re Sem i The Back Mountain’ Vol. 108 No. 22 Lakefront has its drawbacks for handful of home owners By JENNIFER JUDGE Post Correspondent HARVEYS LAKE - Art Thompson dis- covered recently that he lives on the wrong side of the track, so to speak. Thompson moved to Harveys Lake as a full-time resident in 1982, but it wasn’t until this year, when Thompson decided to add a deck to his lakefront property, that he discovered that his residence was in an area zoned S1 (shoreline). The problem with being S1 instead of R1 (residential) is that to make any changes to his home, Thompson must obtain a variance from the zoning board, rather than just obtaining a permit from the zoning officer. Obtaining a variance is both costly and time-consuming. Th- ompson explained the fee for the vari- ance “was not in proportion to the build- ing fee for the deck.” Thompson said the zoning that went into effect in September 1974 made ev- erything on the lake side of Lakeside Drive S1 and everything on the opposite side R1. But this didn’t take into consid- eration four or five homes on Old Sawmill Plot. Guy Giordano, who rebuilt his home Dallas, Pennsylvania “I'm not looking Jor special treatment, but it's a situation that needs to be looked at.” Art Thompson Harveys Lake on the lake side in 1993, was also af- fected by the zoning. Both Giordano and Thompson were present at the May meet- ing of the Harveys Lake Borough Council fn ESSE s Xe New to ask if anything could be done to rem- edy the situation. “It is obviously created for waterfront structures, not residences,” Thompson said after the meeting. “It leaves us out in the cold because all of the regulations that are there provide for boathouses, docks, and other shoreline structures.” “I'm not looking for special treatment, but it's a situation that needs to be looked at,” he said. ; Giordano agrees. He requested that board members consider changing the zoning in these areas to R1 instead of S1, referring to his neighbor's process of May 28 thru June 3, 1997 going through both the planning and zoning boards as “ludicrous.” Inresponse to the residents’ concerns, the board resolved to investigate the situ- ation more fully. Zoning officer Fred Javer was unavailable for comment. Also during the meeting, the board accepted the resignation of council mem- ber George Gwilliam. Gwilliam, who had - served on the board for 7 1/2 years, resigned after only serving part of his: present term, citing a work conflict as the 4 reason. Council member Martin Noon an-- i DANCIN' DALLAS KIWANIANS In this 1964 photo, members of the Dallas Kiwanis Club danced at the "Womanless Wedding," which was then an annual event. The local club is celebrating its 70th anniversary. For the full story, see page 2. From left in photo; George McCutcheon, Ed Wilson, Bill Guyette, Dr. David Kunkle, Carl Goeringer, Dr. John Blase. Sisters reach into their faith to win history prize By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff BACK MOUNTAIN - Two sis- ters who attend Dallas High School dug deep within their faith to ex- pose a little-known part of its history that enlightened many people and won first place at the state History Day competition. Amanda Palmatier, 17 and her sister Kathryn, 16, in their first year of competition, took the top prize in the Group Project division with their exhibit “Purple Tri- angles: A Test Of Faith.” There were 25 entries in the category. The contest was held on the Penn State main campus on May 14 and 15. The Palmatiers now set their sights on the national competition to be held June 15- 19 at the University of Maryland. To reach the state level, the sis- ters first took second place in the same division in regionals. The theme for this year’s con- test was “Triumph and Tragedy in History,” and their exhibit on the Jehovah's Witnesses in the con- centration camps of Nazi Ger- many certainly fit the bill. Ac- cording to the Palmatiers’ re- search, there were approximately 20,000 Witnesses in Germany at the time of internment, with about 5,000 losing their lives in the camps. Amanda and Kathryn, who themselves are Jehovah's Wit- “When we started, we just thought it would be a good experience. We were very excited.” Amanda Palmatier State History Day winner nesses, felt it was important to shed light on the persecution of this group of people who perse- vered in their faith under the ex- treme conditions of attempted genocide. Much of their exhibit is made up of a collage of personal accounts and last letters written before death. “No one knows what they went through. They had the opportu- nity to compromise. They could have signed a doctrine to give up their faith and leave,” explained Amanda, who plans to continue volunteer work with her religion and work with her father in the insurance business after gradua- tion. “That's why it fits so well into the triumph theme.” The Witnesses’ refusal to give up their spirituality frustrated the Nazis. “MoredJehovah's Witnesses came out than went in,” said Amanda. One way the SS Army tried to break the faith was to put See SISTERS, pg 8 Amanda, left, and Kathryn Palmatier stand before their first-place History Day project, "Purple Triangles: A Test of Faith." The sisters will participate in the national contest June 15-19. See LAKEFRONT, pg 8 Spending up, tax rate stable in school budget By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff DALLAS - Despite projected spending thatis 17 percent higher and plans to build a new elemen- tary school, the Dallas School District's taxes will remain the same this year. At a special meet- ing held May 22, the school board unanimously voted to accept a $20.9 million budget. The district will maintain its current millage rate of 158. The tax rate is sustained largely because of an increased tax base that raised real estate tax rev- enues from $3.9 million in 1987- 88 to over S8 million in 1997-98. Operating expenditures are slated to rise about $600,000; or about 4 percent. The rest of the spending increase is to cover re- pairs at the high school, higher debt service, and an increase in the fund reserve. Some of the largest increases in spending include $150,000 for high school renovations, $162,000 for a Dallas Elementary computer lab and a new full-time guidance counselor. The fund balance in- cludes $1.7 million to be kept in a reserve. Williams said the $1.7 million will either be transferred to the capital fund or kept as a budget contingency. “The district's goal is to match reoccurring revenue with reoc- curring expenditures,” Charlotte Williams, business manager, told the board. With $17.4 million in revenue and a $5.3 million fund ; balance; the district can cover its projected expenditure of $20.9 million for the year. Land owner says R-1 zone 'more economical’ By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff DALLAS - Neighbors of Robert Post's property off of W. Center Hill Rd. have obtained legal repre- sentation as part of their orga- nized stance against changing the property's zoning from conserva- tion to residential. But the land owner says he's just trying to make the best use of his property, and cites a nearby development as proof of the ap- propriateness of his plan. According to Chuck O'Hara, whose property in the Stonehedge subdivision borders Post's prop- erty, six neighbors hired Atty. Bob Marsh to represent them at the Dallas Borough Planning Com- mission meeting to be held May 29 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building. O’Hara confirmed the circulation of at least two peti- tions, started by other residents, circling Stonehedge against the zone change. The response follows the an- nouncement of Post's request to the borough to change his 70 acres of conservation zoned land to R-1 residential. A conservation district allows houses on two-acre lots with a minimum frontage of 200 ft. An R-1 residential district allows each house to be built on 10,000 square feet with a mini- mum frontage of 70 ft. “The ordinance is there for the protection of the borough,” said O'Hara. “Any changes should be done because it’s in the best in- terest of the majority of residents of the borough.” See LAND OWNER, pg 8 BW Rabies clinic is revived after frantic calls to SPCA. It will be held June 1. Pg 3. HM Building blocks Kids help library campaign by purchasing bricks - you can too. Pg 3. 14 Pages 2 Sections Calendar.....................; 14 Classified............... 12-13 Crossword................. 14 EQHONANS. ....oveursssvieriinss 4 ObiUANes.........icoim uve 11 BERO0L: eco isinaes 7 SPOILS... ibinesissess 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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