OST Vol. 103 Nc 35 Cents | PA Ommviar pushes for jeint police Local reaction to plan is mixed By ERIC FOSTER ‘Post Staff: The opinions of area municipal officials are divided over whether a regional police department would work in the Back Mountain. About 25 people attended a foigym with a state representative J: Juary 22 at Penn State Wilkes- Barre, including officials from Kingston Township, Dallas Town- ship, Dallas Borough, Harveys Lake, Lehman Township, Jackson Township and Lake Township. Dick Martin, a municipal police consultant for the state Depart- ment of Community Affairs (DCA), told those gathered at the meeting money. ~ As an example, he said that even though the Northern York Regional Police Department pays its §fficers much better than most departments, the six municipali- ties together saved $465,000 ayear . I ovr what they would pay for police Weir own. Martin said some municipali- ties have started regional police departments in six months, said Martin, while others, such as in the State College area, have been discussing it for ten years. “The bottom line is if you work it right, you'll get what you pay for,” said Martin. “It's like a marriage, two can live cheaper than one, but can they live together?” “We have discussed it,” said Charles Balavage, Lake Township supervisor. “It's a good idea.” -(@ehman Township supervisor David Sutton has also said that the township supervisors have discussed consolidating their po- f See JOINT POLICE, pg 3 Homeless get a helping hand from Back Mountain churches By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff a Home for a growing number of people in our area has become a foam rubber sleeping mat or an old Army cot in the basement of a ' church. To help meet the needs of the increasing homeless population, four Back Mountain churches and College Misericordia have joined foes with Wilkes-Barre based By ERIC FOSTER Post Staff Who's that girl? If you ask that question while looking at the latest full-page ad for Chef Boyardee products, the answer could be that it's your neighbor. For 15-year-old Becky Mathers of Trucksville an initiative taken five years ago has finally paid off. The ninth-grade student at the Dallas Middle School is appearing in a Chef Boyardee advertisement in the February issues of six na- tional magazines. But it was when she was ten that she decided she wanted to be a model. “I just got out the phone book and made an interview,” said Mathers. “I didn't know what time mom was at work but I made it anyway.” ~ “All I said is, ‘If you start it, you finish it.’ Because getting started in something like this is expen- sive,” said her mother, Sharon Mathers. Besides the cost of classes, models have to supply their that consolidated police depart- | ments give more service for less Taking a cold plunge Michael McTavich of Wilkes-Barre takes a cold plunge under the ice at Harveys Lake January 25. McTavich was among 11 divers from the Luzerne County Sheriffs Department who practiced diving under ice. Grotto Pizza let the divers use a room to change into their gear and warm up in after the exercise was over. The sheriffs department has 30 divers who work as deputies. All are volunteers and pay for their own equipment. The county has had a team of divers for the past 13 years, and though they have never had to perform an under-ice rescue, they have been put on standby for other counties. The chief diver for the county is Jim Johnson, of Harveys Lake. (Post Photo/Eric Foster) VISION, Inc.'s shelter program. Shavertown United Methodist Church opened its doors and its heart last week, as five church organizations shared the respon- sibility of providing a nutritious, hot supper and breakfast for ap- proximately 30 VISION clients who stayed each night. Linda and Tom Festa, of the church's Outreach Group, were impressed by their guests’ atti- Trucksville teenager stars in magazine ads agents with about 25 glossy 8 by 10 inch photographs, and have more on hand to take to auditions. Becky spent the next year-and- a-halfat Barbizon in Wilkes-Barre, studying make-up, and how to do runway, fashion, and television modeling. She then studied at Fashion Models in Scranton, and Mary Lou's Model Management in Wilkes-Barre. During that time she auditioned for the album cover of a Kingdom Come record and for a German- looking girl for a business journal. “When she was going to school she'd say, ‘l want to model because I want to put myself through Geor- getown,’ “ said Sharon Mathers. “I've wanted to go to Temple lately,” Becky adds. While she may be pitching products now, her long-term goals have her working more behind the scenes. “I think I want todosomething in business,” she said. As far as modeling goes, Becky does have a few goals yet to be See TEENAGER, pg 3 tudes. “They compliment our cooks, thank us a million times, help clear the tables and wash the dishes—they're a great group of people!” Linda Festa commented. “Some tell us about their families or the circumstances that brought them here. And some people keep to themselves; it's just too much for them. It's easy to relate to our guests because we know that we could easily be in their position tomorrow.” “Six years ago I would have been laughed out of the Back Mountain for