Dy R! Ty i! Vol. 105 No. 12 @ By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff Gasoline which contaminated 17 wells around Lehman Center starting in 1991 has caught the attention of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “EPA representative Richard Fetzer re- ported to the Lehman Township supervi- sors: at their March 21 meeting that he has studied the contaminated area and obtained a $1.9 million Superfund Removal grant to solve the problem. be The supervisors said that they hadn't known the EPA and the superfund grant program were involved until Fetzer called them March 18 to inform them he would be at their March 21 meeting. He presented the supervisors with three possible solutions: e Have a water system built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to service the trailer park, Lake-Lehman Middle Level school building and the homes around Lehman Center affected by the gasoline. Dallas, PA e Tie into an existing water supply within five miles of Lehman Center, possibly Huntsville or Ceasetown reser- voirs or the new water line to the State Correctional Institution at Dallas. e Install individual filtration systems in all affected homes and buildings. “While we're not ruling out a munici- pal water system, we want people to realize that the people using it would have to pay water bills,” said supervisor David Sutton. Sutton said that if the township ac- ~The Dallas Post wy k SIS SAAN CTE = | =RO1@1\V [\V, [8 \ IB EI SESH ©] il | on |= © VAN 5 EVARSTRC WAN of = B= 1 VAN RST 0 2 (010 ] 5 BI IS if 21 (03 BS cepts the municipal water system, it will be reponsible for operating and main- taining it after the Corps of Engineers builds it. “You need a staff and equipment to do that,” he said. “The township doesn’t have the money. We would have to charge the customers, but don’t want to burden them with a water bill.” “The township can’t afford to take over a water system. Neither can the munici- pal authority — they're not set up for that,” said supervisor Doug Ide. Wednesday, March 23, 1993 Feds step in on Lehman well cleanup The EPA hasn't made a final decision which option it will implement, Sutton said. Fetzer will make another report at the supervisors’ May meeting. . The EPA became involved in th cleanup when the Pennsylvania Depart- ment of Environmental Resources called them in eight months ago, according to DER's Mark Carmon. “Because most of the contamination is from MTBE, we're looking at thisas a See WELLS, pg 3 Field plans aren't firm, board says By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff Residents of Orchard View Terrace got some answers Mon- day night to questions about Dallas school district's tentative plan to develop six acres of vacant land into ball fields. The school board has approxi- mately $250,000 in surplus funds left from refinancing a bond is- sue, which must be used for capi- tal improvements by May, 1995. The matter was discussed at a property committee meeting March 21. One of the suggested capital improvements is to develop addi- tional soccer and softball fields on. six acres of land behind the high school. “I'm somewhat relieved,” said attorney Bruce Phillips, who had originally opposed the plan be- cause he thought that it was al- ready a done deal. “These aren't formal plans. had no background See FIELDS, pg 6 By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff When James “Pappy” Gordon of Trucksville passed away March 16, the Back Mountain lost some- one who had devoted more than half of his life to serving his com- munity. ' Founder of the Back Mountain Fire Police and the Junior Fire- fighters, Gordon trained many aspiring firefighters and also kept Trucksville's fire engines in good repair. « AWorld War Il veteran, Gordon also taught auto mechanics at West Side Tech and was a King- ston Township policeman. “The word ‘no’ just wasn't in his vocabulary,” said Dallas firefighter and former chief Ted Wright, who knew Gordon for more than 30 years. “When I was a kid, I used to hang out at the fire hall and talk with the firemen. Jim always had time to answer my questions. He spent a lot of time nurturing my Surprised ot 90 POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Arline B. Rood, former first grade teacher in Dallas, was honored at a surprise birthday party given by friends last Saturday at Pickett's Charge. Shown above, Mrs. Rood, on left, is joined by Louise D. Colwell, who also turned 90 recently. Both were founders of the Alpha Rho chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society. Story on page 3. “You don’t see people giving 52 years of their life to their community any more. Usually they're around for a couple of years, then move on. We'll really miss Jim.” Gary Beisel Shavertown fire chief interest in firefighting.” When Wright's wife, Mary, had her car run into a ditch on the way to her teaching job at West Side Tech, Gordon heard about it and took some of his auto shop stu- dents to extricate the car for her. “He was always there to help,” Wright said. One of Gordon's best buddies, retired Kingston Township police chief Paul Sabol, learned the basics of firefighting from Gor- don, a life member of the Truclksville Fire Company. “He was just a decent guy all around,” Sabol said. “He was always there for the fire company, By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff Lake-Lehman eighth-grader Jeff Eyet will learn the true mean- ing of pressure April 8, when he pits his knowledge of world geog- raphy against 99 other students at the State Capitol in Harrisburg to determine the Pennsylvania representative to the National Geography Bee. Having breezed through schoolwide elimination rounds, Jeff passed a written examination to become one of three