8 Se. Ns rN N od RX XS So~ %%e® Rr Vol. 102 No. 9 Dallas, PA Wednesday, March 6, 1991 35 Cents ERE Dallas District named in suit over health insurance { i CHARLOT M. DENMON ‘Saft Writer A federal court lawsuit by an employee of the Dallas School District charges that the district and its health insurance provider, Blue Cross of Northeastern Penn- sylvania, have discriminated against his daughter. The suit claims that Blue Cross . has incorrectly defined the daugh- ter's illness, resulting in a low level of payment, according to the fam- | ily’s attorney, Kim Borland. “Blue Cross-Blue Shield de- scribes the juvenile as ‘mentally ill,” said Borland Monday. “Men- tally ill is not a correct definition of the juvenile's condition. The child began to show compulsive disor- ders in the lower grades but is not mentally ill.” 4 The lawyer says the classifica- Won has resulted in little reim- bursement for medical bills. “Anything Blue Cross describes that way they won't pay. Their benefits are not equal for various illnesses, and symptons do not matter,” Borland said. “Like many of the districts, Dallas has Blue Cross-Blue Shield Major Medical and in the contract it specifically spells out the terms.” J family is suing Blue Cross ecause they believe it is discrimi- ator that their daughter does A See SUIT, pg 2 Pub listed for sherrif's sale in April Dallas Borough manager Milt Lutsey said last Friday he was informed by the borough solicitor that the Hearthstone building is to be sold at Sheriff Sale April 19 with the deed to be transferred to “Post,” who Lutsey said he assumes is Ron Post. “In talking with our solici- tor this week he stated that in talking with Attorney Robert Scovell (Post's attorney), the borough solicitor was told that the Hearthstone Pub would be sold and the building taken down following the sale,” said Lutsey. Fishermen: You're on your own at lake this year By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer Harveys Lake fishermen will be on their own this year, as the state Fish Commission will no longer stock the lake with trout. But state officials say that there are plenty of good-sized fish in the lake as a result of the past five years of stocking. The state began a program five years ago that has eliminated the need to stock five lakes, one of them being Harveys Lake. According to area Fisheries Manager Bob Moase, . over the last five years the state has stocked the lakes with what are known as fingerlings, or smaller sized fish. Moase said the idea behind the program was to use in hopes that the fish grow as large as the fish that would have been used in the regular stocking process. Moase said the program was put into effect because of low return rates in some of the lakes in the state. “The feeling was that these lakes consume a signifi- cant proportion of hatchery production without a big return rate. So we were putting a lot of fish in but the return rate was low,” said Moase. Moase said that area fisherman should be assured that a large number of fingerlings were stocked at ~ Harveys Lake. According to last year’s figures, ap- proximately 25,000 rainbow trout and 23,000 brown trout fingerlings were placed in Harveys Lake. “These figures are about the same as the figures for all five years of the program so you can see we put in around 250,000 fingerlings,” said Moase. He added that not all the Arizerlings were small to begin with either. “Some were fairly advanced in size,” said Moase, “so there are probably some good-sized fish in the lake.” Rumors about the program spread quickly among area fisherman, but there did not seem to be much concern over the change. “We know that there are a lot of good fish in the lake,” said John Calhoun, who lives in the borough. “I guess the one’s that were stocked four or five years ago will be a good size by now.” Calhoun’s fishing partner Larry Werts said that this seemed like a more natural process for the fish. “The first groups that were stocked have grown enough now that they can eat some of the smaller fish,” he said. the five year period to stock the lake with smaller fish Lake-Lehman wins districts UNDER CONTROL - The Black Knight's Charlie Roper took his match from a Meyers' opponent at last week's district wrestling meet. The Knights won the tournament for the second consecutive year. Story, more photos on pages 12 and 13. (Photo by Dave Kozemchak) Calendar................ 16 Classified.......... 13-15 Editorials.................. 4 Obituaries................ 2 Police report............ 3 Property transfers....8 School....o.......... 10-11 SPOMS,..o.ii.ciis... 12-13 RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE, Mon., Mar. 11, 9 AM-2 PM, Lake- Lehman High School. Appts. essential, 823-7161. Community Events GOURMET GALA - Sun., March 10, Montage Manor, Moosic. Sample food from area restaurants while benefitting the Ronald McDonald House. $35 per person. 969-8508. SUZANNE MARIE ROSETTI MEMORIAL ART EXHIBIT - March 10-30, MacDonald Art Gallery, College Misericordia. Work by students in grades 7-12 from Tunkhannock and Back Mountain areas. Tues.