PeoriaStory

Talk to the EPA

PEORIA, IL -- Here's a worthwhile event:

 

Writing workshop

PEORIA, IL -- This looks interesting. From a news release:

7th Annual Local Author Fair 

Two local authors will also discuss their paths to publishing on November 2.

Kate Bateman, who writes as K.C. Bateman, has been published by Random House Loveswept and Macmillan - St. Martin's Press. Her Renaissance romp, The Devil To Pay, was a 2019 RITA® Finalist.  She will talk about the world of traditional publishing during a mini workshop.

 

Bradley University Professor Sara Baker Netzley, who writes as Sara Whitney, has gone the self-publishing route and will discuss that during a separate mini workshop. Netzley's a 2019 Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® award finalist.

Local authors will also have their books available for purchase - a great way to shop local for the holidays - and a portion of their proceeds will go to support Friends of Peoria Public Library, the 501(c)(3) that underwrites much of the library's programming.

 

Saturday, November 2, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

North Branch Peoria Public Library

3001 West Grand Parkway

For more information, please call the library at 497-2700.

 

Rocky Glen play

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release, this looks interesting:

The premiere performance of Legends of Rocky Glen: The Miners’ Story on Saturday, September 28, 2 p.m. will be entertainment for multi-taskers – combining a hike through the woods and a dramatization of a little-known part of central Illinois history.

Legends of Rocky Glen: The Miner’s Story tells the story of late 19^th century central Illinois coal miners and their daring efforts to form a labor union. The play, a production of Off Off Loop Theatre Troupe will be performed in the canyon of southwest Peoria County’s Rocky Glen Park with the park’s dome rock serving as stage, the overhang (etched with century-old pro-union graffiti) as backdrop and a waterfall as background music.

Written by journalist Bill Knight, the play is based on an historical novel by Tom Tippett which Knight edited. Tippett was a labor activist whose parents immigrated to central Illinois from England in 1873 to work the coal mines between Pottstown and Bartonville. Immigrant laborers, primarily from England, Wales and Ireland, settled in what is now Horseshoe Bottoms, working mines that stretched to the Illinois River.  Rocky Glen Park’s canyon and dome rock became a clandestine meeting place for miners forming a labor union.

The 30-minute play features Peoria actors Clark Abraham and Rebekah Dentino with vocal performances by KeAnna J. Nichelson and Michelle Watson.

Legends of Rocky Glen: The Miner’s Story is free; however, donations will be accepted for the Friends of Horseshoe Bottoms.  The local group is working to return over 100 acres of land — directly across Kickapoo Creek Rd. from Rocky Glen Park to natural prairie.

The Rocky Glen Park parking lot accommodates eight vehicles. Patrons are encouraged to park at Jimmy’s Bar on Farmington Rd. and carpool to the park.  Patrons should allow time to hike into the canyon before the 2 p.m. performance and are encouraged to bring folding chairs or blankets for the performance. - 30 - 

 

Wrongfully accused

PEORIA, IL -- This will be an interesting event.  From a news release:

Join us on Sunday, October 6 from 5:30-7:30 pm at Peoria's Gateway Building for our annual Central Illinois event. This year's gathering, called Stand with Families, celebrates the Family Justice Resource Center's pioneering work to protect children and families by promoting due process and evidence-based medicine in child abuse investigations. 

 

LOCATION

Gateway Building

200 Northeast Water Street

Peoria IL 61602

 

DETAILS

The featured speakers are Colin White, a retired Illinois State Trooper, and Doug Parrott, the President of the Bank of Toulon. Both are grandfathers whose families each experienced wrongful allegations of child abuse due to their grandchildren's medical conditions. 

 

Come enjoy live music, hors d'oeuvres, wine, beer, soft drinks, and a chance to mingle with families and fellow professionals who share your commitment to the cause of justice. 

 

REGISTER

The event is free, but registration is required at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stand-with-families-peoria-tickets-71133966609. Please share this invitation with friends, family, and colleagues via email and social media. 

 

If you cannot attend the event but would still like to support our work, please go to www.famjustice.org/get-involved to make an online donation or mail a check to Family Justice Resource Center, 411 Hamilton Blvd. Ste. 1928, Peoria IL 61602. All donations are tax-deductible. 

