If you think keeping marijuana illegal protects the kids you are in the wrong. It’s much easier to get marijuana in high school than to get alcohol; the drug dealer does not ask for an ID. Why support the drug cartel, when we can use the money for schools, libraries and other public projects? I think a majority of the American public wants to legalize marijuana; this is an issue that the public is ahead of the politicians and they need to represent the public. 

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I was recently looking into the ability to get a concealed carry license, and I’ve noticed that the fees for the classes are huge. It’s close to $300. Then the permit for the actual license from the state is $150. Since people who are against voter ID laws complain that it costs $10 to get a voter ID, yet the fee can be waived if there’s a financial need for that, would those same people be willing to waive the $150 fee for the state concealed carry permit, considering that also is a civil right and constitutionally guaranteed right? I’m wondering, are there any groups that offer free instructions for those on tight budgets? I think that would be a good idea and that other groups should look into that so we can spread this ability to more and more people. Thank you.

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Lombard calling. Just a little reminder from the past from our founding fathers. Governments are instituted among men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed and that when any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of people to alter or to abolish it and to institute new governments. It is their right. It is their duty to throw off new guards for their future security. Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence. Something we should all think about. Thank you.

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In one of the daily papers a question was posed to a master gardener about walking over grass that is covered with snow. The response was that walking on snow-covered grass can cause damage to the grass by smothering the grass and also could allow fungus to grow. It can also damage the crowns of the grass and repeatedly walking on the snow-covered grass could lead to a noticeable path when the springtime comes. My point? Our mail carrier does this every day, walking from neighbor to neighbor. I have taken pride in my lawn and don’t want to see my grass go bad when it gets warm.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. I was calling to pay a compliment to the Village of Villa Park. I just wanted to say how nice it is to have the Prairie Path plowed of snow in Villa Park. It definitely is helpful for those of us who are trying to appreciate it and make use of it in the darkest, coldest days of winter. It looks so nice during the spring and summer, but definitely is appreciated to have snow plowed in winter. Thank you very much. Bye bye.

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. I would like to thank the person who called in a couple of weeks ago about the skeet-shooting range and the information. I’ve been living on the west side of Lombard for many years, listening to the gunshots every single weekend and it’s so frustrating and annoying. I don’t know how anybody who lives on the side of Lombard near Glen Ellyn can even deal with that. I don’t hate guns; I don’t care anything about the shooting range itself or that people are shooting. I just hate the noise every single weekend for the entire winter. If there is a petition, please, somebody, let me know where it is. I will gladly sign it. Thank you.

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When are the Villa Park trustees going to end the right-turn gotcha tickets for the Walmart shoppers on Route 83? Almost all tickets issued are for right turns without making an absolute complete stop, which takes advantage of people spending money in Villa Park and has nothing to do with safety. Take a lesson from nice communities like Naperville, Schaumburg and Lombard, and dump the cameras. 

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Hi, Lombard calling. I was just wondering if anyone knows of any groups or organizations that recycle old Christmas cards. I used to work with an organization that used old greeting cards to make new greeting cards. That group is no longer in existence, and I was just wondering if there are other similar groups or organizations that might want to reuse these greeting cards before I send them off to the recycle bin. Thanks.

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Hi, Villa Park calling. Just went to the Village of Villa Park’s Web site to see when they’re going to pick up the real Christmas trees to recycle, and lo and behold, they call it a holiday tree pick-up. Holiday tree pick-up? Are you kidding me? Residents who have a real holiday tree should set it out after the normal pick-up schedule of refuse collection. It’s a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree. Christmas tree.

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I would just like to say thanks to our nice neighbors on Edson for the kind note letting us know they enjoy the nativity scene we put up in our front yard. We did not do it for kudos but it certainly was nice to receive them.

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I’d like to wish all the former employees of Mr. Z a very happy 2014, most especially Kelly, Laura, Lynn, Ron and Larry. Thank you.

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We took a walk through Lilacia Park the other night. It was absolutely beautiful. It was awesome. Thank you to whoever put that wonderful winter wonderland together. We certainly enjoyed it. Thank you.

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Another concerned citizen from Lombard. Great job of plowing. Once again, the worst streets probably in the state, I would guess. It is going to take someone to have a major accident before you do something. Maybe hire the people from Villa Park. That might be easier. Have a good day.

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Hi. I am still devastated over the closing of Mr. Z’s store. Not only was it a convenient location to get to, I also miss all the friendly workers there, along with the good quality of meats, that had the best prices of any other store in Lombard. It really was a sad day to see the store close. I used to love to go grocery shopping; now I hate it. My only hope is that another owner takes over that store, so that my grocery shopping becomes convenient again. I am sure I’m not the only person who feels this way and I hope that one day another grocery store owner takes over so we can have this old-fashioned grocery store that you felt good to shop at. Thank you.

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On Jan. 8 I got a call from Waste Management that they’re not picking up garbage until Saturday, if at all. Add to that the fact that the village was doing a terrible job in Lombard of plowing and salting. What’s wrong? Everybody’s gotten soft. They don’t know how to deal with winter. Where are all you people from and where are you going?

