Editor's Corner

Editor's Pick: 5 Best Lemont Patch Videos of 2010

Lemont Patch editor Amanda Luevano picks the top five videos posted on the site since it launched Sept. 10.

I've had a number of favorite stories and moments from my first three months covering Lemont, and thankfully I was able to capture some of them on video to share with Patch readers. Here are my five favorite videos since we launched Sept. 10: Earlier this year, parents and students weren't even sure the Old Quarry Middle School Band would be able to continue after the program was cut from District 113A's 2010-2011 budget. However, thanks to heroic efforts by the Lemont Band Boosters, the band was able to continue as an after-school activity. During the band's annual fall concert, the booster club was presented a $10,000 check from the Citgo Refinery and Ats-A-Nice Pizza in Romeoville. Following the Nov. 3 attempted abduction of a 16-year-…

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Lemont Police to Hold Open Neighborhood Watch Meeting Tuesday in Response to Attempted Abduction

The meeting will be held Tuesday, Nov. 30, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lemont Police Department, and will include all 17 Neighborhood Watch groups.

In response to the attempted abduction of Lemont teenager Nov. 3, the Lemont Police Department is holding an open meeting Tuesday for all Neighborhood Watch groups. The meeting will be held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lemont Police Department, 14600 W. 127th St., and will be led by Lemont Police Chief Kevin Shaughnessy, Cmdr. Dan Tully and several department investigators. Lemont Police Sgt. Therese Thompson, coordinator of the Neighborhood Watch program, said the purpose of the open meeting is to provide information about recent incidents, as well as safety tips for parents and children. "Our Neighborhood Watch programs have been extremely helpful in just providing more eyes and ears in the community," Thompson said. "The more people…

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VIDEO: Police Chief Offers Safety Tips Following Attempted Abduction of Lemont Teen

Lemont Police Chief Kevin Shaughnessy outlines 10 things every parent should tell their child about traveling to and from school.

For the past three weeks, conversations between Lemont resident Julie Ercoli and her two young children have centered around two words: stranger danger. Like many Lemont parents, Ercoli became worried after learning a man reportedly tried to abduct a 16-year-old girl while she walking home from Lemont High School. When reports surfaced in the following weeks of men allegedly "luring" boys and a chasing three young girls, Ercoli decided to talk to her children about the importance of safety. "I reiterate that phrase, 'stranger danger,' so much that it's part of the daily conversation now," she said. "They know if someone approaches them they have to scream and run as fast as they can." The Lemont Police Department is also doing their part…

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UPDATE: Police Release Sketch of Suspect in Attempted Abduction of Lemont Teen

Police are continuing to investigate the Nov. 3 incident in which a man tried to force a 16-year-old girl into his vehicle in the 500 block of First Street.

The Lemont Police Department and Cook County Sheriff's Office have released a sketch of the man they believe attempted to kidnap a Lemont teenager earlier this month. On Wednesday, Nov. 3, police said a man reportedly attempted to abduct a 16-year-old Lemont girl in the 500 block of First Street. Around 7:15 p.m., the teenage girl was walking home from Lemont High School near First Street and McCarthy Road when a man pulled over and asked for directions. When the girl said she could not help him, police said the man got out and grabbed her arm while attempting to force her into his vehicle. The girl was able to escape unharmed and immediately notified the police. The man is described as white, with close cropped hair and facial stubble, …

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Police: Man Reportedly Chased Three Girls on McCarthy Road in Lemont

The Lemont Police Department is working with the Cook County Sheriff's Office to investigate the incident, which took place Monday in the 13700 block of McCarthy Road.

The Lemont Police Department and Cook County Sheriff's Office are investigating a report of "suspicious activity" involving a man chasing three girls in the 13700 block of McCarthy Road in unincorporated Lemont earlier this week. On Monday afternoon, a 12-year-old girl was walking beside her bike with two friends when they noticed a man approaching them, said Liane Jackson, spokeswoman for the Cook County Sheriff's Office. When the girls began running away, the man chased after them. The girls were able to run into the nearby Limestone subdivision, at which point the man stopped pursuing them, Jackson said. The girl's parents immediately filed a complaint with the Cook County Sheriff's Office, who later notified the Lemont Police …

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Police Investigating Report of Suspicious Activity After Man Gestured to Lemont Boy

The incident occurred Sunday afternoon near New Avenue and Timberline Drive while the 9-year-old boy was riding his bicycle. Police do not believe the case is related to the Nov. 3 attempted abduction of a Lemont teen.

The Lemont Police Department is investigating another report of suspicious activity involving a man gesturing to a child from his vehicle. Around noon Sunday, a 9-year-old boy was riding his bicycle home from a friend's house near New Avenue and Timberline Drive when he noticed a man staring at him and smoking a cigarette in his truck, Lemont Police Chief Kevin Shaughnessy said. When the man nodded his head in the boy's direction, the child thought he was being summoned to approach the truck and became frightened, Shaughnessy said. The boy dropped his bike and ran to tell adults standing nearby, who were able to get a general description of both the man and his vehicle. According to the report, the man is described as a white or Hispanic …

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Police Receive Two More Reports of Men 'Luring' Children Near Lemont

The Lemont Police Department was notified by the Will County Sheriff's Office over the weekend of two instances of suspicious activity reported in Homer Glen.

Just days after the attempted abduction of a Lemont teen, local police have received two more reports of suspicious activity involving adults "luring" children to their vehicles. Lemont Police Chief Kevin Shaughnessy said his department was notified by the Will County Sheriff's Office over the weekend of two incidents reported in Homer Glen's Woodbine and Pebble Creek subdivisions where two men attempted to lure children to their vehicle outside their homes. The Will County Sheriff's Office received a call Saturday around 2 p.m. after the men--said to be driving a white Dodge Durango--allegedly gestured to two children playing outside and tried to offer them drinks, Shaughnessy said. Authorities received another call Sunday of an incident …

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Community on Alert as Police Continue Investigating Attempted Abduction of Lemont Teen

A man reportedly tried to force a 16-year-old girl into his vehicle in the 500 block of First Street after asking her for directions Wednesday night, police said.

Lemont police are continuing to investigate the attempted abduction of a teenage girl earlier this week. Around 7:15 p.m. 0n Wednesday, the Lemont Police Department received a report that a man pulled over in the 500 block of First Street near McCarthy Road and asked a 16-year-old girl for directions. The man reportedly got out of the vehicle and grabbed the teen's arm while attempting to force her into the vehicle, authorities said. The girl, who was walking home from Lemont High School, was able to escape without being harmed, police said. As of Friday afternoon, police were continuing to follow leads based on the description provided by the teen, Lemont Police Chief Kevin Shaugnessy said. "We've notified surrounding communities to …

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Police: Man Attempted to Abduct Teenage Girl in Lemont

A man reportedly tried to force a 16-year-old girl into his vehicle in the 500 block of First Street after asking her for directions Wednesday night, police said.

A man reportedly attempted to abduct a 16-year-old Lemont girl Wednesday night in the 500 block of First Street, police said. Around 7:15 p.m., the Lemont Police Department received a report that a man pulled over near First Street and McCarthy Road and asked the teenage girl for directions. According to a news release, the man got out and grabbed the teen's arm while attempting to force her into his vehicle. The girl was able to escape and immediately notified the police, according to the release. The man is described as white, with close cropped hair and facial stubble, and was driving an older model of a dark green SUV, police said. The Lemont Police Department is continuing to investigate the incident.

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