35 Cents Dallas, PA Wednesday, October 23, 1991 Vol. 102 N Lig. seo, lanes and barriers suggested for Route 309 Mountain Road. | Sabol also suggested a park and ride lot at St. Theresa's Church, so people would not have to drive By ERIC FOSTER Post Staff © Talkoftrafficlights and turning lanes was as thick as 5 o' clock traffic at the 309/Carverton Road intersection when a dozen Back Mountain commu- nity leaders met with officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation October 16 todiscuss | J problems along Route 309. fe first meeting of the Back Mountain Transpor- PennDOT, local leaders talk safety “PennDOT is hoping for about $30 million dollars worth of work in the area. The traffic on the Dallas Highway will be within that because it is within the top two or three highways traffic-wise,” Mattei as- Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). “We are concerned with some of the roads that run parallel to Route 309. We have iden- tified the 309 corridor as a high priority.” Mattei was joined by PennDOT representatives Stephen Shimko, Maintenance Service Engineer and sured the community members. Kingston Township Police Chief Paul Sabol started to Wilkes-Barre, but could use a bus instead. and Route 309. Other more specific suggestions by Sabol were: e Removing sidewalks and adding a right turning lane to the bridge at the intersection of Carverton * Adding a right turn lane to 309 North at the intersection of Carverton Road. tation Management Association at Penn State Wilkes- Ron Bonacci, District Traffic Engineer. the meeting off with a list of suggestions, several of e Staggering business openings, such as at hospi- Barre also heard more regional concerns voiced Because the U.S. House of Representatives and ~~ which focused on improving alternative roads so tals and factories, to alleviate rush-hour traffic. __ | about how to eliminate problems by reducing the the Senate have passed Transportation Acts calling fewer people would have to be funnelled through the » Continuing the center turning lane southbound traffic that has to use Route 309. for two different levels of fundings, Mattei said that: rock cut on Route 309. from the Back Mountain Shopping Center to Carver- RY “We are concerned with Route 309,” said Charles PennDOT is unsure of how much money will be Those roads included Route 29 to the Nanticoke I- vi | Mattei, Luzerne County District Engineer for the budgeted for the region. 81 connection, Bunker Hill Road, and the Larksville See ROUTE 309, pg 3 for | : nigh | | om- | : = Water plant T eet | " J = hb ~ heignnors DY 1a v :: t told spar on 1ayoriis « Werentio | Box 1.4 5 Gi By ERIC FOSTER of Posi Stal The Dallas School A Dallas School District Superin- Board will decide in 2, | tendent Gerald Wycallis was on : ret —r 1 the hot seat Monday evening, upcoming weeks wwe in HA \Sg | Kingston Township think they os should have been told about a leak 4 "of chlorine gas October 17... © ~ By ERIC FOSTER Post Staff “Neighbors of the Pennsylvania Gas and Water Company Llreat- ‘ment plant on Hillside Road in ; ma Stark watched the whole thi from her porch across {fom the little cinder block building where the leak occurred. “I won't say I was worried. There wil guys with gas masks and the tanks and there were guys walking around without them on,” said Stark. “I've lived here for 16 years and this has never happened be- fore.” “I think I should have been notified,” Stark said, “because if it Was serious I should have the right ‘to decide to stay or not.” * * “We don't know what happened,” said a concerned Russ Major, “owner of Major's Sales nearby on Hillside Road. “I'm amazed that thigappened and they didn’t tell us.” After chlorine vapor leaked [rom the plant, northbound traffic on ~ Route 309 was blocked [or an hour at the Luzerne entrance ramp - backing cars up for a mile or more. Hillside Avenue was also closed during the incident, and south- bound traffic was diverted across Carverton Road to Eighth Street. ~The chlorine gas leaked at about . 3:30 p.m. as a one-ton tank of liquid chlorine was being changed, according to Juneann Greco, spokesperson for PG&W. The chlorine is used at the plant to trgat drinking water. y See GAS LEAK, pg 2 Queen for a day Tami Landon was crowned Dallas High School Homecoming Queen October 19. Above, she receives her crown from last year's queen, Lisa McCafferty. The homecoming court included Jamie Maniskas, Wendy Cave, Sara Harris, Susan Richardson, Amy Shelley and Megan Moran. i October21 as he was grilled by the attorney for five furloughed teach- ers. For nearly four hours he was the focus of an Administrative Agency Hearing called for by the teachers. : The teachers’ attorney, Charles | Herring, argued that the furloughs were in violation of the state's School Code because they were done for budgetary, rather than educational reasons. Five teachers were {urloughed at the Dallas School Board's July 8- meeting: Catherine Wega, Mary Ann Storz, teacher of the in-school suspension program; Carol Har- ding, a part-time elementary teacher; Margaret Schuler, a physi- cal education and health teacher; "and Paul Brown, a physical educa- tion and health teacher, as well as basketball coach. Harding withdrew her request whether or not to uphold furloughing five teachers. for a hearing, to be replaced by Nancy Ferko, who was demoted from full, to part-time status. _ Brown and Storz were called back to work over the summer lo ill in positions of teachers who are on leave. Schuler and Wega are both on sabbatical. “I think you have a great oppor- tunity to correct