Getting off the Soapbox to look at the rest of the story

Actual corporate e-mail chain revealing the inner workings of the Daily Herald and its DuPage editor:

(Editorial Page Editor John Zimmerman to Jim Davis):

"Hi, Jim…Would you mind giving Jennifer Peal (sp?) a call? She's angry about the "Refreshing" soapbox item we published Saturday and wants to talk to whomever wrote it. She says the item is "completely incorrect and false." She lives in the Cambridge Chase subdivision, with her property backing up to Metea…"

(The aforementioned Soapbox item):

Refreshing: That's the way -- especially in light of the early history of Metea Valley High School -- to describe the recent cooperation between neighbors and school officials. Residents of the adjoining Cambridge Chase subdivision said this week they initially worried about idling buses, stadium lights pointed at their homes and other annoyances. But after a few productive meetings with Indian Prairie Unit District 204, homeowners say they're looking forward to being neighbors to the school when it opens for freshmen and sophomores next year.

(Jim Davis e mail to reporter Justin Kmitch):

"Justin...As much as I'd love to chat with Jennifer, it might be more productive if you called her. Please mention to her that the info for the soapbox item was based on your story a day earlier, in which it truly did seem to be one big lovefest between Cambridge Chase residents and the school district, with the alderwoman as the happy intermediary. But if Jennifer is part of a less-than-enthralled group of CC residents who feel the district has done nothing for them, I'd say you've got yourself a follow-up story...Jim"

If I'm completely honest, I'll admit I had another reason for asking Justin, our reporter who covers Indian Prairie District 204 and Metea Valley, to return the call: I kind of wanted to skip talking to another angry reader. Sometimes they're rather hostile and not completely reasonable. Turns out Justin was assigned to other things this week, and I did end up chatting with Jennifer Piehl. We had a couple cordial discussions, and if she ever was angry with us, it didn't show.

She did say, though, that despite all the happiness reflected in Justin's story and our Soapbox item, she and several neighbors were less-than-happy campers. Easy to dismiss them as NIMBYs, but after driving by the future Metea Valley site and taking a look at the plans, I think they've got some good points. (And, just to defend a sincere effort by Justin, I would point out he left phone messages for more than a dozen people in the subdivision, but heard back from only one person, who seemed fine with the school's plans.)

Sure, no one living in the 'burbs can expect those big, empty fields to remain open forever, and there certainly are more obnoxious developments than a new high school, BUT the homes of people living along Bennett Place back up, very close, to … a parking lot. A parking lot where bus traffic will be routed every day of the week. Not exactly the view of suburbia one envisions from one's back deck.

And the construction phase ain't no picnic, either. Because of all the wrangling over where Metea Valley was going to be built, the school district is way behind on plans to open the school in the fall of 2009. So crews are out in force with the earth-moving equipment seven days a week.

"We don't even have our Sundays," Jennifer says.

She's also not happy about the tree barrier that's supposed to shield residents from the school parking lot. Plans call for the planting of indigenous trees, which won't shield residents from much in the winter. Maybe evergreens would be a good idea, she says.

So, despite the apparent lovefest between the school district and Cambridge Chase subdivision that they portrayed -- and we gladly passed along -- perhaps another meeting between the district and the Bennett Lane residents would be in order.

And that concludes our Soapbox item for tomorrow.