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The Orland Park Prairie 021518
The Orland Park Prairie 021518
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opprairie.com News<br />
the orland park prairie | February 15, 2018 | 3<br />
Orland Park Village Board<br />
Police officer praised for going ‘above and beyond’<br />
Officials debate<br />
LEDs vs. fluorescent<br />
options<br />
Jon DePaolis<br />
Freelance Reporter<br />
An Orland Park police officer<br />
was recognized Feb. 5<br />
at the Village of Orland Park<br />
Board of Trustees meeting<br />
for going above and beyond<br />
the call of duty in order to<br />
help a resident.<br />
During the recognition<br />
portion of the meeting, Orland<br />
Park Police Chief Tim<br />
McCarthy presented Officer<br />
Phillip Glecier to the board<br />
members.<br />
McCarthy said around 9<br />
a.m. on a January morning,<br />
Orland Park police received<br />
a call from a senior citizen<br />
about a “possible suspicious<br />
person near her home … because<br />
she saw some tracks in<br />
the snow.”<br />
McCarthy said Glecier<br />
was dispatched to the home,<br />
did an investigation and<br />
checked the area. While he<br />
did not find any signs that<br />
would indicate criminal activity,<br />
Glecier listened to the<br />
woman’s concerns about the<br />
lock on her storm door being<br />
broken.<br />
“Officer Glecier said he<br />
might be able to come by after<br />
work to fix that,” McCarthy<br />
recounted. “After work,<br />
he did. He went out and<br />
bought a lock for the door<br />
and new parts at the Home<br />
Depot. He came back and<br />
repaired the door for [the<br />
woman].”<br />
The resident wound up<br />
writing a letter thanking<br />
the police department and<br />
Glecier.<br />
“We don’t pat our officers<br />
on the backs enough<br />
for those types of things, for<br />
which we really do receive<br />
a lot of letters,” McCarthy<br />
said.<br />
Mayor Keith Pekau said<br />
he receives several of these<br />
types of letters, but he noted<br />
that this instance was “above<br />
and beyond.”<br />
“It demonstrates what all<br />
of our officers do — how<br />
you serve and protect,” Pekau<br />
said to Glecier. “I really<br />
want to thank you for your<br />
efforts on this.”<br />
Trustee Michael Carroll<br />
added that he has known<br />
Glecier since the officer was<br />
a community service officer<br />
with the police department.<br />
“This is not unusual [behavior]<br />
for Phil,” Carroll<br />
said. “When I was a Cub<br />
Scouts leader, he helped out<br />
our pack. He came out and<br />
talked to our kids and spent<br />
as much time with them as<br />
they wanted. He wasn’t onduty,<br />
but he came out after<br />
his patrol to help us out. This<br />
is what he does on a regular<br />
basis and what kind of a man<br />
he is.”<br />
McCarthy concluded the<br />
recognition by mentioning<br />
that Glecier also was honored<br />
at the police department’s<br />
awards ceremony.<br />
Round It Up<br />
A brief recap of action and discussion from the Feb. 5<br />
meeting of the Orland Park Village Board.<br />
• Village Board members voted 6-0 to approve the<br />
creation of a new Technology Commission, which as<br />
described in a staff memo would provide suggestions<br />
about improvements to the Village’s technology and<br />
ways to use it to enhance Village services.<br />
• In another 6-0 vote, the board members approved<br />
changes to the Veterans Commission. Mayor Keith<br />
Pekau said these were made to “reflect what [the<br />
commission] is currently doing.”<br />
• The board members also voted 6-0 to eliminate the<br />
Senior Citizens Advisory Board, Community Relations<br />
Commission, and the Parking and Traffic Advisory<br />
Board. Pekau noted that these commissions had not<br />
been active in several years.<br />
Mayor wants to see more<br />
on lights before decision to<br />
switch<br />
Later in the meeting, the<br />
Village Board members<br />
voted 6-0 to approve a contract<br />
with CTS Group in<br />
an amount not to exceed<br />
$634,253 for Phase 2 projects.<br />
Trustee James Dodge<br />
was absent.<br />
The Village entered into<br />
an agreement with CTS<br />
Group in 2015 to evaluate<br />
Please see Village, 8