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BRIGHTON BINDERY
BOX 234
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BRIGHTON, Ia
Vol. 93, No. 27
ES
25 Cents
Battle of The Budget
n Budget
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Post Correspondent
School Districts across the Commonwealth of Penn-
sylvania were closely watching the ‘Battle of the
Budget” in Harrisburg last week.
The budget bill, signed by Governor Dick Thornburgh
on July 11, had some $450 million in cuts in basic
instructional subsidy earmarked for local school dis-
tricts.
Among the districts to be affected if the money cut is
not restored are the two Back Mountain school districts
- Lake-Lehman and Dallas.
Ray Bowersox, ‘business manager of the Lake-
Lehman School District, explained the difference in the
amount of appropriation budgeted by the district at the
last board meeting and what it will be under the bill
signed by the governor is $658,530.
“If the Senate and House do not come to some
agreement and restore the cuts made in the education
area, we will end the coming year with a deficit. It’s
difficult for the District to go back and do anything
about it,” said Bowersox. ‘The laws do not allow it.
Once the budget is passed, we can’t go back and reopen
the matter unless some type of legislation is passed.
“We have done everything we could possibly do
before the last meeting in order to keep down the
millage. We already have released at least three-
fourths of the purchase orders for the year.
“We should get the first part of the district’s
allocation from the state the third Thursday in August.
The state has to notify us by Aug. 1. If the budget battle
is not settled, officials in Harrisburg will have to do
some new calculations for all the distriets.”’
Bowersox explained that the education cuts would
hurt every district in the Commenwealth, the larger
Deficit
districts such as Philadelphia and Harrisburg by even
much larger deficits than the smaller districts. He also
said he can’t see these two large cities holding still for
the recent move by the governor.
Gerald Wyecallis, superintendent in charge of curricu-
lum in the Dallas School District, was in accord with
Bowersox’ statements. He did say that the Dallas
District was holding tight at the present time, hoping
that a tax reform bill would be passed. The problem,
according to Wycallis, is just how long it would be
before any type of reform bill was passed, if at all.
“If some settlement isn’t reached,” said Wycallis,
“All districts will suffer. Dallas District will be cut
approximately $775,000. This will be a severe blow by
the end of the next year if the matter isn’t resolved, but
we are hoping that it will be. 3
‘All districts are working with responsible officials to
seek some solution,” said Wycallis.
Like Bowersox, Wycallis explained that the cuts
would not affect the local districts right away since tax
collections ‘and the first share of their subsidy would
tide them over. If some sort of restoration is not done,
this year’s school program will place undue hardship
on local communities.
“We can’t go back,” said Wyecallis. ‘The budget is
approved at the district level and we can’t reopen it
unless the state passes legislation allowing districts to
go back and re-calculate budgetary items including
taxes. At the present time, we are remaining optimistic
that state officials will recognize the importance of
restoring educational excellence in our schools.”
The districts are not alone in trying to aid in
resolving the ‘Battle of the Budget”. The Pennsylvania
School Board Association is waging strong efforts to
gain legislative support for the restoration of the
education funds. They are working with responsible
officials to seek an acceptable and timely resolution to
the dilemma.
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VOA Store Opens
Dallas Post/Rod Kaye
Barre.
By JANE C. BOLGER
Post Correspondent
The city zoning dispute over the Volunteers of
America building in South Wilkes-Barre has brought
Back Mountain native Fred Anderson into the public
eye.
Fred, who now lives near Dorrance Corners in
Centermoreland, is the Executive Director of the local
branch of VOA, having established the post here in 1974
and built it into the prominent organization it is today.
The name Fred Anderson is a familiar one to most
people in this area as his father, the late Fred
Anderson Sr., was the first magistrate elected to
District 3-8 in Shavertown while at the same time his
mother Dorothy worked at The Dallas Post. Fred took
In Dallas Schools
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Albert Pisaneschi, chairman of the Dallas School
District transportation committee, reported at last
week’s board meeting, that Leon Emmanuel contracted
to transport the district students for the 1983-84 school
year at no increase in cost over the 1982-83 term.
The contract price averages approximately $2,300
plus per day. It should be noted, however, that buses
will not have to transport students to Trucksville
Elementary or Dallas Elementary during the coming
year since those buildings will be closed due to a
decline in students.
There was no decision announced by the directors as
to whether or not the vacancy left by the recent
retirement of senior high principal, Edgar Hughes,
would be filled. There have been rumors in the
community that the district would operate without
appointing another principal but instead go with
assistant principals Leon Trager, Frank Galicki and
principal Daniel Poorman.
Several other appointments were approved by the
board, however, including William Wagner, science
teacher, part time at the junior high and part time at
x »
many roads until he entered his present career of
helping people - a post he feels God guided him to.
Along the way, Fred was a licensed barber for two
years before attending Lutiieran ‘Bible Institute and
then graduating from Augustana College with future
plans of entering the ministry. After serving as a
foreign missionary in Taiwan for a year, he had
planned to enter the seminary but was forced to change
his plans because of a series of family illnesses that
brought him back to this area.
