Park Ridge Herald-Advocate

Thu, 16 May 2013 06:32:13 -0500

A letter to high school parents A huge percent of students from Maine Township do not approve of adults providing alcohol to teens. We believe parents should be the role model for teenagers and take action by not providing alcohol. A role model is a person who exhibits positive behavior and sets a good example. If you do provide alcohol, there could be serious health, safety and legal consequences that you may not have considered. Teens notice their parents’ actions and are influenced by the decisions their parents make. For example, if parents set a good example for their teens …

Letter to the Editor

Thu, 16 May 2013 06:32:22 -0500

Harry O’Brien Dash-Walk a success Thank you for your articles supporting the Harry O’Brien Spring Dash-Walk. It was a successful event with 145 participants and a wonderful cause. The Park Ridge Community Fund which supports 23 social service agencies including Avenues, The Center of Concern and Maine Center will benefit from this event. I thank everyone who participated, volunteered or donated. Also the businesses who made general donations, provided food, music, massage, etc. A special thanks to Sheri Roach, who chaired the Run/Walk and did a great job. For those that knew Harry, know those Irish eyes were looking down …

Letter to the Editor

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:56:00 -0500

We want to take this opportunity to thank the voters of Maine Township for the confidence they have placed in us by re-electing the Maine Township GOP incumbents slate. We sincerely appreciate your support and pledge to continue to do our utmost to excel in your expectations of us. Always mindful of the individual taxpayer and closest to the people, Township Government has proven time and again to be the most responsive to both the individual and collective needs of the citizens of Maine Township. Because of this latest vote of confidence, we stand ready to continue to make available …

Letter: Ryles will get Park Ridge moving

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 06:22:41 -0500

After watching four years of vacant lots and “for lease” signs in empty store windows in Park Ridge, I think we need to change direction. The lack of business tax revenue increases the amount homeowners have to pay. There must be a better way than bickering over sign height and wattage and gloom and doom messages in the city newsletter. I will be supporting Larry Ryles for mayor of Park Ridge in April. Larry is the kind of leader who knows how to get projects moving and brought to closure. He has pledged to personally lead the city’s economic development …

Letter: Preserve the Park Ridge Youth Campus legacy

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 06:20:52 -0500

I am writing to ask residents to vote in favor of the Park Ridge Park District purchase of the Youth Campus property. The historical legacy of this property deserves to be preserved. My ties to this place run deep. I served on the Youth Campus Board of Directors for more than 10 years and volunteered for many years prior to that. I have seen firsthand the impact the Youth Campus has had on thousands of children and witnessed the dedication of so many employees and residents of our community. This property’s rich history goes back more than a century. It …

Letter: Enough with the taxes

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 06:02:26 -0500

This time of year we are often told to be cautious of pickpockets in crowded malls and buses. Fortunately, I have never been a victim of such an event. There are other kinds of pickpockets and for us they come with a title: Maine Township 207 Board of Education. It appears they can’t balance a $100 million-plus budget, so they are going to get it from you, the taxpayer. If you don’t pay, they will take your house from you. They are now demanding a 4.1 percent assessment increase. This is not hard to understand as the board rarely vetoes …

Letter: Park Ridge is lacking park space

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 06:20:27 -0500

Our town is lacking park space For anyone who knows me, they know I am passionate about our local parks and the tremendous benefit they offer to the entire community. I am a longtime resident with 40 years invested in Park Ridge. I was a Park District employee through high school and college. Later, I was elected to the Park Board where I served for 14 years. I am a director of youth baseball and football. So I have seen first-hand how important a nice park can mean to a kid and his family. Parks are magical places where kids …

Letter: A difference of opinion on mayor’s comment

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 06:17:10 -0500

A difference of opinion I think Jennifer Johnson is a terrific reporter. I really do. I think she is able to simplify complicated local issues so we are all able to understand and appreciate all sides of a topic. Having said that, I was very disappointed with her lead story in the Jan. 10 story about the two candidates for mayor in Park Ridge. I know her attempt was to be neutral. However when she quoted Mayor Schmidt saying the past four years are “old news,” she inadvertently plays into the hands of those who would like to forget several …

