Doolin’s letter showed ‘elitist attitude’
This letter is in response to Commissioner Patrick Doolin’s June 7 letter to the editor.
Mr. Doolin accuses the Mayor of not being able to set politics aside for the last three years; however, it seems as if the only words to come from Commissioner Doolin are caustic, inflammatory and designed purely in the hopes of pumping up support for his so-obviously anticipated and predictable run for Mayor.
Mr. Doolin often accuses the Mayor of not building a consensus; however, in reality, it is clear that Mr. Doolin would want no part in any consensus (even if it existed). Mr. Doolin’s sole quest appears to be to differentiate himself from the Mayor by vehemently disagreeing with him on virtually every issue in any way that will call attention to himself, and at times, resorting to personal attacks that have nothing to do with the issues.
In his June 7 letter, Commissioner Doolin sunk to a new level with his condescending attitude and affront towards those without a formal education. He obviously feels no one is able to make a meaningful contribution to the Village, or elsewhere, unless they are college-educated. Mr. Doolin’s mentioning of his “real” bachelor’s degree from a “real” university further demonstrates his elitist attitude towards anyone not in possession of such a “real” education. It goes without saying that Mr. Doolin is wrong on this, and his public personal attacks of this sort are contemptible and uncalled for.
Hopefully, in the next election, the citizens of Forest Park will show that they will not tolerate such poor and unconstructive behavior by Mr. Doolin, or his elitist views.
Aaron Kolb
Summerfest 2006 ‘a great success’
Despite Oktoberfest-like weather, Summerfest 2006 was a great success. Forest Park and area residents enjoyed the community festival, and folks from all over the Chicagoland area visited Forest Park…some for the first time.
Key to the success of Summerfest is sponsor support, and we are grateful for the incredible generosity of our sponsors whose contributions helped make Summerfest a reality. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Forest Park Chamber of Commerce, we would like to thank the following for their generosity and support: Premier advertising sponsor Taxman Corporation & Focus Development (Residences at the Grove/Forest Park); Platinum Sponsors Ferrara Pan Candy Co. and Gleason Chevrolet; Gold Sponsors Christopher B. Burke Engineering and Farmington Foods; Main Stage sponsor Miller Brewing Co./Burke Beverage;
Advertising sponsors Cherryfield Construction, Oak Park Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Forest Park Review/Wednesday Journal/Landmark; Band sponsors Two Fish Art Glass, Carriage Flower Shop, Team Blonde Jewelry, Forest Park Main Street, Macdaddy on Madison, American Music World, Kagan & Gaines and The Old School Records; Silver sponsors Elizabeth Axtell Agency/American Family Insurance and Doc Ryan’s; Bronze sponsors Trage Bros. Electronics & Appliances, Schauer’s Ace Hardware, Tefco Construction, Mohr Oil Company, Storino Ramello & Durkin, Thiesse Plumbing, Louie’s Grill, McAdam Landscaping, Scariano Himes & Petrarca and Healy’s Westside/Cocina Lobos; Printing sponsor McLeod Smith Graphics; Children’s stage sponsor The Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor, Krazy About Kids Outlet and Treehouse Boutique; Ultra Foods for the bottled water, and Summerfest sponsors My Best Friend Groom & Board, Painted Board Studio, Campbell’s Towing, Forest Park Firefighters Local 2753 and Harrison Street Cafe.
A big thank you to Spotless Carwash for the generous donation of $7 car wash tokens that were given away with every $20 ticket purchase, and to the Park District of Forest Park for the use of the stage.
Special thanks to Laureen Thornton for working the ticket booth from beginning to end both days, and to all our volunteers. Your help is greatly appreciated.
As always, we appreciate the continued support and top-notch services provided by the Village of Forest Park, the police and fire departments and pubic works. A big thank you to Bob Kutak who always goes above and beyond the call of duty.
We would also like to thank Tom Krenek (Forest Park Emporium) for organizing the antique market as well as Cecelia Hardacker (Two Fish Art Glass) and Rich Schauer (Schauer’s Ace Hardware) for managing the community garage sale.
Thanks to all participating merchants and vendors and, last but not least, everyone who joined us for Summerfest 2006!
Laurie Kokenes, Mark Hosty, Bill Hosty
Judy Trage, Cecilia Hardacker,
Heidi Vance,Connie Brown
The Forest Park Chamber of Commerce
Summerfest 2006 Committee
Thanks for the new green recycling bins
I would like to thank both Allied Waste and the Village of Forest Park for giving us the chance to get better recycling bins. They hold about two times what the old blue bins would hold, and the lid protects its contents from getting wet or blown away. As people do more online shopping these days, a large amount of flattened cardboard boxes can fit into the bin, which make our alleys look neater.
As recycling bins expand, we would like to see trash bins shrink for people willing to make an effort. Since we not only reduce, reuse and recycle, it takes us more than three months to fill up the current trash bin. Of course families with illness may be exceptions to this, but right now our large bins are encouraging people to “produce trash” and needlessly expand the polluting dumpster business while wasting loads of energy along the way. In fact, just going through the Village alleys up to three days before collection day clearly shows that people who either do not recycle, neglect to compact when possible, or flatten and cut down their cardboard boxes as instructed, tend to have overflowing bins with trash all over the place. Moreover, large boxes which are not folded and cut down are being sent to the dump because the recycling trucks cannot flatten them.
Things are working and we just want them to work even better. Would it be possible to give more room to recycling issues in both the Village website and the Forest Park Review? Maybe someone could “follow the trash” and report on how recycling works? I called Allied Waste out of curiosity and was told that the sorting of recyclables takes place near Skokie in a state-of-the-art recycling facility which can automatically separate all the accepted materials. It would be great to see a picture of this.
Finally, not many people know that yard waste was banned from landfills in the 1990s (according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency website), yet I can see people dumping tree branches on trash cans all the time. Just a little more info could go a long way in helping us be a more efficient Village, which would also get cleaner in the process, and less inviting to litter, rodents or graffiti.
Thanks again for the bins!
J. Johnson
Eighth grade dance a ‘memorable occasion’
The 8th Grade Middle School Dance Committee would like to acknowledge the following businesses and individuals for their generous donations: Dr. Lori Lipkin, Molly Malone’s, Shanahan’s, Great Expectations LHC, Businessmen Liquor Assn, Ed’s Way, Lenore Koca, Lori Branda, McAdams, Nadeau’s Ice Sculptures, Starship Subs, Jimmy John’s, Kay’s Bakery, Schauer’s Ace Hardware, Freddy’s Pizza, Vicki Stisevic, Megan Nutley, Park District of Forest Park, Mrs. Norge-Drent, Amy Pusavc and Lil Whalen.
To the friends and family that assisted with making this a memorable occasion for the 8th Grade Class, a big Thank You. Lastly, sincere gratitude goes out to the members of the Dance Committee for their months of dedication and commitment that produced a successful and enjoyable event.
Robin L. Zaverdas
8th Grade Dance Committe
