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A leader on the court, Ridgewood's Brooks also a standout as a person
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The holiday season always serves to remind people -- even the most cynical among us -- that there are still folks out there giving of themselves, rather than taking for themselves. AlWood High School senior Taylor Brooks, a starting guard for the Ridgewood girls' basketball co-op, is a person that firmly belongs in the former category. While working as an aid to guidance counselor Adrienne Lavin, Brooks became aware of the plight of one of the AlWood 6th-grade students who was having difficulty arriving to school on time. She found out that the boy, his mother and his two siblings not only lived near her in Woodhull, but were dealing with serious financial straits. "He'd been late so many times,'' said Brooks, "so I asked Ms. Lavin about him, and she told me he'd had a bit of trouble. That's when I introduced myself, and found out they lived across the street from me. My mom (Kelly) also got concerned, introduced herself, and we ended up deciding to help them pay their bills for much of November.'' Once she found out just what was going on -- literally in her own neighborhood -- Brooks was inspired to take action, taking charge of a school-wide fundraising effort that provided the family with donations of food, clothes and a new television so that they could enjoy a merry Christmas themselves. Additionally, she is taking the oldest son to school every day and sharing breakfast with him. "Ms. Lavin, my dad (Ridgewood girls' coach Bryan Brooks) and myself thought of the idea of having the combination of a canned food drive and a Christmas toy drive, and we were able to put it together in just two days,'' she said. "We had everyone in school involved; for a week, everyone donated food. We ended up raising over 350 canned food items and various other donations -- clothes, a TV and a TV stand. "I've always done various things like this, little things, but something like this, it's definitely been a more mature thing for me. It took me into a different emotional state. It shocked me; I didn't think something like this was happening across the street from me. It's been a life-changing experience.'' Her father notes how amazing it was for Taylor to get involved to such a degree, particularly with the load she already carries as a three-sport athlete and a student with a 3.9 GPA who has already been accepted to both Michigan State University and the University of Iowa. "To do something like that, to take that much time, that meant a lot,'' said Bryan Brooks. "I thought it was a great thing to do. In sports, she'll take time with the younger kids, and is always positive, even when the situation isn't the greatest.'' Averaging 6.5 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists per game for a Ridgewood team that has won four of its last five games to stand at 6-9 (2-3 Lincoln Trail Conference), Brooks has also come to see the separation between sports and real life. "I have to remind myself that it's just a game,'' she said of basketball. "This makes me think about life in a different perspective. I (play sports) because I love it, but there are so many things out there, so many people struggling. I'm just blessed to get the opportunity to do these things for other people, and for the things that I do have. "I wish there were so many others I could help, but I've got to do what I can do around here. It makes me feel good how everyone at school got involved, especially on such short notice. It really warms my heart.'' 
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Today is Sunday, May 19, the 139th day of 2013. There are 226 days left in the year.
1863 -- 150 years ago: The Rt. Rev. Harry I. Witherspoon, D.D. Bishop of Illinois, willpreach in Trinity (Episcopal) Church, in this city this evening.
1888 -- 125 years ago: At 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon the Mississippi River flooded itsbanks at Rock Island, destroying the warehouse of the Rock Island Lumber companyand damaging the Lumber Company and arsenal power plant. Total loss isestimated at $100.000.
1913 -- 100 years ago: Residents of South Rock Island township are circulating a petitionfavoring the annexation of that area to the city of Rock Island.
1938 -- 75 years ago: Mrs. Thomas Ackles, of Rock Island, has been elected president ofthe Playcrafters for the next season. She succeeds Warren Leonard.
1963 -- 50 years ago: Some 8,000 people filed through the gates of Rock Island Arsenal on Saturday to view a display of a part of the nation's armed strength. The occasion was theannual observance of Armed Forces Day.
1988 -- 25 years ago: Willis Kuschmann, of Moline, who already has won his laurels as oneof the most artistic men in the Quad-Cities area, has a new hobby. He is deeply involvedin miniature railroading. At the age of 88, when many other seniors are dozing in theirchairs or sitting before the television, Mr. Kuschmann is planning and working on hiscollection.
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