Huelyn Duvall can’t stop rockin’
Huelyn Duvall is not a household name, but almost everyone has probably heard him shout “Tequila” at the end of the famed instrumental song by the Champs. At the time of the seemingly inconsequential holler, Duvall was signed, recorded, and poised to be a rockabilly star on his own. As chance would have it, “Tequila”…
Tree planting tips
You’ve picked your tree or shrub and found a spot for its new home. Now it’s time to plant. Most tree species can be successfully planted in the fall (October until the ground freezes) or in the spring. Here are some guidelines to help get your tree off to a good start: Before digging call…
From cool jazz to hot funk, things are shaking this weekend
Heads up, participants in Springfield’s nightlife, there is music falling all around you. See if you can catch some of it. On Friday, Rachael Lee fires up her Quartet for a show at the Lime Street Café from 9 p.m. to midnight. Lee, a staple of the jazz scene for many years, has been keeping…
Reality bites
A fascinating month-long political standoff may finally be coming to a close in Kankakee County. The trouble started when Gov. Rod Blagojevich promised state Rep. Phil Novak (D-Bradley) a seat on the Illinois Pollution Control Board. Rep. Novak, who has specialized in environmental and utility issues during a House career that has spanned three decades,…
Judge for yourself
Did Tommy Lynn Sells really kill 10-year-old Joel Kirkpatrick? Or is he just a “serial confessor” trying to inflate his record as a serial killer? Judge for yourself next Thursday night, Oct. 23, when the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project hosts a discussion with Texas crime writer Diane Fanning. Fanning is the author of Through the…
Your Turn . . . 10-16-03
Corrections We changed a word and made an error in Peter J. Wagner’s Sept. 11 letter to the editor. Wagner wrote us to say CWLP’s proposed rate increase “may not be in the best interests of Springfield citizen-ratepayers.” The telephone number for the Bluestem Bake Shop in Elkhart, the subject of a review in the…
Suffer the children
Murder has never been a strong enough word to describe what happened to Karyn Hearn Slover. She was young and beautiful, just 23 and on her way to becoming a model. One fall Friday in 1996, after she got off work at the Decatur Herald & Review, she shopped for a dress, ran some errands,…
The highway side
There’s never a cab when you want one but there it was, a Sky Blue Taxi sitting in front of the courthouse at 26th and California. I parked in a metered spot, walked back, and pointed at the white guy behind the wheel. “You waiting for somebody?” “I’ve been waiting for you.” He waved me…
A taste of the fair
This year’s Illinois State Fair is just a memory; the cows, carnival rides and concessions won’t be back until August. But if you didn’t get your fill, a new downtown restaurant offers a chance to relive the fair year-round. Gibby’s Orbits, promising a “taste of the fair,” opened its doors in July. The owners, Pam…
Made in Illinois
On April 16, President George W. Bush visited the shop floor at the Boeing plant in St. Louis. His 90-minute appearance drew several hundred men and women who help make the military’s $48 million F-18 Hornet fighters, 36 of which were deployed during the Iraq war. The purpose of Bush’s visit was twofold: to offer…
Movie reviews
Eastwood’s latest is brave, uncompromising Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River is a film of profound sadness, a meditation on the irrevocable consequences of violence and how a single act of cruelty affects not only its victim but also its witnesses. The film explored three troubled souls: one thirsting for vengeance, another searching for absolution and a…
Bards of the Sangamo 10-16-03
A Good Sport Once the boy first grabbed a ball, all other thoughts were optional; once the boy first swung a bat, his itch was set and that was that; once the boy shot his first hoop, he had no time for bookish poop; once the boy kicked his first goal, artistic knacks were put…
Making the grade
It wasn’t enough for Heather Dell, a cultural anthropologist from the University of Illinois at Springfield, to teach her students about economic inequality around the world. Dell helped her “What is Power?” class form a United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) chapter this spring. She brought students with her to Nicaragua during spring break to tour…
Less point
If you thought you were hearing things when our beloved local news anchor announced a “one-on-one interview” with President George W. Bush, well, obviously, you weren’t. This week, Springfield got a taste of NewsCentral, the “revolutionary news model” created by Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which bought WICS-TV Channel 20 about four years ago. Proudly promoting itself…
Knoepfle 10-16-03
king james version there was amazement gold bars for the rich who loaded camels sent them off gleaming through deserts no one had ever heard of at first no one cared so we were surprised that day the butcher was selling lambs heads charged silver shekels when we had no coins it got worse and…
