NL_072017

14 | July 20, 2017 | The New Lenox Patriot NEWS
newlenoxpatriot.com
FROM THE FRANKFORT STATION
Frankfort man wins taekwondo
championship in special abilities
division
When Matthew Frame sets his
mind to something, he gets it done.
The 25-year-old Frankfort man
recently kicked off summer by winning
world championship titles for
the third consecutive year at the
American Taekwondo Association
International’s Tournament of
Champions, held June 20-25 in
Little Rock, Arkansas. The competition
pitted the Top 10 individuals
against one another in each event
for every age bracket and division.
Frame, who has autism, competed
in the men’s special abilities
division, in the 18- to 29-year-old
bracket. He won world championships
in the Creative Forms and
Sparring events, while placing second
in the Weapons and Combat
Sparring events. He placed third in
the Traditional Forms event.
“I’ve been training hard and
staying focused, staying cool without
losing control,” Frame, a thirddegree
black belt, said July 6 while
at the Frankfort Black Belt Academy.
Frame trains at the academy
twice a week.
“I’ve been here for nine years,”
he said. “I love competing and [setting]
goals, and learning to defend
myself.”
Asked what makes her brother
so successful at the sport, Christie
Frame said it is Matthew’s perseverance.
“He doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer,”
she said.
Reporting by Jon DePaolis, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit Frankfort
Station.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
Shady Oaks Camp celebrates its
70th anniversary
In 1947, some 50 parents of
youths with cerebral palsy opened
a camp in the woods of unincorporated
Homer Township where their
children could spend a few weeks
together during the summer.
Situated on 35 acres they had
purchased for $18,000, Shady Oaks
Camp for Individuals With Cerebral
Palsy, as it was then known, was
literally in the middle of nowhere.
The camp provided a quiet, secluded
place for the children to enjoy a
camp experience at a time when few
services of the sort were available to
people with disabilities.
Fast-forward 70 years, and
Shady Oaks is regarded as a oneof-a-kind
summer camp, where
campers, staff and volunteers
continue to return year after year.
Today’s version of the non-profit
camp serves people of all ages and
with all disabilities, whether physical
or intellectual, and operates
on an annual budget of between
$300,000 and $350,000.
On Sunday, July 9, Shady Oaks
held its 70th annual Open House on
its property at 16300 Parker Road.
Campers and their parents, along
with staff members, donors and volunteers,
took part in what was essentially
an old-fashioned summer
picnic under the oaks from which
the camp gets its name. There was a
DJ, a water balloon-tossing contest
and a musical performance by staff
members and campers.
An estimated 250 people — a record
crowd and roughly 100 more
people than the typical turnout —
attended the event, according to
Shady Oaks Camp Executive Director
Scott Steele.
Reporting by Jason Maholy, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit HomerHori
zon.com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Police seeking help in identifying
armed robbery suspects
The Orland Park Police Department
is seeking the public’s help in
identifying two suspects from an
armed robbery that reportedly took
place this past weekend.
Orland Park police were dispatched
at 3:16 p.m. July 8 to the
parking lot near Macy’s at Orland
Square for a report of an armed robbery,
according to a press release issued
July 10 by the department.
Two women reportedly returned
to a vehicle after shopping together.
One placed her purse in the backseat
as she entered the car, when a
male described as black and wearing
a hood opened the rear door of
the vehicle and removed the purse,
police said.
The man then entered the passenger’s
side of a green Ford Mustang
that was nearby and occupied by an
additional male described as black,
who was driving, according to the
press release. One of the women
yelled to the men to stop, at which
time she saw that the man who took
the purse was holding a handgun,
police said.
The Mustang had been reported
stolen earlier that same morning
out of Tinley Park.
Both men were described as in
their late teens or early 20s. Farrell
added that both men were an “average
build for the age range given”
but that he had no further description
of them available.
The Orland Park Police Department
is requesting that anyone who
can help identify the suspects in
this case to call (708) 349-4111.
Reporting by Bill Jones, Editor. For
more, visit OPPrairie.com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Old-school barber shop brings clean
cuts to Lockport
There is a long pause as Angelo
Roman Jr. thinks about which haircut
he likes to style the most.
