NL_061319

10 | June 13, 2019 | the new lenox patriot news
newlenoxpatriot.com
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Fire department’s first
Citizens Fire Academy set
for August
The Tinley Park Fire Department
is to host its first
Citizens Fire Academy
starting in August, and is
currently accepting applications.
The academy will provide
participants with
hands-on experience of
what fire service is like in
Tinley Park, Deputy Chief
Dan Riordan said.
“This is the first time that
we’ve done anything like
this,” Riordan said. “It was
something that Fire Chief
[Forest] Reeder thought
would be a great opportunity
to get people, if they live
in town or work in town, to
interact with the fire department
in a different way, and
really get some understanding
of all the things that a
firefighter would be expected
to do during their normal
work shift, and you’ll get to
experience a little bit of that
yourself.”
All of the participants
will get certified in CPR,
learn how to use an automated
external defibrillator
and a fire extinguisher during
the eight-week course.
Additionally, participants
will be involved in training
tower demonstrations at the
local training facility, Riordan
said.
The program is open to
adults ages 21 and older
who live or work in the Village
of Tinley Park. Classes
will take place once a week
for 2-3 hours beginning
Aug. 7 through September.
Applications are due
July 1, and a background
check will be completed,
according to the application
packet.
Questions about the program
can be directed to
Jack Janozik, Tinley Park’s
education officer, at
(708) 444-5200 or jj
anozik@tinleypark.org.
Reporting by Amanda Del
Buono, Freelance Reporter.
For more, visit TinleyJunction.com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Car show cruises back into
Lockport for 2019
On June 3, people were
dancing while “little deuce
coupes” were lined up
along S. Hamilton Street
in Lockport. The scene
meant one thing: Cruisin’
into Lockport officially
opened.
“This night is always
fun,” Lockport Mayor
Steve Streit said. “Everyone
likes gathering on a
Monday. It’s a small festival
we do where we get
to say ‘hi’ to neighbors.”
Streit and his wife, Wendy,
were checking out the
muscle cars at the Monday
night event.
“We do have other
things planned throughout
the summer, as well,”
added Wendy Streit, who
is Lockport’s Summer
Art Series chairperson.
“We want to make sure
we have lots of events
throughout the summer
in Lockport. One of the
things were doing is the
frames. There will be
three, 6-feet-tall frames
placed in various places
in downtown Lockport.
We would like people to
take photos behind them
and post the photos online
where you’re entered in a
raffle to win prizes. You
don’t have to be a Lockport
resident to do this.”
Hundreds of residents
turned out for the first
festival of the summer in
Lockport. As residents and
friends sat on folding chairs
and blankets, others danced
where they could. Providing
the music for the evening
was Cadillac Grove.
There is to be a different
band at each Monday night
event.
Reporting by Mary Compton,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit LockportLegend.com.
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Mokena warehouse where
the sausage gets made for
Aurelio’s
Joe Aurelio’s life is all
about pizza. Even his license
plate reads “PIZZA.”
Back in 1959, before Joe
was even born, his father
Joseph A. Aurelio started a
pizza parlor in Homewood.
Today, Joe is the president
and CEO of Aurelio’s.
“Aurelio’s Pizza was
founded by my father,” Aurelio
said. “We were living
in Chicago Heights at the
time, and [he] wanted to
start his own pizza place.
Being from Calabria, Italy,
my father brought the family
recipes and Italian influence.”
Today, tere are 41 Aurelio’s
locations in six states.
Because of such growth,
Aurelio’s purchased a
10,000-square-foot warehouse
in Mokena roughly
seven months ago. At the
warehouse, they handmake
all the Italian sausage
fresh. They also distribute
the cheese and other meat
products from the warehouse
to all Aurelio’s locations.
Aurelio said that the site
was a former pharmaceutical
warehouse, where
it was a sterile and clean
environment, and he has
maintained an emphasis on
keeping it clean today.
“It’s a USDA-inspected
facility,” he said. “We make
12,000 pounds of fresh Italian
sausage a week. We use
... a very lean product with
simple spices, with no preservatives
or fillers.”
Reporting by Mary Compton,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit MokenaMessenger.com.
Police: Men in 60s robbed
Frankfort Township gas
station with screwdriver
Two men police say were
in their early 60s allegedly
robbed a Frankfort Township
gas station of cash and
cigarettes the early morning
of June 4.
Police were called at 3:12
a.m. to the Speedway at
7218 W. Lincoln Highway
in response to the robbery,
according to a press release
issued by the Will County
Sheriff’s Office.
A store clerk told deputies
she observed two men
enter the store. One of the
men — described as black,
wearing a black hat, black
coat, jeans and a buttonup
denim shirt — began
walking around the store,
according to police. The
other — described as black,
wearing a black hat and a
black jumpsuit with white
stripes down the arms and
legs — went into the washroom,
police said.
The man walking around
the store went to the counter
to purchase cigars, and
the other man moved behind
the counter and placed
a screwdriver at the back of
the employee, police said.
The men told the clerk to
lay on the floor, and they
robbed the store of $585 in
cash and 40 packs of cigarettes
valued at $315.60,
according to Deputy Chief
Dan Jungles.
The employee was then
ordered to the rear of the
store, and the two men left
in a white SUV, possibly a
Cadillac Escalade, police
said. They fled eastbound
on Lincoln Highway, according
to Will County
Sheriff’s Police spokesperson
Kathy Hoffmeyer.
Reporting by Bill Jones, Managing
Editor. For more, visit
FrankfortStation.com.
Descendent of Orland Park
pioneers reminiscences on
time in village
At 19, Leon Cooper was
not exactly ready to buy his
first house. But now, nearly
60 years later, he is glad he
did.
The 77-year-old Cooper
purchased his house on
Beacon Avenue in 1961
from his grandfather, but
his family’s roots in Orland
Park were planted well before.
Cooper is a descendent
of one of the first families
to settle in Orland Park,
coming to the area in 1850
from England.
The Cooper family established
a large farm,
which encompassed the
area where present day
Palos Primary Care Center
and Centennial Park now
rest.
In 1961, Cooper and his
new bride, Betty, bought
the home in which they still
live today.
Leon has watched Orland
Park evolve from a
sleepy, little farm town into
the bustling metropolis it is
today.
With the mall’s arrival,
subdivision after subdivision
was built, swallowing
up most of the farmland
Leon worked. But even
with all the development,
Leon commends the Village
of Orland Park for
staying true to its roots.
“We live in the Old Orland
area, which is like
being in the country but
with all the convenience of
being in the city, because
everything is within a few
miles,” he said. “Orland is
really good about parks and
bike trails. They could’ve
just subdivided it like a lot
of towns around here did,
but they really took care of
the area.”
Reporting by Erin Redmond,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
FROM THE FRANKFORT STATION
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Please see nfyn, 13