Need less "me firsts" in garden debate

Put them somewhere else. Move them to the edge of town. We make sacrifices for our kids. The safety of our kids comes first. It's a no brainer.

This was the theme of comments from Dist. 203 student athletes' parents at the Nov. 10 public engagement meeting. Not one of the parents suggested a compromise solution. Not one of the parents recognized that this might be a hardship for the gardeners. The garden plot program participants are expected to be willing to drive to the edge of town to garden. However, this is not something that the athletes are willing to do (actually they would be riding in a bus with a licensed, experienced school bus driver.) About 40 percent of the gardeners are senior citizens, so this raises concerns about safety in traffic, and vandalism at the new location of garden plots. It appears that Naperville is not a friendly place for seniors.

Perhaps the athletes' parents have never gardened, do not have grandparents or were raised by wolves. The only constructive comment of the evening was the suggestion that a land swap be discussed between the park district and the cemetery association. If Naperville is to continue describing itself as a "can do" city, this discussion should be pursued rather than wasting time hearing 100 more "Me first" comments.

Elaine Fisher

Naperville