St. Laurence Students Earn History Honors

Four Southwest Siders are among eight St. Laurence High School juniors cited for excellence in the prestigious annual Chicago Metro History Fair .

They are (left to right) Scottsdale residents Joe Russell and Tom Hodur, and Garfield Ridge residents Raul Smith and Kyle Martinez.

Smith is a finalist in the competition. Russell, Hodur and Martinez earned "honorable

mention" praise.

Smith's entry examines the role of the 1903 Iroquois Theatre Fire on safety regulations. Russell's takes a look at the 1958 fire at Our Lady of the Angels School. Hodur's explores Chicago's role in the Civil War, and Martinez analyzed Bill Veeck's impact on baseball.

The History Fair finals will be held later this spring.

Other St. Laurence students taking home honors are finalists Patrick McQuinn from Oak Lawn, who wrote the Pullman porters strike of 1894; Edward Smith of Morgan Park, who

wrote about the impact of the Irish on Catholic schools; and honorable mentions Logan Landers of Burbank, who wrote about the effect of the Cold War on Chicago; and Sam Kazmierowicz of Brookfield, who examined Frank Lloyd Wright's impact on architecture in the suburbs.

“These young men did a great job researching and putting together their material. I am proud of them, and I congratulate them,” said longtime St. Laurence teacher John Kroc.

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Two Men See Something, Say Something, and Police Nab Cicero Man on Graffiti Rap

Quick action by two Southwest Side men on Saturday led to the arrest of a 23-year-old Cicero man who reportedly admitted tagging several Garfield Ridge businesses.

Corey A. Davis of the 3100 block of south 49th Avenue was charged with felony criminal

Corey A. Davis

defacement of property. He is due to appear in Cook County Circuit Court Branch 48, 151 West 51st Street, on Friday, April 19. 

At about 6:25 p.m. Saturday, two men (one from Garfield Ridge, one from Scottsdale) were standing outside Bobby G's Tavern, 6843 West Archer, when they said they saw Davis walk past them while shaking a can of spray paint.

The two men followed Davis from a distance, and the Garfield Ridge man called a local police officer he knows. That CPD officer was off-duty at the time but alerted police to the situation, saying that Davis had just tagged the fence at Taco Bell, 6944 West Archer, and was walking west on Archer.

Police responding to the call said they saw Davis in front of Dbam O Zdrowie natural health

7106 West Archer

store, 7106 West Archer. He matched the description given by the witnesses and was taken into custody.

Davis reportedly was wearing a purple latex glove on his right hand and was found to be in possession of a can of purple spray paint, police said. He also reportedly had purple paint stains on his glove, his left sleeve and the left side of his jacket.

He was positively identified by the two witnesses.

When asked why he tagged the fence at Taco Bell, Davis reportedly replied "Because it's what I do. I'm a tagger."

When police asked Davis if he had tagged any other property, he allegedly said "Yes. Just drive east on Archer."

Police did that and discovered similar markings painted in purple on Orland Endodontics, 6715 West Archer; Niego Real Estate, 6625 West Archer; on a trailer parked at Ted's Auto Repair, 6234 South Archer, and on a building at 6161 South Archer.

Officers then asked Davis if the tags were his. He reportedly answered "Yeah. I did those before I tagged Taco Bell."

Davis reportedly told police that he is a student at Morton College and an order picker for Central Grocers. When contacted by the Southwest Chicago Post, a Central Grocers executive stated that Davis has never been employed by the company.

In response to the crime, a Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch officer said the GRNW "...will, of course, follow up on this by approaching the businesses that have been victimized and encouraging them to join our advocates when this case goes to court."

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CPD Issues Robbery Alert to Businesses

Here is a CPD crime alert issued earlier this afternoon.

Other than the surveillance photos, none of this information is new to Southwest Chicago Post readers. The four robberies cited in the alert (three Family Dollar stores and a U-Haul store) were reported by the SWCP in the last two weeks.

Nonetheless, we are sharing this alert as an important reminder to our local business owners and managers to keep an eye out for this criminal, who will be caught if we work together to keep our eyes and ears open. Ultimately, criminals have no chance against a community of smart, alert men and women who work with police and stand together against crime.

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Bureau of Detectives – Area Central

Business Alert

Robberies

008th District (Chicago Lawn)

About the Crime:

This alert gives notice to businesses operating in the 008th District (Chicago Lawn) of an increase in robbery related incidents have occurred during the month of March.

In these incidents, one offender enters a small retail store. The offender displays a handgun and demands money from the register and the store safe. The offender then flees.

Incident times and locations are listed below:

5000 Block of S. Pulaski Ave. on March 27, 2013 at approximately 8:55 PM.

4800 Block of S. Cicero Ave. on March 28, 2013 at approximately 8:45 PM.
4700 Block of W. 47th St. on April 6, 2013 at approximately 4:28 PM.

6100 Block of S. Archer Ave. on April 9, 2013 at approximately 8:55 PM.

About the Offenders:

The offender is generally described as:

Male/Black 30-32 years of age, 6'1"-6'2", 160-170 lbs.

What you can do:

• Always be aware of your surroundings

• Report suspicious activity immediately
• If you are confronted by an assailant remain calm
• Remember any unique physical characteristics (scars, limp, acne, teeth, etc...)
• Save video surveillance footage for later review.
• Never pursue a fleeing assailant, provide the information to the police
• If approached by a witness to the incident, request contact information
• Dial 9-1-1 immediately and remain on scene when possible

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Calling All Gardeners: Spring Plant Sale

A spring plant sale, sponsored by the St. Mary Star of the Sea Altar & Rosary Society, is underway.

Fancy geraniums in four-inch pots are $1.75 each.

Geraniums (stock photo)

Begonias, impatiens, marigolds, pansies and periwinkles are $1.00 each.

Tomato plants (cherry, beefsteak and early girl) are $1.50 each.

Pepper plants (green and jalapeño) are $1.00 each.

Cherry tomatoes (stock photo)

Cucumber plants are $1.00 each.

This is a very popular annual sale, so pre-orders are strongly recommended.

To pre-order, call Barbara at (773) 735-7222.

Pick-up of plants will be 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, May 10 at the St. Mary Star of the Sea rectory garage, 6435 South Kilbourn.

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Archer BP Customer Appreciation Day

Friday was Customer Appreciation Day at the Archer BP, 6751 West Archer.

Well over a hundred local motorists lined up for gas prices not seen in the city since 2010: just $2.99 a gallon.

BP also offered price breaks on cigarettes, as well as free refreshments for all.

The event was also held to promote enrollment in the BP Driver Rewards program. Drivers formed a line that stretched back nearly a block south on Oak Park Avenue.

A minute with Archer BP management:

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Archer Manor Little League Parade Coming

Here is a flier we just received from our friends at Archer Manor Little League.

Sounds exciting! If you live in Archer Heights, West Elsdon or Vittum Park, please stop by and cheer on our local boys and girls!

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Cinco de Mayo Taco Feast, Fun at St. Joe's

Here's a flier we just received from our friends at St. Joseph School, which provides a Catholic elementary education for boys and girls in northern Summit, the western section of Garfield Ridge, and other fine communities, city and suburban.

St. Joe's is located just one half block west of 56th and Harlem.

Make plans to attend, and bring your family, friends, neighbors and a hearty appetite!

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