Chinquapin Oak: “The spirit of our region”

Sculptor Shawn Hensley

To know the Chinquapin Oak is to know something about our region’s ecological history and our own ecological geneology. Chinquapins are hallmark trees of the Central Illinois River Bluff. Slow growing with dense wood and a gray-brown bark, the tree…

He went from waiting to die to feeling empowered

Bill Conger

Autumn 2020 was exceptionally beautiful, but what Bill Conger remembers from that time is exceptionally terrifying with significant gaps in his memory. Conger, 53, is curator of collections and exhibitions at Peoria Riverfront Museum. He and his wife Michelle were…

Bill Knight | “Punks in Peoria”

Given the general characteristics of status-quo Peoria and youths’ attraction to exciting punk music on both coasts, those forces were destined to Clash. (So to speak.) Out in June, “Punks in Peoria: Making A Scene in The American Heartland” from…

Editorial | How art can change the world

S.A. Shepler (c) Community Word

Peoria should bring Preston Jackson’s whale sculpture, “Shirley Armstrong,” to the Peoria Riverfront in the green space to the east of Peoria Riverfront Museum. The whale is a beautiful and haunting reminder of the interconnection between the sometimes careless actions…

The Watch | May 2021

Government business slogged forward in March as a fourth corona-wave appeared imminent. On March 9, after several delays, Peoria City Council updated the city code for short-term rental uses. Before this action, short-term rentals such as Airbnb and VRBO were…

Real Talk | Protected Terror

What we thought was 8 minutes and 46 seconds of terror and torture was actually, 9 minutes and 29 seconds. We know now that was how long former police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on the neck of George…

Nature Rambles | On Summer Tanagers

Female Summer Tanager

May is known for its colorful flowers. Trees also are in bloom and insects are becoming more numerous. With all of this activity, the stage is set for the peak of songbird migration. Many of these birds are migrating north…

Inland Art | Welcome, Nichole Gronvold Roller

Corridor

Editor’s note: After more than four years writing Inland Art for Community Word, Paul Krainak is focusing on other projects, notably a blog “Bad at Sports” accessed at http://badatsports.com/2021/sub-rural/. He recommended Nichole Gronvold Roller as his replacement. Her column will…

Art Alerts | May 2021

Fine Arts Society of Peoria presents lecture by Dr. Robert McCarter “The Architecture of Carlo Scarpa: Recomposing Place, Intertwining Time, Transforming Reality,” 10 a.m. May 13 via Zoom. Register at FineArtsSociety.net. “Seen but not Felt” will be virtually exhibited all…

West Peoria News | Community yard sale is May 15

Returning Saturday May 15 is the West Peoria Residents Association annual communitywide yard sale. West Peoria residents interested in having their address shared in the Community Yard Sale need to contact coordinator Maggie at maggiemo@mtco.com or 673-0535. Information will be…

Serendipity | Parents Still Missed

Perhaps it’s continuing effects from isolation caused by COVID or maybe turning another year older. Whatever the cause, I’m missing my parents very much. The sadness is deep even though my Dad passed away in 1992 and my Mom in…

Labor Roundup | May 2021

Regardless of union outcome, Amazon effort inspiring. Ballots from voting at Amazon’s Bessemer, Ala., facility are being counted at press time, but labor leader Sara Nelson of the Association of Flight Attendants/CWA said it’s a win-win no matter the results.…

Gas stoves pose health risks

For years, the E.D. Edwards coal-fired power plant in Bartonville was linked to high asthma rates in Peoria’s Southside neighborhoods, but equally liable could be poor indoor air quality polluted with nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves, water heaters and furnaces.…

Insect “apocalypse”?

Michael Smice

An “insect apocalypse” could jeopardize plant life. Farming in the 1990s increased use of neonicotinoid insecticides, the neurotoxins that collect in pollen and nectar –– causing paralysis and death for bugs, including bees. However, there’s doubt about bees’ current state,…