 

For questions, email Executive Director Michelle Weidner at  michelle@famjustice.org.

 

FJRC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Diane Redleaf, President

Alan Novick, Vice President

Tony Lawlor, Secretary/Treasurer

Brian Bray

Elizabeth Bray

Mary Broderick

Tara Crady

Douglas Parrott

Melissa Staas

 

China talk

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release:

Speaker to Explore Impact of Burgeoning U.S.-China Trade War on Central Illinois

The uncertain U.S.-China economic relationship and its impact on Central Illinois businesses will be discussed when a China expert speaks on the Bradley University campus Monday, September 16, at 7 p.m. in the Hayden-Clark Alumni Center.

Steve Orlins, president of the National Committee on US-China Relations and a China observer for more than 40 years, will speak at an event sponsored by the Peoria Area World Affairs Council, Bradley’s Institute of International Studies, the Illinois SBDC (Small Business Development Center) International Trade Center, the International Affairs Organization, and the East Peoria Chamber of Commerce.

Orlins remarks are especially timely because of the ongoing trade negotiations between China and the Trump Administration. In recent days President Trump said he’d expand tariffs on Chinese goods and then he decided to postpone imposition of many of those tariffs until later in the year.

From the burgeoning trade war to currency manipulation to agriculture exports to artificial intelligence, what happens in the developing policies between the U.S. and China directly impacts the local economy, particularly since Caterpillar Inc. does millions of business in China and has several manufacturing plants there.

Local companies with markets in China and those who want to expand into the Chinese marketplace are invited to attend. Community members are welcome as well.

Before taking his current position in 2005, Orlins was managing director of Carlyle Asia and chairman of the board of Taiwan Broadband Communications, one of Taiwan's largest cable television and high-speed internet providers. He’s also served as a senior advisor to AEA Investors Inc., a New York based leveraged buyout firm that does business throughout Asia; managing director of Lehman Brothers and president of Lehman Brothers Asia; and as a practicing attorney in New York City.

From 1976 to 1979, Orlins worked in the Office of the Legal Advisor of the U.S. Department of State, where he was on the legal team that helped establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

Orlins received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College, and also earned his law degree from Harvard. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Cost to attend the presentation and dinner is $40 for the general public and $35 for PAWAC members. To attend only the presentation: public $10, PAWAC members $5, and no charge for students. The dinner begins at 6 p.m. with a reception at 5 p.m.

The Peoria Area World Affairs Council is a community-based volunteer organization that brings the world to Central Illinois by holding a variety of forums on international history, culture and current events. Along with expert speakers, PAWAC offers guided travel opportunities, book club meetings and public discussion forums. In an era of increasing communication and globalization, the organization provides an interactive and engaging international perspective to our local community. The Peoria Area World Affairs Council held its first conference in 1970. PAWAC is affiliated with the World Affairs Councils of America.

 

Concert Aug. 25

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release:

The Heart of the Artist Concert Series 2019 is back!            
Join us for a deLIGHTful evening  of strings and songs,

On Sunday,  August 25,  2019 at 6 -7pm 

at the University United Methodist Church
(2818 N. University Street ·
Peoria, IL 61604 · Show Map)

A free will offering will be taken to compensate the artists.

Presenting SUNG WITH STRINGS ATTACHED performed by Ronald Hedlund, Bass-baritone, Barbara Hedlund, Violoncello, & Andrea Molina, Piano.

Enjoy beloved melodies by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein, George Gershwin, Irving Gordon, Franz Lehár, Kurt Weill, Rudolf Sieczyński, Oley Speaks, Piotr I. Tchaikovsky, Frederick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner, Sammy Fain, & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Professor, UPAC Commissioner, Mrs. Barbara Hedlund
www.barbarahedlund.com
Multi-award winning Cellist, Teacher, Orchestra Personnel & Operations Manager,
In School Concerts Coordinator /Performer, Music Publisher, Urbana Public Arts Commissioner CEO/1st Choice Music Services Artist Management & Musician Contracting  &  VCello Music Publications for solo cello, cello ensembles, cello/voice/piano Studio: 505 Eliot Drive, Urbana, IL 61801 | Tel. 217-384-0874 | vcello1@comcast.net

Find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, & YouTube - 30 -

Concert Aug. 25

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release:

The Heart of the Artist Concert Series 2019 is back!            
Join us for a deLIGHTful evening  of strings and songs,

On Sunday,  August 25,  2019 at 6 -7pm 

at the University United Methodist Church
(2818 N. University Street ·
Peoria, IL 61604 · Show Map)

A free will offering will be taken to compensate the artists.

