Letters to the editor

by Merle Widmer, former Peoria County Board member & blogger A recent JS article entitled “Citizens Like Bel-Wood Plan” by ex-JSEB member and now reporter, Chris Kaergard wrote, “The new nursing home (214 beds) is planned to have a capacity of 80 Alzheimer patients. The remainder of the 214 bed...
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by Jehan Gordon, State Rep., 92nd Dist. There are many people and organizations in Peoria that work to make our communities better, including a host of dedicated non-profit organizations that are focused on addressing a myriad of challenges faced by our citizens.  And it is important to remember that these...
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by Jehan Gordon, State Rep., 92nd Dist. Oftentimes while going through our junk drawers we find things we don’t remember owning.  Commonly one of these items is an old, unused cell phone that we just don’t know what to do with.  For the next month, my office has the perfect...
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by Dolores Klein, Peoria, IL We keep hearing that the World War II generation of veterans are gradually leaving us and we need to hear from them. Watching the History Channel’s recent presentations, I’m amazed at all the details we hadn’t been aware of as we went through those times. An aspect of...
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by Ed Klein, Peoria, IL Jim Hightower in his newsletter, “Hightower Lowdown,” writes glowingly of his public school teachers who spurred, inspired, lured, intrigued, goaded and otherwise motivated him to do more than he might otherwise have done. His teachers, he said, largely sparked his lifelong interests in language, history,...
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by Ed Klein, Peoria, IL How often have conservatives warned us that state and federal entitlements along with other programs designed to help the poor, aged and disabled are leading the U.S. down the path to socialism? They point to European countries as an example of government supporting its citizens from...
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by Dolores Klein, Peoria, IL As I waited for Public TV’s presentation of the documentary about the Civil Rights Bus Rides through the Deep South, Oprah Winfrey interviewed some of the heroic participants. Among them was Diane Nash, whose name stirred a memory. She had instigated a demonstration strategy: Jail, No...
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by Dolores M. Klein, Peoria, IL Once again, Susan B. Anthony’s birthday, February 15th, a state holiday, got lost in between Lincoln’s birthday and President’s Day. We can hope that dedicated teachers pick up the observance and discuss with their students, women’s past and current status. Back in 1986, her birthday...
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By Ed Klein, Peoria, IL Does the name Glubb Pasha ring any bells? I thought not. However, the increasing incidence of piracy in the Chinese and Arabian seas brought to mind an article I read in an issue of Holiday Magazine some years ago. Shortly after WWII, like it is today, piracy...
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by Dolores M. Klein, Peoria, IL Did you miss it? When members of Congress read the Constitution aloud recently, a number of members joined representatives of national organizations outside the Capitol to remind the country of the need for the Amendment which is not yet included. Within days, Justice Antonio Scalia...
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