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Box 336
[BRIGHTON, 1A
Vol. 93, No. 38
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HEHA0 |
Gabriel hearing
By JANE C. BOLGER
Staff Correspondent
The third public hearing to decide whether
or not the Dallas School District can fire
Grounds and Maintenance Supervisor John
Gabriel will be held tomorrow, Oct. 6 at 6:30
p.m.
To date, just one witness - Dallas School
Board Superintendent Dr. Richard A. Shipe -
has appeared on the stand and is scheduled
to testify again at this hearing.
Dr. Shipe has assumed the role of plaintiff
in this case while the Dallas School Board
itself is acting as the jury. At the conclusion
of Dr. Shipe’s testimony, which has already
run seven hours, Gabriel’s defense attorneys
will have the right to cross examine Shipe
before any other witnesses may be called.
Observers are expecting Dallas School
Business Manager Sandra Vidlicka, who has
been seated next to School Board Solicitor
Benjamin R. Jones, to be the next one called
to the stand. Questions are being raised as to
whether or not five other school administra-
tors who have been seated throughout the
hearings in a section marked ‘‘Reserved’
will also be called as witnesses.
The five administrators are Daniel Poor-
man, Principal of the Junior and Senior
Hitgh Schools; Leon Trager, Assistant Junior
High Principal; Frank Galicki, Asst. Senior
High Principal; Ruth Husband, Intermediate
School Principal; and Sam Barbose, Elemen-
tary School Principal. A fourth hearing has
been tentatively scheduled for Oct. 13 at 6
p.m. seemingly supporting earlier predictions
that these hearings may well continue past
election time.
The present Dallas School Board ‘‘jury’” -
some of whom will be leaving office after the
election - will do double duty this week since
a private hearing for John Kundrat is sched-
uled to be held tonight.
Kundrat is another custodial employee who
was fired from his post last month. In
addition, the nine-man school board held a
work session Monday night and will hold
their regularly scheduled Board Meeting next
Monday night.
All members of “the jury’ have not been
present at each of the Gabriel hearings with
School Director Tex Wilson having missed
the latest one while another director, Harry
Lefko, was absent from the first hearing.
According to the ground rules, it is not
necessary that all the directors be present at
each hearing since they will have an oppor-
tunity to read the typed legal transcripts
prior to making a decision.
The length of the hearings, in addition to
conducting regular school business, is prov-
ing to be wearing on all involved with more
than one school board director complaining
of “the frustration of sitting.”
School directors are not permitted to ques-
tion witnesses verbally, but may pose a
question in writing which is then passed to
Board President Dr. William Camp and then
on to Atty. Charles Lemmond who has been
appointed Special Counsel to the board for
these hearings.
Gabriel, who was fired Aug. 8 and again on
Sept. 12 under a court mandated change in
wording, is represented by Attys. Arthur
Piccone and Ronald Santora.
improves
By SHEILA HODGES
Staff Correspondent
A Department of Environmental
Resources grant of $28,704 has been
presented to Frances Slocum State
Park and Luzerne County Commu-
nity College to carry out landscap-
ing and improve the appearance of
the two areas.
The benefits of the grant are
twofold as it has not only enabled
tree planting and landscaping work
to be carried out at the two loca-
tions; it has also provided jobs for
the unemployed.
The grant is oniy a portion oi a
$1.4 million statewide program
which includes 14 community col-
leges, 46 state parks, 20 forest
districts, four abandoned mine
reclamation sites and the Capitol
Park Complex in Harrisburg.
Throughout the state, temporary
jobs have been provided for 482
persons, including four at Slocum
Park and six at LCCC.
In Slocum Park, there was a need
to close in some of the open areas
with trees, shrubs and bushes for
shade and to encourage wild life.
Deer are one of the main animal
attractions and evening visitors at
Peter Johnson
AFS stud
‘Staff Correspondent
Peter Johnson, American Field
Service exchange student from Aus-
tralia, arrived in the United States
By WALLACE KOCHER
Staff Correspondent
At the same time that thousands
of women are preparing for next
year’s Miss America Pageant, and
many men are pumping iron in
quest of the Mr. Universe title,
hundreds of bartenders in Luzerne
and Lackawanna County are doing
practially nothing to win the honor
of the “Ugliest Bartender.”
