ee ei — Prey — a TE Bo LE eran Vol. 101 No. 30 Dallas, PA Wednesday, August 1, 1990 35 Cents Despite solicitor's claim "No new action filed to demolish Pub By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer After two years of waiting, court action to demolish the former Hearthstone Pub in Dallas has not been filed, despite assurances from Dallas Borough's solicitor that it would come up in September. Meanwhile, the building has deteriorated to such a state that Dallas Fire Chief Ted Wright has ordered his men never to enter it. “Our men already have their orders. Not one of them is to set foot inside that structure. I am not going to have a volunteer injured or killed due to neglect. If a fire occurs, we will fight it defensively and work to save the buildings on each side of it. Those are the struc- tures that will be our concern.” Wright said. Solicitor John S. Fine, Jr. re- ported to the borough council at its July meeting that an Action in Equity had been served and the case against the owners of Hearth- stone would come up in court in September. After a wait of two years, council members were relieved to hear that the action would be taken and the Hearthstone problem resolved. Unfortunately, it appears that council members and residents are due for a disappointment. A visit by a reporter to the Luzerne County Prothonotary's Office revealed that despite the solicitor’s report to council, the case does not appear on the Sep- tember or October court calendar. There are no Equity cases heard in September. Those cases will be on the docket in October but a Certifi- cate of Readiness must be filed in the Prothonotary’s Office prior to August 31. As of Tuesday, July 31, no certificate had been filed. At the dilipadated building, windows have been broken and boarded up, then within a few days the boards ripped off and signs of entry into the building are obvious. “Steps to the side and rear of the building once boarded are open to vagrants and others and inside, inspection by police has turned up evidence of the building being See PUB, pg 3 By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer FRET Lake wells still tainted It is still a waiting game for residents of the Warden Place section of Harveys Lake Borough who have contaminated wells. Tests taken last week show that bacteria contamination is evident in the wells, but authorities believe that it is just a matter of time before the contamination is eliminated. Stanley Lehman, regional supervisor for the state Depart- ment of Environmental Resources, said that he believes the contamination is in the soil and rain water is flushing the contaminants out. “With the large rainfall, our tests are getting whatever contamination is left in the soil,” said Lehman. “When we tested during a dry period the tests came back with good See WELLS, pg 5 came — Lake bed owned by water by state By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer individuals, Picture this. You are standing on the shore of Harveys Lake pre- paring to take a quick swim. Be- fore geing in you look down and notice the soil you are standing on. It is good soil belonging to the borough of Harveys Lake. As you dive in the water, you notice how refreshing it is. It is good water belonging to the Com- monwealth of Pennsylvania. You continue traveling downward to the bottom of the lake. You notice the bed of the lake. Posted on it is a no trespassing sign, stating that the lake bed belongs to the descen- dents of Hendrick B. Wright and Charles Barnum. What's going on? In theory, that could happen. In 1871 the Commonwealth of Penn- sylvania gave 285 acres and 31 inches of land to Hendrick B. Wright of Wilkes-Barre. On April 5 of that year Wright and his wife sold “...one undivided half part ofa tract of land mostly covered by the waters of Harveys Lake” to Charles Barnum of Lake Township. Ac- RUGGLES BAND? - @ See LAKE BED, pg 6 \ Is this the Ruggles Band? Harveys Lake resident Wayne Smith, who is presently doing a pictorial history of the Lake believes that it is. The photo is thought to have Harveys Lake has had an eventful history By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer 3 been taken at the old Picnic Grounds early in this century. Since Harveys Lake was first discovered in the late 1700's, it has changed from an isolated lake hidden among the mountains toa | lake village settled by pioneers who cut the area's virgin timber to make it available to build the towns of the Susquehanna River dalleys, then to its present-day status as a resort and vibrant year-round community. Although not all histories agree who discovered the lake, a major- ity seem to be in accord that it was Benjamin Harvey, who came to this area from Lyme, Connecticut, in 1772 and a year later began to build a sawmill in West Nanticoke. He also built a store in Plymouth which was operated by his son, Benjamin, Jr. In 1775, while traveling upriver from Harrisburg, Harveys is said to have been captured by Col. William Plunkett and held captive until January of 1776. He was released and began to make his way home by way of a stream any Post readers can identify persons in the above photo we would appreciate it. (Photo/Courtesy of Wayne Smith) known as Harveys Creek. See HISTORY, pg 6 Reception will honor Miliauskas Lake-Lehman School District's former band director John Mil- iauskas will be honored at an Open House Retirement Reception, Fri- day, August 3, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., by members of the Band Sponsors Association. Cindy Evans, chairperson of the Open House, said the event will be held at the Lehman-Jackson Elemen- . tary School. “Miliauskas was band director at Lake-Noxen and Lehman for the last 35 years,” she said. “He was dedicated to instrumental music and in addition to directing the band, he taught instrumental music in the elementary grades, junior and senior high school, until about 10 years ago. “He turned over the elementary instrumental music to Jonathon Pineno but continued to teach the junior and senior high students as well as give private lessons until he retired,” Evans explained. The Lake-Lehman Award-Win- ning Band won the Atlantic Coast championship for four consecu- tive years, the only band to achieve winning it so many consecutive years. “It’s a great honor because the bands compete with others from six states,” Evans explained. See MILIAUSKAS, pg 2 THE BANDLEADER - John Miliauskas, who led the Lake-Lehman | band to glory for 35 years, will be honored at a reception Friday. Youths protest Harveys Lake curfew By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer Citing increasing damage caused by vandals in Harveys Lake Borough, the council president has defended the recent curfew estab- lished by the borough council. But some of those who will be most affected by the ordinance have voiced their displeasure. The ordinance says that chil- dren under 16 cannot be out after 11:00 p.m. unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. Some youths in that age group offered their opinions of the law last week. John Briggs and Jerry Brislin of Harveys Lake, and Tim Alters of Dallas were standing in a group talking among each other when they were asked about the curfew ordinance. Brislin argued against the curfew by saying they should be judged by their conduct. “I sometimes like to. spend some time being outside at night. I don’t see why we shouldn't be allowed out if we are responsible,” he said. Briggs, 15, agreed but said he probably wouldn't be affected by the curfew. “I usually don’t go out after 11:00 so it really doesn't matter to me,” said Briggs. Alters also said he was in by that time and added, “A lot of kids are with their parents when they go out then anyway.” Jolene King and Laura Rock were sitting at the outlet of the lake watching the boats go by when they learned of the ordinance. “It’s stupid,” said King. “There isn’t much to do in Dallas and it is nice to come out here and just sit and talk with our friends.” Although neither girl lives in the borough, they say the ordinance will affect a lot of kids from the Back Mountain who like to go to Harveys Lake. King is 17 years old and would not be affected by the ordinance but said she felt sorry for those who would, like 15-year- old Rock. Rock said that she feels the ordinance is aimed at only a few, but many suffer. “We come out here with our friends and we don't cause any problems but now we will get in trouble just for coming out here,” she said. : Harveys Lake Council President ordinance was put into affect to help control some youths who cause problems in the borough. “There has been a rash of vandal- ism lately,” said Wilson, “and there have been a few problem areas that we need to control.” He noted that the areas around Oak St., s Keeffer Plot, and near the Lake- ‘See CURFEW, pg 5 Post's “Pizza Wars' contest. August 20. of their choice. 'Pizza Wars' begins this week in The Post Never mind “less filling, tastes great,” the really important ques- tion is who makes the best pizza in the Back Mountain. Beginning this week, readers of The Dallas Post will provide the answer in The “Pizza Wars” asks readers to pick their favorite pizza maker in three categories; thin crust, thick crust and “with the works.” It's easy to enter — you'll find a ballot on page 11 of this week's issue or at any of the pizza restaurants listed. Just check off your choice in each category and send or mail the ballot to The Post before The contest will run for three weeks, with the winning pizza res- | taurants announced in the August 22 issue of The Post. Two lucky readers will win, also. The Post will draw two entries at random and each will be given a $35 gift certificate to the pizza restaurant Readers may enter the contest as often as they wish, but pho tocopied entries will not be accepted. Complete dirsenions can nbe found with the entry ballot on page 11. / - William Wilson confirmed that the
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