\7 . The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, August 14, 1996 3 Corey Pajka back from British adventure By ANN POEPPERLING Post Correspondent - SHAVERTOWN - Corey Pajka, a 13-year-old student at the Dal- las Middle School, recently re- turned from a 3-week tour of the British Isles as part of the People- To-People student ambassador or- anization. i. The purpose of the trip, accord- ing te.Corey’s mother Bonnie, was tostrengthen international friend- ships and to see how other cul- tures live. Started in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower during the Cold War period, the program gradually opened to col- lege students in the 1960's and then high school and junior high students. . “You have to be recommended by someone who was a member,” said Corey, of Shavertown, who was part of the Northeast PA del- egation. “I was recommended by Joe Goryl, a 9th grader at Dallas who went to Europe last sum- mer.” ! Corey's family came up with the $4,000 needed for the trip, mostly from Bonnie's job as an aerobic instructor and an income tax refund, which Corey's father, Michael, put into an investment fund. . Corey, who left June 27, with two other area students, Paul Dugal of Shavertown and Tyler Morgan of Dallas, had a fullagenda before returning home July 18, the day after the TWA flight 800 crash. _ “When we got to London, we stayed in a hotel, and then I spent four days in a homestay with a family in Salisbury. We were right down the road from Stonehenge,” said Corey “We then traveled by way-of an overnight ferry to Cork, Ireland where we stayed in cab- ins,” While in Ireland, the students were_entertained by harpist Ma- rina Buckley and told of folklore by. Ireland's most famous story- teller, Seanochi Batt Burns. *3“My favorite part of Ireland,” said Corey, “was kissing the Blar- ney Stone.” To accomplish this, Corey Pajka, right, and Casey Sheehan tried out the stocks in Bunratty Folk Park in Dublin during their three-week tour of the British Isles. Corey had to crawl on his back to reach the stone, part of an over- hang some 120 ft. high. “They believe you receive the gift of gab if you kiss the stone,” explained Corey. “It must have worked,” laughed Bonnie, who said, “He called me at 5:20 a.m. and woke me out of a sound sleep to tell me he did it.” She added, “I'm just glad he didn't tell me until after he did it. While in Scotland, Corey stayed at the University of St. Andrews and saw the St. Andrews golf course where golf originated, the oldest golf course in the world. The students were also enter- tained by Scottish music and folk dancing while visiting a Scottish fishing village. “The best part of Scotland was Edinboro Castle, where I saw part of the crown jewels, the sword and the sceptre. On either side of the main gate were statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, figures made popular from the recent movie, ‘Braveheart',” said Corey. Before departing Corey had a chance to see a bit more of Lon- don, “Which is like the British New York City,” he said excitedly. “We saw Planet Hollywood, the Hard Rock Cafe, and Big Ben. We also met with Lord Anthony Boden, a member of Parliament, and lis- Red Cross seeks blood drive workers .The American Red Cross, Wyoming Valley Chapter needs volunteers to‘assist at the temperature /pulse station for local Red Cross blood collettions. Aselfinstructional module course to teach volunteers how totake pulse, temperature /respiration, vital body signs, will be held September 24, at 9 a.m. Certificates will be awarded. If interested, call the Chapter House at 823-7161, ext. 25 for more information. ce SOON ne ) Re XI Pritt) Back to School ” 7, Retirement ER BFR i1e 2 £5 4 tened to him speak on interna- tional relations.” One of Corey's more memo- rable moments in London oc- curred while waiting in line at the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels. “Legend has it that if the ravens leave the tower, this will lead to the fall of the British Em- pire. One was sitting on the park bench, so I touched it." He laughed, “Their wings are clipped for a little extra insurance.” Corey's mom was heartened by the hospitality of the homestay families. “The English homestay family welcomed Corey by having hotdogs to eat.” She laughed, “However, it wasn’t long before they realized they forgot the mus- tard.” The families included Corey in their everyday activities. “He went ito school for the day with their son Tony, who attends the Upper Avon school.” She laughed, “Al- though I must admit, my other two children were a bit worried that they were still attending school in July.” While Corey has been away from home before, it's always been with family or friends. “This was the first time he ever went this far by himself,” said Bonnie, who ad- mits she was a little anxious about the flight home. “For some reason I woke up around 3 a.m., which was about 8 a.m. in London. I knew he'd be departing about then and I just couldn't sleep very well that night. About 7:30 a.m. I gave up trying to sleep and turned on the TV only to hear there was an international flight down in the Atlantic Ocean.” “I lost it totally. I was madly flipping channels ‘til saw on CNN that it was an outgoing flight that crashed. Then I was worried that Corey had heard about the crash before he left and was scared.” Fortunately, however, none of the students knew what happened. She continued, “Then I felt so bad for the other families who lost their children.” Corey has already received lit- erature in the mail about future trips. “I'm sure he'd go again, but