News spread like an Illinois fastbreak (circa 2005) on Wednesday afternoon along Vine Street in downtown Arthur: Dee Brown had been booked as Saturday's "Ceremonial Cutter of the Cheese."
"Everybody I told, their face lit up," said Bruce Wood, president of the Arthur Area Association of Commerce. "Except a few of the Amish ladies who have never seen a basketball game before."
At 10 a.m. Saturday, No. 11 will kick off the Arthur Amish Country Cheese Festival by taking a piano wire to a 300-pound block of cheddar. Fortunately, Dee will have Elva Otto at his side to settle his nerves.