£3 Vol. 101 No. 36 Dallas, PA Wednesday, September 12, 1990 35 Cents DA wants Smith's conviction reinstated By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer A request for an appeal has been filed with the State Su- preme Court in an effort to have the conviction of Chris Smith reinstated. Luzerne County District At- torney Correale Stevens con- firmed Monday that his office filed a request for an appeal. The action comes on the heels of a successful appeal by Smith last month. Smith was convicted in March of manslaughter in connection with the June, 1989 shooting death of 18- year-old Richard Hillman out- side the Smith residence. An appeal by Smith went to the Superior Court and last month the court reversed the conviction and released the Lake Silkworth teen from a Philadelphia reform school. In that decision, the panel of three judges ruled that the original verdict of visiting Judge Donald O'Malley showed that Smith had acted in self-defense and the charges had to be dropped. Stevens said Monday that the appeal was being filed because he felt the original verdict was correct. “We have taken the position that Judge O'Malley was correct. He had the opportunity to observe the witnesses and their credibility and make the decision,” said Stevens. He said that this is the last opportunity for a challenge to be made on the decision. The father of the victim said he is pleased by the news. “I think it is super,” said Ray Hillman. “This show's that the D.A.’s office is trying hard to get justice.” It could take up to 60 days for the Supreme Court to render a decision on whether or not the appeal will be heard. If the court does allow an appeal it will take some See CONVICTION, pg 5 Junior conductor Calondar.. chais 20 Classified......... 17-19 Editorials................. 4 Obituaries............... 2 Police Report......... 2 Property Transfers16 School............oovei 15 SPOAS.A..........cci0 17 Coming up: Fall Community Events slated Northmoreland Twp. Fire Co. Auction - Sat., Sept. 15, 5 PM Stuffed Chicken Breast Supper - St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Sat., Sept. 15, 4:30-7 PM Family Style Chicken Supper - Huntsville Methodist Church, Sat., Sept. 15, 4:30 PM DALLAS BOROUGH COUNCIL - Tues., Sept. 18,8 PM, Dallas Borough Hall, Main Street DALLAS TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS - Tues., Sept. 18, 7:30 PM, Dallas Twp. Bidg., Route 309 HARVEYS LAKE BOROUGH COUNCIL - Tues., Sept. 18, 7:30 PM, Harveys Lake Municipal Bidg., Route 415 HARVEYS. LAKE PLANNING COMMISSION - Mon., Sept. 17, 7 PM, Harveys Lake Municipal Bldg., Route 415 Joel Mazur of Jackson Twp. took control of the train ride at the Luzerne County Fair last weekend. More fair photos on pages 10 and 11. (Post Photo/Charlotte Bartizek) y Young priest s death shocks community “* By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer The recent passing of the Rev. John Petrasko, chaplain at Col- lege Misericordia, shocked and saddened both the college and the Back Mountain community. A young man of 36, the priest left his mark on all he came in contact with, whether students, Sisters of Mercy or other adults. He was recalled this week as a soft and gentle man, who spoke openly when he believed he was right, and was an excellent role model for students and staff at College Mis- ericordia, According to friends and associ- ates, he was one of those persons who seldom pass this way-a man who was liked and respected by all, regardless of their ingrained feelings about religious leaders. It seemed as though he accepted others as a challenge and they were drawn to him without realiz- ing it. Sister Mary Glennon, academic dean of the college, described Rev. Petrasko well when she said, “Fa- ther John was a ‘Holy’ man.” He had a personality difficult to de- scribe. He had a great rapport with the students. He was humorous but with his humor Father John was able to get his point across. "He was an all-giving person but never took from others. An open person in his ministry, he was Newell writes from desert By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer Sgt. Michael Newell a Dallas resident who is now among the troops in Saudi Arabia wrote to his parents recently describing the conditions and mood of the sol- diers there. “We had nothing to do to occupy ourselves until I received your package which contained goodies and cards,” he wrote to his mother, Mrs. Harold Newell, Pinecrest Avenue, Dallas. “Now we occupy our time playing cards,” he wrote. “We can't get stamps here and we have no showers or bathrooms. Our meals are the dry rations to which water is added,” he wrote. He also said that the men are