a wrong,” Herring told the school board and audi- ence at the hearing. The school district's solicitor, Benjamin Jones, argued through the testimony of Wycallis, the dis- trict’s only witness, that the fur- loughs were made because of changes in the district's curricu- See LAYOFFS, pg 3 Dallas residents ask for lights to stop vandalism Vandalism in the area of Cres- cent Lane brought two residents to the Dallas Borough Council meet- ing October 15, asking that street lights be installed in the presently unlighted area. Donald and Karen Berlew, who live on Lehman Avenue, said that they have sustained $3,000 dam- age in the past few years from the attacks on their property. “We've had cars virtually de- stroyed in our driveway,” Donald Berlew explained. Cars being sto- len, tires slashed and property vandalized have been common in the neighborhood, he said. “There have been at least five or six homes hit,” said Karen Berlew. The Berlews and their neigh- bors sent a petition to the council asking that street lights be in- stalled, and council president Donald Cooper said that the bor- ough will try to address the prob- lem in its upcoming budget. There are now no light poles on the lane. Police chief Jack Fowler said that a juvenile had been arrested and charged with recent acts of vandalism, but no restitution had yet been offered. In other business, the council heard arequest from Michael Coyle, vice president of the Dallas-Shav- ertown Water Company, to install a water main on Machell Avenue. The company wants to replace the existing 30-year-old four inch main with an eight inch line. “These water companies have not been without their problems,” See VANDALISM, pg 3 Calendar... 16 : Classified..........13-15 = I ri k? : Editorials... coo. 4 x | S li it 1 th Obituaries.............. 12 OlICI Or, WO otners ricerenor 2 | gK@ wants to ban roller blages it B h'bost a 2 | quit Borough posts Spors................... 11 Lakeside Drive south of the Ma- By ERIC FOSTER clers.” rina Cafe. John S. Fine, Jr., the solicitor for Dallas Borough the past eight C . t Post Staff “It started in June,” said Spock. Councilman Joseph Sgarlat years, resigned his position at the borough council's meeting ommuni Y “You get a group of ten to fifteen of announced that he has been told October 15. The council immediately voted unanimously to ap- E t The Harveys Lake Borough them and they take up the whole that the check for a $10,000 rec- point Theodore Krohn as solicitor. ; wi vents Council authorized solicitor Char- lane.” reation grant from the state De- Fine had been under pressure in recent years for his perceived GAME PARTY - Thurs. Oct. 24, 7:30 PM, Shavertown Fire Hall. Sponsored by Ladies Auxiliary. Refreshements, public welcome. CRAFT SHOW - Sat., Oct. 26, Fire Hall, Main Street, Sweet Valley. HAM DINNER - Sat., Oct. 26, Trucksville Fire Hall, Carverton Road. Adults, $5.50, children under 12 $3.00. Tickets available at the door. - CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVEE les McCormick to draft an ordi- nance banning roller blades and skate boards from Lakeside Drive at its meeting October 15. Councilman Richard Boice said that complaints from residents were the reason the council took the action. “I've seen them go around this lake side by side and not move until you're right on them,” said Boice. “I think it's a great idea,” said Assistant Police Chief Ronald Spock. “We've got a lot of com- plaints. Those people with the roller skates, they don't have enough sense to pull over like the bicy- “God forbid if they get on the road and a car is coming around and they get hurt,” said council- man Edward Kelly. The council also passed an ordinance setting speed limits and prohibiting parking on certain streets in the borough. The ordi- nance will take effect November 15, ; The speed limit was set at 35 miles per hour on 2nd Street and Old Lake Road. Parking will only be allowed on one side of First Street and High Street. “No Park- ing Here to Corner” signs will be posted on Park Street, and no parking signs will be posted on partment of Community Affairs is being processed. The $10,000 would be used to improve the borough's recreation center by installing a new healing system, remodeling the kitchen, and paving the parking lot. “We have a healing system, but “We have a heating system, but it’s inadequate so we have to up- date it,” said Sgarlat. On October 17, Sgarlat was notified by state Rep. George Hasay that the check would be presented at the Recrea- tion Center October 24. Sgarlat has also been looking See ROLLERS, pg 2 matter. inaction on the demolition of the former Hearthstone Pub on Main Street. Some council members had castigated him for allegedly misleading the council on what action he had been taken on that Council president Donald Cooper recommended Krohn, a Dal- las Township resident who Cooper said had well served other area organizations, as a replacement. “He's going to be thrilled when he sees all this legal stuff we have waiting for him,” Cooper remarked. The council also accepted resignations from Drew Fitch as zoning officer and Robert N. Opel, II, solicitor to the Zoning Hearing Board. Fitch's resignation is effective November 19; Opel's takes effect November 30. The three latest resignations bring: to eight the number of Dallas Borough officials who have resigned in recent weeks. Cooper said the council would schedule an executive session to consider replacements for Fitch, Opel and Joseph Dwinchick, who is also resigning frcm the zoning board.
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