Letter: Let’s save the Youth Campus space

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:56:59 -0500

Let’s save the space Park Ridge should not pass up the opportunity to turn the former Youth Campus into a park that the entire community will enjoy. This beautiful green space is the last available parcel of open land in Park Ridge. I moved back to Park Ridge because of its good schools and amenities for families, including parks and park district programs. But when I look at the suburbs around us, our parks do not compare well with those of our neighbors. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to add to the park system and address some of the space …

Letter: Youth Campus a ‘good bet’

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:56:33 -0500

Youth Campus a ‘good bet’ While I waffle on adding to my taxes, I am a realist at heart and really believe we have a once–in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire the Youth Campus property with the April referendum. As a banker and family man, I know it makes good money sense. The cost to my family nets out to only about $70 bucks a year. Towns such as Winnetka, Barrington, Glenview, Northbrook and other “peer” suburbs have already increased investment in their parks and recreational services. The difference now between our direction and theirs is both noticeable and dramatic. It is …

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 06:16:47 -0500

A realistic budget The Park Ridge Park District seems to be out of touch with Park Ridge’s current budget — $6.6 million for a new park on the youth campus site; $7.1 million for a pool plan. What Park Ridge needs at this time are ways to generate new revenue, not to increase our taxes. What about our outstanding TIF obligation? Park Ridge is holding the bag for that. Of course, the people near the youth campus would like the open space but I doubt that it would be for the greater good. When the Uptown development was being pushed, …

Park Ridge letter to the editor: Park property purchase is poor use of tax money

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 06:03:58 -0500

I read with great interest, which quickly morphed into astonishment and disgust, your article on the Youth Campus and our Park District’s intention to purchase the entire 11-plus-acre site. At a time when this community has laid off police and firemen, as well as other city workers, and at a time when city officials are clamoring about deficits and fiscal shortcomings, and at a time when many families are struggling to make ends meet, pay bills, especially our ever-escalating property taxes, our Park District officials have the audacity to propose such a move at the expense of increased property taxes? …

Park Ridge letter to the editor: What, no love for labor?

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 06:02:18 -0500

The week before Labor Day was saddening to see the lack of public recognition of the significance of this holiday. The Aug. 30 edition of the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate mentions Labor Day solely in connection with a recipe “to celebrate the final days of summer.” The only article on labor is entitled “Mayor likely to veto nonunion pay raises,” regarding the proposed 1- to 2-percent pay raises for nonunion employees. The previous week’s edition featured a reader’s letter which spoke disdainfully of the needs of workers, stating “ ... if their morale is compromised, remove them and hire someone who …

Letter: Cat Grandma to the rescue

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:08:45 -0500

To the Grey Lantern: Call me Cat Grandma. I am a super hero, too. As Cat Grandma, I bring wrongs to right. You know the texting fool in front of you who doesn’t move when the light turns green? I, Cat Grandma, am the one who uses her horn to get the line moving. Surely you are aware of people who lose their doggy’s doo on a neighbor’s lawn. I, Cat Grandma, return it to the owner’s front porch. Yes, I admit it, I’m partial to kitties, so when dogs roam the forest preserve bike trail unleashed, I confront the …

Park Ridge letter to the editor: Fond memories of the Pickwick

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:05:46 -0500

Today I received an article from my friend in Park Ridge about the overhaul at the Pickwick Theatre. This brought wonderful memories to me, as I was raised in Park Ridge and the Pickwick was the place that my mother and grandmother went to on a regular basis. Especially on Wednesday evening when there were dishes given out and a drawing from a revolving large cage that was wheeled out on the stage during a intermission between films. I also remember the square section you entered first where the ticket man accepted your ticket and returned a torn-half back. When you …