MM_120717

Fiscal clean bill of health 

Mokena Village Board of Trustees receives 

clean audit, Page 4 

Picking up STEAM 

St. Mary Catholic School students produce 

motion-capture videos, Page 7 

Holiday card contest returns 

Deadline approaching for card contest, cool 

prizes, Page 8 

mokena’s Award-Winning Hometown Newspaper mokenamessenger.com • December 7, 2017 • Vol. 11 No. 17 • $1 

A 

® 

Publication 

,LLC 

LW East’s annual 

Breakfast with 

Santa raises 

funds for athletic 

boosters, Page 3 

Anthony Linke, of 

Frankfort, gets his 

chance to tell Santa 

what he wants for 

Christmas Saturday, 

Dec. 2, at Lincoln-Way 

East High School’s 

annual Breakfast with 

Santa. T.J. Kremer 

III/22nd Century Media

2 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger calendar 

mokenamessenger.com 

In this week’s 

Messenger 

Pet of the Week.............12 

Police Reports................14 

Editorial........................17 

Faith Briefs....................20 

Puzzles..........................28 

Classifieds................ 32-41 

The Mokena 

Messenger 

ph: 708.326.9170 fx: 708.326.9179 

Editor 

TJ Kremer III, x29 

tj@mokenamessenger.com 

assistant editor 

Amanda Stoll, x34 

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Sales director 

Lora Healy, x31 

l.healy@22ndcenturymedia.com 

real estate sales 

Tricia Weber, x47 

t.weber@22ndcenturymedia.com 

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Legal Notices 

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Amanda Stoll 


THURSDAY 

Ribbon Cutting 

5-7 p.m. Dec. 7, Caits 

Kitchen & Home, 19170 

LaGrange Road, Mokena. 

Join the Mokena Chamber 

of Commerce for a ribbon 

cutting and Business After 

Hours at Caits Kitchen & 

Home. 

FRIDAY 

MOMS Club of New Lenox 

10 a.m. Dec. 8, Mokena 

Community Public Library, 

11327 W. 195th St., Mokena. 

Attend the monthly social 

for the MOMS Club of 

New Lenox, which are free, 

and all ages are welcome to 

attend. Meeting locations 

change monthly. The group 

will be making blessing 

bags during the meeting. For 

more information and meeting 

locations, visit www. 

MomsClubNewLenox.com 

or email momsclubnew 

lenox@yahoo.com. 

Horsemanship Basics 

6:30-8:30 p.m. Dec. 8, 

Nova Quarter Horses, 10129 

W. 187th St., Mokena. This 

workshop is for those who 

are new to horseback riding 

or want to gain more 

confidence in handling and 

working with horses. This is 

not a horseback riding lesson. 

Participants will learn 

to halter & lead horse out of 

stall, grooming and picking 

up horse feet, fit a saddle for 

rider and horse, mount, dismount 

and proper position 

of reins and proper barn etiquette. 

For more information 

and registration, call, (708) 

479-3696. 

SATURDAY 

Community Blood Drive 

8 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 9, Old 

Plank Trail Community 

Bank, 20901 S. LaGrange 

Road, Frankfort. The Lincoln-Way 

District Hockey 

Club will sponsor a blood 

drive. For every pint of blood 

collected, the hockey club 

will receive $10, with a minimum 

of 25 pints required. A 

photo ID will be required. 

To schedule an appointment, 

visit www.heartlandbc.org or 

call (815) 780-0545. 

SUNDAY 

Holiday Concert 

3 p.m. Dec. 10, Mokena 

Junior High School, 19815 

Kirkstone Way, Mokena. 

Encore will perform their 

annual holiday concert at 

MJHS featuring holiday favorites 

including “Sleigh 

Ride” and “Christmas Festival.” 

For more information 

about this free concert, visit 

www.encoreband.org. 

MONDAY 

Holiday Business After Hours 

5-7 p.m. Dec. 11, Mokena 

Public Library, 11327 

195th St., Mokena. Join the 

Mokena Chamber of Commerce 

for their annual Holiday 

Business After Hours. 

For more information, visit 

www.mokena.com. 

UPCOMING 

Santa Claus Visit 

10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, 

Dec. 16, Old Plank Trail Community 

Bank, 20012 Wolf 

Road, Mokena. Join Old Plank 

Trail Community Bank to welcome 

Santa Claus this holiday 

season. Write a Christmas list, 

then meet Santa Claus at the 

bank. Don’t forget a camera! 

Visit www.oldplanktrailbank. 

com for participating locations 

and times. 

Lunch with the Grinch 

11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 1:30- 

3:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, 

Lincolnway Special Recreation 

Association, 1900 

Heatherglen Drive, New 

Lenox. The second annual 

Lunch with the Grinch is fast 

approaching. Tickets will 

be sold for one, two-hour 

session. Both sessions feature 

a pizza lunch, jumpy, 

DJ dance party and a visit/ 

photo opportunity with the 

Grinch. This event is open 

to the public, and all children 

must be accompanied by an 

adult. Space is limited. For 

tickets, visit www.eventbrite. 

com and search for “LWSRA 

Lunch with the Grinch.” For 

more information, call (815) 

320-3507 or email kreczek@ 

lwsra.org. 

Winter Horse Camp 

Deadline to register is 

Tuesday, Dec. 26. Camp 

will be held from 10 a.m.–3 

p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2 through 

Friday, Jan. 5, Nova Quarter 

Horses, 10129 187th St., 

Mokena. Campers will learn 

horsemanship skills and 

get hands-on experience in 

grooming, bridling, saddling 

and a riding lesson each day. 

Students will also participate 

in a horse show for family 

and friends on the last day of 

camp. This camp is for children 

ages 7-18. Cost before 

Dec. 18 is $290. After Dec. 

18, cost is $295. For more 

information, call the park 

district at (708) 390-2401 or 

visit www.mokenapark.com 

to register online. 

Indoor Flea market 

Vendor registration deadline 

is Monday, Jan. 8. Event 

will be held from 9 a.m.-1 

p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14, The 

Oaks Recreation & Fitness 

Center, Field House, 10847 

W. LaPorte Road. Mokena. 

Don’t let the winter weather 

put an end to bargain shopping. 

For those who have 

been doing cleaning out stuff 

after the holiday, this is a great 

opportunity to sell some of 

those unwanted items. There 

is no cost to attend. Vendor 

fees increase after Dec. 29. 

Early registration cost is $30 

before Dec. 29. After Dec. 29 

the fee increases to $35. All 

vendors must pre-register. 

For more information and 

vendor guidelines, call (708) 

390-2401 or visit www.mo 

kenapark.com. 

Winter Break JumpFest 

3-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 4, 

The Oaks Recreation & Fitness 

Center, 10847 W. La 

Porte Road, Mokena. Join 

the park district at Jumpfest 

for a Jump-Tastic time. 

Jumpfest wristbands include 

unlimited jump time on lots 

of inflatables. The fee at the 

door is $10 per jumper for 

unlimited jump time. Purchase 

a VIP wristband for 

$10 in advance at the Administration 

Office for an 

extra hour of jump time from 

2-3 p.m. VIP wristbands are 

limited and they are not 

available online. Deadline 

to purchase VIP wristbands 

is December 16. All ages are 

welcome. Children 11 and 

younger must have a guardian 

with them. For more information, 

call Mokena Park 

District at (708) 390-2401 or 

visit www.mokenapark.com. 

ONGOING 

Diaper Drive 

Ongoing through Dec. 20, 

Rep. McDermed’s office, 

11032 W. Lincoln Highway, 

Frankfort. State Representative 

Margo McDermed will 

help to address the struggle 

young, and often single, 

mothers have in keeping 

their infant or toddler clean, 

dry, and healthy by collecting 

diapers, baby wipes, and 

diaper rash cream. Donations 

can be dropped off at 

Rep. McDermed’s district 

office and will benefit Journey, 

a local non-profit organization 

that helps young 

women and families in need. 

Mobile Workforce Center 

1:30-3:30 p.m. Fridays, 

Mokena Community Public 

Library, 11327 W. 195th St., 

Mokena. The Mobile Workforce 

Center travels to communities 

throughout Will 

County assisting residents 

who are looking for a job. 

Services include access to 

eleven computers with Internet 

for online job searches, 

assistance to create or revise 

a resume, a job board with 

listings from Will County 

businesses and a trained staff 

to assist job seekers. 

Women’s Club Scholarships 

Applications must be 

postmarked by Feb. 15. The 

General Federation of Women’s 

Clubs Illinois is offering 

scholarships, through the 

GFWC Mokena Woman’s 

Club sponsorship, for students 

planning on enrolling 

in an Illinois college, university, 

trade or vocational 

school for the Fall Semester 

2018. Applicants are 

not limited to current high 

school seniors. Applications 

are available on the Lincoln- 

Way High Schools, Providence 

Catholic High School, 

Mokena Public Library and 

Frankfort Public Library 

websites. Mail applications 

to: Judy Rader, 132 11th St., 

Lincoln, IL 62656. 

My Joyful Heart 

9981 W. 190th St., Suite 

I-J, Mokena. My Joyful 

Heart is collecting coats, 

gloves and hats for the upcoming 

winter season. Donations 

can be dropped off 

at the Ministry Center. My 

Joyful Heart is a charity that 

provides personalized assistance 

and encouragement 

for children in need. As a 

faith-based organization, 

My Joyful Heart endeavors 

to be a positive influence to 

children in need by remembering 

them with basic life 

essentials, school supplies, 

clothing, toys, and encouragement 

throughout each 

year. For more information, 

visit www.myjoyfulheart. 

org or call (815) 806-1700. 

To submit an item to the 

printed calendar, contact 

Amanda Stoll at (708) 

326-9170 ext. 34, or email 

a.stoll@22ndcenturymedia. 

com. Deadline is noon 

Thursdays one week prior to 

publication.

mokenamessenger.com news 

the Mokena Messenger | December 7, 2017 | 3 

Pancakes, presents, pictures with Santa 

LW East hosts 

annual Breakfast 

with Santa to benefit 

athletic boosters 

T.J. Kremer III, Editor 

For a few short hours 

Saturday, Dec. 2, children 

and their families had the 

opportunity to get a little 

face-time with the man 

himself, one Santa Claus, 

and enjoy a breakfast of 

pancakes and sausage at 

Lincoln-Way East while 

benefitting the LW East 

Athletic Boosters. 

From 7 a.m.-11 a.m., families 

poured nonstop into the 

Griffins cafeteria, where the 

highlight was most certainly 

a chance to tell Santa what 

A long line forms to get the chance to meet Santa to ask for 

that special Christmas gift and to have a nice picture with 

the jolly old elf for family Christmas cards. 

they wanted for Christmas 

— assuming they were all 

on the “Nice” side of his list. 

There was the Balta family 

of Tinley Park, which included 

Anie, 9, Mia, 8, and 

Kyle, 3, along with their parents 

Nik and Kristy. 

Anie said she was going 

to ask Santa for a camera, 

Please see santa, 4 

Fiona Galligan, 6, of Mokena, gets her face painted Saturday, Dec. 2, during Lincoln-Way 

East’s Breakfast with Santa event. Photos by T.J. Kremer III/22nd Century Media 

 

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4 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger news 


Mokena Village Board 

Village receives clean audit, praise from firm for fiscal year 2017 money management 

Meredith Dobes 

Freelance Reporter 

The Village of Mokena 

received a clean, or unqualified, 

opinion on its fiscal 

year 2017 audit, as presented 

at the Village Board’s Nov. 

27 regular meeting. 

Brad Werner, from Wipfli 

LLP, informed the board that 

there were no difficulties for 

the firm when it was conducting 

the audit, no disagreements 

between the firm and 

Village staff, and no material 

weaknesses found in the Village’s 

internal controls. 

Finance Director Barb 

Damron said the Village’s 

assets exceeded its liabilities 

at the close of the fiscal year 

by roughly $154 million. 

Additionally, the Village 

ended the fiscal year with a 

fund balance of roughly 37 

percent of its expenditures in 

its general fund. 

Werner said that, typically, 

municipalities set a 30 percent 

benchmark, so Mokena 

is in a very strong place to 

have exceeded that. 

He added that the Village’s 

strong fund balances 

are a testament to how it is 

managing its money. 

Werner said the Village 

is funding its pension obligations 

and is on pace to 

be debt-free in 2024, when 

most of its debt obligations 

will retire. 

Mayor Frank Fleisher 

said the Village Board has 

worked very hard to get the 

Village to where it is today 

financially. 

Trustee Joseph Siwinski 

added that this is the second 

year Wipfli LLP has audited 

the Village’s finances, and it 

is beneficial to have a relatively 

new firm performing 

the audit. 

“Good job to the staff,” 

Trustee George Metanias 

said. “It takes a lot of work 

from you guys.” 

The Village Board unanimously 

approved the audit, 

with Trustees Joseph Budzyn 

and John Mazzorana absent. 

Round it up 

A recap of the Nov. 27 Village Board action and discussion 

• June Graffy, from Curtain Call Front Street Theatre, 

promoted the organization’s presentation of “The 39 Steps”, 

which has performances scheduled for Friday-Sunday, Dec. 

7-10. The theater will also open registration for the Emily 

McCabe Musical Theatre Program Dec. 9. 

• The Village Board unanimously approved the appointment 

of Dale Butler to Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator II. 

Butler has worked in the Village’s Utilities Department for 

more than 24 years. 

• Mayor Frank Fleisher reminded residents that there is a 

Village ordinance that requires dogs to be on leashes and 

said police will ticket dog owners who do not have their pets 

leashed. He also requested that residents be considerate of 

their neighbors and refrain from burning leaves, and instead 

use Frankfort Township’s leaf pickup service. 

Old business 

Trustees unanimously approved 

a sales tax incentive 

agreement with Graefen Development 

for a lot at 8315 

Spring Lake Drive. 

ABC Supply plans to 

lease the property to supply 

roofing and building materials 

to contractors. 

Per the Village’s sales tax 

sharing incentive, the Village 

will share tax revenue 

with any business that generates 

sales taxes on an industrial 

lot in the Corporate 

Corridors of Mokena. 

It may share 50 percent of 

sales tax revenue, excluding 

a 0.5 percent non-home rule 

sales tax. ABC Supply is expected 

to generate $20 million 

in annual taxable sales, 

equating to $200,000 annually 

for the Village from 

non-home rules sales tax and 

half of regular sales tax, and 

$100,000 annually for Graefen 

Development from half 

of regular sales tax. 

The incentive was passed 

in 2008 for a period of 15 

years, meaning there are five 

years left in its term. 

Trustees also unanimously 

approved a special use permit 

for a fitness facility with 

personal training at 8027 W. 

189th St., Unit E, for Team 

Surus. 

The property is zoned 

light industrial and required 

the special use permit because 

of parking impacts. 

The Village required the 

business to add an additional 

seven parking spaces in the 

building’s rear. 

Municipal Leader of the Year 

Award presentation 

Last month, the Village of 

Mokena received the 2017 

Patricia Chase Magan Municipal 

Leader of the Year 

Award from the Chicago 

Southland Convention & 

Visitors Bureau. 

Jim Garrett, president of 

the CSCVB, presented the 

Village with a plaque at the 

Nov. 27 Village Board meeting 

to commemorate its receipt 

of the award and honor 

Mokena’s dedication to its 

recreational amenities. 

In his speech, Garrett 

noted the village’s disc golf 

course, new field house, and 

businesses set to open in the 

village, including Accelerate 

Indoor Speedway and a 

Holiday Inn Express. 

Garrett thanked the mayor, 

trustees and Village staff 

for their vision and said their 

pacesetting is for other communities 

to follow. 

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santa 

From Page 3 

Mia wanted a virtual reality 

headset and Kyle wanted 

a dinosaur — specifically a 

big, orange one. 

Debbie Bicek, chair of the 

Breakfast with Santa event, 

said the money raised from 

the event will go toward all 

LW East sports and support 

a variety of needs for individual 

sports. 

“Each year [Breakfast 

with Santa] just seems to get 

bigger and bigger, with more 

parents bringing their kids 

here,” Bicek said. “It’s just 

fun; it’s very relaxed. They 

get to see Santa and have a 

nice breakfast.” 

Even LW East’s Athletic 

Director Mark Vander Kooi 

got into the action, making 

pancakes back in the kitchen. 

“This is one of our biggest 

events with our booster 

club. [The money] goes back 

to anything from equipment 

to uniforms, things like that, 

for all 28 of our sports,” 

Vander Kooi said. 

“These people are great 

people. Our athletic booster 

members are tremendous 

people and great to hang 

around with. And I’ve got 

kids who play sports here, 

too, so it’s just my way of 

kind of giving back on the 

side.” 

Speaking of giving back, 

this year’s event was also 

the second year of including 

a Toys for Tots drive. 

Two Marine Corps servicemen 

— Jasen Ellis, of Las 

Vegas, and Rafael Dabila, of 

Chicago — were on hand to 

collect the toys. 

Ellis said they were able 

to collect nearly 200 toys for 

needy children. 

Dabila spoke about the 

positive feelings that come 

from giving. 

“It’s a warm feeling. It 

brings joy to me,” Dabila 

said. “I’m just glad to bring 

smiling faces to those who 

are less fortunate than others. 

Honestly, I’m glad to see 

families and little kids bring 

toys. It’s great.”



Education focus of Rep. Margo McDermed’s town hall meeting 

Megann Horstead 


Every parent wants to see 

their child succeed. How one 

goes on to achieve this aim 

differs. 

With the recent passing of 

the Every Student Succeeds 

Act and Evidence-Based 

Funding Formula, Rep. 

Margo McDermed, joined 

by Illinois State Board of 

Education representatives, 

set out to engage the public 

by hosting a forum Nov. 29. 

The event, hosted at the 

Frankfort Township office, 

served as the third of three 

town hall meetings planned 

for the 37th District this year. 

The state of education in 

Illinois has seen a number of 

changes this year. 

“Because education is 

so important to folks here 

in the 37th District, I want 

to make sure that we hear 

from experts exactly what 

those changes are, what 

they’re going to mean for 

our school professionals, … 

what it’s going to mean for 

our parents and our taxpayers, 

and what it’s going to 

be mean for our students,” 

McDermed said. 

Lawmakers in Springfield 

passed a new funding 

formula for K-12 education 

in August. Over time, it became 

less equitable to the 

state’s schools, in part, because 

of changes in education 

and demographics. The 

last time the bill saw significant 

change occurred 20 

years ago. 

“We needed to update 

that, and it took a long time 

to build consensus to move 

forward to that,” McDermed 

said. “Those of you who 

have been active in education 

know how difficult that 

is to bring everyone to the 

table and get some agreement 

when the needs of people 

who live in rural areas, 

suburban areas and urban 

areas — in terms of funding 

and the student body — are 

all different.” 

The new funding formula 

is meant to open up more 

dialogue between the school 

districts and their constituents 

to ensure that needs are 

being met with the resources 

they are afforded. Beginning 

next year, school districts 

will be required to submit 

annual spending plans along 

with their budgets to highlight 

how they’re spending 

their money. 

If a gap exists in terms of 

meeting the needs of students, 

the state works to allot new 

money to promote equity. 

School districts fall along 

a continuum showing those 

with the highest to lowest 

needs. 

Another change arose 

this past summer with the 

introduction of new federal 

“Because education is so important to folks here in 

the 37th District, I want to make sure that we hear 

from experts exactly what those changes are, what 

they’re going to mean for our school professionals, 

… what it’s going to mean for our parents and our 

taxpayers, and what it’s going to be mean for our 

students.” 

Margo McDermed — State Representative, on why she hosted the education 

town hall Nov. 29 

legislation called the Every 

Student Succeeds Act. 

This measure repeals the 

No Child Left Behind Act, 

enacted in 2001, and it aims 

to drive the conversation on 

how schools are evaluated. 

“It’s often easy to forget 

that in some ways it was a 

really important piece of 

civil rights legislation that 

was trying to communicate 

we care about every child, 

but the way that NCLB expressed 

that was by testing 

every single child and led to 

what many have described 

as an assessment regime, 

where some of the focus in 

classroom was moving away 

from teaching and more towards 

the testing without 

the relationship that should 

exist there,” said Sara Shaw, 

senior manager of fiscal and 

academic solvency for the 

State Board of Education. 

“Ideally, you test to make 

sure that kids have learned.” 

The Every Student Succeeds 

Act aims to take the 

positives derived from the 

No Child Left Behind Act 

and build on them in a more 

holistic manner. It outlines a 

set of indicators describing a 

district’s accountability with 

a focus on the overall contributions 

of a school, as well 

as subgroups. 

“The point, here, is to open 

up conversation,” Shaw said. 

“Sarah [Hartwick] referred 

to the cost factors in the evidence-based 

funding formula 

and stimulating conversation 

between communities and 

districts about where money 

is going for what effect. Because 

we care about our kids 

and we want to know how 

it is that we’re supporting 

them, having a summative 

designation is going to help 

the state target resources to 

those who need it most, and 

it also creates this conversation 

in the community, so that 

parents who are looking at 

where their child is going can 

say, ‘OK, I understand where 

my school is right now, and I 

can understand where I want 

it to be, or I can understand 

what my child can do within 

this school.’” 

The evidence-based funding 

formula equips schools 

across the state with $350 

million in new money. 

“State Board of Education, 

to kind of say what 

we’re doing right now to 

get money out the door is a 

very, very complicated and 

a huge shift, and the lateness 

of when it was signed kind 

of pushed the State Board of 

Education in a difficult position 

in that we wanted to get 

money out to districts,” said 

Sarah Hartwick, co-director 

for legislative affairs for the 

State Board of Education. 

When the bill was passed, 

school districts missed two 

of their mandated state categorical 

payments. 

The evidence-based funding 

formula will require 

continued appropriations 

from the general assembly 

moving forward to ensure 

that schools are afforded the 

money they need. 

Currently, school districts 

are at least receiving the 

base minimum funding they 

received last year, plus two 

categorical payments are allotted 

each month. They take 

in revenue in the form of general 

state aid, stop-loss grants 

and several other line items. 

“I believe, and was a supporter 

of the bill, because 

I do feel that by looking at 

evidence of what drives successful 

education outcomes 

and by funding in accordance 

with that evidence, 

that we should be in a better 

footing and our schools 

should be more equitably 

funded,” McDermed said. 

