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16 | March 15, 2018 | The frankfort station news frankfortstation.com FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT Lincoln-Way West alum, soccer standout takes next step at pro level A dream came true for New Lenox native and Lincoln-Way West graduate Ian McGrath when he took the field Feb. 10 for his first professional soccer game. McGrath, who graduated from West in 2014, recently signed with Nashville FC, an expansion team that will play this season in the United Soccer League, one level below the MLS, but is expected to join the MLS in 2019 or 2020. Nashville FC played the first exhibition game in franchise history Feb. 10, drawing a huge crowd. “I walked out of the tunnel, and there were 10,000 people in the stands,” McGrath said. “It was amazing. I took it all in. I let myself take a second to think about how far I’ve come to get here. “My family got to come to the game, and when I saw them in the crowd I got emotional. They’ve given me such great support.” Nashville SC signed Mc- Grath on Feb. 9. “Nashville is a phenomenal city and a great place for a new soccer team,” Mc- Grath said. “I’m so excited to be here. Playing professionally is something I’ve been dreaming about since I was playing youth soccer, and I’m really happy to have made it this far.” Nashville SC is to play its first regular season game March 17 in Louisville. It will mark the official launch of a career McGrath hopes is just getting started. Reporting by Steve Millar, Freelance Reporter. For more, visit NewLenoxPatriot.com. FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION Two Tinley Park USPS workers convicted for marijuana delivery scheme A federal jury in Chicago convicted two United States Postal Service employees who worked at the Tinley Park Post Office for scheming to deliver marijuana through the mail, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced March 6. Over a five-month period in 2016, Marvin Jones, 51, of Hazel Crest, and Angela Wansley, 44, of Harvey, while employed at the Tinley Park Post Office, intercepted parcels of marijuana and other controlled substances that had been mailed to the post office by a codefendant, Jason Smith, 34, of Country Club Hills, according to the press release. Jones and Wansley then furnished the intercepted parcels to Smith or a fourth defendant, Courtney Poindexter, 38, of Country Club Hills, in exchange for cash. Smith and Poindexter pleaded guilty prior to trial. According to evidence at trial, Jones was a letter carrier and supervisor, while Wansley worked as a sales associate. Jones provided Smith with information about unoccupied P.O. boxes and customers who had placed mailhold requests at the Tinley Park Post Office. Smith then mailed the parcels of controlled substances and provided Jones with the tracking information to be intercepted. After a four-day trial, a jury convicted Jones and Wansley of accepting bribes to perform official postal duties, conspiring to commit obstruction of correspondence, and obstruction of correspondence. The bribery charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, while the conspiracy and obstruction charges are punishable by up to five years. Reporting by Cody Mroczka, Editor. For more, visit Tinley Junction.com. FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND Adventure seekers to have new conquest in Lockport When storytellers brainstorm together, anything is possible. Creating new worlds that have not been discovered and designing ways for people to experience those worlds is exactly what Zombie Army Productions does and will be doing for the new Legacy Adventure Park set to open April 14 in Lockport. Co-owner, creative director and operations manager John Laflamboy, also is co-owner of Zombie Army Productions, which operates HellsGate Haunted House in Lockport next door to Legacy Adventure Park. The LTHS alum wanted to create a place that offers something for everyone in the community. “We are creating all these different micro-adventures that you can have out here,” Laflamboy said. Throughout the 66 acres of forest and trails, guests can play paintball, archery tag, outside laser tag, zombie tag, and engage in a zombie hunt and treasure hunt. Many of the games include the use of radiofrequency equipment that require the players to wear an electronic device to track their progress in the games. Players in zombie tag are assigned the task to escape the zombies, played by real-life actors. The radiofrequency device will let the player know when zombies are close, or when they themselves