Fletcher Farrar

Last month President George W. Bush visited a nuclear power plant in Maryland to proclaim, “It is time for this country to start building nuclear power plants again.” Bush has joined the nuclear industry’s public-relations campaign for what it calls a “nuclear renaissance,” putting construction of new nuclear plants on a fast track. One of […]

Now that the dust has settled, it’s time for a closer look at what U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin actually said. Why did it ignite such a strong reaction? My take is that the furor over Nazis by Republicans and talk radio was a smokescreen, part distraction and part denial. What really got Durbin in trouble […]

They were known as plain people with a practical faith. Their church was called German Baptist and later changed to Church of the Brethren when ethnic identity became a handicap, but they were nicknamed Dunkards for their method of baptism: not once but three times under. Following the injunction in the Book of James “to […]

Last week the faculty and staff at McClernand Elementary School held a breakfast to show appreciation for its volunteers. A lot was said about how we mentors plant seeds of hope in the kids we come to see once a week. Though we may not think we’re making much progress with our child, just the […]

Last week’s first of three public planning meetings on the comprehensive plan for the Springfield Medical District drew a big crowd and a healthy discussion. The professionals from RTKL Associates Inc., which has offices in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, and other major cities, gave a nice presentation with interesting facts that they have accumulated so far. […]

Come on, you grumps of Springfield — it’s time to quit complaining and get seeds in the ground. There’s a movement afoot to make this a better place, one yard at a time. The idea is that every seed plants hope, every plant adds life and beauty, and every planter becomes part of the civic […]

I now have to travel the 30-or-so miles to Girard to take flowers to my friend Elizabeth Brown, who’s living at the Pleasant Hill Village nursing home. She was organist at our church for many years, and though she likes the care she’s getting and the facility in which she lives, she always talks about […]

When Forbes magazine gleefully headlined its recent article on the re-emergence of nuclear power “The Silence of the Nuke Protesters,” it was, in a way, taunting the complacency of Springfield. “Atomic power is making a comeback,” read the accompanying blurb, “and you hear only muffled squawks from the usual opponents. Could that have something to […]