4 _— 5 The Back Mountain q TR Newspaper Since 1889 __Lhe Dallas Post. TR $2 Vol. 108 No. 10 Dallas, Pennsylvania March 5 thru March 11, 1997 Four emerge to challenge for school board seats leadership, decision making ability and open communications with everyone from parents and teachers to administrators and taxpayers. All four say they are not various groups,” he said. “This would bring back confidence in the district.” Natitus said he has been interested in running for the board for many years. By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post staff he explained. Barbose said he had a good experience at Dallas and wants to bring a good reputation back to the deserving district. “There should be a better sense of community ® DALLAS - They call themselves “4 for Your Kids,” and they think it's time for a change in the makeup of thé Dallas school board. *, Tony Barbose, Frank Natitus, Steve Wengen and Ted Wright are run- ning for seats on the board presently held by B running on a single is- sue. Each candidate must | get at least 10 signa- tures on a petition that will be turned in to the ,] county election bureau by March 11. Anthony Barbose, between the board and various groups.” Frank Natitus Trucksville to assure the students a quality educa- tion. He believes the board should be a He is active as a coach in Back Mountain Base- ball, Inc. and Dallas Youth Basketball. Barbose has three chil- dren currently in the dis- trict. Frank Natitus, Trucksville, said he is “Negative events that pushed me to do it,” he responded when asked" why he saw now was a good time. : Steve Wengen, Shav- ertown, who is a sales-- man and father of three plagued us thislastyear Maureen Banks, Joe ok NON Kingston Twp., a 1980 group closely connected to the public also interested in bridg- FRANK in the district, thinks. Kunec, Thom Landon STEVE BARBOSE graduate of Dallas High they serve. “The whole realm of things ing the gap between NATITUS TED the overall image of the and James Richardson. WENGEN School, started toknock seems to be indecision on the board. board members and the WRIGHT schoolis suffering partly There is no voice for the people of the area and the voters aren’t being listened to,” around the idea of running in Septem- ber. Barbose said he is pressing forward public. “There should be a better sense ~. Themen have banded together in hopes of community between the board and of creating a board that exhibits more See SCHOOL BOARD, pg Bl Top honor for Dallas senior Jones ' By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff DALLAS - Tracy Jones, 17, has broken a dry spell at Dallas High School. She was recently chosen as National Merit Scholar finalist, . joining an elite group of 7,000 students nationwide. “We're thrilled. She is an out- standing young lady,” said Jack Wolensky, guidance counselor. “It’s a good reflection on her, the school and faculty.” To become a finalist a student must first score well on the Pre- Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) they take their junior year. If the + score is high enough both the school and student fill out an extensive application. ® Wolensky points out that high PSAT scores are not enough. “She has the ability to score well on standardized tests which is out- standing. It really takes a combi- nation of both co-curricular ac- tivities and a good score,” he ex- plained. “She’s the whole pack- age.” Jones is definitely involved. Aside from working hard in her classes, she takes part in many different activities including the National Honor Society, newspa- per club, stage crew and serving as stage manager. Currently she’s both managing and acting in “Much Ado About Nothing.” + Off campus she takes a class at Penn State Lehman campus and studies art with Sue Hand. Jones said through the study of art she became very interested in archi- tecture, which is what she plans to pursue in college. “I also like trigonometry and designing,” she said. For the past two years she has attended the Explorers Pro- gram at Quad Three Group in Wilkes-Barre, where she learns See FINALIST, pg 8 POST PHOTO/JIM PHILLIPS Bobby Lenahan ducked under Matt Daube during last weekend's championship game in Grade 5-6 Dallas Youth Basketball. Peter Van Loon chased Lenahan. Stories, more photos on pages 9 and 10. Wherever disaster hits, Chris Panko responds By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER 3 Post Staff CENTERMORELAND - It’s late at night and you have just been flown in to North Carolina after a huge hurricane. You are alone. You walk into a partially roofless school gymnasium with 500 hun- gry, cold and frightened people inside. Only a small light from a gen- erator manages to pierce a tiny