Hello, this is Villa Park calling. I have been trying to view programs on Villa Park Channel 6 for the past year. What is going on with the audio on Channel 6? This past week I have attempted to view Mr. Keehner’s State of the Village meeting and the music program for District 45. It is embarrassing for me to view this public programming that the audio is so poor. Could you please contact the cable commission to tell them that they have a definite problem? Thank you.

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Why does the three-headed clown on the village board feel the need to have an election for president pro tem? Why can’t the ordinance stay the way it is and the senior trustee becomes the acting president should something happen to the village president?  This would take personalities and politics out of the decision and eliminate a vote every two years.

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As a fan of the Lombard Fire Department, I enjoyed the centennial celebration last Thursday. I find it hypocritical that an elected official who votes no on staffing at a board meeting  and questions the request by the fire chief also wants to speak at the ceremony. Leave the celebrating to proponents of the fine fire department staff.

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Hi, this is Villa Park calling. I see ex-chief of police John Heidelmeier is running for village president. If he couldn’t manage the police department, why on Earth do we want this guy to run our village? Now I see he wants to charge people $20 to $1,000 to meet him at Villa Nova? What, is this guy from Cook County? On a fixed income, I can’t afford to pay to meet a candidate for village president. I think I’ll vote for the candidate I can meet for free. We don’t need this kind of greedy, Cook County-like politics here in Villa Park. This guy’s got to realize we’re not Cook County here, this is DuPage County. This doesn’t sound right to me.

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Villa Park calling. It is important to understand what the purpose of the NRA is, instead of just following blindly what the president says about them, who, by the way, is protected by armed guards. Their mission is to protect our Second Amendment rights under to the Constitution. It is very important to understand history in places where strict gun control has taken place, loss of free speech and genocide has occurred. Gun control doesn’t work. Chicago is now the murder capital of America and has some of the strictest gun control laws of any big city. Why doesn’t gun control work—could it be that criminals break the law? The only way to stop an evil person with a gun is by a law-abiding citizen with a gun, which happens an estimated 1 million times a year without a shot ever being fired. There are 80 million-plus law-abiding gun owners in this country and 4 million of them are members of the NRA. That is why they have the president’s attention.

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Jan. 2 in the guest column there was an editorial that was written by the leaders of organizations representing public school administrators, principals, teachers and school board members of Illinois and six of them put their name to it. They took a certain amount of discourse with what they call the arbitrary rating that they got as a grade of C from Advance Illinois. They went on to state that more than half of Illinois schools serve concentrations of at least 40 percent disadvantaged students. I’m kind of noting that this is one of the reasons they only got a grade of C. Part of me sees what they’re trying to say but part of me is thoroughly disgusted. So what you are telling us is disadvantaged students are stupid? If I live in one of these poor neighborhoods, I’m already mad that you people in these unions have locked my kid into one of your terrible schools.

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There is a lot whining being done about Ken Loch being re-developed. All I have to say is if you never golfed there, you did not support it, so don’t throw in your comments. I will miss the course, as I golfed there hundreds of times, but they have a right to sell the land and move on if they choose.

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Did you know more than 100 people came to Sheldon Peck Homestead to see the LHS New Year’s Day Emancipation Proclamation program? White, black, young, old and in-between folks came from as far away as Wisconsin, Elgin, metro Chicago and Naperville, to hear about the Sheldon Peck site’s listing on the U. S. National Park Service’s “Network to Freedom” and discuss Lincoln’s proclamation. Kudos to Jeanne Angel and LHS staff for a successful and unusual way to share Lombard’s pioneer history.

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Getting sick and tired of cleaning up broken beer bottles at the base of driveways and sidewalks. Have a little respect for other residents. Think about the children who play outside and people walking their dogs.

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Villa Park here. To the person afraid to vote for Heidelmeier; if he had done anything illegal or immoral it would have been on the 6 p.m. news and he would have legal charges against him. Think closer to home, like locking horns with politicians and village managers. As for his ability and desire to better Villa Park, ask any of our police officers. They will vouch for him.

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We know that Acting President Peter Breen is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. Under his new transparency policy, can he tell us what the village spent for the party on Park Avenue during the Notre Dame game? This was not an intelligent use of resources based on the few people who attended. When taking public office, please check your ego at the door.

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I’m calling from Villa Park. I really think Heidelmeier would make a great Villa Park president. Maybe we can finally focus on getting things done instead of more and more cheap politics.

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This is a little 101 in history. We have a big problem in this country and the problem is, the authority was given to a certain group of people to control all of us, and that was the president they don’t talk much about, Woodrow Wilson. He gave the authority to the Federal Reserve to handle all our money. The Federal Reserve is called the glut that gets the taxes because over one third of our national debt is paid to the Federal Reserve and they constantly keep us in debt and this is what constantly keeps us in debt and this is why we have the biggest trouble we have and our inept government doesn’t know how to stop it.