-Thurs. Noon-5 PM, Sat., Sun. 1-5 PM. Closed Monday. Free Fair plans in full swing, exhibitors sought By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer The Luzerne County Fair is six months away, but Back Mountain residents are already working hard to make sure the annual event will again be a success. Members of the Fall Fair com- mittee have begun preparing pro- grams for the fair and are seeking exhibitors who want to take ad- vantage of the opportunity to pres- ent their wares to the large crowd that traditionally throngs the five- day event. Ed Kelly, president of the fair board, said that space for exhib- Want to exhibit? ~ Call 675-FAIR itors fills fast each year and this year is no exception. “We want more exhibitors again this year,” said Kelly, “and anyone interested in having space on the ground should contact us as soon as pos- sible to make sure they will have a spot.” Kelly said that there are a number of classifications for ex- hibitors, including food, outdoor and undercover spaces. The board is especially hoping that more exhibitors will be able to provide demonstrations of their goods and talents at the fair. “The exhibits are a big part of the fair,” said Kelly. “If we get people out there who show the public what they do then everyone will go away happy.” Kelly said that improvements to the fair grounds are an extra in- centive to potential exhibitors. The fair board has discussed the possibility of paving the arts & crafts building and the 4-H build- ing located on the fair grounds. “People in these buildings will enjoy See FAIR, pg 5 WATCHING CLOSED CAPTION TELEVISION - Mark Dutton sits at his home watching television and waiting for a decision on where he will be allowed to go to school. (Post Photo/Rich Johnson) Local men say U.S. can help solve Mideast woes By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer Two local men, both natives of Egypt, say the United States can and should play a constructive role in restoring order to the Mid- east. Buteach warns that the major issue causing unrest there is the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Dr. Mahmoud Fahmy, Dean of the Graduate Study at Wilkes College, said last weekend “Now is the time to start negotiations to bring lasting peace to the Mideast and the Arab countries ” “In the negotiations no blueprint should be imposed from the out- side,” Fahmy said. “It should not be the United States and Russia at the table doing the negotiating. The plans must come from the countries within the area.” See MIDEAST, pg 5 Reservoir Road closed for repairs to surface By CHARLOT M. DENMON Staff Writer Dallas Borough road workers are currently working to reopen Reservoir Road, an upaved road- way that runs from Center Hill Road to Machell Avenue in Dallas Borough. The road was shut down by borough officials recently be- cause it was washed out. “The problems occurred when Bob Jones put a road through his 20-acre property causing a little tributary to run down when it rains. The road causes a gully down below because the road (Cameron Road) is higher than Huntsville Road so because of water, silt and other runoff, it blocks the drain and the water washes the road out,” explained Borough Manager Milton Lutsey. Lutsey explained that borough workers are filling the hole with Child's family wants him moved to school for deaf By RICH JOHNSON Staff Writer A Harveys Lake family and the Lake-Lehman School District are locked in a battle to decide where an 11-year-old deaf child should go to school. The controversy surrounds Mark Dutton, who was born un- able to hear. He and his family moved to the area last April and Mark was enrolled in the Luzerne Intermediate Unit. But family members think he should be at- tending the Scranton State School for the Deaf because they believe he is not getting the education he needs from the LIU. The family and the Lake-Lehman School District are in the process of presenting arguments before a state hearing officer. Six special due process hearings have been scheduled so that evidence can be DR. MAHMOUD FAHMY stone because there was such a large hole. He said some of the residents complained because the road couldn't be used and the mail couldn't go through. “We had to close it to do some- thing about repairing it because it was impassable,” Lutsey said. The borough is installing three concrete sections of 48 inch pipe to try to eliminate the gulley on the hill toward Center Hill Road and also is putting in large ditches and filling them with large gravel and stone and several catch ba- § sins. The workers are trying to dig § out some of the bad spots on the lower level and fill those with modified stone, trying to put a § crown on the road, according to the Borough manager. “A big concern is that an ambu- lance or a fire truck will not be § able to get through,” Lutsey said. presented. Four of the hearings have taken place so far, with the} last two scheduled for the eve- nings of March 6 and 7 at the Lehman-Jackson Elementary : School. The family is trying to show that | Mark is not receiving a proper| education at the LIU and that his being there is causing mental anguish for the child. In a letter given to the school district Mrs. Dutton outlined what| she termed as “Mark Dutton's| unique needs.” In that letter Mrs. | Dutton said that Mark does not! have friends in the school and that | has caused some emotional prob-| lems for him. “Mark has low self-esteem, tends to withdraw and exhibits inappro-| priate behavior,” she youd in the| letter. | See CHILD, pg 3)
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