Two quick Lombard issues. First, I think the new summer banners on Westmore-Meyers are ugly. I don’t like them. Secondly, when is the park district going to do something about all the dead trees in Madison Meadow? They’re diseased, they’re killing each other and they need to be taken down ASAP.

Paul Friedrichs, executive director of the Lombard Park District, commented: “First, sorry you don’t like the banners on Westmore-Meyers Road. Personally I kind of like them myself, but as the park district executive director, I don’t have any say in the village banners. My suggestion would be instead of calling a newspaper, call the village directly, they are very nice people. Second, as far as your comment regarding dead trees in Madison Meadow is concerned, unfortunately all of Illinois has experienced tree loss due to the emerald ash borer. The park district has identified approximately 1,000 trees that need to be removed. Our priority has always been to remove those trees that could cause bodily injury to a park user or property damage first. During the last two years, my nine-member park district maintenance staff has removed 261 trees and we have used a private company to remove an additional 147. Our initial plan was to have them removed over a three- to four-year span. I recently spoke to new village manager, Scott Niehaus (one of those nice people at the village I mentioned earlier); it seems the village is trying to reduce the time they plan on removing their dead/dying trees from three years to one. The park district will strive to accomplish that as well. Please feel free to call me anytime to discuss this issue or any other park district-related issue at 630-953-6016.”—JAC

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Lombard calling. I’m getting pretty sick and tired of this railroad. I’m sitting here at Grace and St. Charles for 10 minutes, while they run two pick-up trucks down the tracks, and they’ve got cars backed up all the way to Main Street on St. Charles all the way to Westmore, and the gates are still down. Then they’ve got downtown Lombard tied up, they close Elizabeth. Come on, you guys. This is crazy? How long does somebody have to sit here?

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Lombard SPEAK OUT, we too, would love to have the Village of Lombard answer and respond to the people like they used to. It leads us to believe the board does not want the people they serve to get much more information on what concerns the people, like how many families are in subsidized housing. We should know what goes on in our town and we would like the Village of Lombard to come back and respond so more people know what is going on. Thank you so much.

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Why should Walgreens be criticized for wanting to leave the U.S.? Every piece of clothing you pick up is from other countries, the fruit and vegetables from the store are from other countries, our cars are made in other countries, everywhere you go people are speaking other languages. It’s kind of ridiculous to pinpoint Walgreens as un-American.

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I read in SPEAK OUT the last couple of weeks about pigeons. I live on Park Avenue in the condos just north of St. Charles. We’ve got cars with pigeon poop all over them. It’s only been this year. Last year, no problem. The year before that, no problem. There’s an influx of pigeons. I don’t know if someone’s feeding them; that should be illegal. You can’t feed geese. I don’t know what it is. The village should look into it.

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Hello, this is pertaining to the red light cameras in Villa Park. This appears to be just a money grab by the village where their annual budget is $700,000 to eliminate a problem that doesn’t exist. Their own data suggests that there are only a nominal amount of accidents that have been prevented by the cameras and in addition to that, it appears there are more injuries as a result of the cameras, per their data. Citizens should call their local representatives to ask them to discontinue this program. Again, it appears to be nothing more than a money grab for the village. Thank you.

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Lombard calling. There are hundreds and possibly thousands of American soldiers entombed in sunken ships in the North Atlantic because our troop movement became known to the enemy. German U-boats formed wolf packs and decimated some of our convoys. We were successful at Normandy because we deceived the Germans by false information about invasions elsewhere. Now we have a president publicly telling the enemy what his plans are. This is beyond stupidity. It’s insane. God help us.

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Hi. I’m calling in response to all of the recent SPEAK OUT calls which have to do with today’s politics. If I really wanted to know someone’s political ideology, I would watch either Fox News or MSNBC. I don’t read SPEAK OUT to know what one person’s feelings are toward the nation’s government. I read SPEAK OUT to know what’s going on in Lombard and to know what the citizens are concerned about. So please stop sending in your calls just so you can let everybody know what you think is wrong with our government or what is right. Thank you.

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Hello, Lombard. I was really surprised to see how many parents had the audacity to comment on how the parents were reacting from the article on the Glenbard West kids. If you could only understand what some parents go through to help their kids, you should not be a judge. Nobody should judge. Think about what you would do with your kids. Thank you.

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I pulled into a gas station on Tuesday, Aug. 12, because the sign said $3.38.9 per gallon for regular.  When I got to the pump, the price was $3.65.9. I went in to complain, did not buy gas and when I left the sign still said $3.38.9. The other side of the sign had been changed but not the side that I saw. Make sure the pump price matches the advertised price.

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The street lights on South Finley Road, just south of Roosevelt Road, have been out for about two months now. The village claims it is a ComEd problem; ComEd says it is not. Who’s passing the buck? I really don’t care. I just want the street lights back on and would like the village to do something they say they’re going to do—just once, please.