One of these bartenders, in partic-
ular, is Venise Miller, 24, of Dallas.
Venise is an employee at Sam’s
villa in Kunkle. As she put it, she
entered the contest, which benefits
the Multiple Sclerosis Society, ‘just
for the fun of it, and to help those
affliced with M.S.”
Roberta Eagan, area coordinator
the contest works. After the barten-
ders were notified via special pack-
ets given to them by Falcone Bever-
age delivery men, they would
their bar. The customers of the bar
then pay 25 cents per vote to vote
for their favorite ugly bartender in
the running. The individual bars are
also free to hold other fundraising
events such as hoagie sales, raffles
and car washes to supplement their
donations. All money raised is
counted as votes for the bartender
of that particular bar.
For every week a bartender turns
in $25 or more, he or she is given an
ugly T-shirt, along with a certificate
that they can proudly hang on their
wall.
At the conclusion of the six-week
contest, a party will be held Oct. 6
at the Woodlands to honor the bar-
looks
the park often get a glimpse of
them.
Approximately 154 trees such as
maple, dogwood and ash and 160
shrubs and bushes, mainly berried
bushes such as juiceberry, blue-
berry, and honeysuckle, have been
planted in the park. Ralph Barckac,
Park Superintendent, reported that
bushes with berries were planted to
attract songbirds which he hopes to
encourage to visit'the park.
The improvements to the 1,006-
acre park will be seen by more
visitors next year. Since the intro-
duction of the guided walks led by
Ann Fry this year, the park atiend-
afice ast Increased tunsiaer ably.
The park is also expected to‘open its
Environmental Education Center
next year as Brckac and his ‘staff
are currently preparing exhibits
now. The center will house exhibits
pertaining to the history and natural
history of this are and programs
will be conducted with school,
county agencies and other organiza-
tions.
Barckac feels Slocum Park has a
great deal to offer the community
as ‘an enjoyable and educational
center. This landscaping project
will improve the appearance and
encourage the wildlife which can be
both studied and enjoyed.
just in time to celebrate Australia’s
winning the American Cup.
Peter says that celebrations in
Australia will be ‘huge because
they wanted to win that more than
anything else’’. Peter, of course,
x
VENISE MILLER
tender with the most votes. Besides
reigning as Mr. or Miss Ugly Bar-
tender ‘for a year, the winner will
also win a trip for two to Disney
World in Orlando, Florida. The
second-place winner will receive a
12-inch black and white television
set, while the bartender who fin-
ishes third will win a weekend trip
for two to the Poconos.
According to Venise, however, the
prizes were not the incentive to
enter. ‘I don’t really think I'll win.
I'm just doing it for the fun and to
help a worthy cause,” she said.
Venise isn’t too far behind though.
Of approximately 110 contestants in
Luzerne County, she is ranked
number 10.
When asked is she had any special
way of getting votes, she said with a
laugh, “Yeah! I tell the regular
customers that if they want a drink,
they have to put 25 cents in the
jar.” Although she admits she tries
that only on people she knows, she
isn’t afraid of ‘telling all the other
customers what she’s doing. And
according to her, they usually help
out and piteh in.
Park gets trees
Arriving in the United States last
week after a 30-hour plane ride,
Peter was met in Harrisburg by his
host mother, Mary Ann: Winters-
teen. Mary Ann and her son,
Robbie, are having fun getting to
know Peter.
Peter lives near Adeliede, which
is a city of one million people.
Adeliede is in southern Australia.
Summers are very hot with temper-
atures going above 100 degrees.
Peter is missing summer entirely
this year since the summer season
here is over and the Australian
summer season runs from Decem-
ber to February. Winters are cold,
with snow only in the mountainous
areas.
Australian bush fires are common
in the area of Australia where Peter
lives. These fires just burn until the
wind changes its direction. Eucalyp-
tus trees contain an oily substance
which ignites like “petrol”. This
factor makes putting out brush fires
almost impossible.
Animals and plants differ from
those in our area. Peter has never
seen the lovely colors of the leaves
as they change in the fall because
there are no deciduous trees in
AFS ‘brothers’
Australia.
Kangaroos, koalas and wombats
are native animals to Australia. The
kangaroo is a very shy animal
coming out at night, causing lots of
also cause lots of car mishaps, like
our deer. Although the koala looks
so cuddly, Peter says that they have
very sharp claws.
