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REPORTER Section 2

THE

Serving Chicago Ridge, Evergreen Park, Hickory Hills, Oak Lawn, Palos Hills and Worth

Volume LVIII, No. 7

USPS 118-690

$1 Newstand 2 SECTIONS

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Judge sides with Chicago Ridge trustees Mayor Tokar had filed lawsuit challenging limits to his ability to make appointments

By Dermot Connolly Chicago Ridge Mayor Chuck Tokar won his bid for re-election on April 4, but his opponents on the Village Board got a victory of another kind on April 18 when Cook County Judge Rodolfo Garcia ruled in their favor in a lawsuit involving mayoral powers that Tokar

had filed against them last August.

Five of the six village trustees were named in the lawsuit the mayor filed after they approved an ordinance limiting the mayor’s ability to make appointments. The issue arose last year when the five board members rejected Tokar’s choice of Burt Odelson as village attorney.

Odelson remained in that position on an interim

basis despite the vote because current state law states that no office can remain vacant.

But the five trustees — Bruce Quintos, Frances Coglianese, Sally Durkin, Bill McFarland and Amanda Cardin — then passed a new ordinance that requires a majority of trustees to approve all mayoral appointments.

If the mayor’s selection does not receive the

required votes the first time, the mayor would be given 30 days to change their minds. If the appointee is rejected a second time, the mayor would have to pick somebody else.

Tokar vetoed that ordinance, but the trustees overrode it, with only Trustee Jack Lind siding with the mayor. He was the only trustee not named in the lawsuit. The five trustees who proposed the new ordinance said it simSee CHICAGO RIDGE, Page 10

Tokar

WWII vets from OL honored

A CELEBRATION OF DR. SEUSS

Community meeting also addresses scams in the village

By Dermot Connolly

The Chicago Ridge Library hosted Dr. Seuss Family Night on April 19, providing a variety of activities revolving around the beloved children’s author. Above: Isabella Luszczek, 5, of Chicago Ridge, shows off a Dr. Seuss craft she made.

Right: Autumn Wenzel, 4, of Worth, spots clues during a Dr. Seuss-themed scavenger hunt. Story and more photos on Page 4.

Photos by Kelly White

Worth residents share concerns about rats

By Sharon L. Filkins

Last year, some Worth residents complained about seeing coyotes.

This spring, some residents are voicing displeasure about what they claim is another problem — an outbreak of rats.

The subject of rodents being seen in greater numbers was brought up during the public comment portion of the Worth Village Board meeting on April 18. The topic provided for a lively discussion.

Worth residents Izzy Oliva and Kim Krawczyk, who live in the area

of 108th Street and Ridgeland Avenue, and Jack McGrath, who owns an apartment building on Nagle Avenue, addressed the board with graphic descriptions of their battle with rats.

Krawczyk asked if there was anything the village could do to help.

“My morning starts with my husband going out to kill the rats caught in the traps we have bought. I see them running across my driveway during the day. It is terrible. What can the village do to stop this?”

Krawczyk asked.

Mayor Mary Werner responded

that the village has distributed brochures advising residents on what to do to prevent the increasing population of rats, such as cleaning up dog waste, which attracts the rodents.

“We don’t need brochures,” Krawczyk responded. “We are looking for a plan of action from the village.

Can’t code enforcement officers go to personal properties to see if dog waste is being cleaned up? Can you make some decision on this and present it at the next board meeting? If you can’t do anything, our only option is to leave the village.”

Oliva added that Chicago Ridge

dealt with its recent rat problem, but the result was that the rats were driven out of Chicago Ridge and into Worth.

“I have spent $200 on traps, bags and gloves in dealing with this. Something needs to be done,” Oliva said.

McGrath stated that he had complained two months ago to the village about the growing problem of rats near the apartment building he owns, but nothing had been done.

“We will be in these neighborhoods tomorrow to investigate this,” said Werner.

Palos Hills mayor encouraged by business surge

By Joe Boyle Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett says there are numerous indications of businesses being interested in locating in the city. But the best evidence of the recent surge comes when you take a drive along Southwest Highway.

Bennett and other Palos Hills officials attended the official grand opening of the Baha Auto Group, 11001 Southwest Highway, on Saturday afternoon. Musa Muza, the general manager of the Baha Auto Group, said he’s excited about the opportunity to sell high-end used cars at this location.

“It has really been exciting,” said Muza. “The building was in pretty good condition, but we had a lot of work to do to bring everything up to code. We had to put in new lighting and new

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Bennett was all smiles as he walked into the new Baha Auto Group facility, which has been in operation for just over a month. The owners have another Baha Auto Group center on Harlem Avenue in Burbank.

But the mayor remembers that just a few years ago this stretch of Southwest Highway from 111th Street extending east a few blocks had been mostly barren since the recession dating back to 2009.

“I think when Webb Chevy moved in across the street a year and a half ago it began to change things,” Bennett said. “It was not that long after that the owners of Baha reached out to us.

I believe we are seeing a trend here.”

Muza admits that Webb Chevy’s See BUSINESS, Page 9

Photo by Joe Boyle

Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett prepares to cut the ribbon Saturday afternoon to mark the grand opening of the Baha Auto Group in the city.

He is joined by (from left) Ray Ihmud, owner and founder of the Baha Auto Group; Musa Muza, general manager; and Muza’s father, Abbel Muza.

Four World War II veterans were honored at a community meeting in Oak Lawn on Saturday, which also featured information on crime prevention and the local Gilda’s Club cancer support group.

About 70 people turned out for the meeting hosted

by Trustee Terry Vorderer (4th) at Salem United Church of Christ, 9717 S. Kostner Ave., Oak Lawn.

Vorderer and Army Capt. Dan Johnson presented J. Marcellus Burke, John Soss, Robert Wilcox and Joseph Ferencak with village proclamations signed

by Mayor Sandra Bury, who was among the 70 or so people at the meeting, along with Village Manager Larry Deetjen.

Johnson serves in the First Infantry Division, which Vorderer served in in Vietnam, and was leaving this week for his fourth tour of duty in Iraq.

All the veterans have remained active locally, and they spoke modestly about their service. Burke, who served in Europe from 1944 to 1946 as a cartographer and surveyor in the 387th Combat Division, also signed copies of a book he wrote entitled “Black Knights” about German servicemen with African ancestry.

Wilcox, 91, who participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, counts himself lucky that he was injured a month into his tour of duty.

“I was drafted at 18 and was discharged before I was 20. I spent a lot of time in the hospital. I can’t raise my arm high, but my brother-in-law died and is buried there,” he said.

Ferencak described his service in the Pacific Theater toward the end of the war as “a cook’s tour of Okinawa, China and the Philippines. I didn’t do much, but I was there if they needed me.”

Meanwhile, Police Det. Tom Cronin, a lifelong resident of Oak Lawn himself, warned his audience about “ruse burglaries” in which someone pretends to be a utility worker to gain entry to homes.

“Keep your screen and storm doors locked. Don’t let anyone in if you are not expecting them. Call us if you have any concerns,” he said.

“We call it situational awareness in our department.

Just be aware of your surroundings when you are out,” Cronin continued. “If we keep our eyes and ears open, we can sometimes avoid being victims.

“If you don’t have caller ID, I recommend getting it,” to avoid falling victim to phone scams, he said.

Cronin told of a local couple who lost $12,000 to a “granny scams,” in which someone called pretending to be a grandson in need of money for bail in the Dominican Republic.

“They sent $8,000 to an address in New York, and they called back and asked for $4,000 more, and got that too,” he said, advising people to call family members or the police before ever sending money anywhere.

“Keep an eyeball on your bank accounts to make sure you are not being victimized by identity theft either. Check your credit rating several times a year,” he advised.

Rachel Kennedy, program manager of the Gilda’s Club cancer support group at Advocate Christ Medical Center, also spoke at the meeting. She said the organization offers a variety of free programs to people diagnosed with cancer, as well as their families and friends.

“I invite you to come for a tour. Just pop in if you are ever in the Outpatient Clinic,” she said.

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2 The Reporter

Thursday, April 27, 2017

POLICE REPORTS Chicago RIdge Theft charge

Submitted photo

Arbor Day contest winners

Andreas Lewis, 28, of the 12300 block of South Bishop Street, Calumet Park, was charged with theft at Miller’s Ale House, 6401 W. 95th St., at 12:25 p.m. last Thursday. Police said they responded to a report of a person leaving without paying a $43 bill at the restaurant, and apprehended him outside. He was also charged with battery and resisting arrest after he allegedly became violent and resisted officers while in the police station. He was also wanted on three outstanding Cook County warrants for battery, DUI and traffic offenses, police said.

He was held for a bond hearing.

Drug charges

The Evergreen Park Village Board last week congratulated local students who were winners of the Arbor Day poster and essay contest. On hand to honor the students were Evergreen Park Mayor James Sexton (left) and Gavin Yeaman, the deputy director of Public Works in Evergreen Park.

Chicago man charged in two Oak Lawn home invasions

responsible,” said Trustee Terry Vorderer (4th), when Detective A 40-year-old Chicago man Tom Cronin mentioned the arrest has been charged in connection during a community meeting in with two home invasions that Oak Lawn on Saturday. occurred within blocks of Police said that while each other in Oak Lawn they were responding on Sept. 13, 2016. to a report of one home Oak Lawn police said invasion in the 4100 Ivory E. Warren, of the block of West 93rd 9600 block of South Street at 2:23 p.m. on Wentworth Avenue, ChiSept. 13, another one cago, was charged April was reported a few 11 with two counts of blocks away in the Warren home invasion with a 9600 block of South dangerous weapon. He Kildare Avenue. was arrested following an invesThe description provided intigation conducted by police in dicated the same person was Oak Lawn and Chicago, and the responsible for both incidents.

Cook County State’s Attorney’s A gold chain was reported stooffice. He also faces charges re- len in one of the incidents, and lated to several similar offenses a diamond ring was taken in in Chicago. another.

“This arrest was the result As of Tuesday, Warren reof great work by the police. mained in Cook County Jail in Crimes like this occasionally lieu of $400,000 bond set at an happen in every community, April 13 court appearance. He is but in nearly every case, the scheduled to appear in a Bridgepolice here do find the person view courtroom on May 8.

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Two men were each charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance following an investigation by tactical officers at 111th and Ridgeland Avenue. Police said Anthony D. Fultz, 26, of the 15400 block of South Honore Avenue, Harvey, and Rick Posey, 24, of the 6200 block of Enterprise Road, Chicago Heights, were observed conducting a drug transaction in which they tried to sell Ecstasy tablets and crack cocaine to someone.

They were held for bond hearing on Tuesday.

Identity theft

Willi M. Zollekoffer, 55, of the 20800 block of London Drive, Olympia Fields, was charged with identity theft on April 21 in Richton Park in connection with an incident that occurred Jan. 2 at the Discovery store in Chicago Ridge. Details of the incident were not available, but police said she was identified by surveillance tape conducting a fraudulent financial transaction using the victim’s ID. She was held for a felony bond hearing on Tuesday.

Suspended license

• Kassan Hamada, 45, of the 2900 block of West 59th Street, Chicago, was charged with driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop at 1:08 a.m. last Thursday at Southwest Highway and Harlem Avenue. Police said he was also cited for driving without insurance. He is due in court on May 3.

• Dana M. Segura, 23, of the 11000 block of South Menard Avenue, Chicago Ridge, was charged with driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop at 5:55 p.m. Saturday at 107th Street and Moody Avenue. Police said she was also cited for speeding.

She is due in court on June 9.

Evergreen Park Drug possession

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Thomas J. Machen Jr., 32, of Elwood, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance following a traffic stop at

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Retail theft

• Verlinda Davis, 36, of Chicago, was charged with retail theft at Walmart, 2500 W. 95th St., at 11:83 p.m. April 19. Police said she took socks and soup worth a total of $23.83.

• Chloreese Newman, 21, of Chicago, was charged with retail theft at Walmart, 2500 W. 95th St., at 10:31 a.m. April 17. Police said she took 16 assorted items, including DVD and auto supplies, worth $369.94.

• Jeremy Patt, 33, of Chicago, was charged with retail theft at Carson’s, 9700 S. Western Ave., at 4:24 p.m. April 18. Police said he took a Calvin Klein suit worth $170.

Criminal trespassing Joey Washington, 33, of Blue Island, was charged with criminal trespassing following an incident at Sam’s Club, 9400 S. Western Ave., at 4:02 p.m. last Thursday. Police said that he was also charged with assault for threatening to hurt an employee who told him he was not welcome in the store and must leave. They said he had previously been warned not to come back because of a past offense.

Hickory Hills

Improper registration Celestyn P. Paszkowski, 33, of the 8100 block of West 111th Street, Palos Hills, was charged with improper use of registration following a traffic stop at 1:49 p.m. April 18 in the 7900 block of West 95th Street. Police said the rear license plate was from a BMW and the front plates for the 2005 Dodge he was driving were expired. He was also cited for driving without insurance. He is due in court on May 3.

Marijuana possession Kristopher J. Reich, 28, of the 8400 block of West 95th Street, Hickory Hills, was issued a village ordinance citation for possession of 14.5 grams of marijuana after police were called to a disturbance outside Walgreens, 7945 W. 95th St. Police said the reported argument between Reich and a 20-year-old female was over when they arrived. Reich turned over the marijuana. He is due at a local hearing at Hickory Hills City Hall on June 6.

Outstanding warrant Tommika G. Johnson, 27, of the 9800 block of South Harlem Avenue, Chicago Ridge, was arrested on an outstanding Cook County warrant after police said she and her boyfriend were found

sleeping in the boiler room of an apartment building in the 8700 block of South Roberts Road at 9:58 a.m. Friday. Police said Johnson and the 30-year-old man were sleeping on a blow-up mattress in the locked boiler room and were issued trespass warnings that they would be charged if found there again. Johnson was held for a bond hearing on the warrant, which police said was for a conditional release violation on a battery charge.

Oak Lawn

Possession of a controlled substance

Lauren Anaya, 29, of Evergreen Park, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance after police responded to a disturbance in a room at the Miami Motel, 9041 S. Cicero Ave., at 12:12 a.m. April 15. Police said Anaya was fighting with another woman and admitted ownership of two small bags of heroin and several hypodermic needles found in the room. Police said she was also wanted on an outstanding warrant from Chicago Ridge for manufacture/delivery of heroin.

She was also cited for possession of drug equipment and hypodermic needles, and obstructing identification for initially gave a false name. Anaya was held for a bond hearing. The woman with her, identified as Sarah K. Johnson, 30, of Chicago, was issued a village ordinance violation for possession of drug paraphernalia.

She is due at a hearing in Village Hall on May 16.

DUI charges

• Jared Abram Endicott, 23, of Burbank, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs following a traffic stop at 2:45 a.m. April 8 in the 9500 block of South Kenton Avenue.

Police said he was also cited for aggravated speeding for driving more than 28 mph above the speed limit. He is due in court on May 22.

• Jeremy Daniel Denni, 26, of Oak Lawn, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic stop at 3:30 a.m. April 6 in the 10500 block of South Pulaski Road. Police said he registered a .197 blood-alcohol count on a breath test. He was also cited for aggravated speeding for driving more than 43 mph over the limit, expired registration and failure to signal. He is due in court on May 4.

• Michael Timothy DiDominicus, 23, of Oak Lawn, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic stop at 4:14 a.m. April 15 at 111th Street and Tripp Avenue.

Police said he registered a .126 blood-alcohol count on a breath test. He was also cited for speeding and is due in court on May 22.

Assault charge

Brian R. Kasper, 43, of the 9100

block of South Cicero Avenue, Oak Lawn, was charged with assault following an incident at a neighbor’s house at 6:32 p.m.

April 12. The 59-year-old male neighbor told police that Kasper came to his residence looking for $20 that he claimed to be owed.

He said when he refused to pay, Kasper pushed him down, injuring his back. He is due in court on May 12.

Retail theft

Rebecca J. Samo, 35, of Chicago, was issued a village ordinance violation for retail theft at Kmart, 4101 W. 95th St., at 3:24 p.m. April 12. Police said she was stopped as she left the store with a Blackhawks tote bag that she allegedly took off a display and filled with 14 cans of an energy drink. She was issued a summons to appear at a hearing in Village Hall on May 2. Police said Samo was also wanted on an outstanding warrant for retail theft in Merrionette Park, and she was taken into custody by Merrionette Park police.

Palos Hills Fraud reports

• A resident of the 9900 block of 81st Avenue reported losing more than $1,000 in a fraudulent sale of coins at 8 p.m. April 17.

The man said he bought the valuable coins in an internet sale and paid for them through PayPal, but the package sent to him did not contain the correct coins.

• At 4 p.m. last Thursday, a Palos Hills resident reported finding fraudulent charges against the victim’s bank account that were not approved.

Harassment complaint Police responded to a report of harassment by electronic communication in the 10400 block of Winter Park Drive at 10 a.m.

April 18. The victim said she had been receiving harassing emails from her ex-husband, who had also been sending them to her friends and family members.

Theft reports • A Palos Hills resident reported an attempted theft by deception to police at 10:30 a.m. last Thursday.

The woman said someone claiming to be from the IRS called her and demanded that she buy iTunes gift cards to make a tax payment she supposedly owed.

• A Palos Hills resident reported at 2:30 p.m. April 20 that someone had stolen a Menards rebate check out of his mailbox and cashed it without permission.

• A delivery person with Sarpino’s restaurant reported being robbed of food in the 10100 block of South 84th Avenue at 2:30 a.m.

Sunday. The person said someone took the food delivery order and did not pay for it.

• A backpack containing a cellphone and other miscellaneous items was reported stolen from McDonald’s, 11050 Southwest Highway, at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

The bag was allegedly stolen while two people were involved in a disturbance in the restaurant.

Identity theft

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A Palos Hills resident reported a case of identity theft at 12:30 p.m. last Friday. Accounts had been opened at U.S. Bank using the victim’s personal information, police were told.

Cannabis possession

Zachary Miglieri, 24, of Orland Park was issued a local ordinance citation for possession of cannabis at 10:30 p.m. last Thursday.

Worth

Suspended license

• Kiera McDonald, 27, of the 7600 block of West 63rd Place, Summit, was charged with driving with a suspended driver’s license following a traffic stop at 6:43 a.m.

April 17 in the 6700 block of West 109th Street. Police said she was also cited for speeding. She is due in court on May 5.

• Ahmad Jafry, 25, of the 5700 block of West 106th Street, Chicago Ridge, was charged with driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop at 7:20 p.m. April 18 in the 6700 block of West 111th Street. Police said he was also cited for driving without proof of insurance, and having no front license plate. He is due in court on May 5.

Police reports are provided by law enforcement agencies.

Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proved guilty in a court of law.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

The Reporter

Remembering the deadly tornado that struck Oak Lawn

Photos by Joe Boyle

Kevin Korst, the local history coordinator at the Oak Lawn Library, talks to a large crowd that gathered Friday night for the “Voices in the Wind: Remembering the 1967 Tornado.” The exhibit commemorates the 50th anniversary of the F4 tornado that ripped through Oak Lawn and portions of Evergreen Park and Hometown on April 21, 1967.

Visitors view the photos, archive information and video about the tornado that hit Oak Lawn in 1967 during the opening of the exhibit at the Oak Lawn Library. Over 100 photos and archive footage can be found in the exhibit at the Oak Lawn Library that will continue through next April.

OAK LAWN VILLAGE BOARD MEETING

Board tables decision on new Cook County minimum wage

By Dermot Connolly Oak Lawn Village Board members discussed opting out of the new Cook County minimum wage and paid sick leave requirements at their Tuesday meeting, but they voted 4-2 to table the agenda item until the next meeting on May 9.

“There has been no discussion of this. It should have been brought before the Ethics and Ordinances Committee before the full Village Board,” said Trustee Mike Carberry (6th). “There is a process in place and we should follow our own rules.”

Carberry asked that the matter be tabled so it can be heard at the committee level before the next board meeting.

“There are two sides to this.

Waiting two weeks won’t hurt,” said Trustee Terry Vorderer (4th).

But before taking the vote, the trustees heard from Oak Lawn Chamber of Commerce President Adam Woodworth and other business representatives who said the new Cook County ordinances would hurt the local economy.

As of July 1, the minimum wage in Cook County rises from $8.25 per hour to $10, with $1 annual hikes until it is $13 in 2020. The second ordinance requires up to 10 paid days of sick leave per year.

Woodworth said “while this Cook County ordinance may

These ordinances are pushing burdens onto small businesses and will push them either out of business or out of Oak Lawn.”

“

­— Bernard Deir, Midwest Business Consulting be well-intentioned,” surrounding home-rule communities such as Evergreen Park, Hickory Hills, Alsip, Burbank, and Palos Park

and Palos Heights already have opted out, and Chicago Ridge and Orland Park are considering it. He said Oak Lawn needs to follow suit.

“With higher payroll comes higher costs, and they will have to be passed on to customers,” said Woodworth, suggesting that businesses and their customers will go to the communities that have opted out.

Bernard Deir, of Midwest Business Consulting, a small businesses advocate, spoke about the isssue.

“I ask that we not gloss over the impact this is going to have,” Deir said. “These ordinances are pushing burdens onto small

businesses and will push them either out of business or Oak Lawn. Some folks will reduce head counts to stay in business.

These are not lavishly big businesses we are talking about.”

Mayor Sandra Bury said nonprofits will also be greatly affected, noting that Park Lawn would have to find an extra $300,000 this year to pay the higher costs, and the state is not offering additional funding.

Trustees Alex Olejniczak (2nd) and Bob Streit (3rd) voted against tabling the motion, saying they were ready to vote for opting out already.

“This is a state issue,” said Streit.

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4 The Reporter

Our Neighborhood

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Kids, parents enjoy Dr. Seuss Family Night in Chicago Ridge

A celebration took place for parents and children alike during the Dr. Seuss Family Night, which was held the evening of April 19 at the Chicago Ridge Library.

Local children and their parents enjoyed reading and viewing the photos from the world of Dr. Theodor Geisel, who was better known as Dr. Seuss.

The event was held to celebrate read-

Bruce Murray, of Chicago Ridge, took his granddaughter, Serena Murray, 6, of Chicago Ridge, to Dr. Seuss Family Night.

ing and how fun it can be. The event also marked what would have been the 113th birthday of Dr. Seuss on March 2.

During the Dr. Seuss Family Night, children took part in a Dr. Seuss-themed

scavenger hunt. The children were given clues in an effort to discover Dr. Seuss characters from his various books.

Children also had an opportunity to make a Dr. Seuss craft that they were

allowed to take home. Geisel, a cartoonist and writer, wrote over 60 books, including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” “Green Eggs and Ham” and “The Cat in the Hat.”

Photos by Kelly White Local children and their parents were excited to celebrate the works of Dr. Seuss during a Dr. Seuss-themed night at the Chicago Ridge Library.

Emerson Schweikert, 6 months, of Chicago Ridge, is dressed as a Dr. Seuss character at the Dr. Seuss Family Night event.

Palos Hills hires firm to prepare plans for Pleasure Lake

By Michael Gilbert Palos Hills officials are looking to make Pleasure Lake more, well, pleasurable for residents.

Among the possibilities: a pavilion/shade shelter, a waterfall feature, an outdoor public event space, and play pods along the trail system.

Two weeks after the council announced that the two-and-ahalf year fishing ban at the catchand-release lake had been lifted, aldermen voted 9-1 April 20 to approve spending an amount not to exceed $4,450 from the city’s parks development fund to hire a Chicago-based planning and landscaping firm to prepare a sche-

matic concept plan for Pleasure Lake, 10801 S. Roberts Road.

Ald. AJ Pasek (3rd Ward) cast the lone vote against it.

Upland Design’s concept plan for Pleasure Lake is to include a site analysis as well as the procedure and cost estimates for purchasing potential amenities, according to documents provided by the City of Palos Hills.

The Upland team will prepare two concept designs showing layout, elements and amenities based on input from a kickoff meeting with Palos Hills staff and possibly residents. Those plans will then be reviewed at a subsequent meeting and Upland will use the feedback to update and finalize

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one schematic concept plan and cost estimate.

For an additional $3,850, Upland Design can be retained to assist the city in preparing an Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant which, if approved, could be used to fund some of the new amenities. City officials did not discuss potentially hiring Upland for grantwriting assistance at the meeting last week.

Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett called Pleasure Lake a “hidden gem” and said the city’s goal is to make the 8.1-acre property “attractive” to the residents.

“The intent of the park is to be used by our residents, and right

now it’s a neighborhood park,” Bennett said. “We certainly want (Pleasure Lake) to be used by more of our city residents and to do that we want to make it attractive and a choice for them to go. There is plenty of property out there to work with” Bennett said the open area just past the bridge near the entrance of Pleasure Lake could be earmarked as a “gathering place” with attractive plantings, but he was still looking forward to seeing the suggestions Upland offers.

“We are hiring a landscape architect so we’re going to let their imagination flow,” he said. “We would love to attract more of our

residents over there to walk or to sit on a bench and enjoy nature.”

An Upland representative was not present at the board meeting last week, but in a 20-page proposal submitted to the city for the project the firm described Pleasure Lake as “a passive recreation area with great potential.”

Although Palos Hills has never worked with Upland previously, the firm did complete a master plan for the Lake Katherine Nature Center in Palos Heights approximately five years ago, Bennett said.

“You’ve seen (the transformation) that took place at Lake Katherine and certainly what they’ve done is something we want to

mimic,” Bennett said. “Obviously there is more space over there, but we’d love to bring the residents (to Pleasure Lake) like (Palos Heights) has done at Lake Katherine.”

Upland also has completed design projects in Geneva, Aurora and Minooka, according to its proposal to the city.

Pasek said his “no” vote stemmed from wanting to see the grassy areas at Pleasure Lake remain as such.

A timetable for the completion of the project was unknown, but Palos Hills Resource and Recreation Commissioner Kristin Violante expected Upland to begin working on the concept plan soon.

St. Laurence High School to hold 28th annual golf outing The 28th annual St. Laurence High School Golf Outing will be held Friday, May 26 at the Broken Arrow Golf Club, 16325 Broken Arrow Drive, Lockport.

Alumni, staff, friends and benefactors of the school take part in this annual event. The shotgun start begins at 1 p.m. Registration and driving range availability begins at noon. Tee

times are limited to the first 144 golfers.

The golf outing includes 18 holes of a scramble format. The outing includes contests, a raffle, lunch and beverages on the course, open bar, dinner, and giveaways for $150 per golfer. All reservations have to be received by Monday, May 22. Sponsorship opportunities are available for both individuals and businesses.

For more information or to register, contact Ed Kozak, Class of 1979, the Office of Institutional Advancement, (708) 458-6900, ext. 244. He can also be reached by email at ekozak@stlaurence.com about the outing or sponsorship possibilities. More information about the event can also be obtained at www.stlaurence.com

Free cancer screenings offered at Klein Park Advocate Christ Medical Center and March4Meg are partnering to provide free Skin cancer screenings to the community from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, May 1 at Klein Park, 9700 S. Homan Ave., Evergreen Park.

Board-certified dermatologists and trained nurses will perform a visual examination of the skin in private, sectioned-off areas. Attendees will be checked for suspicious looking moles and skin lesions that could be cancerous or precancerous. Each screening will take approximately 10 minutes and the participant will receive a copy of his or her results.

If a questionable mole or mark is spotted, physician follow-up appointments can be scheduled immediately after the screening.

Skin cancer is by far the most common of all cancers, according to the American Cancer Society.

While walk-ins are welcome at the screening, registration is recommended by calling (800) 323-8622.

Exercise can help counter effects of fatigue in cancer survivors Fatigue is one of the most common side effects of cancer, occurring during and years after treatment. An analysis of the research now concludes that exercise may help cancer survivors with fatigue during and after treatment, even more than pharmaceutical options.

The analysis, published in JAMA Oncology, focused on the four most commonly recommended treatments for cancer related fatigue: exercise, psychological, combined exercise and psychological, and medication.

Overall, the most effective interventions were group-based and in-person. Improvements occurred among survivors of all ages and with all types of cancer.

Compiled by Joe Boyle

News and events from our archives Oak Lawn mayor: Village will recover from devastating tornado • 50 years ago From the April 27, 1967 issue The story: Oak Lawn Mayor Fred Dumke said that the village is on its way to recovery after the April 21 tornado that ripped through the village and caused extensive damage.

The total cost to the municipality for damage to streets, lights, signs, curbs, material and labor has not yet been determined, but a “rough estimate” is somewhat in the area of $500,000. However, Dumke said that planned improvements originally set for Oak Lawn, such as 95th Street widening and street lighting, are still scheduled.

The quote: “The Village of Oak Lawn, undoubtedly and without equivocation, will rebuild in a manner which will be in the best interest of Oak Lawn and the people.”

Oak Lawn village manager retires after 16 years of service • 25 years ago

From the April 23, 1992 issue The story: When Richard O’Neill walked out of his office in the village hall Tuesday, it was for the last time as Oak Lawn village manager, a post he held for 16 years.

O’Neill was Oak Lawn’s longest serving village manager, having been appointed in May 1976.

But now he’s looking forward to resuming a full-time career in social work counseling. He described his job as being the daily administrative boss of the village of Oak Lawn, a tall order to fill in a suburb of 56,000 people and 375 village employees. O’Neill said he will miss the rapid pace of the job.

The quote: “There are always new projects to plan, new meetings to attend and new crisis to handle,” O’Neill said. “I’ll miss the anticipation, the very exciting and somewhat harried pace. It was an exciting job.”

Village of Worth salutes soldiers who are coming home • 10 years ago

From the April 26, 2007 issue The story: The Village of Worth was scheduled to recognize the U.S. military at a “Salute to Our Soldiers” event at 7 p.m. tonight at the Water’s Edge Golf Club at 115th Street and Harlem Avenue.

Worth Village Clerk Bonnie Price and Trustee Kevin Werner helped to organize the event. Both Price and Werner were concerned that young Worth residents returning home from military duty may have felt under appreciated.

The quote: It’s a way for us to show support for soldiers we know are serving. We do have heroes from all over, and over 35 from Worth,” Price said. “It’s a little bit of recognition for our soldiers and that the village cares about them giving up so much for us.”

Thursday, April 27, 2017

The Reporter

5

Correspondent for Reporter preps for Southwest Half Marathon

By Anthony Caciopo

Ever wanted to know what it’s like to run a half marathon?

Michael Gilbert, of Palos Hills, will lace up his running shoes May 7 to give our readers a firsthand account.

Gilbert, a correspondent for The Reporter, will take on the 10th Annual Southwest Half Marathon scheduled to kick off at 7:30 a.m. outside Palos Heights City Hall, Route 83 and 76th Avenue.

While Gilbert is much more accustomed to running 5K races, he already has six half marathons under his soles and he’s ready for the May 7 challenge.

Gilbert’s most recent half marathon took place in Bolingbrook this past March 19, a St. Paddy’s Day event, where he ran the course in 1:46:50.

“I basically run against the clock,” he said. “My goal (in the Southwest Half Marathon) would be to crack 1:45. I think I’ll be a few minutes off but it’s something to shoot for.”

He crossed the finish line of his first half marathon, in 2014 in Oak Brook, at 2:06.

Gilbert, 34, will have a keen eye on the weather forecast in the days before the 13.1-mile race.

“The interesting thing about this race, being held in early May, is that there’s a real concern with the weather,” he said. “It could be 75 degrees or it could be 50. That’s at the forefront of my mind, what the weather is going to be.”

Gilbert recalled running in 70-degree temperatures in a previous half marathon and finding the experience not particularly pleasant.

“I’m hoping for cooler temps for this one,” he said, preferring a range of high-40s to low-50s.

Gilbert won’t be running alone May 7. Of course, there’s already a combined total of about 1,000 participants in the half marathon and 10K race, many of whom will be running shoulder-to-shoulder with one another — including Gilbert — at least at the start

with a laugh, “we’d get up at 3 a.m. and run before our flight.”

Gilbert described the unhealthy road he was on as a youth.

“I stayed inside the house and played Nintendo,” he said. “I didn’t do any exercise as a kid.”

Gilbert said he couldn’t even make it around the track at St. Laurence High School, where he attended. His understanding gym instructor Tom Gauger urged him on by allowing him to walk the curved portions of the oval track as Gilbert worked to build his stamina.

But these days, Gilbert said, “Running is so contagious.” Besides his dad, his other regular running partner is his dog, Rizzo.

Gilbert and Rizzo can often be found running near the Moraine Valley Community College campus.

Photo by Anthony Caciopo “The dog is great, because Michael Gilbert (right) and his father, Robert, train for the 10th Annual when he wants to take off I get Southwest Half Marathon to be held May 7 in Palos Heights. my sprint workouts. When he ment, usually alongside his dad. wants to go, he goes.” of the race.

Gilbert and his wife, Tanja, “We’re always doing about But Gilbert’s father, Robert, of Burbank, will also be out for a 5K each day,” he said. “We have an 8-month-old daughter take family vacations to Disney Olivia. He works as a marketing the run.

“I graduated from Eastern and we’ll run along the outskirts specialist for LifeSource, which Illinois University in 2004 and of Epcot or Hollywood Studios specializes in blood collecting, since I was living back at home before the parks open,” adding testing and management. started to run with my dad every day. The majority of my walking and running career has been with my dad.”

The old adage of needing to walk before running was especially true for Gilbert, who found himself tipping the scales at 206 pounds at only 14 years of age.

“I had to go to a nutritionist,” he recalled. “I started walking with my dad, five times around the outdoor track at the Oak Lawn Pavilion in 1996.”

He began running in college, THE BEST Featured on “mostly out of boredom,” he said, SEAFOOD “Windy City but now he doesn’t let a day go IN by without it.

Live” CHICAGO “On July 25, 2004, I started a streak of running at least one mile every day,” he said, although his daily distance is usually much greater. Busy work weeks, vacations, days under the weather, even the wee hours before early morning flights haven’t kept Gilthecrazycrabchicago.com bert from pounding the pave-

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With race day drawing near, Gilbert reflects on another major component of training, his nutrition.

“I don’t think I’m a great example of nutrition,” he said, admitting that he enjoys Taco Bell every Wednesday. “There’s

nothing I really limit myself. I need my tacos, my Papa John’s (pizza),” he said with a smile.

Watch for Michael Gilbert’s account of the 10th Annual Southwest Half Marathon in the May 11 edition of The Regional and The Reporter newspapers.

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6 The Reporter

COMMENTARY

THE

Thursday, April 27, 2017

REPORTER

An Independent Newspaper Published Weekly Founded March 16, 1960

Ray Hanania

Residents, business owners can help put a lid on spread of rats

W

hen a situation arises in a community, such as rodent infestation, the tendency is to become alarmed instead of concentrating on the source of the problem. A mild spring, followed by a mild winter, sometimes can exacerbate the problem.

But yelling fire in a crowded restaurant may not be the best reaction to this issue. In this instance, we are talking about rats.

According to a few residents who live in Worth, rats have been plentiful, even during the day. One woman said during a public comment portion of the Worth Village Board meeting on April 18 that her husband had to dispose of the dead rodents in the morning after they were caught in traps the previous night.

She also said rats could be seen running past driveways during the day. Another man claims that he contacted the village over a month ago to alert officials to this dilemma but received no response. Since we are hearing about this for the first time, we are not going to draw any conclusions. Perhaps those calls were being looked into. However, we know from past incidents that the sighting of rats near homes and businesses needs to be taken seriously.

If this all sounds familiar, it should. It was just a year ago that residents began complaining about seeing rats along some residential blocks in Ridge. Some Restaurants must dispose Chicago homeowners said they noticed burrows in their of garbage efficiently. yards and later began to Lids of waste containers see the rats. Like Worth, Chicago Ridge officials and dumpsters should did not overreact to the complaints. be closed. The containers firstBut if there is something to be learned from and dumpsters should these sightings, it’s that have no holes in them. villages should not take the reports lightly. This is not to suggest that Chicago Ridge did just that a year ago when the first complaints were coming in. But reports of infestation need to be addressed quickly to alleviate the concerns of residents. The main issue here should not be pointing fingers. No one wants to see rats multiply in their communities.

The next step is to determine what the source of the problem is. In the case of Chicago Ridge a year ago, rats multiplied due in part by the careless disposal of waste by restaurant employees.

In one instance, a dumpster behind one restaurant had a gaping hole in it. Chicago Ridge Mayor Chuck Tokar ordered that some of these restaurants had to be temporarily closed to take care of the problem.

The dumpsters were re-examined and business owners were reminded of their responsibilities. Residents had made their voices heard. We did not hear any more complaints as the summer arrived. Exterminators also used a method in which they placed dry ice in many of the burrows, which is supposed to smother the rodents.

In any event, Chicago Ridge responded to the problem. Some Worth residents would also like to see a similar response from their village. All we can say is that Worth Mayor Mary Werner was listening intently during the last meeting. She said the village would be looking into these complaints.

But here is the thing: Rats are just about everywhere. They are amazing and resilient creatures. They are naturally going to be looking for a food source and can be found near railroad tracks and water. They are also very good swimmers.

What needs to be done is to control the spread of these rodents that carry disease. One of the Worth residents who complained about seeing rats implied that Chicago Ridge was able to eliminate their problem, but the rodents have since moved to his town. We don’t know if there is a direct link or not. It is difficult to eliminate all the rats. Some of them indeed might move on to a new location.

But rats can be controlled. Restaurants must dispose of garbage efficiently. Lids of waste containers and dumpsters should be closed. The containers and dumpsters should have no holes in them. These steps also apply to homeowners. Residents should make sure waste is disposed of property in closed bags in garbage containers. The lids on these containers should be closed tightly.

This should be a standard practice for anyone living in a home, apartment or condo. Rats are not the only pests. Squirrels and raccoons also can get into garbage cans that are not properly closed.

Dog owners should also make sure they clean up the waste left by their pets. Dog feces is a treat for rats and this is a sure way that these rodents will eventually multiply. Residents, like business owners, can do their part in keeping the rat population down.

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Trump movement for ‘change’ awakens Reagan Democrats

Plenty of blame to go around on unaffordable healthcare act

By Don C. White

Just look at the headlines of the past few weeks and you will know that the Republican Party and its minions dropped the ball again. No, Obamacare did not go up in smoke as the Republicans promised it would. But if they keep going the way they are, the Grand Old Party may cease to exist.

I saw one headline that grabbed my attention as this drama played out: “Trump’s backers may lose in GOP health care plan.” This bill was put together in secret and brought to President Trump in haste. The party leaders had many years to get ready for this moment and they dropped the ball.

Then when they couldn’t get enough votes to carry it through, they caved in and ran for cover. No, I am not mad. I am just extremely upset with the leaders of the party. They promised “We the People” that if they got the House they could fix things. Then if they got the Senate they really could fix things.

The blame game has started and everyone is pointing the finger, while many of the voters are giving the finger to them. Yes, as President Truman said, “The buck stops here,” and it does. So President Trump is going to take some flak for this disappointing dilemma.

While the finger pointing is going on, the media is busy throwing more mud at President Trump from what I read and hear. In this case, he does not deserve it. The party leaders are to blame and they need to be held accountable and they will when the 2018 elections roll around.

If some of them are trying to hurt the president by putting forth bills that are DOA and programs that can’t pass the smell test, they will fail. And this time around they did. We know that the president will not get any help from the Democrats so the Republicans better step up and get together for the sake of the Grand Old Party and especially for the country.

Here are a few more headlines that caught my attention. “Ryan a handy scapegoat for Trump’s failure.”

“Trump’s Plan B on health care just as shabby as his plan A.” “Lipinski urges Trump to fix Obamacare.” “A winning idea for Trump? Work with the Democrats.”

As you see, everybody has an idea on what needs to be done or what should have been done, but neither

side wants to work together to fix the problem. This is much like the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois.

Heaven forbid that on the state or national level the Democrats and the Republicans would ever again reach across the aisle to make our state and our country better for everyone. One of the columnists who thought Speaker Paul Ryan should not take the blame for the bill’s failure had some good points. But in the end, as speaker, he is the man (in this case) to carry the ball across the goal line.

No matter how long it takes to get the healthcare bill changed it has to be done. Have you seen the subsidies paid in some of the states that do not offer many options? The government can’t continue paying out this money.

How many years did the House have to be prepared for this moment? How many times did they send President Obama their plan to amend or improve or scrap Obamacare? Why would they rush to cobble together a bill for the president to sign that was not agreeable to all factions of the Republican Party?

Again, were they just trying to make the president look bad?

Whatever needs to done, it does not have to be done in haste just to have something for President Trump to shout about during his first 100 days.

He is already making significant headway in many areas and with or without the help of Congress he will continue to push forward on the promises he made.

I know as I read and hear the many negative points of view that many in the country are unhappy that Trump was elected. Well, as I said in the past: “Get over it.” He is not going away; he hasn’t done anything to be impeached, nor is he a totally bad person. He is just not the person you wanted to sit in the Oval Office. Better luck next time.

In other news that is making headlines, Democrats insist that Neil Gorsuch is not qualified to be appointed to the Supreme Court. From all that I hear and read, I believe that he is. So much for working together on anything to make the country better. It’s just another tit for tat in Washington. Of course, Judge Gorsuch has since been appointed to the Court. It wasn’t pretty, but it got done.

Don C. White is a Palos Hills historian who occasionally shares his views on current events.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Churches, O’Reilly and Kim Jong Un

Trinity Lutheran Church, Columbia, Missouri should not receive taxpayer dollars for their preschool daycare playground. A few years back they requested money from the state to rubberize the surface of their daycare children’s playground. The money was denied and it has become a case appearing before the Supreme Court. A church asking the state for money sets a bad precedent especially if the Supreme Court rules in their favor.

If churches and any of their ministries take money from the federal government then they should pay taxes from their weekly offerings and endowment funds that some churches pile up for future endeavors. Most churches couldn’t make it if they had to pay such taxes. A state controlled church is the last thing America needs. Once this happens to the church there will be no going back.

• Bill O’Reilly or Fox News should never have paid a dime to anyone if the allegations of sexual harassment were false. Paying out $13 million does not speak of innocence. We understand $13 million to O’Reilly and Fox is small change. We understand wanting to settle and move on without further encumbering themselves.

Unfortunately, malignant cancers return unless met head on and dealt with in a conclusive fashion. Putting a little salve or a Band-Aid on a tumor does not bring about real resolve or a cure. The end result is a network that is now reeling and the greatest primetime cable program in history is now history.

