Country crooner
Known for the tone in his voice that speaks to others with placidity and kindness that helped earn him the name Gentle Giant, the lama of country music Don Williams includes a stop in Springfield on his 2012 tour. He’ll perform one show at Sangamon Auditorium, UIS at 7:30 p.m. Aged like fine wine since…
Rare old time
The Grierson Days Celebration June l6-l7 in Community Park, Jacksonville, is recreating the capture of Newton Railroad Station on Grierson’s famous l6 day raid through the South. The l7th annual Civil War re-enactment takes on an entirely new look this year with the addition of Dr. Karl Luthin’s KeleQuine Productions providing unique battle field set…
The Senate President’s quiet accomplishments
It went almost totally unnoticed at the Statehouse, but Senate President John Cullerton pulled a neat little trick at the end of the spring legislative session and he may end up getting what he wants this fall. We’re going to get into some “insider” terminology and a few numbers, but it’s really not all that…
New characters make Madagascar 3 a delight
My father used to say that while he dreaded taking us to see whatever the newest Disney animated feature was, he ended up having a good time once he got there. I have a similar feeling about DreamWorks’ Madagascar movies. The style and pace of them have always struck me as being a bit too…
Don’t worry, bee happy
Sangamon County board member Tim Moore is a Republican who favors government regulation, at least when it comes to honeybees inside Springfield city limits. “The current ordinance is very vague about what is required of beekeepers, and is really an old ordinance that says that apiculture (a fancy name for beekeeping) is not allowed,” says…
I’ll have another
Court Conn sounds relaxed. He’s sitting at Three Kings, a St. Louis pub, talking via cell phone, as if he had nary a care in the world. It is a Tuesday afternoon. The sun is out. He is, he says, smelling roses. And he should be. Conn and his wife, Karen, are four months into…
Mid-June bits and pieces
I see lots of exciting things on board for this week in the capital city. Let’s get to it, so as not to miss a thing. The inimitable Don Williams performs next Tuesday, June 16, at the Sangamon Auditorium. Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town, but you should go see the show. Williams is a…
Ex-offenders offered hope
Parolees and ex-offenders often struggle to successfully reintegrate themselves into their community, an issue the Summit of Hope conference intends to change. At the Summit of Hope conference, held last week at Lanphier High School, local groups partnered with the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois Department of Public Health to provide parolees and…
Letters to the Editor 06/14/12
COMMUNITY CARERe: “Leaving homes – Plans to close developmental centers provoke fear,” by Bruce Rushton, May 24: Every family with a developmentally delayed child has their own reality. During the last 5 to 10 years most of the people living in state-operated developmental centers (SODCs), who could live in community, have moved. Only those people…
White elephant
A planned new “patioscape” on the parking lot side of the former White Oaks Cinema will provide outdoor seating for customers of the shops and eateries expected to move into the converted theater. The enclosed mall will be slightly less so, each of the new tenants being likely to have its own entrance to the…
Early release worries understaffed parole agents
As Gov. Pat Quinn mulls a bill to allow early release for inmates in state prisons, parole agents who monitor ex-offenders say the program would add to their already burdensome caseload. In late March, the Illinois General Assembly passed a bill allowing the director of the Illinois Department of Corrections to award inmates credits toward…
Pottery summer at Edwards Place
The Springfield Art Association is offering two exciting opportunities for the community to explore ceramics and pottery-making over the summer months. A kickoff event, ROASTED:%u2008Hot Pots or Pork, is June 16. A visiting potter offers several workshops and classes in June and July. Work with a visiting potter Southern Illinois potter CJ Niehaus will travel…
Full-court press
The 19th Annual Juneteenth Celebration June 16-17 features a slam dunk contest and the Gus Macker Tourney, with 120 teams registered to play games starting at 8:30 a.m. The weekend kicks off with Movie in the Park on Friday, June 15, at dusk with a viewing of Puss ‘n Boots. A Saturday parade from King Drive…
Motherly shove
I am in my 20s and, for eight months, have been seeing a girl who might very well be “the one.” The problem is she wants to meet my mother, who is beyond controlling. She plays a game with girls I date, which I call “the 20 questions of doom.” Her questions start out normal,…
Health care behind bars
About the article: Dr. Stephen A. Cullinan, the Peoria physician who has been the target of numerous lawsuits alleging substandard care in jails throughout the Midwest, has retired, according to Correctional Healthcare Companies, the parent company of the Cullinan-founded firm that has contracts to care for inmates in dozens of correctional facilities. Cullinan’s retirement came…
Brushfire
Get a good look at how it happens, folks, as Brushfire, a locally based “upbeat rockin’ country” band makes a splash in the scene. Formed a few years ago, the boys are booked solid through the summer and beyond at places like Country Fest 2012 in Wisconsin, where superstars Brad Paisley and Keith Urban headline,…
How I spent my summer vacation
On Memorial Day, I was once again heading to Brooklyn by myself. But this time I was driving our full-sized van, overflowing with camping gear. I’d spend some time with my grandson, daughter and son-in-law; my husband, Peter, would fly out a few days later; then we’d all (including our son, Robb, in Boston) head…
downtown poem # 3
you know that tall building 6th and monroe café brio on the ground floor maybe you’ve noted they’re stripping the fake façade with a crane well that facing went on in the 70s to beautify the structure make it mod from the second floor to the top a chic metal grid actually rows of metal…
What’s new in food?
Attention foodies: Let’s chow down! Forget organic, locavore, omega3, umami, artisanal and all the other signposts of the healthy, ethical and refined “good food” movement. There are important advances in CuisineWorld that are going 180 degrees in the opposite direction – advances that literally are reshaping what we eat (while also reshaping us). Let’s start…
MISSION CITY
Haiti, Guatemala, Dominican Republic…Springfield? While we may complain about blight in our city, it’s safe to say we’ve got it pretty good compared with the poverty-stricken slums of Port-Au-Prince or Guatemala City. Still, we have something in common with those third-world countries: we are now a destination for missionaries. Starting June 18, 220 teenagers from…
Why Illinois needs work-release
Thirty-two-year-old Robert Baird was excited to begin the new year with a notification from the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) granting him permission to transfer from the Pittsfield Work Camp to the Decatur Adult Transition Center, commonly referred to as work-release. For Baird, the transfer was an opportunity to get his life on the right…
Fit for a kid
Looking for an activity for your younger ones this weekend? Put on those sneakers and join generation Healthy (genH) Coalition, The Parent Place, American Cancer Society, St. John’s Children’s Hospital and Kohl’s Cares for Kids at the Route 66 Kids Walk/Run/Roll and Health Expo. The free program at the Hope Picnic Shelter, Southwind Park, makes…
SCOUTS ARE INSTRUMENTAL
Drew Costic, who is attempting to become an Eagle Scout of Troop 97, has recently started an instrument donation drive for students of Springfield elementary schools. Donations can be made in the form of slightly used instruments or money donations, with the proceeds going toward purchasing instruments for the students. Costic, a 16-year-old student who…
