_& Vol. 109 No. 36 Three live to tell of lightning strike ‘By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff FRANKLIN TWP. - “I've never been that close to lightning be- fore,” Tom Rickaby said Monday afternoon. “Neither have 1,” re- sponded Robert Sands, a neigh- bor. “And guess what, I never want to be that close again.” For good reason. Sands, Randy McGeehan and Robert Rickaby were struck by lighting when a BMT Land Trust preserves 37 acres, creek The Back Mountain Regional Land fierce thunderstorm swept through the area about noon La- bor Day. Fortunately, they didn’t take a direct hit, and all three refused medical treatment from paramedics who responded to the Rickaby home in the Country Vil- lage trailer park off Orange Road. Sands and McGeehan were doing body work on Sands’s truck, which was parked across and down the street from Rickaby’s when the bolt apparently struck a | Dallas, Pennsylvania tree, went to the ground and trav- eled along the road. Rickaby was standing in the street, about 10. feet from a minivan parked in his driveway. When the lighting hit him, it threw him backward against the car. “I don’t remember a damn thing until I was on the couch,” Rickaby said. Other neighbors and family members, who had been standing outside and closer to the tree, helped him into the house. Mean- while, Sands had been thrown to the ground, scraping his elbow, and a can of spray paint McGeehan had been holding was knocked out See LIGHTNING, pg 10 50 Cents September 9 thru September 15, 1998 Robert Sands, left, Randy McGeehan and Robert Rickaby stand in the street near where they were struck by lightning Monday. . Lake Twp. recyclers could use Trust has preserved another parcel of woodland and wildlife habitat. Located in Mehoopany in Wyoming County, this 37-acre property is owned by Mrs. Betty Davies. In 1961, the Davies family built a log cabin here from the locust trees har- vested from the mountainous portion of the land. Since then, they've enjoyed countless hours of pristine woods, clean & air and the cool waters of the Mehoopany Creek. During this time, the land came to be known as that “Special Place.” Mrs. Davies and her family hoped to preserve this land forever. In their search to do so, they found the Back Mountain Regional Land Trust could assist them. The Land Trust became the party respon- sible for enforcing a conservation ease- ment or conservation restriction that was ; created by the Davies’ and the Trust. 4 This document becomes part of the property deed and is officially recorded at the respective courthouse. Current and subsequent owners of the land must abide by the restrictions noted in perpe- tuity. One of Mrs. Davies’ desires was to protect the riparian forest buffer for the adjoining Mehoopany Creek. Riparian refers to the area of land adjacent to a body of water, stream, river, marsh, or shoreline that directly affects or is af- @ fected by the water. Riparian areas serve ~ as a transition between the aquatic and the terrestrial environment. In essence, Mrs. Betty Davies and future owners are positively affecting the health of not only Mehoopany Creek, but also that of the Susquehanna River into which it flows. Other projects in progress by the Land Trust include Ridgetop Preservation in Luzerne County, Bear Creek Planning & Project, conservation easements on nearly 220 additional acres in Luzerne and Susquehanna Counties, and a series of seminars to begin in 1999 to train a pool of professional attorneys, appraisers and accountants in the technical work of land trusts. The Back Mountain Regional Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) conservation organi- zation located at 11 Carverton Road in Trucksville. The Land Trust serves Luzerne and Susquehanna Counties as well as Wyoming County. It is a publicly & supported, membership-driven organi- zation. If you would like more informa- tion about us, please call the office at 696-5545. Couple works together, like magic By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER more hands By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff LAKE TWP. - The Lake Township Re- cycling Program needs volunteers. The small, but faithful group of people that shows up every month needs help han- dling the volume of recyclables collected. As the program celebrates its eighth anniversary this October, the volunteers want to maintain its vitality in the com- munity. But, they cannot do it alone. Currently, two to five people volunteer their time the second Saturday of each month at the Lake Township Municipal Building on Rt. 29. “That is not enough when we have heavy traffic,” said Joanne Wascalus, who has volunteered for the program since 1991. The program accepts three colors of glass, plastics with the numbers one or two on them, bimetal cans and alumi- num. Every other month newspapers are collected. The next drop-off date is Sept. 12. All recyclables are taken to Bielecki Scrap and Recycling Center in Wilkes- Barre. Lake Township’s population is approxi- mately 2,000 and Wascalus estimates that 70 families drop off between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 tons of recyclable material each month. If you ask the small group why they haul themselves out every month to sepa- rate sometimes sticky bottles and cans, most say because of the environment. And because of Irene Thomas. “Irene Thomas strong-armed me. She was very persuasive and kept calling me,” said Bertha Williams, with a laugh. Thomas started the recycling program in 1990. She passed away suddenly in January and is missed greatly by the remaining volunteers. “She touched alot of people,” said Beth Chocallo, who brings her 12-year-old son, Patrick, to volunteer. “She was involved in many organizations. She brought a lot to our attention and took the time to research information.” Annabell Allen, who has been involved with recycling since 1993, volunteered her time because she was retiring. «© “I actually brought my stuff out and then See RECYCLERS, pg 10 POST PHOTO/JIM PHILLIPS Sweet servings Minnie Sidorek and Audrey Lockhart had the dessert goodies ready for the Kunkle Fire Co. chicken barbecue, held Saturday. More photos on page 3. Fall Sports Preview & Post Staff . e | ) 1 HARVEYS LAKE - While her because it is fren: Special section inside, husband Keith was atwork, Linda entertaining and colorful ” on Dallas and Lake- Culver’s curiosity got the best of Keith Culver Lehman fall sports her. She went downstairs and tried to figure out all of Keith's magic props and sets. After more than 10 years of marriage to a magi- cian,, Linda discovered that she was bitten by the magic bug. Magician, Harveys Lake teams. Keith Culver has been cultivat- pyr. ing his magic since he was in seventh grade and has been per- Culver. “Now I can get into bigger il- That was about three years ago forming it all his adult life. “I |usions.” TE | and ‘now the husband and wife think the mystery behind magic is It {00k 14 Pages 2 Sections | duo from Harveys Lake work to- what fascinates me,” he said. “I [inda Culver Calendar Jikan ives ibn, | gether as KC & Company. They think people like to see magic some time to Classified.............. 12-13 | 4 perform their upbeat, funny shows because it is different, entertain- getused to per- Crossword seed tee Sed 14 for fundraisers, schools, parties ing and colorful. Peopleliketobe formin g in Editorials NEAR IS 4 and magic conferences. fooled and like to try to figure Out ‘front of AR SL Obituanes.............c... 12 f Just this March the two won how a trick was done.” dience. She SCHOOL. i die 11 : first place at Carol's Pocono Magic The couple enjoys working to- remembers SPOIS:.....on nia 9-10 Festival. “It was really nice (to win),” said Mr. Culver. “But, it's always more difficult to do magic shows for other magicians. They can usually tell when you mess ” up. gether. Sure, they bicker a bit, but like any creative team, it's because they want the show to be the best it can. And they're mar- ried. "It’s nice working together,” said her debut per- formance with See MAGIC, pg 10 Company. Keith and Linda Culver perform as KC & The Dallas Post CALL 675-5211 'FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING E-mail: dalpost@aol.com and mail to The Dallas Post, P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612-0366 MAILING LABEL- Please enclose this label with any address changes,
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