Vol. 109 No. 41 A guard rail pierced the entire length of Robert Brody's car when it crossed Pioneer Ave. 3-6% raises for Dallas school execs By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff DALLAS - Dallas School Dis- trict administrators received a pay increase at Monday's regular school board meeting. The ad- ministrators have a three-year contract that runs until 2001 and every year salaries are “read- justed.” The following lists what each sfadministrator was paid last year, what they are paid this year and the percentage change: Frank Galicki, Sr. High principal, $64,410, $66,533 (3.3%); Paul Reinert, Sr. High asst. principal, $56,000, $58,681 (4.8%); An- thony Martinelli, Middle School principal, $65,093, $67,643 (3.9%); Samuel Barbose, Dallas Elementary principal, $62,811, 865,304 (4.0%); Kathleen McCarthy, Westmoreland El- ementary principal, $52,890, $56,262 (6.4%); Mark Kraynack, buildings and grounds supervi- sor, $36,778, $38,630 (5.0%); Jack Wega, computer coordina- tor, $58,822, $61,215 (4.1%); Michael Speziale, asst. superin- tendent, $65,000; $68,572 (5.5%). The rate for Gil Griffiths, su- perintendent, was not set because all evaluations hadn't been re- ceived. His present salary is $80,000, and the board will con- sider an increase separately. In other business, Mary Gilligan of Dallas asked the board to hire another teacher for the gifted pro- gram at Dallas Middle School. She said the program combines seventh and eighth grade stu- dents with 22 to 24 students per class and only one teacher. Sandy Walton of Dallas spoke to the board on a number of is- sues that she felt the board should See DALLAS, PY 12 The Dallas Post DP € Inside this week Check out our 8-page Fall Home Improvement section, included in this week's paper. New feature If you're like many of us, you _ wonder what the homes you _ see advertised for sale are really like. That's why we've started He .se for Sale, an occasional feature that takes readers inside the homes, and tells the stories they and their owners hold. This week on page 7, take a close look at one of the area's grandest old homes, with anecdotes to match. And tell us if you know of an interesting "House for Sale." ‘chainsaws and Dallas, Pennsylvania —— SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF THE DALLAS & LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS 50 Cents October 14 thru October 20, 1998 ’ Lucky to be alive after freak accident By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff SHAVERTOWN - Robert B. Brody was possibly the luckiest man in the Back Mountain on Friday, October 2. Around 9:40 p.m his car hit a guardrail on S. Pioneer Ave., causing the steel rail to slice right through the middle of his car like a huge knife. The hood of his red 1995 Geo Metro was smashed and ripped back into the windshield and settled in the passenger's seat. Kingston Township patrolman Martin Maransky, who assisted at the accident, said, “It's amaz- ing noone gothurt. Luckily, there was no passenger because they would've been killed.” While intent on finding a better song on his car stereo, Brody took his eyes off the unfamiliar road just long enough for his small car to cross the opposite lane and plow into the steel guardrail. POST PHOTO/KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER The Graveside Singers is one of the more entertaining groups in the Lehman Haunted Barn, which is open for the scarin' season. Haunted Barn is scary, productive fundraiser By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff LEHMAN - Fundraising doesn’t come to mind when walking through the narrow, dark and disorienting corridors in the Leh- man Haunted Barn. Most of the daring folks are too busy scream- ing at masked madmen with other surprising ghouls. But, the Haunted Barn, now in its 16th year, raises ap- proximately $20,000 for the Lake-Lehman Chorus, Lehman United Methodist This year there is a new corri- dor to help shield people from the elements. It came in handy dur- ing the Barn’s opening night last Friday when the rain was pouring down, adding to the creepy sur- roundings. Pineno has no problem giving up some storage space and do- : nating his barn for the fundraiser. He and a crew of other volunteers add a little more to the Barn every year and perform annual safety checks to make sure there are no loose boards or other hazards. “Me and another father used todo all of the wiring with Youth Group, Fridays aa BBY on my little 30 amp. Wyoming Valley All Othor Nights: 7:00 - 10:00pm circuit breaker. Children’s Aid The Lehman Haunted Now we use an elec- Fund and the Le- Barn is now in its 16th trician and we work hman Volunteer year of offering fright and off 100 amps,” he Fire Company. raising