• Kim Jong Un of North Korea is a pain in the neck. The world has faced aggravations and rear ends and now we are staring at one again.

What if Kim Jong Un really messes up and fires a missile at Seoul? America cannot battle North Korea, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Russia. We don’t have enough tax dollars to fund enough military nor the weapons and ships to cover all the territory.

I remember a cartoon character that ran out of breath trying to keep seven plates spinning on sticks. He was successful but only for a few seconds. Our wars and nation building go on for years while our country and people are neglected. I would rather fight any war in another country than have one come to America.

Glenn Mollette is a syndicated columnist and author of 11 books.

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he major news media all seemed to focus on one election story on April 4, a story they spun to falsely suggest that President Donald Trump has made Republicans vulnerable.

But if you look past the news media’s bias, the truth might be a little more complex.

It’s true, Republican Roger Claar faced his toughest challenge in his 31 years as Bolingbrook’s mayor. Anti-Trump activists angry that Claar hosted a Trump fundraiser last September galvanized around Democrat Jackie Traynere, a member of the Will County Board.

Claar survived by a razor-thin margin.

That wasn’t the case for 17 suburban Chicago area mayors. Some lost because of controversies they created. Others lost because of bad campaigning. But many lost because they were overwhelmed by new voters energized by Trump’s call for “change.”

Although Trump wasn’t an issue in Orland Park, the voter turnout set a new record.

Consistently for six elections, Democrat Dan McLaughlin easily won with voter turnout under 9,000 votes.

Nearly 13,000 people voted this time, an increase of almost 4,000 more votes. McLaughlin faced an unknown challenger with no political experience in Keith Pekau. McLaughlin’s trustees did not face challengers because Pekau ran on his own.

What’s fascinating and significant is the unchallenged trustees fell almost 5,000 votes short of the 12,839 total votes cast. It seems that most of the new voters didn’t waste their time on uncontested races. If there were trustee challengers, I bet all the incumbents would have been ousted along with McLaughlin.

The race turned on two political factors.

Liberty Principles PAC, headed by conservative radio talk show host Dan Proft, spent $183,000 on TV ads attacking McLaughlin.

And the Republican leadership, including GOP County Commissioner Sean Morrison, his predecessor GOP Committeeman Liz Gorman, and Illinois GOP chairman Tim Schneider, openly endorsed Pekau in the weeks before the election.

McLaughlin blasted Proft’s PAC attack ads, claiming he lost because of the PAC money, arguing they should be banned. But that’s sour grapes. Proft’s money leveled the financial playing field. McLaughlin and his team spent almost $200,000 in campaign donations while Pekau relied on $75,000 mostly of his own money.

McLaughlin’s mistake is obvious. Like many of his 16 other colleagues, McLaughlin was just too arrogant and very unaccountable.

McLaughlin’s greedy last-minute push to give himself a massive $110,000 hike to his salary, raising it to $150,000, and spiking his pension to an unbelievable $110,000 a year was just too much for voters to take.

I did a detailed analysis of the Orland race at my personal website TheDailyHookah.com.

Voters wanted “change.” It’s not about being Republican or Democrat, either. Although Trump is a “Republican,” he really is a new kind of Republican, a centrist who appeals to Democratic conservatives. There are many “Reagan Democrats” living in suburban Cook County and Will County who identify with Trump’s message of change.

Those Reagan Democrats are often vilified by the news media as lower-income “whites,” a racist stereotype the media’s flawed ethics ignores. These marginalized voters have found new life in Trump, who faces opposition not just from hard-line liberal Democrats, but from Republican insiders such as Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who very definitely don’t want change.

In neighboring Tinley Park, voters demanded change there, too. Jacob Vandenberg of the longtime Republican family dynasty, easily pushed out Mayor David Seaman, who succeeded the wildly popular and longtime Mayor Ed Zabrocki. Vandenberg won 62 percent of the vote.

Midlothian Village President Sharon Rybak lost by a landslide, getting only 26 percent of votes, as did Posen Mayor Donald Schupek.

Incumbent mayors lost in Lake in the Hills, Carpentersville, Ford Heights, Lisle, Olympia Fields, Schiller Park, Stickney, Waukegan, Wheeling and Willow Springs.

Trump’s appeal to many voters isn’t his rhetoric. There is a lot he says that I don’t always agree with. But, I didn’t always agree with the overly pleasing but often do-nothing rhetoric of President Barack Obama.

Three races involved mayors who were the center of personal controversies.

In Cook County, Dixmoor Mayor Dorothy Armstrong was under the shadow of controversy caught on camera in 2015 by assaulting a trustee she thought was ridiculing her during a board meeting.

In McHenry County, Hebron Village President John Jacobson finished third out of four candidates after being charged with felony cocaine possession and illegal possession of a firearm. In Will County, Monee Mayor Jay Farquhar lost after allegedly breaking an umpire’s jaw at a little league game for secondand third-graders last year.

T

Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist and author. Email him at rghanania@gmail. com or visit his website at TheDailyHookah. com.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

The Reporter

7

Crisis allows my daughter to preach kindness, love for her sister

T

hrough teary eyes, I witnessed my 9-year-old daughter, Donae, deliver a 12-minute sermon on faith during a youth service held last Sunday at Roberts Temple Church of God, 4021 S. State, Chicago. Her message was personal, at times lighthearted, while other times heartfelt. She ended with a petition for the audience to have faith by inviting her baby sister, Rhonda-Rene, before them so the duet could recite the closing words of “Have faith.

Have faith!”

I was overcome with emotion watching both of my daughters excitingly sharing a message of faith with a room full of people who rejoiced in the Lord for having witnessed a third-grader this bold and confident for Christ.

“How did you train her to do that?”

That is the question my husband, Don, and I are bombarded with everywhere Donae speaks. I’d love to take the credit for having raised a preschool pastor, but it actually came about as a result of a family crisis.

Donae had longed for a sibling. When I brought Rhonda-Rene home from the hospital, I couldn’t peel her away from the kid. Donae smothered her like gravy over a biscuit. It was only a short time before I detected Rhonda-Rene wasn’t developing in a typical fashion. My intuition led to a plethora of specialists’ revealing a diagnosis of a lifelong disability. A mutation in her FOXP1 gene was discovered and it comes with a variety of characteristics that mimic autism.

While Don and I tried desperately to figure out how to handle our “new normal,” conversing with doctors, therapists and social workers, Donae often was asked to take a seat and keep quiet. None of us could comprehend how this could be meant for our good.

For Donae, especially!

Not only was Donae unable to interact with Rhonda-Rene in the manner she had hoped, she also had lost the attention she

Photo by Claudia Parker

Donae Parker poses for a recent photo to be used in a program booklet at an upcoming conference where she is speaking.

was used to receiving from me and Don. That’s about the time we met her imaginary friend in the mirror. That was pretty harmless, but the heart palpitations and other health-related complaints that kept us running back and forth to the pediatrician weren’t. In each instance, a placebo prescription seemed to solve the problem, until the next one.

After praying about how to handle both of my children’s needs appropriately, God gave me a dream that manifested the idea for my children’s book, titled “Children’s Church with a Preschool Pastor.” Seeing as how Donae was 3 and a preschooler herself, I ran the concept by her.

“What do you think of a children’s book that portrays kids handling all the affairs of a ministry while educating them on the days of the week and numbers 1-10?” I asked her.

I suppose you can say she was my consultant. She felt the idea was superb — ‘if’ she could be the pastor. I acquiesced and modeled the preschool pastor character in my book after her. But, I later learned she meant she wanted me to help her become a real pastor.

Hmmm. That took a little more thought, but after watching a few episodes

of Joel Osteen, Bishop T.D. Jakes and Joyce Meyer deliver their sermons over the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), we were ready.

At the age of 4, Donae was able to enthusiastically memorize several scriptures that were organized into a fourminute message. After gathering all of her baby dolls, Barbies and stuffed animals, we had ourselves a congregation. Just in case someone wanted to give their life to Christ, Rhonda-Rene’s baby bathtub sufficed for a baptism. All of this was recorded and posted on YouTube. To date, Donae’s Children’s Church with a Preschool Pastor sermon has been viewed over 160,000 times. Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/s58tZgvM6I8 Since her first sermon five years ago, Donae has been invited to speak at various churches and organizations. Her minimessages of faith have resonated with congregations so much that she’s often invited back several times to the same location.

However, Sunday was uniquely special because it’s the first time Donae has ever invited Rhonda-Rene to come up with her.

It wasn’t even possible before now because Rhonda-Rene wasn’t able to speak at all. She would cause such a disruption babbling, we would usually schedule a respite worker to keep her during Donae’s speaking engagements.

Words cannot describe how far our family has come.

God found a way to give Donae the attention she was seeking in a way that glorifies Him and is encouraging to others. Because she’s such an articulate communicator, she’s helped Rhonda-Rene to approximate words and produce language doctors were uncertain she’d ever be able to form. Bit by bit we have embraced the journey of having a special needs child, and we now see the gifts that we’ve all been given as a result.

All things are truly working together for our good. To view Donae’s most recent sermon on faith, visit https://youtu. be/9fQEcszZv7k Claudia Parker is an author, photographer and a reporter. Her columns appear every second and fourth Thursday of each month. She can be reached at AuthorClaudiaParker@yahoo.

Plans set for 2nd annual Our Lady of the Ridge 5K Run/Walk The second annual 5K run/walk fundraiser will be held for Our Lady of the Ridge School, which steps off at 8 a.m.

Saturday, April 29 from the school parking lot, 108th Street and Oxford Avenue, Chicago Ridge.

The event, which is being presented by Marquette Bank, has special meaning this year for faculty, students, parents and parishioners when it was announced in February that Our Lady of the Ridge will remain open for the 2017-18 school year.

School board member Christina Lavin founded the event last year as a way to raise

funds for the school and other ministries by bringing families together for fellowship and fitness in Chicago Ridge, Worth and surrounding communities.

“We were excited to have more than 300 people participate,” Lavin said. “Whether they ran or walked, it was fun to see so many people come together to support Our Lady of the Ridge. This year, we’re confident that we will be just as successful and we can’t wait to welcome our runners and walkers o a great, family fun event.”

The 5K route begins and ends in the

middle of 108th and Oxford. A water station will located at Commissioners Park, 107th and Menard Avenue. Road closures along the route will take place from 7:30 to 10 a.m.

This year’s 5K will feature a chip-timed run, an untimed walk, kids dash, a water station along the route, first aid station, age level awards, music, face painting, bounce house, games for kids and raffles. Hot dogs and other treats will be available.

Registration is available by contacting https://ourladyoftheridge5k.itsyourrace. com/register/

Mother’s Day — Sunday, May 14 Get mother and grandmother the gift she loves Cupid “Turks”

Jumbo fancy pecans with creamy caramel and smothered in pure milk chocolate

Grandparents Day

Submitted photo

Grandparents Day was held Friday at Chicago Christian High School in Palos Heights. Grandparents were treated to a time of coffee and cookies and then joined their grandchildren for a time of chapel. After the chapel, the grandparents attended classes with their grandchildren.

The grandparents also were treated to a lunch. Taking part in the day’s activities above were student Ryley Bulthuis and his grandparents, Ken and Joyce Ipema.

DEATH NOTICES Betty Bergel

Betty R. Bergel (nee Domel), 89, a former Chicago Ridge resident, died April 17 at Franciscan Village in Lemont.

Mrs. Bergel was a homemaker.

Survivors include daughters, Cynthia Hanus and Sandra Quillin; sons, Thomas, Timothy and Terrance; 10 grandchildren; and 10 great-great grandchildren.

Services were Friday from Schmaedeke Funeral Home to Our Lady of the Ridge Church. Interment followed at Resurrection Cemetery.

Michael Boland

Michael “Flann” Boland, 82, a resident of Oak Lawn, died April 15 at Palos Community Hospital.

Mr. Boland, a U.S. Army veteran, was a retired carpenter. He was a 62-year member of the Carpenters Union Local 13 Chapter.

He was also a member The Clare Association of Chicago and St. Brendan’s and Banner Blues Football Club.

Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Mary “Maga” (nee O’Grady); daughters, Mary Ann Dunican and Eileen Hoey; son, Michael; sisters, Catherine McCarthy and Anne Browne; brother, Thomas; seven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Services were Saturday from Curley Funeral Home to St. Gerald Church. Interment followed at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Leslie Goslinowski

Leslie A. Goslinowski (nee Wegg), 58, died April 19 at her Oak Lawn home.

Mrs. Goslinowski had been employed for many years in the healthcare industry at Hinsdale Hospital.

Survivors include a son, Mitchell; brothers, Robert Wegg and Alan Wegg; partner, Robert Zablocki; and nieces and nephews.

Services were Saturday at Palos-Gaidas Funeral Home. Interment followed at St. Casimir Lutheran Cemetery.

Lenore Russ

Lenore J. Russ (nee La Margo), 80, a Palos Hills resident, died April 22 at Palos Community Hospital.

Mrs. Russ was a homemaker.

Survivors include her husband, Joseph; daughters, Laura Marie Harkness and Lisa Ann DIamantos; son, Joseph; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Visitation is from 3 to 9 p.m. today (Thursday, April 17) at the Palos-Gaidas Funeral Home, 11028 Southwest Highway, Palos Hills.

Services are 9 a.m. Friday from the funeral home to Sacred Heart Church, 8245 W. 111th St., Palos Hills, for 10 a.m. Mass. Interment will follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Funeral Directory Palos-Gaidas FUNERAL HOME

708-974-4410 FUNERAL HOME David Gaidas, Jr. Director

11028 Southwest Highway Palos Hills, IL 60465

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8 The Reporter

Thursday, April 27, 2017

WHATIZIT?

Moraine Valley welcomes new student trustee

By Kelly White

Photo by Joe Boyle

The clue for this week’s Whatizit photo (above) is: Popular inn.

Send your responses with your name and hometown by noon Monday to thereporter@comcast.net.

Chrystine Busch, a resident of Palos Heights, had the correct answer for last week’s Whatizit: Marrs-Meyers American Legion Post 991, 11001 S. Depot, Worth.

The Marrs-Meyer Post has many active members. During the Lenten season leading up to Easter, the post served fish meals on Fridays for community residents. Before Christmas, members of the post and auxiliary sponsor a drive to provide food and clothing for families. They also provide toys for kids to help make the holiday season brighter for the less fortunate. They also hold another drive that provides baskets of food for the less fortunate at Thanksgiving.

SUDOKU

Hana Asfar, a freshman at Moraine Valley Community College, aspires to become a strong female leader.

Asfar, 18, was recently elected as the new student trustee and will represent all students at Moraine Valley for the 2017-18 school year.

She was sworn in by Trustee Susan Murphy during the April 18 Moraine Valley Board of Trustees Board meeting.

A resident of Burbank, Asfar is the second oldest of five children and has Palestinian and Syrian roots. She describes herself a “dedicated, open-minded and social student” on campus.

While welcoming Asfar, Moraine Valley will be saying goodbye to Murphy, who is stepping down after serving as trustee for 18 years.

“We will miss seeing Susan, but she is more than welcome to come back anytime, and we are happy to welcome on our new student trustee,” said Moraine Valley President Sylvia Jenkins.

Studying at Moraine, Asfar plans to acquire an associate’s degree in science. She then would like to continue on with her education at Loyola University, where she hopes to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology.

“I believe this position will benefit me and Moraine as a whole,” Asfar said. “Being involved leads to being successful in the long run.”

Being involved is something Asfar takes great pride in. She has remained engaged in both her high school career and first year of college.

While attending high school at Reavis High School in Burbank, Asfar participated in many clubs and organizations, including the National Honors Society. She stayed physically active as well, playing basketball, tennis, badminton and softball. She graduated in the top 10 percent of her class before continuing on at Moraine.

Photo by Kelly White

Hana Asfar is sworn in as the new Moraine Valley student trustee by Trustee Susan Murphy during the monthly board meeting on April 18.

Upon entering Moraine in the fall of 2016, Asfar became a member of the Muslim Student Association, a Student Life Employee, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, and the vice president of the Arab Student Union. She is also the ICC representative of Women in Action at the college, and is a member of the National Honors Society.

“I couldn’t be more proud of her,” said Mohammed Asfar, her father.

Asfar already has goals outlined for her new position, including looking into vending machine and cafeteria student complaints she

has received from students.

“I want to ensure students feel comfortable in coming to me with any issues or concerns here on campus,” she said. “I took on the role of student trustee because of the opportunities that will follow and being able to push my own limits.”

She chooses to stay driven but will also present a positive attitude for her fellow students.

“In Arabic, my name translates to mean happiness and joy. I hope to bring that happiness and joy to Moraine Valley.”

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

CHICAGO RIDGE

Chicago Ridge Lions accepting clothing, donations for needy

Answers on Page 9

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

The Chicago Ridge Lions Club will hold their Second Annual Spring Cleaning Clothing Drive and Fundraiser for the Almost Home Group, which benefits Chicago Ridge and local communities who are less fortunate.

The items can be dropped off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sunday, April 29 and 30 through May 20 and 21. The Saturday and Sunday drop-off spots for clothing will be Jack and Pat’s Butcher Shop, 107th and Ridgeland, and Jenny’s Steak House, 111th and Menard.

Chicago Ridge Lions will be at both locations to accept clothing and monetary donations for the Almost Home Fundraiser.

They will be accepting clean and gently-used clothing for infants, toddlers, boys, girls, maternity, teenagers, young adults, adults and seniors. They will also be accepting towels, sheets, blankets and comforters.

Cash donations will also be accepted and donated to Almost Home to help the homeless. More information can be obtained by calling Rich at (708) 289-8734.

Moms and sons can go bowling

ACROSS

DOWN

1 Trellis pieces 6 “Ideas worth spreading” acronym 9 Runs out 14 Eponym of a United Kingdom poetry prize 15 Schooner filler 16 Walking the dog, e.g.

17 *Lost it 19 Storage place 20 Play set 22 Nonpro?

23 Man’s best friend, e.g.

26 Fiona, after Shrek’s kiss 28 Cut deeply 29 “Blues on the Bayou” musician 31 Spanish pronoun 32 Overindulgent outings 34 Stranded messenger 37 Handle 39 Mr. Potato Head piece 40 Front-wheel alignment 42 Unduly 43 Possesses with pride 46 Deflect, with “off” 47 Passes out 49 “The Girls Next Door” co-creator 51 Fictional Indiana town in “Parks and Recreation” 53 Genuine 54 Dust Bowl migrant 55 Release request 58 Summation symbol, in math 60 *Entertained the kids, in a way 64 Moral principle 65 Scar, say 66 Thorny evergreen 67 Occupied, as a desk 68 Museum pieces 69 Vertical

1 Its natl. emblem is the cedar tree 2 Every drop 3 20-20, e.g.

4 “What do you think? ” 5 What one might have with milk, briefly?

6 Needle 7 Diff rent 8 Road sign image 9 Email option, for short 10 “Shoot!”

11 *”Bonanza” star 12 Brings (out) 13 Late round 18 Satellite broadcasts 21 Team connection 23 Get rid of 24 Retro diet, to put it mildly 25 *Cottage site in the Beatles’ “When I’m Sixty-Four” 27 Kernel 29 Leadership 30 Hall of Fame pitcher Blyleven 33 Organic fuel 35 Bay Area pro 36 Court rival of Pete 38 Village Voice award 41 Risqué ... and what each answer to a starred clue contains?

44 Law school newbie 45 Drew back 48 Lack of get-up-and-go 50 Hold rapt 51 Puts forward 52 Animal that’s been a Japanese Natural Monument since 1931 53 Quick on the uptake 56 Humorous Bombeck 57 Sewer’s concern 59 Play 61 Natural resource 62 L.A. school 63 LAPD rank Answers on Page 9

The Chicago Ridge Park District is sponsoring a night out for moms and their sons to bowl from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 5 at the Palos Lanes, 11025 Southwest Highway, Palos Hills. For resident moms and sons, the fee is $30. The fee for non-resident moms and son is $40. The fees will include unlimited bowling, shoes, food, pop, a picture and a gift for mom. The fee is an extra $8 for and additional son. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 636-4900.

Chicago Ridge Park District plans trip to Lincoln Park Zoo The Chicago Ridge Park District is also sponsoring a trip to Lincoln Park Zoo on Saturday, April 29. The bus will leave the Freedom Activity Center, 6252 W. Birmingham St., Chicago Ridge, at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to return at 4 p.m. The fee is $7 for residents and $12 for non-residents.

The family deal (four family members are included in the deal) is $25 for residents and $35 for non-residents. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 636-4900.

Trip to Navy Pier The Chicago Ridge Park District is also sponsoring a trip to Navy Pier on Saturday, May 6. The bus will leave the Freedom Activity Center, 6252 W. Birmingham St., Chicago Ridge, at 9 a.m with the scheduled return at 4 p.m. The fee is $7 for residents and $12 for non-residents. The family deal (four family members are included in the deal) is $25 for residents and $35 for nonresidents. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 636-4900.

EVERGREEN PARK Evergreen Park Seniors to provide ‘Memories to Go’ The Evergreen Park Senior Citizens Council is looking for vendors and crafters for their village-wide garage sale that will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 6 at Yukich Field, 8900 S. Kedzie Ave., Evergreen Park.

Items may be sold inside the covered ice rink (a 10×10 foot area) for $50 or an outside space (a 9×17 feet area) for $35. For those returning vendors, the early bird deadline has been extended. Deadline for all applications is 5 p.m. Friday, April 28.

