Most of us are stretched with our individual commitments, but wouldn’t it be great if this year’s list included ways to strengthen our communities as well? Heaven knows we need all the help we can get: the economy continues to severely disappoint us; thousands are out of work or underemployed; and war continues.

Writers of newspaper columns, it turns out, are not the only people who have trouble getting sentences right. Eyebrows, if not voices, were raised when federal judge James Zagel set 14 years in prison as the price Rod Blagojevich must pay for nearly committing a crime.

Yes, many in the infamous 1 percent class are no longer feeling like a million bucks. According to a new federal report, the income of these high-living swells averaged a robust $1.4 million in 2007, but after Wall Street crashed in a heap of greed late that year, their average income took a tumble.

Carroll, a Chicago Democrat, proposed to make Cook County a separate state. According to newspaper accounts at the time, the resolution was introduced in the midst of heated fighting between Chicagoarea and downstate legislators over funding for mass transit.

Continuing throughout the year, several of the 20-plus groups and faith communities in the Network will hold events that elevate compassion in our community. Frontiers International’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast is collaborating with PCN as a Year of Compassion event.

Robert Goza gave a large part of his life to the NAACP and the cause of racial justice; Dennis Camp brought Vachel Lindsay back to life. Most touching are the lives of the children celebrated here. Travis Thiel, just six when he died, had a sense of humor that brought joy to his nurses.

Celebrating 19 loved ones lost in 2011

We lost our mom, Florence Boner, unexpectedly April 19. She was 81, but still very active, volunteering all over town as usual. I had the job of emptying the house and going through all the papers that she and my dad collected for the last 50-some years.

Big portions were a hallmark of Caitie Girl’s, the restaurant founded by Barker that succeeded against all odds. Forget fancy sauces artfully dobbed around tiny portions. On this night, Lincoln Land culinary students piled plates high with Barker signatures such as macaroni-and-cheese with pulled pork, braised collard greens and fried chicken.

He met his wife thought his best friend and sister-in-law, Rhonda Bixler (Dunham). Growing up, he was always known to be around his friends, family and neighbors. He loved to help others but always made sure his family had what was needed for a living. As all his nieces and nephews remember, he had many different jobs, as did his wife as well.

Many knew Charlie as a fine musician, which he was. He was a member of several different bands here in Springfield, playing bass. Tom Irvin in his column last June gave a fine tribute to Charlie’s musical legacy. Many people will also remember Charlie as the person who tuned their piano, which is how he made his living.

He came to town with a dream of owning his own restaurant – a Cajun/Creole restaurant as authentic as it could be, since many of the recipes were from his own family. This man’s family had spent many years in the restaurant business during his childhood in the belly of Louisiana.

What qualities make a superior university professor: intelligence, the ability to work hard, a caring attitude for students of all ages and backgrounds, research skills, enthusiasm and aptitude for teaching, an endless curiosity about one’s field of study, as well as a curiosity about all things intellectual – the life of the mind?.

Typically, Kealy demonstrated only a grudging tolerance for fruit and an outright suspicion of the entire vegetable family. However she compensated for this by having the heart of a true baker who was always eager to share a sprinkle-ladened delicacy with her guests.

Francis Foundation, the endowment for the 13 hospitals of Springfield-based Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS). During Jerry’s tenure at HSHS from 1985 to 1996, charitable giving grew from about $2 million to almost $50 million, and donors increased fourfold.

It’s almost impossible to talk about the Springfield National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) without mentioning Robert Goza. He was a life member of the national organization and an active member of the local chapter for more than 50 years.

Greg was always a hard-working man, working many jobs. Before retiring due to his health he was an Illinois Supreme Court security officer. Greg had a great number of family and friends that he loved so much. There was never a time that he wasn’t joking with someone in the com munity.

Hickman, 74, was born in Trenton, Tenn., Sep. 1, 1937. His broadcast career began during his sophomore year of high school, when the owner of a local radio station asked Hickman to work part time at the station after hearing him participate in a debate contest.

A crowd of sleepy-eyed family members, friends and well-wishers waited anxiously at the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield. They were not waiting for a rock star or even the President of the United States, but instead were waiting for the return of the Honor Flight to touch down.

