® J ' @ Vol. 108 No. 14 The Buch Mountai n's Dallas, Pennsylvania SII SAAN CTE | =H @I®1\V I\V ISN THEI =SSH GT ll Bw | =50 5 VAY WARTS WAN of =8 l= 2 | VAAN NBS 01 [010] I BI ICH I = 1 [OF ES) April 2 thru April 8, 1997 Old Man Winter takes late swipe at Back Mountain | By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post staff BACK MOUNTAIN - Old Man Winter must have decided he was too lenient on us this year and had one last “hoorah” on the final day in March. As the wet snow came down so did the temperature, cre- ating icy roads and problems for drivers. Strong winds whisked snow back and forth, hindering visibility and providing a blizzard-like appearance. Many car accidents, fallen trees and even a stranded snowmobile were re- ported during the storm. According to Back Mountain Comm Center, 27 car accidents were reported by local police. Dallas Township Police Chief Carl Miers said he wasn't surprised by the amount of snow, but by how fast it turned to ice. “It was wet snow and froze very fast. Until the salt and cinders were put down it was treacherous,” he explained. The Dallas Township Police responded to two downed trees and three car accidents. Miers said police cruisers had a tough “A week ago I was raking my yard and now I'm shovelling it.” John J. Wilkes Jackson Twp. roadmaster time in the snow, but their four-wheel drive vehicles got them around. Fallen trees were a common occurance during the storm. The Beardsworth fam- ily of Gordon Ave. in Dallas woke up to find their 40-year-old, 30-foot tall pine tree laying across their front yard. “It must have happened sometime during the night. We didn't hear anything. It was quite a surprise,” said Kathy Beardsworth. “Thankfully it missed the house.” Huntsville Road had to be closed down for a couple of hours due to one tree that took a tumble. Dallas Borough manager Milt Lutsey said the storm would be an extra expense, since the borough had just finished removing salt and cinders from streets. Tlie Police and emergency scanners lit up with calls Monday night. One report had an electrical line on fire in Lake Twp., another reported a tree down on Machell Ave. : . Even snowmobiles and 4-wheel-drive vehicles weren't immune to the mess. A radio call Monday night said a snowmo- bile had been abandoned in the middle of = \ See STORM, pg 8 PSU scope offers close Hale-Bopp ot Egg Hunt sponsored by the Back Mountain 4 By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER B Post staff P . LEHMAN - Faster than a speed- ing bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap over en- tire solar systems. No, it's not some new and improved Super- campus at man. It's Hale-Bopp. Lehman, where The comet that won't be seen every child again for 2,400 years has been showing off its tail the last couple of weeks. Friedman Observatory on the Penn State campus in Le- hman has been open extra hours to provide astronomy-minded folks a better look at the comet. With the Celestron 14 inch Schmitt-Cassagranian telescope, purchased by the university in 1995, the curious are able to get a sharp picture of the comet and its famous tail. The telescope is the largest in northeastern Pennsyl- vania. The observatory was donated by Sidney and Pauly Friedman in 1990. Approximately 70 people showed up to take a look through the telescope Friday night. Rose Salansky, Harveys Lake, took her two granddaughters to the observatory on March 28 and they were impressed. “It's really cool,” said Jill Keating, 12, of Huntington. “It looks like a big ball in the sky,” explained Salansky’'s granddaughter. “A ball with fuzz all over it,” added her sister, Laura, 10. According to John Rosser, di- rector of activities at the observa- tory, Hale-Bopp is “like a dirty See HALE-BOPP, pg 8 BUNNY |, HUG VIEWS of iki gave the Easter Bunny Association. The event drew more than 700 children to the Penn State received a basket of goodies and more than 100 won larger prizes. More photos, page 3. mber Wirth, big hug at the usiness and rofessional POST PHOTO/ CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK | & an evening of square dancing. Square dancers cheer move up By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER FCC engineer says one tower not only option By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post staff DALLAS TWP. - People in the cellular phone business say Cel- lular One has alternatives to the proposed 280-foot tower it wants to put on township property. The company would lease the land from Dallas Township. Rich Rusnock, a Cellular One representative, told township su- pervisors March 18 the only op- tion his company has is to put a single cellular tower somewhere between College Misericordia and township property. The site agreed upon by Cellular One and town- ship supervisors is