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mokena’s Award-Winning Hometown Newspaper mokenamessenger.com • February 9, 2017 • Vol. 10 No. 26 • $1
A
®
Publication
,LLC
Safety
first
Visitor
management
systems track
the comings
and goings in
area schools,
Page 3
Six Lincoln-Way candidates make their case in first forum, Page 5
Spiking
cancer
Volley for a
Cure event
raises money
for the Cancer
Support Center
of Mokena,
Page 8
Packing
a punch
Local martial
arts class
teaches selfdefense
for all
ability levels,
Page 11
Six of the 13 candidates running for Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 Board of Education — (left to right) Aaron Janik, Joe Kirkeeng, Joseph Kosteck,
Christopher Lucchetti, Dee Molinare and Robert Ripp — answer community members’ questions Thursday, Feb. 2 during a forum. Laurie Fanelli/22nd Century Media
is our middle name.
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MOKENA ■ 19102 S. 88th Ave. ■ 708-326-8300
15 mos

2 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger calendar
mokenamessenger.com
In this week’s
Messenger
Standout Student...........14
Police Reports................16
Editorial........................17
Faith Briefs....................20
Puzzles..........................28
Classifieds................ 32-41
Sports...................... 43-48
The Mokena
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assistant editor
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Sales director
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Legal Notices
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Managing Editor
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Published by
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Amanda Stoll
a.stoll@22ndcenturymedia.com
THURSDAY
Women’s Health Seminar
Thursday, February 9,
Women’s Healthcare of Illinois,
10260 West 191 Street,
Mokena. Dr. Finkelstein is
hosting a free educational
seminar on vaginal atrophy
and the MonaLisa Touch
treatment. Registration required.
Call (708) 572-4031
or email info@whcillinois.
com to register.
FRIDAY
Unclaimed Property
9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Feb.
10, Mokena Village Hall,
11004 Carpenter St., Mokena.
The Illinois State Treasurer’s
office is currently
safeguarding more than $2
billion in unclaimed property
belonging to millions
of Illinois residents. One in
four Illinois adults discovers
property to claim, averaging
$1,000 per claim. Join a representative
from the Treasurer’s
office as they assist residents
in determining if they
have unclaimed property,
and if they do, how they may
obtain it. All are welcome.
For more information, visit
www.icash.illinoistreasurer.
gov.
SATURDAY
Coffee with the Candidates
8:30-10:30 a.m. Saturday,
Feb. 11, Frankfort Township
Administration Building,
11000 W. Lincoln Highway,
Frankfort. Candidates running
for the Lincoln-Way
District 210 School Board
on the Citizens for 210 slate
will discuss how their slate
is made up of individuals
with diverse skills and backgrounds,
who are all concerned
taxpayers intending to
work together with the community
to ensure student success
and fiscal responsibility.
Refreshments will be served.
Preschool Registration
9-10:30 a.m. Saturday,
Feb. 11, Program Center,
Registration will be accepted
in person for the Mokena
Park District’s Fall 2017
Early Childhood Education
Program. Fees, birth certificate
and proof of immunizations
will be required at
the time of registration. For
more information, call (708)
390-2401.
MONDAY
Cinderella Ball
Deadline to register is
Monday, Feb. 13. Event
will be held 3:30-5 p.m. and
6:30-8 p.m. Saturday, Feb.
25, Program Center, 10925
W. La Porte Road, Mokena.
Every little girl is a princess,
so don’t miss this special
daddy-daughter date night
opportunity. With dancing,
refreshments and music, this
event is sure to create lasting
memories. This event is
for children ages 5-10, and
dads. Cost is $29 per couple
and $12 for each additional
child.
Passport to Adventure
Deadline to register is
Monday, Feb. 13. Trip will
be Friday, Feb. 17. Enchanted
Castle, Lombard. School
is out but the fun is not. Join
in for Passport to Adventure
with the Mokena Community
Park District. This trip
will take participants to the
Enchanted Castle in Lombard.
There will be indoor
go karts, laser tag, bumper
cars, rides, mini-bowling,
inflatable’s, Karaoke, singing
dragons, a two-story
play land, games and prizes.
This program is for children
ages 5-11 years old. For
more information, call 708-
390-2416.
TUESDAY
100+ Women Who Care
5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday,
Feb. 14, Embers Tap House,
933 S. State Street, Lockport.
100+ Women Who Care of
Will County is a group of local
women who are interested
in supporting communities
by contributing to local charities
as a group. It’s a unique
way to multiply the impact of
big hearts. During quarterly
meetings, members nominate
charities, and after a
brief presentation, the members
vote on which charity to
support. Individuals or small
groups then write a $100
check to that charity. 100% of
the money goes to the charity.
For more information,
visit www.100wwc-will.org
or email maribeth@100wwcwill.org.
UPCOMING
Historical Society
8:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb.
18, Mokena Village Hall,
11004 Carpenter Street,
Mokena. NOTE: date of
the February Mokena Area
Historical Society meeting
has changed. The meeting is
normally held on the second
Saturday of each month.
Reading with Mandy
4-5 p.m., Tuesday Feb. 21,
Mokena Community Public
Library District, 11327
195th St, Mokena. Students
in grades 1-8 can sign up for
a time to read with Mandy,
a certified therapy dog. For
more information and registration,
call (708) 479-9663.
Group Exercise Open House
Friday, Feb. 23, The Oaks
Recreation and Fitness Center,
10847 W La Porte Rd,
Mokena. Try out free classes
that can add variety to your
workouts and a fun social atmosphere
and motivating instructors.
Non-members do
not need to be present with a
member to participate. Firsttime
guests only. Visit www.
mokenapark.com/oaks for a
schedule of classes.
Community Business
Expo & Health Fair
9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday,
Feb. 25, The Oaks Recreation
and Fitness Center, 10845
LaPorte Road, Mokena.
Event offers blood pressure
checks, diabetes screenings,
body fat ratio measurements
and more. Find a dentist,
plumber, sports team, dance
class, home repair service,
bank, restaurant, insurance
and more at the expo.
Showcase of Art
Feb. 25-25, The Oaks
Recreation and Fitness Center,
10847 W La Porte Rd,
Mokena. Join the Mokena
Park District for the Annual
Showcase of Art, displaying
the work of young artists
enrolled in park district art
programs. Enjoy this diverse
display of art from oils,
acrylics and watercolors to
sand castles and clay sculptures.
The exhibit will remain
open during the entire
weekend. For more information,
call (708) 390-2401.
Preschool Registration
8-11 a.m., Monday, Feb. 27,
Lincoln Way Central, 1801 E
Lincoln Hwy, New Lenox.
Registration for Lincoln-Way
High Schools 2017-2018 preschool
programs, sponsored
by the Family and Consumer
Sciences Early Childhood Education
classes, will be held
in room D119. 16 children
between the ages of three to
five will be selected to attend.
Children must be three years
old by Sep. 1, toilet trained,
and reside within the district.
Cost is $30 per month, or
$240 per year. A nonrefundable
$60 deposit will be required
of those selected, and
will be applied to the first two
months. For more information,
call (815) 462-2187.
Candidate Forum
7-9 p.m., March 8, Lincoln-
Way Central High School,
1801 E. Lincoln Highway,
New Lenox. The Lincoln-
Way Education Association
will host a District 210 School
Board Candidate Forum. invitations
to all thirteen candidates
have been mailed and
RSVPs are requested by Feb.
24. The forum will be open
to the public and audience
members will have the opportunity
to ask questions. Email
questions from the public can
be sent to lwea210@gmail.
com. For more information,
call (815) 545-9928 or email
lwea210@gmail.com.
Lincoln-Way Half Marathon
7 a.m. Saturday, April 29.
Breidert Green Park, corner
of Kansas Street and White
Street in Frankfort. The Lincoln-Way
Half Marathon,
formerly the Frankfort Half
Marathon will begin and end
at Breidert Green Park in
downtown Frankfort and participants
will run along Old
Plank Road Trail throughout
the race. Proceeds from the
race will go directly toward
enhancing educational experiences
of District 210 students.
For more information about
sponsorships, volunteering
and registration, visit www.
lincolnwayhalfmarathon.com.
ONGOING
Winter Reading Programs
Ongoing through Friday,
March 3, Mokena Community
Public Library District,
11327 195th St, Mokena.
Cozy up to a good book or
stop by the library to see what
the library has to offer this
winter. Reading programs are
geared towards both children
and adults. Earn prizes for
reading, attending programs
and trying out the new virtual
reality station. For more information,
stop by the library,
call (708) 479-9663, or visit
www.mokenalibrary.org.
To submit an item to the
printed calendar, contact
Amanda Stoll at (708)
326-9170 ext. 34, or email
a.stoll@22ndcenturymedia.
com. Deadline is noon
Thursdays one week prior to
publication.

mokenamessenger.com News
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 3
Visitor management system keeps students, teachers safe with ID checks
Amanda Stoll, Assistant Editor
Tracking visitors to a
school isn’t about just a pen
and paper sign-in system
anymore.
Whether it’s a more recent
addition to school security
procedures or something
that’s been used for almost a
decade, many area schools
use computerized visitor
management systems like
Hall Pass and Raptor that
check names and birth dates
against the national and state
sex-offender databases.
With a quick scan of a visitor’s
driver’s license or state
ID, front office receptionists
can check who should — or
shouldn’t — be allowed into
the school.
As long as the database
check comes back clear, the
scanner and printer combination
prints out a stick-on
visitor ID badge for the person
to wear during their stay
at the school.
The various systems,
which are by-and-large the
same, have other features that
schools can use to track things
like orders of protection.
At Mokena School District
161, that hasn’t been a feature
they’ve needed so far, and it’s
one that is rarely used in the
Lincoln-Way high schools.
Jake Smith, director of technology
for the Mokena school
district, said the district began
using the Hall Pass system at
the beginning 2016-17 school
year. Other districts, like the
Lincoln-Way Community
High School District 210,
have been using the Raptor
system for almost a decade.
At Mokena schools, visitors
are mostly parents who come
to volunteer or help out with
classroom events like holiday
parties. At the high schools,
however, members of the
A visitor ID sticker is printed out at Mokena Elementary
School. Amanda Stoll/22nd Century Media
community visit the schools
to use the athletic facilities.
“Anybody who comes
in that is going to possibly
pose a threat to the student
body needs to have their ID
scanned,” said Alex Petrakis,
Lincoln-Way Central associate
principal. “We don’t take
any chances with student
safety or staff safety, so it’s
the first line of defense.”
He said that goes for parents,
vendors who come to
the school for maintenance or
repairs, community members
and even former students
who come to the school to get
their transcripts.
Lincoln-Way has been using
the same Raptor Technologies
visitor management
system for quite a while, but
Taryn Atwell, Community
Relations Director for the
school district, said it continues
to be a valuable program
in combination with other security
measures at the schools.
“I think this in combination
though with our [school
resource officer] is a great
combination for school safety,”
said Atwell.
Parent and visitor responses
to the systems have been
overwhelmingly positive,
according to the receptionists
and administrators interviewed.
“Most people are saying to
us that we’d rather have you
check than not check,” said
Debbie Gallagher, Lincoln-
Way Central student servics
office secretary. “Most of
them are like ‘here’s my license,
not a problem.’”
At Mokena Elementary
School, receptionist Lisa Peters
said she’s gotten good
feedback from parents about
the Hall Pass system used
there.
“They feel good about the
children being safe,” said Peters,
who said she hasn’t had
a single person not want the
show their ID or have their
information scanned into the
system.
Curt Saindon, assistant
superintendent for finance
and operations at Frankfort
School District 157-C, said
Frankfort schools started
using the Raptor system in
the spring of 2013 after the
school shooting at Sandy
Hook Elementary School in
Newtown, Connecticut.
While the school was already
in the process of implementing
the visitor manage-
Please see Visitor, 8
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4 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger News
mokenamessenger.com
East grad offers pro bono
legal help to immigrants
Kirsten Onsgard
Contributing Editor
The fearful calls to attorney
Natalie Tepeli are more
frequent now.
The Frankfort native and
2008 Lincoln-Way East High
School graduate offers what
she knows to her clients, most
of whom are emigrating or
seeking asylum from Middle
Eastern countries. Cases are
delayed; background checks
have increased; everything is
more scrutinized.
After President Donald
Trump’s executive order on
immigration and refugees
was implemented, Tepeli was
among thousands of attorneys
who offered pro bono legal
work to incoming nationals
at airports across the country
through the International Refugee
Assistance Project. The
executive order bars residents
from seven Middle Eastern
countries from entering the
U.S. for 90 days and halts the
refugee program for 120 days.
It has since been challenged
and paused by a federal judge.
For Tepeli, who now lives
in Chicago, it is an issue that
hits home.
Her father is an Armenian
immigrant who came to the
United States from Turkey,
and her mother’s family is
from Ukraine.
While studying at Loyola
University, Tepeli volunteered
at immigration organizations,
later clerking at an
immigration firm during law
school.
Offering her expertise at
O’Hare International Airport
Jan. 28, the day after the ban
was enacted, was a matter of
duty.
“As an immigration attorney,
I have a responsibility to
help people, to serve justice,”
she said. “All of these people
are arriving and they’re afraid.
They didn’t know what was
going to happen to them.”
“I felt a responsibility to
go there, to help them.”
There, attorneys set up
a triage, she said, meeting
with people awaiting family
members who arrived from
one of the seven countries.
She watched as an Iranian
teenager broke down waiting
for his parents. A Syrian
woman was sent back. Later
that day, protests erupted
at O’Hare and elsewhere
across the county.
“You’re preventing reunification
of families,” she
said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
The order — aimed at protecting
the country “from terrorist
attacks by foreign nationals
admitted to the United
States,” according to the executive
order — sparked lawsuits
and condemnation from
Democratic and some Republican
lawmakers, including
Rep. Bobby Rush, who represents
the state’s 1st Congressional
district, who likened it
to the “infantile evil acts of a
street bully” in a statement.
The order also caused
confusion for foreigners and
green card holders. It would
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later be deemed that as lawful
permanent residents,
green card holders would be
admitted on a case-by-case
basis following a secondary
inspection upon arrival.
At the airport, immigrants
do not have a right to counsel
by a lawyer but can speak
with family members over
the phone as they are detained
by Customs and Border
Patrol.
Tepeli’s job was to help
family members relay information
to their detained relative
behind closed doors.
She cautioned legal residents
about a form, known
as an I-407, which would
forfeit their green cards,
and urged them to request
a notice to appear before
an immigration judge. She
informed those without a
green card of their two options:
asking for a grant of
parole or seeking asylum.
“A lot of these people are
fleeing persecution in volatile
countries,” she said.
Though some attorneys
have returned to O’Hare
daily, her clients at the Law
Offices of Azita M. Mojarad,
P.C. in Chicago have similar
fears. And the calls keep
coming.
“I’m seeing every day,
people calling terrified about
their family members, about
what’s going to happen with
their case,” she said. “I do
think what’s going on is unjust.
It’s unconstitutional.
It’s horrific, really,”
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See the Classified Section for more
info, or call 708.326.9170
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mokenamessenger.com News
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 5
Candidates envision path to district stability
Kirsten Onsgard
Contributing Editor
A half-dozen candidates
for Lincoln-Way Community
High School District 210
Board of Education urged
that the district uphold its
academic standards while
overhauling its finances at a
Feb. 2 forum.
More than 100 people attended
the event, hosted by
the community group Lincoln-Way
Area Taxpayers
Unite, but less than half of
the 13 candidates vying for
five school board spots open
during the April 4 election
attended: Aaron Janik, Joe
Kirkeeng, Joseph Kosteck,
Christopher Lucchetti, Dee
Molinare and Robert Ripp.
Kirkeeng, Kosteck and Lucchetti
currently serve on
the board, and Molinare is
board president.
Though candidates often
voiced agreement over a vision
for a stable future for
the district, they fought to
demonstrate how they could
best bring about that change
in answers to questions
about independence, the
role of the board and Lincoln-Way
North’s future.
The forum was moderated
by Kristen McQueary
— a member of the Chicago
Tribune editorial board,
which has offered several
scathing critiques of the district
— who asked questions
sourced from community
members.
“We must maintain that
academic excellence, and
preserve the overall educational
experience, but we
have to show unbelievable
perseverance, and strategic,
surgical precision to get
our house in order as we do
that,” said Kirkeeng, who is
running in a group known as
Candidates for Lincoln-Way
Excellence with Kosteck
and Janik, vice president of
Mokena School District 159
school board.
“The reputation of the
district has been tarnished,
and I believe that’s what we
have to protect as we go forward,”
Kirkeeng said.
Molinare, the only candidate
present who was on the
board when it voted to close
Lincoln-Way North High
School in 2015, blamed
the district’s deep debt and
shallow budget surplus on
the economic crash and
lack of state funding. At the
time, she urged the district
to close Lincoln-Way West,
instead.
Despite projections the
district would grow, enrollment
flatlined and has decreased
by about 200 students
since 2012, according
to the Illinois State Board of
Education. It currently faces
$307 million in principal
short- and long-term debt.
“As we look back, it’s
easy to say, we should have
probably only [built] one
school,” Molinare said.
“But we didn’t have that
crystal ball to look into to
build only one school. Voters
approved to build two
schools. And many of our
students had the educational
opportunities, the extracurricular
opportunities, that
the two schools — the fourschool
district — afforded.”
Though Lucchetti, who
was appointed to the board
last June, agreed the financial
crisis “compounded the
problem,” he blamed the
district’s debt on a lack of
oversight and poor reporting.
The district routinely
overspent its budget by millions
of dollars.
“How we got here was
poor financial management
and lack of internal controls,”
Lucchetti said.
“We’ve taken the steps
Candidates for Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 Board of Education
Aaron Janik (left to right), Joe Kirkeeng, Joseph Kosteck, Christopher Lucchetti, Dee
Molinare and Robert Ripp answer questions Thursday, Feb. 2 during a forum at Lincoln-
Way Central High School. Photos by Laurie Fanelli/22nd Century Media
now, we basically tore down
the whole financial management
function and are in the
process of rebuilding it,” he
said.
Lucchetti found himself
in one of the few moments
of head-to-head opposition
when he emphasized that
he was the only dissenting
vote during the Board of
Education’s Dec. 20, 2016
meeting against continuing
an agreement with Aunt
Nancy’s Child Care. The
daycare, which previously
operated rent-free, will now
remit $60,000, as per the
new agreement. Lucchetti
argued the remittance was
not enough.
Kosteck, who voted to renew
the contract, said it was
a gain for the district.
At the December board
meeting, Superintendent R.
Scott Tingley said the district
received two bids from
daycare providers, and Aunt
Nancy’s was the only provider
that immediately offered
remittance.
“This was the only option
— this was the only one that
came to the table,” Kosteck
said.
When asked about the future
of Lincoln-Way North,
none of the candidates said
they would be in favor of
reopening the facility in the
near future.
“Short term, it would be
almost cruel and unusual to
ask the kids in the next few
years,” said Ripp, who was
previously LWATU’s vice
president when it sued the
district to keep Lincoln-Way
North open.
Lincoln-Way North cannot
be leased or rented to a
private entity due to its outstanding
bonds, and selling
to a company would be “a
very complicated process”
requiring “extensive research
from our bond attorneys,”
according to a district
spokeswoman. The school’s
facilities are currently being
used by the Frankfort Square
Park District.
“We are not a three-school
district — I think we’re
a four-school district that
has chosen to utilize three
of our schools,” Ripp said.
“We have four assets, two of
those assets are still heavily
mortgaged. I think the longterm
strategic plan for the
district has to include financial
projections that takes
into account all of our assets
to see how we can best use
those assets.”
Molinare said a new business
manager, which the
district is now hiring, could
help find better ways to utilize
those assets, trim the
budget and mend what she
said is currently “a fractured
team.”
For their part, Ripp said
the best path toward financial
stability would be to
improve the district’s junk
bond status to refinance its
bonds, and Kirkeeng pushed
for an ongoing conversation
about the budget.
Current Board President
Dee Molinare introduces
herself at the forum, hosted
by Lincoln-Way Area
Taxpayers Unite. Six of
the 13 candidates running
for Board of Education
attended.
Chicago Tribune Editorial
Board member Kristen
McQueary moderates the
forum.
None of the candidates
were in favor of cutting extracurriculars
to cut costs.
Questions, fielded from
12 community members,
ranged from transportation
cost cuts to term limits, a
move that all favored but
Molinare, who cited dedication
as paramount.LWATU
is expected to endorse candidates
within the next few
weeks, a move that factored
into a five-candidate slate’s
refusal to attend the Feb.
2 forum. Citizens for 210,
which has hosted its own
meet-and-greet events, said
that because Ripp is LWA-
TU’s former vice president,
the endorsement will be biased.
Citizens for 210 are expected
to attend a March 8
Please see FORUM, 6

