OP_120816

16 | December 8, 2016 | The orland park prairie News
opprairie.com
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Mokena earns certificate for
emergency preparedness
In case of emergency, the
Village of Mokena is in good
hands.
Mokena was recognized
Nov. 28 at its regularly
scheduled Village Board of
Trustees meeting with a certificate
from the Illinois Law
Enforcement Alarm System
organization for the Village’s
work in improving its emergency
management plans.
Mokena Police Chief
Steve Vaccaro said in 2014,
when he first started in Mokena,
Mayor Frank Fleischer
tasked him with updating the
Village’s emergency operations
plan.
“Through assistance from
ILEAS and Harold Damron
from Will County Emergency
Management Agency,
we were able to update our
emergency operations plan,
which the board approved in
2015,” Vaccaro said. “I had a
lot of help from staff. ... But
the next logical step through
ILEAS was to work through
their emergency preparedness
program, which really
makes us a better agency
when it comes to emergencies
and planning for the inevitable.”
Michael D’Amico, regional
planning coordinator
at ILEAS, presented the certification.
“[This] is a program that
we offer to help police agencies
with to bring their police
departments and communities
up to speed on their ability
to handle major disasters
or large critical incidents,”
D’Amico said. “The most
important component of [the
program] is the emergency
operations plan. Steve did a
marvelous job. I reviewed it,
and, in addition to that, the
county emergency management
agency approved it.”
The certification also
is a rare achievement, as
D’Amico said only 10 percent
of Illinois’ 1,000 law
enforcement agencies have
earned the certificate.
Reporting by Jon DePaolis,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit MokenaMessenger.com.
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Cache Creek urges families
to adopt pets for the
holidays
Thinking of bringing
home a pet this holiday season?
Cache Creek Animal Rescue
in New Lenox is encouraging
people to consider
adoption instead of buying a
pet this year.
Animals come to the shelter
from animal control,
owner surrenders and other
shelters. Some have come
to the shelter from far-away
places, like St. John in the
U.S. Virgin Islands.
While some pets end up at
the shelter because of abuse
or neglect, Denise Lasater,
who has been volunteering
at the shelter for a yearand-a-half,
said many times
families give up their pets
because of their behavior.
When puppies become
full-sized and have not had
proper training, many people
do not know how to handle
them and give them away,
she said.
According to the American
Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals,
every year roughly 7.6 million
animals enter shelters
and only approximately 2.7
million are adopted.
Lasater said adopting a
shelter dog is a different experience
than buying a dog
from a breeder.
“There is a bond there that
I don’t think you have otherwise,”
she said. “There’s
so many dogs out there that
are excellent dogs that need
a home.”
While adoption numbers
ebb and flow throughout the
year, staff and volunteers at
Cache Creek are hoping to
see an increase in adoptions
for the holidays.
“Our goal is just to get
them out for the holidays,”
said Mary Nebor, who started
volunteering at the shelter
earlier this year. “We just
want them to have a home
for the holidays.”
Reporting by Amanda Stoll,
Assistant Editor. For more, visit
NewLenoxPatriot.com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
TPHS students, seniors get
into the spirit of Christmas
with annual holiday party
Tinley Park High School’s
gym looked a little different
the morning of Nov. 30.
Several rows of chairs and
tables were placed neatly
on the main floor, and a few
small, white picket fences
decorated with wreaths
marked the boundary between
the audience and the
performers.
Those aspects set the stage
for the annual Senior Citizen
Holiday Party, which showcased
a handful of talent
from the school’s choir, jazz
band and drama club.
Choir director Victor
Pazik led his students into
a mix of Christmas classics
like “O Come All Ye
Faithful” and “Do You Hear
What I Hear?” And the jazz
band turned up the funk, as
band director Vince Aiello
gave them the cue to play
The Temptations’ “Shakey
Ground.” The song’s playfulness
and spunk became
the perfect backdrop for a
dance-off, and staff, students
and seniors gathered to show
off their moves.
Bernadette Wischhover,
of Tinley Park, walked away
the winner of that contest,
and she was awarded a T-
shirt that boasted the band’s
attitude: “Admit it. We help
you get your groove on.”
