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12 | June 21, 2018 | The Lockport Legend news
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Police Reports
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Board honors LW Central
grad for Air Force acceptance
A Mokena teenager was
recognized June 11 at the
Village of Mokena Board of
Trustees meeting for deciding
to protect and serve his
country.
Jared Robert Scott Bachman,
a Lincoln-Way Central
graduate, is set to enter to
the United States Air Force
Academy later this year and
was honored by the Village
with a proclamation in his
honor at the meeting.
Bachman was a member
of the Air Force Junior Reserve
Officer Training Corp
at Lincoln-Way Central.
According to the proclamation,
Bachman achieved the
assignments of squadron
commander, summer drill
camp leader and group commander
during his four years
in the AFJROTC program.
After an intense application
process, Bachman was
one of fewer than 1,200
people to be accepted into
the Air Force Academy. He
will begin his basic training
later this month in Colorado
Springs, Colorado.
Bachman thanked the Village
Board and Mayor Frank
Fleischer for honoring him
with a proclamation and for
the work they do to better
the community.
“I’ve lived in Mokena my
entire life, and I’d like to
thank all of you for the work
that you do to build and foster
this incredible community
that allows people such as
myself and my classmates to
have a dream, develop that
dream and go after that,” he
said.
Reporting by Jon DePaolis,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit MokenaMessenger.com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Mayor plans meeting after
Cruise Nights complaints
A different setup this year
for Tinley Park’s weekly
Cruise Nights has drawn
complaints from attendees
and stakeholders.
During a Special Board of
Trustees meeting on June 12,
approximately a half dozen
people involved with the
classic car show spoke in opposition
to new safety regulations
implemented in 2018
that includes the closure of
north and southbound Oak
Park Avenue from 171st
Street to North Street as
well as a blocked off section
that only allows entry until
5 p.m. and exit after 8 p.m.
In the previous six years,
attendees and drivers were
able to come and go as they
pleased, organizers said.
“I think it was a big mistake,”
said Jim Hudik, Commander
of Bremen VFW
Post 2791. “This is hurting
financially.”
Mayor Jake Vandenberg
said the changes were implemented
based on recommendations
from the Tinley Park
Police Department, which
reviewed a variety of plans
dealing with moving vehicles
and pedestrian safety.
Roger Barton, a longtime
village resident and original
organizer, said the situation
was “out of hand.”
“The barricades up right
now are unacceptable,” he
said. “Cruise Nights were
one of the most popular
events this town has ever
seen.”
Vandenberg said he understood
the new setup was
not perfect and requested
to meet with Cruise Night
organizers in an attempt to
find solutions to the current
issues.
Cruise Nights began on
May 29 and runs from 5-9
p.m. every Tuesday night
throughout August.
Reporting by Cody Mroczka,
Editor. For more, visit Tin
leyJunction.com.
From THE FRANKFORT STATION
Frankfort woman receives
award for monarch
conservation efforts
The Illinois state butterfly
has seen a steady decrease in
population over the past 20
years, according to the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service,
and local woman Kay Mac-
Neil is leading an effort to
protect them.
MacNeil recently won a
national Award of Honor in
Philadelphia for her work
with Milkweeds for Monarchs,
a national and now
global movement to plant
milkweeds and increase
the number of safe habitats
for monarchs. She has sent
more than 8,000 seed packets
of milkweed this year locally
and as far as Nevada,
California, Canada and
Puerto Rico.
“Receiving the award was
very exciting,” MacNeil
said. “If every gardener had
a milkweed plant our problems
would be solved.”
As the bee, bird and butterfly
chairman for the Garden
Club of Illinois District
8, MacNeil started the project
three years ago because
she saw the need to aid the
declining population of
monarchs.
“The numbers are down
by 90 percent of what they
used to be years ago,” Mac-
Neil said. “Monarchs face a
lot of challenges like deforestation
and global warming.
The drop in milkweed is the
culprit for their low numbers.”
Monarchs lay their eggs
on the milkweed and the caterpillar
then eats the milkweed,
which are commonly
sprayed with pesticides that
endanger the butterfly.
MacNeil also raises monarchs
on her kitchen table
when she finds one in an
unsafe habitat. After the caterpillars
transform into butterflies,
she releases them
into her garden, which is full
of milkweed and perennials.
The butterflies then join the
33 million other monarchs
as they migrate to Mexico
for the winter.
Reporting by Megan Schuller,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit FrankfortStation.com.
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Local singers, musicians kick
off 2018 Live on the Lawn
There’s no shortage of
free, family fun in New
Lenox, but one concert series
in particular brings the
entire community together
in song.
On June 10, the Village
of New Lenox presented its
first Live on the Lawn performance
of 2018 by hosting
the New Lenox Community
Band and Midwest Crossroads
Chorus for a night of
fun and music.
Rainy weather defined the
early afternoon, but by the
7 p.m. start time, the clouds
began to clear and a hint of
sun emerged for the first
time all day. The New Lenox
Community Concert Band
did its best to conjure even
more sunshine as its theme
for the Sunday night concert
was “Bringing Light.”
“Break Forth O Beauteous
Heavenly Light” by Johann
Schop and “With Each
Sunset” by Richard Saucedo
were among the captivating
themed pieces performed
while a march by John Philip
Sousa and Edwin Franko
Goldman’s “On the Mall” –
which the band plays at the
conclusion of most of its
concerts – proved to be perennial
fan favorites.
“These concerts are a
chance to hear what – culturally
– America was built on,”
said co-director of the New
Lenox Community Band
Matthew Doherty before the
show. “It’s a chance to connect
to people who are 95
years old or 5 years old. Kids
come and dance. Grown-ups
come and listen to some
music that maybe they enjoyed
from their childhood.
There’s some really beautiful
moments in the music
and some really beautiful
moments in the park.”
Reporting by Laurie Fanelli,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit NewLenoxPatriot.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
Four-day Homer Community
Fest to return for ninth year
There’s nothing better
than getting the family together
on a summer day for
good food, carnival rides
and live music.
Residents can soon enjoy
just that, as Homer Community
Fest will return to
the village for its ninth year
Thursday, June 21, through
Sunday, June 24.
Many of the popular attractions
and vendors from
years past will be at the
four-day festival, with some
new additions to be seen
and heard throughout the
grounds on the northeast
corner of 151st Street and
Creme Road.
“We’ve seen the fest grow
throughout the years,” Parade
& Festival Committee
co-chairman and Village
Trustee Carlo Caprio said. “I
personally feel like we have
become a destination, where
a lot of festivals host them
a few years, and they don’t
survive, but we’ve done a really
great job working with
the Township and the Homer
Road District to get everybody
involved and to make
this festival a destination for
everyone to come to.”
The gates open at 3 p.m.
Thursday, and the festival
closes at midnight. All of the
entertainment is free.
Families can purchase a
mega pass for $65 that allows
unlimited rides all four
days. Day passes can also be
purchased for $30.
For more information, visit
www.homerfest.com.
Reporting by Jacquelyn Schlabach,
Assistant Editor. For
more, visit HomerHorizon.com.
Lockport man
charged with DUI
after allegedly
crashing into tree
Matthew Rivera, 20, of
921 Thornton St. in Lockport,
was charged by the Will
County Sheriff’s office with
driving under the influence,
driving with an expired registration,
failure to reduce
speed to avoid an accident
and possession of a false insurance
card June 2 on the
300 block of McCameron
Avenue. Deputies were called
to the area at approximately 3
a.m. where they reportedly
found Rivera’s vehicle in the
front yard of a residence. The
vehicle had come to a stop
after striking a tree, and the
tree was lying on top of the
vehicle when deputies arrived,
police said. Lockport
Fire personnel treated Rivera,
who was transported to Silver
Cross Hospital with nonlife
threatening injuries, and
a 30-year-old male passenger
refused treatment.
Will County Sheriff’s Office
May 29
• Maria G. Estrada, 36, of 306
Daisy Circle in Romeoville,
was charged with disobeying
a stop sign, driving without
a valid driver’s license and
operating an uninsured motor
vehicle after being stopped
in the area of W. 135th Street
and Smith Road.
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.