General Community
General Community
By Jeff Smyth Of the three “greeting card holidays,” Mother’s Day is by far the most difficult for a guy married with children to negotiate without incident. Plus, if your mother is still alive the chances of a misstep grows exponentially. The other two holidays don’t even compare to the treacherousness of Mother’s Day. On Valentine’s Day, guys are on their best behavior because in the back of their minds they believe that, if they play it right, they might get “some.” I’m not even sure why Father’s Day exists where the traditional gift is to give dad a tie; the ultimate symbol of servitude, but more about that day later.
The morels are popping and tonight's rain should put them into overdrive. Send us pictures of your haul and we will decide who has bragging rights. Hit the Post It button to login.
By Jeff Smyth It took a month for the cavalry to arrive but when it did its guns were blazing. In a show of force, one-by-one citizens addressed the PCHS Board of Education in defense of basketball coach Bob Waggoner. That stood in contrast to the board’s February meeting where a small group went behind the closed doors of executive session to discuss what were assumed to be grievances against the embroiled coach. Since then, accusations and innuendo have been the topic de jour around town. At last one of them – the doctoring of a drug test on a Panther basketball player – was exposed at the March 25 meeting.
Ricky Nesslar of the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Fire Dogs lights a stand of phragmite, a.k.a. "elephant grass", at the Galum section of Pyramid State Park. IDNR conducts annual controlled burns of the the property to eradicate invasive species, opening them up to native grasses.
By Jeff Smyth The people attending Monday’s meeting of the Pinckneyville Community High District 101 hungered for red meat and, while it was served up, it wasn’t the cut they craved. These meetings typically attract a few stragglers if that many, but this one drew 18 folks or more. Some were candidates hoping to be elected to the body come April. Others, who half-jokingly referred to themselves as “concerned citizens.” wanted to see if basketball Coach Bob Waggoner’s head would be presented on a platter. Still others were parents of students who it is assumed aired grievances against Waggoner in the executive session that was hastily called at the onset of the meeting.
This week's snow/ice storm offered up opportunities for local photographers to capture some amazing shots. Here are a few the Post took. Share yours by clicking on the "Post It" button and uploading them.
By Jeff Smyth I have been suspected or accused of being a lot of things in my life including a malcontent, smartass, know-it-all and inane among others, but never a “drug smuggler,” until now. It happened recently as I was driving home from Houston where I’d been on business. Normally when I travel to Texas my only drive is to the airport where everyone is a suspected criminal and only metal detectors, body scanners, and/or pat downs prove your innocence.
By Jeff Smyth Like many Southern Illinoisans, Angela Rednour-Olson is fed up with how the cesspool that is Chicago politics runs the state and those of us in sticks are left to wallow in whatever floats downstream. Still like others, she has toyed with the idea of carving out a 51st state – the state of Southern Illinois – even going so far as creating the Facebook page pointedly titled, “I would like to see Southern Illinois become the 51st state…” With more than 700 Facebook “friends”, Angela knows she is not alone in her disgust. Trouble is she doesn’t know how to advance the cause.
Add your favorite snow scenes to the Post as many have already done. Click on the yellow POST IT button to upload and click on the picture to view the photo gallery.
By Jeff Smyth TAMAROA – In this town of little renown – it was home to a safe house for runaway slaves, residents are known as “rock throwers” for dubious reasons and a toxic train derailment in 2003 nearly gassed most of the populace – Sunday’s induction of favorite son Kyle Cassity into the Tamaroa Hall of Fame was a rare moment of pride.
How do you clear a field of unwanted timber and brush? In western Perry County you put a match to it.
A large crowd gathered Monday morning to show their respect for those who served our country. (click on the image to view the picture gallery)
By Jeff Smyth Is there a price too high – say $25,000 – to save a life? From what Shane Malawy is hearing from people the answer is “yes.” Malawy is administrator of the Pinckneyville Ambulance Service (PAS) and he has been getting an earful from past patients and their families irate over the high cost of dispatching air medical evacuation for those who were gravely injured. Eva Hopp director of nursing at Pinckneyville Community Hospital has listened to the sane concerns for trying the best they can do to save lives of the seriously ill.
