THE LIST
Protesters in Springfield marked the one-year anniversary of the war on Saturday
by reciting the names of Illinois soldiers who have died in Iraq.
When the candlelight vigil at the Capitol was planned, there were 21 names.
Last week, the name of Sgt. Ivory L. Phipps, 44, was added to the list. Phipps
was killed during an enemy mortar attack on the Abu Ghurayb logistics base in
Baghdad. Phipps, who lived in Chicago, became the fourth Illinois Army National
Guard casualty of the war — and the first Illinoisan to die there in 2004.
HOW ABOUT “FREE BEER”?
The 2004 Illinois State Fair needs a theme. The goal, says fair deputy director
Mark Kolaz, is to “attract even more people” to the annual celebration of cows
and corn and crafts and cotton candy.
Past fair themes have included “United We Stand” and “Harvesting America’s
Greatness.” Contest entries can be registered at www.illinoisstatefair.info or mailed to the fair’s Special Events Office (P.O. Box 19427, Springfield 62794).
Deadline: April 30.
POOP POWER
In February, two farms in Stephenson County, near the Wisconsin border, learned
they would split $500,000 in state money to turn cow manure into electricity.
Now, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign reports its researchers
have developed technology that turns swine manure into crude oil. Agricultural
engineer Yuanhui Zhang says the U.S. could cut crude oil imports by $1.5 billion
a year if half of the nation’s pig farms adopted the technology.
THE NICE SECTION
Three local businesses won regional ADDY awards in the recent American Advertising
Federation’s District 6 competition. Omni Communications won a gold ADDY in
the trade publication/campaign category for work on behalf of its client Solomon
Colors of Springfield. Silver ADDYs went to HIP Advertising and Corbin Design.
The Springfield firms competed against ad agencies in Illinois, Indiana, and
Michigan.
This article appears in Mar 25-31, 2004.