suggesting that we would soon need homeless shelters out here,” said Vince Kabacinski, VISION's executive director. He feels that the increase in homeless people is a direct result of present economic conditions. “Employers close their doors, people get laid off and can't find FAMILIAR FACE - Becky Mathers, 15, of Trucksville, will appear in magazine advertisements for Chef Boyardee products. (Post photo/ Eric Foster) Nead jor mores traffic lights ownplayed By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff Traffic lights cause accidents and the state Department of Trans- portation (PennDOT) doesn’t want to approve placing them at inter- sections where they might cause more accidents than they were designed to prevent, says PennDOT engineer Ron Bonacci. Bonacci and Steve Shimko rep- resented PennDOT at a meeting Monday night, January 27, with officials from Dallas Borough, Dallas Township, Luzerne County and representatives from legisla- tors’ offices. The group discussed placing traffic lights at the inter- sections of Center Hill Road and Route 415 by Pickett’s Charge, and Main Street and Route 309 by Offset Paperback. Citizens have been attempting Minor wetland violation at Commonwealth site By GRACE R. DOVE Post staff Although state and federal offi- cials made a site inspection of a wetland behind his home and fined Commonwealth Telephone for a wetlands violation, Jack Graham, the owner of nearby property, still has some unanswered questions. Representatives from DER, the Army Corps of Engineers, Com- monwealth Telephone and its environmental consultant, EcoS- cience recently inspected property owned by the utility, which adjoins Graham's property. Graham had complained that Commonwealth was doing work in work once their unemployment benefits have been exhausted, and many benefits have been cut back or terminated. Often people de- plete their savings and exhaust all of their resources trying to survive. If they can't afford to keep their homes or apartments, they may have no other alternative but the streets.” Kabacinski feels that local people mistakenly feel that home- Library faces funding cuts By ERIC FOSTER Post Staff The state's budget crunch is coming home to the Back Moun- tain Memorial Library. Head librarian Susan Frey said that funds to the library have been cut four times since January of 1991, and the funds which have been promised haven't arrived yet. “If this goes on much longer, we will be in a desperate situation,” said Frey. “We had to reorganize funds we had budgeted for proj- ects to meet current needs. Any of our bills that are not utilities are past due. We can’t order any new books and our patrons are com- plaining.” Frey said that the library was originally budgeted to received about $33,000, which was later reduced to $30,000. Last year, said Frey, the library expected to receive about $30,000, and only received $27,000. In most years, the funds arrive in early January, but for the last See LIBRARY, pg 11 j io since 1987 to have a traffic light installed at Center Hill Road. Offi- | cials from Dallas Borough, Dallas | Township and Offset Paperback have discussed placing a light at | the Main Street intersection with | PennDOT for several years. Co Since both intersections are | located on the boundary between Dallas Borough and Dallas Town- ship, the two municipalities will have to share the costs of installa- | tion and maintenance. Ln Bonacci described the require- | ments which must be met for PennDOT to approve a traffic sig- nal, the approval process and PennDOT's role in traffic lights. PennDOT does not own or main- tain traffic lights on any Pennsyl- vania roads, Bonacci said, but it approves the placement of any See TRAFFIC LIGHTS, pg 3 3 the wetland without a permit, its work was affecting a pond on his land, valuble wildlife habitat had been destroyed and area water | resources would be threatened. | After inspecting the site, DER | decided that the utility had vio- | lated wetlands regulations and fined it $250. “The violations did not include any harvesting or mowing operations at the site. However, while cutting the vegeta- | tion, they ran a vehicle through the area, creating severalruts. They | then attempted to fill the ruts in, which under our regulations is considered alteration of existing See WETLANDS, pg 2 less people are coming to the Wyoming Valley from out of the area. Many incoming homelessare | area natives who left the valley for better jobs and have been laid off, he says. When their resources have been exhausted, they have nowhere to go but home to their | relatives, who often are in the same or worse straits and can't help out. See HOMELESS, pg 11 Inside Story BW SCOUTS in Pack 281 win prizes in the Boat Derby. Page 2 B CONSTRUCTION starts on a new water line to the prison in Chase. Page 3 BH DREW WEBER practices the old-fashioned craft of building stone walls. Page 3 HB KNIGHTS score big win in basketball. Page 9 BH JIM FINNEGAN turns his wrestling record around. Page 9 Calendar.............. 14 Classified........ 12-13 Editorials................ 4 Obituaries............ 11 Police report.......... 2 Property transfers..8 CALL 675-5211 . FOR HOME DELIVERY, INEWS OR ADVERTISING
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers