The Back Mountain's B The SIS RAVAINCR No |= eI@1\V [VIS] "Vol. 109 No. 14 Dallas, Pennsylvania § Teaching together “*paysoft By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff "HARVEYS LAKE - What started out of necessity at Lake-Noxen Elementary School has become a major part of the curriculum. €) @ Teachers are working together in teams to ensure students a thor- ough education. Teachers say team-teaching keeps the curricu- lum fresh and creative for both them and the students. -. Dave McLaughlin-Smith, prin- cipal, who taught fifth and sixth grade for 13 years at the school, believes team-teaching helps the : teacher as much as the student. 0 @ “Team-teaching alleviates try- ing to be an expert in everything. Now teachers could be experts in two areas rather than all of them,” hq said. The practice of using two teach- ers per class started seven years ago when the school had unusu- ally large classes. McLaughlin- Smith said he had 36 students in his homeroom-‘at that time. p 2 “We were trying to figure out how to meet individual needs within such a large group,” McLaughlin-Smith explains. Patricia Jachimowicz, Cathy Edwards and McLaughlin-Smith are three of the first to team-teach in the school. When they noticed their idea worked, they stuck with it. Cur- rently there is only one major i) @ team in the school. Twice a day fifth and sixth grade students change between math/science and language arts, where they are taught by two teachers in each subject. Jachimowicz and Wendy Garrety co-teach language arts. See LAKE-NOXEN, pg 7 "Cosmic Sam" reached down to grasp the hand of Michael Comiskey, Plymouth, at last weekend's Easter egg hunt sponsored by the Back Mountain Business and Professional Association and held at Penn State Wilkes-Barre. More photos on page 9. ° Griffiths seeks history, family on trip to Wales By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff ) @ DALLAS - On a recent trip to ° Wales, the superintendent of The . Dallas School District, indulged his historical curiosity by visiting castles and museums in his an- cestral homeland. "Gil Griffiths took his second trip to Wales with his brother-in- law, William Morgan. His first venture there was in 1994. Mor- gan, who teaches at Shippenburg & University, discovered that his forefathers came from Templan, Wales. Griffiths’ grandmother, Lilian,-came to the United States | By JENNIFER JUDGE @ Post Correspondent DALLAS - Twelve-year-old people were surprised when she | decided she wanted to do some- thing to help her community. “They were surprised about how 1 young I was and what [ wanted to-do,” she said. Last fall,” the Dallas Middle ) School student started a | fundraising campaign to help | beautify Main Street in Dallas : Borough. “I was in a cultures | class and we were talking about k community service and how you can get a group together,” she i explained. “When I was off for i Columbus Day I decided to do i this.” now called the Dallas Main Street Tara Matlock-Puchalsky said | have joined the group, which is p,npar Tara Puchalsky in 1918. “My grandfather went there in World War I and brought back a wife,” he said. While Griffiths has not found records of any other direct ances- tors, he did discover Griffithstown, a small community on the edge of the Brecon Mountains. The two set out on a 10-day road trip to experience the rich culture of the present and learn about the country’s almost mytho- logical past. Starting in London, they headed south and then turned northwest along the coastinto Wales. “Wales See GRIFFITHS, pg 5 ‘ POST PHOTO/JENNIFER JUDGE Since that fallday, 39 of Tara's pajjag Main Street Project members gathered for a photo. From left, first row; Caitlin & fellow middle school students pas David Glicini, Tim Kerestes, Gene Lispi, Kevin Domzalski. Second row; Joelle Jaime Bozentka, Todd Buckley, Megan Riley. Third row; Pat Harman, Jon Taylor, Elizabeth Eby, April Piazza, Jacqueline Hardwick. POST PHOTO/KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Gil Griffiths, Dallas superintendent, displays some of the brochures he gathered on a recent trip to England and Wales. Teens press forward with plan to spruce up borough Project. Tara's mother, Beth Ann Puchalsky, helps Tara out, but explains that the kids do all the plan- ning and decision making. “Everybody has a say,” Mrs. Puchalsky said. “We take a vote when we make decisions. The kids decide what projects we will do. It's not just about buying benches and flower boxes. It’s about the kids taking a positive role in the com- munity and learning to take a leadership role.” Tara explained that the group is “strictly a student group. We wanted adults to supervise our