School News 

Lincoln-Way District 210 

Annual Transition Program 

Poinsettia sale begins 

The Lincoln-Way Transition 

Program is hosting a 

Poinsettia Sale Fundraiser 

that began Nov. 27. 

Students in the Lincoln- 

Way Transition Program 

have grown the plants in the 

greenhouse since August. 

Each poinsettia includes a 

handmade decorative Christmas 

pick, holiday spray glitter 

and foil pot cover. 

The cost for a poinsettia is 

$10 and proceeds benefit the 

students in the Lincoln-Way 

Transition Program. 

Orders can be made at any 

time via email at lwtransition@lw210.org 

or by calling 

(815) 462-2229. The 

order form can be found in 

the following link: www. 

lw210.org/community/re 

sources/uploadedpdfs/Poin 

settia%20Flyer%2017.pdf. 

Don’t just 

list your 

real estate 

property... 

Sell It! 

With a Classified Ad 

See the Classified Section for 

more info, or call 708.326.9170 

22ndCenturyMedia.com



LWE classes donate 100- 

plus items for new mothers 

Sunday Services 

9am & 11am 

Christmas 

Miracle Sunday 

December 10th - One service only at 10am 

‘Christmas Miracle Sunday is an event that reminds us about 

the power of giving to others and the difference it can make 

in someone’s life’ – Wes Modder, Lead Pastor, Stone Church 

Stone Church presents 

‘The Story of 

Amazing Love’ 

Sunday, December 17th 

9am & 11am 

Christmas Eve 

Services 

Sunday, December 24th 

9am, 11am, 4pm & 6pm 

New Years 

Eve Services 

Sunday, December 31st 

9am & 11am 

Watch Night Service at 11:30pm 

Submitted by Lincoln-Way 

District 210 

Lincoln-Way East’s Medical 

Anatomy and Physiology 

classes donated items for 

Lullaby Birthplace through 

Franciscan St. James Hospital 

on Nov. 22 in an effort to 

provide goods to new mothers 

in the area. 

The classes collected 

more than a hundred items 

for this cause that included 

blankets, clothing, toys and 

books. 

“We truly appreciate the 

thoughtfulness that went 

into the donations. Our new 

moms are very appreciative 

of these items and our staff 

loves to give them out,” 

said Karen Yates, director 

of mission integration 

and volunteer services at 

Franciscan Health, Olympia 

Fields and Chicago 

Heights. 

The Lincoln-Way East 

classes and teachers wanted 

to assist with this program 

because of the relationship 

Lincoln-Way East has with 

St. James Hospital. The 

hospital has allowed students 

to shadow professionals 

since 2008 as part of the 

medical anatomy and physiology 

course. 

Through the course, 

students see a variety of 

jobs within the hospital for 

a semester. 

“The students were very 

enthusiastic to give back 

to the program by donating 

items to Lullaby Birthplace 

through St. James,” LWE 

teacher Scott Fletcher 

said. “Thank you again for 

providing the opportunity 

for our students to shadow 

healthcare professionals 

at the Olympia Fields 

campus.” 

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Lincoln-Way East students stand with boxes of donations 

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Eighth-graders Mike Hurley, Logan Andrews, Aidan Hennessy and Sam Murphy use iPads 

running iMotion technology to create a short film about Robert, who tries to make the 

world’s best pizza. The project is part of St. Mary Catholic School’s effort to incorporate 

the arts into STEM learning. T.J. Kremer III/22nd Century Media 

Making art with tech 

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We have more than 350 full slabs of 

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St. Mary students 

use iPads to create 

stop motion art 

projects 


As technology continues 

to advance exponentially, it 

seems more and more classroom 

work will be done digitally. 

And with the recent 

focus of studies on science, 

technology, engineering and 

math, St. Mary Catholic 

School wants to make sure 

its students are able to keep 

pace and not lose another 

important area of study: the 

arts. 

Eighth-graders at the 

school are currently in the 

process of developing their 

own short films using stop 

motion capture technology. 

The process blends the fundamental 

aspects of STEM 

with the arts, creating what 

is known as STEAM. 

“They have to make their 

sets, make their characters. 

They have to come up with 

a script and a storyline. They 

make storyboards. Then they 

have to put it together using 

stop motion. And since 

we have our … iPads, it’s 

kind of perfect,” said Heidi 

Drennan, art teacher. “They 

have that technology in their 

hands and they get to use it 

in a creative way.” 

Apple offers a special 

lease program to the school, 

which allows the students 

to use the iPads for a number 

of tasks, including taking 

the information stored 

in iMotion and transforming 

it into finished movie using 

iMovie. 

Courtney Godvout, of 

Mokena. Julia Vagley, of 

Frankfort and Kailey Hadley, 

of Mokena are creating a 

film where an Oreo falls into 

a lake of milk and Melky 

Cabrerra — the one-time 

White Sox player — has to 

save the Oreo. 

The group said there are 

some problems with technology 

“glitching out” or 

freezing, but otherwise they 

said they’re comfortable using 

the technology. 

Meanwhile, Mike Hurley, 

of Orland Park, Logan Andrews, 

of New Lenox, Aidan 

Hennessy, of Mokena and 

Sam Murphy, of Frankfort 

decided they collectively 

didn’t have much in the way 

of traditional artistic talents, 

so they decided to incorporate 

green screen technology 

in their project. The premise 

is a character named Robert 

is mad at himself for not 

making the best pizza, so 

he decides to not give up 

and keep trying to make the 

world’s greatest pizza. The 

green screen will be used to 

add some explosions during 

poor Robert’s failed attempts 

at pizza perfection. 

The students will continue 

to work on their projects for 

the remainder of the trimester, 

which will culminate 

in a presentation where the 

students will get to show 

off their finished projects to 

each other some time at the 

end of December or early 

January. 

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Two weeks remain to 

send 22nd Century 

Media some holiday 

love 

Bill Jones, Managing Editor 

You have seen it on all of 

your favorite online shopping 

outlets this time of the 

year: Order by Dec. XX 

with this form of shipping 

to get your things in time for 

Christmas. 

You inevitably miss that 

deadline, and now you are 

stuck paying an extra $10 

for expedited shipping on 

that darn new Eminem album 

— why does he listen 

to this stuff? — Jimmy could 

have bought digitally if the 

hipsters he’s fallen in with 

this school year hadn’t convinced 

him vinyl just has a 

warmth that cannot be recreated 

with ones and zeros. 

So, we’ll offer you a similar 

warning, because this is 

one of those deals you just 

don’t want to miss: The 

deadline for the 2017 Holiday 

Card Contest is but two 

weeks away. And holiday 

mail is an inexact science. 

So mail soon if you want to 

make sure your entry arrives 

by our deadline. 

In case you have forgotten, 

here are the details. 

We want to see your custom 

Christmas cards (homemade, 

unique, funny jokes, 

cool envelopes), read your 

year-end letters, and check 

out your holiday photos and 

drawings. 

Whatever it is you do for 

THERE’S A BETTER WAY 

TO ADVERTISE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON 

CONTACT 

The good stuff 

A look at the prizes to be awarded to one winner in each of the categories. 

Best in Show 

Funniest 

• A certificate good for two tickets for • Two hours of free bowling for up to six 

the Blue Man Group at the Briar Street people, including shoe rentals, along 

Theatre in Chicago (some restrictions with a pizza and pitcher full of pop, at 

apply). 

Laraway Lanes, 1009 W. Laraway Road 

• A gift card valued at $50 for Mr. 

in New Lenox. 

Benny’s Steak & Lobster House, 19200 

• A gift certificate valued at $25 for 

Everett Lane in Mokena. 

• A five-class pass ($70 value) for Gawea 

Chesdan’s Pizzeria & Grille, 15764 S. 

Yoga, 1000 S. State St. in Lockport. Bell Road in Homer Glen. 

• Four Play Passes for free admission • Four unlimited play Power Cards for 

to the KidsWork Children’s Museum, 11 Dave & Buster’s, 49 Orland Park Place in 

White St. in Frankfort. 

Orland Park. 

The Mokena Messenger 

LORA HEALY 

708.326.9170 ext. 31 l.healy@22ndcenturymedia.com 

the people you love during 

the holidays (PG-13, 

please), simply address these 

things to Managing Editor 

Bill Jones, and mail them 

to 11516 W. 183rd St. Unit 

SW Office Condo 3, Orland 

Park, IL, 60467. Make sure 

the items somewhere include 

a name and a phone number 

at which we can reach you 

— should you happen to 

win the contest — as well as 

your hometown. 

We will accept submissions 

through 5 p.m. Thursday, 

Dec. 21. They must be 

received (not postmarked) 

by that day, so please make 

sure to give yourself enough 

time for holiday mail service. 

The entries will be evaluated 

by our editorial staff 

and judged in two categories: 

Best in Show and Funniest. 

We will pick one winner 

in each of the categories 

from across all seven of 

the towns covered by 22nd 

Century Media’s Southwest 

office: Orland Park, Tinley 

Park, Frankfort, Mokena, 

New Lenox, Lockport and 

Homer Glen. 

In addition to awarding 

prizes (detailed in the sidebar), 

we plan to publish images 

or transcripts of our 

winners in print, along with 

a few of our other favorites. 

We do have three important 

rules to follow. 

• We are allowing only 

one entry per household for 

this contest. 

• The entry must be from 

this holiday season. 

• Electronic entries are 

accepted and can be sent to 

bill@opprairie.com.



Smoothie King blends its way into Mokena 

Mokena resident 

opens franchise 

location with healthy 

options galore 

Amanda Stoll, Assistant Editor 

The word “franchise” 

might not invoke images of 

fruits and vegetables and 

protein-rich snack options, 

but that’s exactly what Mokena 

residents Brian and 

Kim Griffith set out to do 

when they opened up a 

Smoothie King location. 

At the end of October, the 

couple started blending up 

healthy options for patrons, 

with protein-rich smoothies 

taking center stage. In addition 

to smoothies, the shop 

sells health-conscious snacks 

including dark chocolate cashews, 

protein cookies, veggie 

chips, Greek yogurt pretzels 

and protein bars. 

The franchise opened their 

first location in 1989 in New 

Orleans with the intention of 

making “smoothies with a 

purpose.” There are currently 

more than 800 locations in 

the world. 

Brian Griffith said he and 

his wife Kim chose to open 

a Smoothie King location in 

Mokena, where he has lived 

for the past 12 years, as a 

way to provide healthy food 

and snack options for adults 

and children in the area. 

“It was important for us to 

bring a franchise to the Mokena, 

Lincoln-Way area that 

was healthy for the community... 

and more importantly 

for our children,” Brian 

Griffith said. “We need our 

kids to be healthier. We talk 

about it, and we hear about it 

in the news — about all the 

sugary sodas and even all the 

juices are loaded with sugar. 

We have a diabetes issue out 

there. We have an obesity issue 

in America today, so my 

thought, along with my wife 

Brian Griffith stands in the Smoothie King location at 19200 S. LaGrange Road in Mokena. He and his wife Kim opened the shop on Oct. 28 this year. The 

franchise location offers a variety of health-conscious snack options in addition to their numerous smoothie blends. Amanda Stoll/22nd Century Media 

Kim, was to bring a healthy 

alternative to the community 

that we live in.” 

The community has been 

supportive since the shop 

opened on Oct. 28, and 

many people have given 

him positive feedback about 

the health benefits of the 

franchise he chose, Brian 

Griffith said. 

Opening a health-conscious 

franchise was a easy 

choice for the two, who are 

both into health and fitness 

personally. He said he enjoys 

running and did so in collegiate 

track and even has a 

few marathons under his belt. 

He said he wife enjoys walking 

and running, as well. 

“I’m going back to my 

roots of health and fitness,” 

Brian Griffith said. “Combine 

that with a healthy, nutritional 

product, it’s a perfect 

fit for us.” 

After dong some research, 

Brian Griffith said they decided 

on Smoothie King because 

of the supportive family 

and community feel they 

got during initial meetings 

and the application process. 

The Smoothie King menu 

includes Fitness, Slim, Wellness 

and “Take a Break” 

Blends and vegan options, 

as well as those made specifically 

for children. 

Of the many options, Brian 

Griffith said his all-time 

favorite is the Pineapple 

Surf, one of the Take a Break 

Blends, which includes pineapple, 

strawberries, a kiwi 

juice blend and vanilla protein 

powder with some raw 

turbinado sugar for a little 

added sweetness. 

The self-described coffee 

lover said he also really likes 

the high-protein coffee menu 

option. The Vanilla Coffee 

High Protein is made with 

whey protein, cold-brewed 

coffee, almonds, cocoa, nonfat 

dry milk and the raw, turbinado 

sugar. 

Smoothies are available in 

20, 32 and 40 ounce sizes, 

as well as a 12 oz Kids’ Cup 

size. 

In addition to the numerous 

add-in options for each 

of the smoothies, Brian 

Griffith said there are some 

substitutions available, but 

they try not to change the 

recipes too much because 

they are balanced both nutritionally 

and taste-wise. 

The Griffiths employ 

about 20 people, most of 

whom are local high school 

students who attend Lincoln-Way 

Central and Lincoln-Way 

East. 

“They’re getting an opportunity 

to learn how to work in 

a retail environment,” Brian 

Griffith said. “They’re learning 

skills: how to manage 

money [and] how to make 

sure that they are complying 

with federal, state and 

local health laws. So, I feel 

great about that. I like giving 

back. It’s another way to 

give back is to employ and 

teach younger people responsibility 

and what all goes 

into helping them to run a 

smoothie business like this.” 

Smoothie King is located 

at 19200 S. LaGrange Road 

in Mokena. Complete nutritional 

information and full 

menu available at www. 

smoothieking.com

10 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger mokena 


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mokenamessenger.com Announcements 


Former Mokena resident 

earns full Naval scholarship 

Submitted by the Duffin 

family 

The Osborne family presents a check Nov. 14 in the amount of $3,165 to the Mokena Fire 

Protection District, which will be used to purchase CPR manikin kits for CPR courses. 

Photo submitted 

Mokena family donates money to 

Mokena Fire Protection District 

Submitted by Mokena Fire 

Protection District 

Mokena residents Mr. 

and Mrs. Fred Osborne celebrated 

their 50th wedding 

anniversary in October. In 

lieu of gifts, the guests were 

requested to make a donation 

to the Mokena Fire 

Protection District’s CPR 

Training. 

On Nov. 14 during the 

monthly Mokena FPD Trustee 

meeting, Mr. & Mrs. Fred 

Osborne presented a check 

in the amount of $3,165 to 

the Mokena FPD’s CPR 

Training. 

The Mokena FPD will use 

this donation toward the purchase 

of CPR manikin kits to 

be used for our regular community 

CPR courses. 

Kevin Duffin has accepted 

a full Navel scholarship 

for the fall to medical 

school at the Uniformed 

Services University in 

Bethesda, Maryland. Only 

50 Naval candidates from 

across the country are accepted 

each year to this 

prestigious program. He is 

from Mokena and is a 2013 

graduate of Lincoln-Way 

East, where he played varsity 

football and baseball. 

Duffin was a 2016 graduate 

of University of Illinois in 

micro-cellular biology and 

will receive his master’s 

degree in the spring in bioengineering 

from there as 

well. 

Photo submitted

® 

12 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger Community 


Needlesstink. Pinpointing the right 

doctorfor your child shouldn’t. 

Dodie 

NAWS Illinois Humane Society 

9981 W. 190th St. 

Mokena, 60448 

Dodie is a sweet, 2-year-old, spayed, female torbie. 

She is a quiet and calm girl that can be a little shy 

at first. She is quickly learning to trust and enjoy 

attention and being petted. She would do best with 

a patient owner that will give her time to come out 

of her shell. Contact Wendy at (708) 478-5102 or 

wendy@nawsus.org to meet her. 

Want to see your pet featured as The Mokena Messenger’s 

Pet of the Week? Send your pet’s photo and a few sentences 

explaining why your pet is outstanding to Editor T.J. Kremer 

III at tj@mokenamessenger.com or 11516 W. 183rd St., Office 

Condo 3, Suite SW, Orland Park, IL 60467. 478-5102 or 

wendy@nawsus.org to meet her. 

Connecting with adoctor who just gets your kid doesn’t need to be like finding aneedle in ahaystack. 

At Franciscan Physician Network, we believe that communication –both during and after your visit –iskey to 

cultivating great doctor-patient relationships. This is why we offer services like MyChart –aneasy-to-use site that 

provides a24-7 online connection to your family’s medical information while helping keep you and your loved 

ones on the path to good health. Visit us online and get to know the doctors of Franciscan Physician Network. 

Find your doctor: FranciscanDocs.org 

Chicago Heights | Frankfort | Homewood | Matteson | Olympia Fields | Park Forest

mokenamessenger.com mokena 


SOUTHHOLLAND HOMEWOOD TINLEY PARK FRANKFORT CRETE DYER BEECHER 

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Mokena School District 159 

Truth in Taxation Notice of Proposed Levy 

Notice of Proposed Property Tax Increase 

For Mokena School District 159 

I. Apublic hearing to approve aproposed property tax levy increase 

for Mokena School District 159 will be held on Wednesday, 

December 20, 2017 at 7:00 PM at Mokena Elementary School, 

11244 Willowcrest Lane, Mokena, Illinois. Any person desiring to 

appear at the public hearing and present testimony to the taxing district 

may contact Dr. Teri Shaw, Chief School Business Official, 

11244 Willowcrest Lane, Mokena, Illinois, at (708) 342-4900. 

II. The corporate and special purpose property taxes extended or 

abated for 2016 were $13,908,865.77. The proposed corporate and 

special purpose property taxes to be levied for 2017 are 

$14,588,612.00. This represents a4.89% increase over the previous 

year. 

III. The property taxes extended for debt service and public building 

commission leases for 2016 were $2,250,598.66. The estimated 

property taxes to be levied for debt service and public building commission 

leases for 2017 are $2,152,950. This represents a-4.34% decrease 

over the previous year. 

IV. The total property taxes extended or abated for 2016 were 

$16,159,464.43. The estimated total property taxes to be levied for 

2017 are $16,741,562.00. This represents a3.60% increase over the 

previous year. 

Attention Builders: 

Advertise with 

22nd Century Media 

Reach 92,000+ Southwest Suburban homes. 

® 

Contact 

Lora Healy 

708.326.9170 ext. 31 

l.healy@22ndcenturymedia.com 

Visit us online at 

www.Mokenamessenger.com 

Police Reports 

Police: DUI leads cops to pot, shrooms, pills 

Brian S. Strzelecki, 34, of 

114 Edison Road in Joliet, 

was charged Nov. 3 with 

DUI-alcohol, DUI-BAC 

over .08, failure to reduce 

speed to avoid an accident, 

possession of cannabis 10 

grams or less, possession of 

a controlled substance and 

causing an accident with 

property damage. 

An officer was dispatched 

to the intersection of South 

LaGrange Road and Interstate 

80 eastbound ramp to 

assist Illinois State Police 

on a report of an accident 

and potential DUI. According 

to police reports, the 

officer arrived to find three 

vehicles parked on the interstate 

ramp. After checking 

to make sure everyone 

was safe and did not need 

medical attention, the officer 

was informed that state police 

were unable to give an 

estimated time of arrival, so 

the officer began the investigation. 

The officer allegedly 

approached Strzelecki 

and smelled alcohol coming 

from his breath. The officer 

then issued three field sobriety 

tests to Strzelecki, all of 

which he reportedly failed. 

After placing him under arrest, 

the officer reportedly 

conducted an inventory of 

Strzelecki’s vehicle, where 

the officer allegedly found a 

mason jar containing psilocybin 

mushrooms and cannabis. 

A further search of the 

vehicle reportedly resulted 

in the discover of two Clonazapam 

pills. 

Strzelecki later was found 

to have a BAC of .09, according 

to the report. 

...to place your 

Classified Ad! 

Nov. 6 

•Guillermo Gallegos Rodriguez, 

27, of 20 Emery St. in 

Joliet, was charged with operation 

of an uninsured motor 

vehicle, no valid driver’s 

license and illegal use of a 

cell phone while driving. 

According to the report, 

an officer was on patrol in 

the 10600 block of Willow 

Avenue when the officer 

observed Rodriguez go 

through the intersection of 

Willow Avenue and Scarth 

Lane while talking on his 

cell phone. The officer reported 

initiated a traffic stop, 

and Rodriguez was allegedly 

unable to produce a driver’s 

license or proof of insurance. 

He was then placed 

under arrest. 

Nov. 18 

•Tomas R. Torres IV, 45, of 

13303 Callan Drive in Orland 

Park, was charged with 

having no valid driver’s license 

and having an expired 

registration. 

According to police reports, 

an officer on patrol in the 

area of South LaGrange 

Road and Interstate 80 spotted 

Torres’ vehicle with the 

expired registration. After 

initiating a traffic stop, it 

was reportedly discovered 

that Torres’ driver’s license 

had been expired since 2014. 

Torres was then placed under 

arrest. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Mokena 

Messenger’s police reports 

come from the Mokena Police 

Department. Anyone listed in 

these reports is considered to 

be innocent of all charges until 

proven guilty in a court of law. 

Call 708.326.9170



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FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE 

New time, activities draw 

big crowds to Holiday 

Festival 

It is a beautiful sight every 

night in Orland Park, 

as residents now can walk 

through their very own winter 

wonderland this holiday 

season. 

The Village of Orland 

Park’s annual Holiday Festival 

and Tree Lighting Ceremony 

has become an annual 

highlight of the holidays for 

residents of the south suburbs 

and beyond. While still 

honoring the traditions attendees 

love, the 2017 festivities 

— which took place 

Nov. 26 at the Civic Center 

— featured several new elements, 

attractions and activities, 

as well as a new start 

time of 4:30 p.m. 

Doreen Biela, special 

events manager for the Village, 

explained that Village 

officials and staff wanted to 

create a “Winter Wonderland” 

feel to this year’s celebration 

as a way to keep the 

classic event fresh, fun and 

festive. 

“We came up with this 

Winter Wonderland theme 

thinking of residents enjoying 

the grounds,” she said. 

“We’re also focusing on 

local entertainment, so we 

have area high school and junior 

high choirs strolling the 

grounds performing. And, 

we have a variety of dance 

groups — including our junior 

and senior dance groups 

— performing inside.” 

As with previous years, 

the Tree Lighting Ceremony 

was truly the centerpiece of 

the event, and the Sandburg 

High School Chamber Singers 

helped kick things off 

with a few carols. 

“It sounds kind of corny, 

but I love spreading holiday 

cheer,” sophomore singer 

Maria Bailey said before the 

performance. “We get all 

decked out in these outfits, 

and every time we sing we 

get to see people smile.” 

Reporting by Laurie Fanelli, 

Freelance Reporter. For more, 

visit OPPrairie.com. 

FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND 

Girl Scout troop helps 

promote literacy at food 

pantry 

Dr. Seuss once said, “The 

more that you read, the more 

things you will know. The 

more that you learn, the 

more places you’ll go.” 

Three Lockport Township 

High School students 

in Girls Scout Troop 70109 

are helping spread the joy of 

reading after putting a twoshelf 

bookcase, called The 

Share Shelf, in the Lockport 

FISH Food Pantry Nov. 24 

as part of a community service 

project to earn their Silver 

Awards. 

The Share Shelf came 

about when sophomores 

Alyssa Woodworth and Tori 

Cluff, along with junior Sabrina 

Plebanek had a meeting 

one day to brainstorm 

an idea for their service 

project. 

“They were just looking 

at something that hasn’t 

been done in the area, and a 

lot of troops have done food 

pantry food donations, and 

they were thinking, ‘Well, 

we want to help those that 

are less fortunate, but how 

can we do it that’s not the 

typical food donation,’” said 

Krista Woodworth, leader of 

Girls Scout Troop 70109 and 

Alyssa’s mother. 

Krista said there is not 

anything in the area that 

is specifically for children 

younger than the age of 5 

outside of the library. 

The troop picked the location 

of the food pantry, 

because it already is serving 

low-income families. The 

girls wanted it to be a onestop 

shop to give books to 

children who might not otherwise 

have them. 

“It’s like feed the brain 

and get the nutrition in their 

tummies all at the same 

time,” Krista said. 

Reporting by Jacquelyn Schlabach, 

Assistant Editor. For 

more, visit LockportLegend. 

com. 

FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT 

Dunkin’ Donuts owner 

recognized for donation 

The New Lenox Board 

of Trustees recognized 

Amin Panjwani, owner of 

the Dunkin’ Donuts located 

off Laraway Road, for his 

$5,000 donation to the Mayor’s 

Assistance Program at 

its Nov. 27 regular meeting. 

The effort, spearheaded 

by Mayor Tim Baldermann 

and his wife, Megan, was 

announced this past summer 

to help residents in need of 

some financial assistance. 

Baldermann donated to 

MAP his mayoral salary for 

the remainder of his term, 

which runs through May of 

2019. 

Around that time, he received 

a phone call from an 

area business owner that expressed 

interest in making a 

contribution. 

“The Panjwani family 

has always been very good 

to New Lenox as long as 

they’ve been here,” Baldermann 

said. “Giving to local 

organizations, allowing them 

to come out front and raise 

extra money, giving to the 

schools — they truly believe 

in community partnership. 

I’ve had an opportunity to 

get to know them personally, 

and I know in their personal 

life, outside of their business 

life, what’s most important 

to them is giving back and 

being part of a community.” 

Panjwani took time to 

thank the mayor, the Village 

and the community. 

“All we could do is follow 

the example that [Baldermann 

has] given us to give 

back to the community,” he 

said. “Our business does not 

thrive in this community 

without the community, so if 

all we can do is lend a helping 

hand; that’s the least we 

can do.” 

Reporting by Megann Horstead, 

Freelance Reporter. For 

more, visit NewLenoxPatriot. 

com. 

FROM THE HOMER HORIZON 

Homer Glen mom organizes 

donation to give 500 teddy 

bears to children in hospital 

It is not unusual for children 

to ask for a pony, Hot 

Wheels or the latest Play- 

Station game for Christmas. 

But for patients at Advocate 

Children’s Hospital in 

Oak Lawn, their wish is to 

enjoy the normalcy of being 

a child, as some have the 

unfortunate circumstances 

of spending the holidays 

there. 

Project Little Red Wagon, 

an initiative started by 

Homer Glen resident Laurie 

Cepkauskas in 2016, is aiming 

to provide all children 

who have open-heart surgery 

at Advocate Children’s 

Hospital during the holiday 

season with a teddy bear. 

Bummer Bears has partnered 

with the hospital and 

Project Little Red Wagon to 

give the mended-heart bear 

— which has a zipper on its 

chest with a red felt heart, 

mended with white thread 

stitches — to 500 children. 

The bear, originally at a cost 

of $46, is being sold for $29 

and will be donated in honor 

of Cepkauskas’ 18-monthold 

daughter, Emily, who 

received two open-heart 

surgeries in 2016. 

The bears will be delivered 

the week before Christmas, 

either to children preparing 

for surgery or those 

getting discharged from the 

hospital. The patients leaving 

get packed up in a little 

red wagon and are joyfully 

escorted outside. 

“I started Project Little 

Red Wagon as a way to just 

bring smiles to the faces 

of the kids as they wait for 

their ride on the little red 

wagon out the door,” Cepkauskas 

said. 

To donate, visit www. 

facebook.com/emilysheart1 

and click on the Bummer 

Bears link or visit www. 

bummerbears.com/products/mended-heart-beardonation. 

Reporting by Jacquelyn Schlabach, 

Assistant Editor. For 

more, visit HomerHorizon.com. 

FROM THE FRANKFORT STATION 

East girls basketball falls to 

Montini Catholic in battle of 

unbeatens 

The Griffins are not going 

to back down from playing 

anyone. 

That certainly included 

last week’s opponent: Montini 

Catholic. Coming into 

this season, the Broncos 

have won 13 straight sectional 

titles and captured 

eight Class 4A state trophies 

during that span. While in 

Class 3A, Montini won four 

state titles, including three 

in a row between 2010 and 

2012. 

The Broncos left their 

first-ever meeting with Lincoln-Way 

East Nov. 28 by 

adding to that resume with a 

63-28 victory over the Griffins 

in a battle of undefeated 

teams. 

It was the 500th victory 

for Montini coach Jason 

Nichols, who did not know 

that fact until he was told 

by his athletic director, 

Tom Lentine, on the bus 

ride home following the 

game. That total included 

68 wins at Trinity between 

2000 and 2003 and now 432 

since November 2003 at 

Montini. 

Nichols undoubtedly will 

add to his total this season. 

He has another outstanding 

team, and the Broncos’ 

size showed in dominating 

performances by senior post 

players Lindsey Jarosinski 

(20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 

blocks), who is a 6-foot- 

5 inch center, and Aaliyah 

Patty (16 points, 10 rebounds, 

6 blocks), who is 

a 6-foot-3 forward. Senior 

guard Iysse Pitts (16 points) 

also contributed for Montini 

(7-0). 

Lauren Hunter had 13 

points and grabbed 11 rebounds 

for East (5-1). But 

the senior forward did not 

get much scoring help. Junior 

guard Katchie Savic 

scored all six of her points 

in the first half, while senior 

guard Carolyn Waleski 

scored four second half 

points for the Griffins. 

Reporting by Randy Whalen, 


visit FrankfortStation.com. 

FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION 

Still no action from D230 

School Board on cheer coach 

or AD 

The fates of both a Stagg 

High School coach and its 

athletic director still were 

up in the air Thursday, Nov. 

30, as no action on the matter 

was taken by the Consolidated 

High School District 

230 Board of Education 

during its regular meeting. 

Stagg cheerleading 

coach Bridget Guzior has 

been suspended pending 

investigation after allegedly 

sending an inappropriate 

text message to one 

of her cheerleaders, which 

violated school policy. Administration 

recommended 

her dismissal to the School 

Board, but action has been 

delayed on it after Guzior 

submitted a complaint to 

the Illinois Department of 

Human Resources accusing 

Stagg athletic director Terry 

Treasure of sexual harassment. 

At the October board 

meeting, Board President 

Rick Nogal said these allegations 

were under separate 

investigation. 

While no action was taken 

on either matter at the 

Nov. 30 meeting, people 

spoke about it during public 

comment. 

Please see nfyn, 17

mokenamessenger.com sound off 


Social snapshot 

Top Web Stories 

From MokenaMessenger.com as of 

Monday, Dec. 4. 

1. Once more around the block: LW East 

football champions get special parade 

after title win 

2. Griffins rebound after sluggish start, win 

opener 

3. Modern Hitchcock with a flair of the 

absurd: Curtain Call Theatre set to debut 

‘39 Steps’ 

4. 10 Questions with John Christensen, 

Lincoln-Way East football 

5. Local woman helps collect supplies for 

children in Venezuela 

Become a member: mokenamessenger.com/plus 

“2nd Christmas tree in the new home.” 

Rick Lentz posted this to his Facebook 

page Nov. 24. 

Like The Mokena Messenger: facebook.com/ 


“LW EAST State Champs oh yeah!!! 

#Mokena pride” 

@SouthSideCZ posted this to his Twitter 

account Nov. 25. 

Follow The Mokena Messenger: @mokenamessenger 

from the assistant editor 

Amanda Stoll 


Food is always on our 

minds here at 22nd 

Century Media, especially 

when it comes time for 

one of us to write the next 

Dish article. 

You’ve most likely seen 

the weekly feature in our 

papers before; The Dish 

features a different eatery 

in the area every week with 

mouth-watering photos sure 

to make you hungry — even 

if you just ate lunch. 

With papers in Orland 

Park, Tinley Park, Mokena, 

New Lenox, Frankfort, 

Homer Glen and Lockport, 

it seems like we would never 

run out of options for content, 

but, alas, we do. 

So, I’m going to give you 

a little peek into our newsroom 

— the inside scoop, if 

you will. 

And now I’m thinking 

about ice cream ... 

Anyway, back to The 

nfyn 

From Page 16 

Calling all foodies 

“The athletic director of 

Stagg High School was accused 

of improper conduct,” 

said Michael Orloff, a parent 

of a Stagg cheerleader. 

“Another female employee, 

who is head coach for the 

co-ed cheer at Stagg, was 

accused of far less serious 

allegations and was 

removed pending investigation. 

Now, we’re hearing 

that a third person has come 

forward about this conduct. 

Yet, the board still has taken 

no action. 

“Why is [Treasure] not 

suspended pending investigation?” 

Nogal responded after 

Orloff’s comments by saying 

only one complaint has 

Dish. Every week, a different 

member of our editorial 

team is assigned to visit an 

establishment within our 

readership area, write an 

article about it and take some 

tantalizing foodie photos of 

the menu items. 

The article and accompanying 

photos are then 

featured in all seven of our 

weekly papers because, let’s 

be honest, who only eats 

out within the boundaries of 

their hometown? 

From the newsroom side 

of things, it is sometimes 

difficult to get businesses 

on board with the feature, 

which is a great opportunity 

for them to get the word out 

about their menu offerings. 

Now, this isn’t paid content, 

as many people think, 

and it’s not about getting free 

advertising either. It is an editorial 

piece and therefore has 

a newsworthy aspect to it. 

It’s also not a review, and 

we don’t give our opinions 

on the food. It is simply an 

article featuring the history 

of the establishment, the 

owner, the staff or any other 

number of interesting aspects 

of the business — and, of 

course, the dishes along with 

their prices. 

Basically, we let the food 

descriptions, prices and photos 

speak for themselves. 

The Dish is a great opportunity 

for us to feature 

locally owned places, and 

many times we will scope 

out a place that has opened 

recently, has an upcoming 

special event or has revamped 

their menu. 

Sometimes we will feature 

a restaurant we have written 

about in the past, but maybe 

it has been a while. It gives 

us the opportunity to check 

in and see how businesses 

are doing after a few years 

or feature them when a big 

anniversary comes around. 

So, what I’m really getting 

at is that I want some ideas 

from you. I certainly could 

never visit every restaurant 

in our circulation area on 

my own. But, collectively 

someone out there knows the 

hole-in-the-wall places with 

the best nachos in the whole 

world, pizza that you can’t 

refuse another slice of, or the 

kind of homemade ice cream 

that you can write home 

about. 

Seriously though, I must 

have ice cream on the brain 

right now. 

Do you know of any 

special holiday events going 

on at an area establishment? 

Has there been a big change 

in the menu or ownership of 

a local favorite? 

Maybe you have a favorite 

restaurant you’d like to see 

featured in our papers, or 

been brought to the board’s 

attention. 

“We’re not aware of any 

other complaints,” he said. 

“Only one complaint has 

been brought before the 

board, but it is currently under 

consideration and investigation.” 

Reporting by Jon DePaolis, 


visit TinleyJunction.com. 

maybe you’re a restaurant 

owner who has something 

special to offer for the 

weekly feature. Either way, 

we’d love to hear your ideas 

for The Dish. 

Email your ideas to me at 


com or to Editor T.J. Kremer 

III at tj@mokenames 

senger.com. 

Sound Off Policy 

Editorials and columns are the 

opinions of the author. Pieces 

from 22nd Century Media are 

the thoughts of the company 

as a whole. The Mokena Messenger 

encourages readers to write 

letters to Sound Off. All letters 

must be signed, and names and 

hometowns will be published. 

We also ask that writers include 

their address and phone number 

for verification, not publication. 

Letters should be limited to 400 

words. The Mokena Messenger 

reserves the right to edit letters. 

Letters become property of The 

Mokena Messenger. Letters that 

are published do not reflect the 

thoughts and views of The Mokena 

Messenger. Letters can be mailed 

to: The Mokena Messenger, 11516 

West 183rd Street, Unit SW 

Office Condo #3, Orland Park, 

Illinois, 60467. Fax letters to 

(708) 326-9179 or e-mail to tj@ 

mokenamessenger.com. 

www.mokenamessenger.com. 

Attention Realtors 

Looking to Advertise? 

REACH MORE THAN 96,000 

HOMES & BUSINESSES EACH WEEK! 

See the Classified Section for 

more info, or Call 708.326.9170 

www.22ndcenturymedia.com



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the mokena messenger | December 7, 2017 | mokenamessenger.com 

‘Beyond the 

Nutcracker’ Ballet 5:8 

set to debut show, Page 23 

Food that’s on track 

All Aboard’s train theme keeps meals 

fun, family-friendly, Page 27 

Madrigal choir tunes 

up at library show, 

Page 22 

Lincoln-Way Central Madrigal 

choir performs Nov. 29 at the 

Mokena Community Public Library 

District in advance of annual 

Madrigal Dinners. 

T.J. Kremer III/22nd Century Media

20 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger faith 


Faith Briefs 

St. John’s United Church of Christ (11100 

Second St., Mokena) 

Handmaid of the Lord 

7-8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10. 

Join St. John’s for a performance 

by the Acacia Theater 

Company, an independent, 

nonprofit, interdenominational, 

Christian theater company. 

The show recounts the 

life of Jesus through the eyes 

of his mother, Mary. There is 

no cost to attend. 

Christmas Program 

9:45 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 17. 

The children from St. John’s 

UCC will present the Christmas 

program titled “Back to 

the manger: a caroling adventure 

through time.” The show, 

created by Christy and Daniel 

Semsen, is a children’s musical 

that teaches youth how to 

help others and discover the 

true meaning of Christmas. 

Traditional Service 

8 a.m. traditional mass, 

9:45 a.m. contemporary & 

traditional music. Supervised 

childcare available. 

For more information, call 

(708) 479-5123. 

Mokena United Methodist Church (10901 

LaPorte Road, Mokena) 

Service and Sunday School 

10:15 a.m. Sundays. Church 

service and children’s Sunday 

School. For more information, 

call (708) 479-1110. 

Bible Study 

7 p.m. Mondays. Call 

(708) 479-1110 for more information. 

Marley Community Church (12625 W. 

187th St., Mokena) 

Church Service 

10 a.m. Sundays. Childcare 

is provided 

FUNERAL SERVICES DIRECTORY 

Kim O’Neil Golob 

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Kelly Furlong Foresman, Secretary 

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©2006 Copyrighted Material 

Sunday School 

9-10 a.m. 

ADVERTISE 

YOUR 

FUNERAL 

SERVICES. 

Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church 

(10731 W. La Porte Road, Mokena) 

Contemporary Worship 

5 p.m. Saturday 

Worship 

9 a.m. Sunday 

Mokena Baptist Church (9960 W. 187th 

St., Mokena) 

Sunday Services 

11 a.m. and 5 p.m. For 

more information, call (312) 

350-2279. 

Contact Jessica Nemec 

@708.326.9170 ex.46 


Sunday School 

10:15 a.m. Sundays. Mokena 

Baptist offers Sunday 

School classes for all ages. 

For more information, call 

(312) 350-2279. 

St. Mary’s Catholic Church (19515 115th 

Ave., Mokena) 

Church Service 

5 p.m. Saturdays; 8 a.m, 

9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6: 

p.m. Sundays 

Adoration 

Wednesdays following 8:00 

a.m. Mass until 6:45 p.m. 

Holy Rosary 

7:30 a.m. daily; 7 p.m. 

Tuesday evenings 

In Memoriam 

Doris M. Sangmeister 

Doris M. (Hinspeter) 

Sangmeister, 89, of Mokena 

died Nov. 26. 

Sangmeister was the wife 

of the late Congressman 

George E. Sangmeister. She 

is survived by her children 

Kurt (Gina) Sangmeister and 

Kim (Chris) Puckett; grandchildren 

Jordan Sangmeister, 

Cole Puckett, Keegan 

Puckett and Kenzie Puckett. 

Sangmeister was preceded 

in death by her parents Eugene 

and Anna Hinspeter; 

her brother Don Hinspeter 

and sister-in-law Mary Lou 

Hinspeter; and nephews 

Paul Hinspeter and Ronald 

Hinspeter. 

In lieu of flowers, donations 

could be sent in Sangmeister’s 

name to Silver 

Cross Hospital Foundation 

or to St. John’s United 

Church of Christ in Mokena. 

Parker Road Bible Church (18512 Parker 

Road, Mokena) 

Worship Service 

10:30 a.m. Sundays. Be 

sure to arrive early for our 

Sunday Worship Service to 

enjoy a hot, complimentary 

cup of coffee every week at 

the church. Following the 

Christian Education Hour 

(9:15 - 10:15 a.m.), all beverages 

can be found just outside 

the sanctuary. 

Grace Fellowship Church (11049 LaPorte 

Road, Mokena) 

Narcotics Anonymous 

7-9 p.m. Mondays. All those 

struggling or who have struggled 

with a narcotics addiction 

are welcome. Meetings are 

confidential. For more information, 

call (708) 479-0300. 

Spanish Church 

12:30 p.m. every Sunday 

Worship Service 

10 a.m. every Sunday. All 

are welcome. 

Women’s Bible Study 

8:45-9:45 a.m. Sundays 

and 2-3 p.m. Tuesdays. 

Have something for Faith 

Briefs? Contact Assistant 

Editor Amanda Stoll at 

a.stoll@22ndcentury 

media.com or call (708) 326- 

9170 ext. 34. Deadline is noon 

Thursday one week prior to 

publication. 

Bert H. Lindstrom 

Jr. 

Bert H. Lindstrom 

Jr., 76, of Kankakee 

died Nov. 17. 

He is survived by his 

wife Barbara Lindstrom of 

Kankakee; son Bert (Diana) 

Lindstrom III of Mokena; 

daughter Krista (Jim) Dennis 

of Gilbert, Arizona; brother 

Gary (Shar) Lindstrom of 

Morris; granddaughter Katie 

Dennis; and grandson Steven 

Dennis. He is preceded 

in death by his parents. 

Lindstrom was a veteran 

of the United States Army. 

Do you have someone’s life 

you’d like to honor? Email 

Editor T.J. Kremer III at tj@ 

mokenamessenger.com with 

information about a loved one 

who was a part of the Mokena 

community.



22ND CENTURY MEDIA is looking 

for local FREELANCE REPORTERS 

and PHOTOGRAPHERS to cover events, 

meetings and sports in the area. 

Interested individuals should send 

an email with a resume and any clips to 

jobs@22ndcenturymedia.com 

CHICAGO SOUTHWEST 

CHICAGO NORTHSHORE 


MALIBU

22 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger life & arts 


Songs of the season 

LW Central Madrigal 

Choir kicks off 

season with library 

performance 


Normally, singing in the library 

will get you a round of 

annoyed shushes and the evil 

eye from the librarian. 

That was not the case Nov. 

29 at the Mokena Community 

Public Library District, 

where the Lincoln-Way Central 

Madrigal Choir put on a 

special public performance. 

The choir sang a set of holiday 

favorites and traditional 

1500s renaissance music to a 

standing room only crowd. 

Dressed in costumes typical 

of the era, the students 

donned their best velvet, 

lace and silk garments, giving 

the illusion that people 

were watching a performance 

meant for a royal court. 

The Madrigal Choir, who 

have been performing since 

1970, was tuning up for its 

48th annual Madrigal Dinner, 

which will take place at 

Lincoln-Way High School 

Thursday, Dec. 7-Saturday, 

Dec. 9. All shows at scheduled 

to begin at 6 p.m.; however, 

as of press time, only 

the Dec. 7 show has tickets 

remaining. 

“It’s kind of a cross between 

Medieval Times and a 

renaissance fair,” Mike Bultman, 

madrigal director, said 

of the dinners. “We have a 

cast of actors — including a 

king and a queen and a court 

jester — and they perform 

from a script that they’ve 

been provided, like a play. 

And the kids, of course, sing 

their music as part of the production. 

So, it’s a combination 

of theater, music concert 

and dinner.” 

The dinners give the students 

an opportunity to be a 

part of a tradition that they 

may not find at any other point 

in their lives, Bultman said. 

“It’s kind of a one-of-a-kind 

thing. The kids can sing in a 

choir in college and even after, 

but they probably won’t get a 

chance to do a madrigal dinner 

like we do it. It’s not done 

very often past high school. 

“I enjoy sharing that with 

them, and they’re very proud 

of the tradition. A lot of them 

know people who have been 

in it — some of their parents 

have even been in it. Every 

year I get older, but the kids 

change, and we get to train 

a new batch and watch them 

grow and run with this thing 

that we’ve been doing for so 

long.” 

Gillian Genardo, a senior 

at LW Central and Mokena 

resident, said she enjoys the 

mix of music that the group 

performs, but the real pleasure 

comes from bringing 

holiday cheer to those in attendance. 

“I really love all the songs 

we sing, but I love singing 

‘Silent Night’ because 

HIRE LOCALLY 

Reach over 83% of prospective 

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Members of the Lincoln-Way Central Madrigal Choir perform Nov. 29 for an audience at Mokena Community Public Library 

District. The group is scheduled to host its 48th annual set of Madrigal dinners Thursday, Dec. 7-Saturday, Dec. 9 at the 

high school. All shows start at 6 p.m. Photos by T.J. Kremer III/22nd Century Media 

it’s a traditional [song] that 

everyone sings,” Genardo, 

whose birthday it was Nov. 

29, said. “And we add some 

harmonies in there that a lot 

of people just like to sit and 

listen to it. 

“Especially around the 

holidays, I just like to perform 

for people, spread the 

Christmas joy, you know. It’s 

just a lot of fun and I just like 

to make people happy, and I 

think with these songs we do 

that.” 

Danny Lewis, a junior 

from New Lenox, summed 

it up by saying the best part 

of being a madrigal singer for 

him is: “Getting to see all the 

smiling faces on the people 

when we’re done.” 

Madrigal Choir singers dress up in 1500s renaissance era costumes to represent what the 

performers would have looked like while they performed for royal courts. 

RELOCATING JAN. 1 ST 2018 TO 

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& INFORMATION 

708-326-9170 


mokenamessenger.com life & arts 


‘Beyond the Nutcracker’ re-imagines show 

Ballet 5:8 to perform 

original take on 

classic show 

Amanda Stoll, Assistant Editor 

It’s the time of year when 

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 

timeless music will set the 

stage for “The Nutcracker” 

ballet across the country, including 

one stage very close 

to home, but it will not be 

the same story and characters 

most people are familiar 

with. 

For the third year, Ballet 

5:8, a Frankfort-based professional 

ballet company and 

school of the arts, will put on 

their production of “Beyond 

the Nutcracker,” a story of 

young Emma’s Christmas 

vision where she will meet 

the characters from the very 

first Christmas. 

“This show just gives a 

really good, positive message 

about the real story 

of Christmas,” said Catherine 

Lobash, a conservatory 

dancer from Mokena who 

has been studying dance for 

eight years. 

Her roles in “Beyond the 

Nutcracker” are as members 

of both the snow angel corps 

and the Spanish corps, with 

both dancing in large, group 

numbers on stage. 

In addition to stamina, 

Ensemble Director Laura 

Schlatter said “corps dancing 

includes a lot of precision 

and staying together. 

It’s a large group of girls 

that have to stay precisely on 

the same counts... to really 

showcase the music well.” 

Instead of the traditional 

Victorian-era setting, “Beyond 

the Nutcracker” is set 

during World War II, and 

revolves around the Cooper 

family and their daughter 

Emma. 

“I just love [Slager’s] approach 

to this production 

with it being set during 

Mokena resident Catherine Lobash (second from right) performs with other members of Ballet 5:8. The group is scheduled 

to perform “Beyond the Nutcracker” Dec. 16-17 at Lincoln-Way West High School. Lana Kozol/Ballet 5:8 

World War II,” Schlatter 

said. “I think it adds an extra 

depth to the performance 

and helps it to stand out from 

other ‘Nutcrackers’ that you 

might be able to see in the 

Chicago area.” 

Beside the setting and storyline, 

the main character’s 

overall experience through 

the show takes a turn in “Beyond 

the Nutcracker.” 

“She goes on this really 

life-changing journey 

throughout the show,” Artistic 

Director Julianna Slager 

said, “and in your traditional 

Nutcracker, Clara has a 

dream and she has this beautiful 

Christmas vision, but at 

the end of the day she kind 

of is essentially very similar 

to who she was the day 

before when she wakes up 

from it.” 

“...Whereas, in ours, 

Emma goes on a dream 

where she changes dramatically, 

and she comes to learn 

what the true meaning of 

Christmas is.” 

Ballet 5:8 was founded 

in 2012 by Slager and Amy 

Sanderson as a professional 

ballet touring company, 

which has expanded and 

many of the professional 

dancers teach students in 

5:8’s school of the arts. 

The “5:8” part of the 

nonprofit company’s name 

comes from Romans 5:8, 

which reads “But God demonstrates 

his own love for us 

in this: While we were still 

sinners, Christ died for us.” 

“And that verse is really 

the starting point for all the 

work that we do,” Slager 

said. “Our mission is to 

spark discussions of life and 

faith and so our goal is to 

kind of bring discussion to 

the table and camaraderie 

and compassion between 

people of different thoughts 

and different walks of life.” 

Slager, who has been 

studying ballet since the age 

of five, said “The Nutcracker” 

was one of her favorite 

ballets to perform in as a 

child, and it inspired her to 

experiment with the show 

and the story to give it new 

meaning. 

After writing the story 

herself and through collaboration 

with other staff members 

on costumes, choreography 

and set design, the 

production of “Beyond the 

Nutcracker” came to life on 

stage in 2015. 

“It has been really neat to 

see how the production has 

grown both in production 

value and also in the maturity 

and the ability of or student 

body,” Slager said. “...That’s 

something I love about the art 

form is that you can constantly 

be rechanging and remaking 

and tweaking the ballets 

so every year they get a little 

bigger, a little better [and] 

a little more exciting even 

though the heart of the message 

is the same each year.” 

Students as young as 2 

years old train at the school; 

however, it will be those 

between 5 years old and 

college-age students performing 

on stage this season. 

There will also be community 

cast members including 

parents and local community-theater 

actors joining 

the dancers on stage for the 

party scene. 

Several of the students on 

stage will have performed 

in the last two productions 

of the show, some of whom 

have been with Ballet 5:8 

since its inception. 

“There’s quite a few of the 

kids that have grown up in 

the school that have been in 

the ballet each year and have 

the joy of kind of getting 

new roles every year,”Slager 

said, “and they get really 

excited about seeing that 

growth as they mature from 

level to level.” 

Students from Mokena 

include, Studio Company 

Member Catherine Lobash 

and children’s case members 

Cosabella Chikerotis, 

Gianna Chikerotis, Julia Mc- 

Carty, Genevieve McCarty, 

Layla Jacobs, Veda Simmons 

and Elle Taylor. 

“I really enjoy just the 

teamwork everybody shows 

around. It’s really inspiring 

dance in a place like this,” 

said Lobash, who said she 

practices 20 or more hours a 

week in addition to her tenth 

grade school work. 

Slager, who danced professionally 

and has done extensive 

work on her own in 

choreography and directing 

before cofounding Ballet 5:8, 

said the show provides students 

with an opportunity to 

learn and perform on stage in 

a challenging and professional 

environment, complete 

with professional choreography 

and costumes, as well 

as other aspects she said they 

enjoy — like the music itself. 

“The Tchaikovsky score is 

so beautiful to dance to,” she 

said. “It makes you feel very 

connected with hundreds of 

years of dance and so many 

people that have danced to 

the music. 

“... We have just beautiful 

choreography that’s very 

musical and challenging 

for them, but at the same 

time very rewarding. When 

you’re dancing on stage with 

a group doing a challenging 

piece and you hit it it’s just 

very exhilarating.” 

“Beyond the Nutcracker” 

will be performed the weekend 

of Dec. 16-17 at Lincoln-Way 

West High School 

in New Lenox. There will be 

performances at 2 p.m. and 7 

p.m. Dec. 16 and a matinee 

performance at 3 p.m. Dec. 

17. 

Tickets are $18 for adults 

and $10 for children 12 years 

and younger. To purchase 

tickets, visit www.ballet58. 

org/performance-calendar. 

“I hope [the audience] will 

really enjoy just the message 

we’re giving them and, of 

course, our dancing. I hope 

they enjoy that, too,” Lobash 

said.



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26 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger life & arts 


Inaugural Christmas Craft Fair 

offers variety of vendors, crafts 

Matt’s Old Mokena 

Mokena abolitionist 

Megann Horstead 


Handmade crafts, raffle 

prize drawings, and visits 

and photos with Santa and 

Mrs. Claus were just some 

of the activities that drew 

people to St. John’s United 

Church of Christ’s inaugural 

Christmas Craft Fair 

Saturday, Dec. 2. 

With free entry, the event 

was designed to encourage 

people to get into the spirit 

of the holiday season. 

“It seems very festive 

around here,” said Karalyn 

Schroeder, a member 

of St. John’s and one of the 

event’s organizers. “It’s fun. 

It’s a good time of year for 

this kind of thing.” 

The event’s organizers 

put out advertisements 

through Facebook, buy/sell 

trade groups and moms’ 

groups to attract potential 

vendors. 

“We wanted a good variety,” 

Schroeder said. “We 

were really looking for a lot 

of homemade things, too.” 

From knit hats and cookie 

dough to home décor 

furnishings and original 

greeting cards, there was a 

plethora of holiday items on 

display. 

“[I was] hoping I’d find 

some gifts,” said Linda 

Zima, of Mokena. 

Zima perused the various 

booths and decided to 

purchase some peppermint 

soap and a lavender vanilla 

hand scrub. 

“These may be presents,” 

she said. 

Zima said the fact that 

proceeds generated during 

the craft fair will benefit the 

church’s preschool makes 

attending the event all the 

more meaningful to her. 

“It’s really nice to know 

they’re supporting the preschoolers, 

“ she said. “Both 

Kristin Macdonald (left) and Andrea Lacny survey home 

decor furnishings Saturday, Dec. 2 at St. John’s United 

Church of Christ’s first Christmas Craft Fair. Megann 

Horstead/22nd Century Media 

of my kids went there.” 

Proceeds generated during 

the Christmas Craft Fair 

are meant to help support 

the Mokena church’s preschool. 

“We are working on 

some improvements to our 

preschool program in our 

building facilities, and this 

fundraiser is to help us 

mulch the playground outside,” 

Schroeder said. 

St. John’s goal was to 

raise between $3,000 and 

$4,000. 

If the church can generate 

additional funds, the preschool 

is in need of supplies 

for classrooms, tables and 

chairs, and new flooring. 

Bonnie Carroll, another 

member of St. John’s, 

greeted patrons as they approached 

her booth full of 

original greeting cards. 

“I’ve heard people make 

comments on the designs,” 

she said. “They’re really enjoying 

it.” 

Carroll organizes a group 

at the Mokena church called 

Cards for a Cause by which 

people create original greeting 

cards in an effort to help 

support a cause. 

“I enjoy it,” she said. “I’ve 

just always been kind of artsy, 

and I got introduced to 

card making probably about 

seven, eight years ago. 

Once I retired, that was it. It 

was like, ‘OK, I’m going to 

do something with this, and 

I want to do something to 

serve the Lord.’ I’m loving 

every minute of it.” 

Children also had their 

share of fun at the Christmas 

Craft Fair, with a station 

set up for kids’ crafts, 

as well as visits and photos 

with Santa and Mrs. Claus. 

The event brought in a 

number of different vendors 

with a selection of different 

crafts. 

“We had to cut it off at 

24 vendors this year to see 

how it goes, and we’re going 

to see if we can squeeze 

in some more next year, but 

we had a lot of interest and 

we got 24 excellent vendors 

this year,” Schroeder said. 

“We’re trying something 

brand new. We’re trying to 

start something a little small 

with dreams to grow bigger 

next year.” 

history revealed 

Matt Galik 

Contributing Columnist 

In the grand scheme of 

the society in which we 

live, our community is 

lucky to be a tolerant and 

peaceful one. However, no 

matter how safe the sanctuary, 

hate still sometimes 

manages to rear its ugly 

head. Occurrences like this 

make one think of times in 

our nation’s history when 

hate was a way of life, 

foremost during the long 

years of slavery. Of the rich 

patchwork that continues 

to define America, in the 

years prior to the Civil War 

the starkest difference was 

defined between the free 

northern states and those 

in the south where slavery 

was the rule. While many 

northerners, and even those 

who lived in Mokena in 

the days before the war, 

were indifferent to the evils 

of slavery and those who 

suffered under it, not all 

were. There were those who 

subscribed to the abolitionist 

movement; Mokenians 

who were dedicated not 

only to destroying slavery 

both before and during the 

Civil War, but also to helping 

their fellow man. 

In the Pantheon of our 

abolitionist past, no man 

shines more brightly than 

Allen Denny, the founder 

of our village. Before he 

completed the first plat of 

Mokena along the Rock 

Island Railroad in 1852, 

Denny was a prairie farmer 

born in New York state in 

1790. At some point after 

his arrival in the Hickory 

Creek region in 1834, 

he became involved in 

abolitionist activity, and 

came to run a station on 

the revered Underground 

Railroad. Spiriting escaped 

slaves through the informal 

network of safehouses 

along their way to ultimate 

freedom in Canada, Denny 

worked in conjunction with 

his aptly named brotherin-law 

Samuel Haven, 

and helped escaped slaves 

escape tyranny in the south 

via his pioneer homestead. 

While slavery did not 

exist in Will County, 

Mokenians of yore were 

still bound to uphold fugitive 

slave laws that stated 

they had to be returned 

to their owners if caught 

fleeing. Early historian 

George Woodruff noted 

that Denny’s activity in the 

Underground Railroad had 

garnered him an indictment 

under these statutes, but 

details as to the result of 

the proceedings are painfully 

scarce. Local farmer 

and War of 1812 veteran 

John Atkins was also an 

adherent of the cause, but 

ever mindful of the legal 

threat, wasn’t quite ready to 

offer his home. The native 

Vermonter was known to 

transport refugee slaves 

between local safehouses, 

secreting them under hay in 

his wagon. 

While Denny and his 

neighbors were active in this 

realm, the Midwest’s foremost 

abolitionist publication, 

the Western Citizen was 

being published in Chicago. 

Denny’s name appeared 

among subscribers as early 

as 1843, and the newspaper 

was proud enough to 

announce his marriage to 

Polly Marshall the following 

year. Like-minded subscribers 

in our neighborhood in 

the same era were Joseph 

Hunter, Alexander Reid and 

Rufus Smith. Much closer 

to home, another paper was 

in circulation that had the 

opposite stance. The Joliet 

Signal shared not a shred of 

abolitionist sentiment, and 

during the Civil War would 

go on to openly vilify President 

Abraham Lincoln. Its 

editors were venomous bullies, 

who in March 1863 saw 

Mokena’s abolitionists as a 

threat and skewered them in 

reportage by claiming they 

were planning an incendiary 

attack upon the paper’s 

editorial office. Needless to 

say, the Signal’s information 

was baseless, and no such 

raid ever occurred. 

With the hindsight of 

more than 150 years, the 

above named Mokenians 

are townfolk to be proud of. 

Denny didn’t use a hammer 

to break the chains 

of slavery, but he and his 

neighbors did so instead 

with their actions. They are 

heroes for all of us, and they 

have made Mokena what it 

is: a community of love and 

sanctuary. 

The thoughts and opinions 

expressed in this 

column are those of the 

author. They do not necessarily 

represent the thoughts 

of 22nd Century Media or 

its staff.

mokenamessenger.com dining out 


The Dish 

Comfort food for the family a staple of All Aboard in Frankfort 

Nuria Mathog 

Contributing Editor 

When it comes to giving 

customers an immersive 

train-themed dining experience, 

All Aboard! Family 

Dining & Amusement goes 

full steam ahead. 

The interior of the Frankfort 

restaurant is decorated 

with railroad tracks and 

signs, a locomotive mural 

and a miniature train 

that slowly chugs its way 

around the dining area. 

Dishes are served on a toy 

train that follows an ovalshaped 

track around the 

dining counter and many 

of the menu items play off 

the theme, with chili and 

chicken tenders listed under 

“First Stop Starters” and a 

variety of hot sandwiches 

categorized as “Switchman 

Specialties.” 

Restaurant owners Teffini 

and Tony Chiuso have 

been in charge since 2014, 

when they purchased the 

LaGrange Road establishment 

previously known as 

Choo Choo Johnny’s. 

“I was in the food service 

industry all my life, from 

bartending to event planning 

and serving,” Teffini 

said. “I lived in Chicago, 

and when I got married I 

moved here, and there really 

wasn’t anyplace for me 

to work. So, we just decided 

to open our own place. 

And this was for sale, and I 

looked at it and I, for some 

reason, fell in love with it.” 

All Aboard offers customers 

what Chiuso describes 

as American-style comfort 

food, dishes inspired by the 

food she most enjoys. 

“Everybody loves a good 

burger,” she said. “Everybody 

loves a wrap. We also 

have quesadillas, tacos — 

we have something for everyone.” 

Two of the restaurant’s 

At All Aboard! Family Dining & Amusement, the Diamond Stack Chicken Melt ($9) includes 

mozzarella cheese, bacon, chipotle ranch dressing, and the diner’s choice of crispy or grilled 

chicken served on grilled white or rye bread. Photos by Nuria Mathog/22nd Century Media 

most popular appetizers are 

the hand-breaded cheese 

sticks ($5.50) — long strips 

of mozzarella cheese paired 

with dipping sauce — and 

the Station Nachos ($7.50), 

a generous portion of chips 

heaped with cheese, jalapeño, 

tomato, black olive, 

sour cream and lettuce, 

topped with the diner’s 

choice of ground beef, steak 

or chicken. 

Signature main dishes 

include the chicken avocado 

wrap ($9), a tortilla 

filled with grilled or crispy 

chicken, avocado, bacon, 

lettuce, tomato and ranch; 

the diamond stack chicken 

melt ($9), which features 

crispy or grilled chicken, 

mozzarella cheese, bacon 

and chipotle ranch dressing, 

served on grilled white 

or rye bread; and the Third 

Shift breakfast burger, a 

third-pound burger with 

cheddar cheese, bacon and 

a fried egg. 

“We make our own everything, 

pretty much — 

All Aboard! Family Dining & Amusement 

20831 S. LaGrange Road in Frankfort 

Hours 

• 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday 

• 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday 

• 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday 

• 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday 

For more information ... 

Web: www.allaboarddining.com 

Phone: (815) 806-9005 

all of our own sauces, our 

own ranch, our own onion 

rings, our own mozzarella 

sticks,” Chiuso said. “We 

make our own corned beef 

in house, our own barbecue 

pork. Everything’s breaded 

here. Everything’s made 

to order. 

“So, things may take a 

little bit longer, but everything’s 

made to order. 

There’s no shortcuts here. 

We don’t really buy that 

much stuff that’s already 

made and processed.” 

After the main course, it’s 

time for dessert — a scoop 

of ice cream, which comes 

free with a kid’s meal, costs 

$1.25 and can be served in 

a cone or a cup. The restaurant’s 

best-selling flavor, 

is a strawberry, banana 

and Blue Moon concoction 

called “Superman, while 

other top flavors include 

cotton candy, birthday cake, 

and a cookies and cream 

flavor containing pieces 

of Oreo cookies, Chiuso 

said. 

All Aboard also features 

a toy room for young children, 

which includes a 

rideable train on a circular 

track, and quarter-operated 

arcade games. 

The hand-breaded cheese sticks ($5.50) come with 

homemade dipping sauce at All Aboard! 

If you go... 

What: Breakfast Buffet with Santa 

Where: All Aboard! Family Dining & Amusement, 20831 

S. La Grange Road in Frankfort 

When: 9:30-11 a.m. Dec. 9, 10, 16 and 17. A Lunch 

with Santa also is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. 

Dec. 22. 

Cost: $10 for adults, $5 for children 

This month, the restaurant 

is embracing the holiday 

spirit with Breakfast Buffet 

with Santa events scheduled 

for the weekends of Dec. 9 

and Dec. 16, Chiuso said. 

“We do it every year,” she 

said. “And it’s a breakfast 

buffet. It’s $10 for adults, 

$5 for a kid. ... Basically, 

it’s got pancakes, bacon, 

eggs, sausage, hash browns, 

toast, cereal, omelettes.” 

The restaurant also will 

host a Lunch with Santa 

Dec. 22 featuring items off 

the menu. 

Chiuso said she plans to 

decorate All Aboard! for 

the holidays, complete with 

lights by the train track 

where customers’ food is 

served and a Christmas tree 

encircled by a train. 

“We just put like lights 

everywhere, garlands, stuff 

like that,” she said. “It looks 

really nice at Christmas.”

28 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger puzzles 


crosstown CROSSWORD & Sudoku 

The crosstowns: Frankfort, Homer Glen, Lockport, Mokena, New Lenox, Orland Park, Tinley Park 

Crossword by Myles Mellor and Cindy LaFleur 

Across 

1. Long. crosser 

4. Mystic 

9. Guilt acknowledgment, 

with mea 

14. “What’s that?” 

15. Finished off 

16. Dust Bowl farmers 

17. A dog’s is 7x a human’s 

18. Name for some 

museum collections 

20. Kind of wrestling 

22. Road in Mokena 

23. Stirs 

27. Agate mineral 

32. What a swimmer 

and a marksman practice 

35. Lobe linked 

36. Seed used for flavoring 

37. “___ World” (“Sesame 

Street” segment) 

41. Single in Madrid? 

42. Dissertation 

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44. Vixen teammate 

46. Tinley Park location 

for music events 

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55. Major-___ 

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59. Audacious 

66. “CSI” forensic scientist 

Grissom 

67. Anon. 

68. Broadway musical 

69. Nothing, nada, Zip 

70. ___ a bullet! (avoid 

it) 

71. ___ voce 

72. Nine-digit ID 

Down 

1. Tibet’s capital 

2. Soothsayer 

3. Group with family ties? 

4. Red ___ 

5. Revolutionary, for one 

6. Many a defender, abbr. 

7. Feline line 

8. Data 

9. Dracula’s resting site 

10. Black Sea nation, abbr. 

11. Number of weeks per 

annum 

12. Delt neighbor 

13. __ __ rule (usually) 

19. What’s more 

21. ___ Man Flint 

24. Red and Black, e.g. 

25. Perfume label word 

26. Impinged 

28. Old Fords 

29. Spring blossom 

30. Goes with Coca 

31. Friend in war 

33. Asian capital 

34. Workbench compressors 

37. Auto maker Ferrari 

38. Monies borrowed 

39. “Flash” gatherings 

40. Gumbo 

42. List-end abbr. 

45. “All over the world” 

singers, for short 

47. Senescence 

48. Corporate honchos, for 

short 

49. Creature park 

50. Compadres 

53. Hodgepodges 

54. Thermoplastic silky 

material 

56. New corp. hires 

57. “Yes ___?” 

