Vol. 116 No. 45 THE BACK MOUNTAIN'S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1889 November 6 - November 12, 2005 ~v. Na NES 50¢ SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS AND LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS College Misericordia chemistry club holds special event he College Misericordia chemistry professor Larry Peterson pours color-changing wine into the glass of Kathleen Brocius. Experimenting with fun At right, College Misericordia sophomore Jillian Conte makes a volcano during the special pro- gram. ®... at right, College Miser- icordia's recent Things That Go Boom in the Night program was led by chem- istry professor Larry Peterson. ade. FOR THE POST/JONATHAN J. JUKA lege Misericordia held its annual “Things That Go Boom in the Night” in the Science Building on the cam- pus in Dallas. The club has been holding the event each year for more than a dec- Ts Dead Alchemist Society at Col- Chemistry professor Larry Peterson and several students performed scientific experiments for other students, as well as members of the public, for a Halloween treat. The Dead Alchemist Society is the chemistry club of College Misericordia. Its members are primarily — but not entire- ly — students who are chemistry and biol- ogy majors. The program included fire-breathing pumpkins, puking pumpkins, magical wine that changed color each time it was poured, exploding balloons filled with hy- drogen and glowing pickles. There was also a transfiguration of sug- ar into black snakes, spontaneous gummy bear combustion, and purple haze explo- sions. The spectacular finale was a foun- tain of sparks, which took place while rust turned into molten iron. There was no admission charge and re- freshments were provided. isi, , Ris, “egy ne — NOIRE 8: < T Whang, CEST ENP GE Be oe 48 : =p Student promises have deep roots Planting tulips is a symbol of a pledge to stay away from drugs and alcohol By CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Post Correspondent DALLAS - Planting red tulip bulbs and pinning themselves with red ribbons will hopefully remind seventh- and eighth- graders at Gate of Heaven School to stay away from drugs and alcohol for the rest of their lives. “We didn’t even know how to plant them,” says eighth-grader Mindy Moga, referring to the 200 red tulips that were donated to the school as part of the Plant The Promise program. “Mr. (Abe) Simon helped us get it right. The pointy part needs to be up.” The event was organized by the Northeast Highway Safety Program of Catholic Services and sponsored by the Luzerne County juvenile probation pro- gram. The students planted them in front of the middle school building. The bulbs symbolize the promise to be drug and alcohol free, and to make to make safe and healthy decisions when they grow up. The students will be responsible for the care of the flowers until they bloom next spring during April's Alcohol Awareness Month. The red ribbons worn by the students commemorate the 1985 murder of Kiki Camerena, a federal drug agent killed by drug traffickers. The ribbons are worn during national “Red Rib- bon Week,” which traditionally takes place during the last week of October. Children who are on proba- tion for being involved with drugs are often taken to schools for the tulip planting. But there were none at Gate of Heaven. “We hope that the kids are not having a problem here, but real- istically we want to remind them not to ruin their health with drugs and alcohol,” said Mary Anne Malone, coordinator of religious education at Gate of Heaven “Early (drug and alco- hol) education is very important at their age.” National Family Partnership started Red Ribbon Week and the Plant The Promise program to help families and communi- ties keep kids healthy and drug- free. Wearing the ribbons is a symbol of intolerance to the use of drugs and a visible commit- ment to a drug-free community. Planting the tulips reminds kids of that commitment. “The kids remember exactly where they planted their bulbs, even the boys,” says Catherine Sabulski, the program coordina- FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Gate of Heaven teacher Abe Simon helps Jennie Boland and Chelsea Kon plant tulips for the "Plant The Promise’ program. “I'll remember never to do drugs or drink irre- sponsibly or give in to peer pressure. | think this is a very good idea.” Patrick Kalish Gate of Heaven student tor at Catholic Social Services. The program is more than a planting, however. “Tll remember never to do drugs or drink irresponsibly,” says 13-year-old Patrick Kalish, “or give in to peer pressure. | think this is a very good idea.” Gate of Heaven School partic- ipates in other drug and alcohol awareness programs, including an annual poster and essay con- test. But the activities can some- times get routine. The actual planting of the red tulips is a strong reinforcing ac- tivity and a great teaching tool. The school administrators and teachers recognize this, says principal Mary Tigue. “When I first heard about it, I thought it was an interesting new idea, something different,” she said. “The tulips and red rib- bons are a tangible reminder of their promises and responsibili- ties rather than having them re- cite some words.” Teachers reinforce the pro- gram with a writing assignment. “We wrote an essay about what would happen to us if we did drugs, how we would prob- ably get addicted and spend all our money on drugs and alcohol and how that would ruin our lives,” said seventh-grader Dan Kopicki. See PROMISE, Page 6 Volunteers sought for much-needed cleanup of Back Mountain Trail Scouts, school clubs, church youth groups urged to attend Nov. 13 event By M.B. GILLIGAN Post Correspondent KINGSTON TWP. - It’s that time of year again, fall cleanup of the Back Mountain Trail. And volunteer help is always needed. ) “We've found that with the wradual and gentle grade of much of the trail, leaves block up the drainage areas and cause back-up drainage problems,” said Mark Albrecht, president of the Back Mountain Trail Council. “It’s crit- ical to winterize the trail instead of leaving the stuff there until the spring.” Two clean-up dates were scheduled, but there is some con- cern that the fair weather has de- layed the leaves from falling. Ear- lier this week, volunteers planned to work from DAMA to the Luzerne entrance to the trail. Lynn Aldrich, physics professor at College Misericordia and long- time Back Mountain Trail volun- teer, enlisted several students from the college to help rake leav- es and clean up debris. It is part of the ongoing involvement be- tween College Misericordia and the community. The next cleanup will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Now. 13. “We have some volunteers from St. Therese’s confirmation class and the Back Mountain ju- nior high youth group signed up to help,” said Albrecht. “The more volunteers we have, though, the more we can accom- plish.” Volunteers are asked to bring work gloves, and rakes or gas- powered leaf blowers. They can also use plow-shaped, wide-style snow shovels to push wet leaves out of the way. “Of course, we always bring ex- tra rakes and tools so they don’t have to bring their own,” said Al- brecht. Cleanup crews will start at the former municipal building in Trucksville and work their way toward DAMA. “We’ll have rides back for any- one who doesn’t want to walk back,” said Judy Rimple, presi- dent of the Anthracite Scenic ¥ Inside The Post Trails Association. “We've found that we need to spend from $2,000 to $4,000 a year on main- tenance issues, but funding has been good. We've been getting some nice donations from our members and the general public and we're then able to get match- ing grants from the Department of Conservation and Natural Re- sources and from the Depart- ment of Community Economic Development.” The first 2 miles of the Back Mountain Trail from Luzerne to See CLEANUP, Page 5 10 Pages, 1 Section Calendar... sndiiion 10 CRUICH. see seriiistinsetensns 2,6 Community ....cemaniiin 3 SCHOO ...o.eierit iis riert ares anaes 9 SPOILS «ovvetseianssishesinsinsavuive 7 How To Reach Us News: 675-5211 thepost@leader.net 15 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18711 Advertising: 829-7101 Subscriptions and Delivery: 829-5000
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