aside from the fact that maybe younger brother Adam, 10, or sis- ter Holly, 7, may want a turn, nobody in this family is getting on a plane,” said Bonnie. “At least, not for a while.” Ice cream social Aug. 18 at Dallas UM Church The Sister Circle of the Dallas United Methodist Church will hold its second annual Ice Cream social on Sunday, Aug. 18 at the Church in Dallas from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Cost will be $3.00/adult; $1.00/child. Tickets can be bought at the church or from any member of the Sister Circle. There will be live entertainment and face painting. Come one, come all. SY NNNNNN NN ARR NN The Jean Outlet Dallas - Harveys Lake Highway Gus Walter Complex Open Thurs. - Sat. 10-6 p.m. ¢ Fri. 10-8 p.m. Total savings to NANAnnnannnnee Additional 252% off already marked down spring & summer merchandise in every department €E\\/3 ; v itchin CASLIN NCAR: - CAREER \VLC AR SPECIAL. oCcCASION - ADCCES550RIESDS & GIFT ITEMS 19 JEFFERSON AVE. . DOWNTOWN SCRANTON MON. TURU SAT. I0AM-5PM NE 1-800-683-7925 toll-free anytime day or night. Please have the following information ready when you call: * Total Debt Payments (not including o Source Code:[ 161 ] e Social Security Number e Zip Code e Year of Birth Lehman (continued from page 1) sand mound septic systems.” Heavy Media acquired the 32 acres lastyear in a land swap with Pennsylvania Gas and Water, in return for “a much larger parcel” in Duryea, he added. Recent revisions to the zoning ordinance require landowners to obtain zoning hearing board ap- proval before building a home on land zoned C-1. They also pro- hibit disturbance of any land and trees of more than six inches in diameter within 100 feet of a res- ervoir, development or on-site sep- tic units within 150 feet of any stream feeding into a reservoir and any development within 50 feet of the edge of any body of water or wetland. Supervisor David Sutton said the board of supervisors eventu- ally plans to remove the require- ment for permission to build a home on C-1 land from the ordi- nance. “It was an oversight on our part,” he said. “Larger lot sizes and setbacks are already required for building in the C-1 zone.” Nearly a third of the township - 4,853 acres - is watershed land zoned C-1, once completely owned by PG&W, whose water division included the Ceasetown (Chenery) and Huntsville reservoirs. The utility also owned a water filtra- tion plant on Huntsville Creek at Hillside in Kingston Township and 30 acres around the Huntsville Reservoir in Dallas Borough, also zoned C-1. The zoning hearing board also unanimously approved a request by Edwardsville residents Robert and Suzanne Conklin to build a single-family two-story home with a detached garage, well and on- site septic system on an under- sized lot in Town and Country Manor on Jackson Road. The Conklins bought the lot in 1994. Created in 1969, the lot con- formed to the township's zoning ordinances until last year, when revisions required a minimum lot size of 21,780 square feet (1/2 acre) to build a home with its own well and septic unit. Zoning officer Charles Bartlett had denied the Conklins an appli- cation to build on the lot because it was too small. The Conklins then asked the zoning hearing board for a variance. Because the parcel has existed for 27 years as part of an ap- proved subdivision, the board rec- ognized it as a recorded previ- ously existing nonconforming lot to enable the Conklin to build. No further variances or exceptions are necessary, board members said. When PG&W sold its water di- vision to the Hershey-based Penn- sylvania American Water, it kept between 1,600 and 1,700 acres, which are now held by its gas division. PG&W has no plans for the land, according to director of corporate communications Juneann Greco. Arts at Hayfield slated for Aug. 25 Arts at Hayfield will sponsor its 12th annual Summer Festival August 25, at Penn State Wilkes-Barre Campus, Lehman, from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 90 artisans and crafters will exhibit and sell their work. : Throughout the day there will be live entertainment, featuring “Just . Us” folk /rock group, RPM Old Stars Band and The Anzalone Brothers and Company. Food of all kinds will be available. Children's activities will include : a magic show, karate demonstration, fence painting and a Discovery . Toy play area. Donation is $1.00. The day will end at 9 p.m. with a free stargazing program in the Friedman Observatory. For more information, call Arts at Hayfield at 675-2171. Transportation to VA hospital now available Area veterans need not worry about transportation to and from the ° Wilkes-Barre Department of Veteran Afairs (VA) Medical Center for treatment. That VA medical facility recently received three vans from the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a million-member-plus nonprofit organization. The vans will be driven by a corps of local volunteers organized by . DAV and its Auxiliary. Heading up the effort is Michael S. Galagotis, hospital service coordinator at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center. - Area veterans needing transportation assistance to the Wilkes- Barre Medical Center should call 824-3521, ext. 7925. The Post is still only $18 per year HOW MUCH HOME CAN YOU AFFORD? See Franklin First! Find out the Fast, Free, Easy Way with our Automated Simply dial: rent or mortgage) * Funds Available for Closing e Percent Downpayment ¢ Annual Household Income FRANKLIN FIRST, One Day We'll Be YOUR Bank Subsidiary of ONBANCorp. 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