6 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger News
mokenamessenger.com
They’re called heartfelt moments for a reason.
And it’s never too early to protect them.
MFPD, Mokena Lions Club to
celebrate 100th anniversaries
Submitted by the Mokena
Fire Protection District
As we all graciously welcome
the new year, 2017 is
a year for us all to be “Celebrating
Our Milestones,”
which is the theme for the
Fourth of July Mokena Parade
in 2017.
The Mokena Fire Protection
District and the Mokena
Lions Club are no different;
the Lions Club International
and the Mokena Fire Protection
District will both be
celebrating their 100th anniversaries
of serving the community
in 2017.
The Mokena Fire Protection
District and the Mokena
Lions Club will also be
joining forces to start a new
tradition this year. 2017 will
mark the first year of the Annual
Mokena Fire Protection
District Open House and
Mokena Lions Club Pancake
Breakfast.
For many years, the two
organizations have hosted
their separate annual pancake
breakfast events. We’re
proud to announce that on
Sunday, Oct. 1, the Mokena
Fire Protection District and
the Mokena Lions Club will
join forces and host their
Pancake Breakfast/Open
House. This event will be
hosted at Mokena Fire Station
#1, which is located at
19853 S. Wolf Road.
There will be live demonstrations,
free hearing tests
and retinal screening, door
prizes and much more fun.
Come bring your family
and join your neighbors and
friends in socializing and
enjoying this delicious traditional
pancakes and sausage
breakfast while visiting with
and learning more about
your Mokena Fire Protection
District.
100 percent of the proceeds
of this annual event
will allow the Mokena Lions
Club to continue to help the
sight and hearing impaired
and the less fortunate in our
community.
For additional information
about this exciting event
and/or either organization,
please contact Dennis Buxbaum,
president of the Mokena
Lions Club, by visiting
www.mokenalions.org, or
Howard Stephens, fire chief
of the Mokena Fire Protection
District, by visiting
www.mokenafire.org.
(MFPD) The Mokena Fire
Protection District’s antique
fire truck (left) stands in
stark contrast to the currently
used truck. The MFPD
will be celebrating its 100th
anniversary in 2017.
At Franciscan Health, we offer state-of-the-art heart and vascular screenings to identify potential
problems before an emergency. Come in to assess your heart health today, and, together, we can
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your heart risk assessment, or visit
FranciscanHealth.org/Heart to learn more.
FORUM
From Page 5
forum hosted by the Lincoln-
Way Education Association,
the district’s teachers union.
Educator Beth Janus-
Doyle said she did not attend
the forum because her
husband would be undergoing
surgery and Christopher
Kosel, the current board
secretary, said he had prior
commitments.
“Obviously we have more
citizen involvement now than
we’ve had for years,” Janik
said. “I’d be hard pressed
to think that, in the past 10
years, that we’d have 200
people on a Thursday night
coming out to hear about the
Lincoln-Way schools.”
“That’s what any elected
body need: they need that
public participation to keep
the screws to the board to
make sure they’re doing
their job,” Janik said. “ And
if they’re not, they’ll be voted
out and a new board will
be voted in to do the job.”

mokenamessenger.com MoKENA
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 7
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8 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger News
mokenamessenger.com
Volley for a Cure raises funds for those dealing with cancer
Ryan Esguerra
Freelance Reporter
“No one fights alone.”
That was the slogan printed
on the shirts of volunteers
and players in the Volley for
a Cure charity fundraiser
Thursday, Feb. 3, at Mokena
Elementary School.
In its fifth consecutive year,
the Volley for Cure charity
fundraiser brought together
local firefighters, police officers
and teachers in Mokena
for a night of friendly volleyball
in support of the Cancer
Support Center of Mokena.
Event organizer and kindergarten
teacher Debi Blank,
who has been organizing fundraisers
for cancer research
for nearly 20 years, said that
the idea for the fundraiser
came from her personal love
for volleyball and a need for
an event that would support
the members of the community
affected by cancer.
“I love volleyball, so this
is event is a result of a little
bias on my end, but everyone
seems to really enjoy
it,” Blank said. “I chose this
event, as well as this organization,
because I didn’t want to
send the money we were raising
out of Mokena anymore.
“We have plenty of people
in Mokena that this money
could have a direct impact
on, so we are happy to keep
it here.”
The three-game match between
a combination of the
firefighters and police officers
squared off against the
teachers while the crowd of
students and parents watched
on. Blank said that the point
of the match was not to have
a winner and a loser, but to
give the community something
to do that would bring
them together.
“The kids like seeing the
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firefighters and police officers
in their school with
them, as well as seeing their
teachers outside of school,”
Blank said. “So, it’s the perfect
chance for us to have a
friendly rivalry that will bring
the entire community in.”
In addition to the volleyball
festivities, attendees
were given the chance to
purchase raffle tickets to win
baskets donated from around
the community, as well as a
snack stand. All the proceeds
of the event went directly to
the Cancer Support Center.
“I never really have a goal
in mind for how much we
want to raise,” Blank said. “I
just want us to raise as much
as we can.”
The Cancer Support Center
of Mokena is a nonprofit
organization that originated
in Homewood. The mission
of the Cancer Support Center
is to provide support,
strength and guidance to
those diagnosed with cancer
and their families.
Cancer Support Center
Board Member Bob DeChene
said that last year’s Volley
for a Cure event raised
over $2,500. He said that he
Visitor
From Page 3
ment system, he said they
sped up the process in light
of what happened at Sandy
Hook.
“By and large, people are
very appreciative that we
are trying to keep the school
safe,” Saindon said.
In addition to the visitor
database checks, he said fulland
part-time employees and
regular volunteers are given
full background checks,
which is a much more indepth
process.
“You don’t ever want to be
lax in your preparation,” he
said. “I think it’s important
that the community has confidence
that we’re providing a
Students cheer during the Volley for a Cure fundraiser on Thursday, Feb. 3, at Mokena
Elementary School. Julie McMann/22nd Century Media
was surprised with the number
of people that he saw at
the event this year, and is very
grateful for the love and support
of the community.
“I look up into the stands
tonight and I see people who
have been to the support
center for one reason or another,”
DeChene said. “Cancer
is something that is so
close to home, it seems that
everyone is touched by it in
one way or another.
“It is amazing to see that so
many people truly care about
safe and secure and warm and
welcoming environment for
our students and our staff.”
While the systems aren’t
perfect, they do allow school
staff to view information and
make decisions based on what
the computer system finds.
In most cases, the ID scan
comes back without any
problems, but Peters said
sometimes she has to re-scan
cards that are dirty or beat up
to ensure the system gets all
the correct information.
Other times, Smith said the
system can come back with
a false positive. He said it
can happen with people who
have common names, like
himself, who may have the
same legal name and maybe
even birth date as someone
on the sex-offender registry.
In the case of a false positive,
Smith said school staff
can review the entry and
many times view the photo
of the flagged person to compare
with the visitor standing
in front of them.
With unisex names like Jordan,
Alex or Tyler the determination
can sometimes be as
simple as confirming that the
offender is of the opposite sex.
One of the challenges of
the system for elementary
schools is when large groups
of parents visit for classroom
parties.
At both the Frankfort and
Mokena school districts, staff
have organized a system to
check visitor’s information
before the event.
supporting those who are
dealing with this.”
Jim Andresen, president of
the Mokena School Board,
said that he loves the work
that is done by Blank and
other volunteers in putting the
event together.
“As the proud president of
the Mokena School Board, I
have no problem in saying
Debbie does a wonderful job
with this every year,” Andresen
said. “She does all of the
organizing of the baskets, as
well as gets all of the volunteers
for this. We are happy
to have her.”
Blank said that she is grateful
for all of the support that
the fundraiser has received
over the years, and credits
the Mokena community for
coming together in support of
such a worthy cause.
“Every year, you see more
and more people come, and
that is so nice to see,” Blank
said. “I think Mokena is a
caring community, and we
support each other in all that
we do.”
By inputting a person’s full
name and birth date, staff are
able to check the database
and print out a visitor sticker
before a large event. While
the sticker might not have
the visitor’s photo on it because
the visitor’s ID wasn’t
scanned, Smith said the most
important thing is that they’re
able to check the database.
At the Frankfort school
district, they have multiple
scanner and printer sets so
they can check multiple visitors
in at a time when there
is heavy traffic in the offices.
This year, the Mokena
school district plans to scan
all parents’ IDs at kindergarten
registration to ensure
they’re already in the system
for the coming school year.

mokenamessenger.com community
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 9
Announcements
It’s a boy!
Pamela Simon LaPorte
and Nicholas LaPorte, of
Mokena, announce the
birth of their son, Aiden
Patrick LaPorte, who was
born at 7:06 p.m. Nov. 2 at
Silver Cross Hospital.
He weighed 7 pounds, 6
ounces and measured
19 inches long. His older
sibling, Aubrie LaPorte,
age 3, is proud to be a big
sister.
His loving grandparents
are Jean and Howard
Simon, of Manhattan, and
Carl and Sara LaPorte, of
Tinley Park.
Aiden’s great-grandmother
is Helen LaPorte, of
Hometown.
Also pleased to welcome
Aiden into the family are
aunts, uncles, cousins and
his dog, Bella, who will
protect him.
Aiden was born during the
Cubs first home run during
Game 7 of the World
Series.
Make a FREE announcement
in The Mokena Messenger. We
will publish birth, birthday,
military, engagement, wedding
and anniversary announcements
free of charge.
Announcements are due the
Thursday before publication.
To make an announcement,
email tim@mokenamessenger.
com.
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Complete at least 50 -
categories and be eligible for
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courtesy of Apple Vacations.
Tell us your favorites in categories such as:
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RETIREMENT • ESTATE • JOB TRANSFER
Sweetie Pie
NAWS Illinois Humane Society
9981 W. 190th Street
Mokena, IL 60448
Sweetie Pie is a 3-year-old, spayed female torbie. She is friendly, gentle and calm.
Her favorite activities include being petted and sitting in the window and watching
birds. She would make a wonderful addition to any home. Contact Wendy at (708)
478-5102 or wendy@nawsus.org to meet her.
Want to see your pet featured as The Mokena Messenger’s Pet of the Week? Send your pet’s
photo and a few sentences explaining why your pet is outstanding to Editor Tim Carroll at tim@
mokenamessenger.com or 11516 W. 183rd St., Office Condo 3, Suite SW, Orland Park, IL 60467.
The Best Way
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IS TO ADVERTISE
Your Business Here.
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See the Classified Section for
more info, or Call 708.326.9170
www.22ndcenturymedia.com
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22ndcenturymedia.com/swchoice starting Feb. 2.
®
Contact
Lora Healy
708.326.9170 ext. 31
l.healy@22ndcenturymedia.com

10 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger mokena
mokenamessenger.com
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mokenamessenger.com news
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 11
Family Martial Arts offers new defense, exercise hybrid
Ryan Esguerra
Freelance Reporter
At Family Martial Arts in
Mokena, the goal of their
new self-defense class was
to include anyone who was
willing to learn.
Whether you were a black
belt in the program or a person
walking in for the first
time, instructors at Family
Martial Arts wanted to share
their skills with the hope that
it will improve participants’
quality of life, both in and
out of the gym.
“For us, it is sharing,”
FMA Program Director
Krista Danielewicz said.
“Taekwondo is more than
just martial arts, and more
than just kicking and punching.
“We like to teach life
skills, or the tenets of taekwondo;
things like respect
and discipline. Which are
embodiments of martial arts,
but can also be applied to
your life.”
Adult women and men
gathered Jan. 22 for the second
class of Defensercise,
a hybrid class to maximize
exercise and teach self-defense.
Led by FMA instructor
Mike Cooke, students
started the class with a series
of exercises that aimed to
enhance their flexibility and
physical conditioning.
“I try to give everyone different
options based on their
age and activity level to keep
everyone involved” Cooke
said. “You don’t need to
know anything or have any
prior experience to come in
and learn.”
After initial warmups,
students gathered around as
Cooke showed them basic
moves to aid them if they
were to ever find themselves
in a dangerous situation.
Students learned basic defense
positions for perilous
situations, like if an assailant
came close came to attack
from behind.
Master Mike Cooke, who teaches Defensercise every other
Sunday at FMA, surveys his students as they limber up for
the class.
“You aren’t Jackie Chan,”
Cooke said to his class. “The
goal of these moves is to get
away and run.
“You can get really fancy,
but this isn’t what this class
is about. If someone tries to
attack you or tries to grab
you, we want you to have the
ability to get away safely.”
Anne Marie Manos, of
Mokena, is a first-degree
black belt that has been training
at FMA for four years.
Manos, who participated in
the self-defense class, said
that she never thought she
would be where she is today,
but she offered a vote of confidence
to anyone wanting to
give martial arts a try.
“After that first class, I
was so sore,” Manos said.
“But you just keep building
your stamina and endurance,
and you will absolutely be
blown away by the things
that you can do that you never
thought you could.
“Anyone can do it, you
just have to have the will and
desire to do it.”
Manos’ fellow classmate
and Frankfort resident Linda
Prainito has been attending
classes at FMA for five
years. Prainito said that she
is happy with the addition of
the new self-defense class
because of the knowledge it
provides her and her daughters
if a real-life situation
were to occur.
“When Master Mike told
me that they were going to
be offering this class, I was
so excited,” Prainito said. “I
have little girls, and I want
them to know how to defend
themselves, or be able
to defend them [myself], if
needed.
“As a woman, you really
need to know a lot more
about defending yourself.”
For Danielewicz, the new
self-defense class is about
much more than learning defensive
moves. She said that
a big part of the programs at
FMA deal with life outside
of the studio walls.
“Everything we do is to
try to boost people’s confidence,
respect and discipline
so that when they leave here,
it stays,” Danielewicz said.
“We want everything we
teach to go out in the world
with them.”
She added that while she
is proud of the number of
people currently attending
the class, she would love to
continue to see the programs
grow.
“At FMA, we are all about
helping out the community,”
Danielewicz said. “And anything
we can do to give back
to those who support us to
help them is great.
“We want to get out of our
little Family Martial Arts
family and expand, to share
with as many as we can.”
Krista Danielewicz (right), the program director at Family Martial Arts, shows Tanisha
Thompson (left) and Catherine O’Rourke proper technique during Defensercise, a self-defense
and exercise hybrid class, Jan. 22 in Mokena. Photos by Julie McMann/22nd Century Media
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Look for the ballot in the center of this newspaper or vote online at
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12 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger mokena
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mokenamessenger.com mokena
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 13
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14 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger school
mokenamessenger.com
The mokena messenger’s
Standout Student
Sponsored by Marquette Bank
Maddie Slepski,
Mokena Junior High
School eighth-grader
Maddie Slepski was picked as
this week’s Standout Student
because of her academic performance.
What is one essential you
must have when studying?
One essential that I must
have for studying is silence.
I concentrate, and it becomes
difficult when things
come up. I clear my head,
and I just think about what
I’m studying.
What do you like to do when
not in school or studying?
When I am not studying
or in school, I like to shop,
hang with my friends and
most definitely spend time
with my family.
What is your dream job?
I’d like to be a sports journalist.
I like writing, whether
about sports or politics. I
don’t know which path I’m
going to follow yet.
Whom do you look up to and
why?
I look up to my Auntie
Natalie and cousin Amanda. I
am almost always with them,
and they are both successful,
independent women. I’ve
also notice from stories from
when they were young that
we are very similar. I know
I can always count on them.
Who is your favorite
teacher?
Mrs. Klappauf is my favorite
teacher. She is always in a
happy mood and can brighten
your day any day. She is very
Photo submitted
energetic while teaching and
makes learning history fun.
What’s your favorite class
and why?
My favorite class is Spanish
class. I think it’s so cool
when people can speak two
languages and can’t wait to
further extend my knowledge
with the Spanish language.
What’s one thing that stands
out about your school?
How close and kind all
us students are toward each
other. We never leave anyone
out and don’t accept bullies.
What extracurricular(s) do
you wish your school had?
I wish our school had a
cooking/baking class, because
I enjoy baking.
What’s your morning
routine?
I’m up by 6 a.m. every day.
I get ready until about 6:40
a.m. Then, I make my lunch,
and I’m on the bus by 6:52
a.m.
If you could change one thing
about school, what would
it be?
It would be how early the
bus comes and when we get
to school. I’m at school by
7:15 every day, and the first
bell doesn’t ring until 7:45.
Standout Student is a weekly
feature in The Mokena Messenger.
Nominations come from
Mokena area schools.
School News
Providence Catholic High
School
Providence names Mokena
residents to honor roll
John Harper, principal of
Providence Catholic High
School, recently announced
the school’s First Semester
Honor Roll. The honor
roll includes two categories;
first honors recipients
must obtain a 3.51 or higher
GPA, whereas second honors
students receive a 3.00-
3.50 GPA.
“We are very proud of
our students who work hard
in the classroom and strive
for academic excellence,”
Harper said.
The following students
were recognized with
first honors: Erik Anderson,
Ryan Anderson, Brad
Baldys, Jessica Baldys,
Magdalene Bandyk, McKenna
Bandyk, Ashley
Cairo, Nora Czupek, Cali
Dauparas, Thomas Davis,
Gabriela DelCotto, Stephanie
Duensing, Michelle
Eckel, Devin Evans, Liam
Flaherty, Owen Flaherty,
Graham Garrett, Brianna
Geary, Bridget Geary,
Elisebeth Gilles, William
Griffiths, Alyssa Gromala,
Jacob Hilty, Ryan Hilty,
Bridget Jeffries, Megan
Jeffries, Robert Jeffries,
Ethan Judge, Caden Kalinowski,
Kennedy Kalinowski,
Alyssa LaBine, Danielle
Lagone, Kyle Laird, Elizabeth
Marmo, Scott Marmo,
Joseph Marnell, Lindsey
Marnell, Karly Marth,
Samuel McCloughan, Liam
McGinnis, Meghan Mitoraj,
Faith Morrison, John
Morrison, Mary Murphy,
Bridgette Needham, Sarah
Noone, Joseph O’Connell,
Jack Patterson, Maximus
Pignotti, Anthony Prucha,
Gianna Prucha, Hannah
Regan, Carly Renfro, Jacob
Renfro, Maeve Richardson,
Dominic Russo, Abigail
Schaefer, Natalie Schaefer,
Benjamin Seeber, Brian
Seeber, Samantha Sharkey,
Emily Sicinski, Zachary
Sicinski, Victoria Sojka,
Mariano Sori-Marin, Julianna
Stukel, Aidan Trainor,
Kailey Voltz, Chelsea
Wells and Joshua Wilcox,
all of Mokena.
The Following students
were recognized with second
honors: Athanasios
Bastas, Patrick Cosgrove,
Hunter Dauparas, Thomas
Farley, Brennen Farrahi,
Jack Halper, Zachary Hitterman,
Andrew Holm,
Lauren Knight, Mikaela
Martin, Jack McConnell,
Jacob McKendry, Matthew
Noone, Madelyn Pascale,
Elizabeth Rohrer, Matthew
Russo, Taylor Schaefer,
Jake Schutter, Lilly Smith,
Trevor Sojka, Adam Taylor
and Chloe Tompkins, all of
Mokena.
Augastana College
Mokena students named to
Augustana’s dean’s list
Augustana College announced
986 students were
named to the dean’s list
for the 2016 fall term. Students
who have earned this
academic honor have maintained
a grade-point average
of 3.5 or higher on a
four-point scale for courses
taken during the term.
Among those named to
the dean’s list were Rafael
Rodriguez and Emilie Verran,
both of Mokena.
McKendree University
Mokena students earn
school honors
Maggie Ruane, a McKendree
University junior
speech communication
major from Mokena, was
named to the President’s
List for achieving a perfect
4.0 grade point average for
the fall 2016 semester.
Lucas Galifos, also of
Mokena, was named to the
dean’s list for earning a
grade point average of 3.60
or higher for the fall 2016
semester.
McKendree University
was founded in 1828 in
Lebanon, Illinois, 25 miles
from downtown St. Louis. It
has campuses in Kentucky
and programs at Scott Air
Force Base.
Miami University
Mokena student earns
dean’s list honors
Chase Fugett, of Mokena,
was recently named to the
dean’s list at Miami University.
Miami University students
who achieved a grade
point average of 3.5 or better
for the first semester of
the 2016-2017 school year
were named to the dean’s
list in recognition of their
academic performance.
Ridgewater College
Mokena native named to
Ridgewater’s dean’s list
Ridgewater College recently
announced that Rachel
Rauch, of Mokena, has
been named to the fall semester
2016 dean’s list.
To be named to the
Dean’s list, a student must
complete a minimum of 12
credits and earn a minimum
of 3.50 grade point average.
Ridgewater College is
a community and technical
college educating more
than 6,000 individuals each
year on its campuses in
Willmar and Hutchinson,
Minnesota.
Saint Xavier University
Mokena natives earn SXU’s
dean’s list honors
Andrew Cimonetti, who
majors in management;
Meghan Heenan, an English
major; Linnae Rodriguez,
who majors in hospitality/
human resource management/marketing;
Ramy Salameh,
a nursing major; and
Josephine Tadros, who majors
in education-middle
level math, all of Mokena,
were recently named to
Saint Xavier University’s
dean’s list.
The SXU dean’s list recognizes
full-time students
who have earned and maintained
a minimum cumulative
grade point average of
3.75 out of 4.0. Students
must have completed a
minimum of 15 total credit
hours at SXU and be enrolled
for a minimum of 12
credit hours during the given
semester.
Trine University
Mokena native earns dean’s
list honors at Trine
Amber Kazmer, of Mokena,
a sophomore studying
Informatics, was among the
students recently named to
Trine University’s dean’s
list.
To be named to the dean’s
list, a main campus student
must maintain at least 15
credit hours and have between
a 3.5 and 3.749 grade
point average.
University of Akron
Akron honors Mokena
native with dean’s list
recognition
Luke Schmitt, of Mokena,
was recently named to
the University of Akron’s
fall 2016 dean’s list.
To be eligible, Schmitt,
who is majoring in Mechanical
Engineering,
maintained a GPA between
3.500 and 3.999 and was
enrolled in 12 or more
credit hours.
University of Dayton
Mokena student earns
dean’s list recognition
Meghan Marth, Maximilian
Bonoma and James
Sharkey, all of Mokena,
were recently named to the
dean’s list at the University
of Dayton.
Dayton’s dean’s list honors
undergraduate students
achieving a minimum of a
3.5 grad point average for
the semester.
Compiled by Editor
Tim Carroll, tim@
mokenamessenger.com.

