*
Workshop
deals with
suicides
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Statf Correspondent
The first in a series of suicide
prevention training sessions sched-
uled for January 22 in the board
room of Dallas School District’s
administration offices was post-
poned to February 5 from 9 a.m. to
11:30 a.m. The session was post-
poned because of the cancellation of
weather.
Dr. Jeffrey Sternlieb, licensed
clinical psychologist, will conduct
the workshop dealing with preven-
tion of suicides with emphasis on
teenage suicides.
Of the 44 persons who committed
suicide in Luzerne County in 1983, 17
percent were under the age of 25. In
1982, six of the 33 suicides commit-
ted in Luzerne Clunty were by
young people under the age of 24.
The Luzerne County Coroner’s
Office is currently working on the
figures for 1984, but a spokesman in
Dr. George Hudock’s office stated
that as of Monday, she had a
definite figure of three teenagers,
who committed suicide in 1984, one
age 19, on age 17 and one age 14.
She said, however, that the tabula-
tion was not completed. In an
appearance before the board of the
Youth Service Commission of Luz-
erne and Wyoming Counties, Dr.
Hudock stated that there were at
least 46 suicides in 1984.
Mary Brassel Zack, executive
director of the agency, explained
that Dr. Hudock expressed serious
concern over the number of suicides
committed in this area, as well as
the number of suicidal attempts. He
sees an average of four attempted
overdoses a week, most tried by
teens below the age of 19, according
to Ms: Zack. She said Hudock told
‘agency members that many of the
vehicular accidents with a lone
occupant in ihe ‘ear -are actually
suicides just as many cases of over-
dosing are those of self-destruction.
“We are not a treatment agency,”
explained Ms. Zack. ‘‘Our effort is a
prevention program. Our purpose is
to prevent even one suicide from
occurring and we are starting by
trying to educate the public through
publicity and through the schools by
conducting workshops for school
personnel, who work with students.
In the fall of 1984, we sent out
literature asking the schools to
respond to our program. We hoped
to have at least two schools respond
favorably to our program. We were
overwhelmed when we received
requests from 12 schools; eight
public and four private.”
Zack said their agency gave the
schools two options - the agency
representatives will either train per-
sonnel so they can recognize warn-
ing signs and know referral proce-
(See WORKSHOP, page 8)
BOX 336
BRIGHTON, I A
Friendly ice
£2540
¥
Galicki,
third row: Patricia Chismer,
Dallas Senior High School is
proud to announce that 29 students
in the sophomore class are N.E.D.T.
(National Educational Development
Tests) Certificate Winners. These
students attained a composite score
on the test at the 90th percentile or
better as measured by national
norms.
The N.E.D.T. provides informa-
tion about the general level of edu-
cational development of the student
and ability in’ the following areas:
English, Mathematics, Social Sci-
ences, Natural Sciences and Word
Usage.
Certificate winners are: Elizabeth
Adams, Crystalline Bell, Chrissy
Bulford, Pat Chismer, Erin Cleary,
Denise Corcoran, Ann Marie Danna,
Donald Francis, Mary Herbert,
Truyen Huynh, Doreen Karrott,
Chris Kelly, Robert Kruschinski,
Matt Lipo, Lynn Matus, Kristen
McHenry, Tom McNichols, Leonard
Medura, Eileen Nagy, Enrico, Nar-
done, Heather Nattress, Kristen
Piatkowski, Mark Richardson, Chris
Riedlinger, Staci Robbins, Elizabeth
Scott, Lauren Walsh, Cathy Zikor
and Joanne Zuba.
These students will be participat-
ing in the 1985 Honors Banquet
which will be held at Dallas Senior
High School on May 16.
Dalia Post/Ed Campbell
Following chase
25 Cents
By DOTTY MARTIN
Editor
A Kingston Township police offi-
cer remains in serious condition in
the critical care unit of Nesbitt
Memorial Hospital, Kingston, after
being struck by a vehicle Sunday
night in Dallas while the operator of
that vehicle, a 17-year-old youth
from Dallas, remains committed to
the Luzerne County Juvenile Deten-
tion Center.
The youth, who has been charged
with aggravated assault, will
remain in the Juvenile Detention
Center until a full hearing is con-
ducted. According to Luzerne
County District Attorney Robert Gil-
lespie, that hearing must be held
within 10-12 days from the date of
the arrest. ;
Ralph “Rusty” Seltzer, 27, of
Hamilton Avenue, Kingston, a part-
time police officer for Kingston
Township, was struck at approxi-
mately 10:43 p.m. Sunday by a 1971
Javelin occupied by three juveniles.
The accident occurred at the inter-
section of Lower Demunds Road
and Roushey Street shortly after
Seltzer had blocked the crossroads
with the Kingston Township police
cruiser in an attempt to stop the
juveniles.
According to a report released by
the Pennsylvania State Police,
Troop P, Wyoming, who are investi-
gating the incident, Officer Seltzer
was found under the juvenile’s vehi-
cle after he was struck and dragged
approximately 100 feet.
Seltzer. was ‘taken to Nesbitt
Memorial Hospital in Kingston by
the Dallas ambulance. After being
admitted to the hospital Sunday
night, Seltzer underwent approxi-
mately five hours of surgery on
Monday for contusions, abrasions
and a large gash on one of his legs.
