 Editor:
Dave Uphoff
So ends another successful Fourth of July celebration in Minonk. We
should all be thankful for those volunteers who each year devote so
much time and energy to enable Minonk to continue its traditional
Fourth of July celebration. The fireworks this year were really great.
From the opening salvo, the fireworks continued unabated for at least
30 minutes of nonstop firing and the grand finale was stupendous. What
a contrast to years ago when a lone rocket was fired every 10 or 15
seconds!The parade proved to be bigger and better than ever. The weather was not as hot this year and a large crowd turned out. It
was good to see the Westside Park utilized this year to celebrate the
Fourth. The chicken dinner at the pavilion on the Fourth was a smashing
success with all 300 chicken dinners sold. Many who didn't buy a ticket
in advance were not able to purchase a dinner at the pavilion because
of the tremendous response. I am sure that next year more chicken
dinners will be ordered in advance. The
Fun on the Run inflatable games and slides were set up in the Westside
Park on the Fourth and proved to be a big hit with the kids. My opinion
is that these inflatable recreation structures provide more fun at less
cost for the kids than a carnival and was a great substitute for a
carnival. Many people have asked why there wasn't a carnival this year
and I believe the answer is that it is very hard to get a good carnival
on a popular weekend like the Fourth of July. If you can get one, the
guarantee required by the carnival is so high that a small community
like Minonk simply cannot afford one. I heartily recommend bringing
back the Fun on the Run recreation stands next year instead of a
carnival. The Jim Markum swing
band did not draw a very large crowd at the Westside Park on Sunday
which is unfortunate because they are a very good band and provide
excellent entertainment. I think the combination of an early starting
time of 1:00 pm and the hot weather contributed to the poor attendance.
I still believe that having some type of band at the pavilion several
times a year is desirable. Other communities have band concerts and
there is no reason why Minonk with its beautfiul pavilion and park
shouldn't be able to offer band concerts as well. It
was great to see the Westside Park come alive again with the July
Fourth festivities. With the pavilion, the picnic shelter, the gazebo
and the shade provided by the mature trees, the park is a great venue
for holding celebrations. It was reminiscent of years ago when all
Fourth of July activities were held in the park. I suggest next year
that an ice cream stand be made available in the park to complete the
festive atmosphere.
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Taking on the Pantagraph I
hate to bring up a negative note after such a positive report on the
Fourth of July celebration but I have to take the Bloomington
Pantagraph to task for snubbing Minonk again. Over the past few months
I have noticed that other communities have been receving quite a bit of
publicity that was never given to Minonk. For example, there was a big
article about how El Paso-Gridley and Blue Ridge formed committees to
raised money for sports activities in their schools. Fieldcrest formed
such a committee 2 years ago and never received that type of
recognition from the Pantagraph.A
lot of press has been given to communities like Heyworth for
celebrating their sesquicentennial this year. Again, I don't remember
Minonk receiving much press for its sesquicentennial, if any at all.
Last week the Pantagraph mentioned the communities that were putting on
a fireworks display and left Minonk out, of course. Editor
Bill Wills wrote an editorial a few weeks ago about someone from Minonk
who had responded negatively to an article written in the Pantagraph.
Wills was somewhat subtle in making the guy from Minonk seem like a
redneck lout. If Wills didn't mention the person's name why did he go
to the trouble of mentioning the town he was from? Does that add
anything to the article? The
most important news to happen to Minonk in years is the potential
raceway development north of town. The Peoria Journal Star has covered
the topic extensively with several articles. To my knowledge the
Pantagraph has published only one condensed article about the raceway
even though it has far more readers in Minonk than the Journal Star. The
Minonk edition of the Woodford Journal has a very capable and energetic
editor by the name of Julia Voss. She has covered the Minonk news very
extensively and in depth. Yet the Pantagraph, who actually owns the
Woodford Journal, seldom uses any of her articles. The articles that
they did publish of hers usually contained human interest stories
rather than news events. While
the Pantagraph chooses to ignore the good news in Minonk, I can assure
you that the next time something negative happens in Minonk, like a
child being molested or a person being busted for drugs, the Pantagraph
will be all over it like the National Enquirer.
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