59. Nod, maybe 

60. Beatle wife 

61. Technology that uses 

polarized light 

62. Hungarian Kuvasz, e.g. 

63. Picnic crasher 

64. ___ in judgment 

65. Search engine marketing 

ingredient, for short 

MOKENA 

The Alley Grill and Tap House 

(18700 S. Old LaGrange 

Road, Mokena; (708) 478- 

3610) 

■9 ■ p.m. Tuesdays: Karaoke 

Fox’s Restaurant and Pub 

(11247 W. 187th St., 

Mokena; (708) 478-8888) 

■6 ■ p.m. Thursdays, 

Fridays and Saturdays: 

Performance by Jerry 

Eadie 

Jenny’s Southside Tap 

(10160 191st St., 

Mokena; (708) 479-6873) 

■6 ■ p.m. Tuesdays: Acoustic 

Avenue 

NEW LENOX 

Little Joe’s Restaurant 

(1300 N. Cedar Road, 

New Lenox; (815) 463- 

1099) 

■5-8 ■ p.m. Tuesdays: 

Piano Styles by Joe 

FRANKFORT 

Pete Mitchell’s Bar & Grill 

(21000 Frankfort Square 

Road, Frankfort; (815) 

464-8100) 

■6-8 ■ p.m. Wednesdays: 

Free N’ Fun Bar Game. 

Free to play. 

HOMER GLEN 

Mullets Sports Bar and 

Restaurant 

(14903 S. Bell Road, 

Homer Glen; (708) 645- 

7000) 

■7 ■ p.m. Wednesdays: 

Trivia 

LOCKPORT 

Port Noir 

(900 S. State St., 

Lockport; (815) 834- 

9463) 

■4-7 ■ p.m. Monday-Friday: 

Happy Hour 

The Outpost Pub & Grill 

(14929 Archer Ave., 

Lockport; (815) 836- 

8893) 

■8 ■ p.m. Tuesdays and 

Thursdays: Live DJ and 

Karaoke 

Strike N Spare II 

(811 Northern Drive, 

Lockport; (708) 301- 

1477) 

■8-11 ■ p.m. Wednesdays: 

Quartermania 

To place an event 

in The Scene, email 


com. 

answers 

How to play Sudoku 

Each sudoku puzzle consists of a 9x9 grid that 

has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3x3 

squares. To solve the puzzle, each row, column and 

box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. 

LEVEL: Medium 

Sudoku by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan


the Mokena Messenger | December 7, 2017 | 29

30 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger local living 


Distinctive Home Builders Introduces New Craftsman Home Series 

At Prairie Trails in Manhattan and WestGate Manor in Peotone! 

Two new designs (with more to follow) are a direct result of buyer feedback 

Two refreshing designs mark 

the beginning of a new series 

of Craftsman-style homes 

available from Distinctive Home 

Builders at its latest new home 

communities: Prairie Trails; 

located in Manhattan within the 

highly-regarded Lincoln-Way 

School District and at WestGate 

Manor in Peotone within 

the desirable Peotone School 

District. 

“Craftsman homes were 

introduced in the early 1900s 

in California with designs 

based on a simpler, functional 

aesthetic using a higher level 

of craftsmanship and natural 

materials. These homes were a 

departure from homes that were 

mass produced from that era, 

“according to Bryan Nooner, 

president of Distinctive Home 

Builders. 

“The Craftsman design has 

made a comeback today for 

many of the same reasons it 

started over a century ago. Our 

customers want to live in a home 

that gets away from the “mass 

produced” look and live in a 

home that has more character. As 

a result of our daily interaction 

with our homeowners and their 

input, we are excited to introduce 

these two homes, with additional 

designs in the works.” 

Nooner, who meets with 

each homeowner prior to 

construction, has been working 

on these plans for a while and felt 

that the timing was ideal for the 

debut. “Customers were asking 

for something different and 

simple with less monotony and 

higher architectural standards.” 

The result was the Craftsman 

ranch and the Prairie twostory, 

now available at Prairie 

Trails and WestGate Manor. 

The Craftsman ranch features 

an open floor plan with Great 

Room, three bedrooms, two 

baths and a two-car (optional 

three-car) garage. The Prairie 

features a two-story foyer and 

Great Room, three bedrooms 

and one and one-half baths, a 

convenient Flex Room space 

on the main level and a two-car 

(optional three-car) garage. The 

Craftsman architectural elements 

on both homes include brick and 

stone exteriors with cedar shake 

accent siding, low-pitched gabled 

bracket roofs, front porches with 

tapered columns and stone piers, 

partially paned windows, and a 

standard panel front entry door. 

Distinctive Home Builders 

offers a Craftsman-style trim 

package offering trim without 

ornate profiles and routers. The 

trim features simplicity in design 

with rectangles, straight lines and 

layered look trims over doors for 

example. The front entry door 

will have the standard Craftsman 

panel style door. Distinctive has 

also created a Craftsman color 

palate to assist buyers in making 

coordinated choices for the 

interior of their new Craftsman 

home. Colors, cabinet styles and 

flooring choices blend seamlessly 

with the Craftsman trim package 

and are available in gray tones 

package and earth tones. 

Distinctive offers custom maple 

kitchen cabinets featuring solid 

wood construction (no particle 

board), have solid wood drawers 

with dove tail joints, which is 

very rare in the marketplace. 

“When you buy a new home 

from Distinctive, you truly are 

receiving custom made cabinets 

in every home we sell no matter 

what the price range,” noted 

Nooner. 


works to achieve a delivery goal 

of 90 days with zero punch list 

items for its homeowners. “Our 

three decades building homes 

provides an efficient construction 

system,” said Nooner. “Many of 

our skilled craftsmen have been 

working with our company 

for over 20 years. We also 

take pride on having excellent 

communicators throughout our 

organization. This translates into 

a positive buying and building 

experience for our homeowners 

and one of the highest referral 

rates in the industry.” 

Nooner added that all homes 

are highly energy efficient. Every 

home built will have upgraded 

wall and ceiling insulation 

values with energy efficient 

windows and high efficiency 

furnaces. Before homeowners 

move into their new home, 


conducts a blower door test that 

pressurizes the home to ensure 

that each home passes a set of 

very stringent Energy Efficiency 

guidelines. 

With the addition of these two 

new designs, there are now 15 

ranch, split-level and six twostory 

single-family home styles to 

choose from each offering from 

three to eight different exterior 

elevations at both communities. 

The three- to four-bedroom 

homes feature one and one-half 

to two-and-one-half baths, twoto 

three-car garages and a family 

room, all in approximately 1,600 

to over 3,000 square feet of living 

space. Basements are included in 

most models as well. Distinctive 

also encourages customization 

to make your new home truly 

personalized to suit your lifestyle. 

Oversize home sites; brick 

exteriors on all four sides of the 

first floor; custom maple cabinets; 

ceramic tile or hardwood 

floors in the kitchen, baths and 

foyer; genuine wood trim and 

doors and concrete driveways 

can all be yours at Prairie 

Trails and WestGate Manor. 

Most all home sites at Prairie 

Trails and WestGate Manor 

can accommodate a three-car 

garage; a very important amenity 

to the Manhattan homebuyer, 

said Nooner. 

“When we opened Prairie 

Trails and WestGate Manor we 

wanted to provide the best new 

home value for the dollar and 

we feel with offering Premium 

Standard Features that we do 

just that. So why wait? This is 

truly the best time to build your 

dream home!” 

Prairie Trails is also a beautiful 

place to live and raise a family 

featuring a 20-acre lake on site, 

as well as direct access to the 22- 

mile Wauponsee Glacial Prairie 

Path that borders the community 

and meanders through many 

neighboring communities and 

links to many other popular 

trails. The Manhattan Metra 

station is less than a mile away. 

Besides Prairie Trails, 


has built homes throughout 

Manhattan in the Butternut 

Ridge and Leighlinbridge 

developments, as well as in the 

Will and south Cook county 

areas over the past 30 years. 


chose the Will County village 

of Peotone for its newest 

community of 38 single-family 

homes at WestGate Manor 

within walking distance of the 

esteemed Peotone High School. 

Its convenient location between 

Interstate 57 and Illinois Route 

50 provide easy access to I-80 

and commuters enjoy several 

nearby train stations and a 

35-minute drive to Chicago. 

Visit the on-site sales 

information center for 

unadvertised specials and view 

the numerous styles of homes 

being offered and the available 

lots. Call Lynne Rinck at (708) 

737-9142 or (708) 479-7700 for 

more information or visit www. 

distinctivehomebuilders.com. 

The Prairie Trails and WestGate 

Manor new home information 

center is located three miles 

south of Laraway Rd. on Rt. 

52. The address is 24458 S. 

Rt. 52, Manhattan, IL. 60422. 

Open Daily 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 

p.m. Closed Wednesday and 

Thursday and always available 

by appointment. 

Specials, prices, specifications, 

standard features, model 

offerings, build times and lot 

availability are subject to change 

without notice. Please contact 

a Distinctive representative for 

current pricing and complete 

details. 

22-DISTINCTIVE_110217

mokenamessenger.com real estate 


The Mokena Messenger’s 

Sponsored content 

of the 

WEEK 

The sellers love this scenic 

location, only minutes 

from wonderful in-town 

amenities. 

What: Custom home on a 

wooded 3/4 acre lot with 

related living suite. 

Where: 11333 W. 189th 

St., Mokena, 60448 

Sept. 5 

• 19839 S. Schoolhouse 

Road, Mokena, 60448- 

1709 - Carrie D. Domzal 

To James Agostinelli 

III, Brittany A. Hesse, 

$246,500 

Sept. 6 

• 19502 Catulpa St., 

Mokena, 60448-8911 

- Keith Sanlin to Marie 

Erickson, $155,000 

Sept. 7 

• 11306 193rd St., 

Mokena, 60448-8422 

- Michael Noonan to 

Michael J. Nappo, Ashley 

L. Nappo, $350,000 

• 9930 W. 190th St. F, 

Mokena, 60448-5608 

- Hbt 2016 Commercial 

Stack I Ll To Robert Paul 

Parchem, $280,000 

Sept. 8 

• 11025 Revere Road, 

Mokena, 60448-1016 

- Jig Llc to Michael G. 

Mccomb, Susan M. 

Mccomb, $310,000 

• 9920 Cambridge Drive, 

Mokena, 60448-7935 

- Daniel Kuhn To Victor 

Harris, $312,500 

Sept. 12 

• 12432 Tahoe Lane, 

Mokena, 60448- 

1898 - Steven E. Dik 

to Francisco J. Herrera, 

Christina J. Herrera, 

$615,000 

• 18725 S. Mill Creek 

Drive, Mokena, 60448- 

8450 - Morandi II Trust to 

Melissa Hobe, Paul Hobe, 

$235,000 

The Going Rate is provided by 

Record Information Services, 

Inc. For more information, 

visit www.public-record.com 

or call (630) 557-1000. 

Amenities: This fourbedroom, 

four-bathroom 

home is filled with custom 

finishes, including vaulted 

ceilings, hardwood floors, 

six-panel doors, Colonial 

trim, crown molding, 

granite counters, warm 

and an inviting decor. 

Step inside to the main 

living area, which has a 

dining room, family room 

with stone fireplace, a 

custom kitchen and an 

executive office. Also on 

the main floor is a master 

suite with walk-in closet. 

Wonderfully blended into 

the home is a related living 

suite which has a kitchen, 

sitting room, full bathroom, 

bedroom and a separate 

entrance. Enjoy scenic 

views from the exterior of 

this home, which includes 

professional landscaping, 

a three-car garage, wraparound 

porch, enclosed 

porch, and a huge 

backyard with patio and 

pool. Such a wonderful 

location — adjacent to a 

park and offering easy 

access to downtown 

Mokena, the Metra station 

and interstates. 

Asking Price: $519,000 

Listing Agent: Lincoln-Way 

Realty, Joseph Siwinski, 

managing broker and 

owner, (708) 479-6355, 

jsiwinski@lincolnwayrealty. 

com 

Want to know how to become 

Home of the Week? Contact 

Tricia at (708) 326-9170 ext. 

47.

32 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger Classifieds 


CLASSIFIEDS 

Help Wanted · Garage Sales · Automotive 

Real Estate · Rentals · Merchandise 

Growing Media Company 

Seeks Sales Directors 

Position Overview: 

22nd Century Media, a media 

publishing company based in 

Orland Park, is seeking Sales 

Directors to join their team. 

Responsibilities Include: 

Proactively prospecting and 

qualifying potential new 

advertising accounts; handling 

incoming leads; guiding ad 

copy for clients; identifying 

business opportunities and 

working with decision makers 

to obtain customer 

commitment; and achieving 

weekly revenue targets. 

Qualifications: 

Ideal candidates will possess 

1–3 years of experience in 

local/retail advertising sales 

and/or media environment. 

Must have a strong work ethic 

and ability to work 

independently as well as with 

a team. Excellent 

communication skills, 

time-management and 

interpersonal skills required. 

Next Steps: 

For more information or to be 

considered for this 

opportunity, email a 

resume to: 

careers@22ndcenturymedia.com 

No phone calls please. EOE 

Part-time Telephone Work 

calling from home for 

AMVETS. Ideal for 

homemakers and retirees. 

Must be reliable and have 

morning &evening hours 

available for calling. 

If interested, 

Call 708 429 6477 

M-F, 10am - 1pm Only! 

Snow Plowers Wanted 

Experienced Plow Drivers, 

Owner/Operators & 

Sidewalk Crews. Local 

routes; quick payouts. 

708.687.8091 

Help 

Wanted 

1003 Help Wanted 

INDUSTRIAL SALES 

SW Suburban (Tinley Park) 

Manufacturing Company 

seeks a person with 

experience in B2B Sales of 

industrial products 

(non-chemical). 

This is an inside, 

consultative Sales position 

which will focus on new 

product sales development and 

existing product sales. 

This sales/marketing 

function selects and targets 

decision makers to discuss the 

product features relative 

to the prospect’s existing & 

potential needs. 

Successful candidates 

should be proactive and have 

strong sales experience. 

Excellent salary and fringe 

benefits. 

Annual performance bonus 

potential. 

It is NOT an outside sales, 

telemarketing, nor a 

commission paid position. 

Send resume to: 

AERO Rubber Company, Inc. 

bschatte@areorubber.com 

SALES ASSISTANT 

Due to our rapid growth and 

expansion, Tinley Park 

industrial mfg. Sales office 

seeks exp’d, detail-oriented 

Sales Assistant for full-time 

position. A Sales Assistant at 

ARC does both sales, secretarial 

& customer service 

functions. This is a very 

diversified position in our 

FAST-PACED office. The 

ideal candidate must be 

HIGHLY MOTIVATED and 

needs to possess strong organizational 

& communication 

skills. Excellent computer literacy 

needed, including MS 

Word & Excel. Industrial 

cust. service exp. req’d. Repeat 

customer & supplier contact. 

No telemarketing, no 

cold calling req’d. Competitive 

salary & benefit pkg incl. 

401K. Send letter & resume 

to: cstratton@aerorubber.com 

1003 Help 

Wanted 

General Office 

Tinley Park industrial 

manufacturing sales office 

seeks a qualified, energetic 

individual for a F/T position. 

Duties include general office 

functions including phone 

reception & filing in our busy 

office. Ideal candidate should 

have excellent skills in computer 

literacy, keyboard efficiency, 

and extensive phone 

experience including active 

phone call routing. This is a 

great opportunity for an 

intelligent & organized person 

who enjoys challenge and 

variety. We offer competitive 

wages with benefit package including 

401(k). Please send 

cover letter and resume 

via email to: 

cstratton@aerorubber.com 

Hiring Desk Clerk 

(3 p.m.-11 p.m.) 

Housekeeping (Morning) 

Needed at 

Super 8 Motel 

Apply within: 

9485 W. 191st St, Mokena 

No Phone Calls 

PT Cashier. Flex hrs. 

30 hr/wk min. guaranteed. 

Will-Cook Ace Hardware 

12121 W. 159th St. 

Homer Glen, IL 60491 

708.301.7130 

1004 Employment 

Opportunities 

PAID IN ADVANCE! Make 

$100/week mailing brochures 

from home! No exp. req. 

Helping home workers since 

2001! Genuine opportunity. 

Start immediately! 

www.MailingCash.net 

HIRE LOCALLY 

Reach over 83% of prospective 

employees in your area! 


& INFORMATION 

708-326-9170 


Sell It 708.326.9170 

Fax It 708.326.9179 

Charge It 

DEADLINE - 

Friday at 3pm 

Automotive 

$52 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

1022 Caregiver 

Wanted 

Looking for full time, 

overnight caregiver in 

Flossmoor area for senior. 

Please call: 815.955.7884 

1023 Caregiver 

Caregiver Services 

Provided by 

Margaret’s Agency Inc. 

State Licensed & Bonded 

since 1998. Providing 

quality care for elderly. 

Live-in/ Come & go. 

708.403.8707 

Caring, companion caregiver. 

Over 25 yrs exp. Great 

references w/ prof. healthcare 

& social engagement 

provided. Please call Ewa: 

708.926.4034 

Heaven Sent Caregivers 

Professional caregiving 

service. 24 hr or hourly 

services; shower or bath 

visits. Licensed & bonded. 

Try the best! 708.638.0641 

1037 Prayer / 

Novena 

Thank you Our Lady of 

Mt. Carmel for prayers 

answered. CP 

DRIVE 

CAR BUYERS 

TO YOUR DOOR WITH 

A CLASSIFIED AUTO AD 

708.326.9170 

22ndCenturyMedia.com 

Help Wanted 

per line $13 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

Real Estate 

$50 

7 lines/ 

7 papers 

1050 Community Events 

Merchandise 

$30 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

BEING INSPIRIT HEALING 

HOLIDAYH 

O 

OPEN N 

HOUSE 

O 

December 15, 2017•5pm-9pm 

400 Ravinia Place, SuiteA•Orland Park, Illinois 60462 

Please RSVP: 708-523-0000 

FIND SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFTS IN OUR APOTHECARY 

and 

Gift certificates for Meditation, Coaching, Acupuncture, Cranial 

Sacral, Massage,Teas, Supplements, Oils, and Herbal Pain Salves 

Join us for: 

ATaste of Meditation at 5:30pm •ATaste of Relaxation at 6:30pm 

FREE RAFFLES, TEA, &GOODIES! 

Automotive 

1061 Autos Wanted

mokenamessenger.com Classifieds 

the Mokena Messenger | December 7, 2017 | 33



CLASSIFIEDS 



2006 Basement Waterproofing 

Sell It 708.326.9170 

Fax It 708.326.9179 

Charge It 

DEADLINE - 

Friday at 3pm 

2011 Brick/Chimney Experts 

Automotive 

$52 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

Help Wanted 

per line $13 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

Real Estate 

$50 

7 lines/ 

7 papers 

2025 Concrete Work 

Merchandise 

$30 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

2011 Brick/Cimney Experts 

A+ 

2060 Drywall 

2017 Cleaning Services 

JUMALU 

CLEANING SERVICE 

Hate cleaning? We love it! 

- Residential, Commercial & 

New Construction 

- Same Team Every Clean 

- Move Out & Move In 

- 15 Years Experience 

- Free Estimates 

CALL OR TEXT: 

773-732-5952 

Experienced Polish 

Lady Will Clean 

Your Home & 

Apartment 

Call Teresa 

(708)589-5930 

Drywall 

*Hanging *Taping 

*New Homes 

*Additions 

*Remodeling 

Call Greg At: 

(815)485-3782 

2070 Electrical 

MORTGAGE 

ALERT! 

LOCK-IN MORE BUSINESS. 

ADVERTISE LOCALLY. 

CONTACT THE CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT 

708-326-9170 

22ndcenturymedia.com 

EXPERIENCED 

ELECTRICIAN 

R E A S O N A B L E 

D E P E N D A B L E 

SMALL JOBS 

CALL ANYTIME 

(708) 478-8269 

Advertise your 

RENTAL PROPERTY 

in the newspaper 

people turn tofirst CALL US TODAY: 708.326.9170 




CLASSIFIEDS 



Sell It 708.326.9170 

Fax It 708.326.9179 

Charge It 

DEADLINE - 

Friday at 3pm 

Automotive 

Real Estate 

$52 

4 lines/ 

7 papers Help Wanted 

$50 

7 lines/ 

7 papers Merchandise 

$13 

per line 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

$30 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

2120 Handyman 

2075 Fencing 

2090 Flooring 

MORTGAGE 

ALERT! 

LOCK-IN MORE BUSINESS. 

ADVERTISE LOCALLY. 

CONTACT THE CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT 

708-326-9170 

22ndcenturymedia.com 

2130 Heating/Cooling 

2080 Firewood 

PRESEASON CALL TODAYFURNACE FOR A FREE SALE ESTIMATE ~$1,495 

2120 Handyman 



708.326.9170 

Aprilaire Digital Humidifier Thermostat Installed $495 

New Rheem Installed Furnaces or $129 Water Heaters 

Furnace Furnace Clean &Check $80 $80 

*Must present coupontoreveive offer. Expires: 12/131/2017 

*Must present coupon to receive offer.Expires: 12/31/2017 

708.535.7579 

FREE ESTIMATES •708.532.7579 

2132 Home Improvement 

HANDYMAN SERVICE —WHATEVER YOU NEED 

"OVER 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE" 

Windows, Doors, Decks Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling, Plumbing Interior and 

Exterior Painting Wall Paper Removal Professional Work At Competitive Prices 

CALL MIKE AT 708-790-3416 

Ideal 

Firewood 

Seasoned Mixed 

Hardwoods 

$115.00 per FC 

Free Stacking & 

Delivery 

708 235 8917 

815 981 0127 

See the Classified 

Section for more info, 

or call 708.326.9170 

22ndCenturyMedia.com 

Don’t just 

list your 

real estate 

property... 

Sell It! 

With a Classified Ad 

CARRARAREPAIRSERVICE



CLASSIFIEDS 



2132 Home Improvement 

Sell It 708.326.9170 

Fax It 708.326.9179 

2150 Paint & 

Decorating 

Charge It 

DEADLINE - 

Friday at 3pm 

2150 Paint & 

Decorating 

Automotive 

$52 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

2150 Paint & 

Decorating 

Help Wanted 

per line $13 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

Real Estate 

$50 

7 lines/ 

7 papers 

2150 Paint & 

Decorating 

2135 Insulation 2150 Paint & Decorating 

Merchandise 

$30 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

2150 Paint & Decorating 

Residential/Commercial 

“Design/Build Professionals" 

Neat, Clean, Professional 

Work At ACompetitive Price 

Specializing in all 

Interior/Exterior Painting 

• Drywall/PlasterRepair 

• WallpaperRemoval 

• Deck/Fence Staining 

• PowerWashing 

Free Estimates 

Senior Discounts 

Forquality & service you 

can trust, call us today! 

Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling · Room Additions · Finished Basements · Decks/Pergolas 

· Screen Rooms/ 3 Season Rooms · Front Porches/Porticos · Commercial BuildOuts 

- We provide Design, Product, and Installation - 

Free Consultation: 

Showroom: 

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HomerChamber 

of Commerce 

Visit Our Showroom Location at 1223 N Convent St. Bourbonnais 

MARTY’S 

PAINTING 

Interior / Exterior 

Fast, Neat Painting 

Drywall 

Wallpaper Removal 

Staining 

Free Estimates 

20% Off with this ad 

708-606-3926 

Advertise 

your 

RENTAL 

PROPERTY 

in the 

newspaper 

people turn 

to first CALL US TODAY: 708.326.9170 




708.326.9170



2170 Plumbing 

2170 Plumbing 

CLASSIFIEDS 



Automotive 

$52 4 lines/ 

7 papers 

Help Wanted 

$13 4 lines/ 

per line 7 papers 

Sell It 708.326.9170 | Fax It 708.326.9179 

Charge It | DEADLINE - Friday at 3pm 

Real Estate 

$50 7 7 papers 

lines/ 

Merchandise 

$30 7 4 papers 

lines/ 

2200 Roofing 

HIRE 

LOCALLY 

Reach over 

83% of 

prospective 

employees in 

your area! 


&INFORMATION 

708-326-9170 


2200 Roofing 

KASCH PLUMBING Inc. 

• Waterheaters 

•SumpPumps 

• Faucets 

Lisense #055-043148 

Complete Plumbing Service 

• WaterLeaks 

• RPZ Testing 

• Ejector Pumps 

•Disposals 

• Toilets 

815.603.6085


mokenamessenger.com



Merchandise 

Directory 

2483 Machinery & 

Tools 

Chicago Electric power tool 

heavy duty mitre stand w/12 in. 

Pro-Tech mitre saw. $100 

708-479-0918 

2489 

Merchandise 

Wanted 

Metal Wanted 

Scrap Metal, Garden 

Tractors, 

Snowmobiles, 

Appliances, Etc. 

ANYTHING METAL! 

Call 815-210-8819 

Free pickup! 

BUY IT! 

SELL IT! 

FIND IT! 

- IN THE - 

CLASSIFIEDS 

708.326.9170 

2701 Property for 

Sale 

SHERIFF'S SALE OF REAL ES- 

TATE of 19544 SKirkstone, Mokena, 

IL 60448 (Single Family Residence). 

Onthe 14th day of December, 

2017 to be held at 12:00 noon, 

at the Will County Courthouse Annex, 

57 N. Ottawa Street, Room 

201, Joliet, IL 60432, under Case 

Title: U.S. BANK TRUST, N.A., 

AS TRUSTEE FOR LSF9 MAS- 

TER PARTICIPATION TRUST, 

Plaintiff V. TED M. OBIS AKA 

THEODORE M.OBIS, CARYN 

OBIS AKA CARYN A. OBIS, 

CAPITAL ONE BANK (USA), 

N.A. AS SUCCESSOR TO HSBC 

NEVADA, NA FKA HOUSE- 

HOLD BANK, and BENEFICIAL 

FINANCIAL I, INC., SUCCES- 

SOR BY MERGER TO BENEFI- 

CIAL ILLINOIS INC., Defendant. 

Case No. 15CH 2527 in the Circuit 

Court of the Twelfth Judicial 

Circuit, Will County, Illinois. 

Terms of Sale: ten percent (10%) 

at the time of sale and the balance 

within twenty-four (24) hours. No 

judicial sale fee shall be paid by 

the mortgagee acquiring the residential 

real estate pursuant to its 

credit bid at the sale or by any 

mortgagee, judgment creditor, or 

other lienor acquiring the residential 

real estate whose rights in and 

to the residential real estate arose 

prior to the sale. All payments shall 

be made in cash or certified funds 

payable to the Sheriff of Will 

County. 

In the event the property is acon- 

dominium, in accordance with 735 

ILCS 5/15-1507(c)(1)(H-1) and 

(H-2), 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(5), and 

765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1), you are 

hereby notified that the purchaser 

of the unit, other than amortgagee, 

shall pay the assessments and legal 

fees required by subdivisions 

(g)(1) and (g)(4) of Section 9and 

the assessments required bysubsection 

(g-1) of Section 18.5 of the 

Illinois Condominium Property 

Act. 

Pursuant to Local Court Rule 11.03 

(J) ifthere is asurplus following 

application of the proceeds of sale, 

then the plaintiff shall send written 

notice pursuant to 735 ILCS 

5/15-1512(d) to all parties to the 

proceeding advising them of the 

amount ofthe surplus and that the 

surplus will beheld until aparty 

obtains acourt order for its distribution 

or, in the absence of an order, 

until the surplus is forfeited to 

the State. 

For Information Please Contact: 

Heavner Beyers and Mihlar LLC 

111 E. Main Street, 

Decatur, Illinois 62523 

P: 217-422-1719 

F: 217-422-1754 

PURSUANT TO THE FAIR 

DEBT COLLECTION PRAC- 

TICES ACT YOU ARE AD- 

VISED THAT THIS LAW FIRM 

IS DEEMED TO BE A DEBT 

COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO 

COLLECT ADEBT AND ANY 

INFORMATION OBTAINED 

WILL BE USED FOR THAT 

PURPOSE. 


Sale 

SHERIFF'S SALE OF REAL ESTATE 

of 9440 Magnolia Avenue, Mokena, IL 

60448 (SINGLE FAMILY H OME 

WITH DETACHED 2 CAR GA- 

RAGE.). Onthe 28th day of December, 

2017 to be held at 12:00 noon, at the 

Will County Courthouse Annex, 57 N. 

Ottawa Street, Room 201, Joliet, IL 

60432, under Case Title: FIFTH THIRD 

BANK OK Plaintiff V.JULIE FOX, 

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF 

THE DECEASED MORTGAGOR 

GERTRUDE J. THEZAN; UNKNOWN 

OWNERS AND NON-RECORD 

CLAIMANTS; RONALD INGALLS; 

KATHRYN SHERMAN; TIMOTHY 

INGALLS; CHRISTINE PASSAR- 

ELLI; GARY INGALLS; DONALD 

INGALLS; JAMES INGALLS; 

TRUDY INGALLS; UNKNOWN 

HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF GER- 

TRUDE JTHEZAN A/K/A TRUDY J 

THEZAN, IF ANY, DEFENDANTS. 

Defendant. 


Court of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, 

Will County, Illinois. 

Terms of Sale: ten percent (10%) at the 

time of sale and the balance within 

twenty-four (24) hours. Nojudicial sale 

fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring 

the residential real estate pursuant 

to its credit bid at the sale or by any 

mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other 

lienor acquiring the residential real estate 

whose rights in and tothe residential 

real estate arose prior to the sale. All 

payments shall be made in cash or certified 

funds payable tothe Sheriff of Will 

County. Judgment amount is 

$131,633.28 plus interest, cost and post 

judgment advances, if any. 

In the event the property is acondomin- 

ium, in accordance with 735 ILCS 

5/15-1507(c)(1)(H-1) and (H-2), 765 

ILCS 605/9(g)(5), and 765 ILCS 

605/18.5(g-1), you are hereby notified 

that the purchaser of the unit, other than 

amortgagee, shall pay the assessments 

and legal fees required bysubdivisions 

(g)(1) and (g)(4) of Section 9and the assessments 

required by subsection (g-1) 

of Section 18.5 of the Illinois Condominium 

Property Act. 

Pursuant to Local Court Rule 11.03 (J) 

if there is asurplus following application 

ofthe proceeds of sale, then the 

plaintiff shall send written notice pursuant 

to 735 ILCS 5/15-1512(d) to all parties 

to the proceeding advising them of 

the amount ofthe surplus and that the 

surplus will beheld until aparty obtains 

acourt order for its distribution or, in 

the absence of an order, until the surplus 

is forfeited to the State. 


PIERCE AND ASSOCIATES 

1 N. Dearborn Suite 1300 

Chicago, Illinois 60602 

P: 312-346-9088 

F: 

PURSUANT TO THE FAIR DEBT 

COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT 

YOU ARE ADVISED THAT THIS 

LAW FIRM ISDEEMED TO BE A 

DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING 

TO COLLECT ADEBT AND ANY 

INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL 

BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. 

SHERIFF'S SALE OF REAL ESTATE 

of 11618 Roberts Street Unit #6, Mokena, 

IL 60448 (Condo/Townhouse). On 

the 28th day of December, 2017 to be 

held at 12:00 noon, at the Will County 

Courthouse Annex, 57 N. Ottawa Street, 

Room 201, Joliet, IL 60432, under Case 

Title: New Penn Financial LLC d/b/a 

Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing Plaintiff 

V. Melissa R. Costello a/k/a Melissa R. 

Dodaro; et. al. Defendant. 


Court of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, 

Will County, Illinois. 





Sale 










County. 



5/15-1507(c)(1)(H-1) and (H-2), 765 

ILCS 605/9(g)(5), and 765 ILCS 




and legal fees required bysubdivisions 




Property Act. 













Codilis & Associates, P.C. 

15W030 N. Frontage Road Suite 100 

Burr Ridge, Illinois 60527 

P: 630-794-5300 

F: 630-794-9090 









2703 Legal 

Notices 

PURSUANT TO THE FAIR 

DEBT COLLECTION PRAC- 

TICES ACT YOU ARE AD- 

VISED THAT THIS LAW FIRM 

IS DEEMED TO BE A DEBT 

COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO 

COLLECT ADEBT AND ANY 

INFORMATION OBTAINED 

WILL BE USED FOR THAT 

PURPOSE. 

STATE OF ILLINOIS ) 

) SS. 

COUNTY OF WILL ) 

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF 

THE TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIR- 

CUIT 

WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS 

U.S. BANK TRUST, N.A., AS 

TRUSTEE FOR LSF9 MASTER 

PARTICIPATION TRUST, 

Plaintiff, 

vs. 

TED M. OBIS AKA THEODORE 

M. OBIS, CARYN OBIS AKA 

CARYN A. OBIS, CAPITAL 

ONE BANK (USA), N.A. AS 

SUCCESSOR TO HSBC NE- 

VADA, NA FKA HOUSEHOLD 

BANK, and BENEFICIAL FI- 

NANCIAL I, INC., SUCCESSOR 

BY MERGER TO BENEFICIAL 

ILLINOIS INC., 

Defendant. 

No. 15 CH 2527 

NOTICE OF SHERIFF'S SALE 

Public notice ishereby given that 

pursuant to ajudgment entered in 

2703 Legal 

Notices 

the above cause on the 17th day of 

March, 2016, MIKE KELLEY, 

Sheriff of Will County, Illinois, 

will on Thursday, the 14th day of 

December, 2017 ,commencing at 

12:00 o'clock noon, at the Will 

County Courthouse Annex, 57 N. 

Ottawa Street, Room 201, Joliet, 

IL 60432, sell at public auction to 

the highest and best bidder orbidders 

the following-described real 

estate: 

LOT 1 IN EMERALD-GRAS- 

MERE OUTLOT RESUBDIVI- 

SION, A RESUBDIVISION OF 

PART OF THE SOUTHEAST 1/4 

OF SECTION 8 AND THE 

SOUTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 

9, TOWNSHIP 35 NORTH, 

RANGE 12, EAST OF THE 

THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, 

ACCORDING TO THE PLAT 

THEREOF RECORDED JUNE 

23, 1993 AS DOCUMENT NO. 

R93-51277, IN WILL COUNTY, 

ILLINOIS. 

Commonly known as: 

19544 S Kirkstone, Mokena, IL 

60448 

Description of Improvements: 

Single Family Residence 

P.I.N.: 

19-09-08-430-016-0000 

Terms of Sale: ten percent (10%) 

at the time of sale and the balance 

within twenty-four (24) hours. No 

judicial sale fee shall be paid by 

the mortgagee acquiring the residential 

real estate pursuant to its 

credit bid at the sale or by any 

mortgagee, judgment creditor, or 

other lienor acquiring the residential 

real estate whose rights in and 

to the residential real estate arose 

prior to the sale. All payments shall 

be made in cash or certified funds 

payable to the Sheriff of Will 

County. 

In the event the property is a condominium, 

in accordance with 735 

ILCS 5/15-1507(c)(1)(H-1) and 

(H-2), 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(5), and 

765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1), you are 

hereby notified that the purchaser 

of the unit, other than amortgagee, 

shall pay the assessments and legal 

fees required by subdivisions 

(g)(1) and (g)(4) of Section 9and 

the assessments required bysubsection 

(g-1) of Section 18.5 of the 

Illinois Condominium Property 

Act. 

Pursuant to Local Court Rule 11.03 

(J) ifthere is asurplus following 

application of the proceeds of sale, 

then the plaintiff shall send written 

notice pursuant to 735 ILCS 

5/15-1512(d) to all parties to the 

proceeding advising them of the 

amount ofthe surplus and that the 

surplus will beheld until aparty 

obtains a court order for its distribution 

or, in the absence of an order, 

until the surplus is forfeited to 

the State. 

FOR INFORMATION PLEASE 

2703 Legal 

Notices 

CONTACT: 

Heavner Beyers and Mihlar LLC 

111 E. Main Street, 

Decatur, Illinois 62523 

P: 217-422-1719 

F: 217-422-1754 

Plaintiff's Attorney 

MIKE KELLEY 

Sheriff of Will County 










) SS. 


IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OFTHE 

TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT 


FIFTH THIRD BANK OK 

Plaintiff, 

vs. 

JULIE FOX, SPECIAL REPRESEN- 

TATIVE OF THE DECEASED MORT- 

GAGOR GERTRUDE J. THEZAN; 

UNKNOWN OWNERS AND 

NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS; RON- 

ALD INGALLS; KATHRYN SHER- 

MAN; TIMOTHY INGALLS; CHRIS- 

TINE PASSARELLI; GARY IN- 

GALLS; DONALD INGALLS; JAMES 

INGALLS; TRUDY INGALLS; UN- 

KNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF 

GERTRUDE J THEZAN A/K/A 

TRUDY JTHEZAN, IF ANY, DEFEN- 

DANTS. 

Defendant. 

No. 16 CH 1195 


Public notice ishereby given that pursuant 

toajudgment entered in the above 

cause onthe 26th day of September, 

2017, MIKE KELLEY, Sheriff of Will 

County, Illinois, will on Thursday, the 

28th day of December, 2017 , commencing 

at 12:00 o'clock noon, at the 



60432, sell at public auction to the highest 

and best bidder orbidders the following-described 

real estate: 

LOT 46IN1ST ADDITION TO AR- 

BURY HILLS, BEING A SUBDIVI- 

SION OF PART OF THE SOUTH- 

WEST QUARTER OF SECTION 10, 

IN TOWNSHIP 35 NORTH AND IN 

RANGE 12 EAST OF THE THIRD 

PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, ACCORD- 

ING TO THE PLAT THEREOF RE- 

CORDED SEPTEMBER 28, 1960, AS 

DOCUMENT NO. 913257, IN WILL 

COUNTY, ILLINOIS. 


9440 Magnolia Avenue, Mokena, IL 

60448 


SINGLE FAMILY HOME WITH DE- 

TACHED 2 CAR GARAGE. 

P.I.N.: 

19-09-10-304-020-0000 

Terms ofSale: ten percent (10%) at the 


twenty-four (24) hours. No judicial sale 






whose rights inand to the residential 




County. Judgment amount is 

$131,633.28 plus interest, cost and post 

judgment advances, if any. 



5/15-1507(c)(1)(H-1) and (H-2), 765 

ILCS 605/9(g)(5), and 765 ILCS 

605/18.5(g-1), you are hereby notified



2703 Legal 

Notices 

2703 Legal 

Notices 

2703 Legal 

Notices 

2703 Legal Notices 



and legal fees required by subdivisions 




Property Act. 


if there is a surplus following application 










FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CON- 

TACT: 

PIERCE AND ASSOCIATES 

1 N. Dearborn Suite 1300 

Chicago, Illinois 60602 

P: 312-346-9088 

F: 


MIKE KELLEY 











) SS. 


IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OFTHE 

TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT 


New Penn Financial LLC d/b/a Shellpoint 

Mortgage Servicing 

Plaintiff, 

vs. 

Melissa R. Costello a/k/a Melissa R. 

Dodaro; et. al. 

Defendant. 

No. 17 CH 0761 


Public notice ishereby given that pursuant 

toajudgment entered in the above 

cause on the 27th day of September, 

2017, MIKE KELLEY, Sheriff of Will 

County, Illinois, will on Thursday, the 

28th day of December, 2017 , commencing 

at 12:00 o'clock noon, at the 



60432, sell at public auction to the highest 

and best bidder orbidders the following-described 

real estate: 

19-09-07-303-052-1017 UNIT NUM- 

BER 11618-6 AND GARAGE UNIT 

P-17, INTHE ARROWHEAD CON- 

DOMINIUMS OF MOKENA, AS DE- 

LINEATED ON APLAT OF SURVEY 

OF THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED 

TRACT OFLAND; VARIOUS LOTS 

IN BLACKHAWK VILLAGE, ASUB- 

DIVISION OF THE SOUTHEAST 1/4 

OF THE SOUTHWEST 1/4 OFSEC- 

TION 7, AND THE NORTHEAST 1/4 

OF THE NORTHWEST 1/4 OFSEC- 

TION 18, IN TOWNSHIP 35 NORTH, 

RANGE 12 EAST OF THE THIRD 

PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN WILL 

COUNTY, ILLINOIS. WHICH PLAT 

OF SURVEY ISATTACHED AS EX- 

HIBIT "B" TO THE DECLARATION 

OF CONDOMINIUM RECORDED 

DECEMBER 2, 1998 AS DOCUMENT 

N UMBER R98-144071, AS 

AMENDED FROM TIME TOTIME; 

TOGETHER WITH ITS UNDIVIDED 

PERCENTAGE INTEREST IN THE 

COMMON ELEMENTS. 


11618 Roberts Street Unit #6, Mokena, 

IL 60448 


Condo/Townhouse 

P.I.N.: 

19-09-07-303-063-1006 













County. 



5/15-1507(c)(1)(H-1) and (H-2), 765 

ILCS 605/9(g)(5), and 765 ILCS 




and legal fees required by subdivisions 




Property Act. 












FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CON- 

TACT: 

Codilis & Associates, P.C. 

15W030 N. Frontage Road Suite 100 

Burr Ridge, Illinois 60527 

P: 630-794-5300 

F: 630-794-9090 


MIKE KELLEY 


Notice is hereby given that the belongings 

of Sean Flynn consisting 

of boxes, bags, and misc items currently 

stored atMokena Storage located 

at 19134 S. 104th Ave, Mokena, 

IL will be disposed of after 

December 20, 2017 unless payment 

is received in full by that 

date. 

DEPARTMENT OF 

HOMELAND SECURITY 

FEDERAL EMERGENCY 

MANAGEMENT AGENCY 

Proposed Flood Hazard 

Determinations for Will County, 

Illinois and Incorporated Areas 

The Department ofHomeland Security’s 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency has issued a preliminary 

Flood Insurance Rate 

Map (FIRM), and where applicable, 

Flood Insurance Study (FIS) 

report, reflecting proposed flood 

hazard determinations within Will 

County, Illinois and Incorporated 

Areas. These flood hazard determinations 

may include the addition or 

modification ofBase Flood Elevations, 

base flood depths, Special 

Flood Hazard Area boundaries or 

zone designations, or the regulatory 

floodway. Technical information 

orcomments are solicited on 

the proposed flood hazard determinations 

shown on the preliminary 

FIRM and/or FIS report for Will 

County, Illinois and Incorporated 

Areas. These flood hazard determinations 

are the basis for the floodplain 

management measures that 

your community is required to either 

adopt orshow evidence ofbeing 

already ineffect in order to 

qualify or remain qualified for par- 

ticipation inthe National Flood Insurance 

Program. However, before 

these determinations are effective 

for floodplain management purposes, 

you will be provided anopportunity 

to appeal the proposed 

information. For information on 

the statutory 90-day period provided 

for appeals, as well as a 

complete listing of the communities 

affected and the locations 

where copies of the FIRM are 

available for review, please visit 

FEMA’s website a t 

www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/b 

fe, or call the FEMA Map Information 

eXchange (FMIX) toll free at 

1-877-FEMA-MAP 

(1-877-336-2627). 

Legal Public Notice of the Village 

of Mokena, Will County, Illinois 

pursuant to 410 ILCS 625/3.6 

amending the Village ofMokena 

Code of Ordinances, Title 3, to include 

Chapter 3-16-1 passed on the 

13 day ofNovember, 2017 by the 

Village Board of Trustees through 

the passage and approval of Ordinance 

2017-O-038, adopting and 

incorporating 410 ILCS 625/3.6 of 

the Food Handling Regulation Enforcement 

Act. A copy of the ordinance 

can be viewed atthe office 

of the Village Clerk, 11004 Carpenter 

St., Mokena, Illinois during 

regular working hours. 

