Enter Patch's 'Deck the House' Contest For a Chance to Win $100,000

Did you decorate your house for the holidays this year? Enter our 'Deck the House' contest and you could win $100,000 for your local school district and $500 to pay your electric bills!

We’re launching our annual Deck the House Contest to find the most over-the-top holiday decorations in America—the best “decked” house in the country—the one home so spectacularly decorated that everyone in town jokes your holiday decorations could rival Rockefeller Center’s. If this sounds like your house, upload a photo or video of your home to our contest page from Nov. 26 to Dec. 16.  Only residents of Patch towns are eligible to enter. We’ll select 24 regional finalists, and from them, pick one grand prize winner. Patch will pay up to $500 of the utility bill for each finalist, while our national winner will have $100,000 donated to his or her local school district. So, what are you waiting for? Now’s the time to get your holiday …

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Editor's Notebook

What Are You Thankful for in Frankfort?

This Thanksgiving, tell us what--or who--makes you proud to be a resident in this community.

It's been a year since I've been covering Frankfort for Patch, a year of Village Board meetings and summer events on Breidert Green, of interviews with local business owners and casual chats with residents. In that time, I've come to really appreciate the village that I cover. And that's not something I say lightly. As a working journalist for more than a decade, you become use to the fact that your sources--and even your readers--might not relish the idea of a reporter digging through what goes on in their community, good or bad. READ: What Restaurants Will Be Open on Thanksgiving That hasn't been the case with Frankfort. Village residents and officials have been welcoming and appreciative of the work they see in Patch, even when some of …

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POLL: Are We Losing Thanksgiving as a Holiday?

With retailers starting to think about opening on the holiday, has Turkey Day become just another day? Tell us what you think.

Earlier this week, Steve Grzanich, an afternoon anchor and reporter for WBBM-AM (780), tweeted an interesting thought: Are we losing #Thanksgiving as a holiday? Christmas season starts now before Halloween w/very little mention of Turkey Day. #stoprushingxmas Right now, grocery stores have limited—and sometimes full—hours on Thanksgiving. Retailers are opening earlier and earlier to catch the Black Friday wave. Target is opening at midnight, and Toys R Us will be open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving.  Has Thanksgiving lost its holiday appeal? Will it eventually become as significant as Arbor Day or Columbus Day? Have we lost it as a day off to be spent with family and copious amounts of food? Take our poll and tell us what you think in our …

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Food Pantry Heads Into Its Busy Season

As the holiday season begins, the Frankfort Township Food Pantry prepares for more donations. Find out who is holding food drives and other activities for the pantry.

There's a predictable routine to the fall season. Like the changing color of the leaves or the changing of Halloween decorations straight to Christmas lights. It's the influx of activity at the Frankfort Township Food Pantry. From Nov. 1 to the day before Christmas, the pantry hits its busiest period of the year, said the food pantry's Jodi Gallagher-Dilling. "It's great, and it's wonderful," Gallagher-Dilling said. "I actually had to call in extra volunteers (this week)." The increased attention is certainly helpful given the slow intake of donations during the summer months. Although she doesn't expect to see a jump in demand this season, Gallagher-Dilling said she doesn't see participation dissipating. The food pantry averages about 10 …

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Amy Hanchar

11:50 am on Saturday, November 19, 2011

@Joe: We are doing the food drive until the end of the month. Amy First United Bank 818-464-8282   more ›

Intersections of Life and Faith

Holidays vs. Holy Days: Celebrating Service, Not Leisure

Every day makes a difference. What are you doing with your day today?

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” That Mahatma Gandhi quote hangs above my computer. Listening this past week to the news reports coming in from Georgia and the Carolinas over students having to make up a school attendance day on Martin Luther King Day, this quote has been rolling around in my brain quite a bit. Because here’s the thing: While I certainly do not live in the South, nor was I a contemporary of Dr. King, nor am I African-American, I did do quite a bit of research on MLK for my last book, and it seems to me he was all about shaking the world in a gentle way. Call it cultural illiteracy, but I certainly had no idea until I did my research that when the U.S. Congress created the Martin Luther King Day holiday in 1994 …

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Weekly Wrapup

What Made Headlines From Dec. 19-25

L-W East senior earns top athlete honors and we wrap up the holidays with lights, decorations and ugly sweaters.

"I will always remember playing the sport I love with my best friends. The times we had in both practices and games were something I will never forget. I wish it never had to end." --Pat Meehan, linebacker for Lincoln-Way East High School who earned Patch's top fall athlete honors in the Frankfort/Mokena area last week. Seats Illinois will have in the U.S. House of Representatives. According to U.S. Census data released last week, the state lost a seat to appropriation. The tanning shop where an armed robber who could be connected to a murder and other shootings was stopped by a customer reopened its doors last week, four days after the incident. Management says regular customers have returned. The New Lenox family lost its house and…

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Ho-Ho-Homing In On Santa's Sleigh With NORAD

Track Mr. Claus' location all night long courtesy of the North American Air Defense Command.

For up-to-the-minute Santa-spotting, visit www.noradsanta.org. While Santa Claus makes his trip around the world, with Rudolph lighting the way, the men and women at NORAD will be tracking his travels and alerting children of his progress. Santa's magic is powerful and much more technologically advanced than that of NORAD, the North American Air Defense Command, said U.S. Army Major Mike Humphreys. Humphreys is stationed at Peterson Air Force Base, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The command is confident that Santa will be able to handle anything he encounters on his Christmas Eve trip. "We have satellites in space that pick up heat signatures, and those satellites pick up threats," Humphreys said. "Rudolph's nose comes in quite well on those …

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Lights! Camera! Holiday Action!

Take a tour through Frankfort neighborhoods for a look at some of the colorful Christmas decorations.

You can't drive through a Frankfort neighborhood during this time of year without slowing down to gaze at a holiday light display in someone's yard. Love them or put off by off by them, these earth-bound aurore boreali never fail to grab our attention whether it's a simple arrangement of a string of lights or a full-blown explosion of shimmering polychromatic luminescence.   With Christmas fast approaching (three more days), we've put together a collection of some festive residences that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own laptop. Consider this the Frankfort equivalent of the WPIX Yule Log, a holiday tradition you can enjoy without braving icy roads and snowy conditions. And if there's a holiday display you think deserves being part…

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Weekly Wrapup

What Made Headlines From Dec. 12-18

As Christmas closes in, we gave you ideas for volunteering and DIY ornaments. Plus, the son of a Will County official has charges dismissed and a bank forecloses on a Frankfort golf course.

"I want everyone to understand that (Matthew Moustis) is a very innocent young man who has a long time to go, building his reputation back." --Jeff Tomczak, attorney for Matthew Moustis, who had aggravated battery charges dismissed against him Dec. 17 in connection with a stabbing incident in July. On Dec. 15, a grand jury came back with a bill of no indictment against the son of Will County Board Chairman and Frankfort Township Supervisor Jim Moustis in the case. Ranking for Lincoln-Way East's girls basketball game in Patch's area power ratings. The 6-3 Griffins have lost to teams with a combined record of 21-1. Local retailers stayed open late as part of the village's Midnight Madness event. Shops served drinks and snacks, as …

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