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Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958;
e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com.
NOEXCUSEFORLOSINGRECRUIT Talk about one rotten apple spoiling the bushel! And
even if it was two or three, what a shame that the efforts of all those
police-department officials to help rookie police officer Tara Borders
succeed were thwarted by a tiny number who apparently wanted the opposite
to happen [Dusty Rhodes, “Opt out,” Nov. 8]. A lose-lose result:
Officer Borders’ being forced to leave the area and the area losing
a promising new police recruit. Difficult as it might be, I sure
hope the Springfield Police Department does all it can to determine who
sabotaged Officer Borders and then takes measures to ensure that this sort
of thing does not happen again. Dick McLane Springfield
GETTINGTHECAPITALCITYBLUES I just finished reading your “Musical
barstools” article [Tom Irwin, Nov. 8] and wanted to throw a comment
or two your way. I am heavy into the blues and promote blues music
shamelessly. Blues music probably makes up over 75 percent of my CD
collection and about gets about 50 percent of the playing time I have every
week. Slowly but surely I’ve
started seeing new faces coming out to hear some blues and have had more
than a few people tell me that’s the reason they stopped in. I think
there are a lot of people in the area looking for a blues venue other than
the Alamo. I’ve attended the Beale
Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tenn., for seven years straight, and
I’m convinced that there’s resurgence in blues music,
especially rock/blues such as Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Bonamassa, Jonny
Lang, and Walter Trout. Springfield will undoubtedly never have a match for
Beale Street, but the festival in Memphis started years ago as a single
stage on a street corner, too. Who knows? With the popularity of
the Old Capitol Blues and BBQs festival growing each year and more venues
featuring blues music, maybe, just maybe, Springfield will one day be
mentioned in the same breath as Chicago when it comes to blues. Dave Lerch Blues Boulevard DJ Services Edinburg
OBVIOUSLYWESKIPPEDENGLISHLIT I Just an error I noticed while reading Chuck
Koplinski’s review of Beowulf [“Blood, guts, and pixels,” Nov. 15]. In his
review he called Beowulf a Danish poem. I have nothing against the Danes, but
it’s traditionally known as an Old English epic poem, probably
composed in an eastern area of England. The fact that it was written in Old
English is one reason it is such a significant piece of literature. It is
considered one of the great English epics. Jason Logue Springfield
THISARMYNEEDS YOU! The Salvation Army’s bell-ringing campaign has
started. I will do it and enjoy it immensely. It makes the holidays fuller
and more fun. Their need is greater this year. I take this chance to tell
those of my own friends and co-workers that this year for Christmas I will
donate to the Salvation Army in lieu of presents and encourage you to do so
also. Patrick Johnopolos Springfield
This article appears in Nov 15-21, 2007.
