Dallas, . Pennsylvania 1% June 7 thy June 13, 1995 ms Ll alli a ——— BS kl Sa Bh Se] (y bugs takes to the sky By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff _- BACK MOUNTAIN - Big hairy ones with light racing stripes or lines of spots on their backs. Little green ones resembling inch- worms. They're wriggling, squiggling and chomping their way through the Back Mountain. The caterpillars are here. Late spring is the prime hatch- ing season for four types of leaf- eating caterpillars, according to environmental technician Donna Heffron of the Luzerne County office of environmental special projects. In addition to the more familiar gypsy moth caterpillars, the elm spanworm, Eastern tent caterpil- lar and forest tent caterpillar have now invaded the area, Heffron said. “The county sprayed for gypsy moths several weeks ago, when they were about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long,” Heffron said. “Now they've grown too large and strong for our spray to be effective.” The caterpillar Killer of choice is BT, a bacteria fatal to all four types of the pesky little critters, she added. Sprayers doing later work often rely on Sevin, a stronger form of the pesticide often used by home gardeners. Dallas Township supervisor Frank Wagner has organized a private spraying program for township residents, which costs the average homeowner between $23 and $30, depending on how heavy the tree cover is on their properties. He arranged for East Penn Aviation in Benton to bring a pri- vate sprayer for a week's work to spray several large developments and golf courses in sections of Dallas Borough, Dallas Township, Huntsville and Kingston Town- ship. The residents’ money pays for the helicopter, BT and pilot. Wagner donates his time. “When we have a problem, my duty as a supervisor is to do what I can to help out,” he said. “Ido all the groundwork - notifying resi- dents of the program, verifying property lines and whatever else See BUGS, os a 2 € Schools, police differ on gravity of youth crime By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff DALLAS - School officials sought to downplay the frequency of dangerous activity among students during last week's town meeting to discuss drug and gang activity in the region. But police officials said they are frightened by what they've seen. ~. Middle school principal Anthony Martinelli and high - school principal Frank Galicki, speaking at the June 2 meeting, attributed much of their students’ escapades to copying what they see on television. “Our boys do have fights, but the last five fights were between best friends egged on by gang wannabees,” Martinelli said, referring tokidswho = imitate gang members on MTV. “Ifyou define a gang as a group of Sin joining together for a common purpose, you first have to define that common purpose,” Galicki said. “If their purpose is violent or illegal, we don't have that at Dallas.” Although there is limited drug use and distribu- tion in school, the right drug contacts are available, he added. Both he and Martinelli have discouraged students from wearing bandannas and other high-profile clothing to school. “A few kids showed up with black or red bandan- nas last September,” Martinelli said. “I told them bandannas give other people the impression they are in a gang and not to wear them.” Dallas Township police chief Carl Miers, who arrested five boys for stealing high-powered hand- guns in May and six young people and four juveniles for using stolen credit cards in March, said his inves- POST PHOTO/RON BARTIZEK Auctioneers John Shaskas, left, and Vince Carboni, modeled the latest in auction headwear at Monday's kickoff mini-auction for the 1995 Back Mountain Memorial Library Auction. About 50 people attended and enjoyed a buffet meal before bidding on a number of items. This year's auction will be held July 6-9 at the library on Huntsville Road in Dallas. Peggy Harvey is chairperson. Anyone with Local depot workers fight for their jobs By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff BACK MOUNTAIN - Many Back Mountain em- ployees and their friends were among the thousands of people lining the route to Tobyhanna Army Depot June 2 to demonstrate support for keeping the base open. They wanted to show the Base Realignment and Closure Commis- sion (BRAC), the people whowilldecidethebase’s | ultimate fate, their sup- port of Tobyhanna and | yhich its workers while BRAC “7 toured the facility last | week. we Dallas resident Ellen Valley resident Kathie. | large area employers Swopiriing the base. d “We want to keep jobs in the area,” said Bobb, a member of the Communications Workers of America ] working at Commonwealth Telephone Company. “Losing jobs would have a snowball effect on the | area's economy. And we know the importance of good equipment to the military.” +] “It's important that one company supports an- | otherin the business,” added Belles, who has friends | who work at the depot. “We need to support large | industries in our area.” es Among the many shops and laboratories at To- | byhanna is one which evaluates the internal calibra- | tion of the equipment which tests the performance and efficiency of the base's electronic products. Technician Mike Crain