mokenamessenger.com Mokena
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 15
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16 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger news
mokenamessenger.com
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
Local climber, adventurer
reminisces about ice climbing
A summit attempt on
Mount Shuksan in Washington
turned into a living
nightmare, complete with
avalanches; vertical walls
of slippery, loose rock; dangerously
exposed traverses:
slick ice; and a false peak
— something Dave Everson
calls a “climber’s mirage.”
Everson, a Homer Glen resident,
said sometimes the trips
that do not go quite as planned
are the most memorable.
With so many things that
could go wrong, it is hard for
some people to imagine why
someone would take those
risks, he said.
“You’ve got someone dealing
with altitude sickness;
you’re wondering in a whiteout
if you’re even in the right
part of the mountain,” Everson
said. “But [there is] the
joy of having that successful
summit and even more so just
getting back down safely.”
It is a sport that is both
physically and mentally challenging,
but that is what he
said makes it so rewarding.
While the conditions in
the southwest suburbs might
not always be ideal for ice
climbing, Everson said he
and friend Joel Taylor take
every opportunity they can
to get out and climb.
Everson said the fear of
heights is something with
which many people struggle,
himself included.
“That’s why I trust my
partner with my life and
learned every knot,” he said.
Reporting by Assistant Editor
Amanda Stoll. For more, visit
HomerHorizon.com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Couple opens new candy
venture in Frankfort
Five years ago, Maria
Zientara started making vintage
candy apples.
Then, Maria, along with the
help of her husband, Randy,
began to sell what became
their signature caramel-coated
treats at area farmers’ markets.
On Feb. 1, the two welcomed
familhy and friends
to their shop Short & Sweet
Tasty Treats, located at 9975
W. Lincoln Highway in
Frankfort.
Five days later, Maria and
Randy held a soft opening to
the public. Coffee and homemade
sweet treats — which
happen to the be Maria’s two
favorite things — are the
main items on the menu.
She also accepts suggestions,
which have turned into
creations like frozen bananas,
cheesecake on a stick and,
most recently, sponge candy.
“We have to make what the
customer wants,” Maria said.
“Who cares what we like?
We started to add [items].
People would make a suggestion,
and I would take that
suggestion, make something
and see how it would go.”
Although Maria is not a
formally trained pastry chef,
her love of learning has created
some tasty results.
“I’m pretty open to trying
new things,” Maria said. “I
think that is kind of exciting.
It drives me a little bit.”
Reporting by Brittany Kapa,
Editor. For more, visit TinleyJunction.com.
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Resident chronicles living
with, beating MS in book
Kellie Alderton knew
there was a problem, but she
thought it was with her eyes.
Alderton, now of New
Lenox, had played softball for
10 years at that point in her
life — 1988 — and she was
good. But during her high
school tryouts, things started
to go downhill, and fast.
“I went to go catch a ball
and got hit in the face,” she
remembered. “I went to catch
another, and it went way over
my head. I thought to myself,
‘What is going on?”
The tryout performance led
her to consult an optometrist,
because she also was having
trouble reading the chalkboard
and would get bouts of
dizziness in the hallways.
The doctor suggested she
see a pediatric neurologist.
Once there, Alderton was
given what she now knows as
a standard test for determining
multiple sclerosis. Then,
she was taken to get an MRI.
“We saw that I had 20 lesions
in my brain, and I had
optic neuritis, which was
the problem with my eyes,”
Alderton recalled. “They diagnosed
me with relapsing,
remitting MS.”
Now, nearly 30 years after
her diagnosis, Alderton has
written a book about her journey
toward “beating” MS.
“A lot of people who have
MS, when they first get the diagnosis,
they think it is a death
sentence,” Alderton said.
“Secondly, they trust their
doctors blindly. They will not
investigate alternatives. I want
them to just know that they
have options and choices.”
Reporting by Jon DePaolis,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit NewLenoxPatriot.com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Chicago man allegedly
carried out multiple home
burglaries, one in Orland
A Chicago man who carried
out and attempted multiple
residential burglaries in
at least four towns, including
Orland Park, was arrested
while burglarizing a home in
Please see NFYN, 17
Police Reports
Police: Monee man charged with DUI after allegedly hitting cars stopped at intersection
Ronald C. Stengel, 46, of
24932 S. Harlem Avenue in
Monee, was charged Jan. 25
with driving under the influence
of alcohol, operating an
uninsured motor vehicle and
failure to reduce speed to
avoid an accident which resulted
in property damage at
the intersection of W. 191st
Street and S. 88th Avenue in
Mokena.
Police reportedly responded
to an incident involving
three vehicles. Stengel allegedly
hit the rear end of a
vehicle stopped at the intersection,
causing it to then hit
the vehicle in front of it.
According to the report,
both victims stated that
Stengel attempted to leave
the scene, but the black 2008
Chevrolet Equinox he was
driving would not start.
According to the report,
Stengel failed roadside tests
and, after being transported
to the Mokena Police Department,
refused to give a
breath sample.
Jan. 21
• Jacob S. Strempel, 21, of
14322 Kildare Avenue in
Midlothian, was charged with
disobeying a traffic control
device after allegedly running
a red light at the intersection of
I-80 and S. La Grange Road in
Mokena while driving a white
2000 Chrysler Concorde. After
being stopped, the officer
was advised of a valid Will
County arrest warrant and
took Strempel into custody.
According to the report, he
was then transported to the
Will County Adult Detention
Facility.
Jan. 24
• Clementina Sullivan, 43, of
21934 Emily Lane in Frankfort,
was charged with driving
with a revoked driver’s license
and sign violation after
allegedly rolling a stop sign
at the intersection of Willow
Avenue and Scarth Lane in
Mokena while driving a black
2016 Ford Escape. According
to the report, Sullivan stated
that she thought she had taken
care of the legal issues that led
to her license being revoked.
Jan. 27
• Oscar E. Fajardo, 20, of 1322
Park Ave. in Chicago Heights,
was charged with operating
an uninsured motor vehicle
and driving without a valid
drivers license and cited for
other equipment violations after
police reportedly observed
him driving a black 2008 Ford
Focus with a nonworking rear
registration light near the intersection
of W. 191st Street
and S. La Grange Road in
Mokena. After police initiated
a traffic stop, they discovered
that he did not have a valid
drivers license.
Jan. 28
• John P. Baker, 39, of 48 Arrowhead
Drive in Thornton,
was charged with driving on
a suspended driver’s license
and disobeying a traffic
control device after allegedly
turning left despite a
no left turn sign at the 9600
block of 191st Street. After
police initiated a traffic stop
on the silver 2003 GMC Envoy,
Baker informed police
his license was suspended,
which, according to the report,
they found to be true.
Jan. 29
• Brian E. Webb, 45, of
10208 S. Torrence Avenue
in Chicago, was charged
with driving on a suspended
driver’s license and cited
for improper lighting, after
police reportedly observed
him driving a black 2002 Infinity
Q45 without the headlights
on at 2:23 a.m. at the
intersection of S. La Grange
Road and W. 191st Street in
Mokena. After police initiated
a traffic stop, they found
that his driver’s license had
been suspended, according
to the report.
Jan. 31
• Brandon T. Lemmons, 43,
of 10727 Mary Lane, Apartment
3B in Mokena, was
charged with driving on a
suspended driver’s license
and cited for speeding 52
mph in a posted 40 mph
zone. Police reportedly observed
him driving at a high
rate of speed in a blue 2006
Chrysler Town and Country
in the 10100 Block of W.
191st Street in Mokena, and
upon activating the dashmounted
radar, found him
to be speeding. After police
initiated a traffic stop, Lemmons
informed police that
his license was suspended,
which, according to the report,
they found to be true.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Mokena
Messenger’s police reports
come from the Mokena Police
Department. Anyone listed in
these reports is considered to
be innocent of all charges until
proven guilty in a court of law.

mokenamessenger.com sound off
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 17
Social snapshot
Top Web Stories
From MokenaMessenger.com as of
Monday, Feb. 6
1. News from Your Neighbors: Lincoln-Way
West senior turns summer job into full
scholarship
2. Central mathletes hope for regional
comeback after disappointing conference
finish
3. Competitive cheerleading: East advances to
state with sectional victory
4. MFPD’s baby sitting class prepares future
entrepreneurs
5. Police reports: Woman trespassed at library,
obstructed officer’s attempt to get fingerprints
Become a member: mokenamessenger.com/plus
Lincoln-Way Community High School District
210 posted this Jan. 31:
“It’s safe to say we have some extreme
talent around here! Congratulations to our
Knight, Griffin, and Warrior award winners
of the 2017 Scholastic Art Competition!”
Like The Mokena Messenger: facebook.com/
mokenamessenger.com
“Congratulations to our JV Cheerleading
Team on placing 1st at the Bremen
Invitational today. The girls were named
Grand Champions!!!”
@LWCKnights, on Jan. 31
Follow The Mokena Messenger: @mokenamessenger
From The Assistant Editor
Flying solo this week in Mokena
Amanda Stoll
a.stoll@22ndcenturymedia.com
This week, Tim left on
vacation, so I’ve been
mostly on my own as
the stand-in editor for the
Messenger.
While I can’t say I was
completely on my own, as
Tim pretty well set me up
for success on Monday and
Tuesday before he left, I
feel accomplished having
(mostly) kept up with the
workload and not worked
too many extra hours.
There’s a lot of things the
editor does every week that
readers may not realize. Not
only are they responsible for
combing through every story
that goes into the paper for
grammar, spelling and accuracy,
they also write up many
of the paper’s extras — like
police reports, announcements
and school news, to
NFYN
From Page 16
Berwyn Jan. 31, according to
a Feb. 1 Orland Park Police
Department press release.
Cory Durr, 35, of 3125
S. Green St., reportedly was
charged by Orland Park police
with one count of residential
burglary, a Class 1 felony. He
also was charged similarly by
police in Berwyn, Wilmette
and Burbank, according to
Orland Park police.
At 12:13 p.m. Jan. 24, Orland
Park police reportedly
responded to a burglary in
progress in the 7800 block of
157th Street. The homeowner
heard the doorbell ringing and
a loud knocking at the door,
according to the press release.
When she went to answer the
door, she heard the front door
being pried open.
The homeowner reportedly
grabbed her phone and
fled through the garage. Durr
then fled in a white Nissan
Maxima, police said.
When Orland Park police
alerted other jurisdictions to
the burglary, they discovered
the vehicle was used in several
other recent burglaries in
name a few. They lay out
the paper and work with the
advertising department to
make sure everything will fit
with the space.
Although I’ve done less
writing this week than I generally
do as the assistant editor
for Mokena, New Lenox
and Frankfort, I feel like I’ve
had more on my plate than
any other week so far.
It’s not that there’s a lot
of big projects I’ve had to
tackle, it’s just an extensive
list of small details that make
up the paper each week.
One thing I didn’t expect
to take a long as it did was
recording and writing the
police reports.
I spent about two hours
sitting on the metal bench
in the lobby of the Mokena
Police Department, and then
another couple writing them
up. There were only seven.
While it’s not my favorite
thing this week, it is part of
our job as journalists, and,
therefore, it needs to be done.
I didn’t realize how difficult
it would be to shrink a
huge, sometimes six-page,
report down to a few paragraphs
and pack as much
information as possible into
them.
The staff in the front office
at the Mokena Police
Department were certainly
accommodating and helpful
during my lengthy visit to
the front lobby, but I can’t
say the cold aluminum
bench was kind to my back.
I’m sure no one else spends
as much time as I did sitting
there, as the officers seem
very quick to help people
who come in to see them, but
I may consider getting one
of those cushy seats people
have for the bleachers at high
school football games if I end
up doing more of the police
reports in the future.
The editor is also responsible
for contacting and
assigning freelance writers
and photographers while
staying within the budget
for each week.
I have to say, our freelance
writers and photographers
have been wonderful this
week, which has made my
temporary change in duties
much easier.
I’ve also had a lot of help
from the other editors in the
office: Kirsten Onsgard of
The Frankfort Station, James
Sanchez of The New Lenox
Patriot and Tom Czaja of The
Homer Horizon.
I think as a society many
people have become quick to
the Chicago area, police said.
Orland Park’s investigations
reportedly led to a vehicle
at Durr’s address. With
several other suburban police
departments, Orland Park police
identified the driver, and
then conducted surveillance,
leading to his arrest, according
to the press release.
The investigation continues
into Durr’s involvement in
other residential burglaries in
the Chicago area, according to
Orland Park police.
Reporting by Editor Bill Jones.
For more, visit OPPrairie.com.
criticize but slow to compliment.
It’s something I think
we can all work to improve
on every day.
We all know it feels
good to get a well-deserved
compliment. Not that we
don’t also need our fair share
of constructive criticism —
note the word “constructive”
— to keep us on the straight
and narrow, because that’s
important, too.
So, I want to thank everyone
in my office who’s
helped me out this week, and
give some kudos to Tim for
everything he does throughout
the week. He really
works hard and does a lot to
make the Messenger happen
each week.
Next time you see him, let
him know his work is appreciated.
Better yet, remember
to shoot him an email at
tim@mokenamessenger.com
if you’re happy with something
you read in the paper.
Sound Off Policy
Editorials and columns are the
opinions of the author. Pieces
from 22nd Century Media are
the thoughts of the company
as a whole. The Mokena Messenger
encourages readers to write
letters to Sound Off. All letters
must be signed, and names and
hometowns will be published.
We also ask that writers include
their address and phone number
for verification, not publication.
Letters should be limited to 400
words. The Mokena Messenger
reserves the right to edit letters.
Letters become property of The
Mokena Messenger. Letters that
are published do not reflect
the thoughts and views of The
Mokena Messenger. Letters can be
mailed to: The Mokena Messenger,
11516 West 183rd Street, Unit
SW Office Condo #3, Orland
Park, Illinois, 60467. Fax letters
to (708) 326-9179 or e-mail to
tim@mokenamessenger.com.
www.mokenamessenger.com.

18 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger mokena
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the mokena messenger | February 9, 2017 | mokenamessenger.com
Artistic
Awards
Lincoln-Way
students recognized
for painting, drawing
projects, Page 23
Getting
the scoop
Find out what sets El
Balcon apart in the
landscape of Mexican
cuisine, Page 27
Mokena Elementary students earn Mokemon cards
for being caught with good behavior, Page 21
First-graders Landen
Holba (left) and
Matthew Bullington
battle with their
Mokemon cards.
Photo submitted

20 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger faith
mokenamessenger.com
Robin’s Nest
A late night brush with humor
Robin Melvin
Contributing Columnist
I
tried not to laugh. I
really did was almost
midnight, and my
sleep-deprived husband was
snoozing five feet from the
bathroom door. It was Memorial
Day weekend, and he
was 31 hours into overtime
on the second day of storm
duty. He could be called
back at any moment, so I
didn’t want to wake him.
I was exhausted, too.
Physically, because it was
nearing midnight. Emotionally,
because we were
depressed after our recent
move from Texas. Humor
was in short supply. We’d
let too much seriousness
sneak into our days.
After tip-toeing past Jeff
and into the bathroom, I
squeezed paste onto my
toothbrush. About 5 seconds
in, something wasn’t right.
It didn’t smell right.
Tom’s of Maine Toothpaste
smells and tastes
weird, but this was different.
Kind of fishy. After sniffing
it, I shrugged and continued
scrubbing until I looked in
the mirror.
The white stuff was a
little too creamy and a tad
too white. A quick glance
into my toiletry basket revealed
a long-forgotten tube
of Preparation H sitting on
top of my Tom’s of Maine.
At first, I thought, “How
stupid is that?” Then, looking
back up at the ointment
oozing out between my
teeth, I wondered, “Will my
gums shrink and make my
teeth fall out?”
I tried to stifle my giggles
as I rinsed and re-brushed.
When I crawled into bed,
they still bubbled out. Trying
to hold it in only made
me snort, which woke Jeff.
“What’s so funny?”
I barely had breath to
explain. Soon he was laughing
too. A good, cleansing
laugh with the works. Snot
and tears and calming down
to try to sleep until one of us
giggled again.
When is the last time you
enjoyed a good belly laugh?
Are you so burdened, even
by everyday irritants, that
you miss the blessing of
humor? We don’t have to
look far to see we’re created
for it. It’s wired into us for
a reason.
Proverbs 17:22 tells us,
“A cheerful disposition is
good for your health; gloom
and doom leave you bonetired.”
When did we start taking
life so seriously? Perhaps
we need to look back and
seek healing. If we’re not
careful, a somber spirit
becomes natural to us. It’s
the way we roll. Too hard
on ourselves and others.
My friends, let’s not get
so bogged down in difficulties
and busyness that we
forget to see life’s funny
side. Even the most bizarre
and illogical can be downright
comical.
So, let’s lighten up. Life’s
too short to be stern and
humorless. Learn to play a
little and laugh a lot. And
don’t forget to laugh at
yourself. It’s good medicine
for the mind, body and
spirit. Our moods and our
relationships will benefit
from it.
I pray peace and laughter
for your journey, my
friends.
The thoughts and opinions
expressed in this column are
those of the author. They do
not necessarily represent the
thoughts of 22nd Century Media
or its staff.
Faith Briefs
St. Mary’s Catholic Church (19515 115th
Ave., Mokena)
Church Service
5 p.m. Saturdays; 8 a.m,
9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6:
p.m. Sundays
Adoration
Wednesdays following
8:00 a.m. Mass in the Chapel
until 6:45 p.m.
Holy Rosary
7:30 a.m. daily; 7 p.m.
Tuesday evenings
Parker Road Bible Church (18512 Parker
Road, Mokena)
Worship Service
10:30 a.m. Sundays. Be
sure to arrive early for our
Sunday Worship Service to
enjoy a hot, complimentary
cup of coffee every week at
the church. Following the
Christian Education Hour
(9:15 - 10:15 a.m.), all beverages
can be found just outside
the sanctuary.
Grace Fellowship Church (11049 LaPorte
Road, Mokena)
Narcotics Anonymous
7-9 p.m. Mondays. All
those struggling or who have
struggled with a narcotics
addiction are welcome. All
meetings are confidential.
For more information, call
(708) 479-0300.
Spanish Church
12:30 p.m. every Sunday
Worship Service
10 a.m. every Sunday. All
are welcome.
Women’s Bible Study
8:45-9:45 a.m. every Sunday
and 2-3 p.m. every Tuesday
Marley Community Church (12625 W.
187th St., Mokena)
Church Service
10 a.m. Sundays. Childcare
is provided
Sunday School
9-10 a.m.
Men’s Group
6 p.m. Sunday nights in
the church basement. All
men are welcome.
Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church
(10731 W. La Porte Road, Mokena)
Friendship Weekend
5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11
and 9 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 12.
Contemporary Worship
5 p.m. Saturday
Worship
9 a.m. Sunday
Mokena Baptist Church (9960 W. 187th
St., Mokena)
Ladies Bible Study
7 p.m. every Thursday.
Meetings take place at The
Talking Shirt Boutique,
19805 S. LaGrange Road in
Mokena. For more information,
call (312) 350-2279.
Men’s Bible Study
The men’s bible study is
held quarterly at Cracker
Barrel, 18531 N. Creek
Drive in Tinley Park. The
meetings are held at 9 a.m.,
and men will enjoy studying
the Bible over breakfast.
Sunday Services
11 a.m. and 5 p.m. For
more information, call (312)
350-2279.
Sunday School
10:15 a.m. Sundays. Mokena
Baptist offers Sunday
School classes for all ages.
For more information, call
(312) 350-2279.
Mokena United Methodist Church (10901
LaPorte Road, Mokena)
Service and Sunday School
10:15 a.m. Sundays.
Church service and Sunday
school will be held. For
more information, call (708)
479-1110.
Bible Study
7 p.m. Tuesdays
Walking Club
7 p.m. Mondays
Weight Watchers
Wednesday
Weigh-ins take place at
6:30 p.m., while the meeting
is at 7 p.m.
Have something for Faith
Briefs? Contact Assistant
Editor Amanda Stoll at
a.stoll@22ndcenturymedia.com
or call (708) 326-9170 ext. 34.
Deadline is noon Thursday one
week prior to publication.
In Memorium
Frank Haddon
Frank Haddon,
68, of Mokena,
died Jan. 11. He attended
Thornton High School in
Harvey. He served in the U.S.
Air Force and was a Vietnam
veteran. Frank is survived by
his wife, Cindy (nee Rodenburg),
daughters, Joni (Brian)
Murphy and Molly (Scott)
Long, grandchildren, Carly,
Tegan, Olivia, Jack, Kyle,
and Georgia and sister Janice
(Vince) Rizzi. Interment at
Abraham Lincoln National
Cemetery. In lieu of flowers,
donations to the American
Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.
Lester Lingle
Lester B. Lingle,
88, formerly of Mokena, died
on Jan. 29. He was a United
States Army Veteran, retired
from Amtrak as a Material
Control Clerk and was formerly
a butcher for 27 years.
He is survived by his wife,
Sandra Faye (nee Bass),
children Timothy L. (Amy)
Lingle, Teddy W. (Kathy)
Lingle, and Tracey L. Lingle,
eight grandchildren, six
great-grandchildren, brother
Rev. Clifford (Lacene) Lingle
and son-in law, David Perry.
Visitation and funeral were
held at Kurtz Memorial Chapel
in New Lenox. Interment
Abraham Lincoln National
Cemetery. In lieu of flowers,
donations to Zion Hill Baptist
building fund, 2003 Zion
Hill Rd., Centralia, IL 62801
would be appreciated.
Luke Dominy
Luke Daniel Dominy, 32,
of Mokena and Homewood,
died Jan. 29. He was a graduate
of Lincoln-Way East and
Safety Director and Project
Manager for Meany Electric.
He is survived by his
mother, Jeanne M. Dominy
(nee Fares), father, Daniel R.
Dominy, and siblings Julie
(Alex) Zubak and Nick (Rebecca)
Dominy. Visitation
was held at Panozzo Bros.
Funeral Home in Chicago
Heights. Funeral service was
held at Olympia Fields Country
Club. Interment private.
In lieu of flowers, memorials
to New Star Services, 1624
East 154th Street, Dolton, IL
60419, would be appreciated.
Have someone’s life you’d
like to honor? Email Editor
Tim Carroll at tim@mokenames-
senger.com with information
about a loved one
who was a part of the Mokena
community.

