ALLAS 0S “Vol. 100 No. 18 "A Centennial Edition" Dallas, PA Wednesday, May 10, 1989 35 Cents $960,000 bond to renovate Dallas schools By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer Dallas School Board members will meet Thursday, May 18, 7 p.m. at the administration build- ing with First Eastern’s vice presi- dent of finance William Runner, Jr., to determine how many inves- tors may be interested in a $960,000 bond issue. That amount is needed for renovations at the Dallas Elemen- 7 dary School, including installation of an energy management system at the elementary building; the 7 junior high energy system and boiler replacement at the high school. The total sum of $960,000 leaves $73,000 uncommitted for upgrad- ing which Runner explained the district could invest and let earn interest until the district is ready for the next bond issue. The board must decide on the final amount of the bond issue by the May 18 meeting. District superintendent Gerald Wycallis reminded the board that a Bb the PlanCon up to ‘G' must be 1 approved by the board and the contracts can be awarded. School solicitor Atty. Benjamin R. Jones, III, to the board that it could approve a ‘Notice of Intent’ to award the contracts and following the May 18 meeting, must award i’ » By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer Only one of the 24 water compa- nies that were invited to attend last Thursday's meeting of the Back Mountain Water Commission showed up. James Ward, chairman of the commission, reported that only National Utilities responded to the invitation. “They indicated they were un- able to attend eur meeting,” Ward told the members. “they did, how- ever, send us the information we had requested. i SER > > SS By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer In recognition of National Teach- ers Day, May 9, and the important role these dedicated men and women play in the lives of the youth of America in preparing them as the adults ‘of ‘the future, The Dallas Post recognizes all teachers o the following two, Donald Hopkins, 1 Dallas High School English | teacher, and Marietta Toole, Lehman-Jackson Elementary first grade teacher. Donald Hopkins, a native of Dallas, has been an English teacher at Dallas High School since 1964. A graduate of Westmoreland | High School, he graduated from wt | # Bloomsburg State University with j } 1 Theatre and Speech. In addition to teaching English, Hopkins, who is English Department chairman, also teaches an advanced place- ment English course, and with mathematics instructor Edward Augustine teaches a variety of courses to best fit the needs of the 5 students. “We now teach courses we never | . had in the past,” Hopkins said. “Students are exposed to subjects they will take when they enter college. We have established our own courses of study and all teach- ers work together in establishing the courses to be taught.” Don Hopkins has also been director of high school stage pro- ductions since his second year at | Dallas. Years ago, he got away 8 from the regular class plays and a | focused on educational theater FOReR =] RIA Sha Department of Education before in the Back Mountain Area through a B.S. in English. He also received his Master's from Bloomsburg in Rain didn't stop them Despite the rain, Penn State Wilkes- Barre held a Croldnreaking for a new phys ed center Friday. State Secretary of General Services David L. Jannetta and Penn State's Dr. James Ryan turned the first See BOND, pg 2 = shovels of dint. Story, on page 3. (CM. Benmon photo} “What do these water compa- nies have to hide,” Ellie Rodda asked following the meeting. “It seems strange that none of them can send a representative to our meeting nor send us the informa- tion requested. Don't they realize the commission is only trying to protect the quality and quantity of water. We are not trying to police the companies, we are merely seeking information that will help us do our job as we should,” Rodda stated. None of the commission mem- bers could understand why the water companies were unwilling to ,Companies are no-shows for "water commission meeting release information. They did appreciate the information sent by National Utilities which included the number of customers, average gallons of water used by a con- sumer daily, depth of their wells, contamination, if any, growth of the company and future plans. Rodda also reported that she had received a total of 1066 replies to the survey forms sent out by the Commission, with additional re- plies still coming in. “The number before tonight's meeting represents a 6.5 percent return. According to marketing See WATER, pg 3 DISCUSSING ASSIGNMENTS - Dallas High School English Department Chairman Donald Hopkins discusses an assignment with student Kim Appel after a class last week. (C.M. Denmon Photo) programs, providing a variety from light comedy to tragedy to musi- cals to Shakespeare. Hopkins said he gets upset when the public feels students can’t handle Greek drama, Shakespeare and comedy. “Our students without any experience did an excellent job with 'A Comedy of Errors.’ They did the scenery, the technical work and the costumes. We don't rent sets nor the costumes. The students do the lighting, sound, and we have a stage manager in charge of the entire production. The results are educational and professional,” Hopkins explained. It's an enriching experience for the students from the time the drama is selected until the last curtain goesdown each year. When 0 po Ne b MAE ¥ a of the use of sm Tax plan gets low marks here By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff While everyone seems to feel local taxes could be more equi- table, few officials contacted in the past week favor the reform pro- posal that will appear on the May 16 primary ballot. And some are outspoken in their opposition. “I'm going to be up here on elec- tion day with a big sign on my back, Vote No',” said Dallas Town- ship tax collector Leonard Kozick only halfjokingly last week. Kozick thinks that passage of the reform proposal will discourage more