OP_021518

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the orland park prairie | February 15, 2018 | 3
Orland Park Village Board
Police officer praised for going ‘above and beyond’
Officials debate
LEDs vs. fluorescent
options
Jon DePaolis
Freelance Reporter
An Orland Park police officer
was recognized Feb. 5
at the Village of Orland Park
Board of Trustees meeting
for going above and beyond
the call of duty in order to
help a resident.
During the recognition
portion of the meeting, Orland
Park Police Chief Tim
McCarthy presented Officer
Phillip Glecier to the board
members.
McCarthy said around 9
a.m. on a January morning,
Orland Park police received
a call from a senior citizen
about a “possible suspicious
person near her home … because
she saw some tracks in
the snow.”
McCarthy said Glecier
was dispatched to the home,
did an investigation and
checked the area. While he
did not find any signs that
would indicate criminal activity,
Glecier listened to the
woman’s concerns about the
lock on her storm door being
broken.
“Officer Glecier said he
might be able to come by after
work to fix that,” McCarthy
recounted. “After work,
he did. He went out and
bought a lock for the door
and new parts at the Home
Depot. He came back and
repaired the door for [the
woman].”
The resident wound up
writing a letter thanking
the police department and
Glecier.
“We don’t pat our officers
on the backs enough
for those types of things, for
which we really do receive
a lot of letters,” McCarthy
said.
Mayor Keith Pekau said
he receives several of these
types of letters, but he noted
that this instance was “above
and beyond.”
“It demonstrates what all
of our officers do — how
you serve and protect,” Pekau
said to Glecier. “I really
want to thank you for your
efforts on this.”
Trustee Michael Carroll
added that he has known
Glecier since the officer was
a community service officer
with the police department.
“This is not unusual [behavior]
for Phil,” Carroll
said. “When I was a Cub
Scouts leader, he helped out
our pack. He came out and
talked to our kids and spent
as much time with them as
they wanted. He wasn’t onduty,
but he came out after
his patrol to help us out. This
is what he does on a regular
basis and what kind of a man
he is.”
McCarthy concluded the
recognition by mentioning
that Glecier also was honored
at the police department’s
awards ceremony.
Round It Up
A brief recap of action and discussion from the Feb. 5
meeting of the Orland Park Village Board.
• Village Board members voted 6-0 to approve the
creation of a new Technology Commission, which as
described in a staff memo would provide suggestions
about improvements to the Village’s technology and
ways to use it to enhance Village services.
• In another 6-0 vote, the board members approved
changes to the Veterans Commission. Mayor Keith
Pekau said these were made to “reflect what [the
commission] is currently doing.”
• The board members also voted 6-0 to eliminate the
Senior Citizens Advisory Board, Community Relations
Commission, and the Parking and Traffic Advisory
Board. Pekau noted that these commissions had not
been active in several years.
Mayor wants to see more
on lights before decision to
switch
Later in the meeting, the
Village Board members
voted 6-0 to approve a contract
with CTS Group in
an amount not to exceed
$634,253 for Phase 2 projects.
Trustee James Dodge
was absent.
The Village entered into
an agreement with CTS
Group in 2015 to evaluate
Please see Village, 8