Village Videos: Volunteer's Voice Fills Customers With a Giving Spirit

Patch spotlights videos that give you a different look at the community, past and present. This week, watch and listen to Stephanie Porche sing as she works at her Salvation Army post at Sam's Club in Tinley Park.

Village Videos features videos from Patch, from around the web and from readers that showcase Tinley Park. Want your video featured? Upload it to our Neighborhood Gallery and email me at joev@patch.com to say you want to see it in Village Videos. One of the great parts of my weekly routine is that I get to wander around Tinley Park, keeping an eye out for interesting people doing unique things. And then I get to photograph or videotape these individuals. And on most occasions, I'm required to pester them by asking a series of personal and possibly embarrassing questions. WATCH: How Tinley Park Helped After a Disaster This is a great job for three reasons: If you've shopped at Sam's Club on Harlem Avenue last week, then you've probably …

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Village Videos: How Tinley Park Helps After a Disaster

Patch spotlights videos that give you a different look at the community, past and present. The first installment features footage from 2005 of Tinley Park volunteers helping victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Village Videos features videos from Patch, from around the web and from readers. Want your video featured? Upload it to our Neighborhood Gallery and email me at joev@patch.com to say you want to see it in Village Videos. After the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, communities around the country have stepped up to help those affected on the East Coast. And Tinley Park is no exception. Businesses have been collecting donations, and even Tinley Park Police officers have been asked to assist with emergency efforts. (No officers were deployed to New Jersey, however, because the state withdrew its request.) READ: Bettenhausen Dealerships Collect Items for Sandy Relief This isn't the first time the village has helped out storm victims. In 2005, …

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Lincoln-Way School Board Approves 2012-13 Budget

Lincoln-Way Area "MobilePack" lauds board for support of Haiti project.

Lincoln-Way District 210 board members approved the 2012-2013 budget amounting to $97,145,292, a decrease of $80,701 from the previous year. Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie said in a Sept. 13 meeting that the tax rate for the 2011 is less than it was 22 years ago. In 2011, the tax rate was 1.8306 compared to the 1989 rate of 1.9283.  In a previous article, Supt. Lawrence Wyllie explained that 2011-12 revenues did not match expenditures. The district's reserves had to be used to cover the $3.27 million shortfall. In addition, a drop in the the equalized assessed valuation reflects the decreased tax rate. This year's EAV dropped $169,815,256 from $3,991,068,924 last year to $3,821,253,668 this year, according to Stacy Holland, director of …

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Blossoms for Benefactors: Florists Start Weekly 'Good Deed Bouquet' Program

The owners of downtown Tinley Park's Classy Flowers need your help. Each week, they'll be looking for a local do-gooder who's deserving of a free bouquet of blooms. Don't hesitate to nominate.

Jo Ann Maloney wants to ensure that good deeds in Tinley Park don't go unnoticed. So she's kickstarted a new initiative at her downtown floral boutique. Each week, Maloney is assembling a beautiful bouquet to give to a deserving local benefactor who's nominated by his or her fellow residents.   The first winner? None other than Julie Dekker, director of the Vogt Visual Art Gallery. A familiar face in town, Dekker volunteers her time to various local causes including maintaining three Tinley Park gardens and harvesting the veggies for a local food pantry. Dekker was not immediately available for comment Wednesday. "Julie is constantly doing things in the community that no one knows about," Maloney said. "It's nice to give her a little …

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Carrie Frillman

11:44 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012

You are so funny, Deb. I just happened upon these comments, too.   more ›

Editor's Notebook

Looking For Wig-gle Room, the Cancer Society Asks for Help

We're pitching in to create a beautiful new space for American Cancer Society clients who stop by the organization to try on—and take home—wigs. Since there isn't a budget for this project, we need all the help we can get.

If you haven't had a reason to visit the American Cancer Society's Oak Park Avenue office, you may not know it's there. Well, it is. But you don't have to tell that to the hundreds of cancer patients who stop in the Tinley Park site each year hoping to gain a fresh perspective, a newfound confidence and of course, a show-stopping head of hair. A wig—seems simple, right? It's not. It means everything to patients who feel they're losing ... well, everything. It's their femininity. Their identity.  When a client leaves the cancer society with a new do, she radiates with light. I saw that light shine firsthand when I stopped in the office a few weeks ago to kick-start a redesign of the now rather gloomy wig room. A client had just been fitted …

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Carrie Frillman

7:06 pm on Saturday, January 28, 2012

Julie! You're awesome. I can't wait to share the before and after photos with everyone (keep an eye out on Monday). I e-mailed you, but I think a Target gift card would be great. I had such a fun day working on this room! There's no better way I could have spent my Saturday. Truly.   more ›

Eagle Scout Candidate Simplifies Gardening for the Disabled

Boy Scout Alex Gattone is aiming for his Eagle Scout status, while helping the elderly and disabled gardeners of the community with raised garden beds and a rainwater collection system at the community garden.