The event will take place, rain or shine.

No rain date or refunds will be given. For more information, call Office of Citizens’ Service (708) 422-8776.

United Methodist Women plan Spring Banquet

The United Methodist Women’s Spring banquet will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, May 12 at the First United Methodist Church, 9358 S. Homan Ave.,Evergreen Park.

The event brings women of all ages together, including mothers, daughters, grandmas and friends. Appetizers, dinner and dessert will be served.

The fees are $12 for adults and $10 for children ages 5 to 12. Children under age 5 can attend for $8. Ticket reservation fees can be obtained by calling the church office, (708) 422-8451.

OAK LAWN United Methodist Women to hold rummage sale

The United Methodist Women at First United Methodist Church will hold a rummage sale from 5 to 8 p.m. today (Thursday, April 27) at the church, 10000 S. Central Ave., Oak Lawn. The rummage sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 28, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 29.

Saturday is $5 a bag day. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 423-1170.

Bobby Hull to appear at St. Gerald HNS Smoker

Former Chicago Blackhawks star Bobby Hull will be a special guest at St. Gerald Holy Name Society’s 14th Annual Smoker on Friday, April 28 at the Jonathan Collins Activity Center, 93rd and Central Avenue, Oak Lawn.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person or $400 for a table of eight. Admission includes beer, food, soft drinks in $1 bottles, raffles and a silent auction.

Tickets can be purchased by calling Bill Wilson, (708) 597-8926, or Kevin Hickey, (708) 499-6895. Residents can also visit www. stgerald.com or email Stgeraldholyname@ stgerald.com.

Oak Lawn film group to view, discuss ‘Vanishing Point’ CineVerse, the Oak Lawn Park District’s weekly film discussion group open to anyone age 17 and older, will screen and discuss the 1971 movie “Vanishing Point” from 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, May 3 at Oak View Community Center, 4625 W. 110th St., Oak Lawn.

Members should check the building signage for the correct room number. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 5299028 or visit cineversegroup.blogspot.com.

Vacation Bible School

The annual Vacation Bible School will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday, July 17 through July 21, at the Oak Lawn Bible Church, 9435 S. 54th Ave. The program is open for children entering preschool (ages 3 to 4) through fifth grade.

This year’s program is entitled “Galactic Starveyors: Discovering the God of the Universe.” Children do not need to be members of the church to attend.

The program is free. For more information call (708) 857-9800 or visit www. oaklawnbible.org. To register online, go to oaklawnbible.org/events.

Earth Day Faire to be held at Wolfe Wildlife

Residents can celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day with the Oak Lawn Park District and Village of Oak Lawn at the 10th Annual Earth Day Faire from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 30 at the Wolfe Wildlife Refuge Center, 10900 S. Laramie Ave., Oak Lawn.

This year’s theme is Citizen Science projects. Residents will participate in a variety of family-fun activities including Jim Nesci’s Cold Blooded Creatures, Big Run Wolfe

Ranch, tree climbing, kids crafts, scavenger hunt, education on green living, gardening and composting and a milkweed plant sale.

Admission is free. Raffles and other giveaways will be part of the festivities.

The scavenger hunt will take place after Jim Nesci’s Cold Blooded Creatures show.

Participants will have an opportunity to win a prize.

For more information, contact Dolly Foster at (708) 857-2201.

Oak Lawn Community Garden seeks volunteers The Oak Lawn Community Garden is currently accepting registrations for the 2017 season. This is a cooperative project between the Oak Lawn Park District, School District 123, and the Village of Oak Lawn.

The garden is located at the corner of 104th and Cook Avenue.

Participants can grow their own produce or sign up to be a pantry garden volunteer to grow produce for local food pantries.

In the 2016 season, the Oak Lawn Garden Community Garden donated 350 pounds of produce to local charities. The 2017 goal is to double that donation.

Allotments to rent are limited in availability. More information can be found at www. olparks.com or by emailing Dolly Foster, Oak Lawn Park District Horticulturist, at dfoster@olparks.com.

Trip to Tulip Festival The Oak Lawn Park District will sponsor a trip to see the Tulip Festival in Holland, Mich., on Tuesday, May 10.

Guests will tour the Veldheer Tulip Garden.

Residents will have an opportunity to watch the carving of wooden shoes at the Wooden Shoe Factory, and take a stroll through Windmill Island and their shops.

Departure is at 7 a.m. from the Oak View Center, 4625 W. 110th St., Oak Lawn. The scheduled return is at 8 p.m. The fee is $110 for residents and $120 for non-residents.

Lunch will not be provided. However, dinner will be included at the Queen’s Inn. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 857-2200.

PALOS HILLS

Palos Township residents can fil property assessment appeal applications

Residents of Palos Township can file a property assessment appeal applications through Wednesday, May 3 at the township office, 10802 S. Roberts Road, Palos Hills. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Monday through Friday. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 598-4418.

Appeal Applications must be received by the Cook County Assessor no later than May 3. Palos Township will assist residents with applications until Tuesday, May 2, allowing the last day, Wednesday, May 3 for delivery.

WORTH

St. Mark Church members to honor vets with luncheon at Marrs-Meyer AL Post

Members of St. Mark Lutheran Church are inviting veterans and guests for a special luncheon honoring them for their services from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 20 at the Marrs-Meyer American Legion Post 191, 11001 S. Depot, Worth. The event is open to current servicemen and women who are stationed at home or abroad. Veterans who have previously served are also welcome.

Lunch, free drawings and door prizes will all be part of the festivities. To attend the event, contact Vivian, (708) 444-1720, or St. Mark Church, (708) 448-6555, by Friday, May 12.

CONSUMER NEWS

Thursday, April 27, 2017

COMINGS & GOINGS

T

T

Oak Lawn Restaurant to reopen The Oak Lawn Restaurant announced over the weekend on Facebook that it hoped to reopen this week after a car drove through a wall earlier this month and knocked the venerable eatery out of business.

The restaurant at 5769 W. 95th St. was forced to close April 7 after a car leaving the car wash across the street accidentally crashed into the wall of the business.

The driver was unhurt but a restaurant customer inside the restroom was injured slightly.

The restaurant has been making repairs since the accident and said it hoped to reopen this week.

The restaurant has been family owned and operated since 1957.

Jet’s Pizza closes in Palos Heights

Jet’s Pizza opened its first south suburban location at 17105 S. 88th Avenue in Tinley Park in 2013 and later expanded to a second location at 7154 W. 127th St. in Palos Heights.

The Tinley location is still open but the Palos Heights location closed recently.

A sign on the door said “Closed due to circumstances beyond our control.”

An employee at the Tinley store said the Palos Heights location closed because of poor sales.

Dunkin Donuts Plaza under construction in Orland A new retail development that will be called Dunkin Donuts Plaza is under

9

Freeing yourself of some investment-related taxes

Thai ice cream parlor opens in Chicago Ridge asty Freeze, a sweet shop that specializes in Thai rolled ice cream, opened April 10 in the food court at Chicago Ridge Mall in Chicago Ridge.

Thai rolled ice cream is one of the newest ideas in ice cream desserts.

Tasty Freeze serves special flavors including Cookies and Cream, Tasty Thai Tea, Windy City Wonder and more.

Rolled ice cream uses a Bob flavored milk-based liquid Bong that is poured onto a cold metal or stone slab similar to a pizza pan. Next, cookies, candies and other flavor-rich bits are chopped and mixed in as the ingredients begin to cool to near frozen temperatures. Working quickly, the ice cream is then spread out like pizza dough, then tightly rolled up and placed into cups with toppings such as cookies, whipped cream, berries, marshmallows, fudge, chocolate chips and more.

The Reporter

Supplied photo

Tasty Freeze Dessert Bar is now open at Chicago Ridge Mall and featuring Thai rolled ice cream.

construction at 15615 S. Harlem Ave. in Orland Park.

According to plans approved by the Orland Park Village Board more than a year ago, the former Orland Park Buffet will be remodeled into two units. The northern unit will be a Dunkin Donuts with a new drive-in service window. There was no indication what the second unit would become nor what would become of the existing Dunkin Donuts shop just to the south.

Kids Foot Locker opens at Orland Square A Kids Foot Locker and Fly Zone is the newest addition to Orland Square Mall The store opened earlier this month in the lower level JC Penney Court. The store takes up 4,300 square feet and features the latest in children’s athletic footwear, apparel and accessories.

“We are thrilled that Foot Locker is growing its iconic footwear brand and bringing the latest fashions to our center this month,” Nadia Seniuta, general manager at Orland Square, said in the release.

“These new and expanded openings demonstrate that we’re continuously working to provide our loyal shoppers with a diverse selection of top name-brand stores and wider variety of merchandise within their favorite retailers.”

Ultra stores closing in Illinois

A month after northwest Indiana-based Strack & Van Til announced it would close five stores including an Ultra on Chicago’s Southwest Side, the chain’s parent said it would close all nine Ultra stores it operates and sell off 22 stores it operates in Indiana.

In March, the supermarket chain said it would close a longtime Strack’s store in Merrillville and four of its low-cost Ultra

stores in Illinois including a store at the Westport Commons Shopping Center at 3250 W. 87th St. in Chicago’s Ashburn community. Other Illinois stores to be closed were in Chicago’s Logan Square community, Downers Grove and Lombard.

The company said the stores were not profitable and their leases were up. The stores were expected to close by April 30.

Last week, Strack’s parent, Central Grocers in Joliet, said that it was in talks to sell 22 stores operated under the Strack & Van Til name and that it would start going out of business sales at its nine remaining Ultra stores.

Seven of the Ultra stores are in Illinois in Lansing, Crestwood, Wheaton, Joliet, Chicago Heights, Calumet Park and Forest Park. The other two Ultra stores are in Gary and Merrillville in northwest Indiana.

Caribbean restaurant opens in Justice The Banana Leaf restaurant, which features Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine, is now open at 8580 S. 88th Avenue in Justice.

The Justice site is the second location for the restaurant, which was founded in 2009 in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago.

It offers take-out and delivery but dinein seating is planned.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, call (708) 3305280.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@hotmail.com.

your personal income ax Freedom Day tax rate, which, in generally falls early 2017, could be around this time as high as 39.6 pereach year. This is the cent. But if you hold day when the nation investments for at least as a whole has earned a year before selling enough money to pay them, you’d be assessed off its total tax bill for the long-term capital the year, according to gains rate, which tops the calculations made Scott out at 20 percent. Be by the Tax Foundation.

Johnson aware, though, that the So you may want to Trump administration use Tax Freedom Day and Congress seem likely to to think about ways you can change the tax rates. Early liberate yourself from some plans call for a maximum of the investment-related taxes personal income tax rate of you may incur.

33 percent, with the top rate Of course, Tax Freedom for capital gains and dividends Day is something of a fiction, either staying at 20 percent, or in practical terms, because possibly being reduced to 16.5 most people pay their taxes throughout the year via payroll percent. In any case, you’ll still come out ahead, tax-wise, deductions. Also, you may not by holding your investments mind paying your share of taxes, because your tax dollars long enough to receive the long-term capital gains rate. are used in many ways – law enforcement, food safety, road • Consider municipal maintenance, public education, bonds. If you are in one of and so on – that benefit socithe higher income brackety. Still, you may be able to ets, you might benefit from reduce those taxes associated investing in municipal bonds, with your investments, leaving which are typically used to you more money available to finance public projects, such help you work toward your as roads, schools, airports and important goals, such as a infrastructure-related repairs. comfortable retirement.

Interest payments from “muHere are some suggestions nis” are typically exempt from for making investing less “tax- federal income taxes and may ing”: also be exempt from state and local taxes, depending on the • Contribute regularly to state in which the bond issuer tax-advantaged retirement is located. Interest payments plans. Contribute as much from some types of municias you can afford to your pal bonds may be subject to IRA and your 401(k) or other the alternative minimum tax employer-sponsored retirement (AMT). Again, though, watch plan. Traditional IRA earnings for developments from Washgrow tax deferred, and your ington, as both the Trump adcontributions may be taxministration and some congresdeductible, depending on your sional leaders favor eliminating income. (Taxes will be due upon withdrawal, however, and the AMT. When charting your investwithdrawals made before you ment strategy, consider your turn 59½ may be subject to a risk tolerance, time horizon, 10 percent IRS penalty.) Your family situation and estate 401(k) or similar plan also plans. But investment-related provides the opportunity for taxes should also be in your tax-deferred earnings growth.

Roth IRA contributions are not strategic mix – so look for opportunities to keep these taxes deductible, but your earnings are distributed tax-free, provid- under control. ed you don’t take withdrawals until you’re 59½ and you’ve Scott Johnson, CFP, is a had your account at least five financial advisor with Edward years.

Jones, 8146 W. 111th St., Palos Hills, (708) 974-1965. Edward • Follow a “buy-and-hold” strategy. If you sell investJones does not provide legal ments you’ve owned for less advice. This article was writthan a year, and their value ten by Edward Jones for use has increased, you will have by your local Edward Jones to pay capital gains taxes at financial advisor.

AREA PROPERTY TRANSFERS Following are the property transfers in the area, according to the latest report, as received from the Cook County Recorder of Deeds Office.

The Reporter Newspaper does not attempt to correct errors made by that office.

Chicago Ridge

Business Persons of Year

Submitted photo

Mike and Carla Blazys (third and fourth from left) were honored by the Hills Chamber of Commerce as “Business Persons of the Year” during a chamber dinner on April 13 at the Hickory Hills Recreation Department.

They were honored for their generosity and hard work running K and P Construction. Honoring them were (from left) Phyllis Majka, director of the Hills Chamber, Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett and Hickory Hills Mayor Mike Howley.

Business

Continued from Page 1

presence across the street influenced the decision to come to Palos Hills. But the ample parking lot on the side of the building and the warm welcome the business received from the Palos Hills Board also were factors.

“I am very pleased with the landscaping,” said Ald. Martin Kleefisch (1st Ward). “It’s great to have a vibrant business here.

It’s just great to see business here again.”

Bennett said that before Baha Auto Group had shown interest, the property was vacant for over 10 years. The building was once occupied by Hames Buick.

“They (Baha) contacted us and liked the property,” said Bennett.

“Along with Webb Chevy across the street, we have a new restaurant next door.”

The restaurant the mayor was referring to is Demi’s Breakfast

and Bistro, which will be opening its doors soon.

Ray Ihmud, president and founder of Baha, said he loves the community and is planning to move into the area. He sees great potential along Southwest Highway and predicts more businesses will be moving in.

“This is just a great community,” Ihmud said. “I just see so much potential.”

Muza said the new location, which is roughly 31,000 square feet, will allow for some expansion.

“We are going to add a service department and that will include oil changes,” Muza said.

Bennett is confident about the future, pointing out during a “State of the City” address on April 13 that this could be the best year since 2008 for building permits. He added that 10 to 13 small businesses have been added to the city over the past couple of years.

“I think the future looks bright,” Bennett added.

Burns Timothy Jr to Lopez Ana C, 10740 Monitor Ave, $210,000; Anderson Lori Extr to Mallah Mohammad, 9832 S Nottingham Ave, Unit #8, $48,500; Fannie Mae to Muthana Prop LLC, 7001 Oconnell Dr, Unit #201, $63,500; Heveran Virginia M to Perez Andrea M, 10555 Oak Ave, $168,000; Walztoni Kurt to Ibarra Jesus, 6524 Ridge Dr, $199,000; Kowalczyk Roman to Ocampo Angelika, 9850 S Nottingham Ave, Unit #201, $97,000; Emaar Prop LLC Cr to Bogdzia David, 10656 S Central Ave, $300,000; Taraba Garry Extr to Nazer Tina, 9815 S Nottingham Ave, Unit #102, $68,000.

Evergreen Park Clement Clarence to Puckett Mariia, 10001 S Sawyer Ave, $250,000; Morin Joseph Edward to Dorich Matthew K, 2905 W 97th Pl, $187,000; Marquette Bk Tr to Cihocki Paul E, 2936 W 98th St, $102,000; AMSFR LLC to Zakhem Jason Y, 2713 W 90th St, $147,500; Dvorak Jacquelyn M to Holloway Tamishella, 9615 S Homan Ave, $177,000; Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr to Lifestyle Prop ACQ 3 LLC, 9800 S Troy St, $100,000; Burmeister Thomas A to Arendt Gregory D Jr, 9212 S Utica Ave, $171,000; North Prop Inc to Slager Jonathan, 9536 S Homan Ave, $235,000; Webb Judy L to Tracy Michelle V, 8710 S Albany Ave, $169,500; DLJ Mtg Cap Inc to Riverfront Dev LLC Series 9714 S Maplewood Ave, 9714 S Maplewood Ave, $68,000; Smith Jason to Burke Michael T, 10143 S Turner Ave, $174,000; Bank Amer to Alioth Holdings LLC, 2612 W 98th Pl, $71,500.

Hickory Hills Lynch Kevin to Trajkovski Daniel, 8610 W 95th St, Unit #1B4, $96,000; TCF Natl Bk to Qasem Isam, 9444 S 82nd Ct, $167,000;

Residential Sol Inc to Chavec Sandra, 8625 Miroballi Dr, Unit #8625, $207,000; Nationstar Hecm Acq Trust 2016-3 to Homeland Grp Inc, 8620 Steeple Hill Dr, $198,000.

Oak Lawn Gavin Maura to Watkins Mary M, 10940 Kilpatrick Ave, Unit #109402A, $74,000; Ridderhoff Andrew Dale to Kidd Anthony, 10400 Pulaski Rd, Unit #204, $75,000; James Kahriman Real Estate Development Co LLC to Martin Arlene N, 5568 W 95th St, $219,000; Zayed Jamil to Flenoy Cherida, 10424 Central Ave, Unit #A13, $90,000; Pranske Jullian C to Farias Salvador Jr, 9801 S Keeler Ave, Units #36&36G, $109,000; Molinski Paul to Holland Raymond, 4124 Dean Dr, $146,000; Dragos Silviu to Huerta Olympio, 9621 Karlov Ave, Unit #9621-SE304, $100,000; Rimkus Brian J Tr to Rimkus Breanne, 5337 102nd St, $165,000; Noreen M Cyplik Trust to Logan Jalina R, 5646 W 103rd St, Unit #5646206, $108,000; TCF Natl Bk to Schottenstein Dev Grp LLC, 9218 Central Ave, $85,000; Alcantara Santos to Creger Thomas, 9620 52nd Ave, $235,000; Paluck Timothy Dean Tr Trust NP001 to Cardenas Alicia, 10049 Harnew Road East, $166,500; Mcphee James J Jr to Hamlin Grp Inc, 10436 Kenneth Ave, $125,500; Garley Stephen F Tr to Grandview Cap LLC, 6927 96th St, $60,000; Prof-2013-S3 Legal Title Trust to Zourib Aicha, 5540 W 103rd St, Unit #2C, $70,000; Judicial Sales Corp to Land Trust 9604 S Karlov Ave, 9604 Karlov Ave, Unit #103, $57,500; Alt Luck Inc to Lindsey Richard I, 4101 99th Pl, $199,500; Czarnecki Daniel F to Uzandenis Robert A, 10225 Kilbourn Ave, $221,000; Vranicar John D to Chavez Alejandro R, 9630 Kilbourn Ave, $335,000; Foley Brendan Extr to Majeed Munazza, 6600 92nd St, $210,000; Jaroszewski Mark Tr to Zeidan Lena, 10504 Kilpatrick Ave, $206,500; Marquette Bk to Negron Carmen M, 9314 54th Pl, $210,000; Wells Fargo Bk to Szkoda Renata, 9813 S Kenneth Ave, $179,500;

Cirrus Inv Grp LLC to Loera Antonio, 5701 W 89th Pl, $178,000; Fannie Mae to Marquette Bk Tr, 10417 51st Ct, $185,000; Hawkins Violette to Quattrocki Ann E, 9901 Cicero Ave, Unit #204, $123,000; Cadena Michael to Sierra Kathy E, 10432 S Keating Ave, Unit #A4, $55,000; Nationstar Mtg LLC to Emerald Project LLC, 10424 S Kolin Ave, $138,500; Wojtyczka Pawel to Johnson Arthur H, 7100 W 95th St, Unit #215, $114,500; Popovich Luka to Christmas Kala, 9520 Mayfield Ave, Unit #302N, $88,000; Nery Sarita S to Johnson Evan M, 8920 Sproat Ave, $145,000.

Palos Hills Murray Allison M to Zych Marcela, 15 Cour Monnet, $136,000; Chapman Leland N to Nakhleh Raid A, 11277 S Roberts Rd, Unit

F, $93,000; Uzandenis Colleen to Metoyer Deborah A, 8903 W 98th St, $118,000; Federal Home Loan Mtg Corp to Joudeh Investments LLC, 2 Cobblestone Ct, Unit #15B, $84,000; Federal Home Loan Mtg Corp to Zhang Yaling, 24 Cour Le Roux, $121,000.

Worth TCF Natl Bk to Marquette Bk Tr, 10704 S Depot St, Unit #303, $78,500; Judicial Sales Corp to Zayed Yousef, 10702 S Depot St, Unit #2303, $60,000; Lakinski Eugene L Tr to Soliman Mustafa, 10800 S Nashville Ave, $173,500; Kukulak Miroslaw to Cikowski Krzysztof T, 10930 S Worth Ave, Unit #1093012, $82,000; TCF Natl Bk to Doleh Sadeden W, 6920 W Crandall Ave, Unit #6, $47,000.

