A > @ w @ ® vol. 106 No. 17 ST=I SAVAIN CTE 2 | =ROIO1\V/1\V IS] \NIRE I=IN ® J oi I on | = B VANS BVARCT CW VAN of =51 I = 2 | \V VAN WR 07 2 [016 I BI ISH B21 [03 BS Dallas, Pennsylvania 3 board members stepping down By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff DALLAS - Three school board members have decided not to seek reelection, at least for now. Ellen Nagy, Dr. Richard Coslett and Clarence -Michael haven't ruled out seeking office in the future, but feel it’s time for some new blood on the school board. They also need a rest. To do a school board member's work properly requires a large invest- ment of time, between attending School's still in after 020 years Q ® ® By JACK HILSHER Post Correspondent It is difficult to say who has appreciated Trucksville Nursery School the most...pupils who at- tended or parents who sent them! Now that it has been 25 years since Rev. Charles Gomer and his wife Viola first organized the school, there are memories which still seem fresh, and both groups - pupils and parents alike - say the same thing: “It seems like yesterday I remember those happy days so well.” Ex-pupil Alisa Merolli of Lehigh Street in Shavertown, now 18 and a senior at Dallas High, recalls “those walks down to the dairy.” } Alisa says, “I used to love doing that...we'd feed the ducks and look right into a cow's eyes! I must have been only three or four, but I was thrilled every time.” Cynthia Das of Church Hill Road in Trucksville sent all three of her children to the school...Lisa, now 21 and a junior a Temple hoping to be a psychologist; Runa, 18, a senior at Lake-Lehman heading . for Temple in the fall and possibly engineering; and Ann, 16, a sopho- more at Lake-Lehman. Their See SCHOOL'S IN, pg 7 A few issues surface even without ballot competition, pg 14 meetings and keeping up with written material. “I'll miss it. It's been an honor,” said Mrs. Nagy, who served for eight years. She wants towork in education in a more “hands-on” manner, possibly by volunteering in the valley's adult literacy program. It takes lots of extra time to do a good job on the school board, attending meetings and work sessions, mountains of outside reading and using vacation time for school board activities, she said. “I didn't come in with a per- sonal agenda or specific issues that I wanted to see addressed,” she said. “I really tried to bring honesty and an apolitical ap- proach to my work.” Voting on school issues has always been a challenge because a school director doesn't have the time to solicit public opinions on every single issue, she added. As an elected official, a school board member must always ask herself, “Should I vote for what I think is best, although some of my constituents will disagree, or should I vote the way a vocal group of constituents wants me to?” Nagy said. Her sclution was to research major issues as extensively as possible, then vote for what she Serving the public Back Mountain Police Association members Tim Carroll and Wayman Miers manned the grill at the group’s annual all-you-can-eat breakfast to benefit the Association for Retarded Citizens April 23. The men dished out more than 550 meals — mountains of French toast, ham, scrambled eggs and home fries — in four hours. POST PHOTO/GRACE R. DOVE Not what it used to be, Grange still lives By JACK HILSHER Post Correspondent How would you answer the question, “What isa ‘grange’?” You would probably - like the most of us - head for the nearest dictionary where you would learn Grange (this time capitalized) is “an organiza- tion of farmers for the improve- ment of their welfare.” Not any more. Although this is “Grange Week,” celebrated by about 4,000 local Grange groups in 37 states, farmer members are not too prevalent. At least that's the case at our local Mountain Grange #567 in Carverton. There, head honcho Ralph Beane (they are called “Masters” in the Grange) is an ex-Marine. Mountain's secretary is a gracious lady of considerable years, Me- linda Sutton of Carverton Road. And the chairperson of a forth- coming (April 29) craft show in the Grange Hall is Freda Roskos, housewife. Not a farmer in sight! For a fraternal organization designed by and for farmers they seem to be conspicuous by their absence. So too are young people. Grange groups used to attract all ages and the kids were always around doing something, but as Master Beane says, “That was before TV!” Beane adds, “You could call us fraternal still, even though the original farming premise is wear- ing thin. And although you could not term us exactly as healthy, I myself believe the small farm is on the way back, and when that happens, granges will rebound too.” Secretary Sutton, now a spry 88, may be a symbol of a Grange Ralph Beane, left, is Master of Mountain Grange 567. He is shown with his wife, Janet, county grange secretary POST PHOTO/JACK HILSHER MEETING PLACE - Mountain Grange 567 meets in this building in Carverton, the group's third home. problem - that of needing a trans- fusion of younger Grangers. She says, “In my case, I have been the secretary for 40 years and frankly I'm tired. We have about 25 members and only a dozen show