HO_071119

12 | July 11, 2019 | the homer horizon NEWS
homerhorizon.com
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Uproar over use of Confederate
group for Fourth of July event
The Southwest Suburban Activists
group issued on its Facebook
page July 2 a call for the
Village of Mokena to “not glorify
the Confederacy” by allowing
the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry to
participate in firing of cannons
during Mokena’s Fourth of July
events.
Emily Biegel, the group’s director,
said the use of the 2nd
Kentucky Cavalry was “inappropriate
and insensitive” to members
of the community.
She went on to lament a lack
of response in other recent racial
incidents — including two separate
rounds of swastika vandalisms
and an incident in which
three Lincoln-Way Central
students were publicly spotted
wearing what appeared to some
to be blackface — from the Village’s
leadership.
“[Village officials] are going
to have to open their mouths,”
Biegel said about the lack of
public condemnation of such
acts.
Mokena Mayor Frank Fleischer
defended the use of the 2nd
Kentucky Cavalry by reiterating
previous responses that “Everyone
has a right to their beliefs.”
Fleischer said there was “no
way in heck” that he supported
slavery, but he supports keeping
our nation’s history alive — “the
good and the bad” — through
monuments, documents and other
public displays, lest the public
“lose its reference point” for
such events.
The 2nd Kentucky Cavalry
group on its website declares:
“We chose to be Confederates
because they fought hard for
what they believed in — protecting
their homes, states’ rights,
equal treatment in commerce,
elimination of illegal tariffs, and
preservation of the agricultural
way of life.”
Reporting by T.J. Kremer III, Editor.
For more, visit MokenaMess
enger.com.
FROM THE FRANKFORT STATION
Police stress road safety after
teen was hit by vehicle
The Frankfort Police Department
is urging Old Plank Road
Trail users to remember to yield
the right-of-way to traffic following
a June 30 accident involving
a teenager on a bicycle
who collided with a vehicle.
Frankfort Deputy Police Chief
Kevin Keegan told The Frankfort
Station the incident took
place at approximately 12:45
p.m., when a 14-year-old cyclist
traveling eastbound on the trail
rode into the path of a vehicle
traveling southbound on Elsner
Road.
“The juvenile bike rider never
stopped at the stop sign and rode
directly in front of the vehicle,”
Keegan said.
The teen suffered head and
soft tissue injuries in the collision,
and was taken to Silver
Cross Hospital for treatment.
Keegan said the incident has
been turned over to an accident
reconstruction team, and the police
department is waiting for the
investigation to be completed. At
this time, no charges or citations
have been issued.
During the July 1 Frankfort
Village Board meeting, Frankfort
Police Chief John Burica
stressed that it was important for
trail users to slow down when
crossing the street, and that drivers
had a responsibility to yield.
“The vehicles have the rightof-way,
and people should not
enter the crosswalk until it’s safe
to do so,” he said.
Reporting by Nuria Mathog, Editor.
For more, visit FrankfortStation.
com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
TPPD’s Shervino named Illinois’
top DARE instructor
Tinley Park Police Officer
Bob Shervino has always had
two passions: police work and
teaching.
He has combined the interests
to great impact as a longtime
DARE program instructor. So
much so that in June he was selected
from more than 100 candidates
as the Illinois DARE Officer
of the Year.
“I was totally surprised,” said
Shervino, a member of the Tinley
department since 2000 and
DARE instructor since 2002.
“I didn’t even know I’d been
nominated.”
Shervino — who grew up
admiring an uncle who was a
sergeant in the Tinley department,
and became an Orland
Hills cadet in 1995 — had his
name raised by his colleagues
and a number of local teachers
whose classrooms he has graced
over the years. He was formally
presented with the award at the
annual DARE and Juvenile Officers
Conference in Peoria.
“It was a great day,” he said.
For Shervino, being an impactful
instructor has come down to
a personable approach and interest
in making a difference in the
lives of the more than 5,500 children
he has taught.
“Patrol work is more reactive,
and DARE is more proactive,”
Shervino said. “I really do enjoy
that. The kids are really smart,
and they’re pretty truthful and
honest. I teach them, but they
also teach me.”
Tinley Park’s DARE program
reaches nearly 1,000 students in
a calendar year, Shervino said.
“I think it’s made me a better
person, and I hope it’s made me
a better parent,” he said.
Reporting by Will O’Brien, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit
TinleyJunction.com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Delivery driver allegedly tried to
kidnap female in Orland Park
A delivery driver was arrested
July 2 after he allegedly tried to
kidnap a female two days prior
in Orland Park.
Sofiane Mansouri, 34, of 1237
W. 31st Place, Apt. 1, in Chicago,
was charged with attempted
kidnapping, a Class 3 felony, according
to a press release issued
July 3 by the Orland Park Police
Department.
Mansouri reportedly pulled up
to the female — Sgt. Wayne Lee
declined to provide a specific age
but said she is an adult — in the
early morning hours of June 30
while driving a white box truck in
the 11400 block of 143rd Street.
The female was walking eastbound,
and Mansouri asked if she
was OK, police said. The female
said she was fine and not in need
of help, according to the release.
Mansouri then drove past her
and parked the truck on the side
of the road, got out of the truck
and approached her, again offering
help, police said. When
the female insisted she did not
need help, Mansouri allegedly
grabbed her and carried her back
to the truck.
The female was able to stop
Mansouri from opening the truck
door and eventually broke free of
his grip, police said. She contacted
police, who were later able to
identify the truck and driver.
Mansouri was arrested July 2
without incident after he came
to the police station, according
to Lee.
Reporting by Bill Jones, Editor. For
more, visit OPPrairie.com.
veterans
From Page 8
see that were not there the previous
time he had visited with his
wife.
“There is a new monument
there for women who were in
the service, specifically for the
women in Vietnam,” he noted.
“That was something brand new
that I have never seen before.
“There is also a new World
War II monument that shows
the Atlantic and the Pacific war.
There is so much to see, so I
would definitely like to go again
and get to see everything.”
Upon returning home, Jack
was pleased by all the mail he
had received from random people
and loved ones.
“I got so many letters from
grammar kids, high school kids,
people who have relatives in the
service,” Jack said. “I also got
a big pile of special letters I received
from my family that I
keep separate from all the other
letters I received when I returned
from the flight. It was really impressive.”
Jack has known about Honor
Flight Chicago for a while but
was not able to apply initially.
During a World War II reenactment
at Dellwood Park, Jack noticed
a booth from Honor Flight
Chicago and was able to sign up
there for the trip.
“I had tried signing up before
I saw that booth that night, but at
that time, they were only taking
World War II and Korean War
Vets, so I was not successful,”
Jack said. “Now, they are taking
more Vietnam War veterans, so
when I signed up at the booth,
I was able to actually go to the
flight this time.”
The biggest thing Jack has
taken from his time in the service
was the dedication of his fellow
soldiers, he said.
“Everybody took their job seriously,
and nobody ever blew it
off,” Jack said. “Everyone tried
to do the right thing all the time.
I have nothing but respect for
those guys.”
Jack said there were too many
good memories to choose from,
but then recalled being able to
be part of the opening day of the
Pearl Harbor Memorial, as his
wife previously mentioned.
“Something would happen every
day in the service, you know,
so it would be hard to choose
the best memory,” Jack said. “I
do remember I was stationed
at Pearl Harbor for naval intelligence,
and Pearl Harbor Memorial
opened up while I was
there.”
Jack and Dorothy have long
lived a peaceful life in Homer
Glen and hope they can visit all
the monuments in Washington,
D.C., again in the future.