066} Gc [Udy ABPSSUPSM 2 uOlo8S JuswsAoiduwl] swoH buudg -}sod sejjegayyr 9 = Vol. 101 No. 17 Dallas, PA Wednesday, May 2, 1990 35 Cents Residents guess at rec center “location By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer As enthused as school officials appeared to be about the an- nouncement of the planned YMCA/ Wilkes-Barre General Hospital $5 million recreational facility, citi- zens of the Back Mountain are even more excited. The most popu- lar topic last week seemed to be guessing the location of the new | complex.. “We are absolutely delighted to ! _& hear plans of a new recreation- medical facility in the Back Moun- tain,” said Phyllkis Belk, director of University Relations at Penn State Wilkes-Barre. “Penn State Wilkes-Barre will have a new multi- purpose building and gymnasium by next year on our campus. It is Po now under construction but does not include a swimming pool. “Our campus has Rosemary Ratzin, exercise-physical educa- tion director with expertise includ- & ing nutrition. She is already offer- ing classes for the community as well as students and staff and we see the new facility as an opportu- y ofty for a cooperative progra Professor Ratzin will be pleased to work with the staff there as will our other staff members in health education and physical education.” John Ginochetti thinks facility such as that for the people. It would be more convenient. Our children enjoy swimming so we belong to the YMCA and the CYC, See REC CENTER, pg 5 Lehman Jay face ¥y 0% tax hike By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer Property owners in the Lake- Lehman School District could face a tax hike of more than 10 percent under thé terms of the district's proposed 1990-91 budget. The i plan was released at a meeting last week. The new budget would mean a 14-mill increase in the assessed property tax in Luzerne County and a three mill increase in Wyo- ming County. The present tax in Luzerne County is 133 mills and in Wyoming County it is 58 mills, due to property assessment being higher in Wyoming County. The owner of property assessed at $10,000 in Luzerne County under the proposed budget would be taxed $1470 and the owner of property under the present mil- lage now pays $1330. The owner of property in Wyo- ming County assessed at $10,000 under the proposed budget would pay tax of $610 and that owner under the present 58 millage pays $580. Dr. Charles Borchetta, district superintendent, indicated to the board that cuts in personnel would be included in the 1990-91 budget as well as cuts in equipment and teachers materials in order to bal- ance the proposed budget. According to Borchetta, in- creased expenditures in the 1990- 1991 budget including a $504,269 in pay increases for district per- sonnel, a lower increase in state funding and anticipated smaller increase in property assessment help make necessary the increased tax. Borchetta also said that be- cause it is an election year, he doubts that state taxes would be raised to provide additional money for education. When the budget session ended, the board went into executive session to discuss the proposed budget and the items indicated by Borchetta. 4 “It’s 5 fantastic! It's about time we had a’ Dallas figure injured; recovering well Back Mountain residents will probably recognize this long-eared spaniel. But what has happened to its leg? “Freckles,” pet and resident greeter at Jim Eason’s Dallas Center Hardware store, is sporting a cast. Eason is contrite as he explains that he dropped a section of wall pegboard on his pet's foot. Fortunately, the next customer to enter the store was area veterinarian John Shaskas, who rendered emergency first aid. Since then, Eason has secured the pegboard, Freckles has lost some weight and received lots of attention, and all will soon be well again at what some younger members of the community call “the Freckles store.” (Photo by Charlotte Bartizek) Jones convicted on three counts By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer The owner of the Lake Silkworth Hotel was convicted last week on criminal charges of providing alco- hol to minors. David “digger” Jones, 65, was found guilty on three of four charges after he alledgedly sold alcohol to two juveniles last summer. During the two-day trial, testi- mony was heard from four Lake- Lehman High School students who said that they obtained beer and alcohol from the Lake Silkworth Hotel. Two of the students, Thomas Duffy and Edward Kelly, Jr., testi- fied that in the early morning hours of June 11 they went to the hotel and bought beer and later went back and bought a bottle of Jim Beam bourbon. The other students, Donna Compton and Erin Keefer, testified that they asked the boys to buy the alcohol for them but they did not go into the establishment. Jones took the stand on his own behalf. He testified that the alcohol could have come from his busi- ness, but that he did not sell the alcohol to the youths. He inferred that the boys may have stolen the alcohol from a back room area in. the bar. During the closing arguments, defense attorney Joseph Albert played upon this inference. He blasted the testimony of Duffy and Kelly, saying that the youths all testified against the couple : because of an agreement with the police. “The children had no choice but to testify,” said Albert. “The kids are the only ones in this trial who admitted doing anything wrong and they are the ones not arrested.” Albert said the defense was taking its case one step further than it was required to. He said See JONES, pg 2 By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer Following the conviction of a Lake Silkworth bar owner, Ray justice system. Hillman, whose son was shot and killed last summer, says that the last nine months have been tough on him and his family, but he is happy to see that “some justice is served.” Hillman and his family at- tended the two-day trial of David “Jigger” Jones last week in Luzerne County Court. Jones was charged with providing alcohol to two juveniles the same night that 18-year-old Richard, Hillman was shot. Authorities would not con- firm that the two cases are connected but Assistant Dis- trict Attorney Jim Phillips said