Prayers for Royce

As I write this month’s column my dear and close friend, Royce Elliott, is a patient in CCU at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. He’s recovering after collapsing at home. He had a close call, but when I visited him, he was smiling and, not so surprisingly, even managed to get off a few quick quips. I won’t go into any details, but please join family and friends in remembering Royce in your prayers as we ask the Great Physician for a full and complete recovery for the man who has brought so much cheer and happiness into the lives of others.

ELECTION PREDICTIONS

After missing just one race in the November elections, I feel confident enough to humbly make predictions regarding April’s balloting.

Let me begin with the easiest. Mayor Jim Ardis will win against General Parker in what will be the largest margin of victory in the history of Peoria mayoral races. Enough said.

In City Council contests I look for Dan Irving to win in District 5, Tim Riggenbach in District 3 and Barbara Van Auken to be re-elected in the 2nd District. Her race will be closer than originally thought primarily due to the unfavorable publicity over the poor judgment she and County Board member Andrew Rand displayed in playing “cops and robbers.” There was no reason the two should’ve approached the Bradley fraternity house like Barney Fife and Aunt Bee. I guess because the two from Mayberry demanded it, police issued a $75.00 noise violation ticket against Caleb Matheny, president of Sigma Nu fraternity at 1300 W. Fredonia. Since then the city has dismissed the noise violation complaint. Still unsettled is the lawsuit the fraternity has filed against Van Auken, Rand and a third person. It’s unknown whether the lawsuit might also implicate the city. The legal question might be, “Did Van Auken complain as an agent of the city or as a private citizen?” Meanwhile, it’ll be a major upset if her opponent, Curphy Smith, wins.

Of course, Bill Spears and Clyde Gulley will also be re-elected as will City Clerk Mary Haynes and Assessor Bonnie Gavin. Both are unopposed. I expect Township Supervisor, Joe Whalen, to continue in his office, once held for 40 years by my late father. Whalen has competition. Long-time Peorian Jim Polk is running against Whalen. Polk will garner a lot of votes, but not enough to unseat the incumbent.

The big city race is for the Treasurer’s Office. Reg Willis is retiring and is supporting 5th District Councilman, Pat Nichting. Nichting has an outstanding reputation for honesty and integrity and for, well, just being a damn nice guy. Pat is a successful businessman and has provided impressive leadership on the Council. His opponent is Gary Shadid, a shirttail relative of the popular George Shadid. The Shadid name carries a lot of weight in Peoria. However, Gary Shadid has made a few enemies; I’m told, with his position on the Peoria County Board of Review. It’s not easy denying people who seek to have their property taxes reduced. The beef against Shadid, said several sources, is the manner in which he has rejected appeals by homeowners. Despite the Shadid name, Nichting should win.

The Peoria County Board’s referendum for a tax increase on behalf of the proposed museum will be defeated. On the ballot the issue is titled, “Sales Tax To Support Public Facilities.” At another time it probably would be supported by taxpayers. Not so in 2009 with the economy in the tank, high unemployment and dire financial predictions, the measure will lose.

Voters in Peoria School District 3 have three choices to replace Mary Spangler who chose not to run again. The three seeking the 5 year term are Sandy Farkash, Lonnie Whisker and Laura Pattelle. I won’t bet the farm on it, but Farkash should win based on his many years in education, primarily as Principal at Manual High School.

LOCAL ECONOMY

Peoria and central Illinois were handling the downturn in the economy fairly well compared to other parts of the country. Not so anymore. Caterpillar announced layoffs, restaurant business is down and Methodist Medical Center also revealed plans for layoffs. The dismal economy was dramatically in evidence at the recent state high school basketball tourney. Empty seats all over the Civic Center. Want more evidence? Drive by the offices of Star Transport Company in Morton just off I-74 and see all of the parked trucks. Row after row after row. Not good.

Then there’s the local media. Rumor has it Independence Media, owners of four radio stations, three of which are at the bottom of the ratings, is down to a hand full of sales people after having as many as 14 at one time. It’s tough to sell when you don’t have ratings, especially during a recession.

WHOI-TV, now managed by WEEK-TV, features recorded 10:00 p.m. weekend news with Jeff Muniz. Is that what we’ve come to in news? After watching the recorded weather from Channel 25’s sister station in Ft. Wayne, may I suggest letting Muniz do the weather too? At least it would be live and local.

People at the local newspaper are worried as well as many newspapers are folding from San Francisco and Seattle to Denver. Despite that, they continue to peddle their left-wing hit pieces. The latest from our local liberal editors is to slam Vice President Dick Cheney for speaking out as have the discredited Jimmy Carter and the perverted Bill Clinton for years. The Journal editors believe in free speech unless you’re a Republican and/or a Conservative. The funniest line in the intellectually challenged editorial was, “Leave the second-guessing to those still inside the political arena…..” Too bad the newspaper didn’t do that for the last eight years when Bush was our President. And the newspaper wonders why it has declining subscribers and revenues.

SPEED LIMITS

I was surprised to hear support for raising the speed limit for truckers to 65 mph from local legislators Dale Risinger and Dave Leitch. Leitch even went so far as to call opponents to the proposal ludicrous. Well, speaking as one of those who’s “ludicrous,” I want to remind Leitch that the truckers already drive 65; some drive 70 and 75. Raise the limit to 65 and they’ll be doing 80.

Simple question for Leitch and Risinger: if you had to stop suddenly and you had your choice of a semi or a car behind you also doing 65, which would you BITS ‘N PIECES

While basketball fans were glued to the TV watching the NCAA tournament, Bradley was competing in the CIT tourney. Local basketball fans have mixed feelings about the school’s participation as shown by the small attendance. Northern Iowa went to the NCAA, Creighton and ISU were invited to the NIT.

Recently during a Bradley game, Civic Center public address announcer Paul Herzog gave a colorful introduction for Brave legend, Gene “Squeaky” Melchiorre, who Herzog said, was in attendance. The crowd cheered and cheered. Trouble was, Melchiorre wasn’t there. Bradley officials had received some misinformation. Friends and supporters of Melchiorre are still lobbying new university president Glasser to hang his uniform.

My favorite all time Bradley P.A. announcer is the late Bob Leu. An insurance salesman with Mass Mutual, Leu served the university for 32 years and authored a book with Henry Jacobs titled, “Good Evening Bradley Basketball Fans.” It’s the story of the Famous Five and a history of Bradley basketball. I have a copy of the book and it makes for fascinating reading. I can still hear Leu’s rich and resonant voice saying, “Good evening Bradley basketball fans.” Unlike so many college P.A. announcers today, Leu did not engage in histrionics. While some people like the modern day approach,

I don’t. I think it’s theatrical.

NEW MEDICAL COMPLEX?

A well known area businessman is working on plans to develop a unique medical complex. If it is realized, it could become a model for the rest of the nation. It’s in the early stages, but from what I learned, the facility will be located in Tazewell County.

WE HAVE A PROBLEM

Years ago I read a book that predicted young gangs would be roaming city street terrorizing citizens. Little did I realize it would eventually happen in Peoria. It is happening and swift and strong action is needed. Police need to arrest and throw in jail as many of these punks as they reasonably can or it is only going to get worse as it has. The latest incident was at the Civic Center while Peoria was show-casing the state tournament. If we don’t do something to show the IHSA it won’t happen again, Peoria will lose the tournament and all of the hard work volunteers and others have done over the years will be forgotten.

THE HOPE CONTINUES

It’s hard to write this column each month without acknowledging the many former listeners of “Breakfast with Royce and Roger” who stop me and others, like Pete Vonachen, to express disappointment they can’t hear our show anymore. During the heart-warming conversations, they usually ask, “Is there any chance you will return?” My answer is always, “We hope so.”

Both WOAM and its sister station, WPMJ, went silent October 2, 2008. Owner Bob Kelly was supposed to notify the FCC within 30 days of his action. FCC officials report as recent as this month they had not received such notice. Kelly reportedly is trying to sell the licenses with little success and there’s a strong chance WOAM will “go dark” October 2, 2009. This means Peoria will lose its 1350 radio frequency forever. If that happens, Royce and Roger will wind up just talking to each other over the telephone. Attempts to land elsewhere in the radio market have been unsuccessful. Financial backers of the two have also been unsuccessful in acquiring another radio station. And as the late Paul Harvey would say, “And now you know the rest of the story.”

SPECIAL THANKS

My wife, Nancy is home recovering after being hospitalized for two weeks. We’re both grateful for the care she received and for all of the get well cards, flowers, and most importantly, the many prayers said on her behalf. Space and my memory prevent me from thanking everyone by name. Special thanks, though, go to our long-time friends, Chuck and Carol Blye, Marcia Johnson, and our Morton neighbors, Josh and Angie Beenders for their acts of kindness. And then there’s Pat Smith, Nancy ’s hair dresser who brought her a beautiful bouquet of roses, did her hair, refusing any payment, and then she and her husband George, took turns praying over her. Thank you. Thank you.

ECONOMIC FORECASTS

You might be interested in the economic forecasts by the folks who edit “The Kiplinger Letter.” They expect unemployment to rise this year to 9% and prime interest rates to drop to 3.25%. The GDP, says Kiplinger, will fall 2% this year and housing sales will continue to decline until the second half of 2009. “More employers are turning to employee furloughs in this recession,” reports Kiplinger. “They’re seen as easier on morale than layoffs.” Retail sales will drop this year over 1%.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – The Dalai Lama