Advertise your 

RENTAL 

PROPERTY 

in the 

newspaper 

people turn 

to first 

CALL US TODAY: 

708.326.9170 


Annual Treasurer’s Report 

Village of Mokena 

Fiscal Year Ending 6/30/17 

Revenues by Source: Taxes, 13,061,438; Licenses, Permits, and Public Hearings, 927,238; Fines and Forfeitures, 

123,278; Rental Income, 336,639; Interest and Investment Income, 1,555,669; Charges for Services, 9,732,167; 

Performance Bond Deposits, 452,280; Grants and Contributions, 102,443; Employer and Member Contributions, 

991,597; Miscellaneous and Other, 541,486; 

Gross Payment for Personnel Salary Range Less than $25,000: Arelano, E; Bayer, K; Bourke, M; Brannan, R; 

Budz, J; Budzyn, J; Cantwell, R; Cirelli, J; Durling, D; Durling, P; Engler, D; Fleischer, F; Franson, C; Franson, 

T; Garvey Jr, T; Glowaczk, K; Heathcock, D; Karpola, P; Lief, M; Lief Jr, W; Lukaszewski, S; Lukowski, A; 

Mackay, T; Mazzorana, J; McElyea, G; Metanias, G;Moran, M;Oehmen, K; Oseman, R; Paske, B; Patt, P;Perry, 

J; Prskalo, D; Ray, D; Richmond, J; Sands, B; Sandusky Jr, R; Schonwise, M; Scott, B; Seliga, M; Siwinski, J; 

Solner, M; Vandelft, M; Williams, J; 

Salary Range $25,000-$49,999.99: Barnes, M; Contey, P; Cooper, S; Evans, T; Haug, K; Kosola, J;Lyons, A; 

Sickles, L; Walenga, C; Waxweiler, M; 

Salary Range $50,000-$74,999.99: Angone, J; Cullen, M; Donnelly, K; Dornbos, M; Foster, C; Frieling, J; Goravica, 

S; Hon, J; Manns, D; Massey Jr, R; Murphy, P; Smith, B; Sweeney, P; Wilhelm, R; Yockey, K; Ziska, M; 

Salary Range $75,000-$99,999.99: Ballantine, J; Boardman, D; Bonzani, L; Butler, D; Clay, K; Cordova, J; Czarnecki, 

T; Dampf, C; Delaney, G; DePolo, M; Donnan, T; Florey, J; Henschel, R; Kochetz, R; Kowalczyk, J; Lanagan, 

A; Malone, K;McVicker, D; Orr, M; Payne, J;Peloquin, D; Petrow, R;Petrow, W;Selin, G;Skolds, R; 

Smith, J; 

Salary Range $100,000-$124,999.99: Chlebek, S;Detloff, M;Gilliam, S; McKenna, L;Miller Jr, R;Moscato, M; 

Rankovich, D; Siwinski, D; Stanglewicz, P; Stumpf, R; Zoellner, K; 

Salary Range $125,000-$149,999.99: Carlson, C; Damron, B; Keller, M;Louthan, J; Tiberi III, L; Vaccaro, S; 

Williford, R; Zordan, A; 

Salary Range $150,000-$174999.99: Pearson, P; Tomasoski, J; 

Person, Firm or Corporation Paid $2,500 or More: ABMaterial Testing LLC 6,146.50; Affiliated Computer Services 

5,440.25; Affordable Concrete Raising 7,875.00; Airy’s Inc. 55,532.33; All Star Inc. 10,000.00; Area Landscape 

Supply Inc. 9,531.25; Austin Tyler Construction 15,213.01; Bank of New York 1,135,040.52; Beary Landscape 

Management 54,522.50; Bernardin’s Landscaping Inc. 7,075.00; Bill’s Lawn Maintenance 5,230.00; 

Bio-Link Inc. 19,952.41; Bluetarp Financial 7,714.16; Braniff Communications Inc. 3,420.00; Bridges of Mokena 

Townhomes 4,700.00; Burdelik Builders Inc. 18,156.27; Burton &Mayer Inc. 5,274.40; CGProfessional Service 

Inc. 8,831.44; C.O.P.S. Testing Service 5,018.00; Call One 53,662.62; Cardmember Service 30,771.43; Cardno 

Inc. 7,689.12; Case Lots Inc. 15,690.92; Casey Equipment Inc. 2,665.38; Castletown Homes 3,000.00; CCH Printing 

6,551.72; CCP Industries Inc. 4,676.91; CED Tinley Park 7,627.31; Century Printers 3,669.90; Cernauskas, 

Mary 10,000.00; Chicago Parts & Sound LLC 26,658.50; Chicago Salt Company Inc. 10,007.61; Chicago Southland 

Convention 7,197.47; CIT Trucks LLC 44,968.18; Civicplus 6,162.00; Clarke Aquatic Services 33,999.30; 

Clarke Environmental Management 18,714.80; Comcast Cable 6,901.54; ComEd 101,084.34; Compass Minerals 

America Inc. 141,988.95; Computer &Network Specialists 10,530.00; Conduent Inc. 4,457.18; Continental Farms 

Inc. 25,480.00; Costar Realty Information Inc. 4,578.69; Creative Forms & Concepts 5,999.67; Currie Motors of 

Frankfort 85,158.87; D&TVentures LLC 6,300.00; DConstruction Inc. 78,444.12; Davis Concrete Construction 

98,525.60; Denler Inc. 42,670.00; Detailed Inspection Service 8,055.00; DGV Cement Contractors 16,760.00; 

Digital Sky Wireless LLC 58,153.43; Distinctive Home Builders 3,000; Dormer Company 6,585.00; Dynegy Energy 

Services LLC 277,365.14; Edward Electric Company 3,345.00; Ehlers & Associates Inc. 4,550.00; EJ USA 

Inc. 3,370.46; Emerald Tree Care LLC 12,824.05; Excel Electric 48,384.12; First Communications LLC 2,952.53; 

Foremost Promotions 2,655.50; Freedom First Aid & Safety 2,872.95; Gale Builders 3,900.00; Gallagher Materials 

Inc. 2,531.94; Gaskill & Walton Construction 407,995.00; Gasvoda & Associates Inc. 2,589.57; GEA MEUS 

Inc. 335,000.00; Genco Industries Inc. 18,475.00; Glen Haven Builders 3,000.00; Goodyear Commercial Tires 

2,765.52; Gordon Electric 19,610.10; GovtempsUSA LLC 26,488.00; Graefen Development Inc. 15,000.00; Graf 

Tree Care 26,092.00; Granicus Inc. 11,400.00; Gutric, Francis M 3,400.00; H&HElectric Company 33,440.59; 

Hach Company 3,519.75; Hannis Consulting Inc. 11,571.90; Hawkins Inc. 40,945.54; HD Supply Waterworks 

Inc. 4,907.25; Hey and Associates Inc. 10,000.00; Hickory Creek Watershed 7,000.00; Home Depot Credit Services 

11,774.13; Homer Tree Care Inc. 14,700.30; HR Green Inc. 31,594.02; Huff &Huff Inc. 2,718.26; ICMA 

3,168.84; Illini Power Products Co. 22,915.55; Illinois Department of Employment Security 5,829.87; Illinois Department 

ofTransportation 2,600.00; Illinois EPA-Fiscal Services 18,500.00; Inland Mokena Marketplace LLC 

365,316.35; J &RSales Service & Repair 4,403.48; JCMUniforms 2,647.89; John Deere Shared Services 

152,270.12; Joliet Suspension Inc. 4,199.55; Julie Inc. 6,805.56; Keigher Motors 29,720.00; Keslin Engineering 

Inc. 131,841.20; Kevin Electric Co. 20,553.50; Kiesler’s Police Supply Inc. 5,646.40; Kim, Sung Ho 10,000.00; 

Kimball Midwest 15,084.39; Knight Security Alarms Inc. 5,308.21; Krupske Sprinkler System Inc. 14,130.00; 

Lally, James G 9,495.00; Landscape Associates 14,989.00; Laraway Communications Center 32,183.40; Lehigh 

Hanson 6,875.99; Lettermen Signage 20,710.00; Lexipol LLC 5,995.00; LincolnWay Public Safety Center 

330,117.00; Live Wire Properties 15,000.00; M.E. Simpson Company Inc. 54,032.96; M Rugged Mobile Technology 

2,895.00; Maertin Heating 21,568.80; Martin Implement Sales Inc. 25,356.23; Martin Whalen Office Solutions 

16,879.85; Master Auto Supply 10,084.94; Matthuis Trucking Inc. 43,569.74; MB 878 LLC 136,830.27; 

Melrose Pyrotechnics Inc. 19,500.00; Mesirow Insurance Services Inc. 3,177.00; Metroploitan Industries Inc. 

95,085.83; Mid America Tree & Landscape 17,600.00; Midway Tree Service Inc. 32,249.00; Midwest Fence Corporation 

4,312.00; Midwest Water Group Inc. 22,150.00; Mokena Auto Parts 5,667.34; Mokena Postmaster 

33,430.00; Municipal Systems Inc. 7,429.75; Municipalcms 7,983.00; N.E. IL Regional Commuter RR 4,350.00; 

Nebor Construction, Inc. 4,500.00; Neehan Foundry Company 4,320.00; Nicholas & Associates Inc. 139,250.00; 

Nicor Gas 12,663.82; Norwalk Tank Co. 6,004.09; NuWay Disposal Service Inc. 1,292,995.15; Oak Lawn Blacktop 

&Paving Co. 76,700.00; Ozinga Ready Mix Concrete Inc. 21,600.00; PTFerro Construction Company 

905,161.90; Patten Industries Inc. 4,091.22; Pavement Systems Inc. 10,097.15; Peteroccelli, John C3,330.00; 

Phillips Chevrolet Inc. 3,831.58; Pinner Electric Inc. 8,887.80; Pod’s Seal Coating Inc. 14,800.00; Prairie Material 

Sales Inc. 8,561.90; Public Engines Inc. 7,104.30; Rathbun Cservenyak &Kozol LLC 78,286.50; Ray O’Herron 

Company 5,839.86; Reliable Fire Equipment Co. 3,447.50; Reserve Account 9,600.00; Revere Electric Supply 

13,587.00; Riecher, Jill A 5,400.00; RMS Utility Services 21,150.00; Robert H Ward &Associates Inc. 7,989.75; 

Robinson Engineering Ltd. 25,158.58; Rush Truck Centers of Illinois 162,877.96; Schilling Brothers Lumber of 

Illinois Inc. 58,415.67; Seeco Consultants 5,060.14; SEPS Inc. 5,215.05; South Suburban Mayors &Managers 

11,326.00; Southwest Agency for Health Management 1,283,677.13; Southwest Agency for Risk Management 

317,701.00; Speedway SuperAmerica LLC 65,927.53; Spiess Construction Inc. 22,747.00; Staples Advantage 

3,248.04; Strand Associates Inc. 60,080.00; Suburban Laboratories Inc. 11,763.00; Sunny Communications Inc. 

22,490.00; Sutton Ford Inc. 13,319.62; Swim &Sport Team Outfitters 2,712.88; Sylvester, Ron 3,200.00; 

TAPCO 2,513.38; Telvent DTN 3,372.00; The COP Fire Shop 6,040.94; The Fields onCaton Farm Inc.



CLASSIFIEDS 



Sell It 708.326.9170 | Fax It 708.326.9179 

Charge It | DEADLINE - Friday at 3pm 

Automotive 

Real Estate 

2703 Legal Notices 

$52 

4 lines/ 

7 papers Help Wanted 

$50 

7 lines/ 

7 papers Merchandise 

$13 

per line 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

$30 

4 lines/ 

7 papers 

, ; , ; p , ; 

90,011.00; Thompson Elevator Inspections 5,430.00; Thorton Equipment Services 32,243.00; Tire Tracks 

10,445.46; Tokarz, Lara 5,189.25; Tri-R Systems Inc. 3,820.00; Tyco Integrated Security LLC 2,661.58; US 

Bank Equipment Finance 4,554.74; USCensus Bureau –Finance Division 89,339.00; USA Bluebook 8,582.65; 

Verizon Wireless 35,240.84; Village ofNew Lenox 3,091,996.01; Village ofOak Lawn 92,721.06; University of 

Virginia 4,250.00; VisualGov Solutions LLC 54,317.23; Walusek, Phil 4,880.00; Water Resources Inc. 

111,546.66; Water Tower Clean & Coat Inc. 18,900.00; Web QA Inc. 6,000.00; Wex Bank 43,665.20; Whiteline 

Construction Inc. 67,930.00; Whitmore Ace Hardware 7,211.35; Wholesale Direct Inc. 2,674.08; Wiley Tree Care 

9,201.00; Will County Collector 3,250.98; Will County Governmental League 16,963.70; Will County Treasurer 

4,775.90; Winslow Ventures Corporation 6,900.00; Wipfli LLP 13,000.00; Xerox Business Services 21,846.71; 

Xylem Water Solutions USA 12,856.47; Ziebell Water Service Products 3,511.47; 815 Mulchit 3,372.50; 

General Special Revenue Debt Service Capital Project Enterprise Trust/ Agency 

Beginning: 

Fund Balance 4,197,649 1,472,176 0 17,953,393 20,195,621 18,682,759 

Revenues 11,492,020 1,330,450 0 3,372,279 8,746,494 2,882,992 

Expenditures 9,544,150 1,015,827 0 2,401,044 8,818,581 942,889 

Other Financing: 

Proceeds from 

Long Term Debt 

and/or Sale of 

Fixed Assets 21,846 0 0 0 0 0 

Loss on Disposition 

of Capital Assets 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Contributed Assets Net 

of Transferred Debt 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Transfer of Contributed 

Assets Net of Debt 0 

Sources 0 0 0 2,930,000 400,000 0 

Uses 2,600,000 0 0 395,000 335,000 0 

Ending: 

Fund Balance 3,567,365 1,786,799 0 21,459,628 20,188,534 20,622,862 

More detailed information for the listed funds may be obtained at: THE MOKENA VILLAGE HALL, 11004 

CARPENTER STREET, MOKENA, ILLINOIS 60448. 

I certify the foregoing to be correct in all material aspects to the best of my knowledge and belief. 

Barbara A. Damron 

Treasurer/Finance Director 

Village of Mokena 

I, Judi Frieling, aNotary Public, do certify that on the 28th day of November, 2017, Barbara A. Damron personally 

appeared before me and being first sworn by me, acknowledged that she signed the foregoing document in the 

capacity therein set forth and declared that the statements therein contained are true. 

Judi Frieling, Notary Public 

November 28, 2017 

Buy It! 

FIND It! 

SELL It! 

in the CLASSIFIEDS 

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42 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger sports 


Boys basketball 

Lincoln-Way East 92, 

Plainfield South 67 

Joey Buggemi (17 points) 

led the Griffins Nov. 22. 


Brother Rice 62 

Sam Shafer (30 points) led 

the way for the Griffins Nov. 

24. 

Lincoln-Way Central 66, 

Plainfield South 44 

Luke Handley (23 points) 

led the Knights Nov. 25. 

Lincoln-Way East 61, Joliet 

West 44 

Sam Shafer (26 points), 

Joey Buggemi (11 points) 

and Zach Parduhn (10 

points) led the way for 

the Griffins in winning 

the Thanksgiving Tournament 

Nov. 25. Shafer was 

named the tournament’s 

MVP. 

Girls basketball 

Lincoln-Way East 66, Marist 

44 

Lauren Hunter (18 

points), Katchie Savic (15 

points) and Kaley Sheehan 

(10 points) led the way for 

the Griffins Nov. 21. It was 

coach Jim Martin’s 400th career 

win. 

high school highlights 

The rest of the week in high school sports 

Lincoln-Way Central 63, 

Lincoln-Way West 57 

Lauren Kraft (20 points, 

16 rebounds) and Regan 

LoConte (19 points, 4 rebounds) 

led the way for the 

Knights Nov. 21. 

Lincoln-Way East 58, Crete- 

Monee 49 

Carolyn Waleski (15 

points, 8 rebounds), Kaley 

Sheehan (13 points) and 

Lauren Hunter (13 points) 

led the way for the Griffins 

Nov. 22 as they won the 

Marist Championship. 


Montini 63 

Lauren Hunter (13 points, 

11 rebounds) led the way for 

the Griffins Nov. 28. 

Boys bowling 

Lincoln-Way East 2,958, 

Chicago Christian 2,664 

Colton Marks had the high 

game of 256 and Josh Edgin 

had high 3-game series of 

652 to lead the Griffins Nov. 

27. 

Girls bowling 

Lincoln-Way East 1,747, 

Chicago Christian 1,233 

Morgan Tripi (221, 212) 

led the way for the Griffins 

Nov. 27. 

Wrestling 

Lincoln-Way East 37, Oak 

Forest 27 

Patrick Zofkie was a winner 

by fall for the Griffins 

Nov. 21. 


Andrew 32 

Cael Geijer was a winner 

by fall for the Griffins Nov. 

21. 


Plainfield East 35 

Noah Alsguson, Joe Knaperick, 

Jake Lamonto and 

Dillan Lang led the Griffins 

with pins Nov. 22. 

Lincoln-Way East 51, Oak 

Lawn 21 

Nick House, Dillan 

Lang, Noah Alsguson and 

Jake Lamonto led the way 

for the Griffins with pins 

Nov. 22. 

Girls gymnastics 

Lincoln-Way East 135.85, 

Sandburg 139.85 

Erica Dice and Mid Flondor 

lead vault with an 8.9, 

Madi Flondor lead bars 

with an 8.6, Erika Waaso 

lead beam with a 9.0 and 

Sabrina Wenk lead floor 

with an 8.95 for the Griffins 

Nov. 28. 

22-HO-LISATHOMAS-112217 

This Week In… 

Knights varsity 

athletics 


■Dec. ■ 8 - hosts Bradley- 

Bourbonnais, 6 p.m. 

■Dec. ■ 12 - at Andrew, 

7 p.m. 

Girls basketball 

■Dec. ■ 12 - hosts Bradley- 

Bourbonnais, 6 p.m. 

■Dec. ■ 14 - at Andrew, 6 p.m. 

Boys bowling 

■Dec. ■ 9 - at Lincoln-Way East 

Invitational, 8 a.m. 

■Dec. ■ 12 - hosts Stagg, 

4:30 p.m. 

Girls bowling 

■Dec. ■ 9 - at Plainfield North 


■Dec. ■ 12 - at Bolingbrook, 

4:30 p.m. 

Boys wrestling 

■Dec. ■ 8 - at Andrew, 5 p.m. 

■Dec. ■ 9 - at Downers Grove 


■Dec. ■ 13 - hosts Thornton, 

5 p.m. 

■Dec. ■ 14 - at Lincoln-Way 

East, 5 p.m. 

Girls competitive 

cheerleading 

■Dec. ■ 10 - at Bradley- 

Bourbonnais Invitational, TBA 

Girls competitive dance 

■Dec. ■ 9 - at Waubonsie Valley 

Invitational, TBD

mokenamessenger.com sports 


Athlete of the Month 

Athlete of the Week 

10 Questions 

with Jaden Hacha 

Jaden Hacha is a senior 

defensive lineman with the 

Griffins football team 

How’d you get started 

in football? 

Through my dad. I wanted 

to try it out my freshman 

year and see how it goes. 

Ever since then I just fell in 

love with the sport. 

Kirsten Leitshuh, a sophomore on the Lincoln-Way West girls volleyball team, won the 

November Athlete of the Month competition for publisher 22nd Century Media’s Southwest 

Chicago branch. 22nd Century Media File Photo 

LW West girls volleyball 

player is November champ 

Bill Jones, Managing Editor 

Kirsten Leitshuh is only a 

sophomore, but she already 

has made a big impact as an 

outside hitter for Lincoln-Way 

West’s girls volleyball team. 

She already has Division 

I schools scouting her, has 

a family history of standing 

out on the volleyball court, 

and now can add one more 

item to her impressive and 

ever-growing resume. 

Leitshuh is 22nd Century 

Media’s Southwest Chicago 

Athlete of the Month after 

winning the November competition. 

The Athlete of the Month 

competition pits featured 

Athlete of the Week selections 

from our south suburban 

newspapers against one 

another in an online voting 

contest. 

The next contest is to begin 

Sunday, Dec. 10. 

To vote, visit MokenaMessenger.com, 

hover 

over the “Sports” menu tab 

and click “Athlete of the 

Month.” Readers can vote 

once per session per valid 

email address. Voting ends 

at 5 p.m. Dec. 25. 

All athletes featured in 

the November Athlete of the 

Week sports interviews are 

automatically entered into 

the contest. 

Do you have any plans 

for college? 

Yes, right now I’m interested 

in playing college football, 

and I’ve gotten offers 

and I’m really leaning toward 

[Illinois State University]. 

… [I’d like to study] 

special education. I feel like 

it’s my calling. I have a lot of 

family members who do it. I 

always help around with the 

special needs kids. Some of 

them are good friends. I always 

felt it was my calling. 

What do you like most 

about football? 

The brotherhood. It’s my 

home away from home type 

of thing. I’m with them more 

than I am at my own home, 

and, honestly, I wouldn’t 

want it any other way. It’s 

just a bond that won’t be 

broken between the coaches 

and the players. 

What’s your spirit 

animal? 

A griffin. It’s both ruler 

of the sky and the land, so I 

feel like it’s just dominant in 

whatever circumstance you 

put them in; no matter what 

happens, they’ll still strive in 

that situation. 

If you won the lottery, 

what would be the first 

thing you would buy? 

I’d probably use it for my 

brothers and my college tuition. 

… I know one of my 

brothers is really into Star 

Wars. My youngest brother 

really likes video games, so 

whatever theyprefered. 

If you had to pick one 

player to line up next to 

you, who would it be? 

Probably my brother (Jaron). 

He got pulled up and, I 

mean, it’s a cool experience 

to have him there and to go 

through it with him, but it’d 

be really cool to play along 

with him, too. 

Do you have a nickname? 

Which one? A lot of people 

on the football team call 

me “Big Ol’ Ham,” “Big 

Hach,” or, “Big Hoss,” anything 

like that. The “Big Ol’ 

Ham” is the primary one. 

photo submitted 

If you could own an 

exoctic pet, what would 

it be? 

A spider monkey. I’ve always 

loved spider monkey. 

They’re just so small and full 

of energy. And they’re very 

friendly, too, so you can just 

bring them around wherever. 

Do you have any 

phobias? 

Flying, even though I’ve 

never flown before, but I do 

not intend on flying, either. 

What advice do you have 

for next year’s team? 

Live in the moment. It 

goes by really fast. It feels 

like just yesterday we were 

starting June camp … It flies 

by. Just live in the moment 

and don’t take it for granted. 

Interview conducted by T.J. 

Kremer III, Editor

44 36 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena orlanD park Messenger prairie sports SportS 


opprairie.com 

FooTball (oFFenSe) 

22nd Century Media chose the best football student-athletes based on coach recommendations and player 

statistics in its seven-town southwest suburban coverage area to place them on one super team — Team 22. The 

team is made up of student-athletes from Lincoln-Way Central, LW East, LW West, Providence Catholic, Andrew, 

Lockport Township, Tinley Park and Sandburg high schools. This is its roster for offense. 

