BIL GHTON
BOX B56
HIRTGHTON, La
@®Vol. 93, No. 5
25 Cents
RIDING FOR FUN AND THERA
A
Dallas continues to provide lessons
and horse trail experiences for both
physical and mentally disabled
children and young adults, but the
job is becoming more difficult for
-3
ES
N iismmbion
RNY LH
WO Wa RAs
Thomas Bly, Dallas Postmaster,
announced that Raymond A.
Cecconi has heen promoted to
uperintendent of Postal
perations at the Dallas Post
7 Office.
Cecconi began his postal career in
1962 as a substitute letter carrier in
Seawaren, N.J, He was transferred
to Wilkes-Barre as a distribution
clerk in 1963, He transferred to
Si
Kingston in 1972 as a window clerk,
For the past three years, he has
gerved as supervisor of collection
and delivery, and superintendent of
station and branch operations at the
Kingston Post Office. His promotion
to the Dallas Post Office became
effective Feb, 5.
Cecconi, his wife, Mary Ann and
daughter, Jill, reside at 418 Hoyt
St. rk
SCHOOL, Dallas Senior
Back /lountain Baseball will hold
its fina) registration for the 1983
season Saturday, Feb. 19, from 11
a.m, to 2 p.m. at the Shavertown
Methodist Church, corner of Center
Street and Pioneer Avenue.
Registration is open in the following
leagues: Little League Hardball,
ages 8-12; Little League Softball,
ages 9-12; Teener League Hardball,
ages 13-15; Senior League Softball,
ages 13-15 and American League
(Hardball, ages 16-19.
.
Registration fees are $10.00 per
child for the first two children and
$6.00 for the third child per family.
Registration for American ‘Legion
will be $20. Children registering for
the first time should bring their
birth certificates,
All youngsters wishing to partici
pate in any of the programs are
urged to register at this time, In the
event of inclement weather,
registration will be held Feb, 26,
coordinator Georgeann Kosten
bauder
"It's not the time involved in
lessons,” she explained, "It's trying
to get volunteers and financial
fy
In response to his home having
been broken into on two occasions,
Jay Miller, director of activities at
the State Corrections Institution at
Chase has embarked upon a public
information program to tell people
thelr hones are nol 4, sale as they
might think, Miller uses an inmate,
Ken Anderson, in his presentation
and relies heavily upon the book
Are You Safe From Burglars?,
written by Early Barnes, another
inmate
The book was published in 1971,
while Barnes, a professional
burglar was Incarcerated in
another state prison, He is pre
sently at Chase but does not have
outside clearance so Is unable to
accompany Miller, On Jan, 10
Miller and Anderson spoke to the
Mountaintop Junior Woman's Club
in the first of what he hopes will be
many such presentations, Treating
the subject of burglary from the
point of the burglar as well as
someone who has been victimized,
jarnes actually “blows a lot of
theories about how safe, safe is,
help.”
At the moment, the problem
appears to he keeping the horses
fed, The cost for food is over $200
per month, and Kostenbauder has
taken out a personal loan to make
ends meet, Still, she admits,
H.1LD. KE, Is at least $1500 in debt
The program has existed through
the generosity of various agencies,
civie clubs and private citizens
Charles Dente allows Kostenbauder
to teach and house the horses and
give lessons from his farm in
Kunkle, rent free, Dallag Kiwanis
purchased two horses for use by the
program, and Back Mountain
Kiwanis donated over $1,000 last
year toward the purchase of feed
and equipment, Girl Scout troops
have volunteered their time to help
with the lessons, They walk with the
handicapped riders, groom horses
and lend a hand wherever needed
But Kostenbauder said it takes
phenomenal effort to keep a steady
flow of volunteers on hand
Her incentive in approaching the
Lions ig that they are holding their
state convention in Wilkes-Barre
this year, She believes the Dallas
organization can perform an eye
catching function by supporting
Operation H.1.D KE,
Because the program is not well
Actually it is next to impossible to
completely burglar-proof your
home without overdoing it and
interfering with natural ingress and
CRI ens ’
Miller admits his house was an
casy target for burglars because of
hig carelessness. For example, he
had hung a canvas around his base
ment door to keep out the weather
This turned out to be a perfect
hiding place for a burglar
Miller also used doorknob locks,
which are very easily jimmied by
even an amateur burglar, Now, he
has secured the basement entrance
with a deadbolt action plus knob
lock, He has also encased the door
sash In concrete and added a 2x4
barricade bar
On the main entrance doors,
Miller has installed deadbolt and
cylinder locking systems, He is
award, however, that it is still not
enough to keep out the criminal
element bent on burglary, As a per
fect example in a second attempt to
burglarize his home, thieves
climbed on a gas grill to enter a
second floor window
known throughout the area, Kosten
bauder said she has difficulty with
fund-raising projects, A raffle and
Ride-a-thon, sponsored last year,
netted only a few hundered dollars
An organ brought only
about 20 people out, The concert
featured an organist from Chicago
brought to the area by Yurish Music
Center
Despite the fact that it is not a
well-known cause, Operation
R.I.LD. KE, hag shown amazing
results, Kiwanis and LUZARC com
bined last year to sponsor three
picnics for the handicapped and
their families, On all three oc
cagions, at least 50 handicapped
children and their families enjoyed
a day of riding and fun
The Luzerne County Parks and
Recreation Department gave $240
last year as well
concert,
Kosteénbauder also took the
horges to Camp Daddy Allen at
Hickory Run State Park (an Easter
Seals Camp) on two occasions, One