Mortgage Rates Around the Area First Midwest Bank (as of April 24) 30-year fi ed

RATES 4.125

APR 4.160

POINTS 0

15-year fi ed

3.250

3.305

0

30-year fi ed Jumbo

4.125

4.170

0

United Trust Bank (as of April 24) 30-year fi ed

RATES 4.060

APR 4.081

POINTS 0

15-year fi ed

3.375

3.411

0

10-year fi ed

3.250

3.303

0

Prospect Federal (as of April 24) 30-year fi ed

RATES 4.000

APR 4.069

POINTS .25

20-year fi ed

3.875

3.970

.25

15-year fi ed

3.250

3.370

.25

All rates subject to change daily. Equal opportunity lenders.

10 The Reporter

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Plenty of options for improving your smile The Smile Checklist is courtesy of Family Dental Care in Oak Lawn and Evergreen Park. This is endorsed by the American Dental Association (ADA).

Look in the mirror.

• Do you like the way your teeth look?

• Do you dislike the color of any of your teeth?

• Are there spaces between your teeth?

• Do you have any chips or cracks on your teeth?

• Are you missing any teeth?

• Do you have any crooked teeth?

• Do you feel your teeth are too long or too short?

• Are you pleased with the shapes and position of your teeth?

If your answers show that you might want a change in your smile, talk to your dentist about Improving Your Smile. You can request an appointment on-line at Family Dental Care by visiting their website at www.FamilyDentalCare.com and choosing a dental office nearest you.

A great smile can be the most attractive feature of your face. A smile helps you express health, success, youth and sincerity. It is a great asset in your personal, business and social contacts. So it’s important that you are happy with how your smile looks. But if you are like many people, you may not be.

Your dentist has many different techniques to shape, sculpt, and make your smile more beautiful.

With a few simple steps, you can have a smile you feel great about.

And treatment may be more affordable than you think.

Options for improving your smile include:

Tooth-Colored Fillings Your dentist can use natural-

World War II veterans from Oak Lawn are honored Four World War II veterans from Oak Lawn were presented with village proclamations honoring them during a community meeting hosted by Trustee Terry Vorderer (4th) on Saturday at Salem United Church of Christ, 9717 S. Kostner Ave. Standing for a photo afterward are (from left) Joseph Ferencak, Vorderer, J. Marcellus Burke, Capt.

Dan Johnson, Robert “Bob” Wilcox and John Soss. Story on Page 1.

Example of an Improved Smile colored materials to restore teeth that have cavities. Options include composite materials, such as resin, as well as lab-made porcelain inlays, inlays and crowns.

done without using braces at all. A series of clear, removable aligners are used to move your teeth over time. These aligners are more discreet than traditional braces.

Tooth Whitening

Enamel Shaping

Teeth become stained for many reasons — drinking coffee, tea or wine; smoking; and even aging can discolor teeth. Tooth whitening is a process that makes discolored teeth whiter. The bleach used for in-office (chair side) whitening is stronger than the bleach found in at-home whitening kits. Keep in mind that not everyone’s teeth can become movie-star white. Your dentist can recommend the whitening treatment that is right for you.

Veneers Veneers are thin, tooth-colored shells that are bonded, or cemented, to the front of your teeth. They are custom-made of ceramic or composite resin, and look like natural teeth. Veneers can be used to fill spaces between teeth and to cover teeth that are stained, poorly shaped, or a bit crooked.

Braces Braces can help correct crowded or crooked teeth or an uneven bite.

Braces have become much smaller and less noticeable over the years.

Brackets, the part of the braces that attach to each tooth, can sometimes be attached to the back of the tooth to make them less noticeable. Some brackets are clear or tooth colouredwhich help braces blend in.

In some cases, treatment may be

Your dentist can “reshape” your teeth by contouring tooth enamel, the outer layer of the tooth. When teeth are a little crowded or uneven, or when teeth appear too long, your dentist can use enamel shaping to improve how the teeth look.

Photo by Dermot Connolly

Chicago Ridge

Continued from Page 1

Crowns If a tooth needs more a dramatic change than veneers or enamel shaping can provide, crowns are an option. The outer part of the tooth is removed and a crown is placed over it. The crown can be made to fit in with your other teeth.

It’s like a fresh start for your tooth.

First Steps to a New Smile

Once you decide to improve your smile, the first step is to visit your dentist. At this visit, you will talk about the best plan for you. If you have any signs of dental disease, your dentist may recommend treatment for this. It’s important to have a healthy mouth before starting cosmetic treatment.

• These treatments and others can help you have more naturallooking and attractive teeth. What are you waiting for? Call Family Dental Care today about how to make your smile the best it can be. For Evergreen Park residents call (708) 425-1134 and for Oak Lawn residents call (708) 425-9101.

reinforces state statutes that say mayors of homerule communities govern with the “advice and consent” of the board.

In the April 4 election, Coglianese and Durkin ran unsuccessfully against Tokar for mayor, and Quintos and Cardin lost their bids for re-election.

But Coglianese on Tuesday admitted feeling “somewhat vindicated, at least in this area,” when she heard that the judge upheld the legality of the ordinance she had proposed.

“The ordinance just reinforces the advice and consent in state statutes. It gives us a balance of power,” she said. “I want to find that judge’s name because I have a feeling he will be one of the first I’ll be voting for,” she added with a laugh.

However, the mayor said at the time that his legal advisers from four municipal law firms had advised him that the ordinance violates the state constitution, because it makes changes to the mayor’s powers without a referendum. He said that in filing suit, he was simply seeking a declaratory judgment because it was “a case of different interpretations of case law and state law.”

“No one is asking for money. We’re simply asking for a declaratory judgment. Whichever way it goes, we will move on. This issue isn’t going to

be hanging over us for years. We are hoping to have it resolved in the next eight weeks or so,” Tokar said last August.

Both he and his opponents in the case expressed frustration about the slow pace of the litigation whenever they were asked about the status of the case as the election drew closer.

Tokar said on Tuesday that he wanted to wait to see the actual written ruling, which had not been issued yet, before deciding on his next course of action.

“I don’t want to comment on what was said in court,” Tokar said. “I want to see what the ruling says before deciding to appeal or not.”

The case the mayor expected to see decided in eight weeks dragged on so long that three people named in the suit — Durkin, Quintos and Cardin — will no longer be on the board as of this evening, (Thursday, April 27) when three newly elected trustees are scheduled to be sworn in with Tokar.

“He will have a whole new board,” said Coglianese, who remains a trustee.

Appointments will have to be made again also, including that of village attorney, and Coglianese was unwilling to predict how the votes might go this time around.

Deb Pyznarski and Ed Kowalski, two of Tokar’s allies who were elected on April 4, may provide the mayor with at least three votes. But if the new ordinance is indeed upheld, the mayor might be casting more tie-breaking votes.

LIBRARY HAPPENINGS

CHICAGO RIDGE

Lego Club will meet on Saturdays

The Lego Club will meet at 11 a.m. Saturdays through May 20 at the Chicago Ridge Library, 10400 S. Oxford Ave. Library staff members will supply Legos and kids will supply the imagination. Children from kindergarten through eighth grade can build Legos. More information can be obtained by calling the library, (708) 423-7753, or visit the website at www.chicagoridgelibrary.org.

Babies will hear stories and songs

Babies and toddlers up to 2 years old and their caregivers will listen to stories and hear songs from 10 to 10:30 a.m. every Thursday at the Chicago Ridge Library. The program will continue until May 18. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 423-7753 or visit the website at www. chicagoridgelibrary.org.

Mad Libs Party at library

A Mad Libs Party will be held from 4 to 5 p.m.

Thursday, May 4 at the Chicago Ridge Library. Kids in the first through eighth grade can take part in a variety of different games ranging from creating a self-portrait blindfolded, or getting tangled up in Twister. In addition, participants will play the traditional Mad Libs word game. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 423-7753 or visit the website at www.chicagoridgelibrary.org.

Library to host Battle of the Books

The 15th annual Battle of the Books will include students from Finley Junior High, Our Lady of the Ridge, Ridge Central and Ridge Lawn schools from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 9 at the Chicago Ridge Library.

The students have been reading books from the Rebecca Caudill and Bluestem nominee award list throughout the school year. The students will compete to answer questions from this year’s 40 books.

This program is sponsored in part by the Friends of the Chicago Ridge Public Library. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 423-7753 or visit the website at www.chicagoridgelibrary.org.

Mother’s Day Spa will be offered

Children ages 5 and older can bring their moms or female caregiver for a Mother’s Day Spa Evening

SUDOKU

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from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 2 at the Chicago Ridge Library, 10400 S. Oxford Ave. Guests can make a fuzzy scented bath bomb and complete a manicure by looking at the Chicago Ridge Library books for some nail designs.

Light refreshments will be available. Registration is required and is limited to the first 36 pairs that register. The child’s name has to be registered and indicate if they will be bringing guest. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 423-7753 or visit www.chicagoridgelibrary.org.

OAK LAWN Volunteers needed to work in the Friends Bookstore

The Friends of the Oak Lawn Library is accepting applications for bookstore volunteers, which consists of sorting book donations and stocking the store at the Oak Lawn Library, 9427 S. Raymond Ave. One four-hour shift per week is required. Volunteer forms are available at the Customer Services Desk on the first floor of the library. For more information, call Carole Onwiler at (708) 422-8646.

Memory Lane Trivia Hour

A Memory Lane Trivia Hour will be held beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 4 at the Oak Lawn Library. The session will take a trip down memory lane with trivia geared toward baby boomers and beyond. Guests will be reminded about TV shows like Davy Crockett or the music of Doris Day during the trivia competition. Register online at www.olpl.org or in person at the adult services desk at (708) 422-4990.

Session on benefi s of Social Security

“Social Security: A Look at the Bigger Picture” will be presented at 7 p.m. today (Thursday, April 27) at the Oak Lawn Library. Greg Kurinec, of the Benton Financial Group, Inc., will present an informational discussion covering the benefits of Social Security. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 422-4990 or visit www.olpl.org.

Memory Lane Trivia Hour

A Memory Lane Trivia Hour will be held beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 4 at the Oak Lawn Library. The session will take a trip down memory

CROSSWORD

Answers

LEGAL NOTICE

lane with trivia geared toward baby boomers and beyond. Guests will be reminded about TV shows like Davy Crockett or the music of Doris Day during the trivia competition. Register online at www.olpl.org or in person at the adult services desk at (708) 422-4990.

Take nostalgic ‘trip’ to Riverview, White City Guests can take a nostalgic trip to Riverview and White City amusement parks during a presentation to be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 10 at the Oak Lawn Library. Larry and Clare Bergnach will discuss Riverview, which was located on the city’s North Side, and White City, on the city’s South Side. They will discuss two and five cent days, Shoot-the-Chutes, the Bobs, Aladdin Castle and more. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 422-4990 or visit www.olpl.org.

‘Cosmic Quest’ Fan Fest

The Oak Lawn Library’s “Cosmic Quest” will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 6 at the library. Performers will be on hand along with exhibitors and panels. This is an all ages celebration of pop culture and free comic book day. An after-hours trivia session will be held at 7 p.m. at PD’s Place, 5407 W. 95th St., Oak Lawn, for ages 21 and over. More information can be obtained by calling (708) 422-4990 or visit www.olpl.org/fanfest.

‘Kennedys in Chicago’ presentation A presentation on “The Kennedys in Chicago” will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 25 at the Oak Lawn Library. Historian and entertainer Clarence Goodman highlights the meaning of the Kennedy family in Chicago, as well as John F. Kennedy’s 100th birthday (May 29).Register online at the Adult Services Desk at the library or call (708) 422-4990.

PALOS HILLS Shred Day to be held at library

Shred Day will be held for residents to rid themselves of spring clutter from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, April 29 in the south parking lot of the Green Hills Library, 10331 S. Interlochen Drive, Palos Hills. Visitors will have their items shredded confidentially and securely by Beaver Shred-

LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE

ding. Residents are welcome to wait but it is not required. The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Register online at greenhillslibrary.org.

Teaching vegetable gardening for cowards

A discussion will be held for people who are absolutely convinced they can’t grow anything at 7 p.m. Monday, May 1 at the Green Hills Library.

The guest speaker is not a master gardener, but her family grows the majority of their fruits and vegetables. She will pass along advice to visitors who think they can’t grow vegetables. Admitting that she has made every gardening mistake, she shares her humorous insight to help guests on the path to growing vegetables. The event is for adults only. Register online at greenhillslibrary.org.

Kids can participate in Lego Club

Children in kindergarten through fifth grade can participate in the Lego Club to be held at 4 p.m.

Tuesday, May 2 at the Green Hills Library. Staff members will supply the Legos and the kids can supply the imagination and building skills. Register online at greenhillslibrary.org.

Old and new games can be played at library

Children ages 8 and up can bring their own board games and can play some new ones from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 3 at the Green Hills Library. Participants can bring old board games and new ones like Sushi Go or Munchkin. Dice is not required. Register online at greenhillslibrary.org.

Exploring world of henna

Henna designs and other creations can be made during a session scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 3 at the Green Hills Library. Kids ages 10 to 17 will learn how to get henna tattoos and decorate cookies with henna designs. Registration is limited to 20. Register online at greenhillslibrary.org.

British Invasion Show Dave Rudolf will present the British Invasion Show to be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 4 at the Green Hills Library. The music of The Beatles, Donovan, The Kinks and The Who will be included.

The event is for adults only. Register online at greenhillslibrary.org.

LEGAL NOTICE

SCHOOL NEWS

Thursday, April 27, 2017

The Reporter

11

Middle school students create prom cards to promote safety

By Kelly White Loud music, limo rides, fancy attire and the possibility of underage drinking.

That is the reality of prom, and it’s just around the corner.

In order to inspire teens to stay safe and instill good decisionmaking, for the seventh straight year School District 218 will be placing prom cards — handmade cards with private messages encouraging teens to make smart decisions — on every table of the three high school proms within the district. The cards are being sent to Richards in Oak Lawn, Shepard in Palos Heights, and Eisenhower in Blue Island.

“Our high schoolers are reminded through these cards that they are role models and that the younger students are looking up to them,” said Cora Umecker, special education teacher at Richards and former instructor of SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving).

“Sometimes it takes a reminder from someone other than their parents to get them to take notice and listen.”

The middle school students created over 1,000 cards for the

prom-goers, so every attendee will receive at least one. Inside are handwritten anonymous messages stating things like, “You drink, you drive, you die”, “Stay safe tonight” and “Please make good decisions.”

“I think when the high schoolers see my card they will listen to what it is saying,” said Oak LawnHometown sixth-grader Annalisa Barajas, 12, of Oak Lawn “In my card I wrote, ‘Make positive choices.’ I think they will hopefully follow it and not make bad choices.”

“This project shows that the younger generation cares about people that we don’t even know,” said Independence Junior High sixth-grader Brittany McCarthy, 12, of Palos Heights.

“I try to emphasize to the kids that this is a special night, so their cards should be visually attractive,” said Mike Maholland, an Independence Junior High art teacher. “On the inside, the kids write little notes, encouraging their older peers to make good choices and to get home safely.

The tone ranges from caring to humorous, but the message is the same. The students learn

Photo by Kelly White

Independence Junior High students Elissa Rizek (from left) and Macey Sera, both 12 and of Palos Heights, create positive prom cards for District 218 students.

that there is a sense of caring within the community and that they play a role. I think they feel that their voice is valued and can make a difference.”

“I think it’s great that they care enough to make these,” said Richards senior Sohaieb Alkhar-

absheh, 18, of Chicago Ridge. “It will make me think about what I do after prom. It is something I would probably keep.”

Middle school students enjoyed extending a positive message, according to Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School counselor Kathy

Local students who competed for the under 19 championship team (from left) — Molly Ross, Elizabeth Gildea, Megan Wagner, Alyssa Hoban, Grace O’Brien, Kiley Ross, Shannon O’Malley and Tara Campbell — pose in Ireland during the World Irish Dancing Championships.

O’Dwyer, who worked with the students on making the cards.

“Students have a wonderful time making the cards,” O’Dwyer said. “I believe our students making something for the high school students inspires them to think ahead to their high school years and understand that making safe decisions is a matter of life and death in some cases.”

“This project is really a lesson in life to both the middle schoolers who make the cards as well as the high schoolers who receive the cards,” Umecker said.

“It says, ‘Hey, I see you, I look up to you and I’m learning from you. Please make the right choices and then when I am in the same situation, I will remember this and also make the right choice.’

It’s hard to say no to a kid who looks up to you.

“This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart, and hopefully it will make some sort of difference.”

Umecker took over the SADD club in 2011 at District 218 as a way of reaching out to students on a sensitive subject, such as having a friend die suddenly in an alcohol-related crash in

high school. The cards originally were made in 2010 at Richards and took on new life in 2011 when the other two district schools made the decision to use them as well. While no longer in charge of the club, Umecker still strongly stands behind the prom cards.

District 218 officials have reported there have been no alcoholrelated incidents on prom night since the program began.

“Knowing that these kids will be able to use our knowledge and be safe using our words is a big deal,” said Oak Lawn-Hometown sixth-grader Patrick Farrell, 12, of Oak Lawn. “We might even be saving some lives by doing this because before seeing our cards they might be thinking about doing something they shouldn’t.

Also, we might know kids there that might give us respect for helping them.”

Richards’ prom will be held on Friday, May 19 at the Museum of Science and Industry. Shepard’s prom will be held on Friday, May 5 at Crystal Gardens in Navy Pier.

Eisenhower’s prom will be held on Friday, May 19 at Palos Country Club in Orland Park.

Submitted photos

The under 16 team of students of Claire McInerney, Olivia McMahon, Anna McMahon, Sydney Rozhon, Abby Chesniak, Maggie O’Malley, Abby Perry and Michalene Donnelly pose with their world championship trophy in Dublin.

Local students bring home two titles in World Irish Dancing Local students, including seven from Marist High School, helped capture world titles in two divisions at the 2017 World Irish Dancing Championships in Dublin, Ireland, held April 9 through 16. The girls dance for Lavin Cassidy School of Irish Dance in Worth.

Marist freshman Molly Ross, of Palos Heights; sophomores Alyssa Hoban and Megan Wagner, Palos Heights; and ju-

niors Kiley Ross and Grace O’Brien, both of Palos Heights, won in the under 19 category. Their teammates — Shannon O’Malley, Tara Campbell and Elizabeth Gildea — attend Mother McAuley High School.

Marist freshmen Michalene Donnelly and Abby Chesniak, both of Oak Lawn, also won with their team in the under 16 category. Their teammates were Sydney

Rozhon, of Oak Lawn High School; twin sisters Anna and Olivia McMahon, who attend Lincoln Way Central; Claire McInerney, who attends Martino Junior High in New Lenox; Maggie O’Malley, of Mother McAuley; and Abby Perry, from Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School.

At the event, the girls competed against 60 teams in the under 19 category and

90 teams in the under 16 category. The top quarter of teams advanced from the first round to the finals, where the scores from both dances were combined.

O’Brien said preparing for the world competition included two to three hours of practice per day. It has paid off for the girls, many of whom have two world championships to their credit. O’Brien, who won the title with her teams in

2015 in Montreal and in 2016 in Scotland, says having a third world title is “pretty cool.”

For Donnelly, it was her fourth visit to worlds and second title.

“It feels pretty good,” Donnelly said.

“It was very exciting.”

She added that it’s a very long process to get all the team members dancing together at the same time, but it’s worth it.

OLCHS STEM Club earns medals at SSC event

Submitted photo

OLHMS Jazz Ensemble wins First Division Award The Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School Jazz Ensemble of District 123 won a First Division Award at the State Jazz Festival held recently at Colin Powell Middle School in Matteson. The OLHMS Jazz Ensemble performed “Blue Skies,” “My Little Suede Shoes” and “A Mellow Time.”

This is the seventh straight year that the school has qualified for the contest. It the sixth straight year they have won a First Division Award. John Kehl is the OLHMS band director.

Student at Oak Lawn Community High School participated in the SSC Science Competition and took home medals in eight events in 14 events in over a four-hour period recently at Shepard High School.

Gold medalists from Oak Lawn Community High School include Fatima Akili, in the Biology Exam; Jade Ryerson and Salam Mulhelm, the Bridge Building Contest; Hend Abazid and Josh Rios, Insect Identification; and James Benson and Mike Rollberg, in the Paper Airplane Challenge.

Silver medalists include Adam Baniewicz, Akram Mahdi, Viraj Paul, Matt Skupien and Cody Figus in Forensics; and Amjad Halim in the Egg Drop contest.

Bronze medalists include Jozef Hyrczyk and Piotr Galas in the Electromagnet race, and Eoin Prendiville in the Environment and Ecology Challenge.

Submitted photo

Oak Lawn Community High School STEM Club members recently competed in the SSC Science Competition and earned medals at the Shepard High School event.

When asked why students compete in the competition, science teacher Chris Repa said, “Because these STEM enthusiasts love learning and demonstrating what they know. They are a great

group. Seeing students so excited about science and learning makes me believe that anyone can be whatever they want to be … these amazing kids are choosing to be difference-makers.”

