€ ¥ 3 ¢ Vol. 110 No. 9 Dallas, Pennsylvania 50 Cents Paul Jobson leaves legacy of love, friendship By RONALD BARTIZEK Post Staff DALLAS - As hundreds of friends and well wishers turned out Saturday night at a benefit dinner, Paul Jobson Jr. “just lit up,” said Bill Jones. “He knew how many good friends he had.” Sadly, Jobson, 36 died two days later from complications of Amyotrophic Lat- eral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as iF Lou Gehrig's disease. “We never anticipated Paul would pass so quickly,” a shaken Jones said Tues- day. “He was positive, he wanted to con- tinue to fight this thing.” Jobson, his wife Sharon and their two- year-old daughter Katie attended the benefit spaghetti dinner, held at the Daddow-Isaacs American Legion Post in Dallas. Jones said the event was a phe- nomenal success, raising over $6,000, Students in Mrs. Klick's class at Dallas Elementary School donned hats like the one worn by that famous Cat in the Dr. Seuss story. They are joining a national celebration of reading that takes place each year around the date of "Dr. Seuss's" birthday. The children, from left, half again as much as anticipated. Jones thanked the many businesses and individuals that contributed to the event, and the 300 people who bought tickets. Everything was donated, from food to raffle items, to the hall itself. “He was taken aback by the kindness of the people,” Jones said. “The real success of the dinner is that Paul knew how much he was loved.” Jones and Jobson struck up a friend- ship when both were playing basketball at Lake-Lehman High School in 1981. Jobson was his “teammate for life,” Jones said, describing his friend as modest, but always positive. When Jobson became ill and had to leave his job at Topp’s in Duryea, Jones took it upon himself to organize fundraising events to help Jobson and his family. See JOBSON, pg 12 POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK foreground; Roxanne Popple, Katie Confer, Nathan Pietrzak, Ann Marie Ratchford. Background; Elena Habersky, Eric Davis, Jason Sabetta, Sarah Flannery, Shauna Phillips, Lee Culver, Fred Searles. More photos on page 3. Paul Jobson, Sharon and their daughter, at Katie's second birthday party. 3 Audubon chapter notes 20th year By MEIRA ZUCKER Post Correspondent BACK MOUNTAIN - The Audubon Society is not just for the birds. It’s for the meadows, and the wetlands, and the forests, and the wildlife. It’s for the whole environment. The mission of the National Audubon Society, founded in 1905, is to conserve andrestore natural ecosystems. This year, our local chapter of the Audubon Society is celebrating its 20th anniversary. In that time, the Greater Wyoming Valley Chapter’ of the Audubon Society has evolved into a strong force for envi- ronmental preservation in the Back Mountain and all of Luzerne and Wyoming counties. Many years ago, the locally-formed Back Mountain Bird Club met to serve the needs of local bird watchers. Then, in 1979, the Greater Wyoming Valley Chap- ter of the Audubon Society formed, and later absorbed the remaining members of the birding club. The local chapter serves residents of Luzerne and Wyoming coun- ties. At present, 450 to 500- people are members of the chapter, although most events are supported by a key group of 30 to 40 dedicated birders and environmen- talists. The Audubon Society has contributed to the local environment in many ways. Chapter members have won three awards from the Pennsylvania Environmental See AUDUBON; pg 12 Students plan protest to donkey basketball By PETER GAGLIARDI Post Staff DALLAS - About 10 Dallas High School students plan to protest the donkey basketball game at the school on Saturday night with signs and flyers. Emily Mallick, the protest or- ganizer, said the protesters "want it banned because they consider it cruel to animals.” Mallick said sometimes the donkeys “do not get food and water the whole day so they don’t have accidents” on the court. Mallick, who belongs to two different animal rights groups, said “no animal should be used for entertainment. These don- keys give up their whole lives to playing basketball. The animals are shipped everywhere and this causes respiratory problems.” Mallick also said the donkeys display symptoms of mental ill- ness. They demonstrate anger by kicking people. Mallick said the games are ille- gal in Maine. The Animal Welfare Board in Maine voted to make the games illegal under the anti-cru- elty to animals laws. Mallick said the school is le- gally responsible for injuries sus- See PROTEST, pg 12 After slow start, By KYLIE SHAFFER KOETTER Post Staff SHAVERTOWN - What if you have just a few legal questions or a minor prob- lem? Or you need some guidance on where to begin fixing a bigger legal problem? Most of us do not want to go through the hassle or spend the money to find the right lawyer and thus, an answer. Luckily, Back Mountain folks have a solution right in their backyard. The Back Mountain Free Legal Clinic, run by four lawyers as a pro-bono service, has helped as many as 200 people in only two years of operation. Started by Bernard Walter, who has his practice in Dallas, the service has proven to be a quick and easy way to help many people in a variety of ways. The idea was sparked by the free health clinic that is also run out of St. Therese’s Church, at the corner of Pioneer and Davis streets in Shavertown. Both clinics are held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays. Walter said the legal clinic is not just for those who cannot afford legal advice, but also for those who feel alienated from the traditional justice system. “It is a setting where the Friday POST PHOTO/KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Checking in for some quick legal advice, Melissa Pennel talks with Bernard Walter and Erik Dingle. economics of paying by the minute are relaxed,” ex- plained Walter. In the section of the church's basement where the clinic is held, there is no meter running up charges as people have their questions answered. Also, the clinic is convenient for a person who has a small problem. “If they have a little toothache we can handle it on a preventative basis,” said Walter. During those first few Friday nights, Walter found himself alone at the long table that serves as a desk. As time went by and word got out, more people began to take advantage of the service. Recently, Walter asked three other attorneys to help and now they alter- nate Fridays, seeing up to 11 people a night. Walter said the clinic is very stable with four lawyers. “It’s a big commitment to be here every Friday night. I think there is a value to having several different points of view with different free legal clinic is helping many attorneys,” he said. Atty. John Aciukewicz knew about the clinic because he is a parishioner at St. Therese’s. He was looking to do some pro bono work and felt the clinic was a great idea. “I think there is definitely a need for it. We can help people answer their questions without represent- ing them. They get answers and we provide them with sound advice,” said Aciukewicz of Trucksville, who has a private practice. The questions vary and include real estate, business, child support issues and insurance. Maggie Manzoni of Dallas came to the clinic last September after sus- pecting she was being shortchanged on her pay- checks. The benefits spe- cialist said she did not know where else to go. “At the time I was on short-term disability and having problems with my work. They wouldn't return my phone calls and were not updating my records,” Manzoni, 26, explained. “I was really happy with the service. Atty. Aciukewicz got answers for me and they started returning my phone calls. It was all straightened out. It's good (the lawyers) are volunteering their time to help the people who need it.” See LEGAL CLINIC, pg 12 20 Pages, 2 Sections Calendar....................s 9 Classified............. 10-11 Crossword.................. 9 Editorials... ......«....:. 4 Obituaries. .......s... oui 2 School:............hh.a 8 SPOS. iis i itdresdins bens 7 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
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