business investmentat a time when the area is beginning to attract industry. State representative Scott Di- etterick, a Republican, voted for the plan, but says he is now lean- ing against it. “I voted for it to get it in front of the people,” Dietterick said Friday. Tuesday's primary offers candidates and Mestions. By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer In addition to‘ candidates for office, Back Mountain residents who go to the polls in next Tues- day's Primary will find two ques- tions on the ballots at their voting sites. In One is to approve or disapprove gamesofchance As fundraisers s for non-profit or- ganizations. The other would amend the Pennsylvania constitution to al- low for the reform of local tax systems. Offices up for grabsi inthisyear’s primary include those seeking nomination to the county row of- fices (excluding county commis- sioners) as well as the offices of tax collector, mayor, council members, supervisors, auditor, judge of election, inspector of elec- tion and school director. Each of the nine townships or boroughs within the Back Moun- tain Area of Luzerne County will find the same names for county offices on the ballots, but the names of candidates in each of the municipalities will be different. Candidates for county offices are, for the Republican Party, See PRIMARY, pg 5 Two teachers represent their profession well it's a musical presentation, the drama group also works with the musical and choral director. It takes six to nine weeks to prepare the show. Hopkins makes the fi- nal decision about the presenta- tion and shares it with the stu- dents who have had past experi- ence. He said the students need to be able to read a play and stage it. Dallas High School has been blessed by a number of students who have gone on in national touring companies, to Broadway and to teaching theatre in col- leges, all of which give Hopkins great satisfaction. - “We try to provide a program that doesn't restrict since our purpose is a well-rounded educa- tion. We have two productions annually and try to have a variety, one lighter than the other,” Hopkins explained. During the Eastervacation, the students work” with him on the drama every day. Hopkins has found that an average eight to nine week sched- ule of rehearsing lets the students peak at the right time. In addition towork as dramadirector, Hopkins teaches an average of five classes daily. Hopkins wife, the former Mary- Ann Foley, started teaching at Dallas the same year that he did, but now teaches English at Wyo- ming Seminary. They have one son, Donald, who is now a student at Penn State University in the Scholars Program. His teaching and extra-curricu- lar work as drama director does not allow many hours at home so many times Hopkins' wife brings See TEACHERS, pg 5 But Dietterick says the proposal, known as Act 145, now has too many restrictions on it. He said his hope was to give local officials a menu of choices from which to choose the best mix of taxes for their needs. Dallas School District superin- tendent Gerald Wycallis thinks the planachieves one of its stated goals. “The tax reform act in itself is probably more equitable,” Wycal- lis said. But he is concerned that the combination of an expanded income tax and rising property taxes could mean generally larger tax bills in the future. Dr. Charles Borchetta, superin- tendent of the Lake-Lehman School District, issued a “no comment” reply toareporter’s questions about the tax plan. State Senator Charles Lemmond says he voted against the plan. initially because he was given too little time to examine it when it was presented to the Legislature. He said there was no time for debate or discussion. However, Lemmond did vote in favor of placing the question on the ballot, so the public could decide the issue. “We've never hada good public debate as right now,” Lemmond said Monday in describing the amount of publicity and comment the proposal has drawn. bh But Lemmond thinks the state can do better than the present plan. He declined to specify what that better plan would be like, but he disputed Governor Casey's assertion that if this proposal fails, there will not be a second chance at tax reform. Both Wycallis and Kozick said they thought residential real es- tate tax bills would be reduced at least the promised 25 per cent the reform proposal passes. ‘See TAX REFORM, Pg 6 ; Spring cleaning is a big hit in Kingston Township By SCOTT A. DAVIS Staff Writer . Residents are flooding the Kin- ston Township Maintenance Ga- rage with old tires, mattresses, blankets, wood and a variety of other items this week. The township is holding its annual Spring Cleanup this week. . The cleanup began Monday and continues until Saturday. “We don't want this (cleanup) overpublicized,” said Kingston Inside The Post Calendar......16 Classified.....14,15 Editorials....... 4 Obituaries.....2 Police News..2 Coming up: | Note changes due to the May 16 primary election DALLAS BOROUGH COUNCIL - Wed., May 17, 8 PM, Dallas Borough Bldg, Main Street DALLAS TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS - Mon., May 15, 8 PM, Dallas i Township Bldg., Route 309 HARVEYS LAKE BOROUGH COUNCIL - Harveys Lake Municipal Bldg., Route 415 \ ; HARVEYS LAKE PLANNING COMMISSION - Mon., May 15, 7 PM, Harveys Lake Municipal Bldg., Route 415 i? LAKE TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS - Sat., May 13, 9 AM, Lake Township Myris Bldg. Township Manager Jeff Box Mon- day. “We have had four transfer containers filled already.” The containers measure about eight feet high, four feet wide, and fifteen feet long. ° The cleanup is only open to Kingston Township residents, and municipal authorities said police officers will be at the garage to check proof of residency. 7 The Spring Cleanup gives resi- dents the chance to have old or See CLEAN UP, pg 3 Property Transfers...14 Real Estate.............. 14 5 Religion................. gi Schodl........c..occ viens 10,11 Spons.................... 13 Wed., May 17, 7:30 PM,
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