mokenamessenger.com life & Arts
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 21
Mokemon revive MES incentive program
Amanda Stoll, Assistant Editor
Rewarding students for
meeting goals and practicing
good behavior is nothing
new at Mokena Elementary
School, but the design of the
reward tickets is new this
quarter.
Tickets are given to students
by teachers and staff
for exhibiting good behavior,
which is determined
by weekly goals such as
walking in the hallway.
Anna Kirchner, principal at
MES, said goals change every
week and are based on
the tenants of PBIS, which
stands for positive interventions
and supports.
She said goals revolve
around being respectful, responsible
and safe and are
worded positively for the
students.
The regular tickets are
worth one point each, while
the golden tickets are worth
15. At the end of each week,
students can cash in their
tickets for prizes during
Shine Time.
Art teach Steve Hippleheuser
and other tier 1
behavior team members
brainstormed ideas over the
summer to keep students
motivated year-long, eventually
coming up withe the
idea of Mokemon — a play
on the popular Pokémon
cards and characters.
With reward tickets given
out at the beginning of the
year in the first and second
quarter, Hippleheuser said
students generally remain
motivated, and then again
when the fourth quarter rolls
around and students can start
earning tickets toward the
end of the year carnival. But
he said the team noticed that
during the third quarter, after
winter break, the students’
enthusiasm waned.
To help encourage students
in the third quarter,
Hippleheuser designed the
tickets specially as Mokemon
cards.
New cards are “released”
each week, giving the students
something to continually
work toward.
“Outside of my room I
have a bulletin board and
I put them up every week
so they can see what the 8
new ones are,” said Hippleheuser.
“It keeps them from
week to week just motivated
and gives them something to
look forward to.”
Kirchner said many of the
students trade and play with
them like they would Pokémon
cards, and are even forgoing
prizes at the end of the
week so they can keep their
cards.
While the characters on
the cards are drawn by Hippleheuser,
name ideas for
each were submitted by the
students. The behavior team
chose from the entries and
the students whose name
ideas were selected are noted
on each card.
“[Hippleheuser] spent a
lot of time on it,” said Kirchner.
“He really should be
commended for it. It’s been
excellent.”
She said the cards have
been so popular they’ve had
a hard time keeping up with
the number being handed
out. It’s something she said
the parent volunteers at the
school have helped with tremendously.
All of the cards so far
feature drawings by Hippleheuser,
except one, which
features a picture of physical
Chop Chop, one of the characters featured on the
Mokemon cards at Mokena Elementary School, was named
by student Payton Didrickson. Photos by Amanda Stoll/22nd
century media
education teacher Kris Vandenberg
in a T-Rex costume
he wore for Halloween.
Not only do the cards have
an incentive for students
to practice good behavior,
Hippleheuser said they will
be used in the art curriculum
for second grade at the end
of the third quarter.
“In second grade I do a
unit on commercial artists
and illustrators, and I let
them choose from a variety
of projects,” he said. “One
of those projects will be to
make their own Mokemon
card.”
Students have been excited
about the cards, and Hippleheuser
said some of them
have even incorporated them
into their Pokémon decks
and play the Mokemon cards
Xenha, one of the characters drawn by art teacher Steve
Hippleheuser that is featured on the school’s Mokemon
cards, was named by student Jordan White.
alongside their other cards.
Hippleheuser said he reminds
students about the
cards regularly and what
they have to do to earn them.
“When teachers catch you
being good, you get to catch
a Mokemon.”
Attention Builders:
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22 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger mokena
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mokenamessenger.com life & Arts
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 23
Lincoln-Way students recognized
in Scholastic Art exhibition
Summit Hill pep band
plays at Wolves game
Submitted by Lincoln-Way Community
High School District 210
Lincoln-Way Central student Russell
Klopp received an honorable mention
in the 2017 Scholastic Art Awards for
his painting, pictured here.
Seven Lincoln-Way East High
School students were recognized by the
most prestigious high school art exhibition
in the country.
The 2017 Scholastic Art Awards
awarded 24 Lincoln-Way students in total,
including seven Gold Key Awards,
eight Silver Award and nine Honorable
Mention Awards. Gold Key award winners’
work will advance to New York to
compete at the national level.
In the Midwest region, area schools
submitted 2,619 works of art with only
838 pieces awarded and accepted into
the show.
Lincoln-Way Central students recognized
were Russell Klopp and Shannon
McGuire,
Lincoln-Way East students recognized
were Emily Alvarez, Sheila
Deacy, Emilee Grummel, Jordan Horneij,
Summer Lecas, Emily Oseman
and Kate Weithers.
All awarded works are on display at
the Regional Show, which takes place
at Downers Grove North High School,
4436 Main Street in Downers Grove.
An opening reception was held Feb. 5,
and the show runs through Feb. 10.
Lincoln-Way East student Kate
Weithers was awarded a Gold Key
Award in the 2017 Scholastic Art
Awards for her drawing, pictured here.
Photos submitted
Submitted by Summit Hill
School District 161
The Summit Hill Junior
High School Pep Band took
their show on the road last
month, performing at a semiprofessional
hockey game.
The band helped hype
up the crowd at a Chicago
Wolves game at Allstate
Arena on Jan. 22, with nearly
all of the band’s 47 members
attending.
The band performed songs
such as “Party Rock Anthem,”
“Eye of the Tiger”
and “Sweet Caroline” for
about 40 minutes straight inside
the south gate of the stadium,
playing for people as
they entered. A large crowd
of pep band fans watched
in the concourse, before
the band packed up their
equipment and watched the
Wolves win 6-1.
Chapter Chatter
Picoult’s ‘Small Great Things’ adeptly tackles racism
Barbara Knight
Mokena Resident
“Small Great Things” by
Jodi Picoult is a timely and,
I believe, important book
that offers keen insight into
the sometimes uncomfortable
issue of the state of race
relations in our culture.
The title is taken from a
famous speech by Martin
Luther King Jr.: “If I cannot
do great things, I can do
small things in a great way”.
She explains why she
chose to use a direct quote
for the title of this book. Particularly
for folks who live in
areas where diversity is not
as apparent as in others, there
is sometimes passive acceptance
of the unchallenged
“comfort zone” simply because
it isn’t part of how we
look at the wider world.
In “Acknowledgements,”
this writer talks about what
drew her to this subject and
how the urge to give voice to
the complex, many-layered
components of this issue
grew, resulting in this book.
I read a lot of books, but
am only moved to share my
opinion in a review when I
feel there is a social or cultural
lesson that might be instructive
or a message with
wide appeal to readers in
general and students of life.
I think this is such a book.
This is a thoughtful and important
look at how each of us
perceives racism in our world.
It forces the reader to take
an honest, introspective look
at whatever our notions of
racism after reading about the
experience of a black nurse
who experiences one of the
most glaring examples of racial
inequality imaginable.
The character of Ruth embodies
the ultimate triumph
of the human spirit; she is
shaken to the core but, in the
end, unbroken, which does
not in any way underestimate
the pain and difficulty
of her journey.
The story unfolds from
three perspectives: a black
nurse with an unblemished
20-year career in the same
hospital, a white supremacist
and a public defender.
It is riveting and intense
and portrays a deep struggle
that I think speaks eloquently
to the issues of our times.
This writer has tackled
social topics in the past. She
always does her research and
due diligence and speaks
from the heart in the acknowledgement
portion of
the book about what motivated
her to examine this timely
and current issue, which has,
I believe, resulted in a powerful
and educational look at
the issue of unconscious passive
racism in our culture.
If you are confident that
you have no bias about people
different from yourself,
reading this story may surprise
you, as well as present
an opportunity for growth.
It is at times disturbing,
authentic, unsettling, riveting,
powerful and, in the
end, hopeful.
Submit reviews (400 words
or less) to tim@mokenamessenger.com
and include your
name and phone number in
the email.
Forty-four of the Summit Hill School District 161 pep
band’s members perform at Allstate Arena Jan. 22 before a
Chicago Wolves game. Photos submitted
The band played favorites such as “Sweet Caroline.”

24 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger MOKENA
mokenamessenger.com mokenamessenger.com MOKENA
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 25
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26 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger Dining Out
mokenamessenger.com
Vegan Cafe owner overcomes illness to run restaurant
Erin Redmond, Assistant Editor
About 10 years ago, Marguerite
Baltages-Ruminski
was staring death in the
face.
Her corporate job, she
told her husband, was going
to kill her emotionally,
spiritually or physically.
She knew she had to get out.
So, she traded her cubicle
for kitchenware and started
her own catering business,
Healthy Sins.
Fast-forward five years to
the night the Homer Glen
resident and her husband
dropped into the Vegan
Cafe, 928 S. State St., Lockport,
for dinner. As she was
dining on the surprisingly
scrumptious cuisine, a light
bulb went off in Ruminski’s
head. She found out the cafe
offered classes and decided
to take a few as a way to expand
her catering business.
But when she found out the
cafe was volunteer-based, it
was game over.
“I love to volunteer. I
started volunteering so much
that [then owner] Laurie
Sloan approached me and
said ‘do you want to buy it?’
I looked at her and said ‘are
you nuts?’ ... Next thing I
knew, I was signing the [paperwork],”
Ruminski said.
Ruminski still had her
doubts, however. As she
waited for Sloan to arrive
the morning on Sept.
1, 2013, she asked her late
father, who also owned a
restaurant when she was
growing up, for a sign she
was doing the right thing.
And then she heard the train
whistle.
“It’s 9 o’clock in the
morning,” she said, looking
skyward and noting her
father’s old restaurant was
a half-block from the train
station. “The train never
goes by at 9 o’clock in the
morning. It blew its horn
and I went ‘OK, I got it. I
never looked back.”
Vegan Cafe
928 S. State Street in
Lockport
Hours
• 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Monday-Thursday
• 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday-
Saturday
• Sunday: closed,
available for private
parties
For more information...
Web: www.rawvegancafe.
org
Phone: (815) 838-4626
A new era
Ruminski loved the cafe
so much when she bought
it that she didn’t want to
change much — but she had
to put her spin on it. The artwork
on the walls and some
of the traditional recipes remain
the same, but she has
introduced items like the
Salisbury “steak” ($17.95;
$13 lunch special), which
is made of walnuts, mushrooms,
pumpkin seeds and
onions and topped with a
creamy — yet cream-less —
mushroom gravy. The lunch
special is served between 11
a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday-
Friday, and includes a half
order of any entree, a garden
salad with choice of garlic
ginger or ranch dressing and
brownie bite ($10-$13).
The Creamy Alfredo pasta
dish ($14.95 for small,
$19,95 for large) is hands
down Ruminski’s favorite,
however. The pasta consists
of spiral cut zucchini noodles
and the sauce is simply
cashews, lemon juice, olive
oil, garlic, herbs and traditional
yeast, which gives
it the cheesy flavor. It’s
all topped with marinated
mushrooms.
“This is my absolute favorite,”
Ruminski said.
“When I tried this, I could
not believe it didn’t have
cream in it.”
As the owner of a vegan
cafe, Ruminski said she is
often faced with apprehension.
Because of that, she
tries to have something for
everyone. When carnivores
stroll through her door and
take a seat at the leaf-shaped
tables, she recommends the
nachos.
The taco “meat” is three
simple ingredients: almonds,
sun-dried tomatoes
and Mexican seasoning. It’s
piled high atop non-GMO,
organic, raw, vegan and gluten-free
corn chips, that are
made in house. Guacamole
from organic avocados, nacho
drizzle — made of sunflower
seeds and turmeric
give it a yellow hue — and a
cashew, lemon juice and olive
oil blended sour “cream”
sauce tie it all together.
“This is the healthiest you
will eat anywhere, any time,”
Ruminski said. “I tell people
to be open-minded and try
it. I’ve had people go ‘I’m
afraid’ and I go ‘it’s food;
there’s nothing to be afraid
of. It’s not for everybody and
I know that. That’s OK.”
And Ruminski won’t let
you leave with trying dessert.
Hearty but healthy, Ruminski
offers desserts such
as brownies, macaroons and
the cafe’s signature almond
butter pie ($8 per slice),
made from almond butter
that is ground on-site and
mixed with bananas and cinnamon,
stuffed into a date
and pecan crust and slathered
with chocolate ganache.
“I always say ‘you have to
try the desserts, that’s going
to put you over the edge,’”
she said.
On a mission
Ruminski’s interest in
healthy foods didn’t happen
by accident, and her mission
is two-fold — get healthier
and give back.
She was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis nearly 20
years ago and when her doctor
told her that her numbers
The Salisbury “steak” ($17.95) is made of walnuts, mushrooms, pumpkin seeds and
onions with a cascading mushroom gravy on top. The lunch special ($13), seen here, also
comes with a garden salad and brownie bites. Photos by Erin Redmond/22nd Century Media
The Vegan Cafe also serves ravioli. The noodles are made from jimicca and topped with
marina sauce, made from re-hydrated sun-dried tomatoes. It is served on the lunch special
menu, which ranges from $10-$13 and runs 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
were “off the charts”, she
knew it was time to make a
change.
She admits that she’s still
a “transitioning” vegan. She
also has a nut allergy, so
sticking to her new diet can
be tricky at times. Her restrictive
eating requirements
have inspired new dressings,
such as the Pumpkin Seed
Cheese, made of pumpkin
seeds, cilantro, garlic and
ginger, so that others like her
can enjoy what the cafe has
to offer.
“As soon as I decided to go
into this wholeheartedly, I feel
so much different and so much
better,” she said. “I don’t need
a nap after I eat now.”
The Vegan Cafe was a
non-profit when she bought
it and while she tried to uphold
its status, Ruminski
said she’s doing “the next
best thing.” All employees
went from volunteers to paid
employees, but she doesn’t
collect a salary. Instead, everything
goes back to charities
such as MorningStar
Mission to help the homeless
and animal rescues like TLC
Animal Shelter.
“Honestly, that’s why I do
it,” Ruminski said. “I got to
a point in my life where I’m
like ‘let’s have some fun’
— and it is. I love this ... I
wake up in the morning with
a purpose.”

mokenamessenger.com dining out
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 27
The Dish
El Balcon adopts rebellious Durango cuisine, attitude
Owners introduce
new dishes, put own
twists on classics
Erin Redmond, Assistant Editor
Rebellious spirits are born
and bred in Durango, Mexico.
From the very first Mexican
president, Guadalupe Victoria,
to revolutionary Francisco
“Pancho” Villa to restaurant
owners Claudia Morales and
her son Diego, they have
fought against social conformity
in their own ways.
The latter duo opened El
Balcon, 11247 W. 143rd St.
in Orland Park, this past November
with a plan to defy the
popular conception of Mexican
food. Their menu features
items that have left those most
fluent in Mexican cuisine
seeking a tasty translation.
The Morales family has
owned a restaurant by the
same name in Bolingbrook
for 13 years but decided
it was time to broaden the
reach of their culinary “revolución.”
“We include some not very
common or popular foods,”
Claudia said. “In Mexico,
they are popular, but not in
the area. So, a lot of people
ask us, ‘What is this?’”
Hard to say, easy to eat
One of the tongue-twisting
menu items featured at
El Balcon is the huarache
(Wah RAH chay). It is like
a Mexican version of a personal
pizza — but better.
The huaraches’ ($6.50)
elongated, open-faced tortilla
features a layer of beans upon
which your choice of meat
— steak, chicken, marinated
pork or Mexican sausage —
rests comfortably. Lettuce
and cheese are sprinkled over
the meat, and the whole thing
is topped with tomato slices.
“We do our own salsas, our
own chips, enchiladas — we
do everything. We don’t use
[anything] that comes from
outside. We do everything fresh
right here.”
Claudia Morales — owner of El Balcon in Orland
Park
Not a carnivore? The meat
can be swapped out for poblano
pepper strips with
cheese. It is also served sin
carne, or “plain.”
Anyone who has ever
stepped foot inside a Chipotle
restaurant has undoubtedly
heard of barbacoa, but
the fast food chain’s variety
is a far cry from how El
Balcon does it. While most
places use shredded beef for
this dish, at the Orland Park
spot it is made with steamed
lamb. The barbacoa can be
found nestled in the restaurant’s
hefty tacos ($2.59
each), wrapped in a corn tortilla
and paired with either
lettuce and tomato, or Mexican
style with onions and
cilantro. On the weekends,
El Balcon also sells its barbacoa
by the pound ($11.99)
or half-pound ($5.99).
“A customer told me the
other day that we were the
only ones in the area who
sold [lamb barbacoa],”
Claudia said. “I didn’t know
about that.”
And while they try to incorporate
foods from all
over Mexico, the Morales
family features some distinct
Durango-area dishes. Hailing
from an area known for
its peppers, the chiles rellenos
($9.99) — stuffed poblano
peppers — was a must for
El Balcon
11247 W. 143rd St. in
Orland Park
Hours
• 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
Monday-Saturday
• 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday
For more information ...
Phone: (708) 226-5666
Web: www.
elbalconorlandpark.com
their menu. The dinner plate
is served with rice, beans,
lettuce and tomato.
The enchiladas dinner
plate ($8.99) is another Durango
delight, especially
when served rojas-style,
which means it is smothered
in red sauce. It also is available
with a milder verdes
version, also known as green
sauce.
New twist on an old
favorite
Mexican food connoisseurs
know and love the
quesadilla, but Claudia will
bet pesos to pozole they
have not had it like this. El
Balcon features the classic
quesadilla fixins’ — steak,
chicken, pork and Mexican
sausage — as well as some
not as familiar to locals.
For diners feeling adventurous,
they offer ones with
The barbacoa taco ($2.59) at El Balcon is a popular favorite, especially given that it is made
from lamb, not beef. Photos by Erin Redmond/22nd Century Media
El Balcon offers quesadillas ($5.50) in a wide array of options, ranging from the classic
asada, or skirt steak, seen here to more adventurous options like the chicharrón, which is
fried pork skin.
Flor de Calabaza (pumpkin
flower), cuitlacoche (corn
mushrooms) and chicharrón,
which is fried pork skin. All
the quesadillas ($5.50) are
served with lettuce and sour
cream.
Every item on the menu
has been revolutionized by
the Morales family, right
down to the guacamole and
chips ($4.99). It is by far
one of the young restaurant’s
most popular dishes,
and Claudia said that is for
good reason.
“We have a home-style
in our food,” she said. “We
do our own salsas, our own
chips, enchiladas — we do
everything. We don’t use
[anything] that comes from
outside. We do everything
fresh right here, which
sometimes takes longer than
usual. I think [people can
taste] a difference.”