Chicago Christian High School recognizes ‘Outstanding Students’ The annual “Student Recognition Assembly” recognized students on April 12 who excelled in several categories during the third quarter at Chicago Christian High School in Palos Heights.

The students were honored for their academic excellence, classroom contribution and determination. Each department honored a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior student for performing at a high level in the classroom while displaying a Christ-like attitude that contributed to the overall learning environment of the school. Students received a free lunch for their efforts.

Students recognized include Mia Bearden, Kelly Duh, Faith Rooney, Kathleen Tkoletz, Angela Cui, Lauryn Lellos, Julie Conrad, a Hickory Hills resident; Abby Haan, of Palos Heights; Tori De Jager, Marry Bergeson, Evergreen Park; Shelby Van Bruggen, Courtney Wojcik, Orland Park; Marley Bulthuis, Orland Park; Bryce Bollman, Orland Park; Gina Mejia, Oak Lawn; Faith Tanis, Palos Park; Stephanie Reusz, Clarie O’Neill, Jesse Geaschel, Brayden Roberts, Jill Van Dyk, Amy Lyons, Ellie Tiemens, Worth; Deja Claybrooks, Ben Fry, Joey Mavrogiannis, Nate Rivera and Collin Pujdak.

Submitted photo

A group of students at Chicago Christian High School in Palos Height were honored at the annual Student Recognition Assembly this month. The honored students were (front row, from left) Mia Bearden, Kelly Duh, Faith Rooney, Kathleen Tkoletz, Angela Cui, Lauryn Lellos, Julia Conrad, Abby Haan, Tori DeJager, May Bergeson, Shelby Van Bruggen, Courtney Wojcik, Marley Bulthuis, Bryce Bollman, Gina Mejia, Faith Tanis, Stephanie Reusz, Claire O’Neill, Jesse Geaschel, Brayden Roberts, Jill Van Dyk, Amy Lyons, Ellie Tiemens, Deja Claybrooks, Ben Fry, Joey Mavrogiannis, Nate Rivera and Collin Pujdak.

12 The Reporter

SCHOOL NEWS

Thursday, April 27, 2017

OLCHS teacher leads group to aid Dominican community Julie DeRuiter, a physical education teacher at Oak LawnHometown Middle School, led a church youth group to the Dominican Republic to aid the community during spring break.

“It was awesome to pour into the lives of the Dominican people,” DeRuiter said “We had 32 people total, eight leaders and 24 high school students from our church youth group. The purpose of our trip was to share the Gospel, build relationships, and help out in the community.

“In the Dominican, we stayed at Caribbean Mountain Academy, which is a therapeutic school for American students. We lodged there, spending our time with the CMA students having game nights, hiking up mountains, jumping off waterfalls, and building relationships.”

The group wasn’t just immersing themselves in a new culture, they spent their days rebuilding things at the school and teaching the students how to communicate in English.

“We did repairs, along with preparing the grounds for future groups to do work as well,” DeRuiter said. “Along with moving walls, building basketball courts, and tearing down old steel play-

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Submitted photo

Julie DeRuiter, a physical education teacher at Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School, takes a selfie of herself and children from the Dominican Republic. She took members from a church youth group to help the community in the Dominican Republic during a spring break trip.

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“My favorite part of the trip was how hard working, motivated, and genuine our students were.”

DeRuiter said she is eager to take another trip back to the Dominican and see how the school progresses in the future.

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SPORTS The Regional News • The Reporter

Vorva,Sports SportsEditor Editor••sports@regionalpublishing.com sports@regionalpublishing.com KenJeff Karrson,

Thursday,March April 5, 27,2015 2017 Thursday,

Southwest • Section 2, Page 1 1 Southwest • Section 2, Page

CCL Blue season officially sworn in

By Jeff Vorva Sports Editor

A fan arrived at the St. Laurence/Mt. Carmel baseball game at Haggerty Field in Chicago a little late on Saturday morning.

He looked and then squinted at the scoreboard, which showed that St. Laurence had scored nine runs in the top of the first inning.

“Holy (deleted)!” he said. “Is that NINE runs?”

That reaction came moments after one of the Mt. Carmel players walked off the field in disgust and shouted a dark oath of his own.

Now that’s putting the blue in the Chicago Catholic League Blue.

The powerhouse league got off to a wild start, which included St. Laurence’s shocking 11-1, five-inning, slaughter-rule victory as well as Brother Rice’s 16-1 slaughter-rule victory over Loyola in Wilmette and St. Rita’s 2-0 victory over three-time defending Illinois High School Association Class 4A state champ Providence.

There will likely be more cussing in anger and amazement before this season is done. After Photo by Jeff Vorva all, the stakes and emotions are St. Laurence catcher Matt McCormick celebrates with Zach Verta (No. 7) after Verta hit a first-inning grand slam in the Vikings’ 11-1, five-inning high in a league that arguably shocker over Mt. Carmel.

CCL BLUE’S FORAY IN 4A For the past eight seasons, at least one Chicago Catholic League Blue baseball team made it to the Illinois High School Association state championship game in Class 4A seven times and two have made it twice: 2009: St. Rita second place 2010: St. Rita second 2011: Providence second 2012: None 2013: Mt. Carmel first 2014: Providence first, St. Rita second 2015: Providence first, Mt. Carmel second 2016: Providence first

has had the most success in state play in recent years. In seven of the past eight years, the Class 4A state championship game has seen either one or two CCL Blue teams participate.

Another wild year appears to be in store, if Saturday is any indication.

The preseason rankings from the Prep Baseball Report website saw Brother Rice as the See CCL, Page 3

A couple of publicity hounds Two men who publicize HS and college athletes have their moment to shine

By Jason Maholy Correspondent

Rob Huizenga hesitates to call himself a runner.

Heck, he admits he’s not even an athlete, and that he never has been an athlete.

Joe McCurdy also claims he’s not a runner, at least in the competitive sense.

Both men, however, will run farther on May 7 than likely the vast majority of adults run in an entire year. Huizenga, the assistant athletics director/sports information director at Saint Xavier University, will run in the Southwest Half Marathon, which will be held for the 10th year in Palos Heights. McCurdy, the assistant principal at Oak Lawn Community High School, will participate in the event’s 10K run.

That’s 13.1 miles for Huizenga and 6.2 for McCurdy, and both have been training for the past couple of months as they prep for the races. So, despite their objections, many people might refer to them as runners.

“I’d hate to call myself a runner,” said Huizenga, who considers himself to be far from the company of the Cougar athletes about whom he spends much of his working life writing about and publicizing.

Huizenga, of Frankfort, started running about 10 years ago — not that he had intended to do so.

“It kind of happened by accident,” he said. “My

wife (Jade) was training for the Detroit Marathon, and I started just doing some runs with her, and I kind of liked it.”

He ran, for at least most of the courses, in two marathons before reassessing after his wife’s obstetrician told him “that’s just stupid.”

“He told me, ‘You’re just going to beat your body up’ — that no one should run that much,” Huizenga said. “Here I was trying to do something healthy and he’s telling me I’m stupid for doing it.”

Since limiting his endeavors to the Southwest event beginning in 2011, he has a regularly irregular running regimen that spans from late winter through summer. The schedule is ideal both timewise, and for maintaining a healthy weight during the spring and summer. Huizenga, 39, is a selfdescribed “foodie,” and by burning calories via running he is able to keep off the pounds while still enjoying his guilty pleasures.

“I like to eat, but as you get older it’s harder to keep the pounds off when you have an appetite like mine,” he said. “I wanted to find some way to still eat the foods I like to eat and live the lifestyle I like to live, but not gain a ton of weight and still stay relatively healthy and be active. So, running kind of fit the bill.”

Like Huizenga, one McCurdy’s duties as assistant principal is writing about and publicizing students at Oak Lawn, including athletes.

The Orland Park resident has run in two 5K

Submitted photo

Joe McCurdy, posing with his daughter, Meghan, at the Sully Shuffe, plans on running his first 10K run on May 7.

races, including Oak Lawn High’s annual Sully Shuffle, but the Southwest will be the longest course he has attempted to complete.

“I’m up for the challenge,” he said. “I just like to exercise, and thought it would be a good way to kick off the summer. It’s good to have goals and to have something to look at on the calendar to keep

Submitted photo

Rob Huizenga accepts accolades from his family during last year’s Southwest Half Marathon.

you going. I thought it would put me in position where I’d have to stay in shape during the winter months in order to run a 10K at the beginning of May.’’ McCurdy might not consider himself much of a See RUNNERS, Page 3

ST. LAURENCE BOYS BASKETBALL COACHING CHANGES

Jim Maley (front) resigned as St. Laurence’s boys basketball coach for another job and Jim Sexton (seated on the last chair on the right) will take over.

Maley heading to Conant while top assistant Sexton takes over Vikings

By Jeff Vorva Sports Editor

Jim Maley has big shoes to fill.

So does Jim Sexton.

Maley stepped down as St. Laurence boys basketball coach last week to reportedly accept the job at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates and was immediately replaced by his assistant coach, Sexton, the school announced Friday.

Maley will take over for retiring Tom McCormack, who coached at Conant for 31 years, winning 573 games and 13 regional titles. Maley coached the Vikings three years

Photo by Jeff Vorva

and posted a 40-50 record. While that record won’t get him into any Halls of Fame, he provided a threeyear spark after the program went 51-137 the previous seven years. He also will miss a chance to coach one of the strongest sophomore classes at the school in recent memory.

“This is a very bittersweet moment for me,” said Maley. “I absolutely love St. Laurence, my players, my students and the people I work with. While I’m excited for the next opportunity, I’m saddened to leave. However, the program is in great hands.

“Hiring Jimmy as an assistant was

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one of the best moves I’ve made. His passion, knowledge, and basketball pedigree will make him an excellent head coach. I truly believe that he, the returning players and coaching staff will take another step forward and become a force in the Catholic League. While I’m no longer the coach, I will be a huge fan of him, the program and the school.”

Perhaps the biggest accomplishment in the Maley era came in 2016, when the 13th-seeded Vikings finished fourth in the Chicago Catholic League Tournament.

See ST. LAURENCE, Page 3

2

Section 2 Thursday, April 27, 2017

The Regional News - The Reporter

CHICAGO FIRE ANALYSIS

Road miseries continue for the Fire

By Jeff Vorva Sports Editor

The Chicago Fire has two stretches this season in which it plays three straight Major League Soccer league games on the road.

The team started the first three-game road stretch on a bad note, dropping a 3-1 decision to Toronto FC at BMO Field on Friday night.

With acquisitions of star players such as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Nemanja Nikolic, the Fire has a chance to be a playoff contender. But if the team is going to secure one of the six postseason slots in the Eastern Conference, it needs to win on the road. Thus far, the Fire is

0-2-1 away from Toyota Park and has been outscored 8-2 in those matches.

The Fire, which came into the game with a two-game winning streak, was outplayed most of the night by Toronto (2-1-4) and was shut out until David Accam came off the bench and scored his second goal of the season in the 88th minute.

But it was too late, as Sebastian Giovinco picked up two goals and Eriq Zavaleta had a header get by Fire goalie Jorge Bava to put their team up by a trio of goals.

“Obviously it’s a hard loss for us,’’ Fire coach Veljko Paunovic said. “We believe we played well until the first Toronto goal was scored (at the 28-minute mark).

CHICAGO FIRE AT N.Y. RED BULLS WHEN: 6:30 p.m., Saturday WHERE: Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey FIRE’S RECORD: 3-2-2 NY RECORD: 4-3-1 NOTEWORTHY: The Red Bulls have an 18-game unbeaten streak at home. NY’s Alex Muyl scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal two weeks in a row.

We also believe that we were developing our plan of how we wanted to play this game. Obviously the individual qualities of the players decided this game, but I’m happy with the performance otherwise — good ef-

RED STARS HOME OPENER

FOCUS ON AREA COLLEGE SPORTS

SXU honors many athletes

New name, new position, new success for Ertz

By Jeff Vorva Sports Editor

By Alison Moran Correspondent

The Chicago Red Stars’ newest attacking midfielder is a familiar friend who made her presence known midway through the first half of the home opener on Saturday at Toyota Park.

Thanks to a Red Stars defense that controlled the field for much of the game, the lone goal scored by this midfielder stood as the Red Stars earned their first shutout of the season with a 1-0 victory over FC Kansas City. It gave the team a 1-1-0 record and its first three points of the 2017 National Women’s Soccer League season.

Julie Ertz, previously known as Julie Johnston before her marriage, used to be a worldclass defender on both the Red Stars and the US Women’s National Team. But she earned the Red Stars’ first goal of the season, as an attacking midfielder.

What was she doing so far upfield?

Coach Rory Dames said she had suffered a right knee sprain during the Red Stars’ loss in Houston on April 15 and was out until Thursday’s practice.

“I wanted Julie on the field for her leadership, while not moving Dani (Colaprico) and Vanessa (DiBernardo) out of position,’’ said Dames. “Also, our lines had remained stagnant for the past two seasons, so it was a good opportunity to try something new.”

The goal came in the game’s 21st minute. Playing midfield, Sofia Huerta took the ball toward the end line and crossed to Ertz along the six-yard box.

Ertz slotted the ball past Kansas City’s veteran goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart for her first Red Stars goal since 2014.

fort, played until the end, which is what we preach. Obviously today wasn’t that good with the result, with our overall performance we have to improve, we have to look to the positives of this match.’’

This was Schweinsteiger’s first loss in a Fire uniform since the team obtained the German star March 31.

“It was a strange game,’’ he said. “I thought we started quite Photo by Jeff Vorva well, we had a goal that was David Accam scored the Chicago Fire’s lone goal late in a 3-1 loss at offside, but we had some good Toronto on Friday. chances in the beginning. Then The next two opponents on we made some easy mistakes. some things to make it better…

Of course if we would’ve scored we have to keep going, train the road are the New York Red a goal or if we got the penalty hard, prepare for the next match. Bulls (4-3-1) and LA Galaxy, then I think the game would’ve It’s sad that we couldn’t win, but which is a surprising 2-5-1 after been changed, but that was not there was something missing. I finishing third in the Western Conference last season. the case. We have to work on hope we find our way back.’’

Photo by Melissa Tamez

Samantha Johnson, left, congratulates Red Stars teammate Julie Ertz after Ertz scored what turned out to be the lone goal of Saturday’s game against Kansas City.

RED STARS AT PORTLAND WHEN: 3 p.m., Saturday WHERE: Providence Park, Portland RED STARS RECORD: 1-1-0 PORTLAND’S RECORD: 1-1-0 NOTEWORTHY: Portland finished first in the National Women’s Soccer League regular season but was upset in the semifinals of the postseason tournament. The Thorns suffered a 1-0 loss to expansion team North Carolina on Saturday.

“It was a great feeling,” an ecstatic Ertz said after the game.

“To help the team, and then to get a shutout, was fantastic.”

Of her partnership with Huerta, she said, “We’ve had that connection since college (Santa Clara University), and to look up and see that she made the cross and I could finish it for her was amazing. We played the No.

9 and No. 10 spots in college, and since then, we’ve always held each other accountable on the field.”

Scoring an insurance goal, though, proved impossible.

Kansas City, and Barnhart especially, showed why they were two-time NWSL champions in 2014 and 2015 in denying goals.

In the second half, Kansas City outshot the Red Stars 8-6, but none went past Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.

The Red Stars travel to Portland to face the Thorns on Saturday and return home on May 6 at 3 p.m. for Lifetime’s Game of the Week against the Houston Dash.

Retired USWNT star Julie Foudy will host a pregame session and sign copies of her new book, “Choose to Matter: Being Courageously and Fabulously YOU’’.

FOCUS ON COMMUNITY SPORTS

SXU baseball to host a Salute to Service event Saturday In addition to its Senior Day ceremony between games, the Saint Xavier University baseball team will also co-host a Salute to Service event in collaboration with SXU’s Student Veteran Alliance on Saturday, during its Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference home doubleheader with Roosevelt University at Richard R. Ferrell Memorial Field in Chicago.

The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled for a noon start. The Salute to Service event will feature the Marines Color Guard presenting the National Anthem before the first game, a postgame cookout at the field with all veterans able to take part for free and other activities designed to pay tribute to all military veterans and those currently in service.

“We owe so much to all of our veterans and members of our military for their service and putting their lives on the line for the benefit of our country,” said Saint Xavier University baseball coach Rocco Mossuto. “When one of our players, Dan McLaughlin (who is also the president of the Student Veteran Alliance), asked about co-hosting this event during one of our home games this season, it was a no-brainer. It is an honor to host any type of event that recognizes our service men and women for the sacrifices they make to help ensure our freedoms.”

SXU host girls hoops camp

Openings are still available for Saint Xavier University women’s basketball coach Bob Hallberg’s annual girls basketball camp, which runs from June 19-23 and will be open to girls between the ages of seven and 15.

The camp will consist of a single week-long session, which runs daily from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. The camp will be held in the Shannon Center on the Chicago campus of Saint Xavier University.

Participants will be grouped according to age and ability, and Hallberg will actively teach each day. SXU

assistant coaches and players will also be on hand to instruct campers. All participants will receive a camp T-shirt. Cost for the basketball camp is $135 for the session.

Enrollment for the June camp is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Applications are available at the SXU Athletics Department located in the Shannon Center or online at www.sxucougars.com under the Summer Camps link. For more information or questions regarding the camp, contact Laura Kurzeja at 773-298-3785.

Oak Lawn honors Haubenreiser

Oak Lawn Community High School’s baseball program will honor Declan and Kenadie Haubenreiser, children of Oak Lawn Community High School alumna Mary Haubenreiser, class of 1979.

Mary lost her battle with breast cancer and her twins are now being raised by their aunt, Janet Haubenreiser Meyers (class of 1991), who is a current Instructional Technology coach.

The Spartan baseball program will recognize Declan and Kenadie on May 4 when it takes on Thornton Fractional North. Spartan baseball players will wear shirts honoring Mary at the game. Shirts are available to the community for $20 each and can be purchased through head coach Bill Gerny at wgerny@olchs.org.

Youth sizes are available (small through large) as well as adult (small through 3 XL). Smilin’ Clydes will be selling hot dogs and former SSC Conference Player of the Year Boo Quillin (‘15), a fan favorite of Declan and Kenadie, will be on hand to catch the ceremonial first pitch.

Mary was a dedicated three-sport athlete who cultivated a love of sports in her twins. Declan and Kennedy have been surrounded by Spartans all their lives. These 8-year-old twins grew up in a house right across the street from the varsity baseball field and their large Irish-American clan also consists of numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins who graduated from Oak Lawn Community High School.

— We welcome community news at sports@regionalpublishing.com

Senior women’s golfer Taylor Thompson and senior football player Matt Johnson were named St. Xavier University’s Female and Male Student Athletes of the Year at Thursday’s awards banquet at the Shannon Center.

Thompson, a Galesburg native who is majoring in business, was named the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Women’s Golfer of the Week last week as well as winning three different individual tournament titles this year between the fall and spring seasons.

Johnson, a Rockford native, is also finishing up a degree in business, was a standout in the secondary for the SXU football team as a first-team selection on the 2016 Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) All-Midwest League Team as well as a first-team selection on the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Football Team, a 2016 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete and the 2016 MSFA All-Academic Team.

A number of medals were handed out to athletes who excelled in the classroom.

Gold medals were awarded to student-athletes with cumulative grade-point averages between 3.75 and 4.00 (on a 4.00 scale).

Southwest Regional Publishing area gold medal winners included: Anthony Chimera (baseball, freshman, St. Laurence), Sierra Downey (women’s cross country and track, junior, Stickney/Morton College/Morton West), Franchesca Graffeo (softball, senior, Shepard), Ronald Luce (football, senior, Oak Lawn Community),

Supplied photo

Matt Johnson and Taylor Thompson were named student athletes of the year at St. Xavier University.

Matthew McKenzie (baseball, junior, Marist), Kathleen Miller (women’s volleyball, senior, Queen of Peace), Quinn Niego (men’s basketball, junior, Brother Rice), Alexis Nowak (dance, junior, Palos Hills/Stagg), Dan O’Keefe (men’s volleyball, senior, Evergreen Park/St. Rita), Robin Prokaski (baseball, senior, Orland Park/Sandburg), Jill Siemiawski (women’s cross country and track, sophomore, Evergreen Park High School), Carolina Slaby (women’s soccer, freshman, Shepard) and Kamil Szczesniak (men’s soccer, senior, Reavis).

Area silver medalists (3.50 to 3.74 GPA) were Fuad Abuzerr (men’s soccer, junior, Worth/ Shepard), Jenna Haase (softball, sophomore, Evergreen Park), Aaron Kummer (men’s volleyball, freshman, Marist), Peter London (men’s soccer, senior, Bridgeview, St. Laurence), Mark Martin (baseball, sophomore, Evergreen Park), Casey McMahon (women’s basketball, junior, Palos Park, Stagg), Stephen Szajek (men’s volleyball, junior, Worth, Shepard) and Dominic Villa (men’s volleyball, senior, Mount Carmel).

