Wehrli explains awarding capital grant to Little Friends
I read the Dec. 13 letter to the editor from Mark Urda with interest and agree the Naperville/Warrenville area is home to many worthwhile not-for-profit organizations that deserve our support.
However, it appears that Mr. Urda is unaware that member initiative funds are tied to a capital program approved by the state legislature, and therefore funds must be donated to nonprofits for brick-and-mortar or facility/infrastructure improvement projects.
I also take issue with Mr. Urda’s statement that Little Friends is “already adequately funded,” and would encourage him to do some homework. Due to decades of failed financial oversight in the state of Illinois, not-for-profit service delivery agencies like Little Friends have seen their state support dwindle and it looks like that trend will continue under the current administration and legislative leadership.
Little Friends is a true gem in our community, and my member initiative allocation will provide them with the ability to nearly triple the amount of services they can provide to this region’s developmentally disabled and autistic community.
Since state government does a woefully inadequate job of taking care of those who cannot care for themselves, I stand by my donation, and look forward to Little Friends emerging as the premier location in Illinois where children and families can receive services that help them grow and thrive.
Rep. Grant Wehrli, R-Naperville
Edward Hospital, staff ready to administer vaccine
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Edward-Elmhurst, parent company of Edward Hospital in Naperville, has started vaccinating our health care workers against the coronavirus. Together, we will fight back against the pandemic that has wreaked havoc on all our lives.
We’ve studied the data. Purchased ultra-cold freezers. Educated the staff. Established mass vaccination centers. Mobilized the delivery team and, in many other ways, prepared to change history and the course of this disease.
I am so proud of our physicians, employees, volunteers and the entire community who’ve worked together to battle this pandemic. We have witnessed unthinkable pain, suffering and tragedy. We have also felt profound love, camaraderie, compassion and support.
True to form, our health care workers have stepped up en masse to do what is right and noble. In the first week, there will not be enough vaccines for all those who want them. But our staff is lined up and will patiently wait for the next shipments because they know there is light at the end of the tunnel and they must lead us all through to the end.
I am deeply honored and grateful to work with these amazing people.
Mary Lou Mastro
System CEO, Edward-Elmhurst Health
Accomplished Naperville native remembered fondly
It probably could be attributed to age, but at this time of the year our thoughts can include memories of people who have been part of our lives. This fall I was reminded of a promise I made to stay in touch with someone that now cannot be fulfilled.
There was a young lady attending Naperville Community High School, now Naperville Central, when I was a student there. Carolyn Anne Voss was a member of the class of 1963, and half the male student population — myself included — had a crush on her.
She finished high school in three years and moved on to Florida State University, graduating with honors. Not far into the future, she followed her husband into the U.S. Marine Corps and via the Marines, she earned a doctorate degree in law, graduating magna cum laude.
She retired as a full colonel, went into private law practice and established herself as an legal expert in California.
When I tried to contact her in October, I was touched harder than I expected when I found her obituary instead.
If Naperville readers want to know more about her, you find Carolyn’s obituary by Googling Carolyn Anne Hudson, San Diego.
Mike McConnell, Ventura, California
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