Ask cemetery to renew lease

Much has changed since the 1840s when enlightened leaders, Joe Naper among them, moved the Naperville Cemetery from the corner of Benton and Washington to the outskirts of town (less than one-mile away) at Hillside and Washington. Growth in population, growth in land mass, growth in homes and businesses and places of worship and parks; growth occurred in all areas that make a place a community. Early cemetery leaders wisely recognized the common good and took action to accommodate the present and be prepared for the future. Today, 4.7 acres of cemetery land are leased to Naperville Unit District 203. The uses of these acres have been a valuable contribution to the education and health of our young people. I thank the Naperville Cemetery Association (NCA) for entering in to this partnership. This arrangement, I believe, has benefited the cemetery, the common good and the children. I would like the public to please join me in asking the six members of the NCA board to halt the sale of lots in this area and renew a lease arrangement with the school district. We should also ask them to explore, in partnership with the community, a second location for burial ground. I believe time is of the essence because improvements are underway at NCHS. Mayor George Pradel is a director of the NCA. Please direct your comments to him at 630-420-6018.

Mary Lou Wehrli

Naperville