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Hey, Lombard, to the person who wants to blame Bush for everything, listen up. Bush hasn’t been in office for almost seven years; maybe you didn’t realize that. Also, I actually made more money when Bush was in office than I do with Obama. My insurance was a lot less when Bush was in office, and then we’ve got Obamacare, and my premiums doubled. My real estate taxes have doubled, so, maybe some of the things President Bush didn’t do were not so great—I’ll give you that, I can agree with that—but what happened to all the hope and change, and every morning the world will be a peaceful place and he’s going to fix everything? What has he really done? Let’s see; the deficit I believe is $7 trillion bigger than when Bush left office, and Obama still has two years to go.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. Oh, my goodness, have you seen the pond, the Terrace View Pond? It’s absolutely gone. Was it really necessary to destroy a pond with fish and visually beautiful surroundings so that houses’ basements won’t flood? Oh my goodness. It looks absolutely awful. As a matter of fact, maybe whoever’s in charge can go and mow the pond. That’s how bad it is. Thanks. God bless you.

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Lombard, I would like you to know that all persons need to educate themselves and to be aware of heroin abuse and heroin deaths as one more poor soul has died of such an overdose. DuPage County has recorded heroin deaths every eight-and-a-half days; one heroin death every eight-and-a-half days. That’s 87 deaths in DuPage County in 24 months, according to public health awareness since March 2014. Don’t think it can’t happen to you or your family, so families should be aware. Thank you.

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This is for the person who commented that the red states are dirt poor. I know that liberals don’t like facts, but of the top 25 states, meaning the lowest unemployment rates, 17 have a Republican governor. So anyway, nice try.

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This is Villa Park calling. I was watching the Villa Park village board meeting last week and they talked about trick-or treat hours and they talked about buying a new fire engine in 2015—nothing really important. At the end of the meeting they said they were going to executive session. We never hear what goes on in executive session, so I shut the cable off and went to another station. I see in the newspaper on Wednesday they voted to keep the village manager another two years by a four to 4-3 vote. The part that got me the most was, how come they gave him an 8 percent pay raise over 2 years? I just wonder why they do certain things like that.

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It is not good that skeet shooting is allowed at the Glen Oak Country Club in Glen Ellyn. That’s noise pollution, air pollution, water pollution. Who did that?

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This is Lombard calling. Can someone explain to me why we have to pick up the cost for the Nicor initiative upgrades to their infrastructure? They’re a privately held corporation. All corporations are responsible for their own equipment. They should have been appropriating money for this all along. Thank you.

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This is for the caller who thinks it’s not Obama’s fault and that if you keep voting Republican, you’re going to get to the poor house. Excuse me? We’re already in the poor house. You keep voting in the Democrats, you’re going to have socialism, communism. We’re already in the poor house, Mr. or Mrs. Caller, whoever you are. We all know that Mr. Obama came into his presidency and inherited a failing economy and two wars. Yes, that’s right. But has he fixed it? No, he hasn’t fixed it. This man seems to be addicted to executive orders. He refuses to work with the House, the Senate and the Congress. It’s not our fault the president can’t seem to get along with anybody. I think it’s time the Obama lovers and supporters wake up because one of these days you’re going to get up in the morning and you’re going to wonder what in the devil did we do?

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It’s mid-August and we’re still doing the path and car, bikers and runners debate. I don’t get it. I’ve been on the path for 30 years. As a biker you always stopped, so telling me to go, you’re not making my ride any better. Case in point; I’m at the Western Trail and Glen Ellyn Road. The person in the left lane stops. The people in the right lane just keep going. A great way to get killed. The Main Street crossing—get rid of the curbs and warning signs, back to the way it was. Drivers—just drive, obey the rules of the road and leave me alone.

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The news on TV and radio is crisis on the border, so Congress leaves for a five-week vacation and the president leaves for a two-week vacation. Who’s taking care of the crisis in America?

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Hats off to you, Villa Park. You have proven once again that you are a small town that does big things with great results. The centennial celebration was great. First and foremost the food, which was absolutely wonderful. Thanks to Dennis Geiseman and crew who began cooking at 2:30 a.m. Secondly, the music. That Odessey group can play anything from any era. Really got your motor going. Third, the fireworks were some of the best seen in years. New visual delights. Well timed and breathtaking. Really an impressive pyrotechnic presentation. One problem that should be addressed is the parking mess. No one seems to know who closed off access streets around the whole picnic area. No one knows who, or why or for how long. Even the police department didn’t have any information on it. Someone needs to find out this information to avoid ever having it happen again. By and large, Villa Park, you did yourself proud. Thanks for a fun-filled day.