In our community newspaper, The Voice, we are involved in presenting, best way possible, a reflection of our communities and the best way forward for community growth.
We are blessed to receive many items from many areas and sources and we do our best to offer inclusion. Ordinarily, we receive many more items than there is room to include. We do our best to keep our communities informed, offer discussion opportunities, provide discussion avenues.
We offer opinions as a part of what constitutes this space and continually invite others to send Reader’s Voice and Reader’s Commentaries to The Voice.
Here are some notes of interest:
• Nonprofit survey: The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley and the Dunham Foundation are partners to conduct a community needs assessment. Part one had participation. The second phase is a community survey for residents of Kane and Kendall Counties. Anyone 18 and older can take the survey at tinyurl.com/2us6hpvn
“We are asking for your help to share community survey information broadly…include social media, website, newsletter, eblast, or Email to clients, staff, friends, and family….The survey will be open (for five more weeks). If you have questions, or want materials delivered to your organization, please contact communityneeds@cffrv.org.”
• The official kick-off of It’s Our Fox River Day was September 13. The organization, Friends of the Fox River educator, Jenni Schiavone put her canoe in at the Fox River’s headwaters September 8 and ended at the mouth of the River September 18. It’s Our Fox River Day is a watershed-wide thank you celebration. This year it involved 33 cleanup locations organized by municipalities, local rotaries park/preserve districts, and individual organizations and committees. The Voice salutes and is thankful for the continual work by the Friends of the Fox River from near Wisconsin to Ottawa and our communities should have greater awareness with thankfulness.
• The late Robert (Bob) J. O’Connor deserves the accolades offered at the Tuesday, Sept. 27 Aurora City Council meeting. Tributes were deservedly plentiful for his 36 years as an alderman and mayor pro-tem, and especially for his ability to be positive, upbeat, and derive the best qualities from those around him. His vocation was as an attorney, however, his joy was serving the greater good in Aurora and to meet the rough decisions with preparation, candor, and a unique sense of humor. His enduring contributions and efforts will be remembered by many in Aurora for a long time. Council members would do well to understand his guidance, role as a model on how to conduct himself as a public servant, and think of others, both constituents and Council members, as a priority.