Agriculture is the chief industry.
Peter, who is 17, is a graduate of
Birdwood High School. He will study
for a degree in agriculture when he
returns to Australia following his
visit this year.
Peter’s father, Kevin, is a con-
tracts officer for Electric Trust of
Australia. His mother, Marilyn, is a
teacher’s aide in the music depart-
ment of a school. Peter’s sister,
Julie, 19, is pursuing a college
degree in home economics.
Peter has found school at Dallas
High to be somewhat different to his
school day at home. In Australia,
students have a 20 minute break in
the morning, 45 minutes for lunch
and a 15 minute break in the after-
noon. Their school year ends in
November, just in time for summer.
flag.
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Just for fun!
The Second Annual
photos, page 8.)
John ‘J.P.
Walsh is
By JANE C. BOLGER
Staff Correspondent
While most of the fans at the
Dallas football game last Saturday
had their eyes on the ground watch-
ing the action, one member of the
senior class was literally up in the
air.
Seventeen-year-old John
Walsh flew over the football field in
a Piper Tomahawk, sporting the
blue and white Mountaineer colors
and drawing waves from his sister,
Lauren, and other members of the
Dallas Band.
J.P., who got his private pilot’s
license in May, is just as enthusias-
tic about flying today as he was at
age 13 when he made his first visit
to the Forty Fort Airport. It was
apparently love at first sight with
J.P. spending the years before he
was old enough to fly doing odd jobs
at the airport.
“I washed the planes and tied
them down at the end of the day and
lots more,” he said. ‘Sometimes I'd
get rides too. I was a good hitch-
hiker, I'd just sit in the back and
Keep my mouth shut’ At age 16,
J.P. began formal flying instruc-
tions.
In less than a year, he had logged
the required 20 hours of dual
instruction and 20 hours of solo
flight in both the Tomahawk and in
a Piper Warrior. Depending on the
plane, the cost runs $39 or $58 an
hour. J.P. subsidizes some of this by
working at the 1.G.A. Market after
school as a stock clerk.
“My family thinks it’s better that
I spend money on flying than just
messing around,” he explains. The
family, which consists of his mom
Janet, his dad, John, sister, Lauren
14, and brother James 11, have “all
been up’ for rides with him said
J.P., who is known as John Patrick
around home on Clearview Avenue
in Trucksville Gardens.
All the Walshes agree that every-
thing looks different from ‘up
there.”
“My mom said the trees and all
the hills in the Back Mountain look
like they're a carpet of green
velvet,” said J.P. Another slightly
more skeptical passenger is J.P.’s
grandmother, Gail Pitrowski of
Lake Silkworth, who did fly with
J.P. and his mom to the Williams-
port Air Show which at 125 miles an
hour took only 25 minutes.
“The show was fantastic,” says
J.P. explaining the thrill of meeting
Bob Hoover who does aerobatics in
“J.P 2
a P51 Mustang with the engine shut
off. “‘He’s like a rock star to me,”
he said. “Fm planning on trying
that someday - just tumbling across
the sky.”
Looking toward the more serious
side of aviation, J.P. is applying to
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical College
in Daytona Beach, Florida. At the
moment, he is looking toward a
future as an Air Traffic Controller
which he believes holds better job
opportunities than being a commer-
cial pilot.
In the meantime, J.P. is just
enjoying his senior year at Dallas
and flying over the area offen
taking friends along.
“Everyone wants to see what
their house looks like from the air;
it's ‘a big thrill,” he explained,
adding that another favorite sight-
seeing spot is Harveys Lake which
“from the air is shaped like a big
J. -
J.P. is' very familiar with flying
over the Back Mountain since “it is
the designated training area ‘for
pilots learning to fly at the Forty
Fort Airport because of the straight
roads and the landmarks like Hunts-
ville Dam, the lake, and Frances
Slocum Park.
“From. the air you can even see
the nuclear power plant at Berwick
on a nice day,” he continued.
The longest flight J.P. has taken
te date was ‘the required 300-mile
cross country. flight to. qualify for
the pilot’s license which he carries
proudly in his wallet nxt to the
similar looking driver's #icense he
got last year at age 16.
J.P. said the greatest thing that
has ever happened to him was “My
first solo flight, it was so fantastic,
it can never be matched by any-
thing else.”’