hole through the all-encompass- ing blackness. There is at least a foot of water on the roads allowing only a few vehicles through. You are in the middle of a major na- tional disaster. Now, your job is to find food, blankets and cots for everyone. Could you do it? Would you do it? Chris Panko of Centermoreland would, could and did. The Ameri- can Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteer of five years was sent to Topsail Island to help dur- ing the 1996 attack of Hurricane Fran. Although overwhelmed at first, Panko, a shelter coordina- tor, prevailed and helped many people during his three week stay. “When I got there pecple were fighting over food. So, I found the most aggressive ones and re- cruited them to help me,” Panko recalled with a laugh. He said a cellular phone was his constant companion for that whole first night and day. “I was on the phone all night trying to find trac- tor trailers (the only vehicle that could make it with ease through water) and generators for light,” he said. Penko even found games for the children and television sets. “It's a nice feeling to know I did a lot of good down there,” he said. As a shelter coordinator, he is the person who organizes efforts to fulfill basic needs. The shelters provide mass feeding to those in need and remain open until ev- eryone has a place to go. An initial conversation with Panko, who is an Emergency Medi- call Technician (EMT) with ae Ti Chris Panko, with his son, Chris Jr. A Red Cross disaster team volunteer, Panko also volunteers with a fire and ambulance company. Donahue/Rural Metro Ambu- lance in Wilkes-Barre, was cut short because he was called to duty. His job entails rushing to scenes where people are in need for everything from scratches to cardiac arrest. He uses his train- ing as a medic to juggle skill, quickness and humanity to trans- port people to help. Panko said his employer is understanding about his commit- ment to the Red Cross. “Donahue has been very nice about me leav- See DISASTER, pg 8 Dirt roads nick cars, | should be paved, 2 say By JENNIFER JUDGE Post Correspondent JACKSON TWP. - Joe Mack Jr. and Al Danka questioned the Jackson Twp. supervisors at their March 3 meeting on plans to pave Mountain Road and Cigarski Road. Currently both roads are unpaved. Mack contended that the township spends more to maintain dirt roads than it would cost to pave the roads. Residents are upset because the roads are patched with num- ber 57 stone, Mack explained. The coarse texture of the stone causes damage to car paint, he said. Mack pointed out that as the township grows in population, so does traffic on the roads. He said, “Ijusthope, with additional money coming in, the township will ad- dress the roads.” Township supervisor Walter Glogowski said the township has 24 miles of road, of which half is paved. “It would be our long-range goal to pave all our roads. We are paying for renovation of this build- ing and dirt removal. When the debts are paid, we want to do this.” Glogowski also said that the township has applied for a Com- munity Development Grant to pave Mizdale Road at no cost to the township. If the township re- See JACKSON TWP., pg 8 Trucksville woman follows her muse to poetry, mystery By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff TRUCKSVILLE - Helen A. Cummings has come to a cross- roads in her life. After raising a family and working as a journalist for many years, she is embarking on a new chapter in her life de- voted to the craft she loves, writ- ing creatively. The Trucksville native runs the gamut, writing poetry, songs, mystery and sci- ence fiction. “My goal is to earn my living as a writer,” said Cummings. She wrote her first poem in second grade and has never stopped. “I think poetry was my catharsis for: the trials of childhood,” said Cummings. Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost and Eudora Welty never dreamed I something I love were a few authors whose works inspired her while she was grow- ing up in the 1950's Back Moun- tain. She primarily wrote poetry un- til she reached high school. Dur- ing those years she expanded her poetic lines into lyrics for songs, thinking up melodies in her mind. See WRITER, pg 2 H Blue, Gold and fun Pack 281 holds Blue and Gold dinner. Pg 3. Hl Bound for states A trio of Lake-Lehman wrestlers and Dallas swimmer Matt Schweitzer are going to states. Pg 9. 14 Pages 2 Sections Calendar... 14 Classified.........c..... 12-13 Crossword...i..........l4 Edilonals........ cc... oi. 4 Obituaries. ..........uiin 5 SchoOl.............s veils 7. 11 SPONS,.....0 rir coiirmiss 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 add
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