MM_082417

16 | August 24, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger news
mokenamessenger.com
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Police: Armed home invader
sprays man with substance,
takes jewelry
A man invaded an Orland
Park home last week,
sprayed a 68-year-old man
with a substance “similar to
pepper spray” and left with
jewelry, according to police.
The incident occurred just
before 9:52 a.m. Aug. 14 in
the 9400 block of Boardwalk
Lane, according to a press
release issued by the Orland
Park Police Department the
same day.
A lone male reportedly entered
the home via an open
garage door, confronted and
sprayed the man, and then
began to search the home
for valuables. He also had a
handgun on his person that
was observed by the victim,
according to Cmdr. Tony
Farrell.
The offender — described
as being between 5-foot-
9 and 6-foot-0, with a thin
build, wearing a mask “similar
to a ski mask” — was inside
the home for roughly 10
minutes before exiting with
a “limited amount” of jewelry,
according to the press
release.
After the man exited the
residence, the victim was
able to reach a phone and
called 911, police said. Farrell
said the victim was evaluated
at the scene by paramedics
and did not require
transport to the hospital.
Orland Park Police said
they had no reason to believe
the man remained in
the area, but a precautionary
search of the nearby area reportedly
was conducted with
the help of the Cook County
Sheriff’s Police bloodhound,
Orland Hills officers and a
helicopter.
Police ask anyone with information
that could help to
identify the alleged offender
to call (708) 349-4111.
Reporting by Bill Jones, Editor.
For more, visit OPPrairie.com.
From THE FRANKFORT STATION
Hickory Creek STEM room
unveiled
Frankfort School District
157-C officials, board members
and parents beamed
Aug. 16 as the ribbon was
cut on a new Hickory Creek
Middle School STEM room
and renovations to the
school’s library.
The project, completed
over the summer, comes as
the district continues to integrate
21st century learning
skills into its curriculum.
“We’re really excited to
offer this to our students,”
Hickory Creek Principal
Will Seidelmann said. “My
biggest pet peeve about
these two spaces will be,
yes, they’re pretty spaces,
but they all make sense. Everything
lends itself to what
we’re doing in the STEM
classroom, as well as what
we want to do with the library
space.”
The renovations to the
library replaced rows of
bookshelves with various
forms of tables and seating
meant to encourage collaboration
and teamwork.
Seidelmann said students
will be able to take advantage
of the space before
and after school hours, and
it will be an ideal meeting
spot for groups such as
the National Junior Honor
Society.
The STEM room, previously
a computer lab attached
to the library, now
features high- and low-top
tables, along with a project
room for students to
brainstorm. According to
Seidelmann, the room will
be utilized by all sixthand
seventh-graders as
part of their STEM encore
course and by eighthgraders
in select elective
courses.
Reporting by Brenden Moore,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit FrankfortStation.com.
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Community rallies around
local with rare cancer
through fundraiser
Bill Koch has always been
there to help others.
Whether it is donating his
time at the local VFW or
doing his best to help out a
friend or family member,
people who know the New
Lenox resident well say that
Koch goes out of his way for
others.
But now it is Koch who
needs a helping hand after
being diagnosed with
rhabdomyosarcoma — a
rare, soft-tissue cancer.
Most commonly found in
children, only a handful
of medical facilities in the
country have the ability to
treat this disease for adults.
In Koch’s case, he has had
to travel to the University
of Texas MD Anderson
Cancer Center in Houston
for treatment.
Koch, who was self-employed
before the diagnosis,
was on private health care
insurance — meaning medical
costs quickly have piled
up.
To help him as he has
helped others, friends and
family of the Kochs have
planned a fundraiser and set
up a donation website. The
event is scheduled from 2-10
p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, at
Francis Field Youth Foundation,
801 E. Francis Road in
New Lenox.
It is free admission, but
donations will be accepted to
help fund Bill Koch’s medical
costs.
Connie Cunningham, a
friend of the Koch family,
is leading the charge for the
benefit.
“It’s going to be a fun
day,” Cunningham said.
“We’re coming together in
the spirit of friendship and
support. You don’t have to
know [the Kochs]. They
could be strangers, and you
can still come and be welcomed.”