that the investigation against Jones came about “while police Judgement restores Hillman's faith in system “case,” Hillman has more faith in the < were investigating another ‘Phillips said he could not comment on what the other case was. For the Hillman family, the past nine months have been long. “It's been nine months since it happened and we are still waiting to see some jus- tice,” said Ray Hillman He added that convictions like those against Jones are needed to help keep another tragic inci- dent from happening. “Gradu- ation time is coming up on us and we don't want to see any- thing else happen,” he said. “Parents should know where their kids are and who they are with.” Hillman said that his family wants to get everything over with and try to continue with their lives. “We just want this behind us; it's just been horrible,” he said. Jackson planners reject half-acre lots By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer TheJackson Township Planning Commission has turned down a planning consultant's recommen- dation to change some of the zon- ing in the township to allow build- ing on one-half acre lots. This decision came at a special meeting of the commission Mon- day night at which approximately 35 people showed up, many to voice their opposition to the plan. The commission heard the pro- posal from Marlene Pawlowski, who has done planning work for the township for many years. Pawlowski told the commission that she drew up the proposal at the request of the township's super- visors. That board had asked her to look at the possibility of chang- ing the lot sizes in the zoning ordi- nances to take advantage of the new sewer system that has been put in the township. The change in the zoning would Candidates’ signs sprout like dandelions in area By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer =. Just as dandelions sprout up overnight, political candidates signs seem to have been doing the same during the past week. On nearly every road in the Back Mountain there are signs herald- ing the candidates running for State Representative in the 120th District. Volunteers must have been busy as their favorite candidate's signs can be found everywhere. - Driving out the Luzerne-Dallas Highway, Phillips, Dietterick, Mi- chael and Kotch signs are bunched together with Phillips sign extend- ing above the others. Anne Vernon's signs dot the side of the road as far out as Truckville. Clarence Michael has some signs -with his photo imprinted, as does Andrew Kotch. Scott Dietterick’s signs are placed strategically in various spots along Carverton Road, towards Wyoming. His signs can also be seen traveling on Main Street from Route 309 to Dallas. A few of Michael's signs are also placed along the same route. Route 118 toward Lehman might well be called “Vernon Highway” for her signs are placed at regular intervals on either side of the high- way. Only a few of the others are seen in that area. Huntsville Road has only a scat- tering of the candidates’ signs, but perhaps more will appear within the next few days. : It's a toss-up between who has the most signs in New Goss Manor - Dietterick or Phillips - probably Classified.21-23 Editorials........ 4 Obituaries......2 Coming up: RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE - Wed., May 9, 11AM-5PM, Shavertown United Methodist Church, Pioneer Ave. Appts., call 823-7161 CANDIDATE'S FORUM - Forthe 5 Republican candidates forthe nomination to run for State Representative from the 120th District. Sun., May 6, 6:30 PM, Science Lecture Hall, Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus, Lehman. BACK MOUNTAIN WATER COMMISSION - Thurs., May 3, 8 PM, Kingston Twp. Municipal Bldg. FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION- Mon., May 7, 6:30 PM FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS - Mon., May 7, 8 PM JACKSON TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS - Mon., May 7, 7:30 PM, Jackson Fire Hall KINGSTON TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION - Tues., May 8, 8 PM, Kingston Twp. Municipal Bldg. KINGSTON TOWNSHIP ZONING BOARD - Mon., May 7, 8 PM, Kingston Twp. Municipal Bldg. LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL BOARD - Tues., May 8, 8 PM, Ross Elementary School be froma minimum ofone acrelots | to one-half acre lots at undevel- oped areas along Chase, Cigarski and Hillside Roads in the town- ship. i The planner said that the pro- | posal to reduce the lot size was | very feasible for the township. | “There is a lot of accessible land | that can now be served by the sewer,” said Pawlowski. “Youwould make the most benefit from the sewer,” she added. re However, planning commission member Ed Chesnovitch ques- | tioned if other factors were consid- ered when making this proposal. Chesnovitch asked if water problems in the township, the road situation, and sewer capacity were considered when the proposal was made. iH] ‘Pawlowski said she did not Ae consider these factors. “The area | can easily support more houses; I think you probably have the water See JACKSON, pg 3 close to a draw. There is no problem determin- ing who is supporting whom in that area. A third candidate, Clar- ence Michael, also has signs in that section of Dallas indicating the support of some of the resi- See SIGNS, pg3 | attend a candidates forum this Candidate forum Sunday Area residents are invited to Sunday at 6:30 p.m. All five Re- publican contenders for the nomination for State Represen- tative from the 120th District will be present at the event, which will be held in the Sci- ence Lecture Hall on the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus in Lehman. : Candidates will make open- ing and closing statements, and answer questions from the public. Residents may present questions by using the form found elsewhere in this issue of The Post, or by filling out a form prior to the forum. The forum is sponsored by The Dallas Post and the Back Mountain Citizens’ Council. Will 8 Conyngham, vice president of | | the council, will be moderator. Police Repirt. INET 2 Property Transfers..... 8 School.........a..ivn. 16-17. Spons.................. 18-20 A
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