CHESTERTON | The Chesterton Town Council recognized the lifesaving efforts of a resident during its meeting Monday, with Fire Chief Mike Orlich saying her actions were heroic and worthy of praise.

Evelyn Ello, who owns Westchester Lanes Bowling Alley with her family, performed CPR on a man who suffered a severe heart attack June 29.

"We responded to a call for a male subject, 71 years old, who was not breathing. We arrived and found Evelyn Ello, who is also a trained nurse, performing CPR. This man is now expected to rebound from his incident," said Orlich, who presented Ello with a framed certificate of commendation from the Fire Department.

"We perform CPR on a regular basis throughout the year and sometimes it doesn't work out as well as it did in this case. Bystanders are usually apprehensive to help. But if it weren't for Evelyn Ello performing CPR, the outcome would not have been the same," Orlich said.

Later in the meeting, Orlich thanked the council for approving the prior purchase of an automated external defibrillator from CEDIT funds.

"We applied two shocks and by the time we got him back in the ambulance, he was conscious," Orlich said.

In other business, the council voted to approve the redevelopment commission's recommendation to amend a planned unit development ordinance for the property known as Galleria, a strip mall at Council Drive and Indian Boundary Road, to allow for an environmentally friendly dry cleaner to become tenant in the space.

Councilman Jim Ton thanked the fire department for its efforts fighting a fire July 14 at Paulson Oil Co.

"It could have been a lot worse, but you've got a good group of people and you did a great job," Ton said.