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I didn’t want to be the grinch for Christmas but financial gurus say our nation will be having even more part-time workers. You know, fast food, banks and many other jobs don’t allow a second job because the worker doesn’t get his schedule until the end of each week. They don’t know what hours they are going to work. How can they get a second job?

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I just want to let everybody know what a wonderful job the public works people did for the village after the storm, all the flooding. They were right on top of everything. What a great job they’ve been doing.

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This is Lombard calling. In the Jan. 15 edition on Page 5, you have a photo of special donations to the Lombard/Villa Park Food Pantry and the West Suburban Association for the Retarded’s Deicke Home. That’s not the correct terminology. That’s an awful, awful word. Whoever wrote this up should issue a correction and it’s a total insult to the residents who live at the Deicke Home and it’s highly upsetting to those residents. Thank you.

If you visit the Web site www.deickehome.org, you will find that the official name is, indeed, West Suburban Association for the Retarded. Richard and Collette Powers were among those who started the organization in the late 1950s, in part, because they could not find educational opportunities for their son—and others—with developmental disabilities. Since then it has gone from being a school and sheltered workshop to a residential home. So, the article was merely stating the name of the organization—reporting a fact—not insulting those individuals with developmental disabilities.—JAC

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Hi, this is Lombard calling. Regarding your recent article in the Lombardian, “Recent snow and extreme cold slow down mail delivery,” by Bonnie MacKay, I see by the last paragraph that Narbi Miulli, our Lombard postmaster, is taking lessons from the Lombard village board. They don’t want to make any statements to the press, either. Isn’t it wonderful that these people are all on the taxpayer dime and can’t take the time to make a comment? Thank you.

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This is Lombard regarding the delay in mail service after the snow and severe cold spell. I did not receive mail for eight days. I understand and agree that the safety of the postal carrier is the most important so I did not expect mail for a few days. But after four days I became concerned since I am also one of those people who was in the Target security breach and want to make sure no one is re-routing my mail as part of identity theft. I called the post office and a message said due to a high volume of calls, go to their Web site. I went to the Web site and found nothing about mail service delays. I went to the Lombard post office to ask “what has happened?”; the employee told me that the service is behind. I asked, “Where is my mail, if it is here can I have it?” He went into the back to check and told me it was not at the post office so will be delivered today. Two more days went by until I received my mail so my question to the Lombard United States Post Office “Where was the mail during that entire time?” I hope it was not in a mail truck. Again, delay of service due to weather is perfectly understandable but there was no communication regarding this delay. Thanks to Waste Management and their excellent communication, I knew exactly what was going to happen to my garbage pickup. The postal service can learn from them. I am now in the process of making all my bills paperless and pay them online. I hope to eliminate the postal service as much as possible and definitely for the important correspondence.

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I’m sure there are some very nice people in Lombard, but they certainly are not in the northwest end. I’ve been struggling to shovel my driveway and my neighbors with their snow plows and snow blowers just look and no one offered to help me. No one. I am elderly and alone. These people should be ashamed of themselves. After shoveling, the village then plowed in my driveway with very heavy snow; about 1 1/2 feet deep. I called them and they offered no help. What kind of people are you?

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Nice coverage in the Lombardian about the sad murder in Lombard last week, but really, do we need four paragraphs of police and state’s attorneys doing their jobs?

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This is Lombard calling. At about 11 o’clock on Monday, the 13th, two men were jogging on the Great Western Trail between Main Street and Charlotte with their boxer dog trailing behind them. The boxer attacked our beagle. When I got home I found a puncture wound behind the dog’s ear and took the beagle to the vet. A police report was made. If you are a responsible pet owner, call the police and tell them if your dog is healthy.

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Hi, this is Sioux Falls calling. I was visiting through the holidays here in Lombard. Where my sister lives, I was disgusted by the sliding and embankments that vehicles run into. Piles of snow that have just built up. I find it hard to believe that my time visiting in the neighborhood, nobody’s found it in their heart to rescue the two neighborhood dogs that are adjacent to my sister’s house. The owners, or caretakers, obviously don’t care. These dogs need to be walked, as opposed to barking, yelping from 5 a.m. on. I couldn’t believe my sister and her family having to deal with this every other day.

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I just wanted to call in and thank the Lombard Police Department for everything they do. My toddler gets dropped off at home from the bus and a few times this year vehicles have gone around the bus while I was unbuckling my child, Let’s just say I, along with the bus driver, are not very happy when this happens. Hopefully soon cameras will be installed on all buses to catch the perpetrators. What’s sad though is that these are the same parents leaving Hammerschmidt School which I live very close by; only a very ignorant parent could pass a bus up while having a precious child of their own. So I contacted the police department and they advised me to try to get the license plate number and let them know. Since I contacted them of this problem I have randomly seen police presence around my area when school lets out and I just wanted to thank them very much for protecting our children. Be advised if you’re that ignorant person to pass a bus while the stop sign is out, you will be very sorry one day.