Lincoln Senior Awards

Abraham Lincoln would enjoy meeting the group of high school students honored last week. He would see something of himself reflected in them. The students received the Lincoln Senior Award for demonstrating “the high qualities of character, conduct and scholarship”…

Spotlight for governor’s race falls on Peoria

Four Republican candidates for governor debated key issues last month, helping voters decide the Republican nomination on March 18. From political veteran Dan Rutherford to political newcomer Bruce Rauner, the stage was set the night of January 17 for the…

What is essential

Nancy Utesch has a quotation inscribed on a stone in her kitchen, right above the stove: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” This quote from Antoine de…

Little love

Most of us only understand love at a surface level—a warm feeling, a bouquet of flowers, a compliment, a listening ear. Elusive and mysterious, love is so much more. Sadly, it often goes unnoticed when it shows up. One story,…

Age is a matter of perspective

One of my young, fun friends was lamenting the fact that she is soon to turn 40. Her reasons for being hesitant to enter that new decade of life are genuine and understandable. She said time goes by so quickly…

Letters to the Editor

There Goes the Neighborhood By Ed Klein, Peoria, IL What do you do when you find out that two guys living down the street turn out to be homos? They’ve been living there together for five years and I never…

West Peoria News for February 2014

CityLink is having a public hearing about adding Sunday Service at West Peoria City Hall on Friday, February 28 from 3:00 until 5:00 p.m. The West Peoria Neighborhood Watch will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 12 at City…

Newsbriefs for February 2014

ARE YOU MY TYPE? PROCTOR CENTER BLOOD DRIVE Peoria Park District’s Proctor Recreation Center and the JEMS Girls Basketball Team will host a Red Cross Blood Drive on Saturday, February 22 from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm at Proctor Center,…

Happenings for February 2014

Feb 6 – 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. – Page Turners Book Club – “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins at the Dunlap Library. (309) 243-5716. Feb 6 – 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. – “Belly Dancing: You Can Do It!” Call to register:…

‘Eating wild’ is good for you

Despite centuries of cultivation and hybridization, commercially-grown produce lacks the nutritional punch of wild, edible plants growing in your backyard, according to best-selling author Jo Robinson who spoke last month in Springfield at the Acres U.S.A. conference. But it’s possible…

Thoughts on Midwest winters

Snow in the forecast is never to my liking. It’s lovely on Christmas Eve – provided all streets and driveways are clear – and perhaps some lingering snowflakes the next morning to add some holiday charm. But December 26, it…

Lawmakers Bring Pension Standoff to an End

Following years of gridlock in the state capitol, lawmakers passed a pension reform bill that has union leaders and some Democrats questioning its constitutionality. A narrow Senate vote of 32-24 and House vote of 62-53 brought an end to one…

Tweets Twitters and Onomatopoeia

Amid solitude and snow, the sound of “chick-a-dee-dee-dee,” gives voice to the winter wind. That one-of-a-kind call is so common and recognizable it gives the chickadee its unusual name. This familiar bird may be tiny but it has a very…

West Peoria News for January 2014

Remember that landscape waste pickup has ended for the season and will return in April. All streets within West Peoria are designated as emergency snow routes. It is unlawful to park any vehicles on city streets anytime within 12 hours…