best, I still placed high,” Marx said. “Sometimes getting second or third in the FA1, not playing well, shows me I can play at the professional level.

“It was really cool because I got the points built up

to qualify for the amateur worlds and it was in Illinois. It’s not in Illinois every year; it switches from year to year all over the United States. It’s just crazy that the year I was ready to play in the tournament and had the points to play in it, it was at Peoria, Illinois. I thought that was really cool,” she said.

Toward the end of 2023, Marx graduated out of the amateur ranks and into the FPO. Since she accepted cash prizes during the FPO events, she can no longer participate in amateur tournaments.

For her, the climb up the ranks is exactly what she wanted.

“I am now classified as a professional. I will play professional tournaments and will hopefully take

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

After being sponsored by Disc Craft Underground, Marx is sponsored in 2024 by Pro Team Discmania, a larger endorsement company based in Colorado that has added Marx to the United States Pro Team.

Marx

FROM PAGE 9

home some bigger wins this year,” Marx said. “Sometimes, I have to think about it in a positive way. If I improved this much, so fast, what does this sport have to offer me for the rest of my career? But also, at other times, it can be frustrating because I’m playing people who have been playing for 12, 13, 14 years. Sometimes, I may throw the disc further than them or may have more potential than them, but they have consistency and the confidence built in their game, whereas I’m still trying to change.”

To maximize her potential, Marx keeps trying to refine her game.

“This offseason, I’ve been working on my form and doing different things. Although I can throw the disc far, there is always room for improvement. I’m trying to get better, better, and better every year. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to a spot where I won’t want to stop improving,” she said.

Marx appreciates the growth of the sport and the rise of awareness in the Illinois Valley. The Illinois Valley Disc Golf League, where Marx plays once a week, has raised money to plant trees along local courses and has added new courses in the area, including Starved Rock Disc Golf Course in Oglesby and, coming soon, a course at Rotary Park in LaSalle.

With her jump from amateur to professional status also came a jump

in sponsorship. Before 2024, Marx was using discs and sporting gear from Discraft Underground, which is known as a street team.

Now, Marx is a part of Pro Team Discmania, which is a bigger brand based in Colorado.

If everything else Marx has accomplished in disc golf in such a short time doesn’t stand out, Pro Team Discmania reaching out to her to join the Pro Team North America should.

“I could always say, ‘I could of, would of, should of picked up disc golf earlier,’ or ‘What if I started 10 years earlier, where would I be now?’” Marx said. “But I’m happy I picked it up when I did. I’m still young enough. I think I could make this a career one day.”

Marx may be a physical education and health teacher and a sophomore girls’ basketball coach at St. Bede Academy, but after the final bell rings or during summer break, Marx is competing in disc golf tournaments.

Lexi

Helping the Maitri Way

Maitri brings much-needed services to the Illinois Valley

Story & Photos by Shannon Serpette

When Kelly Jones founded Maitri Path to Wellness, she had one clear goal in mind – providing compassionate recovery and mental health care services to those in need, and in a way that they could stay near their families in the Illinois Valley.

Although the Illinois Valley clearly has its share of substance abuse issues, when people needed help with those is-

sues, they would have to leave the area to seek treatment. That meant leaving their friends and families, and Jones knew the region needed more options than that.

“I worked in the jail systems before I opened anything,” she said. “I would work to place people.”

When working for the jail, she learned when people needed help with addic-

Kelly Jones stands in one of the residential areas of Maitri’s new building in Peru. The new building allows Maitri to expand its services to include residential care and services, as well as the outpatient counseling services for which Maitri is known.

tions and behavioral health that there wasn’t much in this region they could turn to. She wanted a solution to that problem.

“I thought if I don’t do it, who’s going to do it?” she said.

That led her to open Maitri Path to Wellness in LaSalle, so people had a local alternative for support instead of having to travel and leave their families, jobs, and homes.

With Maitri’s success, Jones began looking at buildings with the hope of establishing a residential facility. Jones, a licensed clinical social worker and a certified alcohol and drug counselor, found what she wanted in a building located at 710 Peoria St. in Peru.

“I chose this piece of property because of the location,” she said.

It’s near businesses, doctors, jobs, and shopping, which is important.

“We don’t have a big transportation system (in the Illinois Valley),” she added, so having services within walking distance is a big plus.

She put an offer in for the building in February 2022.

After applying for two Illinois Housing Development grants, she was excited to learn she had received both of them. After having her offer accepted for the building on Peoria Street and working out the zoning issues, she began working on preparing the building. During the process of securing and decorating the building, she encountered some people who wondered if the business would be a good fit in the area.

