LL_042618

14 | April 26, 2018 | The Lockport Legend news
lockportlegend.com
Police Reports
Traffic violations
dominate reports
Lockport Police Department
April 13
• Mark Drodwell, 61, of the 10000
block of Keating Avenue in Oak
Lawn, was charged with improper
cellphone usage in a construction
zone, operating an uninsured motor
vehicle and driving with a suspended
driver’s license after being
stopped for using a cellphone in a
construction zone.
April 12
• Donnie Jones, 18, of the 400 block
of Siegmund Street in Joliet, was
charged with disobeying a stop sign
and driving without a valid driver’s
license after being stopped for disobeying
a stop sign.
• Michaelene Patitucci, 35, of the
24000 block of Leski Drive in Plainfield,
was charged with driving with
a suspended license after being
stopped for going 55 mph in a 40
mph zone.
Will County Sheriff’s Office
April 13
• Robert M. Tortorello Sr., 44, of 530
E. 5th St. in Lockport, was charged
with driving with a suspended license
after being stopped in the area
of S. State and W. 10th streets.
April 10
• Ariana M. Munguia, 23, of 501
Harvard St. in Lockport, was
charged with driving without registration
lights, driving with an obstructed
driver’s view, driving with a
suspended license and operating an
uninsured motor vehicle after being
stopped in the area of S. State and
Harvard streets.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Lockport
Legend’s Police Reports are compiled
from official reports found online on the
Will County Sheriff’s Office or Lockport
Police Department’s website or releases
issued by the department and other
agencies. Individuals named in these
reports are considered innocent of all
charges until proven guilty in a court
of law.
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Mokena resident paints
firefighting, 911 children’s exhibit
“Think left and think right and
think low and think high. Oh, the
thinks you can think up if only you
try!”
And perhaps now, with KidsWork
Children’s Museum’s updated
911 exhibit, children will
be doing more of what Dr. Seuss
thought up in “Oh, the Things you
can Think!” so many years ago.
Nicole Underwood, executive
director at the Frankfort museum,
said the new exhibit was made
possible through donations from
the museum’s annual dinner. For
the grand opening of the exhibit
April 12, may of those donors
were there to celebrate and investigate
the new features on their
own.
The walls were a creation of
mural artist Brian Turnbough, of
Mokena.
In one corner is a fire truck mural
that looks as if it is parked in
a three-dimensional garage just
off the exhibit. Nearby, the dressup
coats, helmets and boots from
the old 911 exhibit hang in lockers
constructed by Turnbough.
His wall paintings transform the
exhibit into one cohesive section
of the museum.
Turnbough said he was familiar
with the space before he was
commissioned to work on the new
exhibit and combined some of the
ideas the staff had for the exhibit
with his own to create something
he said he hopes will inspire imagination
and play for the children
there.
Reporting by Amanda Stoll,
Assistant Editor. For more, visit
MokenaMessenger.com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Former Andrew running back
hopes to have name called for NFL
draft
Tinley Park native Jarvion
Franklin plans to don his cap and
gown, and head to Miller Auditorium
on the campus of Western
Michigan University on April 28.
In the near future, he hopes to don
a helmet and pads at an NFL camp.
The former Andrew running
back could find out about his football
future while he is in Kalamazoo
graduating with a university
studies degree.
The NFL Draft opens for business
on April 26 with the first
round. The next day is the second
and third round. It is to wrap up
April 28 with the final four rounds.
It appears Franklin will not go
in the first three rounds. And if that
is the case, he could find out if he
is one of 256 drafted athletes before,
during or after his “Pomp and
Circumstance” ceremony.
“That could be great news,”
Franklin said. “I could get a double-dose
of great news.”
One projection is that he will be
drafted 197th by Carolina. Another
thinks he will be undrafted and
latch onto a team via free agency.
Franklin, who plans on coming
back to Tinley Park on April 27 for
a graduation/NFL party, is grateful
to be in this position.
“My thinking is just that I am
blessed to be in this situation,”
Franklin said. “You can work as
hard as you can to get to this point,
but there are a lot of factors that
our out of our control.”
