MK_061319

12 | June 13, 2019 | the mokena messenger news
mokenamessenger.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 NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Torch Run for Special
Olympics brings smiles to
officers’, athletes’ faces
Route 30 in New Lenox
was briefly shut down the
afternoon of June 4 as
Torch Run volunteers from
the New Lenox Police Department
and New Lenox
Village Hall ran from
Providence Catholic High
School to the New Lenox
Commons.
The purpose of the Torch
Run is to raise money and
Cutting
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awareness, and help kick
off the Special Olympics
Summer Games, which
were held in Bloomington
June 7-9.
New Lenox’s runners
“took the torch” from the
Joliet volunteers at Providence
and to the Commons,
where the closing
ceremonies were held and
Special Olympic athletes
and other Village officials
waited.
Officer Paul Simon was
the organizer for the New
Lenox leg of the race. The
Torch Run took place all
over Illinois and included
more than 3,000 officers
who covered approximately
1,500 total miles.
Simon said all the volunteers
came to him before
he was able to reach
out and ask who wanted to
participate.
Sonia Little, who works
with the Village, has been
taking part in the event for
five years.
“I do it because I think
that Special Olympics is
important — to participate
and to donate and give
back to them,” she said.
“I run everyday. At first, I
thought it was just people
in law enforcement. But
they’ve welcomed me.”
Reporting by Sean Hastings,
Editor. For more, visit
NewLenoxPatriot.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.
“I’m going to try and
bring out my Willys Jeep,”
Steve Streit said.
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 FRANKFORT STATION
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 button-up 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.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
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.
“I’ve lived here all my
life,” Cooper said. “I grew
up on the farm working.”
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
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