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Vol. 99 No. 40
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® Dallas Borough okays
Shaskas subdivision
By CHARLOT M. DENMON
Staff Writer
Shaskas subdivision approved
Members of the council signed
final approval for the Shaskas sub-
division since there is nothing the
borough can do to stop the develop-
ment as it is legal according to
borough codes.
No action on Hearthstone Pub
Dallas Borough councilmen
agreed to defer further action on the
former Hearthsone Pub building
until the October 18 council meet-
ing following Borough solicitorJohn
S. Fine that he had contacted owner
Jim Post who said he is waiting for
a clear title to the property before he
will do any work to bring the build-
ing up to standard. The decision
was made by the officials at their
adjourned meeting October 4 at the
municipal building.
Lake Street will get speed signs
Borough manager Robert Brown
reported that the state had approved
speed signs for Lake Street but the
state wants council to be respon-
sible for enforcing the speed limits.
Molski, Spencer to
Water Commission
John Molski was named princi-
pal delegate and Bob Spencer alter-
nate delegate to the Back Mountain
Water Commission for Dallas Bor.
ough.
Part-time patrolman removed
Part time policeman William
Hagenbaugh'’s removal from the list
was approved by the council and the
secretary instructed to send Hagen-
baugh a letter notifying him of the
action and requesting that he return
his I.D. card.
‘New stop sign
to be installed
A motion was made and approved
that a new four-way stop sign be
installed at Norton and Spring
Streets.
Regular wideting
will be October 18
The regular meeting of the coun-
cil will be October 18, atthe borough :
municipal meeting.
Deer Meadow rezoning
is read and voted
The rezoning ordinance for Deer
Meadows was read at length by the
borough solicitor and after presen-
tation, members voted the same as
they had at a prior council meeting,
Brobst, Carroll, Tupper, Eyet, Shaf-
fer, yes; and Machell, no.
Truck bid awarded
The council members approved
unanimously that Bradco Supply
Company be awarded the bid for the
borough's new 1989 Ford dump
truck in the amount of $18,000
with trade in.
Committee heads will begin
preparations of eXperises for the 1989
budget... yi
Dallas, PA
Come and get ‘er
Wednesday, October 12, 1988
* Joe Darling, Hilderbrant Road, Dallas, sits with the family harvest. Norman Darling and his sons harvested
these pumpkins Saurday: (Photo h oy Charlotte Bartizek)
~ Shavertown, may face a
killed an undetermined number of
by SARA J. LUNDBERG
Managing Editor
The Jackson Township
Muncipal Authority answered
residents concerns at their
monthly meeting Monday night
after announcing the selection of
a contracter for their $3 million
state-mandated sewer project.
The main question on taxpayer's
minds at the meeting seemed to
be the project cost and whether
Jackson
sewer Fen begins
or not the sewer system would
’ benefit the area as a whole.
“I expect the total cost to
residents to be approximately
$300-350 a year,” said Richard
Kindler, who is chairman of the
authority.
According to Kindler, this cost
reflects the present yearly DAMA
sewage treatment fee of $151 a
year, and the balance of the $350
approximate annual cost would
include debt service costs torepay
a $983,000 state PENNVEST loan.
The authority was awarded the
low interest PENNVEST loan to
help finance the project which
was ordered by the state more
than five years ago. The loan has
a 20 year term and a 1 percent
interest rate. A $2 million federal
grant from the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) will also
be utilized towards the financing
of the project.
Kindler said the authority can
- See Sewer, pg 3
Shavertown Water Co. to fix Hassold Well
BY SARA J. LUNDBERG
Managing Editor
Shavertown Water Company is
the recipient of one of the first state
grants awarded by the Pennsylva-
nia Infrastructure Investment Au-
thority Board (PENNVEST). Last
week PENNVEST awarded the Shav-
ertown Water Co. a $50,000 grant,
as well as a $197,599 low interest
loan for the purpose of clean water
applications.
The money will be used to clean
up the Hassold Well. The well was
discovered to have cancer-causing
contaminants, and closed down last
December.
Company vice president Jean
Eason said it plans to build an aera-
tion tower at the well. The aeration
process involves pumping water up
into a tower and aerating the volatile
organic chemicals (VOC's) through-
out the system. The VOC's are va-
porized and dispersed into the
atmosphere, resulting in clean wa-
ter at the well. After treatment the
well will be put back into service.
Eason said it will cost about
$200,000 for the treatment system.
The company will proceed with the
project as soon as the PENNVEST
funds are available. A 90 day treat-
Please call if
you experience
delivery problems.
This week The Dallas Post begins
using a new computer program for
its circulation lists. If there is any
problem with delivery of your sub-
scription, please call the office at
675-5211 so that we may correct it
promptly. The office is open Mon-
day through Friday from 8:30 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m.
ment period is expected.
“The PENNVEST aid has helped
to make the clean-up of the Hassold
well possible. Without the help the
clean-up would have been much
more expensive for the company,
and it would have taken a longer
period of time before the treatment
process began,” said Eason.
The loan will be repayed through
consumer billing over a twenty year
period. Shavertown Water Company
serves 900 customers in the Back
Mountain area.
DER representative Mark Car-
mon said that any private company
or municipality may apply for a
PENNVEST loan. The applications
are reviewed by the regional DER
office and then forwarded to the
state PENNVEST office. The criteria
CLEANER WATER - Residents of the Back Mountain hope their water
for the aid is set by PENNVEST
legislation and competition is tough,
said Carmon.