Reporting by Jon DePaolis,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit NewLenoxPatriot.com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Local actress refuses to
sugarcoat her experiences
“My father called me
‘sugar,’” actress Monique
Cafe said. “All is right with
the world.”
The 57-year-old performer
from Matteson repeated
that phrase during her onewoman
tell-all show, which
starts with her nickname and
unfolds into her life story.
Cafe — who wrote, produced
and starred in “Sugar”—
held back to back performances
Aug. 12 and 13 at
the Tinley Park Performing
Arts Center.
“This is what I’ve been
working for so I’m excited,”
Cafe said, prior to the start
of the Sunday matinee. “I’ve
been performing up in the
city, but I wanted to bring
something new out to the
south suburbs, where I’m
from, so that the people who
know me best can experience
my show.”
Cafe’s family members
were peppered throughout
the packed theater, including
her husband, Charles Gary,
and cousin, Joy Johnson.
“Just because I’m her
cousin doesn’t mean I
know what to expect from
the show,” Johnson said.
“There are some things you
might not talk about with
family. So, I’m going to
be just as amazed, shocked
or entertained as everyone
else.”
Throughout “Sugar,” Cafe
weaved in and out of the pivotal
moments in her life and
revisited parts of her past,
which included an unexpected
childhood loss to a family
mystery.
“I’m really happy to do the
full premiere of the show in
the south suburbs, because
that’s where I’m from,” Cafe
said. “Now, I can expand it
out to other areas. I think
that everybody can relate to
something in this story.”
Reporting by Laurie Fanelli,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit TinleyJunction.com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Man reportedly shot during
drug deal in Lockport
A Romeoville man reportedly
was shot in the arm
Aug. 16 during a drug deal
in Fairmont.
The victim suffered non
life-threatening injuries during
the transaction in Lockport’s
Fairmont subdivision,
and drove to East Romeo
Road in Romeoville, where
Will County Sheriff’s deputies
responded around 1:15
p.m., according to Will
County spokesperson Kathy
Hoffmeyer.
The 22-year-old told deputies
he set up a meeting
with an unknown individual
via Snapchat to purchase
cannabis, and when he drove
to Fairmont Avenue around
12:45 p.m., he was approached
by a man described
as black, 17-18 years old,
5-foot-6 and 120 pounds,
with no facial hair. The man
asked to see the money for
the transaction and said he
would be right back.
After the first man walked
away, a second man — described
as black, with a
medium skin tone, 17-18
years old, 6-foot-2 and 150
pounds, with a light mustache
— entered the passenger
side of the vehicle
and revealed a handgun.
The Romeoville man reportedly
attempted to push the
other man out of the vehicle
and began to drive away, at
which point the man in the
passenger’s seat shot the Romeoville
man as he jumped
out of the moving vehicle.
The alleged victim was
transferred to Adventist
Medical Center in Bolingbrook.
Will County Sheriff’s
detectives are investigating
the incident.
Reporting by Max Lapthorne,
Editor. For more, visit LockportLegend.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
‘The Wizard of Oz’ collector
follows his yellow, brick
road
Throughout the decades,
the story of Dorothy and her
journey to the land of Oz has
become ingrained in American
culture and continues to
garner attention from new
generations of families.
Known around the world,
“The Wizard of Oz” appeals
to a variety of people.
But, for some, the story has
grown closer to the heart.
“I developed a bond to it
and just immediately liked
it,” Walter Krueger said of
his love of “The Wizard of
Oz. … After seeing the film,
I fell in love with the whole
musical aspect of it, and, I
think, like with anybody, the
colors and whole romanticism
of the story put to that
Hollywood MGM flair.”
A resident of Homer Glen
for more than 15 years,
Krueger, 31, attended Lockport
Township High School
and did a brief stint in college
before realizing his true
calling as an internationally
known expert and fan of “The
Wizard of Oz,” with one of the
largest collections of memorabilia
from the film and book
series in the world — a feat 27
years in the making.
The collection of roughly
9,000 items is proudly on display
throughout Krueger’s
Homer Glen home. Two full
rooms house the majority of
the collection, while tapestries
and other décor are displayed
in other areas of the
home and even decorate the
lawn.
“I don’t ever see myself
not doing this,” Krueger
said.
Reporting by Amanda Del
Buono, Freelance Reporter.
For more, visit HomerHorizon.
com.