Alex Gattone needed an Eagle Scout project, and the Oak Forest Park District needed some help accommodating elderly and disabled residents who wished to garden in the community plots. Gattone, a member of the Tinley Park-based Boy Scout Troop 385, is a Marist High School freshman. He teamed up with Park District Commissioner and community garden organizer Joe Conway to plan for his project. Conway suggested that Gattone draft a plan for two raised garden beds for individuals who cannot easily bend over, but would still love to garden in the plots on 151st and Long. The project also included a rain barrel structure designed to capture water runoff. Gattone took it from there. He worked with local businesses for the supplies, managed a …

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Remarkable Resident

Local Woman Bares All For Undy 5,000

No, she's not going streaking. She's raising money for a cause that hits home.

Stripping down to her skivvies and running into the street is no problem for Tinley Park resident Lindsie Fransen. Especially when she's joined by hundreds of others in who are raising money for a worthy cause. The 28-year-old is headed to Cincinnati, Ohio, Saturday to participate in the Undy 5,000—a 5K race to raise cash for The Colon Cancer Alliance that runners complete wearing nothing but their underwear. According to the American Cancer Society, 142,000 new cases of colon cancer will be diagnosed this year. Nearly 50,000 people will die from the disease. "It's a great way to raise awareness," said Fransen, who's an adult oncology nurse at Alpha Med Physicians Group, which in part specializes in chemotherapy, radiation and iron …

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Remarkable Resident

Leaving his Legacy at the VFW, Bob Oehmen Bleeds Red, White and Blue

World War II veteran Bob Oehmen has volunteered almost half his life to our local Veterans of Foreign Wars.

There are several permanent fixtures at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2791 in Tinley Park. There are the flagpoles, the monument, a bar, oh … and then there's Robert "Bob" Oehmen. A World War II veteran, the 88-year-old has been volunteering at the post for 41 years. The unsung hero sat down with Tinley Park Patch last week to talk about his service and life thereafter. He was part of a U.S. Army anti-aircraft artillery unit from 1943 to 1946, he said. "I served in the Pacific with McArthur," he said. "When McArthur went to liberate Manilla, he said 'I shall return.' I was with that group. I have seen enough action to make anyone squirm. There were a few shells that went right over my head. I've seen enough hell … More than I wanted to…

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Remarkable Resident

Chicago Heights Man Humbled By Award from Tinley Park Agency

Together We Cope presented William Dillon with the volunteer of the year award.

You never know what to expect when you ring the doorbell of the food pantry at Together We Cope, a social service agency in Tinley Park. Sometimes you'll see reindeer ears, sometimes long black hair with a witch hat and sometimes no costume at all. That's the kind of entertainment William "Bill" Dillon provides as he welcomes visitors. Dillon was the co-recipient of the 2011 Ted Reimer Volunteer award at the agency. "I try to make things lively around here," Dillon said. "If I can make the people smile, I'll do it. Around the holidays, I always try and do something like wearing rabbit ears or some crazy headpiece. So when the people come through the door, it gets them to smile."  Dillon and his wife have lived in Chicago Heights for 40 …

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Remarkable Resident

Local Volunteer Keeps the Wheels Rollin' in Tinley

Together We Cope selected Andy Ashmus as one of its 2011 Volunteers of the Year. But that's not the only place he spends his time.

Walk into Andy Ashmus' basement and you'll find chains, aluminum fenders, handlebars and an assortment of various nuts and bolts. But he's not a collector. He's a bicycle fixer. That's one of the many reasons why the Tinley Park resident was a co-recipient of the Together We Cope 2011 Volunteer Award. Together We Cope assists families in temporary crisis from Bremen, Orland, Palos and Worth townships. "I was shocked," he said, of being honored. "The award wasn't what I was trying for. It's a fun place to volunteer." Ashmus began volunteering back in the late 1970s as an assistant Boy Scout leader for Tinley's Troop 378 when his sons were scouts, he said. "Because of all the community work and badges earned, both my sons earned Eagle Scout…

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