Greg Maddox, one of the greatest pitchers of modern day baseball, got his professional start playing for the Peoria Chiefs at the old Vonachen Stadium on Nebraska Avenue.

And thanks to that Vonachen, as in Pete, the “Mad Dog” is returning to Peoria, Saturday, June 11. The occasion is the retiring of his number 31 uniform. By the way, Pete said Greg couldn’t remember the number he wore while playing for the Chiefs. Nonetheless, the former Cub, Atlanta Brave and LA Dodger will be the guest of the Chiefs and Peoria during special ceremonies honoring his career.

Maddox was signed to a Cub contract fresh out of Las Vegas High School and was later assigned to Peoria. He arrived in the city with his wife-to-be, Kathy. Both were short on cash (you know the Cubs). Vonachen hired Kathy to work as a waitress at VOP’s. Now a millionaire several times, Maddox couldn’t even afford to buy a battery for his car during his days in our town. Not surprising, good guy Pete gave him the needed cash.

I asked Pete, “Where did the nick name come from?” He said Maddox is one of the most mild-mannered guys you ever wanted to meet. “He never got mad at anybody,” Vonachen explained. “So it was a just a play on his temperament.” It will be an exciting “Greg Maddox Night,” Saturday, June 11. Bring your family out and be a part of Peoria Chief history.

DISTRICT 150 STRIKES OUT

During a conversation with a Chief official following the annual D.A.R.E. baseball game for students, I learned District 150 officials refuse to participate with other area schools. The game is one way to thank students for their involvement in fighting drugs. However, for some strange reason, Peoria educators don’t join the annual event. Other schools throughout central Illinois do, but not District 150. Strange.

PJS WRONG AGAIN

There was a time when readers could count on newspapers for truth. Not so these days. In the Saturday, May 1 issue of “Prime Times,” the Journal carried a 1962 photo of Central High School with this false statement: “The high school is set to accept Woodruff High School students come fall since Woodruff was closed due to budget issues and a declining student population.” The underlined part is absolutely false. Woodruff had close to 1,000 students, far more than Manual High School. Observers could also argue the budget part of the statement as well.

Sadly, Woodruff, the “Pride of the North Side,” is closed, thanks to people like Laura Petelle who has lived in Peoria less than eight years. Born in 1937 and the source for educating thousands of students, the namesake of E.N. Woodruff, the longest serving Mayor in the history of the city, Woodruff has been destroyed. Shame. Shame.

WOODRUFF OUT CHILLICOTHE IN

Now that Woodruff is gone, Midstate officials are seeking a school to take the place of the Warriors. The hot rumor is it will be Chillicothe’s IVC. Good choice. The Grey Ghosts will hammer teams from Manual and Central in most sports.

CONGRATULATIONS TO EAST PEORIA LEADERS

Outdoor enthusiasts who like to hunt and fish are excited over news that a Bass Pro Shop is coming to East Peoria. Anyone who has ever visited and shopped at one of these stores knows what a victory it is not only for East Peoria, but central Illinois. This is a fantastic store with an inventory unmatched by anyone. City leaders on the Tazewell side of the river are to be congratulated for this significant economic achievement. It’s reported the store will hire 300 full-time people.

One has to wonder where the Peoria Chamber of Commerce was in bidding for this business. Oh that’s right. They were patting themselves on the back for opening a charter school for 225 students. Lots of economic value there.

EMPTY BLOCK

After 13 years the famous or infamous Sears block remains empty and tax-wise, unproductive. Just think; 13 years! According to a retired elected official and a well-known successful Peoria businessman, Peoria officials twice rejected proposals to locate the Embassy Suites Hotel on the Sears block.

Lakeview officials and others believe a museum will be a huge magnet for visitors along with a Caterpillar center. Have you ever visited the John Deere center in Rock Island? It’s no big draw. Thirteen years with little tax income but big promises. One needs only look across the river and see what East Peoria has done with its riverfront. Peoria has a post office, Hooters, a Crab Shack and the Riverplex.

CREDIT CENTRAL BOOSTERS

Give boosters at Central credit. They do have clout in District 150. Word is Central parents and alumni influenced school board members into keeping Principal Randy Simmons rather than dismissing him. It was reported the cash-strapped district had an opportunity to obtain close to $6 million in a federal grant. However, due to bureaucratic rules, Simmons would have to be removed.

Despite the often quoted belief that “No one is indispensable,” board president Debbie Wolfmeyer, said Simmons is irreplaceable as principal at Central. This is the second time Central supporters have “won” the favor of board members. They successfully out-lobbied Woodruff parents and alumni resulting in the closing of the north side school.

BRADLEY STUDENT AVOIDS ROBBERY

It happened again on the Hilltop. Another Bradley student was narrowly robbed at gunpoint by thugs in an SUV. He escaped and called police on a nearby 911 phone. This happened near the Bradley campus and seems to be happening more frequently.

This is why some people are questioning the decision to cut officers in the police force. All government municipalities are struggling with budget deficits. Although I don’t have inside information about Peoria’s budget, I sure would look long and hard at other departments first before making decisions affecting public safety.

