©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Rubber Ducks and Cardboard Boat Controversy |
You might describe the scene around Lake Storey Sunday as a sea of yellow, and corrugated cardboard.
That's because the Galesburg Rubber Duck Race and the Great Cardboard Boat Regatta were both held Sunday. And both, officials say, were successes.
For one, Galesburg Public Schools Foundation president Tom Wallace says a record number of ducks were adopted for the duck race, and tells WGIL the schools themselves are responsible for a lot of that success.
"They really stepped up this year," Wallace said. "Nielson [Elementary School] had a 54% increase in their sales this year, that put them up to, like...500 ducks. That's huge for a school, especially with all the events they're working on at that school, too. Great support from everybody."
Money from the race supports projects the Foundation funds for both individual schools and District 205 as a whole.
The Cardboat Boat Regatta had 24 entrants this year, up from 19 last year, with awards handed out in a number of areas. One participant, however, claims he was shut out. Curtis Fitzpatrick's boat was disqualified, he feels, unfairly. Fitzpatrick tells WGIL despite the fact he tore up the boat to throw in a dumpster after the race, he's not going to let it get him down much more than that.
"I'm proud of the work that everybody did," Fitzpatrick said. "I'm proud of how we stuck at it, and get it done, and be here, and that's about it."
Fitzpatrick claims the judge wouldn't tell him much about the disqualification other than it had to do with the boat's hull. As for what he'll do from here, Fitzpatrick says he'll focus on what he probably should have been focusing on other than building a boat...his wedding in a couple of weeks.
(Curtis Fitzpatrick enlisted the help of friends and teammates in dumping the "Sea Monster" into a dumpster Sunday after learning he was disqualified from participating in the Great Cardboard Boat Regatta.)
(A tennis shoe is one of the creations entered into Sunday's Great Cardboard Boat Regatta.)
(Steele Elementary School principal Maury Lyon takes part in the selection of rubber ducks Sunday at Lake Storey. WGIL News Story and Photos by Will Stevenson.) |
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| 09 13 10 by Newsroom |
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