funds. explained. What started out in one room of the old Lehman United Methodist Church parson’s house, has turned into a severely scary event that holds its own in the competitive Halloween mar- ket. ; The Haunted Barn itself is owned by John Pineno, Lake- Lehman's Chorus coach. He re- members the old days when he would dress up like Dracula and scare thrill seekers from a casket. “It all started when some kids thought it would be fun to hold a haunted house. The first year we used corn stalks for hallways and paper pallets (donated by Offset Paperback, Inc.) for walls. We started with only four hallways,” said Pineno. “Now we've gotten to the point where we can afford more heavy materials and our carpentry skills have gotten bet- ter.” The Barn has been completely rewired this year. It’s more high tech than you might think a haunted barn would be. A security camera system scans the entire barn, as a safety measure in the case that anyone might need help in the dark. People called “Roamers” wander the dark walkways to make sure everyone is all right and moving forward. The Barn also has a complete sound system which provides all the spooky noises. Some things, though, are still kept simple. For example, hang- ing spiders that fling themselves from the ceiling have a little help from someone turning an old pen- cil sharpener with string tied to it. The arms of a scary scarecrow are raised by a tiny tug of another string. “We change it every year just enough so those who come every year are not bored. We've added three new effects this year includ- ing the guillotine,” said Pineno, who credits a large number of people who help the show go on. “I cannot forget all the help we get here. All the groups get to- gether and work hard,” he said. The group of volunteers begin planning and building weeks in advance. “Most of the volunteers have been involved about 10 years.” Even with some of the small tricks out of the bag, the Barn provides a fun and spine chilling 20 minutes with many more sur- prises. “It was scary. Especially the part with Jason and his chainsaw,” said Elizabeth Proietto, 9, of Plymouth, who came with her friend Whitney Roper. Whitney said she was not scared and told all of the ghouls’ where they bought their masks to prove it. Santina Sperling, 14, of Harveys Lake, came with her friends, Jen- nifer Jones, 13, of Plains, and Dan Smith, 13, of Dallas. “I have no fears, but I do scream,” boasted Santina while waiting in line to get in the Barn. Afterwards her tune changed a bit. “It was scary when people chased us. I kept running into walls,” said Santina, while laugh- ing. With a smirk on his face, Dan said simply, “It was dangerous.” Abby Heffernan of the Lehman See BARN, pg 12 John Penino, proud owner of the Haunted Barn, stops to pose with one of the Barn’s friendly ghouls. Brody, 26, suffered only a sprained wrist and refused medi- cal treatment at the accident scene. “At the time I had so much adrenaline going I didn’t know I was hurt at all,” said Brody, who has already bought another car. Dispatcher falsified time sheets, police say By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff DALLAS - William Anthony Alaimo, the former chief dis- patcher for the now defunct Back Mountain Communication Cen- ter (BMCC), was arrested Oct. 7 for claiming $1,258 worth of hours he did not work. Alaimo, 38, of Pittston, is a full-time dispatcher for the county 911 system. His hearing before District Jus- tice James Tupper is being con- tinued, and Alaimo was released on his own recognizance. He was charged with theft by deception, a first-degree misdemeanor that is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. * In. August..of 1996, Frank Wagner, BMCC chairman of the board, called Dallas Township patrolman Douglas Higgins to re- quest an investigation because he believed Alaimo was falsifying time sheets. Wagner's duty as chair- man is to sign employee checks and review payroll records. He told Higgins that he would stop in at the center to check if Alaimo’ was working or not and then check his findings with the payroll records. Wagner said he found payroll records in which Alaimo reported he had worked when Wagner knew he did not. Higgins reviewed all records, schedules, dispatch logs and took employee statements. After mull- See DISPATCHER, pg 12 i 20 Pages 2 Sections Calendar...............ciee 8 Classified.............. 10-11 Crossword.............coeu 8 Editorials.......o 00. 4 Obituaries.......cc.ccu... 10 School... iain 5 SPOONS. ....ooti ib iniiversiosins 9 CALL 675-5211 FOR HOME DELIVERY, NEWS OR ADVERTISING E-mail: dalpost@aol.com 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
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers