) ] 74 SD a A BA L LJ Vol. 109 No. 5 Dallas, Pennsylvania * Newspaper Since 1889 SIS EVAN CRE =Ne{e]\V | \VISINIRNI ISH] =i Bw | =H B VAY WVARS Tr WAN oo S58 I = [YVAN SCHOOL BIISH E103 BS 50¢ February 4 thru February 10, 1998 Local pastor fed thousands of ice storm victims . By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER : Post Staff - IDETOWN - As theice storms lay siege to (the north in January, most of us watched the images of snapped trees, damaged power lines and abandoned homes from our toasty living rooms. Not so for two men from the Back Mountain. Rev. Pat Colladay and Ron Boudreaux - of Dallas Baptist Church were called to the scene to help feed people whose homes were powerless. As members of the Di- saster Relief Team, which is part of a Southern Baptist agency that works closely with the Red Cross, the men spent a week in Watertown, New York. Their job was to provide government regulated well-balanced meals for the entire community. Colladay estimates Handling of prison break criticized By JESSICA APPOLO Post Correspondent JACKSON TWP. - Last month's es- cape from the State Correctional Institu- tion at Dallas, located in the Chase sec- tion of town, brought angry citizens to Monday's supervisors meeting. Edward Chesnovitch asked the town- ship board to request a public meeting with the prison committee and federal agents. | Chesnovitch came fully armed with reasons to request a meeting with the prison committee. He noted that armed guards were not easily identifiable at safety and road checkpoints. He also said road checkpoints were poorly marked and not signed for drivers, causing hesi- tation in drivers to stop and cooperate. Another cause of some confusion was the siren used to sound for the prison break. Some citizens were not sure if the siren was sounded for a fire or some other emergency. Fred Murray said he had to call the prison to confirm an escape, but never got an answer after being put on hold for several minutes. Murray de- cided to call 911 to confirm his fears. Chesnovitch also said the sketch of the bearded prisoner given to media sources was inaccurate and therefore slowed efforts in capturing the escapee. He also said the prisoner was a high risk for work detail because of an upcoming federal trial which could have sentenced the prisoner to an additional 15 years to life. “The break could have been pre- vented if federal agents would have shared their information with the prison,” See PRISON BREAK, pg 8 they cooked 10,000 meals a day for seven days. The two are Red Cross trained and certified to work in disaster areas. A «sturdy mobile kitchen serves as their workplace while they cook up a variety of meals including beef stew, sweet and sour chicken and sandwiches. The men went up the third week in January and helped where 13,000 homes were out of commission. “When we drove into town, we saw timbers twisted like toothpicks, trees were ‘topped’ and homes abandoned,” said Colladay of his first impressions. “It's a big farm country, a lot of the farmers had to shoot their milk cows because they couldn’t milk them. Also, some children had not been back to school since Christ- mas break. It was very hard for them.” © water and electricity. It was good to get to where the people were and see how our efforts were being put to use.” Rev. Pat Colladay Dallas Baptist Church The men stayed at the local commu- nity building, where there was plenty of Watertown was chosen as their cooking site for both reasons. : Colladay said he was struck by how thankful everyone was. “They were so thankful for the volunteers. The night black ribbons. It turns out the ribbons represented their appreciation,” he said. “One woman thanked me and said, ‘It's people like you that give us faith to go on.’ The soldiers at the local Army base presented the volunteers with a certifi- cate of gratitude. For Colladay, the experience was a fulfilling one. “There really is a sense of satisfaction in helping people. It was good to get to where the people were and see how our efforts were being put to use,” he said. Colladay rode with the Red Cross to other shelters to help deliver the food. “It was good to work together during a crisis. Even though there were different See ICE STORM . pg 5 before we left we noticed people wearing VROOM, VROOM POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Jason Jolley set his car in place during last week's Pinewood Derby. Scouts from Pack 281 competed in the races held at the Dallas Middle School. Jason finished second overall. More photos, results on page 8. Link to Back Mountain's history, Ruby Elston dies at age 101 Ruby Elston, the Back Mountain's best connection to its history, died Friday, Jan. 30 at the age of 101. Born Nov. 16, 1896 in the home she still lived in until shortly before her death, she was the daughter of the late B. Frank and Ellen (Duckworth) Bulford, and the granddaughter of John and Rachel Bulford of Dallas and Phillip and Catherine Duckworth of Kingston. Her father and grandfather were sign- ers of the charter that made Dallas a borough. A direct descendant of Rev. Jacob Johnson, the first permanent minister ir the Wyoming Valley, Mrs. Elston was proud of her life and heritage. She Kept family albums filled with photo- graphs and newspaper items about her family and the Back Mountain. "An ardent fan of The Dallas Post, she said her family had been subscrib- ers since the first issue in 1889. When Post associate publisher Charlotte . Bartizek visited to take her photo for her 99th birthday, Mrs. Elston told how her grandmother was run over by one of the first trains to come through Dallas. She said people weren't aware then of the dangers the trains posed, and her mother died trying to save the family’s goat that was on the track. Traveling by horse and buggy, Mrs. Elston attended the Shaver School on Overbrook Rd., the one-room school in East Dallas and the old Goss School in Dallas. She was a 1914 graduate of Dallas Borough High School. She worked as a secretary in the Ordinance department of the U.S. Army in Bethlehem, PA during World War I. After the war she worked as a clerk in the Dallas Post Office until 1924, when she married Clarence Elston of Leh- man. The marriage brought together two of the Back Mountain's oldest and largest families. They lived together on Overbrook Rd. until her husband's death in 1986 at the age of 90, and had two children, Harold, who lives in Lehman, and Nancy Schimmel, State College. The home they lived in was built from trees that grew on the property. Mrs. Elston enjoyed raising vegetables, especially eggplant, one of her favorites, in their garden. In an interview with the Post at her 100th birthday in 1996, Mrs. Elston noted the loss of closeness in commu- nities. “Neighbors should be neigh- bors,” she said, “helping each other out, showing an interest in each other and not keeping to themselves.” See RUBY ELSTON, pg 2 5 POST PHOTO/KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Rev. Pat Colladay shows off his yellow hat and t-shirt. Colladay ventured up north last month to help people who were stranded due to the ice storms. : Teens say DUI not condoned but common By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff BACK MOUNTAIN - With state statis- tics showing a six percent increase in alcohol related accidents between 1996 and 1997 in drivers under 21 years old, the obvious place to look for information about the issue is teenagers. Many local teens say they are more responsible than people may think when it comes to drinking. Others think there shouldn't be anyone drinking to begin with. Five students from Dallas Senior High School estimated that 40 percent of the students at their high school drink at least every other weekend, but say there is usually someone acting responsibly when it comes to driving. “Everyone has a friend who doesn't drink,” said Eric George, 16. “Usually kids take responsibility. Some use desig- nated drivers.” The small group made up of mostly juniors said seniors probably drink the most, while freshman and sophomores are starting to experiment. All of the students interviewed at both Dallas and Lake-Lehman were-opposed to drinking and driving. “It's never okay to do,” said a Lake-Lehman junior, who asked that her name not be used. “So many people die from drinking and driv- ing. It's a stupid choice to make.” See TEENS, pg 8 The Post is on your computer | You can send items to The Dallas Post by e-mail at dalpost@aol.com. We can accept news items, story ideas, classified ads and display ad inquiries this way. Please call ahead before sending news items, so we can go over our guidelines for material. Classified ads and display ad inquiries should be received by 12 noon Mondays if possible. If sending items later than that, please call to notify us at (717) 675-5211. HB Hard battle Pg 3. Dallas boys salvage HB Hoop action Jackson Twp. family fights daughter's eating disor- ders, seeks support group. season, and all the other roundball action. Pg 9. 14 Pages 2 Sections Calendar... .............. 14 Classified.............. 12-13 Crossword... ..isess: 14 Editonals..........cve.ceis 4 Obiluanes...........s cise 12 SCHOG i. uisniiessesiisd 7 SPOS. ibis id 9-10 The Dallas Post " POST FILE PHOTO Mrs. Ruby Elston, shown in a photo taken for her 99th birthday, kept albums of the history of her family and of the Back Mountain. 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,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers