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the new lenox patriot | May 16, 2019 | 21
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Joe La Margo out as Village
manager at first meeting for
new officials
The search is once again on
for a new Village manager after
the Orland Park Village Board
voted 6-1 on May 6 to accept
the resignation of Joe La Margo.
The vote came after a short
executive session, after which
Trustee Dan Calandriello cast
the lone dissenting vote.
After the meeting, La Margo
said he was asked to resign by
Mayor Keith Pekau shortly after
the April election.
“It was within two days [after]
the election, but he has been
a gentleman about it,” La Margo
said.
La Margo said he met with
all three of the newly elected
trustees recently and that he
thought he would have been
able to work with them had he
continued working as Village
manager.
“They really do seem to have
a passion for the community,”
he said. “I wish them the best.”
La Margo worked for the Village
for 13 years and has lived
in town for nearly 20 years.
After the meeting, Pekau
said there was no specific thing
about La Margo that led to the
decision to ask the Village manager
to resign, and the mayor
said he would not comment on
La Margo’s job performance.
Pekau said the reason it was
on the May 6 agenda — the first
at which the newly elected trustees
were seated — was to move
the Village forward.
“It’s better for Joe, and it’s
better for the Village to just
move forward and not drag this
out,” Pekau said.
Reporting by Jon DePaolis, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit OP
Prairie.com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Odyssey Golf Foundation’s
community 5K fundraiser set
for May 19
There are many organizations
dedicated to helping veterans
cope with post-traumatic stress
disorder and other disabilities
they must manage after returning
to civilian life.
Right in Tinley Park, the Odyssey
Golf Foundation is working
to do just that by allowing
veterans to golf on a closed
course among their peers.
The five-year-old 501(c)3
organization is headquartered
at the Odyssey Golf Foundation
Golf Course and supports
roughly 1,300 veteran members.
“Our mission is to assist veterans
and individuals with disabilities,
and give them the opportunity
to come and play golf
at the golf course, and it’s been
a very good experience for everybody,”
said Dakota Stariha,
who is the event coordinator
for an upcoming 5K fundraiser.
“We provide therapeutic services
through golf, so we have
outings every single week for
the summer.”
With its cause of providing
therapy through sport, the foundation
is hosting its first community
5K fundraising event,
Run Fore the Greater Good 5K.
The 5K walk/run is to take place
Sunday, May 19, with all proceeds
benefiting the Odyssey
Golf Foundation.
The 5K will take place at 8
a.m., with check-in and registration
starting at 7:15 a.m. The
course will span the Odyssey
Golf Foundation Golf Course,
with parking available at 19111
Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park.
The cost of entry for runners
and walkers is $25, and registration
can be completed at OdysseyGolfFoundation.org/5K.
Reporting by Amanda Del Buono,
Freelance Reporter. For more, visit
TinleyJunction.com.
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Alleged blackface incident
draws mixed responses from
community
A photo surfaced May 4 on
Instagram that reportedly shows
Lincoln-Way Central students
in what some people think to be
blackface at the Speedway on
Front Street and Wolf Road in
Mokena.
The photo appeared to show
three Caucasian youths wearing
black volcanic ash charcoal
acne masks while inside of a
vehicle.
Mokena Police were notified
of the situation and declined
to pursue a criminal investigation,
but referred the matter to
a resource officer with Lincoln-
Way D210, according to Mokena
Police Chief Steve Vaccaro.
Mokena Mayor Frank
Fleischer said that while the actions
of the students may have
been ill-advised, there was “no
reason [for anyone] to be offended,”
adding that, “There’s
no law or ordinance against stupidity.”
The person who posted the
Instagram photo, Sylvester
Williams, said he did so not to
“bash” the students but, rather,
to bring the adults of the community
together to have a conversation
about racial issues.
“I live in the area, and I know
how the area can sometimes
be,” Williams said. “I know that
there are good people and bad
people everywhere; however,
this was a situation that had just
came up with the high school
not to far away, Homewood-
Flossmoor. … These are things
that have been in the news, have
been in the media, and for the
young people to still do it, to
say, ‘Hey, it’s not a big deal; it’s
just a charcoal mask,’ is kind of
like a way of brushing it off and
saying that it’s OK.”
Reporting by T.J. Kremer III, Editor.
For more, visit MokenaMes
senger.com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Kelvin Grove Nature Club
expands with inaugural market
A few years ago, Kelvin
Grove School teacher Christie
Soulian would look out her
classroom window at an unused
piece of land near the playground
and imagine it being a
special place for her students: a
garden.
And with the garden came the
inception of the Calvin Grove
Nature Club.
“I put in a letter of interest
for the Nature Club,” Soulian
explained. “We started with the
fourth- and fifth-graders. They
were so excited to have a club.
The students who started this
are now sophomores in high
school.”
Taking a walk behind the
school, one finds a small patch
of fenced-in land. Four raised
garden boxes dot the lot, and
there also is a rain barrel.
Soulian, who has taught at
Kelvin Grove for 16 years, sees
Nature Club participants learn
responsibility and other life
skills.
“They learn how to be helpful
to the school and other kids,”
Soulian said. “This is taking
ownership of something that
some kids miss out on. This
gives the students a sense of accomplishment
from start to finish.”
In addition to taking care of
the garden, the Nature Club
held its first Nature Club Market
on May 3 and 4. The students
are attempting to raise money
to purchase benches with the
plastic milk jug caps they have
been collecting. They also are
looking to purchase other items,
including updating the rain barrel
setup, in order to increase
functionality and to beautify the
KG garden.
Reporting by Mary Compton,
Freelance Reporter. For more, visit
LockportLegend.com.
FROM THE FRANKFORT STATION
Concerts on the Green to
feature new, returning acts
For more than three decades,
summers in Frankfort have
brought Fourth of July fireworks,
opportunities to explore
the great outdoors and Sunday
evenings with music at Breidert
Green.
Now in its 32nd season, the
2019 Concerts on the Green
series is to kick off June 16,
with performances scheduled
for every Sunday through Aug.
25. The concerts, sponsored by
the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce,
are typically held at Breidert
Green, but in the case of
stormy weather, the shows will
move indoors to the Founders
Community Center.
“Continued generous donations
from businesses, churches,
civic groups and individuals to
fund these concerts are the reasons
we have been able to bring
high-quality free entertainment
to the Green for so many years,”
said Pam Griffin, a member of
the Frankfort Concerts on the
Green committee.
Eight volunteers are tasked
with reviewing the hundreds of
bands that request to perform
for the occasion. This year’s
lineup encompasses a broad
range of musical genres, from
Motown and R&B to Caribbean
reggae and calypso.
While several familiar acts
will return to the Breidert
Green stage, such as the Joliet
American Legion Band
and retro rock and roll band
Rosie & The Rivets, three
new groups are scheduled to
perform.
“As always, we try to provide
variety in the 10 concerts we
present, and hope to please the
audiences,” Griffin said.
Reporting by Nuria Mathog, Editor.
For more, visit FrankfortSta
tion.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
LTHS students dominate
in drafting and design
competitions
LTHS drafting and design
students are making their names
known after recent victories at
Illinois Design Educators Association
and SkillsUSA competitions.
Seven out of eight LTHS students
who participated in the
IDEA annual state drafting and
design competition on April
27 placed first. Those included
Matthew Stonis, who got first
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