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12 | November 22, 2017 | The Lockport Legend NEWS
lockportlegend.com
Police Reports
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Scouts’ food drive donates
40,000 items to local
pantries
“Do a good turn daily.”
This is the slogan of the
Scouts and on one day in
particular, Nov. 12, local
Scouts exceeded this mission
by collecting, sorting
and donating truckloads of
items of food to local pantries
for the 15th annual New
Lenox Scouts Food Drive.
Lincoln-Way West served
as the central hub for all
of this generosity, as Boy
Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub
Scouts, Brownies and other
volunteers came together
to organize approximately
40,000 items of nonperishable
food, good-heartedly
given by more than 11,000
area residents.
“We’re really excited,”
said the event’s organizer
Bill Thomson, who works
with Boy Scout Troop 755
out of New Lenox. “A lot of
these kids have been doing
this for many years. My kids
have been doing it for 12 —
and this is the 15th year, so
it’s a milestone event for us.”
More than 700 Scouts
joined forces to participate
in the New Lenox Scouts
Food Drive, and the event
was made even more special
by involving the entire community.
Seeing the community
come together in such a positive
way is one of the driving
motivations for Troop 12
member and Lincoln-Way
West student Daniel Fish to
keep volunteering his time
year after year.
“I love seeing how the
whole community comes out
to help everyone,” he said.
“It’s really nice and helps a
lot of people, even people
outside of New Lenox. This
also is a great way for people
to get service hours for high
school and for Boy Scouts.”
Reporting by Laurie Fanelli,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit NewLenoxPatriot.com.
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Lincoln-Way East alumnus
performs in ‘Newsies’
production
From the stage of Lincoln-
Way East High School to the
stages of the Chicago area,
Liam Quealy always has
enjoyed putting on a good
show.
The Mokena native and
member of the Griffins class
of 2005 is a cast member in
the Marriott Theatre production
of “Newsies,” which
runs through Dec. 31 in Lincolnshire.
The Tony Awardwinning
musical is based
on the newsboys’ strike of
1899, in which newsboys, or
“newsies,” created their own
union to protest distribution
price hikes implemented by
two of New York’s major
newspaper publishers: Joseph
Pulitzer and William
Randolph Hearst.
Quealy has acted in a
number of Chicago area productions
— including roles
in “Tommy,” “Cats” and
“A Christmas Carol,” and
has credits with several regional
theaters. He also has
performed Off-Broadway
in “Dear Edwina” and participated
in a national tour of
“Fiddler on the Roof.”
What he loves most about
acting is the ability to have a
real impact on the audience,
he said.
“Being able to alter someone’s
life — even if it’s just
for the 30 seconds from
when leaving their seats to
getting into their car to go
home — being able to affect
people, it means a lot,”
he said.
Reporting by Nuria Mathog,
Editor. For more, visit
MokenaMessenger.com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Woman reportedly grabbed
knife teen held to her neck
during robbery attempt
A 43-year-old woman who
had a knife pressed to her
throat by a would-be robber
was able to grab it and force
the Park Forest teenager to
walk away at an Orland Park
drug store.
Officers responded shortly
after 6:30 p.m. Nov. 14 to
the Walgreens at 7960 W.
159th St. in reference to an
armed robbery, according
to a press release issued the
next day by the Orland Park
Police Department.
Jakhari Carrell, 18, of 3
Sauk Court, allegedly entered
the store, walked to
the rear of the building and
placed a knife to the woman’s
throat in an attempted
robbery. But she was able
to grab the knife and started
screaming, which caused
Carrell to walk away, police
said.
Carrell was accompanied
into the store by Sylvina
Marquez, 22, of 15616
Center Ave. in Harvey, police
said. When the victim
notified a Walgreens employee
of what happened
and police were summoned,
Carrell gave the knife to
Marquez, who hid it in her
purse, according to the press
release.
Upon their arrival, police
reportedly located both Carrell
and Marquez still inside
the store. While being held
in Orland Park lockup, Carrell
damaged a mattress in
the cell in which he was being
held, police said.