28 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger PUZZLES
mokenamessenger.com
crosstown CROSSWORD & Sudoku
The crosstowns: Frankfort, Homer Glen, Lockport, Mokena, New Lenox, Orland Park, Tinley Park
Crossword by Myles Mellor and Cindy LaFleur
Across
1. Catch
5. MIRV’s cousin
9. Dough
14. It may follow something
15. Drive off
16. Event presenter
17. Opposed to, in
dialect
18. Cut, as a log
19. Portly plus
20. Sandburg senior
drum major, Sydney
_____
22. All’s partner
23. “Yikes!”
24. Wriggler
25. He bugs you
29. Historic building
34. Gazed amorously
35. Gangster’s blade
36. Jeans brand
37. Defeat decisively
38. Exciting
39. Synthetic thread
40. Pitcher’s asset
41. Rest
42. Sudden attack
43. Famous aria from
‘Carmen’
46. She has a degree
47. Help
48. “Long, long time
___”
49. Supple
52. Sandburg school
sports performers
58. Work __
59. Agave plant
60. Exaggerated press
61. Picture
62. Housing payment
63. One of the Great
Lakes
64. Carpets
65. Simon who wrote
“The Death of Napoleon”
66. Make fun of
Down
1. Approximate
2. Pond scum organism
3. The upper Thames
River
4. Added something
5. Insurance underwriter
6. Blackboard need
7. New Year’s Day game
8. Like old recordings
9. Cried like a Siamese
10. Mummify
11. Super server
12. Branch headquarters?
13. Eyes
21. Rustic pipe
24. A deadly sin
25. Religious scroll
26. Ancient Greek marketplace
27. Vertical
28. Lassie, e.g.
29. ___ apso (dog)
30. Sidekick
31. Warning sound
32. Played again
33. Nairobi is its capital
35. Affix a brand to
38. Pay attention to
39. Pronoun
42. Sheet of ice
44. Expressing amazement
verbally
45. Reunion attendees
46. Shoelace tips
48. Intense suffering
49. Slightly lower
50. Longing
51. Former ABC sitcom
52. Lady’s man
53. On the safe side
54. The others
55. Newbie
56. Monumental
57. Request
HOMER GLEN
Mullets Sports Bar and
Restaurant
(14903 S. Bell Road,
Homer Glen; (708) 645-
7000)
■7 ■ p.m. Wednesdays:
Trivia
FRANKFORT
Pete Mitchell’s Bar & Grill
(21000 Frankfort Square
Road, Frankfort; (815)
464-8100)
■6-8 ■ p.m. Wednesdays:
Free N’ Fun Bar Game.
Free to play.
LOCKPORT
The Outpost Pub & Grill
(14929 Archer Ave., Lockport;
(815) 836-8893)
■8 ■ p.m. Tuesdays and
Thursdays: Live DJ and
Karaoke
Strike N Spare II
(811 Northern Drive, Lockport;
(708) 301-1477)
■9:30 ■ p.m.-12:30 a.m.
Mondays: Quartermania
■Fridays: ■ Live bands
MOKENA
The Alley Grill and Tap
House
(18700 S. Old LaGrange
Road, Mokena; (708) 478-
3610)
■9 ■ p.m. Tuesdays: Karaoke
Fox’s Restaurant and Pub
(11247 W. 187th St., Mokena;
(708) 478-8888)
■6 ■ p.m. Thursdays,
Fridays and Saturdays:
Performance by Jerry
Eadie
Jenny’s Southside Tap
(10160 191st St., Mokena;
(708) 479-6873)
■6 ■ p.m. Tuesdays: Acoustic
Avenue, Psychic
night - second Tuesday
every month.
■9 ■ p.m. Thursdays:
Karaoke
■Fridays ■ and Saturdays:
Live bands
NEW LENOX
Little Joe’s Restaurant
(1300 N. Cedar Road,
New Lenox; (815) 463-
1099)
■5-8 ■ p.m. Tuesdays:
Piano Styles by Joe
To place an event
in The Scene, email
b.kapa@22ndcenturymedia.
com.
answers
How to play Sudoku
Each sudoku puzzle consists of a 9x9 grid that
has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3x3
squares. To solve the puzzle, each row, column and
box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9.
LEVEL: Medium
Sudoku by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan

mokenamessenger.com mokena
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 29
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30 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger LOCAL LIVING
mokenamessenger.com
Outstanding new home values in Peotone can be yours At Westgate Manor
Distinctive Home Builders is building new homes from the low $200s
When it comes to a preferred location,
Peotone is a steadily growing
suburb with a strong infrastructure
and an irresistible small-town charm
with a bright future—which is why Distinctive
Home Builders chose the Will
County village for its newest community
of 38 single-family homes: Westgate
Manor.
“Peotone is a family-friendly village
just south of Chicago and is one
of the best kept secrets among new
home seekers,” said Bryan Nooner,
President of Distinctive Home Builders.
“We expect to attract home shoppers
from northwest Indiana and the
south suburban Chicago marketplace.
We will likely also see buyers from the
Kankakee area because the Peotone
school district is so desirable.”
Several factors attracted Distinctive
Home Builders to this hometown atmosphere
community, not the least of
which was its convenient location between
Interstate 57 and Illinois Route
50 and easy access to I-80. Commuters
will enjoy several nearby train stations
and a mere 35-minute drive to
Chicago.
“It’s a vibrant, growing community
that benefits from ease of access to job
centers in the west and southwest suburbs
with impressive commercial and
industrial growth that has followed the
residential boom here,” said Nooner.
“Affordable land prices in Peotone,
combined with lower construction
costs add up to savings when compared
to a similarly-equipped home in
the area,” added Nooner.
Westgate Manor brick and frame
homes offer (features vary per model)
The Fahan II, a split level 3-4BR luxury townhome at Brookside Meadows.
2-Story Great Room Prairie Model
three to four bedrooms, two to threeand-
a-half baths, full basement,
formal dining room, vaulted, tray or
nine-foot first-floor ceilings, a large
kitchen with custom maple cabinets,
family room or great room, and concrete
driveways. Depending on the
home selected, other standard amenities
can include a living room, den,
dinette, a tray or vaulted ceiling in
the master bedroom, and dual-zoned
heating and air conditioning.
Distinctive Home Builders offers a
wide variety of styles and selections—
buyers can choose among 12 different
designs—each available in three to
eight different elevations at Westgate
Manor, including two-story and ranch
homes. Square footages span 1,600 to
2,500 for ranches and 1,800 to 3,000
for two-story homes.
“Most home shoppers feel there
must be a trade off from getting what
you need and what you want in a new
home. With our new premium inclusions
we have closed that gap significantly
by including additional features
that our buyers told us were most important
to them,” said Nooner, who
added that “now is the best time to buy,
because you can still take advantage of
preconstruction prices that range from
the low $200s which makes this a terrific
New home value.”
Other premium standard features
included at Westgate Manor are brick
front exteriors on the first floor, free
basements in most models, ceramic
tile or hardwood floors in the kitchen,
baths and foyer; and custom maple
cabinets. Distinctive kitchen cabinets
feature solid wood construction (no
particle board), have solid wood drawers
with dove tail joints, which is very
rare in the marketplace.
“When you build a new home with
Distinctive, you truly are receiving a
hand crafted home with custom made
cabinets no matter what the price
range,” noted Nooner. This year, Distinctive
Home Builders is celebrating
30 years building thousands of homes
throughout the Will and south Cook
county areas.
Distinctive Home Builders, an industry
leading innovator, offers the
fastest build times (90 working days)
with a “Zero Punch list” closing policy.
Prior to closing, each home undergoes
an industry leading 100-point checklist
to insure the home measures up to
our high quality standards.
Single-family 2-3BR townhome - The Lennan II, at Brookside Meadows.
Exterior Prairie Model
Customers stay connected to the
progress of their home from start to
finish through Distinctive’s unique construction
portal. “Our customers simply
download our Distinctive HomeBuilders
app and they are in touch with their
new home 24/7 from anywhere in the
world. The app allows our customers
to see the progress of their home and
access their documents at any time,”
Nooner explained. “Our customers really
appreciate the integration of social
media sites directly in our app allowing
them to easily share photos and updates
of their new home with family and
friends,” he concluded.
As a semi-custom builder, Distinctive
Home Builders can modify any of
its standard designs to cater to a customer’s
tastes, which means that moving
walls, adding extra windows or even
extending the garage are all possible.
Nooner added that “All our homes
are highly energy efficient and will be
built to the new National Energy Code
guidelines. Every home we build has
upgraded wall and ceiling insulation
values with energy efficient windows
and high efficiency furnaces. Before our
customers take possession of their new
home, we perform a blower door test to
insure that each home passes a set of
very stringent guidelines which insures
that our homes are tight and energy efficient.
Owning a more energy efficient
means lower gas and electric bills for our
customers each month.”
Peotone was established in 1856 and
offers tree-lined streets and a charming
downtown area complete with diners,
pizza parlors, cafes and pubs. In season
there is a Farmer’s Market in front
of the American Legion. Also the community
has a popular Fall Fest in front
of the famous Peotone Windmill; once
a thriving flour mill that put Peotone on
the map in the late 1800s. A Christmas
in the Village Festival is another annual
community event that concludes with a
Lighted Parade at night. Peotone now
has an estimated population of just over
4,000. Metra rail service is nearby providing
commuters easy access to downtown
Chicago.
Westgate Manor is conveniently located
within walking distance of the
esteemed Peotone High School. The
Westgate Manor new home offsite Sales
and Information Center is located in
Manhattan three miles south of Laraway
Rd. on Rt. 52. at 16233 Pinto Lane,
Manhattan, IL, 60422. Hours are daily
from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed
Wednesday and Thursday and they are
always available by appointment.
Specials, prices, specifications, standard
features, model offerings, build
times and lot availability are subject to
change without notice. Please contact
a Distinctive representative for current
pricing and complete details. For more
information, call (708) 479-7700 or
(708) 737-9142 or visit www.distinctivehomebuilders.com.

mokenamessenger.com LOCAL LIVING
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 31
Build and Move into Your New Home from the low $200s
With Lincoln-Way Schools at Prairie Trails in Manhattan
Distinctive Home Builders provides homeowners the
highest quality home on the market
Distinctive Home Builders
continues to add high quality
homes to the Manhattan
landscape at Prairie Trails; its
latest new home community,
located within the highly-regarded
Lincoln-Way School
District. Many families are
happy to call Prairie Trails
home and are pleased that
Distinctive is able to deliver a
new home with zero punch list
items in 90 days. Before closing,
each home undergoes an
industry-leading checklist that
ensures each home measures
up to the firm’s high quality
standards.
“Actually our last average
was 81 working days from excavation
to receiving a home
occupancy permit - without
sacrificing quality,” said Bryan
Nooner, president of Distinctive
Home Builders. “Everyone
at the company works
extremely hard to continually
achieve this delivery goal for
our homeowners. Our three
decades building homes provides
this efficient construction
system. Many of our
skilled craftsmen have been
working with our company for
Recently closed Prairie Trails Arbor Model
over 20 years. We also take
pride on having excellent communicators
throughout our
organization. This translates
into a positive buying and
building experience for our
homeowners and one of the
highest referral rates in the industry
for Distinctive.”
In all, buyers can select
from 13 ranch, split-level and
six two-story single-family
home styles; each offering
three to eight different exterior
elevations. The three- to
four-bedroom homes feature
two to two-and-one-half
baths, two- to three-car garages
and a family room, all in
approximately 1,600 to over
3,000 square feet of living
space. Basements are included
in most models as well. Distinctive
also encourages customization
to make your new
home truly personalized to
suit your lifestyle.
Oversize home sites; brick
exteriors on all four sides of
the first floor; custom maple
cabinets; ceramic tile or hardwood
floors in the kitchen,
baths and foyer; genuine wood
trim and doors; granite countertops
and concrete driveways
can all be yours at Prairie
Trails. All home sites at Prairie
Trails can accommodate a
three-car garage; a very important
amenity to the Manhattan
homebuyer, according
to Nooner.
“When we opened Prairie
Trails we wanted to provide
the best new home value for
the dollar and we feel with
offering Premium Standard
Features that we do just that.
So why wait? This is truly the
best time to build your dream
home!”
Distinctive offers custom
maple kitchen cabinets featuring
solid wood construction
(no particle board), have solid
wood drawers with dove tail
joints, which is very rare in the
marketplace. “When you buy
a new home from Distinctive,
you truly are receiving custom
made cabinets in every home
we sell no matter what the
price range,” noted Nooner.
Nooner added that all
homes are highly energy efficient.
Every home built will
have upgraded wall and ceiling
insulation values with
Recently closed Prairie Trails Arbor Model
energy efficient windows and
high efficiency furnaces. Before
homeowners move into
their new home, Distinctive
Home Builders conducts a
blower door test that pressurizes
the home to ensure that
each home passes a set of very
stringent Energy Efficiency
guidelines.
Typically a wide variety of
homes are available to tour
that include ranch and twostory
homes.
Distinctive is also offering
a brand new home, the
Stonegrove, a 3,000 square
foot open concept home with a
split foyer entry, formal living
and dining rooms, a two-story
great room, four bedrooms
and an upstairs laundry room.
Distinctive also offers Appbased
technology allowing its
homeowners to be updated
on the progress of their new
home 24 hours a day, seven
days a week at the touch of a
button.
Prairie Trails is also a beautiful
place to live featuring a
20-acre lake on site, as well
as direct access to the 22-mile
Wauponsee Glacial Prairie
Path that borders the community
and meanders through
many neighboring communities
and links to many other
popular trails. The Manhattan
Metra station is also nearby.
Besides Prairie Trails, Distinctive
Home Builders has
built hundreds of homes
throughout Manhattan in the
Butternut Ridge and Leighlinbridge
developments, as well
as thousands in the Will and
south Cook county areas over
the past 30 years.
Visit the on-site sales information
center for unadvertised
specials and view the numerous
styles of homes being
offered and the available lots.
Call (708) 737-9142 for more
information or visit us online
at www.distinctivehomebuilders.com.
The Prairie Trails
new home information center
is located three miles south
of Laraway Rd. on Rt. 52. The
address is 16233 Pinto Lane,
Manhattan, IL, 60422. Open
Daily 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Closed Wednesday and Thursday
and always available by
appointment. Specials, prices,
specifications, standard features,
model offerings, build
times and lot availability are
subject to change without notice.
Please contact a Distinctive
representative for current
pricing and complete details.

32 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger Classifieds
mokenamessenger.com
CLASSIFIEDS
Help Wanted · Garage Sales · Automotive
Real Estate · Rentals · Merchandise
CLASSIFIEDS SPOTLIGHT
Who We Are
Service 1 Plumbing, Heating & AC is an expert heating and cooling
company that serves the Southwest suburbs. We are proudly A+
rated with the Better Business Bureau, and all of our installers
and technicians are trained on a regular, on going basis.
What We Do
We are dedicated to providing the best possible solutions for
your home or business and can be counted on to do the job right
the first time.
What We Can Offer You
We treat every service call like it’s our own home - because we
know how much yours means to you. No matter what time of day,
you can count on Service 1 for a free estimate - just one of our
many other everyday promotions.
How to Reach Us
www.service1heating.com
Sell It 708.326.9170
Fax It 708.326.9179
Charge It
DEADLINE -
Friday at 3pm
Find more great services like this by
turning to our Business and
Professional Directories
Seeking P/T Shop Worker
Tinley Park Manufacturing
Co. seeks responsible,
detail-oriented individual
to perform production and
shipping functions. Duties
incl. shipping, loading/
unloading trucks,
warehouse duties &
running production eqmt.
Forklift cert. & exp. with
UPS shipping software are
pluses. MUST be reliable,
self-starter, excellent
reading/writing/math.
Competitive wage. Email
resume and/or letter to:
cstratton@aerorubber.com
AERO Rubber Co., Inc.
8100 West 185th Street
Tinley Park, IL 60487
Part-time Telephone Work
calling from home for
AMVETS. Ideal for
homemakers and retirees.
Must be reliable and have
morning &evening hours
available for calling.
If interested,
Call 708 429 6477
M-F, 10am - 1pm Only!
P/T Positions Available.
Group Exercise Instructor,
Swim Instructor, Massage
Therapist. Please view our
employment section at
OPHFC.com to apply.
START A JOB THAT
YOU’LL LOVE!
BECOME A BUS DRIVER
WITH AMERICAN
SCHOOL BUS.
708.349.1866
St. Joseph Convent in
Lemont looking for P/T
CNA. Call Nurse Manager
Krestina 708.912.7510
CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION
Month
Help
Wanted
1003 Help Wanted
Outdoor work: F/T
year-round Employment
Potential for paid winters
off. Benefits incl. health,
dental, IRA. Clean driving
record a MUST.
Apply in-person 7320
Duvan Dr, Tinley Park
M-R 10a-1p or email
resume to
callus@lawntechltd.com
P/T Office Secretary
$13/hr flexible schedule.
No exp necessary.
Candidate must have
excellent customer service.
Email resume to
callus@lawntechltd.com
or walk-in M-R 10a-1p
7320 Duvan Dr.
Tinley Park, IL
Sox Outlet-P/T Days
Computer Register
Conducive to college student.
Employee receives 15%
discount. Never work past 9
pm. Closed Thanksgiving,
Christmas, Easter Sunday, 4th
of July. Apply within. No
phone calls please.
6220 W. 159th St, Oak Forest
LAWN TECHNICIAN
Professional company
located in Frankfort
looking for reliable
individual to apply dry
fertilizer. Experience a
plus, but not necessary.
For interview call:
(708)479-4600
Hiring Desk Clerk (2nd
& 3rd shift) &
Housekeeping (Morning)
Needed at Super 8 Motel
Apply within:
9485 W. 191st St, Mokena
No Phone Calls
1003 Help
Wanted
Pet Sitter/Dog Walker
needed at Tender Lovin’
Dog Walking in New
Lenox area. 10am-3pm,
Mon-Fri & weekends. Must
be 21 yrs. & love pets.
Excellent refs req’d, E-mail
tenderlovin@mail.com
Homer Glen, P/T Office
Help. Mon-Fri, 30 hrs/wk.
Skills required: accounting,
computer & strong customer
service. $12 an hour. Send
resume to:
apm-resume@comcast.net
Exp. Legal Assistant
FT/PT. Mokena criminal &
divorce firm. Send resume
& letter to:
jaytobrien@gmail.com
Looking for an
experienced insurance
phone solicitor. Please call
Cal. 708.460.9470
1022 Caregiver
Wanted
Caregiver needed for day
and a half per week in
Olympia Fields area. Light
cooking & housekeeping.
Please call: 630.400.1069
1023 Caregiver
Caregiver Services
Provided by
Margaret’s Agency Inc.
State Licensed & Bonded
since 1998. Providing
quality care for elderly.
Live-in/ Come & go.
708.403.8707
Heaven Sent Caregivers
Professional caregiving
service. 24 hr or hourly
services. Licensed &
bonded. Try the best!
708.638.0641
Caregiver available. 20 yrs
exp. Great references. Quality
caring. Excellent cook.
Driver’s license & own car.
Live-in or come & go. Call
Jose 773.559.4603

mokenamessenger.com Classifieds
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 33
CLASSIFIEDS
Help Wanted · Garage Sales · Automotive
Real Estate · Rentals · Merchandise
1007 Education & Training
Sell It 708.326.9170
Fax It 708.326.9179
Charge It
DEADLINE - Friday at 3pm
1061 Autos Wanted
CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION
Month
Real Estate
1090 House for Sale
1037 Prayer / Novena
Oh, Holy StJude, Apostle &
Martyr, great in virtue and rich
in miracle, near kinsman of Jesus
Christ, faithful intercessor
of all who invoke your special
patronage in time ofneed. To
you Ihave recourse from the
depth of my heart and humbly
beg to whom God has given
such great power to come to
my assistance. Help me in my
present and urgent petition, In
return, I promise tomake your
name known and cause you to
name known and cause you to
be invoked. Say three Our Fathers,
three Hail Marys and
glories for nine consecutive
days. Publications must be
promised. St. Jude pray for us
all who invoke your aid.
Amen. This Novena has never
been known tofail, Ihave had
requests granted. D.B.
Sacred Heart of Jesus Thank
You for Favors Granted. C.B.
Gracious Virgin Mary Thank
You for Favors Granted. C.B.
Tinley Park
2006 all brick custom
ranch, 3 huge BR’s, 2.5Ba,
high toilets & vanities,
beautiful kitchen 42 inch
cabinets with apantry, fully
finished sound proof basement,
huge storage areas,
super big 2.5 car garage, 80
x 235 picturesque lot, with
sprinkler system &swimming
pool. Reasonable
taxes. Don’t miss this one.
$355,000
708-466-2380
See the Classified
Section for more info,
or call 708.326.9170
22ndCenturyMedia.com
1094 Offices for Sale
Don’t just
list your
real estate
property...
Sell It!
With a Classified Ad
Automotive
1061 Autos Wanted
Office Condo for sale in
Tinley Park
Price reduced for a quick
sale! 1003 Sq. Ft. New
Roof and HVAC. Unit has
4sinks and akitchen area
lg. windows. $41,000.
Call Tom 708 280-8820
Attention Realtors
Looking to Advertise?
REACH MORE
THAN
96,000
HOMES &
BUSINESSES
EACH WEEK!
See the Classified
Section for
more info, or Call
708.326.9170
www.22ndcenturymedia.com
WANTED!
WE NEED
RUNNING
CARS, TRUCKS
& VANS
Running Or Not
Top Dollar Paid !!!
Free Pick-Up
Locally Located
708 205 8241
HIRE LOCALLY
Reach over 83% of prospective
employees in your area!
DRIVE CAR BUYERS
TO YOUR DOOR WITH
A CLASSIFIED AUTO AD
708.326.9170
CALL TODAY FOR
RATES & INFORMATION
708-326-9170
www.22ndcenturymedia.com
SUPPORT LOCAL
BUSINESSES
Turn to the classifieds section
The Frankfort Station