up at meetings. I don’t know how long it can continue. Our dues are only $15 per year, but we give $10 of that to the state...you can’t do much with what's left.” Master Beane says Grange ties remain strong. suffers some loss through a cata- strophic event, the word gets out to other Granges and replacement If say, a member - The previous two burned down. money pours in. He admits many men today are not interested. Freda Roskos says pretty much the same thing: “When I was a girl the hall was filled with activities. Dinners were crowded, children were eve- rywhere. Today everything is dif- ferent. It's sad.” Probably the youngest member of #567 is Steven Krzanowski of Carverton Road. Steve is 27 and has been a Granger since he was 16. He's not a farmer, he's a machinist, and his dad Stanley was Grangemaster for almost 20 years. Steve says, “He was an ideal Mountain Grange Craft Show Sat., April 29 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Master. He knew people and he knew a lot of them; he always had his pulse on the community and they turned to him for help.” The first Grange was founded in 1867 by a government clerk named Kelley. Kelley had toured the South for the Department of Agriculture and he saw how farmers were poor and discouraged. He believed a fraternal order would help them communicate and educate them to better ways of doing things. In 1868 Kelley started forming local Granges in Minnesota. The movement grew and by 1875 there were 21,000 Granges with a total of 850,000 members. They caused a lot of helpful laws to be passed and to this day continue legisla- tive, educational and community service programs from their Wash- ington headquarters. National membership has dwindled to about 300,000. Mountain Grange Hall on the corner of Mt. Olivet Rd. and 8th Street was twice destroyed by fire, and today’s neat functional build- ing testifies to the determination of its members. They may just over- come that sluggish membership yet. Mountain Grange's annual Craft Show will be held on April 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free and refreshments will be avail- able. Everyone is welcome .. espe- cially new members! “I Il miss it. It’s been an honor.” Ellen Nagy Outgoing school board member thought was best for the district. “Imight consider running again sometime in the future, but right now I need a couple of years' See 3 BOARD, pg 14 / vil April 26 thru May 2, 1995 ELLEN NAGY Hasty meeting attracts few Harveys Lake "information session’ Improper, says media lawyer By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff HARVEYS LAKE - The bor- ough council held an unadver- tised meeting, and almost nobody came. The meeting, which was called “a public information session,” by the council solicitor, as held April 18 at the request of concert pro- moter Thom Greco, to discuss his plans for crowd and traffic con- trol, security and sanitation at the amphitheater, along with other public concerns. The meeting time had origi- nally been set for 6:30 p.m., and was supposed to be closed to the public and the press, secretary Carole Samson said that after- noon. The Dallas Post learned later that day that the meeting had been rescheduled to 6 p.m. “This is a public information session only, and is open to the public,” said solicitor Charles McCormick as he opened the meeting. “Because it's not an organized meeting, there's noneed Bear Creek firm low bidder on Jackson Twp. rec fields: FA er e # 3g By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff JACKSON TOWNSHIP - At a special meeting April 24 the super- visors opened seven bids for exca- vation and leveling of a 360' by 225' site behind the municipal building for sports practice fields. Bear Creek Nursery was the apparent low bidder, at $44,739. The supervisors voted to table the bids for audit and review by project engineer Jack De Fazio. Chairman Walter Glogowski said he hopes the supervisors will \ “This did not meet the creteria for a meeting. We didn’t transact any business.” Charles McCormick Harveys Lake council solicitor X "Rwas:a. deliberation of public policy and should have been advertised.” Theresa Vitzthum Legal counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers’ Ass'n for minutes to be kept. You may take notes if you wish.” Council members Ed Kelly, Joseph Miscavage, Martin Noon, See MEETING, pg 7 fhe TE - x act on the bids at their regular : : May 1 meeting. The site will include practice fields for soccer, softball and baseball, for the use of various Back Mountain sports organiza- tions, according to recreation commission member Karen Whipple. Future plans include a basket- ball hoop and children’s play- : ground, she added. 'y No target dates have been set for the beginning of construction or use by the community. HW Force 10 Kingston Twp. adds 2 police officers, bringing the total force to 10. Page 3. HB He's got attitude Jeff Chopick's winning approach makes him Dallas volleyball captain. Page 9. INDEX 14 Pages 1 Section Calendar................... 11 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 SS BS i J
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