In order for him to support his young family, he then
worked at anything and everything from being a hod
carrier and a pastry maker to being a department store
salesman before finding his way back to ministering to
people. It was after the flood that Fred went with the
Wilkes-Barre Redevelopment Authority and then with
(See VOA, Page 8)
Remain Same
the senior high; Florence H. Sherwood, music instrue-
tor, part time at the junior high and part time at senior
high. In past years, Mrs. Sherwood has taught only part
time as a senior high instructor. Margaret Schuler was
appointed part time physical education teacher at the
junior high school.
Ernest Ashbridge, representative from Dallas Dis-
trict to the West Side Vo-Tech Board, reported that
Wyoming Valley West and Wyoming Area, two of Vo-
Tech’s five member districts, had not approved the
Tech budget for 1983-84. Four of the five members must
vote in favor of the board’s budget in order for it to
pass.
Employees with 12-month contracts have not been
paid since July 1. An emergency meeting of the Veo-
Tech finance committee and executive committee has
been called to try to resolve the issue. If the budget is
not approved by at least four of the five member
districts, the West Side Vo-Tech School could close.
O’Donnell, also a representative to the Vo-Tech Board,
said that“although the closing is possible, he believe
that if is unlikely to happen. The outcome depends on
the results of the emergency meeting.
Joseph O'Donnell, vice president of the board,
presided in the absence of president William Camp.
A meeting of the board has been scheduled for July
25.
Inmates Graduate
Larry
By DOTTY MARTIN
Associate Editor
Three inmates at the State Correctional Institution at
Dallas have received Associate Degrees from Luzerne
County Community College.
Larry Stephenson. Clinten Anderson and Mike Vac-
carello recently completed the necessary requirements
of the college and were awarded their degrees at
graduation ceremonies held last Wednesday at the
Dallas institution.
Their achievements were made possible through a
program instituted by the Pennsylvania Jaycees. Vac-
carello, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence,
was instrumental in starting the program at the local
institution.
A King of Prussia native, Vaccarello explained that
he started taking college courses upon his arrival at
Dallas ‘in 1979. Since he was arrested at the age of 17
and never completed his senior year at Upper Merion
High School, he was first compelled to take and
successfully. complete a General Equivalency Test
before he was awarded a high scheol diploma from the
Pennsylvania Department of Education.
The 23-year-old Vaccarello explained that he was
taking the courses, which were funded by the state, and
(See INMATES, Page 8)
By JANE C. BOLGER
Post Correspondent
“It’s just not going to be the same
without Andy,” seems to be the
reaction of most people from one
end of Dallas to the other when they
hear that Andy Sokol will be retir-
ing Aug. 3 as their mailman.
For 30 years, Andy has walked
the same route knowing the name of
every child and dog, knowing who is
sick or lonely or could use a helping
hand or a kind word.
‘“Andy-The-Mailman” has become
a phrase synonomous with warmth
and caring. Everyone has a favorite
story to tell about Andy - how he
came along just in time to catch the
clothesline when it broke in two, the
way he told them to make their
roses bloom, or picked up the gro-
ceries that were tumbling out of a
broken bag, or admired their new
paint job, or picked up the tyke that
had fallen off his bicycle, or found
their lost dog.
Everyone’s heard the jokes about
mailmen and dogs and Andy does
admit to having ‘had a couple of
tetanus shots’ but typically he
insists ‘I've never met a bad dog or
a vicious one.” He relates tie tale
of “Molly”, a dog that belonged to
the Van Horns on Lake Street.
“It was a hot summer day and 1
disturbed her, so she bit me. Molly’s
dead now and the Van Horns are
gone too,” he finished a trifle sadly.
Andy estimates that only about
two dozen of his original mail cus-
tomers from 30 years ago still
reside in their original homes.
These elderly people are among the
many who will miss Andy’s daily
visits. Reminiscing about how it
used to be, Andy also notes a big
change in how and where people in
Dallas shop now.
“Most everyone goes to the shop-
ping centers now,” observed Andy
ANDY SOKOL
who also delivers mail there in his
mini-mail truck.
“Years ago when I started out
from the old post office, every store
owner on Main Street would be out
sweeping the sidewalks. Everyone
walked fo the old Miners Bank and
the 5 & 10 and the Light Cotpany
and to the old Railroad: Station
where the new Post Office is now.”
Actually Andy’s career with the
U.S. Government goes back even
further than the 30 years he’s spent
with the Post Office. Ptior to that,
he was with the Veterans Adminis-
tration for seven years and before
that he was with the 101st Airborne
during World War II.
“I went in on Dee. 2, 1942” said
Andy. “They told me that if I went,
my brother John, who is dead now, -
could stay home and raise his
family so I' went. But then four
months later, they drafted him.”
Andy spent 28 months in Europe,
(See ANDY, Page 8)