getting depressed and morale is not at its best. “We work 12-hour shifts and we are restricted to the base and as long as the Beale Air Force Base has planes here I'll be here,” he said in his letter. “There are ru- mors we would be here 90 days but I believe it will be longer than that. There are also rumors that on September 29, 20 men will be sent home and be replaced with 20 others but no one knows.” Mrs. Newell, Michael's wife and his brother Mac and his wife are See NEWELL, pg 3 private about his own life and never discussed his health," she said. Father John was instrumental in getting the students involved in helping others; in their trips to help the underprivileged in Ken- tucky, in the Bronx, and the group who went to Guyana this year. He whetted their enthusiasm and taught them that giving is more joyful than getting. He lived in the dormitories with the students to know them better and to teach them. He knew when to be humorous and he would preach the Gospel without appear- ing to wish to impose his will on others. See SHOCKS, pg 3 SGT. MICHAEL NEWELL Dallas, Lake-Lehman districts show rise in number of students By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer Enrollment in both the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts increased for the 1990-91 school year despite former predictions that the number of students would be down in most of the local schools. The Lake-Lehman School Dis- trict showed the greatest increase with 109 more students this school year than in 1989-1990. In the elementary schools there was an increase of 50 students and in the secondary schools an increase of 59 students, 47 more in the junior high and 12 more in senior high. Enrollment in the Dallas School District showed an increase of 49 students over the 1989-1990 school year, all of these in the elementary grades. The charts below indicates the increases in both districts this year over the 1989-1990 school year. Due to an increased enrollment in kindergarten classes both dis- tricts had to add an additional class. Lake-Lehman kindergarten enrollment increased from 169 children in 1989-1990 to 196 in 1990-1991. ~ Dallas kindergarten enrollment increased from 148 children in 1989-1990 to 177 in 1990-1991. Woman from western PA to be Lake-Lehman super By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer The Lake-Lehman School Board ' ‘was expected to approve the ap- ‘ pointment of Nancy I. Davis as Superintendent of Schools at its meeting last night. Davis is pres- ently superintendent of the Cen- tral Green School District in south- western Pennsylvania. Davis was one of the three top candidates considered, by the search teams of the district. Several school board members refused to comment when con- tacted by a reporter, but none denied that Davis was the top candidate. The Central Green School Dis- trict is comprised. of % and five townships Including Waynesburg Borough, Franklin Township, Washington Township, Wayne, Whitely and Terry Town- ship. The district has five elemen- tary buildings with kindergarten through fourth grades, one Middle School, grades fifth through eighth, and one senior high building, grades ninth through 12th. OUTSTANDING 4-H MEMBER - Dene’ Stull (left) receives a certifi- cate from state Senator Charles Lemmond during the opening day of the Luzerne County Fair. Stull was named the state's Outstanding 4-H Horse Member. (Post Photo/Rich Johnson) Dene’ Stull caps 4-H career with state award By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer Horses, 4-H and county fairs have been a way of life for 19-year- old Dene’ Stull of Dallas since the age of five. All the time and work she has devoted to the animals and the 4-H clubs were rewarded this year when she was named 1990 Outstanding 4-H Horse Member. Stull began riding horses when she was five years old and immedi- ately took a liking to them. “I can’t remember not liking horses,” she said while getting one of them ready for events at the Luzerne County air. “Mom always had horses and my dad is a blacksmith, so I was always around them,” she added.” With the horses and some help from her family Stull became ac- tive in the area 4-H program. As she finishes her 11th and final year of being a member of 4-H Stull walks away with a number of achievements, the highest being named the one of the state's out- standing 4-H'ers. “I was surprised to hear I had won,” said Stull, “but I also knew that I put in a lot to earn it.” The award is based on a number of projects done by the members of 4-H. Stull has a long record of successful projects within 4-H and See STULL, pg 10
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