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ROX 33g
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Vol. 95, No. 32
In 45 days
a
In
G2540
Covering The Back Mountain
By PAMELA AARON
Staff Correspondent
The Kingston Township Board of
Supervisors now has 45 days in
which to make a decision concern-
ing the rezoning of the area on
which the former Trucksville Ele-
mentary School sits.
, The supervisors, faced with the
decision of whether or not to rezone
the area for a project designed to
prove housing for the elderly and
handicapped, met Monday evening
to discuss the topic.
The meeting was scheduled
around requests by both Smith
Miller Associates, designer of the
housing project, and the Dallas
School Board, which recently sold
the school building to Smith Miller,
the highest bidders on the property.
Attorney Gerald Cohen, who con-
ducted: Monday’s meeting, outlined
the criteria to be discussed which
included how rezoning the area for
a housing development would affect
the natural resource base, how it
would affect individual and commu-
nity needs and how it would contrib-
ute to economic development. Cohen
suggested to those present that
since other topics had been dis-
cussed during previous meeting the
speakers - limit: themselves to
addresses just these three subjects.
Ernest Ashbridge, a member of
the Dallas School Board, noted that
school enrollment has dropped from
3,644 during the 1976-77 school year
to 2,872 during the 1983-84 school
year. Ashbridge also stated the
increased tax burden of the Dallas
schools should be considered and
that the utilization of the building
itself was positive.
Marie Orlandini, a resident of the
area, questioned Ashbridge as to
just how much millage could be
saved by selling the building and
claiming future taxes. Ashbridge
said he could not be certain.
Hugh Gallagher, fire chief, ques-
tioned why certain information and
documents had not been presented
at the July meeting and also stated
that it was not in the community’s
best interest to support the housing
project as it is a residential area.
Gallagher also stated that only 12
units are allowed in an R-3 zoning
ordinance, making anything greater
illegal. Smith Miller Associates is
proposing 14 units.
Gary Mathers, a teacher in the
Dallas School District, offered that
there could be no guarantee that the
building would be used solely for the
elderly and handicapped.
Joan Roginski, a resident of the
area, stood in favor of the rezoning
issue. She tited the building and
property we ie an eyesore ang that
she, herself, would welcome iis ren-
ovation, along with the elderly
Roginski clagead that some peti-
tions were sig disfavoring the
project because or 3 3 infezmation
being espoused aboul the project,
namely, that it would be a haven for
drug addicts, alcoholics fad dither
less reputables. Mark Kunkle,
School daze!
Dallas Post/Ed Campbell
Which is it?
By WALLY KOCHER
Staff Correspondent
FRANCIS or FRANCES? That's
the question.
Thousands of people visit the
Frances Slocum State Park each
year, all year round, and yet the
park’s namesake is misspelled
many times. The most recently
noticed spelling mistake of the park
is in a telephone book listing which
had the park listed as ‘Francis
Slocum State Park.”’ Also, several
of the area maps hanging in local
restaurants and stores misspell the
park’s name.
Who is Frances Slocum, and why
has she had to deal with her name
being misspelled all these years?
Frances Slocum was born in 1773,
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jon-
athen Slocum. Her life was changed
drastically when her parent’s home
in Wilkes-Barre came under attack
from . three Delaware Indians on
Nov. 2, 1778.
Wednesday, August 29, 1984
Human target
i.
{
$ Ballas Post/Ed Campbet
Tom Clemow grimaces, but takes it all in stride as he serves
as the target during a wet sponge throw game. Clemow was
participating in ‘Summer Happening,’ a day filled with fun
and games at the Trucksville United Methodist Church.
Dallas Post/Ed Campbell
Fi : . Dallas Post/Ed Campbell
This is right!
This sign, leading the way to Frances Slocum State Park in
Kingston Township, correctly spells the name of the woman
for whom the park is named. Maps and telephone listings,
have, in the past, misspelled the park’s name.
25 Cents
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Staff Correspondent
Motorists traveling upper and
lower Demunds Road last Thursday
at 4 p.m. were probably curious
about a fire in the area as large
clouds of gray smoke billowed over
the highway. No doubt few realized
it was $250,000 worth of marijuana
being burned by Dallas Township
Police Chief Carl Miers and Patrol-
men Doug Lamoreux, Wayman
Miers and Clark Van Orden.
The marijuana was the crop con-
fiscated by Dallas Township police
with the aid of the Pennsylvania
State Police last Wednesday after-
noon near the far boundary of a
large farm on Demunds Road in
East Dallas. The finding of scat-
tered marijuana plants several days
earlier had led Chief Miers to
believe there could be a large field
of marijuana in the nearby area.
When the Pennsylvania State Police
helicopter made its routine visit to
township headquarters last week,
Miers was able to enlist the service
of the chopper and sent one of his
men up state police about 3 p.m. It
was less than 15 minutes later that
Patrolman Lamoreaux spotted a
field of unusually large marijuana
plants.
