r® Vol. 109 No. 20 Dallas, Pennsylvania SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS & LAKE-LEHMAN S101 5 [010] BI ISH I 21 [OF BS « y « 50 Cents ‘Wednesday, May 20 thru May 26, 1998 Mercy Sisters work, pray for Ireland peace By JENNIFER JUDGE Post Correspondent DALLAS - As the Irish people prepare tovote in the Irish Peace Referendum, the Dallas Sisters of Mercy are praying for peace in that country and asking others to do the same. , “Our retired sisters at Mercy Center, as well as all of us scattered far and wide in‘ ministry, are praying that this time we will. see peace coming from good will, economic equality, and justice,” said Sis- ter Regina Werntz, RSM, Director of Com- ‘munications for the Dallas Regional area. Not only are they 3 praying for peace in the region, one of their own mem- bers, Sister Carol Rittner, RSM, has takenan active role in’- working for peace. Since 1990, Rittner- has been working for peace in'.Northern Ire- land. In a recent phone interview, she explained how . she became in- volved in the peace process. “In 1990, 1 was head of the Elie Wiesel Foundation in New York,” she said. “We organized a number of different conferences in differ- ent places — Europe, Israel, the United States.” The Sisters of Mercy have a special reason to want peace for Ireland. "Our roots are in Dublin,” explained Werntz. “We were founded in 1831 and came to this country in 1843. In the early years, many young women and newly professed Sisters of Mercy came to the United States to minister here. Many of the women who entered directly in the United States had emigrated from Ireland. For a Sister of Mercy from the USA to visit the original foundation, the parent house in Dublin, is like a Moslem traveling to Mecca.” Presentation Sister Marie Larkin has been living in the United States and working with the Sisters of Mercy locally for the past seven years. Larkin is origi- nally from Clonmell, County Tipperary in the south of Ireland. “People are hopeful,” she said about the pending peace refer- endum. “I'm feeling that people will vote for it because they feel a need for peace. It would be a shame if people didn’t take this opportunity.” «A conference organized in Oslo, Nor- § SR. CAROL RITTNER See IRELAND, pg 8 Art of the Flag Center through May 29. Kaytlin Kopen stood with Sen. Charles D. Lemmond Jr. and her artistic salute to the American Flag. She and other students of Sue Hand are exhibiting their paintings and drawings at Lemmond's office in the Dallas Shopping POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Parish shares pride, joy in Crynes's elevation By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff SHAVERTOWN - Although it was Fa- ther Peter Crynes who was given the honorable title of Monsignor by Pope John Paul II, he believes the parish as a whole earned the recognition. Last week Crynes, pastor of St. Therese’s Church in Shavertown, received a call from Bishop James C. Timlin in- forming him thathe was among 16 priests from The Diocese of Scranton who had been honored. : “I was surprised,” said Crynes, after hearing the news from Bishop Timlin. “I'm grateful for the acknowledgement of what we're doing as a parish community. [ see it as an affirmation of what we do as a parish.” Crynes credits St. Therese’s parish with being active in the community and interweaving faith with their lives. “We have 350 people in the parish involved in at least one ministry,” he said. “This parish really tried to respond to steward- ship and recognize gifts received, be grate- ful for them and share with others.” Word spreads fast. As Crynes was getting his picture taken outside of the church rectory, three people driving by stopped to congratulate Crynes. “Hey, Monsignor. Congratulations!” yelled one man. See CRYNES, pg 3 Indian lost, Indian found A wooden cigar store Indian statue that was stolen from 90 N. Pioneer Ave., Shavertown, was recovered Monday from the back porch of 21 Robbins Rd., Haddonfield Hills, Dallas Township. The 7’ statue, which owner Louis Pugh said weighs several hundred pounds, was taken between midnight Thurs- day and 6 a.m. Friday. Claire Morris, who lives at 21 Robbins Rd., said she first noticed the statue Saturday and went to the house from which it was stolen to try to contact Pugh. Carl Miers, Dallas Township Police Chief, said he didn't know the statue was missing until he read about it in a Sunday paper. He said no one contacted police to report it had been found. Pugh had offered a $250 reward for information leading to recovery, and received a tip about its location Monday after- noon. He called police to help recover the statue, but was told School board members Frank Natitus, Karen Kyle and Emest Ashbridge walked with Sterling Lamoreaux, second from right. Dallas mulls near 10% rise « By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER : Post Staff DALLAS - After a seven-year streak with no increase in taxes, the Dallas School Board voted to accept a 15 mill increase in a $19.2 million tentative bud- get. At Monday's regular meeting, the board voted unanimously to accept the budget with taxes rising from 158 to 173 mills. J “I hope we can find ways of making some adjustments down in the next 30 days,” said Ernest Ashbridge, board mem- ber. - The public and board have 30 days to review the budget before it is passed in its final form. : Al Melone, acting business manager, said there are three main areas that strain the budget. The additional expen- ditures are due in large part to the follow- ing increases: $200,000 (20.8 percent) for Blue Cross/Blue Shield coverage, L-L increase iS below 5% By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff LEHMAN - Saying they would try their best to avoid cutting the quality of eauca- tion, members of the Lake-Lehman school board voted 5-2 Monday to accept a ten- _ tative budget that contains a 10-mill tax increase for Luzerne County property OWNers. The $17.5 million spending plan would reduce the reserve fund balance to about $24,000 at the end of the 1998-99 school year, from about $100,000 now. The state recommends that districts main- tain a fund balance of about 5 percent of its budget, which would be nearly $900,000 in Lehman's case. Board president Lois Kopcha and Rob- ert Allardyce voted against the measure. Gary Miller, Moderno Rossi, Karen Whipple, Tom Williams and Ed Kern ap- proved the budget. Ron Payne and Rose Howard did not attend the meeting. <<: © « ® See LAKE-LEHMAN, pg 16 Board members walk disputed territory DALLAS - The Dallas School Board walked the line May 14 between where two proposed athletic fields are planned to be built and adjoining neighbors’ back yards. The board expected to meet with neigh- bors and their attorneys who have a lawsuit going against the district. Appar- See WALK, pg 16 PSU Wilkes- Barre and College Misericordia Mountain, pgs 7, 12. playoff game. Pg 10 HM Local grads graduates from the Back HB Hooray for L-L Lehman wins first soccer 16 Pages, 2 Sections The Dallas Post MAILING LABEL- Please enclose this label with any address changes, he would have to wait for a search warrant to be obtained. Calendar RR A 13 While Pugh, Miers and Kingston Twp. patrolman Walter Classified............. 14-15 Davis were waiting outside Morris's home, she returned from Crossword................ 13 | shopping and granted permission for the statue's removal. Editonials............00. 4 | She said tire marks on the lawn were caused by contractors Obituaries... cu. oils 14 who had recently replaced the roof on the house. School. 12 Pugh bought the statue about 10 years ago at an antiques Shoe... \ oak POHAS................. 9-11 store in Eagle's Mere. He guessed it is about 50 years old, and is worth about $5,000 in good condition, but it was damaged when taken. He said he will press charges if the persons who took the statue are found. Miers said he will assist Kingston Twp. police in the investigation. J POST PHOTO/RON BARTIZEK & Louis Pugh, second from right, loaded the cigar store Indian statue onto a truck with help from Dallas Twp. police chief Carl Miers, right, Ralph Williams, left, and Kingston Twp. officer Walter Davis. and mail to The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612-0366 CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING by Ronald Bartizek
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