Southtown Star from Tinley Park, Illinois • 29

OAK FOREST MIDLOTHIAN CRESTWOOD 20 Newspapers Serving 52 Communities STAR Bringing Local News Home 96 Years of Local News 1901 1997 84 PAGES 7 SECTIONS VOL. 25 NO. 89 THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1997 50 CENTS PER COPY AN EDITION OF THE STAR Mail carriers ready food drive GOOD DAY! Part of national campaign collecting as many as 10,000 pounds of food. According to Kogler, workers at the Midlothian-Crestwood office have requested help on Saturday from high school volunteers, but havent heard whether they will be receiving it or not. So far, it appears the job of collecting the food from homes, bringing it back to the post office to weigh it in and transporting it to St.

Christopher Church will be left up to the carriers, their spouses and any off-duty letter carriers who vol- See FOOD, Page A-4 time this year. According to letter carrier Tris Kogler, who has been working at the Midlo-thian-Crestwood office for about 2 V2 years, urging from the president of their union, South Suburban Merged Branch 4016, prompted carriers at that location to get involved. From what Kogler understands, the food drive has always received a very good turn out, with single post offices local communities. The event is held in conjunction with the United States Postal Service. The Oak Forest and Midlothian-Crestwood post offices are among the mix that will participate.

While Oak Forest is not new to the game the citys carriers will participate in Saturdays activities for the second year in a row Midlothian-Crest-wood is joining in the effort for the first Movie moms Exactly what is the image of mother in the movies? Not such a good one as Terry Loncaric points out in a special feature. See FirstLook Math 24 racers Making music When the school bell rings at the end of the day, Janet Jones students dont want to leave the classroom because their music teacher is fun. See Dimensions By Chrissy Moch Postal workers throughout the South Suburbs are hoping their letter bags will be heavier than ever this Saturday. As they deliver pieces of mail along their routes, carriers are hoping to pick up just as many cans of soup, jars of peanut butter and other non-perishable food items. The carriers are collecting the goods as part of the National Association of Letter Carriers fifth annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive an effort to help stock food banks and pantries within Alsip rips county for delay on flood plan Wants fast action on Tinley Creek By Phil Rockrohr Alsip village officials accused Cook County Highway Department official's Monday of unnecessarily dragging their feet on a proposal to solve at least the most immediate flooding problems caused by Tinley Creek.

Village President Arnold Andrews and Trustee Joseph Jolivette, who both attended yet another powwow to discuss the problem April 29, expressed disappointment and harsh criticism that county highway officials decided to study the proposal, instead of granting permits so the project can begin as soon as possible. They want to study it to death, I guess, Andrews said after Mondays Village Board meeting. I guess they just dont care if peoples property floods. Jack Beary, a spokesman for Cook County Highway Superintendent Carl Kowalski, said Highway Department officials said only that the county want- See CREEK, Page A-4 School fund negotiations begin today By Diane Ross Statehouse News Service SPRINGFIELD Negotiations start today on a proposed $1.8 billion, income-tax-hike, property-tax-cut package that would boost the states share of elementary and secondary school funding to nearly 50 percent. Gov.

Jim Edgar and the General Assemblys four partisan legislative leaders House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, House Minority Leader Lee Daniels, R-Elmhurst, Senate President James Pate Philip, R-Wood Dale, and Senate Minority Leader Emil Jones, D-Chicago are scheduled to start talks today on the proposal released See FUNDING, Page A-4 Star photos by Phil Faso Artful approach Bonnie Malone, an artist, and Scott Sutcliffe, a furniture refinisher, have pulled their talents and will open Woodland Design in Palos Heights. See Business Qiana Green (above, left), 11, Robbins, and Kelli Geljer, 11, Midlothian, notify a monitor that they have a solution for one of their number puzzles In the School District 143 Math 24 competition last week at Central Park School in Midlothian. Joshua Mattaliano (at right), 11, Midlothian, appeared to be getting a headache while working on one of his problems. In the competition, the youngsters have 10 minutes to solve as many as the puzzles as they can. They receive a stack of game cards, each of which has four numbers on the face.

The numbers must be added, subtracted, multiplied and-or divided to yield a result of 24. Cards are worth one, two or three points, and the team with the most points at the end of 10 minutes is the winner. For example, if you had a card with the numbers 3, 4, 5, 5, you would reach 24 by multiplying 3 times 5 (15), then add the second 5 (20) and add the 4 to get 24. Fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders competed In the annual event. To try a couple for yourself, here are the numbers from two three-point cards: 1,4, 6, 7, and 8, 1 3, 4.

Good luck. INSIDE Thank you Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week and our education columnist has a few ideas on how to celebrate it. See About Education OUR NUMBERS All phone numbers have (708) area code Main number 802-8800 Circulation 802-8000 Classified 802-8888 Display 802-8001 Editorial 802-8080 Newsroom e-mail starnews interaccess.com National recognition comes for two Dist. 218 programs Midlothian couple takes plunge at Great America By Chrissy Moch Athena Mecklenborg believes a mix of luck and fate brought her before a judge at Six Flags Great America last Friday to take Tom Rossiter as her husband. Mecklenborg, 23, entered herself and her 31-year-old fianc6 in a contest to take the ultimate plunge, but never expected to hear back from officials at Chicagos B-96 radio station.

That was the lucky part for the Midlothian couple. The fate, however, kicked in when her fianc6 answered the phone. Rossiter works afternoons and sleeps during the morning, and he never answers the phone, she said. On the morning the radio station called, however, he happened to pick up. That is when he learned the couple had been chosen to join more than 100 other couples from around the Midwest at Six Flags in Gurnee to kick off the opening of the new Giant Drop freefall ride by taking the ultimate plunge." According to Mecklenborg, she and Rossiter have been dating for five years, engaged for three and have two children together.

It was time, she said, adding she thought, If we dont get married now, were never going to do it. Danielle Hickey, 21, and Steve Eiger, 24, of Tinley Park also participated in the ceremony. See WEDDING, Page A-4 Federal Projects Director Beverly Guzy said. This recognition says that our program is meeting the needs of our students and staff. It says that we have an excellent staff.

It says that the holistic design of the program addresses the academic as well as social and motivational needs of our students. And, it says that were supported well by our parents. Title I is an interdisciplinary program designed to help incoming high school freshmen make the transition less troublesome from junior high. The program offers tutorial support and help from a social worker. We want freshmen to feel welcomed into high school, Guzy said.

It helps students with learning gaps that could have developed in junior high. This is a structured program that has a closer See DIST. 218, Page A-4 By Dave Fanno Community High School District 218 will receive its seventh national recognition for its Title I programs at Richards and Eisenhower high schools this week in Atlanta. Richards and Eisenhower were nominated among five secondary education schools in Illinois to receive the national honor. One-hundred schools across the country qualified for this years distinguished school recognition program.

Representatives from the district will receive the recognition from the U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard Riley, at the annual convention of the International Reading Association. The district has qualified for the national recognition seven times in the last nine years and has received the distinction on each occasion. We seem to be in the right place at the right time, Dist. 218 State and.