Carrell was charged with
one count each of attempted
armed robbery, a Class 1
felony; aggravated battery,
a Class 3 felony; and criminal
damage to property, a
Class 4 felony. Marquez
was charged with one count
of obstruction of justice, a
Class A misdemeanor.
Reporting by Bill Jones, Editor.
For more, visit OPPrairie.com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Student-athlete shows
passion for photography,
cinematography
Vejune Sidaugaite is a
middle hitter on the Tinley
Park girls volleyball team,
and she also plays on the
school’s girls basketball
team. But there are a couple
of things that are more important
to the senior.
When she was 12 years
old, Sidaugaite got her first
camera.
“I made a short film with
my friends,” she said. “Immediately
after, I knew
that’s what I wanted to do
with the rest of my life. I
took pictures here and there,
but not seriously until last
year. ... I’ve been more [focused]
on photography right
now, but I do want to do
filmmaking in the long run.”
Her focus on photography
arose almost exactly a year
ago, when she and her sister
were dressed up for Thanksgiving.
“We were like, ‘Why
don’t we go take some pictures?’”
Sidaugaite said.
“We just drove around and
took pictures, and they ended
up being pretty good. I
started doing that more and
more.”
But the senior felt that she
could be telling a greater
story.
“I kind of felt that I didn’t
have a purpose behind taking
the pictures, so that’s
when I started reaching out
to companies and brands,
and started taking pictures
for brands,” she said.
With some advice from
people who had made money
taking branded photos
before, Sidaugaite has since
been able to land side gigs
taking photos.
At 17, Sidaugaite already
is being paid for her passion.
Reporting by Tim Carroll,
Sports Editor. For more, visit
TinleyJucntion.com.
From THE FRANKFORT STATION
The Flower Cottage
celebrates anniversary with
food, friends and chamber
ribbon cutting
It has been 25 years of
hard work with no end in
sight, but Patricia Field,
owner of The Flower Cottage
in Frankfort, said she
would not trade it for the
world.
She has been with people
through the good times and
the bad, through sickness
and health. Her flowers
help celebrate the best days
in people’s lives, as well as
some of the hardest. Field
said most of her business
comes from wedding and
funerals, but she does arrangements
for a number of
other, smaller events and occasions,
as well.
“You never know where
something is going,” Field
said. “This could be flowers
that they’re ordering for
somebody’s hospice, mom
or dad, and it could be the
last thing that somebody
ends up looking at.
“Then, you know, making
someone’s day with a wedding
or making someone’s
day a little bit easier with a
funeral — that’s what we do
here, and every little thing is
important.”
An endeavour that began
in 1992 with just the help
of her sister has now grown
to include multiple employees,
delivery service and an
extensive gift shop. Field
said it was her and her sister’s
dream to open the
shop, and her sister has
since moved on to pursue a
career as a veterinary technician.
“Now, I am here with my
staff, and I just eased into it,”
Field said. “And it became
very easy for me, and I think
this is where I’m supposed
to be now.”
Reporting by Amanda Stoll,
Assistant Editor. For more, visit
FrankfortStation.com.
Lockport
man cited
for loud
exhaust,
suspended
license
Nicholas Rouse, 34, of the
300 block of State Street in
Lockport, was charged with
loud exhaust and for driving
with a suspended driver’s license
Nov. 12 after his vehicle
was stopped by Lockport
police for loud exhaust.
Lockport Police Department
Nov. 11
• Marten Molina-Reyes,
37, of Fenwood Street in
Bolingbrook, was charged
with using a cellphone while
driving and driving without
a valid driver’s license after
being stopped for using a
cellphone while driving.
Nov. 12
• Jenna McCloud, 26, of
the 4000 block of Harvey
Avenue in Chicago, was
charged with driving with a
suspended driver’s license
and driving with an expired
registration after her vehicle
was stopped for having an
expired registration.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Lockport
Legend’s Police Reports
are compiled from official
reports found online on the
Will County Sheriff’s Office or
Lockport Police Department’s
website or releases issued
by the department and other
agencies. Individuals named
in these reports are considered
innocent of all charges until
proven guilty in a court of law.