Although Kingston Township
Police Chief Paul Sabol reported
Seltzer was scheduled to be trans-
ferred from the critical care unit to
a private room, a hospital spokes-
man said the officer remained in
the CCU unit of the hospital late
ever, report that Seltzer was resting
comfortably and his attitude was
good.
According to the State Police
report, John Fowler of the Dallas
Borough Police Department
attempted to stop a 1971 Javelin
occupied by three juveniles for a
registration violation, When the 17-
year-old operator refused to stop,
P~
the vehicle was chased on Routes
415 and 309 by the Dallas Borough
police cruiser.
The vehicle traveled through New
Goss Manor and passed the Dallas
Junior High School, then continued
down through Fairgrounds Road to
Demunds Road. The chase was then
joined by Dallas Township and
Kingston Township Police, accord-
ing to the report.
Officer Seltzer set up a road block
with the Kingston Township police
cruiser at the intersection of Lower
Demunds Road and Roushey Street.
The juvenile driver tried to run the
road block by driving around the
front of the Kingston Township
Officer Seltzer who, in turn, was
dragged under the juvenile’ S vel
cle, police said:
The juvenile then stopped and w was
taken into custody by officers
Fowler and Doug Lamoreux of the
Dallas Township Police Depart-
ment.
The three occupants of the vehicle
were detained and questioned, after
which the juvenile operator was
arrested for aggravated assault by
the Pennsylvania State Police Crim-
inal Division at Wyoming and com-
mitted to the Luzerne County Jun-
veile Center. The other two
occupants of the vehicle were
released, the report said,
The “chase began Sunday night
when Officer Fowler spotted the
Javelin in Dallas Borough. Fowler
reported he is familiar with the
vehicle and knew that the registra-
tion plate on the vehicle, which had.
expired, did not belong to the owner:
(See VEHICLE, page 8)
By DOTTY MARTIN
Editor
A Dallas Borough police officer
says his life has been verbally
threatened several times during the
past few weeks. The threats,
according to the officer, began fol-
lowing the suicide of a 20-year-old
Dallas man. It is not known whether
the incidents are related.
John Fowler, a 12-year-veteran of
ment, told The Dallas Post that he
has been verbally threatened sev-
eral times during his routine police
duties since the death of Robert
Stair, Jr.
Stair, of 42nd Street, died January
14, the victim of a self-inflicted
gunshot wound. Stair’s body was
found in a car parked alongside the
Dallas Township Municipal Build-
ing.
Dallas Township Patrolman
Elliott Ide discovered the body at
approximately 3 a.m. on Tuesday,
Jan. 15, in a car that police later
determined had been stolen by Stair
on January 14 from outside a busi-
ness in Larksville. The vehicle was
owned by Robert Volker of 25 Pace
St., Larksville.
According to Fowler, several
people have said to him, “I wish
you were dead,” during the past two
weeks. Although Fowler reported to
The Dallas Post he knows the iden-
tify of the people making these
threats, he would describe them
only as being over 18 years of age
and as having been seen with
Robert Stair in the past.
Fowler also reported that one day
last week, a police officer at the
Dallas Township Municipal Build-
police cars are dispatched, received
a call from someone who reported
that Fowler had been murdered.
Fowler said that although much of
the conversation was undistinguish-
able, one phrase understood by the
officer taking the call, was ‘“There’s
been a murder. Jack Fowler is
dead.”
The Borough police officer
reported that although verbal
threats have been directed to him
during routine patrol duty and
traffic stops, he has not been physi-
cally harmed in any way.
Fowler, who admitted to having
arrested Stair several times for
numerous violations in Dallas Bor-
ough, would not comment on the
nature of those violations.
Dallas Borough Police Chief Ed
Lyons reported that Stair had been
arrested four times in Dallas Bor-
ough and that Fowler was the
arresting officer all four times.
Lyons reported that three of the
arrests were for summary traffic
violations in May of 1984 and one
arrest was for disorderly conduct in
September of 1984. Lyons also
reported that all four charges were
decided by a magistrate and that
Stair’s account in Dallas Borough
was all cleared up prior to his
death.
Lyons reported that Stair had not
spent any time in jail in Dallas
Borough, however, he was not sure
as to whether or not Stair had spent
time in any jail.
Mrs. Jane Stair, the victim’s
mother, placed a call to The Dallas
Post last Wednesday, questioning a
January 23 issue of The Dallas Post.
During the course of that conver-
sation, Mrs. Stair reported that
Robert, Jr. had spent four hours in
jail for driving a motorcycle without
a license. She said she allowed her
son to be put in jail to “try to teach
him a lesson.”
Frank Galicki, assistant principal
at the Dallas Senior High School,
denied reports that Stair’s friends
who attend the school had hung
signs in the hallway, notifying
anyone of any revenge being sought.
“I have not seen anything related
to Bobby Stair in any way, shape or
form since his death,” said Galicki.
“There are no signs of any revenge
being sought here at the school, at
least not to my knowledge.”
Carl Miers, Dallas Township
Police Chief and a close friend of
the victim’s parents, Robert and
Jane Stair, reported the younger
Stair was never arrested in Dallas
Township.
(See THREATS, page 8)
Inside The Post
Calendar ............. .. 16
Commentary .......... 4
Cookbook ............... 5
Obituaries .............. 3
People ..............:.. 6,7
School ............ 012
Sports ............ $,10,11