MM_112918

16 | November 29, 2018 | The Mokena Messenger news
mokenamessenger.com
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Longtime customers become
new owners of Pizza King
Pizza night was a Monday
tradition for New Lenox
residents Alan and Stephanie
Gendusa.
For the past 18 years, one
of the two would always
pick up a pizza from Pizza
King, on the corner of Cedar
Road and Route 30, and
endulge after a long work
day.
That was until Pizza King
closed down in August after
45 years in business.
“I thought, ‘There’s no
other good places to eat
pizza in New Lenox,’” Alan
said.
“We were devastated,”
Stephanie added.
But soon after, the Gendusas
saw this as a business
opportunity. Alan, a lifelong
New Lenox resident, has
owned several businesses in
town, and he did not want to
see another mom-and-pop
shop go away, along with his
favorite pizza.
The couple closed the
deal to buy Pizza King on
Nov. 8, bringing back the
South Side-style pizza.
Since then, the news has
buzzed around New Lenox.
As of Nov. 19, Stephanie’s
Facebook post announcing
the purchase has 915 likes
and 212 shares.
“We just absolutely love
their pizza,” she said. “The
taste, the crust, it is such a
unique flavor and taste that
you cannot find anywhere
else. And we didn’t want that
to die.”
Former owner George
Schneeweiss Jr. is going to
reveal the secret recipes,
and teach Alan and Stephanie
everything he knows to
recreate the beloved pizza.
They plan to keep the original
menu but would like to
expand it. They are already
in the process of remodeling
the interior.
There is no tentative date
yet scheduled for Pizza
King’s re-opening.
Reporting by James Sanchez,
Editor. For more, visit New-
LenoxPatriot.com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Orland Park resident
celebrates 100th birthday at
White Fence Farm
For almost three decades,
Leo Bialek has called Orland
Park home. In that time, the
long-standing resident has
become woven into the fabric
of the community, thanks
to his charming personality,
dedication to physical fitness
and position as the life of every
party.
On Nov. 18, Bialek’s family
and friends met at White
Fence Farm in Romeoville
to celebrate his 100th birthday.
The restaurant is a longtime
favorite of Bialek’s
— he used to enjoy Sunday
dinners with his late-wife,
Elizabeth, at the establishment
— and it served as an
ideal spot to enjoy a party in
his honor.
Bialek’s granddaughter
and the event’s organizer,
Mary Beth Kyle-Needham,
explained that everyone who
meets her grandfather becomes
his friend.
“Everybody I invited to
the party said, ‘Yes,’” Kyle-
Needham said. “He has so
many friends and family that
love him. I am so impressed
and he’s such a good role
model. As my daughter was
growing up, I felt like it was
important for her to know
her great-grandparents, and
he’s been very interactive
with her. He teaches her
good lessons.”
Along with four generations
of immediate and
extended family, Bialek’s
friends — many of whom
he has made while dancing
at the Willowbrook
Ballroom and walking at
Orland Square — were in
attendance. Several of his
Orland Park neighbors, who
jokingly refer to themselves
as “Leo’s chauffeurs,” also
were on hand to celebrate in
style.
Reporting by Laurie Fanelli,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit OP
Prairie.com
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Interfaith Thanksgiving
Celebration focuses on
fellowship, charity
“People come from different
paths, yet we have the
same destination.”
Ahmed Ali, an Egyptianborn
Islamic motivational
speaker, shared those words
of unity and more Nov. 18
at the inaugural Interfaith
Thanksgiving Celebration at
First Congregational Church
in Lockport.
The event was organized
by the Lockport-Homer
Glen Ministerial Association
in an effort to help local
charities, as well as to show
how people can put aside
their differences and come
together.
The Lockport-Homer
Glen Ministerial Association
in the past has held the
Thanksgiving Celebration
at different area churches to
help benefit the FISH Food
Pantry, but this year the
Rev. Eric Quinney-Burnard
of the First Congregational
Church decided he wanted
to change things up. Rather
than dividing the offering,
all money raised was to
benefit the Lockport Resource
Center, and food was
collected for the Fairmont
Food Pantry. But the biggest
change was that was
the group’s first true interfaith
service.
The hour-long service
featured nine local speakers
of different faiths to discuss
the meaning of Thanksgiving
to them, followed by a
reception of holiday treats.
While each religion may
have different traditions or
ways to celebrate, one message
was made clear: being
faithful means being thankful.
“Literally giving thanks
and giving gratitude to God,
in whatever way that is, is
something we need to share
with one another,” Quinney-Burnard
said. “We all
want to raise our children
to be good people of faith
who get along with everyone,
and this is how we
start.”
Reporting by Rochelle
McAuliffe, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit
LockportLegend.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
Elite Dance Academy to offer
classes for special needs
children
Rhonda Moore had
hoped for nearly 17 years
that she could one day incorporate
the two things
for which she has the most
passion into her everyday
life.
As the performance company
director at Elite Dance
Academy in Homer Glen,
Moore has made her dream a
reality by recently becoming
a certified instructor, working
with children with special
needs in the studio.
“Working with special
needs kids has always been
a strong passion of mine, especially
in a dance setting,
and I have never had the
resources or the opportunity
to make it happen,” Moore
said.
She applied and received
a scholarship through a program
called Rhythm Works
Integrative Dance, which
according to its website “is
a specialized but inclusive
dance class for people with
individual learning differences
and other special
needs.” In collaboration
with the National Dance
Foundation and Double
Good popcorn store, Moore
and her fellow colleague,
Ashley Deets, who is the artistic
director at Elite, took
courses to get certified this
past February to instruct the
program.
Deets and Moore both
have a strong passion for
working with children who
have special needs and are
thrilled that, starting this
January, Elite Dance Academy
will be offering two
separate classes, one for
ages 4-9 and one for ages 10
and older, to experience the
program firsthand.
Classes are to start Jan.
10, with sessions running
through May. For more information,
email info@elitedanceil.com
or call (708)
301-8800.
Reporting by Jacquelyn
Schlabach, Assistant Editor.
For more, visit HomerHorizon.
com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Tinley Park school district
selects superintendent
Assistant Superintendent
Shawn Olson was selected
Nov. 15 by the Kirby School
District 140 Board of Education
to be the next superintendent
the district.
Olson is set to succeed
Superintendent Julia Mikulich,
who is retiring at
the end of the 2018-2019
school year.
Olson has been with the
district for the past 17 years
as a teacher and then an administrator,
including serving
as principal at Keller
Elementary and Grissom
Middle School, as well as
the director of technology
for D140. He began
his career as a substitute
teacher, and also has taught
reading and language arts.
He has served on several
district-wide committees
and has been instrumental
in staff development, financial
planning and technology
integration, according
to a press release from
D140.
“Dr. Olson is an experienced
leader, with a proven
track record in administration
and community relations,”
Board President
Thomas Martelli said. “His
vision for the district matches
up perfectly with our
needs.”
All seven board members
voted to approve the hiring.
Olson is scheduled to
assume leadership of the
school district — which
spans portions of Tinley
Park, Orland Park and Orland
Hills — on July 1. He
has earned a doctorate of
education from the University
of St. Francis in addition
to a master’s in educational
administration from
Governors State University.
“I’ve worked closely with
Shawn for the past three
years and am confident that
he will continue to move the
district forward,” Mikulich
said.
Reporting by Cody Mroczka,
Editor. For more, visit
TinleyJunction.
com.
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