“Let’s see,” said Roman — coowner
of the new Barber Capital in
downtown Lockport. “Probably —
it’s one of the most popular cuts and
I like doing it because you can style
it — the comb over.”
He begins to flip through stylebooks
kept at the new barber shop,
showing the different comb over
haircuts and how they can be done.
Mood music flows through the
shop, which Roman and his wife,
Brenda, own together and officially
opened earlier this year.
“We’ve thought about it for
years,” Brenda continued. “It’s always
been his dream since we met.
… So, when the opportunity presented
itself, we jumped on it.”
Angelo grew up on the north side
of Chicago, where his grandfather
owned Luquillo’s Barber Shop in
Humboldt Park. There, he started
by sweeping the floors and later
learned barbery, falling in love with
the trade.
“I had great respect for my
grandfather,” Angelo said. “Everyone
showed him so much love and
respect. … I loved it. Every chance
that I got, I wanted to be there [at
Luquillo’s]. So, I was there all the
time.”
This love turned into a dream,
and the dream turned into a reality,
when Roman and his wife opened
Barber Capital. The new barber
shop keeps it “old-school” with
antique decorations, and provides
a full range of services for clients.
“What separates me from a lot
of the other, newer barber shops is
that I try to keep the old-fashioned
vibe with a new vibe, as well,” Roman
said.
Reporting by Editorial Intern Claudia
Harmata. For more, visit LockportLe
gend.com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Annual lemonade stand makes
sweet donation to local charity
When Kiera Fitzmaurice was
4 years old, she held a lemonade
stand that made $75, but instead of
keeping the money she decided to
make her first donation to PAWS of
Tinley Park.
“Weirdly enough, it was Kiera’s
idea,” said Liam Fitzmaurice, Kiera’s
father. “She wanted to do
a lemonade stand, but she didn’t
want to keep the money.”
Since then, Kiera, now 8, of Tinley
Park, has continually enlisted
the help of her two friends, Sophia
and Colin Cescato, and held an annual
lemonade stand to raise money
for charity.
“I think it’s awesome,” Liam
said of his daughter’s ambition to
help others. “Anything that she is
into, I support.”
Kiera, Sophia and Colin had the
biggest success this year with their
lemonade stand. The three raised
$1,570 and recently presented the
donation to Tinley Wish.
Tinley Wish, similar in style to
the national Make-A-Wish Foundation,
raises money through community
efforts and helps grant Tinley
Park families’ wishes.
“I think it’s great that the youth
of the Village of Tinley Park has
[gotten] involved in helping other
citizens of the village,” said Ken
Roemer, a captain with the Tinley
Park Fire Department and a Tinley
Wish board member. “One hundred
percent of the money that is
made goes to citizens in need.”
Kiera said she feels proud of the
lemonade stand and is looking forward
to next year.
“She does have a huge heart,”
Liam said. “She is always making
sure everyone is good and everyone
has what they need.”
Reporting by Assistant Editor Brittany
Kapa. For more visit, TinleyJunction.
com.
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Trustees, chamber recognize Fourth
of July parade organizer
Mokena resident Cindy Gamboa
may have been at the Village of
Mokena Board of Trustees meeting
July 10 to celebrate the accomplishments
of those who participated
in the annual Fourth of July
parade. But her own accomplishments
as the longtime chairwoman
of the Mokena Chamber of Commerce
parade were on the minds of
others.
Gamboa was recognized with a
plaque from the chamber, as well
as a proclamation by the Village
Board that noted her 20 years of
service to making the Fourth of
July parade a continued success.
After the proclamation was read,
Mayor Frank Fleischer thanked
Gamboa for her efforts and commented
on how smoothly the parade
is run each year.
“That doesn’t happen by accident,”
Fleischer said. “That’s the
work that you put in, and you’ve
done a heck of a job over the years.
I thank you, as well as the Village
Board thanks you, for all the time
and work you’ve put in.”
Gamboa said her love for the parade
began when she was younger.
“The parade has been around longer
than any of us know,” she said.
“It’s been around forever, and it’s a
great memory from my childhood.
That’s why my whole family gets
involved and works on the parade.
We hope that it is a great memory
for the generations to come, even
after all of us are gone.”
Reporting by Jon DePaolis, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit MokenaMes
senger.com.