“The plants were in such a
gemote and overgrown area,’ Said
Miers. ‘1 don’t ‘believe we would
have ever found it from the ground.
Only from the air was it possible to
spot the six to eight feet tall plants
planted in three plots, each plot
apnroximately 50x150 feet.”
Miers said the manner in which
the plants were cultivated and the
discarded fertilizer bags scattered
on the ground indicated the plants
were part of a commercial opera-
tion. ‘‘Each plant had wire around it
to prevent animals from getting at
it,”’ Miers said.
After giving consideration to set-
ting up surveillance in the hopes of
nabbing the ‘‘pot’’ farmer or farm-
ers, the police finally decided it was
best to harvest the crop.
“It would take a lot of manpower
to keep the area under surveillance
24 hours a day with no idea how
many days we would have to watch
it, and we don’t have that many
men. Neither did we know whether
or not the culprit was somewhere in
the area and might have seen the
State Police chopper which is casily
identified,’’ said Miers.
Miers and his men decided it
would be best to destroy the 124
plants making that much less for
sale in the Back Mountain and
Wyoming Valley. The cluster of
plants were located in an area
where the overgrowth of brush was
so thick Dallas Township equipment
had to be used to clear a path for
the police to get in to harvest the
Crop.
The police removed all the plants
from the ground and loaded them
into township trucks which hauled
them to the municipal building
wiiere they were kept under secur-
ity until the quarter-million bonfire
on Thursday afternoon.
Miers went to Luzerne County
District Attorney Robert Gillespie
(See POT, page 8)
By PAMELA AARON
Staff Correspondent
Of the many operations of the
Dallas School District, one of the
most visible, of late, has been that
of the school’s lunch program.
Since the school board’s signing of
a three-year coatract with the
A.R.A. Company, the board has
effectively relinquished its control
of cafeteria policy. Policies carried
out in the cafeteria have now fallen
under the realm of the A.R.A. which
makes all decisions concerning the
school lunch program.
Analysis
A.R.A., which originally stood for
‘Automatic Retailers Association”
was formerly concerned only with
luncheon provisions. Having since
expanded into other lucrative mar-
kets, however, the company is now
known simply as A.R.A.
Since A.R.A. became responsible
for the operation of the school cafe-
terias, several changes have come
about, especially in the menu which
is now geared toward fast food
preparation.
Since the August meeting of the
Dallas School Board, two problems,
not wholly unrelated, have come to
warrant attention.
The firr problem involves the
$6800 dollar deficit in the cafeteria
budget. School Director Barbara
Mead, chairperson of the cafeteria
committee, has cited several rea-
sons for this deficit.
Mrs. Mead said that 20 percent of
students at the junior high school
have discontinued buying lunches
for one reason or another, suggest-
ing that perhaps because of their
age, the students are vocal and are
protesting about what they will and
will not eat. Mrs. Mead suggests
alterations in the menu, making the
plates more attractive and utilizing
various promotional methods to
regain the 20 percent. Some of the
cafeteria workers agree that fast
foods are not as appealing to the
students, nor do parents encourage
their children to eat at school
because of the menu.
Mrs. Mead cites an $800 layout for
unexpected truck repair as the
second reason for the deficit.
The third, and possibly the most
controversial expense, is that of the
reimbursement of unemployment
that occurred during the month of
June, 1984. The recent retroactive
law, passed by the state, for a
greater percentage of funds, used a
good portion of cafeteria income.
This problem came to light at the
August meeting of the Dallas School
Board and involved the cafeteria
workers themselves. Unionized
under P.S.S.P.A. (Pennsylvania
School Service Personnel Associa
tion), the workers were informed by
A.R.A. in July that their hours and
locations would be changed upon the
start of the 1984-85 school year.
No mention was made to any of
the workers at that time as to just
what changes would be involved.
The cafeteria workers were con-
cerned and 19 employees attended
the August School Board meeting to
present their complaints.
At that time, Attorney Ben Jones
offered to meet with the workers
and A.R.A. to try to work out a
solution. The meeting was sched-
uled to take place on September 4,
after the workers had met with
A.R.A. The school board, however.
has cancelled that meeting, stating
it would be rescheduled for a later
date. .
Most of the objections raised by
the workers are about the changes
in hours. The cafeteria workers
insist that a six-hour job cannot be
done in four hours and the students
will be the ones to suffer.
A meeting was held on August 22
between the workers and the A.R.A.
and although the transference
issues were resolved (employees,
per contract, will stay at their
original locations), A.R.A. and Man-
ager Mary Reistetter stood firm on
the issue of hours. Ms. Reistetter,
however, was unavailable for com-
ment on the matter.
Ms. Reistetter met with members
of the school board on August 23 to
clarify issues and a second meeting
of the employees and A.R.A. is
scheduled for September 11.
When school opened on August 28,
tension was high. Two women,
including one group leader and one
general food workers, resigned ime-
diately.