34 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger Classifieds
mokenamessenger.com
LOCAL
REALTOR
DIRECTORY
CLASSIFIEDS
Help Wanted · Garage Sales · Automotive
Real Estate · Rentals · Merchandise
Sell It 708.326.9170 | Fax It 708.326.9179
Charge It | DEADLINE - Friday at 3pm
Rental
Automotive
$52 4 lines/
7 papers
Real Estate
$50 7 7 papers
lines/
Help Wanted
$13 4 lines/
per line 7 papers
Merchandise
$30 7 4 papers
lines/
1221 Houses for
Rent
1225 Apartments
for Rent
REAL ESTATE ATTORNEYS
CLOSINGS ANDALL REAL ESTATENEEDS
THOUSANDSOFTRANSACTIONSCLOSED
•RECOGNIZEDASAN
INDUSTRY LEADER FOR
OUREXPERIENCE AND
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•FEATURED INCHICAGO
REALTOR MAGAZINE
•SELECTED BYCHICAGO
AGENTMAGAZINE ASA
"WHO'S WHO" IN
CHICAGO REALESTATE
SELLING: $200 Flat Fee*
BUYING: $500 Flat Fee*
*Must mention Ad
OFFICESINORLANDPARK & CHICAGO
WWW.DUFFINDORELAW.COM• 312.566.0911
708.966.0692
Attorneys At Law
www.duffindorelaw.com
DUFFIN &DORE
Don’t just list your
real estate property...
Sell It!
With a Classified Ad
See the Classified Section for more info,
or call 22ndCenturyMedia.com
Contact Classified Department
to Advertise in this Directory
708.326.9170
Orland Park
House for Rent
Newly decorated, 4BR,
1.5Ba, walk in closets, no
pets. Tenant pays all utilities,
1year lease, $280.00 aweek
(6 week security deposit)
Avail. immediately
708-620-9703
1225 Apartments
for Rent
Oak Forest Terrace
15815 Terrace, Oak Forest
Spacious 1 & 2 Bdrms.
Serene setting & Beautiful
Grounds. Tennis, Pool,
Walking Trails. Near metra.
708-687-1818
oakterrapts@att.net
708-479-2448
Tinley Park
Clean, modern, 2BR,
$860/month plus security
& credit check. Heated,
laundry, A/C, no pets.
630-207-5994
New Lenox
2BR, 2nd floor, freshly
painted, new flooring, no pets,
one month security deposit.
Available now. Senior citizen
discount. Call 708-829-6294
1310 Offices for
Rent
Office Spaces For Rent
328 E. Lincoln Highway
3 Office Suites Available
Immediately!
500 Sq Ft -2nd Floor
$550/mo
900 Sq ft-Private entrance
& frplc. $825/mo
1000 Sq Ft -2nd Floor.
Private Entrance & frplc
$950/mo
All Utilities included.
Perfect for small business!!
National Advantage RE
815-485-0304
Advertise your
RENTAL PROPERTY
in the newspaper
people turn to first
CALL US TODAY: 708.326.9170
www.22ndcenturymedia.com

mokenamessenger.com Classifieds
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 35

36 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger Classifieds
mokenamessenger.com
2075 Fencing
TR Fence & Deck
Licensed-Bonded-Insured
FREE ESTIMATES
20 Yrs experience
(708)243-0198(cell)
2080 Firewood
CLASSIFIEDS
Help Wanted · Garage Sales · Automotive
Real Estate · Rentals · Merchandise
2090 Flooring
See the Classified
Section for more info,
or call 708.326.9170
22ndCenturyMedia.com
Don’t just
list your
real estate
property...
Sell It!
With a Classified Ad
Sell It 708.326.9170
Fax It 708.326.9179
Charge It
DEADLINE -
Friday at 3pm
CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION
Month
2120 Handyman
Ideal
Firewood
Seasoned Mixed
Hardwoods
$115.00 per FC
Free Stacking &
Delivery
708 235 8917
815 210 2882
2090 Flooring
...to place your
Classified Ad!
708.326.9170
2096 Furniture Upholstering
SUPPORT LOCAL
BUSINESSES
Turn to the classifieds section
HANDYMAN SERVICE —WHATEVER YOU NEED
"OVER 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE"
Windows, Doors, Decks Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling, Plumbing Interior and
Exterior Painting Wall Paper Removal Professional Work At Competitive Prices
CALL MIKE AT 708-790-3416
CARRARAREPAIRSERVICE

mokenamessenger.com Classifieds
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 37
CLASSIFIEDS
Help Wanted · Garage Sales · Automotive
Real Estate · Rentals · Merchandise
Sell It 708.326.9170
Fax It 708.326.9179
Charge It
DEADLINE -
Friday at 3pm
CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION
Month
2132 Home Improvement
2130 Heating/Cooling 2130 Heating/Cooling
Residential/Commercial
“Design/Build Professionals"
2132 Home Improvement
Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling · Room Additions · Finished Basements · Decks/Pergolas
· Screen Rooms/ 3 Season Rooms · Front Porches/Porticos · Commercial BuildOuts
- We provide Design, Product, and Installation -
Free Consultation:
Showroom:
Member
HomerChamber
of Commerce
Visit Our Showroom Location at 1223 N Convent St. Bourbonnais

38 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger Classifieds
mokenamessenger.com
2132 Home Improvement
CLASSIFIEDS
Help Wanted · Garage Sales · Automotive
Real Estate · Rentals · Merchandise
Sell It 708.326.9170
Fax It 708.326.9179
Charge It
DEADLINE -
Friday at 3pm
CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION
Month
2150 Paint & Decorating
2150 Paint & Decorating
2135 Insulation
2170 Plumbing
2150 Paint & Decorating
Neat, Clean, Professional
Work At ACompetitive Price
MARTY’S
PAINTING
Interior / Exterior
Fast, Neat Painting
Drywall
Wallpaper Removal
Staining
Free Estimates
20% Off with this ad
708-606-3926
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work at competitive price!
708-429-0481
630-886-4835
HIRE LOCALLY
Reach over 83% of prospective
employees in your area!
CALL TODAY 708-326-9170
Specializing in all
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• Drywall/PlasterRepair
• Wallpaper Removal
• Deck/Fence Staining
• PowerWashing
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Forquality & service you
can trust, call us today!
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• Waterheaters
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• WaterLeaks
• RPZ Testing
• Ejector Pumps
•Disposals
• Toilets
815.603.6085

mokenamessenger.com Classifieds
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 39
2170 Plumbing
CLASSIFIEDS
Help Wanted · Garage Sales · Automotive
Real Estate · Rentals · Merchandise
Sell It 708.326.9170
Fax It 708.326.9179
Charge It
DEADLINE -
Friday at 3pm
CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION
Month
2200 Roofing 2200 Roofing
2200 Roofing
2220 Siding
TR SIDING
Licensed-Bonded-Insured
FREE ESTIMATES
20 Yrs experience
(708)243-0198(cell)
SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES
Turn to the classifieds section

40 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger Classifieds
mokenamessenger.com
CLASSIFIEDS
Help Wanted · Garage Sales · Automotive
Real Estate · Rentals · Merchandise
2255 Tree Service
Sell It 708.326.9170
Fax It 708.326.9179
Charge It
DEADLINE - Friday at 3pm
CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION
Month
2294 Window Cleaning
Laura B. Voogt, CPA
708-668-4200
www.apex3cpa.com
TAX PREPARATION
Set up your
appointment
online or give
us a call.
P.K.WINDOW
CLEANING CO.
Window Cleaning
Gutter Cleaning
Power Washing
Office Cleaning
call and get $40.00 off
708 974-8044
www.pkwindowcleaning.com
2489
Merchandise
Wanted
HIRE LOCALLY
Reach over 83% of prospective
employees in your area!
CALL TODAY FOR RATES
& INFORMATION
708-326-9170
www.22ndcenturymedia.com
Merchandise
Directory
2490 Misc.
Merchandise
Kusay Tax Service
Accounting /Payroll /Financial Planning
Call for an Appointment Today! Drop-Off Returns Welcome.
708-645-1188
“What do you say?...you say KUSAY!”
Serving The Southwest Suburbs since 1947
15939 S. Bell Rd. Homer Glen
(Behind the Bonfire Restaurant)
Call (708)326-9170
to advertise
in the
Tax Services
Directory
Metal Wanted
Scrap Metal, Garden
Tractors,
Snowmobiles,
Appliances, Etc.
ANYTHING METAL!
Call 815-210-8819
Free pickup!
Queen Size
Bedroom Set For Sale
Oak wood, headboard &
frame, 2 night stands,
dresser with large mirror,
great condition must sell.
$150.00 OBO
708-403-2525
MORTGAGE
ALERT!
LOCK-IN
MORE BUSINESS.
ADVERTISE LOCALLY.
CONTACT THE CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT
708-326-9170 22ndcenturymedia.com

mokenamessenger.com Classifieds
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 41
CLASSIFIEDS
Help Wanted · Garage Sales · Automotive
Real Estate · Rentals · Merchandise
2701 Property for
Sale
SHERIFF'S SALE OF REAL ES-
TATE of 11610 Abbey Road,
Mokena, IL 60448 (single family
home). On the 2nd day of March,
2017 to be held at 12:00 noon, at
the Will County Courthouse Annex,
57 N. Ottawa Street, Room
201, Joliet, IL 60432, under Case
Title: The Bank ofNew York Mellon
fka The Bank ofNew York as
Trustee for the Certificateholders
of CWALT, Inc., Alternative Loan
Trust 2007-7T2, Mortgage
Pass-through Certificates, Series
2007-7T2 Plaintiff V. Chicago Title
Land Trust Company, as Successor
Trustee to New Lenox State
Bank, asTrustee under the provisions
of aTrust Agreement dated
August 26,1991 and known as
Trust No. 1517; Joseph S. Weber;
Penny A. Weber; Lincoln Way
Community Bank; Unknown Owners;
Non-Record Claimants; and
Unknown Tenants and Occupants
Defendant.
Case No. 14CH 1796 in the Circuit
Court of the Twelfth Judicial
Circuit, Will County, Illinois.
Terms of Sale: ten percent (10%)
at the time of sale and the balance
within twenty-four (24) hours;
plus, for residential real estate, a
statutory judicial sale fee calculated
at the rate of $1 for each
$1,000 or fraction thereof of the
amount paid bythe purchaser to
the person conducting the sale, not
to exceed $300, for deposit into the
Abandoned Residential Property
Municipality Relief Fund. Nojudicial
sale fee shall be paid by the
mortgagee acquiring the residential
real estate pursuant to its credit bid
at the sale or by any mortgagee,
judgment creditor, or other lienor
acquiring the residential real estate
whose rights inand to the residential
real estate arose prior to the
sale. All payments shall be made in
cash or certified funds payable to
the Sheriff of Will County.
In the event the property is a condominium,
in accordance with 735
ILCS 5/15-1507(c)(1)(H-1) and
(H-2), 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(5), and
765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1), you are
hereby notified that the purchaser
of the unit, other than amortgagee,
shall pay the assessments and legal
fees required by subdivisions
(g)(1) and (g)(4) of Section 9and
the assessments required bysubsection
(g-1) of Section 18.5 of the
Illinois Condominium Property
Act.
Pursuant to Local Court Rule 11.03
(J) ifthere is asurplus following
application of the proceeds of sale,
then the plaintiff shall send written
notice pursuant to 735 ILCS
5/15-1512(d) to all parties to the
proceeding advising them of the
amount ofthe surplus and that the
surplus will beheld until aparty
2701 Property for
Sale
obtains acourt order for its distribution
or, in the absence of an order,
until the surplus is forfeited to
the State.
For Information Please Contact:
J Peteman Legal Group Ltd.
165 Bishops Way Suite 100
Brookfield, WI 53005
P: 1-847-464-8089
F:
PURSUANT TO THE FAIR
DEBT COLLECTION PRAC-
TICES ACT YOU ARE AD-
VISED THAT THIS LAW FIRM
IS DEEMED TO BE A DEBT
COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO
COLLECT ADEBT AND ANY
INFORMATION OBTAINED
WILL BE USED FOR THAT
PURPOSE.
2703 Legal
Notices
PURSUANT TO THE FAIR DEBT
COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT
YOU ARE ADVISED THAT THIS
LAW FIRM ISDEEMED TO BE A
DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING
TO COLLECT ADEBT AND ANY
INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL
BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE.
STATE OF ILLINOIS )
) SS.
COUNTY OF WILL )
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OFTHE
TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS
The Bank of New York Mellon fka The
Bank of New York asTrustee for the
Certificateholders of CWALT, Inc., Alternative
Loan Trust 2007-7T2, Mortgage
Pass-through Certificates, Series
2007-7T2
Plaintiff,
vs.
Chicago Title Land Trust Company, as
Successor Trustee to New Lenox State
Bank, as Trustee under the provisions of
a Trust Agreement dated August
26,1991 and known asTrust No. 1517;
Joseph S. Weber; Penny A. Weber; Lincoln
Way Community Bank; Unknown
Owners; Non-Record Claimants; and
Unknown Tenants and Occupants
Defendant.
No. 14 CH 1796
NOTICE OF SHERIFF'S SALE
Public notice ishereby given that pursuant
toajudgment entered in the above
cause on the 8th day of June, 2015,
MIKE KELLEY, Sheriff of Will
County, Illinois, will on Thursday, the
2nd day ofMarch, 2017 ,commencing
at 12:00 o'clock noon, at the Will
County Courthouse Annex, 57 N. Ottawa
Street, Room 201, Joliet, IL 60432,
sell at public auction tothe highest and
best bidder orbidders the following-described
real estate:
PARCEL I: THAT PART OF THE
EAST HALF OFTHE NORTHWEST
QUARTER OFSECTION 19, TOWN-
SHIP 35 NORTH, RANGE 12 EAST
OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERID-
IAN, DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS:
COMMENCING AT A POINT ON
THE WEST LINE OF THE EAST
HALF OFTHE WEST HALF OF SAID
SECTION 19, ADISTANCE OF 1345
2703 Legal
Notices
FEET NORTH OF THE NORTHERLY
RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE OF U.S.
HIGHWAY ROUTE NO. 30. AS
MEASURED ALONG SAID LINE;
THENCE SOUTH 76 DEGREES 17`
44" EAST, 101.06 FEET PARALLEL
WITH THE NORTHERLY
RIGHT-OF-WAY OF U.S. ROUTE
NO. 30 TO THE POINT OF BEGIN-
NING; THENCE SOUTH 76 DE-
GREES 17` 44" EAST, 803.77 FEET,
PARALLEL WITH THE NORTH-
ERLY RIGHT-OF-WAY OF U.S.
ROUTE NO. 30, THENCE NORTH 42
DEGREES 08` 08" WEST, 579.07
FEET; THENCE SOUTH 56 DE-
GREES 39` 21" WEST, 459.45 FEET
TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING.
PARCEL II: NON-EXCLUSIVE
EASEMENT FOR INGRESS AND
EGRESS AND FOR UTILITY PUR-
POSES FOR THE BENEFIT OF PAR-
CEL I, IN, OVER, UNDER AND
ALONG THE WEST 33 FEET OF
THAT PORTION OF THE EAST 1/2
OF SECTION 19, TOWNSHIP 35
NORTH, RANGE 12 EAST OF THE
THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN,
THAT LIES NORTH OF THE NORTH
RIGHT OF WAY LINE OF U.S.
HIGHWAY ROUTE 30 AND LYING
SOUTH OFALINE DESCRIBED AS
BEGINNING AT THE SOUTH WEST
CORNER OF THE NORTH 1/2 OF
THE NORTH EAST 1/4, THENCE
NORTHEASTERLY TO APOINT ON
THE WESTERLY RIGHT OFWAY
LINE OF WOLF ROAD THAT IS 1000
FEET NORTH OF THE SOUTH LINE
OF SAID NORTH 1/2 (AS MEAS-
URED ALONG SAID WESTERLY
RIGHT OF WAY LINE OF WOLF
ROAD) FOR ATERMINUS AS CRE-
ATED BY GRANT OF EASEMENT
FROM STANDARD BANK AND
TRUST COMPANY AS TRUSTEE
UNDER TRUST AGREEMENT
DATED APRIL 1, 1988 KNOWN AS
TRUST NUMBER 11684 TO W.
CLINTON OWEN, HIS HEIRS, AS-
SIGNS AND AGENTS RECORDED
JUNE 4, 1990 AS DOCUMENT NO.
R90-298621; AND ALSO A NONEX-
CLUSIVE EASEMENT FOR IN-
GRESS AND EGRESS AND FOR
UTILITY PURPOSES IN, UNDER,
OVER AND ALONG THE NORTH 30
FEET OF THE SOUTH 60 FEET OF
THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED
LAND; THAT PART OF THE EAST
1/2 OFTHE NORTH WEST 1/4 OF
SECTION 19, TOWNSHIP 35
NORTH, RANGE 12 EAST OF THE
THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, DE-
SCRIBED AS COMMENCING AT A
POINT ON THE WEST LINE OF THE
EAST 1/2 OF SAID SECTION 19, A
DISTANCE OF 1346 FEET NORTH
OF THE NORTHERLY RIGHT OF
WAY LINE OFU.S. ROUTE 30, AS
MEASURED ALONG SAID LINE;
THENCE SOUTH 76 DEGREES 17
MINUTES 44 SECONDS EAST,
904.83 FEET PARALLEL WITH THE
NORTHERLY RIGHT OFWAY OF
U.S. ROUTE NO. 30 TO THE POINT
OF BEGINNING; THENCE SOUTH
76 DEGREES 17 MINUTES 44 SEC-
ONDS EAST, 427.87 FEET TO THE
EAST LINE OF THE WEST 1/2 OF
SAID SECTION 19; THENCE NORTH
00 DEGREES 20 MINUTES 05 SEC-
ONDS EAST, 812.55 FEET, TO THE
SOUTH EAST CORNER OF THE
LAND CONVEYED BY DOCUMENT
NO. R79-43882; THENCE NORTH 89
Sell It 708.326.9170
Fax It 708.326.9179
Charge It
DEADLINE - Friday at 3pm
2703 Legal
Notices
DEGREES 00 MINUTES 12 SEC-
ONDS WEST, 416.31 FEET ALONG
THE SOUTH LINE OFTHE LAND
CONVEYED BY DOCUMENT NO.
R79-43882; THENCE SOUTH 00 DE-
GREES 20MINUTES 05 SECONDS
WEST, 718.42 FEET TO THE POINT
OF BEGINNING, AS CREATED BY
DEED FROM W. CLINTON OWEN
TO STEPHEN P. WEBER AND JEN-
NIFER L KONING, RECORDED
JUNE 20, 1990 AS DOCUMENT NO.
R90-33546; PARCEL III: NON-EX-
CLUSIVE EASEMENT FOR IN-
GRESS AND EGRESS AND FOR
UTILITY PURPOSES FOR THE
BENEFIT OF PARCEL I,IN, OVER,
UNDER AND ALONG THE FOL-
LOWING DESCRIBED TRACT OF
LAND: THE NORTH 30 FEET OF
THE SOUTH 60 FEET (AS MEAS-
URED ON THE EAST LINE) OF
THAT PART OFTHE EAST HALF
OF THE NORTHWEST QUARTER
OF SECTION 19, TOWNSHIP 35
NORTH, RANGE 12 EAST OF THE
THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, DE-
SCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: COM-
MENCING AT A POINT ON THE
WEST LINE OFTHE EAST HALF OF
THE WEST HALF OF SAID SEC-
TION 19, A DISTANCE OF 1346
FEET NORTH OF THE NORTHERLY
RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE OF U.S.
HIGHWAY ROUTE NO. 30, AS
MEASURED ALONG SAID LINE;
THENCE SOUTH 75 DEGREES 17`
44" EAST, 904.83 FEET PARALLEL
WITH THE NORTHERLY
RIGHT-OF-WAY OF U.S. ROUTE
NO. 30 TO THE POINT OF BEGIN-
NING; THENCE NORTH 42 DE-
GREES 08` 08" WEST, 579.07 FEET;
THENCE NORTH 56 DEGREES 39`
21" EAST, 459.45 FEET; THENCE
SOUTH 0DEGREES 20` 05" WEST,
668.42 FEET TO THE POINT OF BE-
GINNING.
Commonly known as:
11610 Abbey Road, Mokena, IL 60448
Description of Improvements:
single family home
P.I.N.:
19-09-19-100-024-0000
Terms of Sale: ten percent (10%) at the
time of sale and the balance within
twenty-four (24) hours; plus, for residential
real estate, astatutory judicial
sale fee calculated at the rate of$1for
each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the
amount paid bythe purchaser tothe person
conducting the sale, not to exceed
$300, for deposit into the Abandoned
Residential Property Municipality Relief
Fund. Nojudicial sale fee shall be
paid by the mortgagee acquiring the
residential real estate pursuant to its
credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee,
judgment creditor, or other lienor
acquiring the residential real estate
whose rights inand to the residential
real estate arose prior to the sale. All
payments shall be made in cash or certified
funds payable tothe Sheriff of Will
County.
In the event the property is acondomin-
ium, in accordance with 735 ILCS
5/15-1507(c)(1)(H-1) and (H-2), 765
ILCS 605/9(g)(5), and 765 ILCS
605/18.5(g-1), you are hereby notified
that the purchaser of the unit, other than
amortgagee, shall pay the assessments
and legal fees required bysubdivisions
(g)(1) and (g)(4) of Section 9and the assessments
required by subsection (g-1)
of Section 18.5 of the Illinois Condo-
2703 Legal
Notices
minium Property Act.
Pursuant to Local Court Rule 11.03 (J)
if there is a surplus following application
ofthe proceeds of sale, then the
plaintiff shall send written notice pursuant
to 735 ILCS 5/15-1512(d) to all parties
to the proceeding advising them of
the amount ofthe surplus and that the
surplus will beheld until aparty obtains
acourt order for its distribution or, in
the absence of an order, until the surplus
is forfeited to the State.
FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CON-
TACT:
J Peteman Legal Group Ltd.
165 Bishops Way Suite 100
Brookfield, WI 53005
P: 1-847-464-8089
F:
Plaintiff's Attorney
MIKE KELLEY
Sheriff of Will County
CUSTOMER
APPRECIATION
Month
2900
Merchandise
Under $100
2piece luggage onwheels, like
new $30 firm. 708.873.1245
20 ft extension ladder $80.
708.873.1245
Aldo nicoline black rhinestone
shoes, only worn once $30 sz 7
or 36B 708.873.1245
Body by Jake crunch machine
$25. Alpine flex-stepper $25.
Pro form teadmill $50. Call
Chris 815.791.7675
Brand new 15” donut tire & jax
assembly for Hyundai Elantra.
Car shole bolt pattern on rim.
Call 708.404.9722
Chilton’s Auto Repair manual
1993-1997 hardcover $15.
708.466.9907
Construction scaffolding 5x5
stored inside. Good condition
$25. 815.592.9474
Cuisinart grind & brew, never
used, new in box, 12 cup automatic
coffee maker $25.
708.349.1636
Dyson vaccum cleaner DC 40
$70. 312.560.8096
Frankfort area. Kenmore white,
electrical dryer. Works Fine
$50. 815.469.1638
FREE: Lowrey Theater organ,
double keyboard, full foot pedals.
Must remove by person.
708.301.0925
Green Bay down parka and
“throw back colors” jacket
$50. End table with 4pcglass
inserts on top $25. Hand knit
sweaters $25. 708.448.8920
2900
Merchandise
Under $100
HD USA snow shovel for car
$15, new USA bent handle 18”
snow shovel $20. Men’s rubber
totes sz 9, $9. 6pc wire brush
set $6. Dimmer switch for any
lamp $12. 708.460.8308
Homedics massage programmable
chair cushion $40.
708.466.9907
Long navy winter coat, 100%
wool size 14. Worn once. Excellent
condition $25.
708.444.8535
Makita Grinder $20. Skill jigsaw
$20. Ryobi buffer $20.
708.873.1245
Mrs. Santa Claus in rocking
chair, excellent condition $10.
708.873.1245
New deluxe 5piece barbecue
tool set, stainless steel, solid
oak wood handle $45.
708.466.9907
New Toshiba DVD recorder
with 1080 p upconversion,
model DR430 in box, $100
new, $50 cash. Lockport
815.588.1214
Queen comforter set, pastel
yellow $25. Call Geri
708.403.2473
Ryobi 6” buffer/polisher, random
orbit action, perfect for
buffing cars & motorcycles
$20. 708.873.1245
Sioux rare heavy duty
polisher/grinder #1200 5 AMP
115 volts electric polisher USA
Made $100. 708.466.9907
Snow White doll $10. Monster
High doll $5. Baby doll $5.
Walking doll $5. Four Barbies
$5 ea. All dolls brand new.
Text (708)218-6334 if interested.
Sofa and love seat (taupe) with
pillows. Like new condtion
$100 cash only. 708.645.4249
The Illustrated Home Library
Encyclopedia 1955, 22 volumes
$50. Rolodex with index
cards $10. 815.464.1133
Three Old Style Beer steins,
lids $25 ea. Boxed swing arm
lamp for bed, new $8. New
50th Ann. Nascar Barbie doll,
mint $25. New circa 1997 blue
dress barbie $18. 708.460.8308