Rod Snyder, a spokesperson from
the Governor's budget office said
that criteria for PENNVEST aid is
based on environmental impact,
public health safety and economic
development.
Governor Casey signed the
legislation authorizing the
PENNVEST legislation on March 1,
1988. PENNVEST will provide $2.5
billion during the next 25 years for
upgrading water and sewage sys-
tems throughout Pennsylvania,
according to Snyder.
Snyder said the DER will test the
treated water at the Shavertown
Water Company's well before it is
opened to the public.
quality will improve when planned improvements are completed.
xX
26 Cents
Oil company
may be fined
for gas SP
in Creek
A local service station seve br
Pern Fern Oil Co., Route 309 in
penalty for
a gasoline spill from the station's
underground tanks which leaked
into Toby's Creek last Fr iday and
ex
DERspolesperson Mar Carmon
said Sunday that tests o asoline :
tanks at the Texaco station
filled tanks. Gasoline: pn out a
large drainage pipe and ‘extended
intoaone- quartermileateacfTo of To oby's.
Creek. N ¢
Fire personnel and rep est
tives from DER spent much
creek. Work using absorption ma mate-
rial to stop the gasoline flow niothe
creek continued over the weekend.
“The service station il be 1
be monitored by DER, * * said
mon.
Carmon said the Pern Fern 1
Co. station will probably face afine
for the environmental ‘hazard ro m
DER and the Pennsylvania Fish
Commission. The gasolinespilldoes
not pose a public health problem : as
long as the contaminated soil is
removed promptly. =
He. owner of the
Pad
Citizens 9 roup, officials share
concerns over region's growtr
BY CHARLOT M. DENMON
Staff Writer
Municipal officials from eight
Back Mountain communities and
officials from two school districts
expressed similar concerns on the
rapid development in the Back
Mountain as those of Back Moun-
tain residents at a dinner meeting
held at Penn State, Wilkes-Barre
last Thursday. .
Approximately 60 officials joined
with members of the Back Moun-
tain Citizens Council for the dinner
and afterwards shared their con-
cerns and objectives with one an-
other.
Dr. James Ryan, university ex-
ecutive, told those in the room that
the last three years' growth is only
the ‘tip of the iceberg’.
“My guess is that in the next three
years we will see development in-
crease five to six-fold. Completion of
the bypass will also aid in increased
development like you have never
seen,” Ryan told the officials.
“Penn State University is a land
grant institution. We have arespon-
sibility to help communities deal
with issues and bring citizens to-
gether to assist in resolving these
issues.
“The Back Mountain Citizens
Council never intended to be an
adversarial group but a group to
work with municipal officials and
school boards,” Ryan stated. “Many
communities are affected by the
rapid development; we hope to
address and discuss growth. The
most successful method of doing
this is partnership of public officials
and the community,” Ryan con-
cluded.
Former Kingston Township man-
ager Fred Potzer recommended that
officials take a look at other coun-
ties where there has been rapid
growth.
“Growth can be positive if there is
unified planning, development regu-
lations, environmental resources.
We're entering an econcomic ren-
aissance,” he said.
He told the audience that an
average of 37,000 to 39,000 cars
daily travel the Cross Valley Ex-
pressway and that influx of traffic
will increase, he said.
“There have been 150 new homes
built in Kingston Township alone in
the past three years and 450 more
new ones on the drawing board,”
Potzer said. “This will have an im-
pact on police, fire companies, and
highways. In Dallas Township the
growth is similar.”
Potzer said the growth will spread
to other communities and the prob-
lems have to be addressed collec-
tively. He mentioned storm water
management and said that ground
water from 19 communities runs
into Toby's Creek. Potzer felt that
there should be regulations con-
cerning use and protection of the
watershed.
He cited the positive thipgs the
Back Mountain communities have
done together, such as expansion of
DAMA to include Jackson Town-
ship, Harveys Lake and Lehman
Township; cooperation of Back
Mountain police departments; a
four-municipality communications
center which serves nine service
units; and a six-municipality pur-
chasing plan.
“Now we need to go further, we
need to work together with the Back
Mountain Citizens Council formed
after two meetings. The purpose of
tonight's meeting is to get input
from municipal leaders, not to work
against one another but to work
together. We hope to bring in profes-
sionals and other leaders for semi-
nars and other aids. We can't put
our heads in the sand, development
won't go away. The Back Mountain
will continue to grow and we hope
for a sharing of ideas and officials
taking part in programs as they
develop.
“We're not experiencing natural
growth but accelerated growth. We
have had 50 percent increase in
population in seven years. Big
companies see the Back Mountain
area as the ‘No. 1’ place to buy or
build,” Potzer concluded.
Citizens Council member Nancy
Eckert added that the council
wanted to work with the municipali-
ties, to combine their resources and
to develop some area-wide compat-
ible zoning regulations, long term
transportation facilities and ade-
quate recreation areas.
Howard Grossman, executive
director of the Economic Develop-
ment Council of Northeastern Penn-
sylvania and a resident of the Back
Mountain, explained that growth is
spreading in Monroe, Lackawanna,
Luzerne and Schuylkill counties and
is having an impact on communities
in all areas.
“The goal is not to stop develop-
ment but to manage it. There are
many resources available such as
the Department of Community Af-
fairs, County Community Office, and
others at the regional ands state vel
“There should be a close connec-
tion between the schools and mu-
nicipalities,” Grossman said. “Most
of the growth is in housing and the |
Route 309 corridor. TheBackMoun-
tain is becoming a bedroom com-
munity and we need to Saenitien |
See Citizens, pg 3
‘Inside
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a School