NL_071218

16 | July 12, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot NEWS
newlenoxpatriot.com
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Librarian of 21 years retires
To a lot of people, retirement
means a chance to do what they
love after their careers.
To 68-year-old Nancy Baker,
working for the Mokena Community
Public Library District is her
passion. She has been doing it for
21 years and plans to continue it
after retiring from her full-time position.
Baker’s motto is, “Always put
patrons first,” and she has lived by
those words throughout her time
there.
The Mokena resident of 28 years
came to Illinois from Minnesota
for a teaching position in 1972, and
also worked at Trinity Services before
working at the library. Baker
started out as a part-time circulation
clerk and moved her way up to
technical services and the head of
circulation desk.
“I’ve worked every Saturday for
21 years from [8 a.m.-5 p.m.],”
Baker said. “It was a very hard decision
to decide to retire, but I have
grandchildren now.”
Assistant Director Luke Surdel
worked alongside Baker every Saturday
for the 10 years he has been
with the library.
“We, and the community, are
very grateful for her retiring but
still being a part of us,” Surdel
said. “She’s a hard worker, willing
to step in and help anyone.”
Baker said she plans to stay on
with the library as a part-time fillin.
Reporting by Megan Schuller. For
more, visit MokenaMessenger.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
Man gets chance to thank Life Time
employees who saved his life
It was the quick thinking of four
Life Time employees in Orland
Park that gave Mike Sanocki a second
chance in a matter of 30 seconds.
Sanocki, 62, suffered from cardiac
arrest May 9 when he passed
out after doing his 30-minute
workout on the elliptical. Just 30
feet in front of where trainer Jerry
Jasper was teaching a Pilates class,
the Homer Glen resident fell to the
ground, and the staff took immediate
action.
It is because of Jasper, trainer
Cooper Garland, general manager
Jason Fox and Ricky Cruz that
Sanocki is alive today.
On June 26, the four Life Time
employees were recognized at the
Orland Fire Protection District
Board of Trustees meeting and
awarded the Battalion Chief William
Bonnar Sr. Citizen Life Saving
Award.
“I want those guys to get all the
credit,” Sanocki said. “I don’t want
it to be a story about me, how I
survived a cardiac arrest, because
that’s not a story; the story is that
these guys saved my life, and I
wanted them to get the attention
that they deserve, and the paramedics.”
When Sanocki passed out, Garland
immediately got on the walkie-talkie
system and asked the front
desk to call 911. Afterward, Cruz
grabbed an automated external
defibrillator — which treats a disturbance
in the heart rhythm called
ventricular fibrillation — and gave
it to Jasper. Using the AED, he applied
electric shock to Sanocki’s
chest.
Reporting by Jacquelyn Schlabach,
Assistant Editor. For more, visit
HomerHorizon.com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Eight months after heart attack, TP
runner is back competing
Tinley Park’s Tom “Doc” Mahoney
finished 445th out of 620
runners at the Stars and Stripes 5K
race on July 4.
He covered the McCarthy Park
course in 39 minutes and 18.7
seconds. That was more than 12
minutes behind race winner Mitch
Gilbert.
Mahoney’s statistics were far
from remarkable.
The fact that he finished the race
was remarkable.
Heck, the fact that he started the
race was pretty darn noteworthy,
too.
Mahoney, 68, suffered a heart attack
on Nov. 5 during Tinley Park’s
Turkey Trot. At the time, the man
— who has a garage wall full of
bibs from previous races and had
carried the American flag during 11
previous Stars and Stripes event —
was fighting for his life. Who knew
if he would live or run again?
He lived. And he soon got back
to running practice.
The Stars and Stripes race was
his first race back since the Turkey
Trot.
Finishing 445th on a humid,
90-plus-degree day was a pretty
proud moment for him.
“Just finishing is an accomplishment,”
he said minutes after
the race. “Gone are the 24-minute
days. But you hit that turn there
and you see the finish line and it
was pretty … it was emotional.”
Even though he did a trial run
two days prior, there were some
anxious moments.
“I was worried all week, with
the temperature being 90 degrees
and all of that humidity,” Mahoney
said. “But I was still determined
I was going to finish no matter
what.”
Reporting by Jeff Vorva, Sports Editor.
For more, visit TinleyJunction.com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Summer art contest invites people
to downtown Lockport
With summertime in full swing,
there are countless activities to do
both indoors and outdoors to soak
up the season.
This year, a new activity for all
ages called the Local Artist Choice
Awards will bring people right to
the heart of downtown Lockport.
The City of Lockport’s Summer
Art Series Committee selected 18
art pieces that are on display at
various businesses downtown to
attract more foot traffic during this
summer’s State Street construction.
People are encouraged to visit
the businesses and vote on their
favorite pieces of art through July
23. The Top 3 pieces are to be announced
July 26 at The Roxy Theater.
The current art pieces on display
are from Lockport residents and
people from surrounding towns
ages 18 and older. Each of the 18
art pieces follow the theme “merging
art and industry,” which reflect
on the historical buildings in Lockport
and the industrial aspects of
the town, such as the I&M Canal.
For more information on the
Local Artist Choice Awards, visit
www.cityoflockport.net.
Reporting by Jacquelyn Schlabach,
Assistant Editor. For more, visit Lock
portLegend.com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
OP man among hundreds charged
in health care fraud investigation
An Orland Park doctor is facing
federal charges after he was among
more than 600 individuals reportedly
caught in a recent national
health care fraud enforcement action.
Several Chicago-area medical
professionals, including four physicians,
are facing charges as part
of the health care fraud enforcement
action, which is being called
the largest in Department of Justice
history, according to a press release
issued June 28 by the United States
Attorney’s Office for the Northern
District of Illinois.
Dr. Florentino Leong, 78, of Orland
Park, was charged with health
care fraud and making false statements
in a health care matter. He in
one of two Illinois cases — the other
an indictment against Dr. Ruben
Inocencio, 77, of Skokie — involving
licensed physicians who falsely
certified patients for home-health
services reimbursed by Medicare,
according to the release.
The doctors allegedly authorized
in-home services, despite knowing
patients were not confined to
the homes and did not require the
services.
Leong was to be arraigned June
28 before U.S. District Judge Manish
S. Shah.
The national action reportedly
was taken by Medicare Fraud
Strike Force. Charges were filed
against more than 150 physicians,
as well as nurses and other licensed
medical professionals, who allegedly
participated in fraud schemes
involving approximately $2 billion
in false billings.
Several doctors additionally
were charged in relation to prescribing
and distributing opioids
and other narcotics, according to
the release. The Department of
Health and Human Services reportedly
has initiated suspension
actions against numerous providers,
including doctors, nurses and
pharmacists.
Reporting by Bill Jones, Editor. For
more, visit OPPrairie.com.
FROM THE FRANKFORT STATION
Frankfort lacrosse player named to
Under Armour Midwest team
This past season, the Illinois
High School Association recognized
lacrosse as an official sport.
And next spring, the combined
Lincoln-Way co-op team will have
an outstanding player enter its lacrosse
program.
That is Erika Ho, who already
has attained national recognition in
the sport.
The Frankfort resident competed
in the annual Under Armour
All-America Lacrosse games. The
event, which bills itself as “the definitive
gathering of lacrosse elite,”
was held between June 28 and July
1 at Johns Hopkins University and
Towson University in Baltimore,
Maryland.
Ho, who plays midfield and takes
the draw, was on the Midwest Girls
Command team, which features incoming
high school freshman and
sophomores from eight Midwestern
states. She was selected for the
team after nearly 70 people tried
out June 13 at Olentangy Liberty
High School in Powell, Ohio.
“It was a different experience
competing with both [Command]
classes, including the upperclassmen
[Highlight Division — for junior
and senior] classes,” she said.
“It is something I will cherish.”
Being involved in the game of
lacrosse is something that Ho has
cherished for many years of her
young life. Her father, David, grew
up around the game.
“I grew up in Philadelphia and
played in high school there,” David
Ho said of his lacrosse roots. “I
coached lacrosse from 2004-2016,
and had Erika play a little coed
early on. I coached boys lacrosse,
which is much more physical. So, I
taught her that way.”
Reporting by Randy Whalen, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit Frank
fortStation.com.