[SOLVED] Sidebars on fixed home page

Is it possible to show sidebars on a fixed home page?

I designated a page with some "splash text" as my home page. The moment I do that, my sidebars (on that particular page only) are gone.

It doesn't help the consistent outlook of the site. Can I turn sidebars back on?
I tried using a copy of the main template (index.php). That didn't work.

Appreciate any help and/or suggestions