‘ Se SSSR SSL SE SE Poynton, Besecker lead Lady Mountaineers Vol. 101 No. 3 Dallas, PA Wednesday, January 24, 1990 35 Cents By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer The recent beating death of a 16-month-old infant in Wilkes- Barre, allegedly at the hands of the child's mother's boyfriend, has heightened local concern about child abuse. The Back Mountain is not immune to the problem, according to three local families with first- hand knowledge of the issue. A member of the office staff at Lake-Lehman High School related how a teenager came to school recently trying to hide her face ' from school officials. It took only a few minutes for school personnel Lehman J. « townhouse plans miss approval By SCOTT A. DAVIS Post Staff A] The Lehman Township Planning Commission refused to give a pre- liminary go-ahead for a new subdi- vision in the township after deter- . mining submitted plans were unacceptable. “I see these plans as lacking a= lot,” said Planning Commission Chairman David Sutton. He sup- ported his claim with letters from Luzerne County and the Lehman Township Municipal Authority. The Maplewood Glen subdivi- ~ sion would be located at the end of ‘Briarcrest Road and would cross over the borders of Lehman Town- ship, Dallas Township, and Har- veys Lake. The subdivision calls for 24 single family units to be built in Dallas Township and 48 apartment units in Lehman Town- ship. Home World Inc. of Dallas, the developers of Maplewood Glen, submitted their preliminary plans “for the subdivision to the township Planning Commission Monday night for approval. In a letter dated November 22, 1989, County Engineer John Plushefski, of the Luzerne County Roads and Bridges Department, suggested the development install concrete curbs and a closed storm drainage system for the Lehman Township section. The preliminary plans submitted by Home World Inc. indicated no curbs and a storm drainage plan was absent. In another letter dated Decem- ber 1, the Lehman Township Municipal Authority said the town- ship requires a sewer connection foreach of the 48 apartment units. Also, the letter stated the plans must indicate a system that would keep stormwater out of the sewers. The township also asked in the let- ter that any sewage plans made by the developers be approved by Dallas Township and the Depart- ment of Environmental Resources. The last letter mentioned by Sutton was from the Luzerne . County Planning Commission, dated January 8. The letter said that since the Lehman Township section of the development is multi- family, the developer is required to provide street lights, sidewalks, and street lines, none of which is See TOWNSHOUSES, pg 3 NU at Calendar....... 14 Classified. 11-13 Editorials........ 4 Obituaries......2 to see the blackened eyes, bruised face and other signs of a beating. When questioned, the teenager admitted that a parent had beaten her the night before, only one of many beatings suffered over a period of time. The proper agen- cies were notified and before long the teenager was removed from her parents and settled in a foster home where she is living without fear. A young sibling did not fare as well, however, having been beaten but too embarrassed to relate the incidents to caseworkers. People familiar with the family suspect the beatings will continue for this youngster until the youngster has the courage to tell authorities. “Mandy” (not her real name), nearly seven years old, was more mentally abused than physically when she was younger. She was hospitalized twice due to nausea and anorexia, authorities believed, before they discovered what was actually wrong with her. : Social service personnel discov- ered that her mother had been taking her to an area shopping center. where she would receive money from men and women. for having the young girl perform various types of sexual acts with them. “Mandy’ was attending school irregularly for two years before her absence was reported to the proper Church organ dedicated to Almenia Evans Dedication services for the Almenia Evans Memorial Organ ‘were recently held at Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Dal- las. The dedicatory service was under direction of the Reverend John S. Prater, Rector, the Wardens and the Vestry of the church. The organ is an Allen 5300, 2 manual console with brass choir and antiphonal sound system. The full sytem was built and installed by the Allen Organ Company of Macungie, Pa. The organ acquisition was made possible by the establish- ment of an endowment to the Ministry of Music Program by Sheldon Evans in memory of his late wife, Almenia Evans. The endowment will enable the church to both fund and expand this Ministry while at the same time provide for a perpetual fund toupgrade the organ in theyears to come. Sheldon Evans, a well known Back Mountain pharmacist and long time member of the Prince of Peace congregation, operated Evans Pharmacy in Shavertown until his retirement several years ago. The Evans family, father William, mother Ida, sister Eliza- beth Daily and sons Sheldon and the late brother Donald and their families were charter members of the Prince of Peace congregation at its founding in 1929. The dedicatory service in- cluded the presentation of a resolution from the Rector, Wardens, Vestry and the entire parish family to Sheldon. It pre- ceded a service of the Holy Eu- charist and included a formal presentation and dedicatory RN BREAKING IT IN - Organist Debbie Zehner tried out the new organ at the Prince of Peace Episcopal Church last Sunday. The instrument was donated by Sheldon Evans in memory of his wife, Almenia. (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek) * prayers and blessing. A dedicatory recital will follow in February and will be an- nounced shortly. The recital will be open to the public and will offer an opportunity to the com- munity to come and hear this magnificent musical instrument. Lake-Lehman band keeps winning By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer Back Mountain band support- ers may have wondered what would happen to the award-winning Lake- Lehman High School Band this season after long time band direc- tor John Miliauskas announced his retirement. They needn't have worried. This years edition of the Knight band won almost everything in sight on the way to the Atlantic Coast cham- pionship for the fourth consecu-. tive year. “It has been a good year," said Police Report............. 