As I reflect on my grandmother, I understand the rule of thumb instilled in her to live by and fear Jim Crow –– a fictitious name but one with real life ramifications. My great grandfather was on the run from…
Columns
The Watch | Budget woes
by Terry Bibo • • 0 Comments
Your government officials are still Zooming, still adapting, still dancing backward around COVID-19. And the bills are just starting to arrive. All members of the Peoria County Election Commission met via Zoom on May 12 to confront a knotty problem:…
Nature Rambles | Early cicadas
by Community Word Staff • • 0 Comments
During the second week of June, I heard a noise from the canopy of the woods that I haven’t heard for some time . . . “weee-eeeerrr” repeated at regular intervals. Then it dawned on me –– It is a…
Inland Art | Dan Ramirez
by Paul Krainak • • 0 Comments
“The falling away of illusion” is a description that Buzz Spector, artist, writer and longtime colleague of painter Dan Ramirez, uses in discussing perception in the artist’s “Contemplation of the Virgin: var#3.” The essay appears in Ramirez’s “Certainty & Doubt”…
Art: What is it Good For? | The Power of Art in Social Justice Reform
by Doug and Eileen Leunig • • 0 Comments
What makes art “public?” Is it the approval of a committee or government, or is it the number of people who see it? Is it how large the work is, or how much change it can bring? Is it beautiful…
Reflections From The Clergy | Black Lives Matter; A Story Worth Telling
by contributor • • 0 Comments
Inspired by the book “It is not necessary to breathe!” by Ali Ben Jaber Alfaifi We are in Minneapolis, in the United States of America; the land of dreams. The sounds of auto machines, horns, traffic and the hustle and…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Coronavirus Climate Crisis Crosswalk, Part 1. The Heat Resistant City
by William Rau • • 1 Comment
Let me open with a question. Do we want vibrant street life and festivals, hallmarks of healthy cities, to survive as global warming turns urban heat islands into frying pans? Who will saunter down streets radiating oppressive heat? Very few,…
Serendipity | Step by step
by Sandra Dempsey Post • • 0 Comments
Walking has survived the test of time for helping to achieve and maintain good health. While not exactly a miracle cure, people of all ages have found that putting one foot in front of another for an extended period of…
West Peoria News | One large neighborhood
by Sharon McBride • • 0 Comments
One of the traditions of Troop 11 Boy Scouts in West Peoria is the commitment of leaders for the boys to become Eagle Scouts. On June 1, Alex DeSutter became the troop’s 73rd Eagle. His Eagle project was the landscaping…
Straight Talk | Loss of another Peoria icon
by Community Word Staff • • 0 Comments
Peoria lost another leader with the death of Ray Becker, the city’s greatest builder of buildings. One of the few advantages of being old is I don’t have to dig through newspaper files or view news videos to talk about…