The Soapbox
Too close to home?
Residents in the western half of Lake County routinely wake up to gunfire this time of year, with hunting season in full swing. Areas where hunting is allowed often are adjacent to neighborhoods and forest preserves. Should the county, with its population of 700,000, allow hunting near homes? You have to wonder.
Charitable giving:
Sure, we all dream of lavish vacations, new homes, new toys we’d get if we won the lottery. Glen Ellyn resident Ron Yurcus lived the dream this week when he won a $1 million Powerball drawing. But it wasn’t all about him. Yurcus and his wife routinely give their time to various charities. Now, he says, “we can donate financially as well.” Very nice.
Filling a big need:
Feed My Starving Children’s new relief operation in Libertyville added some major muscle this week to the effort to provide food for hungry children around the world. The agency calls its 18,000-square-foot facility, where volunteers fill packets of vitamin-fortified powdered meals for 90,000 kids a day, a “super site.” It is indeed.
Not so funny now:
Kudos to the Hoffman Estates Police Department for tracking down and arresting four teens reportedly responsible for calling in a fake bomb threat to Hoffman Estates High School to get themselves out of school for the day. Perhaps it will convince others to consider the consequences of such hoaxes.
Ho, ho, hold on a minute:
Santa has made many visits in the suburbs. Christmas trees are being lit at village halls or town squares. And readings of “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (aka “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”) are already taking place. Today would it be more like, “’Twas the 37th Night Before Christmas”? It’s not even Thanksgiving yet.
That’s the ticket::
After the Cubs announced they lowered ticket prices in some sections next season, the White Sox countered with even greater discounts. Now the Sox have upped the ante — or lowered the boom — by coming up with an inexpensive Family Sunday discount package. As fans, that’s another kind of competition we like to see. Your move, Cubs.
Too good to be true?
In a week designated as International Fraud Awareness Week, it’s a sad irony that police reported mail and phone scams against women in Arlington Heights and Buffalo Grove. Such cases are too common. Our caution is simple: Don’t send money to any person or organization before checking it out. Report dubious solicitations to police.
Nice tributes:
Nearly every pro and college sports team offered a touching tribute last weekend to our country’s veterans. Those Veterans Day ceremonies were well done and well deserved. What’s even more impressive is that many teams still honor veterans at every home game week after week. That’s something that never goes out of style.
And even nicer ...
... when it involves a life-changing show of support, such as the efforts by the community to adapt U.S. Marine Sgt. Daniel Tsutsumi’s home and ease his burdens after a freak accident that left him paralyzed. The Arlington Heights native had made it home safely from a second tour in Iraq. Now it’s nice to see the “semper” in Semper Fi.