2 Property Transfers..... 8 SChODL..oi.ciivvirinerraninns 9 SPOONS... ...or:: 1050050 10-11 Coming up: HARVEYS LAKE TRASH COLLECTION - will be on Mondays and Tuesdays during January. Beginning in February, collection will only be made on Mondays for the entire communtiy. Hauler is J.P. Mascaro & Sons. new band director Edward Richards recently. "The students and their parents have been excel- lent. They have been so coopera- tive, it has made it much easier for Maureen and me. It has been a pleasant experience and we are looking forward to next season and Abandoned water tank said danger By SCOTT A. DAVIS Post Staff Residents living along Stafford and Johnson Streets in Kingston Township are angry at the local water company for allegedly creat- ing a danger to their children. For ten months, these residents have been fighting with the Dal- las/Shavertown Water Company to have an old, abandoned well house foundation and a water tank removed from the corner of the two streets. Joyce Gebhardt, 93 Stafford Street, lives in a home that sits See TANK, pg 2 another good year.” In all, the band has added ap- proximately 40 first place trophies and several banners to their col- lection which are rapidly filling the high school award cases. ‘See BAND, pg 9 POINT OF CONTROVERSY agencies. When agency personnel first approached the mother about bruises reported by the school, her mother removed ‘Mandy’ from the school but the agency traced her whereabouts. When questioned further, the mother willingly gave up the child and her younger brother. ‘Mandy’ was given to a Back Mountain family where she was treated as one of the family. She was almost seven years of age then, was not toilet trained, and had behavioral problems. Despite her mother’s mistreatment of her, the mother- child bond was strong, and ‘Mandy’ continuously wanted to see her, which was forbidden. In her foster home, ‘Mandy’ told Satanic demonstrations. - An in- vestigation is now underway to determine whether or not the youngster was exposed to such activity. “The stories she told were too factual to be made up by ; ‘Mandy,"the foster mother said. “Mandy will never be a normal | child; when she becomes frustrated she will bite, throw tantrums, and become very aggressive. mother married seven or nine times and had a lot of children, most of them dead. ‘Mandy’ traveled with “her all ¢ over the country and sev- | See ABUSE, Pg 5 Man who shot two cops up for furlough By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer Back Mountain police person- nel have organized to block the possible fulough of the man who shot. two Dallas Township officers less than four years ago. Donald Kelly was sentenced toa minimum of five years and a maxi- mum of 10 years as a result of the attack. Those close to the situation were relieved that under the laws of the Commonwealth, the man ~ would remain imprisoned for at least the no Yo nimum of five years before he could 1 apply 1 for parole. But recently it was reported that Kelly was being considered for the furlough program of the State Correctional Institution at Retreat. If the furlough is approved, he will be allowed out of the prison for three to seven day periods as often Police officials fear Kelly will try again to kill the officers as fourtimesayear. Subsequently, Kelly could be located to a halfway house until corrections officials feel he can return to society. The officers who were shot and other law enforcement personnel fear that when released Kelly will continue a 20-year pattern of as- i sali Police officers. RC ¢ 6, 1986, 3:50 am., Ko entered the Dallas Township police station and threatened the occupants, two police officers and a female dispatcher with a loaded .357 magnum S&W revolver. In | See FURLOUGH, pg3 Dallas Borough plans Child abuse: /t can and does happen in Back Mountain Her to update zoning rules Three-year project will cost $14,000 By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer The Dallas Borough Council has taken a step into the future by deciding to hire a specialist to update the community's zoning ordinances. At their regular meeting Tues- day, Jan. 16, Borough Council members approved unanimously a motion by Don Cooper to appoint Marle Pawlowski, planning con- sultant, to prepare and update the ordinances. The work will take place in three parts; a land use survey, the zoning ordinances, and a sub-division and land develop- ment plan, at a cost of $13,783 to be paid in three separate incre- ments over a three-year period. The council decided to review the zoning ordinances following correspondence from the borough's zoning solicitor, in which he sug- gested that the Borough's outdated rules - many of which have been in place 50 years or more - could leave their validity open to chal- lenge. Also at the meeting, John Molski, secretary of the Back Mountain Water Commission, and Robert ] Spencer, a member of the commis- sion, reported on the Commission's work the past year. He told the Council that the Commission, aided by local media and the Commonwealth Telephone Com- pany, did a water survey in the Back Mountain. “We had good response from the general public but very little re- turn from the private companies,” Molski explained. “We are now working on compiling the data received but we are in need of help with financing. The Commission has looked into grants and has talked with Senator Lemmond, Senator Musto and State Rep. Dietterick but most of the grants are matching funds grants and the Commission doesn't have that kind of money." Molski also reported that the members have discussed a well drilling fee but they need help from See ZONING, pg 5 - This water tank lies abandoned near the intersection of Stafford and - Johnson Streets in Trucksville. Nearby parents are concerned that it is a hazard to their children. (Photo by Scott A. Davis) S| ’ f
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