Bronze medalists (3.25 to 3.49 GPA) were Rachal Brooks (women’s cross country and track, junior, Chicago/Mother McAuley), Jocelyn Camacho (women’s cross country add track, junior, Summit/Argo Community), Joe Cosenza (football, sophomore, Oak Lawn Community), Alondra Delfin (women’s cross country and track, junior, Shepard), Jeremy Dryier (baseball, senior, Shepard), Josh Hettiger (football, freshman, Oak Lawn/Richards), Courtney Joyce (volleyball, sophomore, Chicago/Mother McAuley), Khalfani King (football, junior, Chicago/De La Salle), Caroline Kuzel (softball, junior, Orland Park/Sandburg), Kevin Lonergan (football, senior, Oak Lawn Community), Moises Lopez (men’s volleyball, senior, Oak Lawn Community), Abdul Mahdi (football, junior, Chicago/Bogan), Nicole Maier (women’s cross country & track, senior, Burbank/Reavis), Alex Martinez (football, freshman, Burbank/St. Laurence), Emily Mayer (volleyball, freshman, Chicago/Mother McAuley), Kevin Mayer (men’s volleyball, senior, Chicago/Brother Rice), Salma Rodriguez (women’s cross country and track, freshman, Lyons/Morton West), Mike Sheehy (football, senior, Oak Lawn/Brother Rice), Victor Solis (men’s cross country and track, senior, Cicero/Morton College/Morton East).

Trinity Christian College

Women’s track: The Trolls finished ninth out of 17 teams in the Concordia Cougar Invitational. The 4x400 team of Ashley Jourdan, Anna Spotts, Katie Moran and Carissa White won in 4 minutes, 20.71 seconds. Jourdan finished second in the 1500.

Area duo making history on Dominican volleyball team

By Jason Maholy Correspondent

Two athletes who spent their prep days honing their skills at area high schools are among the members of a collegiate men’s volleyball program that Friday will attempt to advance to the national semifinals in just its fourth year of existence.

Joe Marchese and Patrick Bradford, graduates of Sandburg and Marist, respectively, are members of the Dominican University men’s volleyball team. Dominican is the first NCAA Division III men’s volleyball program in Illinois, and is now the first to qualify for the nationals as it is one of the final eight teams standing in the 2017 national tournament.

Dominican, ranked No. 6 in the country by the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association, is riding a seven-match winning streak into its national quarterfinal contest against Stevens Institute of Technology. The Stars and Ducks will square off at 2 p.m. Friday in Springfield, Mass.

Dominican has not played since topping Mt. St. Joseph in four games on April 15 to win the program’s first Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League title.

“It’ll be exciting,” Marchese, a senior from Orland Park, said of what will be the program’s first national tournament game.

“I’m just waiting for that to come, already; I think everyone sort of is. I think our whole team is ready to go.”

Bradford

Marchese

The game carries special significance for Marchese, who is one of the original recruits for a program that played it first season in 2014. A big reason he chose to attend Dominican was to be part of the foundation of a new program, he said.

“It was really exciting to start building a tradition like this,” Marchese said. “It’s the best experience I could have asked for.’’

Dominican’s players came into this season thinking they had the potential to compete for a national championship, but the team’s dominance has exceeded Marchese’s expectations. The Stars (26-2) dropped their opening match of the season to New York University in three games, then rattled off 19 straight wins before dropping falling to Mt. St. Joseph.

Marchese attributed much of the team’s success to the fact its 12 senior have been with the program from the start.

“We know who’s going to take what ball, who likes a set a certain way, and who’s going to serve where,” he said. “Everyone has a role and everyone knows what they have to do.

“We all came in as 18 freshman our first year — we were

18 freshmen guy volleyball players,” he added. “We were the first ones on campus, and we all hung out together, we didn’t know anyone else. We’re a family outside the gym, inside the gym, in the classroom and in the weight room, when we’re doing yoga, when we’re hanging out. I feel like that’s a good advantage because we’re really playing for each other and not just playing for ourselves.”

Bradford, a freshman who hails from Chicago’s Beverly community, was sold on Dominican because he knew the program was on the rise.

Bradford said that when he visited Dominican as a recruit, he quickly realized after talking to the team’s players that the squad was a close-knit group.

“They said we might still be building, but we’re building something very special here,” he said. “I talked to other schools, and just the vibe I got from here was the best, and I just knew the team chemistry we had here, that if we all worked together as unit there’s nothing that can stop us.”

Bradford doesn’t see the court much, but he is patiently awaiting his opportunity to carry on the legacy of the program’s 12 seniors. He is for now simply enjoying soaking up the experience of playing for a team that is among the best in the nation.

“I’m really just trying to take it in, see how the older guys handle themselves in certain situations,” he said. “Just being on the bench, it’s so electric, every play I feel like we’re screaming something.”

The Regional News - The Reporter

Thursday, April 27, 2017 Section 2

3

Baker gets a jump (or several) on the weekend

L

Photo by Jeff Vorva

Brother Rice’s Jimmy Baker gets ready for an attack against Glenbard West on Saturday in the Smack Attack championship. Baker played volleyball and jumped for the track team over the weekend.

ast week, Jason Maholy wrote a front page story in the RegionalReporter on Brother Rice’s Jimmy Baker and how the senior is trying to play both volleyball and participate on the track and field team.

Now for a quick update.

Between Baker, track coach Tom Wazio and volleyball coach Dan Dwyer, they have all worked out a schedule that everyone can live with. Wazio said that if there is a big volleyball tournament on a weekend the track team has a meet, he agreed to let Baker play volleyball.

On Friday, there was the first round of a big volleyball tournament — the Smack Attack. It’s one of the best in Illinois. And a portion of it was played at Brother Rice. That night, the Crusaders track also hosted a pretty big track meet — the Rice Relays.

This time Dwyer agreed to allow Baker to miss the first match of the Smack Attack so that the kid could get some jumping in. Baker led his team with a 5-foot-8 high jump, was second with a 19-0.5 long jump and was second in the

No. 1-ranked team in the state with St. Laurence third. Things got shuffled around a bit after Rice went on the road and out of state and suffered some losses against powerhouse national teams in the USA Baseball National High School Tournament, falling to ninth in the rankings.

St. Laurence took over the No. 1 spot.

Heading into Saturday, CCL Blue teams had played a crossover game against each of seven CCL White teams, which counted in their league record, and the eight Blue teams combined for a 50-6-1 record.

Brother Rice (which went 21-0 in league play last year), Mt. Carmel and Loyola each posted 7-0 marks against White teams while St. Laurence, Providence and St. Rita were 6-1. St. Francis was 5-1-1 and Marmion 6-2.

Now it’s time to mix it up against each other for 14 games, and Saturday was just the beginning.

The St. Laurence triumph was the most surprising, as the No. 1 team in the state according to

Runners

Continued from Page 1 a runner, but he is no slouch when it comes to physical fitness, and he enjoys challenging himself. He stays in shape through a combination of running, swimming, spin classes, and stair climbing at Swallow Cliff Woods.

“My training (for the 10K) consists of running on a treadmill in my basement,’’ he said.

“But when the weather is nice enough to run outside, one of my favorite places to run is Swallow Cliff. I’m not a big treadmill fan.

St. Laurence

Continued from Page 1 Sexton is a Brother Rice graduate and Evergreen Park native who earned the Regional/Reporter Player of the Year honor in 1993 and 1994. He played college basketball at Creighton University and was a member of the first-ever NCAA tournament team at UIC. In high school, he was a three-time All-Catholic League player and earned AllState honors his senior year.

He is the 10th boys basketball coach in St. Laurence history. He served as assistant varsity coach and director of player development on the Vikings basketball staff for the past two seasons.

Sexton co-founded Beyond The Arc Academy, a basketball club in Evergreen Park that coaches and trains more than 250 boys and girls grade school basketball players.

“I’m privileged to have the opportunity to work with a great administration, group of coaches and, most importantly, group of student-athletes at St. Laurence,” said Sexton. “I truly appreciate the faith President Joe Martinez, Principal Jim Muting and Athletic Director Tim

Tweet of the week Second guessing coaches and managers is common in the Twitter world, but this rip job is unique.

Last week, a Tweeter wasn’t happy with a St. Xavier University baseball loss and wrote: “Poor coaching decision cost the cougs in a 5-4 loss game 1. Gotta go get em game 2 @gosxucougars.’’

The kicker? The man who wrote the tweet was SXU coach Rocco Mossuto.

He was ripping himself.

Ratings of the weak

The National Women’s Soccer League was thrilled with its TV deal with the Lifetime Network for a Game of the Week all season.

But the Awful Announcing website

Crusaders take 2nd to two-time defending state champs

By Jeff Vorva Sports Editor

Photo by Jeff Vorva

Continued from Page 1

triple jump with a 39-4. The Crusaders’ three jumping teams scored 26 points to help Brother Rice win the 10-team event with 79.5 points. St. Laurence was second with 73 followed by Marist with 60 and Evergreen Park with 55.5.

After track, he made it back to the gym and helped his team win a pool match over Cathedral from Indiana.

The next day, the third-seeded Crusaders played three matches and finished second.

“I had a personal best in the high jump and my long jump… I really didn’t do that well,” Baker said. “In the triple jump, I jumped and headed right to the volleyball match with about five minutes to spare. It was a lot of fun.’’

is reporting awful ratings for the first Game of the Week on April 15.

The Portland Thorns and Orlando Pride played in the debut game and an estimated 82,000 watched the match.

Interestingly, the pregame show drew 131,000 viewers. What could be more captivating about a pregame show than the match itself?

Nothing.

The theory is that the showing of a dusty old movie, “Two Weeks Notice,” starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock, may have helped. The 2002 movie drew 237,000 viewers and some continued to watch the pregame show for a while before they realized Grant and Bullock were not coming back on the screen.

Even worse news for the league: The Game of the Week picked up fewer viewers than the 118,000 folks who watched Skip Bayless on ‘The Undisputed” the day before on FS1, and Bayless has been a laughingstock in the ratings game since bolting ESPN.

BROTHER RICE SMACK ATTACK

St. Laurence sophomore pitcher Marius Balandas bears down in his victory over Mt. Carmel on Saturday.

CCL

JEFF VORVA Making the Extra Point

His Friday fun sure beat last year at this time. In an opening-round Smack Attack battle with Payton High School at Brother Rice, he injured his left knee and ankle.

“I can’t believe it’s been a year,” he said.

PBR dominated against the No. 4 Caravan. The Vikings scored nine in the first with the big blow coming via Zach Verta’s grand slam over the right-center fence. Matt McCormick drove in a pair of runs while Tim Molloy, Tommy Farrell and John Peterson also brought runs home in the first.

That gave sophomore pitcher Marius Balandis a lot of breathing room, and he responded by allowing a run on three hits with seven strikeouts to improve to 5-0. The Vikings’ pitching depth is even more dangerous this season with his presence.

Ryan Kutt had three doubles and four RBI and was the winning pitcher as Brother Rice whipped Loyola. Pat Mayo added three hits and drove in three runs to give the Crusaders their 10th straight win.

St. Rita’s Steve Washilweski shut out Providence in New Lenox.

There are plenty of huge games coming up in this league but it appears the two-game series between Brother Rice and St. Laurence on May 10 (in Chicago) and May 11 (in Burbank) could be the main event.

I don’t like it, but I do it because it keeps you in shape.”

He also has participated in a Hustle Up the Hancock, an annual event in which participants attempt to climb to the 52nd or 94th floors of the John Hancock Center. If he does well in the Southwest 10K, he might consider taking on a greater challenge.

“I’ve always been impressed by people who compete in marathons,” he said. “It would be nice to be able to run a marathon, I’m just a long way off from there.

But I would definitely, if the 10K goes well, be interested in doing a half marathon.”

Chandler have in me to continue to move St. Laurence basketball into prominence, not only in the Catholic League but in the state of Illinois. I would also like to thank coach Maley for putting the program in a positive place in which we can continue to build.”

“Viking Basketball has come a long way in recent seasons, and we are excited for coach Sexton to take us to the next level,” said Chandler. “With coach Sexton, we will be able to provide continuity with the program that will allow us to have a seamless transition. We thank coach Maley for putting the team on the right track the past three seasons and wish him the best in the future.”

Current fifth- through seventhgrade boys can meet Sexton at a free basketball clinic from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Students can sign up at www.stlaurence. com/clinics. For any questions about the clinic, contact Director of Admissions Joe Spano at jspano@stlaurence.com.

Maley is the second area boys coach to resign since the end of the season. Earlier, longtime Stagg coach John Daniels left to spend more time with his family, and his position has not been filled yet.

Glenbard West had one of the best seasons in Illinois boys volleyball history in 2016 when it finished 42-0 and did not lose a single set.

The Hilltoppers, the two-time defending Illinois High School Association state champs, will not have that dominant of a season in 2017 as they dropped a three-set war to Lake Park on April 8.

But don’t expect them to be an easy target. They had a dominant run in the Brother Rice-hosted Smack Attack Tournament, which included a 25-16, 25-14 victory over the Crusaders for the championship at the Shannon Center on the campus of St. Xavier University on Saturday.

The score was tied 12-12 in the first set before West (16-1 after the tournament) took over the match.

Brother Rice (18-5 heading into this week) was seeded third in the 24team tournament and reached the title match by knocking off second-seeded Glenbrook North. But the Crusaders ran into a wall in the title battle.

“This was the first time the offense didn’t show up,” said senior Jimmy Baker. “Everything else was good. We will have to figure out a way for our offense to score against teams that have better blocking.

But it was awesome to get into the championship.’’

Kyle Springer led the Crusaders with seven kills in the title match while Lewis University-bound middle hitter Joe Kenzinger added five.

Tom Kleist had eight digs.

Marist finished seventh, but senior Jack Berglind suffered a right knee injury in the middle of the first set in a 25-22, 25-21 win over Lincoln-Way West in the seventh-place match and did not return.

Photos by Jeff Vorva

Ryan Banky of Brother Rice gets off a kill attempt against Glenbard West on Saturday.

Marist senior Jack Berglind (33) sat out most the RedHawks’ seventh-place win over Lincoln-Way West after suffering a knee injury in the first set.

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Section 2 Thursday, April 27, 2017

The Regional News - The Reporter

Images from Stagg vs. Sandburg times three

By Jeff Vorva Sports Editor

Any time rivals Stagg and Sandburg play in any sport, there is heightened excitement.

On this day, it was heightened excitement

times three.

Stagg visited Sandburg on April 18 in boys tennis, baseball and softball.

Sandburg swept all three games/matches, but it wasn’t always easy.

The Eagles won the tennis match 4-3 with

Stagg’s Trevor Bumsted slides safely into second in the Chargers’ 9-8 loss at Sandburg on April 18.

Branden Comia gets a good swing off early against Stagg. He got a better swing off against the Chargers in the seventh when he hit a two-run homer to help give his team a 9-8 victory over the District 230 rival.

strong doubles performances leading the way.

On the baseball diamond, the wind was blowing out and the ball was flying. Branden Comia hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Eagles a 9-8 victory in the first game in the SouthWest Suburban Blue season debut for

both teams.

In softball, there was a little more breathing room for the Eagles as they beat the Chargers 103.

Here are a few photos from the Stagg/Sandburg trifecta:

Stagg’s Michael Kaunas (left) congratulates Mike Tobin after Tobin cracked a home run against Sandburg in Orland Park.

Ryan Hampe of Sandburg picks up a foul ball against Stagg.

Two for two: Sandburg softball catcher Kaitlin Rusin signals to her teammates in a win over Stagg.

Sam Coffel of Sandburg gets ready for a pitch against Stagg on April 20. She had eight home runs in the Eagles’ first 17 games.

Sandburg’s Zach Marshall serves against Stagg on April 18.

Domas Dargis (left) and Bryan Jaski, Stagg’s No. 1 doubles team, change the score against Sandburg.

Photos by Jeff Vorva

Stagg junior Abby Minervini unloads with a pitch against Sandburg in Orland Park.

Sandburg’s Mostafa Reheem’s return barely clears the net against Stagg.

The Regional News - The Reporter

448-6161

For Sale IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION

For Sale

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON FKA THE WATERFALL OLYMPIC MASTER FUND GRANTBANK OF NEW YORK, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE OR TRUST, SERIES II S/I/I BYLINE BANK F/K/A CERTIFICATEHOLDERS OF THE CWABS, INC., NORTH COMMUNITY BANK SUCCESSOR ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES

BY MERGER WITH METROBANK SUCCES- 2007-8 SOR BY MERGER WITH METROPOLITAN Plaintiff, BANK AND TRUST COMPANY -v.

JOHN KAIM A/K/A JOHN A. KAIM, FIRSTSECURE Plaintiff, BANK AND TRUST CO., TRUST #1-138 DTD

3/26/96, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RE-v.- CORD CLAIMANTS, UNKNOWN BENEFICIALAURMEG SERVICES, L.L.C., JOSEPH P. RIES OF FIRSTSECURE BANK AND TRUST CO., DAVID, MARTIN VARASANEC, LOUIS MICELI, TRUST #1-138 DTD 3/26/96 VILLAGE OF OAK LAWN, VILLAGE OF JUSDefendants TICE, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD 14 CH 13588 CLAIMANTS 10749 SOUTH CHRISTA COURT PALOS HILLS,

IL Defendants 60465

NOTICE OF SALE 12 CH 38743 PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant 10114-16 S. PULASKI ROAD to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in Oak Lawn, IL 60453 the above cause on January 10, 2017, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on NOTICE OF SALE – COUNT I May 30, 2017, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive - 24th Floor, CHICAGO, PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale bidder, as set forth below, the following described entered in the above cause on April 11, 2017, an real estate: agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at Commonly known as 10749 SOUTH CHRISTA 10:30 AM on May 17, 2017, at The Judicial Sales COURT, PALOS HILLS, IL 60465 Corporation, One South Wacker Drive - 24th Floor, Property Index No. 23-14-400-076-0000.

CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the The real estate is improved with a white, brick, highest bidder, as set forth below, the following single family, two car attached garage. described real estate: Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Commonly known as 10114-16 S. PULASKI Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks ROAD, Oak Lawn, IL 60453 will be accepted. The balance in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours.

Property Index No. 24-10-413-050-0000.

No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid The real estate is improved with a multi-family at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, residence. or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by cerarose prior to the sale. The subject property is tified funds at the close of the sale payable to The subject to general real estate taxes, special asJudicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks sessments, or special taxes levied against said real will be accepted. The balance in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the recourse to Plaintiff and in \�AS IS\� condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate to general real estate taxes, special assessments, after confirmation of the sale. or special taxes levied against said real estate and The property will NOT be open for inspection is offered for sale without any representation as to and plaintiff makes no representation as to the quality or quantity of title and without recourse to condition of the property. Prospective bidders Plaintiff and in “AS IS� condition. The sale is further are admonished to check the court file to verify subject to confirmation by the court. all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchasUpon payment in full of the amount bid, the er of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate legal fees required by The Condominium Property after confirmation of the sale.

Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common The property will NOT be open for inspection and interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay of the property. Prospective bidders are admonthe assessments required by The Condominium ished to check the court file to verify all information. Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5 (g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNIf this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser ER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortPOSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF gagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE fees required by The Condominium Property Act, WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. is a condominium unit which is part of a common You will need a photo identification issued by a govinterest community, the purchaser of the unit at the ernment agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay order to gain entry into our building and the forethe assessments required by The Condominium closure sale room in Cook County and the same Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEforeclosure sales.

OWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN For information: Visit our website at service.atPOSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF ty-pierce.com. between the hours of 3 and 5 pm.

AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS McCalla Raymer Pierce, LLC, Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street Suite 1300, CHICAGO, MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. IL 60602. Tel No. (312) 476-5500. Please refer to file number 8564.

You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. foreclosure sales.

I720010 For information, contact Plaintiff’s attorney: LATIMER LEVAY FYOCK, LLC, 55 W MONROE SUITE 1100, Chicago, IL 60603, (312) 422-8000 Please refer to file number 96000-74.

For Sale IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE FOR ARGENT SECURITIES INC., ASSET BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2005-W4 Plaintiff, -v.NANCY DIAZ, PONCIANO ALVARADO, ARGENT MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLC, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 15 CH 05896 9135 S. 87TH AVE Hickory Hills, IL 60457 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on June 21, 2016, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on May 25, 2017, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive - 24th Floor, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 9135 S. 87TH AVE, Hickory Hills, IL 60457 Property Index No. 23-02-312-004-0000.

The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

The judgment amount was $345,061.30.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, including the Judicial sale fee for Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated on residential real estate at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in \�AS IS\� condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5 (g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, contact Plaintiff’s attorney: POTESTIVO & ASSOCIATES, P.C., 223 WEST JACKSON BLVD, STE 610, Chicago, IL 60606, (312) 263-0003 Please refer to file number C1412785.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

I718841

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For Sale

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. Plaintiff, -v.INGA WIKAR A/K/A INGA GRIGAITE, TIMBERS IN PALOS CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, RICHARD WIKAR A/K/A RICHARD WICKAR Defendants 15 CH 09191 8245 POPLAR LANE APT D PALOS HILLS, IL 60465 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on November 29, 2016, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on May 30, 2017, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker Drive - 24th Floor, CHICAGO, IL, 60606, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 8245 POPLAR LANE APT D, PALOS HILLS, IL 60465 Property Index No. 23-23-200-021-1244.

The real estate is improved with a red brick, condo, attached one car garage.

Sale terms: 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. No fee shall be paid by the mortgagee acquiring the residential real estate pursuant to its credit bid at the sale or by any mortgagee, judgment creditor, or other lienor acquiring the residential real estate whose rights in and to the residential real estate arose prior to the sale. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in \�AS IS\� condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5 (g-1).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information: Visit our website at service.atty-pierce.com. between the hours of 3 and 5 pm.

McCalla Raymer Pierce, LLC, Plaintiff’s Attorneys, One North Dearborn Street Suite 1300, CHICAGO, IL 60602. Tel No. (312) 476-5500. Please refer to file number 12186.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

I720014

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. Plaintiff, vs.

VALERIE L. BENNECKE-SLACK; EDWARD F. SLACK; STATE OF ILLINOIS Defendants, 17 CH 25 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on Tuesday, May 30, 2017 at the hour of 11 a.m. in their office at 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 23-02-308-013-0000.

Commonly known as 8525 West 91st Street, Hickory Hills, IL 60457.

The mortgaged real estate is improved with a single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection (g-1) of Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: 10% down by certified funds, balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours. No refunds. The property will NOT be open for inspection For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff’s Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 220-5611.

16-034428 F2 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION Selling Officer, (312) 444-1122 I720252

LATIMER LEVAY FYOCK, LLC 55 W MONROE SUITE 1100 Chicago, IL 60603 (312) 422-8000 E-Mail: Judicialsales@llflegal.com Attorney File No. 96000-74 Attorney Code. 06204378 Case Number: 12 CH 38743 TJSC#: 37-3484

See what grows when you advertise in‌

All Real Estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination.� Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis.

To complain of discrimination call HUD toll-free at 1 (800) 669-9777. The toll-free telephone number for the hearing impaired is: 1 (800) 927-9275.

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PUBLISHER’S NOTICE

34

708.448.6100

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

5

Thursday, April 27, 2017 Section 2

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Section 2 Thursday, April 27, 2017

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Your Guide to Arts and Events in the Southwest Suburbs and Beyond

OUT & ABOUT

The Regional News • The Reporter

Thursday, April 27, 2017

O&A MOVIE REVIEW

Love interest is incomplete but ‘The Promise’ delivers on war story In every ounce of schooling I’ve received on World War I, I never once learned of the Armenian genocide at the hands of Turkish forces in the final days of the Ottoman Empire. And while “The Promise” isn’t a documentary on the subject, it is an engaging story that evokes sadness for those lost and serves as a stark reminder of the cost of fascism and the challenges that face refugees.

The Promise, as a piece of filmmaking, has a reach that exceeds its grasp. At its highest aspirations, director Terry George pushes for the epic heights of historical dramas like “Titanic” (1997, directed

by James Cameron), “The English Patient” (1996, directed by Anthony Minghella) and “Schindler’s List” (1993, directed by Steven Spielberg).

The fact that it falls short of these movies should not be a blemish on its record. Rather, I found this high-aiming spirit refreshing. Many films released at this point in the year aim to simply make money or further a franchise. How nice it is to see a picture with the goal of making an impression.

While the film’s war backdrop is a major factor in the narrative, the inciting thrust of the picture — at least in its first act — hinges upon a love triangle (or really, a love square) between an Armenian medical student studying in Constantinople, Mikael (Oscar Isaac); a French/Armenian teacher and artist, Ana (Charlotte Le Bon); and an American journalist covering the region’s changing political climate as war looms, Chris (Christian Bale).

Ana and Chris are not only partners in romance, but business. He provides the stories, and she draws illustrations when he can’t provide photos. However, Mikael finds himself drawn to Ana despite having made a promise to marry a girl in his small hometown upon graduating from medical school.

Just as their passions are about to intersect, war breaks and the genocide of countless Armenians fol-

WOLFGANG PUCK’S KITCHEN

BRIAN LAUGHRAN low. Our heroes drift in different directions, falling in and out of contact with one another.

The film’s love story never feels balanced. Bale is convincing as a jealous, overprotective type when it comes to his relationship with Ana. But, Isaac’s Mikael is never really given an opportunity to fall for Ana; it just happens.

Perhaps the screenwriters (Robin Swicord and director George) were assuming the audience would buy it because Isaac and Le Bon are both beautiful people with charm, and — in the movies — beautiful people with charm are meant to be together.

But, it’s a film of halves; luckily, I found the war half exceptionally engaging, despite other problems.

The film moves at a slow pace, but at times still seems truncated. Certain supporting characters are introduced and then dismissed. Some scenes begin only to end abruptly, leaving me to wonder if there is a longer cut of the film somewhere that is more even.

Still, I found director George’s visual style appealing and admirable; the performances are in fine order; and the war/refugee elements are compelling and insightful.

RATING: B Brian Laughran’s movie reviews appear the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.

BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS The Center sets event slate

The Center, 12700 Southwest Highway, Palos Park, is offering several events in the days ahead. Many classes will be held outdoors, or in The Log Cabin Center for the Arts, part of The Center. For more information, or to register for a program, call (708) 361-3650.

• “Sheep to Shawl” is scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. Sunday April 30. Sheep shearing is an antique practice that has evolved greatly over the years.

At this year’s annual event, the focus will be on demonstrating its many different forms. In addition to the shearing, guests can visit all of the Children’s Farm animals. Children will be able to make a “sheep to shawl” craft, and the Emerald Society Bagpipes & Drums will perform. Admission is $7 per person. Shearing begins at 1:30 p.m.

• “Folkarts” runs on four Monday afternoons, beginning May 1 from 1 to 3 p.m. Instructor Lois Lauer will lead four workshops in which students will create garden-themed decorative crafts. Planned projects include making fairy herb gardens, garden stepping stones, herb and flower-printed stationery, individual plant presses and more. No experience or previous skills are needed. Lauer invites those who wish to come at 11 a.m. on Monday mornings before class to bring a sack lunch and join her in gathering willow branches, garden herbs, flowers and forest twigs for the class. Class fee is $68, plus a $16 materials fee.

• “Don Wiberg: Magic with a Laugh!” is set for noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday May 2. The show will mix magic and comedy.

• A stained-glass class will run on six Thursdays, beginning May 4, from 1 to 3 p.m. Instructor Harry Meneghini will help participants create stained-glass pieces by learning the principles of glass design and color and the techniques of cutting and soldering, using both lead and copper foil to join the pieces of glass. Starting with simple projects, students will design their own windows, pictures and lamps. Class fee is $100. A list of glass and supplies which will need to be purchased will be distributed the first day of class, or may be obtained at The Center office, but students are asked to wait until after the first class to make any purchases.

Southwest • Section 2, Page 7

Supplied photo

A student solders her work in a recent stained glass class.

free food samples from Corner Bakery.

• “Exotic & Unusual Pets with the University of Illinois Extension” will run from 4 to 5 p.m.

Tuesday, May 2. Students will discover the lives of exotic and unusual spiders and insects in our world.

• “Around the World: Handmade Artisan Gifts with Ten Thousand Villages” is scheduled for 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 2. Students will taste fair-trade chocolate and get to try on jewelry and clothing that was made by fair-trade workers from all around the world.

• “Project Serve: Garden Apron with Priscilla” will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 3. Students will make a garden apron for themselves and make one to sell at The Bridge Thrift Store.

• “Culinary: Guess Your Spices with Joliet Junior College” is set for 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 3. Students will learn about spices from all around the world.

• A songwriting session will be held from 4:30 to Bridge Teen Center provides free events The Bridge Teen Center, 15555 S. 71st Ct., Or- 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 4. Students will discover land Park, is offering several free events for teens the art behind crafting words and making music in seventh through 12th grade during the upcoming with a musical artist.

• A Cinco de Mayo celebration is set for 7:30 week. For more information, call (708) 532-0500.

• “Art Studio Night and Chalk Murals” is set to 10:30 p.m. Friday, May 5. There will be music, for 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, April 28. Students games and a live performance by The Magnifiers. are invited to come to a night of creativity. There Free food samples will be provided by Culver’s will also be live music by Signal vs. Sound and of Orland Park.

Dreamstime.com

These crispy cylinders feature lots of fresh seasonal vegetables.

Celebrate spring with fresh ingredients

By Wolfgang Puck All along the streets near my Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills, colorful banners have been announcing local observances for Earth Day. Officially celebrated on April 22, the event began on college campuses across the nation back in 1970 and aims to make all of us more aware of the importance of keeping our planet healthy, clean and safe.

For me, the ideal place to celebrate Earth Day is at my local farmers’ market. Where else can you see the beautiful ingredients that result from organic, sustainable farming, and taste how good they can be? That is especially true in springtime, as the earth renews itself after winter and begins to give us so many delicious, colorful, healthful vegetables.

How do you observe the holiday in your own kitchen? Just about any recipe featuring the bounty of the earth would make a good choice, including salads, vegetable soups, stir-fries, pasta dishes tossed with julienned vegetables, and on and on. But I thought it would be especially fun to mark this Earth Day with a recipe that literally has the season in its name. It’s one of the Chinese cuisine’s most popular appetizers: spring rolls.

These crispy cylinders get their name for a pair of related reasons.

Whether their filling includes some form of meat or is completely vegetarian, they typically feature lots of fresh vegetables, all rolled up inside a thin noodle wrapper. For that reason, they are traditionally served as a special treat during the Chinese Spring Festival, the 15-day-long observance of the Chinese New Year as winter gives way to spring.

So I hope you’ll find the following recipe for vegetarian spring rolls a perfect treat to honor Earth Day. They’re ideal to prepare on a weekend, when you have a little extra time, and you’ll find them surprisingly easy to make if you keep a few simple things in mind.

First, streamline shopping by heading either to a well-stocked supermarket with a good Asian foods section or to a nearby Chinese market. That’s where you’ll be sure to locate the few special — but not really hard to find — ingredients like glass noodles, mushroom soy sauce, pickled ginger, and packaged spring roll wrappers.

Next, be sure to carefully follow the instructions for stir-frying each julienned vegetable individually, ensuring that they’re all tendercrisp; and then to drain the vegetable mixture well, so your fill-

ing and wrapper won’t be soggy.

Finally, fry the rolls cautiously, taking care first to make sure the oil is the proper temperature and then to avoid overcrowding the oil, which can drop the frying temperature.

It’s that easy. And you’ll wind up with a perfect treat for your own at-home Earth Day party!

chopped To form the spring rolls: • Spring roll wrappers • 1 large egg beaten together with 1 tablespoon each water and cornstarch, to make an egg wash • Peanut oil, for deep-frying

For the vegetable filling: • 1 large onion, trimmed • 1 medium carrot, trimmed and peeled • 1/4 pound (125 g) fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed • 1 large red bell pepper, halved, stemmed, and seeded • 1 large yellow bell pepper, halved, stemmed and seeded • 1 small green cabbage, cored • Peanut oil, for stir-frying • Kosher salt • Freshly ground black pepper • 1/4 pound (125 g) glass noodles, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes, then drained and chopped into smaller strands • 1/4 cup (60 mL) mushroom soy sauce • 2 tablespoons chile paste • 1 tablespoon sesame oil • 1 bunch cilantro leaves,

First, prepare the hot Chinese mustard sauce. In a bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients except the oils. Stir well with a whisk.

While stirring briskly, drizzle in each oil until emulsified. Cover and refrigerate.

Next, prepare the aromatic mixture. In a processor with the stainless-steel blade, combine the ginger, garlic, green onions and pepper flakes. With the machine running, slowly pour in the oil; continue processing until pureed.

In a saute pan or wok, cook over medium-high heat until aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

For the vegetable filling, cut each vegetable into thin julienne strips. Heat a little peanut oil in a wok over high heat. One at a time, stir-fry each vegetable until brightly color and tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes; then, season lightly with salt and pepper and transfer to a large bowl, adding each new vegetable as done. Drain excess liquid from the vegetables. Stir in the noodles, mushroom soy sauce, chile paste, sesame oil and cilantro.

Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

When the vegetables have cooled, stir in the aromatic mixture. As soon as you are ready to form spring rolls, use clean hands to squeeze out all excess liquid.

To form the spring rolls, place a wrapper on a clean work surface and brush its edges evenly with egg wash. Place about 1/2 cup (125 mL) of filling near one edge.

Fold in both sides over the filling and roll up the filling inside, gently pressing down and sealing the wrapper’s final edge. Repeat until all filling has been used.

Fill a deep fryer with the peanut oil; or pour into a deep pot to a depth sufficient to submerge the rolls. Heat the oil to 350 F (175 C). Deep-fry the rolls in batches, taking care not to overcrowd, until deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

With the deep-fryer basket or a wire skimmer, transfer to paper towels to drain.

With a sharp knife, carefully cut each roll in half. Drizzle with hot Chinese mustard sauce, or pass it alongside for dipping. Serve immediately.

21): Self-discipline can be a lifesaver. If you practice your craft and color within the lines you may end up becoming an expert.

Develop a better understanding with loved ones and friends as this week unfolds.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t judge the book by its cover. The person who seems overly concerned with manners and conventions might be very nice once you delve past the surface. This week you can widen your circle of contacts.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Expect the best and you can

rest. An opportunity may arrive in the week ahead, giving you an acceptable way to escape from a costly situation. Check the answering service and email so you don’t miss a crucial message.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): There is enough sympathy to go around. Nurture your relationships in the week to come. If you are contented with what you have your joint resources will thrive.

Don’t be discouraged by criticism or negativity.

VEGETARIAN SPRING ROLLS Makes 20 to 24 For the hot Chinese mustard sauce: • 4 tablespoons Chinese dry mustard • 2 tablespoons water • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar • 4 tablespoons pickled ginger liquid • 1 lemon, juiced • Pinch turmeric • 1 tablespoon sugar • 1 large pasteurized egg yolk • 1 tablespoon chile oil • 1 tablespoon sesame oil • 1 cup (250 mL) peanut oil Aromatics: • 2-inch (5-cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled • 3 large cloves garlic • 2 green onions • Pinch red pepper flakes • 1/2 cup (125 mL) peanut oil • Pinch salt • Pinch black pepper • Pinch sugar

OMARR’S WEEKLY ASTROLOGICAL FORECAST

By Jeraldine Saunders ARIES (March 21-April 19): Caution keeps you out of harm’s way. The wolf might knock on your door but you don’t have to answer. You can make headway with career, financial concerns and business this week without neglecting family needs.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Put out your feelers. You are like a spider with a web to spin. Creative ability requires the energy to begin something plus the inspiration to choose what to create. Let your

ambitions guide you in the week ahead.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In the week ahead you may learn a lesson about clinging to the past.

You may find that your way is barred if you stubbornly refuse to cooperate or hold a grudge. Give a certain someone the benefit of the doubt.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Be inspired by a special someone and adapt to a changing environment. You may be tempted to keep new contacts at arm’s length, but in the week ahead should participate in group activities to widen your

knowledge.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Carve your own niche. Warmth and charm aren’t your only admirable traits. This isn’t a good week to make a major change but it can be a good time to consolidate your ideas and to place emphasis on developing friendships.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You have the choice. You can be generous and understanding or expect everyone to toe the line.

In the week ahead you might be wise to focus on understanding why people do what they do rather than if they do it.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Plan ahead for the future since that’s where you will spend the rest of your life. Your judgment is better than usual this week so this is a good time to meet important new people through your job or to launch crucial projects.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You cannot change the cards you are dealt, just how you play the hand. You may be more interested in money saving ideas and career success than hugs and kisses in the week ahead. Do not take on new debts.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.

8 Section 2

Thursday, April 27, 2017

The Regional News • The Reporter

New guidelines might help prevent peanut allergies

By Jessica Perkins Parents have grown increasingly leery of foods that contain peanut- based ingredients.

Concerns are valid, though, as a growing number of U.S. children deal with peanut allergies each day. To raise awareness, people like Dr. Neil Gershman, who is board-certified in allergy and immunology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, work to educate the public and pediatricians on the importance of peanut-allergy prevention.

“For school age children, peanut allergy is by far the most common among all foods, affecting about two percent of the population,” Gershman says. “Reactions can be as mild as itching and swelling of the face and mouth, but they can progress to diffuse hives and swelling of the tongue and throat, as well as asthma-like symptoms of wheezing and coughing.”

Severe cases can even result in shock or death.

According to Gershman, infants with a high risk of developing a peanut allergy include those with

eczema or other known food allergies, such as milk and eggs.

Until recently, pediatricians often recommended that parents introduce peanut-based products into their children’s diets at the age of two. However, new research shows that exposure to peanuts during infancy might serve as a more effective preventative method.

Earlier this year, the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases sponsored a panel that released new guidelines for the prevention of peanut allergies. The guidelines are based on findings taken from the Learning Early About Allergy Prevention (LEAP) study conducted by the Immune Tolerant Network.

“The LEAP study clearly showed that introduction of peanut early in life significantly lowered the risk of developing peanut allergy by age 5,” says Dr. Daniel Rotrosen, director of the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation at NIAID. The NIAID’s guidelines include three core directives aimed at reducing the risk of peanut allergies.

The first encourages infants with severe eczema, egg allergy or both be introduced to age-appropriate peanut-containing foods as early as four to six months of age.

The second guideline suggests that infants with mild to moderate eczema be introduced to ageappropriate peanut-containing foods around six months. The third guideline suggests infants without eczema or any food allergy have age-appropriate peanut-containing foods introduced freely in the diet, together with other solid foods.

“It is kind of counter-intuitive, but that is how the immune system works,” Gershman says. “Early infant exposure to certain foods does lead to a less chance of food allergies.”

Some suggestions for making the introduction of peanuts into an infant’s diet include adding peanut protein powder to baby foods or dissolving snacks that are made with peanuts.

Before implementing the new NIAID guidelines, Gershman advises parents to talk to a pediatrician.

“There are some complicating factors, in that it is possible

that a child could be allergic to a food without the parent knowing,” Gershman says. “I recommend parents, especially of those children who are at high risk for food allergies, do some type of allergy testing prior to the introduction of the peanuts.”

Learn more about peanut allergies For a complete breakdown of the new NIAID guidelines, search “Addendum Summary for Clinicians and Caregivers” at niaid.nih.gov.

Smith Senior Living opens new wellness centers with state-of-the-art fitness equipment for older adults Submitted by Smith Senior Living Smith Village, a life plan community at 2320 W. 113th Place in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, recently opened its new Wellness Center as construction contractors put finishing touches on a 3,350-foot square space just to the north of first floor elevators in its independent living wing.

Amid colorful balloons signaling the official opening day, residents and staff toured the center which includes: a workout room featuring Hur equipment with air pressure technology specially designed to be gentle on the joints of older adults; an expansive carpeted area with plenty of natural light, mirrors and a balance bar for fitness classes; a salon and spa. The salon and spa feature four styling stations, a manicure and pedicure station, and reception area.

“This new center represents a fresh attitude toward health and wellness,” said Karinna Wesley, who joined Smith Village in February of 2017 as wellness coordinator. “Wellness and fitness are not just for kids and younger people.

They’re for everyone. Wellness includes not just exercise but attitude, emotional health, self-esteem and diet.”

Wesley and Smith Village staff aim to make the Wellness Center a go-to destination for residents in all lifestyle settings—independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing care—to sustain or improve their health. Along with helping residents maintain regular exercise routines and enhance personal grooming, the center ensures residents maintain recent strides made with physical therapy, Wesley said. “We want all our residents going strong, especially those who have recently recovered from a medical situation.”

Wesley is planning regular healthy snack tasting sessions, along with an array of classes from brain fitness to chair aerobics. “The idea is to get everyone excited about wellness as a way of life,” she said. She’s also coaching Smith Village residents as they prepare for beanbag competitions against local high school students and residents of their sister community, Smith Crossing in Orland Park.

Smith Crossing also has switched over to Hur air-pressure technology, said Kevin McGee, president and CEO of Smith Senior Living, not-for-profit sponsor of Smith Village and Smith Crossing. “By making these improvements, Smith Senior Living is better supporting the health of our residents and preparing for a new generation of older adults— Baby Boomers, who come with high expectations for maintaining active, vibrant lifestyles.”

“We’re confident our residents will enjoy these new amenities,” said Marti Jatis, executive director of Smith Village. “Our approach to wellness is to nourish the mind, body and spirit. Beyond our wellness center, residents can

enjoy healthy meals prepared by an executive chef. They can also access a staff dietitian and onsite physical therapy.”

On the fourth floor of Smith Village’s independent living wing, residents anticipate completion of 1,500-square-foot movie theater with seating for 22, and an 80inch screen with a surround-sound audio system for viewing movies, DVDs, television programs and various streaming services. Smith Crossing residents already have an onsite movie theater with similar accommodations.

About Smith Senior Living

Smith Senior Living, a not-forprofit organization serving older adults, sponsors Smith Village in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood and Smith Crossing in Orland Park, Ill. These are the only life plan communities located in the Southwest sector of metropolitan Chicago. An innovative leader providing the finest services and care for seniors, Smith established its first community in 1924, on the same city block where Smith Village stands today.

Both LPCs provide spacious

Photo by Smith Village

Smith Village Wellness Center coordinator Karinna Wesley stands amid Hur air-pressure fitness technology designed for older adults.

independent living residences, and apartments for assisted living, as well as memory support and skilled nursing care. In addition, they offer short-term rehab programs for residents and others who have had surgery or a medical incident.

For more information about how Smith Senior Living can help seniors enjoy their retirement, contact Smith Crossing at 708-326-2308 or SmithCrossing. org, and Smith Village at 773-4747303 or SmithVillage.org.

5009 CalSag Rd. (Route 83) Crestwood • 708.385.1919 Crestwood.IL.LaVidaMassage.com