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Heroes on the half-shell hit the track in Spring Valley · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Heroes on the half shell hit the track in Spring Valley.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Matthias Warner. This article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. Race Day
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  Speaker 1: began in Spring Valley. Residents were pumped, bookies were warned,
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  Speaker 1: and the tortoises were ready Thursday night at Vintage Vines
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  Speaker 1: for the inaugural Tortoise races. The outdoor event helped to
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  Speaker 1: raise money and inventory for the Hall Township Food Pantry,
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  Speaker 1: giving attendees a thrill while helping the community. I've never
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  Speaker 1: been into anything like this before. Spectator and Grow Spring
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  Speaker 1: Valley contributor Nora Holbrook said it's a good and fun
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  Speaker 1: way to help the food pantry. Spectators at Vintage Vines
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  Speaker 1: either bought tickets or donated goods Thursday night for the
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  Speaker 1: Hall Township Food Pantry to wager tickets on the eight
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  Speaker 1: races held outside the downtown wine bar. Five candidates from
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  Speaker 1: two tortoise trainers prepped their racers for the most Exciting
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  Speaker 1: forty minutes in all of sports. Representing Lizzie Campbell of
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  Speaker 1: Play It Forward in Princeton were Peanut, Butter, Jelly and Toast,
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  Speaker 1: and representing Jackson Considine of Spring Valley, where Prometheus and Victoria.
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  Speaker 1: Spectators placed bets before each heat, as well as voted
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  Speaker 1: for the crowd favorite tortois of the evening. Complete with
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  Speaker 1: musical accompaniment and play by play commentary, these five reptiles
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  Speaker 1: put on a show. Coaxed by food and encouragement from
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  Speaker 1: their trainers. The tortoises competed for the crown of inaugural
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  Speaker 1: Tortoise Races Champion. From the first heat of the evening,
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  Speaker 1: it was clear who the speediest racer was. Jelly, reminiscent
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  Speaker 1: of Secretariat at the Belmont, dusted the competition, winning all
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  Speaker 1: five of his heats to take home the hardware. We
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  Speaker 1: would just like to thank everyone who made this possible,
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  Speaker 1: Campbell said Toast was the fan favorite of the evening, who,
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  Speaker 1: despite not winning a heat, won over the crowd with
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  Speaker 1: circular race techniques and an affinity for the styrofoam railings
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  Speaker 1: of the racetrack. Campbell's tortoises are included as part of
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  Speaker 1: her practice as a social worker and play therapist at
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  Speaker 1: Play It Forward Counseling in Princeton. They also helped to
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  Speaker 1: spark the idea for the Tortoise Races The inaugural event
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  Speaker 1: came about after an incident at the bar where peanut
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  Speaker 1: butter was lost. Following a week long search, the tortoise
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  Speaker 1: was found, and those in the community, specifically those in
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  Speaker 1: the Grow Spring Valley community group, took notice. J. C. Heart,
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  Speaker 1: co owner and operator of the Vintage Vines Wine Bar,
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  Speaker 1: as well as a member of Grow Spring Valley, approached
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  Speaker 1: the Hall Township Food Pantry about using the search and
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  Speaker 1: rescue as a way to get the word out about
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  Speaker 1: what the food pantry needs to adequately serve the community.
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  Speaker 1: Literally right after that happened, the food pantry said, we
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  Speaker 1: just got all of this peanut butter in, but we
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  Speaker 1: don't have any jelly here, it said, So I'm like,
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  Speaker 1: oh my gosh, this is such a great opportunity for
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  Speaker 1: us to kind of tie in with the needs of
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  Speaker 1: our pantry by bringing peanut butter, jelly, and toast here
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  Speaker 1: to race. After the announcement that the races were on,
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  Speaker 1: Constantine heard the news and volunteered his own tortoises for
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  Speaker 1: the effort. The field was set. The Hall Township Food
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  Speaker 1: Pantry later said that they were low on and in
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  Speaker 1: need of pancake mix and syrup in addition to jelly.
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  Speaker 1: Then the word got out about the event through social media.
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  Speaker 1: It really was just us trying to find a way
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  Speaker 1: to meet the need for the food pantry and to
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  Speaker 1: have a fun night in Spring Valley on a Thursday. Here,
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  Speaker 1: it said, we wanted to bring people together and raise
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  Speaker 1: awareness for the needs in our community. The evening produced
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  Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty dollars in donations in two full
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  Speaker 1: boxes of pancake mix, syrup and jelly for the Hall
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  Speaker 1: Township Food Pantry. Here it said, we hope to do
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  Speaker 1: this again. It was fun. Here it said, as long
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  Speaker 1: as Campbell and Considine are willing to bring their tortoises out,
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  Speaker 1: will race them. Kathy Martin, spectator and treasurer of the
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  Speaker 1: Hall Township Food Pantry, said that the resources acquired through
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  Speaker 1: the inaugural Tortoise races will help the pantry assist kids
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  Speaker 1: before future community events and drives can further the mission
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  Speaker 1: of the project's success of Eastern Bureau County Hall Township
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  Speaker 1: Food Pantry. For information on how to help or get
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  Speaker 1: involved with the food pantry, visit Haltfoodpantry dot org.