activities, but not to lead the group.” Tara, who seems to be a natural born leader, went before Dallas Borough See PROJECT, pg 7 LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS | April 8 thru April 14, 1998 Squatters get eviction notices By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff DALLAS - While adjoining prop- erty owners to Dallas School Dis- trict land are fighting to keep three athletic fields from being built, a new survey shows that many of those same property owners have encroached onto the property. Meanwhile, the lack of fields is beginning to affect youth sports programs in both baseball and soccer. At the Dallas School Board's regular meeting Monday, Mark Kraynak, superintendent of build- ings and grounds, presented the board with a map and color pho- tos indicating all encroachments. They vary from fences that creep a few feet over the property line to an unlicensed car on blocks, a garden, dumps and a carport. One person’s fence overshoots the line by 30 ft. “These are people who objected to the district using its own prop- erty. Evidently they didn’t: mind using it themselves,” said John Litz, board president. Kraynak said the district sent letters to all property owners who are in violation asking them to remove anything on district prop- erty by May 1. He warned the board that this might turn into a legal battle that would cause more delay in building. Ben Jones III, board solicitor, estimates it could take two years to settle the cur- rent appeal of zoning approval for the fields, filed by 10 nearby prop- erty owners. The suit contends there were several irregularities in the approval process. “Ifanyone with encroachments decides to take action, they can hold us,” said Gil Griffiths, super- intendent. The board approved the con-: struction of a 6 ft. chain-link fence to surround the area of the pro- posed fields. If no legal objection is taken by May 1, the district will remove anything in the way of building the fence, Griffiths said. Kraynak said the fence will cost $21,000 to put up, not including what it could cost to remove items left on district property. Remov- ing the obstructions could add to the construction bill. The delays are affecting other activities in the Back Mountain. The school district has begun to .convert the present upper fields at the Little League complex off Church St. into a PIAA certified baseball field for use by the middle school teams. The change could affect this year’s baseball, softball and tee-ball seasons. “They're trying to work around us as best they can,” said Jack Wolensky, Dallas athletic direc- tor. He expected the conversion would be finished within a week. The present middle school base- ball field will be eliminated by construction of the new Wyecallis Elementary School. That work will also displace fields used by Back Mountain Youth Soccer in the fall, and teams above U-9 are scheduled to have to play their games outside the Back Moun- tain. ; In other business, the district is looking into joining a database See FIELDS, pg 8 No money for police officer who lacks jacket, board says By JESSICA APPOLO Post Staff JACKSON TWP. - Citizens at- tended Monday night's Jackson Township meeting looking for resolutions to reoccurring issues, , many ‘having to do with the township's police force. Officer Barry Stubeda and Po- lice Chief Jones petitioned the board of supervisors again to is- sue a winter jacket to officer Stubeda. Stubeda, a part-time officer for the township, was hired in the fall of 1995. Initially, Stubeda’s incomplete uniform was overlooked and since has not been budgeted in the uniform allow- ance set up each year. a) The board members agreed that Stubeda should have a jacket, as they did last month, and would disburse the needed $270 if and when the money became avail- able. If no money is available, board members agreed to put the request in the September budget plan for 1999. Mr. Benjamin BarshJr,. of 1577 Huntsville Road, is concerned that Stubeda. will be forced to go- through another winter without a. proper uniform jacket. He has: offered to loan the board the $270 free of interest so Stubeda can See JACKET, pg 7 HB Sweet sounds Dallas, Lehman send a total of 15 musicians to regional band and orches- tra. Pg 2. HB Movin' on up Joyce Tinner takes over head coaching spot for Dallas softball. Pg 11. 16 Pages, 2 Sections Calendar..................; 10 Classified............. 14-15 Crossword................ 10 Editonials.......co ih 4 Obituaries................. 14 School. ......i......... 13 SOOHS......ovunene inns 11-12 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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