oud stlleldddl ¥ MUU E Fr AMV ALN OUUNU SV OC UVRQIVUO SH UWUVIYOD 4g VULUS _~ iv] SSSR he A 90% So~ %de® ZN Vol. 101 No. 15 Dallas, PA Wednesday, April 18, 1990 35 oes i Gas fumes may start at gas station By CHARLOT M. DENMON ‘Staff Writer Officials were not able to locate the source of gas fumes along Route 309 Monday morning but they said the fumes were not dangerous, according to Tony Ellis, adminis- trative assistant of Luzerne County Emergency Management Agency (EMA). “DER, EMA officials and the township fire company officials spent approximately three hours trying to find the source, but be- fore we left the odor had dissi- pated. Once the fumes were gone the potential danger was over,” Ellis said. “Nothing got into the drinking water, just into the sewer lines,” [at explained. Ellis said that the most likely source of the fumes was the Hess gas station on Route 309, since the fumes were traced to a location near it. Ellis also said that as a precau- tionary measure, that on Tuesday, April 17, DER, Hess officials and a contractor would drain one of the station's tanks, excavate it and if it should have a leak in it, replace it. “Until the tank is taken up, “however, it can't be certain the fumes were coming from the Hess ~ Station,” Ellis said. Sale of area water companies approved By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer The Public Utilities Commission approved the sale of the Dallas, Shavertown, Harveys Lake and ' Noxen Water Companies, April 16, to the General Water Works Man- agement Service Company, located in Bryn Mawr. The final contract signing will take place in the near future, according to General Man- ager Michael Coyle of the Dallas- Shavertown Water Company. The companies have been owned by Eastern Gas and Water Invest- ment Company in King of Prussia. “The General Water Works Company is a very reputable op- eration and the area is fortunate to have a company of that caliber. Officials of the company have not discussed their long range plans with me but in my opinion, I be- lieve they will continue to provide quality service to the Back Moun- tain community,” Coyle said. Coyle also said that he will © remain as manager of the water company and all of the other per- sonnel will also remain. The four companies serve ap- proximately 2,735 customers in Dallas Borough and Township; Shavertown, Harveys Lake and .Noxen. Jackson Twp. sewer permits going fast By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer The Jackson Township General Municipal Authority has changed the days and hours when a permit to connect to the new sewer project can be purchased. Jack Ziegler of the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority said that the permits can now be purchased at the Jackson Town- ship Fire Hall on Monday evenings See JACKSON, pg 2 Big catch Nine-year-old Jennifer Stolarick of Dallas found the fishing easy at Harveys Lake Saturday. She landed these five trout on opening day. Story on page 2. (Photo by Rich Johnson) Jackson Police join Back Mountain Comm. Center By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer The Back Mountain Communi- cation Center is continuing to grow and that makes its members happy. Last week, the Jackson Town- ship Police Department became the newest member of the commu- nication center, after the Jackson Township Supervisors voted to pay the membership fee for the depart- ment. With the addition of Jackson Township, the communication center now serves six police de- partments in the Back Mountain. Paul Sabol, the president of the communication center's board of directors and the police chief in Kingston Township, said that he is happy to see more members join- ing the center. “I feel great that they (Jackson Township police) have joined,” said Sabol. “I would like to have every emergency de- partment in the Back Mountain be part of the center,” he added. Besides the six police depart- ments, the communication center : also serves eight fire departments and seven ambulance services, along with Medic 1 and Medic 302. Sabol said that one reason some of theemergency departments have not joined the center is the cost. Depending on the size of the de- partment, there is a membership fee to join. Many of the depart- ments affiliated with the center are part-time departments and must pay an annual fee of $8,000, ac- cording to Sabol. However, Sabol said that the service given to the departments is worth the money. “The funds go to getting better equipment for the center,” said Sabol. Besides pay- ing for the equipment Sabol also said the membership money also helps pay the salaries of the three full-time and five part-time dis- patchers at the center. See POLICE, pg 2 de Th i el 08 Calendar....... 18 Police os conte iuige 2 Classified. 16-17 Property Transfers..... 9 Editorials........ 4 School.................. 12-14 Obituaries......2 SPONS..........00.0 14-15 Coming up: Lehman RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVES - Mon., April 23, 12 Noon to 6 PM, Irem Temple Country Club, Dallas Wed., April 25, 9 AM to 2 PM, Lake-Lehman High School, HARVEYS LAKE ZONING BOARD - Tues., April 24, 7 PM, Harveys Lake Municipal Bldg., Route 415 LEHMAN TOWNSHIP ZONING BOARD - Mon., Apri 23, 7 PM, Lehman Twp. bldg. LEHMAN TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION - Lehman Twp. bldg. Mon., April 23, 8 PM, LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL BOARD - Tues., April 24, 8 PM, Lake-Noxen Elementary School Harveys Lake residents protest sewer extension By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer Controversy continues for the Harveys Lake Sewer Authority as some residents of the Hemlock Gardens section are vowing legal action to help stop an authority order to connect to the borough's sewer