MK_120519

12 | December 5, 2019 | the mokena messenger NEWS
mokenamessengerdaily.com
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Tinley girl donates
birthday presents to
Treasure Chest six years
in a row
When Dawn Beaudry
asked her now 10-year-old
daughter, Ella, to donate
her birthday presents for
her party when she turned
4, Ella did not hesitate.
“I was like, ‘She doesn’t
need anymore toys=; she
has enough toys,’ and so
I just started researching
places to give gifts to and
I found the Treasure Chest
Foundation, and I like that
it helps kids with cancer,”
Dawn said.
The Pediatric Oncology
Treasure Chest Foundation,
located in Orland
Park, gives children with
cancer gifts from its treasure
chest to provide
“comfort and distraction
from painful procedures,”
according to its website.
“I want her to start appreciating
what she has in
life and realize there’s kids
who don’t have all of that,
and that it’s nice to help
others when you can,”
Dawn said.
Every year for the last
six years, Dawn did not
needed to ask her daughter
if she would like to keep
donating.
“She actually asks every
year, she’s like, ‘Can we
bring toys again?’” Dawn
said.
For Ella’s birthday
party on Oct. 11, she collected
15 toys from three
friends who came over for
a sleepover. She and her
mother also went shopping
to buy a few extra.
On Oct. 25, Ella, her
mother and her 6-year-old
brother, Charlie, went to
the Treasure Chest Foundation
to deliver the toys.
Reporting by Jacquelyn
Schlabach, Editor. For more,
visit TinleyJunctionDaily.
com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Illinois Lottery celebrates
holidays with free hot
chocolate at Orland Park
Mariano’s
After finishing up their
grocery shopping at the
Mariano’s in Orland
Park, customers were
handed a fresh cup of hot
chocolate.
The Illinois Lottery
teamed up Nov. 25 with
Mariano’s to provide a
little cup of cheer as they
greeted shoppers.
Larry Miller, a program
director working with Illinois
Lottery, explained the
promotion.
“The Illinois Lottery
and Mariano’s have a new
partnership,” Miller said.
“We’re giving away hot
chocolate to the consumers
to promote the idea of
giving more surprises this
holiday season.”
Joe Lullo, who was
shopping for his father at
Mariano’s, said he was
happy to receive some hot
chocolate.
“This is a nice setup,”
Lullo said. “I’m on a diet,
but they roped me in, because
it’s tantalizing. I’m
so glad Mariano’s is here.
I appreciate the fact they
set this up and [are] doing
something nice for the holidays
for their customers.”
Reporting by Mary Compton,
Freelance Reporter. For
more, visit OPPrairieDaily.
com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Homer company recycles
e-waste for LTHS tech
enthusiasts
A Homer Glen technology
company is recycling
junk electronics and donating
the proceeds to
young tech enthusiasts at
Lockport Township High
School.
For every 10 pounds or
20 individual electronic
items recycled, the AJ
Technology Company will
donate $10 to the Technology
Education Club at
LTHS.
Old electronics — except
for computer monitors
— can be dropped off
at AJ’s office, 13231 W.
143rd St. in Homer Glen,
from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday
(and 10 a.m.-5
p.m.) till Dec. 20.
It was CEO Anthony
Giacobbe’s idea to start
the recycling drive. Giacobbe,
a graduate of LTHS
and a Homer Glen resident
of 30 years, said it is his
goal as CEO to give back
to the community and to
make positive, meaningful
change.
Reporting by Benjamin
Conboy, Assistant Editor. For
more, visit LockportLegend
Daily.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
LTHS receives, gets
training on two bleeding
control kits
Lockport Township
High School teachers took
full advantage of their late
start day on Nov. 19 with
a hands-on lesson from the
Lockport Township Fire
Protection District.
The district donated a
bleeding control kit to the
school, which can temporarily
stop bleeding and
drastically increase the
chance of survival in a
traumatic situation.
After months of collaboration
between the school
district and the department,
one kit was donated
to each of the campuses, to
be located next to an automated
external defibrillator.
Raising funds was only
half the mission, as the fire
district aims to give teachers
hands-on training.
To kick off the session,
Lt. Jeremiah Gericke led
a presentation explaining
the need for having easy
access to the kits as well as
training adults on proper
usage. Gericke cited the
recent Saugus High School
shooting in California,
where two children’s lives
were saved by teachers
who intervened using the
kits and stopped bleeding
until paramedics took
over.
A dozen firefighters for
each campus volunteered
their time to provide the
training, as well as to
gather the initial donations
needed to afford the kits,
which cost $900 per unit.
Reporting by Derek Swanson,
Editorial Intern. For more,
visit HomerHorizonDaily.
com.
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Village to honor local
military veterans with
banners in the Commons
Mayor Tim Baldermann
introduced a new program
at the New Lenox Village
Board meeting Nov. 25
that will honor local military
veterans.
The program, which
Baldermann said was suggested
by a resident who
had seen something similar
done in another community
in southern Illinois,
will allow residents
to request a banner honoring
the military service of
loved ones to be placed in
the Village Commons.
The 5-foot tall banners
are to include the service
member’s branch of the
military, years of service
and service picture on them,
and will be fastened at the
top and bottom of poles
around the Commons.
Baldermann’s plan accounted
for 121 banners
to be installed, with applications
for banners now
available on the Village
website. First preference
for banners will go to current
and former residents
of New Lenox as well as
nonresident members of
the New Lenox VFW and
American Legion posts.
Applicants who are accepted
will be asked to pay
a fee of $175, and each
accepted application will
Please see nfyn, 13
contest
From Page 8
by that day, so make sure
to give yourself enough
time for holiday mail service.
The entries will be
evaluated by our editorial
staff and judged in two
categories: Best in Show
and Funniest, so tell us
in which category you’d
like to be considered.
We will pick one winner
in each of the categories
from across all seven of
the towns covered by
22nd Century Media’s
Southwest office: Orland
Park, Tinley Park,
Frankfort, Mokena, New
Lenox, Lockport and
Homer Glen.
In addition to awarding
prizes (detailed in the accompanying
sidebar), we
plan to publish images or
transcripts of our winners
in print, along with a few
of our other favorites.
We do have three rules.
• We are allowing only
one entry per household
for this contest.
• The entry must be from
this holiday season.
• Because we’re living
in a digital world, electronic
entries are accepted.
They can be sent to bill@
opprairie.com.