For followers of contemporary Illinois politics, the name Charles Percy needs some refreshing. In an earlier day he served as a Republican for three terms in the U. S. Senate (1967-1985) and established a record for independence that today would be admired – or feared.

I met Travis when he was about 3 years old. He came with his mother for physical therapy for delayed development. Over the next several years, I had the privilege of working with Travis when he was in the hospital and for the short periods when he was out of the hospital.

Anthony had a smile that would light up any room and a heart as big as all outdoors. Anthony started work at McDonald’s on MacArthur before going to Lindsay’s. Then he pursued an associates degree in culinary arts, attending Lincoln Land Community College, then Joliet Junior College.

A master of marketing and promotions, Bob Taylor wasn’t afraid to dress up as an Indian chief or Elvis to emcee a New Year’s Eve party. He was a broadcasting genius with a goofy streak, a man whose gift for gab made him a force in radio back when radio was HUGE.

Celia and I met every month for more than 27 years, writing as members and co-founders of Women Writers Association. She wrote poetry about her life and observations, including some hilarious poetry. My favorite is a poem filled with sensual suggestions, touching the face, the mouth, only to discover that Celia tricked me.

A world-renowned doctor at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Shanahan created a specialized prostate cancer treatment that has become the de facto standard. He traveled the world to teach his method to other doctors. He developed a custom platform now widely used for scanning a patient’s stomach in an MRI machine.

When Rosetta Bowen first laid eyes on her daughter, Helynda Thompson, 23 years ago, two words came to mind – angel face. From that moment on, Bowen looked forward to waking up each day to her beautiful daughter and her “trillion-dollar smile.” But on July 21, fate took that smile away.

Now in his 30s, with a decade of experience behind him performing and working the business side of the music industry, he’s just released his first CD – an EP album of seven songs he wrote, sang, accompanied and engineered in a New York studio he designed and built himself.

On Dec. 31, 1987, Springfield became the first city in Illinois to host a First Night event celebrating the new year through the arts.

Most New Year’s celebrations seem a bit awkward to me. The silly hats, noisemakers and excessive drinking just feel wrong, somehow. We had a party at my house every year when I was growing up. There was little alcohol but lots of food, always including my mom’s deviled hot dogs and Swedish meatballs.

The game is already afoot as the film begins, with Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) in hot pursuit of Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), his love interest from the first film, who’s intent on delivering a mysterious package to a groundbreaking surgeon at an auction house.

As we work our way to the year 2012, the specter of the end of the world or at least a great and lasting change in business as usual, looms above us, for those who believe, ever so slightly, in that pesky Mayan calendar problem.

Thursday December 29 Jim Smiley, Black Circles, Cloud House Atomic Tunes Sports Bar, Girard, 7:30- 11:30pm.

It Not just another blues band, this group of seasoned area musicians comes together to play music bringing decades of experience in performance, perseverance and practice.

Some visitor participation. Free for First Night Springfield participants. Old State Capitol, 1 Old State Capitol Plaza, 217- 785-9363. Grand Ballroom Bash.

New Year’s Eve at 6:15 p.m., join the Springfield Area Arts Council and past mayors at opening ceremonies for First Night 2012 at Fourth Street and Capitol Avenue. Fireworks and chances to win cash begin an evening of dance, song and entertainment at almost a dozen downtown locations.

Rock ‘n’ roll songster and reality show maven Bret Michaels selects Springfield as the location for his New Year’s Eve rendezvous this year. Hear the Poison band lead vocalist rock out at the Prairie Capital Convention Center while also filming a video for his new single, “Get Your Rock On.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEV- ENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, SANGAMON COUNTY, ILLINOIS IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF: KATHLEEN P. MADDOX, Petitioner and JEFFERY W. MADDOX, Respondent Case No. 2011-D-759 NOTICE BY PUBLICATION Notice is given to you Jeffery W.

Take a trip to Paris this New Year’s Eve with the folks at the Firefighters Postal Lake Club located on Lake Springfield. The club has an evening of food and music and ambiance planned so you’ll feel as if you hopped the pond to that romantic city where everyone yearns to visit.