MM_021518

12 | February 15, 2018 | The Mokena Messenger news
mokenamessenger.com
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Love in the air (and on the walls)
at Vogt Visual Arts Center
Amour. Amore. Liebe.
Across the globe, there are many
words for love, but nothing quite
captures the concept like a picture
or paintings, jewelry and sculptures.
Through Feb. 24, the walls of the
Tinley Park-Park District’s Vogt Visual
Arts Center are to be adorned
with images of endearment for
its display called “What Do You
Love?” The opening reception the
afternoon of Feb. 3 gave art fans
the chance to see the show and chat
with local artists about their inspirations.
Vogt Center instructor Carol Chirafisi
said she loves sharing the joy
of art through her paintings and as
a teacher.
“I mostly love working in oils
and depicting concepts that relate to
people, so it’s portraiture but it’s not
in the traditional sense,” she said.
For gallery director Julie Dekker,
this show has special meaning. She
not only does she love art in all of
its forms but also has a deep love for
the center itself. She even included
the gallery in her wedding when she
married her husband, Kurt, on the
grounds in 2010.
Gallery hours and additional information
can be found at tinleyp
arkdistrict.org/vvac.
Reporting by Laurie Fanelli, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit Tin
leyJunction.com.
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Pair teams up to take over
longstanding eatery, expects to
reopen in March
Ranch Frostie has been delighting
New Lenox residents for nearly
50 years with soft-serve ice cream,
hot dogs and more. And while this
spring will usher in some changes,
new owners John Sestak and Jackie
Potocki want to make one thing
clear.
“We’re not changing anything,”
Sestak said. “Everything is going to
stay close to the same.”
Sestak said he and Potocki have
lived in the area for close to 44
years. While taking over the New
Lenox cultural hotspot will require
a learning curve, he said they are
going to be ready for it.
“It’s honestly an honor for her
and I to keep this place open,” Sestak
said. “And the support [from the
community] is unbelievable.”
More than 45 years ago, Harold
and Teri Hoyt purchased what
would become Ranch Frostie and
moved it to the other side of Route
30, located at 1259 N. Cedar Road.
In late 2017, Teri decided it was
time to move on to the next stage
of her life. But while her time with
Ranch Frostie was nearing its end,
she wanted to ensure the business
would live on.
When Sestak and Potocki approached
Hoyt about taking over,
she said she felt good about it.
“I knew him and his connection
with New Lenox and Frostie,” Hoyt
said about John. “With his business
in New Lenox and having known
him as a child, I had really good
feelings.”
Reporting by Jon DePaolis, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit NewLenox
Patriot.com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Orland Park police officer praised
for going ‘above and beyond’
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.”
Reporting by Jon DePaolis, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit OPPrairie.
com.
From THE FRANKFORT STATION
East falls to Bolingbrook in last
game of regular season
The stage was simple enough,
when Lincoln-Way East faced
Bolingbrook in a big girls basketball
tussle last week.
In the final regular season game
for both teams, whoever won was
the outright Blue Division champion
in the SouthWest Suburban
Conference.
Unfortunately for the Griffins, it
was not them. Bolingbrook made
too many big shots and pulled down
many more second-half rebounds to
pull away for a 56-46 victory over
East Feb. 6 at Bolingbrook.
With the victory, the Raiders (21-
4, 9-1) won at least a share of the
SWSC Blue for the 10th time in the
13 seasons since it formed in 2005-
2006. East (25-4, 8-2) tied Bolingbrook
for the SWSC Blue title in
the 2013-2014 season. But that was
because of Homewood-Flossmoor
forfeiting all of its wins that season.
H-F, which would have won it
except for the forfeits four years
ago, captured the conference title
the past three seasons. This season,
H-F, now coached by former
Bolingbrook coach Tony Smith,
knocked off the Raiders 60-59 in
double overtime Feb. 1 in Flossmoor.
That set up the winner-takeall
meeting between East and the
Raiders last week.
But it was not to be in the end for
the Griffins, who defeated H-F in a
pair of close games this season but
lost the previous meeting to Bolingbrook
47-46 on Jan. 18 in Frankfort.
“I feel as a team we didn’t bring
forth what we know we can,” East
senior guard Delani Grayer said.
“We got nervous that we would
have made school history [as outright
SWSC Blue champions for the
first time] if we would have won.”
Reporting by Randy Whalen, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit Frank
fortStation.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
Platinum Cheer Association looks
to empower youth cheerleaders
Encouraging young athletes to
“Be Fierce. Be Brilliant. Be Platinum,”
Platinum Cheer Association
is gearing up for its first year of
competitive cheerleading.
All eight board members met at
Front Row in Homer Glen for their
last meeting before registration
opened Jan. 30.
Last year, the women embarked
on the opportunity to create a new
cheerleading program that was not
connected to a football program.
Having an independent program
will allow for a stronger focus on
cheerleading as a sport, giving PCA
athletes an edge as they move into
high school cheerleading, the board
members said.
“We’re the first in the area to do
cheer on a recreational level not
connected to a football program,”
Homer Glen resident Jen Wirth said.
The board members and founders
all have children who were previously
involved with another cheer
program. After discussing the benefits
their children would receive
from a cheer-centric program, they
decided to create their own.
“We knew we wanted cheer to
stand alone as a sport,” board member
and Homer Glen resident Jill
Roberson said. “We had a really
strong program before, but we saw
athletes looking to move to All-Star
levels, so we wanted to create a program
at the All-Star level without
the All-Star price.”
PCA accepts cheerleaders from
anywhere in the area.
“We don’t want anyone to feel excluded
based on what town they’re
from,” Roberson said.
For more information on programs,
events, pricing options and
fundraising, visit platinumcheer
association.com or the program’s
Facebook page at facebook.com/
platinumcheerassociation.
Reporting by Amanda Del Buono,
Freelance Reporter. For more, visit
HomerHorizon.com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Lockport resident’s impact on
community lives on after passing
The three ways Dan Niehaus
would best describe his late father,
Gary, are: role model, cheerleader
and loving father.
“Gary was the dad who, after
coaching our basketball team,
would throw a pizza party in celebration
of the year and give out
personalized awards to all of the
team members to recognize their
strengths and make us feel great
about the season,” Dan said while
giving his father’s eulogy Jan. 29.
The 68-year-old Lockport resident
died suddenly Jan. 27.
Gary lived in Lockport for 13
years after moving from Orland
Park. He became heavily involved
in the Lockport and Homer Glen
communities almost immediately
upon moving. He was involved in
11 different organizations over the
period of time from when he lived
in Orland Park to the time he died.
Gary was a retired police commissioner
of Lockport, chairman of the
Lockport Veterans Commission and
a member of the chambers of commerce
in both Lockport and Homer
Glen. In addition, he won numerous
awards including “2014 Person
You Should Know,” presented by
Lockport Mayor Steve Streit; “2012
Senior Citizen of the Year Award,”
presented by Congressmen Daniel
Lipinski; and “2012 Volunteer
of the Year,” presented by former
Lockport Mayor Dev Trivedi.
“Gary was just one of those tireless
volunteers in the community,”
Streit said of giving Gary the “2014
Person You Should Know” award.
“He worked hard for a number of
organizations, put his time and his
talents to making the community
better, and it’s just very appreciated.”
Reporting by Jacquelyn Schlabach, Assistant
Editor. For more, visit Lock
portLegend.com.