Wyoming Valley students who qualified for the statewide competition. The National Geography Bee is sponsored by National Geographic World and Amtrak. Statewide winners will win a trip to Wash- ington, DC, courtesy of The Na- tional Geographic Society, to compete in the national contest, and the first to donate whenever there was a fund drive.” Sabol also praised Gordon's mechanical knowledge and tire- less devotion to keeping all of the fire engines in good working or- der. “Pappy was a real nice guy who would do anything for anybody,” recalled Trucksville fire chief Brian Johnson. “I often saw him out fighting fires with guys young enough to be his sons.” Fellow fire police members Chuck Woolbert and Mike Gold- See GORDON, pg 8 7th, 8th grade winners, pg 2 hosted by “Jeopardy” celebrity Alex Trebak. “I'm not cramming for it,” he said. “They told me not to study too much.” Several times a week Jeff leafs through the 1994 World Almanac, reviewing current events, the world's major religions, natural resources, climates and the coun- tries bordering on major geo- graphical features. April 8 will be a long day for Jeff. Registration at the Capitol building is at 9 a.m., with a nine- round preliminary competition starting an hour later, in which James 'Pappy' Gordon, fire police founder, dies JAMES 'PAPPY' GORDON Jeff Eyet will vie for geography title each student will have 15 sec- onds to answer one oral question per round. The top two students in each group will then advance to the final competition, moderated by writer/host Katie O'Toole of . “What's in the News?". In case of a tie, a series of written questions will determine the winner. All participants will receive a certificate and a t-shirt at an - awards ceremony following the afternoon finals. Because Harrisburg is a three- hour trip, Jeff said that his par- ents and sister, Karen, plan to drive down the day before. “I'm not nervous now, but I probably will be when I get there,” he said. Greco says he'll sue if he's taxed By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff Concert promoter Thom Greco has threatened to sue Harveys Lake Borough if the borough council enacts an amendment to * the entertainment ordinance which would include all outdoor shows and businesses in the C-3 (commercial) zone, where the Harveys Lake amphitheater and its associated businesses are lo- cated. The proposed amendment, which the council has temporar- ily decided not to act on, expands the definition of entertainment to include all outdoor performances, musical shows and carnivals for whichan admission feeis charged. School and church shows and events benefitting nonprofit or- ganizations are exempt. “They're trying to adapt an ordinance to single us out,” Greco said in a conference call as his attorney, Donald Brobst, listened in. “The ordinance would make it impossible for us to do business there — there would be no way that we could open. They're interfering with our right to do business.” He added that he has paid Harveys Lake Borough for the additional police needed on con- cert nights. Harveys Lake adopts tougher noise rules, pg 2. “They have made excessive money from this,” he said. “They have between $5,000 and $7,000 left over from what I paid them to use for other things.” Greco paid the borough $11,884 for police protection for 13 concerts and one dance last year, according to borough secre- tary Carole Samson. The fees are based on the police officers’ regu- lar hourly rate, additional gaso- line, secretarial and insurance costs and $10 per hour for con- stables to assist the police. ~~ “It's a flat rate,” she said. “All of our expenses come out of that.” Borough solicitor Charles McCormick called Greco's state- ment that he overpaid the tor- ough “a misrepresentation,” add- ing that Greco had made this agreement with the borough last year. “He never objected then. He felt that it was appropriate,” McCormick said. He confirmed that borough officials are negotiating another See GRECO, pg 8 PNC bank branch will close By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff Customers of PNC Bank on Hildebrant Road in Dallas Town- ship will soon have to do their banking at a new location, possi- bly by June. According to Wayne Miller of PNC's public relations depart- ment, PNC's acquisition of First Eastern Bank has made it neces- sary to consolidate many opera- tions and close several branch offices. Faced with a choice of closing either the First Eastern branch at Routes 309 and 415 or the PNC branch on Hildebrant Road, PNC decided to close the PNC branch due to its size. “The former First Eastern branch is larger and will be able to accommodate our customers without needing to be enlarged,” Miller said. “Some interior refur- bishment will be needed, but we don't plan any major construc- tion.” PNC plans to close the Hilde- brant Road branch by June and transfer that branch's workers to the Route 309-415 location, Miller said. He didn't provide any informa- tion on how many workers would be affected by the move. PNC hasn't decided what it will do with the building once it has been vacated. : HB What a watch! Gruen Corp. presented custom-made watches to the Dallas football team last week. Pg. 9. HW Honor rolls for Dallas Middle and High schools appar on page 9. 14 Pages 2 Sections Calendar.............. 11 Classified........ 12-13 Crossword........... 11 Editorials..............s 4 Obituaries............ 12 School........7n0 8, 14 SPOKS......cvs rene 9 CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING The Dallas Post MAILING LABEL- Please enclose this label with any address changes, and mail to The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612-0366
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