Newspaper Since 1889 The Dallas Post 50 Cents SI=SAVAINICH Eo | =SH@I@1\VI\V ISHN NEI =ISHO | oil Bo | =30 B VAN BN WVARSH 3 WAY = B= | \V/ VAN NIRS 0 on [O[@] BR BEST 21 [OF BS Vol. 109 No. 23 Dallas, Pennsylvania June 10 thru June 16, 1998 School, neighbors strike deal to allow field construction By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff DALLAS - A deal has been struck between the Dallas School District and adjoining property owners of three planned athletic fields. All that’s needed now is completion of the final paperwork. With the new agreement, the district will begin construction on a 1,885 ft. chain-link fence around the land where the fields will be built. orders for the district. There will be an additional 150 ft. of fence installed to the far left side of Atty. Bruce Phillips’s prop- erty, interlinked with the baseball field to prevent people from cutting through that area. Also, there will be two six foot high and wide security gates at entrances. There has already been a bid of $22,000 on the project. “The project is a go, » said Gil Griffiths, superintendent, at the school board's meeting June 8. Board member Ellen Nagy reminded the audience that the compromise took a lot of effort from both sides. “This is something that the owners and the board have worked out. We've gone on two walk-arounds of the prop- erty. Many beautiful trees will be left where they are,” she said. “Hopefully the zoning appeal will be dropped.” Frank Natitus, board member, said he is 99 percent sure it will go through, but that the lawyers still need to get together and put the paperwork together. He credits open communication between . both parties for the agreement. Adjoining property owners had retained Atty. Phillips to file a lawsuit claiming that Dallas Township failed to properly post the property, advertise a zoning meeting and that the setback allowed for the fields was not in line with the zoning ordinance. In other business, the board approved the Elementary Water Safety Program that will teach third graders from Dallas and Westmoreland Elementary the ba- sics of swimming at any level. Itis a nine- week program that runs in conjunction with health and wellness classes. College Misericordia will supply the use of its The compromiseresulted in two change Staying on top, doing their best Lake-Lehman's top 10 value achievement By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff LEHMAN - Shakespeare wrote, “.. Nimble thought can jump both sea and land.” Maybe Lake- Lehman’s top 10 graduates are not flying to the end of the earth for their education, but with their grades they probably could. Jennifer Klaips, Joanne White, Brooke Posatko, Ryan Mahle, Carrie Race, Valerie Fiore, Michael Casey, Kelly Cave, Sara Kasper and Amy Sorber are leaving high school at the very top. Many of these students describe themselves as perfectionists who must always put their best foot forward. “I have always been a perfec- tionist,” said White, ranked sec- ond with a cumulative grade point average of 98.8 out of 100. “I like to do everything the best I can. I cannot turn in an assignment without it being the best I can do. Also, I come from a large family of overachievers; that's how I was raised.” White, who will attend Stanford University in the fall, describes her upbringing as “very support- ive, but not controlling. They gave me space and I think having that space allowed me to do well,” she said. Being on top or getting the best grades was never White's motiva- tion. “The learning experience should be enjoyable. Learning gives me a feeling of empower- ment,” she explained. Jennifer Klaips, this year’s vale- dictorian, has been ranked first in the class since seventh grade. “It was always my goal to be valedic- torian. I was extremely happy when I realized that goal,” she said. | She is also a self-described per- fectionist with tremendous sup- port from her family and teach- ers. “My parents have always encouraged me along the way, See TOP 10, pg 12 POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Dan Dulebohn, left, and Nathan Pankratz celebrated after Lake-Lehman High School graduation ceremonies June 4. Class picture, award winners, class officers and more photos on pages 6-7. 