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I live in Villa Park and called in a couple of weeks ago with my concern over Trustee Bullwinkel’s inability to decide what office she wanted to run for in the April election. Now I’m reading an article in one of the other papers when her reaction to a reporter’s question with regard to that decision was less than appropriate for an elected official at any level. I think Trustee Bullwinkel has her eye on Springfield and if she loses the April election, the Democratic Party may very well stop knocking on her door. I am looking for a village president who will be focused on Villa Park, not on a house in the city or an office in Springfield. So if Deborah Bullwinkel were to ask me who I will be voting for in April, I would use the same answer she provided to the reporter: Not you.

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This is Lombard calling in defense of the Glen Ellyn skeet shooters. Let them have their fun. It’s a sport just like any other sport. Just because some person goes off his nut with a gun in Connecticut doesn’t mean the rest of us have to put them all away. What’s next? No more hunting because you can hear those guns? Come on, give us a break.

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This is to the people complaining about the skeet shooting. The skeet need to be culled at this time of year, otherwise they will run rampant. I hit a skeet with my car the other day—over $500 worth of damage. After all, skeet shooting is one of the few things that the landed gentry can still enjoy. Butler racing was outlawed in 1924 and our entertainments have been dwindling since. So please, let the skeet shoot go on. There will be more next spring. They breed all summer.

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I’m speaking out and hope all you people reading this column feel the way I do. This winter so far has been milder than last winter. I would like to know why our gas bills are higher than last winter. We have have so much gas we won’t run out. We have plenty, loads of it. Why is it so costly when we have a mild winter? Something is wrong somewhere and I wish you politicians would check this out instead of getting your pay for doing seemingly nothing.

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This is an alert to the people of Lombard. You know those two little digital converter boxes Comcast said you could have two for free two years ago and said you could just plug in? Well, in December they were still zero charge. I just looked at my cable bill, $1.99 each for two; $3.98. They’re charging me a rental fee on those little converter boxes. I find that outlandish. After all, with the digital conversion act, they said it was at no charge because of the government. When I called them, they said it’s costing now. It’s a small thing but if they’re going to nickel and dime, me, I cancelled. The lady was shocked. The franchise fee went up almost $9 for our illustrious and glorious Channel 6.

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This is for the woman driver in Lombard who was at the corner of Westmore/Meyers and Roosevelt Road who apparently does not realize you can turn right on red when there is a green arrow that allows you to turn right on red.

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Villa Park calling in regard to the upcoming election in April. I notice John Heidelmeier wants to run for president and it reminds me of the fiasco that went on when he was police chief. To this day the voters do not know what really happened. Was it so bad that it wasn’t made public? It’s difficult to decide whether to elect or re-elect anyone who was involved. What other kinds of things go on that the voters should be aware of? I know politics are politics, but still...

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Recently in SPEAK OUT someone called in and said after the tragedy at Sandy Hook it was time to move the skeet range that is at Glen Oak, that they shouldn’t be subjected to this, they shouldn’t be exposed to it. What dribble. I have only been in Lombard since 1978 and I absolutely love listening to that barrage, as they put it on the weekends. It makes my heart feel good. That is pure Americana. If you don’t like it, move. Wait, let me guess. Closing down that skeet range will make us all safer. Nonsense, dribble. Really?

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We go through this every year. It’s nearly three weeks past Christmas. Please take down your decorations.

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Hi. In response to the caller who said the Bible reads that if you don’t work, you don’t eat, my Bible in Matthew 24, verses 24 through 41, says that I was hungry and he gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and he gave me something to drink, I was naked and he gave me clothing, I was sick and he took care of me. So, my Bible doesn’t say that if you don’t work, you don’t eat.

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On a recent evening, while driving with my dad in the car, I suddenly got my left front paw wedged in the clasp of my leash, which was attached to my choke collar. It wa a one in a million chance happening, but it happened to me. As a result, every time I moved my paw I began to choke myself, not to mention the pain I had with my paw being pinched. I was screaming from the pain. My mom and dad could not free me so they drove me to a local vet, but it was closed. They happened to pass Lombard Fire Station #1 and saw the firemen returning from a call. They pulled in and asked the firemen if they could help me. They immediately sprung into action and helped carry me into the station, where my mom and dad and the firemen held me down while they used bolt cutters to free my paw. They were my saviors that night, as well as my mom and dad’s. I’m happy to say I’m back walking in the park with my dad. We should all sleep a little better tonight knowing these type people are always there to help us. A big thank you from my mom and dad and a big lick from me, Sophie the dog.

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Hello, this is Villa Park calling. I’m calling in regarding our presidential candidate, John Heidelmeier and I believe you would be an outstanding candidate for the progress of the entire village of Villa Park. We need somebody who has an idea for growth and a lot of energy you put into this. John was a fantastic police officer in the village and did great things throughout the village during his entire tenure. Thank you.

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Regarding the Ken Loch Golf Course, I think the people of Lombard would love to see a beautiful new recreational center, complete with all the amenities that other towns have. We are one of the few suburbs that do not have a very large recreational center and that piece of open land would be beautiful and perfect for us to add to our community. I would also like to say that I would love to see a Meijer at the corner of Finley and Roosevelt roads, where the Kmart is. Thanks so much Lombard. Hope you're listening and listening to your people.

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Hi, I’m calling from Villa Park. It’s really great to see Tony Gurdak running for Villa Park trustee. It’s very exciting. Thanks.