ol. 93, No. 39
£0)
If 5
By JANE C. BOLGER
Staff Correspondent
distance from the Borough School.
enterprise for a higher market value.
Route 309 was sold to Burger King.
people.”
Horn,
Saturday, Oct. 15; at 2 p.m.
for meetings.
made last year.’
“The building Mrs.
Dallas Post/Ed Campbell
Second row, Lorie
‘game on
By WALLY KOCHER
Staff Correspondent
Eleven representatives from area
colleges and private schools met at
College Misericordia on Oct. 5 to
discuss the economic impact of
higher education as an industry in
the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area.
Representing the Back Mountain
colleges were Dr. Joseph R. Fink,
president of College Misericordia,
and Dr. James Ryan, executive
officer, Penn State University- ;
Wilkes-Barre Campus.
Dr. Fink reminded the media that
the conference was held in conjunc-
tion with National Higher Education
Week, Oct. 1-8, and that the theme
for the week was ‘Mind Power: Our
Greatest National Resource’. He
then explained why he feels College
Misericordia is a ‘major economic
force in Northeast Pennsylvania.”
“The college has a dual signifi-
cance in this area,” said Dr. Fink.
“The first is the educational, eco-
nomical, and recreational impact on
the Back Mountain.”” He later stated
that the health and educational
services rendered by the college
may be two of the largest economic
impacts on this area.
College Misericordia, which has
305 employees and an annual pay-
roll of $2,584,017, has spent $4,461,-
648 on new construction and renova-
tions in the past 15 years. It is also
estimated that the students spend
$1,180,600 in the area annually,
while visitors to the campus spend
$123,987.
The second significance of the
college, according to Dr. Fink, is
that it, ‘‘never loses sight of the
Liberal Arts.”
“We are here to train people for
life, not a career,” Fink told report-
ers. ‘‘College Misericordia trains
the whole person.”
Dr. Ryan said that higher educa-
tion is the second or third largest
(See COLLEGE, page 8)
“nearly $1,000 more than was
25 Cents
Up, up and away!
Dallas Post/Ed Corpo
Township School.
By JANE C. BOLGER
Staff Correspondent
Another public hearing for Dallas
School District Grounds and Mainte-
nance Supervisor John Gabriel will
be held this Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Scheduled to be on the stand again
is superintendent of schools Dr.
Richard A. Shipe, the only witness
to date, who is ‘presently being
cross-examined on his original testi-
mony.
In the previous three hearings
Dr. Shipe offered evidence to alleg:
edly prove that the ScnioGi District
was correct in firing Gabriel from
the $19,800 yearly post that he has
held for 10 years.
The latest fact to emerge is that
the school district has been nogo-
tiating with outside custodial firms
to do the same work presently being
done by the district’s custodial staff.
A hearing for another fired custo-
dial employee, John Kundrat, was
completed in one session last week
in contrast to the Gabriel hearings
which ‘have dragged on for weeks
with no end in sight. The Kundrat
hearing before the Dallas School
Board was private, with the
pmployee being represented by two
fawyers from the union: that repre-
sents the school district’s ‘non- pro-
fessional employees.
By JANE C. BOLGER
Staff Correspondent
When two-year-old Bruce John
Pitts says he wants to be a fireman,
he is following a family tradition
started by his grandfather Dallas
Fire Chief Donald Shaffer, and con-
tinued with his grandmother Blod-
wen, his mother Donna and count-
less aunts and uncles.
Don Shaffer has been fire chief
for 17 years and a member of the
Dallas Fire Company for 35 years
while his wife helped start the
Ladies Auxiliary 10 years ago and is
presently on the Board of Directors
after having held the offices of
president, vice president and trea-
surer.
Their daughter, Donna, who grew
up with the sound of the beeper, the
day and night, joined her mother in
the auxiliary two years ago. When
there is a bad fire, the ladies are
right there on the job supplying the
firemen with coffee and doughnuts,
however, most of the auxiliary’s
work is done behind the scenes.
Fund-raising to get money to buy
new equipment for the fire company
is accomplished by bake sales, rum-
mage sales, the food booth at the
fireman’s bazaar and the yearly
Christmas project of supplying
Christ Child Vigil Candles to resi-
dents. One specific piece of equip-
ment the auxiliary recently pur-
chased is a Deck Deluge Gun which
swivels while in use on the firetruck
or can be removed to concentrate
large volumes of water on a burning
area.
