Daily Archives: February 26, 2012

Of all the quad-A boys basketball teams in Pennsylvania that qualify for postseason, only one ends its season with a win. That would be the team that is crowned state champion in Hershey.

Freedom was one of the many that fell short. The Patriots dropped a heartbreaking 47-45 decision to Parkland Saturday night in the District 11 Class AAAA quarterfinals at Easton Area Middle School.

It's doubtful that if Freedom had won Saturday it would have kept winning all the way to Hershey. But somehow it's rather shocking that a team that put forth such a magical season could have it end so soon.

Freedom, Parkland and Emmaus are arguably the three best teams in District 11 and the quirky playoff system landed all three of them in the same bracket.

Therefore, it was a foregone conclusion that at least one of the three wasn't going to the state playoffs.

"It's a shame, but that's just the way the brackets fell," Freedom coach Joe Stellato said. "It was two good teams going at it. Unfortunately we're going home."

As they have all season, the Patriots left it all on the floor Saturday night. They were a Jarrod Dilts 3-pointer away from advancing to Wednesday's semifinals against top-seed Emmaus.

When the ball left Dilts' hand, the trajectory looked perfect. The ball rattled the cylinder before agonizingly dropping off at the buzzer.

Parkland's Rob Dvoracek, a Temple football recruit, snatched the rebound with one second left and flung the ball toward the rafters. The buzzer sounded while the Trojans and their fans rejoiced in a wild celebration.  

"I thought it was in," Stellato said afterward. "It was a great look. He's a great kid and he deserved it. Unfortunately it just didn't fall for him."

Freedom was involved in a seemingly endless string of white knucklers (barn-burners) this season, and this reporter had the great fortune of covering many of them. I honestly can't recall seeing a team that played more high intensity, down-to-the-wire games than the Patriots the past couple months. "I knew this was a magical year," Stellato said. "There was something special going on in our locker room. The hardest thing to swallow is I don't get to coach the seniors on Monday."

The team was a joy to watch. They played the game with passion and integrity and never backed down until the clock read 0:00.

Stellato will dearly miss seniors Joe Lococo, Jordan Young, Tajmire Flood and Dilts.

"This is the toughest group of kids I've ever been around," Stellato said. "They're just tough kids physically and mentally. I just hope the younger guys learned by watching (the seniors)."

The raucous "Freedom Family" student cheering section turned out in large numbers all season and showed its support right to the end Saturday. After the game, the students appropriately began a "Freedom Family" chant that exemplified the best in good sportsmanship.

It was a season to remember for Freedom and one it might not duplicate for quite some time. It was also a season that ended just a little too soon.

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Freedom High School boys basketball team left it all on the floor

Freedom camping is permitted at Waterfall Creek, west of Wanaka. Photo by Barry Bruce.

Queenstown Lakes' freedom camping bylaws are being revisited to allow infringement fines to be enforced in line with the Freedom Camping Act of 2011.

Instant infringement fines of $200, or up to $10,000 for serious offences such as emptying a campervan sewage tank in a rest area, took effect on August 30 and enforcement began on September 16.

Freedom campers without self-contained vehicles can only stay overnight at licensed camping grounds or in designated camping areas, while those with toilet-equipped vehicles can camp anywhere outside the "no freedom camping" zones.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council introduced its freedom camping control bylaw before the Act was introduced and could issue infringements through transitional provisions of the Act.

However, these transitional provisions will be repealed on August 30, and in order to continue to issue infringements, the QLDC must make a new bylaw under the Act.

The Freedom Camping Control Bylaw 2012 will come before Tuesday's QLDC meeting and a report from community services general manager Paul Wilson recommends council adopt it for consultation.

It would differ from the present bylaw by extending the no freedom camping zone west of Wanaka to Glendhu Bay, extend the zone west of Queenstown from Sunshine Bay to Moke Lake Rd and extend the Queenstown zone east of Joe O'Connell Dr to Glenda Dr.

It would also remove the no freedom camping zone on the western shore of Lake Hawea as the land is not under council control and the zone could not be enforced under the Act or bylaw.

Mr Wilson's report said council was satisfied the 2011 bylaw had made "significant changes to the behaviour of the majority of responsible freedom campers visiting the district".

The number of freedom campers within no freedom camping zones had dropped, while camping in fully self-contained vehicles "continued to be popular", to the extent that overcrowding problems were experienced in Sunshine Bay, Queenstown and Waterfall Creek, just west of Wanaka.

Submissions on the proposal will be accepted until April 13, to be heard by a subcommittee of councillors in May.

It will come back before the council on June 26, possibly in an amended form, and if adopted would come into effect on July 1.

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Freedom camping bylaws revisited