OP_033017

opprairie.com Sound off
the orland park prairie | March 30, 2017 | 17
Social snapshot
Top Web Stories
From opprairie.com as of Friday, March 24
1. Customer allegedly stabs Sears Auto
Center manager over oil change delay
2. Voters should educate themselves with
the facts
3. Village to ask residents two questions on
April 4 ballot
4. Challenger requests the votes of Orland
Park residents April 4
5. Sandburg boys track takes third at
SWSC Indoor Championship
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Laurie Domico Marino, of Orland Park,
posted the accompanying image Thursday,
March 23, with the note, “Happy
Puppy Day, Coconut!”
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“Members of the USWNT are...
#BeBoldForChange”
@KendallCoyne — Orland Park hockey
player boycotting USA Hockey, on Friday, March 24
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Letters to the Editor
Offerings words of
encouragement
I think it is human nature
to occasionally want to give
up on our dreams when situations
get tough.
Just remember: sometimes
you need a door to close so
the right one will open. If
you keep getting a “No,”
I promise there is a “Yes”
around the corner. There are
some days you might not accomplish
what you intended,
but there will be a day when
you accomplish more than
what you could ever have
expected.
As always, remember
there is a light at the end of
the tunnel!
Deana Atiq-Malley
Orland Park resident
From the Editor
For whom should I vote?
BILL JONES
bill@opprairie.com
As you may have
noticed, there is no
additional election
coverage in this week’s
edition of The Orland Park
Prairie.
In keeping with company
policy, 22nd Century Media
has refrained from publishing
any further coverage
of the election or Letters to
the Editor pertaining to the
election in the final issue
before the Consolidated
Election, which is to take
place Tuesday, April 4.
Another common practice
is we generally do not
endorse candidates. And it
is another policy with which
we are sticking. (Apologies,
if you thought we were going
to answer that question.)
We have, over the past
month, provided an indepth,
three-part series
on both of the mayoral
candidates — incumbent
Daniel J. McLaughlin and
challenger Keith I. Pekau.
We presented questionand-answer
features for the
four contested spots on the
Orland School District 135
Board of Education. And we
have given you a quick look
at what referendums will
appear on the ballot April
4 and the possible answers
you may enter in response.
We also have run a series
of passionate Letters to the
Editor from those who took
the time to engage with us
and the candidates publicly
over the course of this election
season. No matter your
opinions, I would like to
thank everyone who took the
time to do that — to share an
opinion, to not be afraid to
put a name next to it, to be
passionate about the village
in which you live. I continue
to think these local elections
are of great importance to our
readership, and I am happy to
see so many who agree.
We do not endorse because,
quite frankly, it is not
our place.
We have strived to provide
fair, balanced election coverage.
Many of you wrote
and called, thanking us for
just that. And those of you
who felt otherwise seemed
to balance each other out in
the long run. So, we think
we have done a good job of
providing exactly that.
As it pertains to the
mayoral candidates, in
particular, the idea was
to provide you with more
information on both of the
candidates than we ever
have in the past, but to do
it in a digestible way that
would give you something
to read and absorb each
week, while ideally creating
a complete picture of
the candidates over the long
haul — of their platforms,
of their personalities, of the
way they conduct their campaigns,
explain their ideas,
challenge and respond to
each other — while delving
into the topics residents
seem to find most important.
And we tried, as much as
possible, to steer clear of the
nonsense that tends to arise
come election season.
What I think you are left
with are simply two diametrically
opposed viewpoints.
I do not live in Orland
Park. I do not pay property
taxes here. I do not have the
same stake in this you do.
I simply work here, and
my job, as a journalist (in
which I take pride), is to put
as much information in your
hands as possible — not to
make up your mind for you.
You need to decide what
you value most, what
is important to you in a
community. And then you
need to think about which
candidates best represent
you, who is more qualified
to carry out those tasks,
who is simply going to get
the job done. And then you
need to vote.
We feel we have given
you all the tools to make an
informed decision, but the
decision is not ours to make.
Sound Off Policy
Editorials and columns are the
opinions of the author. Pieces
from 22nd Century Media are
the thoughts of the company as
a whole. The Orland Park Prairie
encourages readers to write
letters to Sound Off. All letters
must be signed, and names and
hometowns will be published.
We also ask that writers include
their address and phone number
for verification, not publication.
Letters should be limited to 400
words. The Orland Park Prairie
reserves the right to edit letters.
Letters become property of The
Orland Park Prairie. Letters
that are published do not reflect
the thoughts and views of The
Orland Park Prairie. Letters
can be mailed to: The Orland
Park Prairie, 11516 West 183rd
Street, Unit SW Office Condo
#3, Orland Park, Illinois, 60467.
Fax letters to (708) 326-9179 or
e-mail to bill@opprairie.com.
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Contact
Lora Healy
Editor’s Note: The
Consolidated Election
takes place Tuesday,
April 4, after the next
edition of The Orland
Park Prairie goes to print.
To keep up with election
results as they unfold,
please follow OPPrairie.
com the evening of April
4, as well as the following
morning.
708.326.9170 ext. 31
l.healy@22ndcenturymedia.com