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The Orland Park Prairie 021617
The Orland Park Prairie 021617
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opprairie.com sound off<br />
the orland park prairie | February 16, 2017 | 19<br />
Social snapshot<br />
Top Web Stories<br />
From opprairie.com as of Friday, Feb. 10<br />
1. Orland man charged with public indecency<br />
for alleged rec center incident<br />
2. Orland police reportedly bust Tinley man for<br />
felonious amount of drugs<br />
3. Sandburg cheerleading finishes third,<br />
Providence takes fourth at state<br />
4. Sandburg girls basketball suffers Senior<br />
Night loss<br />
5. Eagles wrestling dominates Andrew<br />
Regional, takes five individual titles<br />
Become a Prairie Plus member: opprairie.com/plus<br />
Laurie Marino, of Orland Park, posed<br />
the accompanying image Friday, Feb.<br />
10, which she said she captured on a<br />
trip to Lake Geneva.<br />
Like The Orland Park Prairie: facebook.com/opprairie<br />
“Thanks @JerlingJayhawks for bringing<br />
over 350+ students in the last 2 days to<br />
see what @TheBridgeTC is all about!<br />
#afterschoolworks”<br />
@TheBridgeTC — Bridge Teen Center,<br />
on Feb. 8<br />
Follow The Orland Park Prairie: @opprairie<br />
From the Editor<br />
#<strong>OP</strong>Kind rocks our office park<br />
BILL JONES<br />
bill@opprairie.com<br />
This past week, I was<br />
coming into work<br />
when I noticed, in<br />
a small patch of rocks between<br />
our door and that of<br />
a neighboring business two<br />
rocks that, well, were not<br />
the like others. In a patch of<br />
light-brown stones were two<br />
bright white rocks, and they<br />
had writing on them.<br />
The one said, “We make<br />
a living by what we get;<br />
we make a life by what we<br />
give.”<br />
The other, “Always tell<br />
your world, no matter<br />
what,” with the flip side<br />
reading, “#<strong>OP</strong>Kind.”<br />
They were both incredibly<br />
colorful, and I opted to<br />
leave them there for someone<br />
else to find.<br />
Upon entering the office,<br />
I said, “Did anyone else<br />
notice the rocks out front?”<br />
I got about a 50/50 mix<br />
of “What are you talking<br />
about?” and “Yeah, I saw<br />
those. What’s up with that?”<br />
For the uninitiated,<br />
#<strong>OP</strong>Kind is a social media<br />
campaign launched by the<br />
Village to publicly recognize<br />
those who practice<br />
acts of kindness. Officially<br />
attributed to Mayor Dan<br />
McLaughlin, it was started<br />
as a hashtag for Facebook,<br />
Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest<br />
as a way to celebrate<br />
kindness.<br />
It all is designed to tie<br />
into the theme, “Orland<br />
Park is Kind,” of the 2017<br />
State of the Village Address<br />
to be held Thursday, March<br />
9, at Sandburg High School,<br />
with tagged photos to be<br />
shared at the address. The<br />
Village also has produced<br />
— and will provide free of<br />
charge — “I Am #<strong>OP</strong>Kind”<br />
stickers, designed to be<br />
given to those who demonstrate<br />
kindness.<br />
People are encouraged to<br />
further share these happenings<br />
via social media<br />
through pictures and brief<br />
descriptions of the acts of<br />
kindness.<br />
And, if I didn’t know<br />
better, the cynical side of<br />
me might suggest someone<br />
from the Village dropped<br />
these rocks outside of our<br />
office in a deliberate effort<br />
to get me to write about<br />
them — sorry, we have<br />
slacked on getting word out<br />
regarding this program, but<br />
mission accomplished. But<br />
these trending campaigns<br />
also have a way of taking<br />
on lives of their own, and I<br />
also recently saw an email<br />
that the Orland Park Area<br />
Chamber of Commerce was<br />
working to get more businesses<br />
involved. I happen<br />
to know a member of the<br />
chamber who loiters around<br />
our office quite a bit, so<br />
there’s a good chance she<br />
or one of her cohorts were<br />
involved.<br />
Either way, it was a<br />
pleasant surprise. I like the<br />
unexpected things that take<br />
me out of the routine of my<br />
day, and I like trying to take<br />
people out of their routines<br />
on occasion, as well. It just<br />
keeps life interesting.<br />
After I left the rocks<br />
there, one of our designers<br />
found them outside the door.<br />
She liked the one so much<br />
These two rocks turned up this past week outside the door<br />
of The Orland Park Prairie’s office.<br />
Photos by Bill Jones/22nd Century Media<br />
she decided she wanted to<br />
keep it for herself. By all accounts,<br />
it made her day.<br />
So, to the person who<br />
left these rocks outside our<br />
door, thanks. We owe you a<br />
sticker for your own act of<br />
kindness.<br />
And for anyone else looking<br />
to participate, the #<strong>OP</strong>-<br />
Kind stickers are available<br />
at the information desk in<br />
the lobby of Orland Park’s<br />
Village Hall, 14700 S. Ravinia<br />
Avenue, from 8 a.m.-5<br />
p.m. Monday through Friday.<br />
For more information,<br />
call (708) 403-6399.<br />
Sound Off Policy<br />
Editorials and columns are the opinions of the author. Pieces from<br />
22nd Century Media are the thoughts of the company as a whole. The<br />
Orland Park Prairie encourages readers to write letters to Sound Off.<br />
All letters must be signed, and names and hometowns will be published.<br />
We also ask that writers include their address and phone number<br />
for verification, not publication. Letters should be limited to 400 words.<br />
The Orland Park Prairie reserves the right to edit letters. Letters become<br />
property of The Orland Park Prairie. Letters that are published do not<br />
reflect the thoughts and views of The Orland Park Prairie. Letters can<br />
be mailed to: The Orland Park Prairie, 11516 West 183rd Street, Unit<br />
SW Office Condo #3, Orland Park, Illinois, 60467. Fax letters to (708)<br />
326-9179 or e-mail to bill@opprairie.com.