of Harveys Lake, who works there believes Tobyhanna’s appearance on « the closure list is “a mistake from the start.” : “BRAC has already rated us numberone,” hesaid. “There are other depots which are rated lower than | Belles, 26, and Sweet | Bobb, 483, represented tigations have been “a real eye-opener.” See SCHOOLS, pg 3 items to donate may call the library at 675-1182. More photos on page 2. When Tin Lizzies were new, she was young 5 GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff BEAUMONT - When Marie Spencer celebrates her birthday June 7, she'll read her congratu- latory letters from President Clin- ton and Congressman Kanjorski, then have a cake with ice cream and lots of candles. One hundred candles. Marie has lived at the Star Hill Rest Home since February. She lived in the house her father built at Hays Corners, near where 42nd Street joins Old Lake Road, until several years ago, when a fall at night forced her to relocate to another personal care home. “I'm still pretty good,” she said. “Most other people my age forget alot of things and can't get around at all.” Marie is the daughter of the late Persis Hilbert and Washing- ton “Wash” Montagne Spencer, who had four other children, Leo, Edward, Mildred and Crystal. The family originally owned a summer cottage on a small farm at Hays Corners and lived at Kingston Corners, relocating per- manently to the Back Mountain after one of the valley's many floods. “Mother said she didn't want to continue to be chased out by floods, so my father and his broth- ers, Louis and Horace, built the stone house on the farm,” she said. “I helped them pick lots of big, flat stones from the fields for it.” MARIE SPENCER Washington Spencer was a carpenter, a day laborer, Ms. Spencer recalled. “He built any- thing,” she said. When his day work was done, he'd come home and take care of the farm, which he had inherited from his father, John Spencer. Ms. Spencer remembers her father as a “jocular” man who didn't worry much about anything. “Sometimes Mother got cross at him, but he'd just laugh it off,” she smiled. When the Tin Lizzies first came out, he bought one. “He'd drive like fury when he was out in that Lizzie,” she laughed. “I didn't go much with him. Mother went sometimes, but that was always Father's Lizzie.” Persis Hilbert Spencer's family lived in Beaumont, where Persis taught school until she married Wash Spencer. She had a brother, Wesley, and a sister, Minnie Hil- bert Kresge, whose relatives owned Kresge's Store in Noxen. She raised vegetables and har- vested fruit and berries, which she canned for her family to eat during the winter. She also kept a milk cow and a couple of chick- ens, and a horse for a while. AL and tai) ge ot ee at all.” . “When Mother picked berries, we poor kids had to go along,” Ms. Spencer chuckled. “We'd pick a few to cover the bottoms of our pails. Mother also sewed all of our clothes. Money was scarce then, but we always had enough to eat.” Ms. Spencer recalled the stone house, where she lived until a couple of years ago, as very cozy, with Mother's big cookstove in the kitchen. After school the children came home and did their homework, then helped with chores, she re- called. Marie washed the supper dishes and helped with other household tasks. “I wasn't much of a help with canning,” she chuckled. Saturdays were work days for the whole family. On Sundays they went to church and Sunday school at the Idetown United Methodist Church. “I liked to go to church, be- cause we got to put on our good dresses then,” she said. Their neighborhood was “our house, a house way over here and another way up there,” Ms. Spencer chuckled. Not far away lived the Andrew S. Durr family, who had two daughters. Nice people, Ms. Spencer recalled. The Durr farm eventually be- came Irem Temple Country Club, with the stately old home trans- formed into the country club's kitchen, main dining room and office. Marie Spencer and her broth- ers and sisters attended a one- room school, which she called “the little red schoolhouse in the woods.” Her face lit up and her blue eyes twinkled as she described the large class of 20 students, the double rows of desks and the recitation benches, one on each side of the teacher's desk. Several large slate blackboards hung on the wall and a small bookcase occupied one corner. “My friends, Vergie Spencer See SPENCER, pg 10 See JOBS, pg 8 Hooray for him Wallace Stettler, member of the board of directors of Wyoming Valley Health Care System, . applauds Dr. Irwin Jacobs, founder of Dallas Family Practice, as he was invited to the podium during an open house Saturday at the new Back Mountain Medical Center. Story, more photos on page 16. POST PHOTO/RON BARTIZEK BM Queen for a night Lake-Lehman's prom queen and court. Page 7. HB One of a kind Jen Smith became the first Misericorida softball player to make a prestigious all-star team. Page 11. 16 5 Panes 2 > Sariions Calendar..................... 11 Classified............... 14-15 Crossword.................. 11 Editorials... 4 Obituaries................... 14 SChook...........c....... 12-13 SPORS......cciiinni 9-10 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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