letters to the editor
June 15, 2011 4:38PM
Updated: August 3, 2011 8:02PM
Prairie pupil pens
patriotic poem
U.S. Soldiers!
They are the ones who give you freedom with all their faith,
They go out in war,
They help the poor,
They win it for you,
You have no clue of what they have to go through,
They are the U.S. Soldiers.
They will fight with all their will,
Their might is strong
And when they put up the flag pole,
They make it whole.
We trust in them,
Some will sacrifice,
Some will kill,
Some will jump out of a plane,
They go through pain,
All for us,
Because they are
The U.S. Soldiers!
Karl Trowbridge
2nd grader
Prairie Elementary School
Naperville
North Central jazzy place to go
Attention all parents with graduating seniors interested in jazz music education and or performance: When looking for schools, forget about the “big-name” universities. You have one of the best in the country right in your own backyard, that being North Central College in Naperville.
My son Maxx has spent the last four years in the Jazz Studies Program and couldn’t be happier with the choice he made. The program is under the direction of a very dedicated and talented drummer named Jack Mouse.
He’s a nationally known jazz talent that’s assembled an absolutely phenomenal staff.
They have played for presidents, been involved in Hollywood musical productions and played on national and international stages. They are recognized as some of the best performers in the jazz genre of music. North Central College’s concert band and choral staff/programs are also second to none.
A noteworthy consideration is the musical connections your son/daughter will make. Because of their influence, Maxx has gotten gigs in many of Chicagoland and the Midwest’s major jazz venues.
Lastly, your child will have the chance to perform in the beautiful, state of the art, Wentz Performing Arts Center, and you’ll be able to watch in person, not a video, and won’t have to take out a second mortgage to watch because of sky-high gas prices.
Bravo, Jack Mouse and company. We’re hoping for an encore performance!
Lloyd Popp
Sugar Grove
Artistic passion
part of her life
A passion, according to dictionary.com, is any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.
A passion, from my perspective, is a hobby that one feels an exceptional like for. I have many passions, but one of my most potent passions is drawing.
I’m sure we all had an obsession at one time or another. During my 10-year-old years, I had a certain Kim Possible phase.
Picking up a pencil after many years (during some time, I stopped taking art classes and almost forgot about art), I took out one of my favorite Kim Possible comic books and began to draw the cartoon figure of Kim.
I took my time, coloring her in with my new crayons, and I realized in shock how much I had improved over the years when I beheld the finished product. From then on, something changed inside of me.
Colors began to come alive again; shadows seemed to speak and the soft curves and twists in the world that were invisible to many seemed to creep out and say “Paint me!” Drawing became my world, and to this day, art is not only a passion to me, but a large part of my life.
Binita Gupta
7th grade
Hill Middle Grade School
Naperville
Water utility
responsibly run
It has apparently become necessary to clarify even further why the water rate increase recently passed by the City Council is justified.
Yes, the need for a rate increase is directly related to the recent rate hike by the DuPage Water Commission, as well as previous increases that have not been passed on to our residents, in addition to other factors. What is not related to Naperville is any management or fiscal decisions made by and for the commission.
Our water utility is operated through an enterprise fund, where no taxes are involved. Accordingly, rates and user fees are virtually the only sources of revenue.
In the past several years, this revenue has been insufficient to operate the utility, so funds from the general corporate fund were used. We must now raise rates to return these funds and put the utility on solid ground going forward. These procedures represent sound fiscal management.
The new rates cover both water supply and wastewater treatment expenses. While water usage is metered, resident wastewater usage is calculated based on a reasonable and just formula which accounts for the wastewater actually entering the collection system, this based on winter water usage.
Related to the writer’s other comments, I am neither an employee nor a spokesman for the Naperville Water Utility. My opinions are based on my experience serving on the Naperville Public Utilities Advisory Board and are my own, not necessarily those of the board.
PUAB members are appointed by the mayor and City Council, and represent the impartial views of Naperville residents while advising the utility on financial and technical issues.
Based on this experience, I have found the utility to be very responsibly and professionally managed.
Allen Panek
Naperville Public
Utilities Advisory Board
Treaty needed
to help agriculture
While the U.S. economy has struggled, agriculture has remained robust and continues to offer long-term promise,
At CHS, a farmer-owned cooperative, global opportunities for grain and other products have helped us return more than $1.4 billion to our members across the U.S., including many in Illinois.
But on July 1 that promise could be handed to competing nations if the U.S. fails to act on long-delayed Free Trade Agreements with key trading partners.
For five years, Congress has failed to pass critical Free Trade Agreements with Korea, Panama and Colombia. These delays have created important opportunities for other nations at a significant cost to U.S. agriculture.
On July 1, Canada and the European Union are slated to finalize trade agreements with Colombia.
The U.S. economy cannot afford this kind of blow. We urge Senators Durbin and Kirk to approve the agreement with Colombia, as well as those pending with Korea and Panama.
Mark Palmquist
CHS Inc.
Inver Grove Heights, Minn.