GATEHOUSE IN TROUBLE?

I’ve reported the rumor that Gatehouse Publishing, owners of the Peoria Journal and other Illinois newspapers, is in financial trouble. Recently, they closed the Peoria operation of the Observer in an apparent cost-saving measure. There have been employee cuts say insiders. Despite the drop in circulation, the newspaper, like others in the nation, continues its left-wing approach to stories. A good example was its May 5 coverage of conservative author Jonah Goldberg’s appearance at Knox College. No name reporter Chris Mouzakitis, with the help of a PJS headline writer, emphasized Goldberg’s reception by students. The headline read, “Author’s reception at Knox relatively tame.” The sub-head was: “Conservative columnist doesn’t meet much dissent from students.” I thought the reporter and the newspaper was to carry information about what the speaker said. Oh, and Mouzakitis injected more of his obvious leftist opinion when he described the crowd as “quiet.” I guess the audience was supposed to jump up and down and sing “Happy days are here again.”

While I’m on the subject of the Journal, I had to laugh at the headline in the sports section of the May 14 issue. Covering a track meet, the headline said, “It’s Pekin at the buzzer.” Now I know they have a buzzer at basketball games, but I didn’t know runners had a buzzer to beat at the finish line. Better assign that guy to writing obituaries and wedding announcements.

CAT HEALTH CARE CAUSES CASUALTY

As the nation’s unemployment hovers around 10 percent, local employer Hometown Pharmacy contributed to that number when it closed doors to businesses in Morton, Creve Coeur and Chillicothe. Owner Dave Newell, one of the nice guys in central Illinois, said Caterpillar’s decision to force employees to fill their prescriptions at Wal-Mart and Walgreens led to his decision to quit. He says he lost about half of his customers beginning last October. Closing the stores cost jobs for over 25 people.

IT’S OVER!

Barring a miracle by a team not known for miracles or much anything else, the season is already over for the Chicago Cubs. As I finish this column, the Cubs are six games behind the St. Louis Cardinals who have better pitching, hitting, fielding, managing and management. Further, the Cubs are as colorless as their TV announcer Len Kasper. Even a life-long Cub fan like me recognizes that Jim Hendry has made more bad trades than money managers at Fannie Mae. If the Ricketts family, new owners, don’t clean house at the end of this dismal season, I’ll be surprised and disappointed.

THIS AND THAT

Another liberal newscaster/commentator has hit the unemployment trail. CNN’s Campbell Brown admitted her evening show opposite Bill O’Reilly on Fox News had poor ratings so she quit. O’Reilly has an audience of close to three and a half million while Brown could garner about a half million. Radical leftist Keith Olbermann is lucky if he has a million, but then MSNBC is always at the bottom of the ratings.

If there’s a local business deserving of more recognition it’s Advanced Medical Transport. For years it’s provided high quality emergency medical service in the Peoria area. Executive Director Andrew Rand, who’s serving his second tenure with the hospital owned company, deserves credit for the continued record of excellence.

For the record, I might add that I had a hand in development of this service. Gene O’Connor, a co-owner of Ace Ambulance, approached me when I worked at Methodist Hospital and asked if my father would be interested in purchasing the company. I passed the offer along to Dad who turned the proposal down. So I approached the CEO of Methodist, Jim Knoble, and suggested hospital ownership. He presented the idea to Paul Cation and Dick Carver, members of the hospital board. Knoble left me out of the loop and the rest is history. A lot transpired before all three hospitals jumped on board, but Peoria has benefited from the cooperative arrangement.

Chicago is one of the most dangerous cities in the nation and it restricts gun ownership Hmm. I wonder why there are so many murders in a city that prevents gun ownership. Could it be the wrong people possess guns? That will all change when the Supreme Court rules on a lawsuit challenging the Chicago law. Look for Chicago and Mayor Richard Daley to lose. As the Community Word went to press, the city was mourning the death of a policeman who was shot to death shortly after returning from a tour of duty in Iraq. But guess what? His father, a retired policeman, shot to death one of the attackers and wounded another. Had he not had a gun, he probably would be dead as well. What part of that incident doesn’t Mayor Daley understand?

The music world lost another great singer with the death of Lena Horne. Born Lena Mary Calhoun Horne in Brooklyn, she started singing at the young age of 16. Her trademark included a beautiful voice and style. She was best known for appearing in the movie “Stormy Weather” where she sang the title song. Due to the failure of any Peoria station to program great standard music, I’ll bet you haven’t heard her voice on the radio in years. Lena Horne died at the age of 92, but her music died in Peoria years ago.

PERSONAL NOTE

It was 50 years ago. On May 22, 1960, I was fortunate to marry Nancy Jane Hanson of San Jose,

Illinois. We had met about a year earlier following church services at First Methodist Church. I suppose everyone believes their marriage was made in Heaven. Ours was pretty close I think. Since that exciting day when we exchanged vows, we became parents of two sons and grandparents of three grandsons. Like many wives, she has stood supportedly by me through good and bad times. She has been a wonderful, loving wife and mother. Happy Anniversary Nancy!

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“Give all to love; obey thy heart.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson