OP_110917

12 | November 9, 2017 | The orland park prairie News
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From Page 8
nities include all-day dining
in The Grove dining room,
a separate bistro, movie
theater and chapel, spacious
community rooms, salon
and spa, library and technology
center, therapy gym
and fitness center, doctor’s
suite, and large secluded
courtyard with a walking
path and raised gardens.
Memory care residents will
have access to their own
private courtyard, offering
a secure setting where they
can enjoy the outdoors.
The experience of Heartis
Village of Orland Park will
be enriched through Pathway
to Living’s awardwinning
VIVA! philosophy,
through which social, educational
and recreational
programs are matched with
residents’ interests, skills
and desires. For example,
Art Path teaches techniques
used by famed artists,
sculptors and curators,
while overnight excursion
Camp Viva! provides opportunities
to fish, swim,
practice archery and ride
horses.
Located at the intersection
of 159th Street and
Harlem Avenue, Heartis
Village of Orland Park is
near retail and restaurant
offerings. The community
also is a short drive from
Interstates 80 and 57.
Heartis Village of Orland
Park will be the second
Heartis-owned community
to be managed by Pathway
to Living.
An on-site welcome center
showcasing Heartis Village’s
finishes, services and
amenities is open from 9
a.m.-5 p.m. seven days a
week.
For more information on
Heartis Village or to schedule
an appointment, call
(708) 444-1231.
Compiled by Editor Bill
Jones, bill@opprairie.com.
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Schmuhl School open house provides
a blast from the past
New Lenox is not that far removed
from a time when students would
walk 2 miles in the morning to a
one-room schoolhouse. But roughly
70 years has made a world of difference,
both in terms of building construction
and the geography.
Those enamored by history and
the way things used to be can still
experience life circa World War II by
visiting Schmuhl School.
The next Schmuhl School open
house is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday,
Nov. 11, at its current location at
20733 S. Schoolhouse Road in New
Lenox. Open houses typically are
held the second Saturday of each
month.
“There are people from the historical
society that are there to answer
questions and talk a little bit about
the school,” said Carla Koepke, a
member of the New Lenox Area Historical
Society Board of Directors.
The field trips include books and
recess toys from the 1930s, as well
as history lessons on the schoolhouse.
“At the end of our history lesson,
we do some compare and contrasting
of how this is like schools [now] and
how it is different,” Koepke said.
“Our goal is for kids to enjoy history
and to embrace the school.”
She also said the current stewards
of the area’s history will not
be around forever, so it is important
to share the enjoyment of the local
landmarks so that others can take
care of it in the future.
“And I always think it is good to
know where you came from,” she
said.
Reporting by Jon DePaolis,
Freelance Reporter. For more, visit
NewLenoxPatriot.com.
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Mayor responds to vandalism as
more cases appear
Another round of vandalism was
discovered in Mokena Oct. 30 at
Hecht Park, 9310 Birch Ave., the
same day Mokena officials issued a
press release to address prior vandalism
from Oct. 22.
In an emailed statement issued
Oct. 30, Mokena Mayor Frank
Fleischer responded to graffiti discovered
Oct. 22 on four public traffic
signs and one private business sign.
The private business sign additionally
was tagged with a satanic numeric
reference. In theses cases, swastikas
were spray painted on the signs.
In what originally was described
as “what appears to be an isolated
case,” Fleischer expanded on comments
he made during the Oct. 23
Board of Trustees meeting, in which
he would not comment directly on
the matter of hate symbols being
drawn on Village signs, because he
did not want to give the perpetrators
“their two minutes of fame.”
“I’m not going to talk about some
of the stuff, because it is so stupid
it doesn’t even deserve comment,”
Fleischer said at the time.
In the Oct. 30 press release,
Fleischer said, “I’ve never felt it appropriate
to attribute undue attention
to cowardly acts such as this
that are generally performed for that
very reason: to give the promulgator
of the act his or her two seconds of
fame. That having been said, let me
be very clear: The Board of Trustees,
the Village Clerk and I in no way
condone or accept this type of behavior.”
Reporting by T.J. Kremer III, Editor.
For more, visit MokenaMessenger.com.
From THE FRANKFORT STATION
Griffins fall to RedHawks at
sectional semifinal
As advertised.
The Lincoln-Way East girls volleyball
team found out the hard way
that Marist is every bit as good as
any team in the state — and practically
any team in the nation. The
Griffins saw an otherwise very good
season end with a 25-16, 25-18 loss
to Marist Oct. 30 in the opening
semifinal of the Class 4A Andrew
Sectional.
The top-seeded RedHawks (37-1)
advanced to the sectional final on
Nov. 1. There, they played Marian
Catholic, a 25-21, 25-21 winner over
Sandburg in the second semifinal,
for the title.
East (26-11) completed an otherwise
very good season with its second
straight regional title and first
SouthWest Suburban Conference
championship in 11 years, when it
captured the Blue Division.
“The difference in the match was,
at the end, they were digging us and
getting right back into system,” East
coach Kris Fiore said of Marist.
“They brought an aggressive attack
out of that, and we couldn’t match
that.”
East setter Madi Corey agreed.
“They’re ranked No. 3 in the
country, and they come at you with
a lot of intensity,” Corey said. “They
have a lot of skill level and can bring
it back when it looks like they’re out
of system.”
The two teams played earlier this
season. That was Sept. 29 at the
prestigious ASICS Challenge. There,
Marist won 25-15, 25-15.
Reporting by Randy Whalen,
Freelance Reporter. For more, visit
FrankfortStation.com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Lockport track and field star to take
his talents to Ann Arbor
John Meyer still remembers the
day his father, who is also named
John, suggested to him in sixth grade
to try out for the track and field team
at Richland Jr. High School in Crest
Hill.
“My dad said, ‘Why don’t you go
out for track and try shot and discus?’”
Meyer recalled. “I did, but I
didn’t expect anything out of it.”
Well, Meyer has certainly gotten
something out of it. The Lockport
Township senior, who is the Class
3A two-time defending champion in
shot put, announced on his Twitter
page Oct. 31 he will be continuing
his track and field career at the University
of Michigan.
Meyer has gone from not knowing
anything about the sport to winning
national championships in it. Now,
he plans to continue at one of the
most prestigious universities in the
United States.
“When I was in eighth grade, I
thought maybe I could get a small D-I
scholarship or something,” Meyer
said. “But then I started working with
[Lockport throwing] coach [Wally]
Shields; I thought, Maybe I can go a
little farther with this.’”
The biggest thing that Meyer has
improved on is his strength.
“At first, it was a little rough at the
beginning,” Meyer said of starting
with the shot and discus. “But you
usually don’t lift weights in middle
school. I’m probably not the strongest
guy, but I’ve lifted a lot now and
see a lot of improvement. But I have
a lot more to go.”
Reporting by Randy Whalen,
Freelance Reporter. For more, visit
LockportLegend.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
Hadley students lead donation drive
for troops
It’s peanut butter jelly time at
Hadley Middle School.
Approximately 120 students, part
of six homerooms designated as the
Blue Team, are spearheading a donation
drive with the goal of collecting
1,000 jars of peanut butter and jelly
to send to troops via Operation Care
Package.
“That’s the two things they can’t
get is peanut butter and jelly,” sixthgrader
Trinity Muszynski said of
the troops stationed overseas. “[The
Blue Team] is sponsoring it, and then
the whole school is bringing in jars
of peanut butter and jelly, because
our goal is 1,000 jars.”
The donation drive began Nov. 6
and is to run through Nov. 17. All
the members of the Blue Team were
placed in different committees, each
with its own set of tasks to help the
donation efforts, according to Blue
Team teacher Jennifer Donahue.
Muszynski and fellow sixth-grader
Bre Schultz decided on a unique way
to spread the word of the donation
drive beyond the walls of Hadley.
“We’ve decided to get it in the
newspaper and try to put it out there
to reach our goal,” Muszynski said.
But contacting The Homer Horizon
is not the only way the Blue
Team is promoting its peanut butter
and jelly collection. Some students
have been mentioning the drive
during the morning announcements
at school; some have decorated the
collection boxes; others have made
up flyers to be sent home to parents,
and a group designed posters to hang
in the hallways. There also may be
some students making appearances
in peanut butter and jelly costumes
throughout the school.
Reporting by Max Lapthorne,
Contributing Editor. For more, visit
HomerHorizon.com.