71 alumna defines success for Lehman grads By MICHELLE LAWLER Knightlife Feature Editor LEHMAN - Along with hot weather, the entrance of the sum- mer also brings tears and goodbyes for the year’s graduat- ing class. This was the case on June 4 for Lake-Lehman’s gradu- ating class as they participated in their commencement. As for the hot weather, that seemed to leave a week ago, and the breeze was perfect for caps to magically fly off students’ heads. Nevertheless, there they sat, wait- ing patiently through an array of speakers in their typical black Proud tears Sara Kasper hugged teammate “Jess Elston (5) after the Lake-Lehman soccer team lost the state title game 3-1 to Council Rock. But there was plenty to celebrate; the Knights were the first Wyoming Valley Conference team to play for the state title. Story, more photos on sports page. POST PHOTO/JIM PHILLIPS and gold gowns, to finally receive what they had been striving for for 13 years. The ceremony began with mu- sical selections from the band, followed by Mr. John J. Oliver, the high school principal, welcoming those present. Then, Michael P. Casey, the senior class president, took to the podium with a well- delivered, stirring speech. His humor and 'quick wit helped to put a smile on the faces of those who would later shed tears. Fol- lowing Casey was Laura Castellano, the student council president, whose speech was full of sincerity and heartfelt farewells to the faculty and underclass- men. The speaker for the commence- ment address was Doreen S. Davis, class of ‘71. Her speech told the meaning of success and what it takes to obtain it. Davis now resides in Philadelphia, is a partner in a law firm, and is mar- ried with a child. Her speech also showed the major differences be- tween the two generations that were referred to, and made the graduates feel very young. She was a successful representative of a previous generation, and helped to encourage the gradu- ates by showing them her goals Dallas neurologist shares his knowledge in Prague By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff DALLAS - A trained neurolo- gist earns an average of $300 U.S. per month in Prague, Czech Re- public. Patients with brain inju- ries are set in a ward-like setting with six to eight beds per room. Lights are kept low to conserve energy and such itemsasa 1950's scale are still very much in use. This may sound like deplorable and out-dated conditions, but Dr. Michael J. Raymond, 46, of Dal- las said people with brain injuries fared well in the Prague hospital he visited. “Even though they didn’t have the best technology, it seemed that their patients did pretty well,” said Raymond, who recently re- turned from a three-day confer- ence titled, “International Brain Injury Association Family and Professional Educational Training Series on Brain Injury Rehabilita- tion.” The confer- ence was spon- sored by Allied Services, Brain Injury Associa- : : : A handwritten sign tion USA and taped to'a 1950's Defense and gcale greeted U.S. Veterans Head doctors in Prague. Injury Project. Raymond, Ph.D, is Director of the Neuropsychological/Cognitive See DOCTOR, pg 8 and how she reached them. “Yes- terday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift,” spo- ken by Davis gave the graduates something to hold on to; the memories that were being made that very moment. Jennifer Klaips, valedictorian ofthe class, encouraged her class- mates to look around at each other’s faces, and to never forget them. She referred to their school careers as a “trail of lights” that built up to their one final, unified spark created that night. Then, Joanne White, salutatorian, gave See GRADUATION, pg 4 See FIELDS, pg 8 Sand, not safety may bring road repairs By MEIRA ZUCKER Post Correspondent HARVEYS LAKE - After years of using safety arguments in an attempt to get the roads in Hem- lock Gardens fixed, it appears _ sand mayfinally do the job. The Luzerne County Conserva- tion District, backed by state regu- lations that require builders to prevent accelerated erosion and sedimentation from running into waters of the Commonwealth, has threatened Ruckno Construction with fines of up to $10,000 a day if the company does not make repairs to the roads in the Hem- lock Gardens subdivision. Residents complained begin- ning in 1990 that the roads in Hemlock Gardens, which they say are owned by Ruckno, were not being maintained. The sewers in the development were putin then, and after the construction, the roads were not returned to their previous state. Parties have been arguing ever since about whose responsibility it is to fix the roads. “After they put in the sewers, the borough said they would put them back right and they weren't,” said Wilma Scheirer, a Hemlock Gardens resident for 20 years. “My muffler got torn off on a rock. You've got huge crevasses in theroad,” said Jennifer Tierney, a four-year resident. ~ Every summer dimderstoiet sends runoff and sedimentation from the dirt roads in Hemlock Gardens, located off Lake Ave., rushing the one-half mile down to Harveys Lake. The haphazard drainage ditches fill with ice in the winter, making the roads treach- | erous. Residents have to plow the snow, but the job is complicated by the deep trenches created by uncontrolled water and ice. Millie Monk, a Hemlock Gar- dens resident for four years, has been at the forefront of the battle to get the roads repaired. She and her husband William have at- See ROADS, pg 3 Top of the Class Salute to Dallas High School academic achievers Special section inside 22 Pages 3 Sections Calendar..........cc..is. 16 Classified.............. 14-15 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. 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