system and pay for the cost of the project. Last week, the sewer authority and borough council both gave preliminary approval for a plan to run a sewer line to Hemlock Gar- dens and for the residents and landowners to pay for it. This does not sit well with the Gag order frustrates victim's dad By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer A gag order on comment about the manslaughter case of a Back Mountain teen is still in effect and has some people upset over it. The gag order was handed down by a Luzerne County judge in the case of Chris Smith, who was convicted in the shooting death of 18-year-old Richard Hillman last year. Smith was reportedly sen- tenced to three years in a reform school last month by Judge Donald O'Malley. After the sentencing O'Malley retained the gag order, which pro- hibits anyone dealing with the case from publicly discussing its de- tails. When contacted about the case, Ray Hillman, the victim's father, said he is upset that the gag order! is still in effect. “We suffer through this everyday,” said Hillman. “Friends and other people ask us everyday what is going on with the case and we can't discuss it. It is not fair,” he added. A source with knowledge of the case says that the gag order is still in effect because Smith is seeking to appeal his sentence. According to the source, a hearing is sched- uled for next month before Judge Gifford Cappellini. When asked to confirm the hearing, Robert Roman, of the Juvenile Detention Center said that his office is “...not allowed to re- lease any information in the case.” Smith was convicted of man- slaughter after the shooting death last June. The incident occurred after the two had been arguing ata graduation party. Hillman died after being shot twice, once in the head and ence in the abdomen. residents, who say the plan is not necessary and is unfair to them. “This decision was made long before any meeting,” says resident Ed Spera. “The sewer authority says that the sewer line is going in and we have to pay for it and that is that.” According to William Wilson, chairman of the borough council, the decision to put the system in came after the borough received a recommendation from the Depart- ment of Environmental Resources that the sewer line run through Hemlock Gardens, . sewage problem up there,” said Wilson. “We haven't been able to “There is a find the cause of the problem but we want to stop it now instead of having another incident like we have now in Warden Place.” Currently, some wells in War- den Place have been contaminated X by sewage leaking from septic tanks. lem, the residents of Hemlock Gardens say the whole story is not being told. “I contacted DER," said resident Wilma Schierer. “They said that the letter was only a recom- mendation and not a mandate.” She added that a person from DER See LAKE SEWERS, pg 3 The Dallas Post has won three awards in a Pennsylvania News- paper Publishers’ Association statewide contest, including first place in the prestigious Best News Series category. The Keystone Awards annually honor newspapers throughout the state in a variety of subjects. The Post was awarded first place in the Best News Series category for a number of ar- - ticles on the contamination of wells at Harveys Lake. The stories, written by Scott Davis, ran throughout the latter half of 1989 The Post also won a second place award in the Best News Story category for a report on the danger of fast boats and al- cohol consumption on Harveys The Post wins three state journalism awards Lake. The story also was written by Davis and appeared in the May 31, 1989 issue. Only first and second place awards are given in each category. An editorial written by pos lisher and editor Ronald Bar- tizek was awarded second place for Best Editorial. The editorial questioned why the state wanted to place a traffic light at the intersection of Route 309 and | Hillside Road when local com- | munities’ requests for lights at other locations were ignored. The Post's entries were in- cluded in a group for all weekly newspapers of less than 6,000 circulation from throughout the state. Plaques will be awarded at a dinner meeting in mid-May. Developer opposes heighboring subdivision Says water runs off on his land By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer The Kingston Township Super- visors have asked for more infor- mation before deciding on a pro- posed subdivision plan in the township. That decision came at last week's meeting of the board when a the developer of nearby land stood in opposition to the proposal. The plan being considered is for the Maplecrest Phase II subdivi- sion, which is being developed by John Moreck. However, Harry Salavantis, who is the developer of Crane's Landing, has asked that the subdivision be denied because Something to celebrate Members of the Beaumont Union Gospel Church and their friends attended the dedication service of the new building built by members of the congregation and friends without debt, to replace their church destroyed by fire a year ago. They were welcomed by Pastor Jim Cummings, Pastor Jerry Tallent and Pastor Jim Howell. (Photo by C.M. Denmon) h of a large amount of surface water that is draining onto his property from the Maplecrest property. According to Salavantis, the water deposit has been a continu- ing problem. “This has been going | on for a year and a half now,” said Salavantis. “The water started as a trickle and I have watched it in- crease in volume and velocity for the last 18 months.” Salavantis said that the pro- posed drainage system for Ma- plecrest will not alleviate the prob- lem. However, a representative for Moreck said that the drainage situ- See RUNOFF, pg 5 Despite the alleged sewer prob- i $y
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