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The Homer Horizon 021617
The Homer Horizon 021617
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homerhorizon.com sound off<br />
the Homer Horizon | February 16, 2017 | 17<br />
Social snapshot<br />
Top stories<br />
From HomerHorizon.com from Friday, Feb. 10<br />
1. Cheerleading: Porters place in Top 10 at state<br />
championship<br />
2. Candidates state their views ahead of primary<br />
3. Road District highlights enhancements,<br />
expansion of compound<br />
4. Wrestling: Porters steamroll way to regional<br />
title at home<br />
5. Local youth hoops teams duke it out for<br />
championship<br />
Become a Horizon Plus member: homerhorizon.com/plus<br />
“Kids Crochet Club enjoying their crochet<br />
class!”<br />
Homer Township Public Library from<br />
Feb. 8.<br />
Like The Homer Horizon: facebook.com/homerhorizon<br />
“Congratulations Celtic Cheer 4th in the<br />
STATE!!! So very proud of you!!!”<br />
@PCHS_Celtics from Feb. 4.<br />
Follow The Homer Horizon: @homerhorizon<br />
From the Assistant Editor<br />
The centenarian edition<br />
Erin Redmond<br />
e.redmond@22ndcenturymedia.com<br />
Not too long ago, I<br />
was playing with<br />
my niece. I was asking<br />
her — as you do — how<br />
old she is and how old her<br />
siblings are, all questions<br />
she answered with pinpoint<br />
accuracy.<br />
Then she looked at me<br />
with her big blue eyes,<br />
raised one tiny eyebrow and<br />
asked, “How old are you,<br />
Auntie Erin?”<br />
“How old do you think I<br />
am, Mairead?,” I replied.<br />
“100!” she exclaimed,<br />
beaming with certainty.<br />
OK, I hadn’t slept much<br />
the night before, but I doubt<br />
that added 70-plus years to<br />
Letters to the Editor<br />
My picks for the primary<br />
[For the] Feb. 28 Homer<br />
Township Primary, my<br />
picks [are] Pam Meyers<br />
(supervisor), Linsey Sowa<br />
(clerk), Karen Szynkowski<br />
(assessor), Tom Fijan (trustee),<br />
Edward Kalas (trustee),<br />
George Offord (trustee).<br />
Voting these days is very<br />
important, and my selections<br />
are there for the right<br />
reasons. Vote early Feb. 14-<br />
17 [and] Feb. 21-24.<br />
My Township taxes have<br />
gone down; parks are in<br />
great shape. I’m a 44-anda-half-year<br />
resident and<br />
my age. So at the time, her<br />
answer was not what I was<br />
hoping for, but she’s not<br />
quite 3 yet, so I forgive her.<br />
This week, however, I<br />
realized just how lucky I<br />
would be if I ever met this<br />
milestone.<br />
I had the opportunity to<br />
interview Genie Lenc, a<br />
Homer Glen resident, during<br />
the Feb. 8 Homer Glen<br />
Village Board meeting. Her<br />
story is featured on Page<br />
12. Born in 1917, Lenc will<br />
celebrate her 100th birthday<br />
on Feb. 20, and she’s still as<br />
sharp as a tack. She’s lived<br />
through two World Wars and<br />
17 different presidents. She<br />
survived the Great Depression,<br />
watched the first Space<br />
Shuttle launch and remembers<br />
when the internet was<br />
just a fantasy.<br />
And that’s just the cliff<br />
notes. I can’t even begin to<br />
imagine what else she’s seen.<br />
We also have a story memorializing<br />
the life of Marie<br />
Cook, who passed away<br />
on Jan. 22, just a few days<br />
after her 103rd birthday. Her<br />
friends credit her curiosity<br />
have been involved in Village<br />
and Township business<br />
for only seven or eight<br />
years.<br />
In this time, I went to a lot<br />
of committee meetings but<br />
have never seen or heard a<br />
thing about Trustee [Vicki]<br />
Bozen and our senior citizens.<br />
Why? Nothing on<br />
Township website, and she<br />
never held a meeting with<br />
us seniors for her entire seven<br />
years.<br />
I helped with one community<br />
event and attended<br />
more and never saw Vicki<br />
Bozen helping, just campaigning.<br />
and her hunger to always<br />
know what was going to<br />
happen next as her secret to<br />
a long life.<br />
As I was writing her story,<br />
I couldn’t help but feel a<br />
pang of regret that I didn’t<br />
get to speak with her before<br />
she died. She lived her life to<br />
the fullest.<br />
Cook owned and operated<br />
businesses for 65 years and<br />
didn’t retire until she was 91<br />
years old. That is unfathomable<br />
to me.<br />
She was a committed<br />
woman. Her curiosity to<br />
see things through led to<br />
her serving on the Lockport<br />
Planning and Zoning Commission<br />
for 42 years, where<br />
she helped shape the fabric<br />
of what is modern day<br />
Lockport and Homer Glen.<br />
She lived through two<br />
World Wars during which<br />
her own husband, like many<br />
other men during that era,<br />
was called off to serve.<br />
She stepped up to help her<br />
friends raise their children<br />
and stayed in touch with<br />
them until the very end.<br />
There is a reason they<br />
No time for us; well, will<br />
she have time for our kids,<br />
taxes, seniors, budget, etc.<br />
with a whole slate of candidates<br />
that don’t go to meetings<br />
or have much government<br />
experience to my<br />
knowledge?<br />
Seven or eight years ago,<br />
I didn’t know too much<br />
about government. I did<br />
have two neighbors that<br />
were involved. Today, take<br />
my advice, and vote with<br />
me for all of the above Feb.<br />
28. Thanks.<br />
John Kooi<br />
Homer Glen resident<br />
call this group the Greatest<br />
Generation.<br />
I’ve only been on this<br />
Earth a short time compared<br />
to these two women, but I<br />
am honored to be able to tell<br />
their stories. In doing so, it<br />
makes me think about my<br />
own life and what sort of<br />
legacy I’ll leave behind.<br />
Furthermore, I can’t wait<br />
to see what the future holds.<br />
We’re right in the middle<br />
of history right now. All the<br />
decisions being made at the<br />
top levels of government —<br />
whether I agree with them<br />
or not — will undoubtedly<br />
shape our future. Like Cook,<br />
I’m just curious to see what<br />
impact it will all have.<br />
One hundred years.<br />
It’s hard to fathom. But I<br />
promise if I’m lucky enough<br />
to stick around that long, I<br />
won’t waste a single second<br />
of it. That’s a lesson we can<br />
all learn from these two<br />
remarkable women.<br />
Sound Off Policy<br />
Editorials and columns are the<br />
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are published do not reflect the<br />
thoughts and views of The Homer<br />
Horizon. Letters can be mailed<br />
to: The Homer Horizon, 11516<br />
West 183rd Street, Unit SW<br />
Office Condo #3, Orland Park,<br />
Illinois, 60467. Fax letters to (708)<br />
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