Replica Grenade Found on Bus Forces Sandburg Evacuation

Police on the scene late Friday afternoon determined that the replica found by a student was inert and not a threat.

Updated at 4:45 p.m., 5:15 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. Friday A replica grenade found on a bus in the Carl Sandburg High School parking lot Friday afternoon was determined by authorities not to be a threat. A student discovered a replica grenade rolling on a bus floor and gave it to the bus driver, according to an official release by the Orland Park Police Department. Police were then called in around 3:11 p.m. Friday, and the building was immediately evacuated. READ: Students Tweet Through Sandburg Grenade Scare Orland Park police personnel were seen directing hundreds of students across LaGrange Road to the Southmoor Commons around 3:30 p.m. The bus area on the west side of the school was cordoned off, and with help from the Cook County Sheriff's…

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Nancy McWilliams

5:15 pm on Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Agreed. What has this world come to ? Zero common sense.   more ›

Naked Man Spotted in Massage Parlor Shower

The Village of Orland Park is investigating a massage parlor on Humphrey Drive after two people were cited on Feb. 25.

The Village of Orland Park is investigating a massage parlor after a naked man was found inside a shower room. Police cited a 47-year-old Tinley Park man for having exposed buttocks inside 7 Day Spa, 14406 John Humphrey Dr., according to a report. Police also cited a 26-year-old Alsip woman for not having her massage therapy license. An inspector saw a nude man with a woman in one of the business’ showers on Feb. 25, according to the report. One woman was seen running from the spa. The case is closed at the police level but the village’s Department of Development is investigating possible building code and license violations. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - There are plenty of ways to keep up on local news:

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Fatty Arbuckle's Champagne Bottle

8:24 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013

cant go wrong with a glory hole.   more ›

Crash, Car Fire Tie Up Traffic on 159th Street

Orland Park firefighters dealt with two unrelated incidents less than 30 minutes apart on 159th Street: The first was a car fire, followed by a two-vehicle accident with minor injuries.

Crews from the Orland Park Fire Protection District spent quite a bit of time on 159th Street late Saturday morning, taking care of a car fire and an unrelated, two-vehicle crash that slowed down traffic for about a half hour, a fire official said. Crews were initally called at 11:13 a.m. to take care of a small fire in the engine compartment of a vehicle in the median of the 7800 block of 159th Street, said Battalion Chief William Bonnar. In fact, one of the responding units was a block away at a community event at Home Depot when a witness informed the crew about the fire, Bonnar said. No one was injured from the fire, but traffic needed to be diverted so firefighters could extinguish the blaze, Bonnar said. Less than 30 minutes later, …

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Police: Woman Murdered Before Husband Committed Suicide

The deaths of two people found in an Orland Park home Tuesday morning has been ruled a murder suicide, following the Cook County Medical Examiner’s autopsy.

Authorities have declared the deaths of a man and woman, who were in the process of a divorce, to be a murder suicide. Angelo Lolis, 55, and Karen Lolis, 48, both of Orland Park, were found dead in a garage of a house in the 17100 block of Highwood Drive Tuesday morning. The Cook County Medical Examiner ruled that Karen Lolis was killed from an assault that resulted in a neck injury, and that Angelo Lolis committed suicide by shooting himself in chest, according to a release from the Orland Park Police Department. The two were in the middle of divorce proceedings, during which Angelo Lolis was living with his parents in Hickory Hills. Police were called about a suicide note found at Angelo Lolis’ parents’ home around 10:10 a.m. Tuesday, …

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Video: Watch the 'Ghost Rider' Roll Through Orland

Justin Jachimiec, the 22 year old who recorded his motorbike antics for YouTube, is accused of recklessly speeding and eluding cops. You tell us: dumb, really dumb or are people overreacting?

“Watch this,” a man’s voice says over the purr of a motorcycle engine.  Within the first minute of a video on YouTube posted on Nov. 23, 2011, by “wheelerdrivebandit,” the motorcyclist speeds by a cop, popping his front wheel up into the air as he zips by. He rounds back and speeds by while the squad car’s emergency lights are flashing. He calls himself the "Orland Ghost Rider." Cops call him 22-year-old Justin Jachimiec. We've posted his videos here. When police searched his home, they found a helmet, helmet camera and a stolen motorcycle. He is charged with with felony possession of a stolen vehicle, driving with a suspended license, two counts of felony fleeing and eluding police and other traffic offenses. Patch caught up with …

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Editor's View

Talk About Heroin Now, Avoid an Epidemic Later

There are two ways we can handle news and reports of rising heroin use in this area: a panicked reaction or an effective head-on facing of facts.

The earliest piece of advice I can think of about anything involves recognizing a problem before it becomes a full bore catastrophe. Have the mechanic look at the car when you hear weird sounds, not when you’re broken down on the road. Seems simple, but we can be easily swayed. Maybe the initial problem is a little scary. Perhaps the solution appears even more daunting than the problem. Best to wait a little while. Maybe later there’ll be a better way to face this. Right? Wrong. This needs attention now. Consolidated High School District 230 decided that two New Year’s deaths of former students, one that may have involved heroin, was reason enough to put out a district-wide call to parents. Sources have also said a former Carl Sandburg …

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Early Psychological Testing Says Drifter Fit for Sexual Assault Trial

Dennis Dodson, a homeless man, remains in Cook County jail. He's accused of attacking an elderly Orland Park woman who tried to help him find shelter.

Initial tests suggest that Dennis Dodson—a drifter accused of sexually molesting an 83-year-old woman—is mentally fit for trial, according to public defender Camille Bachli. Dodson, 35, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault and assault last fall after he allegedly attacked a Good Samaritan behind the Orland Park Home Depot, where Dodson had been living and had previously threatened an employee. Dodson, whose rap sheet includes at least 60 arrests in 15 states, remained in jail Tuesday on $1.5 million bail. He also has a history of mental health issues and takes psychotropic medication, Bachli said in September when she asked the court to order mental evaluations. While the defense awaits additional reports from its …

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Organized Retail Theft Sting Nabs 59 People

Two arrestees were caught at Orland Square Mall with over $500 of merchandise.

Law enforcement got a pre-holiday jump on 59 people suspected of retail theft during a month-long undercover operation targeted at organized theft rings. Named Operation Whoville, the sting focused on suburban shopping malls and a handful of boutiques off Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The month-long effort was coordinated by a task force including seven federal, state and municipal law enforcement, including the Orland Park Police Department, as well as 16 retailers, according to a release from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. The purpose was to cut links in a chain starting with stolen merchandise that is then resold, or fenced, without any taxes taken, leading to a sizable profit for the theft operation, and higher costs on goods…

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Drifter to Plead Next Week in Rape Case

Delays in the state's attorney's paperwork pushed arraignment back one week.

The arraignment of Dennis Dodson, a drifter who has been accused of violently molesting an 83-year-old Good Samaritan in Orland Park, was delayed this week after prosecutors failed to file paperwork on time. Dodson, 34, whose rap sheet includes 60 arrests in 15 states, has been charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony. He is also accused of threatening a man behind the Orland Park Home Depot days before the alleged rape and is being held on a $1.5 million bail. Orland Park detectives have since recovered the 83-year-old woman’s eyeglasses from the crime scene and will return them because they’re not needed as evidence, prosecutors said in court Wednesday. Dodson’s next hearing has been set for Thursday, Nov. 17.

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'White Suburban Kid' Who Didn't 'Deserve' to be Arrested Gets Arrested Again

Orland Park man crashes his car and is charged with DUI and violation of supervision stemming from a resisting arrest incident in Tinley Park last spring.

An Orland Park man who pleaded guilty to resisting arrest last spring sideswiped a telephone pole while driving with a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, according to prosecutors. In court this morning, prosecutors said Robert C. McAlister, 21, of the 14400 block of Wooded Path Lane, was driving on the wrong side of the road when he crashed his car Tuesday around 1 a.m. His bail was set at $40,000. By telephone, Orland Park Police Cmdr. John Keating noted that the crash occurred at 173rd Street and 108th Avenue, but said he couldn’t comment further until the official police report was completed. McAlister stood plain-clothed in court with a bright red mark under his left eye. He has been charged with driving under the …

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