Presenting SUNG WITH STRINGS ATTACHED performed by Ronald Hedlund, Bass-baritone, Barbara Hedlund, Violoncello, & Andrea Molina, Piano.

Enjoy beloved melodies by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein, George Gershwin, Irving Gordon, Franz Lehár, Kurt Weill, Rudolf Sieczyński, Oley Speaks, Piotr I. Tchaikovsky, Frederick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner, Sammy Fain, & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Professor, UPAC Commissioner, Mrs. Barbara Hedlund
www.barbarahedlund.com
Multi-award winning Cellist, Teacher, Orchestra Personnel & Operations Manager,
In School Concerts Coordinator /Performer, Music Publisher, Urbana Public Arts Commissioner CEO/1st Choice Music Services Artist Management & Musician Contracting  &  VCello Music Publications for solo cello, cello ensembles, cello/voice/piano Studio: 505 Eliot Drive, Urbana, IL 61801 | Tel. 217-384-0874 | vcello1@comcast.net

Find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, & YouTube - 30 -

Max Boot in Peoria

PEORIA, IL - From a news release:

Max Boot to Address U.S. Foreign Policy at Bradley University

Max Boot, political analyst for CNN and columnist for the Washington Post, will address “U.S. Foreign Policy in the Trump Era” during a presentation in the Marty Theater of the Bradley University Student Center on Monday, August 5.  He will be accompanied by his wife, Dr. Sue Li Terry, Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and an expert on Korea.

The event is co-sponsored by the Peoria Area World Affairs Council and the Institute of International Studies at Bradley University.  The discussion begins at 7 p.m. The public is invited.

Boot describes himself first as a military historian, but he has worked as a writer and editor for The Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor and The Wall Street Journal.  He is currently the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.  He is the author of several books on military history, including The Road Not Taken, a biography of Edward Lansdale, which has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.  He authored his political analysis, The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I left the Right, in 2018.

Boot is expected to discuss current U.S. foreign policy and its challenges under the Trump administration.  He and Dr. Terry will address foreign policy issues of importance to Central Illinois, including trade, tariffs, and nuclear security.

Tickets for the presentation are $10.  More information and methods of purchasing tickets are available at www.pawac.org or by calling PAWAC Executive Director Angela Weck at (309) 677-2454.

The Peoria Area World Affairs Council is a community-based volunteer organization that brings the world to Central Illinois by holding a variety of forums on international history, culture and current events. Along with expert speakers, PAWAC offers guided travel opportunities, book club meetings and public discussion forums. In an era of increasing communication and globalization, the organization provides an interactive and engaging international perspective to our local community. The Peoria Area World Affairs Council held its first conference in 1970. PAWAC is affiliated with the World Affairs Councils of America.

Groundbreaking on June 22

PEORIA, IL -- Groundbreaking for the 1866 'Shaft' Civil War Monument will take place SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 11:00 am, just inside the main entrance to Springdale Cemetery, off Prospect Road, Peoria.

It's a 1/2 hour Ceremony. Bring shovels, the organizers said.

 

More from a news release:

1866 ‘SHAFT’ CIVIL WAR MONUMENT RESTORATION PROJECT GROUNDBREAKING

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019.  MAIN ENTRANCE, SPRINGDALE CEMETERY, 11:00 am

 A Brief Groundbreaking Ceremony will begin promptly at 11:00 am, Saturday, June 22, Springdale Cemetery, 3014 N Prospect Rd, Peoria.  The Ceremony is expected to last 30 minutes or less.

Restoration Project Treasurer Gale Thetford will be Master of Ceremonies, Central Illinois Living Historians will Present Colors, an Invocation will be offered by Pastor Marvin Hightower, President of the local NAACP.