behind the municipal building, where the tower would be built on a 25-foot square base. Melvin Spann, staff engineer with the Federal Communications ZONING BOARD MEETING The Dallas Twp. Zoning Hearing Board will meet Tues., April 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the municipal building to hear the township's request for a height variance for the proposed Cellular One tower. Commission in Washington D.C., said there are usually many dif- ferent options for the placement of towers. "Every area has its own needs, but there are many places to put towers and antennas. Sometimes they are placed on building tops, water towers and telephone polls. Usually if the area is barren a large tower-is: necessary,” said Spann. The F.C.C. must approve all towers to make sure they are See FCC, pg 8 Bus routes stable for now By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff DALLAS - Luzerne County Transportation Authority buses probably won't be making a run through the Dallas Shop- ping Center any time soon, be- cause shopping center routes result in far more accidents, LCTA scheduling supervisor Rob- ert Brown told members of the Back Mountain Business and Pro- fessional Association. Brown was the featured speaker at the organization's March meet- ing, held at College Misericordia. BMBPA members had expressed & fessional PX 2, © % ® Af, AS Ountain BL in the Back Mountain, particu-- larly in ways that would make it easier for shoppers and consum- ers of services to get around. If a rearranged route now in. place is any indication, it may be difficult to attract riders to routes_ that service store locations. The LCTA replaced a stop on the Mise- ricordia campus with a run to Insalaco’s Market in the Country Club Shopping Center, but Brown said there few riders and the route may not be maintained. Two bus routes that serve the Back Mountain were combined recently and between 75 and 100 people ride the buses on an aver- age day. The first run into Wilkes- Barre leaves Fino’'s Pharmacy at Lee and Marilyn Smith, Shavertown, dressed for Post staff BACK MOUNTAIN - To several Back Mountain couples, square dancing is more than occassional recreation; it's an impor- tant part of their social lives and well being. Fifteen couples are members of The Webspinners, the Back Mountain square Dancing organization that has been meet- ing at the Trucksville United Methodist Church for 12 years. Andy Glowach of Trucksville, said the group is happy to join the newly formed Northeastern Pennsylva- nia Square and Round Dance Federation. Northeastern PA was the only remaining region of the state that had not formed a federation. The federation is celebrating by sponsor- ing its first annual Square and Round Dance on April 20 at the Tunkhannock High School. Glowach will be master of ceremonies for the event. “It's a wonderful thing (that the state federation was organized). I'm glad to see them get started.” said Mildred Cook, Noxen. who started square dancing with her hus- “band seven years ago after his retirement from farming. Lee Smith, Shavertown, said the NEPA federation is very important. “If no one supported square dancing, it would die.” Square dancing is a fine mix of folk dances from Europe. Its predecessor, coun- “It’s an excellent exercise, like aerobics, but it’s pleasurable.” Lee Smith Shavertown try dancing, originated in 17th century England and spread all across Europe, with each country adding its own charm. Some of the dance forms that influenced Ameri- can square dancing include the lancers and contras from France and mountain dances from England. Many people who have been regularly square dancing for years praise its physical and mental benefits. Lee and Marilyn Smith of Shavertown. who used to farm dance before they were married, started square dancing in 1983. Since Lee Smith is dia- betic and suffered a heart attack, he is aware of the health benefits. “It's an excellent exercise, like aerobics, but it's pleasurable,” explained Smith with a laugh. "You smile while you're dancing. You don't do that in aerobics.” Smith said an hour of dancing can burn more than 300 calories. Many dancers also see square dancing as a stress reliever. “Since you really have to concentrate on the caller, you cannot See SQUARE DANCE, pg 8 interest in expanding bus routes See BUSES, pg 8 HM A happy tune Kristen Faerber hopes to make music her major and career. Pg 2. HM Hit, yes, pitch ? Lake-Lehman has a bal- ance baseball team, but pitching's unsure. Pg 9. INDEX 14 Pages 2 Sections The Dallas Post CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING and mail to The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612-0366 MAILING LABEL- Please enclose this label with any address changes, 4] A bi
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