trip wag sponsored by the Back
Mountain Jaycees and the other by
the Blind Association
The riders have proven the worth
of the project time and again with
physical and mental advancement
after taking lessons, Several were
able to enter horse shows during the
Miller says the best defense
against burglary is neighbors
helping neighbors, ‘As one inmate
told me, ‘the key is to nose into
other people's business for the right
purpose’,
He also advocates crime wateh
and house watch programs, He
suggests using whatever means
possible to make it difficult for
someone to break into your home
He also advises considering cost
effectiveness, A dog is fine if it is
convenient to own one, On the other
hand, a professional burglar is not
put off by a dog
Alarm systems are not com
pletely burglar-proof, as they can
he defeated by a smarg gang with a
pair of wire cutters, The fact is if a
burglar believes it is worth his
while, he'll find the weak spot in
your home and get in, For this
reason, Miller advises against
showing off expensive jewelry or
belongings
Hig community program was
initiated with a Jan, 10 talk to the
Mountaintop Women's Club, He and
Anderson dre available to meet
year, with two participants
bringing home second and third
place ribbons, One young boy, who
came to Kostenbauder in a wheel
chair, now brags he can walk a mile
or two and hig boast 1s true, He hag
given up his wheelchair and leg
brace, and looks forward to con
tinued progress
Last year Operation
RIDE, served 20 physically and
mentally handicapped people on a
weekly basis, In addition, almost
200 handicapped persons toured the
stable on field trips and ex
perienced the sights, sounds, smells
and feel of a real horse, most of
them for the first time
alone,
The program is considered
therapy and is organized with the
aid of a physical therapist, Kosten
bhauder herself is an avid horse
lover and sees the project ag a way
of combining her enthusiasm for
riding with helping people, She is
well-skilled in her craft, having a
B.S, from Penn State University in
large animal husbandry
She admits she will keep RID KE,
going by dipping into her own
pocket as long as is necessary, Her
wish. is / to the program
recognized as the beneficial cause
that it is
See
burglary
with other groups upon request
Although his work at the prison
was not the initial impetus for
developing the program, he has the
advantage of dally contact with
persons who have made a career of
Miller is in
charge of leisure time and recren-
tional programs for the inmates,
This includes running athletic
endeavors such as basketball, soft
hall, boxing, foothall, volleyball and
weightlifting teams, He is also in
charge of the soelal Inmate
organizations such as Centurisn
burglary. At the prigor
JayCees, Life Association, Latin
American Study Cultural Group,
Narcotics Anonymous and
Alcoholic Anonymous
He Is available to take his
burglary program to interested
civic and social groups, Arrange
ments can be made by contacting
Miller at the prison, He believes in
light of recent burglary activity in
the area, that homeowners can
protect themselves better,
providing they incorporate a little
common sense into their planning,
Shoppers in the Lake Lehman
School District received a very
special treat last week when the
Lake-Lehman Education
Association held its first “Free
Store,” The “Free Store” offered
clothing, toys and other articles to
local customers completely free of
items were all
members of the
Lake
charge, The
donations from
Association (teachers ut
Lehman) and thelr friends,
The one-day project wag con
sidered an overwhelming success
“We were thrilled with the
response,” explained association
president Jane Morris, "We weren't
Harry Lefko, Dallas School Board
member, who has been under fire
recently due to his frequent ab
sences from board meetings, has
resigned from his position as a
member of the District's negotia
tions committee but not from hig
position as board member
Russell Havey, chairman of the
negotiations committee, confirmed
the report that Lefko had resigned
from the negotiations committee
but not from the board,
“Lefko said that he was sub
mitting his resignation from the
committee because his work made
it impossible for him to attend the
number of meetings being held for
the negotiations,” said Havey, ‘His
resignation was accepted with
regrets because 1 believe he has a
lot to offer. I have asked Director
Ernest Ashbridge to replace him
and Ashbridge has accepted,”
Havey said that the negotiations
between the committee and the
Dallas Education Association
(DEA) representatives are going
well
“Discussions are going well, |
believe that we are making
progress, Both sides have been very
friendly and there has been no
impasse, We have not reached the
point of discussion on economic
issues but 1 am optimistic at this
point,” said Havey,
John Johnson, Jr., president of
the DEA, confirmed Havey's
statement, “We have been
discussing Issues of mutual con
cern,” sald Johnson, “The meetings
are a good opportunity to hear both
sides, the district and the teachers
We have not discussed any
economic issues but there is plenty
of time, This is only February, Our
contract does. not expire until
August, To-date, our discussions
have been very friendly,”
sure how it would go over but our
fears were quickly put to rest,”
The Free Store was conceived in
an effort to perform a community
service in light of present economic
conditions, Morris noted the group
could have used more children’s
remembered when
second Free She said the
association is hoping to run another
in the spring
Store
The Free Store was held in the
Lehman Fire Hall and manned
entirely by Lake-Lehman teachers,
It was open from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m,
after school, Feb, 9