have turned into a zombie. The twist: guests are playing for cash and prizes. Reporting by Jacquelyn Schlabach, Assistant Editor. For more, visit LockportLegend. com. FROM THE HOMER HORIZON TLC Animal Shelter in need of donations for medical expenses, various items A little over 20 years ago, TLC Animal Shelter in Homer Glen received a stray pit bull named Bertha from animal control. Bertha’s physical appearance made those at the shelter think she was pregnant and anticipated the delivery of her pups any day. Unfortunately, the situation was much worse. “We took her into the vet, and it was the heartworm that was that bad; it was filling her with fluids,” said Janine Carter, one of the founders of TLC Animal Shelter. Heartworm is transmitted to dogs via a mosquito bite. The disease can result in severe lung disease, heart failure and death. But it is not contagious and cannot be spread by being near an infected dog. Unfortunately, for Bertha, the heartworm had gotten so bad that she was euthanized. It is in her memory that the Bertha Fund at TLC was born, which helps animals in need of extensive medical care. Years later, and with countless animals helped since then, TLC is in need of donations to help with four dogs between the ages of 2 and 6 who came to the shelter with heartworm. Reporting by Jacquelyn Schlabach, Assistant Editor. For more, visit HomerHorizon.com. FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE Guy allegedly scares man, woman on roadway by pointing BB gun at them A Tinley Park man allegedly pointed a BB gun at a man and a woman in another vehicle March 5 while driving in Orland Park, leading the two to contact police for fear for being shot. Hussien A. Ahmad, 20, of 16212 Princeton Ave., was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, a Class A misdemeanor, according to a press release issued the next day by the Orland Park Police Department. The incident occurred around 5:19 p.m. on northbound 94th Avenue at 151st Street, according to the release. Police received a call about a man pointing a gun at another motorist in traffic. Officers learned that a man driving a blue BMW pulled alongside the victim’s vehicle, gestured toward the man and woman, and pointed what they thought to be a black, Glock-style handgun at them, according to the release. The man and woman reportedly provided a description of the suspect and his vehicle, along with a partial license plate number. Officers located the BMW, parked at Ahmad’s residence in Tinley Park, police said. They reportedly made contact with Ahmad and identified him as the person who pointed the gun. Reporting by Bill Jones, Editor. For more, visit OPPrairie.com. P & Z From Page 4 going to continue to happen in the future because there are no rules downtown,” she said. “We don’t have any covenants, like all of the other neighborhoods. It’s the Wild West downtown, and we’re relying on you [the Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals] to help us.” Kara questioned if the Village can put a pause on the board’s action until they can determine what is the potential impact. Commissioner Don Schwarz refuted the idea and said the board needs to make a decision. Commissioner Margaret Farina asked if the homeowners would be willing to compromise further. The homeowners wanted it to be known that they are open to ideas. The idea of changing the home’s orientation was not supported, however. “It’s very accurate to say that we don’t regulate the orientation of a home because the only time orientation is mentioned in the zoning ordinance is around garages,” Commissioner Jessica Petrow said. “It’s not mentioned around the door entry or the way that a home would be facing. So, I think it’s appropriate to then look to our other tools, which is our comprehensive plan, and it does talk about residential areas around site design and building orientation.” Petrow said she could not support the applicant’s request in any of her votes, citing that the home would change the neighborhood’s character. A motion to table the matter until the Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeal’s April 26 meeting failed in a 2-3 decision with Commissioners Maura Rigoni, Alicia Hanlon and Lisa Hogan casting dissenting votes. Commissioner Gene Savaria was absent. In a series of additional votes, the board went on to recommend the project’s approval to the Village Board. All but one of the following measures was approved in a 4-1 decision, except a motion to permit construction on the lot being passed in a 2-3 vote. Farina, Petrow and Hanlon were the dissenting votes in that case.
frankfortstation.com sound off the frankfort station | March 15, 2018 | 17 Social snapshot Top Web Stories From FrankfortStation.com as of Monday, March 12 From the Assistant Editor Balancing safety and reason 1. Bonds of friendship stronger than competitive nature for two local swimmers 2. Administration approves walkout, requests students stay inside 3. Owner of All Small Miniatures ready to retire at 90 4. Casino games highlight 157-C Education Foundation fundraiser 5. East defeats Romeoville in Griffins' first regional championship Become a member: FrankfortStation.com/plus “The Lions are ready for the upcoming Expo! We will host a blood drive, hearing van and KidSight Screening that day! Walk-ins welcome, no appointments necessary.” — Frankfort Lions Club of Illinois from March 8 Like The Frankfort Station: facebook.com/frankfortstation “Special Games 2018. Ready to get after it!!!” — @LWEAthletics from March 8 Follow The Frankfort Station: @FrankfrtStation Amanda Stoll a.stoll@22ndcenturymedia.com The recent decision by Lincoln-Way administrators to restrict public access to the athletic facilities during school hours may not be shocking to most, whether you support their decision or not. Yes, the safety measures have been discussed for years, but still I don’t think people thought a decision would be made so quickly that the Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 Board of Education wouldn’t even have a chance to vote on it. I went to a school where members of the public were allowed to use the joint Park District and school facilities throughout the day. Those rules haven’t changed in my hometown, so why have they here? Tragedies happen in big cities and small towns alike, and anyone from a small town knows that even though the crime rate may be low it doesn’t mean that there aren’t problems. What we should be talking about is whether members of the public who come to use the pool and track are a perceived threat or an actual threat. Are the morning swimmers or early afternoon joggers the people we really need to be concerned about? Is a senior citizen coming into the school wielding a duffle bag with her swimsuit, towel and sandals where the danger lies? Research suggests it is not. What no one seems to be talking about is where the actual danger lies. No one wants to admit that the most dangerous person is probably already in the school. From my own research as well as information from various studies, including notfor profit organizations, the Secret Service and Department of Education, school shooters have largely been current or former students. It can be difficult to define and study school shootings because of the varying circumstances surrounding each tragedy, but one of the most recent and comprehensive studies, which was conducted by the Secret Service and the Department of Education, specifically focused on incidents of “targeted violence.” Those were defined as incidents “where the school was deliberately selected as the location for the attack and was not simply a random site of opportunity.” Some of the findings from the Secret Service report published in 2004 included: • Incidents of targeted violence at school rarely were sudden, impulsive acts. • There is no accurate or useful “profile” of students who engaged in targeted school violence. • Most attackers engaged in some behavior prior to the incident that caused others concern or indicated a need for help. • Most attackers had difficulty coping with significant losses or personal failures. Moreover, many had considered or attempted suicide. • Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack. The full report can be found at www2.ed.gov/ admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf. Similar to what I wrote last week, which is supported by the study’s findings, is that someone somewhere probably suspected these school shooters needed help. If that person had gotten the care and professional support they needed, maybe their actions would not have escalated to such extremes. Maybe a tragedy could have been prevented. I believe Lincoln-Way’s student reporting system is a step in the right direction, allowing students to anonymously report incidents of bullying or concerns of selfharm or violence. I also think the decision to restrict the public from using the athletic facilities during the day is a misguided action that is not addressing the real issue. If the school truly wants to continue being a partner with the community, as Superintendent Dr. R. Scott Tingley said in an interview with me, then I think it should reverse its decision and come up with a different solution than restricting access during the day entirely. A separate entrance could be delegated to allow public access, or a staff member could be tasked with walking down to the facility to ensure users go directly there rather than straying to other parts of the building. I realize that may require a dedicated security officer, but maybe that cost could be justified based on fees charged to use the facility. Rather than spending our collective time fighting amongst each other and getting nasty on social media or going around and around in board meetings, maybe our time would be better spent focusing on the students already in the school. With a demanding course load, pressure to be admitted to a good college, involvement in numerous school activities, peer pressure and teenage hormones, high school can be a stressful place for anyone. For those already suffering from mental health issues, that type of stress can be marginalizing, depressing and unstabilizing. Just as it has taken people years to be more comfortable talking about tough topics, such as cancer, so too must we as a society start talking about mental health. If our children are so important to us, let’s, as a community, start making their mental well-being a priority. 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 Frankfort Station 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 Frankfort Station reserves the right to edit letters. Letters become property of The Frankfort Station. Letters that are published do not reflect the thoughts and views of The Frankfort Station. Letters can be mailed to: The Frankfort Station, 11516 West 183rd Street, Unit SW Office Condo #3, Orland Park, Illinois, 60467. Fax letters to (708) 326-9179 or e-mail to nuria@frankfortstation.com. www.frankfortstation.com.
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