I ——————— Sunday, May 8, 2011 THE DALL AS POST PAGE 3 DALLAS SCHOOL DISTRICT Keystone Exams, Jress code on board's agenda By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com The Dallas School Board re- ceived an update about the looming state-mandated Keys- tone Exams at a meeting Mon- day night. Paul Reinert, director of curri- culum and instruction and as- sistant superintendent, said it is still difficult to determine what will be required of the district be- cause information on the exams is constantly changing — he called them “a moving target.” The Keystone Exams are end- of-course tests created by the state Department of Education that will be required of high school students in 10 subjects - Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Literature, English Composi- tion, Biology, Chemistry, U.S. History, World History and Civ- ics and Government. Reinert said the district can inister the state-created ex- @: and have them count for one-third of students’ grade in each corresponding course or al- low the test to be taken without interfering with students’ course grades. However, students must score proficiently on the test in the latter scenario or they will not be eligible for a diploma. The district could also have “This is my 10th year in high school administra- tion, and | just realized it. When it comes to fashions with high school age kids, fashions come faster than we can make policies.” Jeffrey Shaffer Dallas High School principal the option to create its own as- sessment for each course, but these exams would need to be validated by the state Depart- ment of Education. Reinert also said creating a lo- cal assessment may interfere with the district’s ability to meet state Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards. He said the No Child Left Behind Act is set to expire, and with that federal Act’s realignment, Adequate Yearly Progress reporting may also change — and may depend on the usage of the Keystone Ex- ams. He said the Keystone Exams have been put on hold for now — with state budget cuts, it may be See AGENDA, Page 12 sss. meet at the appetizer table. Friends The Friends of the Back Mountain Memorial Library hosted their 23rd Annual Lun- cheon with a Special Author on April 28 at the Appletree Ter- race, Newberry Estate, Dallas. Guest speaker was Mary Gar- rity Slaby, an area author and teacher. Slaby, whose pen name is Mol- lie Roe, is a veteran language arts and reading teacher at Lake- Lehman Junior-Senior High School. She holds a Ph.D. in edu- cation from Temple University and has PA Teaching Certifica- tions in six areas. She was born 7 p A a i hoi il a # my Elizabeth Fairchild, of Shavertown, and Alice Bartlett, of Dallas, Deb Cooper, right, of Dallas, explains to Cassie Munzing, of Sha- vertown, how she isn't trying to cut into the appetizer line. in Philadelphia, raised in Schuyl- kill County and resides in Dallas. “Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires,” winner of a CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Kay Simons, left, Ann Russin, center, and Nancy Edgerton greet each other at the luncheon. 2010 Mom’s Choice Award, is the first in the author’s trilogy of historical novels loosely based on the lives of her ancestors and takes place in our own back yard. All proceeds from the lun- cheon and sale of books will ben- efit the library. Rep. Boback is named 201 Woman of the Year in Politics The Luzerne County Council of Republican Women present- ed State Representative Karen Boback (R-Harveys Lake) with the 2011 Woman of the Year in Politics award on Saturday, April 30. The honor was bestowed up- on Boback at the Women in Politics Breakfast hosted by The Luzerne County Council of Republican Women at the Ramada Inn downtown Wilkes- €. : gps Grabko, president, Luzerne County Council of Re- publican Women, provided the welcome and introduction for the presenters who included State Senator Lisa Baker (R- Luzerne); Reverend Charles Gommer, campaign chairman, Friends of Karen Boback; and State Representative Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne). Boback, Ph.D. was first elect- ed in 2006 to serve the 117th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. She serves on the House Agricul ture and Rural Affairs, Gaming Oversight, Tourism and Recre- ational Development and Veter- ans Affairs and Emergency Pre- paredness committees. She is the subcommittee chairman of Military and Veterans Facili- ties, and Speaker of the House Sam Smith appointed her to serve on the Veterans’ Home Advisory Council for the Gino J. Merli Veterans Center (Northeastern). Moderator for the awards program was State Representa- tive Tarah Toohil who read a letter from Smith that stated in part: “Karen is so deserving of this honor. She is not only a @) deriv! representative on be- .Jalf of the Republican Party but, more importantly, she is a devoted and caring Representa- tive of the 117th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.” Sen. Baker read a quotation by John Quincy Adams who stated, “If your action inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” She when on to say, “Karen Boback embodies that statement. She is committed to serving the ci- REP. KAREN BOBACK tizens in her district and com- munity.” Sen. Baker was named the 2010 Woman in Politics of the Year at the inaugural awards breakfast in May 2010. Reverend Charles Gommer, campaign chairman, Friends of Karen Boback praised Rep. Bo- back for her deep commitment to all of the residents in her district. “Karen has a positive vision for how to make things happen in our state,” he said. A lifelong resident of north- eastern Pennsylvania, boback currently resides