On the line using the equipment to
fight fires are Chief Shaffer and as
many of the 40 active volunteers
and 12 20-year members who are
available when ‘the fire siren
sounds.
The department answers. ‘‘an
average of 80 to 85 calls a year,”
says Don Shaffer, warning that
brush fires are a problem at this
time of the year.
“Use closed containers to burn
grass and leaves,” he advises, doing
his bit to help residents during this
Fire Prevention Week. He notes
that brush fires ‘have cut way
down in recent years,” attributing it
to both ‘growing awareness and
burning ordinances’’ enacted by
local governments.
Observing that ‘“‘most fires are
seasonal,”” Don warns that ‘“‘chim-
ney fires, which account for 10 to 15
fires a year in Dallas” are some-
thing for which we will soon have to
be on the alert. He advises residents
Shaffer, Donald Shaffer,
The school board’s verdict on
whether or not John Kundrat will be
officially « fired has net yet been
determined, however, with further
action being held off until a tran-
script of the entire hearing is typed.
The typewritten report must then be
read by three board members, Rus-
sell Havey, Joseph O'Donnell and
Tex Wilson, who were not present at
that hearing.
Exactly when a decision can be
expected has not been revealed with
some observers guessing it may’ be
aimatter of * Several. weeks if. not
longer. This is partially because of
the time involved in the Gabriel
hearings, which may even be
Dallas Post/Glenn S. Bodish
to ‘have your chimney cleaned
before the season, or at least
checked’ and also ‘‘don’t burn
green wood.”
‘‘Automobile fires are on the
increase, both electrical and engine
fires,” he notes. He wonders ‘‘if it’s
the way they’re making cars now,”
but also notes that the vehicles
involved in two recent fires had just
been repaired.
When it comes to the most serious
fires of all - in people’s homes -
Chief Shaffer advises ‘‘use smoke
alarms.”’ This is a project in which
the Dallas Fire company has been
involved ‘for the past six or seven
years,” he explains. “We've sold
over 500 smoke alarms to residents
at cost.”
Another item available from the
local fire company are ‘‘Tot Find-
ers’ which are window stickers that
alert firemen which rooms in the
home are occupied by small chil-
dren.
While passing these words of
experience on to the people of
Dallas, Chief Shaffer also made the
trees.
however,
stepped up to two a week, and to the
impending Nov. 8 local elections in
which four members of the present
board will be running for reelection
against some pretty stiff competi-
tion.
It is rapidly becoming a matter of
serious concern whether this board
or the ‘new’ board, which takes
office the first week in December,
will be handing down the decisions
in these cases. If the task does fall
to the newly elected board mem-
bers, they would then have to read
the Piped sranserinis of the Gabriel
hearings which have already run iit
excess of 10 hours, meaning a fur-
ther delay in the proceedings.
Shaffers
announcement that this is his last
year as fire chief.
“I'll be retiring at the January
meeting,”’ he said. “I won't be
running again; I’m a grandpa
now.”
The fact that he adds “I'll still be
an active fireman, though,” makes
you realize that Don Shaffer can
never really retire after 17 years of
the hardest type of volunteer work
there is.
This is the spirit that makes the
Dallas Fire Company and all its
volunteers through the years some-
thing of which the whole community
can be very proud.
Lehman hosts
band contest
Hughesville High School and 10
other high school bands is entered
in the second annual ‘March of
Championships’ band competition
hosted by the Lake-Lehman Band
Sponsors Association on Sunday,
Oct. 16, at 12:30 p.m.
In addition to Hughesville, other
schools entered in the contest are
Crestwood, Nanticoke, Dallas, Pitts-:
ton Area, Blue Ridge, Bishop
Hoban, Lackawanna Trail, Wyo-
ming Area, Hanover Area and Mon-
trose.
Judging will be done by the
National Judges Association in con-
junction with the Tournament of
Band Association, and will center on
music, marching and maneuvering,
band front, and general effects.
Trophies will be awarded to the top
three bands in each class.
Highlighting an afternoon of qual
ity music will be the Lake-Lehman
Band under the direction of John
Miliauskas, performing in exhibi-
tion.
Inside The Post
Births ............00.... 3
Business ................. 5
Calendar ..... hi cad 16
Classified .......... 14,15
Cookbook ............... 6
Obituaries ........ nd
People..........5....c0.. 7
Perspective ............ 4
School ............iii nei 9
Sports ........ AA 10,11
Week in review ....... 3