42 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger real estate
mokenamessenger.com
The Mokena Messenger’s
of the
WEEK
need a Doctor? See a
DoCtor!
EVERYDAY • 7 AM – 11 PM
• Board-Certified Physicians
• Easy Access/Parking
• Prompt Attention
LA PORTE RD
TACO
BELL
45
N
ST. FRANCIS RD
Two-story townhouse
near La Grange and I-80,
Hickory Creek Forest
Preserve
What: End unit with three
bedrooms and a loft
Where: 10015 Cambridge
Court, Mokena
Amenities: Updated
eat-in kitchen has
maple cabinets, granite
countertops, all new
stainless steel appliances,
new tile floors and tile
backsplash. Main level
has two-story living room
with a gas fireplace and a
formal dining room. Master
bedroom has a large walkin
closet. Full bath has a
new double top vanity and
new tile floor. Second floor
laundry room includes a
utility sink and cabinets.
Main level powder room
has been updated with a
granite vanity top. Home
has a new water heater, a
private concrete patio and
a two-car garage as well.
Property is located across
the street from forest
preserve paved trail.
Asking Price: $199,808
Listing Agent: Bob &
Teresa Kroll of Century
21 Pride Realty. For
more information, call
815-735-0749 or email
bobandteresa@outlook.
com.
Want to know how to become
Home of the Week? Contact
Tricia at (708) 326-9170 ext.
47.
MOST INSURANCE PLANS ACCEPTED
COLORADO AVE
frankfort • 815-464-2010
LaGrange Road @ St. Francis Road
Dec. 20
•12259 W. Warren Drive, Mokena,
60448-9218 - Dennis K. Raatjes to
Kirsten Wilcox, $226,900
•18701 S. Mill Creek Drive, Mokena,
60448-8450 - Premier Builders Llc to
Manar Matariyeh, $295,000
•19328 Midland Ave., Mokena, 60448-
1147 - Rycon Cal Inc to Scott Priestman,
Julie Priestman $215,000
Dec. 21
•10935 Front St. 1a, Mokena, 60448-
1697 - Joseph A Collado to Robert A.
Kroll, Teresa K. Kroll $110,000
•9240 W Stanford Court, Mokena,
60448-8899 - Stephanie Galmines to
Joanna A. Wiatr, $190,000
The Going Rate is provided by Record Information
Services, Inc. For more information, visit
www.public-record.com or call (630) 557-1000.

mokenamessenger.com SPORTS
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 43
Athlete of the Week
10 Questions
with Dylan Sterling
Dylan Sterling is a swimmer
on Lincoln-Way Central’s boys
swimming team. He competes
in the 200-yard individual medley
and multiple relays.
How did you get into
swimming?
My older sister started
swimming and same with
my older brother. My dad
saw me swimming in the
pool and said I needed to
join to swim team.
You also play water polo.
Would you rather be a pro
swimmer or pro water polo
player?
A pro swimmer because
I’ve been swimming way
longer, and I’ve been only
playing polo for two years.
What are five things you
can’t live without?
My phone, sushi, coffee,
Taco Bell and hot tubs.
This Week In...
Knights Varsity
Athletics
Boys basketball
■Feb. ■ 10 - host Thornridge
Girls basketball
■Feb. ■ 9 - at Bradley-
Bourbonnais, 7 p.m.
■Feb. ■ 13 - host IHSA regional,
7 p.m.
■Feb. ■ 14 - host IHSA regional,
6 p.m.
■Feb. ■ 14 - host IHSA regional,
7:30 p.m.
What’s something most
people don’t know about
you?
When I was 10, I had appendicitis.
It almost ruptured,
but doctors were able
to take it out in time. It could
have been bad.
Who do you look up to?
Probably my dad the most
because no matter how much
we fight he’s always there
for me and cares for me. No
matter how rude and mean I
may be, he’s always looking
out for me.
Do you have any phobias?
I would say deep water
– whatever is in the deep
ocean, like sharks. You don’t
know what’s under you. I’m
always scared I’m going to
wake up and just be in the
ocean for some reason. I had
a dream when I was younger,
and it freaked me out.
What’s the most outrageous
thing you’ve ever done?
I was in Tennessee, and
we were hiking the mountains.
I kind of climbed this
rock wall to get to the top,
and then I carved my name
up there. I thought it was
pretty scary. My mom was
screaming at me to get back
down, but I want to go back
there one day and see my
Girls bowling
■Feb. ■ 11 - at IHSA sectional*
Boys track and field
■Feb. ■ 11 - at Lockport Quad
Wrestling
■Feb. ■ 10 - at IHSA sectional*
■Feb. ■ 11 - at IHSA sectional*
Griffins Varsity
Athletics
Boys basketball
■Feb. ■ 10 - at Stagg, 6:30
22nd Century media file photo
name carved into the rock.
What is your dream job?
I would like to have a
good job, but I’d rather just
have whoever I’m going to
marry just work and make
all the money, and I’d just
stay at home. I wanted to
be a marine biologist for the
longest time. I thought it was
pretty cool, but I’d be a stayat-home
dad.
If you won the lottery,
what’s the first thing you’d
buy?
I would probably buy a
mansion on some island,
probably in Fiji, St. Thomas,
Hawaii, one of those.
If you could be a fictional
character, what would you
be?
Probably a wizard, so I
could make myself into anyone.
I’d have a spell to make
myself something else if I
wanted to change it.
Interview by Contributing Editor
James Sanchez
p.m.
Girls basketball
■Feb. ■ 13 - at IHSA regional
Girls bowling
■Feb. ■ 11 - at IHSA sectional*
Girls gymnastics
■Feb. ■ 9 - at IHSA sectional,
6 p.m.*
Wrestling
■Feb. ■ 10 - at IHSA sectional*
■Feb. ■ 11 - at IHSA sectional*
Lincoln-Way Central student athletes
honored in Signing Day ceremony
Submitted by Lincoln-Way
Community High School
District 210
On Feb. 1 in the Lee
F. Rosenquist Theatre at
Lincoln-Way Central, parents,
coaches and teachers
gathered to recognize five
student athletes for their
commitment to compete in
athletics at the collegiate
level.
Athletic Director Matthew
Lyke welcomed those
in attendance at the National
Signing Day Ceremony.
Girls Basketball
Lincoln-Way Central 47,
Thornridge 23
The Knights put on another
dominant effort on the
defensive end. Sophomore
guard Grace Curran finished
with 12 points, and forward
Courteney Barnes had 11
“On behalf of the Athletic
Department, I want to thank
you for joining us in celebrating
the commitment of
these fine student athletes,”
he said. “The incredible people
before you are now part
of a very select group.”
Students recognized included
Colleen Barrett (St.
Ambrose University; softball),
Marina Esparza (Lindenwood
University; softball),
Hanah Mastandrea
(St. Francis University;
golf), Makayla Otto (Trinity
Christian College; softball)
points and three rebounds.
Lincoln-Way Central 49,
Thornton 45
The Knights take down
another SouthWest Suburban
Conference opponent.
Forward Abi Baumgartner
registered a double-double
and Cam Post (Oakland
University; baseball).
“Through hard work in
athletics and academics
you have been granted the
opportunity to pursue your
dreams,” Lyke said. “As we
are sad to see our seniors go,
we are excited about your
future in college athletics.
We know you will dedicate
yourselves as you prepare
for the next phase of your
life. You will carry your
Knight memories with you
forever. Congratulations,
you are truly deserving.”
Five Lincoln-Way Central student athletes were recognized Feb. 1 during winter signing
day. Each of the students has committed to plan athletics at the collegiate level. Photo
SUBMITTED
high school highlights
The rest of the week in high school sports
(11 points, 13 rebounds),
and Colleen Barrett and
Hayley Papoccia each
scored nine.
High School Highlights is compiled
by Editor Tim Carroll,
tim@mokenamessenger.com.

44 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger SPORTS
mokenamessenger.com
Wrestling
Knights send three individuals down to Bloomington sectional
Two Griffins win
regional titles, five
more advance
Jason Maholy
Freelance Reporter
Lincoln-Way high school
wrestlers put in a strong
showing in regional action
Saturday, Feb. 4 in Frankfort,
as grapplers from West,
East and Central represented
half of those who moved on
to sectional competition.
District 210 wrestlers
took 21 of the top 42 places
at the Lincoln-Way East
Class 3A Regional. The top
three wrestlers in each of 14
weight classes advanced to
the Normal Community High
School Sectional, to be held
Saturday, Feb. 11 in Bloomington,
and the winning team
advances to the team sectionals,
which the date and location
is yet to be determined.
West took the team title
with 232 points and led all
schools with 11 sectional
qualifiers, while East will
send seven and Central three
to Bloomington. East placed
third among 10 teams, with
168.5 points, and Central finished
fourth with 139 points.
Central seniors Liam Meagher
and Jason Stokes kept
their ambitions for a trip to
state alive by taking backto-back
championships at
126 and 132 pounds, respectively.
Meagher avenged a
defeat earlier in the season
by topping West’s Tommy
Buell, 6-4, in the championship
match; and he did it in
dramatic fashion, getting a
reversal and breaking a 4-all
tie with four seconds remaining
in the third period.
“The goal was just to work
hard the whole year and try
to [get to state], so I worked
my butt off the whole year,”
said Meagher.
He said it was “pretty
sweet” to beat Buell after
losing to him on the Knights’
Senior Night last month. He
had never before advanced
beyond regionals.
Stokes qualified for the
state tournament as a sophomore
two years ago and has
been on a season-long mission
to get back there after
falling short at last year’s
sectional competition. He
defeated Gehrig Simon of
West in the semifinals, then
upset Marian Catholic’s Carlos
Champagne, 6-3, in the
title match. Champagne entered
the match with a record
of 39-2.
Meagher and Stokes are
practice partners and have
been pushing each other every
day in the wrestling room.
“They both kind of have
that unique style, a little
funky at times, but they definitely
feed off each other,”
said Central coach Jason
DePolo. “I think Jason has
made Liam a better wrestler,
and I think Liam has made
Jason a better wrestler, as
well. They’re both a lot of
fun to watch.”
DePolo acknowledged
Stokes may have had the
hardest path to a championship
of any wrestler at the
regional.
“That was a big win in the
semis for him, Simon is the
real deal, he’s tough; and
beating a kid like Champaign
in the finals is a pretty tall
task,” DePolo said. “I don’t
think [Champaign] makes
many mistakes, but he made
one and Jason capitalized on
it, which was huge.”
Chris Wilder and Sammy
Diehl won titles for East at
195 pounds and 285 pounds,
respectively. Diehl, who was
battling a 102-degree temperature,
wrestled slightly more
than the equivalent of one period
while disposing of three
over-matched opponents in
Justin Brauer of Lincoln-Way Central works on David
Ackman of Lincoln-Way East Saturday, Feb. 4, during a
match the 120-pound weight class at the Lincoln-Way East
Class 3A Regional. Jason Maholy/22nd Century Media
a combined 2:14. The Griffin
senior pinned Bloom
Township’s Uland Siegers in
14 seconds, and in the title
match made short work of
Joliet West’s Robert Ford,
pinning him in 46 seconds.
Also advancing for the Griffins
are Dylan Conway, who
placed second at 170 pounds,
and third-place finishers Jacob
Abeja (113), Adam Aguirre
(152), Nick Mihajlovich
(182) and Jaden Hacha (220).
Wilder, a junior, earned his
first trip to sectionals via a
6-3 title match decision over
a familiar opponent, West’s
Robert Noga. The victory
was Wilder’s third consecutive
over Noga in four tries
this season. Wilder had a onepoint
lead over his district rival
before getting a takedown
with 30 seconds left in the
match, and providing himself
a three-point cushion he
wouldn’t relinquish.
East coach Tyrone Byrd
was pleased with the way
Wilder’s match played out,
and particularly that the junior
wrestled hard for the
entire six minutes.
“He’s got a couple tournament
wins this year, he’s a kid
you can always rely on his effort,”
Byrd said. “He makes
mistakes and get out of position,
but that’s wrestling, that
happens. He wrestled ‘til the
end and that’s important, and
that’s what we’re trying to
sell to all of our kids, and kids
like him are getting it.
Aguirre, a senior, and Mihajlovich,
a sophomore, will
be making their second consecutive
appearances at sectionals.
Both rebounded from
tough losses in the semifinals
to win their wrestleback
matches and take third in
their respective brackets.
Mihajlovich dropped a
2-1 overtime to decision to
West’s Trevor Schmidt in the
semis, and was not pleased
as he walked off the mat and
made a beeline for the locker
room. He won a hard-fought,
11-9 decision over Central’s
Noah Upchurch to earn a
spot in the third-place match,
then defeated QueJuan Sutton
of Bloom Township by
technical fall to punch his
ticket to sectionals.
He said his coaches were
key in helping him put the
loss to Schmidt behind him.
Aguirre pinned his final
two opponents after losing
by technical fall to eventual
152-pound champion Josh
Jones of Marian Catholic.
“I’m really excited to get
[to sectionals] again, it feels
great,” Aguirre said. “I used
what my coaches told me
throughout the year. I didn’t
give it up, just tried to attack
and I got a pin in the end.”
Gymnastics
From Page 47
higher on floor. They posted
five of the Top 6 scores in the
event. The team floor score
of 37.750 came directly after
a 35.500 on beam that
included three falls, which
cost Lincoln-Way at least 1.5
points and a shot at a 147 or
higher.
That rebound performance
was similar to Lincoln-
Way’s 37.175 on vault after
a slow start to the day on
bars (35.050), which included
landing troubles.
“[Lago] talked with us
after bars and said we need
to keep picking it up, hit
harder than we’ve hit before
and just nail our events like
we’ve been doing in practice,”
said sophomore Barb
Belka. “Today was a really
good confidence booster because
we just fell on beam
and knew we had to pick it
up on floor. If we’re able to
hit here and get a 145 with a
few falls, we could do even
better next week.”
Lincoln-Way’s score
of 145.475 was the highest
score of the four teams
advancing to the Oswego
sectional at 6 p.m. on Thursday,
Feb. 9. Downers Grove
South scored a 140.325,
Hinsdale Central posted a
140.175 and Downers Grove
North had a 139.05.
This will be Lincoln-
Way’s fourth consecutive
trip to a sectional under
fourth-year coach Lago. In
the first three, the team failed
to make it to state, finishing
second twice and sixth once.
“If we can go to sectionals
and not be nervous, just get
the nerves out of the way, be
confident and hit, we will be
at state,” Farrell said.
Farrell won the all-around
title with 36.875 points.
It was the same score that
earned her a third-place finish
at the SouthWest Suburban
Conference championship
on Jan. 26. Farrell won
beam (9.175), placed second
on vault (9.350) and bars
(8.875), and took third on
floor (9.475).
“She was on, on every
event,” Lago said. “She didn’t
stop fighting through the
whole meet. Her floor was so
powerful. It was dead on.”
Lincoln-Way freshman
Korina Jarosz was right behind
with 35.775 points to
place second in all-around.
It came one week after she
won the SWSC all-around
title with 37.000 points.
A first-place finish on
vault (9.475) highlighted her
day, and her 9.275 on floor
placed her fifth. She was
fourth on beam (8.55) after
falling off once and settled
for eighth on bars (8.475) after
landing on her knees.
“Not her usual night,”
Lago said. “She needed to
get it out. She’s hit every
meet. It’s crazy that it took
her this long to have a little
bump in the road. It’s going
to make her practice harder
and want it more.”
Junior Gabby DeVito won
on bars (8.900) and tied for
first place on floor with a
season-high 9.500. She finished
third on vault (9.200)
Belka also scored a 9.500
on floor to tie for first. She
was third on beam (8.75).
Senior Kara Auchstetter
finished second on beam
(9.025) and tied for third on
bars (8.800).
Junior Erica Dice placed
fourth on vault (9.15).

