Stomp a Success
Dear Illinois Times and Dusty Rhodes:
Thank you for initially bringing the Duke Tumatoe story to light and for your
continued interest in the events surrounding that story. Your coverage of my
fund-raiser was the deciding factor in the success of this project.
During the course of the evening my belief was proven that even though there
are a variety of social concerns in Springfield, allowing people to cheat others
is something that needs to be protested and fought against. This may have been
a small slight against a very few people, but right now our nation and Illinois
citizens in particular are seeing this behavior practiced in too many areas
of the private sector and among our elected officials.
Through my efforts, your interest, and the heartfelt concerns of several hundred
people, we not only met our goal but exceeded it. All the monies collected have
been placed with the Illinois Central Blues Club. A check will be issued to
Duke Tumatoe after the board of directors meeting on January 6.All
remaining funds collected will be earmarked for the use of the Blues in the
Schools educational outreach program the club operates.
Although I hesitate to announce individual donors and the amounts contributed
(to protect them), I believe I can publicly thank the fine bands and musicians
who donated their time. My thanks go to Bob Katt and the Missing Lynx, Chawbacon,
Last Chance Blues Band, Black Magic Johnson, Rufus and the Fly Cats, Hot Iron
Skillet, and the Rat Attack.
There were a few problems with the evening: Hot Iron Skillet traveled here
from outside Springfield but the logistics of setting up for each band eroded
the time before they were able to play. This was a shame for a couple of reasons,
most notably because even though this was mostly a crowd of blues aficionados,
they were very receptive and appreciative of the bands that offered music without
a strong blues flavor. I am still hearing compliments to the skill shown by
these bands; the crowd was surprised that they found Rufus and the Fly Cats
and Chawbacon to be so very talented and musically interesting. I think these
young people can expect to see a few more of us older folks in their crowds
in the future.
In the end, we did what we started out to do–expose some crummy behavior,
fix a problem, and restore the dignity and respect arts organizations have worked
so hard to gain for our community. Again, I thank you and all the people that
supported the Rat Stomp Romp.
Steve Truesdale
Springfield
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John Knoepfle is conspicuous
in his absence
To the Illinois Times:
I was very pleased to be one of the 21 artists or art groups to be written up
in your recent “State of the Arts” issue [“Our List,” December 26], and I thank
you. I need, however, to draw your attention to a large chasm in that issue:
where was any poet? Springfield has many fine poets, and the finest of all,
with a national reputation and a long string of books to his credit, plus inclusions
in anthologies, is John Knoepfle, professor emeritus of SSU/UIS. His book, Poems
from the Sangamon, earned him an Illinois Author of the Year award and the
Mark Twain Award for Distinguished Contributions to Midwestern Literature. He
is the subject of an award-winning movie, Inland Rivers: the Poetry of John
Knoepfle. And last spring he was the recipient of the WILL Award “Signaling
Excellence in the Arts,” being chosen for his contribution to the arts in Central
Illinois over all other nominated artists in the fields of music, dance, theater,
and visual arts. He is currently publishing both poetry and scholarly works.
Surely John Knoepfle is a Springfield treasure, and deserves an honored spot
in your “State of the Arts” issue!
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Jackson
Springfield
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Singing her praises
To the editor:
Thanks so much for the writeup on the New Salem Shape Note Singers in your feature
on “interesting people and places on the Springfield arts scene” [December 26].
But I need to clarify something. When I told your reporter we sing without a
leader, I’m afraid I inadvertently snubbed the shape-noters who work behind
the scenes. I won’t try to name them all, but special credit is due to Becky
Schildman, who has taken on the thankless job of presiding over our meetings,
scheduling events, and maintaining our electronic mailing list at schildman.becky@uis.edu.
Sincerely,
Peter Ellertsen
Springfield
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Letter “drips” with stereotyping
. . .
To the editor:
I just read Kent R. Steinkamp’s letter [January 2] regarding your recent story
on Patrick Baikauskas [“Higher Calling,” December 12]. I, like Kent, appreciated
Pete Sherman’s thoughtful piece. However, I feel Mr. Steinkamp’s final sentence
demonstrates that he learned little from his reading of “Higher Calling”:
“I’d hope that he [Baikauskas] take his vow of obedience seriously, if the
Church decides, in its eternal wisdom, that his ministry might better be restricted
in order to avoid lengthening the list of victims.”
These words of wisdom drip with the very stereotyping that the original article
was suggesting we all ought to think about. First of all, Mr. Steinkamp’s statement
suggests, in a roundabout way, that homosexuality and pedophilia are one in
the same and therefore the Church might well need to restrict Baikauskas’ role
with the Church. In addition, Steinkamp is suggesting that homosexuals are more
likely to break a vow of celibacy than are heterosexuals.
Sincerely,
Joe Coffey
Springfield
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. . . but reveals a true conflict
within the Catholic church
Dear Editor,
Pete Sherman’s article entitled “Bumps on the road to holiness” [January 2]
is deliberately misleading. In the article Mr. Sherman states:
“The Seattle Catholic, ‘a Journal of Catholic News and Views’ that
is not affiliated with the archdiocese of Seattle, printed a press release by
Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc., a group based in Petersburg that is not affiliated
with the Springfield diocese. In the release, Roman Catholic Faithful’s Stephen
Brady demanded that Baikauskas be expelled from the Dominican Order at St. Dominic
Priory in St. Louis. His reasoning: admitting homosexual men to the priesthood
is ‘very risky’ and men with homosexual tendencies are ‘not fit’ to receive
the sacrament of Holy Orders.”
The quotes describing homosexual men as “very risky” and “not fit” to become
priest are not merely Mr. Stephen Brady’s reasoning or personal opinion; they
are part of Canon Law of the Catholic Church. This is clearly stated in a 1961
directive to which Brady refers in his press release. In addition, Pope John
Paul II’s spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls cited canon law on homosexuality and
said, “People with these inclinations just cannot be ordained” (March 5, 2002).
Last year Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of the Vatican’s doctrinal
congregation, said in a Catholic News Service interview, “Persons with a homosexual
inclination should not be admitted to the seminary.” Also, the newly revised
edition of the Cathoic Catechism describes homosexuality as “objectively
disordered.”
As anyone desiring the truth can plainly see, it is contrary to the teaching
of the Catholic Church (in Canon Law, Catechism, and through the words of the
current Vatican Hierarchy) to admit homosexuals to any religious vows. This
is not just the spin of Mr. Brady. Mr. Sherman’s article is pure spin.
In Truth,
Joseph Sheppard
Covington, Georgia
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 2, 2003.
