Photo Fun: Southland Residents Show St. Patty's Spirit At 13th Annual Tinley Park Parade

Sunshine beamed on parade goers Sunday afternoon during Tinley Park's annual Irish celebration. If you were there, look for yourself in our photo gallery. If you weren't see what you missed.

The weather was on Southland residents' side Sunday afternoon when they showed up in droves to Oak Park Avenue, where the Tinley Park St. Patty's parade made its way from 183rd to 171st streets.  Share a photo from the Tinley or South Side Irish Parades and you'll be entered in a random drawing for a free $50 gas card. This year marked the 13th for the event, in which more than 80 participants marched, waved and tossed candy for spectators. Were you at the parade? Look for yourself and your loved ones in the accompanying photo gallery. Find tons more local connections on Patch. Like us on Facebook

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Patch’s Little Pumpkin Costume Challenge is Now Closed

Heidi Klum will choose the Grand Prize winner from our favorite photos of your creative kids' costumes.

Which kid in America has the most creative Halloween costume in the pumpkin patch? That's what we intend to find out with your photos and the help of celebrity judge Heidi Klum, who will select the Grand Prize winner. The Grand Prize? Patch will whisk the winner to New York or Los Angeles for a three-day, two-night trip for two that includes a meet and greet with Heidi, plus a donation of $1,031 to a local charity of the winner's choice. Nine runners up will also get a $1,031 donation from Patch to a local charity of his or her choice. Entering is easy. Just upload a photo of your child, 12 years of age or younger, in his or her Halloween costume. Entries must be made by the parent or legal guardian of the child photographed. Photos should…

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Vincent Link Makes 'A' Honor Roll

Kid is waiting to surprise his dad at Huck Finn Donuts.

I ran into my neighbor, Vincent Link, at Huck Finn Donuts on Wednesday afternoon. Vincent was waiting to surprise his dad with his A-honor roll certificate from Sward Elementary School. While waiting for his dad to show up, his uncles rewarded him an ice cream sundae. "Are you going to put it on the Patch," one of them asked. We sure are. Do you have a kid on the honor roll? Did your child's team win the basketball tournament or score a moral victory? Send you pictures to Lorraine at lorraine.swanson@patch.com, or upload them in the Patch announcements, because we can always use some good news. It's as easy as that good pie at Huck Finn's.

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Five Minutes With ...

Patch Spends Five Minutes With Lynn and Audra Gray

Patch sits down with Oak Lawn mother-and- daughter world travelers to talk about their mission in Kenya.

Patch:  Can you tell me a little about yourselves and the work that you do? Lynn:  I am a retired Children’s minister and now a chaplain at Oak Lawn Bible Church.  My daughter and I travel the world as evangelists and have been on 15 trips for this purpose thus far. Audra:  I am a professor at Trinity Christian College and have been actively involved with the ministry in Kenya and other nations. Patch: What drew your attention to Kenya? Lynn: We met a young man who was from Narok, a village that is a two-hour ride northwest of Nairobi. He was here on a student visa and the program he was utilizing was discontinued. The church offered to help him and others in his situation by providing food and shelter. He told us of his village where the …

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Neighboring Nurses Volley in a Friendly Crosstown Competition for Charity

Nurses from neighboring Endoscopic laboratories take to the sand to claim victory in a case of friendly 95th Street rivalry.

While praising the work of nurses at the different Endoscopic teams of Evergreen Park’s Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Centers and Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, little did Dr. Michael D’Astice know he’d set off a case of friendly 95th Street rivalry. “Since many Gastroenterology specialists work at both hospitals, naturally, they often compared the routines of the different teams. After a while, the nurses grew tired of the comparison,” said D’Astice, Medical Director of the Endoscopy Center at Little Company of Mary. The Endoscopy nurses at Advocate Christ Medical Center took matters in their own hands, and threw down the gauntlet--Team GI vs Little Company of Mary's Bombers--to determine the better team …

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Hundreds Turn Out for Third Annual Sully Shuffle

More than 500 participate in 5K run and 3K walk to raise money for Parkinson's disease research on behalf of Oak Lawn coach who is battling the disease.

Rain or shine, the people of Oak Lawn love Skip Sullivan.  Family, friends, current and former students came out en mass and in the rain on Sunday to support a man who means so much to so many in his fight against Parkinson's disease.  A teacher and coach at Oak Lawn Community High School, Sullivan was diagnosed seven years ago with the disease. The Sully Shuffle is just one way the people around him show their support for a man who has spent most of his life supporting them. Organizer and head girls varisty basketball coach Janet Haubenreiser praised all of the volunteers and people that came out in support of Sullivan and the fight against Parkinson's disease.  “We have had great support for the last two years and expect this year’s …

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