Author Archive for Community Word Staff

Save the Monarchs

By Bonnie Cox The monarch butterfly, state of Illinois insect, is in danger of extinction. Their population is down by 90 percent in the overwintering grounds of Mexico. Some believe the monarch will share the history of the passenger pigeon.…

No Turning Back

On a summer collecting trip in Northern Illinois, a botanist made “a most remarkable find” near Lake Calumet in Cook County. No, it wasn’t gold or platinum . . . . It was something far more rare. A diminutive flower…

Arts Beat

MUSIC May 31-June 7: Peoria Bach Festival. [times vary.] Trinity Lutheran Church. 676-4609. June 2: Kid Ink. 7 p.m. Limelight Eventplex. 693-1234. June 3: John Mellencamp. 7:30 p.m. Peoria Civic Center Theater. 673-8900. June 5: Rob Juice and the Bad…

The Magnificent Invalid

Peoria Players closed its season with the 1955 TONY award winner “Damn Yankees.” The musical is a fable involving the hapless Washington Senators ball club who are, it seems, a worse club than the hapless  “Cubbies.” The action begins with…

The Ripple Effect

In November 2009, a pebble was tossed into the art pool of Central Illinois. That’s when Rocco Landesman, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, visited Peoria and challenged us to work together as a community to see how…

Neighborhood Notes

Peorians will take part in the Citizen Police Academy starting this month, when residents will meet from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday from June 3-July 29 to get a better understanding of police operations and to provide a forum for police officers…