“It’s so nice to have our
senior community here
in our building to see our
kids, to see our talents, to
just spend a little time with
them,” Principal Theresa
Nolan said.
Reporting by F. Amanda
Tugade, Editor. For more, visit
TinleyJunction.com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Lockport native donates $1
million to UIUC
What started with a $250
scholarship from the Lockport
Woman’s Club in 1963
has resulted in a $1 million
donation to the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
With the help of that $250
scholarship, Robert Carr —
a Lockport Township High
School graduate — earned a
bachelor’s degree in mathematics
and a master’s degree
in computer science from
UIUC. He went on to found
Heartland Payment Systems,
a payments processing company
that recently sold for
$4.3 billion.
Carr founded the Give
Something Back Foundation,
which provides mentors
and scholarships to children
in low-income households.
The organization identifies
students in ninth-grade who
are Pell Grant-eligible and
helps make sure they are
taking the correct college
preparatory classes. It also
provides them with mentors.
When the students reach college,
if they choose to attend
one of the 17 Give Something
Back university partners,
their tuition, fees, and
room and board are paid in
full for four years.
“We’re going after the
neediest kids trying to get
them early,” Carr said. “We
want our kids to graduate in
four years with no debt.”
Reporting by Max Lapthorne,
Editor. For more, visit Lock
portLegend.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
Homer Glen native set to
release second book in
paranormal trilogy
There are demons lurking
in the shadows in Homer
Glen — at least in D.A.
Roach’s world.
The Homer Glen native
and Lockport Township High
School graduate has made
her hometown the stage for
a paranormal battleground in
her Demon Hunter trilogy.
She released the first book,
“Between the Bleeding Willows,”
in March and is set to
release the second, “Within
the Darkest Hollows,” Dec.
13.
“It’s like, ‘You’re excited,
you’ve been working hard,
but you don’t know how it’s
going to go or how it’s going
to be received by the public,’”
Roach said. “You’ve
put forward your best. ... I’m
excited but anxious, as well.”
Roach — who has since
moved to a suburb of Zionsville,
Indiana — based
the “Human Realm” of her
books off Homer Glen. She
even likened locations in the
books to local landmarks
such as Bengtson’s Pumpkin
Farm and Bachelor’s Grove
Cemetery in Midlothian,
which serves as the portal
between the human and demon
realms.
The book follows the adventures
of 18-year-old Cassidy
and a mystical ring that
belonged to her boyfriend,
which she discovered after he
visit us online at www.opprairie.com
died in a car accident. In the
latest installment, Cassidy is
caught in the middle of a conflict
between her friend and
head Demon Hunter, Killian,
and the Demon Queen, Rya.
Cassidy finds herself being
used as collateral.
“Within the Darkest Hollows”
will be available in
both paperback and eBook
form from www.Barnesand
Noble.com and www.Ama
zon.com beginning Dec. 13.
Reporting by Erin Redmond,
Assistant Editor. For more, visit
HomerHorizon.com.
FROM THE FRANKFORT STATION
Armed man reportedly robs
Frankfort bank
An armed man allegedly
robbed a Frankfort bank
Nov. 28, according to a press
release issued by the Frankfort
Police Department.
Old Plank Trail Community
Bank, 20901 S. La
Grange Road, was reportedly
robbed at about 5 p.m.
by a suspect who displayed
a handgun and threatened
an employee in an effort to
get cash, according to FBI
spokesperson Garrett Croon.
The suspect then received
the stolen goods and fled
north on foot, Croon said.
The alleged offender is
described as a thin, white
male between the ages of 40
and 50 years old who stands
about 5 feet and 11 inches
tall, according to an alert issued
by law enforcement. He
wore blue jeans, sunglasses,
and a dark gray or black shirt
at the time of the crime, according
to police.
Croon said anyone with
information should contact
the FBI. A reward up to
$1,000 is available for information
leading to an arrest.
Reporting by Kirsten Onsgard,
Editor. For more, visit
FrankfortStation.com.