“I think all of that comes from stigma,” she said.

When the new residential building was completed, Maitri had an open house so residents could see the setup firsthand. The space includes a group room, therapist rooms, a laundry room, bathrooms, kitchens, a deck, and separate residential sections for both men and women. Each residential section has six bedrooms, with two beds per

room.

“The people who came to our open house were surprised in a good way,” she said.

The facility, which opened its doors in January of 2024, has a welcoming feel to it.

“That was the whole idea,” Jones said. “When we chose the flooring and the paint, it was to give it that homey, comfortable feeling.”

Residency at Maitri is restricted to those who have proof of residency in LaSalle, Putnam, Bureau, Grundy, Livingston, Marshall, Kendall, Woodford, Lee, or southern DeKalb counties. Residents can stay between three to six months, and Maitri also offers outpatient counseling for those who aren’t living there.

“They don’t have to live here to get services here,” she said.

When they are staying at Maitri, residents will be working on their life skills to help ensure they are ready to transition to the outside world once their stay with Maitri has concluded. They’ll work on things like how to fill out job applications and prepare for job interviews.

“During that time, we have people working with them to make sure they are saving and budgeting,” Jones said.

During their stay, they’ll participate in things like substance abuse counseling, group counseling, and individual counseling, depending upon what their particular needs are.

Maitri isn’t a 28-day program – they’re the program that can help people after they’ve been through detox. They’ll help people transition back to their lives with more strategies and tools to help them succeed.

“The longer someone continues with treatment, the more likely they are to be successful,” Jones said. “This is truly about helping people because there is nothing in any of those counties, or very little. The reality is these people are already here, and they’re struggling.”

A Shot of Liquid Sunshine

Brighten Your Recipes with Oranges

By Shannon Serpette

Nothing can perk up a dreary winter day quite like the flavor of an orange. Every bite of this fruit seems to make your day a bit brighter. Plus, a single orange gives you all the vitamin C you need in a day, which helps strengthen your immune system for winter’s cold and flu season.

These fruits are readily available and reasonably priced during the cold months. They’re also surprisingly versatile in recipes and add a beautiful color to your dishes in the drab winter. Here are some orange recipes you’ll want to try to beat the winter blues.

SIMPLE ORANGE DESSERT

Ingredients

10 oranges

1/4 cup thawed orange concentrate

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup sliced almonds or walnut pieces

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions

Peel the oranges and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Place half the oranges in a bowl and add the concentrate, coconut, nuts, and powdered sugar. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients

ORANGE SALSA

8 mandarin oranges

1/2 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 jalapenos, diced

4 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Peel the oranges and divide them into segments. In a bowl, stir all the ingredients together.

ORANGE AND AVOCADO SALAD

Ingredients

2 large oranges, peeled, segmented, and coarsely chopped

8 cups mixed salad greens

1 avocado, diced

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/8 cup feta cheese

Directions

Put all ingredients in a bowl and top with your favorite salad dressing.

ORANGE JULIUS

Ingredients

6 ounces orange juice concentrate, frozen

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup ice cubes

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Makes four servings.

COLD FRUIT CUPS

Ingredients

12 ounces frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed

One 6-ounce can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 bananas, sliced

1 package (16 ounces) frozen unsweetened strawberries

1 can (15 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained

1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

Directions

In a big bowl, prepare pineapple juice concentrate according to the directions on the package. Add the orange juice concentrate, water, sugar, lemon juice, and fruit. Place mixture in the freezer and freeze before serving. Let sit out an hour before serving or until you can scoop out individual servings with a spoon.

WHOLE ORANGE CAKE

Ingredients for Cake

1 large orange

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 and 2/3 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

Ingredients for Orange Sauce

1 orange

1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-by-3inch bundt pan.

In a blender, add the orange wedges, oil, and eggs. Blend until smooth.

Open the blender and add the sugar. Blend again until well mixed and no chunks of oranges are left.

Pour the mixture into a bowl and mix half of the flour and baking powder into it with a whisk. When they are almost incorporated, add the remaining baking powder and flour. Mix it until just incorporated. Don’t overmix it, or the cake will be tough.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes. The top should be golden and springy when done. Let it cool slightly before removing it from the pan.

To make the orange sauce, zest and juice one orange, which should yield about four tablespoons of juice. Add one cup of powdered sugar and mix it with a small whisk or spoon. Pour the sauce over the cake.