— Compiled by 22nd Century Media staff 

FirST Team 

Quarterback 

Brendan Morrissey, senior, LW East 

97-of-145 passing for 1,522 

yards with 21 touchdowns. 161 

carries for 1,019 yards and 9 

touchdowns. All-SWSC. By air 

or land, Morrissey was key to 

claiming a state title. 

Wide receiver 

Nicky Shelton, senior, Sandburg 

36 catches for 674 yards for an 

average of 18.7 yards per catch, 

with 6 touchdowns. Shelton’s 

impact was not to be ignored, as 

he regularly drew double teams 

from defenses. 

Offensive Line 

Jake Buhe, LW East 

The Griffins’ big offense was 

enabled by its line, starting with 

Buhe, who helped Brendan 

Morrissey do his thing. All-SWSC. 

running back 

De’Shon Gavin, senior, Provi 

204 carries for 1,500 yards 

with 13 touchdowns. Also, 16 

receptions for 326 yards for 2 

touchdowns. All-CCL Blue, All- 

State. Gavin led the area on the 

ground. 

tight end 

Turner Pallissard, senior, LW East 

40 catches for 470 yards and 8 

touchdowns, 14 carries for 28 

yards and 4 touchdowns. All- 

SWSC. Another key to the Griffins’ 

offensive attack this season. 


Joe Fulkerson, senior, LW Central 

The Knights had a strong offense 

this year, and Fulkerson helped 

make it possible with his strong 

work up front. All-SWSC. 

running back 

Mike Morgan, senior, LW Central 

193 carries for 1,075 yards and 

18 touchdowns, 14 receptions for 

165 yards for 2 touchdowns. All- 

SWSC. Morgan was integral to the 

Knights’ attack this season. 


Austin O’Connor, senior, Andrew 

20 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed. 

6.1 average yards per rush. The 

Thunderbolts lineman was an 

absolute beast. 


Dane Eggert, senior, LW East 

East had no shortage of strong 

line work, and Eggert was 

another major standout on this 

season’s championship team. 

Wide receiver 

Alex Croft, senior, LW West 

44 catches for 646 yards, with 

9 touchdowns, 58.5 yards per 

game. 237 kickoff return yards 

with a 23.7 per return average 

and 63 long. All-SWSC. Croft did 

it all. 


Jack McFarland, senior, Provi 

Physical run block and pass 

blocker. All-CCL, Academic All- 

State. McFarland stellar play on 

the line stood out for the Celtics. 

kicker 

Eduardo Favela, senior, Provi 

47-of-49 (96 percent) on extra 

points, 8 field goals with a 47- 

yard long. Reliable all season 

long, Favela was incredibly 

important to the Celtics, tacking 

on point after point. 

Burns phoTography Burns phoTography 

Second Team 

QB: Caden Kalinowski, senior, Provi 

103 completions on 198 attempts for 

1,485 yards and 8 touchdowns, 4 rushing 

touchdowns. All-CCL. 

RB: Caleb Marconi, sophomore, LW West 

208 carries for 1,273 yards (6.1 per carry, 76 

long) with 16 touchdowns, 76 yards receiving. 

RB: Matt Pollack, senior, LW Central 

93 carries for 556 yards and 9 touchdowns. 

453 yards receiving with 7 touchdowns. 

All-SWSC. 

WR: David Morgan, senior, Tinley 

38 catches for 456 yards (12 average per 

catch) with 5 touchdowns on the season. 

WR: A.J. Henning, sophomore, LW East 

17 catches for 337 yards and 4 touchdowns, 

49 carries for 466 yards and 4 touchdowns 

rushing. 

TE: Evan Weygandt, senior, LW West 

25 receptions for 349 yards (14 average per 

catch, 74 long,), 2 touchdowns. All-SWSC. 

OL: Alex Lunak, senior, Sandburg 

All-SWSC. One of the Eagles’ Top 5 on the field 

this year, he helped keep the offense going. 

OL: Anthony Sottosanto, junior, LW East. 

The Griffins had no shortage of options 

thanks to the strength of the entire line. 

OL: Troy White, senior, LW East 

Another important element in giving the 

Griffins QB time to work this season. 

OL: Nate Mahoney, junior, LW West 

At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Mahoney was a wall 

against defenders this year. 

OL: Yousef Samara, senior, Andrew 

The line played a big role in the T-Bolts’ 

comeback from a 1-8 season. All-SWSC. 

K: Dominic Dzioban, sophomore, LW East 

Game-winner against St. Charles East, 47-of- 

49 point-after attempts. 

Honorable mentions 

QB: Ryan Zientara, senior, Tinley; 

Sam Pipiras, senior, LW Central. 

RB: Austin Hoffman, senior, 

Lockport; Jake Magurany, senior, 

Provi; Eli Webster, senior, Tinley; 

Andrew Schab, junior, Sandburg; 

Ryan Scianna, senior, LW East. 

WR: Nick Ward, senior, Lockport.

mokenamessenger.com opprairie.com sports SportS 

The the orland Mokena park Messenger prairie | december December 7, 2017 | 37 45 

FooTball (deFenSe) 

22nd Century Media chose the best football student-athletes based on coach recommendations and player 

statistics in its seven-town southwest suburban coverage area to place them on one super team — Team 22. 

The team features student-athletes from Lincoln-Way Central, LW East, LW West, Providence Catholic, Andrew, 

Lockport Township, Tinley Park and Sandburg high schools. This is the defensive squad. 

— Compiled by 22nd Century Media staff 

FirST Team 

Defensive Line 

Devin O’Rourke, senior, LW East 

80 tackles, 25 for losses, 14 

sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 

fumble recovery. SWSC Defensive 

Player of the Year. All-SWSC. The 

defensive end played at an All- 

State level all season long. 

Linebacker 

John Christensen, senior, LW East 

128 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 

interception, 1 fumble recovery. 

All-SWSC. Whether playing middle 

or outside, Christensen made 

things incredibly difficult for 

opposing offenses. 


Jaden Hacha, senior, LW East 


sacks. All-SWSC. The defensive 

tackle combined with Devin 

O’Rourke to make life miserable 

for opposing offenses. 

Linebacker 

Sam Rost, senior, Provi 

151 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 

fumble recovery, 1 sack, 8 QB 

pressures. All-CCL. Rost led the 

area in tackles, and his turnover 

potential is not to be understated. 

Burns phoTography 


Nick Skentzos, senior, LW West 

71 tackles, 10.5 for losses, 5.5 

sacks, 1 forced fumble. All-SWSC. 

The Warriors’ standout defensive 

tackle lived up to his position’s 

namesake this season. 

Linebacker 

Matt Granberry, senior, LW Central 

59 tackles total, 12 for losses, 

4 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 

interceptions. All-SWSC. As part 

of a well-rounded defense that 

split the work, Granberry still 

stood out. 

Burns phoTography 


Ameer Aqel, junior, Andrew 


sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 2 pass 

breakups. The Thunderbolts’ 

defensive standout was 

dangerous all year. 

Linebacker 

Declan Carr, senior, LW East 

108 tackles, 23 for loss, 3 

forced fumbles, 1 recovery. 

All-SWSC. Ball-carriers whose 

unfortunate fate wasn’t meeting 

John Christensen often found the 

formidable Carr instead. 

Second Team 

DL: Dylan Davalos, senior, Provi 

56 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 3 

recoveries. All-CCL. 

DL: Mike DeHaan, senior, Andrew 

30 tackles, 5 for loss, 6 sacks, 5 pass 

break-ups, 2 forced fumbles. All-SWSC. 

DL: Mark O’ Reilly, senior, LW Central 

30 tackles total, 8 for losses, 3 sacks. 

All-SWSC. 

DL: Haleem Ajibola, senior, Lockport 

42 tackles, 8 for losses, 2 forced 

fumbles. All-SWSC. 

LB: Tommy Piekarz, senior, Andrew 

92 tackles, 12 for losses, 5 sacks, 2 

forced fumbles. All-SWSC. 

LB: Logan Anderson, senior, Provi 

105 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 4 

sacks, 1 interception. 

LB: Mariano Sori-Marin, senior, Provi 

88 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 hurries, 1 

interception. All-CCL. 

LB: Alex Hirschfield, junior, Sandburg 

70 total tackles, 6 for losses, 6 sacks, 

3 knocked down passes, 1 interception. 

All-SWSC. 

DB: Cole Griffin, senior, Andrew 

72 tackles, 2 for losses, 2 interceptions, 

1 sack, 1 forced fumble. All-SWSC. 

DB: Peyton Nigro, senior, LW Central 

39 tackles, 54 interception return 

yards, 1 fumble recovery, 1 defensive 

touchdown, All-SWSC. 

DB: Steven Meyer, senior, Provi 

75 tackles, 3 interceptions (all in 

playoffs), 1 fumble recovery, 4 passes 

knocked down. 

Defensive back 

Tai Gannaban, senior, Andrew 


interception, 1 forced fumble. 

All-SWSC. Gannaban’s 

defensive play helped keep the 

Thunderbolts in the hunt almost 

all season. 


Jake Price, senior, LW West 

82 tackles, 17.5 for losses, 3.5 

sacks, 3 pass breakups, 233 

yards on kickoff returns (29.1 

per return) for 1 touchdown, 42 

yards on punt returns with 1 

touchdown. All-SWSC. 


Max Cesario, senior, LW East 


interceptions, 1 forced fumble. 

All-SWSC. Whether playing strong 

safety or free safety, Cesario 

came up big for the Griffins in 

terms of forcing turnovers. 

Honorable mentions 

DL: Jake Pott, senior, LW Central; 

Tommy Mulhall, senior, Lockport; 

Ben Ravetto, senior, LW East; 

Dylan Shelton, junior, LW East; Moe 

Jumah, senior, Sandburg; Nicholas 

Orlando, senior, Sandburg. 

LB: Nick DeGregorio, senior, LW 

Central; Jose Marban, junior, Tinley; 

Ryan Robbins, senior, LW West; Bo 

Hamlin, junior, Lockport; Brett Widule, 

senior, LW Central; Joey Markasovic, 

senior, Provi; Liam Markham, senior, 

Provi; Josh Urbanski, senior, Tinley Park; 

Jim Cozen, senior, Lockport. 

DB: Jaimie Marines, senior, Sandburg; 

Jon Savage, senior, Lockport; Matt 

Murphy, senior, LW West; Ricky Kwak, 

senior, Sandburg; Sean Callaghan, 

senior, Andrew; Hunter Valentine, senior, 

LW West; Josh Dyke, senior, Andrew; 

Aaron Krockey, senior, Provi; Kwaku 

Appiah, senior, LW East; Dugan Bolsoni, 

senior, LW East; Anthony Lullo, senior, 

LW West.

46 | December 7, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger sports 


Knights split triangular to open conference play 

RANDY WHALEN 


Pat Blayney has seen his 

own confidence and improvement 

in the past year. 

The Lincoln-Way Central 

senior wrestler believes that 

the rest of the Knights wrestling 

team will have that by 

the end of the season too. 

Blayney was one of three 

Central wrestlers that got a 

pair of wins on the day, as 

the Knights split their opening 

conference matches of 

the season. Those were a 

54-6 win over Thornridge 

followed by a 45-33 loss to 

Bradley-Bourbonnais Thursday, 

Nov. 30, in a South- 

West Suburban Conference 

triangular in New Lenox. 

The Boilermakers thumped 

Thornridge to win both 

meets on the day. 

The Knights (2-3, 1-1) actually 

opened the season the 

week before. That was Nov. 

22 at the Glenbard North 

Quad. There, they lost to 

state-ranked Minooka and 

the host Panthers, but beat 

Batavia. 

“We had a rough start, but 

toward the end, we started 

figuring it out,” said Blayney 

after the loss to Bradley. 

“We just want to keep working 

toward our goals.” 

A year ago, Blayney was 

starting some on the varsity 

at Lincoln-Way East. 

When the district revamped 

after the closing of Lincoln-Way 

North, he went to 

Central. 

“It’s a lot easier compared 

to last year,” said Blayney, 

who was one of only three 

senior starters in the triangular. 

“Last year, I was going 

into the unknown. Now, 

I look at myself as a team 

leader. 

“I like our teamwork. We 

have a lot of chemistry and 

we all support each other. 

Lincoln-Way Central 195-pounder Michael McCormack gets his hands raised after a win Thursday, Nov. 30 in a SouthWest Suburban Conference 

triangular in New Lenox. McCormick went 2-0 on the night. James Sanchez/22nd Century Media 

We’re going to work hard 

and peak toward the end of 

the season. My own goal is 

to get through to sectional, 

and then, hopefully, to state.” 

Blayney had a forfeit win 

against Thornridge and a 

pin against the Boilermakers. 

Junior heavyweight Lucas 

Korte had pins in both 

matches, and, at 120 pounds, 

freshman Mitch Rudsinski 

also registered a forfeit win 

against the Falcons and a pin 

against Bradley. 

“It went pretty good,” 

Rudsinski said of the triangular 

meet. “I got my first 

pin of my varsity career, and 

it was enjoyable to get my 

hand raised after that.” 

Rudsinski had no idea 

he’d make the varsity coming 

into the season. But he’s 

obviously very happy to be 

part of the team. 

“I had hopes for it,” he 

said of being on the varsity. 

“But I had to work for it; it 

wasn’t given to me. What 

I like about the team is the 

coaches. They can be funny 

at times, but they get on you. 

They help to make me be the 

wrestler that I can be.” 

Central head coach Jason 

DePolo is glad to do just 

that. 

“He’s a wrestler,” DePolo 

said of Rudsinski. “He flows 

like a natural type of wrestler. 

He knows his position 

and has a bright future.” 

Michael McCormack, a 

junior who wrestled at 195, 

also got a pair of wins on the 

day, including a close 2-1 

win against the Boilermakers. 

McCormack also got 

a win via pin from a cradle 

against his opponent from 

Thornridge in the first period. 

Central also received 

forfeit victories against 

Bradley by juniors Dylan 

Collura (170) and Mason 

Sargent (182). 

The Knights won 11 of 

the 13 contested matches 

against Thornridge. There 

was a double forfeit at 138 

pounds. 

In addition to Korte, also 

picking up pins against the 

Falcons were sophomore 

Kevin Horney (106), senior 

Adam Triolo (113), senior 

David Labriola (132) and junior 

Jackson Hosman (145). 

Besides McCormack, the 

Knights also had victories 

by juniors Luke Valentine 

(126), Andrew Medina (152) 

and Dylan Collura (170). 

“We’ve got some guys 

new to varsity, and we’re 

still searching for that identity,” 

DePolo said. “We’re 

giving up a few too many 

pins, but hats off to Bradley. 

They’ve really improved. 

We were flat, and they were 

ready to go.” 

DePolo, a 2003 Central 

graduate who went downstate 

in Class 2A his senior 

season, is now in his ninth 

year as head coach at the 

school. He guided three 

straight teams to the dual 

team state finals between the 

2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons. 

But the team has hit 

some rough patches since. 

“There’s ups and downs, 

and you ride it when it’s going,” 

he said. “But it’s great 

to try to piece it together. 

We’ve got a lot of young 

wrestlers, and we’re just trying 

to get better.” 

Central closed last week 

with a dual meet on Friday, 

Dec. 1, against Naperville 

North, then traveled to the 

Plainfield North Mega Duals 

the next day. 

This week, the Knights 

square off against a pair of 

local rivals in SWSC meets. 

That starts with Sandburg on 

Thursday, Dec. 7 at 5 p.m. 

in New Lenox. The next day 

brings a 5 p.m. trip to Tinley 

Park to go against Andrew.

mokenamessenger.com sports 


fastbreak 

22nd Century Media file 

photo 

1st-and-3 

Team 22 football 

1. State champs Lincoln- 

Way East (above) 

got seven players on 

the first-team squad, 

led by quarterback 

Brendan Morrissey 

and tight end Turner 

Pallissard, and defensive 

linemen Devin 

O’rourke and Jaden 

Hacha, linebackers 

John Christensen 

and Declan Carr, and 

defensive back Max 

Cesario. 

2. Lincoln-Way Central 

secured two spots 

on our first-team list, 

highlighted by running 

back Mike Morgan 

and linebacker 

Matt Granberry. 

3. Second team honors 

went to wide receiver 

A.J. Henning, offensive 

linemen Anthony 

Sottosanto and Troy 

White, and kicker 

Dominic Dzioban 

for East. Central’s 

second team honors 

went to running 

back Matt Pollack, 

defensive lineman 

Mark O’Reilly and defensive 

back Peyton 

Nigro. 

Warriors’ balanced attack hands Knights their first loss 

Steve Millar 


Lincoln-Way West senior 

Caleb Kirby knew it was 

important for his team to 

have a better mindset when 

it took the lanes against rival 

Lincoln-Way Central on 

Nov. 28 

The Warriors had struggled 

the week before, dropping 

a dual against Bolingbrook. 

“After our win against 

Sandburg, we kind of 

slacked off and didn’t have 

good attitudes [the following 

week],” Kirby said. “Our 

coaches talked to us about 

it, and we knew it ourselves, 

too. We came out and did really 

well (Nov. 28).” 

Behind a balanced attack, 

the Warriors cruised 

to a 2,119-1,847 series win 

over the Knights at Laraway 

Lanes. 

West took the opening 

game 1,023-939 and the second 

and final game 1,086- 

908. 

“We’ve never bowled 

well against Central,” West 

coach Scott Ullian said. 

“They’ve owned us the last 

three years, so it was nice to 

get this win. We knew it’d be 

tough. They’re a great team. 

It just wasn’t their day.” 

West improved to 5-1 in 

duals, including 3-1 in the 

SouthWest Suburban Conference. 

It was the first defeat 

for the Knights, who fell 

to 5-1, 3-1. 

Sophomore Cameron 

Jablonski led the Warriors 

with a 449 series, following 

a 201 with the dual’s high 

Listen Up 

“We’ve got to get loud and get some team spirit going. 

When we’re quiet, everybody gets down. Individually, 

we’re good, but team-wise, we’re still building.” 

Alex Nolan – Lincoln-Way Central sophomore bowler, on the teams’ lack of 

enthusiasm during games so far. 

Lincoln-Way Central’s Ricky Wesel, who bowled a 389 series, warms up before the match 

against the Warriors. Adam Jomant/22nd Century Media 

game of 248 in the finale. 

“It was a little rough at the 

start, but got better at the end 

of Game 1,” Jablonski said. 

“I was able to carry that over 

to Game 2. Once I got going, 

I just had to keep rolling. My 

teammates helped me the 

whole way.” 

Kirby (437), George Dennison 

(427), Alex Kubitz 

(426) and Mike Nork (370) 

also contributed for the Warriors. 

“We were the most balanced 

we’ve been all year,” 

Ullian said. “No one shot 

crazy good, but no one shot 

bad. Having that balance really 

helps because it’ll keep 

people from trying to do 

too much themselves. One 

person can’t try to carry the 

team. You’ve just got to go 

up there and bowl.” 

TUNE IN 


6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8 

Kirby said the Warriors remained 

positive throughout 

the match. 

“We all feed off each 

other,” he said. “If someone 

gets angry and throws a bad 

shot, the guy who goes up 

there next is going to be mad 

and throw another bad shot. 

You’ve got to know that it’s 

a team effort and if you have 

a bad shot, you can’t get too 

stressed.” 

The energetic Jablonski, 

in the leadoff spot in the 

Warriors’ lineup, was a tonesetter 

in that regard. 

“I put Cam in the leadoff 

spot because he’s usually got 

a great attitude and keeps 

people going, especially 

when he gets on a roll, like 

this match,” Ullian said. 

“They can all feed off him. 

Attitude’s contagious.” 

• The Knights host Bradley-Bourbonnais 

Ullian was happy to see 

his team get back on track. 

Kirby, who spent his first 

two years at Central before 

transferring to West when 

Lincoln-Way North closed, 

enjoyed bowling against the 

Knights. 

“It’s always fun to see 

friendly faces and to cheer 

them on as well,” he said. “It 

brings back memories, but I 

like this team better, so I’ll 

stick with this one.” 

Sophomore Alex Nolan 

(425) and junior Jack Davern 

(423) had strong days 

for the Knights. Ricky Wesel 

(389) and Steven Plane 

(313) also contributed while 

Trevor Amir (157) and Denis 

Gelembuks (140) bowled 

one game each. 

“It was just one of those 

days for us,” Central coach 

Index 

43 – Athlete of the Month 

43 – Athlete of the Week 

Coley O’Connell said. “We 

can learn from it and take 

a lot away from it. We’re 

still 3-1 in conference, but 

we lost a lot of points (Nov. 

28). 

“In the end, though, it’d 

be great to win conference, 

but the main goal is to get 

to state. We’ve just got to 

keep learning along the 

way. We’re going to try to 

do some different things going 

forward, put these guys 

in some different situations, 

and we’ve got some JV guys 

pushing to get into the lineup.” 

O’Connell said Nolan and 

Davern have been strong 

leaders. 

“Those two have been carrying 

us,” he said. “They’re 

teaching the other kids. 

Those guys have bowled 

their whole lives, while the 

others just started in eighth 

grade or when they got to 

high school.” 

Nolan said it was important 

for him to stay focused 

even when his teammates 

were struggling in the match 

“I had to keep my head 

up,” he said. “We were all 

down, but it happens. When 

you’re missing spares, your 

scores are going to hurt. I 

just had to keep making my 

spares and stay consistent.” 

Nolan hopes to see more 

enthusiasm from his team 

going forward. 

“We’ve got to get loud and 

get some team spirit going,” 

he said. “When we’re quiet, 

everybody gets down. Individually, 

we’re good, but 

team-wise, we’re still building.” 

FASTBREAK is compiled by Editor T.J. Kremer III, 

tj@mokenamessenger.com.com.

mokena’s Hometown Newspaper | www.mokenamessenger.com | December 7, 2017 

LW Central splits 

opening conference 

matches, Page 46 

Lincoln-Way Central wrestler Pat Blayney 

(right) locks a half-nelson to his opponent in 

hopes to turn him on his back Thursday, Nov. 

30, during a triangular meet against Bradley- 

Bourbonnais and Thornridge in New Lenox. 

James Sanchez/22nd Century Media 

Fast lanes 

LW West vs. LW Central 

in bowling roll-off, 

Page 47 

Who 

made 

the cut 

We name 

our All-Area 

team in 

football, 

Pages 44-45

MM_120717

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