Lazzara leaves Little League
Forest Park Little League Season 2007 has ended and I would like to thank all of the volunteers involved with the league this year for their support and assistance in providing a great experience for all of its participants.
I am very proud of the accomplishments made this year, such as the league’s first incorporation with the state of Illinois as a not for profit organization, the creation of its first website (forestparklittleleague.org) and the significant increase of player registration on all levels.
I have a high degree of personal respect for the Forest Park Little League organization and made many wonderful friendships. I enjoyed every moment at the park interacting with the parents, players, coaches and umpires this year.
Due to work and family related commitments and my desire to pursue other interests, I have decided to resign my position as president of Forest Park Little League. I am confident I have left it better than I found it with the help of the executive board, and am happy with the direction and momentum created from the endless volunteer hours, ideas, planning and hard work by all this year.
I would like to thank Bev Thompson, Rich Barger and the entire Community Center for their cooperation and assistance with special events and in making the facilities available to us, sometimes on short notice. I would also like to thank Larry Piekarz, Larry Buckley, all Park District staff and the board, especially John Boy and Carl for providing a spectacular environment for our ball players. Thanks also to Josh Adams and Dan Haley of the Forest Park Review for their commitment to a renewed relationship with our organization through the articles they published of our players, our special events and weekly stats. By assisting us, all of you have displayed a commitment that we, as members of the board and committees of Forest Park Little League, hope to instill in the children of our neighborhood.
A great thanks to all of the businesses who donated money to our league, some of them returning from many years of sponsorship and some for the first time. Your support of Forest Park Little League is necessary for its continued success and my personal appreciation for your dedication is unparalleled. We could not do it without you.
My experience here will stay with me forever and I look forward to the 2008 season and future years as a manager or coach and hope Forest Park Little League sees continued success.
Anthony J. Lazzara
Forest Park
Comforting gestures
I would really like to thank everyone who came to the wake and funeral for my grandma. My whole family also appreciates the many letters and condolences that we’ve received. My grandma always told me that I should keep my friends close, because one day I won’t get to see them again. I know for a fact that she loved everyone who was her friend. She is still watching out for us. I miss her, but she is still here in spirit, right next to my Papa, Marty Popelka, and I have felt honored to be named after him.
Marty Popelka
Downers Grove
Noise pollution
A heartfelt thank you to the Forest Park police officers who cited three motorists for loud car radios on July 15 (“Motorists cited for noise, 7/18/07, p. 4). The manufacturers of these devices, just as their drivers, know quite well that their function is to exert a form of audio violence and intimidation on responsible citizens on the streets, and even in their own homes.
One loud car radio can be heard throughout a radius of up to 40 residences, disturbing 100 people. Multiply that by the number of offenders in a community at any given time, and one has what amounts to a mass audio invasion of our streets and our homes.
Some have chosen to ignore the blatantly illegal, irresponsible behavior of “boom cars,” because they feel powerless. Others attribute it to the passing annoyances of a youth culture-the offenders cited were 25 and 34-year-old grown men-yet another example of what the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan identified as “defining deviancy down.” Doing so contributes to the continuing erosion of civility in our communities, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Forest Park, Oak Park, and River Forest all have noise ordinances on the books. Let’s continue to support our police in the enforcement of these laws. Let the self-appointed DJs who live or travel in our communities know that we mean business.
Todd Martin
Oak Park
‘Discord’ fabricated
I would personally like to respond to the “Our View” the Review recently printed with regards to the Historical Society of Forest Park, the ad hoc committee for the Centennial Commission and myself.
I personally joined the ad hoc committee. I was not representing the Historical Society. I was listed in the village council minutes dated Nov. 27, 2006 as an individual not the Historical Society. I did resign from the committee. This does not mean that the Historical Society does not intend to provide information to the committee. In fact we have. We have provided photos to the committee once the proper paperwork was signed. We fully intend to provide any other requested information at our disposal.
Now I would again like to address the “discord that has flared up over the Historical Society and its leadership.” There is no discord. Yes some of our officers are elderly, but who better to gain historical information from? They remember our history first hand. Mrs. Dr. Orland was there at the very inception of the Historical Society. It is true that the society had not had a meeting in approximately a year but, we do communicate by telephone.
When Josh Adams came to my home to interview me with regards to the “discord,” I spoke at length with him. I also showed him the photo preservation I have been working on. Very little that was said was ever put into print.
The articles seemed very one sided. It is my opinion the Review printed just enough to get people talking. I understand it is the way to sell papers, and yes I understand “freedom of the press” but in a village this small is this really necessary? Why not just report both sides of a story?
Rich Vitton
Forest Park