Reporting by Jeff Vorva, Sports
Editor. For more, visit TinleyJunction.
com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Bedroom damaged but no one
injured during apartment fire
A fire reportedly damaged a
bedroom the morning of April 17
in an apartment building in the
15700 block of 86th Avenue, but
no one was injured.
The fire was reported around
8:19 a.m., according to a press release
issued the same day by the
Orland Fire Protection District.
A resident was in the apartment
at the time but closed the door to
the bedroom and evacuated the
building safely, according to the
press release.
Orland Fire Protection District
firefighters reportedly arrived to
find smoke in the apartment. The
fire was contained to the back bedroom
of the apartment, according
to the release.
The fire was extinguished
“quickly,” and one resident was
checked for smoke inhalation but
declined transportation to a hospital,
according to fire officials.
Fire damage was limited to the
one unit, but some smoke and water
damage was sustained in the
surrounding units, according to
the release.
No cause was determined as of
the afternoon of April 17, and it
remained under investigation, according
to district spokesperson
Ray Hanania.
Reporting by Bill Jones, Editor. For
more, visit OPPrairie.com.
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
New Lenox arcade brings virtual
reality to life
Josh Schoeling is living the
dream. After an unfruitful stint in
college, the New Lenox resident
set his sights on a new reality — a
virtual reality.
Schoeling, 22, is the owner of
Genesis VR, a new arcade in town
with a 21st century twist.
“We are a virtual reality arcade,”
said Schoeling, who graduated
from Lincoln-Way West High
School in 2013. “We have four
rooms dedicated to virtual reality,
and we have two coin-operated arcade
machines and four retro consoles.”
The retro consoles line the sleek
main room of Genesis VR, located
at 416 Nelson Road. There, gamers
can play childhood favorites
before stepping it up to virtual reality
games, like “Metal Assault”
and “Battle of Kings.”
Genesis VR offers more than
40 games or, as Schoeling calls
them, “experiences” to players of
all ages.
“There are so many different
things we can offer,” he said. “Not
all of them are games. Some of
them are experiences, so to speak.
We have things like height experiences,
downhill skiing, haunted
houses, escape rooms. There are
tons of different things you can do
inside these games.”
It costs $25 per hour to rent one
of the four VR rooms, which can
accommodate groups of up to four
people. Each room has one gaming
headset and a monitor showing
others in the group what’s going
on inside the headset.
Reporting by Jonathan Samples,
Freelance Reporter. For more, visit
NewLenoxPatriot.com.
FROM THE FRANKFORT STATION
Local athlete recognized by
Frankfort Village Board
During its April 16 meeting, the
Frankfort Village Board presented
a proclamation honoring Hickory
Creek Middle School eighth-grader
Dominic Adamo, who made
school history this year by winning
Hickory Creek’s first state
wrestling title.
In March, Adamo wrapped up
an undefeated 37-0 season by winning
the 155-pound title at the
2018 Illinois Elementary School
Association state wrestling tournament
at Northern Illinois University
in DeKalb. His state tournament
record was 4-0.
“You’ve brought great credit to
the Village of Frankfort,” Mayor
Jim Holland said.
Several Village trustees offered
their congratulations to Adamo,
as well, and Trustee Cindy Heath
called Adamo’s championship an
“outstanding achievement.”
“My husband wrestled all
through high school and college,
and so I know how hard it is always
trying to make weight,” she
said. “You’re out there by yourself.
… When I heard that you’re
never nervous, that’s really statement
of your character, that you
can just go out there and do that.”
Adamo said he was honored,
and thanked his family, Hickory
Creek coach Josh Napier, Hickory
Creek Principal Will Seidelmann
and Frankfort School District 157-
C Superintendent Maura Zinni for
their support throughout the year.
“I was in fifth grade when they
started a wrestling program at
Hickory Creek Middle School,
and since that day I imagined myself
on the top of the podium,”
he said. “On March 10, I wasn’t
imagining; I was on the podium
receiving my medal.”
Reporting by Nuria Mathog, Editor.
For more, visit FrankfortStation.com.