Save adult education. It saved me.
I grew up hard-working, and started at the age of 15 to supplement my family’s income when my father became very ill and required surgery. I stopped going to school in order to sustain our family, and would go on to work at the same job for 37 years. After being terminated from the job…
Metal ’scapes
Rochester artist Jeff P. Garland’s sculptures perk up the park with life until Aug. 23. Go and visit with your very eyes what the artist calls a “celebration of the very thing that brings the prairie to life: the wind, rain, sun and animals.” These works of art located outside the Botanical Gardens are also…
REALITY%u2008CHECKS
Now that Patti Blagojevich has been voted off “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!,” who is going to “support” the family? Former Gov. Rod, of course, was the Blago originally approached for the gig; he was denied his opportunity to eat tarantulas and hang out with plastic-enhanced blondes by the mean ol’ judge…
Letters to the Editor
SECRETS OF SUCCESS May God continue to bless Ms. Costa [see “Building a new life after prison: RaeLynnn Costa is making a comeback, with the support of Project Return,” by Amanda Robert, July 16] and the churches that are following Matthew 25: 44-45. The article points out the secrets of success when it comes to…
Turkish zucchini pancakes
Zucchini in various forms and varieties are found in cuisines around the world. Zucchini pancakes are a Turkish tradition. Every cook has his/her own variation, so don’t be afraid to add a bit more or less of the feta or any of the herbs to your own taste. The addition of walnuts is somewhat uncommon,…
Drowning in red ink
Moments after members of the Illinois State Board of Education voted to cut the board’s budget by a net $180 million last week, an activist group called Voices for Illinois Children sent out an urgent e-mail to supporters. The group sketched out the pain the cuts would cause (the net cut actually disguises a $389…
Slaid’s back with a new record
That may not be the most exciting headline ever printed for a Now Playing column, but fans of Slaid Cleaves will find the news thrilling enough. Not only does Cleaves hold an avid fan base in Springfield, more than five years have elapsed since the release of Wishbones, his last recording of self-penned tunes. Cleaves,…
Zucchini wars and other garden memories
We fought over them for years, my grandfather and I. Zucchini. He wanted them big and I wanted them little. And when I say big, I mean really big — at least as big as a forearm. I understood why. To Papa, it was free money. Just by waiting a day or two, those little…
Celebrating the man and the music
This semi-formal soirée opens with a reception/cash bar at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6 p.m. After a commemorative program at 7 p.m., Jazz by Footprints featuring Virgil Rhodes fills the same corners of the rooms with music as the late Kenneth E. Barton Sr. did decades ago. Barton, a Springfield resident and musician,…
Real competition can stop health insurance gouging
Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama is all for the congressional effort to produce health care reform — as long as the legislation we end up with doesn’t contain any actual reform. Indeed, the senator gets fainting spells at the mere mention of Barack Obama’s proposed reforms, gasping that they add up to socialized health care.…
Get saucy, do the shoe
Saturday sizzles with the day-long outdoor World Horseshoe Cook-off in conjunction with the 100th Anniversary NHPA World Horseshoe Tournament running through August 8. Here 1,500 horseshoe pitchers compete for $170,000 in prize money and the title of world champion. You can walk over to the convention center and watch the pitchers for free, but the…
Personal windmill
Being laid off didn’t stop Linda Norbut Suits from doing what she and her husband, Duston, felt was necessary. After a tornado three years ago ripped through Loami, where the couple lives with their two daughters, and destroyed their barn, Linda and Duston decided renewable energy should be part of the rebuild. Solar was very…
Springfield medical leaders join national health care debate
As legislators on Capitol Hill work to develop a $1 trillion national health care reform package, two leaders of the Springfield medical community identified problems with the current health care system and strategies for fixing these problems. They spoke at a public policy briefing hosted by the Citizens Club of Springfield on Friday. Dr. Kevin…
Compact, climate-friendly, competitive
“This is one of those moments to step up and articulate what urbanism is worth to America.” That’s how Scott Bernstein, president of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, summed up the call-to-service at CNU 17, the 2009 Congress for the New Urbanism, June 10-14 in Denver. The planning organization has stepped up its no-sprawl message,…
New urbanism the Springfield way
Springfield is bursting with new urbanists. While the phrase “new urbanism,” coined in the 1980s, often frightens people who think that new urbanism entails mandating an organic arugula garden on every rooftop or forcing folks to trade in their cars for a pair of Crocs, the concept is much more simple than that. New urbanism…
Ugly can’t describe Truth
If you’re a woman and you want to find true love, don’t be too successful or too smart or too reserved. To bag a man, you can’t make more money than he does or be wiser than he is. Being a bit of a slut is a prerequisite to keeping him interested. Unlock your inner-tramp…
Middle Eastern tomato sauce
This tasty tomato sauce is good not only with the pancakes above, but also served over rice or as an accompaniment to kebabs, kofte (meatballs) or grilled seafood or fish. 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil 1 1/2 c. onion, NOT super-sweet, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced or thinly sliced, or more or less to taste,…
The Backliners
When it came time to seek a band direction, The Backliners decided to “play great rock songs, both classic and new, that we would like to listen to ourselves.” So following this logic you’d find Steve Harvey (guitar, vocals), Greg Harvey (bass, vocals), Aaron Horath (lead guitar, vocals) and Travis Williams (drums) jamming to classics…
Mayor changes direction, cuts library workers
Mandy Magill, a 29-year-old mother of two, started as a library assistant at Lincoln Library in August 2004. She was one of 15 employees recently laid off as part of Mayor Tim Davlin’s plan to reduce city spending by $3.2 million. Magill has witnessed a gradual breakdown of the library system, she says, with this…
Road to nowhere
Capitol Avenue’s progress toward becoming the capital city’s Champs Elysees has hit a pothole. Completion of the latest phase of rehab work will soon leave the stretch from Seventh to Eleventh improved, but the roughly $17 million that will be needed to finish this prairie Pennsylvania Avenue is nowhere to be found. Capitol from Seventh…
People’s Poetry
typopoem #1 from Enos Park Banner “In the Garden” column July 2009 “herbicides are chemicals that kill weeds use only as a last resort any misuse can potentially lead to serious health problems with your plantings, yourself, your children, your poets, and wildlife. if you must use them read the entire label some garden chemicals…
Orphan: An adoption agency’s worst nightmare
Remember this name — Isabelle Fuhrman. As the evil child Esther in the domestic horror film Orphan, this young actress delivers a performance that’s seemingly beyond her years. Sporting a trace of a Russian accent, a chilling adult demeanor and the ability to convey complex emotions with a single glance, this American actress, who was…
Tattoo inspections to benefit blood centers
Three years after a new Illinois law went into effect requiring registration and yearly inspections for tattoo and body-piercing establishments, the state is finally prepared to begin inspections. And while implementation of the law will improve public safety by eliminating the chances of passing infectious diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis, through infected needles, the…