mokenamessenger.com SPORTS
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 45
Cheerleading
Griffins fly to state final victory
RANDY WHALEN, Freelance Reporter
When the husband and wife
team of Jayson and Julianne Polad
took over as cheerleading coaches
at Lincoln-Way East they wanted
to build a program based on love.
In the process, they built one that
wins state championships.
After not qualifying for state
last season, the Griffins made a
triumphant return to the Illinois
High School Association Competitive
Cheerleading State Finals last
weekend. There they captured first
place, for their third state title in
four years, in the large school division
by nearly two full points over
runner-up Joliet West, last year’s
state champion.
East scored a 94.46 on Saturday,
Feb. 4 which was the final day of
the state cheerleading competition
at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in
Bloomington. That’s the fifth highest
score ever on the final day of
competition in the 12-year history
of the event being an IHSA sport.
The Griffins hold the record for
best score with a 97.06 when they
won their first state title in 2014.
Joliet West (92.71) was second.
Sandburg (90.71) brought home its
sixth ever state trophy with a third
place finish. Providence (90.13)
was just behind in fourth, Neuqua
Valley (89.33) was fifth and Lockport
Township (87.00) was sixth as
the southland ruled with five teams
in the top six. Lake Zurich (85.91),
St. Charles East (82.63), Edwardsville
(81.91) and Prospect (79.56)
rounded out the top 10 in the large
school division.
“It’s an extremely special opportunity,”
Julianne Polad said.
“We work very hard to build a program
that facilitates success and
it feels great. We are all about the
kids, their academics and them.
We coach out of love, not fear, and
that’s what builds success for us.
“When you believe in something,
absolutely believe in it together,
magic can happen.”
The magic happened for the
Griffins at on the second day of
state. After winning the Andrew
Sectional on Jan. 28 with a score
of 92.09, they were third (89.49)
on Friday, Feb. 3 in the preliminary
round at state. But those scores
only matter for advancement as 25
teams qualify for state and the top
10 advance to the final day.
On the final day, East nailed it.
“It doesn’t feel real, it feels like
a dream,” East senior Lauren Williams
said. “But that’s a dream
we’ve been working for since the
first day of practice and it came true.
I think I knew when coach put five
fingers up because we did great on
all five stunts both times. I felt the
love then. It was really exciting.”
Williams was on the Lincoln-
Way North cheer team that placed
fifth in the state in the large school
division last year. But when the
school closed, she moved to East
this season. This team was about
50/50 on who attended East and
North last year, but this year, they
are all state champions.
“It’s awesome since I’ve accomplished
something that few in the
state ever get to feel,” said senior
Nicole Schipiour, who has been on
the varsity for three years at East
and won her second state title. “All
year long the coaches told us we
had a talented team and in the sectionals,
we felt it.”
There is a coed division in the state
series, but each small school, medium
school and large school cheer
team is allowed to have one male
performer with them. For the Griffins,
senior Kaleb Hong is that guy.
“We’re all here for the same goal
and it feels very special and good,”
Hong said of being on the team.
“When we were performing [on the
final day] that was the best we’ve
ever did. We left it all on the floor.”
Senior Sam Myers agreed.
“It feels amazing and I’ve been
working for this moment,” she
said. “I’ve never felt so much passion
in a routine and hitting it for
the last time as a team, I wouldn’t
have it any other way.”
Don’t expect an end to the Griffin
dynasty anytime soon. Their two
feeder schools - Hickory Creek and
Summit Hill - recently placed first
and second respectively at the elementary
school state championships.
“We strive to have the highest
level in the state,” Julianne Polad
said.
So does East in general, as this
was the 12th state championship in
the 16 years that it’s been a school.
The cheer team was honored with a
school assembly Saturday.
Another program that has won
a trio of state titles is Sandburg.
While this season didn’t result in
another championship for the Eagles,
it resulted in another trophy
- their third, third-place finish.
“There’s a lot of talent here and
I’m really proud of our team,”
Sandburg coach Mike Bruce said.
“It’s been awhile since we were on
the podium and we were thrilled to
get back.”
After winning three state titles
and two third-place finishes in the
first seven years of the state tournament
this is the first trophy for the
Eagles since they last won a title in
2012. They were in second place
(90.49) behind Joliet West (90.89)
after the preliminary round.
“This group came together over
the last month,” Bruce said. “We
had some obstacles to overcome
and we did.”
Maddy Cescato was beyond
thrilled to be part of a trophy-winning
team.
“I’ve been picturing this since I
was a freshman and to do it with a
team that’s overcome so much, I’m
just proud of my team,” she said.
“It’s a great way to end high school
and amazing. Our goal was to
make it to the second day at state,
so to make it to the podium was a
hundred times better.”
Fellow senior Emily Hayes
agreed. The Eagles finished fourth
last year and they wanted to be part
of the ending presentation.
“Ever since freshman year it’s
been a goal to make podium,” she
said. “With all the obstacles we
dodged it just felt great to get a top
three finish. It was one of our better
performances and we wanted
to leave it on the mat and have no
regrets.”
Although Providence, which was
second in the large school division
last season, just missed another trophy,
there were no regrets for the
Celtics either. Their top four finish
was their sixth in the past seven
seasons. They won the title in 2013
and were third in 2011 and 2014.
“The kids were very pleased
with their performance on both
days,” said Providence coach
Laura Duesing, who has been
head coach the past seven seasons.
“There were a lot of great memories
and they were thrilled to have
performed both days. This year we
have 11 seniors and last year it was
only five.
“It’s great that our surrounding
area is so strong. We are all there
to challenge each other and there’s
a good camaraderie between all the
[southland] teams and that’s nice.”
In the preliminary round, the
Celtics (87.16) were fifth, and then
moved up a spot and barely missed
out on third. But there were no regrets
in finishing fourth.
“Our goal was to get in the top
10 and on technique and grips,”
Duesing said. “On day two, we
didn’t feel any pressure out there.
We just had fun and performed.
The kids felt that they had their best
two performances of the season [at
state] weekend. It was a great way
to finish the season.”
Lockport, which has seven topthree
finishes - including two state
titles - entered hoping to bring
home another trophy. But a fall
didn’t help their score.
“Minus one stunt fall, everything
was better than [the preliminary]
day,” Lockport coach Jenny Krumlinde
said. “We only have three
minutes to go out and prove ourselves.
But I’m really proud of the
way we stayed with it and tried to
make up for it.”
Senior Izzy Piazza agreed.
We had one mistake, other than
that it was one of our best performances
of the season,” she said.
“We had a great season, we just
have a good area of high school
sports.”
Piazza was a four-year varsity
Members of the East cheerleading
team hoist the championship
trophy Feb. 4 after winning state.
clark brooks/pHOTONEWS MEDIA
performer. She and her teammates
made a lot of memories in that
time.
“I’ll remember being state runnerup
my sophomore year,” she said.
“This year we were [SouthWest
Suburban Blue, which includes East
and Sandburg] conference champions.
That’s the first time in over a
decade that we’ve won it.”
The Porters were fourth (88.67)
after the first day. Krumlinde, who
guided the team to a second-place
finish in her first season as head
coach in 2014-15, knows the area
and the state competition isn’t easy.
“It’s crazy how everyone in the
area is so good and we’re all competitive
with each other,” she said.
“I’m proud of the team and we’ll
be back.”
Tinley Park was once again back
at state for the 12th year in a row.
The Titans placed ninth (81.60) in
the medium school division. That
was their fourth straight season in
the top 10 after missing out on the
final day for five straight seasons
between 2009 and 2013. They won
the medium school state championship
in 2007 and 2008.
This year Tinley Park was seventh
(82.75) after the preliminary
round. The Titans also face topnotch
competition throughout the
season. Fellow South Suburban
Conference team Lemont (89.62)
won its fifth medium school division
state championship and 11th
trophy in the past 12 years and Oak
Forest (86.84) was third.

46 | February 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger sports
mokenamessenger.com
Knights hold off Warriors with clutch free throws
Frank Gogola
Freelance Reporter
It was starting to look like
their first meeting set to replay.
After dropping a December
game to district rival
Lincoln-Way West, Lincoln-
Way Central was in danger of
blowing another large fourthquarter
lead as its 10-point
lead was cut to one point in
less than a minute.
“We’ve blown a lot of
leads this year, so when they
cut it to 53-52, I called timeout
and was like, ‘alright,
let’s learn from what we did
in the beginning,’” Curran
said. “Even though they were
on a run, [the talk was] ‘let’s
just get back on track.’”
Central (6-14, 4-3) responded
by hitting its free
throws down the stretch
to survive a fourth-quarter
comeback attempt and beat
West, 63-56, in a SouthWest
Suburban Conference Red
road game on Jan. 31.
The Knights outscored the
Warriors 10-4 in the final
2:47 after the Warriors pulled
within 53-52. Central made
eight out of 10 free throws
during that stretch, and senior
Aaron Michalak added
a layup.
“We turned the basketball
over too much, and we
weren’t very confident handling
it,” said West coach
Brian Flaherty. “It ended up
[with] us not being able to
stay in offense the way we
wanted to [and] play our
usual long possessions. They
were very aggressive defensively.”
West (5-14, 3-4) senior
Marco Pettinato led all scorers
with 38 points and 12 rebounds.
The rest of the Warriors
combined for 18 points.
Michalak paced the
Knights with 17 points. Senior
Brian Ponton added 11
points off the bench. Junior
Chris Robinson chipped in
10 points. The Knights shot
17-of-22 at the free-throw
line.
“We executed the game
plan pretty good,” Michalak
said. “We knew Marco was
going to get his, and he had
a good game. It was probably
one of the best wins of
the year. We hit free throws,
which we struggled with.
Tonight they helped us out a
lot.”
When the teams met on
Dec. 6 at Central, the Knights
lost 68-66, despite leading
by seven points with 2:36 to
play. They led by two points
when Bryan Ross missed a
pair of free throws with 55
seconds left. On the following
possession, West’s Austin
King hit what proved to be
the game-winning 3-pointer.
“We felt like we had let it
slip away and that we should
have beat them,” Michalak
said. “We knew that if we
played well, played hard,
we’d get them this time
around.”
The high-scoring second
half was in stark contrast
to the first half. The teams
played to a 9-9 tie after one
quarter. Central led 16-14 at
the half.
The Knights built their
lead to 11 points, 31-20, with
a Ross 3-pointer midway
through the third quarter. In
the frame, Pettinato scored
13 of West’s 17 third-quarter
points to pull the Warriors
within 35-31 heading into the
fourth.
Central bench players Ponton,
Joe DiNaso and Matt
Pollack scored 14 of the
team’s first 18 fourth-quarter
points to build a 53-43 lead.
Ponton made two free throws
and two layups, DiNaso hit
3-pointers on back-to-back
possessions, and Pollack
added one basket.
West pulled within 53-52
with two free throws from
Pettinato, a 3-pointer by Nolan
Green, a layup by Austin
King, and a steal and layup
by Pettinato – all within 53
seconds. However, West shot
2-of-8 while being outscored
10-4 in the final 2:47.
“We moved the basketball
more off the turnovers because
they didn’t match up
quite as quickly,” Flaherty
said. “When they were back
Lincoln-Way Central’s Brian
Ponton goes for a layup
Jan. 31 during a crosstown
matchup against Lincoln-Way
West in New Lenox. Julie
McMann/22nd Century Media
and they were set, it seemed
like every pass was challenged
so much, and we were
so unconfident with the basketball
that it reminded me of
being at the dentist. Watching
every single pass on the floor
you’re cringing at every pass
on every play.”
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mokenamessenger.com SPORTS
the Mokena Messenger | February 9, 2017 | 47
fastbreak
James Sanchez/22nd Century
Media
1st-and-3
Oh, what a Knight
1. Aaron Michalak
(ABOVE)
In what may be the
senior’s last game
against rival Lincoln-
Way West, the
starting point guard
led Central with 17
points en route to a
victory to split the
season series at one
apiece.
2. Bench mob
Knights reserves
Brian Ponton, Joe
DiNaso and Matt
Pollack combined
for 14 of the team’s
18 fourth-quarter
points, leading to
a double-digit lead.
3. Learning from the
past
Last time, missed
free throws led West
to come back with
a game-winning
3-pointer. This time,
Central shot 17-of-
22 from the line.
Girls Bowling
Central sends three to sectional
Lincoln-Way East
advances as a team
Frank Gogola
Freelance Reporter
Andrew junior Amber
Furman was extra motivated
for regional play thanks
to a message from her dad.
“My dad didn’t come
today because he had to
work, but he left me a note
this morning on the counter
saying he knew I could
do it,” Furman recalled. “I
wanted to prove I could
be a huge bowler because
he’s my role model when it
comes to bowling.”
She captured the individual
title to help Andrew advance
to sectionals for the
fourth consecutive season
at the Minooka Regional on
Saturday, Feb. 4 at Town
and Country Lanes in Joliet.
Her performance highlighted
a day of big success
for area teams. Andrew
finished second, Lincoln-
Way West took third and
Lincoln-Way East placed
fourth to advance to sectionals.
Tinley Park and
Lincoln-Way Central
missed the team qualifying
cut, but they each will be
sending three individuals
to sectionals.
The Top 4 teams and 10
highest-scoring individuals
who didn’t qualify as a
team moved on to the Andrew
Sectional on Feb. 11
at Orland Bowl.
Lincoln-Way Central
Despite Central’s youth,
coach Steve Paulsen was
looking for his team to
qualify for sectionals.
Instead, the Knights had
to settle for three individual
qualifiers.
“It was a disappointment
for the team,” Paulsen said.
“We didn’t bowl well.”
The Knights finished in
sixth place with 4846 pins.
They were 324 pins behind
fourth-place Lincoln-Way
East.
Central surpassed its
goal of 850 pins in a game
in just two of the six games
at regionals. It averaged
807.7 pins per game. Its
lowest-scoring game was a
723 in Game 3.
“I knew things were getting
out of hand in the third
game,” Paulsen said. “In
that game we had more
open frames than in the first
two games combined. They
were losing it then and just
not scoring the ball well.”
Senior Maddy Willson
bowled a team-high 1095
to place 14thoverall and
second among individuals
without a qualifying team.
Willson, the only Central
bowler who had previous
regional experience, rolled
a high of 212 in Game 2.
Senior Maria Buck rolled
a 1044 to finished 18th
overall and fourth among
individuals advancing
without a team. Her best
finish was a 205, also in
Game 2.
Sophomore Kalei Bass
had a 987 to take 25th overall
and eighth among individuals
whose team didn’t
advance. She bowled a 188
in her first two games for
her highs of the day.
Other Central finishes included
sophomore Maddie
Conroy with an 895, and
freshman Marianna Hristakos
had an 825.
“For the season, I was
surprised myself,” Paulsen
said. “We didn’t let the
[players we lost] to West
get to us. I was also surprised
by how the younger
kids responded and stepped
up on the varsity level.”
Lincoln-Way East
East looked like a different
team at regionals than
it had two weeks earlier at
the SouthWest Suburban
Conference championship.
The Griffins, composed
largely of former Lincoln-
Way North bowlers, posted
a 5,170 at regionals to take
the fourth place for the final
sectional qualifying spot. It
was 378 pins better than its
sixth-place finish of 4,792
at conference.
“We knew after conference
that we had no choice
but to do good today,” East
senior Mary Toman said.
Toman led all East bowlers
with a ninth-place finish
and 1,148 pins. She
responded with a 200 and a
235, her two best games, after
rolling a 141, her worst
game, in Game 4. She averaged
191.3 pins per game.
“After the 141 in Game
4, I was super frustrated
and just need to calm myself
down,” Toman said.
“I was frustrated because I
wasn’t making good shots
and should have struck better.”
Girls Gymnastics
Regional win
gives LW fourth
straight sectional
appearance
Frank Gogola
Freelance Reporter
It was mostly all for show,
and what a show it was.
With all other teams finished
competing, Lincoln-
Way co-op gymnastics was
a mere 25.575 points behind
Waubonsie Valley heading
into floor exercise, its best
event. It would take a massive
meltdown across the
board for Lincoln-Way to
cough up the regional title.
Still, Lincoln-Way coach
Kim Lago challenged her
team after it struggled on
beam in the previous event.
“Today was a little rocky,”
Lago said. “We had a couple
falls that we normally don’t
have on bars and beam.
The team, I told them after
beam they needed to get it
together, they needed to pull
through, and they did. They
finished the events on floor
awesome.”
Lincoln-Way dominated
the event to run away with its
fourth consecutive regional
championship Thursday,
Feb. 2, at Lincoln-Way East.
Led by all-around champion
junior Una Farrell, Lincoln-
Way’s 145.475 was 12.175
points clear of second place.
All five Lincoln-Way
gymnasts scored 9.175 or
Sophomore Angela
Juskie placed 17th with a
total pin count of 1,052.
Her 215 in the first game
was her best score of the
day.
Sophomore Sydney Tyler,
who didn’t compete at
conference, and senior Olivia
Heppeler placed 21st
and 22nd, respectively.
Tyler bowled a 1,006, and
Heppeler had a 1,005.
Freshman Katelyn Adamitis
was 27th with a 959.
A 167 was her best score.
“The lanes were better,”
East coach Carlie Premo
said, referencing the oilheavy
lanes at the conference
championship. “I
think it was the competition
of regionals that drove
them today.
“Spares were good, but
we need more strikes so we
don’t have to worry about
picking up spares. Bowling
is all mental, so I think this
will give the team some
momentum heading into
sectionals.” Please see Gymnastics, 44
Listen Up
“We felt like we had let it slip away and that
we should have beat them. We knew that if we
played well, played hard, we’d get them this time
around.”
Aaron Michalak – Lincoln-Way Central point guard, on avenging
a loss to Lincoln-Way West in December
TUNE IN
Girls Basketball
7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9
• Lincoln-Way Central will get a stiff test
before heading into regionals the following
week with a matchup against SWSC
Red conference champions Bradley-
Bourbonnais.
Index
43 - High School Highlights
43 – This Week In
FASTBREAK is compiled by Editor Tim Carroll, tim@mokenamessenger.com

mokena’s Hometown Newspaper | www.mokenamessenger.com | February 9, 2017
Lincoln-Way Central avenges
buzzer-beating loss to crosstown rival
in December, Page 46
Lincoln-Way Central forward Luke Handley scores from a layup Jan. 31 during a
crosstown matchup against Lincoln-Way West in New Lenox.
Laurie Fanelli/22nd Century Media
Setting
the
bar
Lincoln-Way
gymnasts
follow up
conference
win with
regional
title,
Page 47
MatMen
Move
on
Central
sends three
wrestlers to
sectional in
Normal,
Page 44
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