Vol. 109 No. 40 Dallas, Pennsylvania POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Westomoreland School Principal Kathleen McCarthy kept a promise she had made to students when she challenged them to "Turn Off The TV" lastweek. She said if the students turned off television for the week, she would kiss a horse. About half of them met the challenge, and she paid up Tuesday by laying a smacker on Navajo, a pony owned by Mike and Bev Hollack, Trucksville. It was also Hat Day at the school. See page 5 for photos. a POST PHOTO/KYLIE SHATTERKOETTER Sally Kennard tidied up The Scholar's Garden at Dallas High School. Teachers created the memorial to their predecessors. 3. Teachers honor their own with 'The Scholar's Garden’ By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff DALLAS - Most people have a special teacher in their life, whether they are still in school or not. The teachers of Dallas High School are no exception. In honor of their own teachers and men- tors, they have created a beautiful memorial garden to honor de- ceased Dallas High School teach- ers. Last year the teachers knew they wanted to memorialize those who came before them. Cathy Wega came up with the garden idea and it stuck. The tiller was fired up last spring, and the organizing com- mittee got busy and dirty. Within a couple months, the small group turned a plain, grassy area on the high school’s campus into a peace- ful and pretty garden that serves as a perfect tribute to such color- ful people. It was aptly named, The Scholar's Garden. “This is a quiet little way to remember what they did for us,” explained Wega. The garden was planted and paid for by the teach- ers themselves. Staring at a plaque of names placed inside the school to com- memorate the teachers, Wega said, “There are things that stand out about each one of these people. These are people who were here for 35 years of their lives. There is a little piece of each of them here. Things each one did made us who we are today. They instituted programs that their names are not attached to. These people made a difference.” The eight names listed so far are: Robert Somerville, math; Joe Rashys, shop; Donald Evans, his- tory; Lester Lewis, band; Thaddeus Stemplewski, Gerald Kolman, shop; Gerald Stinson, See GARDEN, pg 8 SIS EAVAINCR Eg =Neiel\VI\VIS NRE =SHO] =i i = | 8 BVAY H WANTS WA (SERS eV AN NESol [ole] Mp] [Sh pale KS) 50 Cents October 7 thru October 13, 1998 Dallas hopes to save on Insurance Blue Cross bill was up 22% this year, joining buying group may help By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff DALLAS - In an effort to get lower insurance rates, the Dallas School District is interested in joining a consortium with the other 11 districts and two vocational schools that make up the Inter- mediate Unit 18. Gil Griffiths, superintendent, told the school board Monday that Blue Cross/Blue Shield would not yet give any specific cost figures for the buying group. Griffiths said no other insurance company has the types of rates Blue Cross/ Blue Shield has. Dallas, which is currently with Blue Cross/Blue Shield, paid a 22 percent increase this year for insurance coverage for its faculty, support staff and administrators. Dallas has hired Plan 3, a con- sulting corporation, to guide it through the process. “Plan 3 took all the usage for all the school districts as separate entities and came up with a standard plan to benefit everyone,” said Griffiths. “They have presented informa- tion to Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They will engage in some negotia- tions with them.” Dallas paid its insurance com- pany $1.2 million to cover em- ployees for the current school year. Griffiths has no idea how much the district could potentially save from the consortium. He did say that Plan 3 recently saved King's College a significant amount of money. ; “Blue Cross/Blue Shield would maintain rates of 1999-2000 and possibly lower them the nextyear,” said Griffiths. He said the district's insurance debt would be offset by the positive side of a pool. He hopes to have a plan by January that everyone can agree on. Pet owners flock to St. Therese's for blessing By MEIRA ZUCKER Post Correspondent In honor of the Feast of Saint Francis, the patron saint of ani- mals, St. Therese’'s Church in Shavertown held their annual Blessing of the Animals Saturday. Parisioners brought their beloved furry friends for the ceremony, which in- cluded a prayer by Fa- ther Peter Crynes, a reading from Genesis by Sister Marilyn, and a sprinkling of holy water. The animal au- dience intently ob- served the ceremony and behaved with ut- most decorum. “Pets” does not de- scribe these creatures; better to call them “family members.” Children cuddled rab- bits shivering in the damp morning air. La- “We must always live in peace with all of bradors and Lhasa God's creation.” New elementary reading curriculum drawing praise se By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff DALLAS - Dallas Elementary School has a new book series this year that utilizes a new way to teach children language arts. The new Signatures series, published by Harcourt Brace & Company, combines phonics, reading, gram- mar -and spelling into one inte- grated program. The . series was chosen by a group- of 14 Dallas Elementary teachers after they tested it for a year. Before it was implemented into everyday use this year, the feachers of each grade level were trained by a Harcourt Brace & Company consultant. Sam Barbose, Dallas Elemen- tary principal, said he is happy with the teachers’ decision. “It was time to change. We want to keep up to date.” said Barbose, who used to work for a textbook publishing company himself. Betsy Cannon First grade teacher “The literature in these books is outstanding. 1 have not been able to determine that we have skipped a beat with this,” he said. Bill King, a Harcourt Brace rep- resentative, explained how the series integrates all language arts subjects. “The series is set up for each grade level, kindergarten through fifth grade. In the past, a child would have English and would write on one subject. Now, all the assignments come from the story (the class is reading). It's effi- cient. The children are writing See READING, pg 8 Sarah Muldoon points to a page from one of her favorite stories. Sarah is in Betsy Cannon's first grade class. apsas were adorned Father Peter Crynes with bandanas and bows. Springer spaniels and shar peis socialized. Both adults and children brought out their dogs, cats, bunnies, hamsters, and even one intrepid lad dragged out his snake. “It’s like the food chain here,” commented one participant. Why did they come? Please turn to page 8 for more photos of pets and owners. HB Crafty soccer supporters Dallas Soccer Club held its annual craft show. Photos on Pg 3. CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING E-mail: dalpost@aol.com s = PER VO 53 =a ie BH Oof! nz Lehman loses first football © £5 game, 40-20 to Hanover. As = Sports. oF ) SE pm— ot S23 LL 14 Pages, 2 Sections ak 2 Calendar... 14 O29 = Classified............ 12-13 Landi + Crossword................ 14 —z Editorials... ..........vw 4 BS : : = Obituaries..........c...s 12 <2 School... 0% i 11 we SPOS. ..c.oiivonsiinss 9-10 Z = = E Zs
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers