Straight Talk

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...
Read more »

Everyone agrees that these are tough times. While the President initiates the largest spending programs in the history of the country in the hopes the strategy will rescue the economy, Peoria’s school district has its own challenges. Not too long ago the district presented a plan to close two of its four...
Read more »

Peoria School District 150 is at it again. They want to close schools. Lots of them. School officials say the district is losing money after recently bragging finances were in order. Responding to the alleged deficit, officials have produced the most radical educational plan in the history of Peoria education. Under the heading, “Educational...
Read more »

EXCLUSIVE NEWS We start the New Year with some exclusive news. Rumor has it that former Richwoods High School basketball star Billy Cole is unhappy at the University of Illinois and just might be interested in transferring to Bradley. How great would that be if true! Cole has reason to be displeased. He was...
Read more »

Congratulations to all those who made the 121st Santa Claus Parade another great success on Friday, November 28th! Special thanks to WMBD-TV and its sponsor, South Side Trust and Savings Bank, for making the telecast possible. Once again the affable Bob Larson was the anchor for the “play-by-play” on Channel 31 and he did...
Read more »

Jesus had the Last Supper and it appears Royce and Roger had the Last Breakfast Thursday, October 2, on 1350 WOAM. Of course, there’s no comparison. Jesus was crucified, dead and buried and rose again. Royce and Roger will go through that process except for the “rose again” business. In response to the thousands...
Read more »

Mayor Jim Ardis was a recent guest on WOAM’s “Breakfast with Royce and Roger.” In an exclusive interview with us, Jim said he has not yet decided whether to seek re-election. “My wife and I have discussed the subject, but no decision has been made,” he stated. The mayor explained that others will have...
Read more »

The contest between Republican Darin LaHood and Democrat Kevin Lyons for Peoria County state’s attorney became a hot topic of political discussion after it was revealed LaHood attempted to talk to the father of an alleged rape victim. The revelation was made by Lyons, who’s seeking re-election. The story was widely covered by the...
Read more »

Amazing. President George Bush comes to Peoria again and the smear merchants at the Peoria Journal Star see nothing positive about his visit. It’s hard to figure why the left-leaning newspaper and their intellectually-challenged writers would find anything negative about the leader of the greatest country in the world making a return to our...
Read more »

While the news media is heavily invested in telling everyone how terrible the economy is supposed to be, Peoria and central Illinois, for the most part, continues to roll merrily along. Caterpillar just announced a huge contract with the government, home sales are up, lines at many restaurants are common, and the medical community...
Read more »