at Harveys Lake. “Hollywood Glamour” is this year’s theme for the 44th annual senior dinner dance sponsored by the Area Agency on Aging for Luzerne-Wyom- ing Counties from 2 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11 at Ge- netti’s Best Western, Wilkes- Barre. Music will be provide by the “Fancy Dancer” band. There will be over 65 door prizes and a grand prize donated by Cen- tral Penn Gas for the lucky per- Senior citizens will enjoy 44th annual dinner dance sons chosen to be the King and Queen of the dance. The event is open to all adults. Tickets are $21 for age 60 plus and $22 for under age 60 and include dinner choice of prime rib, sole stuffed with crab imperial or chicken fran- cais. A cash bar will be avail- able. Tickets can be purchased at any senior center or by calling Rhonda Adams at 822-1159, ext. 3337. JACKSON TOWNSHIP Supervisors will seek help to prevent future flooding issues By EILEEN GODIN Dallas Post Correspondent Supervisors agreed to seek help in preventing future flood- ing, announced an upcoming mu- nicipal auction and showed off awards received for involvement in the Back Mountain Communi- ty Partnership agreement. A unanimous vote was passed Monday morning to send a letter to the Luzerne County engineer for assistance in finding a perma- nent solution to prevent flooding from Hillside Creek in the area just below the Farmers Inn on Hillside Road. Along with the region’s current wet weather pattern, Jackson Township has dealt with Hillside Creek overflowing its banks twice this year, on March 11 and again on April 28. The water from the swollen creek, generated from overflow from Hillside Dam, washed across the lower section of Hillside Road, affect- ing a handful of homes. Supervisor Al Fox suggested supervisors contact the Luzerne County engineer to discuss op- tions to prevent a recurrence. He said perhaps debris could be cleaned out of the streem, start- ing at the dam and heading down stream to the Kingston Township line. Supervisor Tim Evans agreed, stating something needs to be done before a “real prob- lem” happens in that area. The multi-municipal Emergen- cy Management Agreement had an opportunity to be called into action due to the recent weather- related emergencies. The EMA partnership, adopt- ed by Jackson Township in Febru- ary, combines Jackson Township emergency equipment resources with Dallas Township, Dallas Borough, Lehman Township, Kingston Township and Franklin Township. Supervisor John Wilkes Jr. said the agreement was invaluable as assistance from neighboring mu- nicipalities, along with help from SCI-Dallas, helped “things go smoothly.” In other news ... ¢ Supervisors approved a Back Mountain Community Partner- ship resolution to hold a munici- pal auction at 10 a.m. on June 11 at the Jackson Township munici- pal building. Refreshments will be sold by members of Boy Scout Troop 146. e Supervisors approved to change the status of David Lu- lewicz, a mechanic equipment operator from part-time to full- time as per the Road Department Union Contract. Lulewicz has worked with the Road Depart- ment as a part-time employee for the past seven years, Wilkes said. e Supervisors authorized the road master to hire temporary seasonal recreation park attend- ants at a rate of $7.25 per hour. e Wilkes announced the Back Mountain Community Partner- ship had recently received awards from the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, the Pennsylvania State Townships Association of Supervisors, the House of Representatives and Senate for entering into an agree- ment to share resources benefit- ting the quality of life of residents and better use of tax dollars. ROSS TOWNSHIP Few radio units must be replaced By EILEEN GODIN Dallas Post Correspondent During Tuesday night’s meet- ing, supervisors announced only a handful of radio communica- tion units may need to be re- placed due to a Federal Commu- nication Commission law re- quirement. Last month, supervisors dis- cussed the need to determine how many of their radio commu- nication units could be repro- grammed and how many may need to be replaced. Chairman Stanford Davis ex- plained the FCC passed a law re- quiring all radio systems to oper- ate on narrow ban frequencies versus the wide ban frequencies. The narrow ban would create more frequencies for future use. Davis contacted Purosky and Tuckerman, a two-way radio dealer in Dickson City, and learned that most of the town- ship’s radio systems can be repro- grammed to operate on the nar- row ban. The township owns nine mo- bile units and three portable ra- dio communication units. In or- der to be in accordance with a new FCC regulation, Davis esti- mates four units will need to be replaced by October 2011. “Quotes will be sought for new radios,” he said. In other news ... ¢ Davis announced a free elec- tronic recycling collection is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 11 at the Hanover Junior Senior High School in Hanover Township. The following items will be ac- cepted: answering machines, CD players, hard drives, mainframe computer equipment, modems, printers, radios, scanners, tape players, transparency makers, word processors, VCRs, personal computers, central processing unit, monitor, keyboard and mouse units, telephones, cam- corders, copiers, fax machines, laptops, microwaves, mobile phones, pagers, printed circuit boards, remote controls, stereos, televisions and typewriters. There is a 100-pound per item weight limit. Pre-registration is required for 20 or more comput- ers or similar sized items. Those wishing to participate should call 1-800-821-7654 for more information.
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