Evergreen Park, Homewood mourn firefighter killed in the line of duty

By Southland Savvy

Evergreen Park and Homewood are mourning the death of Homewood firefighter Brian Carey, 28, who was killed Tuesday night while trying to rescue a wheelchair-bound resident from a burning house in Homewood.

Carey, who his father said had wanted to be a fireman since he was a child, had been a full-time firefighter/paramedic since December.


Carey, who lived at home in Evergreen Park, was a 1999 graduate of Brother Rice High School on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

Homewood Fire Chief Bob Grabowski said Wednesday that Carey was the first firefighter killed in the line of duty in the village.

Wendell Elias, 84, a World War II veteran, was the man Carey was trying to save. He also died in the fire in his home at 17622 Lincoln Ave. His wife, Bertha, 89, escaped the blaze and is in stable condition at South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest.

A second firefighter, Karra Kopas, 21, was injured in the fire and is in stable condition at the University of Chicago Burn Center.

Firefighters from 24 fire departments assisted Homewood firefighters as did police from five neighboring communities.

Homewood firefighter dies in fire

Hollywood Video adds Oak Forest, Oak Lawn locations to stores being closed

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Hollywood Video has added Oak Forest and Oak Lawn locations to the list of Southland stores closing as part of the company’s bankruptcy.

Hollywood stores at 5570 W. 159th St. in Oak Forest and 5141 W. 95th St. in Oak Lawn, which had originally been listed as staying open, are now holding going out of business sales. Sales are continuing at Hollywood stores in Bridgeview and Tinley Park.

A Movie Gallery store at 414 N. Nelson in New Lenox, which also had first been listed as staying open, also is holding a going out of business sale. So, too, is the Movie Gallery at 4314 N. Calumet Ave. in Hammond. Closing sales are continuing at Movie Gallery locations in Griffith and Munster.

Burrito Café opens in Palos Heights
Burrito Café has opened at 7210 W. College Drive in Tiffany Square in Palos Heights. The restaurant features authentic Mexican cuisine and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The phone number is 708-671-9050. For more information, check out the video below.

Refund rewards at Jewel
Through April 15, Jewel-Osco is giving customers a refund rewards bonus if they buy grocery gift cards. Jewel will add $20 to the value of a $250 grocery gift card and $30 to the value of a $300 grocery gift card. Cards may be purchased at service desks in any Jewel-Osco store.

Orland doc's drive-up window

Is this innovation? Or insanity? An Orland Park doctor plans to open a medical office with a drive-up window. If you can get a burger and fries at the drive-up window (essentially, heart disease and a fat keester in a white paper sack), then you ought to be able to get your Lipitor at the window, too. Eliminates the need for you to get out of your car and walk into the doctor's office.

Dr. Waldemar Nowak plans to turn the former Vito & Nick's restaurant, 54 Orland Square Drive, into medical offices with two drive-up bays. Not one, two. Cuts the wait in half, I guess. Nowak declined to tell reporters how the drive-ups would be used.

"This is my own idea," Dr. Nowak said.

Can you get a prostate exam at the window? Hernia check? I imagine the reflex test with the little hammer on the knee joint will be kind of difficult to perform. What if you're at the window and the doc has some bad news? "Pull up and park, I'll come out and tell you about your test results." Prescribing meds in the drive-thru should be a cinch, though.

Own a business? Then you're not alone in wondering how the new health care reform laws affect you.

Aggie's farm: If you read one story this week, make it this one. Guy Tridgell tells the story of a 100-year-old widow who raised dozens of foster kids, now on the verge of losing her Monee farm. After his story last Monday, the police are now looking into the management of the elderly woman's finances.

Getting jobbed: Local teachers will face mass layoffs. This is going to get so much worse.

Another season of roadwork: Almost every town in Will and south Cook counties will see some roadwork this spring, summer and fall, writes reporter Karen Sorensen, and the biggest undertaking in south Cook is the ongoing reconstruction of three railroad and two highway viaducts along 159th Street between Lexington and Fisk avenues in Harvey.

Standing up, being counted: Dan Lipinski, the only Illinois Democrat to vote "no" on Obamacare, says his Southwest Side district is 3-to-1 in his favor, according to John Kass.

New neighbor disclosure form: Finally, let's waste the government's time, why don't we. The Beverly homeowner who hung racially charged messages in his back yard didn't violate any local laws, reports Casey Cora, but Chicago Human Relations Commission chairman Dana Starks wants federal and state authorities to take a look and possibly charge him with crimes of intimidation. Michael Corrigan, 62, of the 9900 block of Fairfield Avenue, didn't want black neighbors when the house next door went up for sale. So he posted signs. "Say no to the ghetto" ... "White power" ... "Mt. Greenwood - the next Englewood."

We all know Corrigan's far from alone in his views. But he did his new neighbors, whatever color they may be, a favor. They'll know well before they move in that their next-door neighbor is an ignorant buffoon. If only all prospective neighbors advertised their stupidity for the world to see. Maybe we could have a disclosure law, like if you have mold or asbestos in your home. If the house next door is up for sale, you must hang a sign that lets prospective home buyers know exactly what's wrong with you.

Dennis Robaugh can be reached at dennis@southlandsavvy.com