OF SPECIAL NOTE … When the Monument was dedicated in 1866 (the first such Civil War Monument in the State of Illinois at the time), a likeness of ‘Old Abe’ topped the Monument.  The Monument stood in the Courthouse block for 96 years, before being dismantled to make way for Peoria County’s present Courthouse.  The original ‘Old Abe’ fell apart from environmental deterioration.  A Replacement ‘Old Abe’, produced by the successor company, from the same quarry as in 1866, will be unveiled before the Groundbreaking.  

Among the group ‘unveiling’ will be three former 3^rd District City Council members (the 3^rd District including Springdale Cemetery);

     Bruce Brown (’73-’81)

     Sen Dave Koehler (’89-’97)

     Gale Thetford (’97-’05)

‘Group Groundbreaking’ will commence, with everyone attending this Event  being asked to bring a shovel, garden trowel, or even a kitchen spoon.  Everyone will ‘break ground’.  A Drone Photographer has been hired to record this Historic Event.

The Closing Ceremony will include a Benediction by Bruce Brown, who may introduce a Special, Surprise Guest to assist.  Colors will be retired, and 19 year old Briana Varvil will play TAPS.

Again, this Program is expected to run 30 minutes.

IN THE EVENT OF RAIN … THE GROUNDBREAKING WILL TAKE PLACE -- THE ORGANIZERS INVOKING SOME CIVIL WAR HISTORY, WHERE ‘RAIN’ MADE NO DIFFERENCE TO PLANS, ENGAGEMENTS, OR ACTIONS.

This County Monument, Dedicated on October 11, 1866 was Erected in Tribute to the 607 Peoria County Union Soldiers who sacrificed their lives in that Conflict, that we might be ‘One Nation Under God’, ‘One and Inseparable’.

‘… It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this …’   President Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 11.19.1863

 

                                                                       -30-

Impeach rally June 15: UPDATE

PEORIA, IL -- The rally attracted about 50 people on a chilly, rainy day. 

The signs were fun, the speakers did well, and the event drowned out a guy across the street with a loud speaker and a Trump sign.

The point was made that a grass roots movement is needed to push Congress to impeach Trump. And that is true.  Just take a look at WIU in Macomb, where a grass roots effort pushed out the failed president Jack Thomas. Here is a terrific story on that from Macomb's NPR station.

In fact grass roots efforts are usually needed to make change for the better.

A photo from today's rally:

Another photo:

-- Elaine Hopkins

details on the event:

From a news release:

June 15 #ImpeachTrump Event in Peoria IL

National Day of Action to Defend Democracy

Event details:

WHAT: Rally To Call For Impeachment

WHO: Indivisible Peoria Area

DATE: Saturday, June 15

TIME: 11:00 a.m.

LOCATION: Corner of University and Main Streets, 1200 W. Main St. Peoria IL 61606

On Saturday, concerned Americans in Peoria will join a nationwide day of action coordinated by Move On , By the People, Indivisible and dozens of other national partners calling for an impeachment inquiry. The Peoria event, locally sponsored by Indivisible Peoria Area, is one of more than 130 in cities and towns across the country, including New York, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Miami, Juneau, AK, Livingston, MT, Boston, and Detroit.

On November 8, 2018, the Peoria chapter of Indivisible participated in nationwide days of action to protect Robert Mueller from firing and preserve his investigation. Indivisible Peoria Area and local citizens protested again this past April 4 to demand the release of the Mueller Report.

Citizens from Peoria and surrounding communities will demonstrate again on Saturday June 15, calling on Congress to open an impeachment inquiry into crimes of obstruction of justice that are documented in the Mueller Report.

Speakers Saturday will include: Sherry Cannon (Community advocate/writer for Community Word and Traveler Newspaper), Helen King (NAACP Political Action Co/Chair), Jack Ryan (Former FBI/Social activist), Jeff Johnson (Activist).

The percentage of Americans in favor of impeachment has steadily risen in response to the release of the Mueller report and Mueller’s subsequent statement. Public support for impeachment is significantly higher now, relative to Trump, than it was when Congress began impeachment inquiries into Richard Nixon, and made the country aware of the crimes that he concealed in the 1970s Watergate scandal. In just the past two weeks, House Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) has become the first Republican to call for impeachment, showing the potential for a shift even in Trump’s own party.

Donald Trump's abuses of our communities and country demand action from Congress, which has the responsibility and authority to hold Trump accountable. The next crucial step is an inquiry into whether to draft articles of impeachment. More information can be found at impeach.org.