dece mber 7, 2 0 2 3 • vol . 6 3 i ss u e 0 8
News from Plainfield • Joliet • Shorewood • Lockport • Crest Hill • Bolingbrook • Romeoville • Downers Grove • Westmont • Woodridge • Lisle • Niles • Morton Grove • Park Ridge & more
Shop with a Sheriff event helps 50 area children enjoy the holidays Members of Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Will County Lodge 94 made sure 50 area youngsters were able to enjoy the holidays this season when they hosted the lodge’s 25th Annual Shop with a Sheriff event on Saturday, December 2. Will County FOP Lodge 94, comprised of employees of the Will County Sheriff’s Department, partnered with Morningstar Mission 25 years ago to start the annual tradition of Shop with a Sheriff. Morningstar asks local schools to supply a list of children needing a little help at Christmas. Each child, usually accompanied by family members, shops with a uniformed Lodge 94 member using a $100 gift card. The children tend to buy more items for their families than themselves, so Lodge 94 members often give money from their own pockets to make sure the children truly have a Merry Christmas. The 50 children met their sheriff’s deputy “escorts” at the Mission and were then taken on school buses to the Walmart in New Lenox to shop. “I still run into adults who took part in Shop with a Sheriff as kids a quarter of a century ago, and they still remember it as a highlight of their young lives,” said Lodge 94 past President Wayne Ratajack, who helped to start Shop with a Sheriff 25 years ago. “I’m proud and humbled that my fellow Lodge 94 members have steadfastly continued this tradition of giving through the years, and we are thankful for the staff at the New Lenox Walmart who also helped make this happen.”
Will County Auxiliary Deputy L. Czajkowski and a young shopper during the December 2 Shop with a Sheriff event.
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Edward-Elmhurst Health recruiting new dogs for Animal-Assisted Therapy program Edward-Elmhurst Health is seeking more dogs for its Animal-Assisted Therapy program at Edward Hospital and Elmhurst Hospital. To be considered, visit www. eehealth.org/ways-to-give/volunteer/ animal-assisted-therapy and complete the online application. Applicants will be contacted for pre-screening. Those who meet qualification requirements will be scheduled for temperament testing on one of the following days – Friday, Jan. 12 or Saturday, Jan. 13 – within a two-hour time slot at Edward Hospital, 801 S. Washington St. in Naperville. Dogs and their handlers selected for the program must attend mandatory training at Edward Hospital on Saturday and Sunday, March 9 – 10, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. both days. For more information, call Cynthia Brooks at (630) 527-5305 or email cynthia.brooks@eehealth.org. To be considered, dogs must meet the following requirements:
• Sit/down/stay/recall/leave it on command • Walk loosely on a leash without pulling • Get along well with other dogs • Perform required commands without treats • Like people • Not be overly vocal • Be at least one year of age at time of testing • Lived with you for at least six months at time of testing • Current on all vaccinations • Prong collars, gentle leaders and retractable leashes are not accepted • Handlers must be 18 years of age or older Handlers and their dogs are encouraged to have completed a group obedience training class within the past year. Edward-Elmhurst Health’s AnimalAssisted Therapy program began in 2002 and has made more than 240,000 patient visits in that time.
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Plainfield church plans Lucia Fest The Swedish tradition of Santa Lucia will be observed at Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant, 2437 Plainfield Road in Crest Hill, at 11:45 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 10, immediately following the 10:45 a.m. worship service. All members of the community are invited to attend. The Queen of Light will be portrayed by Ruby Barraza, 17, of Joliet. She is the daughter of Irma Rivera and Juan Manuel Holguin Barraza. As part of the traditional Lucia Fest, the Queen of Light, also known as Lucia, will invite the congregation to a Fika, a time of fellowship, coffee and Swedish pastries, sponsored by Women Ministries. Barraza will be accompanied by attendants portrayed by children from Church of the Good Shepherd Sunday School. Sarah Lender-Hawkins will sing the traditional Lucia song, and Cyan Bradley, last year’s Queen of Light, will read the traditional story of Lucia. The celebration of Lucia Fest is a Swedish custom that ushers in the Christmas holiday. According to legend, Lucia was a godly girl who became engaged to a nobleman at the age of 17. Before the
wedding, Lucia gave her dowry to the poor as a thank you to God for answered prayer. Her intended husband, suspicious that she was a Christian, ordered her put to death on Dec. 13, 304 A.D. Hundreds of years later, Lucia reportedly appeared in western Sweden during a famine to distribute food among starving people. She wore a long white gown and was encircled by light. Following Lucia’s visit, the days grew longer, leading people to believe she brought the end of winter and the return of light. Lucia became known as a symbol of light, faith and Christian charity. The traditional celebration of Lucia Fest recognizes the return of light after the dark of winter and heralds the approaching Christmas season with candlelight and music. Barraza is a junior at Joliet Central High School, where she participates in ROTC. As a member of Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant, she regularly attends Sunday school, SOJO (the high school youth group), and takes part in various other church activities. Upon graduation from high school, she plans to enroll in the culinary arts program at Joliet Junior College.
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The Queen of Light will be portrayed by Ruby Barraza, 17, of Joliet. She is the daughter of Irma Rivera and Juan Manuel Holguin Barraza.
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oBiTuARY ZieLoNKA (nee KoZiCKA) Zielonka, Christine (Krystyna) peacefully passed away Tuesday November 7, 2023 at the age of 94. She was born in Warsaw Poland May 14, 1929. She came to America in 1957. She is preceded in death by her husband, Richard, son Thomas, and daughter Eva. Christine will be missed by her only surviving child Cristal; Grandchildren Michael, James (Lauren), Eric (Kaitlen), Kristi, Zachary and Valerie; three great grandchildren, Royce, Romeo, and Claire; Son and daughter in law Brent and Nancy. Christine was one of a few remaining vet-
erans of the Polish Home Army (AK), a resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. She was a nurse and liaison in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. A visitation was held Friday, November 17th from 6-8pm at Skaja Funeral home (7812 N Milwaukee, Niles, IL). Prayer service was at 9:15am at Skaja Funeral Home on Saturday, November 18th followed by a funeral mass at 10:00am at St. John Brebeuf Church in Niles (8307 N Harlem Ave). Graveside service followed the mass at Maryhill Cemetery. 847-967302 or www.skajafuneralhomes.com
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